Bored

The problem is ESPN/ABC decided to reserve two Pac-10 games for that week before the season started. Now one of them is Oregon State/USC which one could understand as a possible game of interest since the Beavers beat USC last year but for some reason the other game they reserved is UCLA/Arizona. Now the game might be available on Gameplan since the local Oregon broadcasts do have a deal with ESPN for their games but still a complete joke that the game won't be available on free t.v. anywhere except locally.

BYU/San Diego State game has been postponed until the final week of the season due to the fires. Thought it would be kind of interesting to track the Bottom 10 BCS conference teams according to the average BCS computer rankings. First here's the roll call of "champions" since the BCS started in 1998. 1998: Temple (103rd overall) 1999: Rutgers (106) 2000: Duke (101) 2001: Duke (106) 2002: Rutgers (113) 2003: Temple (108) 2004: Vanderbilt (107) 2005: Duke (109) 2006: Duke (118) Last season Duke finished next to last to FIU, the closest a BCS team has come to finishing as the worst team in the country. And here's the current race for the worst BCS team. 1. Iowa State (108) 2. Minnesota (100) 3. Arizona (96) 4. Washington State (92) 5. Syracuse (91) 6. Baylor (85) 7. Mississippi (83) 8. N.C. State (82) 9t. Duke (80) 9t. Iowa (80) Duke has a lot of work to do if they want to get the three-peat. Notre Dame is currently 79th overall purely because of their schedule.

For middle relievers, the first two years I took the top 60 in games pitched and then last year I did the top 60 in Holds. This time around I tried to get a combination of both and put an arbitrary number of at least 70 games pitched or at least 15 Holds to work with at first and purely by accident I ended up with exactly 60 relievers. This of course excludes those who will appear on the Closers list. I take into account six statistical categories: Component ERA, K/BB Ratio, WHIP, VORP, Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), and Pitching Runs Created. 2004 1. Tom Gordon 30. Jim Mecir 60. John Rielding 2005 1. Justin Duchscherer 30. Duaner Sanchez 60. Dan Kolb 2006 1. Cla Meredith 30. Francisco Rodney 60. Ray King 2007 1. Rafael Betancourt, Indians 2. Heath Bell, Padres 3. Hideki Okajima, Red Sox 4. Russ Springer, Cardinals 5. Carlos Marmol, Cubs 6. Jonathan Broxton, Dodgers 7. Joaquin Benoit, Rangers 8. Matt Guerrier, Twins 9. George Sherrill, Mariners 10. Peter Moylan, Braves 11. Ryan Franklin, Cardinals 12. Rafael Soriano, Braves 13. Bob Howry, Cubs 14. Pat Neshek, Twins 15. Jon Rauch, Nationals 16. Scott Downs, Blue Jays 17. Justin Speier, Angels 18. Damaso Marte, Pirates 19. Aaron Heilman, Mets 20. Casey Janssen, Blue Jays 21. Chad Qualls, Astros 22. Brandon Lyon, Diamondbacks 23. Tony Pena, Diamondbacks 24. Matt Lindstrom, Marlins 25. Justin Miller, Marlins 26. C.J. Wilson, Rangers 27. Pedro Feliciano, Mets 28. David Riske, Royals 29. Brian Shouse, Brewers 30. Saul Rivera, Nationals 31. Scot Shields, Angels 32. Michael Wuertz, Cubs 33. Cla Meredith, Padres 34. Jamie Walker, Orioles 35. Joe Beimel, Dodgers 36. Carlos Villanueva, Brewers 37. J.C. Romero, Red Sox/Phillies 38. Rudy Seanez, Dodgers 39. Derrick Turnbow, Brewers 40. Dan Wheeler, Astros/Devil Rays 41. Jeremy Affeldt, Rockies 42. Chad Bradford, Orioles 43. Randy Flores, Cardinals 44. Matt Thornton, White Sox 45. Tyler Yates, Braves 46. Scott Linebrink, Padres/Brewers 47. Scott Proctor, Yankees/Dodgers 48. Jimmy Gobble, Royals 49. Renyel Pinto, Marlins 50. Luis Vizcaino, Yankees 51. Brandon Morrow, Mariners 52. Taylor Tankersley, Marlins 53. Trever Miller, Astros 54. Frank Francisco, Rangers 55. Kyle Farnsworth, Yankees 56. Jorge Julio, Marlins/Rockies 57. Scott Schoenweis, Mets 58. Mike Myers, Yankees/White Sox 59. Antonio Alfonseco, Phillies 60. Mike MacDougal, White Sox

It's actually even worse, 109th when using the strength of schedule formula that was used in the BCS before it was taken out in 2004. They currently have worst SOS of any BCS conference team although when taking into account future opponents they bump up to 54th. Here's the current Top 10 in SOS. 1. Washington 2. Notre Dame 3. North Carolina 4. Duke 5. Florida 6. LSU 7. Auburn 8. South Florida 9. Kentucky 10. Oregon And when taking into account all future opponents, except any conference championship games of course. 1. Texas A&M 2. Oklahoma State 3. Florida 4. Notre Dame 5. Nebraska 6. Washington 7. Oregon 8. Virginia Tech 9. Kentucky 10. Georgia

This has been an awful postseason and now I have zero interest in the World Series.

Much kudos to UCLA this week for ending Cal's Rose Bowl hopes and thus extending their drought to 49 years. I wish I had been bold enough to make the proclamation a few weeks ago but there was almost no doubt in my mind the Bruins would lose to Notre Dame but beat Cal. If they played a high school Powder Puff team next week they'd lose but put up against a strong opponent and they usually win. Top 25, you know the drill. I can hold off on ranking any three loss teams for at least another week. Sure there's an argument for Auburn but they could easily have five losses as well. I might become really ambitious this week and try to make bowl projections but usually I'm way too lazy to do such a thing. 1. Ohio State 2. Boston College 3. Arizona State 4. Kansas 5. LSU 6. Oklahoma 7. South Florida 8. West Virginia 9. Oregon 10. Missouri 11. Virginia Tech 12. Florida 13. South Carolina 14. Kentucky 15. USC 16. Virginia 17. Georgia 18. Connecticut 19. Wake Forest 20. Alabama 21. Michigan 22. Texas Tech 23. Penn State 24. Hawaii 25. Boise State

The problem is that I didn't feel that UCLA should be ranked because of those two horrific losses they have thus by proxy I couldn't rank Cal. If Cal beats ASU next week then definately they'll be ranked again and so will UCLA, assuming they beat Wazzu but this being UCLA they'll probably lose by three touchdowns.

Chopping Block: Gert T. Needs to make picks by Thursday blah blah blah. HarleyQuinn is preassigned as replacement picks. Nate's picks will be used for Penn State this week. Week 8 Deadlines Thursday, October 18th, 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST -Lose out on Thursday game Friday, October 19th, 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST -Lose out on Friday game Saturday, October 20th, Noon EST/9:00 AM PST -Replacement picks Week 8 Match-ups #5 Syracuse* PM (CanadianChris, 5-2) vs. Buffalo* PM (Carnival, 5-2) - GAME OF THE WEEK #1 South Carolina* (Cuban Linx, 7-0) vs. TCU* (Nate, 2-5) #2 LSU* (teke184, 6-1) vs. Auburn* (Tzar Lysergic, 1-6) #3 Oklahoma* (Secret Agent, 6-1) vs. Ohio* (Will Scarlet, 1-6) #4 N.C. State* (AboveAverage484, 6-1) vs. Boise State* (Vitamin X, 5-2) #6 Georgia Tech* (iggymcfly, 5-2) vs. Ball State* (Vampiro69, 4-3) #7 Texas* (UTBroward, 6-1) vs. Ohio State* (Gert T, 0-7) #8 Miami of Ohio* PM (Hawk 34, 5-2) vs. Temple* PM (Ortonsault, 3-4) #9 Nebraska* (Mecca, 5-2) vs. Penn State* (Nate*, 3-4) #10 Hawaii* PM (Fokai, 6-1) vs. Michigan* (MFerXtreme87, 2-5) Virginia* (Edwin MacPhisto, 4-3) vs. Boston College* (HarleyQuinn, 0-7) Florida State* (King, 4-3) vs. Miami* (Spaceman Spiff, 2-5) Kent State* (JHawk, 5-2) vs. Rutgers* (the pinjockey, 3-4) Florida* PM (Urban Warfare, 4-3) vs. Kentucky* (Danville Wrestling, 2-5) Arizona (UZI Suicide, 4-3) vs. Stanford* (Bored, 4-3) Oregon (nogoodnick, 4-3) vs. Washington* (Smues, 3-4) San Diego State* (the walkin' dude, 3-4) vs. UCLA* PM (phoenixrising, 3-4) Minnesota* (Vern Gagne, 3-4) vs. UTEP* (Angel Grace Blue, 2-5) Tennessee* PM (kkktookmybabyaway, 2-5) vs. Alabama (AlwaysPissedOff, 1-6) USC* (Cartman, 2-5) vs. Notre Dame* (KingPK, 2-5) Week 8 Games to Make Picks For THURSDAY South Florida at Rutgers FRIDAY Louisville at Connecticut SATURDAY Penn State at Indiana Texas A&M at Nebraska Tennessee at Alabama Wake Forest at Navy Wyoming at Air Force Florida at Kentucky Miami at Florida State Texas Tech at Missouri Kansas State at Oklahoma State Michigan at Illinois Virginia at Maryland Auburn at LSU Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Florida/Kentucky game? Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Texas Tech's Graham Harrell have against Missouri?

New BCS rankings have been leaked. Link 1. Ohio State 2. Boston College 3. LSU 4. Arizona State 5. Oregon 6. Oklahoma 7. West Virginia 8. Virginia Tech 9. Kansas 10. South Florida 11. Florida 12. USC 13. Missouri 14. Kentucky 15. Virginia 16. South Carolina 17. Hawaii 18. Georgia 19. Texas 20. Michigan 21. California 22. Auburn 23. Connecticut 24. Alabama 25. Penn State

Now that's more like it. After the incredibly dull Week 7 everything gets blown to pieces again this week. Seven Top 10 teams go down and 14 of the 20 match-ups were won by the lower ranked team. This has of course caused a shuffling of the deck in the Top 10 and plenty of CONTROVERSY~. First off due to so many high ranked teams with similar records losing we actually have three teams who lost this week move up in the Top 10 while a team that won moved down in the rankings. Aww that takes me back to the glory days of the first year of the contest with the intentionally fucked up formula. It actually isn't that hard to figure why certain things happened if you think long enough about it. But after all the carnage Cuban Linx continues to survive and remain the undisputed, undefeated #1. And finally I've won three in a row, move to 5-3 and I can't get a "vote"??? FUCKING BULLSHIT! 1. South Carolina - Cuban Linx 2.95 2. Oklahoma - Secret Agent 4.15 3. N.C. State - AboveAverage 4.65 4. LSU - teke184 5.6 5. Nebraska - Mecca 5.95 6. Texas - UTBroward 6.45 7. Florida State - King 8.1 8. Syracuse - CanadianChris 8.4 9. Miami of Ohio - Hawk 34 9.3 10. Boise State - Vitamin X 9.5 Other Receiving Votes: Ball State (Vampiro69), Buffalo (Carnival), Georgia Tech (iggymcfly), Hawaii (Fokai)

Week 8 Results Buffalo (Carnival) 9, #5 Syracuse (CanadianChris) 7 #1 South Carolina (Cuban Linx) 8, TCU (Nate) 7 #2 LSU (teke184) 7, Auburn (Tzar Lysergic) 7; teke184 wins by tiebreak Ohio (Will Scarlet) 11, #3 Oklahoma (Secret Agent) 9 Boise State (Vitamin X) 10, #4 N.C. State (AboveAverage484) 9 Ball State (Vampiro69) 8, #6 Georgia Tech (iggymcfly) 6 Ohio State (Gert T) 10, #7 Texas (UTBroward) 9 Temple (Ortonsault) 8, #8 Miami of Ohio (Hawk 34) 8; Ortonsault wins by tiebreak #9 Nebraska (Mecca) 9, Penn State (Nate*) 7 Michigan (MFerXtreme87) 8, #10 Hawaii (Fokai) 8; MFerXtreme87 wins by tiebreak Boston College (HarleyQuinn) 9, Virginia (Edwin MacPhisto) 6 Florida State (King) 11, Miami (Spaceman Spiff) 8 Rutgers (the pinjockey) 10, Kent State (JHawk) 7 Kentucky (Danville Wrestling) 8, Florida (Urban Warfare) 8; Danville Wrestling wins by tiebreak Stanford (Bored) 8, Arizona (UZI Suicide) 6 Washington (Smues) 8, Oregon (nogoodnick) 8; Smues wins by tiebreak UCLA (phoenixrising) 11, San Diego State (the walkin' dude) 10 UTEP (Angel Grace Blue) 7, Minnesota (Vern Gagne) 5 Tennessee (kkktookmybabyaway) 10, Alabama (AlwaysPissedOff) 8 USC (Cartman) 9, Notre Dame (KingPK) 7 Conference Standings Big 8 1. Nebraska (4-0, 6-2) 1. Oklahoma (4-0, 6-2) 3. Texas (3-2, 6-2) 4. Minnesota (1-2, 3-5) 5. Michigan (1-3, 3-5) 5. Notre Dame (1-3, 2-6) 5. Ohio State (1-3, 1-7) Penn State (1-3, 3-5) - probation Big MAC 1. Buffalo (4-1, 6-2) 2. Ball State (3-1, 5-3) 3. Miami of Ohio (3-2, 5-3) 3. Syracuse (3-2, 5-3) 5. Rutgers (2-2, 4-4) 6. Kent State (1-3, 5-3) 6. Temple (1-3, 4-4) 8. Ohio (0-3, 2-6) Pac-8 1. UCLA (3-0, 4-4) 2. Washington (3-1, 4-4) 3. Stanford (3-2, 5-3) 4. Arizona (2-2, 4-4) 5. Oregon (1-2, 4-4) 5. TCU (1-2, 2-6) 7. San Diego State (1-3, 3-5) 7. USC (1-3, 3-5) Southeastern Seven 1. South Carolina (4-0, 8-0) 2. LSU (4-1, 7-1) 3. Kentucky (2-2, 3-5) 4. Florida (2-3, 4-4) 5. Tennessee (1-2, 3-5) 5. UTEP (1-2, 3-5) 5. Alabama (1-2, 1-7) 8. Auburn (1-4, 1-7) Western Atlantic 1. Boise State (3-1, 6-2) 2. Hawaii (2-1, 6-2) 2. N.C. State (2-1, 6-2) 2. Georgia Tech (2-1, 5-3) 5. Florida State (3-2, 5-3) 6. Virginia (2-2, 4-4) 7. Boston College (1-3, 1-7) 8. Miami (0-4, 2-6)

Les Miles is the Ace of Spades. Unbelievable.

And Stanford beats Arizona tonight, Emerald Bowl hopes still alive!!! Poor Mike Stoops. He' soooo gonna have to beg his brother for a job after this season. Safe to call his run a complete failure. Oregon has about two million rushing yards against Washington tonight, or at least it seems like it. It is amazing to think that if LSU doesn't comeback against Auburn that with still a week of games left in October there would not be a single team in the SEC without at least two losses.

PICK SIX BY UCLA, CAL WILL LOSE AGAIN!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA BCS Title hopes last week? Gone. Rose Bowl hopes this week? Gone.

Hmm, your normal FSN Big XII "Why the fuck are they showing this game?" is pretty interesting as Iowa State is shutting out Oklahoma through one half of play but they are only up 7-0 as they've missed a field goal and turned the ball over on downs deep in Sooner territory late in the half.

Rightfielders 2004 1. Bobby Abreu 15. Jermaine Dye 30. Abraham Nunez 2005 1. Brian Giles 15. Jason Lane 30. Sammy Sosa 2006 1. Jermaine Dye 15. Geoff Jenkins 30. Jose Guillen 2007 1. Magglio Ordonez, Tigers 2. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels 3. Corey Hart, Brewers 4. Brad Hawpe, Rockies 5. Alex Rios, Blue Jays 6. Nick Markakis, Orioles 7. Jose Guillen, Mariners 8. Bobby Abreu, Yankees 9. Ken Griffey Jr., Reds 10. Jeremy Hermida, Marlins 11. Randy Winn, Giants 12. Jeff Francoeur, Braves 13. Michael Cuddyer, Twins 14. Matt Kemp, Dodgers 15. Travis Buck, A's 16. Austin Kearns, Nationals 17. Luke Scott, Astros 18. Brian Giles, Padres 19. Shawn Green, Mets 20. Andre Ethier, Dodgers 21. J.D. Drew, Red Sox 22. Shane Victorino, Phillies 23. Delmon Young, Devil Rays 24. Xavier Nady, Pirates 25. Mark Teahan, Royals 26. Jermaine Dye, White Sox 27. Cliff Floyd, Cubs 28. Juan Encarnacion, Cardinals 29. Trot Nixon, Indians 30. Nelson Cruz, Rangers

Almost forgot, ESABCPN 3:30/12:30 coverage map for tommorrow.

Texans - 17 points Washington New Orleans Baltimore Dallas New England N.Y. Giants Tampa Bay Tennessee Kansas City Cincinnati Philadelphia Seattle Pittsburgh Indianapolis

Centerfielders 2004 1. Jim Edmonds 15. Milton Bradley 30. Marlon Byrd 2005 1. Jim Edmonds 15. Milton Bradley 30. Corey Patterson 2006 1. Carlos Beltran 15. Juan Pierre 30. Reggie Ambercrombie 2007 1. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners 2. Grady Sizemore, Indians 3. Curtis Granderson, Tigers 4. Carlos Beltran, Mets 5. B.J. Upton, Devil Rays 6. Aaron Rowand, Phillies 7. Torii Hunter, Twins 8. Hunter Pence, Astros 9. Nick Swisher, A's 10. Mike Cameron, Padres 11. Kenny Lofton, Rangers/Indians 12. Johnny Damon, Yankees 13. Marlon Byrd, Rangers 14. Nate McLouth, Pirates 15. David DeJesus, Royals 16. Chris Young, Diamondbacks 17. Gary Matthews Jr., Angels 18. Andruw Jones, Braves 19. Melky Cabrera, Yankees 20. Willy Taveres, Rockies 21. Coco Crisp, Red Sox 22. Juan Pierre, Dodgers 23. Jacque Jones, Cubs 24. Bill Hall, Brewers 25. Vernon Wells, Blue Jays 26. Dave Roberts, Giants 27. Jim Edmonds, Cardinals 28. Corey Patterson, Orioles 29. Alfredo Amezaga, Marlins 30. Jerry Owens, White Sox

Who You Should Root For #5 Syracuse* PM (CanadianChris, 5-2) vs. Buffalo* PM (Carnival, 5-2) - GAME OF THE WEEK SU: South Florida, Nebraska UB: Rutgers, Texas A&M Tiebreaks: 65/57, 339/286 #1 South Carolina* (Cuban Linx, 7-0) vs. TCU* (Nate, 2-5) SC: Nebraska, Wake Forest, Florida, Maryland, LSU TCU: Texas A&M, Navy, Kentucky, Virginia, Auburn #2 LSU* (teke184, 6-1) vs. Auburn* (Tzar Lysergic, 1-6) LSU: Tennessee, Wake Forest, Florida, Florida State AU: Alabama, Navy, Kentucky, Miami Tiebreak: 79/90 #3 Oklahoma* (Secret Agent, 6-1) vs. Ohio* (Will Scarlet, 1-6) OK: Nebraska, Tennessee, Kansas State, Virginia OH: Texas A&M, Alabama, Oklahoma State, Maryland Tiebreak: 54/53 #4 N.C. State* (AboveAverage484, 6-1) vs. Boise State* (Vitamin X, 5-2) NCS: Nebraska, Alabama, Florida State, Michigan, Maryland BS: Texas A&M, Tennessee, Miami, Illinois, Virginia #6 Georgia Tech* (iggymcfly, 5-2) vs. Ball State* (Vampiro69, 4-3) GT: Tennessee, Navy, Air Force, Florida State, Missouri, Kansas State BS: Alabama, Wake Forest, Wyoming, Miami, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State Tiebreaks: 57/53, 336/384 #7 Texas* (UTBroward, 6-1) vs. Ohio State* (Gert T, 0-7) TX: Texas Tech OS: Missouri #8 Miami of Ohio* PM (Hawk 34, 5-2) vs. Temple* PM (Ortonsault, 3-4) MOH: Louisville, Nebraska, Tennessee, Wyoming, Florida, Oklahoma State, Michigan, Virginia TU: Connecticut, Texas A&M, Alabama, Air Force, Kentucky, Kansas State, Illinois, Maryland Tiebreak: 64/69 #9 Nebraska* (Mecca, 5-2) vs. Penn State* (Nate*, 3-4) NE: Tennessee, Wake Forest, Florida, LSU PS: Alabama, Navy, Miami, Auburn Tiebreaks: 40/36, 210/195 #10 Hawaii* PM (Fokai, 6-1) vs. Michigan* (MFerXtreme87, 2-5) HI: Texas A&M, Kentucky, Florida State, Missouri MI: Nebraska, Florida, Miami, Texas Tech Tiebreak: 47/52 Virginia* (Edwin MacPhisto, 4-3) vs. Boston College* (HarleyQuinn, 0-7) VA: Texas A&M, Tennessee, Wyoming, Florida State, Missouri, Kansas State, Maryland BC: Nebraska, Alabama, Air Force, Miami, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Virginia Florida State* (King, 4-3) vs. Miami* (Spaceman Spiff, 2-5) FS: Rutgers, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State UM: South Florida, Nebraska, Kansas State Kent State* (JHawk, 5-2) vs. Rutgers* (the pinjockey, 3-4) KS: Tennessee, Florida State, Kansas State RU: Alabama, Miami, Oklahoma State Florida* PM (Urban Warfare, 4-3) vs. Kentucky* (Danville Wrestling, 2-5) FL: Rutgers, Tennessee, Wyoming, Miami KY: South Florida, Alabama, Air Force, Florida State Tiebreaks: 70/72, 423/250 Arizona* (UZI Suicide, 4-3) vs. Stanford* (Bored, 4-3) AZ: South Florida, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Illinois SU: Rutgers, Nebraska, Missouri, Michigan Tiebreak: 30/65 Oregon (nogoodnick, 4-3) vs. Washington* (Smues, 3-4) OR: Navy, Air Force, Florida, Kansas State WA: Wake Forest, Wyoming, Kentucky, Oklahoma State Tiebreak: 48/57 San Diego State* (the walkin' dude, 3-4) vs. UCLA* PM (phoenixrising, 3-4) SDS: South Florida, Kansas State, Virginia UCLA: Rutgers, Oklahoma State, Maryland Minnesota* (Vern Gagne, 3-4) vs. UTEP* (Angel Grace Blue, 2-5) MN: Nebraska, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Maryland UTEP: Texas A&M, Alabama, Navy, Missouri, Kansas State, Virginia Tiebreaks: 56/58, 435/360 Tennessee* PM (kkktookmybabyaway, 2-5) vs. Alabama* PM (AlwaysPissedOff, 1-6) TN: Rutgers, Connecticut, Missouri, Illinois AL: South Florida, Louisville, Texas Tech, Michigan Tiebreak: 56/51 USC* (Cartman, 2-5) vs. Notre Dame* (KingPK, 2-5) USC: Missouri, Oklahoma State, Illinois, Virginia ND: Texas Tech, Kansas State, Michigan, Maryland Tiebreak #2: 190/250

nogoodnick is late with his picks. PM'd Picks Florida - Urban Warfare THURSDAY Rutgers FRIDAY Louisville SATURDAY Penn State Nebraska Tennessee Wake Forest Wyoming Florida Miami Missouri Kansas State Michigan Maryland LSU Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Florida/Kentucky game? 70 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Texas Tech's Graham Harrell have against Missouri? 423 Tennessee - kkktookmybabyaway THURSDAY Rutgers FRIDAY Connecticut SATURDAY Penn State Nebraska Alabama Wake Forest Air Force Florida Florida State Missouri Kansas State Illinois Virginia LSU Tiebreak #1: 56 Tiebreak #2: 186 Buffalo - Carnival THURSDAY South Florida at Rutgers FRIDAY Louisville at Connecticut SATURDAY Penn State at Indiana Texas A&M at Nebraska Tennessee at Alabama Wake Forest at Navy Wyoming at Air Force Florida at Kentucky Miami at Florida State Texas Tech at Missouri Kansas State at Oklahoma State Michigan at Illinois Virginia at Maryland Auburn at LSU Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Florida/Kentucky game?57 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Texas Tech's Graham Harrell have against Missouri?286 UCLA - phoenixrising THURSDAY Rutgers FRIDAY Louisville SATURDAY Penn State Texas A&M Alabama Wake Forest Air Force Florida Florida State Missouri Oklahoma State Michigan Maryland LSU Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Florida/Kentucky game? 66 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Texas Tech's Graham Harrell have against Missouri? 400 Temple - Ortonsault THURSDAY South Florida (The real #1) FRIDAY Connecticut SATURDAY Penn State Texas A&M Alabama Wake Forest Air Force Kentucky Florida State Missouri Kansas State Illinois Maryland LSU 69/476 Miami of Ohio - Hawk 34 South Florida Louisville Penn State Nebraska Tennessee Wake Forest Wyoming Florida Florida State Missouri Oklahoma State Michigan Virginia LSU 64 163 Hawaii - Fokai South Florida Louisville Penn State Texas A&M Tennessee Wake Forest Air Force Kentucky Florida State Missouri Oklahoma State Michigan Maryland LSU 47/205 Syracuse - CanadianChris THURSDAY South Florida FRIDAY Louisville SATURDAY Penn State Nebraska Tennessee Wake Forest Air Force Florida Florida State Missouri Kansas State Michigan Maryland LSU Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Florida/Kentucky game? 65 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Texas Tech's Graham Harrell have against Missouri? 339 Alabama - AlwaysPissedOff South Florida Louisville Penn State Nebraska Alabama Wake Forest Air Force Florida Florida State Texas Tech Kansas State Michigan Virginia LSU TB #1: 51 TB #2: 348

I'd figured I'd take a break from the usual lists to tell a quick story about the only World Series game I ever had the chance to attend. It's a pretty well known game because it didn't end being played as scheduled and it was 18 years ago today. It was Tuesday, October 17th, 1989 as the Oakland A's were to play the San Francisco Giants in Game 3 of their Bay Bridge World Series at Candlestick Park. My Dad had bought tickets from Game 3 and 4 at Candlestick and he was going to take me to Game 3 and my brother to Game 4. Now you might wonder why as A's fans we'd have tickets to games in San Francisco and not Oakland but then you'd have to realize what a dump Candlestick Park was/is. The Oakland Coliseum today is thought of as one the worst ballparks around but at the time it was still regarded as good park and might as well have been Candem Yards compared to Candlestick. The A's had a larger season ticket base than the Giants at the time and with having the much nicer stadium the four games scheduled for Oakland were gone in an instant. Of course the games for Candlestick were gone quickly as well but there was actually people willing to give up those tickets for the right price unlike the games at the Coliseum. If I remember right I believe my Dad was able to buy our tickets off someone from he knew at work at $50 a piece in the nosebleed section. I don't think my Dad let me actually know how bad the seats really were but in the end would just be happy to be going to a World Series game especially with the A's out to a 2-0 series lead. My memories of the day are pretty sketchy. I remember my Dad had bought a World Series program for me before hand for me to read on the way to the game. With the early 5:15 start time start time to get the game in east coast primetime we only got there probably about 20 minutes before the first pitch. Since we were so close to the game starting we decided to grab food before we got to the seats since there was no way I'd leave my seat during the game. Just as we got on line for food the stadium started shaking. We were on a concession line that was below the upper deck of the stadium and I remember just looking up as I guess that was my natural instinct was to see if anything was gonna fall. My Dad grabbed and rushed me to the little overhang by the concessions. Just a hunch if the stadium actually collapsed we'd be dead but if we actually survived what a better place to be trapped than by the food? For those of us who were not in their seats there wasn't even 100% certainty that it was earthquake or if the fans shook stadium. I remember right after the stadium stoppedd shaking a loud roar went up in the stadium and I heard a Giants fan near by yell "that's how you start a fucking game!" It was definately felt like a big earhtquake but it went by so quick and everything pretty much seemed fine. I was scared shitless but at least I was still going to see a World Series game. Our seats were out towards rightfield and when we got to them I could see the leftfield foul pole was still shaking. I looked straight down the rightfield foul pole but one problem, you couldn't see rightfield at all from the angle of our seats and god damn did the field look far away. But again at least I was going to see a World Series game, if not really see the whole game itself with our view. Everyone seemed to think the game would be played although clearly delayed at that point. I can't remember at what time they called the game but shortly before that the gravity of the situation hit us when someone with a radio near by said this: "The Bay Bridge collapsed." That's a shit your pants moment right there. The image that went through my head was that the bridge went into the fucking water. What about the other bridges? How do we get home? As it turned out it was just a single portion of the upper deck of the bridge that collapse but at this point there was obvoiously going to be no baseball played that night. The rest of the night is a complete blur. I think my 11 year old brain had exploded that night and I was just worried about us getting home, although part of me was also excited by the prospect I might not have to school the next day. Although the Bay Bridge was the only bridge with major damage, all bridges were closed so we had to head south towards Santa Clara and go around the Bay to get home. This would normally be about a 40 minute drive but with so many people either trying to get home or get out of the city this turned into about a four hour trip just to get to the South Bay. Another problem that night was that because of the quake a lot of gas stations closed and we ended running out of gas in Santa Clara by the Great America theme park. On fumes my Dad got us into a hotel parking lot but as you can imagine that night all hotels were booked up. It was a very large hotel with a huge lobby and they were allowing people to come in without a room and sleep in the lobby which it appeared we'd end up doing. But my Dad was able to buy some gas from a gardner at the hotel from a lawnmower and enough to fill up to find an open gas station and get home. So about seven hours after the earthquake we were finally home. And I had to go to school. Fuck. So at the start of this I mentioned that this would be about the only chance I had to go to a World Series game. Of course everyone the series resumed 10 days later but I didn't go. Why? Becuase I was a big fucking pussy. Okay I guess in reality i was just a scared kid who was going through some post traumatic shit but on the other hand I was just a pussy, who also watched way too much of the post-earthquake news coverage. I'm one of those people who will watch non-stop disaster news coverage. I remember for weeks after 9/11 watching the footage of the planes going into the WTC over and over and over and over again no matter how tough it was to watch. Every 9/11 when that footage starts getting replayed on t.v. again I always end up watching it. Back in '89 after the earthquake I just kept watching the news coverage of the earthquake and the home video footage shot in the immediate aftermath of the quake. This in particular of a car falling down the collapsed portion of the bridge was played non-stop and I ended up just scaring myself into not going to the next game. To this day I'm actually not scared of earthquakes at all but I was then. So I regret that I've never had another chance since to go to a World Series game but I suppose also I should be happy the earthquake didn't last longer or otherwise I might have been a Candlestick Park sandwich.

He did give up the tickets which I think my brother has hated me for to this day as if I had gone to Game 3 when the series resumed he would have gone to Game 4 and saw the A's win the series. I had tickets to Game 1 of last year's World Series if the A's had advanced but those became worthless pretty quick thanks to the Tigers.

Apologies to Gert T as he did submit his picks as last week after all but I, and everyone else, completely overlooked them and I usually even double check before noting who made their picks late. He picked 8 out of 14 right but his opponent JHawk was closer on the tiebreak so JHawk still wins the match-up. In case anyone is wondering the adjustment on that score didn't have any effect on the Top 10. My Picks Rutgers Louisville Penn State Nebraska Tennessee Wake Forest Air Force Florida Florida State Missouri Kansas State Michigan Maryland LSU 65/358

Leftfielders 2004 1. Barry Bonds 15. Pat Burrell 30. Reed Johnson 2005 1. Manny Ramirez 15. Rondell White 30. Larry Bigbie 2006 1. Manny Ramirez 15. David DeJesus 30. Brad Wilkerson 2007 1. Matt Holliday, Rockies 2. Adam Dunn, Reds 3. Barry Bonds, Giants 4. Carlos Lee, Astros 5. Alfonso Soriano, Cubs 6. Pat Burrell, Phillies 7. Raul Ibanez, Mariners 8. Carl Crawford, Devil Rays 9. Eric Byrnes, Diamondbacks 10. Josh Willingham, Marlins 11. Manny Ramirez, Red Sox 12. Hideki Matsui, Yankees 13. Moises Alou, Mets 14. Ryan Church, Nationals 15. Chris Duncan, Cardinals 16. Matt Diaz, Braves 17. Garret Anderson, Angels 18. Reggie Willits, Angels 19. Luis Gonzalez, Dodgers 20. Jason Kubel, Twins 21. Shannon Stewart, A's 22. Geoff Jenkins, Brewers 23. Ryan Ludwick, Cardinals 24. Jason Bay, Pirates 25. Willie Harris, Braves 26. Frank Catalanotto, Blue Jays 27. Jay Payton, Orioles 28. Emil Brown, Royals 29. Rob Mackowiak, White Sox/Padres 30. Craig Monroe, Tigers/Cubs