Bored

And somehow you've managed to win three in a row in the pick 'em contest. Maybe I need to make it harder... Oh and here's Lamar Thomas' rap sheet, courtesy of Deadspin. I fully expect he'll get a job at ESPN by next year.

This was a weak year for corner outfielders. For example look at 2004 and you'll see Vladimir Guerrero's name missing despite being the deserving A.L. MVP but there just happened to be three players at the same position who were arguably better than him in the N.L. that year. But in 2006 he's 3rd despite having a down year, relative to his lofty standards at least. Cuddyer definitely had a breakout year which pains me cause I can't stand the guy. He talked some shit about A's fans a couple of years ago and nevermind that he kills the A's as well.

Unless he gets hired elsewhere which would be some motivation to promote him to manager. He did interview for the Marlins and Devil Rays jobs last year, if I remember correctly, and will be interviewing for the Texas job this week. When Macha was all but gone it seemed last offseason the bench coach Bob Geren was actually the one who was believed to be favored by Beane to get the job, not Washington.

They looked perfectly fine against the Twins. And really outside the 2003 ALDS there isn't a playoff loss the A's have had under Beane where the A's had glaring mental errors. Jeremy Giambi being a slow, fat fuck doesn't count as a mental error. For what it's worth I actually thought the A's defense was overrated by the media especially when you factor not having Bobby Crosby, a hobbled Eric Chavez at 3rd, and Mark Kotsay with a bad back in center. Throw in Ellis getting hurt the defensive team they A's fielded in the ALCS was average at best. And for Macha being fired...hooray, I guess. Again I'm not a fan of most mangers and odds are the next guy will be just as mediocre as Macha and that includes Ron Washington. Nice guy, great at coaching infield defense, but who knows how good of a manger he'd be.

Macha hasn't been fired, yet. Remember last offseason he was effectively gone when him and the A's couldn't agree on a new contract but when he couldn't land a job elsewhere he came back. I've never been a fan of his but I'm not a fan of most managers. Part of me wants him back just so I don't have to hear from other A's fans on how they'll commit mass suicide if Ron Washington, their 3rd base coach, isn't hired as his replacement.

"You don't come into the OB, baby, you don't come in here talkin' smack!" Anyways 31 players total have been suspended as a result of the fight, 13 for Miami. Not that it really matters for them since they play Duke next.

2004 Top 3 1. Bobby Abreu 2. J.D. Drew 3. Lance Berkman 2005 Top 3 1. Brian Giles 2. Vladimir Guerrero 3. Gary Sheffield 2006 Rightfielder Rankings 1. Jermaine Dye, White Sox 2. Bobby Abreu, Phillies/Yankees 3. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels 4. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners 5. Michael Cuddyer, Twins 6. J.D. Drew, Dodgers 7. Alex Rios, Blue Jays 8. Magglio Ordonez, Tigers 9. Brian Giles, Padres 10. Brad Hawpe, Rockies 11. Austin Kearns, Reds/Nationals 12. Moises Alou, Giants 13. Jacque Jones, Cubs 14. Mark DeRosa, Rangers 15. Geoff Jenkins, Brewers 16. Casey Blake, Indians 17. Milton Bradley, A's 18. Juan Encarnacion, Cardinals 19. Nick Markakis, Orioles 20. Xavier Nady, Mets/Pirates 21. Jeff Francoeur, Braves 22. Randy Winn, Giants 23. Shawn Green, Diamondbacks/Mets 24. Trot Nixon, Red Sox 25. Kevin Mench, Rangers/Brewers 26. Jeremy Hermida, Marlins 27. Reggie Sanders, Royals 28. Jason Lane, Astros 29. Jeromy Burnitz, Pirates 30. Jose Guillen, Nationals

Juan Uribe and his brother are reportedly being sought after by Dominican authorties for shooting two men, although neither fatally.

I've let Loaded Glove know that he can still be in the contest but only when/if he gets his picks in by the first deadline. Also pm'd MarvinisaLunatic to see if they wanted to take Maryland back. It's another two Thursday game week. Deadline #1: Thursday, October 19th, 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST -Lose out on both Thursday games Deadline #2: Friday, October 21st, Noon EST/9:00 AM PST -Replacement picks, can't win by tiebreak Week 8 Match-ups #3 Auburn* PM (Agent of Oblivion, 4-3) vs. #6 Kentucky* (Danville Wrestling, 5-2) - GAME OF THE WEEK #4 Miami* (Spaceman Spiff, 4-3) vs. #7 Hawaii* PM (Will Scarlet, 4-3) #1 Oregon State (Princess Leena, 6-1) vs. San Diego State* PM (The Last Samurai, 3-4) #2 Oregon* PM (nogoodnick, 7-0) vs. Kansas State* (Loaded Glove, 2-5) #5 Syracuse* (CanadianChris, 6-1) vs. UTEP* (Angel Grace Blue, 4-3) #8 South Carolina* (Cuban Linx, 4-3) vs. LSU* PM (teke184, 4-3) #9 Virginia* PM (Edwin MacPhisto, 6-1) vs. Boise State* (bravesfan, 2-5) #10 Georgia Tech* PM (iggymcfly, 5-2) vs. Florida State* (Kingfothe909, 1-6) Minnesota* (Vern Gagne, 5-2) vs. Oklahoma (Vampiro69, 4-3) Connecticut* PM (Ortonsault*, 3-4) vs. Texas* (UTBroward, 3-4) Tennessee (Sex Machine Gun, 4-3) vs. Alabama* PM (AlwaysPissedOff, 0-7) Notre Dame* (Lando Griffin, 4-3) vs. UCLA* PM (phoenixrising, 6-1) Stanford* (Bored, 3-4) vs. Arizona State* PM (Spicy McHaggis, 4-3) Temple* PM (Ortonsault, 3-4) vs. Miami of Ohio* PM (Hawk 34, 2-5) Michigan* (the pinjockey*, 5-2) vs. USC* (Cartman, 3-4) Maryland* (Lando Griffin*, 4-3) vs. San Jose State* PM (kkktookmybabyaway, 3-4) Florida* PM (Urban Warfare, 3-4) vs. Florida International* (Vitamin X, 2-5) Kent State* (JHawk, 4-3) vs. Ohio State (Gert T, 1-6) Rutgers* (the pinjockey, 2-5) vs. Texas A&M* PM (Secret Agent, 2-5) Buffalo* (Carnival, 1-6) vs. Penn State* (IK Cool Jew, 2-5) Week 8 Games to Make Picks For THURSDAY North Carolina at Virginia Utah at New Mexico SATURDAY Michigan State at Northwestern N.C. State at Maryland Texas at Nebraska Rutgers at Pittsburgh Wisconsin at Purdue South Carolina at Vanderbilt Kansas at Baylor Boston College at Florida State Texas Tech at Iowa State Oregon State at Arizona UTEP at Houston Georgia Tech at Clemson Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Georgia Tech/Clemson game? Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Texas' Colt McCoy have against Nebraska?

They had a couple of interim managers in there but otherwise it's been those three over the last 25 years.

Polanco actually had a shitty year in the regular season. And besides the Phillies had to trade him because they had Chase Utley at 2nd and over at 3rd they had...um, nevermind.

USC is #2 because they've played the toughest schedule of the unbeatens, plain and simple. All the whining about them is going to be moot because they are unlikely to go undefeated but if they manage to do so they will deserve to go the Fiesta Bowl, Take 2.

Computer ranking notes. -USC is #1 in all but one of them. -Ohio State is #3 in all but one of them. -West Virginia is #14 overall. -Rutgers is #10 overall. -Tulsa is #20 overall which is why they cracked the Top 25 despite not even having a vote in the Coaches poll.

1. Ohio State 2. USC 3. Michigan 4. Auburn 5. West Virginia 6. Florida 7. Louisville 8. Notre Dame 9. Texas 10. California Waiting to find out the rest of the rankings since FOX only showed the Top 10.

One thing to remember that I don't think some people quite grasp from week to week is when it comes to your total correct picks there is about a one or two pick difference usually between the team ranked ahead or behind you. And because of that we have more CONTROVERSY~...noogoodnick remains the last unbeaten but they lose the #1 spot. Leena's big week has pushed her into sole posession of the #1 spot in correct picks for the year and has now grabbed the #1 spot in the overall rankings. There's also other controversies as Spiff makes a huge leap back into to the Top 5 while iggymcfly drops three spots even though he won after last week when he jumped three spots after losing. Ain't this fun? Of note the Top 4 in the overall rankings are all in the Top 5 correct picks. The one team not in the overall Top 4? SilverPhoenix who's had bad luck with a 3-4 record. Bored Championship Rankings thru Week 7 1. Oregon State - Princess Leena 2.75 2. Oregon - nogoodnick 5.05 3. Auburn - Agent of Oblivion 6.25 4. Miami - Spaceman Spiff 6.85 5. Syracuse - CanadianChris 7.3 6. Kentucky - Danville Wrestling 7.9 7. Hawaii - Will Scarlet 9.25 8. South Carolina - Cuban Linx 9.4 9. Virginia - Edwin MacPhisto 10.0 10. Georgia Tech - iggymcfly 11.7 Other Receiving Votes: Connecticut (SilverPhoenix), Minnesota (Vern Gagne), Notre Dame (Lando Griffin), Tennessee (Sex Machine Gun)

For the record, the touchdown by Auburn changed the result of three different match-ups. Week 7 Final Results #2 Oregon State (Princess Leena) 11, #4 Hawaii (Will Scarlet) 8 #7 Georgia Tech (iggymcfly) 7, #8 Tennessee (Sex Machine Gun) 7; iggy wins by tiebreak #1 Oregon (nogoodnick) 9, UCLA (phoenixrising) 5 Stanford (Bored) 9, #3 Syracuse (CanadianChris) 8 #5 Kentucky (Danville Wrestling) 9, LSU (teke184) 8 #6 Auburn (Agent of Oblivion) 8, Florida (Urban Warfare) 7 #9 Virginia (Edwin MacPhisto) 8, Maryland (Lando Griffin*) 7 Boise State (bravesfan) 8, #10 Notre Dame (Lando Griffin) 7 South Carolina (Cuban Linx) 8, Temple (Ortonsault) 8; Cuban wins by tiebreak Miami (Spaceman Spiff) 10, Florida International (Vitamin X) 7 Minnesota (Vern Gagne) 8, Kansas State (bravesfan*) 8; Vern wins by tiebreak Michigan (the pinjockey*) 8, Penn State (IK Cool Jew) 6 Connecticut (SilverPhoenix) 11, Texas A&M (Secret Agent) 6 USC (Cartman) 7, Arizona State (Spicy McHaggis) 7; Cartman wins by tiebreak Texas (UTBroward) 11, Rutgers (the pinjockey) 8 UTEP (Angel Grace Blue) 9, Oklahoma (Vampiro69) 9; AGB wins by tiebreak Miami of Ohio (Hawk 34) 11, Buffalo (Carnival) 9 Kent State (JHawk) 10, Alabama (AlwaysPissedOff) 9 San Diego State (The Last Samurai) 7, Ohio State (Gert T) 6 San Jose State (kkktookmybabyaway) 8, Florida State (Kingofthe909) 6 Conference Standings Southeastern Seven 1. Kentucky (3-0, 5-2) 1. Auburn (3-1, 4-3) 3. LSU (2-1, 4-3) 4. Tennessee (1-1, 4-3) 5. Florida (2-3, 3-4) 6. South Carolina (1-2, 4-3) 7. FIU (0-2, 2-5) 7. Alabama (0-2, 0-7) Western Atlantic 1. Hawaii (2-0, 4-3) 2. Virginia (2-1, 6-1) 2. Georgia Tech (2-1, 5-2) 4. Miami (1-1, 4-3) 4. San Jose State (2-2, 3-4) 6. Maryland* (1-2, 4-3) 6. Boise State (1-2, 2-5) 8. Florida State (1-3, 1-6) Big MAC 1. Minnesota (3-1, 5-2) 1. Temple (3-1, 3-4) 1. Michigan* (3-1, 5-2) 4. Kent State (2-2, 4-3) 4. Miami of Ohio (1-1, 2-5) 4. Ohio State (1-1, 1-6) 7. Penn State (1-3, 2-5) 8. Buffalo (0-3, 1-6) Pac-8 1. Oregon (4-0, 7-0) 2. UCLA (2-1, 6-1) 2. USC (2-1, 3-4) 4. Oregon State (1-1, 6-1) 4. Notre Dame (1-1, 4-3) 6. Arizona State (1-2, 4-3) 7. San Diego State (0-2, 3-4) 8. Stanford (0-3, 3-4) Big 8 1. Syracuse (2-0, 6-1) 1. UTEP (2-0, 4-3) 3. Oklahoma (2-1, 4-3) 3. Texas (2-1, 3-4) 5. Connecticut (1-1, 3-4) 6. Kansas State* (1-2, 2-5) 7. Rutgers (0-2, 2-5) 7. Texas A&M (0-2, 2-5)

Hmmm I might have to join the "USC is overrated" bandwagon as they've let ASU comeback from 21-0 to tie the game up now on an interception return for a touchdown. Suddenly the offense can't move the ball against a very poor ASU defense.

Hawaii scores 68 points against Fresno State. Colt Brennan was 32 of 39 for 409 yards and 5 touchdowns. Fresno has just gone into the tank since the USC game last year.

Not that I had any real insight but hey only four wins off and right on the other two points. No gravy though.

Considering that my favorite team in sports was just eliminated on a walk off homerun, I feel pretty good. Going into today I just wanted the A's to pull out one win and then let the Tigers celebrate at home on Sunday as I didn't really want the A's to get my hopes up by winning both games this weekend. Well don't worry about having my heartbroken now. But this series was effectively over after the 4th inning in Game 2 when Esteban Loaiza failed to get a shutdown inning after a Milton Bradley homerun in the 3rd gave the A's a 3-1 lead and for the first time some momentum in the series but it was quickly dashed by four Tiger runs. It was painfully obvious at that point that the Tigers were on a roll that can't be stopped. Tonight I'll just need to avoid the highlights and avoid reading any lame A's message boards talking about how the A's have no heart and how Billy Beane is a shitty GM. Considering everything that went wrong for the A's this year it is amazing they came this far. Really the shockingly healthy Frank Thomas was the only thing that really broke the A's way this year. They had injury plagued and/or underachieving years from key players such as Eric Chavez, Bobby Crosby, Rich Harden, Huston Street, Mark Kotsay, Milton Bradley, and Mark Ellis. As you've seen by my player rankings at least so far on the offensive side this was simply on paper not a team that you'd think would have won 93 games and swept a very good Twins in the ALDS. The future doesn't look too bright with a depleted farm system and a scary amount of young talent down in Anaheim but this is the most satisfied I've been at the end of the year with an A's team since 2000.

Well if your gonna get swept might as well go out with a bang. Thank you Huston, you didn't make me regret turning the t.v. off after the 6th and just following online. I blame A-Rod.

Colorado gets it's first win of the year in shocking fashion by shutting out Texas Tech, 23-0. Edit: Nevermind, Yahoo's scoreboard was wrong and already had it as a final and Tech did finally manage to score, 23-6 late in the 4th.

Garrett Wolfe has just 25 yards rushing today against Western Michigan.

Hey A's with a lead. Hasn't happened too often. Of course now their only player having a good series in Bradley might not be able to continue in this game.

ESPN doing a good job with the bonus coverage of several games after dumping Minnesota/Wisconsin. Vanderbilt up 14-13 on Georgia. Okay nevermind, now they've decided to go back to that game for no reason.