Bored

If Colorado finishes a clear 2nd in the conference they'll go the Cotton Bowl. They'd need to beat Iowa State tonight, Texas Tech to beat Oklahoma next week, and then beat Nebraska in two weeks. If Colorado loses either game before the Big XII title game, then the winner of Texas Tech/Oklahoma would go to the Cotton Bowl.

Are you dropping out of the contest? If you do you aren't guarenteed a spot next year.

Virginia Tech would only not go to the Gator Bowl at this point if they crack the Top 4 of the BCS (and assuming whoever #3 is won their conference) which would give them automatic bid, which they still have a shot at doing. With Texas Tech losing today, if Colorado loses to Iowa State suddenly Oklahoma has a realistic shot at the Cotton Bowl.

I guarentee he'll get at least $10 million/year. He's two years younger and the last two years he's been better than Renteria. I doubt he'll get a six-year deal but I can see a team biting on a five-year deal. Seriously no one should be surprised by any contract this offseason. The White Sox already set the tone with the $14 million/year offer to Konerko. This offseason is going to be even worse than last year in the number bad contracts. Then in a couple years owners will cry poor again, have another near work stoppage, and then we'll get another "market correction." Awww the circle of life.

Texans - 14 points Detroit Baltimore Houston Buffalo N.Y. Giants Miami San Francisco Washington Denver Carolina Atlanta St. Louis Cleveland Dallas

You're going to get Louisville vs. Florida State or Virginia Tech most likley in the Gator Bowl.

Replacement pick assignments if anyone of these people don't submit picks by Noon EST/9:00 PST tommorrow: South Carolina (Cuban Linx) - Will Scarlet Illinois (Matt Young) - Lando Griffin Kent State (JHawk) - Vitamin X (Damaramu, if he submits picks) Oklahoma (Damarmu) - the pinjockey (Vitamin X, if JHawk submits picks)

Just bumping this with a fun Boise State/Fresno State going on and since the thread was almost near the bottom of the page.

What should the A's do with Barry Zito? Trade him to free up cash to sign or trade for a power hitter? Sign him to a contract extension? Let him leave through free agency after next year and get draft picks?

Whole lot of late ones this week: Agent Bond34, Cuban Linx, Damaramu, Matt Young, Cartman, bravesfan, JHawk. Who You Need to Win #5 Alabama* PM (AlwaysPissedOff, 8-2) vs. #7 LSU* PM (teke184, 7-3) - GAME OF THE WEEK AL: Maryland, Mississippi, Western Michigan, Virginia, Alabama LSU: North Carolina, Arkansas, Central Michigan, Georgia Tech, LSU #9 Florida (Agent Bond34, 6-4) vs. #10 South Carolina (Cuban Linx, 7-3) UF: Central Michigan, Alabama, Stanford, Auburn SC: Western Michigan, LSU, Oregon State, Georgia Tiebreak #2: 167/166 #1 Georgia Tech* PM (iggymcfly, 7-3) vs. Virginia* (Edwin MacPhisto, 5-5) GT: Central Michigan, UAB UVA: Western Michigan, Central Florida Tiebreak: 62/66 #2 Miami* (Spaceman Spiff, 6-4) vs. Tennessee* (Kotzenjunge, 4-6) UM: Fresno State, Missouri, Virginia, LSU, UAB, Georgia TN: Boise State, Baylor, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Central Florida, Auburn Tiebrek: 62/75 #3 Syracuse* (CanadianChris, 7-3) vs. Troy* (Angel Grace Blue, 1-9) SU: Arkansas, Nebraska, Florida, Virginia, LSU, Colorado, Georgia Troy: Mississippi, Kansas State, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Iowa State, Auburn #4 Texas A&M* (Secret Agent, 6-4) vs. Oklahoma (Damaramu/the pinjockey, 4-6) A&M: Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Virginia, UAB, Georgia OK: No point for Thur, Mississippi, Baylor, Kansas State, Georgia Tech, Central Florida, Florida #6 Ohio State* (Gert T, 6-4) vs. Northwestern* (Kingofthe909, 5-5) OSU: Virginia, UAB, Colorado NW: Georgia Tech, Central Florida, Iowa State #8 Penn State* (therealworldschampion, 6-4) vs. Notre Dame* (Lando Griffin, 5-5) PS: Maryland, Florida, Iowa State ND: North Carolina, South Carolina, Colorado Hawaii* (Will Scarlet, 5-5) vs. Stanford* (Bored, 5-5) HI: Western Michigan, Stanford, Colorado Stan: Central Michigan, Oregon State, Iowa State Maryland* (MarvinisaLunatic, 6-4) vs. Connecticut* (DragonLordKaiba, 4-6) MD: Mississippi, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, UAB, Iowa Stae, Auburn UC: Arkansas, Kansas State, Virginia, Central Florida, Colorado, Georgia Tiebreak: 75/52 Illinois (Matt Young/Lando Griffin, 6-4) vs. Minnesota* (Vern Gagne, 5-5) IL: No point for Thur, South Carolina, Virginia MN: Florida, Georgia Tech USC (Cartman, 4-6) vs. San Diego State* PM (Porter, 5-5) USC: No point for Thur, Maryland, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Alabama, Oregon State, Auburn SDS: North Carolina, Mississippi, Baylor, Kansas State, LSU, Stanford, Georgia Nebraska* (CarnivalizComing, 4-6) vs. Auburn* PM (Agent of Oblivion, 6-4) Neb: Fresno State, Missouri, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Colorado Aub: Boise State, Baylor, Kansas State, Virginia, Iowa State UCLA* PM (phoenixrising, 4-6) vs. Arizona State* (Spicy McHaggis, 5-5) UCLA: Maryland, Mississippi, Kansas State, Florida, Western Michigan, UAB, Colorado, Auburn ASU: North Carolina, Arkansas, Nebraska, South Carolina, Central Michigan, Central Florida, Iowa State, Georgia Tiebreak: 49/77 Washington State (bravesfan, 5-5) vs. Oregon* (nogoodnick, 4-6) Wazzu: No point for Thur, Florida, Alabama, UAB, Iowa State OR: South Carolina, LSU, Central Florida, Colorado Kent State (JHawk/Vitamin X, 4-6) vs. Buffalo* (Angel Grace Blue*, 1-9) KS: No point for Thur, Baylor, Nebraska, N.C. State, Florida, LSU, Central Florida Buff: Missouri, Kansas State, Boston College, South Carolina, Alabama, UAB Florida International* (Vitamin X, 4-6) vs. Rutgers* (the pinjockey, 3-7) FIU: Fresno State, Nebraska, N.C. State Rut: Boise State, Kansas State, Boston College

PM Picks San Diego State - Porter THURSDAY Boise State at Fresno State SATURDAY Maryland at North Carolina Arkansas at Mississippi Baylor at Missouri Kansas State at Nebraska N.C. State at Boston College Florida at South Carolina Central Michigan at Western Michigan Georgia Tech at Virginia LSU at Alabama Central Florida at UAB Stanford at Oregon State Colorado at Iowa State Auburn at Georgia Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Boise State/Fresno State game? 74 Tiebreak #2: How many rushing yards will Auburn's Kenny Irons have against Georgia? 65 Georgia Tech - iggymcfly THURSDAY Boise State at Fresno State SATURDAY Maryland at North Carolina Arkansas at Mississippi Baylor at Missouri Kansas State at Nebraska N.C. State at Boston College Florida at South Carolina Central Michigan at Western Michigan Georgia Tech at Virginia LSU at Alabama Central Florida at UAB Stanford at Oregon State Colorado at Iowa State Auburn at Georgia Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Boise State/Fresno State game? 62 Tiebreak #2: How many rushing yards will Auburn's Kenny Irons have against Georgia? 158[/b UCLA - phoenixrising THURSDAY Fresno State SATURDAY Maryland Mississippi Missouri Kansas State Boston College Florida Western Michigan Virginia LSU UAB Oregon State Colorado Auburn Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Boise State/Fresno State game? 49 Tiebreak #2: How many rushing yards will Auburn's Kenny Irons have against Georgia? 105 Auburn - Agent of Oblivion THURSDAY Boise State SATURDAY at North Carolina at Mississippi Baylori Kansas State at Boston College Florida at Western Michigan at Virginia LSU at UAB at Oregon State at Iowa State at Georgia Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Boise State/Fresno State game? 68 Tiebreak #2: How many rushing yards will Auburn's Kenny Irons have against Georgia? 79 LSU - teke184 THURSDAY Boise State at Fresno State SATURDAY Maryland at North Carolina Arkansas at Mississippi Baylor at Missouri Kansas State at Nebraska N.C. State at Boston College Florida at South Carolina Central Michigan at Western Michigan Georgia Tech at Virginia LSU at Alabama Central Florida at UAB Stanford at Oregon State Colorado at Iowa State Auburn at Georgia Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Boise State/Fresno State game? 62 Tiebreak #2: How many rushing yards will Auburn's Kenny Irons have against Georgia? 120 Alabama - AlwaysPissedOff Fresno State Maryland Mississippi Missouri Nebraska Boston College Florida Western Michigan Virginia Alabama Central Florida Oregon State Colorado Auburn TB #1: 56 TB #2: 93

Roger Clemens Component ERA: 1.99 WHIP: 1.01 Value Over Replacement Player: 80.6 Runs Saved Above Average: 56 Fielding Indpendent Pitching ERA: 2.85 ERA+: 247 Win Shares (pitching only): 25.5 Andy Pettite ERC: 2.40 WHIP: 1.03 VORP: 72.5 RSAA: 47 FIP: 3.05 ERA+: 194 WS: 24.4 Dontrelle Willis ERC: 2.73 WHIP: 1.13 VORP: 68.2 RSAA: 44 FIP: 2.97 ERA+: 165 WS: 25.1 Chris Carpenter ERC: 2.49 WHIP: 1.06 VORP: 68.5 RSAA: 41 FIP: 2.88 ERA+: 163 WS: 22.7

My Picks Fresno State North Carolina Mississippi Missouri Nebraska Boston College Florida Central Michigan Georgia Tech LSU Central Florida Oregon State Iowa State Georgia Tiebreaks: 59/102

1. Bartolo Colon (17) 118 2. Mariano Rivera (8) 68 3. Johan Santana (3) 51 4. Cliff Lee 8 5. Mark Buehrle 5 6t. Jon Garland 1 6t. Kevin Millwood Everyone knows Johan Santana was the best pitcher in the A.L. but writers can't get over the win/loss record. How'd Cliff Lee get more votes than Buehrle?

How did Cano get fucked? He was lucky to receive so many votes. VORP Joe Blanton 44.3 Gustavo Chacin 38.4 Jonny Gomes 36.9 Huston Street 33.3 Tadahito Iguchi 30.9 Scott Kazmir 30.4 Robinson Cano 27.5 Win Shares Iguchi 17 Blanton 14 Gomes 14 Chacin 14 Kazmir 13 Street 13 Cano 12

Hey I was convinced two years ago that the BCS would talk the Orange Bowl into taking Ohio State over Florida State to play Miami in a rematch of the title game from the year before but geography won out. If UCLA had gone undefeated into the USC game and lost I guarentee they would have been picked for the Fiesta Bowl. Now it's slightly less likely with Oregon but really don't be surprised if it happens. Of course if Ohio State loses Michigan they won't be in the BCS and I'm sure Oregon State would love to ruin Oregon's BCS chances in the Civil War. One scenerio that could lead to Notre Dame/Penn State is if Florida wins out (South Carolina and Florida State left). They'd crack the Top 12 and the Orange Bowl then would probably then take them leaving Penn State for the Fiesta Bowl. That'd be good news for Oregon if that happened as Notre Dame would fall into the Orange Bowl's lap and then obviously the Fiesta wouldn't match-up two teams from the same conference in Penn State/Ohio State.

The A.J. Burnett sweepstakes is going to get ugly and he's going to be so vastly overpaid I think the "winner" of it will really end up being a loser when they unload a Darren Dreifort like contract. If a team wants to improve it's starting pitching this offseason it needs to look for it in a trade. I can't wait to see when someone gives Jarrod Washburn $10+ million/year.

For those clamoring for the Notre Dame/Penn State Fiesta Bowl as things stand right now it would be surprising if it were to happen and here is why. If the season were over here would be the curretn automatic bids: #1 USC (Pac-10 Champ) #2 Texas (Big XII Champ) #3 Alabama (SEC Champ) #4 Miami (ACC Champ) #5 Penn State (Big Ten Champ) #11 Notre Dame (automatic at-large) #14 West Virginia (Big East Champ) The order of priority this year is Orange, Fiesta, Sugar. Right now USC and Texas obviously go to the Rose Bowl so the Fiesta Bowl then gets first pick by losing their automatic bids (that being in the Big XII and Pac-10 as the Pac-10 champ goes to the Fiesta Bowl when the Rose Bowl is the national title game). Fiesta Bowl obviously picks Notre Dame. Then Orange is next and they obviously take Miami (required to take ACC or Big East Champ). Sugar then is required to take Alabama. Now it gets interesting because the Orange Bowl gets the next pick, not the Fiesta. So along with Penn State and West Virginia they have these at-large options: Virginia Tech, LSU, Ohio State, Georgia, Oregon, Texas Tech. LSU and Ohio State might interest them but most likely they are going to pick Penn State. Then it goes back to the Fiesta Bowl in which they would probably take Oregon. Fiesta prefers west coast schools and has no interest in the ACC or SEC although they would probably strongly consider Ohio State. Then the Sugar gets left with West Virignia. So as these stand right now this is how the BCS looks: Rose: USC vs. Texas Orange: Miami vs. Penn State Fiesta: Notre Dame vs. Oregon (or Ohio State) Sugar: Alabama vs. West Virginia Obviously the rankings won't be staying the same with the SEC title picture still very unsettled. Anyways I just think Notre Dame/Penn State in the Fiesta might be a longshot unless the Orange Bowl does something surprising with it's 2nd pick.

Network/Basic Cable Schedule TUESDAY Southern Miss at Marshall, 7:30/4:30 PM, ESPN2 WEDNESDAY #14 West Virginia at Cincinnati, 7:30/4:30 PM, ESPN2 THURSDAY Boise State at #22 Fresno State, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN FRIDAY Rutgers at #25 Louisville, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN2 SATURDAY Northwestern at #8 Ohio State, Noon/9:00 AM, ABC* Texas A&M at Oklahoma, Noon/9:00 AM, ABC* #19 Florida State at Clemson, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN Indiana at #21 Michigan, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN2 Navy at #11 Notre Dame, 1:00 PM/10:00 AM, NBC #7 LSU at #3 Alabama, 3:30/12:30 PM, CBS #1 USC at California, 3:30/12:30 PM, ABC* Kansas at #2 Texas, 3:30/12:30 PM, ABC* #4 Miami at Wake Forest, 3:30/12:30 PM, ABC* #23 Georgia Tech at Virginia, 3:30/12:30 PM, ABC* Iowa at #16 Wisconsin, 3:30/12:30 PM, ESPN Arizona State at #15 UCLA, 7:00/4:00 PM, ABC* #18 Colorado at Iowa State, 7:00/4:00 PM, FSN N.C. State at Boston College, 7:15/4:15 PM, ESPN2 #20 Auburn at #9 Georgia, 7:45/4:45 PM, ESPN #10 Oregon at Washington State, 10:15/7:15 PM, FSN Other Cable/PPV Games SATURDAY Michigan State at #24 Minnesota, Noon/9:00 AM, GamePlan Massachusetts at Army, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPNU Illinois at Purdue, Noon/9:00 AM, GamePlan Maryland at North Carolina, Noon/9:00 AM, JP* #13 Florida at South Carolina, 12:30 PM/9:30 AM, JP* Memphis at Tennessee, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, GamePlan San Diego State at Colorado State, 3:00 PM/Noon, GamePlan Central Florida at UAB, 4:00/1:00 PM, CSTV Louisiana Tech at Idaho, 5:00/2:00 PM, GamePlan BYU at Wyoming, 6:00/3:00 PM, GamePlan New Mexico at Utah, 6:30/3:30 PM, GamePlan Florida International at Louisiana-Lafayette, 7:00/4:00 PM, GamePlan Utah State at Hawaii, 11:05/8:05 PM, GamePlan All Other Division I-A Games SATURDAY Connecticut at Pittsburgh Buffalo at Kent State Louisiana-Monroe at Middle Tennessee State North Texas at Florida Atlantic South Florida at Syracuse Baylor at Missouri Arkansas at Mississippi Kansas State at Nebraska #12 Texas Tech at Oklahoma State Kentucky at Vanderbilt Central Michigan at Western Michigan East Carolina at Tulsa Tulane at Rice Nevada at New Mexico State Washington at Arizona Ball State at Eastern Michigan Stanford at Oregon State Troy at Arkansas State UNLV at #17 TCU Texas Southern at UTEP

Nothing too interesting this week. 1. USC 2. Texas 3. Alabama 4. Miami 5. Penn State 6. Virginia Tech 7. LSU 8. Ohio State 9. Georgia 10. Oregon 11. Notre Dame 12. Texas Tech 13. Florida 14. West Virginia 15. UCLA 16. Wisconsin 17. TCU 18. Colorado 19. Florida State 20. Auburn 21. Michigan 22. Fresno State 23. Georgia Tech 24. Minnesota 25. Louisville

Street was great but personally I thought the ROY was Joe Blanton. Lack of run support killed is win/loss record. A.L. 1. Huston Street, (15) 97 2. Robinson Cano, (4) 57 3. Jonny Gomes, (2) 39 4. Tadahito Iguchi, (5) 30 5. Gustavo Chacin, (2) 14 6t. Nick Swisher, 6 6t. Joe Blanton, 6 8. Jesse Crain, 2 9. Scott Kazmir, 1 N.L. 1. Ryan Howard, (19) 109 2. Willy Taveras, (7) 78 3. Jeff Francoeur, (2) 60 4. Garrett Atkins, (1) 17 5. Zach Duke, (3) 16 6t. Jeff Francis, 3 6t. Rickie Weeks, 3 8t. Clint Barmes, 1 8t. Jesse Vargas, 1

When it comes to a 16 team playoff my suggestion for the non-BCS conferences is to just give the highest ranked non-BCS conference champ an automatic bid. Most years there is only one non-BCS conference school that really stands out. Other idea would be if you win your conference and are ranked in the Top 25 of the BCS (or whatever you'd call such a poll if there was a playoff) you get an automatic bid.

This article is a couple of weeks old but apparantly the ACC is now souring on the Gator Bowl: http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/102605/3388985.shtml This probably has to do with the ACC playing it's title game in Jacksonville and not wanting to have a school play back-to-back games in the same location, which is a likley scenerio with Florida State this year.

On that subject because Notre Dame is now almost a lock for the Fiesta Bowl, the Gator Bowl now gets left with possibly South Florida. Rutgers isn't a draw and Louisville lost to USF. They should probably look elsewhere for a conference to take it's 2nd place team from with the current state of the Big East after this year. I'd like them to grab the Pac-10 but geographically wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. It just annoys me that the Pac-10 doesn't have it's 2nd place team go to a major bowl, unless it gets a BCS at-large bid.

Not that I give a shit about the Raiders but I can't believe they didn't dispute the clock as there were clearly two seconds left when Johnson scored so they could at least have a chance at returning the kick off. Kerry Collins was on the field for the extra point because so many Raiders went to the locker room. Quitters.