iggymcfly

*BUZZ* Wrong. Minnesota had the best record in the conference, and both San Antonio and Sacramento had better records than the Lakers, who did indeed finish fourth. Well, I'm not sure if it was Sac-town that had the better record or if it was another team, but I believe those were it. I know it's hard, but try actually reading more than two sentences next time. Not only did I acknowledge their seed, I also went on to explain that it was completely insignificant.

They didn't finish 4th in the conference. They won the conference. Everyone knows that getting the best seed in the regular season doesn't mean a damn thing to teams that have been there before. They beat both the Spurs and T-Wolves in the playoffs, and still had a better year than every team except for the Pistons. As for the interview, I thought it was really, really good. They managed to ask all the tough questions without turning Kobe against them, and got a lot more answers than somebody might think they would. I actually believe Kobe that he didn't run off Phil, because he actually went to Jerry West and said that if Kobe was returning, he wasn't. I kind of do feel for Kobe, because those bullshit rape allegations kind of sent him into a downward spiral that he hasn't really recovered from yet. However, he certainly was in the wrong in the way he dealt with both Shaq and Karl Malone. I can see why he's not very trusting right now, but in this situation, the worst thing he could do was overreact to Karl Malone doing a little bit of harmless flirting with his wife.

I find whether a convicted murderer is killed or given life in prison to be really an inconsequential issue. However, what does bother me is the cost associated with either one. Now, first the reason that a death-penalty case costs so much is not the execution itself, but rather the court costs associated with the extra length of the trial, and extra time in appeals. Given that these appeals are pretty basic rights, and that only 20% of death penalty cases even result in a death penalty, I think prosecutors should at least be very sparing with their attempts to sentence someone to death. Second, we have to do something about the costs associated with the prison system. I think every inmate should be forced to work at least 40 hours a week in order to cover their living expenses, and that anyone who refuses should be placed in solitary until they change their mind. Finally, we need to cheapen up the prison system a little bit. I understand that security is important, but you can't tell me that it's impossible to maintain someone in a secure environment for $25,000 a year. Maybe the figure might be a little higher at a maximum security environment, but the average should go dramatically down. As it stands, the prison system is woefully inefficient, and one of the biggest financial drains in the entire government.

Oh well, 31-10 final score's pretty damn good. If you asked me for an exact score before the game, I think that's about right where I would have placed it, and it was good enough to win me my 40 bucks. No more bowl games for a week now, but when they do resume, there's another fairly easy game coming up with Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse in the Champs Sports Bowl. I might be a little biased, since I am a big Tech fan, but I really think that this is similar to the New Orleans Bowl in that you've got one team playing at a level they shouldn't be due to an extremely weak conference. Syracuse got killed by Purdue, and went 0-2 against the ACC, albeit against two of the ACC's better teams in Florida St. and Virginia. I don't think this one will be a blowout, but Georgia Tech should be able to cover a 5 point spread. I guess I'll do like I did in the two major bowl game threads and just flat out post a prediction. Reggie Ball hasn't exactly been executing very well, but the Tech D should be able to shut down Syracuse, and they'll be able to put just enough points on the board to win. Georgia Tech 20 Syracuse 10

Yeah, that kicker's really pissing me off. He's 1-4 now. If he could just make a damn field goal, I could be completely secure when I go off to my Biology final, but no, North Texas is still hanging around. Although if you're looking for an explanation, I'd say it's more likely that he's worried about his finals than that he's stressed out about playing in the New Orleans Bowl. They did say on ESPN that they took finals in the hotel yesterday, and they're taking more tomorrow.

Actually, that's already the case. Nebraska lost to Texas Tech by 60. Texas Tech lost to Texas A&M. Texas A&M lost to Baylor. The Huskers are so far down right now that most of the "what if" scenarios have already been fulfilled.

It's kind of funny. They're making excuses for North Texas's OOC record by saying they played Texas, while completely ignoring the fact that they also played Florida Atlantic and Baylor. Their non-conference schedule wasn't exactly like something Notre Dame or Florida would play.

All right then. Go Golden Eagles! Speaking of which, how about that beautiful TD toss from Dustin Almond? 7-0 Southern Miss!

So who else is pumped for the New Orleans Bowl? Well, probably just me, unless someone else recognized a financial opprtunity in it. Anyway, both teams just went three and out, but I have confidence in USM. I just hope that it's not still close when I have to go to my Biology final in two and a half hours. I know Southern Miss is going to win, but there's always that lingering possibililty that the Mean Green will get a late touchdown to keep them from covering. I don't want my $40 to be endangered by bullshit.

Actually, scratch what I said about Jamario Thomas being hurt. He just wasn't the starter yet. Apparently, they just lost to Texas by 65 because they sucked. Shit, I should really put some more on this game. It's a gimme,

Well, this looks to me like the most one-sided bowl matchup on the docket with a spread of less than seven points. When you're 7-0 in conference and 0-4 out of conference two years in a row, that's a really good indication that there's something wrong with your conference. Remember, Southern Miss beat Nebraska and was only down one to Cal late in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, look at this non-conference resume: at Texas L 65-0 Fla Atlantic L 20-13 at Colorado L 52-21 at Baylor L 37-14 Yes, Jamario Thomas got hurt in the Texas game after only two carries, but he was back for the Baylor game, so there's no excuse for that one. Seeing what an easy game this is to handicap, I made sure to get registered with an online sportsbook before the game and plunked down $30 on Southern Miss to win and cover. Oh, and while I was looking, I couldn't resist the Stanford/Denver basketball game as a pick 'em, so I won $15 there too. Hopefully, this will be a profitable bowl season for me.

When I see most of the polls on the internet, they only have five candidates, and they don't have the one that I'd pick listed. I figured I'd make a poll on here, and maybe a thread for a little Heisman discussion as well. I put the people who I see as the nine most legitimate candidates on the list, but if you are voting for an "other" pick, please tell us who you wanted to vote for. I added as many names as I could, but there are still many legitimate candidates out ther including Erasmus James, Braylon Edwards, David Greene, Aaron Rodgers, and David Pollack. Feel free to vote whoever you wish.

Wow, is this like thread number four on this topic now?

Well, the best passing game Oklahoma's faced since then is probably Colorado. If you want a comparison to the Pac Ten, when Colorado faced a pretty mediocre Washington State team, here were Joel Klatt's passing stats. 12-24 for 78 yards with no TDs and 1 INT. Basically, any secondary with a pulse would shut down the last three squads Oklahoma's faced, huge holes or not. If shutting down Colorado's passing game is evidence enough to be able to shut down USC, then the Cougs probably shouldn't have Leinart get this line playing little over half the game: 23/28 for 235 yards with 2 TDs and 0 INTs. They don't even need to go at Antonio Perkins. Jarrett and Bush both have plenty of big play ability, and they can even get Bush free on an end around if they need to. Oklahoma and Texas Tech are the only teams in the Big XII that really have good passing attacks, and the fact is that OU's just not prepared to go against a team with the big play ability that USC has. The fact is that Texas, aside from being Oklahoma's only top 15 win, is also probably the team that Oklahoma matches up with best out of the entire Top 25. I'm pretty sure that USC's gonna win the Orange Bowl by a pretty decent margin.

I just thought of a really simplistic comparison to show what's going to happen in the Orange Bowl. Oklahoma is Cal with a slightly better front four and no secondary. They both have the balanced offense with the two top backs in the country and two top-ten passing games, and their defenses are both pretty solid. However, while OU's tendency to shut down a pure running team is a little more pronounced, their secondary has huge holes and tends to give up the big play in ways that Cal doesn't tend to at all. Whereas Oklahoma hasn't seen anything like USC's team speed and ability in the passing game, USC's already faced a better version of Oklahoma and come out unscathed. I think if I find a good online sportsbook to sign up with, a hundred dollars or so might find its way out of my bank account and on to USC before the Orange Bowl starts.

Here's the complete results of the Heisman voting: ...............................................1st......2nd.....3rd.....Total Matt Leinart..........USC............267.....211.....102....1,325 Adrian Peterson....Oklahoma...154.....180.....175......997 Jason White..........Oklahoma...171.....149.....146......957 Alex Smith.............Utah.............98.....112.....117......635 Reggie Bush..........USC...........118...... 80...... 83......597 Cedric Benson......Texas...........12...... 41...... 69......187 Jason Campbell....Auburn.........21..... 24....... 51......162 J.J. Arrington.........California.....10...... 33...... 19......115 Aaron Rodgers.....California.......8...... 14...... 15...... 67 Braylon Edwards...Michigan.......3....... 13...... 27...... 62 Source: Associated Press Only ten first-place votes for JJ Arrington, but at least he finished ahead of shitty Aaron Rodgers. Also, I'm kind of surprised Benson got so few votes; he wasn't even close to being a finalist. By the way, does anyone else think it's incredibly annoying that you can't use multiple spaces on here. I mean what the fuck is the point of that anyway.

I'll admit that Illinois has had the most impressive wins thus far, but it's early enough in the season to still take last year into account, and at this point, I really believe that Georgia Tech will end up as the national champion. They've got everyone important back from last year's team that made the title game, and they've got some really good freshmen as well. Also, outside of the UIC game that they slept through, they have looked utterly dominant, beating everyone on their schedule by at least 25, including dismantling a Michigan team still just outside the Top 25. They'll have more of a chance to earn their ranking soon with upcoming games against Gonzaga and Kansas. If the Gonzaga game in particular is within 10 or 15, I'll probably drop them to number two.

OK, I figured we were far enough into the year to make some college basketball rankings, so I did. They're not really all that reliable towards the bottom, but I did examine all the teams with decent record, and I think this Top 25 is at least as reliable as the one the coaches and media put out. Feel free to comment if you're interested. 1. Georgia Tech 6-0 2. Illinois 9-0 3. Oklahoma State 7-0 4. Kansas 6-0 5. Syracuse 8-1 6. Duke 5-0 7. North Carolina 6-1 8. Pittsburgh 7-0 9. Iowa 8-1 10. Wake Forest 6-1 11. NC State 7-0 12. Texas 6-1 13. Louisville 5-1 14. Kentucky 6-1 15. Gonzaga 7-1 16. Connecticut 4-1 17. Washington 6-1 18. Alabama 8-1 19. Marquette 9-0 20. Cinncinatti 6-0 21. George Washington 6-1 22. Virginia 7-1 23. Boston College 7-0 24. Arkansas 6-1 25. Mississippi State 7-2

I'd say that there are probably 500 times as many Americans that could tell you that Pittsburg State played Valdosta State in the Division II NCAA Football Championship, as there are Americans who could tell you that Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic played a baseball game.

Here's a knock on Leinart. He can't actually engineer a drive or move the offense at all. All he does is throw screens and wait for Reggie Bush to bust one loose, or else wait until he's got someone absolutely wide open over the top and then hit them with a deep ball. If USC had their backup QB, they might be 10-1 or even 9-2, but if they didn't have Reggie Bush, they'd probably be 8-3 or more likely 7-4, and playing in the Sun Bowl.

Why would Washington hire Willingham instead of Mike Tice. That's retarded. The recruting edge that they'd get from a black head coach, would be nice, but not as strong as the edge from having someone who's been successful in the NFL. I mean the guy just got done going 6-5 at Notre Dame, and you think he'll be better than the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings? And if they're worried about recruiting this year, they're only saving about three or four weeks, because we all know it would take a miracle for the Vikings to get past the first round of the playoffs. In the long run, I think this looks like a terrible decision.

Yay. I can't remember actually calling the right round in a (somewhat) major heavyweight fight like that.

Yeah, this Jets/Steelers game is probably the most one-sided officiating I've ever seen at the NFL level. There were 12 penalties on the Jets in the first half, and at least five of them were total bullshit. It almost seems like the refs just wait for the Jets to get a big play and then call a penalty. The holding call on Becht that called back the 30 yard run stands out the most, as they showed the whole play, and he didn't do anything that even resembled holding. They say that the refs can call holding on every play, but this time he honestly wasn't even doing anything close.

Being a freshman shouldn't be an advantage when voting any more than being a junior or senior should. The criterion for the award is the best college football player in the country. The fact is that JJ Arrington has played much better than Adrian Peterson has this year, and he's on one of the four best teams as well. Reggie Bush is the only other player that I can really see a legitimate argument for, as he has an effect on the game that's really hard to quantize. Without him, USC would probably be playing in the Sun Bowl right now. Given that he's not affecting the game every play like Arrington is, and doesn't average anywhere near the yardage that Arrington does, I'd stop short of giving him the award, and probably drop him behind Peterson and Derrick Johnson as well. However, Bush and Arrington are probably the only players in the country that really deserve the trophy.

That's because Adrian Peterson's had 50 more carries than Arrington this year. 50! If Arrington had that many carries at his pace, he'd be leading Adrian Peterson by over 350 yards. Really, the only reason the final yardage totals are even close is that Cal's been putting away most of their opponents in the first half. When JJ Arrington actually got to play the whole game against Southern Miss, he ran for over 250 yards.