78th Edition - 1/9/07

• The Florida Gators: next up, a lacrosse championship?

The Gators already own the basketball national championship, and after dominating THE ohio state buckeyes (they don't deserve capital letters, in fact, no more THE either) the Gators now have the BCS Championship. The final score of 41-14 was the perfect indication that the game wasn't close. Another stat that is just ridiculous is 82 total yards for ohio state's offense. They had more yards on the opening kickoff return.

The Gator players played the disrespect card about 3,752 times in the interviews to follow the game. Turns out, nobody believed in them. Poor kids. Finally, they can hold their heads high. I wish pure joy would win out in all post-game interviews. Plain-old happiness would be a nice change.

By the way, there is one undefeated college football team. Boise State finished #5 in the nation.

• NBA: Redd is out

For many, an NBA player being out for 4-6 weeks doesn't really matter, unless he's on your team, and then it only matters if home-court advantage is on the line (translation: in general, the regular season doesn't hold much drama or interest). But when I read this headline, my hopes went high. I am one of the few who plays Fantasy NBA. For a second, I thought the league leader had Redd and this would help my second place ball club, Dentyne. But instead, it turns out Slick Balls has Redd, who also happens to be Mike D. And he's in the middle of the back, so it really doesn't matter... I think I just rambled.

• The Tease: tomorrow

Mike Triplett from the New Orleans Times-Picayune will join us tomorrow to talk NFL playoffs. He's the lead writer for the Saints.

• Stuff

"Big day. Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as Speaker of the House. Experts say Pelosi is now the most powerful non-Oprah woman." ---Conan O'Brien

77th Edition - 1/8/07

• NFL: New York, ouch babe

Colts 23, Chiefs 8
Kansas City didn't have a first down in the first half. The Colts defense played better than Peyton Manning.
next week: Colts at Ravens

Seahawks 21, Cowboys 20
The last seconds were insanely good for Bledsoe fans. Tony Romo fumbled the snap of a 19-yard FG attempt, then tried to run it in only to be tackled from behind at the one yard line.
next week: Seahawks at Bears

Patriots 37, Jets 16
The announcers were trying to say it was a close game with the Patriots leading 16-30, until Pennington threw an interception, returned for a touchdown ... It wasn't that close before the pick.
next week: Patriots at Chargers

Eagles 23, Giants 20
The Ealges got outscored 10-3 in the 4th quarter, but those 3 came from a game-ending 38-yard FG by David Akers. Tiki Barber is retiring, and ever since he announced that, the Giants are 2-9.
next week: Eagles at Saints

• MLB: The Medium Unit going back to Arizona

The Yankees actually got rid of a player to create some financial space. Randy Johnson is 43-years-old and the Diamondbacks are giving him $26 million over two years. Then again, any pitcher going from AL to NL improves, but this guy is a shell of the man who made John Kruk weak in the knees during the '93 All-Star Game.

• College Football: What do you mean there's a game on tonight?

Just awful timing. I will watch, but my attention has drifted.

THE Ohio State Buckeyes vs Florida Gators. The winner gets to win. It has been 50 days since Ohio State has played. But I'm sure with all that extra time, the players have honored all their classes. Hats off to the NCAA, making sure education is always the top priority.

• Stuff

*Quick Film Reviews
Children of Men: A-, just a great Sci-Fi (bleak glimpse into the future) with some amazing suspense/action scenes.
The Queen: B, it was nice, I just don't see what all the fuss is about.

*Chevy Chase (used to be a comedian) wrote an op-ed about Gerald Ford dying. click here to read

76th Edition - 1/05/07

Sick as a dog. So the post will be short today. Damn, I feel awful. Could be because of a cat bite, the flu, a shot, another shot, an insanely bad cold or medication I am on. One thing is for sure ... If I didn't have a fiancee that is in med school I would either be much, much sicker OR totally healthy.

• If coaches can change, and you can change, we can all change!

In a job where you get fired 88% of the time (made up stat, but has to be close), what is wrong with taking an offer you would rather have?

Bill Cowher (Steelers) - quit
Art Shell (Raiders) - fired
Jim Mora (Falcons) - fired
Dennis Green (Cardinals) - fired
Nick Saban (Dolphins) - quit/then hired at Alabama

• The Picks (Mike D. vs. j)

NFL Season Standings:
j NFL: (25-24-4)
Mike D: (27-24-2)

The wild card picks:
j
Chiefs +7 over Colts
Seahawks -2.5 over Cowboys
Jets +8.5 over Patriots
Giants +7 over Eagles
(yup, I'm taking 3 road underdogs)

look for Mike D's picks later in the day.

75th Edition - 1/4/07

Yawn. Stretch. Yawn. Nap. Repeat.
I've been gone for a while. I admit I got a little bit lazy with my extended vacation. I promise it will never happen again. Except for future vacations, bachelor parties, weddings, honeymoons and again the most important, laziness.

But at least we didn't miss anything besides one of the greatest college football games ever (Bosie St. vs. Oklahoma), more Mike Tyson arrests, the Iowa Hawkeyes making it look easy against Texas and then blowing it, Bob Knight breaking the wins record, Gerald Ford dying, James Brown (the guy who sang in "Rocky 4") dying, Saddam Hussein getting hung, and probably about 125 other stories that were important while I was gone. But thankfully, nothing important.

• The Picks: revisited

Final standing for the 2006 College Football Season --
j : 4-6 for the bowls, not 10-0 like I was hoping, which would have won me $2500. Instead, I lost $10.
billy z: 8-2 for the bowls. Just insane, the only games he missed were the ones we had in common.

j NCAA: (27-22-1)
billy z NCAA: (35-14-2)

You have no idea how insane a record of 35-14-2 is. Billy should actually be doing this for a full-time job. I can't express this enough, so I will stop.

The funny (awful) thing ... I made more money than billy did this season. How? Because I bet on the games. He didn't. If he would have bet just $10 a game, he would have won almost $200. And that's not the way to bet, you have to change it up with the money-line, parlays and teasers. 2006 should have been the year billy retired. I hope this streak continues next year, so at least I can make money off him.

Mike d and I aren't done with the NFL, as both of us will be attempting to go undefeated in the playoffs. J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS!

• Nick Saban: Is he really that important?

This whole honesty thing comes up every time a coach does this. Nick Saban has now left the Miami Dolphins and become the new Alabama coach and also got tons of cash to go along with it. Many sports writers are calling him out, saying he is not honest. Who cares?

Fans - Dolphin fans are upset. They should be, they thought they had a coach for a long time. But he left because another position was more attractive to him.

Media - It gives them an angle to talk about that is more jucy. Otherwise, it's just reporting how much he will make, what he NFL record was, and why he will fit/not fit at Alabama

But here's the thing we always forget--Sports is a passion for the public, it is a job (first and foremost) for Nick Saban. And in the real world, almost anyone you know will take a job that gives more guarenteed money in an environment they are happier with. Case closed.

• Stuff

*If you are curious when your TV shows return from the break, click here. A helpful list is provided. And hopefully, you didn't missed "Friday Night Lights" last night.

*Blender has given us 25 reasons to love 2007. #18 Kaiser Cheifs is nice to see, but for some reason I can't find The Arcade Fire. Click here to read

*A new music Web site with great live, in-stuido performances ... The odd thing, the studio is located in Rock Island, Ill. I am from the Quad-Cities and it is insanely surprising to hear that a quality music studio is there. Check it out.
www.daytrotter.com

74th Edition - 12/28/06

Yes, I have taken a break. And I will probably take another break until about January 3. But here is a quick post ... pick edition.

It's Billy Z vs. J
If you're just joining us, here is how the regular season has played out...

j NCAA: (23-16-1)
billy z NCAA: (27-12-2)

And now Billy and I will pick ten bowl winners each.
Will it be possible for one of us to go 10-0?
Could I have a chance to come back and win the season?
Time will tell...

Billy Z's picks

kentucky +9.5 over clemson

missouri +3.5 over oregon st

georgia +3 over va tech

nevada +3.5 over miami

auburn -2 over nebraska

tennessee -4 over penn st

wisconsin +2 over arkansas

michigan [even] over usc

louisville -10 over wake

lsu -9.5 over notre dame

J's picks
california -3.5 over oklamhoma st.
oregon st. -3.5 over missouri
maryland +1 over purdue
minnesota +6.5 over texas tech
texas -8.5 over iowa (this is the lock of the week, trust me)
georgia +3 over virginia tech
tennessee -4 over penn state
michigan over usc
oklahoma -7.5 over bosie st
wake forest +10 over louisville

And here is the update from the NFL picks last weekend.
j NFL: 1-1-1 (25-24-4)
mike d NFL: 2-1 (27-24-2)

• Stuff

Quick film reviews:
The Good Shepherd: B (slow, long but very good acting by Matt Damon)
Notes of a Scandal: A- (just amazing performance by Judi Dench, it has the tension of the murder mystery)