Mikey D

This is what Drew Neitzel, our senior team-leader, said about Michigan after the game yesterday:

"They can be 0-20 or 20-0, and we still want to beat them as bad as we possibly can."

Love it.

~Mikey D

I was doing my daily read of ESPN.com last night when Grace asked me what I was doing.

I lied, and told her I was blogging. Why? Well, "Lying is the most fun a girl can have with her clothes on...but it's better if they're off." A 'Closer' quote right there. Doesn't really fit because I'm a boy (shut up, Kevin), but whatever. Basically, I don't know why I lied, I just did.

She then asked me what I was blogging about...and I told her I was blogging about kites. Yes, kites. It was just the first thing that popped into my head. I mean, we can all honestly say that we think about kites at random times during our days, right?

Anywho, to make the lie more believable I actually started looking up kite stuff. At first I was completely uninterested in the different types of kites that were available to fly, but after delving further into the world of kites, I actually became interested. I had no idea how in-depth kites got. In my world a kite was something you bought from the grocery store toy aisle that had a funny picture of a cartoon character on it. Now I realize that I had been unaware of the world of kite flying for twenty-five years.

One trip to http://www.kitesrus.com/ (I randomly typed that into my URL bar and found the site...just good like that) showed me the many varieties of kites. They have everything from power kites to box kites to easy fliers. And none of them had a picture of Spongebob Squarepants on them. They were all classy and shit.

After more exploring I came across http://www.kitelife.com/. What an amazing site (and I say that with no sarcasm). I first checked out the pictures area and thought all the old guys flying kites were dorky and needed a real hobby, but after looking at the videos I completely changed my tune. In the videos section there were competition videos dating back to the 80's. And you know me, I'm a sucker for 80's kite videos, so I had just had to watch.

I was mesmerized. Watching these people do tricks with their kites was the coolest thing I've seen since watching one of my students get handcuffed and dragged out of his music class for throwing spitballs at the teacher. And this is going to sound gay, but the kite ballets were probably my favorites. The people could make their kites stop and go, go left to right, up and down with ease. They weren't just making it fly in the air, as I thought was the entire point with a kite. Put their tricks to music, and it was even cooler (even corny 80's music). I learned all about the differences between kites and the competitions. They even had team competitions! Those were kind of neat; watching people maneuver kites to music while not getting tangled in each others strings. Cool stuff.

So what started as an innocent lie turned into a true learning experience. And a blog about kites. Will I ever buy one of the fancy kites? Probably not. Will I ever watch another kite competition? I wouldn't mind. I now have an appreciation for kite flying, as well as a better understanding of how they work, which I didn't have before.

Perhaps I should lie more often. I could learn so much!

~Mikey D

New York Giants versus New England Patriots. New York and Boston once again. Well, the season is all but over, and I will take a look back on my year of picking winners.

Before I do so, let me start with the Giants-Packers game from yesterday. One hell of a game. Eli Manning has shown he can be big-time. Now I can sit here and take credit for successfully predicting a three-point win for the Giants yesterday, but I cannot do that out of good conscious. Why? Well, for all the negative things I've said about Eli and the Giants this year, I don't deserve to take praise for predicting them to beat Green Bay. They've proven me completely wrong this year, and I deserve to eat crow. Here's what I've said this year:
1) In my preseason predictions, I predicted the Giants to finish last. "Eli has looked serviceable, but not great. Now he has to step-up and be the leader of this team. He has Shockey and Burress for weapons, but if one of those guys goes down, they're in trouble. He no longer has Tiki to bail him out in the passing game." Not a complete knock, but "serviceable" is exactly a compliment.
2) After week two of the season: "The top 5 picks in the 08' NFL Draft: 1) Kansas City Chiefs 2) Atlanta Falcons 3) New York Giants 4) Cleveland Browns 5) Oakland Raiders." Yeah, I thought they'd be that bad.
3) My playoff pick against the Cowboys: "All signs are pointing to the upset, but less we forget Dallas has already beaten the Giants twice this year, they are at home, they are the number one seed, have 11 pro-bowlers, and oh yeah, the Giants have Eli Manning. Yes, that is a knock on Eli Manning. Sure they've won eight games on the road this year, but what does that say about your QB? He's not mentally tough to handle the pressures of his own home crowd. He's lost more at home than on the road. I don't want to ride a mentally weak QB into Dallas in the second round of the playoffs because THAT'S pressure. In Eli I don't trust."

So yes, I thought the Giants would beat Green Bay. In Eli I do trust...now. I guess there comes a point in some QB's career where everything kind clicks all at once. It just took Eli awhile to get there. As much crow as I'm eating, however, Tiki Barber must be eating more. That guy rips Eli all year in the media, and the year after he leaves the team, Manning takes them to the Super Bowl. The key words in the last sentence were 'Manning takes them to the Super Bowl'. That must have been sweet for Eli. A little sweeter than shutting me up =).

Congratulations Eli, I'm glad you made it- you earned it.

NFC Picks- Review
NFC East:
1) Philadelphia Eagles
2) Dallas Cowboys
3) Washington Redskins
4) New York Giants

NFC North:
1) Chicago Bears
2) Detroit Lions
3) Green Bay Packers
4) Minnesota Vikings

NFC South:
1) New Orleans Saints
2) Atlanta Falcons
3) Carolina Panthers
4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC West:
1) Arizona Cardinals
2) St. Louis Rams
3) San Francisco 49ers
4) Seattle Seahawks

Playoff Seeds:
1) Philadelphia Eagles
2) New Orleans Saints
3) Chicago Bears
4) Arizona Cardinals
5) Dallas Cowboys
6) Atlanta Falcons

Things I got right:
1) Even though I picked Minnesota to finish last, my comments about them were dead-on: "Travaris Jackson is your quarterback. Icky. Solid backfield with Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson and a great O-Line to work with. I'm no NFL coach, but I would just pound the football. Otherwise Jackson will be forced to throw it to guys I've never heard of, and that will inevitably be a bad thing. This team is rebuilding in every sense of the word...and yet the Lions will probably still lose to them at least once this year."
2) Not buying into the preseason San Francisco hype: "In my opinion, the offense is doomed. Alex Smith isn't ready to carry a team yet, and Jackson has to prove he can stay healthy for more than six games a season."
3) Nothing else. I was ridiculously wrong about the NFC.

Things I got wrong:
1) The Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, and New Orleans Saints. Not one of those teams one their division like I had predicted, and most were not even close. To top it off, only the Cowboys made the playoffs out of my six picks.
2) The Atlanta Falcons- I know, I know, Joey Harrington. I thought the team would gel and band together around the whole Michael Vick fiasco, but it turned out to be just the opposite. They completely fell apart. It was a gamble pick, but I looked at the rest of the division and thought Tampa Bay and Carolina were in the decline. Still, as my chic pick, they made me look awful, and will now be picking in the top-5 of the draft. Major oops.
3) The Lions (again). "Yup, I'm drinking the Kool-Aid. If the defense can stay healthy, and we get Calvin in training camp and Jones comes back, I think this team will be decent. I like the offense with Williams, Johnson, and Furrey at receiver, and backfield of Jones, Bell, and Duckett. But will we have an O-Line this year? A secondary? Remains to be seen." Still remains to be seen. Oh, and goodbye Mike Martz.

AFC Picks- Review
AFC East:
1) New England Patriots
2) Miami Dolphins
3) New York Jets
4) Buffalo Bills

AFC North:
1) Baltimore Ravens
2) Pittsburgh Steelers
3) Cincinnati Bengals
4) Cleveland Browns

AFC South:
1) Indianapolis Colts
2) Jacksonville Jaguars
3) Tennessee Titans
4) Houston Texans

AFC West:
1) Denver Broncos
2) San Diego Chargers
3) Oakland Raiders
4) Kansas City Chiefs

Playoff Seeds:
1) Denver Broncos
2) New England Patriots
3) Baltimore Ravens
4) Indianapolis Colts
5) San Diego Chargers
6) Pittsburgh Steelers

Things I got right:
1) The AFC South. All right! Although I think it was the easiest division in the NFL to pick. I don't think it ever changes year after year.
2) Seeing the Bengals and Jets as frauds. The Jets were coming off their playoff run last year, and the Bengals were predicted to "take the next step". I called out the Jets weak ass schedule from last year and the Cincinnati defense, and the Jets showed they can't play with the big boys, and the Bengals showed they can't play a lick of defense.
3) Believing in the Steelers. The Steelers were awful the year before, brought back the same personnel for 07', and lost Bill Cowher. Still, this team had too much talent, and there was no way Big Ben would be as bad as the year before. Thanks for proving me right.

Things I got wrong:
1) The Denver Broncos. I thought San Diego, with all their coaching changes and high expectations, would take a step back this year (and for about ten games I was right). That means a team in the west would step up...and I thought that'd be Denver. The things that I normally bank on with Denver teams didn't happen, though. Denver didn't run the football with much success this year, and the defense couldn't stop anyone. That doesn't happen typically with Mike Shannahan teams. But since it did, that makes me wayyyyyyyy off.
2) Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens. Both are picking in the top-10 in this years' draft. I did terrible with these picks. Both QBs for these teams showed their age, and when they went down, all the teams could do was pray to the NFL gods for mercy.
3) The Cleveland Browns- but didn't everyone???

Super Bowl Pick: New England versus Philadelphia
Well, I had AFC East versus NFC East. Close enough. New York, Philadelphia...same thing.

Better luck next year, I guess.

~Mikey D

With the writers' strike, there are no more new episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" for me to enjoy every Monday night. At first this made me very sad, as it is one of my two favorite shows on television right now. I do own the first and second seasons on DVD, and anytime Grace and I want to watch something good, we pop those puppies in. We've made it through both seasons, and have cycled back to the first. It's just damn good.

The more I think about it though, if "How I Met Your Mother" never returned to the television airwaves, I would be completely okay with it for these two simple reasons:

1) After two full seasons, the show was perfect. In episode one of season one we started with Ted stealing the blue french horn for Robin, Marshall proposing to Lilly, and Barney...being Barney. As far as pilots go, it was top-notch (minus the terrible laugh track). In the last episode of season two, everything was tied nicely together with a beautiful bow. Marshall and Lilly, after breaking up and recommitting to one another, finally got married with their closest friends around them. Ted and Robin ended their love affair, and Ted ended up giving back the blue french horn to the restaurant he stole it from. Barney...was still the same Barney (which is great, because that's how his character should be- the same). It was a great two-season story that ended perfectly in my opinion. It was awesome, legendary, or whatever other Barney catchphrase you'd like to use.

2) Where would you go after season two? From the few episodes of season three they've show, it doesn't look like the writers know either. There is no developing storyline. Ted, Robin, and Barney, although different in their own ways, are essentially the same character now- single, and hooking up. Marshall and Lilly are married, so their couple drama has lessened significantly. Of course we'd all like to know who Ted's future wife is- right? The more I think about it, the less I do. If it's not Robin, then it's someone else. That means they have to introduce a new character to the show who will be a part of their group. I'm not sure I want that after two seasons of the five amigos. Perhaps that's the me who's resistant to change, but I like the show the way it is. And please, no more Enrique Iglesias.

So if "How I Met Your Mother" never came back with a single new episode and was canceled, I would be okay with it. I have two fantastic seasons of the best sitcom I've ever seen. Yes, I like it better than Friends and Seinfeld. And part of the reason is because it hasn't been watered down with extra characters, multiple hook-ups, and lesbians (Friends), and there is a romantic element to the show that other sitcoms don't have (Seinfeld). It, thus far, has been the perfect blend of romance, humor, and for me, dynamic characters that I can relate to.

And now everyone knows that I will not cry if it gets cancelled.

~Mikey D

~Let's start off with Chris Berman. That guy is losing his mind with each passing year. When will he ever retire? I used to love his 2-Minute Drill segment on Sportscenter. Now? I feel like he's one of those old guys that sits on a bench all day in a city park just talking to himself about anything and everything. I find myself just tuning him out after the first fifteen seconds of the segment, only to rejoin him when he gives his game predictions. I can't even figure out his thought process anymore because he says things you wouldn't normally expect. For example, instead of saying, "We'll be right back with a breakdown of the Pats-Chargers game" to end a segment, he'll pause- a long pause, a pause where you can tell the wheels are churning in the gigantic head of his- and he'll come out with something random, like, "The frozen tundra has never looked so frozen and cold...back to Sportscenter." Has anyone else noticed his rambling and long pauses??? For the love of god, give that guy a teleprompter, or better yet, a pink slip, since he's obviously not going out on his own.

~Picks:

New York at Green Bay

Lambeau Field in January. That is a huge edge for the Packers...right? In the snow, sure, but in the cold I'm not so sure. Green Bay looked absolutely AWFUL against the Bears earlier this year in the freezing cold. That doesn't mean the Giants have an edge or anything, as there was a stat that said Eli Manning's QB rating in ice-cold games was well below par. So what is the recipe for playing in the cold? Run the ball and have a QB that won't make mistakes? I'm just not sure. Everyone is picking Green Bay in this game, in part because of Favre, in part because it's in Green Bay, and in part because of what Green Bay did to Seattle last week. I just can't get over that Chicago game at the end of the season where the Packers got spanked. New York has played in the cold before, so it won't be like Tampa Bay coming into Lambeau. Weather is the great equalizer in football, so I'm going to ride the hotter team in this one, the one with more to prove and show the world, and take New York.

New York 27, Green Bay 24

San Diego at New England

Lord have mercy 0n the Chargers.

New England 30, San Diego 13

~Before I move on, I willingly hand in my man card (some would say I turned it in longgggg ago). Here it is, take it, shred it, destroy it, I am no longer deserving of it. Why you ask? I am officially in love with HGTV (for those of you not in the know, it's the "Home and Garden" network). If you were to rank my most watched shows on television, Sportscenter would be number one (every morning!), followed by about fifteen HGTV shows. Yeah, I am a complete addict to the stuff. Shows like "House Hunters", "Hidden Potential", "My First Home, "Buy Me", etc. have me watching all the time. Over Christmas break, and I swear I'm not lying, HGTV was on my television for about six straight hours- this during the college football bowl season. I know, I know, not only should my man card be revoked, my penis should be taken away from me as well. I love watching couples decide which house they should get, how couples redesign houses to make them look amazing, and how houses can be redone to look wonderful again. Why do I like all this? Well, because I want a house. Grace and I have a savings account we put money into that will hopefully get us there someday. I would have never thought, however, that I would be this interested and intrigued by house shows. So much so that I put them above sports and reruns of King of Queens. Wait, wait, wait...am I (gasp)...growing up???

~MSU basketball. Looked good for a half...and then didn't look good for other half. I think what we're seeing is that it's not Neitzel that is the cog that makes this machine run, it's Raymar Morgan. When that man is on the floor, our team functions at a high level. That's not a knock on Neitzel, as he has carried us many a times. But what Neitzel has proven throughout his career is that he is very streaky. When he's hot, he's on fire. When he's cold, he can't get anything to fall. Morgan has provided the consistent play for us, and we need him to continue to do so. The only problem is that Morgan continues to get in foul trouble. This can be easily avoided though! Everytime I watch Raymar play, he picks up at least two ticky-tack fouls a game. He needs to grow up and not make those. If he's on the floor and can do his thing, that takes the pressure off of Neitzel and Suton (as well as the defensive pressure), and as a team we can excel. When did OSU make it's second half run? While Morgan was on the bench. When did it stop? When Raymar returned. I'll take the win this past Tuesday, but I'd like to see a better effort for forty minutes from the entire team. Oh, and I've been meaning to do this for awhile: Raymar Morgan next to Miss J from America's Next Top Model. Yeah? Do ya see it???

Don't have much else I'd like to talk about, so I'll write again another day.

~Mikey D

2-2 last week. Not bad. Finished strong with the Giants and Chargers games.

Seattle at Green Bay
If this game was in Seattle, I might give the Seahawks a chance. But it's not, it's in the frozen tundra of Lambeau- in January. Green Bay is well rested and healthy, and Favre has been waiting for an opportunity at another Super Bowl run. The Seahawks have an excellent passing game, but Alexander is nowhere to be found in the running attack. In fact, Seattle's run attack is non-existent. While the lack of a running attack might not have hurt them at home in the wild card round against an exhausted Washington team, it will eventually catch up with them- like this week against Green Bay. Forced to pass against Green Bay, Hasselbeck will eventually make a mistake against one of those corners, either Harris or Woodson. This game will be close for the first half before Green Bay eventually pulls away.
Green Bay 27, Seattle 17

Jacksonville at New England
These teams match up well. Shut the fuck up. Why because Jacksonville is physical? Has a running attack? A quarterback who doesn't turn the ball over? Forget match ups. Here's what Jacksonville has to do to win: Start quick and build a lead, take the crowd out of the game, force turnovers while not committing turnovers, and run the football. That's a lot of things, and the last is probably the most important. If New England stops the running game of Jacksonville, what will Jacksonville do? New England's defense takes away big pass plays, so all you are left with is dink and dunk over the middle. If New England scores points (and they will), how can Jacksonville keep up if they can't run and can only dink and dunk? The answer: they can't. New England has two weeks to prepare for this game. Their head coach is Bill Bellichick. They were 16-0 and unstoppable all year. They are at home. All signs point to...
New England 34, Jacksonville 13

San Diego at Indianapolis
They played earlier this year and Manning threw 6ints and Vinateri missed two field goals, including a 29 yarder. If you think that will happen again, you are fooling yourself. Indy is back at home with revenge on their mind. Harrison is coming back, and Gates won't be playing this time around. The game plan is simple: Take away L.T. (easier to do with Bob Sanders on your team) and the deep ball. Force Philip Rivers to make the throws in the hostile environment, and let Manning and Addai do their thing.
Indianapolis 27, San Diego 10

New York at Dallas
Romo in Mexico. T.O. hurt. The Giants are hot. All signs are pointing to the upset, but less we forget Dallas has already beaten the Giants twice this year, they are at home, they are the number one seed, have 11 pro-bowlers, and oh yeah, the Giants have Eli Manning. Yes, that is a knock on Eli Manning. Sure they've won eight games on the road this year, but what does that say about your QB? He's not mentally tough to handle the pressures of his own home crowd. He's lost more at home than on the road. I don't want to ride a mentally weak QB into Dallas in the second round of the playoffs because THAT'S pressure. In Eli I don't trust. That being said, I'm rooting hard for him, because I want him to be successful. And I hate the Cowboys.
Dallas 35, New York 17

I know, all favorites. I just think it's going to be that kind of weekend. I think the four home teams are just far superior than the opponents they are playing, and not only will we not see upsets, we are going to see some lopsided games.

There, my picks.

~Mikey D

So my department chair and I had a discussion at work today, and apparently I argue too much with her. She feels some of the ideas she gives me I am too quick to argue and challenge. She is tired of me arguing over anything and everything.

So who is to blame for this argumentative nature inside of me? Why none other than Kevin. Look what you've done to me!!! I get scolded because of you turning me into an arguer!!!

While my chair's points definitely needed to be argued (the square root of 4 is positive 2, it's just a fact!), I suppose that I could pick and choose my battles. But alllll of this would never have happened if it weren't for Kevin and his constant arguing for 5 straight years.

Damn you Kevin!

~Mikey D

I will not be watching tonight's college football national championship game in protest. I firmly believe the wrong team is in the title game, and I will not support this game in any fashion.

Although I am just one person, I am hoping that many others share my same belief/opinion.

I am also hoping the game isn't completely kick-ass and legendary- because that would suck if I missed that.

~Mikey D

These 3 rules bother the hell out of me.

1) Intentional Grounding: "A forward pass is thrown intentionally incomplete so that the passer avoids loss of yardage or to conserve time."
The defense comes with a huge pass rush, and the quarterback is about to get destroyed and go down for an eight yard loss...but wait! To spare his own life, he chucks the ball to his receivers coach on the sideline. The defenders let up, the quarterback breathes a sigh of relief, and oh yeah, the referee throws the penalty flag. Ten yard penalty, and a loss of down. Now it's not the loss of down that gets me here, as the QB was giving that away as he chucked it three rows deep into the stands. It's the ten yard penalty. Why are we penalizing QBs for not getting creamed and taking sacks? Plays such as the one described above seem completely natural and sensible. You shouldn't be penalized for not wanting to be sacked. To make matters worse, instead of just losing the down and moving onto the next play, we have to stop the game, have the referees discuss the play, hear the explanation, mark off ten yards, AND THEN move onto the next play. It's kills the flow of the game (and yes, I know there are a thousand other things that kill the flow, but no need to add another one), and puts the offense at a severe disadvantage- all because the QB didn't want to have his head buried into the ground courtesy of a 300 pound lineman. This rule is all the more curious to me because of the concussion conscious and QB protecting NFL we are in these days. Stupid rule.

2) Forward Progress: "The runner's forward progress toward the opponents' goal line is stopped from contact by the opponent with little chance to be resumed."
Okay, I have a small problem with this rule. It's stupid. To me, a player is down when he is tackled. It's one of the simplest rules of the game. You are down when you are down. But that's not the case with this rule. If you are a running back, and you run the ball into a giant pile, you run until you are pushed down, or until forward progress is stopped. It's that last part that bothers me. How often have we seen running backs get pushed by their offensive line an extra five yards? And how often have we seen a defense gang tackle a running back and push him back five yards, only to have the play blown dead and have the forward progress be considered the "down" point? It's not fair! If the offensive line can push a running back who refuses to go down forward for extra yards, a defensive line should be able to push a running back who refuses to go down backwards. If the back is stupid enough not to go down and allow himself to be pushed backwards, he deserves to lose the yardage. A player is down when he's down. When you're on the ground, the play is over. Forward progress is bullshit.

3) Kickoffs: "On kickoffs, if a kicking team recovers the football, they may not advance the football past the point of possession."
When a team kicks off to another team, it is essentially a free ball. The first one to grab it has possession for their team. Easy enough to understand, right? Most kickoffs we see involve the returner taking the kickoff from his goaline and running it forward until he is tackled. Other times we will see the kicking team recover the onside kick and be tackled immediately. My question is, why can't the kicking team advance the ball if they recover the football? Unlike a punt, the ball is free in the air for anyone to get when it is kicked. The only way the kicking team can recover the ball on a punt is if it's touched, or fumbled, by the receiving team. On kickoffs, all you have to do is get it first! So why is the receiving team allowed to return the ball once they possess it, and not the kicking team when they get it? It's not like the kicking team has an unfair advantage- they are kicking it to the other team's players! The chances of them getting the ball and returning it anywhere are slim, but why take away the opportunity? I think on free balls, like the ones on kickoffs, it's only fair to let the kicking team advance the football if they recover it.

~Mikey D

This might be a kind of long post with lots of pictures and videos, so make sure you give yourself a good fifteen minutes if you want to get through this whole puppy. Or you could just skim and pretend like you read what I wrote, which I'm pretty sure happens on a regular basis =).

I'm going to try to break this down into categories: NFL, Uniforms, NBA, College Sports, and Colin Cowherd. Let's begin.

NFL

Alright, I want to make my picks for the upcoming games this weekend. I've been holding off on doing this because I was hoping a little clarity would come to those tough to pick games. No such luck. So here's my breakdown for the upcoming games this weekend.

Redskins at Seahawks- Toughest game on the board. I now have a vested interest in the Skins, as they are now my second favorite team. Clinton Portis is officially my favorite player in the NFL (he is ridiculously funny, charismatic, and a good football player). I want this game bad for the Redskins, as they have worked hard to get to this point and for them to win this one in Sean Taylor's memory would be special. On the otherhand, the Seahawks just don't lose at home. They are division champs, and the Redskins are playing with a backup QB still. But I'm going with my heart on this one.
Prediction: Redskins 24, Seahawks 17.

Jaguars at Steelers- Pittsburgh is an underdog at home? That just doesn't feel right. I've heard it all week- Garrard doesn't turn the ball over, Taylor and Jones-Drew are the running attack you want in January, Pittsburgh is without Parker, Jacksonville beat Pittsburgh two weeks ago in the snow, Pittsburgh's defense is suspect- I get it, and they're all valid points. But Pittsburgh is still a veteran playoff team, and I feel Davenport will get the job done out of the backfield, and I trust Roethlisburger's playoff experience at home. Afterall, it wasn't like Jacksonville blew the doors off Pittsburgh their last meeting. It was a 29-22 game. I expect adjustments to be made, and the underdog home team (???) to win.
Prediction: Steelers 27, Jaguars 23.

New York at Tampa Bay- Who could know the outcome of this game. I like what Bill Simmon's said about Tampa- They are a better version of Tennessee. They are consistent, but they won't overwhelm you. What that basically comes down to is are the Giants going to come out and win this game, or lose it? It's all in the Giant's hands. I know people say they spent too much energy against New England, but I think they'll get it right back after this week's Tiki and Ronde Barber quote extravaganza (Tiki on the Tampa sideline= tool). Just give the ball to Jacobs early and build a lead. And remember, the Giants are tremendous on the road. I'll take the G-Men.
Prediction: Giants 20, Tampa Bay 10.

Tennessee at San Diego- Let's see: Tennessee's number one receiver is out, their starting QB and RB are banged up, and their number one defensive player, Albert Haynesworth, is going to be limited at best. These teams played three weeks ago, in Tennessee, with all the Titan's starters at full health, with fighting going on the San Diego sideline occurring during the game, with Phillip Rivers throwing three INTs- and they still lost in OT. Now the game shifts to San Diego, with the Chargers red hot, and Tennessee hurting. This seems like the easiest game to pick.
Prediction: San Diego 27, Tennesse 13.

Redskins, Steelers, Giants, Chargers. Take it to the bank. Wait, actually, just see who wins. Probably better than losing money.

UNIFORMS

I like to read the "Uniwatch" on ESPN.com regularly, and I think this week's article was great. It was all about how teams and players have given tribute to the deceased. The article shows the history of the uniform tribute, all the way back to the early 1900's, and shows practically every uniform tribute to date. Really neat stuff. Here's the link if you want to check it out: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/080103

Now if you don't want to check the article out, here's a couple examples that I thought were really kind of cool:

In 1996 during the Alamo Bowl, Iowa players paid tribute to the death of a teammates mother by taking the log off their helmet. They did the same thing in 1991 when a student shot and killed five others on the Iowa campus, including himself. I think it's such a strong statement to go with the all black helmet, putting the memory/tribute before the school promotion/logo. Patches and decals are great, don't get me wrong, but this seems like a grander and more visible gesture. I liked it.

Really check it out; it's good stuff.

COLLEGE SPORTS

This is Michigan State's upcoming basketball schedule: Minnesota, Purdue, at Iowa, Ohio State, at Minnesota, at Northwestern, Michigan, Illinois, at Penn State, Northwestern, at Purdue- then the matchup with Indiana. Do any of those teams scare you? Our toughest games will probably be Ohio State, Michigan (rivalry), and Illinois- but they're all at home! I will be extremely disappointed with anything less than a 12-0 conference start. Seriously. We should be 24-1 (number 1 in the land?) when we go up against Indiana. I really want that. I don't want to see an inconsistent Michigan State team, like in years past. Let's handle our business this time.

Alright, so I've nailed the Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Orange Bowl to redeem myself for my terrible Rose Bowl pick. One left (well, one that matters left). Ohio State and LSU. I still like Ohio State, and for the same reasons that Adam just posted on his blog. I found the video that Ohio State has been playing all week to its players for motivation, check it out:

If I were an OSU player I'd use this as motivation, but in truth, when I first watched it, I thought some of the comments about OSU were spot on. Haha, well hey, if that helps them get up for the game, more power to them.

NBA

Damn those Pistons look good! Here are some photos from the game Grace and I went to on my birthday. She got some really good seats. They were club level, and it was like I was watching the game from home (we were right next to the camera guys), but only live. They were amazing seats. The crowd was about 1/4 Pistons, which was fun. We had a lot of Pistons fans in our section. It was good to see all the Rip, Sheed, and Chauncey jerseys again. The Washington crowd didn't get up for the game much (expected- we did destroy them), except during Pistons' free throws when they would show pictures of Dallas Cowboys, which received really loud boos. I really liked the Wizards intro a lot. I know it won't come off that great looking from this video, but the players coming out of their sports cars at the beginning looked- and I promise I'll never say this again- pimp.


That being said, nothing beats this intro:



Now seriously, how do you not feel like you, as the visiting team, not feel like you're going to get your ass kicked after intros like that? I'm pumped just watching it from my computer!

Okay, here are some pics from the game. Even my favorite Clinton Portis was there courtside! He's the guy in red vest with his hood up.

And I have to say thanks again to Grace. That was the perfect birthday present. Thank you thank you thank you, I love you so much (awwwww).

COLIN COWHERD

I think I've made it fairly clear that I have a man-crush on Colin Cowherd. I love his show, and I was listening to old clips of his when I came across this rant about American football compared to soccer:

Really there's a lot to argue and disagree with Colin about here. "Football is smart, it's choreographed, you need 15 coaches- soccer needs 2 or 3." That's his opinion, of course, but I am curious to hear what you guys think about what he said, especially about soccer being the world's most popular sport and its nuances. It also should be noted that Cowherd is actually a soccer fan, and has said many times he likes watching it and the such.

The thing that appeals the most to me about Colin is that he takes a stance- whether you agree with it or not- and defends his point pretty well. He's not afraid to argue, and I think that's refreshing.

Okay, I'm done (finally). Thanks for reading.

~Mikey D

Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm way late on this, you don't have to tell me. Here are my picks for this season's bowls. Since I'm so late, you are just going to have to trust that these are my actual picks, even for games that have already happened. The honor system. I'd like to think I have a little honor left...

Utah over Navy (no head coach for Navy)
FAU over Memphis (flipped a coin...and won!)
Cincinnati over Southern Miss (Brian Kelly bandwagon pick)
New Mexico over Nevada (Adam's bowl-naming theory)
BYU over UCLA (UCLA sucks)
Boise State over ECU (no more magic...)
CMU over Purdue (lots of points...just not enough for CMU)
Texas over ASU (I hate the Pac-10)
MSU over BC (should have won this game- but didn't. Matt Ryan=overrated)
TCU over Houston (2 for 2 on coin flips)
Oregon State over Maryland (too far for Maryland to travel)
UConn over Wake (well, I guess UConn's Cinderella season had to end sometime)
UCF over Miss St. (I bought into the Kevin Smith hype)
Penn St. over Texas A&M (Joe Pa versus lame duck coach...easy one)
Alabama over Colorado (in Saban I trust)
Air Force over Cal (I'm wrong...and I still hate the Pac-10)
Fresno State over Georgia Tech (3 for 3)
South Florida over Oregon (I'm impressed, without Dixon they still put on a show)
Kentucky over FSU (FSU gave it their all, I'm impressed again)
Indiana over Oklahoma State (I wanted this one for the Hoosiers...)
Auburn over Clemson (closer than I thought)
Wisconsin over Tennessee (Big 10 love)
Arkansas over Missouri (McFadden is the real deal)
Texas Tech over Virginia (my Crabtree man crush continues)
Florida over Michigan (bye bye Lloyd)
Illinois over USC (this game will be CLOSE)
Georgia over Hawaii (time to play against the big boys, Rainbows)
West Virginia over Oklahoma (I want this one for WVU, and I hate OU)
Kansas over Virginia Tech (shows why they should be in a BCS bowl)
Rutgers over Ball State (4 for 4?)
Tulsa over Bowling Green (I saw Tulsa once this year, and I liked them)
Ohio State over LSU (they want this one BAD. They won't have a repeat of last year)

Currently I am 13-8. Over .500! I'll take it.

Before I wrap this post up, let me just comment on a couple of things. Florida State football players who were caught cheating on their online course. I have to say I'm really disappointed, and it's not from the football players' end. Apparently the music course the players were taking hadn't updated their test in seven years. The players then used the answers from the previous years' tests to pass. And I have zero problem with this. I can remember back in college borrowing notes and old tests from friends who had taken the same course before me to help me study and get a better feel for the final and whatnot. And I don't think I'm alone on that one. I think that's part of the culture of a college student. Students share notes, old tests, etc.- knowledge essentially. Knowing this, how does a university not change its course's final for seven years? That's plain ignorance on FSU's part. In this dog-eat-dog world, sometimes you have to take advantage of the idiots. I know I'll probably get backlash about being honorable and doing the right thing, but if you drop a twenty dollar bill on the ground each year for seven years and never claim it, well then I'm going to keep it and use it because you're an idiot.

Second thing. I hate when bowls promote games as conference matchups. For instance, last night's Auburn-Clemson matchup. They were promoting the game as the SEC versus the ACC. Well, that's not true. It's Auburn versus Clemson. Just because one team wins over the other does not mean that the SEC is better than the ACC. Could that be true, though? Sure, but for that night the only thing that was proven was that Auburn was better Clemson. And this has bugged me for a year now, since last year's bowls when Florida beat OSU. People have been saying that the SEC is far superior than the Big Ten because Florida trounced the Buckeyes. While they might be right in their opinion, you cannot use that game as a basis for your argument. The only thing that game proved was that the Gators beat the Buckeyes on one night in January. That's it! If you want to use that for your argument, what about Penn State beating Tennesee and Wisconsin beating Arkansas last year? Doesn't that mean the Big Ten, since it won more games against the SEC, was better?

If you have conference pride, that's great. You should root for your conference to win. Just don't promote these bowls as conference versus conference, because that's not what they represent. It's team A versus team B, with different conference affiliations for each. Okay, done with that rant.

Enough college football =).

~Mikey D