Going on record with a national champ; the tall task of getting mad at Dale Jr.
Reading can be enjoyable...unless you're trying to pick a national champ.
USC +400
LSU +500
Alabama +550
Oklahoma +1000
Oregon +1200
Florida State +1400
Georgia +1600
Arkansas +1800
Virginia Tech +2500
Notre Dame +2800
Texas +2800
Clemson +3300
Michigan +3300
South Carolina +3300
West Virginia +3300
Nebraska +4000
Boise State +5000
Florida +5000
TCU +5000
Auburn +6000
Kansas State +6000
Wisconsin +6000
Michigan State +6600
Mississippi State +8000
Oklahoma State +8000
California +10000
Cincinnati +10000
Iowa +10000
Missouri +10000
Stanford +10000
Tennessee +10000
Washington +10000
Miami (Fla.) +12500
Pittsburgh +12500
South Florida +12500
Texas A&M +12500
Arizona +15000
BYU +15000
Georgia Tech +15000
Illinois +20000
Oregon State +20000
UCLA +20000
Duke +Onebillionzillion
-USC is loaded, from quarterback Matt Barkley on down the line, but are we ready to go outside the SEC for a champ? That’s been fool’s gold for too long, hasn’t it?
-Read the story in SI last night about how so many teams are trying to copy Nick Saban’s “Process.” If he’s already got the process down, why are we looking anywhere else?
-Part of me wants to believe this is the year an ACC team gets it done. Then that part gets punched in the face by the realistic part of me.
-These are the nuggets that kill me: Oklahoma’s offensive line has 102 combined starts on its resume (by comparison, Virginia Tech has 14, Virginia has 58). Those guys are buttressing a quarterback, Landry Jones, who already has a 4,000-yard passing season to his credit. Hmm…
Care to hop on into this shark-infested pool? Let’s see who’s swimming come January. Who do you got? I’ll post my pick this afternoon so I’ll be on record too.
AMAC’S LOCAL PICK OF THE DAY
-Andy Bitter’s story on Wes Worsham, quite possibly the biggest Hokie booster in the land (outside of Barry on this blog). I’m reminded of that tongue-in-cheek tweet from former Tech longsnapper Collin Carroll this time last year, when Miami booster Nevin Shapiro started chirping from jail. “Note: If Wes Worsham is ever indicted for orchestrating a Ponzi Scheme… BAIL HIM OUT!”
LONGISH STORY OF THE WEEK
-ESPN The Magazine profiles Urban Meyer — the coach and the man, focusing on the internal struggle he wages between pouring himself into his job and being a good family man. The writer, Wright Thompson, does an excellent job injecting some ambiguity into what will happen next. Will Urban keep his promises? Or will he bow to football addiction again?
TELLING: I didn’t watch yesterday’s NASCAR race, so I went to CBSSports.com looking for the results and story. The site had two NASCAR-related links on its front page: “Biffle wins Michigan 400″ and “Gordon angry at Jr?”
Any guess which one I clicked on?
Yep, the possible feud, which really doesn’t seem like much of one after reading Gordon’s quotes. More like a little frustration, and that is to be expected after his day ended with engine problems. But it got me thinking: What if Gordon and Junior really did start going at it week after week? Or Stewart and Junior? Or Johnson and Junior? Hell, anybody and Junior? How much juice would that add to the sport?
Hard to picture, though, isn’t it? Let’s face it: Forget about how well-liked he is in the grandstands; Junior is too well-liked in the garage for the sport’s own good. It also doesn’t help that some of NASCAR’s biggest stars are on his own team.
MONDAY HEADLINES: MLB uncovers attempted scheme to exonerate Melky Cabrera…”Honey Badger Effect” blamed for LSU falling from No. 1 in coaches poll to No. 3 in AP…Ex-Hokie Jayron Hosley suffers turf toe injury during big preseason performance with Giants…Final round of the Wyndham Championship on Golf channel starting at 9 a.m…Ichiro hits two homers as Yankees beat Red Sox…Pirates outlast Cardinals in 19 innings…O’s still hangin’ in there.
IDENTIFY THE MOVIE
“Unleash the fury, Mitch. Unleash the fury. Come on, Mitch. Eat him. Please, Mitch. Go get him, boy. He’s right there. Kill him. Maim him. Bite him. Unleash the fury!”
NAME THAT TUNE
Well, it’s Friday and it’s my day
Just to party all the way to Sunday
Maybe ’til Monday, I dunno what day
Every day’s just a holiday
Crusin’ on the freeway
Feelin’ kinda breezy
Got the top down, lettin’ my hair blow
I dunno where I’m goin’
All I know is when I get there
Someone’s gonna “touch my body”
August 20, 2012 - 9:08 AM
You have to give it to Melky for his originality. But then you think about it and realize maybe he wasn’t the first guy to come up with a scheme like that. 50 games is pretty stiff for a first offense but maybe not harsh enough yet to stop guys from trying. Jeff Gordon is extremely frustrated but JR really didn’t do anything wrong yesterday. Kyle Busch really irritated the NASCAR fan base a few years ago when he wrecked JR at Richmond. One could even argue it has cost him money because how many endorsement chances are their for a sports biggest villain? National Champion will be from the SEC again just pick one.
Alabama lost several players to the draft. LSU lost Honey Badger, and that figures to impact them in several ways. USC could make an apperance. After that, it just seem to be muddled. Oklahoma could make an apperance.
From the ACC, FSU is probably the only one with a legitimate shot, only if they go undefeated, and win the title. VT could, but they will need a lot of luck and go undefeated as well.
I don’t have a clear favorite to win it all. My inital thought was West Virginia could, but then they are changing to a 3-4 base defense, and that’s going to cause some growing pain.
AMc, if you don’t mind – some of us are not versed in gambling on sports. What do your numbers mean. I know 5 to 1 odds, but I don’t understand +3300 or whatever.
CR — for every $100 you bet, that’s how much you’d win. So +3300 would pay $3,300 on a $100 bet.
Another way to look at it — just take the two zeroes off the end and that’s the odds (USC is 4-to-1).
Urban Meyer is a narcissistic diva who pretends he’s torn between football and a stable lifestyle. Nothing could be farther from the truth. His wife must be extremely patient, or extremely attracted to his income.
When you say this is the year an ACC team ‘gets it done’, surely you don’t mean – wins the MNC? Surely you mean – wins their BCS game against an elite opponent. Because anything more than that is laughable.
I think most of the NASCAR drivers understand how important Dale Jr’s name is to the sport. Huge emphasis on – NAME.
I also think most of the drivers recognize that Dale Jr will not be an elite driver like a Jimmy Johnson, Tony Stewart, or Jeff Gordon, so they don’t fret too much about his actions. I’ve heard Tony Stewart make remarks about Junior before, too, but they are good buddies.
Dale Jr is in it to make money, and he’ll cruise through his career having never seriously challenging anyone. At the end of the day, Dale Jr can – not work out, not train, not obsess over the car, not give extra effort, not focus on marketing (that what his sister is for), not think about his finances – and still be worth about three times financially what Jimmie Johnson, 5 time champion, is worth.
It’s not fair, but sometimes it’s good to be the crown prince…
I had a great time watching the scrimmage on Saturday. I think that Hughes kid should be the starting punter. I was really impressed with Coleman. Gregory doesn’t seem to have lkost his burst as evident by his 22-yard rushing touchdown.
I really am optimistic that the offense will be ready for Georgia Tech.
I used to like Michigan, just because of their choice of Wolverines as a mascot. Now, I like Honey badgers, because they are Wolverines with attitude, as though that is even possible.
It’s like the crew is sitting around and saying – ‘Wolverines are just too bland. What can we do to juice them up? To give them an edge? How about giving them a blonde mohawk?…’
Who cares about NASCAR at this time of the year….all we want to see are articles about how great the Hokies are going to be (and win the National Championship once again when they have never beaten a top 5 team) The Hokies provide splendid entertainment for all of us!!! The Jackets will sting!!!!!!!!!!
The movie’s gotta be Road Trip!
Seriously considering talking the boys on my son’s little league football team into sporting that honey badger look this fall. That would be pretty sweet. Wow 14 starts combined on the line for the Hokies? I would be very worried if I were a Hokie fan. They should be getting a good work out from the defense though. I am always amazed that Texas does not dominate football year in and out like the SEC does. Nobody in the USA has football fever like they do in Texas. High School football there is like a fanatical religion and the money Texas brings in for football is astronomical. You have to think one day soon they will get things together and rise to the top.
HokieGal has nailed the movie. Song still up for grabs.
Fun fact: Former Tech placekicker Carter Warley used to do a similar “Unleash the Fury” exercise with his pet boa constrictor.
I think sports in general, and football in particular, are wonderful ways to educate children and to expose them to a new dynamic.
The value of a team, th value of overcoming adversity, the value of coordination with others – those are only a fraction of the benefits.
As to the question of college football, well, I don’t know. I would feel good about my sun at a small school, not very much at a FBS school.
STOP THE PRESS!
Augusta Nationals have admitted two women into their memberships for the very first time in it’s secretive history.
And folks thought that the Freemasons were ultrasecrective.
Now, we resume the normal bantering of this blog.
Eminem – Just lose it
J.M. White nails the song. A very funny song, IMO, that speaks to Eminem’s genius.
Here’s the story Trevor mentioned (thanks man) on Augusta National admitting two female members.
I am surprised none of the Danica lovers on the blog commented on the shoe incident at Montreal over the weekend. It seems that they have a problem with people chucking shoes on the track there. Danica in strong contention for her first Nascar win ran over a shoe and broke her trackbar. She ended up 27th but if not for the shoe she may have one.
*won. Stupid auto correct
For no particular reason, I’ll pick Oklahoma. USC may be the favorite, but as with Notre Dame, I wouldn’t pick them for guaranteed money.
The only way an SEC team does not win the Championship is if they beat themselves. Alabama won’t do that, Miles proved in last year’s Championship game that LSU can beat themselves. No one in the ACC, Big East, or Big 10 belongs on the same field with the SEC winner, unless a dark horse like South Carolina or Georgia wins. OU would beat anyone but Alabama, Kiffin’s ego will cost USC at least one game by overlooking the opponent.
Gordon whines all the time, yesterday he got mad because Jr. passed him on the low side. Watch Gordon and you will see that he does things to other drivers that he whines about when they do it to him. My bet is he has been whining since he found out he wasn’t tall enough to play tennis.
I really want to say Oklahoma but I’m going with LSU.
The only real “story” from yesterday’s Nascar race was the fact that Mark Martin came within about 8 inches of being killed in a freak accident when he hit the end of the pit wall. The concrete impaled his car less than a foot behind his seat, on the driver’s side.
I’ll go on record with LSU over WVU in the championship game. (I picked Geno Smith for the Heisman on Friday, so I’ll go “all in” here.) And for the record, I’m a PSU/VT fan with a high amount of dislike for WVU, but they look too good in a weak conference this year.
I am saddened that the briefing has failed to mention, as it reaches a full week of activity, perhaps the finest sporting event of all time. What is that? The Little League World Series, of course.
There are no steroids. No overpaid players, just the ocaisional falsified birth certificate. When they lose, the tears are real, but 30 minutes later, the pizza and corndogs taste just as good as if you had won the game.
I’ve been to too many college football games, the BCS championship game, multiple bowl games, a bunch of MLB games, a couple of MLB all-star games, even some MLB playoff games, and countless huge NASCAR events. Nothing, absolutely nothing, compares to watching free baseball in Williamsport, PA in person.
Texas and Tennessee look pretty good, at this point. They meet up on Wednesday, in the battle of US unbeatens. Although, Japan has one horse of a kid, that if you have to face him, he could shut you down.
This is true baseball – you have to play everybody – pitch counts really matter (ahem, Washington Nationals, let’s just see how long Strasburg goes), and when the guy on the mound wants to say “the umpire sucks” his coach says “you can’t say that” and takes the ball from him.
RP, wasn’t that a scary wreck? I can’t imagine the roll cage holding up under that impact. He hit it too direct, too solid. The roll cage is designed for the car literally “rolling” and protecting the driver. If he hits just a foot further up in the car, there is no way he survives that wreck.
Rick — You don’t have to play everybody, do you? Unless they’ve changed it since I was in Little League. Once you got to all-stars there was no minimum requirement for PT.
Conversely Danica, I don`t see you winning the race shoe or not. I`m thinking there are a couple of loafers just following waiting to put a move on. Of course you might hook up with a team mate and pull the old flip flop at the finish line. Irregardless, keep kicking away and soon you will get your foot in the door of Victory Lane.
Yup, everybody on the roster has to play 3 outs in the field, and have an at bat. Kind of tough to work with no free defensive substitution. My kid played Dixie, where it was a defensive free for all. You could have 3 DH’s if you wanted to. You have a batting order, but nobody gave a crap about who was in the field on defense – except the guy toeing the rubber.
Yesterday, maybe Saturday, it was classic. One of the US teams was in dire straits, the team from Indiana, I think. They needed to make a pitching change, and obviously do some defensive shuffling.
Apparently, it didn’t work with the mandatory play requirement, and the coach, who was mic’d up, was on the mound asking his infielders who could play third . . . . ‘well, I don’t care if you haven’t, you have to, somebody has to,’ or something to that effect.
Where it gets a little dicey in LL is some teams will have a larger roster than others, and that will bite them. I think 12 is the expected all-star roster, and if you have less, the subs may have to play more (6 outs, in the field, maybe). If you have more, you just have to play everybody 3 outs and 1 AB.
That, my friend, is why you need to be watching the greatest spectacle in sports! Some times, you have to bring the runny nosed kid named Booger off the bench to bat, too (not just throw the snot ball), and it might be with the bases loaded, one run down, in the bottom of the sixth.
No all play rule once you get to all stars. Do enjoy that little league world series. For the most part I really don’t enjoy pro sports anymore. Give me a good high school or college game any day. Same thing with NASCAR. I would much rather see the short track races than a NASCAR race these days.
I grew up an hour from Williamsport & have never been to a LLWS game. Count me as one person who is against the “ESPN-ization” of the LLWS. I enjoyed watching the championship game on ABC’s Wide World of Sports as a kid, but I don’t always like ESPN’s coverage of it.
This weekend ESPN commentators announced “New Jersey hasn’t won a LLWS game since 2003.” But they failed to mention that the kids on this year’s New Jersey team were 4 years old at the time.
So, Aaron, what says you? Who do you have penciled as your national champion?
Well, think I have to go with Oklahoma on this one. Very strong OL, NFL caliber QB and a decent defense. Don’t trust USC and I feel like this is one of those years that the SEC knocks each other about, maybe a 2 loss SEC team gets in. Check out Georgia’s schedule though, they could easily sneak in there. Florida State? I’ve fallen for that gag before, they won’t get me this time!
I’ll go with RP on this one.
I’ll go on record with LSU over WVU in the championship game. (I picked Geno Smith for the Heisman on Friday, so I’ll go “all in” here.) And for the record, I’m a PSU/VT fan with a high amount of dislike for WVU, but they look too good in a weak conference this year.
Comment by RP — August 20, 2012 @ 2:43 pm
Oh, there is no doubt about it. The Hokies will win it all (again) because they are a top ranked team that can never beat a top ranked team. Dan—don’t fall for the Hokies being a top ranked team either. FSU looks better than VT.
Better late than never. I’m going with Oklahoma, primarily because of that o-line stat.
Hokies win it all?…..In your dreams maybe…lol
I thought of Oklahoma too, which is why I mentioned them as a possibility. However, they tend to lose to the wrong team at the worse time, they lost to an overacheiving BYU (and lost Sam Bradford for most of the season), they lost a headscratcher to Iowa State, and I could go on. Right now, the picture is as murky as a hippo taking a swim in the Nile River. I’ll get a better picture by Novemeber.