End of Summer Ramblings

Time for a little catch-up rambling on this, the last day of summer...

The Eagles-Giants game did figure to a close one and in close games it usually comes down to kicking. Having David Akers definitely gave the Eagles the advantage, however the most important kick of the game obviously came from Trent Cole. Look for the Eagles to rebound strongly against the 49ers.

Going into this weekend's series against the Marlins, the Phillies are a half game out of the Wild Card lead, behind the Dodgers, and the Phills have the all important game in hand. If they can win more games against the Marlins than they lose, I think the Phills clinch that final playoff spot. And despite what has happened this season, the Phills have the pitching to make some noise come October. I'll throw Myers, Hamels, Moyer, and Lieber out there against any other rotation, have Wolf available for long relief, and Madson and Gordon ready to go for the 8th and 9th and I'll feel good with my chances as long as the hitting can put together a few runs here and there (ie Pat Burrell doesn't look at a third strike everytime the bases are loaded). The National League obviously is weak. The Cardinals' pitching is suspect, the Padres are streaky, the Dodgers have fallen off of late, and the Mets are suspect to a late season collapse under the pressure (plus their pitching is a huge question mark right now). It's simple; pitching wins in October.

Oh, and Ryan Howard is the NL MVP, just in case you were wondering.

Penn State hasn't won in Columbus, Ohio since joining the Big Ten in 1993. Ohio State is ranked #1 going in (PSU is #24/25 depending on the poll) and they're out for revenge on the Nittanys after last year's game, a 17-10 PSU victory and only their second loss of all of last season. Penn State will play better against Ohio State than they did against Notre Dame and I think the wide receivers for Penn State have a big game against the Buckeye secondary. If Penn State can keep it close going into the half, look for Tony Hunt to be the key player the rest of the way. Having said that, I say Ohio State wins a good, close game, 23-17. Then Penn State will go on to win the rest of their games.

Here's today's Enraging Thought of the Day; Why does McDonald's charge a Take Out Tax on their food? Does anybody else do this?

Kevin's Six Pack for the Weekend
Eagles over the 49ers
Seahawks over Giants
Bengals over Steelers
Ohio State over Penn State
California over Arizona State
West Chester over Shippensburg