DR. PHIL : The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on 'THIS' side of the road before it goes after the problem on the 'OTHER SIDE' of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his 'CURRENT' problems before adding 'NEW' problems.
OPRAH : Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.
GEORGE W. BUSH : We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.
COLIN POWELL : Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road...
ANDERSON COOPER - CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.
JOHN KERRY : Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.
NANCY GRACE : That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.
PAT BUCHANAN : To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.
MARTHA STEWART : No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.
DR SEUSS : Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY : To die in the rain. Alone.
GRANDPA : In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.
BARBARA WALTERS : Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.
JOHN LENNON : Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.
ARISTOTLE : It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.
BILL GATES : I have just released eChicken2007, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken This new platform is much more stable and will never cra...#@&&^(C% ........ reboot.
ALBERT EINSTEIN : Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?
BILL CLINTON : I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?
AL GORE : I invented the chicken!
COLONEL SANDERS : Did I miss one?
DICK CHENEY : Where's my gun?
AL SHARPTON : Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.
MR. SPOCK : Did the chicken cross the road? If he crossed the road certainly he had no reason to as a chicken as it would mean expending more effort than the food he would find on the other side could provide the energy for. If he crossed the road.... that can only mean that Colonel Sanders was close behind and closing in on him. Captain- if we can approach Colonel Sanders from the correct approaching angle, we may stop him from strangling the chicken. *looks pensive, then checks Captain*.
PETE ROSE : I don't know, but I swear I didn't bet on it.
JACK NICHOLSON : 'Cause it (censored) wanted to. That's the (censored) reason.
CAST OF LOST : Jack Sheppard: I don't know, maybe the chicken was just moving in that direction. Why does it have to mean anything that it crossed the road? John Locke: The Island demanded that the chicken cross at that moment. Sawyer: Why are you so interested in the damn chicken, Colonel Sanders? Tired of mangos? Sayid, calmly: I know more about chickens and the use of them crossing roads than I care to remember. I don't know what is more disturbing. The fact that that chicken has crossed the road, or that it has only three toes. Early Shannon: Oh my God, why should we care if the chicken crossed the road or not? It has nothing to do with us. Hugo "Hurley" Reyes: Dude, did you see a chicken come this way?
This afternoon I took some time to scan some more photos as part of my Great Scan Project, in which I am digitally archiving all of my old photographs. I was only able to scan about 15 pictures today but that brings my total up to 308 pictures. There is still a long way to go though so who knows when it will be complete.
I wanted to share a couple of my favorites so far with you. None of these are on my Flickr account yet.
This was taken when I went on a road trip out to Pittsburgh with some friends from Shippensburg. We went to see the Pirates take on the LA Dodgers.
Here is a shot of some friends on a band trip to Virginia Beach. Front (from left to right): Mercer, Megan, Aislinn, Eckert. Back row (from left to right): Greg, Carmen, me.
Here is a picture I took in Austria. Because I didn't label where every photo was taken though, it could be from Germany.
I love Nintendo. I hate the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector. Ever since getting it to connect my Wii to the internet it has been on again, off again as far as the connection's stability goes. I don't understand how the Wii and USB connector stop communicating, because each recognize that their Wi-Fi waves are in the air, they just sometimes refuse to communicate 100%. It's like Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens on the football field; they acknowledge each other, they just don't like each other.
Oh wait, T.O. has always had great relationships with his quarterbacks. Anyway...
Today I will start keeping track of how many days can go by before the Wii and USB Connector stop playing nice for me. Today is Day One.
This kid sums up my frustrations, although in a less mature style of course...
Brace yourself and go get a snack and a beverage of choice, for this is a traditional Football Friday post with more detail and links galore that are thrown in for your reading and relaxing pleasure. Go ahead, I'll wait!
In the Wild Card weekend of the playoffs I went a respectable 4-2 including a pair of meaningless bowl games. But then I went ahead with the bonehead decision to put my faith in Penn State's Big Ten brother in Ohio, and picked the Ohio State Buckeyes to topple the hometown LSU Tigers in my BCS Championship bonus pick. That terrible decision dropped me to 4-3. For the season I currently sit with a record of 73-44.
And now that bowl season is over let us review all of my bowl game picks this season.
San Diego County Credit Union Bowl: I picked Utah over Navy. CORRECT! New Orleans Bowl: I picked Memphis over Florida Atlantic. WRONG! Papajohns.com Bowl: I picked Cincinnati over Southern Mississippi. CORRECT! New Mexico Bowl: I picked Nevada over New Mexico. Oops. WRONG! Las Vegas Bowl: I picked BYU over UCLA. CORRECT! Hawaii Bowl: I picked Boise State over Eastern Carolina. WRONG! Motor City Bowl: I picked Purdue over Central Michigan. CORRECT! Holiday Bowl: In picked Texas over Arizona State. CORRECT! Champs Sports Bowl: I picked Boston College over Michigan State. CORRECT! Texas Bowl: I picked TCU over Houston. CORRECT! Emerald Bowl: I picked Oregon State over Maryland. CORRECT! Meineke Car Care Bowl. I picked UConn over Wake Forest. WRONG! Liberty Bowl: I picked UCF over Mississippi St. WRONG! Alamo Bowl: I picked Penn State over Texas A&M. CORRECT! (Of course!) Independence Bowl: I picked Alabama over Colorado. CORRECT! Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl: I picked Air Force over California. WRONG! Humanitarian Bowl: I picked Fresno State over Georgia Tech. CORRECT! Sun Bowl: I picked South Florida over Oregon. WRONG! Music City Bowl: I picked Kentucky over Florida State. CORRECT! Insight Bowl: I picked Indiana over Oklahoma State. WRONG! Chick-fil-a Bowl: I picked Auburn over Clemson. CORRECT! Outback Bowl: I picked Wisconsin over Tennessee. WRONG! Cotton Bowl: I picked Missouri over Arkansas. CORRECT! Gator Bowl: I picked Virginia over Texas Tech. WRONG! Capital One Bowl: I picked Florida over Michigan. WRONG! Rose Bowl: I picked USC over Illinois. CORRECT! Sugar Bowl: I picked Georgia over Hawaii. CORRECT! Fiesta Bowl: I picked Oklahoma over West Virginia. WRONG! Orange Bowl: I picked Virginia Tech over Kansas. WRONG! International Bowl: I picked Rutgers over Ball State. CORRECT! GMAC Bowl: I picked Tulsa over Bowling Green. CORRECT! BCS Championship: I picked Ohio State over LSU. WRONG!
Bowl record: 18-14
Hideous! Embarrassing! Humiliating! On ESPN's College Bowl Mania I ranked #233,938! GASP! That's awful! That is a finish in the 18.94 percentile! Yuck! Let's just move on please, can we?
This weekend's Six Pack of Picks for the Weekend focuses on the NFL's divisional round of playoff action. Some good match-ups here folks.
In the NFC we have the Seattle Seahawks, champions of the NFC West division and victors last week over the Washington Redskins, visiting the Green Bay Packers, who are coming off their first round bye week and are lead by none other than Brett Favre. Do you remember the last time these teams played in the playoffs? The game went to overtime and a young and over confident and excited quarterback Matt Hasselbeck called the coin flip for the Seahawks and said into the ref's microphone, "We want the ball and we're gonna win!" Obviously the Green Bay fans were not happy, but it was Hasselbeck who ended up tossing the game winning touchdown in that overtime. The only problem was Al Harris was the man who scored that touchdown, and he played for the Packers (and he still does). I am on the Packer band wagon in the NFC and I hope, and predict, the Packers will win this game and move on.
In the other game, the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys will meet for the first time in the playoffs. There have been 90 plus games between these two rivals but I found it hard to believe this is the first playoff game between the two. A lot of people are predicting the Giants to win this game, much to my chagrin. I find it impossible, as an Eagles fan, to "root" for either of these teams in this game. Therefore, I have no rooting interest. Both teams are evil in my mind. It is a lose-lose for me because I either hear about the heralded quarterbacking of the young gun-slingerTony Romo or the wonderful evolution of Eli Manning. I either hear about Terrel Owens recovering from injury to help his team win or I get another week of PlaxicoBurress thinking he is the man. Tom Coughlin is annoying and I detest all of the Wade Phillips hysteria. We know it doesn't take a genius to win in professional sports (see Terry Francona) so I don't want to hear people proclaim Phillips to be all that until he wins a playoff game, or two. Much is being made about Tony Romo going on a vacation with Jessica Simpson last week too, but I don't buy it. The Cowboys are a better team than the Giants and I think they will pull one more out. I would rather see New York win (assuming Green Bay wins) because I'd like to see the Packers host a conference championship game in the historic "Frozen Tundra" instead of seeing another game in that dump of a stadium in Irving, Texas.
As for the AFC, the unbeatable Patriots play host to what seems to be everybody's newest "Patriot Killer" darling, the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags are getting attention and respect because they beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh twice this season. Sure, I picked the Steelers to win in the Wild Car round against the Jaguars, but there is nothing that tells me the Patriots are losing the rest of the season. They are just too good and at this point, they play their best. Everybody continues to point out the weaknesses of the Patriots and some say the Jaguars are just the team to expose them and beat them. Whatever.
The Patriots are at home. They have the edge in just about every category against Jacksonville, with the Jags maybe getting a slight edge at running back, but when was the last time New England needed to rely on their running game at any point this season? As long as Tom Brady is the quarterback and Randy Moss is one of his targets, who cares about a running game? Certainly not the Patriots. They also NEVER sweat or succumb to pressure. And now people think the Jaguars can overtake them this weekend. NO WAY.
Look, I am not a Patriots fan by any stretch of the imagination. If anything I would be ecstatic to see them lose just about any day. While I have no ounce of love for them I do respect history and I would love to see a team go undefeated. The Patriots just so happen to be that team that can pull it off, but alas, one game at a time. They will beat the Jaguars.
Oh yeah, did you know there is a team in Indianapolis? They play pretty well too and rumor has it they just won the Super Bowl last year. I need to confirm my sources because I didn't think anybody outside of Boston won championships lately, but I'll get back to you. The Colts play host to the San Diego Chargers this weekend, and while I'll be rooting for the Chargers, I find it hard to believe that the Colts will lose. This game may be close though and I believe will be a better game than the Pats-Jags match-up.
So let us recap the Six Pack of Picks for the Weekend...
Green Bay Packers over Seattle Seahawks Dallas Cowboys over New York Giants New England Patriots over Jacksonville Jaguars Indianapolis Colts over San Diego Chargers
Wait, that's only four games! Ahh, I hate when college football ends. So, as I have done before, lets throw in some college basketball picks to round out the Six Pack until the NFL season is over.
#17 Villanova over Cincinnati (Saturday) #5 UCLA over #4 Washington State (Saturday)
Here is my Playoff Fantasy roster for this weekend as well. My salary breaks even at $0.0.
Now THIS was a classic Football Friday post! How I missed them!
It's hard for me to sit still with my template. I always want to add something to it. Having said that though, I do believe that this is the template I will be sticking with for a good while. I may mess with the color scheme a little but this template gives me the look and feel I want, plus allows me to add the functionality of the social bookmarking buttons. Does anyone ever use them? Probably not, but they are there for you if you ever need them!
On the left you can check out a number of links, including my friends' blogs as well as some of my favorite blogs. The Penn State blogs and Phillies blogs get their own section.
On the right you will find my Facebook and Flickr badges, as well as my Amazon Wish List, in case you ever want to buy me a present or something. Also there is my VodPod, a collection of video clips that will likely be found in this blog somewhere. And finally you can find out what book I am reading, what game I am focusing on playing, as well as what can be found in my DVD player. This year I would like to try and make an effort towards getting back to writing my reviews of books I've read and comment on the DVD's I watch or games I play. So be on the look out for that. I am (finally) almost finished Peanuts and Friends.
I received a notification the other day stating that one of my photos had been selected for use on a tourist information website. Pretty cool, huh? The photo I took of the St. Petersburg Times Forum in Tampa is being used by Schmap! Here is the photo, and you can click the photo to check out the site itself. In addition I noticed that The 700 Level has used one of my photos from Eagles training camp for a story they put together for another website. I wasn't asked for permission but I submitted the photo to the Flickr pool for The 700 Level so it's all good. Not like the time I found a photo of myself being used by We Should be GM's.
Received this with the newspaper the other day. I like free samples. I wish we got more. The only time as a kid I ever got to have Lucky Charms or Count Chocula or any other marshmallow cereal was when we got the free samples in the mail. It was like a sweet bonus!
On a day when my dream job popped back up on Careerbuilder once again (I interviewed with them back in early November only to find out they thought about not hiring for the position), I had an interview with a staffing agency that is doing the hiring for this company.
I'm supposed to wait to hear about a second interview with the company itself. I should know by the end of the week. Crossing fingers!
I also resubmitted for the previous job opening as well!
LSU won the BCS "National" Championship. Appalachian State won the FCS National Championship. Valdosta State won the division two national championship. And University of Wisconsin - Whitewater won the division three national championship.
Seeing as everybody seems to have a different opinion on a national champion on the grand stage that is the Football Bowl Subdivision, ruined by the Bowl Championship Series computers and after witnessing LSU become the first ever two loss BCS champion I figured I'd throw my argument in there as well.
So today, I officially proclaim that the University of Kansas is the first annual Ramblings National Champion!
With a record of 12-1 and capping off the best season in Kansas' history with a victory in the Orange Bowl, I proudly announce Kansas to be national title worthy in this crazy season of college football.
Why Kansas? Well, why not? The "national champion" LSU Tigers had two losses this season. Kansas only had one! ONE! Kansas had a good story all year and was clearly disrespected all season because of their schedule. Of course, had Oklahoma or Texas gone 12-1 with Kansas' record those schools would have been lauded and tauted as national title contenders instead of pretenders, which Kansas was leveled too after losing to Missouri in the final week of the season before conference championships. Never mind the fact that Missouri was the best team in the Big XII conference (I hear you Boomer Sooners, calm down).
Kansas was fortunate enough to still be invited to the Orange Bowl where they dismantled the favored Virginia Tech Hokies. Today they can crown themselves as national champions. It may not be as rewarding (no cash involved, that's for sure), or as prestigious (you won't hear about this on ESPN or Sports Illustrated), but I feel recognition should be given to the team who exhibits the character and sportsmanship that a national title winner should exhibit.
Congratulations Kansas! Your certificate is in the mail.
That's right folks, the playoffs are here! And with it I bring you the playoff edition of Kevin's Six Pack of Picks for the Weekend! I rebounded last week, going 5-1 with my lone loss being the Colorado-Alabama bowl game. My record going into this final full week for picking stands at 69-41. Not too shabby, but I look forward to stronger 2008 when that time comes.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers over New York Giants Pittsburgh Steelers over Jacksonville Jaguars Seattle Seahawks over Washington Redskins San Diego Chargers over Tennessee Titans Rutgers over Ball State (International Bowl) Tulsa over Bowling Green (GMAC Bowl)
Bonus pick in honor of the mythical "national" championship which is the BCS Championship; "THE" #1 Ohio State over #2 LSU.
As for my fantasy playoff roster, here's my lineup for the wild card round;
Quarterbacks: Ben Roethlisburger (Pit) and Jeff Garcia (TB) Running back: LaDainian Tomlinson (SD) and Fred Taylor (Jac) Wide receiver: Hines Ward (Pit) and Reggie Williams (Jac) Tight end: Alex Smith (TB) Kicker: Josh Brown (Sea) Defense: Seattle
Enjoy this weekend of football folks!
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Just a quick post for the weekend picks folks. I'm busy playing Wii in my spare time.
Penn State over Texas A&M (Alamo Bowl) Wake Forest over #25 Connecticut (Meineke Car Care Bowl) Colorado over Alabama (Independence Bowl) Philadelphia Eagles over Buffalo Bills New England Patriots over New York Giants Washington Redskins over Dallas Cowboys
There you have it! I'll be rooting on my Nittany Lions with my good pal Paul, who is coming down to watch the game with us. I hope everybody is having a terrific holiday season and I hope you got what you really wanted!
To those who celebrate it, Merry Christmas! I won't be posting anything new probably the whole week until Friday when I post my weekend picks (I went another awful 2-4 this past weekend)! So I hope you have a safe and happy holiday!
Well folks the final weekend of the NFL regular season is upon us and it is time to start thinking about the playoffs. I extend an invitation to YOU to join my playoff league, hosted by ESPN's Gridiron Challenge.
I have set up a group that is private, but I will provide the sign up necessities right here if you are interested in joining. I am extending an open invitation to everybody I know and everybody who happens to read this blog. There is no prize except for bragging rights and there is no fee to sign up (you just need to set up a registration with ESPN...again, free).
I'll be sure to post a recap after each week as well so you can see how glorious you or a friend are doing. Again, it's really easy to set up. It only took me two minutes to set up my team, and everyone can use the same players (that means everyone can use Tom Brady in the division round for their team). Good luck!
This one comes a little earlier than the usual Friday posting, so pardon me while I mess with your regular Ramblings reading schedule! The Christmas holiday is shifting some things around for me so I figured I should get this out before the weekend starts, especially with the return of the college football picks with bowl games starting tonight!
So here is Kevin's Six Pack of Picks for the Weekend - Egg Nog Bowl Edition!
New Orleans Saints over Philadelphia Eagles Carolina Panthers over Dallas Cowboys Cleveland Browns over Cincinnati Bengals Utah over Navy (San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia ...whew!...Bowl) Memphis over Florida Atlantic (Up Up Down Down Left Right R + L Carriers New Orleans Bowl) Cincinatti over Southern Miss (Papajohns.com Bowl...because they couldn't just call it the Papajohns Bowl).
Last week I continued to leap towards the finish line with another abysmal week, although improved over the previous week, with a 2-4 record, putting my season long total at 62-36. C'mon Kevin, finish strong!
In other football picking news, I am currently 58 points behind my dad in his office pool for the year. While I am not mathematically eliminated, for all intents and purposes, I am not going to beat him this year. I don't remember the totals from last year but I imagine I closed the gap some on him this year. I did win as many times as him though this year with two weeks to go. I am also participating in a couple Bowl Game pick em contests; one with Sports Radio 950AM (click the button to check it out) and the other through ESPN's site. Through ESPN I am taking part in the Black Shoe Diaries pool, as well as the groups "pennsylvania people only" and taking my shot in the biggest pool titled ESPNU College Football Insider.
Here are my picks as they appear on ESPN's pools;
Click to enlarge
I'm playing big points against the Big Ten, with USC as my 32 point game against Illinois (Rose Bowl) and Florida over Michigan (Capital One Bowl). My somewhat surprising pick is 20 points on the Buckeyes against LSU in the BCS "Championship". The more I think about it the more I'm starting to think that Jim Tressel isn't going to be as unprepared as he was last year. Much was made about the speed factor between Ohio State and Florida. I witnessed a huge difference in coaching in addition to that and I feel that is often overlooked. By no means am I rooting for the Buckeyes, but I am starting to feel they will win...much to my chagrin.
Penn State is my eleven point game after I dropped it twice while filling it out. I don't think they will lose but I can't put many more points on Anthony Morelli and the offensive play calling. No offense (heh, get it? It's a play on words of course). I figure Dan Connor and Sean Lee are what kept PSU from being my 6 point game.
Alabama and Colorado is my one point game. Who knows what Alabama or Colorado teams will show up. I figure only Buffalo and Crimson Tide fans will be using a lot of points on that one.
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It has been some time since I shared these videos with you. Behold two of the latest episodes of Play Value, from ON Networks;
Controversy
I love the line at the end and could not agree with it more;
"The bottom line is that they can regulate and they can market these things all they want, but it is up to the parents to keep track of what their kids are playing. If parents did their job the government would not always have to step in." Jeff Rubin
And here is the latest bit...
Colecovision
I loved Colecovision, even though my family only ever had Donkey Kong, and that came with the system. We had an Atari 2600 though so that probably stole the thunder from the Colecovision.
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I saw the new Will Smith movie, I Am Legend, and when I walked back to my car Saturday night I was left in awe. I loved what I had seen and I could not wait to see it again!
Yes, the movie was good and Will Smith was great as usual, but my favorite scene happened before the movie even started. I am referring to the trailer for The Dark Knight, the sequel to the revived Batman franchise due out in 2008.
Observe if you have not yet seen it...
And if you have not seen it, check out the movie poster as well! I am putting together my review of I Am Legend as well so check back for that sometime this week. I am still recovering from another pitiful week of football picking!
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Remember that old ESPN commercial where the guy says he would sell his soul for a national championship? Of course he is talking about his football team. The devil shows up and gives him his national championship, in field hockey I believe.
Once again, a little late, but better late than never! Coming off a hugely disappointing 1-5 last week. Ouch!
Dallas Cowboys over Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers over Jacksonville Jaguars Green Bay Packers over St. Louis Rams San Diego Chargers over Detroit Lions #5 Northwest Missouri State over #8 Valdosta State #1 Mount Union over #2 University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
Not that Penn State will be getting into this too much in public, but a future opponent has already guaranteed a victory against the Nittany Lions.
Nope, not Texas A&M. Not coach-less Michigan (who don't need to waste their predicting a victory against PSU, it's pretty much a given) or Coastal Carolina.
By now you have probably heard that THE Oregon State University Beavers will visit Beaver Stadium next September, thankfully replacing Arkansas State. OSU athletic director Bob De Carolis is excited and serves up the first guarantee;
“Any time you can play a team of historic proportions and play a team coached by a hall of fame coach (Joe Paterno), you go for it,” De Carolis said. “It’s a great venue to play in. It’s going to be loud and raucous. It will be a great experience for our kids, similar to LSU. But make no mistake; we are going to win the game.”
Make no mistake about this; THE Oregon State University is coming to Happy Valley for the payday, but perhaps getting Penn State fired up over the summer and so they can kick your butts all the way back to the west coast will teach De Carolis a lesson. He is just lucky that Dan Connor won't be around because I am sure he would find a way to tackle him to the ground and eat dirt. Of course, Sean Lee should be able to do that just fine.
I am going to publicly call for De Carolis to literally eat his own words should Penn State end up beating THE Oregon State University. He can add whatever condiment choice he prefers and even wash it down with his choice of beverage. I just feel that a man who has next to nothing to do with the preparation of the football game, other than picking out what deal is most profitable to his university, should be able to make statements like that. In return, should THE Oregon State University pull out a victory against Penn State, I will print up this post and eat it myself. That's right De Carolis, I am challenging you to a friendly bet!
If there are any other Penn State fans out there that feel the same way let me know! Read more...
Well, bad news for Phillies fans; Aaron Rowand is a San Francisco Giant. I'm not sure if it was the money or the five years but I think the Phillies should have given him the same deal.
The Phillies, Jimmy Rollins aside, are killing my enthusiasm much faster than I would have hoped coming off of an NL East championship season.
Now that we are in the downtime between regular season and bowl mania I thought it would be a good opportunity to look back on this crazy football season. In my eyes this was one of the mostunpredictable football seasons I have ever seen. While my Nittany Lions somehow seemed to be the only team who couldn't reach one of the top two spots in the polls this year, there were many story lines throughout the nation. With upset after upset, overtime after overtime, Heisman candidate after Heisman candidate, #1 after #1 and #2 after #2, there was never a shortage of conversation.
Feel free to debate this list as you please, as I am sure with the season the way it was there is a lot of room for suggestions and debates as to which game was most exciting or compelling.
10. Delaware 59, Navy 52 - While this game may not have had the magnitude of an SECmatch up, this game was one of the more exciting games of the season. This game was not for the fans of a good defensive game though as the host Navy Midshipmen and visiting Delaware Blue Hens combined for 111 points and 1,087 yards of offense. Delaware struck first and Navy scored the next 14 points in the first quarter. In the second quarter the squads alternated touchdowns with Delaware scoring 21 points and the game was tied at 28 at halftime.
The second half was just about as crazy with both teams scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, but thanks to a pair of touchdown passes from Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco in the third quarter Delaware was able to pull out a hard fought, back and forth game and have the momentum at the end of the game to secure the upset victory on the road. It was the year of the upset after all. Delaware would continue their season, they may appear later on this list as well, and this Friday they will be playing Appalachian State for the national championship on the division 1AA level. A week after this game Navy would go on the road...
9. Navy 46, Notre Dame 44 (3OT) - Let us put aside all criticisms of the Notre Dame football program, its players and of course their coach. Notre Dame was in the thick of their worst season ever, we all know that. Navy was coming off a home upset to Delaware. All of that meant nothing on this day though as Navy snapped an unthinkable 43 game losing streak to the Fighting Irish. Just think about that; forty-three years! With all of that history and heavy metaphorical monkeys on the backs of the Midshipmen, this game had the nerve to go into triple overtime? You have to be kidding me! Of course, Notre Dame should have won this game, but thanks to a bonehead decision by Charlie Weis (see clip below), Navy was able to take the game into overtime.
The game went into a third overtime and Notre Dame was unable to convert for a touchdown on fourth down, sending Navy fans everywhere around the world in a frenzy that was long overdue. If Navy's loss to Delaware was a low point of the season, surely beating Notre Dame was the high point (although if you ask Navy fans they might still consider beating Army the true high point). Meanwhile, the Irish fans were left shakin', not stirred...
8. Trinity University 28, Millsaps 24 - You've seen it. If not, you're missing perhaps one of the best plays in college football history.
If you think this game makes this list just for this play, you are only half right. This game was legitimately a Top Ten worthy game. I try to take a lot of things into consideration. One of the reasons this game was great was because it had a lot riding on it as well. Two Top 25 teams battling it out for the SCAC lead scoring 25 points in the fourth quarter in hopes of increasing the odds of making the playoffs. You and I may not know much about these teams but this game makes the top ten list for sure.
7. Navy 74, North Texas 62 - Nope, it's not a basketball game folks. It is the highest scoring game on the top level of college football. Navy involved in three of the top ten games of the season already? You bet. Again, Navy doesn't like playing a game that defensive enthusiasts would enjoy, but that's ok. I enjoy watching a game like this when it is not for a championship or anything. This was just one in a hand full of high scoring football games that would make you think you were looking at a basketball score sheet.
6. Chadron State 76, Abilene Christian 74 (3OT) - To me, any playoff game that goes into overtime should be worthy of this list. This game is no exception. As my list counts down you may think that I hate defense. I promise you that is far from the truth, it just happens that offenses have been stealing the show so far. Take this game for example.
This Division 2 football game is now the highest scoring college football game in history, except for the Georgia Tech 222-0 ripping of Cumberland back in 1916 (before official NCAA records were kept). Playoff intensity is nice but what about a big come from behind victory? This is what that game was. Chadron trailed 35-14 at halftime, and 49-20 at the start of the fourth quarter. The Chadron State Eagles put together 36 points in the fourth quarter, including 17 in the final five minutes to force overtime, tied at 56-56. I can't imagine what that must have been like. Well I can, but I have never seen it. Chadron State quarterback Joe McLain somersaulted into the end-zone (see the above picture) to give Chadron their first lead of the game, and in doing so gave the Eagles the triple overtime victory, advancing them to the next round of the playoffs.
5. Oregon 24, USC 17 - Once upon a time USC was the unquestioned #1 team in the land. Then Stanford came along and squashed that idea, dropping USC to #9. While USC was being knocked off of the undefeated perch there were PAC 10 teams waiting to take the next step, and Oregon was the first to get a crack at it. The PAC-10 is more known for their offenses but defense was the key to this game as Oregon was able to force two interceptions on a USC backup quarterback and seal a victory that would launch Oregon to the newest sweethearts of pollsters. Dennis Dixon is a phenomenal athlete and he really is what made his team go. Dixon busted open a 76 yard run for a touchdown to compliment his steady passing attack. Oregon would climb to the coveted, yet dangerous, top two spot in the BCS rankings with the victory. Unfortunately for the Ducks, that was the high point of this season as an injury to Dixon would later remove him from the lineup, as well as the offensive juice to put together key drives.
Ironically, USC would recover from this loss and the Stanford loss to regain the PAC 10 title. Crazy!
4. Kentucky 43, LSU 37 (3OT) - Those of you who know me know that I am a Penn State fan. This does not mean I am a fan of the Big Ten. I have no problem saying that the SEC is the best conference in college football. How it took me this long to reach an SEC match up in the Top Ten list is mind boggling. The SEC was chock full of action this year but this may be one of the most memorable of the season. LSU entered the game as the number one team in the land. Kentucky was building their own momentum. Kentucky was actually coming off of a loss to Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks, but quarterback Andre' Woodson was beginning to receive his own national spotlight, as rival Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm was dropping off the radar. Kentucky pulled off yet another upset in the crazy 2007 season, this time dropping #1 LSU in triple overtime. LSU did all of their scoring in the 2nd and 3rd quarters (except overtime) while Kentucky was steady the entire game, scoring a touchdown in each of the first three quarters, and two field goals in the final quarter. In overtime each team exchanged scores but LSU was stopped on their final play, failing to tie the game.
LSU somehow would go on to clinch the SEC championship and be awarded a slot in the BCS championship game despite having two losses.
#3. Oklahoma 41, Missouri 31 - Before the Big 12 championship game, there was the regular season match up. Missouri was rolling along in their season and Oklahoma was fresh off of their impressive Red River Shootout victory over rival Texas the week before. Missouri was unable to hold on to a fourth quarter lead as Oklahoma put together 18 fourth quarter points to turn a deficit into a ten point victory that would propel Oklahoma back into the national title picture. A couple weeks earlier Oklahoma had lost to Colorado.
Many feel that Missouri would have won if their best running back played and some believe that Missouri handed Oklahoma the game, but in the end you have to do things on your own no matter what. Oklahoma did that at home and held on. The two teams would later have a rematch in the Big 12 championship game, a game in which Oklahoma never let the game get away form them as they clinched the Big 12 title and earned a chance at the national championship, but they instead will play in the Fiesta Bowl against West Virginia.
#2. Arkansas, LSU (3OT) - Hi. Remember LSU? They lost in triple overtime to Kentucky earlier in the season. Well to top that one off they decided to do it one more time, but this time add even more drama to the game.
Instead of just being the #1 team, this time they were the #1 team in a trophy rivalry game. Oh, and a loss could officially eliminate them from BCS national title contention. I know, looking back on that now it seems kind of silly.
Arkansas has a really good running back, one who I thought should have won the Heisman trophy but whatever, in Darren McFadden. This game brought out the best in him. McFadden rushed for 206 yards, three touchdowns, and threw for one touchdown for 24 yards. LSU responded well just about every time but once again could not pull through in the third overtime. After each team scored touchdowns in the first two overtimes, Arkansas scored in the third overtime and converted the required two point conversion. When LSU scored a touchdown, Matt Flynn's pass was intercepted to clinch the game for the Razorbacks and seemingly dismantle LSU's title hopes.
But LSU knew by this time that patience would be a virtue. Much like THE Ohio State I suppose.
And now the number one game of the 2007 season. It should be of little surprise to anyone by now I believe...
#1. Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32- Words can not describe what makes this game so great. Upset of the century? Surprisingly, a lot of people didn't quite feel that way. People were quick to criticize Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and the coaching philosophy. People were also quick to compliment Appalachian State by saying that this wasn't a regular 1-AA team. But the fact was Michigan came into the season as the overwhelming favorite to win the Big Ten and make a run at the BCS championship. Throw out the last two games of last year is what Michigan fans wanted to do; this was their year. Chad Henne was back along with Mike Hart and Mario Manningham. Seniors all over and revenge on their mind. Ohio State was home at the end of the season. Perhaps the Wolverines were looking past not only Appalachian State, but everybody on their schedule towards Ohio State. Appalachian State....really? Make no mistake about it, this was the upset of the year. We didn't know back then in early September what kind of season was about to unfold, but this was definitely the best way to get it all started.
What makes this the number one game of the year is this; everybodyaround the nation was into it. Scores were being announced all over the country and fans of all schools were cheering, except for the folks in Ann Arbor of course. Teams from the 1AA level had beaten 1A opponents before of course, but Michigan was #5 coming into the season. After the potential game winning field goal was blocked, Michigan fell out of the polls, while some voters clamored for the right to place Appalachian State in the AP Top 25. The game was monumental.
I remember being on the road and listening to the Penn State-Florida International game on the radio when Steve Jones informed me that Appalachian State was leading at halftime. Huh? Interesting, I thought. I knew Michigan would get their act together and put the game away in the second half. I still can not believe I was wrong.
The score makes the game look closer than it really was too as Appalachian State was all over Michigan all day. The spread attack and speed of Appalachian State was just too much for the bigger and slower Michigan defense.
Appalachian State will play for the national championship this Friday against Delaware. Has any team ever played two teams with essentially the same uniforms to begin and end their season? Or how about Michigan? Has any team ever lost to two national championship teams in the same season (Ohio State plays for the BCS championship against LSU)?
Well there you have it folks, my comprehensive, yet brief, Top Ten College Football Games of 2007. With some bowls coming up I do hope that we see some good games to ring in the new year. As we approach the Alamo Bowl I'll be sure to share my thoughts on Penn State's chances (heads up, I am feeling a victory for Joe Pa) and perhaps we will look at the big bowl games and the most intriguing match-ups (hello Fiesta Bowl). In the meantime please, once again, feel free to leave your comments on this list. Did I miss a game? Do you feel a game should ranked higher (or lower)? What was your favorite game of 2007? I look forward to reading your comments.
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And let me be clear about this. I didn't just win. I was the the 1972 Dolphins of Week 14 in the football pool as I became the first player this year to have a PERFECT pool! I wanted to call myself the New England Patriots of Week 14 but that would have been silly as there were many contenders this week. Everybody went over 100 points this week, which is very rare from what I have seen.
The sweetest part about the whole thing is that I came from behind to beat out my dad for the overall lead. My dad had a really good week, only missing three points total in two games.
If the New Orleans Saints beat the rival Atlanta Falcons tonight on Monday Night Football, I win the football pool! So let's go Saints! If you watch the game, keep an eye out for Falcons #43, Brent Grimes on special teams.
Sorry for being late with these, but if I get them in before games start it's legit! So just a quick post this week!
Philadelphia Eagles over New York Giants Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Houston Texans New England Patriots over Pittsburgh Steelers #4 Southern Illinois over #13 Delaware #7 California (PA) over #8 Valdosta State #1 Grand Valley State over #5 Northwest Missouri
Dan Connor, linebacker from Penn State, came up with what many would call an upset last night as he was awarded the Chuck Bedenarik Award for top defensive player in college football. Many believed that Glenn Dorsey, defensive lineman from LSU, was a cinch for the award and James Laurinaitis, linebacker from Ohio State and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year this season, was a possible second choice. Always seemingly overlooked are the Penn State linebackers though by many in the media, as I felt the case for Connor was.
After Connor received the award I let out a big yell of "YEAH!", to which Stef had instructed me to calm down immediately for fear of disturbing our neighbors. I couldn't help it because I was so proud that a Penn State linebacker received the recognition he deserved. Plus the stumped look on the face of Laurinaitis was cool too.
So, when exactly do they rename the Chuck Bednarik Award in honor of Penn State?
It has been over a month since I interviewed with LA Weight Loss for a new position they were organizing for their corporate office. The interview went really well and things seemed to be pretty positive. A while passed and all I had heard is that they were still interviewing for the position but even then things seemed slightly positive.
It is now December so I decided to keep in touch and send the two people I interviewed with an e-mail, just to check up and see if the position had been filled. I received a response this afternoon informing me that the position had not been filled, and that now they were re organizing some things and may not even have the position.
How about that? I'm still interested in the job (VERY INTERESTED) so hopefully it is a position they do end up deciding to keep. I know it's perfect for me, I just know it.
Now that I am back on Bloggger I find myself messing with the settings again. Please be patient as I rework the layout and such. I know you understand! Thanks!
Go out and buy your milk and bread and a bag of salt! It snowed today!
I love how the big story on the news tonight, barring any assassinations of any sort or terrorist attacks, will be the fact that the Philadelphia region received a coating of snow. Make no mistake about it, all of the local news outlets will cover the trace of white stuff for the first ten minutes. One reporter will be in the middle of a town asking people what they think, one person will be by the roads and showing clips of them interviewing drivers and asking about the roads, one video clip will show the salt trucks, and one reporter will be at a grocery store.
People in Buffalo and Denver must laugh at this. Here is how much snow sits outside as I write this:
On this cold, blustery day though I want to share a couple things with you. First off, Joe Paterno's induction speech at the College Hall of Fame from Tuesday. Thanks to Run Up the Score for originally alerting me of this.
And a couple pictures that make me chuckle. these were sitting on my phone for who knows how long.
As it says on the website, not THAT kind of rack! Just thought I'd throw this plug out there for Stef's dad. If you're reading this then check out the link and send in a vote for Rich Banko (Kintnersville, PA) on WZZO's Best Rack Contest.
I'm just going to make this short and sweet. While I am blogging here on Blogspot I'll still keep my running total going on my WordPress blog, right here until the end of the season.
And while not going to extreme detail about my picks this week, I'll try to get a more in depth preview for next weekend. Seeing as it is a big weekend in an unpredictable football season, I picking only college games plus the Philadelphia Eagles game.
#12 Hawaii over Washington to clinch a spot in a BCS game. #1 Missouri over #9 Oklahoma to silence the critics in the Big 12 championship. #6 Virginia Tech over #11 Boston College for revenge form an earlier loss. #7 LSU over #14 Tennessee because they're peeved. #2 West Virginia over Pittsburgh to clinch a shot at the championship. Philadelphia Eagles over Seattle Seahawks because everybody loves AJ Feeley.
I don't really see any upsets happening this weekend, much to the chagrin of the Buckeyes of Ohio State.
BONUS D2 PLAYOFF PICK! #7 California (Pennsylvania) over #12 Shepherd in the Northeast Region Championship game.
Call me old fashioned but I say if there's nothing wrong with it, then don't fix it. Unfortunately just the opposite tends to be the case when it comes to professional sports teams. What more evidence do we need than the alternate jersey?
You see this in every sport now as many teams can not seem to stick to a single identity, two if you count home and away as separate entities. I do not. I don't mean to copy anything in the style of Uniwatch, believe me, but I say that amongst the best jerseys in sports are the classic ones; New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Red Wings, etc. Classics. I hate when I turn on a game and can't tell who is playing because they are both wearing alternate jerseys. Terrible.
The Flyers introduced a black jersey years ago, and now it is the home uniform. The Eagles also brought out a black uniform, which they haven't worn this season. The Sixers now have a red jersey, and in recent years they had a blue uniform.
But the Phillies always kept things simple, something that has run through the entire organization from top to bottom. Why spend extra money? But today they unveiled a new uniform, an alternate uniform that will be worn for day home games.
Observe, if you have not already...
Jimmy Rollins and Cole Hamels were kind enough to dress up in this garb. They are not bad and a lot better than what I had anticipated. I had heard rumors of the jersey saying "Philadelphia" on the front which would have been ludicrous. The images don't do it justice, but the pin stripes are removed, and the lettering and numbering are outlined in blue, the same shade as the new alternate hat. The blue hats are pretty much the same kind of hat the Phillies tried wearing for day games back in 1994. I was a sucker; I bought one. In 1995 it was back to red hats all the time.
Overall I like the uniform, although I think it looks better on Rollins than it does Hamels. It is also a design that pays homage to the late 1940's teams, an era of Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts. I still do not like alternate uniforms, but I am ok with this design, although now the Phillies are a three hat team; regular red hat, new alternate blue hat, and that god awful "inter league" hat. Hopefully they will ditch the inter league hat and use the blue hat if anything.
So I have tested out Word Press for a while, tried out some new ideas, enjoyed them but now I find myself returning because Word Press seems a little snobby about not accepting some things I'd like added to my blog. Perhaps they just want me to pay for their more advanced software which allows some more freedom. Seriously, I'm not going to pay to express myself and share what I want with my readers. So I have returned to Ramblings on Blogger now and I am staying here...for now. So I ask you to kindly update your links, RSS readers, and bookmarks hopefully for the final time.
Look, I did say it could happen. Here's a quote from my supposed last post on Blogger;
"Or if it doesn't turn out nicely, I'll be back on Blogger in two weeks!"
To celebrate my "return" here is one of my favorite cartoons ever.
Well folks, I have moved my Blog to a new home, leaving behind Ramblings on Blogger. This will be my final entry at Ramblings but I hope you will follow my rants and comments at my new blog site; Ramblings 2.0, hosted by WordPress.
Why the change? Well, I have come to think that the creativity and content management is a step or two above Blogger's. I have been reading some blogs lately hosted by WordPress and I have been impressed with what they have done.
As I am switching hosts for my blog I have come to realize that I need to get rid of some old stuff laying around that simply does not have a home at Ramblings 2.0. So if anybody would like to purchase some old posts off of me feel free to make an offer! There are some great classics to be owned folks, such as my declaration that NASCAR is not a sport (that fueled some comments), my step by step guide to creating a student section, and what I would do as Sports Emperor for a Day. Lots of great stuff here, and I haven't even brought up the numerous posts in which I blast Notre Dame. There are a few of thus spattered through out.
So I hope you update your bookmarks and start checking out the new Ramblings 2.0 as regularly as you check this one. Please be advised, that I am still in the process of modifying the look of the new blog until I get it just right. Comments will be much appreciated as to what you like and don't like at the new blog.
Or if it doesn't turn out nicely, I'll be back on Blogger in two weeks!
Well, I received a response today from Time Inc., responding to my letter to Sports Illustrated from yesterday. It seems to me that I'm getting the usual "We don't have time to read your e-mail but we'll pass it along to the editors" run around. Who knows.
Here is what I received;
"Dear Mr. McGuire:
Thank you for writing. While the editors wish they could reply individually to each person who writes, the volume of mail makes this impossible.
However, we wanted you to know that every letter is read by at least two editors, your views and opinions help shape the content of the magazine, and all editorial letters are considered for publication.
Sincerely, SI Letters Department"
If I get an actual response at anytime, I'll let you know about it.
