lex icon

Rosie O'Done and 4 More Passing Thoughts

NBC, what in the world were you thinking? A variety show starring unfunny bitterman Rose O'Fat as your host? Was anyone surprised that this show would tank from the get-go?

A couple of drunken idiots at a ball game isn't that noteworthy. Them getting busy in the bathroom right after they meet is kind of funny. The last sentence of the middle paragraph of this story is priceless. Seriously, if you never click on my links, at least click this one.

When I saw the link to this headline about a girl who lived for four months without a heart, I thought for a moment that it might be about the bitch who dumped me right in the middle of law school exams. It wasn't.

Remember what it was like to be 8 years old. Remember the decisions you had to make back then? Play out front or out back? Atari or Intellivision? Math homework first, or history homework first? Play basketball or tag? Should I take the District Attorney's plea deal, or go to trial?

Charlie Weis announced after the USC game that he'd stick around until Thursday, doing a West Coast recruiting trip. Good luck with that. What's your pitch, Charlie? "Come to Notre Dame, where you'll arrive as the best football player we've had in three years."

How I'd Rank Them Going Into Week 15

Solely for my own amusement, here's how I would have voted the Top 25 this week, with my last week's rankings to the right.

1. Alabama - 1
2. Oklahoma - 2
3. Florida - 3
4. USC - 4
5. Texas - 5
6. Penn State - 6
7. Utah - 8
8. Boise St. - 9
9. Texas Tech - 7
10. Ohio St. - 10
11. Cincinnati - 17
12. Oklahoma St. - 11
13. TCU - 15
14. Oregon - 23
15. Ball State - 16
16. Georgia Tech - 20
17. Boston College - 21
18. Northwestern - 19
19. Missouri - 12
20. Georgia - 13
21. Pitt - NR
22. Oregon State - 14
23. Michigan State - 23
24. BYU - 24
25. Ole Miss - NR

I dropped Florida State and West Virginia.

Demiblog Links, November 2008

Here were the demiblog links for November:

• Space shuttle landing detours to Southern California
  
• Georgia Tech wins at Georgia. ACC > SEC in another non-conference final
  
• Plaxico Burress is an idiot
  
• Clemson clobbers Carolina. Another ACC > SEC nonconference final.
  
• Arkansas thoroughly exposes LSU
  
• UCLA offense gives up four touchdowns. Norm Chow, you're teaching it wrong!
  
• Concertgoer plunges to death after asskicking Coldplay concert
  
• Ten Things Notre Dame Must Do to Not Suck. #8 Stop Playing USC.
  
• Lane Kiffin heads to Tennessee
  
• Patrick Swayze 'says goodbye'
  
• Mom, you were wrong about the newspaper. :)
  
• How WoW sucks just like real life.
  
• If you're broke, at least you'll get to find out if your money-grubbing wife really loves you.
  
• Bargain hunters trample Wal-Mart worker to death
  
• The world's oldest person is dead. Long live the world's oldest person.
  
• Vatican: cell phones are bad for your soul
  
• If you are a waiter who plans to dine and dash at another restaurant, don't go around giving people your facebook page beforehand
  
• Look, officer! No hands!
  
• An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, a face deformed and blinded by acid for a face deformed and blinded by acid.
  
• In some ways, leeches are just like you and me.
  
• PSA: In the Nanny State, you can avoid prison time for your crimes by getting knocked up. Note: this strategy only works for female suspects.
  
• What do you do if you can't find your AA meeting? Suck down two bottles of wine and drive home, of course.
  
• Nothing says "I will always love you" like killing her kids and then yourself
  
• I told you it was raining hard!
  
• 8% of Prop 8 Supporters Would Change Their Votes.
  
• Cystic fibrosis too 'white' a disease for charity fundraiser
  
• Coach cuts 8 black players from all-black high school basketball team. Parents accuse him of racial profiling.
  
• The new Sagarin rankings - used in part to decide the BCS - has FCS school James Madison ranked in the top 25, ahead of defending champion LSU. Bonus: Duke beat 'em 31-7.
  
• PSA: It is apparently against the law to sing "Spiderpig" in front of the fuzz
  
• Amy Winehouse's husband chooses hot German model over drug infested train wreck. Who'd have guessed?
  
• PSA: Your rotting monkey head won't pass customs. Not in Germany, at least.
  
• Hottest Student Bodies: The 10 Best Colleges Ranked By Looks: 1-10
  
• Satellite images of the Freeway Complex Fire
  
• Resurrecting the Neanderthals - we're getting closer to the question of "should we?" rather than "could we?"
  
• Yellow-toothed NYTimes Columnist suggests that Cheney and Bush resign so Nancy Pelosi can spend two months as president
  
• Now that he's won the election, Obama can stop going to church now
  
• 2008 FCS Playoff Brackets
  
• Nanny State to deputize speed trap nannies
  
• Your 100% EVOO might be 90% soy oil
  
• Clippers don't fire Mike Dunleavy after 2-11 start
  
• Oklahoma City Thunder fire P. J. Carlesimo after 1-12 start
  
• Washington Wizards fire Eddie Jordan after 1-10 start
  
• It's bargain season for HDTVs
  
• Dan Jiru, founder of the March For Hunger
  
• PSA: The TSA people can see your sex toys
  
• Want: Travel Dynamics International's Antarctic cruise on Corinthian II
  
• Arizona governor is leading candidate for homeland security post. She can see Mexico from her house.
  
• SoCal storm could drop 2.5 inches of rain in burn areas
  
• Matt Cassel, who never started a game at QB for USC, has back-to-back 400 yard games and is expected to earn a fat contract next season
  
• And once again the '72 Dolphins pop their corks
  
• Notre Dame fans pelt their own players with snowballs
  
• BCS Standings: If Florida beats Alabama, it could be Texas v. Oklahoma for the title
  
• So this 31-Year=old molests a 13-year-old and gets 30 days in jail. Guess the genders of the parties involved.
  
• Drug pamphelt urges teen speed users to find a "reliable dealer" and stick with the same dealer.
  
• Abraham Biggs, Sr. blames the Internet for his son's suicide
  
• Farm offers free pick-your-own vegetables, and 40,000 people show up
  
• Atheists are nicer people than believers.
  
• The reason bikers are so angry is because their peens don't work
  
• FDIC seizes DSL. Heh.
  
• Proof that crying doesn't always get the cop to let you go
  
• Farting in school is not a crime. Or is it?
  
• That other quarterback for the Florida Gators is arrested on felony charges relating to stolen laptops and stuff
  
• Terror car registration plates outlawed
  
• Teen overdoses live on webcam
  
• Ashlee Simpson names her baby "Bronx Mowgli".
  
• Orange County Judge among wildfire victims
  
• SCOTUS to review Barack's citizenship
  
• Play Lively now, before it disappears on New Year's Eve
  
• eHarmony caves, offers gay dating service, which it will totally do good work on.
  
• Golddigger Demands Lotto Winnings From Man She Separated From In 1982
  
• Does anyone else see someone wrong with this Hannah Montana candy?
  
• Fat people have a right to two airline seats for one fare. This is great news for the guy who would have been in the next seat.
  
• Twitter: THE_REAL_SHAQ
  
• Playing Christmas carols is now 'noise pollution' in the Nanny State
  
• Mother, Daughter Accused Of Stealing Underwear. To be fair, however, we really don't want these beasts running around Commando style.
  
• B of A CEO says no U.S. turnaround until at least mid-2009
  
• 30 reasons why we'll be in Great Depression II by 2011
  
• Lost tool bag forces changes to mission spacewalks, assignment of tough tasks to female astronauts
  
• Have you ever wondered how the "Square Peg" who wasn't Sarah Jessica Parker turned out?
  
• Britney Spears says new life is worse than jail. After her next retrial, she might get to prove her theory.
  
• Former Obama opponent now suing to prove President-elect's citizenship
  
• Amy Winehouse gets even uglier
  
• The funniest Apple tech support board question you'll read all day. No, week. No, ever.
  
• RIP coach Pete Newell, 93
  
• NJIT loses 35th straight Division I game
  
• Catholic Bishop says education is ruining Catholicism
  
• University fires teacher for blog post calling out plagiarizing students by name
  
• Washington at Washington State: One will win, but who will care?
  
• The SNL Bailout Skit
  
• Next thing you know, they'll be telling kayakers not to kayak down 300 foot dams
  
• Prostitutes who do governors. Next on 20/20
  
• When you name your kid Dalcapone Alpaccino, don't be surprised if he gets mixed up in drugs
  
• Schizophrenic Transient Ordered to Pay $101M for Starting 2006 Day Fire
  
• Obama already breaking promise to keep lobbyists off his White House staff
  
• Joe Jonas speaks out, says he’s no cad. Just a dumbass.
  
• Obama's no-lobbyist policy was definitely bullshiat. Next up: the tax "cuts"
  
• Obama's promise to eschew lobbyists seems to have lasted less than 2 weeks after the election
  
• Lindsay Lohan is starting to wonder if she might not actually be gay
  
• The bailout means you are an idiot if you keep paying your upside-down mortgage
  
• Michigan's investment in Rich Rodriguez is looking worse than USC's old investment in Paul Hackett
  
• Yet another scenario in which the BCS could turn out to be complete crap.
  
• For whatever it's worth, no NFL game had ever ended in an 11-10 final score
  
• Yankees to court: Red Sox fan brought this shiat on himself by going to NY to root for Boston
  
• The Reverend Al Sharpton is a half million dollar tax cheat, allegedly.
  
• The White House staff delivers a shocker with the President
  
• When you meet your husband in a chatroom, should you really be surprised when he virtually bangs other virtual women on Second Life?
  
• The most disgusting court opinion you'll read all week
  
• After gender reassignment that left uterus intact, pregnant 'man' expecting again
  
• Time Magazine suggests that Hillary Clinton play the role of "spear catcher" in Obama administration. No suggestion as to who is the spear chucker in this scenario.
  
• Bad parents in Nebraska rush to abandon kids before law changes
  
• Then: He was bonking Anne Hathaway. Now: He's pretty limited limited to filthy prison sex. Not surprisingly, Raffaello Follieri misses then.
  
• My Own Worst Enemy is gone already.
  
• Ball St. is now two wins away from a perfect 12-0 record and a trip to Detroit for the Motor City Bowl.
  
• The Lakers are now the last unbeaten team in the NBA.
  
• To take the crown as American Idol's biggest fan, you're going to have to commit suicide in front of Simon, Paula or Randy's house just to earn a tie
  
• Terrorism is okay, as long as it is done in the name of Gay Rights.
  
• Gay rights protesters disrupt Sunday services with signs like "Jesus was a Homo." Yeah, that'll persuade people.
  
• Lawyer on Obama's Short List for A.G. Might be Able to Start by Calling off DOJ's Investigation of Her
  
• No communion for Obama voters
  
• Pastor takes political stand against Prop 8. Gays plan to challenge his tax status in 3 ... 2 ... 2 ... nevermind
  
• Obama resigns. GOP hopes this headline is a preview of another in 2009.
  
• For some reason, this Mexican town in the middle of an infamous drug war is having trouble attracting tourists.
  
• Obama's website: "Agenda? What agenda?"
  
• Proof that Keith Olbermann is literally an idiot: He refuses to vote.
  
• Council ranks term 'British' with 'negroes' and bans it
  
• He's the most interesting man in the world. He doesn't always have a botched surgery turn his penis black, but when he does, he prefers Dos Equis.
  
• It's official. Broderick Green has left the team and will transfer.
  
• Bring Back Titan Football gets a plug on CNN SI.com
  
• Okay, SEC fans, you win. You care more about college football than the rest of us do
  
• How would you like to own a stock that drops $2200 in mid-day trading? I'd like about 100 of 'em.
  
• What Obama really needs is an advisor who is a cable TV showman, who guesses spectacularly wrong on a regular basis while handicapping stocks for speculators
  
• Jake Delhomme goes 7 for 27, 72 yards, 4 INTs, but it's against the Raiders, so Carolina wins
  
• Being a hot young superstar doesn't exempt you from getting dumped by your boyfriend over the phone
  
• Circuit City files for bankruptcy
  
• Lakers 111, Rockets 82
  
• Gang Hangs Beheaded Man From Overpass. Obama immediately declares that we need to get out of Mexico.
  
• Rage against the Nanny State. Libertarian Party: " '1984 was a warning, not a blueprint'."
  
• Obama team sending a couple of Bobs to 'virtually every agency'. Maybe this guy won't be so bad after all.
  
• Tennessee whores are even uglier than their football team. Special award goes to #10.
  
• Hillary Duff's new video "Reach Out" is getting censored. Sadly, parts of the video will still be shown
  
• Potential Cure for AIDS?
  
• Old and busted: fossil fuels. New hotness: ooze from rainforest fungi
  
• 1.9 billion years ago, God said, "Let there be plants" and there were plants
  
• If State Signs Were More Truthful
  
• Students forbidden to mention Obama
  
• Problem: NJ needs to cut spending. Solution: Shut down public park bathrooms, but only on weekends, when people would actually use them
  
• Thanks to a vigorous hurricane season and a down economy, used and slightly damaged yachts are now available cheap
  
• Remember when we thought Tennessee was good and UCLA's win over the Vols was a big upset? LOL. War Wyoming.
  
• Michigan might have more losses than ever before in its history, but they won the Little Brown Jug.
  
• The 16 Toys That Will Top Holiday Lists
  
• If you haven't heard of 'Twilight' yet, you're about to
  
• CSUF predicts a grim 2009 for O.C.
  
• Obama has spoken only to living presidents - No Nancy Reagan seances
  
• Terry Bowden: USC suffering from disrespect
  
• Paloma is now a Category 4 storm
  
• See ya, Security Pacific Bank. No more looking forward.
  
• British journalist covering Barack Obama caught on camera in drunk, plagiarism rant, with F-bombs
  
• Melissa Ethridge vows to not pay her taxes until she can marry her girlfriend.
  
• Honeywell moves jobs out of U.S. before Obama can get medieval on their asses for it
  
• Mattel to Slash 1,000 Jobs on News that Caribou Barbie Won't be a Hot Seller This Christmas
  
• Republican lawyers take back Palin's $150,000 campaign clothes
  
• Illinois Lottery - Winning Numbers after the Election: 6-6-6
  
• snopes.com: Robert F. Kennedy's 40-Year Prediction
  
• After two decades, Cal State Fullerton athletics reinstates ... golf
  
• The next President of the United States in Pictures
  
• Hey, Fat-Ass, have I got a pill for you!
  
• Voter turnout tops 64 percent, highest in 100 years
  
• Add "Stealing McCain signs" to the list of things you do, but do not say, if you're a college professor
  
• Pakistan has some serious train safety issues to work out
  
• You know who didn't buy the comparisons between interracial marriage and gay marriage? Black voters
  
• Feeding your begging dog table scraps could land you in jail.
  
• RIP Michael Crichton
  
• Autism more common in rainy places
  
• Santa Ana winds back in OC tomorrow
  
• Democrats expand control of Senate to 55 seats
  
• Supreme Court Justices Debate the 'F-Bomb'
  
• McCain concedes presidency, congratulates Obama
  
• Guess who supports a college football playoff
  
• The coolest example of a dead person voting for Obama
  
• Guess which candidate's supporter waved a gun and shut down Interstate 5 until they let him put a campaign sign on the overpass? If you guessed "McCain", try to think of a shorter answer.
  
• New Troopergate report clears Palin, and just in time for most Americans to find out when they get home from voting tomorrow
  
• Don't be so gullible, McCain/Palin
  
• Obama's grandmother dies a day before election - proof that God is cruel, or proof that Obama is going to lose?
  
• It turns out, PALIN is just PAIN with a big L in the middle
  
• Tennessee fans won't have Phillip Fulmer to kick around much longer
  
• Pistons, Nuggets swap Billups, McDyess for Iverson
  
• Hey Al, how's that firing of Lane Kiffin working out for ya?
  
• Obama: Against Same-Sex Marriage, and Against Laws to Prohibit Gay Marriage. Huh?
  
• Obama's 6-point plan to destroy jobs
  
• Obama's Energy Plan is so Important, We'll Just Have to Let Electricity Prices Skyrocket
  
• Bruno hits the Prop 8 rallies in L.A.
  
• World of Warcraft is having some sort of zombie event that all the nerds are freaking out over
  
• Moving to Canada? Once again Hollywood libs are making promises they don't intend to keep
  
• Last time manufacturing dropped this low, only the rich owned those newfangled CD players
  
• McCain supporter withholds candy from little Obama supporting treat-or-treaters
  
• 2008 electoral vote map and calculator - McCain wishful thinking edition
  
• School Makes 'Gay' Pledge Cards for indergartners
  
• Dave Grohl admits that Cobain was just another idiot with a guitar
  
• 'You can't see your son - but can he have one of your organs?': how social workers left one man with a terrible moral dilemma
  
• Thanks for the memories, Circuit City, say hello to Good Guys when you get to heaven.
  
• One in 60 million votes actually matters
  
• Titans remain perfect with OT win over Green Bay
  
• Bengals blow their shot at a perfect 0-16 season by beating J'ville
  
• Best game of the season: Texas Tech stuns No. 1 Texas
  
• QB Steve Young Breaks With his great great great granddaddy's religion and opposes California gay marriage ban
  
• Old and busted: blue collar worker joins Eagles as receiver, gets movie made about him. New hotness: blue collar worker becomes new Steelers long snapper. Movie rights up for bid soon.
  
• Will Ferrell saves the day at USC practice
  
• USC outscores Washington schools 125-0 on the season
  
• U. FlA gives Georgia a 49-10 shocker
  
• Obama tosses his illegal alien aunt under the bus with Rev. Wright and all his socialist pals.
  
• Hawaii State Department of Health declares Obama birth certificate legal. Had they done this in April, we could have saved a lot of grief, yes?
  
• These community organizers urge you to vote for Obama
  
• This one time, in band class, I totally nailed the band director. Twice
  
• Cobain maybe wasn't the genius we all considered him
  
• Watching porn won't just make you go blind, it'll kill you. Just ask this guy's next-of-kin.
  
• Silver DUI Guy's Mugshot
  
• Boy Sent Home From School For Dressing As Jesus for Halloween. Axe Murderers still ok.
  
• Searchers more bits of Steve Fossett
  
• Obama's lead is back to 8% going into the final weekend before the election.
  
• Last thing on your list of things to do before you die: bowl a perfect game. Check. Thud.
  
• The Queen of Spain would like you to know that she is not a fag hag
  
• PSA: No matter how much you lost on the stock market, you can't take you're girlfriend to the buffet and expect that they'll let her eat off your plate for free

College Football Results 2008 Week 14

Here's how I did this week against the spread. I was 3-2 in my money games, including a win in the game I bet big (USC 38-3 over Notre Dame), but I went 2-8 in my other guesses:

L Texas A&M @ #4 Texas -35½
L Mississippi St. @ #25 Mississippi -18
L Fresno St. @ #9 Boise St. -21
W ** UCLA @ Arizona State -10
L ** Syracuse @ #16 Cincinnati -22½
L Georgia Tech @ #13 Georgia -7½
W Kansas @ #12 Missouri -16
L Baylor @ #7 Texas Tech -21½
L #2 Florida @ #23 Florida St. +16½
L Maryland @ #20 Boston College -6½
W Auburn @ #1 Alabama -14½
W ** #19 Oregon @ #17 Oregon St. -3
L ** #3 Oklahoma @ #11 Oklahoma St. +7
W ** Notre Dame @ #5 USC -32½
L Washington State @ Hawaii -28½

Had I followed my betting method and bet on Oklahoma State, Kansas, Notre Dame, Florida State, Texas A&M and Oregon, I would have gone 2-4. I'll take it.

Loved the finish of the West Virginia-Pitt game. Loved the finish of the Georgia Tech-Georgia game. Loved the ACC's 3-1 record against the SEC, but I'd have preferred to switch the results of all four of those games, if I could. Loved the USC defense's performance against Notre Dame. Didn't enjoy seeing Kansas and Oklahoma State winning. I'd have preferred to see OSU and Missouri.

I'm still not sure how well I like that Oregon win, but I celebrated it.

Notre Dame Week 2008 - Game Day! USC Notre Dame Game Notes

I'm ready to go. Kickoff can't come soon enough. ESPN is in the house. ABC, CBS and NBC are not. Last time USC and Notre Dame played a game in L.A. that was not on broadcast TV, it was the biggest blowout in the history of the series. USC was on the short end of that one, but I'm not expecting such a disaster tonight. The parking lot hedgehogs are drawing $100 per car. I'm ready for some football. I have some extra tickets because of a last second problem with one of my cohorts, so if you know me, and you know how to reach me, you can work a deal for ducats if you want to go. Whether you are going to the game, watching it at home or listening to it from outside the Coliseum, here are a few more fun details about the game that might make it more fun to watch:

• USC is 9-1, 7-1 in conference play.
• Notre Dame is 6-5
• USC is in first place in the Pac-10, tied with Oregon State
• USC is ranked #5 in every major poll.
• Notre Dame is unranked.
• Broadcast: Nationally on ESPN
• Weather forecast: sunny and clear, overnight low of 52F°, down from a high of 75F°. Winds light.
• Kickoff: 5:11 p.m. PST
• The place where USC fans kick the flagpoles is called Pardee Plaza.
• USC’s roster does not have a player from Indiana.
• Notre Dame has ten players from California
• Charlie Weis spent 15 years coaching in the NFL, including the Jets and finally the Patriots (offensive coordinator).
• Pete Carroll spent 16 years coaching in the NFL, including the Jets and Patriots (head coach).
• Neither coached with the other during that time.
• Several players from USC and Notre Dame attended the same high school, including Anthony Vernaglia and Aaron Corp(Orange Lutheran H.S.), John Ryan and Billy O'Malley (St. Ignatius H.S.), Jimmy Clausen and Marc Tyler and Marshall Jones (Oaks Christian H.S.) and QBs Dayne Crist and Garrett Green (Notre Dame HS)
• The Irish haven't beaten a top 10 opponent since No. 3 Michigan in 2005
• USC won the last three games in Los Angeles
• USC’s current six-game winning streak over the Irish is their longest ever.
• Next longest: the five straight they won from 1978 to 1982.
• Michigan's longest streak against the Irish was 8 games 
• Michigan State has taken 9 in a row from the Irish.
• Notre Dame has won eight Associated Press national titles while USC has won five.
• The Irish have been selected as a national champion by at least one legitimate poll in 19 seasons
• USC lists 16 such campaigns.
• The largest margin of victory in the rivalry was 51 points, registered by Notre Dame in a 1966 shutout over the Trojans.
• USC's largest margin of victory is 38, which was set last year in South Bend.
• David Buehler is a fullback who can kick 50 yard field goals. His last name does not sound like Ferris Bueller's last name. It rhymes with "Steeler."
• Notre Dame is one of just five NCAA Division I-A programs that has never faced a non-Division IA opponent since the current division setup was established in 1978 (the division’s names have undergone a change this year, but the setup is still the same). The four remaining schools that have yet to play a non-Division I-A opponent since the advent of the current format are Michigan State, USC, UCLA and Washington.
• Notre Dame's all-time winning percentage of .738 is second-highest in college football history.
• Among Notre Dame’s six wins this season, half were against teams they lost to last season.
• Notre Dame has played in front of sellout crowds in 212 of its previous 243 games
• Average weight of the offensive and defensive lines:
  ND OL 6’ 5 2/5” 309.2 lbs. vs. USC DL 6’ 4” 271.3 lbs.
  ND DL 6’ 2 1/3” 282.7 lbs. vs. USC OL 6’ 4 4/5” 292.0 lbs.
• Average height of the receivers and the secondaries:
  ND WR/TE 6’ 3 1/4” 220.3 lbs.vs. USC DB 6’ 1 1/2” 205 lbs.
  ND DB 6’ 0 1/2” 200.0 lbs. vs. USC WR/TE 6’ 3 1/3” 221.7 lbs
• Notre Dame and USC will be meeting for the 80th time.
• The Irish lead the all-time series 42-32-5
• The Trojans own a 20-17-4 advantage in Los Angeles
• Notre Dame's 42 wins over USC are the most for any Trojan opponent.
• USC's 32 wins over Notre Dame are the most for any Irish opponent.
• Notre Dame is 1-4 in its last five games against USC in Los Angeles.
• The Irish are 10-12-2 all-time in L.A.against ranked USC teams
• USC is 17-10-3 when it is ranked ahead of the Irish
• USC's Carson Palmer (425 yards passing) holds the Notre Dame opponent record
• USC's Matt Leinart (five touchdown passes) holds the Notre Dame opponent record 
• Notre Dame began the season 2nd on the all-time winning percentage and victories lists.
• USC was eighth and 10th place, respectively.
• Notre Dame has played nine previous games on November 29.
• The Irish are 8-1 all-time on this date.
• The Irish have recorded three shutouts on this date.
• Notre Dame's Rushing Offense is 91st in the nation
• Notre Dame's Passing Offense is 28nd  in the nation
• Notre Dame's Total Offense is 57th in the nation
• Notre Dame's Scoring Offense is 71st in the nation
• Notre Dame's Rushing Defense is 55th in the nation
• Notre Dame's Pass Efficiency Defense is 14th in the nation
• USC is first
• Notre Dame's Total Defense is 28th in the nation
• Notre Dame's Scoring Defense is 31st in the nation
• USC is first
• Notre Dame's Pass Defense is 22nd in the nation
• USC is first
• Notre Dame's Passing Efficiency is 55th
• All-time, Notre Dame is 39-53-5 against top five teams
• On the road against the top five, the Irish are 11-22-1
• Charlie Weis is 4-9 against ranked teams
• Charlie Weis is 11-6 in November games
• Pete Carroll is 26-0 in November games
• Unranked Notre Dame squads are 11-9-1 all-time against USC.
• Unranked Notre Dame squads are 5-6-1 all-time against the Trojans in Los Angeles.
• Unranked Notre Dame against ranked USC is 5-7-1
• In L.A., they are 3-5-1
• ND WR Golden Tate has 8 TD receptions this season, and 888 receiving yards
• That's the 8th best of all-time for the Irish
• Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen has never lost a game in California
• He went 42-0 in high school
• He's 4-0 against California teams in college (Evan Sharpley started against USC last year)
• USC has won its last 6 games against the Fighting Irish.
• USC has won 27 home night games in row
• USC has won 10 straight non-conference games
• In the second half in 2008, USC has outscore the competition 171-19
• That's 80-7 in the third quarter and 91-12 in the fourth quarter
• The winner gets year-long possession of the Shillelagh.
• This is the 89th straight game that USC has been in the AP Top 25.
• USC has blocked 3 field goals in 2008.
• Four USC tailbacks have rushed for more than 100 yards in a game this season.
• The four are Broderick Green, Stafon Johnson, CJ Gable and Joe McKnight
• Green left the team this week and will transfer.
• The Trojans have 6 consecutive seasons of 11 wins, Top 4 rankings, BCS bowls & Pac-10 titles.
• In that time, Georgia is the only other team to finish in the Top 10 each year
• USC has surrendered just 10 touchdowns in 2008.
• Last game between the teams: 2007, USC 38 Notre Dame 0
• Last game in Los Angeles: 2006, USC 44 Notre Dame 24
• After byes, USC is 89-44-4 in all regular season games it has played following byes.
• USC is 5-2 against unranked Irish teams when the Trojans are ranked 10 or higher

Fight On! Beat the Irish!

Notre Dame Week 2008 - Friday

We are less than 24 hours away from game time. Here are some more tidbits about the Trojans and the Irish:

Team Stats: Here are the Trojans' team stats for 2008. Here are Notre Dame's.

Team Weekly Releases: USC   Notre Dame

Game Photos: Here are my photos from South Bend in '07.

Recruits: In 2002, Reggie Bush famously changed his mind about where to go at the USC/Notre Dame game. In 2004, USC had nine recruits at the Notre Dame game, including linebacker Brian Cushing and safety Kevin Ellison. Trojan juniors Terrence Austin, Allen Bradford and Butch Lewis watched the 2005 game in South Bend. Last time at the Colisum, the recruits included Kristofer O'Dowd, Everson Griffen, Chris Galippo and Broderick Green. Tomorrow night, some of the top recruits will include junior tailback Anthony Barr (Loyola), safety Byron Moore (Narbonne), OG John Martinez (Cottonwood HS, Salt Lake City), OT Xavier Su'a-Filo (Timpview HS, Provo, UT) and receiver Alshon Jeffrey (Calhoun County HS, Saint Matthews, SC).

Seniors: This will be the final home game for USC's 17 seniors, none of whom have ever lost to Notre Dame and none of whom have ever finished worse than tied for first place in the Pac 10. Two seniors have started on offense. Eleven seniors have started on the defense. The kicker and punter are both seniors, too. Josh Pinkard and Jeff Byers are both seeking an additional year of eligibility.

No. Name Pos. Hgt. Wgt. Birthday Cl.(Ath/Ac) Exp. Hometown(High School/JC/College)
1 TURNER, Patrick WR 6-5 220 5/19/87 Sr./Sr. 3V Nashville, TN (Goodpasture)
4 ELLISON, Kevin S 6-1 230 1/8/87 Sr./Sr. 3V Inglewood (Redondo Union)
7 HARRIS, Cary CB 6-0 180 3/22/87 Sr./Sr. 3V Pacoima (Notre Dame)
10 CUSHING, Brian LB 6-3 255 1/24/87 Sr./Sr. 3V Park Ridge, NJ (Bergen Catholic)
18 BUEHLER, David PK 6-2 225 2/5/87 Sr./Sr. 2V Anaheim (Canyon/Santa Ana JC)
36 PINKARD, Josh S-CB 6-2 210 4/2/86 Sr.*/Sr. 3V Oxnard (Hueneme)
41 HILLIER, Matt FB 6-2 210 10/17/85 Sr.*/Sr. — La Canada (Loyola/Pasadena CC)
43 MAIAVA, Kaluka LB 6-0 230 3/22/87 Sr./Sr. 3V Wailuku, HI (Baldwin)
44 WOIDNECK, Greg P 6-0 200 6/9/86 Sr.*/Sr. 2V Brea (Brea Olinda/Arizona State/Mt. San Antonio JC)
47 MATTHEWS, Clay LB-DE 6-3 240 5/14/86 Sr.*/Sr. 3V Agoura Hills (Agoura)
53 BYERS, Jeff OG-C 6-4 285 9/7/85 Sr.*/Sr. 2V Fort Collins, CO (Loveland)
58 MAUALUGA, Rey LB 6-2 260 1/20/87 Sr./Sr. 3V Eureka (Eureka)
75 MOALA, Fili DT 6-5 295 6/23/85 Sr.*/Sr. 3V Buena Park (Western)
79 WEISS, Andrew DE 6-9 230 4/11/86 Sr.*/Sr. SQ San Marino (San Marino)
81 WASHINGTON, Gerald DE 6-6 255 4/23/82 Sr.*/Sr. 1V Vallejo (Vallejo/Chaffey JC)
84 MOORE, Kyle DE 6-6 270 10/25/86 Sr./Sr. 3V Kathleen, GA (Houston County)
88 MILLER, Jimmy TE 6-5 250 3/4/86 Sr.*/Sr. 2V Thousand Oaks (Westlake)

Awards: USC linebackers Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga are among the dozen finalists for the Butkus Award. USC safety Taylor Mays was named as one of three finalists for the Thorpe Award. USC linebacker Rey Maualuga was named as one of three finalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award. USC linebacker Rey Maualuga has been named one of the five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. QB Mark Sanchez is a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award.

Do The Right Thing: A Better LA, Pete Carroll's charity, is sponsoring a toy drive. Collection boxes for new unwrapped toys or USC stuff will be in front of the statues at the Coliseum.

Game Promotions: USC’s football seniors will be saluted prior to the game while running through the Heritage Tunnel, comprised of former Trojans. USC tennis player Amanda Fink, a 2-time All-American who was the 2008 Pac-10 doubles champion and singles finalist, will be honored during the Lowe’s Senior Salute for excelling in the classroom and on the field. The USC women’s basketball team will be introduced during the game, and the top-ranked USC men’s water polo team will be highlighted.

Injuries: For the Trojans, TE Jimmy Miller (back) and TB Joe McKnight (foot) are expected to play. SNP Chris Pousson (mono), LB Luthur Brown (back) and safety Kevin Ellison (knee) are expected to be out. TB Allen Bradford (hip), WR Scott Stephens (knee), CB Shareece Wright (neck), OG-OT Martin Coleman (ankle), OT-C Michael Reardon (hip), OG Matt Meyer (foot), DE-DT Trey Henderson (knee), tight end Blake Ayles (knee) and defensive tackle Armond Armstead (hand) will not play against Notre Dame. For the Irish, CB Terrail Lambert and OG Chris Stewart are expected to play. ILB Brian Smith and WR Michael Floyd are out. OL Paul Duncan TE/FB Luke Schmidt (chronic headaches) are out for the season. TE Will Yeatman is suspended.

Blogs and Info Sites For the Trojans:

USC Football Official

Scott Wolf's Inside USC - LA Daily News Trojanblog

USCTrojans - USC athletic department site

ESPN's USC Boards

TributeToTroy - Trojan football news and information

TrojanWire - news

USCFootball - Rivals USC Football site (news, forums, recruiting info)

WeAreSC - Insiders USC Football site (news, forums, recruiting info)

ValleyTrojan - usually has a bunch of photos

FightOn - More Trojan football links

TrojanFB - video, photos, more

The Irish Trojan - a USC grad who went to Notre Dame for law school

Boi From Troy - the alternative Trojan perspective

Conquest Chronicles

Displaced Trojan

According to USC Trojan

KRromig — KRoming's flash creations

Midwest USC where I found out about the tailgating for today.

Blogs and Info Sites For Notre Dame:

Notre Dame Official

USAToday Notre Dame Pages

ESPN's Notre Dame Boards

Irish Sports Report

South Bend Tribune info

Fans Only Notre Dame Page

The Irish discussion boards

The House Rock Built

Blue Gray Sky

Her Loyal Sons

Rakes of Mallow

Kanka's Sports Page

NDCHOOCHOO

Irish Insights

Classic Ground

Irish Round Table

God's Favorites: I think God has more important things to care about than who wins a football game, but to my fellow Catholics who seem to think that it is unholy for a Catholic to root against Notre Dame, let me remind you that Notre Dame's famous Touchdown Jesus should properly be referred to by His full name:

TOUCHDOWN JESUSCHRIST

Fight On! Here's a little game guide for you.

10 Rules of USC's Thundering Herd

They are easy to follow:

1. You must stand up and be heard the entire game. There is no sitting.
2. You may not bring fans of opposing teams unless you're trying to lose your man card.
3. After the Men of Troy put points on the board, you must do air pushups in unison.
4. Every time Traveler goes by you must point and yell "The Horse. The Horse. The Horse"
5. You should only wear cardinal shirts. No designer T's unless they are cardinal.
6. Starting or participating in the wave is unacceptable.
7. ll beach balls that enter The Herd must be destroyed immediately.
8. Any time the Trojan Defense is on the field, scream at the top of your lungs to keep the opposing offense from making audible.
9. You never boo the Trojan team, staff or fellow fans.
10. Be prepared to have the time of your life. Trojan season ticket holders must at least once in their life experience one game in the best rooting section of the Coliseum.

Fight On!

What Have You Eaten?

Happy Thanksgiving. As you prepare for the biggest meal of the year, I offer you this Internet meme, taken from the Very Good Taste blog:

Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what you do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

The Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (?don't know?)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Only 54/100. But I would consider eating 96/100. A couple, like haggis and sweetbread, I'd have to take a sniff before deciding.

Notre Dame Week 2008 - Thursday

It's Thanksgiving and for USC fans, on even numbered years, it's also the second day before Notre Dame. I am thankful for a healthy baby, dodging the worst of some health issues, and avoiding many of the economic troubles that so many Americans are struggling to handle right now. For the sake of this post, I'm going to focus on the stuff I'm thankful for as a USC fan.

Weather: We do not like inclement weather. In 2002, it rained right before the Notre Dame game, but then the rain let up. In 2004, it rained, but lightly, for much of the game. In 2007, rain was in the forecast, and a huge storm rolled through Chicago and South Bend, but it rolled out the night before the game and the weather was spectacular. Two days ago, the forecast for Saturday in Los Angeles was "rainy." Today, the weather forecast calls for partly cloudy, with a daytime high of 73° and an overnight low of 53°.

Injuries: There have been a few, including some to the 4s (Kevin Ellison and Joe McKnight), and a few missed games by starters, but USC has avoided the more devastating injuries that plagued the team in 2007.

Wins: With wins over Notre Dame and UCLA, the Trojans would win an 11th game for the seventh straight season. That's never happened ever, anywhere. A win over UCLA would give the Trojans at least a share of their seventh straight Pac-10 title, also unprecedented.

Bowls: In my first two years at USC, I went to two Rose Bowls, neither of which meant anything to the national championship. After that, it was a Rose Bowl every 7 or 8 years, with a Sun Bowl or Freedom Bowl mixed in every couple of years. In the five years before Pete Carroll took over, USC went to one Sun Bowl, they lost to Texas Christian, and nothing else. Since 2002, USC has been to six straight BCS bowls, and they are in a good position to go to the Rose Bowl or Fiesta Bowl this year.

Recruits: Talent leaves and talent replaces it. USC's recruiting class for 2009 is ranked #1 in the nation, and one recruit the Trojans really want, Mante T'eo, was in South Bend last week, watching the Irish lose to Syracuse while their players got pelted with snowballs chucked by their own fans. This means that USC should have competitive teams in 2009, 2010 and beyond.

Tickets: I got mine. Did you get yours?

Six Straight Wins Over The Irish: I've been to five of the six, missing only the 2003 game in South Bend.

2002: USC 44 Notre Dame 13

2003: USC 45 Notre Dame 14

2004: USC 41 Notre Dame 10 [no video available]

2005: USC 34 Notre Dame 31

2006: USC 44 Notre Dame 24 [no video available]

2007: USC 38 Notre Dame 0

Fight On!

College Football Picks 2008, Week 14

Here's how I see this week's games against the spread. I'm not keeping track, but I'm pretty sure I'm getting killed over the long haul. I like only five g*mes this week, but I'm picking a team in every game involving a ranked team or a Pac-10 team, or both:

Tuesday, Nov 25
W. Michigan 22 @ #15 Ball St. 45

Thursday, Nov 27
 Texas A&M @ #4 Texas -35½

Friday, Nov 28
 Mississippi St. @ #25 Mississippi -18
 Fresno St. @ #9 Boise St. -21
** UCLA @ Arizona State -10

Saturday, Nov 29
** Syracuse @ #16 Cincinnati -22½
 Georgia Tech @ #13 Georgia -7½
 Kansas @ #12 Missouri -16
 Baylor @ #7 Texas Tech -21½
 #2 Florida @ #23 Florida St. +16½
 Maryland @ #20 Boston College -6½
 Auburn @ #1 Alabama -14½
** #19 Oregon @ #17 Oregon St. -3
** #3 Oklahoma @ #11 Oklahoma St. +7
** Notre Dame @ #5 USC -32½
 Washington State @ Hawaii -28½

My betting method actually tells me to bet Oklahoma State, Kansas, Notre Dame, Florida State, Texas A&M and Oregon.

Games I'm Looking Forward to in 2008, Week 14

It's rivalry week! I'll be paying attention to the following games:

Tonight:

Texas A&M @ #4 Texas. The Aggies are terrible this season, but they've beaten Texas twice in a row, including unranked A&M wins over #11 Texas in 2006, and over #13 Texas in 2007. I don't think the history is enough to make up the 35 points by which the odds makers think Texas is better than Texas A&M, and the Aggies have been terrible on the road in conference, but whatever. Go Aggies! As for Texas, they are #2 in the BCS, but they could easily win this game against a rival, then watch see #1 Alabama lose, but still end up #3 in the BCS. Sounds fair, right?

Friday:

West Virginia @ #25 Pitt, which also decided so much last year and might decide little this year. The loser of this game is out of the rankings for the year, and out of the mix for a share of the Big East championship, but Cincinnati will win the Big East unless they get tripped up against Syracuse. Last year Pitt's huge upset at West Virginia knocked the Mountaineers out of the BCS championship game. So far, the revenge games in 2008 have gone well for the revenge-seekers. I expect the same tomorrow.

#9 Boise State @ Fresno State. Boise State could become the second team to finish the season unbeaten. The Broncos are 22-1 in conference under Chris Peterson, so it looks good for them. Unfortunately, they might finish the season 12-0 and be rewarded with a trip to their own blue field for the Humanitarian Bowl, even if they get to #7 or #8 in the polls, because Utah's done at 12-0, and ranked ahead of the Broncos. Of course, the Bulldogs are known for playing big in big games, so 11-1 remains quite possible.

Saturday:

#13 Georgia @ Georgia Tech, loser for 7 straight years. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a big emotional win over Miami, but have fresh injury problems. This game has no conference title implications, and no BCS bowl implications, so it's fallen off the radar. In fact, Georgia Tech fans might care less about this game and more about ...

Virginia @ Virginia Tech. If Virginia Tech wins this game, it wins the ACC Coastal Division with a 5-3 record, winning either a head-to-head tiebreaker with Georgia Tech, or a three-way tiebreaker with Miami if the Hurricanes beat NC State, by virtue of a 4-1 record within the division (GT is 2-3, and Miami is 3-2). If Virginia wins, they will be bowl-eligible, and Georgia Tech will win the ACC Coastal. I'm rooting for the Cavaliers.

usc @ Clemson. I honestly couldn't care less which team wins this game. It would be slightly enjoyable to see the SEC lose another out of conference game, so I'll probably root for the Tigers.

Kansas @ #12 Missouri. The Border War, which decided so much last year, means almost nothing this year. Win, lose or draw, Missouri has won the Big XII North and will play Oklahoma, Texas or Texas Tech next week. Missouri's bowl bid will depend more on next week's title game than this game, but a loss could drop them all the way to the Sun Bowl. A win could lead to maybe a Gator Bowl, Holiday Bowl or even Cotton Bowl invitation.

Auburn @ #1 Alabama, which hasn't won in 6 meetings. For the first time in a long time, Auburn comes to Tuscaloosa with the weaker team. Auburn needs this win to play in a bowl, but none of Auburn's wins came against FBS teams that are bowl-eligible. What does that tell you? How about this: in the 31 times that the Iron Bowl has featured a top-ten team against a team not in the top ten, the higher ranked team is 25-6.

#2 Florida @ #23 Florida State, loser of four in a row. This is one of the big games where an upset gives USC a chance to play for the national title again. Boston College and Wake Forest already won in Tallahassee this season, so there is little reason to believe Florida can't do it, too. The Gators are heavily favored, but this is a tough road game late in the season against a long and bitter rival.

#19 Oregon @ #17 Oregon State. Since freshman tailback Jacquizz Rodgers got going, the Beavers are 8-1, with the sole loss coming on a late field goal @ #6 Utah. Rodgers is listed as doubtful, however, and the Beavers will have trouble replacing him with someone quite as effective. For most Beaver fans, this is the biggest Oregon State game of their lives. It's this simple: if Oregon State wins, it wins the Pac-10, either outright, or via the head-to-head tiebreaker with USC, and the Beavers make the Rose Bowl for the first time in more than four decades. If Oregon wins, the Beavers need USC to lose to UCLA next week. If UCLA beats USC to create a three-way tie atop the Pac-10 standings, the Beavers would win the Pac-10 tiebreaker and go to the Rose Bowl. Because all three teams would be 1-1 against each other, the next tiebreaker scenario would be common record against other Pac-10 teams, starting with the 4th place team. Oregon lost to Cal (and everyone beat Arizona, just in case the Bears lose to Washington and the Wildcats beat ASU, creating a tie for 4th place). USC and Oregon State won. That gets us back to a head-to-head, which Oregon State wins, and the Beavers go to the Rose Bowl. Got it?

#2 Oklahoma @ #11 Oklahoma State. Oklahoma leads the Bedlam Series all-time 78-17-7. The home team has done very well in most major Big XII South games this year, and the Cowboys' two losses came @ Texas and @ Texas Tech. The Sooners have a tough game ahead of them, and this could really complicate things. An Oklahoma win probably puts the Sooners in the Big XII title game, which could launch them into the BCS title game. A loss, and suddenly Texas Tech probably wins the Big XII South, but Texas becomes a favorite to play for the national title. Sounds fair, right?

Notre Dame @ #5 USC, which is riding its 6 year win streak. The Irish come into L.A. with a busted line, five losses, lousy play-calling, and a one-game losing streak that began at home against Syracuse. Syracuse! The Trojans have a lot to play for: their longest winning streak in the series, a BCS bowl bid, and maybe THE BCS bowl bid. In Charlie Weis's years at Notre Dame, USC's margin of victory went from 3 to 20 to 38. At that rate, this year's final margin would be 57. Unthinkable, though the Irish once beat USC by 51. This morning, the Irish were 32 point underdogs, up from 27 at the beginning of the week. Last time Notre Dame's opponent was favored by more than 24 was 33 years ago. Last week's loss to Syracuse was the first ever for Notre Dame against a team with 8 or more losses. Their 14 losses in 2007-2008 are the most ever over a two-year span.

Good stuff.

More on USC's Road to Miami

If the BCS pairings were announced today, one of the five three-loss ACC teams (none ranked higher than #18) would be in the Orange Bowl, #17 Oregon State would be in the Rose Bowl against #6 Penn State, and #15 Cincinnati would be in the Orange Bowl or Sugar Bowl. #8 Utah will be in one of them, too, perhaps against that ACC team in the Orange Bowl, which picks last. By the time it shakes out, you could see:

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech v. Utah
Sugar Bowl: Florida v. Cincinnati
Fiesta Bowl: USC v. Missouri
Rose Bowl: Oregon State v. Penn State rematch
BCS: Alabama v. Texas (Big XII South co-champion)

Missing out in this scenario: Boise State (12-0), Ohio State (10-2, with the losses @ #4 and @ #5), Texas Tech (11-1), Oklahoma (11-2).

Right now, the most likely scenario:

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech v. Utah
Sugar Bowl: Alabama v. Cincinnati
Fiesta Bowl: USC v. Texas
Rose Bowl: Oregon State v. Penn State
BCS: Oklahoma v. Florida

Not actually that much better. At least you'd have conference champions in the title game, and a watchable Fiesta Bowl. The Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl matchups might be less interesting than the Cotton Bowl or the Capital One Bowl.

What I really want is for USC to play in the BCS Championship Game on January 8. To get there, here's what we need:

• Alabama: lose at home against Auburn, then beat Florida in the SEC championship. Anything can happen in a rivalry game, and a loss to pathetic Auburn would drop the Crimson Tide several spots, probably right behind Penn State. Not likely, I know.
• Florida: lose @ Florida State, then win the SEC. A second loss would drop Florida to just ahead of Ohio State. Not likely, but more probable than Auburn not blowing it.
• Texas: lose at home tonight to Texas A&M. Also unlikely, but probably less improbable than Alabama losing to Auburn.
• Oklahoma: lose at Oklahoma State on Saturday to put Texas Tech into the Big XII title game. This increases the chance of Texas or Texas Tech getting in ahead of USC, but if Oklahoma wins out, the Trojans have no shot.

Most importantly, USC needs to win its last two games. Here's what is left on the USC schedule:

Saturday vs. Notre Dame (6-5): The Fighting Irish beat Michigan, but so did Toledo. If they can't beat Syracuse in South Bend, Notre Dame shouldn't be competitive with USC in the Coliseum.

December 6 @ UCLA (4-6): If this game was at the Coliseum, I'd expect another 60-something to teen-something score, but in the Rose Bowl, I'm expecting a closer than expected game. These guys came close to beating the Ducks in Eugene. They can win games they aren't supposed to be in, or get crushed in games they are supposed to win or hang tough in. They are 3-3 at home, and 1-3 on the road, with the win @ winless Washington. I can't imagine UCLA's offense scoring on the Trojans. Like in 2006, they'll need their defense to keep them in the game. That defense is giving up 28 points per game, and if you don't count the Washington games, it's closer to 34 points per game.

In short, USC needs a couple of big blowouts in their last two games, and two or three upsets in the final two weeks to have a decent shot at playing in Miami on January 8.

Lex TV 193

Here are another dozen videos:

Incredible footage of last week's Freeway Complex Fire.

Larry King asks for TMI from the world's first pregnant "man" and "his" wife.

Mascot eats cheerleader. [safe for work] 

Bush snubbed at conference of world leaders.

Or, wait, apparently he wasn't snubbed. D'oh!

Remember when Ms. Pac-Man was the woman of the year?

Rest in Peace, Brendan Foster, you were a great kid.

Borat dude gets arrested while crashing Italian fashion show as Bruno.

Barack Obama calls for an eight-team college football playoff.

Bring Back Titan Football!

The Cardinals attempt a free-kick field goal from 68 yards. (what is a free kick?)

If this is how you fix the skittles leak, I don't want to see how you fix the leaky toilet.

A Virtual Coldplay Concert

My daughter and I dug the Coldplay show at the Honda Center in Anaheim last night. If they had played a Trouble and the complete track of Talk, it might have been perfect. The Register gave the show a good review and has a slideshow with much better photos than mine. There's already about 100 videos from the show posted on YouTube. I twittered the show, and by checking my twitter account, I was able to recreate the set list, and I've found most of the show on YouTube.

1. Life in Technicolor

2. Violet Hill

3. Clocks

4. In My Place

5. Speed of Sound

6. Cemeteries of London

7. Chinese Sleep Chant

8. 42

9. Fix You

10. Strawberry Swing (lifted from another show)

11/12 God Put a Smile on Your Face / Talk

13. The Hardest Part / Postcards from Far Away

14. Viva la Vida

15. Lost!

16 The Scientist

17. Death Will Never Conquer

18. Politik (lifted from a 2006 show)

19. Lovers in Japan / Reign of Love

20. Death and all his Friends

21. (Encore) Yellow

If you have a better clip than one of the ones I embedded here, drop me an email and I'll swap 'em out.

Notre Dame Week 2008 - Wednesday

Three days to go. Do you have tickets? Here's your Game Day Guide for Saturday.

Weather: Two days ago, the forecast was "rainy." Today, the weather forecast for Saturday in Los Angeles calls for mostly sunny skies, with a daytime high of 72° and an overnight low of 52°.

Webcams: USC has Tommy Trojan on a webcam. Notre Dame has the golden dome on a webcam, too. Actually, Notre Dame is full of webcams, including the Clark Memorial Fountain, the South Quad, the North Quad and DeBartolo Quad.

Things to Do: Here are 25 fun things to do when attending the USC game at the Coliseum:

1. Attend a pregame tailgater at the Galen Center
2. Toss a football around and get free prizes, food and drinks at the FanZone
3. Watch the USC team enter the Coliseum for Trojanwalk
4. Pretend to offer George Tirebiter a treat.
5. Buy some Trojan gear at the USC Bookstore
6. Take a picture in front of Tommy Trojan, then find the webcam and wave to someone back home
7. Take a photo of the Globe from the fountain in front of Doheny Library
8. Loiter around Heritage Hall, look at all the Heismans and championship trophies and listen to the band warming up
9. Follow the Song Girls and the Spirit of Troy from Tommy Trojan to the Coliseum.
10. Kick the flagpoles as you walk from campus to Exposition Boulevard.
11. Walk through the Rose Garden at Exposition Park then check out the jets outside the museum
12. Eat a "danger dog" from a street vendor.
13. Wear a "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" button next to your cardinal & gold "Beat Notre Dame" button
14. Buy a bootleg t-shirt that has the date of the game printed on it.
15. Find a famous Trojan or a TV or movie star, and take a cameraphone photo with him/her
16. Shake hands with strangers wearing the other team's colors
17. Get a picture of the naked athletes and the torch from in front of the Peristyle
18. Let the Coliseum photographers take your picture every chance you get
19. Start a "SoCal Spellout" in a large crowd
20. Smuggle in some hard liquor (but not whiskey; let those other guys drink the whiskey)
21. Then find a food stand that still has souvenir cups and get a large drink
22. Buy a game program and immediately wrap it in plastic.
23. Hang around the Peristyle and look at the marble block and all the plaques and busts
24. Walk all the way to the top and take a picture of the stadium, L.A., and the Hollywood sign.
25. Snap a photo of the final score on the scoreboard, win, lose or draw.

Memorable Anniversaries: Here are some other games folks will be remembering this year.

• 80 years: 1928 - USC 27, Notre Dame 13. USC's first victory in the series came in the year they won their first Rissman Trophy as the Dickinson rated national champion.
• 40 years: 1948 - Notre Dame 14, USC 14. The second-ranked Irish had their 21-game winning streak snapped in Los Angles, but extended their unbeaten streak to 27 when Emil Sitko scored from one yard out with 35 seconds left.
• 30 years: 1978 - Notre Dame 27, USC 25. Joe Montana's two-yard TD pass to Pete Holohan erased an 18-point USC lead and gave Notre Dame its first lead at 25-24 lead with 46 seconds left, but USC drove 50 yards in four plays to set up Frank Jordan's 37-yard game-winning field goal with two seconds to go.
• 25 years: 1983 - Notre Dame 27, USC 6. USC had won five straight, and 11 out of 13 against the Irish, but Notre Dame won this game in South Bend and didn't lose to the Trojans again until 1996.
• 20 years: 1988 - Notre Dame 27, USC 10. Both teams came in with 10-0 records for the final game of the season. Notre Dame was ranked #1, USC was #2. Notre Dame defensive back Stan Smagala returned an interception 64 yards for a touchdown and Tony Rice had a 65-yard touchdown on a quarterback option. Notre Dame went on the win the national championship, and USC lost to Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
• Saturday will also mark 22 years to the day since Lou Holtz's first game in the Notre Dame-USC rivalry. The Irish rallied from a 20-9 halftime deficit and a 30-12 third quarter deficit before Steve Beuerlein (Servite H.S.) led the Irish back to within two points, 37- 35. Tim Brown's 56-yard punt return put John Carney within range for the game-winning 19-yard field goal with two seconds left.

Where to Go, What to Do: If you are here from out of town, here's a little help:

Directions: From the North - Take the 110 Freeway south, exit Exposition Blvd., turn left on Flower St., follow the directional signs to Coliseum and parking. From the South - Take the 110 Freeway north, exit Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., turn left on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., follow directional signs to Coliseum and parking. From the East - Take the 10 Freeway west, exit Los Angeles St., turn left on Broadway St. or Hill St., follow directional signs to Coliseum and parking. From the West - Take the 10 Freeway east, exit Hoover St. and turn right, turn left on Jefferson St., turn right on Figueroa St., continue past campus and follow directional signs to Coliseum and parking.

Parking: General parking is limited around the Coliseum on Game Days. The stadium seats 93,607, but the lots fit only 8,200 cars. However, there are many different parking options available for those who don't want to pay $50 to park on someone's lawn in the 'hood. The options include:

USC Campus - USC owned parking structures will open at noon. The costs will be $25 for PSA, PSB, PSD, PSX, $25 for PS1 or PS2, and $25 for the USC Parking Center and shuttle to the Coliseum (starting around 2 p.m.). Expect long waits for the return shuttle after the game.

Coliseum Complex Parking - All Coliseum parking lots will open approximately 11 a.m.. The only General Public parking lot available is on the South Lawn of the Natural History Museum. To access the South Lawn, enter on Menlo Ave. and Exposition Blvd. All other lots are reserved for USC Athletic Department Donors. Prices for all lots: Cars (South Lawn) - $25, RVs & Buses (Lot 2) - $125 per day.

Staples Center - Parking will be $25 at Staples Center lot W, which is just west of the Nokia Theater across from the Staples Center. The shuttle will drop off fans at the Coliseum near the intersection of Exposition Blvd. and Figueroa Streets. Service begins at noon and will end one hour after the game. Tailgating will not be allowed in the Staples Center parking lots.

Off Site - There will be expensive parking near the Coliseum. Our favorite spots include the lots on Figueroa near the carpool lane exits at 39th Street, and the parking structure at the corner of 39th Street and Vermont.

Heritage Hall: If you have never been to USC's campus before, the must-see sights include Tommy Trojan and Heritage Hall. The USC Athletic Department is headquartered there, but visitors are welcome to come inside and view USC's seven Heisman trophies, the 2004 Football National Championship trophy, the seven retired football jerseys, the Lexus Gauntlet, and a variety of other awards and trophies.

Tailgating: Tailgating is permitted on game days on campus, around the Coliseum and in the Coliseum parking lots (many of the private off-site lots do not permit tailgating). Drink all you want, but don't expect a refresher once you get into the stadium. The Coliseum does not sell alcohol, nor does it permit alcohol to be brought in using any container other than your stomach and bloodstream.

Trojan Walk: About two hours prior to kickoff, the team arrives at the east end of Christmas Tree Lane and walks into the Coliseum through the Peristyle. Yellow ropes mark the team's path, and every inch of the path will be surrounded by Trojan fans. The players do not have time to stop and sign autographs, but high fives and shout-outs are not discouraged.

The USC Marching Band: About 90 minutes before kickoff, the USC Marching Band starts making its way from Heritage Hall to the Coliseum, marching through the heart of campus, past the flagpoles at Hoover and Exposition (kick them for luck), and around Exposition Park to the Colisum.

The USC Bookstore: The USC Bookstore is located in the center of campus just south and west of Tommy Trojan. The second floor has all the good stuff. If you just want t-shirts, footballs, jerseys and common merchandise, you can also shop at Trojan Fan Fest or merchandise tents set up outside the Coliseum.

Trojan Fan Fest: The Trojan Fan Fest opens four hours prior to kickoff. There are inflatable games for kids and free giveaways for fans. Did you miss your tailgater? Come to Fan Fest and get all kinds of grub and grog.

Tickets: None are available. If you already have tickets, but need to get them at will-call, the general will-call booth is located outside Gate 4. Will-call opens 3 hours prior to kick-off and remains remain open until the end of the 1st quarter, when the last six or eight tickets are sent to Gate 33. Don't forget your photo ID.

Gates: They open at 3:00 p.m. You can enter at Gates 1, 4, 11, 16, 19, 23 or 28A, unless you are a student. Student tickets get you into gate 28, which is limited to student entrance, only with a valid student ID. Watch out for scalpers selling student tickets and telling you it's no big deal to use a student ticket without student ID. They lie. Student IDs are scanned electronically and can only be used once per game, so you can't even flash a quick ID for someone who looks slightly similar to you, as we did in the old days. And don't count on re-entry, either. Once you leave, you are gone.

Prohibited Items: Any items deemed a security risk will be sent back. These include knives or other weapons, cans, bottles (except non-reusable sealed water bottles), umbrellas and video cameras. For a complete list of prohibited items and stadium policies, please visit www.lacoliseum.com.

ATMs: Located at Gates 6, 14, and 23.

Elevators/Escalators: Escalators are located adjacent to sections 4, 11 and 19. They take you to the second level, which starts at Row 68. An elevator for handicap access only is located at tunnel 6.

There you have it, your Game Day Guide. Enjoy the festivities.

My Bottom Ten, Week 13

There is still just one winless team in the Football Bowl Series division, but still three without wins against the FBS division. Here are the ten worst as of the end of the 12th week of play:

1. **Washington (0-11). Took two overtimes and a shanked field goal to do it, but lost the Apple Cup to Wazzu. Worst in the FBS. Final loss: Cal.
2. Western Kentucky (2-9) Still winless against the FBS, even North Texas. Both wins came against the FCS. Final loss: Florida International.
3. Southern Methodist (1-10). Nine straight losses; winless against the FBS. Final loss: Southern Miss.
4. Washington State (2-10) The 2008 resume: beat Portland State and Washington. Got killed by everyone else. Final loss: Hawaii.
5. North Texas (1-10) Beat Western Kentucky, which is barely better than beating an FCS team. Final loss: Arkansas State.
6. Idaho (2-10). One of the wins was against the FCS. Even lost to San Diego St. Season done.
7. **San Diego State (2-10). Lost to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Notre Dame. Season done.
8. Iowa State (2-10) Lost last ten games. Season done.
9. Eastern Michigan (2-9) One of the wins was against the FCS. Next loss: Central Michigan.

T  10.  **Utah State (2-9). One of the wins was against Idaho. Final loss: New Mexico State.
T  10.  *Michigan (3-9). Lost to Toledo. Lost to Ohio State 42-7. Worst season in school history.
T  10.  Charlie Weis (28-20). The same winning percentage (.583) as the last two guys Notre Dame fired. Next loss: Notre Dame's dignity.

Not far behind ahead: **Syracuse (3-8), Miami (Ohio) (2-9), Tulane (2-9)

Dropped out: Ohio (Beat Akron 49-42)

* - most losses in school history
** - fired coach.

Coldplay at the Honda Center

We're enjoying one of the few bands left that I haven't seen live, but wanted to see live. I should have brought a good camera with me.

Love all the cellphones and digital cameras lighting up the audience. Update: The Register gave the show a good review and has a slideshow with much better photos than mine. There's already about 100 videos from the show posted on YouTube.

Notre Dame Week 2008 - Tuesday

Here's some of what makes this series so great, even in years in which both teams are not great:

The History: No other intersectional rivalry is as old, as intense or as meaningful as this one. This year marks 83 seasons of tradition between the two schools, broken only by a few seasons during World War II. In almost one-fourth of those years, the winner of this game has won the national championship. The series began in 1926, when Knute Rockne took his team to the West Coast, reportedly because his wife wanted a warm-weather holiday. Though they had just one national title between them then, USC and Notre Dame were becoming national football powerhouses, and in the first seven seasons of the rivalry, the winner of the game ended up as national champions five times! Notre Dame hosts the games in odd-numbered years, since 1931, those have all been played at Notre Dame Stadium. USC hosts games in even-numbered years, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The Prize: The winner of the game keeps the Shillelagh, a club made of Irish wood, for a year. This Shillelagh adds an emerald-studded shamrock for each Notre Dame win, and a ruby-studded Trojan head for each USC win, right next to the engraved score of each game. For tie games, a combined Trojan head/shamrock medallion was used. The original Shillelagh was filled up after the 1989 game and is on display at Notre Dame. This year's game is a battle for the current, second, Shillelagh.

Head-to-Head Record: No team has beaten USC more times than Notre Dame. No team has beaten Notre Dame more times than USC. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 42-32-5. The series is streaky. USC has won the last 6 games. The Irish won the 3 before that. USC won the 3 before that. Notre Dame won 12 of the 13 before that. USC won 11 of 13 before that. In the past 10 games, USC holds a 7-3 lead. Since 1967, USC leads 21-17-3. At the Coliseum, USC leads 20-17-4. Against unranked Notre Dame teams, USC is 9-11-1 all-time, and 6-5-1 all time in Los Angeles. However, ranked USC teams, against unranked Irish squads, are 7-5-1 overall, and 5-3-1 in Los Angeles. When ranked in the top five, USC is 13-7-2 against the Irish, winning the last four such games.

Great Players: USC has had 151 All-Americans, 27 College Football Hall of Famers, 10 Pro Football Hall of Famers, 5 NFL #1 overall draft picks and 7 Heisman Trophy winners, most recently Reggie Bush, 2005. Notre Dame has 181 All-Americans, 41 College Football Hall of Famers, 10 Pro Football Hall of Famers, 5 NFL #1 overall draft picks and 7 Heisman Trophy winners, most recently, Tim Brown, 1987.

Bowls: USC has won 30 of the 46 bowls in which it played. Notre Dame has won 13 of the 28 it played, but lost its last nine, and hasn't won a bowl game since the 1994 Cotton Bowl. USC, which has won 5 of the 6 BCS bowls it played in the past six seasons, is still in the running for the Rose Bowl or BCS Championship Game.

Religion: Notre Dame was founded as a Roman Catholic university. USC was founded as a Methodist university. When Notre Dame first came to Southern California, the Trojans were a Methodist campus. In fact, the Trojans were once known as the USC Wesleyans or the USC Methodists. Despite a reference on wikipedia, rumors that USC athletes were once referred to as the "Fighting Methodists" are unsubstantiated.

Four days to go.

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 206)

I took this picture last year on the Notre Dame campus, walking with my brother on our way from the stadium to the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, to light a candle and prayer for a USC shutout. It worked. From this point, you can see the Basilica on the left, with the Clarke Memorial Fountain (Stonehenge) in front of it, and to the right, the Golden Dome, sitting atop the Admissions Building.

The candle was a great investment. God answered my prayer with USC's biggest shutout over Notre Dame ever, and Notre Dame's worst home defeat ever.

USC Fan's Rooting Guide for the Week of November 29

Here's how I'm rooting this week, both plausibly and implausibly:

1. USC over Notre Dame
2. Texas A&M over Texas
3. Auburn over Alabama
4. Florida State over Florida
5. Oklahoma State over Oklahoma
6. Oregon over Oregon State - maybe
7. Fresno State over Boise State
8. Arizona State over UCLA
9. Virginia over Virginia Tech
10. Baylor over Texas Tech
11. Georgia Tech over Georgia
12. Washington State over Hawaii
13. Tennessee over Kentucky

Unrelated to my USC rooting interests, I'd love to see Arkansas beat LSU again.

USC Bowl Ticket Info

Information regarding ticket availability for the USC football team's post-season bowl game was emailed to USC support group members and season ticket holders on Saturday and will be mailed to those without email addresses tomorrow.

• Members of Scholarship Club, The Committee, Cardinal & Gold and Women of Troy will be sent an "Athletic Donor Application." Scholarship Club members are eligible to purchase 8 tickets to the game in which USC participates, while The Committee members can purchase 4 tickets. Cardinal & Gold and Women of Troy members can purchase 4 tickets to the Rose Bowl and can enter a lottery to purchase 2 tickets to the other games. Lottery winners will be notified by email by Dec. 9.
• USC season ticket holders who are not members of those support groups will be sent a "Season Ticket Holder Lottery Application." They are eligible to enter a lottery to purchase 2 tickets to any of those games except the BCS Championship Game. Lottery winners will be notified by email by Dec. 9. Deadline for returning either application is Dec. 4.
• Once USC's bowl destination is determined, USC students will be sent an email about a separate student ticket lottery.

Notre Dame Week 2008 - Monday

It's USC v. Notre Dame week, the 80th game in the greatest cross-sectional rivalry in college football. Here are the basic details.

Starting Time: Kickoff is officially scheduled for 5:00 p.m. PST. The actual start time will be 5:12 p.m.

Broadcast: ESPN will be broadcasting the game nationally (Mike Patrick, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe). The last two times Notre Dame came to the the Coliseum, ESPN's "College Gameday" set up outside the stadium. They won't be here this week.

Records: USC is 9-1. USC's 7-1 conference record is best in the Pac-10, tied with Oregon State. USC needs two wins to assure itself of a seventh-straight BCS bowl bid, possibly their 33rd Rose Bowl Game. Notre Dame is 6-5. Among the four independents, Notre Dame's record is second to Navy.

Rankings: USC is ranked 5th in the AP Poll, USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll and the Harris Interactive Poll, as well as the BCS rankings. Notre Dame is unranked.

Odds: USC opened as a 27 point favorite, but the line has already moved to 28½ points.

Streaks: USC has won seven straight since a loss at Oregon State. The Irish have lost just one straight, but four of their last six. In the series, USC has won six straight, their longest streak in the eight decades of this rivalry. The last Notre Dame win came in South Bend in 2001. It was Pete Carroll's first game against the Irish and it remains the only double-digit loss (26-15) of his college coaching career. USC has won 26 straight November games under Carroll. USC has won 27 straight home night games, 10 straight non-conference games and its last dozen non-conference home games. Notre Dame has lost 7 straight against ranked opponents.

Schedules: The Trojans have the nation's 30th most difficult schedule. They have defeated #10 Ohio State and #19 Oregon. Their only loss came at #17 Oregon State. Seven of their opponents played in bowl games in 2007, and five of the ten currently have winning records. Notre Dame's schedule is 57th in the nation. The Irish have only defeated one team (Navy) with a winning record. Notre Dame's wins came against teams whose win-loss record is a combined 20-49.

Coaches: USC's Pete Carroll is 85-15 (85.0%) in his eight seasons as a college head coach, all at USC. That is the best winning percentage of any current Division I coach with at least 5 years of experience. Notre Dame's Charlie Weis began with the best two year start of any coach in Notre Dame history, but since then, his record has fallen to 28-20 (58.3%). This is precisely the same winning percentage as the previous two coaches -- Bob Davie: 35-35 (.583) and Ty Willingham: 21-15 (.583) --  that Notre Dame fired. Curiously, going into last year's USC game, Weis was 20-12, which was also the exact same record that Davie and Willingham had after their first 32 games. Carroll has won the first three games between them. They are not friends. Weis says of Carroll: "We're friendly, not friends." Carroll, at the start of his weekly press conference in 2006: "Sorry I'm a little late. I was reading Charlie's [2,500-word] press-conference [transcript]." In 2005, before their first matchup, Weis was said to have remarked, "I never lost to that f****r in the pros and I don't plan on starting now." He reportedly told his 205 team that they would never feel the pain of losing to USC again.

More tomorrow.

Ranking ten movies I recently watched on DVD (No. 15)

Here are another ten recent pulls from the Netflix queue. My one-to-five rating, plus a 1-10 rating from IMDB. Catching up and mixing in some more recent releases and a couple less recent. Da Vinci Code is the only one I'd seen on the big screen.

1. The Da Vinci Code (6.4) +++++ Fairly true to the book. Managed to freak a lot pf people out.
2. Mr. Bean's Holiday (6.1) ++++ I just laughed my ass off the whole time.
3. Smokin' Aces (6.6) +++ Pretty good hitman movie, even though Ben Affleck was in it
4. 1408 (7.0) +++ Creepy. Scary.
5. The Other Boleyn Girl (6.8) +++ I like historical dramas, and this one had my favorite actress in it
6. Arctic Tale (6.8) +++ A decent animated kid's movie about polar bears and stuff
7. Hairspray (7.4) +++ The girls loved it. I was able to tolerate it.
8. Click (6.8) ++ An interesting subject, but I didn't like what they did with it.
9. The Covenant (4.8) + Just hated this melodramatic silliness. Hated it.
10. Semi-Pro (5.4) + Will Ferrell is always hit or miss. This was a miss. Sorry, dude, it sucked.

How I'd Rank 'em After Week 13

Solely for my own amusement, here's how I would have voted the Top 25 this week, with my last week's rankings to the right.

1. Alabama - 2
2. Oklahoma - 6
3. Florida - 3
4. USC - 4
5. Texas - 5
6. Penn State - 8 
7. Texas Tech - 1
8. Utah - 7
9. Boise St. - 9
10. Ohio St. - 10
11. Oklahoma St. - 11
12. Missouri - 12
13. Georgia - 13
14. Oregon State - 18
15. TCU - 16
16. Ball State - 14
17. Cincinnati - 22
18. Oregon - 23
19. Northwestern - 25
20. Georgia Tech - NR
21. Boston College - NR
22. Florida State - NR
23. Michigan State - 17
24. BYU - 15
25. West Virginia - NR

I dropped Miami, Pitt, Maryland and LSU. 

Now We Are Down To 4

We started the week's play with 5 undefeated teams in the NCAA and we are down to four. Here are the four teams left, and what they're doing next week:

• #1 Alabama v. Auburn
• #8 Utah - Done, 12-0, next game: BCS bowl
• #9 Boise State v. Fresno State
• #15 Ball State v. Western Michigan

Gone is:

• #2 Texas Tech

It's now pretty safe to assume that a one-loss team will play for the national championship. Florida? Oklahoma? Texas? USC?

College Football Results, 2008 Week 13

Seriously, you could get rich picking against me this year. This week, I was 5-10, including 2-5 in the games I liked. My only consolation: I didn't watch any of this mishegoss.

W ** #14 Ball St. @ Cent. Michigan +7
W #23 Miami (FL) @ Georgia Tech -3½
L ** N.C. State @ #25 North Carolina -11
W ** Michigan @ #10 Ohio St. -20½
L Air Force @ #15 TCU -18½
L ** Michigan St. @ #17 Penn St. -14½
L ** Mississippi @ #18 LSU -4½
W #9 Boise St. @ Nevada +6
L #16 BYU @ #8 Utah -6½
W #20 Pittsburgh @ #19 Cincinnati -5
L ** #21 Oregon St. @ Arizona -3
L  Florida St. @ #22 Maryland -1
L ** #2 Texas Tech @ #5 Oklahoma -7
L Washingon @ Washington State +7½
L Stanford @ Cal -9

Wisconsin needed a 4th quarter touchdown, a two point conversion, an overtime, and a Cal Poly blown PAT to win at home, 36-35, against the Cal Poly Mustangs. Notre Dame lost on Senior Day, at home, to Syracuse. Michigan lost its ninth game. LSU lost its third home game of the season, this time against Ole Miss. Texas Tech. Oh, Texas Tech. Ouch. Washington and Washington State, in the worst matchup of the year, needed two overtimes and missed chip shot field goals to get to a final score. This was an epic weekend of FAIL.

An Evil Prize

Do not want. Bert is not a prize I would blow a bunch of expensive tokens chasing. How would you like to be a three-year-old kid with this thing sitting in your corner, in semidarkness at 3:00 a.m., staring at you as you wake up and take a leak before sunrise.

Yeah, that would creep me out even if I wasn't three years old.

USC Fan's Rooting Guide for November 22

Here's how I'm rooting this week, both plausibly and implausibly:

1. Arizona over Oregon State - to put USC alone atop the Pac-10
2. Citadel over Florida - to witness the impossible
3. Oklahoma over Texas Tech - to eliminate someone ahead of USC
4. BYU over Utah - to eliminate an unbeaten team
5. Stanford over Cal - to make a sixth bowl-eligible Pac-10 team
6. Nevada over Boise State - to eliminate an unbeaten team
7. Virginia over Clemson - to help the SoS
8. Ohio State over Michigan - to help the SoS
9. Notre Dame over Syracuse - to help the SoS
10. Central Michigan over Ball State - to eliminate an unbeaten team
11. Georgia Tech over Miami - to help Virginia
12. NC State over North Carolina - to help Virginia
13. Michigan State over Penn State - to avoid a possible OSU/PSU rematch

Unrelated to my USC rooting interests, I'd love to see Cal Poly over Wisconsin. Go Mustangs.

Cigar Ads

This ad is supposed to make me want to smoke cigars, but it really makes me want to grill burgers. It looks almost like the guy on the left is sucking in his stogie, while the guy on the right asks, "Why are we chewing the ends of these smoldering stinkrolls when we could be grilling some delicious burgers and steaks like this dude behind us?"

.

Lines for Twilight

I can't remember the last time I saw lines that wrapped around the movie theatre like this, but Twilight has brought out the young filmgoers in droves. If you are a teenage boy, and you aren't hanging out at the multiplex in a Twilight t-shirt, you are missing out on a golden opportunity to meet girls.

.

Dessert is Served

Mmmm. White and milk chocolate fondue at The Melting Pot.

 

Angels Mother's Day Tote Giveaway Declared Lawful - Again

In a case that I've followed for more than two years with some amusement, the California 4th District Court of Appeal has unheld a summary judgment against a disgruntled Angels fan who was pissed off that a Mother's Day promotion only gave free tote bags to adult women.

Michael Cohn appeals from summary judgment granted in favor of Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (Corinthian), and Angels Baseball LP (the Angels). He contends the Angels’ Mother’s Day tote bag giveaway violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act. (Civ. Code, §§ 51, 52; hereafter the Unruh Act.) We disagree and affirm the judgment.

As we will explain, the Unruh Act protects against intentional discrimination that is unreasonable, arbitrary, or invidious. This important piece of legislation provides a safeguard against the many real harms that so often accompany discrimination. For this reason, it is imperative we not denigrate its power and efficacy by applying it to manufactured injuries such as those alleged by the plaintiff in this case.

The only unfortunate thing about the opinion in Cohn v. Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (the sponsor of the giveaway), is that the opinion is unpublished. Maybe I'll file a request for publication.

Oh, and I'm still not that kind of lawyer.

Random Self-Evident Truth Thoughts

I hold these truths to be self-evident:

If someone wants to give you eternal life in exchange for your promise to leave them your fortune when you die, you should be suspicious of their motives. They might actual look forward to your death, and they won't really try that hard to give you eternal life!

The old Nigerian scam involves tricking you in a confidence game. The new scam involves moving to the U.K. with your five kids and making sure that the government dole pays the rent on your million pound house while you don't work. It's safer, and more lucrative, innit?

Today, they bust kids with bags of parsley for possession of a "counterfeit controlled substance." Tomorrow, police wait outside the supermarket to bust people carrying five-pound bags of powdered suger. It'll be like taking candy from a baby, no?

Putting your half million dollars in jewels in the safe is smart. Putting the safe in the front seat of your car is stupid. Leaving the garage door open all night is insane.

In the U.K., you can be charged with a crime if some other asshole knocks over your trash can. I think that law is ridiculous, but I do know a couple of jerks in the U.K. Next time I'm there, I think I might stop by and cost them some money. It's a bad law, but laws are laws, right?

The jobless numbers for November are not expected to be good, but one set of layoffs caught our attention this week: Focus on the Family is cutting loose about one-sixth of its work force and unfilled positions. Workers will have more time to focus on their families. Mission accomplished?

Most nudists are people you would never want to see naked in the first place.

When a presidential candidate promises you that the era of the lobbyist is over, and he'll never allow lobbyists on his White House staff, what he really means is that he's going to pack his staff full of lobbyists.

If you voted for Barack Obama because you were tired of Bush-hating terrorists demonizing America throughout the world, and you thought your vote was a vote for change, you guessed wrong. Al Qaida just thinks Barack Obama is America's new "house Negroe."

Almost no voters knew who Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were, and a majority guessed incorrectly that the GOP controls Congress, but they know Sarah Palin's kid is knocked up and she got a lot of clothes for the campaign. And they loved them some Barack Obama. The survey that revealed these truths may be slanted, but it still makes its point. Most American voters are at best ill-informed, and at worst, stupid.

At last, Barack Obama offers me change I can believe in. Not that it'll ever happen, but I would vote for the man in 2012 if he could get a playoff into the college football bowl subdivision. But if you think a playoff is coming soon, you should prepare yourself for further disappointment.

Remember the beginning of last season, when the Dallas Mavericks were interested in trading for Kobe Bryant, but they made it clear that Dirk Nowitzki was off limits. That's looking less than genius now. But in the NBA, you can make stupid trades, refuse to make smart trades, and trade on inside information all you want, and there are few consequences. In the stock market, if you are stupid and make smart trades on inside information, you get charged by the SEC.

Regarding the "world's first pregnant man" having her second pregnancy, it seems obvious to me that: (1) whether or not you have undergone an add-a-dick-to-me, if you still have a uterus, you are still a woman; (2) if you still have a vagina, you should not call yourself a man, even if you have had your boobs cut off and you take hormones that make your beard grow out; (3) if you still have a vagina and a uterus, and you get pregnant, you and your wife are different, and are not just like any normal couple; (4) if you thought your baby-making wasn't going to get people talking, you are not very perceptive.

Remember how we had high energy prices, a pro-gay marriage governor, and a big car tax increase in California, and so we held a recall election? Are we due for another?

And finally, you can get a conviction, and even a $101 million judgment, against a schizophrenic transient who started a devastating wildfire that destroyed homes, lives and businesses, but you are never going to get a lawyer or a debt-collector to try to collect that $101 million judgment on a contingent fee basis. Frame it on the wall, but it's good for decoration only.

USC / Stanford Highlights

The C.J. Gable highlights from USC's win @ Stanford last Saturday:

posted by Jonathan Bates on Vimeo.

Could an 11-1 USC get banished to the Holiday Bowl?

They could if four very plausible mild upsets occur. Here's how it could go down:

Florida State beats Florida, and Oklahoma beats Texas Tech. BCS rankings then look like this: (1) Alabama, (2) Oklahoma, (3) Texas, (4) Texas Tech, (5) USC.

Florida beats Alabama for the SEC, and Missouri beats Oklahoma for the Big XII. Utah wins out. Oregon State wins out. Missouri and Oregon State get automatic bids as conference champions. Final BCS rankings look like this: (1) Texas, (2) Texas Tech, (3) Alabama, (4) Utah, (5) USC.

Here's the final shakeout:

BCS Rule 1: Texas and Texas Tech get automatic bids to the BCS title game.

BCS Rule 2: The six conference champions get automatic bids: Missouri to the Fiesta Bowl, Florida to the Sugar Bowl, the ACC champ to the Orange Bowl, the Big East champ to the Sugar or Orange, and Oregon State against the Big Ten champ (Penn State or Michigan State) in the Rose Bowl.

BCS Rule 3: Utah gets an automatic bid.

BCS Rule 7: There is one at-large spot. Alabama, at 12-1 and ranked third in the BCS, gets it automatically.

USC plays Oklahoma in the Holiday Bowl.

http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/bcs_selection_procedures.html

Lex TV 192

Here are another dozen videos:

Arizona basketball players don't realize: once you tie, you no longer should intentionally foul the other team. Especially not twice.

A French dude and his soccer ball. and some cops and other stuff.

I never get tired of laughing at Ashley Simpson's performance at the 2004 Orange Bowl.

Bill Ayers has no remorse or conscience. Some of your kids are being taught by him, too.

Watch out for the LSD.

Skittles presents a conversation between the sons you never met.

Admit it, you used to date a chick like this dog.

How not to be a good best man.

If George Bush was running again, at least he wouldn't get shut out.

Mascots having bad days.

I wish they'd sold this stuff when I was in college.

This might make you never want to eat Skittles again. Skittles foot fetish.

Bid With Confidence?

Check out this eBay seller, offering for just $93,080, this deal. It ends with "Bid with confidence." But the seller, EveryTicket.com, has an 89% feedback rating on eBay. Sure, go ahead and trust them with a $90K PayPal payment. There's only a 10% chance you're going to get ripped off!

SEE BCS National Championship Game LIVE!!! FROM GREAT SEATS!!! The price listed above is for 1 Seat(s) together to see BCS National Championship Game!!! at Dolphins Stadium (Football)
on 1/8/09
at
TBA
These seats are located in: SECTION: LUXURY
ROW: SUITE

Bid confidently. Check my excellent feedback. Good Luck and thanks for your purchase!

================================================

If you have money to burn, and you have no fear of a ripoff, take your chances.

Games I'm Looking Forward to in 2008, Week 13

This weekend, I might not watch much college football at all, but if I do, these are the games I'll be following:

#2 Texas Tech @ #5 Oklahoma. Here's what I wrote in August: "might see Heisman hopeful Graham Harrell and the highest scoring offense in the nation get shut down." I still could happen. That would make things in the Big XII South really interesting, wouldn't it? I'm rooting for the Sooners, but I might regret it.

#16 BYU @ #8 Utah. In August, I thought this would be a big game for BYU, but it's turned out to be much bigger for Utah. I'm rooting for BYU.

#14 Ball State @ Central Michigan. This is the last road game for Ball State. They finish at home next week against Western Michigan. How big is this game to the Cardinals? If Utah and Boise State were to lose, and Ball State goes unbeaten, they could end up in the Orange Bowl against a beatable ACC champion. Lose, and they won't even win the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. That could mean dropping to the GMAC bowl, or worse.

Michigan @ Ohio State. When was the last time this game was this meaningless? The most interesting storyline: Michigan with the chance to lose its ninth game under first-year coach Rich Rodriguez. No other Michigan coach had lost more than seven in a season. Oh, how Rich Rod has fallen. A year ago, he was one win at home against unranked Pitt away from playing for the national championship at West Virginia. Now, he is the losingest coach in Michigan history.

Oregon State @ Arizona. Arizona gets a big home upset every year, it seems. They already had one against Cal, but this would be bigger. Like last year, they have the chance to kill an Oregon school's Rose Bowl hopes and send USC to Pasadena.

Washington @ Washington State. The loser of the Apple Cup is going to be immediately declared the worst team in college football.

Stanford @ Cal. If Stanford wins, the Pac-10 will have six bowl-eligible teams. Arizona State can make it seven by beating UCLA and Arizona. Or UCLA can by beating ASU and USC. That's a bit less likely.

Cal Poly @ Wisconsin: Cal Poly is ranked #3 in the FCS. The Badgers are 8th in the Big Ten, but at 6-5, probably get to a bowl unless they lose to the Mustangs.

College Football Picks, 2008 Week 13

Here are my college football picks complete guesses for the coming weekend. I might lay real cash on certain g**mes:

Wednesday, Nov 19 
** #14 Ball St. @ Cent. Michigan +7

Thursday, Nov 20
 #23 Miami (FL) @ Georgia Tech -3½

Saturday, Nov 22
** N.C. State @ #25 North Carolina -11
** Michigan @ #10 Ohio St. -20½
 Citadel @ #3 Florida N/L
 Air Force @ #15 TCU -18½
** Michigan St. @ #17 Penn St. -14½
** Mississippi @ #18 LSU -4½
 #9 Boise St. @ Nevada +6
 #16 BYU @ #8 Utah -6½
 #20 Pittsburgh @ #19 Cincinnati -5
** #21 Oregon St. @ Arizona -3
 Florida St. @ #22 Maryland -1
** #2 Texas Tech @ #5 Oklahoma -7
 Washingon @ Washington State +7½
 Stanford @ Cal -9

How bad is Washington State? They are at home against a team that is 0-11, and they are more than a touchdown underdog. Ouch.

The Bottom Ten After Week 12

There is still just one winless team in the Football Bowl Series division, but still four without wins against the FBS division. Here are the ten worst as of the end of the eleventh week of play:

1. Washington State (1-10) Held ASU to 31 points, but the offense provided zero points. Still winless against the FBS. Next loss: Washington.
2. **Washington (0-10). Got stomped by UCLA. Loser of the Apple Cup will deserve label "Worst in the FBS". Final loss: @ Washington State.
3. Western Kentucky (2-9) Still winless against the FBS, even North Texas, but at least they are 2-0 against the FCS. Final loss: Florida International.
4. Southern Methodist (1-10). Eight straight losses; winless against the FBS. Final loss: Southern Miss.
5. San Diego State (1-10). Lost to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Notre Dame. Final loss: UNLV.
6. North Texas (1-9) Beat Western Kentucky, which is barely better than beating an FCS team. Next loss: @ Middle Tenn.
7. Idaho (2-9). One of the wins was against the FCS. Even lost to San Diego St. Final loss: @ Hawaii.
8. Eastern Michigan (2-8) One of the wins was against the FCS. Next loss: @ Temple.
9. Iowa State (2-9) Lost 9 straight. Final loss: @ Kansas State.
10. Ohio (2-8) Lost to everyone but Kent State and Virginia Military. Just ahead of Utah State because Utah State beat a better team. Next loss: Akron.

Not far behind ahead: **Utah State (2-9), Toledo (2-8), Miami (Ohio) (2-8), **Syracuse (2-8), Tulane (2-8), *Michigan (3-8)

* - most losses in school history
** - coach already fired.

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 205)

We spent the weekend at Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly known as Stanford University or simply Stanford. USC fans always emphasize the "Junior", and pause between Stanford and Junior, without a pause between Junior and University. The campus is quite beautiful, though, with mature Redwoods and other trees everywhere, pleasant walking paths, water fountains and sculptures to please the eye. The main object of this scene is the Hoover Tower, which you can pay $2 to take yourself up to the top and look out 360 degrees across the whole campus. The tower is named for Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States of America, and a member of the very first graduating class at Stanford.

It's not a great photograph, but then again, Hoover wasn't a great president, either. His handling of the Great Mississippi Flood alienated black voters, who never returned to their original party, the Republicans. He overreacted to the Great Depression and made it worse. But you won't read about that in the little museum on the ground floor of the tower.

My Own Rankings After Week 12

How I would have voted the Top 25 this week, with last my week's rankings to the right. Unbeaten teams are in italics.

1. Texas Tech - 1
2. Alabama - 2
3. Florida - 4
4. USC - 3
5. Texas - 5
6. Oklahoma - 6
7. Utah - 8
8. Penn State - 7
9. Boise St. - 9
10. Ohio St. - 10
11. Oklahoma St. - 11
12. Missouri - 13
13. Georgia - 12
14. Ball State - 14
15. BYU - 15
16. TCU - 16
17. Michigan State - 17
18. Oregon State - 21
19. LSU - 19
20. Maryland - 24
21. Pitt - 22
22. Cincinnati - 25
23. Oregon - NR
24. Miami - NR
25. Northwestern - NR

I dropped North Carolina, Florida State and Cal. South Carolina and Tulsa, the two teams that were ranked by voters last week, that I had outside my top 25, both lost, but so did Cal, which I had ranked and the voters did not.

In the AP rankings, if the BCS pairing were announced today, #22 Miami or #23 Maryland would be in the Orange Bowl, #21 Oregon State would be in the Rose Bowl, and #19 Cincinnati would be in the Orange Bowl or Sugar Bowl. By the time it shakes out, you could see Florida against Ball State in the Sugar Bowl, Georgia Tech against Pitt or Cincy in the Orange Bowl, and Michigan State against Oregon State in the Rose Bowl. Moreover, you could see four teams in the top ten frozen out, and outside of Florida and Alabama, none of the teams in the top ten are likely to make it to a BCS bowl if they lose a game in the last three weeks.

The BCS sucks.

Ranking ten movies I recently watched on DVD (No. 14)

Here are another ten recent pulls from the Netflix queue. The pluses are scored 1-5. The scores in parens are from IMDB, with 10.0 being perfect. My rankings, obviously, do not match with IMDB's. Mixed some old with new, some first time watches with a couple I saw in the theater.

1. Snatch (8.2) +++++ Perfect mob/heist thriller, great cast. Even Brad Pitt was brilliant.
2. Remember the Titans (7.5) +++++ One of the best sports movies of all time. Yes, I just saw it.
3. Enchanted (7.6) +++++ Truly unique children's movie. I've watched it several times.
4. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (7.5) ++++ Great comedy. Corny at times, brilliant at times.
5. Elizabeth (1998) (7.6) ++++ A very good period piece
6. Definitely, Maybe (7.4) +++ Definitely amusing, even for a chick flick and an Abigail movie.
7. The Spiderwick Chronicles (6.9) +++ Like a poor man's Narnia.
8. 10,000 BC (4.9) +++ Loved the CGI, somewhat dug the plot and performance
9. Catch and Release (5.8) ++ I found the premise sad, and the characters implausible.
10. The Aristocrats (6.4) + It was funny for about 10 minutes. Then it just got old.

College Football Results, 2008, Week 12

My picks last weekend went 4-3 on my money games, and 11-11 overall. At least I held my own against the dartboard method:

W #14 Ball St. @ Miami (OH) +19½
W **#22 Cincinnati @ Louisville +3½
L Indiana @ Penn St. -34½
W **#10 Ohio St. @ Illinois +10
W #4 Texas @ Kansas +13½
L **# 13 Georgia @ Auburn +8
W **#16 BYU @ Air Force +4
W **#17 North Carolina @ Maryland +3
L California @ #23 Oregon St. -3
L **#24 South Carolina @ #3 Florida -21
L #9 Boise St. @ Idaho +34½
W #12 Missouri @ Iowa St. +26½
L #6 USC @ Stanford +23
L Mississippi St. @ #1 Alabama -20
L **Troy @ #19 LSU -19½
W #8 Utah @ San Diego St. +28½
L #25 Tulsa @ Houston +5½
W #11 Oklahoma St. @ Colorado +17½
L Boston College @ #20 Florida St. -7
L Washington St. @ Arizona St. -36½
W Arizona @ Oregon -3½
W UCLA @ Washington +7½

The biggest surprise to me this week was LSU failing to cover against Troy. Second biggest surprise: Georgia failing to cover against Auburn. Aside from the top two of Alabama and Florida, I am not impressed with the SEC this year.

The pick I was most sure about, Maryland +3, was a win straight up. I think Maryland is good enough to win the ACC. How would you like to see Maryland against Florida in the Orange Bowl? (Me, neither).

Oregon State looked tough again at home. Next up, they travel to Arizona, which has a habit of hauling in a big upset at home at least once a year. I think Oregon State is the 2008 victim.

USC would have covered if the Trojans could have put 11 men on the field for Stanford's final field goal try. Instead, they called timeout and Stanford went for the cover-busting touchdown.

Florida State lost. Excellent. Next week, they come off a loss going into their showdown against Florida. I pray for an upset, then a Florida win in the SEC championship.

Notre Dame almost suffered the most epic failure ever against Navy. Leading by 20 with about 2 minutes to play, the Irish surrendered a touchdown, lost an onside kick, surrendered a touchdown, lost an onside kick, and preserved the victory by taking over on downs at their own 35 yard line.

Michigan lost their 8th game of the season. Last time that happened: never. I got a kick out of one of the signs in the stand, which said something like "It's STILL great to be a Michigan Wolverine." Maybe so, but it's pretty good to be a Trojan, too.

Oh, and in the championship subdivision, third-ranked Cal Poly clinched the Great West Conference with a nice win over UC Davis. That also earned them the Golden Horseshoe. Cal Poly's safety, David Fullerton, scored his third touchdown of the season. The Mustangs finish the season next week at Wisconsin. They already have a win over an FBS team this season, but a win in Madison against the bowl-bound Badgers seems unlikely. If they can pull it off, they should be seeded #1 going into the FCS playoffs.

Enjoying His First Trojan Football Game

This is my boy, enjoying his first USC football game, a road game at Stanford.

The Trojans won 45-23. He enjoyed most of the game. Coincidentally, he was fussiest in the first half, when he was hungry and the Trojans were trailing or tied. The Stanford fans behind us thought it was funny that the baby was grumpy when the Cardinal scored. They were less amused when he was giggling and kicking and cooing in the 4th quarter. All in all, he seemed to enjoy just about everything, except the flyover, which was just too darned loud. We know he wasn't the youngest fan on the Farm last night, however, as we encounted some very nice Stanford fans with an eight-week-old.

My Favorite Author

Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is one of my two favorite books. This portrait of him is all over Monterey. From a literary standpoint, there is no town I like better than Monterey. There are stores and museum and monuments all over the place, honoring local writers, and particularly honoring Steinbeck.

You sure can't really tell, by looking at his picture, that the guy was a truly great writer, but he was.

My New and Revised Rooting Plan

Penn State's win over Ohio State really hurt USC's chances to get into the BCS championship game, but their loss to Iowa rejuvenated them. To play for the title, the Trojans need to crack the top two. They cannot do that if they lose another game. They also cannot do that without some more upsets and losses from teams above and around them. Nobody who isn't in the top ten in this week's BCS is a threat. Penn State won't catch USC if the Trojans beat Stanford, Notre Dame and UCLA. I'm not 100% sure, but I think an unbeaten Boise State and/or Utah would finish below the Trojans at 11-1.

Still, that leaves the SEC teams and Big XII teams with 0 or 1 loss records ahead of us. That puts Alabama, Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma and Florida in the mix, and USC needs to get past all but one. If four of those teams lose, we probably get to the #2 spot. However, a one-loss SEC champ is probably in, and a one-loss Big XII champ would almost certainly get in ahead of the Trojans. The best case scenario would be an SEC leader meltdown. Florida State over Florida, Auburn over Alabama, then Florida over Alabama. That would mean that the BCS title game has to be Big XII v. Big XII (which few voters would like to see), Big XII champ v. Penn State, which no one except the Big XII champ and Penn State fans want to see, or Big XII champ v. USC and the nation's best defense. The more chaos in the Big XII, the more likely that could happen.

So here, this week, this is how I'm rooting, in order of want, not likelihood:

1. USC @ Stanford
2. South Carolina @ Florida
3. Mississippi State over Alabama
4. Cal over Oregon State
5. Kansas over Texas
6. Indiana over Penn State
7. Ohio State @ Illinois
8. Notre Dame @ Navy
9. UCLA @ Washington
10. Idaho over Boise State

Utah, Texas Tech and Oklahoma sit this week out, as does Virginia.

USC Stanford 2008 Game Notes

As you watch Stanford host USC this evening, you might see some of these interesting bits and points:

• USC is 8-1, 6-1 in conference play.
• Stanford is 5-5, 4-3 in conference play.
• USC is in first place in the Pac-10, with Oregon State a half game back.
• USC is ranked #6 in every major poll.
• Stanford is unranked.
• Broadcast: Nationally on Versus (Ron Thulin, Kelly Stouffer, Lewis Johnson)
• Weather forecast: sunny and clear, overnight low of 49F°, down from a high of 76. Winds light.
• Kickoff: 4:07 p.m. PST at Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto, California
• It's almost a sellout. Only singles remain available.
• Stanford is USC’s oldest current rival, with the first meeting held in 1905.
• USC holds a 58-25-3 lead over Stanford.
• In Palo Alto, the Trojans are 32-8-2.
• This is the 88th straight game that USC has been in the AP Top 25. 
• Against ranked teams, Stanford is 1-20 since 2002.
• The win: last year: Stanford 24, USC 23.
• It was the largest point spread upset ever.
• USC outgained the Cardinal 459 total yards to 235, but had 5 turnovers and a blocked PAT.
• The loss cost USC a shot at the BCS title game last season.
• In 1979, Stanford's 21-21 tie with the Trojans cost USC another national title.
• Last time Stanford defeated a ranked team at home was against #4 UCLA in 2001
• Last time against USC at Stanford: USC 42, Stanford 0.
• The Cardinal are 4-0 at home.
• The last perfect home season for Stanford was Bill Walsh's 1977 team.
• Last Stanford win at home against USC: 32-30 in 2000.
• Stanford needs to beat USC or Cal to become bowl-eligible.
• Six of Stanford's 10 games this season have been decided by eight points or less
• USC's margin of victory in their 8 wins: 35.6 points
• Six were by four touchdowns or more
• Three were shutouts
• USC is 25-0 in November under Pete Carroll
• Odd stat of the day: USC has won the last 7 games against Stanford that came immediately after USC's matchup against Cal.
• USC is ranked in the Top 25 in every national offensive and defensive statistical category, including first in total defense, scoring defense, pass efficiency defense and pass defense.
• USC’s scoring (6.7) defense is its best in 56 years.
• USC has surrendered just 7 touchdowns in 2008.
• Stanford is averaging 341.9 yards in total offense
• The Cardinal are second in the Pac-10 and 17th nationally in rushing offense
• Stanford's 51 passing yards at UCLA was the lowest single-game mark in school history
• USC QB Mark Sanchez is the Pac-10’s passing efficiency and total offense leader.
• Stanford is 10th in the Pac-10 in passing defense.
• Stanford has rushed for 2,070 yards this season
• This is only the third Stanford team to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.
• USC has had two individuals run for more than 2,000 yards in a season.
• Offensively, USC is ranked 12th nationally in total offense (454.7, first in Pac-10), 12th in passing efficiency (162.0, first in Pac-10), 15th in scoring offense (37.7, third in Pac-10), 21st in rushing offense (200.7, third in Pac-10) and 24th in passing offense (254.0, second in Pac-10)
• USC ranks last in the Pac-10 in opponent penalty yardage average
• Trojan LB Brian Cushing was a Lombardi Award semifinalist
• LB Rey Maualuga is a Lombardi Award finalist
• Maualuga is also a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award
• Trojan S Taylor Mays is a Thorpe Award semifinalist
• QB Mark Sanchez is a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award
• In the second half in 2008, USC has outscore the competition 143-13
• That's 73-7 in the third quarter and 70-6 in the fourth quarter
• USC has blocked 3 field goals in 2008.
• Four USC tailbacks have rushed for more than 100 yards in a game this season.
• The four are Broderick Green, Stafon Johnson, CJ Gable and Joe McKnight
• Green left the team this week and will transfer.
• USC has 4 players from Bay Area high schools.
• And a head coach.
• Pete Carroll will be coaching his 100th game.
• Only John McKay (175), Howard Jones (170) and John Robinson (143) have more.
• He is 84-15 (84.8%) in 8 years (2001-2008) as a college head coach
• That is the best winning percentage of any current Division I coach with at least 5 years
• Ohio State's Jim Tressel is also coaching his 100th today.
• USC injury update - probable: TE Blake Ayles (knee), TE Jimmy Miller (back), DT Averell Spicer (ankle) 
• USC injury update - questionable: SNP Chris Pousson (mono), LB Luthur Brown (back), S Kevin Ellison (knee)
• USC injury update - out: TB Allen Bradford (hip), WR Scott Stephens (knee), CB Shareece Wright (neck), OG-OT Martin Coleman (ankle), OT-C Michael Reardon (hip), OG Matt Meyer (foot), DE-DT Trey Henderson (knee)
• Stanford running back Toby Gerhart (hamstring) and fullback Owen Marecic (high-ankle sprain) are expected to play Saturday, as is TB Jeremy Stewart (stomach virus).
• Mark Bradford, who caught the game-winning pass against USC last season, has joined the 49ers practice squad.
• He was cut by the Dallas Cowboys in the preseason
• Before the game, #1 USC will play #2 Stanford in men's water polo
• It's the last home game for Stanford's seniors.

USC's weekly football release.

Stanford's weekly football release.

Game on!

The office parking lot

has been emptying right at 5:00 p.m. lately. I took this picture walking home on October 30, 2008. I tried to take one tonight to show how dead the whole place is, but it was too dark at 5:15 p.m. for my cellphone camera to get a decent shot.

Back when our center was full of contruction firms and tech companies and mortgage brokers, this place was still full of cars at 7:00 p.m., and if you arrrived after 8:00 a.m., it was tough to find a good spot. Heck, two years ago, they actually ran a shuttle bus from a parking lot a mile away, because there just weren't enough places for everyone to park. Those days are gone. It'll be a while before they're back.

Lawyer Blogs Foresee President Obama

A couple of the blogging lawyers I follow saw Barack Obama as president a long time ago. Check out this 2004 post from Ernie the Attorney, and a 2005 post from the Angry Pregnant Lawyer. The comments were priceless, too. It wasn't entirely unforeseeable to anyone who watched Obama deliver the Democrats' keynote speech at the 2004 DNC, but these were still some early, accurate posts.