The links for the October demiblog:
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4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
« September 2008 | Main | November 2008 »
The links for the October demiblog:
October 31, 2008 in Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Obama may be outspending McCain four-to-one, but he's asking for more money. Sadly, I fear that this is actually a metaphor for the coming Obama presidency.
Reporters for three newspapers that recently endorsed John McCain have been booted off the Obama airplane. You'd never see John McCain pulling a stunt like that. Of course, if he did, there wouldn't be very many reporters on his plane.
Gasoline and oil prices are down, and headed lower. All you folks who convinced yourself that the increases were all George Bush's fault, don't forget to send Bush a thank you note for changing his mind, right?
It was a tough week for cows. In Uraguay, 52 cows who were pressed up against a metal fence during a storm were electrocuted by a single bolt of lightning. In India, some poor cow who got raped by a man, and in a certainly unrelated event, became pregnant, was taken out to sea and drowned by a group of villagers that included the cow rapist.
Too much government regulation can be bad. Not enough is pretty bad, too. For example, without OSHA, your boss might make you crawl out a 16th story window to work on the bottom of a mounted airconditioner.
It's true that the governor of Alaska oversees only about 100,000 people more than Oklahoma City. It's also true that the senators for Delaware represent fewer people than the mayor of Detroit. But we wouldn't want the mayor of Detroit to be vice-president, now would we?
Richard Cooey, a 5-foot-7, 267-pound double murderer, argued that his obesity made death by lethal injection inhumane, because his fat would make it difficult for prison staff to find suitable veins to ensure a painless death. Well, the Supreme Court denied his claim, and last week, the execution went off smoothly, paving the way for other really fat murderers to receive quick painless expedited transitions to the next world.
The MLBPA thinks that the reason Barry Bonds hasn't been signed to a fat free agent contract is collusion. I'll try to think of a few reasons why a team wouldn't be thrilled to sign an old former steroids user who is hated by many fans, is a clubhouse poison, and oh, would probably want $20 million. It shouldn't take me too long.
People who drink are happier than those who don't drink everyday. That, my friends, is why lawyers are so happy. It's not the money. It's the drinking. And the blogging.
Finally, if this story about a six year old and her new communication device doesn't warm your heart, just go drown yourself, because you are clearly dead already.
October 31, 2008 in Random Thoughts | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
L.A. Daily News beat writer Scott Wolf thinks Oregon State is the only team in the Pac-10 to control its own destiny. He writes:
Oregon State is the only Pac-10 team that controls its destiny. But Coach Mike Riley continues to downplay it.
In fact, there are four teams, tied in the loss-column, for the Pac-10 lead. They are Oregon (4-1), USC (4-1), Cal (3-1) and Oregon State (3-1). This means:
If USC and Oregon State win the rest of their games, Oregon State and USC would tie for the Pac-10 title, but Oregon State would win an automatic berth in the Rose Bowl, and USC would earn an automatic spot as a BCS at-large team.
I keep hearing this mantra about Oregon State being the only team that controls its own destiny. But if Cal wins the rest of its games, it will finish 8-1 in conference play, and every other team will have at least two losses. It will win the Pac-10 outright.
October 31, 2008 in USC Football | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Here are the top college football games of the weekend, based upon this week's rankings. My picks against the spread at in bold and italic. I like the nine games with **sterisks.
Thursday, Oct 30
** #24 South Florida @ Cincinnati +2½
Saturday, Nov. 1
Northwestern @ #20 Minnesota -5½
** Wisconsin @ #22 Michigan St. -5
** #19 Tulsa @ Arkansas +7
** #14 Missouri @ Baylor +20
Arkansas St. @ #2 Alabama -23½
Iowa St. @ #9 Oklahoma St. -31
#23 Oregon @ California -3
#16 Florida St. @ Georgia Tech +1½
** #8 Florida @ #5 Georgia +5½
#17 BYU @ Colorado St. +14
** Washington @ #7 USC -43
#11 Boise St. @ New Mexico St. +20½
** #12 TCU @ UNLV +13½
#1 Texas @ #6 Texas Tech +6
** Nebraska @ #4 Oklahoma -21
Tulane @ #15 LSU -25½
** #10 Utah @ New Mexico +7½
Also in the Pac-10:
Washington State @ Stanford -29½
Arizona State @ Oregon State -13
October 30, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
#19 Tulsa @ Arkansas. An SEC team at home against a Conference USA opponent, and Vegas is giving the SEC team seven. If this was Vanderbilt or Kentucky or Ole Miss, that would be one thing, but Arkansas? This is a sad season for the Hogs. For me, I get to watch another unbeaten bite the dust, or I get to see the SEC lose an OOC game to C-USA. Win-win. I'll root for Tulsa.
#8 Florida @ #5 Georgia. The winner of this game would almost have to lose on purpose to miss out on the SEC championship game. The loser will not play for the SEC championship, and probably won't play in any BCS bowl. I'll root for Georgia.
Washington @ #7 USC. Homecoming. Ty's last trip to the Coliseum. But the Huskies are so bad this year, I don't even hate them anymore. The only thing cool about this game is that great seats are going to be cheap from the scalpers on Saturday. My prediction: USC in a shutout, 45-0.
#1 Texas @ #6 Texas Tech. Game of the week. This is the best combined record (16-0) we'll see this year until the title game, and then only if both teams are unbeaten. This is also going to be the most anticipated offensive matchup of the year. Everywhere I've looked, the over/under on this game is off the board. If the Longhorns win, they have to be a huge favorite to win the Big XII. If Tech wins, that game at Oklahoma in a couple of weeks is going to be a beast. Go Red Raiders!
Arizona State @ Oregon State. This is huge for USC fans, because we need the Beavers to lose at least one more conference game. If they win, next week, I'll root for the Bruins. Then the Bears. Then the Wildcats. Hopefully, I won't need to root for the Ducks.
October 30, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
There are still two winless teams in the Football Bowl Series division. If you do not count wins over FCS teams, there are still six without wins. Here are the ten worst as of the end of the ninth week of play:
Not far behind ahead: Michigan (2-6), Toledo (2-6), Southern Miss (2-6), Ohio (2-6), Purdue (2-6), Iowa State (2-6), N.C. State (2-6), UAB (2-6), Wyoming (2-6), Middle Tennessee (2-6), Louisiana Monroe (2-6),
Dropped out: #7 Kent State (2-6).
October 30, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Here is the current ESPNU Fan Poll.
ESPNU Allstate Standings (Fan poll) |
1. Texas Tech 8-0 |
2. Penn State 9-0 |
3. USC 6-1 |
4. Florida 6-1 |
5. Boise State 7-0 |
6. TCU 8-1 |
7. Georgia 7-1 |
8. Minnesota 7-1 |
9. Ball State 8-0 |
10. Utah 8-0 |
11. Tulsa 8-0 |
12. Alabama 8-0 |
13. Brigham Young 7-1 |
14. Maryland 6-2 |
15. Kansas 5-3 |
16. Oklahoma 7-1 |
17. Texas 8-0 |
18. Oklahoma State 7-1 |
19. South Florida 6-2 |
20. Missouri 6-2 |
21. Michigan State 7-2 |
22. Florida State 6-1 |
23. LSU 5-2 |
24. Oregon 6-2 |
25. Ohio State 7-2 |
Others Receiving Votes North Carolina, West Virginia, California, Connecticut, Pittsburgh. |
What can we learn from this? 1. Texas Tech, Penn State, USC and Florida fans know how to use computers and this new-fangled Internet thing. 2. Texas and Alabama fans don't. Ohio State fans barely even own computers.
October 29, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
This is my front porch. The USC welcome mat is mine. The Yes On 8 banner was left for me by someone who assumes that because I live in a nice neighborhood in the OC, I must be in favor of amending the Constitution to eliminate gay marriage in California. The big sign is supposed to go on my lawn, I assume. I'm not sure why. I live at the end of a cul-de-sec in a gated community. Who would even see it? The stickers go on the car. Even if I was in favor of this measure, I would never in a million years slap that thing on my bumper.
October 29, 2008 in MobileBlogging, Politics | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Hilary Duff - Reach Out: a sad and pathetic ripoff of Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus.
October 29, 2008 in Music | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Here are another final dozen interesting videos concerning politics and elections:
Next time, I have a few non-political stuff, including an episode of "Oh! My balls!"
Bonus: Robin Sparkles's music video: Sandcastles in the Sand, from How I Met Your Mother.
October 29, 2008 in Video | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
"Wassilla's all I saw." Heh.
[Hat tip: Sparkwood & 21]
October 28, 2008 in Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I think this is just the coolest vantage point in America. Ever since the first time I saw it on Disneyland's Circlevision presentation of American Journeys, I wanted to see it for myself. I finally got the chance in August 1991, when I got to spend about two hours in Washington, D.C. Seventeen years later, I got a second chance, this time for about two days. This spot was high on my list of places to go. I would like to go back to spend a whole week, bringing the whole family, so that the kids could see this with their own eyes, too.
Right after I took this photo, I slid down the marble to the next level, and then turned around to see a sign that said something like "No sliding down the marble." Oops. My bad. They should have the sign positioned so that it faces you when you are contemplating a slide down the marble.
October 28, 2008 in Photographs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Some of the best evidence of how overrated a conference is might be the difference between their teams' highest rankings during the season, and their rankings at the end. The season isn't over, of course, but here's where we are right now in the SEC:
Was #1 Georgia [now #8]
Was #2 Alabama [still #2]
Was #3 LSU [now #15]
Was #4 Florida [now #7]
Was #9 Auburn [now unranked, no votes]
Was #13 Vanderbilt [now unranked, no votes]
Was #18 Tennessee [now unranked, no votes]
Was #24 South Carolina [now unranked, no votes]
Was ORV Arkansas (14 points)[still unranked, no votes]
Was ORV Ole Miss (13 points) [still unranked, no votes]
Was ORV Kentucky (10 points) [still unranked, no votes]
Was ORV Mississippi State (4 points) [still unranked, no votes]
Yes, each and every SEC team has received votes this season. Somewhere out there, there were voters who thought that the 12th best SEC team was one of the 25 best football teams in the country. Currently, however, 8 of those 12 get not even a single vote. That's about as overrated as a conference gets.
October 28, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
Here are another ten recent pulls from the Netflix queue. I'll rate them with pluses, one to five. The scores in parens are from IMDB, with 10.0 being perfect. My rankings, obviously, do not match perfectly with IMDB's. These are more recent than some others I've watched lately, and it's a better group than the last ones:
October 27, 2008 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
We started the week's play with 9 undefeated teams in the NCAA. We're down to 8. Here are the teams, and what they're doing next week:
Gone is:
Next week we'll be down to seven or less, as either Texas or Texas Tech will lose. Ball State, Penn State, and Tulsa do not have significant challenges left. Alabama's next game is a joke.
Washington (0-7) and North Texas (0-8) are still winless.
October 27, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
How I would have voted the Top 25 this week, with last my week's rankings to the right. Unbeaten teams are in italics.
October 26, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
This wasn't such a bad week for me. I only went 3-4 in my picks. USC's offensive struggles hosed me, and I bet those last three with what I really, really, wanted, rather (in two of the instances) with that I honestly expected. Overall, I was 13-9. Here's how I did.
Saturday, Oct. 25
W East. Michigan @ #24 Ball St. -25½
W #25 Minnesota @ Purdue +2
W **#8 Texas Tech @ Kansas +1
L #23 Boston College @ North Carolina -3½
W **#4 Oklahoma @ Kansas St. +18
W Kentucky @ #5 Florida -23
W UNLV @ #18 BYU -23½
L Rutgers vs #17 Pittsburgh -10
L **#7 Oklahoma St. vs #1 Texas -12½
L #14 South Florida vs Louisville +3½
W Virginia vs #21 Georgia Tech -11
L #11 Georgia vs #9 LSU -1½
W Virginia Tech vs #24 Florida St. -5½
W **Wyoming vs #15 TCU -30½
W Colorado vs #16 Missouri -24½
L **Alabama vs Tennessee +6 crap!
L **Penn St. vs #10 Ohio St. +2 crap!
L **USC vs Arizona +14
Sunday, Oct 26
W UCF vs #22 Tulsa -23½
Also in the Pac-10:
W UCLA @ Cal -18
L Notre Dame @ Washington +11
W Oregon @ Arizona State +4½
Best stat line of the day: with 14:32 to play in the Ohio State game, the score was 6-3 with Penn State lining up for a game-tying field goal (that missed). Penn State had run 42 plays in 22:36, for 221 yards. Ohio State had run 42 plays in 22:24, for 219 yards. How close can a game be?
October 26, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
As you watch USC play at Arizona tonight, you might see some of these interesting bits and points:
Game on.
October 25, 2008 in USC Football | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Here are the games I'll be wanting to watch this weekend, starting with the list I made in August:
Auburn @ West Virginia. Never mind. Illinois @ Wisconsin. Never mind. Oregon @ Arizona State. Never mind. Notre Dame @ Washington - only interesting because of the coaching history and the fact that Washington is winless. Go Huskies.
#9 Georgia @ #11 LSU. I love this game. Someone gets a second loss. Part of me hopes it is LSU, losing big at home. On the other hand, I would love to see a USC-LSU championship game, and this will pretty much end such a possibility. I think Auburn's blowout loss to West Virginia exposes not only the Tigers, but maybe LSU, too.Not that LSU wasn't exposed by Florida. On the other hand, like LSU, Georgia has trailed a game by more 30 points on the way to a big loss. So who knows? Heh. Ok, I'm gonna pick LSU, but root for the Bulldogs.
#7 Texas Tech @ #16 Kansas. I thought in August that this might end with a basketball score. I still think so. One of the lines on this game was a pick. It's in Kansas, but the Jayhawks are the only top Big XII team with a conference loss, so I have to look for Tech to win this one.
#6 USC @ Arizona. The Trojans barely won this game last season in L.A., so anything can happen. The Trojans have outscored their opponents 138-0 since Oregon took a 10-3 lead three weeks ago. Arizona has a high-scoring offense, but its performances against Toledo, Idaho, Washington and UCLA don't offer any clues as to how they will perform against the Trojans. In their four wins, USC has given up 20 points. Total. I like USC, and I like the under.
#2 Alabama @ Tennessee. This looks like a blowout, but it would be delicious to see the Volunteers win this. Alabama has looked weak in its last two games, barely sneaking past weak sisters Ole Miss and Kentucky. Tennessee lost to UCLA, but it looked great last week against weak sister Mississippi State. The L.A. Times picks the home team straight up. I'd love them to be right.
#7 Oklahoma State @ #1 Texas. Not on my radar in August. It's the only game of the week that is guaranteed to end someone's perfect season. Because this is at Texas, I can't see the Pokes winning, but it would be awesome. Don't get excited if the Longhorns fall behind. They've trailed big in 3 of the last 4, and came out and smoked the Cowboys in the second half.
#2 Penn State @ #10 Ohio State. Not on my radar in August. Suddenly, it's one of the most important games of the season. Winner has inside track on the Rose Bowl, at least. Loser needs the other guy to lose two more games in conference. That's a long shot. For USC, an Ohio State win would boost their SOS and preserve the value of their blowout of OSU in week three, plus it would knock Penn State out from ahead of them in the BCS rankings. Penn State hasn't won in Columbus since joining the Big Ten.
October 25, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Here are the top college football games of the weekend, based upon this week's rankings. My picks against the spread at in bold and italic. I really like the seven games with **sterisks.
Friday, Oct 24
Boise State @ San Jose State (over)
Saturday, Oct. 25
East. Michigan @ #24 Ball St. -25½
#25 Minnesota @ Purdue +2
**#8 Texas Tech vs Kansas +1
#23 Boston College vs North Carolina -3½
**#4 Oklahoma vs Kansas St. +18
Kentucky vs #5 Florida -23
UNLVvs #18 BYU -23½
Rutgers vs #17 Pittsburgh -10
**#7 Oklahoma St. vs #1 Texas -12½
#14 South Florida vs Louisville +3½
Virginia vs #21 Georgia Tech -11
#11 Georgia vs #9 LSU -1½
Virginia Tech vs #24 Florida St. -5½
**Wyoming vs #15 TCU -30½
Colorado vs #16 Missouri -24½
**Alabama vs Tennessee +6
**Penn St. vs #10 Ohio St. +2
**USC vs Arizona +14
Sunday, Oct 26
UCF vs #22 Tulsa -23½
Also in the Pac-10:
UCLA @ Cal -18
Notre Dame @ Washington +11
Oregon @ Arizona State +4½
October 25, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
If you live in Southern California and have a kid under the age of 13, the Disney Halloween Event, Mickey's Trick-or-Treat Party at Disney California Adventure is great. We hit this event tonight. It was a great entertainment value. Ride lines were short. We walked right on to California Screamin' and even the new Midway Mania ride had a very sort wait. There were craft tables, games of skill, themed decorations, lots of candy distribution stops, good music, character photo ops and lots of happy little kids in costumes, along with a significant percentage of happy and slightly weird big kids in costumes.
They don't open the full park until the official opening time of 7:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. on weeknights), but get there early and enjoy the entrance shops, the diner or the music. If you want shorter lines, go to Midway Mania first, and for candy collection, start with the candy stops near the back of the park, and hit the ones up front later. There are four more nights of this in 2008: October 28, 29, 30 and 31.
October 24, 2008 in Disney | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
People in my hometown were at all four corners of some of our main drags this morning and last night with Pro-Prop 8 banners. They included "Prop 8 = Religious Freedom", "Prop 8 = Less Government", "Prop 8 = Parental Rights", Prop 8 = Free Speech" and "Yes on Prop 8 - Bring Back Marriage."
People, please. Prop 8 means gay people can't call their marriages marriages, and can't have quite all of the benefits of marriage. It's more government, not less. It's not about schools or parental rights. It's not about suppression of speech or free speech. It's not about religious freedom. It's not about bringing back marriage rights that were lost. It's about going back to denying gays the right to be in a marriage.
If you think that's good for society, vote accordingly, but please don't carry bullshit signs that try to tell me it's about safe schools and religious freedom and the first amendment.
October 24, 2008 in MobileBlogging, Politics | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Who are the worst teams in college football? I think these are the ten worst in the BCS conferences:
Not far behind ahead: Purdue, Arizona State
October 23, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Who are the worst teams in college football? I think these are the ten worst in the Football Bowl Series division.
Not far behind ahead: Mississippi State, Eastern Michigan, Michigan.
October 22, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Here are another dozen interesting videos:
October 22, 2008 in Video | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
One year ago today, I was in Chicago, enjoy a Sunday in the city after USC's thrashing of Notre Dame. I had been to Chicago once before, and this time, I had just two things that I knew I wanted to see: the Sears Tower and the Chicago Institute of the Arts. This view shows what we saw from street level just as we entered the building to complete objective number one.
From this angle, you really can't tell how remarkably huge this building is, but it is really tall. The tallest in North America. Shortly after we got down and out of the building, a firebug back home started the Santiago Fire. It would burn for 20 days. These photos show what the hills behind my house looked like when we got back.
This is a short walk up the road behind my house. The flames got this close to the road. When we got back to the hotel and saw firefighters battling flames along the road, this is basically where they were.
This road was the main fire break between our home and the destruction.
Stuff was still smoldering when we got home, even though the main fire front had moved miles away.
October 21, 2008 in Photographs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I know there were several FCS teams that snuck up on and beat FBS teams this season. But for those of you who think that this means a good FCS can compete with a good FBS team, I offer you the following rankings and results:
Rank | Team | Record | Pts | Last Week |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | James Madison (28) | (6-1) | 700 | 1 |
2. | Appalachian St. | (5-2) | 664 | 2 |
3. | Cal Poly | (4-1) | 599 | 7 |
4. | Northern Iowa | (5-2) | 589 | 8 |
5. | Montana | (6-1) | 548 | 10 |
6. | Wofford | (5-1) | 526 | 9 |
7. | Massachusetts | (4-3) | 494 | 11 |
8. | Elon | (7-1) | 457 | 12 |
9. | Richmond | (5-3) | 453 | 5 |
10. |
Villanova | (5-1) | 430 | 13 |
Some of their key wins and losses:
The ten best teams in the FCS are a combined 1-7 against the FBS, going 0-3 against ranked FBC teams, and a combined 1-4 against unranked FBS teams. The only win was a 2-point win by the third-ranked Mustangs, against a San Diego State team that is 1-6, lost this week to New Mexico by a score of 70-7, and whose only victory is against Idaho, a 1-7 team whose only win was against Idaho State, itself a winless FCS team.
Although I probably could have saved myself a lot of typing by just noting that the #1 team in the FCS got killed by Duke. Enough said.
October 20, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Another collection from the Netflix vaults. I'll rate them with pluses, one to five. The scores in parens are from IMDB, with 10.0 being perfect. My rankings, obviously, do not match perfectly with IMDB's. These are more older ones than some others I've watched lately:
October 20, 2008 in Film | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
How I would have voted the Top 25 this week, with last my week's rankings to the right. Unbeaten teams are in italics.
I dropped Cal, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Michigan State.
Rankings are, of course, very subjective. Fully 10% of Yahoo users rank Washington State over Texas, so, there you go.
October 19, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I went 3-4 in the games I liked. Oklahoma State covered, LSU covered, Boston College covered. Texas Tech did not cover. Alabama did not cover. Georgia did not cover. Missouri couldn't make the spread. I should have taken more dogs. I had fun watching a couple of my underdogs who I didn't actually bet on, win straight up, including TCU, Maryland and Virginia. Not so good, the favorites I picked who lost: Cal and UCLA. Overall, I went 9-12. I'm not doing very well against the spread this year.
W #9 BYU @ TCU +1
L Hawaii @ #15 Boise St. -24½
L #7 Texas Tech @ Texas A&M +20½ **
L Syracuse @ #19 South Florida -20
W 21 Wake Forest @ Maryland +1½
L #22 Vanderbilt @ #10 Georgia -15 **
W Colorado St. @ #14 Utah -21½
W Baylor @ #8 Oklahoma St. -16½ **
W #6 USC @ Washington St. +42½
W #18 North Carolina @ Virginia +5
L #23 Pittsburgh @ Navy +3
L #12 Ohio St. @ #20 Michigan St. +3
L #16 Kansas @ #4 Oklahoma -20
L Mississippi @ #2 Alabama -13 **
L Michigan @ #3 Penn St. -23
L #11 Missouri @ #1 Texas -6½ **
W #13 LSU @ South Carolina +3 **
W #17 Virginia Tech @ Boston College -2½ **
L #25 California @ Arizona +2½
L Stanford @ UCLA -2
W Oregon State @ Washington +14
But it's all good, because USC covered and then some. That game was't as close as the 69-0 score wuld indicate. USC starters were mostly on the sidelines in the second half, and USC let the clock expire deep in Cougar territory at the end of the first half with a 41-0 lead. USC has scored 138 consecutive points since Oregon led them 10-3. This was USC's first back-to-back shutout since 1971. The win ended Washington State's 280 games scoring streak. The last USC shutout this big was against Montana in 1931. USC had three running backs rush for more than 100 yards. That last happened in 1977.
Also, USC is again tied for first place in the Pac-10, with Oregon State, Oregon and Arizona State. We still need someone to beat Oregon State for the automatic BCS bid, but if both USC and Oregon State win out, USC could end up in Miami while the Beavers take an automatic bid to the Rose Bowl, but there's a lot of football to be played between now and then.
BCS rankings come out today at 5:00 p.m. EDT. USC could be as high as #4.
October 19, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
We started the week's play with 10 undefeated teams in the NCAA. We're down to 9. Here are the teams, and what they're doing next week:
Gone is:
Next week we'll be down to eight or less, as either Texas or Oklahoma State will lose. I think we'll be down to five. Five of the nine teams have to hit the road, and three of those road games will be against ranked opponents.
Washington (0-5) and North Texas (0-7) are still winless.
October 19, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Has anyone else seen this replica national championship trophy and wondered if it's a scam? It's offered as follows:
"Replica of 1978 National Championship USC Football Trophy "LIMITED EDITION 500" ONLY AVAILABLE UNTIL December 1st, 2008! (Does Not Ship Until 3/21/09) It’s the 30th year anniversary of USC’s 1978 National Championship and in honor of that accomplishment USC Athletics is offering a once in a lifetime chance to own this 12" handcrafted replica of the current National Championship Trophy commemorating the 1978 USC National Championship. Led by coach John Robinson, the 1978 USC team fielded 37 players that eventually played in the NFL, including Marcus Allen, Ronnie Lott, and Charles White to name a few. Heavy in weight and gorgeous to the eye, any USC fan will be proud to display this magnificent replica to family and friends. This is the only licensed replica of the trophy. These trophies are custom made and will only be offered for sale until December 1st, 2008 or until they sell out, whichever comes first. Don't miss this one-time chance to own a piece of history! THIS ITEM WILL BEGIN SHIPPING MARCH 15th, 2008."
Wait a minute, Trojan fans. Does it ship 3/21/2009, or "MARCH 15th, 2008"? And why would they stop selling on December 1, 2008, even if they are not sold out. It's a limited edition of 500 right? The website looks legit, contact information appears to be USC's athletic office, not the bookstore, and they tell me USC is NOT selling any replica national championship trophies. The website, cstv.com, belongs to www.sportsline.com/cbscollegesports, which seems legit. I dig the product, but I'm suspicious of something that wants my money several months before they ship the product, i.e., long after it's too late for me to dispute the charge on my VISA. Should I be dubious?
October 19, 2008 in USC Football | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
As you watch the USC host Washington State this afternoon on ABC, you might see some of these interesting bits and points:
Game on.
October 18, 2008 in USC Football | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In August, here's how I saw week nine:
Most Big XII questions not settled last week will be settled this week. Missouri @ Texas and Kansas @ Oklahoma. Daniel, McCoy, Reesing and Bradford all competing for the glory of leading their team into the frontrunner's spot for the Fiesta Bowl or better. The non-BCS schools get some attention, too. Hawaii @ Boise State matches two of the three teams that have made it, while BYU @ TCU is a potential trap game for the Cougars. USC @ Washington St. does not look that interesting.
That's pretty much still the story. Here's what I'll be watching:
#9 BYU @ TCU. I didn't watch this because I couldn't find it on TV, but I'm following all 10 9 unbeaten teams in their games this weekend.
Hawaii @ #15 Boise St. This is another I'll pay attention to because Boise State is unbeaten. But I won't watch it, because I have better things to do on Friday night, like take my daughter to Boomer's to celebrate her birthday.
#7 Texas Tech @ Texas A&M. Worth watching because it's a road trap for Texas Tech, who struggled against lowly Nebraska last week, and because Michael Crabtree is having an amazing season. Not worth watching because A&M stinks. This is one of their worst teams of my lifetime.
#6 USC @ Washington State. It's USC, so I will watch and enjoy.
#18 North Carolina @ Virginia. USC would like to see the Cavaliers win this one for SOS reasons. Other than that, it's a dud.
#16 Kansas @ #4 Oklahoma. Two great offenses. One is better, IMHO. Would Kansas have been so great last season if they had played Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech? I doubt it. I hope to be proven wrong in this one, however, because a 2-loss Oklahoma is better for USC than one with just one.
#11 Missouri @ #1 Texas. This is the game of the week. Had Mizzou taken care of business last week, it would be game of the year. #1 v. #2 maybe. Instead, they lost, maybe by looking ahead to this one. Texas, coming off the huge emotional win over Oklahoma, might be due for a letdown. I wouldn't shock me.
#13 LSU @ South Carolina. If South Carolina wins this one, people will say it proves the SEC's depth. If LSU wins this one, people will say it proves the SEC's depth. I'm rooting for little usc, because I predicted that this will be a 3-loss season for LSU, and I want to be right. And really, almost any LSU loss feels right, because it helps shut up the most USC-obsessed fans in the nation.
October 17, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
A judge threw out a Nebraska legislator's lawsuit against God, on the ground that the defendant cannot be served. The plaintiff, State Senator Ernie Chambers, sought a permanent injunction against God for causing "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants." He claims the suit was intended to demonstrate that anyone can sued anyone for anything.
In the dismissal order, Douglas County District Court Judge Marlon Polk wrote that "Given that this court finds that there can never be service effectuated on the named defendant this action will be dismissed with prejudice." Weird, right? It gets weirder.
Chambers, who graduated from law school but never took the bar exam, believes he found a basis for appeal in that order.
"The court itself acknowledges the existence of God. A consequence of that acknowledgment is a recognition of God's omniscience. Since God knows everything, God has notice of this lawsuit."
Sorry, Ernie. Acknowledging the existence of God is not the same as acknowledging that omniscience of God. You can acknowledge the existence of God without believing that God pays attention to the goings on of Earthlings, much less believing that God knows all and sees all. In other words, "God exists, therefore God knows about my lawsuit" is a great big logical failure.
Methinks I know why Chambers never took the bar exam. A man has to know his limits.
October 17, 2008 in Idiots, Law, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Here's my current wishful thinking guesswork. My hopeful assumptions: Texas loses one of the next three games, but still plays Missouri for the Big 12 and wins. Pitt wins the Big East. Virginia Tech wins the ACC. USC wins the Pac-10. Georgia beats Alabama in a rematch in the SEC title game. Ohio State beats Penn State for the Big Ten title. Utah and BYU both lose (to BYU and TCU). Boise State does not lose. The automatic bids go only to the BCS conference champions and Boise State. If so, the bowls might look like this:
A more likely projection, based upon current rankings, standing and odds:
This would assume that the highest ranking teams keep winning. Texas would take the Big XII, over Missouri or Kansas, but Oklahoma would be higher than the North champion in the BCS, so Texas would go to the championship game and the Fiesta Bowl would pick Oklahoma over Missouri or Kansas. On the other hand, Missouri fans would probably be more eager to travel, and the Tigers got jobbed last year, so maybe Oklahoma goes from #1 to out of the BCS with just its loss to Texas. If Oklahoma keeps winning, however, it will finish in the top four and will be the only other eligible Big 12 team in the BCS. Alabama would take the SEC over Florida, earning a spot in the championship, and leaving the Sugar Bowl to take Florida. The Rose Bowl would be the Pac-10 v Big Ten again. Virginia Tech as ACC champ would be in the Orange Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl would pick first, from among: BYU (automatic), South Florida (Big East) or an Ohio State team ranked higher than any other eligible at-large team, since no other Big 12 or SEC team can be picked.
Everything could change on Saturday.
October 16, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
Here are the top college football games of the weekend, based upon AP rankings. My picks against the spread at in bold and italic. I really like the seven games with **sterisks.
Thursday, Oct 16
#9 BYU @ TCU +1
Friday, Oct 17
Hawaii @ #15 Boise St. -24½
Saturday, Oct 18
#7 Texas Tech @ Texas A&M +20½ **
Syracuse @ #19 South Florida -20
#21 Wake Forest @ Maryland +1½
#22 Vanderbilt @ #10 Georgia -15 **
Colorado St. @ #14 Utah -21½
Baylor @ #8 Oklahoma St. -16½ **
#6 USC @ Washington St. +42½
#18 North Carolina @ Virginia +5
#23 Pittsburgh @ Navy +3
#12 Ohio St. @ #20 Michigan St. +3
#16 Kansas @ #4 Oklahoma -20
Mississippi @ #2 Alabama -13 **
Michigan @ #3 Penn St. -23
#11 Missouri @ #1 Texas -6½ **
#13 LSU @ South Carolina +3 **
#17 Virginia Tech @ Boston College -2½ **
#25 California @ Arizona +2½
Also in the Pac-10:
Stanford @ UCLA -2
Oregon State @ Washington +14
October 16, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The first BCS standings come out on Sunday. From what I've seen in the Coaches, Harris and computer polls, I would expect USC to be ranked about 4th, after Texas, Penn State and Alabama. The rankings cushion of one-loss teams between USC and the other seven unbeaten teams should make up for the one loss in the BCS formula. At first blush, this would suggest that all USC needs to get into the title game is a loss by two-thirds of the Texas/Penn State/Alabama trio ahead of them. It's probably more complicated than that.
First and foremost, the Trojans cannot afford another loss. Assuming that doesn't happen, there is no doubt that USC needs two teams ahead of them to lose. From the Big 12, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech are unbeaten. At most, one of them will remain unbeaten. That team, even if it turns out to be Texas Tech, would end the season ahead of USC. In the SEC, Alabama is unbeaten. I don't think they will last four more weeks without a loss. If they do, and if an unbeaten teams emerges from the Big 12, USC can only shoot for the Rose Bowl.
In the Big Ten, USC needs Penn State to lose, preferably to the Buckeyes. If Ohio State runs the table in the Big Ten, USC will benefit. In the Mountain West, Utah and BYU are unbeaten. A 12-0 BYU might get to the BCS title game, but probably not. I don't think the same is true of Utah, but they did beat the team that beat USC. A one-loss USC team would get the nod over any one-loss Big East team. It probably doesn't matter whether Tulsa, Ball State or Boise State go unbeaten. On the other hand, a one-loss Big 12 or SEC champion could end up ahead of an 11-1 USC. Therefore, it might be best for the Trojans if Oklahoma and Florida each lose another game. Fortunately, Florida's loss to Ole Miss was uglier than USC's road loss to Oregon State, but Oklahoma's loss to Texas was nothing to be ashamed of. It was a tough loss to another great team. The Sooners might be the best-positioned one-loss team, but if Texas ends up 11-1 or 12-1, the Sooners won't be in Miami to the exclusion of the Longhorns.
Here's what is left on the USC schedule:
Oct. 18 at Washington State: This is arguably the worst team in the FBS. The Cougars' only win was against Portland State. They recently held open tryouts for the QB position, hoping to find a new backup. If your #2 QB comes from intramurals, you can't compete with the big boys. If USC doesn't beat them by a score like 55-10, maybe we can all stop worrying about the road to Miami.
Oct. 25 at Arizona: If New Mexico can beat them, USC should too, but the Wildcats probably present the toughest challenge left on the schedule because it is on the road against a team with a well-run spread offense and a decent line. They lost a tough game to Stanford, and no longer sit atop the Pac-10 standings.
Nov. 1 vs. Washington: This team is bad, and with Jake Locker out 6-8 weeks, they might even be bad enough that Mark Sanchez could break his finger and throw 4 interceptions and USC still wins.
Nov. 8 vs. Cal: The Golden Bears are 2-0 and alone at the top of the Pac-10 standings, for now at least. This is one of four games that worry me a little, after Arizona, Cal and UCLA. Back in August, I had this penciled in as trouble game #3, after Ohio State and Oregon.
Nov. 15 at Stanford: I want to go to this one, and I want the Trojans to win big because of last year's loss. The Cardinal are well coached, and can win or lose games they aren't expected to win or lose. They are 4-3 overall, and 3-1 in conference. This is a much-improved team.
Nov. 29 vs. Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish beat Michigan, but so did Toledo. Notre Dame is improved over last year's 3-9 team, but they still aren't impressive. Even at 4-1, the voters weren't impressed. After a loss to North Carolina, the Irish can be no better than 8-2 coming into the Coliseum, and most likely, they will be 6-4.
Dec. 6 at UCLA: 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 close 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.
Win those, get some help up above, and USC has a good shot at playing in Miami on January 8.
October 16, 2008 in USC Football | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
October 16, 2008 in Whatever | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
You can register for their birthday deal here if you are not already a passholder or a Disney.com member.
October 15, 2008 in Disney | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Here are another dozen interesting videos:
October 15, 2008 in Video | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Kayaking is a great activity when you visit Monterey. The water is calm, and you can launch yourself right from the beach, without help, and without getting wet. The local providers will rent you the boat, a life vest and a drysuit all day for $30 a person. That was a great entertainment value when the sea otters and sea lions came around to check us out.
It was very good exercise, too. It looks cold, but with those muscles working under all those layers, we were actually quite warm.
October 14, 2008 in Photographs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
One of my financial advisors came to meet with us on Friday and said that last week's stock market performance has made for great buying opportunities. At the beginning of the year, she warned me that I was too heavily weighted in cash, and because of my age, I should be fully invested in equities. I ignored her, but also ignored that little voice in my head that said to dump it all into cash. I now sit at 52% cash and 48% stocks. She wants me to get that to 2% cash, 98% stocks. Why the 2%? I don't know. But the important thing is that she thinks that the bottom is here. Historically, she says, the market drops only about 35% and no more.
Friday night, the DJIA sat at 8,451.19, down 40.33% from its all-time high of 14164.53. Japan's equivalent, the Nikkei 225, reached a peak of 38,915.87 on December 29, 1989. From this high the Nikkei lost over 64% of its value before reaching a low of 14,194 in 1992. The Nikkei hit a 25 year low on Friday, closing at 8276. The index currently stands at 21% of its 1989 historical high. If you bought the Nikkei index at its peak at the end of 1989 and stayed the course, you would have lost 79% of your principal over the last 19 years. When it hit its 1990 low, it was down 48%, and people probably said "It's a great buying opportunity." Had you taken the opportunity, and then left the money in, you would lost 67% over the next 18 years.
I thought about having her dump it all into DIA, the Dow Jones tracking stock, but apparently her firm frowns on such stuff and would want me to sign a disclaimer of some sort, acknowledging that she begged me not to do anything so stupid. So instead, I drained all my cash in my other accounts and put those into DIA, leaving the cash available in my professionally managed pension account in case this market is still a falling knife.
October 14, 2008 in Money | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
So I went to Starbucks for some coffee yesterday for about five minutes and on my way out, I encountered a big fat parking enforcement cop on a Segway, writing out a parking ticket.
So I walked over and asked "Don't you have better things to do than write a parking ticket the second that meter runs out?" He ignored me and continued writing the ticket. I asked why he was ignoring me, and he just ignored me some more. "You know," I added, "the trains ran on time in Nazi Germany, and I'll bet their parking meters were vigorously enforced, too." Finally, he turned toward me. He tore the ticket out of his book and smiled, placing a copy on the windshield, and then walked all the way around the car. When he got to the back, he finally spoke to me.
"Worn tires, too, huh?" He started writing up another ticket. When he put it on the windshield, I asked if that made him feel like a better man. He went around the other side and started writing a ticket for tinted windows. "You're going to have to walk around the car a lot more times than that if you want to lose a few pounds," I added. He started writing even more furiously into the ticket book. Finally, I told him I was going to go back into the store and just wait until he was done writing tickets. I told him to have a nice day. He replied that he would, and that people like me truly do make his day.
I'll bet the poor guy who drives that car with the Obama/Biden sticker and the dozen tickets on his windshield won't feel the same way when he comes out.
October 13, 2008 in Bullshit Stories | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Here are another ten recent pulls from the Netflix queue. I'll rate them with pluses, one to five. The scores in parens are from IMDB, with 10.0 being perfect. My rankings, obviously, do not match perfectly with IMDB's. I thought this was a bad run of ten, especially with the comedies.
The Kevin Costner movie was my second-favorite in the bunch. That tells you everything...
October 13, 2008 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
We started the weekend with 15 undefeated teams in the NCAA. We're down to 10. The Big 12 has three, the Mountain West has two, and the Big Ten, SEC, Conference USA, Mid-American and WAC each have one. There were no unbeaten teams among the ACC, Pac-10, Big East, Sun Belt Conference or Independents coming into the weekend. Here are the teams, and what they're doing next week:
Gone are:
Next week none of the teams play each other, so we could still have ten unbeatens. However, I would not be shocked to see Texas, Penn State, Texas Tech, BYU or even Oklahoma State lose next week. Watch out for Oklahoma State basking in the glory of its win over Missouri and looking ahead to Texas. Watch out for Texas suffering a letdown and Missouri trying for a bounce back. Watch out for Texas Tech playing a road game against an inferior in-state opponent. Watch out for Penn State looking ahead to Ohio State while enjoying its win over Wisconsin, as Michigan comes in off their second-most embarrassing loss I can remember.
If you are a negative person, and want to track the winless teams, it's even easier. You have only Washington, which is 0-5 and got blown out by everyone except BYU, and North Texas, which is 0-6 and got blown out by everyone they played.
October 12, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Just for fun, here's another listing of how I would have voted the Top 25 this week, with last week's rankings to the right. Unbeaten teams are in italics.
October 12, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Here's how I did. Pretty good in the games I liked and talked about. I thought Auburn and Vanderbilt were frauds, and Northwestern was deservedly unranked even with its 5-0 record, and they proved it this week. I thought Texas would keep it close. Overall, I won four of the six games I really liked, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the two that I lost (LSU & Mizzou). Overall, however, I was a dismal 6-11, with several of the losses coming by that half-point.
NP Clemson 7 @ #21 Wake Forest 12
W #5 Texas vs #1 Oklahoma -6½ **
W Colorado @ #16 Kansas -14
L #14 Utah @ Wyoming +23½
W #13 Vanderbilt @ Mississippi St. +2½ **
L Nebraska @ #7 Texas Tech -21
L Purdue @ #12 Ohio St. -18½
L Notre Dame @ #22 North Carolina -8½
W #23 Michigan St. @ Northwestern +1 **
L Arizona St. @ #8 USC -28½
L Tennessee @ #10 Georgia -13
W Arkansas @ #20 Auburn -16½ **
L New Mexico @ #9 BYU -23½
L#25 Ball St. @ West. Kentucky +16½
L #6 Penn St. @ Wisconsin +6
L #17 Oklahoma St. @ #3 Missouri -14 **
W #15 Boise St. @ Southern Miss +10½ **
L #4 LSU @ #11 Florida -6½
But USC won and UCLA and Notre Dame lost, so I'm happy. The first BCS rankings come out tonight. Maybe I'll be less happy then.
October 12, 2008 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Mark Sanchez fumbled and threw three interceptions to start the second half (though the third pick wasn't his fault). It isn't very often that a team can surrender four straight turnovers, including a couple in the red zone, and more, and still shut out their opponent. A pair of Fili Moala blocked field goals sure helped. Two blocked field goals has to be a record for a quarter. Maybe a half. Maybe even a game.
The Trojans failed to cover. They were down half a point at the end, as ASU worked the clock trying to muster a score on their final possession. Finally, on third down with a couple of seconds left, T.J. Bryant intercepted a pass near the goal line and ran it back into ASU territory as time expired. He only had one man to beat, and he had blockers. It was very nearly a pick-six. Had he scored, it would have been one of the greatest finishes in sports betting history.
As it is, USC moves to 4-1, 2-1 in conference. They still look to be well in the mix for the national championship or the Rose Bowl.
October 11, 2008 in USC Football | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
It's another amazing week of college football. For the second time in three weeks, number one lost. Michigan lost to Toledo. Vanderbilt, a mediocre team that the SEC homers persuaded everyone to respect because they were 5-0, lost to Mississippi State, who everyone already knew sucked. Notre Dame trails. Here at the Coliseum, however, all is right with the universe, as the Trojans lead Arizona State 21-0. It is a bit windy, and cool, unless you are sitting still with the sun beating down on your neck. The sky is blue and it's a great day to watch a football game.
The USC Hall of Fame inductees for 2008 for various sports were recognized on the sidelines during the break. The basketball inductee was Gus Williams. Football inductees were Pete Beathard, Al Cowlings, Rodney Peete and Junior Seau, plus coach John Robinson. Seau got the biggest ovation.
The most amusing thing during halftime was a pipe or hose busting right on the 50 behind the ASU bench. It was a geyser for a couple minutes. You can see it in this photo.
October 11, 2008 in USC Football | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Charlie Weis: No Excuses: One Man's Incredible Rise Through the NFL to Head Coach of Notre Dame
I paid a dollar. heh
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