OK everyone - do you know what time it is?  College footall time.  This week's slate is lackluster compared to last week.  However, there are some under-the-radar goodies coming up.  'Cuse vs. Maine is an obvious one, but the other two I'm going to focus on are Arizona - Iowa and Florida Tennessee.

I sort of like how Tennessee and Florida play this annual game coming up on Saturday.  In 1996, these two teams faced off in a pretty epic battle.  Tennessee was #2 in the country heading into this game and the QB was a little-known guy named Peyton Manning.  Florida #4 in the country and was led by the Ol' Ball Coach.  Now, I'm first going to describe the hit as was written to me in an email by the EDSBS guys a few yrs ago:

1995. Peyton Manning throws a post into a tampa cover two against Florida to Joey Kent, who catches the ball and is annihilated by safety Lawrence Wright playing over the top. Kent's face swelled up and he had trouble breathing.

No video I've been able to find, but it's one of the few hits I've HEARD and seen in person. You're right--it was incredible.

Well.......now there's video, Orson Swindle!!  If I had to describe this hit with one word: SNOTBUBBLES:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqg9NjsdTkI&p=1927222123978641&playnext=1&index=63

Joey Kent vs. Lawrence Wright (via dbsand120).  #boomgoesthedynamite

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Hoooo Boy!!  This is a juicy week indeed.

First and foremost: Syracuse v. Washington.  I'm damn excited for this one.

via www.keatleyphoto.com

"You're damn right I hit on your girl behind your back, I'm Jake Locker, future #1 NFL draft choice.  And you can kiss my ass"

Let's dive in head-first, shall we? J U M P!!

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 I tried (and failed miserably) to keep this up last season and I can promise you all that I will make more an effort to post my weekly gambling thoughts on Fridays. 

The main difference between this year and last is that this year I lack a nagging, high-maintenance, controlling, mean/bitchy, condescending girlfriend.  Which frees up even more time to obsess about college (and pro) football.  Yay.

via www.quizlaw.com

freedom, Andy......freedom

A'ight ya'll.  Time for Week 1 of the 2010 season.  The Ground Rules: some of you may remember that each week I pick a small slate of games (2-3) and give my irrational thoughts on them.  I will pick the Syracuse game and then perhaps 1-2 others that strike my fancy and I will try to keep it relevant to the Big East and/or Top 25.

Oh, and I think I will toss in a few music recommendations as well.  I listen to a ton of indie rock, so maybe I can expose you guys to some good new music.  Impress your friends at parties!

Enough with the formalities!  Let's take a look at some of the weekend's fine slate of upcoming games:

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Real short today, gotta hop out for a wedding.

I'd like to first say that I really like Syracuse in a "rivalry game" +10 at the DOME vs. WVU.  I'll def take that.  Syracuse should keep this one close right?  7 turnovers to me is flukey.  I have to believe that they will not turn the ball over 7 times this week and that Bill Stewart is dumb enough to forget that he has Noel Devine.  I'm fine with him forgetting that for another week.  Look to the 'Cuse to cover.

And I'm going to keep riding my horse(s):

Auburn: they're currently -3 @ Arkansas.  I think they can definitely win this game by at least a TD.  They're a decent team and they're starting to put together a little roll.  Plus, they can cover.  Nicely.

And I also like TCU (-10) @ Air Force.  I know Air Force is a tough team, but the Horned Frogs are used to going on the road and kicking some ass.  I don't care if they play in Ft Collins, or wherever - TCU just hands out ass kickings.

First things first:

I took Syracuse +7.  I really have zero clue how this game will go.  The Orange, with the exception of Syracuse's inability to keep Maine out of the end zone in garbage time late in the 4th Q, have gone 3-1 ATS this year.  I guess I like that trend to continue.  Hopefully this is a win by the almighty Orange, but BB's comments on how this is a trap game for USF and just by seeing how SU plays at home (plus, you know, homecoming and all) I think Syracuse has a shot here, at least to keep this thing really, really close.

And BTW, allow me a little bitching session: Dear Maine Black Bears: nice back-door cover, bitch-ass hizzo Black Bears from Maine!!  WTF!  Seriously.

And I won't go into much detail on this, but I like the following four teams this weekend:

Michigan (+3½) SRSLY you guys TATE FORCIER!

Auburn (+2½) GUS GUS GUS M

Miami (FL) (+7½) Algebra 101: (Injured Sam Bradford^Landry Jones pornstache) + (Jacory Harris is a stud) = WINNNNNNNA!

USC (-5) Matt Barkley > Jahvid Best

Well this is sorta disappointing.  Syrcause/Maine is "Off" meaning that as of today, Fri Sept 25th, there are no odds on the game.  WTF, Vegas!!?  Can't I get my fix!?  Can't I ride my boys to another week of covering ATS?  Make no mistake, SU has been brilliant ATS this year.  They're well coached, they play well and cohesively, and they don't get down on themselves no matter what the score.  In other words, this 'Cuse team is everything this year that they haven't been the past 4 years.  Suck it G-Rob.  GET FUCKED. GET FUCKED AND DIE NAKED IN AN ABANDONED MINE SHAFT.

The next Big East game I will discuss here is NOT UConn vs. Rhode Island (lips buttoned up on this one, you know, glass houses). However: Pitt v. NC State is innnnnnnteresting.  Currently Pitt is a 1 pt underdog; which basically means to me that this game is a pick 'em (ie if Pitt loses by 1 its a push).  But I actually like Pittsburgh to win this game outright.  They're solid, they found another great RB, and I expect them to pound on a team like NC St.

Next game is a big one: TCU @ Clemson: TCU is +3 in this game.  That's right.  A ranked team vs. a middle of the pack ACC team.  Granted, the game is in SC.  Buuuutttt.....still.  Ride the horse.  Take TCU here.  Trust me.

Two more (bonus!!):

I like Florida vs. Kentucky +22 in Lexington.  Lexington for some reason is a tough place to play (remember they upset #1 LSU there a few yrs ago) and Florida looked pretty crappy last week.  I'm not saying UK can win this one, I just think they can keep it closer than people think.

Houston vs. TTU (pick 'em): I like Houston to whomp whomp on TTU this week.  Actually, more than that, I like the over.  It's currently listed at 74.  But one of these teams could ring up 50 pts.  Seriously.  This will be a fun game to watch, no matter what.  Likely the last team with the ball wins.

Dear Kevin:

Congrats on the big road win despite your best efforts to thwart it.  I have one question for you: why didn't we see single screen pass until the 4th and only then did we see two pathetic attempts at this?

I ask because I'm a lifelong Giants fan, and I have a vivid memory of watching Tiki Barber run this play to perfection.  Tiki, you may remember, was a one-man show for the Giants, and the offense's bread-and-butter play was the screen pass.  It worked really, really well.

As I'm sure you know, when the D sends a big blitz (as the Cowboys did over and over last night), an appropriately timed screen pass can be an absolute back-breaker for a D.  If you can time it right, it's a great, great play.  Agreed?  With the Giants smaller O-linemen, they have the perfect personnel to execute this play.  And last night, with the pressure that the 'Boys were bringing, I cannot for the life of me figure out why this was not once called.

I think you ran two plays that closely resembled a screen: one was a quick dart to Bradshaw (without any attempt to suck the D in - so that can't really be considered a screen) and the other was a nicely executed set-up to Boss in the 4th where Kevin B just couldn't shake the tackler (he had an easy first down if he gets past the first guy).  But I just can't figure it out.  You have the personnel, right? (eg. Bradshaw in the Tiki role, with his speed and moves in the open field is an absolute terror.)

And one more question, the swing to hedgecock was.....mystifying.  Nothing else, other than I really have no clue WTF you were thinking there.

PS: 0-8 in the red zone is simply not going to cut it this year.

A fair amount of mayhem this week.  Let's do it!

via fc05.deviantart.com

Northwestern @ Syracuse: Syracuse is listed as a 3 point underdog.  Yep.  All day.  I'm taking the almighty 'Cuse here.  I like home 'dogs and Syracuse "needs" this game.  They need a win, and I think that the difference in talent between PSU last week and N'Western this week will be miles apart.  Bring it, Wildcats.  Cuse either wins this outright - or, at worst, gets me a push.

Cincinnati @ Oregon State: this lines has been jumpy all week.  Started out as Cinci by 1, then yesterday I was able to lock in Cinci on a pick 'em, meaning all they have to do is win.  So Cincinnati is the pick here.  Tony Pike is the real deal, the Bearcats can score and defensively they can shut down the Rogers bros.

West Virginia @ Auburn: for you true degenerates out there - the line is currently WVU +7.5.  Going to tease this 7 points with the over.  This game is going to be a track meet.  I'm thinking this is looking something like a 44-35 game.

and one random one for you:

Wyoming @ Colorado: did you guys see the Toledo game?  Or even hear about it?  The fact that Colorado is favored in any game (they're -7 in this one) is a sham.  Wyoming hung with Texas throughout the 3rd Q.  Take Wyo all day in this one.

Fresh off my 3-game sweep last weekend, I've got a lot of confidence heading into this weekend.

So - Wassup, Ya'll!!  I'm moving today, this weekend, and Monday (just cross town, from Pac Heights over to Russian Hill) so things are definitely in flux.  Plus I've got [GASP] actual work to get done today!  So today's entry will be [somewhat] brief.

Syracuse v. Penn St.: this line is anywhere between 28½ and 29.  I took Syracuse here +28½.  Actual quote from one of my best friends, a former Penn St. lax player who is (obviously) a huge fan of the Nittany Lions:

"Did you see the Akron game? PSU was lucky to be up by 31 at the half and in the 2nd half, even then the starters were still in, could not move the ball after Akron made adjustments and they were outscored 7-0 in the 2nd half.  Yes PSU rested their starters after a while, but they looked terrible in the 2nd half, and I'm left with some serious questions about this team after watching that game"

Ok, so granted this is knee-jerk reaction after ONE game, but still....I didn't see the game, so it's tough for me to say what the deal is there.  However, +28½ pts?  Wow.  So PSU would have to win by 29; so they'd have to win by something like 39-10, right?  I think JoePa would call off the dogs if the game gets out of hand - typically early in the season if a game is getting out of hand, I think very good coaches like to see what they have out of their 2nd and 3rd string guys.  So, I like Syracuse to keep it within 28½

Two more after the jump.

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Ok!  The eagerly anticipated (well, ok fine - by like 1 or 2 people) NCAA Picks column has arrived!

You guys know the drill here.  Let's hop right in:

Pick 1: One of the bets I'm going with this time is the over/under on win totals.  Now; for whatever reason (perhaps yet another sign of the GRob debacle) bodog.com DOES NOT EVEN INCLUDE SU on their season win over/under list.  WTF, bodog!?  I mean I know the team stinks and all...but really?  Oh well.  I'm jumping in now and I'm taking the over (which I believe was set at 3 wins).  I see 4 wins for the Cuse and here are the four I see - along with a one-word description for each one.

Minnesota: W (8,572 tix left!)
Penn State: L (JoePa!)
Northwestern: L (PatFitz=BAMF!) Maine: W (Maine=Div1AA!)
South Florida: L (Grothe=Sloth!)
West Virginia: L (NoelF*ingDevine!)
Akron: W ('08revenge!)
Cincinnati: L (BrianKelly!)
Pittsburgh: L (FeartheWannstache!)
Louisville: L (law/averages!)
Rutgers: W (FUschiano)
Connecticut: L (SuckItHuskies)

So my four wins are: Minny, Akron, Maine, Rutgers.  Why?  WHY NOT!

Picks 2/3 after the jump.

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Ed. Note: This is the first of a weekly series by TNIAAM "personality" Cody K.  And of course, everything he mentions below is for fun and "widgets"

Greetings, ya'll.  As we discussed in this post, this season I will make a mockery of gambling on college football and in the process do my best to empty out my bodog account.  I'll win some, I'll lost a lot more, and I will have a fun time in the process.  It's totally going to be kind of like this:

2 For The Money (via WimAbsoluut)

(Editor's note: Not really exactly like this; I likely won't start a feud with Alpa Chino)

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Burress is indicted on 2 counts of 2nd degree criminal posession of a weapon, 1 count reckless endangerment

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/08/03/burress-will-be-indicted/

Burress will be indicted

Posted by Mike Florio on August 3, 2009 1:49 PM ET

ESPN reports that receiver Plaxico Burress will be indicted on felony weapons charges arising from the November 2008 incident in a Manhattan nightclub, during which Burress accidentally shot himself with a gun he was toting in the waistband of his sweatpants.

The move means that Burress will, absent a plea bargain, face a trial.  

No date has been set; his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, previously has indicated that his calendar prevents him from being available until March 2010.

The next question is whether Commissioner Roger Goodell will suspend Burress indefinitely until the case is resolved and any jail term is served.

Two years ago, Goodell did just that with quarterback Mike Vick.

Sweet!!  Make this happen, J.R.!

The Arizona Cardinals have reduced their trade demands for disgruntled receiver Anquan Boldin to a second-round pick in Saturday's draft and other considerations and are talking to at least three teams who seem to be newly interested, two sources told EPSN's Sal Paolantonio on Friday.

The New York Jets, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles have expressed interest given the downgraded demands from a first- and third-round pick, the sources said.

Cardinals general manager Rod Graves and coach Ken Whisenhunt jhad repeatedly emphasized at the team's pre-draft news conference Tuesday that they would be happy to keep Boldin and eventually try to sign him to a new contract.

"Quite a few teams have called but we have no offers from those teams," Graves said Tuesday. "Anything can evolve from this point through draft day so that's where it is right now."

Boldin expressed extreme displeasure with his contract in last season's training camp, accusing Cardinals management of failing to follow through on a promise of a new deal and vowing never to re-sign with Arizona.

Still, he went on to have his third Pro Bowl season in six years in the NFL as the Cardinals advanced to the Super Bowl.

"I didn't say a trade was necessary," Boldin said last week. "I just want something to get resolved. It's something that's gone on long enough."

As Syracuse fans, everyone here can appreciate this.  CBA's own Greg Paulus might not be an NBA player....but perhaps the NFL is in his future?

via cnyhsfootball.com

Posted by Aaron Wilson on April 13, 2009, 8:12 p.m. EDT

The Green Bay Packers have worked out Duke University basketball player Greg Paulus, according to a league source.

Paulus is a former high school Gatorade Football Player of the Year selection who was offered football scholarships to Notre Dame and the University of Miami, but chose to play basketball at Duke.

Paulus was a three-year starter for the Blue Devils at point guard who was once named second-team All-ACC. He was a third-team Academic All-American selection.

A four-time all-state football player in New York, Paulus is listed at 6′1″, 180 pounds on the Duke basketball roster.

Paulus set six New York state passing records, including career passing yards (11,763).  He threw 152 touchdown passes in 45 career games, leading his high school to a 42-3 record with him under center.

Paulus was the starting quarterback in the U.S. Army All-American game, also garnering All-American football honors from Parade Magazine.

Not so, according to NYK beat-man Alan Hahn:

In today's chat:

12:28

[Comment From Knicks4Life]

Hey Alan, where would you rank the PGs in this year's draft, and around where do you project Flynn going?

12:30

Rubio would be the top. Evans from Memphis has an NBA-ready body, tho he might be more of a 2G or at least a combo. Ty Lawson really played himself into the lottery with a strong tournament... Flynn...people are getting a little too hyped about him, I think. I don't know if he's a lottery pick.

...so you're saying there's a chance?!?

A few links for y'all:

wow!

On another note, I don't know if this counts as a spoiler or not since I am totally making this up. But I keep thinking we're going to come back to that statue sometime between now and season's end, and we'll see it from the front so we can clearly view its face. And its face is going to resemble someone we know. Maybe ... John Locke?

And....

start here: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20271322,00.html

What an amazing episode!  I really loved it and there's SO much going on!

Thoughts?

Time set for Syracuse's NCAA Tournament Game

Posted by The Post-Standard March 15, 2009 10:21PM

Categories: Breaking News

The Syracuse University men's basketball team will take on Stephen F. Austin at 12:15 p.m. on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Miami.

If Syracuse advances to the second round on Sunday, game time will be 12:10 or 2:40 p.m.

All games will be televised on CBS (WTVH-5)

Well I'm not going to lie - that sorta sucks.  Uhhh...boss - I'm feeling [coughcough] sick already.

I'm wondering about this:

Can something be done to help Eli with these playing conditions?

I remember reading something a while back (citation necessary) that Phil Simms was the perfect QB for the Meadowlands because, while he didn't have the biggest arm out there, he threw a very tight spiral and a very accurate ball.

Eli Manning, as far as we have seen, does neither of those things well.  Even when Eli is "on" the ball still comes out of his hand (for lack of a better word) "fluttering" - he just throws a lot of ducks.  Yesterday was no different than the play we have seen from this guy at the Meadowlands in cold/windy conditions.  I don't know, is the new stadium oriented in such a fashion to prevent these winds?

Point is: something needs to change.  Palmer needs to teach him to throw a more accurate ball, Eli needs to practice in cold conditions, I don't know what can be done about this, really.  All the best WR's in the world can't save Eli when he's throwing fluttering ducks into the wind.

Just read this from Bennett over on ESPN:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/bigeast/0-2-272/Passionate-Marrone-hopes-to-make-Syracuse-a-winner-again.html

Green said Marrone ticked off names of high school coaches in the area he would contact, gave names of his ideal candidates for assistants and even talked about how he would attack specific Big East defensive schemes, including which cornerbacks he would go after in the passing game.

"He knew Art Monk's favorite pass pattern and said he would put that in (the playbook) and call it the Art Monk play," Green said.

One word for that: Badass.

Oh, it goes on:

The Bronx, N.Y., native talked about how his father grew up idolizing Jim Brown and Floyd Little and how Syracuse holds a special place in his heart. Marrone said he always envisioned himself coaching the Orange.

"The minute I made the decision to start coaching, all I thought about was that I hope one day I get to stand in front of my school and my friends and be the head football coach at Syracuse University," he said.

And this goes back to everyone's point on someone that WANTED this job.

Bennett sums it all up thusly:

Syracuse hopes it hasn't made a mistake in bringing its former player home. At least as far as first impressions go, Marrone is off to a good start.

In other news, Bennett looks like a nerd.  But a nice nerd at least.

via assets.espn.go.com

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Giants officially ended Plaxico Burress’s season Tuesday afternoon, placing him on the reserve/non-football injury list and suspending him without pay for four games for conduct detrimental to the team for multiple and repeated violations of club rules.

Burress’s standing with the team had been in question since he accidentally shot himself in the leg with an illegal gun early Saturday morning at a Manhattan nightclub. On Monday he was charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon; he faces a mandatory sentence of 3 ½ years in state prison, with a maximum of 15 years, on each count

The article is posted on the NY Times Web site and can be found here.

Welllllll.....that settles that.  This is obviously the right move for the team given the uncertainties surrounding this situation.

And let's hope this is true (re: Antonio Pierce):

Michael Bachner, a lawyer for Pierce, said he was confident that Pierce’s name would be cleared. “We’re of the position that Mr. Pierce acted reasonably under what were enormously stressful circumstances, and that he didn’t violate any laws,” he said. “We’re confident that after the matter is fully discussed and explained with the district attorney’s office that they will arrive at the same conclusion.”

'm as fed up as you all are about this Plax issue.  As some of you know/remember, I was one of the first to speak out in his defense last week.  However this latest incident it a selfish, obtuse, inane, immature, and ridiculous act.  I'm tired of his BS, and I think he's a complete idiot.  Ok, I got that off my chest; but its all a moot point; as he's never going to suit up for the mighty GMEN again.

Now, let's turn our thoughts to the Free Agent WR's out there.  The guys below are all in their contract years (special thanks to FFToolbox.com for the information) - they're listed with their current team, age, and yrs of NFL experience):

I like the upside of Marques Colston a lot.  He's big and tough - and seems to have really good hands.

Houshmandzadeh is a very solid WR who could come on the cheap; but I don't think he's a huge upgrade over the guys there now

Thoughts?

This isn't good.  Especially given how many games they've been playing together.

 Kareem McKenzie was charged with drunken driving after a traffic stop Thursday night.

McKenzie was stopped after he cut through a gas station lot at about 9:30 p.m., said Little Falls police Lt. Salvatore Calafiore. A Breathalyzer test found McKenzie's blood-alcohol level was above New Jersey's legal limit of 0.08. He was taken to police headquarters and released later that night, Calafiore said.

 

It doesn't say how far above the limit he was - so we don't know if it was something ticky-tack like .09 or something like that.

The problem now is that Coughlin has to bench Kareem, right?  He doesn't have a choice, and it will be a double standard if he doesn't subject KM to any punishment.

Interesting story from ESPN.com today:

"I was watching Eli's lips the whole time and I saw him say, '32,' so I went over and tried to tell everyone, 'It's right here,' and we stopped it," Keisel said. "That was a big play in the game."

Asked if he heard Manning yell out the play call, Keisel said, "Yeah."

By hearing "32," Keisel deduced the Giants would run the ball behind right guard Chris Snee.

"I'm guessing it's the 2-drop, which is right off center-guard," Keisel said. "And that's the play they ran and we stopped them. I'm proud of our defense. Our defense played their tails off."

So how do we feel about this??  I don't know exactly what to say.  Its a little frustrating, and part of me blames at least some of this on the predictability of the play-calling (ie blame Gilbride).

However, wouldn't you think that the GMen would have a different play calling system than one that is so easily deciphered by the D?

Although I guess it doesn't matter.  The GMen won, right??

We've got New York Giants Girl...

....the Browns have "Believeland Girl" (see below):

via lh3.ggpht.com

I too was surprised that I was able to capture a picture of such a scary witch on television.  I guess she made an appearance because it is so close to Halloween.  I think before the game she was able to lure several children into her house made of candy and quickly usher them into her stove.  I can almost hear her cackling from here.  I think she cast aside her witch's hat in a fit of rage.

According to the site, "the Citizens of Believeland Are Everywhere" - and if that is the case, I don't think I want to be "everywhere" and I'm scared.

NY Giants Girl...you win.  Hands down, my friend.  You win.

...And their fans.  Take this specimen, for example:

via withleather.uproxx.com

I'm sorry, but I look at him and I just know that he and I will never see eye to eye.  Perhaps it is judgmental, but I get the feeling that I'm sort of against everything that he believes in.  

Maybe it's the DC logos on his elbows, perhaps its the necklace; or maybe-just maybe- it is the custom-made XXXXXXL T.O. jersey.  I can't quite put my finger on it - but to this man I say, "I'm sorry good sir; but we can't be friends"

According to this report (to Fox Sports), Strahan is staying retired:

"This has been one of the toughest nights of my life," Strahan told FoxSports.com in a story released Tuesday afternoon. "But after long deliberation and throwing around a million scenarios in my head for the past day, I think it's just best if I stay retired."

Ahhhhhh.....Well gents; at least that was quick and he made a decisive decision and didn't string anyone along.

We'll be ok, lads -