Friday, September 01, 2006

Picks from the barstool

This season I would like to make weekly predictions on the top college and NFL games along with my dad’s picks of the week, to be known as Digger’s Corner, and his Digger’s Dog of the Week....here we go with week 1 of college....

Vanderbilt @ Michigan - (Michigan - 25.5)......the Blue needs to make a statement in this game both offensively and defensively....the Commodores are young and have a new qb now that Jay Cutler is in the NFL....Michigan has to prove it to me first before I think they will cover the spread - Michigan 36-17

N. Illinois @ Ohio State - (Ohio State -17).....if the Buckeyes are supposed to be the number 1 team in the land, playing at home against a MAC team, then why are they only favored by 17???....Garrett Wolfe and the Huskies finished with the 14th best offense in the country last year....and the Buckeyes have lost 9 on defense - Ohio State 33-20

Rutgers @ N. Carolina - (UNC - 5)....I like Rutgers and their coach Greg Schiano....the Tar Heels may need some help from Roy Williams bunch....upset alert - Rutgers 23-20

Notre Dame @ Ga. Tech - (ND - 6.5)......the Irish are back....but are they?.....they have to prove they can stop a team as their defense was like a sieve last season.....Tech has held 13 of their last 19 opponents to under 20 points.....Irish win - but close - Notre Dame 26-20

Southern Cal @ Arkansas - (USC - 7.5).....the Trojans rolled the Hogs last season at the Coliseum 70-17....the key to this game is if Hog rb Darren McFadden plays....if he suits up, which I believe he will, the Trojans may have a problem - USC 31-27

Game of the Week
Cal @ Tennessee
- (Tenn - 1.5).....this is quietly one of the best games of the year....Cal is supposed to be loaded with Heisman hopeful Marshawn Lynch leading the ground attack....but the Vols need something big to build off of after last season’s debacle....Cal is the better team, but Rocky Top celebrates - Tennessee 28-23

Digger’s Corner
Top Play - Michigan minus the points - the Wolverines want to make a statement and will roll this SEC team

Digger’s Dog of the Week
Northern Illinois with the points - this team is not coming into Columbus to just pick up a check....they want the check and the victory....

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Non-sports thoughts

One song you will not be hearing at any NFL games this year is Gary Glitter’s "Rock and Roll Part 2".....the NFL has banned the song from being played at NFL games after Glitter was convicted of molesting underage girls in Vietnam....

My favorite song for NFL games is Zombie Nation.....

Will people back off the Boulder, Colorado district attorney already....the D.A. is getting grilled because of how she handled John Mark Karr....critics are complaining about the money it cost to extradite Karr back to Colorado and for the DNA testing....what was the D.A. to do?.....the man came right out and said he killed JonBenet.... if she didn’t pursue the case, she would have been grilled for that....

All I know, Karr is a creep who should be in prison....

Did you see the city of Cleveland is rated the poorest big city in the country with a poverty rate of 32.4%....

Say what you want, but I love Paris Hilton.....

Is it just me or is anyone else ticked that Pluto got booted from the solar system as a "major" planet.....when I had to learn the planets back in grade school, Pluto always fascinated me....it was this tiny unknown planet with a cool name.....why don’t these egghead astronomers pick on someone their own size instead of flexing their brain muscles on Pluto....

Grapefruit or orange juice?......

Tuesday is Katie Couric’s big debut on the CBS Evening News....I heard on the radio that Walter Cronkite is going to make an appearance to introduce the new "queen".....

Whatever happened to Roger Mudd?.....

Most white people won’t admit it, but race did play a role in the debacle last year after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans....I remember having a sick feeling in my stomach while watching the evening news of all those poor stranded black people.....that is not what America should be about....

By the way, do black people want to be called "black" or "African-American".....I get confused......sometimes it’s difficult being a white man....

Why is black-on-black crime such a problem?......

I don’t care what you say, in her prime, Elizabeth Taylor was absolutely stunning....

A simple black dress and white pearls will make any woman look incredible....

People who don’t have a dog are missing out.....

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Football Chatter

It’s been a while, but I’m back for like the 7th time.....

The main dish is football, football, football with a side of baseball and tennis....

Will someone explain to me how Ohio State could be number 1 after losing 9, yes NINE, defensive starters last year....and these were not just your run-of-the-mill players....they lost Hawk, Carpenter, and Whitner – all first round draft picks....I don’t care how good your offense is, you win with defense....

Which brings us to Notre Dame....until the Irish defense proves it can stop a quality team, I don’t see them as the 2nd best team in the nation.....they can take a big step to proving they are worthy on defense if they can shut down Georgia Tech all-world receiver Calvin Johnson....

Big game down in Rocky Top this weekend as the highly ranked Cal Golden Bears visit Tennessee.....this is a must win game for Vol head coach Phil Fulmer.....an 0-1 start could be the beginning of the end for Hambone Phil....Whatever happened to Tee Martin?......

Another biggie this weekend takes place on Monday night.....Larry Coker’s Miami Hurricanes cannot afford to start off with a loss to Florida State for the second straight year....Coker has underachieved with the talent that he has had at “The U”.....

Southern Cal will be going into a hostile area when they head down to Pig Soooey Country to take on Arkansas....the Hogs are expected to be without All-SEC tailback Darren McFadden....if McFadden is able to play, the Trojans, who will be without Matt, Reggie, and Lendale, may have to be on upset alert....

The receiving corps in college football goes deep this year with quality....the top three receivers are Jeff Samardzija, Notre Dame, Calvin Johnson, Ga. Tech and the best of the bunch, Dwayne Jarrett, Southern Cal.....but don’t forget about Sidney Rice, South Carolina, Billy Pittman and Limas Sweed Texas, Teddy Ginn, Ohio State, and Derrick Williams, Penn State....

Carson Palmer looked solid last night versus Green Bay.....

I still think Brett Favre should have retired.....sure he is going to have good games, but it will not be on a consistent basis like he was able to do in his prime....

The Boston Red Sox took a serious blow to their playoff chances when it was revealed that David Ortiz aka Big Papi is out indefinitely with an irregular heart beat....

I would love to see the Oakland A’s, Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers make the playoffs.....it would be good for baseball and provide hope to the so-called “small market” teams who complain about the New York Yankees......think about it, who would have thought the Red and Tigers would make the playoffs this year?.....

Believe it or not, but the Florida Marlins.....yeh, those Florida Marlins, the ones who gutted the team during the off-season are only 2 games out in the National League wildcard race....

The best off-season move the Cleveland Indians could make is to fire manager Eric Wedge....his mishandling of Fausto Carmona is only more proof that he is not qualified to be a manager in the majors.....there are only 30 managing positions in the majors and you mean he is one of the 30 best men for one of those jobs?......

Here is an interesting idea....if wunderkid Jeremy Sowers is all that he is being hyped about, then do the Indians consider trading Chi Chi Sabathia next year for more proven offensive veterans?.....just an idea....

Was watching a bit of the Emmy Red Carpet preview on Sunday....I don’t know who she is, but Nancy O’Dell looked good in that red gown.....

It would be nice for Andre Agassi to go out by winning the U.S. Open.....but not as long as a guy named Federer is there....