Long Lost Brothers

I always knew that Wiggins and I had long lost brothers (from other mothers):

Is This Kid Possessed?

I Have To See This Movie

Yeah, it's been like a month since I've posted. I know, I know: It's pathetic. I mean, I'm approaching Wiggins territory here. But I have a clip that will redeem me. Just watch it all the way through to the end. Note the bottle of vodka that Matt Lauer takes and the high five he gives to the last question he receives:

Oh man, I can't embed it for some reason: Borat on Today

Apparently my mad blogging skills are diminishing. Sad.

Picking for Perfection

Since I did so well with the (so-called, but I'm not sure why -- since you can't play anyone from your division) Division Series, I am going to forecast the outcome of the League Championship Series in both the NL and the AL:

National League: Cardinals over Mets
American League: Tigers over A's

Congratulations to the Mets and Athletics!

Joe Girardi Day

So it seems that Joe Girardi will likely be fired within the next hour or so. Fine. Whatever. He did well enough. But he wasn't the best in game manager of all time (although, who is in their first year?). He seemed to do well managing a clubhouse full of personalities (ranging from minor leaguers to established stars -- even if they were all practically under 25).

But at this time last year, Girardi didn't seem to make the most sense to outsiders. Other candidates made more sense. Now it seems they're hiring one of those types -- as the rumors have Fredi Gonzalez getting the job. Fredi has a great resume and, since he is bilingual, will likely relate well to players who speak English and Spanish.

The question of the day though, for both Samson and Loria (Beinfest too if he's part of the hiring) is: what will you do differently in hiring a manager this year that you did not do next year? Clearly there was a flaw in the hiring process used last year. They hired a manager who came in and delivered results that were above expectations. Something was missed in the interview and background checking process that allowed the Marlins to hire a manager that they clearly do not want. Can they admit that mistake?

Also, if Gonzalez is hired as early as this afternoon, as has been reported, will MLB investigate the Marlins hiring practices (again)? Or do the Fish get a pass since they're reportedly hiring a Hispanic manager? Maybe it's ok to only talk to one candidate and to handle the whole process while the job is technically already filled if you hire a minority. I applaud the point of the process that MLB has put together, but the point should be to consider the best candidates. Not to just pick a name out of a hat and go after the one person that you target, as the Marlins are seemingly wont to do.

Playoff Predictions

I haven't yet mustered the courage to go back and look at our playoff team predictions, even the most recent ones. I will soon. But for now I'm just going to make some picks. Here are the LDS matchups:

AL
Tigers vs. Yankees
Twins vs. Athletics

NL
Cardinals vs. Padres
Dodgers vs. Mets

Predictions
The Yankees will dispatch of the Tigers fairly easily. The Tigers have been a great story of late, but they've faded.

In the other AL series, the Twins will top the A's. Despite not having Liriano, the Twins finished strong.

The Padres will get even for last year and knock out the Cardinals. And I'm going to hope the Mets fall to the Dodgers.

Early LCS Predictions
Yankees over Twins -- I hope I'm wrong
Dodgers over Padres -- I'll admit it, I just want to hear Vin Scully call a World Series. I know I can get it on tape, but hearing it "live" would be cool.

World Series
Dodgers over Yankees -- How cool would it be to have a Mets-Dodgers and Yankees - Dodgers series in the same post-season?

Scoring the Picks

I am embarrassed to report the following:

In our last set of college picks (straight up, mind you), Wiggins went a pathetic 4-6. Shockingly, Mike did worse -- going 3-7.

We did slightly better in the NFL last week. Both of us went 9-7.

This week, Wiggins came strong with his NFL pciks. He has gone 10-3, with the Reggie Bush show still pending. Mike has only managed an 8-5 record. Sad.

NCAA Week Four/NFL Week Three Picks

No NCAA this week. We're both too depressed about our teams. Besides, the schedules sucks. Here's the NFL slate:

Washington at Houston
NY Jets at Buffalo
Green Bay at Detroit
Jacksonville at Indianapolis
Chicago at Minnesota
Tennessee at Miami
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
Carolina at Tampa Bay
Baltimore at Cleveland
NY Giants at Seattle
St. Louis at Arizona
Philadelphia at San Francisco
Denver at New England
Atlanta at New Orleans

Wiggins' "Winners"
Washington (C'mon! Jeez...)
Jets
Green Bay
Jacksonville
Chicago
Miami
Cincy
Carolina
Baltimore
Seattle
Arizona
Philly
New England
Atlanta


Mike's Most Excellent Picks
Houston - Even Coach Janky Spanky isn't enough to right the 'Skins
Bills
Lions
Jags
Bears
Titans
Benglas
Panthers
Ravens
Seahawks
Cardinals
Eagles
Patriots
Saints - Brees channels Bobby Hebert

I picked way too many road teams this week

NCAA Week Three/NFL Week Two Picks

Same thing as before. Here are the college games in play:

Michigan at Notre Dame
Miami at Louisville
LSU at Auburn
FAU at Oklahoma State
Nebraska at USC
Oklahoma at Oregon
Texas Tech at TCU
Clemson at FSU
Florida at Tennessee
Maryland at WVU

Wiggins' picks
Michigan (I hope)
Louisville
Auburn
FAU
Nebraska
Oklahona
TCU
FSU
Tennessee
Maryland

NFL
Miami
Atlanta
Baltimore
Philly
New Orleans
Indy
Chicago
Cincy
Carolina
St. Louis
Arizona
New England
Denver
Whale's Vagina
Washington
Jacksonville

Mike's picks
Meatchicken
Miami
Auburn
FAU
Nebraska
Oklahoma
TTech
Clemson
Tennessee
Maryland

NFL
Bucs
Panthers
Dolphins
Giants
Saints
Colts
Bears
Bengals
Ravens
Cardinals
Rams
Chargers
Patriots
Chiefs
Redskins
Jaguars

Opening Night!

Da da da da...

da da da daaah...

doh doh doh doh...

Tonight is opening night. The rest of your fall in winter is officially booked. Here's the only link you'll need: Are you ready for some foosball?

That's right. I said it.

Mike's Meaningless Predictions

Too bad I don't know a word for "prediction" that starts with the letter M. Oh well... Here are my NFL picks:

NFC EAST - Redskins
WEST - Seahawks
SOUTH - Panthers
NORTH - Bears
WC - Cardinals, Giants

AFC EAST - Patriots
WEST - Chargers
SOUTH - Colts
NORTH - Bengals
WC - Steelers, Broncos

Super Bowl XLI: Bears over Colts

By the way, did you see that the Gators issued t-shirts to students to wear to football games this year? They use roman numerals for the year... except they screwed up. Instead of MMVI the shirts had XXVI on the front. After distributing many of them, the Mensas in Gainesville figured it out.

NCAA Week Two/NFL Week One Picks

After "successful" 5-5 weeks last week (for both of us), Wiggins and I are back to make picks for this weekend. We're looking at 10 NCAA games and all NFL games. Here are the college games:

Oregon State (+8) at Boise State (Thur)
Va Tech (-11.5) at UNC
Ohio State (+2.5) at Texas
Pitt (-8.5) at Cinci (Fri)
Colorado State (+2.5) at Colorado
PSU (+8) at ND
FAU (+22.5) at KSU
Georgia at South Carolina (+3)
Clemson at BC (+2.5)
Indiana at Ball St. (+4.5)

And here are our picks (college games are against the spread, NFL games are straight up):

Wiggins' picks
Oregon State (Go Beavers!)
VT
Texas (big)
Pitt
Colorado State
PSU
FAU
Georgia
Clemson
Testic Tech

NFL
Miami
Seattle
Philly
Tennessee
Cleveland
Denver
Cincy
New England
Baltimore
Carolina
Chicago
Arizona
Jacksonville
Indy
Washington
San Diego

Mike's picks
Boise State
Va Tech
Texas
Cinci
Colorado State
PSU
FAU
Georgia
Clemson
Ball St.
Dolphins
Jets
Broncos
Patriots
Bucs
Bengals
Seahawks
Panthers
Eagles
Browns
Jags
Bears
Cardinals
Skins
Chargers

The Morning After

So I'm back from the game and I've even had a couple hours worth of sleep. From my perspective at least, it still feels like I just woke up from a bad dream. But on the other hand, I've realized that I don't care as much anymore. I didn't tailgate yesterday... for like the first time ever. And I'm not that wrapped up in the outcome of the game. It is disappointing to see how much Miami has fallen off from just a few years ago. It's not back to probation era levels, but it's the lowest level the Canes have been at without sanctions in my lifetime. Sad, but true.

Anyway, some thoughts about the game:

• Early on, I thought FSU would end up regretting only getting 3 points on their first two possessions. They had great field position both times.
• After Meriweather's interception in the second quarter, I thought the Canes were going to put the game away. Miami should have gone into the half up 17-3 or 24-3.
• The other thing that made me think the Noles were done was that the defense walked around between snaps and most guys had their hands on their hips. They seemed winded and it was only the first half. FSU's offense showed the same lack of concern in getting to the huddle and the line. In 2000, 2002, and 2004 I'm convinced the Canes won because of better conditioning. I still think Miami is in better shape than FSU but it didn't matter last night. Time will tell if it catches up to FSU.
• Looking back at it now though, Miami was really just a mental lapse by Buster Davis away from going into the half at 3-3. Davis made some great plays last night, but taking off his helmet almost cost the Noles the game.
• At least that's what I think happened. Watching a big game like this at the OB is a pain. There were a bunch of calls and penalties that we couldn't discern. The speaker system is horrible and there are no replays. Why were there those two non-plays at the end of the third quarter when the Noles were on the 1? We couldn't tell.
• I'm not sure who the Nole was who went down for a while on the last kickoff return, but I hope he's ok. He was down for so long that it seemed serious. But he got up on and walked off on his own, so that was good.
• The rain this weekend was relentless. It really poured at times. In person though, it seemed like the field held up well. I was surprised, as it rained hard on Monday afternoon and reasonably hard at times throughout the game. Most of the excitement in the stands revolved around taking on and putting off your poncho. Fun.
• I was glad that Antone Smith didn't do anything signficant. I cheered against him the whole game.
• I was surprised that we didn't see Myron Rolle. I've heard so much about him that I figured he'd see some action. Maybe he did but I missed him. Or maybe I just expect freshman to play since it seems that's all Miami has.
• I fear I was right about Kyle Wright. I think he's a blend of Jeff George and Dan Marino. He's George in the sense that he has all the physical "skills" in the world. He's a practice all-american by all accounts. But when the lights are on, he doesn't show up. I know the line was atrocious and there were lots of other issues. But it's how Wright carries himself that bothers me. He sulks on the sidelines and usually stays away from his teammates (Dorsey and Berlin used to rally the troops in games like last night's). The big skill that Wright hasn't shown yet is leadership. I'll be convinced until he proves otherwise that he doesn't have it. That's where the Marino comparison comes in. Like Marino, Wright has never won a big game. Wright also is Marino-esque in his tendency to tell teammates what they did wrong and to berate them. This strategy doesn't seem to work.
• Miami fans are convinced that Wright has more "tools" than Weatherford, but who really cares? Who was the last Canes or Noles QB to lose to the other team twice in his career and then amount to any level of significance? I can't recall any. Wright now is 0-2 vs. the Noles and Weatherford is 2-0 against the Canes. Drew has heart and eludes the rush and picks up blitzes before the snap. Wright, despite his alleged speed, does neither.
• It feels like the script has flipped in this series. In 2000, 2002, and 2004 Miami trailed and looked out of it early (missing all sorts of opportunities) but eventually came back. The Canes have lost the ability to make those comebacks (or so it seems -- based on their 0 total points in their last four losses, which includes three of the past four games). And it appears that comeback ability has switched to the Noles.
• FSU's game deciding field goal came a little early, but it has to feel like a little bit of redemption for FSU kickers past and present. There were 8 minutes left, but it was the 4th quarter. I don't remember now, but it was probably raining and the kick was into the closed (West) endzone, where it's always louder and tougher to make any sort of a play late in the game.
• Miami fans like to make a derogatory chop and related chant when the FSU faithful and band are doing their thing. While that's fun at the stadium, I'm sure it makes it look like the whole stadium is doing the chop to those watching on TV. Bummer.

Gameday

Ok, so I'm posting this a little early... but I might not be online much today (game day).

Here's hoping we have a good, clean game tonight and that there aren't any injuries like what happened to Michael Bush in the Louisville game. But I still hope we see a lot of this:

Labor Day Picks

It's almost Labor Day and I have decided to humiliate myself once again by attempting to predict baseball's playoff teams. I've done this twice already (during the season) and my picks have been horribly off the mark. So I'm trying again. And I'm sure I'll still be wrong, even though there's only a month left in the season.

Here we go...

American League
East - New York Yankees
Central - Chicago White Sox
West - Oakland A's
Wild Card - Minnesota Twins

That's right, I'm calling for a collapse of the Tigers. There it is; I said it. And yes, I'm probably being a homer. If someone's going to usurp the Tigers, it's more likely to be the Twins, especially if Liriano is close to coming back. But I'm still going with the Sox.

If the Tigers and Twins make up the Central champ and the Wild Card, the playoffs shape up great. That gives you three David's and one Goliath (Yankees) in the playoffs. George will hate to lose to any of those clubs -- possibly as much as the Red Sox -- if only because those three clubs are doing more with less.

National League
East - New York Mets
Central - St. Louis Cardinals
West - Los Angeles Dodgers
Wild Card - San Francisco Giants

The Mets are in. They're locks. But I don't think they'll reach the World Series. They've been on coast for too long and they have holes.

Everyone in the Central is weaker than the Cardinals. That will start to show in the next few weeks. Eventually the Cards are going to have to start beating up on their weaker sisters.

The West is a mess. But I think the Dodgers will hold on. I also think that the Giants will get hot, because they'll be carried by Barry. He's been hot the past few weeks and I think that will continue through September. The Phillies are a fun story, but they're just too flawed. And no matter what, I'm not buying into the Reds until I have to. If I didn't take the Giants, I'd probably take the Astros for the Wild Card. Maybe the D-backs after that.

Whatever happens, the West and the Wild Card (in both leagues) are going to be a lot of fun.

Quarterbacks

As the game draws near, I will divulge my one fear: Kyle Wright may not be in the mold of Ken Dorsey (or even Brock Berlin) and Drew Weatherford may not be the second coming of Chris Rix.

Weatherford had a nice year last season, but I'm still not sold on him. We'll see how he manages on Monday night. The Noles didn't win last year because of Weatherford.

Now, the Canes didn't lose last year because of Wright. But they didn't win last year because of him either. I don't think that Dorsey or Berlin would have found themselves on the losing end of last year's game. Whether it was the Dorsey led comeback in 2000 or 2002 against the Noles, or Berlin's comebacks against the Gators in 2003 or his leadership against the Noles in the rain in 2003, both guys proved that they were winners and could be counted on in close games. Both guys graduated with undefeated records against FSU and UF. Kyle Wright already has a blemished record against the Noles and hasn't shown yet that he can lead a team like his predecessors. Yes, the bar has been set high, but that's life.

Regardless, I'm still optimistic. I hope to see a lot of this on Monday night:

Just a few more days

Yeah, I'm too lazy to count the days until game day. Anyway, I'm not sure, but I believe this is Triumph the Insult Comic. He says that Florida State is a great school...



... for him to poop on.

One Week Until Order Is Restored To The Universe

One week from today the big game will be played... or so we hope. Now that the date is nearly upon us, it dawns on me that the order I'm predicting to be restored to the universe may simply be the return of hurricane (meteorlogical) season and a lack of electricity. I'm hoping that's not the case and we see the return of Hurricanes (football variety) as a dominant force.

Anyway, here's a fun video:



And yes, I know what happened last year after Irvin gave his pre-game speech. But I can't help but laugh when I hear that speech, because it makes me think of the Fake Howard speech they run on the radio all the time. Sometimes I think I could be that blogger that Howard Schnellenberger (fake) refers to.

Two Weeks Until Order Is Restored To The Universe

This is what an ordered universe looks like:

Argh, I give up. For whatever reason I can't embed the video today.

Next week's video is going to be great. GREAT.

Random Things

A few random thoughts

• I still have no idea what to make of the White Sox. They're about to wrap up a series with the Royals, and the Sox have dropped two of the first three. This is on the heels of sweeping the Tigers. So they've gone from winning three of three from the best team in the game to losing two of three to the worst team in the AL. There are six weeks left in the season and we still don't know who the real White Sox are.
• Two Hall of Fame candidates that we missed before: Jeff Kent and George Steinbrenner. While those two guys aren't connected to each other in any way, they are similar in the sense that neither is the happiest person that you'll ever meet (to say the least). Both are... cantankerous. But both have a shot at the Hall, I think. Kent is one of the best offensive second baseman of all time. Steinbrenner has done remarkable things as an owner and is responsible for reviving the great Yankees franchise. I also think that history will remember him well. We tend to remember the firings and the wild quotes The Boss issues, but down the road I think we will become more and more aware of his extensive charity work and all the good things he does for people. That, plus the New York media, will one day take him to Cooperstown.
• Just a few years ago, Willie Williams was the biggest recruit in the nation. He wrote a diary for a major newspaper that was so widely publicized and described the recruiting process so outlandishly that it caused the NCAA to make numerous changes to recuiting rules. Ultimately Williams settled on the University of Miami. Then his long, juvenile criminal history came to light. Miami admitted him anyway. There were all sorts of stipulations attached. Two years into things, Williams hadn't earned a starting role and now he wants out. He couldn't find a four year college to take him. And now community colleges are turning him down. How can a guy with two years at a 4-yr school even get into a 2-yr school? If he's really the student we all thought he was, shouldn't he have too many credits? Oh well. He's gone. I hope the kid can get his life figured out.