Football Future-see returns

We took last week off to simmer down, but now we're back.

(2) Boston College at (8) Virginia Tech: Boston College has looked promising this year, but then again so has LSU, USC, South Florida, Cal, Texas, Oklahoma, and any other top ten team that has been beat. VaTech would love to pull out a win here, but Matt Ryan has the Eagles flying high. BC wins 24-18.

(1) Ohio State at (25) Penn State: Everyone is telling Ohio State to watch out, which tells me that Ohio State is in NO danger whatsoever. Penn State is good, but the upset bug has been talked about too much in this case. Buckeyes over Nittany Lions, 21-17.

(11) Florida at (18) Georgia: The World's Largest Outdoor Family Fun No Alcohol Here game. Tebow has the Gators on a roll. I'd love to see UGA win, but I just don't see it this year. Gators take it, but closer than most people think. UF 31, UGA 26.

(12) USC at (5) Oregon: Oregon is good, but four of their top five receivers are either hurt or suspended. USC is playing their backup QB in this game, again. Don't look for either team to play much defense. USC 37, Oregon 34.

(16) South Carolina at Tennessee: There's trouble on Rocky Top for the old ball coach. Tennessee has been playing fairly good football since their loss to Florida, but last week's 41-17 drubbing at the hands of Saban and the Tide has left a bad taste in their mouths. And what better to get rid of a bad taste than chicken? Spurrier is going to UT at the wrong time, Vols win 30-13.

Football Future-see Episode VI

We're trying to carry on here at The Right Wing, even though Sanjay's whereabouts are still highly undetermined.

So, in the spirit of carrying on, we present part 6 of our football prediction show. We're picking five college games each week, and after five weeks our record is a fairly impressive 16-9.

(4) Boston College at Notre Dame: ND finally won last week, and Boston College is going places on Doug Flutie took them to. BC QB Matt Ryan is a Heisman candidate, and a darn good one. Notre Dame's offense sputters into this contest, revealing that the Fightin' Irish don't have enough to take down the boys from the great Northeast, BC wins 31-13.

Central Florida at (5) South Florida: The way this season is going, Central Florida is going to crush USF, or the Bulls are going to win the BCS Title. UCF took Texas to the final minutes of the game before losing by three, but I don't see them as having enough in this game. South Florida wins 26-21.

(24) Georgia at Vanderbilt: Vandy beat the Dawgs last year, but that was last year. Georgia's mad about the thorough beating handed to them on Rocky Top. The Commodores would like to take home two straight wins over UGA, but I don't see it happening. Dawgs win 30-17.

(1) LSU at (17) Kentucky: UK's field general, Andre Woodson, is perhaps the best QB in the nation. He goes up against the nation's number 1 defense in LSU. The Tigers are undefeated, and they stay that way, winning narrowly, 27-24.

(22) Auburn at Arkansas: It seems like I put Auburn on upset alert every week, right? Well, here we go again. The Razorbacks need a big win, and this looks like it. Arkansas 31, Auburn 30.

Sanjay: An Update

The Right Wing offices received a call about 10:30 last night from the Las Vegas Police Department. According to the officer, some of Sanjay's belongings were found in a vacant lot about a half-mile off the Strip. They found a cell phone, his shoes, and a Post-It note that read: "meet retsderf." Also found in the area was a a red sock, a black shoelace, and a torn picture of Ronald McDonald sitting on what looks like a park bench.

Sanjay, we hope all is well.

Video Game Soundtracking

I've always liked to listen to music while playing games, especially if I'm not a huge fan of the game's music. Super Mario 64, while one of my favorite games, had some of my least favorite music. I would always play some CD while playing this game, and I even had favorite songs for certain levels. What follows is my Super Mario 64 soundtrack.

Bob-omb Battlefield: Death Defied by Will by Eagle-Eye Cherry- Great song, good to start off the game, as everything is geared to kill you, and it's only by rushing headlong into the danger that you can survive.
Whomp's Fortress: Clumsy by Our Lady Peace- I'm a big OLP fan, and this song soothes me, especially in this level, especially considering that many of the stars in this level are balanced over death-filled drops.
Jolly Roger Bay: Ruby Soho by Rancid- Good, solid punk song with a few moments of rest, very symbolic of this stage of the game.
Cool-Cool Mountain: Christmas Eve Sarajevo by Trans-Siberian Orchestra- Best Christmas song ever (well, maybe not) and it fits this level to perfection.
Bowser Battle #1: I'm Sorry by Blink 182- The first Bowser battle requires an upbeat sad song, because the level is precarious, dark, and depressing.
Big Boo's Haunt: Sex & Candy by Marcy Playground - You've heard this song, and you know it. It's one of the most recognizable soungs from the 1990s, and it's haunting melody goes hand-in-hand with the Haunt.
Hazy Maze Cave: Jesus Nightlight by Eve 6 - Slower paced, relaxing song, really fits the darkness of this level.
Lethal Lava Land: Fuel by Metallica - Fast, and that's what you have to be. Also, the fifth stage of this level unlocks a rideable shell making for even faster travel.
Shifting Sand Land: Keep 'em Separated by The Offspring- The Egyptian sounding guitar riff at the beginning of the song is enough to win it a spot for this level.
Dire Dire Docks: Thanks a Lot by Third Eye Blind- Listen to the song while playing this level and you'll see why I chose it.
Bowser Battle #2: (New Wave) Polly by Nirvana- Fast, heart-pounding music to drive you through a tricky fire-laden level and up to your second meeting with the big bad.
Snowman's Land: Soul to Squeeze by Red Hot Chili Peppers - You'd think "Snow" would be my RHCP choice here, but it hadn't been released when I was playing this game, but STS is my favorite RHCP song, and it works for this level.
Wet-Dry World: The Show Must Go On by Queen- One of my all-time favorite songs. Queen's theatrical song adds a new level of drama to this two-part stage.
Tall, Tall Mountain: Never-ending Story Theme by New Found Glory- Almost interchangable with God of Wine for the Rainbow Ride level, this song nicely fits the pace of the mountain.
Tiny Huge Island: Disarm by Smashing Pumpkins- This song doesn't particularly fit the level, just one part of it, where you must break into a worm's cave and kill the worm, even though he has done you no harm.
Tick Tock Clock: Hook by Blues Traveler- Relaxing song with a soulful guitar and harmonica rythm, perfect for the controlled chaos of the clock.
Rainbow Ride: God of Wine by Third Eye Blind- Awesome song, sums up this level very well. There's something about this song than encapsulates the precarious nature of this level. Also, two 3EB songs on the soundtrack.
Ultimate Bowser Battle: To Live is to Die by Metallica - Yeah, I know, two Metallica songs on one soundtrack. Well, this mostly instrumental song perfectly sums up this battle. And if you win at just the right point in the song you'll get a scene that even Hollywood couldn't screw up.

Surreality

Thursday I learned something. We all know about the Cold War... most of us grew up with it, around it, or were born during it. We knew that the USSR was secretly peering over Alaska to see what we were doing, and they knew that we were looking right back at them. We all understood the concept of MAD. For those of you playing the home game, that's "Mutually Assured Destruction." We knew, as well as did Russia, that if one weapon was launched, both nations would empty their arsenals, raining unholy terror on each other until not even a blade of grass was left. We could do it, so could they.

Funny, though, that the genesis of the Cold War is never fully explained in high school. Of course, Americans tend to look at everything through a shattered mirror or perfection. We think that it's always the other guy's fault. We didn't start the Cold War, the Soviets did. They don't care who they kill, we at least attack truly military targets.

Well, my friend, I learned something. See in the mid-1940s our good friend Franklin D. Roosevelt went down to Georgia and kicked ye olde bucket while in the Peach State. The subsequent scramble left Harry "Give 'em Hell" Truman in office.

A quick aside: the United States had been pursuing atomic weaponry for some time, spending on the order of $2 Billion (yup, with a big fat "B") on the project. FDR knew about it, and was holding it as his trump card for the proper time.

Well, proper times are hard to find when you've lain down for the eternal rest, some FDR's plans passed to Truman. Harry was just sitting around the Oval Office when this happened:

Military Chief: "Mr. President?"
Truman: "Yeah, what is it? I'm really busy."
Military Chief: "Well, sir, here's the thing. You know how the Japanese are still fighting rather hard?"
Truman: "Yeah, get to your point..."
Military Chief: "Well, we have this bomb... uh, three of them, actually, that basically can kill anything."
Truman: "Go on."
Military Chief: "Just... just throwing it out there, sir."

Truman, in all his infinite wisdom, takes this knowledge to his next Allied conference, where he promptly looks at Stalin and says, "Hey, Joe, just a head's up, but I've got a bigger bomb than you do." At which point Truman actually put his thumbs in his own ears, waved his fingers in Stalin's general direction, and said "Nannah-nannah boo-boo!" Joseph Stalin's reaction was "Well, that's nice. Good for you guys."

Stalin went back to the motherland, looked at his scientists, and said, "Build me one of those. I want one, or more. Build!" The Soviets started their own nuclear program, the United States dropped two of the bombs on Japan, which happens to be rather close to the Soviet Union, and the Cold War goes off to a rousing start, all thanks to Truman's showboating.

Of course, I have no doubts that the Cold War was inevitable. Russia suffered far too much during WWII. They didn't win any fans with the whole Eastern Bloc thing, either, but that's another story for another post.

So, long story short, FDR croaks, Truman learns about the bomb, Truman shows off in front of Stalin, Stalin orders his scientists to build, Truman's pride starts Cold War, the world goes MAD, and then Reagan bankrupted the Soviets. Nice history lesson.

Football Future-see IV

So last week was bad. We’re talking 1 win and 4 losses bad, sending us to 12-8 on the year. What a difference one week makes, huh? Only the Mets have suffered a worse collapse this season. But, we here at Right Wing continue, bearing the unbearable, striving for redemption with our fifth week of picks.

(15) Virginia Tech at (22) Clemson: Clemson is turning into an on-again-off-again team, dragging their fans on a roller coaster ACC schedule. Virginia Tech, though ranked number 15, has been a sort of disappointment this season. The energy of a team rebounding from a horrible event in April was sapped by Skip Holtz in week 1, when the Hokies barely escaped East Carolina. They’ve since lost to LSU, but they’ve won every other game, though not as decisively as wished for by Hokie Nation. This game depends on which Clemson team shows up, but we’re taking the Hokies to turn it on, beating Clemson in Death Valley 24-20.

(10) Oklahoma at (19) Texas: The Red River Shootout looked a lot more enticing eight days ago, but then Colorado and Kansas State effected Big XII drive-bys and knocked off OU and the Longhorns. Texas is uncertain as to the status of Colt McCoy, QB phenom who suffered a mild concussion. The Sooners need to prove that they haven’t lost their big game mentality. The last few games in this series have been lopsided, decided by ten or more points each time. Oklahoma is the better team, though, and they’ll prove it, handing Texas its second straight loss, 34-21.

(12) Georgia at Tennessee: UGA is an astounding 23-3 on the road against SEC teams since Mark Richt became head coach. UT is floundering and Fulmer’s seat is growing hotter and hotter. Matthew Stafford has come into his own as the Dawgs’ starting QB, and the two-headed attack of Brown and Moreno is frightening for any run defense. In their last three games, Georgia has scored 45, 26, and 45 points. Tennessee is giving up an average of 37.5 points per game this year. Dawgs go to Knoxville and win, 31-20.

(5) Wisconsin at Illinois: Here is your Upset Alert of Week 5. Wisconsin has not really proven themselves yet, even though they are number 5 in the land. The Illini are 4-1 and looking for Zook’s signature win. Well, this week looks pretty good to wear orange and blue, so long as you are a team from Illinios. The Badgers fall 27-26 in OT.

(9) Florida at (1) LSU: LSU assumes the leadership role in the nation, taking over the top spot from dethroned, but still undefeated, USC. Florida needs a bounce back game, and this does not look like it. The Tigers need to showcase the reason they are now number 1. The LSU offense has been slow to start recently, but once they get rolling, no one can stop them. The Gators may come into this game playing too hard, causing too many mistakes. Also, you just know the LSU secondary is daring Tebow to run one up the middle. LSU sends the Gators to their second conference loss. LSU 28, Florida 19.

A Few Quick Things

It's called bombing. If it were a collegiate test, I would've scored a 20 out of 100. It's called our Football Future-see picks from the weekend. We went 1-4 for the week.

Somehow this past weekend of college football became the gauntlet for top ten teams. 6 of the top 13 went down. Now Kentucky is number 8 in the land, LSU has jumped over USC for number one. My favorite stat: the SEC has five teams in the top twelve. Nice.

Politically....

Hillary is saying that the government should give every child that is born a $5000 bank account that can begin to accrue interest immediately so that the child can go to college. It's a wonderful gesture, but where exactly does ye olde federal government get the money? That's right... it comes from your pocket. Ahhhh... socialism.

Over in Mother Russia our good friend Vlad "The Election Rigger" Putin has stated that he plans to run for Prime Minister after stepping down as President early next year. Am I the only one who is worried by Putin's power grabs?

Apparently Burma... or is it Myanmar?... no wait... it is Burma, is killing anybody who's name contains a vowel. A defector recently revealed to the London Daily Times that the number of executions in Burma can easily be counted in te thousands.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (pronounced "I'm-A-Dinner-Jacket") (thanks, Robert) visited the US in the past few days and made a few bold statements, including the little ditty about how Iran doesn't have the "homosexual phenomenon." This coming from the same man who says the Holocaust never happened..."

We need help...
Sanjay, where are you?