Football Future-see Week 13

RECORD:

Week 1 ....... 7-1

Week 2 ....... 4-1

Week 3 ....... 4-1

Week 4 ....... 2-3

Week 5 ....... 4-3

Week 6 ....... 2-3

Week 7 ....... 3-2

Week 8 ....... 4-1

Week 9 ....... 4-3

Week 10 ..... 3-2

Week 11 ..... 4-2

Week 12 ..... 2-3

Week 13 ..... 7-3

TOTAL ..... 50-28

2 Auburn at 11 Alabama______INCORRECT

I would not be at all surprised with either team winning this game. At the moment, though, I think there is too much controversy around the Tigers.

FINAL SCORE: Alabama 31, Auburn 30

21 Arizona at 1 Oregon_____CORRECT

Oregon puts a stamp on their case for the BCS National Title Game.

FINAL SCORE: Oregon 40, Arizona 17

4 Boise State at 19 Nevada_____INCORRECT

The Wolfpack puts up a fight, but it’s not enough. The Broncos would love to crash the BCS party.

FINAL SCORE: Boise State 34, Nevada 17

Michigan at 8 Ohio State_____CORRECT

This game is never close. I cannot state that clearly enough.

FINAL SCORE: Ohio State 38, Michigan 14

Colorado at 15 Nebraska_____CORRECT

Close game with usually a bunch of points scored, but the Huskers should win.

FINAL SCORE: Nebraska 31, Colorado 26

Georgia Tech at Georgia_____CORRECT

I think Georgia is looking for a chance to lay a serious beating on someone.

FINAL SCORE: Georgia 34, Georgia Tech 13

13 Oklahoma at 9 Oklahoma State_____CORRECT

Sooners win a tight road game, but it’s not a surprise of OK State wins this one, though.

FINAL SCORE: Oklahoma 24, Oklahoma State 21

5 LSU at 12 Arkansas_____CORRECT

Mallett has a big day slinging the ball around, Hogs pull the upset.

FINAL SCORE: Arkansas 28, LSU 24

Notre Dame at USC_____CORRECT

Not even sure what the line is on this game, but the Irish are slowly building back up.

FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 20, USC 17

17 Texas A&M at Texas_____INCORRECT

This counts as an upset, but I think the Longhorns have a trick or two up their collective sleeve.

FINAL SCORE: Texas 13, Texas A&M 10

Football Future-see Week 12

RECORD:

Week 1 ....... 7-1

Week 2 ....... 4-1

Week 3 ....... 4-1

Week 4 ....... 2-3

Week 5 ....... 4-3

Week 6 ....... 2-3

Week 7 ....... 3-2

Week 8 ....... 4-1

Week 9 ....... 4-3

Week 10 ..... 3-2

Week 11 ..... 4-2

Week 12 ..... 2-3

TOTAL ..... 43-25

7 Wisconsin at Michigan_____CORRECT

Badgers at the Big House. This should be a fun game. Michigan can score a lot of points, but Wisconsin has one of the better defenses in the Big Ten.

FINAL SCORE: Wisconsin 27, Michigan 17

9 Ohio State at 20 Iowa_____INCORRECT

Iowa can pull the upset here. Let's get that out of the way. Ohio State needs a win to stay Rose Bowl eligible. Win you want something really bad, you can make mistakes along the way.

FINAL SCORE: Iowa 24, Ohio State 21

16 Virginia Tech at 24 Miami_____INCORRECT

I can't really explain why I like Miami at home against the Hokies. Virginia Tech just doesn't impress me that much. They're good, but the Hurricanes are looking for a signature win at home.

FINAL SCORE: Miami 26, Virginia Tech 24

13 Arkansas at 21 Mississippi State_____CORRECT

The only SEC game on the Right Wing schedule this week. Arkansas is seeking a good bowl this year, and Ryan Mallett is trying to pad his draft status. For those reasons alone Mississippi State doesn't stand much of a chance in this game. Close in the first half, Arkansas will put it away in the second.

FINAL SCORE: Arkansas 30, Miss. State 20

8 Nebraska at 19 Texas A&M_____INCORRECT

The only Big XII match-up features a Nebraska team that still has an outside chance at the BCS National Title game, even though that requires a lot of chaos. Texas A&M would love to upset the Huskers, and while the Aggies may have an early lead in this game, they won't be able to hold it. Nebraska is just too good.

FINAL SCORE: Nebraska 31, Texas A&M 21

Football Future-see Week 11

RECORD:

Week 1 ....... 7-1

Week 2 ....... 4-1

Week 3 ....... 4-1

Week 4 ....... 2-3

Week 5 ....... 4-3

Week 6 ....... 2-3

Week 7 ....... 3-2

Week 8 ....... 4-1

Week 9 ....... 4-3

Week 10 ..... 3-2

Week 11 ..... 4-2

TOTAL ..... 41-22

14 Utah at Notre Dame______INCORRECT

Utah was embarrassed at home by TCU and Notre Dame just is not good. This really shouldn’t even be close, as the Utes are looking for revenge on someone and the Irish don’t even seem willing to get it together.

FINAL SCORE: Utah 31, Notre Dame 14

Georgia at 2 Auburn______CORRECT

Knowing the history of this series, I’m really tempted to call for the upset here. In 113 meetings, the aggregate score for both teams is Georgia 1778, Auburn 1722. That’s 56 points of separation in a series that has been played almost consistently since 1892. Auburn enters this game as the best team in the SEC. Georgia enters this game looking for any chance to salvage a lost season.

FINAL SCORE: Auburn 26, Georgia 23

23 South Carolina at 22 Florida______CORRECT

The Curse of the Chicken finally comes to an end. The dream of Spurrier has been to lead the Gamecocks to an SEC title game. A healthy does of Marcus Lattimore will get them there.

FINAL SCORE: South Carolina 24, Florida 21

19 Mississippi State at 12 Alabama______CORRECT

The Crimson Tide is angry, coming off a loss to LSU. Mississippi State is the highest ranked it has been in some time. Still, Alabama is a really tough home team.

FINAL SCORE: Alabama 31, Miss State 13

USC at 18 Arizona______INCORRECT

USC has absolutely nothing to play for, and it’s the same account next year. Arizona is still playing for a better bowl game. That’s incentive enough.

FINAL SCORE: Arizona 24, USC 21

10 Oklahoma State at Texas______CORRECT

Nebraska could really benefit from a Texas win in this game, but I just don’t see it. That said, teams named the “Cowboys” haven’t exactly played well in Texas this year. But all the joking aside, Texas is not a very good team this year, and OK State is playing better than I expected.

FINAL SCORE: Oklahoma State 35, Texas 17

F1: Wanton Stupidity or Wanton Disregard

Today's Formula 1 Grand Premio Do Brasil (Brazilian Grand Prix) will not necessarily be remembered for any particularly great racing. Nor will it be remembered for Vitantonio Liuzzi's "rather comprehensive" shunt that sheared off half of his Force India.

It will, however, be remembered for Red Bull Renault's stubborn refusal to implement, even secretly, team orders that would've put Mark Webber in front of Sebastian Vettel. As the points stand now, one week out for the final race of the season, Fernando Alonso holds an eight point lead over Webber and fifteen points on Vettel. Lewis Hamilton is a distant twenty-four points out. Had Red Bull ordered Vettel to relinquish the lead today at Interlagos and let Webber in front, the Aussie would've been a mere one point back from Alonso.

The main reason that this presents a problem for the Red Bulls: Alonso has, in essence, a fresh engine for Abu Dhabi.

So the debate became a simple two-point question. Which of these makes you more upset with Formula 1 at the moment:

1. Wanton disregard of the rules

or

2. Wanton Stupidity in spite of the rule

Let's look at both points individually.

***

Point one, wanton disregard of the rules.

At the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, Ferrari used some rather obvious codes to tell Felipe Massa to get out Fernando Alonso's way. Once Massa was removed, Alonso cruised to victory, with the only conciliation to Massa being Rob Smedley's forlorn "Good Boy. Try to keep up. Sorry."

The incident caught the attention of the stewards, who fined Ferrari $100,000(US) after the race. The Scuderia was then brought before an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sports Council. Forgiving the fact that almost every meeting of the WMSC is considered extraordinary, the WMSC ruled that the penalty given after the race was sufficient. This ruling set off a firestorm from the many teams claiming that everyone would use team orders now.

Granted, most fans already knew that team orders still play a major factor in racing, with the orders usually decided before a race and not blatantly disregarded the way Ferrari did.

***

Point two, wanton stupidity in spite of the rules.

Red Bull Renault was faced with the chance to put one of their drivers in an even better position to win a driver's championship. The driver was NOT Sebastian Vettel. Mark Webber, the veteran Australian, has never been so close to a driver's title. If Vettel had been told prior to race start that he should yield to Webber, then no one would've said a word. RBR clinched the constructor's title today, so that championship would not have been effected.

Now, with Vettel winning at Interlagos, Webber rolls into Abu Dhabi eight points back instead of one point back. Fernando Alonso has a very lightly used engine for the Yas Marina Circuit. That'll make him tough to catch.

It all goes back to a lack of intelligence on Red Bull Renault's part. They could've locked one of their drivers into a much closer spot, but they've steadfastly refused to use team orders.

***

If you got to any one of the many Formula 1 websites out there, you'll find a plethora of comments on this issue. Some are just plain funny, some angry, and some sad.

Robert said he wouldn't really be bothered by Vettel, Webber, and Alonso taking each other out in turn one at Abu Dhabi and then Lewis Hamilton driving to a championship.

One comment I saw that was particularly unfavorable to Red Bull stated that, if Alonso was leading Webber at Abu Dhabi, with Vettel running third, Red Bull would probably order Webber to crash out Alonso and take himself out so that Vettel (or as this writer called him "the anointed one") could win the championship.

Personally, I would love to see Webber win, but I hate the idea of a Red Bull driver winning the Driver's Championship. In the end, this has solidified my fan-craziness for McLaren.

Football Future-see Week 10

RECORD:

Week 1 ....... 7-1

Week 2 ....... 4-1

Week 3 ....... 4-1

Week 4 ....... 2-3

Week 5 ....... 4-3

Week 6 ....... 2-3

Week 7 ....... 3-2

Week 8 ....... 4-1

Week 9 ....... 4-3

Week 10 ..... 3-2

TOTAL ..... 37-20

21 BAYLOR AT 17 OKLAHOMA STATE_____CORRECT

Baylor is coming off a victory over Texas, which makes them confident. If Baylor wins this game, then a late November match-up with Oklahoma is all that stands between them and the final Big XII championship game ever to be played. Of course, OK State is in the same boat. Boone Pickens Stadium is a tough place to play.

FINAL SCORE: OK State 34, Baylor 24

6 ALABAMA AT 10 LSU_____INCORRECT

The Tigers welcome in the Crimson Tide in this battle of current and former LSU coaches. The Mad Hatter, Les Miles, has problems with clock management. Nick Saban, of the Tide, doesn’t. Saban also has a fantastic running game. LSU may struggle stopping the run.

FINAL SCORE: Alabama 28, LSU 20

3 TCU AT 5 UTAH_____CORRECT

The big game of the weekend features two top-5 teams. This year is ripe for a Non-AQ team to reach the title game, assuming neither Oregon nor Auburn falter. Utah is a good team, and is playing host to the Horned Frogs. TCU, though, is slightly better, and salts it away at the end.

FINAL SCORE: TCU 27, UTAH 23

NORTHWESTERN AT PENN STATE_____INCORRECT

I think this could be one of the better games of the weekend. These are two fairly evenly matched teams. This one should go down to the wire, but a late NU field goal seals it.

FINAL SCORE: Northwestern 17, Penn State 16

IDAHO STATE AT GEORGIA_____CORRECT

Georgia will be lucky to play in a bowl game this year, and the cries of regime change grow louder around Athens. The Dawgs are coming off a heart-breaking loss to Florida, and Idaho State is rolling in to Sanford Stadium at a bad time. The last lower tier team to play Georgia only lost by 48. Look for a repeat, if not worse. The Dawgs need to blow off some steam. Idaho State is getting paid $525,000 to allow that steam to be blown off.

FINAL SCORE: Georgia 52, Idaho State 10

Election Day Pondering

Many years ago I wrote up a plan for making this country better. Granted, this plan was crafted from my Libertarian/Republican point of view. I didn't exactly write up a plan for liberalism.

So I thought I would review my plan and make amendments, as it were.

The Plan:
1. Get rid of everyone in Washington.
2. Now that the old guard has been taken out of power, we repeal that pesky 17th Amendment.
3. Term Limits.
4. Elections.
5. Special Interest Groups.
6. Campaign Finance.

That's a highlight list of the old plan, from May 2007. Let's revise.

The Plan, Part II:

1. Vote out all incumbents and establish term limits. This is key to returning sanity to our government. Once the old guard is out of power, a limit must be set. I like the notion of either one six-year term, or two four-year terms. That goes for every position in government, with the exception of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court would no longer be lifetime appointments, but they would be appointed to a single twelve or sixteen year term.

2. Repeal the 17th Amendment. This might come as a shock to you, but the people did not originally vote for Senators. The people voted for the House of Representatives. State governments were accountable for electing Senators. This meant that the people and the states had representation in government. Happily, at least to me, the Tea Party is beginning to push a notion to repeal the 17th Amendment. God bless 'em.

3. Campaign Finance. I once thought that a candidate should only spend up to one cent less than they would make in office, but I've changed my mind. I would cap election spending at $1 million per candidate. This includes personal money and campaign contributions.

4. Special Interest. I would still get rid of them.

5. Gerrymandering and Redistricting. Gerrymandering is when a district is drawn to outrageous designs in order to propel a certain candidate to power. For an example of this, simply look at the 4th Congressional District of Illinois (picture to right). The simple solution to this issue is to establish a law stating that districts must be as compact as possible.

The map below is a district map of Congressional districts near Atlanta. Please note the yellow blob that snakes its way around.

Choose Wisely

Tomorrow is Election Day, and yeah I'm a bit late in writing this.

Election Day is a big day for those of us who still believe that this is an exceptional country. Some of us, stupid as it may seem to others, refuse to believe that the United States of America no longer holds a special place in the world. Some of us actually cringe to see our president bowing to foreign leaders. Last I checked, he was one the same level as they, so no bowing is necessary. We are subject to no foreign nation, at least until congress completes the sale of our birthright to China.

And it just so happens that you, the voter, are given a chance every two years or so to have a say at the national level. This is your golden opportunity to make your voice heard.

You may think that the Democrat-controlled Congress has gone too far. You may think that Barack Obama is the best President ever. You may just hate being taxed every time you turn around. Well, say something about it.

Personally, I plan to deliver a message. I did it once, letting the Republicans know just how unhappy I was. Now, I doubt that the RNC had a meeting to discuss my ballot, but multiply my voice by millions and you get a loud message.

Now, we're seeing a liberal majority that believed the election (or coronation, depending on your feelings about the man) of Barack Obama gave them a mandate to do whatever they wished. They pushed through a healthcare reform monstrosity of a bill, 2500 pages, that our dear sweet Speaker of the House told us had to be passed so we, the people, could find out what was in it.

As town hall meetings were held, and the Democrats learned just how unhappy their constituencies were, they backed away from the forum. Barack Obama held nearly-scripted sessions with pre-screened audiences. Heaven forbid Barack ever be called out for something.

But that's not all. President Obama, recently speaking to a group of Latino voters, said "If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, ‘We’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us,’ if they don’t see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it’s gonna be harder and that’s why I think it’s so important that people focus on voting on November 2."

That's right, a sitting American President referred to people who disagree with your political point of view, in this case majority liberal, as enemies who must be punished. This is not the language of a sitting President. That's the language of a petty little kid who is incapable of handling defeat. Just look at the man's record. He won his first elected position because the other candidates were kicked off the ballot. When he won the Presidency, he basically told the Republicans that certain arguments were over because he had won.

So tomorrow, when you go to the polling place, remember. Remember what each politician has said. Remember what they did after they said those things. But more importantly than any of that... remember that you have the power. People shouldn't fear their government. Government should fear its people. That's freedom.

Choose Wisely.