This Hotel Room Smells

It does. Seriously. I don't know what it is, but our "suite" here at the Ramada smells like a mixture of fart and cigarette smoke. Hopefully, the bottle of Crowne Royal and Gentleman Jack on the TV stand will dull my sense of smell in no time.

I don't really have a lot of time to do picks because I really need to start drinking. It is a cocktail party after all.

If someone talks about "revenge motivation" as a reason for Florida winning this game one more time, I will slaughter a kitten. Georgia was absolutely owned in this series in the 90's. You think perhaps they wanted some revenge any of those years? How about when Spurrier put up 50 between the hedges? They probably wanted some revenge then. Trouble was, their football players weren't as good. And that's what this game is going to come down to.

It doesn't matter who wants it more, whose coach wrote about it in their autobiography, or how many circumcisions a team's quarterback performed in the offseason. All that matters is talent and execution.

I have been back and forth about this one all week. On one hand, the Florida offense is beastly. Demps and Rainey give the Gators the balance they need on offense.

On the other hand, the trio of Stafford, Moreno and Green is probably the best three offensive players on any one team in the country. And the Bulldogs' offensive line is improving.

If anything, the revenge motivation factor will hurt the Gators. Maybe they're so fired up to hurt the Bulldogs that they commit some dumb penalties. (If I'm a Georgia player, I'm talking as much trash as I can to every Gator I see to get inside their helmets.)

Really, I wouldn't be surprised if either team wins. It's that much of a tossup to me. However, when it's this close, I have to go with the school I attend. A Bulldog win would make the Landing much more fun after the game.

Too much Moreno and Green and a key turnover or two give the win to the the red and black.

Dawgs 38-Gators 31

Just decided that the bottles of whisky on the TV stand are more appealing than picking more football games. Have a safe weekend everyone!

Greetings from Jacksonville

After a rigorous six hour drive, enhanced by a riveting conversation on the career triumphs of Morten Anderson and a pit stop across from "Holla for a Dolla," which may have been the classiest establishment in the state of Florida, I arrived in what is a surprisingly affluent area of Florida.   And then I found my hotel.  Fortunately, for all of the fear emitting from my female roommates, our high-class establishment has two benefits:  1) We're not the crackhouse across the street, and 2) We have wireless internet, so Adam and I can share our predictions and make good on our proclamation that we will have a new blog post every day this week.

Obviously the most pressing game for this weekend (at least for those of you who follow this blog) is going to Georgia/Florida.  And if you woke up early enough this morning to read my late night post, you know my prediction is for the Dawgs to win 34-29.  I don't anticipate the Gators to attempt a single field goal in this game (and for their two point conversion to come early to try to make a statement), and I anticipate this to be the difference in the game.  There's not a significant difference in talent on either side of the ball, but Mark Richt is head and shoulders a better coach than Urban Meyer, and for all the talk of revenge and motivation that the talking heads have hyped up for Florida, Georgia will be just as motivated to win this game as they were last year.

Meanwhile, in Atlanta, the special undereducated stepchildren of the Cocktail Party teams will duke it out to determine who will win the least-deserved BCS spot.  A revitalized Florida State team will take on the Georgia Tech Fumblers in what could very possibly be a preview of the ACC Championship game.  I read a very well thought out post on rivals.com this week detailing why the ACC Coastal Division was the strongest conference in football, because every single team is in the top 40 in Sagarin ratings and they all have winning records.  You can't trump those statistics with things like trivial things like "strength of schedule" or "talent."  Fortunately, you can start a strong debate with the phrase "They were so bad, Reggie Ball managed to start for all four years without anyone contending for the starting spot."  I figure I'll give the edge to the state of Florida for this one, with the Seminoles coming out on top 21-13, with Jonathan Dwyer accumulating 88% of his team's total yardage.  The other 12% comes from Florida State penalties.

In "Games that the rest of the country probably cares about more," College Gameday visits Lubbock for the first time to watch the top-ranked Texas Longhorns duke it out against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.  I'll be the first person to say that I thought that Texas Tech was significantly overrated, but after watching them dismantle a solid Kansas team last weak, I've changed my stance a little bit.  Instead of thinking they're lucky, I merely think that they won't be exposed until they play a team that actually has a defense.  I'm not quite sure if Texas has a legitimate defense or not, and I hope we'll find out this week.  I'm going to go against the grain and pick Texas Tech to win this game, 64-53.

I apologize for the lack of wit and lackluster effort in this, but my mind is currently elsewhere - Namely, I'm worried as hell about tomorrow.   I'll again give you the rundown for the rest of the weekend in wall of text form.  The Falcons will impress against the porous Oakland Defense, and DeAngelo Hall will be targeted a number of times.  The Hawks will again win tomorrow against Philadelphia to start off a season 2-0 for the first time in 98 years.  My next blog post will contain the word "receiver" spelled incorrectly at least twice.  The Sproletariat will emerge from their 2 week losing streak by pulling out victorious over "Holla at a Playa" and the improperly named "Winless Wonders" will continue being the "One-Win Wonder" against whoever he is playing.  Hopefully, Adam will have a concentrated effort when he arrives in an hour or so.  Regardless, I'll be back late on Sunday for what is hopefully Victory News.

Also, we've had a sudden influx of comments from people who I don't actually know in real life.  This is tremendously exciting, and I continue to call Adam every time I see one of you respond.  Keep it up, as I'd love to have a continuous stream of discussion going on here.  And if I'm wrong/uneducated/boring, call me out on it.  I'll be churning stuff out regardless, but if there's something you want to see written about more/less, I'll do my best to oblige.

So here we are...

As a team, the Georgia Bulldogs have experienced their share of highs and lows this season.  The exhilaration of being the preseason number one, tempered by the gradual falling in the polls and culminating in the embarrassment that ensued from the Alabama game, have put Georgia in the exact same spot that they anticipated early in the year:  Facing a equally ranked Florida team with the potential to catapult themselves back into consideration for the National Championship Game.

Georgia was ranked number one preseason for a reason.  Despite the touchdown spread that Florida is favored to win by on Saturday, the Dawgs have the coaching and talent to come out strong and leave Florida stunned, just like they did last year.  It's going to require a few things from the entire team though.

• Get the first touchdown.  Urban Meyer issued a gag order for the team, but not before someone on the Gators made clear that they had planned for this for a long time, and that retribution will be coming.  Similarly, a quote was floating around earlier this week from Darryl Gamble that the seniors had "something special" planned for the week.  While the quote was later retracted as erroneous, I would not be surprised at all for Georgia to have a follow up to the Gator Stomp.  Ultimately, the first team to score a touchdown is going to have a huge momentum shift that will likely last the entire game.
• To add onto the previous statement, it's important for the team to not make an ass of themselves for no reason.  Imagine the embarrassment that would have ensued if the Knowshon Superman dive would have been ruled down an inch from the goal line.  After the two penalty flags were awarded for the stomp, Georgia would have been facing a 3rd and 30 with team morale completely shot.  While I'm all in favor of the team showing enthusiasm, it's important that they don't embarrass themselves.
• Onto the actual game, the most important thing that Georgia did correctly last year was sacking Tim Tebow four times and keeping pressure on him the entire game.  Unfortunately, Marcus Howard left for the NFL and Jeff Owens is out for the season. Lomax and Battle were successful against a highly-acclaimed LSU offensive line, but they have not looked impressive against anyone else this year.  It's absolutely crucial to keep Tebow running around, because he is simply too good of a quarterback to give time in the pocket.  If this means blitzing Rennie Curran on the first four plays and selling the passing game short, then so be it.  Hell, if that means lining Rashad Jones up at middle linebacker with the intent of knocking the life out of Tim Tebow, then that's good too.  
• Ultimately, Tim Tebow does not scare me as a game changer.  Florida has two players that do:  Brandon James and Percy Harvin.  Keeping the ball away from Brandon James should be relatively easy:  Don't kick him the ball.  If this means that Georgia needs to kick it to the 20 yard line every kickoff, then Blair Walsh should be set.  He does that unintentionally about half the time anyways.  Florida returning the ball to the 35 yard line every drive is easily preferable to James darting through defenders and barely being tackled at the 50.
• Percy Harvin is going to be significantly harder.  Most of you remember how pesky he was last year, taking snaps at both wide reciever and running back, and generally wreaking havoc on the Georgia Defense.  With Florida's newly-hyped track star backfield, Harvin will likely be contained to Wide Receiver.  The smart move on Georgia's part would be to make sure that both Asher Allen and Rashad Jones are lined up on the same side.  Allen plays the best coverage on the team, and Jones just hits people hard.  If I had to pick someone on Florida to make the big plays, I'd feel much more comfortable as a Georgia fan if their hopes relied on their running game and the "other" wide receivers.
• Of course, the same thing could be said of Georgia.  Stafford has shown a tendency recently to look only at A.J. Green, which has led to some ill-advised throws.  The offense showed diversity last week with touchdowns by Fred Munzemeier, who I previously did not know existed, and Kenneth Harris, who would have been the fourth receiver on the depth chart to start off the year.  Georgia has a very talented receiving corps, and Stafford should take advantage of that regularly.  Passes to Kris Durham, Aron White, and even Shaun Chapas will spread the defense even more, and allow A.J. Green and Knowshon to make the game-changing performances that they are capable of.
• Ultimately what Georgia needs to do to win is to play to their strengths.  If you've followed the team this year, you would be hard pressed to name any glaring weaknesses.  The Offensive Line has been criticized all year, but banded together for a stellar performance last week.  Blair Walsh has been inconsistent, but if the game relies on Blair Walsh kicking field goals, then Georgia is probably not going to win the game regardless.  Florida has a lot of individual players that can beat them, but players can be contained.  Whichever team plays together as a whole is going to win the game tomorrow, and Georgia team that has grown together for the past two or three years is simply a better team that the hyped Gator team.  At the end of the day, Georgia gets the advantage this Saturday, call it 34-29

Why the Gators Suck: And Other Ramblings

Ah I can practically smell the beer and bourbon of Jacksonville already. I'm quite tempted to leave immediately and sleep in the car until the game. However, I think I'll try to resist. Before we get into this week's post, the million...and millions...of OTR's fans have clamored for some more LSU quotes. Here are a few.

"We go into every game trying to score every time we get the ball. That's our thought process and what we work towards, and we were able to move the ball well on them (LSU). We got some big plays when we needed them today. Knowshon (Moreno) had some good runs for us and some guys made some good plays for us catching the football and what's what got us going."

~Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford on putting up 52 points in Tiger Stadium

"It's very disappointing; we never like to lose in our own house. It's a real deep gut feeling. We have to turn around and look at ourselves and figure out who we really are. It's about pride and it really hurt our pride with them coming in our house and beating us like that."

~LSU tailback Charles Scott on getting beat at home

"That was a shock even to the defense. What a way to start it off, and then ending the game off like that too was great."

~Georgia cornerback Asher Allen on Darryl Gamble's two interception returns for touchdowns

"It just gives us confidence going against a team that is similar as far as speed and has athletes all over the field like LSU does. We know that Florida has some tremendous athletes."

~Allen on the Florida game.

Really, the rest of them aren't too terribly interesting. Anyway, it's time to put that game behind us, as Georgia has somewhat of a large football contest this weekend in Jacksonville. Ah, yes it's Florida week, which means it's time for thinking about how much we hate the jort wearers. To make things easier, I have come up with my top-10 list of reasons to hate UF. Feel free to amend or add to this list.

10.) Orange and blue: Seriously, this is the most heinous color combination ever devised for sports teams. Those shiny orange pants are absolutely disgusting. Remember when they used those prototype Nike jerseys with one orange sleeve? Did it not make you want to serioulsy adjust the color of your TV screen, say by throwing it out the window?

9.) Joakim Noah: I know, this is about a football game. But just knowing that Noah played basketball for that school makes me want to beat the Gators even worse on Saturday. Noah looked like a cross between Diana Ross and Gollum from Lord of the Rings. He danced like a drunken frat boy with a nerve disorder. He was the basketball equivalent of Tim Tebow, dancing up and down the court after dunking on some no-name forward from UT-Chattanooga. I have limited respect for the rest of the players on those championship Gator teams. But I hate Noah. You should too.

8.) Gator bait cheer: I don't know who did it first, LSU or Florida, but this trend of saying your mascot and adding the word "bait" after it is assinine. When I think of bait, I think of a worm on a fish hook. Sure, the worm is luring the fish to its eventual death, but the worm is getting eaten after having a hook driven through it. So, by calling opposing fans Gator bait, you're saying that you are using Bulldogs to lure Gators into capture. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy an alligator Po' Boy as much as the next guy. It just seems that using that as your team's main cheer is pointless. In Jacksonville last year, I don't know how many times I heard some Florida frat boy in orange pants scream "If you're not a Gator, you're Gator bait." Chalk it up there with "Boomer Sooner" as one of most nonsensical cheers in sports.

7.) Mr. Two Bits: Hi, I'm a 70-something year-old man that wears orange pants and cheats death every Saturday by screaming in the middle of Florida Field. Seriously, nothing represents the state of Florida more accurately than some septegenerian screaming himself silly in hideous pants. Combined with the cheer of "two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar, all for the Gators stand up and holler," and this ancient, moth-ball odored buffoon gives Mr. Two Bits the distinction of owning the seventh spot on my list.

6.) Selective amnesia: While admittedly, most of the SEC (I'm looking at you Bama fans) lives much too far in the past when it comes to gloating about their school's accomplishments, Florida goes in the complete opposite direction. Prior to Steve Spurrier arriving as coach in 1990, the Gator football program was a joke. Gator fans want to talk about having the best program in SEC history. If the last 18 years is all that encompasses "history," they would be right. Bring this fact up to them, and they will likely spit their Skoal at you (and that's the female Gator fans). I know, Georgia fans often times dwell in a perpetual 1980 (oh, Herschel). But still, have a sense of history Gator fans. The Dawgs still own the all-time series. Read a book.

5.) Urban Meyer: "Adam! How can you only have Meyer at number 5 on the list? He's such a douchebag!" I know, he is. A giant one. But he's only been there for a few years. He hasn't had a chance to move too far up the list. But make no mistake, Meyer is on his way. First, his name is Urban. His parents were pretentious enough to name him after a Pope. They must have known how he would turn out. Meyer bitches and moans more than any other coach on the planet to get his team into bowl games (yet no one says anything). He recruits gymnasts so their boyfriends will come play football for him. He refers to himself in the third person. "It will forever be a big deal in the mind of Urban Meyer." Hey Urban, if you didn't like the celebration, maybe you should have come back and won the game. Seriously, you were freaking out on the sideline getting your team jacked up to respond. But you think the celebration was a bad deal? Don't worry, Special K has something special for you this year.

4) Mullets, jean shorts, and sleeveless t shirts: Enough said.

3) The Gator Chomp: Seriously, you morons look like you're pretending to be Pac-Man, and I don't mean the one that makes it rain. This is by far the most idiotic hand-gesture in sports. I imagine you can't go to a welfare office, NASCAR race, Piggly Wiggly, or trailer park in the northern Florida without seeing numerous toothless wonders chomping away. The most memorable Gator chomps are always done by opposing players (think Auburn kicker of Mo Mass from last year). Nobody, and I mean nobody, thinks it's cool. And no, that's not because we aren't Gator fans. I'll admit that South Carolina's 2001 entrance is awesome, and that LSU has the coolest fight song. But the Gator Chomp is a laughing stock, and doing it is a good way to identify yourself as having a mild form of brain damage.

2) Steve Spurrier: I have to admit, if the Ole Ball Coach were my team's head coach, I would love him. I even find him harmless as South Carolina. But Spurrier was a Demon in Gainesville and he will forever have a black spot int he hearts of Georgia fans. Spurrier (like Meyer) didn't know the meaning of "emptying his bench." It didn't matter if he was up by 3 or 33, he was going to try to score. He also had a special love of beating the Dawgs, which he did quite often. A particulary awesome quote of his was, "It seems every year during recruiting, Georgia has the best players. But when we play them, we have the best players. I wonder what happens to them." As hilarious and accurate as that quote was, it's what makes Spurrier one of the most universally-hated coaches in history. Nothing is better than watching that overgrown toddler throw his visor around and yell at his assistant coaches and players.

1.) Tim Tebow: Was there any doubt? Kudos to the young man for earning his way to the top spot on my list despite still being an active player there. There are inumerable reasons to hate the Gators' quarterback, but I'll go over a few:

-The media mancrush on Tebow is epic. If Tebow has loose stool at 8 a.m., it's on ESPN's bottom line by 9. Everything he does is "courageous" and "heroic." We get footage of a topless Tebow lifting weights almost every Saturday. We get in-depth player profiles about his pious upbringing, his visits to prisons, and his circumcisions. We get references to Tebow during football games that in on way involve Tebow, the Gators, the state of Florida, or people named Tim in general.

-The Tebow run: From now on, every quarterback who ever runs out of the pocket and makes contact with a defender will be compared to Tebow. It doesn't matter if Brad Johnson is flushed out of the pocket and gets tackled for a one-yard gain, the announcers will tell the viewers that Johnson is "no Tim Tebow." Tebow is a big moose. He runs straight ahead at tacklers. It's not a novel idea. Then, we get the treat of having him jump up and do jumping jacks after every four-yard gain against some non-conference sacrifice.

-He cries. Seriously, we all know you're so emotionally invested in the game. It's inspiring. But crying on national television after a loss is just plain sad. Even Gator fans would HAVE to admit that they would find this pathetic if he wasn't their quarterback. Most athletes stopped crying in little league. Or at least they wait until the locker room where no one can see them. Grow up, Tim. Grow up.

There are many more reasons to hate Tebow. I just don't have the time.

Like I said, there are plenty of reasons to hate the Gators. Let me know what you would put on there, or if you would change the order.

Side note: My fantasy football team finally won a game! Yay for me!

Tampa Bay: America's Team

For a couple of years now, I've loved watching the Tampa Bay Rays play baseball, yet could never figure out exactly why.  It wasn't their proximity to Atlanta, as I already had a local tie to cheer for.  There were no players who I was connected to (sans the twilight of Fred McGriff), though I did appreciate the young players they have on the team.  It took an early morning conversation yesterday to realize what it is about Tampa Bay that I really appreciate.

It all started when the Tigers traded Scott Kazmir to Atlanta for Doyle Alexander.

Wait, that's not right at all.  Kazmir was traded from the Mets to the Rays for Victor Zambrano.  Though the confusion between the two eras is understandable.  After all, unless you've graduated college by a couple of years, you're not going to remember the start to the era of the Braves.  I was lamentably four years old when the worst-to-first season happened, and it wasn't until 1996 that I was truly able to appreciate the game of baseball.  Fortunately, now I can

 turn on the television and see the 1991 Atlanta Braves redux.

Consider it:  The parallels between Smoltz and Kazmir continue from their transaction history to their pitching style.  It also continues throughout the entire pitching staff.  Troy Percival worse a shirt preseason that compared Kazmir/Shields/Garza to Glavine/Smoltz/Avery, and while it doesn't work in that order, his prediction was more apt than even he expected.  Shields (Glavine) was the more consistent, less flashy pitcher of the staff, and is many ways who you would want starting in a game 7.  Whereas Steve Avery (Matt Garza) was wildly talented, but terribly inconsistent.  Through in another homegrown pitcher who is prone to throw ridiculously good games despite being overshadowed by his pitching staff (Hiya Andy Sonnastine, may you also be an effective relief pitcher for 28 years like Kent Mercker) and a closer who many considered to already be well past his twilight when the season started (Juan Berenguer, we hardly knew you)

It continues through the offense.  Consider this:  A second base prospect brought up through the entire farm system, gets to the majors, and lacks a lot of fielding expertise.  However, his power/speed capablity is so good, you stick him in the outfield so you don't lose his bat.  Obviously people remember B.J. Upton as a second baseman, but not as many realize that Ron Gant started his career there as well.  Their replacements in the middle infield were two light-hitting, slick-fielding players.  One who started his MLB career with the team (Lemke/Aki), and one who was traded away from a competitor who couldn't stand the lack of offense (Belliard/Bartlett).  Gant instead shared the outfield with an electric center fielder who made up for his lack of power by his ability to fly around the bases, and depending on who you prefer to compare him to, either Deion Sanders or Otis Nixon would be an apt comparison for Carl Crawford.  I'm not going to push my luck by trying to compare Cliff Floyd to a young Dave Justice (Though numbers-wise, it could work), nor Sid Bream to Carlos Peña (Peña is significantly more mobile).  Consider this, though.  Tampa Bay was fortunate enough to get their Chipper Jones four years early in Evan Longoria.

The Tampa Bay Rays are a good team.  They're a team that was built the way I was taught.  Draft young talent, keep them in the system, and build around them with key veteran acquisitions.  The only major free agents on that team were not wanted by anybody else when Tampa Bay signed them, very similar to the Pendleton/Bream/Belliard acquisitions of 1991.  Of course, in true Atlanta fashion, it looks like the Rays are going to lose the World Series this year.  Fortunately for them, however, they're on pace for 4 more in the next decade.

Which brings me to a question:  As good as the team is now, what happens when they sign their Greg Maddux?

Tiger Bait? Nah. Dawg Food.

Anyone who says that sleep is a necessary ingredient to a healthy lifestyle has never been to Louisiana. Your trusty OTR blogmaster was running on about three hours of sleep when he arrived in Baton Rouge to cover the game for the Athens Banner-Herald. Despite the sleep deprivation, I was able to take in the spectacle that is Tiger Stadium and it didn't disappoint.

But first, a timeline of the weekend's events, just so you can see where I'm coming from.

7:30 p.m.--I'm in Jefferson, covering Jefferson High School's massacre of Rabun County. Very few Rabun County players leave with their limbs in tact.

12:45 a.m.--After my coworkers get finished putting together Saturday's paper, we hit the road, stopping in Duluth to meet former Georgia beat writer Josh Kendall to pick something up from him.

5:00 a.m.--We arrive in Montogmery, AL where we thought we were going to sleep. Unfortunately, the hotel could not check us in for some reason. We decided to keep driving.

7:15 a.m.--Mercifully, we arrive in Mobile and actually stop and sleep. I barely get to know my bed. We wake up at 9:30. I do not feel refreshed.

1:45 p.m.--We arrive in Baton Rouge. We make our way through many LSU tailgates, all of which smell very good. We can't enjoy any of them. Finally, we find the Tiger Stadium press box and get ready for the game.

That's just a taste of the madness. By the time the game started, I felt mildly insane, due to my lack of sleep. Darryl Gamble only added to that sense of insanity when he stepped in front of Jarrett Lee's first pass and took it 40 yards to the house. Much has been made of Dannell Ellerbe's absence in recent weeks, but Gamble has been lights out. His 13 tackle, two interception for touchdown performance will not likely be duplicated. But he would definitely be considered an adequate replacement.

Guys, this game was the reverse of the Alabama game. While Georgia got dominated much worse than the score indicated against Alabma, the Dawgs dominated LSU much more thoroughly than the scoreboard showed. Knowshon Moreno torched the Tigers for two long runs, including a 68-yard touchdown run in which he mocked the LSU student section. I wrote a story about Moreno's day for the Banner-Herald. You can read it here. (Side note: for some reason, Moreno kept referring to Matthew Stafford as "John" during post-game interviews. Knowshon is a strange animal.)

Speaking of John, the Big Texan had himself another great ballgame. The stat sheet wasn't overwhelming, but he made some great throws in a deafening environment. Stafford's ability to convert on third down was especially impressive. Obviously, AJ Green was huge again, but guys like Mikey Moore, Demiko Goodman and even Aron White stepped up with big games. All of the skill players simply dominated the Bayou Bengals.

The defense was...sufficient. The Dawgs had three picks, which was a nice change of pace. However, Charles Scott ran for 144 yards and bounced off potential tacklers several times. That's going to have to get shored up if the Dawgs have a chance in Jacksonville.

The real story of the game was the offensive line. I have a nice big plate of crow to eat, as I expected the o-line to emerge from Baton Rouge as corpses, not heroes. Stafford was sacked just once, and Moreno's afformentioned big game was aided by some big holes to run through. While LSU's defense was obviously overrated (good defenses don't give up 50 points twice in one season), the Georgia o-line still played one hell of a game. As Bill pointed out, Vandy's d-line has been quite good and the Georgia offensive line was equal to that challenge as well. Like I said, I have been one of the o-line's biggest critics all year. I sit corrected.

All in all, the Tiger Stadium experience was impressive. From the first four notes of "Hold That Tiger" during pregame, the crowd was loud and involved. Their student section participated until late in the game when the Dawgs had put it away. Before the game, the LSU faithful was downright frightening. Grown main were literally shaking because they were so fired up. And by the fourth quarter, they had retreated to the swamps on Bobby Boucher's airboat. I have respect for LSU's program, but it's always fun sending those drunk idiots back to the bayou.

I have plenty of other quotes from players after the game. However, I'm realistic and I know that no one will probably read this. If someone does, and you guys want some other quotes, let me know.

Other than that, stay tuned all week. In honor of Florida week, we are going to have a new post every day. Try to make it through whatever you have going on this week, because it's almost time for a cocktail party.

Weakened Picks: In witch whee use homonyms

Rest assured, faithful readers, I'm not going to actually spend this entire post torturing your cranial chambers with poor spelling. If I wanted to do that, I'd go find an AOL chatroom and pretend to be a fourteen year old girl. But the significance of the LSU/UGA game coming up this weekend gives me ample opportunity to shed some rage on one of the little things that irritate me in college football. There's USC's constant ego-stroking, Notre Dame perennially obtaining high rankings in the BCS, Hawai'i in general, and LSU considering themselves witty, trendy, and off-the-beaten-bath by spelling the timeless, classic cheer "Go" with their own "Cajun Spice." From this point, I will now refer to my weekday activities as "Gawin' to clahss." And I'll call it "Southern Bostonian" and you will all hate me.

I didn't make picks last week, and probably for good reason, as I would have had a spectacularly incorrect day again. I think I'm going to keep picking Missouri to win every week, and

eventually I'm going to get it right. Or maybe I should just keep picking USC to win, as my favor links in with the death touch. Regardless, I should at least be able to match the record put forth by Lou Holtz and Mark May last week on ESPN, where Holtz went 0-5 and May went 2-3.

Georgia at LSU

I want to be trendy and pick against my hometown team. Really, I do. We could have a column about questionable decision making, about the lack of a statement game, and the rash of injuries. We could talk about preseason expectations being shattered by that devastating loss against the first true opponent we've faced all year. And if I kept my terms concise enough...You would have no idea which of the two teams I was talking about. LSU is a mirror image of Georgia this year, only where Georgia excels in the players at skill positions, LSU excels at getting big bayou boys to beef up the offensive line. Because of that, I'm not counting on a whole lot of production from the hopefully-healthy Knowshon Moreno, but am cautiously optimistic about an improving offensive line. If anybody read my weekend notes (Probably Not), very few people realize that Vanderbilt led the SEC in sacks coming into Athens. With Francois still probably not at 100%, hopefully Clint Boling and the rag-tag group we call an offensive line can at least hold their own for those fade routes to the returning Kris Durham, and hopefully LSU's shaky quarterback situation won't take advantage of the 15 yard cushion allowed to all of his wide receivers.

(PS, for those of you who refuse to hold coaching accountable for mistakes, you're insinuating that we have a lack of talent in our players, so shut up, you know nothing about football. See, I can play that game too)

Petty squabbling aside, the line for this game is set to favor LSU by 2.5, meaning that they anticipate that Georgia has better players, but the home field advantage of LSU is just enough to overcome. However, my faith in Mark Richt's ability to prepare his team on the road inclines me to reverse that spread, giving Georgia a 28-24 victory.

Penn State at Ohio State

Meanwhile, in Bizarro America, I find myself forced to cheer for Ohio State. The team whose rankings I have bemoaned for years upon years, the only team who rivals Oklahoma for choking in big games is the team that is going to have to pull one out for the BCS to fall into place. Ohio State looked strong to start off the season, then lost Beanie Wells. They looked awful without him, but only managed to lose one game. Now he's back, and Tressel actually looks relatively smart for not getting an itchy trigger finger on his return, because now they're one of seemingly sixteen one loss teams with a decent shot at the championship.

Penn State, on the other hand, has done nothing but blow out every single opponent they played, looking invincible...Until last week against Michigan, of all teams. Fortunately, the hole they dug out of was shallower than Georgia's against Alabama, and they were able to take a sizable lead by the end of the game. That first half performance, however, proved that they're not the dominant team I imagined them to be. In a game too close to call, I'm going to give it to the home team at 35 - 30, because Ohio State was ranked high preseason for some reason.

Virginia at Georgia Tech

Virginia, despite singlehandedly establishing USC's claim to dominance in week one, and allowing the Blue Devils to look like a coherent football team in week four, has a record that could qualify as "piddling." Fortunately for the Cavaliers, the entire ACC could be considered "piddling." Unfortuantely, Al Groh is their head coach, and really has very little idea what he is doing. If you haven't visited http://www.dontfirealgroh.com/ then you're missing out on a real treat. Jason Butt of the Red and Black seems to think Georgia Tech is legitimate competition and should be a game that Georgia fans have reason to be concerned about. Based on my opinion of the Red and Black, the score of this game should be Georgia Tech -13, Virginia -24. I'm not sure what it corresponds to on the scoreboard, but statistically it matches up with the ratings they'll get, as well as the number of fans they drew for the last two ACC Championship games.

God, I used two image macros in this post. I feel too dirty to continue with paragraphs. Look for the Michael Turner to have an effective game against Philadelphia, but for the first time it won't be enough for the Falcons, who should go down 28-14 to the high-powered Eagles Offense. On paper, Matt Garza and Jamie Moyer is a mismatch, for good reason. Rays win game three by at least three runs, and go on to win the series 4-2. Tampa Bay should pull off the quasi-upset of the Dallas Cowboys, as their staunch run defense should be all they need with Tony Romo either out or ineffective without his pinky. And finally, look for the Hawks to open up this Wednesday with a win at Orlando, even though Dwight Howard should have been a Hawks. And I cry myself to sleep thinking about a team with Chris Paul, Josh Smith, and Dwight Howard.

And they lived happily ever after.

Weekend Picks: Geauxin' to the Bayou Edition

Last night, I got to try out my Halloween costume a little early for a costume party downtown. I went as a blind ref (redundancy anyone?), complete with a cane. The problem was, the sunglasses I used for my costume literally made me blind. Therefore, I actually needed the cane to walk around the bar. However, I still feel I could have called a more accurate game than Penn Wagers.

Speaking of wagers, here's some picks you can bet on (great transition!).

Georgia heads to Baton Rouge to take on the Bayou Bengals in what is pretty much an elimination game in the SEC title chase. The Dawgs' biggest weakness is the o-line and the Tigers have a pack of genetic freaks playing on their defensive line. If Kirstan Pittman, Tyson Jackson and Ricky Jean-Francoise get loose, Matthew Stafford might want to invest in life insurance.

The Dawgs will probably try to use a lot of misdirection, screens and draws to keep the hungry animals off balance. If they can force the Tigers to play less agressive and dial down the blitzes, Stafford should be able to locate Mo Mass and AJ Green downfield on what has been a suspect LSU secondary.

Meanwhile, no word on whether or not Georgia has enough linebackers to play the game. The Dawgs' linebacker corps is thin, but Rennie Curran and Darryl Gamble have been playing lights out, especially in run defense. Georgia still can't muster anything resembling a pass rush, but Jarrett Lee and Andrew Hatch shouldn't beat Georgia through the air.

Les Miles is excited about his "pistol package," in which Charles Scott, Keiland Williams and human torch Trindon Holliday in the backfield at the same time. If the Georgia defense can stop the rush like they have been, they should be able to prevent the Tigers from putting up too many points.

Of course, Tiger Stadium is no cake walk. However, the Tigers play much tougher there at night. The 3:30 start time will beneifit the Dawgs, and Mark Richt is a magician on the road. This may be wishful thinking because I want to see a one-loss Georgia team head to Jacksonville, but I see the Dawgs pulling off the mild upset.

Georgia 20-LSU 14

Oklahoma State at Texas

Mike Gundy is a man! He's 6-0. Seriously, anyone see this coming? Me neither. Things are about to get real for the Pokes. Texas is playing extremely well right now and Colt McCoy is the new leader of the Heisman pack. The game's in Austin, the Horns are on a roll, and I just can't picture Oklahoma State in the BCS top 5. On a related note, if the Pokes do pull off the upset, how far do they climb in the polls? Who do they jump?

Texas 38-OSU 24

Virginia at Georgia Tech

I apologize for giving the rest of the ACC too much credit. Apparently, none of these mediocre squads can handle the Jackets. Make no mistake, the Jackets aren't a bad team. In fact, they are a pretty good team with a great defense. That said, they wouldn't be 6-1 in the SEC, Big 12, or probably not even the Big 10. They welcome a Virginia squad that is contending for the ACC title somehow, despite being awful. I won't pick against the Jackets anymore. Not because they're that great. I just don't think anyone else they play in the ACC is any better.

Jackets 30-Cavaliers 20

Penn State at Ohio State

Another game with BCS implications. The Nittany Lions haven't really been tested all year. Ohio State will provide that test in the Horseshoe. Even though Joe Pa has about as much say in running the Nittany Lions as the Queen does in England, the folks in Happy Valley would love to see him win a title so he could mercifully retire. Terelle Pryor and the Buckeyes have been heating up recently, lending support to people who actually think the Buckeyes could deserve a spot in Miami in January. As much as I enjoy the Joe Pa fairytale, these two teams are too evenly matched. Give the edge to the home team.

Ohio State 28-Penn State 24

Falcons at Eagles

Matt Ryan is the most impressive rookie in the NFL this season, that much is clear. However, winning in Philadelphia is a different animal. Brian Westbrook returns to the Eagles, giving Donovan McNabb a much needed offensive weapon. All signs point to an easy Philly victory, right? NOT so fast...

If Matt Ryan can win in Green Bay, he can win in Philly. This is a highly illogical pick. No one eve accused me of being sane.

Falcons 31-Eagles 28

That's it for the picks. However, I have great news OTR fan(s)! I'll be covering my first Georgia game of the year, as I will be heading to Red Stick along with the team. I'll be taking it in from the Tiger Stadium press box, as well as getting all sorts of quotes from players and coaches after the game. I'll be able to share those quotes with you, the loyal OTR reader(s).

Tell me what you think of the picks...please? Enjoy the great weekend of football and go Rays!

Why I love/hate fantasy sports

7 years ago, I played my first season of fantasy baseball.  I had a fairly solid draft, considering I had never played before.  Four weeks into the season, as people always do, players were dropped because of disappointing starts to the season.  One of these players was Rick Reed.  Reed, at the time considered a poor man's Greg Maddux, was a mainstay in my rotation for the entire year as he had a surprisingly effective year for the New York Mets.  The other player I picked up went on to set the major league baseball record for home runs in a single season.  This was enough for me to not only pull out the championship in my league, but I finished 10th in the world in Yahoo! Baseball.  At the time, I was 14 years old.

The point of that is not to let everyone know how awesome I was 7 years ago (though in fairness, I was pretty damn awesome).  The point of it is, fantasy sports is a crapshoot.  Yes, you can spend hours upon hours reading up on sleepers to try to keep your team competitive.  But as every fantasy pundit is aware, for every Tim Lincecum there is an Alex Gordon, or worse, a Mike Hampton.  I personally thought that Curtis Granderson and Justin Verlander were the ultimate sleepers this year, and a team that drafted nothing but Tigers would run away with the league in a landslide.  I think we all know how that worked out.

How many people across the United States drafted Tom Brady in the first round?  You know that they were pissed when he went out for the season.  Fortunately for them, that ditch is recoverable from with time, though it won't be easy.  With an entire season ahead of you, there's bound to be an emergence of Kyle Orton or a resurgence by Kurt Warner that can help you squeak into the playoffs.  What can be said, however, of the owner of a player (We can use Reggie Bush 2007 for example) who is reliable all year, until week 14 where he is put on the shelf for the season.  Do you take a gamble on the third string New Orleans running back, as Deuce McAllister is probably hurt by this point too?  Or do you just pray that the rest of your team can pick up the slack?  Too late, the guy you're playing just picked up the starting lineup of whoever is playing the Kansas City Chiefs.  Thanks for playing; I'll collect your entrance fee now.

Apparently people consider me somewhat knowledgeable about fantasy games, and since it's now 2:45 in the morning and I have a reading quiz in 6 hours, I know that there's not going to be a good opportunity for sleep in the near future.  So instead, I think I'll share with you some of my patented "Rules for fantasy sports success"

1)  You don't know anything.  If you look through the columnists on Yahoo!, you'll see a lot of recommendations.  Brad Evans, who recommends individual players, has about a 50% success rate for boom/bust potential.  Brandon Funston continuously remarks how poorly his draft went, and laments his 8th place standing.  These are people who get paid to analyze fantasy sports.  If they're struggling despite their expertise, what makes you think that you're a savant?  Read the opinions of other people, and if it makes sense to you, follow their recommendations.  If it doesn't, then make your own decisions.  You don't know more than them, but they don't know more than you.

2)  Stay active.  Statistically, 30-40% of all people who join a fantasy league grow bored with it by the fourth week.  This number jumps to about 60% if you're playing in a league that has daily changes.  This means your opponents will be littered with bye weeks and off days.  By staying active, you maintain the ability to win counting stats by accumulating sheer numbers.  And if you can't stay active...Then why did you sign up in the first place?

3)  Fantasy championships are not determined by who you draft in the first round.  Sure, you can get a slight edge by drafting Alex Rodriguez over Miguel Cabrera, but that's not what's going to tilt the scales at the end.  Rather, it was your ability to draft Tim Lincecum in round 12 or to be the first person to roll the dice on Cliff Lee. It's all about the value.  This also ties in with week 2.

4)  There is no number 4.  You can read pages of recommendations, analyze statistics, and make decisions based on matchups.  This can certainly prepare you, but nothing in the world can tell you that Brian Westbrook is going to sit down on the 1 yard line to run down the clock, or that Lance Berkman is going to finish championship week batting 3 for 28.  So relax.  Draft the players you like.  That way, if you succeed, it's so much more satisfying.  If you win, congratulations.  Everyone can look at your profile and be awestruck by the shiny internet trophy.  If you can't win, like Adam, there are other shiny internet trophies for correctly picking football games, and who's to say which is more significant?  If you're JB, then you probably don't have any trophies, but I'd like to give you a nice shiny smilie face sticker for the "most forced puns relating to T-Pain" award.

On a mostly unrelated topic, I know the general populace is clamoring to know my reaction to the Georgia/Vanderbilt game.  So since lists are trendy right now, I'll break it down in some bullet points.

• Vanderbilt came into Athens leading the SEC in sacks, and did not touch Stafford once.  I can only think of one time where he was significantly hurried, so kudos to the offensive line for seemingly improving.  This weekend against LSU will be a huge test, so I'm interested/scared to see how LSU treats them.
• Vanderbilt also averaged only 80 yards passing a game, and Mackenzi Adams surpassed that by 40 yards.  While I fully endorse making the Tigers beat Georgia through the pass, the vulnerability of Bryan Evans was disgusting.  Hopefully this will not be an issue in the future.  I have complete faith in our rush defense, good faith in Rashad Jones's ability to knock people out, and moderate faith in Asher Allen's ability to cover people.  I think this leaves a large hole on the deep right side of the field, and Vince Vance is probably a better option than Evans at this point.
• If Georgia could ever get a week that Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno were on at the same time, I don't think anybody would be requesting a statement game anymore.
• Why does nobody else think that Shaun Chapas should get some reps at tight end?  He can  block and catch short passes.  Bruce Figgins hardly had any routes this past week, and gave up on them all despite being wide open, because everyone knew that Stafford was going to A.J., who was promptly double covered.   There's nothing wrong with spreading the field.
• The game as a whole was rather lackluster, and the performance spread to everybody's favorite Vanderbilt alumni (Quick, name one without cheating), Jay Cutler, who inspired this blog post with his 9 point outing, awarding me my first loss.  Fortunately, fellow alumni David Price did not seem to have the same problem in baseball, making J.D. Drew look foolish.
• And I'll wrap this up because I'm precipitously falling off topic:  Thank you, Pete Van Weiren, for your years of service as a Braves broadcaster.  Your retirement capped a year of disappointment for Braves fans, and I can only hope that your replacement is more competent than Chip Caray, the least talented of the Caray family.  Here's to the Braves rebuilding their announcing crew around the Boog, who is a baseball geek and not a stuffed shirt.

Monday Night Hangover: Pong Dynasty Edition

Looking back, the joy I experienced during the dominating beer-pong performance Lav and I put on Saturday night was a little over the top. A little out of place. OK, a little sad.

But anyone who was there saw two pong athletes playing on pure heart and determination. Someday, Disney will make a movie about it, and I will be played by Denzel Washington. Sorry to those victims that we owned. Say your prayers, drink your milk, and take your vitamins, and you can grow up to be just like us.

Apparently, there were actually other sporting events going on this weekend besides pong-fest 2008. First and foremost, Georgia proved me to be right once again.

Yes, Georgia is at least 20 points bettert than Vanderbilt. No, they didn't play like it. There is no reason Mackenzi Adams should be under center with two minutes left in the game and a chance to tie the game in Sanford Stadium. Make no mistake, Vanderbilt is a decent football team and is pretty good at what they do. But this Georgia team was a preseason number 1, and many people still think they have the ability to get back to the top. That's impossible if the things I saw Saturday keep persisting:

-Matthew Stafford threw a couple more to the wrong team. The first pick was just awful. Mo Mass was doing jumping jacks by himself in the endzone and Stafford just didn't get it there. Granted, Stafford hasn't cost the Dawgs a game this year and he has been playing very well, but two picks like that are going to be a lot more costly in the bourbon-flavored Hell the Dawgs are going to see in Baton Rouge.

-Bryan Evans belongs on JV. Seriously, I'm not basing this off one game. Everyone has a bad game, and the two TDs Evans got torched on by Vanderbilt's Jamie Graham were both great catches on well-thrown balls. Evans has an uncanny knack for not turning his head to find the ball. Therefore, it seems as if he's just hoping the quarterback accidentally hits him in the back. On the second TD, Evans even attempted to commit pass interference to prevent the score, but he wasn't even close enough to hit Graham. I don't know how to fix this situation. Vance Cuff played solid, so maybe he needs to move to the nickel spot.

-Blair Walsh missed two "gimmes. A nice crisp Autumn afternoon against Vanderbilt Between the Hedges should be the opportune time to make field goals. This coming Saturday in Death Valley...not so much. Add Walsh's misses to the board and the Dawgs win by 13. Not exactly dominating, but it would have been better.

-Defensive backs develop Chandleritis. Reshad Jones and Darius Dewberry contributed two picks to the Georgia defensive effort. There should have been several more. Asher Allen dropped at least two, Cuff got hit directly in the stomach on another drop. Just a word of advice: if Jarrett Lee or Tim Tebow throws one that you can get your hands on in the next two weeks, go ahead and catch it. You're going to need all of the help you can get.

-Is it me, or does it seem like the Dawgs give up a score right before halftime almost every game? I have no stats to back this up (just like most of my opinions), but it just seems that Georgia will have plenty of momentum and then drop into that mind-numbing prevent defense to allow the other team to march down the field and at least get a field goal. This happened again Saturday (aided by a couple pass interference calls). That's going to need to stop or they're going to be Tiger Bait.

-Not sure where this fits, but kudos to the ancient UGA cheerleaders in attendance for Homecoming. Such brilliant cheers as "get the ball, get the ball, get the damn ball," inspired the masses into a frenzy. Well, not really. But it was entertaining. The dude that plays the trumpet defintiely had a blue pill party with a couple of those other old cheerleaders.

Ok, with all that being said, Georgia won the game. They're still 6-1. Knowshon Moreno ran for 171 yards. AJ Green is very, very good. A couple of his catches were unbelievable. The rush defense was again stingy. Georgia still have the ability to win the East. Luckily for the Dawgs, the LSU game will be at 3:30 and the Crazy Cajuns won't be at full drunken ferocity. The Dawgs will be without defensive tackle Brandon Wood, who was arrested for DUI in Athens on Saturday. Obviously, Wood was meeting our arrest quota for the month. Gotta have something to take fans' minds off of how lackluster this team is.

Ref lays the wood

Word is, the umpire who decked South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia has fielded offers from several SEC schools for his services as a linebacker. If you haven't seen the video, you need to. I've seen officials get caught in the line of fire, but this guy locked in on Garcia, moved his feet, and then lowered his shoulder to knock Garcia to the turf. It was a nice hit, although I doubt the LSU defense needed any help. Just imagine how devestating NFL ref Ed Hochuli would be if he got to go against mere college athletes. His biceps would send several scholar athletes to the ER.

Rays avoid collapse

I sit corrected. I thought there was no chance that the Rays would recover from the psychological beating the Sox gave them with their comeback in in Game 5. I didn't count on Matt Garza morphing into Jack Morris. Garza tossed a gem and the Rays got to John Lester to advance to the World Series for the first time ever. The face a well-rested Phillies team, but these Rays just seem like a team of destiny.

Pray for me OTR fans. My weekend itinerary is as follows:

-Clarke Central football coach Leroy Ryals has called a "media day" tomorrow in anticipation of the Gladiators' upcoming game with rival Cedar Shoals. As I am writing a preview on the game, I get to attend. I am sure I'll be fighting Pat Forde and Stewart Mandel for face time with Ryals during the press conference. Ryals must have got his "low profile" the coach he used to work for....Nick Saban.

-Attend the last race of a cross country meet on Thursday to interview the winner, likely to be a 76-pound kid who barely speaks.

-On Friday, I am either covering a high school game between a terrible team and a great team (Rabun Co. at Jefferson) or two bad teams (East Jackson at North Oconee). I'm not sure which one sounds more appealing.

-After that, and after we churn out Friday's edition of the sports section in the office, I will immediately begin the long trip to Baton Rouge. Two coworkers and I will head to Birmingham, where we will "sleep for a few hours." We will then head to Baton Rouge, cover the game, and spend the night in New Orleans. I hope Lil Wayne is somehow involved.

Stay tuned for a much more coherent effort from Bill sometime this week. I feel like I'm off my game. Night!

Weekend Picks: Down in Flames Edition

So Thanksgiving at the Bowden household got a lot more interesting this year. After Tommy Bowden and Clemson "mutually agreed to part ways," his brother and former Auburn head coach Tommy offered an astounding vote of confidence.

"He deserved it because he, of all people, knew what to expect when he got into this business," Terry said. "Clemson expects to win a conference championship every once in a while--and they should. After 10 years of falling short, they deserve the right to try and find a coach they believe can get them there."

Thanks, bro! I mean, what Tommy said is absolutely right, but that's just cold. Imagine what's going to happen when Terry asks Tommy to pass the stuffing on Turkey Day...

Terry: Hey Tommy, how about some stuffing?
(Tommy dumps large bowl of stuffing on Terry's head)
Tommy: Didn't someone at this table recently say something about getting what they deserved? This is all Cullen Harper's fault...

Speaking off people with stuffing on their head, how about those Tampa Bay Rays? I know, most of their team was in diapers the last time the Red Sox came back from a seemingly unsurmountable deficit in the ALCS (oh, that happened two years ago? Nevermind!). Seriously, if you blow a seven-run lead to the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS when you're two innings away from putting them away, you deserve whatever horrific fate awaits you.

Personally, I think Josh Beckett tosses a gem tonight and the when the World Series starts next week, it will start in Boston. I mean, a team that has as much "postseason mojo" as the Sox doesn't need any help. Luckily, the upstart Rays just sealed their own doom. It was a good run while it lasted!

Ok, on to the gridiron where there is a somewhat interesting weekend ahead of us.

Vanderbilt at No. 10 Georgia

Before I start talking about the game, I've got great news! Apparently, Georgia commit Aaron Murray of Plant High School in Tampa, FL is getting into the Bulldog spirit before he even gets to campus. Murray, MVP of the presigious Elite 11 quarterback camp, broke his leg, effectively ending his high-school career. I'm sure Murray will be back to normal by the time he arrives in Athens, but it's good to know he's already getting plenty of experience with debilitating, season-ending injuries. Hey, how about we move him to left tackle?

And now, on to the game.

Is there any team more unifitted for their record than Vanderbilt? The Commodores are hovering somewhere around last int he country in offense. While their defense is solid, they haven't proved it against a dymanic offense all year. Honestly, Oconee County High School's defense could have stifled the now defunct Auburn "spread Eagle" offense.

SI.com's Stewart Mandel angered some Georgia fans this week when he mentioned that no one complains more about polls than Georgia fans. Seems like an accurate statement to me. Maybe if the Dawgs actually put together a relatively clean effort against a team they should beat (two red-zone turnovers against UT is awful), the pollsters will reward them. Vandy has played their best football of the past two years against Georgia. Or maybe Georgia has just saved their worst for the Dores. Either way, I see this being another "if this, or that didn't happen, we would have killed them" game for the Bulldogs. Georgia will physically and statistically dominate the Dores, but somehow find a way to make it close. Oh well. A win is a win.

Georgia 24-Vandy 20

Georgia Tech @ Clemson

Whew! Finally a break from that Jacksonville St. and Gardner-Webb stretch of the schedule. The Mustard Jackets head to Clemson to take on a coachless team with a new quarterback. No-brainer?

Not exactly. While any win over Gardner-Webb is impressive, Tech's 10-7 affair last Saturday was a little on the close side. While I didn't see the game (darn those non-televised affairs), I heard the Jackets' o-line was terrible. Gardner-Webb's defense will expose even the most seasoned of o-lines, but that should be a concern for the Jackets when they face an actual Division-1 team. Clemson should be a little fired up, given all that's gone on. I know, the Jackets claim they're headed for 11-1. Not so fast.

Clemson 17-Georgia Tech 13

No. 11 Missouri at No. 1 Texas

The Horns have a shiny new top ranking, and they're about to give it away...that's what most of the experts seem to think anyway. Apparently, the chip on Missouri's shoulder after their loss to the fighting Mike Gundys last week will carry them to a victory. But Texas, playing at home with as the top-ranked team in the country isn't going to give up the top spot just yet. Colt McCoy will complete approximately 95 % of his passes and the Horns will win another shootout.

Texas 38-Mizzou 31

LSU at South Carolina

Again, it seems as if everyone is picking the Cocks to win this one. Why? LSU's defense wasn't "exposed" last week. Florida's offense is just very good. South Carolina still has serious issues on offense. The Tigers are going to be more than a little pissed, and they're taking it out on Spurrier.

LSU 24-South Carolina 10

It's been a very long day, and actually a very long week. Therefore, that's all the picks for today. Let me know what you think. Remember, you forfeit the right to talk trash about my picks unless you tell me what yours here. Be sure to pick up your discounted Rays World Series merchandise before it's all donated to the homeless!

Part Two: The Prognosis

So after a week of contemplation, frustration, and an obscenely large amount of Biochemistry, I've returned with the "Chinese Democracy" of blog posts, Part Two:  The Prognosis.

The Braves left standing at the end of 2008 were not a good baseball team.  They didn't have good pitching, rarely had good hitting, and were terrible in the clutch.  Frank Wren has every opportunity to try to correct things this offseason, with reportedly about 45 million dollars to spend on new players.  I feel there are two different routes he could go with this, but neither one involves any of the big free agents this offseason.

Option one begins with Jake Peavy.  Peavy, as you may have heard, is being cautiously shopped by the penny-pinching Padres.  While this is absurd for a number of reasons, I don't feel bad at all for capitalizing on it.  Not after witnessing the travesty that was Kevin Millwood for Johnny Estrada.  Peavy is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, still a young player, and cost-controlled for four years at below-market cost.  That makes him the only player who I'd feel comfortable dipping into the Braves elite-prospect level.  I'd wonder if an offer of Tommy Hanson, Kelly Johnson, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Brandon Jones would entice them.  An elite pitching prospect, one of the best second basemen in the majors, and two major league ready prospects with potential seems to be a good deal.  While it's certainly not Charles Thomas, Juan Cruz, and Dan Meyer for Tim Hudson (and we shouldn't expect this anymore), the deal tops the one the Twins received for Johan Santana, factoring in the below market contract Peavy is extended to.  If the Braves are truly ready to retool, a true Ace is the foremost need, and makes all the difference in the route the Braves take.

Assuming that deal (or one similar to it) is enough to get Peavy, the team still has about 40 million to play with, and still needs more pitching.  Sabathia, Sheets, and Derek Lowe are all good to great pitchers, but I'm not looking at any of them.  The first two terrify me for injury reasons, and I just don't think Derek Lowe will be worth it at the end of his contract.  Rather, I look at someone who has not been talked about nearly enough in Oliver Perez. 

Any Braves fan over the past few years should know Perez quite well, as he as simply owned the Braves since moving in from the Pirates.  My reasoning for acquiring him is threefold:  Foremost, obviously, is that he's a young, talented pitcher.  He's not consistent at all, but his first year with Rick Peterson helped him tremendously, and I feel that a year with Roger McDowell could do the same.  Secondly, Perez is coming off a down year.  He's still going to be expensive, but comparatively cheap to other pitchers of his caliber.  2007 Oliver Perez  would have probably made about 4 million dollars more a year in free agency than Oliver Perez present, and  2009 Oliver Perez has the potential to do the same.  Atlanta should capitalize on this one year advantage. Finally, it would be worth it to sign Perez just so Atlanta doesn't have the guaranteed losses against the Mets that I've come to expect.  I honestly have no idea what he's expected to sign for, but I'd be willing to put a rough offer of 14 million a year over 4 years.  That's less than Andy Pettitte got from the Yanks last year, but more than any other free agent pitcher over the last couple of years.  It's a very risky proposition, but Atlanta has to take risks given their current state.

Finally, to round out the rotation, I'm going to make a very unpopular move and resign Mike Hampton to a two year, incentive laden contract that starts at about 5 million a year.  I like Hampton, and even though I'm begging for criticism here, I believe that he's finally healthy.  Imagine how irritated as a Braves fan you would be if Hampton went on to succeed next year after the Braves wasted some 80 million dollars on him.  He's getting older, but I think that he could succeed in the fourth starter role, which is what we're looking at him for.

This provides the Braves rotation with a starting five of Peavy, Perez, Jurrjens, Hampton, and Jorge Campillo.  If either John Smoltz or Tim Hudson is able to return around the all-star break, they can replace the inevitable occurence of a Hampton injury or a Campillo regression, and make the Braves rotation as scary as it used to be.

The acquisition of Peavy and Perez and the retaining of Hampton should give the Braves about 25 million left to work with on offense.  Unfortunately, the free agent class for offense is stunningly weak.  With the Braves needing offense from the outfield primarily, and possibly a replacement for Johnson at second, the attractive options are Pat Burrell, Adam Dunn, Milton Bradley, Manny Ramirez, Bobby Abreu, Rocco Baldelli, and Raul Ibañez.

Dunn and Burrell are intriguing, of course, but Atlanta would lead the world in strikeouts between one of them and Francoeur.  Bradley and Ramirez are talented, but I can't imagine Bobby Cox allowing either of their egos in the Braves locker room.  I think a short term contract for Bobby Abreu would be wonderful, but his name is going to outweigh his value during his contract, and probably won't sign for less than 5 years, 60 million.  Leaving us with Baldelli and Ibañez, two options I was hoping for at the trade deadline.

Baldelli, as you may remember, came up with Carl Crawford and had everyone convinced that one day, the Rays were finally going to be good.  Unfortunately, now that the Rays are good, they have eleven outfielders and Baldelli was too injured to be one of them.  A three year, fifteen million dollar contract seems like a good starting point for him, as he has the potential to be a boom or bust signing.  More risks that Atlanta can afford to take, because with Jordan Schafer waiting in the wings, Baldelli going down could be beneficial in the long run, but I'd like to have someone who I know is major league ready to start off 2009.

Ibañez is 37 years old, but has consistently hit .295 with 20-odd home runs for the Mariners.  He made 5.5 million last year, and is probably due for a raise, but not a long term contract.  I think a 7 million, 1 year contract would be fair, 0r 2 years for 13 million.  Again, with Jason Heyward waiting in the wings, all Atlanta needs is a serviceable stopgap.

With 13 million left to spend, the Braves could make a run at Rafael Furcal as Dave O'Brien had suggested early in the year, but I'd just assume let Martin Prado man the second base job.  He's not going to hit 320 again, but should at least be serviceable at second base.  A lineup of Baldelli/ Escobar/ Jones/ McCann/ Ibañez/ Kotchman/ Prado/ Francoeur will not only score some runs, but will allow Bobby Cox to play the run-manufacturing game that he loves to play so much, with a lot of slap-hitters surrounding Jones and McCann.

Of course, Jake Peavy might not actually be available, or this offseason might be one of the absurd ones where everyone signs for 20 million dollar contracts.  If that happens, the Braves should do the exact opposite of everything I wrote above:  Stand pat.  Yes, they have 45 million dollars to play with, but there is no use in spending for spendings sake.  For the sake of argument, take a look at some of the big names in the 2009 free agent class:  Mark DeRosa, Placido Polanco, Brian Roberts, Miguel Tejada, Chone Figgins, Rick Ankiel, Jason Bay, Carl Crawford, Brian Giles, Vladimir Guerrero, Matt Holliday, Xavier Nady, Jason Werth, Josh Beckett, Erik Bedard, Justin Duchescherer, Kelvim Escobar, Rich Harden, John Lackey, Cliff Lee, Brett Myers, and Brandon Webb.  It will be a buyers market, and a prime time to have a boatload of cap space.

For 2008, Atlanta can attempt the path of the 2008 Marlins and let the kids play.  We don't know if Jordan Schafer and Gorkys Hernandez are ready, but it would be worth trying them out.  Jurrjens, Campillo, Reyes, Morton, and James is not a fearsome rotation, but they could surprise by the end of the year.  What's the worst case scenario, the Braves lose a lot?  That's probably going to be the outcome of 2009 anyways, why not just take the better draft pick?  If the team truly does suck, then Atlanta will know exactly where it stands for 2010, making the free agent class all the more promising.

I might be crazy.  Ten years of watching the Hawks be awful followed by slight success this year may have tainted my mindset towards accepting losing.  However, I believe that the Braves have too many holes to fill through free agency this year, but the acquisition of Peavy would change that entirely.  The verdict on Frank Wren is yet to be determined, but he needs to decide right now if he's going to make a splash in free agency or a ripple, because there's no room for hesitation if the Braves want to succeed.

The Weekend Hangover: Orange Unemployment Edition

Just scrolling through the "Help Wanted" sites on the interwebs when I came across a few attractive little openings. It appears as if medical equipment salesmen are in high demand. As are construction workers, road cleanup crews, and Home Depot forklift drivers! So chin up Phil Fulmer and Tommy Bowden!

Clemson initiated its own version of a bailout plan earlier today, while similar action could be expected out of Knoxville any day now. It's hard to say which orange-clad football team has been more nauseating this year, but we'll start with Clemson.

How does a team returning that much offensive skill start the season 3-3...in the ACC? Clemson was pegged by most as the team to beat in the ACC (similar to being the most sober person at a NASCAR race). They returned two potential NFLers in James Davis and CJ Spiller, a quarterback on the rise in Cullen Harper, and a dangerous receiver in Aaron Kelly. Yet, they got demolished by Alabama, embarrassed by Maryland, and finally beaten in an uninspiring pillow fight with Wake Forest.

Bowden has long been the epitome of underachievment, and the only real shocker here is that this didn't happen sooner. Now, the Tigers hope to salvage anything from this season, starting when Georgia Tech comes to visit Death Valley on Saturday (more on the Jackets later). The Tigers also have to start thinking about a coach (Skip Holtz anyone?). Needless to say, Auburn-with-a-lake is in serious trouble (coincidentally, more on Auburn later as well).

Tennessee continues to look worse each week. Georgia played its typical brand of undisciplined, unopportunistic football yet still dominated the Vols. Arian Foster truely was living in the land of the lost, going from speaking pterodactyl to becoming virtually invisible on the field (3 carries). The Vols, known in the past for backs like Jamal Lewis, netted one rushing yard. Of course, in college football there will be down years. But you have to be higher than rocky top to think something is wrong when an SEC power plays the way the Vols have this year. They have no leadership, according to Fulmer. Fine, but that's when a good coach steps in and creates leadership. Either that, or Fulmer should at least shoulder some blame for not developing any players into leaders. Tennessee fans have already had little patience for the Great Pumpkin, and a 2-4 start means things will have to get better quick if Fulmer wants to keep his job.

LSU Gets Tebowed

Tim Tebow and that team he plays for looked nothing short of scary on Saturday night. Sure, Tebow Almighty threw for just 210 yards (we all know he was simply toying with the infidel Tigers). But, and this isn't a misprint, the Gators ran for 265 yards. Now, before everyone goes and ordains the Gators as the best thing since...the Gators of two years ago...think about the circumstances. Teams have stopped the Gators all year by locking in on Tebow and knocking him senseless. Les Miles' defense was geared up to do the same thing. St. Urban pulled a fast one on him. Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey ran wild, giving Tebow all the room he needed to operate. There's no way the Gators are as good as they showed Saturday, but they definitely aren't as bad as they showed against Ole Miss. Unfortunately, it seems as if being somewhere in the middle of those two performances will be good enough to win the East.

Auburn is terrible

No other headline is needed. Auburn lost to Arkansas. They fired Tony Franklin and hey, the offense actually scored more than 20 points. The defense proceeded to give up 25 to one of the worst teams in recent SEC history. Maybe Tuberville should just switch jobs with Bowden. Neither coach would have to worry about selling all of their eye-pleasing orange merchandise. In fact, I'm not sure either fanbase would notice a change had been made.

I don't even know what to say about the Tigers, other than bowl eligibilty is not a foregone conclusion. That being said, their current state of affairs sets up what could be one of the more hilarious situations in sports this year. Just think about the absolutel bloodbath that would occur in Tuscaloosa if Saban can't beat Auburn this year. Despite the Tide's surge of momentum, he could be on the hot seat immediately if they lose to this horrible Auburn team. Imagine Tubs smirking away as the seconds tick off yet another win for the Tigers.

Jackets edge Bulldogs

Haha not those Bulldogs silly! It's not April Fools quite yet! No, I'm referring to those lovable, less talented Bulldogs from Gardner-Webb of course. Shame on me for predicting the Jackets to win by 300 points. Admittedly, I hadn't done much research on that one. Rest assured, if I had known the Bulldogs had just marched into Clarksville, TN and pounded Austin Peay 31-15 earlier in the season, I would have given the diminuative team that is looking for its first Big South win a little more credit.

Seriously Tech fans, I drank the koolaid. I've seen teams "not show up" against lesser conference teams (Georgia-Vandy in 06), but Tech should have been able to beat Gardner-Webb by 20 with a Cinco-de-Mayo version of Joe Hamilton at quarterback. As lackluster as Georgia has looked this year, I'm sure they would have handled Gardner-Webb by at least 20 with Logan Gray under center. To paraphrase the numerous Tech fans I heard after Georgia's loss to Alabama, "hahaha still want to complain about rankings? Overrated rednecks..." and then some stuff about flipping burgers. Translation: not ready for the Top-25 yet Jackets. Of course, a win over a hapless and coachless Clemson team could always sway the pollsters!

Falcons give game away, steal it back

When Jason Elam missed that field goal late in the fourth quarter, every Falcons fan with sanity knew it was over. Luckily, these aren't Bobby Petrino's birds. Atlanta used a magnificent performance from Matty Ice to come back and beat the Bears, prompting Pesci to burst through my front door and scream explitives, not knowing my roommate's parents and grandmother were also watching the game at my place. Awkward.

Now of course, the Falcons could very easily go out and lay an egg on our newfound confidence next week. But for one weekend, it actually feels good to be a Falcons fan. I will embrace it by doing the Dirty Bird spontaneously throughout the week.

I'm sure there's more to talk about from this weekend, but my eyes hurt and I still have to finish two questions from the "takehome test from Hell." Let me know what I missed, as well as your thoughts on anything from terrible SEC teams to probably terrible NFL squads.

Well, at least I got the important game right.

It's been quite the weekend for football.  In the NCAA, the #1,3, and 4 team all lost, and in the NFL both the Falcons and Rams actually won.  What we can take away from all this, of course, is that I absolutely suck at making predictions. Fortunately, the one game that I have picked correctly is the only one that I particularly care about, with Georgia's uninspiring victory against the Volunteers last night.  This is quite fortunate, as for the past three years I've bantered with a friend of mine who goes to Tennessee, and for the past two I've looked ridiculous.  All I would say this year is that "I refuse to talk trash until after the game is over.  That said, if we lose, I may just kill myself."  As you all are painfully aware, I am still here.

As great as it was to finally stick it to The Great Pumpkin and his roadside cleanup crew, the victory was quite underwhelming.  Perhaps it was because everyone was anticipating stomping Tennessee like they've stomped us for the past two years, or maybe because Florida put forth a much more dominating performance against a more impressive team.  What I can at least take solace in, however, is that the team does look to have addressed a number of their weaknesses.

The Good

Blair Walsh has continued his steady improvement.  Of his six kickoffs this week, three of them went into the end zone (two for touchbacks)and one was a squib kick that was executed capably.  The other two, unfortunately, were pretty ugly.  While they were both ultimately inconsequential, the second was infuriating as it would have earned a kickoff penalty were it not for the natural intelligence of the Tennessee return man, reaching out of bounds to grab the ball, in turn getting tackled at about the 12.  Walsh was also 4 for 4 on Field Goals, setting a career high in points.

Prince Miller appears to have locked up the leading spot for kick returns..  After his controversial TD return from two weeks ago, Miller again looked solid, averaging 21 yards a return.  In contrast, Richard Samuel muffed a punt and was almost tackled for a safety, and Logan Gray continues to have fans wonder why we have our backup QB in a position where he is guaranteed to be hit hard on every play. 

Matthew Stafford continues to shed the label of "erratic passer" that has been grafted onto him for the past two years, completing almost 70% of his passes for a career high 310 yards.  While he did throw two picks, neither of which can be attributed to bad aim or poor judgment.  The first was on a screen pass that Robert Ayers read perfectly and ran untouched to intercept, and the second was the only time in the game where I was angry rather than frustrated.  Running what appeared to be their eighth consecutive fade route in the end zone, Michael Moore bumped into Eric Berry at the goal line and stopped running his pattern.  Berry continued running the fade and was rewarded with an interception that set the Tennessee record for career interception yardage.  Only an entertaining tackle from Stafford just shy of the 50 yard line saved the Bulldogs from an unfortunate touchdown.

Mohamed Massaquoi continues to be the team's go-to receiver, despite not getting the press of A.J. Green.  After being laid out by Demetrice Morley late in the second quarter, Massaquoi returned later in the drive to catch a 9 yard touchdown pass, and ended with a total of 103.  Massaquoi is one of my favorite players, as he is one of the only wide receivers to play at Georgia who has shown steady improvement over the years.  While some, such as Reggie Brown and Sean Bailey, come in highly touted and contribute immediately, few have actually shown marked improvement and become the dominant threat in a game.  Perhaps it's because MoMass and Stafford have had three years to develop a rapport, but watching the development from a hyped prospect with a bad case of the dropsies to a #1 receiver has been a joy to watch.

Brannan Southerland was back, and scored a touchdown on his first run.  As I said after Alabama, having the SEC's best blocker returning to the FB position is a boon to the much-maligned offensive line, and his presence may have been the reason for Stafford's career high night.  Southerland should also become a factor in the short-yardage passing game (as you may remember from last year's Auburn game), which should take some of the pressure off of the Tight End position.

Shaun Chapas, the true love of Ryan Lavner, co-writer of Two Guys, One Blog, also contributed heavily in the Georgia victory.  While I expected him to be relegated to the bench in favor of the better blocker, Chapas (who was suprisingly named the starter) ended the game as the Bulldogs second-leading receiver.  He amassed 64 yards, including a beautiful 37 yard reception which led to Georgia's touchdown.  While you will never see me calling for Southerland's replacement, I was impressed by Chapas today.  With Kiante Tripp probably returning to the Offensive Line, it's possible that he could get some work in at Tight End, as he knows the blocking patterns and has proven that he can catch the ball.

Mark Richt told reporters that he was going to work on penalties, and it was quite evident on Saturday.  While the team did amass 11 penalties in the game, three of them were strategy penalties, used for running down the time clock or gaining field position for a field goal.  More important, there was only one 15 yard penalty, a facemask late in the game.  It was a far cry from the sloppy play characteristic of the NCAA's most penalized school.

Finally, the Georgia run defense continues to shine.  Arian Foster, who has menaced the Bulldogs for the past two years, got three carries for three yards (As Adam was quick to point out, he was heavily penalized by the fact that there are not stats to measure the flight of pterodactyls).   The Volunteers as a whole were held to 1 yard rushing, forcing them to rely on an inexperienced quarterback who completed less than 50% of his passes.  Even with Ellerbe and Battle still out, it's important for the defense to be tested, as Florida's running game broke out against LSU, and a showdown with Jonathan Dwyer to end off the season should not be overlooked.

The Bad

Equally important to Georgia is that more flaws were exposed for them to work on.  It's important for these to become evident now, as the stretch starting in two weeks is going to define whether or not Georgia is truly a contender, and I'd prefer that any weaknesses the team has be exposed and addressed before a team has a chance to expose and exploit them.

While I hesitate to call Knoshown Moreno's performance bad, especially considering that it was his 9th 100 yard rushing game, he was not as explosive as he's been in games past.  To his credit, he was the first 100 yard rusher that Tennessee has allowed this year, and was probably still hampered by his elbow.  However, he averaged less than 4 yards per carry for the second consecutive game, and is averaging about that for SEC play overall.  Moreno is one of the better running backs in college football, but his last two games have effectively removed him from Heisman consideration.  With the staunch defenses of LSU, Auburn, and GT lurking on the horizon, it's important that Moreno stay healthy if the Bulldogs want to keep their aspirations alive.  He took himself out of the game early against Tennessee, and I would prefer he not be overworked against Vanderbilt either.  If Georgia has the lead by halftime, I would just assume they let Caleb King get some work in until the outcome becomes in question to avoid any nasty surprises.

Georgia's playcalling was again suspect this week, though more of the blame can be attributed to Mike Bobo than Willie Martinez.  Much of the game felt like a player's first game of Madden '08, with Tall Sweep and Corner fade being abused and eventually expected.  While I can appreciate Mike Bobo trying to utilize the strategy that Alabama used on us to free up the passing game, the struggles of the Red Zone offense were inexcusable for a team that still holds national championship hopes.

I like to think that Willie Martinez has rethought his in-game strategy since last week, as the Georgia secondary was not peppered by short precise passes.  I will concede that they were more vulnerable to the deep pass, as evidenced by the 60 yard reception by Denarious Moore that set up Tennessee's first touchdown.  However, I would much rather force the quarterbacks to make deep throws (especially in the case of the unproven Stephens) and be occasionally successful than to keep the defense on the field for more fifteen minute drives where they have to chase receivers from end zone to end zone on their own.

And of course, the injury bug bit Georgia again, with an undisclosed knee injury knocking out Left Tackle Vince Vance for the year.  I'm not much of a Vince Vance fan, as he is responsible for about 50% of the false start penalties charged to Georgia, but the Offensive Line could not withstand another hit.  I would imagine that Clint Boling will move back to LT for Georgia, with Kiante Tripp taking his stop on the right side, but the line will never learn the timing and cohesion that is necessary for them to be an effective unit if they keep sliding all over the place.  There are only two weeks left before they leave for Baton Rouge, so the time for them to step it up is going to be now.

Normally I would take this spot to whine about the polls coming out this week, but I know Adam is going to have a post tomorrow recapping the rest of the weekend, and I don't want to infringe on his material.  But I feel that is has to be said:  I don't know how beating Arizona State was significant for the Coaches to decide that USC was the 4th best team in the country, but I wish the Sun Devils were such a powerhouse when we played them three weeks ago.