Comments on: Bowl Game Mania

By: snarkk

snarkk — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 02:24:58 +0000

Here’s a college strength of schedule list. No clue whether this is super accurate, since they have Cal down for 2-9, when they were 3-9 (hey, a win must be counted even when it’s against an FCS POS team, ha ha). Anyway, Alabama is ranked as 6th toughest schedule, and Oregon 30th, and Kansas State 5th. All have only one loss.
http://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/ranking/strength-of-schedule-by-team

Alabama destroyed three cream puffs (final national rankings): Western Kentucky (#89) Fla Atlantic (#105), and Western Carolina (FCS dogmeat). All three they played AT HOME. Other SEC teams they played that were dogmeat this year were Arkansas (#54), Ole Miss (#28), Tennessee (#57), and Auburn (#72). No way Auburn was that high, they were horrible. That’s 7 guaranteed wins out of 12 games. Here’s Oregon’s schedule, it’s first three are against two creampuffs and Fresno State, which wasn’t bad this year. The rest of the Ducks schedule is Pac 12, including beating a very good Oregon State in Corvallis by 24, no easy feat. http://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/team/oregon-ducks.

So, the Ducks lose to Stanford (20th hardest schedule, lost TWO, ranked 11th) in OT by a FG, and that one Ducks’ loss means they’re down to the 12th ranking, and go to get some Tostitos in the Fiesta bowl against Kansas State, meanwhile Alabama also with one loss (Tex A & M, 4th hardest schedule, lost two) gets to play for the BCS title in Miami? BTW, Notre Dame’s strength of schedule is 28th, so with no losses of course it’s playing for the BCS title. It’s all horse hockey without at least an 8-team playoff…

By: snarkk

snarkk — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 01:57:48 +0000

Who took it?…

By: Macdog

Macdog — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 01:20:32 +0000

Uh-oh Flav, Rutgers is blowing it.

By: Macdog

Macdog — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 00:14:33 +0000

What’s next for O’Reilly: Killing Garfield or Killing McKinley?

By: Flavor

Flavor — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 00:13:05 +0000

absolutely. It means you’re smarter than the people who aren’t…….

By: Nipper

Nipper — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 23:31:35 +0000

Some of you guys are very erudite. Does that mean anything?

By: Nipper

Nipper — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 23:28:43 +0000

I just got back my cable, so let the noise begin!

By: eddacker

eddacker — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 23:25:56 +0000

I am in a queue for Niel Young’s book from my local library. Should be here soon. World Serious was a good read, I should give it a review soon. I like reading off the literary awards lists like Booker, Turner or Costa.

The Costa Book Awards (before 2006 known as the Whitbread Awards) are among the United Kingdom’s most prestigious literary awards. These are for 2011; 2012 winners are announced early in Feburary. A most excellent place to find excellent reading. When I am doing a lot of reading I often read several on the list. this years list is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Costa_Book_Awards

Book of the Year
Winner: Andrew Miller, Pure

Children’s Book
Winner: Moira Young, Blood Red Road

Shortlist:

Martyn Bedford, Flip
Frank Cottrell Boyce, The Unforgotten Coat
Lissa Evans Small, Change for Stuart

First Novel
Winner: Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away

Shortlist:

Kevin Barry, City of Bohane
Patrick McGuinness, The Last Hundred Days
Kerry Young, Pao

Novel
Winner: Andrew Miller, Pure

Shortlist:

Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending
John Burnside, A Summer of Drowning
Louisa Young, My Dear I Wanted to Tell You

Biography
Winner: Matthew Hollis, Now All Roads Lead to France: The Last Years of Edward Thomas

Shortlist:

Julia Blackburn, Thin Paths: Journeys In and Around an Italian Mountain Village
Patrick Cockburn & Henry Cockburn, Henry’s Demons: Living with Schizophrenia, A Father and Son’s Story
Claire Tomalin, Charles Dickens: A Life

Poetry
Winner: Carol Ann Duffy, The Bees

Shortlist:

David Harsent, Night
Jackie Kay, Fiere
Sean O’Brien, November

By: snarkk

snarkk — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 23:13:31 +0000

I have no interest in bowl games beyond the Rose and the Super. Maybe the BCS champ game, but even that is low level interest. If they had an 8-team playoff for the college championship, that would be different. I’d watch those games. IMO, a computer picking 2 teams to play for the title is ridiculous. Oregon lost one game, at home, in OT, creamed everybody else. Alabama lost once. So, Alabama gets the BCS champ game, and Oregon gets — some other bowl? Why? The top SEC teams usually play 3 dogmeat non-league teams early, plus the low-level SEC teams on their schedules generally suck. You should earn it via a playoff. How would it be if we had a computer pick the Super Bowl teams out of the division and wild card teams? Yeah, that would be fantastic. So, bowl season is just noise to me. However, I heard on the radio where USC was an hour and half or more late to a big dinner for the Sun Bowl, so the other team (don’t remember) got PO’d and LEFT the big soire before SC showed up. I guess SC isn’t too excited about playing in El Paso. That’s the most interesting nugget I’ve heard about a bowl so far…

By: Flavor

Flavor — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 22:35:46 +0000

Well I’ve got 14 parlays, UL-Monroe only knocked on of them out but it was going to be a winning 4 teamer so that hurt a little bit.