2008 college football predictions week 14

it’s only tuesday and folks are already up in arms over this weeks continuation of rivalry weekend.  only two more weeks left in the college regular season.  these games this week mean the difference between hanging out at home and getting into trouble or going out on the road to a bowl game this december or january and getting into trouble.  any more it seems like the kids are up for either.  but i digress.

last week i was 5 for 10.  a semi sorry record.  your pet chicken could probably do as well.  my over all record now stands at 72 for 130.  barely decent.  just remember that the point spread that is here is the one i go by in determining if i win or not.  the spread might change but unless its a big bounce and i notice it, what’s here is here.

also taking any of what i toss out here as sage advice is and would be insanity and stupidity at its highest level.  all that being said, let’s rock ‘n’ roll.

texas a & m at texas.  texas favored by 35 points.  a ton of points and the game is a homer for the longhorns.  that is the only reason i’m taking texas to cover.  well, that and if they don’t win and win big they get to stay home over the holidays.  take texas.

fresno st at boise st.  boise st favored by 20.5 points.  i was really looking forward to this game at the beginning of the year.  sadly fresno st has lost a good number of starters and their backups just haven’t been that good.  regular readers know that i don’t care much for boise st and their cupcake schedule.  smurf turf and all.  fresno st steps up here and covers the points.  they may not win but they will cover.  take fresno st.

maryland at boston college.  boston college favored by 7 points.  a number of things on the line in this one, kids.  boston college is finally playing some ball.  take boston college to win and cover the spread.

virgina at virgina tech.  virgina tech favored by 8 points.  take tech to win and cover.

oklahoma at oklahoma st.  oklahoma favored by 7 points.  i like oklahoma st in this one.  home game and not many points in a rivalry game that can end up anywhere.  take oklahoma st to win or cover the points.

georgia tech at georgia.  georgia favored by 8.5 points.  take georgia to win or cover.

auburn at alabama.  bama favored by 14 points.  if auburn had played up to their potential this year this game may have been a good one.  they still might this saturday but it might not matter.  take alabama to win and cover.  roll tide.

florida at florida st.  florida favored by 16.5 points.  i’m thinking florida st will make a good enough showing here to cover the points.  they may not win but they will cover the spread.

oregon at oregon st.  oregon st favored by 3.5 points.  if they game wasn’t at state it would be a toss up.  my beloved ducks need to win this civil war game and keep the beavers out of the rose bowl.  please.  this one will probably be one of the best games of turkey weekend.  count on it.  take oregon to win or cover.  GO DUCKS!!!!!

notre dame at usc.  usc favored by 30 points.  a huge point spread.  with rain comiong today and tomorrow.  a damp field come saturday?  no idea if it will be covered during the rain.  huge old time rivalry here.  though pete plays it like any other game.  trojans have had trouble with bye weeks and coming back strong.  charlie needs to make a statement here or the golden domers alumni will turn him into the next ty willingham.  pete will also be making a statement saturday.  usc wins and covers the spread.

everyone have a happy thanksgiving and enjoy the games.  just remember to leave your wallets alone and in your pocket.  taking it out and peeling off some greenbacks would be insanity at best.  don’t do it. 

jmh

do right woman

i’ve been playing some poker and listening to gram parsons.  something i do a lot of.  not playing poker but listening to gram.  today for some reason his version of the tune, ‘do right woman’, really struck a chord.  i don’t know but maybe it had to do with last nights joint freezing muscle torturing session on the couch with the brown eyed girl.  moving to a more comfortable place was brought up a few times but it never happened.  frozen joints and tortured muscles not withstanding.  it was however very cosmic in that odd geezer way.

if you’ve heard gram’s version or the flying burrito bros version of the tune before give it another listen.  if you haven’t listened to it try and find it.  i can’t find a video of it.  maybe there is one out there but i don’t know.

yes, i know there’s aretha franklin, sinead o’connor, joan baez, and a few others out there that have covered the tune.  listen to gram or maybe even emmy lou harris.
 

Do Right Woman
Words and Music by Dan Penn and Chips Moman
Take me to heart and I’ll always love you
And nobody else could make me do wrong
Take me for granted, and I’ll tag along
Makes willpower weak, and temptation’s strong

A woman’s only human
This you must understand
She’s not just a plaything
She expects love just like a man

So if you want a do right all day woman
You gotta be a do right all night man

They say that it’s a man’s world
But you can’t prove that by me
So as long as we’re together, baby
You better show some respect for me

So if you want a do right all day woman
You gotta be a do right all night man
You gotta be a do right all night man
You gotta be a do right all night man
jmh

2008 college football predictions week 13

time once again for the trip into the mystic and predict some college football outcomes for this coming week.  last week i was 5 for 10.  not to bad.  the push with the trojans helped out big time.  yeah, a push and i’m taking it as a win.  sue me.  at any rate, my over all stats are now, 67 for 120.  if i was playing baseball i’d be a shoe in for the mvp award for both leagues.

just keep in mind that taking what is dished out here as sane betting advice would be pretty damn stupid.  only a fool bets on games.  so let’s rock ‘n’ roll.

boston college at wake forest.  wake forest favored by 2 points.  boston college came through for me last week.  they are on a roll.  take boston college to win or cover the spread.

michigan at ohio st.  ohio st favored by 20.5 points.  is there any sadder program in the country than michigan at the moment?  i doubt it.  i really can’t see them stopping the coming thumping from the buckeyes.  20 plus is a bunch of points but take ohio st to win and cover. 

iowa st at kansas st.  kansas st favored by 10 points.  the cyclones play spoiler this weekend. they cover the spread and just might win.  take iowa st.

texas tech at oklahoma.  oklahoma favored by 6.5 points.  if the game wasn’t at oklahoma the spread would be much tighter.  doesn’t matter the texas tech red raiders roll on.  take texas to win and cover.  also be sure to visit: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/

michigan st at penn st.  penn st favored by 14.5 points.  the great penn st bcs debate is over after last weeks loss.  however, take penn to win and cover.

air force at tcu.  tcu favored by 18.5 points.  air force did a respectable job in losing against byu last week.  they scored some points.  tcu has defense.  i don’t care.  take the falcons to cover the spread and possibly win.  air force.

stanford at cal.  cal favored by 9 points.  cal will be lucky to come out of this one with a win.  take stanford to cover the spread.

boise st at nevada.  boise st favored by 6.  not much of a spread for the vaunted blue smurfs of idaho.  this is a tough one but I’m taking nevada to cover the spread and maybe even win.

buy at utah.  utah favored by 6.  yeah, not a miss-print either.  utah still has a shot at bcs bowl busting.  this one is also about bragging rights for the state of utah.  mormon frenzy at it’s highest.  take utah to win and cover.

oregon st at arizona.  arizona favored by 3.  i really don’t see where that is coming from.  but whatever.  arizona needs to take care of biz here.  no one wants to see penn st and oregon st in the rose bowl.  saner folks prefer the penn st and the trojans match-up.  some one please beat the beavers.  with summer still hanging around these parts, tucson will be boiling come saturday.  take arizona to win and cover.

there ya go, my lucky week 13 picks.  leave your wallet alone and nobody get hurt.  capice?  good.  now, just enjoy the games and your weekend.

jmh

a nice poem

i didn’t write the poem.  i have no idea who did.  i received it in an email mail from one of my friends.  he’s 11 years old just like me.  well, not really, but it’s the term the brown eyed girl came up with when dealing with my arrested development or something.  any the ways, you may have seen it before.  whatever.  i don’t care.

my real reason for getting you to read this blog is to hopefully get you to visit change.org and make a donation to help out some native americans who are having a very nasty early winter.  please do what you can.

http://www.change.org/ipi/projects/view/help_the_families_of_pine_ridge_reservation

 

A WOMAN’S POEM:
 
Before I lay me down to sleep, I pray for a man,
who’s not a creep,
One who’s handsome, smart, and strong.
One who loves to listen long,
One who thinks before he speaks,
One who’ll call, not wait for weeks.
I pray he’s gainfully employed,
When I spend his cash, won’t be annoyed.
Pulls out my chair and opens my door.
Massages my back and begs to do more.
Oh! Send me a man who’ll make love to my mind,
Knows what to answer to ‘how big is my behind?’
I pray that this man will love me to no end,
And always be my very best friend.
 
A MAN’S POEM:
 
I pray for a deaf-mute gymnast nymphomaniac with huge
boobs and a nice butt who owns a bar on a golf course,
and loves to send me fishing and drinking.
This doesn’t rhyme and I don’t give a shit.
 
jmh

another black day in black rock

the summer that refuses to die hangs around like the plague of the dark ages.  plus we have the added attraction of wildfires fanned by the santa ana winds wrecking havoc through out southern california.  the heart bleeds at the sight of hundreds of burned out homes from santa barbara to corona. 

resources spread to thin.  money even thinner as the once great state of chaos and confusion, california, wrestles with a huge budget deficit.  sad times for all.  even for those that don’t live here.  you have the same problem.  maybe you realize it.  maybe you don’t.  trust me you do.  point being is the dumb asses we elect to watch out for what’s best for us usually never do.

while i was on my road trip up to northern california a week or so ago i was surprised by the fact that a local municipality up there was thinking about closing a fire house.  a fire house that bordered upon a junior college.  budget troubles was the answer the local pols gave for their reasoning.  sure close up something that might just actually do everyone some good at one point or another.  particularly when the firestorm hits or some other disaster.  

folks, don’t let the ass holes close fire houses, cop sub-stations, or anything else that might come in handy when the whip comes down.  because eventually the whip will come down.  hard.  and the piper will need to be paid.  yes, there’s only so much they can do.  but putting less of them out on the streets is utter stupidity. 

trust me on this.  it will come up wherever you live.  they will say money is tight and times are hard.  close a fire house or two or three or more.  just say no to them.  tell them to find the money someplace else.  like maybe their pork barrel projects and associated skim money.  or their long intimate lunches with sleazy re-development types which then means the sleaze gets passed around.  a buy here.  a sell there.  bought back and sold again.  bought and sold again for another handsome profit.  all this going on while you and your fellow citizens are the only losers in the sordid mess.  all the while rome burns. 

jmh

musical theatre or ‘wicked’ as a date

the brown eyed girl and i went out last night and headed into downtown lala land.  hollyweird to be more to the point.  she wanted to go see the musical ‘wicked’ again before they adios los angeles.  i was up for it even though i’ve never been a fan of broadway shows and their musical ilk.  sure there’s been some good stuff over the years that’s come out of broadway but they and it or them or some damn thing have never been my cup of tea.

the problem with going into the downtown area during the week, and at times on the weekend, is the traffic.  which of course last night was no exception.  only to be compounded on the ride home by cal-trans(the calif dept of transportation) my least favorite government entity anywhere and that would be including the u.s. congress.   

the hollyweird re-development types, they lurk about in your town as well.  re-development types are only in it for themselves.  there’s just too damn much money out there for them not to be.  that is if they weren’t all crooks to begin with.  at any rate, they took it upon themselves to retro sorta fit an old movie theatre.  the pantages theatre at hollywood and vine to be exact.  the olden venerable intersection that hasn’t aged to well.  but then who among us has? 

the last time i was at that particular theatre was back in it’s movie house days.  i saw ‘who’s afraid of virgina woolf’ there.  yeah, it’s been a while.  the place pretty much looks the same inside.  seats and all.  sure some paint daubed here and there and other cosmetic stuff as well.

the show?  it was so-so at best.  that’s from my perspective and you know where that is coming from.  no, not homophobia.  grow up.  though the crowd loved it.  the brown eyed girl wasn’t real happy about it either.  she had seen it before at the same venue and enjoyed it more the first time.  she said if last night had been her first time seeing it she would have been disappointed and she loves broadway shows.  disappointing in that the acoustics were/are abominable. 3/4’s of what was said or sung was unintelligible.  just murky muddy sound of the worst kind.  plus she wasn’t real happy with some of the present cast.

all that being said, it wasn’t like i was going to walk out of the place humming one of the tunes even if i had been able to hear them clearly.  would i go back there to see another show?  yeah, well, probably.  but only  if the brown eyed girl wanted to go see something else there.  hopefully, that would be at some point well into next year.

jmh

2008 college football predictions week 12

now that i’m back from my long road trip i guess i’d better update my pick stats.  for week 10 i was 6 for 10.  not to shabby at all.  for week 11 i was 9 for 10.  pretty damn good but those picks were just based on my thoughts on who would win and no points.  pretty much any douche bag could go with those numbers on any given week if he follows the game.  the rub is the point spreads.  at any rate, i’m now 62 for 110.  pretty good numbers.  i’ll be going back to picking teams based on the spread for this weeks picks now that i’m back home.

however, before i get to it just remember that using any of the insanity i toss around here and taking it to the bank or whoever with the delusional idea you are gonna score big is stupid at best.  that being said, let’s rock ‘n’ roll.

cinncinnati at louisville.  cinncinnati favored by 3.5 points.  cinncinnati has been playing some good ball of late.  louisville is a past east coast media darling and still sorta doing ok.  it will be a good game and one to watch on thursday night.  take cinncinnati to win and cover the spread.

wake forest at n. carolina st.  wake forest favored by 3.5 points.  i’m still not sure just where wake forest has come from but somebody thinks they are now a good team after years of obscurity and doldrums.  take wake forest to win and cover the points.

mississippi st at alabama.  bama favored by 20.5 points.  as a long time alabama honk i’m very happy to see them on top of the bcs charts.  however, i am surprised its this year.  next year and the one after it are big trouble for the sec.  point?  they have been lucky and i think miss st spoils the bcs championship game for this year.  take miss st to cover the spread and maybe even win.

texas at kansas.  texas favored by 13 points.  pure and simple, take kansas to cover the spread and maybe win.

cal at oregon st.  oregon st favored by 3 points.  this one has gone up and down a bit.  someone needs to beat oregon st and take them out of the rose bowl hunt.  yeah, you know i’m a trojan homer.  however, i don’t think cal is up to that challenge.  take oregon st to win and cover.  this one might even be a blow out.

byu at air force.  byu favored by 5.5 points.  an old classic run and gun olden days wac game if there ever was one.  byu is out of the big bowl hunt and air force is no one to trifle with.  take air force to win or cover the points.

boise st at idaho.  boise st favored by 36.5 points.  the smurf turf boys are still out and lurking about.  to bad they play a cupcake schedule  because i am not impressed by said schedule.  plus they are a tier 3 school.  look that one up in your spare time.  at any rate, they will win and cover. 

usc at stanford.  usc favored by 23 points.  this past weekend i listened to the stanford oregon game on the radio.  stanford thought they had it in the bag with 2 minutes left.  ah, no, sorry.  stanford loses the game.  stanford needs one more win to go bowl eligible.  even with usc cranking out penalties like they are bailout money they will not make it this week as well.  usc is playing like crap.  the defense is the only thing holding them up.  has pete’s system come to a grinding halt?  are the trojans over?  all that being said, stanford might cover the points but if indeed the system ain’t over pete will roadshow win and win big for his 85th win out of a 100 starts.  like he said on the radio here, ‘even i can figure out that percentage.’  his lads will step up.  take usc to win and cover.

boston college at florida st.  florida st favored by 6.5 points.  florida st isn’t florida.  boston is back to playing some decent ball.  boston college will cover the spread and maybe even win.

utah at san diego st.  utah favored by 28.5 points.  utah is the only outside spoiler left in the bcs bowl game bonanaza.  the fly in ointment.  a thorn in the bcs’ side, fetlock, or hindquarter for that matter.  not a grandiose schedule but ok enough.  take utah to win and cover the spread.

there ya go, this weeks picks.  just remember leave your wallets alone and nobody gets hurt.  enjoy some brew and a nice steak or something and enjoy the action.  we are pretty close to nut cuttin’ time here kids. 

jmh