It's such a great time of year to be a fan of the sports stuff. Baseball pennant races are heating up, the kickoff of Week 1 of the NFL season is just a week away, and college football starts its season this weekend. With that fun in mind ...
You didn't ask for 'em, but here are our college football picks for this weekend:
No. 13 Wisconsin over Akron No. 3 Southern California over Virginia No. 5 Florida over Hawai'i No. 6 Missouri over No. 20 Illinois No. 18 Tennessee over UCLA No. 7 LSU over Appalachian State
FYI, there will be no Appalachian State-type upset of a major college football powerhouse this year. That was a once-in-a-lifetime, lightning-doesn't-strike-the-same-place-twice type of occurrence. With that in mind, let's go out on a limb ...
Upset pick of the week: Utah over Michigan
And our totally random college football pick of the week: Sacred Heart over Assumption College
Some other random thoughts on sports ...
Who is FOX going to put on prime-time TV in October when the New York Yankees fail to make the playoffs?
Was watching the Best Damn Sports Show Period (yes, it's still on the air) last night at one of our favorite local watering holes and Petros Papadakis was on talking college football. Seeing Papadakis (Photo, he's the dude on the left) makes me realize just how far Southern California football had come in just a very short period of time. Just a few years ago, Papadakis was a running back for the Trojans. Here he's looking more like LenDale White after a trip to the Ponderosa buffet than Reggie Bush.
Apparently, Brett Favre isn't on God's fantasy football team ...
"The darkest secret of fantasy sports? Nobody in the world cares about your team but you. Nobody!" -- FOXSports.com frequent contributing columnist Peter Schrager in "Fantasy football rules to live by this season."
Yes, nobody wants to hear about your fantasy team.
Please, no watercooler talk should revolve around how the Seahawks pulling Julius Jones for T.J. Duckett in a goal-line situation screwed you from winning your fantasy football game. All you'll get is an uncomfortable nod of the head and a polite listener attempting to change the subject to something else, like what Rachel Ray's got cooking in the kitchen today.
We don't care about those unwritten rules of owning a fantasy team (well, we do, but not so much in this here forum). This is "Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff" and we do whatever we feel like.
With that philosophy in mind, we present the team that will win the NFL.com fantasy league this season ... Pos Round Player QB 6 (#64) Favre, Brett (QB NYJ) RB 1 (#9) Portis, Clinton (RB WAS) RB 3 (#33) Turner, Michael (RB ATL) WR 2 (#16) Colston, Marques (WR NO) WR 4 (#40) Johnson, Calvin (WR DET) WR 5 (#57) Cotchery, Jerricho (WR NYJ) TE 10 (#112) Daniels, Owen (TE HOU) K 15 (#177) Longwell, Ryan (K MIN) DST 11 (#129) Seahawks (DST SEA) RS 9 (#105) Rodgers, Aaron (QB GB) RS 8 (#88) Williams, Ricky (RB MIA) RS 7 (#81) Driver, Donald (WR GB) RS 13 (#153) Walter, Kevin (WR HOU) RS 12 (#136) Keller, Dustin (TE NYJ) RS 14 (#160) Packers (DST GB)
"Losing feels worse than winning feels good." -- Vin Scully.
Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Vin Scully should consider himself lucky that he doesn't experience the carnage that takes place in the stands of the stadium he so cherishes.
Scully sits perched high above the stands and comfortably in a press box among the throngs of buffet-fed reporters who often wax poetic about Dodger Stadium's views through rose-colored glasses.
Such is the case with Dodger Stadium. You hear about how beautiful a ballpark it is, nestled snugly in Chavez Ravine with a spectacular view (if smog doesn't obstruct the view) of Los Angeles' neighboring hills and mountains. You also hear about how visionary the team was when it built this place shortly after it relocated from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in the late 1950s. Yet, the place has a sinister side.
Dodger Stadium has the worst ballpark experience in the league.
One night at the old ballpark revealed plenty. The fans don't care. They don't care about other people. They don't care about the game. There's just no respect. It's out of hand, and security seems helpless or simply doesn't care, too.
A simple Google search for "Dodger Stadium" and "fans" is significant ...
Just three months ago, the tide was turned. We were in Milwaukee, watching the Brewers play the Dodgers. A number of Dodgers fans were on hand, certainly making their presence felt among the masses sporting Brewers blue and gold. In Milwaukee -- where, keep in mind, fans can show up hours in advance to tailgate and have the opportunity to get plenty of beer in their system before game time -- the Dodgers fans were treated more as a curiousity than anything else, like, "wow, look, they made the trip all the way from L.A. to come to our Miller Park."
Fast forward three months, and a tandem of brave fans sporting Brewers gear sitting a few rows ahead of us were showered with antagonizing taunts of, "F--- Milwaukee" from fans whose IQ likely matched their blood-alcohol level. Please keep in mind that there were little kids in the stands, too.
Simply sitting in the stands, quietly (very quietly) supporting your favorite team -- even if it's the opposition -- is too much to ask at Dodger Stadium.
Later, some unruly fans were kicked out. Stuff was thrown in their general direction. Security was too busy manhandling a couple miscreants to notice. There was more antagonizing of the Brewers fans, but Brewers fan is too smart to take the bait.
When the Brewers fans fail to take the bait, Dodgers fans turn on each other ... UCLA vs. USC is a popular topic for "discussion." Apparently, at least one of the fans whose IQ matched their BAC went to UCLA (yes, UCLA, which before Friday night at 9 p.m. or so was actually viewed as a "good academic institution.")
There's more swearing with little kids sitting in the vicinity.
Of course, fans of this nature are awarded with more beer when they return to the concession stands.
Something happens on the field. The Dodgers apparantly score a run.
"F--- Milwaukee."
The heart begins to pound a bit faster. And you begin to realize why fans leave Dodger Stadium early.
Just another night at the old ballpark.
Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowds; Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don't care if I come back.
Apparently, through all this, a game was going on. It was simply background fodder for the noise going on in the stands, which is like 15 TVs on 15 different channels going at full volume. It's hard to consider the play that might take place on the field with men on second and third, two out and an All-Star player at the plate. Whatever happened, it wasn't good for the Brewers.
In case you missed the opening ceremonies for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, we highly recommend you get the DVD and watch it. It was incredible.
The parade of nations is always fun. And, for the record, Kazakhstan was a part of that parade, which brough to mind Borat, and his version of his nation's national anthem.
Here's a thought ... wouldn't it be cool if whenever the U.S. sweeps the medals, instead of playing The Star-Spangled Banner, they played America, F--- Yeah! instead?
This blog is maintained, albeit not very well, by some guy who knows some stuff about sports.
I am also available for autograph signing sessions and speaking engagements.
