Monday, September 06, 2004
College Football Thoughts 9/6
So ...
In the first Octane Parlay of '04, I went 4-4. That's a push. Not too bad. I was a little off on a couple.
I thought Clemson would play better.
I thought Iowa wouldn't cover. The Hawks still don't impress me.
South Carolina and Cal were everything I thought.
Duke isn't.
SMU played their hearts out. Watch out Big 12, Mike Leach is serious.
Arkansas St. squeezed past the Tigers by .5 a point. Hey - a win is a win.
Boise St. - No contest with the Vandals.
Now, next week will be even more interesting ... Some thoughts:
Michigan is better than I thought ... Wisconsin needs work, but not as much as last year ... A&M sucks ... Virginia is tough ... Fresno St. v. Boise St. decides the WAC ... UH is better than the Rice game showed and Shasta will cover against the Sooners ... Not sold on: Penn State, Minnesota, LSU, OU, USC, Alabama ... The Longhorns will beat the Sooners this year - er, let's hold off on that pick until October 8 - Bevo was a little one dimensional against the Mean Green on Saturday night.
How 'bout them Astros? All along, I've said one 10 game win streak puts them in the race ... Today was number 10 with a home run from Backe. The bullpen still sucks, but hey - get to the playoffs and everything is forgiven.
In the first Octane Parlay of '04, I went 4-4. That's a push. Not too bad. I was a little off on a couple.
I thought Clemson would play better.
I thought Iowa wouldn't cover. The Hawks still don't impress me.
South Carolina and Cal were everything I thought.
Duke isn't.
SMU played their hearts out. Watch out Big 12, Mike Leach is serious.
Arkansas St. squeezed past the Tigers by .5 a point. Hey - a win is a win.
Boise St. - No contest with the Vandals.
Now, next week will be even more interesting ... Some thoughts:
Michigan is better than I thought ... Wisconsin needs work, but not as much as last year ... A&M sucks ... Virginia is tough ... Fresno St. v. Boise St. decides the WAC ... UH is better than the Rice game showed and Shasta will cover against the Sooners ... Not sold on: Penn State, Minnesota, LSU, OU, USC, Alabama ... The Longhorns will beat the Sooners this year - er, let's hold off on that pick until October 8 - Bevo was a little one dimensional against the Mean Green on Saturday night.
How 'bout them Astros? All along, I've said one 10 game win streak puts them in the race ... Today was number 10 with a home run from Backe. The bullpen still sucks, but hey - get to the playoffs and everything is forgiven.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Octane College Parlay Week of 9/4
Here's the first octane college parlay for the year:
Clemson (-12) over Wake Forest. Charlie Whitehurst is too much.
Kent State (+29.5) covers against Iowa. Too many questions about the Hawkeyes and Drew Tate isn't that strong at QB.
South Carolina (-4) over Vanderbilt. Line has move 1.5 since it opened. Too much hype on the Commodores. Any major conference school without a true athletic department can't win in the SEC.
California (-12) over Air Force. They cover on the road. They're the real deal.
Duke (+7) covers against Navy. Duke finished the year as a hot ballclub. New coach, new attitude. All Navy did was run the ball last year. We'll see if they can keep it up this year.
Texas Tech (-24.5) over SMU. Texas Tech has another QB that will lead the team. SMU may be one of the worst teams in D1 this year that doesn't have a hyphen or direction in its name.
Arkansas State (+32.5) covers against Missouri. Missouri is all hype. 33-0 is going to be difficult. So is 43-10. So is 53-20. You get the picture.
Boise State (-31) over Idaho. It's a big game in the state. Next year, it returns to a conference battle. It will still be a tough match-up for Idaho. The Broncos have a lot of holes to fill because of graduation during the last two springs, but their offense is not about individuals. It's a scheme and style that makes it work.
Clemson (-12) over Wake Forest. Charlie Whitehurst is too much.
Kent State (+29.5) covers against Iowa. Too many questions about the Hawkeyes and Drew Tate isn't that strong at QB.
South Carolina (-4) over Vanderbilt. Line has move 1.5 since it opened. Too much hype on the Commodores. Any major conference school without a true athletic department can't win in the SEC.
California (-12) over Air Force. They cover on the road. They're the real deal.
Duke (+7) covers against Navy. Duke finished the year as a hot ballclub. New coach, new attitude. All Navy did was run the ball last year. We'll see if they can keep it up this year.
Texas Tech (-24.5) over SMU. Texas Tech has another QB that will lead the team. SMU may be one of the worst teams in D1 this year that doesn't have a hyphen or direction in its name.
Arkansas State (+32.5) covers against Missouri. Missouri is all hype. 33-0 is going to be difficult. So is 43-10. So is 53-20. You get the picture.
Boise State (-31) over Idaho. It's a big game in the state. Next year, it returns to a conference battle. It will still be a tough match-up for Idaho. The Broncos have a lot of holes to fill because of graduation during the last two springs, but their offense is not about individuals. It's a scheme and style that makes it work.
An Open Letter to Dennis Leary
Dear Mr. Leary:
I've enjoyed your new show Rescue Me (FX, Wednesdays at 9 p.m. CDT). It's well-written, conceived, filmed, and produced. The interaction of the male characters is witty and the storylines of the recurring characters are strong. Especially pleasing are the interactions between Tommy and his estranged, soon-to-be ex-wife and the heavyset firefighter who writes poetry to ease the pain of 9/11. Plus, the frat house shenanigans of the firehouse are well-performed. Overall, I'm a big fan of the show and it's one I think that is in a league with The Sopranos and The Wire.
Now, there are two criticisms that we must address:
1, Why are some storylines here today, gone in next week's episode? Two examples: your daughter's accident - she's moving pretty well these days - mere weeks after a severe car accident. And, your character took a pretty good beating at the hands of Roger's "crew." Yet, you walked away without a scratch during the following episode. Why the inconsistency?
2, You don't need to resort to sophomoric shock to keep viewers. Two scenes standout: the three-some rape scene and the insinuation of anal sex by the bimbo who was getting her ticket punched by Tommy. The show would have been fine without these two scenes and they contributed almost nothing to the story other than to drop the jaws of viewers and prove that the envelope could be pushed on cable television. It's very similar to the situation with Tony Soprano's sister and Ralphie's predilection to being treated like a bitch. It wasn't really necessary in the plotline although it contributed to the demise of his character.
So, I'll check the show out on Wednesday night, but please, leave the sophomore stunts on the cutting room floor.
Sincerely,
Mike Paterson
I've enjoyed your new show Rescue Me (FX, Wednesdays at 9 p.m. CDT). It's well-written, conceived, filmed, and produced. The interaction of the male characters is witty and the storylines of the recurring characters are strong. Especially pleasing are the interactions between Tommy and his estranged, soon-to-be ex-wife and the heavyset firefighter who writes poetry to ease the pain of 9/11. Plus, the frat house shenanigans of the firehouse are well-performed. Overall, I'm a big fan of the show and it's one I think that is in a league with The Sopranos and The Wire.
Now, there are two criticisms that we must address:
1, Why are some storylines here today, gone in next week's episode? Two examples: your daughter's accident - she's moving pretty well these days - mere weeks after a severe car accident. And, your character took a pretty good beating at the hands of Roger's "crew." Yet, you walked away without a scratch during the following episode. Why the inconsistency?
2, You don't need to resort to sophomoric shock to keep viewers. Two scenes standout: the three-some rape scene and the insinuation of anal sex by the bimbo who was getting her ticket punched by Tommy. The show would have been fine without these two scenes and they contributed almost nothing to the story other than to drop the jaws of viewers and prove that the envelope could be pushed on cable television. It's very similar to the situation with Tony Soprano's sister and Ralphie's predilection to being treated like a bitch. It wasn't really necessary in the plotline although it contributed to the demise of his character.
So, I'll check the show out on Wednesday night, but please, leave the sophomore stunts on the cutting room floor.
Sincerely,
Mike Paterson
