As many of you know, I am battling MKIA (Lisa) this week on her blog. Showing my supreme, uh, confidence yeah that's it, in my picks, I will use all of them here at CC this week. In addition, I will pick some pro games and some of the Breeders Cup races as well!
So here are the college games -
West Virginia @ Rutgers - Slaton and White will lead the Mountaineers past Ray Rice and the Scarlet Knights. In a high scoring affair, WV will cover the 6 1/2 and cement their position in the BCS race!
USC @ Oregon - Being an Oklahoma fan, I am leery of game played at Oregon. I'll take the Ducks to cover a VERY high scoring game and if they aren't ahead at the end, the replay officials will be sure to help! What, me, still bitter??? Yeah, a little. (I'm pretty sure MKIA may see this one a lttle different through her USC #### glasses)
Minnesota at Michigan - Notre Dame would beat Minnesota and Michigan thrashed ND by more than the 23 1/2 spread here. Michigan is hitting their groove after getting by Illinois last week and should put a major whoopin' on the Gophers! North Dakota State beat the snot out of Minnesota last week for cryng out loud! Michigan wins by 40 here! Michigan may even let Mallett take a couple snaps!
Florida vs Georgia @ Jacksonville - I think Georgia's defense will keep this one closer than the 9 point spread. Tebow's shoulder could be a factor since I'm sure we're not hearing everything there is to hear about that! Go UGA!!
Clemson @ Maryland - Who would have thought Maryland would still be talked about for a major bowl game as we head into November?? Not me! Clemson is 4-2 in their last 6 at Maryland and I think the Weed Eater Bowl looks good for Maryland after they drop this one to the Tigers.
Nebraska @ Texas - This one will be close by the spread standards but the Huskers are 1-7 ATS this year and I think they'll slip to 1-8 this week. Coly McCoy and the Horns should run about 100 pounds of prime rib off Bevo this weekend!
UCLA @ Washington State - Which UCLA team will show up? The one that gave Charlie Weis his only victory this year (other than the cannoli eating championship he won over the summer) or the one that has impressive victories over Washington and at Oregon State where whipping the Beavers was, I'm sure, lots of fun! I'm going to guess the bad one and take Wash St and the points!
South Carolina @ Tennessee - I think the Volunteers keep the Gamecocks sliding. Tennessee's rushing game should be the difference as SC's rushing defense is giving up more than our buddy Paris Hilton. Take the Vols, lay the points, not Paris!
Ohio State @ Penn State - Don't look now but the number one team in the BCS next week will be...... Boston College??? The Buckeyes come into Happy Valley and leave real sad! Joe Pa's Lions come out roaring and beat the Buckeyes.
California @ Arizona State - The Sun Devils continue their improbable march toward a BCS bowl game for now by helping Cal remain on the slip and slide. The home team advantage is the main reason to take Arizona State to stay undefeated here!
Utah @ Colorado State - Let's see - Utah lost to UNLV 27-0, CSU's only win is against UNLY by 25. So CSU should win by 52, right! Nah, didn't think so either. I'll take the Utes to cover the 6.
Kansas @ Texas A&M - I'll go for the upset here as Kansas has not really played any quality opponents and A&M is undefeated at home. I think the Jayhawks meet their match here and go home with their tail feathers between their legs hoping their coach doesn't eat them on the flight home.
Pro games -
Detroit at Chicago - The Bears are favored by 5 and should cover that if their defense shows up. They showed a lot of life winning at Philadelphia last week and I think they hit their bye at .500 with a win.
Houston at San Diego - After a very rough week in San Diego, the Chargers just want to beat the #### out of something, unfortunately for the Texans, they come calling this week! The the Bolts, lay the 9 1/2.
Buffalo at NY Jets - Why is Buffalo not favored here? The Jets have shown nothing this year, I'll take the Bills and the points for the win!
Indy at Carolina - I'm perplexed why this line is so low. The Colts should be favored by at least 10 here, so I will take the Colts and lay the 6 1/2
Cleveland at St. Louis - Upset special! I'll take the Rams to finally win one here and upset the Browns in a high scoring affair!
Breeders Cup -
Juvenile Fillies - Smarty Deb
Juvenile - Kodiak Kowboy
Mile - No Biz Like Shobiz
Distaff - Unbridled Belle
Classic - Any Given Saturday/Curlin/Street Sense
There you go, have a great weekend and feel free to make a mint on my Breeders Cup picks - I can't make it to OTB tomorrow so I hope someone wins!
I was 5-5 last week so I am still over .500 for the season!
Lots of intriguing games this week as the ranked teams start squaring off more often. Some surprise teams emerging and some teams who are usually good are struggling hoping to salvage a season!
College games -
While I think Illinois/Iowa, Oklahoma/Missouri and Hawaii/San Jose St will all be good games this week (and all the teams I listed first will win), I didn't feel strongly enough about them with the spreads involved to include them in my "official" picks!
Arizona at USC - I look for the Trojans to try and convince Mike Stoops he sholudn't have left the comfy spot he had with Bob at OU! Look for USC to romp here by more than 21.
Boston College at Notre Dame - I don't believe Charlie Weis saying anything about ND getting better. They beat a poorly coached UCLA team (right, Lisa?) and should be out of this game by halftime. BC easily covers the 14.
Indiana at Michigan State - Why is Indiana GETTING points here? I'll gladly take the 5 1/2 and the Hoosiers as they continue their improbable march to a bowl game. Who would have thought two of the first Big Ten teams to clinch bowl games this year would be Illinois and Indiana???
Louisville at Cincinnati - I am hoping Louisville FINALLY wakes up here and covers. If you looked at this game in August would you have thought Louisville would be getting 10 1/2? Not me, I would have thought they were giving 21!
Auburn at Arkansas - I like Auburn getting the 3 here. They have been playing very well and Arkansas has not been real impressive in their last couple games!
Pro games -
Houston at Jacksonville - I'll take the Jaguars to cover the 7 here. Why don't they give Maurice Jones-Drew the ball more often? I think this will be a double digit win for the Jags!
St. Louis at Baltimore - I think this game will be the proverbial taffy pull. I will take St. Louis only because they are getting 10 points. I'm figuring this to be a 12-9 field goal fest, so I will also take the under.
Carolina at Arizona - If Vinny Testaverde starts in this game the combined ages of the starting QB's will have to be a record since they will be somewhere in the mid 80's I think. That said, I'll take the younger of them (Kurt Warner) to win this one and the Cardinals will cover the 3 1/2.
New Orleans at Seattle - I look for the Seahawks to give the Saints a big dose of Shawn Alexander and the Seahawks to continue the misery in Nawlins. Seattle wins by at least 10 here.
Well to say I was bad last week would be like saying Rosie O'Donnell has a minor eating disorder. I had a lovely 3-7 week bringing my yearly total to the Mendoza Line at 17-17-1.
Hopefully, this week will be better, so let's get after it!
Pro games
There weren't too many that looked good to me this week but I'll take Baltimore over Cleveland. I'll take the Ravens to cover the 4 1/2.
I'm looking for Atlanta to get their first win over the team their old backup is playing for. I don't think Ron Dayne will cut it for the Texans and I'll take the Falcons and the 2 1/2.
I really want to take the Lions and Bears over the total of 44 but I'm not sure Griese will be able to keep up with Kitna and hold up his end of the deal. Oh, what the hell, I'll take it.
Pittsburgh at Arizona - Pitt comes to see their old coaches and I think Arizona will keep it close enough to cover with the 6 points.
New England at Cincinnati - I like the over in this one as well. It's pretty high at 52 but isn't it a given that New England will score 38 since they have in each of their first three games? That means Cincy only needs 15 to cover the over!
College games
Indiana at Iowa - I'll go with a mild upset here and take the Hoosiers +11 1/2. I think they'll keep it close enough to cover that.
Gotta love those Sooners! Oklahoma getting revved up for the Red River Shootout next weekend and will bury the Buffaloes by more than 22. The over at 55 seems pretty low to me as well! I'll take that too!
The over under for Hawaii/Idaho is 77. Yikes! that's a little sttep for me (although it's very possible for Hawaii to get that). I will go with Colt Brennan and the Warriors to smash the Vandals by more than 26 and cover the number!
Auburn at Florida - The Gators did not do me (or any of their other followers) any favors last week by barely beating Ole Miss. I look for that trend to continue and I will take Auburn +18 1/2
Lastly, my upset special - Penn State at Illinois - Sorry ksp, I am taking the Illini for the outright win here as Illinois begins to cement their standing as a bowl team this year and beats Joe Pa and the Nittany Lions in Champaign.
On a side note, I'd like to say the Cubs will make the playoffs and not "pull a Bartman" this weekend and should have the first series under control by next week's edition of Condimentally Correct! (hey I can hope, can't I???)
Some random thoughts................and a serious thought about sports blogging here at Fox!
I am a Bears fan and while I cannot place the entire blame for last night's debacle at the feet of Rex Grossman, certainly a good chunk of it will fall there. Sure, he hit Bernard Berrien in stride with a sure touchdown that was dropped but he also threw three picks one of which was returned for a Cowboy TD. He had one good series early in the second half and that was the end of the highlight rell for Rex.
Then after the game Lovie Smith uttered the words all Bear fans did not want to hear - "Rex is still our quarterback". The Bears need something to shake things up. And Rex is still the QB is not what they need.
There will be some real good college football games coming up in the following weeks. Now that most teams have finished their "easy" wins now they'll be playing conference games and we'll see what these teams are really made of. Watch Condimentally Correct for my takes on those games as they materialize.
My Condimentally Correct picks were the worst I have ever done. Now I know why Marty didn't give me a game ball for that pile of pig #### (more on that in a minute). Hopefully, i am saving my best pick's for my date with MKIA (Lisa) in college week 9! We'll see!
In the "where have the good bloggers gone" portion of the column, i have noticed the departure of some bery good bloogers who have been "shown the door" by the "higher ups" here at Fox Sports. I realize there are rules/regulations we all agreed to when we started this blogging thing and I'll be the first to admit they were known for "pushing the envelope" on occasion but from what I have heard their blogs are just being deleted and they are being placed either in "time out" or outright banned. Personally, I think this is a chicken #### way of handling things. We are for the most part adults here as this is not a kiddie blog site. I have kids in grade school and hear worse language there than I do on the blog here.
Some of the writers who have been launched are Smoketheblowfish (who has sort of returned under another name, although MUCH tamer), Miracle, Demonicume (and his brother who was taken down at the same time) and now I hear Flying Pig has been booted. These are some of the finest writers and most entertaining people on this blog. Even Lisa, who churns out more quality columns in a week than any of the PAID writers on this site do in a month (or year) got her hand slapped last week! ShooterB is another outstanding writer who list of admirers is right up there with Paris Hilton's list of "conquests" and Rosie O'Donnell's list of buffets she has been banned from. I believe he has also been in "time out" recently.
Most of us come here just for fun, we are obviously not getting paid for it (although there is a site where that is a possibilty for those of us interested in that - real sports bloggers (type as one word) dot com) so we just do this for the hell of it. This is a sports forum, not a church pew. Sports fans are passionate about many things and tend to be overboard on occasion (myself included). If this site is changing to St. Foxsports, then some of the changes they are making are appropriate but if if this is still the same corporate group with the Best Damn Sports Show", I think the bloggers should be given a little more leeway in their posts and comments!
Guess I'll get my little pointy hat ready and a comfy chair in the corner, I think I hear the principal coming down the hall!
Well, here we go again. After taking it on the chin last week at 4-5-1, I am hoping to have a better week this week than OJ did!
College games
Florida at Mississippi - I'll go with the Gators here (-21) to cover this one easily as they get ready for their "gauntlet" the next few weeks. I'm a little leery of this being a "sandwich game" with a potential letdown after Tennessee and before Auburn and LSU.
Penn State at Michigan - Sure Michigan pasted a bad Notre Dame team last week but Penn State is a little better and they will cover the 3 in the Big House and switch Lloyd Carr's rear end from medium well to well done on the hot seat.
Miami (OH) at Colorado - Colorado is not a good football team and they shouldn't be giving anyone double digits, so I'l take the Redskins, Redhawks, whatever they are called, I'll take Miami
UConn at Pitt - Pitt should bury UConn in this one so I'll give the 7 1/2 and take Wanny's boys!
Iowa at Wisconsin - Bucky Badger will be smiling after this one, Wisconsin will have Jake Christiansen running a mini marathon, while running for his life from the pocket and the Badgers cover the 7.
Pro games -
This is a wild week in the pros. Lots of good games and some look too good to be true! That usually spells doom and gloom for us prognosticators!
Arizona at Baltimore - This should be a close game as Arizona is running the ball very well and Baltimore has a very good run defense. I like this to be a close game with the Ravens winning but 7 1/2 is too many, take the Cards plus the points.
Detroit at Philadelphia - Since when does a 2-0 team get a touchdown from an 0-2 team? Jason Campbell lit up Philly's secondary like the proverbial Christmas tree. Jon Kitna may have 250 yards by halftime! I'll take Detroit +7.
Minnesota at Kansas City - Kansas City shouldn't be giving points. Enough said. take the Vikes +2 1/2
San Diego at Green Bay - This will be the week LT shows why he was the number 1 pick in all the fantasy drafts (he hasn't deserved to be the number 1 pick in round 8 yet!) Lt goes for 125 yards and 3 TD's in Green Bay as the Chargers redeem themselves a little after the beatdown in New England last week! Give the 3 1/2, take the Bolts!
Tennessee at New Orleans - What has happened to the Saints? From the NFC title game to a NASTY 0-2 (blown out twice!). Sorry Saints fans but you shouldn't be giving the Titans 5 points after the Titans gave the Colts a scare last week and the Saints got buried by Tampa Bay. I'll take the Titans to keep it close enough to cover the 5.
A couple things to consider, Notre Dame has NEVER started a season 0-4 (very real possibility this year, as is 0-8), if you read this every week (and God Bless you if you do!) you probably noticed I didn't pick Hawaii or Oklahoma this week - they should both win big but I wanted to try something different (Hawaii doesn't even have a spread), Colt Brennan is nursing a sprained ankle and will probably not play much or at all against the vaunted Charleston Southern team. Good luck this week! The Bears/Cowboys game could be a great one if "Good Rex" shows up - Bears 27 Cowboys 17!
Notre Dame at Michigan - I'll go with Michigan (-7.5) to win the better of lesser evils. I think Hart will make his prediction come true as he is the only impact player on either offense! (Manningham will have to wait to gel with the freshman QB!)
Arkansas at Alabama - I think the picked the wrong favorite in this one. Arkansas should win this one straight up (but I'll take the 3 points, just in case!)
Fresno State at Oregon - The Ducks continue their run after stomping Michigan and cover the 16. Plus, they get their own replay officials at home celebrating their one year anniversary of beating Oklahoma (no, I'm not bitter....)
Florida State at Colorado - These two teams are going the wrong way, so I'll take the over and see what happens (48)
Hawaii at UNLV - Speaking of taking the over, Hawaii and the over are going hand in hand until otherwise proven wrong. At and long as Colt Brennan is on the field - the over is a good bet! This week it's 61 1/2. Hawaii may get that alone. I hope June Jones keeps the team away from the craps tables!
Pros:
Cincinnati at Cleveland - The Bengals should easily cover the 7 as the Browns prepare for the Brady Quinn era! If Quinn was starting, I'd take the over on this one too, but i think the Browns are trying to talk Brian Sipe out of retirement until Quinn is ready.
Indianapolis at Tennessee - In an upset, I'll take Tennessee to cover with the 8 1/2 points. They always play the Colts tough.
New Orleans at Tampa Bay - I thought I misread the spread when I saw the Saints only giving 3. This is an easy one. Take the Saints to rebound and beat the Bucs, they've had a bad taste in their mouths for the last 10 days.
Seattle at Arizona - Shawn Alexander should run for 150 yards and three TD's in this one. (OK, I have him on my fantasy team and am hoping that's what he does......) but the Seahawks should cover the 3 in this one.
In my upset special of the week I'll take the San Diego Chargers to beat the Patriots straight up. I am hoping they don't have a letdown after the Bears game and the Belichick video tape mess distracts the Patriots just enough to sway the game to San Diego!
Miami at Oklahoma - Frequent readers of this column have no doubt who I am going with here! The Sooners should remind Miami that they aren't quite "back" yet. Sooners cover the 10 in this one.
Bowling Green at Michigan State - Last week I won with Bowling Green and lost to Michigan State so I'll tempt fate again and take Bowling Green +18 to cover over Sparty's bunch!
So. Mississippi @ Tennessee - The Vols need a big game in a bounceback after their problems last week with Cal and I think they get it playing in front of the Rocky Top faithful. Take the Vols, lay the 10 1/2.
Hawaii @ Louisiana Tech - BEST BET!! Last week Colt Brennan (my pick for who SHOULD win the Heisman - but probably won't because of where he plays.... but I digress...) threw for over 400 yards and six touchdowns - and sat out the second half! Take the Warriors to cover the 28! Brennan will probably have the fourth quarter off this week too!
Colorado @ Arizona State - I like the Sun Devils to cover the 14 in this one. Colorado is 5-12 in their last 17 ATS in September and ASU is 9-3 in their last 12 ATS in September. Well, that and Colorado pretty much sucks.
KC @ Houston - The Chiefs will run all over the Texans. LJ will have a fuin day plus I get 3 points! Sign me up for that one!
Denver at Buffalo - Travis Henry should have a fun day in Buffalo and Jay Cutler will begin to make the Bronco faithful realize why the ditched the Snake last year! Take the Broncos -3 and cash in!
Tampa Bay at Seattle - Best Pro bet - I love Seattle to dust the jet lagged Bucs. Lay the 6 points and watch Shaun Alexander show he's not over the hill yet!
Detroit at Oakland - Oakland should not be giving anyone points, but then again neither should Detroit. This is the definition of a pick em game so I'll take the team getting points. Plus I like Detroit to be a sort of surprise team this year and they should score a LOT of points!
NY Giants at Dallas - The Cowboys start their quest of winning the division by decimating their division rivals from the Big Apple. The Giants will find out how much they miss Tiki Barber and why Strahan should have been in camp a couple weeks ago! Dallas by double digits easily covering the 5 1/2 point spread.
I was 3-2 last week and hope to improve on that record here!
Back for another exciting year of football prognostication!
LSU at Mississippi State – LSU is one of the top programs in the country this season. Many have them making a trip to the Championship game in January. I think LSU will have a nice season but am not ready to put them at the top yet. LSU should handle MSU in this one and the spread appears kind of low. LSU is 9-1 ATS in their last 10 in the series so, I’ll take them –18.
UAB at Michigan State – Michigan State should not be giving 21 points to Frank’s Pop Warner team let alone a real college football team. Take the 21 points and UAB and check out Frank Irizarry’s Pop Warner Blog.
Western Michigan at West Virginia – This should be a blowout by halftime. Take West Virginia and give the 23 ½. WVU should win by 40.
Missouri at Illinois – Illinois will be one of the big surprises in college football this season. Juice Williams is an electric player and will excite the Illini faithful all season. It would not surprise me if Illinois wins this one outright but my play on this on is Under 56 ½. I’ll predict it here first – Illinois is going bowling this season!
UPSET SPECIAL!! - Bowling Green at Minnesota – Bowling Green is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games at Big Ten schools and they are getting 14 ½ points! I’ll take the Falcons and the points!
It’s a great time of year! Football is back, all is well in the world!
Well, we missed by a nose from having a Triple Crown spectacular opportunity tomorrow. Curlin sneaking by Street Sense by a nose at the Preakness cost us a shot at a Triple Crown champ and probably cost the network 2/3 of its viewers for the Belmont Stakes.
I have to disagree with Nostradamus, who is usually a pretty bright guy (well, except for that Husker team he likes…..) but I think he is overlooking a contender in this race because she’s a filly. Rags To Riches is a talented filly who won the Kentucky Oaks in 1:49 2/5 for the 1 1/8 mile race. Curlin’s best at 1 1/8 mile is 1:50 and two others have run 1:49 2/5. The key in my book is Rags To Riches did it under a hand ride (jockey didn’t use the whip), Curlin’s was as well but the two with better times were driving.
Here’s how I see the race developing:
Hard Spun should make the lead fairly easily with Curlin, CP West, Slew’s Tizzy and Rags To Riches lurking nearby. It will appear early on that Tiago and Imawildandcrazyguy will have stopped for a beer and a bucket of oats, as they will be way back early. As they continue up the back stretch, Curlin will come up and pressure Hard Spun with Slew’s Tizzy and Rags To Riches staying close with CP West starting to fade and the two “diners” starting to come on and getting back in the TV picture. As they turn for home Hard Spun and Curlin will still be in front but will be fading as they both wonder who moved the finish line ¼ mile further than they have ever run before. Rags To Riches and Slew’s Tizzy will get by them in the stretch and at the wire, it will be Slew’s Tizzy winning with Rags To Riches holding off a hard charging Imawildandcrazyguy and Curlin rounding out the Superfecta in fourth.
A couple things I’m wondering though:
Where is Mario Pino on Hard Spun?
Why did Garrett Gomez get off Rags To Riches to ride Hard Spun when
he is undefeated on Rags?
Why has Curlin not had a workout over the track?
I’ll admit I don’t know jockey’s contractual obligations to trainers so that may have something to do with it.
Last year I was not a Barbaro fan and got my butt handed to me at the window!
This year the undefeated Curlin gives me a similar problem! He crushed one of my Derby favorites so badly, Officer Rocket didn't even make the trip to Louisville (but watch out for him in Pimlico for the Preakness if he's not hurt!). So I will not be excluding Curlin this year.
I like Any Given Saturday in a mild upset for the win and will box him over Curlin, Scat Daddy, Street Sense and Bwana Bull for a Superfecta!
I'll also take Curlin on top with Street Sense, Any Given Saturday, Scat Daddy and No Biz Like Shobiz.
If there is an upset, I look for Bwana Bull to be right in the middle of things.
All betting aside, I like Any Given Saturday to win, Street Sense a close second and Curlin third.
Good luck if you get a bet down on the race, I don't know if I will or not! (If one of the above win, you can bet I didn't get one down though!)
Lost their defensive coordinator (who interviewed for 6 different head coaching jobs)
Had a brief but ugly contract issue with their head coach
Lost their quarterback coach
Franchised Lance Briggs
Traded Thomas Jones AND a second round pick for the Jets second round pick
What the hell is going on at Halas Hall??
I was not happy that Ron Rivera got the bum's rush out of Chicago following the success the Bears had this season defensively and I am really uncomfortable knowing that reports have the main reason was clashes with Lovie Smith on philosophy. Rivera wanted to blitz Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl and Lovie wanted to stick with his "Tampa 2". Now they have promoted Bob Babich to defensive coordinator and the first thing he is talking about is "wondering out loud" about why Brian Urlacher can't rush the passer. This guy was the linebackers caoch. Not good.
The contract with Lovie had to get rectified as the public outcry was getting ugly especially after Smith's agent went public with the scare tactic of Smith becoming a free agent after next season. The public opinion was the Bears wouldn't outbid ANYONE for him after next season. I agree with that as the George halas line about throw nickels around like manhole covers still is part of the rules for the Bears.
Wade Wilson went to Dallas to teach Tony Romo how to catch a snap. No loss there as I didn't think he was doing that well with Rex Grossman anyway. The bears need to hire a combination quarterback coach/psychiatrist to bring Grossman to the next level!
Franchising Lance Briggs was a good move for the franchise as long as they are planning on talking about a long term deal with him. Many don't remember, but the Bears offered Briggs a long term contract last season and he turned it down. So he must now deal with the franchise tag. Hopefully, they can come to an agreement but Angelo is playing hardball now, probably to prove a point.
Now, I read today the Bears traded Thomas Jones, their leading rusher for the last three years, to the Jets. Did they get Jonathan Vilma, Chad Pennington or another top level player in return. Nope. They traded Jones AND their second pick to move up to the 37th pick with the Jets second round pick. So the Bears traded a solid running back and all they got was a pick about 20 picks ahead of the one they gave up! Granted, an impact player can be obtained with a high second rounder but the Bears had a solid running back and proved this year you can do well with two good running backs. Now they have handed the keys to the team bus to a third year player with the dreaded "huge upside". Sorry, all I have seen so far was his huge backside on the bench for most of the Super Bowl. I hope Benson can revert to his dominating form he had in Texas.
We'll see how things shake out from here but the Super Bowl is barely a month in the rearview mirror. I think I am beginning to see why the teams that lose the Super Bowl don't make the playoffs the next year! The Bears need to stay strong as their division foes are improving. The Lions getting Tatum Bell could be huge next year, their nemesis Mr. Favre is coming back yet again (maybe with Randy Moss) and the Vikings have a solid group especially on defense and gave the Bears all they could handle last year! Going backwards is NOT the answer for the Bears.
I can hardly wait to read the news tonight! Maybe they'll bring back the Honeybears! (I saw cheerleaders at an Arena football game this weekend!)
How many days until Opening Day? Hey, the Cubs are still tied for first and the White Sox tied for last!
Tonight is the last dance for Chief Illiniwek. The University of Illinois trustees have finally given in to the pressure and announced the Chief is being “retired” after the halftime of tonight’s basketball game.
Personally, I think it’s ridiculous to have such a flap over a mascot that is revered and respected as much as the Chief is at Illinois games. I have seen him perform at a few football games and the crowd is whipped into a frenzy during his ceremonial dance. All the students stand with arms folded watching his every move.
But one of the members of an Indian tribe sent a letter saying he was “offended” by the Chief and that got the ball rolling. Many are familiar with the fight between the NCAA, University of Illinois and the Indian group. I give the trustees credit for fighting as long as they have. The NCAA has decreed that any school with a “inappropriate” mascot will not be allowed to host a NCAA tournament event.
That brings me to my quandary.
Illinois’ basketball team is on the bubble for the Big Dance this year and while I am not accusing them of anything, I’ll just say that I find it quite a coincidence that if Illinois is sent to the NIT this year that, if they had not “retired” the Chief, they could not have hosted any NIT games. Just thinking out loud here.
My thought on mascots is unless the school is called the ####s or some other universally derogatory term, there should be no problem. (I know using the term universally leaves me open to a nitpicker to criticizing my theory here but I think we all get the gist of what I am saying.) If a team wants to be called the Fighting Mustards of Poupon U, I won’t be offended. Hell, I help them design the costume!
I did have a sordid thought about how to retire the Chief but thought having a guy dressed as General Custer "retiring" him would have set off a whole new firestorm!
One more thought, if there is such an uproar over mascots why has Notre Dame been allowed to have the name Fighting Irish and a mascot of a leprechaun. When was the last time a leprechaun got in a fight that didn’t involve a bowl of Lucky Charms???
Late Notice - It was just reported on Chicago's ESPN1000 that the student body will be decked out in orange shirts until the Chief's performance is over and then they are all taking off the orange shirts and will wear black shirts the rest of the game.
Pictures from Google.com. Poupon U is a registered trademark of the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum (check it out at www.mustardmuseum.com)
I am a die hard Chicago sports fan who loves the Cubs and Bears, likes the Hawks, Wolves (AHL) and Bulls and deals with the White Sox!
I am also an avid fan of youth sports, especially of girl's softball having been a coach for over 25 years.
I have played many sports and have bowled a 300, missed a hole in one by a size 10 1/2 shoe, kicked an extra point, won a wrestling match & tennis match, scored a goal in a hockey game, pitched a two hitter in baseball and a one hitter in fastpitch softball, hit more homeruns than I can count and my best batting average was .939 (46 for 49) in slow pitch softball. I have also coached girls softball teams to tournament championships (although they get the credit for winning those - I was just "driving the bus")
