In Judz We Trust

Motivation

2008-12-23T14:15:00.001-06:00

If this doesn't you pumped up, nothing will:

Guess Who's Back

2008-12-17T11:09:00.001-06:00

I can't believe blogspot just lets these blogs sit idle for this long. Cool. I may start updating again with random thoughts.

MLB 2008 Preview

2008-03-31T12:00:00.001-05:00

Since it is the official Opening Day of the 2008 Major League Baseball season, I figured I would throw out some predictions that everyone can make fun of me for later, as well as one thought on each team.

AL East:
1. Boston Red Sox - I just don't see them failing to win the division after getting over the hump last season.
2. New York Yankees - Didn't do enough to the pitching staff to make me take them over the Red Sox and maybe even miss the playoffs.
3. Toronto Blue Jays - Keep spending, but too much competition.
4. Tampa Bay Rays - New name (sort of), new attitude, young and eager team - could be similar to 2006 Marlins, who vastly overachieved.
5. Baltimore Orioles - Just not very good.

AL Central:
1. Detroit Tigers - Huge offseason pickups and have both the hitting and pitching to win this tight division.
2. Cleveland Indians - Playoff capable, but Tigers, Yanks and Red Sox too much to overcome.
3. Minnesota Twins - This team could surprise, but the lack of Santana will doom them in '08.
4. Kansas City Royals - I just think their ever so slightly better than the White Sox this season, but have no justifiable reason why (see 2007 Cleveland Browns).
5. Chicago White Sox - 1/2 of the 2005 World Series, but will join the Astros as cellar dwellers in 2008.

AL West:
1. Anaheim Angels - Did just enough in the offseason to stay ahead of the Mariners and A's.
2. Seattle Mariners - New pitching staff will make this team competitive, but will fall just short of both the Angels and the wild card.
3. Oakland A's - Just haven't done enough to stay competitive.
4. Texas Rangers - See Baltimore Orioles.

AL Wild Card: Yankees
AL Champions: Red Sox

NL East:
1. New York Mets - They will not choke again.
2. Atlanta Braves - They are back and will be the wild card this year.
3. Philadelphia Phillies - Still strong, but NL East too tough.
4. Washington Nationals - New ballpark, same results.
5. Florida Marlins - Now minus Miguel Cabrera, so they are dunzo.

NL Central:
1. Milwaukee Brewers - This is the year they break through and break the hearts of Cubs fans for the 100th straight year (or 99th or something).
2. Chicago Cubs - When you rely on Carlos Zambrano as your ace, results may vary.
3. Cincinnati Reds - Not that they are good, but Pirates, Cards and Stros are just that bad.
4. St. Louis Cardinals - It all depends on the health of Pujols and whether the revamped rotation can win the close ones.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates - Still the Pirates.
6. Houston Astros - I don't know if I am putting them down here to hedge my fandom and thus, be impressed if they do better, or if they really deserve to be down here. Hitting and team speed is vastly improved, but pitching staff is beyond horrible.

NL West:
1. Colorado Rockies - Last year was no fluke.
2. Arizona Diamondbacks - I picked them correctly last year to win the West, but don't have the same feeling this year.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers - I just don't see them overtaking the Rockies or D-Backs this season.
4. San Diego Padres - I have trouble putting them third, but this division will come down to the waning weeks of September before a winner will be declared.
5. San Francisco Giants - Will be going against Baltimore for worst record this season.

NL Wildcard: Atlanta Braves
NL Champion: New York Mets

World Series: Mets over Red Sox in 6.

NCAA Tourney Preview

2008-03-20T10:30:00.000-05:00

Well, the NCAA Tourney kicks off in just a few minutes now and with all bracket challenges locked, here is my pick by pick preview of the entire tournament. Please note that I have never ever won (or even came close to winning) a bracket challenge and this year will be no different. Feel free to ridicule my picks in the comments or to my face or via email or in the respective bracket pool on yahoo/cbs/espn. These are my picks from my Yahoo! bracket challenge as these were my first gut reaction picks based on my extensive knowledge.

East:
1 UNC over 16 Mount St. Marys - No brainer
9 Arkansas over 8 Indiana - Too much turmoil with replacement coach, but this could come back to bite me in the ass
5 Notre Dame over 12 George Mason - These aren't your 2006 GMU Patriots and this ain't your 2007 Irish
4 Washington State over 13 Wintrhop - I just don't see any 13 seeds winning this year for some reason and especially not in this game as WSU is too strong on defense
11 St. Joseph's over 6 Oklahoma - OU has too many injuries and St. Joe's finished the season strong in a solid A-10 conference
3 Louisville over 14 Boise State - This ain't football and Ian Johnson ain't proposing to his cheerleader girlfriend again
7 Butler over 10 South Alabama - I hate when the committee puts two good mid-major conference teams together because they can then use it as an excuse that X team can't even beat a mid-major, so we don't need to put them in the field next year, so what I am saying is that this was a coin flip
2 Tennessee over 15 American - Tennessee = really good

UNC over Tennessee to reach Final Four, but I have waffled on this over and over

----------------

Midwest:
1 Kansas over 16 Portland State - No first round upset as Bill Self figures out how to coach in the tourney
8 UNLV over 9 Kent State - A virtual coin flip, but UNLV has won better games than Kent State has
12 Villanova over 5 Clemson - Scottie Reynolds will go crazy from three and Clemson will be spent after a great ACC run
4 Vanderbilt over 13 Siena - Vandy has enough firepower to withstand the Saints and move along on their way to the Sweet 16
6 USC over 11 Kansas State - USC has won at Pauley Pavilion and K State is (a) inconsistent in general and (b) not the same team away from home
3 Wisconsin over 14 Cal State Fullerton - If this were the College World Series, then I might go with CSF, but Wisconsin is way too strong to lose in the first round even though I have the Badgers bowing out in round 2
10 Davidson over 7 Gonzaga - Got to go with who is hot and Davidson is scorching, plus Gonzaga is sooo 2006
2 Georgetown over 15 Maryland - Baltimore County - JT III won't let his Hoyas lose this early

Kansas over Georgetown to reach Final Four

---------------------------------

1 Memphis over 16 UT-Arlington - Memphis will not reach the Final Four, but they are not losing to a 16 seed
9 Oregon over 8 Mississippi State - These 8/9 matchups are really tricky and my philosophy when you have really no idea and the coin lands on its edge, go with the 9 seed
5 Michigan State over 12 Temple - This could be the classic 5/12 upset, but MSU is not inconsistent enough to lose to a Temple team that but for the A-10 tourney wasn't even on Lunardi's radar all season
4 Pittsburgh over 13 Oral Roberts - Pitt is inconsistent, but ORU was a 16 seed a few years ago and like their fate then, so shall be their fate herein
6 Marquette over 11 Kentucky - So many of these 3, 4, 5, and 6 seeds are extremely inconsistent, but I have seen Kentucky play this season and my Coogs wiped the floor with them, plus UK is still without freshman Patrick Patterson
3 Stanford over 14 Cornell - Lopez Brothers = 'nuff said
10 St. Mary's over 7 Miami (FL) - St. Mary's has looked good all season (I love those WCC games on weeknights that don't end til after midnight) and Miami just doesn't strike me as a strong 7 seed
2 Texas over 15 Austin Peay - DJ Augustin will do what Kevin Durant couldn't last year and get this Longhorn team to the Final Four (did I jinx them? I hope I jinxed them. Sorry Keller ;))

Texas over Pittsburgh to reach Final Four (and yes, I will be watching the South Regional's Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games at Reliant Stadium with some decent seats - it pays to be a UH season ticket holder)

-----------------------------

West:
1 UCLA over 16 Mississippi Valley State - Eventual champ UCLA will make it three straight trips to the Final Four and will finally win it all this year
9 Texas A&M over 8 BYU - I have watched A&M play multiple times this season and their defense is solid and the MWC was somewhat overrated this season
5 Drake over 12 Western Kentucky - Another match-up of good mid majors, but Drake has been so solid all season that I think they have the ability to beat UCONN and get to the Sweet 16
4 Connecticut over 13 San Diego - Why does this seem to be the 13 over 4 upset that people are expecting? Despite their showing in the Big East Tournament, Calhoun will have these guys prepped for the Toreros, but not enough to beat Drake over the weekend
6 Purdue over 11 Baylor - Baylor should not be in the tournament, but the BCS conference bump probably got them in over Davidson and Illinois State. Baylor had a stretch in the middle of the season where they looked good, but once they played better teams, they folded like a wet paper towel
3 Xavier over 14 Georgia - Nice little run by the Bulldogs in the SEC Tournament, but this team won only 4 games in a very weak SEC, while Xavier ran through a strong A-10, losing only twice.
10 Arizona over 7 West Virginia - WVU has been strong as of late, but Zona has so much talent that it is a shame Lute Olson is not coaching here or else they would've been a 3 or 4 seed at worst and the Wildcats will beat Duke and Xavier to get to the Elite 8
2 Duke over 15 Belmont - Duke can beat anybody in the country and Belmont is in the country, but they are too reliant on the three to make it past Zona in the round of 32

UCLA over Arizona to reach the Final Four

----------------------------

Final Four:
Tennessee over Kansas - I think Bill Self gets to the Final Four, but I will take Bruce Pearl here
UCLA over Texas - UCLA takes the rematch despite Texas having some home court advantage playing in San Antonio (and having played the South Regional in Houston)

UCLA over Tennessee - UCLA is just so strong on both sides of the ball that I do not see them being challenged much in this tournament if they play to their abilities

It's Been Awhile

2008-03-19T11:47:00.002-05:00

Well, it has been a long time since I last posted and there are a number of reasons. First and foremost, I am lazy. Second, too much stuff was happening that I didn't know what to write about and then more stuff happened and it became overwhelming. Third, my Coogs were in the process of throwing away their season (though, congrats on the first round victory over Nevada last night in the College Basketball Invitational). Fourth, the Rockets were in the midst of a 22-game winning streak that I was afraid of jinxing by posting something about it, but that ended last night (more to come on this below). Fifth, I am lazy.

And to further my laziness and for a good take on the game last night (which I unfortunately predicted would be a 20-point loss to the Celts), check out The Dream Shake.

I will be posting more later, including a March Madness post that will boggle your mind (and give away all of my picks for the world to see and laugh at because as much as I know about college basketball, I suck at picking winners in these brackets and why I don't gamble).

Update

2008-02-27T14:24:00.003-06:00

Been really busy lately with work and a nice trip to the Big Easy last weekend, but hope to have some posts up by the end of this week. In the meantime, with the Rockets losing Yao Ming for the rest of the season and my Coogs making a push towards a NCAA invite, I decided to post this little video of my favorite basketball player of all time (seeing as how he played for both the Coogs and the Rockets): Hakeem Olajuwon!

Friday Floetry X 2/22/08

2008-02-22T11:38:00.001-06:00

This past weekend, one of my peeps reintroduced me to this track. I'm pretty sure I saw the video for this back when it came out. Everyone asks who the girl in the jersey is. Thats all I'll recap. Check YouTube for the rest.

I've included a snippet of one of Fabolous' parts. P. Diddy (at least that was his name back then)and Jagged Edge also contributed parts. Jagged Edge's part is the chorus I have included after the Bloomies line.

Floetry:

Hot storm, I'm so into you
Cause even before we hit the bedroom I was friends with you
If they ask, I ain't gotta say whom in them interviews
My sweet thing never believe them rumors that been true
In fact I had no more expence, it's true
But you was wifey could change me into a groom in a mintue boo
Maybe my sense of humor gets into you
But girl, they can make a perfume from the scent of you
I wanna take you there, feel like June in December too
So what you think about Cancun till the winter through
I don't know whatever consumes you gonna do
I put a daytime to go to Bloomies and spend with you...

Girl, I'd trade it all, money, cars and everything
All, even give up my street dream
All, anything to have you on my team
All, baby girl, I'd trade it all

Even give up my good green
All, and I'd give the watch and pinky ring
All, anything to have you on my team
All, baby girl, I'd trade it all

Taken from Trade It All, Pt. 2 by Fabolous featuring P. Diddy and Jagged Edge

Great Read

2008-02-18T13:53:00.001-06:00

This article was sent over to me by fellow blogger K and it is a very good read especially coming off what was an amazing All-Star Weekend for the NBA.

Friday Floetry X 2/15/08

2008-02-15T11:53:00.002-06:00

This week for Friday Floetry I’m gonna skip the written word and simply post the spoken word via YouTube. I’m going with Kanye West’s performance at the 2008 Grammys this past Sunday night. Yesterday, I posted one of his acceptance speeches from the same event. Kanye performed his hit Stronger and Daft Punk (the group he “sampled” from, but has given credit to over and over again) made a special appearance. Mr. West then went into Hey Mama from his previous album, Late Registration. Hey Mama was basically written as a tribute to his mother a couple of years ago. She passed away very recently. Kanye added some new lyrics to the beginning and ending of the song. These new lyrics talk about how since he sees her in his dreams now, he can’t wait to fall asleep. With all that background knowledge, and seeing what appeared to be tears from the performer, I personally thought the latter performance was quite a poignant scene.

Anyway, a little different look and feel in terms of our weekly Floetry:

Taken from the 2008 Grammys version of Stronger and Hey Mama by Kanye West

Kanye West Grammys Speech

2008-02-14T11:23:00.004-06:00

I was in a brown motherland, but not THE brown motherland this past Sunday, so I missed the Grammys. I had wanted to watch it since Kanye West had been nominated for a bunch of awards (I think second most nominations while Amy Winehouse had the most). Anyway, Kanye won 4 Grammys, bringing his total to 10 during his “career”. He also did a pretty amazing performance of Stronger with Daft Punk. From there he performed Hey Mama to which he added some new lyrics (his mother passed away recently).

I thought I would post his acceptance speech for Best Rap Album (Graduation). The speech was pretty interesting as he talked about how hip-hop is not dead, and then he spoke about his mother. The “music” (to get winners off the stage) started playing half way through his speech. When he started speaking about his mother, he said, “It would be in good taste to stop the music then”. Amazingly, they stopped the music. Then, people cheered, Kanye continued talking about his mother, then he spoke about how he would make her proud, and ended with “we run this”….

Enjoy…

Clemens v. Congress

2008-02-14T07:55:00.000-06:00

The only thing I will say about the hearings from yesterday is that both Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee looked awful and that although Clemens takes a huge hit in the court of public opinion, he will probably skate on any charges in a court of law.

Super Bowl XLII Redux

2008-02-04T15:30:00.000-06:00

Here is a fun little read, especially if you have ever read Bill Simmons over at ESPN and thought his columns throughout the years teetered on being a fan first and a journalist second.

Super Bowl XLII

2008-02-04T08:30:00.000-06:00

The Giants are your Super Bowl XLII champions. When the 2007-08 season began, I for one did not come close to predicting this and if anybody had, they were Giants fans deluding themselves. The team had just lost team leader/spokesman Tiki Barber and there was tension in the lockerroom over the exit of Barber and the nature of head coach Tom Coughlin, with such nature possibly forcing Tiki into earlier retirement. This was a team who for the past few years started off strong, but then wilted into oblivion, either failing to make the playoffs or enjoying a one-and-out journey therein. But something changed this year. After their defense was throttled by the Cowboys and Packers and the offense looking fairly average, the young Giants grew up. Eli Manning, starting his fourth year, finally made the jump to good starter and game manager. We was no longer looking to win the game on every throw, thereby costing his team when he was inevitably sacked or made the wrong throw. Most people point to the Giants Week 17 loss against the Patriots that was the turning point in their season. In actuality, the turning point came in Week 12 against the Minnesota Vikings when Eli threw four interceptions, with three of the four being returned for touchdowns. After that blowout, the Giants lost only two more times with one of them that Week 17 tilt with the Pats. Eli started letting the game come to him and though he was still prone to turnovers, they were not the forced throws. By beginning to play within himself, the Giants looked stronger, but were not yet championship material. The Week 16 victory over the Bills followed by the loss to the Pats set the Giants up for their run to glory.

There were growing pains for the rest of the team as well. Next, Brandon Jacobs growing from short yardage and goal-line running back to everyday starter. New Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo began with his defense looking so bad in the first two games, that talk of Coughlin's firing was in order, but somehow finally got Strahan and others on the same page and turned them into a force. Plaxico Burress was on the injury report what seemed like every game this season. The Giants suffered through the loss of Jacobs for a few weeks, Jacobs' backup Derrick Ward for most of the rest of the season, Shockey for the last few weeks and the playoffs and in the end, they had to rely on rookies Ahmad Bradshaw, Kevin Boss and Steve Smith, who outgrew their youth on the way to the Giants winning 11 straight games away from home, including Super Bowl XLII in Glendale.

The Game Itself
I cannot tell you what happened for the first three and a half quarters as I was on an airplane coming back from Florida. The pilot provided us two score updates, saying we think the score is still 7-3 Patriots (of course, not giving any indication as to how much time was left and in what quarter). We landed early, but were stuck sitting on the tarmac waiting for our gate to clear so we could park. I was watching the score updates on my Blackberry, but I thought it was malfunctioning when it kept saying 7-3 Patriots. I then ran through the terminal at Bush Intercontinental Airport, jumped in my car, sped down I-45 listening to the game on the radio and arrived at a party with about 9 minutes to go in the game. I didn't realize just what was in store as I settled into my chair with a nice cold beer and some cold food that I believe had been sitting out for at least 3-4 hours by the time I arrived. There were Giants fans, Patriots fans and certain of us who just wanted to see history. Watching the game (and discussing with people beforehand), I was really torn as to who I was rooting for. On the one hand, the entire Judz clan (myself excluded - Go Oilers!!) are huge Giants fans. On the other hand, I hate the Dolphins. I have no real reason why (especially with having spent most of my life in south Florida), but I think it has to do with the fans and the local media, which includes certain former players on that undefeated '72 Dolphins squad. I actually love the fact that get together and pop champagne when the last team gets its first loss (and I am sure this champagne toast was the sweetest of them all). However, the smugness of certain of those Dolphins players this season just irritated me to the point I wanted the Pats to go undefeated just to make these jackasses (Mercury Morris, I am looking at you) shut the hell up. Alas, as the 4th quarter progressed, I inevitably found myself rooting for the underdog Giants as they just seemed to be a happier lot. What many experts (myself included as I do consider myself an expert) failed to realize was that this Giants team had nothing to lose, while the Pats had everything on the line. They harped on how the Giants couldn't have a "just happy to be here" mentality. But what came through on that field was youthful exuberance combined with an amazing toughness that was garnered throughout the road winning streak and previous years breakdowns, along with the intense scrutiny that comes with playing in New York. The one thing the experts could agree on was what would need to happen for the Giants to win - (1) Get pressure on Brady, (2) No bad turnovers by Manning, and (3) Don't just be happy to be there. In the end, the Giants pretty much succeeded in all three facets. Brady hadn't seen pressure like that since the media scrutinized him for leaving a pregnant (and hot) Bridget Moynahan for (extremely hot) Giselle. Manning did throw one pick, but it was not entirely his fault as the receiver should've made the catch. As the cliche goes, the Giants just made the plays that won them the game and the Pats were powerless to stop it. Let's not forget the little things that need to go right for a team to pull off an upset like this. Every game has that one play that everybody remembers. Whether it was Scott Norwood missed field goal against the Giants, Kevin Dyson being tackled one yard short of the goalline preserving the Rams victory over the Titans, Vinatieri's field goal that barely cleared the crossbar to beat the Rams or Garo Yepremian's blocked field goal that he picked up and tried to throw only to throw it backwards and having the Redskins return it for the touchdown to bring the lead down to 7 in a game that the '72 Dolphins still won to keep their undefeated season intact. Last night, with just over a minute remaining, Eli Manning somehow gets out of the grasp of Adalius Thomas, fires the ball downfield into the waiting hand and helmet of little-used David Tyree (who earlier caught the Giants' first TD pass) in what could replace Dwight Clark's catch in the back of the endzone as "The Catch," but will most likely need it own nickname.

I made the point that the only way the G-Men had a shot to win was if the game had occurred the prior Sunday, with the Giants coming off the big victory over heavily-favored Favre and the Packers and with only one week for evil mastermind Bill Belicheck to gameplan for the Giants. Oops. During those two weeks, the Giants were able to figure out how to stop Randy Moss, get pressure on Brady and completely shut down the Pats running game. Of course, they had no answer for Wes Welker, who easily could've been named MVP of the game, despite playing on the losing squad. His 11 catches for 103 yards and key third down receptions kept the Patriots in the game with Brady struggling to stay off the University of Phoenix Stadium turf. The real MVP was Plaxico Burress who predicted (not guaranteed, predicted) that the Giants would win 23-17, which caused Brady to say sarcastically and phrased as a questsion, "We're only going to score 17 points?". Instead of Plaxico's words becoming the bulletin board material the ESPNers wanted everyone to believe, it was Brady's response that produced the true bulletin board material for Strahan and company. The Pats should be congratulated on their accomplishments this year and I don't care what Ron Jaworski said on Mike & Mike this morning, this Pats team is still one of the most dominant teams in NFL history, just as the 2005 Colts were extremely dominant until Dungy sat out his players in the last week of the season, then had his son die and the lockerroom changed. One game doesn't a season break as the Pats 18-1 season will be remembered, but now with a different context of being the Goliath that was taken down by the David-esque Eli Manning and his Giants.

Friday Floetry X 2/1/08

2008-02-01T13:08:00.000-06:00

I’m in the jetting kind of mood, so thought I would spit out some more Lupe Fiasco (from his recent album). Maybe it comes out better when you hear it…I love the way this track flows, the hook (Paris, Tokyo, New Orleans, Chicago), and the “Love, Love” that is quoted here. Oh, and the iPhone reference (haven’t gotten one yet, but need to --- or maybe wait for 2.0 coming soon…)

Floetry:

I love her
And I hate to leave her lonely
Ring ring went the iPhone, it was my homie
He said, "let's hit Japan,
If we can make 'em jam,
We can make a hundred grand,
Spend it in the south of France
Nothing further." I jumped,
Grabbed my go-yard trunk,
Got ready to 'walk it out,' like Unk
In my John Lennon chucks.
That's when I heard Murder
You're killin me, you're fillin me
With sorrow, sunrise, "goobye"'s,
And "missin you tomorrow"'s.
I turn to see my dream
Love supreme queen, meanest thing on the scene, cry.
I drop my bags in a flash
That's faster one A-T on that dash-er,
To dry your tears.
And wipe the rain from my dear like dash-er,
Use the dame who's the username to all my pass-words.
The reason I get fly as Ivan Jasp-er,
I even keep your picture in my pass-purt.
(love love)

Let's go to sleep in Paris,
And wake up in Tokyo.
Have a dream in New Orleans,
Fall in love in Chicago,
Mayne.

- Taken from Paris, Tokyo by Lupe Fiasco

Game of the Century Redux

2008-01-29T13:54:00.000-06:00

A reader passed along the following video that shows the last minute of the upset.

Game of the Century - 1/20/68

2008-01-25T16:34:00.000-06:00

Front page from Sunday, Jan. 21, 1968.

I really wanted to post something about this last Sunday on the official anniversary, but alas, my laziness got the better of me. This past Sunday, the 20th of January, was the 40th anniversary of the Game of the Century when the #2 University of Houston Cougars lead by Elvin "Big E" Hayes defeated the then #1 UCLA Bruins and big man Lew Alcindor (aka Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) 71-69 at the Houston Astrodome in front of over 52,000+ screaming fans. The Coogs victory snapped UCLA's 47-game winning streak and essentially put college basketball on the proverbial map as this was the first ever college basketball game that was nationally televised in primetime. Granted, UCLA defeated Houston in both the 1967 and 1968 national championship games, but it was this magical game that proved the viability of college basketball as part of the pantheon of major sports. Despite attempts by Houston AD Dave Maggard and head coach Tom Penders, it is rumored that UCLA coach Ben Howland refused to play the Cougars this season in Houston. Let's hope in 10 years that UCLA will be ready to celebrate the anniversary of the Game of the Century as it was meant to be celebrated with a rematch.

For more introspection on the game, check out The Game of the Century.

Beaten With A Shoe

2008-01-23T14:00:00.000-06:00

For your Wednesday Afternoon viewing:

Oscar Nominations

2008-01-22T15:45:00.000-06:00

Well, Oscar nominations came out this morning [click here] and I call can say is that there really aren't any major surprises, especially coming off the other hundreds of other awards being handed out by different groups (Golden Globes, BAFTAs, etc.). Some of the most notable performances that were not recognized by the Academy include Tom Hanks in Charlie Wilson's War, Denzel Washington and/or Russell Crowe in American Gangster, Josh Brolin and/or Tommy Lee Jones in No Country For Old Men, and lest we forget Cuba Gooding Jr. in Daddy Day Camp (the sequel to Daddy Day Care and a movie who's concept is so bad, even Eddie Murphy wouldn't appear in it).

A quick breakdown of the major categories:

Best Picture - Out of the five, I have only seen No Country For Old Men (surprising, I know). I missed Michael Clayton in theaters, but my mom assured me it was an outstanding movie. I plan on seeing There Will Be Blood this week and maybe will try to sneak into a screening of Juno. [Ed. note: Did I say sneak in? I totally meant exit the theater and purchase a new ticket for that showing.] And if my fellow blogger over at filmdrunk.com is to be believed, I have no interest in seeing Atonement, but will do so when it gets to video and only if it wins.

Best Actor - Again, I haven't seen any of these except for Eastern Promises and my review was already posted here, but Viggo's performance was the only saving grace of the film. I don't know what In the Valley of Elah is, but if they nominated that performance for TLJ instead of No Country, I am sure it was an amazing performance. I plan to see Sweeney Todd very soon as well, but my brother has told me great things about Depp's performance and Burton's direction.

Best Actress - I have seen none of these and therefore, I cannot comment.

Best Supporting Actor - The competition in this category is sick and I have only seen 2 of the movies. Javier Bardem's portrayal of the bad dude in No Country was one of the scariest villains I can remember in a long time and everytime he used the air gun thingamajig, I jumped in my seat a little. Bardem's performance gave me chills the same way that Anthony Hopkins did in Silence of the Lambs. Also, Philip Seymour Hoffman was his usual amazing self in Charlie Wilson's War. If the competition was just between these two, I would have trouble choosing a winner and then, there are three other performances I have heard good things about, especially Casey Affleck (though I am a little surprised he got the nom for Assassination of Jesse James rather than in big brother's Gone Baby Gone).

Best Supporting Actress - The only one of these I have seen is American Gangster and for the life of me, I cannot recall which character Ruby Dee played [ed. note - she played Denzel's mother]. I am assuming Cate Blanchett will win for Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress, so my guess is that she wins for her portrayal of Bob Dylan in this category.

Best Animated Film - Ratatouille hands down.

A review of the Razzie nominations will be forthcoming in the next few days.

History of the Civil War ...

2008-01-22T10:41:00.000-06:00

in a mere four and a half minutes. Pretty cool stuff.

[h/t HCT]

Friday Floetry X 1/18/08

2008-01-18T11:59:00.000-06:00

This week we are doing something a little different. Jud suggested this one. Enjoy a different day of Floetry.

Floetry:

And when your fears subside
And shadows still remain
I know that you can love me
When there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain

Taken from November Rain by Guns N' Roses

Midweek in Review

2008-01-16T16:38:00.000-06:00

Yes, I have been lazy. A special thanks goes out to Brownie for at least putting something up on Monday. I have been real busy signing free agents and coaches for Season 7 of my whatifsports.com Hardball Dynasty team and thus, trying to recreate some semblance of a farm system while hopefully improving the major league squad. The Rule 5 Draft is tonight so we shall see if I can pull a diamond in the rough out of it. Also, in my other league, my major league squad has come back from a three game deficit to lead the AL West by one game heading into the home stretch. In the same league, my rookie league team has made the playoffs as the #3 seed and marks my first foray into the playoffs.

In the NFL Playoffs, the Giants upset the Cowboys, the Chargers upset the Colts and both the Packers and Patriots held serve. This Sunday the Pats host the Chargers and the Pack host the G-Men in their respective championship games with the winners to play on February 3 in Arizona for the Super Bowl.

Other stuff happened as well. Hopefully I will have more to say tomorrow.

Politics x Rap

2008-01-14T14:13:00.001-06:00

Another day, another story about politics and rap.

On Friday, along with Floetry, I dropped a link to an article about Senator Obama’s (you know, the guy running for President) interest in and opinion on hip-hop. Well, today I noticed another article touching on those subjects along with Hillary Clinton (you know, the lady running for President).

The article talks about the various theme songs or victory songs each candidate has used. A particularly interesting point made in the article is the song that the Obama campaign allegedly played at the Iowa victory party. Supposedly, Jay-Z’s 99 Problems played as Obama and his wife entered the party. Some people took part of that song as a dig at Clinton.

In 99 Problems, Jay-Z raps, “I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain’t one”.

The entire article, which includes both candidates recent song selections and musical opinions, can be found here.

Friday Floetry X 1/11/08

2008-01-11T10:23:00.000-06:00

I was going through my previous Floetry posts to see if I had already posted parts of the following track. Turns out I hadn't. Yeah, I know, I should have done Snoop Dogg a while ago. Please don't hate. Here he is.

Also, check out this article on allhiphop.com that quotes Senator Barack Obama from the BET special, What's In It For Us? The Presidential hopeful gives his thoughts on Hip-Hop and some rappers in particular. Here's the link.

Floetry:

I'm a gangsta, but y'all knew that
Da Big Bo$$ Dogg, yeah I had to do that
I keep a blue flag hanging out my backside
But only on the left side, yeah that's the Crip side
Ain't no other way to play the game the way I play
I cut so much you thought I was a DJ
{*scratches*} "two!" - "one!" - "yep, three!"
S-N double O-P, D-O double G
I can't fake it, just break it, and when I take it
See I specialize in making all the girls get naked
So bring your friends, all of y'all come inside
We got a world premiere right here, now get live!
So don't change the dizzle, turn it up a little
I got a living room full of fine dime brizzles
Waiting on the Pizzle, the Dizzle and the Shizzle
G's to the bizzack, now ladies here we gizzo

Taken from Drop It Like Its Hot by Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell Williams

Midweek in Review

2008-01-09T08:45:00.000-06:00

Apologies for not posting Monday or Tuesday, but that little thing called work got in the way. Alas, a midweek update seemed appropriate.

Monday night saw the LSU Bayou Bengals defeat the overmatched Suckeyes of Ohio State just as I had predicted. Yes, some of those predictions were awful, but I was right about LSU, Virginia Tech, Central Michigan, USC and Hawaii (and the ULaLa pick was entirely a shout-out to my boy TPC at the Dillo and had nothing to do with actual playing ability of that team and the Brian Brohm picked seemed really good at the time, but the Louisville D was awwwwful). Overall, the bowl games were satisfactory, but I kind of wish there was a committee in place to put the best matchups on the field instead of utilizing conference tie-ins. If this were the case, we wouldn't have seen USC destroy Illinois or Georgia make mincemeat out of Hawaii. I am not going into the playoff vs. BCS discussion as an entire post will be forthcoming on that (with a new college football landscape so sweeping, it will never happen), but I still have some kinks to work out.

Joe Gibbs resigned as head coach of the Washington Redskins. I hear Steve Spurrier is looking to pursue a career in the NFL. Oh wait, nevermind. What year is this again?

Goose Gossage received enough votes to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame on the power of the 'stache alone. Jim Rice and Andre Dawson finished second and third in the voting. Chuck Knoblauch received one vote, but threw it over the first baseman's head.

Roger Clemens denied steroid use on 60 min...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The Simpsons had a somewhat funny and poignant episode Sunday night that focused on the electoral process, though the show is still painful at times to watch. Best joke of the night: "We're going to Springfield!" "Which one?" "The one the Simpsons live in."

And McCain and Clinton won their respective primaries in New Hampshire. Now NH and Iowa can go back to their relative anonymity until November. Up next Meeshigan.

The Jags, Giants, Seahawks and Chargers all won their respective wild card games last weekend ... and there was much rejoicing. Yaaaay! [ed. note - I predicted each of these games correctly and if you don't believe me, ask Drillo]

This weekend sees the Jags @Pats, Chargers @ Colts, Seahawks @ Packers and Giants @ Cowboys. I will make predictions on Friday when I see what the weather will be like in Foxboro and Green Bay and whether T.O. is healthy and/or any of the other Cowboys got any diseases whilst down in Cabo last weekend hanging with the Jessica Simpson crew.

Although a tad belated, a special shout-out to Brownie for winning the NFL regular season Pigskin Pick'em crown beating out the other 24 participants. I finished third.

For Your Monday Morning

2008-01-06T22:36:00.001-06:00

Friday Floetry X 1/4/08

2008-01-04T14:45:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, Lupe Fiasco’s sophomore album, The Cool, dropped. I haven’t heard all of it yet. I really need to listen to the whole thing soon. Its been advertised as a response to all that "ignorant sh*t" out there. One of the tracks getting some playing time is called Superstar. Here is a snippet.

Floetry:

Yeah, uh
A fresh cool young Lu'
Tryna' catch his microphone check 2, 1, 2
Wanna' believe my own hype but it's too untrue
The world brought me to my knees, what have you brung you?
Did you improve on the design? Did you do somethin' new?
Well ya' name ain't on the guest list, who brung you?
YOU! The more famous person you come through
And the sexy lady next to you, you come too
And then it hit me
Standin' outside of heaven waitin' for god to come and get me
I'm too uncouth
Unschooled to the rules and too gum shoe
Too much of a new comer and too un-cool
Like Shadow and Lavelle, I battle wit' it well
Tho I need holiday like lady who sung "Blue"
Go back, whatever you did you undo
Heavy as heaven
The devil on me, two ton's too

Taken from Superstar by Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthew Santos

Iowa Caucus

2008-01-04T09:16:00.000-06:00

So Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee won the Democratic and Republican Iowa Caucuses (Caucii?), respectively, last night. What does this mean? I have no idea. If you came here looking for politics, you are woefully in the wrong place. Of course, it is not too hard to believe these were your winners as they each had fantastic celebrity endorsements in Iowa - Scarlett Johansson for Obama and Chuck Norris for Huckabee.

Brownie x Top Songs of 2007

2008-01-03T14:25:00.000-06:00

Well, I was asked to make a list of what I consider the Top 10 Songs of 2007. I have obliged. So many songs came out this year just like any recent year. Thus, I would assume its impossible for any reviewer to really be able to listen to every song on every album (and/or mixtape) of every genre and then give an opinion as to which 10 songs deserve to make the cut.

I in no way think my list is “finished” in the sense that I haven’t heard every song from 2007. But, I have heard a decent amount, both on the radio and on various CDs/mp3s that I have had the benefit of getting my ears on.

Some songs on my list are songs that I think 2007 will be remembered for (at least for the next few months before a new crop of summer bangers come out). Songs that just about everyone heard at least once, whether or not they liked it or really wanted to hear it. I’ve also included songs that probably very few people have heard unless they are fans of certain artists. Thus, I think I have touched on some “radio” songs along with some songs that one would have to purposely search out, although all the artists are pretty “mainstream” (if that makes any sense).

I should have just done a Top 10 Rap songs list or a Top 10 Pop songs list, but I think my musical taste is spread across a spectrum and thus that spectrum should be partially represented in my personal Top 10 list.

Before I just get to the list already, I also want to note that just about any mix, guest appearance, or song that Lil Wayne put out in 2007 could easily be a serious candidate for a Top 10 song. Think about hit songs from the past 2 years and see if you don’t stumble upon a Lil Wayne project along the way. His Tha Carter III hasn’t dropped yet (although some “potential” songs leaked during 2007 causing Weezy to make some lineup changes). That new album is definitely something to be excited about in 2008. XXL Magazine named Tha Carter III as the most anticipated album of 2007, so 2008 got lucky with the delay…

With all that said, here are my Top 10 songs of 2007, in no particular order:

Barry Bonds - Kanye West featuring Lil Wayne

Big Girls Don't Cry - Fergie

Stronger - Kanye West

Say Hello - Jay-Z

Buy You A Drank (Shawty Snappin') - T-Pain featuring Young Joc

Hey There Delilah - Plain White Ts

No One - Alicia Keys

Bubbly - Colbie Caillat

Beautiful Girls - Sean Kingston

Hello Brooklyn 2.0 - Jay-Z featuring Lil Wayne

Judz' Top 10 Movies of 2007

2008-01-03T12:00:00.000-06:00

In fiscal year 2007, I was able to catch 32 movies in theaters (on par with the 34 in 2006) and a slew of others on dvd. This year had a handful of great films and a plethora of crap. We saw a summer filled with three-quels (Spiderman, Shrek, Ocean's XX, Bourne, Rush Hour) and the typical sequels. My top 10 from last year was as follows starting from #1 (The Departed, The Good Shepherd, Borat, Clerks II, Thank You For Smoking, Blood Diamond, Inside Man, Casino Royale, Running Scared and V For Vendetta). Now onto this year's list of Top 10 and Bottom 5 and as always, feel free to leave comments if you disagree:

1. 300
2. American Gangster
3. Charlie Wilson's War
4. Superbad
5. Ratatouille
6. The Kingdom
7. Bourne Ultimatum
8. Knocked Up
9. Transformers
10. Beowulf

Bottom 5:
5. Rush Hour 3
4. Premonition
3. Sicko
2. Eastern Promises
1. Epic Movie (whatever happened to good parodies - and now we are stuck with a new one called Meet The Spartans)

Top 5 2007 Movies I haven't had the chance to see yet:
1. 3:10 to Yuma
2. Assassination of Jesse James
3. Michael Clayton
4. Sweeney Todd
5. Gone Baby Gone

Christmas/New Years Movie Reviews

2008-01-02T15:14:00.000-06:00

Beginning Christmas Day and following up on New Years Day, I was able to catch up on some movies just entering theaters and figured I would finally post some brief reviews.

National Treasure 2 - I absolutely loved the first one as you really don't get to see too many movies talking about the young, but very rich history of the United States and the original offered that up in spades. To me, I liked NT better than The Da Vinci Code and both had very similar story structures. Guy looking for "treasure" and uses his ability to uncover clues to reach the endgame. NT2 has a very similar structure, but has less clues and thus, less history. They were much more focused on the action/danger element this time around, which actually detracted from what could've been a fantastic movie. I cannot speak for its rewatch value of NT2, but I have seen NT at least a dozen times. 4.5/6 beers.

Charlie Wilson's War - Great story with fantastic acting (especially from Tom Hanks and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, not so much from Julia Roberts). I had never heard of this story, so I don't know exactly how accurate it is, but I definitely had a great time watching it. It was very talky, but had enough comedic elements that it wasn't too drawn out. I felt there was some great character development and a sharp script. Definitely one of the better movies of the year.

No Country for Old Men - I still cannot figure out if I liked this movie. I really enjoyed it for the first 3/4, but the last 1/4 of the movie just threw me. I am trying to figure out if I just didn't understand what was happening or if the ending just plain sucked. Either way, it detracted from what could've been a dynamite film. I am a Coen Brothers fan, but I just walked out of the theater shaking my head about what could have been. Part of me wants to read the novel now to see if I really missed something and just how much license the Coen Bros. took, but may not have the time (plus, don't want to be further disappointed if that was the ending the author really wrote).

Eastern Promises (on DVD) - If you read the first incarnation of this blog (search the archives if you must), you will know that I absolutely hated A History of Violence, the previous film by David Cronenberg back in 2005 and even labelled it the worst film of the year. I just watched and waited for something to happen and it just never did. Cronenberg has made some decent films in the past (see Scanners and Videodrome), but between Violence and now Eastern Promises, I will not waste any more time or money on anything done by him. This movie was just awful and I really cannot find where all of the praise is coming from. Viggo Mortensen was good enough, as was Naomi Watts, but the story had absolutely nothing redeemable about it.

The Annual Judz Top 10 Movie List is forthcoming this week.

Fantasy Football 2007

2007-12-31T14:30:00.001-06:00

Well, I will make this post as brief as possible since I fully comprehend that nobody cares about anybody else's fantasy football team. But, in the interest of full disclosure, I just had to post that my supersquad f/k/a the Houston Nutts defeated Classical Greatness aka my boy Classic 110-76 in the Championship Game last week to win the fantasy football crown. Despite putting up only the 8th most points overall in the regular season, but compiling a stellar 10-4 record to finish in 3rd place overall. After crushing the Brady-led Crescent City Crusher in the semi-finals, it was a showdown between the two biggest trash-talkers in the league. In the end, the better team prevailed. I would like to thank the following people who made this victory so victorious: Jon Kitna, Steven Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Marion Barber, Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson, Torry "Big Game" Holt, Chris Chambers, Alge Crumpler, Steven Gostokowski, and the entire Chicago defense (all but Crumpler and Chambers being with me since draft day). A special thanks also goes out to all of the other players who had the privilege playing with my squad and filling in when any of my players were hit with the injury bug. Unfortunately, Brownie was unable to overcome his various injuries and management decisions, as he finished in 6th place, losing the Consolation Bracket to Drillo, last year's esteemed champion.

Site Update

2007-12-31T11:44:00.000-06:00

Things have been real busy for the In Judz We Trust team over the past week or so, which is why any new posts have been nonexistent. While I hope today, there will be a handful of new posts to set you up for the new year, I just wanted to post one of the greatest quotes I have ever heard.

While leaving the Houston Texans game yesterday afternoon and walking to our car, I noticed a young kid, probably about 9-10 years old, flipping through the 2008 Houston Texans Cheerleader Swimsuit Calendar and not paying attention to where he was walking. All of a sudden, his dad turns and says to him:

"Be careful, that could be your new mommy."

Happy New Year!

Friday Floetry x 12/21/07

2007-12-21T13:45:00.000-06:00

This morning I was at the gym (trying my best to wake up early at least during the week), and I heard the following track on my iPod. The track is from around 2004, so about 3 years ago give or take. G-Unit did this track. The group was created by and includes 50 Cent (who still seems to be rapping even though he lost that bet with Kanye ---see earlier postings by Brownie to get up to speed on that). I don't remember who is feuding with whom at this exact moment, but when this track came out, Lloyd Banks and Young Buc were also members of G-Unit.

Enjoy the Holidays!

Floetry:

Chain so icy, you don't have to like me

In a throwback jersey, with the throwback Nikes

I know you probably seen me with Cash Money from back in the days

The only thing changed is the numbers on the range

I bought me an old school and blew out the brains

The Roc the Mic tour, I threw off my chain

My sprewell's spinning man, I'm doing my thing

And whodi now in trouble now that you in the game

Come on now, we all know gold is getting old

The ice in my teeth keep the Cristal cold

G-Unit homie, actin' like y'all don't know

Look, I can't even walk through the mall no more

I just pull up, get out, and get all the hoes

They never seen doors lift up on a car before

Don't be mad at me dog, that's all I know

That's how to show these fougaisies how it's supposed to go

Taken from Stunt 101 by G-Unit

Coogs Basketball Update

2007-12-20T08:45:00.000-06:00

Been real busy at my real job, so I haven't had a chance to post anything about the UH-Kentucky basketball game on Tuesday night where the Coogs annhilated the visiting Wildcats 83-69 (game nowhere near as close as the score indicates). The Coogs were up by 27 midway through the 2nd half and then just decided to start milking the clock, which allowed Kentucky to make the score respectable. I understand Kentucky has some injuries right now, but could SportsCenter at least give the Coogs some credit on destroying a perennial power. I know we are not the team we were back in the 1980s with Phi Slamma Jamma (and have been below average until Penders arrived on the scene), but they were acting like there was no way we should've beaten them, as if we are on par with the Gardner-Webb's of the world (not a slight against Gardner-Webb, but with the tradition that Houston has on the hardwood, especially with the 40th anniversary of the game against UCLA in the Astrodome that changed the landscape of college basketball forever arriving in January). The Coogs will definitely be getting some votes for the Top 25, but may not make it into the rankings until after we play and hopefully beat the likes of UMass and Arizona and not lose to the likes of Arkansas - Pine Bluff.

It was nice to see such a large crowd and it was rocking early in the game. Paid attendance was in the neighborhood of 8,500, which is the largest crowd since my sophomore year in 2000 when we hosted #1 Cincinnati. There were numerous sightings of Clyde Drexler, Chuck Hayes, Tracy McGrady, Keith Bogans, and new Houston Astros CF and former Coog, Michael Bourn. I have heard the crowd sounded great on tv and the home court advantage probably gave the team at least 5-10 extra points. I think the crowd hit is peak when the following happened:

Overall, big time victory for the Coogs and one that will look better as the season heads towards March. The Coogs sit at 10-1, its best start since the days of Phi Slamma Jamma.

B-Mid

2007-12-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

Big time congrats to former University of Houston standout wide receiver Brandon Middleton (#10) for his first touchdown reception of his NFL career. Although his Detroit Lions team lost the game in brutal fashion, yesterday is a day B-Mid will remember. With the injury to Roy Williams, Middleton was called up from the practice squad a few weeks ago and saw action for the second straight game.

Also, former Coog Willie Gaston, playing in only his second game of the season for the Baltimore Ravens, had 5 tackles and a pass deflection in a loss to the formerly winless Dolphins.

[photo taken by Harry How/Gettys Images]

Friday Floetry X 12/14/07

2007-12-14T14:50:00.000-06:00

Well, I've been slacking off on Friday Floetry for the past 2 Fridays. This week I am going to keep my intro short because I think the Floetry speaks for itself. Coolio. Enough said. By the way, I've heard Jud has started a grass-roots campaign to increase readership (or is it viewership?). To that end, if you are a new reader and want to check out past editions of Friday Floetry, go to the end of this particular entry and click on the "Friday Floetry" label.

Friday Floetry:

I'm a educated fool, with money on my mind
Got my ten in my hand and a gleam in my eye
I'm a loced-out gangsta, set-trippin banger
And my homies is down, so don't arouse my anger, fool

Death ain't nothing but a heart beat away
I'm livin life do-or-die ah, what can I say?
I'm twenty-three now will I live to see twenty-fo'?
The way things are goin I don't know

Tell me why are we -- so blind to see
That the ones we hurt -- are you and me

been spending most their lives
Living in the Gangsta's Paradise
been spending most their lives
Living in the Gangsta's Paradise
keep spending most our lives
Living in the Gangsta's Paradise
keep spending most our lives
Living in the Gangsta's Paradise

Taken from Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio

UH Cougar Basketball

2007-12-14T09:00:00.000-06:00

I have been fairly quiet on the goings-on over at Hofheinz Pavilion down on the campus of University of Houston, but Tom Penders' Coogs are now sitting at 9-1 after their annhilation of the Southern University Jaguars last Saturday night. For those unaware, this the best start to a season the Coogs have had in 15 years. The team is led by Robert "Fluff" McKiver, Lanny Smith, Dion Dowell, and the two freshmen you see above, Brockeith Pane and Zamal Nixon. The crowds thus far have been abyssmal at best, which is a shame because this is the deepest and most talented team we have had since our last NCAA tournament appearance and maybe even back to the Phi Slamma Jamma days. Granted, this group of Coogs are not as high-flying as those teams fielded by the great Guy V. Lewis in the early 80s, but this current crop can shoot anybody out of the gym.

The biggest issue this team faces is a lack of an inside presence, though the team is rebounding better than in previous years. The success of this team, as in years past, will entirely depend on how well it shoots the 3 because if they are falling, the Coogs can beat anybody. Penders is still working on the rotation and injuries are always a factor, but this team could be something special. So, if you are in town next Tuesday, December 18 (or if you just want to watch it at home - it is on ESPN2 at 8pm CT), come to Hofheinz and check out the Coogs as they play host to the University of Kentucky Wildcats.

Thursday Afternoon Video

2007-12-13T15:54:00.000-06:00

From the classic Spies Like Us:

The Mitchell Report

2007-12-13T11:14:00.000-06:00

So I have seen a list of names that will be included in the report and except for a few, there is nobody on the list that I would consider shocking. The list includes players that all of a sudden had a power surge or a player who was always good, but then broke down once steroids became an issue, as well as guys that had temper issues. On the other hand, there were a few names I almost expected to be included that weren't. In the end, what does it all mean? Really, nothing. Yeah there are some Hall of Fame voters with a stick up their ass and will refuse to vote for some or any of the guys on the list. However, nobody can discount the enjoyment we all received from the huge power numbers we saw being put up by these same players who have now been outed. Of course, like the McCarthy hearings, these guys have only been linked to steroids through third parties and have not necessarily tested positive. I will admit that I cheered for these guys (and had no problem putting my head in the sand) and will continue to cheer on these guys, including Tejada who was just traded to the Astros yesterday.

University of Houston Coaching Search

2007-12-13T09:38:00.000-06:00

I have been fairly quiet on this issue (at least on this board) until a successor to Art Briles was named and according to ESPN, that successor is current Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator Kevin Sumlin. As you may be aware (and as I posted a few weeks back), Briles left UH after 5 seasons to go to the coaching wasteland known as Baylor University. Candidates to replace Briles included Notre Dame OC Michael Haywood, Tulsa OC Gus Mahlzan, and former UH (and Houston Oilers) head coach Jack Pardee. While a Pardee hire could have been one of the most interesting developments (especially with the staff he was going to put together), I must say that I am quite intrigued by what Sumlin brings to the table. He is a young coach with no previous head coaching experience, but he has been on the staffs at Purdue, Texas A&M, Minnesota, Wyoming and has spent the past few years under Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. Right now, UH has the athletes in place to be successful and compete for the championship in Conference USA and a change in philosophy at the top may be a great thing. Even though he was getting better every year, Briles still had the mind of a high school coach who would try to out-gimmick opposing teams. These past 2-3 years, all we needed to do was line up and pound the ball and we probably would've been a better team. Having a guy who learned under Stoops, who consistently runs one of the top offenses (despite having QBs with absolutely no NFL potential) is a blessing. Paired with our Strength & Conditioning Coach Larry Jackson (who probably is the one most responsible for the success of the past two seasons) who we also got from OU, we have a potentially fantastic staff, especially considering that former WR coach Jason Phillips is back on board (assuming he stays). I can't wait to hear from Sumlin on where he sees this team going, who he brings in to complete his staff and how we will shape the Coogs over the next few years as we head towards another potential conference reshuffling when the current BCS contract expires. Reading Cougar message boards these past few weeks has itself been a very interesting task as there were people on all different sides of the coaching issue, each championing there own guy or wondering why we weren't going after X, Y or Z. In the end, I think Dave Maggard has made a great decision and my fellow Coogs need to rally around Sumlin and the Coogs. Now let's go beat the Horned Frogs in the Texas Bowl [December 28, 2007 - 7pm, Reliant Stadium].

[espn]

Sports Business Journal Survey

2007-12-07T12:24:00.001-06:00

I was perusing Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal earlier this morning and with it being year-end and all, they included results to a reader survey regarding many sports-related questions. There were some interesting results and some results that make me scared that the general population votes for the representatives in our government.

Here is a brief rundown of some of the questions and results:

Favorite TV play-by-play personality: Al Michaels, followed by Joe Buck, Jim Nantz and Mike Tirico --> I am fine with each of these, but would add at least one or two less popular, but overall better pbp guys like Gus Johnson.

Favorite TV game broadcast analyst: Kirk Herbstreit, followed by Madden, Aikman and Jaworski. I am fine with Herbstreit, but there is nobody better than Jaworski. Not to mention that Madden is an absolute joke of himself and a captain of the obvious.

Favorite studio show host: Chris Berman, Bob Costas, Chris Fowler, James Brown and Ernie Johnson. Seeing as how I find the TNT NBA basketball studio show to be far and away the best (with College Gameday 2nd), my vote would go to either Costas or Johnson, plus Berman is simply just annoying.

Corporate sponsor you most want aligned with your property: Nike, followed by Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Apple and American Express --> I pretty much agree with these choices, except I have a certain distaste for Apple.

Most underrated commissioner/top executive: Don Garber (MLS), followed by Bud Selig (MLB), David Baker (AFL) and Gary Bettman (NHL). This was an inspired pick, especially Garber's strategy relating to player salaries for international superstars (the "Beckham Exception"), but I would probably have selected Baker from the Arena Football League because of the alliance he formed with ESPN and the ownership groups he has helped bring on board.

Property/organization with the most growth potential: MLS, followed NHL, UFC, X-Games and NCAA. I think this is quite accurate as the MLS (due in part to the growth of soccer in the US with the addition of channels such as Fox Soccer Channel and GolTV to the sports tiers of cable networks showing games from England, Germany, Mexico and other leagues) is just on the cusp waiting for more Beckhams to come across the pond.

Property/organization most likely to fold within the next five years: WNBA, followed by Champ Car, AST Dew Tour (volleyball), and NLL (lacrosse). I haven't heard much financially about the WNBA to think it is going under, but I have heard about Champ Car's issues, especially compared to the IRL, Formula One and of course, NASCAR.

Best sport/league to see in person: NHL, followed by NCAA football, MLB, NFL, and NCAA basketball. I have never been to an NHL game (though, hopefully one is on the horizon eventually), I have seen other hockey games live and this is a great sport. On the other hand, if you include tailgating at a SEC school, I could easily see college football being #1a on this list, rather than just #2.

Team most in need of a new logo (NFL): Cleveland Browns, followed by the Redskins, Titans, Bengals and Bills. This one actually surprises me, because I would've assumed the Redskins would've been #1 convincingly considering the underlying connotations of their logo.

Least effective owner (NFL): Al Davis (Raiders), followed by Bill Bidwill (Cardinals) and William Clay Ford (Lions). Considering the utter ineptitude of the Cardinals and the inability of Ford to fire Matt Millen as team president of the Lions, I would have gone those choices first. The Raiders have at least been in the Super Bowl this century.

NBA polls: Nothing at all surprising - Cuban as best owner and Dolan (Knicks) as worst, with Jazz as the team most in need of a new logo.

Most effective owner (MLB): George Steinbrenner, followed by John Henry (Red Sox), Arte Moreno (Angels), Larry Dolan (Indians) and Fred Wilpon (Mets). This is an interesting one, but I would've picked Henry, especially because it is for a category saying most effective.

Least effective owner (MLB): Peter Angelos (Orioles), followed by Jeffrey Loria (Marlins), Stuart Sternberg (Rays), Bob Nutting (Pirates) and David Glass (Royals). This one was fascinating because all of these owners are terrible. I would throw Loria to the top of the list even though he has won a world series this decade, simply because he had a young team, not earning much money with a young eager coach (Girardi, now with the Yankees) who was getting the most out of them and has since fought with Girardi and firing him, traded the top two faces of the team this past week (Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis) for unproven prospects (though these guys could be unbelievable) and now has a payroll for the 2008 season that may not reach $10 million and attendance that may not average 1,500 spectators per game.

Owner who will bring the most change to a franchise over the next 10 years (MLB): Tribune Co. (Chicago Cubs). Really?? Are they going to change the franchise by selling them?

NHL: Nothing surprising

NASCAR: Nothing surprising

Most underrated conference (college) Big East, followed by Pac-10, MAC, Conference USA, ACC and Big 12. I agree with the Big East (especially in basketball), but the Pac-10 is honestly very overrated in all sports. Even though I am a small conference guy, I don't find Conference USA to be underrated at all. In fact, other than a few teams at the top (Tulsa, Houston, Southern Miss, Memphis and UCF), the teams at the bottom are terrible pretty much across the board.

Most overrated conference: Guess ... yes, it is the Big 10. And they wonder why no cable company wants to put the Big 10 network on their regular cable lineup rather than a sports tier.

Best MLB ballpark: Fenway, Wrigley, Yankee, AT&T (Giants), Oriole Park and PNC Park (Pirates). I haven't seen a game in any of these stadiums, so I would appreciate feedback.

MLB club most in need of a new ballpark: Marlins, Mets, Rays, Twins, Nationals and Athletics. Absolutely to every single one of these.

Best NFL Stadium: Cardinals, Packers, Patriots, Seahawks and Texans. No surprises here, but I have heard that other than the nostalgia factor, Lambeau isn't that spectacular.

Favorite item from the concession stand: Beer (28.8%), Hot dog (26.2%), Local specialty (19.5%) and Nachos (7.3%). I stand behind my fellow Americans who voted on this question.

Feel free to leave a comment about whether you agree or disagree with any of the above.

Thursday Morning Video - Chuck Norris Approved

2007-12-06T10:56:00.000-06:00

I do not get into politics on this blog as there are so many others out there that do nothing but politics, but I just had to pass along what could be the greatest campaign advertisement of all time.

Thursday Morning Video - Givin Him The Business

2007-12-06T10:45:00.001-06:00

Two weeks ago, the referee in the Maryland vs. North Carolina State game made an interesting personal foul call:

But referee Ron Cherry did not come up with this on his own and it was a referee in a Jets-Bills game that appears to be the first to use such a magical phrase. Here is the original call:

Preliminary BCS Post

2007-12-04T14:15:00.001-06:00

I will have more thoughts on the subject including my predicitions for every bowl game, but in the meantime, here is one of the best analyses of the BCS situation.

The Departure of Art Briles

2007-12-03T15:17:00.000-06:00

I have been fairly mum on the subject as I am waiting on who will be named as the next head football coach of the Houston Cougars replacing Art Briles, who resigned last week to become the head coach at Baylor University. In the meantime, here is a nice take on the subject from Houston's Clear Thinkers.

I will be back later for a BCS post.

Retro Time

2007-12-01T00:45:00.000-06:00

In honor of the Tennessee Titans (f/k/a the Houston Oilers) playing the Houston Texans this Sunday, I give you the greatest football song ever written (and even the Dolphins tried to steal it, but we did it first). Enjoy!!!

Black Friday

2007-11-23T05:55:00.000-06:00

Its that time of year again. Black Friday. That time when people wake up well prior to the butt ass crack of dawn to fight the crowds to get some good discounts on stuff we don't really need. And yes, I was at the mall around 5:15. We decided to forego Best Buy until later this morning, as the sales this year were rather pedestrian. I have made some good purchases so the lack of sleep wasn't a total waste.

Remember tis the season to forearm your way through the crowd.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T19:42:00.000-06:00

I am just sitting here at Intercontinental Airport in Houston about to board a flight down to Fort Lauderdale to spend Turkey Day with the family. I, of course, will be spending the day tomorrow snacking on whatever my dad cooks and sitting/laying on the couch watching football (actually have a few fantasy players going tomorrow (go Team Kitna). Unfortunately, through circumstances out of my control, I will also be working. Fret not dear readers as I will be with the people I care about most in the world and also my brother. So, however you are spending turkey day tomorrow, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

There is a chance I may be live blogging my Black Friday shopping experiences starting with Best Buy around 3-4am.

Wednesday Afternoon Pre-Thanksgiving Video

2007-11-21T12:30:00.000-06:00

This is a hilarious video interviewing "Sam McGuffie" otherwise known as the Cy-Fair High School runningback in Houston who made a name for himself with his hurdling of opponents. He is also a pretty stout runningback who will be playing bigtime D-1A college football next year.

Here is one of his highlight videos courtesy of youtube:

DY-NA-MO, DYNAMO!!

2007-11-19T10:30:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, the Houston Dynamo defeated the New England Revolution to win their second straight MLS Cup (in their first two years playing in Houston) by a score of 2-1. The Dynamo looked sluggish in the first half surrendering a goal by some guy that makes Lance Bass look straight. Piss poor play by the right back lead to most of the Revolution's chances throughout the game, but he did cause the Revolution's forward to headbutt him and get him a yellow card (should've been red and it was right in front of the referee). Luckily, the defense stepped it up in the second half and the Dynamo moved the ball better leading to two goals and the victory, despite the absence of Brian Ching. Congrats Dynamo for being a team in Houston that actually looks like it wants to win a championship.

2007-11-16T11:59:00.000-06:00

Well, last weekend I was driving around and one of my passengers thought we should actually listen to the radio for a change. I heard this song twice in 2 hours and I was told it featured Lil Wayne. A lot of people out there consider Lil Wayne the Best Rapper Alive, so take that as you may. Thinking about it, one of my favorite songs off of Kanye’s most recent album (sad to hear about Kanye’s mom btw) is Barry Bonds, which features Lil Wayne. One of my favorite songs from Jay-Z’s new album is Hello Brooklyn 2.0 also featuring Weezy (my favorites from American Gangster also include No Hook, Roc Boys, and Say Hello). Anyway, not 100% sure how much I like this track I’m gonna quote from (I like to listen to something several times before passing judgment), but some of my people like it, so I’ll spit it at least for that reason.

Friday Floetry:

Aint Nuthin To A Boss We Ballin When You See Us

We Hear Them Hataz Callin They Too Far Off To See Us

Unless They Got They Glasses On Get Your Bifocal Game

Class Is Now In Session Now Try To Stay Focus Mane

Your Boy Aint Good Enough Style Aint Hood Enough

Would've Could've Should've Wont Do With Us True Enough

Taken From Duffle Bag Boy by Playaz Circle featuring Lil Wayne

Lidge Deal

2007-11-15T11:28:00.000-06:00

You have read my take on the deal, but let's see what Philly fans are saying (and Brownie, as a Phillies fan, feel free to comment):

[http://www.hardballtimes.com]

Tuesday Post-Lunch Video

2007-11-13T13:27:00.000-06:00

This video comes to us from a game between the Halifax Wolverines and the Summerside Western Capitals on Oct 30th 2007. Enjoy!!

Heisman Trophy Leaderboards

2007-11-12T18:00:00.000-06:00

Throughout the course of a college football season, the one thing many pundits enjoy just as much as ranking teams is ranking Heisman trophy candidates. For the most part, every Heisman leaderboard will have the same 5-10 candidates. The Heisman is supposed to be given to the most outstanding college football player in a given year. In years past, it has become one of two things: (i) a lifetime achievement award (see Williams, R. and Dayne, R.) or the best player on the best team (see Smith, T., Leinart, M. and White, J.). This year is no exception. The leaderboards from the beginning have consisted of the following players: Tim Tebow (QB-Florida), Darren McFadden (RB-Arkansas and probably the best player overall), Matt Ryan (QB-Boston College once they started winning), Chase Daniel (QB-Missouri once they continued winning), Mike Hart (RB-Michigan but injuries have derailed his campaign), Andre Woodson (QB-Kentucky until they started losing), Graham Harrell (QB-Texas Tech until they started losing), Ray Rice (RB-Rutgers until they started losing), Brian Brohm (QB-Louisville until they started losing), Dennis Dixon (QB-Oregon once they started winning), John David Booty (QB-USC until he was benched), Colt Brennan (QB-Hawaii until injuries). The one thing you will notice about each name above is that except for Brennan, each of the players are in a BCS conference. In fact, the last two players to win the award that were not from a so-called power conference were Ty Detmer at BYU (then WAC, now MWC) and Andre Ware at Houston (then SWC, now C-USA) all the way back in 1989 and 1990 and you could consider the SWC a power conference as it now wields a lot of power in the Big 12 (and you would have to go back to Roger Staubach at Navy in 1960 to find the last one before that). The last non-BCS conference player to even place second was Marshall Faulk back in 1992 at San Diego State. Last year it was Troy Smith (OSU), Darren McFadden (Arkansas) and Brady Quinn (Notre Dame). The year before, the finalists were Reggie Bush (USC), Vince Young (Texas) and Matt Leinart (USC). I am trying to locate a list of non-BCS New York invitees since the BCS was formed, but am having difficulty. The last non-BCS player I can recall even being invited to New York was Steve McNair out of Div. 1-AA Alcorn State.

Why is all of this important? Other than the fact that no non-BCS conference team has a real shot at the Championship Game, it appears that no athlete that goes to a non-BCS school even has a shot for the most prestigious award. Case in point - This season the top two running backs in the country are Matt Forte and Kevin Smith. Have you heard of them? Probably not. They are almost never on SportsCenter or College Gameday and they only get on tv when they play the rare Thursday night or Sunday night game or play on CSTV (a channel I wish would come in HD because they have some really fun matchups sometimes among smaller schools). Forte is the running back at Tulane and Smith is a University of Central Florida Golden Knight. Forte currently leads the country in rushing with a robust 1,813 yards and Smith is not far behind with 1,768, meanwhile Heisman hopeful McFadden comes in at on 1,431. Their yards per carry are about the same. Now, you may say, what would Forte and Smith do against big time college conference defenses. Well, Smith ran for only 217 yards and 2 TDs against ACC-opponent North Carolina State and 149 yards and 2 TDs in a near-upset of Big 12-opponent and top 15 Texas. Further, Smith is leading the country in points scored with 138 (McFadden meanwhile has a mere 72). Now, just imagine if either of these players had a BCS conference offensive line or quarterback to take pressure off them and keep the defenses honest. It is the same knock that many have against non-BCS quarterbacks like Colt Brennan. Again, what people forget is that they are throwing behind non-BCS offensive lines to non-BCS wide receivers. Daunte Culpepper had an amazing senior season before graduating UCF, including at the time the highest single-season completion percentage. I had the privilege to watch Culpepper play games at the Citrus Bowl and that 72+% completion percentage should've been closer to 80-85% had his receivers hung on to the balls that were thrown to them. Meanwhile, Culpepper did this while running for his life against teams from the SEC on the road for the most part as an independent team making its entry into Div. 1A football. The knock against Culpepper was that he put up his stats against inferior teams, but of the 6 quarterbacks taken in the 1999 draft, only Culpepper and Donovan McNabb still play in the league [In case you have forgotten, the others drafted were Tim Couch (Kentucky), Akili Smith (Oregon), Cade McNown (UCLA) and Shaun King (Tulane), with King being the only one of the remaining 4 to have some semblance of an NFL career]. I have no intention of singling McFadden out as I still contend that he is the best running back in the country and was my preseason Heisman pick (I think so, if not it was Brian Brohm of Louisville - just can't remember) and should be the #1 pick in the NFL Draft next season, but I just want to point out that non-BCS players are having Heisman caliber seasons, but continue to fly well under the radar. Now that I have said my piece, here are the week-by-week stats of Forte, Smith and McFadden:

Forte - 47, 85, 303, 73, 202, 209, 342, 278, 103, 171
Smith - 217, 149, 124, 223, 147, 55 (USF), 170, 175, 188, 320
McFadden - 151, 195, 173, 138, 122, 43 (Auburn), 110, 61 (FIU), 321, 117

Tulane (3-7) and UCF (7-3) would have a few less wins each had these guys not played and UCF would not be in contention for the C-USA East title without Kevin Smith. Luckily for UCF and unluckily for the rest of C-USA, Smith is only a junior and should be back next season.

Musings on a Monday Afternoon

2007-11-12T15:07:00.000-06:00

Thoughts from the past week in the world of sports:

1. The Lidge/Bourn trade - I for one am somewhat elated at this trade, although trading Lidge came two years too late. His value was pretty much at an all-time low since his meteoric rise in 2004 and the Astros probably received as much as they were going to get at this time (probably could've received more at the trade deadline either last year or this coming season). Michael Bourn (a UH alum - woohoo!!) could turn into the leadoff hitter that Willy Tavares never could become. Bourn has a higher OBP, better baserunning skills and is better defensively; however, he will not hit for as high of a batting average as Willy T. Geary is a serviceable middle reliever and will basically come in to take Dan Wheeler's place, who Purpura traded to get Wigginton. The 3B prospect is intriguing and may be a solid addition, but we won't know for at least a few more years. Losing Bruntlett doesn't hurt so much because he would be nothing more than a utility infielder for the Astros this coming season.

2. #1 Ohio State loses to Illinois and now the BCS Championship Game comes down to two of the following teams: LSU, Oregon, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and West Virginia. If LSU comes out unscathed (vs. Ole Miss, Arkansas and SEC East Champ) it will be playing in New Orleans. The Big 12 champion will have the next best chance, even though Oregon is currently at #2. WVU could get in if the following happens - win out and have LSU and Oregon lose.

3. UH defeats Morehead State 83-54 in the home opener for the men's basketball team. UH looked good, but, like last year, it will live by the three, die by the three. The first seven shots were three-point attempts, but thankfully 5 went in and the Coogs cruised to a 15-1 lead to start the game en route to the 29-point victory. The rebounding and inside game was virtually non-existent and that will have to change for the Coogs to make noise in C-USA and get into the NCAA Tournament. With all of the crazy early season shenanigans amongst some top 25 teams (Mercer d. USC, Gardner-Webb d. Kentucky, Findlay d. Ohio State, et al), a win is a win, especially a big win that allowed some new players to get some good minutes. Next up, the Coogs travel to Puerto Rico to play in a tournament that features, Arkansas, Miami, VCU, Marist, Providence, Temple and College of Charleston.

4. My original whatifsports.com baseball dynasty (Dover Incorporators) sits at 16-32, but I have taken over a new team in a different league (Las Vegas Dealers) and unlike Dover, my cupboard is not bare with regards to talent. Free agent signing starts tomorrow and I have a lot of money to spend.

Friday Floetry X 11/9/07

2007-11-09T11:26:00.000-06:00

This week’s Floetry comes from Jay-Z’s (Hov’s) new album, American Gangster. The album is not the official soundtrack for the movie by the same name, but it is inspired by the movie. By the way, American Gangster beat out Jerry “Don’t you know who I am?” Seinfeld’s Bee Movie for the top movie spot last weekend despite American Gangster playing in about 1,000 less theaters (according to Jud). Jay-Z spent some of his youth as a drug dealer (or trapper) in Brooklyn so he felt a connection to the movie, which is based on the real life story of Frank Lucas.

Lucas went from being a small time criminal, to driver for a bigger time drug dealer, to one of the most “successful” dealers of all time. Lucas still brags that he and his “organization” (the Country Boys) sold about $1 million dollars worth of heroin a day in the Harlem streets. The movie claims that Lucas had $250 million at the “end” -- and that’s $$$ in 1970’s dollars, not whatever crazy amount it would be today with inflation etc. Lucas also claims that the cops stole almost $10 million in cash from him in one day (the cops claim there was "only" about $585,000 in cash which they properly processed at their offices).

Anyway, I’m getting beyond the point for today, which is to present some Floetry. For more on the Lucas story, check out the movie and also this link. The link is to a New York Magazine article that helped turn Lucas’ story into a film which in turn inspired Hov to make his second album after his return from his “retirement”.

Floetry:

this is not for commercial usage
please dont catagorize this is music
please dont compare me to other rappers
compare me to trappers im more Frank Lucas than Ludacris
and Luda's my dude i aint trying to diss
like Frank Lucas is cool but i aint trying to snitch
imma follow the rules no matter how much time imma get
imma live and die with the decisions that imma pick
so f**k the haven for cave in, thats why we dont speak
made men aint supposed to make statements
end of the story i followed the code cracked the safe
other ni**as aint in the game so they practice hate
leave that boy Hov alone why dont ya
you dont have to if you dont want to but dont say i didnt warn ya

Taken from No Hook by Jay-Z from the album American Gangster

American Gangster

2007-11-07T12:06:00.000-06:00

This was a fantastic movie, but unfortunately, doesn't quite reach the elite status of other gangster movies, namely Goodfellas and the Godfather. I would put this on the level of Casino, a movie that was really enjoyable, but just seemed to be missing something. The one thing that does separate American Gangster from the others of its ilk is that Ridley Scott made this more into a docudrama more closely related to films like Ray and Walk the Line, rather than a new Scarface. Scott really keyed us in on who the main players were and gave us a great character-driven story. Denzel Washington was simply amazing as Frank Lucas, being able to switch from cold-blooded killer to generous family man in the blink of an eye. Russell Crowe, once again, proved his acting chops playing the lead detective that brings Lucas down. The supporting actors were great as well and served as good foils for our lead characters, especially Chiwetel Ejiofor (playing Lucas' brother - also great in Inside Man with Denzel) and Armand Assante (as Dominic Cattano, the mafioso that worked with Lucas). Also, it was nice seeing Cuba Gooding Jr. back in a non-embarrassing movie role along with rappers turned actors, RZA, T.I. and Common turning in solid performances. The one great thing about this flick was that it was not overly violent, which can be a problem for movies dealing with this subject matter (not to say that there wasn't some violence, along with a little gratuitous nudity).

The movie did run a tad too long at about 2 hours and 40 minutes, but it definitely didn't feel like it was that long. I think Scott could have removed a good 25-30 minutes of the runtime, especially the scenes with Crowe's character's divorce proceedings. We understand he is a broken man and we feel sympathy for him, but at the same time, it just seemed unnecessary. On the other hand, the scenes provided us with Carla Gugino and I am not one to ask for her to ever be cut out of a movie. Further, Ridley Scott, along with his brother Tony (Domino, Man on Fire, Deja Vu) is known for his sylistic touches on his movies. Sometimes it can be over the top, especially the club scene in this film that gave me a little bit of a headache, but some of these added touches helped give the movie the feel of being in late 60s, early 70s Harlem. One small thing was towards the end, I believe I saw the boom mike at the top of the frame in a few scenes. Minor quibbles, but nonetheless important to a review.

Overall, this was one of the better movies this year and Denzel and Russell could be up for some hardware come Oscar time.

5.5 out of 6 beers

Quick Thought

2007-11-07T10:14:00.000-06:00

Hey Don Shula. Go suck an egg. There will be no asterik. If the Patriots are going to finish 19-0, they will do it because they were tattled on by a former employee. I am suuure that there was nothing illegal going on back in the early 1970s. You are just worried that you and your geezers with the champagne will become irrelevant if the Patriots go 19-0 because they will have performed a feat much much greater than your 1972 Dolphins. First, they will have to win more games than your Dolphins did. Second, considering the salary cap and the parity in the league, what the Patriots are doing is simply amazing. Go back to owning your steakhouse (which is very good by the way). We should put an asterik on that '72 team because they only went 17-0 and the Patriots will have to win 19 in order to fully go undefeated. It only seems fair.

Also, you a**holes stole that song from the Oilers.

Houston Oilers, Houston Oilers, Houston Oilers Number One!

WGA Strike

2007-11-05T16:45:00.000-06:00

As many of you know, I watch a lot of television, so news today that the Writers Guild of America went on strike today and many are picketing in Rockefeller Plaza in NYC. The main deal points at issue have to do with DVD sales and potential internet broadcasting of television shows. I am not here to discuss what I think of this, mostly because I am not involved in the industry, but I wanted to keep my readers updated of happenings in the entertainment world. To keep up with the goings-on, I would suggest checking out a new blog over at tvguide.com here.

What does this mean for the shows many of us watch? Not a whole lot yet, but the two biggest shows that may be impacted the greatest are 24 and Lost. Since both shows are set to run straight through from January-May without reruns, the producers do not want to only show a few episodes, then all of a sudden have to wait months for new episodes. Also, Heroes has apparently filmed a new ending to an episode that could serve as the season finale if it is deemed necessary. The main consequence of this strike for the viewing public is that come December/January, we can expect to see a helluva lot more reality tv and game shows than I know all of us would prefer. We finally have a good group of scripted shows for the first time since the late 90s/early 00s instead of the reality schlock that has plagued the airways for the past few years that this strike comes at a terrible time for viewers.

I will be updating the blog every so often to discuss any new developments in this arena.

The Fifth of November

2007-11-05T09:38:00.000-06:00

Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot... But what of the man? I know his name was Guy Fawkes and I know, in 1605, he attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament. But who was he really? What was he like? We are told to remember the idea, not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world. I've witnessed first hand the power of ideas, I've seen people kill in the name of them, and die defending them... but you cannot kiss an idea, cannot touch it, or hold it... ideas do not bleed, they do not feel pain, they do not love... And it is not an idea that I miss, it is a man... A man that made me remember the Fifth of November. A man that I will never forget.

- Evey Hammond, V For Vendetta

Quick Rant

2007-11-04T09:32:00.000-06:00

Can anybody please tell why every week at 2:30pm, I am stuck watching a Big 12 game on ABCHD, but the game is not in high definition? I don't mind watching Big 12 games at that time as ABC has picked some good games, but why is every other conference game on ABC in HD, but not the Big 12? I watched the Nebraska-Kansas game on FSNHD and it looked beautiful (especially with the Huskers getting their collective arses handed to them), but the UT-Oklahoma State looked dark and just awful for a marquee game on a flagship station for a flagship conference. This same thing has happened for all Big 12 games on ABC and it is getting frustrating. I would rather watch a matchup between lowly ACC teams than have to suffer through another non-HD broadcast of the Big 12. If I didn't want HD, I would not have a badass tv.

Good Read

2007-11-02T11:41:00.000-05:00

If you are a Texans fan or a Houston Chronicle hater (I am a member of both, though the Chron runs circles around the Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald that I grew up reading), this blog post from Matt over at Da Good, Da Bad, and DeMeco in which he calls out Chron sports writer Richard Justice is a solid read and speaks volumes of our local Houston newspaper.

Friday Floetry X 11/2/07

2007-11-01T12:56:00.000-05:00

This week I’ve decided to push out some Ludacris for y’all. As most of you probably know, he is both a rapper and actor (appearing in such films as Crash and Hustle & Flow). He also was famously dropped from a Pepsi ad campaign and Bill O’Reilly stated that Luda was ruining society (or something like that). Notice Luda’s partial response to O’Reilly, which is included here (around the dropping of this song, O’Reilly had some legal issues involving extortion and sexual harassment and the parties went on to reach a private settlement where the lawsuits were dismissed).

Floetry:

I'm never going nowhere so don't try me
My music sticks in fans veins like an IV
Flows poison like Ivy, oh they grimy
Already offers on my 6th album from labels tryin to sign me
Respected highly, Hi Mr. O'Reilly
Hope all is well, kiss the plaintiff and the wifey
Drove through the window, the industry super sized me
Now the girls see me and a river's what they cry me
I'm on the rise, so many people despise me
Got party ammunition for those tryin to surprise me
It's a celebration and everyone should invite me
Roll with the crew or meet the bottom of a Nike
Explorer like Dora these swipers can't swipe me
My whole aura's so mean in my white t
Nobody light-skinned been rappin' harder since Ice-T
You disagree, take the Tyson approach and bite me!

Taken from Number One Spot by Ludacris

NBA 2007-08 Preview

2007-10-30T16:15:00.000-05:00

The 2007-08 NBA season starts tonight and for some reason, I couldn't be happier. I don't really care all that much for the NBA as I much prefer college basketball, which I believe is generally a superior product. However, this season is looking like it can be a good one and hopefully has a more exciting NBA Finals than last year's Spurs/Cavs snoozefest. The best teams are still out West and especially in the State of Texas. The Mavs, Rockets and Spurs are among the favorites to represent the West in the NBA Finals, along with Phoenix. In the East, the big news is in Boston where Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen join Paul Pierce to make a solid three-man core and a favorite in the East. The Pistons, Heat, Bulls and Cavs join the Celts as favorites in the East. However, there are upstarts and surprises to expect this season. If their core remains healthy, keep an eye towards D.C. and fearless leader Gilbert Arenas, aka Agent Zero aka Hibachi. [Side note - If you have never read his blog, go check it out on nba.com - always a good read and keep an eye out in your city for the Gil II Zeros - 20 different shoes all set to be worn by Hibachi himself]. The other team to be on the lookout for back East is Orlando, with budding superstar Dwight Howard and expensive free agent Rashard Lewis. The two teams out West that may surprise some people are Denver and Memphis. The Nuggets have now had an entire offseason with Carmelo and AI playing together (assuming AI has learned the value of practice) and they both appear to be healthy. Also, the Grizz appear to be healthy as well and they have a solid young core of Rudy Gay, Hakim Warrick, Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley Jr. and Pau Gasol to keep them in check.

Of course, one big story to follow will be in LA and whether the Lakers will trade Kobe and if so, where he will end up. Will this effect their chemistry? Will it even matter considering how good the rest of the West is. The other plotline for the season is just how well Kevin Durant does in Seattle and whether he will truly change the game like Bill Simmons believes he will.

Tonight kicks off with Portland @ San Antonio, Utah @ Golden State and Houston @ Los Angeles Lakers.

Judz' Predictions (playoff teams ranked from 1-8 based on playoff ranking system and not necessarily regular season record):
West: 1. Phoenix 2. San Antonio 3. Denver 4. Dallas 5. Utah 6. Houston 7. Golden State 8. Memphis
East: 1. Detroit 2. Boston 3. Chicago 4. Washington 5. Orlando 6. Cleveland 7. Miami 8. New York
Western Conference Finals: Phoenix over Houston
Eastern Conference Finals: Washington over Chicago
NBA Finals: Phoenix over Washington

Brownie's Predictions (playoff teams ranked from 1-8 based on playoff ranking system and not necessarily regular season record):
East: 1. Boston 2. Chicago 3. Cleveland 4. Orlando 5. Detroit 6. Washington 7. Miami 8. New Jersey
West: 1. Phoenix 2. Dallas 3. Denver 4. San Antonio 5. Houston 6. Utah 7. Golden State 8. Seattle
Eastern Conference Finals: Boston over Cleveland
Western Conference Finals: Phoenix over Denver
NBA Finals Phoenix over Boston

Drillo's Predictions:
West: 1. Phoenix 2. San Antonio 3. Houston 4. Utah 5. Dallas 6. Denver 7. LA Lakers 8. New Orleans
East: 1. Boston 2. Chicago 3. Miami 4. Cleveland 5. Detroit 6. Orlando 7. New Jersey 8. Toronto
Western Conference Finals: San Antonio over Phoenix
Eastern Conference Finals: Chicago over Boston
NBA Finals: San Antonio over Chicago

Site Update

2007-10-29T10:53:00.000-05:00

Been kind of busy at work amongst other ventures, so the site has been a little lax in the update department. I hope to get some time to make some more posts this week, so keep checking back. My whatifsports baseball season has just started and I am currently sitting at 5-4 and tied for 1st place in my division. Go Incorporators!!

Judz College Football Top 25 (Week 8) and CFB Week in Review

2007-10-22T15:42:00.000-05:00

I am really tempted to not do a Top 25 this week (or for the next few weeks) as I think any rankings at this point are so combustible that any prospective team we put in the top 10 could lose at least one, if not two more games. Thus, I am kind of doing a joint review and preview post for the next few weeks by conference.

ACC:
Front runner Boston College is still undefeated and is #2 in the BCS rankings, but the meat of their schedule is just beginning, starting with Virginia Tech this Thursday night in Blacksburg and continuing with Florida State, @Maryland, @ Clemson and Miami. They will not be undefeated at the end of the year, but if somehow they are, BC will deserve to be in the NC game. Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest (with Clemson, Maryland and Miami looking in) appear to be alongside BC in the hunt for the ACC automatic bid.

Big 12:
Oklahoma looked lethargic against Iowa State, but are still the class of the conference and a serious NC game contender. They will need a few breaks from other teams the rest of the way, but their remaining schedule isn't terribly daunting (with the possible exception of Texas Tech and a surging Okie State). Kansas and Missouri are the teams to beat in the North, with the Tigers being the prohibitive favorite after shutting down the Red Raider offense on Saturday. These rivals play each other on the last game of the season that could decide the Big 12 North. Unless any of these teams start to tumble, there isn't much reason to look at the rest of the conference, although they will probably have 10 bowl-eligible teams with only 9 available spots.

Big East:
This is the one conference, other than the SEC, with the most parity amongst its top teams. West Virginia, Rutgers, South Florida, UConn, Cincy and Louisville all have a shot at winning the league title and each one is capable of beating any of the others, as we have seen in recent weeks, including Rutgers beating USF this past Thursday. West Virginia is playing the best ball of any team in the Big East and if they stay healthy, will continue to make noise for a BCS invite.

Big Ten:
Ohio State is #1 in the BCS standings, but is it really the best team. The defense looks crazy strong, but the offense goes into too many lulls. They still have road games against PSU @ Happy Valley and against Michigan in the Big House, along with Wisconsin and Illinois both at home. Michigan is coming on strong, but will only be a force if Henne and Hart could get and stay healthy.

Conference USA:
Even though no team in C-USA is in the title hunt (or even in the hunt for a Top 25 ranking, unless UH can turn it on like they did Saturday in getting their first win inside the state of Alabama - 1-13 looks a whole lot better than 0-14 - they could make trouble for the bottom of the Top 25). The East and West are both 3-horse races, with UCF, Southern Miss and ECU in the East and UH, UTEP and Tulsa in the West as the 6 horses. This Saturday UTEP hosts UH and UCF goes into The Rock to battle USM.

Pac 10:
This is the conference that is causing me to not do a Top 25 poll. In the next few weeks, all the heavyweights play each other, so it is anybody's guess who is coming out of this on top and whether anyone can come away unscathed.

SEC:
Has any league had this many fantastic games from week to week? LSU scores on a last second touchdown to beat Auburn, only a week removed from losing in 3OT to Kentucky and two weeks after coming back to beat Florida. Then, Florida beats UK in a shootout 45-37. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt blocked the Cocks from any hope of a title game, but the East is so tight that a mere one game separates first and last place in the division. Meanwhile, the West may very well be decided this week when LSU plays Alabama. Both teams are 4-1 in SEC play and the winner will control its own destiny.

WAC:
Still have one of the few unbeaten teams in Hawaill, but it may be Boise State that has the best chance to make its way into the BCS as an at-large, especially if any of the Big East or ACC teams start beating each other up.

MAC, MWC, Sun Belt:
I haven't really followed these leagues this year, but I did attend the Louisiana Lafayette vs. Florida Atlantic game on Saturday in Lafayette (a summary of which I will be posting about later).

So, what is the moral of the story? None really and that is why they play the games. The real contenders for the BCS title game include Ohio State, LSU, Oklahoma, Boston College, Oregon/ASU/USC, West Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Verdi's A Masked Ball - Review

2007-10-22T13:30:00.000-05:00

I know virtually nothing about opera other than the fact that is pretty much all singing and generally in a different language. However, good opera is like pornography and even if you know nothing about the subject matter, you know it when you see it. With that said, Verdi's A Masked Ball was fantastic. I think this was the first time I have seen an opera in its proper form as I don't consider seeing the Marriage of Figaro at the Miller Outdoor Theatre last year because we were not paying much attention. Thus, like trying to rank college football teams in the preseason, I really don't have anything to go on. I have season tickets for the Houston Grand Opera this year, so hopefully my future reviews will have more meat in them as I begin to become an opera fan. This was opening night for the HGO's 2007-08 season and it started with a bang.

For the uninitiated, A Masked Ball revolves around a love triangle among the king (Riccardo), his trusted advisor/friend (Renato) and Renato's wife/Riccardo's love interest (Amelia). Their was murder, treachery, assassination plots, dudes in sweet green jackets and top hats, a sweet guillotine (though completely underutilized), a bad ass fortune teller, and even a dad offering up his son as a hostage. It was in Italian and had English subtitles (or supertitles as you had to look up to read them), but I feel a little gypped because there was a lot of singing that didn't have the requisite subtitles, so I have no idea if I missed something subtle they were saying. The acting and music were great and the storyline kept my interest the whole way.

Overall, for my first opera, I had a great time and I look forward to the rest of the season. Next Friday night is Donizetti: The Daughter of the Regiment.

I have been slacking...2 weekend updates

2007-10-19T15:32:00.000-05:00

So first I spent a weekend in NY City and then here last weekend was my birthday.

NYC - hmmm, where to start. We arrive 2 hours late, so we get to my friends apt at 1 am. We still have to go out, so we get dressed and leave for Le Souk, arriving at 2 am to find out a friend had ordered a bottle for all of us. NICE. So we get in that way, otherwise we would have stood outside all night, just like waiting for a taxi at the airport. Le Souk is an awesome little bar, hookah bar, restaurant. I got my friend to try hookah, it was HILARIOUS. You know its not a cigarette, but her attempt was such. hahaha. Anyways, too funny. I got hit on by a guy wearing sunglasses in the middle of the village in NYC at 3 am. WTF? no, and then he wouldn't leave my group alone. Somehow he became part of our group. This place had awesome music and people were actually dancing. I love that. :) I really enjoyed myself. We crashed at 5 am I think, something like that.
The next day we just did a little touristy stuff...World Trade Center site, and a few Starbucks stops later we ended up in the shopping area off 5th. So that was fun. That night we had a big group dinner at a sushi bar. It was terrible. Let me tell you, I have never had such bad seaweed salad or sushi in my entire life. I was so hungry later I was about to eat a hot dog from a street vendor. It was called Matsuri. I do not recommend this ever, unless you just want drinks, because those were decent. Its in some hotel. In that same hotel there is a club and I cannot remember its name at all. It was FUN though. Great music, great drinks, great size dance floor, seating areas, no lines in the rest room even though the bar was packed. All in all I loved this place. I think it might be hard to get into sometimes, but we had 8 girls and 2 guys, so go figure. Then we went to some club, and please forgive me for not knowing the name...but I was drug to this place. My friend is living there for a few months and met a guy, so we had to meet him out. This place was decent, about midway on my ranks. Good music, good drinks...and plenty of seating. And let me say the crowd wasn't bad either. I was getting hit on by nice young professionals left and right. Even got a brunch date for Sunday. haha. But anyways, the dance floor was elevated and full. So people were hogging all the space and it was scary to get up there. You might fall a few feet on heels. OMG. Again, sorry I cannot remember the name. If I ever figure it out I will note it.
After that it was about 3 am and we headed to the meat packing area for a club. But what we didn't know was Paasha had a famous DJ there and we could not get in without paying $50 each or 3 of us could get in with each bottle. Ummm, sorry, no. So we went back to the west side where we were staying and scoped out the home neighborhood for late night bars. To our surprise we could not find one. :( So we settled for late night pizza. Too bad.
Sunday was a gem of a day. Beautiful weather, nice breeze, we had brunch outside. (I went with my friends, not the guy who asked me out). We went to Nero, its in the meat packing district. You pay $20 and get bottomless champagne, mimosas, Bellini's, or bloody Marys and a dish of food. Very good food too. Totally worth $20, especially in NY. We hung out the rest of the day in the NYU area, Washington Square Park, and some shopping places. Nothing too special. That night however, we were going to take it easy. So we started at dinner in Hells kitchen. We decided to try the Ouzaria (since I just got back from Greece). It was fantastic. We had ouzo, lamb, eggplant dip, all of it fantastic. Not as good as in Greece, but pretty good for NY, since I have had bad experiences with food so far (do not eat Mexican food in NY, YUCKY).
Then we walked over to Thalia. Now, if you are a Spanish music fan, you know who Thalia is. She does not own this bar. haha...but it is named after some Greek god or something. Anyways, irrelevant fact for you. This bar is a great little prize. The ambiance is fantastic. Reds/oranges/bright colors accented with gold and black. Beautiful. Great specialty drinks. I had something called Ryan's Whisper. It was very unusual, but great. 3 out of 3 olives for sure. We had a few mojitos and then our NY native buddy called to go out. He told us to meet him somewhere (I wasn't on the phone), but we ended up in a somewhat gay biker club. I think. I don't know, but it was gross and everyone was staring at us...like in the movies. I even had to use the restroom, OMG. I will never again go down that street. Nasty. When we figured out we were not in the place he wanted to go, we went to another little village bar. It was very simple, just a lounge bar. We had a few drinks there. Again I am sorry for forgetting the name, but honestly you can find little lounges like that on every street. Then we went to the meatpacking district. I don't know what happened to taking it easy, but we ended up in the trendiest hotel bar. It was so awesome. Hotel Gansevoort (I think I am spelling it right). This place is awesome. We started with a shot...then went to the terrace. Its a great view of the water and other big hotels/pools/meat packing plants. Just kidding! :) But the bar is large enough for about a hundred people to take a seat. There are two small bars on each side of the place. The drinks were made well. I think we had a few drinks and some more shots. The music that night could have been better, but it was Sunday, so they were playing old school. Also a 3 out of 3 olive bar. Highly recommended - if you can get in. The door guys are more than a typical prick of a door guy. But I might say its almost worth it to wait a while.
We left Monday night. We had a terrible day after all those shots, honestly one of us had to stay in bed all day until we got in the cab to the airport. Haha, not me, but so funny. So that was the end. All in all a great trip, very fun, very lacking in sleep, which is always a great sign of a good time.

My birthday was also a blast...there are pictures I dont remember. Another good sign of a good time. My friend hosted the preparty at her new house, full bar, fondue, finger foods, the works. It was awesome. She even decorated...how sweet. That party was met by a few long time no see's. I love those. It was a good time. There are pictures, but a few people seemed to be ghosts...I dont see them in any pictures. (You know who you are). Then we headed to Rocbar, I think I was a birthday bitch trying to get everyone to leave before Rocbar's line formed. Not an easy task with a full bar and a full house. Moving 30 people is never easy. At Rocbar a few more people showed up...I think we filled up half the back lounge. Awesome. I honestly do not remember much after the shots started coming my way. I remember points where I had two in my hand and someone else was trying to get me one. NOOOOOO. Anyways, I am sure you have all been to Rocbar, so I will do a quick review of the place for those slower folks. There is a rock area, a techno area, outdoor lounge, and pool hall area. Its an eclectic place, with a lot of character, room, and people. All types of people. Hard rock crowd with mohawks and chains, techno dancer with funky clothes and the regular trendy type. I think the Red Door type started to go here, but couldn't hang with the Rock group. I love it. So, its awesome, there are bars everywhere, so easy to get drinks (proven Saturday night). The only downfall is the line. It starts at 11, even if no one is there, they start a line. That sucks. But once you are in, its a good time had by all.

Happy Birthday to me!!!

Friday Floetry x 10/19/07

2007-10-19T14:16:00.000-05:00

Its been buzzing all over that Nas is coming out with a new album with a controversial title (check the web if you want to know what that is). Nas is saying its coming out in December, and Def Jam is saying there is no album in the works and thus the whole thing about the controversial title is a moot point. Anyway, that got me thinking of Nasir Jones, and his “work”, If I Ruled The World. Here’s a little sampling from it, check the whole thing out when you have a minute.

Floetry:

Imagine smoking weed in the streets without cops harassin
Imagine going to court with no trial
Lifestyle cruising blue behind my waters
No welfare supporters more conscious of the way we raise our daughters
Days are shorter, nights are colder
Feeling like life is over, these snakes strike like a cobra
The world's hot my son got not evidently
It's elementary, they want us all gone eventually
Trooping out of state for a plate knowledge
of coke was cooked without the garbage we'd all have the top dollars
Imagine everybody flashin, fashion
Designer clothes, lacing your click up with diamond vogues
Your people holdin dough, no parole
No rubbers, go in raw imagine law with no undercovers
Just some thoughts for the mind
I take a glimpse into time
watch the blimp read "The World Is Mine"

Taken from If I Ruled The World by Nas featuring Lauryn Hill (“Lauryn Hill says her heart was in Zion, I wish her hear still was in rhyming”)

Judz College Football Top 25 (Week 7)

2007-10-16T16:06:00.000-05:00

After another crazy week, the poll has some new faces and we bid adieu to a few fakers in our midst. Here is this week's Top 25:

1. Ohio State - Pretty much by default. I think LSU beats them in a neutral field head to head game, but I have to penalize LSU for losing
2. LSU - Assumed they would roll Kentucky, but loss could get them refocused
3. Oklahoma - Beat a very very good Mizzou team and have a pretty easy road the rest of the way so long as they don't beat themselves
4. South Florida - Still expect at least one loss, which could come as early as Thursday night @ Rutgers
5. Oregon - After letting the game against Cal go and a bye week, the Ducks plastered Wazzu and are playing the best ball out west
6. Florida - Will beat Kentucky on Saturday - BOOK IT!!
7. Boston College - I am still not a believer and first loss is around the corner
8. Arizona State - Still just waiting to see how good this team is.
9. California - They drop this far (and behind Oregon despite beating them) just because Nate Longshore may not be healthy
10. West Virginia - If Pat White is healthy, the Mountaineers can run their way to Nawlins
11. South Carolina - First place in the SEC East for now, but still have brunt of SEC schedule left
12. Missouri - Were never out of the game against the Sooners until the 4th quarter, but one or two more losses could be on the horizon
13. Virginia Tech - Playing as strong as anyone in the country
14. USC - 17-10 over Arizona --> injuries are to blame, but until healthy you guys are down here
15. Kansas - I just can't push them up any higher yet
16. Kentucky - This is why the SEC is so difficult after upsetting LSU, their reward is a game against Florida
17. Auburn - The loss to USF doesn't look so bad anymore, but the flop against MSU is still unforgivable
18. Boise State - Offense is clicking, but defense was played for fools in 4OT game (and highest scoring game) against Nevada
19. Texas Tech - Defense stepped up in blowout of Texas A&M and offense behind Harell and Crabtree is something to behold
20. Hawaii - Still undefeated, but games against BSU and Washington remain
21. Michigan - Are playing some really good football and Mike Hart, if not injured, could be runaway favorite for Heisman after his play through this tumultuous season
22. Tennessee - Two bad losses, but this really is a great team truly capable of beating anybody
23. Cincinnati - Tough loss to Louisville, but still capable of big things this season
24. Virginia - Being 6-1 is worth something even if they haven't been glamorous in how they've done it
25. Illinois - Lost a game they should've won against Iowa, but this team is still young and quite strong

CFB Week 7 in Review

2007-10-15T12:09:00.000-05:00

The big news from this past Saturday's action was the University of Houston Cougars winning the Bayou Bucket for the third straight year in their come from ahead then behind 56-48 victory over cross-town rival Rice Owls. The Coogs set a record by being the first team in college football history to have both a 300 yard receiver and a 200 yard rusher. Donnie Avery caught 13 passes for 346 yards, which is a Conference USA and UH record. When this was announced over the PA system as the Coogs were in the victory formation, Avery did a backflip and a loud roar went through the crowd. Anthony "Quick 6" Alridge added 205 rushing yards including a game clinching 50 yard td run in the closing minutes. Both Avery and Alridge received helmet stickers from the Gameday Crew at ESPN. The Coogs now sit at 3-3 on the season and 2-1 in conference play.

Now, onto the rest of the week. I heard something about #1 LSU and #2 California both losing close games. LSU lost in triple overtime and Cal lost when their backup qb made a rookie mistake and was tackled in the field of play causing the clock to run out before Cal could attempt a game-tying field goal. With the inaugural 2007 BCS standings, Ohio State sits at #1 and South Florida at #2, with Boston College at #3 each pretty much by default. I continue to give hearty congratulations to USF and BC for beating the teams on their schedule, but are we sure these are 2 of the 3 best teams in the country. Would you really bet on either of these teams in a game on a neutral field against LSU or Oklahoma or even USC (despite how poorly they have played lately)? Let's be honest here, will any of these teams actually remain undefeated this year? South Florida still has to play @ Rutgers, @ Connecticut, Cincinnati, and Louisville, while Boston College still plays @ Va Tech, Florida State, @ Maryland and @ Clemson (and the ACC Championship Game). Ohio State has the best shot at going undefeated, but still have their rivalry game against Michigan at the end of the year. Plus, no one really knows just how good these guys are since the two signature wins were against teams that have proven themselves to be average at best. So where does this leave us? In the greatest possible scenario, especially if OSU were to lose along the way. We could have 4, 5, 6 and maybe even 7 teams, each with one loss jockeying for position to get into the championship game. Heck, we may even see a 2-loss team in the BCS Championship game, but it is highly doubtful.

This season has been one of the best with upsets coming left and right, especially so early in the season. We are at about the midpoint of the year and it is anyone's guess who will emerge on the other side. Come December, there will be a lot of unhappy campers out there thinking their team should've been in the championship game.

As you can probably tell, I did not watch much college football this weekend as I was tailgating and watching the Coogs pretty much all day Saturday. New Top 25 poll coming later this afternoon.

Friday Floetry x 10/12/07

2007-10-12T16:04:00.000-05:00

Well, Friday Floetry is coming out much later than usual this week (hopefully the days that I have posted it at 1201am Friday will make up for today). Since I’m late, I’ve decided to give both sides of my theme for this week. Let’s call it Dueling Floetry. I was just going to spit out Alicia Keys (say what you want, but I think she’s one of the greatest artists of our time, and based on most of my other picks you should know how I lean, so no jokes please). Instead of just going with Alicia, I’m going to give the flip side of the coin/theme. I know you’ve been waiting all day, so that’s all I’m going say.

Floetry

Some people live for the fortune
Some people live just for the fame
Some people live for the power, yeah
Some people live just to play the game
Some people think that the physical things
Define what's within
and I've been there before
but that life's a bore
So full of the superficial

VS.

You don't wanna know what the f*ck I spent on it
Tomorrow ain't promised so we live for the moment

If I Ain’t Got You by Alicia Keys
VS.
Mr. Me Too by The Clipse

NFL Post-Week 5 Top 10 Poll and Week 6 Preview

2007-10-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

Through 5 weeks, it is readily apparent who the main contenders for Lombardi's trophy will be (assuming no catastrophic injuries). It also looks like we will have some really good divisional races, especially in the NFC East, AFC South and unfortunately, the AFC West (where a team could sneak into the playoffs with an 8-8 record). The only loss outside the division in the AFC South was the Texans losing to Atlanta and all 4 teams are currently above .500.

1. New England - Played their closest game of the season against the might Browns and face their biggest test of the young season when they play the Cowboys.
2. Indianapolis - Despite being without Addai, Harrison and a handful of other players, the Colts keep on rolling. Luckily for them (and unluckily for the rest of the NFL), they have a bye this week to get their guys healthy.
3. Dallas - What a comeback, but this game should not have been this close. Romo turned the ball over 6 times, but had just enough to lead the team to a game winning field goal by rookie kicker Nick Folk. Face New England in the game of the week.
4. Pittsburgh - Apparently that Cardinals game was more of an apparition (or the Cardinals may just be a decent squad), as the Steelers look to be a strong contender by shutting out the Seahawks despite playing without their two best defensive players.
5. Jacksonville - If they can get the running game going, they will be tough to beat. David Garrard doesn't make many mistakes and the defense has been solid all year.
6. Green Bay - Same goes for the Packers who need some running yardage to keep defenses from focusing all attention on Favre. After being exploited in the second half by Chicago, the Pack may be falling down the rankings real fast.
7. Tennessee - The defense keeps winning this team games. Vince Young looked oddly human throwing three interceptions, which tends to happen when Fisher begins to expect too much from #10 having him throw more than 25 passes.
8. Arizona - Keep finding ways to win, but are now saddled with Kurt Warner as their sole QB due to Leinart's broken collarbone.
9. New York Giants - Offense can be explosing and defense finally starting to turn the corner. Having Brandon Jacobs back healthy could push this team to the playoffs.
10. Washington - If the running game is working like it did against the Lions and the defense keeps it up, this will be a tough team to beat.

What to look for in Week 6: New England vs. Dallas is the biggest story, but there are some interesting matchups to keep in mind. Washington goes into Lambeau field to take on the Packers in a battle of once-beatens. The Texans travel to Jacksonville, which hopefully will provide more clarity as to who is #2 in the AFC South, along with the Titans heading to Tampa to play the Bucs in a game involving two over-achieving teams. Finally, Carolina heads into Arizona to take on the Cards in a game of teams that will be battling it out playoff legitimacy in the NFC.

Random Afternoon Video

2007-10-10T11:32:00.001-05:00

To those college football fans, you will know that Oklahoma State head football coach went on a little post-game tirade regarding an article about his starting quarterback. Further, if you have watched any NFL games the past two years, you will have seen the Coors Light commercials where they take a real press conference, but insert a couple of guys to ask random questions while using the real press conference soundbites as answers. Check out what happens when you mix the two:

Judz College Football Top 25 (Week 6)

2007-10-08T12:22:00.000-05:00

After another crazy week, the rankings are blown up again and here is where each team is slated. Unlike other Top 25 polls, I actually look at the teams and try to decide who would win on a neutral field if the teams that are ranked next to each other played and I generally look at at least 5 teams for each slot in the Top 25.

1. LSU - Big win over the Gators solidifies the Bayou Bengals as the best team in the country, but tough games still to come
2. Ohio State - Have the easiest road to New Orleans, but Wisconsin (at home) and Michigan (in the Big House) lie in wait
3. California - Big time win over Oregon and have proved that they belong in this national title discussion
4. Oklahoma - Did what it had to do against rival Texas and Stoops is back with some fantastic halftime adjustments to shut down the Texas offense in the second half (also, why doesn't Texas run the ball more?)
5. Oregon - A fumble into the end zone away from possibly being #2 or 3 in the country
6. USC - I still think they beat everyone below them and maybe above them
7. South Florida - Had trouble putting the Owls of FAU away, but a win is a win, but tough Big East slate still on the horizon
8. Boston College - Just keep winning, but have the toughest remaining opponents of the undefeateds
9. West Virginia - Can Pat White get/stay healthy?
10. Missouri - Something special blooming in Columbia after shellacking of Nebraska, but must travel to Oklahoma this week
11. Florida - Did everything but win the game, but a loss is a loss and especially a second conference loss may be tough to overcome
12. Cincinnati - Took care of Rutgers like they needed to do to remain undefeated
13. Arizona State - Game against Wazzu a little too close, but still a team that can make noise in the Pac 10
14. Virginia Tech - If the defense keeps playing like that and the offense improves a little, the Hokies will vault up the rankings
15. South Carolina - Defense effectively killed Andre Woodson's Heisman campaign and the Cocks lead the SEC East, but can they keep it up?
16. Kansas - Showed up big time against instate rival K-State, who was coming in with momentum from their upset against Texas.
17. Illinois - The Illini needed a perfect game from their young players to beat Wisconsin, but they did, and now Ron Zook's boys are living up to the hype
18. Wisconsin - Still think they can win the Big 10 and were close to pulling off the victory over Illinois, so hopefully this loss will be their wake-up call
19. Boise State - Just keep looking impressive
20. Hawaii - What is the status of Colt Brennan?
21. Auburn - The loss to Mississippi State is nearly unforgivable, but they are playing stout defense and the offense is beginning to click
22. Virginia - With the opening day loss to Wyoming behind them, Al Groh has turned the Cavs into a solid ACC team that will make some noise this season
23. Texas Tech - Still have to play the Big 12 big boys, but with the offense clicking, these guys can be tough to beat
24. Kentucky - Were close to winning despite the offense being shut down, so we will keep a close eye this Saturday as they play host to LSU
25. Florida State - One bad half away from being undefeated and I cannot figure out just how they keep winning

CFB Week 6 in Review

2007-10-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

So in my preview post I noted that this weekend was put up or shut up time for a number of teams. As expected, some put up and some need to shut up. On the other hand, there was one tiny upset that came as a shock to most if not all. I am talking of course of Stanford's victory over the Trojans at USC whilst starting their backup and being 41 point underdogs. USC has playing with fire a little too much this year (including last week against Washington) and was finally burned. Before the season, I figured USC would lose a game probably to California or Oregon, but never in my wildest dreams did I envision the Cardinal defeating the mighty Trojans.

LSU was able to stave off the upset bug by coming back against Florida to give the Gators their second SEC loss. Ohio State showed they are for real (or real enough against Big 10 opponents in a subpar year for the conference) by defeating Purdue. Even though they were 3.5 point 'dogs, Wisconsin was upset by the Fightin Illini and Ron Zook's team is now 3-0 in the Big 10 and their only loss was to a pretty solid Missouri team. Mizzou may have made the biggest statement by absolutely crushing their nemesis Nebraska 41-7 and it wasn't even that close. Also in the Big 12, Oklahoma took care of Texas 28-21 in a battle of Big 12 South once-beatens. Texas finally decided to throw the ball longer than 3 yards down the field, but when Oklahoma made their halftime adjustments (namely, putting a man on Texas TE Jermichael Finley), the Sooners prevailed in the Red River Classic (but didn't cover due to a missed field goal at the game - hence, one more reason I don't gamble on a regular basis). Once again, Georgia proves they are not yet ready for the big time as they were crushed by the Volunteers of Tennessee. Virginia Tech's defense proved they are back with a vengeance now, completely shutting down Clemson's vaunted rushing attack, but their offense needs to start doing something if they hope to win the ACC. Cincinnati proved they are in the elite of the Big East (which may not be saying much after South Florida struggled to put Florida Atlantic away) by beating a strong Rutgers team that has now lost 2 in a row. Next, the battle for Kansas went to the Jayhawks who upended the Wildcats 30-24 in a wild game that went back and forth. Finally, my beloved Coogs fell just short of pulling off the upset at Alabama after Case Keenum was intercepted in the Alabama endzone on the final play of the game that would've tied the game at 30 (and would've won the game with the extra point). Poor clock management at the end, plus spotting the Tide a 23-0 lead in the first quarter did the Coogs in. Next up, the Coogs host crosstown rival Rice for the Bayou Bucket.

Fun Friday Afternoon Video

2007-10-05T15:13:00.000-05:00

Here is a clip of Jeff Dunham's latest comedy special that aired on Comedy Central a few weeks back. As you can tell in the below video, Dunham is a hilarious ventriloquist comedian. Enjoy!!

Friday Floetry X 10/5/07

2007-10-05T11:44:00.000-05:00

This week’s Floetry comes from the 1990s courtesy of Big L. For those that consider themselves experts on rap and hip-hop (which I never have and probably never will), Big L should be etched in your memory. Many people and critics put Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G. and Big L in the same sentence when speaking of legendary rappers. Eminem recently called them the 3 martyrs in the history of hip-hop.

Big L had two major albums in his short career: Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous, and The Big Picture (which came out after his death). Lifestylez featured the up and coming Jay-Z (a track Big L did with Jay-Z, called “7 Minute Freestyle” is legendary). Lifestylez did not do well commercially in part because of several violent and vulgar lyrics, which were not radio friendly. The Big Picture actually did well commercially, but sadly it came out after Big L had been murdered (which of course could go back to the whole, “rappers sell better when they are retired or dead” ideology). Two songs from that album, Ebonics and Flamboyant, reached number one on the charts. The Big Picture went platinum in 2001.

Jay-Z is considered one of the greats today and he can definitely be heard mentioning Big L’s name here and there. Also, Jay-Z’s “little brother”, Kanye West, in his newest album that came out about 3 weeks, also mentions Big L and Biggie in the same sentence by saying how he would wanna be compared to Big L or Notorious. Part of the reason Big L’s style and technique may have been overlooked by the general public is because of the big-time public beef that went down between Tupac and Biggie, East and West Coast etc etc…

Anyway, for more of a history of Big L check out the Internet. There are definitely a lot of people that haven’t forgotten about Harlem’s Finest aka Lamont Coleman (May 30, 1974 – February 15, 1999).

I feel a lot of pressure in representing Big L right. I was between a verse from Ebonics and Flamboyant, but I guess I’ll go with Flamboyant. Definitely check out his other lyrics on the web or maybe in future editions of Friday Floetry.

Floetry:

Make sure my mic is loud and my production is tight
Better watch me round your girl if you ain't f*cking her right
You damn playa haters never want to see me blow
Flamboyant Entertainment CEO
Yo the spotlight is mine, it ain't his no more
When Lee come home, ni**as can't live no more
And ... I'm straight, keep a Harlem World mindstate
I never lounge where you find Jake
Suprise ni**as like a blind date, L rhyme great
And I'm a increase the crime rate for old time's sake
Run with me and I'm a make you a star
When me and my crew hit the clubs, we go straight to the bar
Leave 'em empty, I cruise through Harlem in an M3
Never pay for parties, say my name and I'm in free
I'm on some 100-G car s*it, superstar s*it
Selling ni**as that wet s*it right out the jar s*it
I'm dumb hot, I'll wreck you and your young flock
Keep the gun cock, represent one block
139 ni**a, the Danger Zone
We quick to put a bullet in a stranger's dome
I'm known to kick a rough rhyme and rock much shine
Yo I'm out, I done took up enough time

We out, no doubt, you know how we do, Flamboyent for life

Taken From Flamboyant by Big L

Weekend preparations

2007-10-05T10:57:00.000-05:00

So I totally dropped the ball this week and didnt do a weekend review. Here is a quick recap. Friday, I dont really remember much after 2 margaritas at Molinas (love the wheat tortillas), the free shot at Fix, the free beers at Swivel, and who knows what I drank at Whiskey Creek. But it was fun. Saturday was a lot more chill, just basic Kobain and Pub. I did try a new restaurant though - for me - Uptown Sushi. The food was quite tasty. The drinks were good. The prices werent too different from other sushi. But the proportions of things are small. Like you get 10 edemame. Haha, what? Anyways, it also took forever to be seated, so make resrvations if you want to go. I think we were there from 8-11. That wasnt the plan.

Anyways, this weekend I am making a trip to visit a few friends in NY. So my review on Tuesday should be quite interesting. (note I said Tuesday, I am staying there until Monday night). Talk to you soon!

Big Saturday in College Football Land

2007-10-04T16:45:00.000-05:00

ESPN is calling it "Gut Check Saturday," but it should be more aptly named, "Put Up or Shut Up Saturday." This is a weekend (including tonight) that before the season would've been an ordinary slate of games, but due to the nature of the scheduling, some well-timed upsets and the greater parity in the top conferences, this Saturday will help us determine which teams are for real and which teams have been truly feasting on cupcakes all season. Preview and predictions of the major games are as follows (all rankings are my rankings and the lines are courtesy of College Football News):

Tonight: #11 Kentucky at #18 South Carolina (-3.5) - Which of these teams is for real? UK has wins over rival Louisville and Arkansas, while South Carolina beat Georgia and hung close with LSU. This game should tell us who can make some noise in the SEC East. Prediction: Kentucky

Saturday
#10 Florida at #1 LSU (-9) - Florida was upset by Auburn last week and faces their biggest test this season going into Baton Rouge under the lights. If the beautiful aroma of bourbon doesn't knock the Gators out the LSU defense will. However, in order to beat the Gators, the Bayou Bengal offense will have to do more than just show up. It is time for Matt Flynn to step up and remove any doubt that he should be the QB1. Prediction: LSU

#4 Ohio State (-7) at #21 Purdue - The Buckeyes have really not been challenged in any of their games despite some closer scores. The defense looks legit, but it will have to face what appears to be a solid Boilermaker offense. This game will finally let us know if Purdue is a Big 10 title competitor or just a typical Purdue team that beats up on the cupcakes on their schedule. Prediction: Purdue with the upset, though OSU is the better team

#8 Wisconsin at Illinois (-2.5) - That is not a misprint. Ron Zook's Fightin Illini are favored to beat a very inconsistent, though 5-0 Wisconsin Badger team. I firmly believe this is the week the Badgers prove they are the team to beat in the Big 10 like I predicted in the preseason and simply dominate the Illini. Prediction: Wisconsin

Red River Rivalry - #5 Oklahoma (-11) vs. Texas in Dallas - Both teams are coming off upsets, but in only one of the games was the losing team simply outplayed and outclassed, which of course was Texas. At this point, UT has a potentially-concussed quarterback, an offensive coordinator that doesn't understand how to open up the passing game (and by open up I mean throw the ball upfield for longer than 3 yards) and a banged-up psyche. Oklahoma just looked complacent in the second half and when it was time to put their collective foot back on the gas, the tank was already empty. Inexcusable loss, but no major weaknesses were discovered, unlike the team from Austin. Prediction: Oklahoma

#19 Kansas at #22 Kansas State (-3) - K-State is coming off a huge victory over the Longhorns and may suffer a post-victory setback playing in-state rivals Kansas. The Jayhawks have truly feasted on some cupcakes and face their first real test. One of these teams will not be in the rankings next week and will be exposed for what they really are. Prediction: Kansas

Nebraska at #15 Missouri (-7) - This is a tough one because I think Missouri is legit, but I just can't get a read on the Huskers. Therefore, I don't know if a close game between these two will us any more about the season outlook for either. This is why they play the games. Prediction: Mizzou

#20 Georgia at Tennessee (-2) - Has Georgia grown up from the early part of the season and will they get revenge on a Volunteer team that hung over 50 on em between the Hedges last year. Tennessee has been up and down this year. The Dawgs will get their retribution on. Prediction: Georgia

#16 Virginia Tech at Clemson (-5.5) - The Hokies have been on a little roll since their atrocious loss at LSU and are ready to step back up among the big boys. Clemson is coming off a backbreaking loss to the GT Yellow Jackets. Hopefully, it won't come down to a field goal for the Tigers. Prediction: Va Tech

#14 Cincinnati at #17 Rutgers (-3.5) - Does Rutgers, coming off a loss to Maryland, get revenge on the Bearcats for their season-crippling loss last year or do the Bearcats keep their undefeated season and shot at a BCS bowl alive? With maybe the exception of South Florida, nobody in the Big East is playing as well as Cincinnati. Prediction: Cincinnati

Houston at Alabama (-11) - The Tide are coming off two straight losses and the Coogs are coming back from a devastating loss to ECU. This is Bama's homecoming game and Saban is the devil (at least in Miami and other parts of the US), so I am predicting a Cougar victory and have even put my money where my mouth is and didn't even take the 11 points. Prediction: Coogs!

MLB Playoff Preview and Predictions

2007-10-03T14:15:00.000-05:00

I haven't really talked about baseball much on this blog because my Stros had a very forgettable season, with the exceptions of the beginning of Hunter Pence's career and the retirement of Craig Biggio. However, October is here and that means playoffs. After a turbulent few weeks with teams jockeying for playoff spots, the Phillies and Rockies are entering the postseason on sensational hot streaks, with the Phils swiping the NL East from the Mets (or the Mets choking it away - all depending on what fanbase you belong to) and the Rockies winning a one-game playoff against the Padres to take the NL Wild Card. The 8 teams that are in are the Red Sox, Yankees, Indians and Angels in the AL and the Phillies, Cubs, Diamondbacks and Rockies [Ed. note - I guessed correctly on 5 of the 8 teams missing the Rockies, Cubs and Phillies]. Each team has a good story and the playoffs should give us some dramatic occurrences. Of course, due to the victory in the All-Star Game, the American League will again have home-field advantage.

Judz' expert predictions
Divisional Series:
Indians over Yankees in 5
Red Sox over Angels in 4
D-Backs over Cubs in 5
Phils over Rockies in 3

League Championship Series:
Red Sox over Indians in 6
Phillies over D-Backs in 7

World Series:
Red Sox over Phillies in 5

Drillo's not-so-expert opinions that will probably be more accurate than mine
Divisional Series:
Yankees over Indians in 4
Angels over Red Sox in 4
D-Backs over Cubs in 5
Phils over Rockies in 4

League Championship Series:
Angels over Yankees in 6
Phillies over D-Backs in 6

World Series:
Angels over Phillies in 5

SNL Tantrums

2007-10-02T16:50:00.000-05:00

Well, I missed this past weekend's SNL season premiere (honestly I can't remember the last time I actually watched SNL live), but I had been interested in it since the host was LeBron James and Kanye West was the musical guest.

Here is a clip of the skit Kanye did on the show. In the skit he basically pokes fun at himself for all the tantrums he has thrown for not winning awards ("throwing tantrums like he was 3 years old"). If you are up on your Kanye tantrums, you might recognize the similarities between some of these "skit" tantrums and the ones he he has thrown at the VMAs or Grammys.

Stay until the end when LBJ and Lorne Michaels make an appearance.

I know this isn't the Kanye blog, but even Haters should find this clip at least entertaining.

NFL Post-Week 4 Top 32 Poll

2007-10-02T13:30:00.000-05:00

Like most every Sunday, I went up to B-Dubs to watch all of the games on Sunday, with most of my attention being on the Texans-Falcons, Cowboys-Rams, Packers-Vikings for the early games and Broncos-Colts and Bucs-Panthers for the afternoon games. For the most part, the games were at best bland. Granted, seeing Favre break arsehole Dan Marino's record was thrilling, more because of my dislike of Marino than for any type of like for Favre. Next, watching Daunte getting his roll on against his former Miami team was beautiful, considering he was 5-12 for 75 yards, but was responsible for 5 touchdowns in the process. Hopefully, next week will provide us with more excitement. Now onto this weeks Top 32:

1. New England - Still the best team by far, but they have yet to play a good defense
2. Dallas - Best of the NFC, but defense can be susceptible and big showdown with NE in two weeks
3. Indianapolis - Suffered some injuries these past few weeks, so we will wait and see what impact they will have
4. Green Bay - I don't know how, but here they are
5-32. Everyone else

Judz College Football Top 25 (Week 5)

2007-10-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

As mentioned in the CFB Review, with lots of upsets and other teams proving their worth, the poll has undergone some changes.

1. LSU - Big game Saturday night vs. Florida
2. USC - Last week I told you to wake me up when they play Cal and Oregon, now USC better wake up or they may be tripped up like some other teams this past week
3. California - Big time win over Oregon and have proved that they belong in this national title discussion
4. Ohio State - Still appears to be class of Big Eleven, but faces first real test this season against Purdue
5. Oklahoma - Totally inexcusable loss, but they are still a top 5 team and will blow out an overrated Texas team, especially if Colt is still a little loopy from the beatdown he took from K-State
6. Oregon - Came within a bad bounce of beating California, so while other teams looked average against okay squads, the Ducks proved they belong in the top 10
7. South Florida - I wasn't planning on ranking these Bulls this high, but they just win, having beaten both Auburn and West Virginia, though they still have tough sledding to get through the rest of the Big East
8. Wisconsin - Beat Michigan State, but not that convincingly and their defense keeps looking very suspect
9. Boston College - Still the class of the ACC, but the road gets a lot tougher starting this week
10. Florida - Fell into the trap game, but the Gators could still do some chomping in Baton Rouge
11. Kentucky - Are they really this good? Let's wait and see til they play UGA, UF and UT
12. Arizona State - I still haven't seen these guys play, but other people are ranking them this high, so there is obviously something to their 5-0 record
13. West Virginia - The Pat White injury could be devastating to a team that requires his presence to get the ball moving, plus you really need to win those revenge games, especially if you are a national title contender
14. Cincinnati - The Bearcats just keep doing their thing, but tougher games remain
15. Missouri - The win over Illinois now actually looks more impressive, but need to beat Nebraska in two weeks to prove that they deserve a higher ranking
16. Virginia Tech - The team is finally starting to play like Hokies most expected them to be, but the qb needs to step it up as ACC play gets into full swing
17. Rutgers - Inexcusable loss to Maryland, but still a team no one wants to play
18. South Carolina - Big game against UK this week will tell us more about both teams
19. Kansas - We will find out Saturday if this team has merely just feasted on inferior teams or if they are a contender in the Big 12 North when they take on K-State
20. Georgia - This Saturday is shaping up to be a good one as the Dawgs take on the Vols and we will find out if they have grown up since the loss to the Cocks
21. Purdue - Get first big test against Ohio State
22. Kansas State - Put a hurting on the Horns for the second year in a row, this time in Austin, and had they beaten Auburn to start the season like they should have, this would be a top 20 team
23. UCLA - Just like the Sooners did in Colorado, UCLA obviously sharted the bed against the Utes a few weeks back, but are still a very good team
24. Virginia - With the opening day loss to Wyoming behind them, Al Groh has turned the Cavs into a solid ACC team that will make some noise this season
25. Hawaii - The offense can put up points against anyone and will continue to dominate the WAC until they play Boise State

Rankings Query Update - I don't know if the folks at CFN read my rankings last week, but my ego is maladjusted enough to think they did and that it influenced their 1-119 rankings this week. Despite snatching defeat from the hands of victory Saturday night against East Carolina, the Coogs have jumped to #70 in CFN's rankings this week from #73, whilst Colorado State has plummeted from #62 to #77 and Notre Dame dropped from #70 to #75. In some small way, I really feel like my efforts here at In Judz We Trust have made the world just a wee bit better this week and that is a testament to you, my dear readers.

The Kingdom

2007-10-01T13:27:00.000-05:00

I am having trouble figuring out how to begin this review and I think that it has to do with me trying to figure out what type of movie this actually was. It had elements from Syriana (which I considered to be a little too convoluted and full of itself with way too many storylines that were tenuously strung together), which at least one reviewer maintained that this was Syriana without the brains. I think some of the issues lie with director Peter Berg, who has directed movies spanning numerous genres, such as Very Bad Things (a very dark comedy about the killing of a prostitute during a bachelor party), The Rundown (kind of buddy action comedy with The Rock, Seann William Scott and Christopher Walken set in Amazon) and Friday Night Lights (a heavily dramatic sports movie). Was this trying to be an action movie with political undertones or a political movie with some action? Obviously it was not based on a true story, but it had some elements of Black Hawk Down, namely the claustrophobic feeling of the final shootout, which kind of suffered from a similar dichotomy of action and politics. I don't think this movie was trying to make a statement, but it didn't paint either side of this battle in any kind of good light, especially with the ending scene and the all or nothing approach.

Don't get me wrong as I really enjoyed the movie. The movie centered around an attack on an American compound located in Saudi Arabia and the quest to find the perpetrators of the attack. The action scenes were tense and well-filmed (which is tough to say with most movies nowadays). Berg did a great job of setting the scene with a fairly brilliant opening credit sequence that played as a kind of history lesson, as this movie dealt with the unique relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States, and the fact that this was not one of the other countries in the Middle East that most of us know more about. Jamie Foxx did his thing as the head of the FBI team sent to investigate the bombing. Jennifer Garner was decent and held her own in the fight scenes (she had lots of practice on Alias). However, my favorite actors in this movie were Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman and Ashraf Barhom, who played the Saudi police officer assisting the Americans in solving the case. Cooper was great as the grizzled veteran on the team and the bomb expert. Bateman served as the comic relief delivering one liner after one liner. But, the main man was Barhom who was excellent portraying a guy who had to respect the rules of his people, while also seeing the American side of the events and helping them get justice for the victims of the attack.

Overall, I walked out of the theater satisfied with what I had just seen and recommend it if you are looking for a decent action movie that has some politics mixed in.

5 out of 6 beers

Considering Berg is an executive producer on the TV show version of Friday Night Lights, it was cool that he had cameos from Dillon High head coach Kyle Chandler and cheerleader Minka Kelly.

CFB Week in Review (Week 5 aka Seriously?)

2007-10-01T09:36:00.001-05:00

There is so much to digest about this weekend in general from going to see The Kingdom on Friday night (review to come later today), to the upsets on Saturday, all the way through the upsets on Sunday. This week's review will be more stream of consciousness as I was only able to watch the early games because of a home UH contest that we somehow inexplicably lost (and had me making up for missing the tailgating last Saturday for religious reasons).

So, each of the following ESPN/USA Today Top 25 teams all lost this weekend: Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, West Virginia, Oregon, Clemson, Penn State and Alabama. Not to mention, there were a number of very close calls for some other ranked teams. Analyzing who they just played and who they are about to play can give us some clarity on how far they may drop in my rankings and how far they should've dropped in the national polls (though they will always be dropped further than deserved based solely on record).

Oklahoma and Texas lost to inferior Big 12 opponents, Colorado and Kansas State respectively, in advance of their clash next week over the Red River. Colorado hasn't looked to good and while watching the game, Oklahoma was merely going through the motions and not playing with any emotion; a recipe for disaster. Meanwhile, Texas could not get revenge on the Wildcats after losing to them last year as well. Apparently, Colt McCoy is K-State's bitch. Oklahoma is a solid team, has played well up through this game (especially that win against Miami) and will be favored next week against Texas, whereas, Texas has not looked at all this season and may very well drop out of my rankings this week. The best two teams in the Big 12 losing to inferior opponents and one of these teams will have two conference losses by week 6. Seriously?

Florida's loss to Auburn was not that much of a surprise, as this is what pundits call a "trap game" wherein a favored team looks past a team they feel is inferior to them (who has something to prove) towards the bigger game the following weekend (see also, my UH Cougars who were inexcusably caught looking past East Carolina toward their trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium down in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to take on Saban's boys who just lost to FSU). They are about to have their showdown with LSU next Saturday night in primetime (where are we watching the game????) and Auburn was coming off back to back losses against South Florida and Mississippi State. Auburn was ranked in the preseason polls and for the most part, no team in the SEC is a slouch. Auburn's true freshman kicker has some ice water in his veins to be able to nail two straight 43-yard field goals (despite the first not counting because of that bs timeout rule- can we do something about this like NOW??) So, I am not going to penalize Florida too much as they are still a talented team and they will be hungry from some Bayou Bengal next week, but probably not enough to win.

Because I went to see The Kingdom on Friday night, I wasn't able to watch the WVU-USF game, but USF stymied the Mountaineer's profilic offense and pulled off the upset. USF is now in the driver's seat to win the Big East as none of the other big 3 (WVU, Louisville and Rutgers) have played each other yet. Is USF a serious contender for a national title? They just play mostly mistake-free football and are just solid and up and down. This will be a nice test case and a great thing about college football parity. This football team didn't even exist 10 years ago (and just goes to show what being in a BCS conference can do for a school - see also, Cincinnati).

Meanwhile, Oregon lost a close one to California, which proved that Cal is a really really good team and the Oregon is simply really good. If USC continues to play this sluggishly, watch out for some upsets down the line. The biggest problem with this game is that because I live in Texas, I was forced to watch the UT-KSU game in non-High Definition. I understand regional telecasts and I am a little glad that a lot of people were able to watch Texas suffer the humiliating defeat, but in this day and age, you mean ABC couldn't get some HD cameras to Austin for the game. Seriously?

As for Penn State, Alabama and Clemson, they all lost to teams they should've beaten, plain and simple. Illinois, under Ron Zook, is looking good so far this season in a weakened Big 10 and Penn State has dropped its first two Big 10 games (but, I am hearing that Michigan used an illegible player against JoePa's boys and the win may have to be vacated - h/t Dan Shanoff). Clemson inevitably lost a game it probably should've won, but GT is not a bad team and before the season, I may have marked this as a GT victory. Alabama, on the other hand, took another one on the chin against Bobby Bowden's Seminoles. Its not the FSU is a bad team, but Alabama should not lose a game like this. The question is how fired up will they be for homecoming next Saturday against my Coogs.

The Coogs - This was not a game a championship team should lose. This was the first game all season where I was like, man, I wish Kolb was still here, at least in the 4th quarter. This was a winnable game, but sometimes you just can't leave it up to your kicker who already had one blocked, shanked one left and was kicking on a wet field in a humid atmosphere. Three strikes and the Coogs are out. I really hope the team wasn't looking past a conference opponent towards Alabama, who, although a win would be great, is still a nonconference opponent. Luckily, the Coogs still hold their fate in their hands with games against Tulsa, UTEP and SMU on the horizon. Let's go into Alabama and win (if UH wins, it will mark their first ever victory in the state of Alabama).

Big Winners coming out of Week 5 - California, LSU (jumping to #1 in AP Poll - hey guys, most of America has had LSU at #1 since week 2, welcome aboard), South Florida, Ohio State, the Pac 10 (having a marquee game not including USC and not having a major upset in a week of bad upsets)

Friday Floetry x 9/28/07

2007-09-27T14:05:00.000-05:00

In case y’all missed it, or just didn’t read it, here’s what I wrote on Monday about last week’s Floetry:

“First, I would like to say that I was really impressed by this past week’s Friday Floetry effort by Powdered Sugar. She deserves big props for rocking Floetry from modern legends that have been doing it since OJ had Isotoners. Hopefully I won’t lose my Floetry job because of this great performance!” - Brownie circa Monday September 24, 2007.

Today’s Floetry comes from a smash-hit from the Summer of 2006 (I think). The hook ("chorus" for those not sure what "hook" means) is pretty banging and even had a little dance associated with it. There are definitely some other great verses in there, such as the following.

Friday Floetry

Time to set it off let these ni**a know
Have ya every seen a Chevy wit the butterfly doors?
I ride real slow no need to speed
Gotta make sure ya see the buckets on my feet
Feds on my trail but they don't thank I know
I keep my hands clean cuz I never touch dope
Every time I see 'em look 'em in the eye
Ask 'em how I know its me surprise!
Put it in the air rep where ya stay
Take a step back blow the kush in they face
Stunting is a habit let 'em see the karats
I'ma make it rain ni**a I ain't scared to share it

- Taken From It’s Goin’ Down by Yung Joc

NFL Post-Week 3 Top 32 Poll

2007-09-26T09:29:00.000-05:00

Week 3 is in the books and we can almost close the season on a handful of teams, while others have opened the door and salvaged their season. Here is this week's Judz Top 32 Poll:

1. Team Bradicek (3-0) - What is more important than the 38 points per game is the defense giving up a total of 35 over their first three.
1a. Judz' Fantasy Team (3-0) - Slips into 1st place by narrowly escaping a Brownie onslaught.
2. The 'Boys (3-0) - With Chicago's defense looking weak and a terrible offense, the Cowboys are the class of the NFC.
3. Team Peyton (3-0) - Close game with the Texans, but game never really in doubt. Dallas Clark always seemed open and even when Marvin and Reggie seem absent, Peyton has weapons.
4. The Steely McBeamers (3-0) - Steelers looking very strong in early part of season.
5. The Pack (3-0) - Old Man Favre is playing like the grizzly veteran he is, but has that spark in his arm that will make this team that much better. The NFC North is there for the taking.
6. The Seahawks (2-1) - Needed a late touchdown and a fumbled kickoff to beat the Bengals, but they are the best team in the NFC West. Keep an eye out for Alexander's broken wrist.
7. The Home Team (2-1) - Played well against the Colts, but how much will injuries affect them. They have now lost WR1 and WR2 for at least another week or two, RB1 is day-to-day and the center is out for the year. Luckily have games with Atlanta and Miami on deck.
8. The Baltimore Browns (2-1) - Just keep doing enough to win.
9. The Bucs (2-1) - Make a huge jump this week as they destroyed the Rams, a week after doing the same to the Saints.
10. The Ninahs (2-1) - This team shows just how much parity there is in the league.
11. The Lucky Broncs (2-1) - Rewarded for bs timeout call last week couldn't help them this week.
12. The Bolts (1-2) - Great offense and great defense, but no coaching equals tough start to season.
13. The Titans (2-1) - Is it just me or is Vince Young merely a more mobile Trent Dilfer? Jeff Fisher is giving VY enough of a playbook not to lose the Titans the game. The defense and running backs are winning the games this year, just as they did last year. Granted, VY will continue to get better, but he still needs some better receivers to throw to.
14. The Panthers (2-1) - A victory with Steve Smith only catching one pass for 10 yards is impressive, but now it appears they are stuck with David Carr and his pretty hair.
15. The Iggles (1-2) - That was the Philly team most have been expecting this season. If they continue to play that way, good things will happen. Please burn those uniforms, though.
16. The Jags (2-1) - Which Jags team will show up week to week is always a great mystery.
17. The Skins (2-1) - Hey Joe, I think you forgot that you have a guy named Clinton Portis as your #1 RB, so why did you leave him on the sidelines?
18. Team Kitna (2-1) - Defense looked awful, but Kitna threw for 448 yards in the loss. Kitna needs some protecting though, as he was sacked like 8 times.
19. Da Bears (1-2) - Grossman has been benched, the secondary is beat up and now Tommie Harris is banged up. Things are not looking good in Chicago.
20. The Bungles (1-2) - Isn't it great how everybody now calls Chad Johnson, Ocho Cinco.?Its kind of like everyone calling Gilbert Arenas, Hibachi. On that note, the passing game is moving well, despite some drops, but the running game needs to get in gear.
21. J E T S, Jets, Jets, Jets (1-2) - Could get to .500 with win over Buffalo this Sunday.
22. The Cards (1-2) - That really was Kurt Warner playing. Hmm. Never thought I would see this qb controversy again.
23. The G-Men (1-2) - Looked good in second half coming back from 14 down and may have turned their season around with that goal line stand at the end of the game.
24. The Raaaaaaaides (1-2) - Lane Kiffin is already learning how to win by using the tactic Shanahan used on him last week in order to beat the Browns.
25. The Browns (1-2) - I cannot figure this team out.
26. The Dolfins (0-3) - Played well against the Jets, but they are still quite bad.
27. The Rams (0-3) - Boy, was I off on these guys. Have now lost 2/5 of the starting offensive line and Steven Jackson is out at least a week (fantasy bust for Judz thus far).
28. The Saints (0-3) - Maybe if their receivers started wearing numbers in the 80s like they are supposed to, there is a chance Brees would know who to throw to.
29. The Chiefs (1-2) - Looked ok against the Vikings, but this bottom third of the league is just bad.
30. The Vikings (1-2) - Got to beat the bad teams if you want move up the poll.
31. The Bills (0-3) - Too many injuries, but have a bright spot in Marshawn Lynch (Judz' #2 rb).
32. The Falcons (0-3) - Harrington looked better, but team is terrible. Not to mention the little blowup by DeAngelo Hall costing the team 67 yards on one drive alone.

Brief Thought

2007-09-25T13:43:00.000-05:00

To show the world of sports isn't all cheaters and rainmakers, the New Mexico State Aggies are holding a "Pink-Out" this Saturday for their game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The players are scheduled to wear pink socks and have pink ribbon stickers on their helmets, the coaches will be wearing pink golf shirts and there will be pink ribbons painted on the field. The marching band will wear pink, and organizers hope to sell pink T-shirts to fans in a bid to "pink out" the 30,343-capacity stadium. The goal is to raise about $200,000 for breast cancer research. Major League Baseball has a similar promotion on Mother's Day every year and the University of Houston women's softball team will be having their Second Annual Breast Cancer Awareness game in the spring.

Judz College Football Top 25 (Week 4

2007-09-24T16:51:00.000-05:00

1. LSU - Came through with a good victory against Spurrier and the Cocks, tough games still ahead
2. USC - Wake me when they play Cal or Oregon
3. Oklahoma - Looked strong against a pretty good Tulsa squad, but Red River inching closer
4. Florida - Hard fought win over Ole Miss with Tebow impressing, but Bayou Bengals await in a few weeks
5. West Virginia - Can revenge be served in Tampa on Friday night for defeat in Morgantown last year against Da Bulls?
6. California - Same ol' story, but have to play the Ducks Saturday
7. Oregon - Play Da Bears Saturday
8. Ohio State - Appears to be class of Big Eleven
9. Rutgers - Potential trap game against Maryland before showdown with underrated Cincy
10. Boston College - Continue to roll, but need more help in running game
11. Wisconsin - Big game against the MSU Spartans Saturday will show which team is for real
12. Texas - Had an easy warmup against Rice and will now try to get revenge on K-State after last year's high scoring defeat last year in Manhattan
13. Clemson - Good QB + great RBs = success so far in ACC
14. Kentucky - Won second big game in a row, huge games still to come
15. Arizona State - Looking very strong, but have to survive Pac 10 schedule
16. South Florida - Can the Bulls upset WVU for a second straight year and will this really be an upset?
17. Cincinnati - Yes, the Bearcats make the big jump into the polls. This team is about as underrated as they come in CFB
18. Missouri - Count me in as a believer now, plus with Nebraska looking quite average after a narrow escape from Ball State, this may be the team playing Oklahoma in the B-12 championship
19. Virginia Tech - Still waiting for offense to really wake up
20. Michigan State - Let's see how they stack up against real competition in the Badgers on Saturday
21. South Carolina - The benching Blake Mitchell and the fact the offense hasn't been there in two seasons makes this team a rough pick the rest of the season
22. Georgia - Big win on the road at Bama - talent-wise this is a top 15 team (or higher), but inexperience holds them back
23. Purdue - I'm throwing them in here as they look to be a contender in the Big 10
24. Michigan - Mike Hart is simply willing this team to victory
25. Kansas - Still haven't played anybody, but after all of the upsets of the season so far, an unblemished record and ranking in the top 5 for offense and defense make this one of the top 25 in the nation

Rankings Query - I love reading collegefootballnews.com as they have some great analysis and I look forward to reading the Cavalcade of Whimsy by Pete Fiutak every Tuesday, but some of their rankings in this week's Weekly Rankings just confounded me. This past Saturday, the University of Houston soundly beat Colorado State by 11; however, in their rankings, CSU is ranked #62, despite having lost 10 in a row back to last season, and the Coogs are ranked #73 (3 spots behind Notre Dame @ #70, which in and of itself confounds me). Can somebody explain this to me? The Coogs won C-USA last year, had 10 wins, looked better against Oregon (in Oregon) than Michigan did (playing at home), soundly beat two straight teams and they are ranked behind not only a team they just beat, but behind a team that has only scored 2 offensive touchdowns through 4 games this season (and a team that lost to Duke).

American Gangster X Jay-Z

2007-09-24T13:39:00.000-05:00

First, I would like to say that I was really impressed by this past week’s Friday Floetry effort by Powdered Sugar. She deserves big props for rocking Floetry from modern legends that have been doing it since OJ had Isotoners. Hopefully I won’t lose my Floetry job because of this great performance!

Speaking of Floetry, it has recently been announced that Jay-Z / Hov / Sean Carter is dropping a new album in November. The album is Jay-Z’s second since coming out of “retirement” last year. All the songs on the new album will be based on or inspired by the upcoming movie American Gangster. The Denzel Washington / Russell Crowe / Ridley Scott / Brian Grazer film tells the story of Frank Lucas who basically introduced heroin to Harlem in the early 1970s and made himself into a drug kingpin in a New York “industry” traditionally run by the Mafia.

The Jay-Z album is not the movie’s official soundtrack (the "official" soundtrack features Bobby Womack, Sam & Dave, and the Staple Singers). Producer Brian Grazer wanted the movie’s official soundtrack to have a 1970s feel, although over a year ago Denzel Washington pushed him to consider Jay-Z for the official soundtrack. The movie’s trailer does include Jay-Z’s previous work “Heart of the City”. It has to be seen whether any marketing promotions featuring both Jay-Z’s album and American Gangster will occur. Jay-Z’s decision to make an album came only in the past couple of weeks right after he was shown a copy of the film and felt some connection to it (growing up in Brooklyn, Jay-Z rapped and sold drugs).

The movie American Gangster drops on Friday November 2nd, and Jay-Z’s album should also come out in early November.

A lot more info on this story can be found by clicking here (it’s a New York Times article, best paper in this country, in my opinion).

CFB Week 4 Review

2007-09-24T11:08:00.000-05:00

With this past Saturday being Yom Kippur, I wasn't able to watch any of the games that were played this week, except for those I recorded and watched partially on Saturday night after coming home from my birthday celebration. Here is some of the stuff I fuzzily remember and a few thoughts based entirely on scores alone (so this is how the coaches feel when they have to determine their top 25 brackets without having watched any games other than their own).

ACC - Miami had the big win over Texas A&M and proves once again that playing at the OB on Thursday night is a loss for the visitors. Clemson and BC appear to be the class of this conference, along with Virginia Tech and perhaps Miami.

Big 12 - A&M and Coach Fran looked completely lost down in Miami (please note that I am of the belief that Fran has made millions of dollars based solely on a few seasons at TCU with LaDanian Tomlinson - and that TCU is actually better off with Gary Patterson as their HC). Nebraska almost lost and Texas Tech had their annual letdown game against Okie State.

Big East - WV, South Florida, and Cincy continue to roll, but WTF happened to Louisville? Their offense is extremely potent, but their defense is just awwwwwwwwwful. Syracuse, seriously? These guys haven't even been competitive and were on pace for an 0-12 season. Congrats Orange.

Big Ten - It is looking like Ohio State is the top dog in the conference. Michigan State and Purdue are next, but what happened to Penn State? If anybody knows, please leave a comment and let me know.

C-USA - Now I watched the UH-Colorado State game in its entirety and although the Coogs sleepwalked through the first half, they showed why they are a championship team in coming back from a 14 point deficit in the 3rd quarter. Major props go out to Art Briles for his halftime adjustments. The East and West appear to have 2 horses in each that will battle it out for a berth in the championship game - UCF and Southern Miss in the East and UH and Tulsa in the West.

Independents - At what point can NBC void their contract with the Irish?

MAC - So close for Ball State against Nebraska, but to no avail.

MWC - Colorado State played well against the Coogs (with some great playcalling in the first half), but their losing streak now sits at 10.

Pac 10 - Its USC, Cal and Oregon, then everybody else.

SEC - Georgia had the big win of the week on the road against Alabama. LSU survived against Spurrier and the Cocks, and Tim Tebow installed himself firmly in the hunt for the Heisman as he lead the Gators to a hard-fought victory over Ole Miss. [I have just read that Mississippi State received a vote in the Coaches' Top 25. WTF?]

Sun Belt - Eh.

WAC - Colt Brennan doesn't play and yet the Rainbows still win by 56. Does this hurt the Heisman campaign if anybody can throw for huge yards and multiple td's in June Jones' offense?

Games to watch next week - Sothern Miss @ Boise State (Thursday night), WV @ USF (Friday night), Cal @ Oregon, MSU @ Wisconsin, Alabama @ FSU,

Friday Floetry (By me - PS)

2007-09-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, so as Brownie mentioned early this week, we switched assignments. I am doing the floetry. First I have to commend him on his attempts to make my weekend review interesting. Next time he will have to go out a little bit more though!!! So to start my floetry off...I have to say, I dont really listen to rap. I couldnt even think of a song I liked right now. So, I picked something a little older. This one goes out to everyone who likes to shake it. I hope this makes you want to get up and dance - it is Friday after all! Start the weekend off right! (Brownie, I know this is not really "floetry", but hopefully it makes you smile).

One two three uh!

My baby don't mess around
Because she loves me so
And this I know for shooo..

Uh, But does she really wanna
But can't stand to see me
Walk out the dooor..

Don't try to fight the feelin'
Because the thought alone is killing me right nooww..
Uh, thank god for mom and dad
For sticking two together

'Cause we don't know hooowww...

UH!

Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa..Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa..Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa..Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa..Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa..Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa..Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa..Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa..

You think you've got it
Ohh, you think you've got it
But got it just don't get it
Till' there's nothing at
AaaaaaaaAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaallllll.
We get together
Ohh, we get together
But seperate's always better when there's feelings
InvooooooOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOooooooOOOOOlved
If what they say is "Nothing is forever"
Then what makes, Then what makes, Then what makes
Then what makes, Then what makes LOOVVEEE?(Love exception)

So why you, why you
Why you, why you, why you are we so in denial
When we know we're not happy heeeerrreeee...
Y'all don't want me here you just wanna dance

Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa.. (OHH OH)Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa.. (OHH OH)Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa.. (Don't want to meet your daddy, OHH OH)Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa.. (Just want you in my Caddy OHH OH)Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa.. (OHH OH, don't want to meet yo' mama OHH OH)Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa.. (Just wan't to make you cumma OHH OH)Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa.. (I'm, OHH OH I'm, OHH OH)Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa.. (I'm just being honest OHH OH, I'm just being honest)

Hey, alright nowAlright now fellas, (YEAH!)Now what's cooler than bein' cool?(ICE COLD!) I can't hear ya'I say what's cooler than bein' cool?(ICE COLD!) whooo...Alright, alright, alright, alrightAlright, alright, alright, alrightAlright, alright, alright, alrightAlright, alright, Ok now ladies, (YEAH!)And we gon' break this thing down in just a few secondsNow don't have me break this thang down for nothin'Now I wanna see y'all on y'all baddest behaviorLend me some suga', I am your neighbor ahh here we go!Shake it, shake, shake it, shake it (OHH OH)Shake it, shake it, shake, shake it, shake it, shake it (OHH OH)Shake it, shake it like a Polaroid Picture, shake it, shake itShh you got to, shake it, shh shake it, shake it, got to shake it(Shake it Suga') shake it like a Polaroid Picture

Now while Beyonce's and Lucy Lui'sAnd baby dolls, get on the floor(Get on the floor)You know what to dooo..You know what to dooo..You know what to do![Chorus]Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa.. (OHH OH)Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa.. (OHH OH)Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa.. (OHH OH)Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa.. (Uh oh, Hey Ya)Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa.. (OHH OH)Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa.. (Uh, uh, OHH OH)Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa.. (OHH OH)Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa.. (OHH OH).

So Long, Special One

2007-09-20T10:09:00.000-05:00

Apparently firing coaches in the middle of the season is not just endemic to American sports as Chelsea Football Club of the Barclay's Premier League has basically fired their head coach Jose Mourinho, aka The Special One. Chelsea has only played in 6 league games and the Champions League has only just begun. After having been quite successful at Porto and winning a Champions League title, Mourinho was appointed manager of Chelsea in 2004. Then, in 2005, he lead Chelsea to the Carling Cup title, to the quarterfinals of the Champions League and to the Premiership title. Since then, he lead Chelsea again to the BPL title, a second Carling Cup, the Champions League semifinals and an FA Cup title. As some of my w11 boys have said, thanks to Jose, Chelsea is a respectable team in Europe and Mourinho is one of the top 3 coaches in the world. Mourinho had three years remaining on his contract. Former Israel coach Avram Grant and Steve Clarke will take over on an interim basis. Chelsea currently sits tied for 3rd in the BPL, only 2 points behind league leader Arsenal.

TPC at the Dillo - Top 25 (Week 3)

2007-09-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

1. Oklahoma Sooners (3-0) - Stoops OU is getting in the habit of hanging 50 on people, let's hope that continues as the Sooners travel across state to Tulsa for a rare Friday contest
2. Florida Gators (3-0) - Urban Meyer is starting to follow OU's lead in hanging 50+ on teams, they travel to Oxford to play Ole Miss.
3. Southern California Men of Troy (2-0) - Started a little sluggish in Lincoln, then picked it for an impressive "W" in the Husker State!!
4. Louisiana State Bayou Bengals (3-0) - LSU rolled MT, and host Spurrier to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. This'll be a good one.
5. West Virginia Mountaineers (3-0) - Rich Rodriguez is building this program, day by day and game by game, it should continue against the Pirates of ECU.
6. Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0) - The beatdown of the Hogs was a great game, the Tide hosts Georgia this Saturday at Bryant-Denny, barnburner
7. Texas Longhorns (3-0) - SQBrown is still squeaking by one by one, the play what comes from a Chinamans arse this weekend in Austin, so the scoring should come in droves
8. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0) - Joe-Pa warmed up with Buffalo, but plans to put it on Lloyd Carr and Bichigan
9. Wisconsin Badgers (3-0) - The Citadel carried their weight, but fell late, however Iowa comes to town this week, Camp Randall better be ready
10. Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0) - Smoked Akron next up is the Washington Huskies, the Buckeyes are more delighted about the Wolverines failures than their own successes
11. California Golden Bears (3-0) - The Golden Bears put it on the rednecks of LaTech, but this week looking for a little revenge against the Wildcats from Arizona
12. Rutgers Scarlett Knights (3-0) - The Friday Nights put it on Norfolk St so bad they needed this week off to catch their breath
13. Clemson Tigers (3-0) - Furman didn't get blown out, but it wasn't close, this week the Tigers travel to NCState
14. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-0) - OBC has a tough test at Tiger Stadium where the bourbon will smell , but if OBC and the Cocks score early and often they have a chance
15. Oregon Ducks (3-0) - The Ducks should be undefeated every year, those unis are hard on my eyes, and I don't have to look at them
16. Texas A&M Fighting Aggies (3-0) - Smoked the Warhawks, but travel to Miami and SoBe to face the windless Hurricanes
17. South Florida Bulls (2-0) - Raise it, take your shirt off is coming to town, Raymond James will be a fun place to be Sat.
18. Kentucky Wildcats (3-0) - The Wildcats pulled off an impressive upset, up next are the Hogs looking for a little redemption from last week
19. Missouri Tigers (3-0) - Rolled one of the directional Michigans, next up is Illinois St. the RedBirds, good luck Mizzou???
20. Boston College Screamin' Eagles (3-0) - Beat GaTech at the home of the Ramblin Wreck, then play the Cadets from West Point
21. Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-1) - The Huskers put up a good fight, but the Men of Troy were a little much for Callahan and Co.
22. Arizona State Sun Devils (3-0) - Spanked a hapless Aztec team, next up the Beavers of Oregon State.
23. Cincinnati Bearcats (3-0) - The Bearcats put it on the Tropical Depressions, but have the Thundering Herd next
24. Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-0) - The Red Raiders put it on what comes out of a Chinaman's Arse in impressive fashion, TTU plays the Cowboys from Okie St. this week
25. Houston Cougars (1-1) - Coogs partied hard in the Big Easy, and now comes home to play the Rams from Colorado State

Side Note: University of Louisiana needs to fire their head coach and hire Major Applewhite

Fall TV Season

2007-09-19T16:10:00.000-05:00

I guess this past Monday officially began the Fall TV Season, when our favorite shows (hopefully) come back, the summer shows thankfully go off the air and some new favorites are born. Thus, I have decided to give you, my dear reader(s) a brief preview of the fall season, including my "season-package" favorites and some new shows that will hopefully find themselves onto my already full schedule.

The season kicks off this week on Fox and the CW, followed next week by most shows on CBS, NBC and ABC. This past Monday brought the return of Prison Break and new show K-Ville. Prison Break picks up where it left off last season down in Panama and the season looks to be similar in style to Season 1 with breaking out of jail rather than being on the run, but this time our main character doesn't have his new surroundings tattooed on his body. K-Ville revolves around two police officers in present day New Orleans (post-Katrina). The first episode laid some nice groundwork, but I just felt that they kept hitting me over the head with Katrina this and Katrina that. I understand that the city of New Orleans is a character in the show, but we don't need the destruction to be referenced every other minute of the show. If they can tone that down and just focus on our main characters, this show can be a successful procedural, especially with Anthony Anderson playing the lead and doing his best not-comedy relief self. Tonight sees the return of Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton in a sitcom about a newsroom that looks to be decent (I have my dvr set to record it as I may not have a review of it by tomorrow).

Returning Favorites (all times Central - screw you Eastern time):
The Simpsons (Fox Sundays at 7), Family Guy (Fox Sundays at 8), Shark (CBS Sundays at 9), Prison Break (Fox Mondays at 7), How I Met Your Mother (CBS Mondays at 7), Heroes (NBC Mondays at 8), NCIS (CBS Tuesdays at 7), Boston Legal (ABC Tuesdays at 9), Smallville (CW Thursdays at 7), Supernatural (CW Thursdays at 8), Scrubs, The Office and 30 Rock (NBC Thursdays), Friday Night Lights (NBC Fridays at 8), Numbers (CBS Friday at 9),

New Shows That Look Promising
Chuck (NBC Mondays at 7), K-Ville (Fox Mondays at 8), Journeyman (NBC Mondays at 9 - Quantum Leap type, but probably destined to fail), Reaper (CW Tuesdays at 8), Pushing Daisies (ABC Wednesdays at 7), Bionic Woman (NBC Wednesdays at 8)

New Shows I Will Check Out Perhaps Once Time Permitting
The Big Bang Theory (CBS Mondays at 7:30), Back To You (Fox Wednesdays at 7), Gossip Girl (CW Wednesdays at 8 - j/k), Moonlight (CBS Fridays at 8), Cavemen and Carpoolers (ABC Tuesdays at 7), Dirty Sexy Money (ABC Wednesdays 9), Big Shots (ABC Thursdays at 9)

I am trying to guess what the first show to be cancelled will be and my money is on either Journeyman or Life (NBC Wednesdays at 9). I saw the first episode of each already and neither was particularly compelling, though both have the ability to be solid shows.

West = Victory

2007-09-19T12:03:00.001-05:00

(Jay-Z, Kanye, and 50: not enemies, just competitors)

Here is seemingly the final chapter in my quest to bring you the preview, the estimates, and the final numbers in the 50 Cent v. Kanye West album sales contest.

First Week Sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan:

Kanye West's Graduation: 957,000 copies *
50 Cent's Curtis: 691,000 copies

* Most first week sales in 2007 beating out Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight which sold 623,000 in its first week back in May.

The remix to 50 Cent's I Get Money, dubbed, Forbes 1,2,3 Remix featuring 50 Cent, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Kanye's "Big Brother" Jay-Z dropped on Monday. Jay-Z, 50, and Diddy are 1,2 and 3 respectively on the Forbe's Hip-Hop Cash Kings list in terms of 2006 earnings. Jay-Z accepted 50's offer to rap on the remix as long as the remix came out after first week sales were in. With respect to his request, Jay-Z said 50 is not an enemy, but a competitor.

NFL Week 2 Review

2007-09-18T15:05:00.000-05:00

Week 2 of the NFL season provided us with further insight into certain teams and more questions about others. This week we watched the early games at Fox Sports Grill, which as Brownie mentioned in his weekend review post, was a good place to watch the games, but the tvs can be a little hard to see due to distance from table and height (think front row seats at a movie theater looking up, but sitting in the middle of the theater with a much smaller screen. We will be back at B-Dubs this Sunday (to watch football and to continue my birthday celebration - gifts welcome!). By the way, I did in fact hear John Mellencamp's Our Country on Sunday for the first time this season and it was simply fantastic. I nearly welled up with pride for our country. Instead of doing a game by game review like last week, I will rank the teams as I see fit from top to bottom and provide analysis from the prior week's game throughout:

The Contenders:

1. Team Bradicek (2-0) - First, I refuse to call the cheating scandal anything that has to do with 'Gate. I am so sick of everything being Xgate or Ygate. Can't we just call it Patriots Cheating Scandal #1? Second, these guys are just sick. The D shut down San Diego and free agent pickup Adalius Thomas picked off a Rivers pass and returned it for a touchdown. I always wondered just how good Tom Brady could be with some receivers and we are square in the midst of watching it. Now, if Maroney can get himself going, this behemoth will not lose. I thought the NFL had a salary cap for exactly this reason. It will be interesting to see if Moss only gets two receptions next week if he begins to complain.

1a. Classic's Fantasy Team (2-0) - Just plain ol' sick through 2 weeks.

2. Team Peyton (2-0) - Struggled a little with the Titans on Sunday and will have a real test this weekend when they play the undefeated Texans. The defending champs will be making noise throughout the season.

2a. Judz' Fantasy Team (2-0) - Big game against Brownie this week, but nipping at Classic's heels.

3. The Steely McBeamers (2-0) - Although playing subpar teams the first two weeks, the Steelers defense looks fantastic and the offense is all set up to dominate the AFC North and make noise in the playoffs. The Steelers have their next three games against NFC West opponents and should tell us more about them and new coach Mike Tomlin.

4. The 'Boys (2-0) - The offense looks stout, but the defense could still use some work. Pretty soon, they will be getting Tank Johnson, which should help the D-Line. Also, playing the NFC East will be nothing but beneficial when the Boys are in the playoffs.

5. The Bolts (1-1) - Despite losing to the Pats, the Bolts are still a top 5 team and AFC contender. Everyone is waiting for LDT to start playing like the MVP that he is, but I wouldn't mind him waiting until Week 4 since I have to play Brownie if FFB this week and LDT is the cornerstone to his franchise. The D just looked lost against the Pats on Sunday night.

6. Da Bears (1-1) - This ranking may be a little high because of the lack of offense thus far, but the defense will be the cornerstone to another playoff run. Like last year, Grossman must be much more consistent.

The Almost-Theres

7. The Home Team (2-0) - No, I am not kidding. This is what parity has done in the NFL. The way they have dispatched both the Chiefs and the Panthers has been fantastic. Schaub and Ahman Green have brought consistency. Andre Johnson has brought some sizzle (too bad he is doubtful for the biggest game of next weekend against the Colts). And most importantly, the front seven on D has been dominant. Amobi and Mario, along with DeMeco and the others have been sensational. Let's keep it up boys!!

8. The Lucky Broncs (2-0) - This team should really be 0-2 right now. However, their offense and defense are both solid, but the O needs to put the ball in the end zone. Elam and lucky timeouts cannot carry this team all season.

9. The Ninahs (2-0) - Neither victory has been particularly impressive, but this team is strong with Alex Smith and Frank Gore improving with every game. The NFC West has more parity than any other division and these guys are currently #1 there.

10. The Baltimore Browns (1-1) - Still don't believe in a Jeff Tedford-qb lead team, but this team has always been about the defense. Wow, the NFL sucks outside of the top 5 or 6 teams.

11. The Seahawks - (1-1) - A miscommunication away from being 2-0, this team looks like it may underachieve again this year. Alexander looks fine, but Hasselbeck still has no real go-to receiver threat. How this team got down 17-0 before showing a pulse may be demonstrative of the season as a whole.

12. The Pack (2-0) - Brett Favre looks like an old man, but still has the heart of a kid fresh out of college. Along with the Lions, the Pack are in 1st in the NFC North and may stay there unless Da Bears can somehow motivate Rex Grossman to get his head out of his arse.

13. The Bungles (1-1) - You jackasses knocked me out of the Eliminator. But good ol' Chad Johnson doesn't let a little beer spilt on him affect his performance (200+ yards and 2 td's). The offense looks good, but that D was atrocious.

The At-Best Average

14. Team Kitna (2-0) - I told you guys in my preview that Kitna will do what it takes to make good on his promise of a 10-win season. Coming back from a concussion to lead the team to an OT victory gets mad props in my book (and definitely helped me destroy K's poor excuse for a FFB team this week). But to keep winning, they need to get the running game moving.

15. The Skins (2-0) - Not impressive in either victory, but still 2-0. This team will pull off some upsets, but will be upset by others in the process. An average NFL team (but, this year, average will be good enough, especially in the NFC) that will probably go 8-8, mainly because they still get the Giants twice.

16. The Panthers (1-1) - Don't let the loss to the Texans fool you. This is still a very good team. They need to get the running game to where it was last season if they have any hope of succeeding. The NFC South is looking very weak as a whole. Sixty yards against the Texans is quite terrible.

17. The Titans (1-1) - Somehow kept close to the Colts on Sunday. The key to beating a VY-qb'd team is to make him beat you with his arm downfield, especially with the receivers he currently has. Like the Skins, this is at best an average football team that will pull off some big time upsets throughout the season.

18. The Saints (0-2) - The difference between the Saints and the Bears is that even if the Bears offense struggles, at least the defense and special teams will win some ball games. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Saints. Drew, Reggie, Deuce and Marques need to get it going or else they will keep falling further back in a weak NFC South.

19. The Rams (0-2) - Better than their record, but it will be interesting to see if Orlando Pace's season ending injury will cause this team to free fall even further. Steven Jackson does not look like a guy who will be get 2,500 all-purpose yards (at this rate, maybe not even 1,000). They need to turn it around quick.

20. The Cards (1-1) - Needed some luck to hold off the Seahawks, but were good enough to take that 17-0 lead. Like many other teams, this offense is too good to be held down for much longer.

21. The Iggles (0-2) - The McNabb countdown is on. It is a bad sign that two weeks into the season McNabb is already whining about the booing he is receiving because he is a black quarterback. Its not the color of your skin they are booing, just the player in the #5 jersey that is supposed to be the leader of a proud franchise with a loyal, though scathing fanbase.

Yikes, these guys are NFLers?

22. J E T S, Jets, Jets, Jets (0-2) - Like I said in the preview, these guys are good when they shouldn't be good and bad when they should be good. Three dropped TDs will cause losses every week and that spelled disaster for the Jets on Sunday.

23. The Bucs (1-1) - Looked good against the Saints, but looked dreadful against Seattle. This is a wait and see team.

24. The Jags (1-1) - Haven't looked good in either game, but are sitting at 1-1 and should be 2-0. They have the personnel to be contenders, but for some reason they just don't play like it. Wow, a recurring theme - offense must get on track or else they will be looking up from the cellar of the AFC South.

25. The Vikings (1-1) - Too many turnovers. They looked good against the Falcons in Week 1, but everybody should this season.

26. The Browns (1-1) - Where did that come from? Despite the Herculean effort from Derek Anderson, I am still calling for The Mighty Quinn to get his opportunity to helm this thing the Browns call an offense. Man, did the Bengals D suck on Sunday.

27. The Raaaaaaaides (0-2) - Should be 1-1, but for a ridiculous timeout that should not have been allowed since the whistle blew after the ball was snapped. There are lots of other blogs discussing changing this rule allowing timeouts in these situations (not just to ice the kicker, but to make him have to rekick).

28. The G-Men (0-2) - Tom Coughlin's days in NY are coming to an end this season. The question is simply when. The G-Men better do something about that defense because atrocious doesn't begin to describe it.

29. The Dolfins (0-2) - Bad

30. The Bills (0-2) - Worse

31. The Chiefs (0-2) - Nearly vile

32. The Falcons (0-2) - Vile

Brief Thought

2007-09-18T10:58:00.001-05:00

Lately, I have become sick of the phrase "jump the shark" being used to describe something has reached a point where it has gone past its prime. The origin of the phrase arose from an episode of Happy Days in which Fonzie jumped a shark on waterskis, which has been labeled the lowest point of the show. However, the phrase has entered into the public's lexicon and unfortunately has itself jumped the shark. Thus, a new term was needed. Recently, I have seen a new phrase that I absolutely love. That new term: "Fred Dursted".

For example, per FilmDrunk.com in his discussion of the new Uwe Boll movie, "Mainly I just feel bad for Mini Me Verne Troyer. I thought he was better than that. His career has really Fred Dursted."

Judz College Football Top 25 (Week 3)

2007-09-17T18:30:00.000-05:00

We had some upsets this week, as well as top teams showing us who they really are. On to this week's rankings - now with commentary:

1. LSU - Still strike me as the best in the country, but have tough game with some Cocks Saturday
2. USC - Big W @ Nebraska, but just how good is Nebraska anyway?
3. Oklahoma - Continue to roll on with a few weeks until Red River
4. Florida - Big W over Fulmer's Vols and proving Tebow and Harvin are a lethal combo
5. West Virginia - Just keep on making it look easy and are even more dangerous now that they are blessed with the Divine
6. California - Offensive juggernaut that should be #2 in Pac 10 and can upset USC this year
7. Penn State - Just keep on rolling
8. Oregon - Destroying Fresno State just makes the Duck look that much more fierce
9. Rutgers - Stay Classy, Greg Schiano
10. Ohio State - Offense appears to have been awakened and defense is top 10 worthy
11. Wisconsin - Tied @ the half against The Citadel will send you down the rankings
12. Boston College - Impressive victory at GT
13. Texas - Not so impressive victory at UCF ... boys need another real receiver to help out Sweed on the outside (quantity does not equal quality Mack)
14. Clemson - Feasting on inferior teams will move you up the rankings
15. Georgia Tech - Despite being dominated, still a great overall team and may still contend for the ACC title
16. South Carolina - Looking good Spurrier, but Bayou Bengals up next and yes, the visor still looks stupid on you
17. Arizona State - When will the implosion occur like it always does with the Sun Devils?
18. Kentucky - Fantastic victory over Louisville and may be the turning point into the upper echelon of the SEC East
19. Virginia Tech - Waiting for offense to wake up
20. Michigan State - Another cupcake coming up in Notre Dame, but need bigger test before moving up
21. Louisville - Still a top offense, but something needs to happen to motivate the defense - what was up with that blown coverage at the end of the game?
22. Georgia - Still young, but growing fast
23. South Florida - Maybe Auburn isn't that good after all, but victory at Jordan-Hare still impressive
24. Texas A&M - Thursday night showdown with the Hurricanes in the OB will demonstrate if Fran's boys have turned the proverbial corner
25. Alabama - Lucky that Houston Nutt screwed the pooch on that 3rd and 12 call (see CFB Week 3 Review for further analysis), but still had to score the TD, which they did - only 3 weeks until showdown with the Coogs!

Also receiving consideration - Cincinnati, Missouri, Texas Tech, Kansas, Purdue