UCLA All Blue Errrthang

UCLA is either going baby blue on navy, or baby blue on baby blue for their upcoming game with Arizona.  I can't really tell from this instragram pic.  Either way, it's really lame.  They are planning with an "LA Nights" constume uniform later, and I ding this one because I like their standard blue on gold.  Once again, adidas, you're trying WAY too hard.  Grade: C-

Source: CBS - Eye on College Football



Here is the "LA Nights" jersey the Bruins will wear against Stanford on November 24th...

Texas Tech "Pride" Uniforms

This is what the Red Raiders will wear this weekend following their beat down in the Little Apple.  I love the Texas Star and for Under Armour, this looks pretty good.  Grade: B+

Source: Uni-Watch

Best looking NFL game ever

Yesterday, the Redskins played the Steelers.  The 'skins wore their white tops with gold pants and striped socks.  When Washington added their gold pants a few years ago with those socks, they become top notch.  Then the Steelers busted out their 30s throwback, and as the NFL Redzone Channel flipped to this game, I got excited.  I'm just going to post some pictures and leave it at that.  Other than the black side panels and the stupid Nike collar for the skins, A+++++++++.  I need a pair of those socks.  Both.  And then another 20 pairs.

Source: Uni-Watch

UNC Helmets

This year, UNC introduced white helmets with a white facemask along with their normal Carolina Blues, and then they put a navy facemask when they played Duke.  This past weekend, they went full chrome with their Tar Heel logo and as a non-UNC football fan, I think they looked pretty sweet.  Very trendy, very Hokie-ish with an atlernate logo on a new helmet, but if you're gonna go chrome, might as well go Heel too.  Grade: B+

Source: Uni-Watch

Straight Ca$h Homey Week 9: Keep It in the Gut

Last week Notre Dame.
This week Lane Kiffin. Betting sucks.

Fact: Last week I ended up with a winning record (4-3).  Fact: Miami scored a pointless touchdown down 20 to rip a 4-2-1 record from me.  Fact: Notre Dame had the classic trap game and didn't get me my money game.

I have won 2 money games this year and right now owe over $100, so that's not very cool.  I am also 7.5 games back which isn't too bad, but there are 5 guys within a few games, so basically I am playing out the string.  What do I do?  Do I keep going with my gut, usually taking double-digit favorites on the road?  Or do I pick the teams I want to root for in the big games?  I mean this should be fun after all, and once I'm out of it, I kind of want to go with the teams I like.  (But Thank God I Didn't Take WVU Last Week.  Holy Shit!!@!@!@!@)  Even if I go with teams I want to win, if they lose and don't cover, it's a double punch in the dick.  I think I'm going to keep picking with my gut and if I finish last, then thems the breaks.  On to Week 9...

16Louisville -3.5 vs Cincinnati

8:00 ESPN (Friday)

One-loss UC comes into Papa Johns after losing to Toledo (#MACTION!!) and a steady 'ville team is favored by just over a field goal on a Friday night.  Like.  Oh, and a bet on the Friday night game? Double like.

UCLA +7 at Arizona State

3:00 FX

UCLA regains its mid-September form and beats Sparky, who is still smarting from the woodshed beating they took from the Alpha Ducks.  Anything over 4 and I like it.  Go Jim Mora Jr.s!

4Kansas State -7 vs. 15Texas Tech

3:30 FOX

The Beat the Shit Out of WVU Bowl takes place in the Little Apple this week.  Texas Tech beat TCU in a great 3OT thriller and blew WVU the f*ck out in back-to-back weeks, but...I'm still not sold.  What I am sold on is that Bill Snyder is the best coach ever and he will beat the Red Raiders by more than a touchdown in Bill Snyder Family Stadium with his Heisman front-running QB doing his thing.

$$$ 10USC -6.5 at Arizona $$$

3:30 ESPN2

Easy trap game for the Trojans, who play OU next week.  However, the line has moved from -10 to under a touchdown and I don't see the 'cats keeping Barkley, Woods, Redd, Lee and whatever 5stars they put into the game under 50.  Also, under a touchdown means if the game gets within 10 or14, Kiffin will try to score (and go for two) so there won't be any shitty losses like FSU last week.  No real reason this is the money game other than once it gets back to 10, USC can step back on the gas.  In this case, -7 is a whole nother ball game than -6.5.

9Ohio State -1 at Penn State

5:30 ESPN

I thought the line would be PSU -2 or 3 but the Buckeyes are still favored going on the road after a great but terrible win.  I guess they are still favored because, well, the Buckeyes have a better team, even if their middle linebacker was the starting fullback for the past 3 1/2 years.  The Buckeyes have no depth, but I doubt there are more than 3 players from Penn State that would make the Scarlet and Gray 2-deep.  Taking the Bucks on the road.  LET'S GO BUCKS!  This looks like a classic FU game from Vegas...make the crappy-looking team a road favorite by the over-achieving hot team, forcing bettors to take PSU and the points while the Bucks win by 10+.

8Oklahoma -10.5 vs 5Notre Dame

8:00 ABC (GAMEDAY)

I have struggled mightily with this pick.  I really want to take the 5th ranked and undefeated Golden Domers against Big Game Bob and the under-performing-since-2000-crew...but how exactly is Notre Dame going to score more points than the Sooners?  10.5 is huge.  It's actually a giant slap in the face of Notre with a sign that reads NOT YET BACK BUT GOOD JOB BEATING THE B1G.  This falls into two objectives in this failure of a betting season.

1)Go against a "no duh" pick and

2)Have something on the big prime time game instead of shying away from it.

7Oregon State -4.5 at Washington

10:15 P12N (ESPN Scorecenter --> Gamecast on ipad/iphone)

Gotta roll with the Beavers and the less-than-a-touchdown-spread.  Washington has maxed out on their home-at-night-upset.  Hardly doubt I will be up past midnight and will check it Sunday morning, before I start the lawn stuff and listen to the Browns pregame.  Oh God do my Sundays suck ass.

Boston College Wounded Warrior Uni (Under Armour)

Here is what BC will wear when they play Maryland, another UA school this weekend.  This goes in part with UA's work with the Wounded Warrior Project.  UA has previously just added some camo with each school's colors, so this is a bit different.  It is a bit overdone, but whatever.  I love Old Glory and it goes for a good cause and NEW UNIFORMS OMG.  Grade: B

The socks are beyond tight and the stars around the UA logo is a nice, logo creep touch.  Too bad Boston College doesn't have one player that looks as good as this UA model.

Source: SOLE.com

7th Heaven - Where the Bucks are now

Ohio State is 7-0 and ranked number 7^th.  Going into this season, I was expecting a few things:

-4 games that were 50/50.  At Michigan State, vs Nebraska, at Wisconsin and vs Michigan.  Averages say the Buckeyes would go 2-2 in those big games as they rebound from a 6-7 season with a whole new offense and coaching staff

-An unexpected “good” win and an unexpected “bad" loss, i.e. Wisconsin last year and Purdue the last few years, respectively

-Time for the offense to find Urban and vice-versa.

-The D-Line to be a strong point/dominate

-Linebackers make it or break it.

-Best Case: 9-3/10-2 (12-0 obviously), win over Michigan and/or Wisconsin

-Worst Case: 7-5, losses to top 4 and Penn State/Cal or random foe

 

Straight Ca$h Homey Week 8: One Step Closer to an Intervention

This is what it has come to.
WAKE UP THE ECHOES!!!

Holy crap. I went 2-5 last week (18-30-1 overall) with my money game on WVU -4 at Texas Tech.  Of course they lost 49-14.  What the shit.  I have no answers, no confidence, and have no idea what in the blue hell is going on.  If you have anything, anything at all with picking ATS when college kids play football, please please please, shoot me something (anything) this way.

 

Here are my picks for week 8.  I am not happy with them at all, and after looking at them, it seems like I keep taking road double-digit favorites.  Damn I suck.

Straight Ca$h Homey: CFB Week 7 Picks

 

Here is what I have for week 7.  Last week I went 3-4 but won my money game (hay!).  Looks like I just can't get off road favorites.  This weekend I am off to Columbus West (Bloomington) to cheer on my Top-10 ranked Buckeyes for a HOMEGAME with my college buddies, so I will be in and out of other games.  I hope my phone doesn't die as I check the scores while pounding beverages with my homeboys.  Here you go, delinquents.

 

6Kansas State -6.5 at Iowa State

12:00 FX

15Texas +3 vs 13Oklahoma (Dallas)

12:00 ABC

1Alabama -21.5 at Missouri

3:30 CBS

$$$

5West Virginia -4.5 at Texas Tech

3:30 ESPN

10Oregon State +6 at BYU

3:30 ESPN3

Oklahoma State -23.5 at Kansas

3:30 FSN

22Texas A&M -8 at La. Tech

9:00 ESPNU

 

Alternates:

25Michigan -23.5 vs Illinois

3:30 ABC

 

4Florida -8.5 at Vanderbilt

6:00 ESPNU

 

8Ohio State -17 at Indiana

8:00 BTN

Loss in the Family

 

 

As some of you know, there has been a reason I haven’t updated this thing for a few weeks.  My father passed away last week after battling liver cancer ten years ago and then lymphoma for the past year.  He came down with pneumonia and as the chemo from lymphoma took out his already-depressed immune system, he couldn’t fight it anymore.

 

Without getting into everything, he was my best friend and there will be always a hole in my heart.  He was 65 but lived the hell out of those 65 years.  He isn’t sick nor fighting anymore, and is with my mom on the beach with his headphones on, so I am ok with that.  The hardest part is when I reach for the phone to text or call him about some sports thing or to send him a picture of my daughter and knowing he isn’t going to pick up.  Also, as I enjoy the moments of my daughter as she grows up, he won’t be there and she is too young to remember how much he truly loved her and how he tried to spend as much time as he could with her.  I am sad about the times we won’t have at the Clippers or at the ‘Shoe or talking ball, but what kills me is for my daughter to not have that time with her grandpa as she gets older.

 

The support has been great, at times overwhelming as I have to explain what happened to him and how I feel over and over, but if the biggest problem is that too many people care about him and me and my family, then I think I am going to be ok.  He touched so many people and had an effect on just about anyone who ever met him, and that’s all you can ask for.  I will miss him forever, but he couldn’t do the things he loved to do this past month (drink beer, hang with Ella, go to Ohio State games, coach) so he is so much better now.  He will always be here with me and my family.

 

Anyway, I took some time off work so I am catching up with that, and will try to update this thing as much as I can.  For the near future, I may just put up my picks and if I have time, post why and the reaction, but at this point I’m still in the bottom half and will pretty much take the teams I want to win in the games I want to watch.

 

If you read this and have sent me a text or call or came to the service, I can’t thank you enough.  Everyone has been so great and I can’t explain how much it means to have great friends, family and support.  I love you dad.  Tell mom I said hi.