Thursday, August 28, 2008

8/28: College Football Kickoff, etc.

Was (and still really am) under the weather yesterday..but couldn't miss today....
  • I'll lead with a passion of mine....and that is college football....the season kicks off tonight with some reasonable matchups even....NC State @ South Carolina and Oregon State @ Stanford headline the day....In addition, ACC heavyweight (again, I don't know how) Wake Forest kicks off at Baylor in a game they should handily win...There are a few more games of interest (such as Georgia Tech against Jacksonville State and Ryan Perilloux) but these are the main draws this evening.....and that brings me to my year-long running segment....a fan favorite...of picking 5 (at least) games every week against the spread.....
  • here's my debut (and no to my family and friends, I am not really wagering on these games): I'll take NC State +14 on the road
Other things....
  • The Chargers Shawn Merriman is likely insane....as he will risk further damage to his knee in order to play this season....now, I admire the dedication and realization that this might be a Super Bowl team....that said, as young as he is, he is potentially risking 10 or so years of NFL game checks for this...pass....
  • In other NFL injury news, the Colts leader on their O-Line, Jeff Saturday, will be out approx. 6 weeks....this is a significant blow and even moreso since Peyton will be even less mobile than usual coming off the knee surgery....
  • Man, there's a definitely injury theme here....Warriors G Monta Ellis will miss 3-4 months (fresh off that $66 million contract) due to a torn ankle ligament....that sounds serious? They're gonna need him....on the bright side, they did go out and get what seems to be a decent replacement in Marcus Williams (former UCONN guard) and are even scheduled to bring in former prodigy Shaun Livingston for a workout....
  • MLB: The Yankees are done, done, done.....2 teams going in opposite directions now....the Dodgers who have suddenly lost 6 in a row (despite that awesome fakeout maneuver by Greg Maddux, tivo it) and the previously trainwrecked Indians have won 10 in a row....but hey....at least neither of them are as bad as my hometown Braves who are suddenly in full firesale....giving away Mark Kotsay for a prospect (in a move I actually liked since there's no way they're bringing him back anyway)
  • Derrick Harvey ends the longest NFL rookie holdout and comes to camp in Jacksonville....they say he may actually play in this weekend's preseason game? I guess the learning curve for pass-rushing DE's isn't so steep....
And that is all....I will be giving the whole weekend's college football rundown tomorrow as I will be out of town for the weekend starting then....and praying for wireless in my hotel....

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