College Football Review, Week Four

Good week of college football, lets review it.

Music to listen to: Today by Tom Scott



All of you old school hip-hop heads should recognize the sample that came from this song for a rap classic.

South Carolina 16, Mississippi 10: My goodness, how the over-hyped have fallen. I always thought that Ole Miss was a top-15 level team but top-five, not really. The disappointing thing was not necessarily the loss by Ole Miss but the lack of execution, especially on offense. The game wasn’t as close as the score. For South Carolina, the Gamecocks are a few stops against Georgia away from being undefeated and the second-best team in the SEC East. Now South Carolina has to take advantage of this momentum.

Michigan 36, Indiana 33: The Hoosiers really should have won this game, especially towards the end of the contest. The Wolverines still have a lot of work to do to return to an elite level. If Michigan handles Michigan State on the road, which the Wolverines haven’t even done yet this year, play a road game, then we may reevaluate it.

South Florida 17, Florida State 7: Congrats to the Bulls for getting their program’s biggest win over one of the three big Florida schools, but this has to be Bobby Bowden’s last year in Tallahassee, right. No disrespect to South Florida but the Bulls had no right winning that game. I know that you can say that South Florida has had a good program the last few years and are undefeated, but the Seminoles shouldn’t lose that game, that weakly at home. Furthermore, are you confident in Jimbo Fisher taking over the job as head coach in the future?

Georgia Tech 24, North Carolina 7: Surprised that Tech was able to handle North Carolina so easily.

Cincinnati 28, Fresno State 20: Who made the Bulldog’s schedule. Not only have they faced Wisconsin and Cincinnati on the road, two undefeated teams and conference title contenders, but they also hosted Boise State, but that was a conference game so they had no control over that. That may be the toughest schedule so far this season. Enjoy playing at Hawaii next week. Cincinnati is going to win the Big East and may even make a run at being undefeated but will miss out on the national title game. Just stating facts.

LSU 30, Mississippi State 26: I often don’t like listening to sports talk radio but driving home today an LSU fan made the point that this may be the Tigers’ weakest team since the early 2000’s. Of course many of us would like our teams to be in this position, but I’ve not a big Les Miles fan, especially his playcalling. I think that he out-talents a lot of his opponents and I see that happening again this year. LSU struggled against Washington earlier this year and needed a miracle goal line stand to survive against Mississippi State. The Tigers have no reason being in the top-five in the nation. If Tebow is healthy in two weeks, Florida puts up 40 on that defense.

Boston College 27, Wake Forest 24 (ot): You think your team lost roughly on Saturday, it has nothing on Wake Forest. The Deacons manage to score two touchdowns in the final minutes to tie the game and force overtime. BC gets a field goal and Wake is driving for the winning touchdown but fumbles the ball. That’s rough.

Virginia Tech 31, Miami 7: I wish I was able to do a college football prediction before this game because I was taking the Hokies, big. The “revival” of the Hurricanes is nice but those boys aren’t ready to go into Blacksburg and get a road win in those conditions. I still say that Miami finishes with about seven wins and makes it national title move next year.

TCU 14, Clemson 10: That’s not a fluke win by TCU and not a shameful loss by Clemson.

Alabama 35, Arkansas 7: The Crimson Tide may be the quietest undefeated legit national title contender at this stage of a season in a while. The reason I say this is that Alabama, outside of the opener against Virginia Tech, has played a weak schedule. Now that it is starting SEC season, we may see that it is the best team in the nation, which I think may be the case. With that defense, running attack and Julio Jones, not many teams can match up with that.

Oregon 42, California 3: Thanks for showing up Cal. No, its ok. Sure you most likely choked away your chance to finally play in the Rose Bowl and win the conference title, but all is well in Berkeley. Just like I will never trust Gonzaga and Wake Forest to make long runs in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament due to yearly disappointments, Cal has entered this category for me.

Texas 64, UTEP 7: Nothing learned or gained from this game.

Ohio State 30, Illinois 0: Was it only two years ago that the Illini were playing in the Rose Bowl? This proves my theory that schools have their ceilings. That’s not really a revolutionary idea but as I’ve learned as a Vanderbilt fan, I know that my team will never, ever be better than Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, LSU and Alabama if all things are equal. Sure you may gain an upset here and there but the reality is that you will always be behind those schools. For Illinois, its Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan.

Florida 41, Kentucky 7: Of course Tebow’s concussion was the main story of this one but I saw the start of this game and you knew from the opening kickoff that this may get ugly quickly. When Kentucky had to re-do a punt down 10-0, I had feeling that something bad was going to happen to the Wildcats and sure enough Chris Rainey blocks it and recovers the ball in the endzone. At this stage, the contest was over. Kentucky is a decent team and for Florida to shut them down from jump was impressive.

Auburn 54, Ball State 30: Break up the Tigers! I told you that these guys were going to win eight games this year. Sure, they haven’t left the Plains yet this year and have put up numbers against average defenses, but compared to last year, they are rolling. Todd throwing for five touchdowns is major and they will beat Tennessee on Saturday in Knoxville.

Georgia 20, Arizona State 17: Didn’t see one snap of this game.

MTSU 37, North Texas 21: Good job taking care of business in the Sun Belt opener, on the road, away from the Boro, MTSU.

Iowa 21, Penn State 10: I wanted to make my Crush of the Day someone from Iowa but couldn’t find one, seriously. I’m sure that there are plenty of attractive women in Iowa but the lack of finding one immediately for my purposes was alarming. So much for my thoughts of Penn State going undefeated. The impressive thing about Iowa was its defense more than anything. Its conference-title caliber. The offense is lacking though. But good win in Happy Valley.

Notre Dame 24, Purdue 21. Charlie frickin Weis is going to keep his job through a crappy schedule and catching breaks. Notre Dame has beaten weak Nevada, barely defeated Michigan State at home and got a gift from Purdue on its game-winning drive. Call another time out Purdue, my goodness.

Vanderbilt 36, Rice 17: Still major work to be done by the Commodores but a good road win.

Stanford 34, Washington 14: Still saying that Stanford finishes third in the Pac-10 and after seeing USC and Cal, maybe they can compete for second.

Houston 29, Texas Tech 28: Fun game to watch on TV. You have to think with all of the talent in Texas that Houston should be able to be the premier team in Conference USA and become the Boise State of the Southwest.

That’s all.

NFL Predictions: Week 3

I didn’t do an NFL Review because I’m now launching my NFL Predictions. Live the dream folks.

Music to listen to: Rolling People by The Verve



I’ll have my pick listed first, then the line and the home team will be in ALL CAPS. Also, this is for fun and for entertainment purposes only, meaning that you shouldn’t put any real money in these. Just one man’s opinion. Let’s get started.

N.Y. JETS -2.5 Tennessee: For those of you unfamiliar with betting lines, the Jets are the home team and I’m picking them to win by more than 2.5 points. This is a tricky game because there is a strong letdown factor for the Jets after they defeated New England and now have to host a desperate Titans team. Bad news, Tennessee fans, the Titans aren’t making the playoffs. I do see a valiant effort from the Titans but the Jets behind arguably the best defense in the league playing at this moment and practicing ball control on offense win by a field goal.

Jacksonville +4 HOUSTON: What this means is that I think that either Jacksonville will win the game outright or that Houston will win the game by less than four points. And that’s the end of Gambling 101. The Texans are coming off of an emotional win over Tennessee and now have to host a hapless Jacksonville team that got done in at home by Arizona. However, I think that Jacksonville keeps it interesting and loses the contest, but keeps it under four.

Kansas City +9 PHILADELPHIA: Mike Vick is back! Kevin Kolb may start at quarterback for the Eagles! Jeff Garcia! How many frickin quarterbacks do you need? When McNabb comes back from his injury, there are going to be major problems. That’s why I didn’t pick Philly to win the NFC East, too many injury pasts. I’m supposed to take a team, granted at home, that got smoked by New Orleans the week before? Yes, KC isn’t good but nine points is too much.

BALTIMORE -13.5 Cleveland: Baltimore is playing very well and Cleveland may be the worst team in the league. Here’s a mini prediction. Eric Mangini doesn’t coach a second season for the Browns. When you fine one of your players $1,701 for not paying for a $3 bottle of water at the mini bar of the hotel that you stayed in during a road game, that’s a lack of prospective.

TAMPA +6.5 N.Y. Giants: I still think that the Giants win but those are a lot of points on the road.

DETROIT +6.5 Washington: I’m taking the Lions to not only cover, but to win the game outright. Its time and the Redskins are primed to drop a road contest.

Green Bay -6.5 ST. LOUIS: Its risky taking the points on the road, especially with a team that just lost at home to Cincinnati, but the Rams are awful. The Packers push the game to a 10-point margin.

MINNESOTA -7 San Francisco: I’ve flipped several times with this pick but I’m going to take the home team to win over a gamed 49ers team. The Vikings will find a way to negate Gore’s running and force Hill to throw the ball to win, which I don’t think will happen. However, this has the potential to be the first winnable game that Farve blows for the Vikings, beware.

NEW ENGLAND -4 Atlanta: Patriots win by two touchdowns, at least. Lock of the week. Everyone is ready to throw dirt on New England and patting the Falcons backs for winning two easy home games. Now Atlanta heads on the road against a mad Patriots team. Wonder how that’s going to turn out.

SEATTLE +2.5 Chicago: I wouldn’t touch this game if real money is involved. The last time Chicago was on the road, we saw the debacle against Green Bay. On the other side, Matt Hasselbeck is hobbled and may not play. I’ll take the home team to win by a field goal.

BUFFALO +6 New Orleans: The Saints have looked great and Brees is playing at an MVP level…however, are we really willing to give them six points on the road against a decent team in the late Sunday game. Surely the Saints are the better team, but not by as much as you would think. I’m not ready to take Buffalo outright but the Bills keep it close.

SAN DIEGO -5.5 Miami: I think this is the week that the Chargers flex some muscle and get a big win against a team that blew its game on Monday night against the Colts and now has to go across the country.

Pittsburgh -4 CINCINNATI: The Steelers usually don’t blow out teams, even on the road, but I can’t pick the Bengals, even if they’re at home.

OAKLAND +1.5 Denver: If the NFL only had teams based in Ohio, then the Broncos would be world beaters. Beating Cleveland and Cincinnati means nothing to me. The Raiders should be 2-0 right now but will have to settle for 2-1.

ARIZONA -2.5 Indianapolis: This can be a fun offensive game. I’ll go with the home team but Indy can get this one just as easily.

Carolina +8.5 DALLAS: Jake Delhomme on national tv, on primetime, this can get ugly. But on the other side you have Tony Romo, who is allergic to winning a big game. I may actually boycott this contest because of the constant badgering of the viewing audience about the new Cowboys stadium. We get it, they have a new stadium with a big video board.

Last Week: 0-0
Season: 0-0

College Football Review, Week 3

Hey folks, its time to review the week that was in college football. First, some business:

Music to listen to: Rolling People by The Verve




I’m still a big fan of this band. Get their Urban Hymns album and you will thank me later. Yes, Bittersweet Symphony is on it but I like some of The Verve’s other songs better.

Crush of the Day: Hope Solo (Washington)

Similar to last week, the Crush of the Day will be based on a school that had an eventful weekend. Since Washington earned an upset over USC, I’m going to pick alum, stud athlete and certified attractive woman Hope Solo. Anna Faris finished a close second.

Time to get to the games and my quick thoughts:

Miami 33, Georgia Tech 17: If the Hurricanes can keep this up, they will be national title contenders next year. The majority of the players on Miami are freshman and sophomores, which is a scary thought. We’re still waiting to see if Randy Shannon is an elite coach, but he’s a good recruiter. The reality is that Miami should have never reached its depths based on their talent base. As for Georgia Tech, they just got out-talented.

Boise State 51, Fresno State 34: I watched a decent amount of this game for two reasons. First, I was in on Friday night and second, I did dog Fresno State a little bit last week. I wanted to gain a complete prospective of the Bulldogs. Fresno State isn’t a bad team but Boise State is still the elite team in the WAC and the gap is still large.

Penn State 31, Temple 6: Those boys are going to go undefeated. But respect to the Nittney Lions for playing some of their in-state foes. As an angered Vandy fan who never sees his team play two division I teams within its state, and more on that later, its nice to see Penn State take on Temple. I know that the Owls are an easy win, but it’s a nice gesture. Now if we can get Penn State and Pitt to face each other more often, we may be on to something.

Army 24, Ball State 17: Will the Black Knights go bowling this year? As a New York native, I hope so.

Kentucky 31, Louisville 27: I thought this would be a double-digit win for Kentucky. I didn’t see two snaps of this game so help me out on this one.

Cal 35, Minnesota 21: The Golden Gophers have a nice looking stadium. If Cal doesn’t make the Rose Bowl this year, shame on that program.

North Carolina 31, East Carolina 17: Who’s the second-best ACC team? The reason that I ask this is that the ACC has never gotten an at-large bid in the BCS bowls. Between Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Miami and even Florida State, each of them may stake a claim if their paths stay the same. Something to consider.

Alabama 53, North Texas 7: How good is Alabama really?

Florida 23, Tennessee 13: I didn’t understand why some thought that the Gators were going to win this game by three or four touchdowns. First, Tennessee’s defense is too good for that as we saw on Saturday. Second, Urban Meyer has aspirations beyond running the score up on UT. Florida is competing for a national title and aren’t going to keep their starters in there for risk of injury. Tennessee’s defense has always been decent but the offense, specifically Crompton is awful. Until Tennessee improves it offense, it will always be the fourth or fifth-best team in the SEC, at best.

MTSU 32, Maryland 31: Break up the Boro! Tremendous win for MTSU over Maryland for the second year in the row. Will the Blue Raiders go bowling for the first time in years? I say yes.

Notre Dame 33, Michigan State 30: Still not out of the woods yet, Weis.

Virginia Tech 16, Nebraska 15: Didn’t see this game accept for the end. Good win for Virginia Tech but if that offense doesn’t improve, Miami steamrolls them this Saturday.

Washington 16, USC 13: Respect to Washington for the win and it was a good moment for the program, but two things. I don’t think that it’s as big of an upset because I actually read respected experts picking the Huskies to get the win because second, USC always does this. For some reason, the Trojans find a way to lose these games, whether its to Oregon State, Stanford and now Washington. The best theory that I’ve read on this is that Pete Carroll has such a relaxed program that the team can play loose in big games and bowl contests but can’t stay focused in minor conference games. My counter to that is that even if USC isn’t motivated, they still have enough talent to win these games. I do think that this is the weakest USC team in the past five or six years, which is still good for eight to nine wins but not at the national championship level of the past few years.

Southern Miss 37, Virginia 34: The Cavaliers finally found some offense and still lost.

Oregon 31, Utah 24: Maybe Oregon can recover after that bad first game on and off the field.

Connecticut 30, Baylor 22: When a northeastern school can head to a decent Big 12 school, win the contest and you don’t even feel shock, that shows you how good of a program Edsell has at UCONN.

Cincinnati 28, Oregon State 18: Tennessee will regret not pursing Brian Kelly harder and settling for Lane Kiffin.

Florida State 54, BYU 28: Well, my theory of BYU playing for the nation al title is over now. And now that Utah lost, the chances of the Cougars making a BCS bowl are shot.

Mississippi State 15, Vanderbilt 3: I was at this game and it was boring as the score will indicate. You have to have a more aggressive offensive plan if you plan to compete in the SEC.

Georgia 52, Arkansas 41: Where have the defenses gone? Also, Ryan Mallet does have the best arm and is the best pro prospect SEC quarterback in the league. That doesn’t make him the best quarterback however.

That’s all folks.

Sunday Reflections

Its time for the Sunday Reflections.

Music to listen to: Hollow by A Perfect Circle



I know that I didn’t get to half of the posts that I promised last week and that’s unfortunate. I’m not going to make promises that I can’t keep in the future.

This weekend was good, very relaxing. I was able to see a Vanderbilt women’s soccer game on Friday night, which was good. On Saturday, I was at Dudley Field and Vandy dropped its football game to Mississippi State. That wasn’t so good.

Today has been decent. I finished up the first season of The Boondocks and now have it as my second-favorite ever cartoon series only behind Family Guy. I like how both shows are animated and have humor, but also make social commentaries in their own ways. I already have the second season coming and am excited about that.

I was also able to catch up on General Hospital, which I’ve been missing for the past few weeks. I know that sounds really boring to you but when I watch the show, it relaxes me, which is very important.

I tried to watch some baseball but have no interest in it since football is in full swing. Honestly, just tap me on the shoulder when the playoffs start. Yes, there are still some games to play but outside of the AL Central and maybe the NL wild card, there aren’t many races to follow. It also doesn’t help that my favorite team, the New York Mets, are having a horrible season.

Lets see, what else. My new job is going well. Relationship wise, still kicking it, no new girls on the horizon.

I really haven’t had much to write about because things are becoming relatively normal for me. When I first started Pourtout Pancakes, I was struggling with many internal issues along with going to graduate school and working full time all at once.

Fortunately, things have calmed down for me and that’s a good thing. That still shouldn’t stop me from writing more and I promise to do that…wait, there I go again making promises. What can you do.

NCAA College Football Review

Due to some frickin unfortunate technical difficulties, I was unable to do my College Football review on Monday night as promised. However, I didn’t forget and now its time for my rundown of some games that peaked my interest. First, some business:

Music to listen to: Buried at Sea by Mc 900 ft. Jesus



Who knew that Jesus could lay down a flat beat?

Crush of the Day: Kyra Sedgwick (Southern California)

In a change of pace, each Crush of the Day for my college football reviews will feature a woman who is an alum of the school that arguably had the most infamous weekend, good or bad. Since USC had its big win at Ohio State, I’ve chosen Kyra. I know that Sophia Bush, who is a solid contender for my top-five would have been the obvious choice but I’m going with a surprise. Plus, The Closer is a good show, give it a chance.

On to my thoughts.

Georgia Tech 30, Clemson 27: Wacky Thursday night game that featured Georgia Tech taking a 20-0 lead and almost blowing the contest. I love the triple option just as much as anyone but as a Georgia Tech fan that wants to see it compete for an ACC title, you have to have your starting quarterback do better than 3-14 for 83 yards. For Clemson, its back to underperforming in a big game. If Tech can get past Miami this Thursday on the road, they can make a run at an one-loss season.

Toledo 54, Colorado 38: Terrible week for the Buffs. They lose to their in-state rivals Colorado State at home earlier in the week and then travel on a short week to an average MAC team and give up 54 on the road. Hawkins has to be on watch for the first BCS coach fired this season.

North Carolina 12, Connecticut 10: Doesn’t look like much but that was a big win for the UNC program. Two years ago, the Tar Heels lose that game by double digits. They might be an ACC title contender after all.

Northwestern 27, Eastern Michigan 24 and Wisconsin 34, Fresno Stat e, 31: Two Big Ten teams that avoided embarrassing home losses, unlike…

Central Michigan 29, Michigan State 27: Terrible way to lose a game and now the Spartans have to head on the road to face a mad Notre Dame team. They may give up 45 this Saturday.

Wake Forest 24, Stanford 17: My pick to finish third in the Pac-10 did lose a road game they probably should have won.

Florida 56, Troy 6: A few years ago this may have been a closer game but the Gators are clicking right now. Speaking of closer games in the past…

Virginia Tech 52, Marshall 10: What happened? There was a time when the Thundering Herd were pushing to become ranked and now this. I’m not too familiar with the program but someone needs to help me out on this one.

BYU 54, Tulane 3: I know that Tulane isn’t a good team but the letdown factor was strong in this one after the Cougar beat Oklahoma in Dallas. After the win over the Sooners, they had to travel to face a team they know they can beat and stay focused. If the Cougars go undefeated, they have a very good chance of playing in the national title game. To reach that goal, BYU would have beaten a ranked Oklahoma team, Florida State, most likely ranked TCU and Utah. That might be enough to get them in. Speaking of letdowns…

Houston 45, Oklahoma State 35: The margin should have been 20 points. The Cowboys were never in this game. After beating Georgia in what some of you were calling the biggest win in school history, you do that at home against Houston? I know the Cougars are a decent team but if you want to make the leap to consistently compete with Oklahoma and Texas, you have to win that game. The Sooners and Longhorns rarely lose that type of game.

Michigan 38, Notre Dame 34: Entertaining game. I know that people want to proclaim that Michigan may be back on a national landscape and that Forcier is the quarterback of their future to lead the Wolverines to the promised land but slow your role. I saw some major dropped passes by Notre Dame receivers that would have changed the landscape of the game. Also, the defense needs work but after the offseason that Michigan had, this was a big win for their program.

As for Notre Dame, I didn’t think that it looked bad. Some questionable playcalling by Weis but the Irish still lack speed and game changers, especially on defense to return to an elite level.

Texas 41, Wyoming 10: Credit to Texas for traveling to Laramine to face the Cowboys. Wyoming actually competed in this game for the entire first half before tiring out. BYU would also have to beat a good Wyoming team as well…just saying.

Washington 42, Idaho 23: Congrats to Washington for getting its first win in over a year.

TCU 30, Virginia 14: I don’t know why people are mocking Virginia for losing this game. Dropping a contest to William and Mary at home, terrible. Losing a home game to a top-20 team, not so bad.

West Virginia 35, East Carolina 20: Are the Mountaineers quietly making a run at a Big East title. The offense looks like its even more balanced than ever without Pat White and its quarterback Brown looks legit. Also, is Skip Holtz still a wanted coaching commodity?

UCLA 19, Tennessee 15: You know that I really want to rip into Tennessee for losing that incredibly winnable game but it seems like the Volunteer fans have already done it for me. Two games in and UT fans are already heated at Kiffin. I do have to say that Crompton’s performance at quarterback was dreadful and when you consider that he’s a fifth-year senior, that makes it worse. If UT doesn’t turn the ball over, it wins that game by two touchdowns, literally. You have to place a lot of blame on the quarterback. I also place it on the coaching staff as well. The lack of adjustments and preparation of your quarterback has to fall on it.

Florida State 19, Jacksonville State 9: Is Jimbo Fisher really the answer? If Jacksonville State was say, North Carolina State, FSU would be 0-2 on the season right now.

Georgia 41, South Carolina 37: Weird game with the high score. Garcia attempted 53 passes for South Carolina. Don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.

LSU 23, Vanderbilt 9: That game was closer than the score which is a bad sign for LSU.

Auburn 49, Mississippi State 24: Some of you mocked me when I said that Auburn was going to win eight games this year. Not anymore.

UL Lafayette 17, Kansas State 15: The road loss by the Wildcats was bad enough but why did they sign Bill Snyder to an extension for the next five years or so? Where is he going?

MTSU 31, Memphis 14: Break up the Boro! Good win by the Blue Raiders. And finally…

USC 18, Ohio State 15: Solid game that I think both teams looked good in. For USC, as much credit as Matt Barkley is getting and I understand it’s a unique situation having a true freshman winning that game but credit has to go to Joe McKnight as well. For Ohio State, its another loss to an elite team and if Pryor is going to become an elite quarterback, he has to work on his throwing. The physical tools are there but that’s not enough.

That’s my college football review. What are your thoughts? Do you want a different format? Let me know.

Sunday Reflections

Hey everyone, its time for those Reflections.

Music to Listen to: Cold Shot by Stevie Ray Vaughn



I was home on Saturday night watching college football and came across a special on PBS about Vaughn’s performance Live at Montreux in the mid 80’s that established him internationally.

We all talk about guys who are underrated and overrated in music often but Vaughn really doesn’t get mentioned when you talk about great guitarists in the same vain as people like Hendrix, Clapton, Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Chuck Berry, etc. but he deserves mention. Plus, he had swagger that couldn’t be denied.



Crush of the Day: Natalie Imbruglia

Her new album comes out in October and I watched her new video and can say that she still brings the goods.

This weekend was spent watching a lot of football on TV. I’m glad that the NFL started today and college football is beginning to establish itself.

I also ended up watching way more of the MTV Video Music Awards than I expected.

Is Russell Brand supposed to be considered funny?
What was Lady Gaga wearing half the time?
Is that standard for her attire? Half the time it looked like she couldn’t see/walk with her outfits

And on Kanye West…he never tries that crap on his rap and R&B friends. He always picks on white pop artists who he knows isn’t going to fight him back. Classic bully tactics. My problem with Kanye tonight was that he wasn’t even nominated for the award. When he goes on his tirades on awards shows, at least it involves categories that he’s in. However, he had nothing to do with Taylor Swift beating Beyonce. Save your anger for a blog or a song.

Props to Beyonce for bringing Taylor out to finish her speech. This actually may be a good thing for Taylor because this will get her more exposure. Is Kanye racist? Discuss.

I’m also watching the English Premier League highlights and Arsenal lost at Manchester City. City is a legit title contender and Adebayor is on fire right now. He has scored in every one of City’s EPL games this year, including against Arsenal.

United beat Spurs on the road which is always enjoyable. Frickin Chelsea pulled out a win in extra time over Stoke.

I picked Chelsea to win the league before the season and I’m sticking with that. United will find a way to finish second, Liverpool and City will battle for third and fourth. Unfortunately, Arsenal will be in fifth and miss the Champions League for the first time in years.

I also got the DVD of the first season of The Boondocks from Netflix and I’m hooked. I’ve seen episodes in spades but decided to start from the very beginning to get the entire scope of the show. You know that I’m a big fan of animated sitcoms and know episodes of Family Guy and the Simpsons by heart, but Boondocks may beat both of them. That’s a bold statement but it may stick. I have to see some more episodes.

OK, time for sleep. Here’s what to expect this week:

Monday: College football Review
Tuesday: NFL Review
Wednesday: Why the Beatles are overrated…it relates to Rock Band video game
Thursday: The long overdue MMA Review
Friday: NFL predictions

Good fight and good night.

My NFL Predictions (which will be wrong but fun to mock)

What’s going on everyone. The NFL season is upon us and I think all of us are looking forward to it.

First, some business.

Music to listen to: The WWF theme music of The Godfather



Working for a wrestling organization has helped me reminisce about my favorite moments in sports entertainment and I always enjoyed the Godfather’s theme music. Whenever someone asks me about what my walkout song would be if I was a baseball player or what my theme music would be as a wrestler, I think of different songs from my favorite artists. However, I think I would have to pick the Godfather’s song.

Quick note on my fantasy football team. The name of the team is One-Armed Scissor. Google the name for the reference. I name all of my fantasy sports teams after favorite songs. Last football season, it was Life During Wartime by the Talking Heads. For baseball, I had Roulette Dares by The Mars Volta and Home by the Sea by Genesis. This time, I picked the song that started my Mars Volta obsession because I was a big fan of At the Drive-In which featured the two members of the group.

I’m the defending champion in my league and I do feel the pressure to perform. My draft went OK but my bench is weak. I have Brady at QB, Forte and Ryan Grant at RB, Lee Evans and Wes Welker at WR, Dallas Clark at TE. My defense is San Diego and Kris Brown is my kicker. My bench includes Sproles, Jerious Norwood, Nate Washington, Hakeem Nicks, Earl Bennett, Cotchery and David Garrard. The goal is to make the playoffs and see what happens from there.

Honestly, I think I make the playoffs but lose in the semifinals.

So now we get to the picks. As usual, I’ll give you the condensed version for those of you who like to breeze through my posts and then I’ll give you the breakdown after that. Here are the picks:

AFC East: New England
AFC North: Pittsburgh
AFC South: Indianapolis
AFC West: Oakland…just kidding, San Diego
Wild Card: Tennessee and Houston

NFC East: New York
NFC North: Green Bay
NFC South: Atlanta
NFC West: Arizona
Wild Card: Philadelphia and Minnesota

AFC Championship: Pittsburgh over San Diego
NFC Championship: Green Bay over New York

Super Bowl: Pittsburgh over Green Bay

Coach of the Year: Mike Singletary, San Francisco

MVP:

1) Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
2) Philip Rivers, San Diego
3) Tom Brady, New England

Offensive MVP:

1) Phillip Rivers, San Diego
2) Drew Brees, New Orleans
3) Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona

Defensive MVP:

1) Jared Allen, Minnesota
2) DeMarcus Ware, Dallas
3) Justin Tuck, New York Giants

Coach of the Year: Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh

AFC East:
1) New England
2) Miami
3) Buffalo
4) New York

Thoughts: This is New England’s division to lose. Brady’s back and even if he doesn’t return to the form that he was at two years ago, the Patriots still have enough to win the East. The retirement of their older defenders is a concern but knowing how Belichick operates, this will allow him to use younger players. Miami was a nice story last year but the lack of offense will be their undoing, especially since the “Wildcat” will have a significantly less impact than last season. Buffalo was going to be a sleeper pick for me until they fired their offensive coordinator and released their starting left tackle all within the last two weeks. I don’t need that panic in my life and that’s not even mentioning Mr. Owens. The Jets are a long way away but I like Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez.

AFC North:
1) Pittsburgh
2) Baltimore
3) Cleveland
4) Cincinnati

Thoughts: Seeing how I picked Pittsburgh to repeat as Super Bowl champions, they have to at least win the division. They return virtually everybody from last season and I’m banking on a relatively healthy Willie Parker to provide some offensive boost. Big Ben with three titles in his first six years in the league, who would have thought. Baltimore is a definite threat but I see an aging defense and don’t expect Flacco to repeat his success in his second season. However, they are physical enough to get nine or 10 wins. Picking between Cleveland and Cincinnati makes me sad for the state of Ohio professional football. Mangini is an overrated head coach will be fired in three years but the problem in Cleveland is the management. Also, having two average to below average quarterbacks, a poor defense and a star receiver who can’t catch the ball isn’t good as well. So why pick them ahead of Cincinnati? The Bengals are a mess and I’m concerned about Carson Palmer’s arm.

AFC South:
1) Indianapolis
2) Tennessee
3) Houston
4) Jacksonville

Thoughts: Living in Nashville gives me a direct prospective of the Titans and I’m sensing too much optimism within the fans. First, I think that Kerry Collins doesn’t make it though an entire season due to injury and not because of poor play. I know that making predictions based on potential injuries isn’t prudent but I just have a feeling about that. I see the Titans getting banged up overall but still having a solid team overall carried by the potentially best defense in the entire league. So I’ve picked Indy to win the division based on Manning putting together one more peak season, the increased focus on Reggie Wayne, finally having a reliable running game with the rookie Brown and a defense that will hold up well enough for the division. I know that Dungy is gone but that may actually be a good thing since things may have been getting stale there. Houston will find a way to finally make the playoffs over Baltimore. The Texans need Schaub to stay healthy which is already an issue even in this preseason. The defense will continue to evolve. They have a Pro Bowl-caliber player at running back, wide receiver, defensive end and linebacker. Their time is now. Jacksonville has Jones-Drew and not much else.

AFC West:
1) San Diego
2) Kansas City
3) Oakland
4) Denver

Thoughts: I had serious thoughts about placing the Chargers in the Super Bowl but then I remembered that Norv Turner is their head coach and dismissed that theory. Howevr, they’re good enough to win this sad division and may even get home field advantage for the playoffs, but we’ve seen them blow that before. The rest of the division can go either way but Kansas City at least has some talent on its roster. However, if Cassell is out more than two weeks, then all bets are off. The Raiders are a dysfunctional mess but I wanted to shake some things up and place Denver last. The Brandon Marshall situation is not a good sign. An even worse sign is an overwhelmed coach and Kyle frickin Orton as your starting quarterback. No thanks.

Mid-predictions Music to Listen to: One-Armed Scissor by At the Drive-In



I know none of you Googled my fantasy football team name so the video is above.

NFC East:
1) New York
2) Philadelphia
3) Dallas
4) Washington

Thoughts: This may be the most competitive division in the NFL behind the next one that’s going to be mentioned later. All of you know that I’m a Giants fan and may think that this is a homer pick, especially seeing the additions that Philly made. I think that the Giants have a better running back, offensive line, defensive line and linebackers than Philly and this will be enough to win the division. Heck yes, I said McNabb is better than New York’s new $90 million dollar QB. Vick will be a relative non-factor this season as well. For all of the people that think that getting rid of Mr. Owens and Pacman will be the saving grace for Dallas and make them a title contender, I still have doubts about Romo, Roy Williams as an elite receiver and a defense that should be better than it is. Until then, they still finish third in the East. Washington seems to be stuck in neutral. I think Campbell is a decent quarterback and Portis is a good running back but outside of that, what do you really think of the Redskins relative to their competition. Put them in the NFC West or AFC West and maybe they contend for the division but in the East, they place fourth.

NFC North:
1) Green Bay
2) Minnesota
3) Chicago
4) Detroit

Thoughts: I’m jumping on the Packers bandwagon with both feet forward for three reasons. First, Aaron Rodgers is going to be that good this year running the offense especially with a healthy Ryan Grant. Second, the move to the 3-4 defense was brilliant for their personnel. Third, the Vikings will get in their own way and blow the division. Minnesota has the most talent in the division, have potentially the offensive and defensive MVP’s of the league, which I will predict will happen, but you know who will cost them at least two games this season. Farve will hinder the Vikings. Chicago or Vanderbilt Professional Commodores will put up some points with Cutler but their overvalued defense will actually let them down. The Lions win five games this season.

NFC South:
1) Atlanta
2) New Orleans
3) Carolina
4) Tampa

Thoughts: This may be the most entertaining division and potentially the most balanced. I think it’s the most competitive, because while I doubt that Dallas wins the East and Chicago wins the North, Carolina can win the South. That doesn’t make it the best but surely makes it competitive. Atlanta will play just enough defense to win the division, even though Brees will torch their secondary in one of their games. Brees will throw for 500 yards in one of his games against Atlanta. I know that the Saints have promised to have a more balanced offensive attack this year but I’m waiting to see that happen. Carolina certainly has the running attack to compete but I see a letdown this year. Tampa has work to do. Just start Josh Freeman and get the youth movement going.

NFC West:
1) Arizona
2) San Francisco
3) Seattle
4) St. Louis

Thoughts: The Cardinals won’t make another Super Bowl appearance but will at least win the division. The offense will put up a lot of points and the defense will hold up just enough. Warner may be the most indispensible player on any team in the league. If he goes down, they go from a 10-win team to a six-win team in a snap. I’m taking a flier on San Francisco reaching .500 and Frank Gore finishing in the top-three in rushing this season. I know that Hasselback is returning from injury but the rest of that squad doesn’t inspire me. St. Louis is starting from scratch and will place last.

Your thoughts?

Sunday Reflections on a Tuesday

Hey everyone, its time for those Reflections on a Tuesday.

Music to listen to: Gabriel by Lamb


I posted the video for another Lamb song, Heaven, on the Facebook but it wasn’t received well. Instead, I’m going to go with Gabriel. They’re an older group that I’ve gotten into the last few days through Pandora. I had my Thievery Corporation station going and Lamb came on. That’s the beauty of Pandora.

So, Labor Day came and went. It’s an odd holiday because it marks the end of the summer and serves as the last vacation time that many of us will get until Thanksgiving. Some people like to cook out or have a picnic, but I don’t go that route personally. I like to chill at the house.

I ended up watching most of The Game, a TV show I like, on BET and General Hospital online. Yes, I did turn in my man card during this process. It was good times in the Pourtout mansion.

-Interesting first weekend of college football. Some quick thoughts:

1) Yes, the Oregon running back should have been suspended a lengthy amount of time for his actions after the Boise State game. However, the entire season was harsh. He should have gotten half of the season and been able to work his way back on the team. The fact that the Boise St. instigator isn’t serving any suspension time is a joke.

2) Thanks for showing up Rutgers.

3) Solid game between Florida State and Miami. Both teams have the potential to be top-15 teams by the end of the year, which would be an improvement for them. Miami can be preseason top-10 team next year if all works out. One more thing, the last play of the game was the fault of the FSU quarterback and the wide receiver.

4) I always say that if you’re a top-10 NFL prospect in college, you HAVE to go pro . They’re too many risks coming back to school between injury and not playing as well the previous season. I have nothing against Sam Bradford but you have to go to the NFL when you had the chance. He’s fortunate that his shoulder is just sprained and he will miss a few games. He could have torn that shoulder up and ruined his professional career.

5) Final point. I was at the Vandy and Western Carolina game on Saturday and while it was good to see my Commies get the victory, I can completely understand if you think that the game was pointless. What is the point of Florida playing Charleston Southern? Why is Tennessee playing Western Kentucky? I’m not picking at those schools in particular, just the system. I know the economics of it. The small schools can get up to $500,000 for its beating on the field and the bigger schools get to make a major profit at the gate and prepare on the field for tougher teams in the future. However, when the 12th game was added, I think most of us were hoping to see more matchups like Georgia and Oklahoma State instead of the games mentioned earlier.

-I enjoy writing on this Blog and find enjoyment in reading your comments. With that in mind, I’m going to try a new segment in my Reflections called “The Pancakes Respond.”

First, a correction to my college football predictions. I have Penn State going undefeated, therefore winning the Big 10. Having Ohio State as the winner of the conference was an error.

To Jared re: my Tim Tebow comments. Tebow is a very good player, not a great player. I just think that he’s a beneficiary of a very good system. I have no interest in thinking about his pro prospects when evaluating him. That’s my biggest gripe when some people evaluate Tebow.

To Meggie re: textbooks. That’s jacked up that they changed the textbook.

To Jared re: George Strait. My comments do make it seem like I’m just dismissing Strait’s career. That wasn’t intended. He’s an excellent musician who has had a great, great career. You mentioned his #1 records and has an excellent fan base. However, I think that his musical scope is limited to country. I mentioned Johnny Cash and even Willie Nelson because those guys have musical fans who go beyond country music. While country music is a major component of contemporary music, its not enough to be legendary in that genre alone to become an overall musical legend.

To N. Jericho re: music of today. I think you mentioned an aspect of the post that I didn’t bring up, the role of radio stations. You hear the same five or six songs constantly on the radio and that is probably a factor in my lack of enjoying current songs. The repetitive nature is a turn off. That’s why I enjoy college radio because you get so much more variety.

To Al Roker: re music of today. First, why so negative? Second, the Billboard Top 200 albums isn’t a true indicator of all of the music out there, I will give you that. However, I made sure to include artists such as John Mayer, The Mars Volta and a few others who aren’t even currently on the charts to add some diversity. Next, the Smashing Pumpkins are solid but in 2009, they’re not a current group.

OK, that’s all. NFL predictions tomorrow night.

No Reflections tonight, coming up on Tuesday

Due to Labor Day weekend, I'm going to post my Reflections on Tuesday night, then do my NFL Predictions on Wednesday night and beyond that, who knows. Until then, I leave you with some music from Lamb, enjoy:

My College Football Predictions (which you know will be wrong)

Its time for that college football preview. But first, some business as usual.

Name of the Game by The Crystal Method:




This should get you hyped.

I’ve been debating how to do this preview for the masses. Do I produce a top-25 list? Do I just list who I think will win their conferences or whose going to bowl games? You can get that type of stuff from a lot of places so I’ll give you the general predictions with other things thrown in there:

-Who wins the championship?

Florida beats Texas in the BCS Championship. I know that’s going with the majority of predictions but those are the facts. Both teams will lose one game this season though.

-Who will get the shaft from a BCS prospective?

Either Boise State or BYU goes undefeated but won’t make the championship game. Want some more drama? Penn State goes undefeated but doesn’t make the title game. Want some more? Texas beats Oklahoma, Oklahoma beats Oklahoma State, Oklahoma State beats Texas but the Longhorns wins some funky tiebreaker.

-Who wins the Heisman?

Tim Tebow will win his second Heisman. You would think that there would be backlash or even the new term, “Tebow fatigue,” but he’s going to be the leader of the best team in the country and that will be enough for lazy voters. Last year, people were hesitant to make Tebow the repeat winner but that’s not an issue now. Furthermore, the entire Southeast will vote for Tebow, and Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy will split votes everywhere else.

-What’s Tebow’s legacy?

I’ve written about him in the past here: http://pourtoutpancakes.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-dont-want-to-enjoy-tim-tebow.html. Therefore, I won’t give you a complete breakdown of it.
But I will say this. He’s an average quarterback who has benefitied from a top-five defense two out of his three years and more than enough playmakers to compensate for his lack of skills. Shoot, over the past two years, I would take McCoy, Bradford, Mark Sanchez, Nate Davis, Pat White and a few others over Tebow. If you want to go from my generation, which we will say is from 1990-now, give me Charlie Ward AND Tommie Frazier, the most underrated quarterback maybe ever and the best player to NEVER win a Heisman over Tebow.

Does this mean that Tebow isn’t a good player? He’s solid but let’s ease up on the hyperbole.

Who wins the BCS conference championships?

Big East: West Virginia (no confidence in that pick)

ACC: Georgia Tech over Florida State

SEC: Florida over Alabama again

Big Ten: Ohio State

Big 12: Texas over Nebraska

Pac-10: Southern California

At-Large: Oklahoma and BYU

-Who are going to be the positive surprise teams in each BCS?

Big East: I wish I could say Syracuse because I still root for that team but it’s a long way from even gaining a winning record. I think that West Virginia will find a way to replace Pat White, maybe their best player ever, and win the conference. They have a lot of experience coming back.

ACC: I think you’re going to see improved play overall among the top four or five teams. This conference has been weak over the past few years but you will see improved play from teams like Florida State. The surprise team that no one is talking about is Wake Forest. They may not win the conference title but it wouldn’t shock me to see them get another 8-win season.

Big Ten: I’ll take a flyer on Iowa.

Pac-10: Not only does Stanford have a winning season, they will finish third in the conference behind USC and Cal. You read it here first.

SEC: Since this is my residential conference, I have a big interest in it. Some are saying Tennessee because of their new coaching staff. Some are picking Arkansas because of Ryan Mallett. However, let’s take a chance and say Auburn will have a seven-win season behind an improved offence of offensive coordinator Gus Malazahn. The defense has always been there for the Tigers.

-Who will be the negative disappointment?

Big East: Rutgers. Their schedule is a joke but I say that they still find a way to lose to West Virginia and South Florida, which would be a major disappointment for them.

ACC: Virginia Tech loses four games this year, at least. Also, North Carolina will take a step back.

Big 10: The entire conference can be a disappointment but I’m going to say from a national picture that the crown goes to Penn State.

Pac-10: Oregon State can score some but can they stop anyone. I see a 7-5 type season for these guys when double-digit wins are being discussed.

SEC: I really, really want to say Tennessee because Lane Kiffin has no clue what he’s stepping into. Tennessee at their peak will now be an 8-win team. This year, they win five. I’m going to go with Ole Miss. Hopes are way too high for a team that will lose at least three SEC games this year, Alabama, LSU and Vandy (not really but I can dream, right?).

Big 12: Oklahoma State. I see a win over Georgia but a major letdown against weaker foes, meaning they will win over Oklahoma but lose to Baylor, something like that.

-Who gets fired first, Charlie Weis or Rich Rodriguez?

Have you seen two storied programs go from the top to bottom so quickly. Three years ago, Michigan was in the top-five contending for a national title until they lost to Ohio State and got laid the smackdown by Vince Young and Michigan. Since then, they’ve underachieved. Last year was Michigan’s worst season EVER.

Notre Dame has always been overrated but they would at least win nine or ten games with their crappy schedule. Last year was one of their worst seasons ever and don’t tell me that beating a below-average Hawaii team in a third-tier bowl means that the Irish is “back.”

Michigan is in major trouble because when you have CURRENT players going to the media about rules violations, that’s not good. Notre Dame is in major trouble because the big money people could care less about top-five recruiting classes when you lose by 30 points to USC and drop home games to Navy and Syracuse in the past two seasons.

On the surface, you would say that its Weis because he’s been under more pressure, criticized more, has more embarrassing losses, is not the nicest guy to people at Notre Dame, hence the sympathy factor is less and finally, they have Urban Meyer, Brian Kelley, John Gruden and a cast of other characters to fill the position.

However, I’m going to say it’s Rodriguez, which is nearly impossible since its only his second year. I don’t have a problem with him but for some reason, the Michigan people haven’t accepted him. Furthermore, despite Weis’ troubles, there has been minimal dissection within the team. Michigan has a 3-8 potential this year and that will definitely be curtains for Rodriguez.

OK, those are my predictions. What are your thoughts?

College Football Preview on Thursday

My college football preview will be posted on Thursday night.