Can You Believe The Balls On This
Guy???
Just so everyone’s straight – Pitino has been
or was:
1. Under NCAA investigation at Hawaii in the 80’s
2. Had sex on a restaurant table
with someone besides his wife (but only lasted about 30 seconds!)
3. Was the Head
Coach of a team on already on NCAA probation for hosting stripper and hooker
parties
4. Was discovered to be and named
as “Coach
Number #2” in FBI Indictment documents that was speaking to Gatto
multiple times during Bowen’s recruitment.
AAAAAAAAANNNNDDD – What do you do when you’re fired for
cause? Sue Adidas of course!
I’m actually not sure who the sleazier player
is in all of this…Pitino or the lawyer that actually believes there’s a case here for
Pitino somewhere. Or maybe it’s
a ploy to get discovery evidence and the recorded phone calls that incriminate Pitino…
From Thamel (yahoo sports)
If
he knew about the payments to Bowen, he’s brazen enough to blatantly flout NCAA
rules while Louisville was still serving its penalties related to the escort
scandal. If he didn’t know about the payments to Bowen, then he clearly had no
control of a program that violating NCAA rules left and right under his watch.
Pitino clearly prefers
the latter to the former. And as the Adidas lawsuit shows, he’s willing to go
to great lengths to try to argue that position
Whatever, Pitino’s lack of any humility or
self-blame is galling. It is, as
the
late, great Bob Ufer would say, “They had the Audacity, the Unmitigated gall
to tear down that banner!!!”
THE HIT 20 Years
Later: Why The Targeting Rule Came Into
Being
The short version – I remember sitting on a barstool
out in Borrego Springs, California with college roommate, tailgater and super fan
TJH (LONG STORY – Ask me sometime) watching this game and when I
saw this hit, I KNEW one of these guys, or perhaps both, wasn’t
walking away from it.
The Hit: 15 Years Later –
The Long Version
The B1G network did a nice follow up 15 years
later about the hit, the surgery Taylor required and the Grade 3
Concussion that Stephenson received as a result.
But they’re both still in football. It just gets in you and it won’t let go…
But I’m glad targeting is a rule, I just wish
it was properly called and enforced.
And the fact that this happened 20 years ago and I
can remember it like it was yesterday is kind of weird. I can’t remember what I had for breakfast,
but I can recall a lot of what happened on “Judgement Day” and Woodson running over
people on offense, Griese having a big day, and Michigan just routing the “Paper
Tiger” #2 team in the country. 34-8.
And I didn’t even have to look it up….
The stage was now set…
For 25 Years, PSU Has Been
Special….
Unless You Happen to
be a PSU Fan…Why am I confident? This is part of the reason….
When Michigan is NOT
in the Top 10 and Penn State IS in the Top 10, we have a 5-1
record against the Nittany Lions with our only loss to them being Rich Rod's
3-9 team in 2008, when #3 Penn State beat unranked Michigan 46-17. These weren't
fringe Top 10 UM teams either; none of the 5 Michigan wins came when Michigan
was in the Top 15, their average ranking was below where we will be this week
at #19.
List:
- 2007: Unranked Michigan defeats #10 Penn State
14-9
- 2005: Unranked Michigan defeats #8 Penn State 27-25
- 1999: #16 Michigan defeats #6 Penn State 31-27
- 1998: #22 Michigan defeats #9 Penn State 27-0
- 1993: #18 Michigan defeats #7 Penn State 21-13
Overall, Michigan is 6-2 against Top Ten Penn State teams,
including a 3-1 record in Happy Valley.
So, okay, yeah, I
looked all that up. But I know Michigan
has owned them.
Who Will We Be Talking About On
Monday?
Like Week #7, Week #8 has the potential to create some
interesting conversations. USC goes into South Bend
pretty banged up and the Domers are actually playing really good football
(especially on Defense). USC
hasn’t been the same team since they won the Rose, playing close game against
Utah and losing to Wash State.
Unfortunately, I think we’re talking Domers and CFP in the same sentence
Monday. But I’ll still take USC
and the points (see below)..
IF THEY WIN, we’ll be sick of hearing about
Penn State as well. On the flip side, if Michigan pulls it off, we’re
discussing Michigan and “controlling their own destiny.”
I might like Texas to beat one school from
Oklahoma this year, and OSU is on the docket. The shorthorns could be spoilers…
Besides
the Death Star? Good
question. I think LSU must’ve had really key people
out of the Troy game because that loss just doesn’t make any sense at this
point. I hate to say, “Re-set
you’re thinking” regarding LSU, but there’s no way to explain it. LSU knocked off Florida and then came back
against a really good Auburn team at home. So is it just everyone in the SEC deciding to
“suck less” when the time comes to play decent football? I guess it’ll all get sorted out. For now, let’s assume that Georgia,
LSU and Auburn are still legit and all get a shot at Bama (assuming
Georgia wins East).
All is does is make all of them harder to handicap.
THE FMQ
So, what did the FMQ in this week? THE GOD DAMN MICHIGAN – IU Over/Under. Going to OT put the number right at 47. House WINS!
A Win is a Win, Baby!!
Other than that, it was a great picking week,
but we didn’t score much cash based on the units bet. Week #8 doesn’t get any easier as we pretty
much know who everyone is at this point and spreads are more easily defined and
backed up with data. Hard to find an
edge in any game this week.
On to this
week’s picks:
Week # 8 is a coin flip week.
I
don’t have any strong weeks historically in week #8 It’s almost as if we need
to take a break or start looking closer at the over/unders. Of
course, I just got burnt on one of those, so we’ll just flip coins.
Maryland @
Wiscy (-24): I really didn’t think the Terps were this
bad. They beat what’s turning
into a decent Texas team and then promptly lost their QB and 2nd
string QB. Pickings are slim after
that. But I thought their defense would
be better with Durkin steering the ship.
Wiscy is a grind you down team and 24 seems like a lot, but they are
home. Coin Flip - Wiscy..
Take Wiscy
and lay the 24 for $25
Iowa @
Northwestern (PK): I kind of hate Pick-Em games. All you have to do is pick the winner, but
this is a tough one to pick.
Northwestern faded against Wiscy, came storming back in the 4th
quarter to cover. I know you can’t go
week to week, but I really don’t know who to pick. Coin Flip - Iowa!
Take Iowa
for $25
OSU @ Texas
(+7): Hermann’s gonna beat someone good this
season. He’s running out of shots,
but I have a feeling that he may be able to close the deal on this one, or at
least keep it close on the 40 Acres.
Take the
Shorthorns and the 7 for $30
Purdue @
Rutgers (+8): Rutgers won a B1G Game on the Road last
week. And that screwed me up. I really felt that the Illini were the better
team, but I was wrong. Purdue is a very
good team statistically right now and they should bring Rutgers back down to
Earth.
Take Purdue
and lay the 8 for $50
Pitt @ Duke (-8): How did Pitt get so bad so fast?? Narduzzi was being rumored for bigger and
better jobs last season and now he’s probably glad that Pitt is tired of hiring
coaches. Duke is good enough to cover
the number.
Take Duke
and lay the 8 for $40
Illinois @
The Gophers (-13.5): That’s a lot of points. Minnesota may trot out a different QB
this week and I think the Illini can keep in within a couple of scores,
especially as the Gophers can’t really stop anyone.
Take the
Illini and the 13.5 for $30
Indiana @
Sparty (-7): Hmmmm? Is this spread based on what Michigan did
against both these teams? Indiana is not that bad
and had the ball bounced a little differently, they would have beat Michigan.
Sparty OTOH, is probably going to get tripped up this season. Coin
Flip – Indiana!
Take Indiana
and the 7 for $25
Tennessee @
Bama (-33): Bama has done so-so against the spread this
season (3-4). However, the ones
they are covering have all been over 30 points!
Is that a clue? No, Tennessee
being one of the shittiest teams in the SEC is a bigger clue.
Take Bama
and lay the 33 for $50
Auburn @
Arkansas (+13): Auburn has me scratching
my head a lot. First, they roll some bad
SEC teams and I thought LSU was a bad team, but then they come out in the 2nd
half and tank. What will they do on the
road at a really bad Arkansas? Coin
Flip
Take Auburn
and lay the 13 for $30
USC @ Domers
(-3.5): Tough game, tough spread. I like the Domers at home, but 3.5 is a tough
number to lay in what may be a tight game.
USC has played a lot of tight ones already this season. I like the dog here.
Take USC and
the 3.5 for $25
Michigan @
PSU (-12.5 MONEYLINE: Michigan - $320): A double figure spread in this game? With Michigan’s defense, I don’t
think PSU will be able to “start fast” or get any separation on Michigan in
this game. And if Michigan is still in it in
the 4th quarter, PSU will be playing tight. Of course, they played a tight game in Iowa
City this season already and won. But
Iowa covered!
Take Michigan
and the 12.5 for $25
MONEYLINE: Michigan 20
PARLAY!
3 Bet/Team Parlay: 6-1
Purdue –
Bama - Duke: $50
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