Christmas is only five days away (!) and I’m sure some of you out there still haven’t bought presents and don’t know what to get. Much like Jerod has done this year and last year, I have found a unique and very useful gift to give.
Today’s reason why I miss college: Creative Christmas Trees
November 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Throughout my day on the Interwebs, I often stumble upon images or stories that make me miss college. For example, a few weeks back I shared this photo I found of two dudes playing Battleshots. And a few weeks before that, I posted this picture of the world’s most comfortable toilet, created by a couple of engineering students at Baylor.
Today we get into the holiday spirit for another edition of Today’s Reason Why I Miss College.
Today’s reason why I miss college: Battleshots
November 12, 2010 By 5 Comments
We may need to just make this a new regular post on the site. (In fact, I just did, creating a new category entitled “Today’s Reason Why I Miss College”.) You may recall that a couple weeks back I posted this picture of the world’s most comfortable toilet, which was sent to me by my girlfriend’s brother; he is currently an engineering student at Baylor.
Just a few minutes ago, while perusing the Internet treasure chest known as Reddit, I found the picture below. Who knows if these two dudes are actually in college, but I think it’s a pretty safe assumption, don’t you?
Lane Kiffin and the Vols Head Into A Bye-Week After Blowout Victory Over Georgia
October 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Wisconsin-Ohio State Preview and Prediction
October 8, 2009 By 1 Comment
Ohio State v Wisconsin has been one of the more exciting Big Ten matchups over the past three decades, with the Bucks holding only a 13-10-1 advantage since 1980.
In fact, there has even been some animosity that has carried over onto the field in the past.
Remember 2003 in Madison, Buckeye LB Robert Reynolds tackling then-Badger QB Jim Sorgi, choking the QB and knocking him out of the game?
Ironically Ohio State choked the game away, giving up a late 80-yard TD pass to Lee Evans, losing 17-10.
At the time, my grandpa claimed the 1993 (14-14 tie) game ended on a blocked field goal by Ohio State because they had 12 players on the field. He was old, so was that, and this is 2009. Let’s move on.
Tennessee-UCLA Preview: Lane Kiffin’s Vols Look for Revenge Over Bruins in Knoxville
September 10, 2009 By 3 Comments
Jonathon Crompton threw 5 TD passes in a game.
No, that wasn’t a typo.
Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton really threw 5 TD’s in a single game. (A short pause for you to google this if you still can’t believe it.)
Crompton and the Vols steamrolled right over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 63-7 on Saturday, racking up 657 yards of total offense. Crompton had a career day with 233 yards passing to go along with his 5 TD’s. He showed maturity and, unlike last season, appears comfortable in Lane Kiffin’s pro-style offense.
However, the Volunteers’ running back corps refused to be shown up by their senior quarterback. As a team Tennessee rushed for 380 yards and 4 TD’s, averaging over 8 yards per carry. Senior running back Montario Hardesty had 160 yards on 18 carries, with a huge 43-yard TD run.
Tennessee’s offensive “Freshman Four” also played well, having a coming out party against Western Kentucky.
Running back Bryce Brown scored UT’s first TD of the season and finished with 104 yards on 11 carries. His fellow frosh back David Oku had 42 yards and 2 TD’s on 8 carries. Marsalis Teague was the leading receiver for the Vols. Teague caught 6 passes for 86 yards and a TD. Nu’Keese Richardson made an impact all around, catching passes, returning kicks, and even running the wildcat formation.
Lane Kiffin’s focus, however, is not on the blowout victory of last week.
The Vols are preparing for a rematch against UCLA after losing a heartbreaker in Pasadena last season. As a former USC coach, Kiffin is no stranger to the Bruins either. Thus, there are plenty of storylines heading into Saturday’s game in Knoxville.
Before we break down the matchup, here are the particulars:
UCLA Bruins at Tennessee Volunteers
- UCLA-Tennessee Date: Saturday, September 12th
- UCLA-Tennessee Location: Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee
- UCLA-Tennessee Kickoff Time: 4:00 ET
- UCLA-Tennessee TV: ESPN
- UCLA-Tennessee Point Spread: Tennessee -7.5
- StubHub: Tennessee-UCLA tickets
- StubHub: Tennessee football tickets
- StubHub: UCLA football tickets
- StubHub: All college football tickets
The matchup between Tennessee and UCLA is completely different than last season. In ’08 the Vols were a team searching for an offensive identity and UCLA was lucky to scrape out a win.
This season the Vols appear rejuvenated on offense with their explosive young talent and offensive mastermind Lane Kiffin at the helm. And though the offense has improved vastly, the strength of this Vols team is still the defense, led by its all-world safety Eric Berry.
In Monte Kiffin’s first game as UT defensive coordinator, the Vols held Western Kentucky to 83 yards of total offense. The Hilltoppers only managed 34 yards rushing, averaging a laughable 1-yard per carry. The scary part of UT’s defensive performance is that Berry didn’t play all that well and the defense still held strong.
Berry and the Tennessee defense could have a field day against UCLA’s freshman quarterback Kevin Prince, who threw two picks against San Diego State in the Bruins opener. Prince doesn’t seem experienced enough to go up against a top-level SEC defense and will likely turn the ball over multiple times.
The Vols will have to be careful of their own turnovers however. Jonathan Crompton will have to keep an eye out for UCLA safety Rahim Moore, who had three interceptions last week against SDSU.
Lane Kiffin, though, appears to be more than capable of putting together an effective offensive game plan. And if Tennessee’s offense can produce even half as well as they did last week, the Neyland faithful should once again be singing Rocky Top at the top of their lungs.
And the Vols, coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in school history, should be 2-0.
My prediction for Saturday’s game: Tennessee- 31 UCLA- 17
I’ll Tell You This: Dodgers Looking Strong, Pacman and RichRod Not So Much
September 1, 2009 By 2 Comments
[Editor's Note: This is the first of a new weekly series by Big MB called I'll Tell You This. MB loves to tell people things, and especially loves using that phrase when doing so, so this is a match made in sports blogging heaven. Have at it MB.]
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We are just over one week away from NFL kickoff 2009, less that a week from College Football, and coming down the stretch in Major League Baseball. Here are my top 5 stories for this week.
1 – LA Dodgers Make Deals to Solidify Playoff Roster
As the waiver deadline approaches the most active team seems to be the L.A. Dodgers, picking up White Sox slugger Jim Thome and Diamondbacks’ hurler Jon Garland. As of today the Dodgers hold a 5.5 game lead on Colorado, who also made a move trading for White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras.
I’ll tell you this: the Dodgers are putting together a team that will compete with the Yankees in the World Series. There is no doubt in my mind that the Dodgers are the team to beat in the National League, save for maybe (and this is painful for a Cub’s fan to admit) the Cardinals.
2 – A Tale of Two Cities: Minnesota and Philadelphia
Brett Favre and Michael Vick have made their comebacks and the inevitable debates have followed.
In Minnesota, talk of team mutiny was rumored, some sources saying that the locker room was split. These rumors were put to bed quickly, but Viking Nation may see it differently. One Vikings fan was found to have a live goat in her trunk painted purple and gold.
Vick has also been met with equivalent praise and disapproval, with Donovan McNabb going on record saying that Vick’s presence and the style of play-calling involving Vick was “a gimmick†and a distraction from their game plan.
I’ll tell you this: Like it or not, the Vikings became a contender when they signed Favre. However, Vick brings quite the distraction both on and off of the field. It will be interesting to see, but if McNabb is already skeptical about Vick’s role, then that can’t be a good sign for the Eagles.
3 – Trouble in Ann Arbor
In what has been a tumultuous summer of violations in College Football, one last situation has raised its ugly head right before the season’s start.
This week some former and current players accused Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez and his staff of exceeding the NCAA’s practice guidelines and complained that the staff was over-working student athletes beyond the maximum weekly and daily hours limitations. Rodriguez responded with an emotional press conference, completely denying the allegations by saying that they were “miscommunications†and “just not true.â€
I’ll Tell You This: The Wolverines went 3-9 last year in Rodriguez’s first year at the helm. While it would not surprise me that these players were over-worked, I think the bigger issue is that, to save his job, Rodriguez has to find a way to bring Michigan back to being one of the premier teams in the NCAA.
4 – Injuries in the NFL Preseason
With the NFL preseason coming to an end, injuries have already begun to raise their ugly heads at big-time positions for teams.
Patriots QB Tom Brady injured his shoulder when Redskins $100 million dollar man Albert Haynesworth crushed him in the second quarter of their game last week. The master of masking issues, Bill Belichick, down-played the injury saying that Brady would be ready for the regular season.
Brett Favre has said that he has a cracked rib, but played in the Vikings’ preseason game against Houston without any protection. Could it be that Favre is preparing an excuse for what might become a disappointing season?
Finally, all of Kansas City stopped breathing for about 24 hours when off-season acquisition QB Matt Cassel went down hard with a knee injury. At first the prognosis was 4-6 weeks, seemingly a finishing blow to KC before the season even started; however, now reports are saying that the MCL strain that Cassel suffered was minor and he would return to the lineup possibly sooner rather that later, maybe even for the season opener.
I’ll Tell You This: Nothing can kill a team’s season faster than an unexpected and unnecessary preseason injury. Hopefully all of the above stay healthy so we can watch as many teams battle it out for the playoffs at full strength as possible. A healthy NFL is a more fan-friendly NFL.
5 – The Return of Pacman
Adam “Pacman†Jones has returned to football. But this time it’s not in the NFL. It’s not even with the upstart AFL, which launches next month.Â
No, Pacman Jones is headed to the Canadian Football League. He has signed “in principal†a one year deal with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
I’ll tell you this: Who cares?
Apparently no-one in the NFL is ok with giving Jones yet another chance to prove that he can’t control his personal life, and honestly, I can’t blame them. Jones is just one of those players with all the talent in the world but no self-control. And playing professional sports is a luxury. He can’t control his life, he is a thug, and he is not a role model like we want our athletes of today to be.
Good riddance Pacman. Canada, you can have him.
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* – Jose Contreras and Jim Thome photo credit: by Charles Rex Arbogast – AP via South Side Sox
