Reporters or infobabes?

Welcome back, it's good to see you again!  It's been a while since I've been here.  I've only been sick about 4 times this winter, I've been working on my website and still am hoping to have that up and running within the next few weeks, but have decided to try to keep this blog running for the foreseeable future.  However, it's going to be a little less Missouri Tiger-centric than it has been so far.  There is just too much to talk about that doesn't involve Gary Pinkel and Mike Anderson.  Tiger sports will always be a passion of mine, but there are other things I enjoy talking about also.  Something you probably know that I enjoy talking about is women, and that's what I plan to talk about today.  While I enjoy beautiful women, I'm not just interested in beautiful women that have no talents other than being beautiful.  I don't believe I'd find Michelle Pfeiffer to be nearly as interesting if she didn't have the talent to go with that incredible beauty.  But today we're going to talk about something that's been bugging the shit out of me.  Exactly when did being beautiful become a pre-requisite for being a television news or sports reporter?  Now some of these ladies have some degree of talent but lets be honest, if they didn't look the way they do, they wouldn't be on television.
Jenn Sterger:

Never has anyone milked more face time from her 15 minutes of fame than Jenn.  She first burst on the scene during a random fan shot during the 2005 Florida State vs Miami football game after which Brent Musburger commented that "1,500 red blooded Americans just decided to apply to Florida State".  Using the 2 attributes that the plastic surgeon gave her she worked her way from the head of the FSU Cowgirls to photo shoots for Maxim as well as Playboy.  She contributed a couple of articles to Sports Illustrated and has a role as a segment host on ABC's show, "Race to March Madness".  She also had a 7 month gig as the host of a Versus show, "The Daily Line".  Most recently she's been known for the receiver of several text and photo messages from Brett Favre while both were working for the New York Jets.  At least we can be grateful that she finally got the gunslinger to retire.
Kiran Chetry:

You can find a lot of people that wouldn't believe that Kiran belongs on a list like this since they believe she is a legitimate talent.  She first appeared nationally in 2001 on Fox News as a reporter.  In 2007 she left Fox after they failed to meet some of her demands for a contract renewal, one of which reportedly was the network fire her co-host Gretchen Carlson, a former Miss America and info-bimbo in her own right.  While Kiran may have more talent than the others written about here, let's make no mistake, Barbara Walters she ain't.
Ines Sainz:

Ok, let's take this to another level.  Ines Sainz works for TV Azteca as host of a sports interview program that was created by she and her husband.  Reportedly she proposed to Tom Brady before the 2010 Super Bowl and she's done more swimsuit photo shoots than Kathy Ireland.  Ines doesn't really make any attempt to hide the fact she's using her sexuality to promote her career, basically she embraces it.  Frankly, she makes Jenn Sterger look like Diane Sawyer.
The weather here in Kansas City has been brutal so far this month and it doesn't sound like it's going to get better anytime soon.  It does however give me some more time to write, and hopefully I'll have something else for you this weekend.  Stay warm folks.

Week 2. The makings of an interesting year.

It wasn't just me.  A lot of guys apparently had some problems picking against the spread last week.  I've enjoyed a guy that goes by MizzouRah's selections over the years, and found him to be pretty good.  However, he went 5-8 vs the spread last week.  It's also been something of a transition year for folks like OU, Texas and Okie State.  Not trying to make excuses.  It will probably shake out by the time conference season rolls around, but right now I can't say I have many games I feel confident about this week as far as point spreads go.

One game I shouldn't have to worry about this week is going to be played Saturday night in Columbia, as my Tigers open the home season against might McNeese State.  I don't care for games against Division 2 teams such as this, but at least I can sort of, I said SORT OF, see some good that could come of it.  The Tigers seemed out of synch last week offensively, and this might be just what the doctor ordered.  It also offers a chance to get some backups some game experience that may be needed down the road.  But basically, you hope for no injuries and of course, God forbid someone goes out and pulls a North Dakota State on you.  I don't expect that and look for the Tigers to jump start the offense as they coast to a 55-6 win.  I won't be there to see it since I was fortunate enough to find someone to give my tickets to.  That's right, I said give.  The most interesting stat of the weekend may well be if the crowd tops 60,000.
The only other game without a line this week is in Manhattan, kansas, where the Wildcats, fresh off a 31-22 upset of UCLA host the Missouri State Bears, coached by former ku head coach, Terry Allen.  At least Allen is used to being abused by Bill Snyder from his years at the beak helm.  Look for this one to be over by halftime as the Cats get a chance to work in some PT for the backups.  Take K State 48-13.
Baylor is at home against Buffalo this week, who also opened the season with a win.  The schedule is actually pretty good for the Bears as it is a step up from last weeks opener, but still a contest they should win easily.  Baylor opens as a 16 1/2 point favorite in this one.  I think Buffalo plays close for a half but winds up falling 34-13.

Colorado, fresh off a convincing 24-3 win against cross state rival Colorado State, travels to Berkeley to face their future Pac 10 rival Cal.  The Golden Bears opened with a 52-3 win over UC Davis last week.  Cal opens as an 8 1/2 point favorite.  I think they do a little better than that and win 37-17 in front of 2 fan bases more known for their fondness of hemp than their passion for football.
In a game with slightly less sophisticated, and stoned fans; Iowa State travels to play the Hawkeyes in Iowa City.  Iowa opens as a 13 1/2 point favorite in a game the Cyclones have been able to steal occasionally the last few years.  I think this is close for a half but the 'Clones run out of gas and fall 38-21.

The only Big XII team to fall in week one was in Lawrence as the Turner Gill era opened with a thud in a 6-3 loss to North Dakota State.  It's only been one game, but it has to be a bit disconcerting to TG that Lew Perkins, the man who hired him suddenly retired one business day after the opening loss.   To compound the problem, coming to town is Georgia Tech who opened with a 41-10 win over lightly regarded South Carolina State.  The Yellow Jackets are going to run straight at the beaks, who appear to be woefully inadequate on both lines.  This one should be over shortly after the national anthem as the Jackets opened as only a 13 point favorite.  I expect it to be no where near that close.  Tech rolls to a 41-14 win.

In Lincoln, the Big Red fans weren't quite as pleased with their season opener against Western Kentucky as I'd expected.  I suppose the pre season hype has made them expect to be winning games 50-0 as they did for years under Tom Osbourne.  Yes, they won 49-10 but remember that the Hilltoppers went 0-12 last year and gave up an average of over 40 points per game.  This week the Vandals from Idaho come to town fresh off a 45-0 win over some team you've probably never heard of, the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.   The fighting Pelini's open as a 28 1/2 point favorite in this one.  While I think they win rather comfortably, I expect it to be more along the lines of 38-14.  This may ramp up the concern among America's weirdest fan base.

The game of the week, at least in my opinion happens in Norman, as the Sooners, who opened with a surprisingly difficult 31-24 win over Utah State face the Seminoles from Florida State, 59-6 winners over Samford.  I knew that the offense might take some time to gel, but I certainly didn't expect OU to give up 24 points last week.  Oklahoma opens as a 9 point favorite in this one, and I fully expect them to give FSU their undivided attention.  However, I think this one is going down to the wire.  I'm looking for OU to win, but fail to cover with the final in the 28-21 range.  This is going to be a great game and anytime Florida State plays it gives me the opportunity to include a photo of Jenn Sterger with the Florida State cowgirls.
In the other games of the week, Troy travels to Stillwater as an 11 1/2 point underdog to the Cowboys.  I expected Okie Light to take a step back this year, but you can't discount the 65-17 pasting they put on Washington State last week.  Troy slows them down a bit, but the Cowboys win and cover 35-14.
Wyoming travels to Austin this week to play the Longhorns, who were held to 34 points last week by Rice.  Wyoming had an emotional week as a player was killed in a car wreck.  This is another game I believe will be close for a while before Texas, who opens as a 29 point favorite wears down the Cowboys and wins 41-10.
Louisiana Tech travels to College Station as an 18 point dog to the Aggies.  I see this as the same formula as UT.  It could be close for a half but A&M wears them down in the 2nd half 38-14.
Texas Tech travels to New Mexico to play a Lobo team that fell 72-0 in week one to Oregon, in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated.  Tech opens as a 23 1/2 point favorite.  While I think New Mexico may well be the worst team in Division 1, this is a game where the Raiders can do a bit of experimenting.  I have Tech covering and winning easily, 48-10.
Good luck to your teams this week.  I'll enjoy watching OU/FSU Saturday and begin the countdown for my first trip to Columbia in a week as San Diego State comes to town.

   

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1.03.01

Week 1: I thought it would never arrive.

When I was a kid, it always felt like Christmas would never arrive.  You wondered what you were going to get.  You dropped hints, left catalogs open with your dream gift circled, and dreamed about it at night.  I don't feel that way about Christmas anymore but I still have that sense of excitement.  It's just reserved for that glorious weekend known as the beginning of the college football season.  I've sat through a long hot summer with the Royals once again falling out of the pennant race before Memorial Day, read and re-read articles about summer workouts and frankly spent entirely too much time worrying about whether Chris Freeman and Jimmy Hunt were going to show up on campus in time for fall camp.

So my Tigers open up the season this Saturday in the dome against Ron Zook and his fighting Illini.  This will complete the 4 game series between the 2 schools with the Zookster still looking for his first win.  As a matter of fact, Gary Pinkel is 5-0 vs Illinois during his career here.  The series ends after this game and unless Illinois pulls off the upset, I don't expect it to resume anytime soon.  After the 10 year winning streak they enjoyed in basketball prior to last season I wasn't in a big rush to see that series continued either.

Illinois is a young squad this year led by red shirt freshman quarterback Nathan Sheelshaase from Rockhurst in Kansas City.  The depth chart is just chock full of freshmen and sophomores who'll be starting their first game period, let alone a rowdy crowd of Missouri fans in the Edward Jones Dome.  Given the fact that Nathan really wasn't much of a passer in high school, I imagine that the Illini will attempt to establish the run game first and hope that Sheelhaase will be able to hit some passes off roll outs and options.  It should be a good test for a Missouri defense that was among the worst in the country last year.
So, I begin to try my luck at predictions for another year.  Last season I was a very respectable 93-33 straight up, but 62-59 when picking against the spread.  So with no further ado, here we go.

The Tigers open as a 12 point favorite against Illinois, which is down from 13 1/2 since the suspension of Derrick Washington.  Missouri has an established quarterback in Blaine Gabbert and Kendial Lawrence at running back but the backups are true freshmen.  The odds on favorite as his number one target this year, Jerrell Jackson is hurt and out for this game but Gabbert still has plenty of talented, if somewhat unproven receivers to throw to.  I think, that unless we see something along the lines of Brad Smith's first game, which coincidentally happened against Illinois, this one should be over by halftime.  Illinois has lost their entire defensive backfield for this game due to injuries.  A nice time for the Tigers to be breaking in new receivers.  Look for the Tigers to roll, 38-13.
2 days before the Arch Rivalry game, the Big XII season opens in Ames as last years surprise team, the Iowa State Cyclones open as a 3 1/2 point favorite over Northern Illinois.  Senior quarterback Austen Arnaud has spent like 12 years at ISU so I believe he'll graduate when I see it, and Paul Rhodes certainly had my vote as Big XII coach of the year last season.  The 'Clones return most of the offense although a large part of their defense graduated.  I don't see this being nearly as close as the oddsmakers and look for ISU to win 31-17.
Baylor opens at home against Sam Houston State, a not very good team even when playing other small college rummies.  Robert Griffin will be returning as quarterback for the Bears.  I expect some rust but not nearly enough to make a difference here.  Baylor rolls, 42-6.  No line here.

Things are changing in lawrence, kansas as the Turner Gill era begins.  The beaks open at home against North Dakota State in another game that was given no line.  I detest kansas but really haven't had any time to learn to hate Gill, who's always seems like a pretty good guy.  A lot of questions for the jayhawks this year and I don't think any of them will be answered this weekend, unless ND State manages to pull the upset.  kansas wins this one, 31-10. 
In what may or may not be the final season in the Big XII for the Colorado Buffalo's as they open on the road at Colorado State.  The Buffs come in as a 13 point favorite against their cross state rivals, and I really have no idea why.  Dan "Dead man walking" Hawkins may or may not have to win this year since I'm not at all sure there is enough money in their AD to cut anyone loose early.  I'm really tempted to take the Rams straight up, but will go ahead and pick Colorado to win 28-24 while failing to cover.

In Manhattan, Bill Snyder 2.0 opens the season against the Pac 10's UCLA.  It's incredibly weird seeing Coach Snyder open the non con against anyone with a pulse but give Snyder a few years to do his own scheduling and we'll be seeing plenty of directional schools, which considering we'll all be playing 9 conference games in a year will unfortunately the the rule rather than the exception.  The Bruins open as a 2 point favorite in this one but I think Mr Burns will have a surprise or 2 in store and the Cats pull a 24-21 upset.
Hick nation opens at home this year with Western Kentucky rolling into Lincoln as a 36 1/2 point underdog.  I've gone back and forth on this one, as I'm not positive that Nebraska is capable of putting up 37 points.  Nebraska is ranked as a pre-season top 10 team which I find ludicrous but I'm going to pick them to cover here, winning 42-6, with the defense providing them with some short fields if not touchdowns on turnovers.  We'll know something about the nubs on the 18th when they travel to Washington.
Oklahoma is the prohibitive favorite in the conference once again this year, following a disappointing season.  They open up as a 31 1/2 point favorite against outmanned Utah State.  The point spread isn't nearly big enough as "Big Game" Bob Stoops will have the Sooners smelling blood in a quest to return to the national championship game.  OU rolls 56-9.   

Like the 2008 Tigers, Oklahoma State was unable to live up to lofty expectations last year.  They open up at home against the Pac 10's Washington State.  The Cowboys will take a few steps back this year, but this is a good opening contest for them.  A very pedestrian team from a BCS conference.  Okie Light opens as a 14 1/2 point favorite.  I think this is pretty close and I'm taking the Cowboys in a close game they'll break open in the 4th quarter.  OSU 28-13.
It's rebuilding, or reloading time down in Austin.  The horns probably won't be making a return trip to the national championship game, but it's always smart money to bet on them playing after January 1st.  They open up on the road against perennially hapless Rice.  Texas has opened as a 29 point favorite.  They may not have the firepower they had last year with Colt McCoy running the show, but you just know the defense is going to be big, fast and mean.  Texas takes this one in a laugher, 49-13.

The sexy pick in the south this year is down south in College Station.  I still believe that Mike Sherman is a mediocre coach and at last report, they were planning to start 3 freshmen on their offensive line.  They also have some of the strangest rituals you could ever hope to see at a college football stadium.  I expect another 6 or 7 win season for them, but challenge Texas or OU for the south title?  I don't think so.  That being said, they'll probably look like world beats this week at home against Stephen F. Austin in a contest that has no line.  Look for the Aggies to put up some big numbers, winning 49-6 in my dog game of the week.
The week winds up on Sunday this week as SMU travels to Lubbock to take on the new look Red Raiders and coach Tommy Tubberville.  Tech opens as a 13 1/2 point favorite.  I expect them to have a few hiccups this year, but I don't expect it to be this week.  Give the points and look for the Tubberville era to open successfully as the Red Raiders win 38-13.

So now we have something to talk about for a few months.   I won't be making it out to see the game this week, and actually won't be at a home game until the 18th when San Diego State visits the Zou.  I'll be trying out some new seats this year.  Same section but about 40 rows lower.  God I hope I'm sitting next to someone that looks like Jenn. Have a great week and I hope your team finds success this year, unless you're going to be playing mine at some point this season.  We'll see how I did with my picks after the weekend.