NO BE-LITTLE-ING THESE FEATS

by Dr. C, Chicago Bull

Dustin Pedroia’s huge game last night wasn’t just a win for the Red Sox; it was another victory for a team that a lot of women don’t like. They’ve even write songs about this team proclaiming their disdain for them. That’s right, it’s the little guys. From Doug Flutie to George Costanza, these men of smaller stature have gone out and achieved anyways (the bums will always lose, do you hear me Lebowski?!). Here’s a look at some of the moments of greatness these pint-sized people have accomplished:

SPORTS:
2006 World Series: David Eckstein: The supposed 5′7″ shortstop went 8 of 22 in last years fall classic with four RBI. The pesky hitter actually only went 1 for 11 in their first two games, but went on a tear for the last three. He is also married to actress Ashley Drane which has nothing to do with the series, but important for small guys also because she’s pretty cute.

1984 Miracle in Miami: Doug Flutie: Flutie won the Heisman in 84′ after throwing for 3,454 yards and 27 TDs, but will always be remembered for the Hail Mary that found the hands of Gerard Phelan in the end zone for a 47-45 win over the U.

1986 Dunk Contest: Spud Webb: Remember the days when the dunk contest actually meant something to the best dunkers in the NBA? Those were the days. Nowadays you have to have a check ready to entice players to participate. Heading into the contest, Webb apparently didn’t even tell ‘Nique he was going to be in it, and claimed to have no practiced for it before hand. During the competition, Webb even had Jordan clapping at the 360 he pulled.

April 15th, 1947: Jackie Robinson: Out of all these moments, I don’t think there’s any arguing that Jackie stepping out on the field is by far the greatest. The 5′11″ Shortstop/Second Baseman went oh for three that day, and the amount how things he had to endure must have been intolerable. But Jackie did it, and that’s why the #42 is off limits in the MLB, and his name enshrined in Cooperstown. Oh, and the guy was pretty damn good, too.

These are just a few of the events, and I’m sure you could think of plenty more that I’ve not listed, but ultimate question is this: Who is the greatest player regardless of sport from the 6 feet and under category? Maybe I’ll get the Carnies involved also…

Let The Good Times Roll: The PUMA Store

FIRST PLACE IN THE BIG EAST

by Shorty, Milk Was a Bad Choice

Can you name who’s currently in first place in the Big East Conference? In school this year I’ve studied the Socratic Method, which is basically just another form of process of elimination and exactly how we will find out who is sitting atop the Big East Standings…

West Virginia? Nope — The mighty Mountaineers are ranked #6 in the latest national polls, but they suffered a tough loss in South Florida on a Friday Night one month ago. Pat White, Steve Slaton and company may very well be the most talented team in the conference, but they currently sit tied for third in the Big East.

South Florida? Negative — The upstart Bulls got knocked off in Piscataway this past Thursday Night after making all the way to #2 in the BCS standings. The program is well on its way to their greatest season ever, but after the loss to Rutgers, they are also tied for third.

Rutgers? Not Quite — Last season’s biggest surprise has come back strong and look to have a major impact on the conference yet again this season, as evidenced by Thurs. Night’s victory. However, two home losses, one to Cincinnati in conference and another to Maryland out of conference have set back the Scarlet Knights and have them currently in second place in the Big East.

Hmmm… if it’s not any of those teams, and we know Pittsburgh and Syracuse are both terrible this year, then it must be Heisman hopeful Brian Brohm and Louisville, right? Not Even Close — the Cardinals came into Hartford on Friday Night with the hopes of salvaging their season against the Huskies. Turnovers, questionable officiating and monsoon rains, however all led to a devastating loss to the new ‘Big Dogs’ of the Big East Conference. That’s right, the Connecticut Huskies led by the coaching & play of Jim Calhoun & Jeff Adrien Randy Edsall & Andre Dixon are currently undefeated in conference play and sit in an unfamiliar spot perched at the top of the conference standings.

Admittedly, the Huskies reign might not last past this weekend when the Huskies meet a South Florida team hungry to rebound from their loss last weekend. That doesn’t change the fact that this school, known primarily as a basketball powerhouse, is already Bowl eligible and seems destined to put together their greatest season since becoming a Division I program. In fact this week they are included in the BCS Rankings for the first time ever in school history. After their nationally televised game against the Bulls on Saturday, Uconn meets Rutgers at home before traveling to Cincinnati. So the schedule only gets tougher from here on out, but there’s nothing wrong with enjoying it while you can Husky fans. Dare to Dream!

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEKEND OBSERVATIONS

by WCT, The Ship of Fools

What an entertaining Saturday! A weekend that did not look very promising on paper actually brought us some very entertaining games.

- Is there a coach with bigger balls than LSU head man Les Miles? Fourth down? Screw it, we’re going for it! Game-tying field goal? F that, we’re chucking it into the end zone! It may not be the wisest way to run a team, but it sure makes for entertaining games!

- The Florida-Kentucky game played out pretty much as I expected. I have officially done a 180 on Tim Tebow’s Heisman candidacy. He carries that team.

- By the way, if you were unfortunate enough to bet Kentucky +7, I feel for you. When Kentucky scored their final TD as time expired, gamblers all over the sports bar I was at were ecstatic. Only to be crushed when they saw that the meaningless (to some anyway) extra point would not be attempted, and the Cats lost by eight. What an emotional rollercoaster!

- The SEC East division is an absolute mess! South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee are all tied in the loss column. South Carolina losing at home to Vanderbilt is inexcusable, but they STILL control their own destiny to win the division, and have the advantage of playing Florida at home.

- If you couldn’t see that South Florida loss coming, then you haven’t been paying attention.

- Just when I’m ready to proclaim Oklahoma the best team in the nation, they lay an egg at 1-7 Iowa State, and very nearly lose the game. The Cyclones were ahead for most of that game.

- That being said, the Big 12 has been a pleasant surprise this year. Missouri crushed a decent Texas Tech team, and Kansas avoided an obvious trap game at Colorado.

- If I were to tell you that the final score of a game was 55-34, and asked you which BCS conference the teams involved were from, how many guesses would you need? This of course was the final score of this week’s Oregon-Washington game. Oregon can obviously move the ball and score with anyone in the country (465 rushing yards. That is not a typo. Four Hundred Sixty-Five) but would it kill them to play some defense every once and a while?

- Kansas, Virginia, and Connecticut (who makes their first appearance in the BCS top 25 this week) are a combined 20-2. Weird, weird year.

- To the surprise of no one, the Miami-Florida State game was an absolute joke. Those two teams set offensive football back decades with that performance. This, however is hilarious.

- With teams from the Big Ten losing to 1-AA teams (Minnesota joined Michigan on this list with the loss this week to North Dakota State) and allowing one-win teams like Iowa State and Duke their only wins, its becoming harder and harder to defend that conference.

- Oh, and west-coast homers, don’t start laughing at the weakness of the Big Ten just yet. Who is 4-0 and tied for the lead in the Pac-10? A UCLA team that lost to Utah by 38 points and allowed Notre Dame its only win of the season.

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THE AFTER PARTY

The only thing that’s got one Chargers fan a bit squeamish about Chris Chambers is that Mr. David Boston also owned #89 for the blue and gold. (Part Mule)

Vick’s 4.5 mil house on market and he is getting sued for defaulting on a bank loan for a wine store. Good times. (Mac G’s World)

Is Kentucky’s Rich Brooks sabotaging Andre Woodson’s Heisman candidacy through inaction? (The Meaningful Collateral)

An inside tip for those who wager. Chris Mortensen is taking the Chargers over the Jets AND the Bengals this weekend. (Chicago Bull)

Women have not earned their place in the broadcast booth, and announcers like Suzyn Waldman are the reason why. (The Naughty American)

Most of America is unaware that tomorrow is the Rugby World Cup Finals in France between England and South Africa. Apparently, though, it’s kind of a big deal. (This Suit Is Not Black)

This really needs to be said. If you play fantasy football, you are a nerd. No one cares that you play fantasy football. (The Grand National Championships)

Joe Torre is a hero for rejecting the Yankees contract offer. Here’s a list of the only five other people in history who have done something that noble or shocking. (Rumors and Rants)

Joe Torre could have won even more if Cashman and Steinbrenner didn’t saddle him with their real-life rotisserie team. (The Hall of Very Good)

In a country full of religious hypocrites, Paul Byrd stands out emphatically both from an intellectual and practical standpoint. (Crashburn Alley)

More fun with Steelers kicker Jeff Reed at a bar. With pictures of course. (Mondesi’s House)

An interview with some blogger. (Pyle of List)

Lindsay Lohan still gives good side-boob. (Hollywood Tuna)

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AGAINST THE SPREAD: DEGENERATE GAMBLERS UNITE!

by DCScrap, Our Book of Scrap

After a week off, we’ve regrouped and reorganized our Against the Spread feature. We’re going a new route this week. Since we have so many degenerate gamblers people with opinions great prognosticators amongst our group of authors, we decided to open this weekly feature up and include ALL of their wisdom. Get ready to get down, people.

The Prophet
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NCAA Football
EASTERN MICHIGAN +8 over Northwestern (Friday)
The Eagles covered this matchup easily last year, losing 14-6 as a +17 dog and they catch Northwestern in a classic letdown spot after three tough conference games, the last two OT victories. With a short week to prepare and another conference tilt against Purdue on deck, we’ll gladly take the points with Eastern Michigan. Northwestern has failed to cover 7 of their L9 non-conference matchups, and despite this being a “neutral” site clearly the Detroit venue favors the underdog. Northwestern doesn’t have the talent to be laying a TD plus on the road to anyone, and due to this tough scheduling spot they might not have the focus either. We’ll call it a Northwestern victory by the narrowest of margins, though an outright upset wouldn’t surprise either. NORTHWESTERN 28-27

UTAH STATE +7 over Nevada
Another team off a short week and playing with their backup QB, Nevada lost a shootout at Boise State last Sunday falling 69-67 to the Broncos. Nevada has lost all three of their road games this year SU and while the Aggies certainly don’t have the talent of their other “away” foes (Boise State, Nebraska and Northwestern) they’ve got a few things working in their favor. Most significantly, they’re well rested having last played on 10/6 at Hawaii. They’ve covered three of the L4 meetings in the series and as an opponent that provides no particular inspiration for the visitor. Hard to call for an 0-6 team to pull the outright upset but as in the previous game they’ll give their opponents a major scare before its all over. NEVADA 31-30

MIAMI-FL +5 over Florida State
In this matchup of two marquee programs suffering through “down” years we’ll grab the points with the defensively superior visitor. The Seminoles won the previous two meetings outright, but neither came easy as the winning margin in both was 3 points and the two games saw a combined total of 40 points scored. With both teams lacking playmakers on offense this should be another low scoring affair meaning the points will be at a premium. Florida State has struggled at home ATS over the past three years (5-10 ATS) and have been woeful in this price range–they’re on a 1-7 ATS run when favored by 3′ to 10 points. In a forgettable season, Miami will take whatever they can get in terms of accomplishments and a win over their in-state rival should fill the bill. MIAMI-FL 17-14

AUBURN +11 over LSU
Talk about a letdown spot–LSU saw their national championship hopes take a serious setback with their OT loss to Kentucky and this is a bad matchup for them to get things headed in the right direction. Its clearly a down year at Auburn in terms of talent, but credit the team for continuing to play tough week after week. They gritted out a victory at Arkansas last week by a 9-7 score, shutting down the Razorback rushing attack in the process. This could be a repeat of last year’s game, which saw Auburn gut out a 7-3 victory. LSU has been a serious money burner in their conference games (on a 6-13 ATS run) and Auburn is now on a 5-0 run as an underdog, including outright wins at Florida and Arkansas. In a matchup where points have been at a premium we’ll take a good number with a “live” dog that will give their opponent a fight. We’ll even call for the outright upset: AUBURN 13-10

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Dr. C
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NFL
Atlanta @ New Orleans: 28-10 Saints
Arizona @ Washington: 24-7 ‘Skins
Baltimore @ Buffalo: 17-13 Ravens
Tampa Bay @ Detroit: 27-20 Lions
San Francisco @ New York Giants: 20-6 Giants
Tennessee @ Houston: 21-16 Texans
New England @ Miami: 42-13 Patriots
New York Jets @ Cincinnati: 28-24 Jets
Kansas City @ Oakland: 23-14 Chiefs
Chicago @ Philadelphia: 24-17 Eagles
St. Louis @ Seattle: 35-6 Seahawks
Minnesota @ Dallas: 31-20 Cowboys
Pittsburgh @ Denver: 28-14 Steelers
Indianapolis @ Jacksonville: 31-23 Colts

STONE COLD LOCKS
Pit over Den to cover, -3.5
Ind over Jac to cover, -3
Hou over Ten, Ten is -1.5

For more analysis and detail on Dr. C’s selections, click here.

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The Original JD
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NCAA Football
Louisville (-4.5) over UCONN
Wake Forest (-4) over NAVY
Texas Tech (+4) over MISSOURI
Miami (+5.5) over FLORIDA STATE

NFL
HOUSTON (+1.5) over Tennessee
Kansas City (+2.5) over OAKLAND
St. Louis (+8) over SEATTLE
Pittsburgh (-4) over DENVER

For more analysis and detail on JD’s selections, click here and here.

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DMtShooter
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NFL
Tennessee covering 1.5 at HOUSTON
Tampa Bay as a 2 point underdog in DETROIT
New England covering 16.5 on the road in MIAMI
San Francisco on the road as a 9-point underdog to cover against the GIANTS
BUFFALO as a 3-point underdog to the Ravens
WASHINGTON covering 8.5 at home against the Cardinals
OAKLAND covering 2.5 against Kansas City
CINCINNATI covering 6.5 at home against the Jets
PHILADELPHIA covering 5.5 at home against Chicago
St. Louis as an 8.5 road underdog in SEATTLE
Minnesota as a 9.5 point road dog in DALLAS
Pittsburgh covering 3.5 points in DENVER
Indianapolis covering 3 in JACKSONVILLE

For more analysis and detail on Shooter’s selections, click here.

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Rupert
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NCAA Football
Louisville (-3.5) over CONNECTICUT
Michigan State (+17) over OHIO STATE
MARYLAND (-4.5) over Virginia
Michigan (-2.5) over ILLINOIS
LSU (-11) over Auburn
Oregon (-11) over WASHINGTON
KENTUCKY (+6.5) over Florida

NFL
Cardinals (+8.5) over REDSKINS
Falcons (+8) over SAINTS
DOLPHINS (+17.5) over Patriots
LIONS (-2.5) over Bucs
COLTS (-3.5) over Jags

For more analysis and detail on Rupert’s selections, click here.

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Simon
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NFL
Detroit Lions (-1 1/2) over Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New England Patriots (-17 1/2) over Miami Dolphins
Tennessee Titans (-1 1/2) over Houston Texans
New York Jets (+6 1/2) over Cincinnati Bengals
Minnesota Vikings (+9 1/2) over Dallas Cowboys

For more analysis and detail on Simon’s selections, click here.

And, of course, as you all know, these picks are purely for entertainment purposes. Illegal wagering is a crime in the United States of America.

Let The Good Times Roll: The PUMA Store

THE TRIBE OF SHABAZZ ORIGINAL T.W.I.B. NOTES

by NOIS, Nation of Islam Sportsblog

This Week in Blogfrica

-LSU fell to Kentucky and the top QB in the country. Which supported the mathematical truth of Negro QB > White RB.

-Muslim players in the NFL excel during the fast of Ramadan. It’s time for Goodell to consider making observing the month long fast part of the personnel conduct policy. His powers certainly extend that far.

-Another Notre Dame player jumped ship. Is anyone going to be left next season for Charlie Weis to coach?

-Nebraska brought Tom Osborne back into the fold to help right the program. Osborne, who owes much of his success to Negro QB’s is expected to turn to one his former field generals to correct the program. (At least expected by us.)

-Koren Robinson was reinstated by the NFL. Brett Favre has been very supportive of Robinson’s addiction issues. Wonder why?

-USF finally falls. But deserves credit for the team social conscience in banning the ‘n-word’ in the locker. Interesting enough, the player that led the banning was injured against Rutgers…..hmmmm.

-Joe Torre won’t be back with the Yankees. Seems that maybe all of Gary Sheffield’s accusations against him finally caught up with Torre. Has to be that. Who would let a guy that has been to the playoffs every year and six World Series in 12 years go?

-Former Negro Head football coach at University of Louisiana-Lafayette wins $2M settlement from university. He claimed he was fired partially based on his race. Jury agreed. Ty Willingham will be contacting his lawyer.

Humbly submitted from our fortress in the heart of deepest, darkest Blogfrica,

NOIS

Let The Good Times Roll: The PUMA Store

THE MIDWAY: THE BILLS? NO THANKS, WEIRD BETS & JOE TORRE

The beautiful minds behind Epic Carnival (his words, not ours) believe that the “Toronto Bills” would be a wonderful thing. Thanks, but no thanks, says the Canadian. (Out Of Left Field)

Some fans make a bet for the UF/LSU game… the bet is well… you’ll see… (More Credible)

The equivalent of the New York Yankees not paying Joe Torre is like making Lance Armstrong ride a Huffy. (Bugs & Cranks)

Let The Good Times Roll: The PUMA Store

MEEEEEEEEEEEEOW!!! (FIST* FIST*)

by Sterling Gould, More Credible

Looks like some fireworks are going to spark up in Lincoln with Tom Osborne taking over as interim athletic director (or as I like to call it, “Offensive Football Czar”.) Things are getting pretty spicy over there, as talks of firing Callahan are heating up. Some fans believe that the resurrection of Osborne is almost the seal to the deal. And then there’s stories like this:

Callahan allegedly called Osborne a “crusty old (expletive),” according to former Nebraska football trainer Doak Ostergard, who is quoted in a book to be self-published by a student at the University of Nebraska.

Osborne became interim athletic director this week when Steve Pederson was fired after several dismal performances by the football team.

“I understand that head football coaches, like everyone else, have emotions,” Osborne said Thursday. “I’m not surprised that my long-term influence on the program could sometimes be felt as a controlling force even while I was away, but that was never the intent.”

Every word that came Osborne’s mouth by the way had to be completely 100% supportive for Callahan by the way. Because it’s not like the guy that practically made the program what it is historically is a little pissed that some dude is taking over and completely changing it’s personaility. You know, going from grovel ball and stout “Blackshirt” defense to “YAY, AIR ATTACK! WEEEEEEEEE!” and “I Don’t Want To Tackle” defense.

It’s like the time I took over as Club Champion at the Golf Club. You see, the Old Man was the champ before I rolled in. There were strict dress codes, overpriced alcohol on the carts, and golf as boring as a game of Charades with Larry Brown. Now, clothes are optional, water coolers have been replaced with full-open bars at halfway houses, and free sex and rock and roll the theme everyday in the clubhouse.

The only significant difference is, I didn’t drive a championship caliber program to the ground. I just wanted to get drunk and hit the snot out of the ball.

Let The Good Times Roll: The PUMA Store

COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEKEND PREVIEW

by WCT, The Ship of Fools

It’s week eight in college football, and we are officially moving “down the stretch” in the season. Its no longer “early,” we are no longer trying to find out who is “for real.” Now, it is time to separate the men from the boys, the contenders from the pretenders, and so forth…

I’m sorry; they have recently decided that they are going to pay me by the cliché. Eh, it is what it is.

Lets go!

(This week lets try something different. Just for laughs, all game times will be Eastern.)

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (Noon) – I have only included this game in the rundown so that I can take an unprovoked shot at Dave Wann-stache. I can’t be the only one who laughed all the way to the bank as he made coaching gaffe after coaching gaffe in the final minutes of that Thursday game against Navy, can I? The coupe de grace was the final play of the game, when in overtime, he decided against kicking a 19 yard field goal to tie the game, and called a low-percentage pass play. Predictably, the pass was incomplete, and Pitt lost the game. As a gambler, when you see a coach like that on one of the sidelines, you bet on the team occupying the other one.

Tennessee at Alabama (12:30 pm) – Ranked team, underdogs on the road at an unranked team. As educated gamblers you should know to bet Alabama in this one Plus, the Vols, in their three road games so far, have lost by 14 at Cal, lost by 39 at Florida, and allowed a weak Mississippi State team to hang around into the fourth quarter. I think Tennessee might have been just teasing their fans when they destroyed Georgia a couple weeks back

Miami at Florida State (3:30pm) – Remember when this was the biggest game on the college football schedule? Remember when the field would be replete with NFL future stars? Remember when every game would feature a pre-game fight, as the road team would inevitably enrage the home team by stomping on their logo during warm-ups? Remember when you could land a job at a major media publication just by getting plastic surgery, dressing like a slut, and going to the game? Man, that might as well have been a hundred years ago. Now these two are fighting it out to see who wears the crown as “third best team in the state.” I defy you to find a definite NFL starter in this game, let alone star. Will they even bother to have a pre-game brawl? Who knows? I’ll take the ‘Canes.

Texas Tech at Missouri (3:30pm) – The winning quarterback in this game will have a huge Heisman bandwagon come Monday morning. To be honest, I have not seen much of Tech this year, but what is it about Graham Harell that makes him different from B.J. Symons? Or Sonny Cumbie? Or Cody Hodges? Or Kliff Kingsbury? I have never been a big believer of the “basketball on grass” approach that Tech takes to offensive football, plus I was pretty impressed by Mizzou even in defeat last week, so I will take Chase Daniel and the Tigers. And let the record show that I was on the on the Chase Daniel Heisman bandwagon two weeks ago!

Cal at UCLA (3:30pm) – I guess I should throw at least one Pac-10 game in there, huh? Lets try this one on for size. The sign of a poorly coached team isn’t always bad play, sometimes its inconsistency. UCLA wins games they should lose (see USC last year) and loses games they should win (see Utah this year, Notre Dame this year, bowl game last year, I could go on…). That means that they are very tough to predict. That also means that Head Coach Karl Dorrell should be renting and not owning. In the week following the inexplicable loss to Oregon State, Cal has hopefully instructed their quarterbacks that it isn’t a wise course of action to run around like a headless chicken when you have 6 seconds left and no time outs. I think this is going to be one of those games where UCLA plays over their heads and keeps it close, but I like Cal to pull it out.

Florida at Kentucky (3:30pm) – If you are a frequent reader, then you know that I love Kentucky. I’ve been driving this bandwagon since July. But I just can’t see them beating LSU and Florida in consecutive weeks. There has to be a let-down in the week following beating the then-#1 team in the country in triple overtime. Florida is also still alive to take the SEC crown, needing to win out and beat UK and South Carolina on the road to win the East Division. That is pretty good motivation for the Gators. Plus, the “experts” are just begging you to take Kentucky by installing UF as almost a touchdown favorite in Lexington. They don’t like giving away money at the casinos out there, so I’m not going to make the sucker bet and load up on the ‘Cats. I’m taking Florida and giving the points.

Virginia at Maryland (8:00pm) – This, I’m told, is a rivalry game. I see it more as another gambling opportunity. UVA, nationally ranked, getting points at unranked Maryland. A gambling novice would say “a ranked team getting points against an unranked team? Sign me up!” That is part of what I’m trying to do here people. Educate you all so that you don’t make mistakes like that. Plus I think that Maryland has been waiting to break through into the top 25 for a while now. The West Virginia game from last month was a lot closer than the score would indicate, and the big win at Rutgers knocked the Knights from the ranks of the unbeaten and off the BCS map. Not only that, but Virginia is on borrowed time after beating UConn by a single point in Charlottesville. That squeaker was one game after a narrow two-point win at Middle Tennessee State.

Michigan at Illinois (8:00pm) – Primetime football returns to ABC this weekend with a game in… Champaign, IL? I know, I’ve said it a thousand times already: Weird, weird year. Illinois had a nice little season going until last week. Six goddam points against lowly Iowa? This Michigan team reminds me a lot of this year’s New York Yankee team. Both looked like crap in the early season, were left for dead, and then turned their seasons around. The Wolverines re-entered respectability this week after bludgeoning Purdue reappearing on the AP top 25 (#24), but it remains to be seen if Michigan can turn themselves all the way around (after all they did look a little shaky against the likes of Northwestern and Eastern Michigan). I know this won’t make our anonymous heckler happy, but I will take Michigan to win comfortably at Illinois.

Auburn at LSU (9:00pm) – Speaking of turning the season around: The Auburn team that takes the field this Saturday will not even resemble the squad that was 1-2 after losing a home game to Mississippi F-ing State. This Auburn team will be playing with a lot of confidence after winning in Gainesville, crushing Vandy, and shutting down Darren McFadden and the Razorbacks in consecutive games. Granted, they only scored nine points themselves in that Arkansas game, but nobody’s perfect. That being said, I would not want to have to face a pissed-off LSU team right after their loss to Kentucky. This is a tough one to call, but I’m definitely putting all my money on the Tigers.

I kid, I kid…I think that LSU is going to win the game, but I think that 10.5 is too many points to give an improved Auburn team so I’m putting my money on the AUBURN Tigers.

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THE AFTER PARTY

The Plain Dealer is reporting that Josh Beckett’s ex-girlfriend and country music “star”, Danielle Peck (very hot), is singing the national anthem tonight. BURN!!! (The Money Shot)

Austin Powers, one of the world’s greatest spies, has lived a completely different life in retirement…as Lou Holtz. (Digital Headbutt)

The real matchup to watch: World Series of Cookies. When these cookies face off, you can throw all the record books out the window. (RandBall)

Has Larry Johnson put the diaper back on? LJ seems to think that his stellar seasons have exempted him from any need for improvement. (The Extrapolator)

Ten reasons to watch USF at Rutgers. Our favorite: Count the number of Sopranos references. (EDSBS)

An interview with the Detroit Pistons’ new backup SF Jarvis Hayes. His thoughts on joining the team, who he trains with during the offseason, and more. (Empty the Bench)

Little League coach benches player for swearing; player calls dad on cell phone; dad and uncle arrive and pummel the coach unconscious on the pitcher’s mound. (Deadspin)

The U.S. mens national team beat Switzerland is a less-than-thrilling international friendly. A nice excuse to mention everything Swiss. (The Beautiful Game)

The BCS sucks at picking teams for college football, but great for creating controversy. (We Suck at Sports)

Megan Fox, Stacy Keibler and Autumn Reeser in one photograph. Enough said. (Popaholic)

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