No fireworks last weekend but lots of fun and sun by the cool. So yeah, I’m feeling like a KFC extra crispy. It’s not enough to stop me from bringing this week’s Crib Sheet:
Tag Archives: Pittsburgh
Pick It and Stick It: Letting It Run Down
Another Friday and another day after for me and some Stadiumspotting. Last week didn’t go to well for me but this week was the complete opposite. The college football season is full of ups and downs and it can change every week. With this weekend, we will be about halfway through the football season. The time is running down for more great games and for even more great picks. The field’s thinning at the top and the clock is starting to run down. Let’s go over this week’s Pick It and Stick It to see how the downs can turn into ups:
Barspotting: Johnny’s On the Spot Again
We are back again going out to the best of what Kansas City sports bars has to offer in terms of college football. Like the storied tradition of college football, we have a tradition of going back to the best bar of last year to start out this season for KC College Gameday. We had no way of knowing back at the beginning of last September that Johnny’s in the Power & Light would be the best but here we are planning the first Barspot of the year down there. With every television fit into every nook and cranny as well as the crazy touch table poker game, Johnny’s hit the spot on all things needed for a great sport viewing experience. So come back out with us Saturday as we head back out there to enjoy Johnny’s and scoff at that ridiculous KC College Live thingy going on in the outdoor area.
Magnifying the Expansion Part 5: And the Winner Is…
So who all will fit in the glass slipper that the Big 10 is dangling out in front of the college football landscape? In our series, we talked about how the traditional Big 10 aims to scratch their expansion itch and what could happen to every conference around them when they do. Today we look at the candidates either actively or inactively campaigning to be ones who get the golden ticket of an invite. There are oddball choices as well as solid, sensible choices in this competition. Not all will be covered, but we’ll see the ones that matter. Then after that, the swimsuit competition! On with the show!
Continue reading Magnifying the Expansion Part 5: And the Winner Is…
Mascot Monday: Roc the Panther
This week we will take another look at a potential power pill to the Big Ten’s Pac-Manning of college football in the Pittsburgh Panthers. This Big East team has been linked to a rivalry with Penn State and generally fits well with other potential teams like Syracuse and Notre Dame. So how does ‘Roc’ the Panther stand up to mascot standards? We’ll find that out as well as where this guy came from and why he’s the ‘Roc’. So kick back and see if Roc rocks our world if, much like Sex Panther Cologne, he works 60% of time every time.
Bowl Pick It Standings: Xmas Snow Blows
Welp, we’ve kicked off the snow from our shoes after a long day of sludging through the snow to bring you the Bowl Pick It update. If you have been anywhere near Big 12 country in the last week or you, you know what we mean. Whoever dreamt of white christmas this year turned it into a nightmare. We made it around safe, but it was some sloooow driving and tons of time scrapping and brushing. It’s a big pain, but it’s worth it for the snow. Speaking of being worth it, we got our fisrt update for picks! Some people remembered, some forgot, and some rolled the dice. Here’s the first real wave of update:
Crib Sheet: Back and Ready to Go Bowling
After a well deserved week off, we are back to bringing you some tasty college football. Alot happened during our mini hiatus so we are playing catch up with the Crib Sheet. We have alot to get to here with the start of bowl season this weekend. Tune in soon for a couple of year end reviews, bowl picks, and some bowlspots. Until then, here’s a very chunky Crib Sheet:
- Alabama took the high road when it announced that they will cancel classes for the BCS National Championship. That’s nice for football fans, but the last time I remembered there are people who actually don’t like football AND go to college. It seems kinda chintzy to lob off classes for everyone during the bowl game. Then again, this is South and it is football.
- Congress will crack the whip on the BCS soon and vote on a bill to ban promotion of the NCAA division I football series unless they get a playoff. The argument against it is that they have better things to do (health care bill, anyone). The argument for it is that the NCAA is a business and they should treat the conferences like companies in an industry. Problem with that one is that then the argument will come up that the students should get paid then (on top of free college). The slippery slope just got some juice.
- Charlie Strong is you new Lousiville head coach. This guy was rumored for the Kansas job, but right now the hot note is Buffalo’s Turner Gill. Anywho, back to Strong. This guy was co-defensive coordinator for Florida and looks to be a real good hire. Good luck to Cardinals.
- Tennessee confirms that there is an investigation into their Orange Pride group and possible recruiting violations. Basically, the Orange Pride comprises mostly of very attractive Volunteer females that drive around and persuade recruits to join the program. They would even friend them on Facebook. Did they break any rules? Who knows? This has been going on for a long time, however. The power of gender persuasion is a might force, my friends.
- Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh hired his dad Jack to be interim running backs coach for the Sun Bowl. It’s nice to see that the Harbaughs like to keep in the family. His dad won some titles in Division II and his brother John just happens to the head coach of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens.
- Notre Dame took the plunge and finally hired a head coach. His name? Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly. It’s a good fit for the Domers. They guy won the Big East the last two years and has won at least 10 games the last three. Let’s hope the boosters expectations aren’t too high this time around, otherwise we’ll be seeing this dance again in three years.
- Mack Brown from Texas is getting an extra $2 million per year on the rest of his contract for doing such a great job. The guy now will make about $5 million per year. Meanwhile, an Iowa senator complains that coaches are being paid too much. Nevermind that Texas brings in about $100 million a year via the athletic department. Oh and don’t let Kirk Ferentz or Paul Rhoads hear this guy. They might go somewhere else and the voters will vent on their frustration in the voting booth.
- Colt McCoy wants a bowl playoff. He’s thought about long and hard. Did he think about it while he almost blew the game for the Longhorns at the Big 12 Championship? Maybe that’s why he wants playoff. It would’ve covered up his mistake. Doh!
- A handful of awards were handed out on ESPN last week to college football players. We’re not going to go through the whole list but we will say that Big 12 was represented very well. Congrats to Colt McCoy and Ndamukong Suh.
- So Kansas ended its coaching search over the weekend. Some people thought it was Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, but that was denied big time. So the Jayhawks fell to their 2nd choice, Turner Gill. This guy turned around Buffalo from perennial losers to a decent MAC team, even winning the title last year. Some people have overlooked that and started a fire-this-guy website. Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers.
- Congrats to Northwest Missouri State who became the Division II champions over the weekend. It was their first title since 1998. Good job guys!
- Mark Ingram won the Heisman over the weekend as well. The race ended up being the closest ever with Ingram taking it over Gerhart, McCoy, Suh, and Tebow respectively. The sexy pick leading up to it was Suh, but that’s why it was sexy. No chance of winning and you get to appear smart. That said, there was no clear leading guy running up to it, so it’s no surprise it was this close.
- Kansas State special teams stand out Brandon Banks was released from jail after beating a women while stoked on some stimulants. Ruh Roh. At least there’s no bowl to damage for the Wildcats. Hopefully this guy will get his act together and salvage his draft status, if there’s any left.
- Looks like Illinois will hire Kansas State co-defensive coordinator Vic Koenning to be their sole defensive coordinator. He was with Clemson for a couple of years before his one year stint with the Wildcats. Hopefully the Wildcats defense won’t suffer that much.
- Looks like the Big 10 will finally come into the century and explore a possible 12th team and conference championship. Who will it be? Some say Missouri or Iowa State. We know Missouri would listen. Others are point toward the Big East and Syracuse, Rutgers, or Pittsburgh. Let’s hope they keep it Big East for the east coast television money too.
- The NCAA, following the lead of the NFL, will recommend keeping an athlete out of the game if they lose consciousness or show signs of a concussion. Head trauma is big news nowadays and the NCAA is quickly stepping in to cover their own heads with this rule. Now I get the old folks harping about leather helmets and poor pads being a better sport. We’ll be talking like that in a c0uple of years.
Pick It Standings: Final 2009
Welcome to the final Pick It and Stick It standings for the year of 2009. It’s been a wild year and we learned a couple of things from it. Forgetting a week is killer and next year, we’ll set it up so we can knock off the lowest scoring week. This will help out and maybe even save some things from the holidays or championship week. We also learned a little bit on how to play against the spread. Our recommendation to whoever wins the league (we’ll find out after the break) is to take that winning style to a bookie and spread out some small cash around next year. That is, if you are the gambling type. Speaking of which, we’ll also go over the prize and how we are going to deliver it (or not).
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Pick It and Stick It: Holiday Nosicles
Here we go into the last week of picks and there’s not that many to choose from. That’s a good thing, though, because most of our focus is squa’ on the holidays. Turkey Day is over and it’s a full bore Christmas conga line. Most of our shopping is done and that’s a first for the KCCGD crew. Usually it’s a last minute managerie through the isles of crappy malls and Targets. Since we’re done, we are going to focus on the nicer things for the holidays. Like bowl games. After this weekend, we’ll find out who will play who and when. Tune in as we will make our list and check it twice for bowlspots to watch football games on holiday nights. But first, here’s the last pick set:
Barspotting: The Shiny Plasma at the Brooksider Brings Us Back for the Championships
Okay, if you remember last week, we loved up on the Chappell’s sports junk but we recommended it if you want to see just one game. Welp this week we are going back to a place where you can watch multiple games and watch the best one on a big ole 71″ inch plasma television screen. That’s right, folks, we are going back to the Brooksider. If you remember in the past, it was the best for big screens and good lookin’ waitresses. Now we are going there not really to review, but to watch Florida take on Alabama and Texas take on Nebraska. We’re gonna get a table seat in front of the big screen and park there the whole day. So come on out and hopefully help us dodge the live music traffic after the Big 12 Championship is over.
Pick It Standings Week 10: Yawnster of a Weekend
We’re back this week with another round of Pick It Standings. Not much of a shake up this weekend in terms of college football and it’s reflected in the pick set. Really when you think about it, there was no real big upset over the weekend, unless you count USC falling down hard to Stanford. Everybody else won as expected and they are turning to corner for the home stretch of the season. This is going to be a tight one to the end, both for the BCS race and the Pick It race. Here’s this week’s lap:
Continue reading Pick It Standings Week 10: Yawnster of a Weekend
Quick Pit Stop at Paddy O’Quigley’s For a Deserved Break
Okay, so the few of you out there that actually read the blog may be wondering, why so late today? Welp doing some freelancing on the side left this guy knee deep in a bunch of cables and computer parts. No worries, however, as we are coming in close to the deadline to talk about our tiny little trip out to Paddy O’Quigley’s to watch a little football, celebrate a 30th birthday, and jam out to some peeps belting out face melters on karaoke.
Continue reading Quick Pit Stop at Paddy O’Quigley’s For a Deserved Break
Nick and Jake’s is Half that Great
It was a different day Saturday afternoon. The cold spilled in over the midwest, the clouds filled the sky, and we were actually making the set of night games for the barspot. We huddled ourselves in the late afternoon/evening around the big bar in the sports bar section of Nick and Jake’s. Sports bar section you say? Yup, that’s different too. Nick and Jake’s really isn’t a sports bar. But yet, it is. Bar or not, the games on the television screens kept us nice and cozy.
Spit Ball Predictions for 2009
We can take a couple of more days to draw up a preview of each conference and then roll the dice on how the bowls will shore up but that would take way too much time and reach far out of our happy little niche. So what we are going to do instead is spit up some predictions for what’s going to happen this year in college football. We may talk about your favorite conference, we may not. Chances are we’ll predict the title winner, but we may over look the Outland Trophy Award winner. Who knows? We’re loading up our straws (or empty pens) and seeing what sticks to the wall for 2009.