Yo, dudes -- is there anybody ALIVE out there?? (cue the Springsteen)...getting CRICKETS! Hope you all had a good summer, now it's time to hunker down and prepare for Ol' Man Winter (or as they call it in Maine: "next week")...and also, it's Time to Layeth The Smaketh Down!
1) NFL -- starts tomorrow. Who ya got for SB? I'll admit, I'm getting geeked up for a surprise season from my RAMS, and I see that several TV "experts" are jumping on the bandwagon. Yeah, the RAMS are only as good as Bradford will take them, and if he goes down, you'll hear the scream from where you live. My boys play The Dream Team right off the bat, so no dicking around here. Here's hoping the RAMS will do what the Lakers could not do to the other Dream Team -- close them out. Some other good matchups out there, let's start with Cowboys at J-E-T-S. Another great test right out of the chute. I took Big D in the nephew's Pick 'em Poll cuz I think Dallas has more on the line than NY and, even though it's an out-of-conference game for both teams, the 'boys cannot afford to lose this game. Also still not convinced that NYJ can score points when they need them most, and if it's a close game late, the home team may pucker up. Plus we'll have Tony and Jim going against Richie, so I expect the smak to be Epic. Other game of note: Packers over Saints (home team decides this matchup); ATL over CHI-town (are you there? Say a prayer, for the Pretender); Lions over Tampon Bay (another Pretender/Contender game); Ray-ray over Big Ben (another one of those where it matters who plays at home); Broncos over the RAY-DAhs (but who's watching that game besides Tebow groupies?).
2) CFB -- started last week, but is it me or does this season now seem anti-climatic, like a waste of time while waiting for the Year Of The Super Conferences? More on that in a minute. Couple of good matchups this week, starting with Bama at Happy Valley. Anytime the Big Ten loses is a good day for me, so Roll Tide. Also interesting is Golden Homers at MEEE-chigan. Man in the boat overboard here!! Brian Kelly is so working his way out of this job. Love to see the good Catholics turn purple as they watch him throw F-bombs more times than Bibi Jones loses her laundry on twitter (ahem, or so I hear). USC was pushed to the limit last week, but glad to see them hold it together against a crappy Big Ten team (all gets better for Tommy Trojan as their Star RB comes back from double secret probation, just in time against Utah). Sun Devils get a big test against Mizzou this week, after destroying Little Sisters of the Poor last week. ASU wasn't the only team playing lower class teams in openers (Darren Rovell was all over it), and props to those teams that have never stooped to that level (I'll let nephew enlighten you here), but my bigger concern is whether ASU can finally win a friggin' big game. It's been a long time since we shut out Nebraska, it's time to put the money where the mouth is or else DE should be putting his house on the market come Monday. I really hoped Utah State would take down War Eagle, if only to stop the annual ESS EEE CEE head swelling, but didn't matter, Oregon did all Pac 12 fans no favors by falling to LSU on national TV -- whatchu got now, Phil Knight? Meanwhile, in Columbus, they're partying cuz finally another team has risen to be the SEC Bitch.
3) MLB -- it's OVAH. Races are just about done, which provides more support for Bud Lite to slam thru his agenda of adding another wild card team to the playoffs. The good news is that, barring a Mets-like last-minute collapse (sorry, nephews), the D-bags should stop the Battery Chuckers from having a chance to defend their title (and I just threw up in my mouth for saying those last words). Thought I was gonna have to reach into the wallet cuz my Dodgers looked like they were going to finish with a much worse record than the Mets, but hey, it's just about tied now as both dogs limp to the finish line. All I want for Christmas is a new owner!! LA has a Cy Young candidate AND an MVP candidate, plus the fastest player in the league, so the future looks bright -- as long as they dump that POS McCourt. C'mon, Bud, you owe us one for allowing that garbage to buy the team in the first place! It looks like the Yankees are peaking just in time, while the Sawks are limping themselves. Brew Crew are killing everybody, but the Phighting Phillies look like the team to beat for the whole enchilada, over the Tigers. Yeah, I said it. Who you got for the WS?
4) Music -- what's your Top Ten Most Listened To songs on your iPod? I'm diggin' on new Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters. Also playing lots of Classic Rewind stuff from Third Eye Blind and Gin Blossoms, et.al. Speaking of which, SiriusXM needs to add a channel that plays alt 90's/'00's stuff -- where's the FOB/Death Cab/Toad/Jane's Addiction/Fuel/Incubus/Liz Phair stuff? OK, Tony, give us the 4-1-1 on what was the best concert of the summer? VMA's did a nice job of trying to one-up the Grammys by awarding a no-name winner. Gaga's performance was boring after the first 2 minutes, but I did admire her for having the nads to do it. Props to Jessie James for showing some pipes in a very karaoke-like role -- she's another one I'm adding to the iPod. My teenager tells me that Chris Brown and Rhianna are back together again, but flying under the radar cuz of fear of public outrage. Dude can dance, no question.
5) MISC -- add it, we'll rant on it. Topics next time could include New Fall TV lineup, current EPL standings (how's Liverpool doing?)...OUT.
