Random Thoughts on a Labor Day Weekend
School Daze:
I hope the right wing nuts who have been blasting President Obama for his Back to School speech feel stupid now. The White House released a transcript of his remarks. Let's see--he wants kids to stay in school, study, listen to their parents and teachers and follow their dreams.
I wish I had heard something like this growing up. Instead I remember President Nixon telling us "People have got to know whether or not their president's a crook. Well, I'm not a crook."
Countdown to Jay's Return:
Two things seem certain. Jay's reputation for being a hard worker and willing to do what it takes to succeed lives on. His show may be the most anticipated of the new season. The other thing that is certain is the uncertainty of how it will impact television.
It's expected the show will be a success given Leno's following. But how will it impact the other late night shows it goes up against? Will it provide a boost for Conan O'Brien or will it take away from the Tonight Show? As they say in TV, stay tuned.
Observations from a college football junkie:
Labor Day weekend is great if you're a college football fan. Five straight days of games and yes I watched as many of them as I could. Here are some initial observations from the weekend that was:
- The top of the Mountain West Conference is good. BYU knocked off Oklahoma, Colorado State defeated Colorado in Boulder, Utah rolled as expected. The difference between The Mountain and other conferences is the bottom teams are not very good and the upper tier teams don't have the depth traditional powers have. But in a one game situation, the teams can compete with anyone.
- The Atlantic Coast Conference is bad. William & Mary beat Virginia, Richmond defeats Duke and Baylor upsets Wake Forest. All those teams lost at home. Maryland traveled west and got whacked at California and N.C. State and Virginia Tech both lose to SEC teams. If this keeps going, the BCS should take away the ACC automatic bid and give it to The Mountain.
- RichRod deserves some credit. Michigan routed Western Michigan Saturday 31-7. It was the most impressive, complete performance from the Wolverines I've seen in a long time. It's the best win for Big Blue since Lloyd Carr defeated Florida in the Capital One Bowl. The team played hard and looked good coming off the most difficult week in recent Michigan football history. The rest of the season just got more interesting in Ann Arbor. Memo to Rich Rodriguez..remember Bo Schembechler's famous mantra "Those who stay will be champions."
- ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit and Mark May are two of the best in the best business when it comes to talking college football. I never get tired of hearing what they have to say.
- Brian Griese on the call of the Cincinnati-Rutgers game sounds a lot like his dad Bob.
- I'm already sick of that new Kenny Chesney song ESPN is using for college football. Enough of the country music for football already!
- Oregon made the right called suspending LaGarrette Blount for the season. The sucker punch he threw at the end of the Boise State game and his meltdown afterwards was ridiculous. There's no way he deserved to play for the Ducks the rest of this year.
Observations from a Pro Football fan:
The NFL season kicks off on Thursday. Here's my prediction for how the teams will finish. Houston winning the AFC South is the my riskiest prediction. New England winning the AFC East if my sure thing, followed by San Diego in the West.
As for Arizona finishing third in the west, I believe in the Super Bowl jinx, hangover or whatever you want to call it. The NFC West is better division this year. Philly and the NY Giants were a coin flip in the east.
And the reason I picked Baltimore over Pittsburgh? Ray Rice is one of my fantasy backs and I have the Ravens defense. Finally, I'm picking New England to beat Green Bay in the Super Bowl. In Tom we trust!
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AFC East
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AFC North
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AFC South
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AFC West
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1. New England
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1. Baltimore
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1. Houston
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1. San Diego
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2. Miami
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2. Pittsburgh
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2. Indianapolis
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2. Oakland
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3. NY Jets
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3. Cincinnati
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3. Tennessee
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3. Denver
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4. Buffalo
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4. Cleveland
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4. Jacksonville
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4. Kansas City
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NFC East
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NFC North
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NFC South
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NFC West
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1. Philadelphia
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1. Green Bay
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1. New Orleans
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1. Seattle
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2. NY Giants
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2. Chicago
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2. Atlanta
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2. San Francisco
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3. Dallas
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3. Minnesota
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3. Carolina
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3. Arizona
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4. Washington
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4. Detroit
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4. Tampa Bay
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4. St. Louis
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