The past few years I have jumped on a team’s bandwagon for the MLB playoffs. For whatever reason I find myself liking the way a team plays the game so I root for them all the way through. The past few years I’ve supported Detroit, Chicago, and Boston. This doesn’t violate any rules since the Phillies hadn’t been in the playoffs since 1993.
This year was different. The Phillies managed to get hot at the end of the year and the Mets went ice cold. The perfect situation. I could root for the Phillies in October. Unfortunately the bats weren’t prepared for October baseball and now I’m back to my usual position in October.
After the Phillies lost I didn’t just go and search out a team. One of them has to be interesting to me. There has been such a team and that team is the Cleveland Indians. The fact that they are up 2-0 on the Yankees somewhat helped the situation. At least because I’m not going to start pulling for a team on the verge of elimination. The shortest explanation of ‘Why the Indians?’ includes the names Sizemore, Sabathia, and Carmona. The slightly longer answer includes Martinez, Peralta, and Hafner. The rest of the AL teams have been doing this for a few years. I like young upstarts. If you are allowed to call a team young when Kenny Lofton is on the roster. The Indians last made the playoffs in 01, and they were led by Charlie Manuel. I fell that also puts us in the same boat. I don’t remember hearing a lot of complaining about Manuel from his Cleveland days. So either he’s lost it or the Cleveland fans were just in too much pain to yell loud enough for me to hear.
Things are slowly coming in to focus in college football. A few underdogs have emerged with a shot. South Florida being the most obvious. Although they made the FAU game a little interesting. Now it looks like the Big East might be decided in the USF/Cincy game on Nov 3rd. I’m shocked South Carolina is in the Top 10, but that SEC is rough.
One team that I’m pulling for is Arizona State. Their 6-0 start has moved them up to #14. Of course they haven’t played any of the big guns in the Pac10. Their 3-0 conference record come courtesy of wins against Oregon St., Stanford, and Washington St. However, today, their 41-3 win at Stanford seems a lot more impressive. Their upcoming schedule includes Washington, California, Oregon, UCLA, and USC. Make it through that only losing 2 then people will start talking. Its been a few years since I’ve heard much excitement about ASU. Really, I wasn’t aware they’ve had a program since The Snake left. I’d like to see them compete, I’m a fan of any non-Cali team competing for the Pac10 Championship. I’d be almost as excited for Arizona, but they have basketball. Looking into the history books, ASU needs some good years. The school has had only 3 bowl wins (in 8 games) in the past 20 years. Just maybe they can survive this schedule. Or just maybe they’ll lose to UDub this weekend and we’ll forget I ever said any of this.
Usually when discussing college football coverage my first complaint is about the announcers. I don’t do enough complaining about the games they select to put on TV for my region.
Today the Penn State/Iowa game is on ESPN2. At least that’s what I thought. After the Miami/UNC game ended it came on. I saw all of two plays when the picture suddenly froze. I quickly switched to the SD version of ESPN2 only to find NC St/FSU. I haven’t had Verizon long enough to trust that they aren’t going to screw up this sort of thing. I called up and the guy was very helpful. He had all the coverage maps and blackout lists handy. When he reset my box I flipped through the channels and found the game on ABC. I had never thought to check there since all I’d seen advertised was ESPN2 and I saw the game on ESPN2 before it vanished.
I found the game, but I still wasn’t happy. It wasn’t in HD! I know it was produced in HD somewhere, I saw it on ESPN2HD. This is what I don’t understand. There is no reason that this game wasn’t in HD on ABC. If they can’t handle it then don’t move it from ESPN2. If you are that excited to watch PSU/Iowa, you likely are someone who gets ESPN and ESPN2. Are there a lot of OTA people clamoring for this game?
This also took the Texas/Okalhoma game off of my schedule. A game that I would certainly like the option of watching. The game that was showing on ESPN2, NC St/FSU I couldn’t watch in HD because ESPN2HD was blacked out for no particular reason.
I don’t have ESPN Gameplan. There aren’t enough games that I need to watch to justify the price. I’d like to be able to see some of those games. If it only cost $50, then I’d be on board. On occasion one of these games might be picked up by one of our local channels. This week the selection was CMU/Ball St. I didn’t spend much time watching that matchup.
I am a big fan of the Fox College Sports channels that I get part of the Verizon Sports Pack. They are really the only channels worth mentioning in that package. These channels give me the good Pac10 and Big 12 games that aren’t picked up by ABC/ESPN. Last week I was able to watch Colorado beat Oklahoma. Today included Kansas/Kansas State (which Comcast Sportsnet was showing) and Arizona State/Washington State.
As far as college football is concerned the biggest difference between Comcast and Verizon is having CSTV on Comcast and ESPNU and ESPN Classic on Verizon. There would occasionally be a good game on CSTV, usually from a mid-major. I’d much rather have the ESPNU/ESPN Classic combination. ESPNU always has some major conference teams and Classic has good matchups on occasion. This week Classic went with an American Gladiators marathon instead of any games. You can’t argue too much with that decision.
What’s missing from all this is the Big Ten Network. I’d love to have this channel. Of course that means the main channel plus the extra channels when there are multiple games on. There have already been three PSU games on BTN this season. I still have to side with the providers in not carrying this channel. There is no reason for the vast majority of subscribers to have to pay for this channel. I’d gladly pay extra, so BTN should let me have that option.
See, I’m laying off the announcers today. You could say I’m growing as a person. You could also say I am saving my announcer rage for tonight when I have to endure another game with Joe Simpson doing the color for the Phillies/Rockies game. Other than him, and a few other issues, TBS’s coverage has been way better than ESPN or Fox have been for the playoffs over the past few years. Now if I only had TBS in HD.
Mike was sick this past week and was focused on following the Phillies making the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. There was no time for Inter-Dis Material this week. Still, the picks must continue. Evan and Mike will pick up with the Heisman and Conference picks next week. Here are this week’s game picks …
Week 6 Picks
Evan: 11-14 (3-2), Mike: 7-18 (2-3)
Kentucky (M) @ South Carolina (E) (Thursday, 7:30)
Georgia (E) @ Tennessee (M) (Saturday, 3:30)
Virginia Tech @ Clemson (EM) (Saturday, 6:00)
Florida (E) @ LSU (M) (Saturday, 8:00)
Cincinnati (M) @ Rutgers (E) (Saturday, 8:00)
Today marks the 200th Daily Pick. Somehow I have managed to not forget to put up a Daily Pick for this long. Its very easy to compete in the Daily Pick. Each day, log on to Ice Cream Helmet, the pick is right there on the front page. Pick who you will think will with the game or event. You get points for picking, more points for picking correctly, and even more if you pick the less popular choice and they wind up winning. Points roll off after a certain period of time, so you can quickly climb the rankings. Plus, the Daily Pick counts toward your ICH rank.
My record: 107-85, there have been a few cancellations and I might have missed a few days while away.
Audio: mp3
Running Time: 38:37
Hosts: Evan and Mike
The new TV season has started and Mike is very upset he hasn’t written a sitcom yet. Then its all the College Football coverage you’ve come to know and love.
Topics
New shows are so bad, we could write one better.
College Football
-ESPN Page 2 College Football Rules #8-9
-Picks
-Heisman
-Conference Champions
-Evan will be at the Auburn/UF game
-Mike and Evan have secured tickets to OSU/PSU
Looking for listener questions/topics
(more…)
Lately I’ve found that in my internet travels I read the same story on twenty different sites. Most of these blogs just wind up linking to each other. Maybe one site will have a little more information or insight, but not usually. The other difference would be in the comments, but that’s not really my thing. Why do I continue to go to all these sites on a daily basis? On the off chance that there is something new or different. Most sites I check out once a day, others that I like a little more I will check out multiple times. My favorite sites that don’t update a whole lot I have added to Google Reader so it can let me know that there is something new. Google Reader has come in very handy. I forget about sites that only update occasionally since I get out of the habit. Now I’m on top of things.
Don’t get me wrong, I often repost things. I try not to do it too often, but then that leads to weeks with me posting nothing at all. I try to find a balance and will post if I have something to add.
These are some of the sites that I think really put an effort in.
ESPN – For all the reasons I hate ESPN the channel, I love ESPN the web site. All of the random stories and editorializing is perfect for the web since I can ignore most of it. Just look at baseball: Jason Stark and Buster Olney alone are great but you get to add Gammons, Neyer, and others. My home page is actually SI. The main reason for that is I just want the sports news and not all the other clutter on the page, especially video. Other than the basics I only like SI for their rumor coverage on Fan Nation. Don’t get me started on Peter King.
Sports Guy – Yes he is part of ESPN but it could stand alone so I’m putting it separate. Also, check out his podcast. I enjoy it for its content and the fact that I think my production quality on Inter-Dis Material is up to ESPN standards.
The Dilbert Blog – I might talk about this one too much. There is a new post everyday and just about everyone is quality and thought provoking. The strangest thing is I don’t even like the Dilbert comics.
Uni Watch – I had always glanced over the Uni Watch posts on Page 2. A few weeks ago I finally checked out the original blog and its really amazing. There is so much information on here. I love all these little details about logos and uniforms.
My Secret Public Journal – This one is rarely updated, which is why Google Reader is the greatest. You can also sign up for the newsletter to stay up to date. This is Mike Birbiglia’s blog, he’s a comedian. Usually its a story about something that happened to him. Usually its a very simple premise, but somehow always hilarious.
Those are the important ones at the top of my list. I’m always looking for suggestions.
Audio: mp3
Running Time: 50:43
Hosts: Evan and Mike
We discuss the excitement of the past weekend in College Football and look ahead to next week. We also discuss the Taser incident. Plus, a new idea for some awards of our own.
Topics
Student Tasered at Kerry talk at UF
Emmy’s
The Dailys
College Football
-ESPN Page 2 College Football Rules
-Blue Out at UF
-Tons of great games last weekend
-Picks
-Heisman
-Conference Champions
(more…)
Audio: mp3
Running Time: 41:08
Hosts:
Evan and Mike
Mike is back from the Notre Dame/Penn State game. Evan got ESPN GamePlan, but had some issues. Evan has a scare with a temporary tatoo. Plus, all the usual college football coverage.
Topics
Evan gets ESPN GamePlan
DirecTV at the tailgate
Perfect football weather
Evan’s tattoo scare
College Football
-Weekly Picks
-Heisman Picks
-Conference Champion Picks
Evan heads to Gainesville this weekend
(more…)
Audio: mp3
Running Time: 40:29
Hosts: Evan and Mike
Amazing first weekend of the college football season. We discuss the new division naming and Evan’s interesting trip to the UF game, including his amazing basketball skills. Week 2 of our picks for the upcoming weekend plus our Heisman and Conference picks.
Topics
1AA vs. Championship Subdivision
Evan went to UF/Western Kentucky game
No-Hitter overshadowed
Evan’s Epic Bar Basketball Run
Cops question Evan about stolen apartment flags
College Football
-Picks – Week 2
-Heisman Top 3
-BCS Conference Champions
Evan starts school on Tuesday
Mike headed to Penn State-Notre Dame game
(more…)
Its been a while since Facebook has been all that addicting. When it first started my roommates and I spent about a week looking up people and finding groups. Every couple weeks you could do it again since a whole new wave of people had signed up. At this point everyone who is going to sign up has done so. There are a few holdouts that refuse to sign up for whatever reasons.
When Facebook first started they let you view an image with the relationships between your friends. Sometimes you could get it to work and it was interesting. Not too long ago I was looking into SVG, which is what Facebook had used, and remembered that feature that disappeared so long ago and wished they had it back in some way.
Today I found TouchGraph. It does just what I was hoping for. It displays all your friends and their relationships to each other. It uses friends as well as groups. People with more common relationships appear closer together. People are also color coded into cliques. It correctly setup my cliques. There are 3 major ones, which are my middle school friends, high school friends, and college friends. Then there are smaller ones for jobs or small school groups. The odd colored cliques, or only one person having a particular color, stand out and you can see which of your Facebook friends don’t know any of your other friends. When you highlight over someone or a group it shows all the connections. If you double-click you will get profile information and pictures. There is the option to upload a picture to Facebook, but to get any sort of detail you need a much larger image.
TouchGraph also has applications for Amazon and Google.
Now I just need to find a program that will do this with my own set of inputs. I want to map a particular set of friends that includes some that are not on Facebook. My friends in one group get confused by the relationships between people in my other groups.
I don’t know what I do with my Saturdays the rest of the year. They are pretty much worthless. At least they must be since devoting every Saturday for the next 3+ months to College Football has no adverse affects on my life. I guess that might depend on who you are.
Penn State was in action against Florida International. Thanks to the new people at the Big Ten Network I had to head out to a bar to watch the game. Penn State won easily 59-0. It could have easily been much worse. PSU forced 6 fumbles, had 7 sacks, a blocked field goal, and a blocked punt.
My favorite PSU post game items each week:
Notes
JoPa Quotes
PSU Player Quotes
Let’s straighten out this whole division thing. Everyone had issues with it on TV. The old 1-AA was referred to as ‘what used to be called 1-AA but is now called something else’ division. When you say that every time, it eats up a lot of TV time. Here is what the official changes were: 1-A is now the Bowl Subdivision and 1-AA is now the Championship Subdivision. Why they needed to change, I’m not entirely sure. Was moral down in 1-AA that they were lesser? You know what, they are the second tier. I don’t think anyone feels any different now that they are the Championship Subdivision. Does this mean that the Bowl Subdivision cannot have a championship? Are we stuck with bowls forever now. What if a Championship Subdivision team is good enough for a bowl bid? Do they not get a shot? Then you complicate things more with the Subdivision part. I guess you can’t just go with Division because there is already the separation between D1, D2, and D3. I’m sticking with 1-A and 1-AA. I have no problem with change, I just like my changes to be for the better.
Baseball was overshadowed by all this football. Saturday night Clay Buchholtz threw a no-hitter for the Red Sox. Standard procedure is to show the entire 9th Inning of a no-hitter on ESPN. Instead they broke in to show the first 2 outs of the 9th after they happened, then switched to the game. The KSU/Auburn game was close, but it wasn’t near the end. At the very least split-screen it. ESPN2 could have shown it too. I don’t even remember what they were showing at the time. mlb.com likely had the coverage, they are usually solid on these type of things. I really can’t wait for the MLB Channel.
