Advantage of Crashplan

1. Network supported backups - Although Time Machine supports this with a hack, there is a reason it isn’t officially supported. It’s unreliable. I have done it with secondary computers but wouldn’t trust it full-time. Crashplan lets you go to any computer, NAS, etc. no matter what OS it’s running.
2. Space Savings - There are a number of ways CP saves space. It compresses files it backups. It does Delta Blocking so that only the actual bits of the files that changed are copied, instead the entire file each time. And it allows for quotas meaning that only a certain amount of space is used that you specify.
3. Real-time/Scheduling - If you spring for Crashplan+ ($60 license per machine), CP will backup files in real-time (as they change). Because of the aforementioned Delta Blocking this shouldn’t impact performance. Backups can be scheduled as well, another hack-only feature of Time Machine.
4. Smart Backups - Similar to #2, CP will only backup files that actually change, instead of just changes in date, etc.
5. Data Integrity – CP verifies that backups are working and valid. Time Machine won’t let you know that it’s borked until you try to restore files from it.

Advantages of Time Machine

1. Direct file access to backed up files - The best feature of TM is that you can access your backed up files from the Finder, which makes it easy to find a file or copy a file or do whatever.
2. Restore - If your hard drive crashes and you get a new one, you can boot to the Snow Leopard DVD and restore your machine from a Time Machine backup. This is at least a time saver, and at most reliable and fast way to get up and running.
3. Superior UI/Ease of Use – TM works out of the box on Snow Leopard. You turn it on and it goes. The UI is simple and easy to use. CP has a pretty complicated and almost confusing set of complex options and settings.
4. Cost – Time Machine is free with Leopard (10.5) and higher. And backs up every hour with no hacks. The free version of Crashplan will only backup once a day for free.
5. Apple Supported - It’s Apple supported, so you shouldn’t have issues with it being compatible or files not working.

To be, the three biggest advantages of Time Machine are cost, direct access to files and the ability to restore during a fresh install. With Crashplan, I would likely restore from a Carbon Copy Cloner image (which I take about once a month, but would start taking more frequently) and then use CP to restore other files. I am unsure exactly how this would work because I wonder if certain files would be locked when you are logged in. The UI for Crashplan is very complex, and browsing files to restore is not nearly as easy as Time Machine.

The ability to backed up to a networked drive means I can move my Drobo from MacBook Pro to my Airport Extreme Base Station and then be able to access my files when I am elsewhere in the house. It also means that all my machines can be backed up to one central place. Right now, my Mac mini backs up to it’s own external hard drive. The space savings means that I won’t need more space to do this. Better reliability and e-mail summaries is a big key. Regularly I right click the Time Machine icon in the menubar and find out that my backup hasn’t run in days. It would be nice to know this.

I have started using the free version of Crashplan on my main computer just to see how it works. It seems solid so far. I think I will likely use the two in parallel for a while until I get comfortable. But at the moment, all signs point to switching to Crashplan long term.

But in the end, it really was more like there was more depth to the movie. It looked like there were multiple layers that moved independent of one another. I can’t even figure out how to describe this. Basically it allowed multiple things to be in focus that are at different distances and things seemed to move on different planes almost.

As a whole, however, it was just as distracting and headache-inducing as it was an enjoyable experience. It certainly wasn’t something that I feel like I have to have for future movies. It doesn’t seem like something that will suddenly make me want to see more movies. It was all sizzle and no steak.

• Boise St. and TCU are all in the top 10. I think it’s a testament to those two teams that they are thought that highly of.
• Texas is back in the top 10. Losing a four-year starter at QB and still being in the top 10 is pretty amazing.
• Nebraska is #7. One of the more storied programs in history is making a comeback and they stand a good chance of getting to the Big 12 title game.
• Wisconsin squeaked their way into the top 10 at #9. I think this is high praise for the Badgers and Brett Bielma. I honestly would have bet Bielma would be fired before the start of 2012, but it’s not looking that way.
• Urban Meyer is probably one of the two best coaches in college football, but I think Florida is going to slip this year. I think they are ranked #10 out of respect.
• I think USC (#21) and Penn St. (#22) are both ranked too high. I am gleefully hoping Lane Kiffin runs USC into the ground.
• I find it interesting that Stanford is nowhere to be found. Only three Pac 10 teams made the cut, but they weren’t one of them.

Let me preface this by saying not all of these things might be possible yet, but this is what I was thinking. First, I came to the conclusion that thinking of this as a mobile computer just didn’t make sense to me. It’s too big to be carried without a bag, and if I need a bag anyway, why not take my MacBook Pro? So then I started thinking, could this be the most absolute perfect “couch” computer ever?

I have a Mac Mini media center. I have been using the new Logitech TouchMouse app to control it from my desk/couch. It works really well and would be even better on something as big as the iPad. Of course there are other media center control apps, like Apple Remote, VLC Remote and Boxee Remote. But let’s go a step further. What if AT&T created an app that like you control your U-Verse DVR from your iPad? Or what if someone created (and this might already exist) some sort of bluetooth IR adapter? So now you can basically use your iPad as a universal remote. Some of the Logitech Harmony remotes cost about $150.

Then of course, there is the rest of the iPad. I have become pretty ADD about watching TV. It’s hard for me to watch TV without being on my computer or iPhone. This is where that magical middle ground Steve Jobs talks about makes sense. Usually when I am on my phone or laptop while watching TV I am checking scores, using Twitter or Facebook or browsing the web. All of these things (I have heard) are amazing on the the iPad. Plus the size means it’s not in the way and its not heavy and hot on your lap like a laptop. And if the web browsing experience is as good as advertised, this seems like a perfect use case.

I have also heard that when you dock the iPad it can be used as a pretty solid digital picture frame. So when it isn’t being used, it could sit there and be pretty.

Now there are a ton of holes in my plan. The most obvious one being that if the iPad is your universal remote, it can’t leave the living room. And because there is no multitasking switching back and forth to the remote apps would take time.

Overall though, I can definitely see more use cases for the iPad than I thought. At $500 w/o 3G it’s still too steep to me for a “couch” computer. At $500 w/3G it’s mobile features become more useful (you can’t get mobile data for that cheap anywhere). There is still over a month until the the iPad gets released, so there may still be more to change my mind.

First, it introduced most people to a sub-culture that they didn’t even know existed. The first episode had be smiling and laughing the whole time. I don’t know anyone like this and it was just great. I never heard the word “guido” used that much in my entire life before the first episode.

Second, it put 8 people who were very similar in a house together. This is usually the opposite of these kind of reality shows. Usually it’s 8 very different and diverse people who at some point clash big time. They actually hope that happens because fights draw ratings. Additionally, there are usually a few hook-ups amongst the roommates because they are maybe not used to the kind of people they are living with and it’s appealing to try it out. Jersey Shore’s cast was so similar that there wasn’t much conflict (at least far less than a typical reality show) and almost no hooking up between roommates.

The appeal of being exposed to a new sub-culture made the first few episodes must watch. Especially as someone in their mid-20s it was hilarious to me to see people like this. I couldn’t imagine the people I work with ever acting this way. But now the surprise is over. By the end of the series, it was more about the people and less about the appeal to the things around them. And the people just weren’t that appealing.

More importantly though as to why it won’t work, is the people. The first season was filmed over a span of 30 days. Much of that time was spent with people getting used to each other and feeling each other out. If you put the same people there again, you don’t have that build up, they all know each other. So I worry that a lot of conflict and situations will be forced. Plus they have been hanging out and doing appearances like crazy. They will be recognized everywhere they go and that will ruin it a bit, because the people around them will just be going for attention. The Hills worked because as Bill Simmons says, people know to leave the celebs alone in Los Angeles.

There is no way you can take the same 8 people and make a show that is appealing as it was the first time around. The suggestion that has been made that they should pick different sub-cultures and show people them is a much better idea. I wish I could find the list of all these people that someone suggested, but it was great.

The only way season 2 works is if they go to Europe. Somewhere these guys will have no idea what is going on and be totally out of their element. Putting them in South Beach or Vegas just won’t be as good. Of course, I hope I am wrong. Regardless I am sure I will watch. And so will you, bro.

Go back to the early/mid 90s: all the movies we saw always showed us everyone in the future using small touchscreen computers. Prior to the iPhone, most touchscreens sucked. They were either inaccurate or very slow to respond. Have you ever used one of those touchscreens at like a grocery store when you check out? How many times has the place you touched on the screen either not worked or required you to click multiple times? I owned a Palm Treo 680 for a while. Either the buttons had to be really big or I couldn’t really be accurate without the stylus.

Along came the iPhone and suddenly you had the best touchscreen you had ever used. Three years to the month, Steve Jobs reveals an enlarged iPhone with an equally awesome performing touchscreen. From people who have used it, apparently it’s performance is off the charts as a whole. Its fast and speedy.

As a short term product, I am with everyone that the iPad isn’t going to turn the world upside down. Apple is saying that it belongs between the MacBook and the iPhone, and most people don’t need another device in that band. So most people won’t run out and buy one right away. But let me ask you this question, what do you use your computer for right now? 90% of what I do (at home) on my computer is browse the web, e-mail, watch video. Basically consume content and communicate. If you aren’t producing content, like video production, software development, etc., what can’t you do on the iPad that you can do on your laptop? I am fairly confident that my mom and sister could use the iPad for all their needs.

The reason the iPad is revolutionary is because five years from now, this will be what everyone will use it to do what they do now. Everyone will have a “futuristic” computer that is smaller than a piece of paper, weighs 2 pounds, works everywhere and does everything you need. The same way Steve Jobs changed the personal computer in the mid 80s, made digital music the standard in the 2000s with the iPod and iTunes and jumpstarted the smartphone market and took it to a new level with the iPhone, his final act will be changing the way communicate and consume content.

• This was the first movie I saw in 3D, it was cool but not life changing.
• 2 hours and 40 minutes was entirely too long
• The motion capture is absolutely amazing and WAS life changing
• The story wasn’t as bad as people led on
• The acting was absolutely awful
• I was roped in by the hype and should have went with my instinct and not seen it
• Plot was wildly predictable
• I know James Cameron is a legend, but I am often underwhelmed

1) There is no way this will ever happen.
2) I am sure there are some flaws I am missing, so feel free to help me out.

mgoblog had a very good post that got me thinking about something missing from the BCS. There aren’t enough inter conference games. According to that post, the Big Ten didn’t play an SEC school and only played one ACC school in non-conference games.

So my multi-phase approach is this…

First, in order to be eligible for any BCS bowl require all BCS conference schools to play at least 11 games against BCS conference opponents and require all non-BCS conference schools to play at least 4 games against BCS conference opponents. This does a multitude of things. First, it forces teams in weaker BCS conferences (ACC, *ahem* Big Ten) to beat schools in other BCS conferences as opposed to playing 4 cupcakes and rolling through an easy conference schedule. Second, it creates far more comparable resumes across conferences. So it’s more likely that Ohio St. and LSU would have common opponents so it would be easier to separate them in rankings. Thirdly, it forces these non-BCS “wannabes” to play 4 teams who have all played a ton of other BCS schools, again to make separately them more difficult. The caveat to this would be that anytime can opt out. For example, if Indiana doesn’t think they are going to compete they can opt to play some cupcakes and get some wins, but risk not being eligible for a BCS bowl game.

Second, the way these match-ups would be setup is more of a class system. What this means is that when Florida is scheduling it’s non-conference games, it has to schedule them against higher tier teams. So when they schedule a Pac 10 team, they would be more likely to get USC than Washington St. This keeps better schools from constantly piling on to weaker schools. Games could be scheduled two years in advance, so right now the games for 2011 would be scheduled and the “classes” would be based on the 2009 results. There would be some numbers to crunch to figure out how you would set the classes up, but you get the idea.

Big picture, you maintain the existing format of the season, no added games, no de-valuing of bowls or regular season games. Basically you find a way to make the BCS more efficient without making drastic changes to the current setup.

So lets talk pros and cons.

Pros

• No changes to the current structure of the season
• No extra games
• Bowls don’t change so this can happen immediately
• Much better regular season games
• No more Florida blowouts over Alaska A&M

Cons

• The FBS schools no longer get paydays to get a beating
• Complicated scheduling
• Non-conference rivalries would die on the vine
• BCS schools who “opted out” would draw ire from the fans.

• Arguably the best coach in CFB quit the hottest job in the country at it’s peak…then he didn’t. (Urban Meyer)
• The guy who preceded him as the “best coach” with the hottest job went to the NFL, perhaps to beat NCAA sanctions from punishing him (Pete Carroll)
• The most famous football program in the land fired their coach despite the 10 year contract he signed a couple years ago (Charlie Weis) and replaced him with an undefeated coach before his BCS game (Brian Kelly)
• The 2nd most winningest coach in CFB history retired by beating the school he started at (Bobby Bowden)
• Three coaches who were hot names to move up in the world (Mike Leach, Mark Mangino and Jim Leavitt) fired/stepped down amongst allegations they abused played
• Two big name guys (Rich Brooks and Al Groh) moved on
• The 2004 AP coach of the year returned to the coaching ranks (Tommy Tuberville)
• One of the more arrogant coaches in the country, bailed on an SEC school after one year of trash talking to go to USC (Lane Kiffin)
• The son of a legendary coach finally got his BCS conference job (Skip Holtz)

The Tennessee job is yet to be filled, but a lot of big names have turned it down already. When you factor all of that in, it’s pretty crazy to think about everything that has happened coaching-wise this year. The names, the schools the unexpected firings/resignations, so crazy.

• Follows the book pretty well
• Sandra Bullock is great as LeAnn Touhy. Exactly what I pictured. (And wow, is she smokin’)
• They undervalued Sean Touhy, he had a much bigger role in the book.
• You can definitely see the “Hollywood” moments, but a good story that isn’t too sappy.
• The video clips and pictures during the end credits of the actual Michael Oher were cool
• If this wasn’t based on a book, it would seem extremely far-fetched, which is crazy.
• Surprisingly few football scenes. They only showed one game I think, which doesn’t do justice to what a freak of an athlete Oher was.
• The little son, SJ, steals the show.

Media Consumption

One of the major changes I expect is that the way that we consume movies and TV shows will change drastically. TV networks and cable companies are lagging behind the times and if they aren’t careful they will join the newspapers as the next ones out of business. They have yet to find a way to make DVRs work in their favor. I have been saying for a while that the solution is to make all episodes of shows available on-demand anytime for free. But the first viewing you have to watch commercials. This circumvents existing DVRs and makes sure that everyone watches commercials at least once. And if the show is available anytime, no one needs to “record” anything anymore.

Netflix and even Blockbuster have finally figured out that the answer is streaming any* movie you want on demand for a monthly fee. Apple lets you rent these and stream them a la carte. Cable companies already have allowed for on-demand movies either for free or for a fee. As more people invest in Home Theatre PCs (HTPC) or other set top boxes this will become even more commonplace.

Wireless Internet Everywhere

I also think that wireless internet is the future. The existing “pipes” the cable companies use for broadband probably can’t get a lot faster. And wireless broadband is catching up. 4G is around the corner and will get your wireless closer to what wired has. Imagine if you could bring your notebook anywhere and be using your own ISP.

Computers as we know them

My last prediction is what happens to what we now know as the personal computer. The last few years, hardware capabilities have far surpassed what is needed for the average user. Internet browsing, e-mail, SMS, playing music and video can all be done on an iPhone, which is the equivalent of 10 year old computer. More and more these mobile devices will replace people’s needs for an actual computer. I foresee docking your phone at home to in some respect and being able to use bigger screens and other input devices as needed.

*any doesn’t truly mean any yet, since there is a limited catalog available

Google Maps

I make jokes all the time that I don’t know how people lived without Google Maps. How did people figure out how to get from place to place? Or find an address they didn’t know? Or find the quickest route? Now obviously I know the answers to these questions, but no one does this anymore. You type two addresses into Google Maps and it’s all done for you. This has probably saved most people a lot of headaches and time.

Yelp, Google Maps and businesses’ websites

Ten years ago when you were looking for a hardware store you opened the Yellow Pages and looked in that section. When you were looking for a place to eat you did the same thing or called a friend. Now everyone uses the internet for this. Looking for a Home Depot, hit up their website and use the Store Locator. Want to find a Mexican restaurant nearby, go to Yelp and search. I don’t even own a phone book. I don’t think I have every used the Yellow Pages in my life. Any people of my generation probably never will again.

News sites and Twitter

I don’t know anyone my age who reads the newspaper. And unless there is a major event going on where live quality video is a must (9/11 for example), I don’t know anyone who watches CNN anymore. We know that most newspapers are either out of business or in dire straits. I read somewhere that CNN’s ratings were at an all-time low for the year. In the “ADD” society of today, newspapers and even evening news casts are just too slow to get us news. Twitter has turned in my source for breaking news (I heard about the Mumbai attacks and many celebrity deaths of ‘09 on there). CNN.com, Google News, Digg and ChicagoTribune.com have become my source for news throughout the day.

Reunions, Christmas cards and letters

Facebook has changed life for most people. It has allowed a lot of people to re-connect with high school friends and whatnot. But for people my age, it has made it completely unnecessary to attend a high school reunion. I can see pictures, find out about jobs and anything else I want about people I went to high school with. I don’t know anyone my age who writes letters anymore. Facebook messages and e-mails have rendered them obsolete. It’s cheaper, faster and easier to just shoot off an email. Christmas cards seem to be the exception to this rule so far. We still received a few this year but barring a personal note or “letter” they aren’t better than an e-mail that could allow me to catch up on what someone is up to.

Shopping and shipping

Online shopping has completely changed the game. I would be willing to guess that at least 75% of people with broadband internet did some holiday shopping online. You can cover a lot of different items in a lot less time than traveling around to stores. Generally the prices are better as well. Amazon.com seems to have become most people’s first stop when shopping for anything. If you pay for Amazon Prime (free 2-day shipping) you can basically get items in a day or two for no extra cost. Most of the time that’s an acceptable time to wait for something to save 10% or more. Going along with this is the way that online shopping has changed the shipping industry. I would have to guess that FedEx and UPS have seen a massive growth in business in the last ten years.

Heather and I had decided long ago that we were going to go to the Carribean for our honeymoon. Heather wanted someplace all inclusive, so it basically left four countries as options: Mexico, Jamaica, Aruba or the Dominican Republic. I didn’t really want to do Mexico because I always associate that with Spring Break and that seems to be where people go all the time. I like Aruba but it was expensive and the flights were all very long. Heather had already been to the DR so that ruined the “specialness” for me a bit, but it was so cheap that it was the decision ultimately.

I was a bit nervous because I had never traveled out of the country. I also had never been anywhere south of Carbondale, IL (at least east of the Mississippi) or anyplace warm for that matter. We flew down on a Wednesday into Punta Cana where the arrival terminal is an open-air building that you basically just get your luggage and leave.

The ride to the resort was about 30 minutes. The ride there was a very interesting experience. There were lots of people standing along the side of the road. I initially thought they were waiting for a bus, but it seemed after seeing more of them, many of them were hitchhiking. There didn’t seem to be any speed limit signs and people pass each other like crazy. There was at least once instance where it got a little too close for comfort. Driving through the little towns you saw some very poor living conditions and armed guards at convenience stores.

We stayed at the Iberostar Grand Bavaro resort. Heather immediately commented how much nicer it was than the last place they stayed. It is one of the more expensive places in Punta Cana so I was happy it lived up to that. Our room was really nice and we had our own personal butler who was available 24/7. We spent the first day at the pool and our second day at the beach, which was magnificent. I had never been to a warm beach and the water was so clear and the sand was so smooth it was awesome. After spending half of Saturday at the pool, Heather got sick and we spent the next 24 hours bunkered in the room.

Monday we went on a snorkeling expedition that was a-mazing. We were a few hundred yards from shore in crystal clear water that was about 20 feet deep. We got to swim in a “fenced” off area with sting rays and nurse sharks which was awesome. Then the expedition cruised along the coast drinking and just sightseeing. Then we go to swim in this “natural swimming pool” that is basically a sand bar like 100 yards from shore: four foot deep water, perfectly calm. We closed it out with more time at the pool on Tuesday before coming back.

The food was pretty good, but nothing out of this world. They had a big variety of stuff, but that’s not really my thing so I mostly ate the same things every day. They had shows every night and we went to four of them. They were good, better than I would have expected at a resort. We didn’t really do many other activities for the most part, just relaxing.

Overall it was probably the best vacation I have ever been on. We totally lost track of what day it was for a while and because everything was included we never had to worry about anything. I had never been on a vacation where I had zero obligations and could just completely relax. It was awesome.

King’s Ransom by Peter Berg (screenplay/director Friday Night Lights)

The first one was about the trade that sent Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. As someone who essentially grew up in the 90s, I didn’t know much about Gretzky with the Oilers. I didn’t realize that he had won EIGHT straight MVP awards before being traded to the Kings. I always assumed he was a solid player who got traded and then became a megastar. In retrospect, it would have been the equivalent of the Bulls trading Michael Jordan after the first three titles. It’s really unbelievable looking back. The film as a whole was pretty solid. It gave some background on why they made the trade and the damage it did to the Oilers and their fans. It flowed pretty well and was overall solid. Since I didn’t know much about the event and Gretzky is so well known I liked it.

The Band that Wouldn’t Die by Barry Levinson (Diner, Rain Man, The Natural)

The second doc was about the Baltimore Colts marching band (you read that right) and the impact on them, and the impact they made, when the Colts moved to Indianapolis. I knew that the Colts were in Baltimore for a long time and I knew they famously moved in the middle of the night and left their fans in the lurch. The Colts marching band apparently found hard for over 10 years to bring football back to Baltimore and at least played a small role in them getting the Browns. I didn’t like this film as much. It focused to much on the band and not enough on the abrupt departure of the team. Plus it’s hard to feel bad for  these people when in the end they basically poached the Browns from their passionate fan base.

Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL by Mike Tollin (Radio)

This is by far my favorite so far. The United States Football League (USFL) was started in the 80s as a spring football league. I didn’t know much about it other than the fact that Herschel Walker was their marquee guy before he went to the NFL. I knew the league was a failure but I had no idea why. I also never realized that they lured 3 straight Heisman winners and they had Steve Young and Jim Kelly as budding stars before they became NFL Hall of Famers. The league was mostly in cities that didn’t have NFL teams and as I said played in the spring. They used a young ESPN to show games and the league was about having fun. Donald Trump, who was pretty much denied access to buy an NFL team, bought a USFL team. Before long, unsurprisingly, Trump tried to take over. He basically pushed the USFL to try and move to the fall in year 3 to directly compete with the NFL. Clearly the USFL had potential, but they weren’t at that level yet. Tollin did an amazing job including a great interview with Trump. When it was all said and done, everyone blamed Trump.

Muhammad and Larry by Albert Maysles

The best part about this one is that it was comprised mostly of an unfinished (?) documentary from the 80s about the Muhammad Ali vs. Larry Holmes fight in 1980. After Ali lost to Leon Spinks a couple of years earlier, he retired. But Ali decided to come back and try to beat Holmes for the heavyweight title. Ali was already starting to have health problems and had no business fighting Holmes who was at the height of his game. Holmes used Ali as a punching bag (at least from the footage they showed) and at times Ali was just standing there. It seemed that the feeling was that this fight (and the training leading up to it) are largely responsible for Ali being in the state he is in. I don’t know that much about boxing, and definitely wish I had seen more of Ali’s fights, so it was hard to get a lot of context watching this, but it was still really good. The fact that most of it was actual documentary footage from the 80s is probably what makes it so good. You definitely get the feeling for why this was so significant of an event.

As a whole, the 30 for 30 documentaries have been good, but not great. The fact that they are being done by different filmmakers is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because if you don’t like one that doesn’t mean you won’t like others. But it also means that some of them end up being disappointing. I would still give it a try if you haven’t yet.

Probably like many people who bought 360s around that time, I got the “red ring of death (RROD)” less than a year after purchase. Microsoft was in so deep with bad PR by this time that they paid for shipping and sent me 30 free days of XBOX Live Gold. Since then I haven’t really had any problems. I am not what I would consider a heavy user. I don’t play everyday and can go weeks without picking it up (in fact in between my Call of Duty: World at War binge and the release of NCAA Football 10 I barely touched it for a month).

Over the last month, between the bachelor party and the wedding, the 360 was moved between the office and the living room a couple of times. I don’t know if this resulted in some unnecessary jostling but after returning to it’s home in the office, weird graphics issues began to surface. Color would get all crazy and the screen would flicker light crazy. If I unplugged the red component cable the flicker would go away but obviously the color is missing anything that comes through the red cable. My hope was that this was a bad cable. At times the video wouldn’t even come on when I turned on the XBOX (but I could hear the audio so I knew it was booting properly). I ordered a cheap replacement but it made no difference. At this point I succumbed to the fact that my XBOX was in a sense dead.

I was not exactly sure how I should react to this revelation. Part of my says that I got 3 years out of this piece of technology. While that does not seem like a lot (especially when you consider many people have SNES and N64s that still work), nowadays maybe it’s not that crazy. I have had computer hard drives that died after a couple of years and others than are still going strong 5+ years later. You hope that a video game console would at least outlive it’s desiredness. What I mean is, if my 360 died shortly after the XBOX 3 (whatever it will be called) came out, then I could live with that. But clearly I am frustrated after a mere 3 years.

My gut reaction was, screw Microsoft, I am getting a Playstation 3. And despite 4 game purchases in the last 6 months I was willing to make that sacrifice. Then I remembered a key fact, I owned the original Rock Band (and associated instruments). That was a near $200 investment that I just made 2 years ago (wow has it been that long?). I enjoy Rock Band (and the multiple Guitar Hero games we have), have paid for downloaded songs and just bought Beatles Rock Band. A rough estimate of how much we have spent on “rhythm” games is probably around $400 (which in retrospect is just insane). With that must invested, and me pretty sure that I would never buy any of these instruments again, I couldn’t give on the XBOX.

I originally planned to just buy an XBOX Arcade, since my assumption is that everything else on my existing XBOX works. But I got roped in to buying the Modern Warfare 2 special edition for $400. Basically for $200 more than the arcade, I got a 250 GB (!) hard drive, a copy of MW2 (which I was going to spend $60 on anyway) and 2 new black wireless controllers (which allowed me to return on we got for our wedding). It really only cost me $80 more out of pocket than I would have spent with the Arcade and I think a 250 GB hard drive and slick looking XBOX were worth it.

Modern Family

This show has gotten some good love (at least on the interwebs) and to me it’s the best new comedy on TV. Big Bang Theory and 30 Rock are the only funnier shows on TV right now. If you haven’t seen this, it’s a docudrama about 3 families that are all related. The “grandpa” is Ed O’Neill and married to a hot Columbian with a son from another marriage. The “daugther” is married to this crazy guy who wishes he was 13. The “son” is gay and he and his boyfriend just adopted a Vietnamese baby. Needless to say it’s one laugh after another. The interactions between the families is great, but on their own they are just so solid. The only thing that worries me is how over the top the crazy husband is. They need to tone it down a bit so they don’t go to far, to early.

The Good Wife

Julianna Margulies is back on TV in this lawyer drama. Her husband is a former state’s attorney who is in jail for abusing his power and sleeping with a bunch of hookers. Margulies resumes practicing law after like a 10 year absence in order to support her family. It reminds me a lot of The Practice which I like. Plus Josh Charles (Sportsnight) is just solid as her boss. My knock on it so far is that she just wins every case. And she just seems a little too perfect. Even with everything she is struggling with she jump seems too perfect. That needs to be fixed to give this show longevity.

Community

This is my other favorite new comedy. This lawyer apparently cheated his way through school and has to go back to community college if he wants to keep practicing law. He starts with this study group, originally so he could try to hook up with this chick, but ultimately it becomes the launching point for the show. They are a diverse group of people all there for different reasons. Chevy Chase is a former executive of some sort (I honestly forget why he had to go back to school) who is very believable. He does and says all these crazy things, but when you realize how far Chase’s career has fallen in the last 10 years you could totally see him doing something like this in real life. The show overall has it moments. My problem with it so far are that the stories are just really bad the comedy has to carry the whole show and it’s not there yet.

Cougar Town

We gave this one episode before throwing in the towel. Courtney Cox proved she has gone nowhere since Friends and this show was so over the top it was ridiculous. They fit every stereotype about Cougars into the first episode which left nowhere to go but down. Most people I know gave up on this early, but it surprisingly hasn’t been cancelled.

Trauma

Due to limited space on the DVR, we didn’t get to this for a while. I watched the episodes on Hulu to get caught up. And literally the day last week when I did, it was cancelled. It was mildly understandable. I hear it was very expensive to make and the characters never really hooked me. I suspect the format of the show left people unfulfilled. So many of the people they picked up (this show was about paramedics/EMTs by the way) you never knew what happened to the them after they dropped them off. I get that was the point of the show but I bet it bothered some people. I wasn’t ready to give up on this show yet, but I guess I was in the minority.

As we continue to search for the best team in the country we continue to see unconvincing wins from the teams at the top. Florida didn’t put the game away against Mississippi St. until late. Bama needed two block field goals, including one as time expires, to hold off Tennessee. Texas, meanwhile won by 34 on the road against Mizzou. Boise St. won by 45  at Hawaii and Cincinnati rolled against Louisville. Then there was Iowa and USC who both struggled. So what does this all mean? It means we still know nothing…

And Ten…

1. Cincinnati’s win wasn’t signature but they just keep rolling. And they did it without their starting QB. We are now waiting for the West Virginia game on 11/13 to see if they can continue.
2. Georgia Tech (at Virginia), Pittsburgh (vs. USF) and Oklahoma St. (vs. Baylor) all held serve in games they should win. All three have one loss and OK St. has a big game next week against Texas.
3. Alabama narrowly escaped losing against Tennessee. A win is a win but Bama didn’t look great, at least on offense. Their defense looked pretty solid though. Mark Ingram failed to get to 100 yards rushing, so the flavor of the week in the Heisman race may have been just that. Terrance Cody is a lock to be a top 10 pick.
4. Speaking of which, I would have to think Jimmy Clausen is the favorite for the Heisman at this point. Boise St.’s Kellen Moore had a monster five TD game this week. He now has 21 TDs to just 2 INT but obviously not against the competition Clausen has faced.
5. TCU got a big win at BYU but still has to survive #18 Utah in November. But they are on track to crash the BCS
6. Oregon destroyed Washington and have won convincingly 4 games in a row. Their massive showdown against USC next week could decide the Pac 10.
7. Clemson eliminated Miami from the BCS title conversation with a big overtime win in Miami. It could go a long way towards eliminating Miami from the ACC title since now they need VaTech to lose.
8. All BCS conference races are still wide open. Florida can clinch the SEC east with a win over Georgia and a South Carolina loss, but everyone else has a ways to go.
9. Halloween night is going to be a monster. Two night games, Texas at OK St. and USC at Oregon will likely eliminate two teams from the BCS title race.
10. If you are willing to look ahead two weeks we are on the brink of a showdown between LSU and Alabama that will likely decide the SEC west. Both teams have byes next week. I think LSU is hanging in the weeds.

First…

Alabama cemented themselves as the best team in the country. I personally thought they did that with a convincing win against Virginia Tech in week 1. They have since won at Ole Miss and now at home against South Carolina. Their defense is solid, allowing under 10 points in four of their seven wins. They only have two road games left, the Iron Bowl at the end of the season being the only challenge. Winning against Tennessee and LSU in their next two games all best assures they will be 11-0 at that time. We are on our way to Florida vs. Alabama in a great SEC championship game.

And 10…

1. Notre Dame made a valiant effort to come back against USC (who almost choked away a 4th quarter 3 score lead) but I think they had some bad clock management that cost them at least 1 play at the end of the game. As much as it pains me to say it, Clausen is likely the front runner for the Heisman at this point.
2. Iowa won a tough one at Camp Randall and is now alone in 1st in the Big 10. Their showdown at Ohio St. in November suddenly looks huge. Iowa is hopefully going to get more respect after this week and should be in the top 10.
3. Texas/OU lived up to the hype this year. Oklahoma sure can play even without Sam Bradford. Texas’ offense looks very suspect right now. They don’t look like the #2 team in the country and I guarantee they don’t go undefeated.
4. Speaking of Bradford, he got re-injured himself on the 2nd drive of the game. He had all the makings of the #1 pick next April. I still think there is zero percent chance he returns next year but he will need to show he is healthy to still go number one.
5. Florida, like Texas, definitely looks vulnerable. Arkansas shut them down and if they had anything resembling a competent offense they would have beat the Gators. Florida should still cruise but the SEC championship is setting up to be epic.
6. Add Virginia Tech and Ohio St. to the list of top 10 teams who are mediocre. Ohio St. got rolled at Purdue (inexcusable) and VaTech loses to a solid Georgia Tech team in Atlanta. Both surely will fall out of the top 10, and Ohio St. could fall out of the top 15.
7. Boise St. was #5 last week in one poll and #6 in another. They barely escaped a loss at Tulsa. I think Cincinnati and USC could both leapfrog them this week. I would rank Cinci ahead of them for sure.
8. Speaking of Cincinnati, they won a tough one against undefeated South Florida on the road. They should be in the top 5 (behind Bama, Florida,  and Texas). They also only have two road games left (Syracuse and Pitt) but it all comes down to whether Tony Pike is healthy. They could easily run the table though.
9. Undefeated watch…7 teams remain. TCU should get challenged at BYU this week. Cincinnati and Iowa stand the best chance of going undefeated from BCS conferences. The SEC champ could be in that mix as well.
10. Not a great week coming up. The aforementioned TCU vs. BYU game might be the best because it will show us if TCU is for real. It’s unlikely to be televised though. Alabama vs. Tennessee could be ugly but I guess you never know. Iowa could get challenged on the road at night vs. Michigan St. And Texas goes primetime against Missouri where they could really use a blowout.

I have been a Mac user for almost three and a half years now. One of the things I loved about OS X is the eye candy. In my opinion, the eye candy in OS X is unmatched. One of the great apps for eye candy is Growl. Growl is a notification system. It pops up a notification on your screen when compatible applications have something to report. If you have ever used Microsoft Outlook, it’s similar to the little window that pops up in the bottom right of your screen when you get a new e-mail. It doesn’t end with e-mail though. If you are using Adium you get IM notifications, sign on/off notices, etc. A lot of Twitter clients will do direct messages and even mentions.

To be honest, I had almost ceased using Growl a few months ago. I was using Mail.appetizer for my Mail notifications and there wasn’t any reason I had to keep using Growl. Then an e-mail from my hero and yours contacted me about his new application, Howl, which pushes Growl notifications to your iPhone as Push notifications. Now this wasn’t the first app in the App Store that did this, Prowl was the first. And too be honest I had a hard time finding usefulness to this. I auto-checked my e-mail and when I got a new message I just went and saw what it was. My iPhone twitter app already had Push.

Mostly out of loyalty to my friend, I gave it a chance. And let me say, I am hooked. The app adds a new “style” to Growl that lets you forward the notifications to an existing style while also getting Push. Plus it allows you to only Push notifications after your computer has been idle (the best feature IMO) so that when you are at your computer your phone isn’t going wild. I love knowing what my e-mails are before I get them (usually). And now if it’s not something I want to read I don’t even go to my e-mail. I have changed the frequency of checking to an hour and have considered making it manual. I have switched to an iPhone Twitter client that doesn’t use Push so Howl helps there. And with the prototype Facebook Notifications app for Mac, I get push notifications for Facebook now too. The best use was when I was waiting for a package this week and I got updates from the Delivery Status widget right to my phone.

This whole concept is great. In theory though, when more apps start using push this could be obsolete. But because Growl is compatible with so many more apps, there will always be something that would make Howl worth having.

I find myself often defending college football as the most exciting sport on a game to game basis. In my opinion, it’s weeks like these that re-enforce my theory. Michigan mounted a late 14 point comeback to force overtime again Michigan St. before losing. Georgia scored with about a minute to go, only to have LSU come back and score with 30 seconds left to win. Washington hit a FG with 3 minutes left, ND answered with a touchdown and Washington hit another field goal as time expired to force overtime. Meanwhile Oklahoma and Miami battled in a defensive third quarter for a nail-biting one point game. Basically at any point yesterday you had an exciting game going on. Unmatched in the sports world.

And ten…

1. I have been on the LSU bandwagon (and alone it seems) but they won in Georgia, which is not easy to do. It was a very  close game and they got some breaks at the right time (including two key late penalties). Their matchup against Florida this week is huge.
2. Unsurprisingly Houston and Michigan were both exposed on the road as being overrated 4-0 teams. The difference being Michigan did it in overtime against their underachieving rival, and Houston lost by 17 to a mediocre conference foe.
3. Alabama was the only top three team to play this week and held serve at Kentucky. I still think they might be the best of the three teams. A win at Ole Miss and a loss by Florida could be enough to get Bama to #1.
4. Cal has now been outscored 72-6 in the last two games and will likely need a miracle to be a factor in the Pac 10 race. This season is not looking good for the Bears.
5. Virginia Tech is quietly 4-1 (with their only loss to Bama). They are now #4 and their win against Miami looks very good. If they can survive Georgia Tech in two weeks they might have a smooth ride to the ACC title game.
6. Oregon has rebounded from the debacle at Boise St. by winning four straight. They are clicking at the right time and have four tough games in a row (@UCLA, @Wash, USC, @Stanford) that if they somehow escape unscathed could leave them in the discussion for the Championship game.
7. Scott Tolzien and Tate Forcier have been the two best QBs in the Big Ten this year if you go by quarterback rating (although I would say the eye test agrees). Interestingly enough, you have to go to numbers 6, 7 and 8 to find the preseason hype guys Pryor, Clark and Stanzi. Hats off to Juice Williams who has managed just 1 TD (to 4 interceptions) and is singlehandedly making sure Arrelious Benn’s draft stock doesn’t get a jolt.
8. Speaking of which (is it too early to draft about draft prospects?), my opinion is that Sam Bradford is the top player (injury or not) and there are plenty of teams in need of a QB. Since NFL teams haven’t learned not to draft QBs high I suspect Bradford will go #1. If you believe Mel Kiper ($) 5 of the top 7 guys are defensive players. I wondered if you could take a DT or DB in the top 5 and found that three of each had been taken in the top 5 this decade. I think Eric Berry will go in the top 5.
9. 13 undefeated teams remain, which means 4 fell this week (Michigan, Houston, UCLA, TAMU). LSU vs. Florida is only game featuring two of those teams this week, which means at most 12 will remain. Ironically there were 13 through week 5 last year.
10. This is a big week in the Big 10 as Iowa hosts Michigan at night and Wisconsin gets a big challenge in Columbus vs. Ohio St. Alabama goes to Ole Miss who will be out to spoil the Tide’s season. Auburn puts their surprise 5-0 record on the line at Arkansas. And of course the game of the week is LSU vs. Florida.

First…So the top teams just keep losing. It has seemed apparent for a while that there really aren’t any teams that have separated themselves. Jevan Snead looked terrible losing to South Carolina. Penn St. couldn’t handle the weather and lost at home at night. And Cal was destroyed by Oregon. I think Iowa is a better team than we thought and Oregon might be too, but in most cases it’s likely that those top 10 teams were overrated. Expect this trend to continue. Other than Florida, Bama and Texas there probably isn’t a team to worry about.

And Ten…

1. Tim Tebow getting hurt was the story of the week. In a way it showed that he is indeed human. Florida has a bye week this week which is nice for him to recover. LSU is after that. But Florida is a good team and if anyone can survive it’s them.
2. Boise St. destroyed MAC bottom feeder Bowling Green. But I said it last week, Boise St. just keeps winning. Their schedule is cake, and they should go undefeated.
3. USC was unimpressive in their “bounce back” game. They were favored by 46.5 points (!) and jumped out to a 20 point lead in the 1st quarter. They only scored 7 more points the rest of the game. I think USC is extremely overrated and I think will be exposed this week against Cal.
4. Miami took a dump against conference rival Virginia Tech. Everyone got on the “Canes are back” bandwagon a bit too fast. Meanwhile VaTech has wins against Miami and Nebraska and their only loss is to Bama who might be the best team in the country right now.
5. We are down to just 17 unbeatens after 11 fell last week. No two play eachother this week so we aren’t guaranteed to lose any this week. But I put the over/under at 2.5 for teams that go down this week. Best bets: LSU and Michigan.
6. Still no Heisman favorite has emerged. The fact that Jimmy Clausen is in the discussion makes me want to vomit. This is the kind of year where someone random will win it.
7. The Dan Hawkins Axe Watch continues this week at West Virginia. I think it’s going to be interesting to see what Colorado does. Hawkins’ son is the QB so they have to factor that in and it will be interesting to see how that works.
8. Conference play gets into full swing this week. As usual the SEC is the one to watch.
9. Games of the week 2A and 2B: Oklahoma at Miami and USC at Cal. Oklahoma is w/o Sam Bradford (officially now) and so this game takes an interesting turn. It’s must win for either team if they want to be in the hunt for the national title. Meanwhile USC and Cal play for what could be the top spot in the Pac 10.
10. Game of the Week 1: LSU and Georgia. Both of these teams look like they have serious holes. Winning at Georgia is not an easy task and they have shown signs of being decent here and there. This is LSU’s chance to prove they can play.

This season has wackiness written all over it, or so I thought. By my count we have 28 undefeated teams after three weeks. I looked back to last year and after week three there were 31. I thought maybe there were just a lot fewer top tier teams, but in both cases about 50% of those teams entered week three in the Top 25. I guess it’s just that teams people talked about being MNC contenders (USC, VaTech, OU, Ohio St., OK St.) have losses, and teams like Miami, Cal, Cincinnati and Houston are in the top 20. There are four undefeated vs. undefeated matchups this week so we go into week 5 with at most 24 undefeated teams. Don’t get too excited though, all four of these games’ favorites should be big ones. But get excited for week 6. If the teams make it that far, you could see Florida vs. LSU and Alabama vs. Ole Miss in what should at a minimum go a big way towards weeding out the SEC.

And 10…

1. Miami sure looks for real so far. Two big wins to start the season, they get a big challenge this week against Virginia Tech. If they can pull out the win they are going to have a commanding lead in the Coastal Conference. If they can somehow follow that up with a win against Oklahoma, we could be talking about them as a MNC contender.
2. BYU laid an egg this week at home against FSU. They are done. More importantly my dark horse Heisman guy Max Hall is done too. His three picks give him 6 on the year already. With the craptacular opponents he has left, he has no shot to get back in the race.
3. Speaking of Heisman, as good as Tebow was, Jahvid Best was better rushing for 5 TDs against Minnesota. Best is a borderline top 10 pick right now, but if Cal is for real he is going to have a shot at the Heisman and being the first back taken next April.
4. It’s been said a million times but Lane Kiffin really did everything he could not to get blown out in Gainesville. I watched that entire game and he was regularly running on third and long just so that Crompton didn’t throw picks. I thought it was lame, but I guess he can play the moral victory card now.
5. Is it just me or is LSU flying under the radar right now? That win at Washington looks a lot better now. They also have IMO the best top to bottom group of WRs and RBs in the country (if you combined them into one). They have to play Georgia on the road this week then home against Florida with games at Bama and Ole Miss down the road. They have an amazingly tough schedule but because of that 2 losses and an SEC championship probably gets them back to the big game.
6. Boise St. has only lost 17 games this decade. Even with 3 more this year that would still only average two per year. I don’t have the numbers in front of me but I would be shocked if anyone else is close (Ohio St. is at 20 already, USC 23, I couldn’t think of who else would be there). At some point do they change conferences? I suspect the Pac 10 wouldn’t do it, because they are only a football school. But what about the Mountain West? They want to prove they are legit. It would give them 10 teams (conference championship anyone?) plus a stranglehold on potential BCS “busters” (Utah, BYU, TCU, Boise St.)
7. Safeties Taylor Mays (USC) and Eric Berry (Tennessee) sure look like perennial pro bowlers in the NFL. Per DraftHistory.com, the last time two safeties went in the Top 10 was the 2006 draft (Michael Huff and Donte Whitner) and that didn’t really pan out. I think someone in the 10-15 range is going to steal one of those guys. (Side note: Check out the 2006 draft. This could be one of the worst first rounds ever. It’s still early but there a massive number of busts. I think most teams would prefer the last 10 guys rather than the first 10).
8. As much as it pains me to say it, Ryan Mallet is looking like he may live up to the hype after all. The Michigan transfer had a 5 TD game against Georgia. He and Jimmy Clausen were supposed to go toe to toe for at least 3 years. Clausen is going to bolt for NFL bustdom after this year so it’s unlikely they will ever meet again. I bet Mallet goes on to have a better college career than Clausen.
9. My friends said there is no dominate conference right now, but I disagree. I will take it as far as saying there is a dominant division WITHIN a conference and that would be the SEC West. Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU and and Auburn make up 4 of the 28 undefeated teams and three of those four are in the top 7.
10. Looking ahead to week 4, Ole Miss gets their first real challenge on the road, Thursday night, ESPN, at South Carolina. This has all the makings of a “trap” game. Cal has to go to Oregon which can be tricky. Miami gets another road challenge against conference rival Virginia Tech. And Houston (vs. Texas Tech) and Washington (at Stanford) both have the makings of “letdown” games after big wins.

First…I have to start with my favorite team, so call me a homer if you must. Michigan didn’t play a great game. If I can find time to re-watch the game this week I am going to. But you have to give Tate Forcier an immense amount of credit. That last drive alone was just legendary. Freshman QB, in the Big House, against Notre Dame, avoids the pressure multiple times and gets the TD with 11 seconds left. Michigan’s offense has taken a big step and should be 4-0 when they going to East Lansing next month. Meanwhile Notre Dame suffers a big loss and Charlie Weis is staring down the barrel of a gun. My prediction was that 7-5 he is gone, 8-4 he might be. They have a tough 4 game stretch coming up where they can’t afford more than 1 loss.

And Ten…

1. Props to Ohio St. on taking a big dump. Only 5 second half points and Pryor went 11 for 25. I didn’t really see any of it so I guess I can’t be too critical. I already made my prediction though that Pryor is a couple of bad games away from pulling a Maurice Clarett.
2. Oklahoma St. can’t capitalize on their big win last week and lost at home to a CUSA team. This year could be as wacky as last year.
3. North Carolina looked extremely shaky on the road against UConn and got gifted that win. The hype might be too much.
4. Georgia’s loss to OK St. didn’t look good after OK St. lost at home to Houston. Then UGA barely escaped South Carolina at home. Georgia has some work to do.
5. I know it was a Div II team but Brian Kelly’s team destroyed SE MO St. 70-3. He really is going to have his pick of jobs next year. I think the Notre Dame job will be his if he wants it if Weis is fired.
6. Wisconsin needed two OTs to hold off Fresno St. at home. Wisconsin is 2-0 but hasn’t looked good doing it. I still think Bielma is on the hot seat but his schedule is stable enough that he should be OK this year.
7. My Heisman dark horse Max Hall had another big game. 71% with 638 yards in two games. But those 3 picks are interesting. He is on pace for about 18, which would be a career high for him. Their game against FSU next week will be a huge test.
8. Al Groh was already on the hot seat at Virginia, and the 0-2 start will not help. @UNC, GaTech, @Miami, VaTech make every other game must win to avoid a losing season. I think Groh is in trouble.
9. Dan Hawkins is in even worse shape. Hawkins also has been on the hot seat and lost at home to Colorado St. and then to MAC punching bag Toledo (giving up 54 in the process). Hawkins has must win next week at home against Wyoming (who hung with Texas for a bit) because after that it’s @WVU, @Texas, Kansas and @KState. If he loses next week he could start 0-7 which would likely lead to a mid-season firing.
10. Things start to get interesting next week. GaTech vs. Miami should separate someone as the favorite in the Big 10 (sorry VaTech I haven’t seen it from you yet). Tennessee and Texas Tech go to Florida and Texas respectively. Both of those road teams are down, but you never know. FSU gives BYU it’s 2nd challenge on the early season. Nebraska at VaTech might be the game of the day on Saturday (that is not a compliment).

First…

I feel really bad for Sam Bradford. He doesn’t seem like douchey, like the always-trying-too-hard Tim Tebow. It sounds like he is only going to miss up to 4 weeks but who really knows. Will there be any long term affects? This has sparked a lot of “this is what you get for not leaving early” sentiment which I hate because I think these guys should stay and get degrees. This kind of thing underlines that. In the blink of an eye you can be hurt and out of football. If that happens in week 1 of the pros, you are SOL. If that happens in college you get to keep your scholarship, get a degree and get a job. How come no one plays of that angle?

And Ten…

1. The Big Ten appears to be on a mission to embarrass themselves. Ohio St. narrowly escapes Navy (and don’t give me that BS about “looking ahead”), Iowa wins thanks to the worst kicker ever, Minnesota escapes because Greg Paulas got rattled in OT of his first football game in 5 years (or whatever), Illinois (with Benn and Juice back) gets throttled by a Missouri team (without Chase Daniel/Coffman and Jeremy Maclin).
2. Oregon looks pitiful. Chip Kelly cannot under any circumstances ruin what Mike Belotti built there. Forget about Blount, that offense was awful.
3. Florida St. and Miami was by far the best game of the weekend. But as I said, and Gene Wojciechowski agrees, FSU choked away that last drive. That was unacceptable for a supposed top 25 team at home with a veteran QB.
4. Minus the aforementioned game the Big East is certainly making a case to be passed up by the Mountain West. Special mentions to Virginia and Duke who both lost to Division II teams (yea thats what I called them).
5. Is Alabama that good or is Virginia Tech that bad? This is what I don’t like about week 1, it’s impossible to know anything. Like what did we learn by Texas and Florida destroying teams who’s best player probably couldn’t walk on to either of those schools?
6. I feel like we are on the cusp of a potential shift in power. LSU looked weak against Washington, Georgia got outplayed by OK St., BYU beat Oklahoma. I am going to throw this out there, there will be at least one ACC school who makes the MNC conversation at some point this year.
7. Brian Kelly outclassed Greg Schiano on Sunday. My cousin pointed out that they have basically traded places from a year or two ago. Kelly is prime for a big time job next year. I won’t even mention our cheeseburger-eatin’ Irish buddy, but if Zook or Bielma gets canned this year you have to to think Kelly will be a top choice.
8. I know this isn’t going out on a limb but Penn St. and Oklahoma St. sure do look like the most likely MNC contenders from their conferences.
9. I tried to find a dark horse for the Heisman who emerged, but the best I came up with was Max Hall from BYU. Those 2 INTs don’t help though.
10. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how pleased I was with Michigan in week 1.

Extra Points…(looking ahead)

• Fan or not, the Michigan/ND game is huge this week. Someone will be a much needed 2-0. I think after last week’s UM win it’s a much bigger game for ND even if it is on the road.
• If Ohio St. gets blown out in Columbus it’s going to be a long road back for the Big 10. Personally I don’t think they stand a chance (apparently neither does Vegas who has them +7 at home).
• Speaking of which, I was 1-2 this week in my picks which is (honestly) just for fun. I won BYU but lost Minnesota and VaTech.
• Mad props to anyone that can find a 3rd game worth watching this week. Best I could come up with:
  • UNC at UConn – We find out how real UNC is
  • S Carolina at Georgia – SEC FTW!

The Sox have $45M committed to 8 players next year. Add arbitration with Jenks (I would guess at least $10M), Quentin (somewhere between $2.5M and $4M), Danks ($2.5M to $4) and DJ Carrasco ($1.5M or so?). Plus Thornton’s option ($2M) which is a lock, Getz and Nix both back on rookie contracts as well. So I assume that puts us between $65M and $70M for 17 guys. That’s 4 starters, 4 relievers, 7 projected starters (no DH or RF) plus Nix and Viciedo. There is no guarantee all those guys are back, plus Fields and Wise could factor in.

So $70M without two positions expected to produce offense (DH and RF) which could easily be $10M more unless those positions are throwaways. At the moment our 3-6 is some combination of Quentin/Konerko/AJ/Rios. AJ and Konerko are the only two having decent seasons. AJ is hitting out of his mind and his strikeouts are way below his career average. He will regress big time at age 33. Konerko continues to be a pretty good hitter despite a decreased walk rate. Plus at 34 he figures not to have much left. And both of them come off the books after next year. That is the only blessing, hoping these guys have big contract years.

The biggest problem is that we didn’t sell high on Dye and Jenks and the two guys we acquired we owe more than $100 million to. One is a below average hitter and the other is about to have an MRI on his elbow. We have $70M on the books for next year without a reliable middle of the order hitter. If Peavy can’t go, we don’t really have an ace. And for all the Danks lovers out there, he has regressed some since last year and has yet to take that leap we thought he would be this year (year 3). Add to it that Thornton is our only reliable bullpen arm (we are stuck with Linestink) and this team has a lot of holes to fill.

We entered this year with lots of questions: Would Danks and Floyd improve further? I would say Floyd did slightly while Danks decreased slightly. Would Ramirez and Quentin stay to form? Q was hurt and his numbers are way down and Ramirez improved his walk rate but lost some power. Meanwhile we ended up calling on Podsednik to be our leadoff hitter who has been overrated to the extreme.

As a whole this has been a very disappointing season. The Sox need to improve next year especially after taking on this big contracts.

Credit: Baseball Reference, Cot’s Contracts and FanGraphs