NCAA Football: As Temperatures Begin to Chill -- Rivalries Heat Up

The first chill of fall hits much of the country this weekend as the big conference showdowns and some fine Top 25 matchups heat things up. We’re following six games this weekend. Here they are.

First, ACC upstart, Wake Forest, visits conference rival Maryland as a one point favorite. They’ll be a wake in the forest when Maryland with its nasty defense prevails for the win. In other ACC action, George Tech visits a disoriented Clemson having just fired its coach. In the wake of this confusion, Tech is favored by 2 ½ points and should prevail.

In the SEC, #22 Vanderbilt visits Georgia #10. Georgia is favored by 14 ½ points and will likely prevail. Georgia has too many weapons to not clobber Vanderbilt, an SEC program on the rise.

Action is hot in the Big 12 this weekend. First #16 Kansas visits #4 Oklahoma down 20 points by the Vegas guys. Kansas will be the spread, but Oklahoma will want to come back after last week’s loss to Texas and win the game.

#11 Missouri visits #1 Texas who is only favored by 6 points. Texas will take care of business in this game on both counts.

Finally, in the Big Ten, #12 Ohio State visits East Lansing to face #20 Michigan State. This one belongs to the Buckeyes who will be tuning up to try to provide the big bump in Pops Paterno’s trek to an undefeated season.

NCAA Football: RMF Picked A Couple Big Upsets!!!

Well, we won't gloat too much as we were 4-1 in our overall picks. Here's the results.

Texas (#5) 45; Oklahoma (#1) 35 Texas pulled the big upset and was rewarded with the #1 ranking this week as a result.

Tennessee 14; Georgia (#10) 26 We picked Geogia while hoping Tennessee would pull the upset.

Notre Dame 24; North Carolina (#22) We picked the Tarheels and they won. That will keep "Touchdown Jesus" hanging in South Bend, right?

Now for our big upets!!!!

Oklahoma State (#17) 28; Missouri (#3) We felt Missouri has been getting a lot of hype and Oklahoma State was tired of being seen as the bridesmaid to Oklahoma.

LSU (#4); Florida (#11) While Florida was a six point favorite by the odds makers, this had none of the makings of a #4 versus a #11 game. LSU walked into the swamp and quickly got bitten by snakes and eaten by gators. Florida is out to prove they could not only win the SEC despite all the hype given Georgia and LSU, they might be Champs. They sure proved their muscle in this hot conference game.

Week Six: Who Let the Dogs Out? The Hounds of Hell are Barking!

Week Six of the NFL season featured more twists and turns than a bag of pretzels with stunning upsets and ferocious blowouts. Here’s a look at some of the best conflicts for the week.

First, there was no joy in the Chesapeake region as the Ravens who would have thought to have had a decent chance with their #1 defense to pull a mild upset against the hated Colts, the team whose uniform still makes Baltimore fans feel a sense of theft and betrayal even after twelve years of Ravens football and a Super Bowl trophy. The Ravens were a total mess in all three facets of the game with their secondary on defense looking particularly weak while the offense stumbled and choked with rookie QB Joe Flacco looking like a rookie quarterback unable to get the running game started against a defense that has not fared well against the run. While the Ravens had to journey to Indy to get their butts bruised, the Redskins fell in a game against possibly the worst team in the NFL in front of the home town crowd. Mistakes and missed opportunities gave the lowly Rams a chance to ram the Skins off track.

New Orleans showed what was expected of them playing strong offense and stingy defense obliterating the miserable Oakland Raiders 34-3 in front of the admiring Superdome fans.

Atlanta, the team thought to be most hopeless at the start of the season, outlasted the Chicago Bears 22-20 to a 4-2 division record tied with Carolina for the lead.

In hosting the Detroit Lions, the Minnesota Vikings posted a win in the standings but a blow out loss to those following the spread winning by 12-10 though favored by 13. The Vikings showed need for much improvement in a game that could be considered a moral defeat.

Tampa Bay manhandled the Carolina Panthers getting a divisional win. The NFC South might turn out to be one of the most competitive division races in the business this year.

Travelling to the great Northwest to face their former coach, Mike Holmgren, the Green Bay Packers were ten points better than the Seattle Seahawks who are increasingly becoming one of the most baffling disappointments of the year so far. at 1-4, Seattle shares last place with the St. Louis Rams.

In a game that could alter the NFC’s geography in much the same way Tom Brady’s demise turned things around in the AFC, Dallas Quarterback, Tony Romo, busted a pinkie and will be out for the next month as the Cowboys are looking increasingly vulnerable as the season progresses. The PacMan Jones distraction couldn’t have come at a worst time. Dallas faces a trip to St. Louis then hosts Tampa before a showdown with division leading Giants in New Jersey on November 2, week 9. Finally, after that, they will be blessed with their bye week. The ‘Boys must hold their own against the weaker opponents as the trip to New York will be a very tough ordeal against the defending Champions. We should mention, the Cowboys had the lead with time running out ready to kick a game ending punt that should have been of little consequence; however, the punt was blocked. The lowly Rams snatched up the ball, hustled in for the game ending touchdown. Rams win. Cowboys lose. Never before has a game ended by a game deciding blocked punt. Wow, we got to see history being made in the mish-mash of last minute takes from the NFC games on Fox!!!

The Philadelphia Eagles, a team desperately needing a strong victory having slid to the bottom of the toughest division in the game, found gold in their visit to San Francisco’s Candlestick Park with a commanding 40-26 win over the San Francisco 49’ers.

A trip across the continent to Qualicomm Stadium in San Diego turned into a chamber of horrors for New England who looked weak and helpless against the dominant San Diego Chargers losing 30-10.

The sixth week of the season ended with perhaps the most shocking upset of all. The New York Giants visited the hobbling Cleveland Browns to have their giant butts handed to them by the Dawg Pound brigade, 35-14. This game gave the Champs a chance to open up some daylight in their division lead with both Dallas and Washington losing, but their loss keeps the division tight.

William Ayers' Influence Makes Obama a Traitor

Barack Obama’s relationship with William Ayers alone is reason to vote against him and do everything possible to destroy his political influence. Once responsible citizens understand what William Ayers has done and what he represents coupled with his close association with Obama’s growing career in Chicago, it is obvious we’re dealing with a figure who has values that are contrary to basic American principles and one can infer border on traitorous.

There’s a person who is very interested in your knowing more about William Ayers and why Obama’s relationship with this traitor is so damaging. The gentleman is John Murtagh, a Yonkers, New York councilman, whose home was bombed by the Weather Underground when he was a child growing up. His father was a New York State Supreme Court Justice who was presiding over the trial of a notorious “Panther 21” on trial for conspiring to bomb New York landmarks and department stores. Weathermen slogans were spray painted on the sidewalks around the Murtagh residence and Bernadine Dohrn, Ayers mate, warned of more bombings. Murtagh details his experience in an article in the October 13, 2008 New York Post.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10082008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/terror_victims_qs_for_barack_132619.htm

Ayers is far more than some weirdo college professor from the 1960’s, he is a traitor and conspirator in bombings that resulted in at least the death of a San Francisco police officer. People don’t understand what the Weather Underground represented. Few had any idea just how extreme some of the Radical groups of the late 60’s and early 70’s were. When the nightly news consisted of the latest bloodbath in the jungles of Vietnam and the chaos in Washington as our leaders couldn’t develop an effective exit strategy, not enough focus was dedicated to the revolution that was building in major cities and on college campuses across the country. There were plenty of anti-war groups and gatherings exposing alternative lifestyles. While many of them were pretty wacky and almost always from way out in left field, they weren’t mean spirited. They weren’t threatening the fundamentals of American society. They did not seek to topple the American government. As such, groups like the Weather Underground were often casually dismissed as just another bunch of pot-smoking weirdoes. While that might have been an appropriate stereotype for a lot of the rebel groups, that was not true of Bill Ayers and his confederates.

The Weathermen grew out of a radical faction of the Students for a Democratic Society, (SDS), one of the most extreme and overtly Marxist of activist groups of the time. While many protest groups looked to figures like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi as roll models for their movement stressing nonviolent resistance appealing to a higher spiritually to guide their idealism. The SDS was a militant political organization drawing influence from Norm Chomsky and Herbert Marcuse, prominent social Marxists whose beliefs were widely popular among left-wing intellectuals on the college campus. Their philosophy attempted to articulate Marxism (THAT’S COMMUNISM, FOLKS!!!) in a relevant manner as a means to overthrown the American government "the destruction of US imperialism and achieve a classless world: world communism." (Quoted from You Don’t Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows, their founding document.) The Weathermen drew their name from that line in Bob Dylan’s song, “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” Of course, Bob Dylan vehemently denied and constantly condemned any association with the extreme radical left even drawing fire from former friend and social activist, folk singer Joan Baez who passionately pleaded for Bob Dylan to join “the movement.” William Ayers, his wife, Bernadine Dohrn, and the rest of their organization established themselves as allies of the Black Panthers, Che Guevara’s guerillas in Latin America, and Communist movements around the world including prominent student revolts in Europe. The White race was the great oppressor, and their goal was the total subversion of Democratic Free Enterprise systems of which the United States was the most powerful and hated. Violence was a justifiable means to their ends.

Among the criminal and treasonous acts the Weathermen committed were:

Their big kick off event on October 8, 1969 was designed to riots as part of their “Days of Rage” whose mission was articulated by William Ayers who explained, “The Days of Rage was an attempt to break from the norms of kind of acceptable theatre of 'here are the anti-war people: containable, marginal, predictable, and here's the little path they're going to march down, and here's where they can make their little statement.' We wanted to say, "No, what we're going to do is whatever we had to do to stop the violence in Vietnam.'" The Weathermen had expectations of drawing thousands to participate in their kick-off riot, only to have a few hundred show up. Of the 200-300 who attended, some broke into smaller mobs that spread rioting through Chicago’s upscale Gold Coast community vandalizing a bank and smashing car windows. Eventually, the police used tear gas and drove squad cars directly at the mob. Twenty eight officers were injured and 68 of the thugs were arrested.

Their violence had another side to it, destroying properties that symbolized their “oppressors” or going after institutions that supported the war or symbolized Capitalism. Their first target was as an outgrowth of the “Days of Rage” blowing up a statue in Chicago which honored police officers who died in the 1886 Haymarket Riot. The statue was rebuilt and unveiled on May 5, 1970. The Weathermen destroyed the second statue on October 6, 1970.

After the Chicago police and FBI raided the Chicago Black Panthers headquarters at the home of Panther Fred Hampton, killing Hampton and fellow Panther Mark Clark, the Weathermen pledged even more violent rebellion. Ayers’ wife and fellow treasonous villain Bernadine Dohrn issued their position,

“We felt that the murder of Fred required us to be more grave, more serious, more determined to raise the stakes and not just be the white people who wrung their hands when black people were being murdered.”
Soon, the organization issued a “Declaration of War” against the United States government, as the “Weather Underground Organization” pledging to stage covert activities to destroy our civilization. First were preparations to bomb a non-commissioned officers’ dance at Fort Dix in New Jersey intended to be the biggest attack on the US Government within its own territory.

After that failure, the Weathermen’s next target was out west bombing the San Francisco Park police station where a pipe bomb was detonated on a window sill killing police sergeant, Brian V McDonnell and severely injuring a police officer, Robert Fogarty, who was left partially blinded by the attack.

Their violence would then spread to New York City exploding three gasoline based fire bombs at the home of State Supreme Court Justice Murtagh who was presiding over a trial of the Black Panthers for plotting to bomb New York landmarks and department stores. Also that night, bombs were hurled at a police car in Manhattan and two military recruiting facilities in Brooklyn.

In March, 1970 a group of Weathermen blew themselves up attempting to create a nail bomb at their Greenwich Village residence. Conspirators Diana Oughton, Ted Gold, and Terry Robbins died while Cathy Wilkerson and Kathy Boudin escaped. Andrew W. Mellon professor of politics and history at Emory University noted, "The only reason they were not guilty of mass murder is mere incompetence. I don't know what sort of defense that is."

Witnessing their attempts were not close to as successful as their leaders had intended, the Weathermen attempted to go “underground” and be more clandestine in their activities. They chose to attack symbols of American power such as the FBI Headquarters, Capitol and Pentagon. On June 9, 1970 they took credit for bombing a New York police station as retaliation against the death of Soledad brother, George Jackson, killed by police guards when attempting to escape prison. On May 19, 1972, Ho Chi Mihn’s birthday, they detonated a bomb in the woman’s bathroom in the Pentagon causing flooding which destroyed classified data on a computer tape in an area damaged by the flooding.

The Weathermen continued their activities most notably publishing the Prairie Fire Manifesto articulating their ideology of hatred toward all things associated with the Capitalist system and the Imperialism they asserted it represented. Ayers and Dohrn were main architects of that publication.

As the legal charges mounted, Ayers and Dohrn lived in hiding as many of their surrogates turned themselves in or were arrested. As the Vietnam War concluded and Gerald Ford pardoned draft resistors, their reason d’être was difficult to assert and the group splintered. Ayers and Dohrn turned themselves in on December 3, 1980 amidst a media circus. Though the evidence against them was overwhelming, charges were dismissed because it was revealed some evidence was seized by illegal FBI wiretaps.

Ayers and Dohrn, as a married couple, would dedicate themselves to above board causes through which they could further their radical ideology through legal means setting up shop in Chicago where they continue to prepare the world for a Communist classless society one brick at a time.

Since charges being dropped in 1980, Ayers and Dohrn have attempted to go more “mainstream” but they have never repented for their actions and their goals remain the radicalization of America and have chosen as the subversion of the educational process as the place to devote their efforts.

On September 11,2001, ironically the date of the most extreme terrorist attack ever committed against the United States, interviewed by the New York Times, Ayers stated, "I don't regret setting bombs" and "I feel we didn't do enough.” He further reflected, “do it all again" noting "I don't want to discount the possibility."

Ayers has never refuted his belief in Marxism and the methods of Chinese Communist leader, Mao Tse Tung. He has described himself as a (c)ommunist not a (C)ommunist, alleging his connection more with the actual writings and philosophy of Karl Marx not of the Communist governments allied with the Soviet Union.

It is little wonder that Ayers should seek education as a place to continue his revolutionary ideology. The grant money he administered in collaboration with Barack Obama was designed to indoctrinate students through radical teachings contrary to traditional American values. One of the fundamental positions of the Communist Manifesto as professed by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels was to “rescue education from the influence of the ruling class.” His focus in education is largely devoted to “social justice” which can translate into all kinds of radical influences and children in trouble with the law (as victims of an oppressive society.)

While a huge misinformation campaign is being waged by sympathetic elements in the press to minimize the Obama/Ayers connection, those who have a vested interest in vetting the truth such as John Murtagh can demonstrate the connection is a deep one of mutual support and one of Obama finding in Ayers a mentor to help further mold his radical political beliefs.

As our column has noted in previous discussions, the more Obama’s past is revealed and the figures who influenced him become better known, we find that his background consists of political activists full of anti-American resentment who in many instances openly embrace Marxism, religious figures like Jeremiah Wright, whose “liberation theology” adds a veneer of Christianity over essentially communist assumptions, and finally major figures in the Richard Daley political machine, one of the most corrupt and abusive political enterprises in the country.

Further, the more Obama is vetted and his biography is subjected to investigation, what no one is able to produce are those figures in Obama’s life who might have a more moderate or traditional view of America. His ideology comes from extreme anti-American activists whether they are secular influences like William Ayers or corrupted spiritual figures like Jeremiah Wright. His political methodology is a product of how things are done in Chicago, the ability to manipulate the system and engage in political opportunism for the sake of his amassing of power and influence.

Once aware of these circumstances, there is no excuse, none whatsoever to vote for Barack Obama. To do so is to vote for the destruction and corruption of the democratic and free enterprise system that are the basis of our culture. In essence, a vote for Obama is in some small but significant way, a petty act of treason, one tally against the United States of America which has afforded its people with the liberty and Constitutional rights to pursue the principles on which our country was founded in the Declaration of Independence.

Sadly, a large portion of our society came of age after the threat of communism evaporated and either weren’t born or were young children when the radical movement reached its highest levels in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Given how gruesome the war was and then to be followed by Watergate as the war began winding down, the evils committed by domestic terrorists like William Ayers was seldom given much of the attention those actions deserved.

As time passed, the radical influence prettied itself up and has become a major part of modern day journalism and education. This influence can also be seen by how activist judges have rewritten laws and issued rulings that have attacked straight on traditional American values in favor of the kind of secular, amoral society envisioned in the Communist Manifesto.

Another Dear John Letter: EGADS!!!

Dear Senator McCain,

What are you doing? I am furious that you suggest your supports be "respectful" of Barack Obama. You just don't get it, do you? Barack Obama is an evil man, a socialist, a slick opportunist who has a long history of involvement with extreme American haters and has been involved in enterprises that undermine the very integrity of the American system.

It would be nice if you were running the kind of campaign that would get enough voters to vote for you to win the Presidency. That's not going to happen. A lot of people need to vote for you because while they might not be wild about you, they surely want to vote against Obama-Nation.

If the truth is told, there should be plenty of fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the voters' minds that they couldn't possibly vote for Obama. Your opponent has two kinds of influences in his background, the extreme radical left that grew out of movements like the Weather Underground founded by William Ayers. His other main influence are folks associated with the corrupt and wicked political Daley machine in Chicago.

Where are the positive and uplifting influences in Obama's past? Where are there any real patriots? Where are the former military heroes? Where are the leaders from business and industry?

There are plenty of people who hate America, but he spent twenty years closely related to Reverend Jeremiah Wright who we've heard shout "God damn America."

How can we call Obama a patriot when his notion of "change" is that America is essential a bad country that needs to be rebuilt from its roots as a socialist, anti-free enterprise naion absolutely contrary to what has made our country strong for over two hundred years.

Many of us hate what Obama stands for. We seek his positions as wicked and his attitude treasonous. We see how he has a gift for sucking up to the media creating a false imagine of himself that betrays his basic politics.

You must draw the line of distinction between what you stand for and what he is all about. You must be hearing it at your "town hall" forums, the American people are pissed off. We've had enough of the kind of world the media is trying to stuff down our throats.

Look at Obama's involvement with ACORN for instance. How about all the money he got from Freddie and Fanny?

Show us the warrior. Fight, fight, fight as if the future of America depends on it. Because in truth, it probably is. I for one think you could be a pretty good President but the voters won't give you a chance if you don't give yourself a chance. You're taking shots from that traitor and not fighting back. He's also setting himself up for one issue after another that you should be able to counter and set the record straight that you are letting slide. You have to fight, fight, and fight some more.

You can do this. We're just waiting for you to show us you really want to win this thing. You keep giving Obama way too many freebies. This must stop.

Sincerely,

Just another right-minded fellow.

x

x

x

Sprint Cup: The Chase: Race 5, Home Sweet Home

RACE: Bank of America 500
PLACE: Lowes Motor Speedway, Concord, NC
DATE: Saturday, October 11, 2008
TIME: 7:00 pm.
TV: ABC, WMAR-TV, Channel 2
WEATHER: 69F, Partly Cloudy

Could there be no place like home as the drivers enjoy their second visit to their home track in Charlotte, North Carolina for the fifth stop on the Chase for the cup. Maybe the comforts of home will settle the emotions from last weekend at Talladega. Chasers and the rest of the field, will try to put aside anger and frustration from many drivers enjoying good rides loused up by wrecks caused by other racers’ miscalculations, the "big one" and all the other circumstances that make 'Bama racing especially tough. Imagine Greg Biffle’s plight. Biffle was leading his teammate, Carl Edwards, who got a little over anxious applying a bump draft move which wound up wrecking both cars giving Jimmy Johnson the lead in the points standings with a little margin to play with. There is one more real mixer which almost certainly will shake up the standings significantly when the battle travels to Martinsville, Virginia next week, but starting tomorrow night at Charlotte, most of the races will be on one and a half mile ovals. Only Phoenix is one mile. While each track has its own personality and Texas is a very similar design to Charlotte, they all favor the same kinds of strategies, similar car setups, and most significantly, drivers’ style. All these tracks are ones that have been kind to Jimmie Johnson. His dominance at the mile and a half tracks is overwhelming particularly at Charlotte where only Kasey Kahne, outside the chase, has also been a key player. Elsewhere, the Roush boys have had some success spread between Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, and Matt Kenseth.

Things are looking very good for Jimmie Johnson to join Carl Yarborough as the only two drivers to achieve three consecutive championships. Still, all it takes is one miserable finish and he’s way back in the standings while others excel. It’s too soon for him to start sandbagging but if Chad Knauss and crew can help him stay in the top five for the rest of the season, he’s in. Further, working to his advantage, qualifying rained out lines up the drivers to start in order of the current points standings. That makes it real easy for him to snag a quick five points for leading a lap regardless of what happens in the rest of the race.

Some driver shuffles are taking place down in the bottom of the field as owners see they are going nowhere with their current driver and seek to reevaluate their needs for the future. It seemed like a shocker to some that Red Bull Racing would release A.J. Allmendinger was released from Red Bull in favor of Scott Speed for next year. Allmendinger was showing steady improvement over the second half of the season. Seeing that, he has been hired to race the #00 car for Michael Waltrip Racing for the rest of the year and possibly longer. Ken Schrader will finish the year for Hall of Fame Motorsports. Mike Skinner fills in the #84 Red Bull ride for now. Mike Wallace rides in the #10 car for Gillette/Evernham ride at least for Charlotte. It’s musical driver’s seats for the #45 Kyle Petty car with Chad McCumbee racing that ride this week. Bill Elliot will finish the year with the “legendary” Wood Brothers where his past champion’s provisional could come into play to keep them in the show. The future of that organization given the way their fortunes have collapsed the last couple years has to be most uncertain. How sad to see a program so rich in history be one of the most mediocre in the whole field. The #70 Haas car with Tony Raines and #66 car with Scott Riggs are both lame ducks as that team will be Stewart-Haas racing with Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman next year. This is by no means a summary of the silly season but only where driver assignments are concerned for Charlotte and beyond for the remainder of this season.

The race continues on between many of these drivers and others to lock in to the top 35 in owners’ points securing starting positions in the first four races of the 2009 season. A number of programs have all but been eliminated from a shot at that fortune as they are deep down in the standings. These include the #70 Haas ride in 43rd, the Wood Brothers in 42nd, Furniture Row racing in 41st, Kyle Petty’s #45 car in 40th , #10 for Gillett/Everham in 39th, #96 Hall-of-Fame Racing in 38th. The #96 car is 328 points behind Robby Gordon, currently #35. As such, none of these full time rides are going to be locked in for the start of next year’s competition. That leaves only two teams with a shot at racing into the field. In 37th spot, Roger Penske’s #77 car driven by Sam Hornish faces a 177 point deficit. In 36th position, Michael Waltrip Racing’s #00 car is 39 points short. Above Gordon sweating bullets are the following teams, in 34th is car #84, Red Bull Racing with a 17 point advantage; Haas Racing’s #66 is in 33rd, 59 points up; the Bill Davis #22 car in 32nd leads by 63 points; Michael Waltrip’s #55 car is in 31st place up by 86 points. Next on the misery index is Chip Gannasi’s #41 ride in 30th position, 101 points above Robby Gordon, and the last team still sweating bullets is the #01 DEI ride in 29th position, 128 points up. Beyond that, the rest of the teams are all but mathematically locked in. This field includes mostly inexperienced drivers who could get over anxious given what’s at stake in the final races leading up to Homestead. Surely, the contenders will want to not get caught it this pack as lap traffic.

The boys will be racing in Prime Time on the big network for some serious Saturday night drama. Race conditions look ideal, and time’s running out for some chase contenders to make their move to the top. Charlotte is a challenging course with no consistent strategy for victory. All eyes will be on Jimmie Johnson who drives the Lowe’s car at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. He’s represented the Lowe’s brand with distinction at Charlotte. Given his history and recent success, all eyes will be on the 48 car tomorrow night. It’s his race to lose.

NFL Week 6: Things Are Getting Serious

NFL Week 6

While the folks in Nashville and New York cheer their undefeated Titans and Giants, big boys are nowhere to be found in the cities of football follies where the rewards beyond are not playoff berths but first round draft seedings, we’re seeing the desperate moves for desperate times going on with QB benchings, coaches getting sacked, and one particular villain of a GM being fired while dark clouds are gathering ready to strike over the hapless teams that have not made any moves yet. What do these moves amount to? In the short term, probably not much other than possibly good PR to help keep fans showing up in the stands on Sundays. It’s hard to see any of these teams moving into the middle of the heap. Alas, Cincinnati, Detroit, Oakland, Kansas City, and St. Louis are all pretty miserable places. Only Cincinnati hasn’t pushed the panic button yet. Still, no one can honestly lay the blame for the Bengals failure on Coach Marvin Lewis, and as they say, an owner can’t fire himself. Part of Cincinnati’s failures through the years has been a result of their failure to make decisive moves. Still, they’re a team with a potential first tier quarterback with Carson Palmer, aside from Palmer, they have the biggest jerk in the sport in Chad Johnson, along with a bevy of common barroom brawlers and common criminals. The significance of these stinker teams, they’re the ones playoff contenders must beat up on to assure themselves of moving into the January rounds. We’ve left winless Houston out of the discussion as they did achieve a .500 record last year and is hard at work improving their program. They could break out of their beginning of the year funk complicated by Hurricane Ike on any Sunday afternoon.

Baltimore goes to Indianapolis, a 4 ½ point favorite over the Ravens. Still, given the way the Colts have started off with a weak defense against the run, the only strength Baltimore has on offense. Further, the number one defense will give Payton Manning and crew all they can handle. The upset goes to the Ravens.

St. Louis enters Washington down 13 ½ points. The Redskins are one happy crew right now and will destroy the Rams.

Miami, the team that has doubled its wins from last year beating San Diego and New England visits Houston who is a three point favorite in search of their first win. This will be Houston’s first home game! They will prevail.

The New York Jets host the Cincinnati Bengals favored by six points. Just six points! This is a no-brainer, the Jets will make a mess out of the confused criminals.

Oakland visits New Orleans down eight points, an easy win for the Saints.

Here’s one that’s interesting, Chicago visits Atlanta as only a 2 ½ point favorite over the Falcons. The Bears have a brutal defense and so-so offense. Despite Atlanta’s surprising start with rookie Quarterback, Matt Ryan, Chicago should easily beat the spread.

Detroit goes up to the far west end of the Great Lakes region to face the Vikings who are expected to dominate by at least 13 points. The Metrodome is not the place where the Lions will dance their victory dance for being ridded of Matt Millen. The Vikings will kick ass.

Carolina goes to Florida down a point and a half. We’ll pick the experts wrong and see Carolina winning by probably at least a field goal. Both teams can be erratic at times, but they have more tricks on offense.

Jacksonville heads out to “Mile High” territory down 3 ½ to the Broncos. This game goes to the “Ponies” all the way.

Green Bay is down 2 ½ to their hosts in Seattle. Green Bay is perhaps a little weaker than expected and Aaron Rodgers is not 100%, but still Seattle has been miserable so far this year. We’ll pick the upset and go with the Cheesy Poofs.

Dallas visits Arizona as a 5 ½ point favorite. Whether T.O. is sobbing or Pac Man’s in trouble again, the boys will make a mess of the Cardinals for sure.

Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, travels cross country to San Francisco, the city of …. well we can’t tell you what kind of love in a sports column, favored to win by five points. Don’t worry, the Eagles will soar high above the Golden Gate.

Also heading out to the West Coast will be the New England Patriots figured to loose by four points to San Diego. Both teams were supposed to be the toast of the AFC on opening day, but New England lost Tom Brady and San Diego lost Shawne Merriman. The Chargers should prevail. We’ll see how Bellichick works to build a new plan for his team with out its offensive leader. The adjustments continue but they are a conspicuously compromised team. Hard to believe, but both these teams could be outside looking in at playoff time. San Diego should win covering the six point spread.

Monday night, the New York Giants visit Cleveland favored by eight points to smack down the Browns. New York should win easily. Cleveland will pull an upset or two between now and New Year’s Day but not this one.

College Football Fun: Week 7: What a Long Strange Trip It's Been

At the end of August, the chatter seemed to be would USC and Georgia would be the likely matchup for the National Championship but alas, both teams have sustained a significant loss that has pushed them back and depending on what the teams above them do in the remaining weeks, could have knocked them out of the championship hunt. A few battles this weekend could help make the January picture clearer, but to say any one team is the clear favorite right now would be premature. One of our games this week, #5 Texas versus #1 Oklahoma could help clarify things. If Oklahoma pulls a convincing victory over Texas, that could solidify their #1 standing. Misssouri at #3 faces a top 20 rival in Oklahoma State #17.

So here are our bold picks this week. Here goes:

There's no reason to believe Oklahoma#1 shouldn't beat Texas #5. Go with Oklahoma. The Sooners have BCS Bowl winner in their reach.

Tennessee plays #10 Georgia at Georgia. While we expect Tennessee is a strong candidate to pull a major upset, it won't be this week in enemy territory. This one's Georgia's all the way.

Touchdown Jesus stays home in South Bend while the Fighting Irish visit Chapel Hill to battle the North Carolina #22 Tar Heels. The Mackeral Snappers from Notre Dame will not go home from Carolina with a win. It's North Carolina all the way.

Here's our upset efor the week, Oklahoma State #17 could pull off the deed and beat media daring, Missouri #3. If Missouri wins big, talk off them as champs will get loudere.

Finally #4 LSU visits #11 Florida. This game will be an old fashion brawl. Despite being a little banged up, this one's Florida's.

NFL 2008: First Quarter Report -- Suprises Galore

The top story of the 2008 season came during the first week when New England Patriots’ Quarterback, Tom Brady suffered a season ending injury against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs. So far, the Patriots have only lost one game though that one loss was a total slaughter at the hands of the Miami Dolphins. Beyond that, who would have picked the Tennessee Titans to lead the NFC South undefeated?

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NFC EAST:
The NFC East is the hottest division with the toughest competition in the league this year.
Talk was that Dallas would dominate with Philadelphia and New York providing stiff competition. No one would have put the Redskins in the picture. The Giants are undefeated and lead the division, probably not a huge surprise. Dallas is down one game with one loss, but that one loss was a home game loss against Washington. Washington lost their opener horribly against the Giants, but have visited Dallas and Philadelphia. Philadelphia has looked strong but they lost games they could have won. Now Brian Westbrook, their vicious running back has two broken ribs. The recent history of the Eagles has been seasons ruined by key injuries. Are they on that road again. Hail to the Redskins!!! Who would have thought with all the off-season turmoil, a rookie coach, and such tough competition, they’d go to both Philadelphia and Dallas to post key wins against their division rivals? Jason Campbell has grown up overnight looking like a top Quarterback. Dallas looks strong but remains the best soap opera in the NFL. Every player who has a bad game gets ripped in the media. It seems the ‘Boys get the attention in the NFL the Yankees get in baseball.

NFC NORTH:
The NFC North was supposed to be a battle between Green Bay and Minnesota for supremacy, but Chicago has taken the lead playing the kind of football that took them to the Super Bowl two years ago with adequate offense and defense, defense, and stuff it down your throat defense. Minnesota looks dazed and confused not being able to put four quarters of a good game together. Green Bay has lost three straight, first against a clearly superior Dallas team, but losses against Tampa Bay and Atlanta have to have Cheeseheads worried. The Detroit Lions are living up to their reputation as the worst franchise in major sports. How long will it be before Matt Millen’s departure brings results?

NFC SOUTH:
Carolina leads the division on playing good consistent football, nothing flashy, but good enough to win on both offense and defense. They beat two tough contenders with San Diego and Chicago but also won against Kansas City and Atlanta. Speaking of Atlanta, with the Michael Vick scandal forcing the team into instant rebuild mode and coach, Bobby Petrino bolting after thirteen games last year would seem to suggest an organization in total chaos. Still with rookie QB, Matt Ryan, and a rookie coach, they’re 3-2. Tampa Bay checks in at 3-2, about what would be expected of them. The real disappointment has to be New Orleans chosen by many to win the division and possibly go deeper. They currently have (on paper) the fifth best offense but the 28th worst defense. They’ve scored eight points more than they’ve given up.

NFC WEST:
The NFC West is clearly the worst division in football. That Arizona is in front at 3-2 says more about the mediocrity of the division than the accomplishments of the Cardinals. Aside from the Redskins, Buffalo is their other tough competition. They lost to Washington, but blew out Buffalo. The Jets, in turn, slaughtered them. Their other two games were against Miami and San Francisco. In a weak division, they could make the playoffs, but won’t go beyond the first round. San Francisco is at best mediocre. They beat Seattle and Detroit. Seattle is one of the biggest disappointments in the league so far this year. Widely selected to win the division, they have only one win against St. Louis. Speaking of St. Louis, does it get much worse? They might be the lowest of the low so far this year.

AFC EAST:
The story’s been told, Tom Brady was lost for the season in game one for the Patriots but they’re still likely to be the top team in the division. The question for the AFC East right now is just how good is Buffalo. They haven’t played particularly tough opposition yet and had to fight for their lives to beat Oakland. They were blown-out by Arizona in their last game. How will they play against their division rivals? The New York Jets are a work in progress looking great at times and sloppy and confused as well. That yields them a 50/50 record so far. Brett Favre is planting his roots and should get much stronger leading the offense as the season progresses. They’re still in the picture. Miami is showing some spunk as they all have Bill Parcells big shoe up their butts. They’re a young team just being assembled but they’re at the 50/50 mark too. Further, they beat both New England and San Diego. Not bad!

AFC NORTH:
As expected, the Pittsburgh Steelers lead the North, but they are a pretty weak looking 4-1. They barely beat the Ravens at home taken to overtime in a game the Ravens dominated until a damaging defensive penalty and turnover. They have key injuries, but they need to pull lots of loose ends together to be a team ready to chalk up playoff wins. The Ravens stand at 2-2. Few would have thought they’d be that strong so far, but clearly they could be 4-0. Both losses turned on defensive penalties from the team with the league’s top defense. What a strange irony that is. Rookie QB, Joe Flacco shows tremendous potential and guts; however, is making some typical rookie mistakes. So far, the Cam Cameron has dummied down the offense where a strong running attack has kept the Ravens strong leading deep into the second half in all their games. The Cleveland Browns sure aren’t living up to the billing they got in preseason hype. They showed some real potential last year, but are a cut above the bottom dwellers at this point in the season. Quarterback, Derek Anderson, has fallen way short of expectations with his sloppy play. The Brady Quinn chorus gets louder and louder as the hometown folks see him as the next Bernie Kosar. Braylon Edwards has been a bust. Cleveland is close to the bottom in almost all offensive categories. Then feeding off the bottom is Cincinnati where about the only press of note is whatever recent quotes Chad Ocho Cinco Johnson provides as if someone this charlatan sees himself as the center of the football universe. The Cincinnati clubhouse is in chaos with players trash talking their Quarterback, Carson Palmer, one of the true front line players on the team. What can you say about a team that has had more players in jail than the Pro Bowl the last few years? Marvin Lewis is sure to get fired, but he’s working with the players management gave him. He’s a good man destined for something far better than being jail warden for a bunch of ungrateful, undisciplined punks.

AFC SOUTH:
The football world is learning the Tennessee two step pretty quickly as the Tennessee Titans are the most successful team in the NFL with the toughest defense in the league. Who would have thought that the loss of Vince Young, apparently suffering some kind of mental breakdown, could be countered with 14 year journeyman, Kerry Collins, leading the Titans to glory? Meanwhile, the Colts got off to a dreadful start perhaps due in part to not having Peyton Manning in training camp but also enduring some key injuries. The Colts are starting to come on strong now. Next week, their health will be tested as Ray Lewis and the Ravens defense will hit them with their murderous defense. Great things were expected of Jacksonville, a team that has looked shaky and inconsistent so far. Likewise, few would have expected the Houston Texans to be 0-4 after rising up to 8-8 last year. This is the easiest division to predict could have two teams heading to the playoffs, the Colts and the Titans.

AFC WEST:
San Diego was supposed to dominate the West, but close losses in their first two games put them down two games, and just as they were starting to look like they were ready to roll were upset by the Miami Dolphins. The team benefitting from this is the Denver Broncos at 4-1 partly due to Quarterback Jay Cutler finally coming of age showing himself to be perhaps the first worthy successor to the great John Elway. Below the Broncos and the Chargers are two of the most miserable teams in professional sports. While the Raiders have pockets of talent, the team is in constant turmoil. From the start, the dismissal of coach Lane Kiffin seemed like a done deal, but he was left hanging in the breeze until the ax fell on October 1 with assistant coach Tom Cable appointed as head baby sitter. It could only be worse in Kansas City where nothing is working who have only an upset win against Denver to brighten a dreadful season.

The 2008 season at the quarter mark shows wide open competition where what is more for certain are the teams that are absolutely assured of misery than teams that look to be in the drivers’ seat for post season glory. Cincinnati, Houston, Oakland, Kansas City, Detroit, and St. Louis are in the running for who will be on the clock for the first round number one draft pick in April. Houston’s the only team that looks like it could break lose for better things.

Meanwhile consider the fate of Philadelphia Eagles’ fans. Few would deny the Eagles are a tough team, but at 2-3 at the bottom of their division, it’s a tough road ahead for Donovan McNabb and crew.

Kansas Teacher Suspended for Using Students to Perform Pro-Obama Spot

pictured: Kansas students participating in Pro-Obama spot posted on U-Tube.

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It's about time. See article on this link:

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/06/middle-school-teacher-suspended-obama-frat-spat/

Over the last thirty years, NEA and AFT through its local and state affilates have sought to politicize the classroom to conform to its dogmatic labor politics and support of far left causes and organizations. While many teachers consent to such by their silence, other teachers embrace the activist ideologies using innocent students as pawns for their political aims.

Recently, we cited an article about a college professor assigning his students to discredit Sarah Palin. It wasn't open ended, defend or refute, but simply to trash her. Examples are flowing in from all around the country but the main stream press wants no part of such news as they have no problem with such behavior because they have also corrupted their profession for the sake of their political aims.

October Opens in Fine Fashion with College Pigskins

It's time to fess up on our College picks.

We picked Maryland. They were highly favored. Virginia shut them out. Ouch.

Vanderbilt beat Auburn as we predicted despite Auburn being favored. HA-HA-HA!!!

No surprise, USC as predicted smothered Oregon.

Bobby Bowden's boys went to the opposite end of the state and beat Miami who we felt had just enough to win on their home field.

We cheer for Michigan, but Illinois pulled the upset big time!

Finally, our Chesapeake bias paid off, Navy beat the odds and Air Force too.

We're 50/50 this week. We'll see how we do with the pros soon!

SPRINT CUP: The Chase: Race 4: Talladega, 'Bama Bound for a Bruising

It's Off to the Big One to Try to Avoid the "Big One"

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RACE: Amp Energy 500
PLACE: Talladega Super Speedway
DATE: Sunday, October 5, 2008
TIME: 1:00 pm
TV: ABC, WMAR-TV, Channel 2
WEATHER: 83F, Sunny


Did you all see the end of the Kansas race last Sunday? WOW, WOW, WOW!!! For all the critics of the “Car of Tomorrow” which is the car they use today about creating boring, predictable racing, those watching Sprint Cup racing through the summer have seen some unbelievable finishes and some good old bump and grind racing the likes of which we haven’t seen since that black #3 Chevrolet with the Intimidator at the controls traded paint with Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, Terry Labonte, Geoff Bodine, and anyone else who would dare challenge his supremacy on the track. Watching Carl Edwards go for broke, banging off the wall final lap performance harkened back to that style of racing. Kansas did not prove to be a big momentum changer as far as most teams’ progress or regression in the points standings but did seem to reinforce what was already true. Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Greg Biffle are the dominant drivers going down the stretch. A few other drivers are still within reach given a few breaks while others look as good as done.

Now that the Chase racers have survived Dover, they face the next of two tracks that can seriously alter the complexion of the chase as it doesn’t take much to change a driver’s fortune due to things completely beyond his control. Likewise, the way restrictor plate racing works with long trains of cars where slipping out of position can cause a car to drift back ten positions in an instant or can get a driver hopelessly caught back in the back can surely alter the end results costing much needed points on the road to Homestead in November.

Restrictor plate driving seems to reward a different pool of drivers. Fellows like Ernie Irvin, Sterling Marlin, and Michael Waltrip achieved most of their victories in plate races. Other top drivers like Rusty Wallace never won a single race over a twenty plus year career. Then there are the unimaginable mix-ups that lead to finishes like Ryan Newman pushed by teammate Kurt Busch winning the Daytona 500 or how Ward Burton won a few years earlier.

Things have already set up for the fall running at Talladega to be quite an interesting race given the top qualifiers and where top chase contenders find their starting position. Check this out!!

1. #28, Travis Kvapil, Ford, Robert Yates Racing
2. #5, Casey Mears, Chevy, Hendricks Motor Sprots
3. #8, Aric Almirola, Chevy, Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
4. #01, Reggie Smith, Chevy, Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
5. #15, Paul Menard, Chevy, Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
6. #33, Mike Wallace, Chevy, Richard Childress, Inc.
7. #78, Joe Nemechek, Chevy, Furniture Row Racing
8. #70, Tony Raines, Chevy, Haas Racing
9. #83, Brian Vickers, Toyota, Red Bull Racing
10. #1, Martin Truex, Jr., Chevy, Dale Earnhardt Racing

Not a single chase driver appears in the top ten. Several drivers are either not regulars or are also ones who have to race to get in. On top of that, things look pretty hot for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. don’t they? Add to that, Mike Wallace racing in a part time ride for Richard Childress comes from the same engine shop. Adding to the strange of the strange, Kenny Wallace racing for Michael Waltrip’s 00 ride, starts in the 14th spot.

So where are the Chase contenders. This is an eye-popper too.

12. #99, Carl Edwards, Ford, Roush/Fenway
15. #88, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Chevy, Hendricks Motor Sports
17. #31, Jeff Burton, Chevy, Richard Childress Racing
20. #48, Jimmie Johnson, Chevy, Hendricks Motor Sports
22. #16, Greg Biffle, Ford, Roush/Fenway
26. #24, Jeff Gordon, Chevy, Hendricks Motor Sports
31. #17, Matt Kenseth, Ford, Roush/Fenway
34. #20, Tony Stewart, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
35. #07, Clint Bowyer, Chevy, Richard Childress
36. #11, Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
37. #18, Kyle Busch, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
39. #29, Kevin Harvick, Chevy, Richard Childress

Now folks before you go running to your elected officials demanding an investigation and immediate action, plead that the Presidential candidates address this situation, or call some fruitcake talk show host who can connect this to some greater conspiracy theory, there are some dynamics, the race within the race, which helps explain this. First, for some reason only known to the France family’s brain trust, Talladega is an impound race. Crews have their practice sessions to document their best car setup and then need to setup for qualifying. Practice time was limited by a big mess left on the track from Dale Earnhardt Jr’s car’s rear end exploding. As the season winds down, the pressure on the “go or go home” gang, those below #35 in owner’s points are under more and more pressure to qualify well to optimize their chances of a good finish as they will be locked in to start the first four races of the 2009 season beginning at the Daytona 500. Making the race is of absolute importance to these teams, so they setup with what would be best for qualifying while the teams assured of a spot set up for racing competition. It is no easy task to change from one setup to another once the green flag drops. Even if these drivers fall back toward their normal positions toward the back of the field, early on, they’ll have chances to gain five bonus points for leading a lap. A five point boost can mean a position or two down in the lower reaches.

Meanwhile, the Chase stars are right in the thick of things from the middle to the bottom of the pack putting themselves in danger of “the big one.” Therein lies the set up for one factor that makes Talladega a track that jumbles up the final standings as competitors get whacked being stuck in one of the trains that derails with cars zipping all over the track when one fellow gets a little out of control causing everyone behind him to adjust.

Given where the big shots are starting and the likelihood of a couple episodes before they can work their way toward the front, picking favorites to finish given this qualifying order is a daunting task, so we’ll just chicken out and hope for a good race. Looking at recent history here are the drivers who’ve done well when ‘Bama bound. First, only two races have been run with the new car, this spring and last fall. Looking at those races, last fall, Jeff Gordon won and Jimmie Johnson finished second. Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart were top 10 finishers. The misery gang included Kyle Busch at #36, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (still with DEI) #40, and Jeff Burton finished dead last.

Fortunes changed this spring with Jeff Burton winning the race with Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle posting top tens. “Les Miserables” included most of the pack falling in the 20’s, Edwards – 21, Busch -22, Kenseth -23, Bowyer -24, Hamlin -26, and Johnson -28. The real miserable fellow was Little E himself, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at 35th. Before the new car, since 2000, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has five wins at the track, Jeff Gordon, three, and Jimmie Johnson, one win.

Now here’s something to think about, since Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon are the two dominant drivers at the Alabama track in recent years and now they are teammates, how about a little teamwork and driver cooperation? Remember when Jeff Gordon got pelted with beer cans for a little end of race strategy to beat Junior? They’re buddies now, and it looks like they have a plan. Check this out from NASCAR.COM!!!

http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/10/04/dearnhardtjr.jgordon.work.together.talladega/index.html

For this race fan, few races cause greater fear and anxiety. To see those big trains develop and then cars running three and four wide starts creating fears of the big one about to happen. So which of these guys are going to wind up in the scrap heap?

This will be one to watch for sure! Start 'em guys. We're along for the ride so don't wreck 'em up too much.

Saudi Cleric Issues New Ruling to Further Oppress Women

God, Please Grant Us The Day Our Islamic Sisters Can Run Free

How much evidence does the world need that the heart of Islam is EVIL. Let's add to that stupid, sexist, demeaning, cruel, and absolutely cruel. For fear of the seductive power of the feminine eye, Saudi women should wear a full veil, or nigab, that reveals only one eye.

Horror of horror to these sexist pig oppressors, revealing both eyes encourages (GASP) women to wear (HORRORS OF HORRORS) eye makeup thus looking (OH MY GOD, ALLAH) more seductive! Yes, these are the fears expressed by Sheikh Muhammad al-Habadan. While this edict has not yet be enacted, it shows what's a big part of the mainstream of thinking in the Islamic world, Saudi Arabia being one of the most severe.

It's time for us as westerners, part of the Judeo-Christian heritage, to recognize this kind of hateful behavior for what it is and speak out against it. Enough of the politically correct nonsense about "being tolerant of cultural differences." It sure would be boring if everybody in the world did things the same way, but the constant dictatorial behavior making women at best second class humans but much more like a simple commodity subject to the male culture's whims is unacceptable and must be condemned, period.

Western society has surely had its moments of shame and historically has done some shameful things to its women and minorities, but we have the capacity to change, to grow, and strive to be better. In most western nations women can aspire to be anything they wish. On personal appearance, we accept all kinds of fashion, styles of dress and personal preference. The bottom line is we take for granted it's a woman's responsibility to chose how she wants to look. We still have some room for growth as we've seen with a woman candidate for President and now an official nominee for Vice President, both Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin have been subjected to snarky comments and suggestions that would never be applied to their male counterparts. Chances are, their presence in the national spotlight will help us overcome that kind of sexism to.

In the west, we progress. In the Islamic world....more oppression.

Source article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7651231.stm

NFL Week 5: First Quarter of Season Ends

Preseason Predictions Fall As No Clear Story Dominates the 2008 Season So Far

Last year, it was all about the Patriots getting off to such a dominant start inlight of "Spy-gate." Even this early, talk was could they run the table. The big story so far this year also involved New England with Tom Brady sustaining a season-ending injury. With New England no longer in the dominant roll, the field is wide open with teams like Buffalo and Tennessee sitting atop the world so far. The misery of the teams at the bottom has also been hard to ingnore as coaches and GM's have been fired and life is bad in Cincinnati, Kansas City and St. Louis. Not much was expected of Miami, but they're showing a little spark with Bill Parcells working to build a quality team. Atlanta was supposed to be dead last but stands 2-2 with lots of potential starting to bloom.

If the first quarter of a football game can be used as a metaphor for the the first quarter 0f the 2008 season, it's been a game with a few key injuries and has to be a bit of an upset in the works. Some mighty have fallen while others have suddenly appeared among the elite.

Chad Johnson was doing what he does best, mouthing off for the cameras. What a piss poor excuse for a human being! Mojo Stinko surely believes the whole world revolves around him and everyone else exists to fawn all over him. What this lowly little pimple on the butt of the Cincinnati Bengals still hasn't realized, nobody gives a crap about his antics. Play a good game on the field, folks will love him. Screw around and make a lot of noise and don't get results, he's yesterday's news. Ocho Cinco is cero cero in our book. He'll be facing Dallas this week. Across the field stands the grand-daddy of this breed of receiver. While no one expects all receivers to conduct themselves like Hall of Famer, Art Monk, guys like Shannon Sharpe sure were wild characters, there is a clear line of decorum that Johnson has consistently fallen way out of bounds. That we're even discussing him here is feeding what he wants, attention. The best treatment for Cero Cero is to just ignore him.

We're going to keep our eyes open for players who are going above and beyond using their celebrity to do good things for their community. We have plenty of them here in Baltimore. It is a shame the naughty boys get all the attention.

Let's look at this week's games and see who's hot this week.

Tennessee (-3 1/2) at Baltimore

The Ravens face another major test against Tennessee. They were in a position to win against a seemingly much more dominant Pittsburgh on Monday night football if it weren't for a short lapse starting with an idiotic penalty then a turnover which put Pittsburgh in the driver's seat. Still, they took the game to overtime, and it wasn't a rookie QB who lost the game for them. Tennessee is a hot team so far this year. Their defense is tough. Their offense knows how to seize the moment. If the Ravens can improve a little on their Monday night play and take advantage of the crazed Baltimore home crowd, they'll beat Tennessee. The Titans are favored by a field goal.

Washington at Philadelphia (-6)

Who would expect Washington to be one game up on Philadelphia at this point? Philadelphia is an exceptionally strong team, who have faced a tough schedule aside from opening up against St. Louis. Washington has faced New York, Arizona, New Orleans, and Dallas. Simple answer, Washington beat Dallas. Philadelphia didn't. Washington has crept in flying under the radar showing Jason Campbell as a QB on the rise. With Santana Moss and Clinton Portis, the Redskins have the nucleus of a fine offense. Still, Washington's overall stats are pretty average and their offense has only scored five more points than their defense has given up. Washington has found just enough of what it takes to win. Meanwhile, the Eagles are an explosive team, top ten in offense and defense, but lost in an offensive shootout against Dallas and then the game against Chicago was a defense dominated game where they came up four points short. Philadelphia has the numbers to beat the skins for sure.

Buffalo at Arizona (-1 1/2)

Buffalo is 4-0 and has a much wider scoring ratio than Arizona. Buffalo ranks #6 compared to #27 for Arizona's defense. They're close on offense, Bills #7, Cardinals #9. This one's Buffalo's all the way.

Kansas City at Carolina (-9 1/2)

No brainer, this one goes to the team from the city of nervous bankers and NASCAR shops, Charlotte, NC.

Indianapolis (-3) at Houston

Because of Hurricane Ike, this is Houston's home opener. The Colts have been underachievers all year. Truly, this being a division game is a big one the Colts need. They'll take care of business and win.

San Diego (-7) at Miami

The Chargers electrocute the fish. Next!

Chicago (-3.1/2) at Detroit

Chicago will be riding in a completely different Ford than the last time they took a ride in Ford Field. The fans morale will be jubilant now that the biggest boob outside of a Hollywood breast implant, Matt Millen, has been sent packing. He might be gone, but the team he slapped together is still on the field. Urlancher versus Kitna, say no more. Chicago will be riding home in style!

Atlanta at Green Bay (-5)

Sunday brings a situation Green Bay never had to consider during the Bretete Favre dynasty, Aaron Rodgers status is a game day call. His shoulder is pretty messed up. Though many would have expected Atlanta to be 0-4, remember there wins are against Detroit and Kansas City. Atlanta will have to absolutely dominate on defense to win. This looks like it's going to be a cheesy game all the way.

Seattle at New York Giants (-7)

The Giants will win easily against the Starbucks Studs.

Tampa Bay at Denver (-3)

If Denver's defense is on the mark, they'll win handily. Both teams can be unbelievably sloppy at times. Discipline and focus will determine this one. Tampa has the Denver fans to punish them.

Cincinnati at Dallas (-16 1/2)

How about this? Cincinnati ranks 19th in defense, Dallas 20th. On offense though, Dallas is 3rd, Cincinnati is 29th having only scored an average of 13 points a game. So Chad, Mr. Cinco, why does your offense stinko? Dallas is going to slaughter Cincinnati. This game's a blowout in the makings.

New England (-3) at San Francisco

This game should be a good measure of just how damaged the Patriots are without Tom Brady. They travel across the country to play a team they should be quite stronger against. New England has only a slight edge. San Francisco could step things up a notch and win decisively.

Pittsburgh at Jacksonville (-4)

Neither team has played up to its preseason expectations. With Drayton Florence and Reggie Nelson out, Jacksonville's defense is seriously weakened, but Pittsburgh has some hurt to deal with too. Willie Parker is out. Ben Roethlisberger has a sore shoulder making his status questionable. Santonio Holmes, likewise, is uncertain. A hobbled offense faces a damaged defense. Jacksonville does seem to have the touch to find the Steelers number as shown last year. Jacksonville should win.

Minnesota at New Orleans (-3 1/2)

The Vikings have been disappointing so far this year. Many expected them to lead their division this year, but they have been sloppy and inconsistent so far. New Orleans has four players out, three wide receivers including Jeremy Shockey. Minnesota has a lot of players down not out. The game has two teams far from 100% both proven to be prone to silly mistakes so far. If Minnesota can beat a team that's going to try to stuff the ball down their throats with a strong running game, they'll win. Otherwise, enjoy the cajun cooking, because they won't enjoy a win.

This will be a fun week to watch. No game really rates "Toilet Bowl" status this week, with three of the most joyless teams enjoying byes this week, the level of competition goes up while Cleveland, Oakland, and St. Louis rest up. The New York Jets also take a rest. This will give them time to let the Brett Favre offense sink in. They'll come back against Chicago then have a couple easy games to settle in against Oakland and Kansas City before facing division rival Buffalo. By then, all the pieces should be in place and we'll see if the Jets could have a future in January.

Colllege Pigskins as October Begins

Oh yeah!!! One more reason Oregon should be scared, the mighty USC cheerleaders.

Has everyone survived the weekend of upsets? The mighty USC sure took the hit in the rankings. Meanwhile, the Maryland Terps, our home boys, soldier on.

Here's our games for this week. Base your bets on these at your own risk!!!

First, Maryland visits its closest rival, Virginia, favored by 13 1/2. They should take care of business and the point spread too.

We'll follow two Top 25 showdowns. #13 Auburn is favored by 4 points at #19, Vanderbilt. We'll pick the upset and give this to "Vandy." Meanwhile, #23 Oregon has the privilege of facing an angry #9 USC back home and steaming over their loss at Oregon State. I wouldn't want to get anywhere near the L.A. Coliseum for that one. USC will slaughter Oregon.

In years past, the big game on this slate would have to be Florida State visiting Miami (-2 1/2). Neither team is close to being ranked nationally nor is either one positioned to lead its division in the ACC. Still this is one of the biggest rivalries in the South East outside the SEC. Miami should have enough gas to ignite Florida State.

Focusing on a Big Ten rivalry, we'll pick Michigan favored by 2 1/'2 hosting Illinois to take care of business.

Our final game is between two of the military academies with Navy travelling to Colorado to battle Air Force (- 5). Anchors away, Navy will pull the upset.

YEOW!!! WE'RE BACK

EMF has been a wee bit under the weather this week, but we're back with a vengeance! We were following the economic mess. Trying to make sense out of this mess and have something articulate to say abaout it is a daunting task. Our hunch is that lawmakers and the corporate big shots still don't know the extent of the problem. The fingerpointing is outrageous. The Congressional "bail out" became all important as no one would dare be accused of doing nothing or wanting to get a better read on the situation. Generally, on most issues where the extreme left and extreme right are opposed to the same measure, it must be a good thing. Still, when we see the finished product of the bill loaded with pork to gain support from wavering idiots on the hill, how shameful can it get. What's this about money to help build NASCAR tracks and the arrows for Boy Scouts? Business as usual. Then there's Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank, how partisan and out there on the lunatic fringe can two folks be?

Perhaps one of the most lucid comments on the whole situation was in the Palin/Biden debate where she appealed to everyone for a greater sense of personal responsibility. Amen to that.

How about all the upsets in the NCAA and even to some extent for the NFL?

We'll have more to say about the baseball play offs

The Presidential campaign leaves us frustrated and angry wondering just how ignorant the population is given Obama's surge in the polls. It's hard to blame the public when their source of information is a corrupt and biased news media. Old Johnny needs to be more aggressive especially countering the obvious lies and explicitly socialistic positions coming from the Obama camp. How could anyone knowing the issues not have been outraged by how Joe Biden rattled off one lie and distortion after another in the debates?

Two Great ACC Upsets: Congratulations to The Maryland Terps and UNC Tarheels!!!

Pigskin Power Shown as ACC Underdogs Defeat Mighty Foes!!

This ain’t college basketball folks, this is Division I football! The University of Maryland trekked to Death Valley to upset the favored top 25 Clemson Tigers 20-17 with tough defense and ball control offense. Meanwhile, 2008 could mark the year the University of North Carolina rises from the scrapheap to be bowl bound with the Tarheels upsetting the favored and once mighty Miami Hurricanes, 28-24. Not only is it noteworthy that both ACC underdogs should be victorious on this final weekend of September but both had to travel to enemy territory, teams reputed to have historically enjoyed strong home field advantages to head back north with prideful victories to celebrate.

Here’s hoping there will be many happy Saturdays ahead in the weeks ahead before attention shifts to two guys named Williams and their hardwood heroes!!!

Mind Blower: Living Proof Some Folks Have Too Much Time On Their Hands

1, 3, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97 .....

Remember those? Prime numbers, numbers that are indivisible except by themselves and one that cannot be factored down. The higher up the numerical scale, the less frequently prime numbers occur. That's all Math 101, and yes, 101 is a prime number too!

Thanks to Windows XP and a team of UCLA scientists they have now discovered a 13 million digit prime number!

Can you imagine how many sheets of paper it would take or how long it would take just to write down 13 million figures? If it takes one second per digit, that would be around 150 days around the clock!

If every digit were displayed at standard resolution, how many industry standard 17" computer displays would be needed to show all the figures?

Science is all about discovering new things, so let's celebrate this team at UCLA for their discovery. Now, who can explain how this discovery benefits the human condition except perhaps Microsoft can brag how air-tight its ability to calculate is. Remember the hoopla over the computation problems with the first generation Intel Pentium processors?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,429201,00.html

RMF is proud to have enabled his readers to be just a wee bit smarter on this rainy late September afternoon in Chesapeake Bay country. Given your humble writer was born in '53 and graduated from high school in '71, does that make him a PTP (Prime Time Player)? That might be stretching it!! Ah to be old enough to remember the days of the adding machine before the pocket calculator and the geeks still used slide rules in advanced math and science back then. Why do you think your writer here became a Liberal Arts student? Majoring in English and Philosophy and minoring in History worked out just fine for this fellow!!!

So when does one know, "I'm past my prime" anyway?

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