Every game matters.

So often we hear this cliche when it comes to the ever-exciting world of college football.  Love it or hate it, this is truly why we watch; why we sit on the edge of our seats every weekend between September and January.

NFL… Sure, they play football.  But it’s just not the same.  Lose a regular season game or two and your year isn’t over.  All that really matters is what happens in the playoffs.  College football is different.  Every week is the playoffs.  Every game is a must-win.  Contenders are forced to show up every week.  There is no “We’ll get ‘em next week.”  You lose a game, and you’re likely out of the picture.

Of course there is still the conference title, and hopes for a prestigious bowl game.  But lets face it - what really matters is the national title.  Honestly, it’s like playing for second place.

Some might say this is a ridiculous point of view.  A conference title and a bowl game are nothing to be upset about.  I don’t disagree that these are accomplishments to be proud of.  But when you enter a season with the highest of expectations, settling for second best is never an easy thing to swallow.

Such was the case tonight for my USC Trojans.  Every year, such high expectations, always with the understanding that one bad game and it all might be over.  Well, tonight was that game, as the Oregon State Beavers delivered a crushing blow, handing the Trojans a devastating loss, 27-21. Sure, we can all cross our fingers knowing that maybe, just maybe every other contender will falter and we might get another shot.  Who knows.  We can only wait and see.

Either way, I will proudly watch the remainder of the season, desparately hoping to not fall victim to another surprising upset loss.  But with every game, every touchdown, even every play I will think about what might have been… about the national championship that just might have slipped away.

Every game matters.  Tonight was obviously no exception.  This is why I watch.  This is why I love college football.

 

It’s time for a quick early season review…

Here we are four weeks into the 2008 college football season… and so far, surprises have been few and far between. The teams we all predicted as title competitors still reside atop the rankings. USC, Georgia, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma - all preseason favorites that we can expect will still be there at the end of the year. The Big East is a mess, Ohio State still can’t win the big game, while the SEC continues to assert its dominance.

Strongest Conference: SEC/Big 12 (Tie).

No one can discredit the SEC. Defending BCS champion Florida, perennial powers LSU, Georgia, Auburn, resurgent Alabama- how can you possibly argue with a resume like that? And as if that weren’t enough, recurrent cellar-dweller Vanderbilt has proven itself to be a force to be reckoned with. Expect at least seven bowl bids for this power conference, and don’t be surprised if you’re seeing two SEC teams in BCS games at the end of the season.

But don’t go tooting your horn as the best in the land just yet SEC fans - you aren’t the only part of the country playing some good football…

You can’t talk power conference without mention of the Big 12. Heisman hopeful Chase Daniel and the Missouri Tigers have been steamrolling everyone in their path. Texas and Oklahoma - no national championship discussion is legitimate without mention of their names. Texas Tech has one of the most potent offenses in the country. Mark Mangino and his Kansas Jayhawks just keep winning, while Colorado and Nebraska also seem to have turned things in a positive direction. Six or seven bowl games for this conference would surprise no one.

Weakest Conference (BCS): Big East

Connecticut currently leads the standings - need I say more? West Virginia, what happened? The grass isn’t so green sans Rich Rodriguez. Rutgers? Sure missing Ray Rice now, aren’t you? Syracuse is just pathetically bad, while Dave Wannstedt and Pitt just can’t seem to figure it out. This conference just isn’t very good top to bottom. UConn needed overtime to beat Temple. Yeah, that’s right. Temple. Just kind of makes you wonder what would happen if they’d played a team that wasn’t complete garbage…

Most Disappointing Team: Ohio State

A close game against Ohio followed by an absolute shellacking by Southern California. What’s happening in Columbus? They repeatedly get embarrassed by quality opponents, and suddenly struggle against mediocre opponents. Ohio State no longer sits atop the Big Ten pecking order. Wisconsin quietly has taken their brand of unexciting smash-mouth football to a top ten ranking, while Joe Pa and his Penn State are once again fighting for the conference crown.

National Title Favorite:

USC of course. This team is just impressive. No one in the PAC 10 can compete. The Trojan defense is incredible - perhaps the best of the Pete Carroll-era. Linebackers Ray Maualuga and Brian Cushing are a tandom more impressive than any other group of linebackers nationwide. Safety Taylor Mays is just menacing: 6-3, 230 pounds… sure makes coming across the middle an unfortunate experience for opposing receivers. Couple the incredible defense with a resurgent offense led by Mark Sanchez, and you have a team posed for yet another BCS title.

 

A few years ago, my college roomate and I were sitting and watching the Army High School All-American Game, trying to scout out any blue chip recruits that would be headed to USC for the following season. Now I understand that this game is a chance for players to show off their athleticism… it is an all-star game after all. But one high-schooler really took it to the next level, and made a fool of himself in the process -ruining a sure touchdown by attempting to superman-dive from the five yard line only to come up just a bit short.

Sure enough… that player was none other than DeSean Jackson.

Now one would think that after embarrassing himself in front of a national television audience DeSean would have learned his lesson. Not so much. DeSean’s pure moronic nature re-emerged last night with yet another bonehead play, again throwing away a sure fire touchdown.

You can see the highlight on NFL.com

Pure genius. Well played buddy.

 

This is pretty damn funny.  Hits a bit too close to home.

thewebsiteisdown.com 

 

For as long as I can remember, late summer and the fast approaching fall season has meant one thing - the return of football.  Always the best time of the year…

… well not so much anymore.  Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers have ruined it for me.  Flat out - I am disgusted by the entire situation.

Retired, unretired.  Sure you can come back, no we don’t want you back.

And now we all look like a bunch of buffoons.

Brett Favre, you were my sports hero.  You were everything that was good about sports.  For 16 years you exemplified what was good about the game of football.  But you called it quits.  You announced your retirement and your team moved on.  Through the draft, through the restructuring of the offense - the Packers were prepared for life without you.  And then you changed your mind, and placed the franchise you helped to build into the worst situation possible.

Do they welcome you back?  Or do they turn you away.  They committed to a new quarterback, because you said you were done.  You claim that they rushed you to make a decision about your return before this year’s draft, causing you to throw in the towel before you were ready - can you blame them?  They needed to prepare, not sit around and wait for you to make up your mind.

… But Brett Favre, you are not completely to blame here.  Sure the Packers could have handled the situation better.  Release, trade, accept the return - just do something.  The longer this whole spiel plays out the worse everyone looks, and the more fans that will be lost, forced to choose sides during this ridiculous battle.

Someone please just make some sort of decision.  I want to admire Brett Favre.  I want to stay loyal to my favorite team the Green Bay Packers.  But right now all parties involved are just making it real hard.

 

July 26

Andrew is that was one hell of a weekend. 2:08pm
Andrew is juan in regards to my sunburn: “dude you look like an uncooked piece of meat.” 9:43am
Andrew is based on joeys level of gay I am sleeping on the floor. 3:36am
Andrew is joey d in a very I hope hetero manner: “AP hurry up and get into bed.” 3:33am
Andrew is about to show these bafoons how we roll. 2:24am
Andrew is well hey, if she’s down with that I guess that’s ok. I hope it doesn’t itch too bad. 2:13am
Andrew is fyi… it was not a strip club - there were just slutty girls there. 1:11am
Andrew is not sure what kind of club he was just at. was it a strip club… cause right now I feel kinda dirty. 1:10am
Andrew is I’m prett sure these people are from another planet. 12:51am
Andrew is I have never seen a crowd clear out like just now. this place is awesome, especially when they try to dance. 12:40am
Andrew is I didn’t want to have to say it again tonight, but no thank you, ghonneria. 12:23am

July 25

Andrew is the techno beats are getting to me. its time for some dancing. 11:12pm
Andrew is its like one big continuos techno remix up in here. 10:54pm
Andrew is this just in… phil, don’t feel bad. ron powders his balls too. 8:10pm
Andrew is juan, when asked about his unhealthy eating habits and metabolism: “Yeah, I just shit it all out.” 7:25pm
Andrew is phil in regard to rons $50 graphic tee from ed hardy: “it looks like a 5 year old made that at summer camp.” 5:53pm
Andrew is soaking up the sun with 8 million other people at the beach. 2:36pm
Andrew is what the hell happened last night? 9:50am
Andrew is no thank you, ghonneria. 1:25am
Andrew is I’m just gonna go ahead and say no thank you to the endless amount of VD wandering around here. 1:18am
Andrew is wow, this really just isn’t the place for me. maybe if I could just pop my collar and be cool like everyone else. 1:01am
Andrew is ron to joe: “he’s defining the hairline right now.” 12:35am
Andrew is “you don’t apprecia - aaaa - te me”. 12:29am
Andrew is cheeseballs. 12:10am

July 24

Andrew is dominating boardwalk games. retro mike schmidt jersey coming my way. 10:49pm
Andrew is phil is not happy and I am gonna get drunk. 10:34pm Comment
Andrew is juan farts a lot and phil gold bonded his nuts - 2 hours down 2 days to go. 10:31pm
Andrew is eating baby carrots on the way to the shore. that’s the last time we put joey d in charge of the food. 5:51pm
Andrew is shore weekend. Heinekins and Jaeger bombs. 2:09pm

 

So the other day at one of the SEC media days, Kentucky wide receiver Dicky Lyons Jr. gave a group of reporters a little more than they bargained for, as he decided to start talking about some strange dreams he had been having.

“I’ve been having these creepy dreams about [my fiancé] leaving me. ‘Cosmo’ says it’s natural to have these dreams. But I’ve been having these dreams that she’s leaving me, and this other dream the other night, I went out, and I’m following her, right, because I’m having suspicions.

“So then I find her at this bar, and I go up to her and I’m trying to talk to her. I said, ‘What are you doing?’ And she’s like, ‘I just don’t want to marry you.’ I’m trying to shake her, and slap her out of it, and I’m like, ‘Focus!’ And I slap her, and then I turn around, and Matt Stafford punches me in the nose. Matt Stafford goes, ‘You don’t hit women.’ And then all of a sudden their backup quarterback who is now at Delta State, Blake (Barnes), he comes hitting me and then I’m like fighting off all these quarterbacks, (Brian) Hoyer from Michigan State, all the guys who I was at with the Manning camp started jumping in. I did pretty well because I was biting them, I was twisting their arms, I knew all these Army Ranger tricks in my dream. I mean, it was just crazy. I was laughing about it. I texted [Stafford] and said, ‘I’m dreaming about you.’”

Lyons added that Stafford never responded.

“I don’t know if he likes me that much,” Lyons said.

Wow. Read the rest of the story here

 

Yeah, thats right - Seaside Heights, here we come. Steroids, bronzer, and blowouts - this place has got it all. Maybe if we’re lucky we’ll run into Tommy - gotta love this guy.

… He loves his Cheeseballs.

… And is a dancing machine (until he pukes in the corner)

 

There are many reasons why you shouldn’t be friends with your parents on facebook. Drunken photos, ridiculous status messages… these are really just some things your folks should never be seeing.

But the biggest reason why to not be facebook friends with your parents? So your roomate doesn’t friend your mom and strike up convo.

Seriously - quit talking to my mom dude.

 

Skaboom has poison ivy.  This just sucks the big one.