On Tap

A lot late but better than never.

Assisting in the grant writing process takes up a shit load of time apparently.

And there was no beer of the week. If I don't get to drink beer, you don't get to drink beer.



Last Week 6-1 (13-6 overall)

Saturday

12:00 (ESPN) Michigan @ Minnesota. Minnesota

12:00 (ESPN2) Ohio State @ Northwestern. Ohio State

3:30 (ABC) Penn State @ Iowa. Penn State

3:30 (CBS) Alabama vs. LSU. LSU

8:00 (ESPN) Notre Dame @ Boston College. Boston College

8:00 (ESPN2) Florida @ Vanderbilt. Florida

8:00 (ABC) Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech. Texas Tech

On Tap

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007

I am too lazy to write anything up, so here are the games and inevitably bad picks.


Last week 7-5 (I suck)


Saturday

12:00 (ESPN) Wisconsin @ Michigan State. MSU

12:00 (ESPN2) Northwestern @ Minnesota. Minnesota

2:30 (NBC) Pittsburgh @ Notre Dame. Pitt

3:30 (ABC) Florida State @ Georgia Tech. GT

3:30 (CBS) Georgia vs. Florida (Jacksonville). Florida

7:45 (ESPN) Nebraska @ Oklahoma. Oklahoma

8:00 (ABC) Texas @ Texas Tech. Texas Tech




all times eastern

Beer of the Week

Week of October 27th --- Beer of the Week


Spaten Optimator






Dark German Doppel Bock with a hefty 7.2% alcohol. I have had Spaten products before and always been happy with them, the Optimator would be my favorite of them. I would say for a beer that I have not had before and picked up off the shelf with no prior suggestions it may be one of the best choices ever. Many times a beer that is high in alcohol content can some times lose some of the beer flavor and have more of a wine like edge to it, but the Germans know what they are doing and have created a fine product here. I definitely recomend picking up a six-pack.

Yeah, the Optimator is submitting its candidacy for beer of the year.

On Tap

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007


New deal I will try to predict the winners (this won’t go well)


Thursday

7:30 (ESPN) Auburn @ West Virgina. ESPN was probably pretty pumped up about this matchup when they looked at the schedule before the season started. Now? Not so much. A loss for either team will put an already embattled coach in a tough spot. WVU


Friday

8:00 (ESPN2) Boise State @ San Jose State. Boise State is up to #12 in the BCS standings. People have started to remember that when you talk about non-BCS teams crashing the BCS you need to include BSU. BSU


Saturday

12:00 (ESPN) Texas Tech vs. Kansas. Tech plays their first game of the year against a team that resembles real competition (sorry Nebraska you don’t count, maybe next year). Tech has a brutal schedule to finish up the season so a win here is crucial. Kansas

12:00 (ESPN2) Illinois @ Wisconsin. Wisconsin is 0-4 in the Big Ten and in serious danger of being 0-5, now that I have written that down they will probably win. Illinois

12:00 (BTN) Northwestern @ Indiana. Yeah this is here cause I have to point out Northwestern is ranked #22. Northwestern

12:00 (ESPN Classic) Minnesota @ Purdue. Also only listed to point out Minnesota is ranked #24. # freaking 24. Purdue

3:30 (ABC) OK State @ Texas. It is a load of crap, but we don’t get this game in our region. Yeah the ABC/ESPN2 swing game is freaking VT/FSU. Yep we get the best game from the worst conference in the BCS instead of possibly the best game of the day. That is just not right.
OK State

3:30 (CBS) Georgia @ LSU. Elimination game 1 in the race to be the SEC representative in the national title game. LSU

3:30 (ABC) Michigan State @ Michigan. If there is a year for Sparty to knock of UM in Ann Arbor this is that year. After getting throttled by OSU MSU will be looking to take out their aggression and who better to do it to than their biggest rival in possible there worst year in a half century. MSU

7:45 (ESPN) Alabama @ Tennessee. Tennessee needs a nice easy game to get themselves right. This will not be that game. Alabama will keep their dream season alive, for now, until they run into the other SEC powers. Bama

8:00 (ABC) Penn State @ Ohio State. Virtual Big Ten championship game (assuming the winner does not pull a USC the rest of the way). Penn State has run over everyone they have played and Ohio State has played down to their competition all season long. The only way I see OSU upsetting the Nittany Lions is if the D finds away to shut down the potent spread HD. PSU* (I just don’t see how I can pick OSU to win)

8:00 (ESPN2) Notre Dame @ Washington. Poor Ty Willingham, he has been blamed for the down fall of Notre Dame football and it looks like his UW teams is going to get stomped on ND’s way back up. ND


all times eastern


*I freaking hope not

Beer of the Week

Week of October 20th --- Beer of the Week

Hofbräu Oktoberfest




Is that an umlaut I see? I believe it is, and what more could you want from a German beer than an umlaut, seriously? If you require more from your beer the Hofbräu Oktoberfest is still a grand choice being that is has a solid flavor and above average drinkablity. How is one beer more drinkable than another? I have no idea but it sounds good. Just stop reading and go buy some, unless you were with me drinking it this weekend which pretty much rules out all but two of my readers.

Beer of the Week

Week of October 13th --- Beer of the Week


Taiwan Beer




Good luck getting your hands on one of these. Actually I am guessing that you can find it somewhere if you look hard enough for it. I had it hand delivered from Taiwan and it was probably worth the $932 airfare just to get one of these beers.* Anyhow it is a solid beer (I mean it says gold medal right on the bottle), but I would not give it higher than an average taste score. You can also notice the effect of added rice during the fermentation process giving it a Budweiser like taste. If you come across some it would be worth your while to pick up a six-pack just to say you tried the flagship of Taiwan beers.


*false

On Tap

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007


Some solid football games this weekend, I have no time to write any thing about them though. You will just have to deal with knowing what games are on and no useless info about them.


Thursday

7:30 (ESPN) Clemson @ Wake Forest


Friday

8:00 (ESPN2) Louisville @ Memphis


Saturday

12:00 (ABC) Texas vs. Oklahoma

12:30 (ESPN2) Colorado @ Kansas

3:30 (ABC) Purdue @ Ohio State

3:30 (CBS) Tennessee @ Georgia

3:30 (ESPN2) Michigan State @ Northwestern

8:00 (ESPN) Penn State @ Wisconsin

8:00 (ESPN2) Oklahoma State @ Missouri

8:00 (CBS) LSU @ Florida

all times eastern

Beer of the Week

Week of October 6th --- Beer of the Week

Genesee Cream Ale




Didn't drink anything special this weekend so I will have to reach deep into the reserves and pull out Genesee Cream Ale as beer of the week.

Friday Rundown

That there is one disappointed Cubs fan.

It appears I have jinxed the Cubs.

Pitt only wins a game when you least expect them to, now they are back in the drivers seat to fulfill my prediction and win the Big East. I now expect them to drop three games in a row.

Ron put up a half-assed review of the ND weekend here.

On Tap

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007


Thursday

7:30 (ESPN) Pittsburgh @ South Florida. Some fool picked Pitt to win the Big East, they sure are making him look like a jackass. South Florida should have a cake walk to the Big East title, but then again some pretty strange things have been happening in college football this year. The lesson here: never pick the Wandstache to win anything.


Friday

8:00 (ESPN2) Cincinnati @ Marshall. We are Marshall, and Cincinnati is starting their 7th string quarterback. Does anyone watch these Friday night games?


Saturday

12:00 (ESPN) Penn State @ Purdon’t. Purdue is sure in the midst of a tough little stretch of football (Oregon, CMU, ND, PSU, OSU). Penn State is hoping not to end up like Wake Forest, Florida, USC and actually beat a team they are supposed to.

2:30 (NBC) Stanford @ Notre Dame. I think this should be another win for Notre Dame, but you just never know what you are going to get from a Pac Ten team. Also apparently everyone and their brother got arrested last week at Notre Dame. I was there and I saw and was involved in none of this, thankfully.

3:30 (ABC) Illinois @ Michigan. Illinois has only lost twice, with both losses coming against teams currently ranked in the top six. Michigan has lost twice as well, but to Utah and Notre Dame, although those losses are becoming better and better by the week.

3:30 (CBS) Kentucky @ Alabama. Last week Alabama went into Athens and played the role of executioner at the black out. That means this week they should forget how to play football and lose by 10 to Kentucky.

4:00 (Versus) Navy @ Air Force. First game for the commander-in-chiefs trophy. Navy has won like 5 in a row (some kind of record). If you like teams that run the ball this game is for you. The Midshipmen and Falcons combine for almost 600 rushing yards per game.

6:00 (ESPN) Auburn @ Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is undefeated (and it is not the academic bowl) seriously. Auburn can’t score. I am feeling a 7-6 Vandy win.

8:00 (ABC) Ohio State @ Wisconsin. Can you say Ohio State out of the national title picture? With a loss here that would be all but certain, but with a win they will still be on the hairy edge of the conversation annoying approximately 93.7% of the country. Badger Badger Badger.

9:00 (ESPN) Missouri @ Nebraska. Late game on ESPN, look for Cornhusker coach Bo Pelini to rupture a blood vessel after Mizzou scores their 5th touchdown of the first half.


all times eastern

Playoffs?

Let me put down in print how I think the MLB playoffs will turn out. I do this so at the end of the playoffs you can point out how wrong I was.

AL Divisional Series

Angels over Red Sox in 4

Rays over White Sox in 5


NL Divisional Series

Cubs over Dodgers in 4

Brewers over Phillies in 4

ALCS

Rays over Angels in 6

NLCS

Cubs over Brewers in 5


World Series

Cubs over Rays in 6

Beer of the Week

Week of September 29th --- Beer of the Week

Miller Lite


I had successfully avoided naming Miller Lite for something like 14 months, but since I did not drink anything interesting in South Bend and I started Saturday morning with Miller Lite I have no other choice than to name it beer of the week.

A full (OK, partial) recap of the weekend will be up later this week (most likely not written by me) all I will let you in on is both Ron Burgundy and I hurled before noon on Friday. It was a hell of a start to the weekend.

On Tap (Little to no effort edition)

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007

I even had time to work on this and just chose not to, your loss (or gain).

Thursday

9:00 (ESPN) USC @ Oregon State. USC gets their first chance to get back on the field after throttling Ohio State. Every year it seems like USC finds one game to forget to show up to, unfortunately for the Beavers that is not this game. Key Fact: It is nearly impossible to ignore the obvious “the Trojans will pound the Beavers” joke, see I even tried.


Friday

8:00 (ESPN2) Connecticut @ Louisville. Another Friday night game for Connecticut. Also known as another Friday night game for you to ignore.


Saturday

12:00 (BTN) Minnesota @ Ohio State. I don’t even know what to think of OSU anymore, some day some game the Buckeyes are going to let a team hang around just a little too long.

12:00 (ESPN) Random early afternoon game on ESPN. One team will probably be ranked in the 20’s the other will be looking for a marquee upset but will totally settle for knocking off anything that resembles a top 25 team.

3:30 (ABC) Wisconsin @ Michigan. Wisconsin opens up there Big Ten campaign against the hurting Wolverines. Both teams are coming off a bye week. The Badgers have been celebrating their victory over Fresno and Michigan has been thinking about getting greased by the pillow Fighting Irish.

3:30 (ABC) Arkansas @ Texas. If you don’t live in the Midwest you will have the opportunity of watching Texas dismantle the fighting Bobby Petrinos.

3:30 (NBC) Purdue @ Notre Dame. First and foremost I will be at the game, if that is not reason enough to watch there is not much else that will get you to tune into a Notre Dame game.

3:30 (CBS) Tennessee @ Auburn. The Vols get the pleasure of getting blasted on national TV for the second week in a row.

7:30 (ESPN2) Mississippi State @ LSU. I don’t think Mississippi State is going to have a whole lot of fun in Baton Rouge.

7:45 (ESPN) Alabama @ Georgia. A battle of top 10 teams. The first chance for the SEC to really start beating themselves up. Will Georgia prove that it is national championship caliber, or will Alabama crash the party showing that the SEC championship goes through them?

8:00 (ABC) Illinois @ Penn State. Penn State has a chance to prove they are for real or at least as good as Missouri.


all times eastern

Well this sure won't get you anywhere

Normally this is where I would point out that this would come in handy for a Notre Dame fan, but it seems particularly convenient for Buckeye fans as well.

Beer of the Week (The long awaited return)

Week of September 22nd --- Beer of the Week

Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest



Yeah, of course it is not quite October, but it was this or Genesee Cream Ale.

Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest holds the wonderful quality of being able to survive a 3 day power outage and come out tasting better than it went in. Not sure if that is a good thing. Not the best Oktoberfest I have ever had but for the price it is worth giving it a taste.

On Tap (The day after too much Scotch edition)

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007


Thursday

8:30 (ESPN) West Virginia @ Colorado. I have a sneaky suspicion that Colorado will win 17-14 in OT, just a feeling.


Friday

8:00 (ESPN2) Baylor @ Connecticut. Another one of those Friday night football games that you hope you are only watching it cause it is on in the background at whatever bar you happen to be in. Key Fact: This would be a better game if it were basketball.


Saturday

12:00 (BTN) Troy @ Ohio State. Troy has played top 25 teams tough the last few years, had they been catching the Buckeyes after a big win in SoCal I would say that they had a shot at an upset. Instead, they are running into an angry Ohio State team that has something to prove. Needless to say, this game is close going into the fourth before Ohio State pulls away. Key Fact: Troy’s mascot is the Trojan, that is enough to make me scared of them.

12:00 (ESPN) East Carolina @ NC State. East Carolina came close to coming back down to earth after barely getting past a pesky Tulane team on the road. They should get back on track knocking off a third team from a BCS conference. Key Fact: Listening to Lou Holtz talk (and by talk I mean slur) about his son’s team and getting almost teary eyed is probably the best part about him on ESPN.

3:30 (CBS) Florida @ Tennessee. One of the biggest rivalry games out there, although it seems that Florida has had the Vols number lately. Phil Fulmer’s seat could get a little hotter if Tennessee does not show up and at least give Florida a game. Key Fact: This game won’t be close and Urban Meyer will continue to run up the score cause he is a prick.

3:30 (ABC) Notre Dame @ Michigan State. This should be a surprisingly good game. Michigan State’s defense has looked solid and ND looks like there is some life in their offense. Notre Dame fed off of Michigan’s mistakes last week, hopefully MSU can make ND prove that they can win. Key Fact: It pains me to admit it but I am going to be rooting for Notre Dame to win, but that is only cause I want them to be undefeated so that their fans get back to the annoying levels that we all know and love just in time for me to travel to South Bend and watch Purdue shut them up.

7:00 (ESPN2) Wake Forest @ Florida State. FSU has lost two in a row to Wake Forest. Yes, you read that correctly. Last time Wake visited Tallahassee they walked away with a 30-0 win. It shouldn’t be that easy this go around, even though FSU has only played games against 1-AA teams. Key Fact: Has any team that has fallen off the college football map shown more early season promise year in and year out for us only to find out they still suck than Florida State.

7:45 (ESPN) LSU @ Auburn. Even though this game did not get the prime ABC billing it will probably be the best game of the night. Both teams are ranked in the top 10 and the winner puts themselves in the lead of the SEC west. Key Fact: Expect this to be low scoring (not 3-2 low scoring).

8:13 (ABC) Georgia @ Arizona State. This game lost a little bit of its luster when ASU could not get past UNLV. A few people (crazy people) have said that the PAC is one of the better conferences in the county, last weekend’s 0-4 performance against the Mountain West slowed that talk. Coupled with a shellacking at home by Georgia should effectively end it. Key Fact: Dennis Erickson is two years away from having the appropriate number of criminals on his team to compete for a BCS bid.

all times eastern

Fail

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Let's just not talk about this.

On Tap

No time for a real write up, just some games that should be good (or hideously awful)

Friday

8:00 (ESPN2) Kansas at South Florida (good)

Saturday

12:00 (BTN) Montana State at Minnesota (awful)

3:30 (ABC) Oregon at Purdue (good)

3:30 (NBC) Michigan at Notre Dame (awful)

8:00 (ABC) Ohio State at USC (Oh how I hope it is good)

10:30 (ESPN2) Wisconsin at Fresno State (good)

On Tap

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007

Nice and abbreviated this week (and somehow the font and size got all jacked up and I don't have the time to deal with it)

Thursday

8:30 (ESPN) South Carolina @ Vanderbilt. Another Thursday night with Steve Spurrier.

Friday

7:00 (ESPN) Navy @ Ball State. Somehow I have the feeling that Navy is going to run the ball, a lot.

Saturday

12:00 (ESPN2) Miami (OH) @ Michigan. The Wolverines need this win to avoid starting 0-2 for the second consecutive season.

12:00 (ESPN) Ohio @ Ohio State. No Beanie should be no problem against the Bobcats.

3:00 (FSN) BYU @ Washington. Washington got stomped last week by the Ducks and things are not going to get much easier against a BYU team that is looking for a chance to play in a BCS bowl.

3:30 (ABC) Cincinnati @ Oklahoma. I have heard some experts say that this game has upset potential. I think Brian Kelly is a fine coach at Cinci, but I just can’t see them going into Norman and knocking off the Sooners.

3:30 (ABC) Oregon State @ Penn State. The Oregon State Beavers travel to Beaver Stadium to take on Penn State. I think it is just too coincidental for the Beavers not to pull a mild upset in Beaver Stadium. Then again OSU lost to Stanford last week and that is never good for any team.

3:30 (NBC) San Diego State @ Notre Dame. Talk about a great team to open up against for ND. SDSU lost to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo while giving up 263 yards on the ground and gaining only 27 for themselves. As much as it pains me to admit ND should have a much better year, as a result of a year of experience and a much more generous schedule.

4:30 (ESPN) WVU @ East Carolina. Can ECU knock off a second ranked team in a row? The Big East has been hurting early this season and a loss here would do nothing to help their credibility. A win for ECU makes them yet another non-BCS conference team dreaming of a big January 1^st pay day.

8:00 (ESPN) Miami (FL) @ Florida. Florida has not beaten Miami since sometime in the mid 80’s. If there was every a year to end that streak this should be it.

all times eastern

Beer of the Week

Week of September 1st --- Beer of the Week


Dinkel Acker CD-Pils



I always like a good German beer, and the Dinkel Acker fits that mold perfectly. It has that good crisp refreshing beer flavor without any annoying overbearing aftertaste. Apparently it is a close second (and rising) to Beck's in popularity of German beers in America, but after the publicity it gets here I am sure that it will shortly fall back to third.

Preview Time

I put up a quick run down of how I think things will finish in college football this year over at Just Rub Some Sugar On It.

Like I said there, it is probably wildly off the mark, but I don't see your predictions anywhere.

The Return of On Tap

Helping you get your weekend (football) viewing priorities straight since 2007


Thursday


8:00 (ESPN) NC State @ South Carolina. Technically not the first game of the season, but the first game available to the masses. I will generally tune into any game that Steve Spurrier is coaching a team other than Florida just to see how frustrated he gets with the inferior talent that he has.

9:00 (ESPN2) Oregon State @ Stanford. Get your Cardinal season tickets, if they suck too badly for your liking they will refund your money (but only if you give the tickets to the USC game back).


Saturday


12:00 (BTN) Youngstown State @ Ohio State. I get the Big Ten Network?? I mean, I get the Big Ten Network!!!!!! Oh how I can’t wait for the mid week Northwestern – Indiana women’s volleyball match.

12:00 (ESPN) Virginia Tech vs. East Carolina (Charlotte). I have nothing special to say here, other than a noon game available to people with out the BTN (does anybody not get the BTN?).

3:30 (ABC) Utah @ Michigan. The beginning of the RichRod era at Michigan. As much as I hate people piling on the Big Ten I can’t help but hope Utah wins this game. I can’t stand Rodriguez. As I read somewhere (can’t remember or I would cite it) “Lloyd Carr could not coach his way out of a paper bag, but he was always a class act”. I miss Lloyd and his gray sweatshirt already.

3:30 (ABC) USC @ Virginia. Of course since scUM will be dominating the airways in the Midwest I will not be able to watch this game. USC should pound UVA but it is nice to see them go on the road to play a non-conference BCS team the first week of the season. And stranger upsets have happened in week 1s past.

5:00 (ESPN) Appalachian State @ LSU. Something like only the fourth time that two outright champions from different divisions have played each other in the year following their championships (good to know huh?).

8:00 (ABC) Alabama vs. Clemson (Atlanta). Another BCS conference match up in the week one slate. Clemson should have a solid chance to win the ACC and Bama is looking to build off the 7 point loss at home to Louisiana State (and Louisana-Monroe two weeks later).

8:00 (ABC) Michigan State @ California. A win for MSU would help start changing the national perception of the Big Ten. A win for Cal would not mean a whole lot, but a loss would just be a start to another season of underachieving.

8:30 (ESPN) Illinois vs. Missouri (St. Louis). Arguably the best game of the day, depending on whether or not Juice Williams shows up to play more than just an over glorified running back for the Illini. Mizzou is looking to kick off there season in attempt to win not just the Big 12 but possibly a shot at the national title.


Sunday


3:30 (ESPN) Kentucky @ Louisville. A great big battle of who the f cares, but it is Sunday and it is football.


Monday


4:00 (ESPN) Fresno State @ Rutgers. Fresno State starts their campaign to be the third straight WAC team to crash the BSC. Rutgers just hopes to enjoy the last year of Greg Schaino before he heads off to resurrect Penn State.

8:00 (ESPN) Tennessee @ UCLA. I have no idea what to think of these teams. UCLA should be at least interesting (in a scandal sort of way) with Rich Neuheisel at the helm, and I keep hearing grumblings about the new offense at Tenn is supposed to liven things up. I just don’t know how the quarterback is going to get this signs with Fat Phil Fulmer clogging up the sidelines.

Beer of the Week (or beer of the second half of August)

Date Irrelevant --- Beer of the Week

Stroh's





So I have never actually had a Stroh's, but I was told that I should bring some to the family reunion this weekend. If my family supports the beer it most likely means that it is...

1) Cheap

2) Probably not spectacular (never stopped me from drinking a beer before)

C) Had it's quality or lack thereof argued about for hours on end with neither side giving in

IV) Consumed in mass quantities

This is the part where I will pretend like I will comment on the quality of the beer after I have had one (or 12) but everyone knows I am far too lazy to follow up on that.

Beer of the Week

Week of August 11th --- Beer of the Week

Kokanee




I am posting this as fast as I can to sneak the post in between intermittent internet access here in Montana. Go get yourself some Kokanee, the best of the Canadian beers.

Beer of the Week (On the Road Edition)

Week of August 4th --- Beer of the Week

Newport Hurricane Amber Ale



Reporting to you live from Newport, RI on the first day of a 15 day excursion to the furthest* reaches of America.

The beer of the week is going to be tough for you to find (and by you I mean the 4 people who might read this) being that as I understand you can only get it in New England. If you have nothing better to do take a trip to the nearest purveyor of Newport Hurricane Amber Ale, and remember it comes highly recommended after 3.5 hours of sleep, 10 hours of travel, and far too much talk about science.



*Not Technically

How many days until college football?

That many

So Long Bearded One

Beer of the Week (on schedule even)

Week of July 28th --- Beer of the Week

Sweaty Betty





Good beer, better name. Sweaty Betty is a solid blonde wheat beer that is ideal for drinking on a hot summer day. If you are a connoisseur of the wheat beer this is one you will need to add to your catalog.

Beer of the Week (Friday Edition)

Week of July 21st --- Beer of the Week

Brooklyn Summer Ale





Good summer beer, light enough to drink at lot and just hoppy enough to keep me interested.

Beer of the Week

Week of July 14th --- Beer of the Week

Double Simcoe IPA





The Double Simcoe IPA is a hoppy beer. Hands down the hoppiest beer I have ever had and at 9% ABV is also packs a potent punch. After the first three drinks I was pretty sure that it was going to be a struggle to drink the whole thing. But after passing it around, making everyone else at the shindig try it, the taste really grew on me. There was only one problem, after drinking the Simcoe every other beer for the rest of the night tasted mostly like water (and I was not drinking coors light).

WTF?

Lose 10 games in a row.

Trade your best pitcher.

Take 4 straight from one of the best teams in the game.

Cleveland Indians baseball, catch the excitement!

Random Thoughts

C.C. is gone from the Tribe. Maybe it is an elaborate plan to get some prospects and then sign him back at the end of the year? No? Too bad.

Rafa Nadal vs. Roger Federer was the greatest tennis match I have ever watched. I don't normally enjoy tennis but I stuck with it through both rain delays to see what would happen. That kind of rivalry is exactly what tennis needs.

The U.S. Olympic Trials have me pretty fired up about the Beijing Olympics. I may not be a fan of all those sports but there is something about watching the best in the world compete that makes me sit down and watch.

Along those same lines Le Tour de France is underway. With most of the big names and teams out for (suspected) drugging it should be a very open and competitive tour. Le Tour has also tweaked the format (no opening time trial, no team time trial) and the rules (no time bonuses) to make things a little more interesting. I am a fan of the lack of time bonuses, now the riders times will truly reflect their time on the road.


College Football is only 52 days away!!

Beer of the Week

Week of July 7th --- Beer of the Week

Caguama






Caguama is not a bad beer, but it might as well be Corona Light.

Beer of the Week

Week of June 30th --- Beer of the Week
Summer Shandy




Beer mixed with lemonade? Sounds awful, actually tastes OK. Well tastes OK assuming that it is at least 90 degrees and sunny. So here is hoping that your 4th of July is sunny and warm so you can enjoy some Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy. Based on the local weather forecast I will probably be drinking some Coors Light in the rain.

NBA Draft

I only have one question about this year's draft ... can you name one player who you are confident will become a cornerstone for his new team for years to come?

I am sure a few of these guys will turn out to be great, and some of the so called "sure things" have turned out to suck (Sam Bowie). There is just not a guy in this draft that you look at and say "that is the guy, we have to have him".

Some other quick thoughts:

Guy to watch: Brandon Rush (Kansas)
Runner-up: Joe Alexander (West Virginia)


7 footer taken to high because "you can't teach tall": Brook Lopez (Stanford)
Runner-up: Roy Hibbert (Georgetown)


7 footer taken to low because "he lacks offensive skills": Robin Lopez (Stanford)
Runner-up: Hell if I know (Mary's Laundry Institute)


Guy who should have stayed in college: Bill Walker (Kansas State)
Runner-up: Davon Jefferson (USC)


Guy who will benefit by being taken late in the first round by a solid team: Chris Douglass-Roberts (his team will also benefit from his NBA-readiness)
Runner-up: Nobody, all the other teams late in the draft who don't get CDR are going to select projects who they can keep in the D-League or Europe for a few years.


Guy most likely to be Darko II: Kosta Koufos (Ohio State) It pains me to type that, but it is true.
Runner-up: Danilo Gallinari


When you look back ten years from now the star of the draft will be: Anthony Randolph (LSU)
Runner-up: Derrick Rose (Memphis), but only if he is not playing in Chicago.

Welcome to last place

Beer of the Week

Week of June 23rd --- Beer of the Week

Murphy's Irish Red




A solid take on the Irish Red. Most people have probably come across Killian's before Murphy's. Murphy's is definitely the better of the two.

Beer of the Week

Week of June 16th --- Beer of the Week

Michelob Light




A little late but better than never. In honor of what my dad was drinking before 10 AM on father's day Michelob Light will be the beer of the week

US Open Preview

There was talk that last year at Oakmont (par 70) no one was going to shoot better than 10 over par. Well Angel Cabrera got home in 285 which just happened to be 5 over. I see this year some projections that the winners final score will be better than 285 which would mean a winner at even par or better being that Torrey Pines will be playing as a par 71.

Honestly, I like to see the pros struggle to break par. At that same time I like to see that someone has the ability to make a birdie hear or there to make thing interesting. A perfect example of this took place just last week in Memphis at the St. Jude. Trevor Immelman was down 3 strokes with 3 to play and made three straight birdies to get into the play off. He did go on to lose in said playoff, but at least he had the chance to make a late charge to get in. What was the winning score? If Immelman made 3 straight at the end to catch up the winning score must have been better than 15 under. Wrong, it was 4 under, proving that a course can play tough but is still open to the occasional birdie run.

My favorite thing about the Open this year will be that 18 is a par 5 and a reachable par 5 at that. Anyone with in two of the lead who can keep a driver in the fairway will have a chance to go after the green putting pressure on the leaders.

Another great feature this year will be all the play in primetime. Playing out on the west coast the last groups will be finishing up sometime past 10 PM in the east.

Lastly the USGA has decided to pair the top 3 players in the world for the first two rounds. Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, and 14,000 fans will be going around the course together for the first two days. I feel bad for the players directly in front and behind them because they are going to witness a stampede before, after, and unfortunately during their shots. This is an interesting experiment that will be great for ratings, let’s just hope it works out on the course.

Predictions…

Tiger makes the cut, but does not finish in the top 25. His knee is going to be too much to over come while trying to gauge the ball out of the deep US Open rough.

Philbert is in it late but finds away to yet another US Open slip away (probably by dunking one at 18 trying to reach in two).

Defending champion Angel Cabrera misses the cut.

Justin Rose wins his first major and becomes the first European to win the US Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970.

Euro 2008 Preview

I put together a little Euro 2008 preview over at Just Rub Some Sugar On It. It is definitely a little more NSFW do to some of the language and pictures than what you are used to if you read what I write here.

Beer of the Week

Week of June 9th 2008 --- Beer of the Week

LandShark






LandShark is a solid summer beer. If you get a chance to give it a try it will remind you a little of Corona with a little fruity (not overpowering) taste to it.

NBA Finals

It is that time of year again. The time of year when we all sit back and ask that age old question, is the NBA rigged?

Last season the leagues most marketable player (King James) lead his band of role players and bench warmers to the NBA finals by defeating a far superior team in Detroit. Of course the Cavs were on the receiving end of the LeBroom thanks to the aging yet fundamentally sound Spurs.

Then last summer has the NBA ref scandal, the NBA draft steals the first pick from the tanking Celtics and the saga of Kobe Bryant wanting to be anywhere but LA (anywhere of course equals New York or Chicago).

The NBA did not look good, I even hear people were looking forward to the NHL season. Then Danny Ainge somehow someway becomes a solid GM and acquires Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett (assist to T-wolves GM Kevin McHale on helping out an old teammate there) and the Celts immediately become the team to beat in the Eastern Conference if not the whole league.

The Celtics looked like the toast of the east all year (if you don't count barely winning any road games in the playoffs) and disposed of the teams they were supposed to, while advancing to the finals.

As far as the west goes... the 2008 regular season will be remembered as one of the more competitive regular seasons of all time (Golden State finished 7 games over .500 and missed the playoffs). The day that the race changed was the day that Memphis gave LA Pau Gasol for summer membership to six flags and two slices of Dominoes pizza.

With Gasol to play second fiddle to Kobe the Lakers have been nearly unstoppable giving the NBA their dream series. Lakers-Celtics.

Did the NBA set this up? Probably not, but is sure a nice time for it to happen when the league has had some pretty lousy finals in the years leading up to this (Cavs-Spurs, Spurs-Pistons, Heat-Mavs). Wait the Heat-Mavs series can be a whole other case for the NBA being equal to the WWE.

OK, the NBA got what they want, but the ultimate test is if something funny happens to get this series to go 7 games. The 2-3-2 finals format is awful, if the Lakers get one in Boston there only chance to win at home is to take the next three. It is much better in a 2-2-1-1-1 forcing the the Lakers to probably win twice in Boston yet still have a chance to win at home. I just can't see the NBA letting LA win if the series gets to game 6 or 7 (not because they are not more talented). The NBA also does not want a 5 game series, a 4-1 finals is not entertaining. A 4-2 finals can be, just look at the Stanley Cup. So if the NBA is rigged you will see Boston ending up with the championship in 6 or 7 games.


Somewhere in the third paragraph or so this rant lost its way, but hopefully you get the picture.

Prediction: Lakers in 6* and the NBA is not rigged** and the city of Boston burns to the ground.


* I reserve the right to change this prediction if the some dude named Sully breaks Kobe's leg in tunnel before or after game one
**it pains me to type that

1 Year!!

So 1 year and 1 day ago I started this little endeavor.

It has had some good posts and some bad (OK mostly bad).

It has been a good outlet for some to of the useless info that I have in my head.

It has been the home of the reincarnated beer of the week.

It has been all sorts of whatever other crap I want to throw up here.

It will continue to be all of these things, just probably not as often.

Marge Simpson once said "Bart, don't make fun of grad students. They've just made a terrible life choice."

I sort of agree with that quote, but only because school takes away from my free time, my drinking time, my golfing time, and wreaks havoc on my schedule (30 straight hours of starring at a laser will do that to you).

I guess all I am saying here is that the posts may not be as often (or as good) but they will continue to show up when I have time and more importantly when I am motivated. Also, I might start posting more over at Just Rub Some Sugar On It now that it has a larger audience thanks to being featured on SI extra mustard's hot clicks.

Oh, and for the alcoholics (see: recreational drinkers), you will still be able to find the beer of the week.

Now returning you to your regularly schedules program.

Beer of the Week (better late than never)

Week of June 2nd 2008 --- Beer of the Week


Hamm's




Yes. Hamm's is the beer of the week. Why? Well there I involved in a bet that was for a case of beer and after I won I was promised that said case of beer would be Hamm's. Best part of this deal is that a case of Hamm's is a thirty pack (6 bonus beers!!!!).

mmmmmmmm the dirty thirty.

Holy a post

Yeah no posts lately, no beer of the week this week (yet?)

Had the opportunity to watch the return of Joe Borowski (he even got a save) last Saturday. He had three balls hit to the warning track (all caught) but as usual he made it interesting. And other than earlier tonight the Tribe sure sucks as of late.

Anyhow the reason for this post is this... the Uroclub. If this doesn't have father's day gift written all over it I don't know what does. No Dad you are getting one you will just have to keep using the woods, deal with it.

In all honesty how many guys do you know who will just not take care of business on the first tree that they see? Are you really going to pay $50 for that, unless you are going to fill it with liquor to sneak on the course. Now there is a plan.

Beer of the Week

Week of May 19th 2008 --- Beer of the Week



J. W. Dundee's Pale Bock







Of the beers I tried out of the JW Dundee's sample pack this was definitely not the best but it was for sure the most interesting. By interesting I most definitely mean confused. It had a very malty flavor that unfortunately reminded me of drinking a Mickey's 40 at the 156 yelling at people on Lane Ave. It also vaguely had a pale ale taste and some other taste that was beer like.

That is probably the worst beer description I have have made, but after the first 5 drinks all I could come up with is "it tastes like beer". Not sure that is a winning campaign, but what can you do.

Well that sucked

LeBron has his best scoring game of the playoffs but it still was not enough. It sured seemed to me that the Cavs had plenty of chances to get the lead in that game. It looked like they did not know how to handle the last 5 minutes other than give to LeBron and let him chuck up some shitty jump shot or a out of control drive to the basket after which he missed he would look longingly at the officials for a foul call that was not happening. At least now I can watch (and by watch I mean tune in for 5 minutes of the game and then catch the highlights) the rest of the NBA playoffs without having to worry who wins.


Oh, the Tribe got swept by the Reds and Cliff Lee got shelled (f#$%).


At least horse racing is going to have a triple crown contender, and from the way Big Brown ran the Preakness it looks like he has a better than average chance (keep in mind I know jack shit about horse racing).

Last but not least. The Pittsburgh Penguins have advanced to the NHL finals and await the winner of the Redwings/Stars series (currently 3-2 Redwings). Assuming Detroit gets it together and puts the Stars away tomorrow night, it will be an interesting series of old and established vs you and inexperienced (with the Pens being the later). Hockey is hands down the best sport to watch when they are in the playoffs. The intensity for that one goal is just phenomenal, especially during sudden death overtime.

Breaking News

It is way early in the season still, but the Tribe has managed to sneak into first place in the AL Central. The starting pitching is really starting to come around. Now all that is needed is for the bats to wake up a little bit (I am talking to you Pronk).


Also, the Celtics can not be beat at home.

Last Night

Quite a night last night in Cleveland.

The Cavs evened their series with Boston up at 2 apiece. If only the Cavs could get 2 of the next 3 at home instead of the other way around.

The Tribe split with the Blue Jays in their doubleheader. Cliff Lee went 9 innings, did not give up a run, but also did not factor in the decision as the Tribe lost in 10 as Raffy Bentancourt came in and did his best JoBo impression.

The highlight of the night was Asdrubal Cabrera's unassisted triple play, only the 14th in major league history. The video evidence is here.

Beer of the Week

Week of May 12th 2008 --- Beer of the Week


Warsteiner Premium Dunkel






A second showing for Warsteiner in the beer of the week. This time they show up with the Premium Dunkel.

Too much work

Not many posts this week (stupid real work).

What is on for the weekend...


NBA playoffs


NHL playoffs


Baseball


Premier league final day of games

and in between doing more work I might even get to watch some of it.

Where Amazing Happens

In an unprecedented event the NBA called a halt to the Cavs/Celtics game 1 at the end of the 3rd quarter. With the score 76 - 72 in favor of the Celtics. With 3 of the 4 "stars" of the series combining for just 16 points on 4-38 shooting, NBA Commissioner David Stern thought it would be best to take a little time before the 4th quarter so these players could, and I quote, "get their shit together".

The NBA has been feeling a little resurgence these last few months but the last thing they need is a bunch of boring series leading up finals. Stern has stated that he will do everything within his powers to help every series last 7 games with the playoffs ending sometime in mid September.

The only objections were from Zydrunas Ilgauskus who was going for 22 and 12 and KG with 28, 8 and more importantly the lead. Celtics head coach Doc Rivers was also not thrilled with the decision, but he can "understand the commissioners concern".

Lastly this break in the action will give Cavs head cheerleader and trainer Mike Brown another chance to make little or no adjustments to how the Celtics are defending LeBron James.

Beer of the Week

Week of May 5th 2008 --- Beer of the Week


Bell's Oberon






You would think on Cinco de Mayo that there would be a Mexican beer of the week, but you would be wrong.

For the second week in a row the beer of the week was sampled on tap at the Boneyard on the same day as a tragic Indians loss (more on that later).

Final Score 1?? -???

Really?

Thanks ESPN!



(click image for full size)

I guess this has been the only benefit of spending my Friday night in the lab periodically checking ESPN for NBA and NHL playoff updates, watching ESPN jump the gun a little on the Hawks/Celtics result. The only way it could have been better is if the Hawks had somehow lost, even though I am pretty sure the game was over when this was posted on the world wide leaders homepage.

Cavs Win!

Of course the Cavs clinch their first round series with the Wizards while I am at work.

Normally I would follow the game on ESPN gamecast, but I was to busy doing real work (seriously*) to even have a chance to do that.

All I got is the final score 105 - 88 and LeBron's stat line 27 points, 13 board, 13 assists, 2 steals and a block.

I wonder if DeShawn Stevenson still thinks he is overrated?




*not even kidding a little

New Plan

Cliff Lee pitches ever game the rest of the year for the Tribe.

He did give up 3 runs today raising his ERA from 0.28 to an astronomical 0.96, but he is 5-0 and that is what matters.

A Work in Progress

Many ballparks have started to have all you can eat sections. Just a dedicated section of seats where you pay a set price and get all of the pop and food you can handle. I have heard that some places include beer in their deal, but I am too lazy to look it up and confirm that it is true.

This is a good idea, but I would like to suggest a new section. This idea was hammered out while sitting in the outfield upperdeck of the Jake (Progressive Field) watching the Yankees and Tribe in a pitchers dual on Kids Day. As it goes there were a few frustrating calls and when wanting to air our frustrations we had to watch ourselves as to not offend the parents of the kiddies sitting around us (cause we are good people).

The simple solution would be an adult only section where we can, as the Jewzo said, "act our age". Stick the section in the far reaches of the upper deck and let us get silly drunk and yell obscenities with reckless abandon. There always seems to be that guy at the games who ends up doing it anyhow, so why not give him a place to do it with other people who wholly approve of these kind of actions.




(this is a picture of the Jake, I don't care what the sign on the outside says)

There were obviously countless other ideas thrown out on how to make this the ultimate baseball viewing experience (seriously, imagine 5 guys in their mid 20s discussing an adults only section, that should give you the picture), but after a weekend of non-stop drinking I can't remember many (any) of them. I guess I should have paid more attention to the idea. So, like the title says this is a work in progress, I just thought I would post it before I forgot about it.

Beer of the Week

Week of April 28th 2008 --- Beer of the Week

Southern Tier IPA





I came across Southern Tier IPA while drinking at the Boneyard after the Tribe/Yankees game on Sunday. I am always a fan of a good IPA so when I come across a new one I like to give it a shot.

Southern Tier IPA has immediately made it into the ranks of my favorite beers. It has the hoppy IPA taste that I am always looking for yet drinks smooth enough that it would not overwhelm someone who likes a slightly less bitter beer.

NFL Draft

It is going to be a tough first day of the draft. The Browns don't have a first day pick (but they do have BRADY QUINN!!!).

As tough as it is to be a Browns fan sometimes, at least I am not a Jets fan on draft day.

Case in point...

Cliff Lee is The Man

2008 STATS


ERA W-L SO WHIP
0.28 4-0 29 0.41

Tribe plate 15

Normally I would be ecstatic after the Beard goes yard for a salami in a Tribe win. OK, who am I kidding, I am pretty pumped that the offense is going to show up for a game every now and again.

All I am saying is that it would be nice if they could spread out the offense over a couple more games. I think in their 5 highest scoring games combined they have scored 50 runs, and they have around 100 total for the season. That is just a little ridiculous.

Best news of the night.... C.C. did not give up a run. Yes, I know you are asking "did he even pitch"? As a matter a fact he did, he went 6 innings, giving up 4 hits with 11 K's.


Maybe, just maybe the Wigwamers can get this figured out.

Is D Funk destined to be at best a 3rd String NFL Quarterback?

This is officially the third lamest thing I have ever participated in, yet for some reason I can not let it go.



Let me lay down my case....


D Funk





Mediocre (at best) NFL QB



Perhaps you do not recognize this person due to the lack of a helmet...




Or a photo from the early years...





Oh, are you pouting cause I called you mediocre?




As far as the name discrepancies go ... I would have also changed my name had I been my teams week 1 starter only to be traded the next day to be a seldom (read: never) used third stringer in the rainy northwest.

Beer of the Week

Week of April 21st 2008 --- Beer of the Week

Molson Golden






Two quick things... Somehow I have never had Molson Golden until this weekend, I have no idea how that was possible.

Also, the beer of the week should totally be Busch Light* being that it is an annual NFL draft weekend tradition to drink entirely too much while making fun of Mel Kiper's hair.


*it is way too soon to start double dipping into the beers of the week.

As the Borowski Turns

Just a sample of some of the opinions of that ass clown Joe Borowski on the interwebs today.



Joe Borowski, Still Dealin' (Our Endless Season)

An entire blog dedicated to said ass clown (Bench Borowski)

Joe Borowski blows another save; writer advocates killing innocent ponies (C-Notes)

The Joe Borowski Fury Makes Its 2008 Debut (Deadspin)

Borowski Burnout (The Cleveland Fan.com)

DL Least of Borowski's Concerns (The Legend of Cecilio Guante)

I hate Joe Borowski* (J-Beanie Sports)

I think I'm going to throw up (The Cleveland Sports Animal)

"Seventy-Nine" (The DiaTribe)


Seriously, that is just a selection. It could go on and on.

JoBo needs to go (not just to the DL, preferably to some other team to drive their fans fucking nuts for awhile) You know it is tough when you can almost remember the words "the Wick is lit" as being reassuring.





*Hey, me too!

NFL Schedule Released

The NFL put out the 2008 regular season matchups today.

The Browns got 4 prime time televised games (5 if you count the Thursday game on the NFL network).

Also, some pretty fair teams will be traveling to take on the Browns in Cleveland: Dallas, NY Giants (reigning Superbowl Champions, no bullshit), %$#@ing Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, and obviously the AFC north teams.

Hopes will be high in Cleveland. Football can not come back soon enough.

Here are the schedules,


AFC Schedule
NFC Schedule

Tribe Coverage

First things first ... lose Borowski. Please. I am begging you. Mr. Shapiro get us a new closer.

I managed to catch a little of the Tribe game last night on both ESPN and STO. I have always like the announcers on STO so when presented with the option 10 times out of 10 I will watch the game there over ESPN. But last night during some channel surfing I noticed that game was also on ESPN and the picture was much brighter and crisper so I decided to stop on the channel and watch for awhile.

Here is the thing, if I were blind and did not know that the Red Sox were playing the Tribe I would not have even known the Indians were in the game. All the ESPN announcers would talk about was Yankees/Red Sox. Oh, I guess they occasionally mentioned who was at bat for the Tribe.

I really can't say how long this went on, maybe I tuned in for the brief part of the game where they (ESPN) were doing their nightly pimping of any Boston/New York rivalry. If the rest of the game continued like that I am not sure how any Cleveland fan could watch the game with out the TV being on mute. All I know is that it was enough to send me running back to STO to watch JoBo blow the game (needless to say ... again).

Beer of the Week

Week of April 14th 2008 --- Beer of the Week




Moe's Backroom Amber Ale






Solid beer, definitely recommend picking some up.

Masters

Masters.org has the best online coverage of golf I have ever watched.

The picture is phenomenal and all of the point and click leader boards and hole info are fantastic.

Hopefully this is the future of golf coverage.



I have included a quick screenshot to give you a feel for the quality.

Totally swept up in the fun!

I can't remember where I saw this first, but I totally give credit to them.

Beer of the Week

Week of April 7th 2008 --- Beer of the Week

Bitburger Premium






Heralded as Germany's number 1 draught beer. Being that I have not tried all of beer that Germany has to offer I will not be able to back that statement up, but I will say it is one of the best German beers that I have had. I would recommend that if you come across it you pick one up.

We are the champions!!

OSU finally wins something.....





The NIT!!!!

Still it is better than a one and done in the NCAA tournament (UConn, Clemson, etc.) and they got three home games to make some money (not that they need it). And who cares how small the championship game, at least they did not lose. Go Bucks!

Tribe win! Tribe win!

1-0. The prospects of a perfect season are still alive.

Just a few quick notes...


-Not a fan of giving up a 7-2 second inning lead, but a win is a win.


- Guut can go ahead and plan on moving into the two spot later this season.


-Casey Blake (the beard) with some more late game heroics; as dangerous of a nine hitter as there is.


-Borowski makes the 9th interesting like usual. Nothing like an aging closer without an overpowering fastball.

Opening Day(ish)

Today is opening day (assuming you don't count the two games the A's and Red Sox played in Japan or the game the Braves and Nationals played last night in D.C. to kick off the season)

As far as I am concerned today is opening day.

The Tribe will get under way at 3:05 today from the Jake Progressive Field. The forecast is calling for rain (a huge upgrade from last year's snow) so it will be iffy to see if they can get this one in.

Anyhow it is Mark Buehrle for the White Sox against C.C. Sabathia for the Tribe.


Yeah Baseball!!!!

Beer of the Week

Week of March 31st 2008 --- Beer of the Week



Messiah Bold






A solid effort from Schmaltz brewing company. If you enjoy Sam Adams you will definitely enjoy a Messiah Bold.


Great beer, better name.


Seriously folks, it is the chosen beer.

Sunday Hoops

Kansas over Davidson (the dream dies today)

Texas over Memphis (upsetish)

Tonight

UCLA over Xavier

UNC over Louisville

Boring, I know.

Friday Night Hoops

Coverage maps courtesy of Awful Announcing

Hopefully you will have a chance to watch the games unlike me, who will be working a recruiting weekend. Kick Ass!

Sweet 16

Here is a quick breakdown of the match ups over the next two days. If you are going to fill out a second chance bracket and have not done so yet, I encourage you to pick exactly the opposite of me (this is based off of my track record from the first two rounds)

Thursday:

Xavier vs. West Virginia (Phoenix, 7:10pm) Hooray for Duke not being in the Tournament anymore! I think the Drew Lavender/Joe Mazzula matchup with be the determining factor in this game. I know Mazzula has come off the bench for the Mountaineers in the first two games, but he has been the spark plug that has ignited them thus far. Unfortunately it will not be enough for WVU. My pick – Xavier by 7.

North Carolina vs. Washington St. (Charlotte, 7:27pm) UNC wants to get up and down the court to the tune of 90+ points. WSU would love to see a game in the low 60s, it will be interesting to see who gets control of the game first. WSU stomped Notre Dame and UNC has had a walk in their first to games. I am going to say this is close for awhile before UNC’s deep bench takes control late. My pick – UNC by 11.

UCLA vs. Western Kentucky (Phoenix, 9:40pm) Probably the most unlikely sweet 16 game. No one expected WKU to get past Drake more or less UConn in the second round, then a funny thing happened and San Diego took care of UConn and we got a 12/13 second round game. UCLA may (read: most definitely) had a little help from the refs in the last 20 seconds against A&M, but I don’t see a miracle upset here. My pick – UCLA by 19.

Tennessee vs. Louisville (Charlotte, 9:57pm) Tennessee has been less than impressive in their first two games. Louisville ran an overseeded Oklahoma out of the gym in the second round. A lot of things I have read think that UT is going to have no trouble with the Cardinals, but I am going to disagree. My pick – Louisville by 3.

Friday:

Wisconsin vs. Davidson (Detroit, 7:10pm) Davidson is not as surprising as WKU do to the fact that they have an NBA caliber guard (Stephen Curry) absolutely carrying them through the tourney. Wisconsin plays big tough bruising basketball and it will be interesting to see if they can knock Curry around and get him off his game. My pick – Davidson by 5. The dream continues.

Texas vs. Stanford (Houston, 7:27pm) This should be one of the best games of this round. Stanford snuck past Marquette and Texas handled Miami in the last round. It will be interesting to see if the guard play of Texas or the interior play of the Stanford twins can dominate the game early. My pick – Texas by 9.

Kansas vs. Villanova (Detroit, 9:40pm) This is an interesting game, Nova is no ordinary 12 seed, having knocked the #3 team in the ACC out in the first round. Kansas has not had any trouble yet, but I think Nova will give them a run for their money only to come up a little short at the end. My pick – Kansas by 14.

Memphis vs. Michigan State (Houston, 9:57pm) I think this is the best chance for a one seed to go down. MSU has been a up and down team all year long, right now though the are playing some of there best ball of the year. They are a physical Big Ten team that will not be afraid to send people to the line. That said Memphis is the second worst free throw shooting team in the country (out of 330 some odd teams). Eventually Memphis will end up in a close game that free throws will hurt them. This is that game. My pick – Michigan State by 1.

Update: Coverage Maps for Thursday (Awful Announcing)