Dear Sweet Jesus

This is a RUMORED change to the new Star Wars Blu-Ray. I should be outraged (and I am) yet I can't stop laughing. Somebody make it into a ringtone, stat!

Some More Vague College Football Predictions

Big Ten Edition

Standings:


Legends:
1. Nebraska
2. Michigan State
3. Iowa
4. Michigan
5. Northwestern
6. Minnesota

Leaders:
1. Wisconsin
2. Penn State
3. Ohio State
4. Illinois
5. Indiana
6. Purdue

- For the first time in many, many years, Ohio State will be nowhere near the Big Ten title scene, thanks to the Jim Tressel/Terrelle Pryor/Tattoo scandals. I can't see them losing too many games, but enough to keep them from a BCS bowl, possibly ending their streak of 10+ win seasons. They might not even go bowling this year, depending on how hard the NCAA decides to come down on them for the scandals (spoiler: they won't).

- Nebraska will be the team to beat in whatever division they're in. Seriously, which retard named and designed these divisions? I'm not sure about Michigan State. Yes, they were a great team last year (and came out of nowhere really) but can they duplicate their success? Same goes for Iowa, which pretty much gave up on last year's season when it became apparent that they wouldn't be winning the Big Ten Championship.

- I can't see Michigan winning more than 6 or 7 games. They're all set on offense thanks to quarterback Denard Robinson, who is pretty much their only good player, and the number of victories will depend on how the defense performs. How will new coach Brady Hoke improve the defense? We'll see.

- Penn State should also be in for a decent season, probably around 8 or 9 wins. They should be better improved from last year's rebuilding year, and it all comes down to how the offense performs. Illinois and Northwestern should be in for decent seasons as well, although Northwestern's bowl game losing streak will continue. I'd pick Illinois to be my surprise team of the conference, though Wisconsin will be the team to beat.

- Indiana and Purdue are so bad, dude. Minnesota will lose more than a few games but I see them playing inspired football under new coach Jerry Kill. Look for them to make some waves in the next few years.

Bowl Predictions (why not?):


Rose Bowl: Nebraska vs. PAC-12 Champion
BCS At-Large: Wisconsin
Capital One Bowl: Michigan State vs. SEC
Outback Bowl: Ohio State vs. SEC
Gator Bowl: Penn State vs. SEC
Insight Bowl: Michigan vs. Big 12
Meineke Bowl: Iowa vs. Big 12
TicketCity Bowl: Illinois vs. Big 12
Little Ceasar's Bowl: Northwestern vs. MAC

More Vague College Football Predictions

ACC Edition

Standings:

Atlantic:

1. Florida State

2. Clemson

3. North Carolina State

4. Maryland

5. Boston College

6. Wake Forest

Coastal:

1. Virginia Tech

2. Georgia Tech

3. Miami

4. Virginia
5. North Carolina
6. Duke

- Virginia Tech and Florida State will meet in the title game for the second year in a row, and it wouldn't surprise me if both of these teams had perfect 8-0 conference records going into the Championship Game. What else can be said other than that these two control the football side of the conference?

- Non-Bowling teams: Duke, Wake Forest, and Boston College will fail to get 6 wins this year, due to the fact that they're probably really, really going to suck. Yes that's my basis for this prediction, wanna fight about it? I think North Carolina will finish with either 5 or 6 wins because of their coaching situation. Miami could be sitting home this Christmas too, depending on what happens with the Nevin Shapiro scandal.

- Too many off-season coaching changes make this conference tough to predict, as is the case with Miami and Maryland. I think they'll be decent, but nothing to sneeze at. Miami should be great next year though, as Al Golden turned around Temple for God's sake. Can't wait to see what he does with the U. Again, it depends on what happens with the Nevin Shapiro scandal.

- I think Virginia will surprise some people this year, they were a crappy team last year but coach Mike London had them playing inspired in the one full game I saw (vs. USC). Georgia Tech and Clemson will either suck or be good.

Man, this conference blows (in football).

Bowl Predictions (why not?):


Orange Bowl: Florida State vs. BCS
Chick-fil-A Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. SEC
Sun Bowl: Clemson vs. PAC-12
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl: Miami vs. PAC-12 
Music City Bowl: N.C. State vs. SEC
Champs Sports Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Big Ten
Military Bowl: Virginia vs. Navy
Belk Bowl: Maryland vs. Big East
Independence Bowl: North Carolina vs. Mountain West

Vague College Football Predictions

PAC-12 Edition

Standings:

North:

1. Oregon

2. Stanford

3. Washington

4. Oregon State

5. California

6. Washington State

South:

1. USC
2. Arizona State
3. Utah
4. Arizona
5. Colorado
6. UCLA

- I think Utah is in for a rude awakening this year. Yes they've performed well against BCS teams in the past, but they've never played a full slate in the regular season. I can't help but see them travel to the Grand Ol' Lady in Week 2 and getting blown out by USC, in a 49-14 type of game. They'll then limp towards a 6-6 record. In two or three years though, Utah will be the team to beat in the PAC-12 South.

- I don't like picking Arizona State to win the South but then who else can win? I think USC dominates but they're still ineligible for the post-season for another season, so their spot in the inaugural PAC-12 Championship Game will go to Arizona State, who will be there simply because the other teams in the South are going to suck, whereas ASU will simply be above average.

- I have Oregon over Stanford simply because of Stanford's new coaching staff, though I'll probably be wrong on this. I do see the two teams as being interchangeable in the top two spots in the North division. The rest of the North, like the South, will be average (Washington) to just plain terrible (Washington State).

Coaching Changes: Rick Neuheisel (UCLA), Paul Wulff (Washington State)

Projected Bowl Lineups (why not):


Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Big Ten Champion
Alamo Bowl: Stanford vs. Big 12
Holiday Bowl: Arizona State vs. Big 12
Sun Bowl: Washington vs. ACC
Las Vegas Bowl: Utah vs. Mountain West
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl: Oregon State vs. ACC/Army
New Mexico Bowl: California vs. WAC... what's the other conference that plays in this shitty bowl? Eh.

Don't these assholes feel any remorse?

The latest news in the college football world is that of a Miami Hurricanes booster providing illegal benefits to Canes football players between 2002 and 2010, including big names such as Willis McGahee, Devin Hester, Frank Gore and Jacory Harris. These benefits include sports cars, nights on the town and prostitutes, among other things.

Now obviously this is a big no-no in college football, and proof that the NCAA's current system involving student athletes and "amateur" status is broken and not working. But that's a post for another day. My issue is with the assholes who cause all of these problems.

NFL Preseason + More A&M

Could there be anything more boring? Well, yes there is, but damn I can't stand watching any of these preseason games. Half the guys playing will never play a down this season, some will be cut before it even begins. Just always feels like a waste of time to me.

The A&M to the SEC drama continues, as today the A&M Board of Regents granted President R. Bowin Loftin full power over the school's commitment to athletic conferences. A Texas Legislature meeting scheduled for Tuesday was also canceled. I still love how ESPN, which has a contract with A&M's rival school, is portraying A&M in this mess while other sports journalists are calling them out on their bullshit. Seriously, how can anyone trust ESPN's views on this situation? A&M isn't trying to leave the Big 12 due to greed or ego issues, as ESPN is saying, they're leaving because Texas being the country's richest school/athletic department isn't enough for them, and they're trying to use their glorified pay-per-view network to gain every advantage possible over other schools while hurting those schools at the same time. Someone is FINALLY calling UT out on their bullshit (well if you don't count Nebraska last year), and now they're butthurt about it.

One other thing, if A&M doesn't mean shit to the conference, and the Big 12/UT have "at least 20 schools" they could use to fill A&M's place, then why the giant uproar with legal threats, among other things like smear campaigns, trying to guilt A&M into staying?

Sources

"Texas A&M has accepted an invitation to join the Southeastern Conference."


"Texas A&M does not have an offer to join the Southeastern Conference unless they tag along with either Texas or Oklahoma."


"No truth to the rumors that Texas A&M is joining the SEC."


"Rick Perry confirms A&M has talked about joining the Southeastern Conference."


I haven't updated this blog in a while because I've been trying to pay attention and sort out all of these sources. The latest rumor in the college sports world is that my alma mater Texas A&M has finally had enough with Texas' glorified pay-per-view network and is once again flirting with the SEC.

Now I got all worked up over this story last summer when conference realignment was going on and I literally spent an entire evening stewing in my own anger. I realized the next day how dumb it was and decided to take conference alignment a little less seriously. Which is why until I see footage of SEC Commissioner Mike Slive shaking hands with Texas A&M Athletic Director Bill Byrne and President R. Bowin Loftin at Kyle Field on ESPN, I'm considering A&M as staying in the Big 12.

The problem is that there are TOO MANY UNVERIFIED SOURCES talking about this subject. Rumors are starting on blogs dedicated to football teams, people saying they know somebody who knows somebody who's cousin is an A&M alumni who used to work in the A&M athletic department and knows what's up. Umm, no.

One of my idols is my old professor of journalism, Ed Walraven. He is one of those dudes who's been around the block and doesn't take shit from anybody. I dedicated my Twitter to quoting his hilarity during my senior year of college, and I have plans on creating a rant segment named after him for this blog. More on that soon, but one of the most important things Walraven taught us is that you MUST VERIFY YOUR SOURCES AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE RELIABLE. A blog is NOT an acceptable source. You cannot print rumors as facts. This is what multiple websites are doing. There are no credible sources, because the reliable sources such as the SEC, A&M, AP, etc are KEEPING QUIET UNTIL THEY KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.

And that's what I wish we would all do here. I'm not commenting on anything because I don't know what's going on, and I guarantee only a handful of people actually do.

A Detailed Look at a TNA House Show

I am a pro wrestling fan. There, I admit it.

I used to watch religiously back in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s but really stopped paying attention around 2006. I go through periods where I’ll have nothing to do on Monday nights, so I’ll check out Raw but after a few weeks I’ll go do something else. I still keep up with most thins, however, thanks to the awesome website The Blog of Doom.

However, I still leap at the chance to attend live events. They’re pretty fun, you’ll feel better about yourself after witnessing some of the ugliest, smelliest people in attendance, and it’s just something to do.

The Simpsons Season 6

First, a little back story on this one. The DVD set was released in August 2005, but there was a new gimmick introduced: character head DVD cases. Now as you know, DVD collectors fear change, and Simpsons fans are very OCD about continuity, so this move pissed off more than a few people. And indeed, the Homer head looks very weird on the shelf surrounded by all of the other “normal” DVD cases.

However 20^th Century Fox included a surprise with the DVD set: call a number and they would send you a new, “normal” case, and as a result of the negative reactions, all future Simpsons DVDs shipped with normal cases. Well I think they wanted a few bucks for shipping but yeah. For whatever reason, mainly me being in high school and not yet having a checking account, I never attempted to get the normal case. But you know what? It actually doesn’t bother me. My Simpsons DVD collection will never be uniform, but I’m kind of okay with that. Or am I?

As for the season itself, the show had originally been airing on Thursday nights starting with Season 2 I believe, but FOX moved it back to its original Sunday night slot (where it remains today) when the show started beating The Cosby Show in the ratings week in and week out. I was in kindergarten this year and wasn’t watching, but obviously other people were.

This season is also Matt Groening’s favorite season, but will I hold it as highly? Let’s find out, shall we?