Fab 4 picks
Now that's the kind of weekend you try to build on, right guys?
A 5-4 start turned the corner with an impressive 6-2 mark last Saturday against the spread. We have shared several of our rules and a postulates as we approach these games, with the caveat that all picks are for 'entertainment' only. One that deserves repeating is that if you are seriously hunting 'entertainment' then we have to remember we are not looking for entertaining games.
Period.
We will all be watching Tennessee-Florida for a variety of reasons. Be it vested or masochistic or professional or casual, that game has big interest around these parts. And there's very little feel of how to play the angles. (If you are one of those folks who has to have a little entertainment on every game you watch, well, first seek help. Second, and this is not one of our official picks mind you, the only direction we'll even lean toward in Gators-Vols is under the 44.
So there's that.
With that, let's get to the picks, and may there be much entertainment in our future. (Lines are from Vegasinsider.com as of Thursday morning.)
Nebraska minus-7 over Northwestern. But the half of course, and we feel like we may ride the Cornhuskers for a while. They are 2-0-1 against the spread. They have the potential for the new-coach bounce with Mike Riley, who has unified a divided locker room. This Nebraska's first road game, but after escaping with a three-point win over Oregon last week, Riley's bunch is starting to believe. And this road test - Northwestern has home losses to Illinois State and Western Michigan already this month - is not exactly going to Death Valley.
Kentucky-South Carolina under-56.5. Last year, Vandy was an under-machine. A strong defense with a terrible carousel of quarterback play led the Commodores to a 10-1-1 gambling mark with the under. That's relevant because South Carolina may be this year's Vandy in terms of low-scoring games. South Carolina has played three times; South Carolina has gone under three times. Now comes a trip to Kentucky to face a Wildcats team who is one-dimensional (and some may say half-of-one-dimensional), and the home fans have not exactly been turning out in droves to support the sinking ship that is the S.S. Stoops.
Arkansas plus-7 over Texas A&M. We'll buy the half, and there are a few games out there that Vegas has to hate. This is one of them, and a number like 7 on this game could be the painful, half-point buy win both directions game. (For those wondering, you can buy an extra half-of-a-point on any line for a small entertainment exchange charge that is normally double the broker fee, meaning you'd owe 20 percent on a loss rather than 10 percent. We recommend purchasing the half on lines at 3, 7, 10 and 14 for obvious reasons.) Arkansas-Texas A&M feels like a one possession game that easily could go overtime. With that, getting more than TD seems quite entertaining.
Michigan State minus-5 over Wisconsin. When are we going to stop underestimating Michigan State? For us, and the entertainment-hunting world, we need to stop now. As in right now. After pounding Notre Dame, Sparty gets a conference game and may face a quarterback making his first start. Yes, please.
Florida State minus-5.5 at South Florida. The only pause here is the very real question of is FSU merely a pretty good team? It's fair considering the Seminoles are 2-1 and really have only played one excellent quarter - the third quarterback against Ole Miss in the opener - and have been sluggish the rest of the time. But, this is going to be a 'road' game in name only, considering FSU will have a slew if support there. This line shows great tribute to the smack-down that Louisville put on FSU, but man, this still feels like a monster bounce-back opportunity against a less-talented foe.
Last week: 6-2 (75.0 percent) against the spread.
This season: 11-6 (64.7 percent) against the spread.
Auburn senior receiver Tony Stevens had two touchdown receptions during Saturday night's 51-14 dismantling of Arkansas State in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers host No. 17 Texas A&M this week and No. 20 LSU next week.SEC items of interest
It's hard to believe that after this weekend, almost all of the SEC will be a third of the way through their schedules.
Man, it took forever for the college football season to get here and now it's vanishing like free doughnuts in the break room.
Last week was amazing. This week, there is just as much intrigue, but the word to describe the feeling on the horizon for a lot of the teams and coaches involved is pressure.
Pressure-filled. Pressure-packed. Pressurized-pressure with a side of pressure on several pressure points.
In some of the games, seasons will be defined and directed. Some will have major legacy statements made. And at least one very well could jumpstart the replacement process at a major program in the SEC West.
Pressure? Yes please.
Auburn-LSU, loser leaving town bowl. Yes, that's a tagline to the old-school pro 'rasslin' cage matches, but it feels very real in this one for two coaches who are on the hottest seats in the league. A loss for Auburn means Gus Malzahn will have lost seven straight SEC home games. A loss for LSU means Les Miles, who was given an 11th-hour stay last year, will have two losses before October in a season that many thought the Tigers were poised to win it all. Yes, college football coaches are exceedingly overpaid. But here's betting that neither Malzahn nor Miles have had a lot of sleep this week.
Can a duck pull a truck? That's the basis of the smack talk from Florida defensive back Quincy Wilson, who guaranteed the Gators will continue the streak over the Vols. It's been 11 years, meaning there are sixth graders out there who have never known a Vols win over Florida. The Gators' streak is older than iPhones, YouTube and Twitter.
Will this game define Butch Jones? It's a fair question, we believe the answer is yes. Jones has embraced more cliches than a small-town politician, but a couple of his favorites are 'one-week season' and many variations of phrases with 'individuals' it them. Is this a must-win for the Tennessee season? Sure it's huge, but UT could still reach its goals with a loss. Now, is this a must-win for Tennessee fans? Absolutely. Here's betting Tennessee fans right now would gladly accept a banked win over Florida on Saturday and a loss to Alabama next month and go play 18 holes this weekend. And the narrative of Butch's ability in big games will either be further questioned or potentially tossed out the window. This game means that much to Big Orange nation than maybe words can describe.
Ole Miss staring into the abyss. The Rebels have a ton of likable pieces, and they face a Georgia team with the real possibility of starting 1-3. Georgia, on the other hand spring boards into a different expectation realm with a win, and the maturation of Jacob Eason will only continue to hasten and improve.
Dustin Johnson watches his drive off the tee on the fifth hole during the second round of the BMW Championship golf tournament at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., Friday, Sept. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/AJ Mast) Misleading headlines
The state of journalism is in a strange and some times sad place.
Among our industry's largest problems is the desperate need for eyeballs online.
We all fight it - both the craving to have them and the pressure to lure them - and try to do it within our own expectations, integrity and professional sensibilities.
Whether on purpose or accidental, there are far too many times that the headlines mislead the reader, and then in turn, cause all of us to peel back another sliver of respectability. And what makes matters worse, is a lot of times, bad headlines in the paper are frequently misleading because of space. There are no space limitations on the inter web.
Here are the latest two:
Dustin Johnson offers to partner with anyone at 2016 Ryder Cup - except Phil Mickelson. You read that and you go into the story thinking, man, wonder what Mickelson said that made Dustin mad.
Nope reading the story, the two are friends - in fact too close - and each admitted to playing poorly when teamed together in previous team set-ups.
Just add the word buddy in front of Phil and then all is clear, but this feels like click bait, and yes, they got me.
About this one from earlier this week, Rutgers AD sorry for beer incident; tailgate axed.
Again, that headline screams controversy. The real story is the AD thanked students - all of whom were over 21 - for coming to a tailgate before a recent Rutgers football game.
Someone threw the AD a beer and he declined. The crowded started chanting for him to drink and he had a sip, which of course was caught on someone's iPhone and then the hand-wringing began.
So it goes, and as a member of the media, know this frustrates me way more than anyone. (And normally we include links to stories we reference, but since those headlines were click-bait, we're drawing a line in the interweb sand.)
This and that
- There are a lot of things we believe about sports and whatnot. There are a few things we know, and we know this: When TFP ace sports columnist Mark Widener reaches back and finds his fastball - like he did today with a wonderfully constructed and executed column - it's worth the price of admission. Period.
- There are few things that could make us quit the Auburn Tigers football team. Yes, the play is bad, the coaching turnstile will likely keep turning and who knows when the NCAA will come calling again. It's part of the process. That said, if this off-the-wall prediction from Rick Neuheisel comes true, and Auburn hires Art Briles, I am done. Period.
- The Atlanta Braves won last night with a great finish with a game-saving catch from Ender Inciarte. Wow, and watch it here.
- NBA commissioner Adam Silver has made some good and some terrible decisions. These steps and discussions in addressing the protests of the anthems and finding a common ground on freedom of speech with the players union is a wise preemptive move.
Today's question
Feel free to check in, chime and call in (from 3-to-6 on the Hardee's Hotline at 423-648-1051 today on Press Row) on any of the above and more.
There's a lot to get to and there's some space in Friday's mailbag, so there's that.
We had some fun with yesterday's Rushmore of Stephen King. Couple of things on that one: First, King is worth than more than $400 million. Wow. As for our King Rushmore, yes, we have Shawshank and Stand by Me as clear choices. (Side note: Want a crazy piece of trivia? Of course you do. Shaw shank redemption made less than $30 million at the box office. Here are some of the movies that made more: From King, The Lawnmower Man, Dreamcatcher and both Carries; from 1994, when Shawshank was released I Love Trouble, Major League II and the Pauly Shore classic In the Army Now.)
We'll finish with King's Pet Sematary and Misery. There are several great ones on the cutting room floor, too. (Having read almost all of his books save "It" - we hate clowns gang, H-A-T-E 'em - the books that we really enjoyed that were less than impressive movies were "Needful Things" and "Thinner." Good stuff.)
As for today's Rushmore, let's go off the board a bit. On this day in 1976 "Charlie's Angels" made its debut. For a lot of us of a certain age, Miss Farrah Fawcett - and that magical poster - how;d a special place in our youth.
With that, what's your Rushmore of favorite 1970s TV shows?
Go, and remember the mailbag.