Weekend Fun: Set head dials to “explode”

September 15th, 2006 | Posted by PostmanE

It’s enough to make taligating seem like an afterthought.

Seven games, 14 ranked teams, eight Heisman trophy candidates, a bajillion fans - that’s this weekend in college football, a slate of intensity that I don’t know I’ve ever experienced before. I’m sacrficing for this weekend. Not only might I not tailgate, but I decided not to travel to Notre Dame for the Michigan-Notre Dame game too. This might be the greatest college football weekend of my lifetime, and I plan not to waste it, sir.

Of course, you’re not properly prepared for the weekend unless you’ve read Pat Forde’s rundown of the games and, as I’m still getting my head around it all, I’ll just let him handle the introductions. But I will say this: Texas Tech, Oregon, Miami, Florida, USC, Michigan, LSU. Got that?

Even though I won’t be paying attention to it, you might: Starting tonight at 9, R’s White Sox look to get back their two game deficit from the Twins and make this a real, live baseball race. C’mon - you know it, I know it - the Tigers are collapsing like PostmanE at 7 p.m. on a tailgate day. Let’s end this cruel charade, eh?

Let’s be fair here, no one’s really paying attention to this: Ah, another PGA Tour event, another likely missed cut for Michelle Wie. Keeping the moralizing to a minimum…fighting off urges to make psuedo-sexist comments…must…be…strong…

Highlight of the Weekend: Excuse me, the Magnificent Seven? Don’t they mean eight? Clearly ESPN - and everyone outside of Bloomington’s 3-square mile radius - has forgotten about the major tilt going down in central Indiana tomorrow. Hoosiers, Salukis, 4 p.m. Two of the country’s most storied…most plucky…ok, most laughable programs square off in a battle to see who’s the tallest midget. We’ve got Indiana (our Indiana) taking this one, and winning one for the Hepper. Get well, Coach.

Oh, and yeah, we’ll probably be tailgating, but we’ll be watching the Magnificent Eight, too, hopefully in some sort of hyperbolic chamber that will prevent our brains from oozing out our ears. If we can hold off early-onset dementia, we’ll see you Monday. Peace.

So, speaking of college football

July 18th, 2006 | Posted by PostmanE

Since we’re on the topic, SI.com dropped an absolute bomb on my chances of productivity today - their 2007 College Football preview, with around 700 words on each team, recent depth charts, and predictions for each season. Every freaking team. Yeah.

The best part of all of this is it’s completely free - you don’t have to have some sort of TimesSelect, ESPN Insider thing. (SI has their own version of that B.S., but it’s far less severe.)

I know we’re going heavy after ESPN today, so I feel the need to hold back a bit, but, um, those NFL previews they’re launching today? All Insider. Laaaame.

In the meantime, I’ll be using the SI.com previews to figure out which team I will want to use in NCAA 2007 this week. Maybe IU, my homies?

Could this be the year IU ends its streak of losing seasons? Seven home games will help, but the Hoosiers need to find a way to go 4-0 in the non-conference portion of the schedule. Indiana plays Western Michigan, Ball State, Southern Illinois and UConn. In league action, the Hoosiers do not play Northwestern or Penn State…A winning season is a longshot at best.

OK, maybe not.