So Long, Sundays of September!

MLB

For Saturday’s games, I was correct more often than not; however, here are the results.

1.      Pittsburgh vs. Cubs                            Incorrect.

2.      Texas vs. Houston                              Correct, unfortunately for my Rangers.

3.      Tampa Bay vs. Toronto                     Correct.

4.      Baltimore vs. Boston                         Incorrect

5.      ChiSox vs. NY Yankees                    Correct, unfortunately.

6.      San Francisco vs. Oakland                 Incorrect

7.      Philadelphia vs. Washington             Incorrect. The Nats perplex me. Argh!

8.      NY Mets at Cincinnati                       Correct!

9.      Minnesota at Detroit                          Correct, unfortunately.

10.  Cleveland at Kansas City                  Incorrect.

11.  Atlanta at Miami                                Correct.

12.  Milwaukee at St. Louis                      Correct.

13.  LA Dodgers at Colorado                   Incorrect.

14.  Arizona at San Diego                         Incorrect.

15.  Seattle at LA Angels                          Correct.

Sunday, September 27, 2015 

1. White Sox vs. Yankees                 Yankees
2. Rays vs. Blue Jays                        Blue Jays
3. Twins vs. Tigers                            Twins
4. Mets vs. Reds                               Mets
5. Braves vs. Marlins                        Braves
6. Orioles vs. Red Sox                      Red Sox (I want to be wrong; I want Adam Jones to homer and win, but I’m writing what I think is most likely to happen.)
7. Phillies vs. Nationals                     Phillies
8. Rangers vs. Astros                        Rangers
9. Indians vs. Royals                         Royals
10. Brewers vs. Cardinals                   Cardinals
11. Mariners vs. Angels                      Mariners
12. Giants vs. Athletics                       Athletics
13. Diamondbacks vs. Padres             Diamondbacks
14. Dodgers vs. Rockies                     Rockies
15. Pirates vs. Cubs                             Cubs. I don’t like picking against Andrew, but it’s only an opinion anyway. I’d rather the Pirates win.

Gridiron Time!

College Round-Up

I am at a seventy-five percent success rate this week. That’s not too bad.

1. Central Michigan brings its 1-2 record to Michigan State and leaves 1-3.
2. BYU travels to Michigan and gets surprised.
3. Southern at Georgia is really a game scheduled for today? That Dawg has his day.
4. The USC Trojans heal from last week’s loss against Stanford by beating Arizona State Sun Devils.
5. Georgia Tech plays Duke. If it were basketball, it’s a gimme. It’s not, so I’ll go with the Yellow Jackets.
6. LSU wants to make Syracuse Orange blue. I think the Tigers will be surprised.
7. Kansas Jayhawks take a trip to Rutgers and come home winners.
8. Delaware fields a team against UNC; UNC sends the Blue Hens packing and pinning their plucked feathers.
9. UMASS is in South Bend to face domination and destruction from the Fighting Irish. Oops! Irish win. Big.
10. Rice in Waco to play tackle football against the Baylor Bears? This is an unfair fight and will be ugly.
11. The Texas Longhorns really want to shut down the Oklahoma State offense today. They just might.
12. Western Michigan is wasting its time playing Ohio State University.
13. TCU puts down the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
14. Ohio Bobcats have hopes against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Ski-u-mah! Gophers win.
15. Tennessee decides to visit the Swamp hoping for some fried gator snacks. Nope.
16.  Like any good Aggie, I have a great craving for pulled pork. Texas A&M beats Arkansas.

Professional Picks

1. Redskins vs. Giants    Giants took care of business on Thursday night and anxiously await the Salsa King’s return in week four.
2. The Falcons come to see the Cowboys who have no Tony, no Dez, and no chance this week.
3. Indy wants to be 1-2 and not 0-3. Luck gets back on track. Sorry Marcus!
4. The Raiders bring their 1-1 record to Cleveland; Oakland wins and shocks them.
5. Cincinnati will pay the price for the Ravens’ bruised egos.
6. Jacksonville is improving; however, they are playing the Patriots this week. Nope.
7. The Aints are coming! The Aints are coming. Panthers shut down the Saints.
8. The reeling Eagles try to get some footing against the Jets. Jets stun Eagles.
9. Houston earns its first home win this season by beating the Buccaneers.
10. Minnesota Vikings edge the Chargers.
11. Pittsburgh puts down St. Louis.
12. Arizona annihilates the Niners.
13. Buffalo soothes itself with a win in Miami.
14. Seattle and Chicago are both 0-2. Someone has to win this one. Push.
15. Detroit cannot go 0-3. It’s just not good for the Lions Nation. They defeat my General Peyton tonight.

Lady Grid out.

The National Pastime and Collegiate Gridiron

Congratulations to Roberta Vinci in her unexpected win over Grand Slam champ Serena Williams. Itwas not meant to be for the younger Williams sister. Now we'll see who will win the Open.

MLB edges closer to the end of the season for quite a few teams. From the postponed games from Thursday, I picked the Blue Jays and Cubs and was right about both results. Woo-hoo! Here are my results from Friday’s outings. With two games either suspended or postponed, I’ll have to recap when they’re played.

1.     Athletics at Rangers                            Rangers

2.     Cubs at Phillies                                   Cubs

3.     Blue Jays at Yankees                          Blue Jays

4.     Royals at Orioles                                 Royals were stunned by the Orioles.

5.     Brewers at Pirates                               Pirates

6.     Tigers at Indians                                 Indians - postponed

7.     Cardinals at Reds                                Cardinals - suspended

8.     Nationals at Marlins                            Marlins

9.     Red Sox at Rays                                  Red Sox

10. Mets at Braves                                    Mets

11. Twins at White Sox                            White Sox

12. Cubs and Phillies (double-header)      Phillies

13. Dodgers at Diamondbacks                  Dodgers

14. Astros at Angels                                  Astros

15. Rockies at Mariners                            Rockies

16. Padres at Giants                                  Giants

Saturday, September 12, 2015

1. Royals at Orioles                                 Royals
2. Cardinals at Reds                                Reds
3. Blue Jays at Yankees (game 1)           Blue Jays
4. Blue Jays at Yankees (game 2)           Yankees
5. Red Sox at Rays                                  Rays
6. Cubs at Phillies                                   Cubs
7. Brewers at Pirates                               Pirates
8. Twins at White Sox                            Twins
9. Tigers at Indians                                 Indians                       
10. Mets at Braves                                     Mets
11. Nationals at Marlins                            Marlins
12. Athletics at Rangers                            Rangers
13. Dodgers at Diamondbacks                  Dodgers
14. Astros at Angels                                  Astros
15. Padres at Giants                                  Giants
16. Rockies at Mariners                            Mariners

College Football

So many matchups are laughable, and I just won’t waste time with annihilation plans. Okay, I’ll mention a couple but abstain from others.

1. Oregon State visits Michigan. Beavers and wolverines don’t mix it up usually. Michigan notches their first win of the season.
2. USF heads over to Florida State to be obliterated. Tsk. I want to be wrong. Please make me wrong.
3. Hawaii at Ohio State means an ugly one-sided game in favor of the Buckeyes.
4. Oklahoma heads over to Tennessee for some “Rocky Top” fun. Tennessee upsets OU.
5. Texas A&M hosts Ball State in College Station and ends with a win.
6. The Green Battle commences when Oregon plays Michigan State. Sparty has duck soup for dinner.
7. LSU takes on conference rival Mississippi State and makes the Bulldogs pay.
8. Boise State Broncos tame the BYU Cougars.

High School Gridiron

My alma mater Plano East beat Flower Mound 36-24, and Mama’s Lincoln High Tigers defeated the Samuell Spartans 38-22.

Labor Day 2015

I’m still excited about my Aggies’ win on Saturday evening! That was a great result to see. I’ve heard it’s the only regular season matchup between an SEC and PAC-12 team this season. Whoop! I won’t try to catch up on MLB picks I might have made in my little hiatus, but I’ll let you know who I think will win today.

Labor Day MLB Action

1. Baltimore at NY Yankees      NY Yankees
2. NY Mets at Washington         NY Mets
3. Tampa Bay at Detroit             Detroit
4. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati          Pittsburgh
5. Milwaukee at Miami               Miami
6. Toronto at Boston                   Toronto
7. Cleveland at ChiSox               ChiSox
8. ChiCubs at St. Louis               St. Louis
9. Houston at Oakland                Houston
10. Colorado at San Diego           San Diego
11. San Francisco at Arizona        San Francisco
12. Texas at Seattle                       Seattle
13. Atlanta at Philadelphia           Atlanta
14. Minnesota at Kansas City       Kansas City (As an aside, what’s happening with Cueto?)
15. LA Dodgers at LA Angels     LA Dodgers

There are only six more days until NFL Redzone. I will have the football watching menu ready and set to go. Lady Grid out.

Wild Card Weekend - Part Deux

Florida helped the SEC cap off a winning bowl record for the 2014 season.  Woo-hoo!  I read a few comments about the SEC's successes and failures after Alabama's defeat; twelve out of fourteen teams attended post-season bowls.  That speaks for itself.  Will it happen again? I can't say; however, it happened this year.  Today has Toledo and Arkansas State.  I'm sticking with the Toledo Rockets to down the Arkansas State Red Wolves.

How about those Panthers?  I predicted (guessed) their score correctly and missed the Cards' mark by one point.  No, I'm still not headed to Las Vegas.  Who would have foreseen the special teams foibles and head-scratching plays before the first snap? Good luck next week, Carolina.  We'll see where you play next week.

The AFC edition of the wild card was no less exciting.  The Ravens don't read history books; they rewrite them.  Terrell Suggs and the rest of the Ravens harassed Big Ben and made the gap left by the injured LeVeon Bell obvious and painful.  We'll see them in Foxboro in six days to face the always dangerous New England Patriots.

It's back to work with my young charges as a teacher tomorrow.  I'm rested and ready for them.  Lady Grid out.

It's the O-zone Bowl

If you'd told me that number one Alabama would lose to Ohio State University by the margin at the end of the game, I'd have laughed.  I'm not laughing now. Congratulations to the Oregon Ducks and the Ohio State Buckeyes on being the first two teams to play in the new national championship game on Monday, January 12.  Good luck as you prepare for the inaugural match-up.

January 1 was not a good day for my predictions; I went down swinging with a record of 2-3.  The SEC is now 5-5 in bowl games with two more teams prepared to play this weekend. Let's hope there's a little Friday magic in the predictions listed below.

January 2 Bowl Predictions:

1. Armed Forces Bowl: Houston Cougars vs. Pittsburgh Panthers
2. TaxSlayer Bowl: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Tennessee Volunteers
3. Alamo Bowl: Kansas State Wildcats vs. UCLA Bruins
4. Cactus Bowl: Washington Huskies vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys

NFL Wild Card games will begin on Saturday, and it will be a fun time all around!

Lady Grid out.

Bulldogs Have Their Day

Collegiate Gridiron Wrap-Up

Both Mississippi teams won their games yesterday, and the one against my beloved Aggies was hard to stomach. Bo Wallace had a banner night. Aggies have to travel to play Alabama in Alabama. After the Tide's super-tight victory over the Razorbacks, I hope someone will watch the video on how to hold these guys back and make them suffer a loss at home.  Coach Stoops and his Sooners didn't suffer back-to-back losses in their win over Texas.  Elsewhere, the also number three ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs made mincemeat out of Auburn. I wonder if they'll split the "twins" this week when rankings come out. I think they'll be number two at the lowest and number one if everyone decides to bump Florida State down after their expected win over Syracuse Orange. I don't have a vote, and if I did, even I am not certain how the chips would fall.  On to the pros.

Pros Match-up

1. The Tennessee Titans will tune up the Jacksonville Jaguars unless that spark of brilliance shines forth for the winless ones.
2. Baltimore Ravens fly down to Tampa Bay to avoid the cannon fire.  Ravens win.
3. Denver Broncos led by the General ride in to face the beleaguered New York Jets. I think Manning will reach or beat Favre’s touchdown mark today.
4. My beloved Megatron’s injuries have hampered my fantasy football team’s performance, but his brethren won’t be kind to the Minnesota Vikings.  Lions roar.
5. The Buffalo Bills host the New England Patriots who are resurging after last week’s victory. Pats dominate.
6. Cat fight! The Cincy Bengals invited the Carolina Panthers for lunch. I can’t even make a decision on this one, and I want to see a good game, not a blow-out. Push.
7. The other Ohio team plays the Pittsburgh Steelers and will give them a good run for their money early but fade in the end. Same old same old.
8. The last early game features the Green Bay Packers savoring some warmer temperatures in Miami against the Dolphins. The Dolphins won’t roll over and play dead, but they just may surprise the Cheeseheads.  Go Fins!
9. Late game action starts off with San Diego in Oakland in an all-California battle of gridiron. Peck’s Bad Boy Phil Rivers laughs his way to a trouncing of the Raiders.
10. How do Bears fight Falcons? We’ll see how Jay Cutler and company fare down south in the Peach State. It’s time for a Dirty Bird Miracle, but it won’t happen.
11. The Washington Redskins visit the Arizona Cardinals to find out how to lose in the desert. As Darth Vader says, “All too easy.”
12. I didn’t forget my “hometown” team the Dallas Cowboys out in Seattle against the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks. I just think it may be too painful to watch them implode after a promising 4-1 start to the season. That crowd noise defies description, and no, it is NOT the true 12^th Man the Spirit of Aggieland. Go ‘Boys!
13. In an NFC East game that has the New York Giants hanging out in the City of Brotherly Love, expect some hard hits and the Eagles to step up to the plate and edge the Giants.

Lady Grid out.

The Lady Took a Break

Just as a friendly warning, this may be stream of consciousness writing since I only snagged about five hours of sleep last night. Don't ask.  Earlier this month, I watched the World Cup with some interest and became a big fan of James Rodriguez.  He's incredible!  Of course, not to be outdone, the sports world then saw LeBron James come back to Cleveland.  More importantly, the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA title back in June, and it seems like an afterthought.  Grr!  Congratulations to the Spurs including Coach Popovich, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and the gang.  My son was thrilled.  As you know, he roots for the Spurs in a Mavericks household.  I should ground him for the rest of the summer.  We'll see how things shape up.

The Home Run Derby was fun to watch.  My only regret was that Joey Bautista got cool while Yoenis Céspedes was cooking with peanut oil, so to speak.  Todd Frazier's good-natured demeanor made it hard for me to decide as I watched them duel for the crown.  ¡Felicidades, Yoenis! Well, the AL has home-field advantage again this year for the World Series after defeating the National League 5-3.  My grandfather and father used to bet who would win the game.  Papa Bear took the American League, and Daddy took the National League.  I told Daddy that I'd be glad to accept the payment as Papa Bear's descendant. He replied that the check was in the mail.  My mail box will grow cobwebs and whiskers before I see one red cent of that money, you realize.  It's all fun anyway.

The SEC network kicks off on August 14, and I've been bombarded with information about it.  I'll see it for myself when it debuts on my local cable carrier.  My beloved Aggies will take on South Carolina. I look forward to wearing my maroon and white and whooping like mad. Lady Grid out.