For the two in attendance, and the millions of you reading across the internet……Lets get ready for RIVALRIES!!!!!!!

The First game i bring to you is the Border War. Anyone who deals with a rivalry knows that its just a straight out fight, and what better to fight over then an Indian War Drum & the Lamar Hunt Trophy. Missouri and Kansas have been fighting this war since 1891. Dan George summed up the rivalry by stating “It’s more than the schools — it’s a state thing going back to the Civil War, when William Quantrill’s Confederate guerillas burned Lawrence and murdered nearly 200 people. Neither Missouri nor Kansas folks have forgotten it.” The series between to the two stands officially tied (going by NCAA, cant stand it when conferences make their own rules and try to change rules mid season to get things swinging their way) 54-54-9 even though there is some controversy over a player being disqualified due to a school booster using funds to persuade him to come to that school (Kansas was the school he played for). This just added more fuel to the fire of this rivalry, which, even though by request of the athletic directors of the schools not to be called this, is the Border War.

 Next on the list we have the  Iron Bowl. For those of you not around the south, the Iron Bowl is THE rivalry of rivalries. When people think of Alabama playing against Auburn, they equate it to things such as the North fighting against the South… The Axis versus the Allies… some even go as far as to compare it as the battle of good and evil. It gets intense around here and some people tend to get hurt while waiting for the weekend or in this horrid case because of CBS wanting to grab some ratings, Friday to come around for the game to be played to give the fans the bragging rights they have truly earned. The series originated in 1893 with the two schools playing against each other in Birmingham, Alabama (that’s where the iron came from) The Crimson Tide currently lead the rivalry 39-33-1. This year’s game will be played at Auburns site where Alabama has lost its last six visits.

Now I bring you “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate”. Words that could only be used to describe the Georgia vs. Georgia Tech game. The rivalry between these two schools also began in 1893.  The heated rivalry goes all the way back to truthfully 1891 when UGA began to mock Tech for its choice of school colors. The fire only burned stronger as time passed by with UGA once again offending the Yellow Jackets in 1919 by having a parade celebrating UGA’s return to football while making fun of Georgia Tech students for continuing to play football during war time. With only 70 miles between the schools (UGA in Athens, and GA Tech in Atlanta) the schools are in constant competition against each other not only for recruits, but for state funding and for recognition from their home state as well. The winning school of the years football game receives the Governor’s Cup Finally, I just really like the name given to this rivalry.

Next up on the Rivalry list we have the Texas Longhorns, and the Texas A & M Aggies. These being the two oldest public schools in the state of Texas, their rivalry is a natural one. Texas and A & M have been competing against each other since 1894, but their rivalry has been adjusted to spread bragging rights based on all sports rather then just football. in 2004 a points system was introduced. Points are awarded for all sports in which both schools maintain an intercollegiate team. Each sport is worth one point, which is awarded to the winner of the head-to-head matchup between the two teams. If the head-to-head matchup ends in a tie, each team receives ½ point. In baseball, the team that wins the regular season three-game series is awarded one point. In sports where the teams meet twice during the season — currently softball, volleyball, and men’s and women’s basketball — each contest is worth ½ point. If the universities do not compete in head-to-head regular season competition, the university that places higher at the Big 12 Conference Championship will earn the point. Should the universities tie in Big 12 Conference Championship competition the point will be split between the two schools. In the sport of track and field, multi-school meets do not count as head-to-head competition. There are a total of 19 possible points, with 10 points needed to win. In the event of a 9½ to 9½ tie, the winner of the previous year will retain the title for the following year. Texas currently leads the points run 3-2 with a possible tie of the series pending on the rivalry game this weekend. (if A & M manages to tie the points, according to the rules of point, they will retain the title since they were the previous years winner.)

And for the next big game, we have Virginia Tech at Virginia playing for the Commonwealth Cup. This match up rolls back to 1895 when the schools started playing each other. From what I’ve gathered, aside from just a game between people from really close places to each other, there’s not much to this. With the Va Tech Shooting, the rivalry became even less intense. Many fans on both sides of the rivalry have reported a lessening of hostilities between the two universities while maintaining the same intensity of the rivalry in the wake of the Virginia Tech Massacre. According to The Washington Post “students in both camps are more apt to think of themselves as simply Virginians.” UVa students were amongst the first university students to lend support to the comrades at Virginia Tech in the wake of the shootings. Likewise, the connections between the two university’s populations are often very close. Prior to the 2007 football contest in Charlottesville both college’s bands participated in a joint performance. However, the intensity of the rivalry was still as spirited as ever, with both sides cheering passionately for their own team as a berth to the ACC Championship game was on the line. “…there was the sense among Tech students that fans of U-Va. – an institution founded by none other than Thomas Jefferson – looked down their noses at the mountain-ensconced Hokies of Blacksburg. Hokies were “hicks”; Cavaliers were “snobs.” But after the shootings in April, something changed. U-Va. students and faculty members wrote condolence letters, held a candlelight vigil and even painted the campus’s fabled Beta Bridge with a pro-Hokies phrase.” — Jonathan Mummolo, The Washington Post U-Va.’s student newspaper reported that students in Charlottesville were even sporting Hokie sweatshirts on occasion in observance of the tragedy. The University’s Z Society went so far as unveiling a 65′ x 120′ Virginia Pride flag featuring both UVA and VT logos on it during the annual football game, and it was noted that the two fan bases had never been so close as they were after the shootings. “Since the tragedy, it hasn’t been so odd to see a Wahoo wearing a Virginia Tech sweatshirt. Since April, transfer students haven’t felt so awkward saying they used to attend school in Blacksburg. Truly, Hokies and Wahoos have never been so together.” — Eric Kolenich, The Cavalier Daily.

Next up on the list is Pittsburgh playing at West Virginia in The Backyard Brawl. This rivalry rolls back to 1895 when the first game was played. The rivalry basically exists because, you guessed it, the schools are basically in each other’s back yard. Pittsburgh currently leads the series 61-37-3. The 1921 edition of The Backyard Brawl was the first football game to be broadcast over the radio airwaves. Other then the 2007 Pitt team knocking the then number two ranked West Virginia out of the BCS National Championship game, there hasnt really been much to fuel this rivalry then, they’re competing for the same stuff as GA-GA tech.

Another heated rivalry taking place this weekend is the Holy War. The fierce rivalry between the Utah Utes and the Brigham Young Cougars. The big thing that fuels this fire is…..dum dum dum… religion.  Utah is the Mormon capital of the world, so to no surprise, BYU is a Mormon owned school. Utah, being a state owned school, is non-secular. BYU fans accuse Utah fans of being drunks, although many of Utah’s fans are also Mormons, and alcohol is against the Mormon code. Many non Mormon Utes fans love to mess with BYU fans by drinking lots of coffee, swearing and generally going against the Mormon code. The series started in 1895 ( or 1922 according to BYU) Utah leads the series 53-33-4 (or 50-30-4 depending on when it started).  The two schools are approximately 50 miles apart, so its not uncommon for them to constantly compete over recruits, fans and funding. The rivalry began to change in 1993, during Ron McBride’s fourth season as head coach, the Utes won their first game in Provo in twenty-two seasons and their first since LaVell Edwards became BYU head coach. Utah’s kicker, Chris Yergensen, had already missed two out of three field goals on the day. This time, however, Yergensen did not miss and kicked the game-winning 55-yard field goal (the longest of his career) as time expired.After the win, Utah fans and players attempted to tear down the north end zone goalpost at what was then Cougar Stadium. Cougar players returned to the field to protect the goalpost from being torn down. About the incident, Lenny Gomes, a BYU nose guard, said, “Typical Utah bullshit. All those guys think that’s all there is to life. But when I’m making $50–60,000 a year, they’ll be pumping my gas. They’re low-class losers.” The remark is still remembered in rivalry history today.The 1994 season was McBride’s best, as he led the Utes to a 10–2 record and a top-10 finish in national rankings. The Utes and Cougars also staged one of the best matchups in the rivalry’s history, meeting for the first time as top-25 ranked teams. The Utes won the game 34–31, which was coincidentally the same score of their meeting a year before. Utah ran its rivalry winning streak up to three games a year later, with a 34–17 win at BYU. The Utes and Cougars would trade wins and losses the next couple of years, before the 2000 season. During the 1999 edition of the Holy War, Utah recorded its fourth consecutive win in Provo. Early in the fourth quarter, Utah scored a touchdown when quarterback T.D. Crowshaw completed a four-yard-pass to Donny Utu to put Utah up 20–10. In celebration, Utah cheerleader Billy Priddis ran along the visitor’s sideline with a large “U” flag. An unidentified BYU fan ran onto the sideline and tackled Priddis from behind. Priddis turned around and started punching the fan. He landed seven or eight punches before security separated them. About the incident, Priddis said, “”There’s 65,000 fans here, does he think I’m not going to retaliate?” Utah had another undefeated season in 2008 and defeated BYU 48–24. By doing so, they captured another invitation to a BCS game, where they were matched up with the highly favored Alabama. Utah beat Alabama 31–17 for their second BCS victory in five years. BYU’s team slogan in 2008 was “Quest for Perfection,” and T-shirts bearing that slogan were made widely available. However, BYU’s quest for a perfect season ended at TCU, and Utah, who did finish with a perfect record, created red shirts bearing the Utah logo and the slogan “The Quest Perfected.”

This next rivalry is near and dear to my heart as I have an ex-girlfriend who is a big Clemson fan. Naturally I pull for South Carolina (Shout out to my boy Darian Stewart #24) every year since then in the Battle of the Palmetto State. Stick with me people because the next might get long and boring, but it is needed to completely understand where it all came from. Unlike most major college rivalries, the Carolina-Clemson rivalry did not start innocently. In fact, the seeds of bitterness were planted even before Clemson became a college. The two institutions were founded 88 years apart: South Carolina College in 1801 and Clemson Agricultural College in 1889.South Carolina College was founded in 1801 to unite and promote harmony between the Lowcountry and the Upcountry. It closed during the Civil War when its students aided the Southern cause, but the closure gave the politicians an opportunity to reorganize it to their liking. The Radical Republicans in charge of state government during Reconstruction opened the school to blacks and appropriated generous funds to the University, much of which was embezzled. These actions caused the white citizens of the state to withdraw their support for the University and view it as a symbol of the worst aspects of Reconstruction. The Democrats returned to power in 1877 following their decisive electoral victory over the Radical Republicans and promptly proceeded to close the University. Sentiment in the state favored opening an agriculture college so the University was reorganized as the South Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. In 1882, the college was renamed to its antebellum name, South Carolina College, which infuriated the farmers because they felt that the politicians had frustrated the will of the people by deemphasizing agriculture education, even though the school still retained the department of agriculture. Benjamin Tillman emerged in the 1880s as a leader of the agrarian movement in South Carolina and demanded that the South Carolina College take agricultural education more seriously by expanding the agriculture department. In 1885, Tillman was convinced of the superiority of a separate agricultural college by Stephen D. Lee, then the President of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi, and subsequently Tillman would accept nothing less than a separate agriculture college in South Carolina. He offered the following reasons why he felt that it was necessary to have a separate agriculture college outside the confines of Columbia:

Mississippi A&M featured practical training without unnecessary studying of the liberal arts.

Mississippi A&M provided poor students work-scholarships so that they could attend the college.

There were too few students who studied agriculture at the College to justify an agriculture college there.

The College was a place “for the sons of lawyers and of the well-to-do” who sneered at the agriculture students as if they were hayseeds.

The students at the College lived a life of luxury as compared with the sweat and toil endured by students at Mississippi A&M.

There was not enough farm land near the College to allow for proper agriculture study.

The Conservatives, who held the reins of power in South Carolina from 1877 to 1890, replied to each point made by Tillman:

The most advanced agriculture educational research was being conducted at the University of California and at Cornell University, both of which combined agriculture colleges with liberal arts colleges. Additionally, a separate agriculture college would be more expensive and result in an inferior product.

The work scholarships attracted the lowest quality of students who only cared about obtaining a college degree, not about an education in agriculture or mechanical studies. Furthermore, there was little advantage of attending a college only to pitch manure and grub stumps.

The constant attacks by Tillman on the College caused many to doubt whether state support for the institution would continue. As a result, the enrollment numbers were not impressive, although the numbers of students taking agriculture and mechanical classes increased from 34 in 1887 to 83 in 1889. Over half of the students at the College were the sons of farmers, though most did not study agriculture as Tillman wished. John McLaren McBryde, President of the College, correctly predicted that most students of an agriculture college would not go back to work the farm after graduation. While some students at the College were the sons of the well-to-do, the majority were poor.Tillman was bolstered in 1886 when Thomas Green Clemson agreed to will his Fort Hill estate for the establishment of an agriculture college. Yet, Tillman did not want to wait until Clemson died to start a separate agriculture college so he pushed the General Assembly to use the Morrill funds and Hatch funds for that purpose. Instead, the legislature gave those funds to the South Carolina College in 1887 which would use them along with a greater state appropriation to reorganize itself as the second University of South Carolina and to also greatly expand the agriculture department. After this victory for South Carolina, in January 1888 Tillman wrote a letter to the News and Courier that he was retiring from public life.It was less than ninety days when Tillman reemerged on the scene upon the death of Thomas Green Clemson in April 1888. Tillman advocated that the state accept the gift by Clemson, but the Conservatives in power opposed the move and an all out war for power in the state commenced. The opening salvo was fired by Gideon Lee, the father of Clemson’s granddaughter and John C. Calhoun’s great granddaughter Floride Isabella Lee, who wrote a letter on her behalf to the News and Courier in May that she was being denied as Calhoun’s rightful heir. Furthermore, he stated that Clemson was egotistical and “only wanted to erect a monument to his own name.”In November, Lee filed a lawsuit in Federal Court to contest the will which ultimately ruled against him in May of 1889.The election of 1888 afforded Tillman an opportunity to convince the politicians to accept the Clemson bequest or face the possibility of being voted out of office. He demanded that the Democratic party nominate its candidates by the primary system, which was denied, but they did accept his request that the candidates for statewide office canvass the state. Tillman proved excellent on the stump, by far superior than his Conservative opponents, and as the Democratic convention neared there was a clear groundswell of support for the acceptance of Clemson’s estate. He was so effective because of his “ability to awaken popular passion and prejudice” when the populace by and large mistook “prejudice for truth, passion for reason, and invective for documentation.” Tillman pitted “the poor against the rich, tenant against landowner, hireling against employer, country against town, all of South Carolina against Charleston and Columbia, upcountry against lowcountry, white against black, do-somethings against do-nothings, and outs against those in power” so that “he could rile them up and then appear as their champion.” In addition, the Conservative leadership was aging and its appeal to the past glories of South Carolina during the antebellum period meant little to the emerging younger generation.Tillman explained his justification for an independently controlled agriculture college by pointing to the mismanagement and political interference of the University of South Carolina as had occurred during Reconstruction. The agriculture college, as specified in Clemson’s will, was to be privately controlled and thus would be able to prevent any “possible invasion by the negroes”. With declining cotton prices, Tillman preyed upon the farmer’s desperation by stating that the salaries of the college professors were exorbitant and it must be a sign of corruption. Consequently, the legislature was compelled to pass the bill to accept Clemson’s bequest in December of 1888, albeit with the tie-breaking vote in the state Senate from Lieutenant Governor William L. Mauldin. Thus was reborn the antagonistic feelings of regional bitterness and class division that would plague the state for decades. Having achieved his agriculture college, Tillman was not content to sit idly by because what he really desired was power and political office. After winning the 1890 election and becoming Governor, Tillman renewed the attacks on the Conservatives and those who had thwarted his agriculture college. He saved the coup de grâce for Senator Wade Hampton III, a South Carolina College graduate and Confederate General during the Civil War, who “invoked Confederate service and honor as a barrier to Tillmanism.” Tillman directed the legislature to defeat Hampton’s renomination for another term in December of 1890, thereby finishing what Sherman had left undone in 1865.While campaigning for Governor in 1890, Tillman leveled his harshest criticism towards the University of South Carolina and threatened to close it along with The Citadel, which he called a “dude factory.” Despite the rhetoric, Tillman only succeeded in reorganizing the University of South Carolina into a liberal arts college while in office. It would eventually be rechartered for the last time in 1906 as the University of South Carolina. However, Clemson Agricultural College held sway over the state legislature for decades and was generally the more popular college during the first half of the 20th century in South Carolina. The rivalry started in 1896. after 106 meetings, Clemson leads, 65-37-4.

Next up, the Colorado State – Wyoming Border War. Nothing is really special about this rival aside from rivalry based on location. Colorado State leads the series 55-40-4. In 1968, the ROTC detachments of the respective schools initiated the Bronze Boot, a traveling trophy awarded to the winner of the “Border War” each year. The boot was worn in the Vietnam War by Cpt. Jeff Romero, Sr., a Colorado State graduate and Army ROTC instructor at CSU between 1967 and 1969. Each year leading up to the Wyoming-Colorado State game, the game ball is carried in a running shuttle relay by the ROTC detachment of the visiting team down US 287 to the Wyoming-Colorado state border, where the home team’s ROTC detachment receives it and runs the game ball to the stadium hosting the game. The trophy is guarded by the ROTC unit of the past year’s winning school during the game. Colorado State University leads the trophy series at 21-20.

Off now to the Duel in the Desert and the Territorial Cup. The “Territorial Cup” also known as the “Duel in the Desert” is the rivalry between ASU and UA and is among the nation’s oldest and most heated rivalries, including the oldest trophy in college football. The winner of the game is then given possession of the Territorial Cup until the game is played the next year. In the modern era of the game, it is played on the day after Thanksgiving (and in recent years on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to accommodate network television coverage).

The rivalry dates back to before Arizona was admitted as a state, and was a U.S. Territory. In the early history of Arizona, a resentment between the cities of Phoenix and Tucson emerged. The University of Arizona was founded in 1885 as the state’s first university. The same year, Tempe Normal School was founded as a small teacher’s college in the farming community of Tempe, just east of Phoenix. Over the years, Tempe Normal School evolved into Arizona State Teacher’s College, then Arizona State College at Tempe, and eventually Arizona State University. Although both athletic programs have been consistently in the top 20 in the Director’s Cup standings for the past decade, the two schools have featured a difference in athletic strengths. The rivalry started in 1899. University of Arizona currently leads the cup series 45-36-1.

The Bedlam Series is, like most other intrastate rivalries, a rivalry that goes beyond one or two sports. Both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have rivalries with other schools, though most of those rivalries are limited to one or two sports at the most. When the Bedlam Series gained Ford and the Bank of Oklahoma as corporate sponsors, the series became much more formalized. A points system was adopted in order to award a winner of the all athletic competitions combined between the two schools. A crystal bell trophy is awarded to individual Bedlam game winners (such as football), in addition to a trophy for the overall series champion for that year. The “Bedlam Bell” is modeled after the bell clapper in Old Central, the oldest building on Oklahoma State’s campus. For a time, the actual bell clapper was a traveling trophy for the two schools, until the popularity of this tradition waned. Oklahoma currently leads the series 79-15-8 which started in 1904.

Moving on, we have the Washington-Washington State rivalry. This one seems so boring that I’m just going to use the Apple Cup Wikipedia entry to fill this slot in. The Apple Cup is the annual college football rivalry game between the two largest universities in the U.S. state of Washington; the University of Washington (UW) Huskies and the Washington State University (WSU) Cougars. It is traditionally the final game of the regular season and takes place on the Saturday preceding Thanksgiving at Husky Stadium in Seattle during odd years, and WSU’s Martin Stadium in Pullman during even years. From 1950-80 (except for 1954), WSU hosted the game at Spokane’s Joe Albi Stadium. The WSU Cougars won three of these fifteen games in Spokane (1958, 1968, 1972), and have won six of the fourteen played at Martin Stadium (1982, 1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2008).Before 1962, the teams played for the “Governor’s Trophy.” The game was renamed the “Apple Cup” in 1962 because of Washington’s famous apple crop. The Apple Cup trophy has been awarded to the winning team ever since. With the recent lengthening of the regular season schedule to 12 games, there was a movement change the date of the Apple Cup from the weekend before Thanksgiving to the weekend following. This would have allowed a bye week sometime during the season. In the 2006 season, both teams played 12 straight weeks without a break, leaving the two teams noticeably fatigued. For the first time, the 2007 edition of the Apple Cup was played two days after Thanksgiving. The Apple Cup has been sponsored by Boeing since 2007.The first rivalry game was held in 1900 and resulted in a tie between UW and WSU. From 1900 to 2008, there have been 101 games between the schools. The Huskies hold a 64-31-6 advantage. UW’s longest winning streak has been eight games, achieved twice: (1959-66 and 1974-81). WSU has never won more than two consecutive Apple Cups, but the Cougars have won back-to-back games on eight separate occasions: (1929-30, 1953-54, 1957-58, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1982-83, 2004-05 and 2007-08). Although Washington currently leads the overall series, the Cougars have taken four of the past five meetings including a double-overtime win in the 2008 meeting. Washington leads the series 64-31-6.

With the Mississippi State vs. Mississippi Egg Bowl I was expecting more of a feud to have started the rivalry then anything else. So, with the same boring info I bring you more Wiki info. Early in the series, Mississippi State dominated, and had only lost five times in the first twenty-three contests. When Ole Miss beat MSU, then known as Mississippi A&M College, 7-6, the Ole Miss fans rushed the field, some trying to tear the goalposts down. A&M fans did not take well to the Ole Miss fans celebrations, and fights broke out. Some A&M fans defended the goal posts with wooden chairs, and several injuries were reported. To prevent such events in the future, students of the two schools created the “Golden Egg”, a large trophy which has been awarded to the winning team each year since 1927. The trophy is a large football-shaped brass piece mounted to a wooden base and traditionally symbolizes supremacy in college football in the state of Mississippi for the year. The footballs used in American football in the 1920s were considerably more ovoid and blunter than those in use today and similar to the balls still used in rugby; the trophy thus, to modern eyes, more resembles an egg than a football. The awarding of the “Golden Egg” was instituted in 1927 by joint agreement between the two schools’ student bodies. Ole Miss leads the rivalry that started in 1901 60–39–6.

Next up we got the Toledo – Bowling Green Battle of I-75. This one is a little more interesting then the last ones (enough that I’m not just going to give you stuff from the Wiki then be done with it.) These two schools are only about 20 miles apart from each other, making the pressure to get recruits and fans from the local area much harder then some others. The winner of the battle is awarded the Peace Pipe Trophy (yep that’s right, a Native American peace pipe). The rivalry between UT and BGSU goes back to 1919. The games were (and to an extent still are) marked by a passionate fan following and a hatred for the respective opponent. In 1935, fans rioted following a 63-0 blowout win by UT and as a result, BGSU removed the Rockets from their athletic schedule until 1947. That year, the smoking of a six-foot peace pipe was instated as a gesture of goodwill between the two teams at half-time of their annual basketball match. The peace pipe would be kept by the winning university until the teams played again the following season. The tradition came to an abrupt and unpleasant end in 1969 when the pipe was stolen from the UT offices. It was never recovered and the thief never caught. In 1980, the Peace Pipe trophy was reinstated when a scale-down replica was fashioned and placed on top of a trophy created by former UT football player Frank Kralik. Kralik donated the trophy to the university to be given to the winner of each year’s football game, which like many other college football rivalries is usually the last game of the regular season for both teams. Nowadays, ESPN annually broadcasts the Peace Pipe game, allowing it to reach a wide audience outside of northwest Ohio. Though the two schools play in different divisions in the Mid-American Conference, they have yet to meet in the MAC Championship Game. Toledo leads the series since the reinstatement of the trophy, 15-14.

With the next teams and their rivalry, I hold little interest in. The fact that they are 12 miles apart and both in the same city, I find entertaining, aside from that, more Wiki read. The UCLA–USC rivalry is the college rivalry between two universities located in Los Angeles, California: the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California.The athletic competition rivalry between the two schools is among the more notable in NCAA Division I sports because both schools are located within the same city. The campuses are only 12 miles apart. The sheer proximity of both alumni and students, and the likelihood of encountering each other and interacting on a daily basis make this one of the most intense college rivalries in the United States. USC is one of the top teams in the country in college football, and recognizes 11 of its teams as National Champions. UCLA has only one team recognized as a National Champion.Quite often, the winner of the football game has won or shared the Pacific Ten Conference title in football. A berth in the Rose Bowl game has been on the line many times as well for both schools. Since the formation of the Pacific Coast Conference in 1916, USC has won or shared 37 conference titles and UCLA has won or shared 17 titles.Washington is third in overall conference titles with 15.Since the 1959 season, when the Pacific 10 Conference was formed as the Athletic Association of Western Universities, through the 2007 season, the schools have won or shared 33 of the 48 conference titles. USC has won 17 championships outright, shared eight and gone to the Rose Bowl or BCS bowl 21 times. UCLA has won six championships outright, shared five and gone to the Rose Bowl eight times. The schools have shared the championship between them three times. Both teams have spoiled conference and national championship runs for the other. USC was already an established national football power under Howard Jones and had begun a major rivalry with Notre Dame when UCLA joined the Pacific Coast Conference in 1929. Los Angeles Times Sportswriter Braven Dyer predicted on the day of the first football meeting on September 28, 1929, “In years to come, this game will probably be one of the football spectacles of the West” USC dominated the early games (so much so, that after the first two games, the series was suspended for five years and they did not play each other from 1931-1935) until UCLA established itself. By the late 1930s, star players such as Kenny Washington, Jackie Robinson, and Bob Waterfield enabled UCLA to be competitive. With the hiring of Hall of Fame Coach Henry “Red” Sanders, UCLA became the more dominant program in the 1950s, culminating in their 1954 National Championship. A famous quote was attributed to Sanders regarding the rivalry, “Beating ‘SC is not a matter of life or death, it’s more important than that.” But Sanders died suddenly of a heart attack, and shortly thereafter, John McKay took over a struggling USC program and returned it to national prominence. For most seasons from the mid 1960s to the end of the 1970s, the two schools were the top powers on the west coast. In the 15 Rose Bowls played from 1966 to 1980, USC or UCLA played in 12 of them. Even with the rise of Don James’ Washington Huskies in the 1980s and early 90s, UCLA or USC still went to the Rose Bowl seven times between 1981 and 1995. In the 1990s and until the hiring of Pete Carroll by USC, UCLA was the dominant team, winning 8 straight from USC from 1991-1998, before USC then won 7 in a row from 1999-2005. The 13-9 win in 2006 at the Rose Bowl allowed the Bruins to keep the record for consecutive wins in the rivalry.

Florida vs. Florida State is the next rivalry on the list. Not much going on here aside from state pushed interstate rivalry. here’s the history: The University of Florida has been fielding an officially sanctioned football team since 1906. Though Florida State University (then known as “Florida State College”) played football for several years around 1900, it became a women’s college in 1905 and remained so until 1947, when the football team was re-established. Almost immediately, pressure began building for the Gators to play the new team in-state. Some believe that it took an act of the Florida state legislature to force the contest to take place. This is not exactly true – a bill demanding a UF vs. FSU football series was proposed in 1955 but was voted down. However, the schools bowed to pressure from state leaders and agreed to schedule a yearly series starting in 1958.One of the conditions that the University of Florida put on the agreement was that the contest must always be held in their home stadium, Florida Field in Gainesville. Since 1964, however, the game site has alternated yearly between the Gators’ field and the Seminoles’ home turf of Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. Since 1958 Florida currently leads the series 32-19-2.

Rice and Houston are the next match up in their competition to take home the Bayou Bucket. The Houston–Rice rivalry (also referred to as the UH–Rice rivalry, Rice–Houston rivalry, or the Rice–UH rivalry) is a cross-town college rivalry between the University of Houston and Rice University. The universities are located approximately five miles from each other in Houston’s “Inner loop” area. It is one of the few NCAA Division I cross-town rivalries, especially between institutions that field Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams. The rivalry has existed in a more official capacity since Houston joined the now-defunct Southwest Conference in 1971, in which Rice was a charter member. Since the breakup of that conference in 1995, the rivalry has continued. In 2005, Rice joined Conference USA, of which Houston was a member, and has again made the rivalry more relevant for conference titles as well. Football is the largest focus of the rivalry and is the sport in which the competition between the two institutions has run the longest. Both teams are part of the NCAA’s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and have both been part of the Conference USA athletic conference since 2005. The competition includes an annual regular-season football game between the schools. It has existed since 1971, when Houston joined the now-defunct Southwest Conference, of which Rice was also a member. The winner of the game wins the Bayou Bucket. Houston leads this series 24–9. Although the last Southwest Conference football game was part of the series, the teams did not compete against each other in football from 1996 to 1998 as the universities realigned themselves with other conferences. Although the first official meeting between the teams in football didn’t take place until 1971, a scrimmage took place between the inaugural 1946 Houston Cougars team and the Rice Owls. The Owls, having played football since 1914 and being a part of the Southwest Conference, were a much more experienced and accomplished team than the Cougars. In a front of a crowd of thousands, the Owls easily defeated the Cougars. Made famous from football games between the two rivals, University of Houston students often wear red shirts with the words “Ruck Fice” to UH-Rice games. 5 miles apart from each other.. does that not say, “hey I wanna mess with you and take your recruits fans and basis of how you exist” to you?

Notre Dame and Stanford are next on the list. This rivalry is young and not really considered a major rivalry so there’s not much to it. The Irish have a minor rivalry with the Stanford Cardinal (for the Legends Trophy, a combination of Irish crystal with California redwood). The two teams first met in the 1925 Rose Bowl, then played each other in 1942 and again in 1963-64. The modern series began in 1988 and has been played annually except in 1995-96. Notre Dame leads the series 17-6. When the game is played in Palo Alto, it is usually the last game on Stanford’s schedule (as has been the case since 1999), one week after the Cardinal plays archrival Cal in The Big Game.

I finish up with Arkansas and LSU in the Battle for the Golden Boot, an aged old tradition since 1996. I myself was unaware that this was even a rivalry, but I guess everyone needs a rival. Here’s the background on the two teams playing each other. The Arkansas–LSU rivalry, now known as The Battle for the Golden Boot, is the annual college football sports rivalry game between the teams of the University of Arkansas, the Razorbacks, and Louisiana State University, the Tigers. Although the first game between the two teams occurred in 1901, the rivalry between the teams intensified after Arkansas’ entrance into the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1992, and later in 1996 with the first awarding of the “Golden Boot” and the official titling of the game “The Battle for the Golden Boot”. The game is now generally played on the day after Thanksgiving. The two teams have played 53 times since 1901, and as of the 2008 contest, 17 consecutive times after Arkansas’ induction into the SEC. During that time, LSU has won 33 games of the series while Arkansas has won 19, including the latest meeting in 2008, between the two teams. Arkansas and LSU have twice ended the game in a tie, in 1906 and the 1947 Cotton Bowl Classic. Arkansas and LSU began playing each other in 1901, when LSU claimed a 15-0 victory in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Between 1906-1936 (with the exception of 1918) and 1953-1956, the two teams played each other during regular seasons on a yearly basis. In addition, the two teams have played each other at the end of the regular season in the Cotton Bowl Classic twice, on January 1 of 1947 and 1966, the former being the second tie in the series while the latter ended in a 14-7 LSU victory. In 1992, LSU and Arkansas resumed their annual rivalry when Arkansas joined the Southeastern Conference after leaving the Southwest Conference. The teams played each other four times in the conference before the introduction of the Golden Boot trophy in 1996. Beginning in 1996, the victor in the rivalry between Arkansas and LSU received the Golden Boot, a trophy that weighs approximately 175 pounds and is generally considered the heaviest “trophy” awarded in all of college football. The trophy itself stands a little over 4 feet tall, is molded out of 24-karat gold, and resembles the outline of the states of Arkansas and Louisiana connected, thus making a boot shape. Since 1996, the game has been set on the day after Thanksgiving, and has been played on alternating years in Little Rock, Arkansas at War Memorial Stadium, which is the secondary home stadium for the Razorbacks, and in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at Tiger Stadium. The series has generally represented an important battle in the SEC Western Division, with either Arkansas or LSU representing the division in the SEC Football Championship Game in many seasons. LSU won the inaugural “trophy meeting” in 1996, 17–7, and for the next six years, the trophy changed hands every meeting, beginning with LSU in 1997. After Arkansas’ “Miracle on Markham” victory in 2002, LSU won the rivalry and the Golden Boot four consecutive times from 2003 to 2006. The trophy returned to Arkansas’ possession on November 23, 2007 when the Razorbacks beat then top-ranked and eventual BCS National Championship game winner LSU 50-48 in three overtimes in Baton Rouge; the victory was the first for former Razorback coach Houston Nutt in five tries in Tiger Stadium. Arkansas successfully defended the Golden Boot again in 2008 with a spectacular come-from-behind victory in the last minute of game play.

So I got me a new Canon 7D just 10 days ago.. I couldnt test it or try it out immediatley cuz I had some major school work to do and needed to prepare for my A.C.E exam.. BUT today some friends of mine had a music video to shoot for a class project and I was appointed job cameraman #3 with my 7D.. and it was beeeeaauuutttiiiful! Here are some images.. downsized a little for web.. the video footage will be uploaded soon when their project is finished in less than 2 weeks.

Charles recently established a partnership with The Pittsburgh Fan who are now featured on his website, www.steelcityartist.com in the section for Pittsburgh Gifts.   The Pittsburgh Fan opened to the public in the city of Pittsburgh in November, 2005.   The company offers an impressive collection of Pittsburgh Steelers, Penguins, Pirates, University of Pittsburgh Panthers and Penn State University Nittany Lions officially licensed apparel and merchandise.   Their quality clothing and products are perfect gift ideas for Pittsburgh fans, whether here in the region or across the country who bleed black & gold.

The company had its humble beginnings when they opened their first retail store across the street from Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois to supply Chicago fans with authentic licensed sports apparel.   The Pittsburgh Fan also offers thousands of high quality items for every professional team of the NFL, MLB, NBA & NHL.   Their assortment of gifts are great for family, friends & co-workers and every occasion.   The Pittsburgh Fan website features vibrant clear images, along with a detailed description in order to help you find what you need.   The website is easy to navigate and displays a nice overall layout.   The shopping cart software makes purchasing easy, safe and secure to ensure your personal security when shopping online.

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Kyle mounted a bit of a comeback at the end, but it was too little too late congratulations Dave Wannstedt.

As Jerry Seinfeld astutely once said about sports fans, “In the end, we are really cheering for laundry!” How true. We cheer for the Black and Gold. Even if some of them are drunk, weed-toting womanizers, we still cheer for the Black and Gold. We cheer for Joey Porter until he dons the aqua and orange (doesn’t have the same ring, does it?), then we cheer for whoever the new guy is in the Black and Gold. Nothing wrong with that. It happens everywhere. It’s not like the players all grew up on Bloomfield stoops or the South Side slopes. The players come and go—and are paid handsomely to do so—but the colors remain.

So, after a rather rough Sunday, how about a little love for the Navy and Gold! I don’t care if you went to Penn State or Edinboro or Point Park or CMU or CCAC or the school of hard knocks, Pitt has been a part of this city since the 1700s—I think they just might be here to stay. They are as much a part of Pittsburgh as fries on top, Iron City, and Clark bars. (But isn’t it time for them to bring back the cobalt and mustard and stop trying to look like Navy or Notre Dame? Half the fans wear it to every game anyway. Just sayin’. They seem more like Pitt’s true colors than navy and gold.) 

Hail Pitt! I’m “all in” on this. I’m especially happy for Dave Wannstedt. Around 15 years ago, I watched as he had the unenviable task of replacing Chicago legend, Mike Ditka, as coach of the Bears. (Both, of course, former Pitt Panthers.) Just a few years past a magical Super Bowl season, the team had quit listening to Ditka, who had quickly become a caricature of himself and better known as an SNL skit. As a rookie coach, Dave was not the larger-than-life Ditka, and never would be. It just didn’t work. Even after the local media dogged him and made fun of his Pittsburgh accent,  reporters still talk about what a great guy Wannstedt is.

So how great is it that Dave has hit his stride as a college football coach at his alma mater in his hometown. That kind of situation is not always a good fit, but Wannstedt wears it well. Turns out he’s a stellar recruiter in the living rooms of high school talent. Hey, he was the only Division I college coach to see something in running back sensation Dion Lewis. After just five plays on a DVD, Wannstedt had seen all he needed to see. He invited the 5′9″ Lewis to campus to see if he could make it physically, and the rest is history in the making.

And even though his coaching tactics have been questioned, he’s proven himself to be a great judge of coaching talent by installing Frank Cignetti–another Burgh native–as offensive coordinator. Since that move, the Panthers have become a scoring juggernaut.

I don’t care if you went someplace else. Look, my alma mater, the TCU Horned Frogs, are having the season of a lifetime. (And by the way, best college nickname ever?) They are a little school knocking on the door of a National Championship. While a TCU/Pitt matchup would seriously test my loyalties, heck, I’ve already been in Pittsburgh longer than I was in the dry and dusty  city of Ft. Worth, Texas.

Two more wins and Pitt sows up the Big East championship and a BCS bowl bid—probably to the Sugar Bowl against the Florida/Alabama loser. Yikes. If the BCS really knew what they were doing, they would make a Pitt/Penn State game happen in the Fiesta Bowl. But, whatever. The payday for a BCS bowl would be around $18 million for the conference. Pitt wouldn’t get all that money (they would get around $2-3 million), but future recruits would see a team on the rise and a local coach who just might be becoming a local legend.

So move over Steelers, Penguins, and the girl who just won on Jeopardy!… there just might be another champion in Pittsburgh this fall.

I don’t have much to say about my Tigers this week, other than I’m proud of them. I’m superstitious. If I start mouthing the phrase of the moment, which is “control our own destiny,” or suddenly chumming up to my friends and family who can afford to book a trip to Tampa on short notice, or start speculating about a BCS game… the minute I show that much arrogance, we’ll lose to Virginia. The football gods are not enamored of arrogance.

And speaking of arrogance, let’s talk about Charlie Weis, because he’s not going to be there for me to kick around much longer.

It’s timely, since in two nights I’ve watched two teams I despise – the damned Notre Dame Fighting Irish (the only time I consider “fighting Irish” to be a racial slur is when my ethnicity gets tangled up with this team) and the New England Patriots.

The common note between these two teams is, of course, Charlie Weis, who, if you ask him, would say he deserved the head coaching job because he said so. Normally I’d have a little outrage set aside for anyone who mocked Weis for his unfortunate appearance, but he so richly deserves it that I call him Fat Bastard. I bet his players do, too.

Weis showed up a few years ago when Notre Dame ditched Tyrone Willingham for having a losing season while black, never having given him time to get his own team in place. Weis inherited Willingham’s team and beat their schedule full of cream puffs with it, only to get flattened in the Sugar Bowl by LSU, which was one of the most viscerally satisfying games I’ve ever watched. It happens every year: Notre Dame goes over .500 with their Krispy Kreme schedule and steals a BCS berth from some more deserving team, then gets beat like a rented mule. For that LSU game, I made popcorn. It was beautiful. Brady Quinn pouted on the sideline, practicing for the even more sullen pout he’d wear when no one wanted him in the NFL draft the next spring, and Weis lumbered along the sidelines like an out-of-shape parent living his football dreams through his kids. Unsuccessfully.

It didn’t get better for Weis, although it did for me. I’ll almost miss the arrogant prick when he’s gone, just because Notre Dame might start winning again. I love watching them lose, even to other overrated teams I hate, like Southern Cal. The College Gameday crew feature him every Saturday morning as regularly as a Scooby Doo villain, pouting and slouching at his press conference, smirking like George W. Bush when asked why he wasn’t winning. He looked like the second-string department store Santa, the one who scares all the little kids.

A little humility might’ve gone a long way with Weis. Or maybe it didn’t matter – Notre Dame has the same damned arrogance he does, thinking a bad movie with Ronald Reagan and a folk-art ripoff mosaic of Jesus somehow imbue them with moral superiority. And the talking heads are more than willing to play along, reminiscing weekly about their double handful of Heisman Trophy winners and their “storied tradition” of winning, which means, I suppose, they’ve been playing the bottom bitch of every conference for farther back than I can be bothered to investigate. Clemson would have a storied tradition, too, if we looked around the country at all the available teams and chose perennial losers like Washington State and Navy. If they signed up to play TCU and Alabama, I might have more use for them… but it’s never going to happen. They’re used to their stacked deck.

So it was a beautiful thing to watch Weis sulk on the sidelines like a troll forced to abandon his bridge, and just as satisfying to see Jimmy Clausen, an arrogant little prick who hired a white Hummer limousine to deliver his mediocre ass to the press on national signing day, get pasted by Pitt’s so-so defense. I’ll give Notre Dame this much: they’re such egomaniacs it seems their opponents hit them harder and throw them farther just because they can. Pitt didn’t really need to bring their A game, although they’re overrated too, but they smacked Clausen and his buddies around as if they were actually coached to hit hard. It made me wish Clausen had, through some scheduling error, met an SEC defense at some point.

It was fun. And it was just as much fun, last night, to watch Peyton Manning and company get pissed off in the 4^th quarter, trailing the supremely confident Patriots all the way through, and jam the ball down the defense’s throat in the last two minutes of the game, closing out the drive with a short, sweet pass to the end zone and a tie-breaking extra point. (We Clemson fans are, at the moment, watching a successful kicking game with a mixture of envy and rage.) Tom Brady pouted. Randy Moss glowered. And Bill Belichick looked like my cat when I took a mouse away from him, sullen and disbelieving. It made for a good football weekend, all the way around.

It’s great when the good guys win, and sometimes it’s just as great when the bad guys lose.

This is the power couple of hollywood, and combined Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are currently the highest grossing husband and wife is showbiz. Well we can add this to their list of joined ventures, the Snake Inspired Jewerly. The inspiration for this was due to Jolie receiving a ring in the shape of a snake while pregnant with Shiloh, and she considers the reptile the protector of the family.

Maestrii sunt mereu caracterizati de tăcere, inţelepciune şi un ritm calculat si echilibrat. E ceea ce mă provoacă de fiecare dată când urmăresc filme în care este un maestru si un discipol, pornind chiar de la Karate Kid, filmul care a fascinat milioane de adolescenţi la vremea lui. Discreţie, tăceree, observaţia, aşa ajunge ucenicul să fie mai bun decât maestrul. Spy Game, (Spioni de elită) în regia lui Tony Scott este un film de acţiune, avându-i ca protagoniţti pe Brad Pitt şi Robert Redford. După eşuarea unei misiuni neautorizate, agentul CIA pom Bishop (Pitt) este prins şi condamnat la moarte. Şeful lui Bishop, Nathan Muir (Redford) la disoiziţie 24 de ore pentru a-l elibera. Cei doi protagonişti nu ăşi vor trăda fanii nici de data aceasta.

Obviously, a huge game for the Pats tonight out in Indianapolis as the two clubs revive what has become the NFL’s best rivalry. Aside from the obvious quarterback dual, there are plenty of interesting subplots to go around this time. Do the Pats go with Vollmer at Left Tackle and hope he can do to Dwight Freeney what he did to Joey Porter last week? Can the Pats find a way to stop Dallas Green? Will Dave Thomas get to commit a huge penalty as he did last year to rupture the Pats’ chances? Will the Pats go right at the beat-up Colts secondary or will they try gutting them with a seemingly motivated Laurence Maroney? I actually like the Pats tonight. I see this is this season’s statement game and one where Randy Moss could go wild. Sure, Wes Welker is good for 10 grabs as always but I think it’s Moss who will be the difference tonight. The Pats defense will struggle at times, but I expect them to get some stops and do their share. That will leave it up to the offense and my gut tells me they are up to the task. Now if they continue to leave points on the field with bad red zone play, all bets are off. But if Brady can do a bit better job inside the 20, then I see the Pats walking away with a fairly high-scoring win. Call it 28-24.

I didn’t see last night’s Celtics loss coming at all. I know it was the second game in two nights and it was on the road, but this team should be able to take two Ambien and still beat Indiana. What now concerns me is this team’s physical resiliency. Earlier, they seemed to tire from a heavy dose of games to open the season. By last Saturday’s tiff with New Jersey, the club looked exhausted. And now they have trouble bouncing back against Indiana? This doesn’t bode well for the playoffs. 

Rajon Rando Free Throw Watch ……Rondo did make it to the line twice last night, bringing his total on the year to 12. He did, however, miss both attempts, so he is stuck on three makes. Folks, we have played eleven games! 

Congratulations go out this morning to Manny Pacquiao, who by all accounts, did quite a number on a very game Miguel Cotto last night. I didn’t see the fight but I trust ESPN’s Brian Kenny and when he said rounds 2-4 were on par of Hagler-Hearns, you know something special happened. Given that, you have to give it up for Pacman as he has now won titles in seven different weight classes. SEVEN! To put that in perspective, this guy used to beat eighth graders at 108 pounds. He is now pummeling big dudes at 145. And it’s not like he ducks fights. Just check out the who’s who of guys this man has beat. Erik Morales (twice), Barrera, Marquez, Oscar, Rick Hatton and now Miggy. That just leaves one fight out there and that of course is Floyd Mayweather Jr. Forget about Pacman and Sugar Shane as that still seems unlikely. But Pacman and Pretty Boy Floyd? That seems destined to become this generation’s Leonard-Duran.

Congratulations also go out to Russell from Survivor, who is the dominant personality in this season’s field and has become one of my all-time Survivor faves. This guy’s confidence is unbelievable and last week’s “immunity idol” blindside at Tribal was one of the better moves in series history. He still has some work to do as his chances to turn the game in his favor are still no better than 50-50, but at least he has a shot and that is saying something since he went into the merge down 8-4. And I will say this, if he can complete the comeback and make it to the Final Four, he stands a great chance of getting into my Survivor Hall of Fame.

Brandon Jennings went for FIFTY-FIVE last night? Wow! I love this kid and you know why I love him? Because he told the NCAA and those who think college basketball is holier than thou to go fuck themselves. While everyone expected him to just abide by convention and play last year at Arizona, this kid high-tailed it over to Italy and got paid to play basketball. So while his peers were getting an “education” in towns like Lawrence and Durham and Lexington, Jennings was stuck in dreary old Rome, getting a better real-life eduaction than 99 percent of his freshmen peers. My response to that ……great job Brandon. It should be noted that Brandon was a non-qualifier so his decision was not all that difficult. As such, what I want to see is that kid who could play right away at Kentucky or North Carolina tell Calipari or Roy Williams….”thanks but no thanks ….I am headed for Barcelona!”

Why is everyone so freaked out by the fact that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is coming to New York for trial? I hear people worrying that KSM will use a trial to rail against the United States. To that, I say …so what? You don’t think the Republic can survive the ramblings of an insane terrorist? That line of reasoning strikes me as vacuous, shrill and insecure.

USC, and Pete Carroll, have lost a few points with me after they clearly threw in the towel on the season. This big ego team got knocked on its ass in Oregon and like most bullies, it has chosen to quit rather than fight on. As such, the video of yesterday’s thrashing at home versus Stanford might as well be scored with Cheap Trick’s “Surrender” in the background. I realize that this was a year for SC to re-load and playing a True Freshman at quarterback is never easy, but we haven’t seen SC be this ordinary in conference since the Clinton Administration. So ordinary in fact, that I am not ruling out a UCLA win next week. Now I am not predicting that this year is the tipping point and a slide is coming. But Nebraska fell. Miami fell. If Barkley isn’t the real deal, who is to say SC won’t fall?

Speaking of Miami, ESPN’s Reese Davis spoke yesterday of the Hurricanes “magical” season. Magical? The Canes are now 7-3 with losses to Virginia Tech, Clemson and North Carolina. If that is magical, I would hate to see ordinary. That being said, Miami is headed in the right direction and I am sure plenty of ESPN types are going to love them next August. And much of this praise will be premised upon the return of Jacory Harris, who is one of those dogs that could do no wrong in Bristol. Little word of caution here on Harris …..he has thrown 16 picks this year and 13 in his last seven games. When you throw in the 27 sacks, this guy has been at the heart of too many negative plays. Remember that when Desmond Howard or Lou Holtz go Lady Ga-Ga over Harris next Summer.

A lot of Notre Dame defenders, such as WFAN’s Mike Francesca, were counting (and EXPECTING) a win yesterday over Pitt to save Charlie Weis’ fat neck. Sorry guys, this Notre Dame season has been reduced to rubble and a sure loss at Stanford in two weeks will leave the Irish at 7-5 and playing in the Gator Bowl, sponsored by “Who The Fuck Cares.” But wasn’t this the year Charlie was building towards? Sorry Charlie, Notre Dame has fallen off the rails and you won’t be the one tasked to straighten things out.

Some final College Football thoughts ….. Pitt has very quietly put together a hell of a year. They take out West Virginia next week and the finale against Cincy will probably be the biggest game at Pitt since 1981 or 1982.

Stanford has also had a terrific season and how about some Heisman votes for Toby Gerhart? What, 1400 yards rushing and 19 TDs doesn’t impress?

The SEC is simply not as far ahead of College Football as the Segregationists would like you to believe. Yeah, Florida and Bama are probably a touchdown better than any other school, but the SEC’s depth doesn’t impress me. And I really object to those who claim LSU is a special team that had the misfortune of running into Bama and Florida. LSU got by Lousiana Tech by eight yesterday and my money says LSU would have lost a couple in the Pac-10 this year.

UCLA hasn’t had a QB since Drew Olson graduated in 2005 but true freshmen Kevin Prince, looks like the one to break the curse. With a healthy Prince and another year for that young line to jell, the Bruins should have a pretty good offense in 2010. The defense might be another story.

I see the TCU fans turned out bigtime for last night’s game with Utah. Nice job Frogs. You now get the loser of Bama-Florida for a shot at third place in the final rankings. (There will be plenty of bitching about this down in Dallas and critics will claim it shows that the BCS is broken. My answer to that ….the TCUs of the world were no better off before the BCS.) 

Lost in TCU’s success is the fact that June Jones has done a nice job across town at SMU. This new QB, Kyle Pardon, has turned their season around with three straight wins. Wins over Marshall and Tulane would give the stangs eight wins and their first bowl appearance since the school got the NCAA’s death penalty. SMU’s last bowl …….the 1984 Aloha Bowl. Ironic that Hawaii’s former coach has them back bowling?  

Just another day at the office for Georgia Tech QB Josh Nesbitt …six completions for 195 yards. That guy is incredible. On the year …… 11.34 yards per attempt!

Odd move of the day ….Boise State, in a game that they won by 38 points, went for two on their first two touchdowns but then not again for the rest of the game. What is the logic behind that? Is that SOP for the Cowboys?

Questions for Minny ….what are you doing playing South Dakota State on November 14th and what are you doing needing a late field to win that game?

Have to hand it to those Illinois fans ….60K turned out to see the Ilini lose to upstate rival Northwestern. Sad comment on “things to do on a Saturday afternoon in Champaigne.”

Because of a Thursday night game, a friday night game and ABC’s move to show Pitt last night, the Big East “Game of the Week” was Syracuse versus Louisville. I wouldnt be surprised if that game got worse ratings in the NYC metro area than the game on YES between Yale and Princeton.

It was the Spartans of Michigan State over the Purdue Boilermakers 40-37 in West Lafayette this Saturday.  Go Green!

This one was important for both teams. MSU needed one win from their last two games to become bowl eligible, and Purdue needed to win both of it’s final two games to achieve the same. Beyond the pressure of the post season, these are two good clubs that match-up very well and both are seemingly better than their records indicate.

What a way to start the game… On the first play of the game, Purdue fumbles and MSU’s Chris L. Rucker recovers and runs it in for a TD. Granted, we only had that lead for about four minutes, but it was a great way to start the day.

In the third quarter, Brett Swenson kicks not one, but two 52-year field goals. Wow.

Watching the game, Purdue really controlled the ball. TOP was 40-minutes for Purdue versus 20-minutes for MSU. Purdue had 28 first downs 12 for MSU. Purdue converted 14-22 third downs compared to 2-10 for MSU.  Even total offensive yards: Purdue had 524 compared to 362 for MSU. But in the end, the Spartans made the big plays and took home the win.

The Spartans are 6-5 overall, and 4-3 in the Big Ten.  Penn State next week in East Lansing for the Land Grant Trophy.

A good day for MSU, but not so much for Michigan or Notre Dame.

Wisconsin dominated UofM Saturday winning 45-24.  Granted, the Badgers are ranked #20 overall and are #4 in the Big Ten, but to lose by three TDs must be quite a blow to the Wolverines.  Ouch.  Michigan is 5-6 overall and 1-6 in the Big Ten.  They will have to beat #11 Ohio State next week to become bowl eligible, but that’s likely to happen.  But then again, the UofM-OSU game is an emotionally-charged rivalry game, so anything can happen.  RichRod could use the win, that’s for sure.  His club is setting records though, like losing six straight Big Ten games for the first time since 1958-1959.

Pitt took the fight out of the Fighting Irish with a 27-22 win. Again, Pitt is a very good team ranked #12 overall and #2 in the Big East. The fact that Charlie Weis can’t seem to beat ranked teams meant this was going to be an uphill battle. And it was. And they didn’t quite make it to the top of the hill. The chatter about Coach Weis getting sacked after this season continues to grow, and with good reason: He can’t get it done. Charlie’s stats are no better than the previous two ND coaches, both of whom were fired. He started strong with the previous regime’s players, but has failed spark greatness with his own recruits. Even with amazing players like Golden Tate and Jimmy Clausen. But you know what?  My gut says ND gives him one more season. I certainly hope not, but I’m thinking they throw him one more year. Just enough rope, I hope.

Tenuta wants to move on to Pitt – Rivals.com Video.

No one in South Bend wants to talk about Navy.

Who will they want to avoid next week?

Is Lou Holtz available to coach?

Duration: 3:06 | Made: 09.11.09

I know this would’ve turned out so much better if I had used only Interview with the Vampire footage but I’m not a big fan of Cruise as Lestat; He did a wonderful job as the IWTV Lestat but he’s just nowhere near my personal image of the character. Townsend gets closer – I just wish the film was true to Lestat and the story. But as it isn’t, I did what I could with what I had. I hope you enjoy.

Another Lestat&Louis video hopefully coming soon from me. I have a song but this is hard, editing with Townsend and Pitt. And not that it mattered for this particular video but in my image Lestat and Louis’s relationship is that of close firends and strong brotherhood or something – not romantic lovers.

VIEW/DOWNLOAD:
http://peterpanthimbles.net/?video=277

Video/Editing by me – (bendaimmortal/peterpanlegend/TheVampireOutlaw)

My YouTube Account

Last year, I did a mini college basketball preview about the arcs and certain perennial powers. Here’s a quick recap:

(From Nov. 2008)- The college basketball season is here. The Tar Heels are the national favorites, followed by the likes of perennial powerhouses UCONN and UCLA. The season figures to be entertaining, thanks largely in part to a bunch of players who stayed in school.
But what really is the biggest story at the start of the college basketball season? The new arc? Can you believe it? A line is hogging the spotlight. Both Sports Illustrated and The Washington Post did feature stories on arcs. They were good, but what a shame that an arc is stealing the limelight from the likes of Tyler Hansbrough, Luke Harangody, and Blake Griffin.
It’s all great and good that there is a new arc. But it probably won’t make a difference. So lets focus on the players shooting from the arc, not the arc itself.

I would like to say that things are the same this year, but that would be far from true. Gone is the dominance of UNC and Hansbrough. In is a lack of dominance, in my opinion at least. The stars that stayed in school last year are gone. Only Harangody is back. The other stars are labeled that way because that is what they have to become to replace the departed players. Kansas is supposed to lead the pack, with All Americans Sherron Colllins and Cole Aldrich. Did you know that those two were bench players in the Jayhawk’s national title team from two years ago? UNC is supposed to remain strong with supposed lottery pick Ed Davis, who is being declared great based on potential,not real life results. However, he did shows glimpses of skill last year.

Lucky Kentucky. They not only get John Calipari, but John Wall and a bunch of other top recruits. All for the price of one! Just kidding. But Kentucky did make the leap from no NCAA to top five team.

The Big East will be down. They lost Hasheem Thabeet, Jonny Flynn, Terrence Williams, Marquette’s threesome, and a bunch of others. So who’s left? Greg Monroe of Georgetown, who showed great flashes as a freshman last year. Syracuse transfer Wesley Johnson is supposed to be good. We’ll see. Harangody, a proven star, is back. Pitt is down. Louisville and Connectiuct are down key players from last year but not depleted like Marquette and Pitt. Cincy is on the rise, as are Seton Hall and St. Johns. Villanova leads the pack with Scottie Reynolds, while WVU trails closely. I think it’ll be a tight race.

The ACC will be lead by (gasp!) UNC and Duke. But UMD has Greivis Vasquez and Georgia Tech has some good recruits. Wake lost Jeff Teague and James Johnson. UVA has Sylven Landesberg.

In the SEC, they’re still focused on football.

In the PAC 10, Cal leads the way with guards Randle and Christopher. Washington has Isaiah Thomas (different one).

The Big 12 has Texas and Damion James. Also, can Mizzou repeat last year’s magic?

And the Big Ten. I’m feeling the Big Ten. Purdue is loaded with JaJuan Johnson, Robbie Hummel, Chris Kramer and E’Twaun Moore. Michigan State just made the final Four. Michigan and Manny Harris should be good. Wisco is always solid. Illinois was good last year and Penn State should build off their NIT Championship.

It will be an interesting year for sure. Is it too original if I pick Kansas?

As long as their football team doesn’t get to them first.

Nos cinemas, já há quase três semanas, Bastardos Inglorios tem dividido a opinião de críticos e platéias, não só aqui, mas também, no mundo todo. Ninguém disse que era ruim, mas alguns disseram que podia ser melhor.

O grande problema que Tarantino enfrenta desde Pulp Fiction é superar-se em seu próximo trabalho. E isso não é nada fácil levando em consideração o que Pulp Fiction representa para o cinema mundial. Mas em relação a maturidade de Tarantino, Inglorios Bastardos foi um grande passo. No topo da lista, no entanto, em termos de maturidade está Jackie Brown que, aliás, apesar de ter sido escrito por Tarantino, ele é baseado em um livro.

Bastardos tem uma narrativa cronológica, início, meio e fim na ordem (diferente de Cães de Aluguel, Pulp Fiction e Kill Bill), dialogos fortes e piadas apimentadas. Tem também bastante ação e uma trama que prende a atenção do espectador até o último segundo de filme. Todos os “temperos” de Tarantino estão presentes no filme, inclusive, o diretor faz uma ponta quando aparece sendo escalpelado por um dos Bastardos.

Nitidamente é um mergulho de Tarantino no cinema Europeu com uma execução impecável em temos de fotografia, movimentos de câmeras que ajudam a contar a história, diálogos muito bem escritos (que são em francês, inglês e alemão) e, um atrativo a mais, Hitler como uma parte bem ativa e chave importante na história.

Resumindo:

Vale pagar os 12 reais do cinema pra assistir?

Com certeza!

Aproveita e compra a pipoca e o refri.

Predicted margin of victory:
Pitt by 17 points

Not that the teams are similar to last season as Pitt lost 3 great college basketball players (DeJuan Blair, Sam Young, and Levance Fields), but I was just curious to see a number.

Inglourious Basterd (2009)

Directed: Quentin Tarantino / Cast: Brad Pitt, Melani Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth

Beginilah akibatnya bila Quentin Tarantino sedang ingin bersenang-senang. Setelah bosan dengan tema hitman / mafia yang sering ia angkat, Tarantino mencari ‘lahan’ baru untuk tempat bermainnya. Dan lahan yang ia jadikan sebagai amusement park-nya kali ini adalah Perang Dunia II, saat Nazi menduduki Perancis. Tarantino membuat film perang sejarah? Jangan terkecoh! Memang benar Perang Dunia II dan kisah Nazi menjadi setting filmnya kali ini. Akan tetapi, Tarantino tidak bermaksud untuk membuat dramatisasi dari kejadian aktual yang ada pada masa perang. Toh, seperti yang telah dikatakan di atas, Tarantino hanya ingin bersenang-senang.

Nazi. Bila kita bicara tentang Nazi, yang paling kita ingat adalah tindakan-tindakan kejam mereka terhadap kaum yahudi, dan tentu saja pemimpin mereka yang berkumis pelit, Adolf Hitler. Ketika Nazi menduduki Perancis, Standartenfuhrer Hans Landa, bersama pasukannya, membantai keluarga Dreyfus dengan keji. Meski demikian, Shosanna Dreyfus (Laurent) berhasil selamat setelah melarikan diri.

Empat tahun berselang, setelah banyak menimbulkan terror, para pasukan Nazi di Perancis kini justru diteror oleh grup kecil, yang dijuluki ‘The Basterd’ oleh kalangan perwira Nazi. The Basterd dipimpin oleh Letnan Aldo Reine, asal Amerika Serikat. Bersama 8 orang ‘pasukannya’, Reine melancarkan serangan-serangan brutal, primitif, namun sukses memunculkan rasa takut di kalangan Nazi. Spesialisasi The Basterd adalah menguliti kulit kepala para pasukan Nazi. Bahkan Hitler pun murka ketika mendengar tindakan The Basterd tersebut kepada para perwiranya.

Akan tetapi kita tidak banyak disuguhkan sepak terjang The Basterd dalam mengupas kulit kepala musuhnya. Ada misi yang lebih besar yang ingin dilakukan The Basterd, dan ide misi itu datang dari buah pikiran aktris Jerman Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger). Misi mereka diberi nama ‘Operation Kino’. Bagi yang paham bahasa Jerman, pasti tahu apa arti dari kata ‘Kino’. Tujuan misi itu adalah: membunuh seluruh petinggi Nazi yang akan mengadakan gala premier film propaganda mereka, berjudul ‘Nation’s Pride’.

Di saat bersamaan, Emmanuele Mimieux, pemilik bioskop tempat diadakannya premier film tersebut, juga memiliki maksud tersendiri. Tanpa ada kaitannya dengan The Basterd, Mimieux juga hendak melaksanakan misi yang sama, yaitu membunuh Hitler beserta kroco-kroconya. Motif Mimieux adalah balas dendam. Karena sebenarnya Mimieux adalah Shosanna, yang mengganti seluruh identitas dirinya setelah berhasil selamat dari kebrutalan pasukan Hans Landa.

Jangan mengharapkan film ini memiliki akurasi data sejarah yang tepat. Sebaliknya, lewat film ini, Tarantino justru ‘memporak-porandakan’ sejarah, serta menciptakan sejarahnya sendiri. Oleh karena itulah, jangan sekali-kali menggunakan film ini sebagai referensi saat kalian menulis skripsi, atau karya tulis ilmiah lainnya! Bagaimana pun juga, film ini adalah ‘taman hiburan’ kreasi Tarantino.

Tarantino mengerahkan seluruh kejeniusannya (serta kesintingannya) kala menggarap karyanya yang satu ini. Kisahnya yang gila-gilaan, karakter unik dan terkadang komikal, extreme violence, serta dialog panjang yang kadang tidak penting –namun cerdas dan memiliki punchline tepat sasaran di beberapa bagian– diporsir maksimal oleh Tarantino. Toh itu semua merupakan beberapa ke-khas-an Tarantino. Tak lupa pembabakan kisah dengan menggunakan ‘chapter’ layaknya novel, juga muncul di film ini. Hal yang sama juga muncul di film Tarantino sebelumnya, seperti Pulp Fiction dan dwilogi Kill Bill. Tak lupa, banyolan-banyolan konyol a la Tarantino pun banyak berserakan dimana-mana, seperti saat Reiner dan anak buahnya menyamar sebagai orang Itali. Sungguh konyol, segar dan menggelitik.

Tarantino juga menyajikan banyak hal ‘baru’ di film ini. Selain setting kisahnya yang menjadi ‘lahan’ baru baginya, ia juga mencoba menampilkan sedikit kisah cinta di filmnya kali ini. Unsur romansa tidak pernah mendapat perhatian besar di film-filmnya. Akan tetapi, di Inglorious Basterd, Tarantino mulai sedikit memperhatikan unsur tersebut. Jangan girang dulu, dengan mengharapkan bakal ada kisah cinta mengharu biru di tengah kemelut perang. Hei, kita sedang bicara tentang film Tarantino saat ini! Di sini Tarantino menyajikan kisah cinta yang menyesakkan dada, bertepuk sebelah tangan, dan berakhir tragis. Tarantino pun mengakhiri sesi cerita cintanya dengan brutal, namun dengan iringan lagu yang menyayat hati. Sungguh bagaikan percikan kembang api di malam festival yang kelabu.

Tarantino juga berhasil menjaga tensi film dari awal hingga akhir. Bahkan, dia sempat mempermainkan adrenalin kita dengan adegan-adegan yang intimidatif. Tensi yang fluktuatif tidak membuat para penonton kesal. Sebaliknya, menonton film ini bagaikan menaiki roller coaster sepanjang 2,5 jam. Sangat menyenangkan. Itu karena Tarantino berhasil menempatkan adegan-adegan thrilling pada waktu dan saat yang tepat. Tarantino tahu kapan harus membuat penonton rileks dan tertawa, juga tahu kapan harus membuat penonton menahan nafas. Satu lagi bukti kehandalan si edan Tarantino.

Soal akting, para aktor mampu menyungguhkan performa yang memadai, sesuai tuntutan kesintingan Tarantino. Mereka mampu menghidupkan tokoh yang berkarakter unik dengan baik. Dan mungkin hanya di film ini kita bisa melihat Hitler mengamuk, tertawa terbahak-bahak, dan meminta permen karet pada anak buahnya. Tak hanya itu, di sini kita juga bisa melihat Goebbels menangis setelah dipuji Hitler, juga kemunculan sosok Emil Jannings –aktor pertama yang meraih gelar Best Actor di ajang Academy Awards, yang juga merupakan anggota Partai Nazi. Tarantino menabur banyak kejutan kecil yang menyenangkan.

Laurent berhasil menampilkan sosok Shosanna yang mengalami trauma, namun memiliki kebencian mendalam pada Nazi, hingga sanggup melakukan aksi nekat untuk balas dendam. Kruger sukses menyuguhkan pesona selebritis era film hitam-putih, sekaligus kefasihan bertindak bak Mata Hari. Lalu ada Pitt dengan kumis tipis, aksen Tennesse, luka di leher, dan air muka seperti orang yang baru saja meminum air limun kecut, yang mampu menarik perhatian kita. Letnan Aldo Reine adalah tokoh heroik komikal, namun tahu apa yang ia lakukan. Bagi saya pribadi, ini adalah penampilan Pitt yang paling saya suka, bersama 12 Monkeys, dan Burn After Reading.

Terakhir, mari kita curahkan perhatian kita pada Christoph Waltz, yang menyajikan seni peran yang jempolan. Hans Landa merupakan seteru utama bagi Aldo Reine, yang juga komikal tapi handal. Itulah Landa, yang dijuluki The Jew Hunter! Landa adalah sosok Kolonel Nazi yang senantiasa bertutur kata sopan, berprilaku santun, dan tersenyum hangat. Namun dibalik seluruh kesempurnaan etikanya tersebut, ia juga memancarkan aura intimidatif yang kentara. Bahkan para penonton pun akan merasakan tekanan intimidasi yang dipancarkan oleh Waltz lewat sosok Landa. Meski demikian, Landa juga seorang pribadi yang flamboyant, komikal, kadang histeris dan konyol, tapi memiliki kemampuan analisis luar biasa, serta handal dalam memburu orang, terutama kaum Yahudi. Tarantino sendiri mengaku bahwa Hans Landa adalah tokoh terbaik yang pernah ia ciptakan. Waltz membawakan sosok Landa dengan sangat sempurna. Hasilnya? Gelar Aktor Terbaik dari ajang Festival de Cannes pun berhasil ia dapatkan!

Dengan segala kegilaan yang ada, tak dapat dipungkiri lagi bahwa Inglorious Basterd merupakan salah satu film yang paling menghibur di tahun 2009 ini. Nantikan pula ending film ini yang akan mengejutkan penonton, persembahan terakhir Tarantino setelah susah payah ‘menghancurkan’ sejarah yang ada. Sebuah adegan yang mampu membuat Stauffenberg, Tom Cruise, dan Bryan Singer gigit jari karena iri setengah mati. Tarantino dan The Basterd mengakhiri Operation Kino mereka dengan gemilang…

Monday November 23, 2009

Wichita State at Pitt

Here are the first 10 teams added to the list of teams I’ll be making predictions for throughout the year:

• Butler
• Dayton
• Georgia Tech
• Kansas
• Northern Iowa
• Oklahoma
• Pitt
• Siena
• South Carolina
• VCU

By Gary Peterson
Oakland Tribune columnist

It is one OF pro football’s most revered maxims, right up there with the “Who-Dey?” chant and “I love me some me”:

Why be a second-guesser if you can be a proactive smarty-pants?

The Oakland Raiders will be looking for a new head coach soon. We know it. They know it. The Napa DA knows it, but he isn’t comfortable taking it before a jury.

Tom Cable has about exhausted his tenure — some might call it a sentence — with the team. He’s coached 20 games; the previous four Raiders coaches lasted an average of 25. His record is a dismal 6-14 (though it bears noting his .300 winning percentage ranks fourth among the eight men who have coached the Raiders since their return to Oakland).

Most troubling, he keeps making headlines for the wrong reasons. His altercation with then-assistant coach Randy Hanson, who woke up the next morning with a broken jaw, was investigated but not prosecuted. An ESPN report alleges Cable committed domestic violence against an ex-wife and a former girlfriend.

What next? Is TMZ going to disclose that Cable handed out soap-flavored chewing gum to trick-or-treaters on Halloween? The guess here is it doesn’t matter because Al Davis has already decided on half his next move — sacking Cable, whether it be this week, next week or at halftime of the season finale.

We’re here to help with the second half of that next move — lining up a successor. As you know, this gets more challenging with every failed Raiders coaching regime. Once it was easy enough to compile a short list of familiar names and unheralded wunderkinds. These days the short list of men who would even consider the job could be scribbled on the back of a business card.

Unless you get creative, which is where we come in:

• Ted Tollner. Currently a Raiders assistant, he’s available and on-site. That’s not the only reason he’d be an ideal battlefield promotion. He’s been a head coach at three different levels — junior college (College of San Mateo), college (San Diego State), and semipro (USC). Given that he’s currently the team’s passing game coordinator, he might be eager for a new assignment. Odds: 9-1.
• Paul Hackett. Currently the Raiders quarterbacks coach, he might be even more eager than Tollner for a change of scenery. Served as head coach at Pitt and USC. Like Tollner, specializes in offense. And though you wouldn’t know it by the numbers, Davis has a demonstrated preference for offensive-minded head coaches. Odds: 15-1.
• Joe the Plumber. It’s been quite a year for Samuel Wurzelbacher, who rocketed to prominence during John McCain’s presidential bid last fall. Ol’ Sammy Joe is a hard worker, as evidenced by his desperate struggle to maintain his infamy. The Raiders might be scared off by the gay slur he dropped during a recent interview with Christianity Today — talk about a plumber’s crack — but based on what he told McCain last year you figure he’d appreciate any lucrative job offer. Odds: The-biggest-number-you-can-think-of-divided-by-2-1.
• Jim Fassel. You know the story. Led the New York Giants to the Super Bowl. Crazy-mad to get another NFL head coaching job. Informed Davis of his interest in the Raiders position in a letter written last fall and rumored to contain the phrase “pretty please.” Currently coaching the Las Vegas Locomotives in the fledgling UFL, and thus makes more sense as an offseason hire. Odds: 20-1.
• Rush Limbaugh. Bitter after being dropped from the group trying to buy the St. Louis Rams, this could be his sweet revenge. Yes, there would be the obligatory jokes about conservative game plans and running to the right. But after blaming his failed bid on “the hatred that exists … in the sports writer community,” his news conferences would be priceless. Then again, he’d have to take a 97 percent pay cut. Odds: 500-1.
• Jim Haslett. Briefly a linebackers coach for the L.A. Raiders, he once spoke to Davis about being the head coach in Oakland. Had a respectable six-year run as coach of the New Orleans Saints, and a forgettable 12-game interim slog with the St. Louis Rams. Currently coach of the UFL-leading Florida Tuskers, who are averaging 31 points per game. (Fun fact: The Raiders haven’t scored 31 points in their past three games combined.) Odds: 50-1.
• Javon Walker. Hey, you might as well get something for all that money. Odds: 250-1.