Trav's Thoughts

Got us some pumpkin lattes and pastries this morning. Yum-OH!

Games of interest at my place are all stacked up at 12:30 today. We'll be flipping channels all afternoon.

The Irish try to make it two in a row today when they host Boston College. BC is 6-0 and ranked 4th in the nation, so I guess all I'm looking for today is continued improvement on both sides of the ball for Notre Dame. There's always the chance for an upset. This is a rivalry filled with special moments. I became aware of BC in 1984 during Doug Flutie's senior year. The Miracle in Miami - the last second 48 yard TD pass to beat the Hurricanes - is one of the all time great plays, and endeared both BC and Flutie to legions of college football fans. But there is a moment that established the BC-ND game as an enduring rivalry and turned me completely away from BC. In 1993, just a week after Notre Dame pulled off the incredible upset of then #1 Florida State, BC came into South Bend and beat the Irish 41-39 on a last second field goal. The NCAA awarded the national championship that year to Bobby Bowden, and to this day I will actively root against both BC and FSU.

Arizona visits former #1 USC, also televised at 12:30 today. The Trojans were picked off last weekend by an inspired Stanford team. USC dropped to #10 in the USA Today poll and #7 in the AP poll. They are not completely out of the BCS picture, but they cannot afford to lose another game in the Pac 10. Arizona is 1-2 in the Pac 10 and looking to Stanford's example to make a statement against the Trojans.


Top ranked LSU heads to Lexington for a big game against #17 Kentucky. UK slipped up last week down at South Carolina, while #1 LSU beat Florida last week on a TD at the end of the game. This game has tremendous implications for #2 Cal, #3 Ohio State, and #4 Boston College. If UK can pull the upset, then each of those three programs can make a strong case to play in the BCS Championship game in January, provided they win out. And that's the key this season. Any team can beat any other on any give Saturday. So there's no reason UK fans shouldn't expect a new Bluegrass Miracle that Turns in their favor. Sorry Turnbaby...it was too good to resist! We're rooting hard for UK today!

The Huskies are in Tempe today to take on #13 Arizona State. UW has been so close this season. Behind QB Jake Locker they have played tough and been pretty good in the first half. But they run out of steam in the second half. It's been one of those learning seasons, and the experience the young players are getting should serve them well next year. After starting the season with an impressive win at Syracuse, the Huskies are in the midst of playing seven straight nationally ranked opponents. They beat Boise State, but then lost three in a row to Ohio State, UCLA, and USC. And they still have three ranked opponents left in their final eight games. That's got to be one of the toughest schedules in the NCAA.


#9 Oregon has had two weeks to get past their first loss against Cal, and wants to get back on track as well as avenge last season's loss in Pullman. Even though Washington State is winless in the Pac 10, I've been impressed with QB Alex Brink. If WSU can deal with Oregon's high powered offense, this could be a good game.


#2 Cal needs to focus and take care of it's own business against Oregon State today. The game is at 7pm tonight, so they'll know whether #1 LSU has won or lost by the time they take the field. Cal has USC's recent example to work with, and that should remind them that an undefeated record and a #2 ranking puts a big target on your back. OSU has a chance at an upset that can turn their season around.



Cleveland looks to even the best of seven ALCS against Boston today. Fausto Carmona, who shut down the Yankees in his last start in the Division Series, goes today for the Indians against Curt Schilling, who has been dominant in the post season with a 9-2 record and 1.93 ERA in 16 post season starts.



I ticked up a little with my picks last weekend. Here's the results so far:

Week 1 = 12-4
Week 2 = 11-5
Week 3 = 10-6
Week 4 = 8-6
Week 5 = 9-5

That puts me at 50-26 for the season to date, a 66% success rate which is a little below expectations. I'm usually around 68%. I've gotten tripped up by a few inconsistent teams. They look good one week and lousy the next.

Here's my shot at tomorrow's games:

Bears over Vikings
Browns over Dolphins
Packers over Redskins
Chiefs over Bengals
Bucs over Titans
Rams over Ravens
Texans over Jaguars
Jets over Eagles
Cardinals over Panthers
Chargers over Raiders
Patriots over Cowboys
Seahawks over Saints
Giants over Falcons

BYE week teams: Bills, Broncos, Lions, Colts, Steelers, 49ers

I hate picking the Chargers over my Raiders. And Dixie will not be happy that I've picked Tampa to beat her Titans.

OK gang. I'm off to catch up on blog rounds. I might be back later with some afternoon observations.

Later babies!