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Saturday College Football Open Thread

I'm flooding the zone this week. the picks:

Mississippi State+5 @ Texas A&m, Mississippi -7 @ Florida, Arkansas +7 @ Tennessee, Arizona State @ UCLA -12, Washington State +18 @ California, Hawaii +26 @ Boise State, San Jose State +21 @ Auburn, East Carolina -5 @ SMU, Notre Dame @ Clemson Pick (3 units), Boston College +7 @ Duke, Ohio State -23 @ Indiana, Alabama PICK (4 units) @ Georgia, Northern Illinois @ Central Michigan +3,
Louisville @ North Carolina State -3, Houston -6 @ Tulsa, Central Florida PICK @ Tulane, Pittsburgh +4 @ Virginia Tech, Minnesota @ Northwestern -4, Kansas +19 @ Iowa State, Texas +15 @ TCU, Iowa +6 @ Wisconsin, Purdue +22 @ Michigan State,
Michigan -14 @ Maryland, West Virginia +7 @ Oklahoma, South Carolina +3 @ Missouri.

Go Gators!

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  • Display: Sort:
    What's up with Iowa? (5.00 / 2) (#7)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 03:15:34 PM EST
    The Hawkeyes went into Madison this afternoon and upset No. 19 Wisconsin, 10-6, to move to 5-0.

    This is (5.00 / 1) (#50)
    by CST on Tue Oct 06, 2015 at 01:44:30 PM EST
    Really funny

    "The rally, which mostly bewildered passersby, was organized by Max Geller, creator of the Instagram account Renoir Sucks at Painting, who wants the MFA to take its Renoirs off the walls and replace them with something better. Holding homemade signs reading "God Hates Renoir" and "Treacle Harms Society," the protesters ate cheese pizza purchased by Geller, and chanted: "Put some fingers on those hands! Give us work by Paul Gauguin !" and "Other art is worth your while! Renoir paints a steaming pile!" Craig Ronan, an artist from Somerville, learned about the protest on Instagram and decided to join. "I don't have any relationship with these people aside from wanting artistic justice," he said. The museum hasn't commented on the fledgling movement, but a few folks walking by Monday seemed amused."

    I Guess Even Hipsters... (none / 0) (#51)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Oct 06, 2015 at 02:41:49 PM EST
    ...have their limits.

    Parent
    et ak... (5.00 / 1) (#55)
    by jondee on Tue Oct 06, 2015 at 04:23:29 PM EST
    I think someone may need the Heimlich maneuver..

    Don't censor and rewrite what people say, Jim. (man, Jer cuts you a lot of slack here..)

    What I said was: SCIENTIFIC consensus based on data and experimental observation over time has always been the basis of science.

    But as your blog makes clear, you just don't trust scientists in general. Probably because you heard on talk radio that science is un-Biblical and interferes with the Free Market..

    And as we all know, if nothing else, you're endlessly loyal to whatever non-thought travels down to you from the Breitbart-Geller-Heritage-Beck pipeline.

    Just don't forget to flush. And to wash your hands.

    ROFLMAO

     

    BTW et ak.. (none / 0) (#57)
    by jondee on Tue Oct 06, 2015 at 04:39:20 PM EST
    As I said before, you don't go to an accountant for medical opinions or a botanist for the last word on quantum mechanics..

    So, science fiction writers and physicists are NOT the people who most people of even middling intelligence would consult first about climate science. That is, if they were REALLY interested in getting the most accurate information possible. Which in your case is a VERY BIG "if".

    I don't know why this is so hard for you. Is the blood sugar dangerously low again?

    Parent

    James Hansen, formerly (none / 0) (#58)
    by oculus on Tue Oct 06, 2015 at 04:56:09 PM EST
    The head of Goddard (NASA) is a physicist.  A high school classmate of mine worked directly w/Hansen at Goddard.  Classmate has s Ph.D. in Physics.  Both scientists are specialists re climate change.  My classmate told the skeptics at out reunion:  it's all physics.  

    Parent
    I (none / 0) (#59)
    by FlJoe on Tue Oct 06, 2015 at 05:17:03 PM EST
    blame the Chemists! It's all that CO2 and Methane that got us into this mess.

    Parent
    It sorta just disappeared. POOF!

    But on the subject of climate change, there's a great investigative report posted today by the Los Angeles Times, noting that even as executives at Exxon Mobil were publicly poo-pooing the idea of global warming 20 years ago, the company's own scientists were telling them otherwise in internal discussions, and urging preparations to be enacted for that contingency:

    "Certainly any major development with a life span of say 30-40 years will need to assess the impacts of potential global warming. This is particularly true of Arctic and offshore projects in Canada, where warming will clearly affect sea ice, icebergs, permafrost and sea levels."
    - Ken Croasdale, senior researcher for Imperial Energy (1991)

    In fact, Croasdale also admitted in his capacity as chief researcher for Exxon Mobil's Canadian subsidiary that company executives had known conclusively that the rise in greenhouse gases was directly attributable to the burning of fossil fuels since at least the mid-'80s.

    But even as Croasdale was warning those executives internally, marketing specialists at Exxon and its worldwide affiliates were simultaneously crafting public positions and messages that downplayed the certainty of global warming.

    Sad and pathetic.

    Parent

    Wonder (none / 0) (#1)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 10:46:25 AM EST
    how this rain is going to affect some of these games.

    They'll get dirty (none / 0) (#2)
    by CoralGables on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 01:20:26 PM EST
    Here is a (none / 0) (#3)
    by ragebot on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 02:13:25 PM EST
    link

    ESPN had a talking head weather man say maybe the worst rain will hit in the second half of the ND/Clemson game.  Death Valley is not easy to play in anytime, but in a driving rain storm it may reduce the crowd noise some.

    This weekend is the best so far this season in terms of lots of meaningful games.

    Time to get some popcorn and enjoy.

    Parent

    Michigan 28. Maryland 0. (none / 0) (#4)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 02:35:13 PM EST
    Did BTD lose?  I think so.

    We need to send you back to gambling school (none / 0) (#5)
    by CoralGables on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 02:47:01 PM EST
    It's like Nuclear War. (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by Mr Natural on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 03:04:10 PM EST
    The only real way to win is to not play.

    Parent
    Jeez. I thought I had it! (none / 0) (#8)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 03:17:08 PM EST
    How point spreads work (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by Zorba on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 03:28:53 PM EST
    The point spread, which is the most popular type of bet, lists the favored team with a minus sign and a number and the underdog with a plus sign and the same number as the favorite. (If neither team is favored, they will be listed as EVEN or PICK.)

    The team that has the minus sign, which is the favorite, has points deducted from its final score, while the dog, with the plus sign, has points added. The favorite must beat the spread, which means they have to win by more than the negative number to pay off. The underdog pays off in two instances--if they win outright or if they lose by less than the spread

    Madduxsports.


    Parent

    You are a genius! Thanks. (none / 0) (#11)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 03:59:18 PM EST
    OMG! (none / 0) (#13)
    by Zorba on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 04:10:01 PM EST
    I've never been called a genius before!  Thanks, lady!   :-D
    Actually, this confused me for a long, long time, until my son sat me down and patiently explained it to me.

    Parent
    I guess I don't care enough to figure (none / 0) (#15)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 04:19:23 PM EST
    it all out. But now that Michigan is winning again,...

    Parent
    Odds: Michgan wins by 14 points. (none / 0) (#9)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 03:19:36 PM EST
    Just always remember, (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by Zorba on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 04:07:25 PM EST
    When you are betting, no matter what you are betting for (or against), no matter where you are betting, on sports, in casinos, wherever , those who are taking your bet always come out ahead in the end.  They may lose a little here and there, but in the end, they make money.  Otherwise, they wouldn't be in the business of taking bets.  They depend upon the suckers, who don't study the odds (and the teams, in the case of sports betting) and make their decisions accordingly.
    In other words, "the house always wins."    ;-)

    Parent
    ... always bet on the grey horse. That's what my uncle told me. Hasn't worked yet, but one of these times it's really going to pay off, I just know it.
    ;-D

    Parent
    As I said, (none / 0) (#16)
    by Zorba on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 05:40:36 PM EST
    The house always wins.
    Or, as the old saying goes, "There's a sucker born every minute."    ;-)

    Parent
    The House always wins (none / 0) (#17)
    by MKS on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 07:22:18 PM EST
    You know, it is amazing how good the Las Vegas odds makers are.

    There are people in SoCal who get comped entire suites in Las Vegas by the casinos....just because the casinos are such nice people?  Because those getting comped have lost big before......

    I heard tell that one big win hooks you for life.....

    Parent

    That's how they (none / 0) (#18)
    by Zorba on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 07:41:27 PM EST
    get 'em.
    And the casinos don't lose money by comping those high rollers, because the high rollers will keep coming back, and back, and back.

    Parent
    That is funny (none / 0) (#22)
    by MO Blue on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 09:20:57 PM EST
    My dad, who really liked to gamble, told me never to bet the gray horse. That little bit piece of advice lost me some money the last time I went to the track. After reading the form, I was going to bet on a particular horse until I read that it was grey. Wouldn't you know it. That gray horse won the race.

    Parent
    I was watching some horse racing ... (none / 0) (#25)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Oct 04, 2015 at 01:49:41 PM EST
    ... on TV just prior to tuning into the Arizona State-UCLA game, and the winner of yesterday's 8th race at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley, CA was a filly named "Going My Grey."

    Parent
    Why do I suddenly have (none / 0) (#26)
    by Zorba on Sun Oct 04, 2015 at 02:06:09 PM EST
    Stevie Wonder's song "Superstition" playing in my head?
    Thanks for the ear-worm, Donald.    ;-)

    Parent
    I've planted worse earworms, Mme. Zorba. ;-D (none / 0) (#29)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Oct 04, 2015 at 03:24:25 PM EST
    As someone with an innate affection for camp, I've a veritable treasure trove of them stored in my cerebral vaults.

    For example, did you know that the original theme song to "Hawaii Five-O" had lyrics? Sammy Davis, Jr. did. I'm sometimes amazed that your generation ever survived young adulthood, having been aurally assaulted so viciously by your parents like that.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Ah, yes (5.00 / 3) (#30)
    by Zorba on Sun Oct 04, 2015 at 03:51:23 PM EST
    But remember, I'm also old enough to have grown up listening to Buddy Holly, B. B. King, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and on and on and on.  As well as, a bit later, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
    Not that my parents listened to them (they were more Big Band aficianados), but the above is what I listened to.
    I had my own, little transistor radio, after all.    ;-)

    Parent
    Ah yes ... & a special Ah Yes for Buddy Holly (5.00 / 1) (#31)
    by christinep on Sun Oct 04, 2015 at 04:25:37 PM EST
    We rushed home from school so many weekdays to see Justine and Bob and/or Mary Beltrante on American Bandstand. (My personal favorite for a long time was Dion--propelled one into a free dance fit.)

    So Zorba ... Everyday henceforth you will call to mind Peggy Sue for me.

    Parent

    I, quite literally, cried (5.00 / 3) (#33)
    by Zorba on Sun Oct 04, 2015 at 04:47:26 PM EST
    the "night the music died," when the plane went down with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper.

    Parent
    GO DUCKS is not in the English language (none / 0) (#19)
    by fishcamp on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 08:12:31 PM EST
    Any more.  My fifteen acres of land outside of Eugene has probably plummeted in value.  I should just give it to Howdy, but it's at 6,000' and rains and snows all the time.  It's a dreary place, with dreary people and dreary ideas.

    Oh, c'mon! (none / 0) (#23)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Oct 04, 2015 at 01:37:14 PM EST
    fishcamp: "It's a dreary place, with dreary people and dreary ideas."

    Eugene is never going to be mistaken for Mississippi, no matter how hard you try.
    ;-D

    Parent

    Yes, but is Mississippi (none / 0) (#24)
    by oculus on Sun Oct 04, 2015 at 01:48:57 PM EST
    slated to be severed form the N.A. continent and then subsumed by s tsunami?  See The New Yorker. Scary stuff.

    Parent
    ... when I was growing up 40 years ago. There are also warnings to those people living in the central U.S. of the dangers posed by the New Madrid fault.

    Over here on the Big Island, it's pretty hard to not be aware of both the presence of Mauna Loa, and the inherent risk of living in its shadow. And in Hilo in particular, we're always conscious of the threat of tsunami. The two deadliest tsunamis in U.S. history, in 1946 and 1960, twice devastated this town at a cost of 159 and 61 lives, respectively.

    Es lo que es y lo que será, será. (It is what it is and what will be, will be.)

    Aloha.

    Parent

    If the night games hold (none / 0) (#20)
    by ragebot on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 09:17:09 PM EST
    There will be a big shake up in the polls.  Bama looked good earlier but UF and Clemson opened a can of whoopass on Ole Miss and ND.  Have to say OSU and MSU did not look really impressive in their wins.

    UCLA is still in it, but behind and not what I would call impressive.  Still have a few late games on the left coast but can't see anyone but Stanford changing things.

    Gotta say (none / 0) (#21)
    by ragebot on Sat Oct 03, 2015 at 09:19:18 PM EST
    the fake field goal by Clemson to punt the ball inside the 5 was something I had not seen before.

    Parent
    Northwestern (none / 0) (#28)
    by Natal on Sun Oct 04, 2015 at 03:10:17 PM EST
    flying under radar.  If they get by Michigan next Saturday excellent chance to go 12-0. Exceptional defence shutting down Stanford and holding two of their opponents scoreless.

    ... for any one team to run the table in Big 10 play. Same goes for the Pac-12. There are simply too many very decent to very good teams in both of those conferences, so I'm hard-pressed to see how any one of them will end up on top while still completely unscathed.

    Yes, Northwestern is at Michigan next week. But the Wildcats also still have to play Iowa (also presently unbeaten), Nebraska, Penn State and Wisconsin. Even the regular season finale in Champaign against Illinois is hardly a gimme, because at a surprising 4-1, the Illini are not necessarily the doormat they've been in recent years.

    The only two unbeaten teams remaining in the Pac-12 are Utah and California, and they play each other next week. I believe that both the eventual Big 10 and Pac-12 champions, whoever they may be, will suffer at least one loss in conference play and quite possibly two. While that may not be good enough to qualify for the (entirely subjective) NCAA college football "playoffs," nevertheless it'll still probably make for one helluva Rose Bowl game on New Year's Day.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    When the best conversation on (none / 0) (#34)
    by MO Blue on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 07:40:16 AM EST
    Mental Health in this country is  presented by a comedian, It just  emphasizes as Oliver states

    Calling Mental Health System A 'Clusterf*ck' Is 'Insult To Clusterf*cks'

    View of the known universe (none / 0) (#35)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 08:01:36 AM EST
    What is Particularly Interesting... (none / 0) (#49)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 12:54:03 PM EST
    ...is that we know, almost for certain, that we are not in the center of the universe, but because of the properties of light, that is the only place we can be on a map of the universe.  Exactly dead center, the same in distance(in lights years) as the Earth is old.

    It's very ironic in that to some degree, they view the universe the same as people did before Copernicus.

    FYI: The 'V' areas not mapped are due to the Milky Way being in the way.

    I love this stuff.

    Parent

    So kdog (none / 0) (#36)
    by jbindc on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 08:25:08 AM EST
    We got the Saturday night Mets game in, but we were sitting up high behind home plate and it was FREEZING!

    However, I think it's the Nats who should put the BF and I on the payroll, because we have attended BOTH games this season where Max Scherzer threw no-hitters (and each time was one pitch /one play away from perfect game).

    So the question becomes (none / 0) (#38)
    by CoralGables on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 08:55:29 AM EST
    are you good luck for no-hitters, or the ultimate jinx against the perfect game.

    Parent
    Both, I guess. :) (none / 0) (#39)
    by jbindc on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 09:00:52 AM EST
    Either way, the Nats got two wins outta me - one where I was rooting for them and one where I was rooting against them!

    Parent
    CG... (none / 0) (#44)
    by kdog on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 11:46:44 AM EST
    what's up with the 'Fins?  You guys suck on two continents.  Chris Ivory fileted your defense like fishcamp's catch o' the day.

    Parent
    At (none / 0) (#45)
    by FlJoe on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 11:48:42 AM EST
    least we got the agony over early.

    Parent
    Heat and Panthers... (none / 0) (#46)
    by kdog on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 11:54:26 AM EST
    will be taking the court/ice before you know it to distract, not that many care in South Fla where it's all about the pigskin.

    Parent
    dog (none / 0) (#47)
    by CoralGables on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 12:17:44 PM EST
    I haven't paid much attention to the 'phins since Bob Griese. Only football for me is played in The Swamp.

    Parent
    I forgot... (none / 0) (#48)
    by kdog on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 12:21:29 PM EST
    you like the indentured servant game;)  

    Hard enough on my conscience enjoying very well paid professional grown men kill each other, never mind unpaid kids not legally allowed to drink until junior/senior year.

    Parent

    Glad you got the game in... (none / 0) (#43)
    by kdog on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 11:36:39 AM EST
    at least, shivering and all.  Boo hiss on Scherzer's no-no.

    Thank goodness the Mets won the finale 1-0...I did not want to start the playoffs off a 6 game losing streak.

    Pitching looks ready to rock-n-roll...alas the lumber is in a slumber.  Let's hope the 4 days off cures that, we've got our offensive work cut out for us in Games 1 & 2...Kershaw & Greinke, two of the best.  

    Lets Go Mets! Beat LA!!

    Parent

    I'm not the only one gushing about Leftovers (none / 0) (#37)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 08:30:54 AM EST
    AVClub

    Axis Mundi" is nothing short of miraculous. There are certainly more creative words to describe The Leftovers given that its second season takes place in Jarden, Texas, which came to be known as "Miracle" after the town took a post-Rapture inventory and found none of its nearly 10,000 residents had gone missing. But few adjectives would be more fitting. The Leftovers is, after all, one of the most polarizing television shows of the past few years, and it was co-created by Damon Lindelof, the man behind one of the most polarizing television shows ever. Added to this, Lindelof and co-creator Tom Perrotta burned through all of Perrotta's dour, knotty source material in the first season, leaving them without a net. It's hard to think of a recent example of a show that seemed more doomed to failure going into its second season.

    yes, "Axis Mundi" is miraculous. It's leaner and more focused than anything season one had to offer. The existential dread remains, though it's naturally less pronounced in "Miracle" than it was in Mapleton, but the tone isn't nearly as elegiac. What's most surprising is that "Axis Mundi" is more mysterious than anything from the first season, and far more confident. The perplexing nine-minute opening sequence is enough to put The Leftovers among the boldest, most audacious storytelling of the year. It's more than a notion to take a show that's been pilloried for being humorless and for refusing to slow-walk its audience and start its season premiere with a brutal vignette set in a prehistoric age with nothing more to connect it to the present-day narrative than its physical location. A pregnant woman watches helplessly as a rock slide crushes her people, then delivers her own baby before dying of a snake bite. It's not as difficult to watch as, say, poor Gladys being pummeled to death with rocks, but as human despair goes, it's right up there.

    Reza Aslan

    religion writer and future TV personality Reza Aslan, a Harvard Divinity School grad, has come on board to help craft the story for season two, and consult on all matters of faith. He says we'd better get comfortable with the show's ambiguity because that's what religion is about, though we can expect lots of clues to help frame the central mystery. Still, those looking for specific answers take heart: Aslan says we'll get "all the material necessary to draw our own firm conclusions about what happened." Ahead, more of his divine insights into episode one.

    What's the significance of the prologue, which takes place in the same spot that becomes Miracle?
    The episode is called "Axis Mundi," an ancient thought that goes back thousands of years. The idea is there are parts of the planet that served as a cosmic pole around which the entire universe circles. So for instance, the pyramids at Giza, the temple in Jerusalem, the Kaaba in Mecca are axis mundis. What's really remarkable about an axis mundi is that putting something sacred there is not what makes it sacred. It's that the land itself was already sacred for some mysterious reason, and that's why people put something there. Jarden is an axis mundi. To indicate that, Damon [Lindelof] came up with this clever prologue, which will of course pay off in subsequent episodes. The inherent sanctity and magic of this place -- whatever it is -- is an eternal thing. It's not just something that happened at the sudden departure.



    Some fun polling numbers (none / 0) (#40)
    by jbindc on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 09:17:14 AM EST
    On the Republican side

    Donald Trump has boasted that he's "leading every poll and in most cases big." Not anymore. The latest IBD/TIPP Poll shows him in second place, seven points behind Ben Carson.
    The nationwide survey found that 24% of Republicans back Carson, compared with 17% who say they support Trump.

    Marco Rubio came in third with 11% and Carly Fiorina fourth at 9%. Jeb Bush, once considered a prohibitive favorite, ranked fifth with just 8% support, which was a point lower than those who say they are still undecided.

    The IBD/TIPP Poll has a proven track record for accuracy, based on its performance in the past three presidential elections. In a comparison of the final results of various pollsters for the 2004 and 2008 elections, IBD/TIPP was the most accurate. And the New York Times concluded that IBD/TIPP was the most accurate among 23 polls over the three weeks leading up to the 2012 election.



    IBD/TIPP (none / 0) (#41)
    by CoralGables on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 10:17:36 AM EST
    also has Clinton leading by 20 and Sanders in 3rd place.

    But one poll means nothing. There have been ten state polls over the last 2 weeks though:

    NC-Trump
    GA-Trump
    TX-Trump
    FL-Trump
    WI-Trump
    NH-Trump
    SC-Trump
    IA-Trump
    PA-Trump
    LA-Carson

    Parent

    If there's is one thing (none / 0) (#42)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 10:22:34 AM EST
    I would bet the farm on,

    It will not be Carson.

    Parent

    Yes, and (none / 0) (#52)
    by KeysDan on Tue Oct 06, 2015 at 03:11:32 PM EST
    I would add Fiorina.  She is not trustable, as Kevin McCarthy might say.  Although you can always tell when she is lying.  Whenever HP stock is down.

    Parent
    Most likely (none / 0) (#53)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Oct 06, 2015 at 03:41:36 PM EST
    But I would not rule out VP

    Parent
    Jindal on the move in Iowa!!!! (none / 0) (#54)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Oct 06, 2015 at 04:00:22 PM EST
    Did ou Read the Comments... (none / 0) (#56)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Oct 06, 2015 at 04:28:25 PM EST
    ...seems like people who subscribe to his tweets are doing it for the jokes.

    • @BobbyJindal this tweet made me legit sad for you.

    • @BobbyJindal I put your graph into perspective for you, BJ

    • @BobbyJindal Congratulations on getting 94% of the people to commit to not voting for you.


    Parent