Shotcallin' - Championship Week

First, peep OBJ's attempt to re-create the front page of foxnews.com.

Now, I'm scrambling to finish up work so I can make it to a Hawks-Knicks game on time and hurl insults at New Yawkers that look like Turtle from Entourage, wearing jersies of progressively shittier players, as they walk around Philips Arena like it's a damn home game.

Think about it, if anyone has bought a Knicks jersey since the Isiah Thomas era started, it invaribly had the name of an overpriced, underachieving baller on the back. Marbury, Stevie Franchise, Penny Hardaway, JRose, Jefferies, Curry, Crawford....blegh.

Anyways the result of my haste to bolt out the door and move forward with said trash talk is a short Shotcallin' that is all over the place and offers very little in terms of reasoning, so in an effort to make it look more organized and lucid, let's do this in memo mode. Bring on the bulletpoints.

• BREAKING NEWS: If this is true, the best pitcher of my generation has retired. Suck it, Clemens. I'm not even being a homer when I say that, other than maybe Pedro circa 99-03, nobody could replicate the precision of Maddux in the mid-1990's. It was not uncommon to wake up, read the box score, see that he went 7-plus innings, giving up two runs, and think that he had a bit of an offnight. He was that good. Nobody studied hitters' tendencies better, and he rarely made the same mistake on a batter twice. His prime consisted of 20-win seasons, multiple Cy Youngs, Gold Gloves falling out his ass, ERAs in the low 2s and multiple complete game shutouts. His prime did not consist of absurdly random statistical anomalies in his late 30's. That counts for something. I hope Mad Dog is the first guy to ever be named on 100% of HOF ballots. Also Ron Gant is on the ballot this year (no link, just google news 'Ron Gant' - trust me, there's nothing else out there)...so that will be fun.
  

• Anyone comparing Charlie Weis/Tyrone Willingham needs to shut up. Weis was given that crazy extension because Notre Dame feared NFL teams coming after him and felt the need to lock him up after a hot start. Needless to say, there wasn't ever a fear that Tyrone Willingham would jet for any other job. Also, to say Willingham was wrongfully fired is a bit of a stretch...and I am of the belief that any and every coach should be given five years minimum to win...because Ty Willingham is not a good coach. Period.
  

• Go to any SEC blog, read Tony Barnhart, listen to talk radio stations outside the great state of Bammer to catch Sue's opinion on the Tuberville firing. Incredibly stupid and shortsighted. They will not hire a better coach than Tubs, not because they can't money wise, but because THERE ARE NONE AVAILABLE. Though I would absolutley love to see Mike Leach and Bobby Lowder fight to the death. Enjoy your DuBoses, Shulas and Franchiones, Auburn...

• SEC (aka National) Championship: Gun to my head, I'm going with Florida....nobody has slowed their offense all year, and as good as Bama's offense is, I can see them having a bad game. Can't say the same with Tebow and company. That said, unlike some folks, Bama winning this game wouldn't surprise me in the least. If JPW can exploit Florida's weaknesses up front the way he did Georgia's, and Bama's line can dominate Florida's as I expect them to, we could be looking at a high scoring game. Either way, I expect a close game and a combined zero smiles or even smirks from Meyer or Saban until the end of the game. Those two guys will look the entire game like their skulls are made of pure titanium. I know that makes no sense, but jeezus those guys stare at players and refs like a mobster staring down a testifying witness in court or something. Best two coaches in the SEC, bar none.
  

God, that was an awful post.

This Week's Picks:

Alabama (+10) over Florida - $20

Bama/Florida (OVER 54.5) - $15

Virginia Tech (PK) over Boston College - $10

OBJ's Inferior Picks:

Pitt (+2.5) over UCONN - $10

Missouri (+16.5) over Oklahoma - $10


Last Week: 3-3

2008 Inferior Picks: 5-8-1

2008 Overall Record: 53-52-3

2008 Pot: $150