December 31st Bowl Previews

Could this be A.J. Green's (8) last game with the Bulldogs?

Hey there guys,

What a day of bowl games yesterday huh?

SMU outgains Army by nearly 200 yards, and still loses 16-14, Syracuse gets the help of a "unsportsmanlike conduct" call to make K State have to attempt a 2-pt conversion from 18 yards away instead of 3 as the Orange hold on to win 36-34, North Carolina and Tennessee played a wild one that went to two overtimes before the Heels finally won 30-27, and Washington upset Nebraska 19-7.

Crazy.

Well today is going to be like yesterday where I am going to be racing to get everything done, because it just so happens that I am at work. The only one at the Huntsville Times that is at work today.  Fan-freakin-tastic. 

Anyway, I'll post the writeups first then my projections as I finish them.

December 30th Bowl Picks



Tauren Poole will look to help Derek Dooley get a Bowl win in his first season with the Vols

 Hey there guys,

Just a reminder but I am at work right now (shhhh), and pretty much will be until my return voyage to Oxford, MS

So I am doing the best I can to put up a decent preview with limited numbers, and what I know about each team.

The Bowl Standings have been updated, so check them out if you want to see how well you are doing, and just how bad I am doing.  Go ahead, rub it in.

Anyway, I was called into work early today, so I'm going to try to get these up as soon as I possibly can.
And will post updates as I put the other previews up.

*12:20pm The New Era Pinstripe Bowl preview is now up
*1:22pm I have the write up, and my pick for the remaining two bowl games, calculation numbers will be up shortly
*3:36pm I have added the numbers to the Music City Bowl and the Holiday Bowl.  While working.  Yup, i'm awesome.

December 29th Bowl Picks

RG3 looks to lead Baylor to it's first bowl win in...well it's been awhile

Hey there guys,

I apologize for having not posted any previews recently, but I've been working all the time, and have been spending some holiday time with the family.

I'm not going to post any big previews, with the exception of SEC bowls, and the BCS Bowls, so most of this is going to come straight from my calculation and general stuff that I can recite off the top of my head, so hopefully I sound coherent, and make some kind of sense. I'm writing most of this on my breaks at work so if I have any mistakes just let me know and i'll try and fix them.

Anyway here are my short previews for today's games.

Saturday December 18th Bowl Games

Robbie Rouse looks to carry Fresno State to a win in the Humanitarian Bowl

Hey there guys,

It's that most wonderful time of the year! Bowl Season!

While the games to open up the bowl season are not exactly what you would call "sexy" they are still some great match ups.

Along with my picks I will post my offensive and defensive power rankings and their match-ups in the bowl games, along with who the Bowl Pick 'em contestants think will win.

Anyway guys without further ado, here are my bowl picks!

2010 Army vs. Navy Pick

Old School Army vs. Navy

Hey there guys,

I am getting ready for bowl season, and trying to get all my picks in order for the Where the Land Sharks Are 2010-2011 Bowl Pick 'em.  If you still haven't made your picks I have the schedule in the listed in the post below.  Just pick the straight up winner of all the bowl games, with a score for the National Championship game. 

All you have to do is email them to me at wherethelandsharksare@gmail.com or send me a message on facebook with your picks.  I will post them here on the blog the day before the bowls come out with comparisons to big names on ESPN, Phil Steele, and others (whomever I can find really). 

The winner gets a $25 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings!!

Just make sure you get your picks in by December 18th at noon. 

2010-2011 Where The Land Sharks Are Bowl Pick 'Em

Hey there guys,

This year I am hosting a Bowl Challenge, where the winner gets a $25 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings!

All you have to do is pick the winner of each bowl game, and the final score of the National Championship game for a tie breaker, and either email me your picks to wherethelandsharksare@gmail.com, facebook message them to me, or just tweet 'em to me @WTLandSharksAre

The Bowls were announced last night.   Here is the schedule: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5168379

The first game will be played on December 18th at 1 p.m. CST.

If you are going to play your picks will be due by Saturday December 18th at noon. 

Invite as many people as you want to play!

Good Luck!

2010 Championship Week Picks

Auburn QB Cam Newton

Hey there guys,

As was the case last week I am really behind on my work, mostly because I have had to work all week. 

Anyway here are my picks for the five championship games this week, and If I have time I will add the rest of the picks for the BCS conference sometime later this evening.

* 4:22 pm - I am posting this early to get my SEC Championship pick out there.  I will update as I add the rest of my picks.

2010 Week 13 SEC

Florida QB/TE Jordan Reed

Hey there guys,

Sorry for how late this is, but I have been working all week, while developing a Power Ranking, and it is Thanksgiving week after all.

Anyway for this week there won't be much writing, as I am getting this up late.

But I hope you enjoy nonetheless.

Here goes

2010 Iron Bowl Preview

Alabama WR Julio Jones

Hey there guys,

I have lived in the state of Alabama for the better part of 21 years, and I must say that this is the most hyped up Iron Bowl that I can remember.  On one side you have 11-0 #2 Auburn, fighting for their first BCS National Championship appearance, and on the other you have 9-2 #11 Alabama, who with a win on Friday, could possibly set themselves up as potential BCS At-Large candidates.

The hatred is visible all over Facebook and Twitter, and this promises to be one of the best games of the season.

I have been right on the money for this game the past three seasons, as I picked Auburn 17-13 in my first season of picking games in '07, the final was Auburn 17-10 (-3 points off); I picked Alabama to crush Auburn 35-3 in '08, and many of you laughed at me and questioned how I could say the Iron Bowl wouldn't be close.  The Final was Alabama 36-0 (-4 points); and last season I picked Auburn to keep it close, but for Alabama to win 28-21.  The final?  Alabama 26-21 (-2 points).

Want to know what my pick is going to be this season?  Find out after the jump.

2010 Week 12 SEC Picks

Drake Nevis will be looking to take down the Rebels this weekend

Hey there guys,

Well last week didn't work out so well for me as I had Florida and Ole Miss each playing a lot better than they did.  Congratulations to South Carolina and Auburn for winning their respective divisions.  It will be interesting to see how the Gamecocks fair against Troy this weekend, after securing a bid to Atlanta, and with rival Clemson ahead next week they may be looking too far ahead and forget that Troy is actually a decent team (the only team in the Sun Belt with a winning record).  The Magnolia Bowl takes place as Ole Miss heads to Baton Rouge, looking to pull a huge upset, Alabama plays former head coach Bill Curry as he brings in Georgia State to Tuscaloosa on Thursday, Tennessee looks to keep their postseason hopes alive as they travel in state to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt, and Florida tries to regroup as they play host to Appalachian State.

Should be fun.

Here are a few quick notes from around the SEC:

• Alabama running back Trent Richardson is still questionable for tonight's game vs. Georgia State.  If Alabama is smart they will either play him very sparingly or not play him at all.  I would not want to risk a worse injury against a for sure win.  Ingram will still take the majority of the snaps, and Eddie Lacy should still see playing time tonight. 
• Update on Florida's freshman DT's: Dominique Easley is still in question apparently despite Urban Meyer reaffirming that everything is ok with him.  Shariff Floyd however has come out and said that Florida is "where he wants to be."  So there is still some hope for the future of the front seven for the Gators. 
• While still banged up Georgia QB Aaron Murray is expected to start vs. Georgia Tech next Saturday.  If they were to play this weekend, head coach Mark Richt said that Murray would be "doubtful."  Bulldogs are lucky to catch a bye week when they did.  
• LSU Offensive Guard Will Blackwell is "expected to play" Saturday vs. Ole Miss.  He is currently behind T-Bob Hebert on the depth chart, but Les Miles expects Blackwell to regain the starting RG spot before the Bayou Bengals play Arkansas. 
• Other offensive line notes for the Bengals, Greg Shaw is expected to start at RT for the injured Alex Hurst, though look for rFr Chris Faulk to receive a majority of the playing time.  Shaw was benched in favor of Faulk in the second half vs. Alabama, and for those who remember LSU's offense turned it on in the second half.  Just saying. 
• Florida OC Steve Addazio is expected to keep his job as Florida offensive coordinator despite the Gators really only having three successful offensive performances this season, vs Kentucky, vs. Georgia, and vs. Vanderbilt.
• Of the draft eligible non-seniors Auburn QB Cam Newton is expected to announce for the NFL Draft, as is Georgia WR A.J. Green, and LSU Patrick Peterson.  Ole Miss DT Jerrell Powe, is 50/50 so far on whether to leave early or stay for his senior season.  All per ESPN. All have said they will return if the NFL does go through a lockout this next season.
• Arkansas TE D.J. Williams is expected to play this Saturday @ Miss St, after injuring his shoulder this past weekend vs. UTEP.  

That's it for this week's SEC Notes.  Here are my week 12 SEC picks.  As always guys you know I love to hear what you think. 

2010 Week 11 SEC Picks

Florida QB Trey Burton

Hey there guys,

I apologize for posting this a day late but I had some problems with my internet last night. 

Instead I am posting this from work (shhhh)

There are a lot of interesting games this week including, the SEC East Championship game pitting South Carolina at Florida; a battle of ranked opponents in the SEC West as a rising Mississippi State team takes on an Alabama squad in a down year (I would love to have a down year with 2 losses); Auburn hosts Georgia in the oldest rivalry in the south, as Auburn tries to shake off the distractions surrounding Cam Newton and clinch their first SEC West since 2004; Kentucky looks to get bowl eligible as they play host to Vanderbilt; and Ole Miss and Tennessee square off in Knoxville as each team tries to keep their postseason hopes alive. 

Some quick notes around the SEC before I get to the picks:

• Alabama RB Trent Richardson has officially been listed as doubtful this weekend.  Nick Saban has said that Richardson will be a game-time decision, and that even if he decides to play Trent that Heisman winner Mark Ingram will be getting the bulk of the carries Saturday.  Eddie Lacy is expected to spell Ingram if Richardson cannot go. 
• As of the time of this writing QB Cam Newton will play for Auburn this weekend.  There has been word that the NCAA will ask Newton to sit out until they finish their investigation, but they have not made any request as of yet. 
• Ole Miss QB Jeremiah Masoli is still questionable after sustaining a concussion this past weekend on a rushing TD against Louisiana.  The decision Masoli will be made sometime later this afternoon.  Masoli's backup, Sophomore Nathan Stanley, will start if Masoli is unable to go Saturday.
• Despite rumblings of a potential transfer, Florida Gator freshman DT Dominique Easley is still with the team and is expected to at least finish the season a Gator.

Anyway guys here are my picks, as always you know I love to hear what you think

2010 Week 10 SEC Picks

Hey there guys,

As explained in yesterday's Rumblings I was at Ole Miss this past weekend getting everything set for my return to the glorious piece of heaven that is Oxford, MS. This week I am picking back up with my SEC picks.

This week has some really boring games, (3 games vs FCS; 2 vs Non BCS) but it also has some very interesting games, such as Florida at Vanderbilt, Arkansas at South Carolina, and the Saban Bowl. Florida is continuing to test out their new 3 QB system, and cannot afford to stumble in Nashville as they need to win out to lay claim to the SEC East for the third season in a row; if Arkansas can close out the season with four wins (three against ranked foes) then a two loss Razorback team has a legit shot to make a BCS Bowl as an at-large, while South Carolina needs to make sure they are not looking ahead to next weeks "SEC East Championship Game" in the Swamp; and Finally Alabama is playing to keep themselves in control of their own destiny in the SEC West race while LSU is playing for a BCS bowl. Should be fun.

Anyway guys here goes, and as always you know I love to hear what you think.

College Football Rumblings 11/3

Minnesota's New Head Coach?

Hey there guys,

I'll be honest. I'm a numbers guy. But I also miss writing my opinions on the goings and comings of the sports world. It's college football season though so I'll stay focused on that for right now. I'll focus a little bit of bias on the SEC, because I live in the wonderful southeast and so do a majority of my readers (though according to my blogging statistics someone in Alaska and Japan have visited this site on multiple occasions).

I'll be talking a bit about some of the coaching rumors that are currently going around, some more conference expansion talk, and some general stuff in the SEC.

Anyway here we go

SEC Week 8 Picks

Hey there guys,

You'll notice that I am now just calling it the SEC picks. Haven't had time to put up anything else so far this season. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and craps out little duck pellets, might as well call it a duck.

I will say that I will not be providing the numbers to my calculation this week. The website I normally go to for my numbers recently removed two very key split statistics that I use, meaning that I believe that my calculation is incomplete. I am going to go back and compile all of the numbers for the SEC games myself, and provide an even more in depth SEC projection starting either next week, or the following week. We'll see whenever I can get it done. It's gonna be awesome.

Anyway guys, here are this weeks picks. Maybe this weekend in the SEC won't be nearly as bad for me, though I do predict it to be somewhere near as hectic.

NCAA Week 7 Picks

Hey there guys,

Here are my week 7 picks.

Week 6 NCAA Picks

Hey there guys,

As usual because of a lack of time I am again putting the SEC picks up right now, and I'll see what I can get done and get up by Saturday.

2010 Week 5 NCAA Picks

Hey there guys,

As promised I am going to put the SEC picks up first. I will be putting up the rest of the picks later as I finish them.

I am currently 1-0 for the week, as I picked Oklahoma St to beat Texas A&M 38-31, and the Cowboys did defeat the Aggies, but I was four points off, as the final tally was 38-35.

Anyway guys, hope you enjoy the picks this week.

We all have mascot problems!

Tell me this doesn't look like Joan Rivers:

Damn replica.

-Drink that Haterade.

2010 Week 4 NCAA Picks

Hey there guys,

As of Saturday at 12:24 a.m. I am not done with my picks. I'm 15 short. But I am going to give you all of the BCS conference games, with some writing on the SEC Games and post them, and then post the others as I finish them. I am also working on shortening up the process, so that I can get these done faster, and out to you guys sooner.

They are now all up as of Noon Saturday

Anyway here goes. As always guys you know I love to hear what you think.

2010 NFL Week 2 Picks

Hey there guys,

First I want to apologize for not putting up my NCAA Picks this past week. As mentioned at the beginning of the year I do work a good bit, and my calculation takes a good bit of time, with all of the numbers that I put into it. I have shortened a little bit, not enough to affect the accuracy, but it should save me enough time to get my picks up every Friday.

Anyway as far as the NFL is concerned I went 11-5 (68.8%) this past week, although I did go 11-4-1 (73.3%) ATS. Here are my picks for the Week 2.

Steelers @ Titans -5.5 (38)

My Pick: Titans 21-14

Dolphins @ Vikings -6 (40.5)

My Pick: Vikings 24-14

Cardinals @ Falcons -7 (42.5)

My Pick: Falcons 21-17

Ravens -1.5 (40) @ Bengals

My Pick: Ravens 21-13

Cheifs @ Browns -2.5 (38)

My Pick: Cheifs 24-20 <---- UPSET

Bears @ Cowboys -9 (41)

My Pick: Cowboys 28-17

Eagles -3 (41) @ Lions

My Pick: Eagles 21-17

Bills @ Packers -13.5 (43)

My Pick: Packers 28-13

Buccaneers @ Panthers -3.5 (39)

My Pick: Panthers 24-21

Seahawks @ Broncos -3.5 (40)

My Pick: Broncos 20-17

Rams @ Raiders -4.5 (37)

My Pick: Raiders 21-17

Texans -3 (44.5) @ Redskins

My Pick: Redskins 23-20 <---- UPSET

Patriots -1.5 (44.5) @ Jets

My Pick: Patriots 24-20

Jaguars @ Chargers -8 (45.5)

My Pick: Chargers 31-14

Giants @ Colts -5.5 (48.5)

My Pick: Colts 28-24

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

Saints -4.5 (44) @ 49ers

My Pick: Saints 24-17

NCAA Football Week 2 Recap

Hey there guys,

It was another great week of football, and this season seems to be the year of the FCS (formerly known as Div. I-AA). In week 1 they pulled of two wins over FBS opponents and this past weekend they picked up four more, none more notable than James Madison's 21-16 win over Virginia Tech. Things look to be shaping out to be a good season and I hope it keeps up this way.

Click below to find out how I did in Week 2!

12 Reasons to Hate the Vanderbilt Commodores:

So, now that we are finally approaching SEC play, it's time to get down to business. Deep apologies for missing last week. I was still in pain for the previous week's loss/enjoying New Orleans. Without further ado, I present to you, 12 Reasons to Hate the Vanderbilt Commodores:

1. I ask one thing of you Vandy. One thing: Beat LSU. And you never can pull through, can you?

2. Vanderbilt University’s official logo has a phallic symbol built right into its “V”. Not quite as classy as the Big Ten-eleven-nextyeartwelve, but still.

3. Jay Cutler should spend less time bodybuilding and more time learning how to throw to the right team. Confused at this reference? It turns out that the former Commodore and Chicago Bear is the second most popular Jay Cutler in your standard google image search of the name.

4. They have a Commodore, but we have an Admiral.

5. I was always an Apple guy. The Commodore 64 never cut it for me.

6. We are Ole Miss. We tailgate with chandeliers. We understand excess. But seriously Vanderbilt family…250 rooms? Who do you think you are, George? Jerry Jones?

7. Erry day they hustlin’. Vanderbilt’s student newspaper is legitimately called …and try to say this out loud with a straight face, The Vanderbilt Hustler.

8. Anderson Cooper is a Vanderbilt. And at Ole Miss, there’s only room for one ambiguously gay news anchor.

9. This digital rendering of Cornelius.

10. It’s a really popular hobby. This guy seems to think that Vandy should be replaced by UCF. He’s completely wrong, and I would usually hate on this, but we aren’t playing UCF this week, so…Vandy shouldn’t be in the SEC.

11. Al Gore and Skip Bayless both attended Vanderbilt University. One invented the internet, and the other sucks at sportcasting.

12. Nashville claims to be “The Music City”. But really? What about Memphis? New Orleans? New York City? Dallas?

As always, feel free to submit your own!

2010 Week 2 NCAA Football Picks

Hey there guys,

I have been pretty busy this week, and since week 1 did not end till monday I was not able to finish my picks until this morning. There is no writing, because of the lack of time.

Anyway here they are

Week 2 Thursday 9/9 Picks

Hey there guys,

As I mentioned in last weeks picks I am still working nearly 40 hours a week, and this new calculation requires a little bit more time, so it takes a little bit longer to put the numbers in. That said, if there are games Tues - Fri I will put those picks up early. This Thursday there are two games including an SEC match up as #21 Auburn heads to Starkville to take on Mississippi St, and Central Michigan takes on Temple.

Without the luxury of much time I won't be able to do much writing for these as I have to race to finish the rest of my picks to get them up in time. So anyway here are my Thursday picks.

NCAA Week 1 Recap & Week 1 NFL Picks

Hey there guys,

This is something new that I will be doing this season, where I will show you my results from week 1, Straight up, against the spread, and vs the O/U. I am also going to be keeping track of how close my picks are to each teams actual final score. I will call this my Close Score %. Is that I get a win if I come within 7 of the projected score I had for each team. So if I call Team A 21-20, and Team B wins 47-21 I will still go 1/2 for that game because I did get Team A's score correct.

For fun I am also going to be keeping my pick records against some key prognosticators, and calculations in the media, including: AccuScore, Phil Steele, ESPN Conference Bloggers, ESPN Gameday Crew (including Celebrity Guests), the other writers for Where The Land Sharks Are (when they actually turn their picks in), and of course Kige Ramsey. This is more or less for fun, but also so my readers can see how I do against other knowledge people. And computer.

I am also going to be providing a few interesting notes on some of the games this past weekend that caught my attention, and that I think other hard core football fans would enjoy as well.

And at least for this Week I am going to publish my NFL Picks. This is the first season that I am doing NFL picks, so they may not be pretty ha ha.

12 Reasons to Hate Jacksonville State:

Throughout the season, I will be posting 12 reasons to hate each of our opponents on the gridiron. This week, I ran into a little bit of trouble. JSU is far too boring to actually hate them that much. So, here it is:

12 Reasons to Hate Jacksonville State:

1. 1. They are proud to recruit thugs and criminals that left BCS teams such as Ryan Perrilloux and Tig Barksdale. HYPOCRITE’D!

2. 2. As miserable as Jacksonville, Florida is, this school isn’t even there. So, at Jacksonville State, you likely get all of the jorts, none of the storied program history.

3. 3. They claim to be the “The Friendliest Campus in the South”, and while I planned on criticizing this pronunciation due to my home-team nature and appreciation for my university’s demeanor, I realized that a hate-list was probably counterproductive in this regard.

4. 4. The SGA President at Jacksonville State, Tim Long, was arrested for lewd conduct and public exposure. It seems that he wanted to show the Jacksonville police his “Long Gamecock.” See what I did there?

5. 5. Jacksonville State is the Alma Mater of Ashley Martin, the first female to score a point in Division I football. That’s really no reason to hate (admirable, if anything). But, I guess my point is this: JSU is a really boring place, with not much to talk about, let alone hate.

6. 6. One of the top search results for Jacksonville, Alabama leads to a website called ePodunk.com. I guess my point is this: JSU is a REALLY REALLY BORING PLACE.

7. 7. Cockfighting is illegal, morally reprehensible, and not to mention just plain stupid. Why is a higher-level education institution endorsing such actions? Where is their mascot controversy!?!

8. 8. I googled it. Jacksonville isn’t a state.

9. 9. There is no reason to hate such an irrelevant place.

10. 10. There is no reason to hate such an irrelevant place.

11. 11. There is no reason to hate such an irrelevant place.

12. 12. They stand in the way of our first winning streak of the season.

Great apologies for the fact that there just isn’t much original to come out of a place like this. We’d love your own input, and things will get interesting as the season progresses.

2010 Week 1 NCAA Football Picks

Hey there guys,

Its finally here! College football starts tomorrow with 18 games, including Marshall @ #2 Ohio St, Minnesota @ Middle Tennessee, Southern Miss @ South Carolina, Florida Atlantic @ UAB, Northern Illinois @ Iowa St, #15 Pittsburgh @ Utah, and #14 USC @ Hawaii.

I pick every game played by an FBS school throughout the season, and I have over the past two seasons, and I am looking to build off my 77% win percentage in '08, and 76% in '09. I am breaking in a new and improved calculation this season, that not only projects the score but the yards as well. Before the season even begins though I am going to let you know that I am still working a good amount of hours this year, so this will probably be the earliest that I get my picks up.

ANYWAY without further adieu here are my 2010 Week 1 Picks!

2010 SEC Preview

Hey there guys

The time is almost here! We are just a week away from the start of the 2010 College Football season!

Today is the final conference preview, and of course I saved the best for last with the SEC

The SEC is now on an amazing streak having won 4 consecutive national championships, and 5 of the last 7. This past bowl season though had its ups and downs as the SEC went 6-4 as Kentucky lost to Clemson in the Music City Bowl, South Carolina lost to Connecticut in the PapaJohns.com Bowl, Tennessee was crushed by Virginia Tech in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, and LSU lost to Penn St in the Capital One Bowl. Even some of the wins weren't pretty as Arkansas had to go to overtime against East Carolina, Ole Miss won an ugly battle against Oklahoma St, and Auburn had to go to OT to beat Northwestern. Three teams did look pretty solid as Georgia crushed Texas A&M, Florida demolished Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, and Alabama easily won the National Championship game.

This season the SEC leads the polls with 6 teams including: #23/#21 Georgia, #22/#23 Auburn, #21/#16 LSU, #17/#19 Arkansas, #4/#3 Florida, and #1/#1 Alabama. It is going to be rather hard for an SEC team to reach the national championship game, as Alabama as a rough last 6 conference games, and Florida is pretty inexperienced as well.

Anyway guys as always you know I love to hear what you think so just let me know.

2010 Big Ten Preview

Hey there guys

It's only 9 more days till the start of the 2010 college football season!!

I am down to two conferences left, and today I will be going over the Big Ten, and Notre Dame.

This past season was filled with talk about expansion that was all started by the Big Ten. They made the first big move of the offseason grabbing Nebraska from the Big XII, and spent of the rest of the season with rumors of grabbing 4 more teams, though all they really want is Notre Dame. I really like the Nebraska pick up as I feel that a conference that is full of defense is about to get a wake up call with Bo Pelini's black shirt defenses.

This past season the Big Ten started rebuilding their image in the Bowl season after a couple of BCS wins with Ohio State beating Pac-10 champs Oregon and Iowa beating ACC Champs Georgia Tech. This season they have 4 teams ranked in both the coaches and ap polls with 2 in the top ten with Ohio State at #2 and Iowa at #9/#10. Wisconsin is #12 in both polls and Penn St is #19/#14. They will again look to rebuild their image and I have a strong feeling that this season one of the spots in the BCS National Championship game is going to be a Big Ten team.

As always guys you know I love to here what you think so just let me know.

2010 Big XII Preview

Hey there guys,

First I want to say R.I.P. Coach Ronny Massey, who passed away earlier this week. He was a great coach and great man.

Anyway back to the point of this post.

Only 15 MORE DAYS!! Just over two weeks until the return of college football!! Guys I can't wait, I have already started making my week 1 picks and I have to say I am getting really excited and can't wait for the start of the season.

The Big XII had a pretty awful off season in my opinion. They lose Colorado to the Pac-10 and more importantly they lose Nebraska to the Big XII. And even though he essentially "saved" the conference, Big XII Commissioner Dan Beebe may have given away all power he had in doing so, as Texas now has their own TV network. I have my doubts in how much control Beebe has now. By giving the Longhorns their own network they will be the primary bread winner for the confernce, and they won't have to share it with anyone else.

That said their is still hope to save the conference, but to do so they are going to have to act quickly and pick up some of the big named Non-BCS teams, TCU being the biggest out there. If they can grab the Longhorns, and perhaps Houston, who is a program that is on the rise right now. If you are a fan of the way that things are now then you should join me in wishing that Texas says its ok.

This season though some of their big name teams of recent seasons are going to be down including Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, which is the big reason why the Big XII only has three teams ranked heading into this season, and they are all in the top ten, with Texas coming in at #4, Oklahoma at #8, and Nebraska at #9. This is going to be an important season for the Big XII and I think that the members who are still going to be around this season, not named Texas or Oklahoma, need to have better then expected years. If this conference has a down year than they might as well go ahead and disband.

As always guys you know I love to hear what you think so let me know.

2010 ACC Preview

Hey there guys

We are now just 17 DAYS AWAY FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE 2010 COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON!!!

Today I am going over the ACC which has plenty of big name schools in Florida State, Virginia Tech, Miami (FL), Georgia Tech, Clemson, and Boston College, but this conference still gets very little respect, and I can see why. They have gone 9-16 over the last 3 bowl seasons, and have gone 1-9 in their last 10 BCS Bowl Games. This is not what many people expected when Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College left the Big East and joined the ACC. Many though that the ACC would become one of the premier conferences in college football. While they are better off they are not what many expected. They have been improving though and although they went 3-4 in last seasons bowl games, their 4 losses were close losses as Miami didn't take too well too the cold last season and lost by 6 to Wisconsin 14-20, North Carolina lost a close battle with #17 Pittsburgh 17-19, Georgia Tech's offense never got moving but their defense kept it close in 14-24 loss to Iowa in the Orange Bowl, and Boston College traveled across the country and to lose by 11 to surprisingly unranked USC 13-24. They did look pretty solid in their 3 wins as Clemson took out Kentucky 21-13, Florida State sent Bobby Bowden out on a winning note beating West Virginia 33-21 and Virginia Tech stomped Tennessee 37-14 in the Chick-fil-A bowl.

This season the ACC has 5 teams that enter the season ranked in the Coaches Top 25, and all 5 are in the Top 20: #20 Florida State, #18 North Carolina, #17 Georgia Tech, #13 Miami, and #6 Virginia Tech. If the ACC is going to regain favor in the public eye they are going to have finish with at least 4 teams in the top 25 and keep improving in the postseason.

Anyway guys here are my 2010 ACC Picks, and as always you know I love to hear your thoughts and comments.

2010 PAC-10 Preview

Hey there guys

It is now just 20 days from the beginning of the 2010 NCAA College Football Season! With every passing day I get more and more excited about the upcoming season. Sept. 2!

The Pac-10 has been a conference that has been dominated by one team over the last decade, the USC Trojans. The Trojans have finished with less than 7 conference wins only three times in the last 10 seasons ('00 & '01), and won 7 straight Pac-10 Titles from '02-'08, with Oregon winning the conference this past season. The conference will definitely be going through some changes after the season as they add Colorado from the Big XII and Utah from the Mountain West. Both are pretty solid moves in my opinion as the Pac-10 tries to expand their conference, and their national attention. The Buffaloes five the conference the Denver Market which will definitely increase the amount of viewers that pay attention to Pac-10 games and Utah is a team that has been in the National spotlight since becoming the first BCS Bowl buster back in '04 when the beat Pittsburgh. This off season USC was hit with some pretty big sanctions, that include a loss of 30 scholarships, no bowl games for the next two seasons, and any Jr and Sr can transfer and not have to sit out that year (why former #1 QB out of high school Mitch Mustain is still on the roster I have no idea). THEY CAN STILL WIN THE PAC-10, as to whether or not they will, I guess you will just have to keep reading.

After the sanctions on USC though many people don't seem to have much respect for the Pac-10 as only Oregon at #11 and Oregon St at #22. Arizona, Stanford, California, and even Washington and Arizona St received votes. I can see why they wouldn't get too much love after last season, as USC had a way below average season (9-4), although they still won their bowl game, as the conference went 2-5 in bowl games, with UCLA's 9pt comeback win over Temple the only other win. Some of the losses were pretty embarrassing too. California was out-gained by 79yds in a loss to Mountain West Utah 27-37. Oregon State got blown out by BYU 20-44. Oregon's high powered offense was shut down in their Rose Bowl loss to Ohio St, 17-26. And Arizona was embarrassed by Nebraska in a 0-33 loss. Stanford was able to keep it close with Oklahoma, losing 27-31. This season the focus is off USC (ON the field) and on who is going to step up while USC is out of the post season over the next two seasons. As previously mentioned Oregon won the conference last year, but after starting QB, and potential Heisman trophy candidate, Jeremiah Masoli to suspension (later kicked off the team) they are not as big of a shoe-in anymore. This should be fun to watch this season.

As always guys I love to know what you think so just let me know.

2010 Big East Preview

Hey there guys,

We're slowly inching towards that time of the year, with football season just 23 days away!

I have already posted my Non-BCS Conference Predictions and today I will be doing the Big East. This past season my Conference predictions were better then Phil Steele's and this season I will be looking to do better and be on top again.

While every conference outside of the SEC has received criticism for not being as good, no conference has received more flak than the Big East, providing very little evidence to contradict that idea. The Conference just hasn't been the same since Virginia Tech and Miami (FL) left after the 2003 season, and Boston College followed after the the '04 season. While they have been 3-2 in BCS Bowl games since 2005, two of the three wins were upsets by West Virginia, then lead by Head Coach Rich Rodriguez and QB Pat White, and the other was when high powered Louisville barely got by surprise ACC Champ Wake Forest. Ever since Rich Rodriguez and Bobby Petrino have left though the conference has definitely gone down. Their big name coach over the past two seasons was Cincinnati's Brian Kelly, but unlike Rodriguez and Petrino, Kelly could not get it done in the postseason. Granted he was only the Bearcats' Head Coach for one of those BCS Bowls, he still lost to Virginia Tech, despite being favored to win, and the next season, without Kelly, Cincinnati was destroyed by Florida in Tim Tebow's final collegiate game.

The lack of respect for the Big East was again shown, this time in the recently released USA Today Coaches Poll, as the Big East is tied for last among BCS conferences (Pac-10 other) with only 2 teams ranked, #15 Pittsburgh and #24 West Virginia. If you take the top team from each BCS Conference every conference but the Pac-10 and the Big East have a team in the Top 10, the SEC has #1 Alabama, Big Ten has #2 Ohio St, Big XII has #4 Texas, and the ACC has #6 Virginia Tech. Even the Pac-10 has #11 Oregon, who surely would have been a Top 10 team had starting QB, and potential Heisman candidate, Jeremiah Masoli not been kicked off the team. In fact two Non-BCS Conference teams were ranked ahead of the highest Big East team, in #5 Boise State from the WAC, and #7 TCU from the Mountain West.

In their defense they are 17-9 in Bowl Games since 2005. That's all I got.

Anyway guys here goes. As always let me know what yall think.

2010 Non BCS Conference Predictions

Hey there guys,

We're almost to that time again, the 2010 College Football season, which begins September 2nd. I will have 7 preseason previews, and this is the first, covering all of the Conferences without automatic bids to the BCS. These include the Sun Belt, MAC, Navy and Army, WAC, Conference USA, and the Mountain West. Over the last few seasons there have been four teams that have stuck out above all else among these Conferences are obviously Boise State with two undefeated seasons over the last four years, including a Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma back in 2006, Utah, who was the first Non BCS team make a BCS Bowl when they defeated Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl back in 2004, and then had an undefeated season including a win over #4 Alabama in 2008, then there is BYU and they have gone 49-15 over the last 5 seasons under current coach Bronco Mendenhall, even though that has only sent them to 5 consecutive Las Vegas Bowls (chuckle), and of course there is TCU, who has topped ten wins six times over the last eight seasons, including a Fiesta Bowl appearance after a 12-0 regular season this past year. There have also been some marginally successful teams such as Air Force, the rising Houston, who may be considered with the previous four teams if they can finally win their conference, Fresno State, who is the one team that has showed they are not afraid to take on a BCS team, home or away, Nevada, Central Michigan, and Troy. It has been the success of teams like these that has brought the whole playoff/get rid of the BCS argument. Personally I would like to see these teams play more then one Power Conference team before claiming they deserve the same respect as a one loss Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, USC, or Virginia Tech. But that is just me.

This year it looks as if there will be two Non BCS teams in the Top Ten, Boise State and TCU, and a couple of other top 25 potentials in Houston, Utah, and Navy. With these teams potentially being good it makes for some very interesting match ups in the first week with Minnesota at Middle Tennessee, Arizona at Toledo, Maryland vs. Navy, USC at Hawaii, Cincinnati at Fresno St, Virginia Tech vs. Boise St, Southern Miss at South Carolina, Pittsburgh at Utah, Washington at BYU, and Oregon St vs. TCU. These all look like fantastic games that I can't wait to see when the season opens in early September.

Well alright guys here are my Conference Predictions for the Non BCS Conferences.

Hate: Media Days Edition, Part II

In correlation with my title and a lack of anything else to do this week, we will be examining reasons to hate each coach in the SEC. After a successful run in the east, we will now focus on some teams that hit close to home. The west. Later in the football season, I will be breaking down every team that the Rebels will play, and offer 12 good reasons to hate each of them. So, here we go!

1. Nick Saban, University of Alabama: Remember the good ol' days when this guy was dealing with Ricky Williams' problems? Oh, how we yearn for the hilarity of Saban's yesteryears...In Coach Saban's first year for the Crimson Tide, he lost to such teams as the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, but still managed to find time to screw over the Rebels. Since that season ended, Alabama's team has only lost 2 games. There is undoubtedly a correlation between his arrival and his recently acquired national title. But we've really got to wonder the same thing that he's likely thinking late at night. Was it worth selling his soul to the devil? I guess we'll never know. But I think it's no coincidence that at media days he was looking a little more...toasty.

2. Gene Chizik, Auburn University: Chizik had a year that could have been better, and could have been worse. He had a great recruiting class, but he hasn't sold every Auburn fan on his expertise. This could be a big year for him. He is a proven winner and a man of great coaching experience, having gone 5-19 in his time at Iowa State. He proved he could win...5 times. But, last year, he pulled out 8 wins at Auburn, which seems really impressive that he almost tripled his wins in only one season. Looking for people that aren't impressed with The Chiz? Look no further than the AU fans that met Jay Jacobs at the airport last year. With friends like these...

3. Leslie Miles, Louisiana State University: I was going to write a really long synopsis about Miles' past season, his complete inability to make seemingly simple calls during gameplay, and his likely position in the hot-seat if he doesn't show up this season, but...I ran out of time.

4. Bobby Petrino, University of Arkansas: Petrino is a Razorback's dream. A pass-happy fellow, with the best quarterback in the league, Petrino will finally have a chance to prove his worth in the coming year. That is...if he doesn't leave first.

5. Dan Mullen, Mississippi State University: Mullen has claimed after his Egg Bowl win that "there is certainly one program in this state that is on the rise." Of course, he forgot to mention which one. Mullen turned a 4-8 team into a 5-7 team, and everyone is going CRAZY for him. I suppose we will see what happens in the coming year, but for anyone who's seen Real World: New Orleans, I don't think he needs to be "spreading the fun" around Starkville.

6. Houston Nutt, University of Mississippi: Nobody makes fun of Houston Nutt. I don't make the rules.

Of course, I'm kidding. He runs the ball up the middle too much, bites his nails, texts television reporters, says "giggity" and "he's a winner" too much, kills quarterbacks...And regularly beats the team that makes these claims.

That's all for now. Until next time, keep on hatin', and drink that haterade.

Saturday July 24th MLB Picks

Hey there guys,

It's been awhile. I have been working on finishing up my 2010 College Football Conference Predictions which will start coming out this week, with my Non - BCS Conference Preview coming out Monday. Anyway Let me get straight to it. Here are today's picks.

Hate: Media Days Edition

In correlation with my title and a lack of anything else to do this week, we will be examining reasons to hate each coach in the SEC. Today, we will be checking out our eastern rivals. Soon, we'll work on the more pertinent west. Later in the football season, I will be breaking down every team that the Rebels will play, and offer 12 good reasons to hate each of them. So, here we go!

1. Derek Dooley, University of Tennessee: A lawyer and son of SEC coaching legend Vince Dooley, Coach Dooley has burst stumbled onto the scene as a replacement to the loose-lipped, easy-to-hate, Lane Kiffin. While he hasn't been around for very long, he isn't the newest coach in the SEC, and in true political distaste, Coach Dooley is making enemies with America.

In this screenshot taken from today's media day, Dooley has clearly snubbed the American flag lapel pin and replaced it with an orange "T", which I can only assume stands for Terrorist. If you see someone wearing one of those camouflage hats with orange "T", take away their guns (They will have guns).

2. Urban Meyer, University of Florida:

The man with two National Championship rings (and an arguably deserved one from his time at Utah) is known for his Brett Favre-ian way of leaving the game and coming right back, but also...his two National Championship rings. Seriously, though Urban, you aren't Michael Jordan. Pick retirement and stick with it.

3. Joker Phillips, University of Kentucky:

A brand new leader after long-time sub-.500 Rich Brooks retired, Joker noted at Media Days that he is the only coach in the SEC that is undefeated. Fair is fair.

He is very likely cheating.

Oh wait, that's John Calipari. I confused him with a sport that matters there. Give me a break, it's hard to hate on the fellow.

4. Steve Spurrier, University of South Carolina: Recently, Spurrier has put the "old" in "Old Ball Coach." Every time you watch the guy's press conferences or sideline actions you can just see it in his eyes: "Man, I wish I were at Augusta right now." Let's compare images and see what's happier:

At least he's smiling, but he should fix that backswing. He should see Dr. Lou about the whole mess.

5. Mark Richt, University of Georgia: Mark Richt has established himself as a winner. 90 and 27 in his time at UGA, Richt is also the longest tenured coach at any single school in the SEC. That said, his job is in jeopardy after a dismal showing last season (at least in UGA terms). This guy sent his punter for Media Days to speak for the team. Your job might be on the hot seat if your premiere player is the punter. In his defense, Drew Butler WON the Ray Guy award. In our defense, Drew Butler was Georgia's best defense last year.

6. Robbie Caldwell, Vanderbilt University: Poor fellow is an Offensive Line coach at Vanderbilt. Now, he's an SEC head coach of a team that won 2 games last season. He deserves sympathy, not hate.

Hope you enjoyed a little taste of what is to come. Until next time, keep drinkin' that haterade.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter:

@WTLandsharksAre.

We should have insightful commentary, some good laughs, and links to our updates here on the website!

-Drink That Haterade

Sunday May 30th Daily Picks

Hey there guys,

Well I had a pretty good day yesterday as far as my picks went as I racked up a 14-1 record (7-8 ATS). My one loss came as the Indians upset the Yankees 13-11. That sounds like a Baseball score right? But seriously what a fantastic baseball game. The Yankees were up 9-3 at one point! How often do you see a team down 9-3 come back and beat the Yankees? Lou Marson had an incredible day at the plate for the Indians going 3-5 with 3 RBI and likewise for the Yankees Robinson Cano had a great day going 3-4 with 3 RBI. And all of that came after Indians starting pitcher David Huff got hit upside the head by an Alex Rodriguez line drive. He is doing fine now though. But back to the game, that was a big loss for the Yankees as the Rays, Red Sox and even the Blue Jays won. Ladies and gentleman I know this sounds strange but the Toronto Blue Jays are a game behind the Yankees, and more importantly that Wild Card spot, as they beat the Orioles again, 5-2, behind 2 HR from Lyle Overbay and a great start by Brett Cecil, going 8 innings striking out 7 while allowing only 2 runs on 4 hits. Of course I can't forget to mention the 20th Perfect Game in Baseball history, as Roy Halladay struck out 11 as the Phillies defeated the Marlins 1-0. He is without a doubt a top 3 pitcher of our time and maybe one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Despite all of the talk about the Halladay's perfect game the Phils need to be careful though. They are not hitting the ball well as of late, in fact in their last 11 games they have scored 3 or more only 3 times while being shutout in 4. Their run average over that time frame is 1.9 runs per game. They are only 1 1/2 games ahead of the Braves, aka the Hottest team in Baseball, right now and they have to travel to Atlanta starting tomorrow. If their hitting continues to struggle they will leave Atlanta in 2nd place in the division. Maybe even worse. The NL East is so close right now, with the Last place Marlins only 5 games back, and 2 games from .500, so the Phighting Phils can't afford to many mistakes right now. Speaking of possible changes at the top there was one yesterday as the A's are now a 1/2 game up over the Rangers in the AL West as Orlando Hudson (2-4 1HR) and the Twins took out the Rangers, and Mark Ellis (3-4 1HR 4RBI) and the A's took out the Tigers. The AL West is an interesting division, filled mostly with pitching, and a lack of Offense. If the Rangers can develop some kind of pitching they could very well recover the lead and run away with the division. My Pick the Angels just need to get in a consistent habit of scoring runs, and the Mariners would just take the occasional hit at this point.

Well hopefully I can continue my winning ways today, there are some solid games today that include the 40 year old wonder Jamie Moyer going up against the Marlins Anibal Sanchez as the Phillies look to try and sweep the fish in Florida, Jake Peavy continues to try and get back to his dominant ways as he takes on James Shields and the Rays, Adam Wainwright and Ryan Dempster face off as the Rivals clash to decide the sereies, and in the pitching match up of the day Livan Hernandez and Jon Garland take the mound for the Nationals and Padres, respectively, in what should be a classic pitching duel. Should be fun.