Thursday Throwdown! 11/6/08

Scoops McCracken: Throwdown Bitch!

Peoria Pliers: BORING week this Saturday, whats your biggest non-Gopher matchup?

Scoops McCracken: Boring? Texas Tech/Oklahoma State should be a good one, and even though I like Bama to win, never count out drunk LSU fans when involved.
Peoria Pliers: OK, so there are exactly two other big games. Usually there are some better matchups than what this weekend offers, you gotta admit

Scoops McCracken: My only political observation question: Did Barack Obama's pro statement for a playoff play a part in him winning Pennsylvania because of the heavy PSU fan vote?

Peoria Pliers: That actually might have had some impact. Sounds like a perfect study for a PoliSci Grad Student

Peoria Pliers: If you assume that the BC/Notre Dame telecast will last exactly 180 minutes, how many minutes will you be watching?

Scoops McCracken: I'm not a big fan of either school. I hate BC and their slanted italic numbers.

Peoria Pliers: So what, 3 minutes? I mean they do call the game the "Holy War", that's gotta be worth something?

Scoops McCracken: I suppose a minute....I'll check the score if I'm flipping. Although I did end up watching all the OT's of the Pitt-Notre Dame field goal pillowfight. Are you hoping for Texas Tech and Alabama losing, creating Penn State and lots of 1 loss teams fighting it out?
Peoria Pliers: Yes, Yes I am, without a doubt. Joe Paterno is my favorite Republican, so I really have to root for him now considering the rough Republican road ahead

Scoops McCracken: For those wanting a playoff, this has to be a dream season. Can people honestly argue the virtues of USC, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas, & Alabama as deserving over each other?

Peoria Pliers: Of course not, but I think that the same thing happens EVERY YEAR...it's all about who peaks last and gets the favorable bounce for someone else's opponent. I know that there are tons of pundits who will say that the BCS gets it right, but the whole idea is ludicrous if you ask me, if for no other reason than there always going to be five or six teams that are immeasurable similar. Let me ask you this...Sen. Arlen Specter has threatened to revoke the non-profit status of the NCAA due to the fact that they seem to be more and more profit-driven, even in the face of situations like the BCS crapola. If that threat becomes a reality, does it really have the legs to motivate a football playoff, or would the old white guys running the colleges and conferences just go about their business as usual?

Scoops McCracken: It would be interesting to see. The NCAA could use a kick in the ass. But it's the college president's that are the ones that need the convincing. I honestly don't think it's a Myles Brand effort.

Peoria Pliers: I always TRY to see things from someone else's view, and with the college presidents, it must be tough given the skyrocketing costs of education and the downward spiral of government funding for said programs. I can only assume that most A.D.'s are given one directive - don't cost us anything. Beyond that, I don't think that most of the college presidents give a rats ass about athletics, which is probably the right attitude. The NCAA seems to have created this monster, much in the same way that pro sports franchises did by instituting government funding for stadiums. Why the F**K would taxpayers pay for a stadium? That seems as ludicrous as a taxpayer paying for a Wrestling mat or college baseball stadium, but that's the new status quo, which is probably wrong. But you can't put the genie back in the bottle...NCAA football is such a huge profit center and cultural icon that regressing to the days of it being an afterthought of academia is probably impossible

Scoops McCracken: You have lots of things for me to tackle, so I'll try my best.
Peoria Pliers: nice pun...tackle...

Scoops McCracken: The AD's have a difficult job, especially with the demand to fulfill title IX requirements. Their main goal is to make money. What I never have liked about the president's argument is they use the academic card.

Peoria Pliers: I think it depends on how it is used...whey they say that three weeks of games detracts from the player's academics, I think that is complete bull. When they say that they need higher profits to fund the athletic departments so that it doesn’t detract from the academic offerings of the school, that makes sense to me

Scoops McCracken: Here's a question I have: I've been watching women's field hockey on the Big Ten Network.....why does Minnesota not have a team? They'd probably be good at it, and #2: having the team would add female athlete #'s helping out with Title IX.

Peoria Pliers: That's a VERY Good question. Plus, if we had a field hockey team, then we would have hundreds of extra patients for the orthopedic center on campus...those poor women look like they are in pain at all times, running around bent over. I sound like an old man, but that just doesn’t look good. So you got the Horned Frogs or the Utes tonight?

Scoops McCracken: That's a good game......yeah, I think so. BYU got doggypounded by TCU, and I think Utah gets the same.

Peoria Pliers: Agreed, TCU is a good squad. How about Ohio State/Northwestern...do the Wildcats have a chance?

Scoops McCracken: I don't think they win, but I don't think it's a blowout either. OSU is having trouble scoring right now. I still think it's the right move to play Pryor because this season is pretty much a wash for them. They won't win a Big Ten title, can't win a BCS title, and are pretty much pegged into the 2nd Big Ten bowl slot. Start getting youngsters in there. The cats are better than I thought; I give them all the credit for the win over the Gophers.
Peoria Pliers: I think the Wildcats might win this one...I like their MOXIE. That's my upset special. I won't bet on it, but I like them to win

Scoops McCracken: I took them to cover.

Scoops McCracken: Is Harrell the front runner for the Heisman? I like the talk, even if the trophy is often times a joke.

Peoria Pliers: I have no idea since the popularity contest of the Heisman seems like a giant Wank to me, but yeah, I think after his performance in the big game last week, he's got to be the front runner. Colt McCoy's image in everyone's mind is now burned in as the "Oh my god, how did we just lose that game" face, so I think he has ZERO chance of winning it now. So considering our mutual hatred of the BC/Notre Dame matchup, what is your least favorite rilvalry game? What game really has the least reason to be a "big" game, a game that seems more popular than it should be?

Scoops McCracken: I would have said Alabama/Auburn, but with Saban & the Tide's resurgance, probably not so anymore. I'd probably say Florida State/Miami right now.

Peoria Pliers: I'm thinking of games like Notre Dame/Stanford. Florida St/Miami is a good example.

Scoops McCracken: USC/Notre Dame is there as well. Other than the '05 game, USC has been in dominating mode.

Peoria Pliers: Did you know that Cincinnati and Miami of Ohio have been playing since 1888, two years longer than Army-Navy and Minnesota/Wisconsin?

Scoops McCracken: I did not....I know that Mizzou/Kansas is up there with Minnesota/Wisconsin in terms of games played. You know, if Minnesota wins this weekend, you get the jug at the state fair in 2009, 2010, & 2011 guaranteed since Michigan goes off the schedule the next two years?

Peoria Pliers: WOW. Really? That is awesome, it makes the game even bigger than originally thought. Go Gophers. My buddy almost broke the Jug once; he was catering an event at the Alumni center and bumped the flimsy table the jug was sitting on. That may have sparked a new civil war

Scoops McCracken: I think there's actually more than 1 I believe but I'm not sure. Any Parting shots?

Peoria Pliers: YES WE CAN!!! That should be the battle cry of the Gophers vs. Michigan

Scoops McCracken: Yeah......Michigan. All those years of jacking around the Gophers........To quote the great Rev. eremiah Wright......."MICHIGAN'S CHICKENS............ARE COMING HOME.......TO ROOST!"

Peoria Pliers: There you have it, folks.