From the Champagne Room with Shane Champagne

No matter what you think of Brett Favre's decision making ability, you gotta give it to him on this: He couldn't have chosen a much hotter girl to risk his marriage and career on. Brett Favre's Cellphone Seduction Of Jenn Sterger? (Video at link is NSFW. Unless you work at a strip club, adult book store, or advertising agency.)

Faldon's Five Thoughts: Better late than never, right?

I was so worried about Matt's mental state after Little Rock finished 220nd in the list of Best Sports Cities, I forgot to post yesterday ...

Faldon's Five Thoughts

Live Fan Feedback: Thursday prediction line

Comments on the week from our expert panel of reporters, bankers, doctors, lawyers, ad wizards, lawn guys, bond guys, car guys, pilots, priests, principals, builders, teachers, bums, and nomads.

Continually updated throughout the day...

"And That's the Way it is Today" by Moose:

1) I was flashed by a couple of girls on Hwy 55 while driving to New Oleans today. They were from Michigan! - WooHoo Michigan!

2) Hattan left a nice stain on the back of my shirt during a round of the traditional IC grade school game of "Buns Up" in 5th grade, not normal. - Arkansas BEAT Aggies!

3) My old boss was a dick. He was a Gamecock fan, too. Go figure. Hmmmm, Go Bama!

4) Did I tell you what happened to me on my way to New Orleans today? I'm thinking LSU.

5) I know that the huricane season is not over, but a low pressure system is dominating Florida this weekend, Florida State that is!

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Five for Five with Mickey D:

Go Blue, of course! (I will be in Ann Arbor at this game cheering for U of M and hoping DRob can hang 500+ in offense on Sparty; However, DRob will never compare to Cryin Mallett as Mallett is the front runner for the Heisman (in delusional R-Kansas' fans minds only));

R-Kansas (As much as it pains me to pick the Hogs, their trip to Jerry World will be rewarding as A&M just doesn't have the firepower to match up; Sherman should go back to the pros as a coordinator. How can you have 3 straight top 20 recruiting classes and still suck?!?);

Gotz to go with the GUMPS (The ole Ball Coach hitched his wagon to Stephen Garcia who is more concerned with drinking alcohol and sniffing cocaine. Satan wins another tough one on his way to the easy part of the schedule);

Florida (Clock management appears to still be an issue with Michigan Man Les Miles. They must not have offered that class in Ann Arbor when he was in school?); and

Miami (Can you say WIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE RIGHT!!??)

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Faldon's Other Five Thoughts:

Michigan - Denard "Shoelace" Robinson has a great nickname. Whatever happened to athletes having great nicknames? The Galloping Ghost, the Yankee Clipper, Oil Can Boyd and Mean Joe Greene nod with approval at Shoelace.

Arkansas - Which sets up a top-10 game against Auburn next week, and we all know how Arkansas does in those.

Alabama - The Ole Ball Coach might pull the upset though.

Florida - If only because Urban Meyer won't have 37 players on defense on the final play of the game.

Miami - South Beach > State Capitol

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Jeff G's Weekly Analysis:

I'm going to be at this A&M game this weekend. First time to see the new Jerry Jones Shrine. You’re right about those 6-point spreads - somebody knows something. I'm not going to fall for your temptations of bonus points this week.

MSU - Gotta keep riding the Spartan train.

Hogs - I like the idea of the SW Classic. It's good to relive old hate. And you know how much I love hate.

'Bama - at first glance I would not be that surprised if USC pulled the upset. Then I watched that 'Bama/Florida game. One of the SI guys said it best when he characterized ‘Bama as the Death Star.

Florida - not sure how long LSU can go on living on the edge. If this was in Baton Rouge I would have taken the Tigers though.

Miami - Miami beat the hell out of Pitt and I think Pitt is better than FSU. Add to that the history of this game and I think Miami takes this one easily. Jinx.

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This is an easy week. But, we'll run the model anyway. Norman - your days are numbered. -- Sal

I need about five straight 5-0 weeks. How embarrasing. Stanford, too smart for its own good... -- Dean of Sportswriters

It's eerie how well you know me. The celebratory bonfire following the Ags win over the Hogs will surely sear the eyebrows of every young Cub Scout in attendance at our campout. And, since my wife is a Mizzou grad, we did have to name one of our pets after Truman the Tiger, much to my dismay. Everything else is spot on. -- Aggie Mark

Gotta try to make up some points this week. There is no way Beranek should be that far ahead of me. Go Hogs, don't let me down! -- Tom Van Damme

Regarding your reference to "Gig'em", is this related to a "gig line" as in the allignment of shirt to buckle to fly on military uniforms (which of course stays with us for a life time when dressing for whatever)? If so, I assume it comes from the A&M military students. Just curious. -- Big O

Memphis -- So as I wait for my flight to Boston I ponder some cosmic irony. After three Saturdays of consecutive college football for at least thirty hours of TV watching, this Saturday will be football free as we wander the highways and biways of scenic Vermont and New Hampshire for a full day of leafing. The things we men do. As a special bonus she's picking. Wish her luck. -- Jeremy P.

You should have gone with the Tennessee/Georgia game and made it an underdog pick. That would have been like being back in college, being drunk at a party somewhere, and trying to decide between going home with a fat chick or taking it home "solo." -- DJ U-Explicit Johnson

I'll take UM cause the criminals are playing at home -- their players don't have to worry about leaving the county and violating probation. -- Steve N.

The Luck of Les Miles - LSUFreek

College football's best five games of Week 6

Aggie Mark was once a normal high school student who enjoyed such normal activities as sneaking beer into horror movies and coughing loudly to mask the sound of opening the can. But then he went to college at Texas A&M and things started to change. Now, he only wears white short-sleeved jumpsuits and whenever something good happens he does six pushups and kisses the person next to him. He answers every phone call with "Howdy" and ends every conversation with "Gig 'em" and a thumbs up. His pets are named Reveille I, Reveille II, and Reveille III. At midnight before each Aggie home game, he goes outside in his front yard and holds a one-man yell practice. And on Saturday while on a kids' camping trip instead of at the Southwest Classic, he plans to build the biggest bonfire those kids have ever seen to celebrate A&M's win over Arkansas. Could it happen? It's one of four bonus-point games with puzzling six-point lines that kind of make you wonder if somebody out there knows something.

For $800 and the Ramon Escobar Trophy, select your bonus-point winners and e-mail them back to me by 5 p.m. Friday.

Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy
Michigan State - Michigan
2:30 p.m., Saturday, ABC/ESPN
Line: Michigan by 4

The Southwest Classic
Arkansas - Texas A&M
2:30 p.m., Saturday, ABC
Line: Arkansas by 6
* Underdog worth three points

Alabama - South Carolina
2:30 p.m., Saturday, CBS
Line: Alabama by 6
* Underdog worth three points

LSU - Florida
6:30 p.m., Saturday, ESPN
Line: Florida by 6
* Underdog worth three points

Florida State - Miami
7 p.m., Saturday, ABC
Line: Miami by 6
* Underdog worth three points

Good luck.
****#****

Razorbacks Dallas Bound

Since the Razorbacks are playing in Jerry World on Saturday, I had to include it in a haiku.

Big game in Dallas
Being played in Jerry World
Houston won't be there.

Project Playoffs: Week 5 standings and seedings

If all was fair and right in college football, this is what the realigned conference standings would look like in Week 5 with seedings for a 16-team playoff. (Seedings are derived from the Massey Comparison Rankings, which take every poll and computer rating into account.)

First-round match-ups:

16 Penn State at 1 Alabama
15 Virginia Tech at 2 Oregon
14 Oklahoma State at 3 Boise State
13 Auburn at 4 TCU
12 Nebraska at 5 Ohio State
11 Stanford at 6 Arizona
10 Iowa at 7 Oklahoma
9 Florida at 8 LSU

Click here for a full explanation of Project Playoffs.

Southern
1 Alabama (5-0)
8 LSU (5-0)
13 Auburn (5-0)
Mississippi State (3-2)
Southern Miss (4-1)
Ole Miss (3-2)
Tennessee (2-3)
Vanderbilt (1-3)
Memphis (1-4)

Northwest
2 Oregon (5-0)
3 Boise State (4-0)
Utah (4-0)
Air Force (4-1)
Oregon State (2-2)
Fresno State (3-1)
Washington (2-2)
BYU (1-4)
Washington State (1-4)

Mid-South
4 TCU (5-0)
7 Oklahoma (5-0)
14 Oklahoma State (4-0)
Arkansas (3-1)
Texas (3-2)
Baylor (4-1)
Texas A&M (3-1)
Houston (3-1)
Texas Tech (2-2)

Mid-North
5 Ohio State (5-0)
Michigan (5-0)
Michigan State (5-0)
Notre Dame (2-3)
Illinois (2-2)
Cincinnati (1-3)
Indiana (3-1)
Purdue (2-2)
Louisville (2-2)

Southwest
6 Arizona (4-0)
11 Stanford (4-1)
USC (4-1)
California (2-2)
UCLA (3-2)
Arizona State (2-3)
Hawaii (3-2)
UTEP (4-1)
New Mexico (0-5)

Southeast
9 Florida (4-1)
Miami (3-1)
Florida State (4-1)
South Carolina (3-1)
South Florida (3-1)
Georgia Tech (3-2)
Clemson (2-2)
Central Florida (2-2)
Georgia (1-4)

Midwest
10 Iowa (4-1)
12 Nebraska (4-0)
Missouri (4-0)
Kansas State (4-0)
Wisconsin (4-1)
Iowa State (3-2)
Colorado (3-1)
Kansas (2-3)
Minnesota (1-4)

Atlantic
15 Virginia Tech (3-2)
North Carolina State (4-1)
North Carolina (2-2)
Maryland (4-1)
Kentucky (3-2)
East Carolina (2-2)
Virginia (2-2)
Wake Forest (2-3)
Duke (1-4)

Northeast
16 Penn State (3-2)
West Virginia (3-1)
Connecticut (3-2)
Pittsburgh (2-2)
Navy (2-2)
Syracuse (3-1)
Boston College (2-2)
Army (3-2)
Rutgers (2-2)

Ramon's Escoblog: Week 5

College Football Weekend in Review
(in hashtags!)

Alabama 31, Florida 6
(#brandoisrightboisewouldwintheeast)

Oregon 52, Stanford 31
(#3behindohiostate?hahahahalolz)

Iowa 24, Penn State 3
(#howdoyouputupwiththisstyleofballvratsinas)

LSU 16, Tennessee 14
(#missingvernelundquistsayingWHATARETHEYDOING)

Colorado 29, Georgia 27
(#sorrydemillos)

Ole Miss 42, Kentucky 35
(#uhohupsetbrewingsomewhere)

Notre Dame 31, Boston College 13
(#ohsureNOWyouwinone)

Oklahoma 28, Texas 20
(#/"\)

Houndstooth Wedding Cake

An Auburn grad and an Alabama grad recently got married.
The groom (Alabama) requested that his cake be hounds-tooth (typical).
The Auburn bride was obviously disappointed, but they honored his request.
The bride’s parents (Auburn) had the cake made, and when the groom cut it at the reception, he had a little surprise….

Live Fan Feedback: Friday

Comments on the week from our expert panel of reporters, bankers, doctors, lawyers, ad wizards, lawn guys, bond guys, car guys, pilots, priests, principals, builders, teachers, bums, and nomads.  

Continually updated throughout the day...

Here are my picks with commentary (only because it appears to bring me 5-0 results):

1.) Chokelahoma (always bet the QB and in this instance the Chokelahoma QB is better than Texass');

2.) Wisky (Talk about choking..Not even Dumbtino in the press box can help Sparty);

3.) Bama (Roll Tide, just because R-Kansas fans think they are as good as Bama and got screwed by the referees (like they always do in a big game.  Totally overlooking the fact that Cryin Mallett threw 3 picks);

4.) The Nike Ducks (As a Michigan grad I would like to go with Harbaugh and the Bo Schembechler offense but just can't.  Have to go with the point a minute offense of the 21st century); and
5.) Iowa (Not because Kurt Ferentz is a good coach but because Joe Pa has a freshman QB.  Ferentz's claim to fame... Beating a Sabanless LSU team in 2003. Let's give him multiple extensions!)


-- Mickey D


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You would assume that Texas will bounce back from last week... and you would be wrong Winner = OK. I need points, got to (sorry Mr. Wells) pick my spots -- Winner = Stanford. -- David M.


Vird out did himself with the haiku this week. It's a thing of beauty. Here's my haiku.  Hide ur kids! Hide ur wife!  I'm back close to the lead again. -- Hinch