Pic o' the Week-o of What I've been hearing

A few CDs I've gotten recently that I'd recommend:

Emerson Drive - Countrified (4.5/5)

I didn't really have any country albums in my collection, so I went out in search for a country band. I stumbled across this band. I honestly think the lead singer has one of the best voices in country music. The songs have a positive message. They are upbeat and catchy, but not too twangy. If you're a country fan, or are willing to give country music a shot, give these gents a listen.

TOP TRACKS: A Good Man, Testify, Moments, Devil Went Down to Georgia (cover).

Josh Groban - Noel (4.75/5)

I didn't know he had a Christmas album out until recently (the album was released in October). I gave it a listen online, and it's a very good album, as you might expect. Groban does duets with Faith Hill and Brian McKnight. All in all, I'd say it's one of, if not the best Christmas album that I own. If you're a Groban fan, this CD is a must have.

TOP TRACKS - Little Drummer Boy, I'll Be Home for Christmas, The Christmas Song, The First Noel (with Faith Hill)

Relient K - Let it Snow, Baby... Let it Reindeer (4/5)

This album is comprised mostly of songs from a previous album (Deck The Halls, Bruise Your Hand). There are a few songs new to this album which are in typical fun, silly, light-hearted, Relient K fashion. If you enjoy punk rock, or Relient K, you may be interested in this album. There are a few Relient K originals, and some really good versions of well knowns, but it's definitely not your typical, classic Christmas album.

TOP TRACKS: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Sleigh Ride, Merry Christmas, Here's to Many More, Good King Wenceslas

SPLOG Wednesday

First of all, have you noticed the handy little scoreboard over there on the left sidebar? You can choose which sport to view and all kinds of cool stuff.

It's sad to hear about Sean Taylor's senseless murder. I just hope he turned his life around from previous indiscretions and knew the Lord prior to his passing.

About a NCAA football playoff, I used to be for trying to figure out how one could work. Maybe it's because of the craziness of this regular season, and the fact that I know someone will always be unhappy (e.g. if a non-conference winner gets in over a conference winner, the #9 team will be upset if it's an 8 team playoff, same with #17 if it's a 16 team playoff, some bowls will get shafted, etc). It seems like the best team generally wins or at least has the opportunity to play for the title. I don't see it as a broken system. A playoff wouldn't be a perfect solution, so I'm for leaving it as is at least for the time being.

BCS Standings
1. Missouri
2. West Virginia
3. Ohio State
4. Georgia
5. Kansas
6. Virginia Tech

Well this is no longer possible. However, I would be very pleased to have picked one of the two teams to play for the title after this crazy year. Personally, I'd love to see it end as it is now, with a Mizzou vs. WVU finale. I've really grown fond of Mizzou. However, with the way this season's gone, I wouldn't be surprised if both teams lose next week and idle Ohio State plays LSU (who'll jump over Georgia and Va Tech if the the Tigers beat Tennessee).

High on:
Chase Daniel - Will be a great pro QB.
Darren McFadden - Will be a great pro RB.
Colt Brennan & receiving corp - I'm finally on the rainbow colored bandwagon. Better late than never. Colt is a solid player and the receiving corp is quite possibly the best in the nation.

Down on:
Andre' Woodson - Kept KY in it versus TN, but also lost it for them. He doesn't seem to have the "it" factor, the internal clock that Daniel has.
LSU - I knew they'd lose at some point. They were possible the most overrated team in the 2nd half of the season.
Hawaii - They are better than I thought, HOWEVER, I am not on the bandwagon that if they go undefeated and win their bowl game, they should be the nat'l champs, as I've heard some say.

Predictions (7-3 last week, 35-25 overall)
Since it is the last week of college football before the bowl games, I'll pick every college game this week, as well as 2 pro games to make it an even 20 picks. Since it's twice as many games, I'll leave out the commentary.

NCAAF
(1) Louisville over Rutgers (2-0)
(2) Fresno St. over New Mexico St. (3-0)
(3) Central Michigan over Miami (OH) (4-0)
(4) Navy over Army (5-0)
(5) UCF over Tulsa (6-0)
(6) Virginia Tech over Boston College (7-0)
(7) Troy over Florida Atlantic (7-1)
(8) LSU over Tennessee (8-1)
(9) Nevada over Louisiana Tech (9-1)
(10) USC over UCLA (10-1)
(11) Oregon St. over Oregon (11-1)
(12) BYU over San Diego St. (12-1)
(13) North Texas over Florida International (12-2)
(14) California over Stanford (12-3)
(15) West Virginia over Pittsburgh (12-4)
(16) Missouri over Oklahoma (12-5)
(17) Arizona St. over Arizona (13-5)
(18) Hawaii over Washington (14-5)
NFL
(19) Dallas over Green Bay (1-0)
(20) Miami over NY Jets (14-6)

Weekly Poll

Greetings, loyal readers! Stephen and I took a little hiatus last week in order to spend time with each other and my family over the Thanksgiving holiday. We had a great time in Memphis with my parents (our new picture was taken in front of the Christmas tree / fireplace at their house), and I think we both kind of hated having to get back into the daily grind, but then, who didn't feel that way? I'm in the middle of grading a bunch of papers, and it's going ever-so-slowly and will more than likely result in little blogging from me for a while. Only 8 days of school left, though!

It appears that our readers would want to fly, if given a superpower. Flying is the option I selected, as I think it would be both enjoyable and convenient (unless the weather was bad). :)

For this week's poll, we're wondering how much of your Christmas shopping you've done. Are you completely finished? Do you have a few more gifts to buy, or have you not even started? Leave us a comment here and let us know who is the hardest person to buy for on your list. Happy voting!

Pic o' the Week-o/Weekly Poll Question

It will be a short blogging week, so I'll amalgamate posts. Eerie the similar poses of Mr. Heisman and Mr. Tebow, eh?

Speaking of superheroes (segue), this week I'm wondering what superpower you would most like to have. I'll just make some up and put an "other" category since there are countless possible superpowers.

Happy Tryptophan Day!

SPLOG Wednesday (Monday edition)

This being Thanksgiving week, I won't be putting up a Wednesday blog, so I'll just do it today instead.

* This is looking like more and more of a possibility as the weeks go by. I'm pulling for it.
*If Tebow doesn't win the Heisman after his record setting year (first player with 20+ TDs throwing AND 20+ TDs running), the Heisman will be a joke. Granted he is a Sophomore and not in the running for the national title, he's still had an amazing year and is most deserving of the award.
* Orlando continues to pile up the wins, as they knocked off the previously undefeated Celtics. Stan Van Gundy for coach of the year.
* The Rams are falling further back in the chase for the top pick. They are tied in record with the Jets, Raiders, and 49ers with 2 wins, and the Dolphins are still winless. Oh well, they still should be able to attain a solid player with a top 5 pick.
* Lloyd Carr retired as coach of the Michigan football team. I wouldn't be surprised to see Les Miles from LSU take the opening. It would be funny if Mike Shula took the reigns at LSU. That would be one big rivalry every year with Alabama.

Predictions (8-2 last week, 28-22 overall)
NFL - Thanksgiving games
(1) Green Bay over Detroit - 10-1 for the Packers after this one. Who'd've thunk it?
(2) Dallas over NY Jets - The Jets has a surprising victory over the Steelers last week. They'll get rolled by the Cowboys this week.
(3) Indianapolis over Atlanta - Indy is struggling, but they shouldn't have much problem posting a win against the Falcons.
NCAAF
(4) Boise St. over Hawaii - The Fighting Rainbows should have gone down last week. They will go down this week.
(5) Kentucky over Tennessee - Will propel Georgia into the SEC title game vs. LSU for the right to lose against LSU.
(6) West Virginia over UConn - WV, on their way to the title game, rolls over UConn.
(7) Oklahoma St. over Oklahoma - The Sooners' QB and RB iffy, OSU takes the battle for bragging rights in the state of Oklahoma.
(8) UCLA over Oregon - No Dixon = no W.
(9) Florida over Florida St. - The Gators win this rivalry game, get ready to return to championship contender next season with "Heisman" Tebow, Percy Harvin, and Emmanuel Moody leading the offense.
(10) Missouri over Kansas - The 2nd of 2 undefeateds go down. A Mizzou win against Kansas, and loss to Oklahoma will propel WV into the title game.