Ignorant College Football Picks*

My picks were 14-9 last week, which brings my season record to a very even 77-75-1. Here are my picks for this weekend's games. Be forewarned, that this post includes pictures of scantily clad females showing school pride.

Stanford -8 vs. UCLA
Stanford did it once, they'll do it again.

Oklahoma State -4.5 @ Baylor
Baylor without RG3 is like Baylor again.

Oklahoma -6 @ TCU
Sooners win these types of games.

UConn +5 vs. Cincinnati
One last time picking the Huskies.

Georgia +8.5 vs. Alabama (Atlanta, GA)
Bama has a good chance of winning this game, I just think it will be tight.

Florida State -14 vs. Georgia Tech (Charlotte, NC)
FSU is really good. GT is only in the ACC title game because UNC and Miami can't be.

Texas +10.5 @ Kansas State
Texas could surprise people.

Nebraska -3 vs. Wisconsin (Indianapolis, IN)
Wisconsin is only in the Big Ten title game because OSU and PSU can't be.

Red Sox Interested in Ryan Dempster

Ryan Dempster is old (turns 36 in May), struggled in the AL last year, and has an astonishingly meiocre career record of 124-124. So is he worth signing? He would add depth to the Red Sox rotation, but would also add salary. Perhaps too much salary. And in his one foray into AL baseball, with Texas last season, he struggled.

The Red Sox are reportedly in talks with him. But Dempster is the type of guy who you add to a rotation that is already good at the top. He's a guy that completes an already good rotation, not a guy who turns around a bad rotation.

The top of the Red Sox rotation is not good. It's got more question marks than The Riddler's wardrobe. Dempster is a decent pitcher, but the price he seems to be commanding on the open market is too high.

The Red Sox are like a fishing boat with plenty of bait, but few fish biting. They shouldn't waste their bait to get medium-sized fish. They should save it for the big ones that will be available in the years to come.

Why Bonds, Clemens, and Even Sosa Should Be Inducted Into the Hall of Fame

I don't like Sammy Sosa, I hate Barry Bonds, and I will laugh the day Roger Clemens dies. But all three of these PED assisted freaks should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Because baseball can't pretend that the steroid era didn't exist, nor can it act morally superior to something that it participated in and benefited from.

The Hall of Fame is baseball's last bastion of the illusion that it is, or ever was, a pure game. That's why some are so adamantly against admitting the likes of Bonds, Clemens, and Sosa.

These so-called purists aren't defending the game, or the Hall. They're defending their own delusions. They're in denial. They think that impurity is something new to the game.

The game has always had dirty aspects to it. It was white-only until 1947. Players didn't have basic labor rights until free agency. Cocaine and amphetamines were an everyday part of the sport in the 1970s.

And the Hall of Fame has already been infiltrated by filth. Ty Cobb is in the Hall, despite the fact that he was a bigot, once beat up a crippled man, probably fixed games, and probably killed at least one person. White Sox owner Charles Comiskey is in the Hall of Fame and he was so cheap that he made his players pay to launder their uniforms. Those players eventually threw the 1919 World Series. Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey is in the Hall of Fame despite running a racist organization that was offered and declined a chance to sign Negro Leaguer Willie Mays. The Red Sox didn't integrate until 1959, 12 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.

Baseball cannot move forward from the steroid era until it acknowledges that it occurred and is a part of the game's history. The purists who don't want to see Barry Bonds's HGH swollen head on a bronze plaque are desperate to avoid admitting that their sacred game isn't as chaste and innocent as they proclaim it to be.

And these BBWA purists were the same sportswriters who failed to unearth and expose the wide-scale cheating they are now so vehemently against. These writers saw Barry Bonds's skull grow, they saw Sosa and Mark McGwire's inhuman biceps that were as big as most men's thighs, and all these writers could do was applaud. They buzzed with excitement during the homerun race between Sosa and McGwire. They marveled at the shape Roger Clemens was in despite his age. They theorized about Alex Rodriguez hitting 800 homeruns. They even explained the explosion in offense with juiced balls and smaller ballparks.

Now they're rallying against the same players whose PED aided deeds they filled their sports pages with. These hypocrites shouldn't be the ones who know prevent Bonds, Clemens, and Sosa from being inducted.

So let the freaks in. There are segregationist owners in the Hall so why not PED assisted players?

Rajon Rondo Acts Like a Moron in Celtics/Nets "Brawl"

If someone tells you there was a "brawl" at a Bruins game, you'd imagine a 5 on 5, haymaker throwing, bloody rumble. When someone tells you there was a "brawl" at a basketball game, you imagine lots of verbal threats, posturing, and some shoving. Then you imagine basketball fans talking about toughness and physicality. Then, as a hockey fan, you watch some PJ Stock videos and weep, because you miss the game.

This Rondo/Humphies incident wasn't a "brawl." It was s scrap, a tussle, an altercation, and maybe even a fight. It was a semi-fight. Hardly a "brawl." It was nothing more than shoving, and it was nothing short of moronic. Rajon Rondo didn't defend his teammates, he abandoned them.

I like Rondo. I've frequently defended him when he's criticized, or when his name is bandied about in trade rumors. But this was simply childish. It was a hard foul on Kevin Garnett, but are a few shoves of vengeance worth being ejected and possibly suspended for?

One legitimate criticism of Rondo has been that his maturity level hasn't increased as much as his skill and talent have. The scrap last night is a great example of this. He let his emotions dictate his decisions, and it cost the Celtics his services for the remainder of the game. He hurt his teammates more than Kris Humphries hurt Garnett with that foul.

Photo Credit:
The Associated Press

Nick Swisher Doesn't Excite Me, and Maybe That's a Good Thing

The Red Sox are reportedly working on a deal to bring Nick Swisher to Boston, as well as deals to bring in Mike Napoli and keep Cody Ross here.

Nick Swisher is not a great player. Last year he was paid $10.25 million to hit 24 homeruns, with a .272 average, .364 OBP, and .473 SLG. He's good, not great. So if the Sox sign him I won't be overjoyed.

And perhaps that's a good thing. So long as the price is right, Swisher can be a solid acquisition that doesn't tie down lots of money. And that money can be used to acquire pitchers, which is what this team really needs.

He also seems like a douchebag, which usually means he's good at baseball.

But I can't emphasize enough how important price is in this decision. Swisher isn't worth a big contract. And if the Sox sign him to one, I can't help but think they're trying to fill up their payroll so Larry Lucchino can boast about how much the team is trying to win.

Jon Lester for Wil Myers?

I doubt this deal will happen or is even being seriously discussed by the Red Sox and Royals. Nevertheless, it's a cold and wet Tuesday with little else happening, so let's discuss the potential deal.

Firstly, both these players annoy me with how they spell their names. Wil Myers's full name is William Myers. What did he do with that extra 'L?' And do his friends call him "Bil" or "Wily?" I find his name to be sily.

If this move exists, which it doesn't, the Sox should do it. Jon Lester is what he is. He's at best a 2/3 type of starter. He never took that step forward to being an Ace, and instead took several steps backward last season. His greatest strength, before last season, was his dependability. And now that's gone.

How important is Jon Lester to the long-term (next 5 years) success of this team? I don't think he's exceptionally valuable. I also think replacing him (even upgrading from him) isn't difficult.

Wil Myers is a prospect with tremendous upside and great minor league numbers (he hit 37 HRs in AA and AAA last year, with a .304 AAA average, .378 OBP, and .554 SLG). He has no Major League experience, and prospects are never guaranteed, but he's got the potential.

He could be an All-Star caliber player for 15 years to come. He can play the outfield and third base so it's easy for him to make his way into a lineup.

And perhaps most importantly, he could help the Red Sox acquire the Ace they covet. With Myers, the Red Sox can offer a trade package much more tantalizing to bad teams that have great pitchers.

So the Sox should pull the trigger on this nonexistent gun.

The deal doesn't make much sense for KC, though. They'd get Lester for one year and pay him $13 million. Then he'd hit free agency. Why would a small market team give up a blue chip prospect to rent a mediocre pitcher?

Jermaine Cunningham Suspended for PEDs

The Patriots will lose the services of Jermaine Cunningham for 4 games. He was suspended by the NFL for an unspecified violation of banned substance policies blah blah blah. He took something illegal, got caught, now he's got 4 weeks off.

This was part of a wave of PED suspensions announced by the League. Many of them for adderall. I'm glad Ithaca College didn't make their students take piss tests because I wouldn't have passed Modern Western Civilization without adderall.

Maybe they'll put an asterisk on my transcript.

Boston College Fires Frank Spaziani

Recently hired athletic director Brad Bates recently fired football coach Frank Spaziani. The move was entirely expected and a necessary decision.

It's an unfortunate end to Spaz's tenure at BC. He's been with the program since 1997, first as a runningback coach, then as the defensive coordinator for 10 years. He was promoted to head coach in 2009.

The BC football program wanted a guy whose ultimate career goal was to be the head coach of BC football. That was not a wise philosophy. Almost all programs in the country are stepping-stone programs for coaches aspiring to raise themselves to the NFL level or to the mega programs like Alabama and Texas. There's no shame in being a coach's resumé builder, so long as the program is successful.

Some candidates to replace Spaz include Harvard coach Tim Murhpy. The Crimson finished the year 8-2. Miami coach Al Golden is another possibility. So is Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Diaco.

Whoever the new coach is, they inherit a program that needs a major overhaul. I'd like to see BC implement a more modern offensive style. Not only would it be entertaining, it would attract skill position players who would be drawn by the idea of more chances to get the ball and more chances to make plays.

BC also needs a coach who can recruit from top to bottom. BC is never going to attract the elite blue chip prospects, so they must get depth, and find talented players that are overlooked by other programs.

It was only a few years ago that BC was ranked as high as #2 in the country, and annually contended for the ACC title. It's possible to return to those days, it will just take time.