College Football Picks: Week 3*

I went 1-4-1 with my picks last week, dropping my total record to 5-7-1. But it's early in the season, and we're all trying to figure out who's good and who isn't. Here are my picks for this week:

Boise State -20 @ Toledo
I normally don't like big spreads, but this one seems small. And once Boise State gets ahead, they tend to pour it on.

West Virginia +1 @ Maryland
This is a close game to pick, but I have to go with West Virginia because they're slightly more talented.

Penn State -6.5 @ Temple
Ummmmmmmmmmmm, duh.

Auburn +3.5 @ Clemson
Auburn has won a pair of ugly games, but it's not like Clemson's wins over Troy and Wofford were meaningful.

Michigan State +5 @ Notre Dame
I had to double-check that this was the spread.

Ohio State +3 @ Miami
The only professional football game that's being played on Saturday.

Florida State +3 vs. Oklahoma
I'm picking against my heart here.

A Football Life... Wow

If you didn't see Part 1 of A Football Life: Bill Belichick last night, you either need to see it OnDemand. Or if you don't have NFL Network, you need to sleep with someone who does and/or break into their house and watch it. Or wait for the inevitable DVD. It was bloody brilliant.

You rarely get any sort of inside look into what goes on behind the doors at Gillette Stadium. Saying Bill Belichick is slightly guarded is like saying Rex Ryan is a little outgoing. So this was fun to watch, to see meetings between Belichick and Kraft, between Brady and Belichick. Seeing Belichick reminisce about his days with the Giants was my favorite part.

He always seems to be multi-tasking. Walking on a treadmill while studying notes on a future opponent. And we learned why he's so brief when answering the media, it's because he's eating a salad.

Speaking of Rex Ryan, it's kind of funny how Ryan's antics in one pre-season provided enough material for an entire mini-series. They followed Belichick for an entire year and only made two hours from it. But it seems like they have an amazing two hours of material.

I just wish they did this with Belichick every year, and could somehow do it going back in time when he was with the Giants.

Savard to Get Name on Cup

There hasn't been much good news for Marc Savard, but at least his place on the Stanley Cup Champions will be recognized on the most hallowed trophy in sports. He didn't play the minimum number of games, but they'll make an exception for him when engraving the Cup.

His career is likely over, but this isn't a bad way to end it.

How to Catch a Foul Ball

Why not catch a foul-ball like a badass without missing a beat in a cell phone conversation.

You can actually read his lips as he says "I just caught a foul ball."

Bruschi Attacks Ochocinco

Tedy Bruschi and now Rodney Harrison, both retired Patriots turned media members, have criticized Chad Ochocinco for his tweeting and lack of impressive play. The particular tweet in question is this:

"Just waking up after a late arrival,I've never seen a machine operate like that n person,to see video game numbers put up n person was WOW"

Which seems fairly innocent. Bruschi and Harrison are criticizing Ochocinco for being amazed by what the Patriots did Monday night. And I'm kind of with them on that. Brady wasn't amazed, nor was Gronkowski surprised or Branch bewildered. Did Belichick look like he didn't expect the Pats to score so much?

To be fair to Ochocinco, he's been on the Bengals' sidelines for a decade. The whole notion of prepare, then execute, then win is something foreign to him. He seems to be in a state of shock, he's struggled to learn the playbook, and he also might be afraid of making a mistake, and slowing down this mesmerizing machine.

He's had trouble with the preparation part, but I don't think Twitter is the problem. And if effort is the problem, isn't that up to Coach Belichick to enforce?

I love Bruschi and Harrison, but if a member of the media attacked one of their teammates when they were on this team, they'd rally around him and dismiss everything as an internal Patriots matter. Which it is. If Twitter's a problem, then let Belichick handle it. If Ochocinco isn't putting the effort in, let Belichick handle it.

Belichick is the coach, Ochocinco is the player, Bruschi and Harrison are the external entities now. Some of us expected Ochocinco to be amazing here, and that hasn't been the case. His on-the-field performance of 14 yards and 1 reception wasn't dazzling, but it didn't exactly hurt the offense either. Belichick will find a way to utilize Ochocinco. Bruschi is entitled to his opinion, but he's not the coach, he's on the outside.

One thing I do like is that none of the Patriots have given much of a response to this. And neither has Ochocinco.

School of Bard Knocks

Remember when Daniel Bard was a strength and not a liability? It seems like ages ago. Three of his 5 blown saves have come in the last two weeks, which is doubly painful because wins are at a premium for the Sox lately, and he's literally blowing them away.

Five appearances for Bard in September, 4.2 innings, 9 earned runs (19.29 ERA), 3 blown saves, 3 losses. The only person happy with Bard's September is Jonathan Papelbon's agent.

How often do you get a tolerable start from Lackey? How rare is it for him to give the Sox a chance to win? And Bard wasted it. The Sox got some nice timely hitting as well, enough to drive 4 runs in.

In a pennant race that's been heating up, it's a shame to waste wins like that.

And it better not continue this weekend. The Rays are 4 games behind in the Wild Card, and they come to Fenway for 4 games. A split would be huge for the Sox. A 4 game deficit with 14 games left is comfortable. But if the Sox lose 3, it's tight, and if they get swept, it's as tight as it can be.

Kyle Weiland vs. Jeremy Hellickson. These guys are 25 and 24 years old, respectively, and they're pitching in the middle of a pennant race. They'll have millions of Red Sox fans and a few dozen Rays fans watching their every move.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

#200 For Wakefield

If you're not from around here, you might not get why Tim Wakefield's 200th career win is such a big deal for Sox fans. Wakefield's been with this team since 1995. That was when Roger Clemens, Aaron Sele, Jeff Suppan, Mo Vaughn, Mike Greenwell and Jose Conseco were on the team. Wakefield helped that team win the AL East with a 16-8 record.

After '95, the Sox entered one of the darkest periods in their recent history. Clemens went to Toronto, and suddenly returned to greatness. We saw the Yankees win the World Series, with Wade Boggs. And to be blunt, Tim Wakefield was a big part of that mediocrity.

My two biggest memories of Tim Wakefield are when he was on the mount when Aaron Boone hit his homerun in 2003, and it was Wakefield who pitched 3.1 innings of relief in Game 3 of the '04 ALCS, which saw the Yankees win 19-8, and Wakefield allow 5 runs.

But at least he ate those innings, saving the bullpen and preserving it for the marathon Games 4 and 5 that followed.

Look, Wakefield's not a great pitcher. He's not even very good. But he was there. He was there when things were good in '95, there when things got worse, there when they got better. He's familiar to us here in Boston. So it's nice to see him reach a modest milestone.

And you know what, nobody pitching in Major League Baseball today has more wins than him.

Last night's win was much needed for the Sox. Ellsbury continues to sizzle, and Pedroia exploded out of his slump with 2 homers, 2 doubles, and 5 RBI. Unfortunately, Ortiz was a late scratch due to back spasms. The Sox simply cannot afford any more injuries so hopefully that's a minor issue.

John Lackey opposes Ricky Romero this afternoon. The Sox have been able to score against him this season, so hopefully the offense can carry Lackey to win #13.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Baylor Trying to Save the Big XII

The SEC voted to invite Texas A&M to join their ranks. But before the Home of the 12th Man can be the SEC's 13th member, they're going to have to go through Baylor. One contingency of the SEC's invitation is that there be no legal challenges or roadblocks stopping A&M or any team the SEC decides to invite. Baylor, however, has decided to mount a legal challenge.

It makes sense for Texas A&M to join the SEC, especially with the threat of Oklahoma and Texas joining the Pac-12. It makes sense for the SEC to invite A&M, who has quality programs in multiple sports, and would also help open the state of Texas to SEC recruiters.

Baylor's decision to try to stop this also makes sense. The Big XII is about to be ripped apart, and Baylor will likely be one of the leftovers remaining. They'll likely be invited to the Mountain West, which is respectable, but it's not the BCS. The money that bowl games and TV contracts give to BCS conferences is ridiculous, and that money gets divided evenly by all members of the conference.

To be blunt, Baylor's been getting paid big money thanks to the likes of Texas and Oklahoma. I know they want to keep that money coming, but the reality is that TV dollars now dictate conference alignment, not geography and tradition.