Patriots-Seahawks Drinking Game

So here's a drinking game to play during today's game. Every time certain words, phrases, or images are shown you have to drink a certain amount.

Anytime a commentator says...
"high octane" = 1 drink from a beer
"no-huddle" = 1 drink
"Oregon" = 1 drink, then 2 drinks the second mention, 3 the third, and so on (in tribute to the absurd number of push-ups the Oregon Duck mascot has to do when the Ducks score)
"Bill Parcells" = half a beer
"2007" = 1 drink (in reference to Patriots only)
"USC" or "Southern Cal" = 1 drink
"guru" = 1 shot
"replacement refs" = 1 drink

Anytime this is on the screen...
Bob Kraft = 1 drink
Bob Kraft talking to someone = drink as long as he's talking
Pete Carroll as Patriots head coach = drink as long as the clip or image is on the screen
Bill Belichick pulling something from his sock = 1 drink


Anytime this happens...
Tom Brady yells "alpha milk" = 1 drink
Patriots get a rushing first down = 1 drink
Patriots allow a passing first down = 1 drink
Devin McCourty gets beat on a pass = 1 drink (even if it's incomplete)
Devin McCourty interception = 1 shot
Vince Wilfork touchdown = 1 whole beer
Gronk spikes the ball = 1 drink
Gronk doesn't spike after TD = 1 whole beer
Kickoff touchback = 1 drink
Kickoff return = drink until the return is over

1 drink for every play the Patriots run, 1 for every 10+ yard pass play they allow.

Get lubed up responsibly.

Ignorant College Football Picks*

Well, my picks were 7-9 last week, which drops my record below bowl eligibility at 22-23. But I have faith that we will get back to bowl eligibility. We will get to the Insight.com Bowl!

Anyway, here are my picks for Week 7 of college football...

Louisville -2.5 @ Pittsburgh
The game is being played at 11:00am. Why? Nobody knows. Scholars speculate...

Rutgers -7.5 vs. Syracuse
SU sucks.

Iowa State +7 vs. Kansas State
Iowa experiences crazy wind in October. Wind sometimes equals wins.

Oklahoma -3.5 vs. Texas (Dallas, TX)
As if I'd pick against OU in the Red River Shootout. Boomer! Sooner!

Wisconsin +2 @ Purdue
Because this isn't a train making competition.

Auburn +5.5 @ Ole Miss
Two bad teams squaring off. Pick the underdog.

UConn -5.5 vs. Temple
Why not? Dogs eat owls, right?

Miami +8 vs. North Carolina
Just because the spread is so high and Miami is at home. Probably a bad pick.

Maryland +1.5 @ Virginia
Don't respect UVA.

Alabama -21 @ Missouri
Sounds right. Close game early but Bama pulls away.

West Virginia -3.5 @ Texas Tech
Might be a 200 point game, but WVU should win by more than 3.5.

Stanford +7 @ Notre Dame
I haven't believed in ND all season, even though I probably should.

Florida State -28 vs. Boston College
Why not?

Florida -8.5 @ Vanderbilt
Also, why not?

Washington +13 vs. USC
Just a hunch.

LSU -2.5 vs. South Carolina
Don't think much of LSU, but it's home, it's night, it's their game to lose.

Bruins 0, Flyers 0

The much anticipated start of the 2012-13 season was somewhat anti-climactic last night in Philadelphia. Neither team scored, or even got a shot on goal. And surprisingly, between these two physical rivals, there wasn't a single penalty. It was a very clean game. Clean, but boring.

This is just the start of a complete 82 game season, so it's understandable that these teams were somewhat rusty. Let's be patient with the B's. They have 81 games to work out this lack of scoring.

The Bruins are in New Jersey on Saturday to play the Devils. And this will happen. It's on the schedule. This is a good test for both teams.

In all seriousness, ESPN and EA Sports simulated this Bruins/Flyers game and the Bruins won 4-3. Tyler Seguin scored a goal and had 2 assists. Tuukka Rask had an assist. The Flyers scored three times in the 3rd to tie it 3-3 before Dennis Seidenberg scored the game-winner.

But that, of course, didn't actually happen. No NHL game was played last night because the Phoenix Coyotes can't make ends meet, and the big-market owners want the players to give up salary to make the game cheaper, instead of sharing revenue with their small-market colleagues.

Red Sox Want John Farrell, But Does Farrell Want the Red Sox?

The Red Sox aren't being very subtle about wanting John Farrell to be the new manager. There's a rumor that the Blue Jays are unwilling to part with Farrell. And even if they were, they'd expect a "decent player" as compensation. Which could make the cost of hiring Farrell more than the Sox would be willing to pay.

But it's John Farrell who has the power in this situation. If he wants to manage the Red Sox, what can the Blue Jays do? The Jays wouldn't want a disgruntled employee running their team. It's like when the Cubs wanted to talk to Theo Epstein. The Sox had no choice but to let him go. Epstein had the leverage. So does Farrell.

Why would Farrell want to manage here though? While the Sox can offer a larger payroll and (theoretically) better players, the expectations are much higher here than in Toronto. And he wouldn't be given much time to turn things around. The Sox might have more money, but patience is one thing fans and owners in Boston have less of than their Canadian counterparts.

Maybe Farrell would welcome the challenge of rebuilding the Red Sox and bringing them back to the playoffs.

Then again, who would want to have an office in Fenway Park? Farrell knows what Larry Lucchino and this ownership did to Terry Francona. He saw how Bobby Valentine was undermined and how the players and front office communicated behind Bobby V's back. How could Farrell feel comfortable managing here? It's like working with cannibals.

Regardless of challenges and opportunities, why would anyone want to work for Larry Luchinno?

Farrell might not ever be a World Series contender in Toronto, but at least up there he has the freedom to do his job his way. He seems like the type of person who enjoys that kind of freedom to move. He wouldn't have that down here. He'd have Jason Varitek wandering around the building, John Henry texting players, and Larry Lucchino using Ben Cherington as a ventriloquist dummy.

I can't blame Farrell is he wants to stay in Toronto.

Roger Goodell Re-Suspends Saints

Roger Goodell is sticking to his guns. He upheld the season long suspension of Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith's 4 game suspension. He reduced Anthony Hargrove's suspension from 8 to 7 games, and Scott Fujita's from 3 to 1.

Here's why he can do this: The suspensions were vacated by an appeals panel, but not based on their merit. It was a technical thing. The panel required Goodell to clarify how the players acted in a way "detrimental to the League."

Goodell has the power to suspend any player for such "detrimental" conduct. And he clarified the conduct using a Saints/Panthers game from 2010 as an example (story on ESPN.com).

Essentially, the appeal panel asked Goodell for details of the bounty program, and Goodell has disclosed some of them.

Vilma can still pursue his defamation lawsuit. Though it will be tough for him to prove that Goodell has been deceptive or has said anything false about Vilma.

Roger Goodell is a bit of a tyrant. He's not a mass murderer. So stop with the Hitler/Stalin types of comparisons, please. You sound like a fool when comparing an NFL Commissioner to someone who killed millions. Goodell's job requires some light tyranny. Sometimes it works (getting a deal done with the NFLPA last year), sometimes it doesn't (replacement refs).

Whatever you think about Goodell, the Saints broke the rules. While being investigated, they continued to break the rules. The coaches who broke them implicated Vilma as being one of the leading players in the bounty program.

Why shouldn't he get punished? Players putting up $10k bounties to injure other players is conduct detrimental to the League. At least it is in my opinion. It can't be tolerated.

A Quality Halftime Show

This is what the Ohio State marching band did to entertain their fans on Saturday. The theme was video games.

The horse is pretty impressive.

Special College Football Uniforms I Don't Hate

Boston College will wear these uniforms when they host Maryland on October 27th. The uniforms are a tribute to the Wounded Warrior program, and all the jerseys will be auctioned off with 100% of proceeds donated to said program.

Comparing these uniforms to some of the abominations we've seen lately and these aren't half bad. It's ironic that BC will be playing Maryland. Maryland have been in constant contact with the Guinness World Record people. The Terrapins have been vying for the worst wardrobe in recorded human history. Their specialized uniforms are hideous. BC's patriotic look isn't bad at all.

When I first saw this, I thought it might have been more appropriate for BC to have worn these against Army. Then again, that was on the road. So there would be less exposure for the BC fans who will potentially buy these uniforms in auction. And that means less money for the Wounded Warriors.

So it had to be a home game for BC. Their other two are against Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. For those contests, the preeminence of their guests might overshadow the jersey's mission. So it makes sense to do it against Maryland.

Besides, any jersey BC wears would look 10 times better than whatever threads the Terrapins will be wearing.

Wes Welker Explains Comments

When Wes Welker remarked "It's kind of nice to stick it in Bill's face once in a while," I shook my head. Not because I was worried about animosity between Welker and Belichick, but because I knew that some desperate wings of the Boston Sports Media would dissect and discuss those remarks as if they were anything more than a joke.

Welker has confirmed that his words were in jest. This is nothing new for him. He has a Kevin Millaresque streak of silly commentary.

What convinced me that Welker was just joking is that he said anything at all. If there truly were a serious rift between Welker and Belichick, I doubt Welker would be absolutely silent on the matter, then air his grievances during a post-game interview, then call his remarks a joke. It doesn't make any sense.

I'm sure Welker wasn't happy about Julian Edelman essentially being promoted above him on the depth chart. I think everyone in New England apart from Edelman, Josh McDaniels, and Bill Belichick was unhappy about that. It was a mistake. I don't think there was an ulterior motive behind it, such as punishing Welker for holding out or trying to reduce his free-agent value for 2013. I think the Patriots saw something in Edelman that never materialized during the games. The decision was wrong. Simple as that.

But Welker has materialized now that Edelman has been sidelined by injury. In the first two games of the season Welker caught 8 passes for 109 yards. Since then, he's averaged 10 receptions and 125 yards per game. And he caught his first TD of the season on Sunday.

So it seems as though Welker has definitely earned his job back. That's good for the Patriots, bad for the rest of the NFL.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo