Week 3 Football Picks

Football today, PFOS tomorrow and a guest on Monday!

Oregon Ducks –7 @ Purdue
Purdue is looking decent, but it’s going to be Ducks and cover.

Iowa State @ Iowa –13.5
The Cyclones come spinning into a higher power. The Hawkeyes have too much power, lay the points.

Central Michigan –3.5 @ Ohio
Dan Lefevour and Company got spanked by a really good Georgia team last weekend and they are going to work out their frustrations on Ohio.

California –14.5 @ Maryland
The boys from Berkley will have to travel cross county to face off against the Terrapins (don’t you love that, a team named after turtles?) and they’re going to shell Maryland.

Ohio State @ USC –10.5
This is going to be the very best game of the week. Power vs. Power. Speed vs. Speed. Buckeyes vs. Trojans. Take the Trojans. Always take the Trojans.

Louisiana Lafayette @ Illinois –25
The Illini will win by 40.

Penn State –27 @ Syracuse
Penn State will win by 40, too.

Sarah Palin, Part III

Sarah Palin is 44 years old, a Protestant, she’s been married for 20 years, she has five kids (including one that is just a few months old) and she may become the next Vice President.

Sarah has a degree in journalism from the University of Idaho. She switched colleges six times en route to her degree.

I think she looks like Peggy Hill.

She served two terms on the Wasilla City Council (’92-96) and then two terms as Wasilla’s mayor (’96-’02). In 2002 she ran for Lieutenant Governor of Alaska and was the runner up.

She appears to have entertained the notion of Alaska seceding from the USA.

In ’03 the governor appointed Sarah as Panel Ethics Commisioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commision. She resigned the following year in a brouhaha over –what else—ethics.

From 2003 to 2006 Sarah served as a director of a group whose stated purpose is “to increase the number of Republican women in elected offices and in appointed governmental and political positions…through training and education”.

In 2006 Sarah Palin defeated the incumbent governor in the primary and defeated a former governor in the general election. Her platform was “clean government”. In 2007, Governor Palin presented the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act to provide for the construction of a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope.

She’s a lifetime member of the NRA, a hunter and fisherman.

My take: I thoroughly enjoyed her speech at the convention. She’s obviously very determined, bright and clever. She appears unlike any candidate I’ve ever seen, in a positive way. On the other side of the coin, she also appears to be a loose cannon, has no foreign policy experience and she’d be the proverbial heartbeat away.

Ain’t all bad.

Sarah, Part II, Alaska Facts

Alaska was discovered by Vitus Bering, a Dane in the employ of Russia, in 1741. I didn’t check, but I guess he discovered the Bering Sea, so he would ultimately be responsible for the Deadliest Catch on Discovery Channel. That's good. If he is also responsible for Ice Road Truckers, that's not so good.

The U.S. bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million. The 1880 census reported a population of 33,426 who were presumably included in the purchase.
The Prudhoe Bay oil and gas reserve was discovered in 1968. The Alaska pipeline was completed in 1977. It is 800 miles long and it cost $7.7 billion.

Native Alaskans include Eskimos, Indians and Aleuts. Inuits are Canadian Eskimos. Canadians are not voting in the US election this year. Just sayin'.

Alaska is dead last among the states in agriculture.

Alaski is number one among the states in commercial fishing and commercial fishing reality TV shows.

Petroleum and natural gas are Alaska’s most valuable industry.

25% of Alaska’s oil royalty goes to the Alaska Permanent Fund. The fund pays “dividends” annually to residents. The 2007 payment was $1,654. To qualify you have to live there all year and intend to stay, or at least declare that you intend to stay.

Government is Alaska’s major employment source. Hmmm....may be another reality TV show here. How's Wilderness Moose Tracker Pipeline Rangers sound? Discovery Channel, you know where to find me, let's talk...

The population of Alaska in the 2000 census was 629,000.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at Sarah.

Sarah, Part 1

The Matanuska-Susitna Valley is formed by the Matanuska River Valley and the Susitna River Valley. The Mat-Su is over 23,000 square miles in size and includes the towns of Palmer (population 4,500), Houston (population 1,200), Big Lake (population 2,635) and Wasilla (population 5,469). The valley is bordered by the Alaska Range, the Talkeetna Mountains and the Chugach Mountains.

The Mat-Su was settled in the 1930’s as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal by homesteaders known as the Matanuska Colony, an agriculture colony of 202 families.

The town of Wasilla, established in 1917, is a little over 12 square miles, 43 miles from Anchorage. The population is approximately 85% white, 5% Native American, 4% Hispanic, and 6% multi-racial. Included in the rounding is .59% black. That equals 32 black people.

The breakdown of Wasilla’s 1,979 households includes 50% married couples, 14% female head of household, 31% non-families and the last 5% apparently undecided.

35% of Wasilla’s population commutes to work in Anchorage.

Wasilla was incorporated in 1974.

In 1994 a vote to move the capital of Alaska to Wasilla lost, 116,000 to 96,000.

Wasilla has a Wal-Mart. It is Alaska’s largest store. In 2002 it sold more duct tape than any other Wal-Mart in the world.

Mapquest says it is 4,312 miles from Wasilla to Washington, D.C.

Today, Wasilla, tomorrow, some Alaska and Sarah Palin facts.

Football Recap Week 2

After two Saturdays of careful analysis and expert consideration (make that "considering the inputs of actual experts"), the result has been much ado about nothing in our college football wagering world.

South Carolina -9 1/2 @ Vanderbilt
This was a shwwwiiiing and a miss. Vandy covered the 9 1/2 by16 1/2...they won 24-17.
"L"

Akron Zips @ Syracuse -5
The Zips won 42-28, and I won, too.
"W"

Northwestern -6 1/2 @ Duke
NU goes 2-0 to start the season with a 24-20 win. A loser for me with the spread, almost a loser for the 'Cats when they allowed a closing seconds TD...that was called back.
"L"

Miami OH @ Michigan -14 1/2
Michigan won 16-6, a winner for me as I said Miami would stay inside the spread.
"W"

Miami FL @ Florida -21
The Gators 26, The Hurricanes 3. Winner!
"W"

Central Michigan @ Georgia -23.5
Georgia is the real deal. The slapped around CM 56-17. This wasn't my plan...
"L"

Stanford @ Arizona State -14 1/2
My call: "ASU is gonna put a beatdown on them this week." They did, 42-17.
"W"

Four wins, three losses this week. After a 4 and 5 opening week, we're back to even, 8 W's and 8 L's. Still better than my 401K, but all we have to show for two weeks' efforts is entertainment.