The ACC is a mess and Florida is tough to call because of tough games at FSU and vs. Alabama in the SEC title game but I’ll give it a go.

BCS Title Game:  Florida vs. Oklahoma – This assumes both teams run the table which is a tough road for Florida but I think they will get it done.  The human polls already have Oklahoma ranked over Texas and I think the computers might give them the edge or make it close enough that the cumulative BCS ranking for Oklahoma will be higher than that of Texas.  Out of conference wins over TCU and Cincinnati will help their SOS.  It’s unfortunate considering Texas beat Oklahoma but that game was so long ago.  Oklahoma looked real good yesterday against Texas Tech.

Rose Bowl:  Penn St. vs. Oregon St. -  A rematch of a blowout game early in the season.  I think Oregon St. wins at home against Oregon to clinch the Pac-10.  They have been playing better of late and I think this game will be more competitive than people think.

Orange Bowl:  Boston College vs. Cincinnati – This might pair up two of the weakest BCS teams in history.

Sugar Bowl:  Alabama vs. Utah -  I think Alabama will definitely maintain a strong enough ranking to get an at-large bid and Utah gets an automatic one.

Fiesta Bowl:  USC vs. Texas:  I think both teams get the nod over OSU and Boise St. for the final at large bids.  It makes sense to schedule these two teams together considering the rematch implications and the fact that this will probably shape up to be the second best game after the title game.  I could also see them flip flopping USC and Utah.  It’d be a nice change of pace to see USC face an SEC squad.  I’m sick of seeing them beat up on overrated Big-10 teams.

I stumbled upon the BCS page and it’s pretty hilarious.  They seem to be trying to get as many pro-BCS/anti-playoff articles written as possible.  The following article is pretty pathetic in that the only arguments he makes for the BCS all assume that a playoff would use the current system in determining who the top 8 teams are: 

 http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/2008-11-17-college-playoff_N.htm

So buddy, what’s a bigger problem…

Teams being snubbed from playing in the title game or teams being snubbed from being one of eight playoff teams?

Right now we could have a scenario where Texas plays for the national title without even PLAYING in the big 12 title game (Florida over Alabama and Missouri over Oklahoma would probably cause this).

We also have a virtual impossibility of a non-BCS school ever having a shot to play for the national championship.

I think it’s kind of cool that Barack Obama is lobbying to get a playoff system in place.

Edit:  I didn’t look at any other predictions until after I published this but it looks like CBS’s predictions match mine – http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/bowls/predictions

I’m going to make a legitimate effort to learn PLO.  I think I’m definitely a winning player at like 5/10 but I’m not sure if I can beat 25/50.  My goal is to play 20,000 hands by the end of the year.  I will also post as many interesting hands as possible on the PLO Forum at www.deucescracked.com.  I will post a screenshot of how I’m doing at the 5k/10k/15k/20k marks.  In playing PLO recently, I’ve found that the biggest thing I have going for me are my NLHE skills.  A lot of the important concepts in NLHE that I understand really well apply to PLO as well.  In NLHE news, I’ve mostly been playing HU 10/20-50/100.  I think I’m probably up about $110k in the past month or so.  I’ve also dabbled a bit in some good 200/400 games and 500/1000 sharing action.  The games have been unreal good and after losing 5 straight all-ins where I got it in as a statistical favorite at rail heaven, I finally got to win a few. 

 At the gym on Monday my trainer had me bench press to determine my one rep max.  I was able to do 135 lbs which I was pretty happy with considering I weigh 122 lbs.  I had steadily been putting on weight and muscle for a while but the past month and a half I feel like I’ve plateaued.  I’ve definitely gotten stronger but I just haven’t put on any more weight.  I’m going to have to make a better effort at increasing my calorie intake in a healthy way.  Anyone with experience on this, please give me some insight.

In baseball news, one of my readers asked me what I thought about the Yankees and C.C. Sabathia.  I think he’s a terrific pitcher who seems to be maintaining or improving upon his production.  The Yankees will inevitably end up overpaying for him which is the case with most free agents but they can afford it and need a starting pitcher pretty badly.  The Mets on the other hand will probably not make any big signings other than possibly signing K-Rod.  I think this would be a bad move.  Looking at K-Rod’s statistics, everyone seems to focus too much on his 60+ saves last year.  However, if you look at some of the more important statistics such as WHIP, ERA, and K’s/9, K-Rod is already on a steady decline.  I want no piece of him.

In other news, Jay and I are looking to move into a sweet condo in NYC in a few days.  We elected to pay a full year’s rent up front because it got us a better deal.  Since it’s a condo and not an apartment, we also had to go through an application process to be approved by a board associated with the building we are going to live in.  The process is the most annoying, time consuming, extraneous nonsense I’ve had to go through in a while.  We have to get letters from our CPAs, multiple personal AND professional reference letters, copies of our bank statements and photo IDs, and a rundown of exactly where our assets lie and what our liabilities are.  The process is further complicated by the fact that Jay is in Seattle, I’m in NJ, and our broker is in NYC.  I would understand having to do all of this if we were applying for a loan, but we’ve already pre-paid a full year’s rent up front and also have been approved by the owner!

Some guy voted for the 2008 NL Cy Young and had Brandon Webb, Johan Santana, and Brad Lidge as his top three.  Tim Lincecum (pretty clearly the best pither in the NL in 08) was not in his top three.

 http://www.faniq.com/blog/Tim-Lincecum-Wasnt-A-Top-3-NL-Pitcher-According-To-Chicago-SunTimes-WriterIdiot-Chris-DeLuca-Blog-14059

Somehow, four people voted for Roy Halladay over Cliff Lee for the 2008 AL Cy Young.  We need to hold these sportswriters who vote accountable.  There should be some formula where if your votes deviate too significantly from the mean, you lose your eligibility to vote the next year.

I don’t know if these guys are just flat out stupid or if they have an agenda.  Either way, we don’t want them ruining important awards that get handed down according to a vote.

Election Coverage Thoughts - 

I think election coverage can be significantly improved.  I’m watching CNN right now and they are showing some demographic trends in particular states and overall in the US.  These are things such as how high income residents or how certain age groups are voting.  The problem is, as interesting as this data might be, the CNN “analysts” don’t give us the impacts of this data.  They need to compare these stats with what was expected with the latest predictive polls.  Please tell us who is outperforming predictions with this data. 

 The Mets -

 I was very depressed for about a week or so after their last regular season game.  I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to actually watch any of the playoff games.  I got over it and ended up watching most of the playoffs.  The Phillies winning the world series brought back some blues but I’m fully recovered and looking forward to 2009.  My biggest worry is that the Mets do too much to try and fix their bullpen.  I think especially in big markets like New York, the front office feels excessive pressure to fix what is wrong even if the proper fixes aren’t available.  The Jason Isringhausen for Billy Taylor trade comes to mind.  I’m all for the Mets going after some premium relievers but if these relievers aren’t out there, there’s no point in spending money on guys who probably are no better or worse than the guys we have right now.

 Health -

I’ve been working out 4-5 days a week for the past couple of months and have been pretty consistently exercising for about a year now.  My goal is to put on about 2 lbs. of muscle per month.  From what my trainers have said and what research I’ve done on the internet, this should be doable.  It’s difficult for me putting on weight with my lifestyle, vegetarian diet, and metabolism but over the past 2-3 years I’ve gone from about 105 to 121 lbs.  I’m going to keep a regular log of what I weigh and how much I can lift.  If you’re a fitness guru, I’m definitely interested in any input you may have.

I’ve had a nagging right shoulder injury for the past few years.  It’s almost definitely a result of a lot of baseball/football throwing and tennis serving.  It doesn’t bother me for anything I do in the gym or any daily activity.  It aches after a while if I throw a baseball or football around though.  It’s also slightly less flexible than my left shoulder.  I finally decided to get it diagnosed and had an MRI done.  The radiologist who read the MRI said he thought I had a tear in my labrum and thinning of my rotator cuff.  My orthopedist disagreed and said he didn’t see a labral tear.  He recommended physical therapy twice a week for four weeks to see if it improves.  Surgery is an option but I’m almost convinced I won’t go that route.  Full recovery time after surgery is about 3-4 months and that would probably affect my life more than not doing anything.  I’m also worried about whether or not my shoulder will be 100% after surgery.  It seems like every baseball pitcher is never the same after shoulder surgery.  I’m not exactly a competitive baseball pitcher but given that my shoulder doesn’t affect me in day to day activities, I don’t want to risk surgery.  Anyone have experience with a SLAP tear?