jcalvert

SEC Roundup (Week 14 – Alabama SEC Champs)

My one final pick for Florida bit me in the end [hey, I could have said ass]. I had Alabama all the way until it was time to post the prediction. And my oh my were the Tide impressive, unlike the other likely half of the BCS Title romp; Texas needed a replay and a 46 yard miracle FG as time expired (thanks to that replay) to seal the deal.

The Crimson Tide has been impressive all year, and while you could say that they have had a couple of games that could be considered let downs (or maybe just not playing up to their capabilities – Tennessee, LSU, and Auburn) it is just damn near impossible to run the gauntlet undefeated in the SEC. Congratulations to the Tide, but I say Hook ‘em!

Regular Season Record: 46-41
SEC Championship: 0-1
Final Record: 46-42

Now Drinking – Getting hopped up for the Holidays

The awaited triumphant (so says me) return of Now Drinking featuring a Holiday extravagant selection of good, better, best IPAs.

Abita Jockamo IPA
This Abita IPA has been in and out of my rotation all year. It is a nice IPA, featuring a 6.5% ABV, and it is just under $9 for a six pack, which makes it a decent offering for an everyday IPA. Is this the perfect IPA? Not really, which is the reason it is not a mainstay in my rotation, but it does make the occasional appearance. Beer and Cigars gives this IPA an R+; not sure WTF that means, so let’s call it good, just not a true classic.

Lagunitas Maximus IPA
I am always on the lookout for different IPAs; call it a slutty little guilty pleasure. I enjoy traditional India Pale Ale, and Lagunitas Maximus IPA is a nice little addition to my rotation. At 7.2% ABV, it is probably a little intense for a tailgate, and the price, $11 for a six pack, makes it a little high for a mainstay in my rotation. Call me a cheap ass beer drinker. Sometimes you have to pay for quality, but I tend to say around under the $8.99 mark for my drinking pleasures.

I think Liquid Diets sums this IPA up best:

Overall, this is a pretty enjoyable beer, but it didn’t blow me away. I have had some other IPA’s this summer (Caldera, Torpedo, Anderson Valley) that I have liked quite a bit more, but it’s a solid contender and for hops lovers, the bitterness does build about 50% through the glass, but there’s nothing separating this from leagues of other good IPA’s out there.

I’ll call Maximus IPA better than average, but there are other IPAs that I will probably reach for first.

Dogfish 90 Minute Imperial IPA
Saving the best for last, 90 Minute IPA is something of a treat; dare I say delicious on the taste buds, and it damn well better be for something around a Hamilton for a four pack. No matter, I think Courtney paints a pretty picture, and we all know the ‘Bin loves some green!

A bottle of 90 Minute IPA offers up a relaxing 9% ABV, which is absolutely perfect for a nightcap on a cold winter night. This has to be my current favorite non-tailgating, non-everyday IPA. Top shelf beer? You betcha!

SEC Predictions (Week 14 – SEC Championship)

In the other half of the BCS title race an SEC Champion will be crowned. Some would say that the battle royal between Florida and Alabama is the de facto National Championship, but that is not fair to Texas (call me biased) and the host of other lossless teams. Why call them undefeated if you are going to knock their schedules?

Florida is the favorite, giving up 5.5 points, which seems to be a lot for a team that many consider to not have enough style points in some of their victories. Seriously, if you play an SEC schedule and go undefeated, style points can be thrown out the window. The problem for Florida is that Alabama has also run the gambit, escaping their schedule unscathed.

Up until this very minute, as I put this to “print”, I have been thinking that Alabama would be my favorite for the SEC title, but I am going to go with one final pick for the Gators to cover the 5.5 points.

Regular Season Record: 46-41

Go Dawgs! But, where? Po-dunk City Bowl or bust?

U.S. has a chance with 2010 World Cup Draw

Team USA got the following 2010 World Cup draw:

June 12 England
June 18 Slovenia
June 23 Algeria

While the English are ranked ninth in the world and have stars such as Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, whose club matches are televised throughout the world, Algeria (28th) and Slovenia (33rd) both needed to win playoffs to reach the tournament and are ranked well behind the U.S. (14th).

If the U.S. fails to advance, it should be considered a huge upset, and another major failure for American soccer.

“This is the best draw we’ve ever had in any World Cup,” said former U.S. forward Eric Wynalda, now an analyst for the Fox Soccer Channel. “No disrespect to England, but this is an ideal group for us.”

I tend to agree. Even without knowing how Slovenia and Algeria match up with the U.S., I have to believe that if we are fit, we should manage to advance.

Braves get a new old bullpen

I am not sure how many times I wrote (complained) last season that the Braves needed to do something with the bullpen. Their closer situation (when healthy, Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano) was a mess; best left for setup duties and not to be fully trusted. A mess may be a harsh assessment, but let’s move on and see how have the Braves responded as they get ready for their 2010 campaign?

In two days, the Braves signed two relievers to one-year contracts worth about $10 million. Between them, Wagner and Saito have 77 years, seven children, 468 saves and 1,389 strikeouts in 1,079 innings. (Saito has three children, all daughters.)

“When one’s not available [to close], the other one can be,” said Wren, adding that the Braves could now narrow their focus to the pursuit of a hitter as they prepare for baseball’s annual Winter Meetings that start Monday in Indianapolis.

“We’ve very fortunate to get two outstanding relief pitchers, and we haven’t even been to the winter meetings yet,” manager Bobby Cox said. “So we are way ahead of the game. Gonzo and Soriano are both free agents, and we needed to fill those spots.”

It would have been nice to keep Soriano as a setup man; at times he did a nice job finishing out games for the Braves, but I think he could really work it in a setup role. Mike Gonzalez had one really remarkable year in Pittsburg (2006) before the injury bug set in, which in my opinion also renders Gonzalez as a replaceable part; not really worth the risk of a lot of cash investment. I expect Gonzo to have a great year (OK, temper expectations to good) if he is healthy, but his agent priced him right out of ATL.

So now we have a new bullpen featuring some old dudes. That will work out well. Probably.

Drew Butler = All-American

Congratulations to UGA’s Drew Butler for landing punter All-American honors!

Elam out in ATL

The Falcons finally had enough of the struggling Jason Elam, releasing him in favor of Bryan Pittman.

The Falcons released veteran kicker Jason Elam and replaced him with former Tampa Bay kicker Matt Bryant. The Falcons also release long snapper Bryan Pittman and signed Joe Zelenka to replace him.

Elam struggled again Sunday and that forced the move. Bryant was released by Tampa Bay in an unpopular preseason move. He had been kicking in the United Football League.

It also looks like D.J. Shockley is back, which means that Ryan is probably expected to be out more than a week. Even if J.P. Wilson beat out Shockley for the number three position, I cannot imagine that the Falcons would feel confident with JPW as the backup to Chris Redman.

Injury bug continues to unravel Falcons 2009 season.

A few weeks ago I said that the Playoffs were out of reach; the best the Falcons could hope for was to finally have the franchises’ first back-to-back winning seasons. No matter how much optimism homers show (myself included) the reality of another losing season is about to set in.

Jeff Schultz of the ajc sums up the Falcons injury situation as follows …

Harry Douglas, the No. 3 receiver, punt returner and speed burner, suffered a torn knee ligament in the first week of training camp. There also have been season-ending injuries to the No. 1 pick (defensive tackle Peria Jerry), the No. 2 pick (safety William Moore) and the replacement veteran cornerback (Brian Williams). Running backs Turner (one and a half games) and Jerious Norwood (six games) also have missed time, making Jason Snelling relevant, which was neither the plan nor the desire.

John Abraham is invisible. Jason Elam may soon be.

This season was supposed to be special. It’s not. The Falcons’ playoff fortunes now rest on the arm of a guy who was selling insurance three years ago and the legs of the 244th pick in the NFL draft. Not Matt Ryan, who is out at least this week with turf toe. Not Michael Turner, who aggravated a high ankle sprain. Neither chose quick-healing injuries.

There is probably little hope of winning the next two games (Eagles and Saints), which is a bummer of a way to start December.

Ryan out – Redman to lead playoff charge against Eagles.

How is that for a moment of optimism? According to the ajc.com, Ryan will not play against the Eagles in what has to be considered a “must win” game if the Falcons are to maintain a realistic chance of landing a wildcard spot. Chris Redman to the rescue? I guess if Chris has a week of full practice, he should be ready and able to take on the Eagles.

Atlanta survives losses of Ryan and Turner; beat Bucs

It was not pretty; heck not even all that entertaining, but the Falcons and Redman did enough to beat Tampa Bay 20-17 with 20 seconds to play. If I am in the mood, I may post pictures tomorrow. The end result is that the Falcons are still in the Playoff race, but they are battered and bruised.

SEC Roundup (Week 13 – Georgia Stings the Jackets)

I pretty much summed this one up last night in my comments section to the Week 12 Predictions.

I stunk this weekend, going 2-5: wins included Auburn and Tennessee, while the misses were Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, LSU, and Mississippi. That is a lot of misses! On the year I am now 46-41.

They call this one Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate, and with good reason. Any self respecting Bulldog fan cannot stand the Bumble Bees for ATL. After last night’s victory, the Wreck from Tech fans are going to have to wait a few more years to get back-to-back wins vs. the Dawgs. Georgia managed an 8-2 record to close out the decade, and have won 15 of the last 20 meetings. If Georgia can only win one game, this is a good place to start.

Georgia Salvages Season: UGA 30 – 24 Ga. Tech

I can celebrate with the best of them, but I really did not expect to be claiming victory tonight. Georgia just mauled the #7 Bumble Bees! Hell bells, yes!

So what happens when the top two ACC teams are defeated by mediocre SEC opponents? Not only did #7 Georgia Tech fall today to their state rival, but #18 Clemson also fell to their state rival, none other than the Fighting Chickens from South Carolina. What a glorious day for the SEC, and a disaster of a day for the ACC.

A 7-5 season may not be all that special, but it is tons better than 6-6. When the difference is made at the hands of Tech, all I can say is what a way to end the night.

Three cheers for Russ! He is a damn good Dawg!

Shopping deals on Blu-ray and video games.

Shopping was easy this year – my wife and I did almost everything exclusively by Amazon, which means we beat the crowds and got plenty of great deals.

I ordered my boys “replacement” Nintendo DS systems because 11 and 7 year-old boys cannot keep these things damage free for two years. I managed to snag my 7 year-old one of the sliver systems for a shade under $99, or about $30 off the regular price. There are also golf clubs and Nerf guns in their future!

Some combination of birthday, anniversary, and Christmas, will land me Dragon Age: Origins for PS3 ($34.99), and a whole host of Blu-ray movies – Braveheart Sapphire Edition ($10), Gladiator Extended and Theatrical Cut / Sapphire Edition ($10), X-Men Trilogy ($29.99), 300: The Complete Experience ($12.99 – but this one will not arrive until after Christmas). Blazing Saddles ($8.99 – this one is for date night after the kids are in bed; my wife loves this movie). So I have a lot of quality time in front of the boob-tube in my future!

Some of the lightning deals were fantastic – I snagged the X-Men Trilogy set (it sold out super fast), same for the sliver DS, and I got some great deals on jewelry for my wife (these sold out seemingly in seconds).

I started to get the kids DSi systems, but decided they probably do not need unsupervised access to the internet, and they have some GB Advanced games that they still play (DSi is not backwards compatible with the older, larger Advanced games).

All in all, it was a great couple of worry free, trouble free, no hassle shopping. Except for a few stocking stuffers, we are more or less done with Christmas shopping.

Happy Saturday!

SEC Predictions (Week 13)

As we turn into the final regular season weekend of the year, we get all the classic rival match-ups, playing for Boots, Iron, and Eggs! I am 44-36 on the season; let’s see how I finish out, once again against the BETUS.com line as seen on USAToday.com.

2 Alabama at Auburn
The Tigers have had ample opportunity to reflect on blowing a game against the slumping Dawgs, and to get up for a game where they are getting 9.5 points. Everyone expects Alabama to blow Auburn out of the water, but I expect this one to be close. At least for a while before turnovers change the course of the game and the Tide’s rushing attack finally wears down Auburn. I keep staring at those 9.5 points; I think Alabama wins, but Bama will not cover.

18 Clemson at South Carolina
South Carolina is getting 3 points at home, but I do not think that will be enough. When I first thought about this one, I thought the Fighting Chickens would put up a hell of a fight, and they will. With that said, I think the Tigers will just be too much for another South Carolina team that stumbles down the stretch.

Florida St. at 1 Florida
The Gators are giving up a whopping 24.5 points to the down and out Seminoles. This year I have been burned multiple times by taking Florida to cover huge point spreads, which means that I am going in the opposite direction and will probably get burned. I am going to take Florida St. and the points, but Florida will win.

25 Mississippi at Mississippi St
Those other SEC Bulldogs are getting +7.5 at home and will need every bit of it to capture the coveted Egg. Over the last few weeks I have become a true believer in Mississippi so I am taking them to cover.

Tennessee at Kentucky
Not sure who to pick in this one; both teams are fairly disappointing, but Kentucky is coming off an emotional high after kicking the Bulldogs in the teeth between the Hedges. The Wildcats are getting 3 points at home, so the pundits don’t have a clue either; at least it is not just me! The Volunteers have lost all three of their road games this year, but I don’t think the trend continues. Begrudgingly I am taking Tennessee to cover.

Arkansas at 15 LSU
This one should be entertaining. LSU is giving up 3.5 to Arkansas, but the Tigers will cover and capture that Boot.

Georgia at 7 Georgia Tech
This is going to be painful for UGA fans; a Nationally Televised Prime Time thrashing at the hands of the hated Bumble Bees from ATL. I would love nothing better than for Georgia to win, and kick Tech out of the Top 10. A loss puts this downtrodden Georgia team at 6-6, and in danger of a losing season. I am shocked to see that Tech is only giving up 7.5, but they cover easily. When I pick against the Dawgs, it is always based on reality, not my desire for the win.

Go Dawgs!

Thanksgiving Football – No NFL Network

I wish the NFL Network and the various cable companies would kiss and make up. Can’t we all just get along? It seems like there would be enough money to be made to keep everyone happy.

I am not sure who is really to blame. In my case it is either Charter or the NFL Network, but I tend to side with Charter on this one. I am already paying high enough prices as it is, so adding an additional fee (assuming Charter and the NFL Network could reach some sort of agreement) is not very appealing. As I understand it, the NFL Network does not want their fledgling channel to be part of some sort of premium package, but the cable companies think the NFL Network fee is just too high to absorb the channel into their various packages.

Oh well, I guess a lot of NFL fans will not get to watch the best matchup of the day – New York Giants at Denver. I will be pulling for Denver, to help out the Falcons, but I will be watching Texas Hook the Aggies!