Feature Articles

Out In The Sticks By Michael Rauch

Baseball Playoffs

Well, so much for my pitiful attempt at prognostication. Oh for four. That's right. I incorrectly predicted each of the four Divisional Series. Not real hard to figure out who my picks were. I thought the Yankees to be a lock over the stumbling Tigers. Same for Pads/Cards. As they say, "That's why they play the games." Life goes on. And now I fearlessly predict the winners of the LCS's.

ALCS
Oakland. Or Detroit. Heck, I've proven I have no clue. But, when making my original synopsis of what might happen, I did have the winner of the A's/Twins series going to the World Series. So that being my story, I will plod forward with it. I still don't know exaclty how Oakland gets it done. Their numbers just don't justify the winning. Still, it's hard to pick against that Detroit pitching staff, even if they are very young (excluding, of course, Old Man Gambler).

NLCS
The Mets. There, I’ve said it. I just cannot, in good conscience, pick St. Louis to win. Even after their performance against San Diego. The bullpen is a strength of New York while an obvious weakness for the Cardinals. With the Mets’ lineup, getting to the Card’s bullpen should not be extremely difficult. There you have it, Oakland/New York World Series. With my track record, don’t bet on it…….please.

College Football Musings

A look back coupled with a look ahead.

Sooooooeeeeeeeyyyyyy Pigs
Arkansas’ upset of the No. 2 team in the country shocked everyone, none more than the residents of Auburn, Alabama. The Razorback’s 27-10 victory gave them the lead in the SEC West, and a two-game advantage over LSU which fell to Florida on Saturday and Auburn earlier in the season. Arkansas now has the inside track to make it to the SEC title game with their two toughest remaining games at home. The Razorbacks host Tennessee on Nov. 11 and LSU on Nov. 24. Of course, the Nov. 4 game at South Carolina cannot be overlooked.

Over/Underestimation
Early season schedules against less-than-quality opposition can make it tough to glean any useful information about how good or bad teams actually are. Take Missouri for example. Going into last week’s game against Texas Tech, the Tigers were undefeated, had a top-ranked defense, but that came against opponents ranked below 100 in total offense. So, they go into Lubbock against the high-powered Red Raider offense whose only loss was to a then 17th-ranked TCU squad and I’m expecting Texas Tech to hang about half-a-hundred on them. Missouri walks out with a 38-21 victory.

Did I underestimate Missouri? Overestimate Texas Tech? Both? Probably.

Game of the Week
Only one matchup of ranked teams this week. Gotta go with the SEC matchup of undefeated Florida traveling to aforementioned once-defeated (and probably pretty darn mad) Auburn. With Chris Leak and Tim Tebow, the Gators have a formidable quarterback tandem. Florida also forced five turnovers in the win against LSU last week. It’s hard to go against the Gators, but I just don’t see Auburn losing two in a row at home. It’ll be tight – Auburn 21-20.

Last Week: Pick – Texas, Result – Texas 28, Oklahoma 10.

Quick Picks (Last Week 2-2)
Rutgers puts its No. 24 ranking and undefeated season on the line against 5-1 Navy. I like the Midshipmen at home.
In a Thursday night game Virginia Tech takes on Boston College. The Eagles defend their home turf.
Wake Forest, coming off its first loss of the season, falls again in Raleigh against NC State.
Iowa State plays its fourth ranked opponent in five games. This week the Cyclones pull off the upset over Oklahoma coming off a loss to archrival Texas.

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