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Saturday College Football Open Thread

I have an amazing "investment" story that unfolded over last night and this morning. I'd love to share it, but then I'd have to silence you. Anyway, about today's college picks (I think I was about .500 last week and remain well below the break even mark. Detail will be provided as soon as I can muster the courage to recalculate the damage. But today is a new day and the start of a huge up streak), here they are (all picks 2 units unless otherwise indicated):

Oregon -31 over Washington State, Arizona -3 over Oregon State, Texas Tech -3 over Iowa State (5 units), Alabama -30 over Mississippi, Texas -3 over Oklahoma State, Louisville -10½ over Southern Mississippi, Wisconsin +11½ over Nebraska (5 units), South Carolina -21 over Kentucky (3 units), TCU -16 over SMU (3 units), Penn State -1 over Illinois (4 units), Cincinnati +7 over Virginia Tech (4 units), Michigan State -3 over Ohio State (4 units), Minnesota +7 over Iowa, Marshall +17 over Purdue, Missouri +3 over Central Florida, North Carolina State +3 over Miami (Florida), Georgia -14 over Tennessee (3 units), Baylor +11 over West Virginia, Texas A&M -14 over Arkansas (4 units), and Arizona State -1 over California.

Open Thread.

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    Just started the book 'No Easy Day' (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 11:52:09 AM EST
    My spouse wanted me to read it first in case something too revealing was revealed, he is not supposed to read anything that is of classified information that he has not be cleared to read.  For instance, he has read nothing from wikileaks.

    Some have said that the author of 'No Easy Day' is going to be in serious legal trouble.  I cannot imagine how.  In his Author's note he covers all of it, he only used official names when it did not compromise the security of the Unites States and he can neither confirm or deny officially or unofficially any events described or the activities of any individual, government, or agency.  So officially this book is a work of fiction?

    How they gonna hang him for it?

    Is the book an interesting read? (none / 0) (#15)
    by oculus on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 01:42:35 PM EST
    I am 30 pp. into "Cronkite," by Douglas Brinkley.  Cronkite is in high school in Houston.  Text is 667 pp., followed by about 200 pp. of notes and index. Not sure I'll stick this one out.  

    Parent
    Yes, it is a page turner (none / 0) (#23)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 03:14:12 PM EST
    Boring or tedious nada.  He doesn't talk about anything either that hasn't been previously released and he has a list of previously released and declassified in the back of the book to back up that he hasn't said anything that wasn't said before in someone else's cleared for release words. I suppose the Obama administration had to get puffed up though or the crazy wingers would have gotten all secret leaking bent out of shape.  He even had a former Special Operations attorney go over the manuscript in order to make certain he was not putting anything illegal out there.

    Great writing, I always worry that the writing will be horrible with such books.  Some books about the Af/Pak combat situation are so tedious too sometimes.  Not this book

    Parent

    I'll probably have it finished by tomorrow (none / 0) (#24)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 03:14:30 PM EST
    question anyone picked up J.K. (none / 0) (#33)
    by Amiss on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 11:01:44 PM EST
    Rowlings new book? Almost pre-ordered for my Kindle saw the price with no sample and changed my mind. Glad I did. She had said it was an "adult" book but vulgar words do not not necessarily give to the meaning "adult" book to me. The final ratings last nite were over half one star.  I read the sample that came out with the book and it did not come close to the quality of the H.P. books. Was very disappointed and wondered if anyone else had the same or different experience.

    Parent
    Never read the books, but (none / 0) (#41)
    by observed on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 09:14:06 AM EST
    enjoyed some of the movies.
    It's a rare writer who can capture adult and child imagination the way she did. Why not stick with her niche?

    Parent
    Roald Dahl (none / 0) (#51)
    by Rupe on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 03:26:57 PM EST
    Certainly set the benchmark, and he wrote some fabulous adult nonfiction as well.  Wonderful sense of humor.  Would be a hard act for Rowling to follow.

    Parent
    Re the book Cronkite, (none / 0) (#46)
    by brodie on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 11:35:04 AM EST
    historian Brinkley has always been a facts guy rather than a great story teller.  And he's such a prolific author that unless naturally gifted as a writer -- which he's not -- the resulting prose is going to be on the dry side.

    But he did have a few things in there I wasn't aware of, such as that Walter, on the 25th anniversary of Dallas in 1988, had second thoughts about whether it had been done by a lone nut, and wanted CBS to let him do a doc exploring certain troubling questions.  But according to Brinkley, Cronkite blamed Dan Rather for nixing the project and it was never produced.

    Parent

    There it is again (none / 0) (#1)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 10:14:33 AM EST
    Gambling on sports games as investing.

    Damn straight... (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by fishcamp on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 10:31:25 AM EST
    and I want to know what that investment situation is.  We fighting ducks and lowly gators can stay silent.

    Parent
    As far as investment goes it is as (none / 0) (#5)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 10:57:21 AM EST
    legit as anything else out there any longe.  But I remember before all the bundling when it was easier for the common man to invest in different public works that he/she thought would improve their community.  And many of those of investments paid off in money as well as community pride.  The 1% have cornered most of those investment opportunities because there is money to be made there.  The little guy is wedged out, but they'll sell you a slice of the toxic pie they made out of all of it.

    Throwing dice is now a better investment opportunity because at least one of the common folk crowded around is taking something home.  And the next morning that money will return to the local economy on the street.

    I wasn't schooled for this type of investing though.

    Parent

    More (none / 0) (#6)
    by cal1942 on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 11:52:06 AM EST
    as well as community pride

    Community strength.

    Public investment = strong communities

    Parent

    Makes me sad reading your words (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 12:02:05 PM EST
    I'm not so sure we can afford the high finance philosophy of what are actually unfree and very fettered markets where the regular man cannot participate and benefit equally.

    We will only build weak disconnected community and the high rolling investors will only become more and more angry with the community response and spewing how they are victimized by the lower classes.  Why should any of us get excited about anything they build when the only thing it is designed to do is take money from us while returning none of it to any of us?

    Parent

    Les Canards are struggling. (none / 0) (#35)
    by caseyOR on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 11:42:34 PM EST
    The mountain cats of Washington State are closing in. The score at the half is Ducks 23-Cougars 19.

    Too much lost yardage and too many sacks for my water fowl. So far this season, the Ducks have excelled in the 2nd half, saving themselves from the embarrassment of their 1st half play. So here's hoping they can smash the Cougs in the 2nd half.

    The Cougars defensive line is playing a pretty good game tonight. The Ducks offense? Not so much. :-(


    Parent

    Oregon and Oregon State win tonight. (none / 0) (#36)
    by caseyOR on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 01:23:05 AM EST
    Oregon beat Washington State 51-26. Oregon State beat Arizona 38-35.

    If I am remembering CG's gambling lessons from last week correctly, BTD lost on both these games.

    Oregon won, but they did not look good tonight. The QB, Mariota, threw 2 interceptions and too many incomplete passes. And the defense should never had allowed the Cougars to score 26 points.

    At some point the Ducks are going to face a strong opponent, and I fear the Ducks will not measure up. :-(

    Parent

    thanx for the updates (none / 0) (#38)
    by fishcamp on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 07:20:36 AM EST
    I couldn't keep my eyes open for the Ducks game since it didn't start until 10:30 out here.  Hate to hear they aren't looking very good even tho they did win.

    Parent
    Yeah but at home and with (none / 0) (#39)
    by brodie on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 08:01:23 AM EST
    a strong QB, WSU is a quality opponent.

    And the Ducks are a better team this year.  Better throwing QB and thus more versatility in the offense, very talented and fast RB, and overall the defense looks stronger.  They nearly shut out Wazoo's offense in the second half.

    Mariota didn't have great stats but he did lead his team to scoring about 28 unanswered points in the second half, when the Ducks usually come alive.

    Right now it looks like O would make for a better championship game opponent for either AL or LSU than last time, if the ratings powers don't downgrade them too much for the sin of not playing in the SEC.

    Parent

    Oregon won yesterday and last week because (none / 0) (#53)
    by caseyOR on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 04:46:36 PM EST
    the Ducks are in such damn good shape. They never get tired, unlike their opponents who start to slow in the second half. And that is a big reason why the Ducks are 5-0.

    If they face a team that leads them at the half by any significant amount (USC maybe? or a fired-up Beavers in the Civil War?) the Ducks could easily lose.

    Mariota is talented. He is also young. This is a learning year for him, and he makes a lot of mistakes. And so far in Pac-12 play D'Anthony Thomas has not been racking up the yardage.

    And i disagree, WSU is not a quality opponent. Not this year. And yesterday's game was played in Seattle, not Pullman. So, the Cougars didn't have the emotion of a home stadium game going for them. The Cougs do have a good QB. And they could become a contender in the Pac-12 North. Just not this year.

    Parent

    Let's try a better term: (none / 0) (#54)
    by brodie on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 05:32:44 PM EST
    not quality but dangerous opponent.  That's what Wazoo would figure to be with their QB, the extra motivation of knocking off a top 2-3 team, and playing in what amounts to a home game (judging by crowd noise coming through my tv from Seattle in the first half, and lack of same as O scored again and again in the second).

    And the talented O running back's name I was talking up, but couldn't recall at post time, was Barner not Thomas.

    This is just a better overall Ducks team, for the reasons I cited.  Whether they can now run their remaining Pac12 schedule undefeeted is another matter.  Haven't seen their schedule.

    But I'm coming from a more objective pov, being a CAan.  Big fans of a team tend to worry too much and can be the team's harshest critics out of nervousness.  This is a very good Canard team and I like their championship chances or at least of coming closer to the BCS title than previously.

    Parent

    You pass your test (none / 0) (#42)
    by CoralGables on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 09:17:48 AM EST
    BTD did indeed lose both those games.

    On the day his record was a mediocre albeit winning one.

    On the money side however BTD had his best day of the season. Later today I'll try and retrieve some old posts and see if it enabled him to get back to positive territory for the season.

    By capitalizing on most of his strong plays he was able to refund his account nicely. While doing poorly on his regular wager of 2 units yesterday, he took it to the house on his larger plays of 4 or more units winning 4 of those 5 games.

    For the day
    10-9 with one push
    +11 units ($1100)

    Parent

    Are you accounting for (none / 0) (#52)
    by NYShooter on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 04:36:11 PM EST
    the 10% "vig" charged on the losers?

    Parent
    No (none / 0) (#55)
    by CoralGables on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 05:34:45 PM EST
    BTD gets some lagniappe. Like Paul Ryan I don't have the time.

    Parent
    LOL (none / 0) (#56)
    by NYShooter on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 09:34:56 PM EST
    Try using some "lagniappe" when you're "investing" with your "broker." You'll end up with a doctor giving you a "splint'n tape-iappe."


    Parent
    BTD College Tracking Poll (none / 0) (#57)
    by CoralGables on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 11:43:55 PM EST
    Season update with lagniappe

    39-40 and a couple ties
    -2 units

    Quite a comeback yesterday and it helped back him away from the ledge he had been peeking over.

    Parent

    I think the PSU-Illinois line has moved (none / 0) (#3)
    by rdandrea on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 10:35:57 AM EST
    last line I saw was PSU +1

    Depends on your book I guess...

    Go Gophers! (none / 0) (#4)
    by DFLer on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 10:36:24 AM EST
    I have a dollar bet with my Iowa cousin...cheap sob almost didn't take it...wanted points or something.

    getting spanked so far (none / 0) (#8)
    by DFLer on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 11:59:33 AM EST
    better start scrounging up those quarters

    Parent
    WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (none / 0) (#27)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 05:23:25 PM EST
    Take that you flea infested rodent rooting, hotdish eating, duck, duck, grey duck playing, lutefisk likin' Northlander!

    We got our pig back!!!  WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    /giddy

    Parent

    Ouch (none / 0) (#31)
    by DFLer on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 08:08:00 PM EST
    I had a feeling you might chime in. Congrats. You whipped our a$$ and that fullback was awesome and we stunk! Can't win in Iowa City, apparently. My mom would be proud.

    Parent
    The Hebrew Hammer? (none / 0) (#32)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 09:11:35 PM EST
    Yeah, he's pretty good for an walk-on, Air Force transfer, former second string FB, pressed into being our starting RB due to injury.  We lucked out there.    

    I had a good feeling about the game when I saw that Tent picked against us.  The reverse BTD jinx in effect!  

    Have to wonder how it would have turned out if MarQueis Gray would have been in at QB for the Gophers.  

    Watching Nebraska/Wisconsin now--trying to decide who I dislike the least.  Tough call.

    Parent

    SITE VIOLATOR (none / 0) (#11)
    by shoephone on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 12:47:54 PM EST
    SPAM

    What do you mean? (5.00 / 2) (#12)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 01:31:00 PM EST
    It is a great story. I just didn't tell it in this post.

    Plus my "advice" is indeed "excellent," at least so far.

    Parent

    So.... does this mean (none / 0) (#18)
    by Zorba on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 02:02:29 PM EST
    that you are endorsing injections of human chorionic gonadotropin to lose weight?  You do realize I hope, BTD, that this is a pregnancy hormone.  Is there something that you are trying to tell us?    ;-)

    Parent
    What part do you disagree with? (none / 0) (#19)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 02:13:18 PM EST
    "Excellent story. I used to be checking continuously to this weblog and I'm really impressed! Very helpful info, especially the final part. I really want this kind of info. I was seeking this kind of knowledge for a period. Thank you & best wishes."

    Parent
    "Final part": "Open thread." (none / 0) (#21)
    by oculus on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 02:23:09 PM EST
    LOL! (none / 0) (#22)
    by Zorba on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 02:37:55 PM EST
    She(?) is still a spammer, BTD, despite her admiration for your post.  Don't encourage them, for pity's sake.  It's like feeding stray, feral cats.  Feed them, cute as they are, and you'll wind up with every feral cat from miles around in your yard.  And then, you're responsible for them.     ;-)  

    Parent
    My aunt and uncle started ... (none / 0) (#30)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 08:07:32 PM EST
    ... feeding a raccoon that took to visiting their yard in SoCal a couple of years ago. When I was there two weeks ago, he put out a big bowl of dry dog food, and in an hour, there were eight (8!) of the ring-tailed critters chowing down. While it was certainly a unique sight to behold, I don't think that's a good thing for wild animals to associate humans with food sources.

    Parent
    Reminds me of a Paul Theroux short story (5.00 / 1) (#47)
    by shoephone on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 01:32:03 PM EST
    published in Harper's a few months back called "Our Raccoon Year." Well worth the read.

    Parent
    Raccoons already do (none / 0) (#48)
    by rdandrea on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 01:34:21 PM EST
    Raccoons are very well adapted to urban environments.  Whether it's eating from trash cans or eating dog food from a bowl, we're their source of food in many places.

    If you've got a spare hour, watch PBS' "Raccoon Nation," an episode of Nature from last February.  It's fascinating.

    Parent

    raccoon warning! (none / 0) (#49)
    by the capstan on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 01:45:50 PM EST
    Both my current southern state AND California have warned against feeding raccoons:  :"Raccoons act as a reservoir for rabies in the United States. In fact, the majority of rabies cases in the U.S. are in wildlife, with raccoon cases predominating."

    Had one stumbling around in my yard a couple of years ago; the tree guys who were working went and sat in their trucks until I got someone official to come catch the coon.  (He said this one had distemper, not rabies most likely.)

    Parent

    You're talking (none / 0) (#13)
    by NYShooter on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 01:36:55 PM EST
    to a site violator

    SPAM!!!!!!!!!!!

    Ya gotta admit it's highly amusing. (none / 0) (#16)
    by oculus on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 01:43:08 PM EST
    The GOP steps in it, big time -- again. (none / 0) (#14)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 01:37:52 PM EST
    If Republicans are so concerned about voter fraud, they ought to first investigate their own ranks:

    Los Angeles Times | September 28, 2012
    More problematic GOP voter forms are found in Florida - "Election officials in at least 11 Florida counties have uncovered potentially fraudulent voter registration forms submitted on behalf of the state GOP, a debacle that has punctured a hole in the Republican National Committee's get-out-the-vote operation less than six weeks before election day. By Friday, elections supervisors had found dozens of forms turned in by the party that had wrong birthdays or spellings of names that didn't match signatures. In other cases, multiple forms were filled out in the same handwriting. One voter in Palm Beach County was registered to an address that is a Land Rover dealership. 'It was that flagrant,' said Ann W. Bodenstein, the elections supervisor in Santa Rosa County, where officials found 100 problematic applications -- including one for a dead voter. 'In no way did they look genuine.' The controversy comes at an odd time for the GOP. Republican lawmakers across the country have proposed or enacted tough voter ID laws, arguing the legislation is needed to combat voter fraud. Democrats are battling the laws in the courts and say they are designed to discourage Democratic constituencies, such as African Americans, from voting."

    Hypocritical a$$holes ...

    Here in Duval County (none / 0) (#34)
    by Amiss on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 11:07:34 PM EST
    The local teevee station reported the same problems as well as the infamous "Chad" problem again.

    Parent
    We now know it's also happened in ... (none / 0) (#37)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 01:48:46 AM EST
    ... Colorado, and now in Riverside, CA.

    Parent
    Why....it's almost like it's some sort (none / 0) (#40)
    by Anne on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 09:13:23 AM EST
    of deliberate activity designed to "prove" the laws are needed...which really takes "self-fulfilling prophecy" to a new level, doesn't it?

    Or maybe it's just another instance of "if Republicans do it, it's okay."

    They'd likely describe it as "leveling the playing field," or something ridiculous that's meant to convince people that they wouldn't have to do these things if only we had laws that prevented the evil Democrats from stacking the deck.

    [Give me a couple more minutes and I'm sure I can come up with more cliches...]

    Parent

    Re upcoming SCOTUS term, which (none / 0) (#17)
    by oculus on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 01:46:29 PM EST
    starts Monday:

    Charles Fried, who served as solicitor general in the Reagan administration and filed a brief in support of the law, said the reasoning in the health care decision was mystifying enough to foreclose predictions about the future of the Roberts court.

    "This is a court that under Chief Justice Roberts called a ball a strike, a strike a ball, but got the batter to base where he belonged," said Professor Fried, who teaches at Harvard Law School. "So who knows what to expect."

    Adam Liptak

    Clinton-Dole 1996. 1st debate (none / 0) (#20)
    by Politalkix on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 02:21:03 PM EST
    So I tweeted some today (none / 0) (#25)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 03:45:27 PM EST
    In the #MittZingers fest.  But I had no tweet avatar and I'm on my husband's computer and it only has pictures of tanks and helicopters on it.  Except...I used it once when mine was on the fritz to write a story that had a blastula photo in it.  This twitter thing is all funky new to me mostly, and for now I'm a blastula.

    MilitaryBlastula (none / 0) (#26)
    by CoralGables on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 04:42:52 PM EST
    would be an interesting name

    Parent
    Blastulas for peace (none / 0) (#28)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 06:16:29 PM EST
    Maybe blastulas for sanctions, military blastulas are the blastula of last resort :)

    Parent
    Buwahahahahahaha (none / 0) (#29)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 06:33:58 PM EST
    Tomorrow is Rom Kippur everyone.  If you want Romney to out debate Obama, tomorrow is a fasting day for you :)

    Debates: I'm getting pumped (none / 0) (#43)
    by brodie on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 09:52:59 AM EST
    for Wednesday.  Too late probably for Romney for a game changer -- he's already good and well shot hisself in the foot as a campaigner. Meanwhile, a thumbnail look at past debates.

    1.  Kennedy wins on both style and substance, and there exists no reliable data from any valid survey of radio listeners showing Nixon won, contra the myth which even libs (eg Cenk Uygar) repeat as historical fact.

    2.  Coward Lyndon avoids debating Goldwater who, the previous year, had discussed with JFK a series of debates.

    3.  Coward Nixon doesn't want to lose another election on accounta debates.  1972 ditto.

    4.  After the sorry performance by both Ford and Dole, Carter should have won in a landslide.  Flawed and too narrow a campaign strategy.

    5.  what if the Carter camp a) had not had their debate briefing book stolen and given to Reagan and b) they had managed pre-debate to track down that 1961/2 Reagan record bashing JFK's Medicare bill as catastrophic socialism?

    6.  Mondale wimps out and lets doddering Gipper off the hook in second debate.  Nice guys finish last.

    7.  Danny Quayle looking like a punished schoolboy shoulda mattered more.  Blame Dukakis and a MSM in the tank for Poppy.

    8.  Dems thank whoever it was who invented the wristwatch.

    9.  Mean Bob Dole never stood a chance.

    10.  Gore was sighing in the first debate preps and was warned not to do it.  Pathetically passive performance in the first half of second debate, gimmicky and offkey physical challenge in third wasted his chance to pull well ahead.  Lieberman's curious flop job with Dick.

    11.  Kerry easily whips W in all three -- shoulda been consequential but Rove had ideas about how to count the votes in OH and FL.

    12.  Mediocre mind McCain vs The Perfesser -- no contest.


    JFK medicare bill? (none / 0) (#44)
    by MKS on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 10:35:45 AM EST
    LBJ did ram through civil rights proposed by JFK, and he inherited Medicare too?

    Were both passed because a country wanted to honor their martyred President?

    Yeah, from memory (none / 0) (#45)
    by brodie on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 11:17:12 AM EST
    JFK sent a medicare coverage bill to Congress in 1962, where it failed by essentially one vote.  This was promoted by Kennedy in a televised address at Madison Square Garden and opposed, as noted, by Reagan, shilling for the AMA.

    Interesting sidebar to that narrow defeat:  at the time, Maj Leader Mansfield and Kennedy relied on the usually very reliable head count of the senate secretary, Bobby Baker, a well known Johnson protege and known equally for the accuracy of his counts.  But he ended up crucially misreading one senator's vote -- very unusual situation -- which lead Kennedy and Mansfield to think they had a win.

    Anyway JFK was going to resubmit the bill when political conditions improved, namely after his reelection in 1965.

    Generally the CR Bill's passage is considered as owing to, in part, the honoring of Kennedy more than Medicare's passage a year after.  But Kennedy himself, in the fall of 63, predicted privately that all or most of his legislative program would be passed "in an 18-month birth."

    Parent

    Armando has an excellent DK front-pager (none / 0) (#50)
    by oculus on Sun Sep 30, 2012 at 02:17:08 PM EST
    up today.