No bad calls here?? Happy Anniversary ScottJax, NFL, Nets and more in this edition of Random Thoughts.

This week marks the second anniversary of my blog. It all started on September 20, 2010,

Look at the well wish I have received:

Richy Klepal a four-star Florida State commitment suffered the fifth concussion of his career during a high school game against Tampa Jesuit High School earlier this month. Doctors have told him to end his football career and Richy will abide by what the doctors have recommended. But in a classy move, FSU has decided to honor the scholarship offered to Klepal. Nice move FSU.

Here is something that went unnoticed. Former Army Sergeant Daniel Rodriguez, a wide receiver from Clemson, caught a 4-yard pass from Morgan Roberts midway through the fourth quarter and received a loud ovation. Daniel served three years in the service, in both Iraq and Afganistan, and received the Bronze Star Medal of Valor and the Purple Heart for serving in the battle of Kamdesh in October 2009.

Brooklyn Nets new home is officially open. The new $1 billion Barclays Center is an 18,200 modern arena. It is a 675,000 square foot building that has a rust-colored façade, consisting of 12,000 unique panels fabricated from 600 tons of weathered steel. A subway entrance covered in grass, tree-lined seating areas outside the building and a pedestrian view of the Barclays Center scoreboard. The flag pole near the main entrance came from Ebbets Field. The “Oculus” is an extension of the Center that extends out 117 feet and hovers 30 feet above the public plaza. It has a video screen that displays everything from game highlights to news. The arena has 101 luxury suites, including 11 Jay-Z-designed special suites called “The Vault” that cost $550,000 a year and are stocked with high-end champagne. The Barclays Center food experience will offer the best of Brooklyn. It’ll include brisket hot dogs by Brooklyn Bangers, pizza by L & B Spumoni Gardens, barbecue brisket and pork sandwiches by Fatty ‘Cue, franks and fries by Nathan’s Famous and – of course — cheesecake by Junior’s.

The NFL has blown it on its biggest stage, Monday Night Football. On what I considered the worst call in NFL history, the referees decided the game in Seattle Seahawks 14-12 win over the Green Bay Packers.

With replacement referees still working the games, on the last play of the game, the refs awarded a 24 yard touchdown catch to Golden Tate that was clearly in the possession of Green Bay defensive back M.D. Jennings. Even the replay officials got the play wrong. Yuk.

Bookies are estimating that $150-250 million in bets were shifted on that play.

In a photograph that will live in infamy, one official ruled the play a touchdown and the other a touchback and neither looked like he wanted to make the call.

I guess the mess-up with the Seattle - Green bay game help seal the deal on a contract between the NFL and the NFLRA.

Yeah!!!!

Glad to see Dusty Baker is doing well. Beside having an irregular heart beat, Dusty also had a mini-stroke.

I don’t know about you, but 10 years ago I use to watch the NHL all the time, and then the lockout occurred and I stopped watching all the time. After the lockout I would occasionally watch a game. Now if there is a strike or lockout, I probably might not watch it at all. Its greed versus greed, and the only people who will suffer are the fans.

Eric Gagne reveals in his new biography that 80% of his LA Dodger teammates were using performance-enhancing drug. The former CY Young closer who converted 84 consecutive save changes also admits that he used human growth hormone in a three year period towards the end of his career.

With the start of next weeks blog, I will have a new name for it. I’m not telling. Is the suspense killing ya???

Til Next Time

Scott

The past couple of years when I've written about the #11 Notre Dame/ #18Michigan game, I've found myself writing about the incredible performances put on by Michigan QB, Denard Robinson...Well, not this time...Once again the Notre Dame defense played a great game...And just like last week, the Defense was lead by Manti Te'o...Te'o had 2 of the 4 interceptions that Robinson threw...Robinson made it clear that he's Michigan best running back, gaining 90 yards on the ground...But I'm not sure if he's their best QB....

The Notre Dame offense didn't make things easy on the defense, as Everrett Golson threw 2 interceptions in his own end of the field, early in the game...But the Irish defense kept Michigan off the board until the 4th quarter, giving up just two field goals...Golson was yanked, for the second time this year for Tommy Rees...While Rees kept the mistakes to a minimum, the offense was pretty conservative, relying on the defense's strong play, and holding on for a 13-6 victory...

I hated seeing Golson looking so dejected on the sidelines...The kid has great talent, and you don't want him to lose his confidence...Coach Kelly said after the game, that Everrett Golson is still their guy, and from time to time, they will look for Rees to get them through a tough spot...I'm not going to bitch right now...They're winning...And whatever gets you the win is okay with me...

And you can't say enough about Manti Te'o...Two weeks in a row, after dealing with the deaths of his grandmother and his girlfriend, there he is, leading his team...Playing great football...He hasn't made an INT during his time at Notre Dame...He now has 3 in the last 2 games...Watch this kid play people...Come April, he'll be a first round pick!

Who wants highlights? I do!



Now if you like College Football like I do...Then Saturday night is your kind of night...Beside Notre Dam and Michigan in prime-time...You also had Florida State playing Clemson, and Kansas State visiting Oklahoma both in Prim-time...Oh, and Auburn facing LSU...Good stuff...

Lets start at Auburn...I'm so sick of people talking about how great #2 LSU is...So far they have played nobodies, and have blown them out...And stupid LSU fan thinks they're the shit...Well, this is how great they are...The beat Auburn 12-10...That's right, not 49-10...12-10...1-3 Auburn, had LSU sweating bullets...And that 1 win was an OT win against ULM...Let me just say this LSU fans...Your team better knuckle up for next weeks game against Towson...

Now, I have to talk about #15 Kansas State going to face #6 Oklahoma...This game was a hard-hitting battle...Now when I did my pre-season predictions, I said Oklahoma would win the Big-12, but I warned people about Kansas State, who gets no respect, and I had K-State QB Collin Klein as a Heisman sleeper...Well, the Wildcats didn't disappoint...They went into a hostile environment...Played tough defense, and gritty offense and managed to upset the Sooners 24-19...The biggest thing that kept the Sooners from winning was 3 turnovers...Almost 4, but one was overturned by review...Also 4-10 on third downs makes life hard too...

Klein's numbers weren't outstanding, only passing for 149 yards, and rushing for 79 and a TD...But he did what his team needed, as K-State beat Oklahoma in time of possession by almost ten minutes, and didn't turn the ball over...

Then there was #10 Clemson at #4 Florida State, in a huge ACC match up...I had picked Clemson to win the ACC, and I was liking what I was seeing early in this game...Their offense was looking good, finishing with 426 total yards, and 37 points, seems like a good day at the office...But the Seminoles turned it on in the late in the third quarter, racking up a total of 667 yards and putting 49 points on the board...It became clear as the game went on, that FSU had too much depth, size and strength, took the lead, and wore Clemson out...

Saturday afternoon, there was another good game...Two PAC-12 teams that have been surprising people...Oregon State at #19 UCLA...This game was about offense, and two QB's who can sling it...UCLA's Brett Hundley who passed for 372 of their 444 total yards...And Oregon State's Sean Mannion threw for 379 of their 501 total yards...Surprisingly, it wasn't a 49-45 game...Oregon State pulled out the victory and their second upset of the year, winning 27-20...

There was another PAC-12 game that many of us were looking forward to, as #22 Arizona visited #3 Oregon...Everyone knows about Oregon's awful, constantly changing uniforms, and their high-powered offense...But after Arizona beat up on Oklahoma State, people started taking them seriously...Well, looks like they need to go back to the drawing board, as Oregon has spent the evening showing people that they are the class of the PAC-12, destroying Arizona 49-0...

In the SEC I was looking forward to the Missouri / #7 South Carolina game...While Missouri is 2-2 (0-2 in the SEC) they've played hard, and stayed in games...And let's be honest, you never really know what's going to happen with Steve Spurrier and his Gamecocks...Well, let's put it this way...Missouri is having a rough first season in the SEC, as South Carolina beat them 31-10, and it didn't even seem that close...

Now I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but it's really getting under my skin...So far this season, ESPN/ABC has televised every one of Penn State's games...Has it become ESPN's personal crusade to keep Penn State slightly relevant while they are under NCAA sanctions?

Is it just that they want to keep a spotlight on the child rape that took place there? I'm not getting that...They sure love showing the blue ribbons...Hey dummies, blue ribbons don't fix the lives that have been ruined by what happened there, and what was covered up there...And ESPN likes showing the dumb-ass fans/students/alumni that still have their undying loyalty to Joe Paterno, and feel he was wronged, and that they are the victims...I truly hate that place...But I really hate ESPN/ABC for continuously putting them on the air...Oh, PSU won 24-13 over Temple, if anyone cared...Burn in hell!

That's it for this week...Feel free to add your College Football highlights...See ya Monday!

The Beeze.
 

I WROTE Friday night about Notre Dame linebacker, Manti Te'o staying with his team, to play Michigan State Saturday night, even though Tuesday his grandmother died, and Wednesday his girlfriend died...I don't know how he did it...I don't think I'd be able to handle it...But he did...He went out and lead his defense into holding #10 Michigan State to just 3 points...He had 12 tackles, broke up 2 passes, and intercepted a lateral late in the game...It was an amazing effort...

But he wasn't alone...The Notre Dame front 7, no matter which 7 were out there, were all over MSU QB, Andrew Maxwell, who was forced to drop back more then MSU would like, but the Irish defense shut down running back Le'Veon Bell...

The Irish offense was aggressive in the first half, and QB Everrett Golson showed some real flashes of brilliance...But the second half, Kelly held the O back, and called a conservative game, not letting his young QB get into bad situations...The Irish lead by an outstanding defensive performance, won 20-3...

This week's big upset...#21 Stanford and their typical gritty performance beat #2 USC 21-14...Giving Trojan QB Matt Barkley a 0-4 record against the Cardinal...Barkley opened the season as many people's favorite for the Heisman (not me) threw for 254 yards and 2 Interceptions...I think this just killed his Heisman and National Title chances...Oh, can I just say that Lane Kiffin is such an overrated douchebag!

Last week's victim of a major upset, Arkansas had a tough task trying to rebound from their loss to UL Monroe, by taking on #1 Alabama...Worse yet, they had to do it without their starting QB who is still dealing with the ringing bells in his head from last week...Well, Arkansas didn't show much fight, getting destroyed 52-0...

And speaking of UL Monroe...They put another scare into another SEC school this week...The Warhawks came back late, lead by QB Kolton Browning to tie Auburn 28-28, forcing the game to overtime...Browning passed for 237 yards and 3 TD's, while also rushing for 58 yards and another TD...Unfortunately The Warhawks OT field goal was deflected, and Auburn's Cody Parkey knocked in a 35 yard field goal to win it...But after the last two weeks, no one will be looking past UL Monroe...And maybe some scouts will start looking at this Browning kid...

There was another Sun Belt team that was feeling good Saturday night...Western Kentucky went into Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats...Now I know as far as the SEC is concerned, Kentucky is garbage...But to little Western Kentucky, this game means a lot...In state rival...A SEC team...A team they've never beaten...

Well, that changed Saturday...The Hilltoppers left everything on the field, as they beat Kentucky 32-31 in overtime...The Wildcats scored a TD in the first OT...The Hilltoppers came back and RB Antonio Andrews scored a TD...But coach Willie Taggart wasn't going to put his defense out on the field again...He went for it all...Quarterback Kawaun Jakes threw a lateral to Andrews, who threw back to Jakes who ran it in for the two-point conversion, and the win...That people, is what you call having balls!

The Ohio University Bobcats opened their season 3-0 after beating Marshall 27-24...Once again the Bobcats were lead by their QB Tyler Tettleton, who threw for 200 yards and 3 TD's...Ohio's normally tough defense gave up 432 passing yards but came up with a late interception to seal the deal...The D will have to improve if they want to roll through the MAC undefeated...

Another upset Saturday happened in Pittsburgh, as #13 Virginia Tech came to pay the 0-2 Panthers visit...Little did they know the Panthers were going to punch them in the mouth, as Pitt rolled to a 35-17 victory...Va Tech QB Logan Thomas threw 3 interceptions between picking himself up off the turf...After two weeks of looking like shit, Pitt got back to their roots and played some hard nosed football...Maybe they wanted to put the ACC on notice since they'll be leaving the Big lEast along with Syracuse after this year...

(And yes, I'll have plenty in Monday Moaning about ND going partially to the ACC)

In what I expected to be a good ACC match up, #5 Florida State took o Wake Forest...As a matter of fact, in my gambling days, I would have taken Wake w/ the points...Well, it didn't end up being that good of a game, as FSU blew Wake out 52-0...This game was all about Florida State' Chris Thompson...A year after he suffered a broken back in a loss at Wake Forest, the 5 foot 8 inch, 185 pound RB ran for 197 yards and 2 TD's on 9 carries...His TD runs were 74 yards, and 80 yards...Holy SHIT! Great for him!

And yes LSU fan...Way to go...Your team beat Idaho 63-14...Don't get so excited...That's what LSU is suppose to do, right? Wow, I can't wait until they take on Towson in 2 weeks...But at least they'll have a real game at Auburn next week...

In Utah, the third time is a charm...As the Utah players and fans stormed the field 3 times...Yes, 3 times...They had thought they had #25 BYU beaten, but replay showed 1 second left...They cleared the field...BYU lined up for a long filed goal(somewhere around 50 yards)...The kick is blocked, and the field is stormed again...But players and fans were charging onto the field while the ball was still live, as a BYU player had scooped up the ball and was trying to advance it...So, clear the field...Tack on 15 yards...One un-timed play...BYU sets up for a 36 yard field goal...Ball is up, looks good, hooks a bit, hits the upright...Finally! Game over! Utah wins in an exciting game...So exciting it ended 3 times!

Locally, here in a great OAC Rivalry, the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets beat the John Carroll Blue Streaks 32-28 at Don Shula Stadium...It was BW's first win at Shula stadium since 1998...

That's it for now...see ya Monday!

Later, The Beeze.