Last Picks of the Regular Season

Before I get to the last picks of the regular season, I thought I should mention this...

The Oxford Collapse are awesome. I haven't heard an album that was just flat out good, solid rock since the Walkmen's "Bows+Arrows ". Anyway, the Oxford Collapse 2005 release "A Good Ground " got a good review on pitchfork (and yes I realize that Pitchfork isn't the end all be all, but find me a better music site right now? Though enjoy this really good article on Pitchfork).

But back to the OC, this is one of those albums that's just solid. It doesn't blow your mind like, say, a Andrew Bird or Wilco album can. It's just a solid rock album from start to finish, one of those albums that you listen to with a few friends while drinking beer. It doesn't try too hard, it just does what it does: drums, guitar, and vocals. I love it.

Okay, picks...

Conference Championship weekend! Always a fun, if overrated, weekend. I love it just because it's the annual reminder of the new Cold War:Notre Dame vs the Big Ten. I love how the Big Ten will wait until kingdom come for the Irish to join, and the Irish are never going to join as long as NBC continues to hand them over millions of bucks to show half of their games. I've resigned myself to the fact that ND will never join the Big Ten, and that's fine. I enjoy the stand off anyway.

But that's why no one from the Big Ten or South Bend is playing this week... no conference championship game!

ACC: Georgia Tech (-1.5) over Wake Forest - Ugh. Tech isn't that good, but they're the tallest midget that's known as ACC. Wake got a bit lucky this year, they beat BC at home and then got a gift wrapped victory from Miami in their win over BC last week. BC was the best team of theACC Coastal , but obviously they're not in this game. Tech rolls, I don't think Wake is all that good, a bowl team that played in a brutal conference. Tech should get rolled in Orange or Sugar or where ever they go by Louisville. Oh wait, it's Louisville... I hate theBCS right now. We're going to see two duds, a probable dud in ND/SEC, and then the amazing LSU/Michigan and the big one Ohio State/USC.

Big12: Oklahoma (-3.5) over Nebraska - Now here's a team, in Oklahoma, that just wins. They play tough, they play as a team, and they're gritty. They've had so much crap happen to them this year yet here they are in the Big12 Championship Game. Good for them. I'm not sold on theCornhuskers yet, but they've got a bring future. Football is back in Lincoln! (Um, I'm not excited about that but whatever). But there is something 'special' about this Sooner team. And it will be fun to see aSooners/Boise match-up in the Fiesta.

SEC: Arkansas (+3) over Florida - What should be the best game of the day, I'm sick of the Gators tight-rope act and they lose today. Arkansas probably goes to the Sugar to take onNotre Dame where McFadden runs for about 300 yards and three TDs over the Domers. The Gators aren't as good as their record shows. They should have lost to FSU. They should have lost to South Carolina. They barely got by Georgia, Vandy, and Tennessee... I can't see them doing it again. And I can't see them stopping McFadden. And finally, how is LSU not in this game? They're the best team in the SEC! How did they lose to Flordia?

Navy (-20) over Army - The Few. The Proud. The Marines. Take that Army. You got nothin'.

UCLA (+12) over USC - UCLA flirts with the upset, USC barley pulls is it out. The debate continues. USC won a huge game, now they've got to play another rival... this one has to be close.

West Virgina (-10.5) over Rutgers - Rutgers, like Wake, isn't that great. West Virgina, who should be playing for a birth to theBCS, actually needs to win this game in order for the season to not be a bigger disappointment.

Two Weeks Ago: 5-3
Season: 46-26-2 (.638)