Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech
After an emotional win at home against then #1 Texas, nothing could be set up more than this game for a letdown for Texas Tech.  The Red Raiders haven’t been this highly ranked this late in the season in a long time, and with that comes some added pressure.  Oklahoma State has a great offense, probably 2nd only to Texas Tech in the Big 12, and they will be ready to play on Saturday night in Lubbock.  I don’t expect Texas Tech to lose this game, although it wouldn’t surprise me.  If they do lose, you can kiss that BCS Championship Game berth goodbye.
FINAL SCORE - Texas Tech 44, Oklahoma State 35

Alabama @ LSU
Nick Saban has the Tide playing at an extremely high level right now, and but for a few freshman offensive lineman, the Tide are at 100% health-wise.  Terrance Cody is back in the middle of the 3-4 defense and has practiced well all week.  LSU didn’t catch a break when CBS picked this game up for a 2:30pm local time kickoff; LSU does much better at home with night games.  LSU hasn’t lost two games at home since 2001, and the Tide have lost five straight to the Bengal Tigers.  I like Alabama’s combination of strong defense (ranked #4 nationally) and great offensive line/running back play to prevail here.  LSU will give them their best shot in the first half, but Alabama will have the lead at halftime and pull away late.
FINAL SCORE - Alabama 27, LSU 14

And now for the rest of the picks…

Ohio State 33, Northwestern 28
North Carolina 21, Georgia Tech 14
Penn State 38, Iowa 17
Oregon 19, Stanford 7
Kansas 48, Nebraska 28
Wake Forest 17, Virginia 14
Boston College 31, Notre Dame 21
USC 44, California 21
Pittsburgh 22, Louisville 13
Florida 49, Vanderbilt 10
Georgia 24, Kentucky 7
West Virginia 37, Cincinnati 23
Florida State 35, Pickens Technical College 17

What have we learned?

We learned that the politics of fear won’t work on Americans anymore.  Many people have (rightly so) called this Karl-Rovian politics.  The basic premise is if you scare enough people about your opponent, you can win because no matter what you are personally, you’re much better than the alternative.

We learned that the politics of hope and intelligence and organization and planning and strategy and thoughtfulness can win in America in the 21st century.

We learned that many Republicans (and many people that I used to call friends) have had a “Can’t Believe It” moment.  They can’t believe that Barack Obama won.  They can’t believe a black man is the President.  They can’t believe I actually voted for him.  They can’t believe that anyone would want a Democrat in the White House when the last eight years have gone so well.

We learned that some of these same Republicans are now going to close themselves off from any opposing thought and debate because they are now either a) disgusted with how things have gone down, b) afraid of what America might become, c) both.

We learned that there are many Republicans who discovered they are Americans first, and they are willing to give an Obama administration a very little chance to see what they can do.  Granted…they aren’t really willing to roll their own sleeves up and get the work done themselves.  This isn’t a government they believe in, just tolerating until Sarah Palin runs in 2012.

We learned that a few Republicans (some of which I am proud to call my friends) are open to the idea that we might be able to get out of this mess with Obama at the helm, and they are truly reaching out to their Democratic friends to say that which unites us is much, much greater than that which divides us, and love and friendship do, in fact, conquer all.

We learned that a patriot and an American hero had it in him all along to be the candidate he should’ve had the chance to be, and had he been allowed to be John McCain instead of what “they” wanted him to be, it probably would’ve been a closer race…a lot closer.

We learned that electing a new President has never been nor will ever be a quick fix for anything in this country.

We learned that there is still a long way to go to make things right.

We learned that Andy Dufresne was right…that hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

Thank you to anyone who has come with me on this journey.  We’re just at the gate…Red or Blue…let’s walk this together and see where it leads.

Virginia 34, Miami (FL) 21
Illinois 28, Iowa 21
Boston College 31, Clemson 17
Minnesota 23, Northwestern 14
Michigan State 33, Wisconsin 10
West Virginia 44, Connecticut 21
Oklahoma 55, Nebraska 17
Wake Forest 14, Duke 10
Notre Dame 26, Pittsburgh 19
South Carolina 17, Tennessee 9
Kansas 38, Kansas State 31
California 24, Oregon 20
Florida State 24, Georgia Tech 17
Alabama 41, Arkansas State 10

And now for the two big games of the week…my breakdowns…

Texas vs. Texas Tech
This game has Texas-sized shootout written all over it.  These two teams sports two of the most high-powered offenses in the country, much less the Big 12, which is known this year for high scoring teams.  Texas has played two consecutive tough opponents, and travels to Lubbock where the Red Raiders rarely lose.  That being said, Texas Tech hasn’t really played anybody yet all season and this is by far their stiffest test.  Look for this game to be in the 40’s and 50’s by the 3rd quarter.
FINAL SCORE - Texas 56, Texas Tech 45

Georgia vs. Florida
I don’t care what you say, I still think of this game as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, and stakes could not be higher for these two one-loss teams.  If you win, you’ve got a straight shot to Atlanta to represent the SEC East in the SEC Championship Game on December 6th and possibly play for a BCS Championship Game berth.  There’s a lot on the line this year, and don’t think for a minute that Florida has forgotten what the Bulldogs did last year with their elaborate team end-zone celebration.  They’ll remember that, but they’ll remember more what Knowshon Moreno did to them on the ground.  Revenge is a dish best served cold, so if I were the Bulldogs, I’d come in with an empty stomach.
FINAL SCORE - Florida 55, Georgia 28

So there you have it…my picks for the week.  We’ll see how I do.

8 Days.  That’s all that remain between now and the election of a new President.  We get the honor and privilege to let our voice be heard in this country.  It’s unique and special and shouldn’t be taken for granted…ever.

This weekend, I received a pin in the mail (you might call it ‘flair’) from MoveOn.org.  They were giving away free Obama ‘08 pins through Facebook, so I signed up for one.  It took about 6 weeks to arrive, and when it did, it was tiny.  The pin is probably no bigger than an inch in diameter.  It’s red, white and blue (naturally) with a picture of Obama’s face on it, and the words “OBAMA”, “2008″, and “VOTE” on it.  It’s very understated, which is why I decided to wear it to work pinned to my sweater vest today.

It didn’t take long to start receiving comments about it.

“Can you wear that to work?” - My wife
“Where did you get that??  I want one… (after hearing it took me six weeks to get it) … oh…well, I won’t get mine in time for the election…” - A co-worker
“You mean they haven’t told you to take that off yet?” - Another co-worker
“Bold move.” - Yet another co-worker

I had a few come up to me asking me what it was all about (not being able to see what it was until you got up close to me) and after seeing the button, seemed to lose interest in whatever they were doing and went off on how cool it was.

The most interesting exchange was with a good friend of mine at work who told me I shouldn’t be wearing the button.  If that person is reading this, I hope she knows that I truly do appreciate her friendship and I am not trying to make this a bigger deal than it is.  I just like getting my thoughts out with this blog.  For the sake of privacy, I won’t name her.

She said that by wearing that button on school grounds (I work for a proprietary school in Marketing), I’m basically saying to any student that walks in the door that ITT Tech supports Barack Obama, and that is wrong to send out that message to any student.  She said that it would be the same if I was wearing a small McCain pin as well.

I don’t happen to agree with her, because while I believe Barack Obama is my choice for President, and I chose to support his candidacy by wearing a one-inch pin on my vest, in no way do I feel like I know he’s the candidate for every single person in the US.  You see, to me, it’s all about individual choice.  I think what I think, and if you think differently, that’s fine.  The beautiful thing about America is that we can exist in perfect harmony socially while in direct opposition politically.

A good friend (and fellow Democrat) told me the story of how he witnessed someone scraping an Obama sticker off his car a few months ago, and approaching the guy as he was doing it.  The guy told him basically the only reason he was doing it was because he was a McCain guy.  After talking to the guy (and not reporting him to the police as was his right), the guy ended up apologizing to him for vandalizing his car and trying to remove the sticker.

A pin is just a pin.  A sticker is just a sticker.  Issues are what divide us, not these things.  You can have my pin if you want it.  Taking that sticker off isn’t going to stop someone from being influenced one way or another.  And as far as I’m concerned, it won’t change what I believe.

In my opinion, Joe Biden acquitted himself very well last night.  He reinforced Obama’s stance on many issues and made clear their plans on the economy and how they plan on dealing with foreign affairs issues.  Biden’s knowledge on the failed policies in place in the Middle East alone was impressive.  He was steady and confident.

As many predicted though, the post-debate spin focused more on the inexperienced Republican VP nominee, Sarah Palin.  I do agree with many who said she kept her composure quite well, and seemed genuinely engaged in debate with Biden.  The problem I have with Palin is how little knowledge she has of many of the things needed to be a leader of a nation.

In my opinion, McCain has made a choice in VP that exceeds arrogance.  He is banking on the fact that people in this country (mainly white women) will vote for him purely based on the fact that Palin is a white woman.  Because it cannot be because she’s versed in foreign affairs or economics; she showed last night she is a long way away from being able to hold her own in those arenas.  I’ll give her that she can speak intelligently on energy, and that is a big issue surrounding many things in the US right now.

But that doesn’t change the fact that McCain knew how much knowledge and experience she lacked and he picked her anyway.  And many will say…”But look at Obama!  He’s been in the Senate for less than 6 years!  He doesn’t have the experience either!”  And while he might not have the experience that Biden or McCain do, he’s made it his mission to become intelligent about all aspects of government, be it foreign or domestic.  Palin looked outmatched when it came to foreign affairs and the economy last night.  She simply doesn’t know.

And I don’t really blame her…I mean, she’s been in Alaska for her entire political career.  She’s been concerned with those issues (and rightly so), and so she hasn’t had to focus on national politics…ever.  And the Republicans are banking on the fact that you think that’s a good thing.  They hope you look at her candor and her lack of knowledge as “refreshing” and “every-man”.

Folks…the fact of the matter is that Palin as McCain’s VP in the 2008 Election is a complete joke.  It’s a farce.  And not only that…her beliefs will set women in this country back 50 years.  McCain is counting on women voting for him merely because Palin is on the ticket.  It’s almost as if McCain thinks so highly of himself as a Presidential candidate that he felt as if he could afford to have someone balance the ticket that had almost no experience in national politics, and had no real knowledge of how foreign policy works and how the economy works.

It’s tantamount to a slap in the face to each and every woman in the US.

Thanks for coming to onemattDOTcom!

I believe that freedom is the second most precious thing in the world.  Your salvation is #1.

I believe that the current administration has failed to act when it comes to this country’s current economic climate, much the same way they failed to act during Hurricane Katrina.

I believe that those fortunate enough to be making enough money to be in the top 2% of Americans can afford to pay slightly more taxes.

I believe in a woman’s right to choose.

I believe that the surge is working, although it was 4 years too late.

I believe that to win the war on terror, we must focus more of our resources and energy in catching the group responsible for 9/11, starting with Afghanistan and capturing Osama bin Laden.

I believe that fixing our economy is more important than any issue in this election.

I believe that government can be an instrument of good, where no one is left behind.

I believe in equal rights for all Americans, no matter their race, creed, religion or gender.

I believe that America can still be a land of opportunity for those who want to come here and abide by our laws and pay taxes.

I believe that education is the ‘silver bullet’ to fighting poverty and crime in our country.

I believe we must continue to strive for excellence in the world market, and to do so means increasing our children’s proficiency in math and science.

I believe that healthcare must be available for all Americans willing to work for it.

I believe we must become energy independent in 10 years or less so that our children can live in a world free of $4.00 or more for a gallon of gas.

I believe that McCain is NOT the same as Bush, but too many of the problems that Bush enacted, McCain supports.

I believe Barack Obama represents the greatest chance for true and positive change in this election.  And for that reason and all these reasons above, he is getting my vote in November.

————————————————————————————–

Aaron Sorkin Conjures a Meeting of Obama and Bartlet

Now that he’s finally fired up on the soup-line economy, Barack Obama knows he can’t fade out again. He was eager to talk privately to a Democratic ex-president who could offer more fatherly wisdom — not to mention a surreptitious smoke — and less fraternal rivalry. I called the “West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin (yes, truly) to get a read-out of the meeting. This is what he wrote:

BARACK OBAMA knocks on the front door of a 300-year-old New Hampshire farmhouse while his Secret Service detail waits in the driveway. The door opens and OBAMA is standing face to face with former President JED BARTLET.

BARTLET Senator.

OBAMA Mr. President.

BARTLET You seem startled.

OBAMA I didn’t expect you to answer the door yourself.

BARTLET I didn’t expect you to be getting beat by John McCain and a Lancôme rep who thinks “The Flintstones” was based on a true story, so let’s call it even.

OBAMA Yes, sir.

BARTLET Come on in.

BARTLET leads OBAMA into his study.

BARTLET That was a hell of a convention.

OBAMA Thank you, I was proud of it.

BARTLET I meant the Republicans. The Us versus Them-a-thon. As a Democrat I was surprised to learn that I don’t like small towns, God, people with jobs or America. I’ve been a little out of touch but is there a mandate that the vice president be skilled at field dressing a moose —

OBAMA Look —

BARTLET — and selling Air Force Two on eBay?

OBAMA Joke all you want, Mr. President, but it worked.

BARTLET Imagine my surprise. What can I do for you, kid?

OBAMA I’m interested in your advice.

BARTLET I can’t give it to you.

OBAMA Why not?

BARTLET I’m supporting McCain.

OBAMA Why?

BARTLET He’s promised to eradicate evil and that was always on my “to do” list.

OBAMA O.K. —

BARTLET And he’s surrounded himself, I think, with the best possible team to get us out of an economic crisis. Why, Sarah Palin just said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had “gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers.” Can you spot the error in that statement?

OBAMA Yes, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac aren’t funded by taxpayers.

BARTLET Well, at least they are now. Kind of reminds you of the time Bush said that Social Security wasn’t a government program. He was only off by a little — Social Security is the largest government program.

OBAMA I appreciate your sense of humor, sir, but I really could use your advice.

BARTLET Well, it seems to me your problem is a lot like the problem I had twice.

OBAMA Which was?

BARTLET A huge number of Americans thought I thought I was superior to them.

OBAMA And?

BARTLET I was.

OBAMA I mean, how did you overcome that?

BARTLET I won’t lie to you, being fictional was a big advantage.

OBAMA What do you mean?

BARTLET I’m a fictional president. You’re dreaming right now, Senator.

OBAMA I’m asleep?

BARTLET Yes, and you’re losing a ton of white women.

OBAMA Yes, sir.

BARTLET I mean tons.

OBAMA I understand.

BARTLET I didn’t even think there were that many white women.

OBAMA I see the numbers, sir. What do they want from me?

BARTLET I’ve been married to a white woman for 40 years and I still don’t know what she wants from me.

OBAMA How did you do it?

BARTLET Well, I say I’m sorry a lot.

OBAMA I don’t mean your marriage, sir. I mean how did you get America on your side?

BARTLET There again, I didn’t have to be president of America, I just had to be president of the people who watched “The West Wing.”

OBAMA That would make it easier.

BARTLET You’d do very well on NBC. Thursday nights in the old “ER” time slot with “30 Rock” as your lead-in, you’d get seven, seven-five in the demo with a 20, 22 share — you’d be selling $450,000 minutes.

OBAMA What the hell does that mean?

BARTLET TV talk. I thought you’d be interested.

OBAMA I’m not. They pivoted off the argument that I was inexperienced to the criticism that I’m — wait for it — the Messiah, who, by the way, was a community organizer. When I speak I try to lead with inspiration and aptitude. How is that a liability?

BARTLET Because the idea of American exceptionalism doesn’t extend to Americans being exceptional. If you excelled academically and are able to casually use 690 SAT words then you might as well have the press shoot video of you giving the finger to the Statue of Liberty while the Dixie Chicks sing the University of the Taliban fight song. The people who want English to be the official language of the United States are uncomfortable with their leaders being fluent in it.

OBAMA You’re saying race doesn’t have anything to do with it?

BARTLET I wouldn’t go that far. Brains made me look arrogant but they make you look uppity. Plus, if you had a black daughter —

OBAMA I have two.

BARTLET — who was 17 and pregnant and unmarried and the father was a teenager hoping to launch a rap career with “Thug Life” inked across his chest, you’d come in fifth behind Bob Barr, Ralph Nader and a ficus.

OBAMA You’re not cheering me up.

BARTLET Is that what you came here for?

OBAMA No, but it wouldn’t kill you.

BARTLET Have you tried doing a two-hour special or a really good Christmas show?

OBAMA Sir —

BARTLET Hang on. Home run. Right here. Is there any chance you could get Michelle pregnant before the fall sweeps?

OBAMA The problem is we can’t appear angry. Bush called us the angry left. Did you see anyone in Denver who was angry?

BARTLET Well … let me think. …We went to war against the wrong country, Osama bin Laden just celebrated his seventh anniversary of not being caught either dead or alive, my family’s less safe than it was eight years ago, we’ve lost trillions of dollars, millions of jobs, thousands of lives and we lost an entire city due to bad weather. So, you know … I’m a little angry.

OBAMA What would you do?

BARTLET GET ANGRIER! Call them liars, because that’s what they are. Sarah Palin didn’t say “thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere. She just said “Thanks.” You were raised by a single mother on food stamps — where does a guy with eight houses who was legacied into Annapolis get off calling you an elitist? And by the way, if you do nothing else, take that word back. Elite is a good word, it means well above average. I’d ask them what their problem is with excellence. While you’re at it, I want the word “patriot” back. McCain can say that the transcendent issue of our time is the spread of Islamic fanaticism or he can choose a running mate who doesn’t know the Bush doctrine from the Monroe Doctrine, but he can’t do both at the same time and call it patriotic. They have to lie — the truth isn’t their friend right now. Get angry. Mock them mercilessly; they’ve earned it. McCain decried agents of intolerance, then chose a running mate who had to ask if she was allowed to ban books from a public library. It’s not bad enough she thinks the planet Earth was created in six days 6,000 years ago complete with a man, a woman and a talking snake, she wants schools to teach the rest of our kids to deny geology, anthropology, archaeology and common sense too? It’s not bad enough she’s forcing her own daughter into a loveless marriage to a teenage hood, she wants the rest of us to guide our daughters in that direction too? It’s not enough that a woman shouldn’t have the right to choose, it should be the law of the land that she has to carry and deliver her rapist’s baby too? I don’t know whether or not Governor Palin has the tenacity of a pit bull, but I know for sure she’s got the qualifications of one. And you’re worried about seeming angry? You could eat their lunch, make them cry and tell their mamas about it and God himself would call it restrained. There are times when you are simply required to be impolite. There are times when condescension is called for!

OBAMA Good to get that off your chest?

BARTLET Am I keeping you from something?

OBAMA Well, it’s not as if I didn’t know all of that and it took you like 20 minutes to say.

BARTLET I know, I have a problem, but admitting it is the first step.

OBAMA What’s the second step?

BARTLET I don’t care.

OBAMA So what about hope? Chuck it for outrage and put-downs?

BARTLET No. You’re elite, you can do both. Four weeks ago you had the best week of your campaign, followed — granted, inexplicably — by the worst week of your campaign. And you’re still in a statistical dead heat. You’re a 47-year-old black man with a foreign-sounding name who went to Harvard and thinks devotion to your country and lapel pins aren’t the same thing and you’re in a statistical tie with a war hero and a Cinemax heroine. To these aged eyes, Senator, that’s what progress looks like. You guys got four debates. Get out of my house and go back to work.

OBAMA Wait, what is it you always used to say? When you hit a bump on the show and your people were down and frustrated? You’d give them a pep talk and then you’d always end it with something. What was it …?

BARTLET “Break’s over.”

I witnessed the Funeral in Athens last night as Alabama dismantled the preseason #1-ranked (and #3 currently) Georgia Bulldogs. As Pat Forde of ESPN puts it…Alabama deliver last rites to Georgia.

Many of you that know me know that I’m a HUGE Alabama fan, but I do not consider myself one of those obnoxious Alabama fans. You know the ones that scream ROLL TIDE! and cheer for anybody that’s playing Auburn. I have many friends who are Auburn fans and I respect their allegiance as much as I hope they respect mine.

After last year’s 7-6 season, with the talent we had coming in with our freshman class, I felt like maybe we could begin to turn it around. But our schedule didn’t look like we could make too much improvement over that 7-6 record this year. A neutral site game against then #9 Clemson, followed up by two straight SEC road openers, at Fayetteville and at Athens.

Follow that up with trips to Tennessee and to Baton Rouge, and you can see why I might be a little hesitant to claim (as Sports Illustrated did again) ‘Bama’s back!

After witnessing the beatdown the Tide put on Georgia in Athens last night…I have no more reason to say anything other than this…WE ARE BACK. Here are some stats to throw at you (if you’re into that kind of thing).

Alabama’s never trailed in any game this year…ever. They’ve outscored their opponents 74-0 in the first quarter this year. In their two SEC road games so far this year, they’ve scored 90 total points. John Parker Wilson has become Alabama’s all-time leader in yards, touchdowns and pass completions this year. And they are 5-0 for the first time in I don’t know when. And they’re doing all this while playing at least 15 freshman and having only 9 scholarship seniors on the team.

In other words…this Alabama team isn’t going to get worse…they’re going to get better.

Last night’s half of football where Alabama jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead was quite possibly the best half of football I’ve ever seen an Alabama team play. The best half of football I’ve seen any college football team play. And don’t let the score fool you…even though Alabama won 41-30, that is not indicative of the absolute beatdown that took place.

What will be the result? With three of the top four teams losing this weekend (USC, Florida and Georgia), you can expect Alabama to reach at least the top 3, maybe even #1 or #2. Sure, sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

At this point, you might even get me to buy into the “We can win a National Championship this year!” talk, but the problem with that isn’t how Alabama plays…it’s how the BCS is set up, so we might not get to see it even if we can continue to win.

But there’s no doubt that Alabama has made tremendous strides as a football program. So ‘Bama fans…hang on tight. It’s about to get interesting.

So this is what having a great coach feels like…

I am in no way making it seems as if the Republicans have no good ideas.  John McCain was very compelling last night, and he kept the Obama-bashing to a minimum (as opposed to Sarah Palin the night before, where after introducing her family spent the majority of her time bringing down Obama).

It’s going to be interesting when the debates begin, because I think America is going to get a truer sense of what Obama is about.  Many of the people I know are getting caught up in the propaganda surrounding Obama and they are letting that influence their decision.  After I point out how much of that isn’t true, they revert back to the “Well, we really don’t have any good candidates this year” argument, which doesn’t hold water for me either.

The candidates we have are the candidates voted in by the people of the US during the primaries.  And besides, in my opinion, you should be voting more for an idea rather than a candidate.  The idea that America can be better than we are right now…more prosperous…more secure.  If the candidate that embodies that for you is John McCain, then vote for him.

For those that are reading this and you haven’t made up your mind, I salute you.  Take the time to get to know each candidate and watch each debate closely.  Most of all, pick a candidate and vote on November 4th.  No matter how you vote, the important thing is that you do vote and let your voice be heard.