A Great Finish

I'm not sure from watching the youtube video and looking at the description posted next to it exactly what happened, but either way, it was pretty incredible.  Either the Millsaps Majors or the Tigers (not sure what school) of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, pulled off the dramatic victory in the last play of the game down by 2 with :02 seconds left.  The title of the video says Millsaps Majors won, but the announcer in the video says the Tigers won... go figure.

In any case, one of these teams used 15 laterals and a little help from certain defensive players completely giving up on the play and the game for that matter (see: #35 at 1:00 in standing there with his hands on his hips pouting like a baby), to pull of the miracle.  I love the call by this kid: "CURRY SCORES!!! THE GAME IS OVER!!! CURRY SCORES! CURRY SCORES! CURRY SCORES!!!"

The Longest Inch, Episode #18

For episode 18 we talk about Jason Bay going to the Mets and continue our Bowl Predictions through the Fiesta Bowl on January 4th.

Our Bowl Picks (Continued):

Champ Sports Bowl
Me:   (15) Miami 31 - (25) Wisconsin 17
Sky:  (15) Miami 38 - (25) Wisconsin  31

Roady's Humanitarian Bowl
Me:   Bowling Green 49 - Idaho 24
Sky:  Bowling Green 21 - Idaho  24

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl

Me:   (20) Arizona 10 - (22) Nebraska 14

Sky:  (20) Arizona 17 - (22) Nebraska  13

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl

Me:   Houston 55 - Air Force 28

Sky:  Houston 45 - Air Force 27

Brut Sun Bowl

Me:   Oklahoma 23 - Stanford 17

Sky:  Oklahoma 31 - Stanford  17

Texas Bowl

Me:  Navy 21 - Missouri 20

Sky: Navy 17 - Missouri 41

Insight Bowl

Me:   Minnesota 24 - Iowa St. 27

Sky:  Minnesota 13 - Iowa St. 27

Chick-fil-A Bowl

Me:   (11) Virginia Tech 28 - Tennessee 24

Sky:  (11) Virginia Tech 21 - Tennessee 27

Outback Bowl

Me:   Northwestern 20 - Auburn 31

Sky:  Northwestern 24 - Auburn 38

Gator Bowl

Me:   (16) West Virginia 27 - Florida St. 31

Sky:  (16) West Virginia 27 - Florida St. 28

Capital One Bowl

Me:   (13) Penn St. 21 - (12) LSU 17

Sky:  (13) Penn St. 13 - (12) LSU 16

International Bowl

Me:   South Florida 34 - N. Illinois 25

Sky:  South Florida 41 - N. Illinois 17

Papajohns.com Bowl

Me:   South Carolina 31 - Connecticut 14

Sky:  South Carolina 27 - Connecticut 24

AT&T Cotton Bowl

Me:   (19) Oklahoma St. 17 - Mississippi 23

Sky:  (19) Oklahoma St. 27 - Mississippi 31

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

Me:   Arkansas 30 - East Carolina 27

Sky:  Arkansas 38 - East Carolina 21

Valero Alamo Bowl

Me:   Michigan St. 28 - Texas Tech 24

Sky:  Michigan St. 27 - Texas Tech 45

The Rose Bowl

Me:   (8) Ohio St. 27 - (7) Oregon 41

Sky:  (8) Ohio St. 35 - (7) Oregon 48

Sugar Bowl

Me:   (3) Cincinnati 21 - (5) Florida 38

Sky:  (3) Cincinnati 31 - (5) Florida 52

Fiesta Bowl

Me:   (6) Boise St. 37 - (4) TCU 31

Sky:  (6) Boise St. 27 - (4) TCU 38

Bowl Prediction Recap for Dec. 22 - 29 (Me: 4 - 5; Sky: 7 - 2)

Wow, this was not my finest hour... Although, in my defense I did say to bet on Skyler's picks and not mine. 

Our Bowl Picks:
My Prediction: (18) Oregon St. 33 - (14) BYU 24
Sky's Prediction: (18) Oregon St. 45 - (14) BYU 35
Actual: (18) Oregon St. 20 - (14) BYU 40

My Prediction: (23) Utah 28 - California 24
Sky's Prediction: (23) Utah 31 - California17
Actual: (23) Utah 37 - California 27

My Prediction: Nevada 21 - Southern Methodist 14
Sky's Prediction: Nevada 38 - Southern Methodist 45
Actual: Nevada 10 - Southern Methodist 45

My Prediction: Boston College 10 - USC 28
Sky's Prediction: Boston College 7 - USC 52
Actual: Boston College 13 - USC 24

My Prediction: Marshall 26 - Ohio 27
Sky's Prediction: Marshall 10 - Ohio 38
Actual: Marshall 21 - Ohio 17

My Prediction: (17) Pittsburgh 38 - North Carolina 31
Sky's Prediction: (17) Pittsburgh 30 - North Carolina 21
Actual: (17) Pittsburgh 19 - North Carolina 17

My Prediction: Kentucky 24 - Clemson 34
Sky's Prediction: Kentucky 17 - Clemson 49
Actual: Kentucky 13 - Clemson 21

My Prediction: Texas A&M 44 - Georgia 21
Sky's Prediction: Texas A&M 13 - Georgia 24
Actual: Texas A&M 20 - Georgia 44

My Prediction: UCLA 27 - Temple 28
Sky's Prediction: UCLA 33 - Temple 16
Actual: TBD....

2009: A Poptastical Musical Summary

Pure glory contained in a single youtube video.  Ian, as usual, coming up with the freshies:

"CAUTION: Falling Mice"

Random Thought of the Day:  What exactly are we accomplishing with the "CAUTION: Falling Ice" signs that are always out on the sidewalks of Chicago?  If there is as they say "falling ice," then shouldn't we just close the entire sidewalk?!  Nah, I say take your chances and go for it -- It makes walking to work all that much more exciting.

I always find myself looking up every time I see these signs, and then it occurs to me: looking up is probably the worst thing to do.  It just seems natural to me to look up and check to make sure it's safe... After all, there could be massive chunks of frozen water falling from the sky that I might need to dodge using my superhuman powers (NBD).

Even though it might not make much sense to look up, I'm pretty sure I'm the only person taking any sort of cautionary action in regard to these signs.  I've literally never seen one single other pedestrian do anything (oh, I'm watching).  No one looks up, no one crosses the street to walk on a different sidewalk, no one does anything... Because what can you do?!?!  Which brings us back to the basic question here: What's the point of these signs?  I guess it's gotta be a liability issue, and that by putting up a sign the buildings are protecting themselves from being sued when someone inevitably gets crushed by a gigantic icicle.  Ahhhh, good 'ole America!

As pointless as they may in fact be, I have to say I can't help but laugh every time I walk past my favorite stretch of Michigan Ave "Falling Ice" signs.  That's cause somebody took the liberty of scrawling "M," "L" and "TW" on consecutive signs.

And yes, I do look up to make sure I'm not going to get hit with falling mice or lice, and I'm definitely not getting hit twice by any mice or lice!!!

I'm On A Sleigh!!!

Loud, sustained applause to Nick for this one:

A Festivus for the Rest of Us!!!

December 23 is upon us, and with that, let me wish you all a very Happy Festivus!!!  During this holiday season, if you find yourself in a store looking to buy a doll for your son and then reigning blows down upon another man's head as he takes the last such doll, remind yourself that there must be another way!



And courtesy of Chris, any Grinches out there should probably take notes from the worst fans ever:



I've heard of Cubs fans having full slices of pizza being tossed on their jerseys at Phillies games (Wolf), but I think being smashed with hundreds of snowballs being hurled as hard as possible from all angles probably trumps that...

The Longest Inch, Episode #17

Episode #17 features Javier Vazquez's trade to the Yankees, Mike wishing the Cubs could deal Zambrano, a Chicago Bulls shellacking, and some serious Bowl predictions.

Bowl Picks:
                                               Me                    Skyler
MAACO Bowl Las Vegas
(18) Oregon St.                       33                        45
(14) BYU                                24                       35

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
(23) Utah                                 28                       31
California                                 24                       17

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Nevada                                     21                       38
Southern Methodist                   14                       45

Emerald Bowl
Boston College                        10                        7
USC                                         28                       52

Little Caesars Bowl
Marshall                                    26                       10
Ohio                                          27                       38

Meineke Car Care Bowl
(17) Pittsburgh                          38                        30
North Carolina                          31                        21

Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl
Kentucky                                  24                       17
Clemson                                    34                       49

AcvoCare V100 Independence Bowl
Texas A&M                              44                        13
Georgia                                     21                        24

EagleBank Bowl
UCLA                                       27                         33
Temple                                      28                         16

I Really Don't Know if I Can Continue as a Cubs Fan

In case you haven't heard, the Cubs just traded outfielder Milton Bradley to Seattle for right-handed pitcher Carlos Silva and cash.

Wow.

Harold, I don't know how much more of this I can take Harold...

In eight seasons, the 30 year-old Silva is 60-64 with two saves and a 4.72 ERA (592 ER/1128.2 IP) in 295 major league appearances (159 starts) with Philadelphia (2002-03), Minnesota (2004-07) and Seattle (2008-09).  He has walked only 214 batters in 1128.2 innings pitched, an average of only 1.7 walks per nine innings.  That's pretty much the extent of anything good you can say about Carlos Silva...

In 2009 with the Mariners, Silva appeared in a whopping eight  games(six starts) due to a right shoulder impingement that landed him on the disabled list from May 9-September 15. He went 1-3 with an 8.60 ERA...

Rich Harden is gone, so I guess Silva can step right into the overpaid, constantly injured starting pitcher role! Thank God we filled that spot!

Really the only good thing you can say about this trade is that Seattle is going to pay $9 million of Silva's ridiculous salary.

Bradley, 31, batted .257 (101-for-393) with 12 home runs and 40 RBI in 124 games with the Cubs last season.  Was it a bad year? Yes.  Was Bradley and his "attitude" the  sole reason for the Cubs terrible season? NO.  Anyone who jumped on the "I hate Milton Bradley Train" or the "Milton Bradley is the cause of all our problems express" (AKA about 75% of all Cubs "fans") needs to get a clue.  How about terrible starting pitching all around (except you, Theodore Lilly), underperforming by basically ever hitter, and terrible managing by Lou???


Oh, and just FYI, the last time Don Wakamatsu and gameboard were paired together  (in Texas in 2008) he hit .321/.436/.563....

Mark my words right now, this will not end up as a good move for the Chicago Cubs. 

The Longest Inch, Episode #16

This Tuesday, The Longest Inch delves into the Mariners' continuing their string of strong offseason moves by trading for Cliff Lee, the Phillies swapping one ace for another in the form of Roy Halladay, and Toronto is the proud recipient of a nice shiny set of golf clubs. Mark Ingram wins the Heisman (booooo) and we tell people to "Be Serious."

Wayyyy Too Much Time on Their Hands...

The Longest Inch, Episode #15

There's only one game on, and it's the Army/Navy showdown.  We break down the beginning of the Brian Kelly era at Notre Dame, discuss some more big news from the MLB winter meetings, and finish our final top 10 MLB Free Agents.  Oh, and you get your "Be Serious," "Stump the Skyler," and "Parting Shots."  Obviously.  What do you think this is, amateur hour???

This is why Michael Bay gets to keep on making movies.

Week 14 NCAA Prediction Recap (7 - 4)

My Week 13 Picks:
Prediction: Central Michigan 34 - Ohio 17
Actual: Central Michigan 20 - Ohio 10

Prediction: (23) West Virginia 24 - Rutgers 10
Actual: (23) West Virginia 24 - Rutgers 21

Prediction: (21) Houston 38 - East Carolina 34
Actual: (21) Houston 32 - East Carolina 38

Prediction: (19) California 17 - Washington 13
Actual: (19) California 10 - Washington 42

Prediction: Arizona 24 - (18) USC 34
Actual: Arizona 21 - (18) USC 17

Prediction: New Mexico St. 13 - (6) Boise St. 49
Actual: New Mexico St. 7 - (6) Boise St. 42

Prediction: Clemson 31 - (10) Georgia Tech 35
Actual: Clemson 34 - (10) Georgia Tech 39

Prediction: (5) Cincinnati 21 - (15) Pittsburgh 27
Actual: (5) Cincinnati 45 - (15) Pittsburgh 44

Prediction: (22) Nebraska 13 - (3) Texas 24
Actual: (22) Nebraska 12 - (3) Texas 13

Prediction: (2) Alabama 27 - (1) Florida 26
Actual: (2) Alabama 32 - (1) Florida 13

Prediction: (16) Oregon St. 35 - (7) Oregon 44
Actual: (16) Oregon St. 33 - (7) Oregon 37

The Longest Inch, Episode #14

Big numero 14 has us recapping a phenomenal Championship weekend of college football, dissecting the BCS Bowl selection process, and giving our top 3 Heisman Trophy Candidates. MLB Winter Meetings have commenced, and you can rest assured we give our 2 cents on everything from Milton Bradley to Chone Figgins to Andy Pettitte.  And of course, a steady dose of "Be Serious," "Stump the Skyler," and our "Parting Shots."

The Longest Inch, Episode #13

Lucky #13 brings you more top MLB free agents along with Hall of Fame talk. Also, we preview college football's Championship Saturday, Skyler looks for redemption in our trivia segment, and, as always, "Be Serious" and our "Parting Shots."

Conference Championship Week Picks:

                                              Me                   Skyler

Central Michigan                 34                         41
vs
Ohio                                    17                         21

(23) West Virginia               24                       31
at
Rutgers                                 10                         14

(21) Houston                        38                         38
at
East Carolina                       34                           35

(19) California                     17                          28
at
Washington                          13                          27

Arizona                                 24                          21
at
(18) USC                              34                          24

New Mexico St.                   13                           10
at
(6) Boise St.                          49                          52

Clemson                               31                           13
vs
(10) Georgia Tech                35                           35


(5) Cincinnati                        21                          17
at
(15) Pittsburgh                      27                           27


(22) Nebraska                        13                          17
vs
(3) Texas                               24                           38


(2) Alabama                           27                           10
vs
(1) Florida                             26                            28


(16) Oregon St.                     35                            20
at
(7) Oregon                            44                             31

Anybody want to go for a swim?

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

Courtesy of Patches

The Longest Inch, Episode #12

In episode 12, we recap the Rivalry weekend and take a quick look ahead to Championship Saturday. We interview a special Notre Dame insider on the coaching situation, discuss the MLB arbitration deadline and continue our top 50 free agent list with #30-21.  And as always, we bring you "Be Serious," "Stump the Skyler," and our "Parting Shots."