Prediction: Michigan at Penn State

Here’s my prediction… 30-16, Michigan over Penn State.  Usually Vegas knows what they’re doing, but they’re giving Penn State too much credit by only making them 3 point underdogs.  If Illinois beat Penn State 33-13, I don’t see a whole lot of difference in this game.  I know Michigan’s defense is a little weak, but it’s not like Penn State has racked up a lot of points and yardage against anyone, even the likes of Kent State (on top of that, third string quarterback Matt McGloin will be starting this Saturday).  Denard Robinson scares me.  Penn State’s defense is not what it normally is, and is riddled with injuries to boot.  They’ve occasionally been able to stop either the run or the pass, but not both, so someone like Robinson, who can keep them completely off balance, should have a field day.

I’m just hoping Penn State makes it to 6-6 this year, which they still have an outside shot at.  That would give JoePa his 400th win and make them bowl eligible.

Why We Haven't Met Any Aliens

It may be because they don't exist (perhaps I'll expand on that in a later post), but this is a pretty good theory too...

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/why_we_havent_met_any_aliens/

I'm trying hard not to give away the punchline.  Just read the article.  What it's *really* about is will make it worth your time.

Well I'll be darned

Which statement is true?

1. Middle Easterners migrated into Europe and taught agriculture to the indigenous people
2. Agriculture appeared in Europe because Middle Easterners, who knew how to do it, migrated there

The latest thinking is that #2 is correct:

http://isteve.blogspot.com/2010/10/are-europeans-all-middle-easterners.html

Hmmm... humanity spread from the Middle East into Europe.  Where have you heard that one before?

BBQ trifecta

After having spent several dozen weeks in Memphis over the past few years doing empirical studies on BBQ quality (and, as a side annoyance, doing my regular job during the daytime), I believe that my 3 trips to barbecue restaurants this week represent a near perfect trifecta:

• Central BBQ
• A&R BBQ
• Interstate Barbecue

There are certainly other great and legendary BBQ restaurants throughout the South, but there is no city anywhere where you could even come close to this trifecta.

If I could add a fourth, what would the word be, a quadfecta?  It just struck me that a trip downtown to The Rendezvous would be a perfect way to extend this list one further.  Maybe next week.

Tough times

Penn State has had 5 straight football seasons where they were pretty solid.  I could have been writing all kinds of wonderful happy stuff.  But I just had to wait until 2010 to get a blog.  Ouch.

Penn State and Pitt has been combined as a single entry in Mark Schlabach's latest "Bottom 10":

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=bottom10101013

That hurts... but the article is made palatable by the writer's in-depth knowledge of Cinderella (the most excellent hard rock band, that is, not the crystal shod maiden).

Honestly, I don't know that Pitt deserves to be on the list.  Their inclusion was probably just a dig at Pennsylvania football in general.  Their season is certainly disappointing so far, but they've been in games.  Penn State's losses, while to very good teams, have been ugly.

Penn State's excuse list is reasonable:

• Joe Paterno's youngest team ever - 61 freshmen and sophomores (I read one article that said they only have 20 juniors and seniors...sounds a little low, but that's in the neighborhood).
• A true freshman quarterback.  Rob Bolden shows a lot of promise, but has made a lot of freshman mistakes too.
• Injuries galore.  The medical staff (which has been there 24 years) says it's the worst they've ever seen.  What is it... 13 starters injured now (no exaggeration)?

All that being said,  a top-notch program with the 3 characteristics listed above still shouldn't be in as bad a place as this team is now.  Six wins is the magic number... it would be JoePa's 400th victory and would assure them of a bowl.  Six wins isn't a pipe dream, but it does look like it will be a tough road to get there.

Spew is vomit

A personal annoyance of mine is when people use the word "spew" for anything but vomit.  It's rare that someone can do this without coming across as a lib-uh-ral 19 year old college girl, but I get the sense that Joe Sobran (RIP) must have had a similar annoyance when he turned the tables and used it thusly...

On Canada banning Dr. Laura: "Canada has to protect itself against such pernicious, hate-filled American notions as the Law of Moses. If Dr. Laura wants to spew the Ten Commandments, let her do it in her own country."