Tuesday, October 29, 2013

TXST Homecoming 2013/Pt. 2

"Chris does not know what homecoming mums are and when I showed him a pic he asked, "where does it go, on the back of your head?"  Hahaha - clearly he isn't from Texas!!" -Bianca Kapustka-



Good evening everyone and welcome back for the second round of homecoming...  Please read yesterday's entry, 'TXST Homecoming 2013/Pt. 1' if you missed it - I don't want you to feel lost...  ;)

Okay, so when we left yesterday, Gabby and I were picking on Alyssa and what she did to her poor cat, which happens to be the official mascot of this blog.  #bellethecat  (If you didn't read yesterday's post, you HAVE TO SEE what Alyssa made Belle wear for Halloween, HAVE TO!)  ;)  We were also starting to pick on my horrible football Sunday, but we'll have plenty of time for that later...

Before we get to the actual football game, we have to finish up with the tailgate.  We'll start with the fact that I seemed to see EVERY SINGLE MEMBER of the Texas State Cheerleading Squad roaming around the tailgate before the game EXCEPT for my friends Paige and Brooke, who are my two favorite Bobcat cheerleaders EVER...  I tagged them in a facebook status shortly before 3:00 p.m. to inquire about their location, and they responded that they were already in their room (inside the stadium I'm assuming, preparing to cheer at the football game, WHICH IS SOMEWHERE in our near future, I promise you)...  ;)  Missing the photo opportunity with Paige and Brooke means that you're saved from seeing my photo in two blog entries in a row, so you can thank them when you get the chance...  :)  I did take photos of them during the game and thought about posting them here, but the shots with my Droid, even from the 21st row, well..., I might as well have taken the pictures of Paige and Brooke from OUTER SPACE...  Good work though ladies!  :)

Okay, fast forward to about 4:00 p.m., when I saw a sight that pretty much summarized the atmosphere of this tailgate...  One of the fraternities (I'm not sure which) had a deejay and an area where members were dancing to the music.  Then a group of about 10 to 15 who were dancing together started spraying beer above their own heads, much luck professional sports teams do with champagne when they win championships (hopefully the Red Sox this week)...  ;)  THEN some people above the crowd dancing below (from the deejay podium I think) start throwing red Solo cups full of beverages down onto the dancers...  And this was at FOUR in the afternoon (you have to remember that I'm used to staying up til 2 a.m. when I go out - this was EARLY)...

So during the course of the afternoon I'm posting regular facebook statuses about how great this tailgate is, and my friend James, who answered my social media begging for a ticket to the game on my birthday a couple of weeks ago, asked me if I needed a ticket to the homecoming game.  Believe it or not, I wasn't begging for a ticket this past Saturday, knowing that the game was going to be shown on ESPN 3, but of course I accepted when James offered, and had a great time once again (we're really almost to the football game)...  :)  As I was walking toward the stadium to meet James and his son in a good spot, I overheard an excited tailgater exclaim, "THAT WAS THE BEST TAILGATE EVER!!!"  It seems that my assessment was correct...  ;)  Oh, and as I'm waiting for James and his son to walk up, I see a stadium attendant RUN BY the bench that I'm sitting on, and then I notice THE SMOKE from the stretch of grass that borders the long parking lot where the tailgate was held.  The way that Saturday had been going, I wasn't really surprised by anything at this point, but the small fire was put out quickly, and then..., there was a FOOTBALL GAME...

Texas State versus South Alabama for homecoming...  Our Bobcats entered this game as a two-point underdog, and the Jaguars did lose by only a touchdown at Tennessee earlier in the season, so this matchup had some promise as far as being interesting...  My friend's young son was a nice addition to our group as he was packing a tablet with him, which allowed us to watch cartoons AND look up the scores of other games in the college football world during slow points in our own football game (televised game = lots of t.v. timeouts).  The highlight of having little James with us was his dislike of mascots of any type, and his hiding under our seats when he saw 'Boko' (the Bobcat) early in the game...  :)  Back to the tablet, well..., that was the other thing about the tailgate...  I had so much fun at the tailgate that I didn't even think about the other games that were going on Saturday after I left Austin when the Texas A&M/Vanderbilt game reached halftime.

Okay, now for the game itself (really)...  The Bobcats had a one-handed "pick-six" in this contest that we thought might make ESPN's Top Ten Plays (I never watched, so I don't know if it did), but this game got VERY INTERESTING late.  With about 2:20 left in the game, we kicked a field goal that put us up 30-24.  Now as the game had progressed, the Jaguars seemed to figure out that they could have success throwing against us, and now they really needed to.  They have a receiver that had both James and myself wondering how South Alabama had successfully landed in recruiting (big target, good hands).  Anyway, as the result of a LONG BOMB, for a touchdown, a pass that our defender NEVER looked back on, and didn't even seem to know when the receiver had caught the ball (very strange coverage), we were now down a point with about 1:30 left to play.  The good news is that you don't mess with our special teams, who had already kicked three field goals in this game.  The bad news is that our kickoff return wasn't outstanding.  The really bad news is that after running the clock down twice on our previous drive, we had used timeouts before kicking that field goal, thus leaving us with only one remaining.  The worse news happened as our drive drove RIGHT SMACK INTO a 4th and 26 situation (yes, I said FOURTH AND TWENTY-SIX)...  We snapped the ball, and our quarterback, forced to leave the pocket, started rolling to his right, and then he threw the ball down the right hash marks, and his target drifted behind his defender, and CAUGHT THE BALL, and eluded a safety, who had overrun the play, and we converted a FOURTH AND TWENTY-SIX, and were now set up at the South Alabama TWENTY-FIVE yard line!!!  Prior to this play, James had made the comment that maybe I shouldn't come to any more Bobcat games, since we seemed to keep losing - everything was on the line...  :P  We ran one more play for no gain, and then we called our last timeout with eight seconds left (yeah, the 'eight' comes into play).  After the timeout, our trushworthy special teams converted the 42-yard field goal, and our Bobcats were now up 33-31, with 4 seconds left.  What could happen in 4 seconds?  OH, first off, about half of the Bobcat bench flooded the field after the field goal, resulting in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, so we're kicking off from our own 20-yard line.  Second, because nothing was going to be normal on this Saturday, one of the return men for the Jaguars was laying in the endzone before the kickoff (we SERIOUSLY BELIEVE that he was hiding from our kickoff team, facing them from the back left corner of the endzone, like he was about to do a pushup).  Third, because nothing was going to be normal on this Saturday, our kicker boots an elevated line drive down the middle of the field, which bounces a couple of times, eludes both previously standing returners (and the third guy, who had now gotten up), and goes INTO THE END ZONE FOR A TOUCHBACK, on a kickoff from EIGHTY YARDS away...  :)  So with 4 seconds left, the Jaguars line up at their 25-yard line (James assured me this was right - I wanted them at the 20), throw a short incomplete pass to the left, and still have 1 second left.  NOTE:  WE'RE AT HOME!  CAN'T WE RUN ONE MORE SECOND OFF THE CLOCK!!!  Okay, same formation to the right this time, the pass is completed, and now the Jaguars start lateraling the ball ALL OVER THE FIELD (this play seriously might have lasted close to thirty seconds).  As they advanced down the field and lateraled the ball from left to right, and right to left, they probably advanced about as far as our 30-yard line, and then back to their own side of midfield before we successfully corralled them, and won the homecoming game!  Final:  Bobcats 33  Jaguars 31  PHEW...  :)

Thanks again to my friend James who was once again a great fan to watch the game with (VERY knowledgeable), and to his boy who was about as well-behaved as any kid of any age...  So on top of all this, James and his son drop me off on the Square, at my car, where I change into my second shirt (I can dress up kind of nice, although you wouldn't know that from yesterday's photo), and then I hit an ATM before heading to my old haunt Harper's.  And then it happens...  There's a new doorguy at the front, and when I see him talking with someone, I walk around and ask him if I'm okay.  He stops me and says that he needs to see my I.D...  YES, Coach got CARDED..., AT HARPER'S!!!  Let that sink in for a minute...  :D  I'm just giving the guy a hard time - it's great that he's doing his job (although I did tell almost every single bartender that I ran into that I got carded)...  ;)  Okay, so the first thing that I do is ask when they start selling pizza.  You do remember 2 weeks ago when I didn't eat since about 2:00 p.m. and paid for it on Sunday, right?  Oh, and I did eat an order of nachos at the football game, so add that to everything that I ate in yesterday's post - I wasn't about to make the same mistake twice...  ;)  Then I get a beer and a water from Stew, before going over to Slackers to see my friend Nick (NOT up to Slackers, as my old workplace has been changed again).  Slackers has been moved down to the first floor as the second floor is being remodeled.  My friend Red shows up and then at some point the Black Sambuca is unearthed from the walk-in, and I probably have a shot of that before heading up to the Veranda (probably)...  ;)  After arriving on the roof, I learn from George that Colleen is now 'Mama C' (formerly 'The Queen' - ;) ), and then I'm introduced to a new friend after he brings out the Fireball (Cinnamon Whisky).  Domonique, who I instantly struck up a friendship with after I found out that she's majoring in accounting, and is suffering through it like I did 100 years ago (no one ever emphasized THE HOMEWORK when they sold that major to us) simply asked, "FIREBALL?!" upon doing her shot.  Domonique works at Louie's Oyster House & Beer Garden, so be sure to visit them also when you're in San Marcos (in addition to the businesses that I mentioned in the last entry and the businesses that I'm going to mention in this entry, including Harper's Public House and the Italian Garden)...  ;)  Then I bothered D.J. Z and Mrs. Z (and yes Jerri, you can dance CIRCLES AROUND ME, and you didn't have to get a degree in/or teach dance to do so)...  ;)  When I asked Jerri if she misses her former students, she replied, "kids - they grow up..."  Yeah..., JUST WAIT Jerri...  :)  For those of you who don't know, I coached about 100 years ago...

Okay, food seems like a good time for a new paragraph...  It's now after 11:00 p.m. and pizza is being served, so back down the stairs Coach goes...  After grabbing a slice of cheese pizza (I never want to feel as bad again as I did two Sunday's ago), I was back at Slackers bothering Nick and my new friend Jess, who I also instantly clicked with (and Jess works at the Cedars Mediterranean Restaurant & Hookah Lounge, so be sure to check them out).  Jess (who went to a high school that rhymes with the word 'money' - okay, not really, but you get the idea...) is similar to me in that she's not high on people with money treating other people like garbage...  INSTANT friends...  :)  Jess also bought me a couple of shots as we chatted (it's like my birthday was held over for two weeks, huh?), but in my infinite wisdom, I still hadn't eaten enough, so back I went to get another slice of pizza from my friend Kenny.  It was at about this point that I ran into my friend Lindsey, who I hadn't seen in quite some time.  As we chatted, she asked if the pizza was good, and as I nodded I told her to try it.  Lindsey tore off a small slice and agreed that it was good before asking me if she could buy me ANOTHER SLICE (the best homecoming EVER, right?!)...  :)  I really enjoyed catching up with Lindsey and I vaguely remember turning down someone's offer to buy me ANOTHER SLICE before I left San Marcos (maybe everyone read my birthday post and felt sorry for me)???  And yes, I turned down food - shut up...  :P

So I felt completely fine on Sunday, and then football happened...  Final:  Oakland 21  Pittsburgh 18  Fantasy football going into Monday night:  Show Me Your T.D.'s 125  Bikini Hill Bobcats 82  Coach's '10 Best Bets':  2-6 heading into Monday night (ultimately 3-7).  Without any further ado, here are the top teams in my fantasy league at this point...


East

Con Juevos (7-1)
Dead Crickets (5-3)
Bikini Hill Bobcats (4-4)


West

Good Dotto (7-1)
Show Me Your TD's (5-3)
Out On Bail (4-4)


And there you have it, Homecoming 2013 at Texas State is in the books...  Have a good one and I'll see you again for Football Friday!
                                



  



 






Monday, October 28, 2013

TXST Homecoming 2013/Pt. 1

"Well homecoming, you win again..." -Nick Risoli-

"I'm like 0-6 against homecoming..." -George Garcia-

"So I asked my daughter if I should shave off my beard.  She said, "yeah, you're not a duck hunter"..." -Steve Armstrong-



Good evening everyone.  As you can see by the title above, it is my intention to keep this post shorter than my birthday entry.  When you highlight the high points of a whole day, it just takes a really long time...  :D  That being said, I had a great homecoming and I have plenty to write about. Before I get into what I'm going to cover tonight, I do want to say that I intend to make some regular poker posts in the near future now that I've joined Bovada.  I just have to find a regular tournament with a day, time, block of time, and structure that I like...

Homecoming...  I KNEW that I would have a good time on Saturday and that I probably won't get down to San Marcos again very soon (UT plays 3 of their next 4 games here in Austin).  The problem was getting motivated to leave my apartment...  I finally did my wash at 9:30 a.m., and then I watched the first half of the Texas A&M/Vanderbilt game before leaving Austin shortly after 1:00 p.m.  I parked on the Square at about 2:00 p.m. and then leisurely made my way over to the tailgate at Bobcat Stadium.  When I arrived and started checking things out, it didn't take long at all before I heard, "hey, didn't you use to work up at the Veranda?!"  I smiled and said that I did, and then I was asked if I wanted a beer.  SURE...  :)  In the next few minutes I not only had a beer, but I also had a wristband to get beers throughout the day from the tailgate sponsored by The Den. Let me take this opportunity to once again thank Z, Micah, and Brandon (who works for Logan's Roadhouse), and to encourage you to stop by The Den and Logan's in San Marcos when you get the opportunity.  Throughout the course of the day I stopped by The Den's tent a few more times, and while they fed me a cheeseburger and a few more beers, I in no way abused their kindness.  I actually slightly abused the kindness of SEVERAL PEOPLE as the day progressed, as you'll soon see...  :)  It's funny how that works, isn't it?  Be nice to people, and they'll generally reciprocate your kindness and generosity...  I'm sure that I've said it here before, but I'm blessed to know a lot of really cool people, and I'm really glad that I went to school at (Southwest) Texas State University...

While talking with Z, Micah, and Brandon, we figured out that the Bobcats only have one more game in San Marcos this season (Western Kentucky on November 23rd).  When you couple that with the fact that it was homecoming, it goes a long way in explaining why this particular tailgate was OUTSTANDING...  There must have been 3 times as many people at the tailgate on Saturday as there were at the one on my birthday 2 weeks ago.  Next I ran into Molly, who gave me a big hug and told me that she hadn't drank in FOURTEEN WEEKS (and I believe her), and she led me to The Marc's tent where I saw my friend Zane (consistently one of the best status posters on facebook) and had another beer.  Be sure to visit The Marc when you get a chance (this was formerly the Texas Music Theater, and was my employer the year before last).

I had to hunt around a little bit to find my friends Courtney and Eric, who were once again manning the Treehouse Apartments' tent.  It seems that the spaces in the tailgating parking lot are "first-come, first-served," so they weren't in the same place as they were two weeks ago.  Finding them was well-worth the search (okay, I actually ran into Courtney while she was walking around and didn't TECHNICALLY find the tent on my own), and what was their punishment for getting a spot late?  They were set up UNDER TREES on a sunny day - DARN...  :)  As I enjoyed a few more beers, AND jalapeno poppers, AND a sausage wrap with my friends, we discussed what a crazy tailgate this was.  Among MANY of the things that were going on, some of the tailgaters were jumping the fence that we were set up near to use the restroom (even though there were SEVERAL "port-o-potties" located on each end of the lot).  I only mention this because a friend of mine that works for the University Police Department (who looked VERY BUSY on Saturday) was approaching our tent and I was prepared to say hello when two of these geniuses hopped back over the fence and onto the parking lot RIGHT AS my friend came around the corner... #badtimingforthem  :)

At some point in the afternoon (as I made several separate visits to see Courtney and Eric) I found my friend and 2013 Texas State Homecoming Queen Nominee Gabby.  I also saw my friends Carolina (who pointed me in the right direction), Amy, and Mo in the vicinity of the Chi-O tent, but this little story (one of my favorite memories of the day) is about Gabby.  I had been speaking with Gabby for a few minutes when she offered me a beer.  Of course I accepted (because I'm polite like that), and I expected Gabby to head toward a cooler and return shortly.  INSTEAD, Gabby reaches down into her "purse" and produces a beer.  At this point I look down, and then I started laughing HYSTERICALLY...

 

As you can see, her purse isn't a purse AT ALL, and Gabby is very resourceful...  :D  I had been standing on Gabby's left shoulder as we spoke, and I just hadn't really noticed what she was carrying, with her bag on her right shoulder (I specifically asked Gabby to "feature" the bag in this picture for this story).  As for the old man in the photo, that's what 100 years old looks like...  ;) Immediately upon seeing this shot, I told Gabby that I was going to have all kinds of fun with it, given the "wings" that are protruding from beneath my ballcap, how "white" I am (I usually tan well, but haven't been outside much), and how "squinty" I am (the shades are doing me A LOT OF GOOD on my collar)...  I also made a good choice of attire (the Bobcats sport maroon, gold, and white, which is why I wore the shirt) as the shirt does a SPECTACULAR JOB of displaying my 1,700-pound frame...  ;)  Back to Gabby, her cleverness is getting her two more mentions here... She was in a phone conversation with somebody during our visit, someone who was trying to find her at the tailgate.  The parking lot housing the tailgate might be 200 yards long, and while giving her friend directions, Gabby says, "keep walking..."  :)  Gabby and I also spoke fondly of our friend Alyssa (yes, that Alyssa) during this time, and Gabby gave the BEST POSSIBLE DESCRIPTION of the following photo last week when she stated, "THIS IS GOLD!"

   

Yes, if you recognize this as being the blog's official mascot, Belle The Cat, you're correct.  I guess this is what happens when life gets slow up in Abilene...  :P  Actually, this is the costume that Alyssa found for Belle for the pet photo contest that she referenced in the most recent 'Football Friday' post.  Speaking of that entry, it looks very much like my '10 Best Bets' for the weekend are about to go 3-7, and this snapshot WILL BE my photo for this week (I'm totally blaming my losing record last week on posting the wrong picture of Belle)...  ;)  This shot is just SCREAMING, "okay, I'll pose for your picture - hurry up Mom..."  :)

Well, I knew that this entry was going to get away from me, and we haven't even discussed how my friend James hooked me up with a ticket to the football game again, OR how WILD it was at the end, or my trip to the Square on Saturday night.  PLENTY to talk about the next time that I see you...  Have a good one and I'll see you again on Wednesday!
  
      



Thursday, October 24, 2013

Week 9 Football Picks/13-14

Good evening everyone.  Well, if you have a serious rooting interest in tonight's Panthers/Bucs game, then you've probably been more miserable than I've been with my illness-plagued little life recently (and no, I don't think I have the plague)...  My disinterest in this game (the Bobcat Nation pick 'em contest is my only rooting interest - go Panthers) will allow me to freely flip back and forth between the NFL and the World Series (go Sox!).  Last week I only had five celebrity experts due to my illness and laziness (just wait and see what I have in store for you tonight)...  :P  The good news is that our celebrity experts went 5-0 last week as the Bobcats beat the Panthers of Georgia State 24-17.  Two of our experts, Tim Thrash (31-17) and Pete Wyatt (44-17), nailed the Panthers score.  Our in-house expert Joey also nailed Georgia State's score, and had the Bobcats winning the game 30-17.  Joey also had Rice beating New Mexico State (his alma mater) 45-7, and the final score was 45-19.  What's completely unbelievable (not really) is that our fearless forecaster Alyssa was not only right there on her Texas State prediction (24-14 Bobcats), but she also had the Texans beating the Chiefs 17-14.  While the Chiefs ended up winning the game 17-16 (sorry Alyssa), you can't just say that she's in the neighborhood with her scores - Alyssa's living IN THE HOUSE...  :)  I would hate to have a contest with her on the overs and unders - GEESH!  The bad news about celebrity experts is that I once again went the lazy route in my recruiting this week, and well..., you'll see in a minute...  ;)  Both of our favorite local teams are back in action this Saturday as Texas State plays host to the Jaguars of South Alabama, while the Texas Longhorns visit Fort Worth to take on the Horned Frogs of TCU.  Now for this week's predictions...


Celebrity Experts (Last weekend 5-0/Overall record of 75-61 on Bobcats and Longhorns games)

Saturday, October 26th - Texas State Bobcats (4-3) vs. South Alabama Jaguars (3-3)

TXST  21-20     Christopher Green - @TalentedGreen
TXST  35-16     George Garcia - Bartender @ Harper's Public House This Weekend!
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***


Saturday, October 26th - Texas Longhorns (4-2) @ TCU Horned Frogs (3-4)

UT  34-21     Aaron Smith - BYU Alum/Diehard College Football Fan
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***
*** This Could Be Your Score ***


So yeah, evidently doing the "all calls" on facebook, Twitter, and here in the blog IS NOT a very successful strategy for soliciting predictions...  :)  SOOOO, if you're reading this right now, and you would like to give me a prediction on either the Texas State or the Texas game, I will edit them into this post up until I have ten scores for each game, (or Saturday, whichever comes first...).  You'll get some free advertising with the name of your business beside your name, or your blog, or your Twitter handle, etc..., and you'll be famous (semi, kinda-sorta).  Last week's 'Football Friday' entry was my most-viewed post in a single weekend with 692 views from the time that I published on Thursday night until I put up Monday's post, so there's that...  ;)  Use the comments section, facebook, Twitter, WHATEVER..., just get your prediction to me!


Now it's time for our favorite Las Vegas ticketwriter (the only one that we know, but still our favorite)...  ;)  Coming to you live from the Palace Station Sportsbook, here's Joey!


Joey's Parlay Card (Last weekend 2-0/Overall record of 7-6 on Aggies, Bobcats, & Longhorns games)

This week's parlay card is a little short since my 0-7 Aggies are at home taking the week off.  Come to think of it, they seem to take every week off...  So Texas takes on TCU this week.  The defense seems to be coming around.  I'll take the Longhorns to win 27-17.  The Bobcats get another home game this week.  True freshman Tyler Jones has struggled the last 2 weeks with 2 picks and only 1 TD, but South Alabama's passing game is not much better.  The game is close to the end, but the Bobcats pull out the victory 23-20.  That's it for this week's card - may all your bets be winners...


I was talking about that steak in Joey's photo above with some coworkers today - we saw a small handsaw, and I said that it would be the ideal steak knife for that cut up above...  ;)  My friends, I decided that it would be unfair to post that photo with Alyssa's face buried in my shoulder again this week, with the Texans having a bye and all.  Also, I'm honestly getting sick of seeing it - I mean, what if THAT IS THE REASON that the Texans keep losing?!  I have some news that is potentially good for you though Alyssa:  The Steelers started the season 0-4, but we have won 2 straight games after our bye week, soooo...  ;)  And here she is, our favorite Texans' fan (with her "little" and our good friend, AND Texas State Homecoming Queen Nominee, Gabby)...  :D  In case you're confused, Alyssa is the cat (SHOCKER)...



Alyssa's Corner (Last weekend 1-1/Overall record of 8-12 on Texans, Bobcats, and Longhorns games)

Happy Thursday!  Even though my Houston Texans lost (again) last weekend, I am very impressed with the way Case Keenum played!  It was an actual game last Sunday!  I hope that Kubiak decides to start him again on November 2nd against the Colts.  I will be at that game, so they should win...the last game I was at (against the Titans), they won.  I am OBVIOUSLY their good luck charm.

So next Thursday is Halloween and I will admit that I am happy to be out of college because I HATE dressing up for Halloween, but I am super excited about my first grown up Halloween.  I went to the dollar store earlier this week and bought a bunch of Halloween decorations for the outside of my apartment!  If I don't get any trick or treaters I am going to be VERY upset.  If I sit at home all night with my bowl of candy and no one comes...Belle (my cat) will be very upset.  Speaking of Belle, I am going to get her a Halloween costume...either I'll make one or buy one from PetSmart.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!  My job is asking for pictures of animals in their Halloween costumes and Belle has to be the cutest!  Also on Halloween is another office potluck...if ya'll remember from the last office potluck, NO ONE ate my dish... not even me.  But don't worry guys!  I'll bring my A game this time!  Now for my predictions...

My TEXANS have a bye this week
Horns vs. Horned Frogs:  20-14 Horns
Bobcats vs. Jaguars:  24-17 Bobcats


And yes, OF COURSE I posted that photo to prove that Alyssa "hates Halloween..."  Alyssa made it very clear though - COLLEGE Halloween...  :)  I personally think that Belle should dress up as a cat this year, if my opinion means anything...  ;)  I'm not superstitious or anything, but I went 6-4 on my '10 Best Bets' last week (a WINNING WEEK), so here's our favorite mascot again...



Coach (Last weekend 1-0/Overall record of 7-6 on Bobcats and Longhorns games)

The first time that I checked the Vegas lines this week, both the Bobcats and Longhorns were two-point underdogs this Saturday.  South Alabama intrigues me...  While the Jaguars were picked to finish next to last in the Sun Belt in Phil Steele's 2013 College Football Preview magazine, they did beat Western Kentucky by a touchdown AND they only lost by a touchdown AT Tennessee.  I like the Bobcats at home in what I think will be a relatively low-scoring game - my pick is 17-14 Bobcats.

The Longhorns are taking their 4-2 mark to TCU this weekend.  I find it unusual that the Horns aren't ranked in the Top 25 currently, especially with the success that Ole Miss (1 of the 2 teams to beat them) has had recently.  I'll come in on this game higher than my friends, taking Texas to beat the Frogs 31-21.


Coach's Ten Best Bets of the Week (Last weekend 6-4/Overall record of 41-38-1)

Texas Tech (+6 1/2) @ Oklahoma - Lots of respect for the 10th-ranked Red Raiders - hmmm...
Oregon State (+4 1/2) vs. Stanford - Beavers have been on a roll after losing their opener...
Missouri (-2 1/2) vs. South Carolina - I liked the Tigers before they JUMPED in the polls...
49ers (-16 1/2) @ Jaguars - Doubtful that Harbaugh overlooks Jacksonville...
Falcons (+2 1/2) @ Cardinals - LONG SEASON if the Falcons can't win this one...
Giants/Eagles (Over 52 1/2) - I expect about 70 in this one...
Cowboys (+3) @ Lions - Dallas still isn't getting any credit...
Browns/Chiefs (Under 39 1/2) - I expect about 27 in this one...
Seahawks (-10 1/2) @ Rams - St. Louis wants Brett Favre - enough said...
Seahawks/Rams (Under 42 1/2) - About 38 points, with Seattle scoring most of them...

And that's it folks...  Get a score prediction to me on the Bobcats or Longhorns game if you want to be in the blog this week and have a good one!















            

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

A Real Poker Post?

"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run, you never count your money, when you're sittin' at the table, there'll be time enough for countin', when the dealing's done..." -Kenny Rogers- (The Gambler)



Good morning everyone (about to be morning soon anyway).  I just had a healthy nap and hopefully I'll be able to get back to sleep pretty quickly after I hit the 'publish' button...  After my blogging friend Mojo recently posted some online poker results, I became convinced that the game still exists in some form somewhere, and I played the first hands online that I've played for "real money" in almost 2 1/2 years...  Okay, I actually entered a $1.10 single table sit-n-go, and lasted exactly ONE HAND...  Yeah, here's how it went...  With 1,500 in chips and the blinds at 10/20, and 3-minute rounds and the top 3 players getting paid ($4.50, $2.70, and $1.80), I looked down at pocket fives (the dreaded pocket fives Rob)...  ;)  I limped in, as did most of the table (big mistake), and the flop came 2 5 6.  I was in mid-position and watched a bet of 60, a call, a raise to about 700, at which point I shoved my set of fives.  Two players called my all-in, and when the cards were turned over, I saw a set of 2's (fine with me) and a 3 4 (uh oh)...  The board never paired, and I finished in eighth place...  Oh, it's GREAT to be playing online poker again...  :P


As bad as (if not worst than) that poker result was the debacle that was my fantasy football team this weekend.  Evidently no one told my players that they were playing on Sunday, and the Bikini Hill Bobcats were drummed 88-64 by Good Dotto.  So much for my first crack at the undefeated team in the league...  Here are the top teams in my league after last week's games...

East

Con Juevos (6-1)
Dead Crickets (4-3)
Bikini Hill Bobcats (4-3)


West

Good Dotto (7-0)
Show Me Your TD's (4-3)


I will be facing 'Show Me Your TD's' this week and at this point I have no idea who my lineup will consist of...  That worked out well last week, didn't it, if you were following along at home with the success of my team???  :P

Not a lot of other things going on here other than trying to beat this nagging sickness that has plagued me in varying degrees for almost two weeks now.  If I'm off the disabled list by Saturday, I do plan on going down to San Marcos, America.  Texas State University will be celebrating homecoming this weekend, and I'll probably be tied to Austin for most of the month of November.

I hope that everything is going well in your world and I'll see you again on Friday (probably Thursday night)...  ;)




  

Monday, October 21, 2013

Bleh...

"It's not about how hard you can hit.  It's about how hard you can get hit.  And keep moving forward..." -Rocky Balboa-

"I've never been in love..., but I imagine it's similar to the feeling you get when you see your waiter arriving with your food..." -@extragrumpycat- (via @Uhh_lee_suhh/Twitter)

"The funerals end today..." -We Are Marshall-



Good afternoon everyone.  For the second time in eleven days I missed work because I'm feeling "bleh..."  I spent most of the weekend at home trying to organize things here, but still having not fully recovered from whatever malaise I've been plagued with recently, "bleh" pretty much sums it up (and I just sneezed twice for good measure)...  Being the trooper that I am though, I thought that I would give you a little entry...

We had a mixed bag of football this weekend.  In the real world, football was great as both the Bobcats and the Steelers won.  In the fantasy world, my team didn't even score sixty points and predictably lost.  My '10 Best Bets' are sitting at 5-4 for the week right now, and I've got the Giants beating the Vikings by more than 3 points tonight to avoid another 5-5 week...

I did watch some baseball on Saturday night, and I did see Shane Victorino's slam propel the Red Sox to the World Series to face Mojo's Cardinals (first game Wednesday night).  I visited Mojo's blog today (link on the right), and now I'm curious to know if Bovada is actually getting money out to people that win playing poker on their site...  Pokerstars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker were shut down in May about 2 1/2 years ago, but Bovada is up and running (maybe because Bovada is a smaller fish, or maybe Mojo is playing intrastate???).  I need an answer on this Mojo...  :)  And Mojo placed in some tournies again, and water is still wet...  ;)

One arena where I was very proud of myself this weekend (and this is just silliness) was during my grocery run.  I recently received a $50.00 rebate debit card from the purchase of my new Droid, so I took it to H-E-B.  I made a list of items, and I was trying to keep my bill under $50.00 so that I wouldn't have to pay anything out of pocket (a "free trip" to the grocery store if you will)...  When I checked out, the final total was $49.36.  All of those years watching 'The Price Is Right' when I was younger must have finally paid off... ;)

On the same trip to H-E-B, I noticed that the 'Whatafries' that I mentioned here a while back ($1.00 a bag at the time) were now being advertised at 2 bags for $5.00.  First, I knew that the $1.00 a bag promotional price was too good to be true, and second, I haven't even finished the bag that I purchased, probably because the charm of finding a "chip" that tastes like a cold french fry has worn off, and then all you're left with is a bag of cold hard fries.  :P

I hope that your week is starting off better and healthier than mine, and I look forward to seeing you again on Wednesday...



      



Thursday, October 17, 2013

Week 8 Football Picks/13-14

Good evening everyone.  Well, things were going great in fantasy football as I began typing this until the Seahawks just fumbled inside their own five-yard line (I have the Seattle 'D' - the turnover just gift-wrapped an easy TD for the Cardinals, lowering my point total).  Merp...  As a result of my lingering post-birthday laziness (my assessment anyway), I've only got five celebrity experts for you tonight.  I knew that Texas wasn't going to be playing this week, and I never found the time/got myself motivated to individually contact potential score predictors this week.  This resulted in me sending out a LATE "all call" on facebook and Twitter this afternoon, so as a result... (yes, you guessed it, five experts)...  The final scores on last week's games were Texas 36-20 over Oklahoma (experts went 6-14) and Louisiana-Monroe 21-14 over Texas State (experts went 2-8).  No one qualified for 'Coach's Hall of Fame' last week (or ever so far), but we had a lot of close scores if you flipped the winner of the games, and one exact score with the teams flipped...  Jessa Lee (@jessakayelee) had the Bobcats winning 21-14 (right score, wrong team, but still pretty impressive).  In that same game, Monica Rodriguez and Linda Contreras were the only pair of experts who correctly picked the Warhawks to win the game, thus saving the celebrities from going 0-10 on the contest.  In the Texas game, there were several people (namely bloggers), who had close "opposite scores."  I believe that Lightning36, Rob, and Pete P. Peters (who had 3 of these) will all SWEAR that I incorrectly entered their picks, and that they all had the Horns winning the game (37-21, 38-20, and 41-20 respectively).  Grrouchie (another blogger) actually did pick Texas to win the game 30-27.  OUCH!!!  The Seahawks just kicked a 51-yard field goal, and my opponent this week has their placekicker - MERP... #fivepointsforhim  Okay, back to the subject of close opposite scores, my co-pilots also had the "texture" of the games right, but with the wrong victors.  Joey had OU winning 34-17, and Alyssa had Texas State winning 21-10.  Oh, and Marissa Wagner (Morning Drive Anchor for 550 KTSA in San Antonio), your optimism paid off...  ;)  Marissa had the Horns winning the game 24-21.  Now for this week's game...


Celebrity Experts (Last weekend 8-22/Overall record of 70-61 on Bobcats and Longhorns games)

Saturday, October 19th - Texas State Bobcats (3-3) vs. Georgia State Panthers (0-6)

TXST  31-17     Tim Thrash - @TimThrash
TXST  42-31     Grrouchie Serge - www.grrouchie.com/ @grrouchie
TXST  38-14     Paige Haddock - Texas State Alum
TXST  44-17     Pete Wyatt - Brother, Longhorns & Cowboys Fan, Original Blog Follower
TXST  31-14     Miletus Ogden Borne' - All-Around Cool Person/Original Blog Follower


Now it's time for our Las Vegas ticketwriter and New Mexico State Alum Joey.  He actually has a cool profile photo on facebook with the same Broncos jersey, but I like this shot with the Fred Flintstone-sized steak.  Coming to you live from the Palace Station Sportsbook in Las Vegas, Nevada, here's Joey...

  
Joey's Parlay Card (Last weekend 0-2/Overall record of 5-6 on Aggies, Bobcats, & Longhorns games)

It's hard to believe that we are already at Week 8 of the college football season.  The Texas team that showed up last week against Oklahoma was the one I have been looking for all season.  Hopefully they can continue this type of play through the Big 12 Conference and TCU next week.  New Mexico State plays at home against Rice this week.  I think Rice scores a touchdown before they land in El Paso.  Injuries and no pass rush will make this an ugly game for my Aggies.  Rice flies away with an easy victory, 45-7.  Texas State also gets to stay home again this weekend with winless Georgia State, whose 'D' is giving up 30 points per game, so I'm taking the Bobcats to pull away late - 30-17 will be the final.  Til next week I hope all your tickets are winners.

Joey


Okay, Joey scared me the way that he said, "30-17 will be the final."  If he gets that score right, I'm saying that after all of my predictions from now on...  ;)  Oh, this dreaded photo again...  PLEASE, PLEASE win a game soon Texans!!!  I feel so bad for my friend...  And here she is, our favorite Texans' fan...


Alyssa's Corner (Last weekend 0-3/Overall record of 7-11 on Texans, Bobcats, & Longhorns games)

Well blog readers...I'm in a bit of a slump.  I think my cat is sick and the Houston Texans just aren't playing like I thought they would this season!  It breaks my heart Everytime they show my precious J.J. Watt look defeated!  Nonetheless I will still be watching every game!  I am excited to see how Case will play this weekend starting as quarterback.  Now I just want to point one thing out...the Texans have not won a game since the game I was physically at.  Coincidence?  I think not!  I should obviously go to every game!  Now to my cat...I honestly don't know what's going on with her.  She has been so incredibly needy lately!  She'll cry and cry at night until I pet her, she'll knock over bottles in my bathroom, and she's been following me around.  Maybe my cat has anxiety - maybe she found out about my new fish!  Ek!  It's hard raising a middle-aged cat.

In other news, today is a good day!  Today is one of my best friend's, Chelsea, birthday!  We are pledge sisters and I hate being so far away from her!  I wish I could spend her birthday with her because her 21st birthday was a blast!

Now to my predictions...

Now I know my Texans are on a losing streak but I WILL NOT predict against them.  With that being said...

Texans vs. Chiefs:  17-14 Texans
Bobcats vs. Panthers:  24-14 Bobcats

Alyssa


Now the way that Alyssa messaged that to me, I had confusion about a word/how she was trying to say that Belle (her cat) how found out about her new fish.  When I asked Alyssa, she told me that she has kept the new fish HIDDEN...  :)  That's the Alyssa that we all know and love, and knowing that this is Alyssa's cat, I'm POSITIVE that Belle can sense the presence of the new fish.  #positive
Since I'm not putting up a photo of myself unless I go 10-0 (maybe 9-1) on my '10 Best Bets,' here's a photo that will hopefully get me over that 5-5 hump (where I've been for the past couple of weeks).  Here's my friend Belle (who I've never met)...


And yes (since you asked), THAT WAS my fantasy defense that intercepted the ball and TRIPPED inside the 5-yard line (down at the ONE), thus depriving me of 6 more fantasy points...  And yes, I missed on both the Bobcats and Longhorns games last week...  #veryrare


Coach (Last weekend 0-2/Overall record of 6-6 on Bobcats & Longhorns games)

One game here for me this week.  I'll either be over and under .500 after this one.  Las Vegas has Texas State favored by 17, and they're playing against a winless team, in San Marcos...  C'mon Bobcats...  Texas State  30  Georgia State  10


Coach's Ten Best Bets of the Week (Last weekend 5-5/Overall record of 35-34-1)

Washington State (+40) @ Oregon - Giving Coach Leach FORTY!  C'mon Cougars...
Missouri (+3) vs. Florida - Undefeated Tigers plus the points at home?  Okay...
Utah (+4) @ Arizona - Suddenly I like underdogs...  This group beat Stanford last week...
Iowa/Ohio State (Under 55 1/2) - Seems too high for this matchup...
Cowboys (+3) @ Philadelphia - ANOTHER dog...  Am I slipping, or is Vegas???
Broncos/Colts (Under 56 1/2) - Anticipating a weird game with all of the anticipation/electricity...
Browns/Packers (Under 46) - Pack lost pair of receivers last week & BROWNS are their foe...
Giants (-3) vs. Vikings - Jacobs looked good, Freeman is making 1st start for Vikes, in NYC...
Bears/Redskins (Under 50 1/2) - Seems like a lot of points for this matchup too...
Chargers (-7 1/2) @ Jaguars - Back on the anti-Jacksonville bandwagon...

And there you have it my friends.  If I go 10-0 this week, you might see a lot more of Bikini Hill's honorary mascot...  ;)  Have a great football weekend and I'll see you again on Monday!










Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Donut Delivery

"I wish there was a donut delivery service...I guess it's egg whites for breakfast instead... #Boring"
-Alyssa @Uhh_lee_suhh- (via Twitter)

"I watch the snow fall down, feels great to be honest, forget about the trouble, forget about the drama, cause I, ain't Casanova baby, I can dance for days, this time with you is just amazing, in so many ways..." -Blue October- (Sway)

"Is it bad that I have a small crush on this trainer?  He's not cute, he's just a genius!  Like how can one person be so smart?  lol..." -Ms. B @b_jai2012- (via Twitter)



Good evening everyone.  Late start tonight due to an extended after work nap and some fantasy football research before I came to blogger, so forgive me for the inconvenience...  In case you're wondering, the fantasy football problem that I had to solve was at quarterback - Brees has a bye this week and Vick is injured, so I added Tannehill (vs. Buffalo) through waivers...  Here are the top teams in the standings in my fantasy football league this week:

East

Con Juevos (5-1)
Bikini Hill Bobcats (4-2)


West

Good Dotto (6-0)
Show Me Your TD's (4-2)


Yes my friends, Bikini Hill is being represented much better than it was during the fantasy baseball season to this point.  My Bobcats are matched up against Good Dotto this weekend, so it should be an interesting game.  This is my lineup for the weekend if you're keeping score at home... Fitzgerald (AZ), Seattle 'D', Tannehill (MIA), McCoy (PHI), Woodhead (SD), Allen (SD), Witten (DAL), Henery (PHI), and Welker (DEN).


Okay, where to start tonight...  Oh, let's go back up to Alyssa's tweet (and the title of the blog entry tonight).  That is our beloved 'Alyssa's Corner' Alyssa who gave us that gem (personally, I see a few holes in the idea, but...)  ;)  I have to reiterate my appreciation to Alyssa for agreeing to give us her contribution to the blog for the whole football season.  When I came up with the idea of having 'celebrity experts' weigh-in on the outcomes of the Texas State and Texas games, and then having Alyssa (a diehard, and I mean DIEHARD Texans fan) share her football picks and humorous personal stories, etc..., I expected that all three teams would have outstanding seasons from start to finish.  The Longhorns look like they might be turning the corner now after some disappointing showings early, and the Bobcats, after chalking up some substantial upsets to being the season, still possess a lot of promise in the Sun Belt Conference.  However, I would have never, NEVER BELIEVED that the Texans would have come out of the gate at 2-4, especially coupled with the fact that they had to dig in and come from behind in that pair of victories (San Diego and Tennesssee). The Texans proved that they can play with the elite teams in the league when they lost to the Seahawks in overtime (a game that they gave away late), but that loss seems to have deflated them as they've had poor showings against the 49ers and the Rams in the last couple of outings.  Anyway, I completely expected this co-piloting to be all fun for the girl who orders cheese as a drink at drive-thru windows and who came up with the idea of donut delivery.  Thanks again for your weekly contribution Alyssa, and take heart in the fact that your team (still, FOR NOW) has TWICE AS MANY WINS as my team has...  ;)  My friend Joey (Joey's Parlay Card) has it a little easier right now because his alma mater New Mexico State is rarely expected to win (PLUS he happens to be a Broncos fan - PUNK...), but I also wanted to acknowledge my appreciation for his input and that of all of the celebrity experts who have offered predictions on games this season.  If we could somehow implement a system with year-round NCAA and NFL football with donut delivery, that would be PERFECT...  ;)

I remember the first time that I had a great idea for a job interview...  While I was stuck near a waste disposal truck for a few minutes a couple of days ago, the truck INCESSANTLY kept going "BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!!!," even though it wasn't backing up the whole time.  That's when I envisioned the job interviewer asking, "and how do you feel about hearing this sound for eight hours a day, forty hours a week?  BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!!!" You have to respect those guys - that sound was getting on my last nerve in minutes...

As my friend and I were heading to the Texas Union for lunch a few days ago, I saw a group of three female students huddled around looking at the ground.  As we got closer, I saw that they were trying to "steer" a lost turtle back to the little turtle pond (I'm not sure if this habitat has an official name) here on the UT campus.  By 'steer,' I mean that they were standing in the turtle's path, unless it was walking in the direction of the pond.  You see, no one is supposed to touch the turtles (I believe that this is posted at the pond).  We had to swing back by as a result of a lack of parking, and by this time, TWENTY STUDENTS were watching this spectacle, at which point one of the students FINALLY lifted the turtle by its shell (which is what we were saying as we drove by on the first pass)...  :)  It really was nice to see all of the concern though, and the last time that I posted, you saw a photo of a cat on a couch with a beer, so we were due for an uplifting animal story...  Alyssa doesn't really let Belle drink (I don't think)...  :)

Okay, I've really got to get to my personal 'Football Wednesday' chores now, but have a good one and I'll probably see you again tomorrow night (by Friday at the latest)...


  

    

        




Monday, October 14, 2013

Birthday 2013

"Do you have an opinion?..., a mind of your own?..., I thought you were special, I thought you should know, but I've run out of patience, I couldn't care less..." -Garbage- (Special)



Good evening everyone.  I heard the lyrics above via ALT 98.7 out of Los Angeles on iHeartRadio when I was doing my wash about an hour ago.  "But Coach, why?   You always wash your clothes at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday or Sunday..."  I can hear y'all pondering this anomaly in my schedule. WELL, someone didn't wake up at 7:00 a.m. yesterday because someone celebrated their birthday on Saturday...

Let's quickly rewind to the end of last week where I was extremely tired and not feeling very well.  I stayed home from work on Thursday and somehow managed to struggle through Friday.  In celebration of my birthday weekend and KNOWING that I was about to take a nice long nap, I ordered 2 medium 2-topping pizzas from Domino's as soon as the campus bus dropped me off. Then I checked my mail and found a birthday card with a $50.00 check from my dad - SCORE! Then I looked at the date and realized that I wouldn't be able to use it Saturday because he wrote in my actual birthday as the date - bad beat...  Then I proceeded to eat one slice shy of a WHOLE PIZZA before I slept...

Fast forward to Saturday...  I left Austin at about 9:30 a.m. knowing that the UT/OU game kicked off at 11:00, and that the Nike Outlet Store opened at 10:00.  When I arrived at Nike, I picked up a pair of wristbands (have I told you before that ever since the time that I started playing online poker, I have always worn a wristband while on my computer because it made life easier on my right wrist while moving the mouse around?).  Then I got to the shoe section...  I needed another pair of sneakers because my old pair squeaked so much that I was told that I sounded like Donald Duck when I walked...  I pretty much always buy some variation of the Nike Trainers because I like the support that the width of the shoe provides (compared to the width of a running shoe).  So, long story short, I got out of Nike for about 80 bucks after picking up TWO PAIRS OF SHOES (hey, both pairs were 30% off), a ballcap (you know me), and the wristbands.   And yes, I was at Nike longer than I had anticipated, and the UT/OU game had already started...

I still needed to pick up the new Blue October CD 'Sway' however (remember, this is my birthday weekend), so I stopped at Hastings on my way back into town.  Thank goodness that Blue October doesn't release a new CD every week, because I'd have to buy EVERY ONE...  :)

So the day is going well so far, and I'm only one quarter late as I stroll into Bobcat Nation to use the first of the pair of $25.00 tabs that I won in their football pick 'em contest (I thought that I'd have a chance to win again this week, but the guy that I'm one game behind also picked the Chargers to win tonight, so another bad beat)...  I walk in as the Texas defense is returning a turnover for a touchdown, making the score 10-3 Longhorns at that point - hmmm....  :)  I enjoyed a ribeye cheesesteak sandwich with a side of fries and three adult beverages as the Longhorns DOMINATED THE SOONERS 36-20.  I had said here that I thought that Texas could win the game if their defense showed up and Gray and/or Brown went off (all of that happened), but the Horns STIFLED Oklahoma.  As you can imagine, Bobcat Nation had a largely pro-Texas crowd, and I literally got the chills (goose bumps, whatever...) when the Horns returned a kick for a touchdown - a great game and lunch.  My bartender and friend Alyssa (not that Alyssa) told me that my tab was only about 21 bucks as I was about to leave for Bobcat Stadium (very kind of her), but I had sat for long enough and it was time to continue my adventure (i.e., I wasn't in Las Vegas and the drink couldn't leave with me)...

One funny thing before I left though...  When I told Alyssa that it was time to go tailgating, a guy sitting off to my right at the bar asked, "where?"  I answered, "the stadium," to which he replied, "DUH!..."  Now note here that I really wasn't trying to be sarcastic, but it's just that I know so many people, and I'm not shy, and people at tailgates (even strangers) tend to be really outgoing anyway, so yeah..., I was just going..., to go..., tailgating...  ;)  He was asking me WHICH SPOT I was going to be tailgating in (in case there's still confusion)...  :)

So I walk to the tailgate (which is about the same distance as I used to walk from my old San Marcos apartment to Bikini Hill - i.e., no sweat)...  Now at this point, that 60% chance of rain is NOWHERE to be seen, and it's in the 80's, and SUNNY...  I easily find my friend Courtney's tailgate, who I had communicated with via facebook (I was still trying to find someone's extra ticket to the game, in case any of you missed my begging last week - it continued into Saturday)... Courtney had something very special for me - WATER!!!  You have to remember that I was about to turn 100 years-old on Saturday, and walking that mile in the heat after being SO TIRED the 2 previous days...  Bless you Courtney!  :D  As I drank all of Courtney's waters, we discussed Blue October (don't get me started), and San Marcos, and why the tailgate wasn't as busy as we thought it might be.  I arrived at about 3:00 p.m., and the game was kicking off at 6:00 p.m.  The UT/OU game up in Dallas was an obvious answer, as people were likely to have either gone to the game or watched it on t.v.  The ACL (Austin City Limits) Music Festival was also going on, which consisted of several bands playing on several stages all day long, and a lot of the college crowd was sure to be in the ATX.  Also, that threat of rain...  However, I thought that THERE MUST be more people tailgating on the other side of the stadium.  After HIKING AROUND THE STADIUM, I learned that I was WRONG...  I found a bunch of parked cars, and in a move that was equally as ill-advised as the initial hike, I saw a small group of tents WAY OVER beyond the outfield fence of the baseball field, and I proceeded to HIKE over there also...  This was the alumni tailgating area, a definitively smaller group of people than the one that I had left, but I saw someone that I knew (shocking), and I was offered a bowl of gumbo.  A STEAMING BOWL of gumbo, and it was in the 80's still - no thanks...  After I returned to the other side of the stadium, Courtney informed me that I could have ACCEPTED the gumbo and carried it back with me (sorry Courtney)...

One of the groups of people that I hadn't seen to this point was the Chi Omega's (the official sorority of this blog).  :P  I saw a girl wearing a Chi-Omega t-shirt talking with someone, and when their conversation broke, I asked her where the Chi-O's had set up camp.  She said that she wasn't sure if they had officially gathered in one place, but when she asked me if I was looking for someone in particular, I told her that I wanted harass their homecoming queen nominee...  :) When she found out that I knew Gabby, she QUICKLY FIRED OFF a list of about ten other people that I know...  As we continued talking, I found out that Carolina's big sister is Verissimo!  I also found out that Carolina knows Alyssa (yes, THAT Alyssa, 'Football Friday's Alyssa's Corner' Alyssa). SECONDS AFTER Carolina learned this, I hear the words, "she's such a Square rat..." EASILY one of the best lines I heard all day...  :)  I was almost immediately on facebook, and I told Alyssa that if Carolina had already added me as a friend, then that quote would have been a status, with both parties tagged to it...  :)  Alyssa's response:  "Happy to know my reputation is still living..." You know why I worry about the girl being in Abilene now - San Marcos misses her... ;)  (Bear with me and you'll get to see Alyssa's cat also)...  By the way, Carolina has the SAME BIRTHDAY AS ME, so Happy Birthday Carolina!  ;)  Also, my friend Gabby REALLY IS a nominee to be Texas State's Homecoming Queen, so if you see the name Gabriela Contreras on the ballot this week, please vote for her.  I wasn't sure if supporting Gabby here in the blog (or on facebook or twitter) was within the rules, but she assured me, "Yes!  You can promote me on billboards too if you can find any!"  Seriously Texas State students, Gabriela Contreras - you'll be well-represented...

Is there a football game ANYWHERE in our future Coach?  Yes...  :)  Thanks to James, who had some extra tickets because the rest of his family couldn't make it, I sat with my friends James and Zach here...

    

James answered my facebook pleas for a birthday ticket (and I still owe him huge), and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the game with him because he is a very knowledgeable football fan. When we saw that Kentucky was hanging with Bama early, I mentioned that the Wildcats had a "known-commodity" as a coach, and James knew that it was Mark Stoops.  He also made a reference back to when Rich Brooks was the coach at Kentucky (I'd say that I'm not the only 100 year-old around, but I'm older than James, and by quite a bit)...  :)  Anyway, a lot of good football banter continued throughout the game (and James was sitting between Zach and I, so I didn't get to chat up Zach as much), and then there were the "pick sixes..."  When our Bobcats were down 14-0 to Louisiana-Monroe, it was the result of A PAIR of interceptions that were returned for touchdowns, and for about SEVENTY yards each...  The Cats chipped their way back into the game (a pair of field goals, great defense, numerous punts downed inside the Warhawks' 5 yard-line), and after a late touchdown and game-tying 2-point conversion, we drew a 15-yard penalty on the conversion.  The result was kicking off from our own 20, a Warhawk return to midfield, and Louisiana-Monroe's offense scoring their only points of the night in the last minute to defeat the good guys 21-14.

As we drove away from Bobcat Stadium, the drizzle began...  Incredibly the rain held off the whole day until the game was over.  I don't know if you live in this area or if you follow the national weather scene, but Austin received so much rain late Saturday night and into Sunday morning that ACL was CANCELLED yesterday (that's a big deal)...  When I was laying in bed watching football yesterday afternoon, the flash flood watch was in effect until 7:00 a.m. TODAY...  Anyway, the plan was to meet up with James and Zach on the Square, but it's easy to understand how the rain and the 3 1/2 hour drive that James made just to get to San Marcos may have changed their plans. And a funny thing happened while I was waiting for their text...  As I ran into some of my other friends and mentioned that it was going to be my birthday in about an hour, well..., in no particular order..., between seeing Cydney and Lenny and Carley and JM and Annon and Lauren and Stew and Nick and Raymond and Red and George and Mo..., well..., we'll just say that I had a "substantial number" of birthday drinks and shots...  #substantial  Oh, and this was after not having eaten since 1:00 p.m. at Bobcat Nation...  Not getting down to Harper's in time to get a slice of pizza before they ran out was a huge tactical mistake on my part...  :P



And THAT'S how I felt all day yesterday...  ^^^^^^^^^^   BELIEVE ME when I tell you that I DID NOT have a beer in my hand (or paw) yesterday...  I returned to Austin early Sunday morning, about 18 hours after I had left on Saturday morning, and I did not wake up until about noon yesterday.  After waking up I stayed in bed for another SIX HOURS while watching the football games going "UGGGHHH..."  Thanks everyone, I had a great birthday!  ;)








  










      

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Week 7 Football Picks/13-14

Good evening everyone.  I'm feeling a little under the weather today, but as they say, "the show must go on..."  Today is a very big day here at the intersection of Bikini Hill, 6th, & the Strip as the blog that you're reading right now hit 50,000 total pageviews just over 2 hours ago (yes, it is unbelievable, and thank you)...  Although no one entered 'Coach's Hall of Fame' last weekend by predicting a perfect final score, 3 of the 5 experts that weighed-in on the UT/Iowa State game (Mike Finger, Justin Boyd, and Leah Vann) PLUS Alyssa had Texas scoring exactly 31 points.  AND with the 31-30 UT victory over Iowa State, Joey forecast an outcome of 28-23 Texas.  Pretty impressive folks...  The celebrity experts went 6-4 last week as the Bobcats' 48-24 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette tripped up almost everyone here (Christopher Green had ULL winning 31-27).  As I've been advertising all week, my birthday weekend is on the horizon, and I'm looking forward to watching the Bobcats host Louisiana-Monroe (who used to be Northeast Louisiana a hundred years ago).  Of course the appetizer to that 6:00 p.m. kickoff will be the 11:00 a.m. meeting between Texas and Oklahoma.  Due to the magnitude of the 'Red River Rivalry,' you'll notice that I solicited the help of some extra experts for this matchup.  Several of these experts are bloggers (all listed in the blogs to the right) who write about a wide variety of topics and are worth checking out.  Okay, now for our celebrity experts and their picks in the '50,000th Pageview Edition' of the blog on my BIRTHDAY WEEKEND!  No pressure...  ;)


Celebrity Experts (Last weekend 6-4/Overall record of 62-39 on Bobcats and Longhorns games)

Saturday, October 12th - Texas Longhorns (3-2) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (5-0) @ Cotton Bowl

OU  42-17     George Garcia - Bobcat Nation Sports Bar & Grill, General Manager
UT  24-21     Marissa Wagner - Morning Drive Anchor, 550 KTSA/TXST Alum,
                   Optimistic Horns' Fan
OU  34-14     Kenny Robb - Italian Garden/OU Fan
OU  47-17     James Needham - Louie's Oyster House & Beer Garden/TXST Senior
OU  34-24     Pete Wyatt - Brother, Longtime Blow Follower
UT  37-34     Sergio Cavazos - UT Student/@sergcavs
OU  64-27     Nicole Marshall - OU Fan
OU  49-10     Scott Marshall - OU Fan
UT  41-38     Coby Evers - UT Student/@cobsta3
OU  37-21     Ryan Galvan - U.S. Army/Harper's Public House 
OU  42-24     Audry Begg - UT Fan/@audrybabe
UT  35-27     Christina Reno - Tarleton State Alum/UT Fan/@ChristinaReno
OU  38-20     Rob - robvegaspoker.blogspot.com www.anteupmagazine.com @robvegaspoker 
OU  31-24     Scott Pierce - lahainahaole.blogspot.com @LahainaHaole
UT  17-14     Julie Pierce - mauihonuhoni.blogspot.com @Honuhoni
OU  41-20     Pete P. Peters - thepokerbarrister.blogspot.com
OU  37-21     Lightning36 - lightning36.blogspot.com @lightning36
OU  21-7      Alyssa Lesa - findurfreedomnmusic.wordpress.com @sweetcheeks2006
UT  30-27     Grrouchie Serge - www.grrouchie.com @grrouchie

By the way, Lucki Duck left his prediction for the UT/OU game in a very detailed and well-written comment on my last post ('A Killer From A Savior') if you're interested in checking it out...


Saturday, October 12th - Texas State Bobcats (3-2) vs. Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (2-4)

TXST  34-17     Harper's Hall - Harper's Public House/Slackers/The Veranda
TXST  36-21     Celesta Turnbo - Texas State Senior/Psychology
TXST  21-14     Jessa Lee - Texas State Student/@jessakayelee
TXST  17-10     Christina Garcia-Sierra - Birthday Girl
ULM   35-7       Monica Rodriguez - Birthday Girl
TXST  21-17     Tylar Cowart - Texas State Student/@TylarChance
TXST  21-17     Landon Coleman - Texas State Student/@landoid
TXST  35-28     Elyse Rountree - Texas State Student/@elysemichelle25
TXST  31-14     Blake Meuth - Texas State Student/@blakemeuth
ULM   35-21     Linda Contreras - San Marcos CISD


Now we go to our New Mexico State Alum Joey.  His alma mater decided to take this weekend off after a 66-17 loss to in-state rival New Mexico last Saturday.  I just learned watching the Bobcats' telecast last Saturday that the Aggies will be joining the Sun Belt Conference next year, so the Bobcats will be getting to know them much better.  Now coming to you live from the Palace Station Sportsbook, here's our favorite Las Vegas ticket writer...



Joey's Parlay Card (Last weekend 2-1/Overall record of 5-4 on Aggies, Bobcats, & Longhorns games)

The good thing about parlay cards is that they forget what happened last week (This is Coach telling you that I will be stealing this quote).  My New Mexico State squad is worse than I thought. Thank goodness they are off this week, but I still pick them to lose.  Lol...  Texas takes on Oklahoma and I don't think the Longhorn D can handle QB Blake Bell.  It's Oklahoma with the win 34-17.  Finally the Bobcats are back home and more likely to play like they did against Wyoming, plus La-Monroe quarterback Brown is out this week.  I'll take Texas State to win 28-17.  That's it for this week.  May all your tickets cash...

Joey


You don't know how much I hate having to post the photo below again this week.  I'll give my friend Alyssa a hug anytime, but the presence of this snapshot means that the Texans lost again last week.  You'll see what I think about the Houston's prospects for this week below in my 'Ten Best Bets.'  Now coming to you live from the big city of Abilene, here's our favorite Texans' fan...

    

Alyssa's Corner (Last weekend 1-2/Overall record of 7-8 on Texans, Bobcats, & Longhorns games)

Hello blog readers!  This month has been incredibly stressful for me.  My job has taken on a lot with the open enrollment of the marketplace.  Hopefully things will get better and my days won't be so stressful.  Maybe I would be a little more happy this month if my Texans would win!  Guh!  These games have been so stressful and this last game was terrible, but I was happy to spend it with one of my best friends, Melanie.  Melanie is moving to Missouri and I took a trip to spend the weekend with her.  I'm going to miss my partner in crime!  I miss all of my friends from San Marcos terribly!  Now for my predictions...

Texans vs. Rams:  24-17 HOUSTON TEXANS
Horns vs. Sooners:  42-17 Sooners
Bobcats vs. Warhawks:  21-10 Warhawks

Alyssa


And now it's the birthday boy's turn...  


Coach (Last weekend 1-1/Overall record of 6-4 on Bobcats & Longhorns games)

I missed badly last weekend on my alma mater's loss (picking the Cats to win by 11), but I picked the Horns to win 35-24 (pretty close)...  Now for Saturday's appetizer...  I have only seen the Sooners in limited action this year, but I know that they won at South Bend, and then the Irish turned around and beat an Arizona State team that has been playing pretty well to this point.  Vegas has Texas listed as a 14-point underdog in this one, and I'm guessing that the line isn't bigger due to the 2 extra days of rest that the Horns have had coming off of last Thursday night's meeting with the Cyclones.  I'm rooting for the Longhorns, and I think that they could win the game if the defense shows up and Jonathan Gray and/or Malcolm Brown go off.  What's on paper tells me to pick Oklahoma, but I have to go with a closer score than most people who are picking the Sooners.  I'm going with 43-34 Oklahoma (this game never seems to have a "normal" final score).  

Saturday's main course has the Warhawks coming to San Marcos with a 2-4 mark, but 2 of those losses are to the Sooners and Baylor (34-0 and 70-7, respectively)...  I'm just seeing that this game is being televised on the Longhorn Network by the way, so if you're not in the stadium with me, there you go...  ;)  I am expecting a competitive game, but after the way that the Bobcats looked in Lafayette last Saturday, there is no way that I envision them coming out flat again.  I am going with Texas State 34-26 over the Warhawks.

I'm 12-4 on my NFL best bets over the last 3 weeks, but overall I was a very vanilla 5-5 last week.  You'll find a lot of college totals and a half-dozen NFL games in this week's lineup below...


Coach's Ten Best Bets of the Week (Last weekend 5-5/Overall record of 30-29-1)

Utah State (+7) vs. Boise State - Come through for me again Aggies...
Texas A&M/Mississippi (Under 75) - That's a lot of points...
Baylor/Kansas State (Under 74) - Using the same "logic" as above...
Oregon/Washington (Under 76 1/2) - I will be yelling for NCAA defenses all day Saturday...
Lions/Browns (Under 45 1/2) - And early Sunday...
Saints/Patriots (Over 50) - Go offense!...
Packers (-3) @ Ravens - If I'm wrong here, I miss on several preseason hypotheses...
Texans (-7) vs. Rams - Alyssa smiles in the blog again after this one at Reliant...
Steelers (+2 1/2) @ Jets - Good guys coming off the bye week, and IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!...
Cowboys (-5) vs. Redskins - I'll take 500 yards passing ANY DAY/'D' shows up to help this time...


Thanks again for stopping by (50,000 times)...  ;)  Enjoy your football weekend and I'll see ya again on Monday...


     




      











       









         

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

A Killer From A Savior

"If I fall along the way, pick me up and dust me off, and if I get too tired to make it, be my breath so I can walk, if I need some other love, then give me more than I can stand, and when my smile gets old and faded, wait around I'll smile again..." -Matchbox Twenty- (Bent)

"She says that love is for fools that fall behind, and I'm somewhere between, I never really know..., a killer from a savior, 'til I break at the bend, we're here and now, will we ever be again?, 'cause I have found all that shimmers in this world is sure to fade..., away..., again..."  -Fuel- (Shimmer)



Good evening everyone, and an especially good evening to those of you who are here to read about my football misery (just a little Miletus)...  In case you're not aware of who Miletus is, she was one of the original readers of this blog, back when it was just her, my brother Pete, and very few others following along.  So, it's fitting that, well, that both of them get a mention here in the week that this little enterprise is going to surpass 50,000 total views.  Let's post the leaders in my fantasy football league for starters:

Eastern Division

Con Juevos                     4-1
Bikini Hill Bobcats           3-2
Dead Crickets                 3-2
Team DonkeyDave          3-2


Western Division

Good Dotto                     5-0
Hernandez's Hitmen        3-2
Out On Bail                    3-2


Well, the good news is that no matter what I would have done with the players on my roster last week, I still would have lost to Con Juevos, who beat me by almost thirty points.  The bad news is that no matter what I would have done with my roster last week, I still wouldn't be in first place in my division right now with a 4-1 record because I just didn't have the talent to win over the weekend...  I remember the first time that I told you last week that my team will still face Good Dotto twice over the next eight weeks, right?  :)  Stay tuned...

I only managed to go 4-3 on my NFL picks over the weekend, which coupled with my 1-2 record on college predictions (with the ONE happening only because of the FLUKE COVER by the Buckeyes on the last play of the game against Northwestern on Saturday night), brought my mark for the week to 5-5.  I also missed BADLY on the Texas State outcome at Louisiana-Lafayette, so it wasn't my best weekend of football so far this season.  At least I did tell you that I could see the Rams beating the Jaguars by a touchdown each half on Sunday, which is exactly what happened...

Well, what do we talk about now?  I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that I'm gearing up for my birthday weekend.  In the next few days I will be working on a list of things that I need to do in San Marcos on Saturday (fun things, buying myself things, hanging out with my friends things...), and with the UT/OU game starting at 11:00 a.m., I will be arriving in town early and staying late...  Nike Outlet Store, Bobcat Nation Sports Bar & Grill (to use one of my well-earned $25.00 football pick 'em tabs - and yeah, I didn't win in either of the last 2 weeks, SHUT UP...), pregame tailgating at Bobcat Stadium, Bobcats vs. Louisiana-Monroe, and The Square would PROBABLY be some of the things that you would find on that list...  ;)

I'm glancing at the Red Sox/Rays playoff game (2-1 Sox, top of 8) intermittently as I finish off this post, trying to recall if I have anything else to tell you (after this weekend I should have material sufficient to get us through to Christmas)...  I did take a typing test on campus today and learned that I type 54 words per minute (5 minutes/2 errors), and this was after completing a practice test where I typed 53 words per minute (3 minutes/no errors), so that number should be pretty accurate.  I had no idea going into the test where there number would fall, but I guess that's a hidden benefit of doing this blog for just over two years now...  I also saw the aftermath of a campus bus hitting a car in front of my apartment complex on my way in this morning, so there's that - two police cruisers, a Metro van, no injuries as far as I could tell...

I think that's all that I've got for you tonight.  I'm going to watch the rest of this baseball game and start soliciting some experts for this week's football post.  Have a great day and I'll see you again on Friday!
          
       











  












Monday, October 7, 2013

What Did You Do This Weekend?



Good evening everyone.  No cliffhangers here tonight as far as the blog title goes...  The photo above shows my friend Vicki participating in the Providence Cyclocross Festival over the weekend.  I love this photo, and specifically the determination on Vicki's face as she navigates the course.  I teased Vicki about her focus in this picture, and she shot back that she was looking for a fence opening to "make her escape..."  :)  As Vicki took part in New England's "Holy Week of Cyclocross," I did almost nothing over the weekend.  If she had just posed for this photo and gone straight home, Vicki would have surely accomplished more than I did this weekend...  I watched SO MUCH FOOTBALL yesterday that I actually couldn't stomach the thought of putting my t.v. on 'Sportscenter' this morning as I got ready for work because I felt that I had already seen everything...  Predictably, I'm watching the end of the Jets/Falcons game as we speak...  Congratulations to Vicki on racing this weekend (she wrote a wonderful lead-in to the photos that she posted on facebook, describing how she came to watch this race a few years back, and how she vowed that this was the year that she would try all kinds of things that scared her).  It seems like there's a good lesson in there for all of us...

Now onto the part of tonight's programming that is purely frivolous...  ;)  Do you remember last week when I teased my favorite football team, and I made a little joke about how they might even lose to the bye week?  Well, someone is ripping me off...

           
My friend Grrouchie shared the above photo on facebook today.  Of course I have problems with it, mainly that I think that we could put up more than a field goal against the bye week...  ;)  And to my friend Pete Peters..., well..., your Jets are definitely not going to be an easy candidate to be my Steelers' first victims of the season...  And the Jets just beat the Falcons 30-28 on a 43-yard field-goal as time expired as I was typing that...

Could you tell us more about weekends Coach?  If I was going to write about a weekend, it should probably be this upcoming weekend.  Not only am I going to celebrate my 100th birthday this weekend, but this little blog is also going to be reaching a big milestone sometime this week as it eclipses 50,000 total views...  I don't know what it is about that specific number, but somehow it seems like something tangible to me.  The blog has surpassed various marks - 400 views, 2,000 views, 9,000 views, 16,000 views, etc..., but when someone asks how many hits your blog has, and you answer, "it's been viewed 50,000 times...," well, that just seems to mean something, and it's pretty humbling...

In other news, as I was leaving work on Friday, I was "jogging" down a stairwell, and one of my supervisors at work told me afterward that I sounded like Donald Duck (because of the way that my sneakers were squeaking)...  Yeah, I'll probably be hitting the Nike Outlet Mall in San Marcos, America for my birthday too... #timeforsomenewkicks  In a related story, if anyone has an extra ticket for Saturday's Bobcat home football game versus Louisiana-Monroe (did I mention that it's my 100th birthday weekend?), I would appreciate it...  It's never too early to beg, right?  ;)

Thank you for stopping by, have a great day, and I'll see you again on Wednesday!



  

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Week 6 Football Picks/13-14

Good evening everyone.  It's a very strange 'Football Friday' here as I'm typing this up for you on Wednesday night ahead of tomorrow evening's Texas/Iowa State game from Ames, Iowa.  'Coach's Hall of Fame' is still an empty place with no perfect predictions having been made last week on Texas State's 42-21 upset win over Wyoming at Bobcat Stadium last Saturday.  However, Jacy Steelman of Bobcat Nation Sports Bar & Grill had the Cats downing the Cowboys 42-34, and Summer Rodriguez and Tim Thrash both had Texas State winning the game 31-24.  These picks helped lead the celebrity experts to a 6-5 record last week, which was much better than the 0-3 mark that Alyssa, Joey, and myself had on the game...  As I said earlier in the week, I'm extremely happy that I missed on that one...  :)  I'm a little light on the amount of celebrity experts that I have picking this week's contests during the short week (so someone is sure to predict a game exactly right), but I plan on having a full card of experts (including bloggers who want to participate) calling the outcome of next Saturday's Texas/Oklahoma matchup.  Of course I will still have experts weighing in on the Texas State/Louisiana-Monroe matchup.  My Steelers are 0-4 are will probably manage to lose to the bye week, so I'm more than happy to have other football outlets (like this blog for example)...  ;)  Okay, now for our celebrity experts and their Week 6 picks...


Celebrity Experts (Last weekend 6-5/Overall record of 56-35 on Bobcats & Longhorns games)

Thursday, October 3rd - Texas Longhorns (2-2) @ Iowa State Cyclones (1-2)

Texas  38-17     Robert Shiekh - @Shiekhers
Texas  33-27     Reid Laymance - @ReidLaymance
Texas  31-3       Leah Vann - @Vanntastic_Leah
Texas  31-20     Mike Finger - @mikefinger
Texas  31-20     Justin Boyd - @rjustinb (5 experts & we still have matching scores...)  ;)


Saturday, October 5th - Texas State Bobcats (3-1) @ Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (2-2)

TXST  35-14     Allison Pagel - Bobcat Nation Sports Bar & Grill/TXST Sophomore
TXST  24-17     Jason Riley - @bobcats9498
TXST  30-28     Monica Malorgio - @MoMalorgio/Owner @mcnabbandco/TXST Alum
TXST  48-24     Candace Collins - @Candusss
ULL    31-27     Christopher Green - @TalentedGreen


Monica also added that the Bobcats would win the game with a "pick six" by the Doom Squad (you do have to like the nickname of our defense, don't you?)...  :)  Now it's time to go to our favorite Las Vegas ticket writer.  Joey had 42-17 on last week's Bobcat game, but unfortunately he had the winner and loser flipped...  From the Palace Station Sportsbook, here's Joey...



Joey's Parlay Card (Last weekend 1-1/Overall record of 3-3 on Aggies, Bobcats, & Longhorns games)

Last week not so good on the parlay card, but there is always this week to rebound.  My New Mexico State Aggies showed some life last week holding a lead at the half but the Aztecs were too much.  This week it's arch-rival New Mexico.  I don't think the Aggies win, but take the 7 points - New Mexico 30  New Mexico State 27.  Texas had a week off plus the new defensive coordinator is now 1-1.  Texas wins 28-23.  Texas State was the surprise for me, crushing Wyoming by 21.  I think the momentum continues against Louisiana-Lafayette - Texas State  35-17.  Til next week may all your picks cash...


I responded to Joey's facebook message that I wanted all of his picks to cash also, unless they were in conflict with mine, and he said that's what he should have added at the end...  ;)  Well, the Seahawks beat the Texans 23-20 in overtime last Sunday, and Alyssa had a 24-21 final on the game.  Unfortunately for her (in more ways than one), she had the Texans winning the game.  I never had any doubt that Alyssa would get the hang of this.  I do have an issue with her Texans/49ers score, but we'll address that in a few minutes...  ;)  Here's Alyssa...



Alyssa's Corner (Last weekend 0-2/Overall record of 6-6 on Texans, Bobcats, & Longhorns games)

Hello again world!  I am extremely excited that my most perfect sorority little sister has been nominated to run for the Homecoming Queen!  I hope that I can somehow make it back to my Texas State for all the Homecoming festivities!  Finding out that my little is running for homecoming queen has been the highlight of my week...let's face it, the Texans 2-2 record has put me into a depression.  Time to start winning again!  Another exciting thing that has happened this week is that I got another fish!  This time I got a girl Beta fish because the only thing that my boy Beta fish did was die.  My boyfriend bought me the new fish that I decided to name Susan.  Here is a twist you guys will enjoy...my boyfriend is a Cowboys fan...has been his whole life.  Not to worry though!  I have started converting him over to the good side.  I believe that the Texans will turn things around this weekend...they have to!  I'll be watching the game with my best friend who is moving away to Missouri.  I'll miss you Melanie!

Now for my predictions:

Bobcats @ Rajin Cajuns:  21-17 Bobcats
Texas @ Iowa State:  31-17 Texas
Houston Texans @ San Francisco 49ers:  17-14 Houston




It seems that if you're going to move to Missouri (my dad, Melanie), then you'll get your picture in the blog...  ;)  Melanie, we all wish you the best of luck up in Missouri!  Neither here nor there, but the caption for the above photo could be "Double Trouble..."  :)


Speaking of trouble, now it's my turn...


Coach (Last weekend 0-1/Overall record of 5-3 on Bobcats & Longhorns games)

This could be a good spot in the schedule for the Texas Longhorns.  The Horns had a week and a half to prepare for the Cyclones, and will have extra time to prepare for the Sooners.  I'm going with Texas to win this one 35-24.  I find it strange that my alma mater is a 10 1/2-point underdog at Lousiana after winning by 21 last week over Wyoming as an 11-point dog (more on that in a minute), but I'm putting my faith in the Doom Squad and the rest of the Cats with my prediction:  Texas State  31  Louisiana  20


Now is the time where you pick up your phones and talk to all of your betting buddies (and tell them to RUN...).  :P  Not only did I manage another miraculous winning record last week (6-3-1), but I've gone 8-1 on my NFL picks over the last 2 weeks, and NONE of my 4 NFL selections were even close last week - I cruised to every win.  That might have something to do with the fact that you'll find seven NFL wagers below this week...  ;)


Coach's Ten Best Bets of the Week (Last weekend 6-3-1/Overall record of 25-24-1)

Texas State (+10 1/2) @ Louisiana - You KNOW I'm taking the points in this one...
Arizona State (-5 1/2) @ Notre Dame - Sun Devils did enough to get Lane Kiffin fired last week...
Ohio State (-7) @ Northwestern - Buckeyes SURELY won't tie ATS in back-to-back weeks...
Seahawks (-2 1/2) @ Colts - Monday's Dolphins beat the Colts this year, so...
Ravens (+3) @ Dolphins - Again, I saw the Dolphins game Monday night...
Eagles/Giants (Over 54 1/2) - Cannot fathom this one being low-scoring...
Chiefs (-3) @ Titans - Have to roll with the Chiefs again...
Rams (-11 1/2) vs. Jacksonville - Have to roll against the Jaguars again...
Texans/49ers (Over 42 1/2) - Alyssa's score is too low (NO WAY Alyssa)...  :P
Jets/Falcons (Under 44) - I'm thinking this pair maxes out at about 38...


And there you have it...   I hope that all of you have a great football weekend and I'll see you again on Monday!