Where There's Smoke

With the pall of possible felony charges hanging over this weekend's matchup against Syracuse, it's pretty tough to get excited about the FSU game.  Instead of Florida State fans being able to revel in their #2 BCS ranking and a likely impending Jan. 6 date with Alabama or quarterback Jameis Winston's Heisman candidacy, Nole Nation is instead wondering if their adoration for their redshirt-freshman wunderkind is misplaced or if he is just another victim of an overzealous national media. Given the dearth of facts, I'll not comment on the alleged sexual assault that occurred on Dec. 7 of last year.  The Tallahassee Police Department has turned the case over to State Attorney Willie Meggs who will evaluate the facts and make a decision on whether or not to move forward with a prosecution. I must say that I am disgusted by the coverage this story has been getting.  Absent facts in the case, hacks all over the nation are passing off opinions and conjecture as the story.

To begin, I cannot think about Wake Forest without thinking of James Caan as Brian Piccolo singing the Wake fight song in "Brian's Song." "I love Brian Piccolo.  And I'd like all of you to love him, too.  And tonight, when you hit your knees, please ask God to love him."   "It's not how he died that Brian will be remembered for, but how he lived.  And oh...how he lived!" Pause for the men in the crowd tip a 40 for Pick and wipe the tears away.  Greatest sports movie ever. Unfortunately, this trip down cinematic history will be the highlight of the Demon Deacons' day when they kick off at noon. And the outcome should be decided by about 12:15. So why bother with a blog about a nothing game? Well, there are some interesting dynamics at play.  Yes, the last time the Noles rolled into Winston-Salem the slinked out with their tails between their legs on the wrong end of a 35-30 score. But since then, the Noles

Dear Palo Alto-nians - I hope this missive finds you well.  Things here back east are just fine as both the leaves and the season have started to fall.  Get it?  "Fall" the season and "fall" as in what the leaves are doing?  I guess y'all don't get that kind of quality humor way out Cali-for-nee way. I guess you're wondering why I'm writing.  Fair question; let me get to the point: Please beat the shit out of Oregon tomorrow night. Yes, I know that's a tall order, even for a quality football program such as yours.  After all they rock the number 2 ranked rushing attack in the nation, averaging more than 331 yards per game and the second best scoring offense, averaging 55.6 points per game. In other words, they are averaging more points than you've scored in any single game this year.  In fact, only twice have they failed to score more than 55 points in games, both against top 20 ranked teams and both times they topped the 40-point ma

Good thing this is just play for me or I'd be broke like a joke.  Two weeks in a row calling the spread (following my brilliant Maryland insight) but missing the over under. Headed back down to the mancave to study game tape, analyze tendencies, and monitor weather reports.* Early line on FSU-Wake Forest has Noles laying 35.  They need to show some serious "style points" (read: Urban Meyer-esque embarrassments of lesser opponents) so 35 is within the realm of possible against the Demon Deacons. Check back later this week for my real predictions and analysis, including a breakdown of what to expect from the morons determining Division I/FBS National Championships...err...the BCS. In the meantime, watch this: Love, Peace, & Chicken Grease, Joe * Watch YouTube video of cats, eat peanut butter out of the jar, and nap

There was a time, way back in the 1990’s, when Florida State v. Miami was the type of game that captured the attention of the entire football watching nation. Probations, an aging legend of a coach who lost a few mph’s off his fastball, some more  probations, the SEC’s rise to dominance, followed by even more probations meant the FSU-Miami game drifted off the national radar like a botched field goal drifting wide right. Tomorrow night at Doak Campbell, however, the spotlight returns to this modern-era rivalry. But before you get too excited, I never said it would be a good game.  I just said there would be a lot of attention. Most of this attention will be focused on the Florida State Seminoles and their wunderkind red-shirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston.  While the Canes are undefeated coming into the weekend, don’t expect them to head back down to South Beach with smiles on their faces. I mean, except for the fact that they’re headed back down to South Beac