Sportsbook.com has posted the odd to win the 2007 BCS National Championship. I have highlighted the best bets in BLUE and the worst bets in RED.
National Contenders
Ohio St 5-1
Notre Dame 5-1
Oklahoma 7-1
Texas 8-1
USC 10-1
Florida 10-1
West Virginia 10-1
Miami FL 15-1
Long Shots
Michigan 20-1
Auburn 25-1
Florida St 25-1
LSU 25-1
Penn St 35-1
Louisville 35-1
California 40-1
Iowa 40-1
Tennessee 40-1
Nebraska 45-1
Arizona St 45-1
Virginia Tech 50-1
Georgia 55-1
Oregon 90-1
No Shots
UCLA 100-1
Texas Tech 100-1
Texas A&M 100-1
Boston College 100-1
Arkansas 180-1
South Carolina 200-1
Clemson 200-1
Alabama 200-1
Georgia Tech 200-1
Maryland 200-1
North Carolina St 200-1
TCU 200-1
Wisconsin 200-1
Michigan St 200-1
Colorado 200-1
Arizona 200-1
Purdue 200-1
Virginia 200-1
Iowa St 300-1
Pittsburgh 300-1
North Carolina 400-1
Hawaii 450-1
Northwestern 500-1
BYU 500-1
Oregon St 500-1
Fresno St 500-1
UNLV 1000-1
Field 30-1 (Wake Forest, Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Stanford, Washington, Washington State, Kentucky, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt)
Note: I have listed most of the teams from the BCS conferences here, it is not meant to include all teams in the field.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Odds to Win the 2007 BCS National Championship
Thursday, May 25, 2006
KSU Football Blog top 25
The BCS has asked that I begin ranking my Top 25 for consideration in future BSC rankings.
Defense will reload and be good enough, while the Offense is real and they are spectacular.
Adrian Peterson is the front runner for the Heisman
Louisville is WVU’s toughest opponent in 2006
Brady Quinn will carry the offense, but will the defense be good enough?
Reloading big time this year, but they have the athletes in place to finish in the Top 10
Should be solid on both sides of the ball and win the SEC West
Loss to Auburn keeps them out of the SEC Championship game
Without Vince Young to bail them out, they will likely lose 2 or 3 games, just like they would have last year without VY.
Look for Florida to win the SEC East with a victory over Georgia at the World’s Largest Cocktail Party.
Nate Longshore and Marshawn Lynch will lead an explosive offense
Will Proctor appears ready to take over for departed QB Charlie Whitehurst.
An early battle with Kansas State will give both teams an indication of what is to come
Could be the best Florida State team in the last few years
Drew Tate (QB) and Albert Young (RB) will put up big numbers for Iowa this year in a strong Big 10 conference
New Coordinators on Offense and Defense could lead to Michigan surprising a few teams
Defense should be tough again, but not as tough as the SEC East this year.
The Ducks have a difficult schedule including OU at home the third game of the season.
Could be a tough transition year for the Hurricanes
The defense will be good but can Zac Taylor continue to improve?
Can the Frogs make another BSC run? Probably not as they are replacing most of their O-Line
Schedule favors the Hokies but they have a lot of work to do
BC should be in the hunt until Florida State come to town in late October…
Does JoePa have one more year left? If you ask him, he has several more.
Offense should be explosive and the PAC10 won’t be as good either.
Graham Harrell will be the next no-name QB that carries the Tech offense.
Lance Berkman wins American Idol 5
Congratulations to Lance Berkman, aka Taylor Hicks for winning American Idol 5.
Houston Astro Lance Berkman won American Idol 5 over Katharine McPhee last night. Berkman, who is known as Fat Elvis within the Astros organization locked up first place last night after his performances on Tuesday.
Berkman’s Tuesday night performance included “Levon”, an apparent tribute to the Astros ability to “leave on base runners” this year. Another song sang by Berkman this season was “Not Fade” which he performed about the time the Astros began to fade. Along the same lines was “Trouble” which he dedicated to Russ Springer just after his 4 game suspension for plunking Barry Bonds. Berkman also lived up to his “Fat Elvis” nickname by singing “In the Ghetto”.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Lisa Dames - "No One Like Me"
This is a bit off subject from Kansas State football, but well worth the diversion from our regular discussions.
Lisa Dames is a up and coming artist who is too old for American Idol but trying to make it in the music business.
Information from her bio...
Lisa Dames is a thirty-something singer/songwriter with an uncommon presence which is both commanding yet appealingly vulnerable. From an early age, her musical aspirations were met with discouraging admonitions she didn't have the right voice, the right look, or the right "anything." Despite such receptions, Lisa was to prove her detractors wrong. Originally from Cincinatti, Ohio, Lisa eventually garnered the attention of L.A. based, Grammy-nominated producer, David Grow. Nine months later, the result of their hard work paid off. Perhaps like the proverbial ugly duckling, Lisa blossomed into a breath-taking beauty who, on her new CD, "No One Like Me," unflinchingly tackles issues of betrayal, coping with un-met life aspirations, and personal redemption-- all with power and panache. These are her stories. This is her life and the emotion is sometimes raw, sometimes sassy but always very near the surface. Her voice is classic--almost old-school country-- while song after song she dazzles with facile rock-pop hipness. When not on tour, she happens to be a home-maker. But like the characters on "Desperate Housewives," she has not let her role as a housewife become a sentence. To the contrary, Lisa's passion to embrace her dearest dream at this point in her life underscores her determination to be her very best and have a voice for women of all ages who take inspiration from her story of hope and courage.
You can check out one of her new releases here... give it a listen then you can rank it.
Lisa Dames - "No One Like Me"
Now back to our regularly scheduled program.
Friday, May 19, 2006
The First Decade of the Big 12
The Big 12 Conference has 10 years under its belt now and earlier I posted an article about who the “Winners” and “Losers” in the first 10 years. But who has really won the most and lost the most? Who has the Championships to brag about? Who has the Bowl victories? Who has the most All-Americans?
The Big 12 by the numbers in the first 10 years has produced 3 National Champions, 3 Heisman Trophy Winners, 56 Consensus All-Americans, 33 Bowl Victories and 794 wins overall by all Big 12 teams.
The biggest indicator of overall success is wins and losses. Texas Leads the Big 12 in Conference wins and overall wins. Followed by Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas State. The Big 12 North has been more top heavy with only 3 teams with an overall win/loss record over 50% while the South has 5 teams at 50% or better.
Note: NU's overall win total should be 96, not 76, sorry for the confusion.
Another indicator of success is Championships. OU leads the league with 1 National title and 3 Big 12 Championships. While Nebraska and Texas are tied with 1 National title 2 Big 12 Championships each. Kansas State, Colorado and A&M all have one Big 12 title.
Once again, UT leads the Big 12 with 14 All Americans and OU is right behind them with 12. Nebraska and KSU are next in line with 9 and 8 respectively.
So… what does all this mean? Who is the King of the Big 12 in the first decade? Here is how I would rank them from bottom to top…
12. Baylor – Starting with the easiest one. A total of 8 Big 12 wins, Zero bowl appearances and Zero All Americans. Baylor has lost 90% of the Big 12 games and 75% of the games overall over the last 10 years.
11. Kansas – KU has shown some life over the last few years but their 20-60 win/loss record in the Big 12 speaks for itself.
10. Iowa State – ISU has a 31% winning percentage in the Big 12 and only slightly better 42% overall.
9. Oklahoma State – An even 50% overall the last 10 years, but 1-3 in their 4 bowl appearances.
8. Missouri – Similar record to OSU but they have had more success in their bowl games.
7. Texas Tech – Tech has a solid record in the Big 12 with a 56% winning percentage but they have failed to win the Big 12 South and are 3-5 in bowl games.
6. Texas A&M – One Big 12 Championship and a 55% winning percentage help A&M to a 6th place finish but a horrible 1-5 record in bowl games prevent them from a higher finish.
5. Colorado – Solid 60% victories in the Big 12 and one Big 12 title to go with it. Colorado also has a winning 4-3 bowl record and has featured 5 All Americans.
4. Kansas State – 72% over all and 66% in the Big 12, one Big 12 Title and 8 All-Americans gives KSU a 4th place finish.
3. Nebraska – One National title, 70% winning record in the league and overall, 2 Big 12 titles and 9 All Americans lead Nebraska to a third place finish.
2. Oklahoma – 3 Big 12 Titles and 1 national title and a 69% overall winning percentage make Oklahoma the 2nd best team over the last 10 years.
1. Texas – 2005 moved Texas to the top of the list. UT has won more Big 12 games then anyone with 62 wins. They lead the league with 14 All Americans and they have a winning bowl record. Two League titles and their 2005 national championship make them the best team over the last 10 years from the Big 12.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
2006 Post-Spring-Pre-Season Predictions
It nut-cuttin’ time.
You have seen a few previews of Big 12 teams here and some information on what you can expect to see this year in the Big 12 but now is time to lay it all out there…
My Post-Spring-Pre-Season Predictions…
Team Conf Overall
KSU 6-2 9-3
NU 5-3 8-4
CU 4-4 6-6
ISU 3-5 6-6
KU 2-6 6-6
MU 2-6 6-6
OU 8-0 11-1
UT 7-1 10-2
TAMU 5-3 9-3
TTU 3-5 7-5
OSU 3-5 7-5
BU 0-8 3-9
Before you say it, yes, I am a homer. But there is no clear favorite in the Big 12 North, so why not KSU?
K-State loses to Louisville in non-conference and UT and a surprise upset to OSU at home but locks up the Big 12 North with a good ol’ ass whippin’ of KU to end the season.
Nebraska struggles on the road with losses at USC, KSU and Texas A&M, as well as a home loss to UT.
Colorado losses to Arizona State and UG in non-conference games and struggles in the Big 12 with losses at MU, OU and NU and looses at home to KSU.
In the South, Oklahoma returns to the top of the Big 12 and runs the table in the conference, with the only loss coming at Oregon, early in the season.
Texas has another great year but struggles to win the big games without Vince Young. Losses to Ohio State and Oklahoma put them out of the race for the Big 12 and a shot at repeating as national champions.
Texas A&M shows some signs of life with a good year but losses to UT, OU and Tech.
The Big 12 after 10 Years
An Interesting article on who the Winners and Losers are from the creation of the Big 12...
The Big 12 after 10 years
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Earl Woods Laid to Rest in Manhattan
From the Manhattan Mercury...
Sunset Cemetery has become the final resting place for Earl Woods, the father of famed golfer Tiger Woods.
The elder Woods, who died last week at age 74 following a lengthy battle with cancer, was laid to rest between his father and mother during private committal services Saturday.
Family acquaintances indicated that Tiger Woods attended the service here, although it was not clear what other family members were present.
Apparently in the interests of privacy, the services were not announced ahead of time. The burial of Mr. Woods' ashes was announced today on Tiger Woods' website, tigerwoods.com.
A memorial service was held Friday at the Tiger Woods Learning Center in Anaheim, Calif. Tiger and his mother Kutilda were joined by about 200 invited guests for that event. Prior to that service, a small number of invited guests took part in a formal memorial service, also in Anaheim.
Earl Woods' connections to the Manhattan area were extensive. A native of the city, he was the youngest and only male of four children. His father Miles died in 1943 and his mother Maude in 1947, orphaning the boy at 15. Raised by his eldest sister, he was a star catcher at Kansas State University in the early 1950s, good enough to win a contract offer from the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League. He turned down that offer to join the Army, where as a special forces soldier he was stationed at Fort Riley.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
David Blaine – Magician or Idiot?
I am sorry to say that I threw away 30 minutes of my life last night watching David Blaine fail miserably while attempting to break the record for holding his breathe. He came up almost 2 minutes short of the current world record of 8:58. As a matter of fact, his time is only 10th best ever recorded. It was the biggest live TV flop since Geraldo busted open Al Capone’s safe.
David Blaine’s extensive resume now includes being buried alive, frozen in time, stuck on a pole, locked in a box and drowned alive. That is not magic, that is a lame episode of “Fear Factor”. Fill the tank with flesh eating fish and goat testicles or have a crane violently shake the snow-globe type tank, then you have something.
Stuart Scott hosted the 2 hour event on ABC which featured segments on his the extensive training he went through in order to fall short by 20%. Perhaps Stuart said it best when Blaine fell short, Stuart, then off camera narrated the events by stating “While Blaine did not achieve what he had set out to do, people watched him” They interviewed Blaine’s head trainer, Kirk Krack, who adds nothing to this story, but I wanted to use his name.
The truly amazing thing about the David Blaine phenomenon is the people that follow him. Linda Brady, of New York City, brought along a boom box and loudly played Jennifer Lopez's "My Love is All I Have." "I just love him," Brady said. "He has a creative mind just like me, and he's crazy just like me."
Imagine the possibilities… I think after I get off work today, I will grab my “boom box” and head 
over to Roger Clemens’ house and blast out the “Player” classic "Baby Come Back". Come on sing it with me…
Baby come back, any kind of fool could see
There was something in everything about you
Baby come back, you can blame it all on me
I was wrong, and I just can't live without you
Another spectator, David Linker, said Blaine symbolized "man's strength to go beyond what normal people can do." Yea, that’s right and John Daly symbolizes man’s amazing ability to overcome additions like alcohol and gambling.
The only thing any of these stunts have managed to accomplish is the fill David Blaine’s bank account. Which I guess is the point, right?
Friday, May 05, 2006
University of Texas Used Cars
University of Texas Used Cars
In 2005 University of Texas Used Cars (UTUC) had a record setting year. However, critics site that much of the success was due to the performance of one car, a prototype vehicle built by Volkswagon and Yugo, that we will call VY. UTUC had high expectations for VY and they paid off. He was all that they had hoped for. But VY was auctioned off at the latest used car auction as the third car selected and UTUC must find a replacement.
UTUC is known nationally for bringing in an excellent stock of used cars every year but their performance has consistently been below expectations. Leading to question weather or not Mack Brown was able to get the most out of the cars he brought in.
In 2006 Mack Brown insists that the low mileage models he has brought in will be able to replace VY. Brown says “My Mentor, Darrel always says… You gotta dance with who brung ya, well, the guy that brung me left the dance early but don’t worry, I got a couple of real beauties I am going to dance with. Both got low miles and all the bells and whistles, so we plan to use ‘em both.”
Some industry experts question Browns two car approach and site disasters in years past. As recent as 2003 Brown was trying to sell newly acquired VY and a less impressive Chevy Metro we will call Chance. You see Chance had been on the lot for a few years, so Mack thought he should get a shot. Of course, the biggest 2 car debacle Mack has been involved in was when he had just brought in a Cadillac Seville from an old lady in Simmsville and a trusted, reliable old pickup that came from a major applefarm just outside Austin. The old pick-up was called Major and was a favorite on the lot, but Mack picked up that shiny caddy from a guy named Phil in Simmsville and Mack had promised Phil, that his caddy would be to featured car on the UTUC lot. Mack stuck to his guns throughout the year, even when the Cadillac was under performing and Major was over-performing, Mack kept trying to sell the benefits of driving his Cadillac.
UTUC will have a lot of competition from the other 11 regional competitors. Including their annual battle against Bob Stoops of Oklahoma Performance Racing. OPR started slow last year and Mack was able to finish ahead of Stoops for the first time in many years. However, OPR was firing on all cylinders at the end of the year and looks like they could reverse the one year trend. Stoops who is known for bringing in good cars and turning them into great cars says UTUC is all about looks not performance, “UTUC brings in some decent cars and they shine them up, maybe add some spinners, but at OPR we rebuild the engines, the suspension and totally pimp ‘em out. When our cars roll off the lot, the buyers know they are getting an excellent product”
“We got the finest cars money can buy” says Mack. “We keep ‘em in the best garages and we got the biggest lot around. Some of out competitors invest a lot of time into their cars after they arrive, we just throw ‘em out there and hope for the best.”
UTUC will also be going head to head against the new kid on the block, Ron Prince from PowerCars. Prince is taking over the Manhattan based PowerCars from the retiring Bill Snyder. Snyder left a lot full of cars from the previous year and Prince has brought in a few of his own.
Another challenge will be from the CarHuskers. The revamped CarHuskers were a very successful John Deere dealership that had fallen on hard times. So they brought in Wild Bill Callahan to move from the old school mentality to a high performance system. Wild Bill brought in his “West Coast” philosophy last year and has turned the Carhuskers around and has them heading in the right direction.
The bottom line is that Mack Brown is the best used car salesman in the region. However, his competitors do more to make their cars perform at a higher level. And in the end, no matter how good the salesman is or how much you spend on Marketing and PR, the better product will come out on top. Until Mack finds another VY, they will have to settle for second place.
Hurricane Warnings in Manhattan Kansas
In yet another sign of how times have changed since Ron Prince took over for retiring Bill Snyder, the Wildcats have nearly completed a contract with the University of Miami (not Ohio) for a home and home series in the 2011 and 2012 seasons. K-State will travel to Miami in 2011 and the 'Canes will be in Manhattan the following year.
"Ron (Prince) wants to have one marquee game on the schedule every year," Kansas State Athletic Director Jim Epps said. "That could also include teams from the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA. He's been very open-minded about playing the best schools out there."
As a Wildcat fan who has consistently had to defend the Wildcat program for their scheduling philosophy in the past, I am happy to see that Coach Prince has made a commitment to play one "Big-Name" school every year. This is good for the program for several reasons. First, it will better prepare the team for the Big 12 but more importantly, it will, most likely, put KSU on National TV in the pre-season. It will also eliminate the "they don't play anyone in non-conference" arguement that has been used against the Cats in the past to keep us out of Tier 1 bowls.
It kind of makes you wonder about the "no one will schedule a home and home series with us" arguement that the Athletic Department has been using over the last 10 years to justify the likes of Western Kentucky and McNeese State.
