Looking for repeat business...

Cronk's Sister's University/Southern Miss: Almost. Almost. As stated before, the BCS is all about ratings. Cronk's Sister alone would have gotten her University the ratings to deserve a BCS bowl. Unfortunately, as stated by many, TCU simply does not have the football team to deserve a BCS bid.
tOSU/scUM: Hey, tOSU's offense finally showed up. Too bad scUM's O was too much for tOSU's defense. This was a weird one. It wasn't quite a traditional "natural disaster game" for me (where my response to "who do you want to win?" is "I hope a natural disaster comes and takes out both teams). I guess it was more of a "who do I want to lose game?", where my reply was, "tOSU shouldn't be in the title game." One point, thought. tOSU's SOS is decent, as they've knocked off many highly-rated Big 11 teams. Maybe their conference as a whole is overrated, causing tOSU's high BCS marks. Who knows.
BC/VPI: Hey, an upset! Oh wait... we can officially delete my "The Irish and the bowls" post now.

NFL
Browns/Steelers: I think I made most of my feelings known on the Bone Listserv. Good Lord. Reading TMQ today, their were two teams that went with 4 straight runs up the gut on goal-to-go situations; both succeeded. Good good. In other Browns news, Jeff Faine was forced to go on the IR for the rest of the season (I say forced because he didn't even want to leave the game) with a sprained ankle. A sprained ankle? Is Butch giving up on the season and preparing for the future? Those Florida school coaches, I'll tell ya... (then again, here's the teams the Brownies have left to play: Ravens, Bengals, Broncos, Seahawks, Rams. Ouch.)
Bears/Broncos: After the Browns debacle, I was seriously regretting even suggesting to Sarah that we place a bet on the upcoming Browns/Broncos game. Then, watching her Broncos play the Bears, I had newfound hope (no offense, Mike). I noticed it, and TMQ confirmed it: a cold coach is a winning coach. UnderArmor and a sweatshirt for Dick Jauron vs. polar gear for Mike Shanahan. How long have you been in Denver Shanahan? And it's only November!
Washington/Miami: I turned this game on, and I honestly thought the Patriots were wearing their throwbacks. That's how dark the orange jerseys looked on my TV. The only other comment I have on this game is that ESPN did not do its God-given duty of creating excuses to show Mrs. Tim Hasselbeck, Elizabeth from Survivor, at every moment possible.
Giants/Bucs: I'm a little disappointed that the player introductions at the beginning of the game didn't include "Luke Petitgout. Ellen loves me." Maybe next time. I won't comment too much on the outcome, but I would like to know who Tampa Bay's receivers coach is (oh, I could look it up, but I'm lazy). Every single receiver (except of course for Joe Jurevicius, from Lake Catholic HS in Mentor, OH) carries the ball like a loaf of bread! I couldn't believe it.

ND Men vs NIU
I've read that the women are experimenting with the trapezoidal key and deeper 3 point arc during preseason/beginning of the season tourneys. I've also noticed that many of the men's games played so far have had the same lines on the floor, so I'll assume they're using them too to some extent. Does anyone know if that was the case for this game? If so, Francis's 24 looks all the more impressive. 19 is also a very nice number in the rebound category. No, this game wasn't supposed to be a cakewalk; remember NIU made a run in the tourney a few years back. No, wait, maybe I'm thinking of Southern Illinois. Nevermind. Quinn shot the lights out, which makes up for Thomas's "I'm already in the NBA"-like 5-17 performance. I don't think either of them will do the same every night, but it is nice to see that Quinn really is a decent player. That, and Thomas's 7-2 assist-turnover ratio is very easy on the eyes. The only stat that concerns me is "Cornette 3 PT FG-FGA 2-6." Yes, you made your first one, but that isn't an excuse to shoot 5 more. Don't go Ryan Humprey on us (even if Ellen loves him). Other stats of note: Falls 0-4 FG, 0-3 3PT. Tough debut, but it's nice to see another face in the rotation. He'll be alright. Quinn 6 steals. Rick Cornett 3 rebounds in 4 minutes played.

Obscure College Scores
IUP 42, Bloomsburg 40. IUP finishes the season at 5-1 in the PSAC West, and 10-1 overall. However, as their football site bitterly states, "Despite the win and a 10-1 record, IUP has been denied a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs"
CUP, also in the PSAC West (2-4), finished their season 4-7 with a 35-0 loss to Shippensburg on Nov 15.
Edinboro of Pennsylvania 9, Saginaw Valley State (Saginaw Valley isn't a state) 33, in the first round of the DII playoffs. Edinboro, also in the (you're not going to believe this) PSAC West, finishes 5-1 in the conference and 9-3 overall.
TMQ's new dream job: athletic director of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

Why I didn't do my column last night
Went with the whole family to see The Cat in the Hat. Despite poor reviews, this was, as a certain Alaskan would put it, a "good show." I enjoyed it. Some highlights:
- much much funnier than I expected
- Paris Hilton has a cameo as a dancer in a night club/rave scene. Given the timing of the release of her "other" film, I found this to be incredibly funny.
- It's a running joke that the Cat keeps getting the children's names wrong. At one point, he calls the boy (Conrad) "Klondike," to which my whole family responds, "Klondike?! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Ah, the Alaskan...

Old Job/New Job
OK, so at my old job I sat around and read NDNation all day. At my new job... well... I'm helping to stop the funding of terrorists and other anti-US organizations. You decide which is the cooler job.

Trade Talk
A's picked up Bobby Kielty earlier, then picked up Mark Kotsay for Ramon Hernandez and Terrrence Long. OK, Long needed to get out of there. And I do like Kielty and Kotsay. But in many ways, those two arjust like Eric Byrnes (who they already have), so why the addition. Billy Beane (the straight GM, not the gay former outfielder) knows what he's doing, so I'm sure these interchangeable 3 position OFs will work for him. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Billy Beane is the current A's GM. Billy Bean (no E) was an OF for the A's in the 80s or 90s who is famous for coming out as a gay baseball player after his retirement.
Cubs: Derrek Lee is a great pickup. Wow, Dusty must really not like Hee Seop Choi, huh? One day, he's the future. Then Dusty comes along and carries 10 other 1B only guys on the roster. Then he just gets rid of him. There goes that.
The Schilling Saga: Theo Epstein (no relation to Petey) is showing that he really wants to win. But is he giving up too much for it? Casey Fossum is Theo's favorite pitcher of the future, and Brandon Lyons was Grady Little's... oh, right. Nevermind on that second part. Theo's starting to play into the "beat the Yankees now" philosophy, and hopefully that won't ruin him. Of course, this is all moot if Schilling enacts his no-trade clause.
Ricky Davis: Everybody's favorite Lorain youth basketball camp sponsor is rumored to be on the block. I don't like this move per se. He's starting to show maturity, playing basketball this year (passing and playing D) instead of just "getting buckets" like last year (in case you haven't heard, he wears/wore a wristband that reads "Get Buckets"). Unless he's a locker room cancer, the Cavs should keep him. He and LeBron are the two to build this team around. That, and taking away one of our few scorers makes a mediocre team even worse - and puts more pressure on LeBron, who's already working almost 41 minutes a night.

Well, I'm out of material. Join me Friday for a preview of the Stanford game. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

KankaNation-related things I'm thankful for:
-people who read what I have to think, and tell me what they have to think, and hang out at the Backer and Corby's with me
-Gin and Tonic, Bud Light, Coors Light, "Gin 'n' Juice", and Coors Light commercials
-people who LOOOVE me
-the pride of 4 years and a degree from Our Lady's University
-family and friends. I love you guys. (maybe that'll make up for the 1.2 billion "I hate you guys"es I've muttered over the last few years)