Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Take That, Pac-10!
Wednesday
September 2, 2006
"I've got a plan, a demand, and it just began
And if you're right, you'll agree"
-Fiona Apple "Better Version of Me"
"There's no substitute for live contact"
-Bonnie Bernstein, in a sideline report during today's Tennessee/Cal game
My sister Mary Beth is very smart. I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. She received a three-star rating for this letter to the editor of The Tennessean last month. Her Journalism class requires her (and all students taking the course) to send one in on a monthly basis... and right out of the chute, bang, she received top billing. I tell you, she has the potential to do something really special in life before it's all said and done.
How come at gas stations, it's often luck-of-the-draw as to whether there will be one of those metal pieces with notches to hold the nozzle in go mode? Is there a rash of theft of those small metal plates? Do they break easily? I really want to know. It's annoying to stand there on a slow-pumping tank and have to hold the level indefinitely.
Was it really necessary for ESPN to add Paul Maguire to the booth team of Brad Nessler and Bob Griese? That trio is calling the Tennessee/Cal game (which I am watching as I type this.) Maguire has been horrible for years and years. Does anyone find him funny? Anyone? Bill Simmons makes veiled references to him being terrible from time to time, but wow he is bad. It's like when ABC added that third announcer to the incredible team of Gary Thorne and Bill Clement for NHL broadcasts; it made the team worse as a result. Sometimes less is more. Put Maguire in the retirement home with Pat Summerall. Really, it's time.
And in reference to the Tennessee game, welcome back to the fold, David Cutcliffe. Volunteer fans everyone have sure missed you.
It's nice to see UAB on national television (TBS), albeit as a squash match opponent against Oklahoma. I'll see UAB play Mississippi State in Birmingham later this month.
I found great humor in Colorado losing to Montana State today. Served CU right for canning Gary Barnett. Remember, Colorado won the Big XII North last season, and they still fired Barnett despite that accomplishment. Now they're losing to I-AA programs.
NCAA Football 07 for the PS2 is a great game. I held off initially on buying it, but that was a bad idea in hindsight. Some people errantly said that the game had only superficial changes made to it, which is only accurate if you believe that making the gameplay incredibly realistic is superficial. The insane number of dropped passes, or balls hitting receivers in the back, are history. The 2003 version (NCAA Football 2004) had been my favorite incarnation of the series... until now.
One mistake I made in buying the game is initially purchasing it used from EB Games. I saved just $5, but the disc itself looked like it had been the playtoy of a non-declawed cat. Scratches on the disc left some stadiums entirely unloadable (presumably the scratches damaged that information), and loading in general was an iffy thing. Early this afternoon I exchanged it, paid $5 to get a brand new one instead, and this one works perfectly for me.
Already there's an instant classic line from Brad Nessler in NCAA 07. The game does go a bit overboard with the celebrations (and associated penalties), and Nessler often says, "It looks like someone took the celebration a little too far" when someone is penalized for excessive celebration. It could ideally be used to describe someone at a fraternity party, passed out drunk in a hallway. Not that I've ever been in that position before...
Addenudum: wow, Tennessee is taking it to Cal right now. 35-0 and looking strong. Take that, Pac-10!
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