NCAA Top 25 (Week 14)

Sorry to skimp on comments this week…I’ll say that I’d rather see Texas in the championship game, but I find it very difficult to argue with Oklahoma at this point. The beating Texas Tech just a week ago is too much to overlook, I’m afraid…it has to be the Longhorns or Sooners.

I’m pretty sure you won’t be seeing Boise State in the BCS this year. There are more powerhouses this year than last, including an undefeated mid-major in Utah who simply had to overcome a much tougher schedule to run the table. Tough break for the Broncos, who are more deserving than Hawaii was last season.

1. (12-0) Alabama (1)
2. (11-1) Oklahoma (2)
3. (11-1) Florida (3)
4. (11-1) Texas (4)
5. (11-1) Penn State (5)
6. (10-1) USC (6)
7. (11-1) Texas Tech (7)
8. (12-0) Utah (8)
9. (12-0) Boise State (9)
10. (10-2) Ohio State (10)
11. (10-2) Cincinnati (12)
12. (10-2) TCU (15)
13. (10-2) BYU (17)
14. (9-3) Oklahoma State (11)
15. (9-3) Oregon (18)
16. (9-3) Georgia Tech (21)
17. (12-0) Ball State (19)
18. (8-3) Pitt (20)
19. (9-3) Georgia (13)
20. (9-3) Missouri (14)
21. (8-4) Oregon State (16)
22. (9-3) Michigan State (22)
23. (9-3) Boston College (23)
24. (8-4) Ole Miss (NR)
25. (9-3) Northwestern (24)

Alright, my practice test supply is officially exhausted.

I took my second and final fresh practice test in preparation for next Saturday’s retake, and got a 171. I missed 9 questions (four of them being my chief nemesis, reading comp, of course). I’m as prepped for this administration of the test mentally as I was last time, and this time I’ll have a better feel for the whole testing situation going into it. While I’ll feel a fair bit of pressure to have this last six weeks of prep work pay off, I’ll definitely go in calmer knowing that I’m already looking at a pretty good likelihood of admission to several schools that I like.

I plan to follow basically the exact same regimen in the next week leading up to the 12/6 retake, and this time I’m expecting to score in my practice test range of 169+ instead of hitting a lower statistical outlier.

NFL Week 13 Picks

Tennessee at Detroit
The undefeated streak is over, but there isn’t much doubt that a new winning streak begins on Thursday…
Spread: Tennessee -11
Pick: Tennessee 31, Detroit 6

NCAA Week 14 Picks

Pac-10

UCLA at Arizona State
The loser is officially eliminated from bowl contention. I don’t think either one will make it regardless. Both teams are pretty bad, but ASU at least brings explosiveness on offense to the table (mostly just in theory this year, granted)…for that reason, as well as homefield advantage, give me the Devils.
Spread: Arizona State -10
Pick: Arizona State 24, UCLA 17

#23 Oregon at #17 Oregon State
On top of a bitter rivalry to fight over, both teams have quite a bit of motivation in their bowl chase, with the Holiday Bowl on the line for the Ducks and of course the Rose Bowl on the line for OSU. The Beavers sidestepped a land mine at Arizona last week, and after that I think they’ll have just enough to get them over the finish line to win the Pac-10 title. Should be a great game.
Spread: Oregon State -3.5
Pick: Oregon State 27, Oregon 24

Notre Dame at #5 USC
Notre Dame has locked up bowl eligibility, and will surely draw an invite, but they’re going to limp into their bowl at 6-6 after USC embarrasses them this week.
Spread: USC -30
Pick: USC 52, Notre Dame 14

Washington State at Hawaii
Hawaii isn’t all that good this year. Can the Cougs carry their momentum from the big win (laugh if you want about the “big” win, but 2-10 never looked so good) into Hawaii and give them a run for their money? Honestly, my guess is no, I can’t help but feel after that win that they’ll probably be completely flat and mostly just enjoying their tropical vacation. Thankfully, as a Coug fan, while I’d rather win…I’m not going to care all that much about this loss. Not after last week.
Spread: Hawaii -28
Pick: Hawaii 35, Washington State 10

Last Week: 0-3
Season: 55-13
Against the spread: 0-3
Season (ATS): 32-32-1

Top 25
#1 Alabama over Auburn (upset potential: 3/10)
#2 Texas over Texas A&M (upset potential: 1.5/10)
#3 Oklahoma over #12 Oklahoma State (upset potential: 3/10)
#4 Florida over #20 Florida State (upset potential: 2.5/10)
#7 Texas Tech over Baylor (upset potential: 2/10)
#9 Boise State over Fresno State (upset potential: 3/10)
#11 Georgia over #22 Georgia Tech (upset potential: 3.5/10)
#13 Missouri over Kansas (upset potential: 2.5/10)
#15 Ball State over Western Michigan (upset potential: 3.5/10)
#16 Cincinnati over Syracuse (upset potential: 2/10)
#21 Boston College over Maryland (upset potential: 4.5/10)
West Virginia over #25 Pittsburgh (upset potential: 5.5/10)

NFL Week 12 Power Rankings

1. (10-1) NY Giants (2)
It was already tempting to put them above the Titans in the rankings before today, but now I think it’s pretty easy to call the Giants the best team in the league.

2. (10-1) Tennessee (1)
It was bound to happen, the Titans just don’t have what it takes offensively to erase a huge deficit if they happen to fall into it. They’re still the heavy favorites in the AFC.

3. (8-3) NY Jets (8)
I’m pretty astounded by these guys. This is a way different team than the one that lost at Oakland not really all that long ago.

4. (8-3) Pittsburgh (4)
They need to find a way to beat New England; a loss could make for a head-to-head tiebreak that could cost them a bye if the Patriots can catch the Jets.

5. (8-3) Tampa Bay (5)

24: Redemption

It sure has been forever since we were last given some new 24. It was a breath of fresh air to see Jack Bauer back on the screen, and I thought this prequel to season 7 was pretty strong. I like the new President Taylor (loved her exchange with outgoing President Daniels), thought all of the political stuff in Washington was really solid, as was Jack’s storyline in Africa (they managed to get me very attached to Carl Benton in a hurry, for maximum emotional impact with the conclusion of his story).

The previews for the upcoming season look really good. I very much look forward to the hearings Jack is headed for, and although I’m concerned by the reappearance by Tony Almeida (bringing seemingly dead characters back smacks of desperation), I’ll give the writers of this show the benefit of the doubt in having good reason to bring him back. I always loved Tony’s character, so in theory I’m happy to have him back, I’m just concerned with how contrived his return might be.

I certainly look forward to the first three hours of the season on January 11th and 12th.

Still as sharp as in early October, I think.

After deciding to retake the test, I had to confront the reality that I had already exhausted many of the available study materials for the test, including taking every practice test that was available to me. There were parts of the PowerScore study bibles that I hadn’t gone through thorougly, but as I began to study those, I discovered that none of it was new to me…I basically know what I need to know, and it’s mostly a matter of execution on test day. Scoring in the 92nd percentile, and now looking to better that score, means that there isn’t all that much room for improvement. I simply need to both be better (in my execution) and luckier (in getting a better curve and not having to tax my brain with two reading comp sections) on my second test day.

So, I couldn’t just sit around and hope to be prepared once December 6th rolled around; I needed to develop a study plan. I searched around to see if any LSAT practice tests existed that I hadn’t taken yet, and was thankfully able to find two.

NCAA Top 25 (Week 13)

1. (11-0) Alabama (2)
I suppose it’s worth saying that they can’t totally look past Auburn next week…weird things happen in these fierce rivalry games.

2. (10-1) Oklahoma (4)
Wow. I picked them to win, but that blowout was way beyond what I thought they’d pull off. Assuming they take care of Missouri again, there’s no argument against these guys for the national title game.

3. (10-1) Florida (5)
It’s pretty clear that they’re two wins away from the national title game at this point. There won’t be a case to make against them if they beat Florida State and Alabama.

4. (10-1) Texas (3)
Now the politics begin…Texas Tech will claim that their head-to-head win should count for a BCS at-large bid, where Texas will be able to claim that they never had a blowout loss. For the record, I do lean toward Texas as the better team.

5. (11-1) Penn State (7)

4 Apple Cup wins in 5 years…fantastic.

Yes, the Washington State Cougars are an awful, awful team. Happily, and I didn’t believe it all season until this moment, the Huskies are even worse.

I had given up all hope, I mentioned in passing in an e-mail to my mom that “it looks like a loss this year,” but then Kevin Lopina completed a miracle pass to Jared Karstetter, Nico Grasu converted the field goal, and suddenly we were in overtime. Overtime was incredibly dramatic; the defense showed some guts, kept the Huskies out of the end zone, and this thing was decided by the fact that we had a better kicker than them.

It wasn’t the highest level of quality football, but it was drama, excitement, entertainment, intensity…everything we love in sports. I was as excited as the winning field goal was knocked through as I am when my team wins a playoff game. For today anyway, I can forget that my team is an awful 2-10 team…we just won the Apple Cup, and will finish up with a better season than the Huskies for the 8th straight year. I’m a happy man.

The Office: “Frame Toby”

It was good to see Toby back in the office tonight, if for no other reason than to see the resurrection of one of the show’s best running jokes, Michael’s entirely irrational hatred for him. His reaction to first seeing Toby back was hilarious. The scene where he was truly trying as hard as he could to be buddies with him was fantastic (the way his voice uncontrollably dropped into a whisper as he said “it’s great to have you back as part of our family” was priceless). The interplay between these two is just gold every single time.

A favorite snippet from The Art of War.

I recently read Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. It’s a bit of a difficult read, not one that I would deem “enjoyable,” but there’s a good bit of wisdom in it, wisdom that can be applied not only to battlefields 1500 years later, but wisdom that can be applied to other aspects of life (competition in business, for instance…heck, I saw some applicability in it for me as a poker player) as well. While I won’t rave about it like I have about some other recent reads, it’s a good book with unquestionable value.

I enjoyed this excerpt from chapter 7, “Maneuvering,” quite a bit.

Adding Illinois to the list.

This morning, I received a fee waiver to apply to the University of Illinois, so I went ahead and sent them an application. They had actually caught my eye early in the process, and I was considering them, but ultimately decided that my application list was big enough.

Once they shot me a fee waiver, though, I went ahead and sent them the application that I had already filled out and was sitting on. They’re not a serious contender for my services, but I do like what I’ve seen of them, and it’s good to keep plenty of options open.

16 more days to the LSAT retake…

NFL Week 12 Picks

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
With Willie Parker now back and running well, this game shouldn’t be a problem at all for the Steelers. They cover easily.
Spread: Pittsburgh -10.5
Pick: Pittsburgh 27, Cincinnati 10

Book Review: Crime and Punishment

I had heard the name Crime and Punishment for years, but didn’t know what it was about, who wrote it, anything. After having now read it, I can easily name it as one of my favorite books. It’s my first experience with the work of Fyodor Dostoevsky, and certainly won’t be the last.

It’s a lot more difficult to immediately relate to 19th century Russia than it is to stories set in America or Britain, but Dostoevsky paints a vivid picture of a downtrodden area in St. Petersburg, a setting I really liked by the end of the book. The writing style was unique and took a bit of getting used to, particularly with characters being referred to by different names at different times, and with no real explanation given as to who the heck he’s talking about. However, once I got past these slowdowns, the book flowed more and more freely for me.

**minor spoilers within…really, they’re just spoilers if you don’t know what the book is about**

No, I do not want to give money to you for your kid’s fundraiser.

This morning, I’m sitting at my desk. My co-worker at an adjacent desk comes in. He says hi, I grunt some kind of greeting in return. It’s just like every morning. But then…I see trouble. While he’s unloading his stuff at his desk, he plops down a fundraising packet, clearly from his kid’s school. Selling cookie dough, I see…

NCAA Week 13 Picks

Washington at Washington State
No matter how bad a season gets, I still care passionately about this game. Unfortunately, the state of Washington has degenerated so badly that on Monday morning, I came into work (in a Coug shirt, mind you) saying the Cougs had almost no chance in the Apple Cup; meanwhile, my boss, a Husky season ticketholder, said that he can’t see how the Dawgs can possibly win this game. Our teams are so bad that we’re doing the opposite of trash-talking, we’re sitting on opposite sides, shrugging and saying “yeah, your team is bad, but you’ve got this one.”

NFL Week 11 Power Rankings

1. (10-0) Tennessee (1)
I finally picked them to lose one, and it looked like I was going to be right…but they once again showed a ton of heart. Although I’m pretty sure they’re not going to go unbeaten, I doubt I’m picking against them again during the regular season.

2. (9-1) NY Giants (2)
For what it’s worth, I’d pick the Giants against the Titans on a neutral field…like, say, in a Super Bowl or something. These guys are fantastic.

3. (8-2) Carolina (3)
They’re only a game worse than the Giants in the standings, but you sure don’t get the sense that a trip to the Meadowlands in the playoffs would go well for the Panthers.

4. (7-3) Pittsburgh (4)
So ugly, but they have nothing to apologize for. Their nearly spotless AFC record gives them a nice leg up in the race for the second playoff bye.

5. (7-3) Tampa Bay (6)

Just not much to report on, it’s kind of a dead period.

I’m generally not one to talk simply to hear my own voice, so I just haven’t posted for a while due to lack of inspiration…I’m not abandoning the blog or letting it die, I’m just not wasting time writing filler either.

I’m still studying for my LSAT retake; not the intense level of studying I did for my initial take, because I honestly believe that there’s little more I can actually learn toward bettering my score; I know I have the aptitude to score up to the 99th percentile under good conditions, so I’m just practicing up to stay sharp and keep my mind focused on the LSAT way of thinking. I feel totally ready to take the test again, so now it’s just a matter of getting there. 20 more days to go, thankfully doesn’t feel like too long of a wait. I’m very hopeful that I’m going to kill it this time around.

NCAA Top 25 (Week 12)

The top 12 all remains the same. This was one of the least dynamic weeks of the NCAA season.

1. (10-0) Texas Tech (1)
If they beat Oklahoma, I will honestly consider their other two games to be a near-formality on their path to the national title game.

2. (11-0) Alabama (2)
Style points really don’t matter anymore for the Tide. As long as they stay out of the loss column, they’re going to play for the championship.

3. (10-1) Texas (3)
The Longhorns could finish 11-1 and land anywhere from the national title game to outside of the BCS altogether. This Big 12 South is crazy.

4. (9-1) Oklahoma (4)
They’re lucky to be the last in line to take on Texas Tech. They know exactly how great of an opponent they’re getting, and a win sticking in the voters’ memories would give them a good shot at winning the BCS tiebreak to play for the Big 12 title (and probably the national title).

5. (9-1) Florida (5)

Checkers are weird. People are weird.

So, just about 15 minutes ago, at around 1:30 in the morning, I was at Haggen…the one on Meridian. I wanted some groceries, and while I usually opt against the Meridian Haggen because it’s the only one without a self-checkout, it was the most readily available 24 hour grocery store. I really prefer not to be rung through by anyone, I can do it faster myself and I can skip the small talk.

I pick up a few things and take them to the checker. In the middle of the transaction, she gives me this concerned look and says, “Are you winding down or winding up?” I said, “Uhh…I’m winding down.” “Oh,” she said, as a look of relief came over her face, “That’s good.”

What the heck? Why would it possibly matter if I was winding down or winding up? She wasn’t just making conversation, I can assure you from her inflection and the look on her face, she really cared about the answer for some very strange reason. She’s working the graveyard shift. She’s going to ring up people who are buying groceries at an odd hour. That’s basically the whole job description, isn’t it? Is she asking everyone about how close they are to going to bed, or was there some reason to ask me in particular? As soon as I got home, I went to the mirror to see if I had especially bloodshot or tired eyes for any reason…but I didn’t. The whole thing was just baffling. I only answered the question because I assumed that she would be explaining why she was asking her odd question. When she didn’t, I thought for a bit then said, “It’s the beginning of my weekend, so it wouldn’t matter too much whether I was in bed soon or not.” This was me flat-out begging her to explain her strange question. She responded by pointing to one of my groceries and asking if I wanted it in a separate bag…or, in other words, ignoring that I said anything.

For a person who often avoids unnecessary social contact, I sure do have a disproportionate amount of weird interactions with people. Next time I’ll drive a few more minutes to the Barkley Haggen, where they have the self-check stations.