Rutgers and NFL Picks

It has taken me two days to put into perspective what I witnessed on Thursday night. It was everything that was right with sports. It really was.

The classic underdog from our nation's armpit.

A team that hasn't been good ever.

A state that is known more for its smell and its malls than it is for anything athletic.

Then I had my cousin, one of the better people in the world. This kid bled red and black since his first day at RU. It always seemed sorta bizarre.

So there we were, 4 p.m. on Thursday. Me, Goat and J Schubes entering Cousin's domain, the Rutgers tailgate. Normally Jersey comes to NYC. Not this time.

I watched my cousin and his friends in their element. It was a beautiful thing.

Jersey shore music blasting, ping pong balls flying, and tons of dudes that look exactly the same talking to tons of girls, all named Lisa that, well, looked exactly the same.

Everyone was hoping, praying that Rutgers would put up a good fight.

No Rutgers people at the game were predicting a 42-6 Louisville win. Pound the Cardinals is all I heard.

The rest was kind of magical. It was the real life Major League.

After the first quarter it looked like Louisville would put up 100 points. Rutgers didn't have a chance.

A late 2nd quarter TD made it 25-14. Rutgers still had no chance.

Then something happened. Coach Schiano must have given a Johnny Moxon-like speech, because when Rutgers came out in the 2nd half they were a different team.

Rutgers kept fighting. They tied the game with about 10 minutes left. Then they got the ball back with about 4 to go.

It was time for the magical drive. And it happened.

Rutgers ran the ball down Louisville's throat. They had the huge screen pass to Leonard. Then they had their chance at magic.

But Jeremy Ito missed the kick.

Pretty shitty ending to our movie here right.

Offsides.

And Ito wouldn't miss again.

Watching the state of New Jersey storm the field. The only word I could use to describe it was "nice."

It was just a really nice thing.

My cousin and all of his friends in absolute euphoria. I smiled.

Yesterday, Cousin compared the plight of Rutgers fans to that of the Mets. It's a nice analogy but it is giving Mets fans too much credit and Rutgers fans not enough.

Rooting for Rutgers over the last 10 years is about the dumbest way to spend your Saturday afternoons. They just never had a shot. They were the Jersey of college football.

But my cousin always stuck it out. He never missed a game even when they never had a shot.

There hasn't been a season in our life times where we thought the Mets has ZERO shot.

So kudos to Rutgers. Kudos to my cousin, Wayne, James, Kev and the rest of the Scarlet Knight faitful. Let's just say that you guys have the support of Y2K.

Now to the gridiron.

Sunday night I'll be at the Meadowlands. My good buddy Danny D, flying in from Chicago and the Edgemont drinking team will all be there as well.

It should be pretty fucking sweet.

So the Giants are pretty banged up. No Osi, no Strahan. That kind of sucks. The way to beat the Bears is simple. Get to Rex and make him make mistakes.

The Bears offense has shown last week and in Arizona that they are very turnover prone.

Force two turnovers and the Giants win this game.

Colts v. Bills

I like the Colts laying 12 in the dome. Buffalo has no Mcgahee, we know, and they also have JP Losman. This is officially the one guy in the NFL that has no business being an NFL QB.

Ravens v. Titans

I'll take the Ravens laying 7 on the road in Tennessee. I don't really know why but J Schubes is pretty fired up about this one and that is all I really need. If Baltimore can get ahead with the run, I would take my chances making Vince Young out throw you.

Otherwise, I am slowly developing a fool proof system of gambling on the NFL.

FADE THE SPORTS GUY.

That guy is just one big circus animal. I will be the first to say that I think he is an incredible writer. His writing style just communicates well with the masses.

I like the Sports Guy in the same way I love Kornheiser and Wilbon.

They are amazing at talking about sports. They can talk to the people and make you feel like they are one of us.

But like the PTI boys, the Sports Guy knows NOTHING about sports. He knows a ton about Boston. So does everyone from Boston.

But this guy when he tries to write about sports, it's just so transparent that he doesn't know what he's talking about. The guy is an average fan who happens to be great at writing about it.

It'd be like asking me to pick the Tony awards.

Yes, I hear great things about Chicago and Bye Bye Birdie, and with the millions and millions of the People's writer here to listen, I might even be able to comvince some people into thinking I know what I am talking about.

But god knows I don't.

And neither does the Sports Guy.

If you take all of his picks and go the other way, you are guaranteed to be above .500.

With that in mind, the Sports Guy likes the Ravens and the Colts this week. So you should probably avoid them.

Oh, and he really likes the Giants.

Looks like I just wasted $150 bucks on a ticket.

Great weekend all.

Vaya con dios,

Sip