Y2K-U: Cousin Dan's Weekly Update

(Note: A.F.O.M.G. will be in with a piece later this afternoon.)

Let me be the next to add my congratulations for the new site to Cousin Sip, AFOMG, and the rest. Perhaps without having to say blogspot, Sip can take down that 9+ waitress at Brother Jimmy’s before he heads west. Or, at least take down the GMATs.

1. It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

I’ll try to tackle the bowls in a week-by-week list here, and before Christmas, we have, well, not a lot. (Though, as they say, when Troy and Rice get together, you throw out the record books). But as someone who actually wagered on the Blue-Gray game once, let’s see how I can help make the week more fun.

I like San Jose State and the points (probably better than New Mexico, even though the game’s in Albuquerque) and South Florida laying the points (remember, their last game, they won in Morgantown). Best bet of Week 1: Hawaii to absolutely roll Arizona State.

2. Scarlet Knights go!

Resurrected a program? Check. And smart too? Check. Belated congratulations go out to Rutgers FB Brian Leonard, who won the Draddy Trophy a few weeks back.

The Draddy is the so-called Academic Heisman, which means that Leonard can stiff-arm you, steal your girl, and get a higher score than you on the GMATs. (Wow, two GMATs refs in one column!).

3. Congratulations, Boise!

You’re no longer the least desirable bowl destination on the planet! (Though, it must be said, reports are that Miami students can get free tickets to the MPC Computers Bowl if they’re willing to spend New Year’s Eve in Boise instead of, say, Miami).

That new honor is spending Dec. 23 (and then Christmas Eve) in the aforementioned New Mexico Bowl, where you will get to play a road game and then see some of that famed Albuquerque nightlife.

4. Sure sounds like a top-6 team for me.

Our beloved Blue Devils, who spent the week firmly entrenched in the top-10 while preventing actual Duke students from camping out for the UNC game are surprisingly low in the ESPN Power 16 (No. 10).

But don’t blame Dick Vitale, who obviously has his Dookies at No. 6, five spots ahead of Wichita State, a team that, oh by the way, has beaten somebody this year. (And played road games!). Jay Bilas, who actually played at Duke, correctly has the Devils out of his poll.

5. I think this column correctly saw this one coming.

Wisconsin absolutely blew the doors off overrated “No. 2” Pittsburgh on Saturday. This is a unique Wisconsin team, because the Badgers actually enjoy scoring this year.

Alando Tucker continued being the best player in the country, dropping 32 and 10. Center Brian Butch added 27 and 12 or so, and when he watches the ESPN feed, will sadly note that he was compared on a couple occasions to a player he’s vastly superior to, plodding Duke forward Josh McRoberts. I’ll let you guess who made those comparisons.

6. And the best team is Iowa is… Drake?

This column loves the little guy, and little guy Drake became the second little guy Iowa school (Northern Iowa being the other) to beat both Iowa and Iowa State this year. Good for Drake, who I honestly can tell you nothing else about. Bad for Iowa; and given that the locals already strongly dislike Steve Alford, that seat has to be getting moderately warm.

7. When considering the alternative, it’s not so bad.

When Virginia replaced serial nice guy Pete Gillen with serial angry guy Dave Leitao, we alumni were just happy to see somebody with some emotion on the sidelines. So when Leitao gets thrown out of a game against Hampton, I think Virginia fans actually cheered. Plus, the Cavs may have had some time outs left at the end of the contest.

8. The weekly dispatch from Kansas.

Since the Jayhawks didn’t play this week, let’s return across the state to Manhattan. Prized recruit Bill Walker made his debut today (15 points in a win over something called Kennesaw State), and let’s just say he was thrilled to be in the Little Apple.

From the preview: “Walker said he knew at age 15 that he would play for Huggins. He just didn’t know it would be at K-State, a place Walker admitted he had ‘never heard of’ until Huggins became coach.”

9. A non-college item, unless you consider that I saw Vick play at Tech.

It was a big party for Cousin Tonks and I at Brother Jimmy’s on Saturday night, watching our fantasy players T.O. and Michael Vick go off for six TDs. (Obviously, we had to give money to a bar, because no one in NYC has the NFL Network yet).

In any case, I later heard that T.O. spit in DeAngelo Hall’s face during the game. Putting to the side that the cocky Hokie probably deserved it, this will undoubtedly set off more teeth-gnashing from the Peter Kings of the world about what a bad guy T.O. is.

But here’s the thing. T.O. ain’t gonna change. As long as he can beat Hall on 51-yard TDs, he’s gonna still talk crap, wreck chemistry, and occasionally spit. I think it may just be time for the media to move on.

10. The Final Question.

If Greg Oden could be the starting center for a dozen NBA teams now, exactly how are Northwestern and Penn State going to guard him?

- Cousin Dan

(Note: The images in the article above appear courtesy of media.scout.com, wisconsin.scout.com and cbc.ca)