NFL Picks-Week 17

Last week I went 12-4, giving me a record of 153-87 this year. This week:

SUNDAY

Philadelphia over Washington
Atlanta over Tampa Bay
San Francisco over St.Louis
Chicago over Minnesota
Detroit over Green Bay
NY Giants over Dallas
New Orleans over Carolina
Houston over Tennessee
Baltimore over Cincinnati
Pittsburgh over Cleveland
Jacksonville over Indianapolis
NY Jets over Miami
New England over Buffalo
Oakland over San Diego
Denver over Kansas City
Seattle over Arizona

NFL Picks-Week 16

Last week I went 9-7, to give me a record of 141-83. For this week:

THURSDAY

Houston over Indianapolis

SATURDAY

Oakland over Kansas City
Denver over Buffalo
Tennessee over Jacksonville
Cincinnati over Arizona
New England over Miami
Baltimore over Cleveland
NY Giants over NY Jets
Washington over Minnesota
Carolina over Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh over St. Louis
San Diego over Detroit
San Francisco over Seattle
Philadelphia over Dallas

SUNDAY

Green Bay over Chicago

MONDAY

New Orleans over Atlanta

College Football: If it were up to me....

    If I had any say, I would make a few changes in college football. First of all, I would get rid of the BCS. That's a pretty good place to start, right? (Pause to let the applause die down.) I would institute a 16-team tournament in place of the bowls; actually I would use 15 of those bowl games as part of the tournament. I would institute one binding rule-no expansion of brackets. I know it wouldn't be long before someone suggested a 24-team tournament, and so on. That can't be allowed.

    Next, I would note the fact that there are currently 120 teams in FBS (or Division I-A) and institute a freeze. No more teams. Sorry Texas State, Texas-San Antonio, and whoever else thinks they're moving up in the next couple of years. Then I would abolish conference championship games and two-division set-ups. I would make 12 conferences of 10 teams each. Everybody would play a full round-robin schedule, 9 league games, plus 3 non-conference games. This way a true champion for each conference will be crowned-no one can say that this team didn't play that team, and so on.

     Each conference champion would  receive an automatic bid to the tournament, for a total of 12 bids, plus 4 at-large teams would be added to make 16. This means that every conference will have a representative and a fair shot at the title-even the MAC, Sun Belt, and WAC. The emphasis would be on winning one's conference, not on a BCS ranking. I would put the Championship Game in the Rose Bowl, the Grandaddy of them all, every year, as close to New Year's Day as possible. The Final Four games would be played in the Orange Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. The quarterfinal games would be the Fiesta Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Gator Bowl and the Liberty Bowl. Eight more bowl games would make up the first round, which would start the second weekend of December. Remember, if playing throughout December is OK for the smaller divisions, who also have finals to worry about, it's good enough for the big boys also.

     These would be the new conference alignments. Some would be the way they were in the 1980s, some others would be returning to conferences that they have left. Some would be in new homes altogether.

ACC-Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, South Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest

Big Central (formerly the Big 12)-Arkansas, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M

Big East-Boston College, Connecticut, Maryland, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, West Virginia

Big Ten-Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin

Conference USA-Army, Buffalo, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Louisville, Marshall, Memphis, Navy, Northern Illinois, Temple

Gulf Coast Conference (new league)-Baylor, Houston, Lousiana Tech, Rice, Southern Methodist, Southern Mississippi, South Florida, Texas Christian, Texas Tech, Tulane

Mid-American Conference-Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Ohio U., Toledo, Western Michigan

Mountain West-Air Force, Boise State, Brigham Young, Colorado, Colorado State, Idaho, UNLV, Utah, Utah State, Wyoming

Pacific 10-Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State

Southeastern Conference-Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Lousiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt

Sun Belt-Alabama-Birmingham, Arkansas State, Central Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, Troy, Western Kentucky

Western Athletic-Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico State, North Texas, San Diego State, San Jose State, Texas-El Paso, Tulsa

   Thanks for reading my respectfully submitted wishful thinking. We'll never see any of this, of course, but it would be nice. In the meantime, I'll wait for tomorrow's exciting Beef O' Brady Bowl.

NFL Picks-Week 15

Last week I had another pretty good week, going 12-4. That gives me a record of 132-76 on the season. This week it'll be:

THURSDAY

Atlanta over Jacksonville

SATURDAY
Dallas over Tampa Bay

SUNDAY

Washington over NY Giants
Green Bay over Kansas City
New Orleans over Minnesota
Seattle over Chicago
Buffalo over Miami
Houston over Carolina
Tennessee over Indianapolis
Cincinnati over St. Louis
Oakland over Detroit
New England over Denver
NY Jets over Philadelphia
Arizona over Cleveland
Baltimore over San Diego

MONDAY

San Francisco over Pittsburgh

College Bowl Game Picks

The college football regular season is finally over, with Navy defeating Army for the 10th straight year. I finished with a record of 548-193, for a percentage of .740. My high school results, by comparison, were 214-36 for the regular season (.856) and 14-3 in the playoffs (.824). Now it's time for bowl picks. Not always easy to pick, even straight up, these games should provide a challenge as far as attaining a winning record goes. So here it is:

Sat. Dec.17 New Mexico Bowl-Temple (8-4) vs. Wyoming (8-4) Pick: Wyoming
Sat. Dec.17 Idaho Potato Bowl-Ohio U. (9-4) vs. Utah State (7-5) Pick: Ohio U.
Sat. Dec.17 New Orleans Bowl-Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4) vs. San Diego State (8-4) Pick: San Diego St.
Tue.Dec.20 Beef O'Brady's Bowl-Florida International (8-4) vs. Marshall (6-6) Pick: Florida International
WedDec.21 Poinsettia Bowl-Louisiana Tech (8-4) vs. Texas Christian (10-2) Pick: Texas Christian
Thu. Dec.22 Maaco Bowl-Arizona State (6-6) vs. Boise State (11-1) Pick: Boise State
Sat. Dec.24 Hawaii Bowl- Nevada (7-5) vs. Southern Mississippi (11-2) Pick: Southern Mississippi
Mon.Dec26 Independence Bowl-Missouri (7-5) vs. North Carolina (7-5) Pick: Missouri
Tue. Dec.27 Little Caesar's Bowl-Purdue (6-6) vs. Western Michigan (7-5) Pick: Purdue
Tue. Dec.27 Belk Bowl-Louisville (7-5) vs. North Carolina State (7-5) Pick: Louisville
WedDec.28 Military Bowl-Air Force (7-5) vs. Toledo (8-4) Pick: Air Force
WedDec.28 Holiday Bowl-California (7-5) vs. Texas (7-5) Pick: Texas
Thu. Dec.29 Champs Sports Bowl- Florida State (8-4) vs. Notre Dame (8-4) Pick: Florida State
Thu. Dec.29 Alamo Bowl- Baylor (9-3) vs. Washington (7-5) Pick: Baylor
Fri. Dec.30 Armed Forces Bowl- Brigham Young (9-3) vs. Tulsa (8-4) Pick: Brigham Young
Fri. Dec.30 Pinstripe Bowl-Iowa State (6-6) vs. Rutgers (8-4) Pick: Iowa State
Fri. Dec.30 Music City Bowl- Mississippi State (6-6) vs. Wake Forest (6-6) Pick: Mississippi State
Fri. Dec.30 Insight Bowl- Iowa (7-5) vs. Oklahoma (9-3) Pick: Oklahoma
Sat. Dec.31 Meineke Car Care Bowl- Northwestern (6-6) vs. Texas A&M (6-6) Pick: Texas A&M
Sat. Dec.31 Sun Bowl- Georgia Tech (8-4) vs. Utah (7-5) Pick: Georgia Tech
Sat. Dec.31 Liberty Bowl-Cincinnati (9-3) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6) Pick: Vanderbilt
Sat. Dec.31 Fight Hunger Bowl-Illinois (6-6) vs. UCLA (6-7) Pick: Illinois
Sat. Dec.31 Chick-Fil-A Bowl- Auburn (7-5) vs. Virginia (8-4) Pick: Virginia
Mon.Jan.2   TicketCity Bowl- Houston (12-1) vs. Penn State (9-3) Pick: Houston
Mon.Jan.2   Outback Bowl- Georgia (10-3) vs. Michigan State (10-3) Pick: Michigan State
Mon.Jan.2   Capital One Bowl- Nebraska (9-3) vs. South Carolina (10-2) Pick: South Carolina
Mon.Jan.2   Gator Bowl- Florida (6-6) vs. Ohio State (6-6) Pick: Ohio State
Mon.Jan.2   Rose Bowl- Oregon (11-2) vs. Wisconsin (11-2) Pick: Wisconsin
Mon.Jan.2   Fiesta Bowl- Oklahoma State (11-1) vs. Stanford (11-1) Pick: Stanford
Tue. Jan.3   Sugar Bowl- Michigan (10-2) vs. Virginia Tech (11-2) Pick: Virginia Tech
WedJan.4   Orange Bowl- Clemson (10-3) vs. West Virginia (9-3) Pick: Clemson
Fri.  Jan.6   Cotton Bowl- Arkansas (10-2) vs. Kansas State (10-2) Pick: Arkansas
Sat. Jan.7    BBVA Compass Bowl- Pittsburgh (6-6) vs. Southern Methodist (7-5) Pick: SMU
Sun. Jan.8   GoDaddy.com Bowl- Arkansas State (10-2) vs. Northern Illinois (10-3) Pick: Ark.State
Mon.Jan.9   BCS Title- Alabama (11-1) vs. Louisiana State (13-0) Pick: Lousiana State

NHL Realignment

    The NHL recently unveiled in new league alignment, made necessary because the Atlanta Thrashers of the Southeast Division moved to Winnipeg, in Canada. The change is radical-instead of a 2-conference, 6 division set-up, league officials decided on a 4 conference alignment. Two of the conferences would contain 8 teams, and two would have 7. Each team will play the others in its conference 5 or 6 times, while playing the teams in the other 3 conferences twice each. As far as the postseason goes, the top 4 in each conference will square off over two rounds to produce a conference winner, and then the four conference winners will play over two more rounds to determine the Stanley Cup Champion.

     The reaction has been mixed, but there hasn't been any real protest. Some preferred the current arrangement, which is similar to the other three major sports. Others are on board with the new idea. As for me, so far I like it. I don't think that the other sports should adopt it, but for hockey I think it will work. It's a unique idea that helps the NHL stand out. I think fans will ultimately be happy with the changes. I probably would have changed a few of the teams around, though. A look at each new conference:

Conference 'A' (basically the Western Conference): Calgary,Edmonton,Vancouver,Anaheim,Los Angeles,San Jose,Phoenix, and Colorado. Perfect. Nothing wrong with this one. (Although Phoenix might end up losing its team.)

Conference 'B' (pretty much the Central Conference): Winnipeg,Minnesota,Chicago,Detroit,Columbus,St.Louis,Nashville, and Dallas. Pretty good, although I would probably move Nashville. There's really not much else you can do with Dallas.

Conference 'C' (I would call this the Northeast Conference: Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Boston, Buffalo, Florida, Tampa Bay

Conference 'D' (the Eastern or Mid-Atlantic Conference): New York Islanders, New York Rangers, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, Carolina.

I could probably live with these last two (and it seems I'll have to anyway), but I would have changed them around a little bit. I would have switched the two Florida teams and the two New York teams.  I would have also moved New Jersey to Conference C and Nashville to Conference D. The NHL wanted to keep the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York teams together, but I would have drawn a line on the map between them. To me it would have made more sense for things to look like this:

Conference C: Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Boston, Buffalo, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, and New Jersey.

Conference D: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, Nashville, Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay.

Either way, it's a pretty interesting change, and I think it will pay off for the NHL. Now if only more people watched the games......

NFL Picks-Week 14

Last week I had one of my better weeks, finishing at 14-2. My record for the season is 120-72. Of course, this is not against the spread. This week, here's what I've got:

THURSDAY

Pittsburgh over Cleveland. You know, Channel 3 has a lot of good sitcoms on Thursday.

SUNDAY

Baltimore over Indianapolis
Houston over Cincinnati
Green Bay over Oakland
NY Jets over Kansas City
Detroit over Minnesota
New Orleans over Minnesota
Philadelphia over Miami
New England over Washington
Atlanta over Carolina
Tampa Bay over Jacksonville
San Francisco over Arizona
Chicago over Denver
San Diego over Buffalo
Dallas over NY Giants

MONDAY

Seattle over St.Louis

College Football Picks-2011 Totals

In last week's games, I went 17-3, and have a record of 547-193. There's just one regular season game left-Army vs. Navy. One of my favorite games to watch every year, and one of the best rivalries in football. I have grandfathers on both sides of the family that served in the Navy in World War 2, so naturally I always root for the Midshipmen in this game. So Navy is my pick for Saturday's game, with bowl picks to follow soon.

NFL Picks-Week 13

Last week I went 10-6, and stand at 106-70 for the season. This week:

THURSDAY

Seattle over Philadelphia

SUNDAY

Buffalo over Tennessee
Chicago over Kansas City
Miami over Oakland
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
Baltimore over Cleveland
NY Jets over Washington
Houston over Atlanta
Carolina over Tampa Bay
New Orleans over Detroit
Denver over Minnesota
San Francisco over St.Louis
Arizona over Dallas
Green Bay over NY Giants
New England over Indianapolis

MONDAY

San Diego over Jacksonville

College Football Picks-Week 14

Last week I went 40-14, as the regular season wrapped up for most teams. For the season, I'm now 530-190. This week's picks:

THURSDAY

West Virginia over South Florida

FRIDAY

Oregon over UCLA (Pac-12 Championship)
Northern Illinois over Ohio U. (MAC Championship)

SATURDAY

Cincinnati over Connecticut
Pittsburgh over Syracuse
Kansas State over Iowa State
Wyoming over Colorado State
Texas Christian over UNLV
Oklahoma State over Oklahoma
Texas over Baylor
Nevada over Idaho
Boise State over New Mexico
Brigham Young over Hawaii
Utah State over New Mexico State
San Diego State over Fresno State
Arkansas State over Troy
North Texas over Middle Tennessee
Louisiana-Monroe over Florida Atlantic
Houston over Southern Mississippi (C-USA Championship)
Virginia Tech over Clemson (ACC Championship)
Wisconsin over Michigan State (Big 10 Championship)
Louisiana State over Georgia (SEC Championship)

College Football Rankings

EAST

1. West Virginia (8-3)
2. Rutgers (8-4)
3. Penn State (9-3)
4. Temple (7-5)
5. Pittsburgh (5-6)

NORTH

1. Michigan State (10-2)
2. Wisconsin (10-2)
3. Michigan (10-2)
4. Toledo (8-4)
5. Nebraska (9-3)
6. Kansas State (9-2)
7. Notre Dame (8-4)
8. Northern Illinois (9-3)
9. Ohio U. (9-3)
10. Cincinnati (8-3)

SOUTH

1. Louisiana State (12-0)
2. Virginia Tech (11-1)
3. Alabama (11-1)
4. Houston (12-0)
5. Georgia (10-2)
6. Oklahoma (9-2)
7. Oklahoma State (10-1)
8. Arkansas (10-2)
9. Texas Christian (9-2)
10. South Carolina (10-2)
11. Southern Mississippi (10-2)
12. Baylor (8-3)
13. Florida State (8-4)
14. Arkansas State (9-2)
15. Louisiana Tech (8-4)

WEST

1. USC (10-2)
2. Stanford (11-1)
3. Boise State (10-1)
4. Oregon (10-2)
5. Brigham Young (8-3)
6. California (7-5)
7. Utah (7-5)
8. Washington (7-5)
9. San Diego State (7-4)
10. Utah State (6-5)

High School Football Picks-Week 15

   Well, it's nice that there is actually a game to pick in Week 15, first of all. Last week I went 2-0, and stand at 13-3 for the playoffs. It's state championship time, and it's too bad I won't be able to see this 11AM Friday morning game, at least not live.

DIV V STATE CHAMPIONSHIP-Coldwater vs. Kirtland. What a showdown this will be. Youngstown Ursuline has stood in the way of both of these teams over the last 3 years, defeating Coldwater in the title game the last 2 years, and knocking out Kirtland in the Regional Final 2 of the last 3. Now it's their turn. If any team can beat Kirtland, it's Coldwater. This will be the 3rd consecutive state title game appearance for the Cavaliers, and I'm sure they feel that their time has come to win one. Coldwater went just 7-3 this year, but that was against a schedule that was far superior to Kirtland's. The Cavaliers played 6 playoff teams in their 10 games, including D4 finalist Kenton and D6 finalist Maria Stein Marion Local. That in itself might make Coldwater the favorite, despite the disparity in records.

     There's something about this Kirtland team, though. They've really got it all. Offense, defense, special teams, coaching. This is really a special team. They really haven't been tested this year, unlike the Cavaliers. Maybe that's just because they're that good. This game will pose a severe challenge for the Hornets, and while they didn't have the tough game they expected last week, they can be assured that they will this week. Signs and conventional wisdom seem to point to a Coldwater victory, but I remain on the Kirtland bandwagon and think that the Hornets will rise to the occasion. Pick: Kirtland

High School Football in Review-Week 14

Last Friday I attended my 30th high school football game of the season (including 3 Thursdays), and it will be the last one I'm able to attend this year. A look back at that game:

FRIDAY NIGHT-Bucyrus Wynford vs. Kirtland. The weather was pretty decent for this state semifinal matchup at Canton Central Catholic. As surprising as that was, even more surprising was the 42-0 whitewashing administered by the Hornets to an undefeated Bucyrus Wynford team. It was an absolute rout from beginning to end. Kirtland did what it's done all year-pound the ball inside, run it outside, pass when necessary, and play smothering defense. All in all, it was a great way to end the season for me, and the Kirtland fans. It will be interesting to see what happens this Friday. Can the Hornets become the 2nd state football champions from Lake County?

NFL Picks-Week 12

Last week I wound up 10-4 after getting off to a rough start and missing 3 of my first 5, including the Thursday night game. For the season, I'm at 96-64. This week I really like Detroit to hand Green Bay their first loss of the year, on Thanksgiving Day. This week's picks:

THURSDAY

Detroit over Green Bay
Dallas over Miami
Baltimore over San Francisco

SUNDAY

St. Louis over Arizona
NY Jets over Buffalo
Cleveland over Cincinnati
Houston over Jacksonville
Carolina over Indianapolis
Tennessee over Tampa Bay
Atlanta over Minnesota
Chicago over Oakland
Seattle over Washington
New England over Philadelphia
San Diego over Denver
Pittsburgh over Kansas City

MONDAY

New Orleans over NY Giants

Yes, the Browns are my big upset pick of the week. Based on what? Nothing, really. Just the unpredictable nature of the NFL.

College Football Picks-Week 13

Last week I put up another pretty good mark, going 43-17. That puts me at 490-176 for the season. This week:

TUESDAY

Ohio U. over Miami (Ohio)

THURSDAY

Texas A&M over Texas

FRIDAY

Bowling Green over Buffalo
Northern Illinois over Eastern Michigan
Temple over Kent State
Western Michigan over Akron
Toledo over Ball State
Louisville over South Florida
Houston over Tulsa
Nebraska over Iowa
West Virginia over Pittsburgh
Louisiana State over Arkansas
Utah over Colorado
Miami over Boston College
Central Florida over Texas-El Paso
Arizona State over California

SATURDAY

Air Force over Colorado State
Alabama over Auburn
Alabama-Birmingham over Florida Atlantic
Louisiana-Lafayette over Arizona
Baylor over Texas Tech
Boise State over Wyoming
Cincinnati over Syracuse
Clemson over South Carolina
North Carolina over Duke
Marshall over East Carolina
Florida State over Florida
Florida International over Middle Tennessee
Fresno State over San Jose State
Georgia over Georgia Tech
Hawaii over Tulane
Nevada over Idaho
Illinois over Minnesota
Purdue over Minnesota
Oklahoma over Iowa State
Missouri over Kansas
Tennessee over Kentucky
Louisiana Tech over New Mexico State
North Carolina State over Maryland
Southern Mississippi over Memphis
Michigan over Ohio State
Michigan State over Northwestern
Mississippi State over Mississippi
Nevada over Utah State
Stanford over Notre Dame
Oregon over Oregon State
Wisconsin over Penn State
Southern Methodist over Rice
San Diego State over UNLV
USC over UCLA
Western Kentucky over Troy
Wake Forest over Vanderbilt
Virginia Tech over Virginia
Washington over Washington State

College Football Rankings

EAST

1. Rutgers (8-3)
2. West Virginia (7-3)
3. Temple (7-4)
4. Penn State (9-2)
5. Pittsburgh (5-5)

NORTH

1. Notre Dame (8-3)
2. Michigan State (9-2)
3. Wisconsin (9-2)
4. Michigan (9-2)
5. Toledo (7-4)
6. Kansas State (9-2)
7. Nebraska (8-3)
8. Iowa (7-4)
9. Iowa State (6-4)
10. Northern Illinois (8-3)

SOUTH

1. Louisiana State (11-0)
2. Virginia Tech (10-1)
3. Arkansas (10-1)
4. Alabama (10-1)
5. Houston (11-0)
6. Georgia (9-2)
7. Oklahoma State (10-1)
8. Oklahoma (8-2)
9. Texas Christian (9-2)
10. South Carolina (9-2)
11. Georgia Tech (8-3)
12. Virginia (8-3)
13. Southern Mississippi (9-2)
14. Clemson (9-2)
15. Baylor (7-3)

WEST

1. USC (9-2)
2. Utah (7-4)
3. Stanford (10-1)
4. Boise State (9-1)
5. Brigham Young (8-3)
6. Oregon (9-2)
7. Wyoming (7-3)
8. Nevada (6-4)
9. California (6-5)
10. UCLA (6-5)

High School Picks-Week 14

Well, I went 3-0 on my picks last week, which is unfortunate. Unfortunate because it means Mentor lost. I'll be attending my 30th and final game of this season this Friday to watch Kirtland play the biggest football game in school history-a state semifinal against similarly undefeated Bucyrus Wynford. This week's picks:

FRIDAY NIGHT

Div. III State Semifinal-Chagrin Falls vs. Youngstown Mooney. The Tigers get one step closer to making a third consecutive appearance in a state title game. They were unfazed by a halftime deficit against powerful Akron St.Vincent-St.Mary. Chagrin Falls continues to steam ahead, continuing to perform well in all 3 aspects-offense, defense, and special teams. The playoff experience of the players and coaching staff has also helped to carry the Tigers through. Mooney, no stranger to the playoffs themselves, has gotten better every week through the season. Last week the Cardinals put up 70 against Dover. They may not have the marquee names of recent seasons, but Mooney is Mooney, and that usually equals a run at a state title game. Ten years ago these teams met in the playoffs, and it did not go well for Chagrin Falls. This should be a much more competitive game. Fans venturing to Uniontown Lake High School can expect a classic, and it's not easy to choose the winner of this one. Pick: Youngstown Mooney

Div. V State Semifinal-Bucyrus Wynford vs. Kirtland. The biggest game in school history for Kirtland will be a battle of undefeated teams. What do I know about Bucyrus Wynford? Nothing, including the team nickname. I do know that they're undefeated, and should prove to be Kirtland's toughest opponent yet. Last week Crestview was at times able to stop Kirtland's base plays. One can imagine that Wynford will be well prepared. It may take some yards through the air for the Hornets this week to keep moving the chains. If the Kirtland defense plays the way it has all season, it will certainly keep the Hornets in the game no matter what happens. This Kirtland team defintely has the look of a state champion. Mistakes and turnovers can derail even the best teams, however. It will be very interesting to see what happens, and I'll be attending this one since I have the day off at work. Looking forward to it. Pick: Kirtland

High School Football in Review-Week 13

A look back at the games I attended last week-my 28th and 29th of the season:

FRIDAY NIGHT-Columbiana Crestview vs. Kirtland-It was a crisp, chilly night out in Warren, the first time I'd been there since the Kirtland-Youngstown Ursuline matchup of 2008. Special thanks to quick-thinking N-H sportswriter John Kampf, who gave me a package of hand warmers that he had. Absolutely dominating performance by the Hornet defense, which really controlled this game. The small but quick Rebels made Kirtland work for they got offensively, at least for the first 3 quarters. Now Kirtland will play the biggest game in school history-a state semifinal against a fellow undefeated team in Bucyrus Wynford. Hopefully Damon Washington, who suffered a mild concussion against Crestview, will be able to play.

SATURDAY NIGHT-Mentor vs. St.Ignatius-I didn't see the first game between these teams 10 weeks ago, but the Wildcats were clearly very well prepared for this one. The Ignatius defense, the running of Tim McVey, and a strong wind helped prevent the Cardinals from doing a lot of things they wanted to do. It was clear that it was important to St.Ignatius to avoid falling behind on the scoreboard. The Wildcats had a great game plan and executed it very well. There was a sense that perhaps Mentor could pull off an epic comeback, but St.Ignatius did what they had to do, and so they'll move on. Hey, I've said it before-St.Ignatius is still the standard, the best high school football program in Northeast Ohio.

NFL Picks-Week 11

I improved slightly last week to 9-7. The Browns coming though really would have helped me to an even better record, but we all saw how that went. For the season, I'm at 86-60. This week:

THURSDAY

NY Jets over Denver

SUNDAY

Atlanta over Tennessee
Buffalo over Miami
Baltimore over Cincinnati
Jacksonville over Cleveland
Minnesota over Oakland
Detroit over Carolina
Green Bay over Tampa Bay
Dallas over Washington
San Francisco over Arizona
Seattle over St.Louis
Chicago over San Diego
Philadelphia over NY Giants

MONDAY

New England over Kansas City

College Football Picks-Week 12

Last week I had a pretty good record, going 42-15. That puts me at 447-159 for the year. This week:

TUESDAY

Northern Illinois over Ball State

WEDNESDAY

Miami (Ohio) over Western Michigan
Ohio U. over Bowling Green

THURSDAY

Virginia Tech over North Carolina
Marshall over Memphis
Southern Mississippi over Alabama-Birmingham

FRIDAY

Toledo over Central Michigan
Oklahoma State over Iowa State

SATURDAY

Air Force over UNLV
Buffalo over Akron
Alabama over Georgia Southern
Arizona State over Arizona
Arkansas over Mississippi State
Arkansas State over Middle Tennessee
Temple over Army
Auburn over Samford
Oklahoma over Baylor
Boise State over San Diego State
Notre Dame over Boston College
Brigham Young over New Mexico State
Stanford over California
Central Florida over East Carolina
Rutgers over Cincinnati
Clemson over North Carolina State
UCLA over Colorado
Texas Christian over Colorado State
Louisville over Connecticut
Georgia Tech over Duke
Kent State over Eastern Michigan
Florida over Furman
Troy over Florida Atlantic
Florida International over Louisiana-Monroe
Florida State over Virginia
Hawaii over Fresno State
Georgia over Kentucky
Houston over Southern Methodist
Utah State over Idaho
Wisconsin over Illinois
Michigan State over Indiana
Iowa over Purdue
Texas A&M over Kansas
Texas over Kansas State
Louisiana State over Mississippi
Nevada over Louisiana Tech
Wake Forest over Maryland
South Florida over Miami
Michigan over Nebraska
Northwestern over Minnesota
Missouri over Texas Tech
Navy over San Jose State
Wyoming over New Mexico
Western Kentucky over North Texas
Ohio State over Penn State
Oregon over USC
Washington over Oregon State
Rice over Tulane
South Carolina over The Citadel
Vanderbilt over Tennessee
Tulsa over Texas-El Paso
Utah over Washington State

College Football Rankings

EAST

1. Rutgers (7-3)
2. West Virginia (7-3)
3. Temple (6-4)
4. Penn State (8-2)
5. Pittsburgh (5-5)

NORTH

1. Notre Dame (7-3)
2. Michigan State (8-2)
3. Wisconsin (8-2)
4. Nebraska (8-2)
5. Michigan (8-2)
6. Toledo (6-4)
7. Kansas State (8-2)
8. Cincinnati (7-2)
9. Ohio State (6-4)
10. Iowa (6-4)

SOUTH

1. Louisiana State (10-0)
2. Oklahoma State (10-0)
3. Virginia Tech (9-1)
4. Arkansas (9-1)
5. Oklahoma (8-1)
6. Alabama (9-1)
7. Houston (10-0)
8. Southern Mississippi (9-1)
9. Georgia (8-2)
10. Clemson (9-1)
11. Texas Christian (8-2)
12. South Carolina (8-2)
13. Georgia Tech (7-3)
14. Florida State (7-3)
15. Virginia (7-3)

WEST

1. Oregon (9-1)
2. Nevada (6-3)
3. USC (8-2)
4. California (6-4)
5. Utah (6-4)
6. Stanford (9-1)
7. Boise State (8-1)
8. Brigham Young (7-3)
9. San Diego State (6-3)
10. Wyoming (6-3)

High School Football Picks-Week 13

Last week I was 3-1 in picks with Lake Catholic's surprising loss. I stand at 11-3 for the playoffs, and the games are rapidly dwindling. This week's predictions:

FRIDAY NIGHT

DIV III Regional Final-Akron St.Vincent-St.Mary vs. Chagrin Falls. This showdown was supposed to have been between the Tigers and Cougars, but this matchup should be every bit as good. The Fighting Irish have a great QB in Kevin Besser, a good RB in Sae'von Fitzgerald, two good WRs, a strong o-line and stout defense. In other words, they've got everything. Chagrin Falls, likewise, except the Tigers have even more weapons on offense. SV-SM probably has an edge in athleticism and maybe size. Chagrin Falls has definitely got the edge in playoff experience, though. This will be a battle between two well-coached teams, without a doubt. Ultimately, the been-there already Tigers will come through with the clutch plays and fewer mistakes. Pick: Chagrin Falls

DIV V Regional Final-Columbiana Crestview vs. Kirtland. The Hornets will get their toughest test of the season-by far-in this game. Kirtland's previous biggest test was back in Week 5 against Cuyahoga Hts. The Hornets won that one, 24-12. Crestview beat that same Cuyahoga Hts team in Week 11 by a score of 44-20. So at the very least Crestview looks to be a team that's on the same level as Kirtland. The big questions facing the Hornets this week are: How will they react to real adversity? What if they have an early turnover or two? What if they fall behind on the scoreboard? I see no reason to think they'll come up short now-this train's rolling, and will stay on track this week. Pick: Kirtland

SATURDAY NIGHT

DIV I Regional Final-Mentor vs. St.Ignatius. Rematch number 2 for the Cardinals. Do last week's near-collapse against Solon and the Week 10 upset loss to Twinsburg bode a playoff exit far short of Mentor's goal? Or were those mere bumps along the road, wake-up calls if you will, on the way to a State title? The Cardinals can certainly move the ball and score against anybody, but will they be able to come up with a crucial defensive stop? It remains to be seen how much the two teams have learned-and changed-since the first meeting back in Week 3. St. Ignatius rebounded well from the loss, losing only to State Title contender St.Xavier by a 14-12 score when a fluke turnover cut short a potential game-winning drive. All in all, this should be a great game at what should be an absolutely packed Lakewood Stadium. There were will be no one surprised at whoever the winner is here. It will most likely come down to one or two key plays, maybe a crucial turnover. A lot like the two St.Ignatius-St.Edward games this year. Sorry, fellow Lake Countians, I'm going with the team that just keeps finding ways to win. Pick: St.Ignatius

High School Football in Review-Week 12

 A look back at last week's games that I attended:

FRIDAY NIGHT-Akron St.Vincent-St.Mary vs. Lake Catholic. I was as surprised as anybody at the result of this one. The fact of the matter is, though, that SV-SM was the better team and may have been better all along. It's just hard to imagine the Cougars losing so early in the playoffs, new team or not. That's how high the expectations are. It goes without saying, for longtime observers of area high school football, that Lake Catholic will be back next year and will undoubtedly be around much longer.

SATURDAY NIGHT-Mentor vs. Solon. It seemed unbelievable, but for a team that showed utter dominance of its opponent and had to fight for its playoff life in the same game, Mentor made sure its fans got their money's worth on Saturday night. The question is: what does the second half, in which the Cardinals were outscored 26-7 by the Comets, mean going forward? Will it carry over to next week? These questions lead to one even bigger question: Is Mentor a contender or pretender for the long-coveted State Championship?

NFL Picks-Week 10

Last week: 7-7. I've been hovering around .500 three weeks in a row. For the season, 77-53.
This week:

THURSDAY

San Diego over Oakland

SUNDAY

Cincinnati over Pittsburgh
Kansas City over Denver
Jacksonville over Indianapolis
Dallas over Buffalo
Houston over Tampa Bay
Tennessee over Carolina
Miami over Washington
New Orleans over Atlanta
Detroit over Chicago
Cleveland over St.Louis
Philadelphia over Arizona
Baltimore over Seattle
San Francisco over NY Giants
New England over NY Jets

MONDAY

Green Bay over Minnesota

College Football Picks-Week 11

Last week I went 35-17. For the season, I'm at 405-144. This week:

TUESDAY

Toledo over Western Michigan
Northern Illinois over Bowling Green

WEDNESDAY

Temple over Miami (Ohio)

THURSDAY

Ohio U. over Central Michigan
Houston over Tulane
Virginia Tech over Georgia Tech

FRIDAY

South Florida over Syracuse

SATURDAY

Louisville over Pittsburgh
Ohio State over Purdue
Michigan over Illinois
Northwestern over Rice
Vanderbilt over Kentucky
Clemson over Wake Forest
Virginia over Duke
North Carolina State over Boston College
Eastern Michigan over Buffalo
Texas A&M over Kansas State
Kent State over Akron
Baylor over Kansas
Wyoming over Air Force
Brigham Young over Idaho
Southern Methodist over Navy
Utah State over San Jose State
Tulsa over Marshall
Texas Christian over Boise State
Florida State over Miami
Cincinnati over West Virginia
Rutgers over Army
Texas over Missouri
Nebraska over Penn State
Oklahoma State over Texas Tech
Michigan State over Iowa
Arkansas over Tennessee
South Carolina over Florida
USC over Washington
Auburn over Georgia
California over Oregon State
Stanford over Oregon
Nevada over Hawaii
Memphis over Alabama-Birmingham
San Diego State over Colorado State
Alabama over Mississippi State
Arizona State over Washington State
Lousiana Tech over Mississippi
Wisconsin over Minnesota
Notre Dame over Maryland
Fresno State over New Mexico State
UCLA over Utah
Southern Mississippi over Central Florida
Texas-El Paso over East Carolina
Arizona over Colorado
UNLV over New Mexico
Arkansas State over Lousiana-Lafayette
North Texas over Troy
Louisiana-Monroe over Middle Tennessee
Florida International over Florida Atlantic
Louisiana State over Western Kentucky

College Football Rankings

EAST

1. Penn State (8-1)
2. Rutgers (6-3)
3. West Virginia (6-3)
4. Syracuse (5-4)
5. Temple (5-4)

NORTH

1. Cincinnati (7-1)
2. Ohio State (6-3)
3. Notre Dame (6-3)
4. Michigan State (7-2)
5. Iowa (6-3)
6. Wisconsin (7-2)
7. Nebraska (7-2)
8. Michigan (7-2)
9. Toledo (5-4)
10. Kansas State (7-2)

SOUTH

1. Louisiana State (9-0)
2. Oklahoma State (9-0)
3. Virginia Tech (8-1)
4. Arkansas (8-1)
5. Oklahoma (8-1)
6. Alabama (8-1)
7. Houston (9-0)
8. Southern Mississippi (8-1)
9. Georgia (7-2)
10. Georgia Tech (7-2)
11. Clemson (8-1)
12. Texas Christian (7-2)
13. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-2)
14. Auburn (6-3)
15. South Carolina (7-2)

WEST

1. Stanford (9-0)
2. Boise State (8-0)
3. Oregon (8-1)
4. Nevada (5-3)
5. USC (7-2)
6. Arizona State (6-3)
7. Washington (6-3)
8. UCLA (5-4)
9. California (5-4)
10. Utah (5-4)

High School Football Picks-Week 12

    I finished with an 8-2 record in first round games. My pick of VASJ was admittedly a reach, and I had a sneaking suspicion that Ledgemont might be eliminated by a team that looked impressive on paper, but took the Redskins anyway. Here's how I think it will go this week:

FRIDAY NIGHT:

Chagrin Falls vs. Ravenna-The Tigers have so many weapons on offense, and look very fast on the turf on defense. They've got great coaching and a well-established program. Ravenna is a very talented team with a great running back, and are coming off a big win over a neighborhood rival. This should be a very good game, but Chagrin Falls has been impressive all year and will be tough for anyone to beat. Pick: Chagrin Falls

Lake Catholic vs. Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary-All of these should be great games, but this should really be the best game of the night, at least in Northeast Ohio. It should be a physical slugfest between two teams with great tradition. The kids for Lake Catholic are different from the ones that played in the playoffs and advanced to the State Semifinals last year, but Lake Catholic is Lake Catholic, so it's really not a surprise to see them get this far. SV-SM was picked by some to win the D3 state title, and have enought talent to do it. They beat the only team to beat Lake Catholic-Walsh Jesuit-but also lost to two teams the Cougars beat in Youngstown Mooney and Youngstown Ursuline. A potential Chagrin Falls-Lake Catholic matchup in the Regional Final is a dream matchup for area high school football fans. Pick: Lake Catholic

Kirtland vs. Sugarcreek Garaway-This game will be played at Green High School, where 2 years ago Ashland played Lake Catholic in a Regional Final. That Ashland team spread it out on offense with 5 receivers and passed nearly every play. Garaway does the same thing. The sense I get is that this will be a high-scoring shootout, much like that Ashland-LC game was. I admit to knowing very little about Garaway, and maybe they're not that prolific on offense. As for Kirtland, the mission to finish this thing, to finally get to Week 15 and finish it off, continues. Have the Hornets had it too easy? Can they win when someone provides a real challenge? Will Garaway provide that challenge? Stay tuned, or better yet, make the drive down to a very nice Green High School Stadium. Pick: Kirtland

SATURDAY NIGHT:

Mentor vs. Solon- The big rematch at big Byers Field. Mentor rebounded nicely from its Week 10 stumble, but it remains to be seen what weaknesses Twinsburg exposed in that game that others might be able to capitalize on. The Cardinals feel that that was just a blip on the radar, and ultimately migh prove to be the wake-up call they needed on the way to a state title. The Comets, on the other hand, feel that they're just as capable of winning it all, and will look to learn lessons from the 44-20 loss to Mentor in Week 7 as well as the Cardinals' loss to Twinsburg in Week 10. Solon certainly looked impressive, on both sides of the ball, last week against South. If the Comets can prevent big plays and stay within reach all game, anything is possible. Nevertheless, Mentor is a fine-tuned machine. Pick: Mentor

High School Football in Review-Week 11

  A look back at the games I attended last week:

FRIDAY NIGHT-Oberlin Firelands at Chagrin Falls-This was a battle of 10-0 teams, one of which-Firelands-was competing in the playoffs for the first time. It showed. The Falcons had a good QB and some good receivers, but were powerless to stop the offense of Chagrin Falls. The Tigers made it look easy when they had the ball, and on defense, they gave up some through the air, but also intercepted 5 passes. A game that was 17-14 in the second quarter was 66-14 by the third.

SATURDAY NIGHT-Solon at South-It was an interesting matchup: the powerhouse Comets against a talented, junior-laden Rebel team at home in Willoughby. There was a sense that anything could happen, but Solon was likely going to prove to be more than South could handle. That's pretty much how it went in a 37-12 Solon victory. South has a lot to look forward to next year with a lot of returning players, including a possible Mr.Football candidate in Kareem Hunt.

NFL Picks-Week 9

Last week I was 7-6, and for the season am now 70-46.
This week:

SUNDAY

Atlanta over Indianapolis
New Orleans over Tampa Bay
Houston over Cleveland
NY Jets over Buffalo
Kansas City over Miami
Washington over San Francisco
Dallas over Seattle
Oakland over Denver
Cincinnati over Tennessee
Arizona over St.Louis
New England over NY Giants
San Diego over Green Bay
Pittsburgh over Baltimore

MONDAY

Philadelphia over Chicago

College Football Picks-Week 10

Last week I finished 36-18. For the season, I'm at 370-127. This week's picks:

TUESDAY

Toledo over Northern Illinois

WEDNESDAY

Temple over Ohio U.

THURSDAY

Miami (Ohio) over Akron
Florida State over Boston College
Central Florida over Tulsa

FRIDAY

Kent State over Central Michigan
USC over Colorado

SATURDAY

Air Force over Army
Louisiana State over Alabama
Houston over Alabama-Birmingham
Utah over Arizona
Arizona State over UCLA
Arkansas over South Carolina
Arkansas State over Florida Atlantic
Eastern Michigan over Ball State
Missouri over Baylor
Boise State over UNLV
Washington State over California
Cincinnati over Pittsburgh
Syracuse over Connecticut
Miami over Duke
Southern Mississippi over East Carolina
Florida over Vanderbilt
Florida International over Western Kentucky
Fresno State over Louisiana Tech
Georgia over New Mexico State
Hawaii over Utah State
San Jose State over Idaho
Ohio State over Indiana
Michigan over Iowa
Iowa State over Kansas
Oklahoma State over Kansas State
Kentucky over Mississippi
Louisiana-Lafayette over Louisiana-Monroe
West Virginia over Louisville
Virginia over Maryland
Michigan State over Minnesota
Tennessee over Middle Tennessee
Mississippi State over Tennessee-Martin
Navy over Troy
Nebraska over Northwestern
San Diego State over New Mexico
North Carolina over North Carolina State
Notre Dame over Wake Forest
Oklahoma over Texas A&M
Oregon over Washington
Stanford over Oregon State
Wisconsin over Purdue
Texas-El Paso over Rice
Rutgers over South Florida
Southern Methodist over Tulane
Texas over Texas Tech
Texas Christian over Wyoming

College Football Rankings

EAST

1. Penn State (8-1)
2. West Virginia (6-2)
3. Syracuse (5-3)
4. Rutgers (5-3)
5. Temple (5-3)

NORTH

1. Cincinnati (6-1)
2. Nebraska (7-1)
3. Michigan (7-1)
4. Ohio State (5-3)
5. Toledo (5-3)
6. Notre Dame (5-3)
7. Kansas State (7-1)
8. Michigan State (6-2)
9. Iowa (5-3)
10. Wisconsin (6-2)

SOUTH

1. Alabama (8-0)
2. Louisiana State (8-0)
3. Oklahoma State (8-0)
4. Virginia Tech (8-1)
5. Arkansas (7-1)
6. South Carolina (7-1)
7. Oklahoma (7-1)
8. Houston (8-0)
9. Southern Mississippi (6-2)
10. Georgia Tech (7-2)
11. Clemson (8-1)
12. Georgia (6-2)
13. Texas Christian (6-2)
14. Louisiana-Lafayette (7-2)
15. Auburn (6-3)

WEST

1. Stanford (8-0)
2. Boise State (7-0)
3. Oregon (7-1)
4. Arizona State (6-2)
5. Washington (6-2)
6. Nevada (5-3)
7. USC (6-2)
8. Brigham Young (6-3)
9. Wyoming (5-2)
10. Hawaii (5-3)

High School Football Picks-Playoffs, Round 1

I went 21-5 last week, and finished the regular season with a record of 214-36, which included a 37-3 record in spotlight games. Jefferson took a 36-0 spanking from the University Prep (PA) team Saturday night to give me my third loss in a spotlight game. Here's my picks for the first round of the playoffs for games involving News-Herald area teams:

FRIDAY:

Div. II- Madison at Aurora. This is probably the most intriguing matchup of the ten. Two hard-nosed, physical teams that are almost mirror images of each other. Both can run the ball or throw it, both can play great defense. Many observers feel that both of these teams are capable of going deep into the playoffs. Only one will survive the first round, though, and I'll go with the home team. Pick: Aurora

Div. II- West Geauga at Walsh Jesuit. The Wolverines did what they had to do to make it into the playoffs. Now that they're here, they're in a familiar position-playing a Catholic school. Of the 4 teams that have eliminated West G. from the playoffs in the past, 3 of them are Akron Hoban, Poland Seminary, and Lake Catholic. Pick: Walsh Jesuit

Div. III- Oberlin Firelands at Chagrin Falls. A battle of 10-0 teams, with a major difference: Firelands is in the playoffs for the very first time, and Chagrin Falls is coming off back-to-back appearances in the D4 state title game. Pick: Chagrin Falls

Div. III- Benedictine at Lake Catholic. It's been a great turnaround season for the Bengals, who are back in the playoffs where they belong. As for the Cougars, they've shown that they can start over with a whole new team and pick up where the previous group left off. Lake Catholic whipped Benedictine in the rain back in week 6, 30-6, but this should be a closer game, and don't rule out a Bengal victory. Pick: Lake Catholic

Div. V-Columbiana at Kirtland. The Hornets will need to step up their game big-time after several weeks of easy victories, but they've done that before. Columbiana will certainly present a  lot of problems, but the Hornets won't bow out this early. Pick: Kirtland

SATURDAY

Div. I-Cleveland JFK at Mentor-It won't be pretty for the Eagles, who must go to Mentor after the Cardinals were upset last week. Mentor starts what is hoped to be a run all the way to the state title game. Pick: Mentor

Div. I-Solon at South. Another very interesting matchup. How good are the young Rebels really? They haven't played a team as good as Solon all year, but just might have the talent to pull off a win at home. This would set up a South-Mentor playoff game for the 2nd round. However, the Comets seem like a team that's just too good to get knocked out right away. Pick: Solon

Div. III-Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary at University. Last year the Fighting Irish hammered the Preppers. How much has University closed the gap? SV-SM was highly regarded to start the season, but have shown some vulnerability. US lost only to D1 South this year. Should be a good one. Pick: Akron SV-SM

Div. VI-Malvern at Ledgemont. The Redskins are another team in danger of suffering from a too-easy slate. Malvern promises to be a dangerous team. The experience gained last year should pay off for Ledgemont, who will be playing this one at neighboring Chardon. Pick: Ledgemont

Div. VI-VASJ at Berlin Center Western Reserve. BCWR is 10-0, and one of the favorites to win it all in D6. They haven't been touched in most of their games. Those games, however, were against 7 D6 teams and 3 D5 teams. VASJ played 2 playoff teams in D3 University and D4 Columbus Hartley. The Vikings didn't do well in either game, but those are teams that would have also beaten BCWR. In addition, VASJ played a couple more tough teams in D3 Holy Name and D4 Central Catholic. The last time the Vikings were in the playoffs, in 2003, they also went in at 6-4. They were expected to lose big to Mooney in the first round, but went to Youngstown and knocked off the Cardinals on their way to a run to the final in D4. This is my upset pick of the first round, and could lead to a very intriguing second round matchup with Ledgemont.
Pick: VASJ

Week 10 High School Football in Review

Games I attended last week:

THURSDAY-North at South. This series is becoming just like Army-Navy in college football, with South winning for the 8th year in a row. South junior RB Kareem Hunt put on an unbelievable performance. The mud certainly affected things, but both teams had to play in it. It's unfortunate for North that once again it came up short of its goals. South, on a 22-game PAC winning streak, with 4 straight outright PAC  titles, is more than just the team to beat-it's the standard of the conference.

FRIDAY-Hawken at Wickliffe. As a Wickliffe alum, it was satisfying to see the team finish at .500 after 7 straight losing seasons. They had to lighten the non-conference schedule to do it, and made the ridiculous "swap" of week 10 games with Beachwood, but still, it's something to build on. Hopefully this coaching staff is in it for the long haul. As for the game, it went the way Hawken-Wickliffe games generally do, with the Hawks giving the Blue Devils fits, but Wickliffe winning in the end, as it has all 9 times these teams have met.

SATURDAY-Chanel at Trinity. I went to Lakewood for the St.Ignatius-St.Edward game 2 hours early, found a good parking spot, and then found out that the game was sold out. So I moved on to plan B, which was this game. A 'mini Holy War', if you will. It was a 25-minute drive from Lakewood to Bedford, so no big deal. These teams struggled all season, but it is a major rivalry for Division 5, and the Firebirds and Trojans really went at it. Chanel had a bit more talent and speed, and that equaled a 24-7 victory. The Firebirds finished 3-7, but will return many current juniors next year. The Trojans struggled to a 1-9 record, but had a lineup loaded with sophomores. Overall, not quite Iggy-Ed's, but still a very enjoyable game despite the cold weather.

     I attended 23 regular season games in all this year, and will most likely attend 8-10 playoff games. My pick for the regular season game of the year that I attended is:

Benedictine 31 Boardman 30. This game from a Saturday night way back in Week 1 at Bedford is my pick for the game of the year. It was a stirring comeback from a 21-3 deficit for the Bengals. Both of these teams are still alive in the playoffs, Benny in Division 3 and Boardman in Division 1.

NFL Picks-Week 8

Last week, I had my first losing mark at 6-7. Overall, I'm at 63-40.  This week:

SUNDAY

Tennessee over Indianapolis
Houston over Jacksonville
Minnesota over Carolina
New Orleans over St. Louis
Baltimore over Arizona
Miami over NY Giants
Washington over Buffalo
Detroit over Denver
New England over Pittsburgh
San Francisco over Cleveland
Cincinnati over Seattle
Dallas over Philadelphia

MONDAY

San Diego over Kansas City

College Football Picks-Week 9

Last week: 34-18. For the season: 334-109. This week's picks:

TUESDAY

Florida International over Troy

WEDNESDAY

Pittsburgh over Connecticut

THURSDAY

Miami over Virginia
Houston over Rice

FRIDAY

Texas Christian over Brigham Young

SATURDAY

Air Force over New Mexico
Central Michigan over Akron
Marshall over Alabama-Birmingham
Washington over Arizona
Arizona State over Colorado
Arkansas over Vanderbilt
Arkansas State over North Texas
Army over Fordham
Auburn over Mississippi
Western Michigan over Ball State
Oklahoma State over Baylor
Maryland over Boston College
Bowling Green over Kent State
Buffalo over Miami (Ohio)
California over UCLA
Central Florida over Memphis
Clemson over Georgia Tech
Colorado State over UNLV
Virginia Tech over Duke
East Carolina over Tulane
Florida over Georgia
Hawaii over Idaho
Houston over Rice
Penn State over Illinois
Northwestern over Indiana
Iowa over Minnesota
Texas Tech over Iowa State
Texas over Kansas
Kansas State over Oklahoma
Mississippi State over Kentucky
Louisiana-Lafayette over Middle Tennessee
Western Kentucky over Louisiana-Monroe
San Jose State over Louisiana Tech
Syracuse over Louisville
Michigan over Purdue
Nebraska over Michigan State
Texas A&M over Missouri
Notre Dame over Navy
Nevada over New Mexico State
North Carolina over Wake Forest
Florida State over North Carolina State
Wisconsin over Ohio State
Oregon over Washington State
Utah over Oregon State
Rutgers over West Virginia
San Diego State over Wyoming
South Carolina over Tennessee
Stanford over USC
Southern Methodist over Tulsa
Southern Mississippi over Texas-El Paso

College Football Rankings

EAST

1. Penn State (7-1)
2. Syracuse (5-2)
3. West Virginia (5-2)
4. Rutgers (5-2)
5. Temple (5-3)

NORTH

1. Kansas State (7-0)
2. Michigan State (6-1)
3. Cincinnati (6-1)
4. Nebraska (6-1)
5. Iowa (5-2)
6. Wisconsin (6-1)
7. Michigan (6-1)
8. Ohio State (4-3)
9. Toledo (5-3)
10. Notre Dame (4-3)

SOUTH

1. Alabama (8-0)
2. Louisiana State (8-0)
3. Oklahoma State (7-0)
4. Clemson (8-0)
5. Virginia Tech (7-1)
6. Arkansas (6-1)
7. South Carolina (6-1)
8. Oklahoma (6-1)
9. Houston (7-0)
10. Southern Mississippi (6-1)
11. Georgia Tech (6-2)
12. Georgia (5-2)
13. Texas A&M (5-2)
14. Texas Christian (5-2)
15. Lousiana-Lafayette (6-2)

WEST

1. Stanford (7-0)
2. Boise State (7-0)
3. Oregon (6-1)
4. USC (6-1)
5. Brigham Young (6-2)
6. San Diego State (4-2)
7. Arizona State (5-2)
8. Washington (5-2)
9. Nevada (4-3)
10. Wyoming (4-2)

High School Football Picks-Week 10

    I finished 23-1 last week. I should have known that Benedictine would win. Heck, I've seen them play twice this year, I know what they're capable of. I overrated NDCL a little bit. My season record through 9 weeks is now 193-32, and I'm 34-2 on spotlight games. This week's picks:

LAKE COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK: North at South. All eyes will be on this Thursday night matchup, the biggest North-South game in years. North wants this one bad-they've been pointing to it since August. A win for the Rangers would snap a 7-game losing streak to the Rebels, and just might put them into the D1 playoffs for the first time. For South, the winning streak against North is on the line, as well as a 21-game PAC winning streak. The Rebels can win the PAC outright for the 4th straight year, and a win could give them a home game in the playoffs. The game will be shown on Fox Sports Ohio. This game should live up to hype. I can see it going down to the last minute, where the winner will be......Pick: South

ASHTABULA COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK: University Prep (PA) at Jefferson. Here's a pretty big game that will be played at Falcon Pride Stadium on Saturday night. Ashtabula County high school football fans that gather for this one will see a 7-1 team against a 7-2 team. Jefferson has a chance to make the D3 playoffs with a victory. I know nothing about the Pennsylvania team, but their record says they must be pretty good. Nevertheless, I'll go with the Falcons, and we'll have to wait and see on the playoffs. Pick: Jefferson

GEAUGA COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK: Berkshire at Cardinal. The Badgers are just 4-5, and the Huskies are even worse at 1-8, but I'll take this bitter rivalry over Lakeside-Chardon and Kirtland-Newbury, which are the other two games being played in the county. All the usual cliches apply-throw the records out the window, etc. The Badgers have won two in a row, but a third win here would be the sweetest-especially after losing to the Huskies last year. Pick: Berkshire

EASTERN CUYAHOGA COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK: Perry at Chagrin Falls. What's at stake here? For Perry, it's an opportunity to finish the season at .500, and a chance to end the season on a really high note and build some momentum for next year with a major season-ending upset. For Chagrin Falls, it's a chance to run the table for the second season in a row, and win the outright CVC Chagrin title again. The playoffs are already a lock, but the ultra-focused Tigers will prevail again at home. Pick: Chagrin Falls

The rest of the schedule:

FRIDAY NIGHT:

Fairport over Richmond Hts.-A .500 season for the Skippers will be a nice accomplishment for junior-heavy team.
Orange over Harvey-Someone will break a long losing streak here; Lions are the better bet.
Kirtland over Newbury-The Hornets will their 25th straight regular season game, and 25th straight in the Valley, and 7th straight Valley Division Championship.
Lake Catholic over Avon-Cougars will deal Eagles their first loss.
Madison over Riverside-Blue Streaks will take 4th straight over Eastern Lake County rivals.
Mentor over Twinsburg-Some are on upset alert here; I wouldn't be.
Wickliffe over Hawken-Blue Devils can snap a streak of 7 straight losing seasons; Hawks have yet to beat Wickliffe in football.
Edgewood over Conneaut-Warriors should roll over struggling Spartans
University over Geneva-Preppers got wake-up call last week in barely edging Chardon
Chardon over Lakeside-Improving Hilltoppers could make some noise next year
Pymatuning Valley over Vienna Mathews-7-3 makes for a pretty good season for the Lakers
Aurora over Kenston-Big game in Portage County; Greenmen get revenge for last year
Ledgemont over Southington-Redskins make it two 10-0 seasons in a row.
Walsh Jesuit over NDCL-Things were looking good for Lions just a few weeks ago.
Benedictine over Columbus DeSales-Stallions have played tough schedule and could win this one, but I don't want to pick against Bengals again.
Brush over Garfield Hts-This would give the Arcs outright NOC Lake title and a .500 season.
Euclid over Bedford-Old GCC matchup should be a good one; Panthers by a touchdown
Mayfield over Elyria-Wildcats still have an outside shot at the playoffs; need to beat 7-2 Pioneers and get help.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON:

Grand Valley over Lutheran East-Mustangs will at least achieve winning season.
West Geauga over Beachwood-Wolverines will have a good idea by the time this game starts what D2 playoff situation will look like, they'll beat Bison no matter what.
VASJ over Gilmour-Vikings still have outside shot at playoffs, winning season still good either way.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Bonus Pick

St.Ignatius over St.Edward-Eagles will probably be the favorite, as they should be, but just a hunch.

Week 9 High School Football in Review

   It was an all-NCL week for me last week. Games I attended:

FRIDAY NIGHT: Akron Hoban at Lake Catholic. It was business as usual for the Cougars last week: One NCL foe played, one NCL foe vanquished. Lake Catholic is rounding into form nicely before the Division 3 playoffs. Hoban featured star defensive end Greg McMullen, who is on his way to the University of Nebraska next  season. That's something unique in itself-not many players from this area have gone on to play football there. Thanks to a stellar job by the Cougar offensive line, he wasn't much of a factor in the game. Now Lake Catholic, having finished the conference schedule, will travel to play the undefeated Avon Eagles. Some playoff tune-up.

SATURDAY NIGHT: VASJ at Holy Name. It was a big chance for the Vikings to put themselves right into the D6 playoffs and clinch a tie for the NCL White championship, but it just didn't happen. VASJ rushed for 381 yards, but gave up too many big plays through the air. The Vikings still have an outside shot at the playoffs, but need to beat Gilmour next week and hope that Wellsville and Strasburg-Franklin lose. Serpintini Chevrolet Stadium, home to both North Royalton and Holy Name, is one of the most beautiful I have seen.

Regionalism is over? Says who?

     University of Connecticut President Susan Herbst recently made this statement: "One of the things I think we're all resigned to is that regionalism is pretty much over." She was referring to the shifting dynamics of college football conferences and the endless rumors about which school is going where. I think that while she may believe that what she said is true, it's more accurate to say that the Big East hopes that it's true.

     'Regionalism' is still alive and kicking, as far as I can tell. Let's take a look, case by case.

     ACC-The two new schools that will arrive in a couple of years are Pittsburgh and Syracuse. So all 14 teams will be on the Atlantic Coast or at least in states that are on the Eastern Seaboard.

     Big Ten-Penn State, as an Eastern team, is the only one that seems out of place. Newcomer Nebraska is a Northern school and a team that borders Iowa. Penn State, for its part, borders Ohio. So while Notre Dame would be a better fit than Penn State, I'd say the Big Ten still works as is. It's probably time to change the name of the conference to the Big North, but that's another story for another time.

    Big 12-At least one good thing happened here-Texas Christian abandoned its ridiculous plan to join the Big East and instead will join the much more appropriate Big 12. Missouri will hopefully stay for two reasons-1) Missouri is not a Southern school, nor a Southern state. It doesn't fit in the SEC. 2) The Tigers would not succeed in the SEC. Regular beatings could be expected. Now, to get back up to 12 teams (assuming Missouri stays put) Houston and Southern Methodist should be brought in before THEY decide that being in the Big East makes sense (which it doesn't).

Conference USA/MWC potential merger-I'm not sure what to make of this conglomeration, or what good it would do. This would certainly be a cross-regional affair. It seems a little too far-reaching to me, both literally and figuratively. At this point, I'm not taking it seriously.

PAC-12-The new schools, Colorado and Utah, are nowhere near the Pacific coast. Arizona and Arizona State are landlocked too, for that matter. At least all these schools are in the West, though.

SEC-I'm disappointed that the SEC didn't stick to its guns and stay at 12 teams. The addition of Texas A&M, though, is the addition of a Southern school.  So I could live with it. Hopefully the 14th team won't be Missouri, but rather one of the ACC schools. Which will of course prompt the ACC to look for another team.

     As of now, nobody's really too out of place. The Big East's notion of inviting such schools as Air Force, Boise State, Houston, and Southen Methodist is a desperation move to keep the Big East relevant. Nobody else is reaching clear across the country to add schools. Apparently the Big East's decision-makers can't find anybody east of the Mississippi that could help make a stronger conference. Wasn't the Big East the conference that kicked Temple out for being terrible? Now the Owls would contend for the league title.

    I like what Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim said-"If conference commissioners were the founding fathers of this country, we would have Guatemala, Uruguay, and Argentina in the United States." I couldn't have said it better. It's time for fans to start voicing their opinions on this-and not just on Internet forums and Twitter. Maybe some kind of 'Occupy the NCAA' movement could get started. Not that people would really miss work and leave their families to gather in one place over this, but I'm sure someone could come up with a creative idea.

   After all, this isn't the NFL, which has Dallas in the NFC East, Baltimore in the AFC North, and Indianapolis in the AFC South. If the Big East has it's way, though, college football fans might get stuck with similar silliness.

NFL Picks-Week 7

Last Week: 9-4 Overall: 57-33

This Week:

SUNDAY

Tampa Bay over Chicago
Carolina over Washington
San Diego over NY Jets
Cleveland over Seattle
Tennessee over Houston
Denver over Miami
Detroit over Atlanta
Oakland over Kansas City
Pittsburgh over Arizona
Dallas over St.Louis
Minnesota over Green Bay
New Orleans over Indianapolis

MONDAY

Baltimore over Jacksonville

College Football Picks -Week 8

Last Week: 35-16 Overall: 300-91

This weeks's picks:

TUESDAY

Arkansas State over Florida International

THURSDAY

Central Florida over Alabama-Birmingham
UCLA over Arizona

FRIDAY

Louisville over Rutgers
West Virginia over Syracuse

SATURDAY

Boise State over Air Force
Ohio U. over Akron
Alabama over Tennessee
Arkansas over Mississippi
Vanderbilt over Army
Louisiana State over Auburn
Ball State over Central Michigan
Virginia Tech over Boston College
Temple over Bowling Green
Brigham Young over Idaho State
Northern Illinois over Buffalo
Utah over California
Cincinnati over South Florida
Clemson over North Carolina
Oregon over Colorado
Colorado State over Texas-El Paso
Wake Forest over Duke
Navy over East Carolina
Western Michigan over Eastern Michigan
Middle Tennessee over Florida Atlantic
Florida State over Maryland
Nevada over Fresno State
Miami over Georgia Tech
Hawaii over New Mexico State
Houston over Marshall
Illinois over Purdue
Iowa over Indiana
Texas A&M over Iowa State
Kansas State over Kansas
Kentucky over Jacksonville State
Louisiana-Lafayette over Western Kentucky
North Texas over Louisiana-Monroe
Utah State over Louisiana Tech
Tulane over Memphis
Toledo over Miami (Ohio)
Wisconsin over Michigan State
Nebraska over Minnesota
Oklahoma State over Missouri
Texas Christian over New Mexico
Virginia over North Carolina State
Penn State over Northwestern
Notre Dame over USC
Oklahoma over Texas Tech
Washington State over Oregon State
Tulsa over Rice
Southern Methodist over Southern Mississippi
Stanford over Washington

College Football Rankings

EAST

1. Penn State (6-1)
2. West Virginia (5-1)
3. Rutgers (5-1)
4. Temple (5-2)
5. Syracuse (4-2)

NORTH

1. Wisconsin (6-0)
2. Kansas State (6-0)
3. Michigan State (5-1)
4. Notre Dame (4-2)
5. Cincinnati (5-1)
6. Nebraska (5-1)
7. Michigan (6-1)
8. Ohio State (4-3)
9. Illinois (6-1)
10. Iowa (4-2)

SOUTH

1. Oklahoma (6-0)
2. Alabama (7-0)
3. Louisiana State (7-0)
4. Oklahoma State (6-0)
5. Clemson (7-0)
6. Virginia Tech (6-1)
7. Arkansas (5-1)
8. South Carolina (6-1)
9. Georgia Tech (6-1)
10. Louisiana-Lafayette (6-1)
11. Houston (6-0)
12. Texas (4-2)
13. Auburn (5-2)
14. Southern Methodist (5-1)
15. Southern Mississippi (5-1)

WEST

1. Stanford (6-0)
2. Boise State (6-0)
3. Oregon (5-1)
4. Washington (5-1)
5. USC (5-1)
6. Brigham Young (5-2)
7. Arizona State (5-2)
8. San Diego State (4-2)
9. UCLA (3-3)
10. Wyoming (4-2)

High School Football Picks-Week 9

  Last week I slipped a little bit, finishing 23-4. I didn't foresee a winless Hoban knocking off NDCL, I thought Riverside would top Chardon, I thought Fairport would fare better offensively at Berkshire, and Jefferson continues to surprise. My overall record is now 170-31, and my record in spotlight games is still pretty good: 30-2. This week's picks:

LAKE COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK: Wickliffe (4-4) at Perry (3-5). For the second time this season, it's a little surprising to see the Blue Devils with a better record than one of their CVC Chagrin opponents going into a game. Wickliffe comes in off a win over Orange in which it was actually outgained by 90 yards. Blue Devils are a kind of a throwback this year as a team that features a fullback as its top offensive player. Perry has had its struggles this year, but the losses have primarily come against strong teams. The Pirates have won 9 of the last 11 against Wickliffe in what used to be a great rivalry. History will repeat itself here.
Pick: Perry

ASHTABULA COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK: Edgewood (2-6) at Jefferson (6-2). This is another classic Ashtabula County rivalry, with the Hoadley Cup on the line. The Warriors have played much better in the second half of this season, and seem to be maturing as a young team. The Falcons, though, have been a big surprise. They're on the bubble for a D3 playoff spot, and can't afford a loss to Edgewood. Pick: Jefferson.

GEAUGA COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK: West Geauga (6-2) at Kenston (5-3). Big Geauga County rivalry game between two D2 teams on the playoff bubble. The Wolverines suffered a deflating loss at the hands of Chagrin Falls last week, but will get to play on turf for the first time in a month. They need a rebound win to build some momentum for a potential playoff run. The Bombers, after an 0-2 start, have won 5 of their last 6 and have built quite a bit of momentum of their own. They sit in 12th in Region 5, and a win over their long-time rivals could give them a serious boost in the rankings. Pick: Kenston

EASTERN CUYAHOGA COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK: Parma (4-4) at Brush (3-5). The last time the News-Herald area saw the Redmen, they were getting pummeled by Mentor, 49-0. This is a much better matchup for them. The Arcs began this season amidst talk that they might win 7 or 8 games with the talent they have. Now, an NOC Lake Divison championship and a .500 season is the goal. To attain it, Brush will have to stave off challenges over the next two weeks from the teams that are tied for second in the division-Parma this week and Garfield Hts. next week. Pick: Brush

The rest of the schedule:

FRIDAY NIGHT:

Kirtland over Fairport-The Hornets' reserves should see a lot of time in this one.
Aurora over Harvey-Another upper-half/lower-half mismatch in the CVC Chagrin Division.
Lake Catholic over Hoban-Surprising win by Hoban last week won't carry over; Cougars will roll.
Madison over Lakeside-Blue Streaks warming up for D2 playoffs.
Mentor over Strongsville-This would be a big game if this was 2008 or 2009.
North over Geneva-Eagles will come to play but won't be able to stop Rangers' offense.
South over Riverside-Like all South games this year, Rebels will give up points but score a lot more.
Youngsville (PA) over Conneaut-I don't know much about Youngsville, but they are 7-0.
Ledgemont over Grand Valley-Could end up being the best game of the night.
Berkshire over Newbury-Black Knights will put up a fight, but not enough to overtake their neighbors.
Hawken over Cardinal-Hawks will rebound from poor performance last week.
NDCL over Benedictine-This game could have been the game of the week in Ashtabula County, as it will be played at Geneva. A D3 playoff spot is on the line here, and game could go either way. Which defense will step up?
Chagrin Falls over Orange-Again, an upper half/lower half CVC Chagrin mismatch, but this one's a rivalry.
Lorain over Euclid-Should be a great game at Sparky D, Panthers will stay at 3rd in LEL if I'm wrong here.
Mayfield over Cuyahoga Falls-Hard to believe, but Wildcats still have a chance to make D1 playoffs.
Independence over Richmond Hts.-Spartans could make strides by staying within 30.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON:

Pymatuning Valley over Lutheran East-D4 Lakers will have easy time with undermanned D6 Falcons.
University over Chardon-Hilltoppers will be latest PAC victim at Scovil Field.
Canton Central Catholic over Gilmour-Tough season continues for Lancers.

SATURDAY NIGHT:

Holy Name over VASJ-This game means the season for the Vikings, but the D3 Green Wave are a Blue Division team in the White Division, and the White Division teams have been no match. If I'm wrong, though, I can see VASJ making a run in D6 playoffs after a win here.

Week 8 High School Games in Review

Games I attended this past week:

FRIDAY NIGHT-Aurora at Perry. This game demonstrated the difference between a D2 playoff-bound team and a rebuilding D4 team. Much was made about the physicality and size of Aurora's team. The result was really no surprise. The surprising part was that Perry was able to hang in there for a half. That's a credtit to the Pirate coaching staff and talent of some of the players. Aurora will continue on as one of the favorites to make it out of Region 5 in the playoffs, while Perry will look to regain its past levels of success next year.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON-North at University. North did not play well, turning the ball over 5 times, but University may just be a better team anyway. The fact that the Preppers were able to win that big without one of their best players even getting onto the field says a lot about how good they are. For the Rangers, this makes the last two games even more urgent. They'll be expected to beat Geneva, then the following week at South will be bigger than it's been in years. Like last year, when I attended the VASJ-US game, the wind was absolutely brutal. I just can't seem to avoid it there.

NFL Picks-Week 6

My record through 5 weeks stands at 48-29. This week's games:

SUNDAY

Green Bay over St. Louis
Pittsburgh over Jacksonville
Philadelphia over Washington
Detroit over San Francisco
Atlanta over Carolina
Cincinnati over Indianapolis
NY Giants over Buffalo
Houston over Baltimore
Oakland over Cleveland
New England over Dallas
New Orleans over Tampa Bay
Minnesota over Chicago

MONDAY

NY Jets over Miami

College Football Picks-Week 7

Last Week: 44-7 Overall: 265-75

This week's games:

THURSDAY

Air Force over San Diego State
USC over California

FRIDAY

Hawaii over San Jose State

SATURDAY

Alabama over Mississippi
Tulsa over Alabama-Birmingham
Oregon over Arizona State
Florida over Auburn
Ohio U. over Ball State
Texas A&M over Baylor
Boise State over Colorado State
Toledo over Bowling Green
Brigham Young over Oregon State
Temple over Buffalo
Southern Methodist over Central Florida
Central Michigan over Eastern Michigan
Cincinnati over Louisville
Clemson over Maryland
Washington over Colorado
South Florida over Connecticut
Florida State over Duke
East Carolina over Memphis
Florida Atlantic over Western Kentucky
Utah State over Fresno State
Georgia over Vanderbilt
Georgia Tech over Virginia
New Mexico State over Idaho
Illinois over Ohio State
Wisconsin over Indiana
Iowa over Northwestern
Missouri over Iowa State
Oklahoma over Kansas
Kansas State over Texas Tech
Miami (Ohio) over Kent State
Louisiana-Lafayette over North Texas
Troy over Louisiana-Monroe
Louisiana State over Tennessee
Marshall over Rice
North Carolina over Miami
Michigan over Michigan State
South Carolina over Mississippi State
Rutgers over Navy
Nevada over New Mexico
Western Michigan over Northern Illinois
Texas over Oklahoma State
Texas-El Paso over Tulane
Wyoming over UNLV
Virginia over North Carolina State
Penn State over Purdue
Pittsburgh over Utah
Stanford over Washington State
Virginia Tech over Wake Forest

College Football Rankings

EAST

1. Penn State (5-1)
2. West Virginia (5-1)
3. Rutgers (4-1)
4. Temple (4-2)
5. Syracuse (4-2)

NORTH

1. Wisconsin (5-0)
2. Michigan (6-0)
3. Illinois (6-0)
4. Kansas State (5-0)
5. Michigan State (4-1)
6. Nebraska (5-1)
7. Notre Dame (4-2)
8. Cincinnati (4-1)
9. Purdue (3-2)
10. Western Michigan (4-2)

SOUTH

1. Oklahoma (5-0)
2. Alabama (6-0)
3. Louisiana State (6-0)
4. Oklahoma State (5-0)
5. Clemson (6-0)
6. Georgia Tech (6-0)
7. Virginia Tech (5-1)
8. Texas (4-1)
9. Arkansas (5-1)
10. South Carolina (5-1)
11. Houston (6-0)
12. Texas Tech (4-1)
13. Florida (4-2)
14. North Carolina (5-1)
15. Southern Mississippi (5-1)

WEST

1. Stanford (5-0)
2. Boise State (5-0)
3. Oregon (4-1)
4. Arizona State (5-1)
5. Washington (4-1)
6. USC (4-1)
7. Brigham Young (4-2)
8. Hawaii (3-2)
9. UCLA (3-3)
10. Washington State (3-2)

High School Football Picks-Week 8

Record now stands at 147-27, after a 23-1 showing last week. My only mistake? Going with Madison over South. I should have known. It's getting to the point where South is the Mentor of the PAC, meaning the local schools simply can't beat 'em. Spotlight games? 26-2. Not bad. This week's games:

LAKE COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK: Beachwood (6-1) at Kirtland (7-0). Bison are in the midst of their best season in years, and will provide Kirtland with its second test of this season. Hornets fans needn't be concerned-Kirtland will pass with flying colors. Pick: Kirtland

ASHTABULA COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK: Gilmour (1-6) at Edgewood (1-6). Why this game? The only other game being played in the county this week is South at Lakeside. At least this game is a somewhat more even matchup. Gilmour picked up its first win of the season last week, beating Conneaut. Edgewood has lost 5 in a row, but has played much better over the last couple of weeks against some pretty good teams. Pick: Edgewood

GEAUGA COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK: Chagrin Falls (7-0) at West Geauga (6-1). Pretty much the 'Super Bowl' for West G. Neither team is doomed with a loss here, as far as playoffs go, but placement in the CVC Chagrin is at stake. The pride of the Wolverines is at stake as well. They don't feel that they've played all that well over the last couple of weeks, and can feel the season start to slip away if they don't win here. Plus they've got to be sick of losing to the Tigers. As for Chagrin Falls, they've been steady all year, and have come up big in big games. They have the look of a team that will go deep in the playoffs, and the CVC Chagrin is theirs for the taking. Pick: Chagrin Falls

EASTERN CUYAHOGA COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK: North (6-1) at University (6-1). The biggest game for the Rangers in many years. PAC contention, a possible D1 Region 1 playoff appearance, all the hard work they've put into making the program relevant in the area are all at stake in this game. The Preppers have been as good as advertised all year, and the slip-up against South has been the only blemish. A spot in the D3 playoffs would be all but solidified, along with a potential piece of the PAC title, with a win over the Rangers. Should be a great one. Pick: University

The rest of the schedule:

THURSDAY NIGHT:

Madison over Geneva. Blue Streaks will take out frustrations on neighbors from over the county line.
Riverside over Chardon. Bors vs. Hewitt. Beavers may be a little further ahead as a program.
South over Lakeside. Should be the first game that Rebels hold an opponent under 20.
Grand Valley over Vienna Mathews. Mustangs gearing up for Week 9 showdown with Ledgemont.

FRIDAY NIGHT:

Fairport over Berkshire. Skippers in what should be a close one.
Kenston over Harvey. Battle of D2 CVC schools won't be close. Maybe in basketball season, but not now.
Lake Catholic over Padua. Could be another penalty-filled game; Cougars won't have much trouble
Mentor over Medina. Last home game for Mentor-well, until playoffs at least.
Aurora over Perry. Pirates will pull out all the stops, as usual, but Greenmen too strong.
Wickliffe over Orange. Pretty even matchup; taking Blue Devils based on better showing vs. Kenston
Brookfield over Conneaut. Spartans scored three TDs last week, might not score this week.
Leavittsburg LaBrae over Jefferson. Can Falcons keep 4-game win streak going? Not against 5-2 Vikings.
Pymatuning Valley over Southington. Lakers have shown that they can handle the easier opponents.
Independence over Cardinal. Though down a little this year, Blue Devils will still handle Huskies.
Cuyahoga Hts over Hawken. Good spot for Hawks to pick up big win, but I'll stay with Redskins.
Ledgemont over Lutheran East. Redskins have warm-up for next week's battle with Grand Valley.
Newbury over Richmond Hts. A rare occasion-a game in which Black Knights should be big favorites.
NDCL over Hoban-The Lions are still in the running for D3 playoffs, Hoban a surprising 0-7.
Walsh Jesuit over Benedictine-A Bengal win won't surprise me, but Warriors look like NCL's best team.
Brush over Lakewood-2-5 Arcs over 5-2 Rangers-upset special.
Hudson over Mayfield-Explorers should be D1 playoff team and NOC River champs, but can't slip up here.
VASJ over Chanel-Firebirds have played tough schedule and may give Vikings trouble, but Vikes take it.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON:

Euclid over Shaker Hts.-Good matchup of better-than-their-record teams may be overlooked on the schedule. Red Raiders nearly knocked off Maple Hts last week, and Panthers have been in most of their games. I'll take Euclid to eke out a close victory.

Week 7 High School Football in review

  A look back at games I attended in Week 7:

THURSDAY NIGHT-Mentor at Solon. This was expected to be the game of the year for both teams. It didn't turn out that way. The Cardinals brushed aside the Comets' challenge. So now what? Mentor's last three opponents are Medina, Strongsville, and Twinsburg. None of these teams can be expected to stand in Mentor's way. The Cardinals seem destined for another 10-0 season, just like in 2003, and for a regional final matchup with St. Edward, just like in 2003. St.Ignatius might have something to say about it, but no one else in Region 1, and that includes North, South, and Jeff Rotsky's Cleveland Hts. team will be able to put up much of a fight against either of those juggernauts.

FRIDAY NIGHT-Padua at Benedictine. The Bengals looked to be going down to defeat against a gritty, determined, better-than-their-record Padua team. They've been trailing in seemingly every game this year, though, and have managed to come back time and time again against all but Lake Catholic. The revival of Benedictine football fortunes continues under Ben Malbasa, and the Bengals take on another titanic challenge this week on the road at Walsh Jesuit. In fact, Benedictine's last three regular season games are all on the road. They probably can't afford to lose all three and still make the Division 3 playoffs. They'll be big underdogs against the Warriors this week, and might find themselves behind again at some point in the game. Will they be able to come back? I wouldn't put it past them.

SATURDAY NIGHT-Trinity at VASJ. Vikings won by their largest margin in a while-55-6. A struggling Trinity squad was just what VASJ needed to snap a two-game losing streak and get back over .500 on the season at 4-3. The offense and defense both looked strong and had to gain a lot of confidence. The Vikings have a good shot to make the playoffs in Division 6, provided they can beat Holy Name in Week 9. If they do make the playoffs, the Vikings could do a lot of damage. As good as teams like Berlin Center Western Reserve, Ledgemont, and Mogadore are, they don't play nearly the type of schedule VASJ does. Nor do they play teams that are as athletic or hit as hard as the Vikings.

NFL Picks-Week 5

SUNDAY

Indianapolis over Kansas City
Minnesota over Arizona
Buffalo over Philadelphia
Houston over Oakland
New Orleans over Carolina
Cincinnati over Jacksonville
Pittsburgh over Tennessee
NY Giants over Seattle
Tampa Bay over San Francisco
New England over NY Jets
San Diego over Denver
Green Bay over Atlanta

MONDAY

Chicago over Detroit

College Football Picks-Week 6

Struggled a little bit last week, going 35-20. Overall mark is 221-68.

THURSDAY

Oregon over California
Middle Tennessee over Western Kentucky

FRIDAY

Boise State over Fresno State

SATURDAY

Notre Dame over Air Force
Florida International over Akron
Alabama over Vanderbilt
Mississippi State over Alabama-Birmingham
Oregon State over Arizona
Arizona State over Utah
Arkansas over Auburn
Arkansas State over Louisiana-Monroe
Miami (Ohio) over Army
Temple over Ball State
Baylor over Iowa State
Clemson over Boston College
Western Michigan over Bowling Green
Brigham Young over San Jose State
Ohio U. over Buffalo
Marshall over Central Florida
North Carolina State over Central Michigan
Stanford over Colorado
West Virginia over Connecticut
Houston over East Carolina
Toledo over Eastern Michigan
Louisiana State over Florida
North Texas over Florida Atlantic
Tennessee over Georgia
Georgia Tech over Maryland
Louisiana Tech over Idaho
Illinois over Indiana
Penn State over Iowa
Oklahoma State over Kansas
Kansas State over Missouri
Northern Illinois over Kent State
South Carolina over Kentucky
Louisiana-Lafayette over Troy
North Carolina over Louisville
Rice over Memphis
Virginia Tech over Miami
Michigan over Northwestern
Purdue over Minnesota
Navy over Southern Mississippi
Nebraska over Ohio State
Nevada over UNLV
Oklahoma over Texas
Pittsburgh over Rutgers
Texas Christian over San Diego State
Syracuse over Tulane
Texas A&M over Texas Tech
UCLA over Washington State
Utah State over Wyoming
Florida State over Wake Forest

College Football Rankings

EAST

1. Penn State (4-1)
2. West Virginia (4-1)
3. Rutgers (3-1)
4. Pittsburgh (3-2)
5. Temple (3-2)

NORTH

1. Wisconsin (5-0)
2. Michigan (5-0)
3. Illinois (5-0)
4. Kansas State (4-0)
5. Michigan State (4-1)
6. Iowa (3-1)
7. Nebraska (4-1)
8. Iowa State (3-1)
9. Ohio U. (4-1)
10. Notre Dame (3-2)

SOUTH

1. Oklahoma (4-0)
2. Alabama (5-0)
3. Louisiana State (5-0)
4. Texas (4-0)
5. Oklahoma State (4-0)
6. Clemson (5-0)
7. Texas Tech (4-0)
8. Georgia Tech (5-0)
9. Virginia Tech (4-1)
10. Florida (4-1)
11. Arkansas (4-1)
12. South Carolina (4-1)
13. Houston (5-0)
14. Auburn (4-1)
15. Tennessee (3-1)

WEST

1. Stanford (4-0)
2. Boise State (4-0)
3. Oregon (3-1)
4. Arizona State (4-1)
5. Washington (4-1)
6. USC (4-1)
7. Washington State (3-1)
8. Utah (2-2)
9. Air Force (3-1)
10. Brigham Young (3-2)

High School Football Picks-Week 7

LAKE COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK-NDCL (5-1) at Lake Catholic (5-1). One of the area's best rivalries just might produce this weekend's best game. The Lions opened up the season with a surprising 22-point win over South, lost at Chagrin Falls, and have rolled ever since, including three straight shutouts of non-conference foes. The Cougars have reloaded with another strong team that is a threat to go far in the Division 3 playoffs despite having almost all new starters this year. This Lake Catholic team somehow reminds me of the teams that I used to watch play at Mentor Memorial Junior High-shutdown defense, and hard-nosed, run-oriented offense. Pick: Lake Catholic

ASHTABULA COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK-Ledgemont (6-0) at Pymatuning Valley (4-2). The Redskins, Number 1 in the state in D6, travel to Andover to take on the D4 Lakers, who have had a good season so far. Well a good season until last week's 30-point beating at the hands of Grand Valley. Ledgemont knows that PV will be one of its biggest challenges of the season, and won't overlook the Lakers. Pick: Ledgemont

GEAUGA COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK: Orange (3-3) at West Geauga (5-1). Not a lot going on in Geauga County this week, so this is the top game. Orange got off to a 3-1 start, including beating Perry for the first time in recent history, maybe ever. Since then they've lost 52-15 to Aurora, and 47-0 to Kenston. Now they run into an angry bunch of Wolverines, still smarting from taking their first loss of the season to Aurora last week. Pick: West Geauga

EASTERN CUYAHOGA COUNTY GAME OF THE WEEK: North Royalton (3-3) at Mayfield (3-3).
Just about an even a game as one could hope to find. Besides Mentor-Solon, of course. The Bears have played a pretty tough schedule, and have struggled against the good teams on it, including Brunswick and Solon. Mayfield has started to turn things around after  1-3 start, with back to back wins over Stow and Brush. I'll count on the Wildcat defense and home-field advantage to rule here. Pick: Mayfield

The rest of the schedule:

THURSDAY NIGHT:

Chagrin Falls over Harvey-The Tigers may not score 70, but they'll have no trouble with Red Raiders.
Mentor over Solon-Biggest and most-hyped game of the week; could also go the other way.
Kenston over Perry-I won't be surprised at whoever wins, but Bombers seem on the rise.
University over Riverside-Tempted to take improving Beavers, but Preppers too strong.
Aurora over Wickliffe-Greenmen will shut down Ranallo; can anyone else step up for Blue Devils?
Beachwood over Berkshire-Bison, at 5-1, having best season in years
Hawken over Independence-Good CVC Metro matchup, but I like the Hawks, even on the road.
Brush over Normandy-If the Arcs can rediscover their offense, and play defense like last week-look out.

FRIDAY NIGHT:

Fairport over Newbury-Battle of D6 rivals should go to Skippers, who have better passing game.
Kirtland over Cardinal-Huskies will try to keep ball away from Hornets' offense; it won't work.
Madison over South-Monster game in the PAC; Blue Streaks may have slightly better defense.
North over Lakeside-Damaged Dragons don't stand a chance; Rangers need every win they can get.
Brookfield over Edgewood-Brooklfield pummeled Jefferson in Week 3; they'll roll Warriors
Chardon over Geneva-Hilltoppers pick up win #2
Grand Valley over Southington-Mustangs have high hopes to win out season
Jefferson over Hubbard-Pretty even matchup, just a hunch to take Falcons.
Benedictine over Padua-Bengals will bounce back vs. new NCL rival; Bruins have struggled
Euclid over Warren Harding-Teams are both an uncharacteristic 1-5
Cuyahoga Hts over Richmond Hts.-Likely to get ugly early.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON:

Gilmour over Conneaut-Two 0-6 teams, but at least Gilmour has scored SOME points

SATURDAY NIGHT:

VASJ over Trinity-Good bounce-back game for Vikings, who have chance at playoffs but likely must win out and get help, since computer points are scarce in last 3 of final 4 games.

A perfect week of predictions

    I haven't been keeping track of my high school football predictions for very long, but this week something really unique happened- I went 24-0 on my picks. A skeptic might say "So what? High school games are so easy to pick, everyone does well."

     Usually true, but most miss at least a couple each week. This past week, the big keys were picking a 2-3 Grand Valley team to knock off 4-1 archrival Pymatuning Valley, and deciding to go against VASJ vs. Central Catholic, as much as I hated to do it. I've become a fan of the Vikings over the years from going to Saturday night games at Euclid. The Central Catholic program is on the upswing in the NCL White, and I thought they just might be slightly better than VASJ. Sure enough, the 13-6 result proved my hunch correct.

     I don't expect to get every pick right again this week, as there are a handful of real tough games that could go either way. The truth is, I wouldn't want to be right all the time. Part of what makes high school football so fun is the upsets-the unexpected winners. For one week though, I can say that I called 'em all.

Week 6 High School Football in review

A look back at the games I attended over the weekend:

FRIDAY NIGHT: Mayfield at Brush. The story of this game, as with every game Friday, was the weather. Steady rain and chilly wind all night. Luckily for me, I got to watch from the press box. As expected. defenses ruled. With Mayfield, that's to be expected. The Wildcats make their name with defense. The performance of Brush was a little surprising. The Arcs were strong up front against the Mayfield running game all night. Surprising considering that Brush had given up big points in all 4 of their previous losses. Besides the fact that this is a rivalry game, the game was also important because each team has a chance to do well in its respective division of the NOC. In the end, it was once again Mayfield coming out on top-for the 21st time in the last 22 meetings.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Glenville at St.Ignatius. I try to make it out to Byers Field in Parma for at least one Ignatius regular season game per year. The games are always a big event; it's still truly the best high school football program in NE Ohio. Plus, I needed a new pair of shoes, and the Parmatown Mall is right next door. So that worked out well. As for the game, it will be memorable for two reasons-the weather, and the Wildcat defense in the second half. It was so cold, it reminded me of mid-November. I always stay until the end of games, so this was a real test of my tolerance for freezing. Now the game-in the first half, the Wildcats seemed to be in control until a Glenville wide receiver went 78 yards for a touchdown on a reverse with just 1:11 to go before halftime. The extra-point attempt into the wind was no good, which left the score 7-6 St. Ignatius at the half. The third quarter would decide everything. Four times Glenville had the ball, and four times went three-and-out during the period. It was an awesome display of defense by Iggy. Trying to punt into the wind just did not work for Glenville. The Wildcats started possession 3 straight times inside Glenville's 40. Two touchdowns and a wind-aided 48-yard field goal later, it was 24-6 Ignatius and that was pretty much that. Glenville's playoff chances appear to be shot, now 2-3 on a 9-game schedule, they most likely would need to win out and hope just about everyone ranked higher than them in Region 1 loses. As for St.Ignatius, they'll be there in November.