The better of the bowl games

In my previous blog I had listed a few of the bowl games that were in the "who cares" category.  I am retracting that statement.  Even though I dont care, there are many people who do: namely the players, players' family, students, alumni, fans and ESPN (ok, i really dont care what ESPN thinks but they do care if people watch).  And the pizza bowl ended like a champ!  I will preview the BCS bowls in the near future and the Championship game in a separate blog, so, in the Christmas spirit, I bring you the bowl games that more people care about and that I find intriguing:

Nebraska vs. Washington in the Holiday Bowl - i know, i know they already played this year in Spokane and Nebraska smoked em, but I think the Huskers are a little down about the way their season ended on a sour note in the Big 12(10?) championship.  Jake Locker of UW is looking to redeem himself after having an awful year and being picked to be one of the top picks in the draft.  I still think Nebraska wins the game, but Washington will make it closer than last time.  Prediction: Neb 26 UW 17

Notre Dame vs. Miami in the Sun Bowl - ND has had a pretty down year in Brian Kelly's first year at the helm and Miami fired their coach.  This should tell you how bad Miami has been this year.  After all the talk about Jacory Harris being the next Mike Vick, all he has done is put his team in bad positions, throw interceptions and get injured.  I see ND playing well and holding Miami in check most of the night.  ND has more to play for and Miami is just ready to be done with the season. Prediction: ND 34 UM 10

South Carolina vs Florida St. in the Chick-fil-a Bowl - USC won the SEC East for the first time in the history of the program and beat the then #1 bama during the season.  They also beat UF for the first time in forever to win the East.  They lost to a very average Kentucky team (albeit on the road) and ran into a buzzsaw in Auburn in the SEC Championship, but overall they had a very good year.  Florida St. lost a couple games they should have won and lost to a very good Virgina Tech team in the ACC champ game.  USC features one of the best running backs in the country that also happens to be a freshman and one of the best receivers in the country in Alson Jeffrey.  He can torch you and jump over you and he is only a sophomore.  I know the class doesnt matter in the game but i hate it cause Auburn has to go to Columbia next year to play.  Tough, tough game.  I think USC plays really well despite Stephen Garcia being a total idiot most of the time.  FSU has a really good defense and if they can stop Lattimore and make Garcia beat them, he wont and FSU will win.  USC has to be able to establish the run and allow Garcia to make easy throws where he doesnt have to think too much.  I love this matchup!  Prediction:  USC 24 FSU 27

Alabama vs. Michigan St. in the Capital One Bowl - Michigan St. comes into this game with an 11-1 record with the one loss being a bad one to Iowa.  They did, however, beat Wisconsin and Michigan and Penn St.  Bama comes in with a 9-3 record with those losses coming in the final 7 games ending with a crushing loss to Auburn at home.  For those who dont know, Auburn overcame a 24-0 deficit and beat bama 28-27.  Bama began the year ranked #1 and were cruising toward another title shot after a resounding victory over (then unknown) overrated and outmatched Florida.  They then lost to USC and later to LSU and then to Auburn.  Only the loss to AU was at home.  bama is a good team that has a young(er) defense without a true leader since McClain and Arenas went to the NFL.  Normally, I would pick bama to win in a landslide but bama's heart is in question.  They havent been able to finish games this year and have not looked like the typical team that Saban coaches.  bama had huge aspirations this year and to finish 4th in the SEC West was not one of them.  I have to interject here: when the 4th place team in your division finishes 9-3 and ranked 16 in the BCS, you have the best division in football.  back to the game, this is a letdown for bama espcially after almost beating auburn to probably get to a BCS game (Sugar Bowl most likely).  Michigan St. feels slighted after losing out to a team they beat (Wisconsin) to the Rose Bowl and I think are looking to prove to people they deserved to be in the Rose.  bama is just the team to do this against, too.  They are the defending national champs and are nationally known so who better to look good against than them.  MSU is licking its chops to play well against bama.  If bama comes out and plays like they did in the first half against auburn, they win this game big.  If they come out flat, MSU still may not win.  That's how big the talent gap is when it comes to these two teams.  The only thing is that bama's do everything safety Mark Barron is out with a torn pectoral muscle.  This is huge and cannot be overlooked.  I still think bama can stop MSU, though, but can MSU stop bama?  bama's offense can be very good at times but other times, they look awful and very predictable.  Prediction: MSU 20 Bama 24

Florida vs Penn St. in the Outback Bowl - This is very interesting in that Urban Meyer resigned earlier this month and Joe Paterno has been at PSU forever.  Urban says he is coaching in the bowl game but what will Muschamp do?  Sit in the stands?  Florida has had a really bad year (7-5) and Penn St. hasnt been great either.  PSU starts and freshman QB and Brantley for UF has not played well.  If PSU can pressure Brantley into making quick decisions and therefore mistakes, I think PSU has a good shot.  UF's defense has not been very good either but I havent seen PSU play well with fast defenses (aka SEC) so I think I still give UF the advantage here.  How will the duel coaches work?  Sounds like a disaster to me, but UF can probaly overcome that.  Prediction:  PSU 17 UF 28

Mississippi St. vs Michigan in the Gator Bowl - I like this matchup because I want to see how MSU defends Denard Robinson if he is available to play (due to injury).  Mullen (MSU's coach) says that Robinson is the most dangerous and athletic player he has seen this year.  Really Dan?  didnt you play against Auburn and Cam Newton?  Ok, ok sour grapes, but whatever.  Im not sure if MSU can stop michigan but MSU has been pretty good against the run this year.  the kicker is that Michigan's running game comes mainly from Robinson taking off and that is a hard thing to defend.  MSU has looked good at times and other times, like against bama, they have been atrocious.  Chris Relf is not a very good QB and makes many mistakes.  Michigan also played in the highest scoring game in the history of modern fooball, so Michigan's defense hasnt played well either.  This is a tough game to call. Prediction:  MSU 31 UM 25 

LSU vs Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl - This game will be a slugfest with both defenses playing well most of the time.  Forget about LSU giving up 30+ points to ole miss at home, they will be ready to play.  The question is LSU's offense.  Which team will show up?  If Jefferson is on and throwing short, accurate passes and running when needed, LSU will be tough to defend.  I honestly dont know much about TAM except they looked really good against Oklahoma and Nebraska.  Two of the three losses they had were really close against Ok St. and Arky.  The one big one was a blowout loss to Missouri (30-9).  I think it will be low scoring and I think Les Miles will have the horseshoe one more game.  Prediction: LSU 16 TAM 10

 Tomorrow, hopefully, I will tell you about Christmas at our house.  It was alot of fun and the kids had a great time!

Bowl Games Galore!

I have looked through the listing of the bowl games for this post-season and I have to say that this is the weakest year for bowls in a long time.  Apart from a few Big 10 vs SEC matchups and a couple of BCS bowls, it is awful and a list of "who cares?" games.  I will preview some of the better bowls in a later blog, but first let's start with a few from the who cares category going from 3 (being the least of the who cares) to 1 (being the most who cares). 

3.  Georgia vs Central Florida (Liberty Bowl) - Wow, a below average SEC team that had to beat an overated Ga Tech to become bowl eligible plays the Conference USA champion.  Georgia has alot of talent in Aaron Murray and A.J. Green is a superstar but they have underachieved this year.  I honestly dont know much about Central Florida but I do know that the two hardest teams they played this year (NC St. and Kansas St.) beat them.  I think if UGA is going to win, they have to play defense.  They have not done a good job of that this season.  They also have to establish a running game to balance their dangerous passing game.  If UCF can stop the run, they will make UGA one dimensional and will probably win the game.  I see UGA being able to move the ball but giving up some yards/points as well.  Prediction:  UGA 24 UCF 21

2.  Florida International vs Toledo (Little Caesar's Bowl) - One team plays in the Sun Belt and the other in the MAC.  That should explain everything.  Prediction : dont care

1.  Army vs. SMU (Armed Forces Bowl) - Even worse than the pizza bowl is this one.  The only intriguing factor is the storyline of SMU after the ESPN 30 for 30 show about the death penalty and SMU.  I am pulling for SMU to get out of their dealth penalty hole that happened 25 years ago, but it's hard to go against the Army.  I mean, they are one of the reasons we are awesome as a country.  Again, I know nothing about these teams other than SMU got beat 7-17 by UCF in the Conference USA championship game. One team is 6-5 and the other is 7-6.  Prediction:  SMU 30 Army 21

In other news, we have now had our dog for about a week and a half.  She is driving me crazy.  Probably not a good idea to get her right now with three kids under 4 and one who is 4 months.  We are having to potty train her and if we dont watch her 24-7, she pees and craps in the floor and not on her puppy pad.  It's hard enough to have to watch 3 kids without adding basically another baby to the mix.  Hopefully when she gets trained, she will be fun, but right now not so much.  She is really cute though.  Will let you know how Christmas goes.  Should be some funny stories. 

One more thing:  Addi was riding home with my in-laws two nights ago and my father-in-law John (a big bama fan) was discussing Auburn football with her.  John asked her why she was an Auburn fan and she told him, "because they win."  I could not have been more proud of her.  Ah, to be young.  All she knows of Auburn is that they win (because of this year) and that's as it should be.  If I dont talk to you before, Merry Christmas and remember the reason for the season:  Jesus!

Heisman #3 for Auburn, Cam puts his name in the "best ever" category

This past Saturday, Cam Newton won the Heisman with the fourth (or fifth) most points in history.  He won every region, including the West and Northeast and was even left off 105 ballots.  Imagine if the "holier-than-thou" voters had actually included Newton?  It would have been the biggest margin of victory ever.  Many voters left Cam off stating the "integrity" clause of the Heisman recommendations even though the NCAA cleared him of any wrong.  It really does seem that some have a personal vendetta against Cam like he stole their girlfriends or something.  All I can say is that these guys are tools and cant admit they are wrong.  Sad, really.  Now, back to more important things.  This is the third Auburn player to win the Heisman joining Pat Sullivan ('71) and Bo Jackson ('85).  Also, Cam puts his name in some pretty spectacular company.  He led the SEC in rushing this year (as a QB!) and was #1 in the nation in passing efficiency.  He is the only player to pass for at least 2,000 yards and rush for at least 1,000 yards in the same season.  He scored more TD's (49) than 82 other teams! He is the most dominate player I have ever seen.  I dont think there has ever been a player that can change the dynamics of a game as much as he can (not in recent memory, anyway).  He demands more attention from the defense than any other player in the nation and is the most dangerous.  No one has stopped him this year.  Bama came the closest but he still passed for over 200 yards and accounted for 4 touchdowns.  He will be a top ten draft pick in next year's draft for the NFL.  It wont happen, but if he and Malzahn both stay, Auburn will be very good again next year.  However, the likelihood of that happening are about the same as Clay Travis having a rational thought (0%).  Auburn will still be very competitive but a 10 win season will be a huge year with as many seniors we are losing, along with Newton and Fairley.  Look at bama this year; they were favored to repeat and only won 9 games.  They can still get a 10th with a win over Michigan St. in the bowl game, but that just goes to show how hard it is to win alot of games consistently in the SEC.  I havent really looked at the schedule next year, but Auburn has got a tough one.  I will preview next season probably sometime around A-day game in the Spring.  More than likely my next post will be a preview of the bowl games; mostly SEC and BCS.  There are some really good matchups in my opinion and since I love college football, I cant wait until next saturday when the games start again.

It is snowing here in central Alabama today.  It is always a major event when this happens because people act like it's the end of the world and go buy all the milk and bread in the store.  This brings up another thing; why would you buy perishable items like bread and milk if the power is going to go out?  Do people think they can keep it outside or something.  Shouldn't we buy canned foods or bottle water or Christmas tree cakes or something?  Anyway, tonight we are giving Addi the puppy.  Should make for an awesome evening, especially at bed time.  Oh well, such is life with kids.   

Addi's New Puppy

As you can see, we are getting Addi a new puppy for Christmas.  Actually, Erika went and picked her up today.  We are going to let her stay at my inlaws til Sunday.  We go and eat over there every Sunday night and this Sunday, we will give her the dog.  I know she will be so excited she probably wont be able to sleep that night.  I am prepared for that.  I wasnt real sure about this idea at first.  We just had a new baby not 4 months ago, but the way she and Colt are around dogs, aka very excited, I couldnt resist.  So the fun times are just beginning around our house.  Should be interesting.  Because the puppy was ready today, we decided that the puppy would be from mommy and daddy and not Santa.  Santa is going to bring her something else, a dollhouse, or a baby or something.  Needless to say, Christmas is an exciting time around here.  Will keep you updated on the events.

On a completely unrelated note, Urban Meyer resigned as head coach of the Florida Gators today.  Cant say it was a huge shock considering he did the same thing last year.  I think he is a big baby and cant handle losing (UF was 7-5 this year).  The short list includes Bobby Petrino of Arkansas and Dan Mullen of Mississippi St.  I cant imagine Mullen wants to stay in Starkville especially with all the recruiting violations that occurred with him there.  Who knows what will happen but I'll be sure to let you know. 

SEC Champions! Bring on the Ducks!

This past Saturday, the Auburn Tigers played their best, most complete game of the year.  They dismantled the Gamecocks of South Carolina 56-17.  It really wasnt even that close.  Auburn got the ball first and went down and scored.  USC took the kick and methodically drove down the field and tied the game.  That is as close as they would get.  Auburn went up 21-7 by the end of the first and forced USC to punt numerous times.  Auburn, however, could not quite put them away.  Darvin Adams, usually sure handed, dropped a couple of easy passes and we got a holding call that negated a big gain in the redzone where we ended up missing a field goal.  Cam also fumbled which is the first time that has happened all year.  The defense stepped up big time in this game.  Carolina only scored 14 points in the first half and 3 in the second (after the game was already 49-14).  Carolina scored right before half with about 16 seconds left.  They squib kicked it and Auburn returned it to the 40.  About a 9 yard gainer on first down set up a Hail Mary on the last play of the half.  And you know what?  Darvin Adams caught a tipped ball for a TD.  That put the game at 28-14 and put it away for Auburn.  It broke USC's spirit after cutting the lead to 7 only to have it back to 14 in a matter of 16 seconds.  Auburn forced a missed USC field goal to start the second half and took it down and scored.  Then, we intercepted a screen pass and ran it back for a TD.  Cam had a great Heisman clinching game with 335 yards passing with 3 TD's and around 70 yards rushing with one TD.  He was the MVP.  Auburn scored the most points in the first quarter, scored the most points overall, won by the biggest margin, had the most receiving yards by a player (Darvin Adams with 217 in the first half by the way) and Cam joined Tim Tebow as the only other player ever to pass for 20 TDs and rush for 20 TDs (Nevada's QB would accomplish this later in the night I learned).  All in all it was a stellar night for Auburn.  Auburn ended up #1 in the BCS rankings and will play #2 Oregon in the BCS National Championship game on Jan 10.  People think it will be a high scoring, no defense game.  I beg to differ, but that's for another post.  This Saturday is the Heisman Trophy Ceremony where Cam is the favorite.  There have already been some aholes that are posting they didnt vote for Cam because of the "integrity" clause in the Heisman literature.  Give me a freakin break.  Who did you vote for then?  LaMicheal James of Oregon who beat his girlfriend up earlier this summer?  Did you know that the 1959 Heisman winner accepted cash from the Rams before he finished his college career, yet he still has the trophy?  Wow, so the either the Heisman is already tainted or get of Cam's back Mike Bianchi, aka douchebag.  Why dont you go write about how the Magic cant beat the Heat or how Mickey Mouse is a better sports writer than you?  Can you tell I'm sick of the vitriol?  I also learned tonight that Nick Fairley did not win the Nagurski Award for the best defensive player.  De'Quan Bowers of Clemson won it.  Really?  I havent heard anything about him.  I'm sure he's good but I havent even heard any stats on him.  Obviously I am biased and what all Auburn people to win, but o well, the Lombardi is Wed night.  Good luck Nick!  Also, Gus Malzahn won the Frank Broyles Award for the best assistant coach.  Duh!  I just hope Auburn is ready to pay him what he is worth to keep him.  Please stay Gus, please!

Next post I want to write about the dog we are getting Wednesday.  Should be a fun day.  In later posts, I will preview the championship game and talk about other bowl games that are going on or about to happen.  Also, Christmas time is here.  til next time.....

Ruling by the NCAA

This has sure been a week of big news and information.  Wednesday, the NCAA declares Cam Newton eligible to play and declared him eligible for the previous 12 games he has played.  The wording of the NCAA is that rules violation had occurred from Cam's father, Cecil, and so that means that Auburn had to rule Cam ineligible.  This happened on Tuesday.  Wednesday, Auburn applied for reinstatement and the NCAA reinstated Cam without restrictions or conditions.  This means that it was just a formality on Auburn's part.  They just followed the letter of the law of the NCAA.  Basically, because the NCAA could not find any evidence that suggested Cam nor Auburn knew of anything that Cecil and Kenny Rogers/MSU did, he is eligible.  Now, many people/institutions believe that the NCAA did not do what it should have done in this case.  Many believe that they should have punished Cam and Auburn because those people believe that he is surely guilty.  He must have known or received money, that's the only explanation.  The NCAA has been investigating this since at least July.  Many people are saying this is not the end, that Auburn will get hammered.  If there was any shred of evidence toward this, the NCAA would not have come out and had a statement about Cam being eligible.  They lean on the words "the evidence as of now."  Well, good grief.  Of course, if any other evidence is found, then yeah, things change.  But that is the case with any student-athlete.  If evidence comes out about anyone, then that changes alot of things.  Weak, at best.  Comparisons have been made about other cases such as Reggie Bush and Albert Means, but there was proved that benefits exchanged hands and the players knew.  Also, Means was eligible to play at Memphis.  So, why the vitriol?  Also, if fans want the rule to be followed to a T, then players like AJ Green, Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, Marcel Darius would not be playing at all this year.  They all received improper benefits in some form and two of these players never faced suspensions.  It needs to be noted that it has not been proven, whether you believe it to be true or not, that Cam or Cecil has received anything in the ballpark of improper benefits.  Also, with Cam being ruled eligible for the previous games, that means that no vacation of wins will occur.  I know this bums out bama fans but even if Auburn did have to the record would be 0-0.  Vacating wins does not mean that they are losses, it means they are not counted.  Again, I will say that I believe there is a less than 1% chance of this happening because if there was even a shred of evidence to suggest this, the NCAA would not have declared Cam eligible.  Some say, "Well, there is info out there that will slam Auburn, aka, the FBI has tapes that implement Auburn boosters and pay for play/money to players."  First of all, the FBI does not leak info, so, no one knows if this is true.  Also, if the FBI has such tapes, Auburn would surely be in trouble with the NCAA.  Oh, but wait.  Auburn was just cleared by the NCAA and did not/has not received any official letter of inquiry from the NCAA.  It is also hard for me to believe that Cecil Newton and Kenny Rogers are so shrewd that they can hide a pay for play scheme from the NCAA and the FBI.   Give me a break.  The reporters that are keeping this in the news and still running Cam down are losers.  They want to continue to have their 15 minuets of fame and cant accept the fact they got shotty info from unreliable "sources".  Incredible that this kind of reporting can continue to be allowed without penalty.  It boils down to these "reporters" are scum bag low lifes that thought they has a breaking story and it backfired on them.  They now have egg on their face and they are trying to save face by continuing to say this case isnt over.  Whatever helps you sleep at night, fool.  Auburn is preparing to face USCe for the SEC Championship tomorrow and it has been a great year so far with more to come.  War Eagle!

All I can say is "WOW!!!!"

Incredible! Awesome! Unreal! Did that just happen?  All those thoughts ran through my head while the final seconds ticked off the clock at Bryant-Denny Stadium this past Friday.  Auburn, being down 24-0 midway thru the second quarter, came back and outscored and outhearted the mighty Crimson Tide 28-3 over the final two and a half quarters to win 28-27.  Not a big deal you say?  Let me run this by you:  Alabama has not lost a game in Bryant-Denny in the last 20 games.  That's 20-0, people.  Alabama has the #1 scoring defense in the SEC and I believe 2nd overall.  Alabama so dominated the first half that at one point they had outgained Auburn by over 200 yards.  That's outgaining the #1 offense in the SEC and one of the best in the nation.  Alabama scored at will and stopped Cam and co. at will also.  The turnaround happened when bama had the ball.  Mark Ingram caught a screen pass and made a bunch of people miss and was racing down the sideline for a big gain.  Antione Carter hustled and ran down Ingram and knocked the ball out of his arms.  The ball rolled down the sideline (and I mean right down the line) and into the endzone where Auburn recovered the ball for a touchback.  Auburn ended up scoring a 36 yard TD to cut the lead to 24-7.  It could have easily been 31-0.  On the ensuing drive, bama drove deep again inside the 10 of Auburn.  Fairley sacks McElroy and he fumbles.  bama's offensive linemen just stood there looking at the sacked QB and Fairley crawled around one of them and recovered the fumble.  Again, could have been 38-7 at half but it was only 24-7.  Auburn gets the ball in the 2nd half and scores on a 71 yard pass to T-Zac on the second play.  This makes it a 10 point game and I believe this is when bama started playing not to lose and Auburn started playing to win.  Alabama only had 67 yards of offense in the 2nd half.  You read that correctly: 67 yards.  they were 0-7 on third downs and did not really threaten again until their next-to-last drive.  That was the one where T Bell sacked McElroy and got a concussion.  I dont like to see anyone get hurt, especially an injury that can affect their life after sports, but it was to alot of satisfaction that he lost his last game at Bryant-Denney and to Auburn.  He has been a source of arrogance and downright rudeness toward his opponents and i have seen on youtube (you can search it and see for yourself) where after, I believe, his 2nd TD pass he shot the Auburn fans and band a bird.  Classless.  And speaking of that, it has been revealed today that higher officials knew about and authorized the playing of "Son of a Preacher Man" and "Take the Money and Run" over the loud speaker at BDS when Auburn and Cam Newton came out to warm up.  Wow, I can understand the students being sophomoric and throwing fake money at Cam, but university officials?  POS's!  You wonder why Auburn people have such disdain toward Alabama?  That's why, crap like that.  It's the whole gammit.  The whole Bear quote "Cow college" and the Franchione "school down the road" and all of it.  I understand that Auburn has obnoxious and rude fans as well.  Every school does.  But it seems that bama fans try to degrade and mock other team's fans more than they cheer for their own team.  Think about it.  What do bama fans chant after a win?  rammer jammer.  so, bama wins and now the fans are gonna rub it in by screaming we just beat the hell out you?  good sportsmanship.  anyway, im getting off my soapbox.  overall, it was a great win.  a great come-from-behind victory that people will remember forever; much like the '72, '83, '86, '89, and '93 games.  This puts Auburn one victory away from going to their first ever BCS national championship game.  Auburn has a rematch against the South Carolina Gamecocks who lost earlier in the year to Auburn.  It is very hard to beat a team twice in one year, but it does happen, especially in the SEC Championship game.  The team that won the first time are 4-1 in the rematch.  Auburn did it in 2004 against Tennessee.  the 2nd game was a whole lot closer, however.  I plan on going to the BCS game if we make it.  I dont know how I'm going to afford it, or if my wife will let me sleep in the house when I get back, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I may never see it again.  I'm a realist and other than the shaft of '04, Auburn has really only been in this position a couple of times since 1957.  I believe the closest years have been 1958, 1960, 1971, 1983, 1993 (undefeated but on probation with no bowl), and 2004 (shafted by the BCS and voters).  Notice only three of those years I have been alive and i was 4 in 1983.  So, like I said, this is my best and possibly only chance.  But again, we have to win one more.  Hopefully, we can take care of business saturday.

my 2nd favorite holiday

Ah, Thanksgiving.  How i do love thanksgiving.  it combines two of my favorite things in eating large quantities of food and football.  it's my second favorite because Christmas trumps them all.  My mom makes the best sweet potatoes you have ever tried and i love to eat as much as possible.  they are so good, they are basically like dessert.  the other dish i absolutely love is corn casserol.  it is basically corn and cheese.  it is sooooo good!  tomorrow, the fam and i are going over to my grandparents' house to eat lunch.  then, after that, we are going to my in-laws for dinner.  wow, too good.  it is also a time to reflect on what we have to be thankful for.  i am under the impression that we should remember these things all year, but it's nice to be reminded every now and then.  I thank God everyday for my family and friends.  I am also thankful for my job and to live in a country (as of right now) that allows me to worship the one true God, Jesus Christ.  He is the bearer of everything good in me and in my life. 

The day after thanksgiving is called black friday.  it is also known around these parts as Iron Bowl Friday.  Auburn and Alabama clash in the 75th Iron Bowl in what promises to be a really good game.  Strength against strength.  bama will look for a way to contain cam newton and auburn will look to stop a potent bama offense led by reigning Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram.  As of this afternoon, bama is a 4.5 point favorite.  I think Auburn has a good chance to win this game but they will definitely have to make very few mistakes.  if auburn turns the ball over, it may be over quickly.  i expect both teams to play their best and the crowd to be crazy!  If auburn wins, they go into the SEC championship game needing to win to make it to the BCS championship.  if auburn loses, they still have a chance, albeit a small one, of still going to the BCS.  bama has aspirations of ruining auburn's perfect season.  this is what college football is all about. 

The Hits Just Keep on Coming

It has been quiet the last few days concerning the Cam saga.....until today.  But what was released was really not much to get too excited over.  One story was just a little more details about a fact that was already known and the other story?  well, it sounds a little bit like grasping straws (until it doesnt if you know what i mean).  The first was that Bell told the FBI and NCAA (the ncaa last friday) that rogers called him and told him cecil was requesting money and he had a payment plan.  this was the same guy who said he never talked to rogers or anyone.  but wait, no he did, no he didnt, im not sure, um....... yeah, right.  bell also said he has text messages to prove he talked to rogers directly but they are on his old phone and it was messed up due to water damage.  Sure.  this story is really getting bizaar and im not sure if we will ever know the whole truth.  i think MSU is in bigger trouble than any of the media wants to admit because its not as good a story as an undefeated SEC West champion (more on that later).  If auburn was 7-3, none of this would probably have been brought up.  never-the-less, the story continues.  some writers believe this may be finished by the end of this week but i personally think it will continue until after the BCS championship.  I will tell you what i think is going on, but thats for another blog.  The second story involves indicted gambling moguel Milton McGregor.  Rumor (TMZ) has it that McGregor was overheard talking about Cam and pay for play on a phone tapped conversation while the FBI was investigating him.  This, however, is not the report that TMZ had.  They said the FBI questioned someone familiar with the newton case ABOUT McGregor's past.  Not him directly but someone about him.  weird. i dont know how this will turn out, but i feel confident in the administration at Auburn.  I truly feel they have Auburn's best interest in mind and all i hope is that some rogue booster (McGregor?) didnt screw it up for all of us for decades to come.  i hope this case resolves very soon, like, before the iron bowl.  but, i have my doubts.  all i can say is that while i am objective, i do love Auburn and hope that everything works out.  one quick note, i find it funny that after the games saturday most of the bama fans were tweeting and commenting on facebook about how auburn is dirty and the players are dirty and how auburn cheats and pays for their players instead of about how they dominated a pretty good MSU team.  obsessed much?  i believe they are scared to death to play us with Cam at qb.  they know that they cannot stop him and they cant handle the fact that auburn may beat bama in tuscaloosa while saban is the coach.  thats not how it is supposed to be.  all i heard at the beginning of the year is how bama wanted to face auburn at their best.  well, here we are.  now, all i hear is how cam should be ineligible and fairley should be suspended.  which is it bama?  o well, such is life as a fan of auburn or alabama in the deep south.  we live it all year.  im sure as the days go by, more stories and news will be released/broken.  stay tuned for this recliner QB's opinion and drivel. 

quick note:  we are not going to see the puppy this saturday.  rescheduled for next tuesday.  my 85 year old grandmother is coming in from atlanta this weekend to see the kids.  too fun!

SEC WEST CHAMPIONS!!

Last night I got the opportunity to attend the South's Oldest Rivalry at JHS featuring Auburn and Georgia.  All this week there has been more stories and rumors and info being leaked out about Cam and his dad and MSU and Auburn, so to say that Auburn fans were feeling frustrated would be an understatement.  Just hearing about Gameday (I didnt see it, thank God) and the crap that the Ohio St. fans put on signs was enough to make me want to shove a buckeye right up their.....well, you know.  It seems everyone in the country now has the opinion that Auburn cheated and thats why we are winning.  I will say this again and will continue to repeat it until it is proven not true: Auburn has not been and is not currently under investigation by the SEC or the NCAA.  Do i need to repeat it?  That doesnt seem to matter to the fans outside of the Auburn family.  Ive heard things like death penalty and 5 years probation and enjoy it while you can cause youll have to vacate the wins later.  The first two, not so much.  The last one?  to be honest, i dont know.  I will tell you this:  Cam, his mom and dad (Cecil) did meet with the NCAA thursday night for about 3 hours and Cecil supposedly came clean about having "discussions" with MSU about a pay-for-play.  This doesnt mean that he instigated it or necessarily entertained it.  just means that there was a discussion.  MSU could be the one that started it, but that doesnt make for a good story does it?  i really dont know what is true and whats not, but i do know that after the meeing with the NCAA mind you, Auburn nor the NCAA nor the SEC found any reason to sit Cam Newton for the GA game.  now, i know that the NCAA does not deem eligibility b/c its up to the school, but i know the ncaa would have suggested he sit if there was an issue of eligibility.  This story is not near over, but it makes me sick and angry when other people rush to judgment and drag your school's name through the mud when, so far, Auburn has done nothing wrong.  Haters will hate i guess..... now, about the game.

It was such a relief to finally play some football.  I got a huge hookup for a ticket from a friend of mine.  I sat on the fifty yard line about 3/4 of the way up the lower section.  Might be the perfect seat.  I could see everything so well.  The question, other than if Cam was gonna play, was how would the distractions of the week affect the players.  It seemed at first to play a major factor.  Auburn took the opening kickoff and scored a TD.  Georgia then came out throwing to AJ Green and he delivered.  GA jumped out to a 21-7 lead and Green had 98 yards and 2 touchdowns..... in the first quarter.  Auburn, like they have all season, came back and tied it up right before half.  I do want to make an observation here: Nick Fairley was engaged with an OL blocking him and another OL came over and clipped his legs.  A penalty was called, as it should have been, but this was a foreshadowing of things to come.  Fairley was double-teamed basically the whole game and was punched and kicked and grabbed the whole time.

The opening kickoff of the second half was a successful onside kick by Auburn.  Auburn traded TDs with Ga and it was 28-28.  Auburn did score again making it 35-28.  Auburn held Ga to a field goal on their next possession.  Auburn then drove down and scored another TD to make it 42-31.  Ga got it back and on 3rd and 5 from about Ga's 35ish, the stadium was so freaking loud.  It made my ears ring!  Murray was sacked and that brought up 4th down and 15.  If you thought the last down was loud, this down was the loudest I've ever witnessed the stadium.  Ive heard that AU vs UAt in 89 was the loudest but I couldnt hear the guy next to me yelling at me.  It was like I was on the front row of a concert next to the speakers (Ive been there so I know what that sounds like).  Auburn was able to stop them and get the ball back on a short field and punch it in the endzone to put the game away.  Ga did get the ball back one more time and this is when it turned ugly.

Remeber when I talked about the foreshadowing?  well, fairley was blocked into the QB's knees and he had to leave the game (he was fine later).  Ga thought fairley did it on purpose b/c he was flagged earlier for a late hit on Murray (bad play by fairley, I admit) but this is football right?  anyway, Ga got mad and on the next play, they double-teamed fairley and when they got him on the ground, two OL jumped on him and started punching (refs obviously didnt see that) him.  well, that caused fairley's teammates to retaliate and we all know that the retaliator is who gets caught.  goggins threw a punch (so stupid) and got ejected.  The next play, Mike Blanc got caught up in the fray and supposedly threw a punch also.  I didnt see that one, but it looked like he was throwing his arms up to defend himself, not punching.  regardless, he was ejected too.  that means that both guys (pending an SEC review) will have to sit out the first half of the bama game in two weeks.  although they are backups, they still play a good bit and that will hurt.  we need every one of our players for that game to have a chance to win. people of course are going to call fairly dirty and whatever but its all more in the same.  auburn gets no respect even when they are successful.  it always has to be something.  i truly believe that is why Auburn fans are so pessimistic about things.  We are conditioned that way by the media, other teams fans and even our own team not meeting expectations.  Not this year, dadgummit! Im tired of all the crap and im ready to go all the way.

despite the UGAly finish, Auburn has clinched the SEC West division title (the toughest division in the NCAA by the way) and are headed to Atlanta to face south carolina again for the SEC title.  but first is a big game against the school up the road.  they will be wanting to ruin our season so we will get their best game.  they also havent lost in BDS since Auburn beat them there in 2006 ( i think, ill have to check on that).  this game was a chance for Auburn fans ( and apparently the players too) to relieve a weeks worth of frustration and just enjoy fooball.  being in Auburn saturday, if you didnt know what was going on, you wouldnt have figured it out.  the fans were excited, the stadium was rockin and it was a perfect day (thank you God).  I love football and Auburn and i know this story wont go away, but whatever the future holds, I know that I will still love Auburn.  Yes, they disappoint me but so do my kids and i will never stop loving them.  I trust that the people in charge at Auburn, who know alot more about this situation than i do, are doing what is best for Auburn, not necessarily the football team.  I have to believe that.  If i dont, what kind of fan am I?  No football for 13 days so we are going to go see Addi's puppy (Christmas present) this saturday.  Ill let you know how that goes :)

Thinking about Christmas

In the middle of all this football junk, my family is beginning its annual trek towards the holiday we know and love: Christmas.  i do realize the true meaning of Christmas and I am not taking that lightly as I type this, but we all know that kids love the presents and mine are no different.  As i write this, my kids are sifting through multiple toy magazines shrieking, "I want that, no, no, i want that!"  amazing! Erika and I have discussed how much we are spending on each of them and are hopefully going to stick to that plan.  I really dont know what we are going to get them, but Erika is usually really good about getting them something really cute and neat along with an outfit or two.  This year will be Weston's first Christmas and Colt is old enough now to be excited about it.  However, the one that I'm the most nervous and excited about it is Addi.  She will be 4 in February and she has been talking about Christmas for about 4 months now.  It is really funny how in tune to the whole season she is.  We are really striving to teach her the true meaning and how it's better to give than to get, but I think right now it's being lost on her.  It's all good, tho.  It is so much fun to see their faces on Christmas morning.  I will tell you this, Addi is always talking about what she wants to buy Colt.  It is really sweet.  She truly gets excited watching Colt open presents and is happy for him.  As it gets closer, I will tell you how visiting Santa goes and all of the other crazy happenings around here.
One thing i do want to mention is Addi, Erika and Erika's mom went to see Disney's Princesses on Ice.  Addi thought it was the greatest thing she has ever seen!  She had such a good time and now wants to be one of the princesses on ice when she grows up.  we gotta find an ice rink and get her practicing huh?
Be sure to become a follower so you can comment on this or any other post you want.  Let me know how your family does Christmas and all the craziness that goes on.

Dismantling of the Mocs

this past saturday, the Tigers of Auburn had their homecoming game against the UT Chattanooga Mocs.  this was the 21st meeting of the squads and Auburn led 20-0.  An interesting tidbit about this game: UTC has played the eventual BCS champion the last two years with Florida in 2008 and Alabama in 2009.  Could this be the third year in a row?  Here's hoping!  Back to the game.  the allegations didnt seem to affect the team negatively.  of course, this was UTC, but still.  Auburn came out very business-like and completely dominated the game.  Auburn scored on the second play of the game and then again and again and again.  Auburn led 48-14 at half.  One of the TD's that UTC scored was a kickoff return.  Auburn's special teams did not have a great game.  A missed extra point, a dropped punt, a shanked punt and a return TD.  Not great at all, not even average, down right bad.  hopefully this will get them out of our system for Amen Corner.  Overall, Auburn did what it was supposed to do:  get out to a big lead, rest the starters and get the backups some quality game time.  Now...to UGA.
This week is a HUGE week for AU.  bama lost to LSU (Miles strikes again!) so that opened the door for Auburn to only have to win one of its next two games so win the West and go to the SEC Championship.  georgia is a good team with very talented players, but have played very average this year.  A.J. Green was suspended for the first four games this year and UGA lost 3 of those.  Since he returned, UGA has been better but still has only 5 wins and all of those wins against SEC teams have been ones with losing records.  They lost two weeks ago to UF by 3 in OT.  I think AU will be able to outscore UGA but georgia will score some points.  I believe Auburn's defense will make enough plays to win.  I dont think Cam nor the team will be distracted this week.  They know what is at stake and know they have to focus.  However, it's hard not to think that this is taking its toll on the players.  If this team does win it all, it will be the greatest season ever!  I say this because of the schedule the tigers had to play.  Very very tough.  they will have beaten 7 top 25 teams by the end.  and, of course, the crap that has been spewed about Cam.  with all the distractions, to remain focused and still play great will be an enormous feat!  This team, I believe will be galvanized and stay together and have the us against the world mentality.  This team will be fired up and ready to lay the wood.  It's hard enough to stop Cam but try stopping him when he's mad.  Good luck!  til next time

Accusations, Rumors and Slander

Since this past thursday, Nov 4, there has been allegations that Cam Newton was "shopped" by an agent during his recruitment from Blinn Junior College.  I wont rehash the details because, frankly, I am sick of hearing about it.  The gist is: this guy apparently went to a Miss St. booster and said that it would take some money to get Cam.  The booster, Bond, went to the MSU AD and told him and then reported it to the SEC.  The SEC investigated it, the NCAA knew about it and has been investigating it since this past July.  So far, nothing has been found.  The NCAA has deemed Auburn is not under investigation.  I repeat that for all you fans out there that wish/hope that Auburn is in trouble, Auburn IS NOT under investigation.  Also, Cam is still eligible to play.  Auburn's compliance officer, who according to all sources, is one of the toughest in the business, has deemed Auburn and Cam without fault.  I honestly do not think that many many people would risk their careers playing someone who was an unknown at the start of the season.  granted, he has been unreal this year, but he was an unknown at the beginning.  also, to all the haters out there who were quick to write articles (Bianchi, Thayer Evans, ESPN) slamming Cam, you are worthless pieces of bottom dwelling scab pus.  You have no scruples and further more, you are just looking to write something that will get people talking about you and your article.  Sensationalism at its worst.  Well, good job. I fell for it.  However, this will be the last time I mention you or your articles again.  I really feel for the kid and hopefully nothing will come out of this that was unknown. i dont think it will.  i think this guy was rouge and this Bond guy has changed his story a couple times already.  lots of holes and questions.  The question, now, is how will this affect the team?  Next blog will address this past sat football games. 

Another week, another victory

This past week, the Auburn Tigers played the Ole Miss Rebel Black Bears (or something like that).  All week, all i heard was that this was a trap game, the last three #1 teams had fallen,  Auburn was tired, Houston Nutt was prone to pull upsets, Auburn was a one man team so stop Newton and you stop Auburn, etc.  All Auburn did was dominate pretty much the last three quarters.  Ole Miss scored on the 2nd play of the game on a speed sweep where our safety took a horrible angle and got taken out of the play.  Auburn came back and marched it right down the field and scored a TD.  Newton did not have his usual rushing day but still threw for over 200 yards and caught a TD.  yes, you read correctly, he caught a TD!  With Cam at QB, i will not doubt this team can beat anyone, including the might mighty tide in bryant denney.  He makes plays that elevate his teammates and make them better.  The stink so far this week has been Auburn gave up 400 yards and 31 points to Ole Miss.  Ole Miss got over 500 yards against Arkansas and the last TD they scored was against our 2nd and 3rd string.  Another TD was scored after a third down pass sailed 10 yards past the receiver and we got called for a pass interference.  Unbelievable!  Phantom calls kill us! we really do play pretty good defense and we did intercept a pass at the two yard line.  if we beat bama, it wont matter so i wont talk about the talking heads anymore.  Except for this one more thing:  Jesse Palmer, mister bachelor himself, said that Auburn was not deserving of a high ranking because we didnt have any style points, aka, beating teams badly.  he also said that boise st schedule should not be held against them.  so auburn needs style points playing in the SEC but boise st doesnt?  what a load of crap!  i know that ESPN has to create controversy to make good TV, but lying is not very becoming even for the worldwide sports leader.  Like i said, im done with it.  all the bullcrap talk about bama still going to the nc game even though they play auburn just motivates and will make it that much more satisfying.  ok, off my soapbox.  it will be a fun rest of the year and i cant wait.  next post, ill try and post some pics of the kids dressed up for Halloween.

An expository discussion on Romans by James Boice

I said in my last post that I wanted to share what i have been reading the last few weeks.  the book is about, like the title states,  Romans.  It has been really really great.  so far, i have gotten just a few verses into it, but it has been chock full of greatness.  I have been reading about the Holy Spirit and how it works in your life.  one example is of how we are like prisoners and God is King (obviously).  We are shackled and chained in a prison and the king comes down and says that we are set free if we only will bow down and ask forgiveness.  In one case, the king waits on the prisoner to come forward but doesnt unshackle him.  this is us without the Holy Spirit.  We cannot come forward because we are still chained down by sin and have not the Grace of the HS.  In the second case, the king releases the prisoner (the HS working in our lives) thus allowing him to come forward.  This was an awesome analogy to me and really spoke to me how much God loves us.  He sent His Son to take our place and take upon Himself God's wrath.  We dont deserve grace but God provides it for us.  He does this despite the fact we turn our back on Him everyday.  If you dont know God, just know this: He loves you! no matter where you have been, no matter what you have done, He loves you! He wants you to believe in Him and trust Him with your life.  He promises you He will not leave you or forsake you.  You will know a peace that surpasses all understanding. 

what a week!

This past week has been a whirlwind of excitement as far as the football season has been concerned.  The #4 Auburn Tigers hosted the #6 LSU Tigers in probably the biggest game at JHS since the 89 Iron Bowl.  Auburn won the game 24-17 but the score was not indicative of how dominating Auburn was in this game.  Auburn had many chances to put the game away early, but penalties and a fumble (by none other than mister fumble himself - Fannin) allowed LSU to stay in this game.  Some high and lowlights from the game:  Auburn is up 10-3 late in the 2nd quarter with LSU driving down deep into Auburn territory.  With about 20 seconds left and no timeouts for LSU, Les Miles calls for a rollout from his QB to the right.  Daren Bates has a clear shot at Russell and if he tackles him, LSU has no chance to run another play.  Of course, even with the horrible call, Bates misses the tackle and Russell runs into the endzone untouched.  At that point I was thinking, "Here we go with the luck of Miles."  In the third, Auburn has the ball at the LSU 49 and Cam runs a QB draw.  He goes up the middle and then cuts right.  He gets tripped up after about a 5 yard gain but stays on his feet.  He then makes two people miss and at about the 15, All-American Patrick Peterson has the angle on Newton.  Cam excellarates (sp?) and outruns him to the 5 where Peterson jumps on his back and rides him into the endzone.  It was a freaking awesome Heisman moment!  After that LSU punts and Auburn gets it back and is gashing the LSU defense.  That is until Fannin does his thing around midfield and we completely lose momentum.  Lsu scores in the 4th on a trick halfback pass to tie it.  Auburn gets the ball back and the offense runs the read speed sweep.  The whole defense broke on Cam but he handed it to Onterio McCalebb.  He then proceeds to run past everybody including Peterson for 70 yards and a TD.  This puts Auburn up for good and solidifies them as the top SEC team and one of the top teams in the country. Auburn ends up being #3 in the AP, coach's and harris polls.  they are #1 in the BCS, though.  Thats right, I said #1 IN THE BCS!!!! first time Auburn has been first in any poll since 1985.  very exciting but knowing there are 4 tough games left, plus a possible SEC championship.  Auburn plays on the road this weekend at Ole Miss.  Ole Miss would love nothing more than to ruin this season but I believe Auburn will be ready to play.  No doubt, Auburn could easily lose this weekend but I think they will take care of business.  It will be fun, tho.
This past Sunday we went to the Harpersville pumpkin patch.  It was so much fun.  They had vendors, a huge haystack to climb on, a huge bin of cotton to play in, a western shootout, a civil war reenactment, hayrides, pony rides, and a huge patch with innumerous amounts of pumpkins still on the vine.  Everyone had a great time.  It was well worth the time it took to get out there.  Halloween is this weekend and I am so ready for it to be over.  I am not a big fan of spending a ton of money on a costume that will be worn for about an hour.  But, the kids enjoy it so I can tolerate it. Im out of time right now, but in my next post, I am going to write about the Romans book I am reading by Boice.  Very good and insightful stuff!

Ready for cooler weather

It has been really hot lately.  not like it was this summer but upper 80's at the end of October?  puhlease! im so ready for it to feel like football season.  it doesnt have to drop into the 30's but a nice upper 60's to 70's would be good.  i think ive got one more grass cut in me and i also have to trim the shrubs one more time before winter so that is a relief. 
everything went really well at Weston's doctor visit this past week.  He is 90th percentile in height and 75th in weight.  so, yeah, he is bigger than my other two were at that age.  he did get some shots, 4 of them! he was sore and a little fussy but not like i thought, so the nights were not as bad as they could have been.  he is still sleeping good and only waking up really one time a night. the second time is around 445 to 5 but i am usually up for work by then so it isnt a big deal to me.  to my wife? yeah, probably.  but she is a warrior and a saint so she deals.
There was a big game this weekend in Jordan-Hare Stadium featuring the Razorbacks of Ar-kansas and the Tigers of Auburn.  I dont know if you heard, but there was over 1000 yards of offense and 108 points scored.  SEC defense?  not hardly.  this was more of a basketball game.  i thought cam newton was going to start shooting some three pointers in the fourth.  The game's final score was Auburn 65 Arkansas 43.  yes, i said 65!!  it was the most points we have ever scored on an SEC opponent (prev record 63 vs Fla in 1970 I believe).  We were so dominant on offense that we only had to punt twice the whole game.  we scored on every possession but two.  and the first one there was a phantom holding call that negated a huge third down conversion.  The whole talk (other than Cam being superman) was the terrible calls by the refs.  yes, there were very bad calls against both teams.  alot of talk has been Auburn got home cooking and maybe so, but like i said before, there were some for both teams.  arky had a third down inside auburn's 10 yard line and mallett floated a pass into the endzone.  the DB (i cant rememeber who, maybe demond washington) had great coverage and the pass went over the receiver's head.  low and behold there comes the flag for pass interference.  so, instead of a field goal attempt, arky got first down inside the 5.  totally killed the mo and it was a four possibly and 7 point difference.  yes, the goal-line fumble and the fumble returned for a TD were suspect but not as obvious as the previous two i mentioned.  all in all this was a great offense, terrible defense game.  also, the first BCS standings came out this past sunday.  Auburn debuted at #4.  this means almost nothing right now.  auburn still has to win most of the games left (a loss to LSU wouldnt be a complete failure, explanation later), but we need to win out to have a chance at a NC.  Our defense has to has to HAS TO step and play much better to give us a chance to make a run.  now, our starting safety and one of our starting DB's is out.  awesome! that just means one of our freshmen will have to play great.  alright, this is why you came to auburn!
The reason i say a loss to LSU wouldnt be a complete failure is this: 1) they are a top 6 team and losing to them isnt as bad as say Kentucky or 3) Auburn would have to win the rest including Alabama to get the tie breaker and Lsu would have to lose at least two.  difficult but could happen.  just win this weekend and we wont have to worry about that this week anyway.  It is a huge game with huge implications but I believe this team wont get caught up in the drama.  they have proven all season that they can handle the pressure and remain humble and just show up and play.  this is a special team that have gotten the breaks that teams need to get to win close ballgames.  Just think of all the breaks bama got last year: TWO blocked field goals against UT, LSU's four best players getting injured during the game, Texas best player (QB) getting hurt on the first drive.  Teams need these breaks to win those ballgames.  It looks like auburn is getting its share this year. hopefully we can ride this thing all the way.  if not, its ok. they are fun to watch and i will be proud of them and will enjoy this season.  til next time, War Eagle!

New week, new fun

This past weekend my wife and I had a yard sale.  Let me tell you how much I hate a yard sale, especially when I have to work one.  We made a little bit of cash but not near enough to make it worth my getting up early, putting up signs all over Gardendale, dragging the stuff out of the garage and into the driveway at 730 am just so someone can show up 30 min early and ask why is the yard sale not happening?  yeah, im bitter, but you know what?  I dont care.  I would basically give the crap away if i thought that somebody would take it for me.  I really dont want it and you really dont either so why bother?  anywho, i was hoping to make a little more cash than we did, but o well, heres to next time right? 
my daughter told me the other day that her job was to spend money.  I wonder where she heard that?  maybe mom?  also, my middle child, Colt, said boobies for the first time today.  yeah, i was so impressed.  he is definitely my boy!  and Weston is about to roll over.  he turns 8 weeks tomorrow and has his check up at the doctor.  he will probably get some shots so fussiness will be in order tomorrow night.  whoopie!  the kids are good; growing and fighting.  i really couldnt ask for anything more.
i have started to read a book that a friend from work lent me by James Boice.  It is basically an expository read on the book of Romans.  I have only read the preface and the first chapter but so far, it is excellent.  really challenging my walk with Christ and how i live my life.  i recommend it to anyone.
This past weekend the Auburn Tigers squeaked past a pesky Wildcat team from Lexington, KY.  Auburn dominated the first half in unorthodox fashion.  usually Auburn falls behind only to play lights out in the second half.  this weekend was the reverse.  Auburn ran on Kentucky and ran and passed and then ran some more.  Cam Newton showed why he was the #1 JUCO prospect by accounting for all 4 of Auburn's touchdowns in the first half and also rushing for over 100 yards.  then, in the second half, Auburn shut it down.  It looked like Tubbs of old.  and just like any overmatched but scrappy team (esp from the SEC) if you let them think they have a chance, they will come back.  and so they did.  the game was tied 34-34 with 722 to go in the game.  KY had just kicked a field goal and kicked off to Auburn.  Auburn tried to run a reverse on the kickoff with a KY defender inbetween them.  stupid, stupid, stupid.  the ball was fumbled and luckily we recovered at the 7.  needing to go 93 yards to score a TD or about 63 for field goal range was a tall order.  Cam Newton showed that he was the go to guy and basically took over and ran the ball just about every play.  there was an ENORMOUS third down pass play to Darvin Adams that kept the drive alive (on the third play of the drive i might add).  Wes Byrum kicked his 52 field goal to place him numero uno on Auburn's all time made list.  congrats! Auburn gave up 34 points and looked bad doing it.  This break but dont shatter defense has got to go.  we allow teams to catch the ball 4 yards out and then try to tackle them.  the problem is, we dont tackle well and they end up getting 7-12 yards.  i understand dont give up the big play but not every circumstance requires this method.  this week we play arkansas and they will absolutely eat us for lunch if we dont make some adjustments.  we only got 1 quarterback hurry and no sacks this last game.  we have to pressure mallett or he will pick us apart and do it easily.  one thing of note, KY did alot of 3 step drop passes.  this makes it hard to pressure the qb.  even with this, we still played 10 yards off the receivers.  drives me crazy!  mallett likes to drop back big and throw big deep balls, so hopefully we will have time to get to him.  we have to get a few turnovers and some good special teams play.  no giving up big kickoff returns or fumbling punts.  Im not so sure they can stop our offense.  it should be a high scoring affair and fun to watch (if youre not a fan of auburn or arky), otherwise it could be nerve racking.  o and 1 more thing.  there was this upset this past weekend im not sure if you heard about it or not.  something about the #1 team finally losing?  yeah, bama lost but dont worry, they are still good and will still probably win the rest (except auburn of course).  it was just nice to see them finally lose a game for the first time in 3 years and to not have to hear anyone say that mcelroy (howdy doody) hasnt lost a game since middle school ever again.
until next time, have a great week

getting down to the nitty gritty

being a dad has its good and bad days.  mostly good and the bad are still worth it, but the last week or so, my kids have really pushed me to the edge.  the two oldest who are 31/2 and 19 months like to fight now.  and they dont hold anything back.  my oldest, Addi, bit Colt on the face the other day leaving perfect teeth marks on his cheek.  he also likes to close fist hit.  he hit me in the nose last week and brought tears to my eyes.  thats pretty hardcore.  this past weekend I took the whole fam down to the Lovliest Village for the football game vs. La Monroe.  It was a good atmosphere but without the huge crowd.  it was a beautiful day with temps in the low 80's and I took Addi into the game.  She had a blast!  however, the one thing i wanted her to see was the eagle flying over the stadium at the beginning of the game.  of course, right beforehand, she had to go to the bathroom.  i thought maybe i can make it there and back in time but of course not.  the line to get into the seats from the tunnel was outrageously long.  seriously people, get to the game more than 10 min before kickoff.  but whatever, she still had a great time.  we left about midway thru the 2nd quarter which is about 1 quarter longer than i thought she would.  all in all in was a great time had by all and we will try it again homecoming weekend, Nov. 6.
now, about the game.  auburn dominated like they were supposed to and the backup guys got plenty of work in game-type situations and the starters got to rest for the greuling October schedule.  we play kentucky away this weekend followed by arkansas at home, lsu at home and ole mis away.  my gut tells me that we will be 3-1 or 2-2 after these four games but my heart says we will be 4-0.  if we come away 4-0 this month and 9-0 overall, we will more than likely (barring a complete meltdown against the bulldogs of georgia) be undefeated going into the bama game.  that will be unprecidented and will go a long way in not only deciding the West but also the National Champion picture.  Winning all those games will be a tall order and this team is not as good as the 04 team, but this team shows tons of potential and heart and play really really well together.  also, having cam newton as your quarterback doesnt hurt.  til next time.

It's finally fall!

the temp outside has finally made the turn to fall. it has gone from being 99 degrees to 79 in about a week. so awesome! my family is doing good. the kids are doing well and the newest is a little over 6 weeks old. he is holding his head up and smiling now. otherwise, it's the typical pooping, crying and eating.

the auburn tigers are 4-0 going into a nonconference game this weekend against the Warhawks of ULM. This shouldnt be a big test for the team other than getting the team to mentally show up for this one. It may be harder than most people think. auburn has just finished a really tough stretch of games and are about to start a really tough stretch. we just finished playing clemson and south carolina in two really tough and close games. auburn fell down 17-0 in the first half against clemson and came storming back in the second half to take the game in overtime 27-24. auburn scored 24 straight points to take the lead but clemson scored a touchdown to tie it up. auburn was only able to muster a field goal in the first overtime and had clemson at 4th and 5 on their posession. the center false snapped the ball and clemson had to kick 5 yards further back. they had a freshman kicker and he missed it! auburn escaped with the win! the next week, USC (east) came to town and auburn once again fell behind in this game. it was 20-7 with about 4 min left in the first half and auburn drove down and scored a touchdown to make it 20-14 at half. auburn had two fumbles on their side of the field and it led to 13 usc points. but once again, we came out at halftime and blitzed them. auburn owned the line of scrimmage in the second half and most of the first half as well. usc came into the game leading the SEC in rushing defense by only giving up 59.7 yards a game. auburn rushed for 334! cam newton led the way with 176 yards rusing and 3 tds and 16-21 passing for 158 yards and 2 tds! there has also been heisman talk for newton but its a long season. i say, if we are still undefeated or have 1 loss and he has a great game against lsu and bama (good defenses) then go ahead and talk about it, but until then, lets focus on winning games. auburn has looked pretty good but really bad at times too. our coverage defense it not good at all and that worries me against a team like arkansas. we also dont cover screens and draws well either. we have to have to have to be able to cover those or teams that arent very good on offense like lsu will kill us. and.....speaking of other teams, the other team in the state played arkansas this past weekend. they got spanked all game until the 4th quarter and then ryan mallett choked his guts up. he threw two interceptions on two drives that could have put the game away and the last one he tried to throw out of bounds but didnt quite make it. what a loser. they play florida this weekend so maybe the gators will be mad about getting embarrassed last year and put it to em. o well, here's hoping. till next time i have a minute

Much has happened!

Since I last touched base, there are many, many things that have happened. First and most importantly, we had our third baby. Weston Thomas came on 8/18. It was a bit of a surprise, well, at least in terms of what time he came. Erika actually went into labor early that morning and thought it was just her coming down with something. It was labor pains! He weighed 8'12" and was 20.5" long. He is healthy and the older kids like him so everything is kosher. Life is good and I'm enjoying every minute.

Now, on to football. The 2010 football season has started and as of last night, my beloved Auburn Tigers are 2-0 and 1-0 in the SEC. The first game was against Arkansas St. and the good guys won 52-26. I know, 26 is alot of points to give up to a cupcake but they have a new coordinator and a pretty good receiver. I knew our defense would be really suspect this year, so I'm not too shocked by giving up alot of yards and points. The O however, looked really good. Cam Newton is a beast and will cause D coordinators to have sleepless nights trying to scheme against him. This set it up for this past Thursday's showdown with Mississippi St. The good guys prevailed again 17-14 but I feel a lot less encouraged after this game than I did last game. We played so so SO much better on defense (to the tune of saving the game for us) but our offense was not very good. And when I say not very good, I mean downright pull-your-hair-out frustrating. We did good in the first half except for another mismanagement of time right before half. What is the deal with Malzahn and his offense in these situations? Run a freakin play and go go go! Then in the second half, the O turned into the "o". We crossed over the State 40 yard line 4 times. "4" TIMES!!!! and didn't score!!!! That is so reminiscent of last year and, God forbid, the year before that that I can't stand it. We had two penalties that absolutely killed us on these drives but that is no excuse for not capitalizing when we had the chance. We really should have won by a score of 31-7 if not for muffing that punt and not scoring inside the 20 twice! Then everyone would be talking about how we dominated instead of eeking out a win. O well, that is how it goes. Just a caveat to this, Miss St. has had this game circled on their calendar all summer. This was to be their turning point game and statement game for the year. We were very fortunate to win but we dominated statistically. We outgained them by 102 yards and they scored one of their touchdowns by starting on Auburn's 20 (after the muffed punt). Sure they had some drops but they also benefited from a terrible pass interference call on Neiko Thorpe when it was 3rd and 15 that kept a drive alive and then on a no-call against Kodi Burns. Kodi got hit from behind before the ball got there and it was soooooo obvious. But did we get a flag? Heck no! Again, o well. Regardless of what the bammers say, Miss St. was extremely fired up for this game and played really really inspired. Also, many many "smart" people had predicted AU taking their first loss last night. Does the offense need some work being consistent and pass more? yes. Does the defense need to play like that all year and not have lapses in the secondary in critical situations? yes. But I know that at the end of the day AU is undefeated and we won a road game in the SEC and got our players major experience in playing on the road with a hostile (if not illegal cow bell ringing) environment. Till next time, WAR EAGLE!!

Ok, back to it

Wow, it's been a whole month since I posted anything, but since noone but me is reading this, it probably doesn't matter much :). O well, I finished Insanity two weeks ago and I am really, really glad it's over. I probably will never do that again. Did I get in really good cardiovascular shape? Yes, for the most part. Did it help me shape my body? Again, yes. But to be working out as hard as I was and not get the exact results I'm looking for bothered me quite a bit. I didn't lose any weight, and I know, I know it's not all about the scales, but I would have like to have seen some weight loss. I do think that I lost some inches but I never measured so I'm not sure about that. Anyway, on to bigger and better things. I have started a program called Turbulence Training. It is a circuit workout focused mainly on bodyweight exercises but some dumbbell work is involved. I am also eating more trying to build muscle. I will also try to keep up with my cardio and try not lose everything that I almost died for the past two months.

Erika is now 26 weeks preggers and we have not anything to get ready for the baby. We really need to get a move on things. Lots to do: paint, buy new furniture, buy new bedding, etc. Oh well, the life of a working dad. Til next time!

Insanity kicks it up a notch or 12

This past week, I started the final 4 weeks of the workout program Insanity. It was nice to have a break from the craziness and all out tiredness of working my butt off. I have never, and I mean never had a workout as cardiovascularly challenging as this week has been. Even in all my years playing sports in highschool and even during P90X. All those pale in comparison to the workouts I did this past week. Instead of the regular 40 minute total workout time and 30 seconds for each exercise, we did 60 minutes total time and 45 seconds for each one. I literally thought my legs were going to explode and my lungs collapse on themselves. I was so sore and tired afterward that I wasn't sure if I could make it through the next workout. Somehow, I pulled it through and made it through week 1. I am now in the middle of week 2 and it is not any easier.

I still have not lost any weight on the scale and I'm a little concerned about this. So, this week I'm trying something different with my diet. I'm either not eating enough calories so my body is in shutdown mode and not releasing fat or I'm eating too many calories. This week I started eating very low carb (like 20-30 a day, not counting recovery drink). I'm gonna try it for a week and see what difference it makes if any. If it does, then I'll modify my diet to match this. If not, then I need to eat more and can definitely do that! If I make it through this week unscathed, I will let you know how things turn out.

On a completely unrelated but more important event, my daughter Addi won a beauty pageant a few weeks ago. This was the first time she has ever even entered a pageant and she won her age group! She was so proud, as was I! This past weekend, she entered the Miss Magnolia pageant in Gardendale and got 1st runner up in her age group. She was so beautiful! As long as she has a good time, I don't mind her entering them, but as soon as she doesn't want to, we are done!

Recovery and Rest Week

This week has been a much needed break from the insanity of working out balls-to-the-wall. This whole week I have been doing core cardio and balance. We mainly work on core exercises and really focusing on balance and strenghthening the midsection and legs. It is still hard and I still sweat but it is no where near the intensity of a regular workout. Even Shaun T (the leader of the workout) said that he didn't want us to be wiped-out at the end. Otherwise, I have been working 12 hour shifts this week and this has made it difficult to get in every workout. I have done pretty good so far only skipping wednesday's. This next week, however, will be much more taxing. I am working tues, wed, thur 12 hours so finding a time to fit workouts in will be hard. Realistically, it will be better to wake up early and do them before work but that really, really sucks. Getting up at 430 to workout out like insanity wants you to is almost an impossible task for me, especially now that my kids have decided to take a hiatus from sleeping all night. I have also not eaten as great this week probably because it's a recovery week (the whole mindset thing is surprisingly important :) This next week I will begin my last 4 weeks and a whole new workout sequence so I will keep you updated. Should be fun!

A really long week

This has been a very long week. I worked till six on Monday and till 9 on Tuesday and had to fit in a workout somewhere in between. I was able to do a workout Monday night and then I got up Tuesday morning at 5 am and did another one. That was not really a good idea. I was already tired; A) from the kids waking up in the middle of the night, B) from working late the day before and C) from working out hard the previous night. It took me a good 10 minutes, basically the warmup, before I got to where I could go all out. I have been tired, as usual, this week, but have gotten in good workouts. I am continuing to progress and get in shape and I'm able to go longer in the workouts. I really would like to see more weight come off (as in fat) and worry about building muscle later, but we'll see how that progresses. Eating has been a bit off this week. I have either eaten bad or not eaten enough. For example, one day I ate a bowl of cereal, an apple, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a cliff bar by 3 pm. That might be 700 calories (if I'm pushing it). And another day I ate at Stix, which is delicious but has mega mega calories. Oh well, sometimes you have an off week. This next week is a recovery week so I'll be doing cardio core and balance all week. I am going to take some measurements of my waist, chest, etc so I can have something else to compare other than weight loss (or gain). My goals are to eat much better and really try to get some rest, if I can (don't have much control over that one).

Tired

Well, it's been a long week for exercising. I really, really struggled this week and am in desperate need for a recovery week. Tuesday and Wednesday we did pure cardio and cardio resistance. Thursday, I did cardio recovery and it took every bit of effort on my part to finish just that one workout. Oh yeah, I did cardio abs on tuesday in addition to pure cardio. It was maybe the hardest workout I've ever done. I was so fatigued afterward that I could barely make it to the shower. Like I said, desperately need a week off. Unfortunately, I have one more hard week until my "off" week. The good news is that I have lost inches and can start seeing more and more muscles that I forgot that I had. But, and there is a big but, my muscles are tired. My shoulder is hurting (from lord knows what) and my legs get tired really easily. I have still, overall, gained two pounds (which is frustrating) so I am hoping that it is muscle weight. Eating well hasn't been as hard. I'm still eating good, but I think I may have to increase my caloric intake. My body may be in starvation mode where it starts to store because it thinks I am starving it. This can happen if you exercise really hard and don't consume enough calories. For this week, I may try and increase my calories and see what happens. Of course, it's really hard to this with "good" calories...and very expensive. I'm taking Saturday and Sunday off to recoup and then it's back to it.

Getting back to it

This past weekend was a blur so I will try and recap. Thursday, I did cardio recovery, so lots of stretching and holding stretches (think yoga) for long periods of time. Friday, I did cardio resistance. I think that is my favorite (can you have a favorite torture?) one so far. I like it because it works some muscle as well as cardio. Saturday I had all good intentions on working out but I just wasn't feeling it AT ALL! I was still really sleepy when I woke up despite having a good night and I had to do lots of errands, i.e. yard work, for Colt's party on Sunday. By the time I finished that and the kids were taking a nap, I too wanted to take one....so I did. I decided that I would probably do more harm than good if I tried to half-ass a workout so I took the day off. Sunday was Colt's party and we had a blast. So much fun with all the kids and family. This was my cheat day and boy did I! I had rotel dip and chips and cake and diet Dr. Pepper and fried chicken. Man! it was delicious! But.......I paid for it today. We got back in our routine today and did cardio plyo and it kicked me in the butt like it was day one all over again. It seemed like I couldn't go hard for longer than about 20 seconds. So frustrating! I think I got a pretty good workout in but man, I struggled. I ate better today: cereal, fruit, yogurt, salad with chicken and fat-free dressing, nuts, raisins, and smoothie. I did have a lean pocket for dinner but it is low cal so it's ok :). Til next time, keep striving!

Starting to see some results

Two days ago, Tuesday, we did the pure cardio DVD. It was still awful and one of the most painful/tiring/mentally exhausting exercises ever. Like I have posted before, it is a 10 minute warmup, 10 min stretch and then 20 straight mins of cardio with no breaks. By the end of it I was so tired I could barely move. Yesterday, Wed, we did cardio plyometrics. This workout is also extremely tough working alot on core and hip flexors. I really tried to do more starting this week and pushing myself alot harder and I am starting to see some results. My weight has not changed (in fact, I have gained two pounds) but my clothes are fitting better and I can actually see some core muscles starting to come out. Nothing really big, but definitely some changes. This really motivates me to continue on this course even though at times it feels like torture. I have been eating really good these last few days only eating two pieces of pizza as a cheat. My son's birthday is this week and we are having his party for him on Sunday so I may have to eat some cake :) . Otherwise, I am eating cereal/eggs for breakfast, salad with chicken and veggies, usually chicken/beef and rice or veggies for dinner and almonds, cottage cheese, fruit, smoothies, and a cliff bar for snacks.

Sorry for the lapse

I didn't get a chance to blog any this past weekend so I'm gonna catch up now. Friday, I did pure cardio. It was pure hell! I warmed up for about 10 minutes and stretched for about 6-7 min. Then, I did 20 straight minutes of cardio with no breaks. This was by far the toughest workout to date. It was really hard to continue at a breakneak pace for the entire 20 minutes but I did pretty good. Saturday, I took the day off a) because I worked Friday night from 10p-7a and slept Sat morn and b) we had pictures for the kids Sat afternoon and I was exhausted. The pictures were taken by Amy Pate who owns her own studio (Amypphotography.com) and they were AWESOME!! Addi, my daughter, has the attention span of a hummingbird and she got her to pose and smile and hold still so kudos to Amy! Sunday, we went to church and when the kids took a nap that afternoon, I did plyo cardio. Pretty tough not only because it's a hard workout but also because my sinuses were clogged beyond belief. I couldn't breathe out of my nose to save my life. Yesterday, Monday, my buddy was back with me and we did cardio resistance. I felt much better and more in shape doing this workout so hopefully I have turned the corner and can start going harder alot longer. There is alot of core work involved in the resistance dvd and that is one of my weak points. I would like to be able to hold a plank and do ski jumps for 2 minutes, but it's not happening right now.

This weekend, I ate pretty good except for Saturday. For lunch, I had Arby's and I ate at my grandmother's that night. We always have alot of great food there and pretty good desserts so I used that as my cheat meal (not counting Arby's of course). Otherwise, I ate good trying to include lots of fruits and veggies. One thing that has been really easy and a good snack is a smoothie. I use a cup of milk or OJ, about a cup of frozen whole strawberries, 1/4-1/2 cup of frozen blueberries, one banana, 2 scoops of chocholate protein mix and sometimes a spoonful of peanutbutter. Mix this together in a blender and you've got a healthy snack that will keep in the freezer if you have leftover (which with this recipe, you probably will). Anyway, I'll be back at it this evening doing pure hell, I mean pure cardio again so stay tuned.

Unscheduled day off

Due to circumstances beyond my control, i.e. childcare issues, I could not do Insanity today. It was Pure Cardio day but it's probably better that I didn't do it because neither one of my kids slept at all last night. I really haven't felt all that great so a day off was in store. Will resume tomorrow.

day 2

Today I did cardio power and resistance. It was alot of the same type of exercises as in the previous dvd except more squat jumps and alot of power squats. We also did some V-presses which are a pushup in the downward-dog position. This works the deltoid and triceps. Also, we did tricep dips and some more up-downs. I was really sore before I started and after the warmup and stretching I did feel better. However, this morning, I could barely bend down and pick up something off the floor. Hopefully, this will pass soon and I won't be as sore as I continue with this program. Yesterday, I ate eggs and cereal for breakfast, spaghetti and a salad for lunch and an apple, cliff bar, smoothie, and peanuts for snacks. I did drink about 10, 8 oz. glasses of water and I'm going to try and drink more than that today. The workouts are tough, but being able to do them with a friend is definitely a help. I can't wait until I start seeing results because I think that it will motivate me even more.

Day 1 of Insanity finished with a vengeance

I was all jacked up about starting Insanity until I actually started. We started with a warmup of about 10 minutes worth of jogging in place, high knees, jumping jacks, and heisman poses (followed by double heisman). This warmup wore me out! I figured this would happen because I havent done this type of workout in over two years, but what a discouraging beginning. I mean, if you can't make it through warmups without getting short of breath what's the rest going to be like? Well, I found out. The next ten minutes we stretched and stretched and then we stretched some more. These were not your typical "gym" stretches, no sir. We did some yoga and kenpo stretches (from P90X). After this, we started into the meat of the exercising. We did some suicide runs (two steps in one direction, touch the floor, then back) mountain climbers, jump squats and then up downs. Up downs are when you touch the floor with both hands, kick your feet back to a plank or pushup position, do four pushups and then move your feet forward and back (alternating them for 8 reps). Bring your legs back up, stand up and start over. At one point, he switched it up and had us move our feet simultaneously to one side and then the other all the while maintaining the plank form.

You talk about kicking your butt! I had to rest more than once during this part, mostly because my legs and not in good enough shape to do this yet. After a brief water break (30 seconds) we did some basketball squats, and more up downs. We got 30 second water breaks after every sets of exercise and I could always stop if I had to (which was the case alot of times). The whole workout lasted 40 minutes and I have to say that I did better than I thought but hopefully no where near what I'll be able to do toward the end. I did go all out and could barely move afterward. My legs are nice and sore, but I do feel good. Yesterday, I ate cereal for breakfast, an apple and cliff bar for snack, grilled chicken salad and yogurt for lunch, two muffins and a peanut butter foldover for snack, spaghetti for dinner and a fruit smoothie with protein mix for snack. I haven't calculated how many calories that is yet, but according to the formula (to determine BMR and how much caloric intake you need to maintain and lose weight) I can have 3600 calories and lose weight, so happy eating. More of the same today so stay tuned.

Countdown to insanity

I have decided to start this blog as a way to not only put some crap on web paper that I want to say but also to keep myself accountable for the program I am about to begin. I have purchased the Insanity exercise DVD's and plan on starting tomorrow, Monday, March 1. This program uses just body weight exercises and mindnumbing intensity to help people lose weight and get in shape. The point of the exercises are longer periods of intense exercise followed by short periods of rest. Each DVD lasts about 30-45 minutes and states one can lose up to 1000 calories. Having planned on doing this for the last couple months, I have had plenty of time to research and view different posts about this exercise program. I have also previously completed the P90X program, but it has been two years since. I can honestly say that I am a bit apprehensive about beginning because the program lives up to its name. I got winded just viewing some of the DVD's! I am doing this with a friend of mine so maybe together we can encourage each other or perhaps perform life saving resuscitation, whichever comes first. I will include pictures and updates on how each day is going and what I am eating as well as a run down of what exercises were done. My weight goals are losing 20-25 pounds, 2-3 inches off my waist and of course to get in shape. The program says you have to be insane to do this. Well, maybe I am (just ask my wife) but I also know that if I go all out, I will see results and that is the point.