69 days...

... 'til kickoff!!

more football

Anybody watch the USC v LSU game Saturday? It's even crazier to watch again... and again... and again...

it's good to be a gamecock!

Yeah, yeah... mind... gutter... whatever. This is funny.

Go Cocks!

I'm a little late, but we celebrated the 2008 college football season with our own quiet little party! My brother-in-law gave me this chip dish for Christmas last year, and this has been the first time I've been able to use it. Isn't it beautiful?!? The Cocks rewarded our excitement with a win over NC State: 34 - 0! We play at Vandy this Thursday night... once again, on ESPN. Go Cocks!

Some friends, family and I are playing the ESPN College Pickem game. After the first week, my dad and I are tied for 1st! I got lucky, but I generally don't care - it's fun to play, and it's fun to talk about with those who are playing. I'm sure I'll post how well (or poorly) I do each week, so you'll share in my excitement. If you want to play, let me know!

Old or new?

So, I've been away because I didn't really feel like dealing with the "Old Blogger or New Blogger" question. Yeah, that's lame, but it is what it is. So, here is some catch-up stuff:

Go Cocks!! We won the Liberty Bowl in Memphis... got to visit with a good high school buddy while there... good friends, a good game, and a good time on Beale Street - what more could you ask for?!?

TOUCHDOWN!!

VICTORY!!

I participated in my first ever College Football Bowl Pick-em... my dad and I picked our teams, and we did fairly well! I may have to teach him to do his own next time, though I really liked being on his side. Competition would be fun, but... we'll see. I've now gotten into personalizing my sports news on ESPN's website - how fun is it to have all that information at your fingertips? NASCAR headlines, College Football rankings, SEC standings, NFL, NBA... whatever you want, and all personalized with your team colors! Now, I don't really care a lot about the NFL or the NBA, but my dad's teams are my teams, and I'd like to know how they're doing when I talk to him. He keeps up with my Gamecocks, so the least I can do is help cheer his teams on to national championships. Speaking of... =)

My dad is probably awful to live with these days. The St Louis Cardinals AND the Indianapolis Colts both won their respective championships this season... he's in hog heaven! Too bad the Celtics aren't doing so well... but it's probably a good thing. I don't know if any of us could stand him... =) I need to get him a Colts Chamionship shirt or something. It's been about 30 years since they were in the Superbowl, and my poor dad has stuck with them through thick and thin. And there was a LOT of thin... so he better enjoy it while it lasts!

Woohoo!! Go Cocks!!

In case anyone at Klempson was wondering, THIS is how you kick a field goal:

photo credits: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/photos?gameId=263290228

Ike Crofoot holds the ball for the winning field goal kick by Ryan Succop

For the first time in several years, and the first time probably in nearly 10 years, USC beat Klempson AT Klempson yesterday!! And thank goodness Klempson kicker Jad Dean missed a 39-yeard field goal (after, might I add, the QB was sacked for a loss of about 10), or I would have had to learn a quick lesson in OT. And I'm not sure I'm confident that would have turned out well. Though... who really knows: I've been pleasantly surprised about this season, that's for sure! Let me count the ways...

1. Mississippi State 15-0

It wasn't pretty, but we got the job done, AND we didn't let them score.

2. #12 Georgia 0-18

Let's not count this one - this one sucked.

2. Wofford 27-20

It wasn't pretty, but we got the job done.

3. Florida Atlantic 45-6

We needed this one. A little big, but a good win.

4. #2 Auburn 17-24

Yeah, we lost, but it was dang close. 7 points close... especially for the #2 in the nation.

5. Kentucky 24-17

Yeah, we won, but it was also close. This still counts, but only barely.

6. Vandy 31-13

This definitely counts. After beating Georgia at their Homecoming the week before, this could have been ugly.

7. #8 Tennessee 24-31

Again, we lost, but it was pretty dang close. We beat ourselves, yet we still hung in there. To count or not to count...

7. #12 Arkansas 20-26

Another loss, but look at the point difference. Can you say 1 TD? Since I didn't count Tennessee, I think I'll count this one. Besides, it's within 1 TD of a ranked team. Yeah, that counts.

8. #6 Florida 16-17

This one was the biggest heart-breaker of all. ONE FRIGGIN POINT!! And it came down to a field goal (which would have given us our first victory AT Florida, I think EVER)... lucky for us, Succop (pictured above) didn't miss... unfortunately for us, Florida has this 10-foot-tall man that blocked the kick. Grrrr... but this one still counts. ONE POINT AT FLORIDA!!!

9. Middle Tennessee 52-7

Ok, this was a little big, too, but it was a win that we needed. One - now we're bowl eligible. Two - we've had three close, crappy losses in a row, and this was a good pick-me-up before the big rivalry game.

10. #24 Clemson 31-28

All I can say is - GO COCKS!!

10 Good Reasons... that's more than I'm used to having! With all that, our record is 7-5, and our SEC record is 3-5. Unfortunately, that is only good enough to rank us next to last in our division, just above Vandy. It's hard to be excited about that, but given the details of our season, I'm ok with it. I mean, how can you - an unranked team - compete with 6 ranked teams - half of your schedule - and 5 of those in your conference?!? I just hope we play well in whatever bowl game we go to.

One last time: GO COCKS!!!!

Right Now !

Right now, you will watch this video...

Go Cocks!