Welcome to Nascar, Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick has been very busy during her winter break from racing. She signed a three year contract extension in early December to stay with Andretti Autosport and continue in the IndyCar Series. A week or so later Patrick announced she will run a partial schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in a JR Motorsports entry. The deal with JRM is a two year deal. Her sponsor in both racing endeavors will be long time partner Go Daddy, the internet powerhouse for domain names and web hosting.

What does Danica Patrick’s racing future hold? Patrick recently completed her fifth season in the IZOD IndyCar Series. She finished a career best fifth in points. The highpoint in her IndyCar career has got to be her lone victory, coming in Japan in 2008. She really wants to win the Indy 500, the Crown Jewel of the IndyCar season, and after finishing third last year, it’s no surprise she re-signed. Danica has a lot of talent and has won many accolades in her racing career, including the 2005 Indy Car Rookie of the Year. Will she win an Indy Car title? Probably not. Patrick will always race in great equipment, but I don’t think she’s a series title contender. Why? She is very aggressive behind the wheel and very emotional. Patrick’s emotions often get the best of her and open wheel cars aren’t the most durable when it comes to “rubbin is racin.” Remember the Indy 500 in '08 and her scuffle with Ryan Briscoe? What about Milwaukee '07 when she shoved Dan Wheldon? I know, I know, tempers run high in any competitions. I think she’s a very good driver and has a few more wins coming on the horizon.

What does Danica Patrick do best? She is a marketing goldmine. Many times in the racing world, talent isn’t the deciding factor unfortunately. It’s sponsorship. Patrick will never have to worry about sponsors because companies will battle to the death to be associated with her. She has won the Most Popular Driver Award three times in the Indy Car series. She has had and continues to have great relationships with Motorola, Boost Mobile, Go Daddy, and many other companies. Here’s a shameless plug for our sponsor Go Daddy, a one stop shop for everything you need to establish your internet identity. Patrick has been featured in many commercials and magazines, including FHM and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and is a mainstream celebrity.

Danica Patrick has the star power to race wherever she wants to. Why would she want to try NASCAR, you ask? The simple answer is MONEY. During the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, 45 drivers collected over $1 million in winnings. It has been announced that Patrick will run in the ARCA Series opener at Daytona in an effort to get approved by NASCAR to run on some bigger tracks and she will compete in 10-14 Nationwide races. JR Motorsports is setting up a race schedule around Patrick’s IndyCar season. Patrick recently completed her ARCA tests and rumors say that everybody was pleased with the results. This foray in NASCAR could be a long, challenging experience for Patrick. She is going to tear up some cars this season and piss off some people, as almost every rookie driver does.

That brings us to the final question. Will she win in NASCAR? I say yes she will, but I want to add an asterisk. A big plus for Patrick, just like in IndyCar, she will get the privilege of driving top of the line equipment and working with top notch people. Doesn’t everybody win who drives a Hendrick car win? Even the “bad” drivers get lucky and pull off a fuel mileage win once in a while. Casey Mears did it at Charlotte in 2007 and Dale Jr. stretched it to victory lane at Michigan in 2008. This is the kind of win I can see Danica Patrick backing into. Or she gets angry and wrecks everybody that isn’t a start and park team. Overall, it should be fun watching her grow into her new ride and the season will definitely be a roller coaster ride. Good luck, Danica.

College Basketball Bonanza

The college basketball season is in full swing. Most of the teams have started in conference play or will be shortly. That means it’s time for the BWI. The BWI is a complex formula that we use to pick the winners of the 32 conference tournaments and then the Big Dance. We’ve watched a lot of hoops action so far, gathered some essential information, and here are our picks to walk away with the regular season conference crowns. The ** following some of the team names indicate they would be repeat champions.

American East..................Boston U

Atlantic Coast...................Duke

Atlantic Sun......................East Tennessee St

Atlantic 10.........................Dayton

Big East............................Villanova

Big Sky.............................Portland St.

Big South..........................Radford **

Big 10................................Purdue

Big 12................................Kansas

Big West............................Cal St. Northridge **

Colonial Athletic................Old Dominion

Conference USA................Memphis **

Great West........................South Dakota

Horizon..............................Butler **

Ivy......................................Cornell **

Metro Atlantic Athletic.......Niagara

Mid-American.....................Kent St.

Mid-Eastern Athletic..........Morgan St.

Missouri Valley..................Northern Iowa **

Mountain West..................UNLV

Northeast..........................Robert Morris **

Ohio Valley........................Murray St.

Pac-10...............................California

Patriot................................Holy Cross

Southeastern.....................Tennessee

Southern...........................Charleston

Southland..........................Stephen F Austin **

Southwestern Athletic.......Alabama St. **

Summit..............................Oakland

Sunbelt..............................Troy

West Coast........................St Mary’s

Western Athletic................Utah St. **

Editor's Note. College Hoops are great. There are some good mid-major teams that will surprise some folks this season.

SNL Tiger Skit

Championship Week Pt 2

Welcome back to the Championship Week discussion. Part 2 covers the title games that we’ll see tomorrow. We brought Buddy back after his unbeaten picks in Part 1. Please remember Buddy is 6 years old but he has proven he has what it takes. Lets not waste any time, here are the picks…

Houston and East Carolina are facing off for the Conference USA hardware. East Carolina is the defending champ and gets the game at home, which will help. The winner will make it to the Liberty Bowl, most likely. What makes this game interesting? Houston boasts the top scoring offense in the FBS behind Heisman long shot Case Keenum who has tossed 38 touchdowns this season. Houston also fields one of the worst defenses in football. Look for a high scoring and entertaining game. One of Buddy’s favorite movies is Pirates of the Caribbean, so guess who he picked? That’s tight, the Pirates upset the Cougars. Prediction East Carolina 38, Houston 35

The Big East Conference trophy is on the line when Cincinnati visits the Pitt Panthers. The side story in this game is the future of Bearcat coach Brian Kelly. Is he leaving for Notre Dame? The Bearcats have Tony Pike back and are one of the top offenses. However they’re one dimensional. They like to pass, pass, and pass. That plays right into the strength of the Panthers. They have a ferocious pass rush and lead the nation in sacks. Cincy has also struggled to stop the run, and Dave Wannstedt likes to control the clock. He’ll feed Cincy a heavy dose of freshman Dion Lewis running the ball. Unbeaten Cincinnati is actually a three point underdog. Buddy picks the Cincy Bearcats. Bears are dangerous he says. Prediction Cincinnati 35, Pittsburgh 17

The game that everyone wants to see comes to us in the middle of the afternoon, the SEC Championship from Atlanta. It’s a playoff game really, the winner goes to the BCS Title game and the loser heads to the Sugar Bowl, unless something really weird happens in some on the other games. Heisman hopefuls Tim Tebow and Mark Ingram will look to improve their resumes. The game is a rematch of last year’s title game and features two big time coaches, Urban Meyer and Nick Saban. I’ll call this game “the Battle of the Asses”. Both teams feature tough defensive units. Scoring will be tough. Whoever sneaks in the most big plays will escape with the win. What is Buddy’s insight? Elephants can step on alligators. Alabama wins the logo battle. Prediction Alabama 23, Florida 14

Saturday finishes with what could be a couple of barn burners. One nightcap is the Big 12 Championship game at Cowboys Stadium. The Texas Longhorns are looking to cash their check to the BCS Title game. Standing in the way are the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who can claim a spot in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl with an upset victory. The Blackshirts have been impressive this year and Texas has shown a few kinks in the offensive armor at times. On the other side of the ball, the Longhorns defense has been equally as good and is top ranked in the Big 12. I don’t see the Huskers offense being able to score enough points and Heisman candidate Colt McCoy will do enough to win. Buddy also likes Texas. He’s running around with Hook ‘em Horns going on both hands. Prediction Texas 34, Nebraska 10

The other nightcap is for the ACC crown. Atlantic Division champ Clemson is facing Coastal champ Georgia Tech at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The winner is awarded a trip to the FedEx Orange Bowl. The game will feature this season’s ACC Player of the Year, CJ Spiller of Clemson, and last years POY, Tech’s Jonathon Dywer. The title game is also a rematch from earlier this year when the Yellow Jackets built a huge lead and then had to hang on to defeat the Tigers 30-27. The key to the game is the defense. The defense that steps up and can contain the run, will win the game. Buddy laughed when he found out a Yellow Jacket was a bee. He thinks the Tigers win in an upset. Prediction Clemson 27, Georgia Tech 21

Enjoy the games everyone, drink a couple beers, and get your BCS gripes ready for Sunday.

Championship Week (Pt 1)

Well, well boys and girls. Here it is. Championship Week, at least the college football version. The season comes down to this last chance to fight your way into the BCS Bowl Games. There are enough meaningful games spread out over the day, that Saturday is a great day to sit on the sofa, order a pizza, and drink lots of beer. And on Sunday you can debate with your friends why Iowa doesn't deserve to play in the Fiesta Bowl or how TCU got hosed. But first, here are the latest theSportStew rankings...

1. Texas (2) 990
2. Alabama 963
3. Florida 959
4. TCU 876
5. Cincinnati 834
6. Boise St 781
7. Oregon 765
8. Ohio St 717
9. Ga Tech 702
10. Iowa 688

Championship Week starts on Tonight with the battle for the Pac-10 crown. I'm not sure who to thank, but I'm so happy USC isn't in this. Pete Carrol whines for a week about Stanford running up the score, and them he breaks one off in Neuheisel and the Bruins. Part of me thought it was funny, but because it was USC, it became a dick move. The Oregon St Beavers travel to the unfriendly confines of Autzen Stadium to fight the Ducks. Hopefully Oregon will pull out those retro uniforms again. The winner faces Ohio St in the Rose Bowl. This game looks like another classic Pac-10 shootout with points flying. Oregon is favored by 9 1/2 points in the "Civil War" but our 6 year old prognosticator says that he thinks Beavers are cooler than Ducks. Good point buddy. Prediction Oregon 38, Oregon St. 32

Friday night has the MAC Championship game. The game is held in Ford Field with the conference champion gaining a berth in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, formerly the Motor City Bowl. It's kinda odd but the champions can decline this bowl and accept a different bid. It happened last year when Buffalo went closer to home. The 9-3 Ohio Bobcats will try to stop the 10-2 Chippewas of Central Michigan. Central Michigan is led by QB Dan LeFevour and that is really all you need to know. He has thrown 25 touchdowns this season and added 14 on the ground. Buddy, remember he's only 6, doesn't know what a Chippewa is but thinks their name is funny and I have to agree. Central Michigan covers the 13 point spread by a landslide. Prediction Central Michigan 45, Ohio 17

Now lets get a laugh at Notre Dame's expense. I guess coaching the Golden Domers isn't such a great job. You're top candidates are dropping like flies. Urban Meyer. You think he's stupid? I think he likes winning titles where it's warm. Bobby Stoops. He would be a good fit. A whiny cry baby leading a disgraced program. He might even be able to complain the Irish into a a bowl game they don't deserve. He does it every other year. Gary Patterson. He just signed an extension to remain at TCU. Kirk Ferentz. His coaching style doesn't have enough flash and he tends to recruit troublemakers. The list of arrests the last few years is three pages long according to Iowa City police. He's the highest paid state employee and his kids attend Iowa. Brian Kelly. He is on the verge of winning the Big East for the second year in a row. He is under contract but I think he's the most likely to stiff their current school. Jim Harbaugh. Nope, remember Ty Willingham? So do the Irish. That leaves Chris Petersen as the new coach of the Fighting Irish. Boise St has run rampant over the WAC since he's been there and this would be a significant challenge. He runs an exciting offense. The last time Notre Dame was searching, they snoozed on another small school coach, Meyer, and we know how that turned out.

Another minor fact that makes Notre Dame a target for ridicule. They are trying to decide if they want to accept a bid to a lesser bowl. Isn't college about the kids? Don't the fans want one last chance to see Clausen fire a score to Tate? Lets face it, they are both gone, moving to the Sunday stage. You stuck up snobs realize that the rest of the world wants to see another Notre Dame ass kicking this season and you know it will happen. So take the easy road Notre Dame, don't "tarnish" your image any more, call it a season.

Saturday's big games will be visited in Part 2 coming Friday.

UFC 106 Griffin vs Ortiz

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is returning to Las Vegas for their latest show. This event seems like it's been a major headache for the UFC. Originally the main event was Lesnar and Carwin. Well we all have heard snippets of Lesnar’s illness and the slugfest was postponed. By the way, get well Brock. Mark Coleman got injured during training and he had to pull out of the event. In comes Forrest Griffin and whala, we have Ortiz-Griffin 2: The Rematch. At least I thought I saw “The Rematch” title somewhere. Did you know Tito Ortiz made his debut at UFC 13 back in 1997? More last minute fireworks exploded when Karo Parisyan withdrew yesterday. If you follow Dana White on Twitter, you know he was fucking pissed and said Parisyan won’t fight in the UFC again. Honestly, the battle between Parisyan and Dustin Hazelett was one I was definitely looking forward too. Hazelett has shown promise in his past bouts. Credit goes to the UFC as they have put together an electric fight card. We have a lot of fan favorites on this card headlined by the rematch everyone wants. Many felt Griffin was robbed in his first match with Ortiz. Add to it the fact that Tito has a world class mouth. In fact when “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” retires, I think he’ll have a great career in the booth. The other contests feature fan favorite Josh Koscheck, “Rumble” Johnson, who walks around over 210 lbs and cuts to 170, the New York Bad Ass, the Irish Hand Grenade, Killa B, hard luck specialist Amir Sadollah, and the other Noguiera twin. Add in two other fighters I like to watch, Luiz Cane and Brock Larson, and you have a cant miss card. It appears that Spike TV is continuing their trend and a couple of the preliminary fights will air before the PPV. Well, I’ll get to it. Here are the picks for UFC 106 and enjoy the fights...

Sotiropoulos def Dent by choke

Uno def Cameos by unanimous dec

Larson TKO over Foster

Grove def Rosholt by triangle choke

Davis TKO over Saunders

Sadollah def Baroni by arm bar

Cane split dec over Nogueira

Thiago def Volkmann by choke

Johnson KO over Koscheck

Ortiz def Griffin by unanimous dec

Week 8 TSS CFB Poll

This article was posted on theSportStew.com on Oct 24th...



TSS College Football Rankings.

1. Alabama (2) 972
2. Texas 966
3. Florida 943
4. Miami 827
5. USC 813
6. Cincinnati 789
7. Iowa 768
8. TCU 740
9. Georgia Tech 681
10. Boise St. 664

Others receiving votes LSU, Oregon, Texas St University

Oh baby, it’s getting fun now!! From here on in every week is like a playoff week for these Top Ten teams. Which is a great argument for the BSC to continue as is. Ok, that’s a discussion that’s coming soon. We can’t resist our turn to fix college football. I will say this…I wouldn’t change too much.

The top 3 has not changed since we started our poll 3 weeks ago. In the words of Denny Green, “They are who we thought they were!!” Florida just continues to fail to impress us as a top team. I honestly believe several top teams can beat Florida. And they look like the team to lose before the Alabama show down. Not backing off that prediction at all!

The rest of top ten is moving up thru survival of fittest. Miami has only one loss to a very good Virginia Tech team, in hurricane type weather (ironic huh?) USC isn’t over impressive, but who else are you going to move up to the 5 spot. You really think any of those other teams would beat USC? Cincinnati, TCU, and Boise are fighting their schedules and the knock that they haven’t beat anyone. Iowa just keeps winning, while everyone continues to pick against them. If history is any indication, Iowa comes back down to earth this week. Watch out for Georgia Tech and even Iowa to totally fuck up the BCS title game. Their schedules and conferences are just good enough to climb up to 2 or 3 if any of those teams slip.

The weather is great for college football here at SportStew HQ, time to open some beers, fire up the grill and let the fighting begin. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and get involved damn it!!!

Editor's Note. No respect for Boise St. You guys have dropped them every week and all they do is win. Keep up the good work though, cause it's the drama and conversations that make sports great.

UFC 104

The Octagon is rolling into the Staples Center in LA this weekend. The glamor, the glitz, a couple of smashed faces and there you have it, UFC 104. Too bad the Zuffa boys can't come up with some cool names for their events. Remember Declaration or Redemption? Maybe they need a creative department or at least a better one. I would call it; UFC 104 Bonifácia. I don't know what that means but it has something to do with Brazil in the early 1800's and its outside the box of the normal Machida vs Rua or Franklin vs Belfort. There's some intriguing fights on the card. Spike TV is going to air a couple of the prelim fights again for this PPV. Thanks again Spike and UFC for doing this. The fight card has a little bit of Iowa flavor with five fighters; Neer, Fisher, Rothwell, Al-Hassan, and Kimmons, having some ties to the Hawkeye state. Some with Miletich out of Bettendorf and others with Midwest Cage Championship. The main event features Lyota Machida and Shogun Rua. It seems like a contrast of styles. Machida is a precise counterpuncher and very patient while Rua is the aggressive Muay Thai ace. Did you see the recent articles where Machida says he drinks his urine? Ha ha. Just great. Please don't spit on me. The co-main showcases two relative newcomers. Ben Rothwell is making his UFC debut but has over 30 career fights and his favorite move is the Vertical Hammer. Cain Velasquez is a former All-American wrestler with Arizona St and is unbeaten in his young career. Velasquez has dominated his UFC competition so far. The winner of this bout will be the next in line for a shot at the heavyweight crown. Did I mention that Machida drinks his pee? Well anyway, here's the picks for UFC 104...

Struve def Gormley

Al-Hassan def Kingsbury by choke

Kimmons TKO over Rivera

Sonnen def Okami by choke

Barry KO over Hardonk

Bader TKO over Schaefer

Johnson KO over Yoshida

Fisher def Stevenson by split dec

Neer def Tibau by unanimous dec

Rothwell KO over Velasquez

Machida TKO over Rua

NFL Week 6 Pix, Who's Worst Team

I love weekends. Today I’m sitting at the House of Brews n Sports, the nickname for my apartment, watching the Iowa-Wisconsin, Texas-Oklahoma, and Michigan St-Northwestern games on the TV wall. Probably would have another game on ESPN360 if I wasn’t doing last minute research for the NFL picks. The couch is comfy and the beer is cold. Good start to the day. Thanks to Joe for stepping up last week. I dropped the ball and forgot to award the Game Ball or the LVP. Well not this week.

Game Ball: Cedric Benson. Benson somehow rambled for 120 yards and a touchdown against the ferocious defense of the Baltimore Ravens. After being ousted from Chicago he surfaced in Cincinnati for the end of last season, and has added a much needed element to the Bengal offense.

LVP: Larry Johnson. LJ had another terrible week. He only managed 37 rushing yards last week and he carried the ball 21 times. In case you’re not a math wiz, that’s a minuscule 1.8 yard average. Come on LJ, you should be a leader, not a cancer. It’s obvious that his career is dwindling and probably has played his way out of Kansas City, which isn’t a bad thing for the Chiefs.

So, who is the worst team in the NFL? There are quite a few that are playing terrible. Four teams are yet to win a game, the Titans, Bucs, Rams, and Chiefs. Washington, Oakland, and Cleveland have been awful but pulled out at least one victory, somehow. You also can’t overlook Carolina or Buffalo. These teams have produced very few highlights except for the teams playing them. And the winner, or loser, however you look at it is… The St. Louis Rams. Why you ask? The Rams have scored only 34 points all year. That’s less than a touchdown a game. The defense has allowed 146 points leading to a differential of -112. That’s a lot in five games. St Louis is led by the QB tandem of Kyle Boller and Marc Bulger, which has produced only four scoring drives. The lone bright spot on offense is Stephen Jackson. The Rams rank towards the bottom of the league in many key categories, especially 3rd down conversion and giveaways. It doesn’t get much better on defense, as they rank in the bottom half of the NFL in every statistical category I saw. This proves it takes a total team effort to suck this bad. Congratulations to the St Louis Rams.

Here are the picks for the week but first check out Matt Schaub’s profile picture on NFL.com, ESPN.com, or look right. The picture says, “I just smoked a huge bowl. Where are the Cheetos?” Classic…

Bengals, Packers, Ravens, Saints, Steelers, Panthers, Chiefs, Jaguars, Cardinals, Eagles, Patriots, and Jets. The Falcons win the Sunday night tilt and San Diego in the Monday Night Football upset.

CFB Week 7 & TSS Poll

Not as many upsets this week as we have been seeing, but that does not mean our top ten doesn’t get a little shake up. A big reason for that is the injured QBs making a come back. USC is a hard team to figure out. There signature win is over Ohio St, who continues to fail to impress. Oklahoma jumps back in with Bradford back at the helm. The beauty part of our guess work this week is that some teams are going to have to prove themselves right now! USC had better do more than win. They better kick the shit out of Notre Dame to keep their lofty rating. For Oklahoma they are in a pickle. They have to beat Texas to keep BSC hopes alive. Even if you excuse them for losing to decent teams without Bradford, you can not excuse them for losing 3 times. If you’re a top 5 team, then you have to be able to survive losing your QB to BYU.

Just a side prediction here. Everyone handed Florida and Alabama trips to the SEC title game this week. But we are on the record now as saying one of those teams will not make it. Why? Because that’s how college football almost always works out. Not to take anything away from Alabama or Florida. We just believe in the system.

1. Alabama (2) 980

2. Texas 975

3. Florida 898

4. Virginia Tech 869

5. Miami 772

6. USC 713

7. Oklahoma 685

8. Ohio St. 654

9. Boise St. 626

10. Cincinnati 611

Others receiving votes TCU, Iowa, Eastern St.

So there you have it. Fire up Twitter and get involved. Agree, disagree….we don’t care. Just have the balls to say something.

Editor's Note. It's another good weekend of ball games that could shake things up. Boise St. looked average last night. Cincy looks to be in a tight battle tonight. Florida is in an interesting matchup while Va Tech and Alabama entertain AP ranked teams. Saturday will be a good day to hold the couch in place and enjoy some brews. Have fun!

College Football Week 6

This article was posted on theSportStew.com on Oct 9th...

So here it is! The SportStew’s first college poll of the season. First of all, we only rank the top 10. Because at the end of the season, who really gives a shit who is ranked 22nd? And secondly, we actually waited a few weeks to see the teams before we jumped to conclusions. Our poll doesn’t rank based on who we think will end up somewhere or how good they can be. It’s where the teams stand now base on what they have done to this point. So injuries to star players will drop a team. And winning over sub-par teams does not climb you into our poll very fast. (You listening Penn St.)

1. Alabama (2) 988
2. Texas 973
3. Florida 923
4. LSU 811
5. Virginia Tech 754
6. USC 700
7. Ohio St. 667
8. Boise St. 613
9. Cincinnati 587
10. Miami 549

Others receiving votes TCU, Minnesota St, Iowa

So there it was. We love to scream overrated at the SEC but to this point they have the most teams that are stacked. Not the best from top to bottom necessarily, but right now the best at the top for sure. Keep an eye on Oklahoma and USC. These teams are trying to survive injuries to QBs and could jump up fast if they prove themselves.

Fire up Twitter and get involved.

Editor's Note. I like your rankings boys. No respect for Boise or TCU though. Some big matchups this week that could mix up the polls. LSU vs Florida and Alabama vs Ole Miss in the SEC. Iowa and Michigan the late night fun. Lots of game games on the tube this weekend, enjoy.

NFL Week 5

This was originally posted on theSportStew.com on October 8th...

Sorry folks, but Champ is on assignment in Iowa City for the Iowa-Michigan matchup on Saturday Night. He did send an email with his NFL picks for the week though and next week he’ll look at the cellar dwellers in the NFL and let you know who the worst team is. Champ went 9-5 on his week 4 picks and moved to 41-21 for the season. He didn’t mention anything about last week’s Game Ball or LVP so I’ll pick them.

Game Ball: Rashard Mendenhall. After being in Coach Tomlin’s doghouse and not playing a single snap last week, Mendenhall ran all over the Chargers. He gained 165 yards and scored twice.

LVP: JaMarcus Russell. Russell completed only 12 of his 33 pass attempts last week and led the Raiders to six points. This former #1 pick has completed a dismal 39.8% of his passes, has thrown for 506 yards, and one touchdown for the season. That’s pathetic.

Here are Champ’s Week 5 picks… Bills, Steelers, Cowboys, Rams, Giants, Eagles, Panthers, Ravens, Falcons, Jaguars, Texans, Patriots, Colts, and Dolphins win on Monday Night Football.

NFL Football Week 4 Picks

Didn't get this posted on the blog Saturday when we put it on the website so it's a day late

Finally, the matchup that everyone has been waiting to see is here. Minnesota vs. Green Bay. Favre vs. Rodgers. The hype is crazy. But first, let’s rewind to last week. Again Brett Favre is the story with another comeback win. I don’t think Lewis is getting enough credit for the catch. That was one hell of a grab. Farve used his twinkle toes to scramble out of the pocket and buy enough time to toss a prayer. I didn’t know he could still throw it that far. You know, he’s old now. Who won last week’s Game Ball and LVP, you ask. The Game Ball goes to the Detroit Lions, who won for the first time since December 23, 2007. It snapped their 19 game losing streak. Yeah, Lions. Next the LVP. We’re going to stick with the team theme and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the recipients. Tampa totaled 86 yards of offense, had only 5 first downs, and went 0-9 in third down situations against the Giants. Speaking of bad teams, will the Chiefs win a game this year?

Back to this week. Green Bay at Minnesota on Monday night. The key for the Packers will be stopping the run. If they can bottle up Peterson and force the Vikes to throw, it’s only a matter of time before Favre makes his patented crap throw for an interception. On the other side, expect Green Bay to struggle running the ball. The Vikings have an awesome front four. Rodgers out duels Favre in the stats game but the Vikings ride Adrian Peterson to victory and improve to 4-0.

The Sunday late afternoon schedule features a game of unbeatens, the Jets and Saints. Thunderstorms are in the forecast for New Orleans, could that be the deciding factor. The explosive Saints offense is average 40 points a game and is firing on all cylinders. The Jets feature one of the best defenses in the NFL. What gives? New York will need Mark Sanchez to manage the game very well. If the Jets can mix things up offensively and avoid turnovers they could surprise some folks. I think the Saint’s circus show of Brees and Pierre Thomas is too much and New Orleans defense will play big. Saints cover the spread and stay unbeaten.

The Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots battle in the early time slot. The Pats will rely on Tom Brady early and often. New England struggles to run the ball and Baltimore’s defense has some bad ass mofos. Wes Welker is listed as questionable and could be valuable if he’s back. The Ravens will spread the ball around. With McGahee and Ray Rice splitting carries, they always have a fresh runner in the game. Joe Flacco has shown great decision making and poise under pressure so far this season. Look for the Ravens to surprise the Foxboro crowd and sneak home with the ‘W’.

The other winners from Week 4… Redskins, Titans, Raiders, Bears, Bengals, Colts, Giants, Bills, Cowboys, Niners, and Steelers.

Editor’s Note. The NFL is sporting some pink gear for Breast Cancer Awareness. Pink cleats. Pink helmet decals. Pink goal post padding. Can’t wait to see that. Tennessee is really in a must win situation or they can kiss the playoffs good bye. Good job on your picks last week Champ. You went 11-5 and improved to 32-16 for the season. Whammy! Had to do that since you didn’t. Enjoy the games everyone.

NCAA Football Week 4 Twitter Blog

Get ready college football fans! We didn't post an article this week but will be tracking all the games as the day goes. Fire up your grill! 9:25 AM Sep 26th from web

Oh by the way...a few baseball races yet to be decided. We have an eye on that too. Go Twins!! 9:27 AM Sep 26th from web

Come on Herby! Herbstreit just locked in Alabama vs. Florida for SEC title game. Haven't we learned anything this season? 9:29 AM Sep 26th from web

Uh oh. #ESPN College Gameday just went down for 15 minutes. Those pesky drunken Penn St fans. Those dudes know how to party!! 9:42 AM Sep 26th from web

I love it! Jim Cramer from Mad Money doing a guest spot on Game Day. Which teams to sell and which teams to buy. We will add our 2 cents. 9:46 AM Sep 26th from web

@thesportstew What did Cramer pick?
10:54 AM Sep 26th from txt

Nobody. It was a shit segment. Selfless promo
for Cramer. 11:19 AM Sep 26th from web

Game Day has spent most of morning giving Joe Pa a pretty nice prostate massage. Every minute of this makes me root for Iowa that much more! 10:38 AM Sep 26th from web

Here's teams that need to be careful today or they are the upset specials. North Carolina, Boise St., and Penn St. 11:15 AM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Georgia Tech marches down the field on a 9 play scoring drive. They attempted no passes. Could be long day for the Tar Heels. 11:26 AM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

A rarity. GTech has tossed only 1 pass thru the entire 1st quarter and racked up almost 12 minutes time of possession. But only lead 7-0. 11:55 AM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Mich starts out 14-0 now tied at 14-14. Who is going to get beat today that nobody seems coming? You know it will happen. 11:58 AM Sep 26th from web

Think we'll coin this Sneaky Saturday. Ranked teams NC, Michigan, and Flor St down at half. Kansas, LSU, and Cincy in close battles also. 12:54 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

FCS #3 UNI Panthers begin their championship journey in a few minutes. 1:06 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Michigan and Florida St both in real danger of being upset! 1:44 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

LSU only leads by 3 going into 4th qtr. Another over rested SECOND team? Let's see. 1:57 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Note to football coaches...quit making it so difficult and out thinking yourself. LSU about to win due to stupid play calling. 2:49 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Miss St had 2nd and goal from the 2 and ran a passing play on 3rd down. JUST FUCKING RUN IT!!!! 2:51 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

UNI's Pat Grace should be a finalist for the Walter Payton award. That guy is all guts. 3:19 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Wow what is happening to Cal and the Canes. Both are getting spanked. He he spanked. 4:09 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Ok so a few upsets so far and a couple teams escape upset by a taint hair. Mich and LSU have smoother taints after today. 6:03 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

The upsets that everybody predicts rarely happen. Alabama proving that by taking care of Arizona. Penn St the other trendy upset pick. 6:05 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Both Twins and Tigers getting under way right now. Twins only trail by 2 games and play the Tigers 6 times in final week. 6:06 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Not to bash our beloved Hawks but these are not the games they usually win. Everyone calling for the upset here. Which spells Penn St win. 6:09 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

@thesportstew Agree. Too many folks picking
Hawks. Upset alert is BoiseSt. Simmed that game
13728 times at work today. Bowling Green won
48% 6:18 PM Sep 26th from txt

Nice call on that Boise upset. You're way off
dumbass. 8:14 PM Sep 26th from
TwitterBerry

White Sox announcers not sure why Chicago fans boo Maggs Ordonez. Ummm...cause he's a pussy! Who does roids...so I heard. 6:13 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Ouch. That's a rough start for Herky. 7:19 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Where do you go to draft receivers who can't catch? Cause Iowa was a strangle hold on that area. 7:25 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

For the love of god. Catch the FUCKING ball. 7:48 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Not going good for Iowa when Herby has to say "what a weapon" about the punter. 7:52 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Go for it Kirk. Surprise the hell out of them. 8:29 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Never mind Kirk good call on the punt. Nice flop. 8:30 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

When they run the Iowa commercial on the game, Tom Brokaw sounds drunk off his Ass. 8:30 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Now punting for Iowa....Vlade Divac. 8:32 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Iowa takes a haymaker from Penn St early but still standing and fighting. 8:41 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Tebow new Heisman favorite due to sympathy vote after getting smashed. DAMN. 8:50 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Too bad Illinois didn't play the game with the same enthusiasm they had before the game. Enough with the pregame fake fights! 8:52 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Why couldn't we get Erin Andrews in the rain? Could've been magical. 9:16 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Why does the Penn St crowd sound like a soccer crowd whenever they have a good play? They keep singing some chant. Must be the booze. 9:23 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Iowa looking to upset another top 5 team. Doing it with special teams and D. So ugly to watch it’s almost beautiful. 10:00 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Twins and Tigers both win tonight. Tigers still lead division by 2. Going to be a fun last week in the AL Central. 10:04 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

To Arthur! 10:08 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

WOHOOOOO. I think we called this Thur. Check the tweets baby. The stadium empties pretty fast. Sorry Joe. 10:20 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Editor's Note. You did call that. Here is the
tweet...College #Gameday + Happy Valley +
Beaver Stadium + white out + night game =
Upset special, Hawkeyes beat overranked
Lions AGAIN! 12:33 AM Sep 24th from
TwitterBerry

Total dismantling of Penn St. Who's next? 10:23 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

Kirk Ferentz post game quote of the day. "Crap." 10:28 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

So what's the upset nobody saw coming. I have to go with the thugs from Oregon kicking the shit out of Cal. 10:47 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

@thesportstew Ducks win is huge. Close
second is the Hawkeyes pounding JoePa.
10:54 PM Sep 26th from txt

So how overrated is the SEC? Well, how about 2 words. A lot. Is that 2 words? 10:56 PM Sep 26th from TwitterBerry

New Heisman frontrunner is Houston's Case Keenum. What a freakin game! 12:03 AM Sep 27th from TwitterBerry

Hey it's called football. Let's not line up to give Tebow blowjobs. Hope he's OK though. 12:24 AM Sep 27th from TwitterBerry

I would be excited that Mark and Lou just out Iowa in their top 5. But they also put Boise St and Houston in. Do these dip shits really vote? 12:36 AM Sep 27th from TwitterBerry

Editor's Note. Looks like you guys had fun and maybe a couple of beers. Your spelling sucks boys. Somehow you failed to mention a couple of tidbits all day. Oregon went with a retro uniform. It was from their 1995 Rose Bowl season, I hear. The Georgia Bulldogs come from behind to win. How could you not bring up Gene Chizik's unbeaten Auburn Tigers? Good material to rub in Cyclown fans' noses. Tell me again why he would stay in Ames? He's not stupid.

Cyclone Crunch

Reommendation to Fans: Eat Cyclown Crunch out of the box, as it's nearly impossible to get it into a Bowl. The FDA warns that there is a serious risk of choking, especially towards the end of the box.

Week 3 of the NFL

Whammy! Get ready for another great week of NFL football. It seems like there is more parity this year than in years past. A lot of last week's games came down to the wire just like in week one. The Monday night game kept you tuned in. How did the Colts win with less than 15 minutes time of possession? The Sunday night game was awesome. Has anyone hit the titantron at Cowboys Stadium yet? I thought that was the preseason rave. There were plenty of outstanding individual performances. Kevin Kolb threw for 391 yards in his first career start but was outdone by Phillip Rivers, who slung the pigskin 436 yards. Coe College (IA) alum Fred Jackson rambled for 163 yards in the Bill's win and the week's leading receiver was Dallas Clark with 7 catches for 183 yards. The Jets and Mark Sanchez surprised the Patriots and are 2-0 in the young season. Let's hand out the Week 2 awards. The Game Ball gets co-recipients this week. Frank Gore gets the first one. He led the unbeaten Niners over Seattle by busting out 207 yards on the ground and 2 TDs. The other Game Ball goes to the Titan's Chris Johnson. He accumulated 197 yards on the ground, 87 yards receiving, and scored three times. It was a close battle for LVP. Tony Romo really stunk it up last week. Romo tossed three picks and had an abysmal 29.6 QB rating. Just horrible. A special award goes to Chad Ochocinco. Even though it was staged, it took a lot of planning and some good luck, to call his Lambeau Leap and then get to do it. Way to go 85. By the way, does Chad know ocho cinco isn't eighty five?

Week 3 brings us some intriguing matchups. But first off, it was announced that the Lions and Raiders failed to sell out so they have local blackouts on the games. I can understand Detroit. They play Washington but if you're a Lions fan, wouldn't you want to be there when they end their losing streak? I would and it might just happen this week. A big thumbs down goes to the Raiders faithful. You are hosting Denver, a division rival. You have crazy fuckin fans that dress up and are quite frankly scary. And your team might actually win some games this year and contend for a playoff spot. Come on! Oakland Coliseum is on my short list of NFL venues to visit.

The marquee matchup this week features a battle of unbeatens. San Fran visits the Metrodome and the Vikings. The weather should be nice as no rain or wind is forecasted. This game looks to be a battle of bruising backs in Gone and Adrian Peterson. The Niners boast the 3rd ranked rush defense in the NFL and Favre can't exactly open up the passing game anymore as he averages a pathetic 5.3 yards per attempt. I just don't understand how Shaun Hill wins games even though he's 9-3 as a starter. My complete lack of faith in him leads me to pick the Vikings in a close game but Favre does throw his first interception of the year.

Another exciting game pits the Falcons against the Patriots in Foxboro. The Patriots have a tough runs defense that will make the Falcons and Matt Ryan throw the ball. Ryan will need to spread the ball around, and he has the weapons, to free up some room for Michael Turner. The Falcon defense isn't very good though. With a ridiculously bad running game, the Pats have thrown the ball almost 70% of the time. Brady will have to light it up. The team that can establish the run, wins this game. And this week it's New England. I know, it makes no sense.

The final showcase game is the Jets hosting the Titans. Jet's Head Coach Rex Ryan has brought a cocky attitude and physical play to New York. This game should be one hell of a battle. Both teams feature strong rush defenses but teams have been throwing the ball at will on the Titans. This should be the game that Sanchez unloads but the Jets seem to be babying him along. That nullifies a huge advantage the Jets have. Look for the Titan's tandem of Johnson and White to wear down the Jets. The Titans are in a must win game and win a field goal battle.

Other winners on Sunday included the Redskins, Packers, Eagles, Giants, Ravens, Texans, Bears, Saints, Bengals, Raiders, Dolphins, Colts, and the Cowboys win the Monday Nighter.

Editor's Note. Champ, you forgot to mention that Michael Vick will see playing time this week. That's a major story. McNabb, Tomlinson, and Hasselback are most likely sitting out this week. I want to see more of the Wildcat offense but with legit passers in the mix. Think Vick, Pat White of Miami, or Tavaris Jackson. Scary. More teams need to use it in college ball too. Champ was 9-7 on his picks last week and that brings his season totals to 21-11. Not too shabby. Enjoy the games.

UNI vs #21 Iowa Highlights

Iowa escaped an upset from Northern Iowa in miracle fashion. Here's the highlights of the Sept 5th game from ESPN...

Golden Tee Great Shot

Enjoying a frosty beverage at Buffalo Wild Wings and playing Golden Tee. Yeah baby! Amazing approach shot on Woodland Farm Hole 14. Just as I had planned.

UFC 103

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is marching thru Dallas, Texas this weekend as UFC 103 is set to go. What makes this pay per view unique is that a portion of under card fights will be shown live on Spike TV. Another nugget of goodness, the Spike TV program will also be commercial free. Pretty sweet. Thanks UFC and Spike. The effects of the Affliction closure are starting to be seen and some of their former fighters are tickling up to the UFC show. As I'm doing some last minute research, which means looking at the weigh-in pictures, there are a lot of fighters I've never heard of. Should make for some interesting picks. Hermes Franca always makes me chuckle with his purple or other oddly colored hair. When did Emerson add that tattoo on his head? Shit that had to hurt. And Kurt Angle makes his, wait, that Frankie Trigg. Awesome, Twinkle Toes is back. It's too bad Swick is out of his bout with Kampmann. The was sure to be fireworks. The scuttlebutt is saying that three guys had issues making weight, including Vitor Belfort. Well anyway, I'm sure the loyal readers are ready for some picks. Here they are and enjoy the fights.... RESULTS ADDED...

UNDER CARD

Emerson def Dos Anjos by Split Dec DOS ANJOS

Matyushenko def Pokrajac by TKO

Marshall def Brilz by Choke

Foster def Story by TKO STORY

Oliverira def Lentz by Choke LENTZ

Miller def Lopez by Unanimous Dec

Drwal def McFedries by TKO

Miller def Escudero by Unanimous Dec ESCUDERO

MAIN CARD

Griffin def Franca by Split Dec

Koscheck def Trigg by Choke

Kampmann def Daley by Arm Bar DALEY

Dos Santos def Cro Cop by TKO

Franklin def Belfort by Unanimous Dec BELFORT

NFL Week 2

Wow, a great week of games to start the NFL season. Eight games came down to the wire. The week started with an overtime battle in Pittsburgh and ended with the Monday night doubleheader of come from behind victories. There were also many, many highlights in between. Drew Brees continued on his roll from last year and tossed six touchdown passes, Adrian Peterson ripped the Cleveland defense for 180 yards of rushing with three TDs, and Reggie Wayne stepped into Marvin Harrison's old role beautifully with 10 grabs for 162 yards. Mark Sanchez managed the game well, nothing flashy, and picked up the 'W' in the debut. Stafford struggled but, hey, he does play for the Lions. You won't forget Denver's Stokley snatch that tipped pass and then race for the endzone. The Game Ball for the opening week goes to Tom Brady. "Pretty Boy" led the Patriots on an unlikely comeback, and was his usual unflappable self even though he hadn't played in almost a year. Two players tied for the LVP, Least Valuable Player, of the week. Frank Gore carried the ball 22 times for a measly 30 yards and Jay "Crybaby" Cutler fired four interceptions and repeatedly was shown on the sideline pouting.

The second week of the season brings quite a few good matchups, headlined by the Saints visiting the Eagles. This game lost a little luster when Kevin Kolb was named Philly's starter. Looks like McNabb will get to rest his busted up ribs this week. But still two explosive teams and this could be a sneak peak at the NFC Conference title game coming in January. With all the offensive expectations, this game will probably be a defensive slugfest. Look for Kolb to be very efficient and the Eagles squeak out a tight one.

The must see game for me is the battle between the Bungles and Packers at Lambeau. Chad Johnson, I mean Ochocinco, has vowed to do a Lambeau Leap when he scores a touchdown. For the sake of good TV, hopefully the Packer defense will let him score if he cant do it on his own. I can already see the fans with there extra beers ready to unload on Ochocinco. Most likely beer will be kind, he'll probably get the spit, urine, and battery treatment, not to mention a punch or two. We're talking ESPN instant classic here. Green Bay is the more talented overall team though and will pull away for the victory. But...Ochocinco does score.

The final headline game is the Raiders and Chiefs. Talk about a crapfest and we get stuck with this game twice this year. Here's another kick in the balls, we in Chief territory so somehow this game will be on. The gameplan on this matchup. Goto a bar with NFL Sunday Ticket. I think the Raiders escape Arrowhead in a Stench Bowl. Maybe you didn't notice but I think both of these teams are horrible.

Here are the rest of the winners on Sunday...Falcons, Vikings, Titans, Redskins, Niners, Cardinals, Bills, Steelers, Ravens, Browns, Cowboys, and the Jets win the Coaches trash talk battle but lose to the Patriots.

Monday Night Football brings us the Colts and the Dolphins. The Dolphins unleash the Wildcat formation but put rookie QB Pat White. A little bit of a twist since White can actually throw the ball. Colts still win behind the combo of Manning-Wayne-Clark.

Editor's Note. Hey Champ, you picked 12 of the 16 games last week correctly. Whammy! You also forgot to use your catchphrase. Another horrid performance from Week 1 was Jake Delhomme. He got pulled but then got to re-enter after the Panther backup got hurt. Enjoy the games.

College Football Week 3

YES! YES! YES! Thank you college football gods! I loved it all. Give me more…please. Just when we think we know something about college football, we are reminded that we don’t know jack shit. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Let’s recap last week’s games, shall we. The game of hyped game of the week lived up to its billing more or less. USC vs. Ohio St. was fairly uneventful for 3 and a half quarters. And only become intriguing when you started thinking, “wow Ohio St is finally going to do it”. Whoops. For most of the game Ohio St pushed USC around and appeared just as fast and Big 10 football was back damn it! Then Kid Barkley jammed his Trojans down the throat of Ohio St. for the climax. The game will be remembered for the drive and everyone exclaiming Barkley just grew up before our eyes. Whoa…slow down experts. It’s only his 2nd game. And neither team was that impressive. I don’t see USC steam rolling the Pac 10 at all. There are some speed bumps out there. I would predict at least one conference loss for the Trojans and maybe two.

The real game of the week (as predicted) was Notre Dame vs. Michigan. They actually had scoring in this one. Back and forth with lead changes and come backs and then another come back. Once again, let’s wait and see what we’ve got before we pronounce either of these teams back. Two things are for sure. Michigan has some athletes compared to last years team and is much improved. Big 10 defensive coordinators shit themselves when they saw this game. And two…Notre Dame was…say it with me now…O…VER...RA…TED! Relax Notre Dame fans, you have plenty of cream puffs on the schedule to get to a winning season.

The shocker of the week though was Houston whipping up on Oklahoma St. Anyone see the cover to SI last week? Yep, Oklahoma St. on the cover and an article saying it was their time. Why? Because they beat Georgia who was over ranked at 20, 21, or whatever. Have a mentioned how much I hate preseason polls? This is why the first 4 to 5 weeks of the season kick ass. We get to find out what everyone really has. Not what the so called experts say, but get your ass on the field and prove it.

Ok, on to week 3. The Thursday and Friday games are very interesting. Something about these nights always have games that are wild and come right down to the finish. Georgia Tech vs. Miami might be game of the week material. One thing is for sure; the winner of this comes out with some momentum and can be considered a contender for the conference title. Miami is one of those teams everyone wants to proclaim as “back”. A win here goes a long ways to make that claim legitimate.

A Friday night game this week! And it’s Boise St. vs. Fresno St. May not sound like much, but Boise is one of those teams that everyone has already thrown into the BCS hunt based off one win over Oregon. Fresno St. is always tough and serves as a real threat to crash the dream season for Boise. I personally don’t find Boise St. to be the cute Cinderella Team anymore and hope they get punked by a couple smaller schools that they seem do be looking down their noses at. Go Bulldogs!!

Along the same lines of season on the line every week is BYU. Florida St. comes to town for a very interesting game. BYU is still riding high from the Oklahoma win, but if you want to back up that #7 rating, you have to beat down Florida St. at home. I love Bobby Bowden for taking this game and for that reason I’m rooting for him. Basically I’m rooting for the small schools to get the Hell out of the way and let the big boys play all the BSC games this year. But if BYU wins convincingly, it makes for a really interesting season.

Tennessee goes to Florida and you have to assume this is where Lane Kiffin starts paying for shooting his mouth off all season. Florida should win easily and everyone will start talking about going undefeated. But I say even with a win, Florida hasn’t beaten anyone yet. We don’t know how good they are. And someone tell me why we have handed Tim Tebow the best player ever award? More to come on that topic in following weeks.

Then there is Texas Tech vs. Texas. The Longhorns have become the favorite team of The Sports Stew, and this game has pay back written all over it. While it looks like Texas should win easily, that style of offense played by Tech is just tough for some teams. Texas got off to a slow start last week against Wyoming and can’t afford to do it again this week. I think Texas will make this game personal and take care of business.

Just remember, the Big Game in college football is the one nobody seems coming. The Sports Stew will be on Twitter keeping an eye out for the game that sneaks up on everyone. And as always, feel free to join the discussion with us on Twitter.

Editor's Note. We'll be tweeting from the Arizona at Iowa Football game. Game kicks off at 2:35 CST on ABC. Tailgate begins at 5:30am. Follow along at twitter.com/thesportstew for hourly updates.

UFC Fight Night Diaz vs. Guillard

The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights kicks off tomorrow but not before another installment of UFC Fight Night Live. The show is live on Spike TV and is tipping the scales in Oklahoma City. Noticed that Dana White is giving away some free tickets on Twitter. I always enjoy the Fight Night shows as they seem to showcase some alums for the Ultimate Fighter series as well as other up-n-comers. Enough small talk, chug a couple beers, enjoy the fights, and here's the winners... RESULTS added Sept. 17th...

Jensen def. Steinbeiss TKO
Larson def. Pierce by Choke PIERCE
Stephens def Buchholz by TKO
Stout def Nover by TKO CANCELLED

Silva def Dollaway by TKO DOLLAWAY
Wilson def Pyle by Split Dec PYLE
Canwell def Stann by TKO STANN

Quarry def Credeur by Arm Bar
Condit def Ellenberger by Choke
Maynard def Huerta by Split Dec
Diaz def Guillard by Triangle

Wow! The televised fights were great. I'm still laughing about Guillard playin hurt and then falling right into the guillotine choke. That was classic. Guillard did too much dancing around. He was killing Diaz and probably would have knocked him out. They needed to do a better job of smack talking too. Again the fights that aired on Spike TV were awesome to watch. Back and forth, bombs, knockdowns, and submission attempts. I guess Nover has a seizure in the locker room and his bout with Sam Stout was cancelled. Hope he's O.K. I can't believe that Brain Stann beat Cantwell. It's even less believable that he won a decision. Stann somehow went the distance. Congrats but I need to see that fight to confirm it. I'm protesting it until them. We went 6-5 on out predictions for the night and improved out record to 17-16 since UFC 101. It's gonna get better but it proves you never know what might happen in MMA; or we don't know shit. The second is more likely. See ya next time.

NFL Week 1

Whammy! It’s the moment all of us have been waiting on, opening week of the NFL. Everybody has a chance to see your team make the playoffs and possibly the Super Bowl. Well for you Lions fans, your team is still mathematically alive anyway. There are many, many questions that need answered during the upcoming season, as always. Will the rookies Sanchez, Stafford, or Knowshon make any impact? Lots of big names changed teams over the summer. Do Favre, Cutler, or T.O. have what it takes make their new teams title contenders? Or what about the injury bug? How did Carson Palmer or Brady heal up during the off season? And that finally brings us to Vick. Will the Eagles play “Who let the Dogs out?” during their games? Tasteless I know.

Week 1 will kick off in a few short hours and the NFL schedulers gave up a dandy to open with. The Titans are visiting Heinz Field, where LenDale White stomped on the Terrible Towel last year and I believe it was Jevon Kearse, who acted like he was blowing his nose on that precious little towel. Expect a fired up crowd and a great game. Rashard Mendenhall should see some quality minutes and he might start pushing Willie Parker for the stating job. It's only a matter of time. I have the Steelers winning a close battle.

Sunday includes some nice divisional battles and matchups of potential playoff teams. A couple of games that I find interesting. Arizona hosts the Niners. Every year San Fran looks like they have a decent team and every year they disappoint. This could be the year. Gore should be a monster if he can stay healthy. Hopefully Crabtree will grow up and sign. Arizona and Kurt Warner have tons of pressure on them to repeat last year's performance. Who doesn’t like to watch Fitzgerald? That dude catches everything thrown his way. Add in Beanie Wells. My opinion is that Warner goes down early, or plays like shit, and Matt Leinart leads the Cards to a comeback victory.

The other can't miss game is the Bears and Packers. Some future superstars get to showcase their talents. Jay Cutler reminds me of Jim McMahon from the old days. Arrogant, pompous, and good. Personally, I think Cutler is a huge cry baby and I love to route against that asshole; but now that he’s a Bear, Cutler probably is just misunderstood. I have to like that schmoe now. Look for a shootout with Rogers, Jennings, and Forte all having big games. The Packers pull away at the end, thanks in part to numerous Cutler interceptions.

The other winners on Sunday will include the Dolphins, Vikings, Colts, Saints, Bucs, Eagles, Ravens, Jets, Giants, and Seahawks. The Bengals are lead to victory by Mr. Media Slore, Chad Ochocinco, who then gets fined for violating the dress code by dying his arm hair orange.

I just noticed we also get the double dip for Monday Night Football. Oh, wait, one game has the Raiders in it. New England and San Diego pick up wins on Monday.

Editor's Note. Wanted to add a couple things. That was the best Vick joke you could come up with, Champ? Weak buddy, pretty weak. What makes the NFL fun is that you never know what a team has at the beginning. Some team always comes out of nowhere to surprise folks. This year its San Francisco. By the way, forget about the punting crisis in the Cowboy's new stadium, they have bigger problems. What is a slore? The Leinenkugel's Lock of the week. Ben did it. Notice he's growing his hair out. Starting to get those little curls in the back. Stubble. He reminds me of Luke Duke. And he was always up to no good. Enjoy the games.

College Football Week 2

Here we go with week 2 of the college football season and there is already plenty of intrigue and BS to go around. So here it is in whatever random order it jumps into my head.

I loved that BYU pulled off the upset and punked Oklahoma. Damn! Why didn’t I have the balls to call for that upset? So they beat them with Bradford on the bench most of the game. But I thought Oklahoma had the biggest bad ass defense in the country. All those future NFL stars couldn’t stop BYU when they needed to? At least Bobby Stoops gets an early start on his bitching and whining routine to get back into the BCS title game. Come on Bobby; tell us how it’s not fair to your team. On the other side, what is the freaking deal with BYU jumping 11 spots? For one win over a team with no QB???

So I was way off on the Notre Dame game. This week they play Michigan and I think Big Blue is a little pissed off. Pissed because they sucked last year. Pissed because there coach cries. And pissed because some freshman punk is apparently a rat that didn’t want to practice. For some crazy reason I like Michigan here. Probably blinded by Notre Dame hatred. ND has to win more than one game to win me over. This is the game I want to see the most this week. Everyone else is on the USC vs. Ohio St as game of the week, but I can’t wait to see the over-reaction from ND vs. Michigan. The winner will be yelling BCS and the loser will want their coach fired. What could be better?

I have absolutely no feel for the USC vs. Ohio St game. I just can’t get a good read. I’m a Big 10 guy at heart but can’t stand Ohio St. These guys dodge bullets from the NCAA like Plaxico Burress dodges them from himself (I know that wasn’t very funny but I’m under a dead line here). And it’s just hard to believe a true freshman can go into the Horse Shoe and win. I guess I have to go with the boys from The Ohio Penal System. They played the better team last week and probably are better for it.

Editor's Note. Wow Dr. Rosenrosen, you hit the nail on the head on the Michigan-ND game. If the Irish win, get ready for the Loe Holtz shit storm all week. Let's hope the Wolverines win big. Even thought the Trojans have to better team talent wise, Tyrelle Pryor will be a Heisman candidate after this week. Bobby Stoopes makes me laugh.

Now for a rant. I’ve been hearing all preseason how great Florida is but you can’t expect them to go undefeated because their schedule is sooo tough. Really??? LSU and Georgia are the only ranked teams on the schedule. And Georgia is hanging on for dear life at 21. Penn State takes all the shit for the easy schedule but look at Florida’s first two games. Charleston Southern and Troy are not exactly much of a work out for the supposed best team in the land. And I’m less and less impressed with the SEC after a closer look. Florida doesn’t play Ole Miss this year and Tennessee can’t be too great in the 3rd week of the season. Hopefully they don’t let Lane Kiffin drive the team bus or they’ll go to the wrong stadium. Ever see a guy make so many mistakes in an off season?

The fun thing is, there will be a game or two or three that will change the season for some school. Somebody with slim BCS hopes will lose and bring the season to a crashing end just like that. So lookout BYU and Boise St. You’re on thin ice.

Clemson and Georgia Tech play Thursday and Thursday games are almost always good. So don’t get so taken by beginning of the NFL season that you forget to check on that game. By the way…Thursday is a great night to get into your underwear, make some popcorn, put the six pack beside the lounger, and blow the fan right on you while you watch all the sports. NFL, College Football, and MLB division races all in one night. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Editor's Note, again.Did you know that Florida was a 70 point favorite in the opening week. They didn't cover, only won by 62. Dr. Rosenbag, you left out a huge matchup with major implications. Iowa St. hosts Iowa in a battle for the Cy Hawk Trophy. This also features unbeaten teams. The Hawks either win big, win close, or loose. It should be an ass kickin' but Hawk fans are always prepared to be disappointed.

College Football Week 1

The College football season is finally here and what an opening night we had Thursday. If you like loud mouth jack asses that don’t play worth a shit, and then take their frustrations on opposing players, teammates, and fans…then the Oregon Ducks are your team. Let’s get back to the ridiculous events after the game later. This was billed as the premiere match up to kick off the season. And it did have the making to be. Not only are both teams ranked, but they clearly don’t like each other. Or at least the Ducks don’t like Boise St. Why would they? The little guys keep beating up the big boys. So Boise St. wins and everyone is talking about the little guys going on an undefeated run and Oregon’s offense isn’t really that bad and that little tiff after the game. Whoa whoa whoa….slow down gang. Boise St. is going to go undefeated? Robert Smith on ESPN said he would be shocked if they did not win the rest of their games. Why? Because they beat an Oregon team that was way overrated at 16. I don’t recall the last time I saw a team play worse than Oregon did in the first half, and Boise only beat them 19-8. That’s hardy an ass kicking.

First prediction of the season… Boise State will not go undefeated and will not play in a BSC bowl game. I thought both teams only helped to promote my thought that preseason polls are a joke! I know, I know….it’s only week 1. And defenses are ahead of the offense. And both teams will look better next week. Well, we’ll see. Boise has games against Fresno St. and Nevada that are not easy wins. And they go to Hawaii which is always tough for that conference. So let’s not put them in a BCS bowl game just yet.

Oregon on the other hand sucks! They have to improve a lot to play and win in the Pac 10. The experts have to stop handing out lofty rankings and high praise based off what teams did the year before. This is college football and the turnover of players is rapid and drastic every year. In other words, this is not last year’s high scoring Oregon team. This is this year’s team with a lack of direction and a bad attitude. I heard Mel Kiper make the argument that Blount was maybe the 3rd best back in the country. Blount had 8 carries for a negative 5 yards. God I hope that’s not the 3rd best back in the country! And then there was the total meltdown after the game by Blount. I’m already tired of hearing about and hearing his weak ass promise to turnover a new leaf. If Oregon wanted to salvage any respect what so ever they have to suspend that idiot for the season.

This just in…Oregon idiot suspended for season.

Editor's Note...For the record Dr. Rosenrosen, it was a good punch and he waited just until the Boise guy wasn't looking. LeGarrette Blount deserved the suspension he received. The sad part is that Mr, and I use that term loosely, Blount is a senior and his college career is over. He was an NFL prospect. The Oregon coach stated that Blount will continue to attend classes and practice with...wait, attend classes? I will bet anything that this fool wont attend classes the rest of the season. Did you hear him talk? Enough said. On a side note, according to college football insiders, this game had MAJOR BCS implications. What do you think Dr. Rosenpenis?

I would love to comment on the South Carolina and NC State game but I fell asleep early in the 2nd qtr. What’s that? SC won 7-3? Wow, that Spurrier really can coach em up. But just remember, top to bottom the SEC is the best conference….whatever.

Ok, on to Saturdays games and what we’re watching for….Everyone will tell you the game of the week is Georgia and Oklahoma St. Big 12 vs. SEC. Oklahoma St is going to win this game and then all the Big 12 fans will go crazy about how they are the better conference…and maybe they’ll be right. Too early to tell.

I have a feeling the Big 12 will be kept in check just a bit when Oklahoma squeaks one out over BYU. I’m telling you it will be close. I just have that feeling. Then we will have to endure the, “what’s wrong with Oklahoma” talk for a week.

Alabama and Va. Tech will be a close runner up for the game that gets most hype this week. I don’t know much about what either team brings back this year, but I can tell you this…I will be rooting for Va. Tech like I was born and raised in the hills of Virginia. Can’t stand Nick Bear Bryant Sabin or arrogant Bama fans that think as soon as they win a game, they should be in top 5. Plus Bama is second only to one team for having any win more over blown and shooting them up the polls. And that team is….Notre Dame. Duh.

Speaking of Notre Dame, I can’t wait to see Nevada stroll into Notre Dames home turf and beat them down. All this talk about how improved Notre Dame is makes me ill. Last I saw of them, they were in a bowl game they didn’t deserve to be in and getting beat! Why does everyone think ND is suddenly so improved? Their record may be better this year, but playing a weaker schedule does not make you a better team.

Prediction #2…Calling for the straight out upset here. Nevada beats Notre Dame and ESPN fires Lou Holtz for predicting ND would play in BSC title game.

Oh by the way…Florida State plays Miami Monday night. Remember when this was the game of the year? Me too….but just barely.

Editor's Note, again...Sorry. Wanted to agree with Dr. Roseypalmer on a couple things. Sabin = crook. Only a matter of time before he gets caught. Lou Holtz. Come on ESPN, how long do we have to suffer by listening to his crazy, slobbery talk. Game of the Week is the Monday nighter. Miami will show they are a team to be reckoned with and demolish the overrated Seminoles. What will make this game great is the Hurricanes will have 11 unsportsmanlike penalties like the Cane juggernauts of old. 2 words. Jacory. Harris.

UFC 102 Predictions

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is all set to unleash some powerhouse action at UFC 102. The UFC will invade Portland Oregon for this show, which is missing a catchy moniker. How about UFC 102: The Road Back, or When Legends Attack, or better yet UFC 102: The Old Ones. I mean honestly, I could give a shit less if Couture or Minotauro win. I like Couture but judging from Nogueira's last performance, he's only got a couple of "Legend" fights left. It looks like Nogs has Greg Oden Syndrome. You know, he looks twice his age. I just can't get an ounce of excitement brewing for this matchup. Unfortunately one of these dudes will get to fight for the title again because the heavyweight division is so thin in talent. The rest of the main card is loaded with intriguing fights. There is no way I'm missing that Maia-Marquart fight. Or Jardine-Silva. That will be a slobber knocker. Ha ha, I really like that term, slobber knocker. Seriously I want to see every other fight. I really hope Vera gets beat up, too. I just can't handle that little dance thing he does. It makes me want to puke. The undercard looks pretty good on paper also, should be a couple of barn burners. Well anyway, here are the predictions and we're looking to do better than our UFC 101 picks, which were absolute crap. Did we draw names out of a hat? Sure seemed like it. Here they are and enjoy the fights.... RESULTS added Sept 1st.

UNDER CARD

Aurelio def Dunham by Choke DUNHAM

Munoz def Catone by TKO

Duffee def Hague by TKO

Russow def McCully by TKO

Gonzaga def Tuchscherer by KO

Simpson def Herman by Unanimus Dec

MAIN CARD

Soszynski def Vera by Split Dec VERA

Maia def Marquart by Arm Bar MARQUART

Rosholt def Leben by Choke

Jardine def Silva by TKO SILVA

Couture def Nogueira by Unanimus Dec NOGUEIRA

Well another shitty round of predictions. On the bright side we improved to 6-5 for the event. The main cards seem to be the weakness as we're 2-9 from the last 2 pay per views but 9-2 on the undercards. Couture-Nogueira fight was by far the best off the night. Good back and forth battle that went the distance. I think Marquart earned the next shot at the Spider's titles. Christ, that was a devastating KO. How about that Todd Duffee. Not only is his profile picture look bad ass, he set a UFC record with a 7 second knockout. And a reminder that The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights is right around the corner. See ya in a couple weeks.

Tiger Woods Farted?

2009 Buick Open...

UFC 101 Predictions

Here is theSportStew's predictions for this weekends UFC 101: Declaration and some bonus picks from WEC: Torres vs Bowles on Sunday.. It should be known that the tiebreaker in determining the battle is the weight in pictures. It's amazing what you can learn from a couple of pictures.

Lenox over Villafort by TKO
Sotiropoulos over Roop by Choke
Riddle dec. Cramer
Leites over Sakara by Choke SAKARA
Howard over McCrory TKO

Nelson over Riley TKO RILEY
Neer over Pellegrino by Choke PELLEGRINO
Grove over Almeida by Arm Bar ALMEIDA
Sadollah over Hendricks by Choke HENDRICKS
Silva over Griffin by TKO
Florian over Penn by Split Dec. PENN

Bonus Picks WEC Torres vs Bowles
Mizugaki over Curran by Unanimus Dec
Benavidez over Cruz by TKO CRUZ
Torres over Bowles by Choke BOWLES

Enjoy the fights and have a great weekend!!

Wow, we suck at this. Not sure what the hell was up with Griffin. After watching MMA this weekend, here are some new predictions. Brian Bowles, Mike Brown, GSP, and Anderson Silva are by far the best in the world at their weight classes and it will be awhile before any of them lose the belts.

Brock is a Better Bad Guy

The excitement is growing for UFC 101 but let’s take a quick look back at the epic card of UFC 100. The aftermath of UFC 100 was quite interesting. Well, first I should say that was a great night of fights. Brock Lesnar surprised us all with such a dominant dismantling of Frank Mir. It was very impressive and Lesnar looked unstoppable. And then, weirdness prevails. Lesnar got in Mir’s face and was trash talking him. Hey Brock, you just kicked his ass, I think he knows all about it. Next, Lesnar proceeded to slobber and spit all over the camera like a rabid dog. I actually liked his post fight interview with Joe Rogan though, the way he antagonizing the crowd was great. He might have gone too far by dissing Bud Light; after all they’re a major UFC sponsor.

Brock’s whole demeanor got me thinking. Did Dana White just pull a Vince McMahon? White is the President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He definitely comes off as brash and arrogant but that guy is a business genius. He has helped grow the UFC from bankruptcy to the biggest MMA draw around. In case you don’t know who Vince McMahon is, he is the Chairman and primary stockholder of the WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment. McMahon also has strong business sense, having taken a family owned business and turning it into a multi million dollar company. I think that White instructed Lesnar to act like an ass and, to steal a term from the pro wrestling business, turn heal. White knows that heavyweight is by far the weakest weight class in the UFC, and probably all of MMA. What better way to build excitement for upcoming cards than have a champion that no one likes. People will shell out the bucks to see an arrogant ass get the hell beat out of them.

Look over the roster of UFC’s heavies and there are very few that will generate a lot of prefight hype. You have the crowd favorites Couture and Nogueira. Lesnar already knocked out “the Natural” and “Minotauro” looked like a sack of crap against Mir. The top contenders appear to be undefeated up-n-comers, Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez, who I think fight each other in an elimination bout for the #1 challenger spot. Velasquez is a great wrestler but hasn’t shown huge power in the fights I’ve seen. Carwin, who has the size and power, should supply the best matchup. Can either of these guys stop Lesnar’s takedowns? The other options just don’t get my pulse racing but in MMA, an upset victory is only one punch away. There definitely isn’t a light heavyweight that would move up a class to take on Lesnar. He has to cut weight to make the limit. The heavyweights that would generate the most excitement are all outside the company. I would love to see Fedor or Bobby Lashley join the UFC. Lashley should continue to get better but would make dramatic strides if he dropped the pro wrestling bit.

Until some other fighters evolve, or some new talent is brought in, the UFC needs Brock Lesnar to be the guy that everyone wants to lose.

2009 MLB All Star Game

Ok, one night later we are in the man cave with the All Star Game about to start. Last nights trip to a sports bar was too loud, too confusing, and too expensive. So it’s Leinenkugels Honey Weis to the rescue. For the record, JB hates the All Star game and CW loves it.

And away we go….Like geniuses we both pick the AL, but are rooting for the NL. Don’t have to be too smart to take the AL; they have won 12 in a row. 30 seconds in, and it’s about kissing St Louis’s ass. Yes, yes, it’s a great baseball city. Let’s move on. One of the things we both like about the All Star game, they wear their own uniforms. I hate the NBA goofy ass things they wear.

Even if you didn’t vote for Obama, it’s cool to see him talk shit with jocks. We finally have a hip president. If you say Joe Nathan’s name all it once, you get Jonathan. JB with that nugget, and after just one beer. I hope he gets funnier with more booze in him. Our perfect little St Louis fans booed Ted Lilly. Which actually, we both respect them for that. I mean he is a Cub!

I think with every pound Prince Fielder puts on, he loses an inch in height. JB just reminds me, “This one counts.” I always think it’s cool watching the introductions and the reactions to all the big stars. Not sure why…it just is.

I think the crowd is trying to chant Yadier Molina but can’t figure out a way to do it. Sheryl Crow is still way hot. What the fuck is wrong with Lance? By the way…she sings pretty well. A smattering of boos for our President. I guess respect doesn’t go beyond the ball diamond in St Louis.

I just remembered how much I hate Tim McCarver. Wish someone would pay me to point at the obvious and bitch that it’s just not like the old days. When I look at the line ups, I don’t see how the NL could lose, but they will. I hate the Giants but man it is fun to watch Tim Lincecum pitch.

JB with this nugget, Prince Fielder is a vegetarian. That’s a lot dead plants in that dude.
Ok, I’ll start complaining now. I hate that they have made this game so serious. I miss Randy Johnson throwing it over Kruk's head and Bonds picking up Tori Hunter and dragging him around. Let’s bring back the fun. More on that later. Lincecum drills Jeter. Jeter is always getting drilled in that hand. Quit diving in there Derek and you won’t get hit!!

Just had a group prayer that Halladay pegs Pujols when he comes up. Then we’ll see how much this one counts. Wow, tough town. Scorer gives Pujols an error in his home town. It was an error, but still. The AL not fooled at all so far by Lincecum as they score 2 in the 1st.

2 out, nobody on in bottom of 1st as Pujols comes to plate. Walk him. Halladay actually makes contact…twice. Lincecum throws him nasty curve. What a pussy move. JB thinks Ichiro's shoes look like Dorothy’s form Wizard of Oz, only silver.

Just as Molina ties up the game, the President drops in a funny line about being out of money for bail outs. Crowd trying to chant Molina again. NL with the lead all of a sudden 3-2. Both pitchers go 2 innings. Let’s let a couple more do the same.

FOX not really having a good night. Missed the President 1st pitch. Barely getting out of the break in time to see the game and now the mic goes dead during the Halladay interview. Now it suddenly becomes a chore to keep up with who is in the game. Utley to 2nd to get Crawford was one of those, “NOOOOO! Yes! Nice play."

Joe Mauer is a fucking stud! Sometimes that’s all you need to say. I hate that they already talk about moving him from catcher. Let him catch! Pujols suddenly is sucking up everything hit his way. 3-3 in the 7th and it’s a pretty good game. But no homers yet. This game needs some fireworks.

Carl Crawford’s catch was awesome and will probably be remembered as the best play of the game. And that’s the problem! Never watched a more boring tied game in the 7th.Nothing like watching the Flomax replay. I can’t remember what Flomax does, but I like saying it. Nothing like watching all the biggest stars sitting on the bench with the game tied in the 8th.

And the AL wins again. Good game I guess. Just lacks the fun this game is supposed to have. I know I’m supposed to be the one who likes this game, but it sucked. I’m fed up with the “This one counts” bullshit. I smell a column coming.