*** Season Long Challenge Week 9 ***

Boom                         +106

SatNightFever05    +71

AMD                          +70

Onthereal                 +57

TheChad10              +40

Tideman                    +39

Arid_Torpor            +26

Dugie243                  +24

Cover34                    +18

Aggieaccountant    +16

RJ Sizzle                     +9

-----------------------THE JOE BREN LINE ---------------------------------

Bookieassassin                    -1

Longhornswin                     -2

PapaShango                        -2

Tommy Covers                    -11

Tree88                                   -14

Ronwoojzs                           -16

Bustinpiles                            -16

IgetMoney101                    -17

MaineRoad                          -18

Train69                                 -46

Tiasman                                -46

Nostradamus                       -48

-29-                                        -48

TheMugg                              -67

USCdiehard71                     -72

Badlands                               -106

Jetison                                   DNF (broke down at ½ mile pole)

10. Michigan St

 9. West Virginia

 8. Oregon St

 7. Washington

 6. UCLA

 5. Illinois

 4. Tennessee

 3. Tulsa

 2. Georgia Tech

 1. Syracuse

GL Fellas.

10 - Utah -4.5

9 - Michigan State +4.5

8 - Penn St. -6

7 - Cal -6.5

6 - Louisville -3

5 - Washington -7

4 - S. Carolina -5

3 - Georgia Tech +4

2 - SMU +3

1 - Rutgers +6.5

10. Arizona

9. Tennessee

8. Rutgers

7. llinois

6. UCLA

5. Michigan State

4. Clemson

3. SMU 

2. Louisville

1. Oregon State

10. Utah -4.5

9. Syracuse +3

8. Rutgers +6.5

7. Clemson -4

6. Michigan State +4.5

5. Penn State -6

4.  Washington -7

3. SMU +3

2. UCLA +6.5

1. South Carolina -5

I have noticed (and noted previously on these forums) what I suspect is a product of our digital age:  Everything these days is an argument, as people appear to have lost (or in the case of some younger folks, never acquired) the ability to hear what someone else is actually saying.  Everything is taken as an afront.  The Internet has become Monty Python's "Argument Clinic" sketch come to life.  Case in point: the threads surrounding this contest.

I guess I sort of started this by responing to someone's comment (who I don't even think is in the contest) that the contest was going to "prove" something.  My point, echoed here by some, is that it doesn't prove anything, or at least is terrribly unlikely to do so.   What the contest will give us is a contest winner.  That's fine.  The rules are fine.  How the games are picked, and which games are picked, are fine.  It's all fine (well, except for my performance, which has sucked ). 

However, the mere suggestions that this contest (fine as it may be) will likely play to the strenghts of some players over others (it will) and/or that the ability to choose the games each week is potentially an advantage (of course it is), have been taken as some sort of broad-side assault on the entire contest.  They aren't, at least not from me.  The contest is the contest. It will give us a winner.  The winner will have earned whatever he gets - even if the guy whose the winner is the guy who picked the games.  It's all good, but the discussions get so heated/aggressive/defensive so fast around here.   Things get stated as absolutes that aren't - "we all knew what the rules were when we sigend up."  Well, maybe you did (and maybe I should have), but I recall being surprised by the format.  That, however, does not mean I was: upset about the format; thought I was getting ripped off; thought anyone was trying to cheat me; no longer interested in playing; think the current leader is a crook, or anything else.  It means, I thought the format would be different.  That's not a complaint.  It's a sentence, a satement, a series of words.  At Covers these days, though, it's an invitation to step outside and go to swinging at one another.  This is really a better group than that. 

For fucks sake. This contest is about as fair as its gonna get. First off, BOOM doesnt make the lines. Second, he has set the perameters a game must fall into for it to be eligible for the contest. Thats pretty much the end of his involvement. He is the only one putting work into this so if you dont like it or think you can do it better next year start your own fucking contest.

The only 2 things I can see that would end all this discussion would be :

A) Post all games with spreads of 7 or less and let people pick 10 of the games.

B) Every other week use lines for the top 15/20 teams in the nation (some have byes and some play each other). That way there is a mix of close spreads and the best teams for the contest.

Just my 2c BOOM

10 Clem

9 Illinois

8 Wash

7 Utah

6 Neb

5 WV

4 Tulsa

3 Cuse

2 UCLA

1 Tenn

Alright you labia bearing bitches....

10.    Utah

9.     Nebraska

8.     West Virg

7.     Louisville

6.     CLEMSON

5.     Illinois

4.     SOUTH CAROLINA

3.     SMU

2.     Washington

1.     CAL

 I love this weeks card as I'm actually wagering on most of these games and have an opinion on all of them. I fully expect to have a strong week. 

10 ~ Tennessee  (can't wait for the debut of Justin Worley)

9 ~ Georgia Tech

8 ~ Tulsa

7 ~ Oregon State

6 ~ West Virginia

5 ~ Washington

4 ~ Illinois

3 ~ Syracuse

2 ~ Michigan State

1 ~ California

 The thing that concerns me is the Melvin Ingram factor.If the Vols can limit the havoc that he is sure to create we'll be O.K..However Marcus Jackson making his first start at LG has me a little nervous.

The dreaded Joe Bren line    Man I got pick it up this week to get over that threshold.