We don't need no water...

...let the mother f*cker burn. Burn mother f*cker, burn.







Earlier today Hutch made mention that he was trying to book up every weekend for the entire summer. I think I have beaten him to it.

Last night I officially accepted an offer to return to the fabulous world of sports and entertainment. I will be in a senior position as a Corporate Account Executive with the Premium Seating Department of the Chicago Fire and their new stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois.

For those of you who see the obvious conflict of interest, that I used to work for one of their rivals (D.C. United,) you need not worry. I have officially dropped DCU effective immediately. Actually, that's not true. I still have a soft spot for both United and my original MLS team, the Columbus Crew, but the Fire will be in the forefront of my good wishes from now on.

How does that destroy my summer, you ask? Well, the stadium project will not be complete until June and the league opens play in April. Because of that, we will have to play our first nine games of the season on the road before playing at home on June 11th. The official home-opener is scheduled for June 25th, however, they want to make sure all the kinks in security and whatnot are cleared during the June 11th match. They will only allow season tickets holders and Bridgeview residents into that one. Throw in a couple of U.S. Open Cup matches, a game on my birthday...JULY F*CKING FOURTH...and my summer is officially shot to hell.

SOOOOO...as a result we will play a game on either Saturday or Sunday of all but four weekends from June 1st through Labor Day. That could be cut down to three if we are granted the MLS All-Star Game, which is a distinct possibility according to my new boss. That's not to say that I won't get to play this summer...most of those games are at night and only one day of the weekend. I'll still have plenty of time for, well, refereeing and playing soccer on Sundays.

It was nice knowing all of you. I'll see you just in time for Halloween.

March Madness...not just hoops

The #12 Ohio State Buckeyes (9-4, 20-4) knocked off #16 Michigan State (7-6, 19-8) up in East Lansing last night, 79-68, moving them into a tie for first place in the Big Ten with Iowa (9-4, 20-7.) tOSU will be home this weekend against TSUN at 12:30 PM CT on Saturday. TSUN just knocked off the Fighting Illini on Tuesday night.

The Miami Redhawks (12-3, 16-8) also won last night, taking down Akron (12-3, 19-7) at Millett Hall in Oxford, Ohio by the score of 63-60. Miami is now in a tie with Akron for second place in the MAC East just one game behind Kent State (13-2, 20-7.) The Redhawks will take on the Golden Flashes at Kent on Saturday at 1:00 PM CT.

My Co-rec indoor soccer team fell again last night, 5-4, dropping our record to a pitiful 0-7 with one game to play in the regular season. We actually led in this one 3-0 before surrendering five straight goals. We also played the entire game with an extra player as our opponents only had one girl show up for the game. One more loss and I'll have participated in the first winless season of my life in any sport. In fact, this may be the first losing team I've played for (aside from the fraternity) since high school.

Thankfully March is right around the corner. Although the league doesn't start until April, it'll be nice to get back outside and knock the ball around with my club team. They play very unselfish soccer and it shows in the results as they have won two consecutive Glenview Suburban League titles. This year they are moving up to the Northwest Suburban Soccer League and I'm very excited to join them. We may even be practicing this weekend in the temperature stays above 40!

Trivia Answers from last week

I received a few emails and Erik was the closest with his guess so he wins the prize! The prize is...a big pat on the fanny next time I see you. Congrats.

To refresh your memory, or for those that don't want to search through my old posts, the question was, "Who are the only three schools to have won a Division I NCAA Championship in the three major sports of football, basketball and baseball? Which team was the first to accomplish this feat?"

I have listed the three schools, in order, below. The first year that each won their title in the respective sports are also listed.

Ohio State '66
Football - 1942
Basketball - 1960
Baseball - 1966

Stanford '87
Football - 1926
Basketball - 1942
Baseball - 1987

Michigan '89
Football - 1901
Basketball - 1989
Baseball - 1953

The Sixth Cents IX

There wasn't very much controversy during the past two weeks in sports unless you count the American Olympic teams falling flat on their collective faces (for the most part.) Here's to hoping that hottie Sasha Cohen shakes her little ass today, kicks a little ass, and lands the USA a gold medal that Michelle Kwan could never deliver. Aside from that, here are some things that I've noticed since last time and a couple of things that I didn't...thank God.
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1. Rough week on the ice
Miami University dropped a pair of games at Michigan State over the weekend and fell to #3 in the nation as a result. The Spartans jumped from #10 all the way to #5 after hard fought 3-2 and 3-1 victories over the Redhawks. Miami has always struggled up in East Lansing, but had already clinched the CCHA regular season title and a #1 seed for the Road to the Joe. Minnesota and Wisconsin are now ranked #1 and #2 with Boston University rounding out the top five at #4. Miami will travel to Bowling Green on Thursday before finishing at home against those same BGSU Falcons on Saturday night. They have earned a first round bye and will have home ice advantage for their second round CCHA playoff match-up. They will host the lowest remaining seed after the bottom eight teams duke it out during the first week in March.

Team USA hockey backed into the medal round today after Latvia lost 5-2 to Kazakhstan today. The Americans (1-3-1) finished the opening round with a 5-4 loss to Russia this afternoon and will take on Pool A winner Finland tomorrow. The Fins finished the opening round at 5-0, posting shuts in four of their five games. In allowing just two goals all tournament, they have a +17 goal differential and have scored the second-most goals only to Russia's 23. The US, which hasn't played poorly by any means, has three one-goal losses and failed to score more than a goal against both Slovakia and Sweden.

The St. Louis Blues, despite not playing a single game due to the NHL's Olympic break, has managed to lose six more games. I give them exactly a 0% chance of keeping their all sports record of consecutive years in the playoffs streak going beyond 25. At least some of our great players that we traded away (more like gave away for 6 cents on the dollar) are turning in great performances in the Winter Games. Pavol Demitra (the top player in +/- in the Olympics at +10) has 2 goals and 5 assists for Slovakia, Chris Pronger has 1 goal and 2 assists for Canada, Craig Conroy has 1 goal and 3 assists for the USA and Doug Weight has even chipped in an assist for the Americans. Current Blue Keith Tkachuk has no points, but has uncharacteristically stayed away from the penalty box, getting just 2 minutes thus far.
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2. I wish I was a little bit taller yawl
The NBA All-Star game and slam dunk competition were played this past weekend in Houston, Texas. Did anyone else NOT notice? I didn't catch one second of either event, but did manage to completely ignore the Rookie Challenge when we were out at the bars the other night. Instead I proceeded to get drunk with Amy and her cousins, as well as some of the crew, over at McGees. Then I ate some tiny sausages on Saturday night (thanks for the pics Pablo) and relaxed with a movie and some pizza on Sunday. All great ways to avoid the NBA.

Apparently I missed the 5'9" Nate Robinson, who won the slam dunk title after missing 246 dunks and putting down just 2. Andre Iguodala, who I wanted the Bulls to draft instead of Ben Gordon, was robbed after, allegedly, throwing down one of the best dunks of all-time. He caught a pass from Allen Iverson off the back of the backboard before gliding underneath the basket (yet in the air) and putting down a reverse slam on the other side. Crazy. Wish I'd seen it. Wait a minute. No I don't.

I guess if you're a midget and you can dunk they just give it to you automatically, huh? Or was it because he plays for the Knicks and the NBA has to give them SOMETHING this year since Isiah Thomas has ruined their team completely? Speaking of Isiah, Bill Simmons posted his awards for the All-Star weekend here, and the best was clearly the one below. For those of you who don't follow the NBA, Thomas religiously outbids himself for free agents, far overpaying for "me-first" type players like Jamal Crawford, Eddy Curry, Jalen Rose, Stephon Marbury, etc. He was also recently accused of sexual harassment by a former Knicks front office employee.

Best Joke That I Heard More Than Once This Weekend
Some variation of this one: "Did you hear that Anucha Browne Sanders wanted to settle with the Knicks for $2 million, but Isiah countered with $50 million over six years?
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3. Round Ball Report
The US Men's Soccer Team trounced another vastly inferior opponent en route to their World Cup appearance this summer. This time they burried Guatemala in Frisco, Texas by the score of 4-0. The goals were scored by Chris Klein, Ben Olsen, Brian Ching and Eddie Johnson. As good as it is to see the Americans dominate against this type of competition, that's what they should be doing. I think it'd be nice to get more tune-ups overseas against the top European teams that we could be facing if we advance past the opening round against the Czechs, Italians and Ghanans.

There are some bright spots to the domestic based matches though, including a look at some young players who are battling for the final roster spots. Right now, my 23-man roster would look something like this:

G Kasey Keller
G Joe Cannon
G Marcus Hahnemann
D Eddie Pope
D Steve Cherundolo
D Carlos Bocanegra
D Frankie Hejduk
D Cory Gibbs
D Oguchi Onyewu
D Gregg Berhalter
D/M Eddie Lewis
D/M Bobby Convey
M Claudio Reyna
M Landon Donovan
M DeMarcus Beasley
M Pablo Mastroeni
M Chris Klein
M Pat Noonan
M John O'Brien
F Brian McBride
F Eddie Johnson
F Taylor Twellman
F Josh Wolff

And yes, that is Heidi Klum, co-host for the World Cup Draw in Leipzig, Germany on December 9, 2005.
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4. Cry me a River
Did anyone else see the latest Vijay Singh controversy? This guy cries more than a four year old girl. It's no secret that Vijay has never liked Tiger Woods. Then he bad-mouthed Annika Sorenstam for trying to play in a PGA event, suggesting that he should be allowed to play in the LPGA too. This is, of course, absurd because the LPGA only permits women. The PGA, on the other hand, is not a men's tour, it's a tour for the best golfers in the world, period. Who cares if she plays as long as she has to play by the same rules?

Vijay has also had problems with fan favorite Phil Mickelson. The first of which happened at the Master's when Singh complained about the length of Mickelson's spikes. Now, according to an anonymous PGA official, Vijay requested they take a look at Phil's driver. You see, the two were paired against each other for the opening two rounds of the FBR Open this weekend and Phil routinely out drove Vijay. On average, he was 6.1 yards longer on Thursday and 15.4 yards longer on Friday. Of course, this had to be the driver. Or maybe Phil got some Vitamin B from Miguel Tejada, just like Rafael Palmeiro.
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5. The real reason 24 has me on the edge of my seat - SPOILER
It's been, what, 7-8 episodes already and still no Elisha Cuthbert? In the words of John McEnroe, "You can NOT be SERIOUS!" They even totally teased us a couple of weeks back by having Jack talk to Audrey about calling her and getting her into CTU before she found out on her own that her father was alive. My prediction: This new crazy terrorist guy (Bierko) from last night is going to try to figure out who was helping Nathanson and killing his men. When he finds out it was Jack, he'll go after his daughter, kidnap her and then BAM, we have an Elisha Cuthbert sighting. I'm thinking it won't be next week, but it's definitely coming in the next 2-4 episodes. For those of you, like me, who can't wait to see her, here she is. Enjoy.
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6. The Miami of Ohio State University
I've already mentioned the hockey disaster, but both Miami and Ohio State's hoopsters fared well this weekend. The Buckeyes knocked off Northwestern 61-52 on Saturday and will travel to #16 Michigan State tomorrow night. Ohio State (8-4, 19-4) is currently in a three-way tie for second place in the Big Ten just a half-game behind Iowa (9-4, 20-7.) After MSU the Buckeyes will finish off the regular season against Michigan, at Northwestern, and Purdue.

Miami (11-3, 15-8) has two key match-ups this week after getting their 6th straight victory at home against Illinois State on Saturday. They currently sit in 3rd place in the MAC East behind Akron (12-2, 19-6) and Kent State (12-2, 19-7.) However, the Redhawks will play at home against the Zips and then at the Golden Flashes tomorrow and Saturday. The division title and #1 MAC tournament seed should be wrapped up with a pair of victories as the Miami boys finish the season against bottom-feeders Bowling Green and Buffalo.

Finally, the Lady Buckeyes absolutely destroyed the #14 Michigan State Spartans over the weekend 69-38. Ohio State (13-1, 23-2) is currently ranked #7 and would clinch the Big Ten championship with a win at home against #10 Purdue (12-2, 21-4) on Thursday night.

St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Whoever this person is, they're killing me. Not like the famous Al Capone hit on Bugs Moran's crew in 1929, but killing me none the less.

As I've mentioned previously, I have been receiving anonymous Valentine's Day cards every year for about five years now. The envelope is typed and has been post marked with Cincinnati, Chicago, and I believe even Cleveland and Dayton. There is never a return address and the card itself is always one that you would have passed out in elementary school. This year's was spider man. I hate spider man. Finally, the note is always the same, written in calligraphy:
To: Brandon Caputo
From: Someone who thinks you're terrific

I honestly thought they'd forgotten this year, or given up, since February 14th came and went without any mail. But then on the 15th, it came.

The thing of it is, this could only come from one of two places. First, family. Back in the day my mother used to pull this prank on my Uncle Eric (her brother.) She would send him annonymous fart cards every year on his birthday. My uncle was always the jokster in the family, so as this went on he became inceasingly frustrated over the years. The funny thing is, the whole family knew except him. How us kids kept a secret, I still don't know. He never found out until a couple of years after she passed away. Hilarious. So I ask you, could someone be reenacting my mother's goof? Obviously they would always have access to my address via my father, but who? My sister and Kelly are the obvious choice with the Cincinnati/Chicago post marks, but when I told my sister about this she laughed hysterically, so I think I've ruled her out.

Which leaves just one possible scenario: the fraternity. Only people that are in contact with my father or are members of Pi Kappa Phi at Miami University could have access to my mailing address year after year. You see, I've moved a ton. Although I've been on Eddy Street for almost two years, I have moved no less than 18 different times since I was 18. On average, that's over twice per year. But, I usually keep my profile on the fraternity's website current. Only members with log-in capabilites have access to contact information (beyond email.) Could it be a prank from one of the guys?

The only other possibility is that it's for real. Maybe someone actually has a crush on me and has not told me yet. This person would obviously have to know me from Miami and have remained friends with the people who know me best. Who could it be?

I have no clue...but it is my solemn vow to find them out by 2007!

Trivia Answers - and a new question

To refresh your memory, the question at hand is as follows: What are the only eight schools to have won both a Division I-A Football National Championship and a Division I basketball championship?

If you remember, the original question said there were only three schools to accomplish this feat, but I think I may have found where the provider went wrong. Until 2002, there were only three schools to have won an OUTRIGHT national championship in both sports. Remember, because there is no playoff system in football, we've had a number of split championships over the years, including three of the eight teams. The other two teams that rounded out the five that were missing just recently won their basketball title within the past four years. It's possible that they had originally come up with this information before that. So, since nobody else wants to take a crack, here are the answers kids. (Split National Championships for football are in red.)


Ohio State
Football 42, 54, 57, 61, 68, 70, 02
Basketball 60

Michigan
Football 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 18, 23, 33, 48, 97
Basketball 89

Michigan State
Football 52, 65
Basketball 79, 00

UCLA
Football 54
Basketball 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 95

Stanford
Football 26
Basketball 42

Syracuse
Football 59
Basketball 03

Maryland
Football 53
Basketball 02

Arkansas
Football 64
Basketball 94

Now, since nobody got the correct answer on their own (including me,) let's throw in a bonus question that I did know the answer to.

Rounding out the "big three" sports....using those eight teams who have won both a football and basketball national championship, can you name the three who have also won a baseball national championship? Which school was the first to accomplish this feat?

No such thing as a perfect referee - UPDATED

What a relaxing weekend! Friday night I did nothing, and it was everything I hoped it would be. Nash was in Florida with the nurse over the weekend so I was able to get some cleaning around the apartment done. Saturday morning I did a little of the same before meeting Amy for lunch at Bagel and Deli. (Note: I have been refusing to call Chicago Bagel Authority by it's proper name lately, I think I'm starting to miss the Miami life.) Then I worked at J. Crew for a couple hours before heading home to look over the law changes for my referee exam on Sunday. All told, with the exception of some groceries and the exam fee, I spent practically no money this weekend. I'll have to keep that up as things are going to be tight for a couple of months.

So anyways....near the end of pledging the fraternity, before you get initiated, all Pi Kapps have to take a written exam. This exam covers things from the origins of greek letter organizations, to the founding of our national fraternity in South Carolina, to our specific chapter's history and everything in between. When the new member education chair goes to grade these exams, he WILL find something wrong. Even if you have everything completely correct, allegedly, they will give you some bull crap 99% for putting your name in the upper left hand corner instead of the upper right. No such thing as a perfect Pi Kapp, they say.

Thankfully that's not the case for the United States Soccer Federation. Every year each referee must take a day long "refresher course" and a 100 question exam in order to remain as an active official. They are generally very boring classroom settings with a mix of high school kids in their first couple years of refereeing and savvy veterans who are there to take the exam and bolt. I first received my certification in March of 1994, so I have attained veteran status at this point even though I'm still a Grade 8. This year I took the exam up in Edison Park, not far from my house, in the northwest suburbs. Unfortunately for me, there were only three of us veterans and bunch of damn kids that needed babysitters. I forgot how rude teenagers are since I haven't been around them in so long. All the talking while the instructor was trying to cover the required material...I just wanted to slap these little douche bags.

This year I decided that it's time for me to move up to Grade 7 so that I can make Grade 6 (and be out of these horribly boring low level crap sessions) by 2008. So, I decided to just keep my mouth shut, pay attention during the part where they talk about law changes and the FIFA interpretations, take my exam and go home. Maybe I should take that approach all the time...I knocked out my first ever perfect score! Back when I first started taking these exams I remember getting marks in the low 80s (you need a 75 to pass, 85 to upgrade from an 8 to a 7) and more recently I've been somewhere between 93-96 depending on if I'd read up on the rule changes prior to showing up.

I was pretty stoked when it was all said and done, and the instructor was pretty impressed too as it was the only score above a 95 in the room. He even offered to do my assessment, which at first didn't seem like a great idea. Basically, in order to complete the upgrade, you have to be assessed on a higher level match and receive certain marks. I already know plenty of assessors who would be happy to do it, but after some reflection, I kind of like the fact that this guy doesn't know me at all. I feel like I'll probably get a very fair and unbiased review on account of it.

So, I'm finally on my way to accomplishing my next set of refereeing goals. I'll complete my first full year of high school soccer in Illinois this May and this time next year I'll be applying for a collegiate association membership so I can do those games as well (a year ahead of eligibility.) After moving to a 7 with USSF, I'll be offered some more challenging and higher paying games at the club level as well. I've already been doing some matches that I'm not certified to do for about a year and half, but now it'll be legal. All pretty exciting stuff, if you're into this like I am, and hopefully by the time I'm 30 I can be refereeing collegiate and the top level amateur games in the state. I honestly hope to be a professional referee at some point in my life and doing a World Cup match would be incredible. They almost never take American referees so that's not very likely, but amazing would it be to work at that level? So exciting.

After the referee exam I hurried home to catch the end of the Ohio State upset of Illinois on the hardwood. What a great game! The Buckeyes are currently penciled in as a 2-seed for the big dance and they have a legitimate shot of winning the Big Ten a year early, ranked #12 in the country. I was busy being excited for next year's remake of the "fab five" freshman class when I saw this year's squad knocking down 3-pointers as if they were lay-ups. In fact, with the early talk about Ohio State's football team possibly being a pre-season number 1, we may even see the first time in NCAA history that a Division I team wins the national championship in basketball and football in the same year. Okay, let's not get TOO ahead of ourselves, but how crazy would THAT be?

Trivia time: Only eight schools have won both a Division I-A Football national championship and a Division I basketball national championship. Without using the internet, or my friend Brooke (who I told the answer to yesterday,) can you name the eight schools? Post your answers in the comments and the answer will come later in the week!

Finally...Happy Valentines Day everyone. I hate this ridiculous Hallmark holiday, but I guess I have to participate this year. Unfortunately, I have yet to receive my annual secret admirer card in the mail. Have you given up, whoever you are?

Coach Pookie

If you asked me who the one person was who managed to motivate me beyond my natural abilities, I'd have to say Coach Gary Carkido. He was a math teacher, assistant football coach and track and field sprint coach at my alma mater, Midpark High School. In the beginning I only went out for track because my friends Jill and Ryan convinced me that I would get in really, really, really ridiculously good shape for soccer. Jill was one of my best friends and I had known Ryan since we were kids, so I figured, what the hell? Little did I know what I was in for...

I went through the motions as a Sophomore and most of my Junior season until coach threatened to kick me off the 4x400m relay team. Just a week after he sat me down from the relay, he let me challenge my replacement for the spot. With coaches help, as well as an old teammate (and collegiate hurdler) who graduated the previous year, I was prepared and beat "the rookie shit," as we called him. At that point, I kicked it in gear and ended up dropping about four seconds off my time in a month and a half. Our relay went on to win the conference, break the school record by over six seconds and compete at the state meet. As a senior I went back in the open 400m despite some of my coaches, and friends, telling me that I wasn't good enough.

I owe it all to one man.

A couple of weeks after the run-off at practice, some of the sprinters, including myself, the rookie (who would end up being our alternate at the state meet,) and the hillbilly (our anchor,) noticed a small, gold, bear-shaped charm on coach's necklace. Knowing it was a gift from his wife, we immediately dubbed him, "Coach Pookie," short for pookie bear. Coach, with a very serious look on his face, told us to never call him that again. BUT, we were all cocky little bastards and decided to lay into him in the weight room the next day despite his stern warning. What was he going to do about it, right? It was supposed to be a heavy lifting, lift running workout, but it quickly turned into repeat quarters. He ran us hard until a few of the guys were puking their guts out.

For those who don't know what "repeat quarters" are... a "quarter" is a quarter-mile, 400m, or one lap around the track...an excruciating race. It's an all-out, yet controlled, sprint. We had to complete each lap in under 60 seconds and when one group crossed the line, another would take off, and so on. Our best times were between 49-52 on race day, although the younger guys were a good 2-8 seconds slower than that. Imagine how difficult it would be to run a number of these at that time with no rest and no spikes. This went on for what seemed like hours, in actuality it was probably about 30-45 minutes. If you've seen "Miracle," think of the "again" scene after the USA tied Norway in an exhibition game leading up to the '80 Olympics. Coach wasn't quite as mean as Herb Brooks, but my God did our legs feel like jello and did our stomachs feel nauseous when he was through with us. Needless to say, we learned our lesson. Don't f*ck with coach.

After my senior year, I never really heard from Coach Carkido again. I heard he had gone back to teach and coach football and track at his alma mater, McDonald High School, in Youngstown, Ohio. None of the other coaches from Midpark that I kept in touch with (basically Coach Kosar and Coach Ruggiero) had heard from him. Well, two weeks ago, he emailed me. Weird. I always scan through my spam box on yahoo, just in case, but usually it's all crap. But there it was-
Subject: Your track coach
From: Gary Carkido

Apparently he was trying to locate some of his old students to see what they'd been up to and found my profile on the fraternity's website. I believe you have seen Erik link this a couple of times already. Yes, we get it. I had shitty hair. So did Nash and Berry...

(note: I have a totally sweet picture of Nash and Berry mopping the fraternity's kitchen floor freshman year with their ridiculous hair, but unfortunately it's not digital and I'm without a scanner at home. As soon as I can get the rest of my pictures online, you will all get to see it. It's brilliant.)

Anyways, I've been exchanging emails with coach for a week or so and I finally got a chance to tell him the impact he had on me. I've had coaches who motivated me and got me to play hard, but I've never had a coach who got me to prepare quite like he did. Senior year I was always in the weight room or out on the track long into the night. I would be working on my starts or practicing coming off of the 200 and 400 meter turns. I was so dedicated that I alienated a number of my close friends (Ivancic, Vinny and Demas especially) and effectively ended my social life for nearly four months. Had I accomplished all my goals I would have even missed prom, but I lost at state semi's after catching a nasty flu from my ex-girlfriend earlier in the week.

When I look back at old photos from high school I often notice that I don't have many from my senior year. Well, at least there aren't many that were taken away from the track, the football stadium or the soccer field. After emailing with coach, I remember for the first time in years what it was like to be so dedicated to something. To give up your life for one goal is a difficult thing, but I can honestly say that I have no regrets. Thankfully, I still see the high school gang when I'm back in Cleveland and we can all pick up right where we left off. However, had I not become such a loner near the end there, I may not have gone away to Miami for college. I certainly wouldn't have ended up hanging out with my crew up here or even gotten to D.C. or Chicago at all. It's interesting to think how one person's belief in you can shape your future so drastically.

So now, as I embark on my training for the triathlon this summer and the possibility of a new career, I hope I can find the motivation to attack my goals the same way I did over that 18 month stretch. I'll certainly need it if I'm going to even finish this tri, let alone beat anyone I know to the finish. I might have to find some time this summer to train back in Youngstown and get that edge back. I guess I'll leave you all for the weekend by saying, "Thank you Coach Pookie," one final time. I could use a dose of repeat quarters right about now.

The Sixth Cents VIII

It's been three whole weeks since I've done one of these posts and I think that was a little long. At first I tried the every week thing and I just couldn't get enough material. Then I tried just two per month, but that will leave an occasional three week gap like this one and you all will miss out on some fascinating stories. SO, I'll revamp it one more time (hopefully the last time) and you'll be getting my six cents every other week. Without wasting any more of your time, here you go...
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1. Taking the Bus to the Detroit Zoo to see the Seababies and Zebras
Super Bowl XL is in the books and I am now 5-0 against the spread here at Cap's On Tap. It's too bad I haven't followed my own advice and gambled on these games, I could be working my way towards being debt free.

Much like the media beat the "Jerome Bettis is from Detroit" angle to death, they are now running the "referees screwed over Seattle" angle into the ground. Finally today somebody said it was bogus on ESPN.com. Thank you. Here are my random thoughts on the game...

-Holding a defensive player away with a stiff arm, while the ball is in the air, in order to catch a pass is called "offensive pass interference." Period. If that had been a Steelers cornerback holding off Jackson in exactly the same way, you would have wanted a penalty called for you.

-Roethlisberger may or may not have crossed the plane on his second quarter touchdown run, even he doesn't know for sure (as he admitted on Letterman Monday night.) The bottom line is that there was no conclusive video evidence to suggest otherwise and they had to uphold the ruling. Had the call on the field been down at the one inch mark, I think it would have held up too. Just too close to call. BUT, 4th and an inch, down 3-0 in the Super Bowl, Cowher has Ben punch that in with a QB sneak on the next play so it's a moot point, quit crying.

-I think the holding penalty was the only questionable decision, although, the Seattle lineman did hook the Pittsburgh pass rusher's are and bring him to the turf. We all know holding could be called on every play, it just doesn't always happen that way. Generally speaking you can get away with it if you don't tackle the guy.

-The Seahawks just didn't play well enough. The interception was horrible; they should have been getting at least three points on that drive. The flag on Hasslebeck was crap, but the pick would hold up and Pittsburgh likely would have scored anyways.

-Seattle didn't get Alexander, the league MVP, involved enough in the game plan. Yes, he had nearly 100 yards, but does anyone even remember any of them?

-There were entirely too many dropped passes, including at least 42 drops by Jerramy Stevens, who had been running his yapper earlier in the week. Get these guys some stick'em!

-I told you Pittsburgh had the edge on special teams, but even I didn't think it'd be this lopsided. Josh Brown missed two field goals. Tom Rouen had a nice 50.2 yards per punt average, but four of his six kicks went for touchbacks. Seriously man, 49.2 is still great, AND your opponent gets 76 less yards out of the deal. Less=more. What a concept. ESPN.com calculates Net Punting Average incorrectly (they had Rouen at 44.8) as they chose not to factor in the 80 yards he gave up from touchbacks. With those, he only averaged 31.5 yards per punt...terrible. Finally, Antwan Randle El had more yards in his two punt returns than Peter Warrick could come up with in four attempts. Any time a small Big Ten school guy outclasses a big time ACC school guy, I am pleased. Yay Gods.

-Mike Holmgren should get two huge fines. One by the NFL for his comments about the officiating on Monday in front of Seahawks fans at a rally. The other by his front office for completely blowing the two-minute drill at the end of BOTH HALVES. Two words to describe the reason he won that Super Bowl in Green Bay: Brett Farve.
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2. Hey look Kobe, you scored 81 points...you're still no daisy
It's no secret that I like Kobe Bryant about as much as Doc Holliday liked Johnny Ringo. As impressive as his dropping 81 was a couple weeks ago, I have a hard time believing that Michael Jordan couldn't have sprung for 90 or more in today's NBA. The bottom line is that the Lakers are not that great of a team and that they need Kobe to score 40 every night in order to win games. When the Lakers play against teams that have above average defenders, they will slow him down enough to force the rest of the those no-talent ass clowns to knock down shots. I can't wait to see the Clippers eliminate the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.

In other NBA news, the Bulls continue to free-fall after finishing with the third best record in the Eastern Conference last year. I think they needed Eddy Curry more than they thought. As it stands, they have nobody that can score in the post, but they have 12 point guards on the roster. Still no word on what team I will pledge allegiance to, so until then, I will continue to ignore the NBA. Everyone else is doing it...
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3. Welcome to another addition of....Tepee talk
I wasn't too happy when the Coco Crisp trade went through with Boston. It's not so bad that we gave up a consistent player like him with speed on the bases and great range in the outfield for (essentially) a career platoon outfielder with off the field issues (Jason Michaels from Philadelphia.) It's not even so bad that Boston refused to give up Count Chocula or Frankenberry in return. My problem is that we have taken our major league leading bullpen and dropped our three best middle/late inning guys for next to nothing. Howry, Rhodes and Riske....all gone. And this is going to help us compete in the AL Central, which just so happened to be the best pitching division in baseball a year ago? I think not.

In other news, there is supposedly a World Baseball Classic starting in a couple of weeks. I think I'll hit the snooze button. Wake me up when we get to April Fool's Day.
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4. The Round Ball Report
Here are some goings on in that sport that most American's choose to ignore, kind of like how you ignore the drunk and slightly white trash family member that makes an ass of himself at family gatherings. And yes, that is a picture of Heather Mitts. No, she has nothing to do with this post, she's just hot, and a soccer player....

I am officially on the roster for MM Arsenal, a club soccer team that I refereed on numerous occasions last summer. They are a very talented side and have chosen to move out of the Glenview League and into the Northwest Suburban Soccer League starting this spring. The competition in this league is tough and I'm a little nervous for camp to start in a couple of weeks. We are currently on the lookout for a home field and a new coach, so if you have any leads, let me know!

The United States will take on Japan Friday night at 11:00 PM EST in World Cup tune up match on ESPN2. It will be the first real competition after tieing Canada 0-0 and drubbing Norway 5-0 in January. Freddy Adu was sent home to D.C. United and his chances of making the roster for Germany this summer are pretty much over. For those that say they won't, but might sneak a glimpse of the action on Friday, don't be surprised if we are losing. Japan is a quality team and we are missing all of our foreign based players...the roster is entirely comprised of MLS talent. That's kind of an oxymoron, isn't it? MLS talent. I kid because I care.

Speaking of which, be on the lookout in Bridgeview, IL for the new soccer specific stadium that the Chicago Fire is building. It's going to be gorgeous. I also may be dumping my old team, D.C. United, if I get the job I'm currently talking with the Fire about. Yes, this would be the third different MLS team I've supported in the league's 10 seasons including United and the Columbus Crew. Go where the money is. That's how I roll.
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5. The 2006 Winter Olympic Games
I hear they are in Italy. That's all I got. Back to you Bob.
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6. The Miami of Ohio State University
The Miami Hockey team WAS ranked #1 in the nation last week, but dropped a tough one to Alaska-Fairbanks on Friday night before coming back with a 2-1 victory on Saturday. They still checked in at #2 as Minnesota jumped on top of the NCAA. The Redhawks will be off this weekend, but will host the Buckeyes on Valentine's Day before finishing the season with a road series against Michigan State and a home-and-home series against Bowling Green.

The Miami hoops team is 12-8 overall, but sitting in third place at 9-3 in the MAC East after winning three straight against Ohio, Bowling Green and Buffalo, which are the three teams below them in the division race. This comes on the heels of losing three straight to Western Michigan, Kent State, and Akron. The latter two are above Miami in the MAC East and Western sits in second place in the West behind Northern Illinois.

The Buckeyes are in a three-way tie with Indiana and Michigan State for fourth in the Big Ten at 5-3 (16-3 overall) and are ranked #17 in the country. They will take on #22 Michigan and #9 Illinois later this week, two teams above them in the standings.

Wally World - Szczerbiak was traded to Boston and the Celtics still blow. Yes, Wally is definitely overpaid for what he does. They need to get him on a team that has four guys who play defense so he doesn't have to.

And finally, Big Ben is a Super Bowl Champion. Congrats playa.

The Super Bowl Pick

I'm going to attempt a pre-game post here, but I just haven't had time to read as much analysis as I'd like and frankly, I really don't know what to think after both teams dismantled their opponents in the conference title games. But here's the deal, since I started predicting games on this blog I'm a perfect 4-0 in choosing the winners and also 4-0 against the spread (in games where I actually wrote the predictions down that is) so I'm going to go for broke and see if I can make it five for five.

When Pittsburgh has the ball
I'll tell you think much, Seattle's defense has been a bit underrated this season. Without having a single player that a random person on the street would be able to recognize by name, they've gone on to dismantle every team in the NFC. Granted, they did so with six games against (arguably) the worst division in football. Their linebackers are quick to the corners, but their secondary can be suspect at times. If Pittsburgh can pass early and force Seattle into nickel coverage, they should also be able to run the ball very effectively.

BUT, I don't think the Steelers will surprise anyone with their passing attack anymore and their running game has not been the same as of late with Bettis putting on all kinds of weight and Willie Parker just being a young running back. The thing I like best about Pittsburgh is my boy Big Ben and how cool he remains under pressure. He's big, he's strong, he's mobile and he's intelligent...everything you would want in a quarterback. He might not have had the pedigree that Eli "cry baby" Manning did coming out of college, but Ben just seems to have a swagger that can't be broken. The guy hasn't had a losing season ever, to my knowledge, and he has an uncanny ability to feel the pocket around him and make the propper decisions to always give his team the chance to win.
Slight Edge: Steelers

When Seattle has the ball
Again, I think Seattle has been off everyone's radar all season and the majority of folks around the country will be overlooking them a bit. But remember this kids, they were the best team in the NFC all year. They have the NFL MVP in their backfield and one of the best offensive lines in football. Their strength is the ability to run the ball with a single setback and three receivers because their line is that good. Their receivers are solid but without game changing speed. In previous seasons they've had trouble catching the football, but they haven't had that problem this year and people are taking notice. However, the AFC is a much better conference right now and while they were only the 6th seed, Pittsburgh is one of the most physical defenses you'll ever see. Troy Polamalu is going to be the fastest player on the field when he is out there and the Steelers use him as the focal point of the best blitz package in the league.

And yes, Sports Guy, that includes your New England Patriots...so shut it. They weren't one of the best team's this year, period, and we're sick of hearing about them. (In today's article he mentioned that he didn't think Seattle was as good as the AFC's best three teams, the "Pats, Colts and Steelers." Um, are you forgetting that you got your tails whipped by Denver, who went 14-4 this year...and that your Patriots had the worst record of any team coming into the playoffs this January? I don't care that you won the Super Bowl three of the past four years...this year they just weren't good enough.)
Slight Edge: Pittsburgh

Special Teams
I would give the advantage to Pittsburgh here for one reason alone. Chris Gardocki. In 15 NFL seasons the man has never had a punt blocked and he has nearly 38 net yards per punt...very solid. He has also placed exactly half (and 28% for his career) of his punts inside the 20 yard line in this year's playoffs. Brilliant.

While Josh Brown (Seattle's kicker) has an extremely strong leg, he made just 18 of 25 field goal attempts this season. The Steelers' Jeff Reed was 24-29, slightly better, but 0-2 from beyond 50 compared to Brown's 5-8 from the same range. This seems like a wash to me, but if it comes down to a 50+ yarder to win the game, I'm going with Brown. Reed is accurate, but not that strong.

As for the returners, I have but three words....Antwan Randle El. This kid has only one speed on his motor: GO!
Edge: Steelers

Coaching
Seattle's Holmgren has been here before and won here before. Cowher has one of the longest tenure's of any coach in NFL history, but lost in his only Super Bowl appearance to the Dallas Cowboys of "the triplets era." Because of the ring, I should be handing this thing to Seattle, but Pittsburgh has been a different team with the maturation of Roethlisberger. Cowher seems more adept at changing his game plan now that he has a consistent passing attack to complement the run. In fact, one could argue that the run now compliments the pass in the Steel City.
No Edge

The Spread: Pittsburgh (-4)
The Pick: Pittsburgh 29 - Seattle 23

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Here is a list of all the predictions I've made on this site and the results of those games. Correct picks are in bold text, pending picks are in italics, home teams are in CAPS and overall record is posted below.

1. Ohio State 33 (-4.5) over Notre Dame 17 -- Final: tOSU 34-20
2. Texas over USC Trojans -- Final: UT 41-38
3. Steelers 23 (+3.5) over BRONCOS 17 -- Final: PIT 34-17
4. SEAHAWKS 27 (-3.5) over Panthers 20 -- Final: SEA 34-14
5. Steelers 29 (-4) over Seahawks 23 -- Final:
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Results
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Picking the winners: 4-0
Picking against the spread: 4-0

a BIG sports day (for a select few crazies like me)

There may be another post coming when I get home from work, depending on what time I get out of here today, but I'll start you off with something I typed up over lunch about our boys at Miami University and the BIG sports day that is February 1st.

On Monday afternoon (regrettably I had no time to play around and check this yesterday) the new NCAA hockey polls were released and Miami is currently #1 in the nation! I believe this is our first ever #1 ranking in any sport outside of Synchronized Ice Skating, which we dominate even at the world championship level. No, I'm not kidding.

The Redski...er, Redhawks have the best record in the nation at 19-4-4 and earned exactly half of the first place votes in the USCHO.com poll. A weekend sweep of Ferris State was good enough to move us up from #3, with a little help from the rest of the top 10 of course. Former #1 Boston College lost to rival Boston University, dropping them to #3. Wisconsin and Minnesota also flip-flopped in the #2 and #4 positions after the Golden Gophers swept the Badgers. Yay!

Having won five in a row, the Miami boys now have just seven games remaining in the regular season, but it won't be easy. They will start with three straight at home against a weak Alaska-Fairbanks team (Friday and Saturday) and rival #23 Ohio State (Tuesday.) Then they will play a weekend series at #14 Michigan State and will finish off the season with a home-and-home series against Bowling Green on February 23rd and 25th.

Miami can also earn home ice and a first round bye in the CCHA tournament by getting just three points (a win and a tie) the rest of the way. The final two rounds of the conference tournament will be held in Detroit on March 17-18, which I don't think I will attend. Seriously, who would go to that hell hole, even WITH the Super Bowl? However, the Frozen Four (NCAA Tourney) is being held in Milwaukee...I may just have to get some tickets for that. And...AND.... the Midwest regional is in Green Bay, so if we earn the number one seed I think we would end up there for the first two rounds. I could potentially get to see all four NCAA playoff games without driving more than three hours! Sweet.

Today is also a very exciting day for us college football junkies, signing day. Again, not kidding. I'm stoked for this. The "live update" on espn.com does not have any signings for the Buckeyes quite yet, while most of Michigan's are good to go, so I'm guessing coach Jimmy Sweatervest hasn't released anything to the media. Once again it looks like we'll be in the top 10 in the nation in terms of recruiting classes. However, Florida, USC, Texas, Georgia and Notre Dame are the current top 5. We all know that they don't coach well enough at Florida or Georgia for it to matter much 2-3 years from now when these players will be starters, but unfortunately it doesn't look like we're bringing in any track stars like Ginn and Holmes.

All of you fellow Bucks out there should be excited about the futures of these top signings, most of which are local boys (with national rank for their position in parenthesis):
Chris Wells, RB, Akron, OH (5)
Robert Rose, DE, Cleveland, OH (4)
Connor Smith, OT, Cincinnati, OH (7)
Mark Johnson, ILB, Los Angeles, CA, (7)
Bryant Browning, OG, Cleveland, OH (9)
Aram Olson, FB, Columbia, SC (2)
Thaddeus Gibson, OLB, Euclid, OH (11)
Kurt Coleman, CB, Clayton, OH (12)
Ross Homan, ILB, Coldwater, OH (15)

Finally...yes, Erik, Jim Tressel's World is absolutely hysterical. Normally I would get pissed about sites like this, but this clown is so over the top and completely absurd that you can't help but laugh. I think my favorite line so far was this:

"I sent my wife on a two week cruise (or maybe locked her fat ass in the coat room with a gallon of water, two boxes of Wheaties, some crossword puzzels and a flashlight). I didn't want her to spoil the party we've been having over here at Casa de Tressel or as the boys have been calling it this week "The Pussy Center". Dr. Jimbo has been doing alot of breast exams this week."