Washing the Cat

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Originally uploaded by Technocat.

Mungo and Buttons Sunning

Mungo and Buttons Sunning
Originally uploaded by Technocat.

Denny Chimes

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Originally uploaded by Technocat.

I took a quick stroll around the quad after lunch. A bit on the cool side, but otherwise a wonderful day...

College Football Picks (October 14th)

Missouri (-2) at Texas A&M
The Coach Fran Doomsday Countdown continues in College Station. A&M needs to make a statement here to buoy their embattled coach. Look for the magical undefeated season for Missouri to continue for at least another week.

Missouri 31 Texas A&M 27

Ole Miss at Alabama (-15.5)
I've been waiting for Bama to have a breakout game for the last, well, six weeks. Even the 41-7 score over LA-Monroe is deceiving as the Warhawks played better than the score indicated. A loss for the Tide here would raise the Fire-Shula rumblings to a wild cacophony. Look for the Tide to channel their frustrations into a thumping of the Rebs.

Alabama 34 Ole Miss 14

Florida (-2) at Auburn
Saturday's premiere game pits the #2 Gators against the formerly #2 Tigers. ESPN, who had doubtlessly been banking on a Top 5 clash of SEC titans, will be on-hand with Gameday and ESPN 360. The Gators are very strong and are a legitimate national title contender. The key to this game will be: Can the Tigers rebound after being manhandled by the Hogs? I believe that they will bounce back, but Florida's got too many weapons...

Florida 28 Auburn 24

Ohio State (-14) at Michigan State
The Buckeye national championship train keeps rolling in Lansing. The Spartans are reeling after choking against the Irish and dropping a game to Big 10 doormat Illinois.

Ohio State 41 Michigan State 9

Kentucky at LSU (-26.5)
A surprisingly decent Kentucky squad takes on a surprisingly disappointing LSU. The Tigers fooled many (myself included) into hyping them as national title contenders, even after their loss to Auburn. With the national title hopes gone and SEC championship hopes dangling by a very thin thread, LSU needs a big game against the Wildcats. I have a feeling that they'll get it.

LSU 31 Kentucky 13

College Football Picks (Recap)

A quick look back at how I fared with my picks for last weekend's games:

Florida St. (-9.5) at NC State (Thursday)

PICK: FSU 21 NC State 17
ACTUAL: NC State 24 FSU 20

The FireChuckAmato.com movement suffers another setback as the Wolfpack stun the collapsing Seminoles.

Arkansas at Auburn (-15.0)

PICK: Auburn 30 Arkansas 10
ACUTAL: Arkansas 27 Auburn 10

What a difference a week makes. From National Title aspirations and BCS moanings to 2nd place in the SEC West. I hate it for the Tigers...

Duke at Alabama (-29.0)

PICK: Alabama 35 Duke 3
ACTUAL: Alabama 30 Duke 14

14 points given-up to the worst offense in the Division I-A? Not good. Better regroup quickly or a dreadful Ole Miss team could steal one away from the Tide.

West Virginia (-20.5) at Miss State

PICK: West Virginia 41 MSU 9
ACTUAL: West Virginia 41 MSU 14

No surprises here, unless you consider the fact that MSU actually scored twice...

LSU at Florida (-2.5)

PICL: LSU 27 Florida 21
ACTUAL: Florida 23 LSU 10

I severely underestimated Florida and was thoroughly soused on the LSU Kool-Aid. The Gators are for real. A win at Auburn will confirm their SEC dominance.

Oklahoma vs. Texas (-3.5)

PICK: Texas 24 Oklahoma 16
ACTUAL: Texas 28 Oklahoma 10

Texas takes the reins in this series. May be awhile before the Sooners stand much of a chance in this rivalry.

Tennessee at Georgia (-2.5)

PICK: Tennessee 23 Georgia 20
ACTUAL: Tennessee 51 Georgia 33

51 points? On the #1 scoring defense? Say it ain't so!
(Sarcasm detector on) Can't wait for the Tide's visit to Knoxville (Sarcasm detector off)

College Football Picks (Week of October 7th)

Florida St. (-9.5) at NC State (Thursday)
Has FSU regrouped after the Clemson defeat? They've had two weeks to think about that loss and NC State is coming off a dramatic win over BC that may keep Amato around for a few more weeks. Tempting to go with NC State, but I'm willing to wager that FSU has gotten things together and will win in a close one.

FSU 21, NC State 17

Arkansas at Auburn (-15.0)

The Tide fan in me hopes for Auburn to drop every single game they ever play. After a close, hard-fought winner over Spurrier's Cocks, the Tigers face a rested Arkansas squad that last took the field for a gut-wrenching win over my Tide in 2 OTs. I'd love the Hogs to pull this one off, but Mustain will likely be in for a long day on the Plains.

Auburn 30 Arkansas 10

Duke at Alabama (-29.0)

After a brutal two-game roadtrip to Fayetteville and Gainesville, the Tide returns home to face one of the worst teams in all of I-A football. What wonderful way to bounce back from two tough conference losses. JP Wilson and the Tide offense should have plenty of opportunities to practice their red-zone skills (or lack thereof).

Alabama 35 Duke 3

West Virginia (-20.5) at Miss State

Hmmm, Croom is probably regretting agreeing to this series against the powerful Mountaineers. For whom does the cowbell toll? Not the Bulldogs...

West Virginia 41 MSU 9

LSU at Florida (-2.5)

Despite their loss to Auburn, I firmly believe that LSU is one of the best teams in nation. If a few teams pick up a loss, the Tigers (the Bayou version, that is) could find themselves in the silly 5th BCS game in Tempe. The trip to Gainesville is an enormous test and The Swamp is not very hospitable to visitors (as I discovered last weekend on my trip to the Sunshine State), but I'm giving this one to the Tigers.

LSU 27 Florida 21

Oklahoma vs. Texas (-3.5)

Both of these teams have been relatively quiet in the national scope of things after the Horns were hammered by Ohio State and the Sooners dropped a controversial one at Oregon. The winner breaks back onto the national stage and takes control of the Big 12 South. Hook 'em Horns!

Texas 24 Oklahoma 16

Tennessee at Georgia (-2.5)

A Tennessee loss all but eliminates them from the SEC East race, while a win puts the Vols in great shape with the Dawgs and the Gators set to face potential losses to Auburn. Tennessee is still something of an enigma after their loss to Florida, but should have enough to take out the shaky-looking Bulldogs.

Tennessee 23 Georgia 20

Thank God for the Cease-fire!?

At church on Sunday night, the congregation was led in prayer. This is certainly nothing unusual; we do it every time we come together to worship. What was unusual, however, was the part of the prayer where the speaker thanked the Lord for the cease-fire between Israel and the Hezbollah fighters. I was stunned to hear this! Have we not realized what a cease-fire in Lebanon actually equates to? How about a chance for Hezbollah to re-arm and to yell to the highest heights about how they achieved something that no organized Arab army could: they stopped an Israeli assault.

We (the Western world) are in an all out war. There is no place for cease-fires when our enemy has no plans to abide by them and when their stated goal is to eliminate all opposition (Israel and the West). Pray to God for the conversion of Islamic terrorists to Christianity or pray for those that are in the line of fire each day, but please don’t pray for a cease-fire!

Cat and Coco

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Originally uploaded by Technocat.

Friends at last.. perhaps?