as Missouri goes, so goes the nation...

Hi loyal followers of the BiffBlog! The old man is still cruising down I-95, so the youngun gets to guest post for a while. No worries, though, I've been promised on-the-road updates, which will then of course be put up here.

Anyway, it's Saturday, and that, of course, means utter college football madness. This particular Saturday was without question a truly epic one--for multiple reasons, but mainly because of the Texas-Texas Tech game. I would describe it here, but really, it's something that needs to be seen (ESPN's highlight reel is at this link: http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3677736&categoryId=2378529&n8pe6c=2). Suffice to say that Tech beat a number one team for the first time in their history, and a minute-thirty on the clock is just way too much time to start slacking off on defense. Mack Brown, of all people, should know this--he's the one who beat USC in the '06 Rose Bowl with 19 seconds left.

In other exciting news around the conferences, Rice clinched bowl eligibility (this'll never get top billing in other media outlets, so I'm giving the event its due right here and now), Michigan clinched a losing season in a last-minute fall to Purdue, Florida stomped all over Georgia in a cold-blooded act of revenge (I want to see the new Heisman rankings, even though I suspect McCoy will still be leading), and the Huskers got shucked by the Sooners. ESPN, that master of self-promotion, floods the airwaves with Monday Night Football reminders throughout these games, but frankly, I find the college game infinitely more exciting and interesting than that of the pros (and to think I didn't even pay attention to it until, well, I got to college). The rivalries are more intense, the plays and players less refined and more gritty--football started at the college level, and it's here, still, that the game is best watched.

However, Chris Berman is interviewing McCain and Obama during the MNF halftime show, which is something definitely worth watching.

Sen. Obama spoke at Mizzou this past Thursday to a crowd of about 40,000 people, of which I was one. I had seen him earlier this winter, when he was still campaigning for the primaries in Texas, but to have a presidential candidate come to your school in the waning days of election season...well. That's something entirely different. The speech he gave was much more focused than his Houston talk, zeroing in on the economy (no surprises there), and encouraging all to go out and vote on Tuesday. I know the audience for this blog is not quite at 40,000 yet, but I'll do the same on that latter issue. VOTE. Please. You can't complain about the government, be it Democratic or Republican, unless you cast a ballot. My excitement levels over the election probably have a lot to do with this being only the second time I've been able to participate, but I hope they don't decrease in the future. Having spent the past couple weeks working on a research paper detailing apartheid policies, I appreciate all the more my right to have a say in how things are run. It's not something to take for granted--I don't buy the "principled non-voting" argument. Plus, you get the "I Voted Today" sticker!

Stepping down from the soapbox, here's to an extra hour of sleep tonight! Peace out, and look for a Biff update in the near future :)

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Karen stunned me today when I asked her to tell me the five states that have produced the most NFL players. Her sports knowledge has put a lot of juice in our relationship for a long time. (I took a serious double-take years ago when Barry Bonds was making his debut fir the Pirates on TV at the Waterfront restaurant. She asked, "Could that be Bobby Bonds son?") Answer, from the Boston Globe, below.

So, I hope you all invested in Curlin yesterday. Last year's horse of the year slogged through the mud with with Wanderin' Boy nipping at his heels. All right, he only paid $2.80, but with the banking/market situation being what it is a forty per-cent profit in a couple of minutes isn't too bad. Curlin's connections seem like they're trying to avoid Big Brown at the Breeder's Cup, but kudos to them for racing this horse well into his fourth year. We'll see, but if the showdown takes place...my inclination would be to drop a bob or two on Curlin.

College football was nuts this week, 'Bama's rout of Georgia closed it out perfectly. USC's defeat (Thursday) puts them in a tough spot...they'll probably have to run the table to get back into the championship game. When the rankings come out later today Oklahoma will be number one followed in no particular order by Texas, Alabama and Missouri. There are already going to be be a boat load of one loss teams in the top twenty-five. UCONN's (5-0) Donald Brown, leading the nation in rushing after five games could be as big a surprise as any of the aforementioned.

Have you seen the Deadliest Catch? It's this reality show about crab fisherman in the Bering Sea, on the history channel. Crazy stuff, icy pitching boats trying to harvest the many legged delicacy for markets all over the world. I'm ashamed to admit that I've watched more than a few episodes. The crewmen are typical of the hard working hard partying men attracted to these kinds of jobs. I knew many of their ilk when I lived in Maine and was in the lobster shipping business. These guys have round table discussions hashing over their work while main-lining draught beer, cigarettes and maybe a few other brain-cell altering substances; you know, letting us in on the "life." Just remember, a vote for McCain puts the wife of one of those guys a heartbeat away from running the country. Mr Palin is one of these guys. When the First Dude's boys show up on the weekends in the winter the grounds around 1600 are going to take a beating from their snow machines. I think McCain's staff hired Tina Fey to play this woman in order to offset his charming personality. Has anyone seen Palin and Fey in the same room? No offense, but after the last eight years I'd like to have a president who's at least as smart as we are. By the way, the timing of this bail-out of the "economy" wouldn't have anything to do with the election...nah.

Looks like I'm going to have to dump the Hotspurs scarf I'm sporting at the top of the page. They spent a gazillion bucks and can't win a game. They'll be lucky to still be in the Premiership at the end of the season. Today's match in Milan (Inter v AC) will be close...you can double your money by betting on a draw.

The Red Sox will not beat the Angels. Can the Mets screw it up again? Tampa Bay would be a wonderful World Series winner...if only because they're excuse for a stadium is just a few miles from the cortex of the Yankees brain trust. Hank and Hal Steinbrenner show none of the business acumen that the old man (George) had when he was building his latest string of play-off appearing teams in NY. My favorite ending to the baseball season would be Manny hitting one over the Green Monster off Pap to lock it up for the Dodgers and Joe Torre. Girardi (the other Joe in NYC) started showing why he had such a brief tenure while winning with the Marlins. His relationships with the press, Cashman (Yankee GM) and his players are starting to sour like milk on the beach.

Looking for a good read? Non-fiction, THE MYSTERIOUS MONTAGUE, Leigh Montville. Golf scammer deluxe whose checkered past catches up with him in Hollywood in the 1930's. He was sort of like a true life Jackie Gleason in the HUSTLER. Fiction, A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO GRACEFUL LIVING, Michael Dahlie. A novel of manners about a sad-sack blue blood trying to overcome a lifetime of insecurities. He's so inept at life's small details his gobs of money are useless.

The five football states: (in order) California, Florida, Texas, Ohio and Georgia. Alas, she didn't get them in the correct order.

Take the Ravens and the six Monday night...biff

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My thoughts today, and American football Saturday, led me to revisiting one of my most mind-boggling pet peeves. "Prior to the snap, false start by the offense." I've put in over fifty years trying to figure out how a "false start" could occur AFTER the snap! I had letters published in newspapers and magazines trying to unravel this idiocy. I've written the NFL, NCAA and the CIAC (Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Commission)...lip-service, vague replies. Slowly, some officials have dropped the "prior to the snap" preamble...but I hear it way too much. A small cross to bear? Maybe, it is one of mine.

To end this on a positive note, I did manage to have a PP (pet peeve) eliminated by the New York Times advance mailings of their Book Review. They used to put the mailing address label over text on the front page! All they had to do was apply to the top of the front page to correct this infuriating procedure. About three weeks after a letter to the Times people the label was miraculously moved to its current innocuous position.

This is a trial run. Please feel free to respond. May the horse be with you (Curlin today), later, biff