Never have I thought myself to be a great sports fan. But as it goes with enjoying other aspects of life of which I claim no expertise — art, fine wine, etc. — I know what I like.
I am not the kind of person that camps out all weekend long before the tellyvision watching first college games all day Saturday then pro games on Sunday. If a game interests me or a team, such as the Houston Texans, I will watch a game if I have no other pressing matters.
That’s always the way it has been for me, pretty much. So quite surprised, and extremely lucky, was I some 12 or so years ago when I worked for a small daily newspaper as a reporter and found myself among the weekly faces prognosticating football games on the sports page. I was a regular football fortune teller during the season along with the two sports guys, a photographer, a copy editor, a local radio station owner and maybe a few other assorted folks. I say I supposed myself to be lucky because I had the best percentage among all the other regulars who picked the games.
Now I will admit to reading the sports pages quite a bit more than usual during those times, but it’s not like I was some football genius despite the fact that I knew who “The Big Tuna” was.
So I thought for old time’s sake I would pick a selected number of this week’s games and see what happens. I will admit to following some of these teams though not others. I won’t say which ones of either. If I just remember to report back the results this all might work. The possible complication in this is that I am scheduled to be out of town and out of state all next week. But I will do my best and report my findings with honesty, if at all. Therefore, I give you my picks.
PICKING AND GRINNING TIME
SE TEXAS HS
- Newton (34) vs. Woodville (13)
Both these teams are named the Eagles so if you aren’t watching the game you can get confused but there should be no confusing which Eagles should win, that would be the Newton variety.
- Port Neches-Groves (14) vs. Livingston (34)
I’m just guessing here but I think PN-G will win. They have the snazzier uniforms.
- Silsbee (43) vs. West Orange-Stark (33)
Given the two teams’ records and who they have played, WO-S should beat the Tigers like a rented mule.
- Diboll (0) vs. Jasper (14)
I see no reason why Jasper shouldn’t win handily over Diboll unless the H1N1 pandemic rears its ugly head or a nuclear strike hits East Texas on Friday night.
- Hamshire-Fannett (9) vs. Orangefield (54)
Orangefield will win. I guarantee it. Of course, my guarantees in football mean about as much as David Letterman’s vows of celibacy.
- Kirbyville (38) vs. Shelbyville (0)
The Kirbyville Wildcats will beat Shelbyville like the media beats a dead horse.
COLLEGE GAMES
- Oklahoma State (36) vs. Texas A & M (31)
Texas A & M shouldn’t win this one, but let’s say they do.
- Houston (31) vs. Mississippi State (24)
Houston saw national rankings come and go with their loss to UTEP, so that means that the Cougars will probably beat Miss State.
- Baylor (7) vs. Oklahoma (33)
The only game I saw Baylor play when I lived in Waco was against Oklahoma. It was G0d awful unless you were a Sooners fan. I predict a similar Bear drubbing though probably not in the 60-some-odd to 10-some-odd fashion as with the game I saw.
- Navy (63) vs. Rice (14)
I have always admired Rice because it’s a brainiac school. But brains alone won’t get you a win, especially since the Owls haven’t seen a win since Hector was a pup. Say what? Say Navy wins this one.
- TCU (20) vs. Air Force (17)
The Horned Frogs of TCU have this one unless they don’t.
- Texas (38) vs. Colorado (14)
Unless the Longhorns do something incredibly stupid as they are known to do on occasion, they should whip Colorado until they yelp like chihuahuas.
- Florida (13) vs. LSU (3)
Three letters, L-S-U.
- Stephen F. Austin (16) vs. McNeese (13)
I’m sure the experts would go for McNeese but I am no expert and I am a Lumberjack and I’m okay. So SFA Lumberjacks get my nod.
NFL MATCHUPS
- Minnesota (38) vs. St. Louis (10)
Led by 143-year-old quarterback Brett Favre, the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Rams despite the path from the huddle to the Vikings’ sideline being littered with Geritol bottles.
- Dallas (26) vs. Kansas City (10)
Unless some young starlet grabs Tony Romo’s attention, the Cowboys should beat Kansas City with little trouble.
- Houston Texans (21) vs. Arizona (28)
The Texans should mostly be recovered from the Swine Flu so they stand a good enough chance to beat Arizona that I will go with the Texans.
Indianapolis (21) vs. Tennessee (9)
Let’s see. Indanapolis good. Titans stink. The Colts win, I think.
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