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Start of Fall Trash Talk

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The summer is in its last throes and fall is officially here on Sunday. And with football season hitting its stride, it really does seem like fall. Let’s see what we have going on with teh student athletes this week.

A lot of Wheelhouse denizens will have interest in the big Sparty Domer tilt. Unlike last year, it looks like Michigan State has the dominating defense and Notre Dame has to rely on offense. Neither one of these teams is likely as good as people think they are, but someone has to win. Game in South Bend, so smart money probably is on ND. Can’t do it though, Sparty in an upset. There is a lot of interest in the Stanford ASU game for some reason, but man, after seeing them last Saturday up close and personal, the Devils are just not that good. The Tree is going to shed points all over ASU in Palo Alto. Tennessee might take the Gators in Knoxville, but not in the Swamp. Kansas State at Texas will be interesting because KSU has a bad habit of beating the Whorens – five times in a row. Dunno if Mack Brown can survive if he loses this game. Stay tuned!

Probably won’t be on in much of the country, but I have a morbid curiosity about the Jets and Bills battle of the rookie quarterbacks. The Jets may not be quite as dysfunctional as everyone thought, but EJ Manual looks like a better bet than Geno Smith. Edge to the Bills. I suppose the best matchup is probably Texans and Ravens, but hard to care about it. Packers and Bengals is maybe the most potentially exciting game on tap. Cinci is good, but…..Aaron Rodgers you know. Close game, but I’ll take the Cheese. Cardinals are a decent club actually, but son’t have enough for the Saints in Nawlins. Especially with Spidey Fitzgerald and Mendenhall hurting. Niners are apparently going to let their errant driving linebacker Smith play and should be able to contain Luck and his new back, Trent Richardson; although it may be a close game. Go Stillers!

F1 is in Singapore. I hate Singapore. Lot of people love Singapore and Marina Bay under the lights, but not me. Brad Spurgeon has a good rundown – and he likes the gig at Marina Bay, check it out. The big news of course is that Felipe Massa is out at Ferrari for 2014 and the prodigal Iceman cometh back. Kimi Raikkonen is to be paired with Fernando Alonso next year and that ought to be, um, interesting. Especially if the new equipment is as good as is rumored.

The Yankees look dead and there are still some exciting wildcard races in play. Chat em up. Thought it was time for a nice country song this week, and Honey Honey’s Angel of Death is simply superb. Give it a listen.

Emptywheel’s Famous Trash Talk: Es Caballos de los Muertos Edition

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Hey there sports fans, I love ya! Y’all got your swerve on? Because we have week three of the NFL on tap, not to mention the end of the MLB season and, if you are talking the biggest event worldwide, the Singapore Grand Prix. so there is some meat on the table.

If the F1 Driver’s Championship was not already effectively in the capable hands of Sebastian Vettel, and the Constructor’s Championship again to Red Bull, I would surely open with the F1 Circus. But, both of those are true, so we shall begin with NFL fuutball. There are just a slew of great games this week but, really, how could you start anywhere other than with the greatest rivalry in the history of pro football?

That would, of course, be the Packers and Bears. The Cheeseheads return to Soldier Field where they won the NFC Championship last year. Expect the action to pick up where it left off. The Bears can’t protect Jay Cutler for shit, but when he has time, dude can throw the ball. Matt Forte is way underrated, he is an elite back in the league. And Brian Urlacher and the D always comes to play. The loss of Nick Collins, the Pack’s star safety, will really hurt an already porous secondary. It is tempting to take Da Bears for the upset. But I can’t do it.

Another legendary rivalry on tap is the Cowboys and Redskins. Skins are surprisingly solid with Sexy Rexy Grossman at QB and former Cardinal Tim Hightower slamming the run. But if Tony Romo and his ribs can stay on the field, the ‘Boys also have a running game with Felix Jones and that should be enough to win a close one on Monday night. Giants and Eagles is yet another rivalry game, and has many of the same considerations in that the outcome may depend on Mike Vick staying on the field. If he does, it is hard to see how the Gents win.

Okay, mom made me promise to do a couple of things and, really, it will be a pleasure. First the Read more →