Luke Waltons Forehead presented by the Sports Dude.

Friday, September 16, 2005 at 9:57 AM

Weekend Warrior

Yes, I know, many of you are probably surprised that the Weekend Warrior, being a U of M fan and all, would even show his face in these parts this week. Well, I am ready to again join society, take that damn bag off of my head and finally rid myself of the Fighting Irish T-Shirt. Hey, a bets a bet, but it was only for a week so this damn thing is getting burned! All right, enough with the stupid intro and depressing nonsense, let’s get on with the picks.

Eastern Michigan at U of M

Week One = Where’s the “D”?
Week Two = Where’s the Offense?
Week Three = Where’s the special teams?

U of M’s “Barry Alvarez Powder Puff Special” could not have come at a better time for the Wolverines. Against Notre Dame it appeared that they (I hope at least!) found their defense but the offense looked horrible. Perfect time to play what should be an easy opponent, at home, to get back in rhythm, hopefully remain healthy and possibly rest some regulars in the fourth quarter. The Big Ten Opener is next weekend, at Wisconsin none the less, and the Wolverines do not need anymore significant injuries to their already long list. Grady should get the nod in the backfield giving Hart another week to rest and the make shift offensive line should at least get an easy (I hope!) game to play together, again in preparation for next week.

U of M 41, EMU 10

Michigan State at Notre Dame


I don’t like to use the word “hate” in everyday life, but when it comes around to college football I can throw it around like you wouldn’t believe. That being said, there are three things I hate in college football and they are as follows:

1.) The Buckeyes.
2A-2B-2C.) The Seminoles, The Gators, The Hurricanes, in no particular order.
3.) The Fighting Irish.

That’s it, plain and simple, clear as day. I would love to see the Spartans go 10-1 every year and make a good bowl game, as long as you all know where that one loss came from! The problem is, this is MSU on the road and, to make matters worse, it also happens to be Notre Dame’s home opener. I would love to see MSU get the victory here but sorry, the state of Michigan is Notre Dame’s bitch this year.

Notre Dame 44, MSU 24

Oklahoma at UCLA

The wheels seem to be coming off this program quickly after a week one loss to the mighty TCU and a struggle last weekend against Tulsa before they pulled it out. Not only is coach Bob Stoops upset with star running back Adrian Pederson for skipping class, he is even more upset with the fact it appears his entire team is skipping the football season.

UCLA 27, Oklahoma 24

Tennessee at Florida

Tennessee Coach Philip Fullmer, still upset that his job was not in jeopardy after last years Urban Meyer sweepstakes, decides he is going to take his aggression out on the opposing Gators. You know, kind of show him what he is missing out on, if you catch my drift. The only problem is that Coach Fullmer failed to remember that his Vols are one of the most overrated college teams yet again this year.

Florida 38, Tennessee 17

Northern Iowa at Iowa

QB Drew Tate of Iowa, still seeing stars from last week’s ass whooping, I mean concussion, decides to give the game a go. The only problem is, still confused, once under center he takes his first snap and grabs for the wrong ball. His center quite upset and in serious pain from this violation of his personal space, promptly knocks Drew Tate on his ass, again ending his day early with another more serious concussion. Luckily this is Northern Iowa, not a real opponent, and even the Hawkeyes can make due without a QB.

Iowa 23, Northern Iowa 13

Wisconsin at North Carolina

The Barry Alvarez Farewell Tour heads out on the road for the first time this season to face the Tar Heels of North Carolina. Luckily for Alvarez this school is known more for its basketball teams and not for the power of its football program. This is just a warm up for next week’s Big Ten opener against U of M when the Badgers will face their first real team all season. Make it 3-0 for Alvarez and the final “Powder Puff” schedule of his coaching career.

Wisconsin 41, UNC 20

And last, but certainly not least, the feature of all features, the long awaited:

“MOM DO I REALLY HAVE TO WATCH THIS GAME” – Game of the week:

Kentucky at Indiana

This game is called at half time as the National Guard and all major police departments are summoned to the stadium to stop one of the worst riots the state of Indiana has ever seen. What caused such an embarrassing scene? Fans rioted at half time when they realized not only was this not a NASCAR event, but there would be no Monster Truck Rally and RV Show during the half time break.

Indiana 11.5, Kentucky 6.43

PRO PICK:

Lions at Chicago

This is the Lions first road game of the regular season; will they disappoint us on the road this year like they have in years past? Will we see our “Lions Of Old”, losing another game to a mediocre opponent? Or will they beat this Chicago team that many feel will be the bottom feeder in the NFC North? The Bears have a somewhat respectable defense, but the offense is not exactly what I would call impressive, led by rookie QB Kyle Orton. The Lions won last year in Chicago and something tells me this year will be no different.

Lions 28, Bears 13

Well, there you have it, another great installment in the sports dude “Weekend Warrior” has come to pass. If this happens to be my last post ever, I would like to thank all three of my loyal readers for making this nearly year long blogging journey so enjoyable for me. “Why do you say that sports dude, are you giving it all up or something?” Well, no, but my high school reunion is tonight and let’s just say, contrary to popular belief, the sports dude was not the homecoming king, class president or popular athlete on any of the schools sports teams. Needless to say, the sports dude had more enemies than friends at the old high school so he may not make it out alive! So, wish me luck, Godspeed and, as always, “Football Responsibly” this weekend my hearties! Later – the sports dude, signing off, but hopefully not for good.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 10:20 AM

Monday Morning QB - Tuesday Edition

Well, I guess I will start out with the sad, sorry event I witnessed at the Big House this past Saturday. If there is any positive that I can take from that embarrassing showing that the Wolverines displayed on Saturday afternoon is that it appears, at least for the moment, the defense finally remembered how to play defense again. Take away the first drive of the game, where Notre Dame virtually marched down the field untouched, and the U of M defense finally looked like a U of M defense. Beyond that, there really is nothing positive I can take from that horrible game I witnessed on Saturday. Henne looked more like it was his second game and not his fourteenth. Hart was truly missed; even though it appears Grady will be okay once he gets rid of his freshman butter fingers. The offensive line is a patch work posse at best, and that may end up being a huge factor for the remainder of the season. With Massaquoi out for an extended period, offensive lineman going down quicker than flies and an apparent “day to day” tag being thrown on Hart, there appears to be some fear in Ann Arbor these days and I for one am at least glad that we have our first “powder puff” game this week against EMU. We need it, we need to just find a rhythm and, most importantly, rest some regulars and come out healthy. Oh, and one last thing, for all you Notre Dame “slappies” out there who think Weis is the second coming of Touchdown Jesus, I just want to remind you of one simple truth if you please. I remember three years ago a certain new coach in South Bend by the name of Tyrone Willingham, are you familiar with his work? His first year on the job he beat U of M, went 10-3 and was also seen as the second coming, as the savior. Well, he followed up that campaign with what, a 5-7 and, better yet, didn’t even survive last year’s 6-7 debacle. So before you all get excited and think that Notre Dame Football is relevant again, come back down to earth and show me some consistency, then maybe I will give you the credit you deserve. U of M beat themselves with sloppy play and poor offensive decisions; it was more what they didn’t do then what you did, so get off your high horse and come back to earth.

Next, we will talk briefly on the Lions and their season opening victory over the Packers. I know what you are all expecting, but I am not going to rip on Joey Harrington, believe it or not. Look, I only saw the second half and what I saw was actually pretty okay, and that is all we need him to be. I will say this, however, if that damn offensive line doesn’t start blocking people soon, we may see Dan Orlovsky sooner than you think, and it won’t be because Mooch pulled Joey! That offensive line did about as piss poor a job protecting Joey as I would have, and I am about a buck sixty five wet! Seriously, what the hell was that crap guys! Everyone is pissing and moaning because he was going to Marcus Pollard short and in the flat all afternoon and not going down field, but damn, what do you expect? If I had a 275 pound defensive lineman barreling in on me, you better damn well believe I would just throw to the first dude I saw as well. I was impressed with Joey, I was pleased with Kevin Jones, I was happy Charles Rogers kept all his bones in one piece and it was funny as hell to see Mike Williams catch a TD and not know what to do with the ball in celebration. The defense seemed to be solid enough, even though Green Bay did stall a lot due to penalties, but even that and the Grandpa Favre factor really doesn’t matter to me, three points is still three points. Seriously, in years past the Lions would have lost that game, it was the M.O., to lose a game that the other team was all but giving to them. Furthermore, they did it against Brett Favre, who even though he is as gray as my grandpa, he still is Brett Favre! Look, there is a lot to still improve upon, both defensively and offensively, but a win is still a win and I will take eight or nine more of those ugly ones if it means some damn playoff football in the “D”, wouldn’t you?

Well, not to make excuses, but I will try and keep this site up as much as possible. The Sports Dude actually found a college that will let bums like me attend their fine institute, so I am going back to school this semester for the first time in five years. With a wife, kids, a full time job, plus college and homework now, there may not be as much time to blog as I wish. I will at least try and keep up the Monday Morning QB feature, as well as the Weekend Warrior feature, but that may be all I can do for awhile. Anyway, that is all I got, take care, Godspeed and I will talk to you all soon.

Later – the sports dude.




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