So being the avid college football fan that I am, I've had several conversations about this weekends slate of college games. Inparticularly, the upsets that I've predicted. First off, I called the USF vs. WVU game, (USF to win) and what happened? Just in case you've been in a hole since yesterday, USF won.

Now I've been calling for our beloved Auburn Tigers to pull the upset in the swamp tonight all week and basically everyone except for my comrad "Shakes" thinks I'm crazy. The Vegas odds makers have Florida as an 18 point favorite, Lee Corsor and Kirk Herbstreit is even giving Auburn a chance. Now here's all I'm saying, Auburn is going to pull the upset. Don't believe me? Just watch the game. Now you're probably asking yourself why I'm so confident in Auburn? Simply because Auburn's offense is confident in themselves. WHAT? Yes I said it, Auburn's offense is confident in themselves. After three games of what are you doing(the offense that is), they found themselves last week and will turn in another fine performance. Yeah I know what you're saying, they played New Mexico St. Let's see, while I hate to make a Big Ten reference, Michigan's offense woke up against a pitifull Notre Dame team and they seem to be in sync now.

I think Al Borges and Tommy Tuberville have come to the conclusion that in order for Auburn to win, they have to trust Brandon Cox and that young offensive line. How do they show there trust? Open up the offense and throw the ball down field. Kind of what we saw last weekend against New Mexico St. Sound way to simple right? You'll be amazed at what a simple deep pass will do for the psyche of a you offensive football team.

I am in no way saying that the offense will be the reason Auburn wins the game, but they won't be the reason they lose either. Huh? The offense knows they came move the ball and if they do that, it'll keep thedefense off the field and fresh for the high powered Florida. While I'm speaking of the defense, they are do a big game. They've shown what they are capable of all season, but it's time for one of those shut down games. I'm just saying, look for Quentin Groves to live in the Florida backfield. He's two sack shy of breaking Auburn's All-Time sack record. I expect him to break it today.

Do believe me now? You don't have too, just watch the game tonight, then comeback afterwards and leave your comments saying I was right.

Other games I'm callnig for upsets in:

Michigan St over Wisconsin
Oregon over Cal. (Because I think Cal is over rated)
Kansas St. over Texas
Colorado over Oklahoma

Okay, so I'm always getting these funny and rather silly emails. So here's one I got that I had to share.

Last Tuesday's release of Kanye West's Graduation and 50 Cents' Curtis albums was billed as "The Clash of The Titans." Well, this clash was more like David and Goliath, with Kanye playing the role of David. After one week of sales, Kanye out-sold 50 Cent by a massive 266,000 records. Yes that's right, Kanye sold 957,000 in one week and 50 only sold 691,000. Do the math and that's 266,000 or 28% more copies.
So as you can see, "The Clash of the Titans" really wasn't a clash at all. What's astonishing is that between the two artists 1.65 million records were sold in a week. Seeing as how record companies are complaining about digital downloads, piracy, file sharing, etc... For a couple of artist to do those numbers proves that people still buy CDs. That is if they're worth buying, and both are excellent. Personally, I think Kanye's is much better, but you can decide for yourself. Just in case you want some insight on what to expect from each - check out the CD reviews on the site.
Oh yeah, for the fans of Kenny Chesney, he sold a respectable 387,000 copies to land at #3.

Ok... um, Mississippi State?! While most of you were thinking this after Auburn's second loss of the season, I'm thinking I hope they(the coaches) learn from this. First off, to all the Brandon Cox haters, you know the ones that called for the coaches to bench Cox and play Kodi Burns, you got your wish. The end result however, was the same, a loss. Let me reiterate before you start commenting, like I said in my previous post, I love Burns' potential. While I love the potential of what Burns brings to the team, he's not ready to be the Tigers starting quarterback.
Now let me explain why.

Our offensive line SUCKS! Yes I said, they SUCK! (King Dunlap included)I don't know if anyone has notice but Brandon Cox has been hit or knocked down on almost every pass he's thrown a pass this season. Now I know someone out there is thinking, 'that's his fault' or 'he should know better, he's a fifth year season.' Fifth year senior or not, if every time you drop back to pass and before you come out of your drop a defender is in your face there's a real problem some where. Dare I say it, "The offensive line." Even today when Kodi Burns was in the game, he had to run for his life a several occasions when he drop back to pass. The only difference is he's a lot faster than Cox so it look like he's a lot better. I'm not taking anything from Burns, he played a hell of a game and deserves to be patted on the back for his efforts. (And contrary to popular belief, so does Cox.)

Okay so I'm going to move away from the quarterbacks and O-line for a second(I'll get back to them) and focus on the real problem with the Tigers' offense, the play selection. We all know Auburn is a run first, pass as a last resort team, but so does everyone else. And seeing as how your O-line can't seem to block a gnat, you'd think you might change up your philosophy just a little bit. (Well, maybe the offensive lines not that bad. They did allow the backs and Burns to rush for 216 yards today. The bulk of it came from Burns and Ben Tate.) But I digress... The real issue is the fact that the coaches, for whatever reason, refuse to open up the playbook and take chances down the field. Auburn completed two passes, JUST TWO, for over ten yards the entire game. One to Mario Fannin on a screen, in which he ran for 16 yards, and the other to Rod Smith for 36 yards. I'm not saying throw the ball down the field on every play, but takes some chance at least once every drive. Auburn is very deep at wide receiver, they dress at least seven a game. As matter of fact, they're deeper at wide receiver than any other position on the field. Add in the three tight ends and the running backs and you have the capability to spread out a defense and take advantage of some mismatches.

But there's still that offensive line question. (Told you I'd get back to them.) Are they good enough to hold a the defense so the receivers can get down the field. We want really know until they try will we? I think if you line up four or five receivers then the defense has to have a man to cover them. So that's both corner backs, both safeties and a linebacker or five defensive backs, depending on the defensive cover, that are occupied. So that leaves six men for the offense to contend with. Depending on the coverage, it may leave just four. Let see, five offensive linemen against four defensive linemen... I think I like those chances more than lineup and trying to run the ball against eight men in the box. Brandon Cox is smart enough, although it hasn't looked like it so far, to find the holds in the defense and get the ball to the open man and get him the ball. Even if the pass is incomplete, it still makes the defense defend the entire field as oppose to just lining up and defending the run. Even West Virginia, who has two of the most dynamic runners in the game (QB Pat White and RB Steve Slaton), will throw the ball down the field on occasion. They also have one of the best offensive lines in the nation, but they still take some shots.

You know that old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Well the offense is broke and it needs to be fixed and it starts at the top with the coaches. They need to 1) open up the offense just a little bit more and 2) play to win.
I'm just saying, if the other team already knows what you're gonna do and you know they know what you're gonna do, wouldn't be wise to change it up a bit? Does that make sense to anyone besides me? What do you have to lose? You have know chance of playing for a National Title and chances are you're on the outside looking in at a chance for SEC title, so why not try and used the pass to set up your running game?

I've been holding my tongue for the past couple of weeks, but I'm sorry I have to speak on this. From the end of the first game where the Tigers' offense struggled, until know, there have been fans calling for Tommy Tuberville to start Kodi Burns as opposed to Brandon Cox. That call got a lot louder after the Tigers lost so South Florida last week. I have been saying since the first time I heard someone say his name and start in the same sentence, "I don't think it's a good idea." Not because I think they should redshirt him and save his year of elgibility. It's not a good idea because our offensive line and their lack of ability to block. I'm just saying, they've given up how many sacks this season. I know they're young(on one side of the line) but common on man... BLOCK!
So today when the offense started struggling again, the crowd of about 82,000 began to boo Cox, who threw two interceptions in as many plays, and call for Kodi Burns. Before I get to Burns, let me just say that, the first interception wasn't on Cox, he threw a good ball and the receiver(tight end actually) screwed up. The second interception, as ill-advised as the throw may have been, was a miscommunicaton between receiver and quarterback.
So after the second interception, the coaches pulled Cox and opted to play Kodi Burns and at first glance he lived up to the hype. He's as quick and agile as reported, definitely a lot more mobile than Cox. Which isn't to difficult a task to began with. We all know Cox is not the fastest person alive.
Burns' first play from scrimmage was a quarterback draw up the middle for 2 yards. (Not terribly impressive) His second play was a run off left tackle. (Slightly more impressive than the first.) Then came a couple of hand offs to Mario Fannin and Ben Tate, then another run by Burns', then a couple more handoffs, a pass attempt, which he wass pressured and hurried on, and punt. Not a terribly impressive start for him, but it was more than what the offense had did on it's to previous drives. What was impressive was his command in the huddle and his field presence. While he definitely doesn't know they entire offensive play, the plays that they installed for him this week - that's right, there was already a plan in place to get Kodi Burns some snaps in this game - he had full command of them and knew enough to check out of a bad situation. Albeit all the checks were to runs and/or change the direction of the play, he had enough of an understanding of the offense to do that much.
I still contend that he shouldn't be Auburn's starting quarterback... at least not this season. And apparently the coaches agree. If they thought he was ready to start, on the final drive of today's game, he would have been in instead of Cox. Do I think he should play in some games? Most definitely! He's that spark that, you know that high energy guy that the offense is missing. My suggestion is to use him the way Florida used Tim Tebow last year. Have him come in in certain situations and let him do what he knows how to do best right now. Which is run a read option, a la Pat White the QB at West Virginia.
Maybe the coaches will check out my blog and take some of my suggestion and implement them. Yeah right, but hey I can dream.

As a DJ I take pride in discovering and seeking out new music. So when I get a peice of vinyl or a CD I listen to it. Yes I listen to every nit of music I receive in the mail or via email. That being said, every now and then I get a CD from some artist I've never heard of and there's usually a good reason I've never heard of them. The CD is usually garbage!
Well this week I got another one of those CD's, so I thought. However I got a very pleasant surprise when I put in Emily King's debut CD East Side Story. Before I put the disc in I was thinking to myself who the hell is Emily King? At first glance, I thought she was another attractive female who got a contract because of her looks. (Well she is attractive... look at the CD cover.) Obviously I was wrong. Her voice has such a smooth and soulful tone to it, that it transports you to a time where lyrics in music were meaningful.
For those who haven't read my review of her CD in this week's issue of The Corner you can read it here. (For a little background on this post) The first song in the disc caught my ear and by the time I got to the eighth track I was already a fan. While this music might not be appealing to everyone, it is one of the best disc from a new female vocalist I've heard since Alicia Keys' debut. Tall order to follow right? Well in the line of Keys, Emily King is a singer/songwriter and produce or co-produced every song on her debut. Not every new artist gets this type of creative control.
In my quest to find out more on her background and where she came from and why I havem't heard of her before now, (phew), I learned that 22 year old songstess is the daughter of international jazz duo Marion Cowings and Kim Kalesti. She was discovered by Chucky Thompson, one of Diddy's, (Puffy, Puff Daddy, Puff, P. Diddy, Sean John or whatever you want to call him), Hitmen producers. He signed her to a production contract and they began to shop her demo. Oddly enough, they ended up signing with J Records, Clive Davis' label and home to artist like Jamie Foxx, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia, Rod Stewart, Pearl Jam, Sarah McLachlan and Santana. If you're not familiar with any of the names I mentioned, you've lost all you privileges to comment on this blog. But I digress ... if you're interested in hearing some of Emily Kings music and wacthing some interviews with her, check out the links below:

Official Web site

Official Myspace Page

Exclusive interview @ AT&T Blueroom

Interview with Emily King

Every now and then I get an email that's rather amusing. Correction I get them all the time. STOP FORWARDING ME!!!! No serious I like a good laugh and this was kind of funny.