PSoTD

Well, it's something to consider for anyone hooked on playing BeTheCoachBasketball.com.

Barring any critical injuries to starting quarterbacks or running backs, it's going to be the Chicago Bears. Prediction of final record:

9-7 Chicago Bears
8-8 Green Bay Packers
8-8 Minnesota Vikings

I see the Vikings taking a one game lead this week by beating the Bears, but it's bad news for them after that, because after playing Detroit, they have Arizona, Atlanta and the New York Giants. If, in that final game, the Giants are NOT playing for home field advantage, then the Vikes might actually luck out and win this division, but the Giants have a rough 5 games left and I see a loss or two coming.

The winner of the division will be the winner of the 12/22 game of Green Bay at Chicago, and I'm betting on it being Chicago. On the other hand, I'm also expecting Carolina to beat Green Bay this weekend, and Carolina has been quite Jeckyl and Hyde lately, so if that doesn't happen, I'll have to recalibrate.

Escaping with a victory at Central Michigan didn't add much to Ball State's resume. However, there are a few chances that higher seeds may lose today.

As much as I'd like to see it, I don't see Ohio State falling today. Michigan stinks. Maybe they can make their season today with an upset, but I won't believe it until the final horn sounds and they're ahead.

On the other hand, I think Penn State is going down today, at the hands of Michigan State. I'm not sure this will help Ball State, and it may hurt them. Penn State may not fall below Ball State, and Michigan State might get a road win benefit that would boost them past BSU.

My secret hope is that Nevada plays the game of their season and beats Boise State. It could also help if Brigham Young plays their best road game of the season and beats Utah. Of course, BYU is ranked 16th and could jump up with an impressive road win, too.

I wonder what kind of an increase Ball State has seen in the sale of their clothing swag.

How "rotisserie league" got its name:

1979 - On a flight to Austin, Texas, Daniel Okrent sketches out the first draft of rules for what would become Rotisserie League Baseball. Had the friends he was seeing not ignored these rules, the Rotisserie League would have been called Pit League, after the Austin barbecue joint where Okrent first unveiled them. Two weeks later in New York, he pitches the idea to a more receptive group with whom Okrent lunched monthly at La Rotisserie Francaise.

Ball State won their game on Tuesday, but it sure seems like slim pickings for them to move up any this week in the NCAA rankings. I guess Illinois has a shot of beating Ohio State, who is ranked 10th and might drop below Ball State if the loss was strong enough.

Any other loss by a "Top 13" team would be a pretty big upset. If I were to spot one that might happen, I guess it would be that Utah gets sloppy playing in San Diego on a Saturday night.

I'm looking to buy one of those portable basketball goals for the kids, preferably one that comes on wheels and has a very secure grounding system to keep it from tipping. Unfortunately, our driveway is on a slope, but I was thinking I could put this in the backyard. It would be only for shooting, I wouldn't put a playing surface down for games, but I wouldn't sweat the dead grass, either.

I have no intention of buying a new one, as they cost considerably more than I want to pay AND I've seen too many of these for sale in garage sales and from time to time on Craigslist to commit a lot of money to it. Anyone have any experience with portable basketball goals? Any suggestions on what to look for or to avoid?

I admit, until a few days ago I had never looked at the BCS bowl stipulations for selections, but since Ball State is on the outskirts of such a game, I took a look. There are some pretty ridiculous rules protecting conferences and leagues regarding automatic berths, but this, by far, is the most ridiculous:

4. Notre Dame will have an automatic berth if it is in the top eight of the final BCS Standings.

It's not ridiculous that a team in the top eight gets an automatic berth. It IS ridiculous that a school specifically be listed. Why not Navy, or Western Kentucky? Why not just any independent?

If there were a time where Notre Dame, Army and Navy were in the top eight of the final BCS Standings, only Notre Dame would be guaranteed to go to a BCS bowl game. That's just not right.

If you've played, you've seen them all...

Why is he still coaching the Texans? Man, that was a horribly called game against the Ravens.

So where will they be in the NCAA Football national rankings today? I'm guessing they slip by TCU and LSU and just maybe OK State, either 13th or 14th. Georgia should drop under them instead of LSU, but probably won't.

BTW, here's the record of the Mid-American Conference (which Ball State belongs) against other conferences in 2008:

Big Ten 4-8
Big East 2-4
Big Twelve 0-3
Conference USA 1-0
Western Athletic 1-1
Mountain West 1-1
SEC 0-3
ACC 0-1
Pac 10 0-1

And that is what is really hurting Ball State's chances of getting to a BCS game.

When will the Sacramento Kings win their first game? Maybe when Minnesota comes to town in a few days?