The Tide is off, but there is still some good games this weekend, so put up the fishing poll and check out these match-ups…

 Auburn vs. Ole Miss(25)   Auburn, AL 11:20am

 These are two teams going through a mid-season slump. Auburn briefly reached the top 25 before falling out and Ole Miss is clinging to the last spot in the poll. It’s very unlikely either of these teams will catch up with LSU or ‘Bama and win the west, so this is a battle for bowl position. If you’re going to the game it will be wet. Bring a poncho because there is a 70% chance of rain and storms with temps in the low 60s.

 Florida(1) vs. Georgia   Jacksonville, FL 2:30pm

 It’s the big ol’ cocktail party in J-ville… Growing up in Jacksonville I can tell you this is big-time rivalry. If Florida doesn’t take care of business the Dawgs will take a big bite of Gator meat, possibly killing their National Championship hopes. I know who Tide fans will be pulling for… Weather at game time will be just plain hot. Temps will be in the mid 80s under partly cloudy skies.

 South Alabama vs. Fork Union Military Acad.   Mobile, AL 4pm

 The 4-0 Jags are hosting another victim this weekend. This time it’s the Blue Devils of Fork Union Military Academy. Weather shouldn’t be a big issue, but it’s possible there could be some light drizzles and it will likely be fairly windy.  Temps will be in the mid 60s dropping into the 50s by game’s end.

 USC(5) @ Oregon(10)    Eugene, OR  7:00pm

 This is definitely the big game of the weekend. While you’re holding down the house and passing out the candy this will be a good one to watch. Weather at game time will be cool and damp with temps in the upper 40s and scattered showers in Eugene.

There is only one match up between two ranked teams this weekend… #8 TCU vs. #16 BYU… Not exactly a big game weekend. But, there are some tough SEC battles.

Alabama (2) vs. Tennessee    Tuscaloosa, AL 2:30 pm

 See that 2 next to ‘Bama? That’s what the computers think. The voters of flesh and blood rank the Tide #1. Playing the Vols this weekend can’t help the ranking only hurt it, so a win here is vital for Alabama. If you’re going to Tuscaloosa the weather will be wonderful, upper 60s and partly cloudy skies!

 Auburn @ LSU (9)    Baton Rouge, LA 6:30 pm         

 It’s a cat fight in the swamp! After last weeks devastating loss to Kentucky, Auburn needs a big win to stay relevant… and this would be a big win if they can pull it off. LSU is tough but flawed on the offensive side of the ball and possibly ripe for an upset. We’ll see. Weather will be nice at game time with mild temps in the low 60s and clear skies.

 Florida (1) @ Mississippi State    Starkville, MS 6:30 pm

 What the Bulldogs have going for them… they’re at home. What they don’t having going for them… they’re playing the Gators. At least the weather will be nice in Starkville with temps in the upper 50s and clear skies.

 Ole Miss vs. Arkansas    Oxford, MS 11:20 am

 No rankings here, just an excuse to spend a beautiful fall morning tailgating on The Grove. Temps will be in the low 50s to start rising into the mid 60s during the game.

Alabama(2) vs. South Carolina(22)    6:45pm Tuscaloosa, AL

 Taking on the 22^nd team in the nation for homecoming? Well, you can’t call the Tide soft. Remember the first BCS poll will come out this Sunday. A good showing here and it’s possible that ‘Bama could leap over Florida regardless of how they fare against Arkansas. First though they have to take care of business against the Gamecocks. Are you going to this game? If you do, bring a jacket. This evening game will start with temps in the mid 50s that will drop into the 40s by the second half.

Auburn vs. Kentucky    6:30pm Auburn, Al

 The War Eagles had to go 5-0 to make it into the top 25, now they’ll have to beat the Wildcats handily to regain the respect of voters after losing to the Hogs last week. Like the ‘Bama game, this is an evening contest which will mean some cool temps. At the start of the game it will be in the low 50s and those temps will drop into the 40s during the second half.

 South Alabama vs. Louisburg, JC    4:00pm Mobile, AL

 South is 3-0 and dominating every team that comes down to the Port City. This week they take on the Hurricanes… Not those ‘Canes, the Louisburg Junior College Hurricanes. Should be another fun game and the weather is perfect for tailgating! There will be a light north breeze with temps at the start of the game in the mid 60s dropping into the mid 50s during the second half.

  Texas(3) vs. Oklahoma(20)    11:00am Dallas, TX

 Okay, this isn’t a local game… but c’mon this is the Red River Rivalry, McCoy vs. Bradford with a nation title on the line for the Longhorns. If you’re a fan of college football this is a game worth watching. At game time the temps will be in the upper 50s with partly cloudy skies.

Alabama(3) @ Ole Miss(20)  2:30pm

 ‘Bama is going to The Grove! Of course the Tide is a big favorite but if they sleep on Jevan Snead and the Rebels anything could happen in Oxford. At game time, it will be cloudy with temps in the upper 50s and only a slight chance of showers.

 Auburn(17) @ Arkansas  11:00am

 Finally, undefeated Auburn is in the Top 25! Their first test as a ranked team… the Hogs in Fayetteville. Can the Tigers keep the Razorbacks winless in SEC play? At game time, it will be sunny and cool with temps in the upper 40s.

 South Alabama vs. Georgia Military JC  11:30am

 Who knew South would be this good? They beat their first two opponents by a combined score of 86-13. This week they take on the Georgia Military Bulldogs in Mobile. They may be just a junior college, but they have a resume which includes a NJCAA Championship in 2001, and runners-up in 2002 and 2005. At game time, rain is likely with warm temps near 80 degrees. Bring a poncho!

 LSU(4) vs. Florida(1)  7:00pm

 This is the big ‘un! Is LSU for real? Is Tebow one hundred percent? If you’re a Tide fan that hates both these teams you know you’re still going to watch! This is SEC football at it’s best! At game time, rain is likely with temps in the mid 70s.

Do you have any predictions? Who comes out on top in these games?

All of our local college football squads will be on the road this weekend… Is bad weather in play?

Alabama (3) @ Kentucky:

Kentucky may not be rated but don’t tell Tim Tebow and the Gators that. There’s already a lot of talk that ‘Bama is the best team in the nation. A win here and that talk will increase. Weather at gametime, 11:20 am in Lexington, will be cool, in the mid 50’s with partly cloudy skies and no rain.

Auburn @ Tennessee:

Auburn is on the outside looking in at the top 25… Beat Kippon and his Vols and the War Eagles are in. Weather at gametime, 6:45 pm in Knoxville, will be low 60s with partly cloudy skies and no rain.

FSU @ Boston College:

An unranked ACC showdown! At least the weather will be interesting (Sorry about the sarcasm, but as an FSU alum I’m allowed to be dissapointed in my Noles). Heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected at gametime, 2:30 pm in Boston.

LSU(4) @ Georgia(18)

This is the big battle of the weekend! Is LSU deserving of a top 5 ranking? We will find out. Weather at gametime, 2:30 pm in Athens, is warm, with temps in the upper 70s under sunny skies.

Ole Miss(21) @ Vanderbilt

The Rebels need to get back on track and luckily Vandy has volunteered to help out. Weather at gametime, 6:00 pm in Nashville, is 70 degrees and clear.

And by the way South Alabama does not have a game this weekend.

College Football Is Back! Here’s the forecast for some of our local teams this Saturday:

Alabama vs. Virginia Tech at 7pm in Atlanta

The Tide is going “Hoakie Hunting” this Saturday in Atlanta. At game time the temperature will be in the low 80s with a possibility of some isolated showers. Of course, this turkey hunt is indoors at the Georgia Dome, so weather will have no effect on the game, just on your tailgate plans! It should be interesting to see how Saban handles Beamer Ball!

Auburn vs. Louisiana Tech at 6pm in Auburn    

The War Eagles are welcoming the LA Tech Bulldogs to the plains this Saturday. Weather shouldn’t be much of a factor with temps in the low 80s and partly cloudy skies. How will the Chizik era begin in Auburn?

South Alabama vs. Hargrave Military Academy at 4pm in Mobile

This is the inaugural game for the Jags! Hargrave Military is their first opponent at Ladd-Peebles. Never hear of Hargrave? Well believe it or not, this school has sent dozens of players to the NFL draft. It will be a tough test for Joey Jones and his boys and it’s possible that test may include some rain. We have a chance for some scattered showers on Saturday with temps in the mid 80s at game time.

LSU @ Washington at 9:30pm in Seattle         

The Bayou Tigers are going cross country to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Huskies. As you might guess, it will be cool and damp. At game time it will be right around 60 degrees with light showers. Don’t worry LSU fans, Tigers are one of the few species of cat that likes water!

The idea of baseball-on-demand sounds as good as an unlimited supply of hot dogs on a summer afternoon.  That’s what made Major League Baseball’s on-line video service, MLB.TV Premium so intriguing.  Thanks to our friends at MLB.COM, I got a chance to gorge myself on all the baseball I could consume.

MLB.com offers two levels of baseball coverage; MLB.TV for $14.95 a month or $79.95 a year or its Premium service for $19.95 a month or $109.95 a year.

With each service, you get to watch most baseball games live or on-demand; since the service is web-based it’s available on PCs or Macs (a big deal to me, since I’m a Mac user at home); the ability to watch condensed games if you don’t have the time to watch an entire game; and a chance to listen to either the home or away radio announcers for every game.

The extra 5 bucks a month or $30 a year gets you high definition video, a TiVo like ability to pause and rewind live action, the chance to watch up to 4 games simultaneously, and live picture-in-picture.

To be honest, I was blown away by the picture quality on the high definition feeds (the picture to the left is a screen capture from an HD stream).  With a DSL or cable connection, the Adobe Flash image is crisp, especially after downloading the Nexdef plug-in which enables you to take advantage of the HD quality streams. (I did notice that once the plug-in was installed on my Mac, it kept “calling home” and using real as well as virtual memory, even when I wasn’t trying to access the service.)

While it pains me to admit it, the video quality was MUCH better on my PC at work (with a slower internet connection) than my Mac at home (with a much faster connection).  While the video on my dual-processor G5 sputtered and occasionally froze, I had a perfect picture on my PC at work. 

One of the best features of the on-screen controls allowed me to move instantly from inning to inning in a game (live or archived), enabling me to bypass innings when no one scored in favor of  innings with lots of action. There is also a bar across the bottom of the screen that gives you the option to call up highlights from the game you are watching or from around the league, to get a quick summary of the game, see the box score or track a particular player.

I’ve been a Red Sox fan from the time I would pay a dollar to sit in the bleachers at Fenway with my college buddies, so I’m glad to have access to NESN’s HD video feeds.   However, subscribers in the Mobile area are subject to blackouts involving any live games that include the Devil Rays, the Marlins and the Braves.  I can understand the Braves, but the Devil Rays and the Marlins?

So, if you can’t watch baseball on Fox 10, MLB.TV Premium is an awesome choice.  Hot dogs are optional.

Is anyone as excited as I am about this year’s NCAA Championship games?  You have to admit, we’ve seen some great college basketball… even if our brackets are completely ruined.

Of course you should know, I am a HUGE Michigan State basketball fan.  So when my alma mater stunned Louisville to advance to the Final Four, the games got even more exciting.

Then it hit me — my school is going to the Final Four AND the games are in my hometown of Detroit, but I didn’t make any preparations to be there.

Ok, suddenly my enthusiasm has waned.

See, when I say I am a huge MSU basketball fan, well that’s kind of an understatement.   Here’s some perspective.  I was an intern at the FOX station in Detroit when the  Spartans defeated Florida to win the title in 2000.  But there was no question in the producers mind who to send to East Lansing to help cover the victory parade.  I’ll never forget it.  I interviewed Tom Izzo, and even got to meet the Flintstones (Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson, and Charlie Bell)!

Then when the Spartans went to the Final Four in 2001, I traveled all the way to Minneapolis… by myself… to cheer them on.  That’s right; go State!

Naturally, with March Madness converging on Detroit, all of my family and friends assume I am coming for the festivities.  Unfortunately, I am not.  I predicted they would make it to the Final Four in my brackets.  I knew the NCAA Championship was going to be in motor city this year .  Why didn’t I get a plane ticket?

Clearly with the games starting this Saturday, I will be watching from home.

Lucky for me,  my mother works right around the corner from Ford Field.  She has promised to send me pictures of all the pep rallies so I won’t feel completely left out.

And with that said, I leave you with this…

On the banks of the Red Cedar, Is a school that’s known to all.

Its specialty is winning, And those Spartans play good ball.

Spartan Teams are never beaten, All thru the game they fight.

Fight for the only colors, Green and White.

Go right thru for M S U, Watch the points keep growing.

Spartan teams are bound to win, they’re fighting with a vim, Rah! Rah! Rah!

See their team is weakening, We’re going to win the game.

Fight! Fight! Rah! Team Fight! Victory for M S U.