Looking at this week’s schedule, part of me is glad I will miss the majority of Saturday’s action during my trip to Orlando. I guess I’d compare the action, excitement and debate generated by all of the great matchups of week 3 to a Master and Commander-style naval war epic and what do we make of week 4? Well if the schedule is any indicator, it’s shaping up to be a splash fight between two slow-moving elderly folks aboard those plastic paddle boats where you are propelled forward by your legs. None the less, there are some games that are worth watching, if you really have nothing better to do.

Game of the Week: #12 South Carolina at #2 LSU - 3:30 P.M. - CBS

I think it says something about the sorry state of early season college football when a team like South Carolina, a team that has one, count ‘em, one somewhat quality win to their credit is considered one of the top 15 teams in America. None the less Spurrier takes his Gamecocks to Death Valley for an afternoon showdown with the Bayou Bengals. The line on this one? Tigers by 16. Not usually what you would expect from a game between the 2nd best and 12th best teams in the country. This should give fans a pretty good idea of just how inflated USC’s record really is. I think the Gamecock defense will fair better than Virginia Tech’s defense did at slowing down the Tigers running game but I don’t think South Carolina has an answer for Early Doucet, Trindon Holliday and Brandon LaFell. If I were Steve Spurrier, I would seriously consider having backup quarterback Chris Smelley warming up and Baton Rouge General on standby when Blake Mitchell hits the field in Baton Rouge. Consider the following quote from Steve Spurrier in today’s edition of Columbia, S.C.’s The State newspaper:

“At times (with) our pass protection, we don’t block the guy,” Spurrier said. “We ‘offer’ at him a little bit. Next thing we know our guards are watching him go by.”"

Saturday, “the guy” that Spurrier is referring to will be Glenn Dorsey, you might have heard of him. He’s like the best defensive player in America and sure-fire, can’t-miss first round pick in next year’s NFL draft. The concussion-inducing proposition of the nation’s best defensive line going against one of the SEC’s most porous offensive lines is enough to make you tune in to see Blake Mitchell and his lame barbed wire, or tribal armband tattoo get knocked around a little bit. Expect the Tigers to win and win big.

O.G.I. - Other Games of Interest 

Washington at UCLA - 10:15 PM ET - Fox Sports 

A week after getting exposed as the frauds they are, UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell and his Bruins have Ty Willingham and the rebounding Huskies coming to town. Washington and their quarterback Jake Locker is a team that I find very intriguing and could pose some serious matchup problems for UCLA. The Bruin defense struggled last week to stop Brian Johnson and Utah and the similarities between Johnson’s strengths and those of Locker are striking.

#22 Georgia at #16 Alabama - 7:45 PM ET - ESPN

Can lightning strike twice? Can Nick Saban and the new era Tide beat ranked opponents in consecutive weeks? Forget about the rankings for a minute. Georgia is still a pretty good football team and Saban appears to have Alabama on the road back to glory (I don’t know about 16th best team in America but I digress). For Georgia, the formula should be real simple. Run the stupid football and limit turnovers. Get Knowshon Moreno and Thomas Brown the football early and often and repeat. Oh and make sure they don’t cramp up towards the end of the game. ‘Bama gave up almost 6 yards a carry last week in their pseudo-victory against Arkansas and had Darren McFadden not watched the end of the game from the sideline, the outcome of said game might have been different. If Matthew Stafford can take of the ball and not commit costly turnovers, Georgia has a real good chance of knocking Alabama back out of the top 25 and throw the brakes on the Tuscaloosa-based Saban worship — for this week at least.

#20 Texas A&M at Miami (FL) - 7:30 PM - Thursday - ESPN

I find this game interesting but not real interesting. Randy Shannon is trying to restore what is left of the legacy that was “The U” and Dennis Franchione is trying to keep the Aggies from becoming the fourth best team in the Big 12 … again. Franchione should have been looking at how Oklahoma’s offense dismantled the Miami defense and try to emulate that as best he can. Controlling the line of scrimmage will be huge for Texas A&M if they don’t want to get stung at the Orange Bowl.

Under the Radar Game of the Week - #21 Kentucky at Arkansas - 6:00 PM - ESPN2

In the words of Michael Scott, “Fool me once, strike one but fool me twice… strike three.” Last week, I thought Arkansas had every chance of beating Alabama and an atrocious first half inevitably cost them the game. Against my better instincts, I’m going with Arkansas to defend their home turf and shut down the resurgent Wildcats, who are riding  high after upsetting #9 ranked, intrastate rival Louisville last week. I don’t give Kentucky’s defense enough credit to be able to consistently stop Darren McFadden and Felix Jones despite that they gave up only 101 yards on the ground to Louisville. But let’s be fair, the Cardinals aren’t anywhere near as dedicated to a solid rushing game as Arkansas is and their 27 rushing attempts is proof of that. Arkansas defense particularly it’s secondary, which was dreadful last week against Alabama and made their receivers look like.. well, like Florida’s receivers, has to step up effectively defend Keenan Burton, Jacob Tamme and Rafael Little. Can they do it? We’ll see. But it is certainly gut check time for the Razorbacks. I promise though, if they don’t win this week, I’m never picking this team against another good-to-mediocre team for the rest of the year.

Well this is officially the calm before the storm: The weekend before football begins. We will not have a football-free weekend from now until February. Look for my college football week 1 picks early next week as well as my game of the week.

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No, seriously… 

White house reporters are really bored.

You might not want to use “freebasing” as your e-mail address if you’re buying ingredients to make ectasy. Just a thought.

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Steve Spurrier suspends starting QB for week one.

ESPN’s Ivan Maisel has a good piece on USF QB Matt Grothe. Big East predictions.

Reggie Miller axes potential comeback.

Former USC tailback Emmanuel Moody is considering a transfer to Florida.

Michael Vick’s estranged father says his son was always into dogfighting.

Drew Weatherford named starting QB at Florida State.

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Well-rounded news… 

The Cinematical on the summer’s biggest bombs.

Is Russell Crowe in ‘The Dark Knight?’

The 25 best high school movies of all-time.

RESTAURANT WARS, PART 2

Can’t say I didn’t see it coming.

Dale’s assessment the Restaurant April team of Casey, Brian, C.J. and Tre was pretty spot on. Last week, having missed the first 15 minutes of the show and turning it on and see the Restaurant April squad, I turned to my girlfriend and said, “That team is loaded.” For all intents and purposes, the food coming out of that kitchen should have been spectacular and it wasn’t. Not once, but twice.

Trying to figure out who to blame for that failure was the major task handed to our judges this week. Should it be C.J., who picked the team and then did a spectacular job of dodging any responsibilty? Or should it be Tre, whose salmon dish made Ted Allen jerk back in his chair as if he were being electrocuted?

Well it was Tre. And having figured that this week, we would see one of the heavy hitters go home, I gotta say, I’m not terribly disappointed. Do I think Tre was one of the best chefs in the competition? I absolutely do but maybe he tried to shoulder too much of the workload given C.J.’s complete and utter failure to lead a team that he selected. There are lots of things that team could have done differently. Instead of having Tre handling three courses in a five course dinner, have Brian make SOMETHING. ANYTHING. I’ll leave Casey alone on her dull knife and dull-er still knife skills. Did she not understand that ‘quickfire’ means things need to happen in an expedited fashion? Evidently not, by the way she was methodically cutting that onion as if she were performing an autopsy.

On the other side, I was really impressed with Sara M. who really stepped up this week and took over the kitchen for the Garage team. Howie continues to prove that he is an absolute moron and Sara probably, and unfortunately, saved him from elimination by telling him to redo his lamb chops, which I believe were still “Baaaaa-ing.” I lambasted Sara for being the competition’s weakest chef remaining but she proved her value this week and stepped up.

I will have to say that my hands-down favorite moment this week was when Sara informed Hung that they were cooking for the eliminated Sara and Joey, Hung’s response was “Who’s Sara and Joey?” And then when being told who they were, he responded, “nice.” Priceless stuff.

Given the previews, I have no idea who is going home next week and given what happened this week, it really could be anyone. I hope it’s Howie, who’s nonstop posturing and know-it-all attitude combined with his subpar performance in the kitchen, is wearing thin on yours truly. This could be the week where the sweaty Floridian is finally sent packing. Fingers crossed.

As always, Bravo’s bloggers have something to say about the second half of Restaurant Wars, including a very strong opinion from season 1 winner Harold Dieterle.

• Tom Colicchio
  
• Anthony Bourdain
• Ted Allen

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No, seriously… 

Chalk this up to things you wish you hadn’t read.

Croatia to build potato theme park.

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Some high school kids in Colorado just got a very good quarterback coach.

Pete Kendall looks to ruin another locker room on the eastern seaboard.

IU to remember Coach Hep at home opener.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach says the Big Ten is at a very important crossroads.  Easiest schedules of ‘07.

Was lashing out at Tiki the best thing Eli could have done for himself in the Giants locker room?

New York Daily News’ Mitch Lawrence calls Stephon Marbury’s defense of Michael Vick, “sick.”

Donovan McNabb seeking answers about Jeremiah Trotter’s release.

Ben Allen to transfer from IU.  This is a little inside baseball but I never thought Allen was tough enough to play in the Big Ten. He was slow, frankly non-athletic at times and didn’t show he could be an effective low-post defender or scorer for that matter. When you’re 6′11,” you really ought to have some sort of an inside game and Ben Allen didn’t. I think the fact that he was from Australia and was recruited to IU shortly after Andrew Bogut became the #1 overall pick made him appealing to the IU fanbase but his game never matched the hype. 

Peyton Manning takes up for this little bro.

Interesting piece in The State (Columbia, S.C.) about how Steve Spurrier and Tommy Bowden set goals for their respective teams.

Golden Bears eying revenge after last year’s blowout at Rocky Top.

The AJC’s Tony Barnhart on five moments that will shape the SEC this year.

There is still no word on who will start at QB for Florida State.

The Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel thinks recently-named Sooners starter Sam Bradford is on a very short leash.

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Well-rounded news… 

American Gladiators set to make primetime return.

Justice League flick to be motion capture? Barf.

Slow weekend filled with episodes of Degrassi and watching The Number 23, which was pretty unspectacular. I believe in Jim Carrey’s ability as an effective dramatic actor but this movie just missed the mark. The twist at the end is pretty decent but for a 98 minute movie, the flick does drag on a little. Still a decent watch if you’re bored enough.

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No, seriously…

Cops in Bangkok love Hello Kitty…

A man in Denver tries to rob a library.

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The Indiana Daily Student says tight end Blake Powers’ arrest for accidentally throwing a water balloon at an off-duty cop is indicative of a large problem. I think it’s a slow summer and they’re over-reacting.

Steve Spurrier is really not that stoked about South Carolina’s admission process.

Jamarcus Russell’s holdout to go into September? It’s hard not to be reminded of what happened with Philip Rivers in. He held out, missed a bunch of camp and Drew Brees came in and revamped his career. Could the same thing happen with Daunte Culpepper?

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King checks in from training camp.

Jermaine O’Neal wants to be dealt to the Lakers. As a Pacer fan, I think J.O. is a complete malcontent and hasn’t shown up to play for the Pacers in at least two seasons. If the Pacers can get value for him (which I don’t think they can — Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom is not going to cut it) then they should deal him.

The Fanhouse has begun its SEC preview. Good stuff.

• The underdogs.
• The toughest schedules.
• The conference’s most overrated players.
• Coaches on the hot seat.
• Biggest shoes to fill.
• Position battles.
• Five impact freshmen.

Slate magazine wonders what it would be like if all the major sports allowed doping.

New York’s ten best interviews in sports.

The Indianapolis Star’s Terry Hutchens on the Hoosiers first day of football practice.

The Detroit Free Press on what to watch this year from Michigan/Michigan State.

Matt Flynn is ready to go as LSU quarterback.

Will highly touted Tennessee freshmen cornerback Eric Berry also see time at QB?

There is no question that Georgia will only go as far as Matthew Stafford can take them.

Freshmen looking to make a difference for Gators.

Texas rookie Amobi Okoye on his childhood in Nigeria.

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Well rounded news….

New York Magazine on being a Bravo reality star.

Some really amazing fan-made posters for the new J.J. Abrams project, whatever the name of that is.

Steve Jobs IMs the Times?

The San Fransisco Chronicle’s Mick LaSalle asks who is the greatest living director?

Tom Hanks to star in Farenheit 451?

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s 2007 songs of summer.

It might take more than some snazzy new jerseys for the South Carolina Gamecocks to be a threat in the SEC East in ‘06.

Forget that head coach Steve Spurrier’s squad returns 16 of 22 starters on offense and defense and is coming off what many believe to be South Carolina’s best recruiting class ever, the Gamecocks still have some unresolved issues at some key positions and have a treacherous road schedule.

After struggling against Georgia and Mississippi State at the beginning of 2006, senior quarterback Blake Mitchell got the hook in favor of the more athletic Syvelle Newton who helped the Gamecocks win four of the next six games. After being arrested following a brawl at a near-campus bar (the charges were subsequently dropped and Mitchell served a one-game suspension), Mitchell was re-inserted into the lineup following a near miraculous comeback at Arkansas and would throw four TDs in the Gamecocks win in the Liberty Bowl. Despite a less-than-spectacular showing in the Garnet and Black game (13-39, 150 yards), it appears the QB job is once again Mitchell’s to lose. Expect the backup position job to be a three-horse race between Chris Smelley, Tommy Beecher and jailbird freshman Stephen Garcia.

Fielding the best pair of running backs not named McFadden and Jones, South Carolina’s running game will serve as a nice compliment to their shaky passing game, which will be without record-breaking receiver Sidney Rice, who opted out early for the NFL.  Junior Kenny McKinley will likely be Mitchell’s go-to-receiver but the passing game will need Larry Freeman, Freddie Brown or Mike West to develop into scoring threats to be an effective compliment to their relatively solid ground game.

Despite the hole left by the departure of Sidney Rice, no unit has more to prove than the Gamecocks O-Line and no unit is perhaps more important.  To put it bluntly, it is the line’s performance that will determine what kind of offense Spurrier can run. After being “steamrolled” in the spring game, it appears the line has a long way to go and Spurrier may have to play it safe and keep Mitchell upright rather than going 5 wide, empty backfield and chucking the ball all over the field.

The defensive line returns first-team freshman All-America Eric Norwood, who led the team in sacks last season but lose Casper Brinkley who joins his twin brother Jasper at linebacker. With a rotation of hungry young players, the defensive line could turn into one of the best in the conference.  Returning a pretty solid core of starts from last season (including some new additions) the South Carolina defense looks as if they can hang with some of the conference’s best offenses. And they’ll have to. With road tilts against Tennessee, LSU and Arkansas.

Coming off an eight-win season last year, Gamecock fans could be expecting Spurrier to finally push them over the edge and into an SEC east title. But it’s not going to happen this year. Regardless of the fact that they play Georgia, LSU, Tennessee and Arkansas on the road (three of which they couldn’t beat last season at home). Look for this to be a transition year, one in which some of Spurrier’s recruits from the ‘06 class get some playing time and mature. Expect to see more than one quarterback, my guess is that Blake Mitchell will struggle and won’t last the whole year and will get pulled, probably in favor of Smelley.

Bottom Line Prediction: 7-5. You can never count a Steve Spurrier coached-team out of any game and it wouldn’t surprise me if the Gamecocks gave the Gators all they can handle in Columbia on Nov. 10, ditto for Georgia on the road in week 2. Best case scenario for this team is 8-4. Anything better and you’re betting that they will beat one or more of the following teams: LSU, Tennesee, Florida or Arkansas. Not likely