Friday, Sept. 14

Oklahoma State at Troy - Oklahoma State

Saturday, Sept. 15 

Temple at UConn - UCONN

Akron at IU - IU

Cincinnati at Miami (OH) - Cincinnati

Pitt at Michigan State - Michigan State

Virginia at UNC - UNC

Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois - NIU

Buffalo at Penn State - Penn State

Central Michigan at Purdue - Purdue

Illinois at Syracuse - Illinois

The Citadel at Wisconsin - Wisconsin

Mississippi State at Auburn - Auburn

Furman at Clemson - Clemson

Minnesota at Florida Atlantic - Minnesota

Western Carolina at #23 Georgia - Georgia

Iowa at Iowa State - Iowa

Ohio at Virginia Tech - Virginia Tech

Western Michigan at Missouri - Missouri

Texas Tech at Rice - Texas Tech

Eastern Kentucky at Western Kentucky - Western Kentucky

#22 Tennessee at #5 Florida - Florida

Florida International at Miami (FL) - Miami

Notre Dame at Michigan - Michigan

Utah State at #3 Oklahoma - Oklahoma

Norfolk State at #13 Rutgers - Rutgers

#6 Texas at UCF - Texas

Army at Wake Forest - Wake Forest

#10 Ohio State at Washington - Ohio State

Delaware State at Kent State - Kent State

New Hampshire at Marshall - Marshall

Ball State at Navy - Navy

#11 UCLA at Utah - UCLA

Southern Miss at ECU - ECU

Wofford at NC State - NC State

Louisiana Tech at Cal - Cal

Idaho State at Oregon State - Oregon State

#16 Arkansas at Alabama - Arkansas

SMU at Arkansas State - Arkansas State

Texas State at Baylor - Baylor

Toledo at Kansas State - Kansas

McNeese State at Louisiana-Lafayette - ULL

Fresno State at #19 Oregon - Oregon

South Carolina State at #17 South Carolina - South Carolina

Louisiana-Monroe at #25 Texas A&M - TAMU

Houston at Tulane - Tulane

Alcorn State at UAB - UAB

Ole Miss at Vanderbilt - Vandy

Missouri State at Kansas State - Kansas State

#9 Louisville at Kentucky - Kentucky

Wyoming at Boise State - Boise State

#21 Boston College at #15 Georgia Tech - Georgia Tech

Middle Tennessee at #2 LSU - LSU

Jacksonville State at Memphis - Memphis

#1 USC at #14 Nebraska - USC

UTEP at New Mexico State - UTEP

Duke at Northwestern - Northwestern

BYU at Tulsa - Tulsa

Nicholls State at Nevada - Nevada

#24 Hawaii at UNLV - Hawaii

New Mexico at Arizona - Arizona

San Diego State at Arizona State - Arizona State

Florida State at Colorado - Colorado

San Jose at Stanford - Stanford

Idaho at Washington State - Washington State

In the absence (it took me four tries to spell that word right) of any actual sports news breaking today and given that it’s Tuesday I thought I would take a break from the sports world and focus on some things that I love outside the arena of sport. Today, boys and girls, is the first installment of The Bottom Line Endorses…

The Bottom Line endorses… Matt Nathanson “Some Mad Hope”

Lost in the shuffle of major releases from Kanye West, the prolific 50 Cent and of course the soundtrack for High School Musical 2 has been this subtle release from one of my favorite singer/songwriters of all-time Matt Nathanson. Having seen Nathanson in concert more than a half dozen times, I find it difficult to divorce the already congealed live version of some of these songs cemented in your mind from the studio recording but the record is still an enjoyable listen. The album is a serious of peaks and troughs. Hard-hitting songs like “Gone” followed by solemn, acoustic ballads like “Bulletproof Weeks,” and then cranks right back up with the driving “Beat of Our Noisy Hearts.” Listen for Death Cab for Cutie drummer Jason McGerr who was the session drummer on the record. In ‘Some Mad Hope,’ Nathanson does what he’s always done well: Make simple but not basic, clever but not patronizing pop music.

The Bottom Line endorses… HEROES, Season 1 DVD 

I’ve blogged about Heroes before but this weekend, brace yourself, I actually turned off college football to steal a couple episodes of Heroes before watching the season finale after the LSU/VT game turned into a blowout. The season finale was really incredible and it felt like the end of a movie but unfortunately it’s not. Having so enjoyed the first season, I am understandably apprehensive about how the second season of the show will play out. I was having a discussion with a friend of mine about network television the other night and we determined that with a show like Heroes that people are crazy about. The third season is the make or break season. This season will be a trial run for many. Having built buzz from last year and gaining some bandwagon attention and fans, this season will show whether or not the series has legs and isn’t a one hit wonder. Regardless of whether or not season 2 is any good, season 1 was one of the most entertaining seasons of a show that I’ve ever watched.

The Bottom Line Endorses…. KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL 

Having read and loved Anthony Bourdain’s autobiography of the same title, I was reticent about watching this show after it was recommended to me by a friend of mine with similar taste. None the less, I threw it in the Netflix queue, bumped it to the top and watched the first disc. There are some things about this show that prevent me from loving it: First, the main character, played pretty averagely by Bradley Cooper of Wedding Crashers fame, is named Jack Bourdain. While I understand that you’re making a series based on a book (it should be noted that the series was directed by Kevin Wonder himself, Fred Savage) but come on. It’s like saying ‘I’m going to make an adventure movie and the main character’s name is going to be Indiana Thompson’ or ‘I’m going to make a television adaptation of Lord of the Rings and call the main character Stevie Baggins.’ It just doesn’t work. Everytime someone on the show says Bourdain’s full name, I cringe. The best part of the show, by far, is the performance of John Francis Daley, who is the show’s sole source of comedic relief and has some laugh out loud moments in the show along with John Cho of Harold and Kumar fame. I know it probably sounds like I hate this show but I really don’t. Do I understand why this show was cancelled? Yes. The casting is bad, the writing is subpar but the show is pretty enjoyable if you’re really bored and are waiting for season four of The Office to start.

Tallied 57-9 after the first week of college football picks.

Season average: 63% 

College football is officially back. Welcome to Saturday.

As of right now, Appalachian State is hanging with Michigan at the Big House and East Carolina is crashing the party at Lane Stadium and just took it down the field in convincing fashion. I would expect both of these games to end the way you would think they would but this is whats great about college football.

A special weekend post from yours truly. I was watching an episode of Conan I had TiVod (new verb) from last week and was fortunate enough to catch a set from comedian Ian Edwards. Hilariously funny stuff. I was able to find his set on YouTube. The shark attack bit is priceless.

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Finally saw The Bourne Ultimatum over the weekend and loved it. It was everything that The Bourne Supremacy should have been but wasn’t. Matt Damon proves, once again, that he’s one of the greatest actors of our generation and turns in another powerhouse performance. The supporting performances are great, Joan Allen manages not to ruin this film like she did in Supremacy, Julia Stiles is actually really terrific and you really can’t say enough about David Strathairn, the guy is liquid on screen. The action sequences were top-knotch and even had me smirking like a geek with their awesome-ness (a smirk which drew several wayward glances and eye-rolls from my girlfriend who enjoyed it but clearly not as much as I did). Behind Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Ultimatum was my favorite movie of the summer.

I also saw Ron Howard’s The Paper with Michael Keaton, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall and really enjoyed it. I think it was very true to life at a newspaper and the actors were really convincing newspeople. I don’t think this film is as true to form as a picture like Shattered Glass but was every bit as enjoyable. The flick is perfect for a rainy day. Definitely worth a spot on your Netflix queue.

Currently blasting the speakers on my MacBook and in my car is Kanye West’s new single Stronger which features an amazing slowed-down sample of Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.” The song is fantastic and really embodies everything that I unashamedly love about Kanye West. The guy is inventive and not at all afraid to take risks. Can’t wait to pick up Graduation when it comes out on Sept. 11.

Worth mentioning was the trailer for Peter Berg’s The Kingdom that I saw before The Bourne Ultimatum, which I am more excited about then I can even describe. Jamie Foxx, Hillary Swank, Jason Bateman and the imcomparable Chris Cooper in what looks like it could be one of the best films of the year.

__________

No, seriously…

British teen OD’s on espresso.

Some moron paid more than $1,500 for an oil smudge on a garage floor in Virginia. It doesn’t even look like Jesus. Frankly, it looks like a goat.

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ESPN’s Mark Schlabach lists college football’s biggest secrets in ‘07.

Lawrence Taylor tells Michael Strahan to hang it up.

Saints linebacker Scott Fujita sets the record straight on his water park foot injury.

Pair of pieces from ESPN’s Pat Forde on Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson and on Darren McFadden going pro after this season.

DC United player pissed about ESPN’s Beckham-centric MLS coverage.

Jon Gruden is still sifting through his pack of quarterbacks.

Not really news but I find it interesting that every week there is a letter from a reader in the Buffalo News about how awful Sabres management is. Every week, never fails.

Hoosiers hope to improve their pass rush. It really can’t get any worse.

The AJC’s Terence Moore wants Michael Vick’s staunchest supporters to wake up and smell the roses.

A nice piece in the Houston Chronicle on Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee.

Packers first-round pick Justin Harrell sees limited time in preseason opener. This might have been the worst first-round pick in last year’s draft.

In case you live in a cave: MADDEN COMES OUT TOMORROW!

Drew Henson fighting for his football life in Vikings camp.

Titans players defend their ownership of pit bulls.

The AJC’s Tony Barnhart on why the SEC is smiling and the things college football fans have learned a week into practice.

Oklahoma quarterback race still not decided.

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Three consumer groups have spoken out against the Whole Foods/Wild Oats merger.

Google to launch iTunes competitor, gBox.

Who owns what in today’s online media landscape.

Microsoft is hoping the release of the Halo 3 this winter can help the system rebound from hardware failures and slumping sales.

Christopher Nolan debuts some ‘Dark Knight’ footage at Chicago comic con. I can’t wait for this but it seems that the producers have gone 0-for-2 in my mind in the casting of Rachel Dawes’ character. First they casted Katie Holmes, who was the worst thing about Batman Begins and now they’ve gone out and gotten Maggie Gyllenhaal who is my least favorite actress on the planet. I have never seen a single film that she’s been in that I enjoyed. I hope she can change my mind.

Cinematical lists seven movie stars who are about to fall off the A-list.

Stereogum has the real cover of Kanye’s new record, Graduation.

Facebook makes the cover of Newsweek.

Newsweek’s 25 hottest universities.

As if you needed another reason to buy Kanye’s new record, 50 cent says that if West’s Graduation outsells his record, which comes out the same day, he’s going to stop making music. (Your lips to God’s ears, sir.)

Top Chef’s Sam Talbot on the now-infamous Rocco episode.

Happy Fourth of July. I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday. The Bottom Line will be back tomorrow.

T.O. - The Day After

When first hearing of this wildly speculative story. I was skeptical but I wasn’t completely incredulous. This is an athlete who has shown himself to be so wildly insecure and starved for attention that the possibility that he would be so unhappy so as to take his own life was not, in and of itself, all that surprising.

However, after watching yesterday’s press conference, it becomes clear to me that Owens is not a man who took 35 vicoden and attempted to take his own life.

I found myself having an unusual thought yesterday as I contemplated the possibility that T.O. had actually tried to kill himself: I felt bad. As a Philadelphia Eagles fan for the better part of my functional life, I have nothing for disdain for Terrell Owens as a person. In the dictionary, next to the word “toxic”, you’ll see a picture of number 81. However, off the field matters, especially of this nature, are something entirely different. This isn’t a matter of off the field ridiculousness, it really is (or was) a matter of life and death. It’s moments like this that make you realize that athlete, no matter how much they try to differentiate themselves from those who pay to watch them, are just ordinary people with many of the same problems and afflicitions that plague all of us.

With the suicide rumor dismissed, I’m ready to get back to hating T.O.

I thought I’d take aim at Bruce Feldman’s column on ESPN.com that he publishes weekly, where he ranks the power conferences. Basically what Feldman does is evaluate the performance of a conference’s teams in any given weekend and then assign point values, plus or minus, and then tally those points to assess how a conference fared in that weekend.

What I can’t help but notice is the means he is going to to justify keeping the SEC on top for yet another week. While, I don’t disagree that the SEC is one of the tougher conferences in the country, I felt like this was an especially dull weekend in the SEC. What with Auburn playing Buffalo, Florida playing Kentucky and Georgia playing Colorado. However, Feldman still finds a way to give the SEC 1 point because LSU destroyed Arizona, a team that gave USC a little bit of a tough time this past weekend. So the SEC gets a point for a game it didn’t even play? Meanwhile, he gives Ohio State 1 point for beating Penn State in the slop. But what he actually writes is even more ludicrous: “Ohio State shuts down a ranked team, staying unbeaten (+1)”. Yeah no big deal.

I think it’s time that the Big Ten finally got whats due them. By season’s end, they will have 2 teams in the BCS bowl contention and probably a team in the national championship game. Forget that Wisconsin is as tough as unranked draw as there is, especially at Camp Randall, and Michigan State is one complete and utter fold job from being the conferences’ 4th undefeated team.

Stay tuned to next week’s column when Feldman the SEC receives two points for looking snazzy in their uniforms.