IN YOUR FACE THINKING

**** Political parties are no different or better than street gangs . Democrats , Republicans , Bloods , & Crips, they are about the same .

Gangs & Parties exist for the same reason . Both want to get as much loot for their members as they can . And they don't care how they do it .

If you think the Democrats are going to save you or the Republicans are any better you are dead wrong . Those folks are only interested in putting as much money as possible in the pockets of the Big Dogs .

Political Parties will be the death of this nation . Nothing gets done because the Democrats & Republicans are fighting over who is going to steal the money .

When someone will spend millions to get a job that pays thousands , you know something is very wrong .

**** Politicians have just about wiped out the middle class . You are either a Have or a Have - Not . The gap gets wider every day .

The Smart - Boys said send that work overseas . You can buy the product much cheaper due to low labor costs . So there went the jobs .

Did they ever think , If I don't have a job I can't buy the product no matter what the cost ? It is not Democrats vs Republicans or Black vs White , It is Have vs Have - Not .

The Big Dogs send those jobs `overseas because low labor costs improves the profit margin . The Little Dogs are left to fight over a smaller food dish while the Big Dogs get fatter .

Jefferson said " Revolutions are as necessary to a political climate as thunderstorms are to a physical climate ."

****
Not in the clamor of the crowded streets
Nor in the shouts or plaudits of the throng
But within ourselves
Are Victory & Defeat

Inside of each of us ,there is an internal scoreboard . At the end of the day this scoreboard tells us our score . Did we do our best ?

The World's scoreboard is not valid . It does not take into account where you started from , or the amount of trouble you overcame .

An award from the world really doesn't mean much , not compared with an award that comes from the inner scoreboard .

That inner board takes into account all we have done good or bad . How many have hoisted the trophy knowing they lied or cheated to get it ?. The inner scoreboard records all this .

The peace of mind that comes from knowing you did your best the right way is a greater award than the world can offer .

**** The Mystic asks " Would our lives be changed if we really lived our faith one week ?"

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THIRD & LONG

*** I can't believe I missed on 3 of 4 NFL picks last week . I thought those were sure things .

You just can't predict those games . What I am trying to do with my NFL picks is to pick 4 game winners .

This is harder than it sounds . If the game was a 50/50 bet I would have 0.0625 % chance of getting 4 correct .

My actual odds are a little better because the games are not exactly 50/50 more like 60/40 . This means I should have about 0.1296 % chance of hitting 4 .

You should try this at home . Just take 4 NFL games that interest you & pick the winner .

*** I am disgusted with the Mississippi State offense . Yes, Dan Mullen I know you helped Urban Meyer develop the spread offense .

But you can not build a car with bicycle parts . Danny Boy , You do not have an outstanding spread QB . A spread offense is as good as the QB ,no more ,no less .

Dan's ego is over - riding his good sense . He is trying to piece together two QB's to run his beloved spread . Give the defense some credit Dan , They see which QB you have in the game & then they know your modus operandi .

How are the Gators doing in the spread this year ? It seems Brantley is under center more & more .

*** Economics - - Tiger Style

Little demand plus unlimited supply equals price increase .

*** This weeks picks ;

College

Florida over Kentucky
Carolina over Auburn
State over Georgia
Bama over Arkansas
UTEP over Memphis

NFL PICK 4

Packers over Bears
Steelers over Bucs
Colts over Broncos
Cowboys over Texans

Last Week 4 - 5 Season 11 - 7

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THE SAMURAI FADED AWAY

**** A Samurai is a warrior who lives by a personal code . The Samurai follows his Bushido . Bushido means the way of the warrior .

Leland Smith was a football Samurai . He lived true to his Bushido . Smith left the football battlefield 17 years ago this week . He is still strong in the memory of many .

Leland was a mass of contradictions . He was intelligent , inspirational , & loved his players beyond all .

Smith was also moody , temperamental , & prone to depression . Most really smart people walk the dark halls of depression .

For a man who was super attractive to women , Leland sure had a lot of woman trouble . 3 marriages prove that .

Sometimes Leland let anger over - ride his intelligence . He would get mad & decide to walk to home or work . This was a distance of 5 to 10 miles depending on where we were coaching at the time . We all tried to give him a ride but he insisted on walking . I guess it gave him time to think .

Leland learned hard nose intensity from Elmer Ray & defensive concepts from Ken Netherland . Charlie White & Jim Elgin really poured gas on Leland's fire when they coached with him on defense .

I coached with Leland for 7 years . He worked on defense ,while I worked on offense . Every day was a learning experience .

One of us left mad every day . Our practices were lab experiments gone berserk . We worked hard to stay ahead of the other . And learned a lot of football in the process .

I learned how to deal with 4 - man pressure from the weak side , over shift fronts , & coverages that seemed to rotate the wrong way .

Leland got a dose of wide line splits , unbalanced lines , & pass routes that changed according to coverage .

The lessons we learned in practice sure helped us out in a lot of games .

The Rhodes guys asked me once " How can you & Coach Smith yell & scream at each other all practice & then go eat together , tell stories , laugh & high five ?" I said that is just us .

Before the game Leland would say to me " You score once & we will stop them once " I always laughed & said okay .

I wish I could have one more round with the old Samurai warrior . After all , the old Mystic has a lot of new ideals to throw on him at practice .

Sun Tzu had a lot of the answers ,Leland, but Houseman had them all in "IS MY TEAM STILL PLOWING ?"

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PICKING FIGHTS & PICKING GAMES

**** Picking Fights

#1. Thank you Ines What ever your name is for proving my point . Ines is a former Miss Spain who works in Mexican TV .

Ines thinks she should be allowed in a locker room full of naked guys . Ines must think cause she is darn near naked herself that makes it okay .

There should be NO reporters allowed in locker rooms . Male or Female .

How would you like to answer questions while you are naked ? Could you give an intelligent answer when all your stuff is on display ? I think not .

Is is okay for male newsmen to be in a WNBA locker room ? How would Sue ,Swin , & Lauren like talking to a group of boys & girls while naked ?

You can't tell me those reporters have their eyes only on their note pads .

This is a no brainer . NO REPORTERS IN LOCKER ROOMS

**** Picking Games

#1 Florida @ Tennessee

Florida sputtering with out Tebow still has too much for a weak Tennessee . WINNER - FLORIDA

# 2 Arkansas @ Georgia

Everything yells pick the HAWGS who are untested . But I am swimming against the tide . WINNER - GEORGIA

# 3 Mississippi State @ LSU

I would love to pick State but their history in Baton Rouge will not let me WINNER - LSU

# 4 Vandy @ Ole Miss

This is the kind of game that Nutt seems to blow but surely not . Just because of Masoli . WINNER - OLE MISS

# 5 MTSU @ Memphis

Surely the Tigers can beat a Sun Belt team who is down to their # 3 QB . If the Tigers don't win this one they need to PEE on the fire & call the dogs . WINNER - MEMPHIS

**** Some NFL picks

Titans over Steelers

Pats over Jets

Cowboys over Bears

Colts over Giants

Last Week 5 - 0 Season 7 - 1

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HOT SLANTS & SMASH ROUTES

**** I hate to say I told you so . Really I don't . In fact I love it .

Just call me Paul Revere for telling you the Cowboys were heading for a train wreck . You can't play as bad as the Cowboys did in the pre - season & then play great when it counts .

The Cowboys just don't have their Shinola together . When they get their Shinola together , I am not sure they can lift it .

Wade is not an NFL head coach . He is a very good defensive coordinator . Phillips is in a tough position . He has no say so over OC Jason Garrett . Garrett makes as much money as Wade & has complete control of the offense .

So Wade Phillips is not really the Cowboys head coach . No one is . This is another Jerry Jones mess . I am beginning to think JJ could screw up a two car funeral .

The Bears come to the Palace that is not in Dallas Sunday . If the Cowboys are going to rebound they must start Sunday .

How would you like to depend on a 15 year old who thinks it is funny that he farts when you pull his finger . That's Romo .

About 3 more like this one & Wade will be history .

**** Larry Porter could have received his first big break as Tiger coach . If Cannon Smith is unable to play then Coach Porter can start Ryan Williams with out whizzing off Cannon's Dad BIG DOLLAR FRED.

A face saving injury would allow everyone a graceful exit . It is sad that sometimes the best thing you can do for the team is to get hurt . Been there myself a few times .

Fred Smith is no different than any other father . Any father is going to be more excited if his son is starting as opposed to just being on the team . I sure would .

Ryan Williams has been a bright spot for the Tigers thus far . He could be the MAN .

**** My Niners were another big flop to start the season . I had hoped for better .

I think it is time to pull the plug on Alex Smith . Alex is not going to make it . The 49ers need to start looking for a new QB .

**** What did I say about Brett Favre ? I think he will be 3 & 4 after 7 . 4 & 3 at the very best . Could be a long year for the old dude .

I heard 3 - Dog Night was teaching Favre the words to Mama told me
not to come !

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FIRST DOWNS & PUNTS

**** First down Mississippi State The Dogs did not win but they had a good showing vs Auburn .

State is so close to turning the corner & having a good football program .
The schedule & some major flaws are going to be hard to overcome .

The Dog - Bone formation looks like it could be a great plus for State .Relf is a load running the option .

Tyler Russell looked bad against the Tigers . Hope Big Tyler can improve & become a factor at QB .

**** Punt Shirley Rains - The Memphis President sure did not come across well in the CA interview this week .

Shirley didn't appear to know or care much about the state of University of Memphis athletics .

If Shirley really thinks R.C. is doing a great job , she is as clueless as she was back in Bells years ago .

**** First Down Cam Newton - If you are going to run the spread Big Newt is what you need .

Cam can run or throw . I counted 8 times in the State game where Newton turned a negative into a positive play . Those reversals will win you a lot of games .

**** Punt The Clements Mess - Why is Congress going to spend a lot of hours & dollars trying to prove a baseball player used PEDs & lied about it ?

Doesn't Congress have more important things to do ? Everyone knows the Rocket was juiced . Big Deal .

You can't unscramble eggs . Move on MLB .

**** Picks that beat picking your nose

Carolina over Georgia

LSU over Vandy

Bama over Penn State

Oregon over Tennessee

ECU over Memphis

Last Week 2-1 Season 2 - 1

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WHAT A START

**** The college football season kicked off this past weekend . Now ,don't wet your britches just yet . For the most part these games were Varsity vs Junior Varsity scrimmages . There were some exceptions .

**** Ole Miss was the talk of the nation losing to Jacksonville State . This was a total embarrassment to the haughty Oxford group . I don't know how that game got away from the Rebels . JSU made plays they couldn't make again in a hundred games but the Gamecocks made the plays Saturday .

This is a major blow to Ole Miss , no use to pretend otherwise . Some say Karma bit the Rebels for playing fast & loose with Masoli . Let the Nutt - Cracking begin !

**** Bulldog Nation ; Don't get too high over the blow out of sad Memphis . The Dawgs have a tough schedule & a Quarterback puzzle . Relf is a runner , Russell is a passer , neither is great at both .

State may need Rodney King to coach so they can all get along . The Dawgs have a great opportunity with Auburn Thursday night .

State's history says when they go out with shiny new shoes they step right in DOO - DOO . Step carefully Thursday night Bulldogs !

**** Now we know why Larry Porter closed practice . The Tigers have a new marketing program ;
" When you want to watch football real bad , We have some real bad football ".

The Tiger Quarterback position is a real snafu . There is so much emotion involving Cannon Smith that a logical decision is difficult .

Smith was an average high school QB , was not a blue chip recruit , & has not had much success on the college level . Cannon will be 23 next month , is small for a college player & tends to throw high under pressure . His Dad gives millions of dollars to the school . Those are facts .

The emotion rolls in with the fact his Dad is Fred Smith . Is being Fred's son a positive or a negative ? Does Cannon get opportunities he shouldn't or is young Smith held to a higher standard because of Dad ? These are emotional factors .

Based on facts Ryan Williams has more upside than Cannon Smith . Williams is bigger ,younger , &
more accurate .

This is Porter's first career impacting decision as the Memphis coach .

**** The SEC was 10 - 2 in non - conference openers .

Tennessee will not win 6 games this year .

Bama will not go unbeaten this season .

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FOURTH & ONE

***** WARNING WARNING - The Cowboys do not appear close to being the NFL's best team . They don't even look like a play - off team

The Cowboys should not struggle like they have . I don't know what is wrong & I don't think JJ & Wade do either .

I look for the Cowboys to muddle through & win their division . They need to have the engines running smooth come play - off time .

***** Brett Favre will not have a year as good as last year . 33 TDs vs 7 INTs is hard to repeat . The early schedule is brutal .

The Vikes may struggle to be above water eight games deep .

Favre will never retire . They will have to make him quit . Brett has no life after football . He is not a rocket scientist & there is nothing after football but cutting grass & shooting armadillos .

***** Yankee executives face a hard decision . Derek Jeter wants to be paid like the Yankee legend that he was . 25 M a year for 5 years sounds good to Jeter .

Problem is Jeter is no longer producing the numbers to justify that kind of money . Right now Jeter is a 35 year old singles hitter batting around .270 .

Do the Yanks pay Jeter for days gone bye or do they cut him loose ? The Yankees can get any SS in the league , will they opt for a younger model ?

***** Will the Chairman change ? David Pickler almost lost his seat on the school board . I hope this brings David back to the real world .

Why would anybody spend over 40,000 & buy TV ads to win a school board seat ?

I bet Pickler is re - elected Chairman because no one else wants the job . Truth is David does a fantastic job as chairman . No one would spend more time & work harder than Pickler.

Just do the same excellent job but stay off Fantasy Island Dave . It 's not a bad day if your name isn't in the paper .

***** Don't look for Joe Cooper's Deli to last long . The Deli located at Main & Adams opened Monday . I have been by all four mornings & have yet to see a customer .

This morning the place was not open at 8 : 30 . I would think the best time for courthouse business would be between 7 AM & noon .

I bet they belly up within a month . Say it ain't so Joe .

***** Picks slightly better than picking your nose .

Mississippi State over Memphis

Ole Miss over JSU .

South Panola over MUS

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