Live Wire

Braves-Gamecock Football

Week Two

Our annual sports weekly that runs during College Football season returned for its fourth year last Thursday when our Gamecocks half whipped Southern Mississippi as the Braves and Phillies battle for supremacy in the National League East.

Cockstradamus returned from his Azores sabbatical to correctly pick 19 of 26 marquee games including 24th-ranked South Carolina’s impressive 41-13 drubbing of Brett Farve’s alma mater and statement to the SEC East going into this week’s home contest at Williams-Brice Stadium against their rival, 22nd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs.

Boise-mania

The Peach State’s poultry oracle from SC, while atop Stone Mountain, also correctly predicted the Potato State’s  Bronco herding of Virginia Gobblers/Hokies in Maryland’s home of the Washington Redskins.

I guess it qualifies as an away game on the road to nearly three seasons worth of winning and nothing else, but Braves-Gamecock doubts scenarios that would enable Boise State to earn our vote for the BCS Championship will materialize (i.e. champions of the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 all have two losses).

However, we have always relished the arguments of equally-deserving teams given that any “championship” outside of an all-inclusive playoff (involving at least 8 teams, and preferably 16) is mythical. We do think the present iteration of the non-playoff championship is the best devised so-far, but given the weak schedule the Broncos play, we would deem it unfair to grant them one of the two exclusive slots barring extraordinary circumstances.

That said, I do think the blue team with the blue field may be the best team and could beat any team in the SEC on a given day. But could they beat all eight teams on an SEC schedule and then win the SEC Championship game? I don’t know, but I do know that the winner of the SEC has to do just that, or something very close.

Bush Heisman

Did the NCAA take away OJ’s Heisman Trophy before he hocked it? Didn’t think so.

Braves-Gamecock thinks most of the NCAA rules violate Liberty and even those that don’t wouldn’t justify recognitions of who won games on the field, won championships and excelled enough to make the trip to New York’s Downtown Athletic Club.

And we weren’t and are not a Reggie Bush fan. We did like Matt Leinart and thought he had a good case for being mentioned in the same breath as Tebow, but it seems he has turned into a whiny jerk sitting the bench in the NFL. Sad.

But, speaking of the NFL, here are picks of Week One  losers (in memory of Athens, Georgia’s legendary radio football prognosticator, Leonard Postosties) followed by our division winners picks and then, Week Two college picks.

NFL Week One

Vikings will lose to Saints

Jaguars will lose to Broncos

Raiders will lose to Titans

Bengals will lose to Patriots

Browns will lose to Buccaneers

Texans will lose to Colts

Lions will lose to Bears

Steelers will lose to Falcons

Bills will lose to Dolphins

Panthers will lose to Giants

Eagles will lose to Packers

Rams will lose to Cardinals

Seahawks will lose to 49ers

Redskins will lose to Cowboys

Ravens will lose to Jets, and

Cheifs will lose to Chargers

NFL Division Winner Picks

Dallas Cowboys

New Orleans Saints

Green Bay Packers

Arizona Cardinals

New York Jets

Indianapolis Colts

Baltimore Ravens

San Diego Chargers

College Football Week Two

Georgia will lose to USC

Notre Dame will lose to Michigan

Jayhawks will lose to Ramblin’ Wreck

Presbyterian Blue Hose will lose to Clemson Tigers

Hurricanes will lose to Buckeyes

Trojans will lose to Cavaliers (upset special #1)

Penn State will lose to Alabama

Volunteers will lose to Ducks

Missouri State will lose to Kansas State

Seminoles will lose to Sooners

Gators will lose to Bulls (upset special #2)

Cowboys will lose to Longhorns

Louisiana Tech will lose to Texas A & M

Iowa will lose to Iowa State (upset special #3)

Chippewas will lose to Owls, and

Charleston Southern will lose to Wofford

LAST WEEK’S OPENING WEEK HIGHLIGHTS:

Fourth Annual Braves-Gamecock College Football Ode to Leonard’s Losers

This year we also launch the season with conference predictions as well as our usual selection of weekly picks at the bottom of the column, but first…

Leonard Postosties

This column has always been dedicated to the late Athens, Georgia native, Leonard “Postosties” Postero, pigskin prognosticator extraordinaire, whose “Leonard’s Losers” radio show was a must listen all during our childhood and until his death in 2001.

End of the 1801 “Chicken Curse”

We await the opening Kickoff of the College Football season tomorrow, still basking in the glow of the end of the 1801 “chicken curse” as the Fighting Gamecocks won the College World Series over UCLA (the school with the most NCAA national championships) and their first national championship (The Lady Gamecocks broke their “hen curse” with the 2002 Track and Field crown), when USC will tarnish the feathers of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles as Lane Kiffin’s team (for now) has a luau with non-rainbow Warriors in Hawaii.

I am Gamecock. Born one, raised as one and matriculated as one at the Law School.

Cockstradamus on FBS conference One-Twos

ACC – Clemson Tigers – Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech (and a heckuv an engineer) Yellow Jackets

SEC – USC – Alabama

Big 12 – Texas – Oklahoma

Big Ten – Ohio State – Wisconsin

Big East – UCONN – WVA

C-USA – Houston – Tulsa

Mid-American – Central Michigan Chippewas – Buffalo Bulls

Mountain West – Texas Christian University – BYU

Pac 10 – Oregon State – Oregon

Sun Belt – Middle Tennessee – Troy

WAC – Boise State – Fresno State

More losers next week as Nadal breaks through at Flushing Meadows, that 88 car wows NASCAR and Agnes Scott College remains undefeated….Get me out of here, Percy (Peabody) …

Mike DeVine

“One man with courage makes a majority.” – Andrew Jackson

Charlotte Observer, The Minority Report and Examiner.com archives

www.devinelawvista.com

An E-Mailed Reminder of What The 2010 Election is All About

If a Republican doesn’t like guns, he doesn’t buy one.
If a Democrat doesn’t like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a Republican is a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat.
If a Democrat is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a Republican is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a Democrat is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.

If a Republican is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A Democrat wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a Republican doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Democrats demand that those they don’t like be shut down.

If a Republican is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church.
A Democrat non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.

If a Republican decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A Democrat demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a Republican reads this, he’ll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A Democrat will delete it because he’s “offended”.

(HT: Mom and Dad)

WE REMEMBER

The board members of Keep America Safe, Liz Cheney, Bill Kristol and Debra Burlingame announce the release of “We Remember,” an ad featuring first responders and family members of the victims of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 who are speaking out in opposition to the proposed Ground Zero Mosque. We believe their voices should be heard throughout our country and we encourage you to pass their message along.

For more, visit www.KeepAmericaSafe.com

Three Things About Islam

Three surprising things you probably didn’t know about Islam.
This subject WILL affect you in the near future, so take the chance to inform yourself now – before it does.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO MIRROR THIS VIDEO!
Please support this video by rating, commenting and adding to your favorites!

Parts of the text have been strongly inspired by the website
http://www.citizenwarrior.com

Sources for ALL points:
http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-…
and here:
http://newstime.co.nz/three-things-ab…

Qu’ran online: http://quran.com/9/29
Abrogations: http://www.muhammadanism.org/Quran/ab…
Sharia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM4ODj…
Taqiyya: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taqiyya http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Qur…

MI-01 All Votes Counted and Dr. Dan Benishek is the Winner!

For Immediate Release
Thursday, July 12, 2010
Contact: Jesse Osmer
Phone: 989.255.3047

IRON MOUNTAIN, MI – Seven days of certification meetings across the 1st District have resulted in the final lead for Republican grassroots candidate Dr. Dan Benishek rising from 1 to 15. One of the largest districts in the United States, the 1st Congressional District consists of 31 counties. Boards of Canvassers were required to meet and verify the numbers submitted to the Secretary of State by the 17th, but all have completed certifying their tallies as of today.

“I am very happy with the outcome of the certification process,” said Benishek. “This has been a very long week but we have not faltered in continuing to campaign and move forward to a Republican victory this fall. I humbly ask all of those who voted last Tuesday, for any candidate, to join me in my campaign to defeat Representative McDowell this November”.

Dr. Dan Benishek is a surgeon from Iron River, Michigan and the Republican candidate for Congress in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District. Please visit our website at BenishekforCongress.com.

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Pigford On The Bayou

The DailyMail.UK reports something that we should have all probably suspected. It speaks volumes as to what type of society America has degenerated towards. It seems that a bunch of people on or near The Gulf of Mexico have all of sudden discovered that they are in fact “fishermen”. They just didn’t know that, you see, until BP started handing fishermen cash as part of The Deepwater Horizon spill. Sordid details follow below.

Lt Col Jeff Mayne of the LDWF Law Enforcement Division told the BBC today. ‘Originally BP was paying to cheques to just anybody who had a licence and that may have spurred some of the fraud,’ he said. ‘There were no real checks and balances on whether they were they really commercial fishermen. ‘I would like to say I’m surprised, but I’m not. It’s a lot easier to go and steal a resource than to rob a bank.’

(HT: Daily Mail)

Shirley Sherrod would be proud of these “fishermen”. Pathetic.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1302463/How-BP-paying-millions-oil-spill-compensation-fraudsters.html#ixzz0wOWivWNE

Handel should concede defeat

[Noon update: Handel conceded defeat a few hours after this column appeared.]

Forcing a recount only risks alienation more GOP voters

Karen Handel went negative early and hard and lost her tea partier appeal. That is the Gamecock’s view from his Stone Mountain of Georgia roost (pictured).

That is why she trails by 2489 votes out of 578,671 in the Republican gubernatorial nomination run-off with 99% of precincts reporting. Given the less than 1% margin, Georgia’s Secretary of State is fully aware that she is entitled to a recount.

Handel should reject the recount option and concede defeat.

Why?

Because the only way she could be the GOP’s nominee to face former Governor Roy Barnes in the Fall is as the winner of a recount “reversal”, which would cost her more votes from bitter Deal supporters that stay away from the polls, than she can afford to shed in November.

A recount that somehow found mistakes in the initial counting of over so many votes would seem “fishy” and lessen the enthusiasm even more for a candidate that gave away her tea partier momentum by going negative first with unproven allegations that her opponent is “the most corrupt politician in Washington.”

We bemoaned the ad at the time and continued to support the only candidate with the guts to promise non-teacher education cuts, especially given the equally negative and unproven ads of Deal. But who could blame Deal for defending his good name? (Click here for all our columns on this race)

Handel was on her way to vanquishing three establishment Peach State politicians before Sarah Palin uttered the name “Karen Handel” in public. She was the tea partiers’ favorite. Then, she blew it. Her only chance to make a strong comeback is to show graciousness in defeat. You don’t do that by forcing a recount knowing that a reversal of so many votes would leave her victory tainted and disable her and the party’s chances in the general election.

Election Day 2010 is setting up as a “wave election” for Republicans due to the failure of the ObamaDems in D.C. to get the economy moving and due to federal and executive overreach on bailouts, health care and gargantuan deficits.

But the GOP candidate to succeed their term-limited Republican Sonny Perdue in the State House must face another former governor generally seen as a success in his first term and who is untainted from primary fights.

Now, no matter the outcome of any recount, Barnes opponent will not be one with enthusiastic tea partier support.

Given those dynamics, if Karen Handel wants to maximize the chances of Republican control when post-census re-districting takes place, she should limit the damage she has already wreaked by conceding defeat today and endorse Nathan Deal for Governor.

Mike DeVine

“One man with courage makes a majority.” – Andrew Jackson

Charlotte Observer, The Minority Report and Examiner.com archives

www.devinelawvista.com

Muslim Raheel Raza Opposes Ground Zero Mosque – Pawns Bloomberg

“Bloomberg and other bleeding-heart white liberals like him don’t understand the battle that we moderate Muslims are faced with in terms of confronting radical Islam and Islamization and political Islam in North America which has only grown since 9/11 because of political correctness”

I Take My Hat Off To This Woman….

(H/T to Allahpundit of Hot Air.)

Tonight on The O’Reilly Factor, a moderate Canadian Muslim woman by the name of Raheel Raza spoke out against building the now infamous Ground Zero mosque. (She has previously written about her feelings as well.) First of all, her performance on O’Reilly’s show tonight was gangbusters. She blew him away with her extremely well articulated reasoning for being against the building of the Ground Zero mosque. To be specific, Ms. Raza stated that, “It’s confrontational, it’s in bad faith, and it doesn’t set up any real dialogue or discussion on tolerance.” Then, she went on to further state that, “Bleeding heart, white liberals don’t understand the battle that moderate Muslims face and how radical Islam has grown since 9/11 because of political correctness.” She was so terrific and spot-on that she, literally, left Bill O’Reilly speechless–all he could respond with was, “What a great answer!”. (You can watch Ms. Raza’s entire interview in the embed below.)

Folks, what this woman did tonight took guts–I’m not going to mince words. You know that she’s going to catch all kinds of hell when she gets back home from “tolerant liberals” who can’t tolerate any apostasy from their PC ideology. We need to give Ms. Raza, and moderate Muslims like her with the courage to speak out against radical Islam, as much support as possible. It’s the right thing to do.

Update: This Live Wire was originally posted a week ago, but it looks like I was quite prescient when I wrote that Raheel Raza was going to “catch hell” when she went back home to Canada. Yesterday, Kathy Shaidle of NewsReal reported that Ms. Raza has already received a threatening phone call from the property owner of the Ground Zero mosque. Again, now more than ever, the Raheel Razas of the Muslim world–with the fortitude to take a stand against radical Islam–need and deserve our support.

This Live Wire has now been cross-posted on Hillbillypolitics and Many Faces of Barack.