Man in the Hat media

Hello again. The Report has taken down the fences, reopened the gates, and is back open for another week of college football picks. Last week was extremely hectic, and I figured since USC and Clemson took bye weeks, why can't I? I did watch NCAA football, and boy, was I ever impressed with Texas Tech, the LSU/Georgia game, and my biggest question is, how many blocks will Florida get this week? Also, Georgia Tech got beat by Virginia of all teams, and FSU put the hammer to the Hokies. Overall, I went 11-5, bringing my season total to 107-38 (not to bad if I say so myself). It is a new week, and I'm re-energized for some picks. This week, we have dueling Florida/Georgia matches, as the Gators take on the Bulldogs, and the Yellow Jackets take on the Seminoles. VS #5 Gators (6-1, 4-1) Florida is coming off a blowout 63-5 victory over Kentucky. Their offense is putting up 42 points/game on 196 yards rushing and 241 yards passing. Heisman winning QB Tim Tebow (104-for-164, 1,415 yar...

Well, I had an amazing week going 12-4, including both big picks--LSU over South Carolina and Boston College topped Virginia Tech. Well, this week will be a little different. Being in school, I have gotten slammed this week with school work, so there won't be any big picks this week but, in honor of the BCS coming out this week, I will give the 2nd annual Lake Report Mid-Season Top 25. Lake Reports' Top 25 1-Texas Longhorns 2-Alabama Crimson Tide 3-Penn State Nittany Lions 4-LSU Tigers 5-Oklahoma Sooners 6-Florida Gators 7-Southern California Trojans 8-Oklahoma State Cowboys 9-Georgia Bulldogs 10-Missouri Tigers 11-Texas Tech Red Raiders 12-Boise State Broncos 13-Ohio State Buckeyes 14-Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 15-Brigham Young Cougars 16-Utah Utes 17-Texas Christian Horned Frogs 18-South Florida Bulls 19-Michigan State Spartans 20-Kansas Jayhawks 21-Tulsa Golden Hurricanes 22-Northwestern Wildcats 23-Vanderbilt Commodores 24-Boston College Eagles 25-Ball State Cardinals Pick...

You know what I really like? Flare and showmanship. What could possibly be better? Moving speeches, big ideas with little follow through, unanswered questions that appear to be answered. What more could we ask for with Presidential candidates? How about some substance? How about actual follow through and mapped out plans of how to fix the economic crisis? How about an actual plan of action on Iraq and Afghanistan ? How about healthcare reform that doesn’t have the words ‘universal’ and ‘healthcare’ in the same paragraph? How about a simple answered question? Okay, so maybe I don’t like flare and showmanship. So sue me, I like substance with my choice of President. This is a major issue facing the moderate, undecided voter in America . It isn’t the economy, the war, healthcare, immigration. Nope, it is actual substance in regards to those issues. Today, the game of politics has become a simple equation of being as vague as possibl...

How bout those Longhorns knocking off Oklahoma? How bout Miss. State coming up and biting the Vanderbilt Commodores in the butts? How bout the Tarheels taking down the Fighting Irish? And did I mention the firings of Auburn coordinator Tony Franklin, and Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden? And they ask why college football is so addictive. Upsets occur every week, and this coming week will probably do the same. Headliners this week are South Carolina vs LSU in the SEC, and Virginia Tech vs Boston College in the ACC. It is Tigers for Cocks, and a rematch of the ACC Title game last season. As TO says, "Get your popcorn ready." VS Gamecocks (5-2, 2-2) South Carolina is coming off a 24-17 come from behind win over the Kentucky Wildcats. A drive that was led by freshman QB Stephen Garcia (23-for-35, 300 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT), who gets his first career start this week (much to the chagrin of the Carolina faithful). Garcia will lead an offense that is still finding itself with Kenny Mc...

Another week in the books, and college football shows no signs of slowing down as we inch closer and closer to the announcement of the first BCS Top 25 poll. (Another short intro because it is midterm time at school.) Needless to say, the South Carolina defense and I had something in common; our worst statistical weeks yet (I went 8-4). I missed on both major matchups last week; FSU beat Miami and Vanderbilt beat Auburn. But, it is a new week, a time for even more excitement, and a time for me to redeem myself. @ #4 Tigers (4-0, 2-0) LSU's offense is coming off a tune up game with North Texas. They are averaging 36 points/game on 206 rushing yards/game and 220 passing yards. QB Jarrett Lee ( 45-for-77, 643 yards, 6 TDs, 3 INTs) has taken control of the offense, while RB Charles Scott (71 carries, 535 yards, 6 TDs) provides the muscle and while WRs Brandon Lafell and Demetrius Byrd provide the fireworks (combined 32 catches, 401 yards, 6 TDs). The defense is giving up 15 points/...

“The sky is falling, the sky is falling!” Chicken littles’ famous quip says it best on the current economic problems facing America . Wall Street has fallen, gas is sky high, and the dollar is almost worthless. So what to do now? Washington has the answer as they attempted to come swooping in for the rescue and pass legislation that will have them bail out Wall Street with taxpayer money. Luckily, the House Republicans are saying no, for now. But really, is this needed? Is it even a good idea? The answers are resounding no’s. Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange are merely gauges of economic activity of the American public, and the current consumer simply isn’t buying what is being sold. The fact that institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac started doling out sub-prime mortgages to lower income families didn’t help either. There is a way to fix this situation, and the legislative branch and the American people can help equally. First, the governm...

Roll Tide! And did they ever against Georgia last week. Clemson, more precisely Tommy Bowden, let me down last week with poor clock management as they lost to a resilient Maryland team. It was also a wild week across the country for Top 10 teams: So Cal lost to JaQuizz Rodgers and Oregon State , Florida lost to Mississippi, along with other upsets. Will this week stack up to last week in excitement and unpredictability? More importantly, how will I fare this week, after going a lackluster 11-6? VS #19 Commodores (4-0, 2-0) Vanderbilt is what you call a run first team. They are averaging 202 yards on the ground, but just a mere 80 yards passing, but are putting 30 points/game on the board. Quarterback Chris Nickson ( 30-for-52 292 yards, 3 TDs) is Mr. Everything for the 'Dores. Along with his arm, he is second on the team in rushing with 56 carries for 270 yards and 5 TDs. Runningback Jared Hawkins (67 carries, 314 yards, 3 TDs) leads the team in rushing. There is ...