NFL Sunday ticket

Football season is just around the corner. There is nothing like it, especially if you can watch all the games at home. As fun as going to your local sports bar can be, it is really cheaper to sit at home with some friends and enjoy watching NFL football with a cold beverage of choice. The NFL Sunday ticket even allows you to follow all of your fantasy team players live rather than constantly reloading ESPN's gametracker.

The NFL Sunday Ticket price is something that you won't find on your local cable package either. Sure, it probably violates some federal monopoly laws by limiting the NFL Sunday ticket schedule to just Direct TV, but who really cares about violating laws. Half the players on the field are violating laws anyway, be it for possession of pot, use of steroids, or other infractions. If hte NFL really cared about violating laws they wouldn't have most of those guys ont he field, but who wants to see Peyton Manning running around by himself? It's gnot great entertainment.

Mobile fun

Have you ever longed for the days when a cell phone just made phone calls? I am sorry to say that those halcyon days are long gone, my friend. These days, people want their mobile phones to be able to do everything. They want to text, blog, tweet, and even have them make breakfast. We just cannot go five minutes without being separated from the world, and that is what makes me thankful that most phones still have an off switch.

Some may consider me a Benedict Arnold in the face of a mobile revolution, but for those that want to advance the cause of shorter attention spans I submit to you the latest Mobile Fun site.

Mobile fun seems to have a focus on Nokia phones. I was unaware that Nokia still made phones, especially since LG has surpassed them in quality and value. You can still get plenty of nokia accessories, nokia 5800 cases, and the nokia dc-4 through this site. It’s a British-centric site, being based in the UK, but as long as you can find the latest conversion rates from dollars to pounds you should be golden. We all need a good exercise in math skills anyway. This country is falling behind most European countries in math skills anyway, so use it as an excuse to catch up.

Mobile fun does not limit itself to just nokia products either. Rest assured, you can still find plenty of accessories and devices to add on to your LG phone, iphone, Sony Ericsson, or any other device. I haven’t been able to find the USB toaster device on this site as popularized by the Onion, but if it is an actual accessory I am sure that Mobile fun has it. But hey, why take my word for it. Go check it out yourself.

The MIA

I am always one ready to party in the city where the heat it on. Dolphin Stadium is the place to be for sports in Miami too with the Dolphins, Marlins, and Hurricanes all doing well. Sometimes tickets can be difficult to find, that is why I use the Miami Dolphins tickets service when I travel to Miami. I travel there often, so they are used often.

Some of tickets even harder to get are for Major League baseball. the Cubs and the Red Sox sell out virtually every game, so it is handy to have a service that always has tickets available. That is why I use the Boston Red Sox tickets service and the Chicago Cubs tickets service. The Cubs one comes in especially handy since this may be the year where it finally happens.

Goin' up to Boston

When I was in Boston a few summers ago I was fortunate enough to see a game at Fenway. it was an incredible experience. It is the only ballpark I have been to where it feels like you are in a movie when you watch the game.

Unfortunately, it is hard to gets tickets to anything in new England. That is why i am glad I can find TD Banknorth Garden Tickets online. The same is true for Chastain Park Amphitheatre Tickets and Dunkin Donuts Center Tickets. Then there is Anaheim, where you can get great Honda Center tickets.

We are LIVE!

It is official: Hammer and Rails is now up and running over at SB Nation. All future posts will be made over there. Thank you to everybody who has stopped by to read, thus making this possible.

All stories are also now archived over there as well.

A dish best served cold…

January 31, 2002 at Bloomington: #25 Indiana 66, Purdue 52 (Purdue finished 12-17, 4-11 Big Ten)

January 15, 2005 at West Lafayette: Indiana75, Purdue 73

February 22, 2005 at Bloomington (Gene Keady's final IU game): Indiana 79, Purdue 62 (Purdue finished 7-21, 3-13 Big Ten)

January 21, 2006 at Bloomington: Indiana 62, Purdue 49

March 1, 2006 at West Lafayette: Indiana 70, Purdue 59 (Purdue finished 9-19, 3-13 Big Ten)

Why do I mention those games? Those are the five games we are supposedly trying to avenge tomorrow. Many people want a 30 point blowout as a way to kick the Hoosiers while they are down. As you can see, however, even in those three seasons when we were at our worst and Indiana had a chance to kick us while we were down, the games were still competitive. That is what rivalries bring out in teams. That 2005 team was abysmally bad in Gene Keady's final season, but we still nearly pulled off a miracle in his final IU-Purdue game at Mackey Arena. We weren't much better the next year, but we kept under 15 points each time. Indiana this year is probably about as bad as both of those teams, but absolutely would not be surprised if they kept it close tomorrow. I expect to win, but the 30 point humiliation some are calling for would honestly shock me.

2008-09 record: 6-19, 1-12

2007-08 Postseason: lost to Arkansas 86-72 in First round of NCAA Tournament

2007-08 Final record: 25-8, 14-4 Big Ten

Blog Representation: The Hoosier Report, Inside the Hall

This really began a year ago yesterday. On February 19^th of last year the Hoosiers topped us in Bloomington behind a stellar effort from D.J. White. Ever since then the Indiana program has been in freefall to this point. That was Kelvin Sampson's final game as head coach, and quite frankly the team quit on Dan Dakich for the rest of the season. The Hoosiers went 3-4 under him, but lost ugly games to Penn State, Minnesota, and Arkansas to finish the season. White was a class player and didn't deserve that kind of finish to his college career. To his credit Eric Gordon also played well, but struggled with his shot down the stretch. What players like Jamarcus Ellis and DeAndre Thomas did in quitting on their teammates, however, is shameful.

As we know, Indiana completely cleaned house after the season. Virtually anyone who contributed anything to last year's 25-8 near Big Ten title season is gone. The lone exception being the 1.3 points that former walk-on Kyle Taber brought back. Needless to say the results have not been pretty as the Hoosiers have already set a school record for losses in a single season. Only an absolute miracle (and likely necessary food poisoning scares by the other 10 Big Ten teams) run in the Big Ten Tournament here in a few weeks will have the Hoosiers playing anywhere in the postseason.

They have lost to the likes of Lipscomb and Northeastern while barely pulling out wins over IUPUI and Division II Chaminade. Their best win to date is likely a 72-57 victory over Cornell, who went to last year's NCAA tournament and is the front runner in the Ivy League to return to the dance. A 66-56 win over TCU (currently 14-12) isn't bad either. Indiana has only won once in the last 15 games since the TCU win. The Chaminade win is the only victory they have away from Bloomington, but at least it was a true road game technically.

Many fans on the GBI basketball board are derisive about saying Indiana plays hard. I am not one of those fans. I certainly respect it because we play hard too, we just have better talent at the moment. If you can get kids to play hard now, when they have absolutely nothing to play for, the team will get better in a hurry when the talent is there. That is why I am a little afraid of this game, but only a little. On the one hand, a victory would make Indiana's season. This is the only thing they have to play for because a win in Mackey Arena would humiliate us. We're going to get their absolute best shot. On the other hand, Matt Painter knows this rivalry. He will not let our guys take them for granted.

Statistically, Indiana is pretty brutal. Leading scorer Devan Dumes averages 13.7 points per game. He's a 6'2" junior guard that can drive as well as shoot the three. If he gets hot they might have a puncher's chance (rimshot). He's in his first year as a transfer from Eastern Michigan, but against the better teams in the Big Ten he hasn't been nearly as effective. Verdell Jones III is a promising freshman point guard that averages 9.2 points and 3.3 assist per game. His major knock, as it is for most of this team, is that he turns the ball over way too much.

Freshman forward Tom Pritchard is the teams' second leading scorer at 10.3 per game and leading rebounder at 6.6 per game. He has struggled of late, having been kept in single digits scoring-wise for the last seven games. Minnesota even shut him out in 27 minutes of play on February 10^th. Pritchard shoots almost 50% from the field, but he is below 60% from the free throw line.

Indiana plays a pretty regular eight man rotation with Nick Williams, Matt Roth, Malik Story, Taber, and Daniel Moore each playing 18 minutes per night. Unfortunately for them, Taber is the only upperclassman amongst the group. While Dumes is technically a junior the rest of the core are freshmen. This could pay dividends in the future, but for now Indiana is struggling. This team is different from our freshman–dominated squad of last year because we at least had a few upperclassmen leaders like Keaton Grant, Chris Kramer, and Tarrance Crump to help ease the transition. IU does not have that luxury, and they are suffering for it.

Indiana is at the bottom of the conference in virtually every major statistical category. They score over five fewer points per game than everyone except Iowa. They give up over seven points per game more than everyone else in the league. They are the worst shooting team in the league, and teams are shooting the best against them by wide margins. Indiana's defense does cause about 14 turnovers per game, but they give it back 18 times per contest on average. That's four turnovers more than the nearest competition. Considering we force more turnovers than anyone in the league this could get very ugly.

Though Indiana plays hard, the truth is there are few things else they do well. The Hoosiers are somewhat strong on the offensive glass, particularly Pritchard who is second in the conference in that statistic. They are also good at getting to the free throw line, though they only shoot 66% as a team once they get there. If this team can ever get the fundamentals of the game down such as not turning it over and hitting free throws there is the potential for them to be good. Sadly, this is not a fundamentally sound team.

Some Purdue fans may be confused as to why I think it is sad that Indiana is awful this year. I want Indiana to be good. I want them to be good and I want to still beat them when they are good because it validates our success that much more. A Purdue win tomorrow is expected on both sides. We won't get any respect by thrashing them because that is what we are supposed to do. When this rivalry was at its height in the 80's and early 90's every single game was a battle. There was a grudging respect on both sides for the other. That element has been missing for some time and as a result the rivalry has died in the eyes of the national media. When both teams are good it rivals North Carolina-Duke in terms of national attention. I want to get back to that level, but the Hoosiers need to improve first.

This is a bit of a role reversal game because it wasn't that long ago we were mired in the Big Ten basement. In my opinion, this Indiana team is worse than our teams at the end of the Keady era. We quickly recovered though, and so can IU.

I honestly don't see how Indiana can win tomorrow unless Purdue is completely unfocused. We just took the #5 team in the nation and made them look bad on our home floor. It would take us being totally out of the game mentally for Indiana to have much of a chance. Instead of focusing on what we need to do to win it is more of a case of what they Hoosiers need to do. They need to take care of the ball against possibly the fiercest defense they have seen all year. They need to hit shots against a defense that makes teams shoot poorly. They also have to defend a team with as many as nine guys that can go for double figures in any game.

Indiana hasn't proven they can do this against anybody this year, so it would be a major shock if it all came together tomorrow afternoon. They might keep it close, but any loss by the Boilers would be a major upset. Purdue 75, Indiana 56

Luckily, there’s a Family Guy

First off, I finally have a name to thank for the "Defense Lives Here" banner. Thanks to the GBI basketball board for drawing my attention to this, as we have Paint Crew Secretary Zach West to thank for the idea of the banner. I love it. My only wish is that I want to be about seven years younger. If this had been there when I was a senior in 2002 I would have gladly been right down in front helping to put each number up. Unfortunately, in that first year of the Gene Pool (of which I still have my shirt) the turnovers would likely have been counted for us. That year I would have done a John Allison rebound counter, but it would have been useless because it would have never moved.

Next we get to the entry everyone has been waiting for. It has been a long time since I have done a power rankings. I have also had numerous suggestions to do it with a Family Guy theme, but I have been holding off until I moved over to Hammer and Rails. It was going to be one of my debut posts. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it will work out. SB Nation is taking longer than I expected for the move and we're running out of season. Since last night's Penn State-Illinois game helped us in the standings (and set the game of basketball back about 50 years) I felt it was time. I'll also separate into categories the teams that I think are in the NCAA's at this point. We'll have locks, likely safe, bubble, NIT, and no chance.

NCAA LOCKS:

1. (1) Michigan State (20-5, 10-3) – Peter Griffin – Peter is the star of the show and its biggest draw just as Michigan State has consistently been the Big Ten's marquee team for the past decade. Like Peter, however, they have a tendency to screw things up royally, be it early NCAA losses to George Mason or losing at home to Northwestern. All five losses this year have been surprise home losses or blowouts away from the Breslin Center. They are still a lock and likely top three seed in March.

2. (5) Purdue (20-6, 9-4) – Cleveland – Cleveland often doesn't carry a show, but it wouldn't be the same without him. My favorite is a recent episode where his wife came back while he had a new girlfriend. Completely out of character for him, he had a great line of, "I'm no meteorologist, but I do believe it's raining bitches!" He is even keel like our defense, and rarely breaks through to stardom like our program as a whole. Allegedly, he has his own spinoff coming though, just like we can make the Final Four. We still have the potential for as high as a three seed, maybe even a two if we win out because we are much better with Robbie Hummel. This is just like Cleveland because he is much better when placed in great situations.

3. (4) Illinois (21-6, 9-5) – Adam West – I would have had the Illini higher, but last night's home loss was both painful and unforgivable. They looked like they didn't even know what they were doing while thinking they were above it all. This perfectly matches Adam West's character on the show. He is cocky and Illinois is cocky. I still recognize their two wins over us, however, because I think they are one of the worst matchups for us. That said, this team is a little flawed because if they aren't hitting shots they are awful like Adam West is a little off mentally.

4. (6) Penn State (19-8, 8-6) – Quagmire – Penn State will take any NCAA bid like Quagmire will sleep with anyone. They ultimately want more Big Ten basketball respect about as much as Quagmire wants to sleep with Lois. Does that mean their upset in East Lansing (of Peter) was like finally getting Lois? We'll see. I think they are a lock as long as they don't blow the Indiana and Iowa games. That would give them 21 wins, 10 in a tough conference, and road victories at two of the top three teams. They also have home wins over Purdue and Minnesota.

LIKELY SAFE:

5. (2) Minnesota (19-6, 7-6) – Meg Griffin – Historically no one really pays much attention to Minnesota in basketball, but historically they are pretty good. Meg doesn't get a lot of attention from her family, but she has some very funny episodes. She can come through with some great material while being ignored just as Minnesota has this year. Minnesota has dropped a few games lately, but as long as they win their remaining three at home they are in.

BUBBLE:

6. (8) Wisconsin (16-9, 7-6) – Stewie – The Badgers recent hot streak and victory in their only meeting with Ohio State has them ahead of the Buckeyes for now. They are like Stewie in that you always must take them seriously because they are plotting conference domination. Something always goes awry when they take good teams to the tournament though, just like Stewie's plans always fail. Having an NCAA discussion without them is like an episode with minimal Stewie.

7. (7) Ohio State (17-7, 7-6) – Neil Goldman – Neil is constantly trying to be suave and sophisticated, so this fits Ohio State to a T. The last two losses are to teams they probably should have beaten, however, and the early season wins over Notre Dame and Miami have less strength now. Of course, we're all jealous of their position like Neil thinks everyone is jealous of him.

8. (3) Michigan (16-10, 6-7) – Brian Griffin – Brian never finishes what he starts, just as Michigan is not finishing off what started as a very promising season. Their lapses into stupid basketball is like Brian's drinking problem. You know it's coming, but you hope it doesn't stop them. They have three wins in their last 10 games and two of them were against Northwestern. The Wildcats would be here had they gotten both. They have a very difficult finishing kick where a tough trip to Iowa is the easiest game.

NIT:

9. (10) Northwestern (14-10, 5-8) – Joe Swanson – Joe is physically strong and a great guy, but he is in a wheelchair. Northwestern players are incredibly intelligent and they have a lot of talent this year, but the way they finish games is like they are playing in wheelchairs for the final five minutes against people not in wheelchairs. I was shocked they finished off Oho State last night. It's too bad, but the home games they blew against Penn State, Purdue, Illinois, and Michigan all should be wins. That would have them as an NCAA team right now at 18-6, 9-4 easily. They might squeeze in if they win the last five because four of them are on the road, but they have to be kicking themselves at this point. Still, two more wins are possible and that would secure an NIT bid, which is huge for this program.

10. (9) Iowa (13-13, 3-10) – Chris Griffin – This is another team that is very unsure of itself, especially on the road, just as Chris is unsure of himself. At home they are decent, just as Chris is more confident in his room. Still, against good teams the evil monkey in the closet comes out. That causes them to panic and run away. Iowa could also be the evil monkey itself. Chris isn't a fantastic character, but Iowa isn't a fantastic basketball team. Both are very mediocre.

NO CHANCE:

11. (11) Indiana (6-18, 1-11) – Herbert the Pervert – Admit it, everyone has been waiting for this one I'll even field suggestions as to other characters they can be. I had to give them Herbert the Pervert though because they are old remembering the glory days while obsessing over young boys that are going to save them. This would be even better if Steve Alford were the coach of Iowa, since Iowa is compared to Chris Griffin above. I can't mention this without sharing the lovely photoshop work of Abugabby on the GBI basketball board. This should stoke the fires for Saturday a little.

I do have to give John of the Hoosier Report some great credit for an excellent rebuttal of Deadspin's knee-jerk reaction to IU's situation. I make fun of Indiana, but I am supposed to as a rival. They will be back. Remember, North Carolina had an 8 win season not too long ago. I respect coach Knight for waht he did in Bloomington while running the cleanest program in the country. That is what makes what happened last year so much worse.

Flop Turn River

Welcome to the game of poker. I honestly know very little about the game, but I do know it is no way a sport. I cannot believe that ESPN actually televises the World Series of Poker under the guise it is a sport. it is people sitting there playing cards. What's next, a breathing competition? At least it is not as disgusting a competitive eating. That is such a waste.

Of course, I don't have much room to talk. The guys and gals that play this "sport" can make some serious cash. In this capitalist society that is the strongest thing we have as motivation. BEcause of that, you can take advantage of the PokerStars Marketing Code in order to make some serious cash yourself. If marketing isn't enough for you, be sure to hit the bonus code like the star in Super Mario Brothers. The Poker Stars Bonus Codes turns on the bonus so you can go nuts against the opposition. After all, who doesn't like a good PokerStars bonus?

Defense Lives Here

I love the members of the Paint Crew that have started this banner at all home games. Most teams track 3-pointers or points by a star player. Purdue has to be the only team in the country where the student section tracks and celebrates turnovers caused by its defense. It is old-school basketball, and I love it. It is a symbol hard work, tenacity, and commitment to team oriented basketball. I love it because I was not blessed with great physical basketball skills. I am the only player, to my knowledge, that was rated in a church league with, "no one works harder than Travis" as my only real positive contribution. That is what I see when I look at this Purdue team, only they actually have real basketball talent and I do not.

Make no mistake, defense won this game. The Spartans Weblog does an excellent statstical breakdown, but MSU just got beat. Almost every single great play on the offensive end was set up by a hustle play on the other end. As usual, Chris Kramer got things going at the start of both halves. First, it was a taken charge less than two minutes in. He followed that with an out and out thievery and fast break layup to start the second half. To me though, the most defining defensive play of the night came from Marcus Green. After missing a layup a Michigan State player came down with the strong rebound. Green, visibly frustrated for the miss, physically ripped the ball out of the dude's arms with both hands (not even touching anything other than the ball) and laid it in. It almost looked like a superhuman display of strength because that was a secured rebound, yet Green took it from him like he was a child.

Defense does indeed live here.

Positives from the Michigan State game:

Defense - Well, duh.

Michigan State looked lost in this one as a direct result of our defense. 22 turnovers is an absurd number for the #5 team in the nation. It could have been more too as we batted the ball away numerous times. We also added eight blocked shots officially, though there were more that JaJuan swatted safely away after fouls that don't count, but they prevent a potential 3-point play from happening. I think the most telling thing about our defense is that it never lets up. In a half court set the point guard often takes a second or two out by the ten second line to hold up and call a play out. Last night we didn't even give Michigan State that luxury. As soon as Lucas or someone else stopped and held up a hand to begin a play call he was immediately met by a Boilermaker trying to take advantage of the lapse to cause a steal.

After facing this all night it had to be especially suffocating. I lost count of how many times a Michigan State payer started to call a play, but was immediately forced to stop and defend the ball as a Purdue player got up in his face. This further disrupts opposing offenses. Sometimes simply disrupting a team's communication can be more damaging than any steal or blocked shot because it doesn't even let them set an offense. It's no wonder this led to 22 turnover and numerous poor passes out of bounds.

JaJuan Johnson – I'd like to see him rebound better, but last night there was no answer for him on the offensive end. He had a beautiful pick and roll with LewJack in the second half that led to everyone's favorite play: the two handed thunderdunk. I'd kill to be able to dunk like that on a regulation goal just once even if no one was around. Who wouldn't? It just looks like fun to beat a defense so badly that you get to sky like that and flush it with both hands over a guy scrambling to get back into the play. You have to add the yell too, and JaJuan obliged.

Seriously though, when we needed a basket JaJuan was there. As a big man he is going to get fouled a lot and he is learning to cash in at the free throw line. Last night in the final 10 minutes we recognized this and just kept feeding him the ball. He either scored or got to the line. There was no answer for him.

Marcus Green – Welcome back! Marcus was back doing the little things last night. He was rebounding, forcing steals, and both baskets were the result of hard work and hustle plays. Last night was exactly the type of game we need from him. When he plays like that and does all the little things it makes everyone else better.

Robbie Hummel – I think we look better with Robbie on the court not just because of his play, but because he forces other teams to commit someone to him. This freed up E'Twaun for some key early baskets and later allowed JaJuan to dominate. If we bring JaJuan out in the high post it leaves the lane wide open for guys like Robbie and E'Twaun to drive, plus it sets up JaJuan for the roll back to the basket. Having Robbie allows JaJuan to do this much easier. We may not have him 100% until next year, but even a slightly injured Robbie Hummel improves our team exponentially.

Lewis Jackson – I know some people hate him and he is still making some freshman mistakes, but his quickness gives us a dimension we were missing last year. Just as our defense didn't allow them to set anything up offensively, Jackson pushing the tempo does not allow defenses to set up against us. He's also improving as a defensive player as his steal led to Green's breakaway dunk. LewJack is going to have his good and bad games, but as long as last night was an average game for him we will be a very good basketball team.

Chris Kramer – What more can you say about this kid? As we were walking back to the parking garage last night an older gentleman made a great comment at the corner of Stadium and University. He said, "If Chris Kramer doesn't win defensive player of the year in the Big Ten there needs to be an investigation." Other teams don't like him because of his defense, but there is no rule that say you have to play off of a guy and let him call a play. It's almost like Chris' mantra is," do not let the other guy breath if he has the ball". He is everything we want in a leader. He plays hard and he plays hurt. As I said before, Chris Kramer is going to play unless he's dead, and even then he would just be downgraded to "questionable".

The crowd – This crowd wasn't quite as jacked as it was before the Duke game, but it really got into it when we had reason to cheer. I especially loved the standing ovation at the final TV timeout. The Paint Crew was on it as usual. As an alumnus t is quite a site to walk into Mackey Arena and see the students stretch from floor to ceiling, all in black, for multiple sections. I was a member of the first Gene Pool and we were lucky to fill the lower section alone above the current "Defense Lives Here" banner. I just love everything about this group, from that banner to the Bosnian flags that come out for Chally. You guys have done a great job all year and it would be awesome if the Paint Crew could do the entire 5k race en masse that I mentioned yesterday.

Negatives from the Michigan State game:

Officiating – It didn't affect the game, but the officiating was awful both ways. One second these guys would call a foul with very little contact, the next someone would crash to the floor with no call. High tower seemed especially concerned with making sure the fouls were even at a couple of points, but we got away with some calls too. I am not asking for expert judgment, but some consistency would be nice. As someone in front of me at the game said last night, "It's a good thing we're here to ref for you, Ed."

Rebounding – I know Michigan State is the best rebounding team in the country, but I felt we allowed too many offensive rebounds. It just really annoys me when teams don't box out, especially on free throws. This is an area we must improve on for the rematch in East Lansing because Michigan State is not going have as poor of a game up there.

Up next:

This was a great win. If our place in the NCAA Tournament wasn't solidified before it certainly is now. I would be shocked to see us not be a lock when tomorrow's Bubble Watch comes out. We're also back in this Big Ten race. We are more than capable of winning the final five games and taking at least a share of this conference title, especially if Robbie Hummel is as healthy as he says he is. It won't be easy. Ohio State is a nasty home game and I don't like playing at Michigan, but if we go into that final game in East Lansing with a chance that is all we can ask for after the season we have had.

Last night we played like one of the best teams in the nation. I have said all along that I don't care about how we play early as long as we're playing our best basketball at the end of the season. If we play at the level we did last night there are few teams in this country that can beat us.

Now we get Indiana. I haven't commented much about the Hoosiers because I don't believe in talking a lot about teams that really aren't that relevant at the moment. The GBI boards have been in full swing for a long time talking about what a beating we're going to hand down. I don't participate because I realize that Indiana is not going to be awful forever. They do play hard and Saturday is going to be their season for them. We're coming off of an emotional win over the conference leader. They have nothing to lose and would love nothing more than to ruin the season of their bitter rivals. I expect to win, but I would be surprised if it is the 30+ point blowout everyone wants.

I know our place in this series. Yes, we control the overall series by a lot, but I do respect that they have five national titles to our (debatable) one. That is a fact you cannot deny. It wasn't that long ago (2002) that they played for a sixth. They are one of the best programs historically and nationally we will be thought of as behind them until we start winning titles of our own.

That said, those banners will not help them on Saturday.


400^th post gift

This post marks the 400^th post in the history of Off the Tracks. It has been a pleasure to be here and I look forward to 400 more once we move over to Hammer and Rails at SB Nation. I still have not been given a set date for the move, but things are moving in that direction. As a gift I present to you a glimpse of the new logo. Tell me what you think!