Free Friday Ear Food - Portugal the Man

Ah yes, that wonderful day again, Friday. That means no more work, drinking uncontrollably, prepping for football partying, this week in particular, Halloween, and of course, free music. This week I'm bringing you music from the Northwest, all the way from Alaska, where the music is as trippy as the Northern Lights.

The band: Portugal the Man. The sound: indie pop, w/ some psychedelic rock if you listen to their earlier albums. The great thing about them, they have hours and hours of music on myspace to indulge in, but today in particular I'm suggesting their most recent album from back in March of this year, American Ghetto.

Check it out here.

If you like it, you will find there is plenty of music to love from these guys.

I'm quite upset these guys played in Birmingham a couple of weeks ago and I missed it. I saw the poster up the night we saw Local Natives, and after a long week of concerts, I was just too damn tired to go to a 3rd. Maybe next time.

Enjoy.

Careful Auburn, "It's a Trap!"

As Auburn heads into Oxford this weekend to take on the Ole Miss Rebel Alliance, many people in the sports world are calling this a trap game. And with Admiral Ackbar leading the Rebel Alliance into battle, I can't help but remember this scene from Return of the Jedi.



Is Ackbar sending out a warning from a galaxy far, far away? Only time will tell.

College Pick 'EM - Week 9

Lou is Back!!!!

I just figured out this cat was in my Auburn Experience Class.

Betting Lines

For those of you that like sports betting, I've got some interesting Auburn lines that I found.

The sports books have been getting Auburn wrong all year. I got Auburn to win the BCS championship preseason at 100 to 1 odds (my 25 dollar bet pays out $2500 if we can pull it off). Fast forward eight weeks and the odds are 3.5 to 1.

If you go to sportsbook.com they put out some Auburn lines today that look like easy money. First off they have Cam Newton paying out almost even money on odds to win the Heisman race at -120. I would have thought he would have been more like -400 since by all accounts he is the clear front runner and only needs to stay healthy to wrap it up.

Auburn is only favored by 5.5 over UGA. UGA lost to Colorado. UGA is 4-4. UGA lost to USC by 11 to Arkansas by 7 and Miss State by 12. Auburn beat all of those teams and yet we are only favored by 5.5. I know AJ Green is a badass but I think we will be able to win by at least a TD against UGA at home.

Then there is the iron bowl line. Alabama is favored by 8! The balls!

To take look at the lines go to sportsbook.com and click on the "Games of the Year" tab under NCAA futures.

Gameday Condo for the UGA Game?

I think we should rent a gameday condo for the UGA game. We need to get on this really quick. They told me last week when I was looking that it was $600 for the weekend or saturday plus a $50 cleaning fee. I think this is pretty reasonable if we can get 10-12 people to go in on it. Thoughts???

Pick 'Em Results

The results are in and Auburn is #1 so everyone gets 13 points and a BJ! WDE!

But seriously, here are the results for last week (check for accuracy).

Billy went 7-10, and hit his parlay for a total of 10 points.
Roy went 6-10, and hit his parlay for a total of 9 points.
Heath went batted 50% and missed the parlay for a total of 5 points.
Yours truly did awful w/ my crazy picks and went 4-10, no parlay, 4 points.

Not sure how to mix this new system into the previous w/ missed weeks and what not. Any ideas? Start over from here? Add in previous wins w/ a drop from each?

Bill Simmons - The Sports Guy

Perhaps I've been living in a hole - actually, I have and it's called my office - but I've only recently become familiar with Bill Simmons - The Sports Guy. This guy brings a fresh, irreverent, and witty spin on sports and pop culture. His podcast, The BS Report, is one of the top downloaded podcasts currently online, and his mailbag articles and blog posts are a riot. Here's a sample:

Q: I'd be willing to bet every dollar I have that JWoww will be the most famous female wrestler in the WWE in five years or less. Her persona is already league-ready -- "You wanna stay, you can get your ass beat!" WWE needs to JWoww. Your thoughts?
-- Ryan W., Pelham, N.H.

SG: I received that e-mail two months before JWoww made her debut on TNA Wrestling (last week). Some things are just meant to be. Here's where I think the "Jersey Shore" cast ends up five years from today:

JWoww: WWE women's champ
Situation: Host of the Food Network's smash hit, "We Have a Situation."
Vinnie: Porn star (not even a performer, a STAR).
Snookie: Celebrity Fit Club on VH1.
Paulie D: Host of "Celebrity Piercings" on MTV.
Sammi & Ronnie: Either breaking up or getting back together
Angelina: Porn performer.

Q: I was thinking about how ESPN has "ESPN New York" and "ESPN Boston" and then it crossed my mind: Why not have a few others such as "ESPN LeBron," "ESPN Favre" and "ESPN Tiger"?
-- Joe R., Summit

SG: Yes, I received this e-mail two months before we created the "Heat Index." We already have ESPN Tiger: It's called ESPN.com/golf. And we already have ESPN Favre: It's called ESPN. But I agree with Joe: The more special sections, the merrier. For instance ...

"ESPN Sordid" -- An ACC basketball coach being investigated by the NCAA for paying players? ESPN Sordid. An NFL star accused of texting pictures of his junk to a female reporter? ESPN Sordid. A baseball star sued for giving someone a herpie (to steal a phrase from Paulie D)? ESPN Sordid. All the bad stuff would go here.

"ESPN Rip City" -- Wall-to-wall Blazers coverage delivered in the most ingratiating way possible for those soccer mom fanatics from Portland. That's right, gushing hyperbole about every Blazer combined with vitriolic attacks on every media member who dares to cross them! Running features include, "Brandon Roy vs. Michael Jordan: Closer Than You Think," "Why Wesley Matthews Was a Bigger Summer Signing Than LeBron" and "Oden vs. Durant: This Isn't Over Yet."

"ESPN England" -- I pined for this page after hearing that Wayne Rooney wanted out of Manchester United. If Rooney jumped to Manchester City, as rumored, it would be like Jeter jumping to the Mets this winter -- only if Jeter was in his prime, grew up in New York and had to leave because of a hooker scandal, and also, if baseball was the only professional sport that anyone cared about in America. So why didn't we have Soccer Marc Stein or Soccer Adam Schefter chasing down this story, or Soccer Chad Ford writing one of those "Five Possible Landing Spots for Rooney" columns? Where was Soccer J.A. Adande with a "If Rooney Goes to Man City, It Would Be Like Kobe Going to The Clips Multiplied by 100" column? Why don't we have an ESPN Trade Machine for soccer? (Or in this case, an ESPN Transfer Machine?) We need this page. Like, right now.

Q: I'm a teenager and I just lost my virginity. The first person I am telling is you.
-- Joe, Chicago

SG: I bet it took longer to type that e-mail.

Anyway, that's just a small sample. Unfortunately, he spends a lot of time on the NBA but he is definitely worth checking out.

Here is the website for his podcasts and here is his ESPN page. Enjoy.

Free Friday Ear Food/First Listen - Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown

Whats up music freaks! Today we have a special Free Friday Ear Food that is itself a first listen! Kings of Leon just released their 5th LP, Come Around Sundown this week. From the reviews I have read, the hard core fans are continuing down a road of disappointment, and the masses are eating it up. Multiple reviewers are comparing them to U2 with this album having an epic sound that will reach around the world.

I'm not so sure I agree with the U2 comment, and I do see where the KoL-heads would be upset (see my Margot rant a few weeks ago), but I will say that I have never been a fan of KoL until now. I have liked the radio hits, but when I listened to their previous albums, I never got anything out of it. This album finally changed my mind about them, and proves they can put together a complete album of songs that satisfy many different musical desires like Southern Rock, Indy Rock, 50's Doo Wop, and even back porch country rock, and still make it all seem coherent. 

And to top it all off, the band is streaming their album at their website, a genius tactic every band should incorporate. Take a listen, and enjoy.

Ski Bums

Want to be a ski bum? Why not sell off everything you own (minus your skis) and head to one of these towns and live forever. We run into them every season. They come in all forms. Tall men wearing cowboy hats feeding their dogs chicken wings out back, short men who think they are God's gift to fooseball, and old weathered men who take all your money in poker. Who wouldn't want to be these guys?

If you think this is the life for you, then maybe you are wondering just which town holds your future life. Well Pete Thomas of GrindTV.com has done some homework, and here are his top 5 towns to become a ski bum:

1. Bozeman, MT
2. Jackson Hole, Wy
3. Salt Lake City, Utah
4. Whistler-Blackcomb, British Columbia
5. Telluride, Co

Here's the link for the full article.