How in the world can one columnist predict 16 of 19 bowl games correctly, then miss 16 of the remaining 22? Just when I thought I had something figured out ... Then again, I did a little better than the readers who participated in the bowl survey. Readers went 19-16-3 in the survey. Yes, three games had an exact 50-50 split. A couple of surprises: LSU was picked over Notre Dame by 58 percent of the readers, and readers picked only two of the Big Six games correctly. (To be fair, I was only one game better) Those taking the survey weren’t dedicated to Big 10 teams. Of the nine games, readers picked the Big 10 team to win only three times, and one of those was Iowa, which lost the TaxSlayer.com Bowl to Tennessee. Guests correctly picked Penn State and Wisconsin to win. Only a third of the respondents thought Ohio State would advance. Ready to try again? We have a new survey on our website’s home page, with four NFL playoff games and the Ohio State-Oregon game ready to hear from you. For the record, I’m taking Ohio State, Baltimore, Seattle, Green Bay and Denver this weekend. Only the Carolina-Seattle game will fail to be close, but the colder it is in Denver, the more I like the Colts. Other than the game against the Raiders, I’ve wondered if Peyton Manning was beginning to show his age a little bit. And to be frank, the Raiders should be easy to beat at home. Seattle is looking very good these days, and is my pick to win it all right now. Green Bay vs. Dallas has “classic” written all over it. As a kid, I hated the Cowboys, but I’ve grown to respect what they’ve done over the years. My concern for Cowboys fans is the deeper they go into the playoffs, the more Jerry Jones is convinced he is the best possible general manager for his team. The Ravens have a winning postseason record in Foxboro during the Belichick/Brady era (2-1), but that’s not why I’m picking them. Baltimore’s defense had that “crazed man” look abut them, and that’s why I’m going that way. Lastly, I’m going with the upset in the national championship game. Ohio State has enough quickness to stay with Oregon, and will run the play clock under five seconds with each snap to shorten the game and help keep the Duck offense on the bench and allow the Buckeye defense to recoup. I’m thinking Ohio State 34, Oregon 32. Other things I wonder about … will the visitor’s locker room at Michigan State’s Breslin Center need a new paint job after last night? Tom Crean had to have been ticked off at his team after the Spartans whipped the Hoosiers. It was easy to think “Indiana’s back!” a couple of seasons ago, but it’s hard to maintain a program at a high level year after year. I don’t know if Crean will be successful over the next five years, but I do know no one will out work or have a bigger personality than Crean. I know Matt Painter needs a solid season from his Boilermakers, but they’ve been inconsistent. They looked pretty good in the Maui Invitational, but have dropped games at home they should easily win. The Boilers need to do a lot better than .500, or win a couple of games in the conference tournament, to keep things going in West Lafayette. My Kansas Jayhawks are struggling with shot blockers, but if I say much more, I have to wonder if I’m just being a spoiled brat; all they’ve done lately is win at least a share of 10 straight conference titles. I do have a feeling there’s a lot of courts to be stormed around the Big 12 this season, and the title streak may come to an end this year. I hope the Jayhawks can get their poop in a group, and there have been times during the streak where hops have been a little shaky, but not to this degree. The passing of ESPN personality Stuart Scott affected me more than I thought it would. The thing I liked about him is he seemed genuinely comfortable in his own skin. He had a performer’s personality and he was passionate in the pursuit of his career, and yet it didn’t define him. The line of people whom he inspired seems to be long, and that’s never a bad thing. People could do a lot worse for a role model than Stuart Scott. It’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t known someone dealing with cancer, whether it’s personally, a family member, close friend, colleague, neighbor and so on. There are many worthy charities who help people with cancer, and locally we are blessed to have the Kosciusko County Cancer Care Fund. And there’s never a bad time to make a donation. As the weather we associate with winter shows up (and compared to last year, it’s been pretty mild), let’s remember pitchers and catchers report in 45 days. The Daytona 500 is coming up, and professional golf tournaments will soon be plentiful. I’ll be watching under my blanket.
