By Staff
Justin Schuver, Sports Editor
You know how sometimes you just have one of those weeks where nothing seems to go right? That’s how my week was from Sunday, Oct. 9, through Saturday Oct. 15, at least in terms of sports. Observe the following:
SUNDAY — All excited about Atlanta Braves’ chances to make the NLCS after they leaped out to a 6-1 lead and are just four outs away from sending the NLDS back to Atlanta for a Game Five. Kyle Farnsworth then collapses in the eighth and ninth innings and the game goes into 18 grueling and nail-biting innings before Chris Burke (Who?) mercifully dashes the hopes of the Braves nation with a solo shot to win it for the Astros. Six hours of my life, gone.
WEDNESDAY — Finish up work quickly so I can drive down to Atlanta to watch the NHL’s Thrashers play. It’s an extra exciting game, because the team is off to a 2-1 start and has scored a whopping 15 goals in its last two games. They’ve also just resigned their leading scorer from last year, and the Montreal Canadiens are starting a rookie in net. Easy win, right? Wrong…2-0 loss, and a quiet three-hour ride home. Oh yeah, and the Thrashers haven’t won a game since.
FRIDAY — Drive up to Cullman hoping to see the Tigers clinch a playoff berth. Instead, I see Carson Williams make Hartselle’s pass defense look like Swiss cheese and get to listen to the Bearcats’ fight song no less than 10 times that night as the Tigers get absolutely clobbered.
SATURDAY — If I need to tell you about this one, you haven’t been reading my columns lately.
Ugh. At least the Falcons won Sunday. Here’s the picks for this week:
Brewer Patriots (1-7, 0-6) at Hartselle Tigers (4-4, 3-3): The Tigers have been a shell of themselves lately, mired in a two-game losing streak. Meanwhile, Brewer has actually been playing a bit better. But with their playoff fate on the line, I just don’t see the Tigers laying an egg. I can see this one as being a lot closer than last year’s 42-0 rout, however…Tigers 28, Patriots 17.
Holly Pond Broncos (5-3, 4-2) at Falkville Blue Devils (3-5, 3-3): Both these teams know they’re in the playoffs, and now they’re just fighting for seeding. A Falkville victory could be great momentum heading into the off-season. I’m going to go with the Broncos, since they’re in a two-game losing streak and want to get off the schneid…Broncos 28, Blue Devils 14.
Priceville Bulldogs (3-5, 2-4) at Cleveland Panthers (2-6, 1-5): This is a matchup between two teams who have no playoff opportunities. These are the kinds of games where it’s all about pride. It should be a real dog (and cat) fight…Bulldogs 24, Panthers 21.
Danville Hawks (4-4, 3-3) at Winfield Pirates (8-0, 6-0): If Danville fails to make the playoffs this season, they’ll look back on that double-overtime loss to Vinemont. A victory in that game and the Hawks wouldn’t need to be David to Winfield’s Goliath on Friday night…Pirates 42, Hawks 13.
Tennessee Volunteers (3-2, 2-2) at Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0, 4-0): If this game was in Knoxville, I’d pick Tennessee.
But the Tide faithful are energized for the first time since 1992. The noise in Bryant-Denny will make the difference against Big Orange…Crimson Tide 17, Volunteers 13.
Auburn Tigers (5-1, 3-0) at LSU Tigers (5-1, 4-1): Neither of these teams looked terribly impressive at the start of the season, but both have turned it on as of late. I’m not convinced Les Miles is the right guy for the Tigers, but he should be able to lead them to victory over an Auburn team facing its first major road test of the season…Home Tigers 24, Visiting Tigers 17.
BYU Cougars (3-3) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish: (5-2): Letdown game? Maybe at the beginning, but the Irish have too much talent. BYU will use its gimmicky blitz defense to try and confuse the Irish, but Brady Quinn will make quick reads and consistently find the open man…Fighting Irish 35, Cougars 10.