Happy 2012!

Happy New Year, fellow Trojans, PAC-12 fans, and all the Russian and Hungarian escort-like ladies that cling to my twitter account like static socks in laundry! (If you can't beat'em, join'em, right?) Welcome to all (I guess) *laughs nervously*

Some phenomenal bowl games to start the New Year off with a bang, the Rose Bowl, featuring Oregon and Wisconsin, and the Fiesta Bowl pitting Stanford against Oklahoma State. Both close games, going neck to neck up until the last few minutes in the former, and into OT in the latter. I was rooting for the Badgers because I got my PhD at Madison many moons ago and have fond memories of Easter blizzards and tornado warnings. But I write about the PAC-12, so clearly I have strong affection for all PAC-12 schools, and according to Judymath, I liked the idea that if Oregon won it would be almost like SC winning, since SC beat Oregon. Another win-win game as I saw it, I'm a big believer in positive spin. So needless to say, I was thrilled that (by Judymath proxy calculations) SC picked up the RB win.

The Fiesta Bowl triggered more mixed emotions. Yes, Stanford is a PAC-12 school but they beat us (barely and weirdly) in a triple OT game this season, and while SC might be accused of being an Arrogant Nation (Must read for all Trojans and anyone who likes to laugh, Zach Jerome's http://lostangelesblog.wordpress.com/), surely I'm not the only one who picks up a Smug vibe from the Cardinal peeps. The Smug Suburb perhaps.

Looking up Zach Jerome's link, just saw he's blogging current season of The Bachelor. I love The Bachelor recaps more than I love the actual show, always reminds me of dissecting relationships or analyzing prospective possibilities over white wine with my friend Ellen from graduate school, our brief reward every couple of weeks before hitting the books again. I also am a fan of Kristen Baldwin's recaps on the Entertainment Weekly site (http://tvrecaps.ew.com/recap/the-bachelor-season-16-episode-1/) that NEVER fail to have me literally LOL...or as Kristen would describe it: and she LOVES them. Highly recommend both Zach and Kristen to definitely lift your spirits.

Looking ahead, what do we have? The BCS championship game. Next Monday. Really? When everyone is back to school, back to work, into basketball, dreaming of March Madness brackets. I think all the BCS games should be between Christmas and New Year's. When people have time to watch them, still remember recent games and outcomes, and don't want to watch repeats of repeats on TV.

Speaking of repeats, did have some awesome TV moments over holidays: saw Bringing Up Baby, probably my fave movie of all time, vying for first place with Some Like It Hot. Brilliant. Also immensely enjoyed Live from Lincoln Center staging of The Nutcracker on weekend before Christmas when my husband was out of town for the day which left me to leap all over the living room while decorating the tree with only my Pomeranian-American Eskimo mix to witness the high jinks.

And I finally saw Downton Abby. And I LOVED it! Really. Historical yet edgy. Cool combo. Thanks to all the peeps on twitter who always raved about it. Can't wait for Season 2.

That being said...I ended the year watching Curb Your Enthusiasm marathon. Honestly, I don't think there really is such a thing as "too much Larry." At least on Curb. And since Ricky Gervais is also one of my faves, again, I LOVED it.

Looking forward to the New Year and sharing thoughts on basketball, Awards Shows, and weddings (that's right, my oldest daughter's getting married in July!). Till next time, and again, best wishes for a healthy and happy new year! Peace.

1st PAC-12 PICK'EM CHAMPION is...

We'll get to the winner in a bit. But first a quick recap of the last couple of weeks of the Trojan football season. Just when it felt like it couldn't get any better, after the big "upset" (only for the doubters) of Oregon by SC, the Trojans outdid themselves and eviscerated the UCLA Bruins, shutting them out 50 - 0. Wow, still takes my breath away thinking about it.

And the result? Opposite Day. The Bruins represented the PAC-12 South division for the league championship game (because of sanctions against USC, by whom is debatable, apparently) against the North division leaders, Oregon. Oregon won and will face my alma mater, Wisconsin, at the Rose Bowl. Another win-win game for me, I love Wisconsin and I love the PAC-12, so I'm looking forward to the game on January 2nd. Hey, being a Pollyanna is beneficial to mental health. There is actual social psychological research showing that peeps who view the world through rose-colored glasses are less depressed. More deluded perhaps, but hey, bottom line, they're happier.

Which leads into the announcement of the first PAC-12 PICK'EM Champion, none other than...me (hey guys, you have to play in order to win). You know, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. You had your chance. So while I bask in the glory of knowing I know my football, a prize in and of itself, I'll give you one more chance to see if you can outwit me: pick the Rose Bowl winner.

This is a tough one, mixed allegiances aside. Honestly, I thought Michigan State was going to beat Wisconsin again last week. I thought they had a little bit more going for them all through the game, and it kind of all unraveled with some odd calls at the end. And Wisconsin perked up in the second half, and at the right time. If Oregon comes out strong, and keeps it up, I think they will win. I love Ball and Wilson for Wisconsin, both excellent, but James and Thomas are excellent also. Even as I am writing this I'm wavering. But, heck, I think Chip Kelly's pride is on the line here, too. I'm picking Oregon.


Please share your thoughts and predictions...and Fight On!

Remember to Fight On!

LOVE this!

PAC-12 PICK'EM for Saturday, 11/19/2011

Is it me or is time just whizzing by lately? Another week, another round of picks, another undefeated champion (me).  Going into turkey week, I'm predicting a couple of upsets. USC has a daunting opponent in the Oregon Ducks, but I think there's going to be a surprising outcome for non-Trojans. I also think OSU at Corvallis will get a burst of fight again. Anyway, here are my picks:

USC over Oregon
 
UCLA over Colorado

Oregon State over Washington

Utah over Washington State

Stanford over Cal

ASU over Arizona

Please let me know your predictions in the Comments section.

Good luck to all and remember, Fight On!

PAC-12 PICK'EM for Saturday, 11/12/11

Picks for this week:

Arizona over Colorado (let's face it, whatever the outcome, it will be utterly demoralizing for one of these teams with disappointing seasons)


USC over Washington (Kiffin and Sarkisian used to coach side by side at SC, so winning this match-up must be sweeter than most for these guys)


OSU over Cal (Cal just won big last week, but has been inconsistent...and OSU has a winning streak against Cal)


Utah over UCLA (UCLA has done really well lately, tied for first in the South division, but because they are also an inconsistent team and have a tendency to sometimes shoot themselves in the foot against weaker opponents for some reason, I think the Utes will win)


Stanford over Oregon (I think this is Stanford's year, not Oregon's, plus it's at Stanford, hopefully it will be a good game though)


ASU over WSU (I think the Sun Devils will win and wind up tied with SC for first in South division, but since they beat SC, they will win the division overall, Stanford will win the North, and then take the whole PAC-12 championship. You heard it here first, folks...okay, maybe not)


My risk-taking picks last week caused me to stumble...but not fall, as the reigning champ. I know, I know, it takes two to Tango, and more than one person to compete...theoretically. But, honestly, I'm enjoying myself, so why complain, right? If any of you brave football fans out there care to make this really interesting, please post your predictions for today's games in the Comments section which I've actually blocked to insure I win (joking, but seriously thinking about if anyone challenges my reign as champ).

Good luck to all, and remember to Fight On!

PAC-12 PICK'EM for 11/5/2011

Fellow football lovers! Time to pick (actually, running late since Stanford v OSU game is in progress). But not to worry, since it won't affect my reign as champion, of that I'm pretty sure. Given my secure tenure as champ, I've decided to take more risks this week. Okay, now for picks:

OSU over Stanford (The score is currently Stanford 14, OSU 7. OSU looks perky, and their home games have a lot of energy from their fervent fans. I'd love to see Stanford go down, after the close game with SC. So I'm going out on a limb and predicting an upset here).

Arizona over Utah (I just think the wildcats will do it again at home, like their last home game)

Oregon over  Washington (Washington's a great team, it's at Seattle, but Oregon's on a mission, and possibly involved in a conspiracy theory with OSU to have an Oregon team win the PAC-12 championship [see above]).

UCLA over ASU (Like I've said in other posts, UCLA can pull out surprises, especially Prince, so let's see if they can do two in a row).

Cal over Washington (Cal needs a win)

If you want to post your predictions, have at it in the Comments section.
Good Luck! And Fight On!