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College Football 2020

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nebish
(@nebish)
Posts: 4778
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Topic starter
 

OK 4 now.  I did remove the UAB-Miami game.  All the picks will officially start Saturday.  Everyone's worst single week will get dropped as it has before, so if you miss a week, or if somebody joins next week they can still be on par and compete with the rest of us.

 

I have been in charge of another pick'em for a couple years on another site we also did through yahoo.  I have told them about this one, but so far nobody seems interested.  I'd really like DanB, Alan, and some of our past members to play, but in any event, we might be having some other players added.  The site hosting fee is $30 for the first 10 participants.  I don't care paying it, I just like the pick'em.  I don't bet all the games, so this gives me action and exposure in the games I might have a hunch on but don't want to bet.  I like the pick'ems.

 
Posted : September 10, 2020 11:56 pm
Lee
 Lee
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Is that why I received an email saying a pick of mine may or may not have been removed? I guess I assume so based on your post. 😀 

Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

 
Posted : September 11, 2020 6:31 am
nebish
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Yeah, sorry if you had the winning side there. Just trying to buy some time til more people hopefully join. 

 
Posted : September 11, 2020 9:11 am
Lee
 Lee
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Posted by: @nebish

Yeah, sorry if you had the winning side there. Just trying to buy some time til more people hopefully join. 

Heh, no big deal. It's not like it could cost me  $1,000 or having Sang banned. Not sure which I would want more. 😋 

Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

 
Posted : September 11, 2020 10:01 am
Sang
 Sang
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I'm in ... just to beat Lee...... 

 
Posted : September 11, 2020 11:03 pm
nebish
(@nebish)
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Topic starter
 

I'll post the sign up info here in case anyone else wants to join, just please stick with it if you sign up.  We have 5 as of this morning and I think a 6th is coming.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR JOINING:
Click on the link below and you will be guided through the process for joining this pool, including registering on the website if you haven't registered before.

Click here to join my pool:
https://www.officefootballpool.com/pools.cfm?poolid=174935&p=2&pwd=h%40h42q

If you have any questions about the pool rules or format, please write me back. If you have any technical problems joining my pool, please let me know or contact the website. If the above link doesn't work and you need the Pool ID# and Pool Entry Code (a.k.a Pool Password), they are shown below:

Pool ID#: 174935
Pool Entry Code: h@h42q

 

There are 13 games today. 

 
Posted : September 12, 2020 9:26 am
DanB
 DanB
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I'm in the pool. efF Sang!!

 
Posted : September 12, 2020 9:49 am
nebish
(@nebish)
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Topic starter
 

One hour til kickoff!  Last week did feel a little off, but today feels like a real game day!  Some interesting games throughout the day.  Hope everyone enjoys it!!

 
Posted : September 12, 2020 11:04 am
Sang
 Sang
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Posted by: @danb

I'm in the pool. efF Sang!!

Good - someone I can easily beat...... 

 
Posted : September 12, 2020 12:05 pm
Lee
 Lee
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Posted by: @sang
Posted by: @danb

I'm in the pool. efF Sang!!

Good - someone I can easily beat...... 

At least there might be ONE person you can beat! 😉 

Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

 
Posted : September 12, 2020 12:21 pm
Lee
 Lee
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SO nice to hear Mike Golic calling a game on ESPN. He's doing the Iowa State game. Was bummed they ended their morning show. It was probably a perfect storm of sorts. I read Trey Wingo is leaving ESPN after around 20 years. Apparently he didn't like the early morning shift. But I also thought they made a mistake cancelling Mike and Mike after 16 years. And it appears that ESPN has plans for Golic Jr. as he has an afternoon show.

Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

 
Posted : September 12, 2020 12:27 pm
nebish
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Fun!

The early game action was great!  I felt a little dip in energy and interest about 5-7 I think, but business picked back up.

Great upsets today.  Big Xll got their * pushed in, Coastal Carolina about to make Sun Belt 3-0 vs Big Xll today and Texas Tech only won by 2 laying 40! 

Good times.  Glad for this day.  Glad for all the players and coaches and people behind the scenes that worked so hard to make it happen.

It does make me nervous when I see fans like at the K St game or the FSU game, not much mask wearing and not a ton of distancing.  I just want this to work, work as good as it can.  I think some of these schools are letting too many people in.

Will have to see where the season goes from here.  Some teams are having trouble and postponing.  We knew that would happen.  Most of the teams are controlling things pretty good, but kids are going to want to be kids and go out and congregate and party and stuff.  Just hope things work out. 

Enjoyed the * out of today.  For sure!

 
Posted : September 13, 2020 12:29 am
Lee
 Lee
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It was fun indeed. We went to the watering hole around the corner so I wouldn't have to keep changing channels at home. Had four games on in front of me. 😀 Still wasn't quite the same. Teams being shown on Major networks that never would have been on TV in normal times. Still, the games were fun, plenty up upsets, etc. The downside? I went 0 and 6 in the games I put money on. 😮 

Curious to see what will happen with The Big Ten. That has been a mess for a month now. As a Big Ten guy, I want to see them play. And while I work for a Big Ten school, I doubt they would let people in the stands in which case I wouldn't be needed anyway. Can't believe it's been six months since we were essentially let go. Fun days working football games! Basketball too. 😀 

Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

 
Posted : September 13, 2020 7:50 am
oldcoot
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Thanks for the Pick 'Em invite. Decided the year that I won both the college and pro contests that I'd go out on top. 

 

Supposedly a possible vote (re-vote?) on a Big Ten season today. The conference couldn't have possibly bungled this more if that was their original intent. If they go ahead now, with the necessary ramp up the season can't possibly even start until mid to late October.  What would be the point at this point. Other conferences would be finished when the Big 10 is mid season. 

 

Plus, one of the reasons that they postponed/cancelled the season initially are the side effects of the virus particularly how it can damage the heart and how strenuous exercise could be catastrophic . I've read numerous stories of 20 somethings that are personal trainers etc (extremely physically fit) who have had serious heart issues and long term effects from the virus. It would be idiotic for the Big 10 to resurrect their season at this point. 

"My friends say I'm ugly I got a masculine face." Tom Waits

 
Posted : September 13, 2020 12:35 pm
nebish
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Yeah, I have opinions on the Big Ten right now, but it isn't worth it.  We'll see what they do.  It's pretty complicated for them at this point. 

The games this week do look down a notch from last week, but I'm sure a couple will provide some solid entertainment and drama. 

The game schedule, but since this season is messed up and not everyone cares to actually look them up, I will post them again tomorrow here with spreads.

Some news that Memphis and Houston had to postpone due to positives and contact tracing from an offcampus event supposedly.  So Houston adds Baylor to play this week - smart.  Virginia and Virginia Tech had to postpone due to some continuing problems VT has been having.  Virginia goes out and moves up their scheduled game vs Duke from November to next week - smart.  With all the postponing going on, one team is left like "well we're ok and we can play, what should we do?"  All these games can't just keep getting pushed to the end of the season or some exiting bye weeks because they are going to run out of windows at some point.  So adding opponents on the fly or moving games up is the ultimate in flexibility.  I applaud those ADs for being quick on their feet to try and get games in. 

That is what the Big Ten is going to have a hard time with at this point.  Their scheduling model they did in August was very well thought out and planned.  But they put it all in the crapper.  And now they are trying to piece together a schedule to end in early December to coincide with the other leagues, BUT, they aren't going to have the flexibility in their schedule with bye weeks because of such a late start.  They had it right the first time, start early and have all these open weeks for the 'just in case'.  Because most schools are going to be impacted by 'just in case' scenarios...either from cases on their own team or that of their opponent.

Anyway, the most disappointing postponement this week is the BYU-Army game.  That was going to be a good one!  BYU has some cases and quarantines.

 

 

 
Posted : September 14, 2020 12:26 am
Lee
 Lee
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@nebish Hey Scott - 

 

I received the memorabilia books the other day. Thanks so much! Very kind of you. I can spend a lot of time going through those. Interesting information being presented.

 

Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

 
Posted : September 14, 2020 3:12 pm
nebish
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Sure thing Lee.  I actually have another Mile High book.  The other places have had recent auctions, but since I didn't bid I guess they don't send out books to everyone.

Those books are nice huh?  Places rake in the cash.  20% off the top and 20% off the bottom.  Yeah they are doing well.  The books are nice to look at with the presentation and description of the items.  You can go to their sites and see what those ultimately sold for.

 
Posted : September 14, 2020 9:54 pm
nebish
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Nebraska President was unknowingly caught by a hot mic saying something to the effect of a Big Ten and Nebraska announcement was forthcoming tonight (Tuesday).  I'll believe it when I see it. 

Until then, here is actually who is playing this week:

Friday

7:30

Campbell at Coastal Carolina -25.5

 

Saturday

12:00

ULL -17 at Georgia State

Boston College at Duke -5.5

Syracuse at Pitt -21.5

Liberty at Western Kentucky -14

Houston at Baylor -4.5

Tulsa at Oklahoma State -23

Navy at Tulane -7.5

Austin Peay at Cincinnati -33.5

2:30

South Florida at Notre Dame -26

3:00

Stephen F Austin at UTSA -14.5

3:30

Florida Atlantic -5.5 at Georgia Southern

Central Florida -7.5 at Georgia Tech

Charlotte at North Carolina -27.5

App St -4 at Marshall

4:00

Troy -3.5 at Middle Tennessee State

The Citadel at Clemson -43.5

6:00

SMU -14 at North Texas

7:00

Central Arkansas at Arkansas State

7:30

Miami at Louisville -2.5

Louisiana Tech at Southern Miss -5

Texas State -4.5 at ULM

8:00

Wake Forest at North Carolina St -2.5

9:00

Abilene Christian at UTEP -4

Games postponed this week: Houston at Memphis, Central Arkansas at Arkansas State, BYU at Army, Virginia at Virginia Tech

 
Posted : September 15, 2020 9:43 pm
mjallen
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Posts: 80
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From what I understand, if the Big 10 decide to make the plunge we won't be playing until the week of October 15.  Better late than never.  

College football doesn't look the same without the Big 10 in it and we here in Nebraska are hoping to see real football here in Nebraska for the 

first time in many years.  

 
Posted : September 16, 2020 6:29 am
Lee
 Lee
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Big Ten is coming back! Yay!!! Grinning  

Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

 
Posted : September 16, 2020 9:37 am
oldcoot
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Posts: 3974
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Posted by: @lee

Big Ten is coming back! Yay!!! Grinning  

Down to eight games instead of ten. Will be interesting what the schedule looks like this time.

"My friends say I'm ugly I got a masculine face." Tom Waits

 
Posted : September 16, 2020 11:19 am
nebish
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I'm glad they are going to try.  Everything else is water under the bridge now.

They do have some unique and potentially challenging protocols (21 day isolation from the team if testing positive, % testing positive benchmarks that lead to suspending activities, daily antigen testing - which can sometimes lead to false positives, no bye weeks for make-up games).  But whatever they feel comfortable with, their league, their teams, their calls.

There is already some very sharp criticism of this decision.  I don't think these Presidents are used to facing this kind of pressure and making such a controversial and public (national) issue.  I doubt they like it much.

The best thing that comes out of this, if it happens, is how they are going to handle the week of the conference title game (12/19).  Not only will the top teams from the East and West face off vs each other for the conference title, but they are going to have everyone in the league play a 9th game #2 East vs #2 West, #3 East vs #3 West, etc.  That is something that is very exciting and I wonder if it might be something that continues or other leagues adopt in their scheduling models in the future.

 
Posted : September 16, 2020 4:10 pm
Lee
 Lee
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I don't know if you guys saw it but there was kind a "press conference" today that I watched on The BTN. I think you two would get it. They had Warren, Alverez and four doctors I didn't know. I lot of different media folks phoned in to ask questions and they could point the question at whoever they wanted on the panel. One of them asked Alverez that given the shortened schedule and I didn't get the entire thing but he said something along the lines that the schedule could change. I guess that shouldn't be a surprise given everything that has already happened.

Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

 
Posted : September 16, 2020 5:10 pm
mjallen
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Posts: 80
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Posted by: @nebish

The best thing that comes out of this, if it happens, is how they are going to handle the week of the conference title game (12/19).  Not only will the top teams from the East and West face off vs each other for the conference title, but they are going to have everyone in the league play a 9th game #2 East vs #2 West, #3 East vs #3 West, etc.  That is something that is very exciting and I wonder if it might be something that continues or other leagues adopt in their scheduling models in the future.

I had not heard about this portion of the deal that was worked out.  I like the idea.  It's always nice to have meaningful games to watch.  I wonder if the players feel ok about that?  

I can see another reason why the players might have somebody in the room to speak for them.  I'm not saying they wouldn't like it - I would have.  Just can see why some might not

 
Posted : September 17, 2020 6:09 am
nebish
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Topic starter
 

I heard the initial press conference with Dave Revsine before media call-in questions ,but was unable to catch up last night on any of the Q & A.

I'm just going to take them at their word...from my perspective I don't think a whole lot has changed from their August 11th decision, but the availability of daily testing is new.  And I'm not the one(s) making the decision, so if they don't want to play, or if they do want to play - whatever they decide is what they decide.  No shortage of opinions on all of this and some very pointed criticism by some (opinion pieces in Baltimore Sun and USA Today), but such is the world we live in.

As for the end of season East vs West games from #1 to #7 - I got the impression they wanted to play 9 games for everyone.  Starting weekend of 10/23 and going til 12/19 already makes for a very tight window.  Everyone except for the top 2 teams would have just 8 games, so they figured, why not just have everyone play on that weekend.  I don't think the players would mind...what's the difference if you have a 9th game the week before the conference title game or the week of the conference title game.  If you are playing 9 you are playing 9.  If you are 3rd on back in the division I don't think it matters either as you probably didn't have a strong chance at winning the division.  I could see some let down for the #2 teams in the division playing each other since they may've been close, may've had a chance at the division win and may've just missed out on it.  However, if we remember, the playoff committee has taken the #2 team in a Big Ten division over the conference champion before...so it is possible that if you have a very strong showing and have a very strong resume that the #2 team if it wins the 2 vs 2 East-West game that team could get consideration for some larger post season prize with the playoff committee.  But just generally, I don't think the players would mind having a TBD game at the end of the year.

One other thing, I mentioned some of their protocols for suspending football activities...if we say a Big Ten team has 120 players, 85 scholarships and then all the walk-ons and scout team players, if they have a 5% threshold to suspend activities for 7 days if 5% of the team test positive, that is just 6 players.  I'm not saying that is a right or wrong protocol, just that it might make things tough.  And the 21 day isolation for players who test positive seems completely inappropriate especially based off of other health and governmental guidance that is out there, which has been 10 days to 2 weeks.  I like how NASCAR does it.  You can come back whenever really, so long as you have 2 back-to-back negative tests.  If a player tests positive on a Wednesday, but then that player tests negative the following Sunday and Monday, why must they be out an additional 16 days when the testing has verified they are negative?  Perhaps this was the only way some of the reluctant presidents would agree, there must be stricter guidance than anywhere else, gives them something to point to in how careful and cautious they can say they are being?  I don't know.  Whatever.  2 days til week 3 gameday!

 
Posted : September 17, 2020 9:53 am
nebish
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If my count is right, we have had 11 games postponed out of 60 scheduled weeks 0 - 3. That is 18% of the totals games to date. Zero in week 0 out of 1 (0%). One in week 1 out of 7 (14%). Five in week 2 out of 25 (20%) and Five in week 3 (so far) out of 27 (18.5%). I think it will continue at this rate, if anything we will get more as more games come online. Unless the daily testing some of the teams and leagues are going to implement will just identify the positives and not have others out from contract tracing alone.  Charlotte is the latest to postpone, they have only had 3 positives over the past 2 weeks, but due to contract tracing and isolation protocols their OL unit is depleted.  I think that was Arkansas State's issue too, unable to field a position group with any depth.  If they could test every day (instead of just 2 or 3 times a week), I assume that some of those players in isolation may be negative and they could be confirmed with the daily testing allowing them to remain active and perhaps lead to less postponement of games.  Assuming tests are accurate.

 

 
Posted : September 17, 2020 6:08 pm
nebish
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Posted by: @nebish

If my count is right, we have had 11 games postponed out of 60 scheduled weeks 0 - 3. That is 18% of the totals games to date. Zero in week 0 out of 1 (0%). One in week 1 out of 7 (14%). Five in week 2 out of 25 (20%) and Five in week 3 (so far) out of 27 (18.5%). I think it will continue at this rate, if anything we will get more as more games come online. Unless the daily testing some of the teams and leagues are going to implement will just identify the positives and not have others out from contract tracing alone.  Charlotte is the latest to postpone, they have only had 3 positives over the past 2 weeks, but due to contract tracing and isolation protocols their OL unit is depleted.  I think that was Arkansas State's issue too, unable to field a position group with any depth.  If they could test every day (instead of just 2 or 3 times a week), I assume that some of those players in isolation may be negative and they could be confirmed with the daily testing allowing them to remain active and perhaps lead to less postponement of games.  Assuming tests are accurate.

 

Make that 13 now. 

 
Posted : September 18, 2020 8:03 pm
nebish
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Nice story about the opportunities collegiate athletics offers:

 

Jayy McDonald's long road from homeless in Oakland to starting at MTSU

Joseph Spears

Murfreesboro Daily News Journal

The road from Laney College to Middle Tennessee State did not come easy for Jayy McDonald.

McDonald spent countless nights sleeping in his car in the parking lot next to the community college's football stadium in Oakland, California, with his young son. There were days when he wasn't sure how he'd get his next meal.

At times, he said, it was a living hell – the type of situation where most would have easily quit.

But McDonald couldn't.

Four years and more than 2,300 miles later, McDonald and his 5-year-old son, Nehemia, have found a home at MTSU.

"It’s been tough, I’m not going to lie," McDonald said. "It’s tough, but God has a plan for everything, and he's bringing everything full circle for me. Me being here in Murfreesboro, Middle Tennessee truly brought me out (of) poverty.

"Back in California I didn’t have a home, and I was bouncing around house to house, sofa to sofa trying to figure out how I was going to make ends meet and trying to figure out what I was going to eat. So me being here is nothing but a blessing, and I know that there are going to be more blessings to come."

Transitioning from track to football 

Playing football was not the plan for McDonald. He was enrolled at Merritt Community College in 2016 and was a member of the track team. Merritt's track coach was friendly with Laney football coach John Beam and told him about McDonald and his speed. 

The 5-foot-9, 191-pound McDonald said Beam approached him one day and simply said, "Hey, you're fast. You want to play football?"

With both schools in the same district and Merritt not having a football team, McDonald was able to attend classes at both Laney and Merritt so he could play football at Laney in the fall and run track at Merritt in the spring.

In 2017, McDonald decided not to play football as he wanted to focus on running track. However, after running in the spring of 2018, McDonald came to the realization that he wasn't in love with running track like he used to be.

He approached Beam and told him that he wanted to focus solely on football.

Beam and the coaching staff welcomed McDonald back and told him he would be Laney's featured back that season and he would earn a Division I scholarship.

Several sleepless nights in his car

McDonald, who was living in his hometown of Stockton, California, made the two-hour drive to campus every day for two years. The mileage took a toll on his car. In his final year at Laney in 2018, it was McDonald's car that gave up. 

Without another reliable way to get back and forth, McDonald spent several weeks living out of his car. Some of those nights, Nehemia was there with him; and the nights that Nehemia was with his mother, McDonald was alone. 

At night they would sleep in a  2001 Audi A4, and in the morning when the coaches would show up, they'd go in the locker room to shower and do laundry. 

The routine lasted for five weeks before Beam and the coaching staff helped McDonald find a better living situation for his final six weeks at Laney. 

McDonald also was battling injuries that nearly kept him out of Laney's state championship game against Ventura College. McDonald ran for 217 yards on 37 carries to help lead Laney to its first state championship.

"He was in bad shape before that game, and we really didn't think he'd be able to go," Beam said. "He just kept rehabbing and working and told us he was ready. 

"... He’s just so strong physically and his heart is so big. In the end, he was a major reason why we won that game, and that game showed truly just what kind of man John (Jayy) is."

From Oakland to Murfreesboro 

McDonald caught the attention of MTSU, and soon after, he and Nehemia made the move to Murfreesboro.

McDonald worked himself into the Blue Raiders' rotation of running backs as a junior and had a 92-yard scoring run against Florida International that equaled the second-longest in school history. He totaled 204 rushing yards on 40 carries for the season.

 McDonald was the starter for the Blue Raiders (0-1) in the season opener against Army and is listed as the starter for Saturday's home opener against Troy (0-0). Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.

McDonald is a communications major with a focus in media entertainment and hopes to become a broadcaster. He graduates in December, but with the NCAA's decision to allow players to gain an additional year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic, McDonald is planning to play one more season.

More importantly, he and Nehemia have a stable living situation and a roof over their heads. 

"I do all of this to be a role model for my son," McDonald said. "I don’t care if he goes and plays football because he's going to grow up and make his own decisions, but I just want to give him the type of role model that never quit. I’ve stuck through it all and worked for what I wanted, so at the end of the day, I got it, and while I’m here and I'm just going to keep working.

"He went through that with me, endured it with me, and now we’ve got our own place with our own bedrooms and the only way to go is up. God answered my prayers."

https://www.dnj.com/story/sports/college/mtsu/2020/09/17/jayy-mcdonald-mtsu-football-laney-college-merritt/5719329002/

 
 
 
 
 
Posted : September 18, 2020 11:48 pm
oldcoot
(@oldcoot)
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Big Ten schedule is out. (Again)

 

Better late than never.

"My friends say I'm ugly I got a masculine face." Tom Waits

 
Posted : September 19, 2020 11:27 am
nebish
(@nebish)
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Topic starter
 

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Posted : September 20, 2020 12:39 am
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