This Week in Random Lists: Top 10 Greatest Cereals

Top 10 All Time Cereals as decided by me, really early in the morning and therefore have no basis in reality . This list is based on how awesome the cereal is with reasons provided

10 Raisin Bran
For post Passover
9. Apple Cinnamon Cheerios
Honey Nut Cheerios comely but not pretty sister

8. Frosted Mini-Wheats
Health meets sugar. Also has some heft

7. Crispix
Best snacking cereal. Basis for party snacks.

6. Trix
Best fruity cereal. Also comes with drug addicted rabbit

5. Frosted Flakes
Best sugared cereal although flakes do get soggy too quickly

4. Honey Nut Cheerios
Childhood memories. Babies love them. Quality mascot.

3. Rice Krispies
Best cereal for creating a marshmallow infused desert.

2. Lucky Charms
Best cereal that comes with marshmallows already in them.

1. Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Best cereal based on taste, utility, and staying power.

Monday Questions

As part of a vain attempt to get back to writing about sports despite a pretty slow pace of things so here's the attempt/

1. MLB Draft

The MLB Draft has long lagged the hype and coverage of the NBA Draft or NFL Draft although that seems to be changing as of late - This year I think the interesting question surrounds Arizona - who is the first team to have 2 picks in the top 7. Obviously that's not enough to turn around a franchise but it does seem a huge opportunity.

2. BoSox Rebound
It seems like only a few months ago that the Red Sox were flailing about in putridity. However they have rebounded handily, sweeping the Rays , and now stand only one game back from the Yanks. It will be interesting to see how active they are in the trade market given their off-season acquisitions.

3. NBA Draft
Speaking of top picks, all eyes should be on the Cavs with their # 1 and #4 picks. However the #4 pick is really dependent on the crazy machinations of Kahn and Minnesota. What will they do? Make a pick? Fling feces? Who knows...

Baseball Predictions: Nearing 40 games

As we near the magical 40 game mark (I'm not sure what makes it magical but hey why not) it probably is time to take stock to see what is sustainable and what is not. The past few years first place in early May is no guarantee of future success as on average about only half of the teams in first place at this time of year finish the year in first place. So which teams are most likely to fall off the map?

Baseball prospectus currently guesses at LA Angels and Colorado. I have no reason to disagree with the mighty BP but I would also add Cleveland to the mix. Cleveland is outperforming everyone's expectations. Why I'm starting to hesitate to immediately dismiss the North Coast revival is who in the AL Central is going to step up to catch the Tribe? Detroit's hitting and monetary constraints on Minnesota/Chicago make each passing day more likely that there's something sustainable for Acta's crew.

The one interesting race to watch might be Philly v. Atlanta. Pythag (run differential) has Atlanta and Philly neck and neck although it's hard to imagine Philly faltering with it's pitching staff. Nonetheless something to keep an eye on......

What's others predictions and thoughts?

NFL Draft Recap

The NFL draft, the NFL activity for awhile, has come and gone. Here are my 5 thoughts on the matter

1. This is an even harder draft to judge the normal given the inability to know how free agency will affect teams. What holes will team have due to free agency and which holes will be filled by free agency? Without knowing it's particularly hard to say which team is well positioned for next year.

2. One of the more baffling picks was the Ryan Mallet to New England. Yes there was value there but given Brady's new contract...what's the object of this selection outside of getting a good player.

3. I have to give a tip of the cap to the Browns' GM Tom Heckert for picking up the draft picks they did from Atlanta. Analysts that like quality over quantity gave Atlanta high marks but even Julio Jones turns into a star he isn't going to improve a defense that was slashed and burned by the Packers last year. I think it's a risky at best and stupid at worst move by the Falcons.

4. I honestly think none of the QBs selected in the first round will amount to anything. All seem to have serious shortcomings but it does go to show teams' desperations that they would throw huge amounts of money and high picks at such questionable talents.

5. I was impressed by both New Orleans and the Green Bay's picks. Solid players, hit needs, didn't give up picks for next year. Well done....


Your thoughts?

Sunday Thoughts: Readying for the Draft

Well it's been awhile since I've wrote anything but I shall endeavor to get back to the routine. damn you working world.....So without further ado....

NFL Draft
I don't remember a draft as uncertain as this one. Is anyone really certain about who anyone is taking? Partially this a function that nearly all of the players have serious question marks. I couldn't say if this is a deep draft but it certainly seems to be one lacking bonafide clear cut stars at the top. This isn't to say some boom/bust picks will turn out to be booms, but a priori.... very unclear..


MLB
Speaking of unprecedented.....um what the hell is going on with the Dodgers? I'm hoping that MLB is filming a faux documentary and just needed extra tension because otherwise it seems like a debacle of the highest order in one of baseball's more precious markets. How does this turn out? No seriously, I'm asking.....no clue

Big 10 Football
I'm still trying to avoid mocking the leaders and legends nomenclature and it's going to be especially hard given the Big 10 having so many questions at QB. Despite Spring games coming and going all of the major programs in the Big 10 have uncertainty at football's most important spot. This does not portend well for the Big 10 this season.....

Week in Review: April

Well it's been awhile since I wrote anything but here's a few thoughts on the week that ways

Master's
Yes Schwartzel is the newest Master champion but I think a lot of the story is Rory Mcilroy's absolute collapse. A plus 8 after a 4 hole lead? Triple bogeys? Wow. Can he recover? I don't know. But this is a pretty historic collapse.

MLB
It's a very long season so anything that happens April will soon be forgotten by August....However Boston's slow start seems important. Boston was expected to dominate after winning the off-season or whatever. But so far a very slow start.

Manny
Manny ended his career the only way it could have ...mindnumbling stupid....Manny, an idiot savant of hitting, left a wreckage of stupid moves. So I'd say it was a shame but it's not...just Manny exiting stage right as only he could....

NHL
Playoffs have started. Fill in any comments as you see fit...

Fiesta Bowl Super Scandal

Well if there was evidence for getting rid of (the/a) BCS bowl this political donation super scandal that goes to the CEO of the Fiesta Bowl would sure be evidence. Personally I think this is just evidence for why Arizona is an awful place but maybe I'm drawing the wrong lessons....

Tournament Openning Round Thoughts

After 2 (well technically 3) rounds of tournament play we are left with 16 teams. Here are my deep (well not so deep) thoughts

1. To Call or Not Call - In the round of 32 there were a number of games were ref calls (Butler -Pitt) and non-calls (Arizona-Texas) shaped the outcomes. Personally I prefer the ref swallow his whistle under 5 seconds unless it's horribly obvious. The bigger issue I think is the inconsistency. Whatever the standard is, it should be communicated pretty clearly what the standard is....and stick with it.
2. Conferences - I find it fascinating the difference between conference pride and national fascination for college football and college basketball. Yes, there's a few notes and trash talk (you suck Big East) but it's nowhere near the level of solidarity or press fawning that bowl season has.

3. Favorites - I tend to avoid saying anyone is really a favorite as one bad game, one injury, one fluke and a school chances disappears. So how a team looks really is inconsequential..generally. tOSU wins were impressive but competition gets much tougher. Duke barely escaped the Wolverines but the only thing significant about that is Kyrie Irving doesn't exactly look himself...yet. Meanwhile KU kept rolling. Those seem to be the favorites but anything is possible.

4. Overall Quality - After all the complaints about the lack of quality teams I've generally been very happy with the tournament. Some very good teams, some fun upsets, and some great individual performances. Worrying that the tournament won't be great is much ado about nothing....

5. Wonderwoman (Adrian Palinki) will be starring on NBC this Fall....Great idea but it's on NBC so it'll fail. If only one could combine the tournament's awesomeness with wonderwoman... Come on CBS I'm looking to you...

Submit Your Brackets

Shannon Marie says "remember to submit your brackets". Unless you were assigned to a play in game , in which case you should have submitted your brackets last week.

March Madness: First Thoughts

First thoughts on March Madness....

1. East and West Picking Difficulties - For very different reasons the East and West regions should be very hard to pick. The East is my region of death...tough match-up after tough match-up. The West on the other hand, is Duke and big question marks...Yeesh no idea.

2. Star Power - There's always some player or players that emerge in the tournament. However usually they are semi-known going into the tournament. Star power is pretty dim. Sure there's some stars: Kembya, Nolan, Jared, and Jimmer...but relative to previous years it seems like the star power is a little low.

3. Tourney Snubs - No matter how much they expand the tournament there will always be snubs. So frankly it's a much ado about nothing. If push comes to shove I'd have yanked USC or VCU and put in Colorado but I can't get all worked up. Well maybe a little. You suck tourney selection committee!

Some Tourney Advice
4. Use Random Facts - Teams that were unranked but ended the season ranked in the top 10 are 0-41 in making the final four.

5. Use German Animals - Paul the October and Heidi the Cross Eyed Possum have proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt random German animals are good at picking things. Purchase one before your brackets are due.

6. Submit Your Bracket - Yes the annual Back Seat Driver brackets is out. Please submit your bracket. If any of your friends, significant others, children (Hitman we're looking at you) , pets (Laz looking at you), etc. want in - let me know and I will add them to the list.

Tiki

On the one hand there's a certain sadness that somebody could self-destruct to the point of trying or purporting to try to get back into football. On the other hand, the key word is self-destruct as in he caused his own problems.....

Eve of Madness

Ok 1 week to go before the greatest sporting event of the year...March Madness. Hooray. Fortunately or Unfortunately conference tourney's are weighed heavily so it's probably best to wait until Sunday before making grand proclamations on who is seeded what and where they are going (Houston?). I will say given the regular season outcomes Ohio State and Kansas appear to be locks for number 1 seeds. Ohio State will start the Madness in Cleveland...a nice home field advantage.

A few games to watch this week for those thinking about bubbles...Butler v. UW-Milwaukee. Butler is potentially an at-large bid no matter what so those bubblicious schools (MSU, Alabama, V-Tech, etc.) will be praying for a Butler win. A similar type match up is happening in the Colonial league at Old Dominion is tournament bound no matter what so bubble teams are rooting hard against VCU taking a bid.

Random Congratulatory Note

• Hats off to Jantel Lavendar..of tOSU's women's basketball team. Jantel won Big 10 player of the Year for the fourth straight year this year. That's an impressive feat in any sport....

Recruiting Problems

• Apparently Oregon is not only USC's heir apparent at winning the Pac-12 but also it's heir apparent for recruiting violations. It turns out Oregon is embroiled in a bit of scandal in which it paid off recruiters to steer players it's way. Congrats Oregon...you have officially hit the big time.

Random Hottie

It's been awhile...but it's a Monday so we all need a little pick me up..As such Nicole Pissari

MMBSD: Close to the Madness

Only 1 more week of regular basketball before the conference tourneys start up (less for a number of the Mid-Major tournaments). The one constant this year has been don't be ranked #1 as that makes you oddly more likely to lose. This week is was Duke, nd Texas falling to bubble teams (at best) and Pitt getting upset by Louisville. The signs and portents are that its going to be a particularly unpredictable Madness infused March.

• A few teams to keep an eye that seem to be playing better of late: UCLA and K-State. UCLA dominated Arizona early in the week to move into a tie for the Pac-10 lead. The other is K-State who had a disappointing season until recently. In the past 2 weeks they've knocked off KU and Missouri. They play Texas this coming week and a victory could signal dark horse to the sweet 16...something unthinkable earlier in the year.
• Two teams that I found very disappointing this week was BYU and San Diego State. Undisciplined, bad shot selection, ugly fouls, horrible smelling fans... I'll be surprised if either of these highly ranked teams make it to the second weekend of the Madness.

ESPN Controversy
Well kind of. Turns out that several ESPN on-air personalities have shoe endorsement deals. If ESPN even pretended it had anything to do with journalism then this would be disappointing. But ESPN is in the entertainment business. It would be nice if they labeled their product as such much like professional wrestling refers to itself as sports entertainment. Also it would be nice if Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit occasionally got punched in the face but that's an unrelated issue....

And We've Reached a New Low...

Colin Cowherd, possibly the most unlikeable of ESPN radio hosts, will be getting his own tv sitcom on CBS. I'm trying to imagine the over/under on a number of episodes actually aired. I'm pretty it is less than 4 or I think I might have to give up on the tv watching habits of this country. Oh and adding to the list of things I'd rather watch.... Michael Irvin in a Midsummer's Night Dream, the NBA Ladder Dunk Contest, Tony Korneiser talking about the internet, I could go on and on but I'll stop....

Would A Favorite Please Stand Up?

With only about 2 weeks remaining of regular season basketball, the top spots are in flux. Nobody seems immune to being upset these days. Kansas, tOSU, Pitt, Muburak....all going down when previously they seemed fairly unbeatable. Where does this leave us? Well, in a position in which conference tourney outcomes will probably dictate a good deal of the final outcome. One team hanging on the outside is San Diego State. At the moment there's a number of poll prognasticators putting them in at a 2 seed. Could they move even farther up?

NBA Ratings

While I , and well most of the BSD, have generally tuned out basketball, it appears the rest of the country is tuning in. The NBA tv ratings (most recently the all-star game) have been doing gang busters. Partially, sports ratings in general are up (I'm guessing more people are staying at home due to the economy) but the message that Stern gets is that despite the complaints super teams and douchebag superstars get ratings.

NFL Talks

Continue to meander about, I assume closer to the deadlines things will heat up, although I'm expecting racalcitrant owners to drag this into the summer. And obviously I have no data or facts to back that up.

Spring Time

With the weather heating up (well at least here) Spring is starting to feel nearby. Hooray. I won't debate the greatest words in the English language (I maintain it's free chicken finger day) there's no denying that spring makes everyone a little happier....especially for us college basketball...tournament lovers. As hard as it's to believe March Madness is around the corner.


Tournament Tweaks.
CBS/Turner have going to be spacing out the NCAA tournament games. On the one hand no more back to back to back buzzer beaters. On the other hand less regional coverage so that mean's I won't have to suffer through horrible Georgetown basketball while exciting mid-major upset alerts are elsewhere. So all in all I'll give it a tentative thumbs up.

Who's #1?
With tOSU losing at Bucky Badger...the quest for #1 seems to be falling to Kansas. Of course I ask to this who cares? The real question is seeding as is who is in the top 4. Right now Kansas, tOSU, Pittsburgh, Texas and Duke are all in the conversation. Duke probably has the easiest road given the ACC quality but given the recent over-weighting to conference tournament plays I assume nothing will be settled until the end.

Bracket Busters!
One of my favorite weekends of College Basketball is Bracket Buster Weekend (well technically it's 3 days). Basically the best mid-major teams get matched up against one another to try to give a little extra boost to getting into the brackets (possibly as at-larges). My eyes will be on Cleveland State v. Old Dominion but I'd also recommend checking #21 Utah State at St.Mary's.


Other Random
UFC, the premier mixed martial arts league, will garner it's first $10 million gate for its' Toronto event. It's popularity growth is pretty amazing. Vancouver currently is in first place in the NHL. True story. NFL Labor Talks and Francisco Franco....still dead

MMBSD: Super Bowl Thoughts

Well as always one last Monday Morning Back Seat Driver before we go on vacation. Here's some quick thoughts from the Super Bowl


1. Turnovers were really the difference. The Pick-6 and the momentum changing fumble were huge. It's a very different game without either of those plays let alone both. I realize that's a trite statement but that doesn't change the accouracy of it.

2. That said the Packers left a bunch of plays out on the field. Dropped balls made it much a closer game and frankly seemed to suck the life out of the Packer's 3rd Quarter offense.

3. Aaron Rogers has any many Super Bowl wins as Favre. It just feels good to type that.

4. Black Eyed Peas really sucked.

5. No - I mean really sucked....

6. Favorite commercial --- probably a toss up between the flying pug, the kid dressed as Darth Vader, and the dogs playing poker.

7. Assuming we have football again...it'll be interesting to see where the Packers go from here. It appears (and I could be wrong) that the AFC has had far more stability among its elite than the NFC. Can the Packers stay on top or will the volatility continue? With an elite QB and Dom Capers...signs point to yes...

National Signing Day

Well the signings are in and here are the findings outside of the usual south dominates yadda yadda yadda.

The top classes are generally considered some combination of USC, Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, and Ohio State.

Surprises and Notables

• USC had a class of 31. This might be surprising as NCAA rules dictate schools are limited to 25 per year and USC due to sanctions 15. Well per usual USC cheats as the ongoing appeal process means USC can skirt the rule (although next year they might really be limited as the sanctions would become retroactive). In the meantime one wonders what Lane Kiffin says to these kids
• Florida State crushed Florida/Miami in the state of Florida. Whether it was the coaching turmoil, Jimbo Fisher, or the new coaches Florida/Miami didn't crack the top 20 for the first time in forever while FSU was consensus top 3.
• Two teams that were crappy but cleaned up in state (how often do I say recruiting is local) were Texas and Georgia.
• Notre Dame pulled in a top 10 class and probably more importantly the consensus best defensive line prospects in the country. It obviously remains to be seen if the wins can match the recruiting scores but no drop off without Weis.

Big 10
tOSU dominated the Big 10 with the only school close in terms of recruiting was Nebraska. No other Big 10 cracked the top 25.

Names to Remember
Jeff Driskel - #1 QB in the country heading to Florida
Isiah Crowell - #1 RB in the country heading to Georgia
Curtis Grant #1 LB in the country heading to Ohio State

and
Jadevon Crowley - #1 Player in the country - currently undecided but probably South Carolina

MMBSD: Super Bowl Week

Well one more week of football for possibly a long time. So might as well as enjoy it while you can.

Random Superbowl Thoughts:
1) I'll give my prediction later in the week but a player I think might end up making a big difference that people aren't talking about it Heath Miller - Steelers TE. The Packers have had trouble covering TEs this year and Miller is among the best in the league.

2) Don't underestimate the loss of Pouncey to the Steelers. The Packers' D is similar to Pittsburgh of having a variety of looks and blitz schemes and it had been the Pro Bowler's duties to make the o-line calls .

3) There are rumors floating that Heinz Ward will retire after the Super Bowl.

Random NFL Thoughts
1) Someone has to say it so I will Bud Adams, owner of the Titans is a crazy old man. Maybe not Al Davis crazy but certainly get off my lawn crazy. I'm not criticizing getting rid of Jeff Fisher. Well maybe a little. but how in the world is the timing defensible? It's just not...


Random NCAA Basketball Thoughts

1) What to make of St. John's win over Duke? Well at a fundamental level it helps the Big East get extra bids for the tourney and hurts the ACC (although at this point its kind of at the margins). Duke has already been exposed to be vulnerable without their star freshman PG. Which leaves a big question mark on how the win (now #3 over ranked opponents for Steve Lavin) influences St. John's potential return to Big East powerhouse? Not sure but we'll see pretty quickly how it affects recruiting.

2) The only other team beside Duke in the ACC that might make some tournament waves is UNC. UNC is slowly improving led by two freshmen who have not lived up their billings...yet. While the headliner is Harold Barnes...the PG Marshall will be equally important to how far they can go.

3) tOSU still undefeated. At this stage it's pretty easy to say this is the best offensive team that Thad Matta has put together.

Way too Early Look at the Big 10 For 2011

Last week I noted that really none of the Big 10 teams have a great chance at a national championship run. I stand by that but here's a little food for thought on why that might be the case.

Nebraska - Nebraska returns a powerful defense led by the D line. However the offense loses 6 starters (including 3 o-linemen), faces real defenses (as opposed to the Big 12 versions), and has a QB and a coach at odds with one another. Factor in probably the toughest Big 10 schedule and it's hard to imagine an undefeated season.

Ohio State - The Buckeyes also lose a lot. Even ignoring the 5 starters sitting for the first 4-5 games, tOSU will have to replace 7 starters on D. The biggest question is who will be the starter while TP sits. The Buckeyes have to face @Miami and MSU while they have the suspended players sit.

Wisconsin - Wisconsin will have to replace the heart of their offense in they lose their QB, RB, and best 3 o-linemen. However Wisconsin seems to never miss a beat running the ball so the question is will they have any kind of threat passing.

Michigan State - MSU took a huge step forward during the regular season before being embaressed by Alabama. The biggest loss is all everything Greg Jones who led the team in tackles the past 4 years. Beyond that a lot of losses on the o-line. Can anyone really predict what the Spartans will do next year?

Hokemania - No Big 10 returns as many starters as TTUN. 9 starters on offense (including Shoelaces) and 7 on defense (including best d-linemen in the league next year Mike Martin). However the Wolverines have a long way to go to reach contender status and sometimes players take awhile to adjust to a new coaching staff/schemes.

Iowa - Iowa really get's gutted. They lose first rounder Clayborn, their QB, their RB, both WRs, and a slew of defensive players. And now 12 players were hospitalized for exertional rhabdomyolysis and yes there will be an investigation over that one.

Penn State - Had a disappointing 7-5 season and loses their best 3 o-lineman. The biggest question is the QB position will it be the former walk-on McGloin or the uber-heralded Boldin at QB. And will either actually be good?

So in summary can you pick out the favorite? I can't.....