Drew Skipper takes sole possession of first place in local football contest

The seventh weekend of the college football season wrapped up on Saturday, and we also wrapped up another weekend in our local ESPN College Football Pick ‘Em Contest.

This week, when the dust settled after Saturday’s slate of games, Drew Skipper found himself in sole possession of first place. Brett Loftin, Mark Peacock, John Johnston and Jeremy Matheny were locked in a four-way tie for second place.

Justin Mixon, Travis Presley and myself were tied for sixth place while Calvin Casey and Ricky Taylor were tie for ninth place. Vanessa Sales and Josh Klaetsch were tied for 11^th place overall.

With that said, if you didn’t do so great in the contest last weekend, don’t sweat it. As you’ve read here before, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. We’ve got seven more weeks to go, and the standings will no doubt change a lot during the next two months.

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By my count, we’ve got six games this weekend featuring SEC teams, and four of those are head-to-head conference games. For what it’s worth, here are my picks in those games. I like Alabama over Tennessee, Auburn over Ole Miss, LSU over Mississippi State, Kentucky over Vandy, Missouri over Memphis and Arkansas over Tulsa.

Last week: 4-2, Overall: 54-12

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Most folks in our neck of the woods are giving football their complete attention this time of year, but the Major League Baseball playoffs have been more than a little entertaining so far.

As of Monday, the National League and American League Championship Series were still ongoing with both series tied 1-1. In the NLCS, the Brewers and the Dodgers were scheduled to play Game 3 on Monday night in Los Angeles, and in the ALCS the Red Sox and Astros were scheduled to play their Game 3 on Tuesday afternoon. Both of these series are best-of-seven, so we’ve still got a ways to go before we know who will represent each league in this year’s World Series.

In the National League, I’m sort of pulling for the Dodgers because they were the team that eliminated Atlanta. I figure if the Dodgers go all the way, then at least the Braves can say they were put out by the eventual World Series winners. My 10-year-old is pulling for the Brewers because that was the Little League team he played on last year.

In the American League, I’m torn between the Sox and the Astros. I’ve always been a big Red Sox fan, even going back to the days when they couldn’t win with a winning machine. Not only are they Stephen King’s favorite team, but they are also the arch-rivals of the New York Yankees.

On the other side of the coin, I’ve always kind of liked the Astros, going back to the days when Nolan Ryan used to pitch for them. I got to see the Astros play in person in Houston a few years ago, and that only increased their esteem in my eyes.

In the end, if I’ve got to pick a match-up, I’d like to see the Dodgers and Red Sox in the World Series with the Sox taking it in seven games.