The Final Score - Your source for Big Ten Sports

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Happy Holidays TFS followers!

It has been a wild, busy stretch for me but I finally have a few minutes to post some football thoughts, think a little hoops and get the Get Gamm finale up and running.

I realize that I've missed blogging about the Big Ten - ACC Challenge (Victory for the Big Ten!) and that I didn't even get the most basic of hoops predictions up. Work and life go that way sometimes. Hoops and swimming for my kids, a ton of travel lately with a busy winter ahead, and some cool stuff at work, such as signing Kurt Warner to be spokesperson for my product line, have all taken me away from the blog. But never fear, I'm back! At least for a few visits over the next couple of weeks...

Final regular season football thoughts... It was a great year for the Big Ten. While a wide chasm exists between the top (Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin) and the rest of the pack who sits at 7-5 or worse, the league is set up to have some success in the bowl season. Can the conference continue last year's momentum? Shut up the SEC? Win the big ones? I hope so.

I am still a little sore at the BCS snub for the Spartans. Not because UW and tOSU aren't deserving. But rather because UConn gets to go at 8-4? Please. We need a tweak to the rules for who qualifies for BCS games. That said, the fam is going to Orlando for our third trip in four years during bowl season and the match-up with 'Bama is one of the best of all 35 games.

The league mopped up in award season, and deservedly so. I still don't get how Ray Guy leaves out an Aaron Bates but as I live at the office sometimes, politics can reign over facts and data!

I am ambivalent to the recent division names announcement from the conference. I'd have preferred something more like Lakes and Plains or Black and Blue but it is what it is. I also have to mimic a question from some of the national pundits... that logo? Seriously? The Big Ten paid to have that made? My 3rd grade daughter came up with something nicer... and for FREE! In the end, that is all window dressing but still, we couldn't get better? The awards? Now those they nailed...

Hooping it up... Bummed that I never got around to picking the Big Ten. There are going to be a lot of good teams and the race is as open as ever. Right now I'd have to say I like Ohio State to repeat, but don't count out MSU just because of some early losses.

It was also nice to see the league rough up the ACC a bit. Hoping that trend continues.

As for Get Gamm for hoops... probably a no go this year. Just too much to do and too many games to try and track. Instead, let's do this. Everyone pick the order of finish (ties are fine) and the closest to wins Get Gamm for bball. Deal? Tiebreaker is teams in the Big Dance.

Speaking of Get Gamm... The only playa to have a better than .500 record in the last week was Dan. That moved him into a tie at the top with nine bowl games to pick. Picks are due by December 28 at 10pm EST.

Insight Bowl, 12/28 @ 10pm EST: Iowa vs. Missouri
Texas Bowl, 12/29 @ 6pm EST: Illinois vs. Baylor
Holiday Bowl, 12/30 @ 10pm EST: Nebraska vs. Washington
TicketCity Bowl, 1/1 @ 12pm EST: Northwestern vs. Texas Tech
Gator Bowl, 1/1 @ 1pm EST: Michigan vs. Mississippi State
Outback Bowl, 1/1 @ 1pm EST: Penn State vs. Florida
Capital One Bowl, 1/1 @ 1pm EST: Michigan State vs. Alabama
Rose Bowl, 1/1 @ 5pm EST: Wisconsin vs. TCU
Sugar Bowl, 1/4 @ 8:30pm EST: Ohio State vs. Arkansas