A commenter on my rematch post has a different take on the BCS that no one else seems to follow so I thought I would promote it to a full post

No rematch!! Take the two teams that haven’t lost a game as of yet Ohio State and Boise State and put the teams head to head. Boise State beat Oregon State soundly and Oregon State beat USC. Michigan lost (period) why do it again? Is this a second chance? If Michigan was to win are they the best team? NO!!! They had a shot, they blew it. (Thanks for play’in) You are now off the board!!! Boise State with what some call an easy schedule beat alot of teams that are pretty good and beat teams nationally ranked. Bottom line, they have yet to lose a game. GO whatever Boise States football team is called!!! Lets see a DAVID VS GOLIATH!!! I think the so called big schools are scared of this and in NO WAY want this game for one reason….if they lose small schools get recruits maybe once thinking to attend their schools. If Boise even stays close they are scared. I say Boise wins 40-30. Vegas odds I win millions!!!

Today is the big day for internet retailers and traffic for us affiliate marketers. I love the big media push we get on TV and online pushing people to shop. In reality it will be good till Mid December just like most of the stories say, but now is the time for all of us to push and milk the holiday internet traffic.

I wish all my fellow marketers a good cyber Monday and holiday season.

UPDATE:  I Originally posted about Gumbel after last years debacle.  However, while out of the country last week, my previous rip on Bryant Gumbel got a lot of hit and a ton of comments on his poor (too put it mildly) NFL commentary.  I am surprised that the NFL is keeping him around or that he didn’t put some effort into improving his skills over the off season.  There is a lively discussion below in the comments regarding the Dallas-Green Bay NFL broadcast.  I urge you to read it and contribute! - JM
I watched the Denver vs KC game last night, which was the first telecast of the NFL Network. The first thought that came to mind is that I wish the NFL would leave the telecasts to the networks that know what they are doing because the production quality and play by play were terrible. They brought in Byrant Gumbel, the OJ apologist, as the play by play guy and he was so off it wasn’t even funny. He couldn’t figure out the basics like what down it was. He was constantly saying something like, “Mike Bell ran almost to the 5 yard line”, and the spot would be on the 4 because the runner clearly passed the 5. On one key play Rod Smith dived for a first down on a 3rd down play that wasn’t quite into the end zone and Bryant kept speculating if the Broncos would go for the TD on 4th even after the graphics on the TV showed 1st and goal. Wasn’t anyone in the control room updating him or telling him to shut up its 1st down? I kept thinking, “Dude, it wasn’t 3rd and goal! Cant you see the first down marker on the 1 or read your own graphics that say its 3rd and 5?” One of my favorites was when Gumbel commented a injured players return was “debatable”. Hmm, isn’t the football term questionable? Why would you debate the return?
Chris Collingsworth, the color guy, seemed a little slow to constantly correct him because he probably didn’t want to make him look like a fool. However, for someone that was only casually watching the game as I drifted in and out of a post turkey slumber the mistakes were glaring. According to an article in the Kansas City Star it was Gumbel’s first broadcast since 1982. That is a long time. I like Gumbel on his HBO show, but he needs to work off some rust before the next NFL telecast.
The Kansas City Star pointed out some of the more glaring problems in their article:

Mike Bell makes the catch, and it looks like he’s got the first down.”

| Gumbel, NFL Network

JF: Gumbel showed his rust early on. The Broncos actually got the first down on the previous play, and Gumbel remained completely unaware of it the rest of the series.

•••

……•••

“Larry Johnson goes up the middle, and he goes nowhere.”

| Gumbel

JF: Actually, it was second and short on the play, and LJ got the first down by about 2 yards. Gumbel was off all night trying to figure out down and distance.

•••

I guess the good news for Gumbel is that it seems not many people were getting the game outside of KC and Denver or the cable systems that carry the NFL network. They were constantly plugging this site, iwantnflnetwork.com, during the game so my guess is not everyone has this channel. Luckily I get it on DirecTV and they had it in HD on the HDTV Channel.

I did a search and found someone else talking about the horrible broadcast by the NFL.

I know my prediction was off. Troy Smith was awesome, but Michigan hung close. If not for a marginal personal foul on 3rd and long Michigan might have been going for the win with their late TD.

However, there seems to be momentum for a rematch based on how both teams played the game. its hard to think anyone else could go into Columbus and play OSU that way. However, I think USC can spoil that if that win out. Its hard to argue they dont deserve the BCS if they beat Cal, ND, and UCLA.

Theories?

Michigan 24 Ohio State 10. An inspired Michigan team rolls over the Buckeyes lead by a crushing defense and adequate offense with a solid running game. A tribute to a great coach and a true Michigan Man.

Google launched a new feature yesterday or day before that allows you to enter a number on google local which “connects” you to the business you are searching. The thing is, you can pick anyone’s number and connect them to any business, including stuff like the “Sex Addicts Anonymous” or “Kitty’s Adult Emporium” or other embarrassing businesses. After I discovered it yesterday on Vallywag, see here, I pranked Ryan a couple times, had a few laughs then let him in on the joke. I know that’s very juvenile but I could not resist, ha ha end of story. However, soon phones were ringing around the office as everyone got hit.
Here is how it works. If you find a business on Google maps there is now a feature called “Call” (see below):

Once you type in the number your “friend” will receive a call that when they answer it connects to the chosen business. Around here it resulted in people going, “Why you calling me?” “I didn’t call you, you called me? How did you get my number?” etc etc. Some even called their wireless provider to complain as snickers erupted around the office.
Enjoy. I am sure there will be some updates to this feature to slow down this prank.

Update: It was noted on ZDnet this feature could be used to make long distance calls for free. i.e you click to call someone long distance in the directory, google is picking up the tab.

Well first I would like to handicap the game next week. I agree that Ohio State is the favorite given their home field advantage and track record this season, and I say that as a Michigan fan and alumnus. However I think Michigan has a very good chance of winning. Michigan is a 6.5-7 point underdog, but to win out I would put Ohio State at 3-2 odds to win. I guessing the odds makers have Ohio State at a 3-1 or 4-1 to win, but I like Michigan’s chances. If I bet on sports (I don’t, at least not anymore ) I might take Michigan in this game. If they play like they did in South Bend then they win. Maybe this is my totally biased view coming out, but I have watched every game this year and I think this team can do it if they bring their A game.

Now, for the BCS problem. Its looking that if Michigan squeaks out a win in Columbus they could end up having a rematch with OSU in the Fiesta bowl BCS Championship. That would be a disaster, because it doesn’t look as likely if OSU wins in a close game. Check out Mvictors and Greg Dooley’s great analysis here.

UPDATE: For updated BCS Bowl projections click the link.

I love to take my Garmin 305 (see pic below) and go a run when away on business. Especially when I am in a cool city with cool landmarks and scenery to run by. Here is my run during ad tech in New York this week. I am not sure if I run to stay fit or create cool maps with my GPS .

Garmin Forerunner 305

Below is my Seattle run from the week before:

In a stroke of luck I happened to win the GRS poker tourney again (I won the first event at the 2005 SF Ad Tech). See my Ad Tech comments here. It was similar to the first time in that I short stacked it the whole way with a couple of key double and triple ups. Once we got down to the final 10-15 out of 150 I started to catch a few cards on the river to propel me to the final table and on to the win. Looks like I will get a shot at another $10k buy in event. Having played in two of them, I don’t feel all that great about it because its much harder to beat pros then drunk internet marketers. Last night I certainly had an edge on the rest of the field and caught some cards to get the win, but I will not have any edge in a $10k event.

Funny picture from Drudge..