Chapter 9

Should Columbus Day be a National Holiday? I’ll take the day off, but are we really celebrating him? On the other hand, football is embedded so deeply in American culture so maybe we should have off on the day after the Super Bowl! I have no statistics, but I’d imagine this is one of the most hungover workdays in America.

Now, you want to know a Kowal’s Korner holiday? The opening Friday of March Madness! Tim and I the last three years got to the Korner at noon, watched 16 basketball games, and left at closing time. That’s a solid 14 hours at the Korner! Three years ago I think we all remember “RJ Hunter for three … GOOD!” as his dad, the coach, falls off his chair from the excitement. Or last year when #16 seed UMBC takes down #1 Virginia!?! I remember watching that game with Chapter 3 star, JT, who had Virginia winning it all in his bracket!

As you can see, I am super excited for the NCAA basketball season. Basketball lines seem to not come out until the day of, so it will be hard to write about in my weekly blog. I like to post my blog every Friday at noon, so that limits me to noon games. I will say, Duke will lose a few games through the season, but this team is scary good. Last year I saw RJ Barrett play Roselle Catholic where Barrett struggled. You can tell he was having an off night. But, with his team down six with 1 minute to go, Barrett scored seven points in a row to give Montverde the victory. It was a display of greatness I won’t forget.

I’m also excited for Rutgers basketball. Coach Eddie Jordan was a disaster and did not even attempt to recruit New Jersey talent. Coach Pikiell though, dude has charisma and gets his team playing hard! Rutgers will play 20 B1G games this year, if they can win 5 or more, I will be pleased. They only won 3 every year they’ve been in the B1G so far. Oh, and nothing will be sweeter if we beat Seton Hall again, this time in their home. 

Recap:
Mavs -6 vs. Knicks – Miss. Knicks 118 Mavs 106. #TankForZion
Heat -5.5 at Hawks – Miss. Hawks 123 Heat 118.
#15 Utah -7 at Arizona State – Miss. Arizona State 38 Utah 20.
Duke +9.5 at Miami – HIT! Duke 20 Miami 12. #Lock
FIU -2.5 vs. FAU – Miss. FAU 48 FIU 17.
#23 Fresno State -25 at UNLV – HIT! Fresno State 48 UNLV 3.
Chargers +1.5 at Seahawks – HIT! Chargers 25 Seahawks 17.
Texans +1.5 at Broncos – HIT! Texans 19 Broncos 17.
Last week 4-4 YTD 32-32
NCAAF 16-21 NFL 13-7 Basketball 2-2

The video segment is a big deal to me, there’s a lot of pride that goes in to it and I enjoy making people laugh. I have been under the weather this week and couldn’t find the time/energy to make one. The anticipation for Chapter 10 begins!

**Friday Knight Lights**

Rutgers –12.5 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson – Okay, let me get my Rutgers basketball push out the way. This team is finally a team. Rutgers loses its best two players and scorers from last year, but they gain shooters, and a team basketball identity. I’m really excited to see the development of forward Eugene Omoruyi, as I expect the Junior to get plenty of double-double’s this season. Any night, another Scarlet Knight can drop buckets. This team is full of unknowns, but one known is that this team has depth. Coach Pikiell knows how tough the B1G schedule will be, so he will need to beat up on lesser opponents. You can catch me at the RAC Friday night!
Rutgers 79 Fairleigh Dickinson 61.

**Saturday Slate**

Coastal Carolina +6.5 vs. Arkansas State – If you asked me junior year of high school, a young Goose would have said he was going to Coastal Carolina! Since then, Coastal has become the newest Division 1 football school, and that teal turf has been hard to play on. These two teams have identical records, 5-4 and 2-3 in conference, but they are vastly different. Coastal runs the rock, while Arkansas State will air it out. If Coastal can force one turnover, I believe they will be fine. It is a lot more common to get an interception than a fumble. I will take the home team, who gets 6.5 points, #ChantsUp !
Arkansas State 26 Coastal 24.

#19 Texas at Texas Tech Over 62 – A wise man once told me “Always take the Texas Tech over, no matter the spread.” That wise man is my buddy Tim, who is always in the Korner with me. This year, TTech is 7-2 in the Over/Under, and Texas is a respectable 5-4. Now, Texas Tech’s starting QB will almost certainly not play, he has a partially collapsed lung, after battling Oklahoma last week. The backup played well last week, and he is a true dual-threat QB. Texas’ offense is hot, averaging 38 points in back to back loses. Texas will most likely end their losing streak, but I am more comfortable in rooting for points this game.
Texas 35 Texas Tech 31.

UAB -11.5 vs. Southern Miss – Ha-ha. Last week I went on a little rant that Southern Miss wasn’t a football school. Little ignorant of me. 49ers QB Nick Mullens (the one who burned me in survivor pool) beat all of Brett Farve’s passing records, and this quarterback they have now isn’t bad. That being said, UAB is a beast of a team. Statistically, they have the best defense in Division 1, giving up only 12.1 points per game. They are a hard-nosed football team that flies around. They also have a top-10 rushing attack behind their beefy offensive line.
UAB 30 Southern Miss 17.

**Sunday Funday**

Falcons -5.5 at Browns – The Browns lost 4 straight, fired their coach, and offensive coordinator, and look like the old Browns. This team is too talented to lose 4 straight, but they are building a culture. Some think they are due for a victory, but I am riding with the Falcons. Denzel Ward will do his best to attempt to slow down Falcons playmaker Julio Jones, but the Falcons still have Sanu and Ridley to deploy. Everywhere you look, the Falcons have another weapon that can hurt you. Besides the 42 they put up on the Raiders, the Browns are only averaging 18.5 points per game. The Browns are still a year away.
Falcons 31 Browns 24.

Eagles -6.5 at Cowboys – **Lock of the week** You heard me! After beating down the Jaguars in London, the Eagles get a long rest with their bye week. They also add a great receiver in Golden Tate to add to their already potent offense. The Cowboys added a receiver a couple weeks ago in Amari Cooper, but I don’t see him being that impactful. Sure, Dak torched my Jags week 6, but he doesn’t do it for me. That team in general is a mess. Dallas scored 14 points on 108 yards in last Monday night’s game thanks to two fumble recoveries, and couldn’t score in the second half. The Eagles are hitting their stride, and the Super Bowl hangover is over. Look for the Eagles to continue trending up.
Eagles 27 Cowboys 17.

Thank you,
Goose