Broadsword calling Danny Boy: Oregon at Washington (-155); Israel (-16 and the hook) at Gaza; ECU Thursday | Eastern North Carolina Now

There's colors on the street
Red, white and blue
People shufflin' their feet
People sleepin' in their shoes
But there's a warnin' sign on the road ahead
There's a lot of people sayin' we'd be better off dead
Don't feel like Satan, but I am to them
So I try to forget it any way I can

Keep on rockin' in the free world
Keep on rockin' in the free world
Keep on rockin' in the free world
Keep on rockin' in the free world

I see a woman in the night
With a baby in her hand
There's an old street light (near a garbage can)
Near a garbage can (near a garbage can)
And now she put the kid away and she's gone to get a hit
She hates her life and what she's done to it
There's one more kid that'll never go to school
Never get to fall in love, never get to be cool

Keep on rockin' in the free world
Keep on rockin' in the free world
Keep on rockin' in the free world
Keep on rockin' in the free world

We got a thousand points of light
For the homeless man
We got a kinder, gentler machine gun hand
We got department stores and toilet paper
Got Styrofoam boxes for the ozone layer
Got a man of the people, says keep hope alive
Got fuel to burn, got roads to drive - Neil Young


The Tinker, the Tailor and the Soldier work the Belgrade Run, November 1998: Above.     Click image to enlarge.
    Like Quantrill sacking Lawrence and taking The War of Northern Aggression into Kansas, Hamas has struck Israel with a vengeance by carrying the battle into the opposition heartland. The network wags are carrying on about 1973 redux; but if not careful, Tel Aviv will find itself confronting a 1948 style existential battle for survival.

    Our existential battle for survival took a hit with Cal Saturday as in a game of run stopping defence there was none by either side. The ensuing shootout saw Oregon State with just enough number to cover the chalk as we drop to 5-2 and up 3.6 units in this space. The last two weeks we have lost with mediocre teams getting points and this week need to go with quality over quantity (points).

    (In the meantime, Barton with another stunning victory. The Bulldogs crushed Newberry 34-17 and travel to traditional powerhouse #22 Lenoir-Rhyne this weekend to demonstrate further their supremacy.)


    With World War III expanding to Gaza and tensions running hot along the Golan Heights -- as Syrian and Iranian proxies weigh their options on joining the fray -- we are reminded to stay in our lane and generate winners. This final World War cranking up and we want to make hay while global life support systems are still functioning.

    Long time readers will be familiar with our opinion of Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington Huskies. We feel he is the best QB in college football now and should win the Heisman. He is a sixth year player we saw beat Penn State single-handed as a freshman at Indiana -- before he was hurt -- and have been following his career a long time.

    This guy has all the tools and makes all the plays. We have been waiting all season to get a cheap price on the Huskies, and the Oregon Ducks coming to town Saturday provide just that. Oregon has a high powered offense, decent defence and good team speed -- they will seek to take advantage of Washington's average run stopping ability.

    The winner of this game should secure a spot in the final PAC 12 title game and the winning QB will have the edge in the Heisman race. GameDay will broadcast live from the field beginning 6 am local time; the locals will be jazzed early and late.

    It is a monster game with conference, regional and national ramifications. Washington is ranked 7th, Oregon 8th -- the winner will make a big jump in the playoff rankings.

    This game is all about Penix Jr. Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer formerly served as Indiana's offensive coordinator where he developed Penix into the gem he is today. The Hoosiers had absolutely no line blocking and even then Penix managed to win while outgunned in the Big 10.

    Now he has an offensive line and talent at wide receiver surrounding him. Penix is big, strong, mobile and accurate down field; he can throw the deep ball better than half the NFL starters. He is that good.

    Oregon can play and they owned Washington recently until last year when Penix reversed the dynamic. Their running attack will put up some points but not eat enough clock to keep Penix off the field. In what will be a speed game, Washington has a slight stop-watch edge.


    The average home field advantage in college football is three points in terms of The Man handicapping the action. Husky Stadium currently generating a 6.3 point home field advantage according to Farnell's numbers -- it is very loud there.

    (ECU with a strong and very underrated (+5) home field advantage -- especially when it decides to show up. Monday afternoon sees SMU steamed to twelve and the hook for Thursday night's game with strong one-way Mustang action early at the open. You want ECU (+12 and the hook) Thursday as like Rodney Dangerfield they are getting no respect now.)

    ("A girl phoned me the other day and said, 'Come on over, there's nobody home.' I went over. Nobody was home.")

    Built in 1923, Husky Stadium has close to 75 percent of the seats located between the end zones, under metal roofs designed to trap and retain sound. It is not uncommon for the sound level to exceed 130 decibels during a game. Opposing elevens have been known to have trouble with the crowd noise.

    The Huskies are well versed in winning at Seattle and will have a very strong home field advantage for this nationally televised game. Our call here is WASHINGTON (-155) for two units on the money line (this means we risk 3.1 units to win two and Washington merely needs to win the game for us to cash the ticket.)

WASHINGTON    38  •  BIG QUACK ATTACK    28

    Laying double digit points on the road is always a tough business and history is replete with big chalk that suffered away from home. France (-17) at Indochina, United States (-26 and the hook) at Vietnam, USSR (-21) at Afghanistan, United States (-22) at Afghanistan, etc.

    In the last half century the only decisive Western road victory was the UK (-11) vs Argentina (at Falklands) and that one was tight early. Hopefully that a stark reminder to DC and London as NATO (- five and the hook) vs Moscow (at Ukraine) is asking for trouble with that Russian speed advantage (hyper-sonic).


    Happily that is not our worry. Well, not until those thousand points of light Mr Neil Young mentions appear in the Western sky, descending at Mach. Which, with Hamas making like the opening scene in the original Red Dawn, might be coming to a theatre near you sooner than you think.

    The world is a much different place this week than last.