Ask (R)uffda!

Ask (R)uffda!

Dear (R)uffda!

What can a volleyball fan do for fun, other than going to matches or leafing through old Gopher media guides, of course?

Not Bored Exactly

Dear Not Bored Exactly,

Well, there’s always Volley Talk (at VolleyTalk.net). I hesitate to bring it up because it’s a little bit like recommending the Everglades. Yes, there are things of interest there, but there are also mosquitoes, alligators and pythons. Hard to appreciate the scenery when there’s a snake around your neck. However, if you’re very careful – watch where you step – you can get out of there alive. Volley Talk, that is. You’ll never get out of the Everglades alive.

One of the potentially entertaining items at Volley Talk is a weekly Pick-the-Winners contest. You could zip over there right now and match your prognostication skills with volleyball fans from all over the country. I no longer participate, mind you, but don’t let my decision to abstain from further humiliation stop you from giving it a go. Heck, I’ll even make an exception and let you know the picks I would make if I were still making picks. We’re all friends here, right? 

Wednesday, October 22 [home teams in CAPS]

1. CALIFORNIA v. Southern Cal             USC has been a major disappointment so far, but Cal is having a really down year. Go with the Trojans, but shower afterwards. You’re going to feel dirty.
2. KANSAS STATE v. Oklahoma             Let’s go with Minnesota’s very own Kylee Zumach in this one and pick KSU.
3. MINNESOTA v. Nebraska                   Well, we have to pick our Gophers, right? How could we call ourselves Boosters and not?
4. OREGON v. Arizona                             I’m going to go with the home team and pick the Ducks. Sorry, Kalei.

Thursday, October 23

5. BYU v. Loyola Marymount                  BYU. This is the first one I’m actually fairly confident about. Although, LMU isn’t that bad. OK, I’m not confident about this one either. See comment about the WCC below.

Friday, October 24

6. NORTHWESTERN v. Purdue              Crikee! These are hard. So hard they’ve apparently turned me into an Aussie. I’m picking Purdue here, but … crikee!
7. OHIO STATE v. Michigan State          The Buckeyes. Speaking of whom (which?), what a great job they’ve done picking themselves up from the mat after the tough loss here. They’ve had a brutal schedule and are still 5-3.
8. OREGON v. Arizona State                  Same deal here with the Ducks. At home, I pick them. ASU is decent this year, but I’m picking the Ducks. The Ducks, I tell you!
9. OREGON STATE v. Arizona                Tricky one. I’m going to go with OSU here, in a mild upset. Really sorry, Kalei.
10. PENN STATE v. Michigan                  I never bet against the Lions. Yes, I know that, technically, there’s no money being wagered here, but the principle is the same. Plus, you should always make these picks as if there is money involved. You’ll feel so much better after knowing you didn’t actually lose any money with your lousy picks.
11. PITTSBURGH v. Florida State         Pitt is having a good year. FSU is having a better one. Plus they have two ex-Gophers, making it yet another apology to Kalei. Sort of. FSU here.
12. STANFORD v. Ucla [Tiebreaker: total points scored =___]                                                                                    The Evil Empire will win, Satanicford. The PtW people use one match each week to break any potential ties and do it with total points scored. I think The Cardinal win in three, so I’m going with 135 points (25-20 x 3). Of course, if I actually thought I could possibly get into a tiebreaker I’d put more thought into this. I did, actually, lose a tiebreaker once now that I mention it. I’d almost erased that memory.
13. WASHINGTON STATE v. Colorado  This is a good one, too. I pick WSU in another upset. You might be wise to go with Colorado. How’s that for no help at all?

Saturday, October 25

14. ILLINOIS v. Purdue                          I think the Boils are a little overrated. I could be wrong, but I’m picking the Illini here. I mean I could be wrong about Purdue being overrated. Of COURSE I could be wrong about who will win.
15. OHIO STATE v. Michigan                  Buckeyes in this one, too. I don’t even like Ohio State, Geoff excepted. But they will win.
16. OREGON STATE v. Arizona State   Now, it stands to reason I’d pick OSU in this one, too, since I picked them against Arizona. But I think they only have the one win in them this weekend. Just my luck, I’ll have the matches reversed. I’m going with ASU.
17. PENN STATE v. Michigan State       Lions. I told you why. Don’t make me repeat myself.
18. SAN DIEGO v. Loyola Marymount   One of the reasons I stopped doing this contest was because I could never pick WCC matches correctly. I pick the Toreros now, because they are home. But you have the caveat.
19. TEXAS v. Oklahoma                          Finally! A lock. Well, relatively speaking. The Longhorns will not lose to the Sooners at home.
20. WEST VIRGINIA v. Kansas State    I know nothing about West Virginia, but I know the guy who puts together these picks. He would not choose this match if it were not a trap. I’m still picking the Wildcats, but I do so knowing I may have to gnaw off my leg to escape.

Sunday, October 26

21. CALIFORNIA v. Ucla                          Cal can’t be as bad as their record, now 0-8 (0-9 if they lose to USC). They are due. The program is too good to go 0-10. For these reasons, I pick UCLA.
22. STANFORD v. Southern Cal              Stanford wins again. Yawn. Too bad they can’t both lose.
23. TEXAS A&M v. Kentucky                  Another tricky pick. Do we let our Nelson loyalty sway us here or do we go with the home team? I pick the Wildcats, for Meredith.
24. WASHINGTON v. Colorado              Woot! Another easy one. Washington wins, which means I should pick Colorado against WSU. Too late.
25. WISCONSIN v. Nebraska                 Nebraska just isn’t Nebraska this year. Wisconsin, on the other hand, is kinda Nebraska this year. The Badgers continue to win. Carlini! Carlini! Carlini!

Read more: http://volleytalk.proboards.com/thread/55778/pick-winners-contest-week-entries#ixzz3GivwzVYw

You know what? That wasn’t fun at all. Forget I said anything. You’re very welcome!

(R)uffda!

Ask (R)uffda!

Dearest (R)uffda!

Darling, I miss you more than I can say. Who knew Champaign-Urbana would be the destination for Love?

Oops. Wrong letter. Wait a second.

Dear (R)uffda!

I – and several other fellow fans – are depressed. Well, one of us appears to have fallen in love in Champaign-Urbana, of all places, but the rest of us are depressed. This season is not going the way I expected. We could really use some cheering up. Can you help?

Gloomy Gus

Dear Gloomy Gus,

Sorry to hear you’re spending some time in the Dumps. It’s an OK place to visit, I suppose, but you would be better off keeping your stay there brief. Maybe do Unhappy Hour at Applebees and head out? Now, I could tell you that this is a very young team and there are going to be some growing pains. I could also tell you that the team could use a break or two. I actually did just tell you those things, but I’m going to turn this over to someone much more qualified than I am in Motivational Oratory. I offer you Bluto Blutarsky.

"What? Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!"

I think that says it all.

(R)uffda!

Dear (R)uffda!

I don’t know who this Bluto-guy is but that didn’t really help. First of all, I’m pretty sure it was the Russians who bombed Pearl Harbor. Second of all, what does Pearl Harbor have to do with volleyball?

Gloomier Gus

Dear Gloomier Gus,

OK. How about this one? It’s about a tortoise and a hare. They have this race, see?

Dear (R)uffda!

And the tortoise ends up winning, I know. I know.

Dear GG,

Winning? How is a tortoise going to win a race against a hare? Do you have any idea how slow tortoises are?

No, what I was going to say before you interrupted me (and how do you do that via the mail anyhow?) is that Life is a race. Some of us are tortoises and some of us are hares. Some of us are 6-foot-5 and some of us are tortoises. The point is that … wait. I’ve lost my train of thought.

Dear (R)uffda!

Never mind.

Gloomiest Gus

Dear Gloomiest Gus,

No, no! I remember. The point isn’t just that Life is a race. It’s a race with hurdles. We’ve clipped a few hurdles here, out of the starting block. But we don’t quit. We persevere. We continue to do our utmost best – and, when the race is over, we see how we did.

(R)uffda!

Dear (R)uffda!

So do you think the team will do that?

Dear GG,

I wasn’t talking about the team. I was talking about us, their fans. I have NO doubt that’s what the team will do. We just need to do the same. These are tough times, but this is when a team needs its fans. Because you know what? It WASN’T over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.

(R)uffda!