Tag Archives: wyoming

VWs are life, Gregg Allman RIP

Posted on by
1

 

I traded my ’93 Eurovan for a new Golf Sportwagen. It’s named after Gregg Allman.

 
I saw country tock bluesman Gregg Allman died. My car is named after him.

My VW life has gone full circle. In 1979 I drove a new white VW Scirocco. It was a replacement for a sky blue Ford Pinto station wagon that was in a rear end collision with an oil field mud truck. 

Luckily, it didn’t explode. The differential bolt did get jammed against the gas tank. Had I been at a complete stop, it may have been a different story. I was slowing down to take the turn towards The 3003 Club – that’s another good story for another day – under the Burlington Northern tressel by where the Fireside used to be.

My lawyer and fellow 3003 Club member, Thomas Padget, worked over the insurance company and I finally was paid. The Pinto was surplussed to Rick Thamer when he was on his way to Lubbock. I bought the Scirocco in Laramie.

Anyway, I can’t remember who went, but a bunch of us drove from Gillette to Denver in early August to see the Allman Brothers at the Red Rocks. Maybe John and Dara Corkery remember who else went. I know Mike the News Record photog was in the car.

When we rolled into Denver, the VW threw a timing belt and was towed to Mountain States VW on South Colorado Blvd. After the show, I was dropped off at a motel nearby – across from the Celebrity Sports Center. We had multiple rides.

My car was fixed the next day. While waiting, I walked down to a matinee at the Century Theater and saw ‘Alien’ in 70mm. There were a few people sitting in this huge round theater. The newborn space monster scene was alarming on that gigantic screen!

I must have returned to Gillette in one piece.  when I moved to Lander a year or two later. I didn’t drive it much for a couple years since I lived in an apartment above the Ace Hardware store on Main Street – mixed use urban living before it was hip. What happened to the Scirocco? I sold it to Bill Sniffin

Meanwhile, 47 years later, I decided it was time to bag the old hobby VWs in favor of something more practical. Over the years, I’ve tinkered with air cooled engines – a ’63 Bug, ’65 Karmann Ghia, ’72 Super Beetle convertible. I decided to get more modern with a ’95 Eurovan Winnebago and ’93 Weekender. 

The ’93 was a bit of a lemon on it’s last legs and rather than hassle with selling it myself, I chanced upon Emich VW – formerly Mountain States – which deals Eurovans. I got a good offer – even though I got worked over pretty well by the mechanic like I was selling on ‘Pawn Stars’. 

I ended up with a 2015 Golf Sportwagen – a chopped down Eurovan. It’s the first new car I’ve owned since the Scirocco and the first with airbags.

That Colorado Blvd neighborhood has totally changed and the VW dealership is an island now surrounded by big box retail, but pulling into that parking lot brought back some good memories. I named the car ‘Gregg”.

2015 Wyoming road trip for the arts – trek 1

Posted on by
Reply

Anyone who has spent any time in Wyoming knows that road trip organization is key. I have been known to travel two hours for a 10 minute meeting. This week, I plotted out a six day trip that started on Monday May 4. Two years ago, my health took a hit when I made a series of road trips to the East Coast at the end of May to a long Wyoming trek in early June.

The Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund Board met in Pinedale and approved the digital Art of the Hunt project.

The Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund Board met in Pinedale and approved the digital Art of the Hunt project.

I was a little concerned that two years later, I didn’t want to push my luck, but decided to anyway. This trip, acording to my new mileage app called Mileage IQ, I logged 1, 554 miles.

I’m working on a couple projects and now that the weather has finally broken – more on this – it was a good time to take off. I found out at the last minute late last week that the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund would be meeting in Pinedale in western Wyoming on May 6-7. My production company, Boulder Community Media, has a project the WCTR board would be considering a proposal called the “Digital Art of the Hunt”.

Being a veteran grant writer I know that a project’s chances are better, if applicants show up in person. I made a bunch of phone calls and set up an excursion. Sitting through meetings like this is very informative and when I have other proposals considered, I will show up. The board approved the project. It was the 19th ranked application out of 45 and received the second highest grant award.

The weather was mostly bad. This is snow south of Lander.

The weather was mostly bad. This is snow south of Lander overlooking Red Canyon.

Boulder to Laramie 109 miles: I was funded by the Wyoming Humanities Council and the Wyoming Arts Council to produce a documentary about Wyoming Progress Administration cultural projects that include large murals in Riverton, Kemmerer, Greybull and Powell. I learned that one of my former University of Wyoming college professors Herb Dieterich was the last guy who did any research about this topic back in 1980.

My call to him was a blast from the past. He agreed to meet me on Monday afternoon. He turned 90 May 3rd. He spent a summer in the National Archives in DC researching it and gave me a copy of his paper, which is helpful. He was mostly checking out the project funding sources than about the artists.

We had a nice visit. I’ll be back to talk to Joe Russin, the son of Robert Russin who was a UW art professor and WPA muralist in Illinois.

I filled up and headed to Riverton.

Some barracks from the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp were moved to the Cottonwood Court in Riverton.

Some barracks from the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp were moved to the Cottonwood Court in Riverton. This is the former sheep ranch that inspired the WPA mural in the Riverton Post Office.

Laramie to Riverton 236 miles: I support the Northern Arapaho Tribe and stay at the Wind River Casino Hotel. They don’t serve alcohol, but allow smoking. Of course all casinos allow smoking, it must be a habit of gamblers. When the casino originally opened, there was a smoke free room of slots, but that didn’t last long.

Food prices in the Red Willow Restaurant have gone up. In my opinion, If I spend $25 on a steak, I’ll go down the road to Svilar’s in nearby Hudson. On Cinco de Mayo, I ate Indian huevos rancheros, which substitutes fry bread for the tortilla.

I interviewed Karline from the Riverton Museum who was knowledgeable about George Vander Sluice. He painted the mural in the Riverton Post Office. The mural is of sheep shearing that happened at a ranch on the road to Shoshoni which is now the Cottonwood Court, which is now abandoned. Turns out that the bungalows there were formerly housing barracks at the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp near Powell.

I headed out to Pinedale, but wanted to nail down a couple key components of the Art of the Hunt project which includes an Eastern Shoshone deer hunt and Northern Arapaho bison hunt. I stopped by the Shoshone Cultural Center and Glenda Trosper was still open to setting up the hunt in October. I went over to Ethete and talked to JT Trosper about the bison hunt and that will be set up in July.

The Log Cabin Motel in Pinedale is very cozy.

The Log Cabin Motel in Pinedale is very cozy.

Riverton to Pinedale 186 miles: I stayed at the Log Cabin Motel. There are a bunch of small fishing cabins. It was raining the two days I was there. The WCTF meeting started Wednesday at the BOCES building. Wyoming government meetings are long, drawn out, but very folksy. There’s decorum, but very informal. This funding cycle, there were a million dollars in requests and $200,000 in available funds. After two days of project evaluation, Art of the Hunt was ranked 19th out of 45 projects and awarded funding that will guarantee it’s completion. Had I not attended, to answer questions and defend the idea, there’s no telling how much or if the project would be approved.

Meanwhile, I had a plan to drive to Kemmerer to see the murals in the post office there or go to Powell. In February, I provided production assistance for an interview session with Mark and Ardith Junge. The producer, Samantha Cheng. She mentioned that a colleague of hers, Sharon Yamato, may need a videographer in Powell. I contacted Sharon and decided to head north to record her interviews and check out the murals in Powell and Greybull.

Evaline George, 97, is one of the subjects of a documentary by Sharon Yamoto.

Evaline George, 97, is one of the subjects of a documentary by Sharon Yamato.

Pinedale to Powell 318 miles: The WCTF meeting finished at 1:30pm and I headed out to points north. There was snow on South Pass and sputtering rain the rest of the way through Lander, Riverton, Shoshoni, Thermopolis, Meeteetse, Cody then Powell. I stayed at the Super 8 in Powell. Mostly fracking workers staying there. Sharon is working on a documentary about the post World War II veteran homesteaders who came to Powell and repurposed some of the Hearth Mountain Relocation Camp housing barracks – some of those were repositioned to the Cottonwood Court in Riverton.

During a break in the action, I went over to the Powell Post Office and checked out the mural there by Manuel Bromberg. Nobody seemed to know much about it. I was referred to the local museum and will likely make another trip back through there. Bromberg is still alive and lives in Woodstock, New York. I may make a trip out there if he’s able to talk to me – he’s 98.

We interviewed three 97-year olds who still live in their remodeled barracks. These three nonagenarians still had their wits about them and had some good stories to tell. It was a long day. I stayed over and headed back home via Greybull.

Smoking is still allowed in most places in Wyoming. Cough, Cough.

Smoking is still allowed in most places in Wyoming. Cough, Cough. Including at this short order place in Greybull.

Powell to Greybull 48 miles: The last time I was through Greybull two years ago, I was stopped in one of those 45 mph to 30 mph speed traps. The cop let me off. The post office was about the only place open on Saturday. The postal clerks didn’t know much about the painting. The postmaster was to return later. I killed an hour at the Uptown Cafe for some breakfast. Smoking is still allowed here, which was a little strange. I went back to the PO and the postmaster hadn’t returned yet.  The clerk called her boss and he pointed her toward an old typewritten narrative on the wall.  Manuel Bromberg is in the book and I’ll see if he’s up for an interview.

I’ve been hearing about the storm in southern Wyoming and headed out again. I got gas in Thermopolis.

Manuel Bromberg painted the mural in the Greybull Post Office

Manuel Bromberg painted the mural in the Greybull Post Office.

Greybull to Boulder 478 miles: My gut reaction was to avoid I-80 and took the second worst route through Casper. There was sputtering rain and snow from Shoshoni to Casper. Casper to Douglas wasn’t too bad, but from there to Chugwater was slow going. The most snow was between Wheatland and Chugwater. Snow and slush started to build up on the highway. I know why there are crazy crashes – four wheel drive pickups that think they are invincible. I’ve driven in worse conditions by Elk Mountain.

I have to turn around on Monday for a meeting and job in Cheyenne Monday and Tuesday. It’s a labor of love having several projects in various stages of development. I’ll be heading to Kemmerer, Powell and Greybull, later in June enroute to my Devil’s Tower climbing trip over the 4th of July.

Dec. bowl game guesses – lots of MWC teams and odd sponsors

Posted on by
Reply
In 2000 Hastings College classmates John and Julie Johnson played host to the Tostito Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix. Nebraska played Tennessee.

In 2000 Hastings College classmates John and Julie Johnson played host to the Tostito Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix. Nebraska played Tennessee.

In a past life, I was the sports editor for a small town Wyoming newspaper and tried to diversify the stories about little kid soccer games and high school sports with an annual “pick the bowl game winners” contest.  One of the local restauranteurs was also a big sports fan and donated a couple dinners for prizes.

This year, I noticed that there are a lot of Mountain West Conference teams in the December bowl games and made my guesses. I also think most of the bowl game sponsors are a little odd and fans know less about them than the teams.

I’ll pick the January games, including the BCS tournament games after Christmas.

Back in the 1990s, there were 19 bowl games. Today that number has grown to 38 and shows the parity in football these days.

Watching Barry Sanders was quite entertaining at the Holiday Bowl.

Watching Barry Sanders was quite entertaining at the Holiday Bowl.

bowl game tix

My pal, Ray Candelaria, and I went on a Bowl-a-thon to Memphis, Jacksonville and Miami.

I was a big college football fan back then having followed Wyoming to a couple Holiday Bowls the Las Vegas Bowl and a couple Copper Bowl games.

It was a good time to run into old friends. Cowboy football brought people together. I always saw Jim Izzo at the game. When a team has good and bad years, it’s tough to get any fan consistency.

One winter, a pal and I flew into New Orleans on Christmas day and road tripped to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis – also the first trip I made to Graceland; the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville – the first time I’d tried chitlins and hawg maw, the Orange Bowl in Miami – it was freezing that night.

I used to religiously follow Nebraska in the post season: Fiesta Bowl – met up with lots of college mates; Rose Bowl – Huskers blown out in the national championship game, Alamo Bowl – Bo Pelini’s first and last head coaching gig before working at LSU.

I’m onto other pursuits these days, but nonetheless, here are my picks for the December bowl games.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – Nevada v Louisiana – Lafayette
Dec. 20, New Orleans (11 a.m. ET)
The game is sponsored by a big trucking company. R+L must be hauling a lot of stuff. Being a Mountain West Conference fan, I’m pulling for Nevada. That’s a team that’s bounced around conferences. I mostly remember them being in the old Big Sky Conference, like Wyoming was in the original Western Athletic Conference.

In these lesser bowls, organizers always have to pick a local team to guarantee attendance and Louisiana-Lafayette fits that bill this year.

The game should be a good one to watch since both teams play a wide open offense.
My Guess: Nevada in a high scoring game.

Gilden New Mexico Bowl – Utah State v UTEP
Dec. 20, Albuquerque, New Mexico (2:20 p.m. ET) 
A clothing manufacturer sponsors this game. I bet part of the sponsorship is cheap T-shirts. I indirectly advertise for the game, but too bad the tags are inside the shirt.

This is another Mountain West match up with Utah State taking on UTEP. The Aggies are another team that has bounced around having been in the Big Sky Conference. I miss UTEP, which also was a member of the Western Athletic Conference with Wyoming.

Utah State had an up and down season with a couple quarterback changes this year. If Utah State can take an early lead, that passing offense is tough to stop, considering the Miners are predominantly a running team.
My Pick: Utah State in a lopsided blow out

Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl – Utah v Colorado State
Dec. 20, Las Vegas (3:30 p.m. ET) 
Have you ever heard of Royal Purple synthetic oil? Not me.
For a fan like me, this is a great throwback to the Western Athletic Conference in which both teams originally competed and evolved into members of the Mountain West Conference.

Utah fled for the PAC-12 during the big shake up in 2011 and experienced culture shock there. After a couple bad seasons, the Utes have turned it around, but still not at the top of the league. Incidentally, CU joined the PAC-12 at the same time and is still trying to find a football identity.

As opposed to Colorado State, which has been dominant under erstwhile coach Jim McElwain who took the Florida job and won’t be working.

My Guess  I think this is going to be a close one. I’m going with a better balanced Utah team

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl- Western Michigan v Air Force
Dec. 20, Boise, Idaho (5:45 p.m. ET) 
This potato group has been advertising on cable TV lately. This game used to be called the Humanitarian Bowl, which I thought was a little strange. It features yet another Mountain West Conference tie-in with Air Force making the trek to Boise. I don’t know much about Western Michigan, but Air Force has always had a great running game and this year has been no different. Air Force had a bit of a topsy turvy season having upset both Colorado State and Boise State – both teams had a shot at the At Large BCS football tourney spot.
My Guess: Air Force, but the game could be a yawner

Raycom Camellia Bowl – Bowling Green v South Alabama
Dec. 20, Montgomery, Alabama (9:15 p.m. ET) 
I don’t know anything about these two teams. What I do think is interesting about the game is its sponsor, Raycom. It’s a media conglomerate that owns a bunch of TV stations in the south and a sports media company that started up it’s own bowl game. The other interesting thing about Raycom, is that it is owned by the Alabama public employees pension fund.
My Guess: A shot in the dark with South Alabama

Miami Beach Bowl – BYU v Memphis
Dec. 22, Miami (2 p.m. ET) 
The American Athletic Conference puts on this game. The home team is Memphis. BYU was the most despised team in the Western Athletic and the Mountain West conferences. So much so, the Cougs bowed out because they didn’t like to play Wyoming in any sport.
My Guess: I don’t like to ever cut BYU any slack – Memphis

ESPN Events Boca Raton Bowl – Northern Illinois v Marshall
Dec. 23, Boca Raton, Florida (6 p.m. ET) 
This game is sponsored by ESPN. ESPN should sponsor all the games. I’m thinking I should get a bunch of indie producers and partner up with a public access TV station and organize a bowl game someplace. Marshall was close to getting into the national championship mix, but lesser schools with one loss don’t stand much chance. I don’t know anything about NIU except that they’ve won the Mid-America conference a bunch of times recently. This may be one of the better games of the post season.
My Guess: Whatever team gets the ball last will win, which I’m hoping is Marshall.

San Diego County Employees Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl – Navy v San Diego State
Dec. 23, San Diego (9:30 p.m. ET) 
San Diego State is another Mountain West Conference mainstay. This is a home game for the Aztecs. There’s also a big US Navy presence there and should be a balanced crowd. The game is sponsored by the Credit Union and by the San Diego Bowl Game Association that also produces the Holiday Bowl. That’s a pretty good business – producing football games.
My Guess: San Diego State in a back and forth game.

Popeye’s Bahamas Bowl – Western Kentucky v Central Michigan
Dec. 24, Nassau, Bahamas (Noon ET) 
This is the inaugural game and a strange one at that. The People’s Republic of China built the stadium, but it only has 15,000 seats. That’s probably a good crowd for a cricket match. On top of that, the game’s presenting sponsor is Popeye’s. There are at least three chicken restaurants sponsoring games.

This one of those games that will be the game any lesser team will want to play. I don’t think there’s enough room for the Notre Dame or Michigan fans.
My Guess: Western Kentucky, but I don’t know why.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl – Fresno State v Rice
Dec. 24, Honolulu (8 p.m. ET) 
It stands to reason that Sheraton sponsors this game. Fresno State was an early fave to win the Mountain West Conference, but I can think of worse places to play football on Christmas Eve.

It was all over for the Bulldogs when hapless Wyoming beat them 45 – 17 on national TV.

Wyoming and Rice were both in the reconfigured WAC that was way to massive of a conference. I always remember the Rice marching band as having played one of the more well known versions of “Louie, Louie.”
My Guess: Fresno State, even though the Bulldog’s don’t have much of a defense.

Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl – Illinois v Louisiana Tech
Dec. 26, Dallas (1 p.m. ET) 
I don’t know much about either of these two teams except Lousisiana Tech scores a lot of points. The Illini play in the Big 10 and the game may be close. There must be a lot of successful chicken businesses in the south. This game is sponsored by one called Zaxby’s. I’ve never tried Zaxby’s Chicken.
My Guess: Louisiana Tech, but I think it will be close.

Quick Lane Bowl – Rutgers v North Carolina
Dec. 26, Detroit (4:30 p.m. ET) 
This is another one of those games that I don’t know much about either team. It’s the inaugural bowl game in the Silver Dome sponsored by Quick Lane, which must have something to do with the automotive industry. I did a little research and I didn’t know that Rutgers is in the Big 10.
My Guess: Rutgers

Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl – Central Florida v North Carolina State
Dec. 26, St. Petersburg, Florida (8 p.m. ET)
Times have changed. Bitcoin and Bitpay signed on to sponsor this game for the next four years, along with ESPN events. Visa must still think it has image problems – or maybe they aren’t allowed to squander the credit card 18% interest fees on football games. I don’t know if I’ve seen a bitcoin ad on TV.

All I know about UCF is that it has a huge presence in Florida and has produced a lot of rocket scientists and quarterback Blake Bortles.
My Guess: UCF – the Knights still have an explosive offense.

Northrup Grumman Military Bowl – Cincinnati v Virginia Tech
Dec. 27, Annapolis, Maryland (1 p.m. ET) 
I wonder why there isn’t a military connection to this game, since it also benefits the USO – maybe that’s Tech. The Hokies were involved in a big sex assault case a few years back that ended with SCOTUS gutting the Violence Against Women Act.
My Guess: Cincinnati

Hyundai Sun Bowl – Duke v Arizona State
Dec. 27, El Paso, Texas (2 p.m. ET) 
No American car companies sponsor games, which is a good thing. I haven’t followed either of these teams this season. With so much parity among the middle tier of teams, and so many deals between conferences and games, it’s tough to keep the games straight. The Sun Bowl is tied to the PAC-12 number 4 and an at large ACC team.
My Guess: Arizona State, for no particular reason

Duck Commander Independence Bowl – Miami Florida v South Carolina
Dec. 27, Shreveport, Louisiana (3:30 p.m. ET) 
This is another one of those games between middle of the pack teams from the ACC and SEC. If either of these schools were in other leagues they would be at the tops of their heaps. The game is sponsored by the Duck Dynasty guys. Who would have thought a duck call brand would present a football game. Logo on the hood of a NASCAR? Yes. Logo on a football scoreboard? No.
My Guess: Miami (FL) for no particular reason.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl – Boston College v Penn State
Dec. 27, Bronx, New York (4:30 p.m. ET) 
It stands to reason that New Era caps would be the main sponsor for the Pinstripe Bowl played in Yankee Stadium. If a bowl game can be held in New York in the dead of winter, a bowl game can be played anywhere. You have to hand it to Penn State for bouncing back like it has after that sex abuse coaching scandal there. Again, a couple teams from the ACC and BIG-10.
My Guess: Penn State is my sentimental favorite.

National University Holiday Bowl – Nebraska v USC
Dec. 27, San Diego (8 p.m. ET) 
I’m a big Nebraska fan and we’ll see how the Huskers play after Bo Pelini was fired. Big Red didn’t look that great in a few games, namely the Wisconsin thrashing.  I don’t think Nebraska has ever defeated USC over the years. This game is sponsored by National University, which is one of those big private colleges.
My guess: USC is favored, but I’m going with Nebraska.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl – West Virginia v Texas A&M
Dec. 29, Memphis, Tennessee (2 p.m. ET) 
I haven’t been paying attention to the SEC nor the BIG-12. Another match up between two “also-rans”. It should be an evenly matched game.  Why do car oil companies and auto parts stores sponsor games, but American car companies don’t?
My Guess: Texas A&M

Russell Athletic Bowl – Clemson v Oklahoma
Dec. 29, Orlando, Florida (5:30 p.m. ET) 
When I hear Russell Athletic, I always think of jock straps.  Just another ACC – BIG-12 game. I have nothing on this.
My Guess: Clemson

Advocare V100 Texas Bowl – Texas v Arkansas
Dec. 29, Houston (9 p.m. ET) 
This game used to be the Independence Bowl. It’s sponsored by Advocare, which, I think, is a multilevel marketing company. This game is one that old time college football fans will appreciate. The Frank Broyles v Darryl Royal game was always a classic game. That will be the hype this time around.
My Guess: Arkansas in a squeaker

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl – LSU v Notre Dame
Dec. 30, Nashville, Tennessee (3 p.m. ET) 
The housing business must be pretty good with a mortgage company sponsoring the game. If I’m a homeowner, I’d rather have a lower interest rate than sponsoring a football bowl. Even though Notre Dame was on network TV every Saturday I didn’t watch a complete game. I do know that LSU has a pretty good running game and a good defense.
My Guess: LSU

Belk Bowl – Louisville v Georgia
Dec. 30, Charlotte, North Carolina (6:30 p.m. ET)
Belk is a department store in the south. Business must be good if it is sponsoring a bowl game. It used to be called the Queen City Bowl, the the Continental Tire Bowl and the Meineke Car Care Bowl. No wonder I have no heart in this one either.
My Guess: Louisville

Foster Farms Bowl – Maryland v Stanford
Dec. 30, Santa Clara, California (10 p.m. ET) 
This is another one of those games with an identity crisis now sponsored by a chicken company. It has always had some food sponsor being known as the Fight Hunger Bowl, then the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, then the Emerald Bowl, then the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl. Luckily hometown Stanford is playing.
My Guess: Stanford

Chik-Fil-A Peach Bowl TCU v Ole Miss
Dec. 31, Atlanta (12:30 p.m. ET) 
TCU has Mountain West Conference history. I was happy that they had a chance to move to the BIG-12. The Horned Frogs were the class of the league. There was a controversy a few years ago when the Peach Bowl was set for a Sunday and Chik-Fil-A refused to play the game on a day the conflicts with church.
My Guess: TCU in a rout

Vizio Fiesta Bowl – Arizona v Boise State
Dec. 31, Glendale, Arizona (4 p.m. ET) 
Mountain West Conference Boise State gets a shot at the PAC-12 this year. Who can forget that trick play Dan Hawkins pulled on Oklahoma in a BCS Fiesta Bowl game a few years back to win the game? Bob Stoops was ticked. The game is sponsored by Vizio. In the past Frito Lay Tostitos were the long time sponsor until last year. I have Vizio TVs am I supporting the game in some way?
My Guess: Boise State is explosive, but I’m picking Arizona based on strength of schedule.

Capital One Orange Bowl – Georgia Tech v Mississippi State
Dec. 31, Miami (8 p.m. ET) 
I have a Capital One credit card. That means I’m a part of this game. I went to the Orange Bowl when it was sponsored by FedEx. This should be a pretty good game. Mississippi State was tops in the nation for a few weeks then faded.
My Guess: Georgia Tech

There you have it. I hope some of my pals from other parts of the country and more aware of their regional college football teams will chime in and give their views.

Preparation for the bowl season is exhausting.

I’ll give my guesses for the January games including the BCS tournament in a wrrk or so.