Last Entry of 2005

Some random shit about the old year...

Best CD: Time For Good
Best Song: 20 Years Old
Best Movie: Batman Begins
Team of 2005: New York Giants (slightly beating out the Irish)
Player of 2005: Jeff Samardzija
Game of 2005: ND-USC October 15th
Play of 2005: 4th & 9
Best Family Event: Thanksgiving, again
Best Holiday: Thanksgiving
Best Event: Bonnaroooooooooooooo, again
Best Vacation: West Palm Beach
Concert Of The Year: Big Apple For The Big Easy
Best Concert of Bonnaroo: Allman Brothers Band
Day of the Year: July 3rd, @ Rachel & Jeska's
Random Moment of the Year: Seeing my Ex in WPB
Gift of the Year: iPod
Book of the Year: Half-Blood Prince
TV Show of the Year: Everybody Loves Raymond
Best TV Episode: Hurley's first Lost episode
Find of the Year: Chinese Restaurant/Sports Bar in Mass
Person of the Year: Myself

Happy New Year everyone, see you on the other side!

Top 10 Movies of 2005

This list, more than any other, is the one I'll probably get criticized for. Just keep in mind, while reading it, that I haven't seen every movie that came out in 2005. I still want to see Munich, and King Kong. Have no interest in Brokeback Mountain. Never made it to Walk The Line. These are just the Top 10 movies that I saw in 2005.

Before I get to the Top 10, just want to mention a few movies I left out. Sin City, Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and Mr. & Mrs. Smith are all enjoyable movies. Just not as good as any of these, in my opinion.

The Top 10:

10. Four Brothers
9. Saw 2
8. Wedding Crashers
7. The Interpreter
6. Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire
5. Kingdom Of Heaven
4. Coach Carter
3. Cinderella Man
2. Star Wars III: Revenge Of The Sith
1. Batman Begins

Top 10 Songs of 2005

This list was A LOT harder to put together than the top 10 albums, mainly because there weren't a lot of good albums in 2005. The only real ommissions from that list were OAR's Stories of a Stranger & Jason Mraz's Mr.A-Z, but I didn't feel either of these albums were as good, in my opinion, as the other 10, so I had no trouble leaving them off the list.

As for the top 10 songs, when I had everything finally narrowed down, I was still left with 18 songs that I deserved to be in the Top 10. One by one, after listening to bits & pieces of each one, I was finally able to narrow it down to a Top 10.

But I'm betting if I re-did this list next week, while the songs may be the same, the order would change. And again the week after. It's virtually impossible to have a definite top-to-bottom song list. Most of it depends on what your mood is at that moment, and what type of music you are feeling.

Who knows.

Here it goes, the Top 10.

10. Time For Good by Todd Martin
9. Feel Like Living by Hothouse Flowers
8. Life is Wonderful by Jason Mraz
7. Please Don't Let It Be by The Alternate Routes
6. This Life by Todd Martin
5. Best of You by The Foo Fighters
4. Si Do Mhamo I by Hothouse Flowers
3. Jesse by Mike Perkins
2. Leave An Open Door by Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers
1. 20 Years Old by Mike Perkins

Shame on you if you've never heard these songs (or these artists).

Movies tomorrow.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack

In time for the end of 2005, here I am.

There's a lot going on in the sports world right now, but for the next 5 days, I'm going to take a break from that.

Where I've been these last few weeks?



Last Sunday-Wednesday I was in Florida with my sister, my cousins & my aunt & uncle. Much better weather than NJ, that's for sure. While there, I did nothing. NOTHING. Just relaxed. Weirdest thing though, about an hour into the trip my sister, cousin, aunt & I are walking to the pool when who walks right past us? My ex-girlfriend! This sort of thing doesn't happen to normal people. What are the odds that my ex & I are at the same beach resort in West friggin' Palm Beach during the same week. Come on now, that's absurd. Needless to say, I did my best to avoid eye contact and was on guard the rest of the week looking for her, but alas, to my delight, didn't see her again.

Pure ridiculousness. Then I got home Thursday and finally started my Christmas shopping. Finished it Friday. Spent the next 3 days celebrating Christmas, and now I'm back at work, unfortunately.

So that's why I haven't been posting. Now I'm back.

And before we get to January, which is one of the four best months of the year (along with March, September & October), I'll spend a few more days on non-sports related stuff.

Today, I give you thesharkey's Top 10 albums of 2005.

Then, over the next four days we'll also get the Top 10 songs, Top 10 movies, Top 10 days of the year, and Top 10 concerts. Not necessarily in that order, though.

Without further distractions, here are the Top 10:

10. The All-American Rejects- "Move Along"
http://www.allamericanrejects.com
9. North Mississipi Allstars- "Electric Blue Watermelon"
http://www.nmallstars.com
8. Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers- "Americano!"
http://www.azpeacemakers.com
7. Michael Franti & Spearhead- "Love Kamikaze: The Lost Sex Singles"
http://www.spearheadvibrations.com
6. Deathcab For Cutie- "Plans"
http://www.deathcabforcutie.com
5. Hothouse Flowers- "Into Your Heart"
http://www.hothouseflowers.com
4. Mike Perkins- "Sway"
http://www.mikeperkins.net
3. My Morning Jacket- "Z"
http://www.mymorningjacket.com
2. Alternate Routes- "Good & Restless & True"
http://www.thealternateroutes.com
1. Todd Martin- "Time For Good"
http://www.toddmartinmusic.com

If you don't own any of these CD's, you've wasted 2005.

Festivus for the rest of us!

The Sharkey is going on Christmas hiatus for a few days. Out tonight, Family the next three days. Then on Tuesday I return to work for the first time since the 16th. I'm not looking forward to that.

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

I'm sure you're all wondering what I got you this year.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I think you will!

Happy Festivus, on with the feats of strength!

quick update

Home from Florida. It was great. Pictures coming soon. Exciting news regarding thesharkey the person, not the website, also coming soon.

For the 9 people that signed up, don't worry, the Bowl Challenge is still happening, I just haven't gotten a chance to type it all up yet. I'll get to it sometime tomorrow or Friday. Stupid Toledo just killed me.

That's my update. Sharkey out.

Keeping track of the sharkey

So you don't complain over a lack of posts for the next 2+ weeks or so, here's what you got:

Tomorrow, last day of work before vacation, off by 2:30. Then who knows? Would like to go see King Kong at some point, or get drunk.

Saturday, Giants-Chiefs game. Coming into this season I'd been to 3 NFL games in my life. This will be my 4th game of this season. I'm pumped. This would be a huge win for the Giants. Loss wouldn't be devastating (since it's non-conference), but obviously we want this one bad.

Sunday morning I leave for sunny & warm West Palm Beach. Plane lands in WPB at 10am, to give you an idea of how early I'll be up. Staying at a timeshare with my sister, two of my cousins, and one of their boyfriends. I'll be there until Wednesday night.

Thursday & Friday are reserved for Christmas shopping, since I haven't started yet. I'm not even going to attempt to shop until then. Figure I'll go early in the morning each day. Malls shouldn't be too crowded, since they are still workdays.

Saturday is Christmas Eve. Sunday is Christmas. Monday is more Christmas. No explanation needed, these aren't internet days.

Tuesday I finally return to work after a 10 day vacation. This is going to suck. I'll work my ass off Tuesday-Friday, then hopefully I'm going to see Robert Randolph @ the Electric Factory this Friday night.

Saturday night is New Years Eve. I'll be working. Not really working, though, since we'll be dead. And the Giants game kicks off at 8:30 at night. So I'll be sitting at our bar watching this game.

Sunday is New Years Day. Also working this day.

Monday is The Fiesta Bowl. A bunch of other games this day, as well, but most importantly is the Fiesta Bowl.

Work Tuesday-Thursday. Friday I go to Washington DC for the weekend.

Work Monday-Thursday. Friday (yes, we're now up to January 13, which is still a month away) I go into NYC for a weekend in which a lot of great friends are coming into the city for the OAR @ MSG concert.

Return to work that Tuesday, January 17th, and then things will begin getting back to a normal routine.

Needless to say, this next month is going to rock hard (and drain my wallet). Should be a great time. I'll try to update as much as possible in this time, but I make no promises.

Merry Christmas everyone!

A Christmas Poem...

...about an angel, and a bar, and a child, and some hope. I know it's insanely long. But if you have 10 free minutes, please read it. Merry Christmas.

In an old city bar
That is never too far
From the places that gather
The dreams that have been

In the safety of night
With it's old neon light
It beckons to strangers
And they always come in

And the snow it was falling
The neon was calling
The music was low
On that night
Christmas Eve

And here was the danger
That even with strangers
Inside of this night
It's easier to believe

For it was into this bar
That i happened to wander
To stare into a glass
And my universe to ponder

So I walked up to the counter
Shook the snow off my coat
Then I ordered a whiskey
That i used like a moat

But an old man soon joined me
And asked if I knew the time
One word led to another
On this night I didn't mind

Then he offered a drink
From a bottle 'neath his coat
And he smiled a little smile
As it trickled down his throat

And I felt myself relaxin'
Here among the ghosts that failed
Then the old man topped my glass off
And began his little tale

In the moments of our lives
Both the joyous and the tragic
If the truth is too be told
We are all pursuing magic

And the magic that we seek
As we're sure you have discovered
Can be found in certain places
Far more easily than others

In the sand beneath the sphinx
In the dreams of candlelight
But the surest place of all
Is in the forgiving world of night

And of all the nights throughout the year
That come & gently leave
None hold the dream of magic
Like that night, Christmas Eve

And so it's on this night
With it's promise deep within
As the snow begins to fall
That our story does begin

An angel came down
One night to the earth
A mission from God
To find out the worth

Of everything that
His children had done
Since that winter night
The birth of His son

And then a sound filled the night
In the cold winter air
And in the midst of his flight
It was holding him there

And as he looked toward the earth
For the source of this sound
On that cold winter night
It was pulling him down

To bring something back
This angel was told
That no one could touch
But angels could hold

So on that night
When the sky had cleared
Among all the stars
An angel appeared

And then a sound filled the night
In the cold winter air
And in the midst of his flight
It was holding him there

And as he looked towards the earth
For the source of this sound
On that cold winter night
It was pulling him down

The sound that he heard
Was the ringing of bells
But now inside that night
There were voices as well

As he flew over the Urals
He came upon a little town
Shining in the Arctic darkness
So the angel he set down

Then he walked among the people
In a fitting earth disguise
So no one recognized him
Though they wondered at his eyes

Then he asked a village peasant
What do Russian hearts desire?
He answered peace on earth, of course
And a little "stolichnaya"

As he flew o'ver Sarajevo
There were scars upon the land
There were scars upon the people
It was hard to understand

And the deepest scars of all
Which to humans are unseen
But the angel could see clearly
Were the scars upon the dreams

Like Belfast and Burundi
Rwanda, Palestine
The only decorations here
Had been reward for their crime

And in the garden where the children played
Now soldiers only trod
And stranger still, he heard some say
That they were killing for their God

Now the angel heard God speak many times
And he had always paid attention
But this killing of ones neighbor
Was something the Lord had never mentioned

But as he neared the earth
Of a recent battleground
From among the ruins
He once more heard the sound

It was a single cello playing
A forgotten Christmas song
And even on the battlefields
The song somehow belonged

And as he flew away
The angel did take note
That where he found this music played
One always could find hope

As he flew over the countryside
He was still listening
When from a little church below
He heard a voice begin to sing

Then he reached for the song
And he held it in his hand
(It was something that he did
Because angels can)

And he wondered to himself
"Is this the answer that I sought"
But something was still missing
Or at least so he still thought

And so he journeyed on
Through the midnight winter air
When all at once our angel
Felt the touch of a man's prayer

And looking once more toward the earth
To determine whence it came
He felt a million souls below
But one was not the same

For here he saw a man alone
Though he was walking in a crowd
And though this man had rarely prayed
Tonight his head was bowed

For even in a crowd, you see
A heart can feel alone
When the night is Christmas Eve
And a child is not home

So from a father to the Lord
A prayer did swiftly race
But the angel saw it first
And he listened to its case

After he heard the prayer
The angel swiftly set it free
And followed it to the father's child
In a far away city

And there the girl in desperation
Was searching through the sky
For a star that she could wish upon
But stars were in short supply

And the only light that she could see
There shining all alone
Was a neon sign on an old bar
And so on this, she wished she was home

Every light can be a star
Just depends on where you are
And the distance that you're looking
Past the places you have been

In an old city bar
That is never too far
From the places that gather
The dreams that have been

In the safety of night
With its old neon light
It beckons to strangers
And they always come in

And the snow it was falling
The neon was calling
The music was low
And the night
Christmas Eve

And here was the danger
That even with strangers
Inside of this night
It's easier to believe

Then the door opened wide
And a child came inside
That no one in the bar
Had seen there before

And he asked did we know
That outside in the snow
That someone was lost
Standing outside our door

The bartender gazed
Through the smoke and the haze

Through the window and ice
To a corner street light

Where standing alone
By a broken payphone
Was a girl the child said
Could no longer get home

And the snow it was falling
The neon was calling
The bartender turned
And said , not that I care
But how would you know this?
The child said I've noticed
If one could be home
They'd be all ready there

Then the bartender came out from behind the bar
And in all of his life he was never that far
And he did something else that he thought no one saw
When he took all the cash from the register draw

Then he followed the child to the girl cross the street
And we watched from the bar as they started to speak
Then he called for a cab and he said J.F.K.
Put the girl in the cab and the cab drove away
And we saw in his hand
That the cash was all gone
From the light that she had wished upon

If you want to arrange it
This world you can change it
If we could somehow make this
Christmas thing last

By helping a neighbor
Or even a stranger

And to know who needs help
You need only just ask

Then he looked for the child
But the child wasn't there
Just the wind and the snow
Waltzing dreams through the air

So he walked back inside
Somehow different I think
For the rest of the night
No one paid for a drink

And the cynics will say
That some neighborhood kid
Wandered in on some bums
In the world where they hid

But they weren't there
So they couldn't see
By an old neon star
On that, night, Christmas Eve

When the snow it was falling
The neon was calling
And in case you should wonder
In case you should care

Why we're on our own
Never went home
On that night of all nights
We were already there

Then all at once inside that night
He saw it all so clear
The answer that he sought so long
Had always been so near

It's every gift that someone gives
Expecting nothing back
It's every kindness that we do
Each simple little act

And so it's good that we remember
Just as soon as we're discovered
That the things we do in life
Will always end up touching others

So from a fading neon star
Somewhere shining in the night
We find a father far away
Now reflecting in its light

So the girl had reached her home
And the bar was closing down
As the angel started back
To bring his lord what he had found

An angel returned
That night through the sky
But time it was short
He had to decide

And so as he flew
Back over the land
A gift for his Lord
Was there in his hand

It was the glow of a light
It was the heart of a song
It was the tear of a child
Where they never belonged
It was the wish of a soul
On an old neon light
And the Lord smiled at him
On that cold winter night

And so with his story over
And our bottle nearly through
I asked, did this really happen?
He swore every word was true

Then he said I see you're puzzled
For your mind tells you to doubt me
That my story can't be true
But your heart tells you, it might be

He then asked, did it entertain me
And I admitted it had charm
Then he said perhaps you have learned something
Or at worst I've done no harm

Then he rose up from his chair
And he said it's time that he should leave
But may God keep and protect you
This and every Christmas Eve

Then he left through the front door
And I ran out to ask him back
But he was already gone
And stranger still he left no tracks

So I walked back to my home
Recalling all I've heard and seen
And for the first time since my childhood
That night I dreamed a Christmas dream

Merry Christmas!

Sorry that was so long. And no, I didn't write it. I wish I did. One of my favorite stories ever. Not even a poem, though. It's from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Christmas Eve & Other Stories" album. Just figured you'd never heard the album, or you never actually listened to the lyrics. Hope you enjoy it this Christmas.

And for those who couldn't figure it out, the three colors represent the three points of view. Black the bar patron & old man sharing the bottle. Dark blue is the story from the angel's POV. And light blue was the story from a different point of view, a point of view from a patron at the very bar that the old man & the story-teller were sitting sharing a bottle.

A Giant Rant

After the nailbiting OT win against the Eagles today, I gotta get some things off my chest about this edition of the New York football Giants.

To everyone criticizing them for their poor road record, and their poor play of late, and all that stuff, get off their back. This is a 9-4 team in contention for a first round bye. You don't get there unless you're good.

And to everyone hailing this team as one of the best in the NFC, and the Colts potential opponent in February's Super Bowl, calm down. This team isn't very good, and is only in year 2 of a rebuilding phase.

Does that make any sense? Yea, I didn't think so.

Now you see where I stand on these Giants. One day I'll look at them and say, "hmmm, they're 9-4, lost in OT twice & on the last play of regulation once. Wow, this team could realistically be 12-1 right now." And it's true, they could be. The offense was clicking in that Dallas loss, and if they had won the coin toss in OT, I have no doubt in my mind that they'd have driven the field and won the game. In the Minnesota game, the D holds Minnesota to 125 yards in the first 59 minutes. The Giants drive the field and tie the game up at 21 with 55 seconds left. (for those asking how a team has 125 yards and 21 points, its simple: kick return TD, punt return TD, int return TD... freaky, right?) So after the Giants tie it, what does the D do? Allows Minnesota to drive the field in 50 seconds to kick the winning FG. And then there's the Seattle disaster. No need to go into that.

So seriously, is it such a stretch to say this team could be 12-1, and might just be the best team in the NFC? No, not at all. Maybe all three of those games wouldn't have gone the Giants way, but if either the Cowboys or Seahawks game did, the NFC race would be very different right now.

But then I look at the other aspect. This is a team that was 4-12 two years ago. Ernie Accorsi, the GM, then stripped the team of everything, from QB to coach, and started from scratch. Last year, they went 6-10, and added more key pieces. But they went into the season with a QB who had only started 7 games- and won one. There aren't many people who thought 9 wins was possible for the entire season, forget in the first 13 games. Hell, myself I wanted an 8-8 season this year.

Then the Eagles fall apart, the Giants put together a few key wins, and bam, they're 9-4 and can potentially clinch the NFC East next weekend.

That doesn't mean this isn't year 2 of a rebuilding phase, though. Anyone who has watched the Giants all year long knows that the offense, while one of the highest scoring in the leagues, is one of the most inconsitant, mainly because of the QB play. On some drives, Eli Manning looks like the second coming of John Elway. He scrambles, he makes insane passes, he leads the team down the field in 70 seconds with no timeouts, down by 8, and gets the two point conversion (done that twice this year). But, on other drives, he looks like a kid who has only played 20 NFL games. He is only completing around 50% of his passes on the year. Has thrown 11 INTs in the last 5 games. Makes poor decisions time & time again.

And the D gets its fair share of blame as well. Statistically the unit ranks TOp 10 in the NFL, but that's mainly because of a 3 week stretch against the Skins-9ers-Vikings, not exactly 3 great Os, in which it gave up 9 points & 400 yards-- total. With the game on the line, and the team needing a stop, this unit fails more times than not. OT against Dallas. End of the game against Minnesota. Last 80 seconds of the game against the Eagles today.

This is a team that is very much still finding its identity. It's still growing. The pieces are all falling in place for this to be a very good team for years to come.

It's just this wasn't the year it was supposed to start. It's currently ahead of schedule. 9 wins right now, and some of the things we've seen from certain players, this season is already a huge success for me. So don't get ahead of yourself when you start predicting this team to go into Seattle in the NFC Championship and win the game. That won't happen this year. This team is still a year away from being a serious championship contender.

But don't call them bad either. Because when that happens, they go into a place like Seattle and completely manhandle the "best team in the NFC" for 71 minutes of football, and look like the class of the league in the process.

9-7? 12-4? Who knows. Just enjoy the ride. The future is bright. So is right now.

Thursday Stuff

Make sure you sign up for thesharkey.com Bowl Challenge. We need more people. At least tell me if you're interested and just waiting for a good time to make your picks, so I know there are people interested (or reading this site).

"My baby takes the morning train, he works from nine 'til five and then..."

I'm beginning to get into super-excited mode concerning the 2006 World Cup. The 2002 World Cup was the first I really truly followed, and it was great. I was up at 3, 4, 5am every few days to watch the US games, and my buddy Logan & I even spent an entire morning at a bagel shop watching their quarterfinal loss to Germany (this year's host).

Of course, we were 19 then. So bagel shops were the only places we really could go. Now... 23. God, I'm old. But that also means I'll be at a pub for every single US soccer match in this years World Cup. And God am I excited. Since it's in Germany, games won't be starting at 2am-6am this time around. There may actually be a game or two that starts around noon-time. More than likely, they'll be in the early morning hours, but it's never too early to start drinking, I say.

Tomorrow is the grouping announcement. 3pm on ESPN. Make sure you're watching. I know I'll be. One word for you. Togu! Togu! Togu! Since one of Italy, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, or Spain is likely to be in the US's group, we need a weak team like Togu in our group. As for the 4th team in the group? Just pray it's not the Dutch or the Czechs. If it is, US may not make the second round.

God I love the World Cup!

"People say I'm lazy dreaming my life away..."

Sent in my resume to the Philadelphia Phillies today and am going for a couple of different positions. Not really likely to get any of them, but it's worth a shot. None of them have anything to do with the culinary world, or anything restaurant. And I gotta tell you, I'm stoked. God how I'd love to get into the sports world, even if it's just as a statboy. Tomorrow (or sometime this weekend), the Yankees & Mets, two other easily accessible teams, get to hear from me.


"There are places I'll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends, I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all..."

25 years ago today John Lennon was murdered. I can't sit here and give you the "wow I can't believe it's that long, seems like only yesterday" speech, because simply put, I was born nearly two years after this happened.

Just the same, that doesn't mean this day doesn't mean something to me. Growing up, my father was a huge music buff. For the longest time he tried to get me to like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Allman Brothers and a handful of other bands that were a huge part of his life. I wanted no part of it. Give me Kris Kross or Tom Cochrane.

Then, one day in 7th or 8th grade, I don't remember when, this girl who I had a huge crush on started talking to me about some new Pearl Jam song. She's like "I know you're a Zep fan, doesn't this song sound like 'Going to California?'" Of course, I wanted to impress her, so I said "Oh totally." That day, I went home and dug Zeppelin IV out of my stepfathers collection to listen to the song. GREAT SONG. Listened to the rest of the CD. Loved it. From that day on, I listened to any musical recommendations my father gave me, and thus became the huge music fan I am today.

And in the 10-11 or so years since that happened, the one musician who has stood above all the rest for me has been John Lennon. I'm not sure what it is, but there was just something special about this man. He was it. That's really all there is to say.

So today we honor his life, and wonder how different the world could have been if he hadn't have been murdered on that cold Monday night.

Imagine that.

The Sharkey's College Bowl Challenge

This is the first of what is to be 6 annual thesharkey.com challenges. These challenges are basically just another way to make sport postseasons more exciting.

Everybody does the college basketball brackets. This is taking them to the next level. Why do you only get that excitement for one of the 6 major sports? Why can't you get it in all 6? Now you can.

Here's what happens. All 28 bowls are given a "value" between 1 and 10. Anyone who is interested picks the winner of each bowl game. If you get it right, you get however many points is alloted to that bowl.

Before anyone goes and complains about why this bowl gets this many points, etc., know this, the point values were determined a few weeks ago, before any bowl games had any schools committed to them.

There are six groups of bowls with four teams in each group. These groups get 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 points assigned to them. A seventh group, the Orange, Sugar & Fiesta Bowls, get 8 points assigned to them. And the last bowl, the Rose Bowl, gets 10 points.

After the Rose Bowl is over, whoever has the most points is the winner, and gets bragging rights until next December.

If you want in, the deadline is by the morning of Saturday, December 17th. Either get me all 28 winners of yours before then, or send them to me all now. Whenever you'd like. You can just IM them to me: Shark675. Feel free to IM me as many times as you want between now & then and change some of your picks. Once I have everyones picks I will post them all on here, so if you want you can keep track yourself, or at least see what you're up against.

Good luck. You'll probably need it, because there is no way I'm not winning this sucker.

Here's the lineup:

1-point Bowl Games:
New Orleans Bowl, December 20th
Southern Miss vs Arkansas State
GMAC Bowl, December 21st
UTEP vs Toledo
Las Vegas Bowl, December 22nd
BYU vs California
Poinsettia Bowl, December 22nd
Colorado State vs Navy

2-points Bowl Games:
Forth Worth Bowl, December 23rd
Kansas vs Houston
Hawaii Bowl, December 24th
Nevada vs UCF
Motor City Bowl, December 26th
Memphis vs Akron
Champ Sports Bowl, December 27th
Clemson vs Colorado

3-points Bowl Games:
Insight Bowl, December 27th
Arizona State vs Rutgers
MPC Computers Bowl, December 28th
Boise State vs Boston College
Alamo Bowl, December 28th
Michigan vs Nebraska
Emerald Bowl, December 29th
Georgia Tech vs Utah

4-points Bowl Games:
Holiday Bowl, December 29th
Oregon vs Oklahoma
Music City Bowl, December 30th
Minnesota vs Virginia
Sun Bowl, December 30th
Northwestern vs UCLA
Independence Bowl, December 30th
South Carolina vs Missouri

5-points Bowl Games:
Peach Bowl, December 30th
Miami vs LSU
Meineke Car Care Bowl, December 31st
South Florida vs N.C. State
Liberty Bowl, December 31st
Tulsa vs Fresno State
Houston Bowl, December 31st
TCU vs Iowa State

6-points Bowl Games:
Cotton Bowl, January 2nd
Texas Tech vs Alabama
Outback Bowl, January 2nd
Iowa vs Florida
Gator Bowl, January 2nd
Louisville vs Virginia Tech
Capital One Bowl, January 2nd
Wisconsin vs Auburn

8-points Bowl Games:
Fiesta Bowl, January 2nd
Notre Dame vs Ohio State
Sugar Bowl, January 2nd
Georgia vs West Virginia
Orange Bowl, January 3rd
Florida State vs Penn State

10-point Bowl Game:
Rose Bowl, January 4th
Texas vs USC

138 points is highest possible score. Good luck!

And quickly, here's this weeks SCS Top 15:

1. USC 12-0 120 (lw: 1)
2. Texas 12-0 112 (lw: 2)
3. Penn State 10-1 104 (lw: 3)
4. Notre Dame 9-2 94 (lw: 6)
5. Ohio State 9-2 87 (lw: 7)
6. Georgia 10-2 75 (lw: 11)
7. Oregon 10-1 69 (lw: 8)
8. Miami 9-2 61 (lw: 9)
9. Auburn 9-2 60 (lw: 10)
10. West Virginia 10-1 52 (lw: 12)
11. Virginia Tech 10-2 45 (lw: 5)
12. LSU 10-2 33 (lw: 4)
13. TCU 10-1 17 (lw: 14)
14. Louisville 9-2 14 (lw: unr)
15. Alabama 9-2 8 (lw: 15)

Dropped out: UCLA
Others receiving votes: Florida State (6), UCLA (3)