WARNING: Reading the Chode Picks may result in increased intelligence, superhuman strength and agility, tiger blood, fire-breathing fists, severe intoxication, gratuitous violence, female sexual arousal, and winning. Read at your own risk.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Chode Picks – Week 14


It’s my fault.  Friends, family and Badger nation, I’m truly sorry.  The Wisconsin Badgers will not be playing in a BCS bowl game for the first time in four years, and the blame falls squarely on my broad, muscular shoulders.  I have failed this city.  So go ahead and block me on Facebook, unfollow me on Twitter (just kidding, I have no Twitter followers), and deny that you ever knew me.  The less-informed Badger fan may put the blame on Joel Stave, thrower of three interceptions, or the suddenly porous defense, which was torn to shreds by the arm of Christian Hackenberg.  But you, esteemed reader, know better.  You know that Wisconsin’s Rose Bowl aspirations died the moment that I guaranteed a victory over Penn State last Saturday.  So I mean this from the bottom of my heart: my bad.

In case you couldn’t tell, the entire paragraph above was satirical.  I’ll say this once more: I DO NOT HAVE THE POWER TO JINX COLLEGIATE OR PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAMS.  I wish I did, because then I could ensure the Bears never make the playoffs ever again (luckily, they’re taking care of it on their own this year).  Now with that said, let me go ahead and jinx the other high-profile sports team at UW.

MARQUETTE WARRIORS (5-3) at #8 WISCONSIN BADGERS (9-0)

I’m watching the game as I dictate to the nine-year old Hatian boy that I pay thirty cents an hour to type up the Chode Picks, and I must say I was completely wrong about this team.  They have the combination of shooting, size, defense and depth that could take them to the Final Four in March.  Also, we’re more than halfway to my predicted 16-0 start behind the fearsome frontcourt of Sam Dekker and Frank the Tank.  We even got a rare Evan Anderson sighting today.  He airballed a three-pointer.  Of course.  Just one small quibble that I’ve mentioned before: Ben Brust, you should not be shooting from three feet behind the arc.  Take a step forward.  We have too many scoring options to waste a possession with a thirty-foot prayer early in the shot clock.  If Dekker doesn’t bolt for the NBA after the season, this team could be real good for a long time. 

WISCONSIN by 6

One more note on the Wisconsin basketball team before we move on.  We suffered a loss today when point guard George Marshall decided to leave the team and transfer.  This is disappointing to me not just as a fan, but also on a personal level because George is one of the few UW athletes that I actually enjoy hanging out with.  The guy is a class act, and college sports need more men like him.  So farewell George, and I hope you become a star at whichever school is lucky enough to land you.  I hope you catch on with a professional team someday.  I love Bo Ryan for what he’s done for our program, but I really wish he had given George the chance to succeed instead of burying him on the depth chart.  God bless you, George.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: WISCONSIN BADGERS (6-2) at MARQUETTE WARRIORS (6-2)

Just kidding.  I’m not actually going to write about women’s college basketball.  But apparently we won today, giving us a sweep over our less-educated friends to the east for the first time in God knows when. 

WISCONSIN by 2

And in case you’re wondering why I’ve spent so much time on Marquette basketball today, just know that I grew up rooting for them instead of the Badgers.  In fact, as a child I used to sleep in a Marquette Warriors t-shirt.  I would blame my parents, but it resulted in me being a Heat fan today, so I can’t complain.  Also, I’m pretty sure my dad now resents the fact that I root for Miami.  Sorry Steve Quilling, but you did this to yourself.  I can never thank you enough.

ATLANTA FALCONS (3-9) at GREEN BAY PACKERS (5-6-1)

Aaron Rodgers has been ruled out of this game already.  In a related story, Atlanta is going to pick up their 4th win of the season and the Packers are going to miss the playoffs in 2013.  Fine.  You know what?  Our defense sucks anyways.  Might as well keep Aaron on the sidelines, let Scotty Tolzein and Matt Flynn take turns throwing interceptions, and free-fall into a top 10 draft pick.  Is there a chance Jadeveon Clowney could end up in Green Bay?  Well no, unless a well-meaning Packer fan/owner travels to South Carolina and plants drugs in his car.  Speaking of Clowney, it now looks very possible that the Badgers will be facing off against the Gamecocks in the Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day.  So there’s a chance that Jadeveon could save both Wisconsin football teams if he tears one of Stave’s arms off and Bart Houston or D.J. Gillins starts at quarterback next season.  Damn it Joel, WHY CAN’T YOU JUST BE LIKE RUSSELL WILSON AND NEVER THROW INTERCEPTIONS OR GET SACKED??  But naturally, now that I’ve laid-out the Packers’ grand tanking strategy, they’ll find a way to win this game and fuck it all up.

GREEN BAY by 3

As long as we’re tempting fate here, might as well push it to the limit and test the powers of my newfound power.  So here’s a couple of sure-fire, iron-clad promises to the world:

The Seahawks will win the Super Bowl and Wilson will be named Super Bowl MVP.  GUARANTEED.
The Miami Heat will win their third NBA title in a row.  GUARANTEED.

Also, I’m embarrassed it took me so long, but I finally figured out what’s going on with Derrick Rose: it’s karma for the Bears breaking Aaron’s collarbone and killing our season.  More proof that God is a Packer fan.  And a Heat fan.  And a Yankee fan.

By the way, I’d like to wish you all a belated Happy Thanksgiving as I sit here and drink my leftover turkey.  Yes, drink.  Wild Turkey, that is.  And not just any Wild Turkey, but Wild Turkey American Honey, nectar of the gods and the official whiskey of the Chode Picks.  Go out and get yourself a bottle today.  Then pour it over ice, sip and look classy as hell while you drink away the painful memory of the most recent Packer loss. 

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: #2 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (12-0) vs #10 MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (11-1)

(Editor’s note: I wrote this part on Saturday afternoon, before the game was played.  I’m leaving it as is for two reasons.  First, it’s more proof of my ability to sabotage sports teams via Chode Picks.  Second, it’s hilarious in retrospect.)

So Mark Dantonio thinks Michigan State should be in the conversation for the BCS title game if they beat Ohio State.  That’s cute.  And also completely irrelevant, because Urban Meyer’s crew is going to kick the living Chicago out of the Spartans.  Yes, I just used “Chicago” as a pseudonym for “shit”.  But anyways, there is only one way this game ends: with Brutus the Buckeye raping the steroid-fueled Spartan mascot and the Ohio State Buckeyes crushing all resistance on the way to their first BCS championship in over a decade.  It’s finally time for the Big Ten to break through the SEC blockade of national championships, and this team is going to be the one to do it.  So I call on you all to join me on rooting for Braxton Miller and company to crush Rapeis Winston and his Florida State brothers in the national championship game.  O-H-I-O!

OHIO STATE by 14

JAMEIS WINSTON (12-0) vs JOHN HEISMAN MEMORIAL TROPHY (INFINITY-0)

Fun fact about this trophy: John William Heisman played center for Buchtel College in the 1800s, which would make him ineligible for his own award in 2013.  He also invented the shotgun snap that is now used by every collegiate and professional football team in the world.  Later on in his career as a coach, he led Clemson to their first national championship, cementing himself as one of the greatest men to ever take the field.  He also coached their baseball and track teams, and once defeated the Cumberland College Bulldogs in football by a score of 220-0.  No, that’s not a typo.  Two hundred and twenty to zero.  A score that would make Bret Bielema shoot a load in his oversized khakis.  And that, my friends, is why the trophy is named after him.  But there’s one thing Heisman never did in his illustrious career: sexual assault.  And that brings me to the sole reason that Jameis Winston should not win the most prestigious award in all of college sports: he took advantage of a super-drunk girl and got away with it because he happens to be the best football player in the country.  You know, I actually want the Vikings or Bears to draft Jameis in 2015 just because it means I get to root against him for the rest of his career.  End rant.

NOOOO… MEANS… NOOOO

(tomahawk chop)

NOOOO… MEANS… NOOOO

Ugh.  Geaux Tigers.

JAMEIS WINSTON by non-consensual 69

NEW YORK YANKEES (29-13) vs REST OF THE MLB (13-29)

Welcome to the dark side, Jacoby Ellsbury.  Congratulations on your new contract.  Go ahead and introduce yourself to your new teammates, along with the New England Patriots and Miami Heat.  You’ll want to make friends with LeBron and Jeter, but don’t let Tom Brady or Dwyane Wade get near your wife.  We’ll need to check your ring size before October.  And get used to the boos.  By the way, 29-13 is the Yankees’ World Series record.  Let’s get number thirty in 2014.

I’m sorry, but I can’t help it.  I like rooting for the evil teams.  A-Rod is only guilty of being a true competitor.  Also, one of my ethics professors (Norm Fost, MD, MPH) told me that performance-enhancing drugs are okay.  That ought to give you an idea of how flawed the power structure is at UW Health. 

NEW YORK in seven.

Chode Points update: nobody challenged me in basketball or Mario Kart, so those points remain unclaimed.  However, Ben King took me on in Super Smash Brothers and was defeated by Fox McCloud’s aerial assault 10-7.  I am truly disappointed in the rest of you Madison folk for not taking me on.  But to reiterate, these challenges stand for the rest of the season.  And yes, I will be home for Christmas, so those of you in Menomonie can take me on.

BEAT ME IN ONE-ON-ONE BASKETBALL: 30 Chode Points
BEAT ME IN MARIO KART: 40 Chode Points
BEAT ME IN SUPER SMASH BROS: 50 Chode Points

However, Nate Mocadlo wins the NovemBeer competition with a rough estimate of 250 beers, crushing my mark of a mere 127.  Well played, Nate.  Also, Dan Jensen wins 10 points for correctly figuring out that the name “Seadderall Seahawks” came from Bill Simmons (sorry, Sam.  You’re still in first) That leaves the standing as follows:

Sam MacDonald: 50 pts
Dan Jensen: 35 pts
Nate Mocadlo and Zach Niemayer: 30 pts
Ben King: 20 pts
Megan, Andy, Nick, Eric, Dustin and Bianca: 10 pts

Come on guys, get your shit together.  We can’t let Sam win this easily, especially when he’s living in Minneapolis.  Also, I think this is a good time to point out that two of my current roommates read the Chode Picks, and neither of them have challenged me in basketball, Mario Kart or Smash yet.  You’re allowed to try me once a day fellas, and we have a Nintendo 64 set up in the living room.  Be brave.

This week’s challenge is simple: predict how many points Frank Kaminsky (my new favorite UW basketball player now that George is leaving) scores on Wednesday against UW-Milwaukee.  Closest guess gets 15 points. Also, one million Chode Points to whoever can bring me the following items: one can of helium, 41 scrambled eggs and a kangaroo.  Don’t ask why.

Welp, I’m at five pages now, so I think it’s time to call it quits.  Happy December to you all.  Stay indoors, it’s cold as hell out there.


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