Mattie http://virb.com/mattplanet onematt.com. It's all pretty common for this part of the world, and this is where you are...and that's who I am. Nutshell that!]]> Virb 2.0 (@mattplanet) en Separation Saturday http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/919335 Let's lay down the law as it relates to the Week 11 picks in college football.]]> Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:33:53 -0800 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/919335 Perspective http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/913302 The 2008 Presidential Election is now (pretty much) over.]]> Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:32:08 -0800 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/913302 Time for the Cocktail Party http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/900367 Time for my picks for the week that is in college football...let's get right to it.

Virginia 34, Miami (FL) 21
Illinois 28, Iowa 21
Boston College 31, Clemson 17
Minnesota 23, Northwestern 14
Michigan State 33, Wisconsin 10
West Virginia 44, Connecticut 21
Oklahoma 55, Nebraska 17
Wake Forest 14, Duke 10
Notre Dame 26, Pittsburgh 19
South Carolina 17, Tennessee 9
Kansas 38, Kansas State 31
California 24, Oregon 20
Florida State 24, Georgia Tech 17
Alabama 41, Arkansas State 10

And now for the two big games of the week...my breakdowns...

Texas vs. Texas Tech
This game has Texas-sized shootout written all over it.]]> Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:55:26 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/900367 What Divides Us http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/896453 (a.k.a. I'll be damn glad when the election is over...)

8 Days.]]> Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:47:38 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/896453 A slap in the face http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/859622 Christy and I watched the Vice Presidential debate last night on ABC.]]> Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:00:46 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/859622 What I Believe http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/852096 I believe that everyone in this country has the right to have whatever political affiliation you feel closest represents your ideals and no matter what your political stance, you are still 100% American.

I believe that freedom is the second most precious thing in the world.]]> Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:09:36 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/852096 Two times the charm http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/852095 As you can see, onemattDOTcom has gone Pink for October.]]> Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:09:35 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/852095 A funeral indeed http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/849744 I haven't used this blog as a forum for spouting off about sports in a long time. So as my good friend Kenny Wilcutt says, I'm due.

I witnessed the Funeral in Athens last night as Alabama dismantled the preseason #1-ranked (and #3 currently) Georgia Bulldogs. As Pat Forde of ESPN puts it...Alabama deliver last rites to Georgia.

Many of you that know me know that I'm a HUGE Alabama fan, but I do not consider myself one of those obnoxious Alabama fans. You know the ones that scream ROLL TIDE! and cheer for anybody that's playing Auburn. I have many friends who are Auburn fans and I respect their allegiance as much as I hope they respect mine.

After last year's 7-6 season, with the talent we had coming in with our freshman class, I felt like maybe we could begin to turn it around. But our schedule didn't look like we could make too much improvement over that 7-6 record this year. A neutral site game against then #9 Clemson, followed up by two straight SEC road openers, at Fayetteville and at Athens.

Follow that up with trips to Tennessee and to Baton Rouge, and you can see why I might be a little hesitant to claim (as Sports Illustrated did again) 'Bama's back!

After witnessing the beatdown the Tide put on Georgia in Athens last night...I have no more reason to say anything other than this...WE ARE BACK. Here are some stats to throw at you (if you're into that kind of thing).

Alabama's never trailed in any game this year...ever. They've outscored their opponents 74-0 in the first quarter this year. In their two SEC road games so far this year, they've scored 90 total points. John Parker Wilson has become Alabama's all-time leader in yards, touchdowns and pass completions this year. And they are 5-0 for the first time in I don't know when. And they're doing all this while playing at least 15 freshman and having only 9 scholarship seniors on the team.

In other words...this Alabama team isn't going to get worse...they're going to get better.

Last night's half of football where Alabama jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead was quite possibly the best half of football I've ever seen an Alabama team play. The best half of football I've seen any college football team play. And don't let the score fool you...even though Alabama won 41-30, that is not indicative of the absolute beatdown that took place.

What will be the result? With three of the top four teams losing this weekend (USC, Florida and Georgia), you can expect Alabama to reach at least the top 3, maybe even #1 or #2. Sure, sounds crazy, doesn't it?

At this point, you might even get me to buy into the "We can win a National Championship this year!" talk, but the problem with that isn't how Alabama plays...it's how the BCS is set up, so we might not get to see it even if we can continue to win.

But there's no doubt that Alabama has made tremendous strides as a football program. So 'Bama fans...hang on tight. It's about to get interesting.

So this is what having a great coach feels like...

]]> Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:56:10 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/849744 Barack Obama visits Jed Bartlet http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/849743 This is an op-ed piece that was done by Maureen Dowd of the New York Times.]]> Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:56:09 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/849743 Let me be clear http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/810757 I was re-reading my post regarding the Republicans in November today, and it occurs to me that I might've come across as somewhat bitter myself.]]> Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:39:49 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/810757 Why the Republicans will lose in November http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/808171 I watch about an hour of the Republican National Convention last night.]]> Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:25:34 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/808171 Beachapalooza in full swing! http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/797843 What's up people!]]> Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:16:39 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/797843 Second article posted at MMORPG.com http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/796025 Hey guys -

Just a quick note to all that my 2nd article as been posted at MMORPG.com, which covers the housing in LOTRO!]]> Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:39:17 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/796025 The longest three days of my life http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/789114 Starting tomorrow @ 8am will begin the longest three days of my life.]]> Mon, 25 Aug 2008 03:54:00 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/789114 Congratulations Katie and Hani! http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/780855 Christy and I both would like to send our congratulations to our good friends, Katie and Hani, on the birth of their first born, a son, Lucas John!]]> Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:06:46 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/780855 My LOTRO character biography http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/780854 I took some time recently to write up a short biography for my character within the game I play, which is LOTRO (The Lord of the Rings Online).]]> Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:06:46 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/780854 A new link for your viewing pleasure http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/765422 It's Monday, and a good Monday to all!

I recently added a new link to the list and I wanted to give it some personal attention.]]> Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:31:30 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/765422 Skip Caray - RIP http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/754916 I was probably 7 or 8 years old when I first heard Skip Caray's voice through my TV.]]> Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:01:55 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/754916 Oh, I can't believe I forgot to mention this! http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/747478 Many of you know I'm a big MMO gamer...I have spent many hours over the past 16 months playing a game called the Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO for short).]]> Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:24:02 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/747478 New paint on the walls http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/746487 As many of you will see now, I've gone ahead and changed up the theme of onemattDOTcom to something new. This one is a bit easier for me to edit, as the YP-Mag theme I was using was just too buggy with Wordpress 2.6.

So I hope you like the new digs and if you have any problems with this one, please let me know!

FYI - If you know of a cool Wordpress design I haven't got downloaded (I have over 100 saved) let me know.]]> Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:30:05 -0700 http://virb.com/mattplanet/posts/text/746487