Week 17 NFL Play of the Day: Detroit Lions

The line on this game is moving and I'm not sure how much more it will move.

The Packers went from favorites to home dog when word crept out that they will rest most of their important players.  I don't expect to see Aaron Rodgers or anyone else who is nicked up or questionable.

The Pack may play this like a glorified exhibition game and with the current line of Green Bay getting 4.5, I'd stay with the Lions.

Nothing is on the line for the Packers here and the Lions want to make sure they go intothe playoffs on a roll.

Take the Lions.

The World Famous Possum Drop

There's still time to hoof it on down to Tallapoosa, GA and the annual Possum Drop.

You've seen the ball drop, the peach drop and vaious other "drops", but chances are you haven't seen the Possum Drop.

If you can get to Tallapoosa, you can watch it all on a Ustream feed this year.

The link and all the info is on..

http://www.thepossumdrop.com/

Happy New Year!  Everyone.

New Year's Eve College Bowl Play of the Day: Liberty Bowl

I love Vandy giving just 2.5 in the 2011 Liberty Bowl.

Vandy has been in every game this year with the exception of against Alabama.  Their 6-6 record should be better but I expect them to show well against a Cincinnati team that is prone to giving up points in bunches.

Look for a quick start from Vandy and then they will close it out, winning by 10.

Take Vandy and give the points.  Happy New Year's Eve!

College Football Bowl Play of the Day: Pinstripe Bowl

Where else would a bowl game between Iowa State and Rutgers be played other than Yankee Stadium in New York?

It's the Pinstripe Bowl and on paper it looks like a good game.

Rutgers comes into the game 8-4 and Iowa St. 6-6, so you might think Rutgers would be an overwhelming favorite.  Not the case.  The Cyclones have played one of the toughest schedules in the country and have logged wins over the likes of Iowa and Oklahoma State.

Rutgers has beaten South Florida and Cincinnati, but they might not have the offense to stay with ISU. 

The game is a "Pick" or Iowa State is getting 1 point, which means it's a pick.  Take Iowa State as they will win by a TD.

Go Cyclones!

New Island Appears in Red Sea

A mysterious new island has appeared in the Red Sea.

The island was created by an eruption that occurred in the Red Sea earlier this month. It is made of loose volcanic debris from the eruption, so it may not stick around long.

According to news reports, fishermen witnessed lava fountains and spouts reaching up to 90 feet tall on Dec. 19, which is probably the day the eruption began, said Erik Klemetti, a volcanologist at Denison University in Granville, Ohio.

This "before" picture from Oct. 24, 2007, shows an area of the Red Sea with open water where the new island now sits.

Ash plumes were seen emanating from the spot Dec. 20 and Dec. 22 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument on NASA's Aura satellite detected elevated levels of sulfur dioxide, further indicating an eruption. By Dec. 23, what looked like a new island had appeared in the Red Sea off the west coast of Yemen.

"I am surprised about how quickly the island has grown," Klemetti, who writes Wired's Eruptions Blog, told OurAmazingPlanet.

The volcanic activity occurred along the Zubair Group, a collection of small islands that run in a roughly northwest-southeast line. The islands rise from a shield volcano (a kind of volcano built from fluid lava flows) and poke above the sea surface.

Scientists will keep a close eye on the new island to see if it has staying power.

Newly emerging islands aren't unheard of. Other newly emerged islands include Surtsey off of Iceland, Anak Krakatau in the caldera of Krakatoa in Indonesia, and Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai in Tonga.