The Michigan Daily - SportsWednesday - January 5, - 5B ~e~acloa e dee a wo e- m~ tln te e Q Ie uet1 &O1ktgdg Bob Hunt is not a football player. Actually, he's not much of an athlete whatsoever. But he is a wannabe soccer hooligan who likes to go on road trips. As a football writer for The Michigan Daily, Bob will travel to each Michigan road game and chronicle his experiences. + There was really no more fitting place to end "On the Road" than in Los Angeles, where it takes you at least an hour to get anywhere because you have to sit in traffic. No matter what your opinion is of Los Angeles, one thing that no one can disagree with is that there is no place like J it. It's like you're in one gigantic theme park or something. Southern California (or at least Los Angeles and Orange County) should really be its own country. Then at least Arnold could be president! - On my first big night out, I was told to head to Prey, which a friend of mine heard was "the hot- ness on Thursday nights." I mean, Lindsey Lohan has been seen there, so it had to be trendy, right? What I was not told is that unless you are willing to buy two bottles of Cristal, plan on sitting in the line solely created to make the place look popular. The biggest celebrity seen outside there that night Bob faces off in a Bull Riding contest with a Texas student at Saddle Ranch in Hollywood. was Dodgers pitcher Brad Penny, who celebrated not being traded by showing off his World Series ring from two seasons ago. - After an hour in line at Prey, I headed to Saddle Ranch - a bar on the Hollywood Sun- set Strip, which, ironically, was the place to be for Michigan faithful. Upon seeing its mechani- cal bull, I knew that I had to challenge a Long- horn for bull-riding supremacy. A friend of mine and I went around the entire bar looking for an opponent, and we found Stephanie from Austin. I went first and got the surrounding crowd riled up as they started a chant of "The Victors." I was declared the winner, but, supposedly, had ani easier ride. But that's what you get for being the crowd favorite. - Everyone I met from Texas the entire trip could not have been nicer, enough to forget the 180-plus hate e-mails I have received from Aus- tin because of a column I wrote back in Decem- ber. But is it just me, or do Texas accents sound sweet and innocent on girls yet hickish on guys? Just asking. - I rang in my 2005 at Level 3, this club in the Kodak Theatre mall complex in Hollywood. I don't really care for clubbing, since it seems like you just burn a hole in your pocket between cover and drinks (and this is everywhere, not just L.A.) - not to mention the $20 spent to have me dance with a pole. - By far the most underrated thing in Los Angeles is its fast food. One must when visiting Los Angeles is In-N-Out Burger, which doesn't mess around with its simple menu and fresh ingredients. If there is a better quick food place in America, I haven't been there. But it makes me wonder, how does such a health conscious area have the best fast food? - Although I didn't like the idea of Texas play- ing in the Rose Bowl, Michigan and Texas made for one of the best college football games ever. The many students who decided not to make the trip missed out on the fun of the Texas football experience, which is unlike anything in the Big Ten. I'm not saying it's better, but it was great to see. While tradition was put aside, the experi- ence was for the ages. Bob Hunt would like to thank everyone who helped him make On the Road possible, and he wishes he could mention y'all. He can be reached at bobhunt@umich.edu. Bob dances his New Year's Eve away. STAFF PICKS Predictions against the spread for the bowl season New Orleans BowI: North Texas vs. Southern Miss. (-4.5) Champs Sports Bowl: Georgia Tech (-5) vs. Syracuse GMAC Bowl: Memphis vs. Bowling Green (-4.5) Fort Worth Bowl: Cincinnati (-1.5) vs. Marshall Las Vegas Bowl: Wyoming vs. UCLA (-12) Hawaii Bowl: UAB vs. Hawaii (-3) MPC Computers Bowl: Fresno State vs. Virginia (;55) Motor City Bowl: Toledo (-3) vs. Connecticut Independence Bowl: Iowa State vs. Miami (Ohio) (-3) Insight Bowl: Oregon State (-3.5) vs. Notre Dame Houston Bowl: Colorado (-3) vs. UTEP Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma State (-1.5) vs. Ohio State Continental Tire Bowl: North Carolina (-3) vs. Boston College Emerald Bowl: New Mexico (-2.5) vs. Navy Holiday Bowl: California (-11) vs. Texas Tech Silicon Valley Bowl: Northern Illinois (-1) vs. Troy Music City Bowl: Alabama (-3) vs. Minnesota Sun Bowl: Purdue (-7) vs. Arizona State Liberty Bowl: Louisville (-14) vs. Boise State Peach Bowl: Miami (-2.5) vs. Florida Outback Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Georgia (-7) Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M (-3) vs. Tennessee Gator Bowl: Florida State (-8) vs. West Virginia Capital One Bowl: LSU (-7) vs. Iowa Rose Bowl: Michigan vs. Texas (-6) Fiesta Bowl: Utah (-16.5) vs. Pittsburgh Sugar Bowl: Auburn (-6.5) vs, Virginia Tech Orange Bowl: Southern Cal (-3) vs. Oklahoma Best Bet Bowl record (best bet) Season record (best bet) Chris Burke Gennaro Filice Bob Hunt Sharadi Mattu Rose BonlI, footbail tan and North Dakota native North Texas: Georgia Tech Bowling Green Marshall Wyoming Hawaii Virginia Connecticut Miami (OH) Oregon State Colorado Oklahoma State Boston College New Mexico California Troy Minnesota Arizona State Louisville Miami Georgia Texas A&M Florida State Iowa Texas Pittsburgh Auburn Oklahoma Pittsburgh 13-15 (0-1) 104106-5 (8.6) Southern Miss. Georgia Tech Bowling Green Marshall UCLA UAB Virginia Toledo Miami (OH) Oregon State UTEP Oklahoma State Boston College Navy California Troy Alabama Arizona State Boise State Florida Georgia Texas A&M Florida State LSU Tex as Pittsburgh Auburn Southern Cal Georgia 10-18 (0-1) 101-105(7-7) Southern Miss. Georgia Tech Memphis Marshall UCLA Hawaii Virginia Toledo Iowa State Oregon State Colorado Ohio State Boston College Navy Texas Tech Northern Illinois Alabama Arizona State Louisville Miami Georgia Tennessee West Virginia Iowa Michigan Pittsburgh Auburn Southern Cal Hawaii 17-11(1-0) 1051055 (9-5) Southern Miss. Syracuse Bowling Green Marshall UCLA Hawaii Fresno State Toledo Miami (OH) Oregon State UTEP Ohio State North Carolina Navy Texas Tech Northern Illinois Alabama Purdue Louisville Florida Georgia Tennessee West Virginia Iowa Michigan Pittsburgh Virginia Tech Southern Cal Pittsburgh 14-14(0-1) North Texas Georgia Tech Memphis Cincinnati UCLA Hawaii Virginia Connecticut Miami (OH)' Notre Dame Colorado Oklahoma State Boston College Navy Texas Tech Northern Illinois Minnesota Purdue Boise State Miami Wisconsin Texas A&M Florida State LSU Texas Pittsburgh Virginia Tech Southern Cal UCLA 16-12(0-1) Michigan loses, but gives Mattu staffpicks title Michigan may have dropped the Rose Bowl (the game, not the woman making staff picks) in heartbreaking fashion, but the fact that the Wolverines stuck within striking distance of Texas was good enough to clinch a season title for Sharad Mattu. The staff picks outcome was still in doubt heading into that game after Georgia giftwrapped a touchdown for Wisconsin, allowing the Badgers to cover the spread - and costing all the Daily writers a win. Speaking of losing games, Gennaro Filice launched a furious assault on last place, dropping 27 out of 24 games on one streak. Making it worse was that his hometown Cal team got smoked by Texas Tech. Bob Hunt made a surpris- ing run, finishing in third after spending the major- ity of the season deep in last place. Hunt was ridi- culed all season for his less-than-stellar picking, but thundered ahead to sit atop both Chris Burke and Filice. He was also the only writer to get his best bet, Hawaii, and to pick Iowa State, whom he picked solely because his cousins go to school there. Just goes to show you how much picking games is luck anyway. 11496-5 (96) 113-95-5 (8.6) Shazor unclear on By Gennaro Flilce a similar dec Daily Sports Editor senior season "Make th PASADENA, Calif. - Following Michigan's 38- Make the dec 37 loss to Texas, redshirt junior strong safety Ernest "A guy lik Shazor talked about how it felt to walk off the field after been here fo' not being able to stop Texas on the game's final drive. tion. MaybeI "It's a part of the game," Shazor said. "It comes with for Ern." the territory. It's a bad feeling, but BRINGING TI you live to fight another day. We'll be struggled th back here." memory, itd Unbeknownst to Shazor, he'd just more defens backed himself into a question that Bowl's Defe has been buzzing around Ann Arbor highs with 1 for a few months. loss. "Will you be back here?" a writer quickly uttered. For mostc "I'm not sure right now," Shazor said. "I've just gotta defense, play going pro cision last year before coming back for his r, offered some advice to Ernest Shazor: & best decision for you and your family. cision that you won't regret. ke Ernest, his stock is high right now. He's iur years. You don't know his family situa- going to the NFL might be the best thing *HE WOOD: Although the Michigan defense rough one of its toughest games in recent did have at least one bright spot. Sopho- ive end LaMarr Woodley earned the Rose nsive Player of the Game, recording game 1 tackles (nine solo) and four tackles for of the year, Michigan has utilized a 3-4 ying Woodley at outside linebacker. But on .I . _...,.