All Eyes on Pakistan 

More Flack for Flyover 

The Voice Heard Round the World  

U.S. Taxes and Tea

Andrew G. Appleton

-Contact-

1308 Rosemary, Columbia, Missouri 65201

EMAIL apple2k@gmail.com = PHONE (479) 650-9624

EDUCATION ~ Anticipated Graduation Summer 2009

            University of Missouri, Walter Williams Journalism Institute

            Bachelors of Journalism

·      Major: Convergence Media

·      Concentration: Online Journalism

·      Minor: Political Science

International Studies                                                        Buenos Aires, Argentina

·      February – July 2008

·      IES – International Exchange Students

·      15 Credit Hours – Spanish Language and International Marketing and Government

·      Travel Including: Argentina, Chili, Paraguay, Brazil, and Bolivia

WORK EXPERIENCE

            Newsy.com                                                                                         Columbia, Missouri

·      August 2008 – Current

·      Associate Producer/Editor

·      Assistant to Executive Producer and Content Manager

·      Contact – George Schellenger (573) 999-9895

KFSM TV – CBS Affiliate                                                               Fort Smith, Arkansas

·      May 2005 – August 2005

·      Intern

·      Reported and Assisted in production of Noon and 5 p.m. News Cast

·      On Air Experience

·      Contact – Van Comer (479) 783-3131        

The Greek Telephone Directory                                                          Columbia, Missouri

·      May 2006 – August 2006

·      Independent Account Executive

·      Sales Experience

INDEPENDENT WORK EXPERIENCE                                                      Columbia, Missouri

            Private Business

·      May 2006 – Present

·      Provide Entertainment for crowds at local venues

COMPUTER PROFICIENCIES

            Apple: Final Cut Pro                        

Adobe: Photoshop

Microsoft: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, & Publisher

Additional References Available Upon Request

The Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi: USC vs. Penn St. 

This game features two teams that are traditional powers and both have a chance to argue for a piece of the national title should they win. And both teams only have themselves to blame for not getting in, if USC beats Oregon St. and Penn St. doesn’t slip up at Iowa these teams very well could be playing each other in the National Title. That isn’t the case and as winners of the Pac-10 and Big-10, respectively, USC and Penn St. will try to finish strong despite midseason disappointments. Both teams have great coaches in Pete Carroll and Joe Paterno, but JoePa is done. He has about as much to do with this football team as I do, and frankly Pete Carroll is too good. He is the best big game coach in college football and will show it by winning another Rose Bowl. Penn St. won’t be able to get their ‘Spread HD’ offense going against a USC defense that will go down as one of the All-Time Greats. If USCs offense shows up at all, this one won’t even be that close. USC 35-14

The FedEx Orange Bowl: Cincinnati v. Virginia Tech

This game is interesting to me because I really don’t know what to really think about either team. Both come out of the two weakest major conferences, and neither blew out the competition in those down leagues. I guess it is fitting that they play each other, and probably will end up being a really good game. Virginia Tech I tend to think has the better athletes, but that might not be the case this year. Cincy is fast across the board, especially on defense and are a well coached team. The same could be said about Virginia Tech, but it depends which V Tech team shows up. As always in a Hokie game, special teams will play a huge factor and if Cincinnati shows up with some big returns that could tip the scale in their favor. I think this will be a good, close game, maybe not that fun to watch though. A few big plays on offense by either team could win it. I’m going Cincy 24 – Virginia Tech 21

All-State Sugar Bowl: Alabama v. Utah

Whenever you have a match-up of an SEC team against a team from a non-BCS conference you have to like the SECs chances. Of course, you can point to Utah’s big wins this year against BCS teams, but they have never seen a team the size of Alabama. Even if they are able to stay competitive in the first half, they just won’t be able to sustain it. Now I’m not saying Alabama is going to blow them out, mainly because that just isn’t how Alabama does business, but I think this one will be closer on the scoreboard than on the field. Just enough defensive breakdowns and maybe special teams points to make it respectable, but Alabama dominates this game on the field. Alabama 31-Utah 20

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Ohio St. v. Texas

This has the makings of a really special game. Tyrelle Pryor seems to be the second coming of Texas great Vince Young, and this will be his biggest game yet to showcase his abilities. If he is anything like Young, he will show up when it matters. Texas also hasn’t faced many mobile quarterbacks in the pass happy Big-12 so it will be interesting to see how Will Muschamp gets his defense ready to defend against Pryor. You also have to wonder about the Longhorns mindset coming into this game following the snub they received from the BCS not getting a chance to play for the National Title. The opposite can be said about Ohio St., they are just looking to get some respect having been dog walked by the SEC in the past two national title games. I think that is really the deciding factor in this game, which team shows up and is ready to play this game. For me, I would say that is going to be Ohio St. On the other hand, Texas might show up ready to show the world that they deserved to play for the title. I would pick Texas big normally, but the mental factors surrounding this game might alter things a bit. I’m still picking Texas, but not as big as normal. Texas 42 – Ohio St. 31

FedEx BCS National Championship Game: Oklahoma v. Florida

This game even though there has been some debate about it, it really is the best match-up anyone could ask for. And with that said, I don’t have any idea what is going to happens, except points. It is going to be exciting. Florida has the most athletic fastest team in the country, and Superman for a quarterback. Oklahoma might have the best offense ever assembled. They are balanced and really good at every position, including a massive offensive line that makes it all go. So the only thing I can conclude is shoot-out. It might come down to who has the ball last and who has the guts on 4th down or a two point conversion to win it or something along those lines. It is going to be fun. I think when it comes down to it, if Florida’s Defense is as fast as advertised, they have a shot, and I think they do have a shot. But Sam Bradford is good, really good, and I just don’t think he is going to make enough mistakes to give Florida a window to beat them. If Florida does win, and Tim Tebow is as spectacular is normal, I will praise him as one of the greats. We will see. It will be a great game no matter what, but I’ve got Oklahoma 45 – Florida 42

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: Boise State v. TCU

Both of these teams have become mini- powerhouses over the past decade and have shown they can play with the big boys. Boise even winning a BCS Bowl in what I still say is the best football game I’ve ever seen against Adrian Peterson’s Oklahoma team. Boise can move it on offense and TCU gets it done on defense, so something has to give. TCU held the might Sooner offense to it’s lowest production of the year, and it is hard to go undefeated so I think I’m going with TCU on this one. 

Meinike Car Care Bowl: West Virginia v. North Carolina

I have faith in Butch Davis and the fact that he will turn this UNC program into a power in the ACC, and a quality bowl win against a traditional power in the Big East will go a long way in doing that so I think UNC wins and takes a step toward next years run at a BCS Bowl. 

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl: Oklahoma St. v. Oregon

Now this is the bowl I would have liked to see Missouri in, but it ended up being Oklahoma St. which is deserving I assume because Oklahoma St. beat the Tigers heads up. I think State is a good football team with an even better coach. Mike Gundy leads the Pokes to a high scoring win over the Ducks and there terrible uniforms. 

Brut Sun Bowl: Oregon St. v. Pittsburgh 

I will be tuning in for two reasons: 1. Quizz Rodgers the Beavers Frosh sensation and to root against Pitt so Mark May will shut the hell up. Pitt plays in the Big Least and get the attention of a powerhouse from the SEC, give me a break. I hope Rodgers and his big Bro James run it up on the Panthers. 

And last but not least, the AT &T Cotton Bowl: Ole Miss v. Texas Tech

The Right Reverend Houston Nutt has turned it around in Oxford, much to my chagrin, but it won’t be enough to beat the Red Raiders. The fighting Leaches are just too powerful on offense and Michael Crabtree is about as good of a receiver as I’ve ever seen. The Rebels will score, but Tech will prove too much, I see this one 48-35 maybe 42-28 something along those lines.

Lets start with the SEC Title in what CBS pitted as 1 vs 2 showdown, greatest game ever played, type that I thought would be an upset. And you are thinking that meant I pick the Gators being the number 2 team, but they were the heavy favorite which I thought would be a motivating factor for the top ranked underdog Crimson Tide. With Nick Saban at the helm and massive lines on both side of the ball, I thought the Alabama defense would be good enough to keep the game close, and the Bama run game would move the ball, work the clock and keep Tim Tebow on the sideline. That wasn’t exactly the case. Unfortunately for my prediction, and anybody who took Alabama to cover, the Florida defense proved to be as good as there is in the country, and were able to stand up to Bama’s big boys and get the ball to Tebow who was superman again. As much as a want to hate him, he is really really good. Great, hell, he might be the best ‘football player’ that most of us have ever seen. Makes me sick. The crazy thing to me was that Alabama looked like they had the best chance passing the ball as opposed to running, which either shows how good the Gator game plan was, or just how good the young Julio Jones is at wide receiver. Florida wins, jumps Alabama, and will play in the National Championship.

The Big Twelve Title didn’t quite live up to its hype. ESPN shoved this game down everybody’s throat because it was the Saturday night game on ABC and it just must of killed them as far as ratings go. This game smelled like a blow out to me, and once again Oklahoma and Missouri didn’t disappoint. Oklahoma let the Tigers stick around til the second quarter and then that was about it. Jeremy Maclin scored the only touchdown against the Sooner first team, proving once again that he is the only player on the Tigers team that could crack the line-up at one of the big boy schools. Chase Daniel proved for the final time that his career was much ado about nothing, and the Tigers have set them self so far outside the National Championship picture they will be playing in San Antonio, not on New Years day, and against a Northwestern team in what can be considered the Journalism Bowl. The Sooners on the other hand are still a force, a power, they are Oklahoma and we are Missouri. The M, the I, the Z, and the Z, don’t make you OU. You won’t be, the big boys are established and they aren’t going anywhere. 

Florida vs. OU in the Title

In all likelihood, a one loss Texas team will not only get to play in the BSC title and the team they beat 45-35 AT A NEUTRAL SITE, will get that chance. How does that make any sense? In college football, home field isn’t everything, but it is damn close, and Texas is the only team that didn’t have a home win in their tie-breaker game. And they had the smallest margin of loss in any of the tie-breaker games. Now, I’m not saying OU isn’t better than Texas, I’m just say Texas is getting the screws put too them. 

And what happens if Alabama loses in the SEC title game? Sure they fall out of the discussion but should they? An undefeated 12-0 season by Ohio St. or USC team would automatically get them in due to the fact they don’t have the possibility of being penalized for losing a Championship game. But if the Crimson Tide lose on Saturday, they are out for certain. A Florida win almost certainly vaults them into the title game, and for Texas that means that a one loss team that they beat and a one loss team that they were ranked ahead of entering the last week of the season will not only jump them, but cause them to not get to play for the National Title. How are you going to tell a kid like Colt McCoy he could have done more? If only he would have taken one more second off the clock on his game winning drive to beat Texas Tech to prevent the Red Raiders from completing in what will go down as the greatest play in Texas Tech history.

Frankly it is a crock. And even as a Missouri fan, I’d rather see OU and Texas play for the Big 12 title then even see us get a chance. But that’s not the way it is, and things aren’t going to change. But until they do, I’ll just keep writing about it.

I had already given up on the Razorbacks, I was ready to throw in the towel and wait for next season, and the Tigers I was still going to ride maybe to a BCS Bowl. Now I get the satisfaction of a season ending win, but the humiliation of having to recognize the fact that my adopted team lost to KU. Admittedly I really hate LSU fans, but KU might be a new level of loathing. And the way it happened was just so predictable. Of course we were going to score! You couldn’t have run the ball and taken some time off the clock though? NO! 

That is just bad coaching. Never will the University of much of the fan base recognize just how bad Gary Pinkel is, but as an outsider. Let me say, I am glad to go on a Razorback fan with Bobby Patrino, and casually follow the Tigers with Gary Pinkel. Go Hogs!

After the first half of rivalry week, I didn’t really see any good football. The granddaddy of them all, Ohio St./Michigan was a snoozer blow out and only frustrated be because both of those god awful programs didn’t lose. (This game(and maybe Utah v. BYU, which was another blowout) is the only reason this first weekend gets lumped in to the real rivalry week and it is a joke. No one outside of Big Ten country gives to licks about Michigan Ohio St. and the games almost every year are over hyped and disappointing.) The trumped up game of the week wasn’t even a rivalry and was one of the more disappointing games of the season as Texas Tech forgot to show up in Norman to take on the Sooners. Texas Tech proved exactly what they set out to disprove; that they were a fluke and a joke and can’t run with the big boys in the south. So now, theoretically, it is a two team race again in the south like it should be, going into what I am making the case for is the real 7 days of rivalries. 

This week, Texas is going to try and wear out Texas A&M in what, as a betting man, I would say is the sure fire take of the century. I don’t know the spread, but what ever it is take the Longhorns to cover. Much the same, but a tougher task, the Sooners travel to Stillwater and will have to be brilliant to get an impressive win over the Cowboys. I talked to some OU insiders before the Tech game, and almost everyone agreed that this weeks game against Oklahoma St. was the one they were worried about and the won that would make or break Stoops’ boys season. 

In other rivalries, you’ve got the top ranked Crimson Tide taking on Auburn in the Iron Bowl, the terribly unimportant other SEC games in the Battle for the Boot Arkansas v. LSU and the Egg Bowl which pits Ole Miss v. Miss St. In SEC v. ACC rivalries Georgia takes on Georgia Tech and Florida gets to go to Tallahassee to face the Noles. I’m going to bet the conferences split those games but I’m not sure exactly how it is going to happen. 

As for the rest of the country, every game in the ACC is important, and Cincinnati looks to wrap up the Big East with a win over a Syracuse team that shock everyone with a win in South Bend. In the Pac-10, the surprise Oregon St. Beavers can lock up a Rose Bowl Birth with a win in the Civil War against Oregon, and USC is going to strengthen its championship resume against Notre Dame and then sit and wait and pray for upsets so they might sneak into the National Title. 

A team the Trojans will definitely be rooting for is our very own Mizzou Tigers. The Tigers get a warm up for the Big 12 Championship game in Arrow Head Stadium in Kansas City on Dec. 6th, with the Border War Game against Kansas this Saturday in said Stadium. All the talk has been about the south teams getting a shot to play for the National Title if they can just get out of the South, but don’t sleep on Missouri playing the role of spoiler and really ruining one teams dreams. I would love to do anything that keeps Oklahoma or Texas out of the BCS Title game.

Speaking of Alabama, is there anything better than seeing a team like Alabama winning the way football is supposed to be won. They are big and fast, and run it down your throat and play stifling defense. This team is solid top to bottom and I can’t wait to see them in that title game against the less conventional Florida team. 

Getting away from my SEC, the Big 12 is going to get a team in the Championship game maybe even if the North Division Champs Missouri Tigers have anything to say about it. Chances are Oklahoma, Texas Tech, or maybe even Texas will get in over USC that looks like the best team in the country that might not even win there conference. If Oregon St., thats right the Beavers, win out they hold the tie breaker over USC and I have a hard time seeing the Pac-10 runner up getting in over any one loss Big 12 no matter who it is. 

And since this blog is technically about the Missouri Tigers, I have got to give props to the Tigers who handled business like men in Ames Saturday night. They controlled the game pretty much the whole time, and looked good against a horrible team. Clap Clap Clap. It is great they won the division and I am glad I have been apart of the last two seasons, but until this team wins a big game (Hint: Big Twelve Championship on Dec. 6th) I just can’t be overwhelmingly excited about anything they do.

And my Player of the Game: Derrick Washington. D-Wash showed up for a big game that included 2 touchdowns, one from 52 yards out. Washington had a great game and I am giving him props even though he, “has no respect for me.” It’s okay D-Wash, You’re still the man.