thirteen dollars again, can't break the habit

[PSU&Trout]

A born sucker, I plunked down my $13 again for Phil Steele's book of summaries of previous years in college football. Guess it's a good way to review last season. And it's interesting to see how many abbreviations of his thousands I can figure out on my own.
BIG power rating was interesting. First are the very good, OSU, 1, MSU, 11, then the tweeners, Wisky,17, and PSU at 26, and then the good, Nebraska Mich, Miny, at 34,35 and 39. Guess I think that's reasonable although I wonder about Wisky a little and doubt Iowa should be so low at 57.

 

[AvalonJohn]

Never liked Steele. Always went with Sporting News or Altons(sp)...... Haven't purchased them in years, get my fix from this site.

 

[Mister Magoo]

A born sucker, I plunked down my $13 again for Phil Steele's book of summaries of previous years in college football. Guess it's a good way to review last season. And it's interesting to see how many abbreviations of his thousands I can figure out on my own.
BIG power rating was interesting. First are the very good, OSU, 1, MSU, 11, then the tweeners, Wisky,17, and PSU at 26, and then the good, Nebraska Mich, Miny, at 34,35 and 39. Guess I think that's reasonable although I wonder about Wisky a little and doubt Iowa should be so low at 57.

Had to make a quick run to the grocery store last night around 11p. Picked mine up too. That price is steep given all of the online options and their ability to update. I do like to pick it up and check skeds out instead of doing everything on the computer. He has us ranked 19th for those interested.

 

[Peetz Pool Boy]

Guess I think that's reasonable although I wonder about Wisky a little and doubt Iowa should be so low at 57.

I think Wisconsin is going to have a down year while Iowa rebounds. Chryst didn't impress me much as a HC during his stint at Pitt and I think Ferentz has gotten complacent in recent years but will pull a rabbit out of the hat this season and contend for the B1G West along with a weaker Nebraska team and an improving Minnesota squad.

 

[fairgambit]

Never liked Steele. Always went with Sporting News or Altons(sp)...... Haven't purchased them in years, get my fix from this site.

From the late 60's through the late 90's I bought virtually every college football magazine I could find. For the most part I only read what they said about Penn State and the teams we played, and I'd check out their pre-season rankings, but, looking back, it was a monumental waste of money. If I had taken that money, and other funds I threw away on equally stupid stuff, and invested it, I'd be a wealthy man today.

 

[Op2]

Back in the day I used to love pre-season sports magazines like that. Street & Smith Baseball was my favorite. But in the days of the Internet they just seem totally archaic. It's sad to see because they used to be so awesome. It's like when there was a hot young babe from your youth and then you don't see her for 25 years then see her again and all that beauty it gone.

 

[fairgambit]

Back in the day I used to love pre-season sports magazines like that. Street & Smith Baseball was my favorite. But in the days of the Internet they just seem totally archaic. It's sad to see because they used to be so awesome. It's like when there was a hot young babe from your youth and then you don't see her for 25 years then see her again and all that beauty it gone.

That's one reason I never go to my class reunions. I have pictures of my classmates in my head, forever young and generally attractive, with their whole future in front of them. Every now and then I'll run into one and often they look like crap. Then I think, that must be what I look like to them and it depresses the hell out of me. I know it's vanity, ego....and I should get over it, but I can't. (Sorry about getting off topic).

 

[PSU-Knocker]

That's one reason I never go to my class reunions. I have pictures of my classmates in my head, forever young and generally attractive, with their whole future in front of them. Every now and then I'll run into one and often they look like crap. Then I think, that must be what I look like to them and it depresses the hell out of me. I know it's vanity, ego....and I should get over it, but I can't. (Sorry about getting off topic).

Is that you in the mirror?

 

[fairgambit]

Is that you in the mirror?

I would say yes, the guy in the mirror. Others would say I'm the guy looking at the mirror (well maybe not quite that old). One day you take a serious look in the mirror and you're 40 and the next time you look you're 60 and you wonder where the hell 20 years of your life have gone. Ah well, if you live long enough it happens to us all.

 

[Option Bob]

From the late 60's through the late 90's I bought virtually every college football magazine I could find. For the most part I only read what they said about Penn State and the teams we played, and I'd check out their pre-season rankings, but, looking back, it was a monumental waste of money. If I had taken that money, and other funds I threw away on equally stupid stuff, and invested it, I'd be a wealthy man today.

I am equally guilty, Fairgambit. Since my teen years were spent in Texas, I had to buy as many of those summer rags as I could to learn anything about PSU football. I actually received some info from Jim Tarman for a few years, including the freshman team rosters and a brief 2-page "spring prospectus." I began ordering the football guide in 1965, Rip Engle's final year. It would not arrive until late August, but it at least provided player rosters and #s (those names on the uniforms would have been helpful back then ). Since freshmen were ineligible until around 1973, the rosters from the spring guide were pretty accurate.

Thus, until the August guide arrived, I was forced to rely on Street and Smith, Lindy's, Athlon, Sport, and then Sporting News (a late-comer). My favorite was S&S because they used to predict wins and losses for every Div. 1 school; plus, S&S had a high school AA list that I used to check on PSU recruiting when I received the freshman roster from Tarman.


Ah, the modern era. Nowadays, we know probably too much information … such as when a DT takes a bike out of a dumpster.

 

[lobo lion]

A born sucker, I plunked down my $13 again for Phil Steele's book of summaries of previous years in college football. Guess it's a good way to review last season. And it's interesting to see how many abbreviations of his thousands I can figure out on my own.
BIG power rating was interesting. First are the very good, OSU, 1, MSU, 11, then the tweeners, Wisky,17, and PSU at 26, and then the good, Nebraska Mich, Miny, at 34,35 and 39. Guess I think that's reasonable although I wonder about Wisky a little and doubt Iowa should be so low at 57.

You're not being a sucker at all IMO. I gave up on all the other pre-season rags 15 years ago, but still get my Steele's preview every year. Far and away the best single source of info, and easier to access than trying to get the same data from a handful of different online sites. And his analysis is both substantive and (generally) well-informed. I have no regrets about getting his mag every year, and I agree about the challenge of decoding his multitude of acronyms.