The A List

By Adam Duerson

American Idol's Clay Aikens AP

Fire Ron Zook? Whoda thunk? (Visitors to www.fireronzook.com, who have registered 1.7 million page views, that's who.) After a weekend like last (anyone see who picked Maryland over FSU?), watch out for Letfreshmenleave.com (by Adrian Peterson), StoptheTrojans.net and -- just thinking ahead here -- FixtheBCS.gov.

Did You Hear?

American Idol class at UNC Charlotte The C-USA school is offering the course, Examining American Idol Through Musical Critique, next semester. Students will watch two episodes a week, devise new ways to rate contestants and eventually write a paper on who should win. Sounds hard. Offhand, anyone know if Jim Harrick Jr. is coaching at Charlotte these days? Anyone?

Florida, Florida State and Miami all lose Sunshine State no more. More like a state of shock or depression, perhaps, if you're a Floridian. Central Florida and Florida losing: no surprise. But fellow in-staters Miami and FSU?! North Carolina and Maryland ain't exactly football juggernauts. Someone call Jeb Bush. Let's see if he can do something about this.

Andrew Giuliani commits to Duke The son of the ex-New York mayor -- memorably parodied by Chris Farley as a snot-nosed spaz on Saturday Night Live in 1994 -- will golf for the Dookies beginning in 2005. I can't wait. If he's half the brat Farley played him as, watching him keep quiet on the green should be like a constantly looping about-to-sneeze moment.

Iowa State student government organizes crow hunt Eleven squads -- including Team Krush and Team Death from Below -- took part in the crow-extermination event, netting 13 birds. One participant's explanation: "Crows are kind of annoying. They're messy, they're loud." In other news, Jessica Simpson is rethinking an upcoming visit to Ames.

Quote of the week Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables, after OU defensive tackle Remi Ayodele said that Texas tailback Cedric Benson was better than Oklahoma State's Vernand Morency, four days before the Sooners' 38-35 win over OSU: "[Ayodele] has no clue to life, and he is a typical defensive lineman who at times is a meathead."

What's Hot

The O.C. (Thursdays, 8 p.m., Fox)
Will Theresa keep the baby? Where the hell did Seth sail off to? Will Kirsten ever stop friggin' crying? Is Ryan really moving back to Chino? And how much Grey Goose can Marissa chug in one summer? At least one of these will be answered when The O.C. starts up again tonight. Probably.

Halo 2 (Nov. 9 release, Xbox)
I'm gonna go ahead and skip over the anecdote about the first time I played this shoot-'em-up and got bloody waxed by 15 geeked-out 'tweens -- in front of my boss. This game is all that and a bag of 3-D Doritos.

5 Money Picks: November 6

PURDUE AT IOWA
3:30 p.m., ESPN.
BCS bowl? Heisman? Riiight. How about a Top 25
finish, Mr. Orton?
Purdue 27, Iowa 16

MINNESOTA AT WISCONSIN
3:30 p.m., ABC.
Don't underestimate the power of the Paul Bunyan ax.
Minnesota 24, Wisconsin 23

OKLAHOMA AT TEXAS
A&M, 3:30 p.m., ABC.
After the OSU game, this is the one trap Sooners haters have been eyeing. Sorry, folks.
OU 54, A&M 27

NOTRE DAME AT TENNESSEE
3:30 p.m., CBS.
Time for the Notre Dame brass to reconsider its overambitious scheduling.
Tennessee 35, Notre Dame 16

OKLAHOMA STATE AT TEXAS
7 p.m., TBS.
The Cowboys opened eyes last week, almost upsetting OU, meaning they'll have your attention when they shock the Horns.
OSU 20, Texas 10

LAST WEEK'S PICKS: 4-1
SEASON RECORD: 20-10

Issue date: November 4, 2004