Clark Kent has nothing on me.

Happy Halloween!

I am back with another amazing set of picks for your reading delight. A lot of trick ‘r’ treating was canceled tonight so I pushed off the article a little more for two reasons. The first reason is because I was at the office all day and quite frankly I believe the place is haunted, one never knows what scary thing could happen there. The second reason was for you readers. With my evening post everyone now has something fun to do in place of eating candy. My article is much more enjoyable than candy, is everlasting and also low in fat content (the article, not the person writing it). Please send any unwanted candy to my address in Syracuse. I’m looking out for your health, Kosciusko!

I thought long and hard about what to pick this week as Kosciusko County has just one remaining prep team left in football’s postseason. We are all pulling for the Tigers this weekend on the gridiron. Real quick let me give a shout-out to both the girls’ and boys’ cross country teams at Warsaw High School for qualifying for the State Finals meet this Saturday in Terre Haute. Best of luck to everyone running this weekend.

Last Week: 7-3
Overall: 66-33

High School Football Week 11 11/1

Warsaw (7-3) at Fort Wayne Carroll (8-2), 7 p.m.
The Scoop: Warsaw came into this season as one of 32 6A teams for the class’ inaugural season. The Tigers have two of the toughest teams in 6A in their sectional in Homestead and Carroll. Luckily for Warsaw those two teams played last week with Carroll handing Homestead a 49-7 loss. Warsaw took care of business in the match up it desired and needed to advance to this week’s sectional title tilt by defeating Northrop 40-20.
Carroll will be the toughest team the Tigers have faced all season. The Chargers are big and fast and will not hesitate to embarrass another team on the scoreboard, just ask DeKalb how its 79-7 beat down felt in week nine to Carroll. Warsaw has to be on its game just to stick around in this game and will have to go above and beyond its ability to grab a victory.
The playbook will have to be opened up on both sides of the ball and the Tigers will have to be flawless. This could be a rough ending to an otherwise successful season for Warsaw or the turning point of a storybook postseason run.
The Pick: Carroll 49, Warsaw 17.

NBA Thursday 10/31

New York (1-0) at Chicago (0-1), 8:00 p.m.
The Scoop: This is one of those last-second fill-in picks. Chicago had a rough go of it in Miami to start the season, but that was just a smokescreen. The road to 81-1 starts tonight! Okay, not really, but there is no way Derrick Rose loses his first game back in Chicago. Stacey King will keep everyone entertained tonight by shouting “He’s back!” after every Rose layup, dunk, three-pointer, rebound, free throw and sip of Gatorade. If you have forgotten just how much of a difference Rose makes for this team, tune in tonight and feast upon his greatness. Even is Rose was not playing, you could not pay me to pick the Knicks.
The Pick: Bulls 98, Knicks 84.

College Football Week 10 11/2

No. 4 Ohio State (8-0) at Purdue (1-6), 12 p.m.
The Scoop: Well, Purdue avoided losing last week but only because it did not have a game. But at this point, any positives should be noted. This season is hitting one of its harder stretches here and despite Purdue’s recent success against the Buckeyes, I just do not see the Boilers pulling off this upset. That was one downside of losing Danny Hope. The guy could not figure out to beat a MAC team at home to save his life but managed to topple the powerhouse that is Ohio State. Rest In Peace, Danny. (No, he isn’t dead. Just his career is.)
The Pick: Ohio State 56, Purdue 14.

Minnesota (6-2) at Indiana (3-4), 3:30 p.m.
The Scoop: The road to the postseason either starts or ends here. Indiana needs three more wins to become bowl eligible and with games against Illinois and Purdue in Bloomington in the coming weeks, the possibility is very real for IU to go bowling. But Minnesota is the swing game. The Gophers are very talented and have kept their success relatively quiet this season but Indiana’s offense can certainly outscore Minnesota. As usual, this game will depend on whether or not the Hoosier defense makes an appearance. This is likely another game where the first team to force a punt will win.
The Pick: Minnesota 48, Indiana 38.

Navy (4-3) at No. 25 Notre Dame (6-2), 3:30 p.m.
The Scoop: Apparently the pollsters do not get NBC because it is pretty easy to see that Notre Dame is not really as good as its record shows. I believe a better case could be made for Ball State (7-1) to be in the Top 25, but that could just be me…and 16,000 screaming Cardinal fans. The Irish are back in South Bend this weekend for the 87th consecutive meeting with their longtime rival, Navy. This is one of the rivalries that does not get a lot of attention or love because it is so one-sided in favor of the Irish but I truly enjoy this match up. It is hard to not root for the underdog Midshipmen to pull the upset in South Bend, or anywhere. And anytime one of the service schools gets national attention is a victory for everyone. Notre Dame should roll, but never underestimate America’s Navy, its “a global force for good.”
The Pick: Notre Dame 35, Navy 14.

College Basketball 11/2

Trinity Christian College (0-0) at Grace College (1-1), 1 p.m.
The Scoop: Homecoming double-header in Winona Lake! The first of two games at Grace College will feature the Lady Lancers in a game against Trinity Christian. I would be lying if I said I knew anything about Trinity. I did, however, watch Grace in its home opener against IUSB the other night. The Lady Lancers dropped a heart-breaker at the buzzer to the visiting Titans but Grace was not playing at its full potential. Expect better this weekend.
The Pick: Grace 76, Trinity 59.

Great Lakes Christian College (0-1) at Grace College (0-0), 3 p.m.
The Scoop: The second game of the day will feature the men’s team in its first action of 2013. Grace cracks the top 20 at No. 16 and will not falter in its home opener. Also, GLCC does not stand a chance, the team does not even know what town it is playing in this weekend unless somebody forgot to tell me about Winona Lake being renamed “Winemac” because that’s where the Crusader’s website has the team on Saturday.
The Pick: Grace 87, GLCC 61.

IU-South Bend (2-0) at Indiana Wesleyan (0-0), 7 p.m.
The Scoop: A battle of Wawasee graduates takes place in Marion on Saturday night as KiLee Knafel and IUSB take on Taylor Goshert and the defending NAIA Division II National Champion and currently No. 1 ranked IWU Wildcats. IUSB looked sharp at times in its game at Grace on Tuesday night but Wesleyan brings an entirely different skill set to the table. While IUSB played against teams like Lawrence Tech and Grace, Wesleyan was playing at NCAA Division I Wright State to get prepped for its season opener. Looks for both Wawasee grads to make some big plays but it is Goshert who should start her senior season off with a big win.
The Pick: IWU 88, IUSB 50.

NFL Week 9 11/3-11/4

Indianapolis (5-2) at Houston (2-5), 11/3 8:30 p.m. Sunday Night Football
The Scoop: Well, this is a dud. A game that should have seen the AFC South’s top two teams is instead looking at one of the league’s most dysfunctional teams in Houston and the Colts who are looking to pull away in the division race. This is definitely a winnable game for the Texans but it will not be easy as the Colts bring a legitimate defense into Reliant Stadium for the first time in years. It could be close but the Colts should roll.
The Pick: Colts 41, Texans 24.

Chicago (4-3) at Green Bay (5-2), 11/4 8:40 p.m. Monday Night Football
The Scoop: Put up or shut up time for the Bears. Jay Cutler is gone but Josh McCown is more than capable of leading Chicago to a victory. Is he capable of doing that in Lambeau Field? Eh, maybe not, but he still has to get it done. If the Bears lose this week, they are in trouble. It does not mean the season is over, not by any stretch of the imagination. But this is one of those games where defying some odds and getting a ‘W’ is more beneficial than other weeks. I’m calling a special teams score from Devin Hester in this one.
The Pick: Packers 38, Bears 17.