Blowin' Smoke Presented by Weston Tobacco

What's more fun than us giving you a chance to mock us every single week? In our new feature, Blowin' Smoke presented by Weston Tobacco, we will do that each and every Thursday. Gabe DeArmond and Mitchell Forde will make five predictions almost sure to go wrong every week in this space. These will range from big games to big picture predictions with a bit of the comedic and absurd mixed in most weeks as well. On to this week's predictions.

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Mitchell: I have heard about the Korean Baseball League being broadcast on ESPN these days, but I can't say I've paid it any attention yet. However, I actually have a cousin who lives in Korea, and I know he is an avid fan of the SK Wyverns in Incheon (I'm not making this up. He goes to a lot of their games, or used to before he had a kid). So by default they are my favorite team and I am picking them to win it all.

Gabe: You win. Haven't heard of any, don't know anything about any, won't watch any. A Google search told me there are teams named the NC Dinos and the Kiwoom Heroes. I like those names. They'll probably play for the title.

Mitchell: I have only watched one live sporting event since everything got shut down. I tuned into the Arkansas Derby last Saturday because it just didn't feel right not to watch a horse race on a beautiful first Saturday in May. I actually bet on the second race (they did two "divisions" this year, which was dumb) and made $12.80. It was probably the most fun two minutes I've had in the past 45 days, and I'm not ashamed of that at all.

Gabe: It's clearly the stone skipping. They weren't even good. There was one guy who skipped it one time. I mean, I could beat that. How did they qualify? Could I have been in this thing? I think I could have.

Gabe: It's Kansas as far as the history and the backstory and the interest of the casual fan. But Kansas is dreadful at football. Like every bit as bad or worse as the mid-80's when KU, K-State and Mizzou were referred to as college football's Bermuda Triangle. So the best series for me is Kansas State. They're a solid program, there's a lot of history there and it should be fun.

Mitchell: If you could do Kansas in basketball and Nebraska in football, that would probably be best. But if you have to stick with just one, it's definitely Kansas. It was one of the best basketball rivalries in the country for a long time, and as the Showdown for Relief proved a few years ago, there's still a big appetite for it. And even in football, the teams may not be quite as good, but it will always get people more interested and fired up than a game against, say, West Virginia. I know the next time the two teams play in football it will have been almost 15 years since the series stopped, but I can promise you there's still plenty of animosity toward KU among Mizzou students today, and I think most would embrace a chance to play a role in the rivalry again. Nebraska doesn't move the needle even a little bit in basketball, and while Kansas State has a fun regional aspect, that matchup wouldn't have the hatred factor of a Kansas that gets people invested even if the two teams aren't all that good in a given season.

Gabe: Well, I read your answer before I wrote mine. I was honestly going to say Wisconsin. Since you took that, I'll say Nebraska and Michigan in football. They're big names, historic programs, but you could be competitive against both of them in the foreseeable future and I think fans would like them. In hoops, outside of Kansas which is already on the schedule, I'm going to go with Syracuse and Michigan State as my two choices. Yes, the Spartans are much better, but it's a great program, Missouri recruits the area, it would be fun. And with Syracuse, there were a couple of pretty good games between the two quite a few years ago so bring that back.

Mitchell: For some reason, I could think of a lot more football home-and-homes that interest me than basketball. I think that's because, outside of about six or so schools that take basketball really seriously, most of the environments are pretty similar, and while a home-and-home against, say, Duke would be fun for me to cover, it wouldn't really benefit the program because Missouri would likely get crushed. So for football, I'm going to list an honorable mention of Notre Dame, Oregon and Nebraska. But I'm picking Wisconsin. Yes, Wisconsin has typically been better than Missouri most seasons, but as long as Mizzou is decent it would be a high-profile matchup and would give me a chance to see Camp Randall, which I've heard great things about, in person. (This is assuming an out-of-conference series like this is being played at the start of the season and not in December). For hoops, I think Kansas is really the best answer, but we already touched on that, so I'll go a little off the beaten path and say San Diego State. It's a good program that would help the strength of schedule most years and give me a chance to go to the beach.

Mitchell: Completely off the top of my head, without doing any research about who's coming back on each roster: Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Vanderbilt

Gabe: Like you, I've done no research, but I think Georgia, Florida, Tennessee have to be the first three in that order. After that, I'll go South Carolina, Mizzou, Kentucky, Vandy.