Homerism won the coveted chocolate martini for the second year in a row in the popular sibling rivalry of Picks Trying Not to Suck. Despite the heartburn it caused him last year, The Skinny lobbied for the same ground rules this season, including the Lee Greenwood Special for our men and women in uniform. The stakes remain the same, a Christmas day choco-tini, with the added twist of The Skinny's pride being on the line as well.

Homerism and The Skinny are renewing America's favorite blood feud, our annual "Picks Trying Not to Suck" college football handicapping contest, for the third year in a row. Before the sibling rivalry opens its third chapter, Skin Man drops by to rap about the Oklahoma Sooners' upcoming season.

Skin and I cover:

• OU's irreplaceable players;
• potential trap games for the Sooners;
• the influx of youngsters who are expected to contribute;
• concerns about the defensive line;
• breakout players; and
• a few bold predictions for 2010.

The 2010 college football is days away. Paul Myerberg of the excellent college football blog Pre-Snap Read stops by to chat with Homerism about this season's Big 12 race.

Paul and I cover:

• Landry Jones' maturation;
• the real value of experience in college football;
• reasons for optimism on OU's o-line;
• another solid defense under Bob Stoops;
• Texas' attempts to transform its offense; and
  
• Nebraska's next move minus Ndamukong Suh.

Take 'em to the bank...

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Five big predictions for 2010:

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Fifteen people who will have a major say over the course of the 2010 college football season:

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Almost as soon as it debuted nine years ago, I was hooked on 24. For a while, fighting global terrorism with Jack Bauer was appointment viewing – hide the remote, turn off the ringer, shut down the computer.

Eventually, though, the writers started recycling story lines and plot devices: Bauer's family was in trouble; CTU leaked worse than a Pac-10 secondary; an eccentric rich guy was engineering a government conspiracy.

This year on the final "day," the show went for something of a desperate re-invention, with Bauer morphing into a no-holds-barred vigilante hell-bent on starting a world war in the name of "justice." It was a ridiculous final straw for a show that had lost its mojo years before.

24 went on for eight seasons. Even with as wretched as it was at the end, I watched every single episode.

During those 192 hours, I could have been out donating my time to a worthwhile cause. I could have been out developing a new hobby. I could have just watched something else.

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Bill Snyder 2.0 is in full effect in the Little Apple. Andrew Lawson of Kansas State Wildcats blog Bring on the Cats joins Homerism to run through the not at all kinder or gentler version of the college coaching legend, as well as what the 2010 season has in store for the program.

Andrew and I cover:

• the KSU quarterback derby;
• an experienced offensive line;
• sneaky good tailback Daniel Thomas;
• the questions surrounding defensive coordinator Chris Cosh; and
• Snyder's efforts to upgrade the defensive talent.

(Editor's note: The Skinny is back and ready for some handicapping this fall. First, though, he wants a little Skin time with Homerism's audience to get some stuff off his chest.)

It's that time of year again. The time you realize how little you care about baseball, the World Cup, LeBron James or any other "big" sports headline from the summer.

Who cares about the AL East when you have breaking news about Tampa's back-up tight end battle? (Thank you, fantasy football!) Sure, the World Cup was great in June, but in August a bunch of chauncies prancing around a field in "shin guards" seems better suited for Perez Hilton than ESPN.

It's the time of year when a text message from your buddy reading "DeJuan Miller has really filled out... looks great in pads" is perfectly acceptable. America is jonesing for its football fix, and, for better or worse, The Skinny is back for another season.

In a couple days, my brother and I will release our week one picks. But before we release the best free picks you can find on the internet, I have a few observations and comments on this summer and the upcoming season.

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Add Roy Finch and Frank Alexander to the list of the Oklahoma Sooners' walking wounded.

Bob Stoops announced today that the running back Finch has a hairline fracture in his foot, which supposedly puts him out six to eight weeks. Even though Stoops may say differently, I'd guess the shifty freshman has a 50-50 shot at being redshirted.

As is the case with linebacker Austin Box's back injury, the Sooners are fortunate to have more than enough depth at running back to weather Finch's absence. While his name has been brought up frequently during the offseason as a candidate to play right away, the reality is that Finch probably would have seen spot duty in the backfield.

However, for the time being, the loss of Finch does take an intriguing weapon out of offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson's arsenal. With his speed and elusiveness, Finch possesses the potential to be a nightmare matchup working out of the slot.

Alexander's ankle sprain sounds far less serious. Whether or not the junior defensive ends plays against Utah State probably won't make a difference, so Sooner fans shouldn't be shocked if Alexander sits out the season opener. Florida State's potent offense comes to town a week later, posing a far tougher test for OU's D, so better to have him ready then.