USC is on the inside track for the Sugar Bowl! The official BCS numbers are out:

1. Oklahoma: 2.24
2. USC: 7.02
3. Florida State: 9.52
4. Miami: 10.25
5. Ohio State: 11.47
6. Virginia Tech: 12.47
7. LSU: 14.92

That looks like a cushy edge, but Rich Tellshow estimates that, if both teams win their remaining games, our 2.5-point advantage over Florida State would shrink to about 0.5 points by the end of the season, on the basis of strength of schedule. Eek! All the more reason to root against Florida State, and also against FSU’s previous nonconference opponents and for our previous nonconference opponents.

Mostly, though, we just need to root for USC against Arizona, UCLA, and Oregon State. Fight on, Trojans!!!

Interestingly, undefeated-but-unrespected Texas Christian is now #9. Is it possible that, with a few more losses by Top 8 teams, TCU could move into the Top 6 and be guaranteed a big-time bowl berth?

I’ve been decidedly lax about linking to my blog-children’s posts recently. Sorry. In addition to Jen’s “Vote!” post, there is my mom’s joyful post about her new job, and Becky’s birthday greetings for me (aww).

Becky also discusses her troubles with an a**hole at her university who thinks clinical depression can be cured by “taking a walk.” (What’s more, now we’ve got a commenter who agrees with the a**hole. “Suck it up,” she says. Ain’t ignorance grand?)

If the municipality where you reside is having an election tomorrow, even if it’s just a local race for fire commissioner or constable, make sure you get out there and vote! It’s your democratic right, privilege, and duty. But don’t listen to me — listen to Jen!

I’ll be voting, that’s for sure; this is my first chance ever to vote in person in Connecticut, which uses the old-fashioned lever machines, and being a giant election nerd, I’m very excited about this. :) I haven’t yet decided who I’ll be voting for, however. I’ll be researching the respective positions of mayoral candidates Tom McBride and Jeff Hedberg this evening.

The only thing I know for certain is that I’ll be pulling the lever for the lone Libertarian candidate for Town Council (Hi Sean), Dawn Lincoln, mostly as a protest vote against the town’s stupid “minority representation” election process, which substantially reduces the degree of choice that voters actually have. Only one or two of the ten major-party candidates who run each year actually lose! Screw that! Down with the system! Up with the Libertarians! :)

Less than an hour now until the new BCS standings are released and, if Jerry Palm and Rich Tellshow are right, USC officially becomes a Sugar Bowl front-runner.

In the mean time, we can all enjoy another fine Daily Trojan article about the Trojans by the incomparable Arash Markazi. (I don’t mean to serve as blatant free advertising for this kid, but the more I read his articles, the more impressed I am.) “Miami�s loss has USC thinking Sugar a little Sooner than expected,” the headline reads. Excerpt:

They tried not to watch. They tried not to listen. They tried not to care. But it was impossible. Like an adolescent who accidentally finds the adult channel, the temptation was too great.

“How ’bout them Hokies?” USC coach Pete Carroll said.

Hehe. Apparently Pete knows a little more about the BCS than he let on to ESPN. But no matter — Arash always gets the scoop. Anyway, read the whole thing, as they say.

Also, as long as you’re at the Daily Trojan website, you might as well read the front-page game story (”A little Sugar in the bowl?“), and the columns about the Trojan defense and, if you care (which I frankly don’t), the Wazzu offense. And don’t forget to read about the top-ranked USC women’s volleyball and men’s water polo teams. And then there’s this: “Public urination will draw new fines.” Ah, the DT. :)

Well, thanks to a heavy dose of frustration with Greyhound, I have bowed to sanity and decided to fly to Phoenix instead of taking the bus. My pilgrimage to Oklahoma — the only one of the Lower 48 states that I haven’t yet set foot in — will have to wait. I’ll be flying on Frontier Airlines from LaGuardia to Sky Harbor on Nov. 11.

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I’ve made some changes to the left-hand column of this homepage, as you may notice. Among other things, I’ve updated the “Who am I, anyway?” section to more accurately reflect current realities: my recently advanced age, my changing place of residence, my near-decision on law school, and my latest ideological musings; instead of “disaffected liberal leaning right,” I am now describing myself as “Too realistic to be a liberal, too idealistic to be a conservative, too cynical to have much faith in either ’side,’ but too passionate to stop caring.” Clunky, perhaps, but pretty accurate for where I am right now. (Perhaps I should add, “But if you really want to know where I stand on an issue, read The Economist. I always agree with them.” :)

Other changes include additional names on my list of “frequently referenced friends” and additional cats under “pets” (Sasha and Butter, of course). Also, as you can see, I moved the nycbloggers.com icon down a bit, since I’m leaving New York for the moment, and I darkened the quote box to make it stand out more.

I also added a new quote, one that I’m rather fond of. It comes from an IM conversation the other day with Andrew’s girlfriend Bea, who I took to a play in New York this summer, and who is apparently a frequent (if rather quiet) reader of BrendanLoy.com. The quote: “Quitting for Lord of the Rings, libel, solar attacks. I’ve read it all. You’re crazy, basically.” Hee hee.

What does USC head coach Pete Carroll think about the BCS? Will he lobby for the Trojans to reach the Sugar Bowl?

“I have absolutely no energy for that. None. Zero. And I won’t,” he said. “We go and play football and see what happens at the end. Then somebody will have to tell me how it works because I have no idea how it works.”

Hee hee. Well, thankfully for Pete and the rest of us, Rich Tellshow has some idea how it works, and here’s his estimate of how the Top 10 will look when the new BCS standings come out tomorrow at 6:00 PM Eastern. (Remember, like in golf, lower is better in the BCS.)

1. Oklahoma: 2.24
2. USC: 6.85
3. Florida State: 9.35
4. Miami: 9.92
5. Ohio State: 12.03
6. LSU: 14.82
7. Virginia Tech: 17.30
8. Michigan: 20.29
9. Georgia: 24.32
10. Iowa: 24.60

ESPN’s Brad Edwards seems to have a pretty good idea how the BCS works, too, and he spins so many scenarios in his “Road to the BCS” article that it makes even my scenario-saturated head spin. For USC, though, the bottom line seems to be this: a Florida State loss would be good (because it would hurt both the Seminoles and Miami), and another Miami loss would be good, but losses by Virginia Tech, LSU and Ohio State would be bad (because, if Miami and Florida State win out, those losses could allow Miami to rise to #3 in the polls, and perhaps leapfrog the Trojans in the BCS).

Meanwhile, ESPN has a good article about USC’s reaction to its new status as a Sugar Bowl front-runner.