How To Buy BCS Championship Game Tickets CHEAP
By Max | December 8, 2008
Is your team in the BCS National Title game? Perhaps you would like to buy tickets to another bowl game. After my team Penn State beat Ohio State, their remaining schedule looked pretty easy, so I went ahead and purchased some title game tickets. Unfortunately those seats were quite expensive, ringing in at around $700. I found a way to save a boatload of money on these seats using MSN Live search cashback. Here’s how…
Step 1:
Go to www.live.com and search for “bcs championship game tickets”.
Step 2:
This search will yield some sponsored links, one of which will hopefully be for ebay tickets. Click that one.
Step 3:
Clicking the sponsored link will bring you to ebay’s website. From here you should find the tickets you wish to buy and click the “Buy It Now” option to purchase them. If there is a little yellow dollar sign icon next to the auction listing, then you’ll know it is eligible for Microsoft cashback. You must use Paypal and “Buy it Now” to pay for the tickets.
Step 4:
Register for a Microsoft Cashback account. You may already have a Live ID which you’ll then use to create a cashback account.
Step 5:
Check your ebay mail inbox. It may take a couple hours, but you should soon receive an ebay message concerning the cashback for your purchase. The message will look like this:
The ebay message is how you link your livesearch cashback account to your ebay account. Once Microsoft knows that you have completed your purchase then they will credit your cashback account. I got my rebate through paypal. The rebate is instant if the item you are ordering cannot be returned. Otherwise you will have to wait 60 days.
After up to a day you should check your Live Cashback account to make sure that your rebate has been awarded. The percentages vary from day to day. When I bought my tickets, you could get 25% back, but at the time of writing, only 8% is available. If I were you I would wait to see if that goes back up. Also you can use this procedure to buy practically anything from ebay.
There is a limit to using cashback. You may only earn $2500 in total. Also there is a $200 limit per transaction. Since tickets are so expensive, if you want to go with a friend, the best strategy is to find an ebay auction where there are several tickets listed for for sale individually. An auction like this will have a listing title that appears something like this: “1-8 BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME TICKETS MIAMI 1/8/09″. This means you can buy any number up to eight tickets and they’ll be together. Buy one for yourself and have a friend use his own cashback account to get a second ticket. My friend and I found a listing we liked and emailed the seller to see if he could relist the auction as two individual tickets so that we could both get the discount. That worked pretty well too.
Also if you want to buy my tickets from me, send me an email since my Nittany Lions are headed to the Rose Bowl instead. 
Topics: Ideas, Sports | No Comments »
Penn State Can Get Er Done
By Max | October 28, 2008
PSU’s remaining games…
@Iowa is imo the biggest challenge. They are only 9 points away from being undefeated right now and their defense is statistically in the top 10. PSU always plays much better at home than on the road, so Iowa has a chance. Clearly PSU is the better team and coming off a bye with plenty of time to prepare, but this hawkeye team will be a bigger challenge than many think. If the spread is anywhere close to 14 points, I am probably going to bet on them covering.
Indiana - no problem, guarenteed win
MSU - MSU does have a history of upsetting the Lions and other ranked BigTen teams. They even pull it off on the road, however this Spartan team is different than in years past in that their strength comes from the run game rather than the pass. PSU has a great line, and even with injuries the LBs are certainly capable. We will be able to contain Ringer, and I don’t think MSU has a good chance for an upset. It would require a few turnovers for them to get it done.
BCS title game -
I am tired of hearing how bad the Big Ten is and that PSU is unworthy to play in the big game. People point to the last two years’ OSU teams. Well, how about OSU in 2002? Miami was supposed to blow them out. Penn State in ‘86 was going to get stomped by another Miami team. There are a lot of factors besides talent that will weigh on the outcome of a game. If PSU brings their best, I am confident they can compete with anyone.
FACT: The last 4 teams to win the BCS title all had top 10 defenses. PSU is 3rd right now. Where are the best Big12 teams? Texas is the best of the bunch and they are barely in the top 30. TT, OkSU, and Oklahoma are on back a bit further. Many of these teams played absolutely no one in their OOC schedule, so its hard to say how they would stack up out of conference. I am not saying the Big12 is weak or uncompetitive, I am just saying there are still question marks about how their conference champ would perform in the title game. Defenses win championships!
Alabama has a good defense, and if they win their conference, they certainly deserve their title shot. How would they do against PSU on a neutral field? I bet Vegas would have the line within 3 points. Alabama has certainly had a couple close games with weaker opponents and of the four BCS unbeatens, most would pick them to end the season with a loss.
Of the top 5 or 6 teams, USC has the most impressive out of conference win. They beat OhioSU, a team PSU also beat. Obviously, the TRojans were more impressive, but PSU won theirs on the road, and used the run to shorten the game.
I have listed the other signature OOC wins here…
1 - Texas - terrible Arkansas team
2 - Alabama - underachieving Clemson team
3 - PSU - Oregon St. a team which beat USC and is still in the hunt for a Pac-10 title
4 - Oklahoma - TCU is at least ranked
5 - USC - OSU a team PSU also beat
6 - GA - beat a terrible ASU team
7 - Texas Tech - didn’t even recognize the names of some of their OOC games
Part of PSU’s schedule problem is the fact that the two big10 teams they aren’t playing, NW and Minn, are having decent years. PSU has been taking care of business with they teams they do play though and are currently the only team ranked in the top 10 for offense and defense statistically.
Are they the best team in the country? Probably not, but they are pretty good. Are they deserving of a shot to play for the title if ranked in the top 2 BCS? If they take care of the next 3 games, I think so. You never know which team is going to get up for the big game and I think it is naive to just assume PSU will get blown out because of OSU’s troubles the past two years.
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Penn State vs. Ohio State!!
By Max | October 21, 2008
Does anyone really believe that OSU can compete with this?
I have been thinking about this weekend’s game nonstop. It is the defacto Big10 championship game. Last week was the first time this season that Ohio St. actually looked like the team ranked in the top 10. Lets put this weekend’s matchup into perspective though.
The Ohio State University scored 6 touchdowns.
TD 1: MSU shanks the punt, OSU gets the ball with only 47 yds to go.
TD 2: After a fumble, OSU only has 17 yds to score.
TD 3: Another short field (57 yds) results in an OSU TD after a low percentage 56 yd. Pryor pass completion.
TD 4: Legit OSU TD where they have to drive 77 yds over 9 plays.
TD 5: Defense scores off fumble.
TD 6: Defense scores off fumble.
As you can see, everything that could go wrong for MSU did go wrong. Giving OSU turnovers and short fields is a quick way to land your team into a big point deficit. MSU has a strong running game this year, but once they found themselves down 4 TDs, the play calling would have to compensate by adding in some more passing plays.
The score last week doesn’t reflect the actual strength of the OSU offense. PSU only has to accomplish two things to win this game. First, they have to avoid mistakes early making OSU drive the length of the field. Then the PSU defense needs to show up strong against the OSU running game to force Pryor to beat them through the air. Thats the key to victory and the Big 10 championship.
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Vote For Change
By Max | October 15, 2008
Undecided voters listen up! The third party debates are going to be held this Sunday at 8pm EST. If you’re like me and haven’t yet decided whom to vote for, then you should tune in. The broadcast will be shown on CSPAN or across the internet at http://www.thirdpartyticket.com.
The good news is that all four of the third party candidates are anti-war and anti-bailout. So if the Republicrats’ lack of choice in this election has frustrated you, perhaps you can find a better match for your ideology by watching these debates.
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The European Weightloss Plan
By Max | October 10, 2008
I came back from Europe a few pounds lighter. I think I probably lost about 10 pounds over there. Walking around, seeing the sites all day can really burn some calories I guess. It is pretty much impossible to go to Europe and not spend lots of time walking around. You don’t really need to rent a car in most cities and even if you did, it would be difficult to find parking. In some places I didn’t even take much public transportation because of all the interesting stuff was within walking distance. This is a lot different compared to most of my American vacations where I eat and drink so much I usually gain some weight. So if you’re thinking you would like to try to lose some weight, here’s what you do:
Step 1: Go to Europe. (this is the hard part)
Step 2: Spend most of your day walking around to all the sites. One good suggestion I have is to go to Prague walk up the massive hill to the castle, remember that you left your camera in your hotel, then walk back down to get it. Return to the castle with your camera. That right there will probably leave you quite hungry.
Step 3: Eat and drink whatever you want.
Step 4: If you find this plan helpful, please send me $10 on paypal to mxt196@yahoo.com
Topics: Europe, Max | 5 Comments »
Last Day In Berlin, Potsdam
By Max | October 5, 2008
Last night’s game was awesome. Penn State handled Purdue a lot better than the score indicated. Their one touchdown was penalty assisted, and PSU missed a couple of opportunties. The score could easily have been 30 - 0. Not bad for the first Big Ten road game. I think Daryll Clark will be much more confident heading into the Wisconsin game which should be our first real test.
After the game, I went out with the Australians from the hostel again. We found out about another warehouse party. This place was the largest club I have ever been to. There must have been a thousand people crammed into a giant warehouse. We were told to arrive at midnight, and we partied until 5:30am. It was pretty fun. Berlin has definitely lived up to its party reputation. I don’t think these people sleep.
Today it rained, but I decided to check out Potsdam on a whim. I know everyone loves analogies, so Potsdam is to Berlin as Versailles is to Paris. There are several palaces in Potsdam as well as one of the largest gardens in Europe. Frederick the Great and the other Prussian Kaisers hung out there. I took a 2 hour bus tour, but to do it right, you need to really get there early and spend the whole day walking around to the different sites. Our bus just drove us around and we snapped a few quick photos, but didn’t have time to actually walk into any of the palaces. That was fine with me, because I was cold and wet most of the time, but if I ever go back, I’ll make sure to plan better.
This famous photo was taken at one of the Potsdam palaces:
And so was this less than famous photo:
Topics: Europe, Max | 4 Comments »
Live From Berlin, It’s Penn State
By Max | October 4, 2008
I am watching the PSU game right now, live streaming on the internet here in Berlin. I am so excited I can’t contain myself. Hopefully we win this first Big Ten road game.
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Karaoke In Berlin
By Max | October 3, 2008
Yesterday started out slow, but turned into a lot of fun. I spent the morning trying to hunt down a sports bar that was showing the PSU replay game. The first place I tried is supposed to get the correct network, but when I arrived at 10:30am, I discovered that they didn’t open until 3pm. I didn’t want to give up that easily so I headed to another place called Oscar Wilde. It’s an Irish bar that is also supposed to get NASN, the American sports channel. Their website said that they opened at noon, and I thought it would be cool even if I could catch the 4th quarter. Unfortunately when I arrived I saw that they didn’t open until 4pm. That really pissed me off. I hate it when places leave the wrong information up on their websites. So I missed the PSU game. I did however find an internet cafe that is cheap, open late and appears to allow streaming video from the myp2p.eu site. Tomorrow I am going there to try to watch the Lions murder Purdue.
After getting beat down by the sports bars of Berlin, I headed back to the hostel to relax a bit before figuring out my evening plans. I ended up meeting two Australians and one Dutch guy. We headed to the hostel bar where to my surprise it was karaoke night! I quickly put in a song and rocked the place even though I have a cold. Just in case you’re wondering karaoke in Berlin is about the same as America. Everyone sang English songs, and most people had really poor song selection. No one wants to hear your version of Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” no matter how good you are. Way to bring down the evening Mr. Danish guy.
After we each sang a song we headed out to try to find a real bar. On the tram we met some younger folks who looked like they knew their way around and we ended up joining them. They took us to a real Berlin warehouse party. It was awesome even though it wasn’t really my scene. The place apparently only runs once a month or so. We were the only out-of-towners there. There were two floors both playing really obnoxious techno music with lights and smoke and everything. It was a blast. When I left at 5:00am there were still a lot of people dancing their asses off. I guess today is some kind of German national holiday, so no one has school or work. The rumors were true. Berliners like to party I guess.
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VP Debates Tonight!!
By Max | October 2, 2008
I am going to have to watch the highlights of this one on Youtube, but I am hoping for some good ones. With this matchup of one candidate known for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and another for, well, being one of the dumber people alive the only thing that can save a total debacle is a moderator who likes to pull punches. Although I am sure the moderator won’t really go to work on these two, I am eager to see a couple decent highlights.
Just in case you haven’t seen Sarah Palin’s pageant video…
Here’s a fun website:
http://interviewpalin.com
And here is an artist’s represenation of what she might look like naked…
No I am not the artist. 
Topics: Politics | 3 Comments »
Ich Bin Ein Berliner
By Max | October 1, 2008
So I just arrived in Berlin. This city is huge. I am making it my personal mission during my stay to see a Penn State football game one way or another. I have a couple ideas. Apparently, NASN -the American Sports Network- is broadcasting a replay of PSU-Illinois tomorrow. Its too bad I already know the score, but it would be cool to see that. Apparently there are some sports bars here that can get NASN. Another option is to use myp2p.eu. I just found out about this website, but it looks like you can go to an internet shop and get games broadcast over the internet. Of course, it seems to be a pirate site, but you gotta do what you gotta do. It doesn’t look like NASN has any live games broadcast on Saturday, so I hope I get lucky with this internet option.
Now I know what you’re going to say, “Why go all the way to Europe to watch football?” I don’t think you understand. 90% of my mental well being depends upon PSU winning games during football season. It has been killing me not to see them play this season. I thought I could handler missing some cupcake games, but I can’t. Especially not when they are ranked 6th in the country and have a decent shot at the Big Ten championship this year.
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