Day Minus 5 And Things Are Going Well

I got my Etoposide (pronounced e - top' - o- side) early this morning and I'm now getting Cytarabine. I'll get these twice a day for next four days. I've learned over the years to dread anything that ends with -bine. But I'm also getting stuff to prevent the side effects. Kytril is the anti-nausea medicine. They are also standing by at all times to give me something else if needed. They don't want you to be sick or uncomfortable so they are pretty free with the meds.

Other than a little boredom things are going okay. I walked several laps yesterday and will add to that today. Last transplant I was doing 15 to 20 laps a day. Each lap is 2/10 of a mile, so I was getting in a few miles a day. I also brought some free weights this time to work on the arms. I intend to come out of here in as good a shape as possible. It will help significantly later on.

Luckily today is football day, so that will break up the boredom a little.

I was obviously too optimistic with my pick of GT Thursday. But I'm willing to go out on a limb for a few picks today.

The big one in the SEC, of course, is Bama vs. LSU. Saban has done a remarkable job at Bama, but I still like LSU. LSU had last week off to prepare and heal, so I think that gives them the edge. Plus, Saban is still playing with his predecessor's players, so the talent pool may not quite as rich there. But, still Bama has had a great year and this game will be close. But I'll take LSU 28 -21.

South Carolina will handle Arkansas. The Hogs quarterback is banged up and the coach is under fire. Moral won't be strong for Arkansas. South Carolina still has a lot to play for and will win this one easily even though it's in Fayetteville.

I'll take Wake over Virginia, too. Virginia won three close ones and then lost to NC State last week. This game is in Charlottesville, but I think Wake is the better team by 10 points.

Vandy at Florida could be interesting, but I doubt it. Tebow should be healthier this week. I like Bobby Johnson, Vandy's coach, but I'll take the Gators by 14.

The next to the best game of the week will be out west with Oregon at Arizona State. I'll take ASU and Dennis Erickson. They seem to have handled the same opponents as the Ducks but by more margin.

UConn should handle Rutgers, but there's no way that UConn is a top 20 team. What a joke.

BC should handle FSU. Michigan will beat Michigan State as usual.

And Oklahoma will kill A & M. Sorry Robert and Susan, but that won't be a surprise. Can I interest you one slightly used coach, aka Chan Gailey? Hey, he can't be any worse than Francione.