Tag Archives: Texas

Hope all had a very Merry Christmas!  Veronica By of Katy, Texas, will be getting an additional present this holiday for winning week # 7 of the "ORB IN ACTION" photo contest.  Veronica is the third member of the By family to send in an entry, and she didn't let the family down!  Check out her handy-work in this photo collage she whipped up, and what she had to say:

The FIGHT FOR THE FIT CHALLENGE is old news.  It's time for a fresh new contest, and an easy way for you to win a FREE ORIGINAL RETRO BRAND SHIRT!  It's time for ORB IN ACTION!!

Just e-mail yours truly (andyphyman@gmail.com) a picture of yourself (or you and your friends) wearing an Original Retro Brand shirt at work or play, with a brief description of what you do for a living and/or what you love to do for fun while sporting your Original Retro Brand gear.  We'll post your picture and description on this blog when we receive, and on the Original Retro Brand Facebook Fan page. The Original Retro Brand Staff will choose the photo/description each week, that they believe best represents the spirit of the Original Retro Brand Fan, and the person who sent in the photo will win a FREE ORIGINAL RETRO BRAND t-shirt!  Meet the judges....

Kat (Texas shirt) is shown here in a behind the scenes shot at an ORB photo shoot.  She is the west coast, and international sales rep (Shoot location: Santa Monica).

Justin and Danny make up our art department team.  They create all the art that goes onto every ORB tee. Justin is wearing a Toronto St. Pats shirt, and Danny is wearing the Cuban baseball shirt (Shoot location: The ORB office in downtown Los Angeles).

I will be judging as well, but you've seen enough pictures of me already.  I will show you this picture that I took walking over the bridge on Interstate 75 in Atlanta, on my way to the Georgia Tech-Wake Forest game because I just thought it was cool.

I was able to get a few shots of some folks at work and play wearing Original Retro Brand before the game at the legendary Steamhouse Lounge, and while I was at the game.  Check em out....

The beautiful bartender from the Steamhouse is Sarah, and she is a rabid Yellow Jacket fan.  She took a minute to step out from behind the bar and hang with Hunt (with hat) Archbold on the sunny outdoor deck.  Hunt writes a weekly sports column for the Atlanta newspaper, The Sunday Paper.  The two lovely coeds pictured above right are Angela Lyman (left), and Liz Byars (right), both doing the Original Retro Brand justice amidst the sold out crowd at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

So remember to send your picture with your best description to andyphyman@gmail.com to enter the contest.  A new winner will be announced every Monday through Christmas Eve.  We will then take all the winners, and pick the overall best picture for our grand prize winner and announce on New Year's Day.  The Grand Prize will be your choice of 4 Original Retro Brand t-shirts.  Also remember to stay updated on all that is Original Retro Brand by following us on Twitter and Facebook.  Can't wait to see your submissions and good luck!

You know what else is downright scary?  My ability to make decent college football picks!  Going into this past weekend, I had a 5-7 record, and eagerly devoured and dissected the smorgasbord of  big games on the schedule in anticipation of leap-frogging over the .500 mark and then some.  The final result of my efforts resulted in 2 wins and 5 losses, bringing my "expert" pick tally to a deplorable 7-12 (.368).  A few of the teams I picked did cover the spread (Tennessee nearly pulled it off over Bama, but got beat by the SEC refs, and Mississippi State got a little of the same against Florida...SEC officiating worse than my picks this year!), but I've been basing the record on straight up W's & L's, and must take my medicine and hope the Halloween Gods will be in my corner this Saturday.   DON'T FORGET TO ENTER CODE HWEEN AT CHECKOUT AND RECEIVE 25% OFF ORIGINAL RETRO BRAND GEAR FOR OUR FEATURED TEAMS (Florida, Georgia, USC, Oregon) FOR GAMES/PICKS OF THE WEEK!!

GAME # 1: Surely an easy way to improve my record will be to forget betting with my heart, and pick the Florida Gators to rout my beloved Georgia Bulldogs in the world's largest outdoor cocktail party.   Let's face facts: The Dawgs just ain't SEC great this year.  The running game does not have the usual breakaway threat, and Joe Cox at QB is likeable enough, but he's just not Matthew Stafford, David Greene, Eric Zeier, Mike Bobo, or Fran Tarkenton!  They did step up and open the season out of conference on the road, but lost a tough battle against a very strong # 10 ranked, Big 12 Oklahoma State Cowboy squad.  Certainly they got ripped off against LSU (reference SEC refs in first paragraph), but still should have taken care of business between the hedges.   The Gators are ranked # 1 for a reason: They find a way to win no matter what.  They are favored by 17, and why not?  They own the Dawgs in Jacksonville, having taken 16 out of the last 20 meetings.  I love coach Mark Richt, but his mellow persona seems to have rubbed off on his team, and being mellow does not cut it in the SEC:  Florida  42,  Georgia 21.     That was painful....and so will the trip home from Oregon for the USC Trojans......

GAME # 2:  Certainly this is the Pac-10 marquis game of the year (since USC clobbered CAL).  The # 10 Oregon Ducks are flat out rolling, outscoring their last 5 opponents 192 -62.  They crushed the same Washington Husky team that gave USC their only loss of the season handily on the road in Washington, 43-19.   At the same time, the # 5 Trojans were not able to cover the spread in their last two victories over Notre Dame and Oregon State.   Both teams are basically neck & neck in all statistical team categories in the Pac-10, but I think the home field advantage will lift Oregon to victory.  USC QB Matt Barkley does lead the conference in passing, but Oregon QB  Jeremiah Mesoli is not far behind and has 7 touchdown on the ground.   Can't wait to see what quacky uniform the Ducks will wear as they continue to roll in big upset:   Oregon 28, USC 21.

Tricks and Treats:  I thought # 3 Texas would have a tougher time against Mizzou last week, but they routed them, and will do the same against # 14 Oklahoma State in Stillwater: Longhorns 38, Cowboys 17.....# 25 Ole Miss has to travel to Auburn who has dropped 3 straight after opening 5-0.  The Tigers will rise to the occasion: Auburn 28, Mississippi 24.....Both # 13 Virginia Tech and North Carolina lost brutally hard fought games to ACC rivals Georgia Tech and Florida State respectively last week.  The Hoakies must win out to have any shot at the ACC Championship game and the Tarheels are looking for their first conference win:  VTech 35, North Carolina 14.....Purdue has proven they are much better than their 3-5 record after shocking Ohio State, and Wisconsin has lost 2 straight after busting out 5-0.   Wisconsin nearly ended # 11 Iowa's dream season and will not drop another at home:  Badgers 24, Boilermakers 14.

One last prediction for this week:  The Yankees will beat the Phillies.....in Game # 1.  Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Doubtful, but she does look great in her UCLA Original Retro Brand mascot tee!  The Bruins could certainly use Jessica's support (Texas doesn't need her support as much, but it helps!).  4 straight conference losses in the Pac-10, and a Halloween showdown with a very formidable Oregon State Beaver team on the road, will probably make it 5 straight Pac-10 defeats.  But back to Jessica!

Is it creepy that a soon to be 50 year old, and happily married man of 14 years, would be ranting and raving about a 29 year old blonde bombshell?  Well I'm not alone!   And creepy goes with Halloween, so I am giving myself a pass on this guilty pleasure this week only.

Like many, I had no clue who she was until I was channel surfing and dropped the remote when I caught a glimpse of her on the 2003 MTV show Newlyweds, that put her on the map.  How could you not have fallen in love with that whole "Chicken of the Sea Tuna," not being chicken thing?  She was right as far as I'm concerned!  What can I say?   She was hot then, and she's hot now - from her Daisy Duke's to her Mom jeans.

Furthermore, she is a sports fan, and hot babes who love sports are even hotter (Tony Romo fans may feel differently)!   And lest I forget to mention that she IS talented too.  She has the pipes to back up the good looks.  Her remake of the Nancy Sinatra classic, "These Boots are  Made for Walkin,'" (as seen to the right while rockin' her UCLA shirt!), became her fifth single to make the Billboard Top Twenty.

Kim Kardashian last week, and Jessica Simpson this week....Will we go for the Original Retro Brand celebrity sighting hot babe trifecta next week?  Check this blog to find out!

That's right, 20% OFF all Original Retro Brand merchandise for the teams we review in our Picks of the Week!  Just enter code FATE8 at checkout for your discount.

Last week started out quite well. I picked the Cincinnati Bearcats to defeat the USF Bulls 28 to 20.  The real final score?  Cincy 28, USF 21.  GENIUS!  Not so fast...I picked the Sooners to defeat Texas (buzzer sound),.....Notre Dame to defeat USC (buzzer),  and Virginia Tech to dump Georgia Tech (final buzzer - EEEEHHH!).   Iowa proved they are not a fluke as they erased a 10-0 deficit, and came back to beat Wisconsin for an impressive road win.   The Red River Rivalry could have gone either way, and The Fighting Irish just missed...The Hokies game was the only one I really missed by a long shot.  Thus my record stands at  5 wins and 7 losses.   Perhaps it's time to remove the word "expert" from the Original Retro Brand newsletter, when referring to my "Games of the Week" picking prowess.  Regardless, I must soldier on, and we have four more doozies for this weekend:

GAME 1: The # 13 Penn State Nittany Lions head into Ann Arbor to face Michigan freshman quarterback phenom, Tate Forcier. Forcier has pulled off some miracle plays in leading the Wolverines to the highest scoring offensive attack in the Big 10.  The Penn State defense has been dominating all year, giving up just 3 points in their last two games, but Michigan has suffered two excruciating close defeats this year (Michigan State in overtime, and a 2 point heartbreaker vs Iowa), and will not lose in their house this weekend.   Michigan 35, Penn State 20.

GAME 2:  Since the LeGarrette Blount sucker punch debacle, and opening loss to Boise State, the # 11 Oregon Ducks have reeled off 5 staight wins (2 against ranked teams) outscoring their last 3 PAC 10 rivals 118 to 19!!  It would behoove them not to overlook Washington with USC on the horizon.  The Huskies have that big win over the Trojans, and played LSU and Notre Dame tough.  Even so, the Ducks will continue to roll on the road.   Oregon 38, Washington 28.

GAME 3: The Clemson Tigers rank second in total defense, and eighth in total offense in the ACC, just one behind the # 10 ranked Miami Hurricanes, who they face on the road at Landshark Stadium.   As tough as the Clemson defense has been, I think Jacory Harris at QB is really hitting his stride. I feel Miami's one loss at Virginia Tech was an anomaly, and they bounced back strong against Oklahoma, and I believe they will beat Clemson handily and then win out.    Miami 27, Clemson 13.

GAME 4:  I'm going to get whacked for this one...Tennessee will knock off # 2 Alabama in Tuscaloosa.  The Vols nearly beat Florida in the swamp, almost knocked off a then unbeaten Auburn team, and then absolutely crushed my Georgia Bulldogs.   Heck, the Vols are ranked 5th in total offense in the SEC (just one behind the Tide), and 3rd in total defense (Bama ranked # 1).   Mark Ingram will be tough to stop no doubt (he only gained 1 yard on 4 carries against UT last year), but QB  Jonathan Crompton is quietly coming into his own.   Purdue stunned Ohio State last week.  This is my # 1 stunner.   Tennessee 33, Alabama 24.

AND THIS IS MY # 2 STUNNER:  Mississippi State will win their 5th straight over Florida in Starkeville!  I'm upset crazy!!  Michigan State will halt the Hawkeyes, and Mizzou will NOT beat Texas, but it will be close.....

DON'T FORGET!!:  Enter code FATE8 at checkout to receive your 20% OFF the Original Retro Brand shirts featured today!

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Most of us know that cycling legend and philanthropist Lance Armstrong is stubborn, and hard-headed when it comes to accomplishing his goals.   You don't win triathlon's when your 13 year's old, and  7 Tour De France titles after overcoming cancer if you're not!

The Plano, Texas native is also a well known Texas Longhorns fanatic, and there is no doubt the force of his will to inspire his team to victory over the Texas Tech Raiders, was in full effect this past weekend.

Lance appeared on the popular ESPN College Gameday show wearing his Original Retro Brand Texas double-hit shirt to show his support!!  Check out the clip...

Apparently Lance isn't the only celebrity screaming "HOOK EM' HORNS!"  in Original Retro Brand gear.    Fellow Texan (Abilene), and sports enthusiast Jessica Simpson sings her praises for the Horns in women's version, and actor, producer, tv pitchman, and cougar snagger Ashton Kutcher is seen here wearing the Original Retro Brand Texas mascot BEVO logo shirt.

3 celebrities wearing Texas Original Retro Brand = # 2 Ranking and 3 victories for the Longhorns.  Ok, maybe it's not just the shirt, but you can't argue with the success!!

To learn more about the Lance Armstrong Foundation and his LIVESTRONG curriculum, please click the link.