A few random Thursday night thoughts before I head off to Bloomington in the morning...

• The Marvin Taylor saga ended earlier this afternoon when Randy Edsall announced he had dismissed him from the team. Absolutely the right decision considering Taylor was already given a second chance last spring. But don't expect it to be a quiet ending.

• Disappointing season premier of my favorite TV show, "The Office", tonight. I'll just leave it at that.

• Thanks to those who gave me suggestions to solve my Sirius satellite radio problems. I've found it works much better at night, but I'm getting major interference from every radio station I try during the day. Incredibly frustrating.

• To the people who order frappachino's, macchiato's and all those other annoying drinks that take 15 minutes to make at Starbucks...just go to an ice cream shop. All I want is my plain old cup of Joe and to get the heck out of Starbucks.

• If you're ever driving on Rte. 15 through Fairfield County and are in the mood for a delicious, mildly greasy lunch, try the Merritt Canteen just off exit 48 around the Trumbull/Bridgeport line. Best hot dogs around (aside from Chick's on the West Haven beach).

• I drafted Edgerrin James and Willis McGahee with my first two fantasy football picks. Shocker... my squad is 0-2.

• Just a hunch, but Dan Murray will not only play on Saturday, he'll catch a TD pass.

Now, onto the Malafronte Challenge, week 3. Everybody had a tough time last weekend. I went 6-7-2, just 3-3-1 in Big East games. No one who entered did better than 7-6-2. The Big East winner? None other than Vinny from East Haven at 4-2-1.

Here are my picks for week 3:

Game 1: Louisville (-14) over KANSAS STATE: No Brohm, no problem. UConn fans know his backup, Hunter Cantwell, could start for most any other team in the country.

Game 2: VIRGINIA TECH (-28) over Cincinnati: Will come down to how bad the Hokies feel like laying it on Cincy. If they're merciful, Bearcats might cover.

Game 3: UConn (+2.5) over INDIANA: Huskies win this one on the field.

Game 4: West Virginia (-21.5) over EAST CAROLINA: Is it me or does 21.5 seem kind of low?

Game 5: KANSAS (-6) over South Florida: Can't figure out either of these teams. Kansas is home, they should cover.

Game 6: SYRACUSE (-7) over Miami-Ohio: Orange much improved despite 1-2 record.

And the selected non-Big East games...

Game 7: Penn State (+17) over OHIO STATE

Game 8: Notre Dame (-3) over MICHIGAN STATE

Game 9: Boston College (-7) over NC STATE

Game 10: MICHIGAN (-14.5) over Wisconsin

Game 11 (the weekly New Haven special): Yale (+5.5) over CORNELL: Bulldogs rebound after getting hammered by coach Jim Harbaugh's San Diego squad last week.

Don't forget to enter by clicking on the "comments" box below and making your picks!