Spooky Trash Talk
Here it is Halloween already and we are in the eighth week of the NFL season. It all happens so fast. No trick or treating at Casa de bmaz, we are going out to see Bridge of Spies tonight. But before that will be some football, baseball and Formula One activity.
In the NCAA there was a barnburner gross game Thursday night between ASU and the Oregon Ducks, where the Quackers won 61-56. I only watched about half of it, but it was simply terrible football by both teams, and ASU needs to fire their worthless coach Todd Graham.
Other than that, it is really a pretty dead slate in the college ranks. Can the surprising Temple Owls remain undefeated and knock off Notre Dame? Unlikely, but there is always hope! Minnesota just lost their charismatic coach, Jerry Kill, to a medically necessitated retirement this week. Can the Gophers rise up the inspiration and emotion to beat Michigan at home? On paper, no; but it is a game I want to see. In the SEC, the only interesting matchup is Georgia at Florida. If this was in Athens, you might have more faith in the Dawgs pulling the upset. But not in the Swamp.
But there is baseball on Saturday too. Last night the Mets got back in the series with a solid win over the Royals. As giddy as Royals fans were after the stunning 2-0 start at home in Kaufman Stadium, the way New York took care of business last night has to be sobering. And, man, the Mets hit the ball relentlessly. There are two more games in New York before the teams would head back to KC for games 6, and if necessary, 7. The Royals need to steal one of these next two games, or they are in dire straights. And that may need to be Saturday night as I am not sure Edison Volquez, scheduled to start game 5 for KC, has another lights out performance in him after the week he has had with his father’s death and funeral.
In the NFL, the game of the week, indeed the game of the season so far, is, of course, the undefeated Packers at the Mile High home of the undefeated Broncos. Rodgers versus Manning. You would normally expect this kind of storied matchup to be an offensive dogfight to the death. But not this time. Denver’s defense is world class, AND Demarcus Ware is returning to the lineup. But Green Bay’s defense is better than average and the Bronco’s passing and running attacks have both been anemic so far this year. In short, this looks to be a closer and lower scoring game that you would expect. The Cheesers are clearly the better team top to bottom, but never sleep on the broncs at Mile High. Must see TV for Sunday Night.
Frankly, it is hard to think about any other game, but we must. The other anticipated matchup of the week is already over, and it was over early with Brady and Bel simply dismembering the Dolphins. Wow. The Jets at Raiders could be a surprisingly decent clash. I think there is something going on out there in Raider Nation, they are at least a decent team, on both sides of the ball, again. The other game of real interest is Bengals at Steelers. Big Ben looks to be back, and Cinci is on a roll. I am very tempted to take the Stillers here, but Big Ben is usually rusty his first game back from an injury. This will be a telling game about both teams though. The poor chaps in London are saddled with yet another foul smelling stinker, and will have to drink lots of pints to watch the Lions and Chiefs.
The F1 Circus is back for the rare back to back weekends of racing, having moved from Austin for the USGP down to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez in Mexico City. This is actually pretty exciting, as F1 has not run a Mexican Grand Prix since 1992. Nigel Mansell dominated back in 1992, but there have been many memorable races at the old circuit. The first two practice sessions were uneven with a little weather affecting the process. Qualifying is at 2 pm EST and is, for some unknown reason, being carried on CNBC.
Well, there you have it, time to haunt this place and spook it up. Music this week is Spooky by Dusty Springfield.
Wow, newly named Ohio State starting QB JT Barrett was arrested for DWI last night in Ohio. But don’t worry, criminal coddler extraordinaire Urban Meyer has vowed to suspend Barrett for the absolute bare minimum under school rules, i.e. one game. What a joke.
Don’t they have a fall guy or designated driver?
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Can I trash talk with more NFL paranoia, the story never ends. See Globe report below:
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“Stop us if you’ve heard this one before — NFL Security got a little suspicious at a Patriots-Jets game.
The league’s security conducted a pregame sweep of the visitors’ locker room for electronic bugs at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 25, and also questioned during the game two Patriots game-day employees who were wearing headsets on the sideline, multiple league sources confirmed to the Globe on Friday.
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The sources said NFL Security did not find anything in the locker room sweep, and did not find anything suspicious with the two employees after questioning them on the sideline during the second half. One of the employees works full time with the team and was producing the in-stadium entertainment; the other employee is a local resident and game-day employee who was holding spare batteries and monitoring the communication system between the officials on the field and in the booth upstairs. The matter was closed by the league.
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The locker room sweep and employee questioning were unrelated, sources said, and were not initiated by the Jets. New York radio host and former quarterback Boomer Esiason said early Friday on his show that the Jets had requested the locker room be swept for bugs.
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Two sources said that each NFL stadium is randomly swept for electronics by NFL Security at least once per season, with the league checking out the visitors’ locker room, the officials’ locker room, testing the visiting team’s headsets to make sure they work properly, and so on.
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An NFL spokesman stated that the Jets did not ask for the pregame sweep, and confirmed a random electronics testing program.
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“No such request was made by the Jets,” spokesman Brian McCarthy said on Twitter. “We have for years conducted regular & random checks. We do not get into details of specific games.”
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Jets-Patriots games are no stranger to investigations, of course. In a Week 1 game at the former Meadowlands Stadium in 2007, the Jets informed NFL Security that the Patriots were videotaping the game from an improper area, leading to the scandal that became Spygate.
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Since then, the Patriots have been accused many times of chicanery and gamesmanship at Gillette Stadium, with opposing coaches complaining about faulty headsets and former Colts coach Tony Dungy saying that he used to sweep the visiting locker room for bugs at Gillette. None of the accusations have been proven.
There was also some bullshit “investigation” of Patriots employees at the stadium during the game.
Love Beer, Love Life – Where have all the harpoons gone?
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“Harpoon Brewery has dropped its harpoon.
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The South Boston-based brewer has given the label to its flagship beer, the Harpoon IPA, a dramatic makeover.
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Both the harpoon and the lilies in the corners are gone, swept away by a cleaner-looking design, one with a tiger face in the middle, flanked by two flowers. There are also descriptors — hoppy, floral, crisp — that weren’t there before. The color scheme is similar, with the same shade of blue still dominant”
Uh, the Georgia/Florida game is played every year in Jacksonville:
The Hilltoppers are on the road again this week against Old Dominion starting at noon EDT while the KY ‘Cats are at home against Tennessee starting at 7:30 tonight.
Well then! Is there ever good football in Jacksonville? Isn’t that where the Jags are when they are not in London?
Pretty sure both Georgia and Florida play better football than the Jax Jags – and are probably more professional as they do so (buh-dap-bump)
Front page of this morning’s South Bend Tribune.
“Lawsuit says Notre Dame employee arranged sex between her daughter and students.”
http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/publicsafety/lawsuit-says-notre-dame-employee-arranged-sex-between-her-daughter/article_3a41d5f0-7f52-11e5-a114-0fda9e5abf84.html
bmaz, had never heard the great Dusty Springfield covering, “Spooky.” Thank you.
Have always loved the Dusty version of Spooky. She never got the praise she should have over the years, truly a great voice.
Any bets on who replaces Madison Bumgarner as the hero, in the Mets game 7 against KC?
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The obvious choice is Murph, but maybe a pitcher will do the trick.
I urge all Patriot “haters” to enroll in this course.
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Maybe BMAZ can teach the spring class?
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Deflategate course description
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From the New Hampshire course guide
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INCO 460 (01) — DEFLATEGATE
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Credits: 4.0
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Term: Fall 2015-Full Term (08/31-2015-12/11/2015)
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This course is not about deflated footballs. Instead, it is about the interplay between those footballs — along with numerous other sports things — and the legal, regulatory and journalistic systems governing sports. Students in Deflategate learn about crucial areas of law that relate to sports and the methodologies used to practice in relevant fields. Students also gain valuable instruction on core journalism methods and their applications to a sports story attracting national headlines. The course concludes with an application of methodologies in law and journalism to Deflategate.
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Attributes: Social Science (Discover), Social Science GP 7
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Instructors: Michael McCann, Kevin Sousa
Very familiar with this. Mike has a litany of top people, from all over the country, come in to his class to help as guest lecturers and panelists. It is simply fantastic. I would kill to be anywhere in the vicinity so I could go.
Move to Massachusetts, you are already a Pats aficionado.
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oh, yeah, the fucking weather
Dusty Springfield truly was a wonder. We get a voice as good as hers every ten years or so. Karen Carpenter comes to mind. Hard to believe that was, oh, half a century ago. Wonder if anything I have done will be remembered then.
I believe the Pats were rightly ruled to be innocent on Deflategate. However, what is the meaning of those texts referring to “the deflator”, etc.? And do you think that the Patriots flunkies knew that Brady liked lower pressure footballs and, when feasible, did something about it? I’m not talking about what’s legally provable, I’m talking about real life. Or do you think they are totally innocent? Just curious.
Here is the best explanation from the Patriots….
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“Jim McNally didn’t call himself The Deflator because he took air out of footballs, more probably than not at the behest of Tom Brady.
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He called himself that because he’s fat.
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That’s another of the arguments forwarded by the Patriots in their really long (nearly 20,000 words) refutation of the Ted Wells Report.
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The Patriots explain that John Jastremski is a “slender guy,” and usually tried to work out and bulk up. McNally is described as “a big fellow,” and was trying to lose weight.
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The Patriots contend investigators had possession of the “espn/deflator” text initially, but didn’t ask McNally about it in their first interview.
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“Had they done so, they would have learned from either gentleman one of the ways they used the deflation/deflator term,” they wrote. “‘Deflate’ was a term they used to refer to losing weight.”
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They cite specific texts including one which read “deflate and give somebody that jacket.”
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“There was nothing complicated or sinister about it,” they wrote, before going through a blow-by-blow of previous texts between McNally and Jastremski which references beer pong and women whose names were “omitted out of respect to Mrs. Jastremski.”
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I see dakine beat me to explaining the location and history of The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. A win for the Gators today would cement McElwain as a truly great hire.
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And minimal punishment by Meyer aside (and, of course, a given), I’m perplexed by the charge. I wouldn’t have thought that DUI was ever a misdemeanor. How common is that?
First time DWI without an accident and/or injury is a misdemeanor pretty much everywhere.
Watching the qualifying session. They hit 364 km an hour on the straight, altitude makes for fast cars… The track is awfully slippery, it’s as if oil is seeping through the asphalt.
And ESPN tosses whatever remains of its cred by “suspending” Grantland.
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I’m looking forward to Cincy-Stillers. As noted in the main post, it’s an open question whether Ben will be ready for game speed come tomorrow. Tossup in my book.
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For some reason, the TV is giving just about every last stinking market the Seahawks-Owboys for the late game tomorrow. I’ll pass.
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I never liked Harpoon that much, so them changing their label is no big deal to me. If I’m going for something hoppy, I’ll go with an Allagash White or a Blue Moon, slice of orange thank you very much. But I’d much rather a true pilsner – Radeberger (Dresden, Germany), Czechvar (outside the US known as Czech Budweiser, from Budweis, Czech Republic), or Penn Pilsner, product of Penn Brewery, a/k/a “The Mighty Penn”, Pittsburgh, PA. http://www.pennbrew.com/OurBeer/OurBeers.aspx The last of these https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_Brewery was founded by Thomas Pastorius, a lineal descendant of the man who led the first German emigration to America, founded Germantown after buying the land from WIlliam Penn, participated in the first protest against slavery in America, and made poetry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Daniel_Pastorius
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Damn good beer.
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And you thought all Pittsburgh makes these days is great football.
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As to the Patsies, I said it to EW and BMAz yesterday in the background and I’ll say it again here: Cheatin’ Bill has his Cheating Cheaters playing on a whole different level of excellence. They made the Dolphins look like a high-school team. As much as I disdain the Patsies, I have to respect that they are playing some of the best football I’ve ever seen.
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As to the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS, the whole bugging thing just proves that they have Cheatin’ Bill and his Cheating Cheaters in their heads. Which means the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS will L-O-S-E LOSE LOSE LOSE.
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It was fun watching the Metsies win last night. I dunno whether they have a Series in them, but it’ll be fun to watch.
Yeah, at this point, everyone does have the Pats in their heads.
I’m still waiting to hear what happened to the Colts football Brady took, which was reportedly going to be sent for forensics. Maybe it was clean?
Also, I have to mention what I already mentioned on Twitter: my favorite stat from the Fins game.
Suh, solo tackles: 0
Tannehill, solo tackles: 1
Didn’t hear Suh’s name called until the 4th qtr., and then only after a Patsies’ OL went down and the talking heads wagged about maybe Suh stepped on him only to be disabused by the video showing his innocence.
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Be honest. Did you ever expect to hear Suh and innocent of football wrongdoing in the same sentence?
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BMAz, as to Grantland, the copy read on my local radio said “Suspended”. I knew it was suspended just like every failed candidate’s campaign is suspended (i.e, dead), but I’m quoting accurately.
Oh, I think I was that talking head. That’s what Mr. Ew said, but it was clear on replay that’s not what happened.
And yeah, after finally having had one decent game last week (against the Texans, who’ve sucked this year), Suh went back to being the biggest $100M bust in recent memory. I assume he’d still be playing great at the Kitties, but who knows. $100M has a way of slowing a guy down.
Did you see this essay on Rugby
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/10/america-rugbys-last-frontier/408982/
“The forwards had day jobs as grocers and policemen; the backs were officer class,”
LOL. On my college team, the backs were all (with the exception of me) science majors, whereas the forwards were humanities/social science majors. That meant it was almost impossible to practice properly as labs coincided with afternoon practices.
Also, women’s rugby has been globally competitive for some time (in part because when I played club, in the early 90s, not that many countries had teams). 7 of the women I played with my last year were national team players, and one was surely among the 4 best players in the world. I think at that point they were probably already 4th in the world.
After your rugby game, enjoy a can of Bellaczechpils from Wachusetts Brewery
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From the President of the Brewery
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“We have some new beers that are all sports-related and will be launching in the fall during football season. It’s called City of Champions. Specifically with sports, the Bellaczechpils. It’s a traditional German lager beer. … It’s really light but really drinkable. I really drink almost nothing besides our beer. If I do, it’s a craft. Bill Belichick doesn’t know we are making the beer after his name, but I hope when he does see it, he will smile. That would make my year”
Harumph.
If you’re going to call it (Belli)Czech Pils, make it a Czech, not an inferior pilsner.
Tho, while it could be, Belichick is not a Czech name.
ESPN didn’t “suspend” Grantland, they flat out dumped it. It is done.
Have you tried the Allagash Tripel with a guaranteed buzz attack of 9% ABV?
Our Trappist Monastery up here has a nice Belgium brew.
If I want to get wrecked, I’ll just chug some whiskey. High ABV beer – any brand – is overpriced if you work on the buzz per dollar scale. Cheap whiskey, OTOH, has its own special charms. Cheap, first among them.
Turn one will be epic tomorrow.
https://twitter.com/DavidBVisser/status/660514834291793920/video/1
Well now, that is pretty wild.
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Agree about turn one. The reconfigured Autodromo looks like a decent place to see a race as a spectator actually.
I think you’re right, I’d love to be in that stadium section. I wonder how the race will go as the track gums up. Two Mercs out before the end of lap one is a probability that would please me after such a dismal season of racing.
Matt does a great job on the 9er down fall.
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nfl/san-francisco-49ers/article41806782.html
F-1 I’ll watch some of it just because it is Mexico but bmz pretty much covered it last week on how I feel also.
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Yea, Matt Barrows is a good reporter. He writes good stories and the best part is he’s accurate. Even though I love his Niners writing, if he wrote on politics there’d be a lot of uncomfortable politicians around
The Autodromo looks like it is made for both stadium and TV viewing. Might be worth the watch.
Uh, Kirk Ferentz, that’s how.
Incidentally, while MSU and OSU and UM (the latter not yet deservedly) suck up all the attention, IA is the real deal and will likely be undefeated when it wins the boring side of the B1G to take on whoever wins the MSU/OSU matchup (unless we can spoil OSU’s fun).
With all the children coming around tonight for Halloween, I have been testing our treats to make sure they are safe for others. So far the Kit-Kat and the ToastChee rate acceptable. Many still to go.
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Broke my promise to myself and tried to predict some college games.
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The book says Clemson v NC State is under 70% of the time – the under was 50. Fail. Have a chance with SD State v Col State going under 50. I also took Florida, and I’m gonna keep riding them until they lose. I also took Houston at -10.
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And, the last two have been money in the bank. With the Boston Bruins games going over. And any game the Royals play in the playoffs going over
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PS Went down the hill this morning to Carson City for Nevada Day (Nevada’s 150th birthday) to register people to vote and tell them about Bernie Sanders. A little surprising that we gave out the amount of flyers we did, and actually registered a good amount of people. We had a lot of good conversations, obviously with Democrats, some independents, but surprisingly more Republicans than you would think. OK not all the Republicans were open-minded, but some were receptive to what we were saying, and how we explained what he was for. I saw John Ralston at the chili feed. And all-in-all we met some very enthusiastic Bernie supporters
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It was a good day
Wish I knew you were going to see John Ralston bc I want to know whether something he reported from the debate — that it started late bc Trump complained about the temperature — was just a joke.
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I didn’t even know he was gonna be there. We got in line at the door upstairs in the Nugget, and he was 10 feet away from us talking to someone. I could have introduced myself and I totally could have asked him
Good for you! I wish I had been there : ) Go Bernie!
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Happy Halloween All : )
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btw, bloopie, we’re still working on the taste testing, too… We’ve covered the Reeses peanut butter cups, Three Musketeers, and Snickers, got a ways to go but we’re pacing ourselves ; )
What phred said about getting down in the trenches and working to save the country. Thank you.
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and phred, thanks
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Going by the trends has really screwed up my picks the last few weeks, so I’m mostly going with my gut
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Vikings over da Bears, even though the good guys have been slowed down year after year by the slow and unmowed Soldier Field for the past decade or so, but I think the Norse have too much young talent this year, and they take this one on the road
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And I think the Raiduhs are gonna surprise the J-E-T-S. The NYJ put everything on the line last week and almost beat the Cheaters (LOL). But seriously, a lot was taken out of them, and like I’ve been telling ppl, the bay area does have a winning team, but it’s not the Niners who are good this year
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Carolina Panthers. I’m gonna keep riding them
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Then, I’m gonna switch up and take the Montreal Canadiens. Ok no real surprise there, but they’re playing lights out this year and you do actually have to show up to be good
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And I’m gonna hedge and take the ‘over’ in the World Series. I think I’d like the Mets to win tonight to continue the Series, but the Royals have a buzz saw going (and it’s an even year so they don’t have to play the Giants. Go Giants!)
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I wanna take the Bengals but the Steelers defense scares me. And I’m not brave enough to go there, but I think Detroit and Dallas might steal their games
Yo, that Lions thing is working well for you…..
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Unless Romo is back (he’s not), not so sure the Cowboys thing will go any better.
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Didn’t say they would, just said “might” ;-)
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Everything after the World Series is just for sh*ts and giggles
From a kid who couldn’t be more than 8 years old, rummaging though our candy bowl: “The choosing between what there is and what you want is … very difficult.” Life lesson for the week.
On the nfl.com website, the very first entry on the uppermost bar where you can select News, Scores, Schedules, Standings, etc., is : FANTASY. Gee, now this NFL statement makes sense: “If the uncertain legal status of daily fantasy sports contests were to change, the NFL would re-evaluate its approach and acceptance of the industry, the league’s chief lobbyist said this week.” Yes, then they would ask for a cut of the revenue.
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I realize that I am more than a little biased, but how can any coach but McElwain be national Coach of the Year? A win next week against Vandy and the Gators go to Atlanta in a year they were picked fourth or fifth in the eastern division.
Whoa, the Washington Huskies are kicking the living shit out of Rich Rod and the Arizona Wildcats. Just ugly, 42-3 at start of the 4th quarter.
I see that the guy named after the guy my dog is named after is now officially in the Heisman discussion. Go McCaffreyson.
The Lions’ offense under Jim Bob Cooter is criminally bad so far. Which I guess kind of figures. Hope the records from this game don’t mysteriously disappear!
Enjoying the Stillers game while bread bakes, smelling up the place in a good way.
Enjoying that it looks like a real AFC N game, with each team beating the shit out of each other, rather than Bungles playing a JV team.
I sad after the Patsies game that Stillers would get really good by the end of year and Pats were lucky to get them early. Big Ben injury behind them, now, I think I was right.
Well, I was enjoying the Stillers game until those dirtball Bungles twisted LeVeon Bell’s right foot up by his hip.
Vettel stop complaining, you knew he was there.
And now Seb is off into the barrier. What a bummer day for the Prancing Horse. Blech.
That wasn’t bad at all. Bottas passing Kvyat was a nice thing. Congrats to Rosberg. They stopped the cars in the stadium, that’s a great idea. First time since 2006 that Ferrari had no car finishing. Perez finishing eight at home is très cool.
Yeah, it was very nice to see Bottas get a podium. He has a very promising career ahead of him I think.
King Roger the Clown’s insistence on the Stillers wearing the fucking bumblebee uniforms as their throwbacks is yet another reason to hate him.
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You want Steeler Throwback uniforms? Wear the ’75-’76 black unis.
Not a big Stillers fan but totally agree about those hideous uniforms
These uniforms are right down there with that fucking Steely McBeam mascot the Stillers were forced to trot out a few years back.
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http://www.realclearsports.com/lists/top_10_weirdest_mascots/steely_mcbeam.html?state=stop
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They stopped having him/it go out for personal appearances about 3 weeks into the season because the outfit was a magnet for punches in the jaw.
That’s bad when your mascot is considered weirder than “Big Red”.
(I attended WKU long before Big Red came along but I think it was the closest thing they could come up with to embody the red towel)
Players: “If you’re going to put us in those ugly-with-a-capital-UGLY uniforms, we want to see Goodell in a throwback lime green polyester leisure suit with wide lapels strolling on the sidelines.”
Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer retiring after season
a decent guy, but
who writes lines like these for the coach/university?
[… “I have always said that ‘I want what is best for Virginia Tech,’” Beamer said in a school statement. “Because of my love and passion for this great university, this program and our tremendous fans, I have decided after 29 years that it’s time. Today, I informed [president] Dr. Timothy Sands and [athletic director] Whit Babcock of my decision to retire at the conclusion of the 2015 season.
“I was going to wait until the end of the season to make this announcement, but I’ve always believed in being open and honest with my players and coaches. I know Hokie Nation will continue to give our players and our coaches their full support in these last three games, and hopefully through a bowl game. I will be forever grateful to everyone who made these past three decades the best years of my life. It’s an emotional day for me and my family. I am so honored and humbled to have served as your head coach.
“I will speak about my retirement at my regular press conference tomorrow, and after that, my sole and absolute focus will return to coaching these players as best as I can and encouraging our coaches and staff who I care for so deeply.” …]
yuuckk.
Lots of happy folks in and around KC today, following yet another late inning, come from behind win by the Royals. Among the happiest might be Mizzou’s athletic director, football coach, and QB Maty Mauk, who went from being suspended for the last four weeks to being reinstated last Wednesday and this afternoon he has been abrubtly booted from the team for the rest of the season. That makes for a helluva roller coaster week, and only the Royals in the World Series has kept them off the front page. All the details are being held private by the university and Mauk isn’t talking — or at least not yet.
Well, it’s been a crappy mexico race for Ferrari.
Hope y’all bet the over on the Aint’s-Jints
And the Niners apparently are headed for the cellar this year. (It helps to have a long memory. The season before they hired Bill Walsh comes to mind. ISTR they were something like 1-15.)
Yep and 2 losing season after that but if you watch what he was trying to do all he needed was the right players. BW got them on offense and the best Defense C ever GS got them on D. The rest is now in the history books.
I pointed before this owner likes what the see, more than enough room in the cap and even more next yr. The stadium built with other peoples money and you make money on events and concessions. Free stadium then the teeeveee money rolls in. Profits are up enough to move mom into the top 500 of the 1% so life is good unless your fan.
Go Raiders until they move;)
F-1 I just don’t get it and I do wish Honda the best but it’s not enough. FA with a slight throw of his gloves to a team member was enough for me. He didn’t even get a dnf.
No, and I have not heard anything to lead me to believe Honda power will be that much better next year either.
Yeah, they were something like 2-14 the first year he was there. It couldn’t have gotten much worse. (’84 was good, though.)
Congrats to your Norsemen JohnT, it was closer than I expected ; )
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And good luck to your Royals Jim and Peterr… You’ll have to tell me all about it though, as I’ll be watching the undefeated match up of the evening…
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GO PACKERS!!!
round ball – 6 and counting.
All those Mets fans, waving their little orange rags when the Royals are at bat. Do they think it makes a difference? I guess even though it’s part of the “fan experience”, it sure looks (and is) silly. Oh well, that’s part of why I watch sports on TV and not in person. Old fart.
Happy Hallowe’en!
Looks like my 9ers showed up, dressed as the Packers…
That was cold Petro, very very cold.
phred!
This looks to be an exciting 2nd half.
I like your optimism : )
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Nice to see you Petro!
Ugh, now Manning is rolling again. And Clay Matthews is hurt. Not promising at all.
This is just painful. I was worried about all of the injuries on the Pack, but I didn’t expect the game to be this hard to watch. What with the time change, I’m gonna call it a night…
Welp, at least the Pack looked better by the half than in the early going. Yikes!
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I know it’s Halloween weekend and one should expect tricks as well as treats, but I’m not sure my sugar saturated heart can take the strain ; )
is it my imagination or has chewing tobbacco use on camera declined among baseball players?
if so, wonderful.
it used to annoy the hell out of me that such stars as atlanta third baseman chipper jones, and seemingly, double dozens of other major league stars, would chew on camera.
have you ever seen the dugout floor after a game of chewers? god, what a mess. they didn’t know what spitoons were – just used paper cups and the dugout floor.
I think baseball has banned chew in the minor leagues and while they have not been able to ban it in the Majors, they have at least gotten it cut back significantly. And I think that has been helped along by the various cases of esophageal cancer caused by chewing tobacco
thanks for that info. it does seem like something has changed since the ’90’s when everybody except a bat boy had a cud.
i didn’t know about the minor leagues ban, but it makes sense. the first pro ballgame i ever watched as a kid was a class d cardinals team in our city. in fact the only pro ball i ever watched until an adult was minor league ball. it was a lot of fun. the bleachers really were. you were close enough to really hear the pop of the ball in the mitt. and you could sit anywhere. no free balls though and absolutely no beer :).
My nephew has really uncanny ability to mirror stuff he sees–it’s one of a number of reasons he’s a very skilled athlete (he’ll be 11 this year, but plays elite hockey).
I remember when, as a 4 year old, he would mimic (IIRC) Manny Ramirez’ windup and swing. Down to the chaw in the cheek. Not cool.
:)
yes, the little ones are fabulous mimics whether they’re puppies, kittens, or little primates. copying an adult with whom they have identified seems to be a major way they learn.
my wife and i watched the relatively young father of one of my son’s teenage friends die of lip, tongue, and throat cancer. he became disgifured, lost his voice, and slowly faded off. it was unpleasant.
Yeah, no way I expected this kind of slaughter. A Donko win, sure, but this is depressing. And now a freaking safety. Ugh.
My apologies to the cheesers, but, my Donkos and Mr. Noodlearm thumped them…! Now, will it be another battle of the unbeatens following Turkey day in Denver…? ;-)
That Thanksgiving matchup of unbeaten looks better all the time.
That new-fangled pistol offense is certainly firing on all cylinders, bmaz…! And, altho, the vaunted Orange Crush only scored 2 defensive points and registered only 1 sack, they gave Aaron nobody to throw to and harried him all nite, Lacey was also shutdown in the run game…! Looking good for my undefeated Donks…! ;-)
Yeah — Circle November 29th
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“Denver Broncos (Nov. 29) — Brady-Manning XVII in Denver remains the biggest remaining hurdle. Even if every time Peyton Manning throws it looks like he is competing in the shot put, he is still smart enough to expose the Patriots’ collection of corners. With old friend Aqib Talib, the Broncos entered Sunday tops in the league in total defense and passing defense. Denver has been a house of horrors for the Patriots historically, and Manning has extra motivation from Brady’s leaked e-mails dismissing his longevity.
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Likelihood of a loss: (Mile) High” — Globe article
I don’t think Pats win in Mile High. Bronco’s D is too good, especially considering the Pats have been scraping by w/almost no O line this year.
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I was hoping for at least one more game. #RoyalsAreABuzzsaw
Welp, came to congratulate Jim White on the Royals WS win, but think he went to bed already!
The Mets really put up a great fight to the bitter end…!
Oh, I was rooting for the Royals too in the WS, but Jim always does next to the Rays.
But the Mutts remain Mutts to the end.
http://metsmerizedonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/sad-met-fan-agony.png
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This Yankee fan smiles.
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We watched all the way through the end and even some of the celebrating, but I had put the laptop and phone away and didn’t bother getting them back out. With titles for the Royals 30 years apart, it’s fun to think back to the first one. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we generated a complaint or two to the management of the apartment complex back in ’85. Last night was a lot quieter, but it was still a joy for us old farts to see the camera settle on George Brett a few times during the postgame celebration. He’s calmed down a bit since then, too.
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At least this time we didn’t need a Denkinger to get the win.
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The encouraging thing for my Rays as they watched the Royals is that the Rays decided to get a lot more aggressive on offense when they found themselves floundering in the middle of the season. They improved a lot with that move, and seeing the Royals win it all with an aggressive approach at the plate should tell them to keep it up.
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The only thing that remains in this season is to make sure Kevin Kiermaier gets his gold glove.
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And Gator baseball starts in February. With a number one recruiting class and the Gators only falling an inning short of the CWS final series, you have to like where this season is headed.
Will the Bungles and Donks be undefeated in their week 16 showdown in Denver…?
*sigh* After the ass-whooping AF handed my ‘Bows, Norm Chow has been shit-canned…! I wonder if Hawaii will even field a FBS team next year…! 8-(
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And my condolences to the Cheesers. I didn’t watch any of the game, but I would hope that last year’s advice from Rodgers to R-E-L-A-X is still appropriate. It’s a long season…
Thanks Jim : ) R-E-L-A-X is definitely in order. There is a reason that it is exceedingly rare for NFL teams to get through the season undefeated. Congratulations to your Royals! At least there was some good news last night : ) We kept flipping back and forth during the ads and last we saw it 2-0 Mets in the 7th. Glad KC took advantage in the late innings : )
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CTuttle, congrats to your Broncos : ) They’ve got a championship defense, which should be exciting to watch from here on out…
congratulations to the royals.
i’ve always been partial to the national league since my first team (from hundreds of miles away) was the brooklyn dodgers – yes, brooklyn dodgers. what? you didn’t know the dodgers pulled a colts before the colts pulled a colts?
but its is a team sport, isn’t it? and the royals were a great team.
Da Bums can still be rooted for, it is just not as easy with them in Hollywood and all.
young love dies hard, doesn’t it :)
And the Colin Kaeprnick era of the San Francisco 49ers is on indefinite hold. Adam Shefter reports his benching:
Ouch. Blaine Gabbert? Brutal, but Kaepernick has been that bad.