Leftovers Turkey Trash Talk
Okay, so we all made it through Thanksgiving. I weigh a little more than I used to, and am still eating holiday food. Copiously. We left off on Thursday, and those games went about as expected, though I underestimated how strong the Vikes would be and how feckless the Kittehs would be. Still, no shockers.
Miami and Alabama getting seriously lit up on Friday and Saturday respectively was pretty notable. The race for the final four for the BCS tournament is wildly in the air. On a local note, this morning, ASU fired head coach Todd Graham. I did not like his hiring from the get go,though he did have a decent couple of initial seasons with the recruits he inherited from Dennis Ericson. Downhill ever since then. Cleaned up off the field aspects fairly admirably, but his on the field coaching was, really, not good. There is no idea who is next here, but a very strong appreciation that the Graham era is over and new blood is coming.
Back to the NFL, due to the extended Thanksgiving Day schedule, it is lighter than most. Scribe is going to be all interested in Packers at Steelers. If Aaron Rodgers was on the field, this would be a GREAT game. He is not, and young Brett Hundley is playing behind a compromised line and is flighty in the pocket. Stillers on to next game, and Pack on to next year.
New Orleans at the Rams with all the 25,000 to 30,000 fans that “may” actually walk through the turnstiles, looks pretty interesting. Rams having a hiccup in what started out as a ridiculously good season. But Drew Brees and the rejuvenated Saints defense is on a major roll. My bet is the Saints continue to let the good times roll. Jaguars at Cardinals might be a surprisingly good game. The Cards are not as bad a team as their record reflects, and are tough at home in the Big Toaster. Miami is another team that feels actually better than their record. But they have injury problems and should be no match for Bill Bel, Brady and the lads.
On a parting shot, this morning was the final race in Formula One, and came from the gorgeous circuit at Yas Marina in AbuDhabi. Valteri Bottas won with Hamilton right on his tail in what looked like a team orders give away. Which was fine I guess, both the constructors and drivers’ championships were well locked up. Ferrari behind enough to pick up the next two spots, but not that close. Alonso, again, drove his ass off with inferior equipment. It was a spectacular day on a beautiful day and quality track. Hopefully 2018 will provide more competitiveness, though I say that every year as the circus closes. ON a bittersweet note, Felipe Massa picked up a point with a hard fought 10th place finish in his last race in F1. A consistently superb driver, and one of the truly nicest guys, in fifteen years as a frontline driver in Formula One. I will miss Felipe.
Okay, that is it for the leftover trash. Music today by Rod Stewart and Elton John. And, yes, that is really a very early picture of the two of them together on a pitch.
Yesterday I completed a Notre Dame season without watching a single down. That is the first time since my first Irish season when I was 10, and that’s a whole hell of a lot of seasons. The Holy Rollers have one fewer customer for their right-wing religion of misogyny and football, and utter indifference to the health and safety of their players.
In my freshman year there, they recruited a guy from my high school who got injured in practice that year and never played again. He kept his scholarship and graduated on time. Imagine that happening today.
Ed, I watched the whole thing! And it was glorious……
Remember Dave Duerson? I do.
Yes, played here his last three years. Sad story, and a great player.
They still have Philip Mirowsky. I wonder if it’s because the Ivie’s refuses to employ or give their imprimatur to the “unorthodox”, as they seem to have done for two generations of scholars after Mills made tenure at Columbia. (Coffin squeaked in at Yale, but Zinn made do at BU under the execrable John Silber, who tried to fire the tenured Zinn every year.) Or maybe he just likes those northern Indiana cornfields, or the basketball.
They also take money from the Koch brothers Foundation. Interestingly, Mirowski holds a chair endowed by a different person named Charles Koch, this one a Chicago businessman.
How many of these damn Kocks are there?
Did you see the Koch adverts at the KU game? Koch, Challenge Accepted
Dirty tricks?
Fake punt first down and then march to glory
Pats 7 Miami 0
In keeping with the spirit of leftovers, I will kindly send you Jim McElwain as the next Forkers coach. You will love him at least as much as you loved Graham.
Tonight, the Gators basketball team (yes, we are clearly a basketball school now) face the Dookies, with the number one team only favored by a point and a half last time I checked. Considering how well the Gators did in the horribly scheduled midnight tipoff against the Zags (double OT win against basically a home crowd), this promises to be quite a game. Tipoff scheduled for 10:30, so not much better than Friday night…
On the football coach search front, there are strong rumors the Gators will now by late today if we get our Coach of the Sacred Tebow, aka Dan Mullen. At least Stricklin would know what he’s getting if that’s the case.
I read that too about Mullen. I, and others, think that ASU has a guy they have identified and think they can get. But nobody really knows who it is. I am hoping for Mike Norvell, who was OC at ASU before becoming head coach at Memphis, who are just ripping things up under him. But he has not been there that long, and not sure the parting here went that well. We shall see I guess. Seems both a great fit and an unlikely thing to work out.
Cooks riding Gronk like a cowboy on a horse after that TD is pretty special.
Sounds like the official Mullen announcement from UF is any minute now.
Most insane news of the day is that the Houston NBC affiliate is reporting Jimbo Fisher to Texas A&M is being finalized. Fisher is a complete fool if he makes that move.
Oh, fuck no, tell me that is not true. ASU had a thing for Kevin Sumin before he went to the Aggies. That is NOT the coach I want here.
For the second straight week, the f’g TV came out with this “for those of you who’ve been watching the Eagles game, we’ll be switching to a more competitive contest”. In this case, it was the f’g J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS. Again. I don’t want to watch “a more competitive contest”. I want to watch my Stillers, Who’s Playin’ Dallas, and Iggles (in that order of preference) beat the snot out of their opposition.
Drew Fookin Brees is losing. Hard to believe.
OK, so I was on the road all day and have a bit of road burn. At least I was in The Other Lane, i.e., the one not clogged with people going home, so I’m not totally fried.
The local supermarket broke out the eggnog back around Halloween. I held off until yesterday. Indian Summer is not the right time for eggnog. There’ll be brandy in it tonight.
Leftover moose goulash tonight. Yum.
I am reliably told that current basketball school, Florida Gators, have a Jai Alai match or something tonight against Duke.
I just get no respect, and that’s AFTER I defended you for not liking Sumlin.
Meanwhile, on the “Holy Shit” front, the upstanding folks at the University of Tennessee stood up with a healthy “Hell No!” to the announcement that Greg Schiano, who was said in sworn testimony by Mike McQueary to have witnessed a Sandusky child rape while he was an assistant on that staff (1990-1995). Tennessee fans created such an instant ruckus that the AD pulled out of the deal, reportedly after an MOU had already been signed.
So, will cheating cheater Urban Meyer keep the now radioactive Schiano on his staff?
Dangerfield! Urban Meyer is far more worried about finding some sideline media cameraman to attack over the loss of JT Barrett. Even though Barrett’s replacement played lights out.
Jesus, it was harum scarum, but the Cardinals won a last second game against the playoff ready Jaguars via a last second drive and field goal. It was truly an interesting, even if not always well played game. Wow.
And, go figure, the Saints busted down against the Rams. Not so surprised I guess, but was kind of hoping the Saints were not the old win early and fail Saints. Geaux Rams, they are truly for real.
Honestly, did not really think the Rams would win today.
McVey’s the real deal with the Rams, and he’s showing considerable growth as he figures out how to be a head coach. Pretty good chops for a 31 year old kid as a rookie. Watch out for him in years to come.
‘Skins and ‘Boys looks like a mess Thursday night. Both 5-6 and clinging to feeble wild card hopes. Dak’s not so great without Zeke, but it is nice to see journeyman RB and ex ‘Skin Alfred Morris doing ok. ‘Skins have got an injury list from Hell with replacements for the replacements in several cases. Sometimes they even get to practice once or twice before going in the game. Expect more action than the snoozer with the Giants yesterday, but maybe no better football.
It makes you wonder just how bad a coach Jeff Fisher is, since IIRC the roster is not all that different from the team that lost twice to the Niners last year, and looked wretched otherwise.
Deadspin has you:
https://deadspin.com/well-never-know-the-full-extent-of-jeff-fishers-crimes-1820261708
That was truly a catch by Brown. Wow.
All up to Boswell.
And it is…….Good! Well shit. That sucks. Congrats to Steelers , better game than I ever thought, and good win.
Dirty team, though. That h-2-h hit by Watt on Hundley was a deliberately dirty hit, and it did its job. They are the 70s Leeds Utd of the NFL.
Pulled that out our ass. Can’t win without tackling, especially when a 2nd-rate-r like Hundley can show Biebs how to slice and dice.
Jeez.
I hope Tomlin doesn’t overthink The Game. There are games, and there are super games.
Come December, Belichick’s unrelenting gaze toward Tomlin will signify his uncanny ability to out coach his opponent.
The four horsemen (Belichick, Brady, Gronk, and Gostkowski, will sweep across Heinz Field…
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“The usually taciturn (at least when cameras are rolling) Tomlin raised eyebrows during a pregame interview in which he stressed he believes his team can win the Super Bowl and allowed there’s a part of him thinking about New England’s visit to Heinz Field on Dec. 17.”
‘‘We’ve got a good football team,’’ Tomlin said. ‘‘I’ve got a great deal of confidence in them. Everybody in America knows it’s a big game. We couldn’t deny it if we wanted to.’’
Tomlin is right. The Steelers DO have a hell of a team. And, yes, they are a real threat to the Patriots.
Yeah. Agreed
The Steelers are a very fine team.
That’s why I will be drinking and praying to the gods.
No conquest, no war, no famine, no death for the Patsies.