Random Trash
Was out and about much of yesterday, so Trash is late and will be short.
We learned a couple of things yesterday. Thing one: Ed Walker’s Fighting Irish are for real. Thing two: Marcy’s Bo Merlots are not. And, at least here, there was pure shock that the ASU Sun Devils could go up to Salt Lake and roll over an always decent Utah team 30-10. That was….unexpected. Rather uneventful day other than that. Man, Penn State looks good though.
In the pros, the game of the day might not even be in this country. The Rams and Cardinals are playing a rare London night game. Which means it is on regular time here 1 pm in the east and 10 am in the west. Adrian Peterson gave the Cards a badly needed jolt last week, it really changed everything about their offense. The Rams have quietly been playing very solid ball this year though, so this could be a really great matchup. And then throw in that they are division rivals that have a serious dislike for each other.
Other games of note include, of course, the Super Bowl rematch between the Falcons and Pats in Foxborough for the Sunday Night game on NBC and the Skins at Philly for the Monday Night game on ESPN. I’ll take the home team in both. Kirk Cousins has been playing really well, the Skins could make that pretty interesting. The other game that really interests me is Saints at Packers. It is home at Lambeau, and Brett Hundley has now had a full week to settle in as the starting QB. But can he put enough points on the board to top the high flying Saints and Drew Brees? The Saints hung up 52 on the Lions last week, and Detroit may have a better defense than the Pack, so it doesn’t look good for the Cheesers.
In case you missed it last night, the Houston Astros knocked off the mighty Yankees in a thrilling game seven for the American League crown. So the World Series is set with Houston and the Dodgers. I still think of them both as National League teams, even though the Astros have been in the American League for quite a while now. Great pitching for both teams, just what you want in October.
Lastly, this week is the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin. Unless you follow Sky Sports and the BBC, you wouldn’t even know that Formula 1 is here; it just doesn’t get covered in the States. That is incredibly sad. Anyway Hamilton now has an all but insurmountable lead over Vettel in the drivers points race, and he will, again, start from pole. Followed by Vettel, Bottas, Ricciardo and Raikkonen in P2-P5. Alonso qualified at P8, and McLaren is quietly getting better. The McLaren chassis is actually superb. If they had a Mercedes engine, they would be challenging for wins consistently. Which is why Mercedes refuses to give them engines.
Music today is from the Dead, with one of the better (if not the best) live recordings of Promised Land. Rock, chalk and trash talk peoples.
‘Skins and Iggles should be worth watching Monday. Expect you’re right, and the Eagles are the pick. Not sure the odds have them up enough. Cousins and Wentz have both been on a roll. That should lead to some fireworks. ‘Skins have been playing earnest ball after a slow start losing to the Iggles, and they need this game to stay in the NFC East race. OTOH, they are physically pretty beat up from playing earnest. It is hard to tell how big the impact will be, but so far the most surprising aspect of this team has been the quality of the ‘next man up’. That is hugely improved over years past thanks largely to Scott McCloughan.
Philly is a hard town to visit, the fans can be brutal. At times the city has had a court and cells on site to deal with the most unruly. No need to go downtown, we can process you right here. Guess that’s why they call it a ‘locker’ room.
Do they still have the jail there??
Nope, they dropped it shortly they moved out of the Vet to the new stadium ca 2003-4.
Yes. Jail, but no longer a courtroom too.
Worth noting that the judge who established not only the jail but also a courtroom in the bowels of The Vet (that long ago) ran on the notoriety gained from his creating one-stop justice, and was elected a Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He later resigned in disgrace as part of the damage from the offensive email circulation scandal, where judges, prosecutors, and some defense attorneys were all boys-will-be-boys with circulating jokes about Obama’s parentage, the sexual proclivities of various ethic groups, and so on. Not to be outdone, that scandal also brought down the PA AG, who went to prison for lying about leaking information related to the boys-will-be-boys mess. But, she had girl cooties and the boys-will-be-boys didn’t, so the boys got off without a conviction and McCaffery got to keep his pension, too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamus_McCaffery
And that’s just the thumbnail.
Here’s a good article on the history of the courtroom and jail: https://billypenn.com/2015/09/11/peeing-in-sinks-fights-in-the-stands-a-flare-gun-the-awful-antics-that-birthed-eagles-court-at-the-vet-and-why-it-went-away/
Just keep in mind: during a late ’80s Dallas-at-Philly game after a big snowstorm, i.e., Bounty Bowl II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bounty_Bowl , Future-Mayor/Governor Rendell was in the upper deck of the Vet and bet a guy $20 the guy couldn’t hit the field with that snowball. He paid off when the guy did.
As to the toughness of Philly as a venue, Iggles games have nothing on Phillies games. There’s a whole series of videos of Mets fans taking beatings on youtube. A few years back, a fan beaten to death in the stadium environs (he spilled a drink) https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2009/07/27/after-shooting-laser-at-cardinals-phillies-fans-beat-to-death-one-of-their-own and then there was the guy with the Best Mugshot Ever for possibly the grossest fan violence ever https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Off-Duty-Officer-Daughters-Assaulted-at-Phillies-Game-90983739.html That guy later died from a strep infection unrelated to his adventure https://www.metro.us/local/after-sudden-death-uncle-of-so-called-pukemon-seeks-to-clear-his-name/tmWnhk—cdnq9h6MXpCfM
Jesus.
Here’s a pretty good column on the ‘Skins. Jerry Brewer (ex-Seattle) is maybe the best football writer at the Wash Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/the-redskins-have-an-upside-down-topsy-turvy-oddly-effective-offense/2017/10/22/46e9d01a-b753-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html?hpid=hp_local-news_brewer-740pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.30bb5da01f69
9ers are playing someone today and the new Q is not the future. The D played well.
Raiders win is ugly but it’s a win. A fun story on Oakland and Marshawn Lynch and Friends.
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/10/22/marshawn-lynch-marcus-peters-oakland-blood-is-thicker-than-nfl-water/
I won’t be watching F-1 today but agree on McLaren and even the Renault motor will help get FA up near the front of the grid. Oh rumor is FA will drive at the 24 hour Daytona.
Welp, the answer to the Cards versus Rams question is clearly that the Rams are a better team. Ugh.
Exactly as I predicted, the Dolphins and Jets is the best game of the day.
Rock?
Chalk?
Jayhawk!
Thanks for that bmaz, I didn’t know you had it in you. They should have a terrific basketball team this year. But, who knows, the Gators just might be better. Very interesting and talented group Coach White has put together.
Otherwise, here in Gainesville, we are still celebrating our victory over the Nazis. This great article in the local paper shows the terrific job our local sheriff did in establishing rules of engagement for the massive assemblage of law enforcement from all over the state. She put the Charlottesville cops to shame in setting up boundaries and having officers step in the moment any punches were thrown instead of standing idly as if it were some sort of fight club. Of course, it helps that it appears the Nazis mostly stayed away, but this whole outcome has me wondering if we can parlay this into a run for the governor’s office for Sadie Darnell. Maybe start by setting up some sort of foundation for her to train other agencies in preparing for controversial events…
The Keystone Kops put the Charlottesville cops to shame too, although part of the plan in C’ville seemed to be to fail. Glad the Gainesville cops did better.
formula one!
poor man’s play-by-play from austin, texas
or should i say wheel-to-wheel:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2017/oct/22/f1-us-grand-prix-live-gp-lewis-hamilton-sebastian-vettel-formula-one
(i us this great guardian service for lots of sports not available if you only have broadcast.)
The only local game on broadcast TV right now is Boys at Niners, which is simply unwatchable. But, thanks to this Sunday Ticket thing, I can watch Giants/Squawks, Stillers/Bungles or Broncos/Bolts instead. That is pretty nifty. None of them are actually scintillating games either, but it is nice just to flip around for some action. Was free for this year, and I like it. Not sure I will pay the full freight for it next year though, it is a lot. The Steelers game was the best for a while, but they are starting to pull away now.
Cora in 2018.
The Boston Red Sox today announced that they have hired Alex Cora as the 47th manager in club history, agreeing to a three-year contract that will run through the 2020 season, with a club option for the 2021 season.
A native of Puerto Rico, Cora is the 22nd former Red Sox player named manager of the club, having played parts of four seasons with Boston from 2005-08.
I am happy
Next, we win the HQ2 contest from Amazon……..
Well, the Patsies won – dominating fashion – in Fog Bowl II and the Owboys beat up on the Niners. Big deal, though the radio guys I was listening to were talking along the lines of “Zeke Elliott was running wild, possibly for the last time this year”. Given the way Texas Justice has warped things, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jerry manages to put King Roger the Clown into the Tower of Involuntary Retirement before it’s all done. Jerry is already going after Roger’s paycheck (in case you hadn’t noticed).
It was fun watching Cooks grab the back of Gronk’s jersey and follow him into the end zone. Gronk makes a good bulldozer. Reminiscent of one of those cable TV ads for snowplows to go on your pickup truck.
Meanwhile, my Stillers came through and beat the Bungles. Talk on the airwaves was that maybe its time for Cincy to “move on” from Andy Dalton and Marvin Lewis. But keep Burfict The Thuggy. IMHO, Burfict doesn’t have a job in this league without Marvin Lewis tolerating, if not encouraging, bad behavior. It’s one thing to say “just win, baby”, but another to put up with the shenanigans the Bungles always seem to cough up.
Looking back at defeating the Chiefs, Pittsburgh Dad encapsulated the late appearance of the Invincible James Silverback Harrison:
“Why is James Harrison just now playin’?
“James Harrison is like an Entenmann’s cake: you save him for special occasions.
“But we’re finally Unleashin’ Harrison. And yinz know what happens when yinz unleash something.
“Terror.”
See more at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL2aSBeXcUQ
We’ll see how the Stillers and EW’s Kitties match up, the Kitties having had a week off. Should be interesting.
I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on the World Series and the recently-concluded ALCS. To be frank, I didn’t pay much attention to the NLCS, as much out of disdain for the Nats as a halo of inevitability surrounding Dodger Blue. On the ALCS, I think the single biggest move of the year was the Astros trading half their future for Verlander. He’s been a Yankee-killer since forever and it worked out nicely for the ‘stros. That said, I am agog at the Yankees actually having had the patience to bjuild their team from within, and that after having somehow come into having Judge, Sanchez, Bird and Severino in their farm system at the same time. This season reminded me of 1995 in a lot of ways, not the least that the team go to have a long flight home to think about how their season ended. Of course, after losing to Seattle in 1995, Steinbrenner fired Buck Showalter as manager and hired Joe Torre. Recall that the NY tabloids headlined that move as hiring “:Clueless Joe”. At the time Torre had a losing record as a manager and had been considered as “washed up” and relegated to the broadcast booth. We all know how that turned out.
Whether the Yankees will retain Girardi is an interesting problem. But, so long as the young players we’ve seen – and more on the farm still, on their way up – maintain their arc, I look forward to great things from the Yankees in years to come. So, while it was disappointing to lose, it was a pleasant surprise to be there in the first place.
In other news, the Browns can do nothing right. Shortly before the 2 minute warning in overtime, the Browns called a timeout to ice the Titans’ “Mr. Automatic” kicker. The timeout came in very late, as the play was going, and the kicker kicked through. The FG attempt clanked off the left upright. After the play was reset and time back in, the kick was good.
Browns fans: your pain nourishes me.
And finally the Iggles will beat the Skins tonight.
Elliot will play at least next week because the Prelim Injunction hearing not se until a week from today at 5pm
The dossier on Scribe is that he is a closet Patriots fan.
Speaking of the fog, does anybody remember this 1996 Bledsoe scene from semi-beat Globe reporter Chad Finn? I don’t.
Finn writes, “By the way, if you didn’t see the fog and immediately flash back to Drew Bledsoe to Terry Glenn (… and Bledsoe to Keith Byars … and Curtis Martin going 78 yards for a score) in the 1996 AFC Divisional Round against the Steelers, I’ve got to assume Brady was the Patriots quarterback when your fandom was born. That was one of the most satisfying wins of the pre-Brady/Belichick era
I still believe that the Tigers banner should be flying high above Minute Maid park if the Astros beat the Dodgers…… the dark truth is that Houston would have packed their bags by now, if not for Verlander.
Dear Bob Kraft:
Please exclude New Hampshire when referring to the “New England” Patriots.
Those fucking “live free or die” dicks have defamed Boston.
“Choose Boston and next year when you leave your tiny $4,000-a-month apartment only to sit in 2 hours of traffic trying to make your way to an overburdened airport, you’ll be wishing you were in New Hampshire,” they wrote.
This is a portrait of an unbalanced and despicable way to cajole Jeff Bezos.
Why is it that 17% of NH commuters work in Massachusetts?
Ingrates, I say.
Ummm – no sales tax, no income tax, no Massachusetts politicians making asses of themselves on your dime, an hour plus closer to the mountains and lakes in all 4 seasons.
Sounds reasonable to me.
Seems like NH’s rejoinder to Boston, and Bezos, was accurate. As I’ve been wont to say following a rejoinder to adversary counsel that might otherwise be considered “unprofessional”, “offensive” or “outrageous” (like telling counsel to stop being a twit): “accuracy is always professional”.
Their blowing some gaskets following my retort definitely adds to the entertainment value.
ICYMI: More on Burfict the Thuggy: on the second play of yesterday’s game he kicked Steelers FB Roosevelt Nix (Le’Veon Bell’s lead blocking back) in the head. Watch the embedded video: http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/ron-cook/2017/10/23/roosevelt-nix-vontaze-burfict-dirty-play-steelers-bengals/stories/201710240004
There’s a history between Nix and Burfict, so Tomlin did a nice bit of ball-breaking, making Nix one of the coin-toss captains in recognition of Nix’s excellent play on special teams last week. Burfict, one of the Bungles’ captains*, refused to shake Nix’s hand.
In other news, Martavis Bryant is graduating to “problem”. http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2017/10/23/martavis-bryant-instagram-juju-smith-schuster-steelers-trade-rumors/stories/201710230127 He could get away with pouting and posing and instagramming and all that if he’d catch the goddamn ball.
And, no, I am not a Pats fan. I respect their accomplishment, but continue to regard them as the team of Cheatin’ Bill and his Cheating Cheaters of Cheatertown.
* If there remained any doubt in your minds on why it is wholly appropriate to call the Bungles a sewer of dirty play and low character, the fact that Marvin Lewis makes Burfict a captain should just about eliminate that last shred of doubt.
I really hate to admit this, but…….
Burfict is an ASU guy. He was every bit the miscreant here while in Tempe that the has been in the NFL. An incredible talent. Seriously with almost Hall of Fame like natural talent. But a miscreant. He makes Pac Man Jones look like a normal guy. Always has. It is truly a waste, but this all started here long before the NFL. Nobody here that remembers his time is surprised in the least.
Sad? Yes. Surprised? No. Dude really is THAT talented if he ever got his head out of his ass.
Best thoughts to Jason Peters. Total pro and total stud. This injury sucks.