DontFireAlGroh.com has always been a moderately funny site, mocking the the fact that Al Groh is (inexplicably) still the head coach for the University of Virginia. But its current incarnation as Al Groh's Coachbook page is hysterical; I hope they keep with the current layout throughout the year (or as long as Groh continues to have a job). I can't imagine it'll be too much longer, since I'm not entirely certain how you lose to Duke by four touchdowns and manage to keep your job (by hey, at least there won't be any signs in the crowd this week when UVA returns home reminding him that he lost by four touchdowns to Duke).
Looking at Virginia schedule, I don't see another win on the board. Maryland, East Carolina, North Carolina, at Georgia Tech, Miami, at Wake Forest, Clemson, and at Virginia Tech. There are no wins there, which will run Virginia's record to 1-11, with that one win coming against Richmond, a Division 1-AA team (or whatever the hell its called now, Football Championship Subdivision). Good thing they didn't have spiders on the field, or else UVA might be 0-4 and well on its way to a solid 0-12 season. Yeah, Wahoowa!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
You Mean Like Spiders On The Field, Coach?
As I've stated numerous times on this blog, I love college football. Given a choice between college and pro, I'd take college even time. The crowd, the atmosphere, the students, and passion- there's not much that could make college football better. Well, there's one thing- get rid of mascots.
I hate mascots. I don't know what it is, but I can't stand them (which is kind of shame, because while I was UVA, I knew the guy that was our mascot, and he was cool as hell). All guys in big ridiculous foam suits have to go; get rid of them all. Instead, I think every school should have the actual, live, incarnation of their mascot on the sidelines for their games.
A lots been made this year about Uga VII, the new bulldog down at Georgia. While I think sometimes too much can be made of it (like each dog's win-loss record), I love the fact that the Bulldogs have a bulldog on the sidelines. I love that Texas has Bevo, and that Colorado has Ralphie (and that they're crazy enough to run along side her before the game). I am all about this. And it extends beyond just animal mascots, too. Take Notre Dame. While I hate Notre Dame, I like the fact that they have someone dressed up as a leprechaun as opposed to someone in a giant foam suit of a leprechaun. Same for Florida State and USC. Ditch the foam suits, and get the real thing (or as close to real as you can). I think it would add something to the atmosphere of the game if people could see the actual mascot of their school on the sidelines.
When I had this conversation with my brother (BrotherofGiantAsianMan) a few weeks ago, he asked a good question- what about The University of Richmond? After all, they are the Spiders. What would 1 spider do? But then I thought, why just 1 spider? What if you rolled out a huge cage full of thousands of spiders onto the sidelines? Lots of people are scared of spiders (including the majority of the Washington Sentinels)- it'd be wild to see a couple hundred thousand spiders right there on the field. You'd probably mess with a lot of heads as well.
So I support the inclusion of more live mascots into college football. When UCLA plays Cal, you'd get to see two huge bears roaming the sidelines. It'd force Indiana and Oklahoma to fully explain what a "Hoosier" or a "Sooner" is (and if they wanted to go with the "its someone from the state" explanation, they'd have have to commit to it by just having some random people on the sidelines). If Virginia Tech wants to be a turkey, then damnit, they need to have a turkey on the sidelines. Stanford? Bring in a live tree (though, they're probably crazy enough to do just that). Ohio State? Live with it, you're a nut. Sure, they'd be a lot of tigers and wildcats (whatever the hell that exactly is), but you'd also get a lot of variety (beavers, badgers, anteaters, alligators, pirates- man, if only there was a school that had Ninjas as a mascot... Pirates vs. Ninjas....). Some schools (like Alabama, Tulane, Syracuse) would have to get creative, but they could make it work. I think this needs to happen. That way, you could actually be scared of spiders on the field.
I hate mascots. I don't know what it is, but I can't stand them (which is kind of shame, because while I was UVA, I knew the guy that was our mascot, and he was cool as hell). All guys in big ridiculous foam suits have to go; get rid of them all. Instead, I think every school should have the actual, live, incarnation of their mascot on the sidelines for their games.
A lots been made this year about Uga VII, the new bulldog down at Georgia. While I think sometimes too much can be made of it (like each dog's win-loss record), I love the fact that the Bulldogs have a bulldog on the sidelines. I love that Texas has Bevo, and that Colorado has Ralphie (and that they're crazy enough to run along side her before the game). I am all about this. And it extends beyond just animal mascots, too. Take Notre Dame. While I hate Notre Dame, I like the fact that they have someone dressed up as a leprechaun as opposed to someone in a giant foam suit of a leprechaun. Same for Florida State and USC. Ditch the foam suits, and get the real thing (or as close to real as you can). I think it would add something to the atmosphere of the game if people could see the actual mascot of their school on the sidelines.
When I had this conversation with my brother (BrotherofGiantAsianMan) a few weeks ago, he asked a good question- what about The University of Richmond? After all, they are the Spiders. What would 1 spider do? But then I thought, why just 1 spider? What if you rolled out a huge cage full of thousands of spiders onto the sidelines? Lots of people are scared of spiders (including the majority of the Washington Sentinels)- it'd be wild to see a couple hundred thousand spiders right there on the field. You'd probably mess with a lot of heads as well.
So I support the inclusion of more live mascots into college football. When UCLA plays Cal, you'd get to see two huge bears roaming the sidelines. It'd force Indiana and Oklahoma to fully explain what a "Hoosier" or a "Sooner" is (and if they wanted to go with the "its someone from the state" explanation, they'd have have to commit to it by just having some random people on the sidelines). If Virginia Tech wants to be a turkey, then damnit, they need to have a turkey on the sidelines. Stanford? Bring in a live tree (though, they're probably crazy enough to do just that). Ohio State? Live with it, you're a nut. Sure, they'd be a lot of tigers and wildcats (whatever the hell that exactly is), but you'd also get a lot of variety (beavers, badgers, anteaters, alligators, pirates- man, if only there was a school that had Ninjas as a mascot... Pirates vs. Ninjas....). Some schools (like Alabama, Tulane, Syracuse) would have to get creative, but they could make it work. I think this needs to happen. That way, you could actually be scared of spiders on the field.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Fantasy Football Failure: Week 4
Sports Illustrated. Madden. Campbell's Chunky Soup. This blog.
No denying it, this blog is cursed. Its my blog, and I managed to jinx myself. No other proof is needed.
So after talking smack to Honester Ciphers last week, I lost 68-74. And when you break it down, its all Bill Belichick's fault (and the curse, but one could argue that the curse influenced the Pats D, which is clearly the case). The Patriots D put up a whopping -7 points for me last week. -7 points. I lost by 6 points. If the Pats could have managed 0 points, ZERO points, I would have won 75-74. But no, Belichick couldn't figure out how to stop the read-option. Ronnie Brown scored 5 TD's on the Pats D, 4 rushing, 1 throwing. He ran the read-option as well as Tim Tebow or Chase Daniels; who knew that the franchise QB Miami's been waiting for since the retirement of Dan Marino was Ronnie Brown? Of the 4 rushing TD's, 3 of them came out of the read-option set. In fact, they came off the same play. Direct snap to Brown, play fake to Ricky Williams, Williams runs out wide, Brown goes off tackle, Brown scores. Three times, same play, 3 TD's (and the passing touchdown also came off the read-option set). I thought college offenses weren't supposed to work in the NFL because NFL players were faster and coaches were better at making adjustments. That's apparently not the case in New England. Guess making defensive adjustments is tougher when you can't videotape your opponents signals.
Alright, enough about last week's debacle- onto Week 4, where I'm facing off against Down the Drain, who's currently in first place (he's the only 3-0 team in our league). I've got a lot of guys on the bye week, I'm not feeling good about this match up. When you see the lineups, you'll see why:
QB: J.T. O'Sullivan vs. Trent Edwards
RB: Marion Barber vs. Adrian Peterson
RB: Earnest Graham vs. Maurice Jones-Drew
RB/WR: Chris Johnson vs. Rashad Mendenhall*
WR: Dwayne Bowe vs. T.J. Houshmandzadeh
WR: Vincent Jackson vs. Greg Jennings
TE: Jerramy Stevens vs. Alge Crumpler
D/ST: Falcons vs. Bears
K: Jason Elam vs. Kris Brown
*He's got Kevin Faulk in his lineup right now, but the Pats are on a bye, so I suspect he'll sub in Mendenhall off the bench.
QB: Doesn't seem like sexy match up, O'Sullivan vs. Edwards, but these guys are both having pretty good years. Sullivan came through for me last week (one of the few guys that did), and going against New Orleans's D this week, I expect more of the same. Of course, Edwards has the Rams, so he should also put up big numbers. Probably a push here in points.
RB: I like to think I have an edge on most teams in the RB department, but not so much anymore. I mean, Barber's a beast and is going to put up numbers all year. I expect Graham and Johnson to give me good numbers as well, but that didn't really happen last week. Graham gave me nothing, but that's because the Bucs put it 67 times; I don't expect them to do that every week, but it does scare me a little. And Johnson- well, he's not getting the goal line carries. The Titans are going to LenDale White on the goal line, so if Johnson wants to score, he's going to have to do it at the end of a long run (which wouldn't be a bad thing). But I'd take 10 yards rushing and and 2 TD's over just 80 yards rushing anyday. Going up against Peterson, MJD, and Mendenhall (Parker's out, so Mendenhall's the starter this week), I think I'm behind here. Graham and Johnson need to find the endzone this week or I've got no chance.
WR/TE: The Colts are on the bye, so Vincent Jackson's in for Reggie Wayne. And while the Chiefs suck something awful, Dwayne Bowe is getting his, which is good since he's pretty much all they've got. I'm up against Housh and Greg Jennings, aka the favorite targets of Carson Palmer and Aaron Rogers. Sure, the Bengals offense is still struggling (though they had a good game last week), but they should be okay against Cleveland at home. If they do score, it'll either be Chris Perry on the ground of Housh through the air. He'll produce, as will Jennings against the Bucs. I'll need HUGE days from Bowe and Jackson to keep pace (and the TE points are negligible- neither of us has a big time TE, so those points are pretty meaningless).
DEF/K: As I said, the Pats are on the bye (hopefully spending time in the film room), so I picked up the Falcons D for the week. They had a big week last week, and I'm hoping for the same this week against Carolina. He's got the Bears against Philly, so I need McNabb and Co. to put up big numbers. I've gotten pretty good production (relatively speaking) from the K slot, but my regular (Hanson) is on the bye, so I picked up Jason Elam to fill in. I should be okay because I expect the Falcons (Elam) to score and have more chances to score than the Texans (Brown).
By my calculation, I've got the edge in D/ST and K- not exactly a formula for success. It'll be tough week, and if some of my guys continue to not find the endzone, it'll be even tougher. Its looking like 2-2 after Week 4.
No denying it, this blog is cursed. Its my blog, and I managed to jinx myself. No other proof is needed.
So after talking smack to Honester Ciphers last week, I lost 68-74. And when you break it down, its all Bill Belichick's fault (and the curse, but one could argue that the curse influenced the Pats D, which is clearly the case). The Patriots D put up a whopping -7 points for me last week. -7 points. I lost by 6 points. If the Pats could have managed 0 points, ZERO points, I would have won 75-74. But no, Belichick couldn't figure out how to stop the read-option. Ronnie Brown scored 5 TD's on the Pats D, 4 rushing, 1 throwing. He ran the read-option as well as Tim Tebow or Chase Daniels; who knew that the franchise QB Miami's been waiting for since the retirement of Dan Marino was Ronnie Brown? Of the 4 rushing TD's, 3 of them came out of the read-option set. In fact, they came off the same play. Direct snap to Brown, play fake to Ricky Williams, Williams runs out wide, Brown goes off tackle, Brown scores. Three times, same play, 3 TD's (and the passing touchdown also came off the read-option set). I thought college offenses weren't supposed to work in the NFL because NFL players were faster and coaches were better at making adjustments. That's apparently not the case in New England. Guess making defensive adjustments is tougher when you can't videotape your opponents signals.
Alright, enough about last week's debacle- onto Week 4, where I'm facing off against Down the Drain, who's currently in first place (he's the only 3-0 team in our league). I've got a lot of guys on the bye week, I'm not feeling good about this match up. When you see the lineups, you'll see why:
QB: J.T. O'Sullivan vs. Trent Edwards
RB: Marion Barber vs. Adrian Peterson
RB: Earnest Graham vs. Maurice Jones-Drew
RB/WR: Chris Johnson vs. Rashad Mendenhall*
WR: Dwayne Bowe vs. T.J. Houshmandzadeh
WR: Vincent Jackson vs. Greg Jennings
TE: Jerramy Stevens vs. Alge Crumpler
D/ST: Falcons vs. Bears
K: Jason Elam vs. Kris Brown
*He's got Kevin Faulk in his lineup right now, but the Pats are on a bye, so I suspect he'll sub in Mendenhall off the bench.
QB: Doesn't seem like sexy match up, O'Sullivan vs. Edwards, but these guys are both having pretty good years. Sullivan came through for me last week (one of the few guys that did), and going against New Orleans's D this week, I expect more of the same. Of course, Edwards has the Rams, so he should also put up big numbers. Probably a push here in points.
RB: I like to think I have an edge on most teams in the RB department, but not so much anymore. I mean, Barber's a beast and is going to put up numbers all year. I expect Graham and Johnson to give me good numbers as well, but that didn't really happen last week. Graham gave me nothing, but that's because the Bucs put it 67 times; I don't expect them to do that every week, but it does scare me a little. And Johnson- well, he's not getting the goal line carries. The Titans are going to LenDale White on the goal line, so if Johnson wants to score, he's going to have to do it at the end of a long run (which wouldn't be a bad thing). But I'd take 10 yards rushing and and 2 TD's over just 80 yards rushing anyday. Going up against Peterson, MJD, and Mendenhall (Parker's out, so Mendenhall's the starter this week), I think I'm behind here. Graham and Johnson need to find the endzone this week or I've got no chance.
WR/TE: The Colts are on the bye, so Vincent Jackson's in for Reggie Wayne. And while the Chiefs suck something awful, Dwayne Bowe is getting his, which is good since he's pretty much all they've got. I'm up against Housh and Greg Jennings, aka the favorite targets of Carson Palmer and Aaron Rogers. Sure, the Bengals offense is still struggling (though they had a good game last week), but they should be okay against Cleveland at home. If they do score, it'll either be Chris Perry on the ground of Housh through the air. He'll produce, as will Jennings against the Bucs. I'll need HUGE days from Bowe and Jackson to keep pace (and the TE points are negligible- neither of us has a big time TE, so those points are pretty meaningless).
DEF/K: As I said, the Pats are on the bye (hopefully spending time in the film room), so I picked up the Falcons D for the week. They had a big week last week, and I'm hoping for the same this week against Carolina. He's got the Bears against Philly, so I need McNabb and Co. to put up big numbers. I've gotten pretty good production (relatively speaking) from the K slot, but my regular (Hanson) is on the bye, so I picked up Jason Elam to fill in. I should be okay because I expect the Falcons (Elam) to score and have more chances to score than the Texans (Brown).
By my calculation, I've got the edge in D/ST and K- not exactly a formula for success. It'll be tough week, and if some of my guys continue to not find the endzone, it'll be even tougher. Its looking like 2-2 after Week 4.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Of Wahoos And Hokies
Stranger: How you doing?
Dana: I don't believe this.
Stranger: It's me again.
Dana: This is pretty weird.
Stranger: Yeah.
Dana: I mean, I don't know if I'm comfortable with this.
Stranger: With what?
Dana: Every time I've been in here in the last three days you've been in here, so I'm saying I'm not comfortable with it.
Stranger: You've been in here every time I've been in here in the past three days... yet I remained unconcerned.
(The triumphant return of the Sports Night quote! Probably won't last for long, though.)
I don't know what it is , but I run into Hokies everywhere. I'm amazed at the number of times where I've randomly run into a Virginia Tech alum or fan somewhere outside of the state of Virginia. It always just seem to be that a couple times a year, the person next to me in line or sitting a few seats away will be a Hokie. And one way or another, words are always exchanged (through casual conversation), so its acknowledged what our alma maters are. A few notable examples:
-Camden Yards, Fall 2001: Honester Ciphers and I go to Baltimore for Cal Ripken, Jr.'s final games. Game 1 of a doubleheader, we're sitting in the left field upper deck and the people sitting nearest to us have a son attending Tech. While in line to reenter the stadium for Game 2 of the doubleheader, the guy right behind us in line is a Tech grad (I think he was wearing his class ring to prove it, too).
-Princeton Bowl, Fall 2007: The Cincinnati Home Builders Association is sponsoring a bowling event for companies associated with residential construction. I'm there with people from my company and from the people in the next lane over, I hear one girl as another, "So what exactly is a Hokie?" Turn out, one of the people there with that company was a Tech grad (oh, and as any good Wahoo would do, I answered the above question with, "A Hokie's a castrated turkey;" she wasn't amused).
-Oktoberfest, Saturday: I get in line to purchase some Red Leg Ale from the Barrelhouse and the lady right in front of me has on a shirt that has"What is a Hokie?" on the front and lyrics to some song (perhaps Tech's fight song) on the back. Again, I answer aloud, "A Hokie's a castrated turkey." And again, not amused.
I'm always shocked when I randomly encountered a Virginia Tech grad (or another Virginia grad, for that matter), especially out here in Cincinnati. I think to myself, "Man, how random is it that the person right next to me graduated from the one school I despise above all others? How crazy is that?" And then I think, "Well, how random do they think it is that they happen to be standing next to a UVA grad? Are they as intrigued by this random occurrence as I am?"
I find these meetings odd. Not odd in the way that there wouldn't graduates of these schools spread out across the country and across the world, just odd in that I happen to run into them. Its just a little weird, I don't really like it, and the exchange is always kind of awkward. But that could be because I keep referring to their mascot as a castrated turkey. I sense they don't like that too much. Truth hurts.
Dana: I don't believe this.
Stranger: It's me again.
Dana: This is pretty weird.
Stranger: Yeah.
Dana: I mean, I don't know if I'm comfortable with this.
Stranger: With what?
Dana: Every time I've been in here in the last three days you've been in here, so I'm saying I'm not comfortable with it.
Stranger: You've been in here every time I've been in here in the past three days... yet I remained unconcerned.
(The triumphant return of the Sports Night quote! Probably won't last for long, though.)
I don't know what it is , but I run into Hokies everywhere. I'm amazed at the number of times where I've randomly run into a Virginia Tech alum or fan somewhere outside of the state of Virginia. It always just seem to be that a couple times a year, the person next to me in line or sitting a few seats away will be a Hokie. And one way or another, words are always exchanged (through casual conversation), so its acknowledged what our alma maters are. A few notable examples:
-Camden Yards, Fall 2001: Honester Ciphers and I go to Baltimore for Cal Ripken, Jr.'s final games. Game 1 of a doubleheader, we're sitting in the left field upper deck and the people sitting nearest to us have a son attending Tech. While in line to reenter the stadium for Game 2 of the doubleheader, the guy right behind us in line is a Tech grad (I think he was wearing his class ring to prove it, too).
-Princeton Bowl, Fall 2007: The Cincinnati Home Builders Association is sponsoring a bowling event for companies associated with residential construction. I'm there with people from my company and from the people in the next lane over, I hear one girl as another, "So what exactly is a Hokie?" Turn out, one of the people there with that company was a Tech grad (oh, and as any good Wahoo would do, I answered the above question with, "A Hokie's a castrated turkey;" she wasn't amused).
-Oktoberfest, Saturday: I get in line to purchase some Red Leg Ale from the Barrelhouse and the lady right in front of me has on a shirt that has"What is a Hokie?" on the front and lyrics to some song (perhaps Tech's fight song) on the back. Again, I answer aloud, "A Hokie's a castrated turkey." And again, not amused.
I'm always shocked when I randomly encountered a Virginia Tech grad (or another Virginia grad, for that matter), especially out here in Cincinnati. I think to myself, "Man, how random is it that the person right next to me graduated from the one school I despise above all others? How crazy is that?" And then I think, "Well, how random do they think it is that they happen to be standing next to a UVA grad? Are they as intrigued by this random occurrence as I am?"
I find these meetings odd. Not odd in the way that there wouldn't graduates of these schools spread out across the country and across the world, just odd in that I happen to run into them. Its just a little weird, I don't really like it, and the exchange is always kind of awkward. But that could be because I keep referring to their mascot as a castrated turkey. I sense they don't like that too much. Truth hurts.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
In Re: Coldplay
I still don't have my cable service repaired at my house yet, so I forced to watch things at work (which is a problem because I should probably work at work). Anyway, this is a clip from a recent episode of Bones that should amuse Puddin' and PreView (which is half my normal readership- unless the visitor from Denmark becomes a regular):
You know how I know you're gay?
You know how I know you're gay?
Fantasy Football Failure: Week 3
Current record: 2-0
Total QB points: 3
I said last week that if Palmer had a repeat performance of Week 1, you'd see David Garrard in at QB. Well, Carson followed a "2" in Week 1 with a "1" in Week 2 (at least he didn't drop into the negative points, which was a staple of the QB position on last year's fantasy team). So Palmer's rocking the bench now. Problem is, Garrard hasn't exactly set the world on fire. So where do I turn?
J.T. O'Sullivan.
Yeah, J.T. O'Sullivan. I know he plays for San Fransisco. I know he sounds more like a sit-down, family-oriented, regional-chain restaurant than an NFL QB. But he had a monster Week 2 and he's playing a Detroit team that's given up a lot of points so far. I've won in spite of my QB "production," so anything I can get is just a bonus right now. And really, I can't do much worse.
The other change this week is at TE, where for the second straight week, a Tennessee TE earned me 0 points. So I dropped both of them (Crumpler and Scaife) and picked up Seattle's John Carlson. Seattle's lost approximately 47 WR to injuries through the first 2 weeks of the year, making Carlson Hasselbeck's top target. And if not, no big loss, I'm just looking for a TE that can get me more than 0 points. On to the Week 3 preview.
Week 3 has me up against Seattle Reign, a team helmed by Honseter Ciphers, the Asylum's Pacific Northwest Correspondent. Having already talked smack on his blog, I need to pull out the win. And looking at the lineups, I think I'm in good shape:
QB: J.T. O'Sullivan vs. Tony Romo
RB: Marion Barber vs. Julius Jones
RB: Earnest Graham vs. Ron Dayne
RB/WR: Chris Johnson vs. Chris Chambers
WR: Reggie Wayne vs. Roy Williams
WR: Dwayne Bowe vs. Roddy White
TE: John Carlson vs. Donald Lee
D/ST: Patriots vs. Cardinals
K: Jason Hanson vs. Josh Brown
QB: With Brady out and Peyton Manning still recovering, Romo may be the best QB in the league. He's certainly better than J.T. O'Sullivan, but all I just need is for O'Sullivan to put up any points at all to compliment my other skill position guys (of which I have a big edge this week).
RB: I've got Honester dominated here. Julius Jones is solid, obviously, and he cancels out Marion Barber's production. But Ron Dayne? Earnest Graham and Chris Johnson are on their way to big years, and I was surprised to learn Ron Dayne was still in the league. I make up a lot of points here and give myself a big cushion.
WR/TE: I discussed TE earlier. Carlson is the only real passing threat Seattle has, so he should crush Donald Lee, who isn't getting as many balls thrown his way under Aaron Rogers. Chambers has been solid for San Diego, and White's playing the Chiefs, so there's a chance these guys put up some decent numbers. And he could sub in Bernard Berrian for Roy Williams, if Berrian's healthy (and if he is, he'll have Gus "head butted a concrete wall and threw a pass with the opposite arm" Ferrotte at QB, which, sadly, is an upgrade for them) to boost his numbers. But I expect the same consistent numbers I've been getting out of Wayne and Bowe (though Kansas City is starting some guy they pulled out of the stands at QB), so I'm not worried.
DEF/K: First, props to Jason Hanson last week. I don't expect a lot of points from my K (unlike, say, QB), and I certainly didn't expect Hanson to give me 14 points like he did in Week 2. He went 3-3 on field goals (from 38, 49, and 53) and 2-2 on extra points. I doubt I get that kind of performance this week, but I don't think I'll need it. As for Honester Ciphers, ESPN.com projects his kicker, Josh Brown, for 15 this week, which makes him the second highest projected scorer on Seattle Reign. That can't be a good thing.
On the strength of my RB's and WR's, I think I win big this week. Its rare the at I feel this good about my team, so I'll probably end up losing. Something will inevitably bite me in the ass, be it the football gods smiting me for my over-confidence or the jinx I have of my own blog, but I can sense it coming. But doesn't change my prediction- I win big this week. Bring it on, Mortlaf!
Total QB points: 3
I said last week that if Palmer had a repeat performance of Week 1, you'd see David Garrard in at QB. Well, Carson followed a "2" in Week 1 with a "1" in Week 2 (at least he didn't drop into the negative points, which was a staple of the QB position on last year's fantasy team). So Palmer's rocking the bench now. Problem is, Garrard hasn't exactly set the world on fire. So where do I turn?
J.T. O'Sullivan.
Yeah, J.T. O'Sullivan. I know he plays for San Fransisco. I know he sounds more like a sit-down, family-oriented, regional-chain restaurant than an NFL QB. But he had a monster Week 2 and he's playing a Detroit team that's given up a lot of points so far. I've won in spite of my QB "production," so anything I can get is just a bonus right now. And really, I can't do much worse.
The other change this week is at TE, where for the second straight week, a Tennessee TE earned me 0 points. So I dropped both of them (Crumpler and Scaife) and picked up Seattle's John Carlson. Seattle's lost approximately 47 WR to injuries through the first 2 weeks of the year, making Carlson Hasselbeck's top target. And if not, no big loss, I'm just looking for a TE that can get me more than 0 points. On to the Week 3 preview.
Week 3 has me up against Seattle Reign, a team helmed by Honseter Ciphers, the Asylum's Pacific Northwest Correspondent. Having already talked smack on his blog, I need to pull out the win. And looking at the lineups, I think I'm in good shape:
QB: J.T. O'Sullivan vs. Tony Romo
RB: Marion Barber vs. Julius Jones
RB: Earnest Graham vs. Ron Dayne
RB/WR: Chris Johnson vs. Chris Chambers
WR: Reggie Wayne vs. Roy Williams
WR: Dwayne Bowe vs. Roddy White
TE: John Carlson vs. Donald Lee
D/ST: Patriots vs. Cardinals
K: Jason Hanson vs. Josh Brown
QB: With Brady out and Peyton Manning still recovering, Romo may be the best QB in the league. He's certainly better than J.T. O'Sullivan, but all I just need is for O'Sullivan to put up any points at all to compliment my other skill position guys (of which I have a big edge this week).
RB: I've got Honester dominated here. Julius Jones is solid, obviously, and he cancels out Marion Barber's production. But Ron Dayne? Earnest Graham and Chris Johnson are on their way to big years, and I was surprised to learn Ron Dayne was still in the league. I make up a lot of points here and give myself a big cushion.
WR/TE: I discussed TE earlier. Carlson is the only real passing threat Seattle has, so he should crush Donald Lee, who isn't getting as many balls thrown his way under Aaron Rogers. Chambers has been solid for San Diego, and White's playing the Chiefs, so there's a chance these guys put up some decent numbers. And he could sub in Bernard Berrian for Roy Williams, if Berrian's healthy (and if he is, he'll have Gus "head butted a concrete wall and threw a pass with the opposite arm" Ferrotte at QB, which, sadly, is an upgrade for them) to boost his numbers. But I expect the same consistent numbers I've been getting out of Wayne and Bowe (though Kansas City is starting some guy they pulled out of the stands at QB), so I'm not worried.
DEF/K: First, props to Jason Hanson last week. I don't expect a lot of points from my K (unlike, say, QB), and I certainly didn't expect Hanson to give me 14 points like he did in Week 2. He went 3-3 on field goals (from 38, 49, and 53) and 2-2 on extra points. I doubt I get that kind of performance this week, but I don't think I'll need it. As for Honester Ciphers, ESPN.com projects his kicker, Josh Brown, for 15 this week, which makes him the second highest projected scorer on Seattle Reign. That can't be a good thing.
On the strength of my RB's and WR's, I think I win big this week. Its rare the at I feel this good about my team, so I'll probably end up losing. Something will inevitably bite me in the ass, be it the football gods smiting me for my over-confidence or the jinx I have of my own blog, but I can sense it coming. But doesn't change my prediction- I win big this week. Bring it on, Mortlaf!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Our Lady Of Blessed Electricity
Awesome: I got power back at my house yesterday afternoon, sometime around 3 or 4 pm, putting my power outage at just over 24 hours.
Suck: I have no service from Time Warner, which means no television, no internet (thankfully things are back up at work).
One step forward, two steps back.
Suck: I have no service from Time Warner, which means no television, no internet (thankfully things are back up at work).
One step forward, two steps back.
Monday, September 15, 2008
A Mighty Wind
Holy shit, that was some crazy wind yesterday (and it wasn't exactly blowin' peace and freedom). In total, I've lived nearly 17 years in the Cincinnati area, and I can't ever recall a "storm" like the one we had on Sunday. It was just wind. No rain or other precipitation, no thunder and lightning, no cyclonic formations. Only wind gusts of upwards of 50+ miles an hour. And that shit knocked out power to a huge chunk of the city (myself included- I'm currently sitting in a cafe downtown because there's nothing close to my house with power and wifi).
The lack of other weather factors really screwed me in terms of preparing and dealing with my current no-power situation. I mean, its tough to make "severe weather" preparations when its sunny and 80+ degrees outside. Sure, trees are bending at right angles and patio furniture is flying by the window- there's no real threat, we're still good.
Yeah, not so much.
I been without power since about 2 pm Sunday afternoon. The estamites I've heard for power being restored in my area range from 2 to 5 days. Lovely. I bet that half gallon of milk in my fridge tastes pretty good right now. My office doesn't have any power, either, so this morning it was either sit in the dark and do nothing at home or sit in the dark and do nothing at work (I was at "work" for 2 hours before we decided to call it a day). I drove around a little last night to see what was still open (and because I had to charge my phone), and God help me if I have to buy gas today. I bet it was something like 9 out of 10 gas stations I drove past were closed, and the 1 out of 10 that was open had a line at least 15 cars deep. I saw that a Chipotle was open and thought I might be able to get something to eat, but there had to have been 400 people in there. It was insane (same went for any eatery that was open, which was why I ended up getting something from UDF).
I have no idea what I'm going to do the rest of the day ('cause there's no way I'm sitting here all day). Maybe I'll just drive around and look for places that are still open. Problem there is that I'll eventually have to buy gas. Fuck.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Fantasy Football Failure: Week 2
Thank God for Bernard Pollard.
Okay, not really. The hit on Tom Brady was all to reminiscent of Kimo von Oelhoffen's hit on Carson Palmer in the 2005 Playoffs. So while I'm not happy Brady is injured (I only root for injuries on AFC North teams), I am happy he didn't play longer than 8 minutes last week (because in those 8 minutes, Brady outscored Palmer, who played the whole damn game, 3 to 2- just pathetic).
Speaking of Week 1, even with Palmer's shitty performance, I was able to eke out the win 72-37. Okay, not really "eke out," especially since I had two guys (Deuce McAllister and Alge Crumpler) put up goose eggs. Sure, it helped that Brady only played 8 minutes, but it helped even more that his other skill position players (that's RB, RB, RB/WR, WR, WR, and TE) garnered a grand total of 17 points (I got 22 points from Marion Barber alone).
So after a triumphant Week 1, it's on to Week 2 against Team Dreher, who beat Kwijybo Killer Clowns last week 81-72. Here's how the lineups stack up right now (again, my guys on the left):
QB: Carson Palmer vs. Jake Delhomme
RB: Marion Barber vs. Marshawn Lynch
RB: Earnest Graham vs. Thomas Jones
RB/WR: Chris Johnson vs. Willie Parker
WR: Reggie Wayne vs. Anquan Boldin
WR: Dwayne Bowe vs. Jerricho Cotchery
TE: Bo Scaife vs. Dallas Clark
D/ST: Patriots vs. Colts
K: Jason Hanson vs. Nte Kaeding
Like last week, ESPN.com's projections again have me winning, but not by much. I honestly think this one's a toss up, if not me behind by a bit.
QB: Assuming Carson Palmer (and the rest of the Bengals offense) shows up this week, I should be fine. If he has another game like he did in Week 1, I'll lose and you'll see David Garrard in the lineup for Week 3. I would think that Palmer has the edge here (and he does), but given how bad he looked in Week 1, I think this is a push.
RB: After McAllister's 0 point effort (he's battling injuries), I've decided to drink the Chris Johnson Kool-Aid and ride the wave of recent East Carolina success. He got most of the carries in Week 1 and was successful, so against the Bengals piss-poor defense (you know, the one that made Joe Flacco look like the white Michael Vick) and with Vince Young out with a knee injury (aka- on suicide watch), I'm expecting more of the same from Johnson (only this week, he'll get a touchdown or two). And I'm going to need it, because I'm up against a pretty formidable RB trio in Lynch, Jones, and Parker (and Parker should have a big day going against that same sad Cleveland D that Barber shredded last week). Even with Johnson's breakout week, I think RB is a push as well, with the slight edge going to Team Dreher.
WR/TE: Again, push, and only because Dallas Clark is questionable for this week. I picked up another TE (Bo Scaife, the Titans TE that actually gets the ball thrown to him) to replace my old one (Alge Crumpler, the Titans TE that doesn't get the ball thrown to him). As for WR, I think we're pretty even, though I think I'd give the slight edge to Dreher. Boldin's the top guy in Arizona and its clear that Cotchery has become Favre's go-to guy in New York. Wayne's still #2 in Indy but he'll get his catches, and Bowe plays for one of the worst teams in the NFL, so I think I'm a little behind here.
DEF/K: Not much to say here other than his DEF (the Colts) are playing a lesser team (in the Vikings) than my DEF (the Patriots) is (in the Jets). Though if the Pats D sets up and locks down Brett Favre and company, it could potential swing the week in my favor (given that Dreher's got 2 Jets on his team in Jones and Cotchery). But I'd again call this one pretty even.
So unless Carson Palmer has a huge day, I think I lose I close one this week. I don't care what ESPN.com's projections are, I just think Dreher's got a slightly better team than me. But you never, know- Jake Delhomme could go down with an injury in first quarter this week. Hey, it's happened before.
Okay, not really. The hit on Tom Brady was all to reminiscent of Kimo von Oelhoffen's hit on Carson Palmer in the 2005 Playoffs. So while I'm not happy Brady is injured (I only root for injuries on AFC North teams), I am happy he didn't play longer than 8 minutes last week (because in those 8 minutes, Brady outscored Palmer, who played the whole damn game, 3 to 2- just pathetic).
Speaking of Week 1, even with Palmer's shitty performance, I was able to eke out the win 72-37. Okay, not really "eke out," especially since I had two guys (Deuce McAllister and Alge Crumpler) put up goose eggs. Sure, it helped that Brady only played 8 minutes, but it helped even more that his other skill position players (that's RB, RB, RB/WR, WR, WR, and TE) garnered a grand total of 17 points (I got 22 points from Marion Barber alone).
So after a triumphant Week 1, it's on to Week 2 against Team Dreher, who beat Kwijybo Killer Clowns last week 81-72. Here's how the lineups stack up right now (again, my guys on the left):
QB: Carson Palmer vs. Jake Delhomme
RB: Marion Barber vs. Marshawn Lynch
RB: Earnest Graham vs. Thomas Jones
RB/WR: Chris Johnson vs. Willie Parker
WR: Reggie Wayne vs. Anquan Boldin
WR: Dwayne Bowe vs. Jerricho Cotchery
TE: Bo Scaife vs. Dallas Clark
D/ST: Patriots vs. Colts
K: Jason Hanson vs. Nte Kaeding
Like last week, ESPN.com's projections again have me winning, but not by much. I honestly think this one's a toss up, if not me behind by a bit.
QB: Assuming Carson Palmer (and the rest of the Bengals offense) shows up this week, I should be fine. If he has another game like he did in Week 1, I'll lose and you'll see David Garrard in the lineup for Week 3. I would think that Palmer has the edge here (and he does), but given how bad he looked in Week 1, I think this is a push.
RB: After McAllister's 0 point effort (he's battling injuries), I've decided to drink the Chris Johnson Kool-Aid and ride the wave of recent East Carolina success. He got most of the carries in Week 1 and was successful, so against the Bengals piss-poor defense (you know, the one that made Joe Flacco look like the white Michael Vick) and with Vince Young out with a knee injury (aka- on suicide watch), I'm expecting more of the same from Johnson (only this week, he'll get a touchdown or two). And I'm going to need it, because I'm up against a pretty formidable RB trio in Lynch, Jones, and Parker (and Parker should have a big day going against that same sad Cleveland D that Barber shredded last week). Even with Johnson's breakout week, I think RB is a push as well, with the slight edge going to Team Dreher.
WR/TE: Again, push, and only because Dallas Clark is questionable for this week. I picked up another TE (Bo Scaife, the Titans TE that actually gets the ball thrown to him) to replace my old one (Alge Crumpler, the Titans TE that doesn't get the ball thrown to him). As for WR, I think we're pretty even, though I think I'd give the slight edge to Dreher. Boldin's the top guy in Arizona and its clear that Cotchery has become Favre's go-to guy in New York. Wayne's still #2 in Indy but he'll get his catches, and Bowe plays for one of the worst teams in the NFL, so I think I'm a little behind here.
DEF/K: Not much to say here other than his DEF (the Colts) are playing a lesser team (in the Vikings) than my DEF (the Patriots) is (in the Jets). Though if the Pats D sets up and locks down Brett Favre and company, it could potential swing the week in my favor (given that Dreher's got 2 Jets on his team in Jones and Cotchery). But I'd again call this one pretty even.
So unless Carson Palmer has a huge day, I think I lose I close one this week. I don't care what ESPN.com's projections are, I just think Dreher's got a slightly better team than me. But you never, know- Jake Delhomme could go down with an injury in first quarter this week. Hey, it's happened before.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Essential Videos 6 - Never Give Up
There are inspirational speeches, and then there's Jim Valvano speech at the 1993 ESPY Awards.
I get chills every time I hear this. I remember watching this when it first aired, and even though I knew nothing about Jim Valvano at the time, I was still moved by it. All I knew then was that this was a guy dying of cancer who may be speaking for the last time (and who would die less than 2 months later).
I get chills every time I hear this. I remember watching this when it first aired, and even though I knew nothing about Jim Valvano at the time, I was still moved by it. All I knew then was that this was a guy dying of cancer who may be speaking for the last time (and who would die less than 2 months later).
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Fantasy Football Failure: Week 1
Finally, the NFL season kicks off tonight. Time to look at my Week 1 fantasy match up:
Week 1, and I'm up against COL HOUCKofPANCAKES, aka the only undergrad in our league. Here's how the lineups stack up (my team on the left):
QB: Carson Palmer vs. Tom Brady
RB: Marion Barber vs. Darren McFadden
RB: Earnest Graham vs. Fred Taylor
RB/WR: Deuce McAllister vs. Ted Ginn, Jr.
WR: Reggie Wayne vs. Steve Smith
WR: Dwayne Bowe vs. Joey Galloway
TE: Alge Crumpler vs. Tony Gonzales
D/ST: Patriots vs. Steelers
K: Jason Hanson vs. Stephen Gostkowski
Now, I have to think that he checks his team between now and Sunday and replaces Steve Smith with someone actually playing this week (though, my opponent has been known to have lapses in fantasy team management- but its Week 1, he's got to be paying attention). Looking at the rosters, I think it'll be a close week. According the ESPN.com's projections, I should win comfortably, but I'm not buying that just yet.
QB: I think I'm behind at QB, but who knows how hurt Brady really is/was and if not playing a snap in the preseason will effect him (not that preseason is any indicator- look at Palmer- but not seeing any game action has to have an effect). Hopefully Palmer (and the Bengals) can have a big day against a banged up Ravens defense and Brady really is hurt.
RB: I think I'm ahead at running back with Barber, Graham, and McAllister, but part of that is ESPN.com only projecting 10 points for McFadden. I think they're playing it safe because he's a rookie and no one knows how he'll fare in the NFL. He was Mr. Everything at Arkansas; I can't see why the Raiders (who have nothing else on offense) wouldn't be putting the ball in his hands somehow 30-40 times a game. Lots of chances for fantasy points, especially in Week 1 when you have the element of surprise. I expect McFadden to exceed 10 points and close the gap at RB.
WR/TE: Behind here, but not by much. I need Vince Young to fall in love with Alge Crumpler inside the red zone and for Brody Croyle to find Bowe in the end zone instead of Gonzales. And for Steve Smith to stay in his lineup.
DEF/K: These are such toss-up points, you never know what's going to happen. But the Pats are playing KC and the Steelers have Houston; Houston's a better team the KC, so I'd expect better DEF number for me. As for the kickers... they're kickers. As long as your guys doesn't go 0-4 on extra points (or 5-5 from 50+), everyone's pretty equal.
So I'm predicting a win for me in Week 1. Hope I didn't just jinx myself.
Week 1, and I'm up against COL HOUCKofPANCAKES, aka the only undergrad in our league. Here's how the lineups stack up (my team on the left):
QB: Carson Palmer vs. Tom Brady
RB: Marion Barber vs. Darren McFadden
RB: Earnest Graham vs. Fred Taylor
RB/WR: Deuce McAllister vs. Ted Ginn, Jr.
WR: Reggie Wayne vs. Steve Smith
WR: Dwayne Bowe vs. Joey Galloway
TE: Alge Crumpler vs. Tony Gonzales
D/ST: Patriots vs. Steelers
K: Jason Hanson vs. Stephen Gostkowski
Now, I have to think that he checks his team between now and Sunday and replaces Steve Smith with someone actually playing this week (though, my opponent has been known to have lapses in fantasy team management- but its Week 1, he's got to be paying attention). Looking at the rosters, I think it'll be a close week. According the ESPN.com's projections, I should win comfortably, but I'm not buying that just yet.
QB: I think I'm behind at QB, but who knows how hurt Brady really is/was and if not playing a snap in the preseason will effect him (not that preseason is any indicator- look at Palmer- but not seeing any game action has to have an effect). Hopefully Palmer (and the Bengals) can have a big day against a banged up Ravens defense and Brady really is hurt.
RB: I think I'm ahead at running back with Barber, Graham, and McAllister, but part of that is ESPN.com only projecting 10 points for McFadden. I think they're playing it safe because he's a rookie and no one knows how he'll fare in the NFL. He was Mr. Everything at Arkansas; I can't see why the Raiders (who have nothing else on offense) wouldn't be putting the ball in his hands somehow 30-40 times a game. Lots of chances for fantasy points, especially in Week 1 when you have the element of surprise. I expect McFadden to exceed 10 points and close the gap at RB.
WR/TE: Behind here, but not by much. I need Vince Young to fall in love with Alge Crumpler inside the red zone and for Brody Croyle to find Bowe in the end zone instead of Gonzales. And for Steve Smith to stay in his lineup.
DEF/K: These are such toss-up points, you never know what's going to happen. But the Pats are playing KC and the Steelers have Houston; Houston's a better team the KC, so I'd expect better DEF number for me. As for the kickers... they're kickers. As long as your guys doesn't go 0-4 on extra points (or 5-5 from 50+), everyone's pretty equal.
So I'm predicting a win for me in Week 1. Hope I didn't just jinx myself.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
End Of An Era
Borgman Starts New Chapter
This sucks. People aren't reading newspapers anymore, so newspapers have to cut back on staff. There are casualties when an industry is dying, I get that. I just can't believe that Jim Borgman is one of those casualties. "Voluntary severance program" my ass. He is hand's down the best editorial cartoonist in the country and he's getting laid off. Look, I know I claim that Cincinnati has a lot of great things, but this one's no joke. Jim Borgman truly is great. He's won every award possible for his profession, including the Pulitzer back in 1991. He was a liberal voice commenting in a ridiculously (and sometimes stupidly) conservative town, but he wasn't afraid to call out the left when they deserved it. People here loved and respected his work, even when they disagreed with it. Whether he needed to be funny or moving, subtle or overt, I always felt that Jim Borgman gave the perfect tone for the topic he was drawing.
I guess there is some consolation in that he'll have a new weekly feature that will run in Sunday's Forum section (where he's Sunday comic normally runs), but in the grand scheme of things, this is bad news. I'll miss his daily take on not just what's happening here in Cincinnati, but on what's happening around the country and around world (and there would be plenty of material for him in the coming months, with the election moving full speed ahead and the Bengals almost certain ineptitude). Reasons for getting The Enquirer were running thin to begin with; this most certainly does not help.
This sucks. People aren't reading newspapers anymore, so newspapers have to cut back on staff. There are casualties when an industry is dying, I get that. I just can't believe that Jim Borgman is one of those casualties. "Voluntary severance program" my ass. He is hand's down the best editorial cartoonist in the country and he's getting laid off. Look, I know I claim that Cincinnati has a lot of great things, but this one's no joke. Jim Borgman truly is great. He's won every award possible for his profession, including the Pulitzer back in 1991. He was a liberal voice commenting in a ridiculously (and sometimes stupidly) conservative town, but he wasn't afraid to call out the left when they deserved it. People here loved and respected his work, even when they disagreed with it. Whether he needed to be funny or moving, subtle or overt, I always felt that Jim Borgman gave the perfect tone for the topic he was drawing.
I guess there is some consolation in that he'll have a new weekly feature that will run in Sunday's Forum section (where he's Sunday comic normally runs), but in the grand scheme of things, this is bad news. I'll miss his daily take on not just what's happening here in Cincinnati, but on what's happening around the country and around world (and there would be plenty of material for him in the coming months, with the election moving full speed ahead and the Bengals almost certain ineptitude). Reasons for getting The Enquirer were running thin to begin with; this most certainly does not help.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Good Beer (and Cheese)
I tried a new beer over the weekend while in Madison, Wisconsin for a friend's wedding- Wisconsin Amber from Capital Brewery. Its local to the Madison area and was good. Damn good. It doesn't replace Star Hill Amber Ale (from Charlottesville, Virginia) as my all-time favorite beer, but it might be second. I meant to buy some more of the Amber and pick up a variety pack before I left, but in rush to leave Monday morning to fight the holiday traffic, I forgot (I also forgot to pick up some cheese from Ehlenbach's Cheese Chalet, which was across the street from our hotel; no beer, no cheese- all in all, I pretty much failed). I gonna have to rely on Jungle Jim's now to come through for me. They carry beers from all over the country (though not my favored Star Hill); hopefully they have this one.
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