Well it's the last day of the year. I hope everybody made it. Speaking of making it, my beard will not be making it much longer.
In a few hours I will be running in my first ever race. It's only 4 miles which is good because I don't think I can run much further without needing a banana creme pie blizzard. You know I still play a decent amount of team sports and I go into every game thinking that my team can find a way to win. So it's kinda demoralizing going into something like this run knowing that I will get smoked by pretty much everybody. My goal is 30 minutes.
Georgetown plays tomorrow at 1pm. So that means that they play on 1/1/11 @ 1pm. That's a lot of 1's. I hope Austin can start hitting a lot of 3's on the 1's tomorrow.
The Sun Bowl has long fascinated me due to the fact that it's been the only bowl game carried by CBS for a few years now. It doesn't seem really worth it to me but whatever. Well this year the Sun Bowl is not only on my Birthday but it includes the team that I follow in college football - ND - against an old, heated rival from my childhood - Miami.
Given how far these programs have fallen since they last met on the gridiron, I wouldn't be mad if they just aired the game from 1988.
I seriously love ND being on CBS. I love that they haven't changed the theme music in over 20 years. Sometimes when you get something right you should just stick with it. Changing to change is very often a mistake. I also love Lundquist doing the game. Hell I'd probably get those Twilight or Harry Potter books on tape if he were reading them.
Well it only took a couple of plays but the Irish have quickly reminded me how much better my life has been since their regular season concluded at Southern Cal about a month ago.
Things are getting better. Floyd with the TD catch. I really hope he catches a bunch of TD's next season. That would of course mean that he doesn't leave early. Don't leave early Michael.
And now Brian Kelly in his infinite wisdom and going wildcat heavy.
Damn dude. Floyd has another one. I really hope this isn't his bon voyage party. 14-0 Irish in the 1st.
Can I just say that I gave Rocky a bath this morning and he smells great over there on the other end of the couch? I should really give him a bath more often. It's not so much that he usually smells bad, its that he actually smells great right now.
Ok well this is probably it from me for 2010 unless I feel like boasting about my score from the Fairfax City 4 Miler later. Unlikely.
Peace brah
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Unlucky 13 in South Bend
John Thompson III was undefeated in Big East Conference openers before last night. When he woke up this morning he found himself at 6-1 with a bullet.
My Thoughts the morning after:
ND came out with a plan and Georgetown cooperated very nicely. What I mean is that the Irish played a sagging defense to take away cuts, specifically of the backdoor variety. So by doing that they gave up three pointers. Georgetown, one of the best three point shooting teams in the country promptly went 3-15 from deep in the first half. I rewatched the game this morning and of those 15 shots, I only counted 3 "bad" shots. They just weren't going in
Julian Vaughn is the team's most important player. Please don't confuse that with being the team's best player. He's not. He is however the one player that can command double team's down low and score on post moves right now. Sims plays the high post well and is a much better passer than Vaughn. So when Julian went out after less than 2 minutes with 2 fouls, trouble was a brewing in the form of a perfect storm of no outside shots or inside shots.
Remember how I said that most of the misses in the first half were good shots? Well midway through the 2nd half, frustration took over and we started to see bad shots. It's one of those things where when things aren't going that well everything sorta snowballs into a nightmare.
I don't like JT3's unwillingness to come out with the lineup that is the best. I really thought Vee should have started the 2nd half. The 4 guard lineup with Sims was the best lineup available at that time. Vee should have taken either Hollis or Clark's minutes last night. I know that Wright was the one that couldn't make a shot but he's really the only point guard on the team and it shows when he is out.
The Hoyas shot 60% from 2 and 18% from 3. They didn't adjust well enough. Clark, Freeman, and Thompson should have been getting better shots closer in near the elbow. Actually now that I say that, Freeman did get a lot of good shots and shot well. We can take him off that list. In fact Clark was 2-8 from 3 and 1-1 from 2. And the 2 that he took was great. It came off of a Sims high post pass. Ok I'm getting bitter again.
The worst part about the night was that the Hoyas played good enough defense to win this game on the road. Yes there were a bunch of timely 2nd or 3rd chance points by the Irish but Georgetown held them to well below their average, especially if you factor out the free throws at the end when they were intentionally foulling, and to a low FG%.
They did lose Abromaitis on a few screens, especially on that one inbounds play. Damn I hate that dude.
They got absolutely killed from the line. ND was 22 for 27 while GU was 5-9. Throw in the 4-22 from behind the line and that is tough to recover from for any team.
There are a lot of "sky is falling" type Hoya fans this morning and that's a bit ridiculous. If you are going to get up and down on this team every 40 minutes at a time, you are going to have one rough ride my man.
The St. John's game on Jan 3rd just got really interesting. I'd call it a must win but that's silly because if they lose, their season isn't over. I'll just call it a really, really important game.
I hope they play ND again in March at MSG. This won't happen again.
Peace brah
My Thoughts the morning after:
ND came out with a plan and Georgetown cooperated very nicely. What I mean is that the Irish played a sagging defense to take away cuts, specifically of the backdoor variety. So by doing that they gave up three pointers. Georgetown, one of the best three point shooting teams in the country promptly went 3-15 from deep in the first half. I rewatched the game this morning and of those 15 shots, I only counted 3 "bad" shots. They just weren't going in
Julian Vaughn is the team's most important player. Please don't confuse that with being the team's best player. He's not. He is however the one player that can command double team's down low and score on post moves right now. Sims plays the high post well and is a much better passer than Vaughn. So when Julian went out after less than 2 minutes with 2 fouls, trouble was a brewing in the form of a perfect storm of no outside shots or inside shots.
Remember how I said that most of the misses in the first half were good shots? Well midway through the 2nd half, frustration took over and we started to see bad shots. It's one of those things where when things aren't going that well everything sorta snowballs into a nightmare.
I don't like JT3's unwillingness to come out with the lineup that is the best. I really thought Vee should have started the 2nd half. The 4 guard lineup with Sims was the best lineup available at that time. Vee should have taken either Hollis or Clark's minutes last night. I know that Wright was the one that couldn't make a shot but he's really the only point guard on the team and it shows when he is out.
The Hoyas shot 60% from 2 and 18% from 3. They didn't adjust well enough. Clark, Freeman, and Thompson should have been getting better shots closer in near the elbow. Actually now that I say that, Freeman did get a lot of good shots and shot well. We can take him off that list. In fact Clark was 2-8 from 3 and 1-1 from 2. And the 2 that he took was great. It came off of a Sims high post pass. Ok I'm getting bitter again.
The worst part about the night was that the Hoyas played good enough defense to win this game on the road. Yes there were a bunch of timely 2nd or 3rd chance points by the Irish but Georgetown held them to well below their average, especially if you factor out the free throws at the end when they were intentionally foulling, and to a low FG%.
They did lose Abromaitis on a few screens, especially on that one inbounds play. Damn I hate that dude.
They got absolutely killed from the line. ND was 22 for 27 while GU was 5-9. Throw in the 4-22 from behind the line and that is tough to recover from for any team.
There are a lot of "sky is falling" type Hoya fans this morning and that's a bit ridiculous. If you are going to get up and down on this team every 40 minutes at a time, you are going to have one rough ride my man.
The St. John's game on Jan 3rd just got really interesting. I'd call it a must win but that's silly because if they lose, their season isn't over. I'll just call it a really, really important game.
I hope they play ND again in March at MSG. This won't happen again.
Peace brah
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Game 13: Georgetown at Notre Dame
Once again it's on. I always feel a little weird about these Big East openers before Jan 1st, but it has become a way of life. You can't win the title tonight but you can go a long way towards losing it.
I think tonight is one of the biggest games of the season. Notre Dame is a unique team that provides different problems than other teams. They start 5 seniors. They also start a big team. They can shoot the lights out and being big for once, their zone might be effective against the Hoyas.
Last year Notre Dame came into the Verizon Center and left with an unexpected win in the "Diabetes" game. That was the game where we first found out that there was something wrong with Austin.
I hope that Georgetown applies some decent pressure on the Irish. They don't go very deep. I suspect that ND will go zone so it will be important for Chris to penetrate into that zone to get the other guys good looks.
Even last year with without Freeman, the Hoyas shot 51% in a double digit loss. It's the defense stupid. I'm worried about the 2nd chance points.
Offensively everything will be fine without a high number of turnovers. The Hoya Saxa Offensive Machine is a thing of beauty. Turnovers are the only problem. When they don't turn it over, they score at a ridiculously high rate.
JT3 is 1-2 in games played in South Bend. It would be really nice to see him even up that record tonight.
Prediction: Hoyas 71 Irish 66- Clark has a big game
You want the Big East? Come and take the Big East.
Peace brah
I think tonight is one of the biggest games of the season. Notre Dame is a unique team that provides different problems than other teams. They start 5 seniors. They also start a big team. They can shoot the lights out and being big for once, their zone might be effective against the Hoyas.
Last year Notre Dame came into the Verizon Center and left with an unexpected win in the "Diabetes" game. That was the game where we first found out that there was something wrong with Austin.
I hope that Georgetown applies some decent pressure on the Irish. They don't go very deep. I suspect that ND will go zone so it will be important for Chris to penetrate into that zone to get the other guys good looks.
Even last year with without Freeman, the Hoyas shot 51% in a double digit loss. It's the defense stupid. I'm worried about the 2nd chance points.
Offensively everything will be fine without a high number of turnovers. The Hoya Saxa Offensive Machine is a thing of beauty. Turnovers are the only problem. When they don't turn it over, they score at a ridiculously high rate.
JT3 is 1-2 in games played in South Bend. It would be really nice to see him even up that record tonight.
Prediction: Hoyas 71 Irish 66- Clark has a big game
You want the Big East? Come and take the Big East.
Peace brah
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Big East - Monday & Tuesday Wk 1
It wasn't exactly a true Big Monday - Bilas and Raftery weren't on the call together - but it was still pretty sick to get the Big East season officially underway. There was only one game on opening night - Connecticut at Pittsburgh.
Conn v Pitt: I know it's wrong to take too much from any one game, especially the first one, but Connecticut was who I thought they were. They are a middle of the pack team in the Big East yet they find themselves ranked 4th in the Polls.
The Huskies took 60 shots and Kemba Walker had 27 of them. He only made 10. Pittsburgh assisted on 19 of 25 made field goals. Connecticut had just 6 on 19 made buckets. Pitt really beat them up with experience and team basketball.
The Petersen Events Center has been open since 2002. Pitt has a record of 142-11 in that building including 47 of their last 48. Here's a fun fact: JT3 has a record of 2-2. Oh and his Hoyas gave them their only loss in the last 48 at home. Oakland Zoo my ass.
Tuesday's games:
Providence v Syracuse: I can't believe the Big East league office gave Syracuse their first two conference games at home. Syracuse has only left the state of NY one time this season - and that one time was a trip to Atlantic City. Simply put: their schedule is embarrassing.
Ok now that we got that out of the way I can get to the game. Providence gave the Orange a decent game tonight but just couldn't quite connect all of the dots. The Friars don't exactly play great team basketball. Marshon Brooks takes a lion's share of the shots but doesn't get any of his teammates easy looks. Somebody should tell Keno Davis that taking 30 three pointers against that Syracuse zone is a recipe for disaster.
DePaul v Cincinnati: It's hard to judge the Bearcats against DePaul because the Blue Demons are bad. Like real bad. I think they would really struggle to win any conference in the country. Maybe the SWAC. Cincinnati stayed undefeated wthout really breaking a sweat tonight. I didn't watch that much because the result was never in doubt.
South Florida v Seton Hall: The good news for the Bull is that Gus Gilchrist showed up. The bad news is that it still wasn't enough for the win. Gilchrist left the team a week or so ago but I guess he's back. I'm sure it was nice for the Pirates to get a win after their best player was shot on Christmas. Hazell is apparently "fine" after being shot. Seriously who shoots somebody on Dec 25th? I flipped to this game only during TV timeouts in Syracuse but the one thing I took away from it was that South Florida loves to turn the ball over. I mean they really love it.
It's not a conference game but Rutgers - UNC is on and I have just one question. Why are they playing? I think this might be at least the 3rd time they have played recently. All of the games have been uncompetitive. It's awful to watch. Ok here's another question: Who made that phone call? The only thing I can think of is that Roy Williams wants a game in the NY/NJ area for recruiting purposes.
Conn v Pitt: I know it's wrong to take too much from any one game, especially the first one, but Connecticut was who I thought they were. They are a middle of the pack team in the Big East yet they find themselves ranked 4th in the Polls.
The Huskies took 60 shots and Kemba Walker had 27 of them. He only made 10. Pittsburgh assisted on 19 of 25 made field goals. Connecticut had just 6 on 19 made buckets. Pitt really beat them up with experience and team basketball.
The Petersen Events Center has been open since 2002. Pitt has a record of 142-11 in that building including 47 of their last 48. Here's a fun fact: JT3 has a record of 2-2. Oh and his Hoyas gave them their only loss in the last 48 at home. Oakland Zoo my ass.
Tuesday's games:
Providence v Syracuse: I can't believe the Big East league office gave Syracuse their first two conference games at home. Syracuse has only left the state of NY one time this season - and that one time was a trip to Atlantic City. Simply put: their schedule is embarrassing.
Ok now that we got that out of the way I can get to the game. Providence gave the Orange a decent game tonight but just couldn't quite connect all of the dots. The Friars don't exactly play great team basketball. Marshon Brooks takes a lion's share of the shots but doesn't get any of his teammates easy looks. Somebody should tell Keno Davis that taking 30 three pointers against that Syracuse zone is a recipe for disaster.
DePaul v Cincinnati: It's hard to judge the Bearcats against DePaul because the Blue Demons are bad. Like real bad. I think they would really struggle to win any conference in the country. Maybe the SWAC. Cincinnati stayed undefeated wthout really breaking a sweat tonight. I didn't watch that much because the result was never in doubt.
South Florida v Seton Hall: The good news for the Bull is that Gus Gilchrist showed up. The bad news is that it still wasn't enough for the win. Gilchrist left the team a week or so ago but I guess he's back. I'm sure it was nice for the Pirates to get a win after their best player was shot on Christmas. Hazell is apparently "fine" after being shot. Seriously who shoots somebody on Dec 25th? I flipped to this game only during TV timeouts in Syracuse but the one thing I took away from it was that South Florida loves to turn the ball over. I mean they really love it.
It's not a conference game but Rutgers - UNC is on and I have just one question. Why are they playing? I think this might be at least the 3rd time they have played recently. All of the games have been uncompetitive. It's awful to watch. Ok here's another question: Who made that phone call? The only thing I can think of is that Roy Williams wants a game in the NY/NJ area for recruiting purposes.
Tuesday Dec 28
So there's NFL on right now. Tonight is Tuesday. That's weird. If a natural disaster hits somewhere in the US next week, my money is on Detroit. Why? The Vikings.
The Vikings have been getting absolutely worked by Mother Nature for weeks now. Their Dome was destroyed two weeks ago which caused them to move the venues of their last two home games. Then they go on the road to Philadelphia and their game gets moved to a Tuesday Night.
Basically anybody who is going to be in Detoit next weekend is really rolling the dice with their lives. Good Luck. Of course being in Detroit at anytime could be a gamble I guess.
So this Tuesday Night NFL game means that I've seen NFL on every night but Wednesday. I think they should just schedule a game on a Wednesday next year just "because". There's no need for hump day to feel left out in the cold.
The newest addition to Welcome to Rick's is a dartboard. It makes letting Rocky out to go take care of his business not as annoying. I can just stand there and wait for him to come back in while I'm trying to hit the bulls eye. Of course when Rocky gets back in he wants to "fetch" the darts. The darts stick to the board so there's nothing to fetch. That makes him bark. We need to work on that a little bit.
I think most people take down their Christmas Trees and lights after New Year's Eve. I take it a step further. I keep them up until the last bowl game is over. You see the bowl games should all conclude on Jan 1st but they don't anymore. It's ridiculous and I'm keeping my house on Christmas time until the final kneel down of the college season.
Al Michaels is hyping up the Rams - Seahawks game as the last game of the regular season. Either he has the ear of Mother Nature or he is making a really big assumption that the Vikings game is going to be played on time at the proper venue next week. I think we all know what happens when you assume.
Ok I'm rolling.
Peace brah
The Vikings have been getting absolutely worked by Mother Nature for weeks now. Their Dome was destroyed two weeks ago which caused them to move the venues of their last two home games. Then they go on the road to Philadelphia and their game gets moved to a Tuesday Night.
Basically anybody who is going to be in Detoit next weekend is really rolling the dice with their lives. Good Luck. Of course being in Detroit at anytime could be a gamble I guess.
So this Tuesday Night NFL game means that I've seen NFL on every night but Wednesday. I think they should just schedule a game on a Wednesday next year just "because". There's no need for hump day to feel left out in the cold.
The newest addition to Welcome to Rick's is a dartboard. It makes letting Rocky out to go take care of his business not as annoying. I can just stand there and wait for him to come back in while I'm trying to hit the bulls eye. Of course when Rocky gets back in he wants to "fetch" the darts. The darts stick to the board so there's nothing to fetch. That makes him bark. We need to work on that a little bit.
I think most people take down their Christmas Trees and lights after New Year's Eve. I take it a step further. I keep them up until the last bowl game is over. You see the bowl games should all conclude on Jan 1st but they don't anymore. It's ridiculous and I'm keeping my house on Christmas time until the final kneel down of the college season.
Al Michaels is hyping up the Rams - Seahawks game as the last game of the regular season. Either he has the ear of Mother Nature or he is making a really big assumption that the Vikings game is going to be played on time at the proper venue next week. I think we all know what happens when you assume.
Ok I'm rolling.
Peace brah
Monday, December 27, 2010
Rankings Monday Dec 27
Not much movement today. There is only one slight change in the top 10 in either poll but it does involve the Hoyas. Georgetown is now #9 in both the AP and Coaches Polls. That's only fair since they beat Missouri in Missouri earlier this season. Missouri was #9 but now they are #10 in the AP.
There are currently 7 Big East teams ranked in both polls - Connecticut, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Villanova, Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Louisville. Cincinnati remains as one of the 8 unbeatens in the nation but they still find themselves in the "others receiving votes" part of the polls because they haven't really beaten anybody yet.
Of course that all changes starting this week with conference play. It's time to play all of your best friends in the country until mid-March. It all starts with Connecticut at Pittsburgh tonight. I'm not sure who I hate more - Calhoun or Dixon. If I have to pick a school to win tonight, I'm picking Pitt. Forgive me Father for I have sinned.
I think it's cute how the media is really all in on San Diego State. I feel like Central Florida, Old Dominion, and Cleveland State are just as worthy from the ranks of the mid-majors. In fact I think all of those schools are better than Memphis. It's criminal that the Tigers are still ranked.
Right now Georgetown is in a two horse race with Kansas in the RPI rankings. The Hoyas are sitting in the 2 hole right now but it moves back and forth daily.
A quick scan of how the media voted Georgetown in the AP poll shows that all of their votes were between 5 and 12. One of the guys who wasn't even voting for the Hoyas 2 weeks ago now has them at 12. It's nice to see that he finally bought himself a TV.
OK I need to give the Independence Bowl more of my attention.
Peace brah
There are currently 7 Big East teams ranked in both polls - Connecticut, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Villanova, Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Louisville. Cincinnati remains as one of the 8 unbeatens in the nation but they still find themselves in the "others receiving votes" part of the polls because they haven't really beaten anybody yet.
Of course that all changes starting this week with conference play. It's time to play all of your best friends in the country until mid-March. It all starts with Connecticut at Pittsburgh tonight. I'm not sure who I hate more - Calhoun or Dixon. If I have to pick a school to win tonight, I'm picking Pitt. Forgive me Father for I have sinned.
I think it's cute how the media is really all in on San Diego State. I feel like Central Florida, Old Dominion, and Cleveland State are just as worthy from the ranks of the mid-majors. In fact I think all of those schools are better than Memphis. It's criminal that the Tigers are still ranked.
Right now Georgetown is in a two horse race with Kansas in the RPI rankings. The Hoyas are sitting in the 2 hole right now but it moves back and forth daily.
A quick scan of how the media voted Georgetown in the AP poll shows that all of their votes were between 5 and 12. One of the guys who wasn't even voting for the Hoyas 2 weeks ago now has them at 12. It's nice to see that he finally bought himself a TV.
OK I need to give the Independence Bowl more of my attention.
Peace brah
Friday, December 24, 2010
Hoyas 86 Tigers 69 - JV from the Elbow
Big win tonight before the Big East grind starts on the 29th. I honestly don't know why the Temple game didn't go like this one. Maybe they needed that wake up call. Who knows.
Julian Vaughn. My man JuJu hadn't played like that since the tournament in Charleston. His minutes haven't actually been getting cut the last few games with the emergence of Hank and Nate.
Julian got his Christmas celebration started early this year by being the missing piece of a Final 4 run. He's the guy. He's the one big that makes the offense basically unstoppable. Sims is a good passer, probably the best for a big, but he doesn't have the low post moves to match it.
When Julian is on his game you can put 4 shooters out there with him and it's basically impossible to guard them if they space it right. At one point tonight it looked like they were just running drills on the Tigers.
Julian played so well I didn't even let the 3 that he attempted bother me. The difference to me was that he seemed more confident and made moves quicker than the last few games. He was also a presence on the defense by blocking 4 shots.
I wanted to see Freeman have a good night and he obliged by going 9 for 12 from all over the court. Sims lead the team with 5 dimes. Sanford continued to just come in off the bench and scortch the nets. He's 9 for 12 from downtown with limited minutes. Instant offense. Benimon was nice on the boards and finished around the hoop.
I mean it was so good they hit for 86 and Clark only had 8 on 5 attempts. Serious? Hollis went to the hoop and Wright was strong after finding himself on the Cousy Award list earlier today.
Anybody notice that either Freeman or Wright are on the court at all times? They were both out at the same time at Temple. That was a mistake that I doubt we see again this season in meaningful minutes.
I don't know how Pastner recruits so well. They don't really run any stuff. They just throw a ball out there and hope that all of the HS All Americans they have can get something done.
Thompson did a great job after half time of switching defenses. It seemed to confuse the hell out of the Tigers.
Hollis was dunked on pretty bad tonight. His teammates are absolutely killing him on Twitter about it. The best line is from Vaughn saying that Hollis was baptized. Even Jessie Sapp is giving him the business.
Tonight was weird in that I didn't watch the game live. I was out for a little Holiday type thing and then a movie. I am happy to say that I was successfully able to avoid the result until I got back to WTR and watched it on DVR. I noticed that I don't yell at my TV as much when it's not live.
Rocky had no interest in watching tonight. He went up to my room before the first TV Timeout. He just didn't have it. Maybe somebody told him the score. Ok that's it for me.
Peace brah
Julian Vaughn. My man JuJu hadn't played like that since the tournament in Charleston. His minutes haven't actually been getting cut the last few games with the emergence of Hank and Nate.
Julian got his Christmas celebration started early this year by being the missing piece of a Final 4 run. He's the guy. He's the one big that makes the offense basically unstoppable. Sims is a good passer, probably the best for a big, but he doesn't have the low post moves to match it.
When Julian is on his game you can put 4 shooters out there with him and it's basically impossible to guard them if they space it right. At one point tonight it looked like they were just running drills on the Tigers.
Julian played so well I didn't even let the 3 that he attempted bother me. The difference to me was that he seemed more confident and made moves quicker than the last few games. He was also a presence on the defense by blocking 4 shots.
I wanted to see Freeman have a good night and he obliged by going 9 for 12 from all over the court. Sims lead the team with 5 dimes. Sanford continued to just come in off the bench and scortch the nets. He's 9 for 12 from downtown with limited minutes. Instant offense. Benimon was nice on the boards and finished around the hoop.
I mean it was so good they hit for 86 and Clark only had 8 on 5 attempts. Serious? Hollis went to the hoop and Wright was strong after finding himself on the Cousy Award list earlier today.
Anybody notice that either Freeman or Wright are on the court at all times? They were both out at the same time at Temple. That was a mistake that I doubt we see again this season in meaningful minutes.
I don't know how Pastner recruits so well. They don't really run any stuff. They just throw a ball out there and hope that all of the HS All Americans they have can get something done.
Thompson did a great job after half time of switching defenses. It seemed to confuse the hell out of the Tigers.
Hollis was dunked on pretty bad tonight. His teammates are absolutely killing him on Twitter about it. The best line is from Vaughn saying that Hollis was baptized. Even Jessie Sapp is giving him the business.
Tonight was weird in that I didn't watch the game live. I was out for a little Holiday type thing and then a movie. I am happy to say that I was successfully able to avoid the result until I got back to WTR and watched it on DVR. I noticed that I don't yell at my TV as much when it's not live.
Rocky had no interest in watching tonight. He went up to my room before the first TV Timeout. He just didn't have it. Maybe somebody told him the score. Ok that's it for me.
Peace brah
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Game 12: Hoyas @ Memphis
I feel bad about this game because I feel good about it. Does that make sense? I hope the Hoyas push the pace of this game and run the Tigers out of the gym. They can. Will they?
Winning in the Pyramid is pretty tough but I really think the experience at the guard spot will give slant this game in the direction of the mighty Hoya Saxa. I'm ready to watch Austin go to work from deep tonight. It's been a few games.
Rocky just turned the lights on the Christmas Tree off. Sweet. He's been killing the tree way more than normal this Holiday Season.
I'm already waiting for Hank and Nate to enter the game. Where has the Hollis that drives to the hoop gone? I hope he shows up in the South tonight.
Like always, this game goes much of the way that Chris Wright goes. If they can protect the ball they will win. Temple had far too many easy buckets as a result of bad shots by the Hoyas or off of turnovers.
I don't need much, if anything, for Christmas. I'll take a win on Christmas Eve Eve along with some good food and drink and call it a Holiday.
Hoyas 75
Tigers 64
Peace brah
Winning in the Pyramid is pretty tough but I really think the experience at the guard spot will give slant this game in the direction of the mighty Hoya Saxa. I'm ready to watch Austin go to work from deep tonight. It's been a few games.
Rocky just turned the lights on the Christmas Tree off. Sweet. He's been killing the tree way more than normal this Holiday Season.
I'm already waiting for Hank and Nate to enter the game. Where has the Hollis that drives to the hoop gone? I hope he shows up in the South tonight.
Like always, this game goes much of the way that Chris Wright goes. If they can protect the ball they will win. Temple had far too many easy buckets as a result of bad shots by the Hoyas or off of turnovers.
I don't need much, if anything, for Christmas. I'll take a win on Christmas Eve Eve along with some good food and drink and call it a Holiday.
Hoyas 75
Tigers 64
Peace brah
Just because I had more...
Half of the lights on my Christmas Tree in the basement went out today. I wish I could blame it on Rocky but I can't. He was upstairs with me when they went out. Shaking the lights didn't work. Hard to believe huh?
I had some of that Eggnog that I was talking about the other day. Yeah I don't like it. Brendan claims that it's great with Whiskey. I'll have to take his word for it. I have no plans to test it out.
It looks like they have been exchanging autographs for tattoos in Columbus, Ohio. That's pretty funny. I honestly don't have a problem with it but I won't cry when they miss a bunch of starters in the meaningless Sugar Bowl against the Razorbacks.
The Georgetown women have been ranked for awhile now but it still throws me off when I catch that name on the bottom scroll when I'm only half paying attention.
Gonzaga and Xavier are facing each other right now in a match-up of two schools that hate Butler even more than I do. All of a sudden the Zags have taken a back seat in race as the ultimate mid-major. That must be hard for them. Bummer. The only good thing about Butler making the Championship Game last season is that there are probably a bunch of Mason fans really bent about their success. I'll take that.
What is going on in East Lansing? The Spartans aren't winning any of these so-called big games on their non-conference schedule. I'm more interested in how this makes Connecticut look. I can't believe that they jumped from unranked to #7 after beating Michigan State and Kentucky in Maui about a month ago. It looks like those wins aren't nearly as impressive as everybody first suspected. Other than those two wins, Uconn has beaten exactly NOBODY.
I watched some of Northwestern - St. John's last night. Northwestern runs the same stuff that Georgetown does offensively. They just do it with way worse players. I'd like to see them finally make the NCAA Tournament this year but I don't think they have enough inside to get to .500 in the Big Ten. A win last night would have really helped them.
Well speak of the devil, Butler is on ESPNU. I think RTD and I might have to take this upstairs.
Peace brah
I had some of that Eggnog that I was talking about the other day. Yeah I don't like it. Brendan claims that it's great with Whiskey. I'll have to take his word for it. I have no plans to test it out.
It looks like they have been exchanging autographs for tattoos in Columbus, Ohio. That's pretty funny. I honestly don't have a problem with it but I won't cry when they miss a bunch of starters in the meaningless Sugar Bowl against the Razorbacks.
The Georgetown women have been ranked for awhile now but it still throws me off when I catch that name on the bottom scroll when I'm only half paying attention.
Gonzaga and Xavier are facing each other right now in a match-up of two schools that hate Butler even more than I do. All of a sudden the Zags have taken a back seat in race as the ultimate mid-major. That must be hard for them. Bummer. The only good thing about Butler making the Championship Game last season is that there are probably a bunch of Mason fans really bent about their success. I'll take that.
What is going on in East Lansing? The Spartans aren't winning any of these so-called big games on their non-conference schedule. I'm more interested in how this makes Connecticut look. I can't believe that they jumped from unranked to #7 after beating Michigan State and Kentucky in Maui about a month ago. It looks like those wins aren't nearly as impressive as everybody first suspected. Other than those two wins, Uconn has beaten exactly NOBODY.
I watched some of Northwestern - St. John's last night. Northwestern runs the same stuff that Georgetown does offensively. They just do it with way worse players. I'd like to see them finally make the NCAA Tournament this year but I don't think they have enough inside to get to .500 in the Big Ten. A win last night would have really helped them.
Well speak of the devil, Butler is on ESPNU. I think RTD and I might have to take this upstairs.
Peace brah
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Wednesday Dec 22
I'm disappointed in myself for watching more of this Las Vegas Bowl than the Missouri - Illiniois basketball game. The bowl game tonight means nothing. Actually every bowl game except for the last one means nothing. It's funny how much I will let the announcers influence what I watch. Musberger really adds a certain level of legitimacy to every game he is calling. Throw in the Boise State factor and it has lead me to more time on ESPN than ESPN2 tonight
Seriously why is the #10 team in the country (BSU) playing their bowl game on Dec 22 while an unranked Connecticut is in a BCS Bowl? Oh right. The bowl system is logically flawed from a competitive standpoint. I might do a little research later on but I'm pretty confident that the BCS system has given us some of our worst bowl match-ups ever.
I know for a fact that the ACC Champion used to go the Citrus Bowl. The Citrus Bowl is now the Capital One Bowl just in case you didn't know that. Now that the ACC is worse than ever they pretty much get an Orange Bowl bid. Yeah that makes sense Here is something I know: Louisville would have never squared off against Wake Forest in an Orange Bowl under the old system.
So the Busch Bragging Rights game just ended like I've never seen a game end before. Missouri was up 4 with about 50 seconds left. Illinois got a steal and hit a 3 to cut it to 1. Then Missouri pushed the ball to get a bucket to go up by 3. There was a foul that was called intentional so it became a 6 point possession and the game was over. Then Illinois head coach Bruce Weber had to tell the refs what he thought about it. Mizzou got 8 points in about 8 seconds in what was a tight game.
I had my own game tonight against General Tso. I got off to a fast start and thought I was going to finally defeat my nemesis. My biggest mistake was to tell Brendan that I was getting after it. That was the kiss of death. I have still yet to eat an entire takeout order. I'm just not good enough yet and quite honestly, I'm afraid that I never will be.
Oh look Boise State is crushing Utah. Of course they are crushing the Utes. I mean Notre Dame beat up on these guys. It's a real shame that the Broncos aren't playing on New Year's Day. Ok that's it for me.
Peace brah
Seriously why is the #10 team in the country (BSU) playing their bowl game on Dec 22 while an unranked Connecticut is in a BCS Bowl? Oh right. The bowl system is logically flawed from a competitive standpoint. I might do a little research later on but I'm pretty confident that the BCS system has given us some of our worst bowl match-ups ever.
I know for a fact that the ACC Champion used to go the Citrus Bowl. The Citrus Bowl is now the Capital One Bowl just in case you didn't know that. Now that the ACC is worse than ever they pretty much get an Orange Bowl bid. Yeah that makes sense Here is something I know: Louisville would have never squared off against Wake Forest in an Orange Bowl under the old system.
So the Busch Bragging Rights game just ended like I've never seen a game end before. Missouri was up 4 with about 50 seconds left. Illinois got a steal and hit a 3 to cut it to 1. Then Missouri pushed the ball to get a bucket to go up by 3. There was a foul that was called intentional so it became a 6 point possession and the game was over. Then Illinois head coach Bruce Weber had to tell the refs what he thought about it. Mizzou got 8 points in about 8 seconds in what was a tight game.
I had my own game tonight against General Tso. I got off to a fast start and thought I was going to finally defeat my nemesis. My biggest mistake was to tell Brendan that I was getting after it. That was the kiss of death. I have still yet to eat an entire takeout order. I'm just not good enough yet and quite honestly, I'm afraid that I never will be.
Oh look Boise State is crushing Utah. Of course they are crushing the Utes. I mean Notre Dame beat up on these guys. It's a real shame that the Broncos aren't playing on New Year's Day. Ok that's it for me.
Peace brah
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
A look at St. John's
In an effort to get a feel for each team in the Big East before they play the Hoyas, I got my first extended look at St. John's tonight. The Johnnies are one of the 3 schools that Georgetown plays both home and away. So this is what I just saw:
**Played a lot of zone but they would switch to man-to-man after timeouts and other dead ball situations.
**Gave up a lot of 3's in the corners.
**They get a lot of offensive rebounds which is important for them because they don't particually shoot very well.
**It's weird to see Gene Keady on the bench next to Lavin.
**They like to press after made buckets.
**I still hate Davidson. A lot. I will never like the song Sweet Caroline thanks to their band on Easter Sunday '08.
Quote of the Night - Brought to you by my man Bucky Waters calling the St. John's - Davidson game at the MSG Holiday Festival - "They got really touchy about blood a few years ago with AIDS and all of that."
What does the "and all of that" part mean? I feel like he could have phrased that better.
St. John's held on for the win tonight to advance and play Northwestern tomorrow. Davidson's McKillop had a shot to force OT go in an out. The coach's son just didn't have enough to pull out the win.
I knew I shouldn't have watched Davidson. I just checked out the box score from the 2008 Second Round Nightmare in Raleigh. I can't believe a team shot 63% from the field and over 50% from three and lost. The free throws and soft fouls on Hibbert were the difference. Maybe one day I'll get over it but I doubt it.
Peace brah
**Played a lot of zone but they would switch to man-to-man after timeouts and other dead ball situations.
**Gave up a lot of 3's in the corners.
**They get a lot of offensive rebounds which is important for them because they don't particually shoot very well.
**It's weird to see Gene Keady on the bench next to Lavin.
**They like to press after made buckets.
**I still hate Davidson. A lot. I will never like the song Sweet Caroline thanks to their band on Easter Sunday '08.
Quote of the Night - Brought to you by my man Bucky Waters calling the St. John's - Davidson game at the MSG Holiday Festival - "They got really touchy about blood a few years ago with AIDS and all of that."
What does the "and all of that" part mean? I feel like he could have phrased that better.
St. John's held on for the win tonight to advance and play Northwestern tomorrow. Davidson's McKillop had a shot to force OT go in an out. The coach's son just didn't have enough to pull out the win.
I knew I shouldn't have watched Davidson. I just checked out the box score from the 2008 Second Round Nightmare in Raleigh. I can't believe a team shot 63% from the field and over 50% from three and lost. The free throws and soft fouls on Hibbert were the difference. Maybe one day I'll get over it but I doubt it.
Peace brah
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday Dec 20
Most of my recent entries have been sports (read: Georgetown) centric so I'll try and change that up a little bit right here.
**The last movie I saw with Jeff Bridges was Crazy Heart. His character's name in that flick was Bad Blake. I really want to see True Grit soon. In that movie his name is Rooster Cogburn. I wonder if he only does movies where his name is completely bad-ass.
**Did I mention that I bought Egg Nog the other night just because? Well I did. I really don't think that I've had it before. I'm hopefully that it's legit but I have some doubts.
**So I watched way too much of Sweet Home Alabama recently. And by way too much I mean basically the whole thing. I'm not going to lie - the part where Melanie Smooter visits the grave of her old dog, Bear, is pretty tough stuff.
**Every now and then I grow a beard. It is usually born out of laziness and lives right on through the hope that it doesn't look as bad as it feels.
**I hope it snows again soon. Sure the snow from the other day has stuck around but it won't stay forever. We basically had snow on the ground all of last winter. I kinda liked that.
**I bet I never watch an episode of Damages but the commercials are pretty good.
**We had a plumber come in the other day that reminded me of the guy from those credit card commercials. You know the one's I'm talking about. It's a Russian dude that says his name is Peggy.
**Ok it's time for some MNF with #4 behind center.
Peace brah
**The last movie I saw with Jeff Bridges was Crazy Heart. His character's name in that flick was Bad Blake. I really want to see True Grit soon. In that movie his name is Rooster Cogburn. I wonder if he only does movies where his name is completely bad-ass.
**Did I mention that I bought Egg Nog the other night just because? Well I did. I really don't think that I've had it before. I'm hopefully that it's legit but I have some doubts.
**So I watched way too much of Sweet Home Alabama recently. And by way too much I mean basically the whole thing. I'm not going to lie - the part where Melanie Smooter visits the grave of her old dog, Bear, is pretty tough stuff.
**Every now and then I grow a beard. It is usually born out of laziness and lives right on through the hope that it doesn't look as bad as it feels.
**I hope it snows again soon. Sure the snow from the other day has stuck around but it won't stay forever. We basically had snow on the ground all of last winter. I kinda liked that.
**I bet I never watch an episode of Damages but the commercials are pretty good.
**We had a plumber come in the other day that reminded me of the guy from those credit card commercials. You know the one's I'm talking about. It's a Russian dude that says his name is Peggy.
**Ok it's time for some MNF with #4 behind center.
Peace brah
Rankings Monday Dec 20
It's good to see the Hoyas back in the Top Ten after a week on the outside looking in. I know it doesn't mean very much right now but it looks nice. They are also still holding down the top spot in the RPI.
Here is a look at both polls: (BE Schools in bold)
Coaches
1. Duke
2. Ohio State
3. Kansas
4. CONNECTICUT
5. SYRACUSE
6. PITT
7. San Diego State
8. VILLANOVA
9. GEORGETOWN
10. Missouri
The AP Top 10 is nearly identical to the Coaches Poll. The lone difference is the reversal of Missouri and Georgetown at #9 and #10.
My Thoughts: The one team that I haven't seen play is San Diego State. I'm sure that I'm not the only one with that problem.
So we have 5 Big East schools in the Top 10. I really think Connecticut and Pitt are a bit over valued right now. I guess time will tell. Actually I think that about the entire Big East in the Top 10 but in order to call out those teams, I would have to figure out who should replace them. I'm struggling to do that right now.
Tennessee lost twice last week but they are a squad that I think is one of the 10 best right now.
Florida got back into the rankings today only to lose a rare Monday afternoon game. At home. To Jacksonville. I don't think Artis Gilmore played so I'm really not sure what happened down in Gainesville. I guess weird things happen when the students are out of town.
Michigan State is a sleeping dog right now. Emphasis on both "sleeping" and "dog".
I'm not real high on Memphis right now but that could all change on Christmas Eve Eve.
Peace brah
Here is a look at both polls: (BE Schools in bold)
Coaches
1. Duke
2. Ohio State
3. Kansas
4. CONNECTICUT
5. SYRACUSE
6. PITT
7. San Diego State
8. VILLANOVA
9. GEORGETOWN
10. Missouri
The AP Top 10 is nearly identical to the Coaches Poll. The lone difference is the reversal of Missouri and Georgetown at #9 and #10.
My Thoughts: The one team that I haven't seen play is San Diego State. I'm sure that I'm not the only one with that problem.
So we have 5 Big East schools in the Top 10. I really think Connecticut and Pitt are a bit over valued right now. I guess time will tell. Actually I think that about the entire Big East in the Top 10 but in order to call out those teams, I would have to figure out who should replace them. I'm struggling to do that right now.
Tennessee lost twice last week but they are a squad that I think is one of the 10 best right now.
Florida got back into the rankings today only to lose a rare Monday afternoon game. At home. To Jacksonville. I don't think Artis Gilmore played so I'm really not sure what happened down in Gainesville. I guess weird things happen when the students are out of town.
Michigan State is a sleeping dog right now. Emphasis on both "sleeping" and "dog".
I'm not real high on Memphis right now but that could all change on Christmas Eve Eve.
Peace brah
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Game 11: Hoyas v Greyhounds
There haven't been very many lay-ups on this season's schedule so far, and the Loyola game is the last one. After this game, it's all very real. The rest of 2010 sees the Hoyas with one more tough non-conference road game at Memphis on the 23rd before beginning the brutal Big East campaign in South Bend against Notre Dame on the 29th.
What do I know about Loyola? Not that much other than their head coach, former Gary Williams assistant Jimmy Patsos, is kind of crazy. A few years ago he so was determined to stop Davidson's Stephen Curry from scoring that he went with a triangle and two. The double team on Curry worked. The triangle on the rest of the team didn't as they got crushed.
Look this game is all about Georgetown shaking off their exam break rust. They need to get all of the cobwebs out before traveling for the Holidays.
What I want to see:
I think it's important for them to attack the Loyola press and get as many possessions as possible with the first team players in the game. Unlike in year's past, this Hoyas team is at their best when they speed the game up.
Austin Freeman has been in a bit of a slump from the behind the arc over the last few games. I'd like for him to see the ball go in the net from deep a few times before getting down to Memphis.
Moses needs some run with the first team guards. He had a spectacular 2 minutes last Sunday in his debut. He needs to get into the game in the 1st half this time
Valuing the ball would be nice. The game at Temple was lost with the lost possessions. Lots of things went wrong in Philly that night but the most correctable thing would be to hold on to the damn ball.
Obama: Like I mentioned earlier, Barack is scheduled to attend the Heat - Wizards game later in the day which is of course causing problems for the noon Hoyas tip-off. I better be going to bed so I can get down to Verizon bright and early.
Peace brah
What do I know about Loyola? Not that much other than their head coach, former Gary Williams assistant Jimmy Patsos, is kind of crazy. A few years ago he so was determined to stop Davidson's Stephen Curry from scoring that he went with a triangle and two. The double team on Curry worked. The triangle on the rest of the team didn't as they got crushed.
Look this game is all about Georgetown shaking off their exam break rust. They need to get all of the cobwebs out before traveling for the Holidays.
What I want to see:
I think it's important for them to attack the Loyola press and get as many possessions as possible with the first team players in the game. Unlike in year's past, this Hoyas team is at their best when they speed the game up.
Austin Freeman has been in a bit of a slump from the behind the arc over the last few games. I'd like for him to see the ball go in the net from deep a few times before getting down to Memphis.
Moses needs some run with the first team guards. He had a spectacular 2 minutes last Sunday in his debut. He needs to get into the game in the 1st half this time
Valuing the ball would be nice. The game at Temple was lost with the lost possessions. Lots of things went wrong in Philly that night but the most correctable thing would be to hold on to the damn ball.
Obama: Like I mentioned earlier, Barack is scheduled to attend the Heat - Wizards game later in the day which is of course causing problems for the noon Hoyas tip-off. I better be going to bed so I can get down to Verizon bright and early.
Peace brah
Friday, December 17, 2010
Never a dull moment in Ashburn
So McNabb is out and Grossman is in huh? Ok.
I don't like it but I'm not surprised. Why would I be?
I didn't like Mike Shanahan when he was the coach in Denver. I didn't like him being hired by the Washington Redskins. I didn't like him bringing his kid along for the ride. I thought the handling of the Albert Haynesworth situation over the summer was ridiculous with the 300's. I thought benching McNabb for the last series in Detroit was crazy.
I could see benching McNabb for a young kid but neither Grossman or even Beck fit that description. When next season starts, if next season starts, Rex Grossman will be 31 and John Beck will be 30. That's not young by NFL standards. (McNabb will be 34 on opening day 2011.)
Is McNabb having a great year? Probably not. Do the Redskins have a good line in front him? I don't think so. Do the Redskins have good backs and receivers? Nope.
It's too simple to blame this team's problems on one guy. He's not the one that insisted on playing a 3-4 when the team obviously doesn't have the personnel to play such a scheme.
For what it's worth, McNabb, had he played in the final 3 games, was on pace to set the Redskins record for passing yards in a single season. (Jay Schroeder 4,109 - 1986.) He also would have been just the third QB in franchise history to throw for at least 4,000 yards in a single season, and the first since 1999. (Brad Johnson.)
So why are we only seeing a backup at QB this week? Why don't we just play the backups all over the field in a true effort to evaluate everybody before mini-camp starts? I think the reason is because McNabb hasn't exactly hit it off with Kyle Shanahan from day one. I guess Kyle didn't watch too much film on Donovan's footwork before they made that trade.
Somebody asked Shanahan during today's press conference if Rex gave the Redskins the best chance to win against the Cowboys. He didn't really answer it properly. He said that he had a lot of confidence in Rex. He said that Rex was a sprained ankle away from playing. He didn't say that Rex gave them the best chance to win. He just didn't want to say it so he gave a generic answer.
I don't like the idea that the final 3 games are more about experimenting with line-ups than about winning football games. I think it's really important to finish strong especially when 2 of the final 3 games are within the division. There's a big difference between being 5-11 and 8-8. If they finish 5-11 after being 4-3, that will be a disaster even though they will have improved by one game from last season.
The Redskins have a lot of holes to fill on their roster. I thought McNabb had another 2 to 3 years in him for with this franchise. I think he's gone now. That's another hole to fill. I guess the good news is that they love to do most of their heavy lifting during the offseason.
Peace brah
I don't like it but I'm not surprised. Why would I be?
I didn't like Mike Shanahan when he was the coach in Denver. I didn't like him being hired by the Washington Redskins. I didn't like him bringing his kid along for the ride. I thought the handling of the Albert Haynesworth situation over the summer was ridiculous with the 300's. I thought benching McNabb for the last series in Detroit was crazy.
I could see benching McNabb for a young kid but neither Grossman or even Beck fit that description. When next season starts, if next season starts, Rex Grossman will be 31 and John Beck will be 30. That's not young by NFL standards. (McNabb will be 34 on opening day 2011.)
Is McNabb having a great year? Probably not. Do the Redskins have a good line in front him? I don't think so. Do the Redskins have good backs and receivers? Nope.
It's too simple to blame this team's problems on one guy. He's not the one that insisted on playing a 3-4 when the team obviously doesn't have the personnel to play such a scheme.
For what it's worth, McNabb, had he played in the final 3 games, was on pace to set the Redskins record for passing yards in a single season. (Jay Schroeder 4,109 - 1986.) He also would have been just the third QB in franchise history to throw for at least 4,000 yards in a single season, and the first since 1999. (Brad Johnson.)
So why are we only seeing a backup at QB this week? Why don't we just play the backups all over the field in a true effort to evaluate everybody before mini-camp starts? I think the reason is because McNabb hasn't exactly hit it off with Kyle Shanahan from day one. I guess Kyle didn't watch too much film on Donovan's footwork before they made that trade.
Somebody asked Shanahan during today's press conference if Rex gave the Redskins the best chance to win against the Cowboys. He didn't really answer it properly. He said that he had a lot of confidence in Rex. He said that Rex was a sprained ankle away from playing. He didn't say that Rex gave them the best chance to win. He just didn't want to say it so he gave a generic answer.
I don't like the idea that the final 3 games are more about experimenting with line-ups than about winning football games. I think it's really important to finish strong especially when 2 of the final 3 games are within the division. There's a big difference between being 5-11 and 8-8. If they finish 5-11 after being 4-3, that will be a disaster even though they will have improved by one game from last season.
The Redskins have a lot of holes to fill on their roster. I thought McNabb had another 2 to 3 years in him for with this franchise. I think he's gone now. That's another hole to fill. I guess the good news is that they love to do most of their heavy lifting during the offseason.
Peace brah
Just got the "Obama" email again...
I just got an email from Georgetown that is pretty much identical to the one that they sent out last season before Obama showed up at the Duke - Georgetown game. I have a hard time believing that Barack is going to roll up to Verizon for the Hoyas not-so-big clash with Loyola tomorrow at noon. So what could it be???
I'm pretty sure that it means he will be at the Heat - Wizards game later in the day. Of course it's not as if that game will be competitive either. I'm sure he wishes Wade and James signed with the Bulls. Oh well.
So back to the email. It covers a lot of the normal big crowd type stuff - take metro, park away from Verizon, no garage parking below Verizon, get inside early, enhanced security checkpoints, no backpacks, blah, blah, blah.
There is one change from last year's email with today's email. There is a separate bullet point that says - NO WEAPONS PERMITTED.
So are weapons usually permitted for Georgetown games? I had no idea. I'd like to be able to bring a taser for some of the away fans during conference play. And by some I mean the fans wearing Orange, fans rooting for WVU, and fans that think Calhoun is a super nice guy.
I'd like to invite Obama to the Syracuse game. I think that game will decide the Big East Regular Season Champion. Oh and it's Senior Day.
Peace brah
I'm pretty sure that it means he will be at the Heat - Wizards game later in the day. Of course it's not as if that game will be competitive either. I'm sure he wishes Wade and James signed with the Bulls. Oh well.
So back to the email. It covers a lot of the normal big crowd type stuff - take metro, park away from Verizon, no garage parking below Verizon, get inside early, enhanced security checkpoints, no backpacks, blah, blah, blah.
There is one change from last year's email with today's email. There is a separate bullet point that says - NO WEAPONS PERMITTED.
So are weapons usually permitted for Georgetown games? I had no idea. I'd like to be able to bring a taser for some of the away fans during conference play. And by some I mean the fans wearing Orange, fans rooting for WVU, and fans that think Calhoun is a super nice guy.
I'd like to invite Obama to the Syracuse game. I think that game will decide the Big East Regular Season Champion. Oh and it's Senior Day.
Peace brah
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Back to the Future
MASN is showing an old Georgetown game tonight and I keep flipping to it.
Georgetown vs Virginia from December 11, 1982.
Even though I know that the Hoyas lose this game against the #1 ranked Cavaliers, I am absolutely mesmerized by so many different aspects of what my eyes are seeing.
The Capital Centre logo reminds me of being a little kid. I can remember going to games and getting stuck at the Wilson Bridge when it was up on the way home. It happened more often that you think.
Ewing is running around like a gazelle. I bet you he weighs more than 100 lbs right now than he did during this game.
The production graphics are incredible. Incredibly bad.
The announcers sound like they are from the deep, deep South. And since the game is on Turner Sports, I imagine that they most likely are good ol' boys
The UVA fans look as annoying as ever with their bow ties.
The Georgetown cheerleaders are as bad as ever.
I think Bob Wade is behind the Hoyas bench. Speaking of the bench, Craig Esherick looks hilarious.
The Hoyas don't really run any offense. They press like hell and just toss the ball around the perimeter until somebody either gets the ball down low or just takes a shot.
The most impressive part of the entire game is the fact that Public Address Announcer is the same guy that still does it today - Father McFadden. I was actually thinking during the last home game about how weird it will be when he isn't the one on the microphone calling out substitutions, fouls, and made baskets. I'm going to just pretend that that day will never come.
Another Hoyas related thing going on right now- Wake Forest v UNC- Greensboro. Nikita Mescheriakov is playing for the Demon Deacons. He's having a decent game but he's still a fouling machine. Wake isn't very good but at least he's playing. I guess.
Peace Brah
Georgetown vs Virginia from December 11, 1982.
Even though I know that the Hoyas lose this game against the #1 ranked Cavaliers, I am absolutely mesmerized by so many different aspects of what my eyes are seeing.
The Capital Centre logo reminds me of being a little kid. I can remember going to games and getting stuck at the Wilson Bridge when it was up on the way home. It happened more often that you think.
Ewing is running around like a gazelle. I bet you he weighs more than 100 lbs right now than he did during this game.
The production graphics are incredible. Incredibly bad.
The announcers sound like they are from the deep, deep South. And since the game is on Turner Sports, I imagine that they most likely are good ol' boys
The UVA fans look as annoying as ever with their bow ties.
The Georgetown cheerleaders are as bad as ever.
I think Bob Wade is behind the Hoyas bench. Speaking of the bench, Craig Esherick looks hilarious.
The Hoyas don't really run any offense. They press like hell and just toss the ball around the perimeter until somebody either gets the ball down low or just takes a shot.
The most impressive part of the entire game is the fact that Public Address Announcer is the same guy that still does it today - Father McFadden. I was actually thinking during the last home game about how weird it will be when he isn't the one on the microphone calling out substitutions, fouls, and made baskets. I'm going to just pretend that that day will never come.
Another Hoyas related thing going on right now- Wake Forest v UNC- Greensboro. Nikita Mescheriakov is playing for the Demon Deacons. He's having a decent game but he's still a fouling machine. Wake isn't very good but at least he's playing. I guess.
Peace Brah
Wednesday Dec 15
So I just checked the mail and I'm kinda freaking out.
Why?
Well Brendan got what looks to be a Xmas Card from Michael Myers. Yeah. Michael effing Myers. I don't know how he got our address but I think we should probably move before Halloween 2011. I've seen enough movies from that series to know that staying here through that Holiday would be a huge gamble.
I'm thinking of changing the page layout of this blog. I have some stuff I want to add. Look out for a change coming soon.
You know when I get a call from a number that isn't in my phone there is a ZERO % chance that I answer it. When that number doesn't leave me a message I feel even better about my strict policy.
Somebody keeps eating our candy canes. I think it's me. And since it's 2010 we don't buy the traditional candy canes. It's all about the LifeSavers, Spree, and Now and Later flavored canes.
I was thinking of ranking my favorite episodes of The Office. I haven't gotten too far but this is my current list:
1. The first Xmas Episode where they do Yankee Swap
2. The Dinner Party at Michael and Jan's condo
Georgetown is back up to #1 in the RPI thanks to Oakland's upset at Tennessee last night. Louisville also fell from the ranks of the unbeaten last night. Strange things happen during Finals week. Strange things indeed.
I grew up a Knicks fan. They have basically sucked since Van Gundy walked out after 19 games into the 2001-2002 season. They've only made the playoffs one time since then. I keep them in the back of my mind but I've been able to keep up with the NBA during that time by following former Hoyas.
Well the NYK might be back. And by "back" I mean that they might be in the mix for one of the last playoff spots in the East. They have their biggest regular season game in years tonight against the Celtics. Of course saying that an NBA regular season game is big sounds kinda silly. But if games could be big in December, tonight's game is just that.
Ok time for a little basketball with RTD. (Rocky Tha Dogg)
Peace brah
Why?
Well Brendan got what looks to be a Xmas Card from Michael Myers. Yeah. Michael effing Myers. I don't know how he got our address but I think we should probably move before Halloween 2011. I've seen enough movies from that series to know that staying here through that Holiday would be a huge gamble.
I'm thinking of changing the page layout of this blog. I have some stuff I want to add. Look out for a change coming soon.
You know when I get a call from a number that isn't in my phone there is a ZERO % chance that I answer it. When that number doesn't leave me a message I feel even better about my strict policy.
Somebody keeps eating our candy canes. I think it's me. And since it's 2010 we don't buy the traditional candy canes. It's all about the LifeSavers, Spree, and Now and Later flavored canes.
I was thinking of ranking my favorite episodes of The Office. I haven't gotten too far but this is my current list:
1. The first Xmas Episode where they do Yankee Swap
2. The Dinner Party at Michael and Jan's condo
Georgetown is back up to #1 in the RPI thanks to Oakland's upset at Tennessee last night. Louisville also fell from the ranks of the unbeaten last night. Strange things happen during Finals week. Strange things indeed.
I grew up a Knicks fan. They have basically sucked since Van Gundy walked out after 19 games into the 2001-2002 season. They've only made the playoffs one time since then. I keep them in the back of my mind but I've been able to keep up with the NBA during that time by following former Hoyas.
Well the NYK might be back. And by "back" I mean that they might be in the mix for one of the last playoff spots in the East. They have their biggest regular season game in years tonight against the Celtics. Of course saying that an NBA regular season game is big sounds kinda silly. But if games could be big in December, tonight's game is just that.
Ok time for a little basketball with RTD. (Rocky Tha Dogg)
Peace brah
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Tuesday Dec 14
I think I've gotten used to the cold and the wind already. I can't really complain about it when Rocky is dying to go for a walk. I mean the guy is basically naked out there. That is one tough dude.
I'm sad to say that I've fallen victim to the game Angry Birds. It's one of those things where you see somebody else, in this case Brendan, all about something and you tell yourself that it's probably not that great. But then I downloaded it and I'm hooked. Of course it really drains my battery. What else is new right?
I'd rather watch the Baylor women play tonight with their giant center Brittney Griner than hear about how the Phillies signed Cliff Lee. It's baseball. Not many people care about that sport anymore during the actual season. It's the off-season. I don't want to hear old timers try and romanticize about the "hot stove" league.
Baseball would more interesting if they contracted the league to a handful of teams. I mean most of the people who still admit to liking baseball root for the same few teams - NYY, Red Sox, Phillies, Dodgers, Cubs, maybe throw the Cardinals in as well.
I've really got to question a grocery store when they don't carry Sour Skittles in the candy aisle. It's almost as if they are trying to fail as a business.
I still look for Pumpkin Delights even though I know that they won't be there. Old habits die hard apparently.
Tonight was Taco Night here in Kings Park. I make a better taco than Carlos O'Kelly's. I just wanted to put that out there.
I love Celebration Ale but I just noticed something really alarming. The last few times I've had a couple of them, I haven't had much to celebrate. That is a trend that needs reversing ASAP.
The mascot type thing for hhgregg gives me the creeps. He's basically a yellow smiley face with a Santa hat on top and a rolled up newspaper for a body. I seriously doubt that I ever frequent that store.
I think that everybody should boycott any store or any product if the commercial isn't in HD. If I have to watch a commericial from time to time, I'd appreciate it being in High Definition. It let's me know that they really want me money.
Peace brah
I'm sad to say that I've fallen victim to the game Angry Birds. It's one of those things where you see somebody else, in this case Brendan, all about something and you tell yourself that it's probably not that great. But then I downloaded it and I'm hooked. Of course it really drains my battery. What else is new right?
I'd rather watch the Baylor women play tonight with their giant center Brittney Griner than hear about how the Phillies signed Cliff Lee. It's baseball. Not many people care about that sport anymore during the actual season. It's the off-season. I don't want to hear old timers try and romanticize about the "hot stove" league.
Baseball would more interesting if they contracted the league to a handful of teams. I mean most of the people who still admit to liking baseball root for the same few teams - NYY, Red Sox, Phillies, Dodgers, Cubs, maybe throw the Cardinals in as well.
I've really got to question a grocery store when they don't carry Sour Skittles in the candy aisle. It's almost as if they are trying to fail as a business.
I still look for Pumpkin Delights even though I know that they won't be there. Old habits die hard apparently.
Tonight was Taco Night here in Kings Park. I make a better taco than Carlos O'Kelly's. I just wanted to put that out there.
I love Celebration Ale but I just noticed something really alarming. The last few times I've had a couple of them, I haven't had much to celebrate. That is a trend that needs reversing ASAP.
The mascot type thing for hhgregg gives me the creeps. He's basically a yellow smiley face with a Santa hat on top and a rolled up newspaper for a body. I seriously doubt that I ever frequent that store.
I think that everybody should boycott any store or any product if the commercial isn't in HD. If I have to watch a commericial from time to time, I'd appreciate it being in High Definition. It let's me know that they really want me money.
Peace brah
Monday Dec 13
You know what I think should be illegal? The printing and distribution of telephone books. We got one dropped off at the house yesterday and I put it right in the recycling bin. I'm not sure if you can recycle it, but I don't know of any other uses really. You see I have this thing called the internet on both my phone and my laptop. Maybe tomorrow somebody will drop off a bunch of cassette tapes in my driveway. They would be just as useful as the Yellow Pages.
Man United - Arsenal: If the two teams had instead been named Wigan and West Ham, most people would have stopped watching after 30 minutes. I have a witness that can verify my concern about Park. Nobody on United worries me more than him. He plays out of his mind against Arsenal. Yesterday was no exception. Good for him but I absolutely hate the guy.
The only part of the game yesterday that made me smile was Rooney missing that PK. I was so upset that he was going to get his name on the score sheet after not really doing much. Well he sent the shot from the spot way over the bar. It's as if he is living out that Nike commercial from the World Cup this past summer.
The roof, the roof, the roof wasn't on fire: I could seriously watch footage of the Metrodome caving in for hours. Can you imagine being the guy on the cart that is racing against time to get out of there? That would have been insane.
Does any team benefit more from natural disasters than the NY Giants? A few years ago they got a 9th home game because of Katrina and then last night they got a neutral game because of a collapsing dome situation. The only good part about last night's game is that Tom Coughlin must have been driven near madness with all of the schedule changes.
Favre: A lot of people seem tired of Brett and happy that his streak and, most likely, career are over. I don't get it. There aren't that many story lines in the NFL. There aren't that many characters to follow. Most people couldn't even pick out some of their favorite players without their jerseys on. It is a league of unrecognizable figures. A large percent of most fan's interest in the league is based upon fantasy football match-ups and point spreads.
I know that the whole retiring and not retiring thing got on people's nerves but I think it was pretty awesome to watch one of the game's all time greatest players have a sick season at 40 years old. A player that was always able to bounce back from injuries at an insane age. I mean I felt like crap after playing soccer last weekend. I'm 31. I didn't get sacked by an 300 lbs lineman that can also run faster than anybody you know. I think people underestimate and marginalize what a lot of these guys go through.
Looking at what Jackson did last night I doubt Favre would have done much worse. I mean they came away with exactly 3 points off of 2 early turnovers. It's not just #4 that is having a sub par season, the Vikings suck.
Peace brah
Man United - Arsenal: If the two teams had instead been named Wigan and West Ham, most people would have stopped watching after 30 minutes. I have a witness that can verify my concern about Park. Nobody on United worries me more than him. He plays out of his mind against Arsenal. Yesterday was no exception. Good for him but I absolutely hate the guy.
The only part of the game yesterday that made me smile was Rooney missing that PK. I was so upset that he was going to get his name on the score sheet after not really doing much. Well he sent the shot from the spot way over the bar. It's as if he is living out that Nike commercial from the World Cup this past summer.
The roof, the roof, the roof wasn't on fire: I could seriously watch footage of the Metrodome caving in for hours. Can you imagine being the guy on the cart that is racing against time to get out of there? That would have been insane.
Does any team benefit more from natural disasters than the NY Giants? A few years ago they got a 9th home game because of Katrina and then last night they got a neutral game because of a collapsing dome situation. The only good part about last night's game is that Tom Coughlin must have been driven near madness with all of the schedule changes.
Favre: A lot of people seem tired of Brett and happy that his streak and, most likely, career are over. I don't get it. There aren't that many story lines in the NFL. There aren't that many characters to follow. Most people couldn't even pick out some of their favorite players without their jerseys on. It is a league of unrecognizable figures. A large percent of most fan's interest in the league is based upon fantasy football match-ups and point spreads.
I know that the whole retiring and not retiring thing got on people's nerves but I think it was pretty awesome to watch one of the game's all time greatest players have a sick season at 40 years old. A player that was always able to bounce back from injuries at an insane age. I mean I felt like crap after playing soccer last weekend. I'm 31. I didn't get sacked by an 300 lbs lineman that can also run faster than anybody you know. I think people underestimate and marginalize what a lot of these guys go through.
Looking at what Jackson did last night I doubt Favre would have done much worse. I mean they came away with exactly 3 points off of 2 early turnovers. It's not just #4 that is having a sub par season, the Vikings suck.
Peace brah
Monday, December 13, 2010
Rankings Monday Dec 13
The rankings are out and the "damage" is worse than I thought in the AP Poll. The Coaches Poll is about right. And by about right, I mean that I figured they would be 12 or 13. I happen to think they are better than that but there's a chance that I'm biased. Of course in my defense I have seen pretty much all of the "good" teams play at least once already this season.
The Coaches Poll has the Hoyas checking in at #13 today. They were #10 last week.
The AP has the Hoyas at #15 . They were #9 last week.
I just did a quick check of how the voters in the AP voted this week and I must say that I think it's ridiculous that 2 voters didn't include the Hoyas on their ballots. That's a bit harsh. They have quality road wins, the sixth best strength of schedule, and their lone loss is on the road to a quality team. Whatever.
Oh and they are #2 in the RPI. Of course that changes on a nightly basis.
Rest of the Big East: There are 7 BE schools ranked in both the AP and Coaches Polls this week.
AP: Conn #4, Syracuse #5, Pitt #8, Nova #10, HOYAS #15, Louisville #20, ND, #24
Coaches: Conn #4, Syracuse #5, Pitt #8, Nova #11, HOYAS #13, Louisville #21, ND, #23
The only thing that stands out to me is that Connecticut is too high. It's as if voters have failed to see how those Kentucky and Michigan State wins aren't nearly as impressive anymore.
I'm ready for the Big East season long grind to start.
Ok I just did more research on the two voters who failed to rank the Hoyas.
Scott Reid of the Orange County Register had them 15 last week and Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News also had them at 15. So they lost a road game at Temple that came down to the last possession and it was worth a drop of more than 10 spots? Sure.
Ok I'm out.
Peace brah
The Coaches Poll has the Hoyas checking in at #13 today. They were #10 last week.
The AP has the Hoyas at #15 . They were #9 last week.
I just did a quick check of how the voters in the AP voted this week and I must say that I think it's ridiculous that 2 voters didn't include the Hoyas on their ballots. That's a bit harsh. They have quality road wins, the sixth best strength of schedule, and their lone loss is on the road to a quality team. Whatever.
Oh and they are #2 in the RPI. Of course that changes on a nightly basis.
Rest of the Big East: There are 7 BE schools ranked in both the AP and Coaches Polls this week.
AP: Conn #4, Syracuse #5, Pitt #8, Nova #10, HOYAS #15, Louisville #20, ND, #24
Coaches: Conn #4, Syracuse #5, Pitt #8, Nova #11, HOYAS #13, Louisville #21, ND, #23
The only thing that stands out to me is that Connecticut is too high. It's as if voters have failed to see how those Kentucky and Michigan State wins aren't nearly as impressive anymore.
I'm ready for the Big East season long grind to start.
Ok I just did more research on the two voters who failed to rank the Hoyas.
Scott Reid of the Orange County Register had them 15 last week and Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News also had them at 15. So they lost a road game at Temple that came down to the last possession and it was worth a drop of more than 10 spots? Sure.
Ok I'm out.
Peace brah
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Sunday Dec 12
So I never got a chance to post anything on here yesterday. I want to send my sincerest apologies to the dozen or so people that are actually aware that this blog exists.
Most of my day was spent in DC yesterday between a soccer tournament and the post game "celebration". We didn't win the tournament but we definitely came away victorious at Duffy's. Our chances of advancing out of the group pretty much went out the window when we lost Stratton to what looked like a serious knee injury early in the 2nd game with a lead. We started the day with one guy sub and ended it by playing a man down.
We didn't have much to play for in the 3rd game but I thought it was the best of our 3 games. I thought I played alright but obviously I didn't do enough to help us advance. What I can't do is play 3 games in one day without a sub. Walking to the bar after it was all over was way more challenging than it should have been. Maybe I need to start taking yoga again. My back is jacked up.
Ok so how about the Redskins?
I've been on the "get rid of Gano" bandwagon for a long time now. Today was a perfect example of why I think the guy is garbage. I just don't get why he has had so many chances.
In 1998 the Redskins had David Akers for one game. He missed two long field goals and they cut him. The next year the Eagles picked him up and he's been there ever since. He's probably been one of the best kickers in the last decade. Cut Gano. The sample size is large enough to make a determination that he sucks.
Speaking of the Eagles, they beat the 'Skins 59-28 a month ago. Washington has failed to score 59 points in the next 4 games. Combined.
When the Redskins got rid of Marty Schotttenheimer a lot fans were ok it with because he "hadn't won a lot of playoff games". You know what? That's true. But you know what else Marty doesn't do? He never sucked for 10 years either. 2 losing seasons in 21 years.
Hell Norv freakin' Turner has won 3 playoff games since Snyder fired him. The 'Skins have one playoff win to their credit during that time.
I really want to have something positive to say about the Redskins but I don't right now. When Snyder got control of the Redskins he wanted to have the trade for Brad Johnson reversed. I thought that was insane and have never liked the guy. I really don't think they will ever sustain winning as long as he is involved. It's a bummer because he's going to be involved for decades to come.
This game was designed to hurt. I'm out.
Peace brah
Most of my day was spent in DC yesterday between a soccer tournament and the post game "celebration". We didn't win the tournament but we definitely came away victorious at Duffy's. Our chances of advancing out of the group pretty much went out the window when we lost Stratton to what looked like a serious knee injury early in the 2nd game with a lead. We started the day with one guy sub and ended it by playing a man down.
We didn't have much to play for in the 3rd game but I thought it was the best of our 3 games. I thought I played alright but obviously I didn't do enough to help us advance. What I can't do is play 3 games in one day without a sub. Walking to the bar after it was all over was way more challenging than it should have been. Maybe I need to start taking yoga again. My back is jacked up.
Ok so how about the Redskins?
I've been on the "get rid of Gano" bandwagon for a long time now. Today was a perfect example of why I think the guy is garbage. I just don't get why he has had so many chances.
In 1998 the Redskins had David Akers for one game. He missed two long field goals and they cut him. The next year the Eagles picked him up and he's been there ever since. He's probably been one of the best kickers in the last decade. Cut Gano. The sample size is large enough to make a determination that he sucks.
Speaking of the Eagles, they beat the 'Skins 59-28 a month ago. Washington has failed to score 59 points in the next 4 games. Combined.
When the Redskins got rid of Marty Schotttenheimer a lot fans were ok it with because he "hadn't won a lot of playoff games". You know what? That's true. But you know what else Marty doesn't do? He never sucked for 10 years either. 2 losing seasons in 21 years.
Hell Norv freakin' Turner has won 3 playoff games since Snyder fired him. The 'Skins have one playoff win to their credit during that time.
I really want to have something positive to say about the Redskins but I don't right now. When Snyder got control of the Redskins he wanted to have the trade for Brad Johnson reversed. I thought that was insane and have never liked the guy. I really don't think they will ever sustain winning as long as he is involved. It's a bummer because he's going to be involved for decades to come.
This game was designed to hurt. I'm out.
Peace brah
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Friday Dec 10
Well its been 24 hours and the sky didn't fall. After 9 games the Hoyas probably deserve to have one loss. They had no business beating ODU and they did everything possible to give away the Missouri game. The bummer about losing a close game is that at some point a game or two will get away from you. It makes those close loses that much more painful to swallow. When you get hammered, you just take it as a loss. When you can look back to one or two plays that went wrong, it sucks even more if that makes sense.
3 treated the first half like an open tryout with some of the weirdest lineups I've seen all season. That's cool for later in the season but it sucked yesterday. They never really got in sync but it still took some crazy circumstances to beat them. At the end of the day they had the ball with a chance to take the lead on the last possession. That's all you can really ask for - a chance.
I bet if they are in the same situation again, 3 will call a timeout. I understand that if you call timeout you give the defense a chance to set up but I think it's obvious that they need to talk about how they can get the ball to either Austin or Jason. Hollis isn't the guy that needs to be shooting that last shot. Ok I'm over it
So my neighbor across the street keeps making me pumpkin bread. I think these are advance payments for me shoveling her out in a few weeks when the blizzards start again.
I played two games tonight and I'm not really in good enough shape to do that. The men's league game was pretty fun. I don't play men's league that often - usually it's co-ed. I'd like to get in a full time men's league. It would make me better.
I had a to play a bunch of goalie in the co-ed game tonight. I thought I played well in the first half. The 2nd half - not so much. I probably don't do as well as I should in cutting down angles on shots. Oh well. The good news is that my shoulder doesn't really restrict me from making saves anymore. I can notice a difference from a few months ago. So there's that.
So there's a tournament tomorrow at Cardazo High School in DC. I should probaby go to bed soon. The first game isn't until 1030 but I bet that comes quicker than you think. I really hope it's a little bit warmer tomorrow than it has been recently. The older I get the more the cold gets to me. I'd really like to avoid playing keeper tomorrow but I will play here and there if I have to. I just won't be super excited about it.
OMG is it Sunday yet? I need to get that bad taste out of my mouth. I want to see what Moses can add to the squad.
Peace brah
3 treated the first half like an open tryout with some of the weirdest lineups I've seen all season. That's cool for later in the season but it sucked yesterday. They never really got in sync but it still took some crazy circumstances to beat them. At the end of the day they had the ball with a chance to take the lead on the last possession. That's all you can really ask for - a chance.
I bet if they are in the same situation again, 3 will call a timeout. I understand that if you call timeout you give the defense a chance to set up but I think it's obvious that they need to talk about how they can get the ball to either Austin or Jason. Hollis isn't the guy that needs to be shooting that last shot. Ok I'm over it
So my neighbor across the street keeps making me pumpkin bread. I think these are advance payments for me shoveling her out in a few weeks when the blizzards start again.
I played two games tonight and I'm not really in good enough shape to do that. The men's league game was pretty fun. I don't play men's league that often - usually it's co-ed. I'd like to get in a full time men's league. It would make me better.
I had a to play a bunch of goalie in the co-ed game tonight. I thought I played well in the first half. The 2nd half - not so much. I probably don't do as well as I should in cutting down angles on shots. Oh well. The good news is that my shoulder doesn't really restrict me from making saves anymore. I can notice a difference from a few months ago. So there's that.
So there's a tournament tomorrow at Cardazo High School in DC. I should probaby go to bed soon. The first game isn't until 1030 but I bet that comes quicker than you think. I really hope it's a little bit warmer tomorrow than it has been recently. The older I get the more the cold gets to me. I'd really like to avoid playing keeper tomorrow but I will play here and there if I have to. I just won't be super excited about it.
OMG is it Sunday yet? I need to get that bad taste out of my mouth. I want to see what Moses can add to the squad.
Peace brah
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Well that's what losing taste like...
So when the game is in the balance you can't give Hollis Thompson the ball. He took a horrible 3 against Missouri and then there was that drive tonight. He has proven to be a complete liability at the end of games.
I was screaming for 3 to call a timeout. Hollis drives it to the hoop, OK that's fine. The problem is that he is never looking to pass. Vaughn was wide open. Freeman was wide open. It's very bad basketball for Freeman to not get a touch on that possession.
What else sucked?
Freeman's missed free throw towards the end of the game was pretty big. So were all of Vaughn's misses around the rim. Not to mention his turnovers. How about the time he let a guy on the ground strip the ball?
How about letting Moore go off for a career high. Why was Benimon defending him for awhile? Why wasn't it Sanford? What does Sanford have to get more time?
What about the dude on Temple that shoots 31% from the line going 5 for 6 tonight? Reminds me of Mazzulla at the BET Final last year.
How about the ridiculous lineups in the first half? It's like they were holding a tryout.
Good Vibes
The good news is that they didn't play very well against a good team on the road and it came down to the final possession. I'll end this on a good note. That's all I got.
Look they were never going to go undefeated. A loss was coming. Hopefully there is something to be learned from tonight.
I'm also really glad that I'm not walking to my truck and about to drive home from Philly right now. That would suck and I've had more than my fair share of bad drives home.
See you on Sunday
Peace brah
I was screaming for 3 to call a timeout. Hollis drives it to the hoop, OK that's fine. The problem is that he is never looking to pass. Vaughn was wide open. Freeman was wide open. It's very bad basketball for Freeman to not get a touch on that possession.
What else sucked?
Freeman's missed free throw towards the end of the game was pretty big. So were all of Vaughn's misses around the rim. Not to mention his turnovers. How about the time he let a guy on the ground strip the ball?
How about letting Moore go off for a career high. Why was Benimon defending him for awhile? Why wasn't it Sanford? What does Sanford have to get more time?
What about the dude on Temple that shoots 31% from the line going 5 for 6 tonight? Reminds me of Mazzulla at the BET Final last year.
How about the ridiculous lineups in the first half? It's like they were holding a tryout.
Good Vibes
The good news is that they didn't play very well against a good team on the road and it came down to the final possession. I'll end this on a good note. That's all I got.
Look they were never going to go undefeated. A loss was coming. Hopefully there is something to be learned from tonight.
I'm also really glad that I'm not walking to my truck and about to drive home from Philly right now. That would suck and I've had more than my fair share of bad drives home.
See you on Sunday
Peace brah
Game 9: Hoyas v Owls
Georgetown is at Temple tonight in a game that I hope turns into a street fight. The Hoyas have passed every test so far this season as their record stands at 8-0. Tonight will be different. Tonight will be the exact opposite of the Missouri game. It will be just as difficult, just a different kind of difficult. I can't wait to see how this group reacts to a a low scoring slug fest against a quality team with some decent size on the road.
My Advice: Press. Press. Press. Push. Push. Push. Defensively I love when the Hoyas apply pressure. I know they like to pick their spots but I'd like to see them pick more spots. Offensively they need to try and get good shots in transition. Temple is pretty stingy in the half court so any points you can get when they aren't set will be important.
Hedge: I will hedge a little bit about the press. Temple doesn't have a great offense so if they are getting good looks by virtue of beating the press, scrap it. JT3 can coach so I know he will adjust.
KenPom: I love the stuff available at KenPom. I can make 2 hours seems like 5 minutes on that site. Looking at the tempo-free stats, Temple will be the best defense the Hoyas have played so far. Conversely Georgetown will be by far the best offense that the Owls have faced. Nice little match-up there.
Keys: As always it will be very important to limit the Owls to just one shot per possession. It would be nice if Vaughn would stay out of foul trouble. Same goes with Henry. Offensively it's very simple. Take good shots. It doesn't matter if they are 3's or 2's. A good shot is a good shot, especially with this team of shooters.
The Numbers: Well we are about a 1/4 of the way through the season, depending on how many post season games you play, and we can finally make a little sense of some of the statistical numbers. The early season schedule has paid off so far as the Hoyas find themselves with the #1 RPI and #1 SOS.
Top Ten: The Hoyas moved into the Top Ten in both polls this week. It doesn't really matter but it does. I really like seeing them on the bottom scroll when the new poll comes out. I bet recruits like seeing that as well.
Flashback: Last year these two teams got together on opening night for ESPN's 24 hours of College Basketball and played one of the worst games of the season. Monroe hit a late shot to push the combined total just north of 90. The Hoyas won 46-45 in a most forgettable contest.
Moses: The Temple game is the last game until the Hoya Saxa Death Star is complete. Moses Ayegba was ruled ineligible for the first 9 games of the season by the NCAA. The NCAA ruled that his airline ticket was paid for by somebody outside of his immediate family.
I think it's fitting that Moses will be able to play his first game on a Sunday. They haven't really missed him so far but it will be nice to have his big body and 5 fouls available from now on.
Celebration Ale: Tonight's game will again be sponsored by Celebration Ale at Welcome to Rick's. We like to celebrate just how fun it is to watch this year's team, especially the guards. Austin Freeman is ridiculous, Chris Wright is letting the game come to him, and Jason Clark is a freak.
Don't forget to Hollar for Hollis.
Peace brah
My Advice: Press. Press. Press. Push. Push. Push. Defensively I love when the Hoyas apply pressure. I know they like to pick their spots but I'd like to see them pick more spots. Offensively they need to try and get good shots in transition. Temple is pretty stingy in the half court so any points you can get when they aren't set will be important.
Hedge: I will hedge a little bit about the press. Temple doesn't have a great offense so if they are getting good looks by virtue of beating the press, scrap it. JT3 can coach so I know he will adjust.
KenPom: I love the stuff available at KenPom. I can make 2 hours seems like 5 minutes on that site. Looking at the tempo-free stats, Temple will be the best defense the Hoyas have played so far. Conversely Georgetown will be by far the best offense that the Owls have faced. Nice little match-up there.
Keys: As always it will be very important to limit the Owls to just one shot per possession. It would be nice if Vaughn would stay out of foul trouble. Same goes with Henry. Offensively it's very simple. Take good shots. It doesn't matter if they are 3's or 2's. A good shot is a good shot, especially with this team of shooters.
The Numbers: Well we are about a 1/4 of the way through the season, depending on how many post season games you play, and we can finally make a little sense of some of the statistical numbers. The early season schedule has paid off so far as the Hoyas find themselves with the #1 RPI and #1 SOS.
Top Ten: The Hoyas moved into the Top Ten in both polls this week. It doesn't really matter but it does. I really like seeing them on the bottom scroll when the new poll comes out. I bet recruits like seeing that as well.
Flashback: Last year these two teams got together on opening night for ESPN's 24 hours of College Basketball and played one of the worst games of the season. Monroe hit a late shot to push the combined total just north of 90. The Hoyas won 46-45 in a most forgettable contest.
Moses: The Temple game is the last game until the Hoya Saxa Death Star is complete. Moses Ayegba was ruled ineligible for the first 9 games of the season by the NCAA. The NCAA ruled that his airline ticket was paid for by somebody outside of his immediate family.
I think it's fitting that Moses will be able to play his first game on a Sunday. They haven't really missed him so far but it will be nice to have his big body and 5 fouls available from now on.
Celebration Ale: Tonight's game will again be sponsored by Celebration Ale at Welcome to Rick's. We like to celebrate just how fun it is to watch this year's team, especially the guards. Austin Freeman is ridiculous, Chris Wright is letting the game come to him, and Jason Clark is a freak.
Don't forget to Hollar for Hollis.
Peace brah
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
College Basketball 12-8
**Illinois beat Oakland tonight. That's not that big of a deal. They used a women's ball for the first 7 minutes because nobody noticed. That is a big deal.
**Missouri is playing Vanderbilt in a match-up of schools with the exact same color scheme. This game is kind of crazy but I get the feeling that you could say that about any game that Mizzou is involved in. The Tigers aren't the best team in the country but they are somebody you want to avoid because you never know what might happen. LB Grad Hubert Davis is doing the color commentary and he's pretty solid. Go Bruins.
**Jimmy Dykes is doing color for the ND - UK game. He always comes up with some arbitrary ranking system. Tonight he is ranking different spots on the floor for shooters. Last time he had some 5 point scale to determine if a guy would play in the pros.
**It looks as if some of the oldest women in the planet are sitting behind the Vanderbilt bench. God Bless them.
**Mizzou forced OT but they don't deserve to win. They take the worst shots of all time. They just keep up this insane pace that forces the other team into mistakes.
**I used to root for other Big East schools when they played out of conference. Yeah I don't do that anymore. That is something that you do when the team that you root for is middle of the pack or in the bottom. You don't need to do that when your team is legit. To hell with everybody else. Unless they playing Maryland of course.
**Speaking of the Big East, I think they should start kicking out schools. I think it's time that DePaul goes away. They got blown out by the Sycamores of Indiana State tonight. Last time I checked Larry Bird doesn't play for them anymore.
**Notre Dame gets more rebounds than you would think. That's something to worry about for JT3. If JT3 is worried about, I'm worried about it.
**Jones for UK is a stud. That being said, I don't think the strategy of throwing a bunch of 1-and-done freshmen on the team every year will win a national championship.
**It's good for Georgetown's RPI, SOS, and all that numbers junk, but I really don't think that Mizzou "deserved" that win tonight. But, hey, that's what good teams have to do. They have to get wins when they don't play all that well. Anybody can win when you play well.
Peace brah
**Missouri is playing Vanderbilt in a match-up of schools with the exact same color scheme. This game is kind of crazy but I get the feeling that you could say that about any game that Mizzou is involved in. The Tigers aren't the best team in the country but they are somebody you want to avoid because you never know what might happen. LB Grad Hubert Davis is doing the color commentary and he's pretty solid. Go Bruins.
**Jimmy Dykes is doing color for the ND - UK game. He always comes up with some arbitrary ranking system. Tonight he is ranking different spots on the floor for shooters. Last time he had some 5 point scale to determine if a guy would play in the pros.
**It looks as if some of the oldest women in the planet are sitting behind the Vanderbilt bench. God Bless them.
**Mizzou forced OT but they don't deserve to win. They take the worst shots of all time. They just keep up this insane pace that forces the other team into mistakes.
**I used to root for other Big East schools when they played out of conference. Yeah I don't do that anymore. That is something that you do when the team that you root for is middle of the pack or in the bottom. You don't need to do that when your team is legit. To hell with everybody else. Unless they playing Maryland of course.
**Speaking of the Big East, I think they should start kicking out schools. I think it's time that DePaul goes away. They got blown out by the Sycamores of Indiana State tonight. Last time I checked Larry Bird doesn't play for them anymore.
**Notre Dame gets more rebounds than you would think. That's something to worry about for JT3. If JT3 is worried about, I'm worried about it.
**Jones for UK is a stud. That being said, I don't think the strategy of throwing a bunch of 1-and-done freshmen on the team every year will win a national championship.
**It's good for Georgetown's RPI, SOS, and all that numbers junk, but I really don't think that Mizzou "deserved" that win tonight. But, hey, that's what good teams have to do. They have to get wins when they don't play all that well. Anybody can win when you play well.
Peace brah
Wednesday Dec 8
For some reason I keep hoping against hope that the temperature gets around the 50 degree mark. Everyday Mother Nature lets me down. I'm going to have to switch to the treadmill soon.
So I was buying some stuff (read: candy) at CVS and I accidentally hit the "Donate to St. Jude's Hospital" button on the screen that you touch when you are paying with a credit card. I really didn't plan on making that donation but I felt it was in really poor taste to tell the 17 year old working behind the counter that I wanted to take my donation back to what I'm sure is a worthy cause. Especially during the Holidays. Charity 1 - Bob 0.
How mad is Jenn Sterger that the Vikings suck this year? She wants so much attention and most people have forgotten about her.
You know how there are a bunch of movies that, if they are on, you just have to watch? Well Road House is definitely on that list. I came home and I could hear it playing in the basement. Dalton and Wade Garrett are so bad ass. I'd love to go to the Double Deuce one day.
Rocky had this new way of laying on the couch where his front legs are almost completely off the couch. It looks uncomfortable but he keeps doing it. I don't know what to say really.
Since ESPNU is such a low budget channel they have a slew of low budget commercials. The kinds of commercials that look as if I could have produced them. Well one of them is for the Hair Club for Men. This one guy keeps saying how 80% of feeling good is looking good. I want to know where he got those numbers and why I should believe them. I have a sneaking suspicion that he made that number up.
So I need some frames for some stuff I want to put up at WTR's but unfortunately everything I have comes in an awkward size. Which of course means that the generic frames don't fit. Damn you AC Moore. You too Michael's.
Arsenal won today and I got a post card from The Emirates. I don't think that's a coincidence. Now I just need somebody to send me a postcard before every game. I nominate Emmanuel Eboue. I hope he's up for the job.
Urban Meyer is quitting again. I called this after watching some of their early season wins. This guy has tasted the spotlight and he can't get enough of it. Look for him to take a year off and end up coaching the Cowboys in the 2012 Season. It will be a mistake but he will get paid.
Peace brah
So I was buying some stuff (read: candy) at CVS and I accidentally hit the "Donate to St. Jude's Hospital" button on the screen that you touch when you are paying with a credit card. I really didn't plan on making that donation but I felt it was in really poor taste to tell the 17 year old working behind the counter that I wanted to take my donation back to what I'm sure is a worthy cause. Especially during the Holidays. Charity 1 - Bob 0.
How mad is Jenn Sterger that the Vikings suck this year? She wants so much attention and most people have forgotten about her.
You know how there are a bunch of movies that, if they are on, you just have to watch? Well Road House is definitely on that list. I came home and I could hear it playing in the basement. Dalton and Wade Garrett are so bad ass. I'd love to go to the Double Deuce one day.
Rocky had this new way of laying on the couch where his front legs are almost completely off the couch. It looks uncomfortable but he keeps doing it. I don't know what to say really.
Since ESPNU is such a low budget channel they have a slew of low budget commercials. The kinds of commercials that look as if I could have produced them. Well one of them is for the Hair Club for Men. This one guy keeps saying how 80% of feeling good is looking good. I want to know where he got those numbers and why I should believe them. I have a sneaking suspicion that he made that number up.
So I need some frames for some stuff I want to put up at WTR's but unfortunately everything I have comes in an awkward size. Which of course means that the generic frames don't fit. Damn you AC Moore. You too Michael's.
Arsenal won today and I got a post card from The Emirates. I don't think that's a coincidence. Now I just need somebody to send me a postcard before every game. I nominate Emmanuel Eboue. I hope he's up for the job.
Urban Meyer is quitting again. I called this after watching some of their early season wins. This guy has tasted the spotlight and he can't get enough of it. Look for him to take a year off and end up coaching the Cowboys in the 2012 Season. It will be a mistake but he will get paid.
Peace brah
Tuesday Dec 7
Droid: Well my new Droid seems to be working way better than the old one but that's really not saying much since the last one was basically hot trash. I'm pretty hesitant to download all of the Apps that I used to have in fear that it will kill my phone again. I mean I never used mobile Skype anyway. Why do I need it? I don't.
Happy Birthday: My old optometrist really wants me back. I mean my birthday isn't until the end of month but they already sent me a card instructing me to have a good time on my bday. Hell that might be the only birthday card I get in the mail. Who knows? If they send me a bag of Skittles for Valentine's Day I might make the switch back. I think I only went there once in 2005 but I obviously made one helluva impression.
Season's Greetings: WTR is really getting into the Holiday Season. Between the lights, the tree, and the endless supply of Celebration Ale, we have it covered. If only Rocky's reindeer costume still fit. That would be sick. Unfortunately it only fit for his first Xmas when he like 6 months old.
Ice Age: I can't believe how cold it is this early into December. I mean it's not even Winter yet. I think I saw some Penguins when I was running around Lake Accotink earlier today. Apparently I'm playing soccer outside this weekend. That's an interesting decision on my part.
Christmas Eve, Eve: I'd really like to be in Memphis on Dec 23rd but it just doesn't seem to make sense from a cost or driving point of view. It's basically 28 hours of driving for a 2 hour game. That's insane. Maybe if I tell myself that a few more times I won't do it. It's not like I have any other travel plans coming up though. There's gotta be a better trip out there. I just hope it presents itself soon.
Peace brah
Happy Birthday: My old optometrist really wants me back. I mean my birthday isn't until the end of month but they already sent me a card instructing me to have a good time on my bday. Hell that might be the only birthday card I get in the mail. Who knows? If they send me a bag of Skittles for Valentine's Day I might make the switch back. I think I only went there once in 2005 but I obviously made one helluva impression.
Season's Greetings: WTR is really getting into the Holiday Season. Between the lights, the tree, and the endless supply of Celebration Ale, we have it covered. If only Rocky's reindeer costume still fit. That would be sick. Unfortunately it only fit for his first Xmas when he like 6 months old.
Ice Age: I can't believe how cold it is this early into December. I mean it's not even Winter yet. I think I saw some Penguins when I was running around Lake Accotink earlier today. Apparently I'm playing soccer outside this weekend. That's an interesting decision on my part.
Christmas Eve, Eve: I'd really like to be in Memphis on Dec 23rd but it just doesn't seem to make sense from a cost or driving point of view. It's basically 28 hours of driving for a 2 hour game. That's insane. Maybe if I tell myself that a few more times I won't do it. It's not like I have any other travel plans coming up though. There's gotta be a better trip out there. I just hope it presents itself soon.
Peace brah
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Jimmy V Classic
Ok well it's time for me to get my first look at Satan's Army, I mean Syracuse, this season. It's a match-up of top ten teams as they take on Michigan State. I've seen State a few times and they aren't exactly clicking just yet but I'm sure that will fix itself as the season rolls on. Hopefully tonight.
Here are my thoughts:
**I didn't know Fab Melo was a starter. I should have seen him at the Capital Classic at AU in April but he was a no-show.
**Boeheim is about to kill Jardine for not sliding over in the zone. I wish the cameras hadn't had left him. Jimmy called a timeout and was using some of the most colorful words available right in Scoop's grill.
**State is making a bunch of typical mistakes against this zone - sloppy passes around the perimeter, bad 3's, not getting it to the foul line.
**We made it almost an entire 7 minutes into this game before Vitale had to start talking about Duke. He shouldn't still have this job. It's embarrassing.
**MSU should consider fouling Jackson near the hoop. He's pretty good at dunking and not so good at shooting free throws.
**I"m officially bored with this game. I know what is going to happen and I hate it.
**7-0 run for the Spartans and it's down to 4.
**Cuse up 9 at the half. A lot of their scores are coming off of bad shots by State. I'll see this game through but I'm not exactly thrilled about where I think it's headed.
**It's down to 3 at the under 12 minute TV timeout. MSU is doing a much better job of forcing Cuse to take jumpers. Free throws and turnovers are still killing Sparty though.
**Fab Melo sucks. The kid from Senegal is much more of a handful right now.
**You know I watched MSU in the Maui Invitational and I thought they played poorly. They almost lost to Chaminade in the first round - a D2 school. Well maybe they just aren't that great. They are getting a lot of love from last year's Final Four run but that was just 5 games. There's a reason they were a 5 seed in the tournament.
**Nice to see Derrick Coleman all dressed up with a front row seat. I'm pretty sure he filed for bankruptcy within the last year. What a great spokesman for the University.
**Syracuse has some of the fattest fans in College Basketball. I'm guessing it's a direct result of having absolutely nothing to do in Syracuse besides eating large quantities of high fructose corn syrup.
**Syracuse doesn't leave the state of NY until Jan 17, 2011. Pathetic.
**I just want to thank MSU for beating Maryland in last year's 2nd Round. A win by the Terps in that game and it could have been disastrous. I mean Northern Iowa and Tennessee were the path to the Final Four. Talk about a scary situation.
Peace brah
Here are my thoughts:
**I didn't know Fab Melo was a starter. I should have seen him at the Capital Classic at AU in April but he was a no-show.
**Boeheim is about to kill Jardine for not sliding over in the zone. I wish the cameras hadn't had left him. Jimmy called a timeout and was using some of the most colorful words available right in Scoop's grill.
**State is making a bunch of typical mistakes against this zone - sloppy passes around the perimeter, bad 3's, not getting it to the foul line.
**We made it almost an entire 7 minutes into this game before Vitale had to start talking about Duke. He shouldn't still have this job. It's embarrassing.
**MSU should consider fouling Jackson near the hoop. He's pretty good at dunking and not so good at shooting free throws.
**I"m officially bored with this game. I know what is going to happen and I hate it.
**7-0 run for the Spartans and it's down to 4.
**Cuse up 9 at the half. A lot of their scores are coming off of bad shots by State. I'll see this game through but I'm not exactly thrilled about where I think it's headed.
**It's down to 3 at the under 12 minute TV timeout. MSU is doing a much better job of forcing Cuse to take jumpers. Free throws and turnovers are still killing Sparty though.
**Fab Melo sucks. The kid from Senegal is much more of a handful right now.
**You know I watched MSU in the Maui Invitational and I thought they played poorly. They almost lost to Chaminade in the first round - a D2 school. Well maybe they just aren't that great. They are getting a lot of love from last year's Final Four run but that was just 5 games. There's a reason they were a 5 seed in the tournament.
**Nice to see Derrick Coleman all dressed up with a front row seat. I'm pretty sure he filed for bankruptcy within the last year. What a great spokesman for the University.
**Syracuse has some of the fattest fans in College Basketball. I'm guessing it's a direct result of having absolutely nothing to do in Syracuse besides eating large quantities of high fructose corn syrup.
**Syracuse doesn't leave the state of NY until Jan 17, 2011. Pathetic.
**I just want to thank MSU for beating Maryland in last year's 2nd Round. A win by the Terps in that game and it could have been disastrous. I mean Northern Iowa and Tennessee were the path to the Final Four. Talk about a scary situation.
Peace brah
Monday, December 6, 2010
Monday Dec 6
Lexus: So just like everybody else on the planet, I want a Lexus with a big red bow on it for Christmas. Well now there is a new twist - putting the gift in the house. This latest ad implies that you should have a house big enough to drive that baby in it. I love it.
The General: I had a craving for General Tso chicken tonight. Even after carefully considering the potential pitfalls with that choice I still had to have it. What problems you say? Well the first problem is that I always feel like I have a brick in my stomach after eating it. The second problem is that Hunan West gives you so much and its horrible to eat the next day. Rocky is totally down to finish off what seems to be like 2 more servings but I think that's probably a poor decision.
Redbox: I'm the kind of customer that Redbox loves. I rent movies on a fairly consistent basis but even better is that I return movies late on that same consistent basis. I've had Get Him to the Greek or whatever it's called for a few days now. Oh and I haven't even watched it yet. And it's a Blu-Ray. Your welcome Redbox.
MNF: Well since the team that I root for kinda sucks I have to rely on other games to get me going. I've been an admirer of the Colts forever but they also sorts suck this year. Not Redskins incompetence but not exactly what you would expect from the Colts.
So that leads me to tonight's Jets - Patriots clash. I was ready for this game to burn down my house. Well it's been a complete due through 3 quarters. Damn you MNF!
I hope Gruden takes a job in football again. Not because I think he's a great coach but because I think he's an awful announcer.
I like how the Patriots are continuing to score. Running up the score doesn't exist in pro sports. If you want somebody to quit scoring, stop them. It's that simple.
Peace brah
The General: I had a craving for General Tso chicken tonight. Even after carefully considering the potential pitfalls with that choice I still had to have it. What problems you say? Well the first problem is that I always feel like I have a brick in my stomach after eating it. The second problem is that Hunan West gives you so much and its horrible to eat the next day. Rocky is totally down to finish off what seems to be like 2 more servings but I think that's probably a poor decision.
Redbox: I'm the kind of customer that Redbox loves. I rent movies on a fairly consistent basis but even better is that I return movies late on that same consistent basis. I've had Get Him to the Greek or whatever it's called for a few days now. Oh and I haven't even watched it yet. And it's a Blu-Ray. Your welcome Redbox.
MNF: Well since the team that I root for kinda sucks I have to rely on other games to get me going. I've been an admirer of the Colts forever but they also sorts suck this year. Not Redskins incompetence but not exactly what you would expect from the Colts.
So that leads me to tonight's Jets - Patriots clash. I was ready for this game to burn down my house. Well it's been a complete due through 3 quarters. Damn you MNF!
I hope Gruden takes a job in football again. Not because I think he's a great coach but because I think he's an awful announcer.
I like how the Patriots are continuing to score. Running up the score doesn't exist in pro sports. If you want somebody to quit scoring, stop them. It's that simple.
Peace brah
Sunday, December 5, 2010
I think that's a wrap on the 2010 season
For whatever reason, I was feeling good about the Redskins today. Unfounded optimism is not one of my known specialties, but I had a big dose of it this morning. Of course if I had known that Haynesworth was out, I wouldn't have been feeling it so much.
The 'Skins were doomed early on with some of the worst tackling I've seen since their last game. I've been hating on the 3-4 scheme Haslett is going with but it is putting players in a position to make tackles. The problem is that the first guy to the ball hardly ever makes the play.
Offensively this team is just a nightmare. Penalties, drops, sacks, turnovers - they do it all. They don't look as if they practice in between games. Maybe Allen Iverson is consulting them from Turkey.
So they are 5-7 and I don't think 9-7 will get them in to the postseason. Of course the chances of going 9-7 are pretty slim.
28: In each of their past two divisional games on the road, the Redskins have been down 28-0 at one point. That's not bad. It's awful.
Capture the flag: It looked like Mike Shannahan was about to challenge a clear fumble by McNabb until his son, Kyle, dove on the red flag. I've never seen that.
Ga-won't: I know it didn't really matter today but I never have ANY confidence that Gano will make a field goal when he trots on the field. He went 0-1 today at a windy Giants Stadium.
Road Trip: As recently as 2 weeks ago I gave serious thought to going to this game. I like to travel for road games and I love to check out new stadiums. I'm really glad that I'm not driving home right now. Really glad.
Sellers: He had a pretty huge drop when the game wasn't completely out of reach. I guess you can't get too upset when your fullback drops a pass. Mike did his best to make up for that drop by coming through with his patented move of hurdling over a defender that is trying to take out his legs. It never results in a lot of additional yardage but it looks pretty sick. Small victories in times like these.
Favre: Brett came to FedEx last weekend and didn't commit any horrible turnovers. He only played 3 snaps today and threw an interception. All I needed was one of those last Sunday to see a victory from some pretty good seats. Figures.
The 'Skins were doomed early on with some of the worst tackling I've seen since their last game. I've been hating on the 3-4 scheme Haslett is going with but it is putting players in a position to make tackles. The problem is that the first guy to the ball hardly ever makes the play.
Offensively this team is just a nightmare. Penalties, drops, sacks, turnovers - they do it all. They don't look as if they practice in between games. Maybe Allen Iverson is consulting them from Turkey.
So they are 5-7 and I don't think 9-7 will get them in to the postseason. Of course the chances of going 9-7 are pretty slim.
28: In each of their past two divisional games on the road, the Redskins have been down 28-0 at one point. That's not bad. It's awful.
Capture the flag: It looked like Mike Shannahan was about to challenge a clear fumble by McNabb until his son, Kyle, dove on the red flag. I've never seen that.
Ga-won't: I know it didn't really matter today but I never have ANY confidence that Gano will make a field goal when he trots on the field. He went 0-1 today at a windy Giants Stadium.
Road Trip: As recently as 2 weeks ago I gave serious thought to going to this game. I like to travel for road games and I love to check out new stadiums. I'm really glad that I'm not driving home right now. Really glad.
Sellers: He had a pretty huge drop when the game wasn't completely out of reach. I guess you can't get too upset when your fullback drops a pass. Mike did his best to make up for that drop by coming through with his patented move of hurdling over a defender that is trying to take out his legs. It never results in a lot of additional yardage but it looks pretty sick. Small victories in times like these.
Favre: Brett came to FedEx last weekend and didn't commit any horrible turnovers. He only played 3 snaps today and threw an interception. All I needed was one of those last Sunday to see a victory from some pretty good seats. Figures.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
2026?
So America didn't get the 2022 World Cup. It would have been nice but I can deal with it. Qatar getting the World Cup is heavy stuff. I think it would have been cooler, literally, if it had gone to Australia.
To me the craziest thing to think about is your age in 2022. How old will you be in the summer of 2022? I will be one old dude. I get the feeling that if I don't get to the 2014 WC in Brazil, I'll probably never make a foreign based World Cup. That's what happens when you fake on Germany and South Africa.
I'm probably one of the only people on the planet that decorated their Christmas Tree with Ice Cube's The Predator blasting in the background.
I'm down to one final box of Pumpkin Delights for the 2010 Holiday Season. Somehow I haven't had any actual pumpkin pie yet.
I could eat Thanksgiving dinner every night and never get sick of it. I'm sure of it.
Aside from a Lexus with a big red bow on it, I don't think I need anything else for Christmas. Maybe a case of Celebration Ale before it goes out of stock. But still that's only a "maybe". Man it only takes a couple of those CA's before I start feeling the buzz.
To me the craziest thing to think about is your age in 2022. How old will you be in the summer of 2022? I will be one old dude. I get the feeling that if I don't get to the 2014 WC in Brazil, I'll probably never make a foreign based World Cup. That's what happens when you fake on Germany and South Africa.
I'm probably one of the only people on the planet that decorated their Christmas Tree with Ice Cube's The Predator blasting in the background.
I'm down to one final box of Pumpkin Delights for the 2010 Holiday Season. Somehow I haven't had any actual pumpkin pie yet.
I could eat Thanksgiving dinner every night and never get sick of it. I'm sure of it.
Aside from a Lexus with a big red bow on it, I don't think I need anything else for Christmas. Maybe a case of Celebration Ale before it goes out of stock. But still that's only a "maybe". Man it only takes a couple of those CA's before I start feeling the buzz.
Game 8: Don't sleep on USU
Next Up: Utah State. It just so happens that the Aggies scheduled a game against a school that plays the Princeton offense just a few days before showing up in the Nations Capital. What a coincidence. Well I'm watching a little bit of this USU - Denver game because we all know how important it is that I have a decent scouting report prior to Saturday. (Rocky is in his usual spot. Snoring. He couldn't even be bothered by last night's thriller. He said something about waking him up in March when the games really count.)
What stands out to me the most: Utah State is playing a zone. They are also showing a little bit of a press. I used to cringe when teams played zone against the Hoyas but those days seem to be in the rear view mirror. In fact Denver is doing exactly what I hated against the zone - needless passing without any penetration into the middle of that zone. You can't win that way. Chris Wright has been able to get Austin and Jason good shots against the zone recently. They also have been doing a good job of over loading one side.
Denver is breaking the press much the same way a Sapp-Wallace-Rivers backcourt would have broken it. I think it would be a major league brick to show this press against the Hoyas unless they are looking at getting into a track meet with RUN DMV. (That's the nickname I like the best for the 3 local guards.)
Denver is painful to watch. They can't get anything around the basket. So when they aren't taking bad shots they are committing offensive fouls and getting called for steps. I will say this, they have a better arena then I would have figured. And it looks like it's off campus because fans are drinking brews.
I can already tell that I'm going to hate it if #23 on USU hits any long distance shots on Saturday. I wan
I can't believe I'm watching this game. Even worse is that I'm admitting it to the handful of people that even know this blog exists.
What stands out to me the most: Utah State is playing a zone. They are also showing a little bit of a press. I used to cringe when teams played zone against the Hoyas but those days seem to be in the rear view mirror. In fact Denver is doing exactly what I hated against the zone - needless passing without any penetration into the middle of that zone. You can't win that way. Chris Wright has been able to get Austin and Jason good shots against the zone recently. They also have been doing a good job of over loading one side.
Denver is breaking the press much the same way a Sapp-Wallace-Rivers backcourt would have broken it. I think it would be a major league brick to show this press against the Hoyas unless they are looking at getting into a track meet with RUN DMV. (That's the nickname I like the best for the 3 local guards.)
Denver is painful to watch. They can't get anything around the basket. So when they aren't taking bad shots they are committing offensive fouls and getting called for steps. I will say this, they have a better arena then I would have figured. And it looks like it's off campus because fans are drinking brews.
I can already tell that I'm going to hate it if #23 on USU hits any long distance shots on Saturday. I wan
I can't believe I'm watching this game. Even worse is that I'm admitting it to the handful of people that even know this blog exists.
Game 7: Mizzou
First things first, I had the Hoyas winning by about 10. They won by 9 so I guess I nailed it. Well I'm not sure that accurately describes what went down last night. I did not have them winning 111-102 in OT. I did not have them up by 18 less than halfway through the first half.
The bad thing about being up 18 on the road early in the game is that you know the other team is going to make a comeback. Georgetown wasn't going to beat a good Missouri team by 70 points. Ok?
I loved how once Missouri finally got the lead back, Vee came in after being on the bench for about 20 minutes and just drilled a 3.
With the score 85-80 Missouri, I politely suggested to my TV that they let Freeman get them back into the game. JT3 heard me and it was 85-85 seconds later thanks to AF15.
The Hoyas are 2-0 when I give up on them. I gave up on them in Norfolk and I gave up on them last night with the score 93-89. There was only about 20 seconds left and the Tigers were headed to the line. I went upstairs to prepare for my walk around KP. As I walked back downstairs to see what was going on, I could hear that they missed the first free throw. I started to shuffle through my iPod and he missed the 2nd. Then it got better as they fouled Wright for some reason. Wright made both and it was down to 2 again.
Hoyas quickly foul but it's over if he makes both. Mizzou then missed 1 out of their next 2 FT's to give the Hoyas one last chance to tie the game. Hollis Thompson took a horrible 3 that, for some reason, Mizzou saved. It was a great save. It was just really, really stupid basketball. Wright hits a 3 and then Clark hits three 3's in OT and the Hoyas left the Show Me State with a huge non-conference victory.
Perfection: The Hoyas went 18-18 from the line. You don't see that everyday. In fact it was a Georgetown record.
Worst line of the night: The play-by-play guy said that at one point Freeman had 16 points - all coming on 3's. I'm still trying figure out what times 3 is 16.
Gottlieb: I don't like Doug. I love to joke about how he stole credit cards in college and subsequently was asked to leave Notre Dame. I think he's awful in the studio. I was prepared to hate him as the color guy. I loved him last night. He was outstanding.
ESPNU: Speaking of being awful in the studio, Miles Simon and Adrian Branch provide absolutely nothing in terms of knowledge at the half. Miles Simon actually said something about how Missouri would keep giving Austin Freeman open 3 pointers because he would eventually start missing. What?
Players Notes:
Freeman: I feel like he's the best player in the nation that nobody really talks about. His shooting %'s are insane. It's getting to the point where you are surprised when he misses. Under JT3 a player has gone over 30 in a game 5 times. Freeman has 3 of them and has now done it in back to back games.
Wright: Just another 10 assist game for this guy. Oh and there was that last second 3 to put the game into OT. I have no idea why you would press Georgetown with Wright pulling the strings.
Clark: He had way too many turnovers in the first half against the pressure but some of that had to do with Julian's hands of stone problem. Great decision to pass it out to Chris for the game tying 3. I would have probably broken my TV if he had just laid it up. It was nice of him light the nets on fire in the extra period.
Hollis: I think foul trouble had him out of sync. He played ok but didn't have a huge role in the win.
Vaughn: 9 minutes? JT3 had a good feel for what was going on and Julian was just off last night.
Sims: My man Henry. 31 minutes on the road in a crazy environment and Mr. Sims was doing a lot of positive things out there. 10 points and 7 boards is great from this guy.
Sanford: 8 points in 3 minutes. This kid is making shots even though he's not getting that much burn. I wish there were more minutes for him but there really isn't when Wright is playing the entire game.
Lubick: Guess who had the 2nd most assists last night? Nate with 4 would be the correct answer. Nate and Henry played the entire OT period.
Starks: Just not that many minutes available last night. It was nice to see him stick those 2 free throws. He also handled the press well.
Benimon: The box score has him with only 1 rebound. It seemed like more than that.
The bad thing about being up 18 on the road early in the game is that you know the other team is going to make a comeback. Georgetown wasn't going to beat a good Missouri team by 70 points. Ok?
I loved how once Missouri finally got the lead back, Vee came in after being on the bench for about 20 minutes and just drilled a 3.
With the score 85-80 Missouri, I politely suggested to my TV that they let Freeman get them back into the game. JT3 heard me and it was 85-85 seconds later thanks to AF15.
The Hoyas are 2-0 when I give up on them. I gave up on them in Norfolk and I gave up on them last night with the score 93-89. There was only about 20 seconds left and the Tigers were headed to the line. I went upstairs to prepare for my walk around KP. As I walked back downstairs to see what was going on, I could hear that they missed the first free throw. I started to shuffle through my iPod and he missed the 2nd. Then it got better as they fouled Wright for some reason. Wright made both and it was down to 2 again.
Hoyas quickly foul but it's over if he makes both. Mizzou then missed 1 out of their next 2 FT's to give the Hoyas one last chance to tie the game. Hollis Thompson took a horrible 3 that, for some reason, Mizzou saved. It was a great save. It was just really, really stupid basketball. Wright hits a 3 and then Clark hits three 3's in OT and the Hoyas left the Show Me State with a huge non-conference victory.
Perfection: The Hoyas went 18-18 from the line. You don't see that everyday. In fact it was a Georgetown record.
Worst line of the night: The play-by-play guy said that at one point Freeman had 16 points - all coming on 3's. I'm still trying figure out what times 3 is 16.
Gottlieb: I don't like Doug. I love to joke about how he stole credit cards in college and subsequently was asked to leave Notre Dame. I think he's awful in the studio. I was prepared to hate him as the color guy. I loved him last night. He was outstanding.
ESPNU: Speaking of being awful in the studio, Miles Simon and Adrian Branch provide absolutely nothing in terms of knowledge at the half. Miles Simon actually said something about how Missouri would keep giving Austin Freeman open 3 pointers because he would eventually start missing. What?
Players Notes:
Freeman: I feel like he's the best player in the nation that nobody really talks about. His shooting %'s are insane. It's getting to the point where you are surprised when he misses. Under JT3 a player has gone over 30 in a game 5 times. Freeman has 3 of them and has now done it in back to back games.
Wright: Just another 10 assist game for this guy. Oh and there was that last second 3 to put the game into OT. I have no idea why you would press Georgetown with Wright pulling the strings.
Clark: He had way too many turnovers in the first half against the pressure but some of that had to do with Julian's hands of stone problem. Great decision to pass it out to Chris for the game tying 3. I would have probably broken my TV if he had just laid it up. It was nice of him light the nets on fire in the extra period.
Hollis: I think foul trouble had him out of sync. He played ok but didn't have a huge role in the win.
Vaughn: 9 minutes? JT3 had a good feel for what was going on and Julian was just off last night.
Sims: My man Henry. 31 minutes on the road in a crazy environment and Mr. Sims was doing a lot of positive things out there. 10 points and 7 boards is great from this guy.
Sanford: 8 points in 3 minutes. This kid is making shots even though he's not getting that much burn. I wish there were more minutes for him but there really isn't when Wright is playing the entire game.
Lubick: Guess who had the 2nd most assists last night? Nate with 4 would be the correct answer. Nate and Henry played the entire OT period.
Starks: Just not that many minutes available last night. It was nice to see him stick those 2 free throws. He also handled the press well.
Benimon: The box score has him with only 1 rebound. It seemed like more than that.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Dec 1 This & That
**I almost never preheat the oven. I preheated the oven today and burnt my pizza. Lesson learned.
**Vitale is doing the Duke - MSU game which makes the game impossible to listen to. I'll have to just jam out on iTunes while I watch some of this contest. I've been digging Ice Cube - The Predator recently.
**I've almost fixed the third bedroom upstairs. I got some junk last week about it. I pride myself on being organized. Welcome to Rick's is another story at the moment.
**I've had the tree up for awhile now but that's it. I just found the lights. I was worried for a second that somebody broke into the house and took them. It was the only logical explanation for days.
**Jeremiah Rivers made a really poor decision in transferring to Indiana. They are terrible and his game hasn't evolved.
**Memphis is OT with Arkansas St right now. What?
**Is Modern Family going to be new tonight? Man I hope so.
**In the Air Tonight is an awesome song but the video sucks.
**I feel like college might have been a waste of time. It seems that you can learn almost all of what you need in life from Bob Seger and Kenny Rogers songs.
**Tennessee touches part of Virginia yet my house finds itself about 14 hours from Memphis. That's a haul.
**Vitale is doing the Duke - MSU game which makes the game impossible to listen to. I'll have to just jam out on iTunes while I watch some of this contest. I've been digging Ice Cube - The Predator recently.
**I've almost fixed the third bedroom upstairs. I got some junk last week about it. I pride myself on being organized. Welcome to Rick's is another story at the moment.
**I've had the tree up for awhile now but that's it. I just found the lights. I was worried for a second that somebody broke into the house and took them. It was the only logical explanation for days.
**Jeremiah Rivers made a really poor decision in transferring to Indiana. They are terrible and his game hasn't evolved.
**Memphis is OT with Arkansas St right now. What?
**Is Modern Family going to be new tonight? Man I hope so.
**In the Air Tonight is an awesome song but the video sucks.
**I feel like college might have been a waste of time. It seems that you can learn almost all of what you need in life from Bob Seger and Kenny Rogers songs.
**Tennessee touches part of Virginia yet my house finds itself about 14 hours from Memphis. That's a haul.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)