Not on Uranus!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
CNN's Head is Up Uranus
CNN says the blackberry outage is "impacting users on almost every planet."
Not on Uranus!
Not on Uranus!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Song of the Week
"Something to Talk About" - Bonnie Raitt
I'm going in a different direction this week for 1991. Too many of the other songs were cheesy cliches like "I Wanna Sex You Up," "Things That Make You Go Hmmm" and "More Than Words."
I'm going in a different direction this week for 1991. Too many of the other songs were cheesy cliches like "I Wanna Sex You Up," "Things That Make You Go Hmmm" and "More Than Words."
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The NFL is Poop - Week 5
The Nightmare Team
Vince Young's proclamation that the Eagles were a Dream Team is turning into a nightmare. At 1-4, the Eagles can tolerate only 2 maybe 3 more losses in the next 11 games. Anymore than that and that almost certainly means no playoffs. So why did things go so wrong for the Eagles? First of all, Michael Vick is not a very good quarterback. He is an incredible playmaker, as a runner he's unstoppable (90 more yards yesterday) but he is not a good passer. Even though his completion percentage and yards per attempt stats are in line with what he did last year, and better than his Atlanta career, I still think he tries to force the ball into tight spots and thus us has thrown 7 INTs this year, as opposed to only 6 all of last year (in 12 games). I also think the Eagles may have read their own press clippings. They know how much talent they supposedly have, and think they can win on talent alone. The biggest manifestation of that comes from turnovers, 15 of them so far, by far the most in the league. They refuse to go down when tackled and often end up getting stripped. Vick refuses to take a sack, thinking he can always make something out of nothing. And they take dumb penalties. They had a chance to get the ball back against the Bills, 4th and 1, no way was Buffalo going for it. But the Eagles jumped. Just the latest stupid mistake that sabotaged their promising season.
The Anti-Michael Vick
Maybe the player least similar to Vick in the whole league is Tim Tebow, a big, strong, nice, moral guy. And I know for some reason we never compare the playing styles of players from different races but I see a lot of Michael Vick in Tim Tebow. Please allow me to explain. Like Vick, Tebow is better off as a running back. Like Vick, he is not a good passer. Like Vick, he wreaks havoc for opposing defenses when he tucks the ball and runs.
Right after Tebow was drafted in 2010, I wrote that I didn't think Tebow would ever be a good NFL quarterback.. After watching him down the stretch of the game against the Chargers, I stand behind my prediction. I also predicted (in the poll) that he would get no more than 32 career starts at quarterback. He will get number 4 in the Broncos next game. John Fox has named him the starting QB. The timing is good because the Broncos have a bye, and then a game against the weak Dolphins. So we'll see what the kid can do when given the chance.
Back to the Drawing Board
During the offseason ESPN came out with a new quarterback rating system, designed to completely eclipse the current passer rating, by being much more accurate. Taking more things into account and weighting them more accurately. I think that system needs to be reworked in light of the following result: Tim Tebow (4-10, 79 yards, 2 TTDs) had a better QBR than Aaron Rodgers (26-39, 396 yards, 2 TDs). I guess the reason is Tebow produced 2 TDs in a lot fewer plays than Rodgers, and avoided the sacks and penalties that hurt Rodgers. But any rating system that ranks Tebow's game, higher than Rodgers's is of little or no value.
A Brief Rant About the Redskins
Because of everything I said about the Eagles in the first item, they will probably beat the Redskins by 20 points this week.
Picture of the Week
Dewayne Bowe (or as I call him "Taste Dewayne Bowe" made one of the best catches I've ever seen. After being completely interfered with (a flag was thrown), Bowe shook off the defender, tipped the ball to himself a couple times and made the catch.
Ten and Oh My God That Would Be Awesome
Right now the only two undefeated teams are 5-0 Lions and the 5-0 Packers. Those two division rivals will meet on Thanksgiving Day. Because their upcoming schedules aren't that tough, there's at least a reasonable chance they will both be 10-0.
If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
Green Bay 49 New England 48
Even though they fell behind early against Atlanta the Packers showed their offense cannot be stopped. Patriots looked good, but not invulnerable against the Jets.
Vince Young's proclamation that the Eagles were a Dream Team is turning into a nightmare. At 1-4, the Eagles can tolerate only 2 maybe 3 more losses in the next 11 games. Anymore than that and that almost certainly means no playoffs. So why did things go so wrong for the Eagles? First of all, Michael Vick is not a very good quarterback. He is an incredible playmaker, as a runner he's unstoppable (90 more yards yesterday) but he is not a good passer. Even though his completion percentage and yards per attempt stats are in line with what he did last year, and better than his Atlanta career, I still think he tries to force the ball into tight spots and thus us has thrown 7 INTs this year, as opposed to only 6 all of last year (in 12 games). I also think the Eagles may have read their own press clippings. They know how much talent they supposedly have, and think they can win on talent alone. The biggest manifestation of that comes from turnovers, 15 of them so far, by far the most in the league. They refuse to go down when tackled and often end up getting stripped. Vick refuses to take a sack, thinking he can always make something out of nothing. And they take dumb penalties. They had a chance to get the ball back against the Bills, 4th and 1, no way was Buffalo going for it. But the Eagles jumped. Just the latest stupid mistake that sabotaged their promising season.
The Anti-Michael Vick
Maybe the player least similar to Vick in the whole league is Tim Tebow, a big, strong, nice, moral guy. And I know for some reason we never compare the playing styles of players from different races but I see a lot of Michael Vick in Tim Tebow. Please allow me to explain. Like Vick, Tebow is better off as a running back. Like Vick, he is not a good passer. Like Vick, he wreaks havoc for opposing defenses when he tucks the ball and runs.
Right after Tebow was drafted in 2010, I wrote that I didn't think Tebow would ever be a good NFL quarterback.. After watching him down the stretch of the game against the Chargers, I stand behind my prediction. I also predicted (in the poll) that he would get no more than 32 career starts at quarterback. He will get number 4 in the Broncos next game. John Fox has named him the starting QB. The timing is good because the Broncos have a bye, and then a game against the weak Dolphins. So we'll see what the kid can do when given the chance.
Back to the Drawing Board
During the offseason ESPN came out with a new quarterback rating system, designed to completely eclipse the current passer rating, by being much more accurate. Taking more things into account and weighting them more accurately. I think that system needs to be reworked in light of the following result: Tim Tebow (4-10, 79 yards, 2 TTDs) had a better QBR than Aaron Rodgers (26-39, 396 yards, 2 TDs). I guess the reason is Tebow produced 2 TDs in a lot fewer plays than Rodgers, and avoided the sacks and penalties that hurt Rodgers. But any rating system that ranks Tebow's game, higher than Rodgers's is of little or no value.
A Brief Rant About the Redskins
Because of everything I said about the Eagles in the first item, they will probably beat the Redskins by 20 points this week.
Picture of the Week
Dewayne Bowe (or as I call him "Taste Dewayne Bowe" made one of the best catches I've ever seen. After being completely interfered with (a flag was thrown), Bowe shook off the defender, tipped the ball to himself a couple times and made the catch.
Ten and Oh My God That Would Be Awesome
Right now the only two undefeated teams are 5-0 Lions and the 5-0 Packers. Those two division rivals will meet on Thanksgiving Day. Because their upcoming schedules aren't that tough, there's at least a reasonable chance they will both be 10-0.
If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
Green Bay 49 New England 48
Even though they fell behind early against Atlanta the Packers showed their offense cannot be stopped. Patriots looked good, but not invulnerable against the Jets.
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Marching Bands Get Funky
The Syracuse University Marching Band aka the Sour Sitrus Society unveiled a new song (or at least I had never heard them play it before), "Hate Me Now" by Nas.
Though I enjoyed the song and thought it was an inspired choice, it was nothing compared to the version of LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" by the Ohio University Marching Band:
Though I enjoyed the song and thought it was an inspired choice, it was nothing compared to the version of LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" by the Ohio University Marching Band:
Weekly Picks
A good week last week but I really need two or three best bets in a row to really get rolling. The absence of a few teams makes things a little harder this week.
NEW ENGLAND -7 1/2 new york jets
I really wanted to make this game my best bet but I'm actually a little afraid of the Jets. They play New England well and really need this game. But most of all I was scared off by their piss-poor performance last week. I expect a better effort with fewer turnovers this week.
philadelphia -3 BUFFALO
This goes against my number one philosophy for early-season games: "believe what you see, not what you believe." But I just have a funny feeling that the Eagles are not ready to have their season end this early on.
tampa bay +2 1/2 SAN FRANCISCO
Everyone is talking about the 49ers being 3-1. But they are still not good. Even though the ExpensiveCornPrices let me down last week, I still think they have a good enough defense to get this win on the road.
kansas city +1 1/2 INDIANAPOLIS
Call this one a hunch. Hard to figure two really bad teams. But I just don't think the Chiefs are or should be that bad. The Colts are, and they've already covered two spreads in a row.
BEST BET
san diego -4 DENVER
The Chargers always screw me, especially as road favorites. But I just see the talent gap in this game being a lot wider than four points.
Last week: 3-2 (4 point)
Season: 11-9 (11 points)
Best Bets: 1-0 (2-2)
Home Favorites: 1-1 (5-2)
Home Underdogs: 0-0 (0-0)
Road Favorites: 1-0 (2-4)
Road Underdogs: 1-1 (4-3)
NEW ENGLAND -7 1/2 new york jets
I really wanted to make this game my best bet but I'm actually a little afraid of the Jets. They play New England well and really need this game. But most of all I was scared off by their piss-poor performance last week. I expect a better effort with fewer turnovers this week.
philadelphia -3 BUFFALO
This goes against my number one philosophy for early-season games: "believe what you see, not what you believe." But I just have a funny feeling that the Eagles are not ready to have their season end this early on.
tampa bay +2 1/2 SAN FRANCISCO
Everyone is talking about the 49ers being 3-1. But they are still not good. Even though the ExpensiveCornPrices let me down last week, I still think they have a good enough defense to get this win on the road.
kansas city +1 1/2 INDIANAPOLIS
Call this one a hunch. Hard to figure two really bad teams. But I just don't think the Chiefs are or should be that bad. The Colts are, and they've already covered two spreads in a row.
BEST BET
san diego -4 DENVER
The Chargers always screw me, especially as road favorites. But I just see the talent gap in this game being a lot wider than four points.
Last week: 3-2 (4 point)
Season: 11-9 (11 points)
Best Bets: 1-0 (2-2)
Home Favorites: 1-1 (5-2)
Home Underdogs: 0-0 (0-0)
Road Favorites: 1-0 (2-4)
Road Underdogs: 1-1 (4-3)