It's too bad that I missed most of it on TV. All I've really seen is the last ten minutes of the second half of USC-Oregon, the second half of Penn State and Purdue and like five minutes of Michigan State and Iowa.
We know for sure now that the national championship will NOT be played by a representative from the ACC or the Big East. That only South Florida lost this week in the top ten should make polling a little easier, and despite Alabama's close call today, #3 LSU did not play and Missouri and Texas did not destroy their opponents sufficiently to move up much.
That being said, look at the Big XII: six weeks in, and there are STILL five undefeated teams. If Kansas didn't blow a fourth quarter lead, there would be six of them.
Frankly, the Big XII has to be the best conference this year. With exception to CU's loss to Florida State and A&M's loss to Miami, this conference has been smoking through play so far.
It's going to be Big XII champ versus EITHER SEC Champ or Penn State. The SEC champ will NOT go through the season undefeated (only Alabama, LSU, and Vandy are left undefeated, and one of those three will go down in the next three weeks [ahem, Vandy] and Alabama and LSU play against each other on Nov. 8). Penn State has a decent shot at going undefeated.
My prediction for the polls: pretty much every team left with only one loss is going to get some votes.
Tomorrow's NFL games look to be not terribly interesting. There are a lot of games played between really good teams and not so good ones. Here are my picks for tomorrow's games:
Kansas City at Carolina: While KC looked decent against Denver, they played against a team with no defense at home. Tomorrow, KC goes on the road (where they have looked dismal) against a team with an actual defense. Carolina wins by at least 2 touchdowns.
Chicago at Detroit: Two teams headed in clearly opposite directions. Chicago is starting to really come together after a desperately needed victory over Philadephia. In conjunction with Green Bay's dismal playing the last two weeks, Chicago is currently a favorite of mine to win the division. Detroit on the other hand, is the epitome of chaos. Chicago's not so great offense lets Detroit stay in it, but the defense makes enough stops to let the offense get into the mojo and win.
San Diego at Miami: San Diego might get caught looking ahead to next week here as they play hosts to the Pats next week. San Diego, like Denver, is a team that has shown no indications of having any defense, and the way the Dolphins slaughtered New England makes me want to pick Miami over San Diego. The game's going to be close, I think, but San Diego will pull another miracle out of the bag.
Washington at Philadelphia: This is my game of the week. Philadelphia at home and desperate for blood to make up ground in the extremely tough NFC East while Washington is looking to build on a DOMINANT performance against Dallas. I desperately want to see this game. My pick is Washington, because they're getting the mojo going too.
Seahawks at Giants: The Burress drama is going to affect the Giants sooner rather than later. Fortuantely for them, they get a creampuff team. It'll be closer than expected, thanks to that drama, but the Giants should stay undefeated.
Buccaneers at Broncos: Talk about a slugfest: amazing offense vs. amazing defense on one side, and on the other, terrible offense vs. terrible defense. Tampa Bay wins on a ground game: the Denver secondary has too many decent players to offset Griese. If Tampa takes to the skies, then Denver may win. Look for a LOT of turnovers on both sides.
Colts at Texans: Desperate to stay in the AFC South, Manning and the Colts go into an emotional Reliant K stadium in the first game since Hurricane Ike. The Texans had a glimmer of hope against the Jags before that was snuffed. The Colts have so many injuries, and the Texans are going to want to win for the homecrowd. Texans win, but barely.
Falcons at Packers: Two teams in dire need of a win to stay in the division. Aaron Rodgers is going to have to pull himself together after that bad loss to the Bucs, while Matt Ryan is going through the Cutler-esque motions from first season. There's a young man looking to be the Falcons' future, but Al Harris may have a career defensive day for the Packers. Packers win by virtue of home field.
Titans at Ravens: After their nailbiter loss to the Steelers, the Ravens need a win to get back in the NFC North and want their defense to carry them to a win. But the Titans have a potent offense with a hot shot rookie running back, a suddenly competent backup-QB and a defense that is just as stifling as the Ravens' D. Titans win and stay undefeated.
Bills at Cardinals: As has happened recently, look for the Bills to go down early. While Arizona has the ability to put the Bills deep in a hole, the question is whether they can contain the Bills' offense in the second half. With injuries starting to mount on the Cardinals, they direly need a win here and they know it. Unfortunately for them, they're playing the year's darling team and will lose in a squeaker.
Bengals at Cowboys: T.O. wants the ball. Ocho Cinco wants to play with T.O. Look for 81 to get what he wants and 85 to start causing more drama. Cowboys shred the hell out of the Bengals. Coach firing talk picks up a LOT of steam after tomorrow. Hot seat gets HOTTER.
Patriots at Niners: Niners' wins this season: Detroit and Seattle. Pats' loss: Miami. Not that this inspires much confidence in either team. The Patriots, like the Chargers, might get caught looking ahead to next week. Had New England played a game last week, I would pick the Niners, but with that week off, and fourteen days of Billichek the Bitter reaming down their throats, I don't see the Pats wanting to deal with another week of him.
Steelers at Jags: I am not convinced that either of these teams is very competent. The Steelers should have lost to Baltimore and the Jags should probably be 0-4. This is going to be one UGLY game. My pick: Jags.
Vikings at Saints: While the Vikes have Adrian Peterson, their problem is that A.P. is all they have. That solves a lot of secondary problems for the Saints. The Saints on the other hand have Drew Brees (clearly MVP so far), Reggie Bush, and an emergent staff of wide receivers. Saints win.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Shockers everywhere
So on the one hand, we had the debate tonight. Frankly, I was far more impressed with both Palin and Biden than I was with either McCain or Obama last Friday. They both put A-game performances out there. In part, I liked them more because 1) they didn't hesitate to go at each other in a civil way and 2) they're both folksy styled people. Style counts as much as substance in any American context. Neither one gaffed and neither one buckled. I was not disappointed with either. It won't change my vote, but I can confidently say that this vice-president and this president, whoever it is that gets elected, will be vastly more competent than what we have running the executive branch now.
On the other hand, we have FOOT BALL on tonight. On Thursday. And damn, do I wish I had ESPN or something like that because Oregon State is loving up Thursday nights with upset specials. Right now, they're leading Utah 21-20 with like 5 minutes left in the fourth. Plus, on top of that, Pittsburg started off by upsetting South Florida, meaning that basically, the national title is quickly being reduced to SEC Champ vs. Big XII champ. And, just as I was writing this, Oregon State just made a 40 yard play to the Utah 4. Utah's not going to be our BCS buster this year. BYU's stock goes up, but like the world should know by now: NEVER EVER EVER count out Boise State. They absolutely demolished a conference foe earlier in the week.
Conference wise, this is what is left of our undefeated teams:
WAC: Boise State
MWC: BYU
Pac-10: 0
MAC: Ball State
Big XII: 5 (Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, OK-State, Texas Tech)
Big Ten: 2 (Northwestern and Penn State--NW will lose a game within the next two weeks)
SEC: 4 (Alabama, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and LSU--look for at least one, probably two to go down)
ACC: 0
Big East: 1 (Connecticut)
CUSA: 1 (Tulsa--always a dark horse to make it in)
Sun Belt: 0
My guess is that after this weekend, we'll have the four mid-majors remain undefeated, 4 Big XII teams still undefeated, 2 SECs, Penn State and UConn.
By the way, with a win on Saturday, Penn State becomes your first bowl eligible team. Hard to believe it's time to think about bowls already, huh?
I decided to vote yes on 47. That leaves 48. It's not that I disagree with the scientific basis of the argument, it's just that I know that this amendment will go to the Supreme Court where it will get overturned. Then what? The state just wasted a TON of money by defending the amendment and by changing all the laws twice. It's going to go for yet another "all-or-nothing" tack on abortion, and the only way to get rid of it is to hack away at it in little pieces. What do you think partial-birth abortion bans are? Little pieces. My guess is that within the next fifteen years, we'll get to the point that says that they're illegal completely in the last trimester (because a six-month fetus is viable with proper incubation), and that it'll be really difficult to get one after the first trimester is over. Before then, I just don't think enough Americans are going to support totally tossing abortions. I mean, look at South Dakota, one of the most socially conservative states in the country, and their attempts at banning abortions failed. My current inclination on 48 is abstention.
I am definitely abstaining on US Senate. I find no qualified candidates for office. My current leaning on US House is abstention as well.
Holy crap, Utah just tied the game after being down 8 with like 2 minutes to play. Damn, Iwish I had this on TV...
On the other hand, we have FOOT BALL on tonight. On Thursday. And damn, do I wish I had ESPN or something like that because Oregon State is loving up Thursday nights with upset specials. Right now, they're leading Utah 21-20 with like 5 minutes left in the fourth. Plus, on top of that, Pittsburg started off by upsetting South Florida, meaning that basically, the national title is quickly being reduced to SEC Champ vs. Big XII champ. And, just as I was writing this, Oregon State just made a 40 yard play to the Utah 4. Utah's not going to be our BCS buster this year. BYU's stock goes up, but like the world should know by now: NEVER EVER EVER count out Boise State. They absolutely demolished a conference foe earlier in the week.
Conference wise, this is what is left of our undefeated teams:
WAC: Boise State
MWC: BYU
Pac-10: 0
MAC: Ball State
Big XII: 5 (Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, OK-State, Texas Tech)
Big Ten: 2 (Northwestern and Penn State--NW will lose a game within the next two weeks)
SEC: 4 (Alabama, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and LSU--look for at least one, probably two to go down)
ACC: 0
Big East: 1 (Connecticut)
CUSA: 1 (Tulsa--always a dark horse to make it in)
Sun Belt: 0
My guess is that after this weekend, we'll have the four mid-majors remain undefeated, 4 Big XII teams still undefeated, 2 SECs, Penn State and UConn.
By the way, with a win on Saturday, Penn State becomes your first bowl eligible team. Hard to believe it's time to think about bowls already, huh?
I decided to vote yes on 47. That leaves 48. It's not that I disagree with the scientific basis of the argument, it's just that I know that this amendment will go to the Supreme Court where it will get overturned. Then what? The state just wasted a TON of money by defending the amendment and by changing all the laws twice. It's going to go for yet another "all-or-nothing" tack on abortion, and the only way to get rid of it is to hack away at it in little pieces. What do you think partial-birth abortion bans are? Little pieces. My guess is that within the next fifteen years, we'll get to the point that says that they're illegal completely in the last trimester (because a six-month fetus is viable with proper incubation), and that it'll be really difficult to get one after the first trimester is over. Before then, I just don't think enough Americans are going to support totally tossing abortions. I mean, look at South Dakota, one of the most socially conservative states in the country, and their attempts at banning abortions failed. My current inclination on 48 is abstention.
I am definitely abstaining on US Senate. I find no qualified candidates for office. My current leaning on US House is abstention as well.
Holy crap, Utah just tied the game after being down 8 with like 2 minutes to play. Damn, Iwish I had this on TV...
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Bailouts all around
I have been following this whole bailout business this week, as has pretty much every other person in the country. I am vehemenetly opposed to the idea that says the bill is one of those necessary evils that allows us to save the economy and the backs of the bastards who fucked it up. Attached with any bill that passes must be legislation that ensures that those who put us into this position are prosecuted, their assets seized, and their positions as CEOs revoked. We have ridiculous laws on pretty much everything else, there has to be a law someplace that allows the government or even individual states to track these bastards down and make THEM pay for the bailout of their companies.
Thus, I have been very satisfied that our representatives have begun to listen to us; they voted the first bill down and they won't pass another one that does not protect us. Frankly speaking, I don't want any bailout package to pass: let the damn companies that got us here sink. There are plenty of banks, like Bank of America, TBC (or is it TPC...), and many of the national and regional credit unions, that did not get caught up in this housing mess or the credit mess. The financial markets will not collapse completely.
With it being October 1 today, I think that we should commemorate the fact that we have less than four months left of the current presidency. Being strongly fiscally conservative (you know, that fundamental principle that says don't spend more than you take in...), I have been incredibly disappointed with this presdient who promised fiscal reform and conservative practice with our dollars. The rate at which he has spent money (nearly $10 trillion in debt when he started office with a surplus) is disgusting. He's not going to have to pay for this; I am.
Making a football analogy, the economy is sort of like the Oakland Raiders right now. Absolute chaos. But the reason we have chaos isn't because of the players, but rather the total ineptitude of the owner of the football team (ahem, Al Davis). It's not the workers in these companies whose jobs are at risk; it's not the taxpayer or the consumer who is somehow keeping this economy afloat who are to blame. It's the owners, the CEOs, the Washington bureaucracy, the Fortune 500 fancy-pants who need to take the ax.
What's the best solution to this problem?
I would suggest mandatory retribution by the CEOs. Require the bastards to equal any money given to the companies out of their personal accounts.
Require all companies who receive funds to immediately fire CEOs without golden parachutes or reimbursement.
Require that half of the moneys be paid back within two years of issue, with the remainder returned within five years.
Ban subprime loans.
Require that the national debt be paid off within 8 years.
Place a one-month moratorium on foreclosures. Any families that make progressive payments during the moratorium may keep their homes (it can be less than the fixed rate, so long as payments are being made) and be under a probationary period, anyone who takes the one month and blows it is immediately placed on foreclosure notice once the one month has elapsed.
Provide tax incentives to people like Warren Buffet, who isn't one of the dirt bastards who got us into this mess, when they invest in these companies to keep them afloat. Reward good behavior.
And for the sake of the NFL, pass something in this bailout package that revokes Al Davis' right to own a football team anywhere.
Thus, I have been very satisfied that our representatives have begun to listen to us; they voted the first bill down and they won't pass another one that does not protect us. Frankly speaking, I don't want any bailout package to pass: let the damn companies that got us here sink. There are plenty of banks, like Bank of America, TBC (or is it TPC...), and many of the national and regional credit unions, that did not get caught up in this housing mess or the credit mess. The financial markets will not collapse completely.
With it being October 1 today, I think that we should commemorate the fact that we have less than four months left of the current presidency. Being strongly fiscally conservative (you know, that fundamental principle that says don't spend more than you take in...), I have been incredibly disappointed with this presdient who promised fiscal reform and conservative practice with our dollars. The rate at which he has spent money (nearly $10 trillion in debt when he started office with a surplus) is disgusting. He's not going to have to pay for this; I am.
Making a football analogy, the economy is sort of like the Oakland Raiders right now. Absolute chaos. But the reason we have chaos isn't because of the players, but rather the total ineptitude of the owner of the football team (ahem, Al Davis). It's not the workers in these companies whose jobs are at risk; it's not the taxpayer or the consumer who is somehow keeping this economy afloat who are to blame. It's the owners, the CEOs, the Washington bureaucracy, the Fortune 500 fancy-pants who need to take the ax.
What's the best solution to this problem?
I would suggest mandatory retribution by the CEOs. Require the bastards to equal any money given to the companies out of their personal accounts.
Require all companies who receive funds to immediately fire CEOs without golden parachutes or reimbursement.
Require that half of the moneys be paid back within two years of issue, with the remainder returned within five years.
Ban subprime loans.
Require that the national debt be paid off within 8 years.
Place a one-month moratorium on foreclosures. Any families that make progressive payments during the moratorium may keep their homes (it can be less than the fixed rate, so long as payments are being made) and be under a probationary period, anyone who takes the one month and blows it is immediately placed on foreclosure notice once the one month has elapsed.
Provide tax incentives to people like Warren Buffet, who isn't one of the dirt bastards who got us into this mess, when they invest in these companies to keep them afloat. Reward good behavior.
And for the sake of the NFL, pass something in this bailout package that revokes Al Davis' right to own a football team anywhere.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Official change
In my other blogs, I have the horrid tendency of confusing my personal life with my official life, which, right now, will be constituted of the title of this blog: football, coffee, and politics.
So to start things off, I obviously wanted to recap some of the highlights of this last weekend in football:
1. The Pac-Ten is on a serious downswing this year.
2. So is the Big Ten. The organizers of the Rose Bowl have to be hoping that Penn State keeps the offense strong and that USC pulls things together, otherwise, this will be almost as bad as last year's Rose Bowl.
3. Upswing conferences are mainly the Big XII and the Mountain West. The Big XII, if anyone has forgotten, has the most undefeated teams in one conference in the country, and have a serious amount of depth to back up the claim that they are the best in the country. Despite Colorado's ugly loss to Florida State and Kansas' loss to South Florida, look for the winner of the Big XII to be in the National Championship game. My money's actually on Missouri to pull this off. A lot of people are looking at Oklahoma and Texas, but never count out the Tigers.
4. The SEC may end up shooting itself in the foot thanks to parity. Florida and Georgia have already taken serious conference losses, not because they were particularly bad, but because the conference has seriously equalized over the last few years. Whereas Auburn, Florida, and LSU could be counted on to represent, this year, we've seen that Alabama, Mississippi, and Vanderbilt are showing up to play. What's going to hurt this conference is all of the within conference losses that they're going to suffer.
5. On the flip side, the winner of the Big East is going to seriously benefit from almost univerally poor conference play. Only Connecticut and South Florida have any serious chance of winning their conference, and South Florida's keynote win over Kansas tells me that they may actually be playing Missouri in the national championship game.
6. BCS busting looks like the trendy thing to do this year. With BYU, Utah, and Boise State (don't count out Tulsa or Ball State to make some kind of move) all pouncing on the weakness that is the Pac Ten, these teams have a lot of signature wins over a BCS conference. BYU has already moved up to #8 in one of the polls, and we don't start seeing BCS polling for weeks.
7. I know Notre Dame has this legacy or whatever of being football's darling team. I mean, all the history, etc. etc. etc. Notre Dame receives preferrential treatment by bowl committees, by pollsters, and by the public as a whole. Michigan State trounced Notre Dame, and MI State is not that good of a team. Imagine my surprise when I look at the coaches' polls and I find that Notre Dame has more votes than Mississippi, which beat then #4 Florida, or that ND has only two fewer votes than North Carolina. Notre Dame will get a bowl (they have three very easy wins...supposedly) left on their schedule, and I see them getting a better bowl as a 6-5 team than more deserving 9-3 teams will get. It's about the money with these bowls, not the football.
NFL thoughts from yesterday:
1. Washington is about a million miles away from where they were a month ago. When the Giants and the Redskins meet up again, there's going to be one mean Washington team that shows up. I think the players are starting to trust their coach a lot more than before, and Zorn is probably going to take coach of the year (chief competetion being the coaches out in Buffalo and Tennessee).
2. I'm going on the record now: either Indy or New England will NOT make the playoffs. This will be the first time in SIX YEARS that one of these teams doesn't make it. If both teams don't make it, then I'm going to be seriously happy with the result, however I just don't see enough good teams available to knock one of those two from the sixth spot.
3. I'm still sticking with the Saints to win the NFC South. Sure, Tampa has a suffocating defence, and sure, Carolina looks like it has a really good game coming together, but Tampa's offense is just plucky (not actually efficient, thanks to their QB drama) and Carolina really had not been tested. This week is not going to change things (Chiefs), but the two weeks after (at Tampa, against New Orleans) are going to be challenging. Plus, as demonstrated yesterday, the NO defence is starting to organize. Sure, they played a pansy in San Fransisco, but they are one team never to count out.
4. My original playoff picks after week three may be unraveling. I had picked Denver to win the AFC, but when I made that pick, I had thought that 1) they would show up against KC, 2) their offense could carry them, and 3) that with two Baileys and Dre Bly they could get something going on defense. Apparently, I was totally wrong. Unlike Carolina, Denver doesn't really have any creampuffs left on their schedule. They may not make it to the playoffs at this rate. I also picked Dallas to pick the NFC, and with all the drama involved in yesterday's game, I seriously doubt that they have the wherewithall to win their division, much less their conference.
5. St. Louis and Oakland are going to be looking for new coaches starting today (St. Louis already felled the ax). Look for Detroit to start cleaning up their house soon. The firing of the club president is only page one of the book of Detroit purges. Jon Kitna may be sitting on the bench too if Detroit starts getting desperate.
6. The NFC north may be about as competitive as the NFC west, in that at best the two divisions will produce mediocre teams to send to the playoffs. I think Chicago wins the north (they could easily be 4-0 now) and the west can send whoever they want (my guess is either an 8-8 or a 9-7 Arizona). The NFC should transfer one of these spots to another wild card.
Skewed coffee notes for the day:
I'm having a challenging time finding a Starbucks that has decent decaf on Sunday nights. I know it's getting close to closing, but come on, people. I want a decent cup of coffee that's worth my dollar eighty-eight.
I'm getting to the point where all I need when it comes to coffee is 1) that it comes black, and 2) that I have one flavored creamer--French Vanilla, Hazelnut, or Bailey's. The Bailey's has the added bonus of alcohol which offsets the caffeine (I can't have a whole lot of caffeine thanks to my ticker).
Of all of the Starbucks I have been to on the north side of COS, this is my list of preferred places to go:
1. Flintridge and Academy--has one of the better cups of late night coffee, isn't too busy, and has nice spaces to work. Downside is that it tends to get a little noisy.
2. Academy and Briargate--has lots of room to work, not too busy, but the location isn't so good. Plus, the tables can go a little while without a good wipedown.
3. Union and Briargate Parkway--nice ambiance, good coffee, but not so good with the spaces to work thing. Bigger tables would help those of us trying to get through college.
4. Academy and Woodmen area--adequate coffee, but a killer soy vanilla latte when necessary. Tends to be too busy for my liking.
By far the worst one though is in the shops at Briargate. It may have a few nice tables to work at, but because I don't order the frappy big drinks, my order has gotten forgotten twice, and they haggled me when I wanted my damn coffee.
Politics news:
The whole Kosovo situation is really odd still. Arab countries have been promising recognitions for months, and not one has come. And these are fellow Muslims we're talking about here. Frankly, I don't see why we trust these countries with our energy supplies. They have the irritating tendency to say one thing and to do another. I understand the Macedonian and the Montenegrin uncertainties involved with Kosovo, but the Arab ones look hypocritical. How can they support Palestine and not Kosovo?
US Presidental elections are blah. Things had looked really promising, but with both candidates supporting this bailout, which needed to go down in shame and defeat, I don't think that either one is terribly competent when it comes to economic issues.
Colorado has the annoying tendency of finding the most incompetent leaders to submit for Senate and the House. Our state government may be tolerable, but hardly extraordinary.
We also have the additionally annoying tendency to put too many bills up for amendment to the state constitution (hence the reason I'm voting yes on Ref. O).
Other than that, I have no interest in talking about politics right now.
So to start things off, I obviously wanted to recap some of the highlights of this last weekend in football:
1. The Pac-Ten is on a serious downswing this year.
2. So is the Big Ten. The organizers of the Rose Bowl have to be hoping that Penn State keeps the offense strong and that USC pulls things together, otherwise, this will be almost as bad as last year's Rose Bowl.
3. Upswing conferences are mainly the Big XII and the Mountain West. The Big XII, if anyone has forgotten, has the most undefeated teams in one conference in the country, and have a serious amount of depth to back up the claim that they are the best in the country. Despite Colorado's ugly loss to Florida State and Kansas' loss to South Florida, look for the winner of the Big XII to be in the National Championship game. My money's actually on Missouri to pull this off. A lot of people are looking at Oklahoma and Texas, but never count out the Tigers.
4. The SEC may end up shooting itself in the foot thanks to parity. Florida and Georgia have already taken serious conference losses, not because they were particularly bad, but because the conference has seriously equalized over the last few years. Whereas Auburn, Florida, and LSU could be counted on to represent, this year, we've seen that Alabama, Mississippi, and Vanderbilt are showing up to play. What's going to hurt this conference is all of the within conference losses that they're going to suffer.
5. On the flip side, the winner of the Big East is going to seriously benefit from almost univerally poor conference play. Only Connecticut and South Florida have any serious chance of winning their conference, and South Florida's keynote win over Kansas tells me that they may actually be playing Missouri in the national championship game.
6. BCS busting looks like the trendy thing to do this year. With BYU, Utah, and Boise State (don't count out Tulsa or Ball State to make some kind of move) all pouncing on the weakness that is the Pac Ten, these teams have a lot of signature wins over a BCS conference. BYU has already moved up to #8 in one of the polls, and we don't start seeing BCS polling for weeks.
7. I know Notre Dame has this legacy or whatever of being football's darling team. I mean, all the history, etc. etc. etc. Notre Dame receives preferrential treatment by bowl committees, by pollsters, and by the public as a whole. Michigan State trounced Notre Dame, and MI State is not that good of a team. Imagine my surprise when I look at the coaches' polls and I find that Notre Dame has more votes than Mississippi, which beat then #4 Florida, or that ND has only two fewer votes than North Carolina. Notre Dame will get a bowl (they have three very easy wins...supposedly) left on their schedule, and I see them getting a better bowl as a 6-5 team than more deserving 9-3 teams will get. It's about the money with these bowls, not the football.
NFL thoughts from yesterday:
1. Washington is about a million miles away from where they were a month ago. When the Giants and the Redskins meet up again, there's going to be one mean Washington team that shows up. I think the players are starting to trust their coach a lot more than before, and Zorn is probably going to take coach of the year (chief competetion being the coaches out in Buffalo and Tennessee).
2. I'm going on the record now: either Indy or New England will NOT make the playoffs. This will be the first time in SIX YEARS that one of these teams doesn't make it. If both teams don't make it, then I'm going to be seriously happy with the result, however I just don't see enough good teams available to knock one of those two from the sixth spot.
3. I'm still sticking with the Saints to win the NFC South. Sure, Tampa has a suffocating defence, and sure, Carolina looks like it has a really good game coming together, but Tampa's offense is just plucky (not actually efficient, thanks to their QB drama) and Carolina really had not been tested. This week is not going to change things (Chiefs), but the two weeks after (at Tampa, against New Orleans) are going to be challenging. Plus, as demonstrated yesterday, the NO defence is starting to organize. Sure, they played a pansy in San Fransisco, but they are one team never to count out.
4. My original playoff picks after week three may be unraveling. I had picked Denver to win the AFC, but when I made that pick, I had thought that 1) they would show up against KC, 2) their offense could carry them, and 3) that with two Baileys and Dre Bly they could get something going on defense. Apparently, I was totally wrong. Unlike Carolina, Denver doesn't really have any creampuffs left on their schedule. They may not make it to the playoffs at this rate. I also picked Dallas to pick the NFC, and with all the drama involved in yesterday's game, I seriously doubt that they have the wherewithall to win their division, much less their conference.
5. St. Louis and Oakland are going to be looking for new coaches starting today (St. Louis already felled the ax). Look for Detroit to start cleaning up their house soon. The firing of the club president is only page one of the book of Detroit purges. Jon Kitna may be sitting on the bench too if Detroit starts getting desperate.
6. The NFC north may be about as competitive as the NFC west, in that at best the two divisions will produce mediocre teams to send to the playoffs. I think Chicago wins the north (they could easily be 4-0 now) and the west can send whoever they want (my guess is either an 8-8 or a 9-7 Arizona). The NFC should transfer one of these spots to another wild card.
Skewed coffee notes for the day:
I'm having a challenging time finding a Starbucks that has decent decaf on Sunday nights. I know it's getting close to closing, but come on, people. I want a decent cup of coffee that's worth my dollar eighty-eight.
I'm getting to the point where all I need when it comes to coffee is 1) that it comes black, and 2) that I have one flavored creamer--French Vanilla, Hazelnut, or Bailey's. The Bailey's has the added bonus of alcohol which offsets the caffeine (I can't have a whole lot of caffeine thanks to my ticker).
Of all of the Starbucks I have been to on the north side of COS, this is my list of preferred places to go:
1. Flintridge and Academy--has one of the better cups of late night coffee, isn't too busy, and has nice spaces to work. Downside is that it tends to get a little noisy.
2. Academy and Briargate--has lots of room to work, not too busy, but the location isn't so good. Plus, the tables can go a little while without a good wipedown.
3. Union and Briargate Parkway--nice ambiance, good coffee, but not so good with the spaces to work thing. Bigger tables would help those of us trying to get through college.
4. Academy and Woodmen area--adequate coffee, but a killer soy vanilla latte when necessary. Tends to be too busy for my liking.
By far the worst one though is in the shops at Briargate. It may have a few nice tables to work at, but because I don't order the frappy big drinks, my order has gotten forgotten twice, and they haggled me when I wanted my damn coffee.
Politics news:
The whole Kosovo situation is really odd still. Arab countries have been promising recognitions for months, and not one has come. And these are fellow Muslims we're talking about here. Frankly, I don't see why we trust these countries with our energy supplies. They have the irritating tendency to say one thing and to do another. I understand the Macedonian and the Montenegrin uncertainties involved with Kosovo, but the Arab ones look hypocritical. How can they support Palestine and not Kosovo?
US Presidental elections are blah. Things had looked really promising, but with both candidates supporting this bailout, which needed to go down in shame and defeat, I don't think that either one is terribly competent when it comes to economic issues.
Colorado has the annoying tendency of finding the most incompetent leaders to submit for Senate and the House. Our state government may be tolerable, but hardly extraordinary.
We also have the additionally annoying tendency to put too many bills up for amendment to the state constitution (hence the reason I'm voting yes on Ref. O).
Other than that, I have no interest in talking about politics right now.
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