Arch Madness Anyone?

Well, between the piles of tax returns, my eyes spy something resembling March fucking Madness. Friday (Thursday for the really shitty teams) begins Creighton's quest to shock the world and rise up from mediocrity and steal a NCAA bid from some deserving team.

I gotta admit, I've been a poor CU fan this year. They just have not been very fun to watch. About midway through the Valley season, when they got their shit kicked in by Bradley (who at that point was something like 0-11 in the conference) I just stopped making it a point to watch and/or listen. Horrible, I know. At least I'm aware that they still play basketball there, unlike the Milwaukee Bucks who were contracted after their first round exit from the NBA playoff last year.

To be fair, in mid-major hoops, once the conference regular season title is out of reach, and/or you eliminated from at-large contention (which for CU was early November), the regular season doesn't mean a whole helluva lot other than seeding at Arch Madness. And Arch Madness means a lot.

I had the pleasure of attending Arch Madness in 2006. It was pretty fucking ridiculous. For those not acquainted, Arch Madness is the pet name (also known as "The Creighton Invitational") for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. It gets "Arch" from the fact that it is in St. Louis every year.

Each year, thousands of Midwesterners and students from small basketball playing universities descend on St. Louis to get super-ass drunk, possibly fight amongst each other, and watch a bunch of good basketball. (Also to stare at toothless rednecks from Carbondale, Illinois). I haven't been to another conference tourney, so perhaps others are the same. I imagine the Big Ten tournament is fun. But the tournament means A LOT to teams in the Valley, because often, only the winner gets into the big dance, and frequently, the team that comes out of the Valley does some serious damage (see Northern Iowa last year).

Unfortunately for me, I haven't been able to get back to St. Louis since. And unless I get a new job that doesn't involve getting screamed at by dickhead old people about their taxes, I probably won't get back soon. Some day, Twinkie and I will relive the glory days when he could drink heavily without one of his internal organs exploding, and had a penis. Good times will be had by all. In the mean time, I will try my damnedest to follow CU as close as possible (they play at 2:30 on Friday, and I have a job), and root on the Jays.

Playoffs?

It is semifinal week in the OJSFA!

GAME 1:

The White Broncos (10-4) v. OJSFA or Die (8-6)

LINE: Broncos by 25

SERIES HISTORY: Broncos lead 5-4

Thoughts: I'm going to kick Richard's ass. Brady is going to throw 10 TDs for him, all to Deion Branch, who starts for me.

GAME 2: Clown Baby (9-5) v. Schmock's Team (12-2)

LINE: Schmock by 3

SERIES HISTORY: Clown Baby leads 6-5

Thoughts: I'm not sure how either of these guys made the playoffs. Schmock almost went undefeated with Santana Moss as one of his starting wideouts. My brother was a playoff team all year with Knowshon Moreno and Ryan Matthew's failed expectations as his backfield. I think my brother hangs on due to A-Rodg being out for Schmock and A-Peter playing on an ice rink Monday night.

AWARDS

Aaron Rodgers won the MVP award. He was the best player on Schmock's team.

Past Winners:
2006: LaDanian Tomlinson
2007: Tom Brady
2008: Phillip Rivers
2009: Tom Brady

Arian Foster came from nowhere to win the Offensive Player of the Year. He scored the most points. He was on my team.

Past Winners:
2006: LaDanian Tomlinson
2007: Tom Brady
2008: Drew Brees
2009: Drew Brees

PACKERS PLAYOFFS

Check out the ESPN playoff machine. The Packers are totally and completely fucked. They almost have to beat the Pats to have good chance at the playoffs. Or the need the Vikings to beat the Bears with a converted WR at QB. And their fans will be angry, cold and sober.

I dunno, maybe Matt Flynn is good. I can't really imagine them winning. Pats by 17. And Belichick is still a dick.

CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS

Gregory Echenique makes his debut tonight on ESPN3 againt Idaho St. For those who don't know, Echenique is a transfer from Rutgers. He was the number 9 overall recruit two years ago, and the Big East freshman of the year. For a Valley school to get a guy like this is a big deal. I guess Echenique is immediately going to put up 30-20 every night. He is the Stephen Strasburg of the Creighton Bluejays. Good times.

Facebook Killed the Blog (Not Really) Star

My brother was right. One of the biggest reasons that posting has come to a total halt was my joining Facebook. It is a lot easier to bullshit to all of my friends through a series of two sentence status updates every few days, than it is to think of something long-winded and funny on this here deal. It doesn't help that the other memebers of this blog have long given up contributing anything, probably due to the fact that they are all dead. Part of the fun was getting others to join in. Anyway, after a conversation with my brother, which consisted of BBMs, because I don't actually talk to anyone anymore, I felt the urge to try again, while I wait for him to invite me to a new blog, which may or may not ever happen.

Perfect opportunity for the first post of any kind in nearly two months. I DD'd for a surprise birthday party for one of my wife's friends last night. Nothing better than getting up at 5:45 am for work, and staying up sober until 3 am. Hence the 12:30 pm post as I sit in my PJs drinking coffee like it is 8am. This weekend is going to be a total waste. An upcoming birthday party for four year olds, and 15 inches of snow, before a 7:30 am volunteering commitment tomorrow makes Juice a sad boy. I might as well just go to work right now. At least there are three sports items (two of which I'm probably not going to see live) to look forward to this weekend.

Firt we have the annual UW-Marquette game. This one takes on a new meaning because Vander Blue and his suddenly fatter wallet is prominently involved. Niether team is great, but MU probably wins this one at home. Bucky doesn't have a guy that can go out and take over a game by himself. Leuer is great but he needs someone to get him the ball. Taylor is occaisionally that guy, but he is too inconsistent. They are prone to long offensive droughts, which is going to hurt them against Marquette. The plan is to set the DVR, listen to the first half on the radio and then hope my father in-law turns off Teletubbies at this birthday party and has it on. Otherwise I will avoid knowledge and watch the second half tonight. Probably what happens is that it gets ruined at some point.

Second, we have St. Joe's traveling to the phone booth to take on Creighton. Live on ESPN3!!!! Pretty pumped about this. The only game I've actually been able to view was when John (the whitest guy you know) Shurna put on a dunking display for Northwestern, and the Wildcats beat the shit out of my Jays in Evanston. CU is not in any way going to make the tourney short of a MVC tournament title. But I will enjoy watching the proable drunken Saturday night crowd at Qwest Center lead the Jays to a win, while I miss Omaha.

Third, there will be the beating the Pack will put on Detroit Sunday. The Lions are a lot better than their record indicates, but Drew Stanton does nothing to scare me. I'm getting pretty jacked up for the drunken Christmas weekend game in two weeks, as Richard, my brother and a few other friends gather for the Giants game. Pack by more than a TD.

So what else? I've got a beard. That is fun. Not the greatest ever, but my wife somehow likes it, so I will keep it around awhile.

Oh, and here is the 3rd annual bracket for Juice's Dream D-I NCAA Football Get Together!!!

Here are the rules if you have forgotten. 32 teams. Champions of all 11 conferences get auto-bids (yes, even Florida International). Top 8 seeds host the first two rounds (even if that top seed gets eliminated). 8 4-team regionals. Quarterfinals are the Fiesta, Cotton, Citrus and Peach bowls. Semifinals are the Orange and Sugar. Final is the Rose Bowl. Here is the bracket, results to come at a later date assuming I don't stop blogging again:

AT AUBURN, AL
1) Auburn
4) Florida International

2)Oklahoma St.
3) Missouri

AT FAYETTEVILLE, AK

1) Arkansas
4) West Virginia

2) Stanford
3) Miami (OH)

AT NORMAN, OK

1) Oklahoma
4) Air Force

2) LSU
3) South Carolina

AT BOISE, ID

1) Boise St.
4) Mississippi St.

2) Virginia Tech
3) Northern Illinois

AT EUGENE, OR

1) Oregon
4) UConn

2) Utah
3) Nebraska

AT MADISON, WI

1) Wisconsin
4) Florida St.

2) Ohio St.
3) Central Florida

AT FORT WORTH, TX

1) TCU
4) USC

2) Alabama
3) Hawaii

AT RENO, NV

1) Nevada
4) Tulsa

2) Michigan St.
3) Texas A&M

You may hear from me later if I don't die in this blizzard. Peace Out.

Online Video Greatest Hits, Deer and Birds

Two GREAT videos from yesterday. First one I can't embed, but it is Greg Zaun and he is throwing like that catcher from Major League 2. Perhaps he should memorize issues of Playboy?

Second, Bango.




The Bucks game was GREAT last night. I love jumping on the bandwagon. I would totally go to Game 6, but the game starts at 6, and I have to work until like 4:30, and I live 2 hours away with little to no traffic. So it ain't happening. And unfortunately you can't DVR live games. Brandon Jennings is good. Also, this is some hard hitting sports analysis.

Finally, stop reading now if you don't care about anything that happens in the state of Nebraska, specifically in the Big O.

Dana Altman's 15 year run as a demigod in Omaha is over. He is off to Oregon to be fired in two years. Meanwhile, the Jays hired away Iowa St. coach, and former Northern Iowa coach Greg McDermott. I'm not even sure the stench from Dana's final dump was gone. It was literally like 20 hours after he took the job in Oregon. Is it a good hire? I dunno. He was good at UNI. Not so good at Iowa St. But he is from the area and has seen the other side, and realizes that it is better to win at a mid major and make a little less money than go to the Big 12 and lose. CU knew who they wanted I guess, since they interviewed nobody else. Contrast this to UWGB who took over a month and conducted a dozen interviews before deciding on the guy that is already there. Also, wanna know why Creighton is seemingly always decent and UWGB is good once every 10 to 20 years? McDermott is going to make $1.1 million (and can point at any chick in Omaha and a rich booster will order it done) and Wardle in GB is going to make $200k and has to battle A-Rodg and Ryan Grant's brother for chicks.

Arch Sadness

On Thursday thousands of Missouri Valley students and alumni will descend upon St. Louis for the four day drinking/basketball orgy known as Arch Madness. This week always makes me sad. The one good thing, maybe the only good thing, about being a student at Creighton was Bluejay basketball, and the opportunity to skip classes, road trip it to St. Louis, put 14 guys in a hotel room, and get fucking shitfaced for three straight days. I've been on record as saying that generally, if you aren't from Wisconsin, you cannot handle your booze. But this week, young and old alike from such places as Omaha, NE, Springfield, MO, Cedar Falls, IA, Des Moines, IA, Normal, IL, Terre Haute, IN, Carbondale, IL, Witchita, KS, Evansville, IN, and Peoria, IL, combine forces for a drunken, sloppy mess. And they do it well.

Oh, and they play a little bit of basketball too. Creighton plays at 2:30 on Friday against Bradley. Maybe CU has finally put everything together. They have played well the past two weeks. I would give them almost no chance, except for the fact that strange things happen at Arch Madness. Creighton has won ten tournament titles, which is twice as many as any other team. They are also the only team ever to win it as a 4 seed (2000). So anything is possible. If not, I guess there is always the CBI tournament.

So to all students and alumni of Valley schools heading to the Lou tomorrow. I'm jealous. Some day, when my wife and Twinkie's wife finally wise up and get rid of us, and I either quit this job, own the place or Uncle Sam stops requiring taxes to be filed, we will make our triumphant return. Until then, GO JAYS!!!

Weekend Juice

TIGER WOODS Y'ALL:

-Sincere as it could be given the fact that he was on my TV reading off of a piece of paper like it was a 9th grade speech class or something. It had to be hard to say some of the stuff he did, and he was probably a bit nervous. But it was Colin Ferrell level bad acting. And I don't really give a fuck what you do in your personal life, as long as you suck me into four golf tournaments a year. You don't really owe ME an apology. Although had I bought those PGA Championship tickets at Whistling Straits (still a possibility) just to see you, I would be a little pissed.

COLLEGE BASEBALL?

-I just wanted to toss this in because I found it a little humorous. I became a (very) slight college baseball fan going to school at Creighton. It was mostly due to the fact that the library that I often studied (surfed the Internets) at overlooked CU Sports Complex, or as it is also known, the fluorescent green carpeted area where Creighton plays baseball games. Also, the CU/Nebraska rivalry was pretty tits, and seeing games (including a couple of College World Series) at Roesenblatt Stadium was pretty cool. Anyway, I was reading a Creighton season preview on White and Blue Review yesterday, and I saw that Creighton opens their season this afternoon. A little odd to start this early I guess, but the Crew is showing up in Arizona today, so I guess it isn't that odd. But I read a little further to find out that the Jays are starting the season on a TWENTY SEVEN GAME ROAD TRIP!!!! Creighton is in Omaha, which is probably under a foot of snow right now, making it difficult to play home games. But you have to go pretty fucking far to get to a place warm enough to play baseball in February and March (Texas, Florida, Arizona, etc.). And clearly they NEED to play 50+ games. It is a good thing the NCAA only cares about its "student athletes" or they would be forced to walk to all 27 road games, and play 90 games in 85 days or something. And this is why we can't have a football tournament.

Two and Seven

You can say what you want about Creighton being a gigantic disappointment this year. And certainly, (8-6, 13-12) qualifies when you are heavy favorites for an at-large bid. So if you are going to cast stones at a seemingly random favorite team (but I'm an alum, so I'm allowed a second favorite to go along with Bucky), you are entitled I guess.

But holy fucking shit does UNC suck this year. I was SHOCKED when I saw the record. Just thought I would point that out. The ACC isn't even that great this year, so its not like you can point to the record and bitch about how hard the schedule is. They don't play in the Big East. UNC should never not be in the top 10.

There is no point at all to this post other than for some reason I felt the need to randomly point out that your favorite team is shitty, yet they will somehow finish 7-9 in the ACC and 20-14 overall, get to the ACC final, and get a bid, because that is what happens when you are UNC, and this is what happens when I talk shit.

I bet everyone can guess who "you" is.

Coco! Coco!

Just a quick aside. I watched the last "Tonight Show with Conan" last night. It was pretty entertaining. I've always enjoyed Conan. The ending of the show was ridiculous and fitting. Truthfully, I think if someone landed from Mars and wanted to know what Conan was about, I would either show him this clip, or the "Masturbating Bear". I didn't realize he could play the shit out of a guitar. Now I can go back to ignoring late night TV.

One last thing, I want to thank Creighton for scheduling one of their 5 to 10 games I can actually watch, right smack dab in the middle of the NFC Championship Game. Fuck. You.

Not So Famous Dave's

I used to love Famous Dave's. In high school, it was a frequent hang out when we had money burning holes in our pockets. I will always remember the time I ate 10 corn bread muffins on a dare. In law school we went there on occasion. I never didn't love it. It has been approximately 4 years since my last Famous Dave's. The nearest one is in Appleton, and we don't get there that often. And my wife doesn't love it. Last night though, we made a stop. And it was fucking terrible. It was historically bad. Like so bad I don't think I can ever go back. The only good things were a) the beer was cold and b) the corn muffin. Everything else was cold and slimy. The service was slow and they fucked up my wife's order. I haven't been that disappointed in a long time. I will just stick to the pulled pork and ribs that my dad makes. They are a thousand times better, and free. Overall Experience: 1.5 out of 5.

I've decided to watch Cards/Saints, try to watch CU/Wichita in spurts or on the computer, go to dinner with the bosses, try to catch most of Colts/Ravens live, and DVR Bucky v. Ohio St for late night viewing/head bobbing. I figure the Badger score will be easiest to avoid.

Sorry for wasting all of your time. Go watch some sports.

Lane Kiffin: Kind of a D*ck

I don't have a problem with Lane Kiffin taking the job at USC. I don't really have a problem with him leaving after one year. You gotta do what you gotta do. People leave jobs all the time. I just feel bad for Tennessee, the fans/players/school. Now, maybe I shouldn't. You had to assume that they knew what they were getting into when they decided to hire Kiffin. They were going to get a dynamic, loud-mouthed, possible chucklehead, that was going to get you in some trouble. But who was also presumed to be a good coach, a good recruiter, and who was going to get the media to talk about Tennessee. But Kiffin has left the program "rode hard and left up wet" as us simple folk in Wisconsin like to say. He really brought nothing but negative press, and accusations. I would imagine that some type of punishment is going to come down for something he did recruiting wise in the ten minutes he was there. Alot of his recruits are probably going to transfer, and anyone he was close to signing is going to sign elsewhere. It just bugs me when coaches get to do whatever they want with no repercussions, while the players actually end up being lied to. The players will have to sit out a year if they want to go somewhere else, as they are owned by Tennessee like an iPod or something. It just kind of sucks for them. And Lane Kiffin probably doesn't give a shit. And that is why I presume he is kind of a dick.

BASKETBALL TONIGHT

UW at N'Western minus Leuer. I like the Cats in this one. Bucky always has problems in Evanston for some reason. Even though there will be like 2,000 people at the game and most of them will be wearing red.

CU at SIU. Is it possible for Creighton to lose by 30? I don't even know how good the Egyptian Dogs are. I just know that CU is terrible.

Big Week for Bucky

This week is what ESPN or some other place would call "Judgment Week" or "Separation Week" or some such thing for the Wisconsin Badgers. I realize that it is the first week of January, but they have two MONSTER games in the next four days (seriously the Badgers got screwed in scheduling them back to back) that will go a long way in deciding if Bucky is a contender for a surprise Big Ten title or merely a pretty good team that will probably get to the tournament.

Tonight/late afternoon, the #13 Badgers head to East Lansing to take on #43 (but WAY more popular) Michigan St. I'm pretty excited for this as it is always a barn burner, and usually Michigan St. has some gigantic white center that gets into foul trouble early and cries on the bench (see Suton. I think he's gone). Also, I always find a way to dislike Izzo. The biggest problem I'm having is: why FIVE THIRTY??? I mean, c'mon Big Ten Network. How am I supposed to take you seriously when you are tipping games at 5:30? You are basically saying that not only do I not want anyone in the Central Time Zone without a DVR to see it, but that you don't care about the EST zone either. Everyone knows the standard tip time for a game in the Eastern Time Zone is 6:00. Just odd.

Saturday, Bucky hosts #5 and undefeated Purdue. This is a classic game for Bucky to win. Bo Ryan is something like 35-2 at home in games against teams he has no business beating. Talent-wise, Purdue is probably better, but so is just about every other team. This and the Creighton-Wichita St game are great appetizers for the beginning of Wild Card Bukkake (which I will get to later in the week).

Attack of the A-Train!

Anthony Tolliver was one of the most prominent players in my stint at Creighton. He is tall, clumsy, and sort of slow. He randomly developed an outside jumper in his Senior year leading to setting a record for the most "NOOOOOO....YESSSS!" moments in college basketball history. Also, made a buzzer beater in the most exciting college basketball game I've ever been to. Somehow he is in the NBA again.

Also, #4 New Mexico 84, Creighton 65 today. I have zero faith in the Jays at this point. New Mexico is one of the best offensive teams, and Creighton is seemingly one of the worst defensive. And it is at "The Pit".

Quick Thoughts

-No reason the Packers should lose today on paper. It has been like 6 months since they've played at noon. However, this has the stench of a game that the Packers could lose. A random kickoff return here. A 70 yd pass interference penalty there. A blind side hit/fumble/return on Rodgers. I just have a bad feeling for some reason. If I had to bet (and SportsBottle does, likely as part of a 12 team parlay) I would say Packers 23, Bears 13, but I'm stressed out.

-The loss to George Mason yesterday put a nail in the at-large coffin for Creighton (3-5). They will have to get their shit together for Arch Madness.

-Thoughts on TV shows: This is one of the best overall seasons of South Park. I can't recall a bad episode. There haven't been any super-offensive episodes that I can think of, but even the random ones were really funny. I've still got two left that I haven't seen, but I've been impressed. Butter's Bottom Bitch was the best one I think. ESPN's "30 for 30" series has been fantastic. I've only watched like 4 of them so far, but all have been awesome except for the Ali one, which wasn' t that great. I'm kind of pumped for the Jimmy the Greek one and The U.

Drunk Bosses, Other Civil Wars and The Future of this Blog

DRUNK BOSSES

My work "party" actually ended up pretty fun last night. Two of my four bosses were borderline shitfaced by the time I left at like 6:30. I'm looking forward to the fact that two of them have kids getting married this summer. I'm totally comfortable getting blacked out with them, but I know my wife won't be.

CREIGHTON-NEBRASKA

Nearly forgot about Creighton v. Nebraska on Sunday afternoon. Always one of the games of the year in Nebraska. The atmosphere for these games was always electric. And although most CU fans root for Nebraska football (which is completely, and utterly retarded) there is some real hatred. It is very similar to the Wisconsin-Marquette rivalry. Especially since CU and MU don't have football. And NU-UW are the big state schools. Obviously, I'm on the opposite side of this rivalry. Generally, CU holds their own as they have the better basketball tradition and teams. Almost every game comes down to the last minute. Even though CU has sucked balls this year, I see the Phone Booth crowd of 17,000 carrying them to a tight win.

OFF SHORE GAMBLING

I'm not going to lie. The daily wagering posts have injected new life into the blog. I'm giddy reading about it. And I am super tempted to open an account of my own. And SportsBottle is openly daring me to do it. I love sports books more than just about anything. Obviously, I'm concerned about the legalities, and of losing my money. And getting divorced. The question I have is whether this site is going to end up being a gambling website, and whether the Dept. of Homeland Security will begin monitoring its content. Nobody is ever really able to decide whether or not these transactions are OK. I realize millions of people do it, and its probably pretty low on the list of government things to do. But millions also do drugs, and I definitely wouldn't run out and buy an eight ball.

Hatin' and Complainin'

-I hate fantasy football. This week marks at least the third time I've lost by less than 5 points. I'm now 5-7 and have virtually no chance at the playoffs. I've now lost four straight turns on TE roulette. This week, I started Vernon Davis who had a nice game (18 points), and sat Antonio Gates who of course had his best game of the year (7 catches, 118 yds, 2 TD, 30 points). Last week I started Gates, who shit the bed, while Davis went off. The week before I started Davis and Gates went off. The week before I started Gates and Davis went off. It is a virtual guarantee that if I start a TE, the other guy is going mental. Also, I would have won two of those games had I started the right TE.

-I hate Vince Young. I also lost yesterday because my brother was forced to start Vince Young at QB. And Vince Young decided to turn into John Elway circa 1986, and drive the fucking Titans 99 yards, culminating in a last second TD pass which turned out to be the difference in my fantasy game. Did Vince Young forget that he is an mediocre QB, clearly not capable of doing what he did. 387 YARDS??? Are you fucking shitting me??? If you are keeping score at home I've now lost when MJD kneeled at the one, and when Vince Young drove 99 yards with under two minutes left and threw a last second TD. I am the Houston Texans of the OJSFA.

-Creighton's trip to Orlando for the Old Spice Classic was an absolute disaster. Up 10 to #15 in the American Popularity poll Michigan in the second half, they shit the bed in OT. They got crushed by similarly situated, but bigger named Xavier. The lost to fucking Iona. They wasted a great opportunity, and have nobody to blame but themselves. The only conceivable way they are getting an at large is if they run the table. Not enough good teams left on the schedule (and yes, I know it is November 30th). Teams from the Valley don't get many shots at legit tournament teams, and they have to take full advantage when they do. They need to get right and concentrate on winning Arch Madness.

-I purchased tickets to Packers v. Ravens next Monday night, from a legitimate broker, for $49 each. Which is $10 less than face value. Which is insane.

Turkey Day Pregame Spectacular

First, I ought to get my quick and shitty picks in so that everyone can run to their offshore bookies and place bets solely based upon the opinions of an anonymous Internet blogger:

Last Week: 6-10
Season: 68-66-1
All-Time: 202-192-3

GB(-11), Dal (-13.5), NYG (-6.5), Mia (-3), Sea (-3), Phi (-9), Atl (-12), Ind (-3), Cin (-14), Car (+3), Jax (+3), SD (-13.5), Min (-10.5), Ten (NL), NE (+3)

PACKERS

They will kick the shit out of the Lions today. At least 50% of fans will be Packer fans. There will be some shitty Motown act at halftime. I enjoy Thanksgiving Packer games because it gives me an excuse to be a loud asshole, not talk to anyone, and wear a jersey on Thanksgiving instead of a sweater or some shit.

CREIGHTON

Takes on nationally popular Michigan on a neutral court today. Don't have a great grasp on the Jays yet. Not a game they will be favored to win, but they could do it. Will be watching via DVR.

BADGERS

Nice trip to Maui. Frustrated a bit by the Gonzaga game. I think the Zags were clearly the more talented team, but if we make more than 20% of our threes, we are right there. I'm liking Leuer alot. Also, Keaton Nankivil is on pace to break the all-time record for missed dunks in traffic that look incredibly athletic and would bring the house down if he made them, but then go off the back of the rim and land at mid court. I counted at least 4 this weekend. Two really nice wins against Arizona and Maryland that will help the future resume. Duke will beat us by 20.

BEER REVIEW

Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Brown, Version 2.0. I was assured via radio by the Leinenkugels that they reformulated the seasonal nut brown. Last year's version tasted like I was licking a pancake doused in maple syrup. The year is much improved. Not quite a Fat Squirrel, but it actually does taste like a Nut Brown, and I would buy it again.

Happy Thanksgiving

Weekend Schizophrenia

Wow. Where to begin? How about a list? In chronological order? Don't mind if I do!

-Well, Bucky took care of his shit. (8-2) is looking pretty good right now (especially to get into the Get Together). Anything short of (10-2) is going to be disappointing. It really is too bad that college football is stupid and they will get no chance to do anything special. Not saying they would, but at least they would get a shot.

-CU played Dayton tough, and looked really, really good in the first half. But ultimately they couldn't hang on. Not a back breaking loss, but they aren't going to get any favors from the committee going forward. They are going to need a big win in Orlando (pretty sure they play Michigan, which would qualify) for their resume, or they will need to wipe out the Valley. It is early to make these proclamations, but when you are a mid-major, your margin for error is razor thin.

-Movie Review: "Law Abiding Citizen". I don't see that many movies in the theater. This one was pretty fucking bad ass. I would recommend it. The premise is a tad ridiculous, and by tad I mean completely impossible. But it was cool either way. Jamie Foxx still isn't a very good actor. He should stick to playing cross-dressers in "In Living Color". But he didn't ruin the movie. I'd give it 3.5 out of 5, although I am a very tough judge.

-Ladies and gentlemen, Brandon Jennings! You know he is good when I'm getting text messages from MORE THAN ONE random person to get me to turn on the game, especially when these people are not really huge NBA fans. And then, when I do turn it on, my wife (who is probably in the bottom 5 in the nation in NBA-fandom, and who every time I turn a Bucks game on, which is very infrequently, remarks that she "wishes the Bucks would move from Milwaukee so she didn't have to think about them sucking anymore") was interested. What a ridiculous performance. Make room on the bandwagon! (at least until their first 10 game losing streak or inevitable Jennings injury). This all means I will probably make room for them in the channel switching rotation, and be cognizant of when they actually play, lets not get crazy yet. But it does appear from 7 games that the Bucks have finally hit big on a lottery pick.

-The Packers have a mental illness. How they can go from playing as bad as they did last week to playing as well as they did (generally) this week? We lose to one of the worst teams in the league and then beat one of the best? I dunno. The defense was preseason-esque. They were all over Romo's ass. Woodson did his best defensive player of the year impression: 9 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, INT, sack. Hawk and Barnett were not non-existent. Clay Matthews continues to impress. B.J. Raji had a tackle! The O-line kept the sack count under 5, which is a slight improvement at least. The penalties were still awful, and inexcusable, but we can't expect to fix everything overnight. Special teams didn't kill us. Suddenly, I think they can be 7-4 after the Lions game. I love completely changing my outlook on the entire season based on the outcome of one game.

-UW held on 75-46 to beat a feisty Indiana University Purdue University at Fort Wayne Mastadon team. There were like 200 people at the Kohl Center. This game counted. IPFW is a real team.

-Someone should tell Bill Belichick that he isn't playing a game of Madden '10 in that hoodie. He is coaching a real NFL game. Seriously, I would lead towards punting in Madden. That was CRAZY.

For Whom The Bell Tolls!

Sweet

Fake Gambling, Almost Real Basketball, DeMarcus Ware Just Sacked A-Rodg In the Hotel

Last Week: 6-7
Season: 56-49
All-Time: 190-175-2

SF (-3), Ten (-7), NO (-14), Mia (-10), Min (-17), NYJ (-7), Cin (+7), Den (-3.5), Car (+2), Oak (-2), SD (-3), Ari (-9), Dal (-3), Ind (-3), Bal (-11)

-I hate alot of these lines this week. It is a good thing gambling is illegal.

-College Basketball begins in earnest on Saturday. Creighton is at Dayton (who is ranked #21 in the A.P. (American Popularity) poll). Creighton is not going to suck this year. I predict they go something like 24-7 and end up on the bubble but get passed over by some shitty 18-13 team from the Big 10 (Wisconsin???). CU needs a win like this for their early resume. 12:00 p.m for those that give a shit. Right in the middle of UW destroying Michigan.

-Speaking of polls, at least in basketball they make no difference because they actually, I don't know, have a tournament where the best team wins. It is insane how that works. So really, I could care less, even though they are kind of dumb when nobody has played any games.

-By the way, UW is definitely going to get in this year even though nobody really thinks so. A) They have Bo Ryan, b) they have a history of being alot better than anyone thinks, especially when everyone thinks they are shitty.

-Brandon Jennings is making me consider watching a Bucks game. For some reason I actually was going to turn one on last night, but it was "not available in my area". Not that broken up. I turned on a 45 point UNC blowout instead. They look really good against St. Mary's Burn Center at home. Fuck UNC.

-Not getting drunk this weekend. I'm finally over my hangover from Vegas I think. Looking forward to that. I have considered trying to go to the Packer game, but I'm not sure I can muster up the energy. Plus with the Cowboys in town, ticket prices are a little inflated.

-While I'm on the subject. I doubt the Packers win Sunday. I think it will be fairly close, but I also think DeMarcus Ware has 11 sacks, and Miles Austin catches at least one TD pass longer than 50 yards. I didn't start Marion Barber III this week against the Pack's D, who has been solid against the run.

Random Bullet Points

- I watched about 4 minutes of the Bucks/Bulls last night. Shut it off with the Bucks up 16. They lost. I like Brandon Jennings.

-Go Phillies tonight. I like Pedro alot. Can never get enough of the "Who is Karim Garcia?" audio.

-Beer Review: New Glarus Yokel. Meh. It could've been Lienie's Original or some other swill. I wasn't real impressed. It wasn't gross, but I wouldn't rush out and get one. Definitely at least a notch below Organic Revolution.

-Badger Game Impression: A lot of my opinion probably has to do with the three following truths: 1) The game sucked. It was excitingfor about 10 minutes. College games tend to get out of hand quickly. And the crowd was pretty quiet because the game was over early. 2) I don't know what the cool thing to do before a Badger game is, so we sort of just wandered around and had like 2 drinks. 3) It was fucking cold.

Overall, I would definitely go back, but I think I want to go with someone that knows what they are doing. I also would want to stay down there and get all fucked up. The price was right (we paid $40 for two tickets in the lower section on about the goal line). I will hold off judgment until I get a chance to "do it right", but at this point, Lambeau has a lot more to offer me.

-I nearly convinced my wife to stay in Madison to watch the hockey game that night, but couldn't quite pull it off.

-Nice to be able to watch SportsCenter again. Thank (SportsBottle's) god for the 48 hour news cycle.

-Starting to get geared up for Schmock's wedding Saturday.

-Creighton opens up their exhibition schedule tonight against something called Missouri Western State. I might check it out. I miss T. Scott. I think UW plays tonight too, but those fascists want you to pay for the audio online, and I'm not listening on a clock radio. Maybe it will be on the BigTen Network? I'll have to check it out. College basketball rules. I would totally set the T-3000 up to do a ranking if there weren't 7,000 teams. As always, look for the non-biased rankings at the Basketball State.