I'm coming off a day that began with college basketball (with a little work interrupting the first half of the first game), and ended with college basketball. The games yesterday were spectacular, including the ending of the Butler-Pitt game that probably set a record for being ridiculous. BUTLER'S foul with about 2 seconds left was crazy and ill-advised, then PITT fouling on the rebound with a tie game 90 feet away from the basket was even more insane. The thing is, the refs got both of these calls exactly right. The calls were not at all controversial, and the players/coaches have nobody to blame but themselves. I think the highlight of the Butler-Pitt game was on the Butler foul, my 4 year old nephew came walking in the front door, and me (being half in the bag) screamed out "NO FUCKING WAY!". And my nephew laughed.
In other news, great, gutty win by UW yesterday. Even though Jordan Taylor lost his scholarship money in Vegas by accidentally blocking Pullen's shot, he tried his hardest to lose the game by taking a series of awful shots, and making none of them. One question I had was how was Leuer allowed to play with his whole head blood stained? Shouldn't they have made him take a shower or something? Did they douse his head with chemicals? There was clearly crusted blood mixed with sweat on his head. Found it interesting is all.
Butler is not going to fear the Badgers at all, but Bucky should beat Butler, which will set up a game against either BYU or Florida for the final four. BYU scares me, because if Taylor can't hold Pullen under 30, Jimmer might get 50. Florida is much more athletic, but they don't scare me much. I guess the Badgers might as well continue this crazy run of Wisconsin sports success with a Final Four run.
Finally, as I settle in for another day of games, I wanted to point out that I don't like the new schedule, especially today. It used to be that on Sunday they would stack up all the games to end by 6 so that old people could watch 6o Minutes before they die. It was nice because I could finish watching hoops early, and think about something else for a few hours. I love basketball, but sometimes one's brain needs to do something else for a few minutes. Now, because of the four networks, they are staggering the games until 11 p.m. again. I will watch, but I may not sleep now, because I will be thinking about hoops.
Oh, one last thing. Creighton! Davidson! Its the second (?) round of the CBI or Collegeinsiders.com (I'm not sure which)! Live on HDNet!!! Monday at 6 p.m. Set your DVRs so I don't have to.
WAIT! A bonus one last thing. In the Division 1 High School championship last night in Wisconsin, a kid pulled a Chris Webber and called a timeout up by 2 with about 2 seconds left. Kid on the other team drilled two FTs, and the timeout team eventually lost in Triple OT. It was super entertaining. I felt bad for the kid.
Showing posts with label Wisconsin Badgers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wisconsin Badgers. Show all posts
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
"Get Over It!"
UW v. Ohio St.
Big game this afternoon. I believe the only thing on the line is seeding in the NCAAs, but it would be nice to get ANOTHER win over the number one team. And to hear Sullinger make up some other kind of assault when they lose. Like the ref pinched his left nut or something. If Jordan Taylor does anything close to what he did on Thursday, you can start carving his name into the B12 Ten Player of the Year trophy. It will be criminal if he doesn't win it. PREDICTION: OSU 72, UW 62
DUCK FOOK
I don't like Duke. I don't like UNC. But I like UNC better than Duke by default, so I'm happy they beat Duke yesterday. Also, for some reason Duke is already penciled in for a number one seed even though I don't think they are that good. The don't look like a number one seed to me, but someone has to get it I guess. Whatever.
NEXT WEEK
Next week is going to start to get pretty sweet. Big conference tourneys start Thursday, which means that I will have something to put up on my computer at work. I think the Big East's started like two weeks ago because they actually have more teams than the NCAA tournament itself. I LOVE March Madness possibly more than anything.
TWITTER
I joined the 21st century and got a Twitter account. I have not, and don't really plan to actually send a Tweet. If I did, I would go the way of Bear and never blog ever again. I'm convinced. Twitter is actually kind of a nice way to stalk crazy people (Charlie Sheen), Athletes (pretty much only Packers so far), and media people. It saves time sort of incredibly (and not really at all) by allowing you to know whether your favorite writers/bloggers have put up a new article and putting them all in one place without going to multiple sites. I'm sort of hooked.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Jared Sullinger is Not a Likeable Young Man
So not much going on today. We are seven days away from a Super Bowl win, and one day away from Bucky's first win over a number 1 team in 49 years, so excuse me if working out and going grocery shopping is less than exciting. I should probably mention to those who didn't watch, that Wisconsin also beat number one Ohio St. in football this year too. This is the only time this combo has ever happened between the same teams. Ohio State can lick my balls.
I'll admit, I hadn't sat and watched an entire Ohio St. game this season yet. Which probably makes me similar to 95% of the people that vote in the polls. I was actually pretty impressed until about 13 minutes left when the Badgers decided they weren't going to miss a shot for the rest of the game (exaggeration). The Buckeyes play the best defense of any team I've seen this year. We could not get off a decent shot, which didn't matter at the end because we made them all. UW's offense for most of the first half was pass it around until 8 seconds left on the shot clock and let Taylor go one on five. Gotta give Ohio St credit.
What I think I enjoyed most is that the game gave me a player to strongly dislike in college basketball. I haven't had much time to hate because I was preoccupied by football. Of course I generally dislike everyone in the B12 Ten except for Wisconsin, but there hadn't been one player that jumped off the page to me that I strongly disliked except maybe Dimitri McCamey. Well, thank you Jared Sullinger. He is a crybaby and a bitch. Sure he had 19 and 12, but it was a quiet 19-12 in a losing effort. And as soon as Ohio St got down by 5 early, he was seen whining and crying to the refs about being hit and held (true). Then, he was seen falling like he got shot with little to no contact (Sasha Vujicic style) in the lane to draw foul calls. Finally, there is this. Is it possible that someone spit on him? Maybe. It isn't out of the question. But as loud and rowdy as UW fans get, they aren't known to get physical with 7 foot tall basketball players. I feel like this is someone bitching because they lost their first game on his way to the NBA. I hope the NBA goes on strike next season and he has to accept his meager $250k salary and Hummer to stay at Ohio St for another year. Jeff Potrykus of the Journal-Sentinal is also skeptical.
I'll admit, I hadn't sat and watched an entire Ohio St. game this season yet. Which probably makes me similar to 95% of the people that vote in the polls. I was actually pretty impressed until about 13 minutes left when the Badgers decided they weren't going to miss a shot for the rest of the game (exaggeration). The Buckeyes play the best defense of any team I've seen this year. We could not get off a decent shot, which didn't matter at the end because we made them all. UW's offense for most of the first half was pass it around until 8 seconds left on the shot clock and let Taylor go one on five. Gotta give Ohio St credit.
What I think I enjoyed most is that the game gave me a player to strongly dislike in college basketball. I haven't had much time to hate because I was preoccupied by football. Of course I generally dislike everyone in the B12 Ten except for Wisconsin, but there hadn't been one player that jumped off the page to me that I strongly disliked except maybe Dimitri McCamey. Well, thank you Jared Sullinger. He is a crybaby and a bitch. Sure he had 19 and 12, but it was a quiet 19-12 in a losing effort. And as soon as Ohio St got down by 5 early, he was seen whining and crying to the refs about being hit and held (true). Then, he was seen falling like he got shot with little to no contact (Sasha Vujicic style) in the lane to draw foul calls. Finally, there is this. Is it possible that someone spit on him? Maybe. It isn't out of the question. But as loud and rowdy as UW fans get, they aren't known to get physical with 7 foot tall basketball players. I feel like this is someone bitching because they lost their first game on his way to the NBA. I hope the NBA goes on strike next season and he has to accept his meager $250k salary and Hummer to stay at Ohio St for another year. Jeff Potrykus of the Journal-Sentinal is also skeptical.
So I guess its college basketball season. If you want to see two not good teams play tonight, Creighton is playing Southern Illinois. Good rivalry, VERY mediocre basketball.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Either The Best or Worst Day Ever
I woke up extra early this morning because I couldn't sleep. I felt like a little kid on Christmas. Either I am going to get the best present a kid could ask for, a Packers Super Bowl trip, or Santa is going to come down the chimney and burn to death in my fireplace.
3 hours and 25 minutes until kickoff. My stress is off the charts. Thank (Sports Bottle's) god there is the Wisconsin v. Northwestern (Badgers by 6). basketball game on in about an hour to keep my mind mildly occupied. I can't watch any more previews.
GO PACK GO!
3 hours and 25 minutes until kickoff. My stress is off the charts. Thank (Sports Bottle's) god there is the Wisconsin v. Northwestern (Badgers by 6). basketball game on in about an hour to keep my mind mildly occupied. I can't watch any more previews.
GO PACK GO!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
I'll Survive Without Clay, and Bucky Will Too
John Clay is following the example of the immortal P.J. Hill and leaving early for the NFL despite the fact that he will not be picked anywhere near high enough to make most players traditionally want to leave. Clay is a lot better than P.J. Hill ever was, so I'm not going to say I am HAPPY he is leaving like I was when Hill left. And I don't blame Clay, because his stock is probably not going to get higher (in fact, he should've left last year). I guess my point in this rambling, incoherent post, is that Clay was only arguably the best RB on the team, and more likely part of a 3 headed monster with Ball and White. While 3 headed monsters are nice, they can get frustrating because Brett is more likely to not play the hot hand in order to give someone their share of the carries, which may not work out in the Badgers' best interest. Bucky will be fine, especially since there are two good freshman coming too. We will miss J.J. Watt a whole lot more.
Clay will stick in the league for quite a while if he can stay healthy. If P.J. Hill and DeShawn Wynn can play, Clay can. But he's probably not a starting back. But who knows? I never thought Ryan Grant was good until he got hurt and I had to watch Brandon Jackson play.
Clay will stick in the league for quite a while if he can stay healthy. If P.J. Hill and DeShawn Wynn can play, Clay can. But he's probably not a starting back. But who knows? I never thought Ryan Grant was good until he got hurt and I had to watch Brandon Jackson play.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Saturday, December 11, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Got RIT of 'em
So I was all excited to get home from work at 8 p.m. last night and fire up the DVR for my second UW hockey game since the last time they were in the Frozen Four in 2006. And then they kicked the shit out of something call Rochester Institute of Technology. They won 8-1. Not much of a game. Bucky plays for the National Championship on Saturday. Good times. Should have put $10 on them in Vegas. Damn.
Hey Twinkie, where was the Fighting Sioux? According to my perusal of Yahoo!, they were busy agreeing to no longer exist. There, there buddy. I went through this with my high school (the Indians) in or around 1989. You will live. I personally think that the Fighting Sioux is less offensive than the Indians or especially the REDSKINS on the racism scale, because it is concentrating on one tribe, who is native to the area. I also saw that while William & Mary is allowed to keep the name "Tribe", they had to change their mascot from a Native American feather to a Griffin. Which doesn't make any sense at all.
In other, non-college hockey related news, the Brewers took advantage of a rather messed up system that screws young talented baseball players (and which the NFL should really look into, although the NFL screws older players) by signing Yo to a 6 year 42.5 million dollar deal (or a 5 year, 30 million dollar deal if he sucks/or wins a Cy Young). While they are paying him more than they need to this year (if you include the bonus $1.75 mil v. $450k), if he pitches anywhere near a number one starter, they are going to be coming out well for the rest of the deal. He certainly would've gotten a huge raise in arbitration for all three years, and a deal far surpassing that even if he is average (we are paying Wolf and Suppan $22.5 mil combined) for the final two years. This is muy similar to the Braun deal. GREAT job by the Crew. Now cue the elbow tendinitis and inner ear infections. Looking forward to seeing Brewer baseball this weekend. "Big" series against the Cards this weekend, with two games on National TV.
I laughed out loud when my first J.J. Hardy Twins highlight was him grounding into a double play. Get used to that Twins fans. (Then I looked up his stats and saw he is hitting .313 with 2HRs. Well fuck you, it won't last).
Finally, SIX DAYS until my working for $3.00/hr ends, and my pay gets bumped up to my usual $6/hr.
Hey Twinkie, where was the Fighting Sioux? According to my perusal of Yahoo!, they were busy agreeing to no longer exist. There, there buddy. I went through this with my high school (the Indians) in or around 1989. You will live. I personally think that the Fighting Sioux is less offensive than the Indians or especially the REDSKINS on the racism scale, because it is concentrating on one tribe, who is native to the area. I also saw that while William & Mary is allowed to keep the name "Tribe", they had to change their mascot from a Native American feather to a Griffin. Which doesn't make any sense at all.
In other, non-college hockey related news, the Brewers took advantage of a rather messed up system that screws young talented baseball players (and which the NFL should really look into, although the NFL screws older players) by signing Yo to a 6 year 42.5 million dollar deal (or a 5 year, 30 million dollar deal if he sucks/or wins a Cy Young). While they are paying him more than they need to this year (if you include the bonus $1.75 mil v. $450k), if he pitches anywhere near a number one starter, they are going to be coming out well for the rest of the deal. He certainly would've gotten a huge raise in arbitration for all three years, and a deal far surpassing that even if he is average (we are paying Wolf and Suppan $22.5 mil combined) for the final two years. This is muy similar to the Braun deal. GREAT job by the Crew. Now cue the elbow tendinitis and inner ear infections. Looking forward to seeing Brewer baseball this weekend. "Big" series against the Cards this weekend, with two games on National TV.
I laughed out loud when my first J.J. Hardy Twins highlight was him grounding into a double play. Get used to that Twins fans. (Then I looked up his stats and saw he is hitting .313 with 2HRs. Well fuck you, it won't last).
Finally, SIX DAYS until my working for $3.00/hr ends, and my pay gets bumped up to my usual $6/hr.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
We've Been Compromised! Abort?
I don't know if I've been unlucky, careless or I'm turning into Michael Jordan of pretending to work "Minor League Baseball Edition", but I've had a few inconveniences lately. Nothing major, but I'm a pretty paranoid guy.
Last Friday, UW was taking on Illinois in the Big Ten tourney. I was sitting at my desk, with the ESPN TV feed playing on my computer, while sort of working, albeit not real efficiently. My monitor is in the perfect location relative to the door to my office, meaning it faces away from the door. So nobody can really tell what is on the screen unless they come around to my side of the desk. Anyway, about half time of the Badger game, one of my bosses (who is a big sports fan, and who knows that I am too) pokes his head in and asks me what the score was. I was a bit flabbergasted. I'm not sure if he knew that I was keeping track and didn't care, but just wanted to know the score. Or if he just assumed? I sort of played dumb like I wasn't watching it on TV and told him "last time I checked the Badgers were down nine....". I hadn't left my desk so I'm positive he didn't know the extent of my slacking. I personally don't think there is anything wrong with monitoring a scoreboard every few minutes, but I'm not the boss either.
When the game was over, he poked his head in again and asked. This time, I was onto his game and told him I don't know. He seemed disappointed and confused by the answer. Then I decided I would be "helpful" and say "Let me check. " And then he came to my side of the desk while I pulled up the box score.
The second incident occurred yesterday. Thursday and Friday of the NCAA tournament are about my two favorite days of the year. In a past life, I would skip class/take off of work to watch all day long. In my current position I can't do that. What I can do, however, is manipulate my schedule so that I don't have any appointments and can be sitting behind my computer between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., where I may or may not watch MMOD. So last night (yes, last night) one of my bosses decided to come into my office while I was in there to take a look at our calenders to see if they could pawn some stuff off on me this week. When they reached Thursday and saw 5 hours blocked off with no explanation, the question was "what is this?" I just said, I don't want any appointments. Then, they went to Friday and saw the same thing and said "You don't ever want appointments or what?" So that was awkward. Nothing incriminating, but one of those things that will probably cause the bosses to wonder what I'm doing during those hours. My only saving grace is that this particular boss is not a sports fan, and probably doesn't realize that there is basketball being played during those hours.
The question is: Is there any reason for me to be concerned? I say not because I have been working 60+ hours a week for the last 6 weeks, and I feel I deserve to fuck around for two half days. Thoughts?
DVR ALERT!!! Friday, beginning at 2 p.m. do not attempt to communicate with me in any way unless someone died. I will be going dark and will be watching the last three sessions of the tournament beginning at 6 p.m. as if they were happening live due to Bucky playing at 1:50 p.m. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
ST. PATTY'S DAY: Happy amateur hour! Even though I'm a quarter Irish, I don't need an excuse to get drunk. I prefer Wednesday as an excuse. While getting drunk on green beer is fun, it also brings out the assholes who can't handle their liquor and like to start fights. And it is annoying.
Last Friday, UW was taking on Illinois in the Big Ten tourney. I was sitting at my desk, with the ESPN TV feed playing on my computer, while sort of working, albeit not real efficiently. My monitor is in the perfect location relative to the door to my office, meaning it faces away from the door. So nobody can really tell what is on the screen unless they come around to my side of the desk. Anyway, about half time of the Badger game, one of my bosses (who is a big sports fan, and who knows that I am too) pokes his head in and asks me what the score was. I was a bit flabbergasted. I'm not sure if he knew that I was keeping track and didn't care, but just wanted to know the score. Or if he just assumed? I sort of played dumb like I wasn't watching it on TV and told him "last time I checked the Badgers were down nine....". I hadn't left my desk so I'm positive he didn't know the extent of my slacking. I personally don't think there is anything wrong with monitoring a scoreboard every few minutes, but I'm not the boss either.
When the game was over, he poked his head in again and asked. This time, I was onto his game and told him I don't know. He seemed disappointed and confused by the answer. Then I decided I would be "helpful" and say "Let me check. " And then he came to my side of the desk while I pulled up the box score.
The second incident occurred yesterday. Thursday and Friday of the NCAA tournament are about my two favorite days of the year. In a past life, I would skip class/take off of work to watch all day long. In my current position I can't do that. What I can do, however, is manipulate my schedule so that I don't have any appointments and can be sitting behind my computer between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., where I may or may not watch MMOD. So last night (yes, last night) one of my bosses decided to come into my office while I was in there to take a look at our calenders to see if they could pawn some stuff off on me this week. When they reached Thursday and saw 5 hours blocked off with no explanation, the question was "what is this?" I just said, I don't want any appointments. Then, they went to Friday and saw the same thing and said "You don't ever want appointments or what?" So that was awkward. Nothing incriminating, but one of those things that will probably cause the bosses to wonder what I'm doing during those hours. My only saving grace is that this particular boss is not a sports fan, and probably doesn't realize that there is basketball being played during those hours.
The question is: Is there any reason for me to be concerned? I say not because I have been working 60+ hours a week for the last 6 weeks, and I feel I deserve to fuck around for two half days. Thoughts?
DVR ALERT!!! Friday, beginning at 2 p.m. do not attempt to communicate with me in any way unless someone died. I will be going dark and will be watching the last three sessions of the tournament beginning at 6 p.m. as if they were happening live due to Bucky playing at 1:50 p.m. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
ST. PATTY'S DAY: Happy amateur hour! Even though I'm a quarter Irish, I don't need an excuse to get drunk. I prefer Wednesday as an excuse. While getting drunk on green beer is fun, it also brings out the assholes who can't handle their liquor and like to start fights. And it is annoying.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Rubber Match
#14 Wisconsin v. Illinois. 1 p.m.-ish. On my work computer. I've got yet another six pack of beer on the game with the FIB I work with. Oh, and said FIB showed up with a fluorescent orange Illinois shirt on. I told him he won't have to worry about getting shot by a hunter in the woods. I'm going to enjoy the beating. Feel free to text or email while the game is going on. I plan to pretend to work between 1 and 3 p.m. and I am not DVRing.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Beatdowns, Hidden Messages and Fake Waterparks
WISCONSIN 78, INDIANA 46
Jesus. I need to start out with that embarrassment of the artist formerly known as IU in Bloomington last night. Indiana is really, really awful. I am SHOCKED that they have won any Big Ten games. They seem far worse to me than Penn St or Iowa. Not only are they not very talented, but they can't shoot, and consistently dribble off of their feet. I will give them credit for not quitting, they are at least a little scrappy, even when down by like 100.
Back in the not so distant past, a win at Indiana did not seem possible. There was a time where Bucky had lost like 40 in a row there or something. Bucky is pretty good this year, but still. That game was almost unfair. I heard on SportsCenter (who is always right) that it was the worst loss at home in NINETY SIX YEARS!!! When you do something to someone worse than it has been done to them in 96 years, you really kicked the shit out of them.
Two other things about last night: 1) The camera followed Tom Crean a little extra long after he got ejected last night, and you could see him shoulder check the locker room door into a wall. And screaming obscenities to himself in the tunnel. He was PISSED. Had it stayed about 10 more seconds, you may have seen him destroy the locker room through the crack in the door. It was pretty great. I still dislike Tom Crean. 2) I think Bo Ryan does too. I feel like he put a little extra hot sauce on this beat down. Is it a carry over from the days of shady backroom recruiting deals made by Crean to steal players from UW while he was at Marquette? Hard to say, but when you leave your starters in until 1:28 left in a 31 point game, I think it is pretty safe to say that Bo was trying to prove a point. That point? Don't fuck with a dude that literally looks like a Badger.
FAKE WATERPARKS
I'm being forced to go to a fake water park with my nieces and nephew (3 and 2 years old I think), and my in-laws. I say it is a fake waterpark because it is in Wisconsin, and it is the middle of winter. I'm envisioning one waterslide in a hotel. It is in a hotel, so I'm halfway there. I really like my in-laws as a general rule, but I dislike hanging out in disease infested hotel waterparks. Especially after working my ass off (surfing the Internets) all week. At least I can stuff my face with snack food and get drunk. Anyone know any good bars in Waupaca? Maybe I will get blacked out and drown some stranger's kid. That would be a tragedy.
BREWERS-CUBS
I got in on a "second chance" to buy Brewers-Cubs tickets yesterday. I got an email at like 8 a.m. that I could log on at 10. I didn't exclude anyone, but I was only allowed to buy 4 tickets, and I couldn't get more than two together. My brother and I are going in September, when the Brewers will be 10 games out of a playoff spot (assuming Soup makes the rotation because of his contract over about six other pitchers that are clearly better than him). I'm calling it the second annual Brother Trip to Miller Park Where One Brother Purchases Nosebleed Tickets In a Section With 98% FIBS and Sips Beer While Watching the Other Brother Try Not To Get Into a Fight for Three Plus Hours. Last year there were approximately 35 ejections in our section. We also saw a chick fight on the way out, and the lights went out at Miller Park.
It is a 6:10 first pitch, which gives FIBS plenty of time to get up at their usual 2 p.m., put in hair gel, pop their collars over the top of their $80 Cubs T-shirts, put on their $400 Yves St Laurent aviators, hop into the BMW SUV's that their parents bought them for high school graduation,
get to the stadium by 5, have two cosmos, and be belligerent fighting guy by 6.
Jesus. I need to start out with that embarrassment of the artist formerly known as IU in Bloomington last night. Indiana is really, really awful. I am SHOCKED that they have won any Big Ten games. They seem far worse to me than Penn St or Iowa. Not only are they not very talented, but they can't shoot, and consistently dribble off of their feet. I will give them credit for not quitting, they are at least a little scrappy, even when down by like 100.
Back in the not so distant past, a win at Indiana did not seem possible. There was a time where Bucky had lost like 40 in a row there or something. Bucky is pretty good this year, but still. That game was almost unfair. I heard on SportsCenter (who is always right) that it was the worst loss at home in NINETY SIX YEARS!!! When you do something to someone worse than it has been done to them in 96 years, you really kicked the shit out of them.
Two other things about last night: 1) The camera followed Tom Crean a little extra long after he got ejected last night, and you could see him shoulder check the locker room door into a wall. And screaming obscenities to himself in the tunnel. He was PISSED. Had it stayed about 10 more seconds, you may have seen him destroy the locker room through the crack in the door. It was pretty great. I still dislike Tom Crean. 2) I think Bo Ryan does too. I feel like he put a little extra hot sauce on this beat down. Is it a carry over from the days of shady backroom recruiting deals made by Crean to steal players from UW while he was at Marquette? Hard to say, but when you leave your starters in until 1:28 left in a 31 point game, I think it is pretty safe to say that Bo was trying to prove a point. That point? Don't fuck with a dude that literally looks like a Badger.
FAKE WATERPARKS
I'm being forced to go to a fake water park with my nieces and nephew (3 and 2 years old I think), and my in-laws. I say it is a fake waterpark because it is in Wisconsin, and it is the middle of winter. I'm envisioning one waterslide in a hotel. It is in a hotel, so I'm halfway there. I really like my in-laws as a general rule, but I dislike hanging out in disease infested hotel waterparks. Especially after working my ass off (surfing the Internets) all week. At least I can stuff my face with snack food and get drunk. Anyone know any good bars in Waupaca? Maybe I will get blacked out and drown some stranger's kid. That would be a tragedy.
BREWERS-CUBS
I got in on a "second chance" to buy Brewers-Cubs tickets yesterday. I got an email at like 8 a.m. that I could log on at 10. I didn't exclude anyone, but I was only allowed to buy 4 tickets, and I couldn't get more than two together. My brother and I are going in September, when the Brewers will be 10 games out of a playoff spot (assuming Soup makes the rotation because of his contract over about six other pitchers that are clearly better than him). I'm calling it the second annual Brother Trip to Miller Park Where One Brother Purchases Nosebleed Tickets In a Section With 98% FIBS and Sips Beer While Watching the Other Brother Try Not To Get Into a Fight for Three Plus Hours. Last year there were approximately 35 ejections in our section. We also saw a chick fight on the way out, and the lights went out at Miller Park.
It is a 6:10 first pitch, which gives FIBS plenty of time to get up at their usual 2 p.m., put in hair gel, pop their collars over the top of their $80 Cubs T-shirts, put on their $400 Yves St Laurent aviators, hop into the BMW SUV's that their parents bought them for high school graduation,
get to the stadium by 5, have two cosmos, and be belligerent fighting guy by 6.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
My Brain Has Been Violated
I watched the two hour "Lost" premier last night. "Lost" is probably my favorite show, or at least it is in the conversation. It is like watching a movie every week. It is generally amazing. But I am just completely lost on Lost. I just have no idea what the fuck is going on, or what is supposed to be going on, or what is going to happen next. It is just a lot of work to watch the show, even though the two hours went by in what felt like 15 minutes. Has my brain been turned to mush? Shouldn't I appreciate a show that isn't made for total idiots? (See 98% of America?). I guess I'm just frustrated because I know this is the last season and I'm supposed to be getting "answers" to the "questions". I'm just not sure I know what the questions are, or how the answers could possibly satisfy me. The whole two hours last night just seemed like one random occurrence after another, all of which made me say "What the fuck?". I'm not going to give anything away because some may have chosen to DVR, but in one episode we have dealt with: time travel, possible alternate realities, talking to dead people, seeing dead people, Christ figures, raising the dead and transferring of souls. I have this uneasy feeling that we are on a runaway train that is going to come to an abrupt, unsatisfying stop. I don't see any way that the finale isn't going to leave me disappointed. My brain was raped last night. I'm sure my brother has some fascinating theories because he is alot smarter about these kinds of things than I am.
I missed out on one of the best Badger performances ever, the ass kicking of Michigan St. This was mostly due to my decision that the "Lost" premier was slightly more important in the grand scheme of things. That, and by the time I caught up to lost in real time, our fucking DVR was also recording "Teen Mom" (seriously). I followed the score on my BlackBerry, but I missed out. Impressive win though. When Leuer comes back, I would not want to play Bucky.
ONE OTHER RANDOM THOUGHT
I've heard that the NCAA is more than seriously considering expanding the basketball tourney to 96 teams, and spreading out coverage to cable as well. I'm really not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, if it ain't broke don't fix it. I think it is perfect right now. On the other hand, you can't ever have too much of a good thing. I fear it will turn getting to the "Big Dance" into making a "Bowl Game". Unless you really suck balls, you would get in. I guess it would allow more teams to win, but unless they place some kind of rules on qualification (nobody under .500 in conference unless you are a conference champion) then what is the point? Is it just an excuse to make sure that a shitty UNC team can go 7-9 in a pretty tough ACC and get in? Or is it to not fuck over deserving mid-majors that win 25 games and get left out? I'm leaning towards staying the course (except for changing the play-in game to be for a 12 seed between the last two in) until I see some other details. Also, how strange would the tourney on TNT be???
I missed out on one of the best Badger performances ever, the ass kicking of Michigan St. This was mostly due to my decision that the "Lost" premier was slightly more important in the grand scheme of things. That, and by the time I caught up to lost in real time, our fucking DVR was also recording "Teen Mom" (seriously). I followed the score on my BlackBerry, but I missed out. Impressive win though. When Leuer comes back, I would not want to play Bucky.
ONE OTHER RANDOM THOUGHT
I've heard that the NCAA is more than seriously considering expanding the basketball tourney to 96 teams, and spreading out coverage to cable as well. I'm really not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, if it ain't broke don't fix it. I think it is perfect right now. On the other hand, you can't ever have too much of a good thing. I fear it will turn getting to the "Big Dance" into making a "Bowl Game". Unless you really suck balls, you would get in. I guess it would allow more teams to win, but unless they place some kind of rules on qualification (nobody under .500 in conference unless you are a conference champion) then what is the point? Is it just an excuse to make sure that a shitty UNC team can go 7-9 in a pretty tough ACC and get in? Or is it to not fuck over deserving mid-majors that win 25 games and get left out? I'm leaning towards staying the course (except for changing the play-in game to be for a 12 seed between the last two in) until I see some other details. Also, how strange would the tourney on TNT be???
Saturday, January 16, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
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).
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).
Saturday, December 12, 2009
UW v. Marquette
Today is UW v. Marquette. I actually sort of forgot about it until I took a look at my magnetic Badger schedule. It is a really good rivalry game. Like Creighton v. Nebraska except that both teams are usually good. Let me just start out by saying fuck Marquette. I have some very personal reasons for disliking Marquette. But here are a few others if you are looking for a reason:
1) Rich kids
2) Fibs going there purely because it costs alot
3) Fake ghetto-ism
4) The ghost of Tom Crean
5) Shady recruiting practices (see Vander Blue)
6) Changing their name from the Warriors
7) I'm pretty sure Dominic James still plays for them (I fully realize he doesn't but after 14 years, it is hard to kick the habit)
Of course, my nieces decided to be inconsiderate and turn 3 today, and also to have their party at the same time as tip off. I've already chronicled my in-laws and their (non) love of sports. It is a good thing my father in-law is rude and will just turn the shit on and ignore the rest of the family with me. I'm going with Bucky by 5. And 14 Bo Ryan faces.
1) Rich kids
2) Fibs going there purely because it costs alot
3) Fake ghetto-ism
4) The ghost of Tom Crean
5) Shady recruiting practices (see Vander Blue)
6) Changing their name from the Warriors
7) I'm pretty sure Dominic James still plays for them (I fully realize he doesn't but after 14 years, it is hard to kick the habit)
Of course, my nieces decided to be inconsiderate and turn 3 today, and also to have their party at the same time as tip off. I've already chronicled my in-laws and their (non) love of sports. It is a good thing my father in-law is rude and will just turn the shit on and ignore the rest of the family with me. I'm going with Bucky by 5. And 14 Bo Ryan faces.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Wisconsin Cavilers and TreBron Hughes
Took in the UWGB over #14 Wisconsin (now unranked) game last night. This is an odd rivalry game to me because I live in Green Bay, occasionally get to go to some of the Pheonix games, and generally want them to do well. But, Badger basketball is appointment viewing. While I foudnd the upset fascinating, if someone put a gun to my head, I would have been rooting for the bad guys (Badgers).
I'm pretty dismayed by Bucky's performance last night. I have never seen them play a game like that. I shared about an hour worth of texts with my brother about this last night, but I want to reiterate those points for the other two people that care.
First, the defense was asleep. While the Pheonix are pretty athletic, there is no excuse for a Big Ten team to surrender 88 points. Especially when you held Duke to 61. And it wasn't like this was crowd driven. While the crowd was the largest in UWGB history (9,700+) and it was probably pretty loud. I can tell you three things for certain: 1) 75% of the crowd was either completely Badger fans or was on the fence; 2) UWGB crowds have not been at all intimidating since the days of Dick Bennett at the old arena; 3) The student section is abysmal. So it was not being on the road that caused UW to not play any defense whatsoever.
It was also not the crowd that caused UW to employ the Cleveland Cavilers offense, or for Bo Ryan to turn into Mike Brown. That is, Trevon Hughes going one on five, and everyone else standing around while he drives to the hoop and either scores or hopes to get fouled or he dribbles around and takes an ill-advised three. Trevon is their best player, but he is much better when he gets others invovled, and certainly not good enough to take every shot. I've never seen less passing in a Wisconsin basketball game. UW had the best three to four players on the court at all times. They also had a size advantage at nearly all positions. And they did nothing about it. The game was just mind boggling.
Was it the snow? Maybe, but its not as if UWGB was sitting on a beach until right before the game. UW was in town well before the storm hit. They just didn't show up and were completely unprepared. As I told my brother, UW has a game like this every year (see: SDSU loss, Long Beach three pointer at the buzzer at home, Missouri St. loss). They are probably closer to the Duke game than the UWGB game. And maybe UWGB is really good. I guess we'll find out when they play Butler twice.
I'm pretty dismayed by Bucky's performance last night. I have never seen them play a game like that. I shared about an hour worth of texts with my brother about this last night, but I want to reiterate those points for the other two people that care.
First, the defense was asleep. While the Pheonix are pretty athletic, there is no excuse for a Big Ten team to surrender 88 points. Especially when you held Duke to 61. And it wasn't like this was crowd driven. While the crowd was the largest in UWGB history (9,700+) and it was probably pretty loud. I can tell you three things for certain: 1) 75% of the crowd was either completely Badger fans or was on the fence; 2) UWGB crowds have not been at all intimidating since the days of Dick Bennett at the old arena; 3) The student section is abysmal. So it was not being on the road that caused UW to not play any defense whatsoever.
It was also not the crowd that caused UW to employ the Cleveland Cavilers offense, or for Bo Ryan to turn into Mike Brown. That is, Trevon Hughes going one on five, and everyone else standing around while he drives to the hoop and either scores or hopes to get fouled or he dribbles around and takes an ill-advised three. Trevon is their best player, but he is much better when he gets others invovled, and certainly not good enough to take every shot. I've never seen less passing in a Wisconsin basketball game. UW had the best three to four players on the court at all times. They also had a size advantage at nearly all positions. And they did nothing about it. The game was just mind boggling.
Was it the snow? Maybe, but its not as if UWGB was sitting on a beach until right before the game. UW was in town well before the storm hit. They just didn't show up and were completely unprepared. As I told my brother, UW has a game like this every year (see: SDSU loss, Long Beach three pointer at the buzzer at home, Missouri St. loss). They are probably closer to the Duke game than the UWGB game. And maybe UWGB is really good. I guess we'll find out when they play Butler twice.
Friday, December 4, 2009
X-Mas Spirit
One "party" down. One "party" to go. This afternoon is my work "party". This party is going to take place between 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on a Friday afternoon, and is going to consist of appetizers and drinks. I'm not even kidding. Also, since I live 30 minutes from work, getting all fucked up is not an option. Not that getting all fucked up with people 30 years older than you is all that fun anyway, but I would like that to be an option. I would say the highlight of the party is that it is going to be free, and it will save me an hour and a half of pretending to work.
Saturday, it is my mission to put up the Christmas tree and rearrange the furniture in my living room to accommodate it. The biggest thing is that I have to carefully plan this around the smorgasbord of sports on television. My goal is to nip that shit in the bud before the SEC championship game. As bullshit as the rankings and the BCS is, I do realize that we in fact live in a society (Russia?) where this is about as big of a game as you can possibly get in college football. And it is #1 v. #2 for the chance to play in the fake (but at the same time all too real) championship. Bucky will be destroying a collection of athletes from a historically black college (Grambling) at noon, which I assume will be on the Big Ten network. This would seem to be an ideal time to get this decorating shit out of the way. The good thing about decorating the tree, is that other than putting the fake tree together and getting it correctly wired (pre-lit of course, so wiring consists of plugging all the sections together), I am not allowed to touch it. This is probably because I don't really give a shit about where the ornaments go, or which ones go on the tree, or whether every square inch is covered. The process of watching my wife decorate this stresses me the fuck out. Which typically leads to drinking.
Saturday night is going to culminate in Wisconsin interrupting their beach vacations to take on the Rainbow Warriors (yeah, I went there) of Hawaii. The game starts at TEN THIRTY (10:30) P.M.!!! Which is cruel and unusual. If I was in Vegas, it would be awesome to bet on this game with no other games to distract me (See Boise St./Hawaii in October). Instead, I will have to find a way to stay awake until 2 a.m. to see the end of a 40 point blowout. (Actually, I'm seeing 47-20 Bucky, Badgers rush for 300 plus). The only positive for all of you is that I can insert information into the T-3000 because this will be the last game, and the brackets can likely be revealed by Sunday morning for Juice's Dream NCAA D-I Football Get Together Presented by Astroglide.
Sunday will be a day of rest, and watching random NFL (seriously, if I am subjected to another fucking shitty Viking blowout I'm going to murder somebody. So you should probably steer clear on Sunday night) games (and that $5.99 a month for RedZone is making more and more sense to me every week). Monday, I get to try to slink out of work a few hours early so that I can belly up at Buffalo Wild Wings before Packers/Ravens.
Out.
Saturday, it is my mission to put up the Christmas tree and rearrange the furniture in my living room to accommodate it. The biggest thing is that I have to carefully plan this around the smorgasbord of sports on television. My goal is to nip that shit in the bud before the SEC championship game. As bullshit as the rankings and the BCS is, I do realize that we in fact live in a society (Russia?) where this is about as big of a game as you can possibly get in college football. And it is #1 v. #2 for the chance to play in the fake (but at the same time all too real) championship. Bucky will be destroying a collection of athletes from a historically black college (Grambling) at noon, which I assume will be on the Big Ten network. This would seem to be an ideal time to get this decorating shit out of the way. The good thing about decorating the tree, is that other than putting the fake tree together and getting it correctly wired (pre-lit of course, so wiring consists of plugging all the sections together), I am not allowed to touch it. This is probably because I don't really give a shit about where the ornaments go, or which ones go on the tree, or whether every square inch is covered. The process of watching my wife decorate this stresses me the fuck out. Which typically leads to drinking.
Saturday night is going to culminate in Wisconsin interrupting their beach vacations to take on the Rainbow Warriors (yeah, I went there) of Hawaii. The game starts at TEN THIRTY (10:30) P.M.!!! Which is cruel and unusual. If I was in Vegas, it would be awesome to bet on this game with no other games to distract me (See Boise St./Hawaii in October). Instead, I will have to find a way to stay awake until 2 a.m. to see the end of a 40 point blowout. (Actually, I'm seeing 47-20 Bucky, Badgers rush for 300 plus). The only positive for all of you is that I can insert information into the T-3000 because this will be the last game, and the brackets can likely be revealed by Sunday morning for Juice's Dream NCAA D-I Football Get Together Presented by Astroglide.
Sunday will be a day of rest, and watching random NFL (seriously, if I am subjected to another fucking shitty Viking blowout I'm going to murder somebody. So you should probably steer clear on Sunday night) games (and that $5.99 a month for RedZone is making more and more sense to me every week). Monday, I get to try to slink out of work a few hours early so that I can belly up at Buffalo Wild Wings before Packers/Ravens.
Out.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Holiday Tailgate
So I guess I have a Holiday Tailgating party tonight. My wife's employer is having their holiday party, but due to the tough economic times, they are having a strange one. We are gathering at a local sports bar for a buffet with tailgating fare to watch the Jets v. Bills tonight. I'm going to do my best to get them to put on the "Civil War" game between Oregon and Oregon St since it will probably be better. Either way, it is going to be a tad awkward. Especially since I can pretty much guarantee that there will be a total of zero people giving a shit who wins the game, and a total of one person (me) who will even pay the slightest attention. The biggest downfall of this party is that I won't be allowed to get drunk, which will suck. I am going to eat as much as I possibly can, I can tell you that much. All told, as awkward as tonight might be, it will be a marked improvement over the party every other year. Except last year, when they had casino night. That was pretty cool.
NFL PICKS
Last Week: 6-10
Season: 74-76-1
All-Time: 208-202-3
NYJ (-3), Cin (-13), Den (-5), Hou (Pk), Pit (-14.5), Car (-6.5), Ind (-7), NO (-9.5), NE (-5.5), St.L (+9), Phi (-5.5), SD (-13), Sea (Pk), NYG (+2.5), Ari (+5.5), GB (-3)
BUCKY
Well, color me shocked. Bucky looked GREAT last night. Not perfect, but really, really good. And that wasn't a lucky win (despite starting out on fire). They generally were on par with Duke. Duke is not that much better despite being the fifth most popular team in the nation. It was pretty much Singler against UW last night. Trevon Hughes is winning me over, even though he is old enough to be my dad. He forces too much sometimes, but he is clutch when it matters (unlike Bohanan who missed approximately 40 wide open threes last night). And the Big Ten won the "challenge"! Holy. Shit.
As an aside, storming the court was an embarrassment. Was it big win? You bet. But c'mon now. You've been to the tournament like every year for a decade. You probably beat a top 10 team every year. There is no excuse for storming the court. I've expounded on this before, please refer to "Storming the Court Etiquette". Please, stop. You are pretty much proving to Duke that you think they are that much better than you.
NFL PICKS
Last Week: 6-10
Season: 74-76-1
All-Time: 208-202-3
NYJ (-3), Cin (-13), Den (-5), Hou (Pk), Pit (-14.5), Car (-6.5), Ind (-7), NO (-9.5), NE (-5.5), St.L (+9), Phi (-5.5), SD (-13), Sea (Pk), NYG (+2.5), Ari (+5.5), GB (-3)
BUCKY
Well, color me shocked. Bucky looked GREAT last night. Not perfect, but really, really good. And that wasn't a lucky win (despite starting out on fire). They generally were on par with Duke. Duke is not that much better despite being the fifth most popular team in the nation. It was pretty much Singler against UW last night. Trevon Hughes is winning me over, even though he is old enough to be my dad. He forces too much sometimes, but he is clutch when it matters (unlike Bohanan who missed approximately 40 wide open threes last night). And the Big Ten won the "challenge"! Holy. Shit.
As an aside, storming the court was an embarrassment. Was it big win? You bet. But c'mon now. You've been to the tournament like every year for a decade. You probably beat a top 10 team every year. There is no excuse for storming the court. I've expounded on this before, please refer to "Storming the Court Etiquette". Please, stop. You are pretty much proving to Duke that you think they are that much better than you.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Duck Fook
Did I mention I hate Duke? Like alot? Like possibly more than any other sports team, professional or college? It is not a hatred based on a rivalry though. It is a hatred due to class. And a hatred generally based on jealousy. A hate because Duke has had everything that Wisconsin has never had. Duke has a pick of nearly any player they want in the country, every year. Sure, they have to battle North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas, etc. for those players, but there are plenty to go around. Wisconsin has to do just about everything right, and have just about everything to go their way in order to be a Top 10 team. At one point, it didn't even seem possible that they could ever do it. But, it was shown in a March run in 2000 and in a number one ranking a few years back that it could be done. But if it happens once every 10 years, we are extremely fortunate. Duke is in the position to do it every, single, year. And if it doesn't happen, they are disappointed. The only other team I can compare them to is the Yankees. Unlimited funds to do with however you please, an expectation of championships, crazy room for error. And if it doesn't work, you can just throw more money at the problem. It is something that Wisconsin will probably never have the luxury of. Not that Wisconsin doesn't have lots at its disposal, it is one of the largest collegiate sports programs in the country, and has a great arena and fan base. But it is not a historic power. It will never be Duke. So fuck Duke.
The other problem with Duke is that they are dicks about it. Their players are annoying. Coach K puts on this facade that he is a great human (and he probably mostly is) but then he is on the sidelines reportedly using the worst language anyone has ever heard (which, I fully support, but don't be fake about it). Their fans are annoying rich kids. They are basically everything Wisconsin isn't. So fuck Duke.
This is a matchup that Wisconsin fans have been wishing for for a long time. A chance to get the mighty Blue Devils at the Kohl Center. The problem is, this game is happening at a terrible time for Wisconsin. Bucky does not have the athletes to keep up with Duke. Duke probably has 12 guys that would start for just about any Big Ten team. Wisconsin probably has 4 guys that could play for Duke. The Kam Taylor, Alando Tucker Badgers would have had a good chance at beating Duke. But short of a perfect game, I don't see UW pulling this one out. The Grateful Red will keep this one close. The Badgers have to play their game, which is to slow it down, and get back in transition. If Bucky can make their shots (not an easy task) and keep Duke out of transition (historically impossible), they have a chance. But I think Duke wins by about 15. So fuck Duke.
OTHER STUFF
-Anyone hear the Tiger voicemail? Pretty good stuff. If I wasn't so lazy, I would find audio and link to it.
-Does ESPN have a contract where they are required to show kids dying of cancer every other month. There is nothing I would rather watch less. At least they give sufficient warning, but sometimes I'm in my morning fog and its ten minutes in and they are talking about some kid having his fucking eye amputated before I realize what is happening.
The other problem with Duke is that they are dicks about it. Their players are annoying. Coach K puts on this facade that he is a great human (and he probably mostly is) but then he is on the sidelines reportedly using the worst language anyone has ever heard (which, I fully support, but don't be fake about it). Their fans are annoying rich kids. They are basically everything Wisconsin isn't. So fuck Duke.
This is a matchup that Wisconsin fans have been wishing for for a long time. A chance to get the mighty Blue Devils at the Kohl Center. The problem is, this game is happening at a terrible time for Wisconsin. Bucky does not have the athletes to keep up with Duke. Duke probably has 12 guys that would start for just about any Big Ten team. Wisconsin probably has 4 guys that could play for Duke. The Kam Taylor, Alando Tucker Badgers would have had a good chance at beating Duke. But short of a perfect game, I don't see UW pulling this one out. The Grateful Red will keep this one close. The Badgers have to play their game, which is to slow it down, and get back in transition. If Bucky can make their shots (not an easy task) and keep Duke out of transition (historically impossible), they have a chance. But I think Duke wins by about 15. So fuck Duke.
OTHER STUFF
-Anyone hear the Tiger voicemail? Pretty good stuff. If I wasn't so lazy, I would find audio and link to it.
-Does ESPN have a contract where they are required to show kids dying of cancer every other month. There is nothing I would rather watch less. At least they give sufficient warning, but sometimes I'm in my morning fog and its ten minutes in and they are talking about some kid having his fucking eye amputated before I realize what is happening.
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