Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Chaos Part3

 Two of my weekly readings you should subscribe to via email. 

 

For College Football fans: 

https://saturdayfootball.activehosted.com/index.php?action=social&chash=7eabe3a1649ffa2b3ff8c02ebfd5659f.226&s=bd0e93ed8df70398ef08d0d5bb4ecd93

 

For Baseball fans: 

https://deadlegends.beehiiv.com/p/destruction-disco-7a74?utm_source=deadlegends.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-destruction-of-disco

 

Other Great Follows:

@UKcoachbrooks

@MattGinella

@FunBaseballFacts

 

LIV

Although I post many things on Twitter rooted in some level of sarcasm, this is not one of those.  Greg Norman is a destructive person (explore his background and you will find out allot of crazy stuff).  There is a difference in arrogance, narcissism and confidence and he is 100% the first two.  His goal is to destroy the PGA Tour and he has partners, the scary MFs as Righty (Phil is not left-handed so time to stop calling him lefty) stated. 

Righty, Westwood, Poulter, McDowell, Casey and a host of others are over their golf prime, and you cannot blame them for taking that kind of money to jump to LIV. These are not guys I care to watch compete unless they are on the Champions Tour, which to me is now the “fun” tour.  The sad part is, and why I do not have any respect for them, is they now choose to bash the PGA Tour and DP World Tour and without those tours we probably have never heard of any of these guys.  A Lee Westwood and Rory fight in the parking lot is something I would however pay to see.  Honestly line any of them up for Rory, the Irish are tough dudes. 

Sad thing is the Saudi’s have unlimited money and profit or charity is not something they even care about.  On its current path, unless something is worked out, the PGA Tour is likely to move down a notch because the Saudi’s are paying people for who they are, not what they accomplish.  To me this is much like why the MLB is struggling to attract the fans it once had when it was America’s game, which it no longer is at this point. 

I am a capitalist and I believe everyone has the right to go make as much money as they can or need.  Not sure that the Saudi’s is a group I would want to be involved with at any level but $$$ will often overshadow morality, something I have seen too often in my lifetime. 

Sarcasm alert, or is it…..  Guys like DJ, Rahm and Pat Perez also need a lot of money to keep up their wives’ appearances and those expenses will get greater and greater over time.  Fast forward 25 years and they will look like the Coach After Eddies wife looks now, unrecognizable as a human (Perez’s wife already in that category). 

Also good if you are a fan of LIV and want to see golf go in this direction. 

 

Ones

 

  • Plays of the Week (maybe they did not happen this week but first time I saw them): 

https://x.com/KNBR/status/1734033580450521138?s=20

https://x.com/PitchingNinja/status/1611750155891675138?s=20

 

  • From @FunBaseball Facts - The T-13 hand grenade used in World War II was designed with similar dimensions to a baseball. Developers thought servicemen were familiar with baseball and could throw it with distance and accuracy. It was nicknamed Beano, a reference to a beanball #mlb #baseball #pearlharborday

 

  • Yankees receive: OF Juan Soto, OF Trent Grisham  Padres receive: RHP Michael King, RHP Jhony Brito, RHP prospect Drew Thorpe (No. 99 in MLB), RHP prospect Randy Vásquez (No. 13 on Yankees), catcher Kyle Higashioka – My only thought is Soto for real?  Soto had some solid time with the Nats but in San Diego he sort of flopped.  The Yankees line-up could be a tough one if he shows up. 

 

  • Lost in the chaos is how good the Ducks vs Washington and Bama vs UGA were played.  Both games were great to watch.  The Bama Game was such a chess match especially the sequences at the end of the half and end of the game related to clock and time-outs.  Two great coaches there!  No disrespect to UW or Ducks, your guys are solid also.  The Milroe story is one that kids should aspire to and hats off to his parents for raising such a fine young man. 

 

  • In stating my points that I felt related to the CFB I got this response from someone on Twitter, “Also since 2019 2/3 of the playoff games have been blowouts and only one national championship game has been worth watching. So the Committees think tank is failing. So instead of blaming teams for not being good fix your 💩 ass system. Maybe you should go get an education. Cause you can’t comprehend anything. Then again you can’t teach common sense.” – Wow! I believe that had Michigan played FSU they would have blown them off the field as will UGA in the Orange Bowl. 

 

  • FSU looking like they may be headed to the B10, hope that works out for them. 

 

  • From the Internet: “Brady Quinn, in a debate with Kanell, brought up a similar scenario in 1993 (that FSU was in at that time), but that’s not something Kanell wanted to hear. He argued that the Seminoles haven’t been paying attention to the history of the Playoff and college football, listing off Kanell’s 1993 Florida State national championship team. The Seminoles jumped an undefeated West Virginia team in the polls and beat Nebraska in the national championship” – That is some Karma right there!  Look it is simple the committee seeded the teams, #1’s get in #2’s still get a good bowl game.  It is that simple!  The biggest slight to me is still UGA not FSU. 

 

  • From the internet: “In Tallahassee, Joe Tessitore of ESPN, who called the ACC Championship, was the keynote speaker at the Tallahassee Quarterback Club in a previously scheduled event. For the Florida State fans who bought into some kind of ESPN conspiracy, Tessitore was red meat. One person asked, “Do you think it’s appropriate to use a players’ injury just to accomplish a predetermined goal that included the SEC champions into the playoff?” Tessitore replied, “Come on man. A predetermined goal? I don’t know what to tell you. The process is the process. I get a paycheck from ESPN. I work for my wife and two kids. That’s who I work for.” – Nice retort Joe.  Did someone at the top of ESPN make the four picks?  No they did not!  Did they have any influence in the room that Sunday?  Only the people in the room can answer that question. 

 

  • Still listening to the Album Some Girls quite often lately.  Interesting to read the history behind this album.  Woods first official album with the band and the song “Some Girls” reached number one in the US which I did not know.  I was 14 when I first heard it upstairs at Mad Dog Shelton’s house on 8th Street in my hometown.  Sure sounds different now!   

Some Girls - Wikipedia

 

  • Way more information you need on the Tyler O’Neil trade:

Analyzing the Return from the Tyler O’Neill Trade - Viva El Birdos

 

  • Some Seinfeld for you:

32 Phrases Seinfeld Introduced To The English Language (yahoo.com)

Tuesday, December 05, 2023

College Football Chaos V2

 

Chaos - complete disorder and confusion

 

Chaos!  Ladies and Gentlemen, we are on the brink of it starting today in College Football have chaos. The most compelling weekend of College Football ever, period, end of story brought us Chaos at the highest level.  This College Football Playoff was built for this type of disaster, and it happened. 

The guest on SEC Now yesterday summed it up by saying, and I agree, there was no way to get this right.  You have 5 Power 5 conferences and 4 slots; it was going to happen. 

Look, FSU “deserved” to get in, no question but this ‘thing’ was flawed the entire time, not just this year.  This was bound to happen, but damn they almost made it without this level of Chaos! 

Despite what Danny Kannel thinks, no one has ever liked this “invitational” format.  Not even sure it was/is better than the BCS but way better than a coach’s poll and a media poll deciding after the bowl games (College Football used to crown their NCs through the polls before any bowl games).  As for Danny’s rant.  He got some of it right but not all of it.  The 12-team format is going to do the trick though! 

It is wrong that Florida State did not get it and it is just as wrong, not more or less, that two-time defending champ UGA, after winning 29 straight is not in or why the Buckeyes, with just one loss to the #1 team, is not in this invitational.  The system sucks and it blew up one year before the 12-team playoff. 

FSU should be mad at UGA, first & foremost and now they can take it out on UGA!  Will they? 

Some things I find interesting related to all of this:

    • Apparently, the ACC is the reason there is not a 12-team playoff this year, they were against it which means they also shot FSU in the foot
    • Do not discount Kentucky beating Louisville (which shows how weak the ACC was overall) because had the Chickenheads not lost, they are a top 10 team vs. FSU & trying to play their way in vs. now playing in the “Opt out Bowl"
    • It clearly states in the committee by laws they could penalize FSU for having a key injury and in the end they did.  Same for strength of schedule

    In the end the “Chaos” is really all those things everyone says it driven by the huge dollars that do pay for a lot of things on these campuses.  I am going to enjoy the bowl games, just like I do every year, and move on to the 12 Team Playoff next year. 

     

    Random: 

    A discussion I heard made this pop in my head, greatest US Sports Venues, IMO (not in any order): 

    1.     Ebbets Field
    2.     Old Yankee Stadium
    3.     Fenway Park
    4.     Wrigley Field
    5.     Boston Garden
    6.     The Forum
    7.     Chicago Stadium
    8.     MSG
    9.     Lambeau Field
    10.     Augusta National
    11.    Cotton Bowl
    12.    Pebble Beach
    13.    Rose Bowl
    14.    Cameron Indoor (I will get hammered for this)
    15.    The Palestra


    Ones:

    1. In the end FSU “deserved” to get in and Bama played their way in by winning the SEC.  The strength of schedule this year worked in Bama’s favor and beating who many thought were unbeatable at this point.  The ACC was not the ACC of the past five years this year and Louisville proved that point.  
    2. Not so sure the ACC is dead yet.  I think with the 12 team FSU and Clemson might see they best stay put vs. a jump to the SEC.  
    3. Each conference needs to play conference opponents 10 games each year.  It is up to the school who they play in the other two games but no longer can they play FCS Teams. 
    4. St Louis signed a couple of older pitchers.  I do not think any of them will post Warren Spahn after 30 type numbers.  If you do not know about those look him up, damn amazing what he did after age 30. 

    Saturday, December 02, 2023

    College Football Chaos

     

    Chaos - complete disorder and confusion

     

    Chaos!  Ladies and Gentlemen, we are on the brink of it starting today in College Football.  As I have told people the last 48 hours, this is the most compelling weekend of College Football ever, period, end of story! 

     

    Sit back and enjoy the long football weekend and we will see what we get from here with this potential chaos.  Three chaos scenarios to chew on: 

     

    #1

    Bama beats UGA,

    FSU, Texas, Washington, Michigan win

     

    #2

    Bama beats UGA, Ducks beat Washington

    FSU, Texas, Michigan win

     

    #3

    UGA beats Bama, Ducks beat UW

    Texas wins, Michigan wins, FSU wins

     

    What the committee is hoping for:

     

    UGA wins, Washington wins, Michigan wins, FSU wins.

     

    So many other scenarios if Michigan were to lose and FSU were to lose.  What about Ohio State, what do they need to happen?  In the last year of the post BCS era, we could have complete disorder and confusion everyone always wanted with this format!

     

    I am not a fan of the upcoming 12 Team Playoff but the "Gang of 8" as I call them would be one of hell of playoff this year and in any year.  Even Dick Van Patton knew “Eight is Enough” but twelve it is starting in 2024. 

     

    The Conference Championship Games, moving forward, to me become more relevant as they will be for seeding or for a team on the bubble to slip into the mix or out of the mix.  Hold on, I see the excitement intensifying, more people paying attention, all great things for CFB overall and the schools (just do not forget the players)! 

     

    With one week to go, if it were 2024 only an Iowa upset of Michigan, Texas loss to OK St or a FL St loss, the 12 would almost be set.  Ole Miss & Penn State are on the outside looking in for a peek and here is still the Tulane & Liberty argument if both are undefeated.  I believe one gets in, if it were 2024 as I am not sure what the set-up is for next year (at this point to lazy look it up) so my scenario ends here. 

     

    I will be glued to the TV starting Friday night for the weekend!  The most compelling weekend of college football in my lifetime and I am not going to miss the action.  My predictions:

     

    UGA beats Bama

    FSU beats Chickenheads

    Oregon beat Washington

    Texas beats OSU

    Michigan beats Iowa

     

    Who get’s left out?  Hard to leave out a conference champ but I believe Texas would be out in this scenario.  Fair?  Unjust?  What about Buckeye’s?    

     

    One’s:

    -      I did not see Kentucky beating U of L but I think that shows the weakness of the ACC in 2023.  Louisville dodged Clemson, UNC and FSU in regular season, doubt that happens again.  10 win Louisville is much like 10 win Kentucky the two years they were able to achieve that goal.  10 wins much easier in ACC though, undeniable but many will try. 

     

    -       Myself, I believe Mark Stoops was going to Texas A&M.  Stoops is probably only one of a few coaches who would have stayed at Kentucky this long with the overall success he has had with the UK program.  Hands down, 2nd greatest coach for the program.  In the end he is where he should be but he is still overpaid, IMO. 

     

    -       My guess is many TVs were broken in Alabama on the punt drop and those people did not even see the end of the game.  What a crazy game and Pick 6 is no mas after that, canx it out.  #RollTide

     

    -       Navy has a chance to finish 500 in their first-year post Ken.  Coach Newberry has stepped in and done a nice job.  Based on what I have read, there will be some new wrinkles added to the offense, but it will still be option based moving forward.  Keenan Reynolds would have had different numbers with some RPO mixed in but now I digress. 

     

    -       Inequity and frustration drive PGA Tour veteran Chris Stroud to play LIV Golf qualifier, "The Tour doesn’t care about you if you’re not in the top 30," he said. - ….and there is that whole play better thing!

     

    -      The PGA Tour and LIV have turned into a joke at this point.  What will be the final punch line when it is all said and done.  Sad that Phil did not have a sit down with Tiger before all this BS started and worked out exactly what to do to take care of the players in a way that still rewards great play.  I guess Phil needed “that” money more than he did continuing to play the PGA Tour and becoming legendary on the Champions Tour!