Today we cover a plethora of subjects. No in-depth analysis, just bang-bang thoughts on a bunch of stuff. Out of such cognitive melange often emerges some incredibly coherent commentary as well as abject foolishness …… which is which is, alas, the conundrum. You’re on your own to separate the wheat from the tares.
The Carolina v Duke Game ….. I was shocked that Cutcliffe’s offense was so totally ineffective. Was he THAT outcoached? Is Butch’s defense THAT good? If UNC wins two of the final three, 2009 becomes a very fine season. A 12 game season allows for a recovery from a 2-3 game lapse.
MLB Playoffs ….. I’m still a “baseball guy” first but every year lately it seems the baseball playoffs get overshadowed by college/pro football. Does every team in MLB have a least one “Cabrera”? The Yankee “Four” of Jeter, Posada, Petitte and Rivera are all good guys. The WS should be done by mid-October. I don’t care what “they” do to the regular season just get it all done by October 20 at the latest. God never intended baseball to be played under 50 degrees.
Major League “Moochies” ….. I’m seeing more and more “Moochies” in MLB. Guys like Chase Utley, Ellsbery, Podroia, the Rockies’ SS, Texeira, Michael Young and Joe Mauer ….. “gamers”. Yes, very well-paid “gamers” but they exhibit a “play hard without an ‘attitude’” style that I really like. Joe Mauer deserves his own Wheaties box.
Best TV ….. #1 BobLee Show is Castle on ABC on Monday’s. Mentalist (Season 2) continues to be good. NCIS LA is so/so. I still prefer Jethro’s team. CSI-Miami is slipping away.
Missus is a hard-core Mad Men addict. Her obsession w/ Grey’s Anatomy was nuthin’ compared to her over-the-top lunacy for Mad Men. She wants Santa to bring her a Mad Men lunch box and Mad Men pajamas.
Football Injuries ….. Players get bigger, faster, stronger but knees, shoulders and heads are no stronger than they’ve ever been. My old line “the team with the best 3rd string OL will win in late November” gets truer and truer. Look for injuries to increase in number and severity. It’s a matter of physics ….. mass x speed = ouch.
The Brandon Spikes Incident ….. a very sad sick warning of where football is headed. FB pile-ups have always been full of cheapshots but going for an opponents eyes is a new low. That some Gator lunatics are giving Spikes “hero status” is sick. Urban Meyer lost a lot of my respect with this one. WWBD ??? What Would Butch Do in a similar situation?
The New Mexico State soccer girl ….. YIKES! You have to see the YouTube of this one. No excuse for this AT ALL. That her coach still had her in the game for the ponytail yank down was a travesty. Ban her from soccer for LIFE and fire the coach!
Things I Really Like About Kenan Gameday …… I get accused of being negative about UNC FB. I do call’em like I see’em and I don’t see’em like the board monkeys do ….. and hopefully never will. …… Good Stuff = The Marching Tar Heels have become an EXCELLENT college marching band. Kudos to old BL adversary Jeff Fuchs. Jeff’s band now has both quantity and quality. I really like their pre-game show. ….. MORE Good Stuff = Most every Kenan fan wears “the colors” these days. Kenan was awash in C-blue Saturday . Phineas Teague started this promotion and Steiny continues it. Every fan for any school should wear “the colors” to every game. …… MORE MORE Good Stuff = The shuttle bus system works excellently on Gameday. Sometimes bureaucracies CAN actual function – Who Knew? ….. EVEN MORE Good Stuff ….. UNC whiners used to complain that UNC was anti-Gameday. Such whining was basically exaggerated crap to blame Dickie for. There is NO EXCUSE for anyone complaining about Town/Gown cooperation on Gameday these days. Congrats to all involved. ….. Related Note: There WILL BE Future Thurs Night Games but ONLY when they can be coordinated effectively w/ the academic calendar. Butch is NOT in charge, The Chancellor is!
Speculation in Hoo-ville ….. As predicted, not even “beating Butch” can save Algroh now. There will be no Cavalier gear under the Groh Christmas tree. Craig Littlepage’s track record with coach hirings is as poor as Nancy Pelosi’s at picking competent plastic surgeons. Look for Hoo-loonies to be naming every great coach in FB history as Al’s successor.
Death Valley Days …… Clemson was rockin’ for Debo Sat night. THE BEST stadium environment in the ACC and among the best in NCAA. …… did ya notice that Clemson has END ZONE SUITES? It can be done successfully. Hopefully the Kenan project guys will “do it right”. I think they will.
The Fridge Falling Fast ….. Ralph Fridgen got off to a super first start at Maryland, then got the big long term contract then fell into terminal sub-mediocrity. Between Maryland and the Redskins, Navy is the only decent FB team in the DC-area ….. props to the Middies for beating Charlie in South Bend. …. Does Charlie Weiss survive another year?
Bob Stoops ???? ….. How quick the mighty can fall! Folks around Norman ain’t happy with a 5-4 season. Sooner board monkeys must be exploding by the 1000s. LSU fans ain’t happy either. ….. and what about Georgia ??? Gonna be a rough winter for the Richts.
HOW & WHY ???? …… No excuse whatsoever for that Ft Hood Islamo-nut being kept in the US Army. His superiors that allowed him to remain active army should be court-martialed themselves. The White House and their media stooges are really downplaying that he was an Islamo-nut ….. wonder why they are doing that ????
How will Ol’ Roy do this year? …… Of all the concerns I have about Life & This World, I am very comfortable leaving Ol’ Roy totally in charge of UNC Basketball.
The Jim Tatum column ….. My point with the Jim Tatum retrospective was to illustrate that big time coaches really haven’t changed much over the decades. Strong egos and a reluctance to “play well with others” are typical. Bear Bryant, Adolph Rupp, John Wooden, Dean Smith et al may have used various personality tricks to mold their public images but at their base they did it “their way” and woe unto the college admin that dared to question them. ….. “that” is not necessarily “a bad thing” as a % of admins are incompetent nitwits ….. but not all are.
My Concerns About Butch ….. My well reported concerns about Butch are fixable. The $295,000 ransom was a bad mistake. It’s done. No need to beat it to death. His disinterest in “becoming a Tar Heel” can be resolved IF he really cares to do so. The Lettermen insult is repairable. Butch needs to keep “in-state kids” as the core of his roster otherwise he ends up with Amato’s mess of South Florida mercenaries. “The popular young Chancellor” must be certain Butch knows that he, The Chancellor, has the final say-so. Holden is a quick study ….. I’m confident that he can “manage Butch” effectively for ALL concerned.
LT & UNC …… There is renewed chatter about getting Lawrence Taylor more visible w/ UNC FB. I’m opposed to it. No UNC athlete in memory went further to make a mockery of his “student-athlete experience at UNC”. His on-field exploits notwithstanding he personifies the hypocrisy in big time college FB. There have been plenty of “marginal students” among Tar Heel sports heroes (yes, even among St Dean’s BBers ). LT wasn’t “dumb” he simply knew he could get way with anything and he was right, he could. ….. a VERY POOR “role model” for UNC Football. Don’t do it Butch.
In the rarified air …… Yours truly will view the Miami game from High Atop Kenan’s North Side with “the extended pinkie crowd”. YIKES! What with the budget cuts and all I have to bring my own cocoanut shrimp this year. Life as an Internet Legend is not without unique sacrifices ….. Should I wear my “Rush Is Right” t-shirt?
