Sunday Reflections on a Monday

Time for those Sunday Reflections (on a Monday)

Music to listen to: Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac

I’ll get to them later but this may have to be one of the best breakup songs you can come up with.

-It looks like my run as a fantasy football champion will be over by the end of the night. I blame Matt Forte and the entire Chicago Bears team for being punk asses and not bringing it this season. I blame Tom Brady for being inconsistent.

However, I blame myself for taking Matt Forte over Chris Johnson in the draft. I blame myself for having Ryan Grant as my main running back. I blame myself for thinking that Tom Brady was going to be in full form this year.

Every fantasy football season, my goal is to make the playoffs. I did that this year and even won my quarterfinal round before falling in the semifinals. Once you make the playoffs, it’s a crapshoot, especially with the real NFL teams sitting players to avoid injury.

Winning your fantasy football league is just as much about luck as it is about preparation. This year I just wasn’t as lucky as last season, when I had Phillip Rivers, Calvin Johnson, Adrian Peterson and Jason Witten on the same squad. That doesn’t happen often.

-I got tired of my CD collection in my audio system in my car recently and decided to do a complete overhaul.

I know some of you are in 2009 and have satellite radio, an iPod hookup or something else in your ride, but when you’re pimpin in your 1998 Ford Taurus, you have to be content with CD’s.

Shoot, I have a cassette tape player also if you want to go back to the 1980’s.

Anyway, my old set had a lot of Tool, Massive Attack (the 100th Window album, their most depressing one) and heavier music on there and I realized that I would listen to this driving into work and get too amped and focused on my job, in a bad way. I’d come to work angry and have an internal edge that would be great to have in a mixed martial arts fight but not at your place of employment.

So, I replaced that with some Fleetwood Mac, Minus the Bear and things of that vein. Its been an epic turnaround. I hear that stuff and I still come in focused but the chilled vibe of the tunes has made me a more calm employee, which I think has shown at my job.

-I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad Minus the Bear song but only know the titles to about three of their songs. Their music is great but the song titles need to seriously change because they have nothing to do with the lyrics of the song and that’s too much thinking for me to do at certain moments.

-I’m sure Al_Roker is going to have something to say about my last statement above in the comments section.

-Fleetwood Mac, specifically Lindsay Buckingham, is incredibly underrated.

Actually, a decent amount of people know about the Mac, especially Stevie Nicks, but Buckingham is a beast on guitar and an excellent singer.

While I enjoy some Rihannon, Gypsy, Gold Dust Woman, Don’t Stop, etc. my favorite Mac songs are the ones where Buck’s influence is stronger. Go Your Own Way, The Chain, I’m So Afraid, Tusk, Big Love are all classics as well.

He’s a great songwriter, has a unique sound since he never uses a guitar pick and his solos are badass. Plus, he rocked an inspirational look in the 1970's which I have above.

So why isn’t he regarded in the same light as guys like Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix or even dudes like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Duane Allman, etc.

I think its for three reasons. First, look at his picture above. Screw that, I would give up a lot to be able to rock the full beard and curly afro right now. OK, two reasons. First, the name isn’t badass. When I think of Lindseys, I usually think of a female and you probably do too. Second, whenever you have a female lead in your band, whether it’s a singer or musician, you’re going to get overshadowed. I called it the “No Doubt/Garbage affect.”

Quickly, name one of the members in No Doubt besides Gwen Stefani? What about someone in Garbage besides Manson?

Its just the natural affect of life, especially if she’s attractive. On the Mac, you had Christie McVie AND Stevie Nicks, that’s too much to overcome.

-Looks like John Fruciante is leaving the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. This is an unfortunate event. In one of my posts about a week or two ago, my music to listen to choice was from the Chilli Peppers, specifically solos by John.

I’m a bass player and love Flea, but John’s the main reason that I even listen to their songs.

However, its rock and roll and a reunion is always an album away, especially considering that this was an amicable parting according to all parties.

-I’ll end on this. It was sad to see Chris Hendy and Brittany Murphy die this past week. Both of them were in my age range when they passed and they made me think about my own mortality.

You know what that means…another post about death is coming soon, probably tomorrow. Good fight and good night everybody!!

MMA Review is back!!!

What up peoples, its time for the triumverant return of the MMA Review.

Its been several, several weeks since I’ve done a post on MMA on the Pourtout Pancakes blog. Honestly, its been a while since I’ve done a real post on the blog but I’ll save that for my Reflections tomorrow.

Anyway, so much has happened in the past few months that it would take a long time to review it all so we’re going to just do this past week and eventually all of my thoughts on the events since the last post will come out.

-B.J. Penn is a beast. I’ve made no mistake about declaring B.J. my favorite mixed martial arts fighter of all-time. His domination of Diego Sanchez at UFC 107 last Saturday was inspiring. We all know that BJ has the talent to be the best fighter in the world but only within the past two years has he shown the dedication and commitment to make it happen. Sanchez is a very good fighter and Penn made him look like a novice. If Sanchez wasn’t such a game fighter with decent skills, that fight would have been over in the first round.

What’s left for Penn at 155? The only possible serviceable guy that could give him a matchup in the world may be Aoki out of Japan but he’s with Strikeforce and I seriously doubt that we’re going to see that fight happen. Frankie Edgar and Greg Maynard may offer some effort but lack intrigue.

-Frank Mir looked dominant against Kongo but beware. For full disclosure, Mir is probably my second-favorite fighter. I like the added muscle that he has added to his frame and it was certainly noticeable. I saw the Countdown show on Spike and noticed how big he was compared to his previous fights. He showed off this power with strong punches before the eventual submission against Kongo.

The reason that I say beware is that the extra weight is good but can eliminate his cardio which has always been suspect.

Now that Brock Lesnar is dealing with a medical condition and can’t defend the UFC Heavy title, Mir and Shane Carwin are now face for the interim title in March 2010. I like this fight in a major way. There will be plenty of time to analyze this bout.

-Very, very intrigued with the announcement that UFC fight programming will now be on the Versus network starting in 2010. In fact, an announced event in March, highlighted by a Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera fight, has been scheduled.

For those of you who aren’t big MMA fans, I’ll explain the dynamic of it. First, a company called Zuffa owns the UFC and another MMA organization called WEC. UFC is always on Spike while WEC is always on Versus. Now, the UFC is doing events on Versus which will cut into the WEC events, which are run by the same company anyway. It sounds counterproductive but it really isn’t.

Versus is owned by Comcast, which recently made a major purchase of shares of NBC Universal. What does this mean? Expect the UFC to air on NBC in the next year or two, max. By building up the Versus brand by putting the UFC, which is much bigger than the WEC, Zuffa is forging its relationship with NBC.

One more angle to consider. Spike is owned by Viacom who also owns CBS, which airs Strikeforce events, the main competitor of the UFC. Zuffa realizes that they can’t go through Spike to get on broadcast television because of the Viacom/Spike dynamic. This is another way of reaching the mainstream audience.

-Interested in the Strikeforce fights that will take place tonight. I like the Melendez and Josh Thompson fight as well as finally seeing Cung Le put aside his Hollywood dreams and start fighting again. Finally, intrigued in seeing Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal make his stateside debut. That guy can be a champion and a major force in MMA in the near future.

-However, your boy doesn’t have Showtime so I will be watching the WEC 45 event at home. I must admit that outside of Donald Cerrone, I don’t know much about any of the other fighters, but that’s the point. After tonight, I may find my new BJ or Mir to enjoy in the future.
　

Sunday Reflectons

Time for those Reflections

Music to listen to: Drilling by Minus the Bear

Chilling on a Sunday night to Minus the Bear, love those guys.

-My company had its Christmas party on Friday and it was a festive occasion. We all work hard at our office and anytime you get to blow off some steam and actually spend social time with your co-workers in a relaxed environment, it’s a good time.

I made my best efforts to avoid getting the “lampshade” award and if you don’t know what that is, look it up. I was heading towards the honor but decided to leave early to not get close to it. Its not my fault that there was an open bar and fun times, a perfect recipe for potential bad things.

The interesting thing about holiday parties is that you get to see your co-workers in a different light. Sometime you have that co-worker that you didn’t consider that attractive come around and blow you away. You also get to see their significant others, which gives you an insight of who your co-workers are kicking it with when not in the office.

Also, yes, you do get to see the co-workers intoxicated, which doesn’t sound as fun as it sounds. Part of you wants to laugh but you also realize that all of us have been the drunk guy at the party and that’s not a fun place to be.

Overall, it was fun and can’t wait for next years.

-I didn’t see the UFC fights from Saturday but from the reports I’ve read, BJ Penn dominated Diego Sanchez, which is something that I thought would happen. BJ is my favorite fighter ever and was a major reason that I started following mixed martial arts in the first place. To see him return to this dominant form as a lightweight after toiling as a welterweight and above is great and dare I say inspiring.

Speaking of inspiring, my second-favorite MMA fighter, Frank Mir, laid the hammer down to Kongo last night as well. Mir has a new physical look and this will help him greatly in the heavyweight division.

I need to see the full fights for a true analysis.

-Saw the documentary last night on ESPN about the legacy of the University of Miami football teams in the 1980’s and it was EXCELLENT! I seriously recommend you check it out. It touches on the skill of the players, the economic and racial undertones of the program and everything in between.

-Congrats to Mark Ingram for winning the Heisman but I would have gone with Suh. The award has really gotten to the point of it going to the best player on the best team, but if you go with that theory, the best Bama player in my opinion is the linebacker McLean. However, respect to Ingram who genuinely seemed moved by receiving the award.

Good fight and good night everyone.
　

Sunday Reflections on a Monday

Relaxing on a Sunday with some Reflections to share:

Music to listen to: Thanks for the Killer Game of Crisco Twister by Minus the Bear

Been enjoying this song along with some others from Minus the Bear this weekend. The guitar playing in this track is beastly on so many levels.

On to the Reflections…

-Enjoyed the Ultimate Finale for the UFC on Spike on Saturday night. Disappointed in the Kimbo Slice and Houston Alexander match. It seemed like both guys were trying too hard to be technical fighters. Both of those guys are strikers and brawlers and none of that was shown in the fight. They would have been better just going in there and swinging for the fences. Jon Jones will be the lightweight champion in the UFC in two years and his domination of Matt Hamill showed this potential. He should have been disqualified for his illegal elbows, that was the right decision. Respect to Roy Nelson, he can fight and is now the winner of the competition.

-Seeing Tim Tebow crying after the SEC Championship brought me a level of joy that was scary to feel. When the cameras went to the Florida sidelines and went to Tebow in tears, I literally shouted out as loud as I could, and I’m paraphrasing, “Ha Ha Ha, sucks for you, you loser. I hope you feel this pain the rest of your life. I’ve never liked you and deserved to lose. Ha Ha Ha.”

First, yes, I do laugh like that. Second, I’ve never had anything personally against Tebow the guy. He’s a great player, even though the greatest player of all-time talk is a little much, lets let that argument breathe for about five years. I even avoid getting into the whole “will he be a good NFL quarterback” argument. I don’t think he will be right now, should be drafted in the second to third round, given two years to develop and we’ll see what happens. Plus, let the man finish his college career before all of that happens.

I’ve just been overwhelmed with the media attention on him and it was good to see him taken down a peg. The media makes it seem like he’s the only good guy playing college football on and off the field. They make him seem like he’s the only athlete that does things such as his mission work, which in itself is a very good thing and props to him for doing it. I spent two years at Belmont where student-athletes are doing the same activities and didn’t even get 1/1,000,000 of the attention, even though I don’t thing that they do it for the attention.

My point is that he’s just an elite athlete. Let’s lay off the sainting of him, pun very much intended.
However, I didn’t expect to have that natural raw emotion seeing another man cry. I have many moments of tears, in fact, I had a good cry this past Saturday. He was in a vulnerable spot, so why the joy in seeing the sadness of another man who I’ve never met before and have no reason for malice towards? Discuss

-Saturday night was also an enjoyable time because of two excellent conference title games, for different reasons.

The Big 12 title game was entertaining in the fact that the offense in the contest was offensive. Texas looked terrible, I don’t care what anyone says. Nebraska has an excellent defense, especially Suh, but the Longhorns should have done better than that. Furthermore, McCoy avoided what would have been the biggest blunder in a major college game since Chris Webber in the NCAA Basketball National Title game over 15 years ago (who out there feels a little older right now, I remember exactly where I was for that moment). How do you throw the ball out of bounds like that, with one timeout, and leaving yourself only one second. That was way too close.

I honestly watched more of the ACC title game because I’m a Georgia Tech fan and wanted to see it win a conference championship. That was a fun game because of the offensive display, especially from C.J. Spiller. That guy is a beast and darn near carried his team to the win. Unfortunately, everyone was watching the Big 12 title game, which is understandable, so this contest is getting overlooked.

-BTW, if I had a vote for the Heisman, which I think has become overrated as an award, this is how it would shake out for me:

1) Suh
2) Spiller
3) Toby Gerhart
4) Colt McCoy
5) Mark Ingram

And for all of you lovers of you know who… 6) Tebow

The award, to me, goes to the best player that year, no matter what your record or position on the field is. Suh has been the best player in college football this season. This isn’t an award to the best quarterback or the best player on the best team or even the most valuable player.

For MVP awards, I think you have to pick the player most valuable to the success of his team, not necessarily the best player. I don’t look at the Heisman as an MVP award.

-I’ve recently started Tweeting again and am enjoying it very much. Follow me, my name is SportsInquirer, all one word.

-This may be a bold statement for all of my reality TV fans out there, but Jersey Shore may have the potential to be the best one EVER! So much went on in the premiere that it may warrant its own post.

-Can’t stand the New York song by Jay-Z.

OK, time to relax, talk to y’all later.

NFL Preview

Time for that NFL Preview.

Music to listen to: Whipping Post by The Allman Brothers Band (live from Filmore East)

Several things about this song, performance and band that were badass.

1) Duane Allman was an absolute beast on guitar. Scary that he was this good in his early 20’s. He died at 24. Been a fan of his playing for a while but NEVER realized he died so young, so sad.

2) Gregg Allman is an underrated all-time singer.

3) Any band that has two drummers and one of them is Black, you know I’m down with that.

4) I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that if I ever started a band, it would sound like the Black Keys. That’s not completely true. It would be part Black Keys, part Tool, part Yes, part Mars Volta and part Allman Brothers Band. That’s how much I enjoy listening to those dudes.

On to the games. BTW, my record for the season was approaching 30 games below .500 and I ran out of “fake” money weeks ago so we’re just going to start over again. The lesson as always, don’t gamble, at least with my picks.

Jets (-3.5) Buffalo: I would have taken the Jets so I’m off to a 1-0 start! Seriously, Ralph Wilson just needs to move the team to Toronto and get the suspense over with.

KANSAS CITY (+4.5) Denver: I wouldn’t take Denver as a favorite on the road, anytime, even against the hopeless Chiefs.

PITTSBURGH (-14.5) Oakland: Dennis Dixon can start this game and I’m still taking the points.
This seems like a good time to get to my thoughts on Tiger, which I know that all of you have been waiting for. It didn’t shock me at all that he was cheating on his wife, this stuff happens to people all of the time.

The three things that were surprised me, in order, were…

1) Why he got married in the first place. I will NEVER, EVER understand why any professional athlete gets married. Between the hectic work schedule, physical and mental demands of the job, money, attention from women, media scrutiny, human instincts, it’s a bad recipe for a marriage. Derek Jeter has it right. Watch him get married one year after he retires to someone that we’ve never heard of.

When you get married, you put yourself out there for failure. Furthermore, you legally are at a major risk because divorce can take half or more of your money away.

2) How terrible of a cheater he was. Get a second phone for your player ways, so your lady friend can’t pull up your regular phone and see some shadiness going down. Don’t leave voice mail messages. You don’t have constant interaction with your mistress. You should keep her for only a few months at a time. Having an affair with the same woman for nearly two years, unacceptable.

3) The quality of the women. His wife is attractive but she doesn’t do anything for me. Usually when men cheat, it comes down to one of three things. They want someone who looks completely different from their girlfriend, who does things that their girlfriend won’t do and “availability” of the mistress.
Tiger tends to like the brunettes that look physically different than his wife in his affairs, I can see that. I don’t know what his wife will or will not do for him but you can figure that one out. The last one is odd. The women look trashy. Tiger has a lot of money and is an OK looking guy. He should have stepped his game up in this regard.

I’m not condoning cheating, in fact, its not cool at all, especially when children are involved. However, he could have avoided a lot of this if he didn’t get married in the first place.

Finally, I saw a comedian one time who said that before he has a sexual encounter with a woman, he would make her sign an agreement. Now he said he did this because he was accused of rape when he allegedly didn’t do it during one of his sexual situations, but the concept still fits.

Tiger should have made all of his women sign agreements to not come out like this.

JACKSONVILLE (PK) Houston: Either team can win this game and both will still miss the playoffs after finishing the year 7-9.

ATLANTA (+5.5) Philadelphia: I know that Michael Turner and Matt Ryan are most likely out of this game but I can’t take Philly on the road. Also, Mike Vick returns to Atlanta, no one cares.

INDIANAPOLIS (-6.5) Tennessee: Would like to take the Titans in this one but I think that this will be a 10-point win for the Colts.

CINCINNATI (-13) Detroit: Odd game to pick. Speaking of odd, I was at the gas station today and prepaid for it. The woman in the line behind me was literally breathing down my neck. I can’t stand it when people stand on top of me in line. We all have our personal space and it doesn’t get respected often enough.

CHICAGO (-9) St. Louis: The Bears are a desperate team. The coach is about to get fired. The quarterback has played terrible, the running back has been terrible (I own Forte on my fantasy team, I know), the defense isn’t good anymore. Thank goodness on their end they get the perfect remedy in the Rams.

CLEVELAND (+13) San Diego: So I was on Facebook today, going through all of my friends to see who I haven’t spoken to in a while and I came across an old co-worker. I clicked on his front page and everyone was leaving rest in peace messages. Turns out he passed away in September.
Now, what’s the policy on Facebook in these situations? Do the administrators take the page down? Does a family member or friend take it down for the person who died? Do people want to keep the page up to pass along memories?

San Francisco (PK) SEATTLE: I don’t analyze NFC West contests.

Minnesota (-3.5) ARIZONA: The Vikes keep rolling.

NEW YORK GIANTS (+2.5) Dallas: Herm Edwards analyzed on ESPN today if this was a must-win game for the Giants. Every game is a must-win contest in the NFL. This is why I rarely watch all NFL analysis on all channels.

MIAMI (+4.5) New England: Mini upset of the week

GREEN BAY (-3) Baltimore

College Football Review

We’re heading towards the end of the college football season with only some conference championship games and a few others before we enter bowl season. Let’s review last week quickly with some personal thoughts thrown in.

Music to listen to: Best of John Frusciante Solos from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers

This guy may be the best active guitarist alive who started making hay in the 1990’s.

Texas 49, Texas A&M 39: Rivalry games are always difficult to prognosticate on because of the emotions and this is a prime example of it, even though another game mentioned later will prove this even more. Texas should have won this game by 20 points on paper but playing on the road against your rival does these things to you.

Rutgers 34, Louisville 14: Why are Phil Fulmer and Tommy Tubberville allegedly highly intrigued by the Louisville job? I’m sure that the Cards can throw some money at them but besides that, what’s the appeal?

Ohio 35, Temple 17: Fifteen years ago, only one of these teams, maybe neither one would be bowling this season and now it looks like both of them will be with shared records of 9-3. At least Ohio gets to play for the MAC title.

Cincinnati 49, Illinois 36: Don’t believe a word of Brian Kelly saying that he’s staying at the ‘Natti. He would be an absolute fool to not consider the options. You don’t strive to be the head coach of Cincinnati. You strive to be the head coach of a major program like, dare I say it, Notre Dame. I know that he said that to dissolve the attention but I see right though that.

Akron 28, Eastern Michigan 21: The Eagles will finish with a record of 0-12, that’s rough.

Alabama 26, Auburn 21: War Eagle Growing! There’s optimism on the Plains! The Tigers fell one win short of my prediction that they would win eight games but still have a bowl game. Alabama is going to have to find some more diversity in their offense by Saturday or Florida wins, easily.

Nebraska 28, Colorado 20: As someone who follows the Buffalos from across the country with moderate interest, why has Dan Hawkins been retained for next season? I don’t expect Colorado to compete for national titles every year but finishing 3-9 is inexcusable.

West Virginia 19, Pittsburgh 16: Didn’t see the game because I have better things to do in my life

than watch Big East football.

South Carolina 34, Clemson 17: The Gamecocks dominated this contest. Would be interested in knowing what a Clemson fan would rather have, a win over South Carolina or an ACC title. Also, if CJ Spiller doesn’t get invited to New York, then problems.

Florida 37, Florida State 10: The Tebow worship is out of control but I avoided nearly all of it by just watching the game.

A quick thought on Bobby Bowden. The move had to be made. He was performing at a subpar level for his job. I’m not talking about the level of finishing ranked in the top-five for ten straight seasons. Those days are over. I’m talking about competing for conference titles, having ten-win seasons once every two to three years. He’s a legend but there was no way that he was going to leave that job on his own. Coaching is literally his life, something he’s been doing for close to 60 years. College football consists of “amateurs” playing each other but its also a business.

As far as the future of Florida State, this should add some clarity to the program. Its Jimbo’s show now, which may not be a good thing. That’s why I’m opposed to coaches in waiting situations. If Jimbo wasn’t there, they could conduct a nationwide search and probably find someone more qualified. People talk about the value of the Notre Dame job. Florida State looks down at Notre Dame.

Georgia 30, Georgia Tech 24: Had to see this game with the Georgia fans who are in my family, not good. However, winning an ACC title is actually more important for Tech fans. Sure, we will have to hear crap from Bulldog fans all year but for the program to build to its maximum level, a conference title is a requirement.

Oklahoma 27, Oklahoma State 0: Oklahoma State went from the Fiesta Bowl to maybe the Holiday Bowl. That has to hurt the mind and the wallet.

Virginia Tech 42, Virginia 13: Groh had one, maybe two good seasons and the rest were below average. The Cavs aren’t going to win any national titles in the near future but should at least get to eight wins once in a while.

LSU 33, Arkansas 30: Better clock management Les Miles. Not great, just better than the Ole Miss contest.

BYU 26, Utah 23: Maybe the most entertaining game of the weekend.

Houston 73, Rice 14: You would think that the score was run up, but not really. The score was 59-0 AT THE HALF!!! The Cougars could have hit 100 if they wanted.

Mississippi State 41, Ole Miss 27: Result not as surprising as the score. Under normal circumstances, an 8-4 year before the bowl games would be considered a success for Ole Miss. Wonder what the perception is now?

Boston College 19, Maryland 17: Fridge isn’t getting fired because Maryland can’t afford to.

Missouri 41, Kansas 39: The game that got Mangino to “resign” tonight. He had to go amid all of the speculation. He won a lot of games for that program but when you coach at a basketball school like KU, its best to just stay quiet and keep moving. Plus, if the stories are true, he’s an ass and can go kick rocks.

MTSU 38, Louisiana-Monroe 19: Look at the Blue Raiders getting nine wins this season. Enjoy your bowl boys, all of Middle Tennessee will be watching.

Utah State 52, Idaho 49: Rough loss for my Vandals, who finish the season 7-5 and are most likely not going to go bowling. This isn’t a one-year deal for me. I will still follow these guys as my adopted WAC team.

Tennessee 30, Kentucky 24: This loss was even tougher than Idaho’s. This had to be the year that Kentucky ended its losing streak to the Vols and it didn’t happen. It may be another decade of losses.

Stanford 45, Notre Dame 38: All that needs to be said about Charlie Weis has been said. Notre Dame isn’t an elite program anymore, will never be and the fans and administration should get used to more 8-4 seasons and a BCS appearance once every four years than competing for national titles.

Looking forward to this week:

Florida vs. Alabama: I’ve stuck with Bama all year and I’m not changing now.

Texas vs. Nebraska: The Huskers take a lead into the fourth quarter before Texas scores two late touchdowns for the victory.

Cincinnati vs. Pitt: Panthers pull off the home upset and Brian Kelly DOESN’T go to Notre Dame!

Georgia Tech vs. Clemson: Game scares me as a Tech fan and it gets even scarier when Clemson pulls off the upset of the night.