After Further Review- AFC East

Posted on November 18, 2020November 19, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

Did the new NFL playoff expanded format for 2020 and beyond slip right by you?

The NFL changed its highly approved of, very fair, and long-standing playoff tradition. It’s the first playoff format change since 1990.

John Madden used to say that December football was different than the months prior. He said it’s because good teams turn up the effort and solidify their playoff spots or division championships, while average to bad teams play out the string.

Seven teams out of 16 in each conference now make the postseason tourney. With five or six games left, the possibilities are numerous.

As Thanksgiving approaches, we decided to take a few days this week and next to take a team by team look at each division to separate the contenders from the pretenders.

That series begins today with a look at the AFC East.

The Past

-No it’s not true that the division was renamed this year the AFC East as it was formerly known as the New England Patriots Playground.

-New England won the division 17 of nineteen years since 2001. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady broke numerous records as a paired coach and QB.

The Outlook

– With Brady long gone the division appeared wide open (except for the dreadful Jets) for the taking in 2020.

-The Bills have been slowly but steadily improving, earning a wild card spot in 2017 and 2019 by building a nice team with a developing Josh Allen at QB.

-Miami traded everything not nailed down two years ago for future assets as well as last year to build from the ground up. It beats being directionless and some parts were thought to be in place.

The Present

2020 AFC East Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
Buffalo	7	3	.700	272	265
Miami	6	3	.667	251	182
New England	4	5	.444	189	211
New York	0	9	.000	121	268

– The division is indeed wide open (except for the very dreadful Jets) with New England struggling. Cam Newton is no Tom Brady. The recent past two drafts for NE have been short on picks and shorter on developed talent.

– The Bills enter the bye week with a slim 1/2 game lead, but feel like they are playing catch up. They had the Sunday game in hand until the Cardinal’s Kyler Murray threw a prayer with seconds remaining and DeAndre Hopkins answered it. Their D isn’t what it was even just last year, but is showing some tenacity on third downs and creating turnovers.

– Here come the Dolphins! Five weeks into the season their number one draft pick Tua Tagovailoa hadn’t been under center for one snap. A week later he entered for mop-up duty against the (have we called them dreadful enough) Jets. He took the reins during the bye week. Fast forward three weeks and Tua is three and ohhh so energetic as a starter. A 1-3 Dolphins September is suddenly a 6-3 season to date after running off five straight wins. One win was against a good Cardinals team that just delivered on the Hail Mary v Buffalo.

– Never count a Bill Belichick team out. Repeat. Never. For years observers close to the league wondered, Brady aside, how much talent did the Patriots really have? This year they found out. Not too much. But. “Coach said it best — we are a good enough team to be better than what our record kind of displays. We’re just finding that out,” Newton relayed in his weekly interview on sports radio WEEI on Monday morning. Julian Edelman is nearing full health. His return should give Cam a very valuable target to add to the up and down offense. NE can square their record at 5-5 v the woeful Houston Texans this week. What was the Super Bowl Champion Patriots record after 10 games in 2001, Brady’s first year as a full-time starter? it was 5-5.

– The Jets are, well, dreadful. Their record this season speaks for itself. When you are getting outscored by a 268-121 margin thus far you’re in line for the very first pick of the 2021 draft. The Jets always pick early, always. They have question marks from top to bottom in their organization. You can’t answer the questions at the bottom until you answer the questions at the very top.

The Prediction(s)

– The Buffalo Bills have an easier schedule than the Dolphins and will hold on to win the East at 11-5. The week off comes at just the right time. Some physical healing is needed and some mental short term memory loss is as well. If it’s still up for debate, they host Miami on 12/3, the last regular-season game. Advantage Bills.

-The surging Dolphins will complete their franchise turnaround a year (at least) earlier than thought and secure a wild card birth at 10-6. They have three easy (if there is such a thing) games coming up then finish tough (v Chiefs, v Patriots, at Raiders, at Bills.) Ask the team management now if they would be pleased with 10-6 and a wild card slot. You bet.

– The Patriots will continue to win some that you wonder how they did (Belichick game plans like no other) and lose a couple that they wish they hadn’t (is Cam Newton reliable at a high NFL level anymore?) to finish 8-8.

– The Jets’ best chance to win one game this year likely comes this weekend. They travel three times zones to play the 2-7 Los Angeles Chargers. The Jets are road dogs by 9. Vegas has them as a double-digit dog in every other game they have left. It says here that they will finish a, wait for it, dreadful 0-16. J-E-T-S. Jets. Jets. Jets!

Next, we tackle the AFC North.

Add 1 and the #1 Seed

Posted on November 17, 2020November 17, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

Did the new NFL playoff expanded format for 2020 and beyond slip right by you? BBR is almost embarrassed to admit that it did for us.

In January and February we saw the playoffs and then the Super Bowl. What we couldn’t see was the virus spreading at the same time.

By March 23rd our collective panic was at a new high while the stock market bottomed at a multi-year low. With a nation’s eyes fixated on the pandemic a March 31st NFL announcement came and went without much fanfare.

In it, the NFL changed its highly approved of, very fair, and long-standing playoff tradition. It’s the first playoff format change since 1990. Why tinker with success? Money. More playoff games mean more TV. More TV means more revenue.

A few pertinent bullet points about the expanded process follow.

-The AFC and NFC will each have seven playoff teams, but just the top seed from each conference will have a first-round bye in the playoffs.

– In wild-card weekend, the other 12 teams will play — the No. 2 seeds will host 7s, the No. 3 seeds will host 6s and the No. 4 seeds will host 5s.

-For this upcoming season, wild-card weekend will have three games on Saturday, Jan. 9, and three games on Sunday, Jan. 10.

John Madden used to say that December football was different than the months prior. He said that because good teams turn up the effort and solidify their playoff spots or division championships, while average to bad teams play out the string.

With seven teams out of 16 in each conference now making the postseason tourney, late bloomers have a better chance than ever to emerge. Also, teams that have a better record than other division winners have one more place to fill in an attempt to breakthrough.

And finally, the number one seed has never been more important as it’s the only one with the aforementioned first-round bye to heal those aches and pains of a season of sixteen games. The other seeds give it their all for the opportunity to travel to face number one. That’s a big earned advantage for having the best regular-season record.

With five or six games left, the possibilities are numerous.

With Thanksgiving nearly upon us, we decided to take a few days this week and next to take a team by team look at each division to separate the contenders from the pretenders.

That series, barring the unforeseen, begins tomorrow.

Ten Piece Nuggets- Sports

Posted on November 16, 2020November 16, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

We know you like ten nuggets. We hope you like hash. It’s how the ten nuggets are served today. The sports world was a bit of everything over the last 48 hours. So we have a lot of leftovers. We sling some below.

Dustin Johnson took full advantage of soft greens at Augusta and won The Masters in rare wire to wire form. Finishing with a 4-under 68 in Round 4, Johnson set a 72-hole scoring record of 20 under, the lowest score to par in the history. Twenty-one under would have been the lowest to par total in any majors in their collective histories. In his interview afterward, he could barely speak. It’s a must-watch. It speaks volumes about why we love competition, hard work, and inner success.
His two closest competitors by mid-third round and through the final one weren’t named DeChambeau, McIlroy, Koepka, Thomas, Rahm, Rose, Casey, Woods, nor Mickelson. If you think that watered down the crown, think again. The golfing world officially introduced us to Sungjae Im and Cameron Thomas.
Im won The Honda Classic earlier this year, is all of 22 years old, and hits the ball down the middle EVERY time he tees it up. His short game is flawless as well. With ball-striking like that the world-rated 25th player is here to stay.
Smith hails from Down Under. He’s an interesting character. He isn’t built like a Koepka. He doesn’t talk like a Thomas. He doesn’t dress like a Speith. He somehow made pars from the woods, the parking lot, and the hot dog stand. He’s a breath of fresh air. Oh, and along the walk all over the hallowed grounds, he became the first player in the history of The Masters to shoot sub 70 in all four rounds. The 49th highest-rated player is here to stay as well.
There wasn’t a top 25 matchup in all of college football Saturday. That didn’t stop the theater though. The best/worst of all came late Saturday. It certainly appeared to the naked eye that the Oregon St. Beavers had a first down, not once but twice, in a crucial spot at the end of their PAC 12 matchup with Washington. Two bad spots later, the momentum swung. If you want to dig deeper, there is a bigger mess behind the scenes in the PAC 12 season exposed by this article.
On Friday COVID-19 times forced the cancellation of the California at Arizona State game and the Utah at UCLA game both scheduled for Saturday. Later that afternoon the PAC 12 scheduled the two “healthy teams” Cal and UCLA to square off on Sunday. Yes, Sunday. UCLA dominated the game 34-10. Did anyone see it? Anyone? Still, it’s better to have played than not. It was an aggressive move from a conference that was very reluctant to start the season at all.
Michigan fans are trying to reconcile how a team that was ranked in the preseason is now 1-3 for the first time since 1967 after suffering its largest home loss in 85 years. Wisconsin worked them 49-11. Head coach Jim Harbaugh, who is 10-9 in his last 19 games, couldn’t really pinpoint how it happened. But he did concede that Michigan is lousy. “Not in a good place as a football team,” he said. Cerebral he is that Harbaugh guy. It looks like another worn-out welcome for the quirky former QB.
Penn St is arguably worse. They suffered their fourth loss in four games this one to a Nebraska team who entered the game winless and having scored only 30 points total in two games. The Cornhuskers put 27 on Penn St. by halftime and 30 in all in their win with a first-time starter at QB. Directionless is the Nittany Lion team this fall. A recent recruiting article states that they only have one of the top ten recruits from Pennsylvania from 2018-9 on their squad. Perhaps, void of talent is the Nittany Lion team this fall?
South Carolina decided to put the worst behind them. Will Muschamp was bought out as HC for the Gamecocks. His once proud D surrendered 59 to Ole Miss in their latest loss and the administration and the money that runs SC said sayonara. Muschamp was once named head coach in waiting behind Mack Brown at Texas. He decided that he didn’t want to wait and bolted to Florida. He was not ready for an HC job then. He was run out of there and is still owed six million from that buyout. South Carolina thought differently. Now they think again. Muschamp wins the Charlie Weis Award for having two universities paying him buyout money at the same time.
However, we turn to the NFL for the worst of all. The NFC East’s four teams now stand collectively at 10-26-1. That’s a 28% winning percentage. Eight of their wins, and therefore, eight of their losses have come against each other. That puts their out of division record at, wait for it, 2-18-1. That’s a 10% winning percentage. Perhaps we should say that’s a 90% losing percentage. Historically bad doesn’t accurately describe the worst of the worst.

You’re excused. Put your plate in the sink.

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Year 3, Week 8

Posted on November 13, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

Sometimes Vegas giveth. Sometimes Vegas taketh.

Last week Sin City took just a bit from Abby.

Her season-long w/l is now 19-17-1. The most important bones are a fine 33-23 in her favor. And, the beleaguered hunch bet is now 2-4 after it hit paydirt with a Florida cover.

Lots of games ran afoul of the pandemic this week. The pickings are slim, but Abby dug up a few for you to gnaw on.

Miami at Va Tech -2 – This is the fourth line in the last two weeks that looks so wrong that she thinks it’s right. One bone.
Notre Dame at Boston College +14 1/2 – This is the ultimate “let down after a big win, go on the road, win but don’t cover” bet. Abby tried this after Texas A&M beat Florida last month. We found out that A&M wants to play hard all year. It did not cash, but this one will. One bone.
Arkansas +17 1/2 at Florida and under 60 – Florida might still be scoring this morning on that Georgia D. But, Abby smells a let down this week. Arkansas +17 1/2 smells good, and under 60 smells even better. One bone to win three bones.
Army at Tulane over 47. Both teams can score but in very different ways. Can Tulane defend against the Army ground attack? No. Can the Army defend against the Tulane air game? No. Two bones.
Baylor -1 at Texas Tech – We think that this is a good spot for team Aranda to put on its best defensive showing this year. One bone.
Wisconsin at Michigan + 4 and 1/2 – Jim Harbaugh said after the latest Michigan disappointment that he thought his team was really close. Really close to what Abby inquires? That said, this is a classic “overlooked, they are done, they will quit, no they won’t” spot. One bone.

NBC just called Arizona for the next President of the United States. It only took 11 days. Abby is calling Arizona +14 1/2 over USC and Arizona St – 3 1/2 over California right after the polls close Saturday. It’s a one bone to win three bones vote to get the hunch over the hump.

Woof!

A Tradition Like No Other

Posted on November 12, 2020November 12, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

If you’re still feeling hungover from the election season and now all of the legal wrangling that comes after it, we understand. If you’re done with Fox News (at least for now), we understand. If you’re done with worrying about COVID-19, we understand. If you’re over the Green New Deal, we understand.

That’s why this AM, we decided to go with something new that’s about green jackets, putting greens, and lots of greenbacks to the winner. You don’t have to like golf to enjoy the history and beauty of Augusta National just like you don’t need to like horse racing to enjoy The Kentucky Derby. Below we deal you ten fun, interesting, and light facts about The Masters.

Jack Nicklaus, John Harris, and the deceased Arnold Palmer are/were the only professional golfers to ever be invited to be members. Membership outside of Georgia residents is limited to two people per state.
The tradition of wearing green jackets began in 1937 when jackets were purchased from New York’s Brooks Uniform Co. The idea was that Masters patrons easily could see members who would have accurate information to assist them while on the grounds.
Avid golfer Dwight (Ike) Eisenhower is the only U.S. president to have been a club member. Ike’s Pond occupies 3 acres near hole No. 9 on the par-3 course.
Each hole is named after a plant or shrub that adorns it. For example, No. 3 is called “Flowering Crab Apple.” An estimated 80,000 plants have been added since the course was built.
Club founder and legendary patron of the sport of golf, Bobby Jones, initially intended for the Augusta National course to have a19th hole. His reasoning was that losing golfers would have an opportunity to win their money back through a last-ditch double-or-nothing round. The idea was scrapped when it was realized that the view from the clubhouse of the 18th green would be lost.
The tournament was not played during the years 1943, 1944, and 1945 because of World War II. To help with the war effort, turkey and cattle were raised on the Augusta National Grounds. It was estimated that the cost to repair the damage to the grounds was nearly $20,000, an outrageous sum of money back then.
Tiger Woods was the youngest player to win a Masters Tournament, at the tender age of 21 years, 3 months, and 14 days. Fuzzy Zoeller was the only player to win there on his first try. Jack Nicklaus has the most Masters Tournament wins, with six. Nicklaus became the oldest player to win a Masters Tournament, at 46 years, 2 months, and 23 days in 1986.
There is no question that the map in the official logo for the tournament is meant to represent the continental United States. But its proportions are conspicuously wrong. So how exactly did the most prestigious golf tournament in the world, one that is so concerned with details and decorum, come to have such a wonky logo?

.

One theory speculates that printing technology in the 1930s, during the time that the Augusta National was constructed, was simply not precise enough to replicate the sharp angles and narrow off-hangings that an accurate map of the continental U.S. would entail. As to why the original logo is still used to this day, the answer is something that is used to explain many facets of the Masters: tradition.
One of the most beloved traditions of the tournament is the bequeathing of a famed Green Jacket to the new champion from the previous year’s winner. These Green Jackets are among the most iconic pieces of clothing in the sporting world. Yet, somehow, in 1994 a lucky and unsuspecting golf fan came across one in a Toronto thrift shop and paid a whopping $5 to take it home. The Augusta National confirmed the authenticity of the piece and determined that the Green Jacket in question was from the 1950s. The lucky thrifter went on to sell the jacket at auction for nearly $140,000 in 2017.
Although CBS has broadcast the Tournament since 1956, Augusta National still owns the broadcasting rights and negotiations are renewed every year. So theoretically, the tournament could switch to a different broadcaster at any time.

Enjoy the escape, you’ve earned it.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on November 11, 2020November 11, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

Hopefully, you haven’t lost your sense of taste or smell. Covid-19 can do that and worse to a human as you know. We’re taking ten nuggets out of the oven this AM for you. The disease has interrupted our fun as sports fans all over again and is unfortunately interspersed in the conversation below.

Notre Dame inserted itself squarely into the FBS playoff race conversation with its double-overtime thrilling win over Clemson in South Bend Saturday night. There’s still work to do, but the two teams now appear on a collision course to meet again in the ACC Championship game. Did you even know that Notre Dame joined the ACC for this season? Covid times basically forced their hand as it’s regularly scheduled opponents were iffy on starting a season back then.
Dabo Swinney, post-game, played the role of Dabo Swinney quite well. “We’re 7-1,” coach Swinney said after the loss to Notre Dame. “Nobody was handing out a trophy tonight. Nobody was rolling a stage out there tonight. We got a ways to go. We have a lot of guys that have grown and learned a lot from this year. It’s obviously been challenging on everyone.” His nasally whining, holier than thou, poor us, and we have work to do attitude is challenging on a lot of college football fans.
The SEC has canceled three games this week due to cases sprouting up on teams and the inevitable tracing that knocks those immediately around the infected out for a bit too. Gone are the games pitting Auburn v. Mississippi St., Texas A&M v. Tennessee, and Alabama v. LSU. When and/or if they will be made up is up in the air. The postponed games are piling up, and the SEC Championship Game is coming up, so some games may not get rescheduled at all.
If you’re a competitor or a dyed in the wool fan, you’re disappointed in the cancellations. If you’re a fan of Mississippi St., Tennessee, or LSU you might secretly be breathing a sigh of relief. Miss St. started 1-0 with a big upset (at least we thought it was then) at LSU and faded very fast. Tennessee started 2-0 and has slid to the point where they want Jeremy Pruitt to volunteer to no longer be the Volunteers coach. LSU started poorly, leveled off briefly, then forgot to show up for its game two weeks ago v Auburn.
A few other games for this weekend have also been postponed. And, a few are teetering on the proverbial brink as well. The season is wobbling. Can it forge its way through? The college game is tricky. You can’t bubble them. You think you can, but you can’t keep them from friends, bars, nor parties.
The PAC 12 just started. In hindsight, why did they wait? They said it was for a lack of quick results in the then testing. Now that we have quick response testing, we only find out faster what we already knew. People will continue to spread this thing around until there is a vaccine in widespread distribution. We have our fingers crossed Pfizer.
“Hello friends,” says Jim Nance. Live from the Augusta National Golf Course tomorrow is The Masters on CBS. It was postponed from its usual early April start. They avoided the first wave of the disease and walked headlong into the second one with this date. No fans (the club calls them patrons) will be allowed onto the Holy Grail of golf courses. Former champion Sergio Garica won’t be allowed in either. He announced that he tested positive for you know what earlier this week.
The laid back Wednesday traditional nine-hole par-three tourney is a no go today. One of its trademarks is for the pros to attempt to skip a ball across the water on one of the par threes. Jon Rahm, currently ranked no. 2 in the world decided to honor the tradition while practicing on the regular course yesterday. How did he do? If you haven’t seen it, you must. It’s right here.
In the NFL the Pittsburgh Steelers reached the halfway point at a perfect 8-0. Along the way they beat the Titans and the Ravens in back to back road games to get to that clean record. No small feat. But the AFC is loaded with good teams and the best record is far from secured this early. KC is loaded and shows no signs of a Super Bowl hangover. Baltimore has a strong D and a QB who can change a game by himself. Tennessee has a tough run game and a solid D. Buffalo is winning in different ways which is always a good sign. And, don’t look now, but here comes Tua and the Miami Dolphins.
New Orleans is the flavor of the week in the NFC. They did to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay team on Sunday night what Tom Brady and the New England team used to do to the Jets twice a year. The NFC has several good teams, but will they have a great one by regular season’s end? Green Bay fits the mold of good, but not great. Seattle can’t stop anyone. Arizona is interesting but likely a year away. Chicago thinks they’re good, but they aren’t. The Rams are 5-3 but they’ve only beaten up on the woeful NFC East thus far. Don’t look now, but the Vikings might have righted their ship (see what we did there?).

It’s hump day morning. Soon it’ll be downhill from here.

Hanging Around

Posted on November 8, 2020November 9, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

Do you remember Chad? Unknown prior, he hung around in the year 2000 from Election Day till December 13th.

Democratic nominee Al Gore, who had already invented the internet, insisted that he remain on the final stage until then as the presidential election results were in deep dispute deep in the state of Florida.

It was his right. And, for a while, it was the right thing to do. It’s better to wait and get it right than to rush and get it wrong.

George Bush waited in the wings.

Twenty years later President Trump has the very same rights. Some recounts are available to him due to the close results in that particular state. Some he’ll need to prove the need by providing lower, then higher, courts of law substantive evidence that Biden’s folks have been hiding ballots of his or stuffing ballots of their like.

Joe Biden is waiting in the wings.

It’s highly likely that at some time in the future the fighter that never quits will hear the final bell ring and realize that the gloves need to be cut off of his bruised hands.

When exactly will the right thing to do outweigh his right to dispute the results? Time will tell. It always does. You see Time’s father, named Father Time is undefeated.

Donald J Trump was elected to be the anti-Washington DC President. He filled that part of his role admirably. And, Lord knows he did it his way.

He burned bridges on the way in, and he’s going to burn them on the way out. We loved him lighting the fire on the way in. We may or may not like it as much on the way out.

Hell hath no fury like an orange-faced President scorned.

Trump never loses. Ask him. We’re going to win, win, win he said over, and over, and over again. He tweeted out Saturday that he got more popular votes (71 million and still counting) in 2020 than any other standing President. He even wins in his mind when he loses. It’s a character trait that is admirable until it isn’t.

Chad had no dog in the fight. Chad was the dog in the fight. He hung around for a while by a paper-thin thread until he didn’t.

Trump, too, is the dog in the fight. And, there is a lot of fight left in the dog.

You hired him because of that. And, he’s still doing his job he thinks.

Meanwhile, China is laughing all the way to the bank.

Till then.

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Year 3, Week 7

Posted on November 6, 2020November 6, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

The SEC, ACC, and BIG 12 football schedules are half done, the BIG 10 is in week two, while the PAC-12 is just getting started. This reminds us of the state by state vote count, but we digress.

Abby, however, remains very focused. Week six was another winner for her. That brings the season-long total to 17 wins, 13 losses, and one tie. She’s brought home a sterling 29 bones while leaving 18 behind. Her hunch bet tried to shoot the moon that she normally howls at with a three-team parlay that came up one team short. Her hunch remains out to lunch at 1-4.

Miami Fla at North Carolina St +10 1/2– They’re still counting in NC. When it’s all done Miami wins, NC St covers, and Trump sues. Two bones.
Pitt at Florida St -2 – They’re still counting in Pittsburgh, PA. They’re done in Florida. Florida St is done as a football team too, but rises from the ashes this weekend. Is the wrong team favored here? Abby likes to zig when others zag. One bone.
Washington St at Oregon St. -2 – It’ll take sixty minutes to declare Oregon St. a winner in this game. In politics, it took sixty seconds after the polls closed for Washington and Oregon to go into the Biden win column. Is the wrong team favored here as well? One bone.
Michigan St at Iowa -6 – They got tired in Michigan and quit at 10:30 pm counting ballots on Tuesday night. Iowa will make Mich St. quit in the fourth quarter of this one. Two bones.
Texas A&M at South Carolina + 10 1/2 and Tennessee -2 at Arkansas – The Donald carried all of the SEC states except Georgia which is pending. This is our SEC two-team parlay special. If Abby loses this one (or two) she’ll demand a recount. One bone to win three bones.
Florida v Georgia under 53 and 1/2 – There is nothing pending about Georgia’s D. It’s good. It’ll slow down Florida’s O a bit. There’s nothing pending about Georgia’s O. It’s average at best. Florida’s D is as well, but it will be good enough to get a stop or two. Two bones.

Abby’s hunch bet nearly got put in the dog house again this week. She likes UGA the dog so much (as a friend of course), but she likes the Florida Gators + 3 1/2 as a live dog this weekend.

Woof!

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, and Friday

Posted on November 4, 2020November 4, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

A funny thing happened on Election Day. No one got elected.

And a presidential race precedent or two was set. We take a stab at those and give other random observations below in our Lucky 13..

Has there ever been a contest so hotly contested that five or six states are too close to call getting on to 12 hours after the polls have closed?
Has there ever been more lax voting procedures and subsequent vote-counting in our country’s history?
Allowing ballots to be postmarked by midnight of the election night and counted in the several days and even into the next week is a dumb idea. We repeat it’s a dumb idea. It’s the further softening of America unfortunately. Take your time, we’ll wait. Deadlines are so yesterday.
A few states haven’t fully counted early balloting yet, hence the hesitancy of the networks to call the state for one or the other candidates. Does it make sense to count early balloting earlier than late balloting? Asking for a friend.
One state (we cannot remember which as this writer fell asleep on the job) stopped counting at 10:30 last evening. They’ll be back at it this morning. Hopefully they took their union-mandated coffee breaks along the way yesterday. Um, come to think of it, why drink coffee if you don’t want to work late? Pennsylvannia said they’ll pick it back up on Friday. Friday! Punxsatawney Pete must have seen its shadow again.
What happened in Arizona? Long a red state bastion, it skipped over purple and used a dark blue crayon at the ballot box. The Senate seat flipped too. Cindy McCain didn’t help the Republicans cause dragging Trump through the desert. Trump didn’t help himself dragging John McCain’s legacy down either. Trivia question- How many Californian transplants can move one state due east in four years? Plenty.
It took almost thirty seconds after the polls closed in the Pacific Time Zone for every cable outlet to project California, Oregon, and Washington for Joe Biden. What took them so long? At least there’s no mystery of early votes, lost votes, or absentee votes on the left voting left coast.
The countrywide popular vote counted thus far is 6 million more than the final tally in 2016 and we’re still counting, and counting. It looks like both parties got their vote out.
It looks like the House of Representatives will see a few (maybe six) more Republicans but not near enough to take the majority. Madame Speaker Pelosi can continue her magical broom ride.
The Senate seems safe for the Republicans. A few races are yet to be determined, but the Elephants lead in enough of them. The seats were 53-47 going in and might be 52-48 coming out.
Why did Wall St rally yesterday and why are the futures up today? Did they smell a split government- Biden wins and the Senate stays red? Maybe. Why did the social media, internet heavy NASDAQ futures head up last evening? Does the smart money think that Biden and the Democrats give them cover to continue their unabated monopolistic and censorship ways? Is a repeal of the China tariffs in the offing for the country that gave us the China virus? Will you miss Trump saying “Chii nah” if the outcome boots him from the White House?
As we go to Al Gore’s virtual digital press, Biden leads by the slightest of margins in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada. Let’s assume Trump wins Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania as he leads each by a bit. It’s a fluid situation to say the least, but if that holds up Joe Biden is President of the United States. Someone once told us to “expect the unexpected.”
Will Donald J. Trump take his fight all the way to the Supreme Court citing voter fraud, irregularities, and the like if he is deemed the loser? Yes, he will. It’s his right. Would we expect anything less in this unprecedented, new normal, Covid pandemic, year of the never-ending Zoom meeting?

Can anyone find a tent big enough to cover this circus?

Today

Posted on November 3, 2020November 3, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

Today either marks the end of the wildest and whackiest four years in Washington D.C. or it begins the second and final four years of likely the same. We have a few observations and a few points to ponder.

No one outworks The Donald. His campaign stops (rallies) in the last 10 days have been far, wide, and far too numerous to count. At the age of 73, he ended his last one last evening in Grand Rapids, MI at about 11:45 pm. After an Air Force One ride back to D.C. he tucked himself into bed at 4:00 AM. He’s already yapping this AM on Fox and Friends.
The Biden campaign, or more accurately the strategy to minimize it, is the oddest in this writer’s 60-year memory. And, second place isn’t close. Trump in 2016 was unconventional. Biden in 2020 was unseen. Having a few cars show up while you pontificate into a microphone on a stage is, well, weird. When he asks them to blow their horns if they agree is, well, very weird. Could the contrast between the Trump rallies and the Biden hornblowers be more overt?
Crystal clearly the DNC’s strategy has been to minimize Biden’s gaffes/weaknesses all the while consistently pounding on Trump. It was the plan since the day he took office. It will be written about for years to come. And, it may very well succeed. Trump’s words, more than his actions, around the COVID pandemic played right into the DNC playbook.
Do people really understand that if Biden is elected, Harris could be President in the very near future? All jokes Biden jokes aside, it’s a very real possibility, isn’t it? Maybe that’s ok with the “get Trump out at all costs,” or “anyone is better than what we have” crowd.
Polls can tell you almost any story you want to hear if you dig deep enough into the numbers behind the numbers. No matter the side you favor, the results will be fascinating. How many of the “silent majority” chose only to be heard today? How many first time voters were there?
It would be a major surprise if Trump won the popular vote. He lost it by 3 million four years ago. But, elections are determined by electoral college votes. And that sets up major announcements tonight as state by state results roll in.
It seems that Pennsylvania is the lynchpin. Both camps have spent a lot of time there recently. The path or paths to victory are for either side tighten dramatically with a loss there. It’s not for his health that Biden is stopping in Scranton and Philly today on Election Day.
Put California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Washington in the Biden win column. They are done deals and won’t be close. That means Trump needs the obvious three of Texas, Florida, and Ohio. If any of those three go blue Trump goes home to Mar-a-Lago, not Pennsylvania Ave.
Trump could win without Penn, but it’s very uphill. He’d need the entire rust belt to fall his way. And, Arizona, Nevada, and North Carolina are toss ups to boot.
Businesses in many major cities are boarding up then closing up early today for fear of civil unrest (read that as peaceful protests) in the streets this evening. The White House is getting a scale proof fence surrounding it finished up early this AM. Is anyone concerned what the populous might do if Biden wins? Of course not. It’s all about the hate for Donald J. Trump. It has been since day one.

Get your popcorn ready.

And, buckle up. It’s going to be a wild ride.

2020.