Author: thependulumswings staff

Disappointment From Coast to Coast

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

With but two weeks to go in the NCAA Football regular season the ink may not be entirely dry, but the dye is mostly cast.  Sure, there are a few “what if’s” available to stoke the fire of the passion of fan bases.

But, for many teams the season’s promise was bright as summer turned to fall.  Now, as fall turns to winter, that promise has turned darker than late afternoon post the change in daylight savings time.  You set you clocks back while some team’s performance set their programs back.

So who are they?  Who are those teams that fell significantly short of meeting the expectations of their followers?  Disappointment can and does come from a few angles.  The program’s history builds in annual minimum standards.  A new, and maybe highly paid, coach can further that.  A good recruiting year or three can further that.  Some teams are bad but somewhat expected.  Some are disappointing and somewhat unexpected.

Today we begin part one of our series scanning each of the Power 5 conferences to select the most disappointing performance.  We’ll start out west and work our way east.

 

PAC 12

Most Disappointing

In 2016 Washington made the FBS playoffs as a four seed.  2019 is respected head coach Chris Petersen’s sixth year at the helm.  Therefore his system(s) are in place.  His culture is in place.  And, it’s his coaching staff and his recruits.  In 2016-2018 ten or more win seasons were the norm.  The PAC 12 seemed like it would come down to three teams vying for supremacy.  Oregon, Utah, and Washington were the preseason favs.  Oregon and Utah have lived up to the billing.  Each has one loss and seem to be on a collision course in the PAC 12 Championship game.

Washington returned several starters from a top 15 nationally ranked defense.  On offense talented, but unproven, Jacob Eason took over at QB.  The five star recruit started at Georgia as a freshman before transferring back closer to home.

The Huskies gave us a hint of what was to come dropping a 20-19 contest at home to California in week two.  In week six they traveled to Stanford and fell 23-13.  The Cardinal isn’t a very good team this year either.  Close home losses in back to back games to Oregon and Utah sealed their fate for 2019.

Their record is 6-4 overall, but only 3-4 in the conference.  They travel to Colorado before a season ending home rivalry game v. Washington St.  Washington is bowl eligible but they aren’t going anywhere near any bowl they aspired to prior to the start of the year.

Washington is the most disappointing PAC 12 team this year.

Also Considered

BBR took a good look at Arizona as well.  Year two for Kevin Sumlin is headed in the wrong direction.  His record overall is 9-11 and counting until Arizona cuts him loose.  Maybe he gets a third year.  Maybe.  The Wildcats are 2-5 in conference and 4-6 overall.  They’ve lost five straight.  With Utah and Arizona St ahead a 4-8 record is probable.  Their wins are over Northern Arizona, UCLA, and a fading Colorado team.  Whoop tee do.  The season began with a loss to Hawaii.  Ouch.

If expectations were higher they might have beat out Washington for the top spot.  But, if Kevin Sumlin is your coach and you have high expectations you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

 

Tomorrow we take a look at Big 12 and the ACC.  And, as we do you’ll see that Kevin Sumlin isn’t the only year two coach who’s fallen short of alumni, booster, and fan expectations.

Ten Piece Nuggets-NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The new AP Top 25 Poll is out.  College football is getting deeper into November and the “what if” scenarios are getting a bit more interesting.  Take stroll across the football and as you digest the Ten Piece Nuggets below.

  1.  The top three remained in order LSU, THE Ohio St. U., and Clemson.  They put 58, 56, and 52 points respectively on Ole Miss, Rutgers, and Wake Forest.  No respect at all actually.  They won by 21, 35, and 49 points.
  2. The schedule toughens (finally) for THE.  They host Penn St this week, then travel to Ann Arbor to close out the regular season.  The oddsmakers don’t think the schedule toughens too much though.  THE is favored by a big 18 points over the Nittany Lions.  Clemson is off after their 11-0 start.  They travel across the great state of South Carolina to face South Carolina in two weeks.  They’ll be favored by a similar big number we suspect.  LSU is a huge 43 1/2 point favorite at home hosting awful Arkansas Saturday.  Arkansas was off last week after firing their head coach earlier in the week.
  3. Georgia, now #4, and Alabama, now #5, flipped spots.  This matches their position in the playoff poll.  Georgia played tough D for 60 minutes and held on 21-14 at Auburn.  If you like punting it was the game of the month for you.  There were 18 punts in all with Georgia punting 11 of those.  Georgia punter Jake Camarda averaged 50.7 yds/punt and dropped more than a few inside of the ten.  Can a punter win player of the week honors?  Punters get no respect.
  4. Alabama won a one sided game 38-7 and lost a great QB.  Shortly before halftime Tua Tagovailoa went down hard underneath two Mississippi St. lineman and was in obvious severe pain.  He’ll need hip surgery and his season is over.  His NCAA career is likely over as well.  Questions abound.  Should he have been playing at all?  He looked ok v. LSU after a high ankle sprain procedure, but those things do take time to heal and sing along ” the hip bone is connected to the knee bone and the knee bone is connected to the ankle bone.”  Up 31-7 should he have been pulled already?  Or, don’t injuries happen anywhere and at any time and are just an unfortunate part of the game?
  5. Questions abound for the playoff committee as well.  They consider the “eye test” when voting on rankings.  Does the loss of Tua make the eye wander?  They have publicly said in the past that certain injuries to key players affect their decisions.  This one, with Alabama lurking at #5 as of this moment, is an interesting one.
  6.  Oregon at #6 and Utah at #7 are watching to see what the committee has to say about the loss of Tua.  The two PAC 12 front runners from the North and South Division remain on a one loss only collision course for the conference championship game.  Assuming they do, and for the moment assume Georgia losses to LSU in the SEC Championship, the path is paved for a one loss PAC 12 winner to jump a 2 loss Georgia in the final four.  Too early you say?  Probably it is too early to speculate, but speculate we will.  If Georgia beats LSU does a one loss PAC 12 team get in at all?  Georgia has A&M and the wreck that once was rambling Georgia Tech left.  LSU has aforementioned weak sauce Arkansas and  pesky A&M left.
  7. Oklahoma’s comeback in Waco, down 28-3 and winning 34-31, was quite the game.  The Baylor loss leaves the BIG 12 on the outside looking in for now.  Oklahoma is ranked #8 while Baylor slipped only one spot from #12 to #13.  Each have one loss.  There was no respect for Baylor to begin with for some reason.  The path to the playoffs for a BIG 12 school is filled with too many potholes it seems.
  8. The Minnesota Golden Gophers were looking golden at 9-0 after last week’s home victory over Penn St.  But, a trip to Iowa tested their mettle and tarnished their gold a bit.  Iowa at 6-3 entering the game was a three point favorite somehow.  No respect at all for Minnie.  Those Vegas cats know their business though.  The Hawkeyes prevailed 23-19 in the nation’s farmland.  Why does Iowa grow so much produce and yet their football field is artificial turf?  We digress.
  9.  This week we are doing a piece on the most disappointing teams this year.  Here’s a hint at who one of them might be.  Texas.  They say football is big time in the great state of Texas.  Heck there even is a show called Friday Night Lights.  But, in Austin, the flagship school of the state sits at 6-4.  They’ve beaten no one that is very good and lost to everyone that they’ve been a Vegas underdog to.  Tom Herman, in year two, has underwhelmed.  Texas is unranked and received less top 25 votes than nine other unranked teams.  So that makes the Longhorns #35 sort of.  The Longhorns make the quick trip north on I-35 this week to face a four point home favorite Baylor Bears team.
  10. Appalachian St., Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech jump in at #23, 24, and 25.  As mentioned above A&M closes at home v Georgia and on the road at LSU.  They could really make some late season noise, or they could join Texas as a year long disappointment.  Georgia is a 13 1/2 point favorite to minimize the A&M late season noise opportunity.  A&M is looking for some respect, that I can tell you.

It’s Monday.  Go to work.

Find a boss who is very tall that way you don’t have to bend over very far to kiss his ass. -Rodney Dangerfield.

No respect at all.

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Year Two, Week Twelve

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Abby made her picks earlier this week as she is in Washington to honor Conan the Dog as you and all of America knows.  We suggested that she (e)mail her picks to us since she’s been mailing them in all year based on the results.  After two growls and one snarl she bared her canines and barked out the winners for the week.

For the season, after a 3-3 week, her record now stands at 26 wins and 30 losses.  But the more important bones wagered now is a paw up at 51 bones collected v. 50 buried.  Her hunch took a rare punch and fell to 9 wins against only 3 losses.

It’s week 12.  In honor of that we give you a baker’s dozen bones worth panting about below.

Memphis v Houston +10 1/2 – Memphis comes off an emotion charged home win over previously undefeated SMU.  No doubt that the Tigers are better than the Cougars.  But, Abby thinks the Tigers might be taking a cat nap, at least for a half, in this spot.  Two bones.

Georgia -3 v Auburn – Abby thinks that this is the game of the week to watch, though she prolly just wants to preen for UGA. Georgia is playing for everything as the current playoff 4th seed.  Late, in a slugfest, they cover.  Four bones.

Texas +7 v Iowa St. –  This line looks off to her.  Tom Herman has looked off in year two of his Longhorn tenure.  Abby looks for Texas to have a great chance to win outright. That would be their best win on the year, which isn’t saying very much.  Two bones.

Stanford +11 v. Washington St. –  You’ve heard this before, now you can hear it again.  Few teams in the PAC 12 deserve to be favored by double digits over few other teams.  One bone.

Michigan St. v Michigan -13 – This in state big rivalry game is always hard fought and usually pretty close.  Not this year.  The Spartans are fading and the Wolverines seem energized.  Two bones.

South Carolina v Texas A&M -12 and LSU v Mississippi +21 1/2 –  Abby is actually going to tease a parlay by buying six points for two teams.  She’ll take Texas A&M -6 and Mississippi + 27 1/2.  A two team teaser pays even money.  Two bones to win two bones.

There you have it.  It’s seven games, six bets, and thirteen bones.

Oh, and on a hunch Abby has spotted a CRAZY line.  UMass at 1-9 travels to 1-8 Northwestern.  How can Northwestern, inept at scoring be favored by 41 over anyone when they cannot score 41 on anyone?  Take Northwestern -41 on a hunch.  Why?  Because it makes absolutely no sense.  It’s a Vegas mind game.

Enjoy the games.

Woof!

 

 

 

Blowing Smoke and Whistles Too

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Once upon a time smoking cigarettes was all the rage.  Later it was tolerated.  Now it’s downright frowned upon.  America does change it’s collective mind over time.  Smokers.  What to do?  What to do?

Well, it seems like we have come to another of those crossroads.  This one isn’t about blowing smoke however. This one is about blowing whistles.  Whistleblowers.  What to do?  What to do?

Yesterday your tax dollars were hard at work as the Intelligence (misnomer) Committee of the US House convened and began it’s Impeachment Inquiry hearings.  Chairman Adam Schiff began the hearings by recognizing himself and launched into his narrative as to why they were indeed convened and what the findings would be as witnesses were paraded in front of the esteemed members of the body.

But not one minute into his diatribe he was interrupted.  “Point of order, point of order!”  When recognized, one Republican malcontent, Jim Jordan asked the chairman when the committee might be able to interview the whistleblower who broke this latest scandal of many scandals against Donald J. Trump.  After all Rep Jordan said, ” the chairman and his staff are the only ones who have had a chance to talk to him.”

Schiff said that he had not talked to him and did not know who he was.  And, he said he would do everything possible to protect his identity.  Late yesterday the Washington Post awarded Chairman Schiff “Four Pinocchio’s,” the highest (lowest) score for an outright lie the paper gives.  Oops.

Meanwhile, Project Veritas put a video out last week that showed an ABC News Anchor caught on a hot mic and a hot camera.  You can see that here.  In two minutes she told the story of how she had all of the dirt on dirtbag Jeffery Epstein years ago.  Yet, she continues, ABC squashed the story fearing that the Royal Palace would rain (reign) down on their head as allegations of illegal dalliances on the fantasy island included Prince Andrew.

ABC was so outraged at this development that they alerted CBS of this inexcusable leak of this video pirate and whistleblower.  Why?  ABC thought they knew who the leaker (a producer who moved to CBS) was and they wanted action.  CBS took action.  They fired this whistleblower faster than any termination on the hit show The Apprentice.  Apparently the industry wanted this person “outed.”  The only problem was that it turns out that they fired the wrong person.  Oops.

The search continues.  The very media that is carefully protecting the identity of the Washington whistleblower of the withholding of the Ukrainian aid, quid pro quo, Hunter Biden, we got Donald this time, blah, blah, blah has put their industry’s whistleblower on the Ten Most Wanted List.  Get your pitchforks and lanterns.  Impeachment is one thing, but protecting Jeffery Epstein’s reputation is quite another for some reason.

Meanwhile, in the world of sports, the World Series losing Houston Astros were accused of cheating once again.  The claim that they were stealing opposition pitching signs with electronic help flared up in the World Series against the Washington (home of the unidentified whistleblower and Schiff confidant) Nationals. After denying the accusation once more the WS came and went.

But.  The story broke Tuesday that they may have indeed been stealing signs in 2017, the year they actually won the WS.  Citing four sources Major League Baseball has begun it’s investigation.  It’s similar to an Intelligence Committee we assume, but likely more intelligent.  The Astros announced that they were joining/cooperating with MLB in the investigation.

Except this one is different.  Sometimes where there’s smoke, there’s fire.  There is no Trump, no Epstein, but there is a fire.  Mike Fiers pitched for the Astros in 2017 and he came straight out and said that they were cheating. Fiers now pitches for the Oakland Athletics, close competitors of the Astros, much like CBS is a close competitor of ABC.  Fiers, as one of the four whistleblowers, put himself right out there.  Oops said GM Jeffery Luhnow.

Three whistleblowers are at the center of three major stories all at the same time.  One remains anonymous (sort of) and has big brother on it’s side.  One is on the run even though he/she isn’t running and has the media on the hunt.  And one put his name right on the dotted line.

As they say, “Only in America!”  Smoke em if you got em!

 

“I Saw a Path.”

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It seems pretty clear now, doesn’t it?

After 8-0 became 9-0 on the contested 100 yards of Tuscaloosa grass, Joe Burrow stood tall.  Burrow just finished his work day with 31-39 passing for 391 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions.  LSU finally slayed the Bama dragon/elephant.  Joe’s awfully handy with a sword.  The largest daytime viewership of CBS football in many years, 16 million in all, saw the Game of the Century, Part II.

After the exhausting, four hour bout Saturday LSU’s football team stood shoulder to shoulder in the corner of the end zone facing the band and the LSU fans, and belted out the fight song and the alma mater.  And, after the singing was done nose tackle Tyler Shelvin, a svelte 350 lbs, lifted one Joe Burrow, a svelte 215 lbs onto his left shoulder all by himself.  He carried him off of the field.

There still is work to be done.  And, after three more regular season games that LSU is hoping will be wins, there is the not so small matter of the SEC Championship Game. And after that, Joe Burrow will fly to New York.  First Tyler carried Joe.  Soon Joe is going to carry the Heisman.  Start spreading the news, the Heisman Trophy is Joe Burrow’s, aka Jeaux Burreaux’s, to lose.

But did you see this coming?  No, you didn’t.  But one astute observer of football and very astute observer of LSU football did.  “I saw a path,” Matt Porter said.  That was back in early June of this year a full three months before the first football was kicked or picked off.  You may have already heard of his story, but post the Alabama game it was time to check in again.

“I was putzing around on an LSU website, maybe 24/7, and saw a thread about Heisman possibilities.  I decided to look at my online site.  I scrolled down to Joe.  It showed Burrow at 200-1 odds to win the Heisman Trophy.  I thought it was a typo.  Why would a returning quarterback on a big team have such odds?  I thought that maybe it should be 20-1.  I instantly said, ‘I’ll put $50 on that right now, tremendous value.’ ” It was a chance to turn $50 in to $10,000.

Matt Porter is one of us.  He’s a successful Florida based Commercial Finance Broker by day.  By weekend he’s a real fan with hopes and passion for NCAA football. The enthusiasm pours out as his words tell the story.  “It’s my only bet on who will win the Heisman ever!”

As word spread in August like the Baton Rouge humidity that LSU indeed was running some spread offense, the site had dropped it’s odds to around 35-1.  Shorty thereafter his site offered him $1096 to take the prescient now, but not yet as much then, bet off of his hands.  That’s a 21x return on your investment before the first first down of the first game.  That’s good work if you can get it. “I didn’t even know that there was a place on my site for offers to cash out bets.  I do now.”

Game one came and went.  After LSU bounced Texas in Austin 45-38 the offer crept up to $1375.  Game three was a blowout and Burrow’s statistics were as well.   “They raised the offer up to almost $1800.”  In game four Burrow’s stats were downright uncivil to host Vanderbilt.  But, a bye week followed.  “I got no offer during the bye week.  Hmm.”

After Utah St. got worked in BR by a one sided 42-6 score and Burrow “out dueled Jordan Love” they went back down to $1100. “How can they go backwards?” he wondered.  ” I thought maybe it was some gamesmanship and it was just before Florida which might be a pretty staunch test.”  It was supposed to be but Burrow went 21-24 for 293 yards with 3 td’s and no picks.  Staunch met grit.  Grit won.  “The offer went to a then high of $1900.”

“At this point I was really playing it out in my head and I imagined just before Bama would be my best offer.  And, after seeing what he was doing I wanted to hold at least until then,” Matt added.  Mississippi St. was road kill.  Then, another big test loomed.  Auburn and it’s NFL quality DL were headed to Death Valley.  “The offer reached a season high before that game of like $3865 or $3876, or something like that.”  Another test passed and a tough one.

Then?  “Then nothing.”  I haven’t received any other offer since before that game to date.”  What happened?  “I think they think ‘why give me an out now?’  It’s their chance to get into a position of strength.”  That’s poker parlance from the prescient one.   “Maybe I’ll see one last offer before the last game with A&M.”

Why has he been so, so, so confident all along?  “I surmised all along that Hurts had no chance.  It would be 3x in a row for Oklahoma and a transfer QB.  They wouldn’t give Jordan 3x MVP’s in a row.  The press was fatigued and looking for another story.  I figured It would come down to Burrow v. Tua.  I got an assist when Chase Young became a story in the Midwest that would water down the Justin Fields story, too.”

Matt went on.  “It’s a popularity contest.  Burrow is cool in front of the camera.  He’s confident and likable.  He’s comfortable in his own skin.”  Can they entice you still?  “No offer is good enough now.  I’ll now ride it out.”

Matt has no plans to head to NY assuming all goes well and Burrow is able to get to the finish line.  “No, no plans to geaux.”  What about if SI or ESPN picks up your story again and gets you there and a seat in the Downtown Athletic Club for the presentation?  “Oh yea.  I’ll be there!”

With such foresight one wondered if he has any other clear long term visions.  “I did put a small amount on Kamala Harris to win the Democratic nomination.”  It’s at 80-1.  “But I’m starting to think I should have put my bet on Pete Buttigieg.  Who would have thought that he would get this far, and there is still a long time to go.”

Laugh if you wish.  Once there was a long way to go for a backup redshirt junior Ohio St University quarterback.  He transferred to LSU.   The book isn’t finished yet.  But, what has been written is inspiring.  You had to have vision to see this potential ending.  Matt Porter did.  Soon he might be $10,000 better off because of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With a Cherry on Top

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Well it happened again.  Capitalism got in the way.  Freedom of speech is good, even in Canada, of course.  Of course, it’s only good in Canada until it’s deemed divisive.  Or, stated differently, it’s only good if it doesn’t divide our fan base and potentially drain our coiffures.

We’ll keep it short this AM as we are working on a fun article for tomorrow AM.  Take three minutes to read this link from our friends at ESPN, the worldwide leader in diversity, and let us know what you think.  Hockey legend and commentator Don Cherry, embraced for his outspoken takes, was taken out after calling out those that in his opinion didn’t properly honor the heroes he honors.

Of all of the politically correct buttocks covering that went on after his rant, the mayor of his town took the prize.   Quoting directly from the article, “Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie called Cherry’s remarks “despicable” on Twitter. “We’re proud of diverse cultural heritage and we’ll always stand up for it. New immigrants enrich our country for the better. We’re all Canadians and wear our poppies proudly,” she said.”

Her last sentence is exactly what he was calling out and she is agreeing.  Wasn’t it?  Double talk.

But it didn’t stop there.  His long time co-host gave him an on air thumbs up and 24 hours later called the remarks hurtful.  It was a remarkable turnaround from approval to disdain.  His buttocks were covered too, but his arse was really exposed.

As stated in the article, both the National Hockey League and Hockey Canada distanced themselves from the comments in separate public statements. It’s their right.   Kudos to the young 85 year old Cherry for double and tripling down on his statement.  It’s his right.

With a Cherry on top, Cherry went out on top.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets- NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The latest AP Top 25 Poll is out for NCAA football as conference showdowns now abound.  Like golf heading to the final round on Sunday, we’ll focus a bit more on the top of the leaderboard.  And, the top just got a lot more interesting.  It’s Monday, and it’s time for your Ten Piece Nuggets.  Properly place your napkin in your lap and get after them below.

  1. LSU strengthened it’s hold on #1 with a Game of the Century, Part II, thrilling win over previously unbeaten Alabama in Tuscaloosa before a passionate sold out crowd. They received 54 of 62 possible first place votes.   BBR covered it live and can attest firsthand to the old world gladiator, last man standing feel.  President Trump and FLOTUS attended and were loudly cheered by 101k deplorables.  But, we digress for the first time today.
  2.  Joe Burrow completed 31-39 passes for 393 yards and 3 TD’s against the minister of defense Saban and his talented starting 11 defenders.  He ran for an additional clutch 64 yards.  The 46 points scored are the most ever allowed in Tuscaloosa by any Alabama team in any game played there.  Joe Burrow for Heisman anyone?  Joe Burrow for Heisman everyone?  Burrow’s performance was brilliant, but RB Clyde Edwards-Heliare might have been the game’s MVP.  His run after catch and run after first contact yards at key moments make him an instant legend down on the bayou.
  3. THE Ohio St. and Clemson stand at #2 and #3.  They garnered the other eight first place votes.  We can understand THE getting some love but how anyone would vote Clemson over these two at this moment befuddles the mind.  THE squeaked by Maryland 73-14, and travels to New Jersey this week to take on mighty 2-7 Rutgers.  Rutgers’ two wins are over UMass and Liberty.  Students at Liberty go to mass every week, but we digress.  Rutgers has been outscored by BIG 10 opponents by a total of 207-14.  THE has been installed as a 51 and 1/2 point favorite.  Do you really need the 1/2 when the whole number is 51?  We digress again.
  4. How far did #2 Alabama fall?  They only fell to #4.  Clearly the voters see them as the best one loss team in all of the land.  And, they view them as better than some undefeated Power 5 teams as well.  The more important rankings come out tomorrow night when the second Playoff Committee Poll is released.  Does Bama hang in their top four?
  5. Room in the top four was created when AP #5 and playoff ranked #4 Penn St. fell to now 9-0, and still undefeated, Minnesota.  Penn St. tumbled to #9 with the close 31-26, down to the wire, contest.  Penn St. still controls their own destiny in the BIG 10 East as they rumble with first place THE in two weeks.  That is, of course, assuming that THE gets by mighty Rutgers, but we digress.
  6.  One game in the L column Georgia as well as Oregon occupy the #5 and # 6 spots behind Alabama.  Georgia blanked fast fading Missouri 27-0 while Oregon stirred the “Fire Helton” soup a week ago at USC 56-24.  Oregon is going to knock on the playoff door if they win out. Georgia has a tough road game this weekend at Auburn.  The early line is Georgia minus 2 and 1/2.  It’s a similar line to the Rutgers game as they both end in 1/2, ahem.  Oregon travels to Arizona and as 26 point favorites will stir the “Fire Sumlin” soup.
  7. Arkansas said the soup was ready after watching Western Kentucky enjoy several helpings against the hapless Razorbacks.  W. Kentucky won 45-19 in Fayetteville.  Chad Morris lost.  He was mercifully relieved of his head coaching duties shortly after the pigs got slaughtered.  With Jimbo, Saban, Gus, and Coach O in the SEC West, coaching at Arkansas is a three year gig, tops.  Morris made it through 1 and 2/3rds.
  8. Minnesota bounced up from unlucky #13 to lucky #7 in the AP.  It’ll be interesting what the playoff committee does with the Golden Gophers.  P.J. Fleck will/might sign a bigger contract mid week as Minnie likes what they see and want to see more of it.  Will other schools like what they see even more?
  9. Baylor survived three overtimes to hang on at TCU 29-23.  They are 9-0.  Last Thursday they survived at home as big favorites over West Virginia 17-14.  The Bears might be running on fumes.  The Oklahoma Sooners come calling in Waco this weekend.  Baylor is #12 while the Sooners round out the top 10 at #10.
  10.  Spots #10 through #20 were mostly unchanged.  Texas, Indiana and Oklahoma St climbed back in to the bottom of the 25.   They are at #’s 22,24, and 25 respectively.  Sandwiched between them is Iowa at #23.  Iowa’s offense scored 22 points against Wisconsin Saturday.  It’s the second highest point total for them in BIG 10 games this year aside from their 30-0 thumping of mighty Rutgers.  Iowa hosts Minnesota this week.  Is there a letdown coming for the Golden Gophers?  Can Iowa score enough?

You’ve been served.

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Year Two Week Eleven

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s been quite the week for Abby.  She was invited to the White House Lawn (that’s the logical place for the ceremony) to honor her German Shepard buddy, Conan the Dog, who is recovering from some wounds suffered in the operation that took out Baghdadi.  Naturally, she’s been primping a good bit at the doggie parlor ahead of the event.

Meanwhile for the season the 23 wins are trailing the 27 losses.  The bones won count is 45, while lost are 46.

Though, worry not.  While under the hair dryer she’s been taking a long look at this week’s betting opportunities.  And she likes what she sees. Oh, and her hunch bet is hair raising 9 wins against only 2 losses.  The winners follow.

Florida St. +2 1/2 v Boston College – Willie’s gone.  We are counting on a dead cat bounce out of the Seminoles.   Abby doesn’t like cats but will make an exception when it comes to money.  Bob Stoops is watching.   Two bones.

Penn St. -6 1/2 v. Minnesota – This is the “other game” of 8-0 teams this weekend.  P.J. Fleck will have the Golden Gophers playing like their hair is on fire.  But, the Nittany Lions have quite the mane themselves.  The fourth quarter is when James Franklin’s team pulls away.  One bone.

Baylor v. TCU + 2 1/2 –  Baylor is yet another 8-0 team.  No more.  You can’t look ahead to contests v. Texas and Oklahoma.  You’ve heard of the hair of the dog?  This one is the no hair on the Horned Frog.  TCU wins straight up.  Two bones.

UAB + 7 1/2 v. Southern Mississippi –  Abby’s been long on UAB all year except last week.  A straight up win here would not surprise her either.  One bone.

Tennessee +1 v. Kentucky –  Tennessee has somewhat quietly beat Mississippi St., South Carolina, and UAB by 10, 20, and 23 points in the last month.  The lone loss was a 35-13 road loss in Tuscaloosa.  Three bones.

Vanderbilt v. Florida over 49 –  Dan Mullen will find something to complain about.  He always does.  But, it won’t be his offense.  Abby smells a total approaching 70 and thinks Florida will get 56 by themselves.

The media has spent two weeks talking about Burrow and Tua and two explosive offenses in “The Game of the Century, Part II.”  On a hunch Abby likes under the 63 point total.  And why wouldn’t she?  The man who oversees the greatest defense in the world will be watching.  How can you trump that?

Woof!

 

Lefty- Big Game. Shorty- YUGE game.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Way way back in 1966, or 1967 Lefty and Shorty were the amiable service station attendants.  Well, that’s what they were called back then as every pump was full serve.   Dad interacted with them as they checked the oil, washed the windshield, pumped the gas, and took the money.

Lefty sat to the left of Shorty.  Imagine that.  Shorty sat on the shorter of the two “halves” of the 55 gallon drum. Imagine that.  Each were cut down to size and retrofitted with a soft cushion top.

They were funny. They always had a back and forth to their banter.  If they were alive last night might have gone like this.

Lefty- It’s after midnight and it’s cold. Nobody’s buying gas at this hour.  Why are we sitting here?  Shorty- So we can discuss the upcoming “Game of the Century, Part II.”   It’s AP #1 LSU v. #2 Alabama.  Lefty- Big Game.  Shorty- YUGE game.  President Donald J. Trump will be there.  Lefty- He will be?  Shorty-  For sure.  It’s in the Deep South.  It’s Deep State v. Deep State.  It’s his base.  Plus he likes cheers, not boos when his name is announced.

Lefty- Who’s he rooting for? Shorty- All of the deplorables in attendance I guess.  He won’t be partial.  He’ll likely wear some fresh orange with a red tide.  Lefty– That’s not impartial.  You must mean a red tie?  Shorty- No, there are no ties in college football, overtimes decide winners.  And Trump likes to win, win, win.

Lefty- Good lord.  Shorty- Well, who do you think is going to win?  Lefty- Tough call, but Joe Burrow is almost automatic operating out of the shotgun.  Shorty- Burrow’s lucky Beto O’Rourke isn’t refereeing.  He promised to take all of the damn guns.

Lefty- Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.  Shorty- Nope they can’t win.  They’re the only three that haven’t announced their candidacy for the Democratic nomination.  Lefty-  Ahem.  Let’s get back to the game, can we?  Shorty- Sure.  It’s going to be standing room only and one expensive ticket.  Lefty- I bet.  Shorty-  I just saw Elizabeth Warren tweet that if she were elected President the tickets would be free.

Silence filled the cold still air as Lefty checked his pulse rate.

Lefty- Well, one more time, who do you think is going to win?  Shorty-  I don’t know.  2011 is the last time LSU won.  That’s “Four More Years!” and “Four More Years!” ago.  Lefty-  Alabama’s defense usually stifles LSU.  Shorty-  That’s cause Nick Saban spends more on his defense budget than Trump does on ours.  Lefty- I’ll play along.  What else?  Shorty-  Well a few reporters asked Joe Biden what he thought of the upcoming game.  Lefty-  Sure they did.  What did he have to say?  Shorty- Well, he said he remembered attending the LSU/Bama “Game of the Century, Part I” back in 2011 acting in his official role of Vice President.  Lefty- And?  Shorty- And, he wanted to wish both the Iowa Jayhawks and the Minnesota Wolverines great luck in Part II this Saturday night in their showdown in Tempe.

Lefty- I’m punching out before I punch you out.  Anything else?  Shorty- The teams are ranked one and two in the AP, but two and three in the College Playoff Poll.  Lefty- Who’s number one in that poll then?  Shorty-  It’s a tossup right now between Joe, Bernie, and Elizabeth.

Lefty-  This has been a dumpster fire.  Shorty- I’ll empty the trash cans before I go.

From Fair to Middling to Face the Music.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Saturday was not a good day for Florida St. football.  Again.  The Seminoles were worked over by in state rival Miami 27-10.  And, Miami is no juggernaut.  So, on Sunday the AD and the boosters decided to move in another direction coaching wise.  They told Willie Taggart it was time to “face the music” which never sounds like your Spotify favorite song is about to hit your ear buds.  Hmm.  Where did the phrase “face the music” come from?

A commonly repeated assertion is that ‘face the music’ originated from the tradition of disgraced officers being ‘drummed out’ of their regiment. A second popular theory is that it was UK actors who ‘faced the music’, that is, faced the orchestra pit, when they went on stage.

Willie Taggart had a 9-12 record, and the Seminoles were 0-5 against in-state rivals Miami and Florida and ACC rival Clemson.  At Florida St. his teams performance went from not good to unacceptable.  Maybe he would have been given one more season if they looked like they were making progress this season.  But they digressed from “fair to middling” to “time to make a change.”  Hmm.  Where did the phrase “fair to middling” come from?

As to the derivation of ‘fair to middling’ we need to know what ‘middling’ referred to. The word was and is a term used by farmers to describe the quality of farm produce, especially sheep, of ordinary quality. There were several loosely defined grades of produce: ‘good’, ‘fair, ‘middling’, ‘ordinary’ and ‘poor’.

‘Middling’ is an old Scottish word and has been in use since at least the 15th century with the same meaning as now, that is, ‘of medium or moderate size, strength, and quality.’

Poor Mr. Taggart.  He’s worse than fair to middling and he had to face the music.  Well, at least he’s got about $20 million in buyout money to ease the punch to the psyche.

Where to from here for the coach?  Maybe ole Nick Saban, aka the coach rehab specialist, will ring Willie’s cell.  How about a job as an analyst?  The pay isn’t all that, but it isn’t the checkbook that’s hurting.