Author: thependulumswings staff

Ten Piece Nuggets-NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Flip the page on your calendar this AM.  October has arrived.  And, thankfully with it will come some Power Five NCAA in conference football games.  We’ve had far too few as there is an extra weekend built into the schedule. Week six is here.  We review week five with a Ten Piece Nuggets order to chew on below.

  1.  The new AP Top 25 is out.  Clemson’s near loss was Alabama’s gain.  Saturday the Tide rolled Ole Miss 59-31, and yesterday they rolled into the top spot in the latest poll.  Alabama has this coming weekend off before they roll into College Station next weekend.
  2.  It’s hard not to like Mack Brown directing his NC Tar Heel team to go for the win at the end of their 60 minute donnybrook with Clemson.  It’s hard to like the play that was called however.   Clemson escaped with a 21-20 win.  They haven’t been playing as well as some others early on.  Maybe this near loss and a drop to no. 2 will do them some good longer term this season.  They too are idle this weekend before Florida St comes calling next weekend.
  3.  Georgia was off Saturday and remained at #3.  Number four LSU was too.   However they dropped to #5 as the voters were impressed by THE Ohio State University taking all of the corn that they wanted back home from Nebraska.  They shucked the Cornhuskers 48-7.   You have to harvest before the first frost.  Nebraska’s Scott Frost has a long way to go to bring Lincoln back to relevance.
  4.  The rest of the top ten remained as it was except Notre Dame moved up one as Florida moved down one.  They are now ninth and tenth respectively.
  5.  Florida has a chance to erase that little drop and then some this weekend.   Lee Corso, his pencil complete with eraser, and the gang descend on The Swamp for ESPN’s College Gameday.  The Gators host Auburn in a #9 v. #7 showdown.   Both teams look very strong on defense.  Both teams are undefeated.  Something has to give.  It should be a rock ’em sock ’em afternoon in the heat and humidity.  Kickoff is set for a steamy 3:30 pm eastern.
  6.  There was a good bit of bouncing around in the lower half of the polls.  No one moved more than Arizona St. though.  A week removed from a disappointing home loss to Colorado, the Sun Devils went to Berkley and beat the Golden Bears.   Herm Edwards and crew entered the top 25 at #20 jumping from a previously voted counted #37 spot.  California was the last undefeated PAC 12 team.  The state of California signed into law a bill that allows NCAA players to be paid for using their image/likeness starting in 2023.  Maybe the PAC 12 will have a national contender again by then.
  7.  Virginia dropped from the unbeatens and slid five to #23 with their loss the the Fighting Irish.  The Texas A&M Aggies dropped to #25 even though they won.  The voters were underwhelmed by the year to date underwhelming Aggies as they held on late to beat a 23 point underhog (see what we did there?) by four.
  8. Who’s the second best team in the ACC?  Florida St.?  Miami?  Virginia?  How about Wake Forest?  The Demon Deacons are a very quiet 5-0.  They check in at #22.   The schedule stiffens from here.  But, for now they’ve beaten everyone in front of them to date including the pesky bunch of Carolinans from just up Tobacco Road.
  9. Say hello to SMU.  They are ranked for the first time since the football program received the death penalty for NCAA rules violations in 1987. The 5-0 Mustangs entered the poll at #24 after winning 48-21 at USF on Saturday. They’re off to the school’s best overall start since 1983, with three road wins under their belt including a then ranked TCU.  Under second-year coach Sonny Dykes, the Mustangs are playing their best ball since the Pony Express days of Eric Dickerson and Craig James.  Hey Cali, Texas was already paying it’s players way back then.
  10.  Some early lines are out.  That matchup of the week has Auburn a three point favorite in The Swamp over Florida.  Washington is a whopping 14 1/2 point road favorite over Stanford.  Texas travels east to West Virginia as an 11 point favorite.   The three home dogs and the points seems like a fun three team parlay.

The entire BBR staff is traveling to BR for an 11AM LSU v. Utah St. Saturday kickoff.  They will also be in that number to cover the Saints hosting the Buccaneers the next day.  The work never ends.

October is here.  Footballs are flying.

Six Questions.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

As we exit this week, thankfully, we leave you with a few(6) questions to ponder.  We’ll call this blend of politics, sports, and current events our Six Shooter for now. Perhaps this name is offensive.  Does Six Pack sound better?  Suggestions for a better name for this new feature are welcome.  But, make them good, or they will likely hit the round file.

We’ll keep it short as we, much like you, would prefer to put this week behinds us ASAP.  And, to the points to ponder we wander.

  1. In the age of media overkill, can we kill any future stories before they are printed or spoken about Antonio Brown?  The entire NFL is taking a pass on Antonio catching a pass for them.  Can the media pass?  Colin Kaepernick is holding on line two.
  2. Is Adam Schiff related to Pinocchio?   He has to be.  His ability to stare cameras in the face daily and lie right through his pearly whites has reached yet another level.  Jacob Chaffetz, the respected and recently retired Senator from Utah wrote a piece expressing his desire to see Shifty Schiff removed as House Intel Committee Chairman.  It’s from the right, and right here if you want a quick read.
  3.  The Packers are 3-1.  Their defense is better, much better, than in years gone by.  But, something doesn’t look right.  Aaron Rodgers, with last night’s game as another example, doesn’t look like Rodgers of old.  What’s wrong?  New OC?   He couldn’t get along with former HC Mike McCarthy either.  Or, as Rodgers told the world a few years back after a tough loss, “everyone needs to just chill.”
  4.  What’s more impressive, the way Joe Biden’s hair plugs have taken root, or how strong Nancy Pelosi’s Poly Grip held up this week after several press conferences?  Throw in Trump’s orange face tint and you have three very vain people at the center of the US political universe.
  5. Lamar Jackson, DeShaun Watson, and Patrick Mahomes are tomorrow’s (and some of today’s) NFL.  Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees are both injured and both may return to HOF form.  Rodgers and Rivers continue on.   But, is there any doubt, ANY doubt, that Tom Brady was yesterday’s, today’s, and likely tomorrow’s NFL?  Story lines about the NFL abound yearly.  You have to fill lots of Al Gore’s virtual world daily.  But, when the season gets long in the tooth, long in the tooth Tom seems to always be the story that matters.
  6. Thursday on CNN’s “OutFront,” 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) called on President Donald Trump to resign from the White House over the “whistleblower” complaint regarding Trump’s communications with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.  Can someone tell CNN, and then CNN could be kind enough to tell Beto, that someone’s opinion who is polling at less than 1% doesn’t really matter?  BBR is calling on Beto to resign.  Wait, he doesn’t have a job to resign from.

Tom Cruise (Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee) wanted answers from Jack Nicholson (Colonel Nathan Jessup) in A Few Good Men.  Nicholson told Cruise that “you can’t handle the truth.”  Truth be told this, once again, wasn’t America’s finest week.  Enjoy the weekend escape, and let the games begin.

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Year Two, Week Five

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Abby promised to make money rain last week.  Unfortunately the “bad beat” gods rained on her instead.  Two games v the spread were lost by 1/2 point in her regular picks.  Her hunch bet had a dog house, back door late cover by 1/2 point as well.  Oh well.   For the season Abby has won 9 of 20 picks.  Her bone collection is buried in some backyard mud at 16 of 38.  Hunch bets have won three, and lost but two.

Week five features games almost as underwhelming as week three.  Only one top 25 matchup is on the card.  It’s # 10 ND hosting #18 Virginia.  Abby isn’t yapping about the choices, but she isn’t napping just yet either.  It’s time for this doggie to give the readers a treat, and to the picks we go.

Clemson v North Carolina +27 —  The Mack Brown miracle has been put on pause.  Clemson has hit its stride.  It’s a good spot for a back door cover to get even with last week’s beats.  One bone.

Iowa St. v Baylor +2 1/2 —  Abby loves home dogs.  She especially loves it when she thinks that the wrong team is favored.  Three bones.

Minn v Purdue + 1 1/2 —   Did we mention that Abby loves home dogs?  Did we mention that she especially loves it when she thinks that the wrong team is favored?  One bone.

Kansas St v Oklahoma St. – 4 —  Kansas St. has played better in year one without Bill Snyder than expected so far.  Oklahoma St. is smarting from a loss in a valiant effort v. Texas last week.  Abby says the Cowboys cover late in a lower than expected total score.  Three bones.

Penn St -6 v Maryland —  Before Abby heads in for her nap, she wants everyone to know that she thinks America is sleeping on the Nittany Lions.  Expect Maryland to be fired up at home, but expect Penn St to wear them out late.  Two bones.

Does any PAC 12 team deserved to be favored by 10 points over any other, Oregon St. aside?  Washington is favored by 10 over visiting USC.  The line seems out of bounds.  Hunch bets are made on outliers.  She thinks that Vegas is screaming at you to take USC.  She’ll take the Huskies, a favorite dog of hers to begin with.

Abby is a day early this week for logistical reasons.  It’s better than a day late.  And, her picks aren’t a dollar short.

Woof!

 

Quiet On The Set!

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 through May 1693. More than 200 people were accused.  Nineteen were found guilty and executed by hanging.   The episode is one of Colonial America’s most notorious cases of mass hysteria. It has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a cautionary tale about the dangers of false accusations and lapses in due process.

My how we have progressed in the 326 years since 1693.  Or not.

Yesterday House Majority Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced after a meeting with Democratic House leaders that the House would begin an impeachment inquiry into the allegations that President Trump attempted to influence the 2020 presidential race by asking Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky to look into possible wrong doings by Joe Biden’s son Hunter in his business dealings with the country.

Last night it was reported that the whistleblower to the Intelligence Inspector General hadn’t actually heard the conversation, but was told of it.  But, surely where there is smoke there is fire.  The whistleblower retained an attorney who previously worked for Chuck Schuemer and none other than Hillary Clinton.  But, we digress.

Today the White House will release the complete unredacted transcripts of the call.  But, why wait for that?  Get the pitchforks out of the shed yesterday.

Remember, Joe Biden is on tape bragging about how he influenced Ukraine to fire the prosecutor that was looking into his son’s LLC’s Ukraine dealings.   This blatantly obvious transgression, much bigger than your average daily gaffe, makes us wonder.

Could two wrongs make a right for the far left?  Let’s play “what if.”  What if there is enough undertone to the tone of Trump’s call to give the mob more impetus to carry on the inquiry?  Or, what if there is not? Here is what happens regardless.

  1.  Congressional Democrats up for reelection in 2020 can either vote to impeach (if it even comes to that) if it helps them gain reelection, or vote against if it will not.   Remember, all politics inevitably are local.  Thirty-one Democrats are running in districts that Trump carried by 10 points or more in 2016.
  2.  At a minimum this continues the “we must oust the corrupt Trump” war that the House has run with for three years now.  We are just guessing, but this inquiry might just last up until, say, roughly the first week of November of 2020.  Fire up the lanterns and the base.
  3.  What if Biden gets tangled up in this mess?  Shouldn’t he have to release his meeting notes and phone calls to Ukraine when he was VP?  As stated above, he’s openly told assembled crowds that he has done exactly what Trump is now accused of.
  4.  If so, doesn’t this further weaken an already weakened Biden campaign?
  5.  If so, doesn’t this turn a crack into a wide open door for a Warren, or Sanders, or Harris, etc. to walk through for the nomination?
  6.  There aren’t enough House votes to impeach.  Even if there was, there certainly aren’t enough Senate votes to convict the President.
  7.  If so, then when it’s all said and done what’s the end game?  The answer of course is “politics.”  And political gain leads to power.  And power leads to control.

The trials of 1692-3 were started after people had been accused of the witchcraft, primarily by teenage girls such as Elizabeth Hubbard, 17, as well as some who were even younger.   Many books, documentaries, movies, and TV shows have examined the Salem trials.

One day many books, documentaries, movies, and TV shows will examine this accusation of wrongdoing as well.  President Trump was once a reality TV star prior to his current gig.  The casting director should choose Trump to play the role of Trump.  And, he or she should choose Alexandria Octavio Cortez to play the role of the very imaginative teenage girl.  And, it now seems certain that, reluctantly, Nancy Pelosi will direct the expose.

Lights, camera, action!

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The Ten Piece Nuggets are a day late but not  a dollar short on quality below.  This writer and the entire BBR staff was in Nashville doing some research for an upcoming expose’ on Vanderbilt football or a lack thereof.  Put your napkin in your lap.  Here they are.

  1.  The latest AP Top 25 came out Sunday.  There was some movement both up and down for the first time in a couple of weeks.  The top six (THE moved from 6 to 5 and Oklahoma drooped one to 6 from 5) were quiet.  Ohio St. squeaked by a slightly out manned Miami of Ohio squad 76-5.
  2. Notre Dame was seven and they fought hard in Athens, Ga. but lost 23-17 and dropped to 10.  It’ll be hard, but not impossible, for them to climb back into the playoff conversation from there.
  3. Wisconsin was the big winner on the week.  Their demolition of Mr Khaki’s, aka Jim Harbaugh, and his Wolverines vaulted them from 13th to 8th.  Harbaugh is making top five coaching money in Ann Arbor.  His record in five years there is 0-4 against Ohio State, 1-9 vs. top-10 opponents, 0-7 as an underdog, 1-6 on the road against ranked opponents, and has five losses by at least 21 points, including three of their last five games.  Pundits spend the entire off season talking about coaches on the hot seat.  We wonder if they missed one.
  4. Auburn’s Gus Malzahn was named on a few of these “experts” lists.   They are ranked 7th after a solid road win in College Station over the Aggies.  Known for his offensive genius, maybe he should get some credit for a mean, athletic defense that misses very few tackles.  Maybe he gets to keep his job for a bit longer after all.
  5. Top five coaching money gets deposited weekly in Jimbo Fischer’s checking account too.  After a road loss to Clemson, and a home loss to Auburn the A&M program sits at 2-2.   The schedule still has three undefeated to date teams in Georgia, Alabama, and LSU on it plus a home date with 3-1 Mississippi St.  It looks like Kellon Mond hasn’t taken a step up in year two of Jimbo’s QB whispering yet.  Therefore, the Aggies haven’t yet either.  With 75 million guaranteed over 10 years Jimbo’s chair comes equipped with a cooling device.  The Aggies polled at #23.
  6.  The PAC 12 says don’t forget about us.  They have teams at 13,15,17,19, and 21.  Five consecutive odd numbers for five somewhat odd teams.  No. 13 Oregon’s season opening loss to Auburn looks less damaging by the week.  Who has the nation’s longest defensive “held under 24 points scoring streak of 15 games?”  That’s California saying hello at #15.  The Golden Bears beat the Black Bears (formerly known as the politically incorrect Rebels) in Oxford. MS.  Cali is the PAC 12’s only undefeated team four weeks in at 4-0.
  7.  Washington hammered BYU in Utah 45-19 and moved up five to #17.  Utah, a five point favorite, lost on Friday night to USC and is #19. That’s a tough loss for a team with high hopes for 2019.   Mr. Hot Seat himself, Clay Helton, has his Trojans riding higher on the horse at 3-1, and is on his third QB in doing so.  Maybe the climate really is changing in LA as his hot seat has cooled considerably with the solid start and doing so with a 3rd string QB for now.  USC is ranked 21st.
  8.  Two non Power 5 “thorns in your side” teams moved in opposite directions.  On Friday night Boise St. beat a pretty good Air Force team and improved to 4-0 and are ranked 16th.   Meanwhile, parade plans in Orlando got rained on.  U. of Central Florida, UCF, slid from 15 to 22nd.  Pittsburgh handed them a 35-34 road loss in a game that wasn’t really as close as it’s final score.
  9. With ND (10th) at Virginia (18th) the only game between two ranked opponents this coming weekend, and with College Gameday just in Georgia when they played ND, the crew will descend upon Lincoln, Nebraska this weekend.   The unranked Cornhuskers host THE Ohio St University.  Scott Frost is trying to turn a once storied program around.  Vegas thinks this won’t be the week that it starts.  They have THE installed as a 17 point road favorite.  Will Lee Corso even consider putting on Lil’ Red’s hat, aka Herbie Husker?  He won’t if Kirk “Herbie” Herbstreit, former Buckeye, has anything to say about it.
  10. We took a long look at the coming weekend’s early betting lines for interesting ones.  They are few and far between.  One that caught our eye was Stanford is only a four point road favorite at Oregon State.  My oh my, how far and how quickly has the Cardinal program fallen this year?  Stanford beat Northwestern to open the season, but dropped three in a row to USC, UCF, and Oregon since.  Might Stanford head coach David Shaw feel a touch of global seat warming?  Not yet.

Yesterday was the first day of fall.  Fall, football, and Ten Piece Nuggets go together like hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Year Two, Week Four

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Abby had some extra time to analyze her picks this week.  A tropical storm named Imelda visited her neighborhood and dropped a lot of rain.   Abby stayed high and dry watching game film.  She needed to.  Her season is off to a just below water start.   Through three weeks Abby has correctly picked 7 of 15 games and garnered 14 of 29 bones bet.  Her hunch bet, a sterling 9-1 last year, continues to hold water at 3-1 this year.  Arizona St. plus and the game under the total was a win win for her last week.  The well researched picks are below.

Utah -3 v. USC — The Utes are simply better than USC.  And they are better than the Trojans by more than a skinny field goal.   And they are way better if they trade for a rifle as Washington St. coach Mike Leach hysterically runs down that possibility in a must see 90 second video here.    Two bones.

LSU v. Vanderbilt +24 —  LSU is 3-0 v the spread.  LSU has numerous starters missing this week due to injury or suspension.  The kickoff is 11 AM.  We wonder if the Tigers won’t be a bit sleepy in the first half.  Two bones.

USA v. UAB – 10—  That bird that told us UAB is a good bet last week told us it’s a good bet this week.  Abby is a bird dog.  Make sense?  One bone.

Okla St. v Texas -6 1/2 —  This game is usually a shootout.  It might well be again, but doggone it Abby thinks Texas gets a stop or two on D to open the game up by a couple of scores in the fourth quarter.  Three bones.

UCLA +18 1/2 v. Washington St. —  Chip Kelly was famous 10 years ago.  UCLA was last good roughly ten years ago.  They are bad now.  So is Kelly’s coaching thus far.  Abby wonders if the Cougars won’t be looking ahead a bit to next week’s Utah matchup. One bone.

The Texas A&M/Auburn game total is only 47 1/2.  That seems low doesn’t it?  On a hunch Abby barks about it not being low enough.  On a hunch take under the total.

Put on your poncho this weekend.  With the bets above Abby will make the money rain.

Rub the Lamp

Posted on by thependulumswings staff
Canadian leader Justin Trudeau’s campaign for national elections was hit Wednesday by the publication of a photo showing him in “brownface” makeup at a costume party in 2001.

We have questions.  One, was Aladdin a racist movie?  Two, when then teacher Justin Trudeau dressed as an Aladdin character in 2001 for the annual school dinner that was themed “Arabian Nights” was he furthering sterotypes and committing a racist act?  Was Trudeau’s apology for doing so, politics aside, really necessary?  When he dressed that night, and likely many others at the British Columbia school party did similarly, did he or others think what they were doing was wrong?  If he did, should he have apologized any time in the last 18 years?  If he should have apologized, why didn’t he?

We have answers.  No.  No.  No.  No.  Yes.   And, hmm, good question.

Aladdin debuted in 1992 produced by Walt Disney.  It was remade in 2019 and grossed one billion dollars worldwide.  Will Smith was the lead in the 2019 remake.  It seems like Walt Disney, a ton of movie goers, and Will Smith seem to think it wasn’t racist.

The dressed for the party Trudeau in 2001 was doing nothing different than the movie writers, producers, casting, cast, directors, and producers did in 1992.  Did he give getting “brownfaced” a second thought then?  It’s highly unlikely, and it was highly unnecessary as well that he do so.  Intent matters.

Trudeau, who launched his reelection campaign a week ago, said he should have known better.  “I’m pissed off at myself, I’m disappointed in myself,” Trudeau told reporters traveling with him on his campaign plane.  Perhaps he could get a make believe role in the next remake.  He is “sooooo” redfaced about being caught redhanded being brownfaced. This sounds “sooooo” 2019 politically correct that we wish we could rub a genie’s lamp and make it all stop.

We wonder how long he has been beating himself up for this heinous act.  Our guess is that the faux self flogging only began right after Time magazine posted the photo, which it says was published in the yearbook from the West Point Grey Academy where Trudeau worked as a teacher before entering politics. The photo depicts Trudeau wearing a turban and robe, with dark makeup on his hands, face and neck.

Trudeau has been admired by liberals around the world for his progressive policies.  Canada has accepted more refugees than the United States in the last three years.  His Liberal Party government has also strongly advocated free trade.  He faces a very stiff challenge from Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.  But, being politically correct knows no political boundaries.

One of the three wishes Aladdin had for the Genie was to get out of the “cave of wonders.”  We don’t live in a cave.  Therefore, we don’t wonder why he apologized after the photo surfaced and not before.

Bad acting comes and goes.  But, we hope that the curtain never falls on authenticity.  Somebody rub the lamp and wish it all away.

Know When to Say “Uncle.”

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Budweiser, in a responsible drinking campaign several years back, coined the phrase “know when to say when.”   Remember growing up when you were involved in a little physical tussle, skirmish, wrestling match, etc. and one side had enough they would say “uncle.”  Why would they say “uncle?”  It seems that while “crying uncle” is today regarded as an Americanism, its origins go all the way back to the Roman Empire. Roman children, when beset by a bully, would be forced to say “Patrue, mi Patruissimo,” or “Uncle, my best Uncle,” in order to surrender and be freed.

So, when should Uncle Joe Biden’s team say “uncle?”  Preposterous you say?  We actually think that Joe Biden means well.  We think that he thinks that he can continue to do something, or has done something in his 32 years in public office to make a positive difference.  But.

Wasn’t it just three years ago that very suddenly people named Bush and Clinton looked old and sounded so “yesterday?”  What does that make Biden look like and sound like today?

Ronald Reagan’s detractors pointed out repeatedly when he had a “senior moment” or three that he might no longer be fit to hold the highest office in the land in his second term.  Reagan exited the oval office for good after term two at the tender age of 77.  Biden would already be 77 if he won when sworn into the office.

Don’t you wonder why he passed on the chance to run one final time after he served eight straight years as VP under Obama?  Would the timing ever be better?  Did he think it was Hillary’s turn?  Please.  Who thinks like that when they need to have the drive, bravado, tenacity, and “can do” attitude to handle the insane pressure of the top job? When has that stopped someone who wanted something?  Or, was he just plain tired?

Several weeks ago he reminded us in his service to his country as VP that he had a chance to speak to some of the survivors and families touched by the Parkland School shooting.  The problem, of course, was that he wasn’t in office then.  His team said that he was referring to the Sandy Hook school shooting.  Hmm.

A few weeks later, when America was on it’s heels from the back to back mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Biden spoke to gun control needs again and referenced these shootings in Houston and Michigan.  Well, that’s a wrong city in the right state and the wrong state when attempting to recall a city in another state.  Jeez.

Yesterday, to an assembled crowd, he advanced  the idea of an $8000 child care credit for families and said that it would put 720 million women back to work.  You can see the short clip here.  We aren’t convinced that one begets the other.  Further, when you subtract men and children from the estimated 330 million who call America home, you might get to 80-90 million women in all.

Remember, all of this is happening 14 months out from the general election.  There are 11, yes 11, Democratic Presidential debates scheduled prior to the nomination.  Then, the survivor gets to tangle with the man who loves to get people to say “uncle,” one Donald J. Trump.

Most incumbents, and all front runners, tend to limit their exposure and by definition limit the number and length of the debates.  Donald J. is not a  “most” incumbent.

Current odds on Biden to not be the Democratic nominee is minus $400.  You bet $400 to win $100 if he doesn’t gain the nomination fair and square.  You also win the 100 bucks if Uncle Joe says “uncle.”

“I want to be clear, I’m not going nuts,” Biden said Friday two weeks ago. The former vice president’s clarification came before he mistakenly praised Vermont when asked about his impression of Keene, N.H.   Painful.

Father Time is undefeated.  Uncle Joe might be best served by saying “uncle” before he is defeated.

 

 

 

 

Payton’s Happy Place

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Late last week the New Orleans Saints and it’s head coach Sean Payton agreed to a five year contract extension.  Terms weren’t disclosed but our guess is that it pays $10 million per year at a minimum.  It’s great work if you can get it.  Payton can buy most anything he wants with that kind of dough.  Except, remember, money cannot buy happiness.

And, by Sunday night Payton was not very happy.  The Saints got worked in the second half by the NFC reigning champion LA Rams, and lost 27-9.  But, it was who they lost and how they lost that raises the coach’s blood pressure.  Midway through the second quarter, Drew Brees injured his thumb and after surgery Monday will miss the next six weeks.  Brees has played 15 seasons for the team and has played in at least 15 games each of those years.  That healthy streak is done.

But another streak is three games long and perhaps growing.  If you have any blood pressure you know that in the NFC Championship game in January was greatly influenced by a blown referee call effectively sending the Saints home and the Rams to the Super Bowl.  The head of NFL officiating apologized to Payton shortly after the game.

Fast forward to week one of this season and the Saints were victims again.  This time an improper run off of the clock just prior to the half cost them a chance at a shorter field goal in a tight battle with the Texans. The head of NFL officiating apologized to Payton shortly after the game.  Sound familiar?

And, on Sunday, the Saints scooped up a late second quarter fumble in a 3-3 defensive slugfest and returned it 87 yards for a touchdown.  Except the head referee thought that Rams QB Jared Goff arm had started forward, hence he blew the whistle, and the call.  The Saints got the ball on their own ten yard line as a consolation prize.  After a three and out the Rams got a short field and kicked a field goal.  This was a seven or ten point swing(depending on how you see it) in a deadlocked game.  Game changer.  The head of NFL officiating apologized to Payton shortly after the game.  Sound familiar?

Which brings us to a question.  If money cannot buy happiness, can it buy better officiating?  There is no grand plot to sabotage the Saints.  But, there is a standard deviation or two outlier outcome that puts them on the wrong side of three game changing, horrible calls.  Enough already.

Which brings us to a question.  If the NFL sent a whopping $8.7 billion net after expenses to the teams to share in 2018, could they consider paying for full time referees?  Doesn’t every other league worth talking about have full time officiating?   Of course they do.

Players are asked, er, told, um, must weigh in at a specific team desired weight.  They train year round, attend offseason OTA’s, study film, report to a fall camp, play four preseason games, play seventeen regular season games, and play as many as four playoff games.   You miss any of this you get fined.  You play poorly you get fired.  But most of all, you dedicate yourself  24/7/365 for the good of the team and the respect of the game.  Is it too much for the NFL to dedicate time, training, money, and people to officiate the sanctimonious NFL game in the same manner?  If they did, they could make far less “I’m so sorry” calls.

Money ($7.25 million) did buy Teddy Bridgewater as the highest paid backup in the league to Drew Brees.  He now needs to be a bridge over troubled water for six weeks.  Hopefully that money spent will buy Sean Payton some happiness.

Well, that assumes that the part-time employment referees will break their blown calls streak like Brees’ broken thumb will break his.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If you blinked you missed 25% of the NCAA football season as of this past Saturday.  The NFL concludes week 2 tonight.  But, worry not.  Our Ten Piece Nuggets are here to give you another serving of all that you need to feed the craving.  The nuggets, as always, are the original, no leftovers here.  Help yourself below.

  1.  The NCAA football weekend had exactly zero games where the opponents were both ranked in the top 25.  Chalks dominated the outcomes for the most part.  The Top 10 saw only a very minor change.  Michigan was idle and was passed by.  Passing them by was now 3-0 Utah who won 31-0 over Idaho St.  Michigan only slid one spot to 11.
  2.  A week after Kentucky lost starting quarterback Terry Wilson they ended Florida’s starting quarterback Felipe Franks season in a wild 29-21 loss.  Franks’ gruesome injury was diagnosed as a dislocated ankle.  Backup and one time brief starter Kyle Trask came off the bench to throw for 126 yards and score a rushing touchdown, leading the Gators from 11 down to 19 unanswered points and victory.  Astute local observers of the program contend that Florida might even be better with him starting going forward.  Florida is ranked 9th and has Tennessee coming to The Swamp this weekend.
  3.  Florida is only the fifth highest ranked SEC team however.  Alabama (2), Georgia (3), LSU (4),  and Auburn (8) are higher.  Those four scored 47, 55, 65, and 55 in blowout wins over inferior opponents Saturday.  South Carolina tried to make a game of their tussle with Bama, but only slowed the Tua scoring machine a bit.
  4.  Wisconsin (tied for 13) took last weekend off and have the aforementioned Michigan Wolverines coming to Madison this weekend.   It’s but one of many in conference match ups across the land this coming weekend that will capture more of our attention than last weekend.  Wisconsin has scored 110 points in two games and surrendered a big fat 0.   It would be a good destination for College Gameday.
  5. But, Lee Corso and Company are headed to Athens, Ga.  The Bulldogs host The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame in a rematch of the 2017 thriller in South Bend.  With Georgia sitting at 3 and Notre Dame at 7, it’s a good choice.  A Notre Dame win would vault them squarely in to the National Championship Playoff picture even if it’s only late September.
  6.  UCF, which held a parade for itself a couple of years back after an undefeated season found them looking from the outside in at the playoffs, is 3-0 and perched at 15.  The put 45 on a once proud Stanford team.  The Cardinal (we love teams with singular nicknames) surrendered 45 last week to USC as well.  UCF has little opposition until a trip on 10/26 to Temple.  We love parades.
  7.  In the NFL there are teams with franchise quarterbacks and teams without.  If you are with out you get to watch the playoffs from home usually.  If you are with you usually play in the playoffs.  Yesterday the Pittsburgh Steeleers lost Ben Rothliesberger to an elbow injury.  And, Yesterday, the New Orleans Saints lost Drew Brees to a thumb injury.  Both are seeing specialists today to determine the proper medical course of action.  It doesn’t look good for either.  ANd, as a result, they might watch the playoffs from home too.
  8. Brees was interviewed this summer on The Dan Patrick Show a day after the NFL Top 100 players (voted on by the players) were revealed on the NFL Network.  Brees finished second only to Aaron Donald, DL extraordinaire of the LA Rams.  Patrick asked Brees about finishing second to Donald.  Brees said, in effect, that it made total sense as Donald is in a league by himself.  He went on to say that Donald is unblockable and needed to be specifically game planned for.   Yesterday Donald broke thru the line and his hand hit Brees’ hand as he released a pass.  It sent Brees to the locker room and may send him to the operation room soon.
  9. Colin Kapernick’s nike commercial won an Emmy Award last evening.  The spot is dubbed Dream Crazy.  The commercial climaxes with the former San Francisco 49er saying, “Believe in something even if it means sacrificing everything.” He concludes the commercial saying, “Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy. Ask if they’re crazy enough.”  Fair enough.  Disruptor enough.
  10.  Fifty years ago ABC disrupted normal fall Monday Night network programming by paying $25.5 million for a three year run of Monday Night Football.  The rest, as they say, is history.   Fifty years later there is Sunday night and Thursday night football to go along with MNF.  MNF was the first in prime time and it was the first with a “three in the booth” announcer set up.  In that first booth was Howard Cosell, Dandy Don Meredith, and?  And?  That’s right, it was Keith Jackson.  Unfortunately, all three are no longer with us.  But MNF sure is.

It’s only four days till Friday.  You’ve been fed.  Now, get after it.