It’s amazing that great athletes can sometimes flat-out rag doll other great athletes. Last night on MNF Tampa Bay fell back towards reality. Pittsburgh went on the road, and got a much-needed win. This seventy-five yard play that included a catch, run, STIFF arm, and run for a touchdown ignited the Steelers’ sideline and changed the momentum of the game.
Author: thependulumswings staff
There are Stiff Arms and There Was This Last Night.
No One Out Pizzas The Hut. Or Do They?
Do you like pizza? Of course you do. Pizza is as American as hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet. Sales have been growing like a rising crust for nearly three decades as more companies found more ways to serve you a pie. Except one. Pizza Hut.
Pizza Hut has been the king of the biz. It’s been the number one market share pizza company for decades. Long live the king. Below is how the American scoreboard tallied entering 2017.
- Pizza Hut – $5.8 billion in total sales
- Domino’s – $5.3 billion
- Little Caesars Pizza – $3.7 billion
- Papa John’s Pizza – $2.9 billion
- Chuck E. Cheese’s – $885.2 million
- Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza – $884.8 million
- California Pizza Kitchen – $657.4 million
- Marco’s Pizza – $488.9 million
- Cicis – $449.7 million
- Round Table Pizza – $442.6 million
In 2017 that long reign ended. Domino’s took over as the market share leader late in 2017. Domino’s slice of the U.S. pie is now estimated at 14.2% to Pizza Hut’s 14.1%.
A quick 23 years ago, in 1995, Pizza Hut had 25% of the fast food pizza market, compared to Domino’s 11% and Papa John’s 2.2%.
Regardless of the category those who see the need and introduce the category (as well as their products to service that need) usually maintain a stranglehold on the number one position. Or, sometimes the category grows so much, they might be in a dogfight to keep it, but their sales are growing rapidly side by side others. The Coca Cola Co. and Pepsi Co. fit that description.
But not Pizza Hut. How they have allowed their dominate market share position to fall this far is worth an entire semester of a business graduate school’s attention.
Making a pizza from scratch is a lot like running a company. A good dough forms a great crust as a base. Pizza Hut thought they were in the retail store pizza business. Domino’s decided that they could advertise nationally and deliver locally. Papa John’s followed that recipe shortly thereafter. Pizza Hut had stores coast to coast before the first Domino’s delivered. So much for a great base. Pizza Hut failed to realize that they were in the pizza business not the retail store business. Consumers evolve. A Pizza Hut pizza and a movie at the theater became Domino’s at your door and a flat screen TV in your den.
What toppings would you like? These are the features and benefits of your brand. For your toppings you might like fast delivery of a warm pizza that you can order from Al Gore’s internet at a great price. Fast, warm, internet, and price. Sounds simple doesn’t it? Actually if you listen carefully to consumers, it is.
Marianne Radley took over as Pizza Hut’s Brand Manager position last year. One of her comments follows.
“Some of the focus, she says, should be on improving the company’s use of data and consumer insights, and how it interacts with patrons. “We’re a company that’s stuck in a transaction mindset, and we need to pivot to a customer lifetime mindset,” says Radley.
Another approach that may please consumers is finding their favorite brand/style of pizza in the frozen food section of their grocery store. But, there is no Hut inside the freezer either. Whataburger, a burgeoning retail store hamburger chain based in Texas, has their brand name mustard, spicy mayo, ketchup, and frozen fries in a large grocery chain that trades in similar markets. Why not? It’s but one example of extending your reach. PF. Chang’s has frozen meals in there as well. There are many others.
And finally, and quite importantly, there is who you are in the eyes of your customer or your potential consumer. Ms. Radley lays out the multiple missteps of the brand’s marketing in this Ad Age article quite well. In it she states that Pizza Hut is actively looking for their sixth agency in about a dozen years.
She also wants to keep the current tag line, “No One Out Pizzas The Hut.” There is just one problem. Currently everyone does.
Ten Piece Nuggets CFB
Four weeks into the 2018 CFB season some interesting trends have begun to emerge. There are also some conference nuggets to digest. Let’s kickoff.
- In the previous three weeks we have asked if everyone is playing for second. Bama is playing like no one else when you consider 16 quarters of football in their portfolio. Well, Vegas certainly agrees. The Golden Nugget out there has the following odds on Bama v. the top four opponents should they meet in the playoffs. THE Ohio St is +10, Georgia is +11, Clemson +12, and Oklahoma +17. Jeez.
- Old Dominion beat Virginia Tech after Va Tech looked pretty darn good beating Florida St. 24-3 and dismantling William and Mary 62-17. Wow is the word. The week off due to the East Carolina postponement as Florence wobbled did Va Tech no good.
- Boston College, after a solid-looking start to their season, got pushed around by then 0-3, now 1-3 Purdue. Meanwhile Duke came in at #22 in the just released AP poll after it took care of business to move to 4-0 with a 55-13 shellacking of NC Central.
- So, where does this leave the ACC? It leaves them with Clemson at # 3 and Duke in the top 25. Clemson aside, the ACC looks like a cross between a train wreck and a dumpster fire. It also leaves Clemson in a must win situation it seems. Duke is the only ranked opponent for them from now until any possible ACC championship opponent. A loss against a non-ranked opponent would open the door for other conferences to get into the playoffs and leave the ACC at home.
- Kentucky entered the top 25 all the way up at #16 after a surprising and thorough working of the Bulldogs of Mississippi St. The last time Kentucky was in the top 25 was 2007. The Dow was 13,700 then. It went on a rollercoaster down to just under 7000 by March of 2009. Today it stands well over 26,000. It’s been a long, bumpy road back for the index and the Wildcats. Are you buying or selling the Wildcats now?
- We’re buying Benny Snell, the Kentucky running back extraordinaire. He might need to stop by New York in December to pick up some Heisman hardware before he’s drafted early next April. He’s only a dark horse right now, but winning in the SEC changes that status by the week. Saturday he produced 165 yards running on 25 carries against a front seven that is very good. He crossed the goal line four times too.
- Oklahoma almost pulled off their annual Oklahoma melt moment Saturday. Army, yes Army, extended them to overtime before the Sooners prevailed 28-21. The phrase “stats are for losers” comes to mind when you realize that Army ran 81 plays to Oklahoma’s paltry 26. The time of possession favored Army by nearly 45 minutes to a very frugal 15. The Sooners have to be better on defense to be considered an elite team. And, the sooner the better is recommended with Big 12 foes and wide open offenses headed their way in the next two months.
- Tom Herman told us that his team was way better in 2018 than 2017. He said this in the post game press conference after losing to Maryland in the season opener. We chuckled. Maybe Tom is about to get the last laugh. The Longhorns sent TCU back to Fort Worth after their rather convincing win. He has the attention of the fickle Texas faithful. Football is fun again in the Lone Star capital.
- Two big games with significant national implications will get our attention this Saturday. It’s Penn St. hosting THE Ohio St., while Notre Dame hosts Stanford. That’s four top 10 unbeatens that will be cut down to two by nightfall.
- Some early lines are out. Syracuse (4-0) travels to Clemson and gets no Vegas respect at +22. Florida and Dan Mullen travel to Mississippi St. and get no Vegas respect at +7.5. THE is -4 at Penn St. And, ND is favored by 5 in South Bend over Stanford. LSU is -13.5 over Mississippi in BR town. Mississippi can score some points. We like Florida and Mississippi.
- One leftover nugget. Scott Frost your team didn’t show up Saturday to play in Ann Arbor. It was 39-0 before the half and 56-10 at the final gun. At least the leaves are changing in Lincoln this fall. The Cornhuskers are 0-3.
I’ll Have a Cuban Sandwich Please.
If you’re a foodie you love trying new restaurants, menus, dishes, or recipes. The hard-working staff here at boomboomsroom.com loves to try out new takes on food as well. Working well into last evening we decided to take a stab on Al Gore’s internet for just that.
What popped up in Google Search trending right there at the top? Wow, a new take on an old favorite did-the Cuban Sandwich.
The prep went as follows.
- Toast bread till burned by your subordinates. Ignore coworkers cries for a better toaster. In fact, ignore them for 10 years or so.
- Pile on a bunch of baloney to cover up how poor your leadership is/was. While layering on the baloney say things like….“I’m just sorry I didn’t see. I’m just sorry I didn’t recognize it. I just hope that out of this we’ll be better and we can avoid it and we can help make everybody just smarter about the whole thing.”
- Add a sliced ghost pepper. “If I was in our business office five times in 15 years, that was a lot. It’s embarrassing to say there were people who I just hadn’t met and hadn’t talked to.”
- Top generously with pungent cheese. “Yeah, obviously that’s a huge mistake on my part. I was under the impression that, the first issue, the pornography was resolved. And obviously it wasn’t.”
- Slather with the mustard that you cannot cut. “I didn’t know and I don’t have an explanation. I can give you lots of reasons but they don’t matter. What matters is it was my responsibility, it didn’t happen and I have to be accountable for it.”
- Season(tickets) to taste with salt extracted from alligator tears.
Cost of the sandwich is a mere 10 million dollars. What a small price to pay for over a dozen years of creating a workplace that went unchecked on domestic violence, sexual harassment, and sexual assault.
It’s good to know that money and a lot of “I’m really sorry(s)” can keep you in the NBA I guess. Well, that is unless your name is Donald Sterling. The food he served was sooooooooo bad that he paid 2.5 million and got a lifetime NBA ban.
Meanwhile, in NY, Adam Silver is in the drive through in his Rolls Royce. Yes, sir, can I help you? Yes, I would like to order that new Cuban sandwich. Sure, is that all? Yes. Okay, your total is 10 million at the second window.
Lefty and Shorty Discuss All That Is the NFL.
Last evening Lefty and Shorty were all but ready to close the Gulf Station. Mosquitoes were everywhere and cars were no where to be found. Lefty- Why do we stay open until midnight? Shorty-So that you and I can discuss the NFL.
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.
Lefty- New England has won more games and Super Bowls than anyone else, why can’t Tom Brady and Bill Belicheck get along? Shorty-They’ve worked together for 18 years. That’s a long time. I’m tired of working with your sorry butt after ten.
Lefty-Yes, but Tom Brady is the greatest ever. Shorty- Tom Brady has had the most favorable rule changes to protect the statue of a QB that he is ever imagined. Different eras are very hard to compare. Only one thing is for certain. No one cleans windshields like us anymore, no one.
Lefty- Well Bill Belicheck doesn’t appreciate him enough. Shorty- So said my ex-wife and every wife to her husband since Y A Title completed his first forward pass.
Lefty- What rule changes? Shorty- You cannot tackle the QB anymore. He sits back fearlessly scouring the options to throw to. It’s a pass first league. It’s a mismatch WR or a Gronk TE type in space versus a DB who cannot cover. It would be like me watching you having to defend Lebron.
Lefty- Is that why so many pass interference calls are made? Shorty-Pass interference is the most punitive flag thrown. It’s worse than forgetting the oil pan when changing the oil.
Lefty-Well at least there are a few new exciting teams this year. Shorty- There are every year. The game is built like NASCAR cars. If you have a losing record in the prior year your schedule the next is easier. Your draft position is higher. You cherry picked good free agents from good teams. Everything is designed to have all cars on the last lap with a chance to win. Unless you get a nail in your tire you have a chance.
Lefty- Well wasn’t that crazy that Vontae Davis flat quit on his team and retired at halftime? Have you ever seen anything like that? Shorty-It reminds me of when we are tuning an engine together and you see the food truck pull up.
Lefty-Want to pick a game to bet against each other this week? Shorty- Sure, I’ll take DA Bears minus five over the low flying Cardinals. Lefty-Deal.
Lefty- And this time if I lose I promise to pay up. Shorty- If you don’t you’ll need to enter the NFL concussion protocol.
Lefty- See you tomorrow Shorty. Shorty- Unfortunately.
.
Urban’s Intent Not Taken Out Of (Con)Texts.
Well, well. A Wall Street journal follow up story on the legend that Urban Meyer is has found that the esteemed panel that led the investigation into his actions decided to not attempt to recover deleted text messages. The deleted texts that might have made a difference in discovery were wiped from AD Gene Smith’s phone. Smith stated that he always deletes texts after sending or receiving them. The texts of Urban Meyer were deleted at some point in the past too. Urban is said to have asked a university employee how to delete texts just as the controversy festered.
Deleted texts are recoverable just like deleted emails are and deleted IP address searches are as well. It only takes time and some forensic effort. Time-hmmm. Maybe that would have kept Urban on the sidelines of the sidelines for too long.
If the convened panel was convened to make THE Ohio St University look like they really cared about the matter it failed nearly as badly as Coach Urban Meyer did in his duties, denials, and cover up.
A Feather in One’s Cap.
For a deed or job well done you may have heard your mom, a mentor, or a “report to” of yours applaud your work. Perhaps you have been told to “put a feather in your cap.” High praise indeed that feather is. It’s a make-believe symbol of honor and achievement. Or, way back when people did add a feather to one’s head wear.
But what is the origin of such a phrase? Well, as it is with many old school or old world expressions, that is a subject of some debate.
Way back in 1599 an English writer and traveler Richard Hansard noted that Hungarians should only wear a feather in their cap if they had killed a Turk. The more feathers in your hat the more dead Turks.
The Native American tradition of adding a feather to the head-dress of any warrior for his bravery is well-known and well documented.
However, if you though as an American child it was a cool thing to recite/sing Yankee Doodle it may not have been after all.
Yankee Doodle went to town
A-riding on a pony,
Stuck a feather in his cap
And called it macaroni’.
It turns out that the word Yankee was used by the Brits to describe the naive or inexperienced. Doodle was a “polite” way of inferring dumb or simpleton. Simpletons were also called noodles. Macaroni was slang for a dandy or fop. A dandy or fop was how someone who paid far more attention to their appearance than to their substance was known. That is, just by putting a feather in your cap doesn’t yet make you accomplished at the task at hand.
In short London mocked the revolutionary militia from day one of the uprising. I guess the Ugly Americans got the last laugh.
As the late Paul Harvey would bellow, “and now you know the rest of the story.”
Has Anything Really Changed?
The year was 1991. The accuser was Anita Hill. The nomination of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas hung in the balance. The accusation was that Mr. Thomas, then head of the EEOC, sexually harassed Ms. Hill, then a subordinate of the now Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas. The drama of her and his testimony in the Senate Judiciary Committee room nearly sucked the oxygen out of the room.
The year is 2018. The accuser is Christine Blasey Ford. The nomination of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh hangs in the balance. The accusation is that Mr. Kavanaugh, then a seventeen year old teenager, sexually harassed Ms. Ford, then a fifteen year old teenager at a party. The drama of her testimony and his testimony in the Senate Judiciary Committee room as early as next week will suck the oxygen out of the room.
This allegation, that seeped out of Senator Diane Feinstein’s office over the weekend, smelled strongly of partisan politics. Why wait till now? Thirty two hours of testimony, Ms. Feinstein’s questions on many areas included, had concluded over a week prior.
Yesterday a Republican push to converse via phone with the accuser and the accused, deemed by the Democrats as an attempt at rubber stamping , lost momentum when a few Republican Senators expressed deeper concern. By late afternoon President Trump stated the following.
“He is somebody very special; at the same time, we want to go through a process, we want to make sure everything is perfect, everything is just right,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House. “If it takes a little delay, it will take a little delay — it shouldn’t certainly be very much.”
By nightfall the parties agreed to testify under oath one proclaiming his steadfast innocence and the other proclaiming steadfastly that her memory of the events that included a third person in said room were correct.
Predictably those in favor of his nomination quickly defended the honor of His Honor. Those opposed yelled nay.
Back then the battle lines were drawn. The Anita Hill hearings were in a different era. Bill Clinton wasn’t President Bill Clinton yet. Numerous allegations of his dalliances in Little Rock, AR. did little to derail his candidacy and eventual election. 
Based on the evidence we can conclude that Bill Clinton was no saint.
Now, the battle lines are drawn. Or, maybe the era isn’t so different. Donald Trump wasn’t President Donald Trump two years ago. Numerous allegations of his dalliances and mistreatment of women did little to derail his candidacy and eventual election. 
Based on the evidence we can conclude that Donald Trump is no saint.
The court of public opinion put both presidents in office.
The opinion of 52 senators (41 Republicans and 11 Democrats) out of 100 in 1991 put Thomas on the Supreme Court. The opinion of 100 senators will either eventually confirm Judge Kavanaugh or not. The current Senate has 51 Republicans and 49 Democrats (two of whom claim to be independents).
Given how polarized this country is its probable that 51 senators (likely every Republican) will vote yes, while 49 senators (likely every Democrat) will vote no. It would take something quite substantive to sway that. He said and she said is what Thomas said and Hill said.
Then they will fly home and campaign in their state’s November midterm election(33 races) or to their colleagues home state to offer support. They’ll tell their constituents that they did the right thing. And, they’ll tell them that they need the votes to continue the fight. Oh, and some support money wouldn’t hurt either.
Maybe nothing has changed. Or, maybe we are even further divided.
Ten Piece Nuggets-CFB
Enjoy another serving of ten college football nuggets below. We are three weeks in already. That’s 25% of a season of 12 games. Don’t you wish the season was 24 games?
- I asked two weeks ago and I’ll ask again. Is everyone else playing for second? Bama is rolling. Roll Tide Roll. After giving up an early touchdown to Ole Miss in Oxford, Ms., Bama steamrolled the Rebels for 62 unanswered. That’s 62! Ole Miss might not have the best defense, but it is an SEC team filled with decent athletes at a minimum.
- Coach Orgeron’s Hot Seat is officially for sale. Two wins over then top ten ranked opponents in three weeks will do that. The media “experts” had it wrong about LSU this year it seems. There is a lot of ball to play yet, but the talk of a hot seat for a guy now 18-6 in SEC play is tired narrative. You can purchase said hot seat in two minutes here.
- Boston College is sneaky good. And they can score. In three games against two weak sisters and Wake Forest they have put up 55,62, and 41 points. They play with purpose and discipline for Head Coach Steve Addazio. He may be in for a bigger payday down the line. Their schedule sets up favorably for an ACC run. They get Clemson, Miami Fl, and Louisville at home. Va Tech is a road game, however. They are ranked 23rd this week in the AP Top 25 poll and they deserve it with a steady climb very possible.
- Speaking of the AP Top 25, the top five teams are Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, THE Ohio St., and Oklahoma. If you take out THE from the five it’s the 2017 final four playoff teams all over again.
- Speaking of THE, Urban Meyer returns from his three game timeout this Saturday at THE Horseshoe. The Tulane Green Wave gets served up for hungry Buckeye fans. Will any sideline reporter or pregame reporter have the stones to ask the questions that aren’t yet answered? Our staff at boomboomsroom.com has asked for game press credentials. If we get them, we won’t be shy.
- BYU says hello from the AP 25th spot. They are in the midst of a nice turnaround from last year’s, abnormal for them, 4-9 record. Their win at Arizona last week showed some will that last year’s team was missing. But, going into Madison to hand a talented Wisconsin a whipping is way better. Wisconsin fans are crying in their cheesehead soup. They didn’t see this one coming. Isn’t the question “how good is BYU?” Or, isn’t the question “is Whisky overrated?” The answers are slightly above average and probably.
- Everyone in the SEC West is in the top 25 except for Ole Miss and lowly Arkansas. Colonel Reb and Woo Pig have some more beatdowns coming. Bama (1), LSU (6), Auburn (9), MS State (14), and A&M (22) are all ranked.
- Herm Edwards was riding high. Was. His 2-0 start including a nice win over ranked Michigan St. took a tough turn v. San Diego St. The Sun Devils, in my somewhat humble opinion aren’t very good. As the PAC-10 season unfolds we’ll keep an eye on them and certainly will be willing to admit if our opinion is incorrect.
- How far have the mighty USC Trojans fallen off of their white horse? The answer is quite a ways. After scoring a meager 3 points v Stanford they put up a meager 14 against a so-so Texas defense to fall to 1-2. Clay Helton is searching for answers as he now answers to an AD that did not hire him. He might be in line to buy Orgeron’s hot seat as we speak. SI tells you more.
- A few early lines are out. Stanford is -1 at Oregon. That seems low. TCU is -3 at Texas. That’s a good game waiting to happen. Bama is -25.5 at home v Texas A&M. Vegas can’t pour enough points on the underdog when it comes to Bama lines/games. Last week the Bama v Ole Miss line moved higher by 4 points and still covered easily. That said, give me A&M plus this week.
Meet Abby Roux and her Doggedly Optimistic Look at Life.
Scroll down if you dare after reading this brief post. Somebody’s watching. There she is. Meet Abby Roux. This beauty of a four-year old Vizsla is the Boom Boom’s Room exclusive and official mascot and watchdog. 
She has to pull double duty for us at the outset, budgets being what they are you know! Expect her to bust into the Room at times with her tail in full wag to give us a whimsical look at life as she sees it. Her first thought begs your interest below.
Old age and toilet paper are a lot alike. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes!
Abby and Boom Boom shook on the deal last evening.
Welcome on board Abby.