10 Piece Nuggets

Ten Piece Nuggies for FSU.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

There are nuggies (remember them in high school?) and there are nuggets.  Florida State University’s football team got a nuggie from the NCAA Playoff Committee Sunday.  Ten nuggets follow pointing out the hypocrisy of it all.

  1.  The committee proved that the phrase “winning isn’t everything” is correct.  FSU, a Power Five conference champion beat everyone they played.  They are 13-0.  Bama and Texas have one loss each.  FSU is on the outside looking in.
  2.  Did the committee prove that the phrase “follow the money” is also correct?   One current Big 10 team and one soon to join it joined one current SEC team and one soon to join.  What’s the commonality?  TV money.
  3. While the ACC is stuck in its media rights deal with ESPN until 2036, the Big Ten and SEC will have new TV contracts beginning in 2023 and 2024, where each school in the respective conferences will earn $67 and $51 million per year.   Each ACC school is only making $23.3 million.  Marketing experts call it brand building.   CEOs call it ROI.
  4. The most outrageous part of it all is the subjectivity.  The committee decided that FSU going forward without its start starting QB wasn’t as good enough as the team was with him.  Funny, though, they kept FSU in the top four every week after the injury until this past Sunday.  What changed?
  5.  Meanwhile, Georgia was ranked number one every week for the past six or so.  But then they lost to Alabama.  So were they number one when they were ranked by the esteemed committee as number one?  The answer, not the beauty of this, lies in the eyes of the beholder.
  6. Now Georgia is sixth.  They lost one game only to now  #4 Bama.  Was it because their schedule otherwise was weak?  If so, how were they number one over Washington before the loss to begin with?
  7.  The beauty of a team sport is that some faction of a very successful team will always pick up another piece.  When Jordan Travis went down has the FSU defense stepped up?  It has.  Holding high-powered Louisville to six points with it supposedly all on the line was impressive.
  8. But there is no way FSU could beat Michigan without Travis, correct?  That’s just like there’s no way #8 Bama could beat #1 Georgia, correct?
  9. Can you imagine Roger Goodell stepping up to a podium announcing the NFL playoff team contests and leaving Philadelphia out because Jalen Hurts got hurt?
  10. Next year the playoffs expand to 12 in total.  This ensures that the committee will get about 9 right.  That’s seventy-five percent, the same as 3 out of 4.  That’s how many they got right this year.

In case you don’t remember.

What does it mean to give someone a nuggie?
It’s a light blow or jab, usually to a person’s head, back, or upper arm and accompanied by a twisting motion, with the extended knuckle of the curled-up second or third finger: done as a gesture of affection or painfully as a prank.

Ten(12) Piece Nuggets-College Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s time to go football bowling.  We roll a perfect game with ten twelve strikes below.

  1.  It says here that the playoff committee got it exactly right and in the right order.  If Tennessee’s Hooker was healthy maybe they flip with Bama at five, but the point is moot for two reasons.  One, he isn’t.  Two, teams five and six aren’t in the top four regardless.
  2. Nick Saban’s campaign to enter the top four as the weekend’s bowling pins were falling his way was 1) his job, and 2) borderline groveling.  Comparing losses and near misses to another team’s “weaker wins” isn’t too becoming.  When Nick speaks, the media fawns.
  3. Another thing that isn’t becoming is Nick’s hair.  It’s dyed a near crimson tide red and fewer and fewer sit daily on his head.  Maybe old St Nick can gift Nick some plugs for his head similar in size to the ones he was making for his team.
  4. Clemson’s Dabo Swinney runs rapidly down the hill when his team enters the home field. It might be symbolic of the team’s direction. They lost two this year and could have easily lost two more. Former five-star Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei entered the transfer portal yesterday after an up-and-down two seasons as the starter.  Promising freshman Cade Klubnik takes over.
  5. Clemson squares off in the Orange Bowl against Tennessee which is missing its aforementioned former starter as well.  It’s one orange-clad team vs another orange-clad team in the aptly named Orange Bowl.
  6. USC went from a top-four playoff-bound team to a team bound for the day after New Year’s Cotton Bowl against upstart Tulane in a mere 48 hours. The one PM Monday kickoff in Arlington Texas, where it’s usually around 31 degrees and sleeting that time of the year is sure to attract dozens of USC So Cal-based fans.  Lincoln Riley will need to care about defense for USC to ascend higher.
  7. Meanwhile, it is refreshing to hear Willie Fritz, HC of Tulane, say out loud that he is staying put.  Tulane hasn’t been relevant in decades and if he bolted for greener money pastures the Green Wave could return to irrelevancy for decades to come.
  8. Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener anyway.  Scott Frost found that out after leaving a similar upstart in UCF for Nebraska.  Billy Napier was the hot name a year ago from ULL.  He hasn’t gained too many fans after a year in Gainsville.
  9. It’s amusing to hear the “experts” tell us that a certain conference is down this year or that year.  This always happens when traditionally strong teams lose more games than the “experts” thought they would.  For example, the Big 12 is down a bit this year.  It is?  TCU is in the final four dance.  Oklahoma and Texas failed to live up to what the “experts” thought they would do.  Perception and perspective.
  10. The PAC 12 failed to secure a playoff berth.  Again.  Its been six long years since 2016 when the left coast last participated.  Washington lost in the semis that year to Bama 24-7.
  11. It’s Army v. Navy this Saturday.  It doesn’t get better than that.
  12. The futures lines are out.  Georgia is -185, Michigan +220, THE Ohio St +310, and TCU +1300 to win it all.  The value looks to be in Michigan and TCU as one of them will get to the final game.

It’ll be a December to remember.  Don’t believe us?  Ask Lexus.

And with the transitory inflation, if you need a loan to purchase one we’re betting Capital One will advertise a time or two that they’re here to help.

What’s in your wallet?

Hopefully, it’s a ticket on Michigan to win it all.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

In cold enough way down yonder to consider a big ole pot of gumbo for dinner this evening.

Gumbo is a whole bunch of “stuff” blended smartly over a long cooking time.  As are the sports nuggets below.

If you’re a health nut what’s better than 10 Piece Nuggets early and gumbo late?  No need to answer that one.

  1.  But, if you were in an NFL survivor pool going into yesterday are you still in one coming out?  A scant few early season upsets prior turned into a blood bath yesterday.  Buffalo scores only six and loses 9-6 at Jacksonville.  Dallas got run out of Jerry’s playground by Denver.  Atlanta beats New Orleans who last week tattooed Tampa Bay.  The New York Giants took it to the Raiders.
  2. Last night Tennessee also took it to the LA Rams.  Vegas had the Rams as the favorite.  No Derrick Henry, no problem for the now 6-2 Titans.  Could the Titans secure home field throughout the AFC playoffs with Indy, Jacksonville, and Houston in their division? You bet.  They play physical ball for sixty minutes every sixty minutes that they suit up.
  3. The New England Patriots are now 5-4 after three straight wins.  They played Tampa Bay and Dallas tough in close losses.  Is their best football ahead of them?  It needs to be as they face their division-leading 5-3 Buffalo Bills twice in the coming weeks.   If they manage to get a leg up on Buffalo they close out the seventeen week schedule with the woeful Dolphins and hapless Jets.  It’s never too early to look ahead, is it?  Two words.  Bill Belichick.
  4. Odell Beckham Jr. is looking ahead as well. He will be a free agent this time tomorrow now that the Browns said enough already.  He’ll take his “talents” and his cancerous attitude to some team hopeful of the good outweighing the bad.  It will soon be marriage number three for OBJ and some desperate team.  Ditto the Raiders as DeSean Jackson is apparently headed there.  There is a reason why some talented players play for more teams than you would think they should.  Jackson started his career with the Eagles, then theRedskins, Bucs, Eagles again, and Rams.  The next stop is Vegas baby.  What could go wrong there?
  5. The Browns might have added by subtracting.  With OBJ gone they lambasted the Bengals 41-16 in Cinncinatti.  Their defense is good enough to make a run.  Will Baker Mayfield and the offense find a new identity?  Yesterday was a great start. He still held a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3 in the third quarter as the Browns became the first team since 2012 with three touchdown plays of 60 yards or more.
  6.  It’s a different league, but maybe it’s the same result.  In the NBA the Philadelphia 76ers, who are dealing with a star sidelined for a different reason, have risen to the top of the East as Ben Simmons continues to be away from the team.  Ben is troubled.  The 76ers suddenly are not.  We’ll leave it at that for now.
  7.  In MLB, fresh off of their World Series loss to the Atlanta Braves, the Houston Astros offered Carlos Correa a 5-year deal valued at about 32 million a year.  Sounds like good work if you can get it.  But, for Team Correa, it will be adios amigo as some team (Yankees?) will nearly double the years which effectively doubles the money guarantee.
  8. Correa is one of many, many free agents available as the Hot Stove League kicks in gear.  At the shortstop position alone in addition to Correa stands Javier Baez, Trevor Story, Marcus Semien, and Cory Seager on the newly unemployed line.  Assuming baseball doesn’t lock out the players in a labor dispute, the comings and goings will be quite interesting this offseason.
  9. One way to extend your shelf life as an NCAA head football coach is to blame your assistants when your team struggles.  After three consecutive losses, Florida’s Dan Mullen fired DC Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy on Sunday.  South Carolina embarrassed them Saturday.  The Washington Huskies fired OC John Donovan.  The decision comes a day after a loss that drops the Huskies to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in the Pac-12.  And, Oregon State DC Tim Tibesar was fired yesterday as the Beavers defense sunk to the bottom of the PAC 12 after a decent start.  Make them the bad guys even though you hired them in the first place.  It buys you a year and quiets the opposition some on the recruiting trail.
  10.  Georgia is #1 and second place isn’t close as the jockeying for the four playoff spots hits the far turn.  A very valid argument could be made for about eight teams to fill the final three spots as of now.  But, “that’s why they play the games,” someone once famously said. It’ll sort itself out.  It always does.  One thing is certain though.  Alabama is #2 because of its history, not its play on the field this year.  Still, they control their chances as they will face Auburn in the Iron Bowl in two weeks.  If they pass that test, Georgia looms in the SEC Championship in the Georgia Dome.  The committee wouldn’t still put them in the top four with two losses, would they?

Pass the rice.

Ten Piece Nuggets-NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Three quick weeks in we’ve hit the quarter pole in a twelve-game schedule.  What do we make of the action thus far? It’s interesting as always, but conference play starts this week and we’ll be a lot smarter because of it soon.   Get your nuggets below.

  1.  ESPN ran this Sunday AM headline, “Bama Looks Beatable!”  Perhaps.  Another way to describe their 31-29 win over a well-coached Florida team in The Swamp would be: True sophomore Bryce Young, making his third start ever, led Bama into the hostile Swamp, scored 31 against a good defense that anchors the #11 ranked team in America, and won.  Saban has raised the bar so high that our perspective and ESPN’s headlines are jaundiced.
  2.  Georgia held on to the second spot working the not-so-game SC Gamecocks, 40-13.  That Oct 30th largest outdoor cocktail party that we don’t call the largest outdoor cocktail party anymore between the Gators and the Bulldogs should be quite the alcohol-fueled duel.  The Bulldogs will be glad they are hosting very pesky Arkansas and Kentucky prior and not traveling to play them before the first fan bellies up on Halloween weekend. The pollsters left Florida at #11, deservedly so, after the 2 point loss.
  3. Oregon took the week off after beating THE in the Shoe.  Well, not really.  They beat Stoney Brook 48-7 in the northwest rain.  After a 75 yard drive to start the game, the Ducks held SB to only 169 yards of offense for the remainder of the game with subs waddling in liberally.  The difference between Oregon and the rest of the PAC 12 is that they play legit D.
  4.  The BIG 10 wants in on the fun as well.   Iowa, yes Iowa, is now #5, Penn St. is #6 and THE OSU is #10.  They’re celebrating the 30 points that the Hawkeyes put up on Kent St. Saturday like it’s a corn crop safely in the silo.  Iowa has no O, but it has a playoff quality D.  Penn St. now has a single-digit win over Wisconsin(there) and Auburn(home) as two solid resume builders. That white-out scene in Happy Valley is quite the sight.
  5. It wasn’t pretty, but now #6 Cincinnati stayed undefeated after beating a good Big Ten team 38-24 on the road.  Indiana kept it close for a while. The Bearcats strategically scheduled no one this week to build up to a trip to South Bend next week.   An impressive win there would put Cincinnatti in the playoff conversation.  Though after ND, they play no one ranked in the top 25 as of now.
  6.  Texas A&M (7), Ole Miss (13), and Arkansas (16) give the SEC West four teams ranked in the top 16.  Florida kept it close with the juggernaut known as Bama.  Can any of these three shoot the moon, er, Bama? The best chance is three weeks away in College Station it seems.
  7. But, A&M needs to be focused this week on the opponent at hand-Arkansas in Fayetteville.  Sam Pittman has done quite a job resurrecting the Hogs.  The Razorbacks had one lonely win v 23 losses in SEC play from 2017-19 before Pittman took the steering wheel in 2020. There were a few chuckles when he was announced as the next pig expected to get smoked at the luau.  No more.   Whooo Pig!  The Aggies are an early six-point favorite on the road.
  8.  The BIG 12 has Oklahoma at #8 and Kansas St. #25.  Where’s the beef? It’s lean in cattle country.  Oklahoma’s win 23-16 over Nebraska wasn’t exactly what the Sooners needed to push higher.
  9. Life is good in Provo. Coming off last year’s 11-1 season, the BYU Cougars have secured a membership in the Big 12.   Now, BYU sits proudly at #15.  They’ve beaten three PAC 12 schools in three weeks.  Arizona, Utah, and Arizona St. are all early 2021 skins on the Cougars wall. Arizona St. had a chance to raise their profile and the PAC 12 South’s a bit on Saturday but wasn’t quite ready for primetime.  The other shoe dropped when UCLA gave up 75 yards in 6 plays in only 40 seconds and lost at the buzzer 40-37 to Fresno St.  UCLA dropped to #24 in the process.  In the PAC 12, it’s Oregon, and pray for rain.  Wait!
  10. Some eyebrow-raising early lines are out.  Wisconsin is a 5 1/2 point favorite over Notre Dame in Soldier Field.  Florida St is just a 2 1/2 point home dog to Louisville.  Memphis beat Moo St. Saturday but are only an at-home 3 1/2 point pick over UTSA.  And Michigan St is a slim 4 1/2 point home choice over Nebraska.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Well, if week one was crazy, then week two was cray, cray, as they say.

We have a few observations as you might imagine.  Ten to be exact.

  1.  Alabama had mercy on Mercer.  After leading 31-0 at halftime, Bama cruised to a 48-14 victory.  Predictably, this made Nick Saban unhappy. His rants are fun to watch unless you’re sitting in front of him.  If you’ve seen this movie before you know it’s purely using the press to motivate his team into how good he thinks they can be.  Like him, or not, it’s vintage stuff from the legend that he is.
  2. Oregon provided the PAC 12 with another big statement going into the Horseshoe and taking Ohio St. down with malice. The score was 35-28, but Oregon was in control from the first snap.  Though, UCLA’s week one win v LSU looks a bit less shiny after the Tigers mailed in at home in week two beating a terrible McNeese St team 34-7.  Oregon won the line of scrimmage against a major contender for the playoffs in their house.  The “not physical enough” knock on the PAC 12 might be waining a tad.  Mario Cristobal take a bow!
  3. Fifth-ranked Texas A&M lost their starting quarterback, then nearly lost to Colorado.  An 11 play 77-yard grind late in the fourth quarter saved the Aggie day, 10-7.  The Aggie D is playoff-level good.  The O, and especially without Haynes King, isn’t.
  4. Clemson scored only three last week vs Georgia. They held South Carolina St. to only three this week.  But, like Jimmy, who cracked corn, nobody cares.  The Tigers 49-3 win is meaningless.  And, their schedule is weaker than Biden’s defense of the way he pulled out of Afghanistan.  No team currently ranked inside of the top 25 is on it.  A trip to Pittsburgh looks like their only possible road bump from here.  But, will 11-1 against fish wrapping paper be enough to get to the final four?
  5.  Notre Dame is replacing their leprechaun mascot with Houdini.  A week after surviving sudden death v Florida St., the mighty Fighting Irish got a last-minute touchdown in South Bend to overcome Toledo 32-29.  Wow.  Toledo.  And, Florida St. lost on a last-second hope and a prayer heave by Jacksonville St. this week.  Wow.  That doesn’t sound like the two-game resume of an eighth-ranked team.
  6. Metaphorically, a “Trojan horse” has come to mean any trick or stratagem that causes a target to invite a foe into a securely protected bastion or place.  USC is no Trojan horse.  They invited Stanford into the Collisium Saturday and the Cardinal took what they wanted.  Stanford was a 17 point underdog and won 42-28, or straight up by 14. You wonder how much sucker money went to the Trojans’ side of the line in Vegas. So much for the return of USC to the national landscape.  The LA Times has seen enough of head coach Kim Helton.  We’ve seen this Hollywood act before, haven’t we?
  7. Texas got a taste of the SEC that it will join in a year or two.  Arkansas was picked to finish last in the SEC West this year but worked Texas over and over.  Arkansas won’t finish last.  Three hundred and thirty-three rushing yards later, the scoreboard clock thankfully showed 0:00.  Arkansas rushed the ball 47 times for a hog-like 7.1 yds per carry average.  The scoreboard showed Arkansas 40, Texas 21.  The game wasn’t nearly that close.  Hopefully, Steve Sarkesian isn’t hungover this AM.  The Longhorn fans sure are.
  8.  Last week Penn St. and Wisconsin set the game back 25 years with their three yards and a pile of dirt fight.  Iowa and Iowa St. one-upped the Big 10 mudders this week.  Iowa completed under 50% of its 21 passes and rushed 39 times for a 1.7 yards per carry average.  And, they WON 27-17!  ND isn’t good enough to be ranked 8th.  Iowa isn’t good enough to be ranked 9th.  And, Iowa St surely isn’t good enough to be ranked 10th.
  9.  Cincinnati agreed to join the BIG 12 earlier this week.  On Saturday they took care of more business beating Murray St. 42-7 to go to 2-0 on the season.  Cincy is ranked a sneaky 7th.  BYU, Houston, and UCF also agreed to join the Big 12 after Texas and Oklahoma take their talents to the SEC soon.  The Big 12 only had ten teams, and are losing two, but gaining four.  Got that?  There really will be 12 teams one day once again.  But BIG?  Meh.
  10.  We borrowed the following from ESPN, cause we think it’s an interesting gambling oddity at the least.  Air Force topped Navy 23-3 in the first game between military academies this season.  And the result fits nicely into one of the most consistent trends in college football. Since 2005, 39 of 49 military games have failed to hit the Las Vegas total. Saturday’s over/under was set at an impossibly low 39.5, and yet the matchup never came close to eclipsing that total. Air Force hosts Army on Nov. 6, so mark your calendars to bet on that one, too.

Jury duty for one of our staff members beckons.   It’s an honor, your honor!

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Time to lighten it up a bit with the “you know what” hanging heavily on our minds again. Have an order of Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports to kick off your weekend early.   As usual, no two are alike and the heat comes at you from any direction.

  1.  Bill Belicheck need not worry about his financial future.  But, after football, he clearly has a shot at tv work if he wishes with that ebullient personality. Not. And weather might be his thing.  Here’s his quote from training camp yesterday.  “Looks like the field will be wet. If it rains, it rains. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. If it’s hot, it’s hot. If it’s not, that’s what it is.”
  2.  How did Green Bay get petulant Aaron Rodgers back for 2021?  They promised to trade him after the season if that is still his desire.  The marriage counselors have five months to patch the thing back together.  One thing seems certain.  Either Rodgers or GM Brian Gutenkunst is a goner.
  3.  The Steelers and the Cowboys kicked off season 2021 last evening in the Hall of Fame game.  Did you watch it?  Why?  Steelers 16-3.  You won’t remember who played by Monday, or sooner.
  4.  If you did watch you learned that after 25 years of separation it looks like Jerry Jones and Jimmy johnson might be mending a fence or two.  Jones took significant blame for their breakup saying that it was on him to recognize and manage around what the duo had going at the time.  He also promised to add Jimmy to the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor before too long.  Johnson retorted during the conversation with “When I’m still alive?”
  5. Viking’s QB Kirk Cousins vowed to encase himself in plexiglass if needed to ensure his availability to lead the Minnesota team this year while staying away from Covid protocols.  Cousins is unvaccinated.  The Washington Post reported that the Vikings have the league’s lowest vaccination rate at 64.5% of players fully vaccinated.  Tsk.  Tsk.
  6. Kevin Durant and Jrue Holiday didn’t just break Australia’s spirit in the Olympic semifinals — they lifted the entire U.S. men’s basketball team up around them in a brilliant performance that led to a 97-78 victory after trailing by 15 in the first half.  They gained a berth in Saturday’s gold-medal game.  Did you watch it?  They’ll meet the French who pulled off a stunning late rally for an 83-76 upset of the Americans two weeks ago.
  7.  Did you know that the Toronto Blue Jays are a team loaded with players who had or have relatives in the big show in the past?  Cavan Biggio is the son of Craig.  Bo Bichette is the son of Dante.  And, of course, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the son of Vlad Sr.  But, there’s one more.  Lourdes Gurriel is the brother of current major leaguer Yuli Gurriel.   Genes.
  8. Vlad Jr. leads the bigs with a 1.061 on-base percentage plus slugging percentage (OPS).  That’s really good, but only good enough to rank 169th all-time for a single season.  Who had the best single-season ever?  Barry Bonds owns the top two spots with a 1.40 and 1.38 back in 2004 and 2002.  Babe Ruth owns an incredible 7 of the top 15 years of all time.  And rest assured the only juice Babe was on he drank.
  9.  Who has the shortest odds to get to the World Series as this AM?  The Dodgers are even money to advance in the NL.  It’s odd odds, if you will, as the SF Giants lead that division by four games.  Vegas knows.  In the AL, it’s the Houston Astros at +165.  BBR sees value in San Diego in the NL at +470 and Tampa Bay in the AL at +430.
  10. They have built it, and they will come.  And, they are getting throwback dressy for the shindig.  Ahead of the “Field of Dreams” game in Iowa on Aug. 12, the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox unveiled their 20th century inspired team jerseys for the first-time special event.  The Sox ones are cool and way old school.  The Yankees look like the same old same old.

Enjoy the weekend.  BTS is near.

 

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The weekend is here.  Time to overindulge a bit.  Start with Ten Pieces of healthy Nuggets first.  They’re ready below.

  1.  The NBA trade deadline came and went yesterday.   Were there any blockbuster deals?  If you say so.  It’s early, feel free to yawn.
  2.  Dwight Howard flashed a wide smile across his face before the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, receiving his 2020 championship ring in Staples Center a bit later than his former teammates.  He celebrated by getting two technicals and getting tossed one quarter into the contest. .
  3. This is NBA year number 17 for the former first pick of Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2004 draft and team number eight that he has played for.   He’s earned 234.5 million on the court and counting.
  4.  There’s always one great betting story from the NCAA March Madness.  A dude last weekend bet an eight-team parlay with three dogs on the money line and five in all.  He hit the 3320 to one ticket on a $100 bet.  His take?  Why $33,200 of course.
  5.  Doesn’t Oral Roberts plus 11.5 v. Arkansas look tempting this weekend?  The Sweet Sixteen weekend never disappoints.
  6. Little known until a week ago, Grand Canyon basketball standout Oscar Frayer died in a car accident in northern California early Tuesday morning. He was 23 years old. Frayer, a 6-foot-6 senior guard/forward, started in Grand Canyon’s 86-74 loss to Iowa in the first round of the NCAA tournament last week.   It was his 107th start for the Antelopes.  Sometimes life is just not fair.
  7.  If you lost count, DeShaun Watson’s troubles now number 16 lawsuits and counting filed against him for various civil batteries and assaults.  More are on the way.  He wanted to be traded and there were several suitors a few weeks back.  Now?  Now, he’s virtually untradeable as criminal charges might be next.
  8. In the last year, the Houston sports scene has lost, cut, traded, or fired Bill O’Brien, A.J. Hinch, Mike D’Antoni, DeAndre Hopkins, JJ Watt, James Harden, Gerrit Cole, and George Springer.
  9. In the last year, the Astros were found guilty of a cheating scandal, the Rockets imploded when Harden forced a trade and are lottery-bound, and the Texans are a collective hot mess on (4-12) and off of the field (Watson), and in the front office (too much to mention).  They have no first nor second-round draft choice this April either.
  10.  The WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play is well underway from Austin Country Club.  Rory McIlroy punctuated his early exit with a wayward shot that landed in a backyard swimming pool.  See ya.  Jordan Spieth, never to be outdone, hit a tee shot the next day onto the wrong green.  Spieth still moved on.  The last man standing Sunday pockets a crisp $1.8 million.

Springtime is here for most.   Enjoy.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If you have a busy Monday and need to go, we’ve got Ten healthy Nuggets to put you in the know.  It’s been a while.

  1.  The NBA All-Star game was yesterday. Did you watch it?  If you didn’t here is what you missed.  320 points.  Yep, 320.  That’s about 6 and 1/2 points a minute.   If you didn’t, here is what you didn’t miss.  Defense.  Team Lebron beat Team Durant 170-150.  Are you underwhelmed?  Understandable.
  2. That said, thanks to a perfect 16-for-16 performance from the field, including banking in multiple jump shots, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo won his first NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, as he and his Team LeBron cruised.  Even with defense being optional, 16 for16 is16 for 16.
  3.  The virus was on offense as well, as contact tracing forced the league to pull Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons out of the game.  It potentially will keep them away from the Sixers when the second half of the season begins Thursday.
  4. Lebron knew better than to play this meaningless exhibition.  James, who said early last month that the NBA’s choosing to hold an All-Star Game amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was a “slap in the face,” lived up to the other quote he had about the game that day.  “I’ll be there if I’m selected,” James said. “But I’ll be there physically, but not mentally.”  Could the same be said about the King numerous other times that he’s flapped his jaws?  He’s also keeping his decision about whether to get vaccinated or not private.  Maybe he’ll get it and be there physically but not mentally?
  5. With the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc, the expectation has been that the NFL salary cap would fall significantly from 2020’s $198 million budget. After years of increasing by tens of millions of dollars, the fall was expected to be precipitous. The new floor of $180 million isn’t the exact final cap number but with the NFL and the NFL Players Association agreeing to it, it mitigates some of that decrease.
  6. Who has the most money to spend?  The Jacksonville Jaguars do.  They have $84 million free and clear.  They also own the first pick in the draft.  What team is the most underwater?  The New Orleans Saints went all in to try to get to another Super Bowl before Drew Brees’ arm turned into total mush.  They’re still about $48 million over the cap even after some off-season moves.  Three other teams (Rams, Packers, and Chiefs) that had playoff appearances or runs are also currently significantly over budget.
  7.  When was the last time Phil Mickelson wasn’t ranked inside of the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking?  It was 1993.  Or, 1425 weeks ago if you prefer.  It’s a record run.  Mickelson turned the big 50 last June.  He has won 44 times on tour.  If or when he is willing to put his mind to the PGA Champions Tour (aka the Senior Tour) he will pile up many more trophies.
  8.  Is Bryson DeChambeau unconventional in his approach to golf?  Is the Pope Catholic?  DeChambeau cut the corner, make that cut straight across the lake both Saturday and Sunday in the Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Classic with tape measure drives of about 342 yards.  Is his swing different than anything golf has seen since, well, ever?  Does a bear, nevermind.  DeChambeau won the Bay Hill and collected the top prize of $1,674,000.  That brings him to $23,229,908 for his career. He’s but 27 years young.   It pays to zig when others zag it seems.
  9. Kyle Larson wasn’t sure he’d ever race again in NASCAR.  And if he could, he didn’t know who would hire him.  Larson’s use of a racial slur while participating in an online call last April cost him his job, his reputation, and his ability to attract the corporations that fund a race team. On Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson raced to his first NASCAR victory since he was reinstated from a nearly yearlong suspension.  Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s only black full-time driver, was one of the first competitors to congratulate Larson.  Good stuff.  Cancel culture gave a rare second chance.  Things are already improving under Biden, but we digress.
  10. So, who has already punched their dance card for the big NCAA Basketball Tourney?  If you guessed the Liberty Flames, the Morehead State Eagles, the Winthrop Eagles, and the Loyola Chicago Ramblers you should reconsider your priorities.  “It’s small conference champ city, baby,” screeched Dick Vitale.  Selection Sunday is but six days away.

You’re fed.  Get to work.

When It Was a Game

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s been a while since we served up some Ten Piece Nuggets for your consumption.  As sports and the “real world” continue to collide we decided to take you back to a simpler time when the games were about the games.  Take a trip down Super Bowl memory lane.

  1.  With Super Bowl LV upon us, we thought we’d visit an old adage.  In order to be effective in this league you have to be able to run the ball and stop the run.  Can you name the last Super Bowl winner to lead the league in regular-season rushing yards?  It’s been a while actually.  It’s the 1985 Chicago Bears.  On their Super Bowl Shuffle way, they amassed a league-leading 2761 yards.
  2. And, they could stop the run as well. In their three post-season games that year they gave up a total of 125 yards rushing.  In the 85′ Super Bowl beatdown of NE, the Patriots gained exactly 7 net rushing yards.
  3. Guess who completed the longest pass play in Super Bowl history.  Montana? Nope.  Marino?  Nope.  Elway? Nope.  Give up?  You should.  It’s Jake “The Cajun Snake” Delhomme.  The Carolina Panther’s QB completed an 85-yard pass to Muhsin Muhammad against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
  4. Guess who is the only running back to gain over 200 yards in any Super Bowl.  Payton? Nope.  Riggins?  Nope.  Faulk? Nope.  It’s Redskin Timmy Smith who went off for an all-time Super Bowl record with 204 rushing yards in Super Bowl XXII as his Washington Redskins ran roughshod over the Denver Broncos.  Who?
  5. Hello Friends!  Jim Nantz might catch him one day, but for now, Pat Summerall has provided the play by play on TV for more Super Bowls (11) than any of his contemporaries.
  6. Eleven seems to be the lucky number for Summerall and for Miami.  The Magic City as it’s known has hosted the most Super Bowls with 11.
  7. The 2011 (there’s that number again) New York Football Giants own the distinction of having the worst regular-season record at 9-7 of any SB winner.  It’s important to get hot at the right time they(whoever they are) say.  Super Bowl XLII(42) was the one that had the greatest and most important catch as well.  It’s considered the greatest catch in SB history.  It’s important to get lucky at the right time as well.
  8. Pennsylvania is known as the hotbed of QBs.  It’s produced Namath, Marino, Montana, Kelly, and many more.  But, California has produced the most Super Bowl winners with five: Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Trent Dilfer, Troy Aikman and Jim Plunkett.
  9. It is one thing to get to the biggest of them all.  It’s yet another to win it.  It’s yet another to get there multiple times and never lose.  But, that accomplishment is rare.  Only the Baltimore Ravens have won more than one and not lost any.  And, they are only 2-0.
  10. And finally, Dallas and Pittsburgh have met the most times(3) for the Lombardi Trophy in NFL history.  But, it has been a while since they have.  The contests ended the 1975, 1978, and 1995 seasons.

Tampa Bay becomes the first team to host a Super Bowl this coming Sunday.

Friday the winners of the prop bets and the game will be available for you right here on BBR on Al Gore’s Internet.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets- Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

We listened.  We learned.  You want your nuggets and you want them on Monday.

It’s only four days till Christmas.  Get some exercise after this helping or you’ll feel like a stuffed turkey all week.

  1.  The final CFP rankings are in and let the debate begin, er, continue.  It’s easy to get the no-doubters out of the way.  Alabama is the best team in the US and the second isn’t too close.  Clemson avenged an earlier loss to Notre Dame by walloping the fighting Irish by 24 Saturday to claim the second spot.
  2. But the fun/controversy starts from there.  Does Notre Dame belong as the fourth seed after the walloping?  Yes says the selection committee chairman.  CFP chairman Gary Barta explained the decision to include the Irish over No. 5 Texas A&M, saying it was “based on the complete analysis of the résumé” and the Irish had an additional win over a ranked team.
  3. And, more than a few “experts” and pundits aren’t sure that #3 THE Ohio St. even belongs.  The Buckeyes played in only six games as three were squashed by a bug as opposed to the other way around.  Aggie Coach Jimbo Fisher, he of the left out fifth rated A&M team, is amongst the dissenters.  Fisher had taken aim at Ohio State’s schedule following the Aggies’ win over Tennessee on Saturday.   “Seven straight SEC wins,” Fisher said. “Some schools ain’t even playing seven games.”  We thought “ain’t” ain’t a word, but we digress.  Fisher and his $75 can talk the talk, but they head to the Orange Bowl as a consolation prize none the less.
  4. So in the end, THE passed the eye test with fewer letters(games) on that wonky triangular chart. Close one eye and read all of line four, please.  They travel to the Sugar Bowl as 6.5 point dogs to Clemson.  It’s a rematch of last year’s 2 v 3 that Clemson won.
  5. Alabama heads to the Rose Bowl in Arlington, TX to begin its coronation as a big 17.5 point favorite over ND.  Wait, isn’t the Rose Bowl played in Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, CA?  Yep, it normally (read as always) is.  However, this is the year of, well, you know.  The game was moved from Pasadena, California, to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, because of the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Southern California, along with the inability for players’ and coaches’ families to attend because of state restrictions during the pandemic.
  6. BBR reached out to Cali Governor Gavin Newsome, who declined the Rose Bowl’s request for an exemption to the state’s tough stance, for comment.  We were told that he was dining at the French Laundry Restaurant all the while trying to convince Elon Musk to keep Tesla in Cali and not move it to Texas as well.   Tough times.  Newsome, facing a recall, could use some LL Cool J right about now.  The petition has 844k signatures and needs 1.5 million by March to force a vote.  We wonder if people can mail in their signature on the recall vote during these unprecedented times, but we digress once more.
  7.  Unlike the Lexus December to Remember yearly jingle, this bowl season might be one to forget.  There will be only 29 bowl games in all, down from 45 a year ago.  Sixteen were canceled.  Twenty-one teams opted out.  You need not have a winning record to play.   Army had a nine-win season and they were left out.  The SEC has 12 teams playing, six with a losing record.  The PAC-12 has two.
  8. In the NFL Antonio Brown caught his first TD pass since September 2019 as Tampa Bay completed a comeback from a 17-0 hole against Atlanta.  It was the second-biggest comeback ever for the Tampa Bay franchise.  For Atlanta, it was yet another come from ahead defeat.  The latest is the second time Tom Brady turned the trick.  Remember Atlanta leading New England 28-3 in Super Bowl LI?  Atlanta made NFL history earlier this season as the first team to lose twice in one season while holding a 15-point-plus lead in the fourth quarter. The Falcons have blown leads of more than 10 points seven times since 2015!
  9. Rookie Jalen Hurts made a strong case that he should continue as the Philadelphia Eagles’ starter, tossing three touchdowns and running for another in a wild 33-26 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Hurts has pumped life into the Philly team in two weeks.  Whining Carson Wentz weighed in.   Sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Wentz is not pleased with the way things have unfolded in the organization and wants to move on from the Eagles if the current situation continues.  Wentz went there.
  10. There is NO QB controversy in Kansas City.  If you caught any of the KC 32-29 win over New Orleans yesterday, you saw “the best quarterback in all of the land.”  Mahomes can do it all.   He buys time and sucks defenders to him only to pass over, around, behind, and backward like no other.  He’s the highest-paid QB for a reason.  It’s because he’s the best QB in the NFL.  If you were starting an NFL team from scratch and could pick anyone at all to lead it, Mahomes would be your man.  Meanwhile, Drew Brees has some rust to shake off if New Orleans has any hope of seeing the Chiefs seven weeks from now in Tampa for Super Bowl LV.

It’s a short week.  Today is hump day.