10 Piece Nuggets

Ten Piece Nuggets-Smorgasboard

Posted on by thependulumswings staff
smor·gas·bord
/ˈsmôrɡəsˌbôrd/
noun
a buffet offering a variety of hot and cold meats, salads, hors d’oeuvres, etc.
  • a wide range of something; a variety.
    “the album is a smorgasbord of different musical style”
    1.   Go to the head of the class if you thought Baylor, Gonzaga, San Diego St., and Dayton would occupy four of the top five spots in the AP basketball poll with less than a week to go in February.  It could be March Madness indeed.  In fact, it will be.
    2.  Where are the blue bloods?  Well, Kansas likely will ascend to number one this week thanks to their big Saturday win over previous number one Baylor.  Duke was six and might break into the top 5.  Kentucky and Louisville are 10 and 11.  The blue bloods are there, but so are the upstarts.
    3.   Along with Duke are Maryland, Florida St., and Louisville repping the ACC in or very near the top 10.  West Virginia will check in at roughly 15 as well.
    4.  Where is North Carolina?  Losers of seven in a row the Tar Heels are 10-17 overall.  This might be Roy Williams first losing college basketball coaching season EVER.  Is Roy done?  Hardly.  Seeded number one just a year ago, this blip reverts back to the norm next year.  Williams has four McDonald’s All Americans headed in.
    5.  Auburn joins Kentucky in the top 25 from the SEC.  The SEC is weak in roundball this year.  At least it is perceived to be.  Mississippi St. and South Carolina are bubble type teams.  Florida, baring a big collapse will get in as will LSU.  Four tourney teams, if that is all that gets in, is indeed weak.

    6.  In a recent episode of the No Laying Up podcast longtime CBS on-course announcer(but no more) Peter Kostis said, “I’ve seen Patrick Reed improve his lie, up close and personal, four times now.”  Reed must have felt like he took a sand wedge to the cranium.

    7.  Speaking of sand, in a town hall interview this week on SiriusXM PGA Tour radio, Brooks Koepka was asked about Kostas’ comments and Reed’s penalty for improving his lie in a bunker last year in the Bahamas. “Yeah. I don’t know what he was doing, building sandcastles in the sand,” he said. “But you know where your club is.”  Ouch again.

    8. After his opening round at the WGC-Mexico Championship, Reed was asked to respond to criticism from world No. 2 Brooks Koepka and former CBS analyst Peter Kostis.  “I said what I have to say about what happened in the Bahamas, and at the end of the day, all I’m trying to do is go out and play good golf and trying to win a golf championship,” Reed said following a first-round 69 that left him tied for eighth place in Mexico.  And win it he did.

    9.  What would sports be without villains (er, umm, cheaters) like Reed?  The Red Sox don’t like the Yankees very much and vice versa.  Outside of Houston everyone now has the Astros.  Reed calls Houston home if you need another reason to boo the Astros when they come to your town this spring.

    10.  Reed won $1.8 million for the four days of work in Mexico.  It was his ninth win on tour including the 2018 Masters.  He has an uncanny ability to shut out the naysayers in big moments.   Reed credited a hot putter down the stretch with three straight birdies to chase down Bryson DeChambeau.  His putter was hot.  But it wasn’t as hot as 84-year-old Mary Ann Wakefield’s putter.  Take a 30-second look.

    You’ve been served.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Super Bowl and More

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

You had way, way too much chip, dip, and beer.  It’s time to get back to your routine.  Here’s a serving of Ten Piece Nuggets.  Chew them slowly and drink lots of water to rehydrate.

  1.  Jay Z and Beyonce’ had seats on the 50-yard line.  They sat in them all game including during Demi Lovato’s swift 1:50 rendition of the National Anthem.  It’s hard to say what they were protesting.  Jay Z signed a deal with the NFL recently to promote “social justice.”  Are they dissatisfied with the capitalistic society that they wisely profited from to afford such expensive seats?  Maybe they’re still mad at the NFL’s hands-off attitude towards malcontent Colin Kaepernick?  Wouldn’t it be something if the seats were comped by the big, bad, ugly NFL?
  2. If San Francisco had Kaepernick this season they surely could have done better.  Wait.  It would be hard to have done better upon further review.  They were the number one seeded NFC representative in the Super Bowl after all.
  3.  Maybe a good SF offense and a really good San Fran defense just ran into a better team when all 60 minutes were played.  After all, Patrick Mahomes is the first under 25 years of age QB to win the league’s MVP Award and win a Super Bowl.  The future seems quite bright for the young lad flourishing in an Andy Reid offense tailored to play to his strengths, of which there are many.
  4. Mahomes came to Miami without a title and left with one.  Maybe he’ll be like LeBron.  When the King arrived in Miami a while back he promised not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not even seven titles.  Quarterbacks, given today’s rules that so favor their health and production, can easily play into their forties.  LeBron has changed addresses twice since then and has three rings and counting.  How many will Mahomes, the best QB in the league, be able to garner?
  5. Another great QB arrived in Miami once.  It was 1983, and a man named Daniel Constantine Marino, Jr. was drafted late in the first round by the Dolphins.  He led the Dolphins to the Super Bowl in only his second year, 1984.  And after 9 Pro Bowl Appearances, one league MVP, and 18 playoff games he never went back to another Super Bowl in his 17 year Hall of Fame career.  Fame wasn’t fleeting for him, Super Bowl wins were.
  6.  Did you bet the J Lo will or won’t flash a little butt cleavage novelty proposition?  If you bet the “will” BBR thinks you lost.  But, or should we say butt, that was some of the only skin covered in the high energy, fast-moving halftime extravaganza.  Shakira and J Lo shook, rattled, and rolled and even used a stripper pole.  Wasn’t it just yesterday that the NFL apologized for the outrageous behavior of Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson?
  7. Turning the page, but speaking of having skin in the game, Donald Trump congratulated the Kansas City Chiefs and the great state of Kansas last night after the SB victory in a tweet.  Not too long thereafter, he corrected his tweet to read the great state of Missouri.  That’s the problem with screen grabs though.  It’s out there now, forever.  Of course, the NFL seemed to not have a problem with what Shakira and J Lo grabbed on screen.  But we digress.  Trump is forever impeached anyway.  So said none other than a not so somber and prayerful Nancy Pelosi early last week.
  8. The Donald will deliver his State of the Union Address to Congress Tuesday PM.  Like Jay Z and Beyonce’, roughly half of the members of Congress will likely sit for the entire proceedings in protest of the President and all that he actually stands for.  And, as of now, the plan is that the Senate will acquit him Wednesday of both charged articles of impeachment.  Put a tent over the circus that currently is under the rotunda, please.
  9. The football season ended last evening.  But the primary season begins today.  The Democratic hopefuls will watch with interest usually reserved for Super Bowl viewing at the results in Iowa, the first whistle stop.  Polls (not the one J Lo abused) show Crazy Bernie Sanders with about a five-point lead 25-20 over Joe Biden going into today.  Bernie can make it rain at the Democratic Party’s party.
  10. Joe might not really want to win though after he takes a look at how Republican Senator Joni Ernst rained on his parade this past weekend. “Joe Biden should be very careful what he’s asking for because, you know, we can have a situation where if it should ever be President Biden, that immediately, people right the day after he would be elected would be saying, ‘Well, we’re going to impeach him,’” Ernst said.  Ernst explained that an impeachment case against Biden could be made “for being assigned to take on Ukrainian corruption yet turning a blind eye to Burisma because his son was on the board making over a million dollars a year” during his time as vice president under Obama.

It’s only seven months till football starts up again.  And, it’s only nine months till the general election.   The butt cleavage exposure never ends so to speak.

Ten Piece Nuggets-NCAA, NFL, and Potluck

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

You’ve got to be tired of leftovers.  Have some info and protein rich Ten Piece Nuggets below.  They’re randomly served.  Get all of your food groups in early.  Variety is good for you.

  1. The NFL is down to 12 teams while the NCAA is down to two.  Let the playoffs begin for the NCAA this coming weekend, while the NCAA’s playoff will crown a champion on January 13. There are still some good bowl games to be played (Alabama v. Michigan, Baylor v. Georgia, Wisconsin v. Oregon), but the last of one of all in NOLA is the biggest.  LSU was installed as a 3 point overnight favorite over Clemson but by dawn that rose to 5.5 on Sunday.
  2.  Did you listen to Dabo Swinney after his team’s thrilling comeback over THE?  His shtick is already tired and we get to hear from him for two more weeks.  “We’ll need to win 30 in a row to be champion.”  Hmm.  Is last year’s record relevant this year?  If so, yes you will need to win 30 in a row since 29 are done.  ” They’re ranked 1st and we’re only ranked 3rd.”  So?  “Nobody in the media believes in us.”  Clemson was never ranked lower than fourth all year long.  Lastly, why is Swinney pronounced sween nee?  William Christopher “Dabo” Swinney’s Clemson Tigers are 10-1 in their last 11 games v. the SEC.  If he wants “r-e-s-p-e-c-t” he’ll need to make it 11-1 according to him.  Poor Dabo.
  3. Today is Black Monday in the NFL.  It’s the day players clean out their lockers till fall and fired head coaches clean out their offices permanently.  Jay Gruden lasted only 6 games in Washington while Ron Rivera (more on him later) got booted a month ago in Carolina.  Freddie Kitchens is out as of this AM in Cleveland.  Doug Marrone is as good as gone in Jacksonville.  They’ll be others.
  4. Is Jason Garrett out in Dallas?  Jerry Jones was quiet after yesterday’s final regular season game when asked.  Jerry Jones is never quiet.  Garrett owns an 85-67 record in 10 seasons in Dallas. He took the Cowboys to the playoffs three times, each ending in the divisional round.  Garrett’s contract wasn’t renewed last off season.  It expires on 1/14/2020.  He’ll be gone before that.  Sometimes it’s just time.
  5. Let the Urban Meyer and Lincoln Riley rumors fly.  Urban has never coached a single down in the NFL.  Ask Nick Saban if the transition from the NCAA always works out.  Riley looks the part.  He’s young and offensive minded.  The NFL is a copycat league.  Sean McVay paved the way for Kliff Kingsbury.   Is Riley next?  If he is, he needs to hire a DC and stay the hell away from the D.  His Oklahoma teams stop nobody and the Big 12 isn’t very good.  They have been worked over in their CFP playoff appearances.  LSU had 49 in the first half and throttled way down to a 63 point total Saturday afternoon.  Riley said afterwards, “they went on a little bit of a run.”  Little bit?
  6. Did you want a weird and mostly worthless trivial stat this AM?  We thought so.  Alvin Kamara has caught exactly 81 passes in the regular season each season in his first three years in the NFL.  It’s a ton for a RB especially when Michael Thomas is playing WR on the same team.
  7.  What’s wrong with New England?  Yesterday they tripped all over themselves losing as a 16 point favorite at home to Miami.  It cost them a first week bye  They’ll need to dispatch of the Tennessee Titans this weekend then hit the road twice to get to the big show.  NE, under Belichick, has never advanced to the Super Bowl from lower than the #2 seed.  He had timeouts and time when they forced a Miami punt with 1:45 left in the second quarter.  He let the clock run down on the punt, then had Tom Brady hand the ball off twice to go into the locker room tied at 10.  Hmm.  Brady was seen on the sidelines working to loosen his right arm all afternoon.  Hmm.  It’s going to be very hard for them to derail the team that has “it” this year-the Baltimore Ravens.  The Ravens will spend the week getting healthy while NE clashes with the Titans.
  8.  Ron Rivera will very likely be introduced as the next Washington Redskins head coach today or tomorrow.  Be careful what you wish for.  That organization has been a mess for two decades and running.  They over pay for free agents, miss on draft picks, and cannot evaluate QB talent.  Bruce Allen is out as president there as well.  The one constant in the last twenty years there?  The owner.  Daniel Snyder makes Jerry Jones look like a smart owner.
  9.  Two live wild cards are Minnesota and Seattle.  Minnesota travels to N.O.  Seattle goes across the country to face Philly.  Two teams getting no respect are Green Bay and Kansas City.  Both are two seeds, both get the week off, and both are very tough outs at home.
  10.  This BBR staff writer goes to a movie in a theater about as often as the Cleveland Browns go to the playoffs.  However, we took in Richard Jewell yesterday.  It’s good work done by Clint Eastwood.  If Abby were a movie critic she would give it four bones out of five.  Quick question, Jewell was accused of the 1996 pipe bombing in Centennial Olympic Park during the Olympics held in Atlanta, but was he ever arrested?  Convicted?  Who did place the backpack filled with three bombs? The FBI stunk this one up almost as bad as they behaved in the “Russia collusion” investigation.  Go see it.    A bag of popcorn is seven dollars these days.  Who knew?  Sneak some nuggets in instead.

Ten Piece Nuggets-NFL

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s the beginning of a long holiday week.  People are dashing around from shopping malls to shopping malls.  Amazon Prime trucks are dashing from address to address.  The BBR staff is having it’s annual holiday golf tournament today.  So we’ll keep it short with a quick, NFL Ten Piece Nugget served five from the NFC and five from the AFC style.  It will be good to get something in your stomach before the eggnog and bourbon take control.

  1.  The NFC side of the playoff picture is as clear as a bell and as foggy as England.  Huh?  Five of the six spots are spoken for, with the sixth a Philadelphia  and Dallas mess.  Dallas controlled it till yesterday’s loss to Philly.  Now if Philly wins against the New York football Giants they are in.  If they lose, Dallas is in with a win over Washington.  Winner is division champ.  Loser goes home.
  2. If the loser is Dallas, Jason Garrett is going home too.  Jerry Jones said he was very disappointed in his team’s performance yesterday. Duh. They failed to score a touchdown against a banged up, but hungrier, Philly team.  With Cooper, Prescott, and Elliot as your big three on O a lot of money isn’t getting a lot of production.  Prescott was asked post game, “what’s the problem?”  His answer was profound.  “I don’t know.”
  3. The other five spots are sealed while the order and bye’s are anything but.  San Francisco, Green Bay, New Orleans, Seattle, and Minnesota are in.  Only N.O. is for sure the division champ and therefore a host of a wild card at a minimum.  But home field is at stake as are the top two seed spots.  There are too many “if’s” to detail them.
  4. One thing is for sure though.  There are too many “if’s” by team to consider anyone of them a prohibitive NFC Super Bowl favorite.  New Orleans inexplicably lost to Atlanta a while back.  San Fran did the same yesterday to lowly Arizona.  Green Bay is much better at home than the road.  Minnesota and Seattle might both need to win three in a row on the road.  But, they are both very live wild card teams, if they wind up as wild card teams, built for post season play.
  5. New Orleans lacks weapons outside of one who is nearly unstoppable this year.  Marvin Harrison’s NFL record of 143 catches in a season stood for 17 years, and no one came within even six catches of it.  Sunday New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas broke Harrison’s mark with one game to go.  Thomas already has 145 catches on the year after he caught 12 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s 38-28 come-from-behind victory over the Tennessee Titans.  Can a wide receiver win the MVP award?  Well, Thomas is 66-1 while Lamar Jackson is 1-30.
  6. Speaking of Thomas as we swing into the AFC, the QB and his Baltimore Ravens now have to be considered a strong favorite to take home the Lombardi Trophy in Miami regardless of who the NFC rep is.  Baltimore is winning big weekly and dominating in all aspects of the game.  After a 2-2 start, they are winners of 11 straight.  Eleven straight wins in the NFL is called domination.  In an AFC Conference loaded with really good quarterbacking, this just in, Lamar Jackson is good.
  7. But, as usual, don’t count out New England just yet.  Their yearly trip to the biggest game of all got a shorter route thanks to Saturday’s gut check win against a gutsy Buffalo Bills team.  A win this week against Miami in New England will give them a first round bye.  This just in, Tom Brady is good.
  8. Perched at # 3 is KC.  If you fell asleep Sunday night you missed a 26-3 Chiefs snoozer over the somnambulistic Chicago Bears 26-3.  They need a win and a week 17 loss by NE to have a bye.   This just in, Patrick Mahomes is good.  The Bears are not.
  9. Don’t sleep on the Houston Texans.  They clinched the AFC South for the fourth time in five years Saturday.  They can score and they can play decent defense.  If KC loses and Houston wins they could move up to the all important #2 seed and gain the all important bye week as well.  This just in, Deshaun Watson is good.
  10. Buffalo has won ten games and counting this year and are in as the fifth seed.  They are a dangerous wild card team.  They’ll scrap you for a ball anytime, anywhere.  This just in, Josh Allen isn’t good yet, but he’s moving in the right direction.  The Tennessee Titans could still get in.  They drafted Marcus Mariotta in round one a few years back.   Miami did the same with Ryan Tannehill.  Tennessee looks to have given up on MM like Miami did on Tannehill.  Miami’s loss is Tennessee’s gain for now.  Pittsburgh needs lots of help to get in.  Oakland needs lots and lots of help to get in.

Enjoy a few lousy NCAA Bowl games that no one really cares about and a few NBA early season games that no one really cares about till the weekend.  Then it’s the NCAA playoffs and the final regular season week in the NFL.

A little sprinkle of cinnamon on top of the eggnog is just the right finishing touch.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

You deserve your nuggets today.  Last week the BBR Staff and it’s degenerate gambler and mascot Abby were on assignment in the greater south Louisiana area.  They covered LSU and the New Orleans Saints live.   They also covered bets.  But most of all, they watched more than wrote.  It’s now  time to write more on Al Gore’s internet with pearls of wisdom in the form of Ten Piece Nuggets below.  Crunch away.

  1.  The new AP College Top 25 is out.  We know, we know, the playoff rankings are more important.  But, you cannot wait till Wednesday AM for nuggets, you need them now.  It feels like the top 3 have separated themselves a bit.  LSU, THE Ohio State U, and Clemson are undefeated, ranked 1,2, and 3 and headed to their respective conference championship games as moderate to big favorites.  LSU hammered Texas A&M and dumbfounded Jimbo Fisher.  THE rolled over Michigan and dumbfounded Jim Harbaugh.  Clemson worked South Carolina and dumbfounded Will Muschamp.
  2. THE is #1 in the playoff ranks and did nothing to lose any ground.  The chase for the fourth spot is currently where the action is.  Georgia currently holds the #4 spot.  But, but, but.  Nipping on the heels of the Bulldogs are one loss Utah, one loss Oklahoma, and one loss Baylor.
  3. One loss #5 Utah meets two loss and #13 ranked Oregon in the PAC 12 championship this weekend.  Is a win and a Ga. loss enough to get them to the final four?  Sure.   But what if they do so, Ga. losses, and one loss #6 Oklahoma dispatches #8 Baylor?  What if Baylor dispatches Oklahoma?
  4. And, what if Ga beats LSU?  Does LSU hold onto the fourth spot as the best one loss team?  BBR thinks the following.  If Ga wins they are in.  IF Ga. loses they are out.  If Ga losses, a Utes win gets them in.  A Ga loss and a Ute loss opens the door wide for the Big 12 winner (Baylor/Okla) to charge through.
  5. Of course a THE loss or a Clemson loss creates additional chaos.  The early Vegas look at that possibility is out.  Vegas seems to think that isn’t possible.  THE is favored by a bullish 17 over # 10 Wisconsin in the BIG 10 Championship Game.  Clemson is favored by a whopping 28 over Virginia in the ACC Championship Game.
  6. LSU opened a 5 point favorite over Georgia, but as of this AM it’s climbed to 7.  Utah is the 6 1/2 point choice over Oregon.  Oklahoma is a 9 point pick over Baylor.
  7. Alabama, the every year participant since the new four team playoff format began, will have to watch the proceedings this year.  A young, injured, and leaky defense gave up 48 to Auburn in the Iron Bowl. And as a tying field goal bounced off of the left upright with two minutes to go, Bama’s playoff chances got bounced as well.
    )

    It was very un Saban like finish to a very un Saban like year.  He yelled at everyone all game.  Of course, he does that regardless of the score and the opponent.  Bama dropped to #9 with it’s second SEC loss .  Auburn moved up from #16 to #11 with the win.

  8.  Minnesota hosted game day Saturday morning.   Everyone wanted to “Row the Boat.”  Of course the snow and cold might have iced over any lake if they tried.  They then went out in said cold and snow and tried to beat Wisconsin.  Winner goes to the BIG 10 Championship Game.  Loser is out in the cold.  Whisky took care of their business dispatching the upstart Golden Gophers 38-17.  Minnie was ranked as high as #7 two weeks back.  They fell to #15.  It’s going to be another cold winter in Minnie.
  9. Some coaches were out in the cold before their season ended.  Some more were out as soon as their seasons ended this Saturday.  Barry Odom had four years to turn around Mizzo in the SEC East.  He didn’t.  Charlie Strong didn’t give any life to USF and was terminated.   BC parted ways with Steve Addazio after seven years.  Frank Wilson succeeded Larry Coker at UTSA but did not succeed in three seasons.
  10. And, finally, Matt Luke got booted from Ole Miss after his kicker booted an extra point try wide in a one point Egg Bowl loss to in state rival Moo St.   If you haven’t seen why the extra point attempt was from farther than usual, you can here.  If you scroll down the Russian announcers add their two rubles as well.  And it’s well worth it.  At press time there was no word on if Adam Schiff wants to subpoena them to testify in the impeachment inquiry.

You’ve had 4 days off.  Get back to it already.

Ten Piece Nuggets- NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The latest AP Top 25 Poll is out.  But, it almost could be reprinted from last week.  There was very little change except one significant one.  Onto the Ten Piece Nuggets which we will keep pretty lean today.  Thanksgiving and stuffed turkey is near.

  1.  Three of the top five won by convincingly beating  significantly inferior opponents.  Two won against good opponents.  Penn St. came to Columbus, Ohio as did College Game Day.  THE OSU helped Penn St back in, but won 28-17.   Texas A&M came to Athens, GA.  It was mostly rock em sock em defense as Georgia prevailed 19-13.
  2.  LSU’s win over Ar-Kansas and Georgia’s win over A&M set up a # 1 v. #5 SEC Championship game in two weeks.  Of course they must take care of business this week for it to be a 1v 5 matchup.  LSU hosts the Aggies while Georgia stays in state busing down to Georgia Tech.  The Tigers are favored by 17 while Georgia is favored by 28.
  3.  THE clinched the East BIG 10 Division and awaits the winner of the showdown this week in Madison, WI.  The Badgers host the Golden Gophers.   The winner of that contest wins the West BIG 10 Division.  It’s rivalry week across the fruited plains.  Ohio St has a date with Michigan.  Badgers, Gophers, Wolverines, and Buckeyes are three bad animals and one poisonous nut.  Whatever.
  4.  Alabama sits at #5 while Utah moved up one to #6.  We suspect that the playoff committee will slot them that way as well.  They both have to win out and have a watchful eye on the traffic above.  Alabama struggled (ahem) to get by Western Carolina 66-3.  The Iron Bowl v hated Auburn awaits.  In a betting line that is sure to raise a few eyebrows Bama is only a 3 1/2 point road favorite.  Does a Bama win combined with a Georgia loss put the Crimson Tide back in the final four?  Probably.
  5. Utah hosts Colorado and the Buffaloes stand in the way of a trip to the PAC 12 Championship game for Utah.  USC is done at 8-4 but only two of those losses are v PAC 12 opponents and they handed the Utes their only loss.  So, Utah must herd the Buffaloes to advance.  And, if they did, and knocked off two loss Oregon is that enough to jump Alabama into fourth should one of those above stumble?
  6. It would give Utah a one more win and only one loss resume v Bama’s resume.  Bama needs to beat Auburn of course or the point is moot.  Utah is a big 29 point favorite over Colorado.
  7.  Fear the Fork!  Oregon must not have feared it.  They went into Tempe with the same road to the playoffs hopes as described above for Utah.  They left Tempe with their second loss in hand.  The Sun Devils prevailed 31-28.  The Ducks lost more than a few feathers dropping from 6th all of the way down to 14th.  Rivalry week sends the Oregon St. Beavers to Eugene as 18 point underdogs.  At this point the Ducks can only win the rivalry game and play spoiler v. Utah in the conference championship game.
  8.  Minnesota climbed back into the top 10 at #9.  What does a win at Wisconsin, then a BIG 10 Championship game win over THE, combined with a Utah loss, and a Georgia loss do for them?  Probably nothing.  But, impossible is nothing.
  9.  Virginia Tech is playing solid late season football.  The Pittsburgh Panthers were shut out by the Hokies 28-0 on Saturday.  The Hokies entered the poll last week at #25 and moved up two to #23 this week.  In October and November Tech has six victories and a one point loss to Notre Dame to show for it’s efforts.  A season opening loss to woeful Boston College is way back in the rear view window now.  Tech is a team that you don’t want to draw in the bowl pairings.
  10. Texas was smarter than everyone else they told us when they spurned overtures from the SEC when rival A&M joined.  Texas was smarter than everyone else they told us when the hired Tom Herman.  Tom Herman must be smarting after his pregame no helmet on headbutt of a player with a helmet on attempted to motivate the Longhorns v. Baylor.  Baylor won 24-10.  Texas hosts Texas Tech this weekend.  They need the win to insure a winning season as they stand currently at 6-5.  The Longhorns are a nine point favorite in a game that will be lost among other rivalry week games that are relevant and actually are rivalries.

Turkey is good.  Nuggets are better!

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

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

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

It’s Monday.  Go to work.

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

No respect at all.

Ten Piece Nuggets- NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

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

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

You’ve been served.

(Not) Ten Piece Nuggets-NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Your nuggets are here.  There are only eight this morning. Why?  One, the treadmill awaits.  It’s easier to run on eight than ten.  Two, there were a lot of teams off last weekend, so the news is sparse.  Three, we want to do our part to help Elizabeth Warren fund universal health care, but we digress while you digest.

  1.  The AP Top 25 is out.  Tomorrow the first College Football Playoff committee top 15 will be out.  Then the fun starts.  Meanwhile the AP top 5 remained the AP top 5 in the same order as last week.  It’s LSU, Alabama, THE, Clemson, and Penn St. in that order.
  2. Four took the week off.  Clemson did too as they pummeled Wofford 59-14.  Who?  Wofford College (the Terriers) is in South Carolina. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and are members of the Southern Conference.  Wofford’s first football team was fielded in 1889.  Who knew?
  3. The Georgia Bulldogs jumped from #8 to #6 with their 24-17 victory over Florida.  The score was closer than the game.  The Bulldogs are now in the SEC East driver’s seat with at least a one game lead on everyone else and the tiebreaker over Florida.  Work remains with Missouri and A&M at home, and Auburn on the road however.  When Florida lost to LSU Dan Mullen complained about injuries on his DL.  When Florida lost to Georgia he complained about the officiating.  Thankfully hurricane season has come and gone, so no complaints there.
  4. Oregon stayed at #7, but certainly solidified that ranking.  They dismantled USC 56-24 Saturday evening.  Faint cries from the far northwest are being heard about the Ducks in the playoff conversation.  It’ll be quite interesting to see how carefully the playoff committee is listening.  When your one loss to date is early in the season it helps.  When your one loss early in the season is to Auburn who is behind four SEC teams in the Top 25 it hurts.
  5.  Florida and alligator tears producer Dan Mullen’s loss was Utah and Oklahoma’s gain.   They moved up to #8 and #9 respectively.  Utah had a nice win over Washington.  Perhaps they are on a collision course with Oregon in the PAC 12?  If they both can get there with one loss the winner will have an argument for the final four.  Oklahoma was idle.
  6. Minnesota stayed at lucky #13.  Their gaudy 8-0 record will be put to the test Saturday.  They host 8-0 Penn St.  Minnie head coach P.J. Fleck overtly encouraged ESPN to come to the winter hinterlands for College Game Day.  After all it is two 8-0 teams.  ESPN chose Tuscaloosa for a “Game of the Century, Part II” showdown in the SEC.  LSU v. Alabama it is.  Alabama has won the last eight contests.  Joe Burrow has only played in the last one.
  7. Memphis hopped from #24 up to #19 as they bounced previously undefeated SMU from #15 down to #23.  Defense was optional as the teams combined for a smooth 102 total points.  Memphis scored 54 of them.  The competitive American Athletic Conference has four ranked teams.  Cincinnati is #17, Memphis #19, and SMU is #23.  All hail Navy at #25.
  8. The Florida St. alumni have seen enough.  The Willie Taggart experiment is over 9 games into year two.  Losing to the Miami Hurricanes was the last storm they would ride out.  Three wins and six losses into 2019, Taggart is out.  Florida St. is paying the $18 million buyout price.  But see below.  It’s more expensive than that.

    When the Seminoles hired Taggart away from Oregon, they agreed to pay out his $3 million buyout to end his contract with the Ducks. Florida State also agreed to pay out an additional $1.3 million that Oregon still owed South Florida when they hired him away from that school in 2016.

    So, in the end, Florida State will have paid over $22 million, across three buyouts, so that Taggart could go 9-12 with them in 21 games.

    Maybe these one percenters could help Elizabeth pay for her costly healthcare plan as well?  Surely the first game dehydration problems that Florida St. experienced would be covered.  Pass the hat before the players pass out.

  9. Football in the state of Florida is down this year.  UCF parades not.  Mullen cries a lot.  Taggart was tapped out.  Miami is meh at 5-4, and they have zero wins over top 25 teams.  Let the coaching rumor mill begin.  The Seminoles will aim high.  Urban Meyer?  Nah, he needs the healthcare plan.  Jeff Brohm anyone?  His contract with Purdue includes a buyout, but clearly that won’t stop the Seminoles.
  10. Some early lines are out.  In the two battles of unbeatens visiting LSU is a 6 point dog to Alabama while visiting Penn St is a 6 point favorite over Minnesota.

Ok, ok.  You were over served.  We know the feeling.  More is always better than less, isn’t it?  Hit the treadmill.

Ten Piece Nuggets-NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Time for your nuggets.   Time for a diet too.   There were too many boudain balls consumed this weekend by the staff covering the LSU-Auburn game live.  Grilled below are the tasty, but healthy treats with a side of some AP Top 25 NCAA football teams and their performance or lack thereof.

  1.  There is a new #1.  LSU beat it’s third top 10 opponent this season on Saturday.  Auburn fought hard, but came up short on a soaked field Saturday in BR.  For the first time this year the D carried LSU’s O.  The next “Game of the Century,” a term used far too often obviously, takes place in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 9.  LSU travels to Bama for a #1 v. #2. throwdown.  And throw they will.  It’s also a Tua v. Burrow throwdown.   It has a Heisman making moment opportunity written all over it.
  2. THE and Clemson remain entrenched at #3 and #4.  One or both will benefit from the Game of the Century loser’s drop.  Though, the first playoff poll comes out a week from today.  Maybe the committee will see the on field performances differently that the AP writers?  THE still has Penn St. and Michigan on their dance card.  Clemson has a bunch wallflowers.
  3. Poof!  There went Oklahoma.  Undefeated and #5 last week is old news now as Kansas St. put 48 on the Okie D winning 48-41 in a game that wasn’t actually 7 points close.  Penn St. rose one to #5.  You aren’t elite if you cannot play D.
  4. Florida is #6 and can take control of the SEC East this week as it’s one loss team travels to Jacksonville to meet one loss # 8 Georgia.  The World’s Largest Outdoor Party, formerly known as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party,  will eliminate one team from playoff possibilities and elevate the other.  Speaking of eliminate, did eliminating the word “cocktail” from the moniker reduce the alcohol consumption?  We think not.  But it is PC.
  5.  Here comes the PAC 12.  A week ago Oregon and Utah were #11 and #12.  A week later they have risen to #7 and #9.  Both one loss teams keep stacking up solid victories.  And this coming weekend they’ll have a chance to continue that.  Oregon beat Washington St, always a pesky opponent for them.  Utah shut the door on the California Bears 35-0.  Their objective is to keep winning and meet in the PAC 12 Championship, take a look at the carnage around them, and argue that they deserve a Power Five Conference Champion shot at the final 4.  It’s possible with the collisions that will take place between teams currently ranked higher.
  6.  Oklahoma dropped 5 spots to #10, and Auburn dropped but two to #11 with the above mentioned losses.  Notre Dame dropped from #8 to #16 after Khaki Boy and the Wolverines pounded them in Ann Arbor.  The next time that we need to listen to ND inclusion in the playoff conversation will be 2020 at best.
  7. Two weeks ago undefeated Wisconsin was sitting pretty at #5.  Two weeks and two ugly losses later, the most recent a 38-7 trouncing by THE, Whisky checks in at #18.
  8.  Their losses have opened the door for someone to walk through from the west side of the BIG 10 to be a double digit dog to either THE or Penn St. in that conference championship tussle.  Golden Gophers any one?  Yep.  The Minnesota Golden Gophers are 8-0 and stand at unlucky #13.  Minnie has played exactly zero ranked opponents to date.  But, they’ve beaten everyone that they have played.  With Penn St., Iowa, and Wisconsin dead ahead for Minnie, beating everyone that they have yet to play will be a tall task.
  9.  Baylor and SMU have also beaten everyone that they have played.  They are both 8-0 and sit at #12 and #18 respectively.  Baylor has a path as Texas and Oklahoma loom.  Beat them both and shout your name loudly.  Maybe the playoff committee will hear you.  SMU really doesn’t.  Speaking of Texas, they fell all of the way out of the top 25 with a 37-27 loss to TCU.  Like Oklahoma, Texas is soft on D.
  10. Some early lines are out.  Oregon travels to USC and is a 4 1/2 point pick.  Utah travels to Washington and is a 2 point fav.  The PAC 12 gets picture gets much clearer come midnight Saturday EST.  Also, after a few cocktails in Jacksonville, Georgia will be a four point favorite over Florida.

It looks like a salad week to me.

..