Turkey Lurkey Doo and Turkey Lurkey Dah
I meant to write on Monday. Didn’t happen. Surprisingly enough I actually had work to do. I did write yesterday only to have the site crap out and lose the whole posting. So here we go, third times a charm. And now I have to cram a whole week’s worth of stuff into one post.
My Thanksgiving was good. It started with me playing football with my buddy Mark and his boys in their annual Turkey Bowl. I was a master decoy. Running deep past my man every play only to see the ball thrown underneath into his zone. But it was fun. Even though a fumbled kickoff and an interception thrown to the drunkest guy on the field (which was returned for a TD) cost us the game. Not only was he the drunkest he was also smoking for the majority of the game. Might as well have slapped brown jerseys on us and called us the Browns.
For dinner I went to my wife’s friend’s house. The food was good. Turkey, homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, and rolls. And of course pumpkin pie. It was tasty.
Was it just me or were the football games Thursday the worst in recent memory. A blowout and probably one of the ugliest games of the year. The only thing that saved the day was the WVU at Pitt game Thursday night. It was its usual Backyard Brawl barnburner.
That may have been the shortest 4-day weekend in recorded history. It probably had something to do with the fact that Friday and Saturday morphed into one day for me. Both involved me, the couch, and either watching college football or playing it on my PS2. I did do laundry Friday, so that’s constructive.
The Browns scored 48 points Sunday. That’s the good news. They lost by 10. That’s the bad news. They gave up 58 to the Bungles. This is a defense that gave up 10 the week before to the Jets, and lost. This team just blows my mind. It’s really ridiculous.
That means that last week BG and the Browns scored a combined 89 points and went a combined 0-2.
But if one thing came out of Sunday, it’s another qb controversy. Kelly Holcomb threw for over 400 yards. His 3rd such game since 2002. And coincidently the Browns are 0-3 in those games. Pretty awesome. But Holcomb should never be a full time starter. He stares down receivers and he has a noodle arm (both evident by his game clinching interception Sunday). Just stick with Garcia; he’s the best we’ve got.
The icing on the cake was Andra Davis getting hurt Sunday. Our best defensive player done for the year with a torn MCL (the same knee he hurt in college). He isn’t only the heart and soul of our D but he’s also one of the best young MLBs in the NFL.
While I’m on the Browns I’m just going to talk about the Butch Davis firing now. I can’t say that it made me sad. Butch is a pure college coach. He’s a rah-rah kind of guy. And that attitude wears thin after a while on NFL players (look at Gruden in TB). For a guy who coached under Jimmy Johnson I was very surprised at the lack of discipline this team has showed over the last couple of years. Stupid penalties, fights, suspensions, and tack on our piss poor drafts and you have a recipe for success. Some college program will give Butch a job and he deserves it. He was a good college coach once, and he’ll be one again.
Moving on…
What the heck was the Providence College AD thinking when he made their basketball schedule for this season? In a four day stretch they played #1 Wake Forest, Michigan, and Top 25 Florida. I know that the first 2 were in the Preseason NIT, but if you have a team like PC shouldn’t you plan on them making it to the semis of that tournament? Then you fly them to Miami to play Florida on Saturday. I guess a 1-2 record over that stretch is a victory.
I can also ask the same question of UNC’s AD. Why would you even think of scheduling a game within 48 hours of your team returning from Hawaii? I mean that’s only about a 15 hour flight. Maybe jet lag is a new term in NC.
I was glad to see Iowa make it to the finals of the Maui Tournament. Even though they got beat up against UNC they represented the Big 10 well. And I also think it made people remember that Steve Alford is a good coach. This guy was the talk of the Big 10 a couple of years ago when Iowa won the Big 10 Tournament. And he took a team to the Dance for I believe 5 years in a row (SW Mizzou St and Iowa). He is only building not only on his reputation but also Bob Knights. No one ever talks about the Bob Knight disciples, but they’re doing pretty well. I can think of three right now. Alford at Iowa (245-148 at Iowa and SW Mizzou), Coach K at Duke (695-240 at Army and Duke), and Dan Dakich at my alma mater Bowling Green (116-90). Those are pretty good records by guys who are branching off of a pretty good coach. And to all you Dean domers, Knight has 840 wins; he’s going to catch him.
The ACC-Big 10 Challenge started last night. I’ve always been a fan of this little gimmick. Grant it the ACC always wins, but it still presents some entertaining games. Such as the Wisconsin-Maryland game last night. That was just a great game, flat out. And by the way, UW’s Bo Lyon is a pretty good coach for those who didn’t know. I know that the Big 10 has been down the last couple of years but to win back-to-back titles at a school that hadn’t won one in almost 35 years is pretty impressive.
I’m also glad to see Ohio St. actually draw a team that’s not among the elite. Because let’s face it, we don’t have Michael Redd and Scoonie Penn in the back court anymore. Yes, OSU drew Clemson. Very winnable in my estimation. Considering we’ve drawn NC State, Duke, and last year Georgia Tech, I think we deserve a break (we did beat NC State in 2001 though).
Did anyone else know that George Brett is from WV? Hall of Famer George Brett is from Glendale. I just found that odd that in a state with so few celebrities that that isn’t a big deal. I found it on the Baseball HOF site. They have a map so you just click on a state and it tells you what HOFers were born there. Yeah, I clicked on every one of them.
I have one suggestion for the Cleveland Browns in their search for a new coach. Jim Fassel. The guy is offensive minded, which contrary to Sunday is what this team needs. The defense has been its only strength since 1999. And he has taken a team to a Super Bowl. Available coaches with that on their resume are hard to come by.
Tyrone Willingham was also fired yesterday by Notre Dame. I don’t agree with this. Willingham took over a bad team. Probably the worst thing that happened to him was going 10-3 his first year and getting everyone hopes up. Because that team wasn’t that good. And it has showed the last 2 seasons. But ND lacks two things, speed and depth. Those are two facets that can’t be built in just 3 seasons. If he would have served his entire contract I think ND would have been in a BCS game by year 5.
This now opens the door for Urban Meyer. The Midwestern guy and former ND assistant is a good fit. And ND is one of the outs in his Utah contract. He will take over a much better team than the one Willingham inherited. They could win 9 games next year. And for all of you Utah fans that have been listening to Meyer say he’s at Utah for the long haul. Remember two things, 1. He’s about the most ambitious coach in America. His goal from day one has been to get a head coaching job at a major program. 2. He said the same things in 2002 before he bolted for Salt Lake. Déjà vu? I think so.
And finally, over the last 4 weeks I have become the world’s worst Fantasy Football GM. My team has lost 4 in a row to fall out of a playoff spot. I need a big time rally or I’m done. But like most GMs I’m going to shift blame and lay it on Priest Holmes. His injury has been my downfall. There you go Priest; you deal with this media frenzy.
By the way, I solved the BCS and created a DI-A playoff system. But that’s a story for tomorrow.
My Thanksgiving was good. It started with me playing football with my buddy Mark and his boys in their annual Turkey Bowl. I was a master decoy. Running deep past my man every play only to see the ball thrown underneath into his zone. But it was fun. Even though a fumbled kickoff and an interception thrown to the drunkest guy on the field (which was returned for a TD) cost us the game. Not only was he the drunkest he was also smoking for the majority of the game. Might as well have slapped brown jerseys on us and called us the Browns.
For dinner I went to my wife’s friend’s house. The food was good. Turkey, homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, and rolls. And of course pumpkin pie. It was tasty.
Was it just me or were the football games Thursday the worst in recent memory. A blowout and probably one of the ugliest games of the year. The only thing that saved the day was the WVU at Pitt game Thursday night. It was its usual Backyard Brawl barnburner.
That may have been the shortest 4-day weekend in recorded history. It probably had something to do with the fact that Friday and Saturday morphed into one day for me. Both involved me, the couch, and either watching college football or playing it on my PS2. I did do laundry Friday, so that’s constructive.
The Browns scored 48 points Sunday. That’s the good news. They lost by 10. That’s the bad news. They gave up 58 to the Bungles. This is a defense that gave up 10 the week before to the Jets, and lost. This team just blows my mind. It’s really ridiculous.
That means that last week BG and the Browns scored a combined 89 points and went a combined 0-2.
But if one thing came out of Sunday, it’s another qb controversy. Kelly Holcomb threw for over 400 yards. His 3rd such game since 2002. And coincidently the Browns are 0-3 in those games. Pretty awesome. But Holcomb should never be a full time starter. He stares down receivers and he has a noodle arm (both evident by his game clinching interception Sunday). Just stick with Garcia; he’s the best we’ve got.
The icing on the cake was Andra Davis getting hurt Sunday. Our best defensive player done for the year with a torn MCL (the same knee he hurt in college). He isn’t only the heart and soul of our D but he’s also one of the best young MLBs in the NFL.
While I’m on the Browns I’m just going to talk about the Butch Davis firing now. I can’t say that it made me sad. Butch is a pure college coach. He’s a rah-rah kind of guy. And that attitude wears thin after a while on NFL players (look at Gruden in TB). For a guy who coached under Jimmy Johnson I was very surprised at the lack of discipline this team has showed over the last couple of years. Stupid penalties, fights, suspensions, and tack on our piss poor drafts and you have a recipe for success. Some college program will give Butch a job and he deserves it. He was a good college coach once, and he’ll be one again.
Moving on…
What the heck was the Providence College AD thinking when he made their basketball schedule for this season? In a four day stretch they played #1 Wake Forest, Michigan, and Top 25 Florida. I know that the first 2 were in the Preseason NIT, but if you have a team like PC shouldn’t you plan on them making it to the semis of that tournament? Then you fly them to Miami to play Florida on Saturday. I guess a 1-2 record over that stretch is a victory.
I can also ask the same question of UNC’s AD. Why would you even think of scheduling a game within 48 hours of your team returning from Hawaii? I mean that’s only about a 15 hour flight. Maybe jet lag is a new term in NC.
I was glad to see Iowa make it to the finals of the Maui Tournament. Even though they got beat up against UNC they represented the Big 10 well. And I also think it made people remember that Steve Alford is a good coach. This guy was the talk of the Big 10 a couple of years ago when Iowa won the Big 10 Tournament. And he took a team to the Dance for I believe 5 years in a row (SW Mizzou St and Iowa). He is only building not only on his reputation but also Bob Knights. No one ever talks about the Bob Knight disciples, but they’re doing pretty well. I can think of three right now. Alford at Iowa (245-148 at Iowa and SW Mizzou), Coach K at Duke (695-240 at Army and Duke), and Dan Dakich at my alma mater Bowling Green (116-90). Those are pretty good records by guys who are branching off of a pretty good coach. And to all you Dean domers, Knight has 840 wins; he’s going to catch him.
The ACC-Big 10 Challenge started last night. I’ve always been a fan of this little gimmick. Grant it the ACC always wins, but it still presents some entertaining games. Such as the Wisconsin-Maryland game last night. That was just a great game, flat out. And by the way, UW’s Bo Lyon is a pretty good coach for those who didn’t know. I know that the Big 10 has been down the last couple of years but to win back-to-back titles at a school that hadn’t won one in almost 35 years is pretty impressive.
I’m also glad to see Ohio St. actually draw a team that’s not among the elite. Because let’s face it, we don’t have Michael Redd and Scoonie Penn in the back court anymore. Yes, OSU drew Clemson. Very winnable in my estimation. Considering we’ve drawn NC State, Duke, and last year Georgia Tech, I think we deserve a break (we did beat NC State in 2001 though).
Did anyone else know that George Brett is from WV? Hall of Famer George Brett is from Glendale. I just found that odd that in a state with so few celebrities that that isn’t a big deal. I found it on the Baseball HOF site. They have a map so you just click on a state and it tells you what HOFers were born there. Yeah, I clicked on every one of them.
I have one suggestion for the Cleveland Browns in their search for a new coach. Jim Fassel. The guy is offensive minded, which contrary to Sunday is what this team needs. The defense has been its only strength since 1999. And he has taken a team to a Super Bowl. Available coaches with that on their resume are hard to come by.
Tyrone Willingham was also fired yesterday by Notre Dame. I don’t agree with this. Willingham took over a bad team. Probably the worst thing that happened to him was going 10-3 his first year and getting everyone hopes up. Because that team wasn’t that good. And it has showed the last 2 seasons. But ND lacks two things, speed and depth. Those are two facets that can’t be built in just 3 seasons. If he would have served his entire contract I think ND would have been in a BCS game by year 5.
This now opens the door for Urban Meyer. The Midwestern guy and former ND assistant is a good fit. And ND is one of the outs in his Utah contract. He will take over a much better team than the one Willingham inherited. They could win 9 games next year. And for all of you Utah fans that have been listening to Meyer say he’s at Utah for the long haul. Remember two things, 1. He’s about the most ambitious coach in America. His goal from day one has been to get a head coaching job at a major program. 2. He said the same things in 2002 before he bolted for Salt Lake. Déjà vu? I think so.
And finally, over the last 4 weeks I have become the world’s worst Fantasy Football GM. My team has lost 4 in a row to fall out of a playoff spot. I need a big time rally or I’m done. But like most GMs I’m going to shift blame and lay it on Priest Holmes. His injury has been my downfall. There you go Priest; you deal with this media frenzy.
By the way, I solved the BCS and created a DI-A playoff system. But that’s a story for tomorrow.
posted by CFunk28 at 8:51 AM
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