Week 8 Recap
Quick thoughts while plotting to kill whoever invented Daylight Savings Time…
n I’ve got a news flash for ya… ready… here it is. I’m a complete idiot. After a weekend spent in New Jersey for a dual Birthday/Halloween party in Hoboken (pictures forthcoming… assuming that someone decides to post them online or sends them to me so I can post them), I returned home at about 1AM due to a ridiculous amount of traffic. Not to mention the fact that I had to blow through a tollbooth on the Garden State Parkway because I didn’t have the $0.25 in coins to pay the toll, and the window for people who only have cash bills was closed. After returning home, I reset my alarm clock for DST, forgetting that I had already set it before I left for New Jersey on Saturday morning. Consequently, I woke up an hour late today. Luckily, I’m the only one in my office until tomorrow. I feel a half-day coming on…
n Great, great weekend all around. Well, not all around. From a “hanging out with friends, drinking all night at the bar and eating copious amounts of pizza and food from the local delis”, it was great. From an “I think I’m starting to get a feel for this football season with my picks” standpoint… not so much.
n How could I forget about the emotional component of the Giants’ week? I mean, they just lost an owner who I’ve recently learned (after listening to WFAN in New York for an entire weekend) was actually a deity dressed in man’s clothing. And somehow I pick them to lose to one of their biggest all-time rivals… at home… in front of 60,000+ rabid New York fans. Hmm… read the “headline” above. I think it sums this up nicely…
n Random “heart attack” moment of the weekend for me: Standing in the bar Saturday night, trying desperately to focus on the ESPN ticker running along the screen during the Michigan game. I was searching for scores on UCLA (-1.5), Tennessee (-8) and TCU (-1). Suddenly, the ticker flashed “Final Score Update”, then showed that UCLA had stormed back to tie their game with Stanford, but had lost 27-24 in Overtime. I was crushed. I had a 10-team teaser that was looking unbelievable up until that point. I ordered another beer and stared blankly at the screen. A minute later, there was a “Sportscenter Update”, showing the end of the UCLA game. When they showed the Bruins scoring the winning touchdown in Overtime, I went ballistic, jumping up and down and cheering for no reason – I think I scared everyone within a 10-foot radius. Of course, Tennessee picked this week to lose their first ever home game to South Carolina, so I went 9-1 on the bet, which is good for nothing more than a “nice try”…
n I liked what I saw from:
o The Giants. Do I really need to explain this one?
o The Panthers. Sure, Culpepper got hurt. But does anyone think he would have been able to salvage that game? Plus, Steve Smith’s “Love Boat” touchdown celebration may have been the greatest TD celebration ever. I Think that has redefined TD celebrations from wide receivers – unless Randy Moss turns the football into a bong in the end-zone, or T.O. holds a live auction for a TD ball after a score, Steve Smith wins the award for “Most hysterical and completely uncalled for celebration of 2005”.
o The guy who ran on to the field at the end of the Packers/Bengals game. And even better than that, the announcer telling up that he thought it was the Burger King taking the ball out of Brett Favre’s hands. I hope the video is on the Internet by now…
o San Francisco. Anyone who can engineer a game winning drive with Cody Pickett under center is deserving of a one-week pass from me. I’ll be gentle, at least until the Giants rip them a new one next Sunday.
o Da Bears. More specifically, Kyle Orton. Happened to be watching the game right as he took a hellacious hit along the sidelines from R.W. McQuarters, and bounced right back up to get in R.W.’s face. At least until he realized that everything was spinning… the look on his face was priceless. If that didn’t at least daze him, he’ll never be dazed in his life.
n I was appalled by:
o Green Bay. I suppose it’s at the point in his career where Brett Favre is due for one of these games every season. But that was simply disturbing. Especially the last play, where he “faked” the clock-stopping spike, then decided to run about 10 yards past the line of scrimmage before attempting his pass. It’s almost like he’s standing there thinking “I’m Brett Favre, damnit. I’ve won a Super Bowl and all kinds of MVPs. I don’t have to worry about the clock, or the penalty I’m about to get called for, or anything. They’ll let it all slide…” Seriously, I can’t imagine what was going through his head.
o Washington. Although, really, they lost that game about six days ago…
o Tampa Bay. Something tells me that Chris Simms is not the QB of the future for the Bucs…
o New England. Yep, you read that right. Having Tedy Bruschi back was nice. But that game was supposed to be a walkover, a tune-up before Indianapolis comes to town next week. I’m calling it right now – if the line opens at anything less than Indy (-6), jump on the Colts. I know that Peyton Manning can’t handle Foxboro, or Belichick, and all of that. But the Patriots looked like a lost team last night. They got lucky with a fumble recovery late in the game, and a pretty generous offensive pass interference call on Eric Moulds to basically seal the deal. Since the NFL is clearly planning for a Manning/Manning Super Bowl (I mean, have you seen Indy’s schedule? Or the fact that the Giants got 9 home games this year?), I wouldn’t expect New England to get too many calls next week…
n Really random thought of the week – is there any holiday better than Halloween until the age of about 30? When you’re young, you get to dress up as your heroes and get free candy for doing nothing more than ringing a doorbell. When you’re a teenager, you get to go out and vandalize the house and property of whoever it is in your town that has been designated “whipping boy” for all of high school. When you get to college, you get to dress up again, but now all the girls dress up in whatever costume will get them free drinks for the night – basically whatever shows off the most skin; I remember in college a girl dressed up in nothing but high heels and a saran-wrap 2-piece bikini – she didn’t pay for a single drink for like a month. And now that I’m out of school, I get to go to bars all night, wearing a Red Sox shirt and cap and calling myself David Wells (although only after 3 different guys told me that I should dump my original idea and just go as Boomer), and stare at women dressed as sexy devils, sexy angels, schoolgirls, cowgirls, pseudo-superheroes, slutty cats, slutty girl scouts, Hooters girls, etc. parade around trying to get someone to buy them free drinks. I mean, I love this time of year! Unfortunately, I’ve only got a few more years before the novelty wears off and I have to take the “grown-up approach” to the holiday, so I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts…
n I’m not sure how to score the Raiders/Titans game in the Win-Loss record. I put the line at Oakland (-4.5) before it was posted, and then took the Titans assuming that it was going to be close (I envisioned a 3 point game, at most). However, the line actually opened at Oakland (-1) and then dropped to Oakland (-0.5). I’m pretty sure I would have taken the Raiders with either of those lines… Aw hell, screw it. It’s a loss.
n 7-5-1 so far, with the Steelers/Ravens game tonight to determine whether I have a winning week, or another average performance. I’m sticking with Pittsburgh (-10.5), even though I know that I have zero chance of being right. As long as they win by 5 or more, I’ll accept the .500-week…
Lata.
posted by Big D @ 9:24 AM
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