Friday, December 24, 2004
The Anthem Lady, or Kat Returns to College Basketball
Note: I wrote this on the train ride home on Friday, December 24th, but because of my family's lack o' internet, it is getting posted on Wednesday, December 29th. Just use your imagination and pretend it's last week.
I had only gone to one sporting event in my life where the number of fans for the opposing team had come close to the fans for the home team. That would be Niners-Bills in October of 1998 (aka the closest I've ever had to a major religious experience).
Well, then I went to the Canisius-Boston University men's basketball game this afternoon, where I found myself in the midst of all of the Canisius alumni in New England.
I went primarily to see my boss--aka, Boston University's Anthem Lady--sing the National Anthem. I had never seen her sing, and I've worked for her since the beginning of June, which wouldn't be a big deal except that she is the Anthem Lady. I don't know how else to put it, but she's pretty much the most famous person I've ever known. I can pretty much guarantee that if you've lived in Boston for any length of time and are a sports fan, you know who she is. Name a sporting event, and she's sang at it. So I had to rectify this situation and finally go see her sing. And I figured, while I'm at it, to finally take in a Boston University basketball game in Boston, as opposed to the two I had taken in over the years in Binghamton.
I will admit, I copped out five minutes into the second half due to Anthem Lady's offer of a ride home (yes, I may be queen of public transportation, but I never turn down a ride home--she had to leave early to pick up her kids). But from what I did see, Boston has a rather deep team. Unlike the team Binghamton fielded while I was in attendance, Boston has no one overwhelmingly good player--the campus and surrounding media make it out to be Chaz Carr, but from my experience, he's not leaps and bounds better than everyone else, just slightly better at getting the ball, and he doesn't produce as much as he's made out to when he does get it. Compare that to Binghamton, where we had mediocre players--hard working, don't get me wrong, but mediocre--and then one substantially overhyped media "superstar" who we'd put in the game to take "easy" free throws that he'd never make. (But really, I love the Alaskian. He made getting lunch in the Union that much more hysterical for us 5'1 and unders who had the pleasure to stand next to him in line.)
However, Canisius took the first half in a performance that was rather unfitting of a 1-6 team. I didn't know their record before hand, and was astonished after I got home and learned it was 1-6. They sure didn't play like it in the first half. They're tough and excellent at blocking shots--they just get in the way like no team I have seen previously. But I think they may get easily intimidated. Once BU went up by 4 or so, they retreated and were too busy thinking through their defense instead of executing it. It wouldn't of been too hard to defend--every play in the latter first half and the part of the second that I saw was that had Carr dribble outside, pass to the coach's son or another similar looking guy whose name I'm not sure of, who then would dribble, Carr would move inside, and the ball would then be passed to either Carr or Peterkin, who would shoot it in for 2 or muscle to the basket for 1. All Canisius had to do was defend against Peterkin, and they could of slowed BU down, but I feel they didn't have a clue Peterkin could be a threat (all of the PERD people I sat with had no idea who he was--I found out this morning that he's a transfer from Notre Dame).
However, despite the Griffins initial scoring burst and their eventual bust on defense, what was most surprising was how many Canisius alumni live in Boston. Tons of alumni were there, and if they didn't outnumber the BU fans, they came really close. Canisius is in Buffalo, and I guess this further supports my theory that if a Western New Yorker is going to drudge away to a big city, they tend to go to Boston. This is because Western New York is just a grayer, boring, more spread out Boston. Think about it. Bills fans are just like Red Sox fans, we all love our baseball, we think nothing of winter weather, we have strange lingo that no one else in the country uses (bubblers? pop? white hots? frappes?), and we have weird accents (or at least everyone tells me Western New Yorkers do.)
The Terriers were securely in the lead 34-24 when I left, and ended up winning 62-45. Not an amazingly dominant performance by the Terriers, but they're still at the top of the America East (don't ask Binghamton's record--it's depressing). Surprisingly, Tyler Coppenrath led Vermont are struggling at .500 right now, which should make upcoming conference play very interesting indeed.
***
I'm writing this entry on an Amtrak train in business class. Yes, I kind of wish I had an eggnog latte so I could feel even more Peter-King-ish.
I know you're saying, "But Kat--you were supposed to fly home for the holidays. What happened?"
I bought the ticket despite my horrendous fear of flying--over my childhood I backed out of two trips to Disney World because it meant I'd have to fly--but freaked out yesterday when I realized that when I had the panic attack I was sure to have when I got in the tunnel and as the plane took off, I would have no one I knew around to calm me down. I'm lucky enough not to usually suffer from panic attacks. I'm a pretty calm and collected person--except when I'm on a plane. Now, five years ago I had a whole group of people I knew with me, and they were all aware of my fear and were able to combat the ensuing attack pretty quickly. But this was going to be different. I would be between two strangers who'd be calling for the stewardess frantically. I couldn't do that. Plus my flight wasn't a straight shot--it was Boston to Baltimore, Baltimore to Rochester--so it meant I'd have to go through the takeoff and landing twice, and I didn't think I could do it. So I woke up at 4:45am from a really restless night of sleep, and canceled my ticket. Luckily, some train tickets had opened up over the past few days--in business class of course, because it's not like they could make it cheap or anything--so I got those.
And here I am. The chicken of all chickens, rather enjoying my time on the train. Of course, we're only close to hour 3, meaning I have...seven more hours ahead of me. Good gosh.
****
Remember my last post? The Cinderella fantasy football season of me? Well, this past weekend was the equivalent of Cinderella's left behind glass slipper being picked up by the Prince and pounded into shreds. Then Cinderella goes back to her room to find out that her other glass slipper is OUT WITH A FRACTURED FIBULA for the REST OF THE SEASON.
Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system...
The best I can finish now is 3rd place in both leagues. And true, the worst I can do is 4th. But still! I had my hopes up! I've been a football maniac since age eleven. To have a disappointing finish to a fantasy football season at age 22 (almost 23) is saddening. It's depressing. I've been following football now for half my life! Horribly horribly depressing.
But I should stop complaining. Third is good. Third sets me up well to build on next year. That is if anyone will have me back in their leagues.
***
So I finished 10-6 last week. 10-6. After a 13-3 week. Man, last weekend was just not good football wise for me. Well, except that I got to see the Bills kick the tail out of the Bengals (get it--tail, tigers? Laugh at me instead of with me if you must, as long as you laugh at that.) That's a rarity in good ol' Boston, to see a Bills game that doesn't involve the Pats. On a Pats note (and yes, we're ignoring that Tom Brady had a really bad game on Monday night solely because he's wicked hot even when he's sad), I did my first Pats "we" interchange this week. I said "we" when speaking about the Pats. "We" used to be reserved for the Bills, formerly reserved for the Niners when they were led by our favourite number 8 there. I think that means I'm a real Bostonian now. (The Red Sox pronoun replacement happened a while back, but that's because I'd been a Red Sox fan for a little bit already.)
So before either a) my computer overheats because it's on my lap and not on a table or b) the battery dies, let me do my picks. These will be minus the Packers-Vikings game, which starts in five minutes and to which I'll be sadly oblivious to while I sit here on this internet connection-less train.
Kansas City over Oakland--As my fantasy football confidant/student worker Chris would say, Kansas City has been "lights out" lately.
Tennessee over Denver--Go for broke when no money is on the line is what I say, so here's this upset special. I don't know if ya'll realize this, but Shanhan has been with the Broncos almost a decade...and he's proven that the West Coast offense doesn't work for everybody. He lucked out in the 90s with his string of quarterback luck (Young followed by Elway--he got three Super Bowl rings out of those two). But I think it might be time for him to go.
Pittsburgh over Baltimore--I used to like Rothlisberger because a) he's my age and b) he too has an unpronounceable and unspellable last name. However, this whole winning thing is getting old quick for this Pats and Bills fan. Darn it, just lose for once!
Detroit over Chicago
Giants over Cincinnati
San Diego over Indy--It'll be close though. Come on, give the Chargers some credit.
Jacksonville over Houston--Unfortunately.
Carolina over Tampa Bay
Atlanta over New Orleans--There is more than Vick on this team. They can win against a horribly weirdo Saints team without him.
Pats over Jets--I wish this game was on Saturday so I could laugh at my Jets and Yankees loving uncle. Hahahahaha. I should of gotten him a choker for Christmas.
Washington over Dallas
Seattle over Arizona--Homgren will suit up and go out there himself if he has to.
Miami over Cleveland--I love Wes Welker. Hate the Dolphins, but think the world of Wes Welker, with his cute little name and Belichick-like multi-purposes.
Philly over St. Louis--Mark Bulger has dropped just that much further on the hottest QBs list.
And of course, the Hailey's Comet of football matchups (okay, it happens a little more frequently than that, but it's always a special day when it comes around), Buffalo over San Francisco. I wish this would end up a little bit more of a contest, but it won't. But what's most important is that I'll be in Rochester on Sunday, which means this will be on TV for me!
Happy Holidays everyone!
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Moneyball, 4 Inch Heels and Copper Highlights
(or Kat's a Living Juxtaposition)
Stop me if you've heard this one:
I'm on the bus this morning, with my new blondish copper highlights, my fake Kate Spade Bag, and my 4 inch heels (and yes, those things do hurt by the end of the day), and I realize that Boston is much like Long Island when it comes to unexpected snow: it freaks the heck out. Granted, the inch this morning surprised even me, but still--I expected more from Bostonians. So I'm on the bus, and I realize that this is going to be a long ride from Chestnut Hill, so I take out my new copy of Moneyball (book one on the "Cram in a bunch of reading for fun over three weeks inbetween semesters" list).
I look up, and a sixty something guy is staring incredulously at me. And it wasn't one of those sixty year olds up here in Boston that think that they actually have a chance with a twenty something girl on public transportation, but someone who honestly couldn't believe what I was reading.
I let it go, probably because of what had happened the night before when I went to buy the book. I knew exactly what I was looking for, promptly found it and went to the cashier. "Moneyball! One of our biggest sellers for the holidays!" he exclaimed.
"I can imagine. I've read so much about it." I acknowledged.
The cashier nodded. "It does make a great gift."
I took out my wallet. "Oh, it's not a gift. It's for me."
I looked up to see the now-silent cashier for a second and looked confused. "Oh...well, um.....shouldn't you be uh, studying or something?"
"Well, I'll start it after I finish my law paper."
"Oh...well, yeah. I'm sure you'll....uh, like the book."
Can't a girl just read her Moneyball in peace? I have three weeks to make it through that, False Start: How the New Browns Were Doomed to Fail, When the Tuna Went Down to Texas, and Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie.
Speaking of fantasy football junkies, I think I'm heading into the week where injuries are going to catch up with me. In the MCFFLOAT I have four wide recievers. Three of them are listed as questionable this week. And of course this is the week of the playoffs where I go up against the number one seed, the guy who never loses. I had such hope until I realized that I was playing him in this round. I mean, I made it into the championship bracket! There was no place else to go but up! I mean, if there was a Cinderella fantasy football story, I could of been it! (Hey, it was established earlier that I can handle uncomfortable shoes.)
And of course, he wins his matchup and there I go. It's midnight. Fantasy Football Cinderella is going to go back to lusting after Tom Brady and Kyle Boller, and sit quietly on her vast football knowledge until next year. Sigh...it was a nice run while it lasted.
Of course, I'm totally omitting the fact that I won the regular season for my other league, where I feel like the only people still really paying attention anymore would be me and my old boss Jeff. That was not a Cinderella story, for that league is made up of Binghamton-ites who know I know football, and who reside in a part of the state where football isn't as crucial to everyday life as it is up here in Massachusetts. (Baseball is their water, football is their bread. Take away both, and I'm convinced Massachusetts residents would wither like the fifty-cent roses we used to have at the flower store where I worked over the summer.) So really, it's been a really successful season in both leagues, and I shouldn't be lamenting.
Okay, I'm half awake at this point, so quick picks before I slump over into my computer and the rest of this entry becomes a couple of paragraphs typed by my nose. (I'd attempt some spreads, but I'm still glazed over from the law paper I finished writing this afternoon.)
Pittsburgh over the Giants--Thanks a lot, Eli. Because of your incompetence in even handing off the ball to Barber or tossing it to Shockey, my student worker/fantasy football confidant Chris fell to second in his league for the first time all season. Way to scar a kid going into finals.
Washington over San Fran--I feel like the words of the teeny-popper of the moment, JoJo, best describe my feelings towards Erickson and the entire front office staff of the 49ers. And I quote:
"Get out!
Leave!
Right now!
It's too late, and I can't wait
For you to be gone."
Such depth! I feel like so much work went into crafting this wonderfully articulate song. My brain is working overtime trying to figure out all the hidden meanings of this song.
But really, all sarcasticness aside, someone needs to schedule an intervention for this team. It's that bad.
Carolina over Atlanta--I honestly have no idea. I'm having a football pizza party Saturday night, and the lone invitee-who-is-not-my-roommate e-mailed and said, "I wish there were better games to watch. I don't care about the NFC." But it's just the novelty of NFL on a Saturday that this party is built around, so it'll work.
Houston over Chicago
Buffalo over Cincinnati--Of course the Bills go on this streak when I don't live in New York State. Gotta love it. To think I had written them off...but then again, we're finally in a playoff race, meaning we'll collapse horribly, giving all of Western New Yorkers a pitiful end to their holiday season. Happy Holidays, Bills fans! We're the new Red Sox fans of the world, except at least the Red Sox had some World Series already stashed in there. Bills fans aren't having a bad century, they're having a hurtful existance.
Minnesota over Detroit
San Diego over Cleveland--Excuse me, but I'm noticing that a certain team may be doing a bit better now that a certain QB is out for the season. Never mind that it happened to coinside with the firing of a troubled coach. I'd just thought it needed to be put out there.
Jets over Seattle
Philadephia over Dallas--Does anyone call out, "Go 'Cuse!" at the tv screen when McNabb does something great? Is it just me and the Western New Yorkness?
Denver over Kansas City--Fun game Monday night by the Chiefs. I didn't get to see it, but listened to it over the radio. Of course I miss all the offensive funhouses. Of course.
St. Louis over Arizona--Can this game just not count? I swear, I'd rather watch San Fran.
Tampa Bay over New Orleans
Green Bay over Jacksonville--Everyone says next year is the year for the Jags. But didn't they say that last year too?
Oakland over Tennessee
Indianapolis over Baltimore--I haven't spoken to my father about this game, but I can hear him right now, "Over course Indy will win. They'll rig it if they have to. They want him to get that record on national TV. It's the same reason Favre was scheduled on Monday Night Football at his 200th start."
New England over Miami--Of course, my first homeworkless Monday night, and I get this game. If the Bills (or at least the Western NY media) danced around the idea of Marv Levy returning when Gregg Williams was done with, then I swear in the next week, if Saban doesn't sign, then you're going to hear the Don Shula rumor. And not his younger son either.
Last week: 13-3. This week: Probably worse.
(or Kat's a Living Juxtaposition)
Stop me if you've heard this one:
I'm on the bus this morning, with my new blondish copper highlights, my fake Kate Spade Bag, and my 4 inch heels (and yes, those things do hurt by the end of the day), and I realize that Boston is much like Long Island when it comes to unexpected snow: it freaks the heck out. Granted, the inch this morning surprised even me, but still--I expected more from Bostonians. So I'm on the bus, and I realize that this is going to be a long ride from Chestnut Hill, so I take out my new copy of Moneyball (book one on the "Cram in a bunch of reading for fun over three weeks inbetween semesters" list).
I look up, and a sixty something guy is staring incredulously at me. And it wasn't one of those sixty year olds up here in Boston that think that they actually have a chance with a twenty something girl on public transportation, but someone who honestly couldn't believe what I was reading.
I let it go, probably because of what had happened the night before when I went to buy the book. I knew exactly what I was looking for, promptly found it and went to the cashier. "Moneyball! One of our biggest sellers for the holidays!" he exclaimed.
"I can imagine. I've read so much about it." I acknowledged.
The cashier nodded. "It does make a great gift."
I took out my wallet. "Oh, it's not a gift. It's for me."
I looked up to see the now-silent cashier for a second and looked confused. "Oh...well, um.....shouldn't you be uh, studying or something?"
"Well, I'll start it after I finish my law paper."
"Oh...well, yeah. I'm sure you'll....uh, like the book."
Can't a girl just read her Moneyball in peace? I have three weeks to make it through that, False Start: How the New Browns Were Doomed to Fail, When the Tuna Went Down to Texas, and Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie.
Speaking of fantasy football junkies, I think I'm heading into the week where injuries are going to catch up with me. In the MCFFLOAT I have four wide recievers. Three of them are listed as questionable this week. And of course this is the week of the playoffs where I go up against the number one seed, the guy who never loses. I had such hope until I realized that I was playing him in this round. I mean, I made it into the championship bracket! There was no place else to go but up! I mean, if there was a Cinderella fantasy football story, I could of been it! (Hey, it was established earlier that I can handle uncomfortable shoes.)
And of course, he wins his matchup and there I go. It's midnight. Fantasy Football Cinderella is going to go back to lusting after Tom Brady and Kyle Boller, and sit quietly on her vast football knowledge until next year. Sigh...it was a nice run while it lasted.
Of course, I'm totally omitting the fact that I won the regular season for my other league, where I feel like the only people still really paying attention anymore would be me and my old boss Jeff. That was not a Cinderella story, for that league is made up of Binghamton-ites who know I know football, and who reside in a part of the state where football isn't as crucial to everyday life as it is up here in Massachusetts. (Baseball is their water, football is their bread. Take away both, and I'm convinced Massachusetts residents would wither like the fifty-cent roses we used to have at the flower store where I worked over the summer.) So really, it's been a really successful season in both leagues, and I shouldn't be lamenting.
Okay, I'm half awake at this point, so quick picks before I slump over into my computer and the rest of this entry becomes a couple of paragraphs typed by my nose. (I'd attempt some spreads, but I'm still glazed over from the law paper I finished writing this afternoon.)
Pittsburgh over the Giants--Thanks a lot, Eli. Because of your incompetence in even handing off the ball to Barber or tossing it to Shockey, my student worker/fantasy football confidant Chris fell to second in his league for the first time all season. Way to scar a kid going into finals.
Washington over San Fran--I feel like the words of the teeny-popper of the moment, JoJo, best describe my feelings towards Erickson and the entire front office staff of the 49ers. And I quote:
"Get out!
Leave!
Right now!
It's too late, and I can't wait
For you to be gone."
Such depth! I feel like so much work went into crafting this wonderfully articulate song. My brain is working overtime trying to figure out all the hidden meanings of this song.
But really, all sarcasticness aside, someone needs to schedule an intervention for this team. It's that bad.
Carolina over Atlanta--I honestly have no idea. I'm having a football pizza party Saturday night, and the lone invitee-who-is-not-my-roommate e-mailed and said, "I wish there were better games to watch. I don't care about the NFC." But it's just the novelty of NFL on a Saturday that this party is built around, so it'll work.
Houston over Chicago
Buffalo over Cincinnati--Of course the Bills go on this streak when I don't live in New York State. Gotta love it. To think I had written them off...but then again, we're finally in a playoff race, meaning we'll collapse horribly, giving all of Western New Yorkers a pitiful end to their holiday season. Happy Holidays, Bills fans! We're the new Red Sox fans of the world, except at least the Red Sox had some World Series already stashed in there. Bills fans aren't having a bad century, they're having a hurtful existance.
Minnesota over Detroit
San Diego over Cleveland--Excuse me, but I'm noticing that a certain team may be doing a bit better now that a certain QB is out for the season. Never mind that it happened to coinside with the firing of a troubled coach. I'd just thought it needed to be put out there.
Jets over Seattle
Philadephia over Dallas--Does anyone call out, "Go 'Cuse!" at the tv screen when McNabb does something great? Is it just me and the Western New Yorkness?
Denver over Kansas City--Fun game Monday night by the Chiefs. I didn't get to see it, but listened to it over the radio. Of course I miss all the offensive funhouses. Of course.
St. Louis over Arizona--Can this game just not count? I swear, I'd rather watch San Fran.
Tampa Bay over New Orleans
Green Bay over Jacksonville--Everyone says next year is the year for the Jags. But didn't they say that last year too?
Oakland over Tennessee
Indianapolis over Baltimore--I haven't spoken to my father about this game, but I can hear him right now, "Over course Indy will win. They'll rig it if they have to. They want him to get that record on national TV. It's the same reason Favre was scheduled on Monday Night Football at his 200th start."
New England over Miami--Of course, my first homeworkless Monday night, and I get this game. If the Bills (or at least the Western NY media) danced around the idea of Marv Levy returning when Gregg Williams was done with, then I swear in the next week, if Saban doesn't sign, then you're going to hear the Don Shula rumor. And not his younger son either.
Last week: 13-3. This week: Probably worse.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
I Have a Paper Due on Monday That's Not Done, Thus I Feel the Need to Write an Entry
According to several columnists (cough, cough, Bill Simmons, cough, cough), women DO NOT PICK FOOTBALL GAMES. We don't do spreads, unless they're of food, and we don't play fantasy, unless you're talking about our fantasies of some hot guy.
By those two lines, you should be highly amused. I'm a woman. And last time I checked, I kick butt in most things football on a regular basis. Of course, I'm writing this the day before I enter fantasy football playoffs, and this could all blow up in my face. But I met my goals for my first season playing fantasy football, which was were to make the playoffs in both leagues. I knew that two things I would struggle with this season would be defenses and not being stupid when it came to trading--and trust me, those things bit me in the butt several times. My real concern is with my picks and fantasy--I feel as if my picking skills have gone downhill while playing fantasy football. In fact, I've abandoned picking all together for a large portion of the season, due to the fact that I haven't had time to work on my fantasy team and do picks.
Well, it's time to get back on the horse. Here we go, Week 14.
Atlanta over Oakland-- If I have to sit through another profile of Michael Vick where they compare him to Steve Young, I think I'll throw my Ithaca throw pillow through the TV instead of just at it (I'll just have to throw with my left arm). Yeah, that was cool 2 years ago. It was new 2 years ago. But yeah, um, it's no longer anything we've never heard. Plus, now that Vick has been in the league a few years, I think it's clear that Young and Vick will have far different careers. Despite his inconsistencies, Vick has been more successful in his four years (well, actually really three, given his injury) than Young was in his first few years with the Bucs. I'm not at all suggesting that Vick will have the better career, but he was more successful at the start than Young. In addition, I would like to say that Young knew how to run a shotgun before he left college, unlike Vick.
Baltimore over the Giants--The weekly conversation between me and one of my student workers goes something like this:
Chris: "This is killing me. Shockey got nothing yesterday. I'm not starting him next week."
Me: "At some point, when will they realize that even Warner is better than Manning? Even a concussed Warner is better than Manning."
And then we go on for about ten minutes about how much Manning stinks.
Buffalo over Cleveland--Me, pick against my Bills? Pick against McGahee? Pick against their defense? Pick against any team playing against a team sometimes led by Jeff Garcia? And can I just say that during break, I plan on reading False Start, a book about the reincarnation of the Browns that Peter King mentioned in his Monday Morning Quarterback column last week. I'm interested in reading about Carmen Policy, who I always considered highly talented, and what happened to make him ineffective in Cleveland. On a lighter note, has anyplace in either San Fran or Cleveland played off the whole "Cherry Garcia" idea yet? I mean, up here in Boston, J.P. Licks still has "Cherry Garciaparra" ice cream. Given all the football food take offs the nation has endurred over the years, it would only be appropriate. Nothing will ever top Flutie Flakes. On a somewhat related note, I feel that David Ortiz needs to have a food named after him. Out of all the athletes out there right now, I think he is just due for one.
Dallas over New Orleans--Disciplined inconsistency versus wild, unharnessed inconsistency. Fun times. When the Tuna Went Down to Texas is also on my "to-read" list for break.
Indianapolis over Houston--Uh, yeah. I don't really like any of the Mannings. Whiney daddy's boys. Except I do love the Mastercard commercial with Peyton cheering for the accountants and deli people. Gosh darn cute right there (the commercial, not Peyton...except at the end when he looks at his hand and says, "I'm never gonna wash my hand again!" That's a tad on the endearing side. And then I remember it's a Manning, so I scowl.)
Jacksonville over Chicago--Chicago is like white toast. Bland, underachieving, can sometimes achieve greatness with certain pinch players, like peanut butter (or Chad Hutchinson), but overall, you always want to like it but it falls way below your expectations.
Minnesota over Seattle--Both teams will fight hard, but Culpepper is a tour de force of I-should-of-been-a-basketball-player quarterbacking, and will win in the end.
New England over Cincinnati--The Pats will not fall behind the Steelers. They won't let themselves.
Denver over Miami--Or at least I'd hope so. But with Denver lately, I feel like you never know. I also haven't seen too much of them this season. On the "not seeing them" note, should getting NFL Sunday Ticket be one of my goals for 2005? I mean, getting NFL Network was one of my goals for 2004, so it would logically be the next step.
Pittsburgh over the Jets--Deep down inside, the Jets stink. Well, except for Curtis Martin. I want a 0-4 rest of the season for the Jets. That would make us Bills fans very happy.
Green Bay over Detroit--I keep tearing up whenever I see Brett Favre nowadays, and I sob whenever I read anything about him. Football isn't supposed to make me cry, but I am a girl. Some girls cry at movies, but I don't get the chance to see enough of those, so I cry at sports instead. I just bawled at the Sports Illustrated piece naming the Red Sox as Sportsmen of the Year. Bawled. I was on the bus. ON THE BUS. And I cried. I must say that any future children I may have are going to be enamored with my Red Sox World Series article collection and will hopefully think that I'm the coolest mom ever. Or they'll bawl when they read half the articles.
Arizona over San Fran--Speaking of bawling, I'm tearing up right now just writing the words "San Fran." Why are they sooooooo baaaaaaaadddddd?! (Tear, tear, sniffle, sniffle.)
Carolina over St. Louis--In case you've missed it, Mike Martz is nuts. Crazy. Incomprehensible. But then again, he is effective every fourth game or so. Maybe he'll read the clock this week. We'll see.
San Diego over Tampa Bay--SAN DIEGO, Super Chargers, SAN DI-E-GO! Come on guys, steamroll the rest of the season and get Flutie a Super Bowl ring. Tell me that wouldn't be the story of the year. Tell me that Schottenheimer hasn't proved his worth as an NFL coach with this year's job. He was pretty good with the Chiefs back in the day, but this is just something else.
Philadelphia over Washington--I'll love you, McNabb, if you can help me win fantasy football again this week, and the same goes to you, T.O. If you manage an amazing game, T.O., I'll forgive your participation in stunts that give those non-sports-likers around me a reason to nag me about watching professional sports.
Kansas City over Tennessee--A game with teams so bad that it's gonna be good.
Okay, we'll see if women can pick football games now.
The only thing I really have to venture fully into is spreads. I've done spreads before, but not so much this season. After finals are done (aka, next week), I'm going to pick with spreads. Watch out, Kat has free time! But at this point it's 1:30am, I'm a zombie, my hands feel like lead and my conflict resolution paper is sick of being ignored, so I should do something other than writing an entry. I will return later in the week with more fun procrastination reading for you all, so don't worry.
According to several columnists (cough, cough, Bill Simmons, cough, cough), women DO NOT PICK FOOTBALL GAMES. We don't do spreads, unless they're of food, and we don't play fantasy, unless you're talking about our fantasies of some hot guy.
By those two lines, you should be highly amused. I'm a woman. And last time I checked, I kick butt in most things football on a regular basis. Of course, I'm writing this the day before I enter fantasy football playoffs, and this could all blow up in my face. But I met my goals for my first season playing fantasy football, which was were to make the playoffs in both leagues. I knew that two things I would struggle with this season would be defenses and not being stupid when it came to trading--and trust me, those things bit me in the butt several times. My real concern is with my picks and fantasy--I feel as if my picking skills have gone downhill while playing fantasy football. In fact, I've abandoned picking all together for a large portion of the season, due to the fact that I haven't had time to work on my fantasy team and do picks.
Well, it's time to get back on the horse. Here we go, Week 14.
Atlanta over Oakland-- If I have to sit through another profile of Michael Vick where they compare him to Steve Young, I think I'll throw my Ithaca throw pillow through the TV instead of just at it (I'll just have to throw with my left arm). Yeah, that was cool 2 years ago. It was new 2 years ago. But yeah, um, it's no longer anything we've never heard. Plus, now that Vick has been in the league a few years, I think it's clear that Young and Vick will have far different careers. Despite his inconsistencies, Vick has been more successful in his four years (well, actually really three, given his injury) than Young was in his first few years with the Bucs. I'm not at all suggesting that Vick will have the better career, but he was more successful at the start than Young. In addition, I would like to say that Young knew how to run a shotgun before he left college, unlike Vick.
Baltimore over the Giants--The weekly conversation between me and one of my student workers goes something like this:
Chris: "This is killing me. Shockey got nothing yesterday. I'm not starting him next week."
Me: "At some point, when will they realize that even Warner is better than Manning? Even a concussed Warner is better than Manning."
And then we go on for about ten minutes about how much Manning stinks.
Buffalo over Cleveland--Me, pick against my Bills? Pick against McGahee? Pick against their defense? Pick against any team playing against a team sometimes led by Jeff Garcia? And can I just say that during break, I plan on reading False Start, a book about the reincarnation of the Browns that Peter King mentioned in his Monday Morning Quarterback column last week. I'm interested in reading about Carmen Policy, who I always considered highly talented, and what happened to make him ineffective in Cleveland. On a lighter note, has anyplace in either San Fran or Cleveland played off the whole "Cherry Garcia" idea yet? I mean, up here in Boston, J.P. Licks still has "Cherry Garciaparra" ice cream. Given all the football food take offs the nation has endurred over the years, it would only be appropriate. Nothing will ever top Flutie Flakes. On a somewhat related note, I feel that David Ortiz needs to have a food named after him. Out of all the athletes out there right now, I think he is just due for one.
Dallas over New Orleans--Disciplined inconsistency versus wild, unharnessed inconsistency. Fun times. When the Tuna Went Down to Texas is also on my "to-read" list for break.
Indianapolis over Houston--Uh, yeah. I don't really like any of the Mannings. Whiney daddy's boys. Except I do love the Mastercard commercial with Peyton cheering for the accountants and deli people. Gosh darn cute right there (the commercial, not Peyton...except at the end when he looks at his hand and says, "I'm never gonna wash my hand again!" That's a tad on the endearing side. And then I remember it's a Manning, so I scowl.)
Jacksonville over Chicago--Chicago is like white toast. Bland, underachieving, can sometimes achieve greatness with certain pinch players, like peanut butter (or Chad Hutchinson), but overall, you always want to like it but it falls way below your expectations.
Minnesota over Seattle--Both teams will fight hard, but Culpepper is a tour de force of I-should-of-been-a-basketball-player quarterbacking, and will win in the end.
New England over Cincinnati--The Pats will not fall behind the Steelers. They won't let themselves.
Denver over Miami--Or at least I'd hope so. But with Denver lately, I feel like you never know. I also haven't seen too much of them this season. On the "not seeing them" note, should getting NFL Sunday Ticket be one of my goals for 2005? I mean, getting NFL Network was one of my goals for 2004, so it would logically be the next step.
Pittsburgh over the Jets--Deep down inside, the Jets stink. Well, except for Curtis Martin. I want a 0-4 rest of the season for the Jets. That would make us Bills fans very happy.
Green Bay over Detroit--I keep tearing up whenever I see Brett Favre nowadays, and I sob whenever I read anything about him. Football isn't supposed to make me cry, but I am a girl. Some girls cry at movies, but I don't get the chance to see enough of those, so I cry at sports instead. I just bawled at the Sports Illustrated piece naming the Red Sox as Sportsmen of the Year. Bawled. I was on the bus. ON THE BUS. And I cried. I must say that any future children I may have are going to be enamored with my Red Sox World Series article collection and will hopefully think that I'm the coolest mom ever. Or they'll bawl when they read half the articles.
Arizona over San Fran--Speaking of bawling, I'm tearing up right now just writing the words "San Fran." Why are they sooooooo baaaaaaaadddddd?! (Tear, tear, sniffle, sniffle.)
Carolina over St. Louis--In case you've missed it, Mike Martz is nuts. Crazy. Incomprehensible. But then again, he is effective every fourth game or so. Maybe he'll read the clock this week. We'll see.
San Diego over Tampa Bay--SAN DIEGO, Super Chargers, SAN DI-E-GO! Come on guys, steamroll the rest of the season and get Flutie a Super Bowl ring. Tell me that wouldn't be the story of the year. Tell me that Schottenheimer hasn't proved his worth as an NFL coach with this year's job. He was pretty good with the Chiefs back in the day, but this is just something else.
Philadelphia over Washington--I'll love you, McNabb, if you can help me win fantasy football again this week, and the same goes to you, T.O. If you manage an amazing game, T.O., I'll forgive your participation in stunts that give those non-sports-likers around me a reason to nag me about watching professional sports.
Kansas City over Tennessee--A game with teams so bad that it's gonna be good.
Okay, we'll see if women can pick football games now.
The only thing I really have to venture fully into is spreads. I've done spreads before, but not so much this season. After finals are done (aka, next week), I'm going to pick with spreads. Watch out, Kat has free time! But at this point it's 1:30am, I'm a zombie, my hands feel like lead and my conflict resolution paper is sick of being ignored, so I should do something other than writing an entry. I will return later in the week with more fun procrastination reading for you all, so don't worry.
