More Choking

Whatever Michigan has, it must be contagious. Both Minnesota and Northwestern blew leads to lose their bowl games yesterday, dropping the Big Ten to 0-3 in bowl competition. Now, the big bowl games are coming up yet, but it's still disappointing to see the conference represented so poorly. The only consolation is that everyone is choking. Except LSU. They just kicked butt.

Board Games

Haag's back! Actually, I played Settlers of Catan with my bible study once. I was pretty impressed. The description didn't really grab me, but it was a lot of fun. I remember doing pretty well, might even have won. It does have a major drawback though: no cybernetic monkeys. Still, I would call it one of my favorite non-traditional board games (those being Monopoly, Risk, Chess, and Checkers), right up there with Heroscape and a favorite from my childhood, Heroquest (The makers of Heroquest are involved with Heroscape, in case you're wondering).

Speaking of Board Games...

Adam, if you like Heroscape, then you'll probably like Settlers of Catan. It also contains hexagonal pieces and is a 5:1 ratio to the amount of times it takes to play one game of Risk. Very sweet game that can be easily finished under an hour. If you're a real geek in the game, you can buy upgrades to the game as well.
(UPDATE from Stack: Tried to edit this so it didn't make the above postings disappear.)

You can't spell "Alamo" without the block "M"

Hey Michigan, way to steal defeat out of the jaws of victory.

By the way, you have no excuses.

Side note: I actually wanted to see that Tight End Ecker plow into the endzone, not so Michigan could win, but just to see what the idiot officials were going to decide. Don't worry, I do have closure from the game. Each team had illegal players on the field, penalties nullify, ball game over.

Scorching

The Pistons are on a roll, winning their ninth-straight game against the Miami Heat last night, 106-101. Four players were in double figures, three of them scored over 20. The Pistons have the league's best record at 24-3. Flip Saunders has them scoring as well as playing defense. They have a goal too, just listen to Ben Wallace: "We're chasing something bigger than Miami, or anybody else. We have an opportunity to do something special. We're not worried about sending messages." Something special is right. Not only do the Pistons have a very good chance to win their second championship in 3 years, they also could enter the record books as one of the best teams of all-time.

Highly Recommended: Heroscape

Every once in a while, you find a product so cool you just have to share it with others. Heroscape is one of those products. Amazon had recommended it to me a while ago, then Andy put it in his wish list. I decided to get it for him as a "welcome to the real world" gift after he got a job (Oh, Andy got a job. Hooray!) Amazon had a decent price, and they shipped it before Christmas. Andy played it with some friends, and then we played it while I was home. The verdict: sweet.

So what's the game about, you ask? Imagine a game of Risk where you put the board together however you want. It's made up of hexagonal tiles that you can put next ot each other, or stack up to create more terrain. Then imagine that instead of abstract army pieces, you get to choose from miniatures of just about any kind of character you can imagine. Dragon? Check. Giant robot? Of course. WW2 Soldiers? Yup. Samurai? Those too. Cybernetic gorillas? Sure, if you buy the expansion set. Every character has different attributes, so there's strategy to building your team. Outcomes are decided by rolling the dice. Our game took about an hour, as opposed to the whole night you have to commit to Risk. It takes a few turns to get the feel of the game, but once you do, it's a blast. Highly Recommended.

Choke!

Some schools develop reputations that stick with them. Michigan is one of those schools. Although it is both a top-tier school and football program, everyone knows one thing for sure about the Michigan Wolverines: they choke in bowl games. Last night in the Alamo Bowl was no different as Michigan blew a lead and let Nebraska win it in the 4th quarter. Though this time, there is a little bit of controversy surrounding some of the calls. But that's no excuse. I was actually cheering for the Wolverines, both for Big Ten pride and because I've hated Nebraska since MSU played them in the Alamo Bowl two years ago. They were cheap bastards and seriously injured Drew Stanton, which significantly altered the 2004 season, costing the Spartans at least 2 games, and aftershocks were felt even into this past season. So, yeah, not a fan of the Huskers. Thanks, Michigan, even when I get behind you, you don't help me out.

The Monkey is Mine!

Victory! In a hard fought game I defeated Andy to capture the 2005 Cass City Monkie Fantasy Football Championship. The final standings are as follows:

1. Clobberin' Time
2. HorribleSpaceMonkies
3. KindaHypeThatlClrARm
4. Trade teams anyone?
5. 22 Pull Sweep on 1
6. DoggiesThruTheEndzon
7. The Sunday Suckas
8. Let's go

Thanks for playing everyone, I hope we all had fun.

FF Top Scorers '05

Here are the top scorers from the fantasy football league. This will be updated weekly. * denotes current record holder.

Week 1
Top Player: Marc Bulger, 47.00 pts
Top Team: Clobberin' Time, 174.40 pts

Week 2
Top Player: Donovan McNabb, 62.20 pts*
Top Team: 22 Pull Sweep on 1, 198.40

Week 3
Top Player: Drew Bledsoe, 52.80 pts
Top Team: Clobberin' Time, 213.40 pts

Week 4
Top Player: Brett Favre, 55.50 pts
Top Team: The Sunday Suckas, 197.60 pts

Week 5
Top Player: Tom Brady, 51.10 pts
Top Team: Clobberin' Time, 221.70 pts*

Week 6
Top Player: Mark Brunell, 47.30 pts
Top Team: Clobberin' Time, 205.50 pts

Week 7
Top Player: Daunte Culpepper, 44.10 pts
Top Team: Clobberin' Time, 166.20 pts

Week 8
Top Player: Jake Plummer, 57.10 pts
Top Team: DoggiesThruTheEndzon, 212.40 pts

Week 9
Top Player: Peyton Manning, 50.50 pts
Top Team: HorribleSpaceMonkies, 182.20 pts

Week 10
Top Player: Peyton Manning, 48.10 pts
Top Team: Trade teams anyone?, 192.30 pts

Week 11
Top Player: Drew Brees, 57.80 pts
Top Team: HorribleSpaceMonkies, 194.00 pts

Week 12
Top Player: Steve McNair, 50.30 pts
Top Team: HorribleSpaceMonkies, 194.70 pts

Week 13
Top Player: Ben Roethlisberger, 50.80 pts
Top Team: HorribleSpaceMonkies, 196.00 pts

Regular Season Top Player: Donovan McNabb, 62.20 pts
Regular Season Top Team: Clobberin' Time, 221.70 pts

Playoffs
Week 14
Top Player: Drew Bledsoe, 51.20 pts
Top Team: Clobberin' Time, 213.20 pts

Week 15
Top Player: Matt Hasselbeck, 46.60 pts
Top Team: HorribleSpaceMonkies, 183.70 pts

Week 16
Top Player: Kyle Boller, 45.00 pts
Top Team: Clobberin' Time, 167.90 pts

Season Scoring Leaders (Total)
QB: Carson Palmer, 555.30 pts
RB: Shaun Alexander, 353.50 pts
WR: Steve Smith, 270.50 pts
TE: Antonio Gates, 189.00 pts
K: Neil Rackers, 159.00 pts
DB: Terrence McGee, 227.50 pts
DL: Jonathan Vilma, 163.50 pts

The Lions Suck

Yes, I know this isn't exactly news. But I read this article today, and it got me fired up a little. Here are some quotes:

"It's almost a relief to go on the road and play football," guard Damien Woody said Monday. "At least on the road, you know why they hate you."

Yeah, Woody, it's REAL hard to figure out why the fans aren't behind the Lions. Quite a mystery, maybe someone should call Scotland Yard.

Cornerback Dre' Bly is disappointed that fans haven't stuck behind the team, and was stunned by how many Lions fans wore orange Sunday at Ford Field.

"When you're at home, you expect to see blue, black and silver," Bly said. "In rough times, we don't need people bailing out on us.

"When I went out for pregame and saw that orange and black, I was disgusted."

Bly later said he understood why fans are mad and disappointed.

"We haven't given them any reason to be happy," he said.

Now, I'm not sure how I feel about Detroit fans wearing orange, but I know I'm not immediately against the idea, and I certainly understand it. Dre' (nice hyphen, by the way) says they don't need fans "bailing" on them (hmm, like he bailed on his QB?), but at least he recognizes why, to some degree at least. The Lions are totally inept, and have been for years. They aren't getting better, and the years of frustration have finally reached critical mass. That's right: we're getting a thermonuclear fan explosion. And it's about time. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

1001

Apparently ESPN does automobile coverage. I know this now because I couldn't resist clicking a link to see more of that car: the 1001-horsepower Bugatti Veyron 16.4. And I even like the color. Cars like that are going to make me REALLY miss my annual MLK Day Celebration/Auto Show visit.

Beast of the East

Russian Nikolai Valuev, nicknamed the "Beast of the East", won the World Boxing Association heavyweight title tonight. He won by majority decision over American John Ruiz. Now, I don't really care about boxing, as you probably know, so why am I mentioning this? Because this guy's giant. No, seriously: 7 feet tall, 324 lbs. He's huge. Ivan Drago from Rocky IV is a midget compared to this guy (Dolph Lundgren is 6'4". He also has a master's degree in chemical engineering. Who knew?). This guy might be just the thing to get people back into boxing. Or, it would be, if boxing wasn't a joke. But still, who can resist watching a huge guy beat on people?

Merry Christmas

I'm in a festive mood, so I thought I'd share some of the holiday-themed pictures I use for wallpaper. Here they are:




Yes, I suppose there's a bit of a theme. Merry Christmas.

Christmas Wookiee

In the tradition of bringing you Yoda on Drums and Yoda break dancing, I present Chewbacca singing "Silent Night". Remember, he'll rip your arms out of your sockets if you don't listen. Swiped from here.

Keeping Score

You know how it's hard to remember how everyone places every year in our different fantasy leagues? Well, Yahoo! has the answer: Yahoo! Sports Profiles. For example, I could remember placing 1st in the fantasy baseball league in 2004, but who remembers that I placed second in our fantasy basketball league in 2000? More ammo for smack, it's great.

Protests, fur, and firing Millen

How unpopular is Matt Millen right now? A quote from Charles Robinson's column on Yahoo! sports:

There are going to be plenty of people across the league watching to see what happens in Detroit this weekend. Not only has the fan revolt against the Detroit Lions and president Matt Millen been embarrassing to the franchise, but many league insiders have been shocked by how ugly the situation has gotten.

A Detroit radio station ran a promotion to erect a pair of billboards in the city this weekend, each reading "NOT THIS MILLENIUM. … Rebuilding since '57". Fans have also organized a march and an "Orange Out" on Sunday, when the Lions play the Bengals in their home finale. And lest we forget, "Fire Millen!" chants have broken out everywhere, including Michigan and Michigan State basketball games, and a Detroit Red Wings game – in Washington, D.C.

Millen seems like a nice guy, but I don't think he survives this. When was the last time you saw Detroit fans this angry?

Ben Wallace's goggles were not cool. But Shaq's fur coat was (Sorry, couldn't find a pic). If I was Shaq, and heard complaints from PETA, here's what I would do: I'd invite them to a big press conference where I said I'd make a big donation to show how sorry I was for buying fur. Everyone would show up, and so would TV cameras. Then I'd hand out fur coats to all the PETA people. That would be a great television moment.

Dropping Daunte

Well, the fallout from the Vikings' "love boat" scandal finally hit today as four players were charged for lewd, indecent, and disorderly conduct, including QB Daunte Culpepper. Even though Culpepper had one of the best years statistically ever managed by a QB last year, as the resident expert on Minnesota I can tell you he is not popular here. Not as unpopular as Joey Harrington was at the beginning of the season, but not actually much better either. Now that he's been charged Daunte's detractors will have plenty of ammo to go after him with, especially since the team is undefeated in his absence. I think we've seen the last of Culpepper in purple.

Under Center

As I'm watching MNF, eating some coconut cream pie (I'm becoming a big fan of Mrs. Smith's), my thoughts turn to the Lions. It seems obvious that the Lions can't sit tight with their QB situation for next year. Harrington has to leave, any chances he had remaining of being successful in Detroit were pretty much wiped out by Dre' Bly's comments the other week. Jeff Garcia looks like his best days are behind him; I can't imagine a new coaching staff coming in and staking their future on him. Orlovsky might have a shot someday, but he won't be a starter next year. The Lions could draft a QB, but does anyone want to go through that again, even if they do manage to draft Leinart? I think the best way to go is to find someone who's already playing in the league. A possibility I thought of after watching PTI: David Garrard. Yes, he just signed a multi-year deal with the Jags to back-up Leftwich, but surely he'd like a shot at a starting job. He has starter talent, and he's done well whenever he's had the opportunity to play. Of course the new staff would have to convince him that the Lions will be better (not an easy task) and manage to pry him away from the Jags. Still, I know I'd feel better about him than a rookie.

Making Moves

The Tigers made their first big move of the off-season today, signing Kenny Rogers to a 2-year, $16 million deal. Rogers was 14-8 with a 3.46 ERA this past year, but of course his season will be remembered for his encounter with two TV cameramen. Anger issues aside, this seems to be a sign that the Tigers are moving in the right direction. The Tigers have also signed Todd Jones to improve their bullpen. Yes, that Todd Jones, played with Detroit from '97 to '01. Said Dombrowski of the moves: "We've become appreciably better going into next season."

And the winner is...

Reggie Bush. Bush walked away with the Heisman tonight, his 784 first-place votes the second most in the history of the award. He finished 933 points ahead of Vince Young. This means that Bush and Leinart will become the first-ever Heisman teammates to play in a college game together when they play Texas for their 3rd-straight national championship. The competition for this award was close much of the season, but in the past couple of weeks Bush had pulled away from his competitors, so much so that I think everyone outside of Austin knew he was going to win, no matter what Mack Brown might say. This leaves only one real big question in college football: Can USC vs. Texas live up to the hype?

"I'm a bobblehead."

So says Charles Rogers. More like a knucklehead. I used to be a big fan of Chuck's. His play at MSU was amazing, despite being wasted during the years of "The One We Will Not Name." Now, he sounds like a cocky, arrogant, ass (Yes, this is my new favorite word for name-calling, well, maybe after crapweasel). Just read the way he respods to questions in that article. Pretty big talk for a guy who's played in 12 games in 3 years, and managed to get suspended under the NFL's substance abuse policy. I mean, Joe Jurevicius has had a better season then Chuck. I thought maybe all this hardship would motivate him to work harder and become the great player he can be. Instead, it's revealed character, or lack thereof.

"I'm just lucky America exists."

So says Sergei Fedorov, former Detroit Red Wing, in this news story today. You surely know about Fedorov's hockey prowess, or even his dating Anna Kournikova, but you may not know that the Wings actually had to smuggle Fedorov into the country, since the USSR wasn't big on letting hockey players go. I hadn't realized this, it's a pretty amazing story. Check it out.

More Stupidity

Last week I said that lawmakers need to keep their noses out of sports. I'm going to reiterate that point after Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, decided to call the BCS "deeply flawed" and called for a hearing that would be a comprehensive review. Now, I know that a lot of people loathe the BCS and would love a playoff, though I'm not one of them. But you can't force college football to legislate a playoff. Any system, up to and including a playoff, that could be envisioned would certainly be "flawed". This is just more stupidity out of Congress. Republicans like Joe Barton are the reason I don't donate my money to the GOP. Once again, shut up.

Happy Holidays Merry Christmas!

Here's a great article by Jonah Goldberg of NRO about the fight over Christmas in America. It includes what will surely be my favorite quote of the week: "Eat yuletide, you atheistic bastard!"