NFL, College Football and Other Stuff in Between

Updating this space is getting to be as about as rare for me as winning games is for the Cleveland Browns, or getting onto the field for more than 2 plays at a time for Michael Vick.
But since we’re all here now, it would be downright ludicrous not to chew into some football delicacies (notice how I like to equate lots of things with food?). I’ve been skipping out on the NFL stuff for the past few weeks, so rather than the game recaps, I’m just going to give out some thoughts on the teams that I think may have a fighting chance come playoff time, as well as go into the college scene for a little bit, and of course some other not-sports stuff.

NFC
New Orleans and Minnesota. Okay, anyone who’s paying any attention knows the Saints and Vikings basically own the conference right now. What’s great about that is the fact that one of these teams (N.O.) has never been to a Super Bowl, and the other one hasn’t been anywhere near one since 1998 (Vikings losing a heartbreaker in the NFC Title game to the Atlanta Falcons). These teams are very much alike also – both play in domes, both have tons of offensive weaponry and top-notch QBs with rocket arms and decent running games as a complement, and both have adequate, but not fantastic, defensive skills. The prospect of a Saints-Vikes NFC Championship game is exciting. Weather certainly wouldn’t be a factor, regardless of who would have home-field advantage. The scoreboard would need to be on some serious steroids because of all the points likely to be put up. I hope it plays out this way too. The Cardinals were a nice surprise last year but I don’t see them doing anything long term this season, and the Eagles-Giants-Cowboys just don’t feel like they have the juice to make a legitimate Super Bowl run. But hear me now – don’t sleep on the Atlanta Falcons. There they sit at 5-3 (ANOTHER dome team, too) with everyone just assuming they won’t be anywhere in the picture when it counts. So often, those are the teams you have to worry about the most. Just ask New Orleans – Atlanta probably came closer than anyone else has to beating them this year (Nov. 2nd Monday night game that the Saints barely won 35-27).

AFC
The Indianapolis Colts seem to be the consensus pick here to make a real run at winning the whole enchilada. Peyton Manning appears to be doing everything for this organization, including playing QB, coaching, managing other players, shooting commercials, overseeing charities, watching endless amounts of game film, and probably mopping the floors too when nobody’s looking (okay, so maybe not that last one). He’s here to work this year, no diggity. The Patriots, at 6-2 and slowly gaining momentum, are almost certainly going to win the AFC East, and it would be highly improbable for some team other than Denver (also 6-2) to win the increasingly mediocre AFC West. But look to the North, friends, and the picture is a bit more fuzzy (fuzzier? Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear?) Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are both 6-2, at least as of this writing, but in just a few short hours, one of them will be 7-2 and the other will be 6-3 as they square off this afternoon at Heinz Field. Some crunching bones and droplets of blood are likely to be seen in this one – going to be an all-out war. This might be the best division race this season, other than the NFC East. Stay tuned. I had my doubts about the defending champs for awhile, but it’s looking more each week like we might see the Steelers back in the AFC Title game. Steelers-Colts or Steelers-Pats sounds right to me.

College Football
So the Big 3 – meaning Florida, Alabama and Texas – are still unbeaten after yesterday’s games, and of those three, only Florida even came close to losing. They had to hang on for a tight 24-14 victory over South Carolina and former longtime Gators coach Steve Spurrier. And then there’s TCU, sitting at No. 4 in the BCS Standings. Unfortunately, the Horned Frogs will probably be on the outside looking in as for the national title game, no matter what happens. Florida and ‘Bama are set to meet on Dec. 5 in the SEC Championship game, no matter what happens (even if either or both lose between now and then). Texas has an easy road left also, although some will say that Texas A&M game will be a rough one, no matter how mediocre the Aggies appear to be this year. But let’s not kid ourselves – major hiccups aside, two of the Big 3 will be left standing undefeated. Now, let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that all of the Big 3 have a loss somewhere along the way before Bowl Season, and TCU is still undefeated. By the way, the Horned Frogs pasted No. 16 Utah last night 55-28, and led 38-14 at halftime (that’s called ‘taking care of business’). But have no doubt about it - under the current setup, TCU will not play for a championship. It just won’t happen. Administrators, the NCAA, ratings people at the BCS TV networks, etc., would rather see two one-loss teams with the matchup potential of Florida-Texas or ‘Bama-Texas as opposed to Florida-TCU, or Texas-Cincinnati. It’s just a little difficult for me to get past the inherent flaw of the fact that only a handful of about 10-12 rotating big-time programs have any sort of realistic shot at playing for the ultimate prize each year. What are the other teams in it for? Oh hey guys, you can’t ever be national champions, no matter how many points you score or huge margins-of-victory you post in going undefeated, but you CAN go to some lesser bowl game and be left to wonder forever if you were good enough to be the best team in the country. Now get out there and show ‘em you mean business!
Rant aside, a couple other notable events from yesterday’s action include Ohio State’s thrilling 27-24 overtime win against Iowa, giving the Buckeyes the Big Ten title and an automatic berth in the Rose Bowl. Also, the Pitt Panthers are 9-1 for the first time since 1982 (Dan Marino’s senior season) and ranked in the Top 10 in the latest AP Poll. They’ll square off with Cincinnati in the Big East title game on Dec. 5th. Oh and, this is a Dave Wannstedt coached team, let’s not forget that. I don’t understand it either. But I do like it. I’ve always enjoyed Pitt. They’re like the kid brother of the two major Division I college football programs in the state of Pennsylvania (to Penn State of course), and being someone who has long followed high school football in the Keystone State, I’ve been waiting for quite some time to see the program that has scooped up most of the major homegrown talent finally begin to rise to national prominence. Good times. I’ll be rooting for the Panthers on Dec. 5. If they can win out, they’ll definitely get themselves into a nice January Bowl game.

Them Crooked Vultures
I gave a brief mention about this band in my last entry. It’s a super-group of sorts featuring Foo Fighters frontman and ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl (on drums), Queens of the Stone Age singer/songwriter/guitarist Josh Homme (guitar/vocals), and of course the one-and-only Led Zeppelin bassist/keyboardist/composer/arranger/everything else man John Paul Jones (playing bass). I listened to probably 85-90 percent of their debut album, due out this Tuesday (Nov. 17th) on youtube last night, and it’s quite notably good. Of all the bands from which TCV originates, they probably sound most similar to Queens of the Stone Age, if I was forced to pick just one. But there’s just enough variance in their sound that it doesn’t come off as too derivative. The grooves are wicked, Homme’s smooth vocals are a nice complement to the rhythmic, driving, heavy guitar sound (classic Zeppelin at times), and Dave Grohl has just got to be one of the most talented drummers of his generation. It was funny to me also to see a lot of the youtube comments hailing this as the second coming of rock savior-dom. We have officially reached a sad state of modern music when one above-average album receives the kind of recognition and hype that this one is getting so far. Don’t get it twisted, this is an epic, fantastic band. But 17 years ago, this album would have been one of many really good albums constantly being released. I’m happy it’s here, but depressed for the overall state of rock, hip hop and many other beloved forms of music in our current time. Nevertheless, cop this one if you’re a fan of any (or all) of those 3 bands (QOTSA, Foos, Zeppelin). I love all of them, which is why it’s not surprising that I thoroughly enjoy TCV.

Fake Onion-Style News Short
This is a piece I’ve been wanting to put down for quite some time. It’s pretty self explanatory. Let ‘er rip.

Headline: Despite Flagging Economy and Anemic Job Market, Employed People Becoming Increasingly Bitter

ASSOCIATED PRESS – Despite statistical evidence that bears out a disturbing trend in increasing joblessness and an economy that is taking longer than expected to turn around, many of those who are fortunate enough to have jobs, both of the white and blue collar variety, are tired of working so hard, and even more frustrated at being told that they should be thankful for the jobs that they have.
“That’s a bunch of bullshit,” said project manager John McElwain, smoking a cigarette outside of his Fifth Avenue financial office job earlier this week in New York City. “Do you have any idea how much it costs to live well in this goddamned city? I work more hours now than I ever have because my company is too fucking cheap to hire more people, thanks to this awful economy, but I’m not getting any more money for it. In fact, I’ll be lucky to see a bonus this year.”
“Merry Fucking Christmas,” he intoned, while crushing out his cigarette and blowing a plume of angry smoke into the air before returning to his occupational hell.
“You know, I understand, I’m lucky to be working, I get it,” said MaryAnn Jenkins, a 38-year-old hairdresser in Mobile, Alabama. “But sometimes, you know, I wish I could just quit my job, go home and sit around on the couch for awhile, and collect unemployment until I get things figured out. I mean, you know. Work is fine, but what the hell? It’s the same thing day after day. People who don’t have jobs right now have no idea how lucky they are.”
Quincy Johns, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Columbia University and former marketing major in college, weighed in as to why there are so many people who don’t feel so ‘lucky’ to be working.
“What we have is an increasing sense of frustration amongst the individuals who are gainfully employed right now,” Johns said. “This is indicative of the fact that there are millions of working Americans out there right now who simply don’t have the jobs that they really want. Unfortunately, we can’t all be professional athletes, or Perez Hilton, or self-made entrepreneurs.”
When asked what people with jobs can do to overcome this sense of unhappiness, Johns said that they can “stop being whiny little bitches and just go to work and continue to earn a paycheck like everybody else.”
Dominic Arenzio, a pizza restauranteur in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the few who is thrilled to have his job during this currently depressing economic climate.
“Hey, people like pizza no matter if they have a job or not,” he said with a laugh. “You want a slice? That’ll be $4.50. Hey – don’t look at me like that. Tough times right now, gotta do what I gotta do.”