Posts tagged I'm an idiot
After a fun few days in Atlanta with my family watching some BARVES action, I’m waiting at the airport to head up to ND for my five year reunion. I’m sure my friends and I will act like responsible adults, attend all the actual reunion events like lectures, and get plenty of sleep.
Yah, definitely not going to do back to back to back Backer runs and spend the whole time boozing with my buddies.
Off to the bars for St. Patrick’s Day. This song shall, as always, be the guiding anthem. Stay safe and have fun kids. See you in hangover land.
So getting around 8 hours of sleep combined since Thursday while spending all of the days gambling and drinking has its benefits. One of those is as long as I kept drinking, there was no hangover. With last night being it for us, and the fact that I finally got some cash coming my way, playing craps til 6AM knowing we had to be out of the room at 10 sounded really smart. The saved up 3 day hangover I’ve been battling all day disagrees. And not getting home til after midnight is gonna make work not awesome tomorrow. But hey, I survived and am not completely broke. Victories abound.
Notre Dame just lost to Stanford 28-14. A late TD made it look better than it was. The 1st half was absolutely miserable. Penalties, turnovers, inability to get plays off, everything that has happened bad during ND games happened in full form. Rees got banged up on a big hit, leading to Kelly putting Hendrix in. This led to some questions from folks, but whatever, if that’s who he wanted to go with, fine.
The main issue is when Rees came back, Kelly decided to start flip flopping the two qb’s play for play. Unsurprisingly, turnovers happened. This of course is after Rees couldn’t get snaps off and we had multiple false starts. In the last week of the year, that shit is just unacceptable. I’m done defending Kelly after this game. At some point you have to show something. This many dumb mistakes at this point in the year is insane. Are there mitigating factors? Sure. Having Braxton Cave out is painful. And I guess you can argue it’s a road game, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Palo Alto listed as a dangerous place to play.
The good news is, there were some bright points. The D played pretty well in the 2nd half. As bad as the 1st was, they stepped up big time in the 2nd. Aaron Lynch is an absolute monster on the Defensive Line. His classmate Stephon Tuitt has shown huge strides this year as well, but missed the game due to some mystery illness that’s been floating around this week. Once Hendrix came in full time during the 2nd half, he showed flashes of success. Yes there was a pick on a ball that was tipped due to being overthrown, but he at least had some success, unlike Rees today.
Odds are, we end up in the Champs Sports Bowl. Am I happy, clearly no, but you take the opportunity and make the most of the extra practice time. Plus, whoever runs their twitter account is awesome. I’ve said this before tonight, but then I had a little exchange with them (here) which was quite amusing. Before the year, I predicted ND going 10-2 in the regular season (read all the idiocy here) with a non BCS bowl win. I always expected to lose to Stanford. The loss tonight is not what’s demoralizing. Just like against USF and Michigan, is was the way we lost that is so damned frustrating. Moreover, the fact that it was ANOTHER time in which sloppy execution, stupid penalties, and ridiculous strategy played such a big part. But it seems like a given we will play FSU in Orlando, and so that will happen. Whatever, I’m done with this year.
So where do we go from here? Lots of people keep saying that this team is on the way up, Kelly will right the ship, etc. I want Kelly to be the guy, but I dont see next year being better. In fact, I see next year being far, far worse. ND’s schedule gets much tougher. The usual suspects appear, with USC and Michigan a year better and further into their new outfits. Add in Miami and Oklahoma in Norman? Plus, the first week of the year ND plays in Dublin against Navy. Navy is a strange enough opponent, but following what is sure to be tons of pomp and circumstance in a different country? That’s a strange opener at the very least.
Now let’s look at what ND loses talent wise. 3 Offensive line starters. Arguably (yes I will argue it) the best WR in the land in Michael Floyd, all 4 starters in your secondary….Sure, the Irish have a lot of young talent, but come on man, you think you will be better with all those guys gone?? I have a hard time believing there wont be a huge drop off.
Maybe I’m being overly dramatic. It wouldn’t be the first time. But I’m yet to see anything leading me to believe that A) Brian Kelly can be the guy and B) we will be any better next year. I hope like hell I’m wrong. I love what Kelly’s done in his career and thought it was a great hire. But how are you having the same issues in the last week of the year that you had at the beginning? How can your team come out so flat in big games so frequently? We’ll just have to see next year. At least I’ll always have my chat with a bowl game.
Me and the Champs Sports Bowl are bros
Chaos reigned last week, kicking off with Oklahoma State blowing any shot at the title on Friday night to Iowa State in a true gong show of a game. There was plenty of chicanery to be had in the slate we picked as well. Let’s see how we did, shall we?
Well, at least I knew I was gonna get murdered. Let’s get to it, shall we?
So I think I’m a pretty smart guy. I heard from a bunch of people how confusing Inception was before I saw it, but I felt like I got it all on my first go round. Sucker Punch however, is one of the most confusing movies I’ve ever seen. I watched it a few months ago, and forgot about it. I recently discovered Paul Scheer (Andre from The League) has a podcast called How did this Get Made, where he reviews shitty movies. Listening to his review of this flick reminded me how much of a total cluster fuck it was.
There were 3 realities in this flick, Asylum world, brothel world, crazy fighting world they go to after Babydoll dances. They can warp from both reality 1 and 2 to 3. Realities 1 and 2 are hard to distinguish at time…for people that have seen it: is the kitchen in 1 or 2? The whole thing is just a gongshow. I think Zach Snyder, who did 300 and Watchmen, both things I love, was working out some weird anime fetish shit in this flick. This movie was weird as fuck, and none of it made sense to me. I have way too many questions on what the 3 realities were and how they worked together. If you understood it, please feel free to explain it to me.
This week has some fantastic matchups once again. the 7o’clock spot is insanely packed, good thing I’ve got 2 working tvs now! < 3 u living in the future. After last week I slipped back below 50% because I’m a failure. Let’s rectify that weak noise, shall we? Play along post-jump:
Notre Dame (-7.5) @ Pittsburgh
Pick: ND
Result: 15-12 ND, LOSS
Well, this game was miserable. If you watched, I’d like to apologize on behalf of Notre Dame for the pathetic excuse of a football game you watched. A win is a win, but this was just ugly.
#2 LSU (-6.5) @ #16 WVU
Pick: LSU
Result: 47-21 LSU, WIN
Hooooooooooo boy LSU is not messing around yall. Jarett Lee is proving to be a highly competent quarterback, which nobody would’ve expected quite honestly. The real story though was LSU’s D and special teams. Morris Claiborne had a 99 yard TD return that had people evoking the name of Patrick Peterson. Tyrann Mathieu had a gorgeous pick that also let me know people have started calling him the Honey Badger, because he takes what he wants and doesn’t give a fuck. This is awesome. This game led one football writer to say that LSU could probably beat half of the 1-A teams out there by just taking a knee every offensive play and letting their D and Special Teams go to work. (h/t Holly)
#14 Arkansas @ #3 Alabama (-12)
Pick: Bama
Result: 38-14 Bama, WIN
The Nick Saban death machine continues to roll on. If you aren’t scared of this team you are either already dead or welcome death openly.
#7 Oklahoma St @ #8 Texas A&M (-4)
Pick: A&M
Result: 30-29 Okie St, LOSS
This was an incredibly entertaining game that featured tons of offense and tons of times with each team trying to give the game away. The Aggies ended up out self-destructing the T.Boone’s and OSU came out with a huge home win.
#11 Florida St @ #21 Clemson (-2)
Pick: Florida St
Result: 35-30 Clemson, Loss
Again, so much fail, so little time in this game. Clemson got a huge upset over a now reeling Seminole team, just a week after breaking Auburn’s winning streak. Not a bad follow up Tigers.
Week: 2-3
Season: 9-10-1
Back under .500 so the I’m an idiot tag will make it’s triumphant return for this post. At least I know the SEC? How’d the rest of you fare?
Matt: Week: 0-5,WAMPPPPPPWAMPPPPPPPPPPP Season: 9-10-1. After what I believe is his 5th threat to never pick ND again, maybe the donut will make it stick. And yes, from now on, anyone going 0for get’s the Price is Right sad trombone. You must click this and accept your shame
Judson: Week: 2-3, Season: 7-12-1
Ryan: Week: 1-4, Season: 6-8-1
Kristin: Week: 1-4, Season: 5-14-1
Brian: Week: 2-3, Season: 4-15-1
Past players that took the week off:
Gimber: Season: 3-6-1
DLaw: Season: 1-3-1
Donnie: Season: 7-7-1
Come back tonight for this week’s picks. Good work kids.
Another week, another opportunity to delve into a homicidal rage after a Notre Dame game. 5 more turnovers….really? F. That. Noise. If that happens while I’m up there this weekend, bad things will happen. Let’s see how the picks went
I’ve already ranted and raved at the ND game across various platforms so I’ll pass here. I’m excited Rees now has the job and hope to never see 5 turnovers(3 within the 10) again.
South Florida @ #16 Notre Dame (-11)
Pick: Notre Dame
Result: 23-20 USF, loss
Turnovers will kill you.
#3 Oregon (-4) @ #4 LSU (at Jerryworld in Dallas, Tx)
Pick: Oregon
Result: 40-27 LSU, Loss
Once again, a Kelly is ended by turnovers. Oregon just could not keep the ball. Between that and LSU’s D doing things that should be assault and battery to LaMichael James and crew, this was a very impressive performance by the Tigers.
#5 Boise St. (-3.5) @ #19 Georgia (in Atlanta)
Pick: Boise St.
Result 35-21 Boise, Win
This score seems far closer than the game really was. Boise showed, again, they can compete with the big name schools when given a shot. Kellen Moore is a beast. The Boise offense will feel you out then punish your weakness, it’s impressive. I’m sure more people want Richt fired, because that’s just a given these days.
Minnesota @ #25 USC(-24)
Pick: Minnesota cover
Result: 19-17 USC, Win
Oh Kiffykins. Still going for 2, and missing twice. This was a sloppy game for USC. If I was a Trojan fan I wouldn’t be feel great, but I’d rather have cholera than be a Trojan fan, so let’s just end here.
Akron @ #18 Ohio St. (-34)
Pick: Akron cover
Result: 42-0 OSU, Loss
Not much to say, we knew it’d be murder. Turns out Fickell bro doesn’t mind going for the jugular.
RECORD: 2-3
Not a great week. Clearly just lulling y’all into a false sense of security. How’d you do?
Gimber: 1-4
Judson: 3-2 (sadly missing his bold Akron win call)
Donnie: 1-4
Matt: 2-3
Kristin: 1-4
Brian: 1-4
I love how many people played along last week. Come back tonight for week 2 picks.
So I’m flying to Orlando to audition for Jeopardy tomorrow. I did well enough on the online to get a live, in person shot. Apparently it will be another 50 question written test, interview, and a mock game. I have a feeling the written test will be insanely hard and crush me. I like to believe that I’m charming/funny enough to come across well, or at least better than te typical person you’d expect to meet at an audition for Jeopardy would. Craig (cdbarker.tumblr.com), a former champ, was nice enough to give me some tips going in because he is just that awesome of a guy.
I’m really putting my hopes on the mock game against 2 other would be contestants. As it always goes, my fate will likely depend on the categories I get. Being the huge nerd that I am, I’ve had 2 separate dreams about it this week. In one, I got wheelhoused the whole way: Sports galore, 90s action movies, pop music, law, and mythology with a final Jeopardy question solved with ND Football knowledge. The next night however, I had a similar dream but this time featuring opera, ballet, women in literature and silent film. Either one of these is completely possible. To say I’m nervous is a bit of an understatement. As with most things in life, I’m hoping my ability to bullshit will pull me to victory. Worst case, come back tomorrow night for a potentially hilarious story of my failure.
Tonight’s pick:
LA Lakers -9.5 @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Pick: LA -9.5 ****
Come on yall, Minny is terrible. Sure this line is big, but LA will punish them. Kobe isn’t going to let the weak teams hang with the Lakers
Last Pick: 11/9 (oops, sorry yall) Utah Jazz @ Miami Heat (-9.5)
Pick: Jazz +9.5 ****
Result: 116-114 Jazz, WIN
Record to Date: 8-3
Current Streak: 1 win
5 Star record: 0-1
4 Star record: 4-1
3 Star record: 4-0
2 Star record: 0-1
What a freaking crazy weekend for college football. Another number 1 falls, I miss a ton of picks, there is a trend developing it appears. Here we go
Western Michigan @ Notre Dame (-24), Pick: ND, Result: 44-20 ND, PUSH. Vegas always knows….that’s all there is to it. ND won a blowout, I got to calmly enjoy a game for once, everyone’s a winner.
#1 Ohio St. (-4) @ #18 Wisconsin, Pick: OSU, Result: 31-18 OSU, LOSS. Terrible special teams finally came back to bite OSU. The Buckeyes were down 14-0 in what seemed like 45 seconds. Oh well, another week, another #1 down.
Texas @ #5 Nebraska (-9.5), Pick: Nebraska, Result: 20-13 Texas, LOSS. Well, I just flat out missed this one. Will Muschamp showed he is still the evil defensive mastermind, completely shutting down Martinez. Great win for Texas to try and redeem themselves and give Nebraska one last kick before they walk out the door.
#12 Arkansas @ #7 Auburn (-3.5), Pick: Ark, Result: 65-43 Auburn, LOSS. POINTS POINTS POINTS POINTS POINTS POINTS POINTS POINTS POINTS EVERYBODY! I for one welcome our new Cam Newton overlord.
#15 Iowa (-3.5) @ Michigan, Pick: Michigan, Result: 38-28 Iowa, LOSS. I went against Ricky Stanzi…what the hell was I thinking? I apologize to Ricky, and I apologize to America.
Record this week: 0-4-1
Record this year: 11-11-3
Ow, that just felt rapey. How’d you kids do? Can’t be any worse:
Matt R: Week:1-3-1 Year: 8-9-3
Justin: week: 2-2-1, year: 8-4-2
Leeleeleelee: week: 1-3-1, year: 9-10-1
Others who have played:
Ryan: 7-1-1
Matt T: 0-5
Soaring Eagle: 1-1
