Wednesday Random Thoughts
1. I got so mad reading Eric Wilbur’s blog on Boston.com yesterday about how the Patriots are over rated and they haven’t played anybody that I actually wrote him an email. I never do that. But the article was so dumb I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. That’s how genocides happen. Here is what I wrote;
I hope you stick by this article in a few weeks. You really couldn’t be more off base. Did you write it just to get a rise out of people? The NFL isn’t about who you beat it’s about winning and how you beat them. The Patriots have dominated everybody for the past month and a half. Don’t give me the “they didn’t beat anybody excuse” because Buffalo went into Cincy and killed the Bengals. The Dolphins beat SD in SD. Tampa only has lost once in like two months. Your argument that the Pats haven’t played anybody makes no sense and doesn’t’ work in the NFL. Everybody is dangerous in the NFL. It’s not college.
To Wilbur’s defense he emailed me back to explain his logic, but I’m still not buying it. I just hope he doesn’t pull a Jaworski and totally change his mind and then act like he was right about the Pats all along.
2. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. The Stool isn’t doing our job if we’re not getting boycotted by somebody. Therefore, I’m happy to report that Wachovia Securities has banned our website and emails from their corporate server. We have been filed in the category of “provocative attire.”
3. Today’s dummy of the day award goes to this idiot. STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish police caught a burglar after he answered a phone he had just stolen and did not hang up, letting them eavesdrop on his getaway ride in a taxi. The man broke into a house in Overtornea in the far north of Sweden, stealing a mobile phone and other possessions. The police rang the stolen phone and heard him swearing about the late arrival of a taxi which he had ordered to take him to neighboring Kalix, 60 km (37 miles) away. "The thief answered the phone but then just put it away without turning it off," said Overtornea policeman Kurt Paavola. The police tracked down the taxi and arrested the man late on Monday.
4. So El Presidente has finally decided to hire a couple sales guys. And in the process I have finally figured out how Monster makes their money. It costs 500 bucks to post one job for 30 days. Are you freaking kidding me? I ain’t paying no 500 bucks to post this job. That’s freaking unreal. Anyway here is the job description that we put on Craigslist. If you know anybody who is interested send them our way. “Barstool Sports, Boston's premiere sports, gambling and entertainment newspaper is looking to hire 2 sales people. These people will be on the ground floor of our newspaper so there is obviously tons of room for growth. We're looking for smart people who are willing to bust ass doing sales but also will play a role in every part of the newspaper. This is not a normal 9-5 job. Everybody at our company pretty much does a little bit of everything. If you want to get involved with a company that revolves around sports, pretty girls and going out to bars at night we're a good spot for you. And no it's not as easy as it sounds, but it beats 99% of the crap that is out there. The base salary is 20K with a total comp package that should get people around the 40K range.
5. I love Joe Paterno. There is nothing better than a cranky old man who gets fired up at the drop of hat. Yesterday Paterno got mad at everything from the refs telling him to be quiet to the fact FSU was allowed to get into the tunnel first at half time. I love watching him get pissed. The best part is that nobody takes him seriously. Whenever he flips out people just get that “well he’s an old man look on their face” I wish I could make Papa Joe the Stool’s mascot.
6. There is NO TRIVIA TONIGHT because of the National Championship game. I highly recommend taking Texas money line against USC. That’s right folks. I got the Horns winning out right.
7. I really love today’s link of the day. I would definitely hang around with these guys on a notice moment. The announcer does a great job with this. “There it is ladies and gentleman!”
http://www.break.com/index/slipperydeck.html
Reader Email
Email #1
Explain to me how the ACC is one of the biggest disappointments so far this bowl season?
The Big East is 1-3, Big Ten is 2-4, SEC is 3-3 and the ACC is 5-2? Are you not following the games? The ACC is clearly showing it’s the deepest conference in America. When the Big 10 and SEC couldn’t even fill all their bowl requirements, the ACC took their spots sending 8 teams to bowl games. Yes, Miami and GT got buried but UVA,BC,Clemson,NCST and Virginia Tech all won and FSU has yet to play. I'd hardly classify 5-2 as one of the biggest disappointments.
-Matt
(I’m writing this before FSU vs. Penn State) But if FSU loses to Penn State like I think they will then the ACC will be a major disappointment. You’ve got to look at how the “best” teams in the conference are doing and who everybody is playing. Miami got buried by LSU. That was a signature game for the conference. Georgia Tech who was arguably the hottest team in the ACC got buried by a 6-5 Utah team. As far as their wins go who cares? UVA beat a Minnesota team that lost 5 out of their last 8 games. NC State beat South Florida. BC hung on to beat a 3 loss WAC team. Clemson struggled with a Colorado team that lost their last two games by a combined score of 100-8 and had no coach. Virginia Tech struggled with a Louisville team that had their back up QB. The ACC has beaten one ranked team and that was Louisville who didn’t have their star QB. And the way Miami and Georgia Tech got crushed and VTech struggled with Louisville hurt the image of the conference in my mind. Despite the fact that the Big 10 is 2-4 their lone two wins are both more impressive than all the ACC wins combined. Wisconsin and Ohio State looked dominant vs. Auburn and ND, both top 10 teams. The SEC is a disappointment and I don’t think anybody thought the Big East would win a game. The Big 12 has been the biggest surprise so far.
Email #2
Yo El,
One Question. Will you be doing your blow by blow journal/commentary on the playoff game this weekend? Probably not because it is on a Sat. night, and you'll probably be shitfaced with friends, but I loved it last year, and I think the raw uncensored emotion that you get during a game is priceless, and should be put in print. Plus, I love to read my own thoughts put on paper by a different person who is actually thinking the same things as I am (does that make sense?).
Also, I must agree that Louisville must've been a crusher, but I can one-up you. How about Sean Taylor mauling Koy Detmer (why the fuck did Andy Reid pull McMahon) with 30 seconds left, cadillacing into the end zone, and pulling out a miraculous cover against the iggles who were +7.5 at home and covering for 59.5 minutes of the game. This rivaled my loss back in 2002 when I took the Vikings at home on the final Monday nighter of the year against the Ravens getting 13. The mighty Tices were trailing by 10 with 30 seconds left, on their own 10 yard line and seemingly ready to fall on the ball and call it a season. But for some ungodly reason, Spergon Wynn (yes, Spergon Wynn) decided to drop back to pass. He then proceeded to get his head torn off by one of those cannibals on that ridiculous defense, and Ray Lewis strutted into the end zone backdooring my wallet into emergencycheckville.
ED FROM EASTON (now living in stoughton)
I’m not going to do it this Saturday because like you said I doubt I’ll be home for it. But I will do it for when we beat the Colts. The only down side for writing that column is I have to defend myself against all the Bill Simmons fans who say I’m just ripping him off.
Email #3
Pres
I read everyday, love the thoughts. Did you happen to watch the Outback Bowl between Iowa and Florida? The officials should be stripped of their whistles, they sure as hell can't use the right.
I'm a big Hawkeye fan and realize we had no business winning that game with our play in the first half and most of the 3rd quarter. But we fought the officials almost all game and put ourselves in the position to have a chance at winning, only to have it ripped from our grasp.
We got absolutely completely hosed in that game. Facemask on Iowa's Soloman?!?!? We were on offense and the Florida D-Back pulled Soloman to the ground by his facemask. And we get the offensive facemask. Unreal.
Helmet to helmet late hit on Iwebewe #93 if the Hawks on Chris Leak!?!??!!? 1. It wasn't late 2 It wasn't helmet to helmet. Chris Speilman about fell out of the broadcast booth on this one. It is football you know, you have to tackle them.
Florida #93 as the 12th man running right past the side line judge and almost running him over but no flag?!?!? The ball was snapped and he was at least 5 yards from being off the field. The side judge actually had to wait for him to pass before he could follow the play up the field.
And how the f**k did they call Greenway #18 of the Hawks off sides?!!?!? That's way too close to call, the situation had nothing to do with it. If it's not blatant you can't call it, and it's the last play of the game to boot.
Just proves that conference USA officials aren't used to the size and speed of a Big-10 vs SEC game. A$$holes.
Peace Out & Piss Off
Vrb
Yup I saw it. I had Florida and the Under. I stopped watching it after the first half when the score went from 10-0 with 1:40 left in the half to 24-7 at half time. After that I switched to the Alabama game. From what I saw Florida clearly was the better team. The helmet to helmet call on Iwebewe was horrible. But that is still no excuse to give up a 40 yard bomb with 1 second left in the half. I love Speilman by the way. He is my favorite announcer in college football. He cracks me up.
Email #4
El Prez - I love your glass-half-full outlook on the upcoming playoffs. Mind you, I think the Pats have a very legitimate shot to pull it of but it'll be the toughest road yet. Two double-tough road games at Indy and Denver should they get past a 12-4 Jax team. I wholly believe in the Patriots character but I also think there's a reason no one has been able to win 3 straight.
In any event, here are my primary concerns: 1) The Offensive Line. Though they've run-blocked pretty well, they allow Brady to get hit WAY too often and, it goes without saying, all bets are off if he goes down. Two rookies and three undrafted free agents up front because of injuries. It doesn't exactly stir a ton of confidence. Watching Brandon Gorin do his turnstile imitation at RT, that has to get better, and in a hurry. 2) The Secondary. Back-ups all over the place. Though they've played much better of late, we know Ellis Hobbs is a tough little guy but he's still a rookie. Asante's not had his best year and it's amazing how he's been their top CB headed into the playoffs two straight years when he should've been just a nickleback. They'll be going against real strong passing games and not Brooks Bollinger and Chris Simms from here on.
Here' what has to happen for the Pats to get to Detroit: the defensive front 7 has to be dominant. I think it can happen but we obviously need Bruschi to be healthy. They need to be able to make plays on 3rd down and force and occasional turnover, which they struggled to do as a unit this season.
Corey Dillon has to start running like a madman again. Hasn't happened yet this season but he's rested and should be as healthy as he's been all year. Finally, the offensive line HAS to play out its ass; pass block, pick up the blitz and control (if not dominate) the line of scrimmage. I'm worried that this group just isn't up to snuff.
With all this in mind, they still have #12 and there's no one you'd rather have at this time of year. If they can somehow pull this thing off, this group of Patriots will be acknowledged as the greatest team in NFL history. Hands down.
I don’t look at the Patriots situation as a glass half full approach. I honestly think they are the best team in the NFL. I’m saying that with my brain not my heart. It’s not going to be easy but it never is.
Email #5
What is it going to take for the Big East to get any respect? Today on the message board, WVU's win was blown off because "Georgia had nothing to play for" and because for them "it was nothing more than an NIT game". Do you think Georgia players, coaches, and fans don't care that they just had their season ruined by the Big East's BCS rep? Georgia was the 4th best BCS team behind USC, Texas, and Ohio State. Give respect where respect is due.
As for Brady Quinn's sister, I would definitely give her higher than a 7. Probably a 9. Even if you think she is a 7 though, you have to admit that A.J. Hawk is no more than a 2 himself. Props to him for catching someone way out of his league.
- HuskyBlue
I'm not buying that Georgia wasn't motivated for this game for a second. They may have underestimated WV but that's a totally different story. This was a home game for Georgia and the last game for DJ Shockley. They wanted to win just as bad as WV. As far as the Mountaineers being a legitimate National Title contender, I think they are. They will be a top 10 team to start next year. They're two best players are freshman. Slaton is the fastest human being alive. West Virginia was dominant for the last two months of the season. Craig James said before the game there was no doubt in his mind that if WV and VTech played later in the season WV would have beaten them easily. Pat White and Slaton weren't starters at the beginning of the season. I think anybody who is saying WV won simply because Georgia didn't try is vastly underestimating the Mountaineers.
Email #6
I must add Brent Musberger to my list of sports announcers who force me to dive for the remote. After a while I just couldn't handle him doing the Notre Dame game vs. Ohio State. I lost count on the number of times he said that the Notre Dame defender was a boxer, but I began to think that the players last name ended with the word boxer. (not to mention the overkill on Brady Quinn's sister) I hate to say this because he is about my age, but why doesn't somebody tell this guy that you should step aside when you are senile. Send him to Announcer Hell with Stuart Scott and Jim Rome where every announcer must be quiet for eternity. DAD
I actually like Musberger. I think he does a great job of giving every game a big game feel. And I won’t really call Stuart Scott and Jim Rome announcers. They are more like spots anchors.
Email #7
el presidente,
As someone already qualified for the TOC in trivia, I feel qualified to expose both the ignorance and general horrendousness of Amy of the Ligers. She spelled the late Sen. from SC's name wrong again when she sent in the email bitching about it. It's actually spelled THURMOND. Amy, stop being so annoying and maybe you'll have something better to do with your Wednesday nights than not win trivia contests.
See you in April
The Three Humped Camel
Ouch. I’m kind of rooting for the Ligers to qualify.
Email #8
I have no idea what compels me to send this email to you, seeing as how I neither attended this trivia contest nor live in Boston. However, I was born in South Carolina which qualifies me to tell you that Strom's last name is not spelled Thurman or Thurmand, but rather Thurmond. I couldn't care less whether the lady who complained gets her 3 points, but it should be noted that whoever was keeping score, is also deficient when it comes to spelling. Thanks.
I enjoy your website. Keep up the good work.
Chris
Interesting. But I think the last letter of his name is what is in question. The "n" or the "d" changes the name totally.