tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36099983255893850382024-03-13T10:40:44.518-07:0011Bravo WoodworkBandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-81023072257650588562016-03-26T10:04:00.000-07:002016-03-26T10:04:09.668-07:00How To: Build a Pallet Wood Wine Rack<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUCz5KyiG4tVFJIvputtsy2J2PBRUQX3IXJSnXdh5T6aG3sL9AFNweWq2XSG2UrNwS9w4RFoCiRUYiqJoywVJkOfaf0r8PzOJDH3NuZNuzQiVhtZ5cNfiUbDZDTAh_uXFnWW-JIdhTSobW/s1600/IMG_0098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUCz5KyiG4tVFJIvputtsy2J2PBRUQX3IXJSnXdh5T6aG3sL9AFNweWq2XSG2UrNwS9w4RFoCiRUYiqJoywVJkOfaf0r8PzOJDH3NuZNuzQiVhtZ5cNfiUbDZDTAh_uXFnWW-JIdhTSobW/s320/IMG_0098.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So a friend a of mine asked me where I got the plans for my pallet wood wine rack. I had to tell him that there was only a plan in my head and a really terrible drawing in my notebook. So I said I would put something together for him to work off. However, since I was only building a prototype, I did not take step by step pictures. So I will try to be a descriptive as possible and add pictures from the finished product to hopefully illustrate my intent. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-8b14bb2f-b3b9-ef70-553c-49e3f2fee585" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Step 1 - Obtain pallet wood. A Google search for where to get free pallets led me my local PetSmart. I bought a dog toy for my brother’s dog, and asked if I could take the pallet in their garbage area. Armed with permission, I grabbed an regular sized pallet and a mini pallet. The mini pallet mostly broke apart, but I did get three usable 2x4 pieces from it. However, there should be a good enough 2x4 in a regular pallet to use. Breaking down the pallet is somewhat difficult - I think mine had extra holes like the pieces had been in a different pallet once before. I only have the claw on the back of my hammer, but a crowbar would probably be highly useful.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway, you’ll need at least one of the 2x4 pieces and probably three (maybe four depending on usable length) of the planks.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Step 2 - From the planks, cut four 20” (For ease, I call them 20" pieces - but they are actually about 19 3/4" after cutting) planks, and cut a 2x4 section to the same length. The remainder of the third (or use a fourth) plank will be used to for the sides and the bottle supports. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Step 3- Cut your sides and inserts. Since pallet wood isn't precise- I measured for the total width of my rack by laying the 2x4 flat, then placing a plank perpendicular to the 2x4, and then having another plank parallel to the 2x4. That distance will be the length of the side pieces. You’ll need four total. For the inserts, cut 2 pieces 4 ¼” long. These can be a little less even, depending on how steep you want your bottles to lay. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Step 4- Prep your glass holder board. Take one of you your planks, and drill four holes approx. 5” apart, starting from 2 ½” in. I used my biggest bit - a ½” size bit. These holes will form the rounded backs of the glass slots. Next take a jigsaw and cut straight lines back to the outsides of each hole. This will allow for the glasses to slide in and rest on the piece. Set this piece aside for now. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-V9uMggeGRZlnhFI5aiYVhkaSUmWzcvvfuCyqL1wsCJJSwtqQesy_XPuJVmP6lb0PO8XJ7Hxx8GgjKFKof7H9E5jclf20A1sZOIcy9-A74iVDVJ5gvWwVaZ7JX7azmRXR8tKYo1yhueN/s1600/IMG_0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-V9uMggeGRZlnhFI5aiYVhkaSUmWzcvvfuCyqL1wsCJJSwtqQesy_XPuJVmP6lb0PO8XJ7Hxx8GgjKFKof7H9E5jclf20A1sZOIcy9-A74iVDVJ5gvWwVaZ7JX7azmRXR8tKYo1yhueN/s320/IMG_0131.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Step 5 - Attach one of the 20” plank pieces to the 2x4 piece. Make sure to leave enough space for your glasses bottoms. It might be helpful to test a glass in the finished slotted piece to ensure there is plenty of room. I used pocket holes in the 20” plank piece to attach mine, however, longer screws through the back of the 2x4 piece would work as well. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Step 6 - Attach the lower portion of the sides. Make sure the bottom of 2x4 is square with the bottom edge of the side. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzu7YLaTsOx48BPscMOr2NBxV1iV9J6xDIuh-eo4-prsJ7KbJPkCtKhMKPP7PgdPR7qxLUJms-nmxkLy9FXwDuR00obCurXkXpBqQT30Xk57dOO6DAdEU9agMZrE4QE1vWUEHiqr7K10l7/s1600/IMG_0132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzu7YLaTsOx48BPscMOr2NBxV1iV9J6xDIuh-eo4-prsJ7KbJPkCtKhMKPP7PgdPR7qxLUJms-nmxkLy9FXwDuR00obCurXkXpBqQT30Xk57dOO6DAdEU9agMZrE4QE1vWUEHiqr7K10l7/s320/IMG_0132.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Step 7- Add the front plank. I used 1 ¼” screws through the sides to attach the front piece. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Step 8- Attach the back. I placed the back piece flush with the front end of the 2x4, so when I slide in the inserts - they will fit snugly. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Kl0JBxoOxpRF5SyG6HOLGTT8DDpywlj9T6_H78Bv6wjXAKjc8q0n4nuDR8hX4sEHArin4t20H07jMCw8jUerNB5TOIx0StsScYc-laxZu_emQh_9JntMV8FP6kQvXvfpN9stGLyexoAS/s1600/IMG_0135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Kl0JBxoOxpRF5SyG6HOLGTT8DDpywlj9T6_H78Bv6wjXAKjc8q0n4nuDR8hX4sEHArin4t20H07jMCw8jUerNB5TOIx0StsScYc-laxZu_emQh_9JntMV8FP6kQvXvfpN9stGLyexoAS/s320/IMG_0135.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Step 9 - Cut your inserts and upper sides with a jigsaw to add the grooves for the bottles to rest in. When I did this - it was the first time I had ever cut curves with a jigsaw. So - I promise- you got this. The inserts will have more of a crescent moon shape and the upper sides more of a notch look. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Step 10 - Attach the upper sides- I just used more 1 ¼ in screws for this. The inserts are a bit trickier- they need to be 6 ¾” from the inside edge of the sides in order to actually hold the bottle. Initially - I had a insert piece, with the two sides attached to a 2x4 spacer, but the bottles would slide off the insert. So I had to put them wider. However, my spacer is still in the prototype- and its completely useless now.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Step 11 - Stain/ Paint and attach the glass holder. I found it pretty difficult to paint in the slot created by the glass holder, therefore it might help to stain or paint the wine rack prior to attaching the final piece. Also- it might be easier to attach to the wall with the glass holder off as well. I put two long screws through the 2x4 into studs to hold the wine rack into the wall. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The finish I used was a chalk paint finish. I used a regular primer then used chalk paint over it. I then printed out the words on my printer, took actual chalk to the back of the paper, and traced the letters on to the wine rack. I used very watered down white acrylic paint for the letters. Then I lightly sanded the whole thing to give it a weathered look. </span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don't forget to attach the glass holder if you saved it for last!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkWgBHBGTTBQIH2wuq70Mpe6ODaU7ti4MMvLi75KJ0EiVWSk9FWm0UJgm5UfDBt-SORw2B7mP_jaTYFQTXY7s_eLX3JWr0pZGCIFLxc9aKQ90lBg4dFPd-wboH8PeyGY-0gQUDr_o_Int/s1600/IMG_0098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkWgBHBGTTBQIH2wuq70Mpe6ODaU7ti4MMvLi75KJ0EiVWSk9FWm0UJgm5UfDBt-SORw2B7mP_jaTYFQTXY7s_eLX3JWr0pZGCIFLxc9aKQ90lBg4dFPd-wboH8PeyGY-0gQUDr_o_Int/s320/IMG_0098.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-20469828961453427882016-02-10T11:19:00.000-08:002016-02-10T11:19:38.523-08:00Top Five True Freshman SeasonsI added some content to <a href="http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2016/2/10/10959414/top-five-true-freshman-seasons" target="_blank">Black Shoe Diaries</a> today on SBN.<br />
<br />
I hope I am not violating the rules of their use by linking to it from here. Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-29877810437052253792015-11-28T06:47:00.001-08:002015-11-28T06:47:15.727-08:0011/27/2015<div>I made the decision when I came home for the holidays to only bring my phone and just type these posts up and upload them that way. However, it does lead to me having to type a lot on a much smaller screen with only my thumbs. I am not sure if I am secretly better with this keyboard though. Maybe I should somehow have tech guys at work hook me up with an iPhone style keyboard for work- it would possibly make me more effective. </div><div><br></div><div>I am somewhat amazed that Google has created really effective tools for being able do these from the cloud. I have been typing all my posts first on google docs. Even though I do have Microsoft Word on my laptop- it's much harder to move between devices. I guess I could potentially use Dropbox to transfer my documents, however, I don't know if I could get Word on my phone for free. I think perhaps the latest version of Office 360 works similar to how the Google docs and sheets work- but I don't have a subscription to that. </div><div><br></div><div>I know Microsoft has been working hard to reinvent their applications in order to compete with free solutions that people now have access to. In fact, I hope that whoever ends up with the Quicken software is able to follow a similar path. Currently the latest version of Quicken (2016) was released last week, but, back in August, Intuit announced they would be selling their Quicken product. It makes sense- as Quicken is basically a desktop application with a very limited mobile presence. There is an app to reach your information, and you can enter some basic transactions from your phone, but it needs to be routinely accessed on a real computer several times a week in order to actually work. </div><div><br></div><div>Intuit already has a similar personal finance cloud based product in place called Mint, so it call sell it lower revenue product Quicken, and no longer have to deal with supporting the product that users seem to love and hate all at the same time. My hope is the new owner can replicate what Microsoft has done for its Office product- making the Quicken product a more subscription based tool that automatically updates. Clearly the ideal would be for Quicken to be somehow like these Google applications which are available for use for free, but I don't see a company purchasing Quicken only to turn around and make it available only so it can sell ads in the margins. </div><div><br></div><div>The greatest thing about Quicken currently is that you can keep 100% of your financial information offline if you would like. It can function on a computer that never connects to Internet and function. In addition, your information is kept by you, which clearly has its pros and cons. I have no idea if using the internet based personal finance tools like Mint and Personal Capital mean you actually own your own financial information. I realize that may sound a bit preposterous, but if it can be ruled that you do not own your email if it is held on third party servers, can the same be said for finance information held in a similar manner? I guess the important technicality here is hopefully the software only accesses bank information, but does not host it. With Quicken, you keep your information on your computer, and back it up to hopefully some other location you also own. </div><div><br></div><div>All that being said- since maintaining your financial information is important, and the best product available to accomplish it is currently in a state of flux- I would suggest getting the 2016 variant while it's still is maintained by its original company. Then we can cross our fingers and hope Google buys it and makes it as easy to use across multiple devices as this blog is. </div><div><br></div>Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-17235911649423834462015-11-26T19:58:00.001-08:002015-11-27T08:07:10.270-08:0011/26/2015<div>I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving, and were able enjoy your time with turkey, friends and family. I have been thinking of fully embracing the throwback Thursday concept- and relate a story of the Army I can gleen from my memories, journal and green book. So here’s a quick one for the holidays. </div><div><br></div><div>I don't have to many specific Thanksgiving memories - but one I do remember is spending a Thanksgiving outside of FOB McHenry in Iraq. The mission for the day was not an actual real mission, but instead my platoon sat just outside the FOB to ensure that the insurgents didn't mortar the thanksgiving dinner the brigade commander was having while he deigned to “visit the troops down range” - or whatever the hell he thought he was doing. It was a super fun time knowing I wasn't accomplishing jack shit but letting Bastogne 6 dine in peace. A solid use of assets. Instead of winning the hearts and minds of the population- we sat 300 meters from the FOB and stared at it. Happy Thanksgiving Warpigs!</div><div><br></div>Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-1193477301114558022015-11-26T08:25:00.001-08:002015-11-26T08:25:04.014-08:0011/25/2015<div>The Olympics are next year- and USA Basketball is looking pretty good after watching Paul George go off last night. Due to his injury last year during the World Cup (I think that is what they are calling that FIBA tournament) he is actually the only player guaranteed a roster spot so far. There was a camp over the summer and I believe most of the players invited fulfilled their obligation to in order to be considered for next year's Olympic team. Projecting next summer’s team is probably even more a fool’s errand that yesterday's forecasting of the NBA’s finalists, but let's talk about how Team USA should walk to a gold medal. </div><div><br></div><div>With Paul George being in, and Lebron probably being pressured by the public to most likely play, those are two great starts. Carmelo should get one more run and has really played his best basketball as a Team USA member. Last summer both of the Splash Brothers were in the team, and I see no reason why they shouldn't be brought back. Clearly there will be a log jam at certain positions and Klay might seem like a stretch. But his defense on the perimeter is really helpful in the international game. The biggest logjam is most likely at point guard. Chris Paul has won a gold medal, and John Wall has not- both may not make the trip in 2016. Kyrie Irving may have been the best player in last year's tournament- I think he won the MVP. I think the final point guard goes to Westbrook, but I think I would prefer Wall. </div><div><br></div><div>That's seven guys (of twelve)- and we haven't really talked Durant, Anthony Davis, or bigs. The question for Durant is health. If he makes it through this season (he has already sat a few games for a quad or hamstring injury) I think he will want to play in Rio. The bigs also get a bit logjamie. Last summer Boogie really dominated against some international teams, just playing volleyball at the rim (so did Kenneth Faried, but I don't think he's a real consideration this time around). The issue is wings are more valuable in the international game - so you don't carry too many bigs. I think a three man rotation of Anthony Davis, Boogie, and Andre Drummond makes Team USA. </div><div><br></div><div>In the past, Andre Iguodala has played a key role as the lock down defender on the team. I don't think it him this time around, and although Paul George could fill this role, I think it why you take Kawhi Leonard. On teams like this - you can have a guy who doesn't need to contribute on offense- yeah I am saying this about a guy who is scoring over twenty points a game for an 11-3 team, but bear with me- and Kawhi will make every shaky ball handler look befuddled and will generate easy transition buckets. </div><div><br></div><div>That's your twelve- the three point guards, three bigs and six wings. I am generally certain that the any combination of the twelve guys mentioned above (or toss in a few others that I didn't mention like say James Harden) - and any Team USA utilizing pace and space will walk to a good medal. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-51122638480740422782015-11-25T06:24:00.000-08:002015-11-25T06:24:02.409-08:0011/24/2015<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-2ef406f7-3f06-999e-19a7-4ce053af2f5a" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Apparently no one has really taken notice- but the Spurs, a preseason favorite to win the championship, are 11-3. That's a really good record (duh) but it is especially good for a team that is trying to integrate a new player who doesn’t exactly do what the Spurs have become known for over the past couple years. Basically, lost in the hoopla of the Warriors going undefeated to start the season with a small ball lineup they roll out out at the end of games, the Spurs are trying to go a bit more “traditional” and so far are being successful. </span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Currently, these two teams seem to be on a collision course to meet in the Western Conference finals next spring- although I think the Spurs are more likely to lose if they get the draw with Clippers as opposed to the Warriors. The two early season matchups between the Warriors and the Clippers would lead you to believe the Warriors would that be able to handle the Clippers in a seven game series, whereas the Spurs may struggle with the same matchup. Actually the past couple sentences may just be a whole lot of recency bias, but, I think, if the Spurs are trying to play the traditional two big lineup like the Clippers, the younger more athletic team should have the advantage. However, since the rest of Western Conference appears to have taken a step back, or seems to be on a lower tier than the Spurs and Warriors, let's predict in November that these are the teams that will meet to play Cleveland in the final. Granted, there are 60 some odd games remaining plus the playoffs before we get to that point, but I feel pretty comfortable that two of those three teams will be in the finals. I assume people in OKC just got really mad, but no one from there reads me, so I'm unconcerned about it. </span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am going to assume that the Warriors beat the Lakers tonight (Note: yep, that happened) and therefore now have the best record to start a season. In addition, they had a historically great regular season last year as well, which they obviously followed up with a championship. I can’t believe that the rest of the league spent summer and fall pissing and moaning about how “lucky” the Warriors got- it was really just an exercise in poking the bear that so far has only paid dividends for one team - Golden State. Maybe it's the baby face that Curry has that lulls the rest of the league into thinking they can talk shit and he wouldn’t get all annoyed and come back better; or maybe it is because we have never seen this type of player before that the rest of the league wasn't sure how a player like him could actually improve off last year’s performance- that the rest of the league expected regression (he did hit the most 3’s in history last year) as opposed to improvement; or maybe the league unexpected this young-ish team to not handle success and party down all summer- so the league tried to take a gigantic dump on the Warriors championship in August and September. I have loved how this has worked out- a team that is basically missing it's coach is unleashing jump shot hell on every team they've come across, and the rest of us are the winners for it. </span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">At the other end of the spectrum- I am thinking of going to see the opposite of Warriors - Spurs on Tuesday- the Lakers and the Sixers. Currently, StubHub has seats for like $25. Which is actually high for the Sixers, last week the Pacers were in town and tickets were going for $6 a pop. The Sixers - apparently pun intended- rewarded their fans by trying to put six men on the court at the same time, one for dollar they hypothetically spent. I guess that means the Lakers are still a bit of a draw, despite big in the cellar of the Western Conference, much like the Sixers are in the Eastern Conference. I assume that that everyone Lower Merion wants to get their last look at Kobe, thus driving the tickets to such ridiculously high prices. </span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(“Editor’s” Note: I realized yesterday that it is better to write at night, then sleep on it for a night, and do some proofreading in the morning, hopefully that will help improve the quality of the product.)</span></div>
Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-63732679169120075702015-11-22T19:42:00.000-08:002015-11-22T19:42:24.821-08:0011/22/2015<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sundays are usually the day I get all the crap I haven’t done all week finally done. The trip to the grocery store, laundry, and the cleaning I have noted that needs to be done - all finally gets crammed into one day so I can don’t have to do it during the week after work. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-d58b939b-326b-ee79-f107-bd7b864f2928" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think Sundays for this space will be similar - there will be stuff here but it will be of even lower quality than the during the week stuff, which, let’s be honest, hasn’t set the highest bar so far. But It think it will be a good place to throw out some interesting things.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since I am officially a “cord cutter”, I typically only watch whatever free football comes in on my antenna. Slight problem with that is that I can’t seem to get Fox or ABC on the ten buck antenna. am, for now, assuming it is because the antenna is not near a window, however, anyone with suggestions beyond that- please feel free to leave a comment in you have experience using good ‘ol free TV. Further complicating matters, CBS gets blacked out for football when the Eagles are on due to being located in the “home territory” or whatever. So no football was on in the man cave during the 1:00 game slot today. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why am telling you this long story? It is to justify why football wasn’t on today and I can make a slightly off the farm recommendation if you are looking to binge watch something. I spent yesterday and today rewatching some <a href="http://roosterteeth.com/show/red-vs-blue" target="_blank">Red vs Blue</a>. If you haven’t heard about the show, it is based on the video game </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Halo.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Have no fear if you have never played it, neither have I. And I guess I shouldn’t say “based on” - the creators of the show literally filmed the game to make the show and added voice overs. I think it is a pretty great concept - and the show is pretty hilarious. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to the webpage above, the is a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCII0hP2Ycmhh5j8lS4cexBQ" target="_blank">YouTube Channel</a> now for the show, and most of the seasons have been edited together and put on Hulu- which is what I was watching today instead of football. </span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ok folks, lets hope we are ready for the week.</span></div>
Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-78543847067293737242015-11-21T12:40:00.001-08:002015-11-21T12:40:01.070-08:0011/21/2015<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today we are going to try out an old Bill Simmons staple- the running diary. Hey, he isn’t writing anymore, I figure all his old things are up for grabs. And he hasn’t used this particular gag in years, first moving to the “retro diary” before completely forgetting it. In theory, twitter has replaced this particular type of writing, but let’s bring it back for PSU - Michigan, a matchup that sounds better than maybe it actually will be. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-6ae76321-2bc5-0225-18f5-81b83113ede1" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most likely Michigan is too talented and experienced for this particular Penn State team. Penn State is coming off a bye, and it is Senior day - these things matter in college ball. So let’s see what happens…</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:07 - PSU gets the ball first, so we can probably go three and out right off the bat.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:08 - Remember the name Chris Godwin, he will be a good possession receiver in the NFL. He makes tough yards, and in a better scheme, he would be open more often. And Michigan gifts PSU a first</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:10 - BOOOM- there goes Barkley all the way to the ten yard line, need to cash this in for the a TD immediately. So of course, PSU goes to the wildcat, and goes nowhere, ugh. (I would have liked it if it worked better)</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:12 - UGHhhh - three straight running plays into the teeth of the defense. And PSU only gets a field goal after an absolutely huge run. 3-0 PSU, decent start.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:16 - Thankfully Julius is back to doing kickoffs, and in an absolutely amazing shocker- a holding call is made on the kickoff. I’m shocked. Also, Jim Harbaugh is still super annoying. I am sure we will see him four thousand times this game.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:20 - It is still amazing how open receivers are against PSU’s defense and how covered PSU receivers are against every other defense. Michigan just got a first down to a guy wide open between zones.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:22 - third and 9 - PSU gives up 39, awesome. Also, sack leader Carl Nassib wasn’t in for that play, which makes zero sense. And by sack leader - I mean the guy who leads the nation in sacks, not just the team. Yeah, let’s leave him out of the game an obvious pass play. (he may no longer lead the nation after the bye week, but he was a couple weeks ago)</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:26 - TD Michigan, the soft zone looks like garbage so far. Still no Nassib and no pass rush at all for the second string D-ends. Technically Sickels is a starter, but given who he plays next to, he is terrible. 7-3 Michigan</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:31 - First down throw to no one. Two receivers run crossing routes, somehow the throw is behind both of them.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:32 - And there's a sack - the protection had Brent Wilkerson one on one with a defensive end, that's a tight end, not a tackle. Fuck me. then motion on the o-line, and Kyle carter can’t catch a pass so we punt. Kyle Carter needs to go away. He can’t do anything on a football field that can be construed as a positive for Penn State. So the tight ends gave up a sack and then dropped a ball on that series.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:36- Oh - Torrrence Brown just killed the QB. yikes that was a big hit. (Still no NAssib)</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:37 - And a pick for Brandon Bell with a tough run back after the catch. The Qb never saw him.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:37 - Weird trick play, a wildcat reverse to have Hack throw it. Nice try for the big play after the turnover. But then a third down run, goes nowhere and PSU is three and out again. This offense is such a pile of garbage. Defense back on the field so quickly.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:49 - Defense finally gets a third down stop to start the second quarter. Apparently NAssib isn’t going to play- ABC has no inclination to let us know what is going on there. Apparently they don’t care</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:51 - Brent Wilkerson with his second catch- Kyle Carter should take notes. Meanwhile, Hack has gotten Michigan to jump three times this game- interesting wrinkle to his game.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:52 - Hamilton runs a terrible route for a deep ball. He was running towards the middle on a go route for some reason. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:55 - Hack takes a terrible sack after Michigan gifts PSU a first down. He needs to throw the ball away more. UGH. Followed by a run up the middle. More garbage offense- 3 and 19 now. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12:57 - Wow, the punters are so bad for Penn State- they routinely have punts that go twenty yards, but when we only want a twenty yard punt, they boot that shit into the end zone. How’s that college education working out out?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:00 - That sack took PSU out of field goal range, put the defense back on the field and PSU is still losing. The is fucking awesome.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:08 - Michigan gifts PSU a third down stop with a drop on the conversion. Meaning we get more Hack time. So far, we are 0-2 on downfield throws. Hopefully we keep taking shots- those are the best shot to loosen up the defense.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:12 - What the fuck- another third down run on a third and five or longer…. And its for a loss of yardage. Give me more garbage offense!!</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:16 - Michigan fumbles a snap for a three yard gain, haha. Even a screw up gains yardage. - John Donovan will have Hack run that play in the second half. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:18 - Best series for the defense so far, getting a three out and the only three yards gained... AND A BLOCKED PUNT!! -LET’S GO!!</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:23 - TOUCHDOWN to Blacknall…. the d-back had no idea where the ball was on an underthrown pass. Nce 10-7 PSU</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:26 - Defense need to not give up points since Michigan gets the ball to start the second half. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:27 - On third and long, PSU calls timeout while the clock was stopped. I have no idea why, but I am sure the terrible clock management is to blame.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:29 - Of course Michigan converts. On a safety blitz, they go over the top. Seems to be a theme you get Shoop’s defense on. And a couple screen passes with some terrible tackling has Michigan almost guaranteed points. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:32 - Now more soft zone and Michigan is in the red zone. God dammit.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:32 - And touchdown Michigan because Penn State can’t sustain success at all. I think that PSU time out was straight fucking stupid for Franklin to call. There was no reason to let them call plays from the sideline on huge third down.. 14-10 Michigan</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:35 - And the garbage offense won’t try to score in the final fifty seconds. Fuck this. You should go coach soccer if you are scoring averse. You basically gifted your opponent a second possession in a row AND then let them off hook from having to play defense. In a one possession game- you can’t give them away. Hopefully he learns that is a bullshit approach. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:00 - Defense starts the second half where it left off, giving up easy completions and not tackling. Good thing we didn’t try and score.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:03 - Michigan just grinding down the field, short completions and easy runs eating up chunks of yardage. Back D-line in the game, which won’t help the pass rush that isn’t getting home consistently.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:05 - Captain Khaki thinks PSU should be penalized more as the defense finally holds after gving up field position. PSU will start at their own five. This has happened so often- i can predict what will happen. PSU is going to either go three and out, or only get one first down, then punt. Since the punting is so weak, Michigan will get the ball, at worst, at their own forty.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:14 -Michigan ball at their own 33, after a penalty on the punt. Of course, Anthony Zettel gives it all back on a roughing the passer penalty and jumped into the QB. This is going to get him ejected. Incredibly stupid to do. That’s his last play in Beaver Stadium. Oh- he gets to stay, I honestly think he should have been ejected by the letter of the law. Anyway - Michigan now at the 50.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:20 - Michigan punts to a shaky handed returner and gets the ball at the ten. Fuck. I hate those pays. You don’t even have to touch the ball and we get to keep it. Instead a freshman drops an unreturnable kick. SO dumb. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:22 - TD michigan running it right at PSU’s defense, which can’t get a break from the field due to terrible offensive players. 21-10 Michigan.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:23 - This lead feels insurmountable. PSU under Franklin has not come back from a double digit deficit that I can remember. Thankfully there isn’t a sure handed returner that can we can use on kicks where we would prefer to not let them down us inside the five. Instead its a freshman who doesn’t catch the ball consistently. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:26- Oh, good, more Penn State offense. Let’s see what garbage offense we can dial up. ABC can’t seem to figure out how a microphone works, they’ve twice thrown it to the sideline reporter so we can have uncomfortable silence. Good stuff.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:28 - Captain Khaki still not a fan of the officials. Back to back penalties have gotten PSU thirty yards. and now out to midfield. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:31 - Hack gets whacked and is out of the game for a 3-20 . Trace McSorley throws a ball to the bench. garbage offense doing work. Hack took off his helmet, he knew there was no way they were converting. Ball game.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:34 - ABC finally lets us know Nassib isn’t playing. Meanwhile, the soft zone is getting ate up again. Michigan is on the move to really salt this game away. Unless the defense gets a turnover, I don’t see the offense going 80 yards for points anytime soon…. AND they forced the fumble!! Brandon Bell again- strip and recover.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:39 - PSU goes three plays for no yards, and can’t signal in a play for fourth down. Hack was flipping through his wristband in confusion before calling timeout. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:40 - But they convert on a seam route that Hack stuck on Chris Godwin, who then did some big boy football shit to wrestle the ball all the way down to the five. Trust- Chris Godwin will do something in the NFL. He isn’t Allen Robinson, but he can be Wes Welker.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:46 - And PSU goes backwards to open the fourth quarter, and kicks another field goal. Barkley is playing like a freshman when the hole isn’t there, trying to do crap in the backfield rather than get up field. Of course, that’s just frustration speaking - the offensive line actively gets out of the way of defenders to let them into the backfield. We have so many pulling guards that open the holes for the defenders to pour through - its ridiculous. So it's an 8 point game, but maybe the defense got a breather after that fumble recovery. 21-13 Michigan.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:52 - Captain Khaki, still displeased with the officials.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:55 - Three and out for Michigan. And now Greg Garrity is back to receive, hmm. PSU with ok field position. Let’s do this. Probably need two scores still in order to win.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3:03 - Hack has run for the last two first downs… the offense has come to this. Ugh… LET’S GO!</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3:09 - PSU inside the ten again. Need a TD here. Come on Lions!</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3:11 - And incomplete pass from the 2… And settle for a field goal, not our best play…. Somehow the ball gets just high enough to clear the crossbar. 21-16 Michigan.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3:14 - PSU has had first and goal three times, resulting in 9 points. And piss poor tackling on the kick return gives Michigan great field position. PSU can’t sustain success.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3:16 - Immediately Michigan in the red zone after the special teams and young players play shitty football. Awesome. Now without a turnover, michigan gets the three points back</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3:18 - ABC with more awkward silence from the sideline reporter. The best part is they apparently think it's working.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3:20 - Michigan is going to score, it's a no brainer, Shoop just lined up with no one to the wide side of the field, but somehow just gave up a run up the middle. That formation was designed to fail. Michigan on the one</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3:21 - There it is - Michigan winning this game in the red zone. 28 - 16 Michigan.Fuck</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3:27 - Yeah it’s over, this Hack is done. On first down he throws to a receiver who decides looking for the ball is beneath him. Hamilton is not very good at route running, catching, or generally doing anything to get open. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3:31 - Michigan is going to take a knee and ball game - 28 - 16 Michigan. Mother shit.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deep breath - well PSU has lost twice in a row to ranked opponents. which is probably about right for this team. They are young and really struggle to execute on a play to play basis. They have hung tough with ranked opponents. The hard thing to look at is the step the back we will take at QB next year after Hack leaves. Next week will be another loss probably, and we will do this again. </span></div>
<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-21728976907760954882015-11-20T20:10:00.000-08:002015-11-20T20:10:29.547-08:0011/20/2015<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I almost kept myself too busy and forgot to post something tonight. However, I did actually forget a key piece of wood on my trip to Lowe’s this evening for my new project, so I guess I can take the time to talk about my recently completed project.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-145ee962-2836-8cbc-df8c-333db8efb641" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To provide a little back story: when I moved into my apartment, I didn’t have much in the way of furniture to furnish the whole thing. I had enough to get by, a couch, a desk to put my TV on, and a bookshelf. I decided that instead of running to Ikea or some other place to get some quick furniture, I decided instead to construct my own furniture. I have limited carpentry skills, but I have just enough tools to be effective. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The really good news, is that there are many free plans available on the internet. The first order of business was the construction of a TV stand- for which I modified a set of plans I found. I constructed a pretty good TV stand, although it has it's flaws that I will be keeping to myself for the current time. In addition, it also left me a nice pile of leftover wood. So prior to beginning the next part of what I calling Phase One of construction (a TV stand, coffee table, and a pub style table), I wanted to try my hand at designing my own project and hopefully expanding my carpentry repertoire. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A couple things I wanted to work on was using a mitre saw to make angles and also making a tabletop out of different pieces to make a sort of design. So I designed the top to be a collection of pieces of 1”x2” on a piece of plywood surrounded by 2”x2” pieces with 45 degree angle cuts at the edges. As I tested out the results, here is what it looked like:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqH7iPPwPxb2DyvotR0RhigEXyiJAO2SKYl4UR-iujUu3dNyvt4gNFd_RJ3AyifMAF0D7TQPg8KlDXKFasnVWM2tXw5Npu5geO8HSsmGgllI7JDZgjGVGXxoGv481w1C2bJ2q254fX3E9y/s1600/IMG_0570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqH7iPPwPxb2DyvotR0RhigEXyiJAO2SKYl4UR-iujUu3dNyvt4gNFd_RJ3AyifMAF0D7TQPg8KlDXKFasnVWM2tXw5Npu5geO8HSsmGgllI7JDZgjGVGXxoGv481w1C2bJ2q254fX3E9y/s320/IMG_0570.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In theory, the rest of the table should have been easy, just slap on four legs and it should be good to go. However, I wanted to put a shelf near the bottom and have it attach rather seamlessly to the legs. It took me a lot longer to figure out how to do that so that the look would be something I would like. In the end, I decided to get a bit more practice with the mitre saw and cut angles in more pieces of 1”x2” trim to surround a shelf. Then I cut notches into the legs of 2”x2” wood. I didn’t really measure my notches, so my legs are not that snug to the shelf that “surrounds” it. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUQB8Gsh36_TG228GFwMRG27bcmtH-k0IlulWUpcxIjP_1o3hY3cI2y6DYXTWU35r-2O9RFq2H2p24_k9g930PXZ2nL4KIjYE5qh0brFOm_GrNECfDkNG6e25ZV1UvemMsN-J_9JYZkX8Y/s1600/IMG_0573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUQB8Gsh36_TG228GFwMRG27bcmtH-k0IlulWUpcxIjP_1o3hY3cI2y6DYXTWU35r-2O9RFq2H2p24_k9g930PXZ2nL4KIjYE5qh0brFOm_GrNECfDkNG6e25ZV1UvemMsN-J_9JYZkX8Y/s320/IMG_0573.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then it was just a matter of assembling the pieces into my end table. I actually decided to stain the table prior to putting the pieces of the top into their final position. That way I wouldn’t have to worry too much about trying to get the stain into the cracks between the pieces. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jTP4NUptIzP9lZe26wKB7OdUPkV_p7pgOvG8ozaFjB-LpLyN8rJ2PlOdn6_HlbNbBCRuVirCzHU17p-ut1hHHLPyjOhf5LKnCYZmI_kreGpdver0Rdo6JfNcziaJovVDCgmUAlp5TQnF/s1600/IMG_0576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jTP4NUptIzP9lZe26wKB7OdUPkV_p7pgOvG8ozaFjB-LpLyN8rJ2PlOdn6_HlbNbBCRuVirCzHU17p-ut1hHHLPyjOhf5LKnCYZmI_kreGpdver0Rdo6JfNcziaJovVDCgmUAlp5TQnF/s320/IMG_0576.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think I should I have left the table go with one coat of stain. However the pieces I had used for the legs were not of the best quality and the I didn’t like the way they were looking. So the table ended up being perhaps a bit darker than I wanted. I then applied applied two coats of the clear coat to protect the finish. Now I just need some sort of plant to put on the bottom as a decoration or something.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBO775U0P3l_mRWolmpYHorH-K7v1LGlBSKtWn04blJSaVxS0cIjQqOEvljYNOzdWtmQA2kw5xkTfeKWeJ3fkwjzXb6Wo2SfrH9HcBCngdEJL3lZscvsb4Y5qOYYOQJSCvcvaEqdR1L13/s1600/IMG_0581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBO775U0P3l_mRWolmpYHorH-K7v1LGlBSKtWn04blJSaVxS0cIjQqOEvljYNOzdWtmQA2kw5xkTfeKWeJ3fkwjzXb6Wo2SfrH9HcBCngdEJL3lZscvsb4Y5qOYYOQJSCvcvaEqdR1L13/s320/IMG_0581.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-81853106546790775482015-11-19T19:23:00.000-08:002015-11-19T19:23:30.151-08:0011/19/2015<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I was thinking about this as a mental exercise this morning, as it came up on a couple different podcasts- who would win between the current iteration of the Golden State Warriors and the 72 win Chicago Bulls. I think the consensus has somewhat held that the triangle offense has no place in the modern NBA (which is what the Bulls ran) and the 90’s style post game centric offenses definitely have no place in the pace and space modern game. Therefore, it would stand to reason that the most chameleon, pace and space, small ball loving team of the modern age going against the anachronism of a different generation would be a rout from the opening tip. I believe in this case, the anachronism wins. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-24baa086-22e9-f3df-2434-cc9429698d86" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I would love to do this Zach Lowe style with all the cool .gifs to highlight the point, but I not that good nor am I going to hunt down old clips of the Bulls doing the things we know they can do. So you’ll just have to be happy with a very word based case as we take a plunge down this hypothetical rabbit hole.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Warriors are currently winning by having Steph Curry dominate, killing teams with small ball, and playing a suffocating defense. It is super helpful that Steph can shoot from where defenses typically don’t defend. Another fun thing they do is play their super small lineup of Draymond Green at the five just to play your big man off the floor. Their defense is also first rate, with only really Steph being not a really an above average defender. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unfortunately, I think the Bulls would be able to the combat exactly what the Warriors love to do to teams. As great as Iguodala played against Lebron last Finals, I have serious doubts about his ability to do the same to Jordan. Lebron was hampered by not being used to taking over games with his scoring. Michael Jordan had no such reservations. In addition, every time the Warriors would try to go super small and “switch everything” - it would be open season on the rim for Jordan and Pippen. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the defensive end, the real issue the Warriors face is that the Bulls defensively loved to shut down point guards. It is one of the tenets of the triangle offense - since there really isn’t a “primary” ball handler, the Bulls didn’t have a focus point as soon as they crossed half court. The Bulls most likely pick up Curry almost immediately, and mark him with Jordan. I am sure the Warriors would move Curry off the ball and try him run him through every screen action you can dream of. But the true advantage of Curry is what he creates off the dribble, not turning him into just another two guard. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t want to distill the argument solely down just saying Jordan, but he and Pippen are the crux of the argument. What they could do at both ends of the floor was amazing, and surrounding them with Kerr, Rodman, Kukoc, and whoever else allowed them to whatever they wanted on the basketball court. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are tons of little hypotheticals you could dream up from this matchup- like do the Bulls break out their own super small lineup with Rodman at the five- assuming that the he could still get rebounds at the defensive end? Who does Klay guard? Can Coach Steve Kerr and sharpshooter Steve Kerr occupy the same area without the world coming to an end?</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am sure ever aging champ feels their team was the best ever, like Ron Harper clearly does. But I think those Bulls teams still stand up even in the modern era of the NBA. They played how they played to win in their era, but I fairly certain that they would have had the flexibility to win in any era.</span></div>
Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-22274072700232431822015-11-18T18:57:00.000-08:002015-11-18T18:57:49.983-08:0011/18/2015<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have a pretty straight view on immigration to the US. If you can get here, you can live here. I can’t honestly sit here and think that just because my ancestors chose to come here at some point in the past doesn’t really grant me the right to deny the same opportunity simply because their persecution happens in 2015 as opposed to being a potato famine in 1849. Yes, I am aware that perhaps that sounds needlessly idealistic, but you can’t be an idealist without being idealistic, they sort of go hand in hand.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-89ea8db8-1da8-cee8-e054-33fc297bff74" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As everyone gets up in arms about the which states will or won’t accept Syrian refugees, I will offer that my opinion is that if they can get here, they should be allowed seek the freedom from whatever it they are running from (most likely certain death from people who are trying build a caliphate). I find hard to believe that we have become so entitled that we feel we get to keep this all to ourselves solely based on being born here. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The main concern of the selfish is that within the thousands of people who are seeking and yearning to be free there are those few who secretly harbor the will to do random people harm. In the midst of the security hysteria, we lose sight of our greatest asset. My idealism lends me to believe that the very nature of what can be accomplished does more to deter potential threats to our nation than any isolationist security measures would provide. </span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I really don’t see how we can claim to have all this freedom, and yet seek to deny the very same things to those born beyond oceans. </span>Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-87523258361228817122015-11-17T18:42:00.000-08:002015-11-17T18:42:34.332-08:0011/17/2015<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tonight soccer (USMNT Vs. Trinidad & Tobago) is the discussion. The first issue tonight- it's not really on TV. So this requires trying sync a stream from NBC Universo with a Rabble TV audio feed since I don’t speak Spanish. Turns out you can’t delay the feed on Rabble TV, so it is impossible to sync the audio with the video if the video is what is behind. By halftime, I had given up on the notion of watching the video feed through the desktop since I would already know what had happened from the audio feed, and the stream was not, umm, fluid. Fortunately, it enabled me to put a clear coat on my end table while listening to the second half. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-2401544c-1875-2f41-8699-7c4b3e0f4135" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now that we have gotten past my adventures in cord cutting, we can now begin to annoy the true soccer fans. I am literally that guy that only really watches the national teams. Last week’s game gave some reason for optimism as the men’s team poured in six goals after falling behind by a goal early. So, spoiler alert, the US came away tonight with a, ahem, nil nil draw. In regular person talk, it means that nobody scored at all. Ironically, not scoring, means the US earns a point in the group leaving them a top the group by virtue of the six goals they scored in their first game. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will admit I have the unpopular opinion that like US coach Jurgen Klinsmann. He has made no bones about his focus being on the 2018 World Cup. After last summer’s good showing at the World Cup, am pretty fine with the US having a down cycle this past summer. I don’t think a team can play at a consistently high level for four years while going through a transition. Jurgen chose to leave Landon Donovan off last summer’s squad, since he would not be able to play on Russia in 2018. I think he believes that by that time, Clint Dempsey will be a super sub for late in games. Which leaves the team looking for the next American goal scorer. To have any chance, the USMNT needs a finisher in the final third. I have no idea if Bobby Wood can actually be that guy, but I was disappointed to not see him get the start this evening after he had played so well in his first start last week. Instead, he was reverted back to his former role of being a goal scorer off the bench. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Klinsmann will take some criticism tomorrow for not getting a result tonight (Yeah- more soccer terms) and some it will most likely have to do with Wood not getting another start. However, given how leaky the defense has been recently, getting a shutout on the road is actually fairly impressive (welcome back secretary of defense, Tim Howard). So the consistent pairing of Besler and Cameron in the center back positions has maybe started to pay off. So in a very “the results are the only thing that matter” analysis, the US finally was able to hold up the back end for a full game. </span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next game is not until March (I bet Dempsey returns to the roster for those games) so we unfortunately will not get to see any more action that counts to further the analysis. However, I will continue hope we can find the next American goal scorer to combine with a hopefully continuing to be stout defense in the meantime. </span>Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-87377757323990139082012-09-13T23:27:00.000-07:002012-09-13T23:27:44.087-07:00#Yicketty, #Mammo, and Cooperstown- the history of @RealCJ10
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Very early this year, Chipper Jones announced he will retire
at the end of the season. At the age of 40, the Brave who defined the
successful run of the 14 division titles, would finally hang up the cleats. If
you’ve been curious as to why I’d call a blog “The Bandwagon” and only talk
about Penn State- which is not a bandwagon I jumped on but a religion I was
baptized in to, well, let’s go down the rabbit hole to Atlanta.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have been a Braves fan for about 21 years- approximately
as long as the Braves have been good; getting the name of the blog now? - and
Chipper has been a star for three quarters of that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Larry Wayne Jones, Jr has an MVP to his name,
came up as a shortstop, moved to third base, then to left field briefly, then
back to third base to finish his career. He is a switch hitter and once took a
.400 average into the month of July.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This year it seems almost every day brings another stat that Chipper has
accomplished in the annals of switch hitters, or players who primarily play
third base, or some other stat. If you want a bunch of stats that require
research- you’ll have to look elsewhere- we here at The Bandwagon are all about
doing as little work as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
easy to research stats, however, Chipper has (as of this writing) 151 tweets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wait, what? Yep, let’s talk Twitter- or the </span><a href="https://twitter.com/RealCJ10/status/227836154236514304"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">twitta</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">- as
Chipper calls it. Sure, there have been some athletes who have been twitter
sensations. </span><a href="https://twitter.com/ochocinco"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Chad Johnson</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> (I think
that’s what his name is this week) immediately jumps to mind, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/LoMoMarlins"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Logan Morrison</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> of the Miami Marlins
is probably worth the follow to read him slam twitter tough guys, and </span><a href="http://shesgamesports.com/brandon-mccarthy-suffers-head-injury-jokes-on-twitter/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Brandon
McCarthy</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> joked about his recover via Twitter. Many young athletes have
jumped on Twitter, just as many of us have, in less notable fashion. Chipper is
different, as he is the antithesis of young. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not sure if he was shamed into it, as
several Braves such as relief pitcher </span><a href="https://twitter.com/PeterMoylan"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Peter
Moylan</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and good luck starting pitcher </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KrisMedlen54"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Kris Medlan</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> are fan favorites in
the twitterverse. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fellow Braves, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/JasonHeyward"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Jason Heyward</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/Andrelton"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Andrelton Simmons</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> are among other
teammates of Chipper that have been on Twitter. Supposedly, catcher Brian
McCann secretly has twitter, but no one knows what it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The man Mets fans have chanted Larry at for many years, only
to have him crush them at the plate, announced his presence to Braves fans on
July 24. Immediately, perhaps related, perhaps not, the Braves reeled off a
seven game win streak. Also, Braves fans had to learn a new language, as
Chipper has channeled his inner Tolkien and, in providing his post-game recaps,
began to refer to things like the road runner, #yicketty, and #mammo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the Old Man- or </span><a href="https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_nf=1&gs_mss=Brian%20Mccann%20SecretTwitter&tok=apzmkl4mxmcZziqq8qxYaQ&pq=brian%20mccann%20twitter&cp=20&gs_id=3p&xhr=t&q=Brian%20Mccann%20Secret%20Twitter&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&oq=Brian+Mccann+Secret+Twitter&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=3ee9fff6b7abeb0e&biw=1441&bih=678"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Battle
Ax</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">- has not been without his own form of Twitter controversy. When he
tweeted about an appointment with </span><a href="https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_nf=1&gs_mss=Brian%20Mccann%20SecretTwitter&tok=apzmkl4mxmcZziqq8qxYaQ&pq=brian%20mccann%20twitter&cp=20&gs_id=3p&xhr=t&q=Brian%20Mccann%20Secret%20Twitter&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&oq=Brian+Mccann+Secret+Twitter&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=3ee9fff6b7abeb0e&biw=1441&bih=678"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Doc</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
(Halladay), manager Fredi Gonzalez (who, while not on twitter himself, has inspired
a rather interesting parody </span><a href="https://twitter.com/Frediot"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">account</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">)
was </span><a href="http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8211400/atlanta-braves-chipper-jones-gives-manager-fredi-gonzalez-scare-tweet"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">notified
and had to call his aging star</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> to see if there was anything he should be
aware of. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few days after he began
tweeting, the star had to tweet </span><a href="https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_nf=1&gs_mss=Brian%20Mccann%20SecretTwitter&tok=apzmkl4mxmcZziqq8qxYaQ&pq=brian%20mccann%20twitter&cp=20&gs_id=3p&xhr=t&q=Brian%20Mccann%20Secret%20Twitter&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&oq=Brian+Mccann+Secret+Twitter&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=3ee9fff6b7abeb0e&biw=1441&bih=678"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">definitions</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
of the words he was using. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Generally the Braves third baseman has settled into a simple
system of providing a post-game recap after each game. He also keeps his
followers up to date on when he sits out, something he does a bit more
frequently than the average everyday player. Hey, he’s 40, and coming off some
major injuries in the past few years. We clearly want his bat in the lineup
daily, but on his farewell tour, this just isn’t possible. Generally, he takes
off against right handed pitchers, which is a better situation for the left handed
Juan Francisco, who serves as his primary back-up and apparently is the one
known as Road Runner. Chipper’s strange twitter language has even prompted a
line of </span><a href="https://twitter.com/RealCJ10/status/243577207111417856"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">T-shirts</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
for sale in the Braves team store.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some guys are absolutely terrible to follow on twitter,
either by being boring, blowing up your timeline with useless crap, or
generally being weird. Chipper is one of the best pros to follow, despite
recently discovering the retweet button a couple days ago, and saturating the
twitterverse by retweeting every mention of @realCJ10. He redeemed himself the
following day, taking the </span><a href="https://twitter.com/RealCJ10/status/246102720291950593"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">blame</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> for an
error that led to a big inning for the Brewers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t think Braves fans were blaming Chipper for the error, but he
stepped forward like the leader he is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Baseball will always be a bit of a different animal for
fans. The frequency of the games means you connect on a deeper level with the
players of a baseball team. You spend much more time watching them than you do
for your other favorite teams. Generally, baseball games are on at least two and
half hours every day. Twitter has deepened that connection between fans and players,
providing an open line of communication between players and fans, outside the approximately
three hours a day we spend watching the game and highlights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On May 2, the Braves out slugged the Phillies in a comeback </span><a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=320502115"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">win</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> that
started off terribly for the Braves. A grand slam by McCann to tie the game,
and a Chipper walk-off highlighted an improbable win on a random weekday night.
Four months later, on September 2, Chipper did the same thing- jacking a three
run shot to walk off another improbable comeback win against the Phillies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one, however, was commemorated on </span><a href="https://twitter.com/RealCJ10/status/242450776037916672"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, in
another refreshing glance into the psyche of a first ballot Hall of Famer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In five years (or six, whatever, depending on the count from
now until he is on the ballot for the first time), Chipper Jones will be in
position to live tweet his Hall of Fame speech into Cooperstown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has spent this year being </span><a href="http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/26231/chippers-brave-look-at-baseball-mortality"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">an
outstanding interview</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, and providing great insight into the game of
baseball. He provided an excellent speech to the </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPz-PjqJ2k0"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">National League All Stars</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.
The attention paid to him by his peers was intense, and then his teammates for
the day delivered, guaranteeing the National League team in the World Series
will have home field advantage. He is a post-strike star, unblemished by the stink
and bad taste that year left with baseball fans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that MLB.TV has filled the gap left from
TBS no longer showing Braves game on a daily basis, the internet is becoming
more pervasive, and our beloved Chipper is on board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His farewell tour has seen him given various
items from bases to surfboards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As he
plays his final games professionally, he has deepened the connection between
Braves fans and their favorite player. He has blessed us with those two walk
off shots, and has stepped up on some </span><a href="http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/tag/_/name/chipper-jones"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">special
nights</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the Braves got off to
an atrocious offensive start, it was Chipper who kicked started the offense one
night in </span><a href="http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2012/04/10/chipper-returns-braves-snap-losing-skid/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Houston</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">,
with his parents in the crowd. Lately, the offense has begun to the similar to
last September and Braves fans are looking to @RealCJ10 to carry the team on
aching knees into the post season. We want, more than ever, Chipper’s final
game to be a victory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-49066106700123017192012-09-12T19:20:00.000-07:002012-09-12T19:20:59.762-07:00PANIC!! (At the...)
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, frankly I don’t know where. I have refused to go over to my
favorite </span><a href="http://www.blackshoediaries.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">site</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> for the Penn State
fans, in order to have some unadulterated thoughts on where Penn State is
going. Currently 0-2, one terrible game that probably turned on just one play,
and another game, dominated by the good guys for almost all that I saw, but
still no wins to show for it.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My perspective may be slightly off, since I missed most of
the fourth quarter due to having to go to a wedding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thus forced to rely on text messages
from my dad to track the fourth quarter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Incidentally, receiving a text message that your team is lining up for a
game winning field goal- after being disastrous all game in the kicking game-
does not exactly make you feel all warm and fuzzy. When the inevitable text
conveyed that the kick was missed came in, you don’t react. You shrug and try
to get on with the day. Being at a wedding allows you to avoid TV’s until
you’re too intoxicated (not quite the same warm and fuzzy feeling we wished we
had early, but it works in pinch) to really watch highlights. So I also have to
see the final plays, neither the drive by Virginia to win the game, nor the
missed kick that drove the nail in the coffin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now let’s focus more on the panic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I apologize in advance for perhaps stealing the </span><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/050721"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Sports
Guy’s</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> shtick, but I am fully jumping all over the panic button. My team is
0-2, and what could be worse than a quirky offense coming in to Happy Valley
looking to get their first win? Again, the Lions will be favored, but there is
definitely a possibility of a loss on Saturday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Defending the option requires discipline and patience. It is exactly how
Joe Paterno wanted his defenses to play when the option was in vogue so many
years ago. Teams that run it now are taking advantage of the general impatience
and attacking style of the modern defense- you know, what Ted Roof wants to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So if Navy comes in and controls the clock,
and is the beneficiary of the same key mistakes that have plagued the Lions
this year, Penn State could walk off the field 0-3 and facing a historically
bad season. We have seen historically bad before- it is how Penn State entered
the millennium. Generally called the dark ages- the period from 2000-2004 had
very few bright spots. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So if we have been here before- why panic? Well, I’ll tell
you (it’s why you’re here hopefully). When you are trying to keep together a
recruiting class that features five star talent, when you are about to begin a
time where there will be less scholarships to go around, going 0-3 to start the
season is a great way to chase said talent away. It’s generally said that,
basically, until 2019, Penn State will have a lot less depth than the teams
they will be competing against. With only 15 scholarships to go around each
year, BOB is going to need the very best in talent to come play football in
Happy Valley, knowing that they can start almost immediately to punch tickets
to the NFL.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel the first class, the
2013 recruiting class, is the key. Currently, it has verbal commits from some
very talented individuals. An 0-3 start, one that has featured a five star QB
being moved to tight end, would not be the way to inspire more five star talent
to come play in Beaver Stadium over the next four years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Panic is not about this year alone- it is about the very
precarious nature which the future of Penn State football is in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What doesn’t help to attract the recruits
discussed above? Tweeting angry things at a kicker having an atrocious day-
also may be seen as a turn off. It’s especially a turn off when said recruits
feel compelled to offer </span><a href="https://twitter.com/chackenberg1/status/244619763312128002"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">encouragement</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
to someone they view as a potential teammate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So as Penn State fans have spent the past ten months showing some
impressive resolve, and players showing the testicular fortitude often reserved
for great men, some fans have chosen to be as ugly as possible. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For full disclosure- I may have offered his
scholarship to someone </span><a href="https://twitter.com/tonyprice2/status/244500416803528707"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">else</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, they apparently
will be in short supply in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In my defense, I earned my money to go to college by going to Iraq and Afghanistan.
I suggest that if the money for college is earned in a particular way, i.e. kicking
field goals, I think actually accomplishing that would go a long way to actually
earning what you are being paid to do. (Yeah, I said it, college players are
paid)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It would be lazy of me to solely blame an inept kicking game
for what is most alarming about Penn State’s start. We have hired an offensive
coach- who has yet to produce much offense. A lot has been laid at Ted Roof’s
feet so far- but we have all seen the Patriots produce points at a thirty point
a game clip. We did not expect to have ONLY thirty points at this juncture. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have heard BOB claim that he needs to call
better plays- well why is that not happening? There are execution issues-
mainly a lack of ability to catch the ball on third down, but it seems to be
more of the same from Penn State’s offense. I constantly see McGloin holding
the ball, waiting for receivers to finish routes. I fully expected the ball to
be leaving McGloin’s hands very early and getting into our playmakers hands
very quickly. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This doesn’t happen nearly
often enough. I’m not the most learned of football minds- but that was exactly
what Ohio did when they kicked our ass up and down the field in the second half
of the first game. This is the first shot across the bow; the ball is in
McGloin’s hands too long. Please get it out quickly- I can’t identify the “Wes
Welker” of the offense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Not to pile on (yeah right, I am all about piling on), but
the defense has given up two second half leads in the first two games.
Typically, such things are rumored not to have happened in the former regime. That’s
an untrue statement actually- if you look at every gut wrenching loss you can
remember in the past half-decade- it’s a come from behind victory for the
opponent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it is happening at a
very rapid rate- as in 2 for 2. It would be nice if the defense held a lead, especially
if it’s by multiple possessions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So panic is forming somewhere- definitely on this blog- and
will be spreading from section EJ on Saturday. The offense is not scoring, the
defense is not preventing scores, and the special teams have been a dumpster
fire. Aside from hanging the “Help Wanted” sign on the kicker position, this
team needs to focus on execution. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
fans need to focus on not chewing off finger nails off, putting on a happy
face, and pretend that Navy is the first game of season on Saturday. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609998325589385038.post-63548187784869119942012-08-29T16:45:00.000-07:002012-09-12T19:21:32.425-07:00The Beginning (Again)<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Finally, it’s
game week. I don’t think I have looked forward to a game as much as look as I
look forward to the Penn State game this Saturday. Apparently, Ohio (the
Bobcats, not the Buckeyes) is a good team. Not exactly a traditional
MAC-rifice. I really want to just talk about football. Most Penn State fans
just want to talk about football. We can’t, not yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">On Saturday,
we (get used to this, I say we like I am a part of the team) have a new coach,
new offensive system, a new defensive system, and a new outlook on college
football. For three hours we want to watch a football game. We want it to seem
familiar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet it will all seem very
foreign.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The players
will be familiar. There will be Matt McGloin, a “moxie” filled Irishman, will
line up at QB. For the first time in his career, I hope he knows that all the
PSU community is behind him. I privately hope he brings back the Irish
mouthpiece. I loved the stone faced look he had during the players’ response to
the sanctions. I don’t know why- but I saw exactly what I wanted to see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I also think
Michael Mauti will be out to hit as hard as possible- if only to release the
frustrations that have been evident in his voice since the sanctions came
down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I understand where the frustration
comes from. I hope it’s not from the actual need for the NCAA, but rather the
environment that was created in the wake of the sanctions. I see a leader of a
team trying his best to hold the pieces together.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Please do not
misunderstand me. A lot of people have told me that the punishment by the NCAA
is too harsh. It isn’t. A punishment had to be handed down. The NCAA had to do
something. The day the sanctions were announced, I wrote the following on my
Facebook wall:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes there are no words, no clever quotes to neatly
sum up what's happened that day. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">That jumped to mind when from a Criminal Minds episode-
to ensure that credit is passed on to where due- and that it isn't my own
original thought. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">I have grown up as a Penn State fan- most people already
know that. Today, and the future, I will still be a Penn State fan, I think.
When you profess to do be doing things the right way, better than your peers,
to be the incubation of some Grand Experiment, you don't hide behind "what
is humane". This is not about who may have known what when, or what was
done in some context of the law. Why hide behind these technical aspects to
protect the moral slackness of supposedly great men?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And maybe
supposedly isn’t the right word- I hope I am never faced with a situation where
someone I am close to or responsible for is a degenerate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">There are a bunch of tough words people have used, and
blanket statements of what they would have done, and I can't make those. I
think today's punishments are deserved. Just as coaches and presidents are responsible
and credited with wins on the field that players earned, the players pay the
price as well for their mistakes. No one is an island. Today everyone
associated with Penn State is (faced with) punishment for the mistakes of few.
It is deserved, we deserve it.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There will be a
football game at Beaver Stadium this fall. I think I will be there. I'll no
longer think that we are doing better or cleaner than anyone else. It's just
another game on another Saturday I am spending with my friends and family. WE
ARE... because they were not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I guess the
only part I don’t want to stand by is how I wavered in thinking I would be
still be a fan come Saturday.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609998325589385038#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> Yet, the rest is true. To
take it a step further, everyone wants to wash their hands of the responsibility;
they want to say they weren’t at fault. They want their football team back. There
are many groups still attempting to call foul. Every single time, I hear the
same thing. I hear that the Freeh report was not valid. Who cares? Former
football coach Jerry Sandusky operated at Penn State while molesting children.
What part of that isn’t true? That sentence alone is enough to warrant the
sanctions handed down. Stop whining and move on.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We are now
operating in a known environment. Yes, players may transfer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, wins have been vacated. Yes, there is a
post season ban and reduced scholarships. I am a fan of the football team at
Penn State. I am also a fan of the University and all the good it does. The way
forward can’t begin as long as groups continue to want to go backwards and not
claim to be responsible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For at least
one group, the way forward has already begun. For the football team, it began
when they showed up for camp. On Saturday, we can show up and support that
group as best we can. They are the ones leading the way, while others tilt at
windmills attempting to restore a tarnished legacy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they really want to say that we can do it
cleaner and better than other schools, then on Saturday, we begin again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In science
the focus often not on the experiments that are successful, but rather the
focus is directed to the ones that have failed. The grand experiment failed, and
we must begin it anew. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3609998325589385038#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I was afraid I would be rooting for a
post death penalty SMU team, in which case I would not be watching college
football on Saturdays. I would have been a college football widower.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Bandwagon Jumperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391167725391159242noreply@blogger.com0