Monday, September 30, 2013

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 1st

Happy October.

This is a very grim time for our nation.  The Government shut down as of Midnight today.  I don't know how.  I don't know why.   All I know is that people in our government can't agree on anything anymore because it has to be all black or all white.  What an utter disgrace, but before we just shoot the messenger I should just make a quick ode to all the so called "news" channels out there who spread shameless propaganda to all the TV viewers out there and forced their people to not think for themselves but do what the TV said.  Now nobody can work together on anything... and as far as the networks are concerned, it was all for... MONEY.

Well congratulations... Wall Street won -- we lost.

Onward.

Does the shutdown mean I don't have to go to work today? I work at a Public University, run by the State of California, which I imagine is some tie-in to the Federal Government right?  I doubt this is true, but it'd be funny if I went to campus tomorrow and they told me to go home.  RIGHT?  That'd be a hoot!  I don't have much else going on, what the hell... I need a nap anyway.

Were the Dolphins napping last night?  Man...  another non-competitive Monday Night Football game goes by the boards.  One of these weeks we'll get a good game.  The best MNF game I've seen so far, if I remember correctly, was the Opening Night doubleheader game: Texans/Chargers.

I'm still swimming really well these days.  I'm pumped!  It's been going well.

I'm still miffed about the Government shutting down.  How have we failed so much as a society... the whole government stops working?   What is it they say -- we fear most what we don't understand.  Anger is bred from fear.  It's the worst.

Sorry you all had to read all this but this is particularly frustrating.  I just don't know what's going to happen.  What can you do?  Maybe hide, or run.

If you had to build a shelter, what would you stock up with?  I'd put in a whole lot of canned peaches, soup, meaty soups, chicken soups, some other emergency materials, tons of cactus coolers, some orange juice, and of course, a ton of water!

I don't have a lot of optimism today, but hopefully someone or something can prove me wrong.  That's all from here for a somber blog entry.  I hope to come up with something better tomorrow.  Til Wednesday.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 30th

Breaking Bad is truly one of the great TV shows of all time.  I don't think it's an exaggeration or an overreaction.   To have television, writing, directing, and acting that consistently good for five years is *hard.*  To have a series' final episode hit all its spots and resolve 52 plotlines is nearly impossible.  To have an outcome somewhat plausible, in some areas predictable, yet so satisfying is unbelievably great.   To have every episode connect to one another over about 60+ shows is outstanding.  Thanks to Vince Gilligan and all the rest for producing a tremendous program and an incredible story arc.

Now, I imagine many folks reading the blog today were wondering if I'd divulge some juicy deets, but I decided not to.   The show speaks for itself, I wrote a couple references on Twitter, and adding to that, some folks haven't seen the Finale yet i.e. they recorded it on the DVR but didn't have time for it yesterday evening.   I also think so many have already written about the final episode and its permutations or ramifications.

Breaking Bad was one in a series of great triumphs of the weekend, both personal and sporting world related. Here were the others.

a) Georgia finally won that big regular season game (again): After the other big win against South Carolina weeks ago, Georgia had its biggest test to date in a home game against LSU.   Simply the second toughest team from the SEC West Division, and Georgia managed to keep pace, then win the game on a winning touchdown drive by the often criticized Aaron Murray.  I was so pumped for Georgia and their fans... woo!  What a day to be a bulldog.

b) Lane Kiffin FINALLY GOT FIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!  DO THE DANCE!!!  I don't care if they fired him in the parking lot or in the pain reliever section of Walgreens.  He's done!  He's OUT!!!  He was a joke, and he was one of the most boorish, unlikeable, arrogant pains in the rear we've ever seen in sports.  He gets NOTHING.  HE LOSES!!  GOOD DAY SIR.   I would be surprised if anyone had sympathy for him at this hour, but even if you did -- you can bet he'll be a coordinator somewhere else someday.   What a day.

I celebrated this moment early on Sunday morning, and you wouldn't believe how shocked I was when I found out and HOW I found out.  I was watching the game late last night on ESPN2, and I told my buddy Get Your Own Show "you know?  This blowout loss is a good thing.  Two more games like this and Kiffin is GONE."

Then the next morning I hear the news and I didn't even have to wait the "two more games!"  I was giddy with excitement.  Instead of regular coffee, I went to the Starbucks and ordered a Salted Caramel Mocha.  You also would not believe how I found out.  The firing was so early in the morning that I actually heard WFAN break the story while I was listening to Franceser's bogus NFL pregame radio show.  You *know* something happened quite a while ago if you find out about it on WFAN.  Usually they're the last to report a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g in sports.  In fact, I barely got up from bed hearing that and had to check the internet just to make sure, and there it was, posted on twitter via an official SC Webpage link.

This was truly a great day.  Beebs wrote to me the good news and he was pumped too.   Other weekend triumphs.

c) I learned how to grill ribeye steak on a gas grill.  Saw two ribeye filets for 12 bucks i.e. 6 bucks each at the store, so I took them home, seasoned with kosher salt and pepper, then grilled both of them about 4 minutes a side.   They came out terrifically.   Medium rare on the inside, juicy and tasty.

d) My Saturday swim.  Sometimes I will go to the Saturday Masters workout swim on campus, and that fateful morning, I went there and swam better than I ever remembered swimming before.  Against a group that used to lap me every so many laps, I kept pace with all of them and even took the 2nd spot in the order for our group of 4 swimmers in the lane.  I couldn't believe how well I was maintaining pace.  Usually they just take off and blow me away.  Is it possible I'm swimming faster now?  I was so happy that morning.  Positively swimming with excitement at the end, if that makes any sense.

e) College Pick'em.  I rebounded greatly this week in College Pick'em after a brutal week either last week or the week before.  Good stuff.  

I think that does it for weekend triumphs.

That's all for football talk.

Do you ever worry about the shower head in your bathroom?   Sometimes you get a little water leaking out of it, and this hasn't happened at the new place, but in previous apartments you'd think about it, worry a tad, and see the shower head come off some.   I imagined like what would happen one day if you turned on the shower and got in, then the shower head poped right off the faucet with the water and smacked you in the back.  OI that would hurt!

I think that's all today.   Happy Monday everyone.

Speaking of LOCKS: Season Total up to 11-4-1

Previous total: 9-3

This week: 2-1-1

New Season Total IS: 11-4-1

The "-1" push was the LSU/Georgia game.   Georgia won by exactly 3, thus, my point spread did not cover.   49ers hit.  Oregon hit.   The "miss" was the San Jose State game -- they got annihilated by Utah State on Friday night.

All in all, a pretty good week of LOCKS amidst an extremely tough week to pick games against the spread.  Glad I had another "non-losing" run this week.

Friday, September 27, 2013

It's not a lock for the Dodgers...

There have been rumblings about how the Dodgers have a nice, if not clear, path to the World Series.  I wouldn't be so sure.   I think I'd put the Dodgers rotation against any team in the majors, but the funny thing about the last month of the year is that Dodger hitting, in any form, whether full strength or injured, can't get the better of GOOD opposing starting pitchers, or win 1 run games.  Those are two recipes for failure of these trends hold.

This is baseball, so I don't think any "trend" like this holds, but it would be something to look out for as a Dodgers fan.   Last night, even Lincecum shut down the Dodgers and led the Giants to a 3-2 win.  When the Dodgers face elite starting pitchers or even half elite pitchers, they can't score runs.  

Take as another example, and mind you, all of this occurred with the division well in hand so there may not have been as much urgency, but take the Reds series last month.  Three losses in a row to three good starters, all three losses by one run.  In that series, the Reds starters were Chris Leake, Homer Bailey, and Mat Latos.  All three of those are pretty good pitchers who make up the top of the Reds' rotation.

If there is one thing to look out for, it's what the Dodgers do offensively against the best starters in baseball.   In June and July they were lights out.  Since then, however, it's been a struggle.  It's going to take great pitching, which has been there during all of these games, even the aforementioned losses, and it's going to take execution and a lack of mistake... lack of fielding errors, lack of miscues, lack of baserunning blunders.  As energetic and charismatic as this Dodger team is, it will be interesting to see whether they'll be able to avoid these kind of mistakes.   In the 'offs, you need to be perfect... the Dodgers have the pitching, perhaps the best pitching in baseball, but their offense isn't going to give them the cushion they might think.  

As Vin Scully said himself, the day the Dodgers clinched: "In the history of the Brooklyn and L.A. Dodgers, nothing ever has come easy."   Get ready for some *drama* next month, folks!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 26th

What is up fellas?

It's been a tremendous week.   Two more days.  Thursday is going to be the real rush of traffic here on campus.  With all the beautiful people back at it.  It's very exciting.

I had a wish to go train with the UCLA Ladies' Diving Team.  Stupid idea, but whatever, it was in my imagination.  They're beautiful people too, my friends.

Sometimes they do show up when we do our practices at Sunset.  UCLA Diving does some dry-land training over at Sunset off to the side of where the pool.  All right, I digress.

It might be time for another McAWESOME sandwich: an egg mcmuffin (which has the egg and ham) with a sausage patty slipped in the middle.  Now my friends tell me Jack n' the Box sells a sandwich with all the meats.  But I gotta admit -- something about the Canadian Bacon McDonald's uses that sets it apart.  It does seem to hit home more than the one from Jack in the Box.

What makes any bacon "Canadian?"   I think it really is just "ham."   So Canada doesn't want to fry the pork all the way, nothing against that!


Really, my goal in life is to jump off the 10m platform and into the pool.  Kobe Bryant did this earlier in the year.  Pretty awesome.

He jumped off that thing with his shoes on... odd landing no?

Will there ever be a second season of ABC's Splash?  Probably not.

Speaking of "failed ABC shows"  good lord, did anybody see the premiere of "The Goldbergs?"  I had no interest in that show whatsoever, but Coach expressed a morbid curiosity about it, so we checked it out.  Man... it was just as terrible as it looked in the promos.   Is it canceled yet?

That's all for a Thursday.  Back at it tomorrow.  Catch you then!

Dave's LOCKS of the Week: September 25th

It's another chance to take off on

Dave's (clank)
LOCKS (zing)
of the Week (whoosh!)

A huge showdown week awaits in College Football.  Big cornerstone games await in the NFL.   This week's theme is "Don't Overthink it Week".

Yes you can factor in injuries and rivalries here and there, but the basics are going to be the key.  We start in St. Louis.  The first NFL game of the Week, Thursday Night, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams.   Could the Rams be out for the kill?  Oh of course, but are they that good?  Of course not!   The 49ers were bruised and beaten by Indy a week ago, but let's face it, there is just so much more talent, injured or no, on the 49ers that even a good Rams pass rush can't match it.  The 49ers also have good linebackers and a secondary that doesn't take too many chances.  The 49ers will be more desperate than any other team in the NFL this week.  I like SF and I like them big.  San Francisco -3 at St. Louis.

Up next, we go to San Jose where the Utah State Aggies have another chance at a win in California.  They failed last week, although they kept it close at SC.  Chuckie Keeton was not super on that day, but here against San Jose State's miserable defense, he'll do better, but we also have a pretty good offensive player like David Fales quarterbacking the team from San Jose.   SJSU is getting 10, and I think the game's closer than that.  SJSU +10 at home.

Next up, Oregon off a bye week at home to play GOOD OLE CAL.  Cal really hit the skids... losing by double digits to two ranked teams at *home.*  In fairness to the Bears that be Golden: the two teams were Ohio State and Northwestern.  This week, Cal gets their first road game, but they will have a miserable time keeping pace with Oregon, as almost any team does.  This early in the season, I sense another bloodbath at Autzen.   Oregon -36.5 at home.

Lastly, it's time to put my money where my mouth is.  This is the second biggest game on Georgia's regular season schedule at home against LSU.  This won't be easy pickings at *all.* LSU presents a fantastic defense, great athleticism, and a physical O-line and D-line.   Georgia presents a growing defense, some NFL caliber offensive players like Aaron Murray and Todd Gurley, and perhaps a mission -- destination SEC Title Game.  It'll happen in part if they beat the Tigers, and I like them here at home.  Giving only 3, I feel like Georgia is a very good shot to win, so we'll play chalk and pick Bulldogs -3 at home.

Overall, the week presented many challenging point spreads, but within the fray we said "keep it simple" and decided DON'T OVERTHINK IT.  Here's the recap:  49ers -3 at STL; SJSU +10 at home; Oregon -36.5 at home; and Georgia -3 at home.

Now to see them play the games, and hopefully keep the success train moving!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 25th

I know Shaq *owned* the Kings for years back in the day, but he didn't have to take this literally!  Well -- he's now part owner of the Sacramento Kings.  You know what?  Good for him!   I won't be a mongo and harbor some fabricated animosity for "going to a rival team."  Nah, Shaq is first and foremost his own empire.  The Lakers were privileged to have him at our service for about a decade.  I would not be one to claim some "franchise ownership" of his legacy.

Now Magic would never do this.  Larry Bird would never do this.   None of those old school Celtics or Knicks would do such a thing... but remember you guys, Shaq's his own man.   Cannnnnnnnnnnn youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu dig iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit?

Staying with basketball, I think we all know Blake Griffin is pretty miserable as a post up player.  The kid just can't play the post.  The only post he's played is the one between his legs!

Whoo baby... hahahahah "baby" and I mean "baby"... Griff goes out, meets a lady, has a child with her and they separate.  Let me tell you, reading that whole article was such a waste of time, and what a shameful job by Fox "Sports" publishing that and not TMZ or something, but I still thank them -- for offering me a cheap punchline.

It's like that free lever pull at the slot machines in the Casino.  And you know Blake Griffin knows a few things about pulling his lever!

Are the people in San Francisco starting to get nervous???  The 49ers, with a loss to the Rams on Thursday, will fall to an unfathomable 1-3 after four weeks.  That's insane.   Really, 49ers?   We all thought the Niners were the second best team in the NFC West, and possibly the second best in the whole conference.  Instead, this?  THIS?   Injuries, they say!  Lack of execution they say!   I say, one more loss here and they blew the whole season.  Stay tuned.


Did a swim last night and I felt really good and I mean REALLY good in the pool.   Met a couple newbs there, including a lady student... who seemed to be good enough for lane 1 despite the rust.  ANYWAY, swim last night was fantastic.   I figured out, finally how to get in a REALLY good dolphin kick.  Anchoring the feet together and kicking up AND down while moving my head up and down for propulsion did wonders.  The dolphin kick was decent going in, but now I can move way past the flags and into the "alternating colors" part of the lane line with ease.  I was really happy with the effort! 

Fellas... I have a swim meet coming up around October 20th.  I hadn't done a full swim meet in roughly a year, since Fall 2012, I believe.   I feel like I've gotten a good deal faster since then and with better technique.  I am PUMPED to do this meet, but I really need to do one more thing:  get more consistent with actual swimming.  I need reps... I need 3-5 swims a week.  Not 2!   I'm working on it, but this week feels optimistic for a solid full week of swimming.

I had breakfast yesterday and with it came the Tater Tots.  Something was in the air that day, or in the grease maybe, because the tots were out of this world good.     I hadn't had the tots in weeks, but that was worth it.

Somebody asked me on Monday "What is the significance of the donut as your avatar on Twitter?"  and I said to him, "I like donuts."


How bad do you have to be to blow a bobblehead promotion?   The Yankees had one shot at a big bobblehead day and they blew it.  HOW?   Is it really that hard to get in a truck full of bobbleheads?  


Yesterday morning, I got on the bus with my phone in my hand and my swim bag on my shoulder.   The bus barely rounds the corner, and by then I'm trying to get to my seat... but I wasn't fully *set* yet!  So I'm reaching for a bar and the bus driver screeches to a halt and I go flying all the way to the front of the bus... I mean would you get outa here??  I desperately trying to grab onto something, and instead my whole wallet flies out of my left hand and I'm about to fall when I find a bar to grab with my left hand.   My left ear bud pops right out of my ear.  AMAZINGLY, my right hand never dropped my Galaxy S4...  I don't think I fell either, but I can't remember.  What an experience.  I picked up my wallet and then sat down, I was just glad I didn't break any bones.


Interesting question... will the movie "Rush" about the Formula One Driver have a better domestic box office profit than "42" did?   "42" made $95 million at the box office this year.  Not too bad at all, but a gettable figure.  

That's probably all for today.  I had a point I wanted to make about something that people say or did that I thought was really cliche and possibly annoying, but after eating the strudel and ice cream for dessert last night, then looking at the new NHL Division realignment, I forgot all about it.

My dinner last night was just a bowl of tomato soup and a handful of peanuts.  I'm not even sure if that qualifies as a meal...  but life goes on.

That's that...'til Thursday, everyone!

LOCKS of the Week Season Total to Date: 9-3

LOCKS did well once again this week, going 3-1 in our four selections.  Combined with the 6-2 total for previous weeks, we are now at 9-3 for the 2013 LOCKS of the Week campaign.

We're proud to have a lot of these LOCKS correct, and even the ones we missed happened to miss by only a few points.  This week's miss was UCLA +42.5.   The final score was UCLA 59, New Mexico State 13 for a difference of 46 points or 4 points larger than the spread.

We'll take all of that and a bag of chips.  As everyone knows, this success can turn on a dime, but it's great to have a beat on it *so far.*  Onward (and forward).

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 24th

Do you remember when you were back in school?  Every time before the school year started you'd fear that first day and remember when you would get up out of bed for that first day and it would always be so much anticipation and excitement but dread at the same time.

Then you would get to school, and it was all about to my friend still remember me? Are they going to like me? What is the teacher going to be like? So much anticipation fear and with all that you hear the bell rings then all the sudden you're back in your pattern. Then the rest of the year was kinda blah Zay. 

Well here I am 31 years old and still driving that day today. But this time it's because I now work for a school. And, all the same people are going to be there asking for many things. There's a lot of anticipation do I mess everything up? What happens? well here we go another school year at my main job. This is the time where it gets very hectic. I just hope I can survive this week in one piece.

I let my hair grow really long lately. It was not by choice the reason I did it was because I did not have time to get a haircut. But I wanted to read it out and see what I look like with long hair. Well friends to be honest I look atrocious! So I think I'm going to get my haircut eventually. 

Well... How about the Broncos? I thought that they played really well last night although you know I did not like the way they let up towards the end and the only reason I say that is because I pick them up -15. I mean come on Denver, you know you're clearly better than the Raiders, so what was the business with letting them back into the game?  Anyway they won pretty convincingly regardless of that and I think Peyton Manning is off to a really good start.

I'm not sure if you noticed this but I'm dictating today's entry yet again. I went to the bed and I stayed there for a while and I felt so comfortable I did not feel like taking my computer out to write. So, instead I will use my phone and just speak the words rather than type them.

I think the output is so much better than it had been in the last couple of attempts with dictation. I think I finally got the hang of how to use this. But I don't want this to be a crutch for me to get my long-winded so I'll try to come but with some more ideas first.

That's all from here. Have a good Tuesday!

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 23rd

When a whole group of people, like a writing team, wins an Emmy award, do all of the people in the group get their own Emmy?  Or do they have to pass it around like the Stanley Cup?  You know, like one guy gets it for a week and takes it to Barbados, and another guy brings it home to eat with chips.

I'm never going to shake James Cromwell's role as the farmer guy from "Babe."  He's done *so* many great roles... but to me he's Farmer Hoggett. 

I wouldn't want the fate of my life to be decided on a ride in a Toyota Previa.


LOCKS of the Week were great.  Officially our picks went 3-1.   The winners were Tennessee +17, Utah State +6.5, and Colorado State +39.5.  The "loser" of sorts was the UCLA game, as the Bruins covered the whopping 42.5 point spread against New Mexico State.

And speaking of "New Mexico", who's ready for the Breaking Bad finale next week?    Even if you're not......................  you will be.

On Friday night, I met my friend Umberto's over at Petco Park for the Dodgers/Padres game.  Great times they were.  Good to catch up with him.  He just moved to a new apartment in town too.  He is doing the dance, folks.   

On Saturday I saw my first USC football game in person.   I won't waste too much time talking about the game action, so let me concentrate on the experience.  

It was tremendous.  It makes an enormous difference to have a tailgate at a stadium next to your campus as opposed to one somewhere else.  Tents everywhere, RV's stuff like that.   ESPN 710 Los Angeles puts up a huge stage to present their radio pregame show for the Trojans.   Good Stuff.

My favorite Tailgate: the Lawry's the Prime Rib Tailgate party along the sidewalk as you walk towards the ticket office.   I went over and asked about the particulars.   Basically, you can hit the tailgate itself for 70 bones.  Now this includes an open bar, a full, all you can eat Prime Rib carving station, Lawry's impressive sides, and two TV screens with other college football games on.  They also accept walk-ins.  On top of all of this, you can purchase the tailgate/admission package which includes this tailgate and a ticket to the game itself all for a given price depending on the opponent.  This week's game against Utah State would have cost $115 for the combined package.   Bigger games will go for more money, close to 200 bones.  Remember, Lawry's has the best prime rib in Los Angeles, my humble opinion.   I love having this at my fingertips.  Fortunately, that day they allowed walk-ins............. but I didn't go.  I wasn't hungry enough at the time.


For what's effectively a seedy area, the Coliseum represents itself well as a good place, dare I say friendly, location for college football.  At the game, the people watching were primarily alums, couples, and families.  Not at all the rough and tumble crowd you would get at an NFL game.  This was consistent with the crowd at the two UCLA games I've been to.  The only exception here is: the UCLA/USC game.   You go to one of those, and all the biggest douchebags imaginable will take over the stands.  That goes for both sides.  It's just outrageous.  I went to the game at UCLA a couple years ago with some work friends.  Extremely awkward experience given that I've rooted for SC football my whole life and all my buddies hate their guts.

All in all, I think the SC football experience (in any game other than the UCLA game) is the superior experience.  I love Pasadena, folks, but there's no question the distance between it and Santa Monica is enormous.  Instead, you get the Expo Line which parks you directly next to the Coliseum.  It's a five minute walk from there to the ticket gate.  While waiting for the game, you can get one of the bacon wrapped hot dogs, check out SC's campus, or even spend some time at the California Science Center, which I did for a few minutes.  It's more convenient on many levels.

I do like the bacon wrapped hot dogs.  If they had a bacon wrapped hot dog cart outside my apartment door they'd get me at least 7 times out of 10.  One thing I felt was prudent in getting a bacon wrapped hot dog was going after a pretty big one... like the 1/4 lb sized guys.  Most of the carts have an unofficial market price of 5 bones for a dog.   If it's gonna be 5 bucks, don't settle for the cart with the puny sized franks.  No way.  The cart I settled was fantastic.   Just hit home like a warm fuzzy blanket.   Big bun, warm grilled dog with a nice strip of bacon wrapped around it.  Onions and peppers.  Ketchup and mayo.   It was perfect.  I can't remember if it usually has mustard on it, but I let the hot dog cart people drive the bus.

You ever go to a food truck and see some other guy off to the side of it, outside, taking the money?  I'm not sure what that's for.   I still can't discern if he's actually associated with the people on the inside of the truck!  So if I went over there and pretended to collect money for the truck, would people just give it to me?   Imagine a guy tried that and then just ran away?

If somebody just gave you a $100 bill, what would you do with it?  If it happened to me, I'd head for my favorite steakhouse almost immediately.  Easy answer, huh?

I badly underestimated the Bears.  Or -- maybe I overestimated my Pittsburgh Steelers.  Wow.  I knew they were bad.  I did not think they were *this* bad.  Holy cow, folks.  

I had a very good time at  a friend's girlfriend's birthday party.   Got a little riled up when I was forced to park way at the top of the parking structure, but then I noticed the parking space was right next to the entrance.  Hahahahahaha, would you believe it?

The place in question was called "Howl at the Moon."  It's another piano bar!  I did not meet a "flower pot" or "silver dollar," but the birthday girl's best friend in question was a redhead also from Arkansas.  Good times were had.

One disappointment from the night:  I wrote on a request slip asking for the piano bar guys to play "Tiny Dancer" and even included 3 bones for tip... and they never played the damn song!!  I can at least say they killed it with the other songs, so the tip was deserved.



That's all from here.  Have a good Monday!




Thursday, September 19, 2013

Dave's LOCKS of the Week: September 19th

Dave's (bonk)
LOCKS (conk)
of the Week (snap)

This week, we look at some really huge point spreads.  We'll start with the folks at Gainesville.  The Gators are a whopping 17 point favorites over rival Tennessee.  I know Tennessee is pretty bad, but we all are too familiar with Driskell's awful throwing arm.  I would be surprised if *either* team scored over 17 points, to be honest.   I sense this will be a much closer game.  Watch for it.  Tennessee +17 at Florida.

Up next, a meeting between Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide and his former Offensive Coordinator Jim McElwain now with Colorado State.    McElwain was Alabama OC from 2008 through 2011.  Now, he returns to Tuscaloosa with a familiar foe, a foe he himself managed offensively.  I like the Rams of CSU to at least keep it closer than 39.5, so we'll go that way.  Colorado State +39.5 at 'Bama.

One last enormous point spread for the week: We go to Pasadena where UCLA hosts New Mexico State.  This game sets up for an inevitable letdown after UCLA's dramatic, resounding 41-21 win at Nebraska.   Given that UCLA is best known for its defense, it'd be surprising to see them rack up enough to cover a 40 point spread, and NMSt is getting 42.5.   New Mexico State +42.5 at UCLA.

Across town, I will also give Utah State the nod, getting 6.5 at the Coliseum.  Utah State +6.5

That's going to be all for LOCKS... there's not a single NFL game that's screaming out at me with the possible exception of the Jaguars getting 19 (!) at Seattle.  Officially, it's just three college games this week on a very tough to judge week of games against the spread.

To recap: Tennessee +17, Col. State +39.5, NM State +42.5, and Utah State +6.5.

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 19th

It is about Midnight as I write this.   Congratulations to Kenichi Ebina for winning "America's Got Talent" this year.  Way to go!

I'm very seriously pondering Kenichi's headline act at the MGM Grand.  I could use a trip to Vegas anyway.  Let's do it.

Tomorrow -- San Diego.  I'll meet my buddy there and we'll see the Dodgers play the Padres.  More to come, but enjoy your Friday!

Check the Daveblog archives!  and check out the latest posting of "The Lost Society."  Wrote this quite a while ago, so here's your next episode, number 6.  See you all on Monday.



We Want to Be Models! (#006)
8.8.2001

            Thomson, Jenkins, Martinez, and Kelvin rounded a corner and, lo and behold, they discovered a building that offered the entrance to the modeling agency.
            “We are going to be stars!” Martinez cried.
            “Hell, yes!!” Thomson cried, “Gimmie some, gimmie some.”
            Martinez and Thomson collided with each other.
            Kelvin interceded.
            “Shh!” Kelvin said, “We have to be very, very quiet.”
            “You sound like Elmer Fudd, Kelvin,” Jenkins quipped. “We have to be very, very quiet, we’re hunting rabbits.”
            Martinez sauntered over to the door and opened it for everybody else.
            “After you, gentlemen and gentlemen,” Martinez announced.
            
 (continued after the jump)

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 18th


I like vtred... he's a riot folks.   He's consistent.  I can dig that -- no apologies, no nonsense.

I would like to meet the man they call vtred aka Vinnie in NJ.   He has great taste in music.   Good taste in football... wish I could say the same about his other teams but that was out of his control ohhhhh someone stop me!  He also knows his way around good restaurants.

I can't remember if Treddy is on the Breaking Bad Bandwagon.   He surely loves every *other* chic and trendy show in the history of existence, from "Mad Men" to "Downton Abbey" and other shows in between.  I'd be not surprised if BB was one of his shows.

He and others share the haterade on Fantasy Football.  On a macroscopic level, I agree with him.  I think nothing is more annoying than *only* watching football games to see what individual players do.  "Oh X player needs a touchdown so dont run the ball!"  Do you really think teams are standing around asking "How can we maximize Joe Blow's fantasy advantage fellas?  Let's purposely throw a fade to James Jones so he gets more points in a random Yahoo league -- break!"

Where I disagree with the anti-FF crowd is this:  a fantasy football team *enhances* your knowledge of individual players, both offensively and in some cases defensively.   To me, if you're already watching the game, whatever the game is, like a good game between Chicago and Green Bay, seeing how certain guys do, relevant to your fantasy team, is a lot of added bonus fun.  To me, the question is:  is your fantasy team a seasoning to your existing NFL experience or do you use it as the means to an end?   Some do the means to an end, but I wouldn't shake that way.   It would be too random to root for 13 teams at once or just jump between games when your guy has the ball.  In other words, "whatever floats your boat."

I found the display at the store last night and it was STUFFED with peaches!  My declaration of Peach Season ending was a false alarm, for now.  Great news all around.

I also went for chicken but the individual pieces were all gone.  Usually the store closes their deli counter around 7pm.  I got there past 8.  There wasn't much I could do, but the good news is -- I got a good swim that night beforehand.

Instead, I went for the Stagg Chili.  I also ate a peach or two from the fridge.  The chili was once again prett good.

America's Got Talent last night:  Great show, won't go long with my synopsis.  I think Forte leveled off.. they did what they did, and it was terrific, but Mel B unwittingly called out their *real* reason for their popularity -- showmanship and these ornate stage settings the AGT set designer creates for their group.   At the end of the day its three guys singing standards with operatic voices.   Howie said it best:  it's something we've seen before, countless times.  It's certainly not bad... but it's not very innovative nor original.

Kenichi, on the other hand, is the living embodiement of originality, creativity, and invention.  His style of dance, blended with technology, is a signt to see.  Kinda odd that a guy from Japan might win the whole thing on a show intended to showcase American talent, but as the rules go, his method of entry was perfectly legal.  No qualms by me.  His work is amazing.


Despite my glowing remarks, I elected to troll the entire voting process and put all ten of my online votes, two twitter votes over two accounts, and twenty telephone calls from two numbers into votes for Comedian Taylor Williamson.  Ohhh, I got enormous satisfaction out of that!  It made no sense at all, but I just thought it would be funny.  Taylor did great for himself last night, even to the point where he took an entire set of jokes he already *did* and still managed to add a twist to it. 

Now you all know my mush... the odds of him actually winning are in negative percents.   Jimmy Rose would have a better shot at winning than the #taylord.

Cami Bradley gets incredible honorable mention.  Boy I think it's impossible not to love her -- gorgeous, affable, humble and a *very* distinctive voice.   Boy is her husband charmed to have her around.  Excellent singer, and different too.

That's about all.   I think most acts last night did very well for themselves.  America will decide the winner, and we'll find out tonight who it is on NBC.

Just once, I'd like to stop at the Krispy Kreme donut shop in Torrance and hit up the store when the "Hot & Now" sign is on.   Hot fresh donuts!

I would actually have time to go get a cookie and bagel today for breakfast.  Dicey to eat BOTH but they are so good, especially at NY Bagel and Deli here in town.

That's all for now... peach season lives one more day!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

LOCKS of the Week So Far

3-0 for my first week.
3-2 for my second edition.

That's a total of 6-2 so far in LOCKS for both College and Pro.  The number of games I select each week will not be consistent so per-week averages won't have a lot of bearing.  Generally I will pick anywhere from 2-6 games each week.  It all depends on what I see and what jumps out at me.

On we go!

Monday, September 16, 2013

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 17th

First of all, I'd like to congratulate the Tampa Bay Rays.  Not for winning the division, per se, and not for clinching a playoff spot, since neither one happened yet.  ...but I'd like to congratulate Tampa Bay for proving once and for all that hype is just hype and winning comes from actual team construction -- not from going out and buying a bunch of big names.

For those uninterested in baseball particulars, feel free to skip to the paragraph about Peaches.   Otherwise, read on...

We've seen this time after time in sports... some big shot decides he's going to acquire a bunch of big name players.  Oooh, what a splash!   This is the new sheriff in town!   Watch out for these guys!  Only to see the whole thing blow up in their faces.   Last year this happened to my *own* team, the Dodgers.  Then they wised up and focused on pitching -- got Grienke (yes with a lot of money, yes a big name but at least one still in his prime), then signed a prospect known as Yasiel Puig.  The rest, they say, is history.  Couple that with other contributions from other minor players like Nick Punto, Skip Schumacker, and a solid bullpen with no big names:  Paco Rodriguez, Ronnie Bellesario, and Kenley Jansen.  That's a *team.*

Similarly, the Rays are a team.   They got James Loney for good value, they have Evan Longoria, and a decent pitching staff.  They didn't go out and buy a bunch of big names.   One team that did, in their division?  The Toronto Blue Jays.  and *that* is the purpose of these opening paragraphs.   All along, I felt like the Blue Jays were all hype and no results, and boy would you believe it, I am VINDICATED today.

I put my money where my mouth is and bet Gerry in Piscataway a Chipotle Burrito that the Rays, with a history of developing good talent and building good baseball teams, would outplay the Jays, with a bunch of big headliners who hadn't really experienced the same field together, AND a questionable pitching staff.  R.A. Dickey and Josh Johnson never seemed to me like guys I felt were going to take it to that next level this year.  Both were fine in their day, and yes, I know R.A. was incredible on the Mets -- but he's a knuckleballer.   The odds of him producing even a sub 3 ERA again were going to be tough.  He didn't have the benefit of Citi Field either.

Surely the other baseball writers would see this sensibly and find skepticism in the Jays' chances, doncha think?  ...but no!!  All of them took the cheese:  http://espn.go.com/mlb/preview13/story/_/page/13expertpicks/espn-expert-team-predictions-2013-baseball-season

TWENTY out of who knows how many experts picked the "team of destiny" Blue Jays to take the AL East.   By the way, did you notice how all the wild card predictions were other AL East teams?  We aren't even *close* to seeing that play out in the standings.  More proof that the AL East is the single most overrated division in baseball.  ...but anyway, the Jays got served, and I think it's fitting that I finally got something r-i-g-h-t.

Never bought it, never!   When Cap and I (Cap being Gerry) made the bet on whether Tampa Bay or Toronto would have the better record, I felt pretty confident seeing the Rays edge it out.  What I got exceeded my wildest expectations... the Rays not only clinched a better record last night, but blew *away* the Jays in the standings.   The Blue Jays went from a division favorite to a virtual lottery team in three months.  The problem?  Pitching -- as I completely anticipated.  I will concede the Blue Jays have a sick offense but that does nothing for actual postseason contention.  The lesson is learned, and perhaps the so-called MLB Experts might consider the whole and not the parts as we go into these predictions next year.

If I may, here were my division predictions for 2013:

AL East: Rays
AL Central: Tigers
AL West: Angels

...Angels hit the TANK, but to be fair, I did have the A's just two games behind them with 89 wins, and it appears the A's are very close to that division crown.   The other two were also pretty close.  Now who could have guessed the Red Sox would win as much as they did?  I said they'd win 73 total... instead they have *92* with a solid 1.75 weeks to go.  Holy moses right?

For the NL..

NL East: Nationals
NL Central: Reds
NL West: Giants

Interestingly, my second place picks for each division were:  Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers.   I didn't get it right per se, but I was pretty close to right! 

I hope you all were able to bear with me while I got out the MLB talk for today's entry.  I know most people read this blog for peach updates and what cookie I ate that day, but I tell ya, on a night like this, which featured the Steelers getting beat by Cincy, baseball was on my mind.

For those who skipped the baseball material, the remainder of the blog continues here:

I do have a peach update!  It's a sad one.   Peaches are starting to run out across the land.  I went to my local store and you could see the bottom of the display stand where peaches would otherwise be.  Kinda like when you get to the bottom of a bowl of popcorn, and see parts of the bowl under the 'corn.  It's a sad moment.  So I went and grabbed as many peaches as I could, then checked out.  Peach season is almost over.

I have yet to see an episode of "MasterChef" or "The Sopranos."  But to be fair, I have yet to see a whole lot of shows, from "The Honeymooners" (may have seen a single episode, ever) all the way up to "The Americans" and I *meant* to see that show too!  Then I canceled Directv, back when I lived at the old apartment.

I need to get back in shape.  I felt really soggy lately and went out and busted out a good swim yesterday afternoon but *damn!*  The water was so warm!  Nobody swims their best in extra warm water.   Especially when doing butterfly, that was brutal.  

The swim was still pretty good, but its merely ONE step in the right direction.  Coupled with good nutrition yesterday:  two peanut butter sandwiches, two bowls of cereal for dinner, fruit, and a smidge of ice cream, I think I'll be back on my way to good shape.

I really want this because there's a swim meet in late October.  I'd hate to be carrying extra baggage when I go up on the blocks.  I mean, how embarrassing would that be?   Ladies need to see a lean and mean me.  

Aight, so on the subject of "lean" how do you guys order your hamburger meat?   There's a lot of different combinations, but the standard is 80% lean 20% fat.  That's my M.O.  When I get burger meat or burger patties I *hone in* on 80/20.  They also have 90/10 which is seriously lean.. maybe too lean... if it's 100% lean none of the grounded meat will stick together.  The fat is like glue for the beef which is otherwise pulverized.  Anyway, 80/20 is the ultimate for me.  Makes the burgers juicy and tasty all at once.

Did you know NFL Referee Mike Carey is like 64??  Coach found out about this on twitter.  That is incredible!   Mike Carey does a terrific job with officiating, and he must be in great shape!

Happy Birthday to Phil Jackson... 908 years old today.  Always a master of the zen, much like Yoda, but with a much taller frame.  Cheers to you and all you do and have done!  Truly one of the greats in NBA coaching.

I have more than often confused "Badfinger" and "Butterfinger" with "Goldfinger."  I wanted to look up a "Badfinger" song but typed in "Goldfinger" and got something completely different.  Then it hit me that the name was "Badfinger."   I finally figured it out, and punched it in on Spotify, only to realize Spotify didn't have the rights to anything from Apple Records.  IN-SANE.  So I went to YouTube to look it up, at long last, and found the song.  It's too bad "Badfinger" was only around for a few years.

I've had weird obsessions with acts that only released 1-2 albums tops, but these short lived groups, as I call 'em, would often put out that 1 or 2 records that were REALLY fun to listen to.  Best examples:  Diesel, the Buggles, the Waitresses, and a very famous example -- Cream.  Short lived groups are a big part of my listening repertoire, oddly.    Nonetheless, my three favorite rock groups are all very long lasting acts:  Led Zeppelin, Queen, and (out of nowhere) Oingo Boingo.  Dude, I love Oingo Boingo, but I get so much flak from everybody about it, and I think it has to do with the ridiculous *name* of the band.  Take the name out, and take in the people who did the music including frontman Danny Elfman and their music was amazing.   It was impossible to categorize, and after a while record companies stopped trying.  Boingo was "Boingo", no other definition.

I think in the beginning, Oingo Boingo, as a rock group, tried to be a ska-influenced ensemble a la Madness, but it became way more than that with their creative instruments and ideas.


I'm happy to report that Elfman himself is still going strong with movie scores and TV themes.  A recent one I can think of is the theme to "Desperate Housewives."   Carry on, fellas.

Can the Dodgers win a game?  I know they got the division locked up but this is really getting outrageous.  The bats cannot hit a lick... it's about half the lineup they had when they were healthy, but what's nice is that Kemp is back.  He pinch hit yesterday to end the game.   He'll be back in the lineup, hopefully.

Cannot *wait* for next week's "Breaking Bad."  Only two shows left. 

That's all from here!  Enjoy your Tuesday.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 16th

Happy Monday You All!

Good to see you all here on a Monday.   I tend to get annoyed when mainstream media shows try to recap *every single* game on the NFL Schedule... it gets incredibly tedious because they'll get to games and teams that just aren't that interesting.  Is it really necessary to break down Raiders/Jags?   Summary:  The Jags are garbage.   Easy enough for me!

Doesn't it seem like the role of Hank from "Breaking Bad" was offered to Weird Al Yankovic before the other guy got it?   He has that same "stare" that Hank does on the show.


People talk about how tiny Bob Costas is...  Well... it's true.

Seattle looks like the real deal folks.

Miami looks legit, folks.

Bama does not seem anything real or legit at this point.  They really struggled to put away Texas A&M with Johnny Manziel.  Just how good are the Alabama Crimson Tide?  I feel like they're more beatable this year.  We'll find out for sure.


Saturday was not my day.  Saturday NIGHT was all right... except for the Dodgers game, which I followed and saw them get browbeaten by SF.  But the day wasn't working out so well.

I got invited by my work buddies to a Noodle Convention, specifically a Ramen Festival out in Torrance.   So I went over there to try it out and all I saw was a HUGE line!   The line stretched for at least three blocks, probably four.  So I get in line, and it's like the Bungalow line all over again.  I'm waiting there, sun in my face, killing time, then the line moves along, and after about 45 minutes I get in... only to see another line!!

There was a separate line to get food tickets.. a line to get to a line?!?  THAT IS OUTRAGEOUS.  So after all of that waiting, and with my friends still trying to get there... bear in mind I already told my buddies beforehand I had to leave at 12pm so that I could make my Aunts wedding that afternoon... I called my friend and told him I had to go.  I was not about to wait in a meal ticket line inside for another hour.

I cut my losses and went to a place called "Hugo's Deli" across the street.  The sign caught my eye.  "A Deli?  In a nondescript strip mall next to a gas station which looks like a series of law offices?  I should try it."  Just to make sure, I looked it up on Yelp -- rave reviews, especially for their Tri Tip Sandwich.  So I go in, and Hugo greets me, very friendly, and affable.   Struck up a conversation we did and he set me up with a noice Tri Tip Sandwich which went through a panini press.  Folks, it was *amazing.*  Tender tri tip, fixings, cheese, and this crispy toasted sandwich roll.  I loved it.    Hugo's in Torrance is a real winner.

So, the Ramen Convention was an epic fail, but discovering Hugo's was a nice silver lining.

The next day, after all of that and a modest but well done wedding for my Aunt in Lancaster, I got up and listened to some of Tank's Football Sunday show on WFAN.  Later, Coach and a friend of his who stayed the night asked if I was ready to go to souplantation.

I agreed and we chatted and ate breakfast there before the early NFL games.   Ah, I love Souplantation.   My favorite thing for breakfast there, besides the biscuits and sausage gravy, is their Chilaquiles.  All it is, is cheese, some eggs, and salsa blended with tortilla chips in a frying pan and served hot.  Maybe it's baked too in some cases, but anyway, it's fantastic.  

You know what else was fantastic that day?  You wouldn't believe it -- the granola at SP was unbelievable.  Something golden tasting about it.   I didn't even put milk in it or anything.  And!  I, being the joker that I am, got a small serving of soft serve ice cream at the end to round it out.

I may have to visit a ramen restaurant for real soon to make up for the botched attempt on Saturday.  Meanwhile there's a very busy week ahead.    On Saturday, a friend and I are going to see the USC game vs Utah State.  Later that night, I'll be joining my other friends for a birthday party at Universal City.   Thursday is the big Chiefs/Eagles game.   Wednesday is the podcast.  Tuesday is the final round of America's Got Talent.

Tonight -- the Monday Night Football debacle between the Steelers and Bungles from Cincy.  Expect a beatdown.   That's all from here.  Catch you all tomorrow!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 13th

I've had about enough of those Fiat commercials.   I don't care how hot the hotties in them are, and they are *hot*, but I'm done with Fiat.  Those commercials are so cheeky and hokey... and they're on all the time too!   End this madness!

I finished eating the second third of my 2.5 lb tri tip roast.  Man, this was such a great investment.   I'll do it again, although I'd do it as a dry rub the next time around.

Tri Tip truly is great... it's a bit like brisket, although it's a lean meat, and the brain child of Santa Maria, about half way up the state here in CA.  I love it.

I said to my buddy Jacob Rosales, "If Canelo knocks out Floyd Mayweather in the early rounds of Saturday's Boxing Match, I will drive all the way up to San Francisco and buy you a drink."  We both got a good laugh thinking about that outcome.

Jets... I tend to not talk sports straight up in this space, not in the way that I used to aside from the LOCKS of the Week.  BUT, the Jets showed some real heart last night.   I felt vindicated selecting them with the 12 point spread, took the points, and conquered.  The Jets only lost by three!  Geno Smith had an interesting night, some good, some very good passes, and then a whole bunch of underthrown passes which either cost them touchdowns or lent to interceptions, but he also had WR's dropping balls everywhere.   For a rookie, not a bad night!

I have an ongoing bet with my buddy Gerry in Piscataway.  He was on the podcast on Wednesday and knocked it out of the park.  Anyway, when the baseball season began, I said the Rays would have more wins than the Blue Jays this year.   Gerry bet the Blue Jays to have more wins.  The guy who got it right would get a Chipotle burrito, paid for by the losing party.  Well friends!  We are down to 5 games: any combination of five Rays wins or Jays losses.  It's the "Chipotle Magic Number."  You'll see updates on it on my facebook and twitter, so if you were wondering what that meant, you're now up to date.

Tomorrow I go to a wedding for my Aunt.   I'm happy to see her moving into Matrimony (once again; this will be her third wedding).  My whole family should be there... should be fun!

I think that's all for today's entry.  Hope all's well.  Have a good weekend!

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 12th

I don't know how I'm going to top yesterday's blog entry, I was into it!

I hope you all didn't mind my tribute to September 11th on last night's podcast.   I felt I may have gone a tad over the line jumping on a soapbox with a couple points.  In particular I went off on a tangent about how I thought people used the "war on terrorism" as an excuse for intolerance of other cultures.  I may have overdone that angle, and I hope nobody felt too uncomfortable with that subject.  However, I stand by what I said -- I just wasn't sure if I should have been so adamant about it on a fun loving sports podcast.

I don't tolerate intolerance, if that makes any sense.  My father and mother's families both came here to America and built great lives and great fortunes.  They also were naturalized in due time.   If that ain't an American dream, what is? 

I'm actually pretty impressed at my pop's command of the English language.  He speaks English way better than a lot of guys who were born and bred in the States.  He's always a stickler for grammatical things and so on too.   I love my Dad.  You know fellas?  My Dad has such a great sense of humor, and he's not at all indecisive or necessarily loopy or anything either, but a great sense of humor, sharp wit and all that.  The loopiness I have comes from my Mom.  She sometimes forgets what she ate for breakfast, or gets the sugar free peanut butter instead of the regular one because she wasn't paying attention.  But her passion for her children and her generosity is *wonderful.*  I love my Mom.

I feel so privileged to be in such a good family.   I'm really glad to have supportive parents.  I can't even believe how nice they are -- they don't need to be, but they are, because they care.  That means a lot.

When I turned 30 I started to appreciate my family a great deal more than usual.   I'm not sure what clicked but I'm really glad they're there for me, and I hope I'm doing my part being there for them too.

You know, just 7 years ago, "Gilligan" was synonymous with a dopey red-shirt wearing joker on an island with his tubby Skipper bossing him around.  Today "Gilligan" is also the creator of the best TV show on cable today (well I thought so): Breaking Bad.

It's been quite a ride, and when they announced a spin-off of BB I was doing the dance.   It's interesting to see what they'll do taking a side character like Lawyer Saul Goodman and making a whole show from it.  Stay tuned.

Last night I was *pumped.*   I was dreaming of eating meat with charred edges all week, and when I got off the bus, after the joker decided to purposely go 10 miles an hour, I went to the local store and picked up a tri tip roast.  About 2.5 lbs of meat... so I put the whole thing on the gas grill after preheating it, cover the grill, go 15 minutes a side, and it looked amazing!

Now the meat was, for me, overdone, but I think we had about medium well "done-ness" with the meat, and those charred edges I desired.    I was into it.  The meat was a little overdone, but I was all right with that because I knew, hey, I know how to fix it.. .it's an easy adjustment.  One less minute on either side.   YES BABY.

It looked so amazing though... so professional even.   Tri tip is IT... and I think I only ate 1/3 of the roast last night.  I can chow down into the other parts of it tonight.

I also got some green grapes for only $1.28 a pound.  Between all this and the plums, my grocery shopping is on *fire!*

I think that's all the time I have for this entry.  Enjoy your Thursday, fellas!

Dave's LOCKS of the Week: September 11th

A few updates to our official LOCKS of the Week entries for 2013:

One -- our titling of the entry will no longer denote a specific week within a season i.e. "NCAA Week 2, NFL Week 1"   The titles were getting long and unruly.  They were also redundant... "LOCKS of the Week Week 2?"  Instead, we'll just post the date of the entry into the title, for easy reference.

Second -- and this is a tough one, but I can no longer do the "stone-cold-lead-pipe-locks" fast paced dopey segues like I used to.   I love formulating the snappy segues i.e. "watch for the Eagles to swoop down and lay the points against San Diego like bird eggs.  and from the City of Brotherly love we go to the County of Jackson -- KANSAS CITY!"  However, I will be more selective about including these segues: I'll only use them if they come immediately to mind.  I won't have time to brainstorm them.

Third -- we are re-instating NFL LOCKS of the Week.  After a fallout with bogus NFL predictions over five years, I discontinued the use of NFL LOCKS of the Week, but this year, I feel much better about it, especially since I had two picks which struck gold (Denver and Dallas).  So the NFL (blam) LOCKS (snap) of the Week (ping!)  are back in action.

As always, the most important part of these entries are the virtual wagers themselves, so let's do it.

Second edition today, we snuck in one under a "Thoughts of the Day" entry last week.  Here we are, officially for

Dave's (conk)
LOCKS (bink)
of the Week (zing!)

We start in College...   Game Number One, to quote my good friend John in CT: it's Tulsa in Ooooooooooooooooooooklahoma where the cream puffs travel on the range, but not this one!  Tulsa's a darn good team, and criminally underrated getting 24 whopping points at Norman.  This speedy brigade will round up em up and cover RAWHIDE vs OU.  Tulsa +24 at Oklahoma.

Hi-ya up a ways from the panhandle and into the Pacific Northwest, where the Volunteers visit the Ducks of Oregon.  Good luck keeping pace with the Ducks, 'teers.  I like Oregon -27.5 at home.

Then we hit up the DAVE UPSET SPECIAL: Let's be honest here, this isn't an upset, this is a misappropriated line.   I was a little surprised when I saw Wisconsin getting 5.5 at Arizona State.  Nothing against the Sun Devils, but a spread team like Wisconsin matches up well with ASU.  Wisconsin definitely find any position fair game to run the ball and from QB James White and on, you have players that can move and groove.  The Wisky defense will be challenged by the Sun Devils but don't underestimate a high scoring team like Wisconsin.  Wisconsin +5.5 on the road.

Onward to the NFL picks...

First of all, I'm going with the Jets +12 at New England.  The Pats are gimpy, lacking consistent WR's and probably still rusty.   I think the Patriots will be a better offensive team down the road, but they might have trouble with the Jets' good pass coverage even without Darelle Revis.  If the Jets get a good pass rush, and at this point who's to say they will, NY might be good for the outright upset, but as of now I'll just select the Jetsies to cover at Gillette.  Jets +12 on the road.

Finally, we go to the home of the Jets at MetLife Stadium in NJ, where their co-habitants, the Football Giants host the Denver Broncos, riding high after a galloping win against the Ravens last Thursday.   It would seem obvious to take the Broncs in a rout but no no!  I like the G-MEN.   This is the ultimate "trap bet" for anyone laying points.  I'll go the other way and count on the Giants to work their way back with a good offense that I think can take advantage of the Broncos iffy secondary.  Giants +5.5 at home.

So to recap, Tulsa +24 at OU, Oregon -27.5 at home, Wisconsin +5.5 at ASU, Jets +12 at NE, and Giants +5.5 at home.   Bring on the games!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 11th

It's been twelve years, but it's tough not to stop and think for a moment when you see "9/11" on your calendar.   We all lived though it, and it was just a tough tough day.   It's the only time I ever really saw the world stop.  It was not good at all, was the September 11th Terrorist Attack.

To me, I'm glad to know that so far, we've managed to rebuild ourselves after such tragedy.  I just hope that it doesn't give some people an excuse to blindly hate other races or other peoples in the name of "defending a country."   That doesn't seem fair.   Terrorists are their own breed.  One can't extrapolate an entire religion or ethnicity to terrorism.   Were all Germans Nazis?  Were all Russians spies who wanted to send nukes to America?  Absolutely not!

For the moment, this country belongs to all of us.  I hope I never forget that.  Thanks to all the wonderful dispatchers, firefighters, policemen, and generally great human beings who all made a difference in those times of darkness.  This includes the brave passengers who revolted against terrorism on United Flight 93.  Gosh, what incredible souls they were.    Thanks to all.  Thanks to everyone who defended and continues to defend this country, making it a safe place for us to live.  Thank you.

Speaking of flights, I remember my United Flight to Newark last year when I went to the East Coast.  It was United Flight 66!  I loved the number... I didn't know of Yasiel Puig at the time, but I knew it was the dial position for Sports Radio *66* WFAN.  I loved the idea of flying a plane numbered "66."

But, at the end of the day, the flight would have been loads better had I boarded a regular flight to JFK instead.  Flights from LAX to JFK are practical luxury cruises.  You get the best of the best technology, power ports, wide cabins, pretty sweet video facilities to watch movies, and a pretty good flight.  All for the same price as a flight to Newark.  Who knew?  I know now, though, heh heh.


The refrigerator at my new apartment is fan-tastic.   The best freezers are the ones that can keep ice cream so cold that the substance is practically clay... hard and tough to scoop out.  Ice cream that cold yields an *amazing* texture, like you would not believe!   I've only seen it before at the grocery store or liquor stores when I get ice cream.   Usually the freezer at my old apartment would freeze the ice cream but it'd just be a little too soft.   I tried to turn up the freezing intensity on the freezer dial, but it wasn't much improvement.

Anyway, the fridge here does an amazing job.  Cold is very cold here.  I had some ice cream last night, and yeah, my hand strained a little scooping the ice cream out with a spoon, but it was worth it.

What use would a GPS device be on a speedboat?  It's going to get wet!


We've got a wedding in our extended family this weekend.  My aunt is going to marry her fiance.  This is good news.  Less good is the news that this is her third marriage in roughly 25 years.   But!  I give the marriage my full endorsement!  I'm privately hoping there's brisket at the reception, Jewish style with the carrots and the potatoes.

I heard Phil Steele on with Colin Cowherd yesterday (ESPN Radio) and Steele had *major* confidence in Alabama to steamroll Texas A&M.  I wasn't totally sure of what to do with 'Bama a 7.5 point favorite, but Steele convinced me to go Bama.  I was leaning that way anyway... I think A&M had a bit of a mirage blowing out two cupcakes, and adding to that, Johnny Manziel relies too much on his legs.   Alabama's athletic enough to neutralize it.  Onward.

Do I know "Keith Larson, BobsBlitz, and New York Post" on Twitter.  Are you kidding me?  I've not heard of any of those jokers.   I wouldn't know who Keith Larson was if he poked me in the back.   Bob's Blitz is that one website who plugs Funtime, no?   New York Post is that wacky newspaper, this I know, but it's not like I was going to go "Hey New York Post, want to come over to my house to watch football?"   He's not a best friend... he's not a "he".  It's a newspaper.  I don't *know* the NY Post, but I know of it, and am familiar with it... I think.

I mean come on you guys... Keith Larson?

Roughly four years ago, the internet thought George W Bush was the worst.  Now, the internet thinks Obama is the worst.  Well, I gotta give the snarky know it alls of the internet one thing, we're consistent!

In his day, people blamed Bush for *everything.*  It really got out of hand.  Back in the day, I'd come up with random minor annoyances and then yell at the end "It's Bush's fault!!"  Like say, a guy got in front of me before I got to the checkout stand and then pile on 30 items and I'd go "It's Bush's Fault!"  Or I got a parking ticket -- Bush's fault!

That was a lot of fun!  And sometimes, it really *was* Bush's fault.   Democrats gave Bush a lot of grief, so Republicans doing the same thing to Obama is fair game.

Really, the only way out of this is if we come up with a third party, I don't know, call it the "cookie" party, and the platform can be "milk and chocolate cake."  Who going to vote against milk and chocolate cake?  but at least this way, we can all be on the same page.

Fine fine!!  For the Vegan community, we'll make it "Milk, Chocolate Cake, and Soy Milk too."  Now I think we have a winner.

Ever get the urge to make a run for it and find a local 24 hour deli to order a roast beef sandwich?

Put every dollar on the Giants if they get points at home.  I got a funny feeling they'll cover despite my general non-confidence in the Giants.  It's more that I think the Broncos will give *too many* points by the sportsbook of record.  You can bet so many people will overreact to both the Broncos dominating win and Giants' unimpressive loss.

Does there even exist an "impressive loss?"   Generally no, but I've seen exceptions.  In fact, the Bengals lost to the Bears by 3 points last week, and I thought they played a terrific game.  It was just a few dumb mistakes that cost them.  Otherwise, they had it going on defensively and offensively.

Hope you all enjoyed today's blog.  We'll do it again tomorrow.  Enjoy your Wednesday!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 10th

First of all, thank you for bearing with me during my mini absence on the blog.  Just been so busy, up late, etc., so I didn't get to write up anything.

Now!   I was going to do my usual thoughts but I've had this Texans/Chargers game on for the last three hours and I can't turn it off!  Could you believe how the Chargers went up 21 points only to give up *all of it* in the second half.

Even with a new coach and some new personnel in the front office, the Chargers are up to all their shenanigans again!  It is IN-SANE.

Last night, I sliced a pineapple for the first time.  Took me a while to figure out what knife to use and where to cut.  I got it!   That was terrific.  I ate a lot of pineapple but still only finished half of it.  The other half waits for me in the fridge.

If Team USA soccer needs motivation for the World Cup, consider this.  I was born into  half of a Mexican family, meaning my Dad's side.  They and almost everyone who has a heritage in Mexico have seen their team make the World Cup time after time... nearly their entire lives.   With a win, Team USA has a chance to end multiple decades of Mexican History in the World Cup.  They can knock them out of the tournament *entirely.*   That's gotta be on the minds of Team USA.

Los Mexicanos Amigos de la Tierra were in the show.  Every four years.  To be shut out of such a tournament completely would be devastating to a soccer program already in disarray.  Mexico already fired their longtime coach over the weekend.  They've been very mediocre in their qualifying play.  Even games at their home field haven't fared so well.  Times are not great... so for Team USA, if there was ever a time to get their longtime soccer rival by the throat, tonight is it.
For whatever it's worth, soccer isn't my passion really... my passions are Lakers Basketball, Baseball, and Football with a little Kings Hockey in between.

Speaking..... oh ho ho ho, SPEAKING of football... this MESS they call "USC Football" has really come to a head.  Lane Kiffin, with three years to find a new qb, did NOTHING.  Now SC is the single worst program in the Pac 12.  Name me a worse one!  Utah?  Nope, they showed some heart to start the year.  Colorado?  Maybe, but they're building up what I think could be a good o-line and d-line.   Washington State BEAT USC, so how about them apples?   Washington clobbered Boise State.

THERE IS NO WORSE PROGRAM IN THE WHOLE CONFERENCE THAN USC!!!!   What a *disgrace!*   The SC defense is still playing really well, however.

I just wanted to say goodbye to a local television icon: Cal Worthington.  He and his jokers who he called "his dog Spot", who looked nothing like a dog, dominated every commercial break on LA TV stations for years.  When I was growing up, you'd see that joker, Adee-Do!, Jack Stephan, Larry H. Parker, and all the common jokers of the LA business scene.     Anyway, Cal was a character.  He died on Sunday, while he was watching football.  If you're gonna die, what a way to go!   Farewell, Cal.


and this is just ONE of his 9 gabillion commercials he did over 42 years, yes, he was still rolling out commercials even over the last year.  I think they said maybe his son was doing most of the commercials towards the end, but this guy was always a hoot!  The best thing here is he never ran out of ideas.  Two free dinners at some pit stop named "Victoria Station?"   Any comedic spoof of a car dealership owes its gratitude to Cal Worthington for his marketing ideas.

..in another commercial he said "I've been your dealer for [x] years, I ain't going no place!"  and I'll be gosh darned if he never did.

The last few months, I remember driving past the Cal Worthington dealership along the 405 freeway.  Just like the commercial said, it was off the Bellflower Blvd. exit in Long Beach... but ol 'cow kept on going to Orange County.

If you're dying for a blog, go read 'cow
If you're looking for a laugh, go read 'cow
For the words that blow your mind
Pop on here and spend the time
There's no better blog you'd find, go read 'cow.

I'm dying for some goodies today but big news... I LANDED that cookie from NY Bagel on Saturday.  My only disappointment was that I also tried the breakfast sandwich and was less impressed by it.   The ingredients were great individually but I didn't like how they microwaved the whole thing to get it hot.  It seemed like they precooked the eggs and bacon.   Ah well, I'll go with the standard issue bagel with lox spread next time.  I've had great success with that!

Coach seemed like he might have been hosed by DIRECTV.  He got wind of my DIRECTV negotiating skills and asked if I could intervene with Directv to get the NFL Sunday Ticket offer he was supposed to get back in June.  I'll get to the bottom of this...

That's all from here!  Have a good Tuesday...




Jobs


This was one of those days where I came out of it and said "Damn, I love my job!"  In a world where 80% of everybody hates their job I went and I said I love my job.   and I love my job.  There are days where I can't stand it, but there are days I *love* my job.  It happens no matter where you work.  but yea, I love my job.  Done -- said it.

The above paragraph is dedicated to Mike Francesa.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

The Previews: AFC South and AFC West

My apologies!

We went too long before posting the AFC South and AFC West previews, so here are my predictions for both as we begin the season:

AFC South

1. Texans
2. Colts
3. Titans
4. Jaguars

AFC West

1. Broncos
2. Chiefs
3. Chargers
4. Raiders

Let's kick this season off!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 5th

Here's to the NFL Season!  Here's to good fortune for your team whoever it may be.

Is it even worth it to take a shower before bed on a hot night?  You'll just end up sweaty anyway and have to shower again in the morning.

Man!  So many angry women on cell phones lately.  People yelling at their telephones, angry, in some cases, attractive.   Why all the venom?   I bet you one of those ladies was trying to order something on Amazon -- didn't get the order right so she's on with customer service.  "Those socks are supposed to be 59 CENTS!!!!"  [slams something]

The Junk Man and I had a great time drafting in Tom in NJ's league last night.  I gotta be honest -- everyone did a pretty good job drafting in that league.  Nobody was really that bad.   Good season should be ahead, the league looks very competitive.

A word for the wise:  Life does not operate like a Coors Light commercial.  If you bring a bottle of Coors Light to your home you're not going to get babes to come over and an avalanche.   All I could do is get the mountains on the bottle to turn blue.......... & my nethers too.

Readership of the blog has increased a good deal lately, but this is both good and alarming.  Let me explain!  The reader demographics are now such that I gotta be more careful about what I write.  One time I got a longish message from a fellow reader about one of the blog entries I did about a vacation trip.  Man... it was so detailed I realized how incriminating these entries can *be.*   Personally I looked back at the referenced entries and I didn't see anything that bad, but it was a warning sign that people ARE reading the material so I gotta stay sharp.

There's a Starbucks at Westwood and Lindbrook that had this big sign "REMODELING" or something.  Are you kidding me?  How do you remodel a coffee shop?   It's not like the coffee is getting a makeover or the counter is or any of that.   It's a tiny location anyway, so I couldn't even tell you what there is to upgrade.  I think I counted one table.   It was so bogus the remodeling was done in a day.  The next day they put up another sign that said "REMODELED!  NOW OPEN" or something.  Gee whiz... well as long as the coffee holds up we're good to go.

You follow someone on twitter and suddenly they bump you off and you can't see their tweets... is that possible?  I've seen it the other way where a twitter follower stops following *you* (understandable, I can lean towards the obnoxious).  Haven't seen it attempted the other way.   Ah well, we'll see what happens.

I got some ham and cheese at the store last night.  In fact, I got a whole lot of ham and cheese.  I made a big sandwich last night, and another smaller sandwich for lunch today.  There's still a good amount of meat and cheese left for sandwiches through the weekend.  Do the sorta dance.. I'm gonna get sick of ham and cheese after a while, but it's good quality materials!

Someone asked Howard Stern this week what his favorite cookie is.  He found the question amusing.  See..?   I'm not the only one asking these things!  I forgot what his answer was. 

Feels like an orange juice kind of day.  More to come tomorrow.  Have a great Thursday and Welcome Back Pro Football.  Welcome back, welcome back, welcome baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack....

I'll be honest, it's a pretty stupid song, in fact VERY stupid song, but I'm a sucker for the "Welcome back welcome back" part.  Did you guys know John Sebastian, who wrote the "Kotter" theme song, also wrote the theme song for the Care Bears cartoon?  If you *think* about it, that's not very surprising.   Carry on, carry on.

Til Friday!   Take care, you all.

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 4th

I'm short on time today so I'll knock these thoughts out in a few minutes.

First of all, Dave's (bang!)  LOCK (clang) of the Week... all week I've pegged the Broncos to win their Thursday night opener by ten points, and at Broncos -7.5 at home, it'll be a toughy but that's a touchdown and a field goal.  It's extremely hard to trust NFL point spreads, but I'll still take Denver and give the -7.5.

Check out this sleeper pick:  I like San Jose State at Stanford getting +26.5.   David Fales is said to be a REALLY good quarterback.  He's been hyped to be picked as high as maybe top 5 overall in the NFL Draft.  Stanford is a physical team no doubt, and a pretty good defensive team, but with the early season jitters in effect and Stanford's first game at all this season, I think San Jo State will at least hang for a quarter or two.  26.5 seems like too much.  Usually when Stanford wins, they lock down their opponent or pound them into submission, but I don't know if Stanford is going to be ready to defend an NFL caliber QB like Fales... but to be fair I have yet to actually see him play.

Taking this a step further, if this game is on Pac 12 network, I'm going to force myself to a sports bar to go see it.  I want to see this Fales kid *play!*  but yes, SJSU +26.5

I also have Washington State at SC +15.   Never trust the Trojans in the Kiffin era, period.   It feels like almost every time you see a point spread go up, SC gives about 5-10 points too many.  I saw how gutty WSU was at Auburn, a tough play to play anyway, and I could see a similar dogfight here at the Coliseum.   Cougs. +15

We'll keep it with three picks this week.   I would see Florida and Georgia winning their respective games and both have only about a 3 point spread.

Now then!  AGT last night... boy that show surprised me!  Pleasantly so.   I thought it was going to be awful.  but, instead, it was even better than the show a week ago!  How would you even select six of those twelve to advance?   I wouldn't know.   To me the results show is about four acts:

Chicago Boyz and Kenichi:  these two blew the roof off!  They HAVE TO advance.

Marty Brown and Military Wives Choir:  underwhelming.  They HAVE TO get eliminated.

Anyone else could be beat out by any other act, so I wouldn't be that upset with any outcome beyond the above four.  Here's to a good results show tonight!

I swam, as it turns out three days in a row this week.  Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.  Felt pretty good out there for the most part, although Tuesday was rough with the water temperature way too high.  Folks, it's not a hot tub, we gotta get that temperature down to like mid to upper 70s.

Ah, the sound of faculty and students!  Coming onto campus like a cavalry, ready to bug me.   Man the fortress!   We'll be back at it tomorrow.  Have a great Wednesday.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: September 3rd

Wow!  Welcome to September my friends!  Glad to be here...

It just got hot again... my goodness, welcome to summer... in September.

We get those here in SoCal... summer weather in September and October.   I remember one time, during a Monday Night football game at my old apartment, my buddies and I got together to watch the game and it was just sweltering at 8pm that night, as the game was ending.  All of us were sweaty and all that.  It was a mess.  Most people have crisp autumn evenings and falling leaves.  In LA, we get southern bayou weather.   Imagine that??

Until last week, weather this summer had been unbelievably great!   It didn't get that hot at all, so I don't have any real reason to complain, but I bet I still will.  

Friday night, my family and I (those aged over 18) went to see America's Got Talent hopeful Taylor Williamson in concert with Tone the Chiefrocca and other acts opening for him.  We were in line to see the show and both Taylor and the two guys from Tone the Chiefrocca walked right by all of us to get into the comedy club.  I've never interacted this closely with people from AGT ever.  We got to talk to both acts after the show.  That was really cool!

It's a little surprising how much of the talent from the show is relatively local.  Anyway, it was a good time.

The rest of the weekend was low key.  I *did* get in some monster swims on Sunday and Monday.  Boy were those good swims!   I felt like I killed it out there.   So proud of that effort.  In particular, I tried three 100 yard short course swims where I alternated fly and free per 25 yards.   I was turning and burnin'.  

Monday's swims were pretty serious too.  8 x 100 for a main set, and just when you thought they'd go easy on our slow lane, NO!  We got the same 8 x 100, and the 6 x 100 IM switching AND the 4 x 100 free again.   We just ran out of time for the 2 x 100 stroke, but I converted to 2 x 50.

By the way, our interval was 2:20, and I believe I got it in 15 seconds ahead of that early on for those 100's.  That means I'm getting in 100 meters SCM in about 2:05... that's a pretty significant speed increase from where I was about two years ago.  Do the dance!  I remember going about 2:10 on those back then.

You know, this whole month of August I've been driving around in my car and Jack FM kept playing this song by Cinderella called "Nobody's Fool" which goes "Nobody's Fool!  Nobody's Fooooooooooooool!"  Now I can't get it out of my head.  But *damn*, this song is pretty good!   I don't even like Hair Metal but for whatever reason that one gets me going.  I love the buildup and the slow burn to a big crescendo.  Hair Metal bands were mostly annoying but they had it made with the ballads.

I tried to get a cookie at Sweet Lady Jane bakery yesterday morning but I did not realize they were closed on Holidays.  Drat!  It would have been a great cookie.

You ever notice that if you're a guy and you post something on Facebook barely anyone responds to it?  But if a *girl* posts it, dozens of likes and numerous comments.   Go figure.

Ever try swimming after a couple drinks?  That was the Sunday swim!   Had a few alcoholic beverages, walked home (I was sober all right, just getting the heart burn), then tried swimming.  I mentioned a few paragraphs ago that the swim went great, but I felt a little tinge of gas or some other feeling in my intestinal area.

You know how annoying sports media can be?  Saturday morning, dozens of breaking news tweets and other announcements, EVERYWHERE declaring the Patriots cut Tim Tebow.  Would you all get on with it already?!  Tebow sucks!   Haven't we heard enough?

I tried to write down some joke ideas this weekend for a possible open mic night at the comedy clubs, but it didn't go so well.  I came up with like two jokes and I can't even say if they're that funny.   It depends on delivery.

Speaking of delivery, I tried the Domino's "new look" pizza on Thursday, and it was better, but still not very good.  Dominos has a long way to go.

I've been struggling to stay awake lately.  Even after a really long sleep from 10pm to 6am on Monday morning I did my swim and came back only to nap for two hours.  Huh??  Has it ever happened to you?   I seem ok now, but that was very strange.

That's all from here.  Enjoy your Tuesday!



Sunday, September 1, 2013

More Ideas

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Ideas

Kinda silly to call a place the "Improv" when all the jokers who do comedy there have "routines."

If Kate Upton ate a hot dog, she would double in size.  

Oddly enough I haven't heard much from her lately.  Has her star fallen?

Stars orbit in zero gravity -- how is "falling" possible?

* * *


I think that's it for attempted jokes today.   It's not as funny when I'm literally trying to "write a joke."   Even so I've come up with some goodies over the years, but anyway, this weekend has been good so far.

It's just so *hot.*   Now 81 degrees is not very hot but in Santa Monica, it's not something we're used to at ALL.  Whew!  Fans were in motion all day yesterday.   It helped a tad, but it wasn't until about 10pm when it cooled down to a reasonable level.

You ever notice that it's tough to get around when it's hot outside?  It saps so much energy out of ya, you just want to get somewhere cool.   Then you get tired and you start to fall asleep.  Today I'm going to take aim at a shaded or air conditioned location so indoors is the ticket.

Speaking of "tickets" I was thinking of going to see SC play Utah State before going to the Arizona game w/ my buddies.   I thought it'd be mad fun -- did you guys see Chuckie Keeton on Thursday?  He's the Utah State QB.  That guy can play!  I thought he was not as great a passer but I was probably overreacting to two bad throws.  Overall he's really fun to watch.  The Utah State game is on 9/21.  Should be interesting to watch.

Now I *hope* this game is not scheduled for 12:30 pm.  I'm planning a trip to San Diego the night before, and might spend the night there.   To be forced to drive from SD at 9am so that I can make an SC game at 12:30 would be unkind.   We'll see how the NCAA and TV networks play it.  A 7:30 PM start would make me do the dance.

I was at a restaurant the other day, Zankou Chicken to be exact, and I ordered the kebab.  It was fantastic, but that's only part of the story.  Inside the restaurant they have a TV up there with Food Network on.  So I was there eating watching the "Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives" program.  Great stuff!  But man, for Zankou, I don't know if it's a good idea to put on a TV channel giving customers ideas for other restaurants!

September is going to be a good time -- I can feel it!  That's all for now.  Have a great labor day weekend.  Ah... imagine a mini cookout tomorrow?  If you elect to go the cookout route, I salute you!  Farewell for now.

I'm not giving up on Georgia

Yes, they lost.

Yes it looks like they got banged up.

Yes, it's going to be tough against SCAR next week.

*NO* I am not giving up on the Georgia Bulldogs, until some other team gets to the BCS Title game that's going to be my pick.  Out!