Before we get into the countdown playlist, I got some catching up to do on some FJFs. So here are my FJFs from 12/23 and 12/30:
Now on to what really matters. I started out with 150 songs I wanted to include on this top 50 playlist. 150 is way too much. 50 is a good amount for a playlist so I once again did the impossible and dwindled the original selection down to the top 50 songs released in 2016. Top albums is coming later.
Some of the big winners: The Chainsmokers not just because they had the song of the summer and ultimately song of the year with Closer, but because they have 3 other songs in this top 50. Hell of a year for them. Jake Owen with 3 songs in the top 26 and is a contender for album of the year. NEEDTOBREATHE put out a great album this year and has 2 songs in the top 50, letting everyone know who the fuck they are.
Well that's it. Enjoy NYE with this fire top 50 countdown.
Why do you think the Vikings twitter is so excited about this game? Because it's a 9th home game, that's why. You might be thinking (if you're even reading this) to yourself "What in the world are you talking about? The game is in London, the Vikings play in Minnesota." But lucky for you, I happen to be an absolute stud when it comes to maps and geography, I know how to use Google, I love history, and I consider myself to be decently woke at most times. And if there were ever a time to #StayWoke it would be right here. Because the Minnesota Vikings just schemed themselves into a 9th home game in 2017. And here's why:
Minnesota Vikings fans truly believe that they are Vikings. They aren't just fans, they're real Vikings. Where do Vikings come from, you may ask? Well, here's a history lesson for you. They come from Scandinavia, which is in Europe. Particularly Sweden, Norway and Denmark. London also happens to be in Europe. And due to the fact that Europe is fucking embarrassingly small to the tune of Europeans all using the same currency like losers, I thought the Vikings might be onto something here. And here is where I used my pretty solid research skills.
Flight Time from Cleveland, OH to Cleveland, OH: 0 hours and 0 minutes
Flight Time from Minneapolis, MN to Cleveland, OH: 1 hour and 43 minutes
Flight Time from Cleveland, OH to London, UK (for Cleveland fans' "Home" game): 8 hours
Flight Time from Oslo, Norway to London, UK (for Vikings' "Road" game): 1 hour and 56 minutes
Now it doesn't take a mathematician to realize that the Vikings will have a distinct advantage in this game in London. Imagine if it were in Cleveland? Vikings fans (aka real Vikings) would be severely outnumbered by Cleveland fans in their dawg masks and dawg pound signs screaming their heads off begging for a victory they haven't gotten in 2 seasons. In London however? Well judging by travel time and logistics, you might see even more of a lopsided advantage when it comes to the fan base representation...just with the teams flipped. Real Vikings will travel from Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm to see their team finally play across the pond on their side of the world, while Cleveland fans struggle with bank-breaking flight prices and turn away due to the 8 hour plane ride and time changes all in just one weekend. Even the Browns fans that do make it out to London will be so tired they won't be the same Browns fans that cheer their team to 0 wins every season anyway. These Scandinavian Vikings fans will be so savage at this game they might just murder all the Browns fans and make the home field advantage complete for the Minnesota Vikings. Don't be surprised to see the Minnesota Vikings feel right at home in Minneapolis despite being in London come fall 2017. #Skol indeed.
Alright I'm gonna be honest here. I've gotten tired of writing out all 25 teams. Some of those teams just STINK and I don't wanna talk about them. I'm just gonna roll through some of last week's rivalry games as we gear up for championship weekend. Which starts TONIGHT with some solid games.
So obviously Alabama was too much for Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Auburn had plenty of chances though but Bama's redzone defense was too stingy. Forced Auburn into 4 field goals. Unreasonable to expect all of those drives to be touchdowns, but if they did turn into TDs instead of FGs then it would have been a lot closer and a lot better of a game. Instead it was a 30-12 rout.
Michigan Ohio State was a great game, per usual. The number 2 and 3 teams in the country went into double OT before an absolutely absurd spot on fourth down led to the Buckeyes victory. I still don't think there's anyway that JT Barrett got across the line to gain. But oh well. Ohio State came away with the 30-27 win. Everyone seems to think the Buckeyes are in automatically now even though they don't even get to play for their conference title, while Michigan has to sit and pray for help.
Clemson murdered South Carolina in cold blood. Deshaun reminded everyone that he's really good. Mike Williams is a god damn freak. And everything else was pretty damn fun to watch too. Great send off at Death Valley for the seniors/leaving early juniors as well.
Washington throttled Washington State as well. Not a very exciting game.
Kentucky upset pathetic Louisville. That team has become laughable.
Florida State continues to be too good for Florida.
For Championship Weekend, here are my predictions:
Washington takes care of Colorado
Western Michigan takes care of Ohio
Clemson beats Virginia Tech
Bama crushes Florida
Oklahoma State upsets Oklahoma for the de facto Big 12 championship
Okay so I owe you two college football roundups and two Fire Jam Fridays (made the playlist last week just didn't blog it cuz I was at a wedding). So you'll get the Fire Jam Fridays today and I can't imagine I'll muster up a CFB roundup today so I'll just tell you that the top four are Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, and Clemson. Clemson lost to Pitt while I was there and it was stupid and I hated it but we're still gonna make the playoffs. Now let's get to the hot fire.
Dece week of college football last week. Just a reminder, we are now going off of the playoff committee's top 25 rather than the AP. Now let's roll.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (@ #13 LSU, W 10-0): What a pathetic football game. This team isn't anything special.
2. Clemson Tigers (vs. Syracuse, W 54-0): Love blowing out a team finally. Deshaun tweaked his shoulder a bit, but he got us a huge lead, was tossing absolute dimes in the first half and will be good to go for this weekend. The defense made some great plays too. Loved all of it. Except for having to watch Nick Scheussler play (despite being actually kinda impressive).
3. Michigan Wolverines (vs. Maryland, W 59-3): Another good team beating up on a bad team.
4. Texas A&M Aggies (@ Mississippi State, L 35-28): Screw A&M. Get lost.
5. Washington Huskies (@ California, W 66-27): Thought Cal might be able to keep up with Washington, but nope. I think Washington may actually be decent.
6. Ohio State Buckeyes (vs. #10 Nebraska, W 62-3): I know Nebraska wasn't that good, but holy shit. The bucks turned it up a bit this week.
7. Louisville Cardinals (@ Boston College, W 52-7): Cool Louisville, we did that too. Just no one got a boner from watching it. Because it was expected.
8. Wisconsin Badgers (@ Northwestern, W 21-7): Gotta love Wisconsin. Stingiest defense of all time I think. They have to lead the nation in all time wins when scoring fewer than 25 points.
9. Auburn Tigers (vs. Vanderbilt, W 23-16): Goodness Auburn, can't have you lose to Vandy almost. Clean it up.
10. Nebraska Cornhuskers (@ #6 Ohio State, L 62-3): I think what happened here was that Nebraska just isn't good. Also their QB died. Didn't help.
11. Florida Gators (@ Arkansas, L 31-10): Overrated Florida loses to another overrated SEC team. Now everyone thinks the latter of the two is even better. Leading to two shitty SEC teams overrated in the top 25. Great.
12. Penn State (vs. Iowa, W 41-14): Penn State on an absolute roll. Flying high after that W against Ohio State.
13. LSU Tigers (vs. #1 Alabama, L 10-0): I know it's Alabama's defense and the sun rises and sets on their cocks, but I don't think I've ever seen a worse performance by a division 1 quarterback. It boggles my mind how LSU hasn't been able to recruit a decent quarterback since like Matt Flynn. Unreal.
14. Oklahoma Sooners (@ Iowa State, W 34-24): Cool OU.
15. Colorado Buffaloes (vs. UCLA, W 20-10): Little Thursday night win for the top 15 Buffs. Nice.
16. Utah Utes: BYE
17. Baylor Bears (vs. TCU, L 62-22): Hahahahahhahahahaha now it's your turn to get raped, Baylor. How do you like it? God what a pathetic program.
18. Oklahoma State Cowboys (@ Kansas State, W 43-37): What a comeback from the boys. K State is no easy opponent and Oklahoma State rattled off 14 points in just a few minutes to defeat the Cats. Exciting game to watch.
19. Virginia Tech Hokies (@ Duke, W 24-21): Nice win I guess. Hokies still on track for the ACC title game.
20. West Virginia Mountaineers (vs. Kansas, W 48-21): Sick.
21. North Carolina Tar Heels (vs. Georgia Tech, W 48-20): The heels have taken care of business since that loss to Virginia Tech, but they need the Hokies to lose.
22. Florida State Seminoles (@ NC State, W 24-20): NC State has had a tough year blowing games that have been right in their fingertips.
23. Western Michigan Broncos (@ Ball State, W 52-20): Go Broncos.
24. Boise State Broncos (vs. San Jose State, W 45-31): Go Broncos.
25. Washington State Cougars (vs. Arizona, W 69-7): Such a bro amount of points for the Cougs.
USA Today: GREENVILLE, S.C. — The same month that Todd Kohlhepp acquired 95 secluded acres near Woodruff, S.C., in May 2014, an Amazon user named "me" with a wish list linked to "Todd Kohlhepp" began to leave chilling reviewsfor products the user said he had purchased.
The reviews have caught the attention ofSpartanburg County Sheriff’s Officeinvestigators, who are looking into Kohlhepp’s online interactions as part of their investigation into the man Spartanburg County SheriffChuck Wrighthas said is likely a serial killer linked to as many as seven deaths.
In one review about a padlock, the Amazon user wrote, “solid locks.. have 5 on a shipping container.. wont stop them.. but sure will slow them down til they are too old to care. (sic)”
On a review of a knife posted on Sept. 13, 2014, he said, “havnet (sic) stabbed anyone yet...... yet.... but I am keeping the dream alive and when I do, it will be with a quality tool like this...”
For a shovel with a folding handle, the user posted a review suggesting, “keep in car for when you have to hide the bodies and you left the full size shovel at home.... does not come with a midget, which would have been nice.”
First of all, welcome back to a blog not titled "Fire Jam Friday" or "College Football Roundup" it's been awhile. This guy is a grade A sicko who murdered at least 7 people. Dude needs to be locked up ASAP. But I wanna go over some of these product reviews this guy left on Amazon. First one he's talking about locking people up in shipping containers and how 5 of the locks are adequate to keep a human locked up in them. Oh no shit dude, you got five locks on the fucking door. Hey Amazon customer service, where were ya when the guy dropped this review? Next review the guy is reviewing a knife and saying how it will be a quality tool to stab someone with. Are you kidding me with this shit? Hey Amazon customer service, you should probably search common murderous terms such as "stab" or "shoot" or "kill." Might find some fucked up shit, maybe alert someone that there's a dude talking about stabbing people with one of your knives. Not a good look for your product. And the last review is just wild. Like just so specific I can't even wrap my head around it. I hate to say it too but I laughed out loud at the whole thing. Like yes it's messed up and he's using shovels to bury people and shit. But that's already been established. Take a step back and read that absurd comment. Good to "keep in car for when you have to hide the bodies and you left the full size shovel at home." What a convenience that must have been for this dude. Guy didn't even have to worry about remembering the big shovel cause he had the folding handle shovel in the car at all times. Thanks Amazon! Although, what kinda shitty murderer forgets a shovel when they're burying bodies? Next he goes "does not come with a midget, which would have been nice." I'm sorry but how the fuck do you not lose it at that comment? This freaking guy is out here murdering people left and right and getting away with it and he's pissed cause he can't get a free midget with his fucking folding handle shovel. Hysterical stuff. But so messed up. I hate this guy but I love his desire for a good midget and a shovel combo. Can never get too much of that. Good stuff.
Pretty crazy weekend of college football last week. And it set up nicely for the first playoff rankings of the season on Tuesday night. For this round up, the rankings will still reflect the week 9 AP poll. Let's get started.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide: BYE
2. Michigan Wolverines (@ Michigan State, W 32-23): Not that impressive of a win for Michigan, but they managed to finally beat the Spartans.
3. Clemson Tigers (@ #12 Florida State, W 37-34): One of the best games of the season so far. Sure there were a ton of penalties, but it didn't make the game not enjoyable to watch. Deshaun threw two picks but other than that looked pretty unstoppable. Dalvin Cook is the best running back in the country and it's not even close. I mean I hate Florida State but that guy is just straight up impressive. If I were an FSU fan I'd be pissed they didn't use him more. I thought Clemson shoulda used Gallman more as well. The star of the game though was Jordan Leggett. Just single handily murdering FSU on the last drive. I also thought the FSU QB was just gonna die on the field at one point too. Dude got messed up all night and I loved it. Bottom line is that it was another hard fought win for the Tigers and they now have three wins against currently ranked opponents, with two coming on the road. I'll take it, even if we still haven't played a clean game all year.
4. Washington Huskies (@ #17 Utah, W 31-24): Jake Browning sucks. But Washington's special teams and running back won the game for them. People acting like Browning is a Heisman candidate are just stupid though.
5. Louisville Cardinals (@ Virginia, W 32-25): Louisville sucks. That's all I got. Nothing special.
6. Ohio State Buckeyes (vs. Northwestern, W 24-20): Ohio State also sucks.
7. Nebraska Cornhuskers (@ #11 Wisconsin, L 23-17 OT): Well they almost had em. Madison is a tough place to win at though. First loss for Nebraska, they still have some hope.
8. Baylor Bears (@ Texas, L 35-34): I love how Baylor starts every season 6-0 or 7-0 and bitches about how no one gives them respect, even though their toughest out of conference opponent in the last like 10 seasons is Rice, and then they play a team who has competency and they lose. That's what you get for trying to cover up your players raping girls and dogs, Baylor. Suck it, douchebags.
9. Texas A&M Aggies (vs. New Mexico State, W 52-10): Way to bounce back from the loss to Bama, guys.
10. West Virginia Mountaineers (@ Oklahoma State, L 37-20): The Big 12 is a mess and I love it. Baylor and WVU were the only hopes for the Big 12 to get a team in the playoff. Now that hope is gone.
11. Wisconsin Badgers (vs. #7 Nebraska, W 23-17 OT): Wisconsin has some of the best wins in the country, it's unfortunate they have two losses against fellow top 10 teams because otherwise they'd very much be a playoff contender.
12. Florida State Seminoles (vs. #3 Clemson, L 37-34): FSU has Dalvin Cook. And that's it. But he almost got them a win. Almost.
13. Boise State Broncos (@ Wyoming, L 30-28): Aaaaand there goes the Broncos' season.
14. Florida Gators (@ Georgia, W 24-10): Florida might be okay I guess.
15. Auburn Tigers (@ Ole Miss, W 40-29): Ole Miss sucks, but Auburn keeps winning and that means Clemson has two top 10 wins now. Boom.
16. Oklahoma Sooners (vs. Kansas, W 56-3): Kansas is a joke of a program.
17. Utah Utes (vs. #4 Washington, L 31-24): Utah is pretty good, but just not good enough in this one. Tough loss.
18. Tennessee Volunteers (@ South Carolina, L 24-1): Wow, the all time low for an SEC squad. Losing to SCar. Tennessee fucking sucks.
19. LSU Tigers: BYE
20. Western Michigan Broncos: BYE
21. North Carolina Tar Heels: BYE
22. Navy Midshipmen (@ South Florida, L 52-45): Sucks Navy.
23. Colorado Buffaloes: BYE
24. Penn State (@ Purdue, W 62-24): So I guess Penn State is good now? Who knows. Purdue sucks.
25. Virginia Tech Hokies (@ Pittsburgh, W 39-36): Hell of a game from the VT QB.
Clemson didn't play last week, but there were still some pretty sick games. So let's get started.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (vs. #6 Texas A&M, W 33-14): 20 unanswered points won this one for Bama. They score an unreal amount of points on defense.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (@ Penn State, L 24-21): Absolutely unreal ending. Shades of Georgia Tech over FSU last year. Couldn't stop watching the highlights when I saw it. Love PSU knocking off the Bucks.
3. Michigan Wolverines (vs.Illinois, W 41-8): Sick game, 'Rines.
4. Clemson Tigers: BYE
5. Washington Huskies (vs. Oregon State, W 41-17): Tight dub, Husks.
6. Texas A&M Aggies (@ #1 Alabama, L 33-14): I thought they had Bama, but I also knew that they didn't.
7. Louisville Cardinals (vs. NC State, W 54-13): You're welcome for taking NC State seriously, Louisville.
8. Nebraska Cornhuskers (vs. Purdue, W 27-14): Good win, Corn.
9. Baylor Bears: BYE
10. Wisconsin Badgers (@ Iowa, W 17-9): Classic Iowa vs Wisconsin. Just some hard nose white boy defensive football.
11. Houston Cougars (@ SMU, L 38-16): Jesus, Houston. Clean it up a bit.
12. West Virginia Mountaineers (vs. TCU, W 34-10): Don't know ANYTHING about WVU.
13. Florida State Seminoles: BYE
14. Boise State Broncos (vs. BYU, W 28-27): The Broncos have been barely winning, but they keep winning sooo can't hate.
15. Florida Gators: BYE
16. Oklahoma Sooners (@ Texas Tech, W 66-59): I might stop my hate for Oklahoma just because they participated in such an AWESOME game. The Texas Tech QB threw the ball 88 (EIGHTY EIGHT!!!!) times for over 700 (SEVEN HUNDRED !!!) and the OU running back had five total TDs. Gotta love it. Unbelievable stuff.
17. Arkansas Razorbacks (@ #21 Auburn, L 56-3): Yeaaaaah the SEC blows.
18. Tennessee Volunteers: BYE
19. Utah Utes (@ UCLA, W 52-45): Look at the Utes tossin up points with ease!
20. Western Michigan (vs. Eastern Michigan, W 45-31): I imagine this has gotta be a sweet rivalry, no? Good win for the Broncos.
21. Auburn Tigers (vs. #17 Arkansas, W 56-3): Auburn better keep winning. Makes Clemson's win against them look a lot better.
22. North Carolina Tar Heels (@ Virginia, W 35-14): Good stuff, Heels. Trubisky still slingin it.
23. Ole Miss Rebels (@ #25 LSU, L 38-21): Fuck off Ole Miss. Just fuck right off. #swag
24. Navy Midshipmen (vs. Memphis, W 42-28): Navy now 5-1. New Year's Six still a possibility for these guys.
25. LSU Tigers (vs. #23 Ole Miss, W 38-21): The top 25 is way too crowded with mediocre SEC teams. Good to see Fournette return though.
Last weekend almost gave me a heart attack. Serious scare. Let's get into it.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (@ #9 Tennessee, W 49-10): Screw Alabama. They're pretty good though I guess.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (@ #8 Wisconsin, W 30-23 OT): Top 10 road win looks pretty good on the ole resume. Pretty good comeback win too in my book. Also, what an odd highlight package from Big Ten Network not showing the game winning touchdown in OT...
3. Clemson Tigers (vs. NC State, W 24-17 OT): Clemson really needs to start taking care of the football. No turnovers and this game is a blowout. Instead you got two fumbles in the red zone, and a pick six on the first play from scrimmage to start the second half. Just stupid plays. That being said, my spin zone on this game is that at least we can win these types of games. The types of games where you get lucky as fuck and win a game you don't deserve to win and in which you did everything to try to lose it.
4. Michigan Wolverines: BYE
5. Washington Huskies: BYE
6. Texas A&M Aggies: BYE
7. Louisville Cardinals (vs. Duke, W 24-14): The other top ten ACC team struggled at home as well. Duke just wasn't able to force OT.
8. Wisconsin Badgers (vs. #2 Ohio State, L 30-23 OT): I don't know what the hell the QB for the Badgers was doing on the last play. At least toss it up and hope for something. Getting sacked on 4th down in OT is embarrassing.
9. Tennessee Volunteers (vs. #1 Alabama, L 49-10): Woulda liked to see a little better effort at home against Bama. But whatever. Can't ask too much from Tennessee.
10. Nebraska Cornhuskers (@ Indiana, W 27-22): Not sold on the corn yet.
11. Baylor Bears (vs. Kansas, W 49-7): Baylor back to raping things. (Not just women and dogs as Baylor is known to do.)
12. Ole Miss Rebels (@ #22 Arkansas, L 34-30): Swag sucks.
13. Houston Cougars (vs. Tulsa, W 38-31): Houston back to a team no one really cares about. Greg Ward is still pretty sick though.
14. Florida State Seminoles (vs. Wake Forest, W 17-6): Pretty weak win. I'd rather win in OT against NC State than beat Wake Forest 17-6.
15. Boise State Broncos (vs. Colorado State, W 28-23): My dad's Rams almost got to the Broncos on the blue turf but the comeback came up short.
16. Miami Hurricanes (vs. North Carolina, L 20-13): Back to Back L's at home for Miami and they're falling apart suddenly. Soooo pretty much just another season down in South Beach.
17. Virginia Tech Hokies (@ Syracuse, L 31-17): Just when I praise VT for a good season, they get dominated by Syracuse...
18. Florida Gators (vs. Missouri, W 40-14): Didn't even know Florida could score 40.
19. Oklahoma Sooners (vs. Kansas State, W 38-17): Oklahoma sucks.
20. West Virginia Mountaineers (@ Texas Tech, W 48-17): Still undefeated.
21. Utah Utes (@ Oregon State, W 19-14): Seems like a sick game.
22. Arkansas Razorbacks (vs. #12 Ole Miss, W 34-30): Good stuff. Screw both of these teams. Don't care about em if they can't beat Bama.
23. Auburn Tigers: BYE
24. Western Michigan Broncos (@ Akron, W 41-0): Welcome to the greatness that is the Top 25, Western Michigan.
25. Navy Midshipmen (@ East Carolina, postponed)
Quick comment on this week's rankings following these games I just talked about. I usually don't care about the rankings until the playoff committee reveals their rankings, but this week was just absurd.
Here's a list of all the teams in the Top 25 who lost:
8 Wisconsin
9 Tennessee
12 Ole Miss
16 Miami
17 Virginia Tech
Here's a list of all the teams in the Top 25 who didn't play:
4 Michigan
5 Washington
6 Texas A&M
23 Auburn
25 Navy
Here's a list of all the teams in the Top 25 that won by 7 points or fewer:
2 Ohio State
3 Clemson
10 Nebraska
13 Houston
15 Boise State
21 Utah
22 Arkansas
Wisconsin was #8 and lost to #2. I can live with them only dropping to #10 but they're 4-2. That's not a top 10 team right now. Tennessee dropped how you'd expect them to after losing two games in a row, from #9 to #18. Ole Miss though is now 3-3 and even though they dropped 11 spots they're still ranked! Makes absolutely no sense that a 3-3 football team is ranked in the top 25. Miami and VT both dropped out though. SEC is not that good to keep a 3-3 team in and knock out two 4-2 ACC teams (not that either SHOULD be ranked, it just doesn't make sense).
So Washington, A&M, and Auburn all stayed where they were in the rankings. Navy got bumped up to #24 to allow LSU in the top 25 (another SEC school, sick). And then there's Michigan who jumped Clemson.
Ohio State beat #8 so they're good staying at #2 obviously. Clemson beats NC State in OT and gets jumped by Michigan who didn't even play. Nebraska moved up 2 spots, Houston moved up 2 spots, Boise State moved up 1 spot, Utah moved up 2 spots, and Arkansas moved up 5 spots. Clemson barely beat NC State, Nebraska barely beat Indiana, Houston barely beat Tulsa, Boise State barely beat Colorado State, Utah barely beat Oregon State, Arkansa barely beat 3-3 Ole Miss. You could very easily make the argument that of those losing teams in that sequence that NC State is the best team of all of them. And Clemson is the ONLY team who fell in the rankings after winning a game last weekend. Makes no sense at all. The AP basically said that Michigan made a bigger statement by not playing than Clemson did by playing and winning. Insanity!
Pretty good weekend of college football last weekend. A few absurd blowouts, a couple close ones between top 25 teams. Let's dive into it.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (@ #16 Arkansas, W 49-30): First test for Bama in a little while and they played well. But also, I can see Arkansas finishing like 7-5 this season, and then this game really doesn't mean shit.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (vs. Indiana, W 38-17): Okay, Bucks. Sick.
3. Clemson Tigers (@ Boston College, W 56-10): I know BC sucks but it was nice to watch the Tigers beat up on a team a little bit. A lot of guys were used, and a lot of guys performed and got experience. Glad I got to watch the blow out in person too, was a great Friday night with my dad in Boston, catching up with some friends.
4. Michigan Wolverines (vs. Rutgers, W 78-0): This is such a laugh out loud box score. Rutgers had like 39 total yards, and 2 first downs! Absurd.
5. Washington Huskies (@ Oregon, W 70-21): What an insane score. Oregon absolutely blows this year. Unbelievable.
6. Houston Cougars (@ Navy, L 46-40): Welp, there goes Houston's slim playoff chances. Undefeated no more.
7. Louisville Cardinals: BYE
8. Texas A&M Aggies (vs. #9 Tennessee, W 45-38 2OT): A&M really did not want to win this game. Did everything down the stretch to lose it. But they kept their cool in OT after blowing a big lead and came out on top. I can respect that I guess.
9. Tennessee Volunteers (@ #8 Texas A&M, L 45-38 2OT): Thank God Tennessee finally lost. I was getting sick of their shit.
10. Miami Hurricanes (vs. #23 Florida State, L 20-19): New coach, same Miami. New team, same Mark Richt. Getting an extra point blocked to lose a game after scoring a TD on an amazing 4th down play is as low as it gets. I believe Mark Richt is a great coach, but it's just hilarious how his teams never get it done. Not that Miami was supposed to do anything really special this season. But they had this game. A rivalry game against a perennial powerhouse, and they let it slip away. I hate FSU and was rooting for the Canes, but holy shit it was hilarious to watch.
11. Wisconsin Badgers: BYE
12. Nebraska Cornhuskers: BYE
13. Baylor Bears: BYE
14. Ole Miss Rebels: BYE
15. Stanford Cardinal (vs. Washington State, L 42-16): No clue how Stanford got destroyed at home by Wazzoo but they did, and that's now two blow out losses in a row. Tough.
16. Arkansas Razorbacks (vs. #1 Alabama, L 49-30): Really wanted Arkansas to win but they still blow.
17. North Carolina Tar Heels (vs. #25 Virginia Tech, L 34-3): Granted it was in a hurricane, but this was the first week that Mitch Trubisky didn't look really good. 13-33 for 58 yards and 2 picks is a hilarious stat line for a QB though, regardless of the weather.
18. Florida Gators (vs. LSU, postponed)
19. Boise State Broncos (@ New Mexico, W 49-21): Broncos still undefeated.
20. Oklahoma Sooners (vs. Texas, W 45-40): I hate Oklahoma. Woulda been nice for Texas to stop sucking and win, but that was a little too much to ask for.
21. Colorado Buffaloes (@ USC, L 21-17): Why the hell was Colorado ranked?
22. West Virginia Mountaineers: BYE
23. Florida State Seminoles (@ #10 Miami, W 20-19): Sick Miami, thanks for giving FSU another win.
24. Utah Utes (vs. Arizona, W 36-23): Nice job Utah.
25. Virginia Tech (@ #17 North Carolina, W 34-3): Had no clue Tech was this good, but good for them. Solidifying themselves in the top 25.
Today is October 13, 2016, and Tonight The Anaheim Ducks open their season against the Dallas Stars. The Ducks are my favorite team and to everyone who does not know and I'm sure is wondering, yes I became a fan because of the movies. I may be one of the biggest Ducks fans regardless of the fact that my devotion started with Charlie Conway and not Guy Herbert or Paul Kariya, I was 4 when the third movie came out and have stayed loyal for the last twenty years since, most of those years ending in sad fashion for the real life Ducks. Anaheim starts this season with a similar lineup that has blown 4 straight game 7s on home ice, 4 straight pacific titles, 0 Stanley Cups. I get losing a series in 7 games, I really do, The Cup is the hardest trophy to win in all of sports, what I do not get is losing 4 straight years on home ice, you are literally given every single advantage and pissing it away time after time. What is different this season, or not so different, is that The Ducks will have a new coach, well not really, Randy Carlyle was re hired this past summer. Carlyle led The Ducks to a Stanley Cup win in 2007 followed by several mediocre to awful campaigns between then and his firing in 2011 when he was replaced by Bruce Boudreau, Bruce failed to do anything in the playoffs in 4 plus seasons, was fired and replaced by the guy he replaced. I have hopes for The Ducks this year, i'm definitely leaving out the adjective high, my hopes are realistic and they exist but not the extent that they are high hopes, I can't be hurt again. The Ducks will be in the top 3 of the pacific division by season's end and one of my all time favorite Ducks will likely no longer be on the roster.
(Both Lindholm and Fowler playing together, need this, neeeeed, get it figured out Bob Murray)
New(ish) Coach:
The Ducks are going to be led by Randy Carlyle once again, it's almost like Bruce was a buffer (lol, Bruce Buffer) who got The Ducks better for Randy to have an easier time coaching them once it just became too obvious that Boudreau can not win in the playoffs ever, he is the pretty girl who you eye for awhile and once you get to the big dance (talking bout sex stuff) she is quite underwhelming and you miss that average gal who got the job done, good ole Rand got that job done 10 seasons ago. In my mind I immediately got excited when Carlyle was re hired, he won my favorite team a Stanley Cup when I was a freshman in high school, the first great memory I have of the Ducks and when I truly became an avid follower of hockey. I remember Teemu Selanne finally winning it all after 15 years in the league and the tears that I myself would have cleaned up for him had he asked me to. 2008 was a disappointing early exit for Anaheim the year after winning the cup, 2009 was a surprisingly good playoff run for an 8th seed Anaheim Squad who beat the top seeded San Jose Sharks before losing in seven games in the second round to eventual Western Conference Champions, The Detroit Red Wings. 2010 was a season of mediocrity and the Ducks finished the season in 18th and got the 12th overall pick which ended up to be Cam Fowler who was rated a top 5 player and dropped unexpectedly. 2011 had The Ducks back in the playoffs as a 4th seed and they fell in the first round to 5th seeded Nashville. By November of 2011 the Ducks were in the bottom 6 of the league and Carlyle was let go, the players just stopped responding to his style of coaching. Looking at Carlyle's previous stint with Anaheim, yeah they had a bit of success and it's exciting that he's back, then again they literally hired a guy who the players just stopped listening to. I'm sure Carlyle talked to his top guys, told them things are going to be different this time around, kind of like a shitty boy friend telling his ex that he's changed but probably hasn't. I hope Carlyle is a good boy friend and treats his ex that he's back with with respect and they end up being great together.
(Randy was the best defenseman in the league once, people forget.)
Roster Stuff:
The Ducks ended up losing or not offering contracts to guys like Forwards Jamie McGinn, Chris Stewart, and David Perron. Younger players like Nick Ritchie, Nick Kerdiles, Joey Cramarossa and Nick Sorensen and cheap bottom four options like Jared Boll, Mason Raymond, Chris Wagner, and Antoine Vermette will more than fill any holes former offensive guys may have left.
The Defense is pretty much in tact but like forward Rickard Rakell, top dman Hampus Lindholm remains Not Active due to lack of a contract to start this season. New comer Jacob Larsson who plays a similar two way style to Lindholm was brought in to fill the gap left by his fellow country man. Another factor that is linked to Raks and Lindholm not having contracts is the fact that Cam Fowler's $4 mil/year contract is taking up cap space and he will most likely traded. Cam came on the scene in 2010 when he was filmed at the draft and visibly nervous after each pick when he was not chosen until number 12 when he was finally picked up and seen as Scott Niedermayer's replacement. Cam impressed immediately in 2010-2011 by scoring 40 points as a rookie defenseman, but his defense struggled for the next few seasons as he was considered a liability. Cam has gotten much better defensively and his plus minus has gone into plus territory rather than his formerly putrid minus stat. Cam will likely be dealt and that is not due to him being bad, but more so because Hampus Lindholm is a future number 1 in the NHL and it is too expensive to keep them both. As much as I will no doubt miss Fowler, he needs to be moved asap so we can get those Swedes on the ice, or hey Anaheim, make me happy and just trade someone else, plz thx.
The top two scorers this year will unsurprisingly be Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf more likely than not. The issue with the "Twins" who have been one of the best duos in the NHL for the better part of a decade, is how many points will they score? Corey Perry can most likely be penciled in for another 30 goal season but how many points overall? last season Getzlaf and Perry each put up 63 and 62 points respectively..... not bad totals especially in this era of the NHL, but a far cry from their point per game seasons and MVP caliber outputs, Perry won the award in 2011 after scoring 98 points including 50 goals, and Getzlaf is often a candidate for the award. The 2016 season started as horribly as any first half season can, The Ducks were last in the league before Christmas and the Twins were not scoring, it took several games for Perry to score his first of the season, so the scoring sped up in the second half but was still unacceptable. The other top offensive player Anaheim has is Ryan Kesler who was a finalist for the Selke as top defensive forward in the league and a consistently clutch performer. The issue with the Big 3 in Anaheim is that Corey and Getzy are each 31 years old and Kesler is 32, all of which are under contract until at least 2021. All three players are still good performance but their best years are likely behind them and it is more important than ever that young guys such as Nick Ritchie, Sorensen, and Kerdiles can pick up the slack. Also Getzlaf has the smoothest shot in the league and passes first, 31 is not too late to change that El Capitan, lets see more goals, ey?
Goaltending:
This off season Anaheim traded Goalie Freddy Andersen to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a first round pick who ended up being forward Sam Steel. Freddy is a number one goalie in the NHL, but at some point he had to be separated from John Gibson, another number one guy Anaheim has who is 4 years younger and a bit better than Andersen. The Ducks got Jonathan Bernier from Toronto in a separate signing to back up Gibson, Bernier was a failed experiment in a Maple Leaf sweater and after several years it was apparent that he's just not a number one type of guy, that being said I believe in him as a back up. The Ducks also acquired Dustin Tokarski who will be a starter in the AHL and a number 3 with NHL playoff experience. The Goaltending situation is solid from 1 to 3 and each guy will play their respective part in the organization.
(who needs a pic of him playing, just look at this pretty bastard)
Tie it all together:
Like I said in the first paragraph of this blog, I have hopes, those hopes are not high because I have been let down too many times by this team. The Ducks are a good team and they are a playoff team, that much is true, I think they can finish anywhere from first in their division to squeaking in with a wild card spot. With players like Simon Despres, Sami Vatanen, and Hampus Lindholm, they have the most promising young defense corps in the NHL, and with the offensive big 3 of the Ryans and Corey Perry, the forward lines are a proven and deep bunch. Goaltenders know their role and the cage will have stability for the next decade with John Gibson at the helm. Randy Carlyle won a Stanley Cup albeit with a roster laden with future hall of famers/ a couple of current hall of famers, so hopefully that magic is rekindled. I am worried about how the players take to Randy but hey maybe the Wild will fail this year in the playoffs in a game 7 (they will) and we can have the pretty girl, Bruce Boudreau back and make the finals every year and lose again. Trade Rakell and someone else and let's keep my baby boy Cam Fowler. If this season is a disaster though, I believe wholeheartedly that Nolan Patrick will wear the fuck out of a Ducks sweater.
Just getting around to last week in college football on Thursday (didn't finish writing it til Sunday of the next week). Classic me. Sick. Anyway, let's get started.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (vs. Kentucky, W 34-6): Sick Bama. Someone needs to expose this team.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (vs. Rutgers, W 58-0): Sweet game down in Columbus.
3. Louisville Cardinals (@ #5 Clemson, L 42-36): Louisville was lucky to be in this game really. And yet all I've heard since Saturday is how Louisville (favored by 2 points coming in) increased their playoff chances by how well they played against Clemson, despite losing, and that Bobby Petrino is such a great football coach. Gtfo. This team is overrated. If Clemson didn't turn the ball over 5 times with just mental errors as well as physical miscues by talented players, and if Clemson didn't score in under a minute almost every touchdown they had, then Lousiville doesn't run 85 plays or however many it was and they don't nearly double Clemson in time of possession. And they don't get nearly as many yards as they finally racked up. Lamar Jackson is fast as hell though.
4. Michigan Wolverines (vs. #8 Wisconsin, W 14-7): Tight game obviously, and both these teams' defenses are for real. Wasn't able to watch it though so I don't have much on this one. That dude on Michigan had probably the play of the year with that game-sealing interception. Incredible play.
5. Clemson Tigers (vs. #3 Louisville, W 42-36): Game of the year so far. Was unbelievable to be there for it. Love my Tigers coming out on top despite a horrible third quarter and half of the fourth quarter. But hey, that's why Deshaun is the QB to beat in college football. Because he didn't play his best, but when it came time to capitalize and to be clutch, he went out there and performed. People are making a big deal over Lamar Jackson having a ton of yards but he took so many more snaps than Deshaun and Deshaun went out there and was 10x more efficient with the football. Even with the 5 team turnovers, Clemson was more efficient with the ball than Louisville was. It's easy to be confident in your team when you know that at any point your team could have a 20 second scoring drive and be right back in the game. Louisville had a 90% chance to win the game when they went up by 8. Yeah I don't think that calculated for Deshaun being clutch as fuck. Also, I loved how the defense played. Can't blame them for giving up 500 yards of offense when they were on the field for almost 40 minutes. They played pretty damn good considering that fact. I mean Clemson on offense either turned it over, or scored a touchdown in 5 frigging seconds. It's pretty comforting knowing that we can beat the #3 team in the country without playing our best. Even though Louisville sucks. Also, the crowd was INCREDIBLE. I feel like I say this every big game we have, but that's the loudest I've ever heard it. Phenomenal crowd on Saturday.
7. Stanford Cardinal (@ #10 Washington, L 44-6): What a disaster for Stanford. Tough one to bounce back from.
8. Wisconsin Badgers (@ #4 Michigan, L 14-7): How bout some offense Wisco? Jeesh.
9. Texas A&M Aggies (@ South Carolina, W 24-13): SCar blows, probably shoulda blown em out by more.
10. Washington Huskies (vs. #7 Stanford, W 44-6): Pretty impressive win for the Huskies. Didn't think they were that good.
11. Tennessee Volunteers (@ #25 Georgia, W 34-31): Absolutely insane finish in this one. I don't understand how Tennessee is winning these games.
12. Florida State Seminoles (vs. North Carolina, L 37-35): FSU STINKS. Meanwhile Mitch Trubisky is really good.
13. Baylor Bears (@ Iowa State, W 45-42): So pissed Iowa State didn't pull this off. Baylor sucks though.
14. Miami Hurricanes (@ Georgia Tech, W 35-21): Cool win I guess.
15. Nebraska Cornhuskers (vs. Illinois, W 31-16): Nebraska back?
16. Ole Miss Rebels (vs. Memphis, W 48-28): Swag.
17. Michigan State Spartans (@ Indiana, L 24-21 OT): Michigan State STINKS.
18. Utah Utes (@ California, L 28-23): Lotta teams going down this week.
19. San Diego State (@ South Alabama, L 42-24): Why in the world was San Diego State ranked?
20. Arkansas (vs. Alcorn State, W 52-10): Nice warm up for Alabama.
21. TCU Horned Frogs (vs. Oklahoma, L 52-46): Screw Oklahoma. Still aren't good.
22. Texas Longhorns (@ Oklahoma State, L 49-31): Texas not back.
23. Florida Gators (@ Vanderbilt, W 13-6): Pretty cool victory for the Gators.
24. Boise State Broncos (vs. Utah State, W 21-10): Welcome back to the top 25 Boise State.
25. Georgia Bulldogs (vs. #11 Tennessee, L 34-31): Tough loss, but that pooch kick with 10 seconds left was the dumbest thing I've ever seen. Even if you kick it deep and out of bounds you're in a better position to not give up a hail mary than you were after that pooch kick and return. So stupid.
Well the 2016 postseason is upon us and while my Yanks fell short of the playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons, it should still be an exciting month of baseball.
AL Wild Card Game
Baltimore Orioles @ Toronto Blue Jays
I hate both of these teams, and I think both of them suck. Neither team has any pitching. They both hit a ton of home runs so they appear to the casual fan that they're both good. But they suck. And both teams know they suck. I hate the Blue Jays more than the Orioles, but I think Toronto pulls it out tonight. And that's not just because they took a 1-0 lead in the second inning as I'm writing this, but it's because Orioles starter Chris Tillman sucks at the Rogers Centre, and as much as I hate Marcus Stroman and think he's one of the most overrated pitchers in the game, he proved to be a decent gamer last postseason so I'll go with the Jays. Fuck these teams though.
NL Wild Card Game
San Francisco Giants @ New York Mets
Two more teams that I'm not a big fan of. But at least the pitching matchup is sweet. Madison Bumgarner is already one of the best postseason pitchers of all time, and Noah Syndergaard is a flame-throwing rising star and one of the best pitchers in the game. As good as MadBum has been in the playoffs, I like the Mets in this one. The Giants had a horrible second half and needed to pick things back up just to make the playoffs. That doesn't mean the Mets have been rock solid, but in my opinion they have been a more consistent baseball team this season, and especially behind Thor. It should be a great game, but I think Thor is lights out and Yo hits a big homer, per usual, to get the W for the Mets.
ALDS
Orioles/Blue Jays vs. Texas Rangers
Since I picked the Blue Jays, I'm going to write this as if they will indeed be the ones playing the AL's best Texas Rangers. I honestly don't think this will be a good series, except for the fact that it will be awesome to see a fraud team like Toronto coil up and die against a really good Rangers team. Toronto has no pitching. I mean I know Aaron Sanchez won the ERA title, but Aaron Sanchez the chef pops up on Google before this mother fucker does. I don't actually think he's that good. First season he's even qualified for an ERA title, he's not fit for the postseason. Meanwhile, Texas has two ACES in Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish. After those two shut down Toronto in the first two games, I don't see Texas blowing another 2-0 lead to Toronto. Plus, the Rangers have a pretty exceptional line up; one that can even compete with the losers from Canada that everyone thinks are totally sweet for some reason. They'll sweep. Rangers in 3.
ALDS
Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Indians
Obviously I'm going to be rooting for Cleveland here, but it's hard for me to realistically believe they have a chance. Last month, the Indians' three headed monster at the top of their pitching rotation shrunk to just one normal head, and while that one is a top Cy Young candidate, a previous Cy Young winner and the best of the three, Corey Kluber isn't even 100% and will not be able to pitch 3 games in this series. And against an offense like Boston's that is not a good thing for Cleveland. I hate the Red Sox but they legit have like 5 players that will probably finish in the top 15 in the MVP voting. It's stupid and I hate it but whataya gonna do. Rick Porcello isn't that good. David Price SUCKS. And I'm not just saying that because I hate the guy. I actually think he is a horrible excuse for major league pitcher. The guy SUCKS. And the rest of the Red Sox rotation is worse than those two, so I'm not saying Cleveland doesn't have a chance. But due to Boston's stupid line-up, I have to believe they take the series pretty handily. Red Sox in 4. I just puked.
NLDS
Giants/Mets vs. Chicago Cubs
Again, I'm assuming Mets will be in this game since I picked them in the Wild Card game. I'm hoping they do win so we get a 2015 NLCS rematch and the Cubs crush them. With deGrom, Harvey, and Matz all out for the Mets, New York won't have their dominant rotation to rely on to bone the Cubs. They'll just have the aforementioned Thor and no one else really. This series is basically going to be Thor and Yo vs. Bryant, Rizzo, Lester, Arrieta, Hendricks, Russell, etc, etc. The Cubs are really, really good. I don't see them losing in the NLDS. Cubs in 4.
NLDS
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Washington Nationals
I gotta be honest; I haven't watched a lot of Dodgers baseball, but quite frankly I don't know how the hell they're in the playoffs. A-Gon isn't that terrific, Corey Seager isn't even the best shortstop in the division, and they were without their regular season hero, postseason zero Clayton Kershaw for the majority of the season. The Dodgers suck, Kershaw STINKS in the playoffs, not a good recipe. Meanwhile, Bryce comes alive in the postseason and Scherzer, Roark is probably the most underrated top of the rotation duo in baseball. Missing Wilson Ramos, who outside of El Gary was probably the best hitting catcher in baseball this season, will hurt Washington but they have enough pieces to be successful without him in these playoffs. Daniel Murphy should be ready to go for the series after an MVP-like season. I also love Trea Turner. He's gonna be the rookie you wanna watch in this series. Not Corey Seager. Fuck that guy. Nats in 4.
ALCS
Red Sox vs. Rangers
Can't wait til Ortiz' career ends with a strike out on his home field to complete a Rangers sweep. I don't see Boston coming close to Texas. The Rangers line up can compete with the Red Sox, and get this! They actually have a pitching staff. Boston sucks and they'll be back in the basement next year where they belong. I love this Rangers team and while I know it's not very bold to pick the best team in the AL to advance to the World Series, but I truly believe they're a far better all around baseball team than Boston. They don't have a terrific rotation, but Hamels and Darvish are good enough for me. No one on Boston is as good as either of them. Plus, Carlos Beltran is the most clutch player on any roster in the playoffs. I'll take Texas. Rangers in 4.
NLCS
Nationals vs. Cubs
This will be my favorite series of the postseason if it happens. So many studs on one diamond for 7 games. And I do think it will go 7 games. On paper, you obviously go Cubs, but you still gotta go out and play the games. I think Bryce really comes alive in the playoffs, and takes over this series. The Cubs offense fell apart last year in the NLCS when the faced good pitching. And Washington has good pitching. They aren't exceptional outside of Scherzer, but Roark has been really good this season and Joe Ross is solid. It's no Lester, Arrieta, Hendricks but for some reason I just think the Cubs won't pull it off this season. It might just be my desire to have Bryce light up everyone in the playoffs. But anyway. Nats in 7.
World Series
Nationals vs. Rangers
There's not much else to say, and I just wanna get this blog over with because I started it Tuesday night and now it's Thursday night and 4 playoff games have already happened, so whatever. I'm gonna love this series if it happens. Bryce and Beltran probably hit a combine 10 homers in the series. Rangers edge the Nats. Rangers in 7.
