Ho Ho Ho

That's not a Santa quote, that's me rationalizing my weekend.

Reaching an impasse with the movers. 

My plan for a half day off on Friday afternoon got quashed.  That led, in turn, to a wasted afternoon and to getting stuck at home on Friday night, on the couch with the cat, while the Friday afternoon project was left hovering over me until Sunday.  I really have a problem with having to wait to get things done. Early Saturday morning, I drove to pick up a golf club I had purchased on line.  I paid the bill, chatting away with the chap at the golf shop.  He thanked me, then pushed a club head, no shaft, just a head, across the counter.  Clearly, I had not read the ad very well.  He will let me know on Monday how much extra it will cost to put a shaft in.   A little later on Saturday, I had a piano moved.  Truth.  The movers seized the holiday opportunity to shake me down for an extra c-note over the quoted price. Merry-freakin'-holiday.   Saturday evening...on the couch, again,  with the cat, again.

The Saturday football action was right in harmony with my life.  Harmony...that sounds like it should be good.  Ho ho ho!  Joke's on you!  On us, actually.

We bet  the dogs, remember?  UTEP, the 11 1/2 point dog, dug themselves a hole, a big 31-3 hole, and couldn't climb out, losing by four TD's.   We lost the opener.  By the way,  when UTEP scores, their band plays a march tempo rendition of the Marty Robbins song "El Paso".  A little odd to hear, but fun.  Speaking of odd, what's up with BYU...something like 20 of their players are married and have kids of their own. How old are these guys?

Then came NIU. With their heralded head coach headed off to the hinterland, they hammered Fresno State in the Humanitarian bowl, exposing our theory that the head man's absence would prove fatal.  NIU is really good, plain and simple, fundamentally strong on both sides of the ball.  Their head coach for one game, assistant Tom Matukeiwicz, has now won more bowl games than the last 60 years of coaches at Northwestern.  NIU is the Huskies.  These are the dogs we should have taken, but did not.   That hard lesson left us at 0-2 on opening weekend.

Then came Troy.  They put a proper beatdown on Ohio, 48-21, making us look like the geniuses that we attempt to be.  By the time this one ended, I had settled in for a long winter's nap, my submission to Seasonal Affective Disorder.  We're 1-2, headed for a 32 game winning streak.

Ho ho ho.

We're Going Bowling!

Bowling season is upon us, the hap-happiest season of all.  To get it off on the right foot, here is a demented video that incorporates computer games, roller coasters and sadism.

Game 1 New Mexico Bowl, Albuquerque
UTEP +11 1/2  v. Brigham Young
Saturday 1:00 p.m. ESPN
Two Gun and I spent a lot of time discussing the potential for this game.  I'll skip the lengthy statistical  evaluation and tell you exactly how we made the choice.  Sagacious Pete pointed out that for the first 20 bowl games last year, the dogs ruled by a 2:1 margin.  We have cast our lot with the dog.
Game 2 Humanitarian Bowl, Boise State Stadium

Northern Illinois v. Fresno State +1
Saturday 4:30 p.m. ESPN
This is an interesting game. NIU has been pretty good to us this year, but they've lost their coach, Jerry Kill, who bolted as soon as Minnesota beckoned. Without their headman, the Huskies are going down.


Game 3  R+L Carriers Bowl  NOLA Superdome
Ohio University v. Troy -1 1/2

Saturday 8:00 p.m. ESPN
There are enough statistics available for this contest to keep you busy for an hour.  We made a choice, then spent the hour (which didn't really validate our choice) with the numbers, and we're sticking with Troy.  What was the critical benchmark in our choice?  We just like Troy, think they're generally overlooked and underrated.  Not rocket science, but we'll take Troy.

If the 35 bowls aren't enough for you:


Tubby Raymond Field.  This looks like a great place
to watch college football, yes?



* the Division I semi-finals are this weekend.  On Friday night it's Villanova v. Eastern Washington (7:00 p.m. ESPN2).  On Saturday it will be Georgia Southern v. Delaware (no TV).

*the D II final is Saturday, Delta State v. Minnesota Duluth (10:00 a.m. ESPN II).

*the D I-AA final is Saturday, too: Georgia Southern Eagles @ Delaware Blue Hens(11:00 a.m. ESPNU, at Tubby Raymond Field at Delaware Stadium, of course).
*the D III final (Stagg Bowl XXXVIII, at Salem, Virginia) is (finally) on Saturday : Mount Union v. Wisconsin Whitewater (2:30 ESPNU).

Reprising the 12 Days

There are 12 days to celebrate, and I'm late starting, so here's a start

Day 1: click here

Day 2: click here

More to come!