Song: Nutshell (1994) [Live at MTV Unplugged, 1996] Artist: Alice In Chains Album: Jar of Flies (EP) Never have I ever done heroin, but I've been on an AIC bender the last month or so and cannot get enough of this performance. Without the aid of intrusive data, I'd guess I've listened to "Nutshell" at least once in 25 of the last 30 days, and yes, it makes my eyes leak. I can't think of many songs that speak to how I currently feel about every facet of my life more than this. R.I.P. Layne.
0 Comments
Last night, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks 23-20 in OT. I didn't have action on the game, but I was rooting for the Seahawks for fantasy purposes + I loathe (but respect) the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Let's fast forward to the second to last play of regulation. Seahawks are down 20-17, on the Steelers 35, right on the cusp of field goal range with zero timeouts left. DK Metcalf caught a pass with 15 seconds left by the sideline and inexplicably fought for extra yards, ended up fumbling, and chaos ensued. — SportsGrid (@SportsGrid) October 18, 2021
Luckily for Seattle, Swain recovered the fumble, and DK's catch was reviewed for some reason. After it was confirmed, they spiked the ball, kicked the field goal, and forced overtime.
By now, you probably know that the Seahawks lost. They were able to survive the DK brain fart for a moment, but not Geno Smith turning back into a pumpkin; granted, TJ Watt made an outstanding play on the ball.
As a blogger, I am Ike and hyperbole is Tina, but my jaw dropped at the lack of awareness by DK on that play. You cannot afford to fight for extra yards in that spot. Whatever is Madden awareness rating is, chop it in half! He was about to go out of bounds naturally, then fought to stay in bounds just to fumble the second a defender made contact. It's one of the dumbest things I've ever seen on the gridiron. It makes the Colts swinging gate fail look brilliant. Had the Seahawks lost the game right there, this play is all anybody is talking about today.
I mean, people were still talking about it, like Hall of Fame Tight End Shannon Sharpe.
I'm not a big Shannon guy (way too much of a Patriot hater), but there's no denying his status as one of the greatest TEs ever to play the game. TBH I was shocked he didn't make the #NFL100 roster.
Maybe since DK was born in 1997, he doesn't have any sense of NFL history? That could explain this disrespect.
I can't tell if the emoji meant he was joking, but calling Shannon Sharpe a "lil boy" is simply untrue.
Rightfully so, Shannon talked his shit while also bringing God into the mix in a capital V passive-aggressive way.
This is where things get crazier than fighting for extra yards on the sideline when you're already in field goal range and out of timeouts.
Did you click on that Shannon thirst trap? Washed up "wanna be" ???? That man looks like he could go out and catch 5 for 75 and TD tomorrow. Oh, and he has three rings and a gold jacket.
After getting dragged online (presumably, it's 11, and I'm not wasting valuable time digging through tweets ), perhaps DK did a little Wikipedia research and realized he done fucked up now???
FTR, I like DK Metcalf. He's the frontman of my fake band fantasy team, "DK and the Diva Kupps," I wish I could go back in time and force the Patriots to take him over bum ass N'Keal Harry (maybe Brady's still here?), but this whole exchange was a #badlook. Do you know how bad you have to fuck up for me to side with Shannon Sharpe? I might've not been consciously alive, but I'll never forget/forgive this hilarious burn!
P.S.
Regarding the blog title. YeeeEsssshh.
The Patriots Need To Be More Aggressive, but I Have ZERO Issue With How They Ended the First Half10/18/2021
#mood after giving away yet ANOTHER winnable game.
It's mid-October, and moral victory season is officially over for the New England Patriots. Just like last year at this point, they're 2-4, but it's a much more frustrating 2-4 (even though the Broncos loss last year was one of the worst of my entire life) because all four losses have come at home and they really could've won any of those games. The Saints game was much closer than the score would indicate, and like the pick-6 last night...a Patriots pass-catcher had his hands on it first, but none of that changes the fact that the Pats are 0-4 at home for the first time since 1993 (the year BEFORE Mr. Kraft bought the franchise).
If you want to say the Patriots aren't ready to compete with the rest of the NFL, I'm going to respectfully disagree because that's the one thing I can definitively say this season. It doesn't matter if you're the lowly Dolphins or defending Super Bowl champs; the Pats will compete, make it a game, and likely lose in an infuriating way.
With a rookie QB, it's obvious that Josh McDaniels and Belichick have been handling Mac with kid gloves despite 10 already playing like an upper-half of the league QB.
Maybe Mac's inexperience and the shakiness of the current o-line situation are why the Patriots have been playing with the balls of Marshall Applewhite? Still, it's super disappointing to see, ESPECIALLY when Belichick was over a decade early to the 4th down frenzy that's sweeping the NFL.
I don't understand it like the late Big L. WHY ARE YOU PUNTING AT MIDFIELD?!??! It's not 2017 anymore!
I'll give McDaniels credit when it's warranted, he was great in the Tampa game, but he stunk on ice yesterday. The Brandon Bolden play was fucking dreadful. Even the buttoned-up Mike Reiss said it was "puzzling."
Earlier in the 1st half, Jakobi Meyers made a catch that looked like a first down that was spotted poorly.
Why challenge the spot when you can punt on 4th and inches? And by punt, I mean allow your SECOND blocked punt of the year after not having a single punt blocked since 2015.
This brings me to the entire reason I wrote this blog. I agree the play calling sucks, and the lack of aggressiveness is irritating to the point where I'm agreeing with Mina Kimes (who I have muted)
but I've seen many people online complaining about kneeling it out to end the first half. I don't understand the backlash.
Despite the recent influx of analytics, football is still the most emotional sport, and momentum matters. The latter half of that sentence may contradict what I'm about to say, but after a pretty significant break with the goal-line stand (where Dak MAY have scored on 3rd down), the Patriots were in a fantastic spot going into the half. After forcing a fumble on 4th & goal (great play by Bentley), the Patriots got the ball back on their 20-yard line with 1:30 left and no time outs. Even in real-time, I was with the decision.
The Pats looked like it was 2007 on their first two drives, scoring two touchdowns on seven plays. A holding call wiped out what would've been Jakobi Meyers' first career TD (my man cannot catch a break), that would've made it 20-10, then the very next play Mac fumble after the RT who doesn't even deserve his name on my publication got blown up like the Gillette men's room.
I already mentioned the blocked punt, but the Patriots offense went back to earth after the first quarter; despite being severely out-possessed and out-gained, they had a lead. I know you want to try to score whenever you can, but with no timeouts and the lead ( with a rookie QB) AND getting the ball to start the second half, I think you count your lucky stars that the defense made two red-zone stops. Go into half knowing you get the ball to start the 3rd quarter. The last thing you want to do is go three and out and give Dallas the ball back with a short field. They were driving the ball with ease. If they were able to get points after being stopped on 4th and goal, that's a huge momentum swing, and all the good things that happened for the Pats in the first half go out the window.
Again, I get being mad about the play-calling and lack of aggressiveness on 4th down, especially in OT when you're essentially doing exactly why you didn't punt against the Colts in 2009. It didn't matter where the Cowboys got the ball; they were going to score. Belichick needs to stop coaching scared (but taking it to half up 14-10 was smart situaitonal football).
P.S. Schwarbooooomb!!
Song: Kokomo, IN (2021) Artist: Japanese Breakfast Album: Jubilee I initially had "Time in Disguise" by Kings of Leon as today's SOD, it was all typed up and embeded but I felt like I've leaned a little heavily into KOL since I've featured two songs from When You See Yourself as SODs and don't want it to look like I'm playing favorites on a site as professional as DOL. Then I was like, alright, let's switch it up and go with an artist I never use or reference; naturally, Tame Impala came to mind (did you know it's actually just one guy??). Unfortunately, when I went to add their new song, "The Less I Know the Better," it was blocked for playback on DOL because of explicit content. I know nobody cares, but I'm currently dead-guy-beat after another wasted day trying to make a difference to future dropouts and didn't want to spend too much time debating a song since I want to finish writing before the Sox start and got a late start since I was visiting my grandma before she goes away for two weeks. Hashtag Great Grandson (not as in great-grandson, like I'm a GREAT grandson). Soooo I went into my recently added music on Apple and scrolled upon Japanese Breakfast and locked it in. I had never heard of her until this summer, but Jubilee was medium key in my summer ub** rotation, and "Kokomo, IN" was a pleasant, chill vibe for those hectic 12 hour days. It's just so peaceful and reflective and may or may not remind me of the Beach Boys despite sounding nothing like them. Aruba, Jamaica...
There was no official blog for TML last week because I was busy witnessing holy matrimony, but thanks to the Eagles/Panthers game ending and the Giants being the Giants it was yet another 6-2 week for the #TML.
Through five weeks, every TML has gone either 6-2 or 5-3, so technically we're 0-5, -5U, but THIS is the week we get into the win column! I genuinely believe that. Two of my best friends had major life milestones this week, so I'm hoping some of those good vibes rub off on Ole Dozo.
Admittedly, ya boi's been ice cold lately, but I hit a +266 parlay with Sox ML and O 8.5 yesterday for a whopping half unit win. Let's keep it rolling and eat a #TML W today! Late posting, so no details, just the teaser.
Best of luck and ALWAYS wager responsibly!
Past weeks: TML 2021: Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 TML 2020 Results: Week 2 and 3 Week 4; (Week 4 victory recap) Week 5; (booo Bengals) Week 6 Week 7; (Week 7 victory recap) Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13; (Victory recap) Week 14 Week 15; (victory recap) Week 16 Week 17 Song: My Name is Jonas (2021) Artist: Taking Back Sunday I'm not much of a Weezer guy; I wouldn't even call myself a fan, but I love Taking Back Sunday, or at least 2000s TBS, and need to show the interweb world that I'm aware that this cover exists. Personally, I need to take back #TML, which currently sits at 0-5 (-5U), but a win today, and suddenly, we're +5U on the year!
It's Friday afternoon, which means I'm already late for my post-work week snooze.
But when heartwarming news of hashtag good guy-ness breaks, you have to postpone. THIS is how you billionaire. I fucking love Mr. Kraft.
If you don't keep up to date with CAA Football, MY URI Rams have not exactly been a football powerhouse. Historically, they're more like a football tent-under-an-overpass, going a combined 12-45 during my five-year run as student/father of @URIprobs, and five of those wins came my freshman year. S/o Matt Hansen.
Due to its dismal run (no winning seasons between 2003-2017), there's been plenty of buzz around cutting the program to spend the football money on elevating hockey from the club level and building other programs (basketball).
However, the post-lockdown world has caused many unthinkable changes, and one of those is that URI Football is actually...good? They're currently 5-0 and #12 in the FCS rankings. Unfortunately, there was a snafu regarding URI's chartered flight down to Baltimore to play Towson, and it looked like the Rams were gonna have to take a bus like it's 1957. That was until Robert Kraft stepped in!
The best part is the players had no idea. I mean, when they started heading north to TF Green instead of 95-South, I'm sure some thought that maybe they ended up getting a flight after all, but there's a massive difference between Spirit and a PJ (Private Jet). There's gotta be some reaction videos out there somewhere; having a traffic-filled 8-hour bus ride trimmed down to an hour on a PJ has to be a relief beyond words (unless you had a streaming marathon planned).
Even if you hate the Patriots you gotta admit this is pretty cool. You gotta love seeing some good ole fashioned happy news on a Friday afternoon. The New England Patriots might play and have their headquarters in Massachusetts, but they represent all 5.5 states, and it's great to see them support little ole Rhody. Apparently, Andre Tippett and another guy who works for the Kraft Group have sons on the team, and that's how RKK found out. Still, regardless of minor connections to the squad, this is such an incredible act of generosity by Mr. Kraft and is far from his first. With the Patriots at home this weekend, the jet would sit at the airport collecting dust. Now a bunch of college kids will have an incredible story for the rest of their lives. What's a tank of jet fuel to Mr. Kraft? He's got Super Bowl cuff-links that cost more. This is how you hashtag good guy. All the good press tr*mps any costs. Now everybody is gonna be sucking Bobby off online for the next 24 hours (even tho he's more of an old fashion guy). It blows you can't (legally) bet on URI against Towson in Rhode Island because whatever they're favored by is free money after all the time and energy they'll save avoiding traffic. Go Rams! #FootballSchool. Song: Easy on Me (2021) Artist: Adele Album: 30
Between attending Pats-Bucs in person and going to a wedding on Sunday, I feel super out of the NFL loop. I've watched Inside the NFL and chatted with the broskis, but nothing can replicate spending 10+ hours absorbing as much of the NFL as I possibly can.
I only watched part of the Pats-Texans game (last I saw, they were down 22-15) and didn't even realize they came back and won until I was a few Jack and Diets deep at the wedding. (We were too busy missing the shuttle and getting ready to stream!!) I checked my score app, saw Patriots 25 Texans 22, and was amped that they fought back to sorta get back in the mix (1-4 would've been a death sentence, but 2-3 with two losses by a combined 3 points still gives me hope). I'm not stupid (when it comes to football). I know that pushing PATs back to the 15 from the 2-yard line and increased aggressiveness with two-point conversions both play a significant role in the increase of non-traditional football scores the last fiveish years. Still, when I saw that not only the Patriots won 25-22, but the Packers did as well, it blew my mind. Both are numbers you rarely see in NFL games. Upon further research, it turns out that this quirky score is pretty rare.
That caused me to go down a little rabbit hole. I'm a stat-head subscriber, that's how I got all those dismal Arizona Cardinal TE numbers a couple weeks ago, but the game score search feature is something anyone can use for free 99.
Pro Football Reference Master List of Every Score post AFL-NFL merger and tons of games from before that.
After seeing that a 25-22 final has occurred 11 times, I looked up what other scores have happened 11 times. Since the headings of the table are cut off, from left to right it's: final score, winning score, losing score, total points, point differential, the total number of occurrences for said score, a link to all games with that score, and the most recent event of that score.
Sixteen different scores have happened exactly 11 times before kickoff of Thursday Night Football (week 6). Some of them are pretty weird, like 36-20 and all those 33-whatever scores (it's crazy how often the Patriots played the most recent game in this section of rare scores). But seeing scores that have much more traditional football numbers like 38-34 and 16-9 happening the same amount of times as those, was for lack of a better term, mind-blowing.
Maybe it's just me, but I was fucking shocked to see how rare 38-34 was. I know that's very high scoring; I think that's what makes Bears vs. Jets being its most recent occurrence so surprising. Maybe it's just because I can remember two high-profile Patriot-Colts game that ended 38-34, but if you had asked me before I saw this chart I would've guessed there were at least 50 occurrences. Of course, I had to dig a little deeper, and I think these will surprise you or at least are kind of interesting:
I hope you enjoyed my weird brain research! What's your favorite score in NFL history? I know mine :)
P.S.
59-0 is up there too. Somewhat surprisingly that score's occurred four times in NFL history.
The American League Championship Series starts tomorrow and you may not know by now, but I renounced my Red Sox fandom after they gave away Mookie Betts in the prime of his career to save money, despite being worth billions of dollars.
I had some things to say on the matter: -The CEO of a Dodgers Fan Group (I Guess That's a Thing) Put Up a Billboard Outside of Fenway for Thanking the Red Sox For Trading Mookie Betts -As if the Red Sox Weren't a Big Enough Joke Already, Lebron James Now Owns (Governs) Part of Them! -I Want to Believe But I Don't Know If I Can -Well, This (Potentially) Changes Everything -Not Only Do the Red Sox Suck at Paying Generational Talent, but They Suck at Twitter Too! -It Looks Like The Dodgers Are About To Sign Mookie to a Giant Deal -Some Telling Stats About The Future of The United States of America -How to Induce Vomiting (in New England) -Mookie Betts Buys Groceries and Pizza For People Shopping and Working in Tennessee -John Henry FINALLY Addresses The Mookie Betts Trade (and I Address My Future as a Red Sox Fan) -After Nearly A Week of Hold Ups The Curse of Mookie Is Official (R.I.P. My Red Sox Fandom) -So You're Telling Me There's a Chance? -I Officially No Longer Love The Boston Red Sox
Last season was legitimately too painful for me to watch (and impossible even if I wanted to because NESN sucks and left YoutubeTV). I'd dwell on the betrayal I felt by the Boston Red Sox for cheaping out on generational talent. Slowly but surely, I've inched my way back. I missed being a baseball fan. I went to a wedding this weekend, and at the after-party, I drunkenly talked baseball with a stranger and the groom's stepbro for over an hour (#stillgotit). FTR, I still hate ownership.
In July, a friend invited me to go to Yankee Stadium for Jarren Duran's Major League debut, and I decided to go. Before we left, I posted a blog about how I had been considering a return to Red Sox fandom.
Of course, we were about 20 minutes outside of New York when the game got postponed, almost as a sign from the baseball Gods that they didn't want or need me anymore.
But I paid attention from a distance. Before the AL Wild Card Game, I again wrote about my Red Sox fandom and that I'm jumping all the way back in next year.
However, the 2021 season isn't over, and somehow the Boston Red Sox are still standing like Elton John in the American League. The 2021 ALCS is a rematch of 2018: Red Sox vs. Astros and boy oh boy have both of these teams been through some shit since that matchup. I'm in a weird spot because even though I despise ownership, I want to see the Red Sox win this series (fuck the Astros), but at the same time, I'm not going to cry if they lose. When they nearly lost a game they led 5-0; the only thing I was upset about was that I didn't pepper Rays live ML. I just don't have a connection with this club. It's so weird that the Red Sox are good, and I'm not emotionally invested in them. I don't know that much about this team and its quirks. Sure, I've seen the shopping cart stuff on Twitter, but I have no idea who started it or how it came about without looking it up. I feel like my hashtag good guy-ness is being put to the test. I don't want to be petty and root against the Sox, but if they end up winning the World Series, it basically validates the decision to trade Mookie Betts. On the other hand, I felt sort of scummy rooting against a team I still care about deep down. I have friends and family that still care and never jumped ship, and I feel a little guilty about my negative vibes. Admittedly, I wanted the Red Sox to suck. I took great pleasure in them being so bad last season that they couldn't even make the 8-team expanded playoffs. I guess you could say that time has helped heal my wound. I gotta give credit to Chaim Bloom. I need the Dodgers to lose tonight because I don't even want to think about the possibility of a Dodgers-Red Sox World Series. I don't even know if they'll get past Houston with their pitching, but I cannot deal with a potential Mookie vs. the Sox World Series. I'm just excited these games won't be blacked out on YoutubeTV, but if that's the World Series matchup, I'm gonna request that they are.
P.S.
I saw someone on twitter (don't remember why and I'm not wasting my time looking for it) say this Red Sox team has some 2018 in them. Even with only seeing parts of like 15 games this season that's gotta be one of the worst comps ever. That's the greatest team in Red Sox history and if anything, given their arc (I guess I know a little about these Sox) they're much more of a 2013 kind of squad.
Double P.S.
This blog feels kind of rambly and nowhere near my best work, but I'm not spending another second on it. TL;DR, I still feel conflicted about the Sox. I hate ownership and don't want them to be proven right, especially after all the petty-as Tom Werner remarks, but it's always fuck the Astros, so obviously I'm rooting for the Sox; this entire situation is bittersweet AF. |
Archives
March 2024
|