Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

See drinking is good for you! Those quotes are from this medical study... My new motto in life is - Earning, Burning, Learning or Having Fun. The burning refers to calories (exercise) and I find it a nice little way to remind myself not to waste time... Reminder why people usually point their hyperbolic pronouncements toward the young. Because older people like me remember when the Democrats used a slogan like "Vote or Die" BACK IN 2004! Yeah - nobody friggin died because they didn't vote...  Was it just me or did everyone confuse Marge Schott and Madeline Albright? Just me?...  "You have to be odd to be number one." - Dr. Seuss (love that quote on so many levels)... Maybe the Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders are (much) better than people expected. Maybe Antonio Brown made a (huge) mistake in shooting his way out of town...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Robert Kraft's heartfelt statement on the passing of football legend Al Davis.

- The 25 smartest things that Steve Jobs ever said. This one seems especially apt:

25. "Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed saying we've done something wonderful ... that matters to me."

- Pretty amusing Carlsberg beer commercial

- Just a reminder that new White Sox manager Robin Ventura wasn't just a good player - he was also a medical marvel. Ventura was a recipient of an ankle transplant.

- Gordon Edes with a nice article on Adrian Gonzalez and his faith.

- Sinatra Has a Cold - Gay Talese's legendary profile of Frank Sinatra.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Ray Guy's Super Bowl rings sell for nearly $100K at bankruptcy auction. My first reaction was to feel bad for Ray Guy but some of the comments made me wonder if my sympathy is misplaced

- A picture of Shaq and his girlfriend presented without comment

- Ouch - "Obama is still saying, 'Yes, we can.' But he never explains why we haven't."

- How to improve WIFI signal with a beer can. Information in Spanish but pictures are pretty self-explanatory.

- 4 Regular People Who Negotiated High-Profile Surrenders. The first guy had balls of steel.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Today is JaMarcus Russell's 26th birthday. I think it speaks volumes to just how big of an NFL bust he was to the fact that you don't even see a sniff of a rumor of any team having interest in him... 10 Incredibly Cool Staircases... I wonder how much money California could save if it passed a law saying no public employee can be paid more than President of US? The President is paid $400,000 a year and I really can't see a justification for any public employee being paid more than that... Betty Boop turns 81 today. She looks great for 81... Who knew? Red Sox third base coach Tim Bogar is actually three months younger than Tim Wakefield... Happy 83rd birthday to Boston Celtics and NBA legend Bob Cousy... 16 Sequels Nobody Has Ever Heard Of... Interesting stat from ESPN's Gordon Edes; "If either Sox and Yanks play .500 ball rest of way, they'll have 94 wins. Angels would have to go 32-16, a .667 clip, to tie for wild card"... It was 23-years ago today that Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the LA Kings... Tweet of the day from @_otis_

Brazilians use the same word for "thank you" & "congratulations," which I think would make for some really interesting pillow talk.

I think languages that use the same word for both "Thank you" and "You're welcome" have the same issue after climax.

Richard Seymour

Richard Seymour has been fined $25,000 for "fighting". What really happened was Ben Roethlisberger ran up to Seymour to chirp right after the Steelers scored a TD on the Raiders. Seymour then popped "Big Ben" who was dropped to the ground by the blow and who then cowered like a little girl.

How funny would it be if NOW paid Richard Seymour's fine?

The long and the short of this is Roethlisberger started a confrontation and Seymour finished it in no uncertain terms. The most telling thing is that none of Rapelisberger's teammates came to his defense. Seymour just waltzed off the field. If that happened to Tom Brady the Patriot's bench would have emptied.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I think President Obama's problems stem from him not being fully understood. I think he should make nightly prime-time speeches so that the American public can get to understand how good the healthcare and stimulus programs are for the poor and middle-class of America. Yeah - that's the ticket!... Looking at Philadelphia's schedule - I think the Eagles are definitely playoff bound and if that's the case then Vick-mania will grow by the week. I don't think Vick can be mistake free in the playoffs though and the Eagles season will likely end with a whimper not a bang... Random Kurt Vonnegut thought for the day - I hope Kim Jong Il has not developed Ice Nine... I wonder how many fantasy football teams have dropped Saints kicker Garrett Hartley.... The Lion King 300 Recut Trailer... Just saying but the Oakland Raiders are 10th in total offense and 4th in defense. They could be a sleeper team - not quite playoff bound but not quite as bad as some may think. This is bad news for the Patriots who hold the Raiders 1st round pick. Unless New England ends up with a marque player like Alabama's Ingram then I think history will show that the Patriots trading Richard Seymour to be the wrong move at the wrong time... Notre Dame is going to KILL Boston College next week. I don't care what the line is - I'm betting the Irish big.... Cool - Stephen Fry Will Portray Mycroft Holmes in Sherlock Holmes 2...

Player Comparison

Here's a player comparison that recently prang to mind. Both players were very highly rated college QB's who were both taken with the first pick of the NFL draft. Here's how these two compared through their first 3-years in the NFL:

Player A - 520 CMP / 1059 ATT / 49.1 CMP% / 6904 YDS / 40 TD / 58 INT
Player B - 324 CMP / 680 ATT / 52.1 CMP% / 4083 YDS / 18 TD / 23 INT

The players would seem similar with the exception that Player A got more playing time in his first 3-years in the league. Player A is Heisman winner Jim Plunkett who was less than stellar in his time in New England but who eventually flourished when he landed in Oakland. Plunkett is the only QB to win 2 Super Bowls who is not in the football Hall of Fame.

Player B is JaMarcus Russell who has also been less than stellar in his first 3-years in the league. I have to wonder if Al Davis is thinking about Jim Plunkett and maybe that's the reason Russell hasn't been released already.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The biggest upset on Saturday was 14 point favorite Ohio State being pasted by Purdue. The biggest upset Sunday was 14 point favorite Philadelphia being beat by Oakland. I had Ohio State and Philly. How was your weekend?... This was awesome.... I agree with the people who compare Peyton Manning and his colts to Greg Maddux and his Atlanta Braves. Both were not the best athletes but who used their heads to become perhaps the premiere players at their positions. Yet even though their respective teams were in the playoffs every year - each player only managed one championship ring... I predict we will see a 3 interception performance out of Brett Favre within the next 3 games... I think Mike Shanahan was over-rated as a pro coach. I think the success Josh McDaniels is having may be emphasizing that point. That's why I think the perfect job for Shanahan would be to take over the University of Colorado program.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

This weekend plus last night's win by Minnesota the home teams in the NFL were 12-2 straight up and 12-2 against the spread. Just saying... Now I'm hungry for BLT sandwiches. Hmmmm bacon... The funniest Tweet during last night's game came via Bill Simmons, "Salvatore from "Mad Men" puts more pressure on his wife for sex than Green Bay's getting on Favre"... Minnesota now has 118 points scored on the season putting them behind only the New Orleans Saints (144) and surprise the Baltimore Ravens (124) on the season... Separated at birth? Vikings coach Brad Childress and Gavin McLeod in Kelly's Heroes... Quote for the day, "Sir, there is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern" - Samuel Johnson... Interesting breakdown on how the Obamas broke the three main rules of selling when trying to pitch Chicago to the IOC... Another solid quote via Bill Simmons, "Has there ever been a uniform number that so perfectly describes a player's performance as JaMarcus Russell's No. 2?"... Interesting rundown on the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame candidates by Dr. Pauly....

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Just saying but doesn't Richard Seymour still have to pass a physical for the trade to the Raiders to be official? Maybe the Raider doctors (under orders from the adults in the organization) look extra hard to find something wrong to void the one sided trade? Just saying but this could help explain the delay here... Wow - these are awful tattoos... It's been 11 years to the day that Mark McGwire hit his 62nd HR to break Roger Maris' single season record. This "achievement" certainly seems to have gone down the memory hole - hasn't it?... Dominic Randolph got off on the right foot to win this year's Walter Peyton Award. Remember the name - Randolph will be an NFL QB some day. He is way ahead of where Joe Flacco was at this point in his career... TCU is looking forward to playing Virginia this Saturday... Today is Phil Laak's 37th birthday. Laak became one of my favorite pro poker players after I learned he graduated from UMass Amherst with a degree in mechanical engineering...

Jamarcus Janikowski

Heh heh - this is pretty amusing.

And I agree - Jamarcus Janikowski would be a badass name.

NFL Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous NFL thoughts and observations.

I'm in a few fantasy football leagues and I think I'll be hard pressed to pick a single player from the San Diego Chargers. Yes that includes LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers. My gut tells me that both players have peaked and are due for an off-year, a decline or an injury. Sorry but that's what my gut tells me. Sure Antonio Gates and Nate Kaeding might be worth a pick at TE or K but in general both players are over-rated and better values can be found elsewhere.... The same may hold true for Kansas City. It's not that I think their "talent" is due for a let-down. I just don't think much of the talent. Of course Herm Edwards is also perhaps the worst coach in the league (Norn Turner "fans" may beg to argue). Maybe take a risk on receiver Dwayne Bowe or the defense... After looking over the Oakland Raiders roster - I find myself on the verge of a no-AFC West player boycott altogether... OK - maybe if the Denver Broncos' Jay Cutler or Selvin Young are available at the right time I'll end up taking a player or two from the AFC West...