Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Teddy Roosevelt thought Thomas Jefferson was an awful President and especially thought Jefferson deserved no credit for the Louisiana Purchase. Roosevelt argued that US settlers moving into the territory would have forced the matter anyway. It was far cheaper for France to sell us the "rights" to the land than to defend it militarily... This remains perhaps my favorite painting of President Obama... I'm still upset that Andre the Giant wasn't even nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his work in The Princess Bride... Who knew? Urban Meyer was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1982 and spent a couple of years in their minor league system... The Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory). They were born of Memory so their arts cause the soul to remember a higher plane of being. The Ancients seem to have had a better grasp of what the arts do then we moderns... Baseball-Reference.com says that one of the nicknames for Lou Gerhig was "biscuit pants." There has to be a pretty good story behind that... One of my dream cars - Reggie Dunlop's GTO from Slap Shot... Quote for the day: George Bernard Shaw when asked to name a deceased man he missed the most said, "The man I miss most is the man I could have been"... 

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

The 10 Biggest Comedy News Stories of 2011

America's Secret 1980s War With ... Sweden?

Interesting article on Erez Lieberman Aiden a pan-disciplinary scientist.

With contract up, Pats coordinator O'Brien could be on the move

Goon looks like a pretty funny movie - I'll see it

If you bet your favorite NFL team each week on the moneyline, here is what you'd be up or down on the year (w/ table)

Interesting look at Urban Myer and how he's had to change in order to coach again

Interesting look by Chris Jones on Jeff Loria and the recent Marlins moves

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Not that QB rating is that great a stat but I find it interesting that Eagles QB Vince Young has career rating of 75.1 while the Broncos Tim Tebow has a 79.8 rating - yet some people insist Young is better. I've become a Tebow fan more because of the people rooting against him than for what he does on the field at this point... Van Morrison's I'm Not Feeling it Any More is one of his more under-appreciated songs... The Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory). They were born of Memory so their arts cause the soul to remember a higher plane of being. The Ancients seem to have had a better grasp of what the arts do then we moderns... New Company Policy: We are not hiring until Obama is gone... Quote for the Day: "The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender." - Vince Lombardi... Every time my doctor talks to me about ADHD I change the subject... Does Walking Through Doorways Cause Forgetfulness? Surprisingly the answer seems to be YES... Dave Attell and Jay Glazer should star in a remake of The Odd Couple except I'd have Dave be slob photographer who boozes too much while Jay is an over organized sports reporter with MMA friends. Just the guest stars you could bring in each week could make the show a success... Any time I see Newt Gingrich speak I always picture him as Santa's gay half-brother to see if it makes him any more likable... Who knew? Urban Meyer was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1982 and spent and couple years in their minor league system...

Tom O'Brien - Next Coach for Ohio State?

With the "resignation" of coach Jim Tressel - Ohio State is in turmoil. You can forget the talk about Urban Myer. There's no way he's going to a program that is bound to be hit with worse sanctions that what USC was just hit with. Luke Fickell? That makes a certain amount of sense but he has two major negatives against him - he has never been a 1-A head coach and he was part of the institution that exhibited such a lack of control in the first place.

I think in order for Ohio State to right this ship they will have to go outside the program and what better man for this job than Tom O'Brien?

O'Brien has been in this situation before. He took over at BC after a gambling scandal that rocked the program. O'Brien not only restored the pride in the program - he also turned it into a perennial Top 25 team that was bowl bound every season. In addition to making BC a program that routinely sent 1st round picks to the NFL - he also made sure BC was a program that graduated its players. He then took over a moribund NC State program and last year led them to a 9-4 record and a victory in a bowl game plus a final ranking in the Coaches and AP Top 25.

Keep in mind that O'Brien is a former Marine who is drill instructor tough. There may be no man in college football who can match him for integrity, toughness and success. With Ohio State under NCAA sanctions they will have to get used to the second tier of recruits - the kind of recruits O'Brien has shown he can win with at BC and NC State. On top of everything else - Tom O'Brien is from Ohio. He was born in Cincinnati.

I haven't heard or seen anyone mentioning Tom O'Brien to Ohio State - so I wanted to note it here so that you will remember where you read this sort of outside the box thinking first.

As an aside - someone hacked Tom O'Brien's Wikipedia page and added this little nugget:

According to many legitimate sources it was actually him O'Brien who saved the world from apocalypse and not Jesus, many people have also said that he once culled over 4,000 Iranian children.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Clemson's C.J. Spiller was the only player in Div 1-A college football to score a touchdown in every single game this season... Awesome! I really got a good chuckle out of that... Interesting - Meyer resigns, bettors jump on Gators in Sugar Bowl. The thinking is that the Gators will be pumped for Meyer's last game as coach. They won't want to let their coach down. The most interesting man in the world thinks this is a good bet... Tweet of the Day:

@RealJeffreyRoss Who the fuck is fondue?? RT @ParisHilton: Sitting by the fire eating fondue. Yum :)

I thought electing Obama was supposed to make foreign countries like us more? I don't recall anything like this ever happening under George Bush.... Happy 50th birthday to Patriot great and Hall of Famer Andre Tippett...