Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Can anyone recall the last time Bill Belichick mismanaged the game clock? How come almost every NFL coach seems to have problems with this?... This is pretty amazing... I think the word "orgasm" should be replaced by the word "culminate"... Some historians suggest that the new invention of chlorinated water may have saved more lives of soldiers at the front in World War I than were lost by deaths from chlorine gas in that same war... Obamacare is a dumpster fire... Hey look at me! Just an observation but guys with tattoos on their calves are more likely to wear shorts in the winter... The Jets are saddled with a 5-year $71 million contract to Darrelle Revis. Just saying but you don't see the Patriots getting stuck with deals like that... Excellent point... A "monger" of fish and a "monger" of whores engage in two very different activities... Dear Santa - all I want for Christmas is for you to bring back Orange Zima... The work of art Dogs Playing Poker sells for over $650,000...

ND vs BC

I was going to post something about the latest chapter of the Holy War yesterday but I was kind of busy. You knew last night's game was going to be special starting with yesterday's beautiful sunrise over Fenway.

There were a lot of storylines attached to this game starting with the death of Doug Flutie's parents just an hour apart after 56 years of marriage and Flutie's decision to still call the game for NBC. A moment of silence were held for the elder Flutie's prior to the game. There was the return of native son Brian Kelly who got his football coaching start in nearby Assumption College in Worcester. How about Torii Hunter's son getting to use David Ortiz' locker? There was the story of the Irish trying to remain in the hunt for a berth in the college football playoffs. Then there was the very idea of a college football game at Fenway Park where Boston College had a record of 75-21-5 in 101 previous games at Fenway but were the "visiting team".

All the storylines seemed related and seemed to weave in and out of each other. The last time Boston College payed at Fenway was a 7-0 loss to Holy Cross in 1956. Decades later it was the dominance of Doug Flutie's Eagles team that led Holy Cross to end the Crusaders rivalry against the Eagles. And now another team with a Worcester connection was about to make Boston College 0-2 in their last two Fenway tilts.

You had to know that this was going to be a close game though. Sure the Eagles offense is anemic but their defense is one of the top 5 in the country. Besides this game has historically been close. The last two times these teams met the Irish were 20 and 24 point favorites but the final scores were 21-6 in 2012 and 16-14 in 2011. Boston College was getting 15.5 points last night.

Hope you enjoyed the game as much as I did.

 

Reggie Lewis

Today would have been Reggie Lewis' 50th birthday. He is still missed very much by Boston sports fans.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Nation's largest insurer may exit Obamacare exchanges because of losses

- My take is Belichick knows real support for the military and the fake stuff probably gets under his skin.

- Am I a bad person for laughing at this?

- My heart goes out to Doug Flutie and his family

- John Bolton makes an excellent point regarding refugees

- Heh heh

- The Jets aren't getting their money's worth out of their secondary. I've said all along that the reason the Patriots did not exercise their option on Revis was because he was no longer worth that sort of money.

- Cool - the billionaire bench player

David Ortiz

Today is David Ortiz's 40th birthday - Happy Birthday Big Papi! Ortiz is also in the news because he's rumored to be retiring after this season. 2016 will mark Ortiz's 20th year in MLB and over that career he will have made over $160 million on the field. I'd say that's a nice career.

I'd even say that's a Hall of Fame career. Ortiz is just one of four players all-time to have over 500 HR and 3 World Series rings - the others are Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson. That's some pretty good company right there. Ortiz also just needs 16 more doubles this season to become just the third player in MLB history to have over 500 HR and 600 plus doubles - the other two are Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds. Again that's some pretty good company.

If for whatever reason you're on the fence about Ortiz being a Hall of Fame player consider that most in Boston - the people who have seen him play the most - would generally consider Ortiz the greatest living Red Sox player. Sure some might prefer Carl Yastrzemski or Pedro Martinez and I understand those arguments but once again - look at the company Ortiz is keeping in this argument. And nobody I think would even argue that Jim Rice was greater and Rice is also in the Hall of Fame.

In making Ortiz's Hall of Fame argument I haven't even brought up his otherworldly heroics in helping Boston win 3 World Series. Or how much he meant to the City after the Boston Marathon bombings.

So happy birthday Big Papi and I hope you enjoy your final season as much as we've enjoyed watching you. And six years from now we will see you in Cooperstown where you belong.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Even if many on the left don't care that ISIS could easily slip in terrorists among the Syrian refugees - you would think at some point they would realize that so many new unskilled workers will be taking all those jobs that normally go to people with Philosophy and Women's Studies degrees... Got to love Gronk being Gronk... Every time my doctor talks to me about ADHD - I change the subject... Flippertigibbet is such a great word. We all know a flibbertigibbet... I'm going to start using the word "feisty" randomly this week. What a feisty potato chip! What a feisty gas pump! What a feisty use of language... Andre the Giant is soo cool... So if someone says, "You look familiar - were we in a police lineup together?" What's the proper response?... It's funny because it's true... Any time I see Newt Gingrich - I try to picture him as Santa's gay half-brother to see if it makes him more likable...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Went to the Pats game in New Jersey yesterday. What a game! Only way it could have been better is if the Pats covered the 6.5 points I layed on them on Monday... This is a serious showing of disrespect... Does Budweiser even make regular Michelob anymore?... Can I be the only one who thinks Patton Oswald and Amy Shumer stopped being funny once they started taking themselves so seriously?...  Excellent column on Ronda Rousey's loss to Holly Holm on Saturday. I went out to watch the event and am still kicking myself for not putting $20 on Holm. As soon as I saw all the freckles I was rooting for her. Nothing like a pretty woman with freckles... The Russian track and field cheating scandal is probably the biggest sports story worldwide but getting very little attention in the US... Heh heh... I am going to add Founder of the Lynch Research Institute to my LinkedIn page. I will also buy a sign saying Lynch Research Institute to place in my bathroom... Soon to be the most popular app on the Internet...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Captain Groberg Medal of Honor awardee - where do we find such men?

- Sounds like a plot to a Tom Clancy novel

- Good for Governor Baker - "fantasy football is not gambling"

- This is hilarious (but also why I don't watch network TV news)

- My new favorite language blog - Strong Language: A Sweary Blog about Swearing

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Figured it out - Tom Brady is John Wick and Roger Goodell stole his car and killed his dog... I really enjoyed this photo of Queen Elizabeth... This Thanksgiving is President Obama going to ask us to talk about Obamacare around the dinner table again or is there another political hot button he'd like for us to ruin our holiday with?... People keep wondering how the Patriots will replace the productivity of RB Dion Lewis. I would expect them to use Julian Edelman and Danny Amanadola out of the backfield on 3rd down this Sunday...  Cool - Former Navy Seal breaks wingsuit distance record for a good cause... If Justin Beiber made a Christmas CD - I'd give it to people I hate as a gift... Interesting - what happens to your body during an ultra marathon... I keep thinking there's a skinhead couple out there who named their baby Hitler and now they are wondering why everyone wants to kill their child... Heh heh - Liberal Arts Education... Ronda Rousey is a -$1,900 favorite this Saturday vs Holly Holm. That means you'd have to risk $1,900 to win only $100... I agree that Greg Hardy is a horrible person but it bugs me that but many of the same sportswriters expressing outrage were silent when it came out that Philly sportswriter Bill Conlin was a child molester...

Should We Trust the Colts?

First there was Jay Glazer saying that Colts QB Andrew Luck was playing with broken ribs but was not being listed on the team's injury report. Now the Indy QB will be out 2-6 weeks with a lacerated kidney. That's a similar injury that has put Chargers WR Keenan Allen out for the season. Why should we trust the Colts' report on this?

Could the Colts be saying 2-6 weeks for Luck because they don't want to adversely affect ticket sales for the last two home games of the year against the Texans and Titans? Neither of those teams is a real draw and would be even less so if the Colts were to be playing without their franchise QB. The Colts do have a motive to lie.

What if Indianapolis knows Luck is done for the season but is misleading the public again? Will the NFL punish them for this fraud? Will they punish them for treating the injury report as a joke? Does the NFL and Roger Goodell have any integrity at all?

Veteran's Day

Thank you to all the veterans out there. Is service is greatly appreciated.

Happy 240th Marines

Today is the 240th birthday for the United States Marine Corps. 

In honor of the Marines - here's my favorite Ronald Reagan quote:

Some people live their entire lifetime and wonder if they ever made a difference to the world. Marines don't have that problem. -- January 1995

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- If his stance was instead correctly positioned as Quentin Tarantino for revolutionary communists and against police - would that effect you going to his new movie?

- Plot for Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts movie

- The difference between fog and mist

- Got to love 60's fashion. Those hats are the best!

- Bass Pro Shops may be looking to acquiring Cabela's

- Heh heh - Rawanda Rousey

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

When they introduce Peyton Manning they should say 5-time "regular season" MVP just to make sure people understand it doesn't include playoffs... Heh - probably the most unfortunate dot dot dot in any political retweet ever... If Budweiser is the King of Beers then Michelob Ultra is the Tofu of Beers... Heh heh... Would The tenderloin be a better name for a strip club or for a lesbian bar?... Stunningly beautiful... I hope the Pagano / Grigson issues don't cause Colts owner Jim Irsay to relapse into drug use. Or maybe he already has which would explain a lot... I like the word "lumberjacks" and really think florists should instead be called "flowerjacks"... I will never be able to look at Andy Reid the same ever again... When I heard people were arguing to have the NFL strip Houston from hosting the Super Bowl I just assumed it was because of their awful field turf not because of the city's bathroom policies...

Just Saying

Yesterday the Internet was abuzz about photos of two NFL players.

First there was this photo of Tom Brady.

Then there were these pictures about Greg Hardy.

One of these guys the NFL is going all-out trying to punish. If I had to bet I would say one of the guys will end up in the Football Hall of Fame while eventually the other guy will wind up in prison for a violent felony. The NFL is spending millions trying to punish the guy going to Canton Ohio. Just remember that the next time Roger Goodell uses the word "integrity".

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Very sad, touching Halloween story.

- Colts learning karma is a bitch (or alternatively that their GM is a dope)

- I'm guessing the Stanley Cup would have better Letters to Penthouse

- Heh heh - don't know why I find that SO funny

- 10 Myths about Albert Einstein debunked

- This could change almost everything we know about the Earth

Deadwood

The rumors are out there for a new Deadwood movie. Count me as unimpressed. Not only do I not think the logistics will work out to align all the stars for a movie - I'm not sure even as a big Deadwood fan that I want it to happen.

Can you think of any series or movie that was resurrected after 10 or so years that was satisfying or successful? The whole thing makes me think it would be a flop somewhere between Rescue from Gilligan's Island to Godfather III.  Sure there have been a few science fiction franchises like Star Wars, Aliens and Terminator that have been able to take breaks from the storyline but Deadwood is based upon historical characters. Do you want to see Seth Bullock talk about alfalfa farming? Me neither. Although I do admit a Teddy Roosevelt story line would be interesting but how would that involve Al Swearengen?

I think I'm just going to enjoy my re-runs on HBO Go.

Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity

The Theory of Relativity just turned 100 years old. In the video above uber biographer Walter Isaacson explains the Theory of Relativity in under 3 minutes.

Also - here are 12 things you may not know about the Theory of Relativity.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Bob Newhart is a comic genius. So vastly underrated.

- Heh heh - Willie got me stoned and took all my money!

- Rugby players are the best

- This probably was the best Halloween costume

- Cool - Connor McGregor vs the Mountain that Rides

- Marlins Man is living the life. Good for him!

Mount Whoredom

Long before Archer had Whore Island there was an actual Mount Whoredom.

Prostitution was so rampant in Boston in the 1770's that a British military cartographer marked the red light district in Boston as Mount Whoredom. The American troops surrounding Boston back then may have been short of military dress and ammunition but they were drinking about a bottle of rum a day - apiece. Viva the American way!

This may be one of those historical facts that only twisted minds like mine find interesting.

Business Plan 59 of 317

I think I'd like to come out with a line of generic vodka and generic gin. I'm going to call it "Borg Vodka" and "Borg Gin". The tag line will be "We will assimilate you!"

Just the sales to Star Trek fans will make the company turn a profit.

Halloween Linky Links

Halloween stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share. Remember with Great Pumpkin comes great responsibility.

- Heh heh - this year's most controversial costume

- 666 Update

- The slutty witch costume is nothing new

- Best parents ever!

The Devil's Footprints

Since today is Halloween I thought I'd bring up the Devil's Footprints - one of the strangest phenomenons in history:

On the night of the 8th of February 1855, heavy snowfall blanketed the countryside and small villages of Southern Devon [England]. The last snow is thought to have fallen around midnight, and between this time and around 6.00 am the following morning, something (or some things) left a myriad of tracks in the snow, stretching for a hundred miles or more, from the River Exe, to Totnes on the river Dart.

The early risers were the first to find them, strange hoof-shaped prints in straight lines, passing over rooftops, through walls and covering huge areas of land. A set of the prints were even supposed to have bridged a two mile span of the river Exe, continuing on the other side as if the creature had walked over the water.

Freaky stuff with no rational explanation - I find that stuff fascinating.

Happy Halloween.

Grantland

Grantland was shut down today by ESPN. This was a move you could see coming a mile away yet the Internet was abuzz today with the gnashing of metaphorical teeth. This opinion may be unpopular but I won't miss Grantland. Yes I feel awful for the writers, editors and others who lost their jobs today but I'm guessing Disney is handling out pretty generous separation packages.

ESPN's first foray into smart sports writing was 15-years ago with Page 2. They fielded an all-star line-up of Ralph Wiley, Hunter S. Thompson, David Halberstam and a young Bill Simmons. Ralph Wiley and Hunter S. Thompson passed away. David Halberstam lost his enthusiasm for writing about sports after 9/11. That left just Simmons.

He was a hot property and he felt ESPN did a poor job with Page 2 so he leveraged his contract negotiations with the World-Wide Leader to let him create Grantland. His vision was to create a place where young hot writers could write what they wanted about sports and culture. He brought in and nurtured some very talented writers - that cannot be denied. But the problem was too much hipsterism. In many cases these hot young writers seemed to be writing to impress each other (and Simmons) instead of the general sports-loving public. The page views for Grantland just weren't there. The site wasn't close to being as successful as Deadspin or The Big Lead - but that was OK with the Grantland staff because they looked down their noses at those base sites that catered to the unwashed masses.

I was a regular at Grantland for a while but mostly for articles by Simmons or Charlie Pierce. Once Simmons was let go - I basically just read Pierce's brain droppings at the site (and I'm guessing Charlie will be just fine after today). Sure I gave many other Grantland writers a chance but to be honest I found most of their articles pretentious. Sorry - that's just my honest opinion.

Today many people are comparing the closing of Grantland to the similar fate of The National. No offense but this is like comparing the 27 Yankees to the 1987 Pawtucket Red Sox. Ironically Grantland did a great job of chronicling "The Greatest Paper that Ever Died".

Bill Simmons' hands are not clean with today's closing either. His understandable wish to get some measure of revenge on ESPN played a part in today's shuttering of Grantland (a situation Deadspin did a nice job of describing).

So Grantland has closed it's doors today. But it honestly won't be missed by me.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

How 'bout 'dem Patriots!... Very cool - the Boston Bruins dressed as minions for sick kids... Fantasy football question of the week - who should I start at QB? Peyon Manning or Brett Favre? At least with Favre there isn't the risk of negative points... Should there be an asterisk next to last year's Colts team? The asterisk would say - this team was a fluke... Could you have had a better omen that last night was going to be all Patriots?... William, Shakespeare, perhaps the greatest writer of all-time, was married to a woman who could neither read nor write... So the line for the Patriots vs Washington next week has to be at least -14 - right?... Heh heh... I am torn by this - people who hand out full size candy bars at Halloween are the coolest but isn't that too much sugar for kids?... Chris Mortensen is reporting that 11 of 12 people who made DeflateGate a thing are now getting clobbered by karma...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- If you are a Doctor Who fan - this is pretty cool.

- Godspeed in retirement Abby Wambach

- I know I shouldn't laugh at something like this because sexless Christian marriages are a problem and nothing is funny about the situation to the men (and women) who find themselves in such marriages but.... the part about having sex with your wife like she's Medusa (so you don't have to look at her face) had me laughing out loud.

- Shame on our Republic - A Million Homes Taken Since Kelo

- Very cool move by John Stockton

- The Dougie Hamilton trade is looking better and better for the Bruins

- Agincourt at 600

The Brady Bunch Conundrum

I blame the show The Brady Bunch for today's societal problems.

Why were Carol and Mike single in the first place? This is an unresolved problem

What happened to their original spouses? It's like the mother of the boys and the father of the girls never existed. Did they die and were so easily forgotten? Was there a divorce? If so - how come the kids never went to visit the other parent? Did the mother of the boys and the father of the girls just run away? Was there abuse? Was that why the other parents were never mentioned? The family's little secrets? 

Maybe Mike and Carol killed their original spouses so that they could be together. The Brady parents fit the bill for serial killers. Quiet - kept to themselves. Was Sam the butcher involved in the disposal of the bodies?

When you look back on it - the complete lack of other parents in the show is very creepy.

The Amazing Wil Hof - the Iceman

Fantastic interview with the amazing Wil Hof (aka the Iceman). Best interview I've ever heard on Joe Rogan's podcast.

Happiness, strength and health is a pretty good credo - don't you agree?

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Where are all the "Hillary Lied and People Died" headlines in the MSM?... You have to admit - the resemblance is pretty uncanny... Nobody is even mentioning the officials from yesterday's Pats / Jets game. That's how well the game was officiated - they went without notice... Kevin Garnett pays tribute to Flip Saunders... Bar room etiquette - a reminder it is acceptable to bring a beer into the men's room. It is not acceptable to bring a cheeseburger... Starting to think that Rex Ryan is basically Rich Kotite with better PR and a foot fetish... Pretty funny camel toe prank... Who knew? Ralph Wilson originally wanted to place his AFL franchise in Miami - Buffalo was his second choice... Cool - the neuroscience of bass guitar...

Why the Pats will Win (and Cover) Today

Add it up! Tom Brady is my spirit animal.

Go Pats!

Tom Brady ready to make Foxboro a no-fly zone today!

RIP Maureen O'Hara

The great Maureen O'Hara has passed away. With her recently selling her Irish estate and moving in with her daughter I feared the end was near. Hers was not a passing to mourn though - hers was a life to be celebrated.

When I think of her - I think of The Quiet Man and when I think of that movie I think of this scene.

I only wish the scene of her kicking ass on a plane at the end of Only the Lonely was online.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - is it wrong if I'd prefer if JK Rowling just wrote a book instead?

- I'll take "Things on the Internet that make you say WTF?" for $200 Alex

- The Sumo Sprint

- Definitely going to hell for laughing at this

- Am I the only who sees this and thinks "Woody on the Cross"?

- Heh heh

- Excellent news for baseball good guy Hal McCoy

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The best Twitter reactions to Joe Biden not running for President... If  you polled Star Wars geeks waiting in line for the new movie - how many would be able to tell you exactly what NASA stands for? Greater then 50% or less than 50%?... Heh heh... OK I'll say it! Those Louisville dancers / whores really weren't that great looking! No wonder Kentucky has been beating the Cardinals in recruiting... For Massachusetts residents looking to honor veterans this November... BTW - NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (but you knew that didn't you)... Heh heh... OK I'll say it! I feel bad for the ESPN employees who have been let go but I'm disappointed the layoffs didn't include any on-air "talent"! There are quite a few I was hoping I'd never have to watch again... What will be the larger amount - the amount the NFL ends up fining Cam Heywood for honoring his dad who died of cancer or the amount the NFL will actually donate to cancer charities via their Pink October BS?...

Daniel Murphy and the Mets

Congratulations to the Mets and Daniel Murphy for advancing to the World Series. I do have to wonder what would have been the outcome of the series if the Cubs had simply intentionally walked Murphy every single at bat though. Would it have made a difference?

Murphy had 17 AB vs the Cubs with 7 hits and one walk. Included in those 7 hits he had 4 HR and a double. According to my simple math - if the Cubs walked Murphy every at bat it would have dropped his OPS from an incredible 1.561 during the series down to an even 1.000. That's why I can stop wondering if the Cubs had just walked Murphy every at bat - would they still be playing for a World Series birth?

Die Hard Prequel - The Wrath of Bob

Hollywood is so bereft of ideas that a Die Hard prequel is in consideration. Supposedly the producers are looking for a screenwriter to deliver an idea that makes sense. That's where I come in.

Here's the pitch!

There's only one main character that makes sense to focus on especially since Bruce Willis is too old and bald while Hans Gruber is now Professor Snape to every single movie goer over 8-years of age. The character I'm talking about? Nakatomi Tower itself - an unfinished skyscraper which would be easy to green screen recreate. Why was it unfinished at the time of the first Die Hard? Go into that backstory.

Enter Bob the builder (actually General Contractor). Bob's company is responsible for building Nakatomi Tower but due to a series of mishaps and permitting issues his company has fallen way behind schedule and seriously in the red on this project. His company is on the verge of bankruptcy and to top it off Bob is a single dad trying to raise a teenage daughter who has gone missing with her punk rock boyfriend on Christmas Eve. Bob is ready to put a gun muzzle in his mouth and pull the trigger.

Then miracle of miracles! Nakatomi Tower is blown up! BOOM! Just like that Bob's back in business! The insurance money floods into Bob's company. Clean up this mess! We don't care about overtime just fix it!  To top it off in a feel-good moment Bob's daughter returns home to declare that her boyfriend is a jerk and that not only did she really miss her dad - she wants to take that job with the construction company Bob has been trying to get her to take.

Fade to black. I might need to get an agent to market this pitch.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Not sure if the fake punt play will ever not be funny

- Chuck Yeager Tweets details about his historic, sound-barrier breaking flight

- Supposed to be an illustration of the similarities between horse and human bones but really it's an illustration of how Katherine the Great of Russia died. I mean just take a look at the smile on the horse. He knows what he's doing.

- Interesting - John Stuart Mill as science fiction writer.

- Do Not Want! Sexually transmitted Ebola (although Sexually Transmitted Ebola would be a good nickname for Bill Cosby)

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

You want to know why I'm pretty sure the Vice President will run for the top spot on the ticket? "Joe Biden" is an anagram for "I need a job"... Why yes - I would be interested in owning a full-sized working version of the Little Tykes car... History nugget: when Admiral Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manilla in 1898 - he lost only one sailor. That sailor died of heat-stroke... It's funny because it's true!... "First you get the money, then you get the binders, then you get the women," Mitt Romney as Tony "Scarface" Montoya... Amazing how far off course the Democratic Party has gotten since the days of JFK... Do you think the reason Bernie Sanders is so quick to give Hillary a pass on her emails is because if people check his they will find he has fallen for the Nigerian Prince scam multiple times?.. Interesting suggestion from John Bolton on how to fix the UN... Imagine the press coverage this would get if it was George W. Bush or even Bill Clinton - Obama's golf outings cost taxpayers over $20,000 PER HOLE...

Tom Brady - The Dark Knight

Tom Brady The Dark Knight from Vincent Rubinaccio on Vimeo.

Awesome! Also remember what COLTS stands for this weekend.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Did not watch a single minute of last night's Democratic Presidential Debate. I feel I'm a better man for not having my IQ assaulted... Cool - some of the top pictures from this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition... Not for nothing but you should be pretty proud of yourself if you were able to grab the Patriots -7 when the lines first went up... Heh heh... Would love to see the Farrelly Brothers cast Rob Gronkowski as Sea Bass' (Cam Neeley) son in a spin off comedy of Dumb and Dumber. No way that movie isn't funny... Very cool - cooling glove may be better than steroids. Literally very cool... In that State Farm commercial is the name on the title of that Cadillac simply "Elvis Impersonator" because all those guys seem to think they own the car. Did State Farm commit fraud by selling those guys multiple policies on the same vehicle? Do I read too much into commercials?...  Excellent appreciation of Steve Spurrier. Bonus it includes the phrase "nanny-take pissmerchant"to describe Mike Lupica... Some say hell is a man on acoustic guitar playing Hotel California over and over. Extra crispy hell - that man is Chris Berman...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- No more nudes at Playboy. Surprising but understandable move when you think about it.

- Tom E. Curran defends Alex Guerrero

- Very touching and classy move by the Bruins yesterday with Travis Roy

- Tasmanian Devils being returned to the wild

- As if I needed another reason not to like the Cardinals

- Growing up in New England I just assumed that Columbus Day was a national holiday. Boy was I wrong

- Best alternate universe ending for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

- It's hard to to feel for Ed Werder and his family after reading this

- This is Exhibit 2,389 of why I'm not a fan of soccer

- Cool Firefly article on their reunion at this year's NYC Comic Con

Top 5 - Movies I Have Never Seen

There are some very popular movies that I have never seen and at this point in my life I have no plans whatsoever to see.

1. Avatar - the most watched movie of all time. You would have to pump me full of gin to watch blue Ferngully. Not going to happen (especially during football season)
2. Twilight - any of the movies
3. Napoleon Dynamite - when people make their Vote for Pedro or uncle Rico references I have no idea what they are talking about. And I have zero interest in learning.
4. Frozen - used to see every Disney movie but kids are grown passed that point now and this flick just missed the window
5. Raging Bull - this is surprising but I have no interest in seeing this movie

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- 10 English phrases made popular by Alice in Wonderland

- Heh heh - Walter White was almost a Phillies fan but that would have made him too unlikable

- Interesting - Why don't you buy vanilla extract at a liquor store?

- 13 facts about GameStop

- 23 facts about the best sci-fi TV show ever

Mark Knopfler - Why Aye Man

Just felt like hearing this song this morning.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Gilbert Arenas' rebuttal to Caron Butler's version of the locker room gun story

- 13 facts about Hemingway's Farewell to Arms. Hard to imagine with today's standards but this book was very controversial at the time.

- Heh heh

- The future of Bitcoin?

- The night John Lennon met Jerry Garcia

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

With Halloween soon upon us remember, "With Great Pumpkin comes great responsibility" - Linus... Roger Water's blatant antisemitism is making it hard for me to enjoy Pink Floyd songs anymore... Good for Kevin Youkilis - parent of the week. Not even a mention of uncle Tom Brady... There should be a word for when you write an email at work and are so proud of it you read it over and over again after it is sent... This is why Patriots players always seem more prepared when it comes to knowing the rule-book... Every time I find a fruit fly dead in the head of my beer at a bar I think, "That's the way he wanted to die"... This was the best thing to come out of Sean Rodriguez punching out the Gatorade bucket last night... Oh and if you're not familiar with Sean Rodriguez - you're not alone but then again what's to know about a 30-year old journeyman with a career .228 batting average?... Tom Petty was a heroin addict? Looking forward to this biography and I agree that Petty doesn't get his due in the rock and roll pantheon... Always remember that the word "listen" contains the same letters as the word "silent". To truly listen you should be silent... These Budweiser Red Lights look really cool. I might get one for the Bruins...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Heh heh

- Interesting article on Vegas "sharps"

- Reminder that free agency isn't always a solution in baseball and is sometimes the root of new and worse problems

- Nice Elmore Leonard primer

- Awesome

- Who knew? Donald Rumsfeld is a Washington Capitals fan.

- Heh heh

State of the Red Sox

The Patriots were nice enough to have their bye-week the same week the 2015 season came to an end for the Red Sox so some fans were drawn back to the last place Sox for one last time. Which was nice since Sunday was also the last game to be called by fan and player favorite Don Orsillo.

Most Red Sox beat writers wasted no time in opining on what the Boston front office needs to do this winter. To save you the time of reading this fluff I'll summarize 90% of the articles: Dave Dombrowski needs to A. get an Ace and B. get rid of Hanley Ramirez. I largely don't disagree but there more work to be done than that.

At catcher the Red Sox seem set with Blake Swihart (who had a slash line of .303/.353/.452/.805 after the All-Star game) and Christian Vazquez (who was on his way to being the best defensive catcher in the AL before he hurt his arm). Does Dombrowski use one of his young stud catchers as a trade chip?

First base is the biggest question. Travis Shaw hit 13 homers in just 65 games but his splits are extreme. At home he has an OPS of  .953 while on the road is just .677. Versus lefties he mashed - batting .329 vs just .243 against righties. Move Hanley Ramirez to first? I'd rather not. A Brock Holt / Travis Shaw platoon might be the best solution if no other pieces are added.

Second (Pedroia), short (Bogaerts), DH (Ortiz) and third (Sandoval) are all-set. I say Boston is set at third mostly because of Pablo Sandoval's contract (he's got 4-years and $78 million left on his deal) but I'm not a fan.

The outfield also seems set with Jackie Bradley Jr., Mookie Betts and Rusney Castillo. I'm not sold yet on Castillo but my guess is the Boston brass gives him a full year to see what they've got in him.

Everyone says the Red Sox need an ace with most people pointing to David Price via free agency or Sonny Gray via trade and I'd be happy to get either (unless the asking price for Gray was Betts or Bogaerts). However, as much crap the starting staff took this year - they weren't that bad in the second half of the season.

The bull-pen on the other hand was a mess. I hope this off season sees lots of changes. One person suggested (sorry I forget who) that Dombrowski float a bad contract in Allen Craig (2-years and $21 million remaining) for bad clubhouse person Jonathan Papelbon. Still not sure how I'd feel about that swap.

As always should be an interesting Hot Stove season.

The Devil's Wheel

Mesmerizing. One of the stranger / cooler things about Oktoberfest.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

When I hear Edward Norton narrating those DraftKings commercials - I always expect him to say, "I'm Jack's gambling habit"... Good to see some reporters learning from how the NFL blatantly used the press in Deflategate. Some others like Chris Mortensen and Peter King seem resigned to remaining NFL lapdogs... When are we going to see the "Hi I'm Peyton Manning and I'm Noodle Arm Peyton Manning and I have cable" DirecTV commercial?... Touching story from Joe Posnanski... If DraftKings spliced in quick-flash images of Tyler Durdin in their Edward Norton narrated commercials - then I would think about playing... The NFL's Pink October is just a scam.... Billion Dollar Babies by Alice Cooper is a very under-rated rock song...

Chris Mintz

Here's the Go Fund Me page for Oregon shooting hero Chris Mintz. When I first clicked on the link it was at about $390,000 - now as I type this it's at $540,000. It would be cool if people could get that number over $1 million for this hero.

Here's some more info and background on Chris Mintz. Not just a hero but a devoted father who I think would make an excellent ambassador for the cause of helping cure or better understand autism.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- As Archer would say, "Phrasing!"

- Cool cartoon on Joseph Campbell's 12 stages to the hero's journey

- I'm a sucker for School House Rock

- The greatest Craig's List "Missed Connection" ever. I agree that I don't care if it's real or not - it's beautiful.

- Cool - pancake Starry Night

- NASA has just made available over 8,400 hi-res photos from the Apollo Program

- Interesting - the backstory to the Texas biker gang shoot-out in Waco

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

What came first? Bill Cosby becoming a rapist or Bill Cosby becoming pitch man for New Coke? Just curious as to which caused him to first lose his soul... Has any NFL coach with a sub .500 record ever gotten more attention than Rex Ryan and his 48-51 record?... Interesting - here are 5 things Jeremy Affeldt won't miss about baseball after he retires on Sunday... After posting about Maureen O'Hara the other day - I got to wondering what other stars of Hollywood's Golden Age are still not quite bereft of life? Mildly surprised that Kirk Douglas still hasn't joined joined the choir invisible... Surprising gun statistics. Imagine what they would look like if you were able to remove the deaths from Chicago...  Would you consider Sean Connery a member of Hollywood's Golden Age? He's still alive and kicking... Speaking of still alive and kicking - George H.W. Bush is still going strong. I wonder if the 91-year old Bush continues to cling to life out of a stubborn resolve to outlive the 85-year old H. Ross Perot...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting - the life of a professional guinea pig

- Heh heh - "I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn"

- Maureen O'Hara sells her seaside Irish estate. Just $1.8 million - seems like quite a bargain. I hope she's not putting her affairs in order before dying. Perhaps the last of the great Hollywood Golden Age stars.

- Don't hold your breathe waiting for the NYT to admit they were wrong. Or that they were (and are) in the tank for Obama all along.

- I just don't get the people who don't like Tim Tebow

- Heh heh

- Interesting Q&A with Chad Finn (one of Boston's best sportswriters)

Wasting Beer

I love beer and I make no bones about it. As old Ben Franklin put it, "Beer is proof that God loves us." That's why I don't understand people who would waste beer.

Let me tell a story that illustrates where I'm coming from.

When I went to college one of the first side-jobs I took was working at a package store (that's what we call liquor stores in new England). My job was to stock cases and handle kegs - incoming and outgoing. On my first day someone brought back a keg and I tried to refuse it - because it wasn't empty! How could you return a keg if it still had beer in it? In my mind that was just wrong on so many levels. That was the day I learned that not everyone shared my beliefs about wasting beer.

One of the biggest ways beer gets wasted is when you are at a bar or a party and you put your beer down - you go to pick your beer back up but suddenly there's more than one. Which one is yours? You don't want to grab someone else's beer - so you just go get another while your old beer sits there wasted. That doesn't happen to me because when I open a can of beer (or a can of anything else for that matter) I automatically turn the tab to the left. More than one can sitting on the table? Mine's the one with the tab turned to the side. [If it's a bottle then it's always in front of me or in my hand.]

What got me thinking is that it is almost October and that means Oktoberfest. Hmmmm... Oktoberfest.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

In 1984 George Orwell had his 2 minutes of hate. On modern US social media the hate can last much, much longer.. A Series of Unfortunate Abortions? Sad... Reminder - just 169 days till Saint Patrick's Day... Very cool - 3-D printed cars making 3-D printed shelters... Do you have a resigned Boehner? Ask your doctor about Cialis... Just so we are clear - Comedy Central is OK with a cartoon Donald Trump getting raped and killed on South Park but not OK with a cartoon Muhammad doing nothing... Interesting - players backing Papelbon over Harper...

Hell's Club

Very cool!

Learn more about the video here.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Remember how Obama promised Obamacare would cut a family's healthcare cost by $2500? Yeah - not so much. "Broken promises with no repercussions" should be the new motto of the Democratic Party.

- The producers of True Detective are bringing Catch-22 to TV

- Interesting - Mike Tyson helps launch 100 Bitcoin ATM's in Las Vegas. My first reaction was "good for him!" Then I started to wonder if this makes laundering money so much easier.

- Cool - the USS Milwaukee. Can't help but wonder how this ship is going to get from Lake Michigan to the Atlantic Ocean. It's way too big for the Erie Canal - right?

- After reading this I'll never kill another centipede I find in my home again.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thoughts I'd share.

- Very true

- Also very true

- The NFL isn't going to give Tom Brady or the Patriots a thing if they can avoid it.

- Proof that Bob Kravitz has always been wrong about Tom Brady and the Patriots

- Great Yogi Berra story. Great illustration of the essence of the man.

RIP Yogi Berra

Sad to wake up to the news that baseball icon Yogi Berra has passed away. 

Berra made 14 consecutive All-Star teams and finished in the top 4 for MVP voting seven straight seasons (winning the award three times). Berra is arguably the greatest catcher to play the game (although I would understand if your choice was Johnny Bench instead). Yogi had incredible bat control and never struck out more than 38 times in a season. Johnny Bench had at least double Yogi's career high in strikeouts in every season Bench finished in the top 20 in MVP voting.  

What puts Berra ahead of Bench in my mind is the two year head start Bench had over Berra. Bench joined the big leagues at age 19. Berra didn't make it to the big leagues until age 21. It wasn't that Berra wasn't good enough to play earlier than that. It was just that Berra was busy fighting WWII - serving in the Navy until 1946.

It boggles the mind that baseball writers did not consider Yogi Berra a first ballot Hall of Fame player. Berra received just 67% of the votes in his first year of eligibility before being elected in 1972 with 85.6% of the vote (the same year that 13% of the baseball writers didn't think Sandy Koufax was good enough for induction).

The world is a poorer place this morning with Yogi's passing.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Ever notice that in that "skinny legs" Peyton Manning commercial the "regular" legs Peyton Manning is wearing pants throughout? Is that because regular Peyton Manning's legs aren't much bigger?... Rex Ryan checking out Bill Belichick's coaching record... I keep saying it - doesn't Jay Cutler seem like this generation's Jeff George? Are the two guys related?... Cool - a dramatic reading of the Joker's monologue from The Killing Joke... Despite the success last year - things aren't all that rosy in Baltimore this year for the Orioles. Could Dan Duquette be on his way out? If so would Dave Dombrowski consider him for a return engagement at the Red Sox GM?... So true!... I think if you are willing to bet on the WNBA - you would also be willing to gamble on the Special Olympics... Cool site. I'm going have to bookmark it and do a deep dive...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Who knew? A banana is actually a berry.

- A Medal of Honor Story. Roger that!

- As a reminder it was ABC News that actually started the rumors about Barack Obama's parentage

- Did an Ebola outbreak ravage Ancient Athens?

- Wildlife photographer of the year - some of these photos are beyond amazing!

- Why do we admire mobsters?

- God help me but I can't stop laughing at the Special Olympics one. I am an awful person.

Top 5 Schoolhouse Rock Songs

Here's what I consider the top 5 Schoolhouse Rock Songs

1. I'm Just a Bill
2. Conjunction Junction
3. My Hero, Zero
4. No More Kings
5. Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here

Just a random list for a Saturday morning.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

For those of you wondering after watching the first half of last night's game - Brock Osweiler is Peyton Manning's backup in Denver... Can't believe this is the guy who has been leading the polls for the GOP... According to sources Chris Mortensen's Tweet that 11 of 12 of Jason Pierre-Paul's fingers being badly damaged has been deleted... Am I a bad person that I laughed at this?... College football announcers who say "true freshman" should be forced to say "true sophomore", "true junior" and "true senior" as well...  Never knew there was such a deep connection between Irish heritage and Fenway Park... With the Pope's upcoming visit to the US - I began wondering who is America's most prominent Catholic? Joe Biden? Stephen Colbert? Jim Gaffigan? Tom Brady?... I can't stand PK Subban on the ice but off the ice it's hard not to like him when he does things like this...

Fantasy Football Thought for the Day

I agree with Rodney Harrison that the Bills most likely will double Rob Gronkowski this Sunday. Rex Ryan took some shots at Mike Tomlin for how the Steelers covered Gronk and Rex will be sure not to make the same mistakes.

Doubling Gronk should free up other Patriot receivers and I'm thinking this strategy in particular should free up Scott Chandler against DB's or a safety in red zone situations. Chandler is making a homecoming to Buffalo and don't think that hasn't escaped Bill Belichick's attention. Don't be surprised to see Chandler catch at least one TD on Sunday.

Tesla's Business Strategy

Interesting take on what Tesla's endgame business strategy might be. I especially like the HP parallel. HP's interface bus design becoming the standard allowed it to sell a lot of printers (and print cartridges). Likewise Tesla's battery patents open to competition will allow it to sell a lot of batteries.

The great cars they produce might just be window dressing.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Rex Ryan then and now

- Heh heh - how to handle cold callers

- The 10x15 foot wooden shed where the Harley-Davidson Motor Company started. I keep wondering if today's regulations would allow a similar company to grow and thrive.

- Harry Potter's resume

- JRR Tolkien and beer!

- The violent history of nutmeg

Just Because

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I know it's only one week but Peyton Manning looks cooked... 60 Minutes piece on Deflategate all but says the NFL was setting up the Patriots... David Ortiz is now just one of 4 men with 500 HR and 3 World Series rings - the others are Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson. That's some good company... I think history will say that Hillary Clinton's big mistake was not running against President Obama in 2012. Her husband Bill urged her to do it. Now I think she has too much baggage to be elected... David Ortiz needs just 22 more doubles to have 600 for his career. There are currently only 2 players in MLB history to have 500 HR and 600 doubles - Henry Aaron and Barry Bonds... Not usually an Alex Jones fan but this is interesting... If any President had handled Iraq and Afghanistan the way President Obama has - the MSM would be using the word "quagmire" 10,000 times a day... Can't watch those new Steve Jobs movie commercials without remembering Bill Burr's bit on Steve Jobs...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Good morning America!

- Don't be a do nothing bitch

- Cool - how Steely Dan created the song Deacon Blues

- HeadsetGate.com - hats off to what ever Patriots fan created that

- Tom E Curran gives the best explanation about what's happening in Foxboro right now

9/11

I'll have some additional comment on this video at a later date.

DeflateGate Update

Yesterday the football world was abuzz due to pretty much simultaneous smear jobs rehashing "Spygate" from sports powerhouses ESPN and Sports Illustrated. Two articles about something that happened 8-years ago coming out at the same time? Coincidence? Really?

Luckily both articles also perfectly coincided with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell making his first public interview since a Federal judge smacked down his tyrant-like form of justice against Saint Tom. Goodell said that Spygate and DeflateGate had nothing to do with each other. Really?

Yesterday Goodell also said that he and the NFL offices had nothing to do with John Jastremski and Jim McNally being suspended by the Patriots. If that is the case then why do the Patriots have to seek league approval to have them reinstated? Why the need for the two orders Colonel?

What I would LOVE to see happen is for the Patriots to keep mum and do their jobs by thrashing the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night but then on Sunday see Robert Kraft drop a bombshell. I would love for Kraft to issue a press release on 10:00 am Sunday saying since Roger Goodell said the decision to reinstate Jastremski and McNally was up to the team that the Patriots were reinstating the pair effective immediately with apologies for everything they and their families had been through. It would be great if Kraft included any correspondence from league officials like Jeff Pash or Troy Vincent saying the team needed league approval first or saying they had to suspend the pair in the first place.

Why 10:00 am EST? Because then all the morning NFL shows would be forced to cover the issue of whether Goodell lied or not. Have fun squirming in Chicago answering those questions Roger.

Top 5 NFL Predictions

Here are my Top 5 NFL Predictions for this season.

1. The New England Patriots will make Super Bowl 50 as the AFC Champions. No idea who they will face but the Pats are almost a lock to be in the game (assuming Tom Brady remains healthy).

2. Darrelle Revis will not make either first team NFL All Pro or second team All Pro. If he makes it on the Pro Bowl team it will because of his past performance. Revis was beat often in the playoffs last season (Steve Smith Sr. abused him) something not lost on the Patriots or more important on the rest of the NFL (except the Jets).

3. Both Rob Gronkowski and Scott Chandler of the Patriots will finish in the Top 10 for TD's by tight ends in the NFL.

4. Within 2 months either NFL front office honchos Mike Kensil or Jeff Pash (or both) will be fired or forced to resign for the bungling DeflateGate fiasco.

5. The Houston Texans will not only make the playoffs - running back Arian Foster will finish in the Top 5 in the NFL in rushing yards.

Warren Zevon

Warren Zevon passed away 12-years ago yesterday. If you have a sandwich today - make sure you really enjoy it.

The Roundless Way

Most people have heard the compliment of saying that a person is "well rounded". What does that actually mean? If you took away the "well" and just called someone "rounded" - that doesn't seem like much of a compliment at all does it? If you said "Joe is a rounded guy" I would assume you were either calling him fat or dull in a polite way.

To round some thing out usually means to either grind down the sharp edges or filling in the gaps between those edges. Neither "grinding down" nor "filler" seem like positives when it comes to personality traits. Wouldn't it be better to keep some sharp edges? Sharp is almost always a positive. He's a sharp thinker or he's a sharp dresser. Much better than being a rounded thinker or a rounded dresser - don't you agree?

Who would you rather handle your money - a sharp business man or a rounded business man?

I for one think it best to follow the path of the roundless way.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Brady is free yes but there's another point being overlooked by most regarding DeflateGate

- Important thing to know about Devon Still being cut by the Bengals

- Damon Wayans might want to rethink his position (or at least rethink the idea of voicing it out loud)

- Philosophy explained with donuts

- Heh heh - epilepsy my cock

Les McCann and Eddie Harris - Compared to What

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Is it cruel to ask an acoustic guitar player at a bar (trying his best) to play Free Bird?... Heh heh - good point... Now that Mount McKinley has been changed back to Denali - can we also get Istanbul changed back to Constantinople?... Heh heh - another good point... Who knew? The word "fad" is actually an acronym for "for a day"... Heh heh - a third good point... I initially thought the Internet was saying that Idris Elba was "too sweet" to play James Bond - a point I could see. Then I learned it was actually "too street" which is crap... Good interview with comedy iconoclast Norm MacDonald... Once it is pointed out to you that if Hillary Clinton was a Harry Potter character she would be Dolores Umbridge - you'll never see her the same again... Actually this could explain a whole lot...

DeflateGate Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations on Deflategate.

When thinking back on the past 7 months of Deflategate perhaps the most surprising thing to me is that nobody at the upper levels of the NFL's offices in New York knew that things expand when hot and contract when cold. This level of just plain ignorance is disturbing... This piece by Dan Wetzel on the arrogance of Roger Goodell is perhaps the best synopsis of Deflategate I've read... I firmly believe that the NFL would have been much better off if instead of hiring Roger Goodell all those years ago they got a mannequin in a suit and piped in H. Jon Benjamin's voice whenever the "Commissioner" needed to speak... Lester Munson is a complete blowhard and as wrong as he was on DeflateGate he was even more wrong when it came to the Duke lacrosse "rape" case...  Lester Munson seems like the type of person who would argue in favor of pay toilets... Heh heh... Just as a reminder - when Deflategate first became a big deal I said that this act of hubris will end up costing Roger Goodell his job. Seems like a lot of people are coming around to my way of thinking on the matter...

DeflateGate

Here's are some of the best reactions I've seen to Tom Brady being vindicated in court today.

- The Peanuts angle

- Not just one but two courtroom sketch drawings

- The "How do you like them apples" angle

And the very best from a Dunkin Donuts in Maine.

Great Story

Fantastic story.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

GMC should have a special edition Denali that would only be available in Ohio but which would be called the McKinley....Who knew?... Maybe the NFL is going so hard after the Patriots this off-season because the Colts want people to forget about their stupid 9-point play proposal... Not kidding - I really want that Roger Goodell T-shirt... Heh heh - well this explains a lot; "A bow tie announces to the world that you can no longer get an erection" - David Sedaris... To help avoid intentional tanking - the NBA should force the team that finishes with the worst record to wear white yoga pants as part of their home uniform the following year. Problem solved... Holy crap - the new Tesla Model S is so good it broke Consumer Reports rating system... Metabolic Cascades of Dysfunction would be a good name for a fantasy football team. It is also a fancy way of saying "concussions"...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Tom Brady helped bring Jim Harbaugh back to Michigan

- Rise of sea levels "greatest lie ever told". But remember the science is settled.

- Heh heh

- Mysterious Russian wooden statue is 11,000 years old - twice as old as the pyramids.

- Nice profile of Notre Dame great Tom Zbikowski. Well worth the read.

- Mythbusters on Walter White's machine gun ending of Breaking Bad

- I want one of these