My wife is in a fantasy league and started Trevor Lawrence, Derek Henry and Isiah Likely. She pretty much crushed everyone else this week.

Yup. Week 1 in Fantasy is in the books. And despite my fuck up with drafting Josh Jacobs not knowing that he was getting suspended for beat up his wife, yikes, I won week 1 by 70 points. I put up 198 points in my PPR league. Mainly because of Caleb Williams at QB dropping 40, Zay Flowers getting 150 yards and a TS in the first half before leaving with injury. Justin Jefferson got me 25 points with Caron Fucking Wentz, DJ Moore got me 25 and the rest of my team all produced in the 12-17 point range....

So, I am currently the #1 seed in a 12 team PPR league with 2 flex slots in it....

It's a long season, so we shall see. But a fun opener for sure.

I hate PPR and voiced my desire for a standard points league, but they went with PPR. I don't think points per reception and all this nonsense about runs or catches over 20 yards and shit.... 10 yards = 1 point. Keep it simple. I never understood the PPR thing. Who fucking cares how many times someone touches the ball. All that matter is how many yards and how many touchdowns did you score. 

So, I have mentioned this before. I played soccer all the way up to and through college, so I would like to think that I was pretty good at it.... When I met my wife, I quickly learned that also played soccer, and comes from soccer royalty in Maryland. Her grandfather and cousin are in the Maryland Soccer hall of fame. Both of them played professionally, and also represented the country on the USMNT. 

And I have told this story a few times on here, but the night I met my wife, 25+ years ago, it was opening day for the Orioles. We had both gone to the game, and afterwards ended up at a bar in Canton, in downtown Baltimore after the game. I end up sitting at the bar next to Marty Cordova, the Orioles outfielder. I am with 2 buddies. My one buddy and I are at the bar. On the other side of us are two SMOKE shows. Super hot chicks. We start chatting and offer to buy them drinks. They both order shots: "Grey Goose, chilled". My buddy and I look at each other and roll our eyes.... So, about 10 minutes later, some big dude comes up to them, whispers something in the ears, then they say they have to leave. We are like, okay, where are you all going? They said their shift was about to start, and that was their bouncer. They had to report to the titty bar for their shifts... Yikes, okay, we just hit on some strippers. 

So, meanwhile, my buddy is standing behind us, and he has started chatting up some girl. So we turn around and start bullshitting with them. There are a couple of other chicks with them. We all start bullshitting and my buddy looks at me and says, hey, you see that older lady over by the door. She is STARING at you. Like, she hasn't taken her eyes off you for 5 minutes... So, I chuckle and say, okay, maybe she wants the "D".... She is twice my age, but fuck it. Let me go see what she is talking about.... So, I grab my beer, walk up to her. Start hitting on her. I am offering to buy her a drink. She declines and walks away....

I return to the group and say, well, that didn't go as planned....

Then a young girl in the other group says "You know why that woman was staring at us?".... Okay, why? That is my fucking Aunt!

I am like, oh shit... Yikes... We all get a laugh and I am telling the girl I was just playing around and shit.... 

Anyway, a couple of hours later, we end up at my buddies apartment. He lived in the Penthouse floor of the Belvedere Hotel in Downtown Bmore. It had a perfect city view of the entire skyline. Sick spot. Chicks dropped panties as soon as they walked in. So anyway, my buddy took this other chick into his room to "Show her the view" and meanwhile, I am out in the living room, drinking with this chick and I start doing my thing....

Anyway, that is my wife. That is how we met.... So in the coming weeks, as we hung out more, she explained that her cousin's name is Santino Quaranta, and that the woman I hit on was her aunt and Santino's mother. Being a soccer player, who played college in Baltimore, I was super familiar with Santino. He was suggested to be the Cristian Pulisic of the era. Freddy Adu and all that... He was a fucking legend...

Anyway, he went on playing as a pro. Scored goals in a gold cup for the USMNT. His career was rather short lived, and he wasn't in the league much more than10 years.

I had also heard, being from Baltimore, that in the middle of his early career, he fell upon hard times with cocaine and opioids. I knew that this was a thing, and when I saw him again a handful of years ago, he was sober and running soccer programs for inner city youths and all this shit... Anyway, good dude...

But today, on my facebook feed, this post shows up and it's about a soccer player from back in the day, who was supposed to be the best US men's player ever. And his name was Santino Quaranta.....

Not the best story of professional success, but a cautionary tale to young athletes, especially people from places like Baltimore, where drugs run rampant and you grow up around them....

Probably the craziest quote or statement in this article is him explaining how that when he moved away from Baltimore and DC, the crack and cocaine capitals of the US, and he moved to LA, that is where it got really bad. In LA, he said coke and pills were everywhere. And this is a dude from Baltimore Maryland. That is a pretty bold statement to say it's easier to find hard drugs in Los Angeles, than it is in your home town of Baltimore...

Anyway, here is the FB post:

“I watch the Premier League, I watch the kids that are playing now, I was just as good as them. I was.”

Before Freddy Adu, there was an American soccer golden boy. His name is Santino Quaranta.

At 16 years and four months, Quaranta became the youngest to play in MLS in 2001.

Despite his talent, he earned just 15 caps for USMNT and retired at 26. This is his story.

Quaranta is from Baltimore, growing up in a rough neighborhood.

Early on, he was already hanging out with older people in the wrong crowd. What would’ve happened to him if he wasn’t good at soccer?

“That’s a good question,” he said on Doug Bopst’s podcast.

“I don’t know. A lot of my friends, the people I grew up with, some of them are dead. Some of them didn’t make it out of the place.”

Because of his performances in high school soccer, he got drafted by D.C. United at just 16.

The future seemed very bright.

Quaranta immediately excelled in MLS, recording five goals and one assist in 16 games for his debut season. Great numbers for a kid who was only 16, he was on the All-Star team.

But he was still just a kid. Injuries started catching up to him as the more he played in MLS.

Injuries also got him hooked to painkillers and eventually, cocaine.

“I was introduced to my first pain pill, and I really liked those things,” Quaranta said.

“I took them. I had a couple drinks and it was a wonderful feeling. It wasn’t overnight but it was a progression.

“Like it did something to my brain. I wanted to feel like that again. And then I wanted to feel like that again next week and the next week.

“It was a progression and it didn’t take long. Then you get introduced to higher end drugs.

“You mix them all together and then it becomes a real concoction that I really liked.

“But again, it wasn’t like everyday and I was losing everything. I was still performing and I was still able to deal with injuries and move on.”

Because he was still performing on the pitch, he made his USMNT debut in 2005. He was only 20 back then.

But a year later, things were spiraling out of control and D.C. United had enough. They sent him to LA Galaxy.

“Not a great place to go,” Quaranta said about LA.

“I told myself when I get traded, I was gonna get my act together in Los Angeles.

“Then I found out very quickly that I had more access to stuff out there than I did here.

“I always found people that wanted to do what I did. Not in the team, but outside.”

Ironically, Quaranta had a great start in the Galaxy, even while he took opiates before games.

“Normal people would say, what the hell is this? But that was my reality,” he said.

“It didn’t knock me out. It gave me energy.”

Eventually, the drugs did catch up with him. After a brief stint at New York Red Bulls and a return to D.C. United, he retired in 2011.

He was still only 26 at the time. Once considered a golden boy, Quaranta hung up the boots 10 years after his debut.

Of course, he regrets his mistakes.

“One thing that hurts the most is the success I could’ve had,” Quaranta said.

“I accept that now but I watch the Premier League, I watch the kids that are playing now, I was just as good as them. I was.

“Back around 2001 or 2002, I was rated among the top 100 players in the world.

“I was invited to go play at Manchester United during the off-season. But I wanted to stay here and enjoy my off-season.”

His agent couldn’t believe it when Quaranta turned down that offer.

The former winger also had a chance to go to the 2006 World Cup with USMNT.

Bruce Arena told him he was penciled in for the squad for the tournament.

But 2006 was a really bad year for Quaranta. He was struggling badly with drug addiction.

“The first day I got there to the January camp, I was with a fitness guy. That was the end of the World Cup for me,” he said.

“I was forced out. I was done. They looked at the fitness test and they saw an ungrateful kid that was not prepared to represent the country.”

Quaranta understood the decision. He was completely out of shape.

Now 41, Quaranta is completely sober. He is a co-founder of Pipeline Soccer Club, and is also a motivational speaker.

He has rebuilt his life after dealing with so much mental pain.

Although he has many regrets for how his career turned out, Quaranta now shares his story to many people— hoping to help them in their struggles with drugs.

His work with Pipeline has also been amazing, as he is guiding a new generation of players to the right path. 👏🏾

So, let's start with college:

- Lane Kiffen: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. So, Ole Miss put belt to ass on ya'll. Ole Miss players snubbing Kiffen on attempted handshakes. That has to be the highlight of the CFB weekend.

- Oregon: You still suck. You beat Portland State by 86 points? FUCK YOU. You have been in the Big 10 for 2 years, and you are still playing west coast MAC teams? Fucking clowns.

- A&M: Get the fuck outta here. No playoffs for you. Losers.

- Notre Dame: You only beat Michigan State 27-10. You guys are fucking losers.

- Bama: You only beat FSU 50-36. Spreads matter. Performance matters. That ain't gonna get shit done, and that ain't gonna get you in a playoff. 

- BYU, way to beat unranked Colorado State by only 18 points. You. Do. Not. Belong. 

- Mizzou: You only beat fucking TROY 27-17. Losers

- Oklahoma: Bye Bye: You already have one loss and you only beat New Mexico 14-6. Losers

- Virginia: Bye Bye. See you next year. 

All in all, a shit week for CFB, aside from the LSU/Ole Miss game. Winners won mostly, a few losers and a few scores that don't give these power schools a very nice looking resume.

So, fantasy football.

Week 1, I put up the most points in my PPR league (200+) and was sitting at #1.

Coming into week 2, I am missing Josh Jacobs (Beat his girl) and Zay Flowers (Hammy).... So I was down 2 of my to 4 picks going into the week.

DJ Moore gets one carry for -.1 points, then leaves the game after tweaking his shoulder on a TD target that he dropped. Leaves the game in the first half, clocking negative fantasy points for the week.

Caleb Williams goes down with a hammy and leaves me after only putting up 10 points in PPR. From the way he got carted off, with the thumbs up and shit, he made it seem like he broke both his legs. Pussy.

Saquon Barkley leaves the game after the first offensive snap... Gone. Zero points...

Not a good week when I am missing half my team, and it's only week 2. Yikes. 

NFL.

As usual, I will start with the Ravens. As we ALL know, they lost.... So, I will try not to waste anyone's brainpower with too much insight into this game....

BUT, in a nutshell, New Orleans is GOOD. Border line "very good". We knew this coming in. I in no way thought this would be a cake walk....

So, anyone that saw the score probably thought, wow, what the fuck happened to the Ravens? 

So, in reality, what happened was: New Orleans played a better game. It didn't appear this way. Baltimore looked good in the first half, but made mistakes with penalties that took back multiple scoring opportunities etc.... We were winning going into half time...

Then in the second half, NO defense stepped up, and in the second half, the Ravens just didn't have possession. They had 4 total drives in the entire second half. New Orleans milked the clock and kept us out of position. 

To NOTE: New Orleans DIDN'T score that final touchdown. It was 4th and goal and it was CLEAR that they didn't cross the line. They replayed it. And Baltimore did get his facemask and rip it back, but regardless, the ball didn't cross the line. You can't review the facemask. and that WAS the reason that the ball didn't cross the line, but that wasn't the question. You can't review that. You can't call a foul after the fact. So that last TD didn't count. The refs knew it. But the facemask was so bad that I think they let it go....

So, the score SHOULD have been 17 to 17.... Oh well, we still have 3 minutes left to drive... We make our way down. 40 seconds left. Then 25.... Then, with 3-4 shots left in the end zone to tie or win, Lamar just air drops an interception. Game over....

So, this wasn't a "Ravens played a terrible game" or "New Orleans" out gunned us, or anything. It was a wonky game. We were winning the entire game, into the 4th quarter....

This was "akin" to the Raven's of old. The 2024-2025 teams that just sat on the sideline, content, with the thought of "It's okay, as soon as we get back out there, we are going to make this happen"..... That is how their demeanor always is. Laughing on the side line. It's okay.... No man, it's NOT OKAY.... You guys fucked around and fucked around, and they burned the entire clock out from under you. This is the same dumb shit that happened for years now....

I was not a fan of that. They need to play EVERY possession, especially in the second half, as if it's a game tying drive and a 2 minute drill. We did what we usually do, and just assume that we can make magic happen at the end. NO. 

But after all of that, I was disappointing, yes. But this loss didn't "shock me". It wasn't a terrible showing. It was just a team that thinks they are better than their opponent, fucking around and making mistakes. 

And Lamar. Man. You CAN'T make that throw. That was the ball game bro. 

So, over-reactions:

- The Bills are the best team in the history of football. 

- The Chiefs are going back to the superbowl, because they beat the Colts

- The Browns won a game: The Brown's aren't still the worst team in the league....

- Carolina is heating up

- Atlanta is terrible (This is probably NOT an over-reaction)

- Houstin is terrible (This may be true)

- The Raiders don't suck

- The Chargers are terrible

- Cincinatti are contenders and Joe Burrow isn't made of glass

- Pittsburgh is terrible and Aaron Rodgers should fake an injury and go back to his hippie tents in South America....

Anyway, nothing too too shocking over the weekend. I think the Raven's upset was notable. The Steelers looked TERRIBLE. Atlanta is a joke. Cinci and Cleveland both won, leaving egg on the Raven's face when they had an opportunity to sit atop the AFC North alone....

Chargers, Broncos, Texans.... You guys are officially on notice. 

NFC South: Gonna be a photo finish in a wild ass division.

NFC North: Who are you guys. I have no idea which of these 4 teams are good or not... No clue....

AFC West: WTF? Chargers suck. Denver mediocre and Nix looks awful. Raiders 2-0? It's early, but who are you guys also? No clue

HAHAHA Good stuff. Man, first Lane Kiffen got what he deserved, couldn't have been a better ending to that one. Good on Ole Miss, ya'll do your thang! Keep it going! FSU showed up in the first half, even after another weather delay, they keep f'ing our flow up right before games, didn't seem that bad to me, but hey I aint a meteor ologist either. Then, yet another weather delay, which I think played a role in the loss of momentum, having to restart yet again, really sucks and is disapointing. These things almost always favor the home team, and it did this time as well. But whatever, Bama got their win. FSU had their chance and let it slip away. Once they lost the mometum, that was it. Raiders are 2-0!!! Don't look like world beaters, but 2-0 is as good as we can ask for.

Yeah man. I am not 100% sure on what happened down in Florida yesterday, but I had the Browns/Bucs game on an alternate device, and it went to a delay. And when they showed footage in the Tampa Area, it looked like Tropical Storm force winds were ripping through there. Palm trees bent sideways and the whole deal. The total delay in Tampa was like 2-3 hours, so it was a thing. 

I know Tallahassee is way up to the NW of Tampa, but I assume it was the same system that was affecting both. Looked legit though. 

Yeah, we had some of it here as I mentioned in the surfing thread. Just sucks that it keeps happening. I think sometimes they are a little overly cautious with "potential" lighting in the vincinty, and by vicinity, we're talking miles away, don't know the exact radius but it felt a little too cautious to me.

I know know, it's for everybody's safety, but honestly, I have been at big college games for a weather delays, and there's nothing safe about it for the fans, and even some players / coaches, trainers, media people, etc. depending how long it takes to clear it out and if everyody listens or follows instructions. The last time I was at a game and this happened that I can recall, we had to stand around the stadium still, just not at our seats, it was technically "outside" still, yet covered, but noneless it didn't feel much safer to me, and this was during an actual storm, not "potential lightning", the storm passes and everybody goes back in, but the protocol doesn't really do much IMO, false sense of security. When they called the delay, there was still people taking their sweet time out on the field and around the stadium too, so it's not a very tight safety operation if you ask me. This was at UF, which, I can't stand, but I have been to some games with friends who are fans. I don't know what the solution is when you have that many people packed into an open stadium, they don't have a building large enough to have them so inside for more safety, so it is what it is, it's just an observation.

I think they could maybe loosen up a little bit on what determines a delay and also I think they need to speed up the warm up / start / restart schedule, stop giving them so much damn time to warm up, it doesn't take that long to get ready to play football, they are ridiculous about it.

Yeah, I agree. Like I mentioned a while back on here. Last time I was in Tampa a couple of years ago, I was in St. Pete Beach for 10 days... As I said, I was BLOWN AWAY by the fact that not one resort, hotel, or anything with a pool, or beach front cared AT ALL that there was lightening storms like 1 mile offshore. Every single day. This was in August. I mean, shit was crackling in the back ground. I always got my kids and wife out of the pool and to safety. No one else cared. No one at the facility cared. No lifeguards cared....

I live at the fucking beach. If there is lightening within like 10 miles of here, the beaches clear. Pools closed for 30 minutes. The whole deal. Tampa didn't give a fuck. Lightening? Fuck it. Thunder? Fuck it. 

So, the last two sporting events that I have ever experienced weather delays were: Opening day, Baltimore Orioles, Camden Yards, March 30th, 2003. The Indians are in Baltimore. Post 9/11, so there were snipers all along the roof of Camden Yards. Erie as all hell. Dozens of them. And in the 6th inning or so, we had a fucking blizzard. It went from like 60 and sunny, so GIANT snow flakesthe size of baseballs falling. 30 minutes later, it got warm again, game on... That was a weird one...

And the last one was 2 years ago in Jacksonville. When I was down there for the "biggest NE swell" in Florida history. A week before Christmas. Anyway, the entire stadium was packed, and RIGHT before kickoff, it started to rain and I guess there was lightening somewhere in the area (that we couldn't see), so they cleared the stadium for like 45 minutes and we all had to cram into the "concourse" or the "interior"... What a shit show. Shoulder to shoulder. 

But that was the only time I have ever been to an NFL game and they delayed it. In Baltimore and DC, I grew up attending games in rain, snow, blizzards, hurricanes. No matter. I have NEVER been at another game where play was stopped due to weather. EVER....

Florida is a crazy place.

They rest of my pro sports attendance all happened in San Diego, where it rains 5 times per year, and in a 10 year span, there was not one instance of lightening, ever in all of Southern California. So, I attended probably 15 chargers games and over 100 padres games. Not one game was every delayed for any reason. Even during wild fires.... Ash raining down in the stadiums, we are still there. No worries. 

Yeah, "lighting capital of the world", we are conditioned to it, good or bad, it's just how it is. I don't play with lightning, don't get me wrong, I know when to get the heck out of water and when to stay inside. If the crack of the lighting / thunder is heard well after you see the lightning, or if no sound at all, chances are you're safe. When you hear the crack of the lightning / thunder at the same time or BEFORE you see it, get inside immediately. People do get struck and die, and it happened recently to a poor lady and her kid, trying to run from the car to the house during a storm, something we all do, just bad timing. You're better off sitting in the car with rubber tires on the ground than putting your feet on the ground / water if the lighting is like that. But we've ALL rolled the dice I'm sure, just a shame it happened and left a husband / father without his family, you feel for him. But that is a rare situation, just reminds us to take it seriously.

I decided to see if the Ravens won so I'd know if y'all were happy or not.  I saw they beat Jerry's kids.  Double bonus.  Long live the curse.

I heard the Fox Weather lady say JagWIRES. 🤣 Haley the college soccer grrl.

The Cleveland Browns done beat someone.  Sorry, Panthers.  Dang.

I've only turned on a Texans game like 3 times so far.  Each time I do, somethin f'd up happens like a fumble.  Not 10 plays later.  Almost immediately.  I switch it to somethin else in like 60sec.  It's uncanny.  Or... that's all game long.  Maybe I'm not a human WeeGee board. 

She's everywhere.  😁  

So-FEE! 🙌

So-FEE! 🙌

So-FEE! 🙌

🥳🥳🥳

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdPdSGFvgLO/?stkn=MXB3bjA5c2hrMW42cQ==

Yeah IBC. Now that you are a Raven's fan, you have to bleed the purple and black with us brother!

So, I will start there. Ravens @ Cowboys, in Rio, on a shitty, soaked soccer field.

Game starts with a 3 and out from Bmore. Not good. Then the Cowboys drive down the field with ease on our defense and score. Then another 3. 10-0... Not a great start... 

Okay, Ravens get back on track. The Derek Henry train is rolling. Zay Flowers is in the game, but on limited snaps. We are still without our stud rookie reciever and our center is out. 

Backup center goes down in the first half. We are down to zero centers. We move the rookie from left guard to play center the rest of the game, which is a first for him.

Mark Andrews is out with a hand injury most of the game...

All that said, the Ravens are up 11 in the wrd quarter and we are rolling.... 

Then, the announcers start talking about it. Everyone starts talking about it. The Ravens have blown more 4th quarter leads than anyone in history over the last 4 years... Here we go.... Blah Blah....

So, when they stopped king Henry on that second 4th and inches, I started getting that feeling. This is over. 

Then on the Cowboy's final drive, I am sitting there thinking: 3 is an absolute here. BEST CASE SCENARIO is over time. Worst case scenerio is that they score 7, then we get the ball back with 20 seconds and HAVE to score a TD to win... Not good....

So, the pass interference call was terrible. That was OPI 100%. Everyone saw it... The receiver had our corners arm completely locked up... Okay, first and goal from the 1. We are fucked.....

At this point, I am already mentally prepared to clean up after the game and accept another gut wrenching loss. 

So, the clock keeps ticking. One stop. Two stops... Okay, it's 3rd and goal with only 14 seconds and no time outs. They can't run the ball. They have to take one throw in the end zone... Dak freaks out and tosses it in the stands.... Okay, they have a chip shot field goal to tie...

Okay, at least we have OT and a chance....

No, remember that their kicker already put two kicks out of bounds earlier in the game.... Giving us the ball at the 40 or some shit? So, I couldn't believe what I saw next. So, you can't do a squib kick anymore. It's illegal because there is a middle zone where the ball can't touch the ground, so because of his previous errors, they have him boot it into the endzone for a touchback.... Fine. But the problem is that they didn't burn a single second off the clock.... 

So, Ravens get the ball. 7 seconds. 1 time out.... I assume we are going to take a knee. But now, the cowboys are playing outside leverage (obviously) to cover the sideline, so the middle is wide open and they are running basically a hail mary drill on defense. So, Zay cuts through the middle, makes the catch with 2 seconds left and is touched and down by contact with 1 second left. As that one second is on the clock, Lamar has his hands in the face of the official in the sign of a T... Timeout. Granted....

Wow, so we have a 56 yard attempt, to win the game? WHAT?

Boom. Through the up rights.....

Crazy fucking game. We were the better team. We deserved to win. But typically, in situations like this over the past couple of years, the Ravens lose that game 10 out of 10 times...

So, more than anything, I think that was just a karma boost. Just some luck finally going our way, when year after year after year, in those final seconds, Mark Andrews drops a wet ball in the endzone in the AFC championship. Or Likely doesn't get his toe in the endzone. Or Billy Cundiff shanks a 20 yard FG to go to a superbowl...

That has been our life. Our existence, so it was nice to see it happen in our favor. And there is nothing better than beating "America's Team" just like that, on foreign soil, while the entire world is watching... Fuck you Dallas!

So, on to the run down for the rest of the NFL:
- Panthers: I needed you to handle to lowly Browns and keep them in their place. You failed
- Browns: You still suck. Don't think otherwise because the Panther's let Chester the Molestor look like Peyton Manning
- Bengals: Your defense still sucks. Bad.
- Steelers: You looked liked Trash weeks 1 and 2. Rodgers looks awesome yesterday, and was slanging it. So, either the Bengals defense is THAT BAD, or they are coming into their own. I NEVER root for the Steelers, but I think the Bengals are a better team, and they were 2-0 so I needed the Steelers to win yesterday, and they did. 
- Texans: You guys are Fugazi and will not make the playoffs this year.
- Colts: You are 1-2 now. Not sure what to tell ya. 
- Chiefs: Bye week for you since you played the Dolphins
- Dolphins: Man, the saddest thing I saw or heard all day was when they interviewed the coach on the way into the locker room. Miami is down 14-7 and the reporter was like "Wow, you guys played so well and so great in the first half. You are losing, but how proud are you of your guys. Coach goes on to say: "I am so proud of them and how they are fighting and working and not giving up. This is a great group of guys and it's nice to see them having some success" - Says the guy who is losing, and goes on to lose 24-10... I mean, this is the fucking NFL. And to hear a grown man talk about how great it is to only be losing by 7 at the half, was some crazy shit....
- Chargers: We all needed you to beat the Bills. You out played them 75% of the game, but when Herbert decides to throw picks in his own redzone, then give the game back, you end up being 0-3 and letting Josh Allen come back on you. You all are fucking hopeless. 
- Bills: The Chargers let you boys off the hook. For real....
- Lions and Jets: Didn't watch you boys. Not sure what either of you are. 
- Redskins: Beating the Seahawks with Mariota? Good on ya!!!! Fuck of a win boys!
- Seahawks: Well, you ain't going 17-0. That about all this tells me. 
- Giants: You guys suck without Dart. You just happened to play Cam Ward and the Titans
- Titans: See you next week gents. 
- Jags: On fire right now. Prince Trevor took a knee on the goal line with 9 minutes left, which was fucking crazy. A mistake admitted by him... Funny as shit though... I will call these guys the kings of the AFC South. You heard it hear first. 
- 49ers: You beat the Cards, but I think the Cards are decent, so a win is a win is a win.
- Vikings: Sheeeeeeeeet, not sure what you boys are, but your DC is nasty with it, and if Kyler can read the playbook, you guys might sneak into the playoffs. 
- Bucs: Dude, Baker... You got your money. You took the bag. And you are playing like dog shit. Worst I have ever seen. Crazy. 
- Saints: Shit, you came back and beat us last week, so I know you are good. You can fuck around and take the NFC South, cause nobody else wants to apparently. The Raiders did just beat you.
- Raiders: 3-0 is 3-0... Good for you. Great story... How fucking hilarious would it be if they won the west. Not gonna happen. I see them finishing 8-9ish or somewhere in there, but still. They are undefeated. 
- Rams: You are not as stacked as you/we thought. You are going to have to fight week in and week out to make the playoffs. Good team, but everyone needs to pump the breaks. All I heard all summer was "Can the Rams go 17-0 this year?" Pump your fucking breaks.
- Broncos: You guys are Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. Not sure who we are going to see week in and week out. 

And that brings me to The New England Patriots: Now, there are two teams that I HATE in the NFL. One is the Steelers and one is the Patriots. Now, the difference is: I respect the shit out of the Steelers as an organization. I hate them ON THE FIELD. But, we battle it out with them year in and year out, and it's the best rivalry in sports, IMO.... So, you can hate someone of something, and also respect it. And that is my relationship with the Steelers... Now, as a Raven's fan, one might wonder why the second team I hate is the Patriots: So, there is a combination of reasons: 1) Is the cheating. Period. You won 6 championships and cheating for 5 of them. That is a fact. And it wasn't a little gamesmanship. You cheated. You video taped practices. You stole signals. You tapped locker rooms. You spied on coaches. You change the scoreboards in your stadium to show incorrect information. Then deflate gate..... 

Now, if anyone recalls deflate gate, they will remember that the game that they got called out for cheating was against the Colts.... So, in the second half, the refs checked all the balls and made sure that they were properly deflated. Now, they ended up beating the colts by like 14 points, so all the pundits and the Patriots all said "See, it didn't matter. We smoked them. The balls had nothing to do with it. The game wasn't even close".... Now, while on the surface, that was true. That is not the whole story...

So, how did the Colts know? Well, the previous week, the Patriots beat the Ravens by 2 points. It was like 39-37..... And DURING the Ravens game, one of our coaches on the sidelines caught an errant pass from Brady on the sideline. He immediately felt that the ball was so deflated that it was noticeable to the touch. Now, I don't think the Raven's said or did anything at the time... But the following week, they reached out to the Colts organization and shared the information: The Patriots are deflating balls making them easier to catch. All you need to do is get one of the balls they are using during play and give it to the refs....

So, in the second quarter, they did just that. Got a ball, showed the refs, and the Patriots got caught.....

So, the only thing anyone said was that the Colts got beat anyway and it didn't matter. But the point was, they had been doing this all season and in previous years, and they cheated and beat teams like Baltimore by only 2 points....

Then in the AFC Championship game. We are down by 3, 8 seconds left. It goes to 4th down. But in the stadium, they leave it all on "3rd down" on every scoreboard. So Billy Cundif, our kicker was warming up on the sideline, not looking at the field. And he kept seeing "3rd down".... So by the time they all realized, Harbaugh had to grab him by the shirt, rush him out, they get the kick off and it shanks... Game over. Patriots go on to win the superbowl....

So with them, it's always fucking something... I don't respect their organization. I don't respect their team. And their fans are a bunch of boner garages. People from 6 different states, all claiming Boston and say they are "The biggest Pats fans ever" in their hay day when they are winning. Mostly chicks. Not one of them can mention a player not named Braady or Gronk....

So fuck them. Fuck their fans. Fuck their owner and his massage parlors.... 

And fuck them for making the superbowl last year after playing the easiest schedule in modern history, then playing a bunch of teams with no QBs in the playoffs.....

They were my "first to worst" team pick this year. And I stand by that. And while I think Drake Maye seems like a nice kid and a guy you could root for, he just happened to go to play for the evil empire....

I will end on this note: People say "Spy gate wasn't a big deal, leave it alone"...

Well, back in those days, I lived in San Diego. My company catered all the Chargers practices, so we would see the players almost daily....

When discussing this topic with Ladanian Tomlinson when he was on the Chargers, I asked him if it really had a large impact on them as a team. So, the Chargers were ONE of the teams that had their practice filmed by the Patriots, and that year, they lost to the Pars in the Playoffs. And LT said the following to me: "It wasn't like they just knew what we were going to do, it was so bad that the Patriot's secondary were running our receiver routes. It was that bad"....

So, LT, one of the top 5 running backs of all time in the NFL told me that the Patriots knocked them out of the playoffs by cheating and it wasn't that they had some vague idea of what was going on... The corners were being READ THE PLAY before it happened. So when the Y receiver runs a 10 yard post route, the corner is beating him to the spot, every time.... Literally running the routes...

So fuck the Patriots. I hope they continue to fail. They certainly deserve about 30 more years of pain to make up for what they stole from so many cities, fans and players. 

College: 

I think we have to start here: The Texas and Tennessee game was AWESOME! I watched most of the second half... I don't know a ton of Texas fans, because they haven't been relevant in the CFB world since Vince fucking Young was there 20 years ago or whatever. Tennessee fans throughout that time, have been here, been vocal and have also been irrelevant, so the TENN fans annoy me, just because they are so passionate, yet so irrelevant. Even though Texas moved conferences and what not, I have no reason to hate them.... So, they are probably the one team that matters this year that I am rooting for. Because they have always been a big named school. They just moved into a big boy conference....

Texas had a big boy win, albeit a small margin to stay firm at #1
Notre Dame has another win against a nobody team. Fuck off. 
Florida made the biggest splash kicking the dog shit outta Ole Miss. Florida is the winner of the week
Ole Miss: You fucked up and got an LSU hangover. Remember, that wasn't a championship boys. It didn't matter
Bama: You looked VERY fucking good
South Carolina: Bye bye. You got slaughtered by Bama. Any hopes of you making a run are now gone since you have 6 top 10 teams to play in a row... Sucks to be you this year
A&M: I called you out before the season. You are not a real team. Bye Bye.
LSU: You smoked A&M. They suck. You DIDN'T smoke Ole Miss. That game mattered
Oregon: You finally won a real game. You still ain't making the playoffs fuckers. You are phony. 
USC: Another year on the outside looking in. If ya can't beat Oregon, you ain't beating any of the top Big10 or SEC teams. Period. End of story.
Louisville: Your season is over
Michigan: Your season is officially over, even though we all put you out week 1 with your bogus victory. Now, we need not hear about you until next summer

So, all of that said: I think the rankings are generally okay. Only beef really is keeping ND in the top 5. I mean, seriously? You are telling me that the following teams who are 4-0, who have all played REAL schedules, do not deserve to be higher than ND, who has played highschool teams so far: Miami, Bama, Indiana, Florida, Texas Tech, Iowa, Utah.... 

I mean, GTOH. 

There's folks down around here rememberin the Darrell Royal and Earl Campbell glory days, Zach.  I can't find it, but there was a great story about them two.  Coach Royal talkin to Earl about touchdown dancin.  Act like you been there before, son.  Just hand the ref the ball, in other words. 😏

There's a little street named after Darrell Royal here in Galveston.  Over in the middle of all the University of Texas Medical Branch UTMB places.  Multiple hospitals, the doctor school, etc.  Texas is the biggest employer in Galveston.  By a mile. 😎

Ol Peyton musta been goin through some stuff.  On the one hand, your nephew is just KILLIN it and has a halfway decent shot at the CFP crown.  On the other, it's his BELOVED 😍 Rocky Top.  It ain't easy doin what Texas just did up there.  I mentioned I took a quickie look at the schedule strength of the top few teams.  I'm startin to see more in depth actual articles.  Seems Texas has THE toughest schedule of anybody, at least by rankings.  If Lambos somehow keep this goin, could be up there in Longhorn lore one day.

Of course, I don't wanna see it because that means my Dawgs didn't win it.  But... so far, I'd be ok if Lambos do this.  Won't nobody be able to say it was gave to em.  And, Cooper's kid.  Bonus. 🤣

Raiders are 3-0, "you like that" Kirk Cousins is getting it done so far, defense looks good too. Let's keep it going, wouldn't mind getting into the playoffs for a change, not getting too far ahead of myself, but it's a good start so far.

Congrats to the Ravens on their W, I am not 100% on giving them that 1 second, felt a lot like the Michigan game, but w/e, the Cowboys always find a way to blow it in the end, so that felt right to me.

FSU beat the snot out of Western Nobody State, didn't really get to see it, but kept up with the scoring.

UF looks really good, dang, that makes me sad. HAHA

Texas vs Tennessee was great, love a good quality matchup like that.