Bart Borer’s Thoughts That Matter - Vol. III - Num. I
By: Bart BorerI guess we can look at my overall record in two different ways. First we could say that I have scored an 18 out of 48, an F- by my calculation – not a grade they like to give out very often! Or in terms of baseball it would be like batting .375, great if you’re in the majors. The only problem is that I am not in the majors, this is more like intramurals, and .375 is not impressive.
So either way you look at it, I suck.
Since my current method of picking these games is obviously not working, I have decided to change. Instead of sending a text at the last minute about wanting to take home teams, or favorites, or some other blanket pick, I am now going to pick according to a theme for the week.
Since it is starting to get cold in the Cincinnati area this week, I am going to use that as my first theme. I am picking the team that is located in the colder/snowier/crappier weather city.
Random News from My Life:
This last weekend I drove past The Ohio University and It brought back approximately 415486665131315484843321 good memories. Since this is a family friendly blog, and most of the memories included some sort of illegal, unethical, and/or socially unacceptable behavior, I will not get into details. I have a feeling many of the readers either had a role in or have heard of some of the stories, so the details are not really necessary in this forum. That’s all.
Until next time: Peace. Love. Burrito Buggy.
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IN THE ZONE - Vol. I - Num. V
...WHERE YOU WON’T SEE TEXTUAL FELLATIO ON ABC EXECUTIVES
By: Jason FazzoneI can’t believe I’m responding to last week’s “Knowledge Dropping,” but I feel it’s my duty to do so.
I got called out for using what Ryan Polito calls “poor ethics” because he claims I ripped him off. If I wanted to rip off a second-rate entertainment publication, I’d buy the National Enquirer. While he may have been “shocked and furious” at what I wrote about, I sure wasn’t shocked by his Most Dominant of the week – an ABC show being called the next LOST. Yawn. Can’t wait for the breakdown of this week’s episode in the next “Knowledge Dropping”!
Anyway, he can keep the Most/Least Dominant concept; I’ve scrapped the good, bad and ugly. In its place will come the Polito of the Week, an award given to the most boneheaded event of the week. This award is named for (as we all know) Polito breaking his hand after missing a layup and punching a basketball hoop.
This week’s Polito goes to Casey Babcock of the Otter Valley (Vermont) High School football team. With one second left in Otter Valley’s game this past weekend and the Otters up by two, its opponents, Jericho Mount Mansfield High School, lined up for a game-winning 46-yard field goal attempt. The kick was well short, but Babcock fielded the kick on the fly in the end zone. While celebrating his team’s apparent victory, Babcock ran toward the sideline and spiked the ball, which was still live. An alert Jeff Sutherland picked up the ball for Jericho and ran it back for a touchdown, giving the Cougars the victory.
So congratulations to Casey Babcock, the winner of the Polito of the Week.
We now go from the stupid…to the incompetent. Apparently, Steelers wide receiver Limas Sweed attempted to commit suicide Monday, but he dropped the gun.
All joking aside, it’s a relief to finally see Mike Tomlin get the hint that Sweed can’t catch and is a total bust, as is the entire draft class of 2008. Sweed will most likely be de-activated, which means Shaun McDonald, my Steelers sleeper of the season, will finally see some playing time. McDonald was a very reliable receiver in his days with the Rams and Lions, and should make as good an impact as you can for a No. 4 receiver.
Another problem that surfaced last week was the second-half play of the defense. It’s hard to guess what the deal is for a unit that was tops in the league last season. Is it age, as some have suggested (five of the front seven are over 30)? Is it the loss of Troy Polamalu? Is it being on the field too long because of a conservative second-half offensive gameplan? Is it complacency after a Super Bowl victory?
The answer could very well be all four – last year’s defense would not have allowed Cedric Benson to run for a score from 20 yards out, and definitely would have kept Carson Palmer and his merry men of mediocrity out of the end zone on the final drive. Whatever the problems are, they need to be fixed by this Sunday night’s game against San Diego.
The Chargers haven’t won in Pittsburgh since the 1995 AFC Championship Game, which bodes well for the Steelers, but then again, before last week, the Steelers hadn’t lost in Cincinnati since 2001.
Questions are surrounding LaDainian Tomlinson’s status for the game, to which I say I hope he plays because he’s far less of a threat at this point in his career than Darren Sproles.
As for the Steelers’ running game, Willie Parker exploded against this same Chargers defense in the teams’ last meeting. Of course, Shawne Merriman wasn’t on the field for San Diego, but maybe Pittsburgh’s offensive coaches have seen a flaw in the Chargers’ defense. Then again, Bruce Arians is in charge, so never mind. I’m quite confident he determines his game-plan using the F’d Up Tourney rules (I can picture Arians sitting in his office at 2 a.m. Sunday saying, “If I don’t roll at least a 10 here, the screen is out today.”)
A win Sunday night puts the Steelers at 2-2 with games against the Lions and Browns to follow, a very navigable stretch. A loss means the Steelers would have to beat Detroit and Cleveland just to get to .500, and who knows how far ahead the Ravens will be by then.
September is over, and the haves will begin to separate themselves from the have-nots. If Pittsburgh wants to avoid the 2006 talk, it’ll pull through, but it’s going to be tough without Polamalu. In a pick as predictable as Polito’s love affair with anything LOST-related, I’m taking the Steelers in a nail-biter.
Until next time, go Steelers!
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Po's Knowledge Dropping - Vol. II - Num. III
Week 3 in ReviewMOST DOMINANT- Mike Blowers
Seattle Mariners TV analyst, who apparently has time travel abilities that rival those of our friends from 'LOST'. During the pre-game broadcast of a September 27, 2009 game between the Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays, Blowers predicted with great detail rookie Matt Tuiasosopo's first career home run, stating accurately that the home run would come in Tuiasosopo's second at bat on a 3-1 count fastball, the pitcher it would be hit off, and the ball would land in the second deck in left center field. When I saw this I could not believe it, he correctly predicted all of those details before the game even started!!!!
LEAST DOMINANT- Jason Fazzone
I have no idea what his response to my blog last week is going to be, but im sure its going to be very soft. So congratulations, In the Zone ... you have become the first person in 'Knowledge Dropping' history to make back-to-back appearances on least dominant.
Fun Fact of the Week:
In the last 2 weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers have led for a total of 119 minutes and 37 seconds of actual game-time. They have trailed for a grand total of 23 seconds of actual gametime. THEY LOST BOTH GAMES ... SICK.
Cya next week, Go Steelers.
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