Colt does not get the Heisman

College football is a fickle mistress.

I am not surprised that Colt McCoy did not win the Heisman trophy this year. The Longhorns were not in the Big 12 Championship game (although OU, who we beat, was), which means that he didn't have a shot at getting TV time as recently as Bradford, which means the attention-deficit-disordered voters of the BCS/ Harris Poll/ AP/ what-have-you... didn't recall McCoy's multi-record breaking season.

At the end of the day, UT wasn't in the championship, and that's that. I don't want to take away from OU's season because... seriously... the Big 12 South was a bear this year.

Do I think Colt is a better quarterback than Bradford? Uhhhmmmm. Yeah. Can he throw as far as accurately as often? No. But play for play, he is a better all-around player. Again, TV time means a lot for the BCS voters (the same voters who may have put OU in the championship just because they played Saturday instead of Thursday before votes came out Sunday), so what are you gonna do?

But I guess that's why there's always next year. Plus, of course, a face-off with Ohio State in Glendale, AZ at the Fiesta Bowl.

Colt is not, by the way, going pro as was rumored. So its not too early to start making insane predictions NOW.

On UT's BCS ranking

What are you gonna do?

If UT played Saturday and OU played Thursday, we might have been ranked below Alabama instead of our rivals to the north. Or if one coach had voted one way, and other a different way... you never know.

But it is a lot messed up that its not purely about competition, and requires votes, etc... We need a better system so we don't have this kind of mess to begin with.

Ah, well. It was a great season and the Longhorns have everything in the world to be proud of.

I tend to side with Simon's opinion that play-offs might be the solution.

Coming to terms with BCS

Breaking in again for football...

So, yeah, I broke my oath of silence once again. But, look, I just watched a day full of high-stakes college ball. UT played Thursday, Tech and OU played today. All are tied for the Big 12 South. Only one can advance.

Tech came out against Baylor today looking a little mushy, which surprised me. I figured they would come out swinging harder against Baylor, but their recent loss seems to have broken them a bit. Oklahoma had to really fight against Oklahoma State until the end of the game, but wound up 20 points ahead when the clock ran out.

All that's left is a wait for the BCS computers and voters to tell us who will wind up in the Big 12 Championship game next week.

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty zen about the whole thing.

1) There's nothing UT could have done better, except for three or four things during the Texas Tech game. Aside from that, they've had a very, very impressive season. If something as small as Gideon hanging onto the ball had happened, UT would be the undisputed Big 12 leader.

2) The Big 12 was a tough conference this season. I'm always pretty impressed with our competition, and as I can't always count on UT to wind up in a BCS Championship game, I pull for the Big 12 as a whole.

3) At the beginning of the season, I looked at our schedule, reviewed what I knew and sort of sweated it a bit. I had serious doubts about our ability to beat OU, Tech and others. We've had such a great season (11-1) that I can't help but feel that no matter what the BCS finally decides: We had a great regular season. Hopefully we'll get sent to a cool bowl game.

49-9

After UT flubbed the last two meet-ups with A&M, I was pleased to see they not only were able to get a check in the win column, but that they got a decisive win. And Colt McCoy played a heck of a game.

For those watching on TV, I have no idea what was up with the field. It hasn't really rained here in months, so I guess someone left the sprinklers on the field too long. What a mess.

As pleased as I am with the win (this game and the OU game are, of course, the biggest games every year) I'll be watching the OU game with terrific interest. It's awful, because I respect the hell out of OU, but if they lose to OSU, it does huge things for the Horns. And OU is playing at Stillwater, so there's as much chance for something to go wrong for them as it did for us at Lubbock.

I am also morally obligated to remind you (and BCS voters) that UT defeated OU 45-35 this season. And, you know, if you're a Hesiman voter and have a vote to spare, Colt McCoy could sure use it.

We now return you to your promised radio silence for the weekend.

It seems like Jamie and I have been running around a LOT lately, and with the Holidays bearing down upon us, I think we're going to be pretty crazy until January 2nd, 2009 or so. That's okay. It's sort of what I expect out of the year's end.

For those of you keeping score, Thanksgiving is in only a week and a half, and I have not even STARTED on my Pilgrim suit, nor has Jamie finished her Green Bean costume.


I still think The Addam's Family movies are underrated.

The temperatures cooled a great deal yesterday, and I think it feels more like fall in spirit than a few days ago. All in all, its turning into lovely weather. Anyway, we watched the UT game yesterday and cooked out some nice items we picked up at Central Market (I recommend their chipotle marinated chicken).

UT played very well starting in the 2nd quarter, and pretty much ate Kansas's lunch. I was mistaken, however, that Tech was playing Baylor. A&M played Baylor and it didn't go terribly well. Sorry, Ags. Maybe next year.

Only one more regular season game for UT, and we ARE playing A&M on Thanksgiving, which sounds great in theory, but A&M somehow manages to summon SuperAg strength whenever they play UT. Out only discernible advantage going into the game is home field advantage. Should be a great game, so if your Thanksgiving evening looks like it's going to be a quiet night in, tune in.

Also, if you're a Leaguer and will be in Austin during Turkey Day and are lacking any plans, let me know. We can make room for you.

Today we actually started our Christmas shopping, which I think Jamie had some mixed feelings about. Sure, we're starting early and will hopefully be done with time to spare (which is an illusion. You always forget somebody and have to run out and buy an extra present for somebody you didn't account for). But I also started singing carols to Jamie as we drove around, which is bad enough, but in the past eight years, I've completely forgotten all lyrics to all carols.

I suspect she'd like for me to stop, but, you know, once you're moving into Christmas territory, I think you're morally obligated to squeeze in "Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland" as often as possible. Especially in 70 degree Texas.

Also, Barack Obama takes great delight in bumper cars:

In my Element @ 10K

I was driving home the other night in Babar (my light blue Honda Element) and looked down to see my odometer was at 9999. I've been through four cars in my life, and I never, ever saw the odometer turn any kind of significant whole number.

I have hit 10,000 miles without a hiccup. That is all.

Yes, I love Babar. Some days I want to hug him, but that would be weird.

Meatgrimage, Day 3

Jamie's childhood pal and our mutual current pal, Rebecca, returned to Austin today with her mother, Dr. Kinslow, in tow. They took us to Flemings down by the convention center where we all enjoyed a wonderfully terrific meal.

I have always been a steak guy, and while I am a fan of the backyard grilled steak, I am also a fan of the white-table cloth, let-them-work-their-magic steak. I highly recommend this joint. Especially if the Kinslows are taking you out on the town.

There are many good restaurants down by the convention center which cater to folks with an expense account. However, as Jamie and I are rarely in Austin for a convention, we tend not to make our way to those restaurants or some of Austin's other finer establishments.

Places I would like to go:

Lambert's
Hudson's on the Bend
And of the places that opened on Congress during our four year Arizona sojourn

I am scheduled to hit Mesa Ranch this evening, provided nothing goes off-kilter. Which means: even more meat.

If you want to go see The Flyin' A's with me Thursday evening, give me a shout.

UT @ Kansas

I shall be watching with a mix of exhiliration and trepidation. Tech plays Baylor this weekend. Poor Baylor.

UT Basketball

I park about a block from the Erwin Center, so I am pondering going to some UT home games this year. If you want in on that, let me know.

Ghost Hunters

I am increasingly convinced that, based upon the 100 hours or so of Ghost Hunters I've watched, Jason and I could totally do this.

Anyone want to grant us $25,000 in start up funds? We need money for:

-team shirts
-motion detectors
-flash lights
-EMF detectors
-video equipment
-a FLIR
-Ghost Juice (ie: enough beer per ghostly investigation to limber up the mind)
-uniforms for the Lonestar Paranormal Club dancers

Many items

Football Update

Well, we can mark another win up for UT from this weekend. We're ranked #3, which is odd. Of course, we've only lost to Tech who seems headed for all kinds of glories this season.

Colt still looks great, but its clear someone or something is keeping him from running. And something has rattled him and keeps him from attempting passes further than a few yards at a time.

I am still rooting for my Horns, and I think we're set for a great bowl game this year, provided we can win our next two and do well if we're in the Big 12 Championship (if we so land). But I sincerely hope Mack brown has plans to build up our secondary for next year.

Good BBQ in Giddings

Today we met the A&M contingent of our office halfway between Bryan and Austin in Giddings where we ate meat. Leaguers, if you're on 290, I HIGHLY recommend the City Meat Market. That was some top-notch grub served in true Texas fashion.

And, hell, there were honest to god old school cowboys in there. The kind who could choke the life out of you if the notion so took them. Awesome.

It was one of those places where the smoke is cooked into the walls and you start salivating a bit just walking through the door. And the food totally matched the ambiance and first-smell guesses as to what you would get.

I need to use this winter to begin making BBQ pilgrimages around the state. Meatgrimages, if you will. I want to eat Elgin Sausage in Elgin. I want to eat ribs and beef in Lockhart. Shall I go to New Braunfels for Wurst? Or to Kerrville? What meats did our Czech forebears cook up? What about our Mexican forefathers?

So many meats. So little time.


Unfortunateness

Swedish dance bands from bygone eras.
For some reason I think I linked to an earlier version of this, like, four years ago.

Yeah, go ahead and laugh. Then ask yourself: who had better luck with swinging Swedish women, you or the dudes in "The Schytts"?

That, Leaguers, is the sound of the universe having a good laugh at you.


Beat it!
So I employ Technorati to help me track responses to blog posts. They track, somewhat imperfectly, whether or not someone has linked back to your posts.

A long time ago, I used to get linked around the net. When I don't post on comics, those links tend to dry up. But when I write for Comic Fodder, I notice that I get linked to a lot more often from sources of note (in the comics blogosphere, which is like being a big wheel on the island of misfit toys, I guess). Anyway, it gives me a little thrill to see myself linked elsewhere because (a) it lets me know others are going to come read whatever I wrote, and (b) it lets me know people I care about reading have actually read whatever I wrote. And that, Leaguers, is the blogging circle of life.

One of my fave-rave sites for YEARS has been Heidi MacDonald's "The Beat". So, I was thrilled to see in the links of Technorati that Heidi had linked back to a Comic Fodder article I'd written for last week about the economy and what comic publishers could do to save their skin in these troubled times. But at Technorati, when I clicked on the appropriate link... the article was no longer there.

I was sad. Heidi may have had good reasons for either pulling or never posting the article, but my fifteen minutes of Heidi-powered linked fame was gone, and I was left with nothing but a small reminder of what could have been.

Oh, Heidi... why hast thou removed my linky link?

Okay... yeah, the article was kind of weak.

That said, the guy who wrote the article that spawned my article DID link back (it's the line about "longish think piece"). Which is pretty huge in my world. Unfortunately, Spurge wasn't in the mood to elucidate on what he had in mind. Would have been interesting. Anyway, he's been covering comics and the economy for a few days and its good reading.


New Years Party Update

In case you missed it, here's the official flyer for the Melbotis New Years Hullabalunacy:



To see the invitation, go here.

Ends, Starts, Football and Hollywood Glamour

End and Start

So Friday was my final day as a contractor with Enspire Learning, my employment home, more or less, of the past year and a halfish. I'll miss the scrappy little elearning company that could, and I wish the company, its leadership, and my friends who I leave behind the best of luck. May you continue to give learners better product than they're expecting.

Monday I start with a new venture, but I'll save that for later when I can speak more intelligently about the folks I'm working with. What I can say is that I am lucky to have found the position as it matches pretty much exactly what I was thinking I might like to try as a career path should I eject from the world of eLearning (although I'm staying in education).

I am considering how I can approach this new position without becoming an overbearing freak for my supervisors to deal with, but I am honestly so excited, I am looking forward to really digging in and making the absolute most of the opportunity.

Lunching with the Hollywood Elite

So I've been friends with Ms. Shauna Cross since I was about 14 and we shared Mr. White's Geography class at Westwood. At this point, that means I've known the lady for something along the lines of two decades, which makes me feel insanely old.

Anyhoo, Shauna's script "Whip It!" was produced this summer with Drew Barrymore directing and Kristen Wiig and Ellen Page co-starring. I guess there's a phrase she's been using or has been used in Hollywood (I missed wre it originated), but "after eight years of working she's an overnight success". The message being, of course, she's been working her butt off to get to this point, and now she's seeing he fruits of her labor.

She was in town this weekend for the Austin Film Fest where I guess she was on panels and whatnot. I was to meet her at the Driskill on 6th and Brazos, but I got a call while en route to swing by and pick she and a friend up on South Congress and race them back as the friend was supposed to be on a panel in a few minutes.

Turns out the friend was a/ the screenwriter of "Legally Blonde". Go figure.

I was also excited to meet Shauna's kid, Roscoe, who I think is 6 months (you people keep having babies, and I can't keep track anymore. You're lucky I remember their names). Roscoe was really very good. I also met Shauna's Significant Other, Fred, who does work for a music label. Very cool guy (which is good. You always hope that your friends are not married to/ getting serious about some twit).

It was fun to catch up and hear about Shauna's past year with everything going on, and also her next project (which isn't listed on IMDB, so I'll remain mum as I don't wish to jinx anything).

So, anyhoo... go see "Whip It!" when it comes out.


UT Plays like the #1 Team

Sadly, I had to ditch team Cross to meet up with Jeff, Keora and Patrick for a pre-game slice of pizza and a beer before we hoofed it over to DKR Memorial stadium. Patrick lives much closer to DKR than my previous parking spot, so from now on Pat is getting all my spare tickets.

I don't know if you watched the game, but... if there was any doubt about who should be at the top of the Big 12 (at least this week), UT played like it was the Rose Bowl. Mizzo, sadly, didn't show up until the second half, when they proceeded to disassemble our secondary and put 4 touchdowns on the board.


cough... Heisman... cough...

The crowd was going CRAZY, and I don't think I've ever high-fived people that much in my life. Also, my voice is kind of shot today from the 3 hours of straight yelling. (I think when I yell "Go Horns!" repeatedly, or "Go TEXAS!!!!", it really influences their play.)

I am now looking forward to OSU and Tech, where I'd sort of dreaded those games before. We have the opportunity for a legendary season with UT Football. So here's to Colt, Jordan, Ogbonnaya, Muckleroy, McGee and the rest staying healthy.

GO HORNS!

UT wins (a big surprise)

So, I had gone into today's UT game believing that #1 ranked Oklahoma would surely rack up about 45 points, and we'd get, maybe 35. It was a test not to see if we could beat Oklahoma, which we surely could not, but to see how we would stack up against the rest of the teams we would be playing.

As you probably already know, UT won the game 45 - 35. And if the refs hadn't made that horrendous "roughing the kicker" call (which was really just the kicker cramping up again after his ill-advised running play), who knows what the final outcome would have been.

"At least it's a good game" we were saying well into the 3rd quarter, pleased that UT was keeping pace with OU. And then UT took the lead, and... well... 2008 just got better in a lot of ways.

I have no idea where UT is headed BCS-wise, but I know Colt McCoy and Co. now have a huge target painted on their backs for the remainder of the season. I am now believing we could very well end up in a real BCS bowl this year.

Whoo-hoo!

Oh, and a very special welcome to Texas for my in-laws, who just moved to San Marcos from Oklahoma this week.

UT Tickets up for Grabs for September 27th

Hi everybuddy.

Both my folks and myself won't be available for use of the tickets for the Arkansas/ UT game on September 27th. There are 4 tickets available.

If anyone is interested in obtaining the tickets, please let me know.

UT Wins (not a huge surprise)

I don't like the word "fun". People use it to the point that it's almost meaningless. Not everything is equal shades of "fun". Such as going to the comic shop is, indeed, "fun", but it's still really looking for stuff to read that you hope will be even more "fun". Going out to grab a bite with pals is, indeed, "fun". But so is a quiet dinner with Jamie.

If the eskimos have 200,000 words for snow, why are we stuck with one word for "fun"? There should be a scale.

Anyway, all of this is to say that on the fun-scale, I have to rate the UT game very, very high. Yeah, our seats were incredibly high up. We literally walked up ten-flights worth of ramps to get to section 116. But our view was actually really nice, and we could see the Jumbotron and side-mounted scoreboards just fine.

The crowd was great, UT played really well (I have no worries about McCoy's readiness this season. The boy is looking top-notch.), the band was in top form, and we even enjoyed a breeze in our very high seats.

The crew I went to the game with was comprised of myself, my folks and David. David hadn't ever been to UT game (or college game, I think), and its been well over a decade since I've been to a UT game.

The additions to UT stadium since I last went are pretty awesome. Sure, they could use an escalator to the 10th floor, but it's an amazing facility. And football live is genuinely great to watch, especially with a hyped-up, hometown crowd.

For the record, this was UT playing it's annual "bring in the smaller school so we can pummel them and whip our fans into a frenzy" game. UT defeated Florida Atlantic 52-10. Florida Atlantic had no running game to speak of, but did find the weak spots in our secondary in their passing game. Hopefully that can be corrected by the time we play Arkansas.

Man, I'm tired. I'm going to bed.

Hook 'Em.

Papa Johns Fulfills Dream of Cowboys Fans Everywhere

I'm going all middle school on this one, but...

Skip to about 26 seconds in:



I like how someone taught the kid to really lean into it.

NBC's Coverage of the Olympics

Firstly, congrats to the US Women's basketball and 4x400 relay. Both won gold in their respective concluding matches.

Sanya Richards' final leg on that relay was one for the ages.



Also, Rogers and Dallhauser for that beach volleyball win the other night. I was concerned during that second set, but they went crazy in the third.

I usually run pretty critical here, but I want to take a moment for a tip of the hat to NBC/ Universal for their coverage of the Olympics. Especially in the last week.

I may not always love their commentators, but NBC has fully taken advantage of the 13 hour delay to really deliver on condensed coverage, especially of Track & Field. I want to see who wins high jump and long jump, but I don't want to watch all fifteen rounds. Highlights will work. So they've done a great job of taking, say, the last few rounds of high jump and inserting them into the middle of the 5000m race, etc... then cutting back to the 5000m for the conclusion.

Now, NBC needs to apply that "cutting down" tactic to Diving. Gymnastics, which is usually what makes me want to claw my eyes out by the second night (team, all-around, individual...? Its the same people doing the same crap three times..!), was cut into useful, bite-sized chunks. I never just walked away from the games due to too much gymnastics. But diving...

One huge programming suggestion for London?

Fact: Diving is boring.
It's repetitive, and occurs in, like, 1 second. Slowing it down doesn't make it better. And NBC showed a lot of it, took up hours of primetime broadcast, but showed nothing in the way of:
Javelin, discus, hammer-throw, and a lot of other sports.
Fact: Showing every round of diving does not make it more exciting.

Anyway...

Costas has administered his usual fair but enthusiastic hand to his role as the US host to the Olympics.

Add in multiple channels covering various sports, mostly cut for time and highlights, and its made for, honestly, TOO MUCH engaging TV. I've done nothing these last few weeks but watch sports. It's insanity.

Leaguers, thanks to my self-limiting exposure, I have watched everything from Synchronized Swimming to Rhythmic Gymnastics without a 100% dedication to snark. And let me tell you, Synchronized Swimming is one of the craziest things you're bound to see in this life or any other. My mind is blown.

NBC also managed to land uninterrupted coverage (no commercials) of a lot of the Gold Medal finals in sports like Beach Volleyball... so I tip my hat to NBC.

Way to go Costas and Co.

But...

With the buzz of excitement over the success of US athletes, it seems that we sometimes forget about anyone but the winners. Sure, we salute Usain Bolt when he wins his medals and breaks world records (and that's a lot of what the Olympics are about, after all), but NBC missed some of the other stories.

For example, this runner from Somalia, who came in dead last but received a standing ovation.

Surely this runner was not alone. I watched the opening ceremonies. There were dozens of countries with just a handful of athletes, few of whom had a chance of winning a medal, but who had somehow made it to Beijing. And, in no condescending way... that's a victory

Or athletes whose culture wasn't necessarily conducive to competing, but won their heat, anyway such asthe female sprinter from Bahrain, who ran in a hijab? (That lady is my new hero...)

Or that China has arrested multiple US Citizens for protesting for Human Rights (if only for ten days...)

Unpleasant though it might be, China's human rights record is far from good. And, yeah, Costas and NBC might have stood a chance of getting bounced out of Beijing, or even thrown in jail, for covering any protests... But isn't that sort of the point when you have a chance to cover this stuff? Wouldn't Costas in jail for mentioning the protests themselves give America a little bit of an idea as to how our favorite trade partner is running their ship?

But the focus is on winning. Not just winning a medal, but receiving a GOLD medal. Silver and Bronze medalists were still being asked if they felt disappointed. The victory inherent in just being able to participate is given lip service, but is very clearly not how interviewers and ESPECIALLY color commentators actually feel. They can't help but talk about how an athlete who makes a mistake is simply letting everyone down.

There's nothing wrong with celebrating victory, but, seriously, get a grip. Being the second or third best sprinter, pole vaulter, what-have-you in THE WORLD is no mean feat. Sometimes you can just say "Hey! Bronze medal! You've gotta like that!" And if they want to express their disappointment, goody.

If the Olympics are really about all the nations coming together in the spirit of friendly competition, then it seems like NBC could do a bit more to promote that international flair. And that story is not limited to winners. Or Americans. Or putting a polish on the very real world occurring all around the games. By ignoring the world, in many ways, its reducing the impact of what it means for athletes to come together in the most idealized version of the Olympic spirit.

The fact is, there's so, so much happening at the Olympics, and so many narrative arcs, that I don't know if NBC/ Universal touches on 1% of the narratives really going on. You follow the Decathalon, so you miss women's soccer. And you focus on a "sure thing" like Lolo Jones, and wind up with one of the most heartbreaking moments of the games. You focus on the amazing Phelps, but you wind up missing out on the story of the thousands of other athletes... That's the way it goes.

Ah, well. We'll see how we fair with the games in London. More Olympics reporting from League of Melbotis in 2012.

May-Treanor and Walsh Win 2nd Gold (and Bolt is amazing)

The League salutes Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh for winning their second Gold at the 2008 Olympics!

That's, I think, 108 straight victories for the duo. They've never disappointed, and we at The League of Melbotis have to tip our hat.

Here's the AP article.

Keep in mind, this time they did it in the driving rain against a team that had the home crowd advantage.


(I'd have a better picture here, but the news services are a little slow with a proper, victorious image)

And, by the way, Usain "Lightning" Bolt, set a world record while winning the 200m last night. The man is unreal. I saw in the comments that Reed-o is also a fan of the man. If you've been watching track, I don't see how you couldn't like the guy.

Here.



Shazam! Bolt wins the 200m!

Some random bits

It's not too late to submit questions to the Melbotis Mailbag either by e-mail or the comments section of this post.

Stolen from Randy's website: someone terribly suspicious of the symbol of God's promise

http://view.break.com/549954 - Watch more free videos
STOP REFRACTION NOW (in another 20 years, it will be too late). Time to ask yourself: What could possibly make this happen?

Music is always better when you can relate:

Thanks to JAL for forwarding the video

I've also been watching some Olympics, and some thoughts:

-Usain Bolt and the rest of the Jamaican sprint team are insane. Somehow (and I'm not sayin' how) Jamaicans have managed to harness the "Speed Force". Wally West, look out.
-That said: US sweeps men's hurdles!
-And I think I have a tiny crush on Sanya Richards, Texas runner who is now a Bronze Medalist
-The reason they are canceling softball in the Olympics: The US women literally cannot be beat. They have outscored the competition 50+ - 1. YOU CANNOT BEAT CAT OSTERMAN.
-May-Treanor and Walsh up for a Gold tomorrow in beach Volleyball. Be there. This may be the grand finale to a couple of amazing careers (both have hinted at retiring to start families).
-I actually salute NBC's coverage of the Beijing Olympics. They've managed to cut the footage down to the parts you're going to want to see when they aren't showing anything live. It makes stuff like Men's gymnastics, in which I have only a passing interest, a lot more watchable.

League Approved Olympic Training:



Anyway, I had to work tonight, so hopefully you Leaguers will forgive me if the post is a bit short.

Football - Bring Your Oxygen Tank

So, I accidentally bought season tickets to UT home games this year.

I know. I know. I'm unemployed.

The language on the website said something about "sign up now to get a chance at season tickets". What I didn't realize was that this didn't mean, "sign up now to get an opportunity later", it meant "we've got a really weird queue for tickets, and while you'll probably get tickets, you might not".

I assumed I was entering into some draft that I could walk away from when I came to my senses and realize I had no money. Rather, I gave a shadowy UT office a sack of money they would return if they ran out of slots.


The section I'm sitting in does not yet exist in this photo. I'll be in that empty blue space in the pic.

So, yeah, I think I literally have top-row tickets in the end zone for this season's football games. The way it works, every year I get season tickets, the better my seats will get. Always in cue behind: rich folk who give UT much larger sacks of money, members of the UT Foundation, longtime members of the Texas-Exes (of which I am a member, but I'm not done with my payments), friends and family of anyone with influence at UT, etc...

So, in, like, 2088, I might actually have decent seats.


Don't @#$% up, bro

Despite what I am anticipating to be excruciating heat at the first games, I'm thinking this will be fun. Especially as I will be at an elevation higher than any other structure in town, and be able to see birds and bats flying lower than where I'm sitting.

I will also be, I think, under the Jumbotron, so I will need to wear some sort of lead-shielding in order to make sure I am not irradiated.

Other than that, I'm pretty excited. I am not expecting a BCS bowl this year out of UT, but I am thinking we could be in the top 15 or so if Colt keeps his head on right and Chiles gets some playing time. We have three strong running back contenders (one of them is named "Fozzy". That's his name. And that is awesome.).


Wokka wokka!

And Major Applewhite is back in a backs-coach position. How sweet is that?

I think UT fans have a sort of unspoken belief that Major Applewhite is destined to be a headcoach at UT one day. If you're Major, you ride that belief for all its worth.

Anyway, I don't know what the schedule is yet for when or if Jamie is coming to games. So don't start with me on asking for spare tickets. But I'll keep you posted if I have a loose ticket.

GO HORNS!!!


I can dream of a return to glory at this point in the season. Don't ruin it for me.

Stray Thought of the Day: The Olympics and Der UberMensch

So Michael Phelps got me thinking...

One of the things we take for granted is that every Olympics, swimmers bust records, runners bust records, weightlifters lift more weight than anyone had ever lifted before. I don't mean we take the Olympians for granted, but we do assume that in a few races, somebody is going to break a record and swim faster, run faster, etc... than we've ever seen.

Which makes the League ponder...

Is there a point at which we won't be able to continue to beat records? Is there ever going to be a maximum recorded speed for humans to swim? To run? To lift weight? To jump? To throw a javelin?

I assume that in 40 years, the training, diet, equipment, etc... that athletes use will improve to such a degree that what we feel is state of the art today will look to them as the women in petticoats playing golf at the 1900 Olympics looks to us now (gymnastics and track & field wouldn't be added until 1928).


No doubt, these women were considered strumpets for their revealing athletic wear. And rightfully so.

So I wonder if, year after year (and four years after four years), as time marches on... what sort of humans will we be building? Will we see a Michael Phelps in the year 3000 that moves through the water faster than a motor boat? Or will we find some invisible wall and find ourselves competing for 1/1000ths of a second, never pushing beyond some as-yet-unseen boundary?

No doubt the future of gene manipulation (through state-mandated breeding programs, or through some mad science), we haven't yet begun to see how fast, strong, and unbelievable the human body will be by the time The League is an old man.

But, jump-forward to, say, the year 5000? What does it mean for sport when records are no longer breakable? Is that even a conceivable idea? Or is our desire, as humans, to continue to build and grow, advance and see progress so ingrained in us as a species that we will see swimmers who cut through the water like fish? Will they be recognizably human to our eyes from 2008?


Phelps in 3008?

More Olympics: Phelps

You're a genetic freak, but you're our genetic freak.

Eight Medals. EIGHT. 8.

CNN has it here.

Olympics: Libby Trickett

This is Australian swimmer Libby Trickett. She's quite good and has won some medals.

I just like saying her name out loud.

Libby Trickett.

Libby Trickett.

Obligatory Olympics Post: Hyperbole and NBC

When I was in 6th grade, I recall being assigned a worksheet that was a quick exercise to check that we understood the lesson before we moved on within the framework of the day's lesson. We were learning about how to use metaphor, hyperbole and other tidbits of language that employ imagery.

One of the take aways from the lesson, that I found odd at the time, was Ms. Jarcik's off-the-book comment that you shouldn't use too much hyperbole, because people find it annoying. Well, normally The League loves hyperbole, but, darn it... if the announcers for the Olympics at NBC aren't ruining it for me.

In watching both men and women's gymnastics this week, it struck me that so much of why I have trouble watching gymnastics/ taking gymnastics seriously, is the insistence on every other phrase uttered from the announcer's mouth insisting that every single flip of the wrist or hop on the balance beam isn't just important to that routine... but that it's a mistake upon which the Olympics hang. And that, seriously, is not hyperbole.

Add in the turn-on-a-dime commentary in which the announcers switch from lauds and honor to expressing their disgust with some poor kid in tights, often within the same breath, and its often a mind-blowing ride trying to figure out if the announcers are lobbying for the beatification of some 16 year-old or blame her slip on the balance beam for crushing the spirit of America.

I know that these announcers' lives are gymnastics, but its just lacking that perspective that you get in about June about the baseball season from the announcers, when they're talking about what was on TV last night and what people in the crowd are up to.

It seems you can really point to gymnastics and diving as the two sports where the announcers don't just comment upon performance, but microscopically pick every movement apart (which is what the judges are doing) but do it in this really pedantic, school marm tone.

This evening the little blonde girl, Nastia, had a nigh-perfect routine, scoring a 16.9 (which is .1 away from perfection), and no sooner had the first announcer said "16.9!" than the other announcer was tripping all over himself to insist "It's just not going to be enough!"

Dude. Shut up. Learn to enjoy a moment or two. Life's too short. And, moreover... what are you like at home? What with the turn-on-a-dime swings between giddiness and praise to immediate condemnation...? It must be exhausting.

How anyone can tune these nags out, and how NBC can't find someone who doesn't come off like such a shrew for both diving and gymnastics is beyond me.

I feel bad, because it really makes the Olympics almost unwatchable when you have to listen to these announcers. Plus, I know Jamie loves gymnastics (she's a former cheerleader), and I too infrequently bite my tongue and just let it ride when the announcers make some breathless comment. So it leads to me ruining the whole thing for her.

So, really, NBC is slowly ruining my marriage with their sub-standard color commentators.