Avs stats through 5

Even Strength Goals Scored: 9
Even Strength Goals Allowed: 4

Power Play Goals Scored: 1
Power Play Goals Allowed: 8

Record At Home: 2-0-0
Record On Road: 0-3-0

Home PK: 100% (12/12)
Road PK: 52.6% (10/19)

Here's a thought: maybe when you're 29th in road PK, you should practice your penalty kill. Or maybe, just maybe, don't commit the most penalties in the league. Currently #1 in PIM/game.

Fav Five 2012

I realized that I hadn't done this in a while. This is really for 2012, and may change by August 2013 if we get a new QB.

Anyways, here's my first pass going through the roster, in no particular order:

Baldwin
Moeaki
McCluster
Flowers
Hali
Berry
Derrick Johnson
Bowe
Charles

Fav Five

5. Hali
4. Flowers
3. Berry
2. Bowe
1. Charles


Here's how it looked when I did it in August 2010:

5. Cassel
4. Flowers/Berry (stars of the secondary)
3. McCluster (The Dex-Factor)
2. Bowe
1. Charles

Actually, that's surprisingly consistent three seasons later.

Chicken & Waffles

I like chicken and waffles. I eat it so there's a bit of chicken and waffle in every bite, which means that I need boneless fried chicken. And I know it would be better with real waffles, but who has the time?

Tyson chicken strips + Eggos. Delicious.

BBQ update

Two new additions:

Moe's Original, eat-in, Denver (1/23/13): B
Dickey's: eat-in, Highlands Ranch (9/14/12): B-

For The Record:
Gates, eat-in, Overland Park (11/22/10): A+
Arthur Bryant's, eat-in, Kansas City (4/21/10): A+
Gates, eat-in, Overland Park (2/13/09): A+
Jack Stack, eat-in, Overland Park (11/21/10): A
Jack Stack, carryout, Overland Park (10/6/07): A
Gates, stadium, Arrowhead (10/7/07): A
Yazoo, eat-in, Denver (4/12/12): A-
Concessions, eat-in, Arrowhead (11/21/10): A-

Gates, eat-in, Kansas City, Kansas (6/4/11): A-

Jabo's, eat-in, Denver, (12/1/10) A-
Oklahoma Joe's, eat-in, Overland Park (10/6/07): A-
Oklahoma Joe's, eat-in, Kansas City (4/23/10): A-
Corky's, eat-in, Memphis (5/24/08): A-
Carsons, eat-in, Chicago (2/7/09): A-
Jack Stack, carryout, Overland Park (2/13/09): A-
Smokehouse BBQ, eat-in, Overland Park (2/14/09): A-
Boney's, eat-in, Denver (3/9/12): B+
Zarda: eat-in, Blue Springs (6/10/11): B+
Smoke Daddy, eat-in, Chicago (5/23/09): B+
Rum Boogie Cafe, eat-in, Memphis (5/25/08): B+
Moe's Original, eat-in, Denver (1/23/13): B
Brothers, carryout, Greenwood Village (2/18/12): B

Neely's, eat-in, Memphis (5/25/08): B
Dickey's: eat-in, Highlands Ranch (9/14/12): B-

Yazoo, eat-in, Greenwood Village (6/9/11): B-
Famous Dave's, eat-in, Peoria (11/26/10) B-
LC's, eat-in, Kansas City (4/24/10): B-
Blues City Cafe, eat-in, Memphis (5/24/08): C

my favorite players in the nfl, updated

Back in 2009, I made this post. Time for an update.


AFC East
Pats - Gronk.
Bills - Mario Williams, I guess. Impressed that he was picked ahead of Reggie Bush and was able to get another fat contract.
Jets - I love Tebow on the bench.
Dolphins - Oof. Davone Bess or Reggie Bush? Bush I guess.

AFC North
Ravens - Easy. Ed Reed. Plays the game the way it should be.
Steelers - Mendenhall. I-L-L
Browns - Trent Richardson.
Bengals - I guess Lawfirm. Even though he sucked for me in fantasy this year.

AFC South
Titans - Probably a bad sign when I'm picking your kicker. Bironas.
Colts - It's gotta be Luck, right?
Texans - JJ Watt. Although I like how Arian Foster handles criticism.
Jags - MJD, mostly be default.

AFC West
Chargers - Respect for Gates.
Chiefs - Charles.
Broncos - Easiest one on the board. Rahim Moore!
Raiders - Run DMC.

NFC East
Giants - JPP.
Eagles - McCoy
Cowboys - Oof again. Witten?
Washington - It's gotta be RGIII, right?

NFC North
Vikings - Purple Jesus. He runs through people.
Bears - Peppers is still good, right?
Packers - Might have been BJ Raji at some point, but I'll say Rodgers.
Lions - Megatron.

NFC South
Panthers - Cam by default.
Falcons - Roddy White. Julio Jones is the new star, but White's been the guy for years.
Bucs - When in doubt, I-L-L. Arrelious Benn.
Saints - Jimmy Graham is cool, but it's still Brees.

NFC West
Cardinals - Fitz.
49ers - Jim Harbaugh's gifs.
Seahawks - Russell Wilson
Rams - Zuerlein. Kicker alert.

This was a lot harder than I imagined. So many teams have nobody interesting.

Scoopy Puck Goals

As far as I'm concerned, the original is Michigan's Mike Legg in 1996:


Crosby did it in 2003:


Last year Mikael Granlund did it:


And then yesterday, Miks Indrasis did it too:


I'm sure that there are others. God bless the internet.

Real nice win tonight. Got to watch 2nd and 3rd periods after I put H to bed. Apparently the Avs were flat in the first but I saw them pick it up in the second. And they came out on fire in the third. Attacked with intensity. And got three goals in ten minutes.

Varlamov was outstanding in goal. If he can play like that all season, the Avs should make the playoffs.

Colorado takes too many penalties, but tonight they killed them all. Nice home opener win against the defending champs.

The Complete (to date) Timeline of My Buick Tweets

Instead of putting Shaq in a commercial, if I'm Buick I would just change the name of the company.
— Dave Fymbo (@davefymbo) June 15, 2012

The real question is would you tell customers that these cars used to be called Buicks.

— Dave Fymbo (@davefymbo) June 15, 2012

I'm trying to think of the worst sounding new car company that I would still buy instead of a @buick.

— Dave Fymbo (@davefymbo) June 15, 2012

Cars I would rather buy than a @buick: Sandwood, Jumperoo, Platforma, Tablecar.

— Dave Fymbo (@davefymbo) June 15, 2012

Buick proudly announced they sold 14 cars in 2012.

— Dave Fymbo (@davefymbo) January 5, 2013

Somewhere out there, someone woke up and said, "Today's the day I finally get that Buick I've had my eye on."

— Dave Fymbo (@davefymbo) January 5, 2013

Buick announces that the 2014 Buick Whatever will come standard with a tape deck. #progress

— Dave Fymbo (@davefymbo) January 5, 2013

Peyton Manning agreed to be in a Buick commercial for 4 million and the promise to never actually be in a Buick.

— Dave Fymbo (@davefymbo) January 5, 2013

I've got nothing against Buick. I just find it hard to believe that they still exist.

— Dave Fymbo (@davefymbo) January 5, 2013

I wish I had a time machine so I could edit Buick's wikipedia page with the year they went bankrupt.

— Dave Fymbo (@davefymbo) January 5, 2013

In 2010, a wife shot her husband after he bought a brand new Buick. The courts ruled it a justified homicide.

— Dave Fymbo (@davefymbo) January 22, 2013

Here's a classic: A man walks into an auto parts store and says, "I'd like a gas cap for my Buick." The clerk: "Sounds like a fair trade."

— Dave Fymbo (@davefymbo) January 22, 2013

One time I stole the Buick CEO's debit card and tried to buy a burrito. "Insufficient funds."

— Dave Fymbo (@davefymbo) January 22, 2013

My Ideal Playoffs (or) I'm Sick Of Some Teams

I'm sick of the Ravens. I know it's been twelve years since they've been in the Super Bowl, but they've been in the playoffs every year. Tired of even hearing about Ray Lewis.

But the Ravens aren't the only team I'm sick of. Which got me thinking about the teams I'd like to see in the playoffs.

As soon as I started thinking about it, I realized it was more complex than just who I am I sick of. I'm going to need categories.

Teams I'm Sick Of And Don't Want To See In The Playoffs
Ravens
Giants
Steelers
Patriots

Teams I'm Don't Want To See Even Though They Haven't Been Consistently Good
Cowboys
Eagles
Broncos
Jets

Teams I'm Indifferent About
Bengals
Titans
Chargers
Jaguars
Vikings
Bucs
Rams
Falcons
Cardinals
49ers
Bears
Dolphins

Teams With Exciting Players That If They Got Good I Would Want To See In The Playoffs
Washington
Colts
Seahawks
Panthers

Teams That Have Been In The Playoffs But I'm Not Sick Of
Saints
Packers
Texans

Teams That Deserve To Get Good For Once
Browns
Bills
Raiders
Chiefs
Lions


One note...Even though the Pats have been in the playoffs the most, I'm actually not that sick of them. They're always entertaining for a variety of reasons. And I could be talked into another Brady vs. Manning playoff game. And it would have happened if the Broncos didn't choke.

So assuming that these teams were suddenly good and earned their playoff spots, I think this would be pretty nice:

AFC
1 Browns
2 Bills
6 Raiders at 3 Chiefs
5 Texans 4 Colts

NFC
1 Packers
2 Seahawks
5 Panthers at 4 Washington
6 Lions at 3 Saints

As a follow up to my previous post about coaches playoff records, here's a handy sortable chart for quarterbacks:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_starting_quarterback_playoff_records

the things that make us happy

Playoff Records: Active Coaches

After thinking about Andy Reid's playoff record, and both Harbaughs, it got me thinking, what are the playoff records for the active coaches.

As always, Hoagie Central takes you deeper.

Bill Belichick 18-7 (.720)
Tom Coughlin 12-7 (.632)
Andy Reid 10-9 (.526)
John Harbaugh 8-4 (.667) *pending Super Bowl 47
Mike Shanahan 8-6 (.571)
Mike McCarthy 6-4 (.600)
John Fox 6-5 (.545)
Sean Payton 5-3 (.625)
Mike Tomlin 5-3 (.625)
Jeff Fisher 5-6 (.455)
Rex Ryan 4-2 (.667)
not active but for fun: Norv Turner 4-4 (.500)
Jim Harbaugh 3-1 (.750) *pending Super Bowl 47
Pete Carroll 3-4 (.429)
Gary Kubiak 2-2 (.500)
Mike Smith 1-4 (.200)
Chuck Pagano 0-1 (.000)
Jim Schwartz 0-1 (.000)
Leslie Frazier 0-1 (.000)
Marvin Lewis 0-4 (.000)

19 coaches with playoff experience, 13 without

I debated whether to sort it by percentage or wins...and that was sort of at the heart of this research. Because it's related to the nature of the playoffs. Specifically that if you win, you get another chance. But if you lose you don't. And furthermore, 11 out of 12 teams/coaches will accrue a playoff loss.

Let's pause for an illustration.

In the playoffs, there are 11 games, therefore 11 wins and 11 losses. But for example sake, if we assume that higher seeds win, we get:

1 team goes 3-0
1 team goes 2-1
6 teams go 1-1
4 teams go 0-1

In other words, only 2 out of 10 teams will have a net winning postseason record in any year.

And yet 12 of our active coaches have winning playoff records, Kubiak is .500, and leaving 6 with losing records.

Back to the question of what's more important, number of wins or percentage?

Wins show consistency.
Percentage shows performance.

So let's re-order...

Jim Harbaugh 3-1 (.750) *pending Super Bowl 47
Bill Belichick 18-7 (.720)
John Harbaugh 8-4 (.667) *pending Super Bowl 47
Rex Ryan 4-2 (.667)
Tom Coughlin 12-7 (.632)
Sean Payton 5-3 (.625)
Mike Tomlin 5-3 (.625)
Mike McCarthy 6-4 (.600)
Mike Shanahan 8-6 (.571)
John Fox 6-5 (.545)
Andy Reid 10-9 (.526)
Gary Kubiak 2-2 (.500)
not active but for fun: Norv Turner 4-4 (.500)

Jeff Fisher 5-6 (.455)

Pete Carroll 3-4 (.429)
Mike Smith 1-4 (.200)
Chuck Pagano 0-1 (.000)
Jim Schwartz 0-1 (.000)
Leslie Frazier 0-1 (.000)
Marvin Lewis 0-4 (.000)


The significant differences? Jim Harbaugh skyrockets to the top. Andy Reid falls from 3rd to 11th. Which is a better explainer of why Philadelphia let him go. And yes, those Harbaugh boys look pretty good.

know your harbaughs

John Harbaugh, age 50

Played DB at Miami University
Position coach from 1984 to 2007
Got Ravens job without ever being off/def coordinator

13 playoff games in his 5 seasons. Really good regular season record. Three AFC title games. Always advancing to the divisional round. And a Super Bowl berth. All with a QB that people think could have been let go to free agency before the playoffs. Pretty darn good.


Jim Harbaugh, age 49

three-year QB starter at Michigan
held career passing efficiency record for 12 years
finished 3rd in Heisman voting

played 15 seasons in NFL
had 100.7 passer rating in 1995, was hail mary away from advancing to Super Bowl

5 playoff games in two years. Two NFC title games. One Super Bowl. Great record. Pretty darn good.

Ending of the 1995 AFC title game with Jim Harbaugh. Really good to watch through to the end, including a tough call to make without instant replay and a great reaction from Harbaugh.

Sportsbook Sucks

I now remember why I stopped doing this kind of thing.

I like the Falcons to win so I'll put $100 on their money line (+170). LOSS

And I think the Pats win, but eight points is too many. $100 on Ravens +8. WIN (pays 90.91)

Total: LOSS of 9.09 (just the vig)

- - - 

$100 on Wild -145 WIN (pays 68.97)

$100 on under in Wild/Avs (+110) LOSS

$100 on Rangers +105 LOSS

$100 on Kings -125 LOSS

$100 on Flyers even LOSS

Total: LOSS of 331.03

- - - 

Don't ever let me bet on hockey. Unless it's betting against the Avs.

I can't believe that I had the two home teams and didn't get one of them to come through. No three-peat.

Welcome Back to the Sportsbook

First let's dig through some old wagers...

My 2011 NFL Lock of the Year lost.

(Rivers fumbled so the Chiefs won outright. Even without the fumble, the Chargers would have kicked a FG and not covered the spread.)

I lost all $100 at the 2010 World Cup when Spain won in the 116th minute

(I would have broken even if Holland had won the Final)

I profited $8 on Super Bowl 44

(My all-risk, no-reward strategy comes through.)

And I would have lost $20 on the Eagles if a co-workers flight hadn't been at 4pm.

- - -

With all that out of the way, let's make some new bets. 

I like the Falcons to win so I'll put $100 on their money line (+170). 

And I think the Pats win, but eight points is too many. $100 on Ravens +8.

- - -

This post started because I've been looking forward to hockey all week with nothing to do about it. 

$100 on Wild -145

$100 on under in Wild/Avs (+110)

$100 on Rangers +105

$100 on Kings -125

$100 on Flyers even

HC court: you decide

I was chatting with someone recently, let's say his name is Miraj.

Anyways, he's a Chicago guy moving to San Francisco. And I asked him about sports teams.

He said he didn't really care about baseball or basketball.
And for hockey, he'll stay a Blackhawks guy.
But for football, he'll stay a Bears fan. But also become a 49ers fan.

whaaaaa?

This didn't make any sense to me. So I quizzed Miraj on a bunch of scenarios and he said he would still root for the Bears vs the 49ers, but that if the Bears were out of it late in the year, he would just watch the 49ers.

He said he didn't think it was a big deal because the 49ers aren't a real rival to the Bears.

First of all, they're in the same conference.
Second of all, they just so happen to be in back-to-back conference championship games, so it's not like you're jumping on to the Arizona Cardinals bandwagon.
Third of all, you can't have two teams.

I think you're allowed to like another team a little, but they have to be in the other conference and you're not allowed to buy any merchandise or think of them as your team.

So Mark...what say you? Fair or foul?

NFL Calcutta Math or The Road To A Three-Peat

We've played two NFL Calcutta seasons. I've won the most money in both. I want that three-peat.

I've owned the Super Bowl winning team both times.

There are four teams remaining and I own two of them. The home team in each conference.

Current Leaders:
Matt 27.60 - 49ers
Dave 27 - Pats, Falcons
Savan - 17.40 - Ravens


8 Scenarios

1. SF over BAL
Matt 46.20
Dave 27
Savan 22.20

2. SF over NE
Matt 46.20
Dave 31.80
Savan 17.40

3. ATL over BAL
Dave 45.60
Matt 27.60
Savan 22.20

4. ATL over NE
Dave 50.40
Matt 27.60
Savan 17.40

5. BAL over SF
Savan 36
Matt 32.40
Dave 27

6. BAL over ATL
Savan 36
Dave 31.80
Matt 27.60

7. NE over ATL
Dave 50.40
Matt 27.60
Savan 17.40

8. NE over SF
Dave 45.60
Matt 32.40
Savan 17.40


CONCLUSIONS
As you might expect, who ever owns the SB winner, will be your Calcutta winner.
With half of the teams, I will win the Calcutta in half of the scenarios.
Savan can't finish in 2nd place. He will finish in 3rd, unless Baltimore wins the SB and he finishes in 1st.
Pats are a 9 point home favorite. If we assume a Pats victory, 3 of the 4 remaining scenarios give me the title.
49ers are a 5 point road favorite. If we assume a 49ers victory, 1 of the 4 remaining scenarios give me the title.
Having both teams in the Super Bowl is not "significantly" better than just having the winner only (difference between 50.40 and 45.60 for me)
Matt's current lead of sixty cents doesn't come into play at all.

The Chiefs won as many playoff games this year as the Broncos

Avs Hit List: Graphic

NHL Schedule Structure

Before I get into to the 48-game schedule, I wanted to start with the regular 82 games. I knew that in the NBA every team plays every at least twice, so that every team gets to host every team. Makes good sense when you have recognizable stars, you want fans in every NBA city to have a chance to go see them.

I just assumed that's what they did in the NHL. But nope.

82-game Structure
15 games: 1 game against each non-conference team
3 games: 1 extra game against three non-conference teams
40 games: 4 games against in-conference, non-division teams (two home, two away)
24 games: 6 games against division teams (three home, three away)


So your team will play every team every year. But there will be six teams that you don't get a home game with, and six teams that you don't visit their arenas.

48-game Structure

Let's recreate the NHL's decisions and subtract from the 82.

We'll cut the non-conference schedule completely. Now we're at 64.

If we go from 4 to 3 games in the in-conference, non-division schedule, that saves us 10. Down to 54.

So we need to cut 6 games.

If we just go to 5 division games, that only saves us 4 and leaves us at 50.

Fuck it, 18 total division games. 4 games against two teams. And 5 against the other two. 48. Done.

Avalanche Hit List

I have a goal. This goal could take 20+ years to realize.

The goal: Watch the Colorado Avalanche defeat all the other NHL teams, in person.

I've only seen them win one game so far, so I figure now's a good time to start. At least so I don't buy tickets to see a team I've already seen them beat. 

If I go to two games a year, and they win one, I'll be done at 57. Let's see what happens.

1 down, 28 to go.

AVALANCHE HIT LIST

Anaheim Ducks - Avs 3, Ducks 2 (OT) - 3/12/12 

What Nachos!

I make nachos, on occasion. Every time I do, Brit says it reminds her of me making them in my college apartment.

Yeah, but in college, did I use cilantro?

Ohio State used to be Number Eight

Now they're #16. And we're #12.

Rankings wise, Illinois is now the 4th best team in the Big Ten behind Michigan, Indiana and Minnesota. And the Gophers are coming to Champaign on Wednesday.

The NHL Is Back

First of all, to be clear, I was never one of the hockey fans that made bold promises about boycotting the league or taking a year off. Over the last four months, there was plenty of that sentiment on hockey blogs and reddit.com/r/hockey--people claiming they were done with the NHL forever. And then yesterday, everyone's back on board. 

I was disappointed  especially in October when I needed something to distract me from the Chiefs and Illinois football, but I knew that even if the league canceled a whole season, I'd come back and start watching games and taking my kids to games one day. 

And it's kind of a bummer that they're not playing the full 82, and a real shame that they couldn't get a deal in time for the Winter Classic, they're still playing 48 + playoffs. 

Which is more than any other team I follow:

Chiefs 2-14

Illinois Football 2-10* (1-10 against div 1-a)

Illinois Basketball 14-2 at the moment with about 20 games left to play

So the Avs will suit up 48 times (at least) in the next three months. I'll take that.

fight club cinemagraph

NFL Calcutta: divisional round

#letsgoavs

although...

Maybe if Peyton gets a ring in Denver he retires. Or at least retires sooner.

I'd rather play Osweiler twice a year.

All I Want In The Playoffs

is for the Broncos to not go to the Super Bowl.

For the record

Brit's fantasy football team, the one that theoretically should have been 2nd out of 8 in the standings but didn't make the playoffs...

...would have won the playoffs if she had snuck into the 4th seed.

Reid.

Well, Andy Reid is in and Pioli is out.

The Chiefs haven't won a playoff game since 1993. 20 years.
The Chiefs haven't won a Super Bowl since 1969. 44 years. Jimi Hendrix was alive.

If Reid wins a playoff game, it's a success.
He won 10 in Philadelphia.

I'm not convinced this is a slam dunk hire, but since he's our guy, I'm trying to get optimistic. Here's his record in Philly:

There's a lot of 1st and 2nds in the division.
Made the playoffs 9 out of 14 years.
And five NFC Championship games.

Let's do it.

Reid?

Initial thoughts on reports that Andy Reid will coach the Chiefs:

I'm not ecstatic.

I think he and Lovie Smith are the the best of the possibilities that have NFL head coaching experience. I think either of those two coaches could find success in the right situations again, but doubt that the Chiefs is a great situation to come into.

I'd probably prefer to find an up and coming success story like Chip Kelly. Another name floated for the Chiefs is Keith Armstrong, a special teams coach that I know nothing about.

Honestly, I wish we still had Haley.

Let's revisit his tenure:
Inherited a 2-14 team and was given Matt Cassel at QB.

First year: 4-12.
Second year: 10-6 and playoff berth
Third year: We lost Charles, Berry and Moeaki for the season and still had Cassel at QB. Was fired after going 5-8.

Haley went for it on fourth downs and seemed to get good results out of our players. If instead of firing Haley, we could have traded with STL to get RG3 or even selected Russell Wilson (passed on him three times), we would be much better off.

But we didn't do that. Obviously, in hindsight it's easy to say draft Wilson. He could and still might be a bust. (Or even Kirk Cousins in the 3rd round.) But we don't have a QB. And now it appears we'll be getting Andy Reid.

I think he could have success. But he needs a QB.