Curling Standings

Remaining Schedule:

Hammer Time vs Dream Team
Hammer Tive vs Smith
Week 5: Championship



So a win this week would guarantee that we would finish in the top two.
But what if we lose this week? We would have to beat Smith.

So it makes it pretty simple. Two games left. Win one and you're in.

Baseball Playoffs

For Hoagie Central's coverage of the 2012 regular season, click here.

Once I saw the Giants and Cardinals and Tigers and Yankees, it felt like these teams had all won recently. So I wanted to check the last time each of the playoff teams won.


St. Louis Cardinals: Last WS appearance and Win: 2011
San Francisco Giants: Last WS appearance and Win: 2010
New York Yankees: Last WS appearance and Win: 2009
Atlanta Braves: Last WS Win: 1995. Last WS appearance: 1999
Cincinnati Reds: Last WS appearance and Win: 1990
Oakland A's: Last WS Win: 1989. Last WS appearance: 1990
Detroit Tigers: Last WS Win: 1984. Last WS appearance: 2006
Baltimore Orioles: Last WS appearance and Win: 1983
Texas Rangers: Last WS appearance: 2011
Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos: never

8 of the 10 playoff teams had already won a World Series.
3 of the 4 current teams have won the last three Series.

Curling: Week Two

Tonight was a 3 on 3 match as both teams were missing a person. We were red.

After the first end, one of their players disappears. And in comes...Pam, the President of the Curling Club. Her name is hanging on a banner in the hall, 1990 National Champions. And now she'll be shooting 3 stones, opposite me. Umm...isn't this supposed to be a rookie league (under 3 years experience)? Now we can have a former national champion playing against little old me that learned how to curl in 2012?

Anyways the score was Yellow 2 after the first end when she subbed in.

After four ends it was Yellow 4, Red 3. It should have been tied, but our skip threw a shot that advanced one of their stones so we only scored 1 instead of 2 in the third. I remember thinking that I hadn't hit a good shot yet, but we were only down one.

The Fifth End:

By the time I came up there were two yellow just on the front right of the house.

My first shot (4th of 8 in the end) was short and to the left.
Pam's shot (5th) landed nicely in the house, left side, 8-foot ring.
My second shot (5th) was a perfect takeout of the previous shot, sticking right there.
Pam's next (6th) was a perfect takeout of my shot, sticking right there. (Which always fucking happens. I hit a great shot and it's gone on the next one.)
My last shot (6th) looked like it might zoom through the house, but just clipped the previous yellow stone, sending the yellow out and to the left, spinning my red stone to the back right of the house, now protected by the two yellow stones that were there the whole time.
Yellow skip's next (7th) was short.
I was now ready to call the shot for our skip. She wanted to come in to the house via a window on the right side, but it was too risky--too many yellow stones she could have advanced. So I changed the call and brought her on the left, far outside. It had a good line and reached the house, but was just farther away than the closest of the two yellow in the house.
Yellow's last was also short.
Hammer time. (Which is also our new team name.) I called for the same shot. And sure enough, she hit it, advancing her previous shot closer.

So that's it. To me it looked like two red were closest. Pam takes a look and says, "Three red?" So I said yes. She was counting the 8th stone which had somehow spun forward. She was already clearing her yellow stones away so I couldn't have even tried to argue for them. But anyways, she was conceding the points.

So now it's Red 6, Yellow 4 after five.

I had some more good shots in the sixth. We ended up having two in the house. I called for a guard to block the only window, since they had the hammer. She tried but it still left an alley. So they have the hammer. If he can draw between all the guards, it will be 6-5. If not, 8-4. A three-point swing, which this late would basically be the game. It looked good coming out, but drifted right toward the end, bumping into guards harmlessly. Red 8, Yellow 4 after six.

Basically the same thing happened in the 7th. Toward the end we had three in the house. They had the hammer, but the ice was tricky to come in on the right side. Virtually all the stones were on the left, except for two way far out right. So there was a window, but no one could hit it. The hammer failed.

Red 11, Yellow 4 after seven. And that's when Pam started shaking hands. We had time for the 8th, though it was borderline. But my guess is since the score was basically out of reach and the time was a factor, that she called it.

So last week Hammer Time won 16-2. This week 11-4. We went on an 11-2 run once Pam came in the game. And a 8-0 run after being down 3-4. Good curling.

ESPN vs Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs

I didn't think it was a big deal yesterday, but apparently ESPN decided to make this into the biggest story of the week.

First let me address the four possibilities of why the crowd may have cheered after that play:

1) They were excited about a first down in a close game.
2) They were trying to pump up Brady. (I know his last name is Quinn, but I feel better calling him Brady. Positive associations.)
3) They didn't want Cassel to be hurt, but they wanted him benched. They were happy that one way or another, a QB change was coming.
4) They were made at Cassel for performing consistently poor over his career in KC and were glad that he got hurt.

So let's go deeper.

1) This was probably everyone at first, but then they realized what happened. This doesn't explain the duration of the cheering or the shouts of Bra-dy, Bra-dy.
2) This is unlikely and not the right time while your starter is down. I doubt many were thinking this way.
3) I don't have a problem with this. This is not a cheer for an injury. This is a cheer for a change in personnel, the same way a crowd might cheer a new pitcher coming into a game.
4) I seriously doubt there were more than a handful of idiots thinking this.

- - -

To me this is not a big deal. If not for a questionable McCluster penalty call, Brady to Bowe would have taken the lead late in the game. The fans had a right to be excited about the QB change.

So I'm pretty surprised when I load up ESPN.com and see an article from Snoop Jackson on the homepage. Seriously? Snoop Jackson? I thought he got shitcanned years ago.

The title: Fear and self-loathing in Kansas City

Quotes from the article: "So here we are, America. Facing the truth of our internal hate; facing the depths of how low we can go." "Cassel and the rest of the Chiefs found out that loyalty between players and fans can sometimes be a one-way street."

WHAT THE FUCK.

For lifetimes, the loyalty between teams and fans has been a one-way street. When teams can abandon cities over money and stadium upgrades and leagues will lockout canceling games, knowing the fans will come crawling back.

And yes, he said between players and fans. But the reality is that players come and go. They get traded. They leave as free agents. They retire. They get hurt and can't play anymore.

So fans have to be loyal to the team. But they're also loyal to the players because they're loyal to the team. I'm still happy for Tony Gonzalez, knowing how much he gave to this team.

The idea that players are more loyal to fans than the other way around is ludicrous.

WTF Chiefs?

If you told me the Chiefs would hold the Ravens to 9 points at Arrowhead I would have been ecstatic.

So how did this team lose again, and at home no less?

This team is so bad that even though it was on tv, I chose to spend time with my family instead of watching the game. So I'm not sure. Time to break down the Chiefs possessions:

1: 3 and out. Punt on 4th and 2.
2: Punt on 4th and 11.
3: Fumble on a HB toss to Gray.
4: Cassel interception.
5: After getting to BAL 7, field goal from BAL 12.
6. Punt on 4th and 1 at BAL 43 to end half. ???
--halftime--
7: 1st and goal from BAL 1. Bad snap on QB sneak, fumble.
8: 3 and out. Punt on 4th and 5.
9: Cassel interception.
10. Punt on 4th and 15.
11: Cassel injured. Brady Quinn takes over at midfield and drives down the field. Touchdown pass nullified by penalty. Field goal.

The Ravens would convert two third downs and run the clock out.

- - -

So let's see. 11 possessions.

4 turnovers
5 punts
2 field goals

Both Cassel INTs were on tipped passes by his receiver.
The first fumble was a pitch that was blown by Gray. The second was a bad snap from a guard who's replaced our center who's out for the year.

So none of the 4 turnovers were really Cassel's fault. But it doesn't look good.

Hoagie Central takes you deeper.

2nd posession: 3rd and 8 from the BAL 46. Shotgun formation. Handoff to HB Draughn. Loss of 3. From their 46, shotgun handoff? It wasn't even a draw to Charles. If you surprise the d-line there's still no way you can get 8 yards running it on a simple handoff. Showed a complete lack of trust in Cassel.

With 12 seconds to go in the half, the Chiefs had a 4th down from the BAL 43. Why isn't this a hail mary? If it's picked, Baltimore will take a knee to go into the half. If it's incomplete, the Ravens have a 57 yard hail mary attempt. Instead of taking a shot, they punt.

First possession of the second half: qb sneak on 1st and goal from the 1. It's a bad snap. So it's on the center. But they were doing a hurry-up. Ed Reed said after the game he knew it was a sneak from the way they were hurrying to snap it. If the play works, the Chiefs take the lead and there's no questions. It's not an awful call. But still, don't you owe it to Charles to give him a shot from the 1?

Last possession: Quinn drives down the field and gets it to Bowe in the end zone, but penalty takes it back. This is with 5 minutes to go. Would have been 10-9. Flacco would have probably been able to drive into field goal range anyways, but still, would have been great.

- - -

Chiefs fans cheered when Cassel left and Brady Quinn came on.

I'm not happy that Cassel was injured. I would never be that kind of fan.

But I am happy to give Quinn a chance. Because literally, we have nothing to lose. It almost has to be better.

Curling: Week One

Curling is back in session.

I signed up for the first fall session, five Saturdays. Four round-robin games and one championship/bowl week.

On Friday night I subbed for a team in the non-rookie league. It was a tight one. The team I was playing for ending up losing 5-4. But that’s 9 points in 8 ends, just one more than the expected minimum. The loss was no skin off my back. I had some good shots. Of course one of them was wiped out on the very next shot. But that’s curling for you. I got some good practice in. They let me shoot second.

Tonight I showed up on our league team. Our team lineup changed and I’m now a secure vice-skip (3^rd position). Which is ideal for me. Skip is awesome but I’m not ready.

Tonight we were yellow.

1^st end: Yellow 1

2^nd end: Yellow 2

3^rd end: Yellow 2

4^th end: Red 1

So halfway through, we’re up 5-1.

5^th end: Yellow 2

That was a big one. 7-1 is much different than 5-2.

6^th end: Yellow 2

Now we’re up 9-1 with two to go. Can breathe easy.

7^th end: Red 1

9-2 going into the last one, but we have the hammer.

As the vice skip, I get to call the shot for the skip. For her first shot, I called a takeout of a red stone. Yellow was sitting one, then one red, and then a bunch of yellows around. So I was hoping to takeout the red one and get a multiple score. But the takeout didn’t work. It was short. Then red had their last shot that didn’t go anywhere.

We could have called it one yellow for a 10-2 win. But we had the hammer, one last chance to add more points. So I called for a draw to the button, why not? It comes in looking good, and wouldn’t you know? It hits the red stone, knocks it out of the back of the house. So I’m looking around and all I see is yellow stones now. Too many to count. Someone shouted seven. We scored seven out of eight possible stones. An 8-ender is of course the best you can do in an end and is rare and legendary. Getting a 7-ender in our first game? That’s crazy.

Final Score: 16-2.

I had joked before the last end that the other team needed an 8-ender to win.

I hit a bunch of great shots, all draws with good weight and did good on the calling end as well. Playing for our team is 100 times better than being a sub. You’d think it would be about the same, but for some reason, I didn’t enjoy subbing. But this game was awesome.

New Awesomeness From Me

The Chiefs are currently losing 27-13, and they look terrible, so I know it won't matter.

But when they got a touchdown to cut it to 6-20, they apparently tried a fake.

This makes no sense.

They were down 14. The sure PAT cuts it to 13. A risky fake would cut it to 12.

Is 12 better than 13? Of course smaller is better, but not significantly better.

Is 13 better than 14? YES. Given that we're down that much, we'll need touchdowns to get back in this game. I would much rather be down 13 than 14 going into the second half.

/rant

Edit: I finally was able to find video and it was a botched snap. Sorry for the rant.

Hilton SuperContest Picks

I tried this a couple years ago and was TERRIBLE.

Let's try again.

Saints +7.5 over Packers
Titans +12 over Texans
Dolphins +6.5 over Cardinals
Raiders +6.5 over Broncos
Chargers +1 over Chiefs

balance

I want to do everything. But I don't have the time. People usually say that they don't have time for certain things, or that they wish they had more time. I'm going to breakdown my current situation.

Here's a list of everything that I want to do, broken into tiers:

Things That Come First
trying to be a good father and husband
trying to be a good copywriter

Things That Fight For My Free Time
designing book covers
watching TV/playing video games
writing personal projects
sleep

Things That Get Left Out Completely
eating healthy/getting in shape

Here's a basic workday:
Work + commute = 9.5 hours
Father time = 4.5 hours
Sleep (in chunks) = ideally 7 hours

That leaves 3 hours.
In that time I'd like to do book covers, watch tv and play games, and do personal writing. But there's also some basic cleaning, cooking, whatever.
Sometimes it's bedtime and I have to choose between playing a video game or going to sleep. Sometimes I have plans to work on something at home and Brit wants to watch a movie. So I don't usually get to do everything I want in that middle tier.

Which leaves the bottom tier in the cold. It's not that eating healthy takes up more time. It's just that I'm sort of burning the candle at both ends and not in the mood to be hungry or settle for healthy food. And I would feel better if I made the time to play sports/work out, but I just don't do it. That's an inspiring slogan.

Stats That Will Blow Your Mind

Red and Gold Comeback Special

After watching the Chiefs and Saints play for 3 hours and 20 minutes, after seeing the Chiefs come back from down 24-6 to cut it to a 3-point deficit on their final drive, after seeing them convert a 4th and 5 and get into field goal range...

the CBS feed in Denver switched to the kickoff of the Broncos-Texans game.

I understand. There's not really a good solution. I would be ticked if I was in Kansas City and I couldn't watch the first quarter because some other AFC game was in overtime. And with a game going into overtime, there's not really anything CBS could have done. But it's a shame that the reason the game was dragging was because the officials took forever and had five challenges overturned. And it's defeating to invest your entire Sunday afternoon into a game that is now tied in overtime and you can't watch it.

So I kept an eye on my fantasy window. I saw the Chiefs punt to the Saints 3. And force a 3 and out. I saw they had the ball at their 47. And then I saw Saints touchdown. Fumble. 57 yard return. Game over. 30-24.

So I went to the basement. I played with H. I thought about how the comeback was such a waste. I blamed the Chiefs for all the times they kicked field goals instead of getting touchdowns. I blamed them for not even trying to score on their last possession, settling for a long field goal attempt to go to overtime.

And I thought about how the Chiefs were 0-3.
My fantasy team would be 0-3.
My college team is 1-2 against Division I, and their only win was against a MAC team. And their two losses were blowouts.

I told myself: You need to get a new hobby. Football just isn't for you.

After a good 15 minutes I came upstairs. I checked my latest fantasy loss in progress. And I saw that the Chiefs had won, 27-24.

- - -

And suddenly, the Chiefs are tied with the Lions in the burger standings. They're tied with the Broncos, who just two weeks ago had the local news thinking Super Bowl plans. And they have a home game this Sunday for first place in the division.

Peyton seems human. The Raiders haven't impressed. And the Chargers started strong but showed up flat on Sunday. Beat them and all of a sudden things are different.

So two questions.

1. How did the Chiefs struggle to score touchdowns?
2. How did they come back to win?

- - -

Let's look at the Chief's possessions.

#1. Advanced to 1st and 10 at NO 11. Run. Pass. Incomplete. Field goal.
#2. Three and out. Punt.
#3. Advanced to midfield. Penalty. Punt.
#4. Advanced to 1st and 10 at NO 30. Run. Incomplete. Incomplete. Field goal.
#5. Advanced to 1st and 10 at NO 45. Cassel sacked and "fumbled" with two seconds left in the half. (I was convinced that it should have been an incomplete and the Chiefs should have gotten another chance at a hail mary. But the refs ran to the locker room and that was that.)

#6. Fumble.
#7. Advanced to midfield. Punt.
#8. Interception.
#9. 91-yard touchdown run on 1st down.
#10. Advanced to 1st and 10 at NO 13. Run. Pass. Sack. Field goal.
#11. Advanced to 1st and 10 at NO 15. Penalty. Run. Incomplete. Penalty. Incomplete. Field goal.
#12. Three and out. Punt.
#13. 2nd and 4 at NO 33 at the two-minute warning with one timeout. Run. Def penalty. Sneak. Run. Run. Field goal on 3rd down from NO 25.

Scoring summary:
1 touchdown from own 9
3 field goals from red zone
2 field goals from outside red zone
safety

I can't sit here and argue against the playcalling in the red zone, that a pass would have been better. But just generally when you get the red zone three times and score 0 tds, that's not a recipe for success in the NFL. (Aside: The networks always show red zone scoring percentage and I HATE that stat. That stat is worthless. Red zone TD percentage is 100x better. I would rather my team get two td's and turn the ball over on downs once, then get three field goals.)

But the other thing that irks that shit out of me, is the playcalling after the two minute warning. 4 run plays. No sense of urgency. Not trying to get the touchdown at all. You have a chance to win the game. Try for it. At least get your kicker closer. In two minutes you picked up 8 yards. 5 of those yards was an offsides penalty. It's almost as if the Chiefs forgot why you play the game.

- - -

How did the Chiefs win?

Play #1: The Saints are up 10-6 in the 2nd. This play happens. It was called a touchdown on the field. You tell me if there's indisputable visual evidence that it wasn't a touchdown. Because I don't see it. Anyways it was overturned. The Chiefs sack Brees for an 11-yard loss and Hartley pushes a 38-yarder wide.

The Saints were jobbed out of another touchdown in the 2nd half, but got it back five plays later, so no big deal.

Play #2: The Chiefs are down 24-6 in the 3rd. Then #25 goes untouched 91 yards. The only touchdown on the day for KC. Good thing they didn't get into the red zone.

Play #3: On the ensuing drive, new CB Routt picks off Brees at the goal line.

Play #4: The fourth quarter defense. Here are the Saints posessions in the 4th and OT:
3 and out.
3 and out.
Safety.
In overtime: 3 and out.

When the Chiefs couldn't afford any mistakes, the defense stepped up and SHUT THEM DOWN.

Play #5: The Chiefs are down 24-21 with only 2:26 to go in the game. They have a 4th down and 5 at the New Orleans 46. They line up to punt.

Are you serious? They have two timeouts and a two-minute warning, but you're in New Orleans territory. The time is now. Crennel calls timeout. And sends the offense on the field. Don't convert this play and the game is over.

Cassel to Bowe for 7 yards.

The drive stays alive and Succop hits the 43-yarder to go to OT.

- - -

1st win of the season? Let's hand out some game balls.

#3: Ryan Succop

Their kicker: 1 of 2.
Our kicker: 6 of 6.

43-yarder to tie. 31-yarder for the win.

#2 Justin Houston and the 4th quarter defense

I already elaborated on the 4th quarter D. Houston, in his 2nd season, had 3 sacks on the day. The first to push the Saints back that led to a missed field goal. The second was on 3rd down on the drive before the safety. And the third was the safety. We should keep this guy around.

#1: Jamaal Charles

Here are the all-time Kansas City Chiefs single-game rushing records:

3. 211 yards - Larry Johnson
2. 233 yards - Jamaal Charles (Sunday)
1. 255 yards - Jamaal Charles (2010 vs Broncos)

His 91-yard touchdown run was the longest in franchise history and sparked the comeback.

He scored 37 fantasy points.

All the people that won this game for the Chiefs, RAISE YOUR HANDS.

holy shit, is it 5773 already?

Looking for hot shofar-on-shofar action?

illini basketball 12-13 preview

Basketball recruiting is still foreign to me. It's not that hard of a concept, but it's strange to me that in September we get all excited about recruiting news...and then they don't play for another year. It would be like holding the NFL Draft a week before the college football season starts, but for the following year.

Further complicating things is that sometimes you get junior commitments. Case in point, a year ago SG Malcolm Hill committed to Illinois. And I missed the fact that he was a junior in high school. I wrote a full year ago that he would be playing for Illinois come fall 2012. Of course he's still in high school and won't be donning the orange and blue until fall 2013. So this article was getting excited about a player that was two years away from being an Illini.

Anyways, let's take a look at our 2012-2013 Illinois Basketball Team:
(with their Rivals national scouting rank)

Seniors: Richardson (38), Paul (42), Griffey (120)
Juniors: Bertrand (128), Rice (NR), Berardini (NR)
Sophomores: Henry (39), Abrams (58), Shaw (59), Egwu (97), Djimbe (NR)
Freshmen: Langford (NR), LaTulip (NR walk-on)

After Weber was fired, Jalen James (89) and Michael Orris (NR) decommitted from Illinois. They would have been freshmen on the 2012-2013 squad.

2013 Recruits: Kendrick Nunn (42), Malcolm Hill (64), Maverick Morgan (148)
Still in the hunt for Xavier Rathan-Mayes (25) (Edit: XRM chose FSU over Illinois) and Demetrius Jackson (27) (Edit: Jackson chose Notre Dame over Illinois)

- - -

And I know that rivals recruiting rankings are not the be all end all determination of a player, but it's about all I can go on.

Here's a forecast, even though it never happens like this:

2012-2013: Groce's first year, with two seniors who combined for 25 points a game last year, should fare pretty well.
2013-2014: A weak senior class opens to the door to lots of playing time for our deep junior class and our super awesome freshmen recruits. Perhaps a bit of a step down in performance.
2014-2015: Time for a deep tournament run. Led by a strong group of seniors and super awesome sophomores, Groce's third year puts it all together. Start booking your Indianapolis hotel rooms now.

What do the futures look like to win the 2013 National Title?

Indiana 8/1
Ohio State 18/1
Michigan 20/1
Michigan State 25/1
Wisconsin 50/1
Minnesota 65/1
Illinois 100/1
Purdue 100/1
Iowa 150/1

For completeness here were the 2012 Futures with conference finish and tournament status:

Ohio State 17/2 (1st, Final Four)
Michigan State 25/1 (2nd, Sweet Sixteen)
Indiana 30/1 (5th, Sweet Sixteen)
Michigan 35/1 (3rd, 1st round*)
Wisconsin 55/1 (4th, Sweet Sixteen)
Illinois 75/1 (10th, did not qualify the motherfucking NIT)
Minnesota 75/1 (9th, Title Game in NIT)
Purdue 75/1 (6th, 2nd round)

*lost to Groce's Ohio team which reached the Sweet Sixteen

Looking at this, I would say the pre-season futures were a better indicator than I would have guessed. Pretty darn close on the finishing of the top 5 schools and accurate on bracket finishes as well.

/looks back at 2013 Futures.

Fuck.

numbers don't lie

Chiefs outgain Bills 422-379.
Bills were up 35-3 entering the 4th.