Saturday, October 10, 2015

So I was excited about this soccer game back in July...

And then I forgot about it and didn't hear anything about it until it was halftime, Mexico 1 - USA 1.

So... let's do this?

41 Hours in Champaign



For the first time since 2010, I stepped foot on the campus of the University of Illinois. I figured I should recap a bit so future me will remember what happened.

Brit and I flew to Chicago, grabbed some Portillo's drive-thru and drove straight to Curtis Orchard.

I was looking forward to the orchard as much as anything. I bought apple donuts, apple fritters, apple pie, a caramel apple and some fudge. Unfortunately, my memories were better than the actual food this time around. The donuts, fritters and pie were all disappointing. The caramel apple and fudge were pretty good.

After that we went to the revamped Gameday on campus and Brit got a sweater. From there we walked down the quad, seeing the refurbished Alma Mater, sandblasted eternal flame, and restored Lincoln Hall. Turns out everything had been cleaned up since we were students.

After that we went with Missy and Mark to Dos Reales. The food wasn't as good as I remembered there either, but the margaritas were still great. Our night concluded at Brother's and Murphy's.



Saturday morning our group returned to campus, walked to Allen Hall and then back to Legends for lunch. The bacon cheeseburger here was better than I remembered. Kirat and I played frisbee on the Quad, Brit and I got frozen yogurt at Cocomero (where Moonstruck used to be) and then we walked to the stadium to see the Illini host Nebraska.

Illinois was losing 0-13 after three quarters, so of course, in classic Illinois Football tradition, they came back and won 14-13. The best game I ever saw in Memorial Stadium.

After the game, we had dinner at Jupiter's pizza where I had lots of meat on a pizza. It was good. Thus concludes, our weekend in Illinois.



Thursday, October 08, 2015

Interesting MLB stat

8 of the 10 made the playoffs this year and are no longer on the list


Royals playoff opener and Avs season opener tonight. Holy crap.

Wednesday, October 07, 2015

Favorite Board Games: October 2015

Previous Installments: July 2015

I wanted to update my rankings, but instead of just editing the previous post, I figured I would be better served making a new post and keeping the old one intact. Anyways, here is a ranking of the games that I own in some format or another.


19. Scrabble

I've played some good games of Scrabble. But it's slow and being good at Scrabble involves memorizing two-letter words and manipulating the game instead of being creative.

18. Monopoly

For being America's most popular game, it gets a bad rap both from casual gamers and hardcore gamers. Amongst families, it has a reputation of lasting forever and being boring. Among hardcore gamers, they think it's child's play or crap. But if you actually play by the rules of auctioning every property and not placing money on free parking, it can play quickly.

17. Clue

This was my favorite game as a kid. I loved the mystery element and that it required deduction and not luck. Also, as an adult there are advanced strategies that eluded me as a child. Unfortunately, winning is more based on luck (randomly finding the missing cards first) than deduction skills.

16. Roll For It

I bought this both for kids and adults, but in my opinion it's really just a kid's game. It's a little more fun than Yahtzee, but that's about it.

15. Ticket to Ride

This was the first modern game I was introduced to. I think I played it too much. Also, the fact that it's the same map every time, limits the replayability for me. Basically, to win you need to construct a route that goes from coast to coast and get route cards to match up.

14. Cleopatra

A good game with a nice twist of eliminating the most corrupt player. Has some great mechanics. Still, it feels like the same strategy every time.

13. Lost Cities

A two-player game that is not very complex. The simplicity makes it fun and easy to play but also not very deep or engaging.

12. Clue: The Great Museum Caper

This game really has nothing to do with Clue at all. It's an art heist game, which to me is really the best theme ever. The gameplay isn't perfect but it's still a cool game.

11. Zombie Dice

This is simple and fun, mostly luck based but with a touch of strategy (when to stop, when to keep rolling).

10. Settlers of Catan

I've never owned the board version or even played it, but I have extensively played a computer game version. It's the gateway modern board game for good reason. It requires strategy and a bit of luck, with multiple different ways to succeed.

9. Forbidden Island

This is a game by Matt Leacock, the designer of the #1 game on my list. It's not quite as good at that game, but still has interesting co-op mechanics and great replayability.

8. Carcasonne

Along with Catan, one of the most famous modern games, I think Carcasonne is interesting and fun. I've only played the Android app, which makes it easy to learn the rules. Yet, despite all the strengths, I find it a little lacking.

7. A Duel Betwixt Us

This is a two-player game that I bought on Kickstarter. Okay, I didn't buy in on Kickstarter. I saw it on Kickstarter and then bought it on Amazon. It's pretty cool and has some great mechanics, but for the first time ever, I had to make some house rules to fix some broken mechanics. As created, it's way too easy for the game to be lopsided, not fun in a 2-player game that can take 90 minutes to play.

6. Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective

This is the best detective board game I've come across yet. It very much simulates solving a murder case and gives you free reign to go wherever you want to find clues and piece it all together. There's so much that I love about this. And yet, there are 10 cases. I've only played 2 and once you play them all, that's it. Unless you can forget what happened. Also, I find it terribly difficult. I'm glad it's not too easy, but I was pretty lost in the first two cases. 

5. Love Letter

This is a simple, light game that's nice because it only takes about 3 minutes to play. It might drop in future ratings, but for now I rate it pretty highly. 

4. Scotland Yard

Along with Clue, this is a game that I grew up with. But finding people to play it with was always a problem. Well, I just recently got the Android version (4.99) and it's awesome. It's nice to be able to control all 5 detectives against an AI Mr. X.

3. Tsuro

Just got this game in June 2015 and it's awesome. The amazing thing about this game is that it's strategic enough for adults but a three-year-old can play it too. It's quick and fun. Every game is different because of the tile-based gameplay. I think it's a great game for non-gamers. Also, for what it's worth, I learned of Tsuro, Forbidden Island, Zombie Dice, Love Letter, and Roll For it through Wil Wheaton's Tabletop series.

2. Codenames

This is a word game that revolves around making strange connections. It seems like a party game but it is actually intense. I think it's awesome. Although there's a 2 or 3 player variant, and you can play standard with 4 or 5, this game shines when you have at least 6, but it's flexible up to 12 or more. One game can be finished in about 20 minutes, but I always want to play 4 or 5 at a time. 

1. Pandemic

Do you have what it takes to save humanity? I love this game. It's a co-op game. Either everyone at the table wins or everyone loses. What makes this game #1 for me? You can use cards in different ways and you have to balance priorities: finding cures and removing diseases from cities. This game is intense. With the game on the line, you could have three equally viable options to decide between. And the difference between winning and losing can be razor thin, so every decision is important.




Ordered October 9th:

Escape: Curse of the Temple (real-time dice rolling game, 1-5 players)

Pandemic: Legacy (a campaign version where games affect future games)

New York 1901 (city-building game, 2-4 players)

Burgle Bros. (co-op heist game)



Possible Wish List

Onirim? (1-2 players)

Hostage Negotiator (a solo game, using cards and dice to save hostages)

Robinson Crusoe (longer, complex survival game for 1-4 players)

The Networks (tv executive game, 1-5 players)

Freedom: The Underground Railroad (co-op historical game with serious theme)

[redacted] (bluffing, hidden information spy game best with 4 or 6 players)

The Resistance (like Mafia but without eliminating players, 5-10 players)

Sushi Go (light, quick game, good for the boys, 2-5 players)

King of Tokyo (good first serious game for kids, 2-6 players)

Two Rooms and a Boom (cool party game for 12+)

Tesla vs Edison: War of Currents (complex invention and stock market history simulation, 2-5 players)

Letter Tycoon (better version of scrabble gameplay where you can patent letters, 2-5 players)

Colt Express (western game on a 3-d train, good for kids, 2-6 players)

Portal: The Uncooperative Cake Acquisition Game (cool theme, not sure if good gameplay, 2-4 players)

Dead of Winter (zombie survival with betrayer, 2-5 players)

Jaipur (quick two-player game, selling cards at the market)

CV (better version of the game of life, 2-4 players)

Tobago (deduction and competitive treasure hunting, 2-4 players)

Train Heist (family game, 1-4 players)

Nations (civilization game, 1-5 players)




Monday, September 28, 2015

I need 6 points from Starks/Jones/Maclin in the 4th quarter to avoid going 0-3 in my work league. Let's Do This!



UPDATE: Big Play for James Jones ties it up. A tie is better than a loss, but I need a win. 12 minutes to get a point.



I came into tonight projected to lose. I needed 31 from Starks/Jones/Maclin. In the 2nd quarter I was projected to finish with 72 points. Maclin had 0. Jones had maybe 5. And then they both turned it on. No team in this league is 3-0, so I'm only one game back now at 1-2.

True Story: If I had gone with projections and played Lamar Miller over James Jones I would have finished with 86 and lost.







When I was maybe 7 or 8, I had a thought: At halftime, no game is truly out of reach. Because even if you're losing huge, to tie the game, all you'd have to do is do to the other team what they just did to you.

In case that's not clear. Say it's 31-3 at the half. If you score 31 in the second half and hold them to 3, you'll get to overtime. And you know that's possible because they just did that to you.

What 7 or 8 year old me didn't realize, is that if you're losing 31-3, it's probably because that team is much better than you.
One of my favorite Chiefs-Broncos memories came in a loss.




MNF Prediction

So normally, the Chiefs playing on Monday Night Football, I get all ramped up. This time, I haven't really been looking forward to it. Because it's the Packers at Lambeau. Even though the Broncos were 6-0 against the Chiefs coming into last week, I believed the Chiefs had a good shot against them at home. But the Packers? On the road? This is our toughest game on paper all year. So I don't really expect the Chiefs to win.

So here's the prediction: the Chiefs make one or two plays that suck me in to believing that they have a chance to win. Perhaps they take the lead in the second quarter, 10-7 or 17-14, something like that. And I get all excited. The Packers probably take the lead before halftime, but it's still close. Say 14-10 Packers at the half. Close enough that I'm still emotionally invested. And then by the end of the game it's Packers by double digits. Packers 30, Chiefs 20.

Bonus Prediction: Brittany said the number 34 will be big. She thinks that's the winning score. She also said Packers will win. Final answer from her: 34-20. Not that far off from mine. For what it's worth, in case 34 is actually a player number, the only 34 in the game is Knile Davis.


Saturday, September 26, 2015

Illinois-MTSU Recap

In case anyone wasn't able to watch the Illinois game today, I thought I'd recap a few things.

After scoring on the opening possession, Illinois held a 7-3 lead in the 2nd quarter. With the ball on the MTSU 20, Illinois missed a 38-yard field goal. However, on the ensuing possession, the Illini defense forced a 3 and out, blocked the punt and recovered it in the end zone. 14-3 Illinois.

The next MTSU drive resulted in a punt, but instead of taking a fair catch, Illinois let the ball be downed at the 1-yard-line. Next play: safety. Two plays later: 63-yard touchdown for MTSU. All of a sudden it's 14-12 Illinois.

Late in the 2nd quarter, the Illinois defense comes up big again. They force and return a fumble to the MTSU 11. Illini offense can't cash in and they settle for a field goal. Halftime: 17-12 Illinois.

With a 3rd and 4 on the MTSU 20, Wes Lunt takes a 17-yard sack, pushing Illinois out of field goal range. They punt instead.

Next possession, Illinois drives to 1st and 10 from the MTSU 12. Three plays later brings up 4th and 2 from the 4, nursing a 5-point lead. Illinois sends out backup QB Chayce Crouch, who had already converted a 4th down keeper earlier in the game. Before snapping it, Illinois calls timeout. This time they send out Wes Lunt...and call another timeout. Then they keep Lunt on the field who throughs an incompletion. Two timeouts burned, no points earned.

Illinois D forces another punt and on the ensuing drive, freshman running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn takes a touchdown and extends the lead to 24-12.

Both teams exchange punts and Illinois heads to the 4th with a 12-point lead.

MTSU gets down to the Illinois 24 with a 4th and 4 coming up. Down 12, they decide to go for it. They complete a 5-yard pass. Three plays later, they're in the endzone only down 5.

On the next drive, Illinois picks up three first downs but punts from midfield. MTSU takes over on their own 19, with 9 minutes to go.

At this point, the Illinois defense had already forced 8 punts on the day. But now the crowd was out of it, the defense gassed. On 3rd and 10, MTSU completed a 22-yard pass for a touchdown. They had their first lead of the game with just over 4 minutes to go. 25-24 MTSU.

Wes Lunt connects with Geronimo Allison for 26 yards, bringing up a 1st and 10 at the MTSU 36. At this point the announcers were talking about Illinois slowing down to not give MTSU too much time on the clock. And then 3-yard run, incomplete, incomplete. And now it's 4th and 6 from the MTSU 32. Just over 2 minutes to go. It would be a 51-yard field goal attempt for the kicker that missed from 38 earlier and struggled last year. Or they could try and convert 4th and 6. Or they could punt, but they only had one timeout, having burnt two on that failed goalline play. What do you do?

Cubit sends out the kicker.

The kick is up, it has the distance, and it's through. Illinois up 27-25 with 2 to play.

Now the crowd is fired up. The defense has it's energy back.

Incomplete. Incomplete. Incomplete. 4th and 10 from their own 25. Game on the line and it's a 16-yard completion. Next set of downs and it's now 4th and 3 from near mid-field. They convert again. 1st and 10 from the ILL 46. About a minute to go. And they're trying to get into field goal range. On first down they try a surprising run, but lose three. On the next play, there it is...a 20-yard completion to the ILL 29. They gain three more yards on the ground and call timeout with 8 seconds left. It's a 43-yard field goal to win it.

Illinois looked in control for most of the game and now they can only watch as this Conference USA team came back double digits in the 4th and lines up to kick the game winner. And then that son of a bitch pushes the kick just wide of the uprights.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

According to the ESPN expert rankings, I should be starting Lamar Miller over James Jones. But because I am a Chiefs' fan, I know better. Even though the Chiefs have a great defense, James Jones will do very well because this is how things work.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Game of the Year

This is the home opener, a primetime game, and the first home game for Eric Berry.

Since Peyton was traded to Denver, the Chiefs are 0-6 against the Broncos.

This is the one shot the Chiefs have to beat them at home this year.

To win the division, you gotta take down the champs.

Winner goes to 2-0 and leads the other team.

I'd love to shut up my co-workers.

Fuck the Broncos.