The NFL's Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans are tied in 4th quarter at Reliant Stadium in Houston and in a game that's burning up the Internet.
With 5:14 to go, it's 17 to 17 and possibly headed to overtime, this game's not without its great plays, players and dirty play.
Houston's star wide receiver Andre Johnson had over 100 receiving yards. Texans Quarterback Vince Young was effective both running and passing (he ran completely around Texans Rookie Linebacker Brandon Cushing) as was Texans Quarterback Matt Schaub.
It's one of those game where just when you think one team's going to score and pull away, they don't. The clock's running down; now under 3 minutes.
Stay tuned.
UPDATE: Titans 20, Texans 17 with :47 seconds left.
UPDATE: Titans win as Houston Texans missed a 42-yard field goal with six-seconds left.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Pixar's “Partly Cloudy" heads international list of 10 animated shorts for Oscar
On Friday, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 10 films were named to advance in the voting process for the "Animated Short Films" category for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards to be held March 7, 2010 at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center and televised on ABC (in case you weren't used to going to ABC to see The Oscars every year).
It's an international list with movies representing production companies from Australia, France, America, Canada, and other countries.
Emeryville, California-based Pixar's “Partly Cloudy" is the American entry and is considered by some to be the front runner for the awards but only because its the most high-profile entry. Frankly, this awards category has been almost impossible to predict in the past, so anything could happen.
That said, here's the list of competitor films:
The next step is for the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch Reviewing Committee to select five nominees from the 10 titles on the short list above. The Academy reports that the movies will be screened for members in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in January of 2010. (No specific date was given as of this writing.)
For more information, visit Oscars.org
It's an international list with movies representing production companies from Australia, France, America, Canada, and other countries.
Emeryville, California-based Pixar's “Partly Cloudy" is the American entry and is considered by some to be the front runner for the awards but only because its the most high-profile entry. Frankly, this awards category has been almost impossible to predict in the past, so anything could happen.
That said, here's the list of competitor films:
“The Cat Piano,” Eddie White and Ari Gibson, directors (The People’s Republic of Animation)
“French Roast,” Fabrice O. Joubert, director (Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films)
“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty,” Nicky Phelan, director, and Darragh O’Connell, producer (Brown Bag Films)
“The Kinematograph,” Tomek Baginski, director-producer (Platige Image)
“The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte),” Javier Recio Gracia, director (Kandor Graphics and Green Moon)
“Logorama,” Nicolas Schmerkin, producer (Autour de Minuit)
“A Matter of Loaf and Death,” Nick Park, director (Aardman Animations Ltd.)
“Partly Cloudy,” Peter Sohn, director (Pixar Animation Studios)
“Runaway,” Cordell Barker, director (National Film Board of Canada)
“Variete,” Roelof van den Bergh, director (il Luster Productions)
The next step is for the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch Reviewing Committee to select five nominees from the 10 titles on the short list above. The Academy reports that the movies will be screened for members in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in January of 2010. (No specific date was given as of this writing.)
For more information, visit Oscars.org
AMA Music Awards: Taylor Swift tops Michael Jackson; Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga go off
The American Music Awards gave talented singer Taylor Swift another massive round of fan voted awards to take home this year, as the country pop star took home honors for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist, Favorite Country Album (for Fearless), Favorite Female Pop/Rock Artist, and Favorite Country Female Artist.
This is Taylor Swift winning for Female Pop/Rock Artist:
But what was shocking was that Taylor Swift beat the otherwordly legend that is the late Michael Jackson for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist. But even with that Michael Jackson took home awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Album (for Number Ones), Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Album.
But the news of Swift beating Jackson caused controversy on Twitter, with a large number of tweets of protest like this one:
But then there are a lot of repeated tweets in anticipation of the 2010 Grammy Awards, like this one:
Regardless of the tweet, it's clear that 20-year old Taylor Swift is having a year that one could only dream about. And all Swift had to do was sing, oh, and surround herself with the right publicist. But for some, creating nutty moments at the AMA gave their publicity hacks easy work: Adam Lambert and Lady GaGa.
Adam Lambert decided he was going to let is loins get the best of him and do some sexually provacative things during his singing number that really he could have done it without. I'm not going to give those actions video airplay.
Lady GaGa's bottle breaking spell during her number was less controversial but still questionable - and the piano was on fire, too!
It's as if the show producers decided to conspire with the performers to create as many Internet-viral-producing moments as possible just to keep us talking about the AMAs long after the show is over.
That strategy is very much like what I believe was done for the halftime show at Super Bowl 38 in Houston, when Justin Timberlake took off Janet Jackson's bra. It proved the impact of the Super Bowl on American culture because it was the pop event conversation for all the rest of 2004 and just at the time when the NFL was renegotiating its television contract.
To me, that was no accident, just as the AMA events of Sunday night were no accident. Both actions were created for the media and both actions worked to generate buzz. Look for more of this approach in the future and perhaps at The Grammys.
This is Taylor Swift winning for Female Pop/Rock Artist:
But what was shocking was that Taylor Swift beat the otherwordly legend that is the late Michael Jackson for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist. But even with that Michael Jackson took home awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Album (for Number Ones), Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Album.
But the news of Swift beating Jackson caused controversy on Twitter, with a large number of tweets of protest like this one:
FeeshaD I can't believe Taylor Swift beat out Lady Gaga & MJ @ the AMA's! People have gotten so lame. less than a minute ago from mobile web
But then there are a lot of repeated tweets in anticipation of the 2010 Grammy Awards, like this one:
_Julia13 just voted "TAYLOR SWIFT" on "WHO WILL MOST LIKELY WIN A GRAMMY 2010????" vote too ➔ http://bit.ly/6MER36 3 minutes ago from POLLpigeon
Regardless of the tweet, it's clear that 20-year old Taylor Swift is having a year that one could only dream about. And all Swift had to do was sing, oh, and surround herself with the right publicist. But for some, creating nutty moments at the AMA gave their publicity hacks easy work: Adam Lambert and Lady GaGa.
Adam Lambert decided he was going to let is loins get the best of him and do some sexually provacative things during his singing number that really he could have done it without. I'm not going to give those actions video airplay.
Lady GaGa's bottle breaking spell during her number was less controversial but still questionable - and the piano was on fire, too!
It's as if the show producers decided to conspire with the performers to create as many Internet-viral-producing moments as possible just to keep us talking about the AMAs long after the show is over.
That strategy is very much like what I believe was done for the halftime show at Super Bowl 38 in Houston, when Justin Timberlake took off Janet Jackson's bra. It proved the impact of the Super Bowl on American culture because it was the pop event conversation for all the rest of 2004 and just at the time when the NFL was renegotiating its television contract.
To me, that was no accident, just as the AMA events of Sunday night were no accident. Both actions were created for the media and both actions worked to generate buzz. Look for more of this approach in the future and perhaps at The Grammys.
Oakland Raiders' Bruce Gradkowski posts awful 73.529 passer rating
Bruce Gradkowski
Oakland Raiders' Quarterback Bruce Gradkowski has become the darling of the Bay Area mainstream media because he replaced JaMarcus Russell and the Raiders won 20 to 17. Because of this, the commonly myopic mainstream media types have fallen all over themselves in praising Bruce Gradkowski.
Time for this blogger to add a dose of much-needed sanity.
Bruce Gradkowski was 17 of 34 for 183 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and posted an awful 73.529 passer rating according to the Quarterback Passing Calculators anyone can use online. I didn't have to use it to tell you the Oakland Raiders passing game is still terrible.
Let's get down to the basic fact that this is an under-performing passing game. If Bruce Gradkowski had attempted 34 passes and completed 26 for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions that would have been a passer rating of 128.3, and then we could pop the corks.
But the design of the Oakland Raiders passing game, and the way it's coached, does not offer a snowball's chance in hell of a quarterback hitting that passer rating objective.
By contrast, Cal Head Coach Jeff Tedford's passing attack has produced several quarterbacks with excellent passer ratings over his career. The latest example being quarterback Kevin Riley with a 133.49 rating for the season thus far and was 17 of 31 for 235 yards and one touchdown and one interception against Stanford (he was at just 54 percent and I know why), giving him a 122.71 rating for the 27th Big Game. (And thanks to Tedford and Cal Offensive Coordinator Andy Ludwig for using the Big Game to install the short passing game surgical strike I've called for all year long.)
But I digress.
Yes, the passer rating formula does have its problems and that's another blog post, but one can't argue that throwing more completions as a percentage of attempts and for more yardage helps the achieve a solid victory, rather than a three-point win.
The Oakland Raiders must understand how to first throw short, timed passes that can be ran again and again and second, drill the passer to throw to a specific point at the receiver depending on the route, third, move the "launch point" of the pass using rollouts, sprints, and play action passes, and finally use the hashmarks and throwing points and route landmarks.
I've blogged that point again and again. So much so I'm tired of doing it. It does not matter who's placed at quarterback for the Oakland Raiders, the result - a poor or less than stellar passing attack - will always be the result.
This is nothing personal against Ted Tollner and Paul Hackett who are the passing game architects; it's professional. These two men have seen a lot of passing attacks and posted a lot of years of coaching. They must be held to a higher standard than what's being produced to date.
The Oakland Raiders' passing game is terrible. Bruce Gradkowski can't fix what's broken by design.
Modern patriotism isn't so different
To be a true patriot, a pro-republic American, is to recognize the role of civic virtue, of participation in the public affairs of the community, and to be among the men and women of whom future generations of Americans will say, "They were worthy of their city and their nation."
Gary Hart, in a recent Op-Ed, said:
Reporters, and news producers, love controversy - it's good for ratings, and the coverage of "news" is clearly a business in the 21st Century. There's never been a sexy sound-bite to be found talking about, VISTA, Habitat for Humanity, or the Peace Corps - you have to work much harder to tell these compelling human-interest stories.
But the country I want to leave to my son and his generation is much better when we take the time, and initiative, to help our neighbors and give to our communities - and so, too, are my son and his peers better when they join us in those efforts. The dangers of debt-fueled consumerism have become old news, as the pundits have led us on a hell-bent ride to blame whoever makes the best target in terms of their ad revenues, without any investigation into how best to recover.
A great way to start as we mark the quintessential American holiday, Thanksgiving, is for each of us to look within ourselves, to recall the lessons we've learned, to recall that our community matters -- to give a little.
Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, journalist, and political analyst who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.
Gary Hart, in a recent Op-Ed, said:
It would be refreshing to see the media focus less on the whining of political wanna-be pundits and apologist politicians whose goals have obvious resonance to special interests that have overhwelmed the relationship between elected officials and those they represent, and more on the inspirational leadership exemplified by the late Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch in authoring that bill."No single step would revitalize our fearful national spirit than a new era of civic republicanism. The single best vehicle to achieve this goal is the proposed Serve America Act sponsored by Senators Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch. It is a genuinely bipartisan response to President Obama’s challenge to Americans of all ages to serve the national community."
Reporters, and news producers, love controversy - it's good for ratings, and the coverage of "news" is clearly a business in the 21st Century. There's never been a sexy sound-bite to be found talking about, VISTA, Habitat for Humanity, or the Peace Corps - you have to work much harder to tell these compelling human-interest stories.
But the country I want to leave to my son and his generation is much better when we take the time, and initiative, to help our neighbors and give to our communities - and so, too, are my son and his peers better when they join us in those efforts. The dangers of debt-fueled consumerism have become old news, as the pundits have led us on a hell-bent ride to blame whoever makes the best target in terms of their ad revenues, without any investigation into how best to recover.
A great way to start as we mark the quintessential American holiday, Thanksgiving, is for each of us to look within ourselves, to recall the lessons we've learned, to recall that our community matters -- to give a little.
Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, journalist, and political analyst who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.
Notre Dame's Charlie Weis excepts blame for Huskies loss
Love him or hate him, you've got to give Notre Dame Fighting Irish Head Coach Charlie Weis credit for pointing at himself for the team's loss to the University of Connecticut (U Conn) Huskies 33 to 30 in overtime Saturday.
At the Sunday Press Conference (you can watch this video from part of it below) Weis was asked if he would understand if Notre Dame elected to release Weis from his contract. He said that he would and that six wins and five losses "doesn't cut it."
But Weis was quick to add that the losses were by a touchdown or less. And I will add that had Notre Dame scored at the last second to tie and went on to beat USC earlier this year his job would not be in trouble. It's hard to think beating Stanford this Saturday would not help Weis keep his job.
My view is Notre Dame should retain Weis for one more year, but give a more specific set of expectations: a floor and a ceiling. The floor should be 8 and 4; the ceiling is to go undefeated or close. That's it; keep it simple. Otherwise, Notre Dame would reportedly have to spend $18 million to buy-out Coach Weis' contract, about $2 million for his assistants, and then perhaps another $10 million for a new coaching staff. That's a $30 million waste of money in a recession.
Hard to justify that expenditure; at least to me.
Here's the Weis Press Conference video:
At the Sunday Press Conference (you can watch this video from part of it below) Weis was asked if he would understand if Notre Dame elected to release Weis from his contract. He said that he would and that six wins and five losses "doesn't cut it."
But Weis was quick to add that the losses were by a touchdown or less. And I will add that had Notre Dame scored at the last second to tie and went on to beat USC earlier this year his job would not be in trouble. It's hard to think beating Stanford this Saturday would not help Weis keep his job.
My view is Notre Dame should retain Weis for one more year, but give a more specific set of expectations: a floor and a ceiling. The floor should be 8 and 4; the ceiling is to go undefeated or close. That's it; keep it simple. Otherwise, Notre Dame would reportedly have to spend $18 million to buy-out Coach Weis' contract, about $2 million for his assistants, and then perhaps another $10 million for a new coaching staff. That's a $30 million waste of money in a recession.
Hard to justify that expenditure; at least to me.
Here's the Weis Press Conference video:
Twilight / New Moon: my review and moviegoer views
I saw Twilight / New Moon on its opening Thursday night November 18th at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland, and I have to say it was "OK." I wasn't overwhelmed by the movie or the story but it held my attention and that was surprising to me.
The movie kind of plods along. It has a lot of long, drawn out scenes that could have been more elegant in their direction. But that written, people I talked to said this second movie in the series more closely followed the book that did the first movie, Twilight.
What I liked most about the story was that Bella's - who was played by Kristen Stewart - father was involved. This story doesn't try to hide adults; if Bella's lost, he's out there trying to find her. He knows about Edward Cullen (Rob Pattinson) but not that he's a vampire. I liked that the relationships between adults and teens was about as real as one could expect for this kind of movie.
Bella's constant interest in bad guys was what I hated the most, but that is (to a degree) the point of the storyline. I'm told that Bella eventually grows out of this but that happens about four books in. I've not even read the first one.
But that said and written, the simple fact that I am picking out these details means I was paying attention and that the story had meaning. Twilight / New Moon is not a bad picture; it's a cross between Dracula and All My Children. It has a lot of character "stuff" that gives its fans something to consume and talk about, but the story is presented well enough to create new fans.
In all Twilight / New Moon accomplishes the objective of appealing to fans of the series but not alienating people who are new to it like me. It's not 'Oscar: Best Picture' material because there's not a certain message that carries it yet can be applied to life. But it's a good story to watch unfold on the big screen.
Rob Pattinson's Publicist Shuts Down Ryan Seacrest
HLN calls talk show host and producer Ryan Seacrest "Mr. Hollywood", with a popular radio show on KIIS-FM, a $45 million new property production deal, and deals to be on programs like American Idol, Ryan Seacrest can make or break new stars, like Twilight: New Moon's Rob Pattinson.
Trouble is, someone forgot to tell ob Pattinson's movie publicist.
In this video from Ryan Seacrest's YouTube channel, we see the nervous flack jump in an stop Ryan Seacrest from asking the question on the minds of Twilight: New Moon fans: is Rob Pattinson dating movie co-star Kristen Stewart in real life? Or as Seacrest put it:
Seems harmless enough to me.
Here's the video:
I think she went too far and backfired in the process. Now the question's hotter than ever and Rob Pattinson and his publicist will be bugged with it over and over again. Sometimes publicists can get too involved in what their celebrity clients do or say. In this case, less would have been more.
Trouble is, someone forgot to tell ob Pattinson's movie publicist.
In this video from Ryan Seacrest's YouTube channel, we see the nervous flack jump in an stop Ryan Seacrest from asking the question on the minds of Twilight: New Moon fans: is Rob Pattinson dating movie co-star Kristen Stewart in real life? Or as Seacrest put it:
"What do you say to your fans that are desperate to know about you and your costar Kristen Stewart," said Seacrest, "what can you tell them?"
Seems harmless enough to me.
Here's the video:
I think she went too far and backfired in the process. Now the question's hotter than ever and Rob Pattinson and his publicist will be bugged with it over and over again. Sometimes publicists can get too involved in what their celebrity clients do or say. In this case, less would have been more.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
BART Officer breaks window with drunk's face - why? Take my poll.
I'm in Georgia as I write this having flown most of the day from San Francisco to Chicago to Atlanta. So just when I think I've only got to pay attention to my Cal Stanford Big Game videos and my Oakland sim, I have this CNN-and-SFGate-reported news of a BART officer smashing the face of a drunk man by the name of Michael Joseph Gibson into a window on the West Oakland BART Station platform.
So I immediately went to YouTube and found this video:
And showed it to my mother who said "Why did he have to throw him into the window."
Exactly. Why?
Here we go again. Another predictable argument between those who justify police' violent actions and those who question it. I am tired of the dichotomy, so I decided to create a poll to learn what others think.
While the officer's action is questionable, that his presence was desired is of no question. In the video as the officer hauls Michael Joseph Gibson off the train and before he reaches the window, we can hear people clapping, so BART riders wanted this guy off the train.
That happened.
But the other action of the head against the window is to me a case of putting too much super hot mustard on a really good hot dog: it makes it hard to consume, but one can still eat it.
To BART's credit, it's not sitting on this issue; it responded rapidly, issuing a press statement and holding a press conference within moments.
BART Spokeman Linton Johnson said to CNN's Don Lemon this evening that "We decided that we wanted to take appropriate steps and let people know about this video... We want to do a full investigation...We will look at all the facts."
Johnson went on to say that most of Michael Joseph Gibson's injuries came from his arm and not his head. It's hard to tell that from the video but I can't help but wonder if there's another video out there with another angle. There's got to be at least one more - even if it's the station video. It's out there. I know it.
BART's not releasing the officer's name. He's new to BART Police according to Linton Johnson, but Linton says he's not had any incidents while with BART Police.
But the way Linton made the statement does open a new question about the officer's past. In looking at the video it seems like the officer took a little too much action - again too much hot mustard - but overall Michael Joseph Gibson was out of line and what I go with is the people on the train were applauding the officer.
Again, whatever Michael Joseph Gibson was doing, it's obvious he didn't have a fan base on the train.
What do you think of the BART Officer's actions? Take my poll:
More fun surveys on pollsb.com
Cal 34, Stanford 28 - Golden Bears win a Big Game for the ages!
Cal 34, Stanford 28; Cal Golden Bears win Big Game! Remember that because a lot of Cal alums, including me, will never forget it. When a beaming Cal Chancellor Robert Birgeneau roams the Stanford field after the victory, shaking hands and posing for pictures, and says "This was one of our greatest wins", you know it was a special game.
It certainly was.
It was one for Cal's football history because it marked the first time we beat Stanford to keep them out of a big game after the turn of the century. We've beat Stanford before to harm their bowl hopes - but never The Rose Bowl.
Rather than snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, Cal did the opposite. Moreover, it happened at Stanford. The win and the significance of it, made the song "You know it. You tell the story. You tell the whole damn World this is Bear territory!" mean more than just words. Stanford Stadium became "Bear territory" with Cal students, alums, faculty and staff storming the field, all singing that song again and again and again.
It was a beautiful moment in time that, but for a few key moments during the game, may not have come to pass.
Lining up and kicking a field goal to put Cal up 34 to 28 did not sit well with Cal fans; we wanted a touchdown purely out of respect for the yardage-chewing prowess of the Stanford Cardinal offense, which needed a touchdown and an extra point to take the game from Cal.
While the Cardinal didn't perform well enough to win, Quarterback Andrew Luck, Running Back Toby Gerhard, and the Stanford Offensive Line had put together a 1:46 second drive to score just moments before.
No Cal fan wanted to see a repeat of that process, yet because of the Cal field goal after wasting third down by lining up to have Cal Quaterback Kevin Riley run left to a point between the hashmarks at the 11 yard line, the stage was set for that to happen.
It almost did, with a game Andrew Luck working to prove one could put the game in his hands and win, teaming up with the fleet Gerhard to move the Cardinal to within the Cal 20 and then down to first and goal to win the game. The next play for me happened in slow motion: at the Cal 3-yard-line Luck dropped back to throw, had a good two seconds to read the defense and pick a receiver, but instead threw an interception.
Cal Linebacker Mike Mohamed's pick of Luck's pass in the end zone caused Cal fans to erupt in a massive outpouring of emotion: yelling, hugging, kissing, crying, and just smiling. It was a good win. No, it was a great win. A win I'll blog more about tonight after I'm off my plane to see family for the holidays back east. A lot of comments; a ton of video.
Afterward, at a raucous tailgate party thrown by my Cal buddies, someone turned on the song We are the Champions and we all sang, loudly and badly. For that moment - for that time last night - we were champions. Cal beat Stanford in what will go down as one of the greatest games in Big Game history.
GO BEARS!
It certainly was.
It was one for Cal's football history because it marked the first time we beat Stanford to keep them out of a big game after the turn of the century. We've beat Stanford before to harm their bowl hopes - but never The Rose Bowl.
Rather than snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, Cal did the opposite. Moreover, it happened at Stanford. The win and the significance of it, made the song "You know it. You tell the story. You tell the whole damn World this is Bear territory!" mean more than just words. Stanford Stadium became "Bear territory" with Cal students, alums, faculty and staff storming the field, all singing that song again and again and again.
It was a beautiful moment in time that, but for a few key moments during the game, may not have come to pass.
Lining up and kicking a field goal to put Cal up 34 to 28 did not sit well with Cal fans; we wanted a touchdown purely out of respect for the yardage-chewing prowess of the Stanford Cardinal offense, which needed a touchdown and an extra point to take the game from Cal.
While the Cardinal didn't perform well enough to win, Quarterback Andrew Luck, Running Back Toby Gerhard, and the Stanford Offensive Line had put together a 1:46 second drive to score just moments before.
No Cal fan wanted to see a repeat of that process, yet because of the Cal field goal after wasting third down by lining up to have Cal Quaterback Kevin Riley run left to a point between the hashmarks at the 11 yard line, the stage was set for that to happen.
It almost did, with a game Andrew Luck working to prove one could put the game in his hands and win, teaming up with the fleet Gerhard to move the Cardinal to within the Cal 20 and then down to first and goal to win the game. The next play for me happened in slow motion: at the Cal 3-yard-line Luck dropped back to throw, had a good two seconds to read the defense and pick a receiver, but instead threw an interception.
Cal Linebacker Mike Mohamed's pick of Luck's pass in the end zone caused Cal fans to erupt in a massive outpouring of emotion: yelling, hugging, kissing, crying, and just smiling. It was a good win. No, it was a great win. A win I'll blog more about tonight after I'm off my plane to see family for the holidays back east. A lot of comments; a ton of video.
Afterward, at a raucous tailgate party thrown by my Cal buddies, someone turned on the song We are the Champions and we all sang, loudly and badly. For that moment - for that time last night - we were champions. Cal beat Stanford in what will go down as one of the greatest games in Big Game history.
GO BEARS!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Cal 30, Stanford 21 - Golden Bears will win Big Game
The Cal Stanford Big Game day is here and Cal will beat Stanford 30 to 21.
I've got to get this and a few other blog posts in before I leave for Atherton and then Palo Alto, but man what fun this week has been. So much Big Game fun it curtails the work routine.
The problem of any content creator - with the exception of a game developer of which I also am (just run my Oakland Baseball Simworld) - is that you have to create it before you install it. In my case that means being out and about, then tired, and then again too tired to pull an all-nighter to enter anything. But that's ok.
Now to important Big Game matters, working backward in time from now.
If you're wondering why you've seen so many Stanford photos on the SFGate.com front page it's due in large part to the fact that one of the SFGate editors is a Stanford grad and dad who's shall remain nameless until Cal wins and he has to deliver what will be my prized bottle of Merlot. As I wrote to him, the wine represents Cardinal blood and will be well consumed by me after we (Cal) clobber Stanford!
Friday featured the playing of the 27th annual Little Game. This touch football mega-event is the brainchild of my friend Cal grad and now Yahoo Sports Senior Writer Mike Silver and is played every year on the Friday before the Big Game. We played from (well for me because I arrived late) 4 PM to dark and I made a video of it that you will see next week.
As for the game's outcome, it ended in a tie and with 10-year-old Zach Heywood running 98 yards to score a touchdown as a group of Old Blues tried in vain to find him in the dark!
After that we met at the famous Sacramento and Front Street Cal grad institution that's called The Royal Exchange to catch up with friends and have a decent cocktail, coupled (for me) with dinner at Globe Restaurant, then a jaunt to meet friends at Cafe Prague, then winding up at The Clift Hotel, then home.
Whew!
On Wednesday, it was the Guardsmen Luncheon at The Fairmount Hotel, where comedian Bob Sarlatte delivered his annually good monologue with an array of jokes and quips that included a little factoid that this was former Examiner and Chronicle Sports Columnist Glenn Dickey's 328th Big Game luncheon!
At the event, Stanford Head Coach Jim Harbaugh took the podium to a somewhat muted chant of "Go for two!" by Cal grads - including me. Cal Coach Jeff Tedford reported that star running back Jahvid Best is getting better rapidly and said that it was good he just had the concussion as it could have been worse.
But now, it's time for the Big Game, but I have to say a few words about Friday's protest at Cal that resulted in the occupation of Wheeler Hall for 11 hours. I think one reason Big Game celebration seemed to lack the on-campus zest of the past (and why we went to San Francisco) was the feeling that the University itself doesn't support its students as they try to get an education.
Increasing tuition such that it will eventually cost over $10,000 per semester and in a recession is heartless. Moreover, not decreasing University staff incomes by 20 percent is equally a mistake.
There is a disturbing pattern developing where the people that run California government and education corporations want to tax and charge the poorest consumers of service, rather than feel some of the pain with an income cut.
This is especially true in Oakland with the parking tow sting that's still going on, taking in more Oaklanders in terrible ways that eventually will change the politics of the city. Meanwhile, a number of City of Oakland non-elected staffers enjoy incomes at and over $200,000 a year and with no cut in sight.
If you're wondering what all this has to do with the Big Game, that's just the point: everything! It's hard to have as much fun when your government and education leaders seem to be trying to stick it to you, but the show must go on!
GO BEARS! Beat Stanford!
I've got to get this and a few other blog posts in before I leave for Atherton and then Palo Alto, but man what fun this week has been. So much Big Game fun it curtails the work routine.
The problem of any content creator - with the exception of a game developer of which I also am (just run my Oakland Baseball Simworld) - is that you have to create it before you install it. In my case that means being out and about, then tired, and then again too tired to pull an all-nighter to enter anything. But that's ok.
Now to important Big Game matters, working backward in time from now.
If you're wondering why you've seen so many Stanford photos on the SFGate.com front page it's due in large part to the fact that one of the SFGate editors is a Stanford grad and dad who's shall remain nameless until Cal wins and he has to deliver what will be my prized bottle of Merlot. As I wrote to him, the wine represents Cardinal blood and will be well consumed by me after we (Cal) clobber Stanford!
Friday featured the playing of the 27th annual Little Game. This touch football mega-event is the brainchild of my friend Cal grad and now Yahoo Sports Senior Writer Mike Silver and is played every year on the Friday before the Big Game. We played from (well for me because I arrived late) 4 PM to dark and I made a video of it that you will see next week.
As for the game's outcome, it ended in a tie and with 10-year-old Zach Heywood running 98 yards to score a touchdown as a group of Old Blues tried in vain to find him in the dark!
After that we met at the famous Sacramento and Front Street Cal grad institution that's called The Royal Exchange to catch up with friends and have a decent cocktail, coupled (for me) with dinner at Globe Restaurant, then a jaunt to meet friends at Cafe Prague, then winding up at The Clift Hotel, then home.
Whew!
On Wednesday, it was the Guardsmen Luncheon at The Fairmount Hotel, where comedian Bob Sarlatte delivered his annually good monologue with an array of jokes and quips that included a little factoid that this was former Examiner and Chronicle Sports Columnist Glenn Dickey's 328th Big Game luncheon!
At the event, Stanford Head Coach Jim Harbaugh took the podium to a somewhat muted chant of "Go for two!" by Cal grads - including me. Cal Coach Jeff Tedford reported that star running back Jahvid Best is getting better rapidly and said that it was good he just had the concussion as it could have been worse.
Big Game Day! But a word on the protest
But now, it's time for the Big Game, but I have to say a few words about Friday's protest at Cal that resulted in the occupation of Wheeler Hall for 11 hours. I think one reason Big Game celebration seemed to lack the on-campus zest of the past (and why we went to San Francisco) was the feeling that the University itself doesn't support its students as they try to get an education.
Increasing tuition such that it will eventually cost over $10,000 per semester and in a recession is heartless. Moreover, not decreasing University staff incomes by 20 percent is equally a mistake.
There is a disturbing pattern developing where the people that run California government and education corporations want to tax and charge the poorest consumers of service, rather than feel some of the pain with an income cut.
This is especially true in Oakland with the parking tow sting that's still going on, taking in more Oaklanders in terrible ways that eventually will change the politics of the city. Meanwhile, a number of City of Oakland non-elected staffers enjoy incomes at and over $200,000 a year and with no cut in sight.
If you're wondering what all this has to do with the Big Game, that's just the point: everything! It's hard to have as much fun when your government and education leaders seem to be trying to stick it to you, but the show must go on!
GO BEARS! Beat Stanford!
BELICHICK'S RISKY CALL GIVES JETS LIFE
BELICHiCK'S RISKY CALL GIVES JETS LIFE
by TJ ROSENTHAL for Football Reporters Online
Watch The You Tube Video Here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xq7GxoXiio
The J-e-t-s Jets Jets Jets were left for dead late Sunday as Jags RB Maurice Jones-Drew jokingly apologized at the podium to fantasy owners for taking a knee to help run out the clock. Now 4-5 and somehow trailing in the AFC wildcard hunt after a 3-0 start, even coach Rex Ryan admitted after the last second 24-22 loss to Jones-Drew's Jacksonville Jaguars that a playoff berth now looked bleak. Then suddenly that night hope arrived when Bill Belichick of all people, helped breathe life into a Gang Green season that was beginning to appear hopeless.
The controversial decision by Belichick to ice the game against the undefeated Peyton Manning led Colts from his own 28 with a six point lead and just 2:08 left, backfired. The stunning 35-34 win, capped by Manning's game winning TD throw to WR Reggie Wayne with 0:15 left after the Pats failed 4th and 2, leaves the Jets only two games back of the hated Pats. The Jets could find themselves just one off the AFC East division lead while owning the head to head tiebreaker with a win in Foxboro Sunday.
Make no bones about it though, Sunday will be a monumental challenge. Maybe the clubs toughest they will face all year. The 6-3 Pats want revenge for their week two loss at the Meadowlands while QB Tom Brady was shaking off the rust from season ending knee surgery in 2008. They'll also look to erase the bad taste in their mouth from having the Colts on the ropes, then letting them off the hook. Nonetheless, it's as good of a position that a Jet team who has lost five of six could've hoped for.
The Pats are not the same team the Jets saw in September. The biggest reason is that Tom Brady is back. The Pats most important player is second in the NFL in passing yards with 2,739, trailing only Manning with 2,872. Brady is tied for second with Drew Brees for TD passes with 19 (again trailing only Manning who has 20). The Brady to Randy Moss combo has also woken up. After the slow start , Moss is now second in the league in both yards with 891 and TDs with seven. Pesky WR Wes Welker, out early in the year with hamstring issues, is healthy again and once again a threat to eat up yardage if too much attention is focused on Moss.
The Jets are at this point, a shell of their early season selves. They own the NFL's top rushing attack averaging 170 yards per game despite losing Leon Washington for the year out in Oakland. The swagger of the team is gone though. Or missing at least. Mounting losses will do that to a team. By week four as the Jets were headed to New Orleans in what was at the time, a battle of the undefeated, many were calling the Jets defense the top unit in the NFL. The 27-17 loss in the Big Easy gave Jet fans the first look at the types of mistakes rookieQB Mark Sanchez could make. A key ill advised interception in the end zone to FS Darren Sharper gave the Saints a 10-0 lead and they never looked back. The loss was followed by the defense then getting humbled for the first time as well, as they got torched for 416 yards by the Wildcat in Miami in week 5. Things got worse the following week as the glue of the defense NG Kris Jenkins was lost for the season to a torn ACL during a week six OT loss to putrid Buffalo. Run stopping has suffered since. Jones-Drew burned the Jets for 123 yards last Sunday. Sanchez threw an astounding 5 interceptions during the Bills loss, raising the questions of how much responsibility the Jets should entrust the rookie with the rest of the way.
The second meeting between the clubs will renew a rivalry that contains a decade of seething hatred. Bill Parcells left New England for the Jets in 1997 then Bill Belichick returned the favor. Slated to be announced as the new Jet coach in 2000, Belichick pulled a trick play out of his book and resigned as "HC" of the Jets at the press conference announcing him. In doing this he avoided the shadow that Parcells as a front office man would've cast over his star pupil. Belichick then went on to return to New England where he was Parcells defensive coordinator in the mid nineties, to win four Super Bowls in New England. Doing it with the help of a coaching staff that consisted of many former Jet assistants under Parcells.
The rivalry took another odd turn when top Pats assistant Eric Mangini then usurped Belichick's wishes to go anywhere but the Jets and signed on to become of course, the Jets head coach in 2006. Mangini was immediately locked out of the Foxboro facility. In 2007 after a blowout loss in the opener, "Mangenius" then complained that the Pats were using cameras to spy on the Jet sidelines. This brought about the controversial "Spygate" incident which threatened to ruin Belichick's credibility and hall of fame resume as new charges against "Belicheat" seemed to come out of the woodwork every day.
In the Spring of 2009, new Jet head coach Rex Ryan injected some new blood into the storyline by proclaiming that he didn't come to New York "to kiss Bill Belichick's rings." Given the result in week two, a 16-9 win over Belicheck's crew, Ryan looked like the leader of team that could talk the talk AND walk the walk. In fact, after the game, outspoken Jet LB Bart Scott defended teammate CB Darelle Revis, who did a great job on perennial All Pro WR Randy Moss, on a day that included a key interception by the Jets top corner on a pass intended for Moss.
"I hear the easy copout by Randy Moss, saying that anybody can guard ... that 'I can play cornerback if I had safety help,'" Scott said. "That was a one-on-one jump ball. I think sometimes you've just got to give the man his credit, understand that [Revis] was the better man that day..[Revis] shut him down. He intimidated him. Randy was coming across that middle real slow. Tell him to man up next time and come across the middle like a man if he wants to be a complete receiver."
Rest assured Moss and the Patriots haven't forgotten their performance that day or the words exchanged by both clubs after the game. When it comes to the Jets- Patriots there is no such thing as a short memory, only a long history of bad blood. This brings us now to the latest chapter in the saga.
While Belichick spent Monday trying to justify why he had no faith in his defense down the stretch at Indy, Ryan spent part of Monday according to locker room reports, giving a passionate plea to his team that drove the rookie head coach to tears.
Offensive lineman Damien Woody reported "He was talking about the situation -- this upcoming game with New England and how we're still there, how we still have a pulse. He said It's all about us, that nobody believes in us and that we are the only ones who believe we can get things done..He said, 'I believe in you; I believe you get can get this thing done,' and that's when he really got emotional." Revis added" I haven't been a part of a meeting where a coach cried like that."
Emotions. That's what the Jets need. They played so well early on when they were driven by them. The Jets have to stick together and begin to believe like winners again, because as Woody noted regarding Ryan's speech, few believe in the Jets right now. Only the players themselves can help change the perception that the Jets season is for all intensive purposes, over. The chance to reinvent themselves and not waste what was a promising start to 2009, presents itself Sunday. Albeit, it's the first place Pats they are dealing with. The hated Pats. The Tom Brady and Bill Belichick Pats. Drama and daunting task aside, with a win the Jets will be back in business again in the AFC East.
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME:
JET PRESSURE ON BRADY. That how the Jets beat the Pats in week two. Brady was rushed, off his timing, and inaccurate. Much of it due to rust, the other, the Jet pressure. Without pressure, you can forget about it.
REVIS MOSS ROUND TWO: The winner of this battle will give his team the edge. "Revis Island" won the first one but Moss has been on fire since and surely remembers the bravado the Jets spoke with in shutting him down.
EMOTION: The Jets have to play with emotion Sunday. There has to be a "back against the wall" and "us against the world mentality." This rivalry seems to bring it out naturally, but the Jets shouldn't wait to get kicked in the face before they decide to get themselves going. If they do that in Foxboro, it may be too late.
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