Friday, November 26, 2010

Jim J Bullock's Revenge

The geniuses suffer, says the legend, their single-minded obsessions both gift and curse. Seriousness of purpose and dedication to craft yield mesmerizing beauty, but extract a heavy toll. Balance, perspective, silliness, the ability to laugh and be laughed at - these are the enemy of the artist. Unless the artist is Jim Henson.

And so, as a self-professed antagonist of the self-serious, I find myself on the horns of a dilemma. A giant has deigned to acknowledge me, and I've been found lacking.

Kyle Whelliston is the proprietor of The Mid Majority, a brilliantly written, exhaustive, and reliably entertaining chronicle of the world of mid-major college basketball. He dedicates hundreds upon hundreds of hours to his pursuit each year, criss-crossing the nation from October to March to report first-hand on the Big West, the Horizon, the MAC, and the other 22 conferences that fall below the red line (his invention) that separates the haves from the have-nots in Division I hoops. I wish that I cared enough about anything apply the passion he applies to mid-major basketball.

Whelliston chronicles Red Line Upsets on his website and via his Twitter feed (@midmajority), celebrating those rare occasions when the little guy jumps ugly on a big conference foe. For example, G:TB followers know that our Wrens tallied a pair of RLUs last season, picking off Wake Forest and Maryland, though we're 0-for-2 in 2010. And as I found out recently, Mr. Whelliston takes his RLUs seriously. Really seriously.

Last week, the Big South's Winthrop beat the aforementioned Wake Forest, 83-74. @midmajority dutifully touted the Red Line Upset. I responded with the following tweet:
@midmajority @RedLineUpsets is it really an upset if wake loses?
My intent was not to argue with The Method, or to challenge authority. My intent was to make fun of Wake Forest, who've now lost thrice to mid-majors, falling to Stetson and VCU before their loss to Winthrop. Alas, Twitter is no place for humor, apparently, and @midmajority was and is unaware of our CAA bonafides. (Seriously, we're like the internet's 4th-best source for poorly reported CAA content. The fact that more people don't know that is an indictment of our marketing team's efforts.) His response will scar me forever:
Sorry. Rules. Block. RT @batogato: @midmajority @RedLineUpsets is it really an upset if wake loses?

Block? I'm blocked? I can no longer see @midmajority's tweets about mid-major hoops, a persona non grata left to wander the twitterverse in hopes that Andy Katz drops a CAA nugget, or Dick Vitale deigns to acknowledge the MAAC. Frankly, kidding aside, this sucks. I greatly enjoy @midmajority's always-on, all-mid-major, all-the-time focus. You see, I really, really like mid-major college basketball. To add insult to injury, Whelliston wrote an entire blog post about the Rules, and the authority under which he enforces them, referencing my tweet for all the hoops-loving world to see. Money grafs:

I always hope that going to 700 games over seven years would give me some measure of authority on the subject, but I also realize that things don't work that way, especially on the Internet. People want to argue. I don't have time for it. I'm busy driving hundreds of miles a day, dry cleaning my suits, going to games, tweaking Robots and talking about various obscurities on the Twitter. If I were to engage in every discussion about "that's not a mid-major LOL #sux," there would be no time to do any of that, and I'd lose whatever authority I actually have.

As such, anybody who tweets some variant of "that's not an upset" at us is immediately blocked and publicly taunted. There are no Gonzaga exceptions to that rule, and there is no parole. The web is big, blogs are free to start, and there's plenty of opportunities for people to make their own score-tweeting Robots that spit out Mauve Line Alerts or whatever. Good luck with that.
To which I respond: sigh. Also: you missed my fucking point, and the brilliance of my tweeted comedy. And: which I realize wasn't very funny, but seriously, dude, you're gonna get an ulcer if you can't laugh a little bit. Finally: Teejay, this robot thing sounds interesting. Get on it, will you?

Someday I'd like very much to be unblocked, because I truly do find The Mid-Majority to be mandatory daily reading. If one of our readers who actually knows Kyle Whelliston might put in a good word on my behalf, I'd be much obliged (you know who you are). Until then, somebody retweet @midmajority's stuff for me.

150 comments:

zman said...

Those rules are not Gheorghe at all.

TR said...

douche

TR said...

I mean him, not you, Rob.

rob said...

but of course

he's an awesome hoops blogger though

rob said...

wrens scored the last 6 points of the game to beat gardner-webb, 56-55. not an rlu, but nice to finally get a win.

T.J. said...

AZ's kicker is a Zendejas???

Mark said...

Indeed he is.

And TR, Belloti isn't the coach at Oregon anymore. He's the AD.

Doesn't Whelliston write a column for ESPN.com too? I've definitely read his stuff before.

Mark said...

Fred Taylor's kid is a sophomore in HS in South Florida. He currently has 300+ yards rushing in the 4th quarter of a playoff game.

zman said...

Has anyone seen "Shine a Light"? You know you're a massively huge deal when Jack White comes out to do one song with you and looks starstruck the whole time.

rob said...

i think whelliston used to write for espn.com. doesn't any longer.

Mark said...

I really like Boise State. I think they're legit. With that said, I really, really want to see Oregon & Auburn play in the title game.

Mark said...

Taylor's kid ended the night with 37 carries for 437 yards.

Marls said...

I came here to make the same comment that TR already made. However, I will second the Douche call.

Seriously, to invoke the twitter death sentence without warning is really cockmonkeyish.

Mark said...

Nevada. Wake up...bitches.

Mark said...

Oh...Boise.

Mark said...

Seriously Boise? That is beyond ridiculous. I was preparing my DVR so I could go to bed and catchup on my DVR in the morning.

A-Ma-Zing.

Mark said...

Really...a missed 26 yd FG? Fuck.

Dave said...

that rule citing bastard used the phrase "it is what it is" in his rules post.

perhaps he should remember this advice from g:tb . . .

http://tinyurl.com/2ft7pnu

i think we should block him from g:tb

mayhugh said...

I think an Oregon/Auburn championship would be wildly entertaining (seriously, what do you set the over/under at?). I was never that impressed with Boise this year, but it sucks for them to lose like that. They can say all that "it's more than a couple plays that lost us the game" stuff, but you have to count on a kicker to make two kicks that are barely longer than an extra point. Were both those kicks from the left hash?

Greg said...

'burn and 'egon would be a great game. If TCU wins out, then don't they play Wisconsin or Ohio State in the Rose Bowl?

Boise in football is not unlike Gonzaga in basketball. No longer an "underdog".

Greg said...

Also, Kylie-boy has to point out that he has to pick up and drop off his suits at the dry-cleaners. Well whoop-Dee-doo Mr. Fancy-Pants!!! You are maybe the only guy in the universe who has such a cross to bear.

Greg said...

I bet, (and I'm just spitballing here), but I bet the combined rosters of Boise St, Nevada and Oregon consist mostly of guys from California. At least half.

Mark said...

Both kicks were from straight away. Boise's kicker pushed the first one right and hooked the second one left. And I have to agree with Mayhugh, the game was about more the missed FGs (Boise blew a pretty big lead leading up to the first missed FG) but you expect your kicker to make at least one of those chip shots.

I also agree with Greg, a large % of the rosters for Boise, Nevada & Oregon are definitely kids from California.

Dave said...

loved "shine a light." showed it to my kids. my son ian re-named the rolling stone "the moving rocks." that's my next band name.

rob said...

ohio state's uniforms are an affront to the natural order of things

Mark said...

Agreed. They look like a bad version of my high school's unis. Go Scorps!

Whitney said...

They showed the Michigan - Ohio State documentary on HBO this morning. Worthy. And the film folks are overdue to give us a Woody Hayes biopic. Wouldn't have to exaggerate anything for Hollywood. That guy was as simultaneously flawed and inspirational as Dave's crappy soccer clip.

Mark said...

That is a quality doc. Somehow, I woke this morning with the early remnants of a cold (sore throat, congested head). It's almost like the gods don't want me to drink during the FSU-UF game. Like that's even in the realm of possibility. I can't possibly remain sober for any UF game this year, much less one against one of our biggest rivals. Fuck. Me.

Whitney said...

And Rob's story about the douche at the Mid Majority perplexed me for a second, but I just had to remember: just because a guy champions the cause of the little guy (in impressive fashion) doesn't mean he's not a huge cock-knocker. Hell, there are enormous douchebags doing great things everywhere from The American Cancer Society to the Salvation Army to Santa's elves. We'd like to think that folks who blog about college basketball's mid-majors are inherently like-minded, and although some (like MGL) seem to be, others tip their hands at times to reveal an ethos that flies in the face of our mission statement.

And so Kyle Whelliston does to show us the cock-knocker that he seems to be, albeit one in a freshly pressed suit. To have any renown whatsoever, particularly in the world of social networking, is to pay the toll of putting up with countless mouthy half-wits (like me). I'm sure Kyle fancies himself more Norman Dale than Joseph Stalin in his heavy-handed punishments for dissenting opinion, but as Rob more politely expressed from his Siberian outpost, the twitter death sentence is a bit much, Mr. Premier.

And we won't give Kyle Whelliston a ban at G:TB for being a cock-knocker. That's not our style . . . plus, I doubt he is one of our readers, plus we really can't afford to block ANYONE. But in our own idiom, we will simply become the site for all Ghoogle searches on "Kyle Whelliston cock-knocker." It's more fun, and a lot less serious.

Marls said...

Frankly, I am stunned this guy is not cooler based on his own intro from www.whelliston.com

"My name is Kyle Whelliston. I am a sportswriter and I've written a few books too. I'm also a classically-trained cartoonist, an amateur Olympic historian, and I build internet devices with Roni Lagin as ComputerPants Robotics, Ltd. I have an web presence.

My real home is in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where I spend the basketball offseason with my two cats. This, on the other hand, is my online home, where your favorite soda is always in the fridge."

I think we should also be the site for searches on "Kyle Whelliston Assclown", "Kyle Whelliston Fucktard" & "Kyle Whelliston self-righteous douchenozzle".

I am sure all of this is doing wonders for getting Rob's pardon.

rob said...

who put the 'i' in 'jim'? now jm j bullock is going to block us.

mayhugh said...

Shades of Anchorman in that intro. I'm kind of a big deal. People know me.

zman said...

This my favorite part of The Rules:

"I always hope that going to 700 games over seven years would give me some measure of authority on the subject ...."

Doesn't this give him some measure of toolishness? He should funnel some of this energy into getting laid so that he will be less uptight and will be able to deal with dissenting opinions regarding which shitty CBB team is better than another shitty CBB team.

Mark said...

I don't think the comments for Rob's post have quite turned out how he hoped (though he probably knew better). Which could also be said about me and this FSU-UF game.

Mark said...

I left the bar I was watching this game at with my friends and went home. Not because I'm a poor sport (I am) but because whiskey is free here.

Mark said...

I've seen (and attended) plenty of embarrassing Gator losses in Tallahassee but this is, by far, the most pathetic and embarrassing. Things must change within the Gator program. Quickly and dramatically.

Dave said...

who is this whitney chick?

she's quite verbose (i.e. yappy).

kyle whelliston is a fucknozzle.

Danimal said...

Did anyone see the end of Maryland ncstate game? Robbery.
I think someone should toilet paper that mid major guys house.

Lumpy said...

the yellow line was about 2 feet beyond the chain in the nc state game. Still I think they went backwards.

Not sure how nd/usc is not on (except ppv) here

Lumpy said...

And I'm calling bullshit on 700 games in 7 years. I want to see the ticket stubs.

mayhugh said...

Probably no one but Mark is interested, but HBO has delivered up 3 pretty promising fights tonight. Probably 2 of the 3 fights will end in knockouts, but regardless the Compubox punchstats should be kept busy.

And the best news - Larry Effing Merchant is ringside with Lampley and Steward.

T.J. said...

Wisconsin scored 70 on a conference opponent AGAIN?

mayhugh said...

Yeah, so is it likely it's going to be TCU vs. Wisconsin? Because THAT intrigues me.

T.J. said...

Danimal, irish, 6-6 or 7-5?

T.J. said...

Is Stanford getting the hose from the BCS? Because they are currently depantsing another Pac-10 team on TV.

Lumpy said...

Looks like the dabo sweeny era is coming to an end

mayhugh said...

On Stanford - I don't think they'll get hosed. I think the Arkansas win over LSU coupled with the BAMA loss gives them enough room to grab one of the At Large bids.

mayhugh said...

Joe Cortez reffing the undercard has done a solid job in an ugly fight - he could have taken about 3 points away total but he's handled it with warnings, letting the dudes work it out. The fighters have prettied the fight up themselves and you may have a somewhat rare knockout (at this level) in the 130 class.

T.J. said...

I don't HBO. Mayhugh, keep this up.

T.J. said...

Forgot a verb there. I don't have HBO.

mayhugh said...

Mayhugh HBO. Mayhugh HBO real good.

This fight is almost too interesting/competitive right now. Larry Merchant is downright subdued.

mayhugh said...

Summary of the first undercard: -Caballero (34-yr-old prospect) against Jason Litsau (reformed degenerate/stepping stone). Lederman has Litsau, a 13-1 underdog, winning by two rounds. Ugly fight for 2/3 of the match, Litsau "hatton'd" Caballero in the later stages, but his punches didn't seem very clean to me. I'm predicting a controversial unanimous decision for Caballero.

mayhugh said...

Wow, the judges give it to the underdog in a split decision. Good outcome.

T.J. said...

Is "hatton'd" punching someone in the nuts?

T.J. said...

ABC, way to stretch those creative muscles with "Winter Wipeout".

mayhugh said...

It is more descriptive of a fighter who mugs his opponent, rushing forward throwing punches without much boxing strategy or skill.

Next fight should be highly entertaining for a short period. Undefeated Andre Berto (he of the wicked uppercut) vs. "rugged" Freddy Hernandez. Rugged in this context means much less talented, with a knack for getting bloodied.

mayhugh said...

Manny Steward is slowly evolving into Emmanuel Lewis. Or devolving.

mayhugh said...

Larry Merchant on Freddy Hernandez - "He sucks on a lollipop before every fight. I don't know if it's cherry or strawberry... but the lollipop makes him interesting to me."

Getting warmer, Larry.

Lumpy said...

Tj I've got nd/usc tied 13 all. Start of 4th qtr

T.J. said...

The dude from Megadeath is gonna beat Notre Dame tonight. Unreal.

mayhugh said...

Berto is rocking an 8 pack. I'm guessing a knockout for Berto inside 4 rounds.

mayhugh said...

Or maybe the first round...

Lumpy said...

maybe I am missing something. But yanks offer jeter 3 yrs 45M. And his agent is holding out for 4-5 yrs for 24M? Hmmm

mayhugh said...

Main event coming in 20 mins or so. Juan Manuel Marquez, who has fought Pacquiao twice (once a draw, once a decision loss) vs. Michael Katsidis (whose full name, if I'm to believe Lampley, is now "All-Action Fighter Michael Katsidis). I actually haven't seen a lot of Katsidis - pretty much the only thing I know is that he typically wears a Spartan helmet to the ring. That's enough for me... Go Michael!

mayhugh said...

Ring entrance: Spartan helmet - check.

mayhugh said...

Merchant on Katsidis: "He needs to stick his head in Marquez's chest... like a... tulip bulb. THAT... is his best chance... of winning."

mayhugh said...

Through 2 rounds, I'm thinking I've backed the wrong horse. Marquez is too accurate.

mayhugh said...

WOAH, Marquez hits the canvas.

mayhugh said...

Lampley is vintage lampley right now.

Lumpy said...

Irish up 4 with 25 seconds to go

mayhugh said...

Thanks for breaking up my string, Lumpy. I miss Mark...

T.J. said...

That donkey on USC really needs to have his hands chopped off with a machete for that drop.

Lumpy said...

Some thanks I get for you getting comments 69 and 71

T.J. said...

Irish win. Some kid named Tommy Rees just beat USC.

mayhugh said...

It was sincere. For those of you with HBO, please catch the replay. it is awesome through the first 5 rounds. it's already drawn the "Fighting in a Phone Booth" comment from Lampley.

Lumpy said...

Sometimes you roll the dice...

Mark said...

Whoa. The Ok St.-OU game just exploded 2 Tds in 15 seconds. OU up 40-37. 3 minutes left.

Lumpy said...

How bout them cowboys!

Mark said...

I'm watching the fight. Joined it in the 6th.

mayhugh said...

5th round was the best. 4th and 6th were no slouches. I think Katsidis will eventually get caught and knocked down. Marquez seems to be landing 3 of every 4 punches.

Lumpy said...

Sooners 80 yd td

Lumpy said...

Happy trails randy shannon. I figures spoelstra would be the first coach fired in south beach this year

Greg said...

Send "Hungry Like The Wolf" Ringtone to your Cell
Dark in the city night is a wire
Steam in the subway earth is afire
Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo
Woman you want me give me a sign
And catch my breathing even closer behind
Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo

In touch with the ground
I'm on the hunt I'm after you
Smell like I sound I'm lost in a crowd.
And I'm hungry like the wolf.
Straddle the line in discord and rhyme
I'm on the hunt I'm after you.
Mouth is alive with juices like wine
And I'm hungry like the wolf

Stalked in the forest too close to hide
I'll be upon you by the moonlight side
Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo
High blood Drumming on your skin it's so tight
You feel my heat I'm just a moment behind
Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo

In touch with the ground
I'm on the hunt I'm after you
Scent and a sound. I'm lost and I'm found
And I'm hungry like the wolf.
Strut on a line it's discord and rhyme
I howl and I whine I'm after you
Mouth is alive all running inside
And I'm hungry like the wolf.

Hungry like the wolf
Hungry like the wolf
Hungry like the wolf

Burning the ground I break from the crowd
I'm on the hunt I'm after you
I smell like I sound. I'm lost and I'm found
And I'm hungry like the wolf
Strut on a line it's discord and rhyme
I'm on the hunt I'm after you
Mouth is alive with juices like wine
And I'm hungry like the wolf

Eric (Extra P.) said...

1) That was you?

2) As a dedicated mid-majority reader, surely you know that Kyle has already had several nervous breakdowns. Most of them written about in painful detail on the site.

3) I always thought it was Jm J. Bullock. Though I never understood why.

Greg said...

Hatton is really good at the 1-1-2-3-2, clutch move where he lands 2-4 punches and goes into a hold that the ref has to break up. It's not a bad strategy.

Danimal said...

7-5 tj. Nice. Watched 1st qtr only and was too disinterested and tired to continue. I thank the baby Jesus for the victory.
Lumpy- Jeters agent trying to get 20m+ per year for 4 or 5 yrs vs 15 for 3.
Go Irish.

Danimal said...

The girl on Sprout, the one that's on right before Thomas the Train, I think is kinda sexy.

Danimal said...

Just read that jeter's asking price was not accurately reported in news.
Wow. ND got lucky as hell. Suck on this Lane Kiffin.

mayhugh said...

ESPN's Brad Edwards predicting TCU vs WIS in the Rose, Stanford vs VT in Orange. I like those matchups.

Whitney said...

Danimal, the Sprout girl they had on 4 or 5 years ago was super cute, but they shitcanned her because it came out she had once acted in a mock PSA where she talked about having anal sex. True story.

Whitney said...

And if "pantsing" someone is when you forcibly remove their pants, is "depantsing" them when your forcibly put pants on someone?

mayhugh said...

Zman and/or Mark - it's an iPod day; I need some recommendations for downloads and you guys seem to jibe most consistently with my tastes.

Danimal said...

Igor....must be the same girl BC these are old TTT's. Thx for the inside scoop on that...I think I just sprouted in my pants.
GO JAGS!

Mark said...

As Zman said earlier this week, the new Kanye is good to quite good. The new Kud Cudi ain't bad either, a little uneven but some solid tracks. Some other off the radar suggestions of not as recent vintage: White Van Music by Jake One ( jake one produces all the songs and combines underground and mainstream rappers), Tronic by Black Milk, and Brother Ali's first album (can't recall the name right now). You also can't go wrong with either Heiroglyphics album ( 3rd eye vision or Full Circle) or Deltron 3030. Hope that helps.

Meanwhile, I'll be spending all day in Kissimmee at my niece's cheerleading competition. Turr-a-ble.

Danimal said...

the new bieber acoustic album is pretty tight too.

T.J. said...

Danimal, I forgot you changed your twitter handle and confused the shit out of some guy last night with a bad Dave Mustain/ND game joke.

T.J. said...

Mark, a quote for you:

"I am a choreographer. That's what I do. You are cheerleaders. Cheerleaders are dancers who have gone retarded. What you do is a tiny, pathetic subset of dancing. I will attempt to turn your robotic routines into poetry, written with the human body. Follow me, or perish, sweater monkeys."

mayhugh said...

Mark - huge. That should kill some time before the games.

mayhugh said...

Greg - just caught your comments on Hatton; dead on. I've gone on record as having extreme dislike for Hatton's style/skill, and he was outclassed by both Mayweather and Manny, two very fast guys he couldn't corner (and both had enough power to hurt him).

Incidentally, the Hatton style was disparaged by Steward as well, which is odd because it's basically what he taught Wladimir Klitchko to do after his losses to Corey Sanders and Lamon Brewster, where his extremely questionable jaw was revealed.

rob said...

eric, i did know that, but completely blanked on it until your reminder. really, really lousy choice of words on my part. i'm driving all day - i'd be much obliged if someone could fix that sentence.

zman said...

Mayhugh - check out "A Day Late and a Dollar Short" by Sene & Blu. I also like Broken Bells (Danger Mouse and the guy from the Shins).

zman said...

Sentence fixed.

mayhugh said...

Zman - appreciate it. Will check 'em out. I can count on you guys to think outside the box.

On an unrelated note, I could not have a worse feeling about this Skins-Vikes game.

mayhugh said...

Washington's opening drive - 7:53, 3 runs, a lot of passes, TD. I did not see that coming. And manlove for Trent Williams remains intense.

Whitney said...

Skins D really came to play today.

Dave said...

giants not so successful on their opening drive.

zman, did you listen to the new kanye west album?

could warrant the pitcfork 10.

Whitney said...

Haynesworthless.

mayhugh said...

McNabb may have 60+ pass attempts today. I think the biggest gain on the ground so far is 4 yards.

mayhugh said...

I'm really enjoying all these third and shorts as well. Very out of the ordinary.

Whitney said...

Toby Gerhart outmuscled you. Jam yourself.

mayhugh said...

Davis is doing his best Portis impression on the ground.

Whitney said...

Holding on 3rd down, holding on the punt. Same ref missed both calls. Dude, you got somewhere to be?

mayhugh said...

Santana Moss loves to catch with his body. Sometimes bad stuff happens when you insist on doing that.

Whitney said...

How about one of them Favre picks now?

mayhugh said...

Just checked the stats for Texans-Titans. Through three quarters Chris Johnson has 6 carries for 2 yards, and 2 receptions for 2 yards.

mayhugh said...

Forgot to add Rusty Smith's numbers: 13-23 for 79 yards (3.4 YPA) and 1 INT.

Whitney said...

The Washington Redskins, punting its fans in the groin with plays like that and games like this since 1993.

mayhugh said...

Captain Munnerlyn - my new favorite name in the NFL. Sounds like he should be sinking pirate ships in the 1800s.

Whitney said...

Is there any way this booth review goes the Bills' way? At all??

Greg said...

Captain Munnerlyn was the lead role in "Red Ships of Spain".

Clarence said...

...and the Spanish ladies could tell quite a tale about "Captain Munnerlyngus."

mayhugh said...

The Denver Broncos - she is bad.

Danimal said...

how bout da bears.
psyched that tomorrow is monday. wicked awesome.

mayhugh said...

Josh Freeman is pretty fun to watch.

zman said...

I spent the day shopping for baby accoutrements so I have no idea what happened in the NFL today, but judging by a text from Igor I suspect I don't want to know.

The new Kanye album is pretty good but not as good as College Dropout, IMHO. He had a massive chip on his shoulder for that first album and he no longer has anything to be pissed off about, so his lyrics lack the edgy venom of his earlier stuff.

Kanye is an outstanding beat-maker but not a great rapper. He needs autotune to sound good and his flow is occasionally mediocre. I don't understand the point of featuring Bon Iver only to autotune the shit out of him, as he sounds good without it.

If Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's first album only got a 9 then "My Dark Twisted Fantasy" should get an 8.

mayhugh said...

My recommendation of the day is Eggnog Light (the beverage, not a band, at least to my knowledge). For dudes of larger stature watching their figures, it's a refreshing, filling, not-too-bad for you (2G of fat) drink that you won't feel ashamed chugging at 2 in the morning when you can't sleep.

zman said...

I knew I shouldn't have read the recap of the Bills game. At least I now know that "Fitzpatrick extended his TD streak to 12 games, the Bills' longest since Doug Flutie's 12-game streak in 1999." Although this just underscores the Bills' decade-long stretch of futility.

zman said...

I bet Payton Hillis is on something. He's way too intense.

mayhugh said...

Following up on the iTunes recommendations, I liked the overwhelming majority and found Tronic and Broken Bells to be the best recommendations. The self-titled Broken Bells album is fantastic; my only complaint is that I could have used 3 more tracks. Couldn't get enough.

The new Kanye is a B- for me. Definitely some good tracks, but it is wildly erratic (redundant, I know). Even the order of the tracks makes no sense to me - there's no flow from one to the next. Just seemed lazy.

mayhugh said...

The Rams are tied for 1st in the NFC West. They are 5-6.

Shlara said...

I've had a lot of time on my hands lately and have finally started to watch Friday Night Lights. This show is awesome. I dunno how I've missed the bandwagon for the last four years.

Mark said...

Poor Steve Johnson was in tears in the postgame presser. And Peyton is always spelled with an "e" in the south. We're annoying like that.

Josh Freeman is indeed fun to watch. I'm in no way impartial but the Bucs are loaded with young talent (7 rookies started last week, 12 played) that is producing at a high level. Even "vets" like Aquib Talib and Barrett Ruud are only in their 3rd & 5th years, respectively. One last thing: Cody Grimm snapped his leg today when Talib and Anquan Boldin rolled up on him from behind. Nasty injury, bummer for a rookie who's played way above expectations.

Mark said...

FNL was/is great, Shlara. Sadly, not enough gave it a real shot and now it's gone for good. I blame you, Shlara.

zman said...

Unlike Wheliston, Rodney Harrison does not wear freshly pressed suits.

zman said...

I bet Stevie Wonder is Peter King's stylist.

rob said...

tribe got smoked by western carolina, 64-39, to fall to 2-4 on the season. we seem to be significantly challenged on the offensive end. we might not score 25 against odu.

T.J. said...

Stevie Johnson is talking to God on twitter.

T.J. said...

Mark, ACC Sunday Night Hoops is back and bringing us Florida/FSU.

zman said...

Th Black Keys sold out to effing Zales? Zales?!?

rob said...

they didn't go to jared?

mayhugh said...

Bob Sanders would have to try really hard to look less enthused about watching his team play.

zman said...

They went to Subway with Jared.

Mark said...

I'm wathcing Teej. A win's not really going to take the sting out of yesterday's debacle but it can't hurt.

Mark said...

Pour some out for Leslie Nielsen.

mayhugh said...

That makes me sad. Gonna have to watch Airplane and Naked Gun a few times this week (instead of once each, like usual).

Squeaky said...

Zman, re:BLack Keys almost as bad as Vampire Weekend selling out to Chevy/GM? with "Holiday". I must have heard that f'ing commercial a thousand times this weekend. Just terrible.

zman said...

Black Keys songs are in tons of commercials but Zales takes the cake - it's an ad for "open heart pendants" or some such non-rockin' nonsense. I think that ad with Holiday is for Tommy Hilfiger which is probably worse than GM.

Clarence said...

Leslie Nielsen was Canadian? Wow, sneaky Canuck, like Seth Rogen, or Keanu Reeves. Or Justin Bieber.

TR said...

If you all knew how much those bands got paid, you wouldn't mock them for selling out their tunes. The Black Keys may be many things, but very wealthy isn't one of them. If selling out to Zale's buys them each a car, more power to them.

Don't underestimate how much they got paid. A friend of mine used to work for the agency repping The Submarines. iTunes used one of their songs in a commercial for a mid five-figure fee. Not too shabby. So if the Keys get $75K from Zales, I ain't gonna bitch. Even though I'm a firm believer every kiss begins with Kay, not Z(man).

Squeaky said...

The new Girl Talk album is decent as well and hell it's a free download.

http://illegal-art.net/allday/