Brew #3 - Vanilla London Porter - 1/14/12

So I've decided to brew my next batch.  My 1st batch, the British Ale, will probably suck.  I've tasted a few times in recent days, and it sucks still, but may get better.  My 2nd batch has potential.  The Yellow Dog should be good to go in a few weeks.

So, I've tried a new beer since my last batch, and I've decided I love it and need to try to clone it.  My inpisration was the Beer Buzz Radio with Ben Stange, who discussed new beer year resolutions, and I decided to try beers I usually would never try.  My comfort zone is usually Pale Ales, IPA's, ESB's, and some other selections from Boulevard, Schlafly, Mother's and Lienie's.   Porter is usually not in my game plan.  I like Guinness (regular, not extra stout), but I didn't' recall a porter I ever liked.  So I saw this on the shelf and decided to give it a shot.

OH my.  This may be my new favorite beer.  The vanilla is subtle, but just enough to make it an awesome brew.  So I figured I may as well try and brew it.  Found some recipes online, but they were mainly all grain (not extract, which is the only way I'm set up to brew), so I figured why not brew some porter and just add some vanilla? 

I read some forums online and they said to either use pure vanilla extract, or a few real vanilla beans.  I decided on the real beans.  They sell them at the shop in Ozark, so I bought two.  They suggested using one in the last 2 min of the boil (for vanilla flavor) and then using the other in the secondary fermenter (for aroma).

I bought and started brewing this kit - the London Porter.  The brewing instructions were very similar to my first two batches.  The specialty grains and the dry extract were darker though, seeing as this is a porter.

Brewing went as expected.  Added the vanilla bean and seeds with 2 minutes left in the boil, as suggested by my Home Brewery homies.  This is the vanilla bean I used.  Cut it open down the middle, scraped the seeds into the wort, then threw the bean shell in there too.

I froze some extra ice bombs for cooling the wort, and used about all of them.  I changed the water 3 times, and it went well.  Took about 40 minutes to cool to 75 degrees this time.  (it took a lot longer last time, no matter what my previousl posts "extimated").  I would like to stir the wort (with a sterilized spoon) next time as it's cooling, since that will help cool it more quickly.

Next I aerated the wort for about 1-2 minutes, pitched the yeast ( I went dry, and did not re-hydrate this time), let it sit for about 10 minutes, shook it just a bit more, then set it to ferment.  the original gravity (OG) was about 1.054.  The recipie kit said it was supposed to be around 1.048.  Not sure if this was because of the vanilla bean or what, but we will see what effect this increaded OG has.

Plan is to rack to a secondary fermenter in about 5 days, and add the vanilla bean and seeds to the secondary fermentation.  Hopefully will end up with a lovely Vanilla Porter.

Brew #2 - Yellow Dog Pale Ale 1/4/12; Bottling Beer #1

I meant to do this earlier, but I need to update what has happened.   I bottled Beer #1 - British Pale Ale - a few weeks ago.  Bottling was fairly uneventful, except for the fact that the Mother's Brewing Company bottles kept breaking.  I discovered later that these did not have the ideal "lips" for capping homebrews, so I will stop using them.

My next batch was some Yellow Dog Pale Ale, a dry malt extract kit bought from The Home Brewery in Ozark (just like the first one).  This time, I tried to follow my own advice and make the improvements I mentioned in my first post, and for the most part, it worked.    I rehydrated the yeast, with somewhat mixed results.  Still don't know if I did it right.  I still had some trouble bringing the temperature of the wort down, so I planned on freezing more ice for enxt time.

Since then, I've bottled the Yellow Dog and it's still conditioning in the bottles as we speak.  I've sampled the British Ale (i.e. the f'ed up batch) vs. the Yellow Dog, and even though the Yellow Dog is still a few weeks away from proper tasting time, I can tell it tastes "cleaner" than the British Ale, and will end up being the better brew.

Beer blog - First ever batch - British Pale Ale - brewed 12/17/11

So, my wife bought me a Homebrew kit at the store in Ozark for an early X-Mas present.  It included all the stuff shown here.  I also bought a 9 gallon brewpot and a portable propane stove to add to my list of equipment.

The Ozark Homebrewery store also had several ready-made kits available for beginners to make their first batches.  Ami bought me a Yellow Dog Pale Ale kit already (Matt, Fred and I cooked up a batch of this 2 years ago in Fred's garage), and I bought a British Pale Ale kit. 

Of course I had to dive right in that night.  I had previously done a batch w/ Fred, so I thought I could remember how I did it and handle it on my own.  The instructions (I figured) are pretty foolproof, so after a quick scan of the instructions and the brew guide that came with my kit, I was off....

After I brewed this batch of beer, I read the entire How to Brew book, by John Palmer.  Apparently it's a sort of bible for first time and experienced homebrewers.  He's also made it available here online for free.  The book suggests keeping a journal of your brewing experiences and recipies, so you can track and learn from your past.  This is that journal.

For the most part, the majority of the brewing was uneventful.  I sanitized all my equipment and followed the instructions to a T.

I started with 5 gallons of water in the brewpot.  I raised it to 170 degrees F, then added a specialty grain mix (Crystal and Chocolate malted grains) included with the kit.  How to Brew mentioned specialty grain was a good way for beginning extract brewers to add some complexity to their beer recipes.  The instructions said you could try to steep the specialty grain (in a cheesecloth grain bag) at 170 for 10-15 minutes, but to be careful not to get the temp above 170, or else there was a danger of off flavor releasing into the wort.  I tried to maintain 170, but since I was using a brand new propane heater I was still unfamiliar with, I didn't eactly know what setting to put it on.  I steeped for about 2 minutes, then saw the temp creep above 170, then turned off the heat and took the specialty grain out.

Next step was to mix in the dry malt extract - mix of Light, Amber and Wheat DME (bittering hops were also included in the bag) that came with the kit, and then raise the wort to a boil.  The boil was really rolling once I got it to temp.  I wasn't sure how vigorous to boil it, so I went pretty high.  The wort didn't ever raise up and threaten to boil over, so I thought I was ok.  Added the Irish Moss (supposed to clarify the beer) at 45 minutes, the Flavoring Hops at 50 minutes, and the Aromatic Hops at 58 minutes, as instructed.


After the 60 minutes from full boil expired, I took it off the heat and tried to cool it as fast as possible.  Since I don't have a copper wort chiller, I prepared an ice bath in a tub I had laying in the garage.  I covered the wort and put it in the ice bath.  I had to add more ice after several minutes since it was melting quick.

The recipe said to get the wort down to 75 degrees as quick as possible.  Problem was when I would put the floating thermometer I have in the wort to check the temp, it was touching the bottom, so it would give me improper readings.  I had to hold the top of the thermometer for 10-20 seconds to get an accurate reading.  It was kind of a pain.  I did not time how long it took to get down to 75 degrees, but I would guess 20-30 minutes.

When I got down to 75 degrees, I started the siphoning process.  Since I didn't have a helper, and since I forgot about Issac Newton, I didn't place the wort pot higher than the primary fermenting bucket.  I guess I thought the "auto-siphon" that came with my kit would take care of all that.  Instead, I was constantly pumping the siphon and trying to keep the tube in the fermenting bucket.  Ugh.

Eventually I pumped the wort into the fermenter, and saw that I had barely over 3 gallons.  Yikes.  Guess that means I over-boiled, since almost 2 gallons evaporated.  Evaporation was expected, so I pre-boiled and cooled some water back in the kitchen before I started.  I poured this water into the wort to raise it back to 5 gallons.  I then took a hydrometer reading by placing the hydrometer in the wort.  The Original Gravity (OG) was 1.035 (or 35 for short). I think it was supposed to be around 1.040.

Next was the addition of the yeast.  I just tore open the packet and sprinkled it on top of the wort, as per the instructions.  I didn't "aerate" the wort (as I later learned I needed to do after reading HTB) before or after adding the yeast, other than the aeration that occurred from my poor siphoning, and the sloshing that probably occurred as I carried the wort from my garage to my spare bathroom. The instructions just mentioned that it was "OK to splash and introduce oxygen at this point".  They failed to mention that this was a vital part of making sure the yeast began the fermenting process properly

I then sealed the fermenter, attached the airlock (partially filled w/ vodka), and put it in the bathtub of my spare bathroom.  It's an area I can seal in darkness, so I thought it was best.

After a few days, I noticed that the airlock wasn't bubbling or "burping" as I read it should be doing, so I was a bit worried.  I then opened and checked the wort (you are NOT supposed to do this, but I was desperate), and noticed that the lid of the fermenter wasn't actually closed as it should've been.  I really had to push hard all around the outside to make sure it sealed.  Once I did that, after a few hours, I did notice some occasional bubbles in the airlock. 

Also, after reading HTB, I saw that most homebrew ales need to ferment at between 60-75 degrees.  My spare bathroom gets a bit chilly, so I put a space heater in there to try to raise the temp after a few days.  The ferment seems to be percolating now (5 days later).  I will probably take a hydrometer reading on Saturday (7 days) and then Sunday, to see if we are ready to bottle.   Another few weeks after bottling it's time to chill the beer, and pray it tastes ok!

Very detailed, but I wanted to recall my first brewing, hopefully to avoid future mistakes.   This is the list of things I want to fix for next time:

• Start with more water.  I started with 5 gallons, and ended with just over 3 after the boil.  Next time, I'm going to turn down the boil a bit, and start with closer to 6 gallons.  
• Try to perfect the steeping of the specialty grains.  As I get more used to the propane stove, I should be able to keep the wort at 170 to steep the grain for the recommended time.
• Turn down the boiling heat a bit.  Boiling off nearly 2 gallons of wort is probably a bit too much.
• Be sure to take into account gravity when siphoning.  Damn you, Newton.
• Get some more ice ready before brewing.  I ran out during the cooling process last time.  I'm going to freeze some extra water before the brewing next time to ensure I have enough coldness. 
• Re-hydrate the yeast, instead of just sprinkling the dry yeast on top.  Rehydrating the yeast activates more yeast cells at the outset, leads to a better and quicker fermentation, and hopefully, a better tasting beer.  There are a few videos that tell you how to do this online.  Not sure whether to do this before the brew or when I'm chilling my wort.  Will check the HTB book.
• Be sure my primary fermenter is completely sealed before putting it away.  Push down hard on that damn lid!!
• Set up the space heater in the spare bathroom when fermenting begins.  Be sure that temp is above 60 degrees.

Missouri State Basketball Season Preview 2009-1010 - Part 2 - Meet The Players

Alright, on to part two of my season preview. This time, I'm focusing on the individual players. Some of these guys I've watched for a year plus, but most of em I've just watched for the three games I've attended so far, so these are purely initial impressions. But first impressions are often accurate, as they were last year, in my brief analysis of Hobbs, Weems, Rhine, Mayhew and Brumfeld after a few games. Which of this year's batch will go the way of Weems and McFarland and thrive and improve throughout the season? Which players will go the way of Hobbs, Brumfeld and Mayhew and play very little, show no improvement and fade and not even be on the team next year?

Onto the players...

#34 Kyle Weems (sophmore)

This guy is our star, plain and simple. And we've got three full more years of watching him get better. Sweet. He basically became our star player during the second half of last year, his freshman year. Weems can score from all over the floor, though he seems to fall in love with the three point shot a bit too much sometimes (most 3's attempted on the team last year, only 28% made). He's made some big shots from outside though. He seems like he's money from inside the three point line - I wish he'd take more mid-range jumpers (47 % from inside three point range last year). He's athletic, can get past guys on the outside, can finish at the basket or can pull up for the 10-15 footer off the dribble. Also is money at the line (82% FT shooter). He can, and hopefully will, take over games when we're struggling on offense and need him to score. Well on his way to being a MSU stud.

#44 Will Creekmore (junior)

He changed his number this year, but unfortunately, despite his off season work and weight gain, he seems to be the same player he was last year. And that player wasn't that good. He was a starter a lot of last year, he started the first game vs. Auburn, and appears to be our starter at the 5 spot this year. Last year, I remember him missing a lot of shots inside, and us forcing a lot of plays into Creekmore. Hopefully, with our increased offensive options this year, there will be less need for that. He just doesn't seem to have an inside game, and when he does get good position in the post, he can't finish with any consistency. That's what I saw from him last year, and that's what I've seen from him so far this year. He really didn't have the opportunity to show his game vs. Auburn, as we ran very few plays for him (or anyone) in the post, but I really hope he can get better, as that will help the team in the long run, and help free up some outside shooters if we can establish something inside. I just don't have high hopes.

#23 Cardell McFarland (sophmore)

Another holdover from last year, and a big part of our future. He was slowed a bit at the start of this season with a hand injury, but played a lot of minutes versus Auburn. He didn't start the first game, but I imagine that as he gets healthy, he'll be in the starting lineup soon enough. He's got a nice outside shot and can take people off the dribble, if need be. Handled the ball a lot last year, but seems more like a 2 guard. Luckily, we have more true point guards this year, so maybe he'll be able to play off the ball a bit more.

#00 Justin Fuehrmeyer (senior)

Our only senior. I had high hopes for Fury after his first two years, but he never seemed to get his groove and improve last year under Cuonzo. He's currently out with a hand injury, and I don't know what to expect from him this year. Even if he comes back, he's probably just a role player and a backup point guard. Maybe he can regain his outside touch and defensive tenacity when he comes back, but we'll see.

#10 Adam Leonard (junior)

One of our 3 juco transfers (from Eastern Kentucky). Good outside shooter, and our starting point guard. Based on what I've seen so far, he's already better than the Lauries ever were. Was 4-7 from three point range in the first game vs. Auburn, and he had a nice outside touch in the Exhibition games too. Can shoot the outside shot off the dribble and on the move with good accuracy. A good ball handler and made some nice passes in his first few games. I'm excited about this guy.

#15 Jermaine Mallett (junior)

Another juco transfer, and a starter this season. He's listed at 6'3", but seems to play bigger than that. He did everything in the first game vs. Auburn. Played the most minutes, had 12 points (on only 6 shots), 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Very athletic. Plays the 2/3 spot on the floor, and has a good inside/outside game. Like many of our newcomers, has good ball handling skills and can get by his guy on the perimeter. Cuonzo has talked him up, and he could become a star by the end of this year.

#2 Nafis Ricks (junior)

Our last juco transfer. I had high expectations. He was the national juco player of the year last year. I figured he'd be the starting point guard this year. Unfortunately, he's struggled, at least from what I've seen so far. Had several had turnovers handling the ball in the exhibition games and the game vs. Auburn. Ricks just hasn't ever seemed in tune with the team this year. With his credentials, I hoped he would provide a nice athletic spark, but I just haven't seen it so far. Doesn't have an outside shot from what I've seen, and when he does get past guys, I don't remember him finishing. Didn't play many minutes in the first game (partly due to fouls), and needs to pick it up quickly to become an integral part of the team.

#1 Keith Pickens (freshman)

One of our 3 freshman this year. A starting guard in the first game, but could lose his spot once McFarland gets healthy or Ricks turns up his game. Has played an unspectacular (but not bad) guard so far this year. He's only a frosh, but he doesn't look bad. One of our athletic newcomers, but probably just a role player this year.

#20 Michael Porter (freshman)

Another freshman. A 6'6" big man (at least for the Valley). Kinda reminds me of Randal Falker from SIU with the size and inside presence, but it might just be the dreads. He played the first Exhibition games, but had an appendicitis shortly before the Auburn game, and will be out til early December. In the exhibition games, he showed good tenacity on the inside, fighting for loose balls and rebounds, and bodying up other teams' post players. Haven't seen much offensive game out of him, mostly garbage points cleaning up on the inside, but I like the athleticism and tenacity I've seen on both ends so far. When he comes back, he may not be a starter, but I see him being one of the first bigs off the bench.

#33 Jerome Jones (freshman)

Our last freshman, a 6'5" forward. Good size, but doesn't seem to play inside very much. Had a nice driving the lane thunder dunk in the first exhibition game, but not much play vs. Auburn. Kind of a chucker. Has got a funny looking outside shot that doesn't inspire much confidence, but he made a few of them in the exhibitions. Could be a bit too raw to really contribute this year, but we'll see as the year progresses.

#21 Caleb Patterson (sophomore)

A 7-foot big man now eligible to play after sitting out from last year following his transfer from Colorado. My impressions so far of Patterson are - eh. He's tall. He seems athletic enough, but I haven't seen any impressive play in the post from him, and he doesn't exactly seem to dominate on the boards inside. Weird for a 7 footer. When he does get the ball inside, all I've seen him do is take fade away jumpers, and miss them most of the time. Fade away jumpers from a 7 footer in the Valley? Really? Unless you've got the touch of Hakeem (or Danny Moore, for that matter), I don't want to see you shooting fadeaways. We've got plenty of other (and better) offensive options I'd rather see shoot jumpers - I don't want to see our 7 footer do it. It would be huge if he can become an inside presence in the Valley, but I don't see it happening. There was probably a reason he played very little as a 7 footer on a last place Big XII team.

#30 Ryan Jehle (junior)

He's a solid player. Got decent size, can play inside or outside. Always seems to play hard and get after it on every play. Classic scrappy player and garbage cleanup man, that gets the most out of his athletic ability, that can provide solid minutes and occasionally hit the open outside jumper if needed. What can I say? I like seeing Jehle out there, even though he doesn't play much. Had decent minutes vs. Auburn, but unsure if the minutes will keep up when Porter gets back. We'll see. Also, still looks like Clint Baer.

#50 Isaiah Rhine (sophmore)

Lastly, our 6'10" big man off the bench. Still looks very raw and somewhat nonathletic. But hey, he's big, so he'll get minutes. Plays hard, but is not fast nor quick. Gets rebounds, I guess. Cleans up some messes inside, but has no real post game to speak of. Still, right now, I have more faith in him than I do Patterson. Still has 3 years to complete his development, so hopefully we see some signs of his improvement this year, and have something to look forward to as he heads into his junior and senior seasons.


So there you have it - initial impressions of all the 2009-2010 Bears. Lots of newcomers, lots of room for development. Get used to these names. We've only got one senior, so we're gonna have a few years to see these guys develop and hopefully thrive under Coach Cuonzo.

Alright, Ima post this again, because I love it more each time I see it. Mallett is just nasty.

Chris Johnson - NFL Record Breaker?

Great article from Chase Stuart (New York Times NFL Blog) on CJ's pursuit of 3 different NFL records this year: Rushing yards, yards from scrimmage, and yards per carry.

Some interesting excerpts:

"With 1,091 rushing yards in nine games, Johnson is on pace for 1,940 rushing yards. That would be the sixth most, behind the five men who rushed for over 2,000 yards in a season: Eric Dickerson, Jamal Lewis, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis and O.J. Simpson"

"Johnson’s YPC average through nine games is the third highest by any player (with 100 carries) since 1960: only Jim Brown (’63) and Mercury Morris (’73) were better"

"LBJ is on pace for 2,405 yards from scrimmage, which are calculated by adding a player’s rushing and receiving (but not return) yards. Only one player, Marshall Faulk in 1999, has ever topped 2,400 yards from scrimmage."


OK, I love the powder blue colors of the Titans (and former Oilers jerseys), but there's gotta be a better nickname out there than "LBJ" for one of the best players in the NFL. Light Blue Jesus? Seriously? Anything is better than that. C-J. C-ya. 4-2-4. Twitch. Anything but LBJ.

Missouri State Basketball - 2009-2010 Season Preview - Part 1

It's a new season of Bears basketball, and it's really a fresh start. Tons of new players, and from what I've seen so far, a lot more athleticism. Last year was a fresh start too, and we struggled, to no one's surprise, after Barry left the cupboard almost bare.

Now that Barry's had a year to get back on his feet, serving as "administrative assistant" to Bill Self at KU (if that's what you call a person who solicits donations from alumni over the phone and is not officially listed on the coaching staff), surely he's found a coaching job, right? We were such fools to let Barry go (according to Sporting News, and many others), and surely another quality program has snatched him up by this point. No? Not even a D-II or D-III school? NIAA? High School? YMCA? Nothing? Wow, that's weird. Maybe he wasn't such a great coach after all...

Anyway, now that the Barry-taint is mostly off the program (good riddance, Knapp and Lauries), Cuonzo is starting his 2nd season in charge with a team that is starting to resemble something that maybe can win in the coming years (how's that for extremely tempered optimism?). I still think that we can't evaluate his job performance until the end of his 3rd year (time to get his recruits there, coach them up and assimilate them into his system), but I like what I've seen so far from some of these new players.

There are 7 new players this year - 3 freshman (Jones, Porter and Pickens), 3 juco juniors (Leonard, Mallett and Ricks), and 1 sophmore transfer who is now eligible (Patterson). For the returning players, we've basically got 1 great player (Weems - sophomore), 1 pretty good player (McFarland - sophomore), and a bunch of average to below-average players (Fury, Creekmore, Jehle and Rhine). Even though Creekmore is a starter and Fury is our only Senior, I'd put them both in the below-average category, but more on that later.

The Bears won both exhibition games by 20-30 points, as expected. There was a lot of rotation of players in and out, so it was tough to gauge our lineup or the flow of our offense, since players wouldn't stay in for more than 3-4 minutes at a time. Nothing too memorable overall from the Exhibition games - the teams we played chucked a lot of threes, made a lot of turnovers, and didn't have much size, so you can't really evaluate the Bears play vs. those teams. Henderson State did play zone for about 75% of the game, so that was some nice practice for what we may see going forward. Any Bears fan knows that the Bears do NOT handle the zone very well, and I'm shocked more teams don't play that exclusively against us. The first half of the Henderson St. game was a bit of a struggle, with us settling for outside shots and threes against the zone (sound familiar?), and we had a small halftime lead. In the 2nd half though, the Bears seemed to penetrate the zone a lot better (McFarland did a good job of this) and get more mid range jumpers or drives/passes to the basket, so we ended up pulling away. I'm still worried about going up against the zone defense, but at least this year, it seems that we at least have guys on the team that can (and hopefully WILL) try to dribble to the middle of the zone to create something besides outside jump shots. With Fury and the Lauries as our primary ball handlers the last few years, this was often not possible.

The game vs. Auburn was a nice start to the season. Auburn was the exact opposite of a zone team - they were a man to man team that constantly pressured the ball handlers, often before they even crossed half court. For the most part, the Bears handled the pressure well, but there was a spurt of a few minutes in the second half when the Bears were up double digits that Auburn was especially aggressive with the ball pressure (i.e. reaching and slapping for the ball) where we had several turnovers in a row from our primary ball handlers (namely, Leonard, Ricks and McFarland). But that eventually got straightened out through some foul calls and better and safer ball handling and passing, and we somewhat cruised in the 2nd half to a double-digit win.

The first half started sloppy, and brought back memories of last year's team, which had a lot of trouble scoring points most nights. I can't recall exactly, but I think we probably had 9 points through the first 10 minutes or so. Aside from this too-sick-for-words dunk from Jermaine Mallett, there was little going good early on. Luckily Auburn was struggling as well, with plenty of turnovers and missed threes (they were chuckers), so it was still a close game. Eventually, we broke out of the funk with some nice fastbreaks off of turnovers, some Adam Leonard threes and a few drives to the basket, and ended up scoring 36 first half points for a halftime lead.

In the second half the offense got going a bit better, with Adam Leonard sinking some big threes (4-7 for the night, including a 25 footer as the shot clock expired) and Weems and Mallett providing a decent midrange-to-inside driving game. Rhine and Jehle actually had some nice inside play, cleaning up after some nice passes or missed shots, and aside from that turnover spell described above, we pretty much cruised in the 2nd half, holding a 10-15 point lead most of the way.

Overall, the performance vs. Auburn was encouraging, but far from great. We ended up scoring 73 points, which is a huge step from the 60 or so we averaged last year, so that was nice. On the other hand, Auburn really did play pretty sloppy overall (partially due to our defense, but mostly due to their carelessness), and their turnovers really helped us build our lead. Auburn also relied a bit too much on their outside shooting (24 attempts, only 20% from 3-point range), and their misses really helped us. I say "their" misses, because most of Auburn's three point shots were pretty open, with very little pressure from the Bears. Lots of drives and kick-outs by Auburn, or poor- or over-rotation on defense by the Bears, leading to wide open three pointers. On Monday night, Auburn missed a lot. If they made a just a few more of their open threes, it could have been a different story. But hey, we could have made more too, and that's just the way it goes.

As for the Bears offense, it was scattered. Leonard made several threes while he was covered, which is encouraging. At the same time Weems missed a lot of threes (1 for 6), and I'd like to see him take less 3's and drive a bit for more mid-range shots. Those are his bread and butter.

There was very little inside game to speak of, and frankly, there seemed to be very few plays run for the post players. Very little "set up on the block with your back to the basket and try to score" like we've seen in previous years from Richards and Knapp (unsuccessfully). But that's probably a good thing, since our post players suck, and Creekmore could do very little from the block last year. But I was pretty shocked at how little we even attempted to go inside to the post. Creekmore only took 3 shots, and very few plays were run for him. I'm down on Creekmore, but I'd still like to see if he can develop as a post presence. Luckily, we didn't force it down in the post to Creekmore (as we so often did last year, with poor results), and instead relied on our athletic perimeter players (Mallet, Pickens, Weems, McFarland) to handle the ball and make something happen. That seems to be the Bears M.O. this year, at least through one game. Hopefully we can gradually mix in a better balance of inside play and start shooting better from the outside, but that's entirely up to the development and improvement of Creekmore and Patterson. If they don't get better as the year goes on, we can't force it, and will just have to find other ways to win, like we did vs. Auburn.


So there's a brief overview and my take on the Bears through the two exhibition games and the first regular season game of the season. I will follow up in Part 2 of my Season Preview with my observations and my impressions of each individual player on the Bears from what I've seen so far. Til next time....

Sandwiches!!!

Much like Joey, my favorite food is sandwiches. Is there anything they can't do? The stately gentleman pictured is John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, and often cited as the inventor of the sandwich. The man is my hero (ha!). Though I can't believe it took until the mid 1700's to come up with this wonderful invention.

My love of the sandwich must have been born of my elementary/junior high/high school upbringing, where everyday, a sandwich would be waiting for me in my lunch bag (sometimes 2 - I was a chubby kid), courtesy of my mother. No exceptions. These sandwiches were so good, I remember even selling one of them (on days I had two, or course) at the lunchtable, to classmates eager to share in the sandwich bliss. Also, some of my sandwich snobbery came from these sandwiches. For example, my mother never used "regular" bread to make my sandwiches. I'd always get some sort of nicer bread, like some slices of french bread or rye, and she'd always put just ham, cheese and butter on the sandwich. I didn't realize that butter on a sandwich was weird til much later, but I've grown to love it. I thought mayo on a sandwich was weird and gross at first, but have grown to appreciate the compliment that just the right amount of mayo can give to a sandwich. But ever since then, I've tried to avoid using regular sliced bread to make a sandwich (exception: grilled cheese), because I think the low-quality bread robs from the overall sandwich experience.

Sandwiches are the #1 staple of my diet. I eat between 5-10 sandwiches a week, and I never get tired of them. The most common sandwich I eat is just a normal Ham and Cheese on sliced sourdough Panera bread, which I keep fresh my buying a couple loaves at a time, and keeping them in the freezer until I plan to have a sandwich. Sourdough is my favorite kind of bread for a sandwich, but I can appreciate a nice French loaf or Rye. I use Frick's lean ham and fat-free Kraft American cheese, and put butter on the bread. That's it. No frills, just the basics. And it's wonderful.

The basic sandwich described above makes up about 90% of my annual sandwich consumption, but I get outside sandwiches as well. I'm a connoisseur of all types of sandwiches, and like everyone, I've got my favorite places. But not just any sandwich will do. There's the basic places, like Subway, Blimpie, Quizno's, etc., and sure, they'll make a passable sandwich, but really they are all varying degrees of suck. I've had Jimmy John's and Lenny's later in my sandwich career, and they were both overrated.

But anyway, here are my favorite sandwich places, from best to worst.

W.G. Grinders
I discovered this place in Columbia while I was in law school, and it was a weekly staple. A grinder has come to mean just an open-faced sandwich, often toasted. WG Grinders serves their sandwiches toasted, and they use wonderful, fresh sourdough bread. I've always believed the freshness and taste of the bread makes the sandwich. No matter how good the meat or toppings are, crappy bread will ruin a sandwich. But it's a delicate balance. The bread has to be fresh and taste good, but it can't overwhelm the sandwich. It's got to compliment the overall experience, and not dominate it. A lot of places (Subway, for example), puts too much focus on the variety and flavor of their bread, but that ends up ruining the sandwich. Their bread is so big and flavor-dominant, that it ends up taking over the sandwich. That's not a true sandwich experience.

Anyway, the WG Grinders sandwich is awesome. I usually get the standard Club, which has ham, turkey and bacon, then add provolone (with pepper jack, my favorite type of sandwich cheese), and usually top with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and just the right amount of mayo. After its toasted, throw some pepper on that bitch, and enjoy the taste explosion.

Unfortunately, I recently heard that WG Grinders in Columbia may have shut down. Damn recession. It's a small place that originated in Columbus, OH, and has a bunch of stores in Ohio, but I believe the ones in Indiana and Missouri have been closed down. I have mourned ever since hearing the news of the closing. I look forward to my next trip to Ohio (which will be the 2nd of my life). RIP WG Grinders (if its true)

Planet Sub
This is a place I discovered last year upon the recommendation of a buddy. There is a location by SMS campus on Kimbrough, so I decided to stop by before a basketball game. I was not disappointed. They've got a shop on Battlefield and National now too.

Apparently, it's a place that has its roots in Lawrence, KS, but I don't hold that against it (sandwiches > MU alumni loyalty). They have cold and hot sandwiches, though I've only tried the toasted ones, and they're awesome. It's pretty basic, but basic is good, if it's done right. Fresh, good bread, quality toppings, and a bit of a local sandwich shop feel make this my favorite sandwich shop in town. Get the first sandwich on the menu, appropriately called The Planet Sub - Ham, Roast Beef, Turkey, Bacon, Swiss (I sub Provolone), Lettuce, Tomatoes, Brown Mustard (I go no mustard) & Mayo. I freaking love it. You will thank me later.

They also have a good selection of bottled beers that cost between $1-$2, so that's a plus. A great overall sandwich experience.

Mr. Goodcents
When I was first introduced to this place in high school, I was blown away. Back then, I always thought Subway and Blimpie's were the best (and only) places to get good subs. Then I located a Campus Coupon for a $5 Goodcents sub, and gave it a shot.

Great sub. Far, far better than the aforementioned Subway or Blimpie subs. First of all, their "full" subs are actually 16" instead of 12". More sub = more good. Again, their bread is always fresh, soft, basic, and compliments, rather than overwhelms, the flavor of the sandwich. I always get the Penny Club, and am never disappointed. You won't be either.

Sub Shop (Columbia)
First, some clarification - there's a Sub Shop in Springfield (on Seminole and Glenstone), but this isn't it. The one is Springfield is pretty darn good in it's own right, but the one in Columbia is better.

I was introduced to this hole in the wall sandwich shop during the summer after my first year in law school. I worked in construction that summer, and we'd often get Sub Shop to deliver sandwiches to the site for lunch. This place reminds me a lot of Planet Sub with their bread, ingredients, and toasted sub selections - all excellent. Maybe I thought these sandwiches were better than they actually were because I always had them during a lunch break on the site, when it was 100+ degrees, and I just needed a break, so anything would taste good. But there were many occasions after that first summer when I'd be studying for a test in my study group or whatever, and a Sub Shop delivery gave me that extra fuel to burn through those study sessions. Highly recommended.

I always got the basic toasted Ham and Cheese, and sometimes I'd get a side of tomato soup, which had a gigantic glob of melted cheese thrown on top (Mmmm, cheese), perfect as a compliment to the sandwich, or as a dipping agent, were one so inclined. I'm not a big sandwich-dipping guy, as I feel a sandwich should be good enough to stand on its own, but this is the exception.


So that's the list. There are some other places out there that I think are pretty good (Sub Shop in Springfield, for example), but none crack this elite list. I'm planning on trying Which Wich this week sometime, as I've heard good things, so I'll give an update if there's some groundbreaking sandwich-happenings going on there.

I love sandwiches.

Terminator Salvation: It Doesn't Suck (and other Movie News...)

I thought that the new Terminator movie would suck. Seeing the previews with Christian Bale as John Connor, in a futuristic world filled with machines and a war - not my cup of tea. I'm not a huge fan of post-apocalyptic movies set in an "industrial" setting. I was thinking Terminator: Salvation would be like the third Matrix movie or something (i.e. it would suck).

I loved T2, and T3 wasn't half bad either, but I thought I'd hate this movie. It was good though. Worth a rental and recommended. Also, Christian Bale is awesome.



In other Movie news;

Movies I've seen recently that deserve the OMSA*

The Hurt Locker
The King of Kong
Zombieland
Star Trek
District 9
Watchmen


Other movies I've seen recently that don't suck:

Away We Go
Orphan
Public Enemies
Taking of Pelham 123
The Boat That Rocked (the US version, is called "Pirate Radio")
UP (not as good as Wall-E or Ratatouille)
Wolverine
Drag Me to Hell
Four Christmases


Movies I've seen recently that kinda or really suck (from least sucky to most sucky):

The Soloist
G.I. Joe
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
The Land of the Lost
Angels and Demons


*Official Martin Seal of Approval

Martin's Takes: A Season Preview

It's blog-posting season. For me anyway. After my spring-summer hiatus, I'm ready to start posting again. The weather has cooled from the hot summer days of 80-90 degrees, to a nice brisk fall November 75 degrees. Um, what?

Seriously, what is up with this damn weather? It's fall, dammit!! Lawn mowing/allergy season was supposed to end in early October!! Enough warm weather!!! I love the nice, cool 50 degree November days. But I'm afraid with this weather, we're gonna go straight from 75 degree days to 30 degree winter days, and completely skip the nice fall days that are supposed to happen in between. Damn global warming....

Anyway, I've got some ideas in the hopper for blog season. Next up, a post about my favorite food in the world: sandwiches!!!

And still to come, after the Exhibition games are over on Tuesday, the always popular Annual (I did it last year, at least) Missouri State Basketball Season preview!!!

Also, some possible future topics include:

"Where am I on your God-damn Ladder: The Snubbing of Martin and Max"

"My Book Reading list, or Why I suddenly feel stupid and worthless after reading Matt's Reading List"

"Married Life: Pretty Much the Same as Living-Together Life, Except with Less Sin"

"Locker Room Towel Fights: The Blinding of Larry Driscoll"

It's a New Season (or halfway through) - Part 2

To recap, I couldn't get part two of my post in before the opening game vs. the Steelers because I had to work late. Then we lost the game in OT. Then we lost another, and another, and another, then lost 59-0, and all my ambition to finish my Titans post was gone. I was so beat down that I couldn't even muster the will to post a negative rant about how crappy the team was. So basically, I felt what it was like to be a Rams/Chiefs fan over the last couple of years. But at least the throwbacks were sweet.



But it's a good thing I didn't finish, because I would've been dead wrong. I would've said something about how what I saw from Chris Johnson in the preseason worried me, because I didn't see that burst he had last year. Well, halfway through the season, he's currently leading the NFL in rushing (by 120 yards over 2nd place), and is averaging 6.7 yards per carry - I WAS DEAD WRONG.

Then I would've posted something about how we needed to keep Vince Young on the bench at all costs, because even as boring or old as Kerry Collins looks at times, he still gives us the best chance to win games and that Vince turns it over far too much and will single-handedly cost us games. Well, with Collins at QB we were 0-6. With Vince the last two weeks, we're 2-0, and Vince has zero turnovers - I WAS DEAD WRONG.

I also said something in my first post about how we'd be good this year and that our defense was awesome. Well, we're 2-6, and have the worst pass defense, and one of the worst overall defenses in the NFL (but it's not b/c of Haynesworth, dammit!) - I WAS DEAD WRONG.

I still think the Titans are better than 2-6, but none of that matters now. Even if we improbably run the table and finish 10-6, I doubt we'd make the playoffs since we started out 0-6 vs. the AFC. What matters now is figuring out if Vince will stay around in the coming years, which I highly doubt. Even if he does keep his steady, turnover-free play going, there's no way he comes back next year at something like $14 mil per year (if they pickup his option). You don't pay that kind of money to a QB who gets you 13-19, 170 yards and a TD line, even if he is wining games right now. You can find a QB to play "smart" on a run-first team, for far less money. If they can somehow let him go and pick him up for less money, then it might be an option. With all the crap he's gone through with this team though, I think that's a longshot, and he's off to a fresh start somewhere else in 2010.

What also matters is being able to watch Chris Johnson dominate. He's on pace for just under 2,000 yards this year, and if the Titans give it to him 20+ times per game from here on out (like they have the last two games), he's gonna get it. What a STUD. His speed keeps on shocking me, and apparently, it keeps on shocking the linebackers and DB's on opposing teams, because he keeps blowing right by them, even when they think they have the angle. Enjoy yet another compilation, and be awed by the speed (and go to 0:58 for one of the best runs of this season):



Anyway, that's my take on the Titans. I still think it's realistic that, given the remaining schedule and how they've played recently, they could still go 7-9 or 8-8 this year, but that's hardly cause for celebration. But given the horrendous 0-6 start, it would be an encouraging way to go into the next offseason, finishing strong.

So that's that.

It's a New Season (part 1)

Hey, look at that. The countdown I made about 5 months ago on my last post is still running. Sweet.


Ahhhhhh, its almost fall. My favorite time of year. The weather gets a bit nipply-er, leaves begin to change, the grass no longer needs to be mowed, and most people's favorite sports season is just around the corner. 24 hours and counting to the start of the NFL season, which means its time to start a new season of blogging.

Although Matt stole some of my thunder (and my list dump idea) by breaking the nearly summer-long MRSLP silence, that's ok. My post will be better, and will have less "I have an iphone 3GS so I'm better than you" bragging. Though I do have an iphone 3G, so I'm better than you (but not better than Matt, who's better than all of us).

After my Nostradamus-like Titans predictions last year, I have a lot to live up to. Seriously, read that post from Week 1 last year. Jesus, I was spot on. Like I had Gray's Sports Almanac or something.

Well this year, the Titans are still getting little respect. Everyone still has the Steelers, Pats, Colts, Chargers, Ravens, and even the Texans and Dolphins over the Titans in the AFC. I guess that's the respect a 13-3 season gets ya. They were knocked out of the playoffs early after playing a mistake-filled, ugly game where Chris Johnson (our MVP last year - more on that later) dominated the 1st half but was injured for the 2nd half, the refs gifted the Ravens 20 yards and a first down on the last drive with a terrible no-call, and we still only lost by 3 points. Just thinking of that game gets me shaking with frustration. God I hate the Ravens (I called that frustration too - lucky me).

Enough pining over what could have been. It's a New Season, and while I'm optimistic at what the Titans can do this year, I'm less confident in this team than I was at the end of last year. And it has nothing to do with the loss of Albert Haynesworth.

The Titans return 10 of 11 starters from a defense that was just awesome last year. But all anyone talks about is how we'll take a big dip this year because of the loss of Haynesworth. I was torn on re-signing him. Sure, Albert was absolutely dominant the past 2 years. But where was he before that?


We drafted him in 2002, and he was mostly injured or anonymous til 2007-2008. Could it be because 2007 was a contract year, and 2008 was the last year he had the franchise tag on him, and he knew he was playing for a huge contract so he stepped his game up? Part of me says yes. Heck, a lot of me says yes. If we had re-signed him to the tune of $100 million, I think our team would be hurt more than helped, because the strength of this team's defense has always been its depth at Defensive Line, and the ability to rotate quality players in and out at all times. That depth would have seriously suffered if we had that much money tied into one player, even one as good as Albert. And did you realize that, as good as he was, he only played about 55-60% of the defensive plays for the Titans over the past 2 years? So yeah, this defense was and is more than Albert Haynesworth, and will continue to be really good without him.

So yeah, I'm not really worried about the Titans Defense this season. Great Secondary, Good Linebackers, and a really good, deep Defensive line with a nice mix of vets and up and comers that have a chance of making a big name for themselves in the next year or two (kinda like Albert did in 2007).

The thing that concerns me is the offense. I'm not expecting them to have a Saints/Pats/Eagles/Cardinals type, explosive offense. They haven't been that, and will not be that this year. They don't need that to win, and they don't have the personnel to support it. Heck, if the offense is as good as last year (maybe a bit better), then I'd be ecstatic, and I'd be sure we were in for another great season.

We definitely upgraded the pass catchers. Justin Gage came on at the end of last year and looked really, really good. I don't expect him to go over 1,000 yards or anything this year, but he's a solid WR, and should continue to be. Bo Scaife is a good TE, and can make the nice catch and long run when we need him to. Alge Crumpler is now older, and fatter, but is a great blocker and can make catches when we need him to.

The new blood comes in the form of 2 players. The first is our "big" (not really) free agent signing - Nate Washington, formerly of the Steelers. This guy was never a top receiver for them, but seemed to be there to haul in the long bomb for Big Ben whenever he threw one up. It'd be nice if he could provide somewhat of a deep threat for Kerry, who still has a big arm, but my expectations are tempered. He's missed most of the preseason with injuries, so I have no idea what to expect from this guy in our offense.

The other player is someone most have probably never heard of. We drafted a TE in the 3rd round (ahead of Chase Coffman - surely you jest!) by the name of Jared Cook.


Ok, this guy is a freak. We already have Scaife and Crumpler, so I wasn't sure why we "wasted" a pick on a rookie TE, but after seeing him play, I get it. The dude is like 6'6", 250, and runs like a gazelle. He's got great hands from what I've seen too. Big as a TE, fast as a WR. Oh my. He will be fun to watch for the next 10 years, especially in this offense, where the tight end is king. I could see him lining up as the 3rd or 4th WR in pass situations too - he's just that gifted. I just hope he can stay healthy, as he already has some injury issues that may keep him out of our first game. He has the potential to be great. I just hope he's more Antonio Gates, and less Ben Troupe (all the talent in the world, but injuries and poor hands cost him his career).

And the O-Line. I love em. Great. Maybe the best part of our team. The personnel has been pretty uniform over the past few years, and that's usually the most important thing for an Offensive Line. They played unbelievable last year. Chris Johnson and Lendale White ran for over 2,000 yards and 25 TD's combined last year. I've previously said that if Lendale White does good, then you must have a great O-Line, because Lendale White (Ohio State sucks!!) is an awful running back. Just terrible. So if he gets almost 800 yards rushing (including an 80!!! yard TD vs. the Chiefs) and 15 TD's in a time-share situation, your O-Line is great. And they are.

Also, Kerry Collins was sacked a grand total of 8 times in 16 games last year. In case you hadn't noticed, Kerry Collins is 36 years old, and isn't exactly the most mobile QB in the world. So that few sacks allowed means you're doing something great. And that's the O-line.

So, I love the Defense, am ok with the receivers, love the Tight Ends and love the O-line. So why am I heading into this season with a bit of apprehension? Since I've rambled for the better part of forever now, and most people stopped reading at "Sweet", I'll go ahead and save that for part 2 of my post, which I'll type up right before the season opener tomorrow.

But here's a sneak peek at why I'm not as confident as I was last year: 2 players. One of them will not surprise you. His name is Vince Young. He's still pretty much a piece of shit. The other one will surprise you. His name is Chris Johnson. Why does CJ worry me? Didn't I say earlier that he was the MVP of this team last year? (yes I did) Check back tomorrow to find out.....

In the meantime, enjoy some highlights from the NFL's fastest and most exciting player.

Countdown to Dominiation, 2009

First victim: Pittsburgh Steelers. You bastards were lucky to miss us last year, because we would've handed your asses to you, just like we did in Week 16.

Clint - What happened?

121-63?

Good god man. At least the Hornets didn't give up at the end, as evidenced by the whopping 24 points they scored in the 2nd half. Where's the heart? Sounds like you need some more Scolas, Hayes, Wafers and Landrys on your team (those are NBA players, not brands of crackers). I never thought a CP3-led team would go out like this. Please tell me you went to this game...

Update

Haven't posted in awhile. Since January in fact. Meanwhile, Matt and Justin keep right on posting, trying to make me and Clint look bad. Big mistake. Now I'm bringin' the thunda'. I don't need a bunch of fancy weekly posts to get my thoughts across. I just need like a quarterly newsletter update. Simple, concise, and more importantly, less work for me. So here's it is:

• Titans choked.
• Astros suck
• Rockets look good.
• MSU Bears basketball sucks, but they have hope.
• MU basketball was fun to watch and had an exciting run.
• I guess MSU baseball is ok, but started out slow and got better as the season went into conference play or something. I can't even really pretend to be interested in college baseball.
  
• I was sick for a week, then I got better. Daytime TV sucks. It's like they put the crappiest shows on first, and they get slightly better as the day wears on, culminating in Seinfeld and Family Guy/The Office on during primetime. But during the day it starts with crap like Yes Dear and old cheesiness like Home Improvement.
• Nicholas Cage gets a lot of crap, (and rightly so, based on movies like Bangcock Dangerous, 8MM, and The Wicker Man), but the man gets a nearly lifetime-long free pass based on Raising Arizona (good call, Clint), and a bevy of other solid to really good movies like The Rock, Matchstick Men, Adaptation and Nat'l Treasure. Check out his resume. I think overall, there's more hits than misses.
  
• Bedtime Stories and Paul Blart: Mall Cop had some of the worst acting/writing I've seen in recent memory. I believe both of these movies were very successful at the box office. That's sad. I still love the Sand-man and think Kevin James himself is hilarious.
  
• That new Judd Apatow movie called Funny People looks awesome. Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jason Schartzman. Could be another classic, though the tone of the trailer looks a bit more serious than all out funny.
• I haven't been to Funacre this year. I need to go. There's a new indoor mini golf place over by Food4Less. I want to check that place out. I've always wanted to play at a mini-golf place that had a bunch of quirky, playable obstacles like the course in Happy Gilmore. I never have though. When I make my millions, I'm opening up that kind of mini-golf course. There will also be drinking allowed. And I will donate 50% of my profits to Funacre, just to make sure the golf nazi stays in business.
  
• The newest Metallica album rocks my face off. Listening to "All Nightmare Long" while riding my bike or lifting weights makes me feel like running through a brick wall and then punching Chuck Norris in the face repeatedly.
  
• I think Clint changing his blog's color theme to match his "in-season" team's colors is not at all gay.
  
• This blog post is beginning to remind me of that Larry King parody Norm MacDonald used to do on SNL. I'll bet I can find a link by using the magic of google. Yep. But there's no video. NBC gets all huffy with their stuff ending up on Youtube. A-holes. Norm MacDonald is awesome.
  
• It doesn't bother me that Chad doesn't like and has no interest in sports. But it does bother the shit out of me that Chris doesn't like sports. I can't accept it. Quit lying, Max. You know you like sports. You goddamn scientologist.
  
• I know Chris Baer has a notebook (more likely a boxful of notebooks) filled with drawings of dicks somewhere in his place. I picture a complete comic series starring Mr. Dick N. Nuts and crew spread out across those notebooks. The fact that he masterbates to these comics does not make him gay. You see, they're his comics....
• It is now acceptable to own a Snuggie.
• I wish the Titans had drafted Chase Coffman (he was drafted like 9 spots later). Instead, they took another TE in the 3rd round. Hope that wasn't a mistake.
• The PS3 is better than the 360.
• People that move away from Springfield suck.
• Matt still owes me $3 from poker.
• I think Clint broke my finger when we played basketball back in March, b/c it still hurts. Explain again why I was guarding you?
• I'm starting to work out again with an eye on winning the race across the pond this summer.
  
• Blogging is a lot easier when its done only 4 times per year, is in list format, and consists of random thoughts with no central theme.
  
• My blog is better than your blog.

Fin.

The MVC Shuffle

Not sure if anyone has seen this. Um. Not sure what there is to say about it, frankly....




So there you go.

NFL Playoff Predictions

Trying to predict the NFL is futile. You may be able to get 60% of the games right on a weekly basis if you're just going straight up, but picking against the point spread, it's nearly impossible to get >50% consistently. Those people in Vegas that set the spreads know what they're doing. You might as well just flip a coin if you're betting on the spread, no matter how much you think you know about football.

As far as the playoffs go, everyone I've heard or read this year seems to be looking for "this year's Giants" that will come on strong at the end of the year and win the Superbowl from a 5 or 6 seed wild card. I hate the reactive sports society we seem to live in these days, where everyone just seems to react to what happened most recently to determine what will happen next. It's ridiculous. Just because the Giants won the Super Bowl last year from the Wild Card doesn't mean it has to happen again this year with someone like the Ravens, Colts, Falcons or Eagles. Jesus people, think outside of the comfort zone for once. I know the Giants did it last year (barely, just barely, beat the Pats on a miracle play), and the Steelers and Colts before that, but that has no bearing on what will happen this year.

Everyone's darling (this year's "Giants") seems to be the Colts. Sure they finished strong, winning 9 in a row to close out the year, but I still don't see them winning it all. That Defense is just too weak, and their Offense, while still good w/ Manning and Wayne, has taken a step back from the past couple years. They beat up on a pretty weak schedule for much of their recent streak, and had to pull out some squeakers. Still, 12 wins is 12 wins, and they're a good football team. Just not a Super Bowl team.

This year's Giants? There is none. There doesn't have to be. Jeez.

Onto the predictions, which are sure to be completely wrong, but hell, I'll give it a shot based on my 17 weeks of NFL Sunday Ticket-watching this year:

Wild Card:

AFC
Chargers over Colts
Ravens over Dolphins

NFC
Falcons over Cardinals
Eagles over Vikings

Divisional:

AFC
Titans over Ravens
Steelers over Chargers

NFC
Eagles over Giants
Panthers over Falcons

Conference Championships:

AFC
Titans over Steelers

NFC
Panthers over Eagles

Super Bowl XLIII:

Tennessee Titans vs. Carolina Panthers


Yeah, right. Like I'm gonna predict this game and jinx my team even further? I'm already playing with fire by predicting the Titans make the Super Bowl. I'll predict this game, if and when we get there.

There they are. I'm sure it'll be fun looking back at this in a few weeks to see just how wrong I was. Maybe I should've just flipped a coin and see how that bracket turned out. I think I may do just that...

Happy New Year!!

Titans finish the season 13-3, #1 seed, favorite in the AFC, and I'm still scared out of my mind...

Long time, no post-y. Don't worry, I'll make up for it now.

I don't expect my fears about the Titans to garner any sympathy from my friends, who are mainly fans of the Chiefs (2-14) and Rams (2-14. Also they're gay....), but I don't care. Look, I'm the one who predicted this could be a Super Bowl team way back during Week 1, as long as we had a QB who wouldn't mess too many things up. That's exactly what we got this year from Kerry Collins. Still, the Steelers game aside, this team just hasn't looked right for the last 5-6 weeks (ever since I attended the Jets debacle, coincidentally).

Look, I'm uber happy that we got the bye and homefield - hopefully some rest for Haynesworth, Vandenbosch and our offense will do them well. Still, the AFC is pretty stacked and pretty even this year. The one team I don't really fear in the 2nd round (the Dolphins), is the only team we can't end up playing (b/c they're the #3 seed, even though the Colts and Ravens have better records - stupid NFL). So that leaves either the Colts, Ravens or Chargers as our 2nd round foe. Great.

The freaking Chargers, led by Marmalard himself, beat us twice last year, once in the playoffs. I hate that team, hate their bitch QB, and I fear their offense. They are looking kinda scary hot right now, but maybe they just need an old fashioned beat down by a physical Titans defense to set them straight and shut them up - something they didn't have to face all year in the AFC West. Fear Factor (scale of 1-10): 7

I am one of the few people, apparently, that just doesn't think the Colts are that great this year. At least not nearly as good as they have been in the past 5-6 years or so. But still, it's Peyton Manning, and that bastard can win the game for them on his own. I don't think they're as good as 12-4 indicates, but Peyton is still Peyton, and has tormented us in the division for years now (even though we beat him in the only game that mattered vs. the Colts this season). Fear Factor: 6

And the Ravens? Man, they scare me the most. As I said before, I hate playing the Ravens. We beat them earlier this year, but that was due to a late "comeback" after we were down 10-3 for much of the 2nd half. The Ravens played better that game, but steady Kerry Collins came through at the end to get us the W. Now it looks like Flacco is much more poised than he was in the earlier meeting, so that added to their sick defense is a scary proposition. Plus, Ray Lewis is a scary mofo that always acts like he wants to eat your children. Or at least help you beat a murder rap by obstructing some justice. I hate when justice is obstructed. Let's just say I'll be pulling for the Fins to knock out the Ravens this weekend :) Fear Factor: 9


This all being said, I think the Titans have the best team in the AFC this year, and I see no reason why we shouldn't win 2 and be playing in Tampa for SuperBowl XLIII in a few weeks. It's just a matter of making sure the team that shows up is the same one that beat the Steelers, Colts and Ravens this year, and not the one that laid that stinky egg vs. the Jets a few weeks back.

Oh, and by the way, Steelers fans - you deserved this, you Terrible Towel-waving, obnoxious bastards:



If you really need something like this to fire you up next time we play, then I'm much less worried about your loser of a team than I was before. Stomp that towel, Len-fatty!!!

Kerry Collins, Dominant Defense, and Justin "12-Gage", Shoot Undefeated 10-essee to 10-0...

I rule at cheesy fake newspaper headlines...

What to say about today's win. I'm still shocked. We looked so bad in the 1st half, both offensively and defensively. We had our 4th string corner and backup-backup D-linemen in there due to injures, but still, the Titans just flipped a switch in the 2nd half (just like last week vs. the Bears) and turned a 14-3 deficit into a 17-14 lead in like 3 minutes. Kerry Collins got it done through the air for the 2nd straight week, and Jeff City/Mizzou product Justin Gage (who's been plagued w/ a case of the dropsies this year) came up big with 2 long TD catches.

10 and freakin 0 - Undefeated!!! This line is getting old, but I can't believe it. I hope the Titans can treat me to a win next week vs. the 7-3 Jets, since I'll be in the stands cheering em on. Hopefully I can break my streak of never seeing the Titans win at games I've been to in Tennessee. 0-for-4 so far. At least the law of averages is in my favor...

Go Titans!!!

MSU Bears Basketball - Game #1 @Auburn tonight

According to this, we're gonna be a bit shorthanded tonight:

"Junior guard Justin Fuehrmeyer has joined the ranks of walking wounded and won't make the trip. He's sidelined an estimated four weeks after severely spraining an ankle during Wednesday's practice.

Also on the injury list: freshman guard Derron Hobbs (ankle sprain, out 2-3 weeks); freshman forward Dominick Brumfield (stress fracture in right foot, out 4-6 weeks) and senior guard Shane Laurie (post-concussion symptoms, out indefinitely).
...
Martin's revised starting five, as of this morning, is a big unit: Spencer Laurie (6-1) and Chris Cooks (6-4) at guards; Ryan Jehle (6-6) and Wade Knapp (6-8) at forwards and Isaiah Rhine (6-10) at center.

The bench (which will have more open seats than tonight's Eagles concert in JQH Arena) will find a trio of frehsmen: forwards John Hayward-Mayhew and Kyle Weems and guard Cardell McFarland."



Wow. Rhine starting? I was really hoping we could limit Rhine's minutes this year and let him develop some more. 3 freshman as our only bench players? But I guess Cuonzo is left with few options but to require big minutes from everyone that's healthy. Maybe it's a good thing this first game isn't on TV. I guess we'll see (or hear, from Art) what our boys can do tonight. Although Auburn isn't that great of a team, even though they're SEC, I think with the huge amount of injuries, the amount of newcomers/inexperienced players that will be playing big minutes tonight, and the fact that it's on the road - if the Bears keep this thing within single digits, I'll be excited.

Go Bears!!

Missouri State Basketball - Impressions after the two Exhibition games

This will serve as a supplement/expansion to Matt's excellent introductory round-up of the opening impressions of the team.

Fun fact: Did you know Coach Cuonzo was 0 for 7 from three-point range in his first 2 years at Purdue? After that, did you know in his next two years he was among the NCAA leaders from three, going 179-390 (45.9%) in his junior and senior seasons? Man, you think he might have run some more plays for Ahearn (i.e. any...) if he was the coach here back a few years back?

Anyway, I went to the 1st half of the first Exhibition game, then most of tonight's 2nd Exhibition game. Overall impression of the team is...sloppy. Especially the first game. They were a tad sharper tonight, but still pretty sloppy overall. But I guess that should be expected from a team that has so many newcomers and inexperienced guys playing big minutes. The outside game looked alright - several guys on this team can knock it down from 3. Though I did notice several shots over the 2 games with guys who were right on the line, for essentially a 20 foot 2-pointer. This will probably happen early on in the season for all teams as the players adjust to the new 3 point line, which is now at 20'9" (one foot farther back). Overall, I was pretty impressed w/ Spence, Cooks, Weems and McFarland from the outside. Fury has yet to find his stroke through these first 2 games though.

As far as the inside game, I'm not sure it's fair to judge vs. the competition that was in our first 2 games. The first team had like a few guys who were around 6'7", and that was the extent of their "big men." Knapp looked pretty good against them. Tonight, the East Central team from Oklahoma did have a 6'10" guy that presented a more stout challenge to our big men, and they looked worse than in the first game. Knapp had a Drew Richards-esque first half tonight, with like 4 points, 2 quick fouls, and maybe 6 total minutes played due to the foul trouble. He stepped it up a bit in the 2nd half and started to look better. Looks like he had a good stroke at the line though, and it should be a nice change to have our big guy be able to hit more than 40% of his FT's.

Continuing on the inside game, I didn't get to see Creekmore play due to eligibility (as Matt said, he'll be available 2nd semester), but I did get to see Isaiah Rhine give it a shot in the post. He looks really raw. Kinda slow too. Maybe like a shorter, smaller, rawer version of JP Nelson. But he's a freshman, and I wouldn't expect much from him this year, aside from hopefully some signs of development. Overall, it's tough to give an accurate gauge of our inside prowess, b/c of the lack of size we were going against. Although the MVC is hardly a big guy-centric league, we will be facing a lot taller and bigger guys as the conference season wears on. We're probably gonna have to outsmart, outquick and outhustle the opposition on the inside this year, b/c we probably don't have the size to body up with most teams.

I've heard a lot of Cuonzo wanting to instill a new and ferocious defense-centric philosophy first, which is probably needed because we may have trouble scoring points this year. I did like some of the ball pressure I saw, and we seemed to get in a lot of passing lanes for tons of steals in the Exhibition games. I did see a lot of our guards get blown by far too easily on the perimeter, but it seems like we have a lot of potential quickness on the defensive perimeter - maybe the guys just need some more practice and conditioning with Cuonzo's intense defensive plan.

As far as the individual players go, I'll give brief summaries of what I've seen so far:

Chris Cooks #3

He's our best player this year, probably by a long ways. He will likely lead the team in points, shots, minutes, steals, hustle plays, and maybe even rebounds. The guy just goes, all the time. That results in a lot of hustle steals, fastbreak finishes, and plenty of inside rebounds/put backs. Also plenty of turnovers and out of control plays, though he seems to have had fewer TO's in the first 2 games. I can't really say he's great at any single thing, but he's above-average-to-good at just about everything. Even though he's only 6'4", he can play the 1, 2, and 3 spots, and even occasionally play the 4 spot, just because he's such a bulldog in there. A definite starter.

Wade Knapp #15

I'd agree w/ Matt and say he looks a LOT better this year. More aggressive, better inside moves, decent touch inside, and just overall looks more comfortable. He's 6'8", and will probably play the 5 spot in our lineup, which means he'll be going up against every team's biggest guy every night. I hope he can hold up on the defensive end. A definite starter.

Spencer Laurie #10

As much as I like to give Splaurie crap (his new nickname, due to the "Sp. Laurie" name on the back of the jersey this year), I'd have to say he's looked pretty good so far in the 2 games. He was definitely more aggressive w/ the outside shot tonight, and knocked down several 3's. No doubt when he gets hot, he's pretty darn good, I fear that he's too passive most of the time, and will tend to drift out of games if he doesn't get his shots early. He also doesn't take enough shots from inside the 3 point line - he needs to get by his guy(which he can) and look for his shot from 15 feet and in more often. He's a senior, and needs to be a leader this year - no time for passiveness. Likely a starter, and will get big minutes.

Shane Laurie #12

I guess he'll be Shlaurie this year. He's concussed, so I haven't seen him play this year. You know what you get from him though - good defensive tenacity, some breakaway layups, and the occasional 3-pointer. Not sure his status now, but will probably get good minutes as a senior.

Justin Fuehrmeyer #00

I love the Fury, but what's the deal with the double zeros? I mean, who picks 00 as their jersey number of choice, outside of 7-footers? He has yet to find his shot this year, but I love the Fury. He's more aggressive than the Lauries on offense, but not as good as an on-the-ball perimeter defender. Off and on starter, and should log big minutes.

Deron Hobbs #1

He didn't play tonight, but I saw him in the first game. He's rail-thin, and looks like he should be really quick. However, I was not that impressed with his ability to get by defenders with the ball, and he was often blown by on the dribble by the inferior competition of our first Exhibition opponent. I didn't see him hit any outside shots, or inside shots that I can recall, for that matter. Seemed to turn the ball over a lot too. Overall, a rough first performance. I did hear afterward that he was just coming back from a knee injury during the first game, so that perhaps contributed to his lack of quickness and overall ineffectiveness. The knee could've been the injury that kept him out tonight. Not sure what to expect from Hobbs this year. A wild-card.

Cardell McFarland #23

Along w/ Hobbs, another small guard newcomer this year. Didn't play first game, but did play decent minutes tonight. I was much more impressed with him than I was Hobbs. Seems to have good range and quicks on the outside. Although he's a freshman, he is 21 years old, and unsurprisingly, seems more developed, comfortable and mature out there on the floor than our other freshmen. I was encouraged by how he looked tonight, and am hopeful he can be a contributer this year, likely off the bench behind the the more senior Lauries and Fury, but hopefully can log some quality minutes.

Kyle Weems #34

A 6'6" redshirt freshman this year. Again, I agree w/ Matt - he's looked pretty good so far though the first two games. Like McFarland, looks less raw and more comfortable out there on the floor than our other new guys likely to log big minutes this year. He seems to have a good outside game, but I haven't really see him do anything on the inside. Seems to play bigger than 6'6" frame, seems to be pretty strong. Kinda reminds me of a smaller Blake Griffin from Oklahoma (though obviously not quite as good :) Should be able to log decent minutes off the bench, and could even start early on due to the lack of other guys w/ any sort of size on our team who have looked good. Word on the street (i.e. Art's show) is that Coach thinks Weems is our best offensive threat, but a big defensive liability, and will need to improve on the defensive end in order to get good minutes this year. I'm optimistic about the ceiling of this guy.

John Hayward-Mayhew #31

6'8" freshman from Oregon. Not really anything memorable from him through the first two games. Nothing great, but nothing really bad I can recall either. Not sure what to expect from him.

Dominick Brumfield #32

6'7" freshman from prep school in California. Didn't play the first game. Played tonight, but again, like Hayward-Mayhew, nothing too memorable. Seemed to handle the rock decently off the dribble, but for some reason, he ended up on the ground 5-6 times tonight, both on offense and defense. Again, not sure what to expect from him this year.

Isaiah Rhine #50

6'10" freshman from Versailles, MO. Played both exhibition games. Right now, looks as raw as they come. Like Drew as a freshman - maybe more raw. Slow. Looks like he's wearing size 25 sneakers out there the way he's plodding around. I don't imagine he'll be playing too much this year, though he's one of our few guys with size, so maybe 5-10 mintues per game. I'm hoping to see some development as the season progresses.

Ryan Jehle #30

Last but not least, a 6'6" sophomore from Overland Park. Didn't play much last year. Has looked OK, I guess, through the first two games. I'm not sure what his game is. He doesn't seem to have that great a touch from outside. Has some decent bulk, but didn't really see him body anyone up in the post on offense. Again, not sure what to expect from him this year. Probably the 2nd or 3rd guy off the bench, and maybe logs 20 minutes or so per game. Maybe more if he develops a definitive outside and/or inside game.

I sat in the front row tonight for the game, and got to see Jehle up close. I was struck by how much this guy looks like Clint Baer. Seriously. Ryan Jehle - the lost Baer brother....


So that's it for my impressions after the first few games. I'm excited about the new season, the new Cuonzo regime, and seeing our new players develop. And oh yeah, the new arena, which will probably be the main attraction for people at the first several games (i.e. bandwagon arena fans). Unfortunately, judging by the rawness of the squad that I saw, and the schedule the first few games (Auburn, Cent. Michigan, Arkansas, Utah), I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a very slow start. But I'm willing to be patient this year and watch Cuonzo mold this squad into something we can hopefully be proud of at the end of the year, and for the years to come.

Go Bears!!!