Made it Into the Mailbag

Granted, it wasn't the Sports Guy's mailbag, but it'll do.

I'm a loyal reader of Tim Griffin's Big XII blog on ESPN and I sent him a question last week which made it into his mailbag.

Here's the text:

Ryan from Round Rock, Texas, writes: Tim, Why does everyone fawn over Josh Freeman? I know he has prototypical size for a QB, but he's maddeningly inconsistent. He's Chris Simms, except in a purple uniform. If I were Bill Snyder, I'd make him Kerry Meier 2.0 and put in a signal caller that can really read defenses.

Tim Griffin: The scouts I talk to all love Freeman's size and arm and his ability to move in and outside the pocket, but like you aren't enthralled with his consistency. I think he would do better to return to school, but I think some NFL team will make him a first-day selection if he was to declare.

And with all of the talk about the upcoming rookie salary scale, I think we'll probably see more players than ever declare for the draft this season.

Ruined!!

On our way up to visit family this weekend, we spent some time playing the alphabet song game, where you come up with a song that starts with every letter of the alphabet.

You know the song "He's got the whole world in His hands"?

As soon as we started singing it, my mind went to the scene in "Con Air" when they're leaving the old abandoned airport and Steve Buschemi is singing that while clutching the girl's doll. It's forever etched in my brain and I can't hear that song without thinking about that scene.

Pet Peeves

At work, there are windows along the hallway and on the door.
Why is it that people don't knock?
They just stand there at the door or the window and stare at you.
I guess they just expect me to sense they are there.
Do they think I am Darth Vader? (I can feel him)
Do they think I have eyes in the side or back of my head? (Ever see that episode of Outer Limits with the nanobots? Creepy!)
It bugs me to death.
I think I'll just start ignoring those people.

And another thing...
There is a guy at work that texts while he's on the pot.
I'm in there doing my business and I here this clicking in the stall next to me.
Does that person know they're being texted to from the john?
ICK!

And while we're here...
I'm beginning to be that old guy. You know the type.
Just a few short years ago I was that young punk weaving in and out of traffic, nearly causing a wreck every ten miles.
Tonight there was some jerk in a Spider that would tool around for a bit and just for fun start dartin in and out just because he could with his little sports car.
The best part? We stopped in Hillsboro and the doofus was wearing a Santa hat with a sly grin on his mug.
You know what happened next...he has to prove he's cool by blowing us off the line. Yeah, dude. You're cool. You just whupped a dude in the family car. Here's your sign.

Well, that about does it. Time to get these tired old bones to bed.

The Gory Details

Caution: If you've eaten recently or are not sitting down, come back when you're ready.

To get my beloved's take, click here.

These pictures are at the behest of the Zookeeper.

These are directly after the accident and before I cleaned up.

Please note: I understand that hairy legs aren't necessarily attractive, so adding the blood and subtracting some skin does not help at all.

Scraped nose and a bloody, but not busted, lip

Bloody elbow

Road rash on the right shoulder

Back of the left leg. I don't know where the flesh went. But I do miss it.

Front of left leg. The darker spots are some loose gravel from where the city has been repaving perfectly fine roads around our neighborhood. Something about beautification/upkeep.

All in all, not too bad. A lot of people have asked how my bike fared. The bike shop said it'd be about $65 to fix it. That sounds pretty cheap right? THAT'S BECAUSE MY LEFT LEG CUSHIONED THE BLOW!

The wheels looked okay. The only things that needed replaced were the quick-release mechanism and chain assembly on the back wheel. And the handlebars needed a little tweaking.

Yeah. But you should see the truck. Totalled the poor guy's Ram.

In all seriousness, though, I am very blessed to have walked away from this accident with what looks like only a sprained left knee and some road rash. PRAISE THE LORD!

Week 14 Rankings and the BCS

After last week saw no change in the top 6 spots in my rankings, it's time to publish my final rankings of the year. Again, I apologize for the formatting.


RC1 RC2 BCS
1 Oklahoma 12-1 0.9526 1 Texas 0.9583 1 Oklahoma 0.9757
2 Florida 12-1 0.9444 2 Oklahoma 0.9508 2 Florida 0.9479
3 Texas 11-1 0.9407 3 Florida 0.9427 3 Texas 0.9298
4 Texas Tech 11-1 0.9296 4 Utah 0.9240 4 Alabama 0.8443
5 Utah 12-0 0.9253 5 Alabama 0.9198 5 USC 0.8208
6 Alabama 12-1 0.9036 6 Texas Tech 0.9075 6 Utah 0.7846
7 Boise State 12-0 0.8953 7 Boise State 0.8931 7 Texas Tech 0.7840
8 Penn State 11-1 0.8943 8 Penn State 0.8929 8 Penn State 0.7384
9 Ohio State 10-2 0.8928 9 Ohio State 0.8894 9 Boise State 0.6980
10 Cincinnati 11-2 0.8741 10 Cincinnati 0.8738 10 Ohio State 0.6354
11 Georgia 9-3 0.8632 11 USC 0.8669 11 TCU 0.5848
12 TCU 10-2 0.8577 12 Pittsburgh 0.8661 12 Cincinnati 0.5384
13 USC 11-1 0.8524 13 Georgia 0.8597 13 Oklahoma State 0.4866
14 Georgia Tech 9-3 0.8487 14 TCU 0.8556 14 Georgia Tech 0.4516
14 Pittsburgh 9-3 0.8487 15 Michigan State 0.8477 15 Georgia 0.3775
16 Oklahoma State 9-3 0.8446 16 Oklahoma State 0.8422 16 BYU 0.3580
17 Florida State 8-4 0.8312 17 Ball State 0.8261 17 Oregon 0.3395
18 Michigan State 9-3 0.8310 18 BYU 0.8260 18 Michigan State 0.2866
19 BYU 10-2 0.8265 19 Georgia Tech 0.8258 19 Virginia Tech 0.2440
20 Ball State 12-1 0.8264 20 Nebraska 0.8195 20 Pittsburgh 0.2377
21 Virginia Tech 9-4 0.8216 21 Boston College 0.8194 21 Missouri 0.1627
22 Boston College 9-4 0.8207 22 Missouri 0.8192 22 Ball State 0.1464
23 Missouri 9-4 0.8202 23 Virginia Tech 0.8187 23 Northwestern 0.1377
24 North Carolina 8-4 0.8044 24 Florida State 0.8049 24 Boston College 0.1046
25 Nebraska 8-4 0.8024 25 North Carolina 0.8017 25 Ole Miss 0.0837
26 Ole Miss 8-4 0.7999 26 Ole Miss 0.7974
27 Northwestern 9-3 0.7955 27 Northwestern 0.7948

Some brief thoughts:
1. Except for USC & Oregen being too low and Florida State too high, RC1 was pretty close to the BCS, even jumping Florida over Texas this week. Last year RC2 was closer. That's the fun part.
2. Word to Nate Davis: The ball is not a live ferret. (More props to TMQ). Do not drop it or give it to the other team. (I know one wasn't your fault).

Now, onto the BCS.
You may or may not remember this post back on November 23rd. Let's just say that so far I am two for two. OU did jump Texas for the Big XII South title and the BCS Championship Game is Florida versus Oklahoma. Overall, I'm not too upset. After expecting four losses and only getting tagged with one (a game which we had no business winning), I'm good with how things broke.
Now, youz guyz wit da Burnt Ornge flowing tru dose veins, don't get too upset. I'm flummoxed by the BC-Mess just like everyone else is, but there's not going to be a playoff any time soon, no matter what the President-elect says. I urge Mr. Obama to focus on much more important things like Social Security, Wall Street and the like. With any format you look at with 4, 8 or 16 teams, we still have to go through Florida and OU again. With the 8-team format we'd beat USC fairly easily and then meet Florida. With a 16-team format, we'd take care of Georgia Tech (not without a good fight), then cruise past Utah before meeting Florida. Do we beat Florda? It's not outside the realm of possibility. Our D-line would cause some havoc, which is what Ole Miss used to defeat the Gators at The Swamp. Offensively, we've got more weapons than the Crimson Tide team that fizzled out in the SEC Championship Game. Beat them and we have a rematch with OU that we win or lose by a slim margin.

As far as The Ohio State University making it into the BCS, I think it's a sham. I'd much rather see Boise State in there.

Well, that's it for now. I'll check back later when bowl season starts.

What a Woman!

I know that you know that my Bride is a wonderful woman. Not only is she a godly woman, but she is a great wife to me, an awesome mother to my children and a super friend and family member.

I also know that you know that, like most men, I married up.

And while that corny line "You complete me" remains as corny as ever, it also has quite a bit of truth in it. See, I've historically been a bad finisher. And although last year was "The Year of Follow-through" for me, I still have leaps and bounds to go. But as we heard this past Sunday, I'm not going to get fixed, I'm just going to get better. That's where my Bride comes in.

This weekend brought the enormous task of leaf-gathering at our house. You know that it can be a rather back-breaking go of it after a while. And it was. I was ready to throw in the towel, but my Babe just kept raking. This lesson isn't just for me anymore. It's for my girls. They need not just a Mommy, but a Daddy as well, that knows how to follow through and finish a task, no matter what the cost.

So thanks Babe for being God's instrument for change in my life and instruction for our girls.

I love you.

:o*