I know more than a few ladies who root for a particular sporting team because they claim to like that particular teams' uniforms. This reasoning has always flummoxed me. Until last week, that is, when I found myself in a public house watching a figure skating competition on TV.
I found myself rooting for a particular competitor for the exact same reason.
"What has to be recognized is that the job of an NFL official is difficult and dangerous. Imagine being an NFL umpire. You're positioned five yards behind the line of scrimmage in the defensive backfield. There are linebackers on either side, receivers running in front and behind you and quarterbacks throwing balls that go whizzing past your head. It's like being locked inside of a washing machine on spin cycle.
Your first task is to avoid being killed and second, look for holding. By the way, you're 60 years old and this is your hobby. Good luck. "
Read the whole thing.
After the mythical championship game has been played, here are the final top 25 for the first ever Jeff Mentzer Rankings.
Still playing with the suggestions, may incorporate into next years rankings. The higher ranked teams in the top 25 from pre-bowl rankings went 11 - 5 in the bowls.
As I have been encouraged to publish my rankings, I will not tell you how I come up with these numbers, but I will let you know my top 25. I rank all of the teams, but the following is just the top 25.
Have fun and let's see if my #1 Texas is really better than my #2 of USC.
In the old days, the Minnesota Vikings played NFL football in Metropolitan Stadium, an outdoor facility in Bloomington, MN. Even though the Vikings hey-dey during those years was under the leadership of "Nice Guy" head coach Bud Grant, the Vikings were a bunch of tough, cold and ruthless overachievers. Playing outdoors in Minnesota in December will do that to a football team.
Then the Vikings moved indoors into the Metrodome; and they got soft. They've had some good teams, but have yet to win a big football game in the indoor era. Not one.
Vikings management in the indoor era has fiddled around, coddling players and coaching staffs, ignoring weaknesses on one side of the ball or the other and never demanding accountability from anyone in the organization.
Yesterday, the Vikings whipped the division champion and hated rival Chicago Bears 34-10 to finish with a 9-7 record after a 2-5 start. A nice turnaround, but, apparently nice isn't going to cut it anymore.
Zygi Wilf, who bought the Vikings this past summer from former fiddler Red McCombs, fired head coach Mike Tice after the victory. Before the locker room had even cleared. Tough, cold, ruthless. Accountability demanded.
No more fiddling. Zygi plays guitar.
"It doesn't mean anything. Like "RamaLamaDingDong" or "Give Peace a Chance"."
- Homer Simpson
The Vikings recent run of 6 straight victories came to an end Sunday in an 18-3 loss to the Steelers.
My hero, Brad Johnson, finally showed his mortality with a couple of bad interceptions, but hell, even "Fran the Man" had a bad day here and there.
For the first time in years, the Vikings have what appears to be a competent defense. I hope they keep the defense together, sign Brad Johnson for next year, let Culpepper go and spend their money on a kick-ass running back.
I am the only quarterback in the history of the NFL to have completed a touchdown pass to myself.
Who am I?
The Minnesota Vikings are 3-0 in November after defeating Green Bay last night at Lambeau field. The Vikings leading receiver last night was tight end Jermaine Wiggins with 7 receptions for 67 yards.
Wiggins has spindly legs and a beer belly.
Brad Johnson is the best quarterback the Vikings have had since Fran Tarkenton.
***You Passed 8th Grade Math***
Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!
Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?
2 yr. old colt "Justawalkinthepark" , Joe Bravo up, breaks his maiden going away by 7 1/2 lengths earning a "90" Beyer rating for the effort in only his second start.
"Justawalkinthepark"s syndicate ownership includes a friend of the Free Advice blog. The colts trainer believes this colt may be Kentucky Derby material. The colt earned a 77 Beyer rating in the first race of his career, which is a better rating than half of last years Derby entrants in their 1st career starts.
If in any figure AacE, terminated by the right lines Aa, AE, and the curve acE, there be inscribed any number of parallelograms Ab, Bc, Cd, &c., comprehended under equal bases AB, BC, CD, &c., and the sides, Bb, Cc, Dd, &c., parallel to one side Aa of the figure; and the parallelograms aKbl, bLcm, cMdn, &c., are completed. Then if the breadth of those parallelograms be supposed to be diminished, and their number to be augmented in infinitum; I say, that the ultimate ratios which the inscribed figure AkbLcMdD, the circumscribed figure AalbmcndoE, and curvilinear figure abased, will have to one another, are ratios of equality.
- Sir Isaac Newton (Principia Mathematica)
Sometime after World War I, Albert Einstein became an outspoken supporter of Zionism. This made him highly unpopular in certain circles. His theories came under attack; an anti-Einstein organization was set up. One man was convicted of inciting others to murder Einstein (for which he was fined 6 dollars).
When a book was published entitled 100 Authors Against Einstein, he retorted, "If I were wrong, then one would have been enough!"
- Stephen Hawking (A Brief History of Time)
I watched the end of the movie "The Freshman" on television the other day. Matthew Broderick is a college freshman who unwittingly gets in cahoots with the mob. Marlon Brando plays "Carmine Sabbatini", the head mobster.
The climactic scene is a lavish dinner party hosted by Carmine Sabbatini. The entertainment for the dinner party is none other than Bert Parks (he of Miss America Pageant host fame). One of the numbers Bert sings for the dinner guests is "Maggies Farm" and I must say that the very notion of the Miss America Pageant host singing a Bob Dylan tune, coupled with the contrast of styles between Parks and Dylan is at least as captivating as an automobile wreck. Perhaps even a train wreck.
"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."
- Albert Einstein
ESPN News is reporting that the portly Aruban Knight has been traded to San Diego for Phil Nevin. Thoughts?
59-year-old Akira Haraguchi of Japan recently broke the world record for the recited number of digits of Pi. Haraguchi-san recited an amazing 83,431 digits of Pi during a 13-hour overnight stretch. See The PI World Ranking List for more records for memorizing PI, e and the sqare root of two while or while not juggling.
Tiger Woods has won the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National 4 times. He took the green jacket in 1997, 2001, 2002 and most recently in 2005.
Augusta National performed extensive renovations to the golf course in 1998 and 2003.
Augusta National is at it again.
...ever wonder why its soooo deadly? I'm using it in my chemistry research to chop up DNA... well, not just chop it up, more like mutilate (sp?) it! Of the two species of snake venom I'm using, both completely tear up DNA in to its basic units. Remember, DNA is the blueprint for everything biological. So you can imagine someone may not make it when a snake bite turns that blue print into paper shreds.
Okay, so I was watching some movies at the beach, and Will Smith popped up in a couple. Yeah, he's more famous for his tv role in the Fresh Prince of Bel Aire..... but he's done some cool movies also (and he raps... but lets not talk about that). Below I ranked his movies from the best to the worst, but I think I'm missing a movie or two. Let me know if you can think of them. (Also, I never watched Ali, but I figured it couldn't be worse then the ones below it. Also, I haven't seen his new movie "Hitch." It seemed like a chick flick... so maybe one of these days I'll get a girl to come over and we'll rent it. Thus, it's not ranked.
1. Independence Day
2. Men in Black I
3. Bad Boys I
4. iRobot
5. Ali
6. Bad Boys II
7. The Legand of Bagger Vance
8. Men in Black II
9. Wild Wild West
