Aight.
I said "What Was I Thinking?" was next, but there has been a change in plans. I thought it enjoyable to reminisce about all those times in my life that I've really felt like crap...in doing so, I realize how blessed I am. On average, I only deal with something about once or twice a year.
On top of that, people often ask what I do for a living. Well, I don't know if it's a living, but I get paid for it...I write a lot of articles that often have a "Top 10" or "Top 5" in the title. So. Here they are (and if you feel you remember a time when I was worse than one of these, please remind me). James and His Top 5 Funks.
#5 - Right Now.
February 25th, 2008 - February ??, 200? Let's get this one over with shall we? It started with the son getting the flu last week. We all avoided it. During the Oscar's, however, 75% of our household got nailed with the hackiest cough and cold/flu I have ever experienced. I RARELY get a fever, and last night, I turned our bed into a water bed when that sucker broke at 2:45 a.m. According to my sweet wife, I sat up in my sleep and said, "That's awesome! That's just awesome!" When asked what I was dreaming about, I replied, "A chocolate race car!" That's what you get for watching Chocolat while entering the 5th stage of delirium. (Great flic by the way.) So, for everything this funk has done to our household, the fact that we're now at 100%, a perfect 4 for 4, and especially the fact that it's February 27th, and 83 degrees outside, this unnamed funk takes the honor of #5.
#4 - Young James Lives in an Oxygen Tent
I don't really remember this one. Well, I don't remember the sickness...the oxygen tent, however, is one of my earliest memories. I didn't breathe well as a young'n, and due to some bronchial asthma, my parents took me to the hospital claiming that I wasn't breathing well. A nurse, clearly over-qualified to deal with such nonsense, sent my parents home. I guess it wasn't much later that I began to resemble a blueberry. The folks took me back to the hospital, the doctor was called in, and from what I've been told, ripped the nurse a new one!! Seriously! Don't you KNOW who I am? (If you all could hit that page at least once a day, that'd be awesome for me...) Digressing, I lived in a tent, just like John Travolta in The Boy in The Plastic Bubble.
#3 - Cough = Crap
Worst flu I ever had. I can't recall my age, but I had to be between 7 - 10 years old. Everytime I coughed...I crapped. Simple as that. Yeah, think about that one for a second, and you'll thank your heavenly Father the next time you cough and nothing comes out.
#2 - August Non-Survivor 1994
In the midst of our August 2-a days, aka football practice, I contracted a little something funky. You never want to miss a practice, and especially during August. If you do, then you're not a true "August Survivor." No sport ever thrashed my fitness level, and I was ALWAYS up for the challenge...especially the summer before my senior year. However, one night after practice, with maybe 4 days left in the 2-a day schedule...and about a pound of shared M&Ms and "too much" Fruit Punch Gatorade later...I was owned by viral attack... ...my yack smelled like chocolate and strawberries. Needless to say, no August surviving for me.
#1 - Spring 1995 - The Perfect (Puke) Storm
My folks blew town for a few days, and I remember my brother going with them...we had Friday and Monday off from school. I stuck around for a track meet being hosted that Friday afternoon in Bolivar, Missouri, and my track team was dominant, so there was no way I was missing a meet. My Dad left a note with instructions about a guy coming to fix (or replace) our hot water heater, and that if I needed water, there were several jugs in the refrigerator...if there was an emergency, or I had to turn the water on, the main valve was out in the yard.
Friday afternoon I could tell that I wasn't feeling it during the meet. I attributed my woes to fatigue or a poor performance day, yet didn't realize that my weekend was soon to become the weekend from hell. I dined on corn-dogs after my events (you can see where this is going), and proceeded to plan my stellar weekend with the boys...in fact, I didn't plan on setting foot in our household after grabbing a few clean clothes that night after the meet. By the time I got home, I felt like the walking dead. I remember rolling up the driveway in my 1987 Ford Escort GT, thinking, "I don't feel so great." I called a couple friends to let them know that I was feeling funky, but would come over around midnight after I had time to chill and watch some TV. I dozed off in my parents bedroom watching the tube, and just as planned, popped up right around midnight. No, I wasn't ready to go play...I knew that feeling...welling in my stomach...dashing across their bedroom and into the bathroom for a LAUNCH that would make the space program jealous! I made it to the toilet. Whew. When I came up for a breath, the second wave was waiting for me unexpectedly, and I yacked across the vanity mirror, counter and maybe even got a little into the sink. In fact, there's a good chance that my spew got more distance than I did earlier that day in the Long Jump.
I immediately felt better, although too weak to do anything but lie on the bathroom floor and moan..."Uhhhh. Uhhhhh. Uhhhhh this sucks I'm never eating corn dogs again...Uhhhh." About 15 minutes later, I got up in an effort to clean off the sink and mirror. Have you ever seen a chunk of hot dog stuck to a mirror? Such a thing cannot wait 'til morning. So, I turn on the faucet to get two little shots of water and air. "Please, God, no." All I could think of were my friends having the greatest of times less than a 5 minute drive away...and I'm staring at puke on my parent's mirror with no tangible way out of my predicament. I knew the toilet was good for one flush, so I took a moral victory in that and moved on to a new plan.
I picked up the phone, and called to the party..."Can someone come help me?" Fortunately, Chris Garner (aka G-Funk, and a forever friend), said he would come over to do the things that great friends do...sacrifice. By the time he made it over, I had used the jugs of water to clean the sink and mirror....even busting out the Windex at 1:00 a.m. So, I handed him a pair of pliers and asked him to go outside and turn the water back on (after all, this WAS an emergency), and he attempted to do so with no reluctance. Someone else was there helping Chris, but I can't remember who it was...maybe Tony Lounsberry (another forever friend)...and then things got really strange. After a few minutes, G-Funk comes back in, telling me, "There's a dead body down there." I was so delirious, I didn't even argue. "Ok, I'll check it out tomorrow." Chris hung out for awhile...at least until I felt better...although his view of the murderous Sheldon family had probably changed drastically. Flash forward to the next afternoon, and I found the dead body...some might have called it insulation packed into a 30 gallon trash bag, but "dead body," certainly sounded a whole lot cooler.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Bear With...I've Got Some Funk
Oh, how I wish it was George Clinton's brand of funk.
I fought hard, and am still fighting, but this "funk season" has been far worse than funk season's past.
I fought hard, and am still fighting, but this "funk season" has been far worse than funk season's past.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
No Eclipse For You!
Last full Lunar Eclipse until 2010. So Cal is under an incredible blanket of clouds. It's this way, hmmm 30 times a year? Way to go, moon, earth and sun...had to line up tonight, did ya?
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Happy Birthday to The Wife
There's only one. She's 28. And it's even rainin' a bit today.
We're going to Portos for a little breakfast, and then we'll see where our fat bellies lead us.
We're going to Portos for a little breakfast, and then we'll see where our fat bellies lead us.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Oh Thunder...
Oh, Thunder, please bring me, please bring me some Thunder...(sung to Barry Manilow's Mandy).
I have a niece that turned 18 today. That's scary. Happy birthday, Kass...if you happen to read this. When nieces and nephews hit that age, you know you're well on your way to Old Fartville. And when your kids hit that age, well, "Welcome to Old Fartville."
Like I said, our softball team got into the W column this weekend, with a rousing 10-4 win. And I had a softball first...I struck out LOOKING, in my first plate appearance. Seriously, I just stood in the box and stared at the ball until I saw something I liked. I think I may do it consistently, because I rarely get anything that I enjoy swinging at. It turned out that making the fella throw strikes early meant that he threw me strikes for every subsequent at bat. At that point, I could pretty much put the ball wherever. All of us for that matter, were putting the ball wherever. We played better in the field, and ran worse on the base paths, but bottom line...we won. You can all breathe now, as I know life couldn't have gone on had we lost another.
The skies are only partly cloudy today, so not a lot of thunder. As a matter of fact, I've been uninspired to write as of late. I used to rip one humorous piece o' prose after another, but it seems all my goods are going to "the man." It's not easy to write for hours a day, and then switch vehicles to write something that everyone would want to read...like a George W. Bush speechification. I just finished writing about Eco Friendliness, and now I've gotta write about vacationing in Savannah, Georgia...and "the man," in this case AOL Travel, has rules for writing...so I can't write, "When you get to Savannah, be sure to look up my friend Jennifer." However, I was once writing about vacationing in Thailand, and I wrote a sentence that went something like, "Awaken every morning to the tranquil sights and sounds of the Wang - it will wash your cares away." Because we all know that the Wang is a river in northern Thailand...
I wrote a new song earlier today, despite my lack of inspiration. Right now it's entitled, "Why Don't You Want Me Mr. Spielberg?" I think I may debut it on Oscar Night, or perhaps at the next Grace Cafe, but it's a gem, fo' sho'.
I'm gonna get back to work, so I can get out for a hike later! 70 degrees and sunny here in SoCal...top that, people in Missouri that own houses!
I have a niece that turned 18 today. That's scary. Happy birthday, Kass...if you happen to read this. When nieces and nephews hit that age, you know you're well on your way to Old Fartville. And when your kids hit that age, well, "Welcome to Old Fartville."
Like I said, our softball team got into the W column this weekend, with a rousing 10-4 win. And I had a softball first...I struck out LOOKING, in my first plate appearance. Seriously, I just stood in the box and stared at the ball until I saw something I liked. I think I may do it consistently, because I rarely get anything that I enjoy swinging at. It turned out that making the fella throw strikes early meant that he threw me strikes for every subsequent at bat. At that point, I could pretty much put the ball wherever. All of us for that matter, were putting the ball wherever. We played better in the field, and ran worse on the base paths, but bottom line...we won. You can all breathe now, as I know life couldn't have gone on had we lost another.
The skies are only partly cloudy today, so not a lot of thunder. As a matter of fact, I've been uninspired to write as of late. I used to rip one humorous piece o' prose after another, but it seems all my goods are going to "the man." It's not easy to write for hours a day, and then switch vehicles to write something that everyone would want to read...like a George W. Bush speechification. I just finished writing about Eco Friendliness, and now I've gotta write about vacationing in Savannah, Georgia...and "the man," in this case AOL Travel, has rules for writing...so I can't write, "When you get to Savannah, be sure to look up my friend Jennifer." However, I was once writing about vacationing in Thailand, and I wrote a sentence that went something like, "Awaken every morning to the tranquil sights and sounds of the Wang - it will wash your cares away." Because we all know that the Wang is a river in northern Thailand...
I wrote a new song earlier today, despite my lack of inspiration. Right now it's entitled, "Why Don't You Want Me Mr. Spielberg?" I think I may debut it on Oscar Night, or perhaps at the next Grace Cafe, but it's a gem, fo' sho'.
I'm gonna get back to work, so I can get out for a hike later! 70 degrees and sunny here in SoCal...top that, people in Missouri that own houses!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy VD (an update)
Remember ye olde days, when STDs were referred to as VDs? And now it's Valentine's Day. In all fairness, Valentine's Day is more likely referred to as V-Day. Either way, maybe it's more than coincidence? I bet there are more STDs tomorrow nation-wide than there are today... ...ewwwww.So, my softball team - STD free! Yep, I'm in the midst of a winter season, and playing on a team called The FundaMentals. We do, in fact, play pretty good fundamental ball. The problem is, we've got a lot of baseball players now playing softball. It's like putting a baseball on a tee and saying, "don't swing unless it's close"...nobody wants to take a walk, and thus, we don't have a win. The entire league is playing for a post season tournament seed, so even if we lose every regular season game, I would feel incredibly confident about the squad we put on the field - even as the worst tourney seed. However, I don't see it happening...I think our bats will heat up on Saturday and we'll knock one into the W column. That's the way it goes for an expansion team.
A couple weeks ago, I played a set at a new venue called Grace Cafe. Appropriate for a dude that has the word GRACE inked into his left forearm. It was hosted by the Glendale Church of Christ, and the environment was fantastic...not to mention the warm reception from a forgiving audience. And who can turn down free Starbucks coffee, a spread of home made cookies and free Wi-Fi? The crowd was mixed from homeless individuals to teenage skaters, and that was a beautiful thing to see. Anyway, I'll shout through this medium the next time one is going down, and everyone can come see me what I do mediocre. Maybe within the next few months, I'll have to get a band together and melt some faces in a Christian environment!
And..........Wid Winner and The Slipstream .......... There's some footage axed into a short reel of images that I've seen. You can take my word for it, it looks amazing, and the stuff still hasn't been touched in the refining process. Needless to say, that's exciting. I'm going to do my best to get a slice of it and slap it on here...create a fanbase for this flic before we even get it finished!
Game, Set and Match! Happy VD!
Monday, February 11, 2008
I Was Workin' on My Bike (A Little Deeper Into the Thunder)
Yeah...I haven't posted anything in a week...and here's the really long version of why. (And my attempt use the word "multiple" as much as possible without it becoming too very annoying.)
I used to be on my mountain bike every day. I remember hitting trails in Missouri, multiple times weekly - riding in the rain, thunderstorms, and that summer humidity that felt like you were riding in a giant mouth. I raced, finished high, finished low, finished like a champ and finished like I had never ridden a bike before.
In the fall of 1997, I bought what amounted to my dream mountain bike frame. We've all got that car, motorcycle, etc. that we dream of owning. For me, I'm a Chevy Corvette guy. I love Corvette racing, and I think I had 8 or 9 multiple-orgasmic experiences in the first 45 minutes of the Petit LeMans I attended in 2005. That solidified my Heartbeat of America. (There's something I bet ya didn't know about me...and maybe didn't want to.) In regards to motos: Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide. So, all this explains why I own a Subaru Forester and Suzuki Marauder...and the Subie I think is about to be traded for a Toyota Tacoma 4DR. Digressing...
My dream frame was the AMERICAN made Barracuda (none of that Chinese crap that was made after the company sold and then went belly up) Dos Equis XX Team Racing Frame. (Yes, as in, "When I drink beer...I drink Dos Equis..." sponsored, Barracuda Team Racing frame.)
It's amazing that equipment has a lot to do with a ride...as my forever-good-friend Josh Jones helped me build that beast from frame up after classes one day in 10/97. On my first ride, I rode faster, longer and stronger than I ever had before...
In the summer of '99, I had a choice of my first professional acting gig, and I chose a theatre in Durango, CO. Partly because Durango is a mountain biker's paradise...and partly because...well, I believed Durango was/is to play a serious role in my professional destiny. (I still do...did...that's another blog) I had vacationed there before, and the thought of living there for multiple months just seemed too good to be true. I got my taste for the town and then took an interest in doing some racing in Mountain Bike Country. I actually fared pretty darn well. I didn't have the time to train like I would have liked, but I was certainly a competitor in the circuit known as the Four Corners Cup. Unfortunately, I learned of all this deliciousness too late, and my experience was limited...where were you high speed Internet back then, with your information at the snap of a finger?
Long story longer, the frame has undergone many evolutions...stuff has come off of it, been put onto it...it's had multiple front forks, multiple sets of pedals...I'm hard on those suckers...derailleurs...handle bars, grips, tires, tires, tires, a couple saddles (that's the seat), brakes and so many tubes that I could've built the world's largest tribute to the Michelin Man.
The bike has been to Missouri, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, New York and now California. I have a sexy scar on my right wrist from a chain ring plunging into my skin...and as a matter of fact, many of the scars I have are in some way associated with this beautiful Barracuda.
About a year ago, Kristi got a new bike for her birthday, and I decided to once again overhual mine about 2 months later. I had been collecting new parts for upgrading, yet ran out of money on my way to the finish line. Groceries vs. Bike...if it were just me, it'd be Smack Ramen Noodles and water for multiple weeks to grab the gear, but...
I finally decided to salvage what I could salvage, clean it as if Martha Stewart were peering over my shoulder, and get it back on with the new stuff that I do have. This cleaning started maybe 6 weeks ago...yeah...pretty pathetic, I know, but what was the point of doing it this summer when my leg was busted?
Last week, I bought the one remaining item I needed (a new rear derailleur), and came home to put the finishing touches on a very sweet looking ride. (Nothing like accenting a red, white, blue and yellow-gold frame with a lime green fork.) As I was adjusting the rear derailleur, I had forgotten that I already stretched the new cables with an old derailleur that I tried to salvage...I'm stretching away on cables that don't really have any stretch left to give, coupled with the fact that the new derailleur wasn't properly aligned - that's when I felt all the tension in my shifter die as I was pressing hard with my thumb.
"Please tell me the cable popped..." I thought to myself.
I looked. Nope.
"Well, maybe it came loose at the derailleur...?"
I looked. Nope.
I busted my shifter pod. For the past week, I've been in one bidding war after another on Ebay, trying to find a vintage set of high-quality shifters like I had on this ride. I keep getting hammered by chick/female bidders! What's up with that? Don't they realize that I'm just a nice guy who wants to get back on his bike, and add some scars to his temporary earth flesh? Ebay is brutal, I tell ya.
My only other option is to grab a $19.99 Shimano Alivio shifter, and that would be like taking a shifter knob out of a Toyota Corrolla and putting it into a BMW...ain't gonna happen, ladies! So please, just let me win one of these auctions! Could I get some love from the sistas? Could you all do that mojo intuition stuff you do where you give each other the coldeye* from miles away?
That be that.
*A combination of the Cold Shoulder and Evil Eye.
I used to be on my mountain bike every day. I remember hitting trails in Missouri, multiple times weekly - riding in the rain, thunderstorms, and that summer humidity that felt like you were riding in a giant mouth. I raced, finished high, finished low, finished like a champ and finished like I had never ridden a bike before.
In the fall of 1997, I bought what amounted to my dream mountain bike frame. We've all got that car, motorcycle, etc. that we dream of owning. For me, I'm a Chevy Corvette guy. I love Corvette racing, and I think I had 8 or 9 multiple-orgasmic experiences in the first 45 minutes of the Petit LeMans I attended in 2005. That solidified my Heartbeat of America. (There's something I bet ya didn't know about me...and maybe didn't want to.) In regards to motos: Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide. So, all this explains why I own a Subaru Forester and Suzuki Marauder...and the Subie I think is about to be traded for a Toyota Tacoma 4DR. Digressing...
My dream frame was the AMERICAN made Barracuda (none of that Chinese crap that was made after the company sold and then went belly up) Dos Equis XX Team Racing Frame. (Yes, as in, "When I drink beer...I drink Dos Equis..." sponsored, Barracuda Team Racing frame.)
It's amazing that equipment has a lot to do with a ride...as my forever-good-friend Josh Jones helped me build that beast from frame up after classes one day in 10/97. On my first ride, I rode faster, longer and stronger than I ever had before...
In the summer of '99, I had a choice of my first professional acting gig, and I chose a theatre in Durango, CO. Partly because Durango is a mountain biker's paradise...and partly because...well, I believed Durango was/is to play a serious role in my professional destiny. (I still do...did...that's another blog) I had vacationed there before, and the thought of living there for multiple months just seemed too good to be true. I got my taste for the town and then took an interest in doing some racing in Mountain Bike Country. I actually fared pretty darn well. I didn't have the time to train like I would have liked, but I was certainly a competitor in the circuit known as the Four Corners Cup. Unfortunately, I learned of all this deliciousness too late, and my experience was limited...where were you high speed Internet back then, with your information at the snap of a finger?
Long story longer, the frame has undergone many evolutions...stuff has come off of it, been put onto it...it's had multiple front forks, multiple sets of pedals...I'm hard on those suckers...derailleurs...handle bars, grips, tires, tires, tires, a couple saddles (that's the seat), brakes and so many tubes that I could've built the world's largest tribute to the Michelin Man.
The bike has been to Missouri, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, New York and now California. I have a sexy scar on my right wrist from a chain ring plunging into my skin...and as a matter of fact, many of the scars I have are in some way associated with this beautiful Barracuda.
About a year ago, Kristi got a new bike for her birthday, and I decided to once again overhual mine about 2 months later. I had been collecting new parts for upgrading, yet ran out of money on my way to the finish line. Groceries vs. Bike...if it were just me, it'd be Smack Ramen Noodles and water for multiple weeks to grab the gear, but...
I finally decided to salvage what I could salvage, clean it as if Martha Stewart were peering over my shoulder, and get it back on with the new stuff that I do have. This cleaning started maybe 6 weeks ago...yeah...pretty pathetic, I know, but what was the point of doing it this summer when my leg was busted?
Last week, I bought the one remaining item I needed (a new rear derailleur), and came home to put the finishing touches on a very sweet looking ride. (Nothing like accenting a red, white, blue and yellow-gold frame with a lime green fork.) As I was adjusting the rear derailleur, I had forgotten that I already stretched the new cables with an old derailleur that I tried to salvage...I'm stretching away on cables that don't really have any stretch left to give, coupled with the fact that the new derailleur wasn't properly aligned - that's when I felt all the tension in my shifter die as I was pressing hard with my thumb.
"Please tell me the cable popped..." I thought to myself.
I looked. Nope.
"Well, maybe it came loose at the derailleur...?"
I looked. Nope.
I busted my shifter pod. For the past week, I've been in one bidding war after another on Ebay, trying to find a vintage set of high-quality shifters like I had on this ride. I keep getting hammered by chick/female bidders! What's up with that? Don't they realize that I'm just a nice guy who wants to get back on his bike, and add some scars to his temporary earth flesh? Ebay is brutal, I tell ya.
My only other option is to grab a $19.99 Shimano Alivio shifter, and that would be like taking a shifter knob out of a Toyota Corrolla and putting it into a BMW...ain't gonna happen, ladies! So please, just let me win one of these auctions! Could I get some love from the sistas? Could you all do that mojo intuition stuff you do where you give each other the coldeye* from miles away?
That be that.
*A combination of the Cold Shoulder and Evil Eye.
Monday, February 4, 2008
What Did I Say?
A little off on the score...Right on with the prediction.
Best Super Bowl I believe I've ever seen. And there's nothing like a classless coach who says to his team, "we're all about team," and then leaves the field while his defense has to endure one final snap...It always comes out in the wash, doesn't it? Nice, Bill. Nice.
I hate to say it, but the Patriots can blame Giselle Bundchen for the loss...not for her presence...rather, who drinks wine at an NFL football game?
Best Super Bowl I believe I've ever seen. And there's nothing like a classless coach who says to his team, "we're all about team," and then leaves the field while his defense has to endure one final snap...It always comes out in the wash, doesn't it? Nice, Bill. Nice.
I hate to say it, but the Patriots can blame Giselle Bundchen for the loss...not for her presence...rather, who drinks wine at an NFL football game?
Friday, February 1, 2008
Supa Bowl Prediction
Yeah. This idn't (that's right, it's nasty time), gon' be a prediction. This is gonna be a "how to" for the NY Giants. Why? I can't stand Tom Patriot and the creepy Scout leader Belichick. Do I admire them...you have no idea...there has never been a QB - Coach tandem that has brought the thunder like these two.
A coach says, "This is the way it's gonna be," and the quarterback executes the plan and sheperds the sheep...in this case, every player on this team has been "re-educated" on HOW to win. It makes perfect sense. You get great athletes and MAKE them believe, "If you play like this, you will be part of one of the greatest sports teams to ever play...BUT you have to play like this!" You ever hear a New England Patriot trash talk, or smear another player behind their back? This team is buying into a definitive system of "Delayed Gratification," almost as if Belichick has told these guys, "We'll work 'til retirement, achieve more than has ever been achieved, and once we're all done, we'll sit back and enjoy it." It's crazy...(why would I praise my opposition? Fire with fire...own medicine...the way of the Jedi).
Now, how do the Giants win? For starters, they're playing far enough from home, and their host of the greatest fairweather fans in sports. Here's the deal with NY fans. They'll always be fans of their team - die-hard...but they're quicker to boo than they are to cheer - why? 'Cause none of them know how to play football. Trust. Having lived in that city for a few years, I can tell you who has the best understanding of the game of football, and it ain't the residents of NYC. It's the fine folks of the Midwest and South. The best athletes I've ever played against are HERE in California; the athletes having the best understanding of the game, however...the middle of the U.S. and in SEC country... the kids who grew up in NYC and the surrounding area had very little football outlet...so it's not all their fault. Digressing, the Giants playing far from the boo birds is a great thing!
I don't think the G-Men will have a problem moving the ball down the field and putting points on the board. What it's going to come down to is stopping New England on 3rd down. If they can make the Patriots punt 4-5 times, I believe they can win the game. Keep in mind that during the regular season, the Patriots punted on average, 2.75 times per game. That's ridiculous. Yes, they converted several 4th downs, which helps that average. There may be no reason to think they wouldn't try and do the same thing on Sunday, but I believe this game holds a lot more weight to Coach Beli than he'll let on. They won't be taking unnecessary risks vs. the Giants...
In order to stop the Pats on 3rd down, the G-Unit is going to have to blitz, and take Kevin Faulk OUT of the mix...in essence, make him stay in the backfield to block. The corners will have to lock down, and it will be a high risk-high reward play, but I don't see any other way to rattle Tom Brady. That's KEY. As you watch the game, and if it's close...watch how "cool" Tom Patriot isn't when he's not getting all the calls he wants from the officials...Sociopath, party of one!? Now we know the real reason why his son with Bridget Moynahan doesn't bear the Brady name...
I look for Michael Strahan to have a huge day, and I look for Eli Manning to solidify who he is in the NFL. Yeah, people may not like his "Ah shucks" expressions, but since day one, he's always been touted as the more "talented/athletic" Manning QB. If people think Brady and Peyton Manning are dangerous because of their confidence, just wait until they see Eli firing on all cylinders...a guy who has NEVER had the weapons around him that Brady and big brother have. Sure, he may choke and never live up to his potential, but I don't see it...I think he's starting to see the game with the same vision that the greats have had! For Eli and all you Ole Miss alumni, Are you Ready?
Giants 30 - Patriots 28
Story of the year: Eli Wins One After Big Brother...and in New Orleans, the front page will show the whole Manning family and read: FAMILY AFFAIR (with a picture of the Lombardi trophy)
A coach says, "This is the way it's gonna be," and the quarterback executes the plan and sheperds the sheep...in this case, every player on this team has been "re-educated" on HOW to win. It makes perfect sense. You get great athletes and MAKE them believe, "If you play like this, you will be part of one of the greatest sports teams to ever play...BUT you have to play like this!" You ever hear a New England Patriot trash talk, or smear another player behind their back? This team is buying into a definitive system of "Delayed Gratification," almost as if Belichick has told these guys, "We'll work 'til retirement, achieve more than has ever been achieved, and once we're all done, we'll sit back and enjoy it." It's crazy...(why would I praise my opposition? Fire with fire...own medicine...the way of the Jedi).
Now, how do the Giants win? For starters, they're playing far enough from home, and their host of the greatest fairweather fans in sports. Here's the deal with NY fans. They'll always be fans of their team - die-hard...but they're quicker to boo than they are to cheer - why? 'Cause none of them know how to play football. Trust. Having lived in that city for a few years, I can tell you who has the best understanding of the game of football, and it ain't the residents of NYC. It's the fine folks of the Midwest and South. The best athletes I've ever played against are HERE in California; the athletes having the best understanding of the game, however...the middle of the U.S. and in SEC country... the kids who grew up in NYC and the surrounding area had very little football outlet...so it's not all their fault. Digressing, the Giants playing far from the boo birds is a great thing!
I don't think the G-Men will have a problem moving the ball down the field and putting points on the board. What it's going to come down to is stopping New England on 3rd down. If they can make the Patriots punt 4-5 times, I believe they can win the game. Keep in mind that during the regular season, the Patriots punted on average, 2.75 times per game. That's ridiculous. Yes, they converted several 4th downs, which helps that average. There may be no reason to think they wouldn't try and do the same thing on Sunday, but I believe this game holds a lot more weight to Coach Beli than he'll let on. They won't be taking unnecessary risks vs. the Giants...
In order to stop the Pats on 3rd down, the G-Unit is going to have to blitz, and take Kevin Faulk OUT of the mix...in essence, make him stay in the backfield to block. The corners will have to lock down, and it will be a high risk-high reward play, but I don't see any other way to rattle Tom Brady. That's KEY. As you watch the game, and if it's close...watch how "cool" Tom Patriot isn't when he's not getting all the calls he wants from the officials...Sociopath, party of one!? Now we know the real reason why his son with Bridget Moynahan doesn't bear the Brady name...
I look for Michael Strahan to have a huge day, and I look for Eli Manning to solidify who he is in the NFL. Yeah, people may not like his "Ah shucks" expressions, but since day one, he's always been touted as the more "talented/athletic" Manning QB. If people think Brady and Peyton Manning are dangerous because of their confidence, just wait until they see Eli firing on all cylinders...a guy who has NEVER had the weapons around him that Brady and big brother have. Sure, he may choke and never live up to his potential, but I don't see it...I think he's starting to see the game with the same vision that the greats have had! For Eli and all you Ole Miss alumni, Are you Ready?
Giants 30 - Patriots 28
Story of the year: Eli Wins One After Big Brother...and in New Orleans, the front page will show the whole Manning family and read: FAMILY AFFAIR (with a picture of the Lombardi trophy)
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