tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82139000051615594262024-03-12T19:10:03.006-07:00The Aggie TailgateTheresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-80066972811541591032014-09-05T06:29:00.001-07:002014-09-05T06:32:59.418-07:00FIRST HOME GAME Y'ALL!!!!!<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I probably don’t need to tell you about our game last week. So much has already been written, said and otherwise expressed in Carolina expletives about that woodshed beating that there’s just not much for me to add. Ours was the debut game on the new SEC Network and it was a humdinger. Sophomore QB Kenny Hill played lights out and passed for over 500 yards against a SC defense that was supposed to be pretty decent. A&M’s defense held up very well against what was supposed to be the best offensive line in the SEC. The final result, a previously overlooked A&M is now a top ten team with three cupcakes on the docket. Life is pretty good right now, apart from a couple of injuries. A.J. Hilliard, a transfer linebacker from TCU, dislocated his ankle (ouch!) and Cam Clear, our massive Tight End, sprained his. Everyone else is ok and the rookies looked pretty good for the most part.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Side story about South Carolina. One of our friends was in a restaurant before the game in Columbia. The Ags came on TV and she let out a WHOOP. A nicely dressed elderly lady came up to her and told her she would murder her if she ever did that again. Apparently Miss Daisy was dead serious too. Welcome to the SEC, Christine. What do you say to a woman like that?<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">You say, Whoooooooooop! Beeeyyyaaatttcccchhh.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">South Carolina is coached by the legendary Steve Spurrier. Steve had a lot to say about the game after the fact, but I think this one quote sums it up completely, “we are still, and always will be, embarrassed by our performance<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_28267368" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Thursday</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>night.”<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">In other news, the first tailgate of the year is coming up. Excitement at the Berend house is palpable (which as it turns out is different from palpatable, but not as different as you might think). I’ve been telling Theresa for weeks now about how excited I was to have everyone get liquored up and check out my sausage. I’ve got the cooker in our driveway, which I think is awesome. My assumption is that when people see it they think “if I win the lottery I’m going to have a cooker like that.” I’m pretty sure Theresa thinks we look like Honey Boo Boo’s family, cookin’ up the road kill I hit on the drive home last night. After 17 years of marriage I’ve learned the key to a happy life is for her to let me have my delusions, and the tailgate, and beer.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">What, you may ask, are we celebrating with this first glorious tailgate? Nothing less than the first game ever in Kyle Field 2.0.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">And who will be our first guest in this grid iron gala? Nothing less than LAMAR UNIVERSITY!!!!<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Oh yeahhhhhh….<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Look, I don’t know anything about Lamar and honestly I’m too lazy to do the research. This isn’t a Wile E. Coyote ACME rocket situation. No sir. No research necessary. A lion doesn't need a plan for killing the slowest gazelle, he just does it. <u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Well, Lamar is the slowest gazelle. What do you really need to know about the damn gazelle anyway?<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Maybe something. Here’s a little history of the slowest gazelle. Lamar is a small university in Beaumont, TX. Well, not that small. They have about 14,000 students. Anyway, one day, early in the history of Lamar Univeristy, for the very first time ever, and for every day after that, no one cared.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Scheduling quirks aside, it’s a great time to be watching A&M football live and in color. And even if you don’t go to the game, you can just stay at the tailgate and help us celebrate the end of Not Season with some of the finest beer in Texas. Our friends at Real Ale, Brooklyn Brewery and Sierra Nevada have stepped up again to make sure no Red Solo Cup goes dry on our watch. Country music from a bygone era of feathered hair and unreasonably tight blue jeans will fill the air. The barbecue is guaranteed to make you want to drink more of that fine craft beer. And I believe we will have our lovely bartender back as well.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">For the regulars, if you'll drop me a line if you're coming then I know more or less how many people to expect, although you should feel free to drop in regardless. The more the merrier. In a reversal of prior policy, if you're dying to help out with a side dish, a little physical labor or a few dead presidents, we're no longer too proud to accept help. This party has simply gotten bigger than we could have ever imagined but I just don't see us stopping any time soon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">It’s going to be a good time and you’ll be glad you came. The game starts at<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_28267369" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">6:30 PM</span></span>, which means all day to socialize. I hope you’ll come out and join the party. We’ll be in the same place as the ten prior years, outside the East entrance to Reed Arena. Look for the big Army truck and all the happy Aggies.</span></div>
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<u></u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Gig ‘em and Beat the Hell Outta Lamar!<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Chuck ‘96</span></div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-80631079041821636712014-08-28T06:49:00.001-07:002014-08-28T07:41:56.674-07:00Witty subjects are hard to write: Aggies Gamecocks and Other Musings<span style="background-color: white; color: black;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">There’s a lot to
talk about this year. Seems like that’s the case every year. One of these days
I’d like to have an Alabama situation where there’s nothing to talk about until
the title game, and then it’s just “So, where do you guys want to go celebrate
afterward?” I don’t see us having that particular discussion this season. There
are too many question marks on defense, too much youth and inexperience and an
unsettled quarterback position.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The media geniuses have us finishing anywhere from 9-3 to 6-6. To be fair, the guy picking us to go 6-6 is named "Booger." Booger MacFarland was a 300 lbs defensive tackle at LSU and later for the Bucs. I'm pretty sure he could have asked to be called anything in the world, including "Your Highness" or "Mega Man" and he'd have gotten his way. But he picked "Booger."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Booger.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Boooooooooogerrrrrrrr.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yeah, I can't get over that.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He picked Booger.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He could have picked 12 random letters from a Scrabble bag and come up with a more confidence-inspiring name than "Booger."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anyway, enough about Booger's picking. (that's a lot of set up to get to <em>booger picking</em>)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The truth is everyone is focused on losing 3 first round picks on offense, and losing three meaningful starters on defense. The quick version of my personal belief is that we'll be able to reload on offense and how could we possibly be any worse on defense?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We did lose three of my all-time favorite players off one of our very best offenses ever. But after the first round no one else got drafted, so everyone else we lost was average at best. We lost top ten pick at left tackle Jake Matthews, and we're replacing him with 2015 top ten draft pick at left tackle Cedric Obueghi. I'm good there. We lost Mr. Post-game Interview himself, Mike Evans, at WR. I think we'll miss him, but not as much as you might assume. There's an embarrassment of talent behind him on the roster, including Louisiana freshman phenom Speedy Noil. I think we are all going to like Speedy.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So what about ol' JFF? Can Aggie Football survive without Mr. Football? I actually think the offense will be just as prolific without Johnny, maybe more. Sumlin's offense is based on taking what the defense is giving, and a lot of times that means a short check-down pass. Johnny didn't throw those passes much. Right or wrong, that just wasn't how he ran this offense. You'll see Kenny Hill throw fewer deep passes, but a lot more short stuff and hopefully we'll wind up in fewer 3rd and long situations.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The defense, Lordy Lordy, that defense was bad last year. There's not really another way to say it. If you haven't kept up, we had a bad defense last year and we followed it up by dismissing our two best defenders during the Not Season (that's the "other" season, Football Season being the first). The bright spots on the field last year were Isaiah Golden and Darian Claiborne, both of whom were thrown off the team for dealing drugs and beating people up. They needed to go. We'll be better off without them in the long run, and maybe in the short run too. And overall I don't see any way that the defense can be any worse. We were extremely thin up front last year, pretty light and pretty young. We're still pretty young, but we've addressed the other concerns. Having more depth and size up front will make it easier for the secondary to play their positions and not cheat up. I predict that our defensive backs are going to look much improved, but it's all due to improved play on the line.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That said, I just hope Howard Matthews doesn't get burned on a wheel rout early in the year.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In other news, I don't know if anyone heard about this -- it was announced in the Longhorn Network so probably not -- but t.u. hired a new coach this off season. There's so much to be said about that whole deal that I can't fit it all in one email. Mack Brown, the second most successful coach in t.u. history got fired last year. It was rumored that t.u. was going to hire Nick Saban for $10 Million per year, but that didn't happen. Also not taking the position were Jim Tressell, Jim Harbaugh, Urban Meyer, Art Briles or anyone else that was on the first and second list. They eventually hired Charlie Strong, who appears to be a short, bald, African-middle-earthian hobbit. Charlie is all about discipline, so he kicked about 7 players of the team for violating the team's strict five-strike drug testing policy. A couple of others were dismissed for violations of the team's lesser known policies on violence and sexual assault. For the first time in a long, long time, no t.u. players were selected in the NFL draft. The team also lost its longhorn decals, the right to walk on the longhorn in the carpet, the right to live as adults (they all moved into the dorms), the right to self govern (the coaches also moved into the dorms), their smoothie bar and the right to throw the hook 'em sign. Recruiting has been craptastic for the last couple of years and there's not a lot of depth at key positions. Against the advice of his family and doctors, oft-injured quarterback David Ash is going to come back and try to play again (concussions). The outlook on the 40 acres is bleak. Heh, heh, heh...I'm loving this.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A better man would not revel in all of this.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well, just like I remind my wife during most fights, a better man isn't here right now. You're stuck with me.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><em>Hello. Theresa here. Ummm, I never ever insert myself into these things, but I have to say that other than Chuck's schadenfreude regarding the t.u. situation, he is actually a very good man and I never say that shit to him. That is all.</em></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My guess is they go 6-6, maybe 7-5. They're going to get smoked by Baylor, OU, UCLA, KSU and hopefully Tech (just 'cause it's extra humiliating) and MAYBE lose to a couple more (BYU and possible OSU). Think about that for a second, it's basically a foregone conclusion that t.u. can't keep up with Baylor. Bwaaaahaaaaahaaaahaaaahaaaa...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ok. Enough of that. There's a whole season of t-sip misery ahead of us. I don't want to be accused of premature emasculation. Back to Aggie football.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We're headed to Columbia, SC this week (figuratively speaking, of course, because I will not be actually attending since I have an important form to fill out and maybe an unmemorable meeting to attend) to play the University of South Carolina Gamecocks on Thursday night. USCe as they are sometimes called has been good for several years now. The old Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier, is at the helm for the 9th year, I think. He's been successful everywhere he's been. Well, everywhere except the Redskins where he was 12-20 and got fired after two seasons. But, if you put that out of your mind, you can see how playing against a Spurrier team on the road seems like an insurmountable task. Obviously we're doomed. There's no hope.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then again, Coach Kevin Damn Sumlin, while certainly less experienced, is no slouch either. In fact, his prolific use of recent technological innovations (like the telephone) may give KDS an advantage in recruiting and relating to his players. Honestly, I'm not sure Spurrier knows what to do with Facebook. He thinks Instagram is just a really fast grandparent. And Twitter is what his heart did back in the roaring twenties when he took his sweetheart to a Charlie Chaplin film and she held his hand for the first time. I bet Charlie wasn't the only tramp that night, if you know what I mean...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">...hell, I don't even know what I mean. I'm just making stuff up. But my point is that Steve is old and Kevin is young.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Young & Hip vs. Just Replaced Hip</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Speaking of new and awesome, Kyle Field is amazing. I'll just leave it at that for now. Go to College Station and take a look sometime. Un-freakin-believable. Wow.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anyway, I'm pretty excited about this season. We could really surprise some folks. It's kind of a tall task with a new quarterback and an unproven defense, but I'm still excited.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As always, if you want to get off the list for any reason at all, it won't hurt my feelings one bit. Just send me an email that states why you aren't cool enough to be included any longer and a $5 disconnect fee, $10 if you don't want to have to explain it. If you send $20, you can get someone else dropped for no reason at all. For $100 I'll call your name out at the tailgate and say a prayer for you at mass. I won't tell you what $1,000 gets you, but it's totally not worth it unless you're a girl, and probably not then either.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you want to add someone to the list, just send me an email address and tell me if they have any allergies I should know about. Last year I invited discussion on some of the emails, but it turned out that not everyone agreed with me, so it wasn't the ego boost I was expecting. Live and learn, I guess.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gig 'em and Beat the Hell Outta South Carolina!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chuck '96</span><br />
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Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-87016632914272943972014-08-01T06:30:00.000-07:002014-09-05T06:32:11.025-07:00Witty subjects are hard to write: Aggies Gamecocks and Other Musings<br />
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<span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There’s a lot to
talk about this year. Seems like that’s the case every year. One of these days
I’d like to have an Alabama situation where there’s nothing to talk about until
the title game, and then it’s just “So, where do you guys want to go celebrate
afterward?” I don’t see us having that particular discussion this season. There
are too many question marks on defense, too much youth and inexperience and an
unsettled quarterback position.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The media geniuses have us
finishing anywhere from 9-3 to 6-6. To be fair, the guy picking us to go 6-6 is
named "Booger." Booger MacFarland was a 300 lbs defensive tackle at
LSU and later for the Bucs. I'm pretty sure he could have asked to be called
anything in the world, including "Your Highness" or "Mega
Man" and he'd have gotten his way. But he picked "Booger."</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Booger.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Boooooooooogerrrrrrrr.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yeah, I can't get over that.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He picked Booger.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He could have picked 12
random letters from a Scrabble bag and come up with a more confidence-inspiring
name than "Booger."</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyway, enough about Booger's
picking. (that's a lot of set up to get to <em><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">booger picking</span></em>)</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The truth is everyone is
focused on losing 3 first round picks on offense, and losing three meaningful
starters on defense. The quick version of my personal belief is that we'll be
able to reload on offense and how could we possibly be any worse on defense?</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We did lose three of my
all-time favorite players off one of our very best offenses ever. But after the
first round no one else got drafted, so everyone else we lost was average at
best. We lost top ten pick at left tackle Jake Matthews, and we're replacing
him with 2015 top ten draft pick at left tackle Cedric Obueghi. I'm good there.
We lost Mr. Post-game Interview himself, Mike Evans, at WR. I think we'll miss
him, but not as much as you might assume. There's an embarrassment of talent
behind him on the roster, including Louisiana freshman phenom Speedy Noil. I
think we are all going to like Speedy.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what about ol' JFF? Can
Aggie Football survive without Mr. Football? I actually think the offense will
be just as prolific without Johnny, maybe more. Sumlin's offense is based on
taking what the defense is giving, and a lot of times that means a short
check-down pass. Johnny didn't throw those passes much. Right or wrong, that
just wasn't how he ran this offense. You'll see Kenny Hill throw fewer deep
passes, but a lot more short stuff and hopefully we'll wind up in fewer 3rd and
long situations.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The defense, Lordy Lordy,
that defense was bad last year. There's not really another way to say it. If
you haven't kept up, we had a bad defense last year and we followed it up by
dismissing our two best defenders during the Not Season (that's the
"other" season, Football Season being the first). The bright spots on
the field last year were Isaiah Golden and Darian Claiborne, both of whom were
thrown off the team for dealing drugs and beating people up. They needed to go.
We'll be better off without them in the long run, and maybe in the short run
too. And overall I don't see any way that the defense can be any worse. We were
extremely thin up front last year, pretty light and pretty young. We're still
pretty young, but we've addressed the other concerns. Having more depth and
size up front will make it easier for the secondary to play their positions and
not cheat up. I predict that our defensive backs are going to look much
improved, but it's all due to improved play on the line.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That said, I just hope Howard
Matthews doesn't get burned on a wheel rout early in the year.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In other news, I don't know
if anyone heard about this -- it was announced in the Longhorn Network so
probably not -- but t.u. hired a new coach this off season. There's so much to
be said about that whole deal that I can't fit it all in one email. Mack Brown,
the second most successful coach in t.u. history got fired last year. It was
rumored that t.u. was going to hire Nick Saban for $10 Million per year, but
that didn't happen. Also not taking the position were Jim Tressell, Jim
Harbaugh, Urban Meyer, Art Briles or anyone else that was on the first and
second list. They eventually hired Charlie Strong, who appears to be a short,
bald, African-middle-earthian hobbit. Charlie is all about discipline, so he
kicked about 7 players of the team for violating the team's strict five-strike
drug testing policy. A couple of others were dismissed for violations of the
team's lesser known policies on violence and sexual assault. For the first time
in a long, long time, no t.u. players were selected in the NFL draft. The team
also lost its longhorn decals, the right to walk on the longhorn in the carpet,
the right to live as adults (they all moved into the dorms), the right to self
govern (the coaches also moved into the dorms), their smoothie bar and the
right to throw the hook 'em sign. Recruiting has been craptastic for the last
couple of years and there's not a lot of depth at key positions. Against the advice
of his family and doctors, oft-injured quarterback David Ash is going to come
back and try to play again (concussions). The outlook on the 40 acres is bleak.
Heh, heh, heh...I'm loving this.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A better man would not revel
in all of this.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, just like I remind my
wife during most fights, a better man isn't here right now. You're stuck with
me.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><em><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Hello. Theresa
here. Ummm, I never ever insert myself into these things, but I have to say
that other than Chuck's schadenfreude regarding the t.u. situation, he is
actually a very good man and I never say that shit to him. That is all.</span></em><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My guess is they go 6-6,
maybe 7-5. They're going to get smoked by Baylor, OU, UCLA, KSU and hopefully
Tech (just 'cause it's extra humiliating) and MAYBE lose to a couple more (BYU
and possible OSU). Think about that for a second, it's basically a foregone
conclusion that t.u. can't keep up with Baylor. Bwaaaahaaaaahaaaahaaaahaaaa...</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ok. Enough of that. There's a
whole season of t-sip misery ahead of us. I don't want to be accused of
premature emasculation. Back to Aggie football.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We're headed to Columbia, SC
this week (figuratively speaking, of course, because I will not be actually
attending since I have an important form to fill out and maybe an unmemorable
meeting to attend) to play the University of South Carolina Gamecocks on
Thursday night. USCe as they are sometimes called has been good for several
years now. The old Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier, is at the helm for the 9th year,
I think. He's been successful everywhere he's been. Well, everywhere except the
Redskins where he was 12-20 and got fired after two seasons. But, if you put
that out of your mind, you can see how playing against a Spurrier team on the
road seems like an insurmountable task. Obviously we're doomed. There's no
hope.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then again, Coach Kevin Damn
Sumlin, while certainly less experienced, is no slouch either. In fact, his
prolific use of recent technological innovations (like the telephone) may give
KDS an advantage in recruiting and relating to his players. Honestly, I'm not
sure Spurrier knows what to do with Facebook. He thinks Instagram is just a
really fast grandparent. And Twitter is what his heart did back in the roaring
twenties when he took his sweetheart to a Charlie Chaplin film and she held his
hand for the first time. I bet Charlie wasn't the only tramp that night, if you
know what I mean...</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">...hell, I don't even know
what I mean. I'm just making stuff up. But my point is that Steve is old and
Kevin is young.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Young & Hip vs. Just
Replaced Hip</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Speaking of new and awesome,
Kyle Field is amazing. I'll just leave it at that for now. Go to College
Station and take a look sometime. Un-freakin-believable. Wow.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyway, I'm pretty excited
about this season. We could really surprise some folks. It's kind of a tall
task with a new quarterback and an unproven defense, but I'm still excited.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As always, if you want to get
off the list for any reason at all, it won't hurt my feelings one bit. Just
send me an email that states why you aren't cool enough to be included any
longer and a $5 disconnect fee, $10 if you don't want to have to explain it. If
you send $20, you can get someone else dropped for no reason at all. For $100
I'll call your name out at the tailgate and say a prayer for you at mass. I
won't tell you what $1,000 gets you, but it's totally not worth it unless
you're a girl, and probably not then either.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you want to add someone to
the list, just send me an email address and tell me if they have any allergies
I should know about. Last year I invited discussion on some of the emails, but
it turned out that not everyone agreed with me, so it wasn't the ego boost I
was expecting. Live and learn, I guess.</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gig 'em and Beat the Hell
Outta South Carolina!</span></span><span style="color: #ffeedd; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chuck '96</span></span></div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-91439032021742577852013-11-08T12:21:00.001-08:002014-08-28T06:51:28.250-07:00Farewell, Old Friend<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">I’ve often thought about how my friends aren’t perfect. And
I don’t really want them to be, actually. Who would want to have to live up to
that? <span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">“Hey,
Chuck.”</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">“Hey
there, Prescott Worthington III. What have you been up to?”</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">“Not
much. I got home early from teaching that Calculus/Bikram Yoga class, so I just
had enough time rebuild the tranny in my ’67 Camaro before I whipped up a
soufflé for the little missus. She’s been working so hard since she won the
MacArthur Genius Grant and I thought a little something sweet might be just the
thing. And you?”</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">“uhhhhh…
…same here. <i>[under breath] Sonofabitch…</i>”</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">Luckily,
my friends aren’t like that. I’ve got this one friend. A big fella. Kind of a
giant really. Some might consider this friend, well, a little funny looking. My
friend can be loud, a little crazy, sometimes fickle and more than a little old
fashioned. Oh yeah, and my friend used to smell like bat poop.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">Who did
you think I was talking about? I’m talking about Kyle Field.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">I’ve
been going to Kyle Field for not nearly as long as some of you. My relationship
only goes back to 1992, but I’ve had a great time and as near as I can tell
I’ve been to around 110 games there. After tomorrow Kyle Field will change
forever. Nearly as soon as the final whistle blows they will begin to tear down
this venerable football cathedral and they will replace it with “New and
Improved Kyle Field.” I’m probably going to be a little nostalgic about the
whole affair. </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">I
already miss the horseshoe, DeWare and G. Rollie White. I’ll add Kyle Field to
my list of missing buildings. I’ll miss the old rickety bleachers. I’ll
remember mugging down at yell practice and still wish I had done more of it. We
used to have all University night at Kyle, which I can’t describe here because
I don’t want my kids to know about it, but that was fun. I don’t think I’ll
miss the smell of bat poop or standing in a puddle of pee when I have to pee.
Big bathrooms and wide concourses will be nice. The idea of shade, even if it’s
for someone else, doesn’t sound too bad. So maybe it really will be better. But
I still expect to be a little sad about my last visit to Kyle Field the way I
knew her. </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">The one
thing I hope to see from new Kyle Field is more winning. I like the heck out of
winning and if this will make more winning happen then I’m all for it.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">Last
week we beat the crap out of, well, someone… oh yeah, UTEP. There’s not a lot
to say about it. UTEP is bad and it showed. I won’t dwell on the game much, but
it is worth noting that we held them to under 200 yards of total offense. The
defense looked the way they should against an inferior team, which is saying something
because a lot of times this year they haven’t.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">This
week we welcome to town the Mississippi State Bulldogs. We smacked them around
pretty good last year. I hope to do it again this year. They are not a bad
team, although their record is not stellar. They are physically very large in
the trenches and they run the ball pretty well. We could have some trouble with
them. I don’t think they’ll have an answer for the Manziel/Evans conundrum, and
it could even be a blowout. I’m just expecting a hard fought game where we
don’t beat the spread, but come out with a decent win and start getting ready
for LSU after a week off.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">I went
looking for Mississippi State jokes on the internet and came up a little short.
I think it’s telling that a google search for “Mississippi State Bulldogs”
yielded only 3,020,000 results, but a search for “used toilet paper” yielded
41,000,000 results. Most of the jokes I found were standard fare. I found two
that I liked and have included them below.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">Q: What
do a Mississippi State student and an Ole Miss student have in common?</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">A: They
both got into State.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">Q: Why
are rectal thermometers banned at State?</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">A: They
cause too much brain damage.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">I know
it’s low brow. I think, to steal a phrase from sports, I’m playing down to my
competition. Sorry.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">The
tailgate should be really nice this weekend. The game is at 2:30, the weather
will be good and the food should be solid (ribs, beans and French fries... and
beer). Come on down and enjoy the afternoon. We’ll be looking for you.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: background1;">Gig ‘em
and Beat the Hell Outta Mississippi State!</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-themecolor: background1;">-</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;">
</span><span style="mso-themecolor: background1;">Chuck ‘96</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-88855655863640172152013-08-29T19:13:00.002-07:002013-08-29T19:17:29.613-07:00All that and a side of Rice . . .
<br />
It's that time of year again. I've been doing this long enough and I'm bad
enough at it that I can't even remember what I say from year to year. Hopefully
the schtick isn't getting too tiresome. And if it is you can always just delete
it, or automatically route me to your junk mail. Just don't tell me about it.
I've put on a few pounds just here lately and I've been feeling a little self
conscious. I've not been sleeping well worrying about whether or not Johnny has
enough dough for new rims. It's a lot to have on your mind. A rejection on my
writing, when I'm so close to the Pulitzer, might be more than I'm ready for.<br />
<br />
This is the first time I can ever remember where we have a legitimate shot
at a national championship. There are tough teams in the way, but I really
think it could happen. I'm not saying it's likely by any stretch, but it's
possible. If we beat Alabama on September 14ththe path looks a lot less
daunting after that. Now, that's a big if. Alabama doesn't appear to have lost
much from last year and I understand their singular focus this year is stopping
Johnny Football. <br />
<br />
But, none of that really matters at the moment. What matters now is that the
NCAA has cleared Johnny Football to play this season after he serves a half
game suspension for inadvertantly enabling an autograph broker to make money
off his likeness or image. Go Johnny. Go Johnny' lawyers. Go figure?<br />
<br />
Believe it or not, there are TWO football games we have to play before the
rematch of the year takes place on September 14th. We have to get by Rice this
weekend (12:00 PM - Kyle Field) and Sam Houston State next weekend. You can
laugh off the Rice game, but don't forget we'll be missing three defensive
starters for the game and JFF for half the game. I'm not suggesting that we'll
lose. I mean the spread is -26.5. Vegas thinks we'll run away with it. But it
might take a little more effort than some folks believe.<br />
<br />
By the way, are you coming to the tailgate? We're hauling all that junk down
there tomorrow. We're going to get set up early and be ready for folks by the
thousands, ok hundreds, maybe dozens, hell I don't know, I can think of two
people for sure. Figure on snacky stuff before the noon game and burgers and
hot dogs after. And french fries. Lots of french fries.<br />
<br />
I don't often ask for help, but if you've ever wanted ways to help out in
addition to your continuing financial generosity (cough, cough...), we're kind
of screwed on chairs. We've broken and thrown away more chairs than I can count
and we're running out. Absolutely no one should feel obligated to do anything,
but if you wanted to pick up one or two of those folding A&M chairs to help
re-stock the supply (they only last for so long), that would be very helpful.
If not, no worries. Tim and I worked out a deal where the pretty girls with no
chairs could sit in my lap and the rest can sit in Tim's lap. And if that
doesn't light your fire, you may consider the chair thing. And just to be
clear, we'll view these chairs as very generous donations to the tailgate and
you'll be appreciated forever, probably.<br />
<br />
Other than that the only thing I'd like to say is how much I appreciate
everyone who bothers to come hang out with us and bothers to read these emails.
I know that I'm not JK Rowling and I'm certainly not Chef Emeril. We sincerely
hope that everyone has fun with all of this Aggie Football stuff and, to the
extent that we're able to help make that happen, we're just pleased to be part
of it.<br />
<br />
I promise to be back to my sarcastic humor failings next week, or maybe the
week after that, maybe. I just can't shake the feeling that JFF is going to
give me something else to lose sleep over.<br />
<br />
Gig 'em and Beat the Hell Outta Rice, and that Rovell character that threw
JFF under the bus! Seriously, if you see him, punch him in the nads for me.<br />
<br />
- Chuck '96<br />
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-40896744193346116632013-08-21T13:15:00.000-07:002013-08-21T13:15:10.400-07:0010 Days . . .<div style="text-align: center;">
My heart is aflutter and Chuck can barely sleep because . . . </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgonNILoi3QwSaCe4lTI2p7jrCXuEQPKItdu8fu__0qyRgbbrgrqvJZRdc0xpzyc6Qz2IECfZaweP3P5zDahTNj_KZ-HNpVoZDqnsZ4QMMlnH43Wdz-7bVqOqP02iZai1jMXgNOK-rn8XlC/s1600/Aggie+Football.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgonNILoi3QwSaCe4lTI2p7jrCXuEQPKItdu8fu__0qyRgbbrgrqvJZRdc0xpzyc6Qz2IECfZaweP3P5zDahTNj_KZ-HNpVoZDqnsZ4QMMlnH43Wdz-7bVqOqP02iZai1jMXgNOK-rn8XlC/s400/Aggie+Football.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-76010782413456024072012-11-16T07:08:00.001-08:002012-11-16T07:08:26.284-08:00Sam Houston State - Looking Ahead<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">It’s Friday morning and I once again find myself in a new and exotic land with a slight headache.<span> </span>This time my host city sounds like something from a Milton Bradley game. It’s Sugarland, a whimsical place with gumdrop traffic lights, lollipop stop signs, crowded freeways, no zoning, and a Starbucks at nearly every intersection.<span> </span>Yeah, in spite of the name it’s still just Houston.<span> </span>But, I have a little time for reflection which historically has proven to be a good thing at least once out of every three times it happens.<span> </span>Here’s hopin’.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not much going on in Aggie football this week.<span> </span>Sam Houston State is coming to town.<span> </span>The squad from Huntsville is playing well, although they are an FCS team (formerly Div 1 AA).<span> </span>They are 8-2 and are a legitimate title contender in their division.<span> </span>They play sound football, don’t turn it over, run the ball well, and play excellent run defense.<span> </span>My hope is that the Aggies play perfect football.<span> </span>It’s really all you can do against a team like this.<span> </span>If Johnny Effin’ Football goes 20-22 for 250 yards and 4 TD’s and runs for another 100+ yards that’s a good outing.<span> </span>You can’t run up the score, but I don’t think you’re obligated to let them score necessarily.<span> </span>The game is at 2:30 and is only available in Texas on pay per view.<span> </span>Outside of Texas it will be available on ESPN Gameplan.<span> </span>We’ll be serving fajitas at the tailgate.<span> </span>Please come on out.<span> </span>We’d love to have you.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Aside from that there’s not much going on.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oh, well there was that one thing.<span> </span>The Ags went to Tuscaloosa on Saturday and took down the number one team in college football on the road in dramatic fashion and has been the darling of the media since then with non-stop coverage of Johnny Effin’ Football and his potential as a Heisman finalist on account of his nearly perfect game against the number one defense in the country.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But apart from that, not much is going on in Aggieland.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you didn’t see it, there’s something clearly wrong with you.<span> </span>But I’ll give you the “world as Chuck sees it” account of the game.<span> </span>Bama wins the toss and is not going to let JFF have the ball first.<span> </span>I’d like to make fun of them for this, but it’s just smart.<span> </span>Our defense forces a three and out and JFF gets his first crack at Bama.<span> </span>God created Johnny out of 195 pounds of pure energy combined with 10 pounds of badass, and a few plays later the Ags scored.<span> </span>Bama gets the ball makes a play or two and then our defense forces Bama’s first interception of the season after a safety delivers a crushing blow to the receiver just after he catches the ball and the ball pops out.<span> </span>Johnny dashes back on the field after using his super powers to return power to thousands of New Yorkers between possessions, and a few plays later the Ags scored.<span> </span>Bama gets the ball and goes three and out.<span> </span>Johnny makes sure the person he just resuscitated with the kiss of life is ok and returns to the field where, a few plays later, the Ags scored.<span> </span>End of the first quarter the score is 20-0 Ags (we missed another extra point).</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A bunch of other stuff happens.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fourth quarter, the Ags are hanging on to a precarious lead.<span> </span>Now only up 23-17 the Ags get the ball.<span> </span>Johnny calmly places his hand on Coach Kevin Damn Sumlin’s shoulder and says “Be at peace”, walks out on the field (although it appears his feet don’t actually touch the ground), and a few plays later the Ags score.<span> </span>We went for two on account of our kicker is the anti-Johnny.<span> </span>We didn’t get it.<span> </span>Ags up 29-17.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A bunch of other stuff happens.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the final minutes of the game, Bama has the ball and is trying to move downfield.<span> </span>The score is 29-25 Ags.<span> </span>Because Johnny can’t play both offense and defense, he’s just a man after all, Bama quickly moves the ball down to the five yard line.<span> </span>All they have to do is punch it in.<span> </span>This is what may go down as one of the greatest goal line stands in A&M history.<span> </span>The Aggie defense, which has been playing outstanding football all season, stiffens up.<span> </span>First down, no dice.<span> </span>Second down, no dice.<span> </span>Third down, thanks to Dustin Harris’ game saving solo tackle on AJ McCarron, no dice.<span> </span>Fourth down, AJ McCarron rolls to his right, throws, and is picked off.<span> </span>The Ags run out the clock and win.<span> </span>The media goes nuts.<span> </span>The coaches go nuts.<span> </span>Chuck goes nuts.<span> </span>Johnny doesn’t feel like a nut so he has a Mounds bar instead.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">I don’t think the Aggies have ever had a week like this where the media just shower them with love (I’m having an internal debate as to whether “the media” is singular or plural, so please forgive any resulting grammatical errors).<span> </span>Johnny, who has been a dark-horse Heisman candidate, now seems guaranteed to receive an invitation to New York.<span> </span>Top national recruits are calling the Ags to see if there’s room on the roster.<span> </span>People are talking about our assistant coaches getting head coaching jobs.<span> </span>Everyone gets a raise.<span> </span>The Ags might go to a BCS bowl game.<span> </span>We are virtually assured of our first ten win season in a long, long time.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Life is good.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nothing lasts forever, but for now, life is good and I’m really enjoying being an Aggie.<span> </span>Even the worst potbangers in the world have nothing to say.<span> </span>Life is good.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well, I do have this one problem.<span> </span>I need tickets for tomorrow’s game.<span> </span>Who in the world would think that I’d be over-committed on tickets for the Sam Houston State game?<span> </span>Right?<span> </span>Oh well.<span> </span>It’s like I tell my kids, sometimes shit don’t work out the way you want it to.<span> </span>Anyway, if you’re one of the people I’ve committed tickets to, you’re fine.<span> </span>But I told some other folks I’d try to find them some tickets.<span> </span>So, if you have extra tickets or know of someone with extra tickets, please let me know.<span> </span>Thanks.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gig’em and Beat The Hell Outta Sam Houston State!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chuck ‘96</span></span></div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-4720925392856089312012-11-09T07:09:00.000-08:002012-11-16T07:09:27.870-08:00Sweet Home Alabama<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are two kinds of Aggies in the world, those who understand that Johnny Effin’ Football will eventually be able to achieve space travel without all those cumbersome rockets and such, and those who live under a rock, in the desert, in Australia, reading Sylvia Plath and wondering what ever happened to that kid from the Wonder Years.<span> </span>Against yet another top 25 opponent, Mississippi State, Johnny put up more ego crushing numbers, going 30-36 for 311 yards and rushing for another 129 yards and 2 TD’s in a 38-13 rout.<span> </span>JFF lead the SEC in Total Offense, Scoring Offense, Rushing Offense, Kittens Saved, Passing Offense and Points Responsible for and remains the object of Kirk Herbstreit’s unhealthy (and a little creepy) hetero man-crush.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over the last four weeks the Ags have played three top 25 teams.<span> </span>And, apart from dropping the heart-breaker to the Swamp Kittens, they have held up incredibly well, primarily on the road in the SEC no less.<span> </span>This week they go into Tuscaloosa with an opportunity to shake up the BCS title race by beating the #1 ranked Crimson Tide in their own house.<span> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">…speaking of “Crimson Tide”, I did a little checking on the internet for the meaning.<span> </span>Crimson Tide is the common name of the algae <i>Karenia Brevis</i>.<span> </span>It’s also a girly cocktail made of Vodka and Pomegranate juice, a pretty decent Denzel Washington movie and a slang term for, uhhh… shall we say “Aunt Flo”.<span> </span>Well anyway, my point is that I haven’t found anything that sounds fearsome about Crimson Tide (except maybe that last one).<span> </span>And yeah, I get that being the “Aggies” isn’t too intimidating either, but it beats being the “Maroon Horizon” or the “Humid Breeze” or whatever other nonsense would be in the same category as “Crimson Tide”.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sorry.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rant Over.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For now.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, I reached out to some of my peeps about the sick, all-black unis that the Ags wore in Starkville last week.<span> </span>The universal response was that those threads were wheels-off.<span> </span>If you didn’t see it, the Bulldogs wore pretty white fairy costumes to commemorate the 11 year, 10 month and 4 day anniversary of their win over the Ags in the 2000 Independence Bowl.<span> </span>It was a Snow Bowl party. <span></span>We showed up for the festivities in all black uniforms and brought the hosts a carefully gift wrapped ass-kicking.<span> </span>You could tell that they had spent a lot of time preparing for the party and I’m just glad we were able to be a part of it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">…speaking of parties, Tim and I went on a reconnaissance mission to Baton Rouge last weekend to study the local culture and determine how we might be able to tailgate there next year for the A&M/LSU game without it turning into some kind of Swamp People meets Deliverance fiasco.<span> </span>I don’t know that we’ve ever been as warmly welcomed by random people as we were down there.<span> </span>The food was fantastic.<span> </span>The beer was cold and plentiful.<span> </span>And the ire of the coon-asses was directed primarily at those folks from Bama.<span> </span>We heard “Tiger Bait!” shouted out all the time.<span> </span>It was a great game day atmosphere.<span> </span>It was perfect.<span> </span>Well, except that LSU let them back in it at the end and all those drunk Cajuns had to go home angry.<span> </span>Tim and I got the hell outta town before it got ugly and we’re determined to go back.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the problems I’m running into when it comes to writing these emails is that I don’t have 20+ years of SEC relationships to dwell on.<span> </span>For example, I’ve been told that Bama fans are every bit as arrogant and condescending as t.u. fans are, except without all the education and money.<span> </span>But they haven’t been that way to me yet.<span> </span>I know less about them than I do about salsa dancing.<span> </span>So as I try to come up with witty zingers about the Tide, all I can think is, man, I feel sorry for those toothless bastards.<span> </span>They’ve got nothing to live for but Bama football and UFO sightings.<span> </span>It seems unfair to try to take away the one, solitary thing Alabama as a state has going for it (well, apart from its relatively lofty academic standards which only appear “lofty” when compared to its neighbors Mississippi and Tennessee).<span> </span>But, see, that’s my dilemma.<span> </span>I’m stuck making academic jokes about Alabama because that’s the obvious, easy joke.<span> </span>It’s like making fun of Joe Biden for being an idiot.<span> </span>People that know him better make fun of him being a <u>drunk, mean-spirited</u> idiot.<span> </span>I’m sorry that was out of line (forgot the formality). <span></span><u>Vice President</u> Joe Biden is a…<span> </span>…well, anyway.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, I find myself wondering, “How are we ever gonna beat Aunt Flo?”<span> </span>I thought about asking my wife, but I suspect, particularly if I asked it that way, her response would be “shut the hell up, you’re not funny.”<span> </span><i>(I actually get that quite a bit.<span> </span>It’s not her fault.<span> </span>She doesn’t really like football that much.)</i><span> </span>Still the question needs to be answered.<span> </span>And after careful consideration I believe we have a good chance of beating Bama if we can be effective on first downs and not turn the ball over.<span> </span>If we can get ahead early and force them to play catch up we’ll be better off.<span> </span>I wouldn’t say it’s likely that we will win, but I think we’ve got a better chance of winning tomorrow than Mack Brown has of keeping his job after this season.<span> </span>We have the 5</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: small;"> ranked offense and the 46</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: small;"> ranked defense.<span> </span>Bama has the #2 defense and the 48</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: small;"> ranked offense.<span> </span>It’s not exactly an even match-up, but it’s not crazy to think we have a shot either.<span> </span>A win would be HUGE for Texas A&M and would set up an incredible finish to an already successful first season in the SEC.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, that’s what I’m hoping for.<span> </span>The game is at 2:30 on CBS tomorrow.<span> </span>Every American, including the stone-age broadcast television recipients, will be able to watch it (as opposed to the wronghorn fans who have to have a website dedicated to identifying the few bars and restaurants that will be able to air their LHN-only game against Iowa State).<span> </span>The shame, of course, is that almost no one may be able to tune in to watch Iowa State beat the hell outta t.u.<span> </span>But about a zillion people will have a chance to watch Johnny Effin’ Football get after it against the Menstrual Mastodons of Tuscaloosa.<span> </span>Now that’s entertainment!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gig ‘em and Beat the Hell Outta Alabama!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chuck ‘96</span></span></div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-18965148623954115882012-11-02T07:10:00.000-07:002012-11-16T07:10:25.959-08:00Mississippi StateShort email today. Theresa said my last one wasn't funny and I figured, hell, I can achieve "not funny" with a lot less effort. <br />
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We beat the hell outta Auburn last week. Most yards Auburn has ever given up. Starters were pulled after one series in the second half as part of one of our Aggie charity programs to help the under-privileged. <span></span><div>
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This week we take on Mississippi State in what promises to be a good game. State hasn't beaten anyone of note this year, but they are ranked so we'll see. Maybe they really don't suck anymore. Or... Well some things change and some things don't.
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Hopefully we're healed up by tomorrow. Coach Sumlin, for example, had to tend to his sore feet on Sunday after he developed blisters from kicking Gene Chizik's butt so hard the day before. <span></span><div>
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Johnny Effin Football stoked some controversy when photos of him surfaced dressed up for Halloween surrounded by beautiful, half naked women. I, for one, was shocked that beautiful college women would be interested in star athletes. Oh, the things I would have done differently if I had only known...</div>
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Things you should know about Miss. State: Not much. Maroon uniforms. SEC West doormat. Coached by Aggie legend Jackie Sherril from 1991 to 2003. Beat A&M in the 2000 Independence Bowl. Game at 11:00 tomorrow on ESPN. </div>
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Beat the Hell Outta Mississippi State!</div>
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Chuck '96</div>
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See, short and dull, like the list of t.u. fans still supporting Mack Brown these days</div>
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Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-58071726407630455242012-10-26T07:11:00.000-07:002012-11-16T07:11:18.530-08:00On the road again . . .<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the time of this writing I am many thousands of feet above the Nevada desert headed East in an aluminum tube with 160 other people who all appear to all feel the same way I do (let’s call it “unsettled”).<span> </span>For the middle of the day, it is surprisingly quiet.<span> </span>It’s giving me a little time to reflect on last week’s game against LSU and this week’s game against Auburn.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">The cynics in sports will say there are no moral victories.<span> </span>And I get where they’re coming from.<span> </span>Winning is what matters most.<span> </span>Whatever #2 is, it’s way the hell back there.<span> </span>Would you rather lose a close game to a great team or beat a so-so team by 35?<span> </span>I think most people, including me, would take the “W” because losses suck.<span> </span>But not every loss is a complete failure.<span> </span>I mean, sure, this one <u>feels</u> like failure because we were in it, had a lead and could have won.<span> </span>And then we blew it.<span> </span>Feels awful.<span> </span>So, maybe in this case it would feel better if it had been a back and forth game and LSU had just out-manned us.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i>“Well Boys, we fought the good fight.<span> </span>Gave ‘em a run for their money. They were just bigger, faster, and stronger.<span> </span>There’s no shame in losing.<span> </span>We did the best we could.<span> </span>Keep a stiff upper lip.<span> </span>We’ll get better over time.<span> </span>Blah, blah, blah… [puke]”</i><span> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yeah, maybe that would feel better.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, to quote one my military heroes, Colonel Sherman Potter, I say “Horse hockey!”<span> </span>I just don’t see it that way.<span> </span>If that were the case, if we were just out-manned, we’d have no reason to be optimistic about the rest of this season.<span> </span>What in the world would we look forward to?<span> </span>Not much.<span> </span>Well I do feel optimistic about this season.<span> </span>What happened to us is we made mistakes.<span> </span>And, yeah, it sucks to let a game like that slip away.<span> </span>But, we can correct mistakes (and we’re not getting any faster or taller between now and February).<span> </span>We can get better at decision-making, turnovers, penalties, route-running and the like.<span> </span>We showed we were man enough to take on the big boys and give them all they could handle for most of the game.<span> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the beginning of the year, 13 out of 14 SEC teams thought we were going to get beat like a kid who stole something.<span> </span>A lot of SEC fans penciled in a little “W” next to the Texas A&M game on the pocket schedule their realtors mailed them over the summer.<span> </span>We were an afterthought.<span> </span>Now, I promise you, we have their full attention.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you didn’t watch the LSU game, first of all, it’s probably your fault we lost.<span> </span>I won’t explain the mechanics of it, but rest assured, you should feel guilty it’s probably better if you don’t tell me who you are.<span> </span>The game played out a lot like the Florida game.<span> </span>We raced out to an early lead and then struggled to move the ball for a while.<span> </span>Our defense held up very well for most of the game, but gave up three touchdowns, each after an untimely turnover.<span> </span>We missed field goals, a PAT and were unable to put points on the board after a 76 yard kick return.<span> </span>But, we also put up the most yards that LSU has given up in the last 18 games.<span> </span>We held them to 2 of 16 on third down conversions.<span> </span>Our book-end tackles Joeckel and Matthews more than held their own against LSU’s incredible pass-rush and may have cemented their status as the best tackles in college football.<span> </span>As juniors both are projected to be top 10 picks in this year’s NFL draft.<span> </span>Demontre Moore played big boy football and added to his already gaudy sack and TFL totals.<span> </span>He is also projected to go in the top 10 in this year’s draft (unless we can convince him to stay). We're a good team.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yeah, we’ve got their attention alright.<span> </span>Even Nick Satan, I mean Saban, is thinking about us.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This week we go to Auburn to play a team in disarray.<span> </span>With Auburn at 1-6, just two years removed from a National championship, coach Gene Chizik is on the hottest of hot seats.<span> </span>It’s gonna get bad over there.<span> </span>For a touch of perspective, just think about all the hand-wringing going on in Austin right now over a 5-2 wrongwhorn team.<span> Mack's on the hot seat. </span>I imagine an irritated crowd of t-shirt fans sticking their carefully manicured hands out of their BMW windows to give Mack the one finger salute as they drive down I-35.<span> </span>Now, replace that group with an angry mob of Alabama rednecks who may not be able to count all 6 losses because their spare hand is holding a pitchfork, but they know it’s a whole lot more than their one win which ain’t good.<span> </span>And they know where coach Chizik lives because it’s the only house in town without wheels.<span> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yeah, I’ll take the Barton Creek crowd any day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The problem with Auburn is that they actually do have talent on the roster and they’re desperate.<span> </span>They’re like a cornered animal.<span> </span>A loss to us means they’re eliminated from bowl contention before November, which ain’t good.<span> </span>It also means that Gene Chizik may have to find a new job, which also ain’t good (at least if you’re Gene) cause it most likely involves about a 90% pay cut.<span> </span>I have to believe that we’re going to get Auburn’s best shot on Saturday.<span> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">But, I also think that we can win without too much trouble if we play our game and if we’re focused.<span> </span>Our last couple of outings have shown that we can do amazing things one moment and then immediately turn around and wet the bed.<span> </span>We will need to cut out the bed wetting and play relatively mistake free football Saturday.<span> </span>Auburn will be loud and crazy.<span> </span>Hopefully we’ll punch them in the face and not let them get any big ideas.<span> </span>This is the first game in a three game SEC road trip that starts and ends in the state of Alabama with a side trip to currently undefeated Mississippi State sandwiched in the middle.<span> </span>It will be helpful if we don’t wind up in a slugging match and accidentally get someone hurt before we travel to Tuscaloosa two weeks later to take our third shot at a top 10 ranked SEC team.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">I thought I should start throwing in some semi-factual tidbits about the SEC teams we play so that people who aren’t already familiar with the SEC can have just enough information to start a bar fight.<span> </span>Auburn’s mascot is Aubie the Tiger.<span> </span>It’s such an original mascot that only two other teams in the conference use the same animal.<span> </span>Everyone loves tigers, they’re Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!<span> </span>But, to confuse matters, they also have “war eagle’.<span> </span>War Eagle is actually just a battle cry, although they have had live eagles for years and the eagle circles the stadium before the game getting everyone riled up.<span> </span>The official word from the University is that “we’re the Tigers who say ‘War Eagle’.”<span> </span>The official word from everyone else is that this is a retarded explanation because you actually have a damn eagle.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">The best known landmark in Auburn is Toomer’s Corner, a beautiful park area with two grand old oak trees that fans will wrap in toilet paper any time something good happens to Auburn.<span> </span>It was in the news a while back when maybe the dumbest Alabama fan (out of a world-class collection of incredibly stupid fans) famously poisoned the ancient oak trees, AND THEN CALLED A RADIO SHOW TO BRAG ABOUT IT.<span> </span>They *69ed his butt and he now resides in an 8X10 hospital jail cell (an upgrade over the wheeled domicile he had been occupying prior to his epic brainfart).<span> </span>Roll tide indeed.<span> </span>Anyway, his trial is scheduled to begin soon, but is temporarily on hold while they examine his brain after stunning revelations that he may have a screw loose.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That’s the news as I choose to report it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gig’em and Beat the Hell Outta Auburn!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chuck ‘96</span></span></div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-66151409196355879432012-10-19T07:11:00.000-07:002012-11-16T07:12:15.156-08:00LSU - Oh man, oh man, oh man.<div>
This is just a quick reminder that this weekend is monumentally important to the Aggies. And not just in terms of wins and losses. This is where we set the precedent for how awesome our fanbase is for visiting SEC fans. An 11:00 AM start might be a deterrent to the average SEC fan, but not us. We're going to have an absolute blowout party after the game. If you are even a little bit on the fence about coming, get your butt off the fence and come on down (or up as the case may be). There will be a lot of people who just hang out during the game, watching it on TV, drinking free beer, waiting for Tim to return and start frying the all that fish. We've got a bartender, kegs, shot girls, musicians, fried food, coonasses and hurricanes.</div>
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Come on. Bring friends. Have a drink. Watch a little football.</div>
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More to come.</div>
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- Chuck '96</div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-43650184184985838582012-10-12T13:00:00.002-07:002012-10-12T13:00:42.305-07:00Ole Miss? Wow. And now La Tech . . .<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you didn’t watch the A&M / Ole Miss game there’s really nothing I can do to describe it to you effectively.<span> </span>But that doesn’t mean I won’t try.<span> </span>We did everything we could think of to give that game to Ole Miss.<span> </span>We turned the ball over six times.<span> </span>Six.<span> </span>Even people who don’t know anything about football (no offense Bryan) know that six is a lot of turnovers.<span> </span>We came within a hanging chad of giving up a game defining safety.<span> </span>We allowed them to convert on seemingly every third and fourth down conversion attempt (except one).<span> </span>We, on the other hand, failed to convert third and short and we failed to punch it in in the red zone.<span> </span>It was a rough first SEC road game.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">But, somehow the good guys pulled it out.<span> </span>The defense came up with huge stops when they absolutely had to and scored a defensive touchdown for the third week in a row.<span> </span>They kept Ole Miss from converting a critical fourth and a centimeter (about a half an inch for you non-metric holdouts) giving Johnny a short field to work with for the go ahead touchdown and the defense came up with the game ending interception in the final minute of play.<span> </span>Johnny Manziel did his thing, ran in circles, ran downfield, sometimes ran backwards, escaped pressure, missed some throws he should have made, made some throws he should have missed, fumbled the ball within sniffin’ distance of the end zone, led two improbable scoring drives in the final eight minutes of play to win on the road and was again clearly the most interesting part of an incredibly interesting football game.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s a highlight video that I think really captures the way other teams see Johnny Effin’ Football:</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1A5zDJWsFo" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1A5zDJWsFo</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">I owe my television an apology from Saturday.<span> </span>If that TV was a person, well, the things I said to it on Saturday would qualify as emotional abuse and I came within a gnat’s nut hair of physically abusing it as well.<span> </span>My poor mother in law was in the room and I may have shattered the heretofore unblemished image I had carefully cultivated with her over the last sixteen years.<span> </span>Theresa even had to take the kids out of the room at one point.<span> </span>With all of that fresh in my mind, the next time a cop looks me in the eye and says “we can do this the easy way or the hard way” I’m taking the easy way.<span> </span>I’d like to see the Aggies win the easy way too.<span> </span>To quote my old friend Sargent Murtaugh “I’m getting’ too old for this sh*t.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And now on to this week.<span> </span>When the schedule came out earlier this year I had circled Louisiana Tech as an easy game to win.<span> </span>After all, A&M has a perfect historical record against La Tech with an average margin of 31 points.<span> </span>There’s no way we’re losing to La Tech, right? <span></span>But it turns out La Tech actually has a pretty solid team this year and finds itself undefeated and ranked in the top 25 for the first time since Al Gore invented the Internet.<span> </span>They’re scoring 50+ points a game and haven’t been held below 40 yet.<span> </span>They’re also creating a lot of turnovers.<span> </span>This is giving the boys from Ruston, Louisiana a lot of confidence, particularly after we struggled with perennial SEC doormat Ole Miss.<span> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well, I have two predictions for everyone.<span> </span>First, Ole Miss is better than people think and will finish 4</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: small;"> or 5</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: small;"> in the SEC West (rather than the assumed 7</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: small;">), which would be good for 2nd in the Big 12-2-2+2.<span> </span>Second, La Tech isn’t bad, but they’re going to get their butts beat on Saturday.<span> </span>La Tech compliments their 3</span><sup>rd</sup><span style="font-size: small;"> ranked scoring offense with a 106</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: small;"> ranked scoring defense.<span> </span>And they achieved these impressive numbers against less than stellar competition.<span> </span>We will easily have the best defense and the best offense they have to play all season.<span> </span>The one wrinkle in the deal is that we’ll face their pass-happy offense with a depleted defensive secondary.<span> </span>We’re a little banged up and we’ve got two suspended players (starting linebacker Steven Jenkins and back-up safety Howard Mathews).<span> </span>There might not be a punt all night.<span> </span>We’ll see.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Those that bet, or rather those that take bets have the line at Ags -9.<span> </span>I’d still take that bet.<span> </span>I think we’re at least two TD’s better than La Tech and let’s face it, to win by less would humiliating. We'll beat the spread on moral grounds alone.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">This email has already gone on too long, but I think it’s worth mentioning the Ags in the NFL.<span> </span>Ryan Tannehill is playing as well as or better than the two QB’s drafted above him (Andrew Luck and RG III).<span> </span>He may become the franchise player for Miami that no one expected him to be, plus his wife is smokin’ hot.<span> </span><i>Aside: Speaking of RGIII, he got hurt last week, which sucks because I hear he’s a pretty decent guy.<span> </span>But, what I saw from him in college was that he was exceptional until he got hurt, which was not an uncommon event.<span> </span>And every Baylor Bold person I ever met gave me the one finger salute if I brought it up the possibility of that happening more rather than less in the pros.<span> </span>Well, I’m just sayin’, that’s all.</i><span> </span>Von Miller has five sacks through five games.<span> </span>With the Peyton show in Denver these days people just seem to accept that Von’s dominance is a given.<span> </span>It’s cool when being a badass surprises people, and it’s even cooler when they just know it’s coming.<span> </span>Jerrod Johnson is giving it another go, this time in the minor leagues. <span></span>I really want this kid to get his chance in the NFL.<span> </span>Jorvorskie Lane is the starting fullback for the Dolphins and seems to finally have his life in order.<span> </span>And a bunch of linemen continue to get no credit, even from me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">I’m not driving to Shreveport for the neutral site game.<span> </span>I’d like to, but I love my wife too much to leave her alone with the three amigos again this weekend.<span> </span>Plus, when you drive to Shreveport, unfortunately you wind up in Shreveport, which is fine, except that it’s Shreveport, and Shreveport sucks.<span> </span>But, I think everyone else should go.<span> </span>You’ll love it.<span> </span>It’s a short drive from DFW.<span> </span>And someone has to be there to watch the Ags beat the hell outta Bobby Boucher and the South Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs, err Bulldogs.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gig ‘em and Beat the Hell Outta Louisiana Tech!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chuck ‘96</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">P.S. – Plan on coming to the LSU game next week.<span> </span>I think I just locked up our music for the tailgate.<span> </span>Look up Jordan Camerino on youtube.<span> </span>Good stuff.</span></span></div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-42680588027733298042012-10-05T13:01:00.000-07:002012-10-12T13:02:20.191-07:00I'll miss Ole Miss - But it'll all be ok, I guess<div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">There’s no Dixie Chicken in Fort Worth. <span></span>So I stopped at a Fort Worth original with similar characteristics, Fred’s Texas, to write this.<span> </span>When you drink a beer at Fred’s there’s two things you can almost always count on finding at the bottom of the bottle, backwash and inspiration.<span> </span>Problem is that after a few beers it can be tough to distinguish between the two.<span> </span>Here’s hoping…</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Coming off a complete dismantling of Arkansas the Ags are probably riding pretty high.<span> </span>It was an old fashioned woodshed beating and that little piggy went “wee, wee, wee” all the way home.<span> </span>I’d feel bad for them, but I don’t recall any such sympathy from those guys last year when our promising season went down the toilet like a doobie during a drug bust (for the record I do not now, nor have I ever smoked weed, although ten million pot heads probably aren’t completely wrong).<span> </span>Anyway, our defense kept their offense out of the endzone for the last three quarters (in spite of giving up a lot of yards).<span> </span>The offense dazzled as 10 different receivers caught passes and we racked up over 700 yards of offense on way to a 58-10 drubbing of the Fayetteville swine posse.<span> </span>A little rain came and went.<span> </span>No biggie.<span> </span>It was not enough to dampen the party or the game.<span> </span>Johnny Effin’ Football just added to his legendary status, a mere four games into his pre-professional career.<span> </span>He literally ran circles around the defense.<span> </span>What can you say?<span> </span>Johnny be good!</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">This week the boys travel to Oxford, MS to take on Ole Miss.<span> </span>Ole Miss has a storied past and a checkered present.<span> </span>Home to Archie Manning, Eli Manning and that dude from the Blind Side (you know the one where Sandra Bullock goes all hot southern badass from Memphis and whips some racist country club ass).<span> </span>She’s on top of my list of people who would be perfect if they were just a little more like my wife.<span> </span>Anyway, Ole Miss put up a better fight against ‘Bama last week than they had against t.u. the week before.<span> </span>At risk of sounding like Lou Holtz, I don’t think we should overlook the Rebels.<span> </span>They’ve got a heck of a QB and they’re playing at home.<span> </span>We’ll have to have our game faces on to not suffer a let-down.<span> </span>Let’s hope KDS (Kevin “Damn” Sumlin, a reference to the SEC media days when he said “damn” no fewer than 17 times in his inaugural press conference) has his team focused for a tougher than projected match up with the quickly improving Rebels.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">There’s probably a lot of funny stuff to be said about the Rebs, but I’m in a bar and don’t have good internet access to look it up.<span> </span>Here’s what I know.<span> </span>Those folks know how to party.<span> </span>I wish I was there.<span> </span>They have cocktails, table clothes, chandeliers, silverware and servants.<span> </span>We don’t have anything like that.<span> </span>We have beer and French fries.<span> </span>I bet they have chamber music and debutantes.<span> </span>We have Merle Haggard and Daisy Dukes.</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I do like Merle Haggard.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">The game is at 6:00 PM .<span> </span>That gives you enough time to handle all that family stuff your wife, or husband I guess, wants you to do, then go to Wal-Mart to buy her (or him I guess) a romance novel and the kids a new cartoon DVD, lock them out of your man (or women I guess) cave, and watch this ever so important game with your buddies.<span> </span>Hopefully it all works for you.<span> </span>I will be in the comfort of my own home watching the game and planning the tailgate for the LSU game that is a mere two weeks away.<span> </span>So crack open a beer, hold your pinky in the air in honor of our new southern friends, and get ready for our first SEC road game.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gig ‘em and Beat the Hell Outta Ole Miss!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chuck ‘96</span></span></div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-89426221727793999682012-10-03T13:02:00.000-07:002012-10-12T13:03:30.261-07:00Arkansas - WOW - LSU coming up in a couple of weeks<div>
OK. First of all, wow. I'm not sure what else you say about the woodshed beating we put on the Razorbacks. If you didn't watch it, shame on you.</div>
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We're playing Ole Miss this weekend in Oxford, MS and Louisiana Tech in Shreveport next weekend. I can't attend either of those games although I would really like to hit them both. They are both winnable games against teams that are playing pretty well right now. La Tech is undefeated and we're really the only thing standing between them and a perfect season. I'll have more to say about each game as it gets closer.</div>
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The big thing is going to be the LSU game on the 20th. It looks like we'll be 5-1 and they'll be undefeated (depending on how the Florida game goes) for a big time showdown of ranked teams.
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Tickets are very difficult to get. Hotel rooms in College Staton, nearly impossible. And I expect the tailgate to be quite possibly the most incredible tailgate in the history of human existence. I have not figured out how to chainsaw a living tiger, so that's out, but this is still going to be one heck of a party.</div>
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The whole reason I bring it up now, two and a half weeks early, is that I want to make sure you all have a chance to figure out how to get down there for the party whether you've got tickets or not. You can just hang out at the tailgate and watch the game on all those TV's. Hell, there's no beer in the stadium anyway, the tailgate might be more enjoyable anyway? Tim is going to work up the biggest non-Lenten catfish fry in Texas and I'm going to provide leaedership and moral support. We're working on at least one musical act (Texas country), maybe two. We'll definitely have bartenders (maybe some shot girls) and a good time will be had by all.</div>
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This is not a party to be missed. We have to show all those cajuns what they've been missing all these years. I hope to see you all there.</div>
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Gig 'em,</div>
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Chuck '96</div>
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Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-70613612487083924502012-09-17T06:45:00.001-07:002012-09-17T06:45:00.582-07:00My Little Ponies<div>
We have lost to SMU in the past. I understand there was a time when the SMU Mustangs were a force to be reckoned with. In fact, there was an ESPN special 30 for 30 episode on it called "The Pony Excess". It looked little dated. All the footage had that classic NFL Films look to it, you know, where everything looks a little slow and grainy. And the background music sounds like the soundtrack from the A-Team (ba bu bum, bum-bum-ba-bum, budda-dum-da-dee-dum, dum-da-didda-diddum). Music doesn't translate well into roman characters, so I guess there really are some limitations to email.</div>
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Anyway, thanks to the recently invented World Wide Web I was able to plug in my modem and use WebCrawler to find out exactly how long ago that was. It's like a time warp. Men, it may be time to flip up the color on your pastel colored IZOD, pull on some nice corduroy bermuda shorts and lace up your top-siders. Ladies, get out those big-ass shoulder pads, your unitard, leg warmers and head bands and put that Pat Benetar record to good use. We're going back in time. It was 1984 my friends. That's right, almost 30 years since we last suffered a defeat at the hands of the Mustangs. To be fair, there was a tie in the 1990's, but I've never let facts get in the way when I'm on a roll. And it's been 20 years since we played on the SMU campus. So who knows. I can't get the music of my youth out of my head. (<em>Like a Virgin... Woo! Touched for the very first time... Like a viiiiiiiiiirgin...)</em>.</div>
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You probably need to know a few things to really enjoy the SMU game. SMU is coached by a guy with a girl's name, "June", as in the Beav's mom. <em>(Hey June, why don't you get in the kitchen and get me frickin' chicken pot pie.) </em>Last year was SMU's best year since 1984, going 8-5 against powerhouse schools like Rice, Memphis and Northwestern State. People who attend SMU have names like Buffy, Hoyt and Penelope and drink tea with their pinky fingers up in the air. SMU is literally in the middle of one of the largest cities in these United States and can't sell out a 32,000 seat stadium named after Gerald Ford (not the President who fell out of helicopters but the Dallas banking mogul). </div>
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One day, a long time ago, a heroic Aggie in the corps drew his sword (not a metaphor) to defend Kyle Field from a marauding SMU cheerleader and they can't seem to get over it. At least that's how I choose to portray it. I mean, if our beloved leader can claim to be masterful at defense, foreign policy and creating jobs, then I should be able to say just about anything without fear of reprisal. </div>
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I am super thin. </div>
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<em>That was easy. </em></div>
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I love the environment and respect the opinions of others. </div>
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<em>This is fun.</em> </div>
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I invented aluminum foil, space travel and orgasms. I AM YOUR LEADER! <strong><u>BOW DOWN TO ME!!!!</u></strong></div>
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Whoa. Sorry about that. I got caught up in election year stupidity. You know, no one has ever asked to be dropped from the list, but I think today might be the day.</div>
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Anyway, the game is at 2:30 and will be aired on Fox Sports. You should be able to spot me in the stands. I'll be the super thin environmentalist spaceman with the huge grin wearing maroon.</div>
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I hope you all enjoy watching the game. I think we have a pretty good chance of dominating them.</div>
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Gig 'em and Beat the Hell Outta SMU!</div>
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- Chuck '96</div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-6771853506994558902012-09-07T07:50:00.002-07:002012-09-07T07:50:33.975-07:00The Aggies and the Bible<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are so many storylines this season and this week in particular that I can’t cover them all. There are new players and old players, new coaches, new conference, new rivals, old rivals, the media, new stadiums, respect, and on and on. I was trying to think of any other story with the same level of complexity and character diversity and all I could think was that this is biblically epic. That's right, biblical. Here’s how I got there.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, I had a few beers after I pulled into College Station last night and I got to thinking about the Old Testament. Well, what I really did was earlier I almost hit a tire in the road which made me cuss, which made me wonder if using the word F#@K as an expletive was a sin since it’s not technically blasphemy and wasn’t directed at a person, which made me think it might be a sin since I’m pretty sure mom told me not to use the word so it’s a violation of the “honor thy father and mother” commandment, which made me think of the other commandments which made me think of Moses and the Israelites, which obviously leads to football.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is my account of how Moses and the Israelites are like Aggie football, or I guess, maybe the other way around is better. This is how Aggie Football is like Moses and the Israelites. There are some legitimate parallels to be drawn here. We have the escape from the evil Egyptians (guess who). Obviously we have the desert heat (my thermometer finally melted this summer when the temperature got to eleventy billion degrees). There’s the matter of having just enough manna (wins) to survive on, but nothing meaty for years. We clearly have all the impatient masses any old testament prophet could want. One might argue that there was the false idol incident (Fran). And then the guy that led us out of the desert doesn’t get to enter the Promised Land (Sherman). It would be better if a guy named Kevin had led the Israelites into the Promised Land instead of Joshua, but I’m probably on thin ice here as it is so it may be better not to push it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, the best part is that when Sherman, or Moses rather, lets Joshua take them across the Jordan river, they don’t just receive the Promised Land like government check in the mail (although I’m starting to see the appeal of the socialist state). They have to go in and kick some Canaanite butt to get it. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do to ‘em Ags. We’ve been wandering around the desert for too long and I’m ready for some football salvation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now, I don’t want to get too caught up in debating the relative accuracy of the bible according to Chuck. I think we all know already that I’ve been relying for some time on my mother’s prayers, God’s mercy and most importantly His sense of humor for me to have any shot at an eternal life free from painful itching and burning. Highlighting the flaws in my analysis is not important. What is important is to establish a link, however obscure it may be, between the Aggie’s winning tomorrow with God’s will. I’m confident we’ve done just that. And just think, this divine revelation is all because I almost hit a tire in the road. Funny world.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, you might think that now that we have God firmly on our side we don’t have to do anything else. You know, victory is assured, right? You couldn’t be more wrong. As they say “the Lord helps those who help themselves”. So, I suggest you come out to the tailgate on Saturday and <u>help yourself</u> to some barbecue, beans, sausage, and beer. I think it’s going to be a humdinger of a tailgate. It looks like the party will continue right on through the game as I’ve had a number of people ask if they can come out and just hang out during the game rather than go in. I think that sounds cool. So even if you don’t have tickets, come on out. Reach out to your friends and have them come out. Florida fans are welcome.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">I guess I should discuss the game and our opponent in a non-theological context for any godless liberals that might be reading this. OK. We’re playing #24 Florida at 2:30 PM on Saturday. It’s the big ESPN game of the week and Kirk Herbstreit and the College Gameday ®crew will be there. It’s A&M’s first SEC game and it’s legitimately winnable. I won’t bother you with all the stats that don’t support my stance. Instead I’ll only tell you that Florida last year had the same record as A&M and didn’t beat a single team with a winning record. Their offense is suspect (having two starting QB's is the same as having no starting QB's) and they played a lackluster game against powerhouse Bowling Green last week. Their defense is supposed to be pretty stout, but you have to ask yourself this, if those guys were really that good, wouldn’t they be playing for Alabama? I’m telling you, stats don’t lie. Plus we’re starting red-shirt freshman Johnny Manziel. He’s such a badass that the Internet (collectively) has nick named him “Johnny Effin’ Football”, except they use the real French instead of “Effin”. How can you lose with a nickname like that? It’s like “Jarrin’ John Kimbrough”, "Crash Davis" or “Calvin ‘Nuke’ Laloosh”. It’s all setting up to be a very nice game day for the good guys.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">I hope to see you all there. Tim and I bought enough beer for everyone to drink responsibly three or four times each on Saturday. The weather is going to be great. Bring friends if you like. It’s an election year so drink early and drink often. We’re easy to find. Look for the Army Truck and the Fire Truck and the big tailgate in the grass outside the East entrance (facing Kyle Field) of Reed Arena. Call me if you have any questions or if you want to take a crack at saving my soul. 817-266-8268. I haven’t done a great job of updating the email list so I’ve probably missed someone you asked me to send this to. Sorry.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gig ‘em and Beat the Hell Outta Florida!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chuck '96</span></span></div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-3901815012045144672012-08-31T12:36:00.002-07:002012-09-07T07:51:21.480-07:00The First Official Aggie Email<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yaaaaawwwwwwnnnnn. I would have never guessed that <u>not</u> watching the Ags play La. Tech would be just as boring as watching it. I hate Thursday night football, and now I have nothing to do except worry about the Florida game which is over a week away. It’s too early to start talking about the Florida game. That’s next week. So what should we talk about this week? If I came up with a silly joke, who would it be about? Who should I make fun of? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">I can think of a certain socialist disguised as a democrat that I could work over, but even in Texas you run the risk of accidentally offending the occasional democrat. And then again, as I think it through there is the idea of what would happen if Hawaii’s own Harvard-educated Chicago Community Activist ran college football. I’m assuming at the beginning of each season teams like Alabama, USC and Michigan would have to give teams like Bowling Green, UNT and Tulane 40% of their athletic budget, because, you know, those that can afford to give a little more should do it. It’s only fair. I bet all those democrats in Austin would be singing a different tune then…</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But politics is probably off limits.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Religion? That might even be a stretch for me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I guess there’s “stuff” to talk about. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">It was announced this week that the A&M Arkansas game would return to Arlington next season and for the foreseeable future. And while it was not officially announced, it has been rumored that part of the negotiations with Arkansas included Arkansas stepping aside and allowing the Ags to make the LSU game our new annual Thanksgiving game. Turkey gumbo?<i></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">I’ve noticed that the papers are discussing how t.u. is playing “SEC-like football”. If that’s <u>just like</u> playing actual SEC football, then I’m going to go get Theresa some “diamond-like” jewelry. “<i>Don’t come in the bedroom kids, I’m expecting something <u>just like</u> genuine appreciation…”</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Ags have announced plans for a replaced/renovated Kyle Field that would be larger and more impressive than anything yet seen by human eyes. If history is any indication our historically frugal former students will spring for something slightly less than overwhelming. We’ll plan for Adele (Big and Beautiful) and wind up with Macy Gray (well, big anyway…).<i></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jerome Solomon stated in his Houston Chronicle article that he never thought a school like A&M would hire a black head coach (I guess because we’re all racists?). Ironically between Austin and College Station, the Ags have a much better record of hiring diversity at top positions, but perceptions can be hard to deal with. For example, I perceive that Jerome Solomon is a moron.<i></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">There’s probably more, but I can’t think of anything. The off-season sucks. Having the first game of the season cancelled feels very much like high-school dating. You’ve waited soooooo long. All the anticipation. You’re almost there. You start to get “that feeling”. Everything looks like it’s going to work out. You even went to the store to get a raincoat (so to speak) for protection. And then before you can even get the damn thing out of its package everything stops abruptly and you have to go home. It seems like everyone else is getting to do it. But not you! And no amount of sound reasoning will convince you of anything except that you got hosed! #*&^#$!!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sorry. I got stuck in a flashback.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, we’ll be back at it next week. For our first game of the season we have the Florida Gators coming to town. I’ll probably have something better to say next week. With any luck I’ll get to use that raincoat.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gig ‘em and Beat The Hell Outta Rain Delay!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chuck ‘96</span></span></div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-58155182276701135772011-11-18T11:18:00.000-08:002011-11-18T11:19:10.457-08:00First the Pointer Sisters, then Van Halen, then Kriss Kross - Now the Aggies<div>Jump baby.<br /><br /></div> <div>Apparently jumping has been part of the American social fabric for decades. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that even the Aggies have been lining up to do a little jumping of their own. First they jumped to conclusions, then they jumped off the bandwagon. Now they're starting to jump off of cliffs. It's like watching a bunch of lemmings fighting their way to edge to be the next to take the fatal plunge into the seas of self loathing.</div> <div><br />If I could take this ill fated analogy even a step further, I'd suggest that maybe the Aggies should try taking a leap instead. Because it will take a leap, a plain old jump won't do it. Take a leap of faith that 1. this season has been an aberration and 2. that even if it isn't the sun will rise tomorrow.</div> <div><br />Somehow we've gotten to a bad place this season. The numbers don't look good and there's no real explanation for it. This team has not lived up any one's expectations. Not their own, not the coaches', not the administration's, and least important of all, not the fans'. OK. That sucks. I get it.</div> <div><br />But, and I can say this comfortably because no one that I know takes this as seriously as I do, it's time to let it go. The past is in the past. I've analyzed it a hundred times and my opinion is that the coaching staff should, for the most part, be left in tact. I'd like to maybe see an offensive coordinator put in place. There's just too much happening during the game for the head coach to do both jobs. That's my opinion and it's worth less than you paid for it. At a price of $0.00 you got ripped off.</div> <div><br />So what is a fan to do? Well, I usually look for wisdom in the bottom of a bottle which hasn't been working so far this season, so I'll do a 180 and refer back to what the alcoholics say, the serenity prayer. <em>"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things that I can and the wisdom to know the difference."</em> </div> <div><br />We can't jump off that cliff.</div> <div><br />We shouldn't be lemmings. Come on! We're Aggies, damnit!</div> <div><br />We can be steadfast in our resolve. Control the things we can. We can be supportive even when things aren't going our way.</div> <div><br />It's easy to destroy. Complaining, whining, mob justice. It's all easy lemming kind of stuff. But creation on the other hand is a b*tch. Let's do the tough job. Let's go create something good out of our lofty position as unpaid jurors in the court of irrelevant opinions. </div> <div><br />People might think we're weird for supporting a losing team. But, hey, we're Aggies, right? We accepted the first time we put on a maroon shirt that we were going to be viewed as different. I relish that. We're tough minded and we drink cheap beer. We're loyal to a fault. And if that's weird, ok. I'll take it.</div> <div><br />We just can't quit on these guys. I haven't seen a lot of quit in the players. Except for the OU game, we've been in every game this season. Yeah, we lost five of them, but we've been in them. We could just as easily be 10-2 (although clearly we aren't). This isn't a bad team. It's a good team in a bad place. I feel good about the people on this team, coaches and players alike. They are good individuals, good players, good representatives of Texas A&M. They will learn a lot from this season. They shouldn't have to do it under the weight of a fickle fan base.</div> <div><br />No one on this email was alive the last time we won a national championship in football. I'm sure one more season of waiting will be fine. We just need to get back to who we are. Let's go out and hit someone on Saturday. Rough tough real stuff. If we finish strong it's still an eight win season. I'll take it.</div> <div><br />Now, if you look at my request for a leap of faith as silly and preachy, you can always jump down my throat or tell me to jump in a lake. I'm a big boy. I can handle it. But, if you just don't like amateurish word play, I've got nothing for you. It's kind of my thing.</div> <div><br />Gig 'em and Beat the Hell Outta Kansas!</div> <div>-Chuck '96</div>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-20141637792731722142011-11-11T11:16:00.000-08:002011-11-18T11:18:03.503-08:00If you can see past the anger and hate . . .<div>...you're definitely in the minority among Aggie fans. I personally have trouble understanding it. Maybe it's like mashed potatoes. They're fine. They're not great. They're just fine. But if it's all you had to eat every freakin' year maybe you'd start to get mad. Maybe you'd get so mad that the idea of more mashed potatoes would make you want to punch someone? And then post about it on the internet. A lot. And so, it seems, the prospect of another 8 win year has got a lot of fans upset. We lost another game and people are wound up about it.</div> <div><br />Sure it was a top ten team, but we still lost another game. It's time to get out the torches and pitchforks. It's time to warm up the tar and pluck the feathers off a chicken or two. There's nothing left to be done but a good old fashioned witch hunt. Because, it's a certifiable, bonafide fact that we lost to OU on Saturday up in Norman, Oklahoma. I was there and there's just no way around that. There is no alternative.</div> <div><br />Or is there?</div> <div><br />You see, I googled "Time Travel" and lo and behold, I was able to buy two time trips from a site in the Netherlands <em>(not the same as the "Nether Regions", Paul, you need a passport to get there)</em>. And, I used my first trip back in time to garner fabulous wealth for myself so I could live a movie star's life and shower the program with money. But I found the super models and big yachts shallow and unfulfilling, so I used my second trip to undo the first one and now I'm out of time travel vouchers. On the plus side, I feel better about myself and now I know who wins American Idol this year. Oh well, I tried to bend the laws of time and space and apparently that's still not enough for us to win all our games.</div> <div><br />I guess everyone will just have to remember 2011 as the year we didn't go undefeated and didn't win the national championship in football.</div> <div> <div><br />I just don't think it's as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Our defense did pretty well. Sure, OU hung 28 on us in the 3rd quarter last weekend, but OU started three of those possessions inside the A&M 40. When OU started in their own territory they only scored on 3 of 12 possessions. But, when they started in A&M territory they scored on 4 of 7 possessions. You can try to blame the defense, but the defense didn't ask to start <strong><u>SEVEN</u></strong> possessions with their backs against the wall. For comparison, A&M started every single possession on their own side of the field. </div> <div>Offensively I thought we were pretty even with OU. We scored on 4 of 18 possessions (all started in our own territory) and had two uncharacteristically missed field goals in the mix. We had 527 yards of offense (5.7 / play) vs. 404 yards (4.7 / play). They didn't sack us at all. Except for the turnovers, this was really a pretty decent game.</div> <div>Man I hate turnovers. The four turnovers definitely cost us this game. Again. They have cost us every single lost game this year. That's not to say we would have won absent the turnovers. Who can know for sure? It's just that this game didn't appear competitive from the box score when in reality it was. You'll just have to take my word for it.</div> </div> <div><br />It's now officially time to focus your attention on the Kansas State game. think, think, Think, THINK! FOCUS!! Concentrate!!!!</div> <div><br />Are you focusing? What did you come up with?</div> <div><br />What a silly mascot. </div> <div><br />I'm just saying. K-State isn't that interesting to me.</div> <div><br />The K-State story actually parallels A&M's pretty well for the last several years. You see, Kansas State has also had a rough run this decade. They replaced a legendary coach with something else. It didn't work. Sound familiar?</div> <div><br />But then three years ago someone staked out the Luby's handicapped parking spots before the 4:30 dinner rush and caught Bill Snyder by the arm. They confused him with the Medicare Plan B pamphlets and talk of a donut hole and while he was telling a story about "the big one" they got him to sign a contract to return to coaching. Don't let the hover-round fool you. He's still plenty wily for a man from the greatest generation. He's got a solid 7-2 team and didn't lose to Missouri, so he's got a Sans-a-Belt leg up on the Yankee from College Station. We'll need to be ready.</div> <div>And I think we will be ready. For one thing, I honestly believe we're a better team than they are. We held OU and OSU to 71 points. Not great, but it's better than the 110 point KSU held them to. And our defense has gotten better each week. If you go back and actually look at the games you'll see this to be true. I think we'll be able to score on those Wildkitties. </div> <div><br />So buckle up the Barcalounger and tune in the old boobtube to ABC at 2:30 tomorrow. When we get done jarring those corn-fed teeth loose, it'll take more than a tube of Bill's Fixodent to get 'em all back in place. Tomorrow we set things straight.</div> <div><br />Gig 'em and Beat the Hell Outta Kansas State!</div> <div>-Chuck '96</div> <div><br /><br /></div>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-15864354472584996912011-11-04T11:34:00.000-07:002011-11-04T11:35:56.288-07:00OU don't know what to expect.<div>Did you get the double entendre there? I worked for literally seconds on that one. See, (1) "OU doesn't know what to expect from us." - OR - "Oh, you don't know what to expect.", implying that peoples' perceptions about this game may be off. Expect the unexpected. <em>Oh the english language is magical.<br /><br /></em></div> <div><em>I included some new folks on the email this week, Chris, Mike and John . They stopped by the tailgate on accident Satuday and got suckered into sticking around for a while. I thought I would throw them into the fire. Guys, I take up a little of everyone's time each week to ramble about the game and whatever else comes to mind. If you'd rather not receive it, just let me know and I'll drop your names. No worries.<br /><br /></em></div> <div>I want to briefly touch on the Missouri game and then move on.</div> <div><strong>SH*%, G*%D*&M, SON OF B*&%H, ()*&$# *&#$@*#)&#^)&*^@)*&^$(*@#$^)*(@$)*(^&#%$&*(%(&*%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</strong></div> <div><br />Ok. That's about all I have to say about that.</div> <div><br />Let's examine our next opponent, OU.</div> <div><br />OU is a very good team with an impeccable home field record. Historically we haven't faired well in Norman. You may recall that some years ago we let one slip away late and lost 77-0 up there. They're ranked in the top 10, again. They beat the whorns by 38 points earlier this year. The line on the game is OU by 16.5.</div> <div><br />By any rational analysis, you would have to assume that we're not favored in this one. I will instead, then, rely on irrational analysis. </div> <div><br />First, we'll look at what I call the "Toddler Effect". The Toddler Effect goes something like this: I have a 2 year old son, and I know that eventually he will stop cr*pping in his pants. Same for the Ags. The Toddler Effect.</div> <div><br />Second, we'll examine what I call the "Roy Sullivan" effect or alternatively the "Lightning Really Does Strike Twice in the Same Place" theory. See, Roy Sullivan has been struck by lightning seven times. Everyone assumes that it just doesn't happen, but sometimes it does. OU really could lose consecutive home games. Roy Sullivan.</div> <div><br />Next we'll look at the Platypus Theory. The Platypus Theory states that since God has a sense of humor (hence the existence of duck billed platypi) any number of other funny things could happen just to amuse him. Don't you think God would find humor in A&M beating OU two years in a row? I know I would.</div> <div><br />Lastly, we'll look at the Blind Squirrel hypothesis. As everyone knows, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while. Well, I think we may find an acorn up in Norman. For us that would be putting together four complete quarters of football. The thing is, it has to happen more often than you would assume, or the blind squirrels would all be dead (starvation). It's not as unlikely as you think. Blind Squirrel.</div> <div><br />In reality, we've got the talent on offense to win up in Norman. We really do. But, it's a little like me having the capacity to lose weight. I'm very comfortable that it's possible. I'm just not sure how likely it is. That said, I am on a diet right now and I'm down 3 pounds this week. So who knows?</div> <div><br />OU is a good team with a good set of coaches. So are we. We've had a lot of injuries on defense and every week we've had to cobble together a different set of players just to field a team. It's not surprising that they've not come along as much as we had expected this year. That said, I do think the defense has gotten incrementally better each week. We'll have to see what happens tomorrow.</div> <div><br />Our offense is as good or better than any offense in the country when they are firing on all cylinders. Every one of our offensive starters could start or be close to it on any team in the country. There is no one on offense that you have to make excuses for. I can't explain the offense disappearing in the second half of games. I have no excuse for it, but I don't think it's a talent issue. I think this one is on playcalling. That can be fixed.</div> <div><br />I'm going up to Norman to watch this game. I'm going to do all that I can to help the team along. I'm tired of listening to all the whiny pot bangers. People act like we've been relegated to the Sunbelt Conference and perpetual mediocrity. <em>"It's over and there's nothing we can do. We'll never win again."</em></div> <div>Bull Butter!</div> <div><br />Sure, this season has been a kick in the pants, but SO WHAT? When you get thrown from a horse, what do you do? You don't just get back on, you go whip the sh*t out of the horse, and then you get back on. It's time to rally around the team and the coach. These are my guys. They aren't mercenaries. They're Aggies. They go to the same class rooms I went to as a student. The eat in the same places. They're Aggies. They love A&M just as much as I do. They leave it all out on the field every week for A&M. They're my guys. And I just can't imagine abandoning them right now.</div> <div><br />So, I'm driving up to Norman, Oklahoma tomorrow morning, and if my team and my coach can't do it, then I will personally BEAT THE EVER LOVIN HELL OUTTA OU all by myself!!!! And Tim too, of course. I'll let him clear out the easy ones up front and I'll come in after to take care of the rest. ;)</div> <div><br />This game is on ABC at 2:30 PM. You'll want to watch just in case I get called in there at the end.</div> <div><br />Gig 'em and Beat the Hell Outta OU!</div> <div>Chuck '96</div>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-10964383336091467462011-10-21T11:26:00.000-07:002011-11-18T11:27:45.245-08:00Did you ever break up with someone and they just didn't get it?<div>US: "Hey, I think we'd both be happier apart. This just isn't working."</div> <div>THEM: "No, you can't leave. I'll die. My economy will be ruined."</div> <div>US: "You'll be fine. You'll find someone new. We can still see each other socially."</div> <div>THEM: "I can change. I really can. It'll be different this time."</div> <div>US: "Let's not dwell on the past. This is better for both of us."</div> <div>THEM: "I'll sue. I can't live without you."</div> <div>US: "Whatever."</div> <div>THEM: "I found someone new. I never needed you anyway."</div> <div>US: "OK. Bye."</div> <div>THEM: "You'll rue the day you left me."</div> <div>US: "OK. Bye."</div> <div>THEM: "Did you see my new boyfriend? Jeaolous, aren't you?"</div> <div>US: "I'm happy for you. Bye."</div> <p>THEM: "I'll never speak to you again. I don't need you. I never loved you anyway."</p> <div>US: "OK. Bye."</div> <div><br />This thing never seems to end. Some Big 12 schools are boycotting A&M for out of conference games going forward in all sports. I'm not sure how long this hissy fit will last, but it seems like it would need to end at some point. You can't tell me that tech would rather sell 15,000 discounted tickets to play SFA than 55,000 full price tickets for a game against the Ags. But maybe so.</div> <div><br />So this week, Kim Mulkey, Baylor's women's basketball coach, came out and announced that Baylor would never, ever play A&M in women's basketball again. Her comment was something like this. <em>"If a man divorces me, fine. But if he comes back later and wants to have sex, the answer is 'no'."</em></div> <div><br />First of all, and I want to be REALLY clear on this, no human, male, female or otherwise, is trying to have sex with Kim Mulkey. She looks like a gaunt, angry skeleton. There's not eneough tequila in all of Mexico. Second, surely she's not operating under the illusion that any of this had anything to do with A) Baylor or B) a sport other than Football. But maybe so.</div> <div><br />I really like Gary Blair. He was asked to comment on Kim Mulkey's statement and he could have just held up his national championship trophy and said "neener, neener, neener..." Instead he took the high road and said. <em>"We'll play anybody in the Big 12 who wants to play us as long as it's going to better our RPI schedule and if I'm taking recruits back into that area."</em> and <em>"A lot of it, not playing could be said it's going to be for recruiting. Okay. Throw all that other hogwash out the window. It's for recruiting. But there are about -- correct me if I'm wrong, Peter -- 12 other Division I schools in the state of Texas, and I think a lot of them will be glad to play Texas A&M."</em><br /></div> <div><br />This is not going to be a clean, friendly divorce. It's getting mean and nasty. But, in case you didn't know it, we've been dominating the state in almost all sports for a little while. t.u. hasn't beaten our women's basketball team since 2007. Tech hasn't beaten an A&M team in any sport since 2009. We've got a winning streak in football on every team in Texas. Winning cures everything and as long as we keep winning everything will be fine.</div> <div><br />Speaking of continuing to win, we're going up to Ames, Iowa for a little football contest Saturday. I've always liked Iowa State. They seem like nice people. They've been ok from time to time, but have generally been the whipping boy of the conference. This year is no exception, although they are not to be overlooked. I expect the good guys to go up there and win convincingly, hopefully letting some key players get some rest. The game is at 2:30PM on ABC's regional broadcast.</div> <div><br />Just a quick couple of thoughts on the Baylor game. The game was closer than the four touchdown lead indicated. Baylor has a very good offense that, unfortunately for them, turned the ball over once on downs on the goal line and missed a short field goal. Our defense came up with some really good stops when it had to. Most years you can dismiss the Baylor win as insignificant just because it's the same thing that has happened in 23 of the last 25 meetings, but this was a good win and a really fun game to watch. Robert Griffin III was simply amazing. By all accounts he's a good kid and one heck of an athlete. The Aggie offense was unstoppable though, and scored on nine straight possessions. It was more than Baylor could overcome. At the end of the day, RGIII or not, they're still Baylor.</div> <div><br />Wear maroon. Lots of maroon. People need to see that we're out there and damn proud to be Aggies.</div> <div><br />Gig 'em and Beat the Hell Outta Iowa State!</div> <div>-Chuck '96</div>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-17076060039604349412011-10-13T11:29:00.000-07:002011-11-18T11:29:50.316-08:00Of sand fleas and bear droppings . . .<p>Great win over Tech. Not so much because it was great football, although there were certainly moments, but because we overcame adversity on the raod and won back to back games in Lubbock for the first time in a long time. We gave up a trash TD late, but for the most part we were ahead by 10 or more points the whole way. We ran back a blocked FG for a TD (thank you Dustin and Trent) and really killed any momentum they had going. The refs were bad. The crowd was bad. But the good guys got it done. Bring on the next victim.</p> <p>Baylor. Man. I'm not sure what to think of Baylor. Hell, I'm not sure what "Baylor" even means. I'll look it up.</p> <p>OK. At the crossroads of Google Avenue and Wikipedia Drive, I found the following information. Baylor was founded by an Alabama lawyer, Robert Emmet Bledsoe Baylor, who in 1845 convinced the two other founders to name the university after him (sounds lawyerly). REB Baylor was later a judge and one of the men who penned the unintelligible Texas state constitution. He was also a Jacksonian, the political party that later became the modern day Democratic party. It's unclear why he left Alabama for Texas, but I imagine it had something to do with the ncaa and freeloading. Somehow it's not surprising that there's a lawyer at the root of all this.</p> <p>I also checked on the other primary source of internet goodness, TexAgs.com for information on Baylor. No definition, but many versions of the name "Baylor" including Bailure (like failure), Gaylor (seems rude to gay people), and Baylro (I don't get this one but it's out there a lot).</p> <p>I have nothing but contempt and animosity for Baylor these days. For 15 years Baylor did nothing to improve the Big 12. They just sucked from the teets of schools that actually care about football. It's very much like welfare. Not very greatful for the freebie, but watch what happens when you try to take it away. When the whole longhorn / aggie thing became untenable, we decided to part ways amicably but Baylor screwed it up. Ken Starr, a stained blue dress of a human being himself, wrote op ed pieces in the New York Times, the Houston Chronicle and any other paper that would carry his message. He threatened litigation, and draped himself in the American flag while eating apple pie and stabbing TCU, SMU, Houston and Rice in the back. We were held hostage by the man who spent $58 Million to prove that Bill Clinton was a liar and a cheater (stunning revelation). But now that the Big 12 Conference is stable, hey, let's all be friends. Right?</p> <p>To quote one of my favorite movies, Hoosiers: "Look, mister, there's... two kinds of dumb, uh... guy that gets naked and runs out in the snow and barks at the moon, and, uh, guy who does the same thing in my living room. First one don't matter, the second one you're kinda forced to deal with."</p> <p>All I can say is that I've never much cared about this game until this year. I hope we put RGIII on his butt. I want to see this team come out fired up and just stick it to the bears, in both halves. </p> <p>That said, RGIII (Robert Griffin the 3rd), really is a special talent. He has world class sprinting speed and he's having a phenomonal year. His QB rating is through the roof. He has 19 TD's and one interception. He's completing 80% of his passes. He's got more touchdowns than incompletions. He's the most legitimate Heisman candidate that Baylor has ever had. He's not the toughest hombre in the saloon, but he's a heck of a gun fighter. My recommendation when you're fighting a better gun fighter is to hit him on the head with a chair while you're still in the bar. Don't go out in the street and expect to beat him on the draw.</p> <p>In football speak, the answer to RGIII is to hit him early and hit him often. He's not a QB that handles contact well. We are one of the top sacking defenses in country. Hopefully we can get him on the ground enough times to shake him up.</p> <p>In a turn of rotten luck for the Ags, the game is at 11:00 AM. So the crowd may be relatively subdued. I think that's a shame, but it'll work out ok. I'm planning on serving screw-drivers and bloody mary's before the game. It's ok to drink before noon if you have a good reason or a drinking problem.</p> <p>We'll have breakfast burritos before the game and fajitas after. Let me know if you're coming so I know how much fajita meat to buy (+/- 10 lbs).</p> <div>Call me if you need anything at all.</div> <div><br />Gig 'em and Beat the Hell Outta Baylor!</div> <div>Chuck '96</div> <div><br />P.S. - "Like" us on Facebook and receive free updates, thoughts, opinions, musings, ramblings, conjecture, speculation, and occassional profanity. <strong>The Aggie Tailgate</strong></div> <p><br /></p>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-74529070820690256832011-10-07T09:11:00.000-07:002011-11-18T11:32:14.291-08:00There's a storm brewing in Lubbock, Texas.<div>Seriously, check the radar. The forecast is for rain during the game.<br /><br /></div> <div>But the storm I'm referring to is more of a personal storm.</div> <div><br />What we're about to witness is a bit of a post-relationship cat fight. The image I have in my mind is of what happens after a break-up when you have to go back and get your stuff from her apartment. Only in this case it's not your ex-girlfriend's apartment. It's her ugly, clingy friend who's had a <em>Fatal Attraction</em> crush on you since the beginning and man, is she upset. She's gonna want to fight, and you just want your Run DMC CD's back. To her it's emotional. She'll want to show you what you'll be missing. To you it's just another horrible trip to the end of the world. At least it's the last time you'll ever have to go there.</div> <div><br />But, let's face it. You want to go out on top. You want to walk out of there with your pride in tact and all of your stuff back. The best bet is to just go in there, take care of business, and leave no question about who's in charge. KEEP IN MIND, after you drown Glenn Close in the tub, you have to remember that she's not dead until you put a bullet in her head. Otherwise she's going to jump up out of the water and get you with that butcher knife.</div> <div><br />BANG!</div> <div><br />And it's over.</div> <div><br />I wish the rest of this email was funny. Actually, I wish the first part was funny or funnier. The rest is probably not funny or at least not "funny" in the classic sense of making someone laugh, smile, or even reflect fondly.</div> <div><br />Clearly the Fatal Attraction thing is a metaphor for not allowing a tech to come back at the end. They've been doing that and we've been letting teams do that. It should be a high scoring affair. You have one of the best passing teams in the country (ttu) against the team ranked dead last in pass defense (A&M). You also have the team ranked dead last in rush defense (ttu) trying to stop one of the top rushing teams in the country (A&M). The over/under should be 100 points. The Ags are 9.5 point favorites.</div> <div><br />The question will be, "what happens in the second half?" I didn't write anything last week before the Arkansas game. It was a busy week and I wasn't sure how I felt after the OSU loss. I can tell you that I was so scarred by the OSU debacle that at half time against Arkansas, up 18, I thought "I wonder if we can hold on to a three score lead this week?" I just didn't have the faith. And the crowd I was sitting with was awful. They didn't stand, they didn't yell. Weak. Just weak. And, believe it or not, when I told them they sucked, they took offense. The whole thing had taken the wind right out of my sails. And everyone knows how that game turned out. Ugghhhh.</div> <div><br />If you're looking for answers, part of it is injuries. I'm not sure why no one is talking about this piece. Sure, we brought back eight starters from last year's defense, but three of those eight guys were injured and didn't play against Arkansas (Mathis, Campbell and Judie). And we got a little more banged up as the game went along. So we were missing some key guys and we got just torched in the second half. Still, if the offense hadn't disappeared we could have easily held on to win that game. C-Mike put up a monster game, but had a critical fumble late. Tanny had a solid game, except for the <u>way</u> underthrown pass to Fuller that was easily intercepted. Either of those two plays go differently, and the whole game has a different complexion. And for the 3rd week in a row, we forced no turnovers of our own. Just writing about makes me want a drink. Is it too early for a scotch? Maybe a bloody mary.</div> <div><br />Still, I actually feel pretty confident this week. Tech hasn't really played anyone yet (Tx St. 3-2, NM 0-5, NV 1-4, KS 2-2 ) and I'd say we're a battle hardened team. Since the naughty pirate left Lubbock for deeper waters, I've felt a lot better about that place in general. It's still a dump, but it's a dump where we can win. I think you'll see a much improved defense this week. Expect to see some youth injected into the defense (Toney Hurd, Shaun Ward, Floyd Raven) and a simpler defensive scheme. And expect to see an offense absolutely destroy an inferior team. We'll give up some points, but we're not going to take our foot off the gas. Now, I'm starting to feel more optimistic.</div> <div><br />And there is plenty to be optimistic about. First, we've got a top ten offense. We're #1 in sacks per game and #3 in sacks allowed per game. We're actually #5 in rush defense (although we're still literally dead last passing defense #120). I see us pounding the ball against tech and beating them in the trenches. I think they'll have to play their safeties up to compensate and we'll burn them on some deep throws. I see the good guys winning and covering the spread.</div> <div><br />At the end of the day, we've only lost one conference game. We've lost two total games to two top ten teams by a combined total of 5 points. We're not a bad team at all. We can be a very good team. There's no reason we can't run the table and finish strong here. It starts on Saturday in Lubbock at 6:00 PM CST. The game will be on Fox. </div> <div><br />Gig 'em and Beat the Hell Outta Texas Tech!</div> <div>Chuck '96</div>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-80496484232887565272011-09-22T15:04:00.000-07:002011-11-18T11:31:34.168-08:00Holy Cr*p this is a Big Game!<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;">This is it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It may well be the biggest game of the Big 12’s last meaningful season and it’s happening in College Station on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 PM.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Fightin’ Texas Aggies vs. the Oklahoma State "Fabulous" Cowboys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It will feature two top ten teams, several future first round NFL draft choices, big time offense, a tremendous crowd, lots of national exposure and more Brokeback Mountain jokes than you've probably heard in a couple of years.</span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;">Who in the world would want to miss that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Mickey Mouse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That’s who.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Apparently Steamboat Willie feels that watching LSU curb-stomp (get it?) the Mountaineers is a better use of the ESPN College Game Day crew’s “talents”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Oh well, I guess that’s part of the deal when you spit in ESPN’s eye.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style="font-size:100%;">OK. Who watched the Idaho game?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Well, me for one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And then over 86,000 other people came to Kyle Field to see that game as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The defense allowed fewer than 100 yards and didn’t let the Vandals cross the 50 through three quarters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> We did give up some trash yards on their final possession. Meh. </span>Our offense methodically put up 37 points, mostly through the air, and Cyrus Gray got his 9</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> consecutive 100+ yard game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Jeff Fuller and Ryan Swope had some great catches and Tanny went another game without being sacked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Another ho hum butt-kicking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Idaho wasn’t a bad team, they were just over-matched.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We played the way you want to play a game like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Solid, simple, relatively mistake-free football.</span></span></p> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;">It’s time to unleash the hounds, or Collies as the case may be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I can’t wait to see this match-up. Since I bombed with the mic in my hands at the tailgate on Saturday I decided to bring back a favorite from emails past to make up for it. </span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;">Here it is folks. <strong><u>The joke</u></strong>.</span></div> <blockquote style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir="ltr"> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;">So, Ol’ Rock is down in Mexico, exploring the local culture, tequila and food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He stops into a little cantina, sits down and orders a drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Across the way he sees Pistol Pete dressed up like a bull fighter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He looks over the menu notices the waiter bring a plate of something to Pete and boy does it smell good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So Rock asks the waiter what Pete’s having.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The waiter replies “Ah, senor, that is a wonderful delicacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is bull testicles from the bull fight this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> A beautiful tradition and wonderful way to experience the local culture. </span>In fact, Senor Pete has even decided to be the matador manana.”</span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;">Rock thinks, what the hell?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Why not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Can you go ahead and bring me a plate of those too?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It sure looks good.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>The waiter says, “I’m so sorry senor, but we’re out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There’s only one bull fight each day, but if you come by in the morning and place your order we’ll be happy to prepare it for you.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>So in the morning Rock comes in and places his order and prepares to come back that evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That night when he arrives at the restaurant he doesn’t see Pete, but the waiter has been expecting Rock and welcomes him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When he brings out the dinner it looks different to Rock. The chunks on the plate are small and it smells a little off. Rock waves the waiter over. "Say, this doesn't look very good tonight. I think I'll have something else if that's alright with you. May ask, by the way, why is it so different from last night?"</span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;">The waiter looks at Rock and says, "Well, senor, sometimes the bull wins."</span></div> </blockquote> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" dir="ltr" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;">And that's exactly what we're going to do to 'em Ags!</span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" dir="ltr" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;"><br />This is really going to be a great football game. 2:30 PM on ABC. Two top-ten teams. Explosive offenses. The weather is going to be warm and sunny. The tailgate is going to be awesome. We have a band coming, the ever-popular Jeannie (the bartender), lots of food and beer. Family fun for everyone. More fun for a few of us. Please come on out and have a good time at the tailgate. Tickets or not. We'll be serving food at around 11:30 AM and again after the game.</span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" dir="ltr" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;"><br />You know where we are. Just go out the East entrance to Reed Arena. Look for the Army truck, the Fire Truck and all those people in maroon.</span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" dir="ltr" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;"><br />Gig 'em and Beat the Hell Outta OSU!</span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" dir="ltr" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;">Chuck '96<br /><br /></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" dir="ltr" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;">P.S. "Like" us on Facebook. "The Aggie Tailgate" Post your pictures, leave witty messages, no nudes, please (Paul).</span></div>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213900005161559426.post-57432575758497827102011-09-15T07:58:00.000-07:002011-09-15T08:00:02.362-07:00Idaho 2011<div><br />I want to talk about the upcoming game against the University of Idaho, but I'm having trouble getting past the soap opera that has become the collapse of the Big 12. I'm going to do my best. Please forgive me when it all goes awry.</div> <div>Here's what I can tell you about Idaho:</div> <div>They are called "The Vandals" and they play in an indoor stadium called the Kibbie Dome. The Kibbie Dome looks like a converted airplane hanger and it holds about 16,000 people (smallest in D-1) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibbie_Dome" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibbie_Dome</a> . </div> <div>Average attendance is 8,000 - 10,000. They play in the WAC (Fresno St., Hawaii, La. Tech, Nevada, New Mexico St., San Jose St., Utah St.)<br /><br /></div> <div>That's pretty much all I know. I heard the Tank (coach Sherman) speak very highly of the coaching staff and several veteran players. I heard the same from some of the players at the weekly presser. What that really tells you is the the Tank has done a great job of either 1. putting the right future politicians (err... liars) in front of the microphone or 2. actually keeping this team focused in spite of the circus atmosphere they're living in. Either way I'm impressed.</div> <div><br />I kind of like that they're the "Vandals". The name is the result of being dubbed such in a 1917 student newspaper article and it stuck. Apparently the basketball team played such ferocious defense that they "vandalized" opposing teams. To get a name like that today you'd have to get it through the committee. I'm not sure what committee, but you can bet your potato loving butt there would be a committee. The committee would probably suggest a name like "the Sandals" because it sounds like "Vandals" but everyone loves sandals or "the Rascals" which is just like a vandal but much less so.</div> <div><br />So, welcome to Texas you lovable Idahoans. They're really called that. I checked. I can't think of anything better. Seems like there's probably a good (or bad) joke in there somewhere.</div> <div><br />I wasn't in Vegas this week to check the line on the game. I heard the spread was A&M minus eleventy billion. Not sure though.</div> <div><br />Speaking of eleventy billion. That's the latest economic impact estimate being floated by the Baylor people as a result of A&M leaving the Big 12. Ken Starr, Baylor's president and former blue dress investigator, went to Washington D.C. this week. I'm not sure what will come of it, but if Congress can't help him I understand he's prepared to appeal to a higher authority, Oprah.</div> <div><br />In all seriousness though, Ken Starr sucks. This is a little beyond pathetic. It's like when someone refuses to sign divorce papers, because, you know, that almost always (i.e. never) works out. There are tons of Ags looking for ways to punish Baylor with boycotts, smear campaigns, refusing to play, etc. I'm not sure what we could possibly do to them that would be more humiliating than what they're doing to themselves. I mean, at the end of they day, they're still "Scrubby little Baylor" (per Jim Rome: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj-VinD6jEc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj-VinD6jEc</a> ).</div> <div><br />Maybe the most interesting thing that's happened here lately is that t.u. might be headed to the ACC. The ACC? Really? Well, they really want to keep this Longhorn Network and none of the big conferences will allow it. So, t.u. may wind up playing in a conference where Florida State is the closest team (868 miles). Those trips are going to be fun.</div> <div><br />How ironic would it be if t.u. winds up in a much worse position athletically because of this ESPN TV deal? I imagine a shriveled, bug-eyed, Deloss Dodds on an empty TV broadcast set clutching his ESPN contract in his bony little fingers muttering to himself something about "my precious, my precious". I can't remember if this is what it looked like right before Enron skidded off into a ditch. Seems like it.</div> <div>Too big to fail. Ha. It's funny when you talk to sips about the whole thing that one of their honest answers about why this will work out for them is "we're Texas". They really believe that being the University of Texas at Austin is a virtue in and of itself, that if Mankind won't give them a fair shake certainly God will (or "fate" for the godless hippie atheists in Austin). They're oblivious to the fact that 12 schools have won more national championships in football than they have and that outside of the state they are viewed as being very much like lots of other "football" schools.</div> <div>Anyway, that's my rant for today, I guess. I'm pretty excited about the tailgate this weekend. I think the weather is going to be decent. Game time is 6:00 PM. It's only available on TV via pay per view, so you better some on out. We'll be grilling this weekend. Burgers, dogs, chicken, sausage and whatever else shows up. Tons of food for everyone. You got something you want cooked? You bring it, I'll burn it.</div> <div>Next Weekend is the OSU game. Two top-ten teams on national television. All indications are that this game will be wheels off. I wanted to reach out to everyone now to make sure you can come on down.</div> <div><br />Gig 'em and Beat the Hell Outta Idaho!</div> <div><br />Chuck '96</div>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915254352452492849noreply@blogger.com0