Blowing Like A Hurricane: Sandy Trash Talk

There are so many current, and extant, memes and winds with which to open up that which is the Emptywheel blog Trash Talk. Ima gonna get in such HUGE problems from Marcy for not featuring Meat Loaf right here on the cover of our own Rolling Stone.

Sandy, the fireworks are hailin’ over Little Eden tonight
Forcin’ a light into all those stony faces left stranded on this warm [October] night
Down in the town, the Circuit’s full of switchblade lovers,
so fast, so shiny, so sharp
As the wizards play down on Pinball Way on the boardwalk way past dark
And the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open
like Latin lovers on the shore
Chasin’ all them silly New York virgins by the score

But I can’t do it. Not gonna do it. Probably gonna be fired from this blog, as a degenerate itinerant. I am a so screwed.

Did you hear the cops finally busted Madame Marie
For tellin’ fortunes better than me

And, you know, I could have used Madame Marie so far this year. My predictions have been seriously for shit.

Okay, I will deal. And move on to the games in play for the bookie at the joint underneath the boardwalk.

I don’t know where Sandy is going to get off, i.e. hit on the coast, but if you are anywhere on the projected path, then let preparation and safety come first. Our friend Cindy Kouril lives in the danger zone, and she has some thoughts.

But rigging for bad weather is not the only thing going on, we have sporting competition afoot!

The biggest story is the World Series where, somewhat surprisingly, the Giants have jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Tigers. As the series opened up in San Francisco, it might not be that surprising, the shelling put on Justin Verlander in game one sure was. But now it moves to Detroit. Since Bud Selig and MLB simply will not allow a day game to be played any longer, the temperature come game time should be in the vicinity of 36-38 degrees. It is more than possible for the Tigers to run off a couple of games before going back to San Francisco. We shall see.

As to the student athletes, we are just about to hear the big prediction from the ESPN Gameday crew. Is there anything more idiotic than their new practice of having a guest celebrity “help” them? Today it is some al-Qaida looking dude apparently (I think) from “Kings of Leon”. Seriously, it has just gotten asinine. At any rate, the big game this week is the Domers at the Sooners. Love to stop having to say the game of the week involves the Irish, but terrified at the prospect of having to root for freaking Oklahoma to stop said trend. GO SOONERS!

Big Blue invades Cornfusker land. The King of Leon picks teh Bo Merlots. I dunno bout that, think the Nebraska can take the Merlots. THE Ohio State University goes to the Not JoePas; Penn State has been a pretty good story this year, starting out the year 5-2 and 3-0 in conference. Think the Buckeyes will put a dent in that record, though OSU’s starting QB is nicked up so it may be close. Not all the good matchups are in the Big 10.X, Gators at Dawgs will be a real test for Mr. White’s boys and the Texas Tech not quite yet Dead Raiders at Kansas State game may be good too. Colin Klein is something.

In the pros, I’m actually pretty interested in the Fish at the Jets, Jets, Jets. Miami is way better than anybody thought, and their defense may actually be ahead of Rex Ryan’s. Gonna roll with a Fishy upset. The Dirty Birds at the Santa hating Iggles should be an epic throw down. The Falcons outclass Philly in every category and pundits are saying both Andy Reid and Mike Vick are goners. So Iggles it is then!! Seattle at Detroit should be interesting, assuming Matt Stafford can get the grass out of his hat. The Good Elis go down to the Jerry Dome to visit Mr. Romo. Do the ‘Boys have anything for the Gents? I don’t think so. The seemingly rejuvenated Saints travel up to Mile High to take on the Peytons. Later in the year I’d probably pick the Donkos, but right now, think the Saints will smoke them. Aaaannnd, believe it or not, the Cardinals are on Monday Night Football! Yep, hell has frozen on over. The Niners will be in town to visit Spidey Dude Fitzgerald and whatever schlub is going to try to pitch him the damn ball. I think it’s Red Skelton this week. Look for the Niners to roll.

Also up is the Indian Grand Prix from the Buddh International Circuit. Sebastian Vettel has taken a six point lead on Fernando Alonso. Vettel is on pole with Red Bull teammate Mark Webber joining him in the front row. Hamilton starts in P3 on the grid. Looks like Vettel is going to sprint to another driver’s crown unless a shunt or mechanical problems stop him. Vettel is very smooth and good from pole though, so not likely at the Indian.

Okay, let it be known that Marcy MADE me put some Loaf in this oven. Paradise By The Dashboard Light it is then. Hey, forget the Meat, Ellen Foley can flat out wail baybeee! Don’t sleep on it, rock this joint.

Don’t Fuck With The Ducks Trash Talk

I have been flattened like a bug in the road by a steamroller. Holy crap Batman, that Oregon jizzle shizzled on the Devils in Old Town Tempe last night. Like a nuclear tsunami plague earthquake. This year’s ASU Sun Devils have talent, and newly instilled discipline. They are not yet deep, but they are good. So, while I had some concern as I went down to Sun Devil Stadium THREE hours before kickoff to tailgate party like a rockstar, hope abounded in spite of the fact the Ducks are who we thought they are. Unfortunately, the Ducks were, and are, the number two team in the country. Put Down The Duckies baybee.

Hey Romney, keep yer Mitts OFF of Sesame Street and PBS!

A corollary point: My local NPR radio station is KJZZ in Phoenix, and they are doing pledge week currently. My guess is all NPR stations are as well. These folks kick ass and take names in a large way. They do so because of you, their listeners and supporters. If you can, help them out. It truly is a worthy cause. And, remember, Mitt Romney would cut their hair like a weak classmate. Because that is who Mitt Romney is.

Holy fucking shit. Have you seen the Quackers on teh TeeVee? You have NO idea just how fast their skill players, on both sides of the ball, are; nor how technically sound and quick both of their lines are. I don’t know if they can beat Alabama or not, but, man, they are something.

So, as I mentioned earlier, I went to a tailgater – uh – a little ahead of the game. Times have changed since we used to lug, like ancients with pyramid building blocks, a keg up Tempe butte. Now we roll like big dogs into a covered parking deal in reserved spaces with a custom designed tailgate rig. The pictures are attached for reference. Just to be clear, this gig belongs to my old roommates from college, not me. I actually gave up my 48 yard line seats about 7-8 years ago, about the same time I gave up my cherished Suns season tickets. After a while, it was too much effort, and way too much money.

But, I gotta say, it was one hell of a good time by one and all. I would like to make a quick, no-trash, point. Look at the canopy cover on the parking area where we were tailgating. That same canopy cover covers more area than some small towns. Know what it is? Yep, that evil solar energy. That’s right, ASU and sister university U of A, are both huge into the scourge of right wing mental midgets everywhere. The array of ceiling cover for out drunken binge produces huge clean kilowatts every day of the year for one of the six largest universities in the United States. Not bad.

Cause I know y’all were concerned about teh technicalities, yes the tailgate rig had its own generator, giant flat screen teevee (hey, the NFL was on too last night!) and, most importantly, airplane like bathroom as pictured to the right. The expensive jet set bars of Scottsdale are so yesterday, I was in heaven last night.

Alright, enough of this. Suffice it to say, I am focusing on the good from last night. The bad is that the Quackers wiped the Sun Devils’ asses. And then some. And, honestly ASU did not suck so much as they just were outclassed. The final score was 43-21 but, trust me, it was NOT that close. The Ducks still have USC, Stanford and the upstart and surprisingly good Beavers of Oregon State left on their schedule. USC is better than they appear. Stanford is really sound and well coached. Oregon State is shocking people, but Mike Riley is really a good coach. But if any of those have even a candle for the Ducks, I will be shocked. I think Alabama is the one true test and it will be in the BCS Championship.

Okay, I spent my wad last night and must get on to some other matters tonight and Saturday morning. So, the college games of note, and some of these look VERY interesting, are Kansas State/West Virginia, LSU/Texass A&M and South Carolina/Florida (no, Jim White, the Gators are not really the #2 team in the country).

But, wait, there is more!! A shoutout to two friends, Masaccio and Gaius Publius, I like to jabber with them relentlessly, but I truly love and respect both. Because I have so much respect for them, I must be honest: Anybody that thinks Notre Dame is really the number five team in the nation needs their head examined. The “win” against The Tree was as tainted as the Seahawks was against the Packers with the Replacement Refs. Seriously. If the Domers were playing in Provo against the BYU Cougs, I would say watch out. But, not to worry, you still have the Okies and Trojans coming up.

In the pros, look for Skins at Gents (RGIII ain’t Alex Smith boys), Cards at probably better Vikings, Tebows at Bradys and, on MNF, Kittehs at Cubs.

We also got Beisbol in progress. El Tigres have done the universe a favor by putting the light hitting Yankees out of their misery. The Giants, tonight, roared back behind, the once long lost, Barry Zito for a convincing win over the St. Louis Cardinals, to close the series to 3-2. Still, you have to think the Cards are looking good here. I am rooting hard for the Giants, but it would be kind of neat to see a replay of the 1968 and 2006 World Series. I still get goose bumps thinking about Gibson versus McClain and Lolich in 1968. Bob Gibson was one bad ass muthafucka.

There ya go, trash it up home folk.

Trash With No Name

Sorry about the late hour of the Trash, I got a bit preoccupied with qualifying at the Korean Grand Prix and, well, fell asleep apparently. Mark Webber took pole with Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel close behind. Alonso’s Ferrari took P4 just behind Lewis Hamilton as he finishes out his run for McLaren. This is going to make for one heck of a race as, thanks to Alonso’s DNF last week at Suzuka, Vettel is only a scant 4 points behind Alonso for the driver’s championship. With four races left after the Korean, everything is wide open. The Korea International Circuit is located in Yeongam and is still in its infancy by F1 terms. Unlike Suzuka, it has little tradition or particular character and beauty. KIC is, to be blunt, nice but somewhat nouveau, pedestrian and sterile. Maybe someday it will hold some allure and tradition, but that seems very far away.

Major League Baseball, however, is back and better than ever. Wow, what an end of the season and start of the postseason. This is the kind of stuff I remember as a kid. The Detroit Tigers rode Justin Verlander past the amazing A’s and into the ALCS Thursday against……the dreaded New Yawk Damn Yankees who Friday ended the similarly dreamy season of the Baltimore Orioles. None of that, of course, held a candle to the incredible 4 run ninth inning the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals used to crush the seemingly in control and destined Natinals. In washington. Just wow. And ALL of that was after the Giants came from 0-2 in the divisional series to close out the Reds. In Cincinnati. I am not a fan of Bud Selig, but hat’s off to the most roaring start of the postseason in a very long time. There is only one game today, with the ALCS opening in the Big Apple as Doug Fister matches up against the ageless Andy Pettitte. Will be fascinating to see how the Yank perform on such short turnaround and what they do with ARod, their wayward benched $25 million a year superstar. Sunday will put both leagues into play with the Cards going out to the Bay in California.

Whew, exciting stuff!

Oh, wait, there is still football going on – who knew?? Seriously, how often does a full slate of good college and pro football games seem like an afterthought to baseball? Well, okay, not often. And, yet, here we are. As I write, the Longwhores are trying to dodge that damn Conestoga wagon the Okies roll onto the field in Norman. Both Oklahoma and Texas are playing catchup to newcomer West Virginia in the Big Somethingoranother this year, but is will likely be a pretty interesting game. Gawd I hate to say it, but the most intriguing game of the week may, again, involve the dreaded Domers. Yes, the TREES of Stanford have moved their coniferousness all the way to South Bend. the Tree is 4-1 and Touchdown Jesus a detestable 5-0. Luck may no longer be with the Tree, but let us all hope he ain’t with the Irish either. I mean, coooommmme on man. The other really big game this weekend is the Cocks (yes, I love saying that, why do you ask?) against LSU in Baton Rouge. Can the ‘Ole Ball Coach finally get over on Les Miles and the Tigers? If so, they then get the pleasure of going to his old Swamp in Gainesville. Good stuff.

Aaaand, now for something completely different! Pro football payers and teams! Yay. Again the Motor City looms large as the Lions at Iggles is, perhaps, the most interesting game. The Lions are looking a bit lame, and the Boy named Suh is, yet again, in trouble with Johnny Law. This, too, will go away I am sure; but it is a troubling pattern for a troubled young man on a troubled team. Deetroit is gonna need themselves a new coach, ideally of the Red Faced Coughlin disciplinarian mold. But the Eagles have a bit o desperation about them too, and what with Michael Vick finally getting another dog, you gotta think they will be jacked up. I think the Kittehs sink further down the rabbit hole.

But, by far, the power matchup is Gents at Niners. A grudge rematch of last year’s NFC championship game. I think Alex Smith will get over on Easy Eli this time. Cause it is not late enough in the season for Good/Bad Eli. Honorable mention goes to Peyton’s Dokos at the Bolts. Truly a pickem, with the Bolts playing better, but so too Manning. The Vikings at the Skins will also be a lot of fun. Who knew Christian Ponder and The Norske would come on as they have? And RGIII to boot. Big fun. The Bills come to visit Spidey Fitzgerald and the Cards here in the desert. Spidey Dude has been rubbing shoulders with The Clenis though, and that is too much mojo for the Wagon Circlers.

That, my friends, is a wrap. Let’s roll.

Triple Crown Trash Talk

An outstanding weekend of sports is on tap. And, believe it or not, we are going to lead off with baseball. The end of the regular season was as compelling as has been seen in a very long time. While most of the attention was focused on the battle between the Yankees and Orioles, Miguel Cabrera pulled off a Triple Crown and the amazing Oakland Athletics caught up, and on the last day of the season in a head to head matchup, passed the powerful Texas Rangers to win the AL West. In the National League, the Natinals, despite parking their ace, Stephen Strasburg, for the season won the East going away and the defending champion Cardinals sneaked into the playoffs with the second wildcard.

Whew, that is a lot of hardball goodness, and then came…..the one and done wildcard night. And what a night it was. Buck Showalter and the O’s went down to Texas and took it to the Rangers. So, the Rangers are done just that fast, and the O’s move on to meet the Yanks. But all hell broke loose in Atlanta as, apparently Roger Goodell’s replacement refs have moved on to MLB. The umps blew a call on the terminally quirky “infield fly” rule and arguably cost the Braves, and the retiring Chipper Jones, the game. A riot nearly ensued and, as ugly as it was, you have to sympathize some with the fans in Atlanta, they got hosed. Nevertheless, the Cardinals will move on and the Braves are done.

And then there is the Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera, who has, in a quiet workmanlike fashion, won the hallowed Triple Crown. Rookie Mike Trout of the Angels was phenomenal, but my vote is that Cabrera is the MVP. You win the first Triple Crown in 45 years and, in the process, power your team into a division championship and the postseason, that is the definition of a MVP. I was alive and kicking when the last Triple Crown was won by Carl Yastremski in 1967. When you consider that the two best hitters in the intervening 45 years the game has seen, Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols, couldn’t do it, it is all the more remarkable that Cabrera has. Hat’s off to Miggy. Detroit pride isn’t just cars now. Simply great stuff.

The class of the college games this week are all in the SEC. Most weeks a matchup of unbeatens such as #4 LSU at #10 Florida would be the top game on the slate. But I think both those teams are a little overrated this year and the game is a tossup. If the Gators can hang tough on defense, they might pull off the upset. But the real game of the week is #5 Georgia at #6 South Carolina. The days of Fun & Gun are over for the ‘Ole Ball coach Steve Spurrier, he now runs a fairly conservative game management offense that relies of super back Marcus Lattimore coupled with a very aggressive and good defense. This is going to be a great game, and I look for the Cocks to come out on top.

West Virginia at the Longwhorens should be pretty interesting too. Will be exciting to see if the new version of RGIII, Geno Smith of WVU, can get untracked for another big day. Don’t think he will have another 8 touchdown day like last week against Baylor, but here’s hoping he lights up Texas. Honorable mention to Northwestern at Penn State. The Fighting Journalists – er, Wildcats – are a shocking 5-0 and leading the Big 10.X. But the game is in Happy Valley and the Nittany Lions are starting to gel after all the turmoil. With a couple of breaks, PSU could be 5-0 too, and I think they are going to take this one in a small upset.

For the pros, well what could be better than Peyton versus Brady? Nothing. That is the marquis matchup for the week. Denver has a far better defense, the Pats still have a better offense. Which is going to give? I have no idea, but it will be fun to see. By the way, you think we talk trash here? Holy smoke, get a load of the Twitter Fight that Brady and Manning got in yesterday. It was so fun that half of the QBs in the league piled on by the time it was over. Seriously, you HAVE to check this out, it is hilarious.

The other compelling game is Iggles at Stillers. As badly as Philly and Vick have sucked, they are still 3-1 and Big Ben and the boys loping along at a disappointing 1-2. I think that changes this weekend and Pittsburgh wins the battle of Pennsylvania. The Steelers get a big shot in the arm with the return Troy Polamalu, James Harrison and Rashard Mendenhall to the lineup. Look for the surprising Vikings to run their record to 4-1 with a win over the seemingly woeful Titans, although with Matt Hasselbeck taking over for the injured Jake Locker, Tennessee has a shot. The Sunday Night game is the Bolts at Aints. Nawlins has to snap out of their slide, right? Maybe, but the Bolts won’t make it easy.

Lastly, the F1 Circus is in Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix. Built in the early 60s as a Honda test facility, Suzuka is a beautiful circuit by any measure, and certainly the best of the Asian circuits by far. The Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber have the front row. Jenson Button was third fastest in qualifying, but is assessed a five place grid penalty for swapping gearboxes, so will start in P8. Kamui Kobayashi put on a show for his home country, put in the fourth fastest time and will start from P3 due to Button’s penalty. Points leader Alonso will start from the third row, which puts him at a disadvantage in his battle with the surging Vettel. Coverage starts on Speed at 1:30am Sunday EST and 10:30pm Saturday night PST. It is always a good race at Suzuka, tune in.

As a parting shot, who knew Michael Phelps could golf? Dude drained a 159 foot putt. Wow.

The Joy of Real Referees For the NFL Trash Talk

The real refs are back, and the scabs are gone. This is a very good thing for the integrity of the sport; the cockup that cost the Packers the game in Seattle was just too much. After that, how in the world could the NFL send a team of scabs into Lambeau this Sunday for the game with the Saints? They couldn’t. And now we have a deal.

One thing should be kept in mind. While the deal looks like the referees and their union won big, it is not quite as solid of a win if you look at the details. As Travis Waldron notes:

When the lockout began, the owners had three major asks: they wanted to eliminate the pension benefits current officials receive, add full-time officials, and add a back-up pool of officials. More details will come out, but the deal they reached last night added a group of full-time officials and a back-up pool of officials and grandfathered in pension changes that will eliminate the current defined-benefit retirement program for all officials by 2016. The owners got basically everything they wanted, and somehow they lost?

I’m not seeing it.

If anything, this deal is more evidence of the power corporate interests hold in labor disputes. Laden with cash and able to wait, the NFL spent the offseason moving the NFLRA’s thin red line closer to what the owners wanted, to the point where the reasonable compromise was one that gave the league everything it wanted, if on a slightly slower timeline. That ensured that when fans firmly took a side, the league would still get its way. That power is shared by corporations in lower-profile battles, where companies are locking out workers to pay them less and eliminate pensions and benefits just because they can.

I think Travis is exactly right. Not that an NFL official’s life is a terrible lot, they are paid well for 6-8 months of work a year, and get other benefits. But if the point was to score a “win for labor”, this really is maybe not the gleaming example it has been painted as.

But, as a football fan, I will take it; anything is better than the degraded product we saw culminated last Monday night. And, who would have ever guessed it could be possible for referees to get a standing ovation of love from a packed house of football fans? I do wonder, though, how long the newfound love and respect for the refs by the players and fans will last. We shall see.

Hey, here is a great story about Brian Dawkins the former Eagles and Broncos great who is being honored with a jersey retirement in Philly for the Giants game Sunday night. Do the Eagles have enough motivation to take it to the Gents? I think they do this time. For Dawk.

Other games that look good are Oakland at Mile High to visit the Broncos. Houston was too tall an order, but I think Peyton gets untracked on the Rayduhs and their secondary. The Niners are going to roll the Jets. Detroit is reeling, and the Vikings looked shockingly competent whipping San Francisco last week; these two are so unpredictable, it is a tossup. Can the Cardinals make it 4-0 with a win in Phoenix over Miami? I think so; who’d a thunk it? The Bears play Dallas on MNF, hard to see why anybody cares about these two at this point.

For the “student athletes”, there was a huge upset Thursday night when the Washington Huskies chopped down the Stanford Tree. There is not much else in the way of excitement on tap for Saturday. Maybe Florida State and USF will have a little juice. Maybe Baylor at West Virginia will be fun. Other than that, it is just kind of bleak by my scan.

Although it is an off week, there is some huge news in the F1 world. The circus silly season has begun with two huge moves. Lewis Hamilton is leaving McLaren after this season to go to Mercedes, where he will replace departing Michael Schumacher. Hamilton will team with the remaining Nico Rosberg Young and promising Sergio Perez will leave Sauber to replace Hamilton at McLaren and will team with Jenson Button. There is scuttlebutt Schumacher may not be done and may take a seat at Sauber, but I am not sure if I buy it. Lastly, one of the all time great auto racing announcers and commentators, Chris Economaki, has passed away at age 91.

In baseball, Jim white’s TB rays are making a balls out stretch run at the playoffs, but they lost a tough one tonight, and they are running out of time and are three back of a wildcard slot. The Orioles are still one back of the Yanks for the AL East. Compelling stuff.

This weeks music is to honor the joy of real refs, and is a rare early live show, with surprisingly good sound, of Blind Faith.

Irish Trash

Trashing the Irish from Notre Dame is always fun. Nothing will ever approach the drama of five years ago where the battle between Michigan and the Domers was between a pair of unvictorious and untied teams. Ah, those were the good old days. Michigan is 2-1 and ND off to a surprising 3-0 start. Give the Irish credit, the just look faster this year than they long did, and they manhandled a pretty good team in Michigan State last week. The game is in South Bend, so hard not to see the Irish having their way with both Michigan schools. Marcy thinks the luck of the Irish comes from starting the season in Dublin. Hmmm, maybe.

The Arizona at Oregon game may be a sleeper. Folks down in Tucson are pretty ginned up over the Wildcats under Rich Rod. But Oregon is gonna pound them hard I think. Clemson should be a real test for Florida State, but the Seminoles should survive. Kansas State at the Sooners is the only other halfway interesting game this week.

In pro political polling, Aaron Rodgers leads Brett Favre, but Favre is making a comeback.

Not a lot of great matchups in the NFL this week, but the one between the Eagles and Arizona is kind of interesting. The Cards defense really has looked good so far, and they worked over the normally very good offense of the Pats, and did it in Foxboro. Philly has looked flaky so far, but they are 2-0, and that is what counts. John Skelton is still out with an ankle sprain, and Kevin Kolb’s wife is ready to pop; they may have to have Larry Fitzgerald play QB.

The Pats go to visit Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, you know that will be a slugfest. You have to think Brady will bounce back, but the game is in Baltimore. Houston goes to Mile High to visit the New Peytons. Everybody is picking Houston, and man they are solid on both sides of the ball. Arian Foster is quietly a pretty great running back and the line is giving Schaub protection so far. But I am going to take the upset. Manning had a horrid game against the Falcons, that isn’t going to happen again, and Mile High is just flat out a tough place to visit. The Bronco fans are going to be wild, and it is absolutely a beautiful time of year there.

Lastly, this weekend is the Singapore Grand Prix. I hate that course, honestly am not real fond of any of the Asian circuits save for, maybe Suzuka. But this week is Marina Bay, a tight and herky jerky cement lined street course. It is ugly and makes for ugly racing. Hamilton has pole, and that is huge as passing is at a premium. Alonso is back in P5 and will need to get a fast start if he is going to challenge for the win. Vettel starts in P3.

Well, since I got a late start, I am going to wrap this sucker up and hit the post button. There is some hardball that is getting mighty interesting down the stretch, maybe we can get some of that in comments. Go Orioles and Natinals!

Week Two Trash Talk

Hi folks, apologize for the late start on Trash Talk; had a very long day yesterday on a matter and with clients after. So, let us get down to business.

I’m worrying myself a little with this one, because neither the Big 10.2 nor Notre Dame are my usual cup of tea, but I am really interested in the game today between the Irish and Sparty of Michigan State. Both teams are 2-0, but the Spartans have a great defense which has not allowed an offensive touchdown yet (including the always offensively powerful Boise State). Notre Dame, however, has a QB controversy and struggled badly last week against Purdue. This game is a night game in East Lansing, and I think it will be a good night for Sparty.

The other two games that I will be watching closely are both Pac contests. The big one, of course, a huge early season conference matchup between USC and Stanford. The Tree has won an unheard of three straight against the Trojans, but I think they are out of Luck tonight. It is yet another night game and the weather in Palo alto should be perfect for Matt Barkley and the USC offense; they should get some revenge. The other game is a sleeper: Sun Devils against an honest to god SEC team, even if a new one, Missouri.

ASU and new coach Todd Graham have looked far better than anyone thought so far, and very disciplined, which has not been used in the same sentence as “ASU” in a long time. Missouri had a rough game last week against Georgia and will be looking to bounce back. The game is at Mizzou, and so is the slight edge; I will be looking for an upset by the Devils. If it is on your TV, it really might be worth watching. As will the Tennessee Florida game. Neither is what they once were in stature, but both are still interesting to watch. Game is in Knoxville and the Vols are getting better QB play, so much as Jim is going to hate it, I’ll take the Vols here.

Week Two in the NFL does not have that many great games. The one that really sticks out to me is Ravens and Iggles. Both have solid defenses and potentially explosive offenses. And, man, did Flacco, Rice and crew look sharp in their opener. Mike Vick and the Eagles looked anything but, and barely eeked out a win over the hapless Brownies. It is gut check time for the Eagles and their coaching staff, and I think they will come to play and will play well. Still think the Ravens win though.

The Kittehs are taking their raging hearts to San Francisco. If the Lions had a running game to take the pressure off of Matt Stafford, I would give them a shot in this game. But, they don’t and the boy named Su is apparently all googly eyes over famous virgin Lo Lo Jones. None of this bodes well for the Kittehs. Broken Beaked Bieber Brady should be able to nose out the Cardinals and Kamikaze Kevin Kolb. Even though Bill Bel LOVES him some SpideyDude Fitzgerald.

Other notable games are Dallas at Seattle; take the ‘Boys there. Lotta people had the Squawks as a sleeper team this year; dunno about that. Titans at Bolts could get interesting; San Diego is typically flaky, but I don’t think the inexperienced Jake Locker has enough to take them. Rounding out the Sunday tilts of note is an honorable mention to the Jets. Rex and The Circus won’t be playing the Bills this week, but a pissed off batch of Stillers reeling from getting Peytoned in Denver. I think the days of Mark Sanchez looking like Joe Montana are over; take what’s behind the Steel Curtain.

Lastly, the Monday Night game is a good one. Peyton and the Broncs visit Matt Ryan and the Dirty Birds for a night in Hot ‘Lanta. I have no idea how this one will go. I would normally say the Falcons have to be favored, but Denver looked very solid in all phases of the game in their opening win over the Steelers. This is a pick em; bring your popcorn.

About today’s music: It is riding With The King, an incredible album, and song, by Eric Clapton and BB King. I was reminded of it by Howie Klein who, along with Act Blue, is doing a fundraiser for progressive candidate Patsy Keever where one donor will be randomly selected to win the actual Platinum Record award for this album:

Rep. Patsy Keever is the intrepid grassroots populist taking on reactionary Wall Street shill Patrick McHenry. The newly reconfigured 10th CD in western North Carolina is a district that’s winnable. McHenry is loaded with “contributions” from Wall Street but DC Democrats aren’t coming to the party for Patsy. She’s far too independent-minded for that lot. So… Blue America is trying to help her raise some money for TV and radio ads. And we’re going to say “thank you” to one random donor– any amount– who contributes to Patsy’s campaign on this page. That “thank you” will be in the form of an extremely rare and valuable RIAA-certified double platinum record award for the Eric Clapton/B.B. King masterpiece, RIDING WITH THE KING.

Great cause and a great prize; help them out!

NFL Hard Knocks, Head Injuries and The Monza Rebuttal

Here we are at the real, official, start of the football season in earnest. Yes there were a full slate of college games last weekend, but only a couple of decent ones. and, yes, the NFL officially kicked off wednesday with the Cowboys somewhat surprisingly laying one on the Gents – at the Meadowlands no less. Credit to Tony Romo, Rob Ryan’s defense and the ‘Boys, they fairly earned the win. But now the conventions are over and we start it all in full in the football universe. Also, this weekend is Monza on the Formula One calendar and, as always, it looks to be special. I will return to F1 a little later.

Despite the excitement of the return of football, it is time some dues should be paid to the trauma suffered by the working union members of the NFL who provide the spectacle and entertainment for us manning couches and barstools on Sundays. I wrote about this nearly two years ago in describing the “The Walking Wounded The NFL Treats Like Disposable Trash”. So much has happened since then with focus on repetitive brain injuries and high profile suicides like Dave Duerson and Junior Seau bringing the stark reality of the problem home in a powerful way.

But the Ferengi like single minded profit whores of the NFL have paid mostly lip service to the issue, save for a couple of competition rules that fall far short of a prophylactic redress of the problem. Marcy suggested a piece by Dave Zirin in The Nation to bring it all to a boil. She was right:

Beneath the fireworks, concerts and breathless hype that will mark the start of the 2012 NFL season, is a league that’s haunted. It’s haunted by future Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau who killed himself in May at the age of 43. It’s haunted by the recent suicides of Ray Easterling, Dave Duerson, and OJ Murdock. It’s haunted by the now widespread knowledge that the country’s most popular sport can leave you damaged in ways never before suspected. What a sign of the times that the start of the season wasn’t punctuated today with chest-thumping and military flyovers but with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s announcement that the league’s owners would be donating $30 million to the National Institute of Health to further study the affects of brain injuries.This recognition of the danger inherent in the sport has sparked a high profile debate across the political spectrum. The terms of the debate are simple: Given all we are learning about Read more

Vilma Vanquishes Goodell & NFL; Saints Players Reinstated

There is some early Trash from the National Football League breaking within the last hour. The four New Orleans Saints players suspended in “Bounty Gate”, led by Jonathan Vilma and Scott Fujita, dissatisfied withe the league ruling handed down by Roger Goodell, first filed suit in the Easter District of Louisiana and then appealed to a special appellate panel available under the relatively new collective bargaining agreement.

This afternoon, the special appellate panel unanimously ruled in favor of the players and ordered them reinstated:

The four players suspended by the NFL for their involvement in the New Orleans Saints’ “bounty” program had their suspensions overturned by a collective bargaining agreement appeals panel Friday, NFL Players Association spokesman George Atallah said.

While the suspensions are vacated immediately, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell can go back and suspend the players if he proves there was an intent to injure. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said all players are eligible to play, starting with this weekend, until Goodell does so.

“Consistent with the panel’s decision, Commissioner Goodell will, as directed, make an expedited determination of the discipline imposed for violating the league’s pay-for-performance/bounty rule,” Aiello said in a statement. “Until that determination is made, the four players are reinstated and eligible to play starting this weekend.”

Here is a full copy of the written decision.

This is pretty significant news on a lot of fronts. First off, of course, the Saints get two key players back, including Vilma who is the quarterback of their defense and a critical team leader. Secondly, it is a slap in the face to Roger Goodell, and an equally big win for the NFL Players Association. Thirdly, this is an appeal process that the league agreed to and the first time it was taken out for a test spin, they got clobbered by it.

And a rebuke like this could not happen to a more deserving group of arrogant folks (see: refusal to make deal with referees) than the NFL and its owners.

That said, the ruling is not quite as huge a win as you might think at first blush, as it still leaves room for punitive action by Goodell against the players. Here is the key language from the ruling:

While we agree, then, that the Commissioner had jurisdiction to discipline the Players in this case, we are uncertain that the discipline handed down was attributable, in any part, to that aspect of the Program which lies within the exclusive jurisdiction of the System Arbitrator. While we could speculate, it is not clear from the record before us whether the Commissioner had the distinction we draw in mind at the time he disciplined the Players.

In light of the serious nature of the penalties imposed, we believe caution is appropriate. Therefore we vacate the Players’ discipline and remand the matter directly to the Commissioner for expeditious redetermination.

What this means is that Goodell can still take punitive action on these players via his “redetermination”, but he is going to have to do it under a provision different than he originally relied on. According to Albert Breer at NFL.com, who did fantastic reporting this afternoon and first posted the written opinion, Goodell will now have to base any punitive action on “intent to injure”, and that is how I read it too. That is a significantly tougher evidentiary burden to prove up legally.

Now the question is will Vilma et. al cut a deal with Goodell or keep fighting? Jonathan Vilma is very bright, and a very proud, tough fellow. It will be interesting to see if he has any inclination to deal. With Judge Berrigan still proceeding in EDLA, and having indicated she would rule in favor of Vilma if she could, I would not bet on Vilma being willing to cut any deals with the Commissioner.

Laborious Trash Talk

It is Labor Day weekend. Shockingly, my dictation program, Nuance Dictate for Mac, has gone beyond its normal complete worthlessness and now exists in the temporal-intellectual worthlessness of time and space. Seriously, for an application that claims to be useful for efficiency for the normal human, they are total crap. I have fought with them for nearly four years, and I am tired. You want to talk to me Nuance, here I am. Otherwise, go blow a goat.

Okay, now that I have gotten a little preliminary issue setting out of the way, let us get down to Trash Talk mofo’s and……

Oooops! Major power outage at Casa de bmaz! Seriously, I have dick for connection, only 3G on my old iPhone (yes, I have been holding out for iPhone5, even my wife is about to kill me).

I am sorry, I Musta Got Lost. And my gmail tells me Marcy is on the warpath. Rightly so, despite monsoon season here. Oddly, the sky looks mostly clear, I have no reason why my AC, much less my DC, has been taken away from me. You laugh, but when it is 106, you need the juice for the air conditioner. Bad. Somewhere below is a picture of the only light there was for a while, the moon. Vaya con dios Neil Armstrong, I thought well of you in the face of the moon tonight. If there was a measure of the childhood of my generation, it was the Moon Shot.

More Trash content will be on the horizon, like the storm front closing in, but not yet here. In the meantime, I am going to buy you all off with the evidence of my entertainment while I had no electricity. When you suddenly have no cable, no internet, no McIntosh, Adcom and B&W stereo; you have to make do. My daughter Jenna is providing the entertainment while all things I know are down.

UPDATE: Okay, I am back for a little bit. Man, lot of no power tonight and during, and after, then there was the tequila issue. What is a poor boy to do? Sing for a rock n’ roll band?

Okay, South Carolina and Michigan State, both closer than expected but not so by me, both won to start the college football season. Nobody should take anything away from Vanderbilt nor Boise State though. Especially Boise. Sparty is good, and at home to open the season? The BCS should never, ever, dock Boise State because they do not try to play a difficult enough schedule. Previously they opened against the Oregon Ducks in Corvallis. Tell me again why they cannot play for a national championship?

But now, the most interesting game of the first weekend is on tap. Yep, the Wolvereenies versus Crimson Tide at JerryJonesBowl. I’ll take Denard Robinson, seen below in a stirring segment, in an upset over the NickSabanDroids. Granted, I am completely sloshed and sitting on my front patio in a cactus patch, but that is my Karl Rove’s Fathers’ Solid Gold Cock Ring Lead Pipe Lock prediction. [All legal disclaimers imaginable applicable]. But wait! There is more! If you call right now we will double the offer! [Okay, not really].

The NFL has played the 4th and final preseason game, the one season ticket holders pay for, but that nobody understands, already. The Jets, Jets, Jets finally scored a touchdown. Yes that is one. But “yay”. There are interesting things going on in baseball, but the best is the return of the Rocket. Even if it is for the Skeeters. These are the young Pujols’s of the next generation and, through four innings, they can’t hit Rocket. Think the jurors from the trial and Reggie Walton are not watching the Rocket? Oh yeah, you bet your butt they are. Clemens will likely throw one more independent league game, likely against the Long Island Ueckers (not really; that was a little high and outside). And then a start for the Astros. Maybe two. Just cause.

But, far more globally important than football, baseball or that nimrod NASCAR, the Circus is coming back to town. Yep, Formula One. And where the spinning wheel stops is…..at Spa! Yes, the circuit that looks like a woman’s reproductive system. Or a Phaser. Whatever. Unlike those candy asses in left turn NASCARland, they run in the wet in F1.

Yes they do and it is wet at Francorchamps. Qualifying will go off not too long after I post this, and the race coverage o Speed TV begins at 7:30am EST and 4:30am PST on Sunday morning. Despite the safetied up new course at Spa, with a bit of wet, it is still a fast, dangerous and interesting layout. Ought to be fun.

There are certain people that have covered F1 forever. One of the best photographers, Paul Henri-Cahier, has been, and is, a friend to this blog. Paul is the, without question, premier F1 photographer in the world and he is second to his father, the legendary Bernard Cahier.Grand Prix does not get the attention it should here in the States. But one who does cover it up close and personal on track is Brad Spurgeon. Here is Brad’s setup for this weekend:

Formula One began the second part of its season after the long, five week summer break in August, with the practice sessions on Friday at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.

But thanks to the typical Spa weather, and unfortunately for the thousands of spectators who showed up to take a €400 shower, it was as if the holidays had never ended.

The cars may have managed to turn a few laps in the rain in the morning session — although only one car went out during the entire first half of the 1 hour and 30 minute session — but there was no track action at all in the afternoon session until 35 minutes of the same length session remained. And even then, six of the 22 drivers did not take to the track, and of those who did, none drove more than four laps.

Yep. Summer break is over, and it is time to go to Ardennes forest with the lads. With the wet in the picture, Spa will be special.

So, there is Trash Talk for this week. Marcy is probably gonna come along and yammer about Nate Ebner and whatnot. I got one question though. Picture Walt Kowalski talking to an Ikea chair: Should the Cardinals pick up and immediately start Brian Hoyer? Bonus question: Do Watertiger’s precious Jets need Hoyer even worse than the Cardinals?

Boogie the Trash!

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