The Brand New Big Ten!

So this week the Big Ten unveiled is new logo and its new divisions, since it started off this last around of college alignment by poaching Nebraska from the Big 12. And even though there is now 12 members, the conference will always be known as the Big Ten. I really doubt the conference would ever change its name, which is basically a brand and not so much just a conference. The logo isn't as creative as the old one, which had the 11 number put in the negative space, but its not bad. Its big, bold, retro, like the Big Ten.

So we have the divisions, Leaders and Legends. Right, which is basically pretentious and not that well thought out. Ohio St and Penn St are in the Leaders, even though they more known for their legendary traditions. It probably looked really good and sounded great in the flashy power point presentation but seems kinda stupid to the outsiders. The Leaders division will include, Ohio St, Penn St, Illinois, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Indiana. The Legends will be Iowa, Michigan St, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Northwestern.

The entire conference is set towards honoring the history of the Big Ten. The championship trophy is named after two great Big Ten coaches, Stagg-Paterno, and then the Big Ten Coach of yea will get the Hayes-Schembechler trophy. Basically, it is all self love for the conference and what it has done for the last hundred years.

Too bad Notre Dame missed out on joining in, they love beating off to their own history.

College Football Week 14

Christian Ponder in warm ups, if only he got to finish his year.

We Cam, We Saw, We Conquered: The SEC championship was a rematched of an exciting game earlier in the year, Auburn and South Carolina. The last time they met Auburn had to rally from behind to win and SC had to self destruct to give the Tigers a big enough opening. This time, it wasn't such a good game with Auburn winning 56-17. Cam Newton, who seems to be in the clear, played well and his hail mary TD at the end of the first half helped to push SC to the brink. SC pretty much fell apart in the second half and Garcia was eventually pulled by Spurrier, though it was pointless at that point. Auburn looked as good as they did all year, no comebacks needed and their defense was stout. I definitely think Auburn goes in as the favorite to win the championship and Cam is a likely lock to win the Heisman.

Blowouts to finish it off: Oregon played Oregon St, in what they call the Civil War, and these in state rivals can be very tricky. Oregon was slow to start bu eventually began to roll and ended up winning the game over a spunky but ultimately outclassed Oregon St. Not there was a Pac-10 championship on the line, but it was the final huddle for Oregon to get into the National Championship song. In the other blowout of the day, Virgina Tech and Florida St played another for the ACC championship. Florida St was without its attractive QB Christian Ponder, but his replacement did a rather good job of filling in by VT's offense was just too much and Seminoles couldn't keep up in the scoring match.

Big East ends with a....whatever the opposite of a bang is: The Big East has had a rough season, which it basically becoming a whipping boy for everything thats wrong with the BCS system of automatic bids. I'm pretty sure most of the Big East and BCS supporters were hoping that at least 24 ranked West Virgina would get in which would probably be less embarrassing than an unranked Connecticut getting the bid. Connecticut was in a close struggle with South Florida and it all came down to a field goal, a field goal to win the terrible, terrible Big East conference. 19-16 sends the Huskies to their first ever BCS bowl game and might give us the worst BCS game of the year, or ever.

Big 12 ends with a Big 8 rematch: Oklahoma and Nebraska meet up for what might be the last time in a few years, as Nebraska leaves its long time companion for the Big Ten. Nebraska and Oklahoma have a long historic rivalry that was often the center piece of the college football world in the 80s and 90s. They were meet up often in the old Big 8 conference before it was became the Big 12 and Texas took over. Most people thought it was going to be a rematch of last year's close, controversial game of Texas v Nebraska. And then Texas went from great to terrible, and we have Oklahoma from the south division. And it was probably the best game of the day, with leads going back and forth and it all coming down to the end. With 23-20, Oklahoma keeps the Big 12 championship in the conference and out of the hands of the departing Corn-huskers.

TNF: Texans at the Eagles

Thursday Night Football is a good time, provided you have access to the NFL network. I have yet to buy it for my house, well I can't anyway cause Time Warner doesn't offer it...Time Warner sucks.

Anyway, I get to see my favorite linebacker, Brian Cushing of USC and steroid fame, get to rough house and manhandled offenses. Cushing is really the only reason I root for the Texans, beyond the fact I like to root for underdog teams. And living in Ohio, the games I get to see of them are limited so going out to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch them was enjoyable.

Well it would be if the Texans had been able win, and their defense once again gave up on critical plays to let the Eagles in 34-24. I won't put it all on the defense though as the offense had several miscues. Schaub throws an interception at the end of the first half, and for once, the defense held the Eagles offense to just 3 points.

Texans actually took the lead of 24-20 in the third quarter but that wouldn't last, Vick does what he has been doing all year. He made big plays and ended up rallying the team, fly eagles fly.

Texans were expected to finally have a break out year and get to the play offs, and with the weakness of the AFC south its not totally impossible. But with a 5-7 record, they would need to win out to manage that feat and hope the other AFC south teams struggle on

Well Cushing, still hot and still enjoy watching you.

College Football Week 12-13

Plenty has happened in the past couple of weeks, shame on me for being lazy....just a lot easier to watch football than find time to write about it. And I love Nathan Williams, a beast for OSU defense.

Notre Dame Finishes Strong...for once: It is all about how you finish. 7-5 looks a lot better when its due to a 3 game win streak than a 3 game losing streak. ND has not had a strong November in quite a few years, Weiss' run was notorious for having his team fall apart as the season came to a close. Kelly has had a rough year, that looked like it was about to fall apart when October turned nasty, but they held together. They found a defense and managed to play tough, old school ND football. And not to be forgotten, but that 8 year losing streak to USC was finally broken with a 20-16 win in LA. They will get some eh bowl, or maybe something decent cause ND brings money, and hopefully another win. It is all about how you finish.

I wonder what Urban Meyer is thinking: Last season, Florida was an offensive juggernaut that was poised to win a 3rd National Championship. Meyer and Tebow was an unstoppable team, well not totally, Bama rolled them over but then they came back to utterly destroy Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl. It is jarring to see, this season, how incredibly inept and ineffective the Gator's offense is. Florida St is better but looked like they were in another class in the rival game and finally broke the 6 game winning streak of the Gators over Seminoles. When you see Florida's trio of QBs all doing badly, inceptions and fumbles, Urban Meyer must be thinking, "I wish Tebow was here." I think it is a rare thing for a coach and player to seem to be fundamentally link in all phases of the game. Meyer has been able to adjust and tweak his offense when it moved from Leak to Tebow but there was no answer to Brantley, Burton, or Reed. It will be interesting to see what happens in the off season and into next year, Meyer has things to change.

The Fallen Lone Star: It has to be a historic fall. Texas was really one bad throw away from winning the BCS National Championship and now they are not even ranked. They are 5-7, not going anyway to any bowl this year for the first time since the late 90s. Mac Brown is going to really look through his staff and heads will roll for whats happened. Texas has no issue with gaining talent so they will rise again but it might be harder than it was. The Big 12, or soon to be 10, has much more depth now with rising powers in Oklahoma St, Missouri, Texas A&M and possibly Texas Tech. I wouldn't be surprised if Texas reigns supreme next season over the diminished conference but its hold will be more tenuous than in past years.

The Big Ten's Big Three: Wisconsin, Ohio St, and Michigan St will all share the title of Big Ten Champions this year. Each of the teams will end with a one loss record in the conference and showed varying degrees of dominance throughout the year. Wisconsin put on another show of force and seemed to be on a totally other level than Northwestern. Ohio St and Michigan went at it again in "The Game" but its definitely not the same game. Ohio St has owned Michigan the last couple of years and the only real game of national consequence was in 2006 when the teams were ranked 1 and 2. And like last year, it wasn't competitive and Ohio St extends its winning streak. The only close game was Michigan St and Penn St where Joe Pa created a rally in the 4th quarter that ultimately failed. Wisconsin has the highest BCS rank and will then go out to the Rose Bowl and Ohio St will likely go to the Sugar Bowl.

BCS Busting Bronco's Busted: The Boise St Broncos have been always knocking on the door to get into the BCS championship game, they are the constant outsider. They had played perfect through 11 games, sometimes being challenged and sometimes just walking through weak teams. They got one final test against a ranked Neveda team but even that wasn't expected to be a loss. This is why we play the game, cause Neveda pulled off the upset mostly thanks to Boise St missing two field goals. They missed one to win the game and then missed one to win the OT, so Neveda comes out with the big win. TCU is now the only non-automatic qualifier school that can possible get into the Championship game is Oregon or Auburn loses.

Newton rolls back the Tide: I honestly thought that Alabama would beat Auburn and for the first half of the game if seemed like I was right. Alabama was rolling with offense and Auburn had no answers, so yea everything was going right. Of course there are two halves in Football and Auburn turned the game around. Cam Newton seems to have cemented himself as this year's Heisman winner, barring any real evidence coming out about a pay for play issue. I think its ironic that Alabama's starting qb gets knocked out of the game, and that ultimately is what causes them to lose. Alabama knocked out Texas' Colt McCoy in the Championship game and made that game much easier to win.

MNF: Eagles at the Redskins

I think there might not be any truer statement than: "Everyone loves a winner." I really think that might be the only way to understand the transformation of Michael Vick. Vick was once universally reviled for his dog fighting activities that landed him in jail and out the NFL. There was controversy and protests when he was released from prison and signed to the Eagles. You wouldn't have thought he would be considered the league MVP and generally turn around public opinion about him.

And then he began to win, and put on a dazzling performance on Monday Night Football. He put on a historic performance of 333 passing yrds, 4 tds, and then rushed for 2 tds. The game was over in the first 15 seconds when in the first play of the game, Vick gets an 88 yard touchdown pass. Redskins never had a shot, 59-28 win for the Eagles. Vick has had an amazing season with no interceptions throw yet and has the league's highest passer rating. They are now the hottest team in the NFL, which might last for a week or they ride it on to Dallas.

I personally have ambivalent feelings about Vick. I am disgusted by what he did but he did go to prison, serve his time, and has been a productive member of society ever since. I think he gains more friends with every win he accumulates but there are definitely people who will never look beyond the dog fighting episode. It is easier to love a winner, its easier to look over the flaws when there is scoring going on.

And here is an unintentionally funny/unfortunate thing to say: "We were like pitbulls, ready to get out of the cage." DeSean Jackson said that, not the best thing to say as a teammate of Michael Vick.

College Football Week 11

I already gave Notre Dame is own special post, so now its just time to clean up some loose ends from the weekend. We are coming down to the end of the season, with many teams only have 2 games left on their schedule. It is pretty amazing at how fast the season has gone this year and not to mention how disappointing...

SEC Championship Battle: For the first time in a few years, the SEC Championship game won't have Alabama, Florida or LSU. South Carolina got the big win over a struggling Florida team, which doesn't surprise me. I had my doubts that the 3-headed quarterback system would end up working out in the long run for the Gators. Auburn took the west with its win over Georgia, and as long as Cam Newton can play, they should be able to repeat another victory over South Carolina. I won't say its a lock but Auburn plays much better on a weekly basis than South Carolina.

Northwestern's upset of Iowa: For whatever reason, Iowa just can't beat Northwestern. In what had to be the best game in the Big Ten, the Wildcats score a late TD drive to once again knock off the Hawkeyes. The QB for Northwestern, Persa, injured his Achilles with his winning touchdown throw and is most likely out for the rest of the season. So it has to be a bitter sweet win for the Wildcats, but that is how it goes in sports some times.

Wisconsin's Big Blowout: A score of 83 to 20 is eye popping, especially when its one FBS school against another one.Wisconsin rolled and rolled and rolled some more over Indiana, and has started a controversy about running up scores and gamesmanship. Its very weird to see the that kind of score in the Big Ten which is noted more for its slow, physical style than offensive shoot outs. Between this game and last weeks shoot out with Michigan and Illinois, there might be a steady change to one of the oldest conferences in sports. The conference is definitely scoring up more points than it used too, but so are all the other conferences. It has a lot to do with style points argument in the BCS while a win is a win, a 30 point win is better than a 10 point win.

Escape: Many of the top ranked teams had to escape their lesser opponents to keep their BCS hopes a live. Oregon got back an unranked Cal by two points, TCU won just by 5 over San Deigo ST, Stanford over Arizona St by 4. I have my doubts that Oregon will be able to beat Auburn in a BCS championship, since they have their most problems with physical and aggressive teams.

Big East is the Big Least: The Big East is having a terrible season. Cincinnati, the champion of the past two years, has fallen into the bottom of the conference's rankings. The two teams, Pitt and UConn, thought to be big break outs have both under performed. I wouldn't want to just beat on the conference for no reason but one of its teams will go to a BCS bowl game. You could have an unranked team playing in a national bowl game while much better teams like Boise St, TCU, Standford, etc, will go to lesser bowl games. This is actually unfair but its not uncommon either, it happens in the NFL. The terrible NFC West will get a team into the play offs that might not be better than 8 and 8 while better record teams in better conferences won't get in at all. So yes while the BCS sucks to some people, nothing is perfect.

Golden Moment

Notre Dame hasn't had many Golden Moments in the past few years, and this year has definitely been up and down. Utah came in as the 14th ranked team, after getting punched in the face by TCU, and Notre Dame just lost to an FCS school with a last drive interception. Utah was at least a two touchdown favorite with its average scoring offense of 44 points and ND's defense is porous at best. Notre Dame needed two wins to get to a bowl game, though it looked like more that 6-6 would be the best they could muster. They had tons of injuries, almost all of their star players, which totaled about 400 yards of offense a game. The death of the young student due to unsafe wind conditions has only added another heavy cloud on Kelly. And of course, it was a raining and dark day over the stadium.

I considered this the game of their season, and they rose to the challenge. ND put on a dominating performance with a 28-3 win over the Utes. They played like the old school Irish, the physical line play, strong running game, and great special teams play. They played like Kelly had been pushing for them to play, and it finally paid off. They looked impressive, they looked like they were finally realizing expectations.

Now I'm not stupid, this was probably more a colossal failure on the part of Utah. They were flat and lifeless, they had no energy. The blowout loss at home to TCU still broke the spirit of the team. You basically had one team playing for its season and one team still holding on to the loss of its biggest game.

I am trying not to read too much into what the win might mean for the rest of the year. They need one more win for bowl eligibility, which seems possible against Army. It would be a nice change of pace over the past couple of seasons if they can finish strong, and not finish falling apart. If they can keep up their new identity, then they could win out the rest of the year and give USC all it can handle.

Fight Irish Fight

Food Hangover

You can get a food hangover, a term my client coined this morning. I have felt like totally crap today with stomach pains, nausea and all kinds of other nasty elements. I don't think I have a flu or anything, but I do believe it has to do with the food on Sunday. Like most Americans, I went out to a sports bar to indulge in football and food. I had the staples: nachos, wings, fries. I felt fine yesterday but today has been an awful hell.

I will know if its food or not if it passes tomorrow...

NFL Week 9

On the sexy back of Peyton Hillis, pictured above, the Browns stun the Patriots in a big win. Hillis had an amazing day where he just ran all over New England and kept the Brady offense from ever getting on the field to catch up. I'm very hopeful, perhaps too much, that if the Browns can get the win against the Jets; this could be the start of an epic play off run. They would obviously need help from Baltimore and Steelers but its not impossible. I need something to believe in! Patriots, I hope, will rebound and beat on the Steelers next week.

Texans lose another game, this time to the surging Chargers, and drops them to 4 and 4. The game against the Jaguars is really important, its basically a must win game if they want to have some control over their destiny. They did get a really awful call that cost them a touchdown, which would have turned the game in their favor. I'm not real optimistic right now, the defense is not performing well enough for them to win.

Wade Phillips gets fired, finally, after the Cowboys get utterly ruined by the Packers at home. I'm kinda sad about it, as I've enjoyed this era of the Cowboys constantly under performing. They will now get a good coach and turn things around, well maybe, Jerry Jones is still there...meddling around.

College Football Week 10

Florida has found out how to win, they unleash the Legendary Monster King Ghidorah on other teams! Every play sends Japanese spectators into flees of terror at the reminder of how much damage their little prop cities took in all of those Godzilla movies at the sight of Urban's offense. The offense woes of Florida seem to be worked out with their 55 points against Vanderbilt but thats hardly a quality win. Urban's use of three different quarterbacks seems to have worked the past two games but it will definitely be tested by their last, best opponent in South Carolina.

Texas continues to slide lower and lower when it got tromped on by Kansas St, and now it seems unlikely they will even get to a bowl game. The other teams of Texas had better weekends, Texas A&M upset Oklahoma and Texas Tech took out Missouri. If you had just started watching college football this year, you would find it hard to believe that Texas Longhorns were considered big dogs of the state. Oh Mack Brown, save the season with a win over the Aggies.

Joe Paterno wins his 400th game in a rally win over North Western. He has been coaching at Penn St for over 40 years, and seems to have saved the Lions season which looked really in doubt. Well what seems to have save the Lions is changing quarterbacks, but its still shows Jo Pa is adjusting and aware of his team. I can hope they upset the Buckeyes, but doesn't seem likely.

Michigan and Illinois go into triple over time with the Wolverines winding up the winner, though its almost as close as you can get to losing while being the winner. The final score was 67 to 65, so really both teams ditched their defenses at the start. Illinois had been a quite potent defensive team which is probably why the ended up losing. Its too bad, I was hoping for the Wolverines to whither into nothing by the end of the year.

I think TCU should be number 1 in the BCS this week for their utter and complete domination of number 5 ranked Utah on the road. Unless Oregon or Auburn loses, it doesn't seem like there is any chance for TCU or Boise to climb into the championship game. Auburn's schedule makes it seem more likely it will lose with Alabama left to play and then the SEC championship game.

MNF: Texans at the Colts

I meant to post this last week but got sidetracked by work. So yea, we all know the outcome of that game was a Colts win mostly due to some bad play calling by the Texans. I'm not sure why you would decide not to run the ball when its what help you beat the Colts the first time...but I'm not paid millions to coach a football team. To add insult to injury, I have to listen to announcers practically blow Manning while he is playing the game.

Replace Yvette with Colts and or Manning, its the same feeling.

College Football Week 9

Well its become rather apparent this is not my season, though it really didn't take the 9th week of the season to figure it out. And well aware this cover is a season old, but its still enjoyable to look at.

I'm not sure where the luck of the Irish is but its not with Notre Dame this year. They lose a home game to Tulsa and lose their starting QB for 6 months. With a 4-5 record, the most likely outcome of the season will be 5-7, so Kelly's hopeful year has turned into a disaster.

Texas lost to Baylor, which isn't so bad considering Baylor is ranked and Texas isn't, but it does speak to the mighty big fall the team has taken. The only saving parts of this season is the big win over Nebraska at home and if they can beat A&M this year. They seem likely to make it to a bowl game at 7-5 but its definitely a far cry from last year's championship team.

Florida stopped it losing streak when an overtime win over Georgia. They are not the powerhouse of offense of the Tebow era and I'm doubtful this rotating QBs will work for the long haul. At 5-3, they still have a chance to win the SEC east and play in the Championship game at the end of the year. They have two major games with South Carolina and Florida St, but both of those teams have trouble playing well every game. If the Gators can beat SC, then they should be able to handle Fl St and end the season well.

The Big Ten Conference has become very murky with Iowa absolutely demolishing undefeated Michigan St. Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan St, and OSU all have one loss in the conference and it all come down to tie breakers. OSU and Iowa do play one another, so that will weed out one team out of the tie. And as we know, every week there is an upset so I wouldn't be surprised if another team drops. In the second tier of teams, Penn St takes care of Michigan, so Michigan's slide continues on. Michigan has only one sure win left on their schedule, Purdue, so its possible after their 4 and 0 start they end up 6-6. Penn St seems like 7-5, unless they can pull an upset over OSU, unlikely, or Michigan St, more likely.

The BCS standings, at least the most important positions 1 and 2, won't be changing. Auburn and Oregon put on great performances and truly look elite. Auburn has a harder schedule to finish, especially with defending champions, Alabama, waiting for them. Then Auburn would have to play in the SEC championship game, while Oregon just has Oregon State at the end.

Captain America Movie....I'm somewhat excited

When they cast Chris Evans as Steve Rogers in the new Captain America movie, I wasn't really thrilled about it. I personally was hoping Kellan Lutz would get it, since he had more of the look. Chris Evans was already a Marvel Hero, and even if no one saw Fantastic Four, he had his shot with Johnny Storm. Not that he was bad, just the films were kinda eh...especially that second one.

But...some of the new images have come out, and I'm pretty happy about whats coming together. Chris Evans actually does a better job of channeling Steve Rogers than I thought he would. The costume looks really cool also, like the realistic military style.

And wow those arms, pretty beast. So yea, Captain America I'm all for.

Comic Book Queers

Jean Grey, how I love thee, let me count the ways...

I've not talked about comic books much on this blog, even if they are a rather big interest of mine. I guess because even though I consider myself a fan, I don't consider myself well versed to make commentary. Not that you have to be studied to make commentary, we have plenty of talking heads on tv...about everything. My interest in comics also cycles, I will read a lot at one point and then slow off: repeat.

My interest in comics was based a lot on the 90's comic cartoon boom. I loved the X-men, loved Spider-man, and also was really into the Batman: Animated series. I was a pretty big Marvel/Spider-man fan in my younger years and then I fell out of it and got into anime. I didn't really back into comic books until a few years ago, around the time Jason Todd was brought back to life. I've been more in the DC camp since then with more of a focus on Batman and Superman families.

Anyway, so Comic Book Queers is a website/podcasts that focus on comics with fabulous queer sensibility. They do various episodes, or issues, on differing comic, comic characters, story arches, and news. This basically allows me to know whats going in the ever repeating world of comics, cause there is never a new story in comics. DC's universe is always going through crisis and Marvel is always changing Spider-man's costume. Jean Grey dying, coming back, dying, and hopefully coming back again soon. I think she did actually, or it was just a very heavy handed hint.

I've actually looked into various titles thanks to things they have brought up, whether its new comics or even old ones. I have become a bigger fan of Dazzler thanks to their comments, and those radio skits. Though they do focus a lot on the major titles of the DC house and Marvel House, but they do bring a lot indie creators and comics. Gail Simone features a good amount, which she is like the favored of all queer comic boy fans. Even though some times I get a bit lost with the generational references, but it happens when you have decades of story lines like you do in comic book. Or I'm a terrible fan, could be that too.

It isn't all just comics, but a lot of pop culture issues: like films. Though usually its films or series that have a bent towards sci-fi or fantastic, much like comic books. Well they also talk about Lost, which I skipped over as I'm not much a thinking man. Though I did like Inception, which I didn't get what was so confusing about it.

The other, and sometimes I love it best, is when the group of pod casters do their amazing scripted shows. Most the regular people are men so its pretty hilarious when they auto tune? the voices to sound like Storm, Emma Frost, and Dazzler. I have come to appreciate those characters a lot more through those episodes, well and the X-men in general. I could listen to those issues/episodes over and over again.

The blog is amazing, the guys who run it are great, and its almost always funny and informative. If you like comics at all, it is a definitive place to visit.

It is on my read list but here is the link otherwise: www.comicbookqueers.com.

Everything is Bigger in Texas, even the loses

Jason Witten, here with his son, is the only thing I actually like about the Cowboys. I only really feel bad about their 1-5 season because he is a good guy, not to mention handsome.

So Monday Night Football has come and gone, but it had a major impact. Superbowl hopes were already on the ropes with their terrible start but NFC east rivals, Giants, k.o.ed them. The NY Giants sacked and broke their starting QB, Tony Romo, and thus broke their team. It doesn't take a lot for Cowboy fans to hate Giants fans but I would have to think that rivalry has gone from hate to flat out death wish on your family. The Giants not only kill your Superbowl dreams, but they also have the first official win your new billion dollar stadium from last year.

Its probably not smart to totally write them off, they are very talented or so I'm told. I just don't see Kitna being able to rally that team, which doesn't seem to have any leadership and Wade Phillips doesn't strike me as someone who inspires his team to greatness.

Oh well, Witten is still attractive.

Z and G Wedding

My two good friends, Z and G, got married over the weekend. It was the second wedding I got to be in, though it was mostly being an usher and running around doing things behind the scenes. The wedding was held at the Dayton Art Institute and was probably the most expensive wedding I've been involved with. G looked really amazing, probably the prettiest bride I've seen in person.

The wedding was full of personal touches which is nice. They displayed puzzles they had completed together all around the reception area, which was in the Gothic Cloister. G actually sung a song as part of her personal vows, personal vows are always nice if done well. It was definitely G's wedding, but Z's touch was on it too. They are a lot like though different enough that they don't clash too much, basically Z knows how to handle her.

I did have a lot of thoughts during the wedding though, like wow I really want to get married. It just reminded me of how lonely I can get without having someone to share with. I just deal with constant dead ends and jerk around, probably because I deal with the same people all the time. I need to go meet people, which is hard with basically working all week and my weekend is just hanging out with my friends. And another against my friends, but its not getting me to meet anyone.

And it also made me think about straight marriages versus gay marriages, like in how people view them. I'm pretty aware that if I'm able to marry, one day God willing, that it won't stir the same feelings in my family. I doubt most of my family would even go, but sure my friends would be there at least. Well maybe in some families its nothing different, but I think it will take a lot of time for that to happen. Like Generations, and so on....time heals all wounds or something.

G does have real Italian cousins though, one woman seemed to be straight out of my Cousin Vinny or the Jersey Shore.

In the World of Sports

Its been a rather dark day in the world of Sports, or well, it has been in the world of Tommy Sports.

All of my teams are doing rather badly...

Florida is on a losing streak that has been going on for three games now...

Texas got dropped out of the 25, then sparked to upset Nebraska, and then got beaten by Iowa State...

Notre Dame had a nice win streak and then got smashed by Navy, so at best, we are looking at a 6-6 season.

Ohio State was ranked number 1 in the nation, and then got punched by Wisconsin...

The NFL isn't going so bad, but I get more emotional about college games. The passion is higher cause every game matters and you have these kids' futures on the line.

Browns are underwhelming as always but scored a massively awesome upset in New Orleans on Sunday. This continues the streak of the Browns beating the Super Bowl Champion, somehow they always do it...Giants, Steelers, and now the Saints. Go Brownies! McCoy definitely seems to be doing well, which is a nice change from his pre-season play.

Denver has continued to slide and hit rock bottom on Sunday with a 59-17 loss at home to the Raiders. The very idea of a team losing by that margin in pro football is astounding, let alone it being the home team. I only really root for the team cause of Tebow but even I felt embarrassed. Tebow did get his first NFL regular season touchdown against the Jets, thats really cool.

Patriots keep rolling along, and managed to hold on for a road win in San Diego that was mostly due to the Charger's turn overs.

Texans were on a bye and are gearing up for their MNF with Indy, in Indy. A win there would give us fans some confidence in the team. Even if they are 4-2, they could easily be 2-4.

On a side not, I'm really tired of hearing about Big Ben, "alleged rapist", coming back to the NFL. I don't like them turning his return in some kind of redemption story, he fucked up. Can we move on and not go on about it like it some morality play?

Red all Over

This was taken after the "game" between Alabama and Florida, I think I look like some kind of Gator Grim Reaper.

It was definitely a red kind of weekend, rolling red tide and red river rivalry.

Alabama is Number 1: The lack of domination last week in Arkansas might have raised some flags that Alabama was ready to be taken down. I had thought so, and maybe they are, but it will take someone better than Florida to do it. Alabama struck hard and fast, they put the game away before half time. Florida's offense was able to make drives but they never were able to score when they got into the red-zone. The best thing to sum up the Florida offense was watching Burton try to pull off a Tebow jump pass and it totally bombed. They are definitely not the same offense without Timmy...and all of those great receivers.

Oklahoma breaks the streak: After coming off a humiliating loss, I thought Texas would be ready to go and prove themselves. They proved they are not a top 25 team when they got smashed in the face by the Sooner's offense. Texas' D looked good but the offense could never get anything going, until the final quarter when it seemed like the Longhorns might come back. OU scores, with a rather impressive rush TD, and finally wins the RR Shoot out. OU end another big steak for the Longhorns, they had the longest streak of being in the top 25. UT had a streak of like 160 something weeks and now the Buckeyes have the longest with 90 something.

Notre Dame Soars over the Eagles: This is a weird one for me to talk about, since I should be happy. Notre Dame gets its second win of the year out in Boston College, which quickly went lopsidedly in the Irish's way. I am really happy for them to snap their losing streak but it doesn't make me feel very good about the team. BC looked terrible so it was basically a cupcake game for the Irish, which all of the teams schedule. I assume Buckeyes fans feel only marginally better about a win over Eastern Michigan, since its just stat padding. Notre Dame's next game is going to be a lot harder as Pitt comes to South Bend. Pitt has underwhelmed, like all of the Big East, but Pitt has beat ND the last couple of years. Brian Kelly, on the other hand, has beaten Pitt each time while coaching Cincinnati...so one of those patterns will continue.

Massacre

Thats basically what has happened to my various sports teams over the weekend: massacred.

College

Notre Dame: Everything seemed so golden with that win over Purdue, but its just been, very disappointing since then. Kelly's Irish are now 1-3, granted those three losses are all to top 25 ranked teams that are 4-0, but they could easily be 3-1 right now. The defense could not stop Robinson of Michigan for one drive to seal the game. Michigan State won in OT with a trick play. It has always seemed so very close, so very close. Stanford was a relatively close for the most of the game, like 19-6, and then it got blown open in the 4th quarter by Standford. I have faith Notre Dame will end the skid and win at Boston College this weekend, who just changed their starting QB, and give us something positive to look at.

Texas: Really Longhorns, did you really just lose to UCLA at home....unranked UCLA...and not just lost but got manhandled? Yes, so there goes one my favorites for being national champs...though that was a wanning belief. They haven't looked super beast all season long and it finally caught up to them. And its not like its going to be easier, cause its the annual Red River Shoot Out. The biggest game, usually, of Big 12 conference that pits Texas vs Oklahoma. Oklahoma escaped being upset by Cincinnati, Bearcats made too many stupid mistakes, so they are not some juggernaut coming into this. I hope Horns get some redemption by beating the Sooners and wash away that awful game.

Rolling Tide: Arkansas really almost did something that no other team has done in about...two years now: beat Alabama. They were leading and seemed to have it all in hand...and well Alabama shows why they are the best. The Tide rolls into Florida for one is the premier match up of SEC powers, and could be repeated later in the year in the SEC championship game. Florida, which has been not the Tebow powered machine it was last year, seems to be getting it together in time for this game. Meyer is going back to his old game plan back in 2006, which is a dual QB system. Brantley is the normal passer type and now we have "mini-Tebow" Trey Burton who throws and rushes in to score TD's. Go Gators.

And speaking of massacres....

Wisconsin and Ohio State put up over 70 points on their perspective opponents, who are little no nothing schools.

Big East is 1-11 against other FBS conferences, hard to say the WAC is any worse than them.

NFL

Brown Moment: Browns lost again, 0-3, and they were actually leading the Ravens....great.

Texas One Sided Shootout: Houston Texans were suppose to beat the Dallas Cowboys, or thats how the game went in my head. Cowboys, 0-2, were desperate and played very well. They took it to the Texans and took control of the game. It wasn't even close after awhile and Texans offense only manged a few measly points...really suck. Texans go to the Raiders Sunday, I expect a lot of fantasy points Schaub and Foster!

Colts gallop past Broncos: Once again, Manning and the Colts make me hate them even more by beating a team I enjoy. Broncos, who I only really like because they have Tebow, really had that game won. They just couldn't execute when they needed too, terrible red zone performance. The running game is nill but Orton does put up big numbers and drives them up and down the field. But it doesn't matter if you can go all 100 yards down the field, it only matters if you can get points. McDaniels went for it on 4th downs a lot, which is nice to see aggression, but they didn't convert a one. And Tebow is not seeing any action, he is down to the 3rd string for some reason and not being used in any packages....so not sure what McDaniels is up to.

Just keep scoring: When you can score, almost at will, who needs a defense? Patriots managed to beat the Bills mostly by out scoring them. The defense is young and needs a lot of work and needs it soon. Tom Brady looked a lot better this week than in the Jets game but its the Bill's defense. I have hopes the defense will continue to improve as the season goes on and the young players mature and develop. It can only get better.

My fantasy team is now 1-2, but I am hopefully for a turn around this weekend. I need a turn around, and tried to make the right changes.

And blogging about my life is pretty eh, since its mostly working all the time and then football on the weekends.

Football Review 2010 1

So its Week 1 of the NFL and Week 2 of NCAA Football, so lets discuss.

My Fantasy Football team won a close game this week, all thanks to the beastness of Adrian Foster. I took him after the third pre-season game and it has paid off and the Chiefs' sudden defense helped me hold on to win 94 to 92.

NCAA Football

Heart Broken: Notre Dame lost to Michigan in another classic game, which included a Notre Dame 95 yard touchdown to come back. It might be one loss but looking at the schedule it seems likely Notre Dame will get a few more in this tough run. So I feel like the season is gone, which maybe I was too hyped.

Stomped: Alabama basically stomped all over Penn State and shows that they are still the best team in all of college football.

It's all about the....OSUUUU: Ohio State took on Miami FL in a rematch of the 2002 national championship game. OSU won though it was mostly a very sloppy game with two Miami touchdowns from kick returns. There is a really hot defensive player of the Buckeyes, that I need to learn more about, arms like wow. Update: I found out who he is, Nathan Williams.

NFL

Heart Restored: I didn't think I would be able to get over the Notre Dame loss, it was really getting to me. But lo, the next best thing happened, the Texans upset the Colts. It has only happened once in the series between the divisional rivals and could herald two big storylines for the year. Will the Texans finally get to the play offs? I really hope so. Are the Colts doomed to a post Super Bowl Loss slump? I really hope so

Dynasty Not so Declined: The Patriots had a lot of questions coming into the year, with defensive and offensive line questions. The Bengals came with Super Bowl hopes and some growing buzz. The Patriots showed what it means to be an elite team and just a good team by tearing the Bengals apart. Of course since its week 1 we can't really be sure if the Patriots are back to their high status or the Bengals were overrated.

Debut?: Tim Tebow debuted in his hometown with 2 one yard runs....real nice use of him McDaniels. Though that makes his debut only marginally better than Sanchez' awful opening against the Ravens

LOL moment: The Cowboys are first and twenty with 20 seconds at the end of the half, they aren't anywhere close to scoring. They are only down 3 so really, just take the knee and end the half. No, they decide to be real clever and do a option hand off to their running back...who fumbles and the Redskins score a touchdown. I laughed for awhile.

And Browns: My favorite team to root for began the season with a loss....another Brown's season off to a roaring state.

College Football Recap: Week 1

So we had our big opening kick off week of college football and it was all...mostly boring. Most of the big schools schedule these cake games to play at their openers, so they all turn into lopsided 45 to 0 games.

We've not had many upsets, besides 15 ranked Pitt losing to non ranked Utah...but the Big East had an awful weekend in general. West Virginia did well and will mostly like become the front runner to win that division now, not that its saying much to be the winner of the Big East...

Post Tebow Florida had a surprisingly tough game against Miami of Ohio, and it might have turned into a possible upset if Miami hadn't screwed themselves over. Florida Offense looked inept at best with several bad snaps and unable to get their rhythm together. I still believe they will make it okay out of the SEC East but it is worrying to watch them struggle against a freaking mac team that went like 1-11 last year.

Though the other big three that lost their star quarterback to the drafts, Texas and Oklahoma, also didn't play amazingly well. Oklahoma barely won their opener by a touchdown, and Jones has been playing a lot last year with Bradford injured. I feel pretty good with saying Texas wins the Big 12 South though Nebraska looked really good and probably will win the conference.

Notre Dame won and ushered in a hopeful Brian Kelly Era. Most people thought the Purdue game would be a high scoring shoot out but it turned into a defensive game with Notre Dame showing that it had a defensive for once. Next weekend is the big game with Michigan, which also had a great game against UConn. I'm not really optimistic about their chances which makes me a bad fan. I will be cautiously optimistic about their chances since Kelly knows Rich Rod's style it might be decided on who is the better coach.

So Big game tonight is BCS buster Boise State versus Virginia Tech....and I am hoping for a VT win. I'm tired of every year hearing about Boise State going undefeated with their easy schedule and then expected to go to the Championship game. I just want VT to put a smack down on them and just put them out of the picture. But Boise State has a knack for winning so, maybe this is the year for them.

Update: Game has gone back and forth, at first it looked like a Boise State blowout but VT called back and is in the lead. Its up for grabs.

Funny Things at the Gym 1

So I over heard this exchange while training a client this morning. A father and daughter at the leg press machine.

"You're going to be taking a real pounding tomorrow."

Awkward.

Pre-season College Polls

College Football, finally, starts next weekend. Much like in the world of politics, college football is ruled by polls. And much like the world of politics, pre election polls can be quickly worthless and mostly for chattering about. The pre-season college polls basically tells us what people think of these teams and what they will accomplish over the year. The only poll that really matters is the BCS rankings poll that decides which two teams will play each other in the Championship game. And the formula for that, is incredibly convoluted and stupid, and you have to wonder who came up with it.

1. Alabama

No real surprise, they are defending champions from last year. Its not been a stroke of luck of recent years to be ranked number 1 at the start of the season, they don't usually stay there.

2. Ohio State

Oh the Buckeyes, the rulers of the Big Ten, are in at second place. The Buckeyes finally won a big out of conference game at the Rose Bowl, so maybe the pattern of constantly losing the game that counts is broken. I don't think the problem will be the big game this year as much as it will be the gimme game that they lose, which usually happens when they play another Big Ten school like Purdue or Illinois.

3. Boise St, possibly.

While the first two teams seem to be unanimously at the top, the polls begin to differ at three. I will stay with Boise St since it is at 3 in the majority of polls. Could this be the year of the BCS Bronco Buster? They only have two real games to win this year and most of the time they show up for those spotlight games. Boise St comes from a non-qualifying conference, so they have to be undefeated just to get mentioned in the BCS conversation. They play a pathetic schedule and its not that hard to run the table, so their problem is the one they have had every year they have gone undefeated. Are they worthy of playing in the Championship game versus a one less team from a major conference like the SEC? Most people say no. What really could be a problem this year is if TCU, another non-qualifying school that is ranked at around 6-8, also goes undefeated. Would you put both schools into a BCS championship over one of the one less powerhouse conference teams?

4. Florida

Even without Tebow and much of their championship starters, Urban Meyer's team is still a contender. Florida has a new quarterback who is much more prototypical than Tebow was, so it will be a different type of offense. I don't think it will be possible for Florida to get the Championship game undefeated as they play Alabama at Alabama, and then possibly rematch them in the SEC championship game. A clean sweep of the Tide seems really unlikely, even for the Tebow ver Gators, so they would need to win the SEC championship game. Even then it would depend on where they are in the standings, the win would have to vault them to number 2.

5. Texas

The pride of Texas, Longhorns, could they repeat the win of the Big 12 and get back to the big game? They have a tough schedule to do it with thats for sure. Really, it will all come down to two games. The Red River Shoot out with Oklahoma, which Texas has taken control of in recent years, and then the Big 12 Championship which will be with Nebraska. They also have a new QB, who got his debut during the BCS Championship game last year when McCoy was knocked out of it. Texas is in the tougher Big 12 Division so its more likely Nebraska will be the winner of the Big 12, as I don't see much in Oklahoma to get excited about. Hook'm horns!

Not doing all 25 teams, but no Notre Dame ranking again, hopefully something happens with Kelly and his team this year. I just be happy for a strong performance and second tier bowl win.

Nike Knows....Tebow Sells

I really fucking wanted this shirt in time for the Bengals and Bronco's preseason game next weekend, and now its not going to happen. Part of Nike's first campaign with Tebow, they released that specialized show of his that sold out in 15 minutes and then released this shirt.

I wanted it cause its cool and been perfect for the game, of course they sell out of Mediums by the time I looked on Friday and now its totally gone. I doubt they will get anymore in time for me to get one here by the game, but I will keep checking.

Damn it.

Pictures in a Bathroom

I will eventually get the hang of taking better pictures, like London Preppy, but for now, this is all I got. So these were taking in the bathroom at my job at Anytime Fitness after I worked out, so somewhat at a peak pump.

I still have a long way to go, but I get one or two more readers now.

Great Day in Football

Its Tom Brady's 33rd birthday today, So Happy Birthday to the best quarterback in the NFL currently. And yea, shove it Peyton Manning!

And in other news, someone named Farve might have retired, not a big deal.

Our Lady of Endless High School Drama

So this is a rather complicated and personal post about my history with Church, so hopefully it will be worth reading for other people.

I have been born and raised in Christianity, and its been a rather mixed. I went to a Church of Christ since I was a part of this world, and also went to a baptist private school. Church of Christ is pretty laid back, there is no grand ceremonies or interesting rituals. Its also pretty conservative and literal of the bible, so no gays accepted Unitarianism here.

My mother was, still is, choir director at my church so it was something we did almost every Sunday. My dad wasn't as big on it, but he got the option of going or not, I didn't have that. I had to go to church, almost every Sunday, until I was 18. At that point, and actually before it, I was pretty much left to my own devices. So I am not one of those one people who is ignorant of the Christian faith, no I am better versed than most people, if not most average Christians.

I actually got my first kiss, at least first kiss that I consider a kiss, at a church camp. I used to have the biggest crush on this girl, blonde, funny, gravity inducing. And I was chubby, awkward kid so when she pulled me under the water in the pool and kissed me, it was pretty awesome. Church Camp is an odd environment really. You are get a bunch of young kids and teenagers aware from their parents but there is a moral confinement going on, so some of them act well and others...well we didn't act so well.

I never took any of it seriously, maybe because you hear it so much that it all becomes background noise at one point. I was never one of those Jesus kids, I went to camps and Sunday school because of my friends than the word of God. And maybe it had something to do with being "different", an unrealized 'mo, that I just never felt the connection with these people. No, a kid swinging on a swing set shouting the lyrics of Sex and Candy at a church camp is not really filled with the holy spirit. Or I was, I just found it all to be rather ridiculous. It might also be how I knew some of these kids quite well and it was all an act. The enchanting girl, that I shared an underwater kiss with, I grew up, and was quite aware of her active sexual life.

The one thing that I have learned, or have looked back on, is that Church is a lot like high school. You go there to learn but you often get sucked into personal drama and politics. You grow out of high school, but it grows out around you. At least that is how it was been at Spring Hill Church of Christ, a lot of drama.

I have felt empty for a few months, maybe even longer, and I am rather aware of what I was looking for. I know I was seeking some kind of spiritual fulfillment and for me that meant getting back a relationship with God. Of course, this brings up some obvious problems. First and most glaring, how do you reconcile being gay and being a Christian? I did my research and most verses that talk about "gays" is about sexual rituals in temples or the fact that men of time would get married and still carry with other men or boys. Does the bible ever talk about monogamous gay couples, no, because it wasn't a part of the society of the time. In the end, its about the personal connection with Jesus and not what someone else thinks about what a Christian can be or not be.

Anyway, so what was really bothering me about going back to church was the people there. I have grown up with these people and with some of them, it has been a hard road to toll. D.S' family is actually been the longest running and most overblown problem that I have with my church. These people really used to like me, then they found out I was gay, and it all sorta went down hill after that. They blame for basically anything D.S ever did wrong, especially when he end up dating a guy for 6 months. These are the people who would go to church and profess the love of Christ and then turn around and spit venom at me.

Church, at least mine, is a clique. Springhill basically a few powerful families that make the decisions, they all have family members that sit in positions of power. So instead of jocks, nerds, popular kids, its this family or that family. I suppose I am making it seem worse than what it is, but the human element of a church is hard to ignore. I mean the man who baptized me and was my pastor as a child, he ended up having an affair and getting kicked out of the church. I have seen a lot of human failing there, and doesn't inspire the best.

I could just go somewhere else but there is something comforting about it, it is like a home. You know the building, where everything is, and there are people who are happy to see you come back. It makes my mom happy, which is a nice added bonus.

The thing is, this is about me. I am going because I want this, that is the mind set I have to keep. It has made me feel good when I am there, so I will just do my best to keep it up.

In Brief

Totally not related to this post, Tim Tebow gets an endorsement deal with Jockey and apparently he prefers briefs to boxers. I am not sure if that means he is more likely to be gay or less, though this picture kinda makes me want to say, Fag.

I've been kinda too busy to work on things lately, and I am sure there were things to write about.

I got a new job, because even down economies can't keep me down. I basically just moved to another gym, finally gained a full time job, and have a female fitness competitor for a boss. She's cool, though she is more focused on her competitions right now than anything else so I pretty much do what I like. I really like some of my new clients, and was able to bring at least two of my old ones with me.

I could write about this patch of some kind of skin infection on my forearm, bu that would be gross and turn off the two readers I have now. Its healing anyway, so I can keep my arm.

FourSquare is really addicting and my new life goals are to be mayor of my job and the city where my gym is located. I have big dreams.

Found out I like Paramore, and that will probably gross out my only two readers too.

Started going back to Church, which I really should dedicate a blog too, its been a mixed bag. I enjoy going and being there and hearing it but it also makes me really anxious cause of all the drama and bad blood over the years with members there. Yea, thats a worth a blog.

Football Training Camps starts this week, so we are drawing ever closer to the beginning of the season. I need to make some picks this year for College and NFL, and see if they hold.

The Best Weekend? part 2

I meant to do this weeks ago but got busy with other things, mostly changing jobs.

Friday

I worked in the morning, then had my work out before meeting up with V. H and K. A. They are a lesbian couple, though V.H. used to be straight when I first met her. Funny enough, she thought I was cute and hit on me. I have had a few friends who were straight then went gay, though two of them are now backing to being straight...I was the best man for one of them. So anyway, we go to the mall and I'm looking for something to wear and end up with a Longhorn's Shirt. I guess because I didn't want to be another mo in a A&F shirt

My mood ends up crashing by the time we get dinner with C.M and I'm not sure why. I just got all quiet and overly polite, which I guess is different than most people who get moody and turn into a bitch. I just stared at a tv that showed some bizarre, mostly likely European thing, where women in bikinis and stuff octopus into their fishnets. Fucking weird.

So the night moves on, eventually my mood lightens up again. I basically tell myself to stop being a freak and will myself back to normal, and then going for a night swim kinda helped that. It only sucked cause these cold winds were blowing in rain now and then but its really cool to swim while its raining. I don't know why, it just is.

C.M. had no food in his house though, that sucked, since I'm someone who eats all the time.

Saturday

So we all get up and head out to Columbus, which is about an hour to hour and half drive. We started kinda late and took forever to get on the road, we had to buy food and all. We forget to buy drinks though, stupid.

Parade itself was fine, I enjoy it for what it was. I do find it increasingly odd how it all fits together anymore. You have politicians, churches, and families and then you have the float of S&M leather bears with one wearing some kind of dog tail butt plug. I am not going go on some kind of rant about it, its just a rather jarring image.

It hot and muggy, but nothing awful. I got a lot of t-shirt compliments and Hook Em horns signs; that was awesome. I wanted to fake I was from Texas but then I thought it was pretty childish to do so....stupid adult. The day was basically spent walking around, hotel was flipping sweet though. We did have to walk a ways to find the nearest UDF to buy some kind of liquor, Sparks and Mike's Hard for me. I hate beer, taste bad. Guess thats part of the gay gene for some, I know everyone else was fine with beer.

Saturday Night

So two storylines develop as the night goes on. I had talked to a friend of mine, M.C., about staying in the hotel room with me and my friends. I had texted him off and on through the day, I got messages back..usually. So when he was finally suppose to be off, I tried to figure out where he was to come to bring him back to the hotel. No replies or responses and I honestly haven't heard from him since then. I am not sure what happened but I feel like I should get some explanation for what happened.

Second one, which is really the major one, happened after we all went out to the bars. I was feeling good, I mean I hardly drink so it doesn't take much. I was wearing a shirt that says Kiss me I have superpowers, with a picture of Superman on it...not realizing it pretty much made everyone ask..oh what power or ask for a kiss. C.M. didn't really like it when I kissed some random guy, and honestly that was trashy on my part. V.H. buys me a shot of patron, and lets say that really starts the night going. I'm feeling good, thats the point of drinking.

C.M. wants to go to the bathroom and I go along, cause you don't let your friend go into the bar room of an unknown gay club alone. The bathroom is pretty... sleazy is the word. It felt kinda dirty and there was like a post board filled with naked pictures of dudes. C.M. and I are talking, though I'm being really open and flirty right now. He eventually tells me he likes me and was annoyed I would just kiss some random guy. So in order to pacify him, I kiss him though tell him I like as a friend. In hindsight, its a terrible idea. What the hell? Why would anyone do that?

The night turns pretty sour with C.M and K.A leaving to go back to the hotel cause they don't feel well or something. V.H. and I stay and drink, which ends up with me getting more shots of Patron. V.H. is good at getting me drunk, I only bought one for myself. I had great time otherwise, even though C.M. was in the back of my head. It gradually passed with each shot and having guys coming up to me.

I got into a really drunk and spirited debate about football to really top the night off. I got to go on about the Browns, Texas, Tebow and all for reasons I don't remember now. I know this one straight guy was impressed that I knew who the first pick of the draft was and then he proceeded to hit on V.H. all night. We ended up walking back to the hotel with a really drunk couple, that was some good times.

Sunday

Hangover, it sucked. It wasn't as bad as it probably should have been but I still felt awful at breakfast. By the way, Hilton has the best free breakfast in existence. You can make waffles, its awesome. It was mostly awkward between C.M. and I, cause I felt bad and wasn't sure what to say. The ride home was the same and we haven't really talked much since that weekend.

So was it the best weekend ever...not..a fun one..but no.

Two Face, You're a Two Face

Every since watching the Real Housewives of New Jersey, I can't think or say certain words without wanting to put a "Jersey" spin on it. The term two face is forever etched in my mind by Dina Manzo. I just picture not only the way she says it but them also how she pointed at her face then at Jackie's face, two faces.

So A.V. and I have not been getting along, I just get annoyed by the things he does and what he talks about. I really don't like talking to him cause it feels like he will blame me for doing things he used to do to me. If I say that though, he says something about I can't bring up that past stuff. So I get pissed off and don't want to speak to him.

I get a text like Tuesday morning, or I think at 2 am on Tuesday even though he knows I am asleep. The jist of the message is something about how bad things are between us and what we should do about it. I say, until tensions clear, lets just take a break from talking to one another. He seemed fine with that, at least he didn't say it bothered him.

On his Livejournal, cause this is 2002, he proceeds to go off about me and pretty much makes me look like a jerk. I'm kinda shocked cause he knows I can read his LJ and its not like he hid it from me...so why not just tell it to my face? Not to mention, who besides a tween girl goes off on someone on a Livejournal?

He deletes me from Facebook, so I guess that means its really over.

Two Faced, man...

Fun Texts 1

Me: And japan lost damn it, I am down to Portugal

He: Lol

Me: What are you up to now?

He: Nerkin lol

He: Jerkin*

....I don't think an lol should follow a masturbation text, maybe I am a prude.

Cancer

I will get into the Pride weekend later cause this is something that is on my mind.

I have a cancer, and its almost easier if it were the actual sickness. I would attack that with endless determination and ferocity, that is some evil and alien, that is something I can hate.

This is a cancer of a social variety, of people. I have a hard time dealing with that kind of cancer. I can't cut people out of my life like I could infected flesh. I don't have the personality to just push people away, so I usually hope they will break it off with me.

Its not always a virtue to be forgiving, its not always a virtue to give out a "second chance". I would like to think I could man up enough to put things to rest but I just hate the idea of hurting someone. It isn't like these people are evil or wrong, I just feel like they drag me down more than anything else. They don't enlighten my mood or my life, it just feels like a source of drama.

I shouldn't bitch, I should do something.

Cancer kills, and this kind has slowly damaged my social life and confidence.

How is Tim Tebow doing?

With all the hype and polarized response that his drafting got, I don't get to hear much about how things are going for Tim Tebow in Denver. I really haven't looked around for information but since OTAs are now over, some news has become to come out. Sports Illustrated actually has entire article about Tebow's development in Denver, and I pretty much loved it. The entire article is here.

Kyle Orton is still the starter for the Broncos, Tebow is progressing but he still has work to do and ways to go. He has moved up to the 3rd string and there is a possibility he could overtake Brady as the back up to Orton. I would be more worried he gets pushed up too quickly and then he starts a game and looks awful, so I'm fine with him not starting this year. I would rather him start when he is ready, but McDaniels does have a lot riding on him. Tebow is impressing his fellow Broncos with his work ethic so at least he is getting the locker room around him. Baby steps.

Choice selection:

"Still, Tebow is brimming with a quiet confidence about his NFL prospects, even though he knows he's far from the player Denver thinks he can be. McDaniels is befuddled at those around the game who think Tebow's an NFL disaster waiting to happen. Way too high at 25th. Mechanics will never be right. Can't remake a quarterback in one off-season. McDaniels got suckered by the kid's Eagle Scout demeanor.

"Actually, I love that," said Tebow after his throwing session, leaning against the wall across from the team meeting room. His left arm, from the forearm to the nape of his neck, was mummified in ice, wrapped in a dozen ace bandages. "I think we both love it. It's a little bit of us against the world. It will be wonderful when I prove him right."

Burning down the....Jesus?

I became famous! If by famous I mean I live 3 minutes up the road of something that became a national story. It is quite rare to live by a national icon, I imagine I know what its like now to live by the Eiffel Tower, Seattle Tower, Sears Tower, so on....towers are popular icons. The picture helps with some size reference, it was 62 ft high and oddly proportioned.

The giant Jesus statue, also known as Touchdown Jesus or Big Butter Jesus, was hit by a bolt of lightening and burned down. The statue was not made of stone, which I assumed, but foam and fiberglass. There is honestly nothing left of it but the steel frame underneath it.

Here's the video!

I enjoy the girl's incredibly deadpan voice, she sounds like Becky from Roseanne. I also get the impression she is probably one of those atheist people, as no Southern Ohio Christian girl would be that calm as Jesus burns in front of her.

And pretty much every major new source and website carried the story, I saw it on Drudge, Towleroad, Yahoo News, the Guardian, Fox News, and so on and on. See, and that all happened 3 minutes from my house.

So people might be wondering why I am not even more famous by taking a video of it and having my deadpan voice narrate the end of an iconic sculpture. I was sleeping, I slept through the entire thing.

And if you think this the end of the statue, you under estimate the money raising power of a mega-church. The Bishops, the couple that runs the church, have already begun to work on rebuilding it. I guess there are some true recession proof jobs...

The Best Weekend? part 1

So this came up yesterday when someone started chatting me up on Facebook, which is a feature I find to be annoying.

Him: Hey there, what are you doing this weekend? (This guy friended through mutual friends, so I don't know him that well)

Me: Oh I'm going to Columbus

Him: Oh what are you doing? (Though he probably knew what I was doing given where this conversation goes.)

Me: Going to Pride with some friends

Him: Oh thats like the best weekend

I kinda wanted to commit a hate crime, though since we are both gay it will just be a normal crime. I don't find Pride weekend to be the "best weekend" but I guess for some people it probably is. You have a sudden influx of hopefully attractive guys, a re-appearance of a once popular female singer from the 70's,80's, or 90's, and get to take in a parade. You also can dress like a slut in public and call it protest...or remembrance or something.

Not that I am one of these, "Oh Pride is awful and stupid." It has a point and it is usually a fun weekend. I just don't consider it the "best weekend."

The best weekend to me is the first weekend when you have college football on Saturday and then NFL on Sunday. I pretty much have my weekends set and I always at least have something to do, watch football. It usually ends up being a long weekend when you start getting college games on Thursday Night and NFL on Monday night.

This weekend is the second weekend of September, which is the second week of the College football season and the first week of the NFL.

I use a part 1 since I will do a post about Columbus after I get back, I can at least see where it rates.

Texas saves the Big 12...or something

So it was just a few days ago, I and most of the sports world were pronouncing the death of the Big 12. The conference has sent a team to the BSC championship game almost every year. In this year's Draft, the first four picks were all from the Big 12. But as Colorado and Nebraska left for greener pasture, it seemed that the end was upon the conference. Then all of the sudden, the Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe came up with a plan to keep the conference together. He went right to Texas and basically offered UT what it wanted, more money. A new Big 12 (or whatever it is going to be) tv network contract will be drawn up and Texas will also be able to pursue the creation of the Longhorn Network.

I will give massive credit and lots of respect to Dan Beebe. The Big 12 was on the verge of dying just yesterday and he manages to save his conference. After seemingly outplayed by the Pac-10 and Big Ten, he managed to hold it together. He knew what to do in the end, he had to give Texas more money. For all the talking about wanting to be apart of higher academic standards and research institutions of the Pac-10, Texas really was happy with just getting more money.

So what could this possibly mean for the future?

The Big 12 might as well call itself the Longhorn Conference or the Big Texas Conference, cause its obvious that there is only one star in the conference, the Lone Star. Hook'm Horns!

The Big 12 is now at 10, and will have to add at least two teams to have a championship game. I'm not really sure who they would add, since coming in sort of means you agree to play second banana to Texas. Arkansas used to play with Texas and other schools when the SWC existed, and its a regionally good fit. The problem is Arkansas is in the SEC and it seems unlikely a school would want to leave that conference. Utah is possible but it might be courted by the Pac-10.

Pac-10, who looked the winner at the start of this, comes off not looking so good with just picking off Colorado. They do gain the Denver market but Colorado is not a national player in really any sport. If they can't add Utah or some high level school to bump them up into 12 schools, it seems like more of a bust than an achievement.

And unless something else happens, we all look kind of stupid for suddenly proclaiming the end of little conferences and the beginning of mega-conferences. As much as mega-conferences seem like the future, but it might not be in the best interest of each college. As long as some schools, like Texas and Notre Dame, can make far more money and leverage power on their own, they have no need for mega-conferences.

Kind sucks it all ended so anti-climatically.

A professional source.

Tired of Being Bored

Really tired of always feeling bored...

This is obviously a problem of my own making and there is something I could do about it, but I just find meaningless ways to keep occupied. I watch tv or reload the same web pages, but none of it makes me feel better. I just get kinda anxious and somewhat depressed.

I should have done something at the gym while it was open, or actually do some kind of real cleaning. I want too but I just have this weird feeling of malaise hanging over my body.

I should write something at least, blog post or some fiction. I just get this self defeated feeling about writing anymore, at least when it comes to fiction.

This was pointless, still bored.

And it has begun, Conference Realignment!

Well when I talked about it before, Conference Realignment in sports seemed to be something that would be a slow, evolving process that would take some years. The Big Ten was the first to speak about it openly and it seemed like they would make the first moves in expanding out. The Big East or the ACC seemed to the be the most likely conference that would be raided and then fall apart. How things change in a few months.

Today, Colorado has announced it will leave the Big 12 and go to the Pac-10. It might not be the only announcement we get either, as Nebraska is poised to also leave the Big 12 and head over to the Big Ten conference. The Pac-10 has become extremely aggressive in recent weeks and has also made a play for the six major schools in the Big 12, including Texas and Oklahoma. This could end up creating a "mega-conference" which would turn the west and south west into basically a huge Pac-10 market. It would arguably put it on the top of the conference standing as it would have; USC, Texas, Oklahoma, who have all either won or be in the BSC championship game each year in recent history.

Like I stated earlier, I honestly didn't think the Big 12 would become the conference that would be raided. They had two powerhouse teams in Texas and Oklahoma, which would have anchored it into the college world. Now the Big 12 could survive but it would only happen if it could hold on to either Texas or Oklahoma. And there is no guarantee that the Pac-10 will woo those schools in, I can't see the SEC sitting back any longer. Everyone wants Texas, Go Longhorns!

The political aspect of this is fascinating, because college sports is huge business and has lots of social influence. Governor Perry is apparently trying to broker a deal that will make sure that wherever Texas goes, A&M and Tech will also go to the same conference. The Governor of Missouri was, or still is, trying to sell Missouri to the Big Ten Conference. With so much money at play, no one wants to miss out.

Notre Dame still holding out....come to the Big Ten...

Fall of Troy

Well the mighty walls of the college power came tumbling down today, the NCAA sanctions against USC finally came out. It doesn't look good for a program that was definitely on a decline this year and Carroll hasty exit to the NFL. And with the looming possibility of a Pac-10 super conference that includes Texas and Oklahoma, it looks like it might be the end of its domination of the west coast.

The major sanctions that came out were a 2 year ban on post season play, so no bowl games. They will mostly be playing spoiler for schools I guess, they have nothing to lose which might make them a more dangerous team. Kiffin still has to have a high win to lose ratio, but I'm not sure people can expect for him to keep his team motivated since there is nothing for them at the end of the season road.

They will also have scholarship reduction and recruiting limitations put on the program, so you basically inflicting a talent drain on the program. Considering how competitive it will be now that you are in a conference, possibly anyway, with Texas and Oklahoma; seems like USC's future continues to become dim. Kiffin, if he can whether the next couple of years and its not like any of this is his fault, will have quite a challenge on his hands to rebuild the program. He did a great job of making Tennessee better and he has the personality to do it, but it will be daunting. They will no longer be the big fish in a conference but possible a second tier school with Texas looming over all.

Music: Alejandro by Lady Gaga

I swear I will start posting something other than music videos, this just allows me to be lazy. I promise I won't be lazy anymore, just real life work has taken up my time.

So we have the latest "music video", though really the label should be more like art film, from Lady GaGa. And its getting mixed responses, I think everyone agrees its a great video but is it GaGa Great? The last video she did, Telephone, was basically an over the top film that borrowed several influences from 70's exploitation films and everyone seems to have loved it. Alejandro borrows several elements from Madonna and people seem to be less than enthused. The video doesn't have an obvious storyline and its cold, Gothic, wintry setting doesn't fit the sunny, europop sound of the song.

We basically have a stupid controversy about whether this means GaGa is over, yea cause the video has only been out tow days and has over 8 million views cause she is over. The song itself, which most people didn't think was one of the strongest on the album, is a top ten hit and probably push up to top five due to the video. Its incredibly stupid to talk about, media needs a new storyline about her so why not push this idea of her faltering.

Anyway, so back to the video itself. I love it, I've watched it dozens of times because something about it just works for me. The imagery is stunning: militarism, catholicism, homo-eroticism, 30's Germany, 90's Herb Ritts, its quite a package. I like the choreography of the video better than some of her past videos. Yes, it has some very 90's Madonna moments. The one part that really stands out to me is the catwalk/vogue scene that happens at about 5:30 of the video. I really think its awesome with Gaga and soliders doing some rather incredible model stepping.

I think it might actually speak more to the influence of Klein than Madonna, that Madonna had a lot less to do with the look of Vogue, Express Yourself, etc. Klein was the dominant influence and she just went a long. Klein definitely repeats his themes with Gaga, though they definitely edgier and darker in Alejandro.

The video's message, or one of them, is that gay relationships are strong, honorable and powerful like that of a military unit. Thats refreshing to see, since we are often portrayed as weak or effeminate.

I am just more sorry that this video might be remembered as a Madonna knock off when its actually something much more.