The Royal Heffernans

Tesla Powerwall

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Fri, 01 May 2015 18:22:00 +0000

I wouldn't call myself an environmentalist. I totally believe in global warming, and it will be a big problem for our kids' generation. I'm not convinced it's all because we ruined the world in the 20th Century, but certainly human impact has contributed to the problem.

That being said, I love new technology and energy efficient tech is pretty cool to read about and see in action. A friend recently installed a geothermal unit at his house, and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't researched and fantasized about installing solar at my house and kissing energy bills goodbye.

So I was pretty interested when Tesla announced a new home battery system yesterday. When I bought my last car, I seriously considered a Tesla, but it was just too expensive and had a lot of limitations for my usage. However, there is no doubt Tesla is the world leader in batteries, and moving into the home sounds like a slam dunk. Maybe this is the time to seriously consider an investment into solar and a home battery. In 20 years, it will have paid for itself 100 times over, right?

Wrong. I read a great article in Forbes today that reminds me that it is never a good idea to adopt a totally new technology early. Furthermore, it may be many years before solar and battery power are truly cost effective. The money quote:

"No doubt battery technology is important for the management of the power grid of the future, but at this time the average homeowner should let the big power generation utilities take the risks and bear the costs of perfecting the technology. After all, any truly viable energy source is more economic when deployed on a large scale than on a small scale."

So I will continue to follow Tesla and solar power with interest, and we all should. However, before you make a big jump into this, read the article above and realize it's certainly not ready for prime time.

(Super) Guilty!

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 17:15:00 +0000

Take a good look at that picture. That's the last time you'll ever see Aaron Hernandez outside of a prison. He was convicted today of first degree murder and will serve a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole.

This news was met immediately by a tweet from former teammate Brandon Spikes.

IM CONFUSED ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM THESE DAYS !!!
— BrandonSpikes51 (@BrandonSpikes51) April 15, 2015

So while I would agree with this statement in general, Spikes is so wrong in this case that it shows me that he is simply dumb. This is a knee-jerk reaction that "the system" wronged an innocent man. I suggest he read a little bit about the case and the evidence presented.

In this particular case the system worked DESPITE the underlying issues with our court system in general. I am actually surprised that he was convicted, but clearly justice was served. They were able to prove a blowout fight between Hernandez and Odin Lloyd (the victim) at a club 2 nights before the murder (anger and time to plan). They used phone records to trace Hernandez on the day of the murder, and proved he was with Lloyd when he was killed. They proved that Hernandez used his fiancee to hide evidence (perhaps the gun, but never found). They also proved Hernandez tried to destroy evidence. How much was this proven? So much that the defense was forced to admit that Hernandez witnessed the murder and tried to pin it on his other two friends - IN THEIR CLOSING STATEMENT!!! They never admitted this during the trial, but scrambled to offer some shred of reasonable doubt at the very end.

It's a classic case of circumstantial evidence. Everything except the smoking gun, literally. No murder weapon. Interestingly, the true motive was never offered to the jury as well. That's where the justice system breaks down. Hernandez has also be charged with two other murders from a drive-by shooting in 2012. He will face trial on those charges at a later date. It is widely believed that Lloyd was his accomplice in those murders and that knowledge led to Hernandez decision to quiet him. The judge ruled this evidence/info was inadmissible to the Lloyd case. Had it been, the jury would have seen Hernandez in a very different light.

Justice served.

My New Hero!

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 16:53:00 +0000

So I sit here at work lamenting my weekend of call. It's sunny, 65 degrees and the Masters is on. Worst weekend to be on call ever! One nice bonus: Augusta National has one of the best websites on the internet, and I can watch live streams of the Masters.

So as I was watching the first group arrive at Amen Corner, I saw Steve Stricker hit his shot on the green at 12. Then some guy named Jeff Knox hit it to 10 feet, well inside Stricker. The announcers said he was a "non-competing marker." I immediately thought, what the hell is that? So I consulted Mr. Google. What I found brightened my day immensely!

Jeff Knox is a 51 year-old resident of Augusta and a member at Augusta National. Since 2002, he has been designated the fill-in guy in case there are an uneven number of players after the cut on the weekend at the Masters. This is a pretty big honor, but this guy has earned it. He holds the all-time scoring record at Augusta at 61. He also regularly beats the pros he's paired with. Often, they look to him for advice on the course and greens. A quick search brought up several AWESOME stories about his past performances:

In 2003, he was paired with the Walrus, Craig Stadler. He smashed him both rounds.
Another year he was paired with Miguel Angel Jimenez. After outdriving him on #1, Jimenez told him not to outdrive him again. He ignored him and did anyway!
He was paired with Bubba Watson in 2013, who was the defending champion. Bubba asked him for tips at Amen Corner.
He was paired with Rory McElroy in 2014 on Saturday. He beat Rory by a stroke and won some cash in a bet!
This year, he played a practice round with Tiger while Tiger decided if he was going to play the tournament.

But my favorite story without a doubt is 2006. He was paired with Sergio Garcia in the final round. They certainly made a bet, although we will never know how much. Knox scored 72. Garcia scored 73. Garcia refused to shake his hand after they were finished. It's unclear if he paid up!

So make sure you check to see how Jeff Knox did today. It won't be an official score, but you can find it.

I Just Don't Understand

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 03:19:00 +0000

Look, I'm not the biggest fan of Apple. I'm a staunch PC guy (I guess now that's a dying term. Do I have to say I'm a Windows guy or an Android guy instead?). That being said, my wife and I do have iPhones. When we got them, they were light years ahead of any other smartphone. Once we made the switch, we stuck with them. iCloud, Photostream, syncing music and apps, backups and updates are a total disaster, especially with 2 (or more) devices. The phone is great, though.

I understand the marketplace here too. Release a new, updated phone every year. Most people will update every year or two. Lots of new features. Better hardware. Better battery. Yada, yada, yada. It's the same model for most electronics. It works. Customers will keep coming back and buying the next big thing.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone would EVER buy an Apple Watch.

This is being marketed alternatively as a new electronic device, as an iPhone add on, and even as a high end watch. Sure, Apple may push the tech aspect, but make no doubt they are gunning for the watch market. The retail debut of Apple Watch models in watch sections of high end stores should dispel any thoughts otherwise.

Pricing starts at $349 and goes up to $17,000. Most watches will be in the $600 - $1000 range. Seems like a lot for a watch that doesn't work without an iPhone. Sounds like a worse deal when it costs 3 to 5 times more than said iPhone. Sounds ludicrous when you consider it's for a watch.

See, here's my biggest issue. When you drop $1000, $5000, $10,000 or more on a fancy watch, you are buying a watch that will last you forever. You can pass it on to your kids or grandkids. Although I personally wouldn't pay $10k for a watch, I understand why some would choose to do so. Hell, some nice watches actually retain value or increase in time!

Compare that to the Apple Watch. It will be obsolete in a year. The battery when brand new lasts 18 hours. Do you think it will make it through a day after a year? Judging by the battery degradation in my iPhones, I would say NO WAY! New tech will evolve. New features will be added to newer watches. Your old watch will be worth $150 to an online reseller.

So if you run out and buy one of these things, congrats on being one of the "cool kids" for a few months. Then let me know when you go back to pulling out your iPhone to check the time!

Bye Bye ESPN.com (again)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 12:04:00 +0000

ESPN.com's new look

For a number of years, I’ve tried to get away from ESPN.com. ESPN is generally biased, self-serving, and more eager to promote themselves then accurately cover sports. More often than not, they fabricate and/or grossly exaggerate the story in order to make it more news worthy. I always want to get away from ESPN, but there’s very few alternatives out there.

A couple of weeks ago, ESPN.com change the format of their site, and I’m happy to say that I don’t like it one bit. There’s too much going on, too many Flash videos running, and there’s almost no sports information until you dig in. Heck, most of the good content on the site is only for “In” members, and I don’t pay for that crap. So I’m finally able to say I’m going to be leaving ESPN.com. I can’t get away from the ESPN TV stations (unless someone has a solution), but at least I can lessen my dependence on all my sports info and news coming from ESPN.

I now will rely solely on a sweet app I downloaded a couple years ago called “The Score.” It’s got tons of news, a good headlines page, and let’s my pick what teams and sports I care about most, without forcing the Yankees-Red Sox game(s) down my throat. Also, it’s minimally self-promoting (every app and station promotes itself somewhat, but it’s a pale fraction of what ESPN does).

Adios, ESPN.com!

Aliens - Part 2.5?

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 22:22:00 +0000

So it looks like this is really happening.

Alien redefined horror and sci-fi, and is an all-time great. Aliens was the rare sequel that improved upon its predecessor, and remains my all-time favorite movie. Then things went a little haywire. Beloved characters were cut from the storyline, an ending was undone with a clone/hybrid resurrection, predators were brought into the fray, and the man who started it all did a prequel that refused to be a prequel.

Amidst all this mess, countless storylines exist in Alien-verse fiction and online in the form of dead screenplays. Some of the ideas are unbelievably fantastic (read Earth Hive), and many fans wonder what might have been.

One of those fans is Neill Blomkamp, the South African director who hit an absolute grand slam with District 9, and then made an amazing looking movie short on story in Elysium. Amidst all his press for his upcoming new movie, Chappie, questions arose about his interest in the Alien franchise. This arose from his own tweets showcasing concept art he made personally regarding Alien. Apparently, in his free time he fleshed out a full concept for a new Alien movie and did the artwork. This without any knowledge by Fox Studios. Initially, he said the project was just for fun and was dead. Then suddenly... The project has been greenlit by Fox! Then, he made some very interesting comments about where the movie would fit into the franchise. And now, he has clarified those comments.

So first off... HELL YES!

Next, what can we glean about the potential plot from the artwork and comments by Blomkamp? We know the movie is set after Aliens, and essentially disregards Alien 3 and 4. We also know Sigourney Weaver will again play Ripley. Weaver is 30 years older than her appearance in Aliens, so that has to be taken into account. People don't age in hypersleep, so could she have made it back home? We also know that Blomkamp LOVES to set his movies in South Africa. Could this potentially introduce an Alien to Earth?

We'll just have to hang on for more details. I'm sure many more will come out soon, once Chappie gets through it's press phase.

Lookout for DRONES!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 15:44:00 +0000

So the FAA and Obama administration made news this week with new guidelines for commercial drone usage as well as defining their role more clearly in military use. That on the heels of announcements that driver-less cars are now being tested in England, Amazon wants to use drones to deliver packages, and Tesla now has an autopilot mode for it's cars.

Yes, the day that we are subservient to our computer overlords (Colossus, Terminator, Wargames, Matrix, Transcendence...) is fast approaching. So what is a person to do as this inevitability approaches? EMBRACE IT WITH A SMILE!!!

Ali bought me a Parrot MiniDrone Rolling Spider as a Valentine's Day gift this year. Totally awesome gift. We exchanged gifts on Thursday night (we had a charity dinner Friday and I was on-call all weekend), so I didn't get a chance to play with it until Saturday afternoon. Saturday, I opened it and charged it up. While charging, I went online and watched all the video tutorials on flight controls. I downloaded the FreeFlight3 control software (you use your mobile or tablet as your controller) and then gave it a spin. The cool thing about this little guy is that it has protective wheels that can attach for indoor flight, so you don't damage it too much in a crash. Great for indoor practice. So I took it for a few spins around the house. I actually got quite good, and started taking some overhead pics with it's built-in camera (see above).

But I was really savoring the chance to get this bad boy outside, without concern for crashing into walls and lamps. Sunday afternoon was my chance. We had beautiful, sunny weather with almost no wind. Granted it was 35 degrees, but as good as it's been for a month here! So I put on a hat and took my MiniDrone outside for it's first test flight in the backyard. Here's what happened:

First, I set the flight ceiling at 9m. That can be controlled on the remote software settings. It only has a 20m range, so I thought that allowed for a good height from which to snap a few overhead yard pics. Next, I laid it down on the pool deck flat with enough room around for maneuvering. Then I hit the Takeoff button on the controller. The MiniDrone took flight and hovered at eye level. That's a nice feature for taking off, as it gets you flying very easily. Next, I used the altitude control pad (left control area on the software) to raise it up. Unlike indoors, the drone literally took off like a ROCKET straight up at a bit of an angle away from the house. Literally in 2 seconds, I lost sight of it. In 5 seconds, I couldn't hear it anymore. In 7 seconds, my iPhone reported that connection had been lost. Obviously, it had flown farther than the 20m range. All the while, I am frantically trying to lower the altitude. It happened so fast, I never had a chance to hit the Landing or Emergency buttons to bring it right down.

After that, I took Ava and Molly with me and we walked a grid along the last known heading. No drone in the field behind us. Beyond that, the lake was frozen solid. No drone on the ice. Beyond that, the woods. It was gone.

Dejected, I went back inside. I admitted to Ali my awful news. She took it well. I wrote a long email to the Parrot customer service department explaining what happened. I cannot figure out why it would ascend uncontrollably, beyond the max height I had set. They suggested it may have been interference with the controller or the altitude sensor in the MiniDrone. They offered to replace it. Good on them. I will take them up on that offer.

As for my lost MiniDrone, I like to think it's in a better place now. It has flown off to join his friends as they prepare for our annihilation.

Saints Lose, But Saints Fan is the Big Loser

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 00:32:00 +0000

So it's a rare NFL-themed post today on a topic I just couldn't resist any longer! Sunday was a matchup between the two NFL teams I love and follow. My hometown Bengals were visiting my hometown-through-marriage Saints. I'm sure Ali's Dad had a front row view of this critical game between two horribly underachieving teams.

So the Bengals had an impressive road win, but their performance was overshadowed by an event that happened in the stands after a Dalton to Gresham TD. Gresham spotted two Bengals fans in the endzone seats and walked over, tossing the ball to the female fan who was reaching for it. That's when an old Saints fan rose up and snatched the ball in mid-air, elbowing the female Bengals fan in the face in the process. Cameras moved in and recorded every second as the female fan begged for the ball, while the Saints fan sat in his seat shaking his head with a death grip on the ball.

Although the Bengals fan (visiting from Kentucky) was eventually given a game ball by the Saints and another Gresham signed ball by the Bengals (as well as a lot of media time and some other free gear), her plight was picked up nationally. Of course, the Saints fan was painted as the villain and has been vilified in the national media since then. NOLA news quickly identified the man and his and his family's life has been shit since then. He claims the ball was for his grandson, and that may be the case.

So I was rooting for the Bengals in this game. I live in Cincinnati. I initially was pissed at the Saints fan too, and considered him a total jerk. I agreed with all the media outlets and accepted the story. But upon further review, I'm siding with the Saints fan on this one!

If you watch the full video, you'll notice something that NOT ONE MEDIA STORY has pointed out. This Bengals fan wasn't in her seat! You can clearly see the Saints fan is seated in the front row in an end/aisle seat. At some point during or after the TD play, the two Bengals fans ran down from their seats higher up in the section to cheer/beg for a ball. Having been to a lot of sporting events in my day, nothing ruins your fun quicker than other fans intruding into your space. How would you like to have kick-ass front row seats only to have to deal with idiots in the aisle the whole game? What about idiots leaning into your seat? This guys had every right to get that ball. Those two girls should have never even been there. Ushers need to regulate and keep the aisles clear of fans during the game. The aisle isn't their accessory front row seat.

So lay off the poor Saints fan. Throw the blame where it belongs - at inconsiderate, rude Bengals fans infringing on the awesome seats of a front row (likely season ticket holding) Saints fan. Saints need to get this dude some free gear and show him a little love publicly.

Elimination Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 02:30:00 +0000

For those overly concerned about the Playoff and how their team will make it in, this weekend offers a big dose of reality. No, no Playoff spots will be clinched. However, several teams WILL be eliminated from contention.

Right now, 2 teams are undefeated. Until they lose, they are in. The mad scramble for position is among the 1-loss teams. Every 1-loss Power 5 team, including Notre Dame, theoretically has a shot. Lose a 2nd game, and you are essentially eliminated. Last week, Ole Miss, Georgia and Arizona kissed their Playoff chances goodbye. This week, while a surprise or 2 may happen, matchups demand that no less than 3 teams will be eliminated.

Kansas State @ TCU
Two 1-loss Top-10 teams face off. The winner takes a huge step toward the Playoffs. The loser is done. Based upon their remaining schedules, I think we have to root HARD for KSU. TCU's remaining schedule is a joke. KSU still plays @ WVU and @ Baylor.

Ohio State @ Michigan State
I think we have to root for OSU in this one. I don't think they jump us with a win, but it's certain we'll never jump MSU should they win out. Plus, I think OSU could easily lose to Nebraska in the B1G Championship.

Notre Dame @ Arizona State
Do I have to explain who we need to win this one?

Other potential upsets that we need to root for this weekend:

A&M over Auburn
Utah over Oregon
LSU over Alabama
Oklahoma over Baylor

College Football is Rigged

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 18:27:00 +0000

On the day of the FIRST EVER College Football Playoff Rankings, I thought it would be fun to jump all over ESPN and the SEC, who may have 3 top 4 teams in the rankings tonight. Let's do an exercise tracking the SEC teams over the first 10 weeks of the season. I'll stick with the AP Poll, since the Coaches Poll is a bunch of self-serving bastards!

So what is the point? It's this: that you can't overcome the SEC because the rankings don't allow it. 8 ranked teams to start the season stacks the deck. Then, they climb in the rankings by destroying powerhouses like Lamar, SMU, Florida Atlantic, Southern Miss, LA Lafayette, Sam Houston, and more. When they finally get around to playing each other, a loss doesn't hurt because, "SHUCKS, we lost to a great SEC team". Texas A&M is a great example. They flew up the rankings by beating currently unranked South Carolina and then Lamar, Rice and SMU - IN CONSECUTIVE WEEKS!!! When they finally played an actual team in Miss State, they lost and dropped to 14. It took 3 straight losses to finally get them out of the rankings.

I don't see the SEC tearing up anyone from any other Power 5 conferences this season. They lost the few Power 5 matchups they played (Tennesse to Oklahoma, Missouri to Indiana). There is no way to say they are any better than any other conference in the NCAA. Do you want to claim past performance by the SEC in the BCS? Okay, how do you then account for upstarts Ole Miss and Miss State? If we want to use past performance, then these guys were #18 and unranked preseason, with long histories of futility. Suddenly, they are the darlings of the SEC, and we should just assume they are great? You can't have it both ways SEC fans! If you want past-performance to matter, than you have to discount schools that previously stunk.

Look, I'm not stupid. I realize the SEC has some good teams every year. However, most of them are extremely flawed. If you really look at it, the SEC is Alabama, an all-time great dynasty right now. Occasionally, an upstart Auburn or LSU sneaks through, but the conference as a whole is no better than any other.

What really gives it an edge though is money. The head coaches make more than anyone else (Saban earned $7M this year AND got a $3M house paid for by boosters). The assistants make more than most head coaches (why Biliema left Wisconsin). We also know the players get their share. Too many stories about Cam's dad and players flashing cash in selfies to ignore. Where there's smoke, there's fire. Finally, the Universities just THROW cash at the football programs.

So we'll see what happens tonight. I predict Miss St, FSU, Alabama and Auburn are ranked at the top. ND will be in the pack of 1-loss teams that have to keep their fingers crossed. I think Oregon will edge us for #5, and we'll slide in at #6 ahead of Michigan State.

Well, F(S)Uck

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 01:42:00 +0000

That was about as bad as it gets. I think it literally is as bad as the 2005 USC (Bush Push) game. We had the victory, only to have it taken away from us by factors beyond our control - in this case the refs.

While this game convinced me that we could go toe-to-toe with any team in the country, I think the media and Playoff committee may see it differently. We dropped to #7 in the AP Poll and #8 in the Coaches Poll. I realize that these polls are now meaningless for determining a champion or playoff team, but they are a pretty good indicator of how the teams stack up.

The Playoff picture is coming into focus now. Barring more than a few miraculous upsets (which certainly could happen), the inaugural College Football Playoff looks like this:

1. SEC Champ
2. FSU
3. SEC West Runner-up
4. Wide Open

While the #1 seed could go back to FSU should the SEC champ incur a loss, those two will be #1 and #2. The runner-up in the SEC West will get the #3 seed. Likely it will be a 1-loss team, but a 2-loss runner-up likely gets the nod anyway, although they would get the #4 seed. The SEC East champ will be eliminated with the extra loss in the SEC Championship.

So that gets us to the interesting part. Right now, the teams in contention are Michigan State, Oregon and Notre Dame. The AP and Coaches polls have these teams completely flipped, so good luck trying to decide who gets in if each win out. I think a 1-loss conference champion from either the B1G or Pac-12 would get the nod over ND. Conference championships are a playoff criterion. (As an aside, the Big 12 is out. Horrible conference with no defense, and down in the rankings.)

So if ND wants to make the Playoff, we have to hope for 2 things: a loss by Michigan State and a loss by Oregon. Then, we take care of business and win out. There is no way we jump either with 1-loss no matter what our strength of schedule is. They won't easily leave 3 of 5 Power 5 conference champs out of a 4-team playoff.

There is one wrinkle left. I could see Ohio State leapfrogging us if they win out and win the B1G. Keep an eye on that.

ND v. FSU

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 14:27:00 +0000

Even after the pretty lackluster performance Saturday against North Carolina, I still feel like Notre Dame can pull off the upset in Tallahassee against Florida State. And as the days pass, I'm becoming more and more convinced that the best chance for that to happen is if Jameis Winston is their quarterback on Saturday. Here's my logic...

If Winston is suspended, the team starts to rally together and develop an us-against-the-world mentality. They have confidence in the backup after the Clemson game, so they know they can win without Winston and now they have a ton of motivation. They've also just been dropped from their perch at #1 down to #3 so they'll definitely have the whole, "No one gives us any respect" card to play as well. That can't carry you through a season, usually, but it can be enough to go crazy on emotion for one game and pull off the improbable.

If Winston plays, it's with the weight of his looming autograph scandal and his student code of ethics trial for his alleged sexual assault two years ago. I really believe Winston gives zero fucks about either of these issues, but they are a huge distraction to him and the team. The focus is completely on answering questions about these items and less about the game Saturday. He and the team will say all the right things about just being focused on Notre Dame, but you know it's a cloud and you know it will be an impact. And if he gets rattled early (which would be nice to have happen to an opposing quarterback, for a change) the wheels can really come off.

So I'm counterintuitively rooting for Winston to be available. Although, to reference my post from last week, should Notre Dame pull off the upset, the storyline quickly shifts to how Florida State was distracted by the events heading into the week and Notre Dame will get a big asterisk next to this victory and will still need to prove themselves against Arizona State, Louisville, and Southern Cal...

Outcomes Change the Narrative

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 16:39:00 +0000

Everett Golson and Ben Koyack saved my anniversary dinner. On our way to dinner we listened to Stanford's fourth quarter touchdown to take the lead then walked to a bar to watch Notre Dame's last ditch effort. The rest is history and I was able to enjoy my lobster pot and the wife her first crab cakes in 3 years, along with an exceptional butternut squash lobster bisque.

As we sat at home afterwards and watched the chaos of Saturday unfold (with an eye on the Nationals as they went into extra innings), Steph turned to me and said, "You're just staying up so you can watch the highlights and see what everyone says about the Notre Dame game." Of course I was! I couldn't wait to see everyone have to begrudgingly accept that maybe, just maybe, Notre Dame has a decent team this year.

Heading into the game all the talk was about Stanford's number one defense in multiple categories and Stanford's "hit-you-in-the-mouth" offense featuring the explosive Ty Montgomery. How could Notre Dame possibly deal with that? Most were picking Stanford.

Well, Notre Dame dealt with it. And could've made this a snorefest if a) Golson didn't gift Stanford a touchdown with a fumble on his on 10 yard line, b) Golson didn't give away potentially 7 points with an interception on Stanford's 2 yard line, and c) Notre Dame doesn't throw away 6 points on two bobbled field goal holds.

So I was eager to see Notre Dame's acceptance. But it never came.

Instead the story of the game became Stanford's inept offense. Every major college sportswriter not affiliated with Notre Dame took this angle or simply didn't mention the highly anticipated game between the 9th and 14th ranked teams in the country.

You know, you absolutely just know, that had Stanford held on to win this game gets a LOT more mention, even with all the craziness that occurred in the CFB world on Saturday. You know the talk turns to Notre Dame still not being tough enough. Of their early season success just being an aberration due to a weak schedule (one that, FWIW, many were calling the hardest in the country before the season started).

I don't know why I get worked up. This happens year after year after year. I should be used to it by now, but I always just expect things will change. Oh well, maybe if Notre Dame can pull the upset in Tallahassee they'll make some noise, but based on history the story will just change to how Florida State isn't the same team it was last year and was due for a loss.

ND Hodge Podge

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 14:39:00 +0000

We hit the real start of the football season this weekend as Stanford comes to town. I thought I'd take the opportunity to discuss a few ND topics of interest...

The Five
So the ND Honor Code finally held the hearings for the 5 ND football players this week. They should have their ruling within the next week, as early as today. Much mental anguish has been thrown around the interwebs with regards to ND admin's slow pace in resolving this situation. Here's what you need to know.

ND does and always will place academics above everything else. Sports are a distant 2nd at best, and may be 3rd with the Catholic identity edging it out for 2nd.
The pace of this investigation has been slow, but ND will NOT mess this up.
There has been no special treatment because these are football players.
Clearly, these 5 players did something wrong. How bad their mistake was is the subject of the investigation and hearings. So if anyone (including them) wants to complain, they need to remember that it was the players who started this mess.

Much of the complaining has to do with the fact that they are being held out of football activities. Guilty until proven innocent. A typical complaint goes like this, "If they are exonerated, they were punished by missing over a quarter of the season for nothing!" While I agree that it doesn't make sense to take this extreme step (at least let them practice), you have to understand history. This situation involves a paid student employee of the athletic department. What her involvement is, we don't know. However, if you recall the one and only time ND received NCAA probation, it was because Kim Dunbar gave gifts to a player she was dating. The NCAA determined she was a booster because she paid $25 to go to a QB club luncheon. So that is why ND self-reported the current situation to the NCAA. I doubt this will have any NCAA implications, but ND will take no chances on getting a penalty. I think their deliberate approach to this situation will make that very unlikely.

ACC and Scheduling
I am loving our association with the ACC. We have 5 power conference games locked in. They rotate to new ACC sites every year. Lots of new opponents and stadiums to check out. It covers HOT spots we need for recruiting. Our Bowl opportunities are better than ever. Looking ahead, it look like Swarbrick is looking to diversify the schedule. We have series scheduled against Georgia, Texas, A&M and OSU. I envision a future in which we hopefully play one team from each power conference every year. Without a conference championship, we need to be able to compare ourselves to other conferences for playoff selection. An ideal future schedule format:

5 ACC teams
2 Pac 12 (USC, Stanford)
2 B1G (rotate Purdue/MSU and occasional OSU or Michigan)
1 SEC (Georgia and A&M currently)
1 Big 12 (Texas coming up)
1 Navy

Stanford
I see almost everyone seems to be picking Stanford to pop ND's bubble. I can't even believe it. The pure ignorance is mind-numbing. Go back to 2012 and read my preview of the ND Oklahoma game. I hit it dead on. I don't often make predictions, but this one seems too easy.

ND is better than 2013.
Stanford is worse than 2013.
ND lost 27-20 at Stanford in 2013.
That loss was aided by 2 4th Q picks by Tommy Rees.
Our QB is now Golson who can make plays.
The game is at Notre Dame.

It seems pretty obvious we should at least be favored in this game. Stanford isn't the bruising juggernaut of the past 5 years. They are in transition. I think our O is good for a few scores, and I don't see them taking advantage of our solid D. I call ND victory 24-13.

Season Prospects
So the inevitable question. Do we make the Playoff? Clearly it is too early to make that call. A big win this week helps a LOT. FSU may be the season. We also cannot slip up against AZST and USC. I'll be all-in if we beat FSU, and we will be in prime position if that happens. A close loss to FSU keeps us alive, but the only way we get in with 1 loss is if we look better than the Big 12 and B1G champions. I don't see that happening. Assuming we are 11-1 with a loss to FSU, FSU is in. Whomever wins the SEC is in. Whomever wins the Pac 12 is in. The B1G is down, and could lose out. A 1 loss MSU will be difficult to skip in favor of ND. Conference Championships are a big criteria. Even tougher is Oklahoma should they win out or have 1 loss. If we beat FSU and them stumble late, we could edge out FSU with 1 loss. That may be our best shot, but it has always been tough to overcome a late season loss. I think the only way we get in as an independent is undefeated. Some hard years ahead until the Playoff expands to 8.

Roger Goodell Is Now the Scapegoat

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 16:59:00 +0000

I am going to take a very unpopular position here. I am going to defend the NFL and Roger Goodell in their mishandling of the Ray Rice domestic violence suspension.

The NFL is a microcosm of America. There are overwhelmingly good people in the league. There are also bad people. Cheaters, drug users, alcoholics, murderers, rapists and (as brought vividly to the public conscience with an elevator security cam) wife/woman beaters. In this respect, the NFL is no different from any other field of employment in America, be it teachers, politicians, doctors or whatever. The big difference is that the NFL is almost completely in the public eye. (That and the multibillion dollar revenue, which we'll get back to.)

So is it any wonder that the Ravens and the NFL woefully mishandled the Ray Rice situation? The legal system struggles mightily with sexual assault and domestic violence issues. Just look at the Ray Rice case. His fiancee (whom he has since married) did not press charges and strongly supported him. I'm not saying that makes it OK. I realize that part of the problem is that many women feel that they deserve this or are willing to ignore it for love, money, stability or whatever. That puts a prosecution in a tough spot. Ray Rice avoided jail time and got pre-trial intervention, with the charges likely to be expunged.

So what is the NFL to do? The prosecutors gave him a slap on the wrist. His wife sat by his side and pled for lenience. Rice fully admitted to what he did and said he is in counseling to get help. Goodell gave him 2 weeks suspension. He could have given him more, but what is the precedent? It's more than the legal system did.

Obviously, that wasn't enough, and the subsequent release of the in-elevator view has sparked a firestorm of what did who know when. It doesn't matter. This is a position that the NFL, or any other workplace cannot win in.

I think Goodell's biggest mistake is taking on the role of sheriff when he became commissioner. There is no way to clean up the NFL, just liek there is no way to clean up America or any society. There are going to be bad eggs. It's an impossible standard for Goodell to be judge, jury and executioner for everyone in the NFL. Just look at our legal system to see how complicated it has become to simply dole out justice in America. The NFL is a SPORT!!! It's not a courtroom.

My solution to this mess if I am advising the NFL? I think Roger Goodell should step back from his role as moral policeman of the NFL. As commissioner, he should review and dole out punishment regarding on-field issues only. PEDs, drug use, blows to the head, spygate, bounties. Anything off the field would be a legal matter. Then, each individual team would be free to decide if a player needs any additional punishment - just like any other employer. In this case, Ray Rice would have been fired from almost any job if this had come to light. If the Ravens decided to keep him to make the team better, they would be BLASTED by fans and media, and would feel an impact financially. No different than if a teacher put his wife in the hospital. He'd be fired.

In no way is this a defense of Ray Rice or what he did. Make that point clear. I am just trying to say that Roger Goodell and the NFL have painted themselves into a corner. It's an impossible task for them to maintain, but they have tried to do this because of the money. They want to protect and grow the game, but you can never prevent the bad apples from doing bad things. I think America is well beyond the naive mindset that puts football players on a pedestal. Most reasonable people realize football players have the same problems as the rest of society.

Let's let society deal with the players when they do wrong. Let the NFL stick to football.

A Very Special Blog Post

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 16:41:00 +0000

I'm going to take some time off from the NFL. It isn't just because of everything recently with Ray Rice, although that was the straw that broke the proverbial back, it's because the NFL is out of control. And, repeat after me - IT'S JUST A FUCKING GAME!

We can start with Ray Rice knocking his fiancee out cold. If you've seen the video, it's difficult for me to judge which is the worst part - the fact that he appears to strike with zero hesitation, the visceral, raw violence of the act, or the staggering lack of concern from Rice as Janay Palmer's head strikes the elevator railing and she lays unconscious on the ground. Disgust can be evenly distributed, starting with Rice, moving to the prosecutors who viewed this video and decided not to press charges, to the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens who took almost no action until it was clear that their attempt to blame Parker had blown up in their faces. Nevermind who saw which video and when, what do you think someone getting knocked unconscious entails? It's horrifying, no matter who is perpetrating it upon whom.

The whole concussions ordeal plays a part.

The Jonathan Martin bullying, racism, and organizational support for such actions plays a part.

But I guess it's really just my overall perception of the NFL today - it's out of control. This isn't about setting a good example for my kids (won't somebody think of the children?!). If I'm relying on the NFL to teach my kids about how to treat women and bullying and racism, I'm a failure as a parent. No, this is because IT'S JUST A FUCKING GAME! And we have adults across the country that are simply way too invested in this. John Walters said something really great today commenting on another media personality's comment about how (paraphrasing) she was struggling to reconcile her values and beliefs with her love for football. His response - you don't! Why do people feel the need to reconcile their values and beliefs with a freaking game?! I mean, I love soccer, but I'm probably going to pull my boy off his soccer team if their team name is the Little Hitlers and they're asked to wear adorable little mustaches.

America is way too addicted to the NFL, and there seems to be a notion that there is nothing we can do about it. But there are things we can do - turn off the tv, don't buy tickets, don't buy merchandise. The only thing the NFL listens to is money.

I love football. I love watching football. And I hope that the NFL can get their shit together enough so that I can watch and enjoy the games again without feeling like a horrible person or a spectator at the Coliseum in Rome. It's fall, the weather is nice, kids have soccer. I'm sure I can find something better to do than spend Sunday afternoon (and Monday night, and now Thursday night too because, NFL) on the couch - unless of course, you know, Little Hitlers. Although the mustaches would remind me of a virile, young Ian Rush

2 Down, 10 to Go

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 21:02:00 +0000

Some quick thoughts 2 games into a surprisingly (so far) enjoyable Notre Dame football season.

Everett Golson
I can't say if ND would have dropped either of these first two games with Rees at the helm, but I can say they wouldn't have been as comfortable. There have been at least a half dozen plays each of the first two games that would've been crushing setbacks with Rees under center. Golson's ability to elude the rush and keep plays alive and then just toss a frozen rope is purely something that Rees was not capable of. I'm pleasantly surprised at how good he's been this early

DeVaris who?
I was really concerned about the receiving options when Daniels was suspended, but Fuller, Prosise (55yd drop not included), Carlisle, and Brown have been awesome. These new receivers have speed and hands and have been really fun to watch.

KeiVarae who?
I was equally concerned with losing potential All American corner back Russell, but Riggs and Luke have filled in so well this defense hasn't missed a beat. Granted, there hasn't exactly been a murderer's row of receiving opposition, but the secondary has acquitted itself nicely through two games.

BVG
Diaco was your prom date's dad. BVG is the guy you'd asked to buy beer for you after prom. There's no way ND is getting the contributions from the underclassmen with Diaco still in charge. There's also no way that BVG doesn't drive a Camaro, likely an IROC-Z.

This Is Pretty Awesome

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 13:38:00 +0000

Sometimes MLS is a-okay.

http://fansided.com/2014/07/19/make-wish-helps-xander-bailey-suits-sounders/#!bjaeZy

Video in case you can't read...

I Believe

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 15:44:00 +0000

I
am proud of our team and its accomplishments in the 2014 World Cup. We survived the "Group of Death"™ and advanced for the 2nd straight time to the knockout stage. We played inspired football, and had a lot of memorable moments. In perhaps the best example yet that American soccer has arrived, NOBODY wants America in their group and teams hate playing us. They know we are physical and will outrun them for the entire match.

I Believe
that Jurgen Klinsmann is one of the best coaches in the world, and the PERFECT coach for our team. Seemingly every button he pushed came up aces from roster selection to training to starters and subs. I even love his pressers and mind games. He's such a pro. We are in very good hands going forward in 2018 and hopefully 2022.

I Believe That
I will miss ESPN (did I just type that) and their coverage of future World Cups. They finally figured it out - except that whole Alexi Lalas mistake. Fox has the next two World Cups, and I hear Gus Johnson is the lead play-by-play guy. Look, I love his enthusiasm calling football or hoops, but the dude knows NOTHING about soccer. Please Fox, just port in the ESPN personalities and roll.

I Believe That We
will see a Copa America Centenario that is better than Euro 2016. All of South America will be in it, along with USA, Mexico and 4 other CONCACAF nations. This will give our MNT a real test leading into the next World Cup, something we have not had before. And it's all in the USA. I like our chances to advance deep. This may be a game changer for us. I think we MUST plan a family gathering around a venue and watch a couple games.

I Believe That We Will
be awarded the 2022 World Cup within the year. Whether it's impossible heat (averaging 115 right now during the World Cup), outcry over 1000's of deaths from migrant laborers building stadiums, or the huge scandal rocking Qatar and FIFA regarding bribes, I think their bid is untenable. America is one of the few countries ready and willing to host the World Cup on almost a moments notice. It was our year anyway!

I Believe That We Will Win
a lot of games with many of the younger players on our current roster. Yedlin is going to be a stud. Green could finally be that creative genius we have lacked for creating goals. We have great young defenders, and our defense should be almost intact (without Beasley) in four years. Who knows who develops in the next four years, but MLS is slowly improving. I think we could have a roster that competes with almost anyone from a skill standpoint. I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Already the Best World Cup Ever?

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Sat, 14 Jun 2014 12:45:00 +0000

We're 2 days in, and already I have noticed a HUGE difference in this years World Cup. Where do I start? Okay, Brazil. The time zones are perfect for us lazy US fans. All the games start in the afternoon and early evening. Imminently watchable. The visuals from around the stadiums are awesome. The fans are insane, and TONS of supporters from many of the teams have made the trip to liven it up. The crazy weather is fun to watch on TV. I also love all the unrest in the country, but we'll get back to my reasons for that later.

The coverage is next. ESPN has ditched their traditional broadcast team of a bunch of washed up American has beens. Now, they seemingly have a former superstar from every national team rotating in to the pre and post match coverage team. The game crews are top notch. Of course the glorious HD broadcasts are great. However, now I can watch every game on any computer, TV, smartphone, and I can even listen to them all on Sirius radio if I'm in the car!

Of course we then get to the play. The first 2 days of matches have been maybe the best I've ever watched. Wide open games, lots of shots, lots of scoring. Amazing goals. I still can't even believe that first goal by Robin van Persie. I've never seen anything like that. Heck, even a 1-0 win had 3 disallowed goals, so the score was a bit misleading. I also love the minor tech improvements to really improve the game. Goal line tech is long overdue. How about the spray foam to mark 10 yards on free kicks? Brilliant! I can't wait to see what's next. The only thing I pray for is a miracle run by USA to advance through the group stage.

A lastly, back to that unrest in Brazil. I think FIFA and the world are watching closely. Cost overruns, unfinished stadiums, grass that looks like a cow pasture (how do you not grow grass in the Amazon?), massive protests and transportation breakdowns. This all in the foreground, while in the background MASSIVE allegations are facing Qatar's bid for 2022. I think FIFA will eventually have to reopen bidding for 2022. No other country can be ready in time other than the USA. It isn't Europe's turn, so everything bad in Brazil leads toward USA 2022!!!

Oh one last thing, did I mention... NO VUVUZELAS!!!!

This is Why We Don't Get Nice Things

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 May 2014 18:52:00 +0000

Soccer scribes in the US are still up in arms over Landon Donovan getting cut from the World Cup. Here's why you need to take all that hyperbole with a grain of salt:

That could mean left back stays with Beasley, whose experience will be important to have somewhere on the field in pressure situations, especially without Landon Donovan in the squad. With wing players Alejandro Bedoya, Brad Davis, Julian Green and Graham Zusi all on the roster, Beasley would have a tough time cracking the midfield anyway.

Are you kidding me!? The USA needs Beasley's experience on the field like it needs a hole in the head. Wait, I take that back. If the USA needs the experience of a sub-par winger getting burned all day long at left back and forcing others to cover for him, Beasley is definitely the guy. So he's not good enough to crack the midfield against the likes of Bedoya, Brad Davis, and Zusi, but, sure, line him up against Ronaldo and Goetze. That should end well. The only worse possible choice at left back would be Jonathan Bornstein, and, thankfully, Klinsmann ended that nightmare immediately after taking the job.

I mean, really, experience is overrated to a large degree. The reason for Donovan and Beasley's breakout performances in South Korea was that they had little experience and, as a consequence, very low expectations. Those expectations would later derail Donovan's career and they drove Beasley into obscurity. There are a few must-have's in the US lineup:

You need Clint and his attitude.
You need Bradley and his vision, motor, and distribution.

There. That's it. Howard is maybe the next most valuable, but I watched enough EPL to be comfortable with Guzan. Anyone trying to sell you on experience - and using Beasley of all people as the example! - doesn't know what they're talking about.

So Long, And Thanks for All the Fish

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 May 2014 16:43:00 +0000

I'll miss Landon, but you've got to move on and I understand the decision. His head just wasn't in the game anymore, and, apparently, his body wasn't either. Still probably the greatest sports-watching moment of my life...

I Believe!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 18:17:00 +0000

Goosebumps... Is it June yet?

Advice Needed

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 Mar 2014 01:29:00 +0000

So the Commonwealth of Virginia happens to have what ~~could be~~ is undoubtedly the most awesome special interest license plate in the union, seen here

It is so awesome that I am seriously considering getting a new license plate just for this motif. The problem is the damn tea partiers have stolen the coiled snake as a sort of logo, never mind the fact that US Soccer claimed dibs years prior. So I need input on whether I should pull the trigger on this bad boy. Here's my thought process...

Pros

It is yellow
It has one of the most iconic and earliest anti-authority symbols in our nation's great history
It has a snake
Poor punctuation
'Merica
Associations with US Soccer
It has a snake
It is the most awesome license plate ever
It has a snake!!!11!!1
YELLOW! SNAKES!

Cons

Tea Party has tried to claim this as their own
May erroneously be identified as Tea Partier

Pop quiz, hotshot. What do you do!? One option is to roll a vanity plate along with the DTOM to clearly separate myself from crazies, e.g.

So help me out, everyone. Is the risk worth the reward? Is there a better vanity phrase that would help create distance? Is the DTOM usage by Tea Party localized to the DC area and I'm overthinking this? Use the comments. If folks are on board, I'll go with the best suggestion and put the results up here, and on my car.

TV Rennaisance

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy) — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 17:45:00 +0000

So we love to write movie posts on this blog (and believe me I have one in mind for the new Godzilla movie this summer), but we haven't jumped on the TV bandwagon yet. That changes today.

I'm not sure I understand why, but there has literally been an explosion of great shows on TV in the past 5 years, and almost all of that is on cable. The premises have become more interesting, cable allows more freedom to use language (and a little skin), and elite Hollywood movie stars are flocking to these shows. Shows that need a little room to grow are allowed to do so on cable, and often become great, rather than get cancelled on a network after 2 or 3 episodes.

The perfect example is Breaking Bad. Look, I'll admit I didn't watch this show. However, as the series came to its finale last year, the constant buzz piqued my interest. So I downloaded the series and worked my way through. Amazing! If this had been pitched to NBC, it would have never even gone to pilot. Another example right now is the HBO series True Detective. When's the last time the star of a currently airing TV show was also the frontrunner for best actor at the Oscars at the same time? Matthew McConaughey is in this.

More recently, top-flight shows are being produced by streaming services like Netflix and Amazon and released for streaming only, often an entire season at once. How in the world did Netflix make a TV series starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, and how is House of Cards not on regular TV???

So I'll admit, I have not been a big TV watcher. Career, family and kids kind of get in the way of sitting in front of the TV for a scheduled show. However, streaming video and DVRs have made it a lot easier to watch shows. You can record and watch when you have time. Furthermore, how many shows have you skipped because you missed a few episodes or heard about them in season 3 or so? Now, you can download past episodes and seasons - often for free. So I was able to catch up with Breaking Bad and didn't miss out on the phenomenon. I did the same with The Walking Dead.

So am I alone here? Do you all find yourselves watching more of these top notch TV/streaming shows? Here are a few that I watch and can strongly recommend. I am or have watched all of these. It might seem like a lot, but the beauty is you don't have to spend every minute watching them. You can focus on one series on your own time, while the others record or are saved. Then you move on. I know there are so many more, so I'd love to hear any new recommendations.

Network

The Blacklist: James Spader; best show on network TV
The Following: Kevin Bacon; very dark
Almost Human: Karl Urban; comedy/sci-fi/cop blend that works because of Urban

Cable

The Walking Dead: The top rated show on all TV, including networks
Breaking Bad: Over now, but you HAVE to watch it. Even Ali totally addicted.
Game of Thrones: The biggest spectacle on TV
True Detective: Woody Harrelson amd McConaughey; cops after serial killer

Streaming

House of Cards: great political drama; Spacey was born for this role