You're Getting Older...

I often do chores such as laundry, cooking, washing dishes, etc downstairs where the TV is. I like to put on a recorded TV program I can listen to while doing this stuff. In the past it was usually Jim Rome is Burning. A few months ago I switched it to news. I have been going with CBS Evening News With Katie Couric but feel like there might be a better option available. My aunt recommended PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, which I'm sure is excellent, but is also a full hour long. It has to be a half hour for me. I also prefer more of a world view. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

My Trip to Ireland & The UK

I wrote up my September/October trip to Ireland, London, & Scotland on everlater. I put some time into this and everlater is a cool site, so check it out.

http://www.everlater.com/gnightmoon

My 100 Favorite Songs: #10

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Salvation



I've gone to the well for this more than I'd wish. Salvation is medicine for dark times.

Week Eight Observations

1. Football Outsiders have the Kansas City Chiefs as the #1 team in the NFL through eight weeks. This is obviously pretty surprising, but the truly stunning part of their analysis is ranking KC fifth in passing efficiency this season. As a Dwayne Bowe fantasy owner, this lofty ranking seems almost impossible. But FO's measures are based purely on efficiency. The Chiefs rank 31^st in passing attempts while Matt Cassel has only thrown three interceptions and been sacked just eight times.

2. Todd Haley continues to go for it in 4^th down situations that make Bill Belichick look like a Tea Party member. The latest was a 4^th and 3 from the 20 in a 0-0 game at home against the winless Buffalo Bills.

3. Jamaal Charles averaged 5.3 yards per carry as a rookie, 5.9 last year, and is at 6.5 this season. This isn't variance, or "running above expectation", so to speak.

4. It’s nice to see Chiefs CB Brandon Flowers getting some publicity. The guy has been making plays since he entered the league in ’08. He’s got a good shot at making his first Pro Bowl this season.

5. Bad run/pass playcalling and terrible punting and coverage contributed to Buffalo's loss to the Chiefs. The Bills played to win, not to tie, deciding not to call a run down the stretch which would have made it impossible for Kansas City to win outright.

6. In the rapidly-shifting world of kickoff returns, Brandon Banks of Washington has emerged as the best in the league. He possesses the two key qualities any good kick returner must have – speed and fearlessness. Banks is also a very dangerous punt returner.

7. I’m not saying it made sense to bench Donovan McNabb for Rex Grossman, but McNabb did not look close to decent for much of the Detroit game against the Lions.

8. Washington’s offensive line is awful. This is a team that has been surviving on defense and luck.

9. Kevin Smith has always been able to grind out four-yard gains without much space. He is better than Jahvid Best at making lemonade from lemons, though he lacks Best’s explosivity.

10. The Rams are grinding out wins like Knish from Rounders grinds it out at the poker tables. No Fancy Play Syndrome for these guys. Sam Bradford: 25/32, 191 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT vs Carolina.

11. It was Halloween, so Matt Moore dusted off his Jake Delhomme costume and threw a few picks.

12. I think Brian Schottenheimer is one of the best offensive coordinators in the league (my OC of the year last season), but he has games he can't figure out. It happened last year and it has already happened twice for the Jets this season. Having said that, this shutout had more to do with the players on the Jets and Packers than the man calling the plays. You get the feeling New York's season is going to end with a single-digit scoring effort on a cold winter day in Pittsburgh, Foxborough, Baltimore, or Kansas City.

13. Last week the Browns pulled off an incredible fake punt on 4th and 8 in New Orleans. This week the Jets unbelievably tried a fake on 4th and 18 from their own 19 and came up just short. This was the craziest call of the season thus far.

14. The Packers seem to be missing Jermichael Finley more than the Colts are missing Dallas Clark.

15. The injuries to Finley and Donald Driver are drawing attention to the incompetence of James Jones and Jordy Nelson.

16. Troy Smith posted solid numbers in his first start for San Francisco and led the Niners to a win, but he failed the “smell test."

17. I think I’ve finally got the Dallas Cowboys figured out, though I can’t explain the reasons behind their tendencies. The first, and most inexplicable, reason the Cowboys can’t win games is they can’t play defense. They have plenty of good players, but they are not playing well at all. The D hit bottom against a mediocre Jacksonville offense, making David Garrard and Mike Sims-Walker look like Steve Young and Jerry Rice. The Cowboys aren’t generating much of a pass rush, they aren’t stopping the run, and their secondary isn’t covering anyone. The play of the defensive backs recalls the incredibly bad secondaries of the ’08 Broncos and Lions, who had two of the worst defenses in the history of the NFL. None of this makes much sense, because most of these players have been part of solid units the last few years. Less than one year ago the Cowboys walked into the Superdome and pummeled an undefeated Saints team, led by the same defense that would now have trouble stopping some of the better college teams.

18. Sometimes when things aren’t going my way, I vow to “make my own luck.” The Dolphins made some costly mistakes and had a couple key plays go against them vs. Cincinnati, but they made their own luck and beat the Bengals to improve to 4-0 on the road. It helps to employ the services of Dan Carpenter, booter of ten field goals the last two weeks. Carpenter is now the most accurate kicker in NFL history, albeit with a sample size of 73 kicks.

19. The play of Darren Sproles has been in decline since he signed a big contract two seasons ago.

20. Meanwhile, the promising career of Ryan Mathews is off to a rough start. His first problem is that he runs behind a line that can’t run-block. His second is that he got banged up early, missed some time, and now finds himself in a platoon with Sproles and Mike Tolbert. His third is a common issue you see with a lot of young running backs. He fumbled a few times early on, and has since adapted his natural running style to be more conservative. He doesn’t run as aggressively as he did when he hit the pros, though he is still pretty tough to bring down.

21. San Diego finally caught a few breaks:

• Tennessee’s Kenny Britt went down early with a hamstring and did not return
• Vince Young went down late with a recurring ankle
• The Titans came in with a questionable game plan and only gave Chris Johnson fifteen carries
• The Titans dropped six passes on the day, including a game-sealing drop by Johnson on fourth and two in the red zone down eight with a minute left

22. The Chargers once again suffered from some special teams breakdowns, including a blocked punt for safety and blown extra point, but their offense and defense continue to play well. You can’t afford to bet against the second best quarterback in the league.

23. It really is incredible how poorly Seattle plays away from home, how consistently this happens, and how thoroughly this affliction infects the whole team. Whether it’s the offensive line, defensive line, secondary, quarterback, wide receivers, or kicker, anyone in a white Seattle jersey uncannily becomes bad at football upon departure from the Emerald City.

24. But when a team has to come to their house, as the New York Giants do this Sunday in a classic Trap Game, it’s a different story.

25. Jason Campbell is playing well and making good distribution decisions.

26. Darrius Heyward-Bey: 5 catches, 105 yards, 1 TD on Sunday. Seriously.

27. As well as the Raiders have played the last two weeks, they have also been catching the breaks. I think the Chiefs will find a way to win Sunday’s showdown in Oaktown.

28. LeGarrette Blount isn’t the quickest cat, but he is running with amazing ferocity. You see this a lot – young backs taken from the back end of the draft (or like Blount, Arian Foster, and Benjarvus Green-Ellis, not drafted at all) who run like there’s no tomorrow. It never lasts more than a few years (see Barber, Marion and Jacobs, Brandon) but it’s fun while it lasts.

29. Last week I described how “the best team in the NFC” turned a 1^st and goal at the 6 into a 3^rd and goal at the 34. This week they pulled off this hideous sequence with the game on the line in Arizona:

1^st & 10 at the 22, Bucs ball after intercepting a tipped pass. Bucs up 38-35, 5:01 left. Arizona has all three timeouts, Bucs have none (red flag #1). With both safeties visibly cheating up into the box, Josh Freeman hands off to Blount. The big man is pulled down by run-blitzing linebacker Gerald Hayes for a loss of 2.

2^nd & 10 at the 24: Blount runs for two yards.

3^rd & 10 at the 22 (now 3:34 left): Swashbuckling Buccaneer captain Freeman takes a 14-yard sack.

Cardinals call timeout (a mistake in my book as they should save the timeouts to give themselves a chance to make a second comeback drive should the first one quickly fail).

4^th and 25 at the 36: This is a tough decision whether to punt or try to double the lead to six with a field goal. If you miss, the Cards will have excellent field position. This really comes down to how much confidence you have in your kicker to make a 53-yard field goal. Bucs opt to send Connor Barth out for the attempt. Kick is blocked. Cardinals take over at the 43 yard line. Obviously Derek Anderson throws a red zone interception, Blount changes field position with this spectacular run, a desperate last-minute Arizona drive runs out of time, and “the best team in the NFC” improves to 5-2.

30. Even more so than the Randy Moss fiasco, the drafting and misusage of Toby Gerhart illuminates the lack of vision from Minnesota’s higher-ups. Gerhart looks lost.

31. Minnesota’s lack of a pass rush (no sacks in three straight games) and generally disappointing defensive line play is inexplicable. Jared Allen is AWOL.

32. But by far the biggest culprit for Minnesota’s 2-5 record is strength of schedule. The Vikings play arguably the worst team in the league, Arizona, this Sunday in Minneapolis.

33. The 6-1 New England Patriots will appear atop a lot of power rankings this week. The Pats are certainly well-coached and lack discernable weaknesses, but also lack explosive players. They are grinding out wins rather than blowing teams out of the building, Raider-style. New England’s remaining schedule (@Cleveland, @Pittsburgh, Indy, @Detroit, New York Jets, @Chicago, Green Bay, @Buffalo, Miami) will test them in every way that a team can be tested.

34. Drew Brees finished the game 34/44 for 288 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. But they didn’t come easy. This was a sharp, focused, grinder’s effort from one of the best in the game at home in a game the Saints wanted and needed more than their opponents. Pittsburgh has the league’s best defense and the league’s best team.

Power Rankings

32. Arizona (32)
31. Carolina (31)
30. Buffalo (30)
29. Denver (28)
28. San Francisco (29)
27. St. Louis (23)
26. Tampa Bay (26)
25. Dallas (20)
24. Jacksonville (27)
23. Seattle (21)
22. Cleveland (24)
21. Detroit (22)
20. Oakland (25)
19. Cincinnati (18)
18. Washington (18)
17. Chicago (19)
16. Houston (16)
15. Minnesota (14)
14. San Diego (15)
13. Kansas City (13)
12. Green Bay (12)
11. Miami (11)
10. New Orleans (10)
9. Atlanta (9)
8. Tennessee (8)
7. Philadelphia (10)
6. New York Jets (4)
5. New England (6)
4. New York Giants (3)
3. Baltimore (2)
2. Indianapolis (5)

1. Pittsburgh (1)

Week Nine Picks

Also like:

TEXANS +3 over Chargers
Jets -4 over LIONS
SEAHAWKS +whatever it ends up at over Giants
Chiefs +2.5 over RAIDERS

If forced to choose:

VIKINGS -9.5 over Cardinals
Colts +3 over EAGLES
FALCONS -9 over Bucs
BILLS +3 over Bears
BENGALS +4.5 over Steelers
BROWNS +4 over Patriots
Cowboys +7.5 over PACKERS
Saints -6.5 over PANTHERS
Dolphins +5 over RAVENS


Lock season record: 1-0
Really like season record: 2-1
Also like season record: 20-10-2
If forced to choose season record: 38-41-1
All games season record: 61-52-3

My 100 Favorite Songs: Addendum

Brendan Benson - Alternative To Love



A dynamic, mercurial masterpiece about the most dynamic, mercurial thing in the human experience: dating. This is as good a song as there has ever been about being single, a modern "Black Coffee in Bed."

I have no clue what show these clips are from or which one is Jack and which one is Sam.

October Top 15

15. A.R. Rahman, Wendy Parr & Blaaze - Dreams On Fire
14. Metric - Gimme Sympathy
13. Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism
12. Ray LaMontagne - New York City's Killing Me
11. The Rolling Stones - Midnight Rambler

10. K.T. Tunstall - Under the Weather
9. John Mayer feat. Taylor Swift - Half of My Heart
8. Bruce Springsteen - Human Touch
7. Big Country - In A Big Country
6. Owl City - Vanilla Twilight

5. Shawn Mullins - Anchored In You
4. Spoon - My Mathematical Mind
3. Kelley McRae - Never Be
2. Jets to Brazil - Sweet Avenue

Song of the Month: The Rolling Stones - Let it Bleed

Week Seven Observations

1. Check out this sequence from “the best team in the NFC” after recovering a Sam Bradford fumble at the St. Louis 6-yard line:

1^st and goal, 6-yard line: Josh Freeman throws a pass to Kellen Winslow in the back of the end zone. Winslow catches it but lands out of bounds. Winslow is flagged for offensive pass interference.

1^st and goal, 16-yard line: LeGarrette Blount, who you should pick up in fantasy ASAP if still available, breaks four tackles on a very rough three yard gain. Holding on guard Jeremy Zuttah.

1^st and goal, 26-yard line: Josh Freeman is sacked by three Rams for a loss of ten.

2^nd and goal, 36-yard line: Cadillac Williams picks his way for two yards.

3^rd and goal, 34-yard line: Freeman throws what ultimate Frisbee players call “a hospital pass” up for grabs towards Mike Williams and two Rams. Williams, who is on the short list of players I will be looking to sign to a 3-year contract in my fantasy keeper league in 2011, skies to make the catch at the 12-yard line, lands, takes a hit, somehow stays on his feet, fumbles, and somehow recovers the ball amongst a cluster of Rams. Bucs kick a field goal and take a 3-0 lead.

2. Tampa Bay has the worst crowd in the league.

3. Danny Amendola is more of "a middle-class man’s Wes Welker" than “a poor man’s Wes Welker."

4. Bucs +3 over CARDINALS is one of those games that drives me nuts as a gambler – these could be the two most overrated teams in the league. You can't bet against both.

5. The longer Alex Smith stays injured and the Niners have to play David Carr, the higher Smith’s stock should rise. Oh wait, nevermind – the Niners have already opted for Troy Smith over Carr.

6. An annoying trend right now is the excessive cutbacks ball carriers are making rather than just taking the outside yardage available. Marshawn Lynch has always been the biggest offender in this department.

7. Another annoying trend: coaches screwing up the decision to go for 1 or 2. Although there are some subtleties to these decisions, they’re not rocket science. This is 2010. Much like players report to OTAs, coaches should practice game and clock management in the offseason. Or maybe Roger Goodell should start fining coaches for particularly egregious game management errors.

8. All things considered I think this was the coolest, craziest play of the season.

9. Just when I was ready to give the Manginius credit for an amazing coaching performance against the Saints, he made the worst challenge of the season, actually turning a Saints 4^th and 3 field goal attempt into a Saints 4^th and 1 and subsequent conversion followed three plays later by a Saints touchdown.

10. Both the Bears and Redskins are particularly adept at making their opponents play like crap this season. This seems to be more than just solid defensive play, which both teams have. Opponents are dropping and fumbling balls and missing throws with greater frequency against Chicago and Washington.

11. I am one of those bleeding heart Jay Cutler supporters that somehow still believes all his problems result from the inadequacies of those around him and not his own mistakes.

12. Ray Rice's play seems to have regressed closer to his rookie season than last year's.

13. The San Diego Chargers are a fascinating team. The general rule in the NFL is that you need a quality quarterback to win. With Philip Rivers, San Diego has a QB who is, at worst, the second best in the world right now. Incredibly, the Chargers also feature an excellent defense, probably a top-5 unit. But San Diego is 2-5. The combination of Rivers and a staunch defense should ensure a playoff berth, yet the Chargers postseason hopes are dwindling quickly.

San Diego has the worst special teams in the league, and has an excellent chance to wind up with the worst special teams in the history of the NFL.

Special teams performance is typically more variable than offensive or defensive performance. It’s essentially impossible for San Diego’s special teams not to improve as the season progresses.

All five losses have come by one score or less. Four have come on the road against decent but not elite teams. Incredibly, the 2-5 Chargers are at +28 on the season in point differential. Football Outsiders actually has them as the 8^th best team in the league, which doesn’t seem too far off to me.

The Chargers have been hit acutely by injuries at wide receiver, losing their top two wideouts (top three including holdout Vincent Jackson) as well as a hobbled Antonio Gates. The guys playing wide receiver for them this past week were bottom of the barrel sorts called up from the practice squad and/or recently acquired on waivers.

San Diego has a hard time running the ball, especially in short-yardage situations.

San Diego’s remaining schedule is favorable. A 7-2 finish is reasonable. But the Chiefs may well win ten games this season, and nine won’t be enough for a Wild Card in the AFC. The Chargers made the playoffs after starting 4-8 in 2008, but that won’t happen again.

San Diego would be the best team to wager on the rest of the season but for one problem: the Chargers are typically one of the most overvalued teams in the league by the public, thanks to a flashy offense and success in high profile games during the Norv Turner era.

14. Kudos to Ryan Wanger for finding this clip a week before the worst defeat in Denver Broncos history.

15. Every year I seem to badly misevaluate one team and stubbornly refuse to budge them despite mounting evidence. Last year it was the Giants – I maintained they were one of the league’s best as the losses continued to pile up. This year it was…the Giants. Consider me convinced now. The Giants are absolutely loaded on both sides of the ball; I see no weaknesses.

Evaluating these teams can be maddening. Last year New York’s defensive line, stacked beyond comprehension, just didn’t play well. Knowing how good players can be and watching them underperform (this year I’m looking at you, Jay Ratliff) is incredibly frustrating for the football gambler.

The Giants won Super Bowl XLII in large part because of their defensive line and a brilliant game plan installed by then defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Their defense dominated again in 2008 (without Osi Umenyiora) under Spagnuolo’s direction, but faded in 2009 despite Umenyiora’s return and incredible depth. There was no one to pin this decline on other than new defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, promoted after Spagnuolo took the head coaching position in St. Louis.

Last season the Buffalo Bills sucked pretty hard, but their defense (particularly their pass defense) was a bright spot. The Bills upgraded to down right mediocre after firing Dick Jauron midseason and installing defensive coordinator Perry Fewell as interim coach. Buffalo blew up the building after the season, letting go of Fewell and the entire coaching staff. Fewell moved across the state to guide the Giants D. Now Buffalo’s defense could be the worst in the league, New York’s could be the best, and Fewell is on the short list of candidates to replace the likes of Jack Del Rio and Mike Singletary at season’s end.

16. In a week in which the dominant news story in the NFL was a crackdown on big hits by the defense, more points were scored per game than any week in seventeen years.

Power Rankings

32. Arizona (30)
31. Carolina (31)
30. Buffalo (32)
29. San Francisco (26)
28. Denver (21)
27. Jacksonville (28)
26. Tampa Bay (25)
25. Oakland (29)
24. Cleveland (24)
23. St. Louis (27)
22. Detroit (23)
21. Seattle (22)
20. Dallas (9)
19. Chicago (20)
18. Cincinnati (19)
17. Washington (18)
16. Houston (16)
15. San Diego (17)
14. Minnesota (15)
13. Kansas City (14)
12. Green Bay (6)
11. Miami (13)
10. New Orleans (7)
9. Atlanta (8)
8. Tennessee (12)
7. Philadelphia (10)
6. New England (6)
5. Indianapolis (3)
4. New York Jets (4)
3. New York Giants (11)
2. Baltimore (2)
1. Pittsburgh (1)

Week Eight Picks

Also like:

RAMS -3 over Panthers
SAINTS -1 over Steelers

If forced to choose:

Texans +5.5 over COLTS
CHIEFS -7.5 over Bills
JETS -6 over Packers
Bucs +3 over CARDINALS
Seahawks +2.5 over RAIDERS
LIONS -2.5 over Redskins
Broncos +1.5 over Niners
Dolphins +1.5 over BENGALS
Vikings +6 over PATRIOTS
Titans +3.5 over CHARGERS
Jaguars +6.5 over COWBOYS


Lock season record: 1-0
Really like season record: 2-1
Also like season record: 18-10-2
If forced to choose season record: 34-34-1
All games season record: 55-45-3