Not So Fast

This week Sports Illustrated had three regional covers: #1 Alabama, #3 Ohio State, and #4 Washington. Seems like they left someone out. SI, like ESPN, has already decreed that the Buckeyes will beat Clemson. I could’ve predicted this weeks ago. Lee Corso will surely pick Ohio State, but I say “Not so fast!”
 
Lamar Jackson threw 9 interceptions this year. Deshaun Watson threw 15. But Watson threw for 500 more yards. Jackson rushed for 1000 more yards than Watson. I’ll make a note next year to see if Jackson’s 2 year total will be anywhere close to Watson’s. We already know Louisville cannot equal Clemson’s two year record of two playoff appearances. The Cardinals will have to go undefeated to equal Clemson’s three losses these past two years (assuming they don’t win the national championship this year).

 

Once again Christian McCaffrey led the nation in all-purpose yards per game – 16 yards a game more than his closest competitor. Justin Thomas ranked 5th in the ACC in total offense yards per play.
 
Georgia Tech had the least number of punts in the ACC.
 
Like everyone else, LSU RB Leonard Fournette was unable to keep up with Herschel Walker’s legendary pace. After the bowl games I’ll compare the careers of Fournette and Walker. This weekend I saw a video of Herschel being tackled by Colts All-Pro kicker Adam Vinateri.
 
UGA kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made the All-SEC freshman team. His .813 success rate was 5th in the conference, and was the highest nationally for a freshman. Tech senior Harrison Butker was 2nd in the ACC and 19th nationally. Georgia Southern kicker Younghoe Koo, a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, ranked 2nd nationally with a percentage of .950 – he made 19-20 field goals. Ole Miss kicker Gary Wunderlich led the nation, making 22-23 field goals.       
 

The New York football Giants? I like them, except for Odel Backham (though he does have a good commercial where he scores and thinks about that lady). Perhaps the Cowboys are overrated. Have they played anyone good? All the tabloids are saying Twitter is “blowing up” with tweets calling for Dak to be benched and Romo to play. Doubt that is really the majority opinion, or the opinion of the coaches. No telling what Jerry Jones is thinking.

 

Speaking of the NFL, I watched a video of Patriots owner Robert Kraft shopping for sneakers. He wore Nikes to the White House. He drew the line at letting players wear whatever shoes they want – for a good reason. NFL revenue from shoe contracts is shared with the players, and spread among all teams so you won’t have baseball, with the Yankees having more money to spend than the Pirates. Players wouldn’t get as much money if they were allowed to wear whatever shoes they wanted. In honor of Robert Kraft, Tuesday I wore a white dress shirt, black slacks, and my black wingtip spikeless Nike golf shoes.

 

Like Sunday, Dick Stockton was the announcer the last time the Falcons played the Rams in the LA Coliseum. It was like old times: the Rams in all white and the Falcons wearing red. Hopefully next year both teams will be wearing new uniforms.

 

 

Passion City Church is all right. Some wouldn’t like the music. But it’s great that everyone stands and sings, even more so than at North Point. I like how the words to the songs are on the screens. I focus on the words, and usually think about how even though they’re not traditional hymns, the words are biblical and focus on Jesus and God. Louie and Andy both preach on important Biblical/Christ-centered topics, knowing that with less than 50 sermons a year, there’s no time to preach on less important things. While Bryant’s messages are Biblical and point to Christ, “Unlikely Women in the Lineage of Christ” is not a sermon series you’d ever hear Louie or Andy preach about, especially in December.

 

I had an interesting Tuesday evening. Left work around 6:15 for my focus group. Every 30 minutes they were bring in 20 people to taste test sandwiches. You got the idea it was sponsored by Burger King. The first sandwich looked and tasted ok, but it was obviously a pre-processed (frozen) chicken filet, with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Size was ok but not huger. Price was $4.89 or $4.69, which to me is high for a fast food place.

 

The second sandwich was a normal Chick-fil-A sandwich. Over the past year I’ve wondered if CFA has been selling smaller pieces of chicken in their sandwiches, but this one last night was huge. And fresh, not frozen. Sell price was $3.19. Then they revealed the first sandwich was indeed Burger King, and the second CFA. To me there was no comparison: CFA was better. Not sure what BK was trying to determine. Maybe they’re going to come out with a sandwich exactly like CFA. A few years ago McDonalds tried to copy CFA, but you could tell the McDonalds’ chicken had been pre-processed and frozen. Also smaller than CFA (and more expensive).

 

On the way home I got gas and stopped by Kroger. Was almost 9:30 when I got home. I had to edit Anna’s 900 word essay, which took some time. She was driving home for fall break. C was watching the finale of The Voice, but went to bed at ten. Besides the essay, I had computer work I just HAD to do, plus package a shipment of bobbleheads. Was almost 12:30 am before I hit the sack.