Turning 28 and 5 Years of Blogging

In various forms, I've been blogging for 5 years now. I published my first blog somewhere (can't really remember where) shortly after my 23rd birthday. Now that I'm 28, and haven't taken off as a syndicated columnist, things aren't what I thought they'd be in 2010.

In 2005, I thought that by this time...

The Chiefs would have won a Super Bowl... in 2005 they had just finished a mediocre 2004 season and were preparing to explode with Dick Vermil, Trent Green and new horse, Larry Johnson(and they went 13-3 in '03). All they needed was to fix the defense. Here we are, 2010, a 29-51 record since (2 winning seasons, 1 playoff loss, 2 last-place finishes) and no real promise. What happened? Trent Green turned into TrINT Green, Larry Johnson turned out to be a douche who beats women, and Vermil left for retirement. A new coach, a new GM, and very little promise... at least we pummled the Broncos out of the playoffs to cap the season.

Britney Spears would be dead... and Jessica Simpson would have several beautiful kids. The way she was going, you can't tell me you are surprised Britney didn't end up in a gutter with several stab wounds in the summer of '07.

LeBron would have several MVPs and titles... yeah, we had only seen a season and a half, but in his second season he was beginning to assert himself as a rebounder and passer. He was getting respect on both sides of the ball. His highlight reel was getting exponentially larger. And there was all the hype. Now he has only one MVP and one Finals appearance. He needs to switch teams... unfortunately for the state of Ohio.

I'd be single and gamefully employed... nothing against my wonderful wife. There was nothing wrong with my decision to marry her either... just not where I thought I'd be at this point. Stupid journalism job market (and my enability to avoid wasting time at work) has landed me back in school going for the Master's degree. The second part can still happen, just a little longer.

The Royals would be competitive... hey, I'm not asking for much. They missed the wild card by 7 games in '03... other than that, the only word you could use to describe them is TERRIBLE. 2004 was a BAD year... but it got worse in '05. Five seasons, 4 managers, 483 losses. WOW... at least I'm not a Pirates fan (oh wait, only 478 losses) or an Nationals fan (oh wait, only 466 losses).

Rock 'n' Roll would still be alive... despite the efforts of some of my favorite bands, no one is making ROCK music anymore. Most everything that is coming out nowadays is metal or "punk" or "alternative." Maybe the Foo Fighters are still ROCKing.

Brett Favre would be awaiting his call to "the Hall"... not that he had to retire after a decent '04 season, but '05 was BAD (4-12, 20/29 TD/INT ratio, no pass longer than 59 yards) and the Packers had drafted Rodgers. Once he secured the Ironman status, why is he still playing? He'll go down in history with MVPs, a Super Bowl ring, tops in stats... is he worried that Peyton may pass him up?? Let's say Peyton plays until he's 40... 304+ starts, 185 wins, 6700 completions, near 80,000 yards, 580 TDs, 286 INTs (assuming equal progression)... that will have passed Brett in everything accept INTs. So baring an injury or trailing off by Peyton, Favre's lone record will be interceptions... but that's saying a lot.

Driving a hot sports car... nope. Still rollin' in the wagon.

Mizzou would be a athletic force to be reckoned with... going into 2005 the basketball team came off a weak season with a first-round NIT loss, the football team went missed a bowl game, and no one else was doing anything of note. There was hope for improvement... after Quinn Synder was fired, the teams all had strong consistent coaching staffs and had begun to invade Texas for recruits and win back St. Louis from Illinois. Well, I wouldn't call them a force, but 2008 - 2009 was a great run... 2 trips to Big 12 Champsionship in football, baseball won the regular season title in '09, soccer won the Big 12 tourney in '08 and the regular season title in '09, basketball won the Big 12 tourney in '09 and went to the Elite 8, and softball won the Big 12 tourney title in '09 and upset UCLA in the first round of the World Series... getting closer.

I would have met my doppelganger... I firmly believe everyone has one, and he/she is out there somewhere. You know, your evil twin (or your good twin, if you are the evil one). I thought I would have run into mine by now... and maybe killed him so I could absorb his powers...

I would have been arrested for something, just one time... I guess I'm just lucky to have avoided the wrath of the law... that and I try not to break it... ever.

Sports news coverage would go back to just highlights, hirings/firings, and puff-pieces... Did you know ESPN has a legal analyst?? Seriously, I just want the basics. Tell me Michael Vick had a dog-fighting ring and the Falcons released him... I don't need hourly updates of his legal struggles. Tell me Tiger Woods' wife accuses him of infidelity and he wrecked his car... end of story... when he returns to golf, we'll chat about his short-game then.

Again, I could really use some ideas for columns. I'm working hard on school, so throw me some non-sports softballs... it's sad I had to use a sports metaphor to make a non-sports request.

Oh yea... great Super Bowl match-up. Don't care who wins... I'll take the Colts. By the way I went 1-9 in the playoffs (only got Dallas over Philly... but this week I picked against the teams I wanted to win in a reverse jinx-thing).

Quarterfinal Round

Wow, a 1-3 week last week. The Jets surprised me and the refs in the Packers-Cardinals did not help (it should have be a facemask penalty on the fumble... oh well).

This week I'm taking the teams riding the winning streaks.

Cardinals over Saints... I think the Saints seriously lost their mojo and I bet the Cardinals defense is looking to get back on track... although I'd take the over on 90 points in this game, too.

Cowboys over Vikings... If you haven't noticed, the Cowboys own Brett Favre, and they've also fixed their late-season-losing problem.

Ravens over Colts... I know, I know, you never bet against Peyton Manning in night games... but this Colts team needs more than him to get out of this funk.

Chargers over Jets... it's a tough call on which team is hotter, I'll take the home team in what might be the best game of the weekend.

Playoff Push

I've been gone awhile, and I'm sorry. The holiday were without consistent internet connection and I was just too damn lazy to give you much. But, I'll make up for it with a solid column here. Several good tidbits and promise for 2010.

NFL Picks:
So you didn't see my last two weeks of picks, but I went 12-4 in Week 16 and 11-5 in Week 17 to finish 174-82. So if I'd have bet $10 on every game, I have come out of the season with $920. Nice work.

For the Wild Card Weekend...
Bengals over Jets... in an weird coincidence, three of this week's match-ups were played last week. The Jets were the only team playing to get in, but this match-up has switched locations. The Bengals get Ced Benson back and the Jets are still quarterbacked by Mark Sanchez... take the home team.
Patriots over Ravens... when one team "owns" another like the Patriots do the Ravens, the losing team needs a big playmaker to change the odds. Joe Flacco is a winner, but he's not that guy. The injuries to the Patriots will only hurt them in the next round against the Chargers.
Cowboys over Eagles... I know it's really hard to beat a team three times in one season, but the Cowboys have the tools. Also, I picked them to win it all, so here they are.
Packers over Cardinals... only upset of the weekend, but the Packers are hot and the Cardinals have not been good at home this year. Of course, they played poorly down the stretch last year and banged out some playoff wins, but not this time.

Bowl Picks:
Once again Katie and I picked the bowl games against each other and this time Katie pulled out the squeaker 19-15 to 18-16. The contest swung on the Boise State fake punt... she took the Broncos, I believed a little too much in TCU's offense.
Missouri's loss to Navy was unfortunate, but if you are going to lose to a "mid-major" at least it's to a group of guys who are learning to kick ass for a living.
As for the National Championship, someone on Facebook claimed that it would only have been fair if Mark Ingram had left the game with an injury as well. Injuries are never fair, and they cannot be prevented, but that's what happens when big men collide with each other at full speed. People get hurt. I feel bad for Colt, it sucks to be in his situation. Robbed of a chance to win Heismans and National Championships in consecutive years... that REALLY sucks. It's the disadvantage to running quarterbacks. They have to be able to take hits. Look at the kid from Navy, how many hits does he each game? You have to be tough, and Colt is not really a TOUGH player... a great player, just not "tough." Alabama was just bigger and better that night.

College Basketball:
You know I dislike preseason rankings. They are based on the previous season's "success" and whatever recruiting class you got. Why is Kansas, a team that only won 2 tournament games, ranked #1 and UConn is #13? Kansas is good, and they may make the Final Four, but are they are clear #1 right now?? My rankings will be coming soon, they might be top five, but don't expect them to be #1.

What's to come:
- A final NFL rap-up with Draft predictions
- College Rankings
- NBA and NHL mid-seasons predictions