1 - Here's your obligatory "What did you learn about your team last week that you didn't already know?" question.
2 - Here's your obligatory "What kind of game do you expect from this week's opponent?" question.
3 - Here's your obligatory current sports event question: Should the Heisman committee give the 2005 Heisman to Vince Young (or, for that matter, somebody else), or should they leave it vacated?
4 - Here's your obligatory random pop culture question: TV season is right around the corner! With Lost off the air, Mad Men already rolling, and the old HBO shows wrapping their seasons up, tell me the two shows (new or old) you're most excited about watching this fall.
Doug: 1 - They can actually play with a semblance of a plan on offense, a committed defensive strategy and (mostly) sound special teams play. Biggest win since the Orange Bowl? Biggest win since the Orange Bowl. KU needed that victory on Saturday. Everyone had them at 1 and 1 after two weeks into the season, but this 1 and 1 seems better, even with the loss to NDSU. Oh, and they have a legitimate quarterback. While I don't mind Pick playing, I didn't like seeing a shuffle happen on third and 8 after Pick failed to move the offense more than two yards in the second quarter. Really my only major complaint from Saturday, other than the absolutely bone-headed punt coverage.
2 - I think that's a hard one to call. Southern Miss was a tough win in Lawrence last year, but I honestly don't know who's gone and who's back for them this year. It will be interesting to see how KU responds to the win versus the loss this week, but a road-win and winning record would be huge going into the last non-con game.
3 - Leave it vacated. Problem is, Vince Young was a really good college quarterback, but would you be willing to give him the award now, knowing he has a 10 cent head on top of a million dollar body? That factor wouldn't have been as noticeable, or even realized, during the 2005 season, but now... well, it's pretty much the only thing we think about Young anymore.
4 - The return of Chuck is my favorite "old" show right now. And, for newcomers, I'm interested in The Event (this Round Table is NOT the event), though it may only get a couple of weeks, and maybe Raising Hope on FOX. Honestly, though, I'm sort of bidding my time until Game of Thrones arrives on HBO sometime in 2011.
Michael Atchison: 1 - It’s pretty obviously that some cat named Josey has a set of wheels. Also, T.J. Moe should be called Sticks because he makes a living at the first down marker.
2 - Honestly, I have no clue what to expect from San Diego State. Don’t know a thing about them.
3 - I think they should probably award it to someone, and that someone is almost certainly Young. Heisman need not have a hole in its history because of something Reggie Bush did. But I’m not sure how closely the Downtown Athletic Club really wants to review history. As Joe Posnanski tweeted last night "I hope every Heisman winner who got paid under the table while in college takes a moment tonight to polish their trophy."
4 - It’s well known around these parts that I have no clue what’s on TV. Let’s come to a consensus on two shows I should try to watch.
Doug: Well, Atch, that's going to be kind of hard. Last I checked, none of the networks are rolling out new sitcoms about obscure music no one else listens to.
Michael Atchison: You mean "Modern Family" isn’t about a 13th Floor Elevators’ tune?
ghtd36: CLIFF LEE IS A SHARK.
1- I learned that Kendial Lawrence better watch his back. Also, Missouri is better than McNeese State at football. And James Franklin is going to be good.
2- The Aztecs predicted that the world would end in 2012. Or was that the Mayans? Is there a difference? Am I the only one who has trouble distinguishing ancient cultures? I mean, obviously, I can tell the difference between Lothar of the Hill People and, say, Aristotle, but I have a lot of trouble with all of those Central American ancient cultures. What is the big underlying difference between the Mayans and the Aztecs? Did they ever fight? Were they friends? Did they even overlap in history? What about weaponry? Did they just have spears, or were there more advanced methods of war available to them? Also, why is the world going to end in 2012? I heard about the whole "polar shift" thing, but I find that to be bullsh. I mean, so, you're telling me that a civilization that couldn't even predict its own downfall is somehow going to hit a singular date (Dec. 21, 2012) as the date of Armageddon? Based on what? The stars? THE EFFING STARS? I'm sorry, but when I look at the night sky, they don't just scream out to me, "Hey, ghtd36, quick side note: stock up on tuna, 'cause it's going down in about two years." I mean, does anyone actually believe this stuff? I mean, we could probably ask a Mayan where they came up with that date OH WAIT THEY'RE ALL GONE BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T SMART ENOUGH TO SURVIVE THEIR OWN TIME. We've cured polio; I think we'd have a bead on when the world was ending, and everyone seems a bit too calm for that to be on the doorstep. Though, I will admit, it is bothersome that a couple of asteroids barely missed Earth a couple of weeks ago. And we're only spending $4 million per year looking for "Near Earth Objects," which I think should be a bit more. But then again, we barely pay teachers enough in this country, so why would we spend all that money on looking for something that may or may not be coming? Look, I'm not saying that we shouldn't be on the lookout for asteroids, but if one's going to hit us, it seems to me that A) someone would spot it like that kid in 'Deep Impact', B) there wouldn't be much we could do, and C) whatevs. Speaking of 'Deep Impact', remember when that came out and Morgan Freeman was a total throwaway character? I know he's the President, but it seemed to me like if you have Morgan Freeman in a movie, you'd play it up a bit. He's freakin' Red from Shawshank! He was the narrator in "March of the Penguins!" He was the guy of whom Brad Pitt asked that famous question in "Seven"! Which, by the way, is a grossly overlooked movie. I mean, there's a movie where they had two legit leading men -- Pitt and Freeman -- an underplayed but wholly worthwhile supporting actress -- Gweneth "OMG MY HEAD IS IN THE BOX" Paltrow -- and one of the most dastardly villains of all time -- Kevin Spacey. Wow, was he creepy. That's a guy I have a lot more belief in as a villain than that dude in "Saw." You're telling me this old man set up all these traps for people, then when out of his way to cut a jigsaw piece out of all of their skins? He's, like, 80, and has cancer. Get your crap together, Hollywood, because nobody's buying your villains. Who's the last great movie villain? Like, honestly? Is it Spacey? I mean, The Joker was great in "The Dark Knight", but it's hard to count him since, you know... Anyways, seriously. We need a truly great villain to come back into our world when it comes to movies. It's getting to the point where we're relying on ghosts and aliens far too much to serve as the antagonists in our thrillers. GUESS WHAT, M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN, NOBODY'S BUYING YOUR ALIENS IN 'SIGNS'. Water? Are you effing kidding me? WATER? What about the humidity in the air? There's plenty of moisture there! Now there's a movie with another pair of leading men -- Gibson and Phoenix -- that managed to balance one another out perfectly. By the way, have you guys heard about this Joaquin Phoenix movie about how he's basically a drugged up crazy? I think it's all a bit, a modern day Andy Kaufman. I mean, he had to know what he was doing on Letterman. He HAD to. You don't just go on national television and act crazy without being drunk/high/aware. Those are the three options. Personally, I don't think he was drunk or high; he was just setting the stage for what he views as his greatest bit yet. But I think people were starting to catch on, so he had to reverse the proverbial whip and get people to think it wasn't a bit, which is why he kind of disappeared for a while, but now he's back and we're all intrigued. Well I'm not, Joaquin. I'm freakin' on to you. Remember when he was the emperor in "Gladiator"? AWESOME. TOTALLY AWESOME. I need to start working the sideways-OMG-is-it-a-thumbs-up-or-a-thumbs-down move into my repertoire. Another thing I need to start working into my lexicon is the phrase, "I'll take the physical challenge." Remember that, from Double Dare? If you didn't know the answer, you could just take the physical challenge. This would totally work in a lot of different situations. Imagine you're at a bar.
Me: "Yeah, let me get a double whiskey and Diet."
Bartender: "Cool, man, that's $7. I'll start a tab."
Me: "Actually, can you just run it?"
Bartender: "Sorry, dude. $10 minimum."
Me: "...I'll take the physical challenge."
What would he do? He'd just HAVE to run the card, wouldn't he? He'd be so flabbergasted that that would be his only choice. And all of a sudden, I've gotten around one of the dumbest rules in all of drinking, all thanks to Nickelodeon. If I could, I would totally go back to 1998, when I was 12 years old and Nickelodeon was legitimately peaking. Have you seen it lately? It's CLOWN SHOES. No, I don't give a crap about what's-her-face's stupid webcam show. They're trying to compete with Disney Channel in the whole "teen idol" thing -- see, Miley Cyrus, Shia LaBouef, etc. -- but Nickelodeon just needs to continue to do its own thing. What made it awesome was that it was unique; there was nothing like it. Yeah, there were some weird shows -- "You Can't Do That on Television" springs to mind -- but when you balanced that with shows like "The Secret World of Alex Mack", a legitimately entertaining show with a unique premise, you can get away with having weird shows on from time to time. I like Mizzou by three touchdowns.
3- It should be vacated. Nobody's going to all of a sudden think more of Vince Young if you give it to him, and nobody's going to think less of Reggie Bush (on the field, anyway) because he vacated it. Let it just sit there, because when you start rewriting history, you're working on a slippery slope.
4- "Community" is on its way back, which is greatness. I'm also going to give "The Event" a chance. And, of course, "The Biggest Loser" is always on my radar. YOU CAN DO IT, FATTY. JUST FIVE MORE MINUTES ON THAT TREADMILL.
ZouDave: alright, finally done with worthless meetings!
1 - I'm sure this will be a very common answer, but I learned about a young man named Henry Josey. We're probably hyping him a bit too much, but that kid is really, really fast. I know everyone wants "the next Maclin" but I'm never going to go that way. There probably isn't going to be another Jeremy Maclin at Mizzou. J-Mac was a special, special talent. You don't have to be J-Mac to be awesome. Josey has the speed, it appears, to be awesome. Can he catch the ball out of the backfield well? Can he run between the tackles against Big XII defenses? How are his open field moves? We have no idea. But he looks like a spark plug, and I can't wait to see what he does next.
I also learned, well...didn't really learn this because it's not new, but I had it reaffirmed to me that Gary Pinkel coached teams are generally prepared for the task at hand, and when facing a lesser opponent they do what they're supposed to do. Nice to see.
2 - I expect SDSU to come in fired up with a chip on their shoulder. I expect that to last about 10 (game) minutes. Aldon Smith has a way of waking people up, Ebner will be back in action for the first time this year and is going to knock the chocolate out of someone, and I can pretty well guarantee SDSU hasn't faced a passing combo like Gabbert and Moe yet this year. They'll fight, but they'll lose. Missouri wins going away 38-14.
3 - Vacated. Vince Young didn't win it. Giving it to him now is an empty, hollow gesture. The NCAA has to be more proactive about these situations and catch them before they become issues, but the simple fact is Vince Young didn't win it. The record should reflect there was no Heisman winner for 2005.
4 - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and coming in Spring 2011 A Game of Thrones.
ZouDave: Hey everyone, it's Doug's last day at his current job! ABQ BOUND!
Doug: Indeed. Oh, I'll be changing my Twitter handle soon, so be sure to look for that. I'll post plenty of pics from the road as we head toward the Land of Enchantment next week.
New Round Table question... what's the hardest job you've ever had to leave voluntarily? For me, it's this one, hands down, and that has to do a lot with the people I get to work with.
ZouDave: Thoughts?
If I had to caption this thread, it would be "Well, that's one way to die."
Bill C.: God bless message boards. Turning "Will Ebner really wants to hit somebody" into "These guys are ripe for an upset with the attitude they are displaying" and "Hmm, speaks volumes about Mizzou" is a beautiful exercise in seeing what you want to see from quotes.
(Not going to acknowledge the "Nice, 2-game suspension for DUI. Real classy coaching staff" quote since ... you know ... two games is 1-2 games longer than most DWI suspensions.)
ghtd36: Attention AztecMesa message board:
You're bad at reading.
Kisses,
Everyone
RPT: On road in Lubbock,
Typing on iPhone is lame,
Answers in haiku.
1. Josey to the house,
Killer instinct on display,
A win is a win
2. Lindley can wing it,
Good test for Gettis and Co.
'Tecs cover in loss
3. Leave Heisman vacant,
What if second was not clear?
Apologies, Vince.
4. NBC Thursday,
Count down to Community,
Need some Archer too.
ZouDave:
ghtd36: OH NO.
From AztecMesa poster "Fowl":
This isn't about a frickin DUI. This is about a guy who thinks he is better, stronger, bigger, and badder than anyone on our team. It is a challange. If I am Embernate (or anyone on our O) the first chance I get I drive that forker by the THROAT through the end zone - fork the penalty.
Doug: These people seem well-adjusted.
Bill C.: Boy, that's Stoopsian-level disrespect creation right there.
ghtd36:
(Three hours later...)
ZouDave: We.....we did not bring it today.
This loss is on our heads.
ghtd36: Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos.
ZouDave:
ghtd36: THIS IS IN NO WAY A POLITICAL STATEMENT ABOUT ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT THE SIMPSONS ARE FUNNY.
THIS IS IN NO WAY A POLITICAL STATEMENT ABOUT ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT THE SIMPSONS ARE FUNNY.
THIS IS IN NO WAY A POLITICAL STATEMENT ABOUT ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT THE SIMPSONS ARE FUNNY.
THIS IS IN NO WAY A POLITICAL STATEMENT ABOUT ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT THE SIMPSONS ARE FUNNY.
THIS IS IN NO WAY A POLITICAL STATEMENT ABOUT ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT THE SIMPSONS ARE FUNNY.
Doug: Fascist.