The Force Is Strong With This One
The Force Is Strong With This One
The Cast
Date: 11/27/2019
FILLERBUSTER’S ELEVEN
BACKGROUND: This started as a long-winded numbered blog. It transformed into an organized long-winded category blog. Now, it is a quick-hitter to ease your pain. I lack time. So, the preparation of the blog actually made me procrastinate from writing the thing. Let’s see who makes the cut. Barely edited as usual unfortunately, so please excuse any mistakes during my stream of consciousness. I feel the need…the need for speed. Let’s turn and burn.
SETTING: This is written in bits Monday and Tuesday night. Added, tailored and released on Wednesday evening, the day before Thanksgiving.
- EVERGREEN 1: ESPN released its nominations for best NFL running backs ever. Walter Payton and Jim Brown were unanimous. Since I love lists, I thought I would make my own list. Let’s do my Top 5.
- #5 Walter Payton/OJ Simpson (tie): One was beautiful to watch, and the other was a bruiser. They both had vision, breakaway speed, and durability. One killed you with moves, and the other just killed you (errgghhh). Anyway, I can’t decide who was better, so they both make my top five.
- #4 Gale Sayers: Watch the tapes of him running. He was before technology would make him look good, but his running style was magical. His career got cut short, otherwise he would have been the best possibly.
- #3 Jim Brown: He only played 9 seasons, everyone. NINE. He averaged 5.2 yards per rush for his career. He had moves and could run over you. Probably the best pure RB on the list. He had the perfect combination of speed and power.
- #2 Eric Dickerson: When I describe someone running as “galloping,” they go high on the list. Dickerson played for subpar teams overall, and frequently got tackled before really getting into open field, but when he did find an opening…man….he galloped.
- #1 Barry Sanders: He played for almost ALL bad teams. Most of those bad teams had horrendous offensive lines to add insult to injury. Yet, he still did what he did, and retired early. Watching him make people miss, and watching him change direction of his run and the WHOLE PLAY, was baffling. How in the world could a RB make the best athletes in the world just…MISS? Barry did.
- Omissions: Emmitt was a non-flashy, durable running back on a very good team. Frank Gore? Please. Curtis Martin was boring, just above-average efficient, and just played longer than most. Adrian Peterson had too many injuries and didn’t continue his prime long enough. He got old QUICKLY. Terrell unfortunately didn’t have a large enough sample size, and was more of a straight-liner anyway. I would put LT in there, but I feel like the shifty, change of direction guy on the list was already Barry. I don’t feel as though Motley, Van Buren, and Clark would have held up as much in today’s more athletic game, and all I know of them is old footage to be honest. Earl Campbell would probably be my #6 or #7. Tony Dorsett falls at about #10 for me. Sorry to the others. In the words of Seinfeld, you’re all winners!
- EVERGREEN 2: I watched tape. I did research. I knew Luka Doncic would be special. I just didn’t know how special he would be this soon. His stats are mesmerizing. His game is complete and just getting better. He is already a freaking Jedi Knight in many ways. He posted the fastest triple-double in history (25 minutes). He was the second youngest to post a 40-point triple double. That first-place guy would be LeBron. Luka’s team is winning. Now, this hook would have been better had he not gotten smoked by the Clippers last night, but he needs help like all stars (even Jordan needed Scottie). If you haven’t watched him play yet, look in the guide and find out when he is on TV next. Go see your local team get destroyed by him at an arena. If Porzingis can get back to his dominance pre-injury, this team could be special. Let’s look at his stats. He is averaging over 30 points per game. He is shooting almost 50% overall. His three-point percentage is hanging around 32%, but that will easily go up as the year goes on. He is too good of shooter for it not to. He is averaging 9.5 assists, meaning he makes other people better. Ten rebounds a game for a wing player is stellar. 82% from the stripe is well above average and good enough to convert tough points late in games. His 1.6 steals per game means he is playing defense actively and not resting for the other end of the court. The ONLY stat he needs to improve on is his plus 4 turnovers. This will improve as he gets court-smarter, and means he is trying to do just a LITTLE too much. Overall, his stat line is magnificent. Luke Skywalker would support his stat line. Give him a lightsaber and get out of his way. Enjoy this guy, folks. His prime, and championships are a few years away, but soak it all in. I know I will.
- NFL: Some of those four picks by Phillip Rivers against the Chiefs were really bad. Just saying. Gronk’s BIG announcement was about a Super Bowl party on the beach and not coming back to lace them up, and this should not only NOT surprise us, but now I kind of want to be at that party. AB apologized to Robert Kraft for all of his drama, which means we should expect an ANGRY social media release…any day now. I fully support that $50k fine on Rudolph. He wasn’t an angel, wasn’t the full villain, but definitely should be hit with SOMETHING. That works. And this was one of the funniest things I saw all weekend. https://www.wtae.com/article/cleveland-browns-fans-swing-helmet-at-mason-rudolph-pinata-at-tailgate/29931887 The Steelers surely didn’t look like a playoff team in barely beating Cincy, but a win is a win, they are above .500 for the first time this year, and I LOVE, love, LOVE them bringing in Devlin Hodges in the second half. I haven’t felt comfortable with any of Mason’s throws for his entire duration at starting QB. Hodges looks cooler than the other side of the pillow when he takes the field. I think though that the Steelers brilliant offense actually RELIES on pass interference calls on the other team. But, with penalties, barely above .500 record, or whatever, I am glad they announced Hodges will start once again this week. Devlin will take Baker’s shit and give it right back to him. The Seahawks do not have to look all-worldly on offense when their defense is playing like it did against the Eagles this weekend. Be very afraid of that team if the defense catches up to Russell. I was actually impressed Dallas kept the New England game close, and something is still slightly off on O for the Pats still. I respect that the 49ers are indeed good, but there is no way I saw the Packers laying a big, shiny EGG at San Fran Sunday night. Come on, Aaron. We thought things were finally coming together in your new offense. Why were there only TWO afternoon NFL games? That is just weird. I get the whole charade scared away some teams, but not ONE single phone call to Kap? Why does ESPN spell Kaepernick’s shortened name “Kap” when “Kaep” makes more sense? It is a silent “e” anyway, ESPN. Frank Gore passed Barry Sanders on the all time rushing list I admire Frank’s longevity, but he isn’t even in the same BOOK as Barry, let alone sentence (see above). Carolina’s kicker can take sole responsibility for them not making any dark horse playoff run this year. Sad kick from in close. Dwayne Haskins should be congratulated on driving them to two…field goals…I guess, but missing the last snap for a fan selfie is beyond embarrassing. Your joy shouldn’t override your professionalism. Act like you have done it before, especially if it is just a regular season game. The Ravens. Man, there are people out there who thought this Lamar Jackson experiment would work, but work like THIS? They designed an offense from scratch to match his skills, and they are DESTROYING teams. Good teams, bad teams, all teams. This is insane. He just got coded in on Madden being faster than Michael Vick was in his prime. That is more insane. I am not saying Earl Thomas should be making bold predictions already, but they are very good, I will say. Around this town, there is a lot of media confusion. Everyone seems to be scared to ask the Broncos coaches tough questions, no one understands the Drew Lock overall plan, and they are even going into Wednesday of game week with no starter announced. Perplexing, and when you draft a QB in the second round, it shouldn’t be perplexing at all. Why give him 75% of the reps, not announce a starting QB, if he isn’t 100% of the plan AND if reps WERE the problem and the reason of the delay in starting him? Finally, and sadly, today is the anniversary of the 2007 fatal shooting of Sean Taylor. We lost a great, great talent and man at age 24. RIP, Sean.
- COLLEGE FOOTBALL: The fact that a COLLEGE QB is getting death threats and has to shut down his social media because of those threats saddens me much. Shame on you, select people at Penn State, who were mad enough about the Minnesota loss to send these. Why do people freak out about the college football rankings this early, as most things will sort themselves out by end of season. I like the new system. I still support my six-team playoff idea more, with the top two teams getting byes in the playoff, but people don’t listen to me on that evidently. I hear most of the Texas-OU jokes since I married into the Sooner family, but Texas is just GIVING OU fans material at this point. https://www.12up.com/posts/dkr-texas-memorial-stadium-south-end-zone-project-looks-like-uterus-01dsns0m5m2y VERY surprised that Texas didn’t even give Baylor a RUN at least. They got smoked. OU received surprise news when stud TE Grant Calcaterra “retired,” but we should not be surprised about these announcements in this age of heightened sensitivity about concussions and long-term effects. UVA is one single good winning game of 60 minutes from getting smoked by Clemson in the ACC Championship, and that is very uplifting that we can single-handedly WRECK the whole college football playoff scenario. I think Penn State getting 19 points against Ohio State was one of the easier bets I made this past weekend. Someday, in a galaxy far, far away Texas A&M will win a big game that will tell us the genius of Jimbo Fisher, but for now, we will just assume the FSU recruiting pipeline built his rep. The Harvard football game was postponed for a climate change protest, and as Chandler would say from Friends, “too many jokes…” Somehow when I try and sing the OU fight song, I tend to merge the song into Raiders of the Lost Ark theme. OU barely won the other day, and is far from impressing anyone, but at some point, you just have to say a win is a win. Finally, THANK you, Oregon, for not only helping OU’s cause, but making sure very little respect is given to the Pac-12 again this year when judging teams. Continuing with the Star Wars theme, Utah is the ONLY “new hope” for that conference. I was telling my wife, that if we simplify things, she needs 2 of 4-5 things to happen for OU to make the playoff (along with them winning of course). When the first thing I said was UVA beats VA Tech and then Clemson, she asked me to quickly move on to the other three things. If LSU beats Georgia in the SEC title game, they will have beaten FIVE top ten teams in one year, something no team has done in 80 years.
- COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Early season tourneys are half the fun of the college basketball season. Here is a good guide for you to check out some of these early season awesome matchups. https://www.si.com/college/2019/11/20/battle-4-atlantis-maui-invitational-bracket-schedule UVA hoops only beat hot shooting Vermont by 6 points, but I expected this slow learning curve. The Wahoos lost a lot of offense and experience. The defensive system will keep them in the top 15, but be scared, rest of nation, if Huff and Morsell hit stride like I expect them to. Marquette just landed a five-star recruit, and their pipeline is really starting to become a mainstay. Tom Izzo spreads out his anger, so you believe it when it happens. He quit a board he is on when they vetoed his transfer from playing. I am happy about this though, since his brother is heading to UVA and has to sit too. I know Villanova is reloading, and not saying a loss at Baylor is the end of the world, but just saying they are losing some games they didn’t use to drop. Again, these early season matchups are so much fun. But, not fun for all teams. VA Tech beat Michigan State on a neutral floor, and that might be the difference between a good and bad seed come March. And SF Austin picked up a decent road win. They are from a conference where you need to win the whole thing to make the tourney. I would say a win at Cameron might override any conference tourney letdown they have down the line. Getting upset for the first time (non-conference) since 2000 happens when the stat line shows 11-24 from the stripe, 22 turnovers (8 of those by your PG), and uncomfortable pressure being put on the other team by the little guy. Big time win. Finally, speaking of Michigan State, they let UGA back in the game the other day and almost lost. Why do you need to watch UGA hoops? Anthony Edwards is a pure stud, folks. Catch a viewing.
- NBA: The Lakers had Dave Chappelle come in and see the team during their “genius series.” After seeing Chappelle perform, I agree. Dude is a comedic genius who happens to come across as a cool, hip funny guy. He does a lot more improv and audience participation than people think. LeBron has now recorded a triple double against all 30 teams. That is impressive. Carmelo is averaging 16 points in his comeback with the Blazers. This isn’t horrible, but two stats bug me. He is only shooting 39% overall, meaning he is still pressing. Combine that with him averaging 1.8 assists per game, and he isn’t being a team player…again. The Nuggets are hitting stride. People didn’t like their early season performances (even though they were still winning), but now they have won 9 of 10, and are owning their home court once again (beat the Rockets decisively over weekend). They are a contender, without a doubt. But they are a contender who NEEDS to have the home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Ben Simmons hit his first three pointer after an 0-17 start, and we should not believe offseason workout videos with him ever again. This is my weekly reminder to read Zach Lowe’s Ten Things. Best hoops read of the week…always. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28117649/ten-nba-things-like-including-electric-ja-morant
- NHL: I still think the Capitals lost a full year by partying it up after winning the Cup last year, but if they did, they are now refreshed and ready to go. The Capitals just went on a streak where they lost one time in regulation in THIRTY days. That is insane. But, the Islanders are probably the best team in hockey right now. They just had their own streak and went 14-0-1 in fifteen games. The Avs, who will win the Cup this year, are hovering right where they need to be before a late season push, when their young legs get them over the divisional hump. 13-8-2 with a goal differential of 12 is fine for now. Finally, I know I am getting old when the old school hockey coaches are phasing out, getting fired, or just riding into the sunset. The Leafs were barely below .500 for the year, but still found reasons to fire Mr. Babcock.
- THIS AND THAT: I find it hard to believe that Tom Hanks found out he was related to Mr. Rogers AFTER filming was complete, and it sounds like a simple sales ploy to me to boost sales. Motley Crue is getting back together again, and the grass is green and the sky is blue in related stories. Amazon is actively working on a drone fleet to deliver packages in 30 minutes, and I am just fine with the 24-hour goal without mini-choppers. White Claw is projecting $1.5 billion in sales this year, and I know for a fact that my wife inputs her portion into that overall number. I wish they would break those sales numbers down more and tell me exactly what part Black Cherry is of that $1.5 billion. Fred Cox died last week, and his story about creating the NERF football is pretty stellar. It is really scary that when we go to watch The Irishman, it will take 3.5 hours of our life. Again, if you are interested in serial killers, and are not watching Mindhunter, than the boat is sailing away and you missed it. Great, great show. There are baby Yoda dolls being released this Christmas, and not only are they cute, but HOW did someone not think of that already? Trump signed a bill that will make animal cruelty a felony, and I forget that he does occasional good things along with the majority of dumb things we hear about. Did you know that pressing mute and enter on your DirecTV remote does magical stuff if your remote isn’t working? Finally, Resorts World Las Vegas is estimating their construction and opening cost at $4.3 billion, making it the most expensive casino ever on The Strip (would surpass the $4.0 billion for Cosmo).
- THE FILLERBUSTER: I got a new wedding ring, and it is legitimately dope. It has antler in it. Sorry, deer. Hello Sunday needs to leave The Voice before I lose my mind. First of all, NO one is beating Katie at this point. Not sure why I never learned the fill-in part of Piano Man, but I decided to bust it out the other night, it took about 3 minutes to learn, and that is now done and the song will sound like Billy himself moving forward. I know how to pick my workout songs. I told you about The Hunted (Saint Asonia) months ago, and it is presently #1 on Octane. Want a hidden treasure on that countdown? Starset-Manifest is not like the other angry songs I like to workout to, but it is an AMAZING song with awesome guitar. All Starset writes about is stars and galaxies and stuff. We got bagels at work the other day, and again, PUMPERNICKEL, had the most leftover untouched ones. WHY don’t more people like pumpernickel? We went to Melting Pot over the weekend, and there is nothing like a big bowl of cheese with friends at the dark atmosphere of Melting Pot. We had brunch at Edge in Four Seasons, and you need to ask for the old menu, as they will still bust that out until year-end. Home is refi’d, and now those rates can skyrocket for all I care. We hit up the Gigglin’ Grizzly over weekend, and it is still the best adjective-animal bar out there. We went to Wax Tracks to get some records, and walked out with Toto, Billy Joel, Whitesnake, Bing Crosby, and Led Zeppelin. Nice mix. I don’t think she knew I snuck in Whitesnake. Yes, the last thing we did on my actual birthday was allow me to watch the last 22 minutes of Rounders, from the door knock to the taxi ride out. We had brunch at the Midwestern Saloon on Tennyson because the Steelers finally weren’t on main tv, and the brunch was SPECTACULAR. I had the brunch mac and cheese, we are heading back so I can get the GRILLED CHEESE BENEDICT, and never expected food to be that good (still find it odd a saloon doesn’t have a pool table, but whatever). We went to the OU Club at Stoney’s to watch the game, and after explaining to Ed how I have to provide optimism for my wife’s family after OU loses a game, I now am on record to make a speech at the OU Club’s watch party AFTER they make the playoff. It snowed a foot in Denver on Monday and Tuesday, but I have noticed in the last few years, places CLOSE more. We live in Colorado. Deal with it, restaurants. I loved those snow shifts as a bartender. Of course, I came to work as I have my beloved 4Runner, and I arrived at 6am, which made the email from my boss to the team at 630am, telling us we could work from home, very, very useless. I find Larry David doing Bernie Sanders really, really funny. In the Highlands area and need lunch, go to Parisi. Fantastic Italian food. Also on Tennyson. Both are by Union Station, so you wouldn’t expect killer prices, but the happy hour at both Next Door and Stoic and Genuine is really smart, cheap drinking. Hidden treasures, I tell you, for food too. Birthday dinner was a Chow Morso in same area, and the Carbonara and Cacio E Pepe were both incredible, with the slight nod going to the pepe. Yes, I ate Italian at both lunch and dinner. Family Guy has an episode where they stereotype the typical American guy at the airport, and it was ME. Sbarro, USA Today, etc. We head to Aspen Friday morning, and although I am a little weary of Storm #2 in CO and driving, I am PUMPED. We LOVE Aspen so much. Finally, my wife got me the most thoughtful, badass gift ever. She sent me away for the morning on my bday, and literally built me a man cave in our back office area, complete with Masters flag, Queen of Hearts, Ali photo, Kramer painting, TV, Ottoman, shelves for drinks, Roland, desk, etc. Add a card, the Steelers dri-fit, Panic/ JoJo tickets, and other stuff, and it was the best day. Thanks, wife, and you are the bomb.
- I have written enough this week. Let’s give you a hook off, and just make this a placeholder so it is still 11 things (as post-Aspen one will be LONG).
- TWEETS OF THE WEEK
ALTERNATE CATEGORIES THAT DIDN’T MAKE THE CUT THIS WEEK
- THE BEST WORKOUT SONG EVER FOR THIS WEEK (because the best song this week IS the best song ever…for now):
- QUOTE OF THE WEEK
- LINKS TO SAVE YOU TIME IN LIFE
- TRAVEL
- THIS WEEK’S LIST
- MY NUMBERS
- GONE FISHING (the riddle for money):
- PICS BY MY PIXEL (pictures from my phone):
- LIFEGUARD ENTRY:
- MISCELLANEOUS
- MLB
The theme? Luka Doncic is my favorite NBA player. He is putting up ridiculous stats. He is kind of like a basketball Jedi Knight. Star Wars is about to come out. It just sort of made sense all around.
And our weekly reminder of the greatest sequel ever made coming out next summer… Top Gun 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSqVVswa420
And everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are heading to our favorite town, Aspen, to enjoy the holiday weekend and her family’s timeshare next week. Talk to you when I get back. Expect many, many pictures.
That’s it for today. Hope you enjoyed or are at least more informed. Remember two things. First, feed yourself, feed your family, but always, always remember to…feed the wolf. Second, if you can’t spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker. Will I blog again? That is a CLOWN question, bro. As one shepherd said to the other shepherd, let’s get the flock out of here.
| THROW IT BACK IN THE POND |
| impeachment |
| google antitrust |
| vazquez denied bail, new felony charges |
| dantonio says i will be back next season |
| tottenham fires coach |
| uga rb injures photographer |
| hockey canada drops “midget” division |
| Epstein guards slept and skipped |
| Hong Kong open postponed |
| koepka injury |
| Rudolph ok with Garrett sorry |
| Barkley sorry for female comments |
| boy dies after nj shooting |
| united auto workers |
| china |
| israel |
| grandal white sox 4/73 deal |
| no evidence of rudolph racial slur |
| melo has apparently bought into D and not holding ball |
| Columbia curfew |
| vs cancelling fashion show |
| McCaffrey youngest Madden club |
| Josh Johnson in xfl |
| yales women’s soccer coach misconduct |
| white Sox sign Jose abreu 3/50 |
| Mariners ink 6 mil to 1b player |
| cousins harassment charges dropped |
| Okla st nda |
| Jon jones Reyes fight on |
| sandusky 30-60 resentencing |
| nba mulling play in tourney |
| nfl punishes 33 players in steelers browns fight |
| mourinho tottenham debut |
| lavine hits game winner night after benching |
| bohemian vs stairway |
| dolphins rb mark walton hit pregnant woman, released, charged |
| garrett appeals-points to antonio smith ban |
| leveon bell rips nfl for radnom hgh tests |
| AB countersuing taylor |
| garrett appeal upheld, pouncey reduced |
| not being able to see broncos game at midwestern saloon |
| wiseman has to sit additional 11 games |
| https://www.si.com/college/2019/11/22/kentucky-maryland-indiana-basketball |
Tim tebows dog bronco dies and that shouldn’t be a story on the wire
Bengals go back to Dalton starting qb
Remains found-fighters stepdaughter
Saints payton wants three person replay booth
Anxiety forced brooks out of game eagles
Witten backs jones criticism
Kerr says elite 8 doing well
Wilder fury 2 set for feb 22
C’s ainge wanted roster moves
Tiger to headline 6 player exhibition in Bahamas
Izzo apologizes for loss
Hurricane jordan accuses assault
Polamalu wayne first year hof
Nfl admits cowboys tripping penalties wrong
Espn trumps barstool sports bowl sponsorship
Davie to step aside from new Mexico
33 players browns Steelers
| LeBron.thanks Spurs for three ability |
| otl a&m medical |
| clips mavs |
| maui |
| storms travel holidays |
| white blob |
| more impeachment |
| Papa John 40 30 pizzas |
| mass of robot dog |
| paul george clutch jumper, beats old team |
| not getting much of kawhi and george yet |
| gasol waived by blazers, maybe coaching role |
| kemba injury |
| caps garnet hathaway spits on ducks player |
| Jeter leads 18 hof |
| astros stealing signals |
| nats parra leaves for japan |
| yankees release jacoby ellsbury with 26 mil left |
| democratic debate |
| will Farrell snl |
lizzo tiny purse
| hr person taking pto week of enrollment |
| work interesting |
| avery bday |
| savory vietnam |
| no WP |
| bar at plaza 38 |
| birthday “weekend” |
| nick comedy works |
| Cold betting |
| my spanish lessons |
| hot betting |
| stoneys |
| asking help what they eat |
| rounders |
| will Farrell snl |
| bernie David |
Switching to Kaiser
Linkedin bdays are weak
Padres deal urias
Pirates hire Shelton as manager