Monday, September 26, 2005

Monday Morning Football Thoughts Week 3

Steelers / Patriots
Antwaan Randel El lost this game. Not only did he blow a huge play that could have given the Steelers a comfortable lead, he dropped some key passes thereafter, which he clearly should have caught. Still, there were many other holes to notice. The zealous blitz style of the Steelers D is keeping the quick outs a good option for any team with a decent Offensive line. It just so happened that the Patriots have a great O-line. Even with injuries, the Patriots reminded the Steelers why they beat them last year and went on to win the Super Bowl.

Packers / Tampa Bay
Green Bay is in trouble. Favre's back is growing weary of carrying the entire organization on his back at his age. Its really sad to watch a legend die so slowly on the field. And Tampa Bay is 3 and 0? What has this world come to?

Bengals / Bears
The Bengals are for real and they are 3 and 0. Somebody needs to alert Pittsburgh that things need to improve if they are going to beat this team. As for the Bears, I guess that Defense didn't have what it takes...scary thought.

Everybody Else
Not much to talk about here. Nothing exciting happened, and my fantasy team is getting pasted because our players have checked out or something. Either way, I'm still reeling at a disappointing Steeler weekend.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Monday Morning Football Thoughts Week 2

Steelers / Texans
Once again, I'm happy that the Steelers won. I'm also happy that my fantasy team's recent acquisition of Willie Parker last week produced a result. As for pushing the Steelers as super bowl material, that remains to be seen. They still need to play a good team and look convincing. Beating the Titans and the Texans doesn't say much. If they can beat the Patriots next week, then I think I'll be more convinced.

Bengals / Vikings
Culpepper is really making people wonder. 8 INT's in 2 games? We can't count him out though because Bart Starr did the same thing, and then went on to lead the Packers to the Super Bowl in Super Bowl 8. As for the Bengals. They are starting to scare me.

Browns / Packers
I normally wouldn't even comment on this sort of game, but I found it interesting that the Browns were playing the Packers in Lambo Field and still managed to make them look pathetic. This is despite the fact that the Browns are also pathetic.

Ravens / Titans
So much for worrying about the Ravens this year. Their offense is so bad that the defense has to stay on the field most of the game. This means for a tired Defense that eventually runs out of steam. They need to rebuild or something. The old 2000 team game plan where their defense wins games isn't gonna work anymore.

Colts / Jaguars
Peyton Manning is human? Never saw that one coming. :-)

Eagles / 49'ers
Did anyone think that this was even going to be a game? McNabb is one of the best QB's I've ever seen.

All the Rest
Not much else to blab about in week 2, except on how dumb it was that of all the games that were on, I got the crappy ones that didn't have any relevance to my favorite team or the fantasy team I own.

Monday, September 12, 2005

Monday Morning Football Thoughts

Pittsburgh Steelers/Tennesee Titans
They pulled it off in spectacular fashion. Willie Parker stepped up and came out big. Ben R. had a perfect QB rating. No sacks were allowed by the 0-line. Wow. Good stuff. I'd rave more about this, but I'm gonna need to see more of this type of play against some very good teams to be convinced. Tennesee isn't exactly the powerhouse they used to be. Still, let's give up a little love to the home team. They looked great in the opener.

Baltimore Ravens/ Indy Colts
I'll say now what I said last night when watching the game: The Baltimore Ravens were responsible for the score on both sides of the ball. Their defense and offense kept the points down. To Bohler's credit, he had no help from his O-line. They crumpled instantly on every pass play. I've read that their offensive line was built for the run, not the pass. It was evident. As for Indy, I'm not ready to jump on board their "Our defense is tough" bandwagon. They need to beat a team with a decent offense before they get any love from me.

Cleveland/Cincinatti
Cincinatti may just turn out to be a huge force to be reckoned with. They have a very good offense, and their defense plays with a lot of heart. But there's really nothing to say about the huge can of whoop-*** they opened on Cleveland. Cleveland is just going to suffer all season in their condition, so a win against them is also nothing to brag about.

Everything else

-Miami slapped Denver all over the field yesterday in just under 110 degree heat. Awesome.

-Duante Culpepper rubbed butter all over his hands yesterday, and then tried to be the QB. Uh, 2 fumbles and 3 Interceptions? Way to hand a victory to Chucky and his Pirates.

-Despite the Cowboys win, I impressed with two things: Drew Brees looked great without Gates, and Keyshawn (Me-shawn) Johnson can still play half-decently.

-Panthers shouldn't have lost against the saints. Since when did the Saints get to take the Cowboys title of "America's Team"? Sorry, lots of pity for the saints, but come on, let's not over-do things.

-F-U-M-B-L-E-JETS!JETS!JETS! 6 fumbles? Hey Pennington, did you shake hands with Culpepper any time on Sunday?

-Bills beat Texans...big deal. Texans smack-down line forms to the left.

-49ers beat the Rams. Okay, that's just weird. The Rams will be spending extra hours studying tape after that one.

-Will people stop quoting Lee Corso's "Not so fast my friend!"??? It was never funny, and its worse when it gets quoted.

-Bears vs. Redskins. Hmmm, next time both teams should bring their offense to the game.

Monday Morning Football Thoughts

Thursday, September 08, 2005

About Apple's new Nano

For years now, I've not been able to put my finger on the strange attraction to Apple. Although I don't own a mac, and iPod, or any other device made by apple, I've been feeling this strange pull towards Apple product. I doubt I'll buy one anytime soon, but, as I was reading a blog on the new Apple iPod Nanon, I came accross a comment posted by another reader of the blog. I think that this comment accurately defines the reasoning for this strange attraction:

" I used to believe that it was simply brilliant marketing that took Apple from the verge of bankruptcy to the best brand in the world in ten short years. What I've realized is that Apple has something that Creative, Samsung, Sony, and the rest lack, and that is a true philosophical understanding of electronics, and how consumers relate to them. As members of a consumer society, we inevitably fetishize and idealize certain consumer goods. We actively pursue nice things. Consumer goods need not be thrust upon us, though they usually are. This is the marketing ritual, where a handful of masters of manipulation gather to create an image that will hopefully transcend a poorly-engineered product. Apple has tapped into a secret of the 21st-century capitalist psyche that is rooted in primal desire. Form is more important than function. It's how we often choose our lovers, food, pets, clothes, and most things that we lust for, or have an intimate bond with. This profound understanding of aesthetics has allowed Apple to think outside the box and create truly beautiful products. Although it doesn’t hurt that Apple has some of the best engineers and most creative marketing teams. Consumers will sacrifice an FM tuner, and other frills for a product that taps into the core of their desires and makes them feel like they are better now than they were before. Yeah, it’s false consciousness, but it works. While other electronics companies are still using the McDonald’s model of value to push mp3 players, Apple’s iPod has become a connoisseur’s brand, and achieved ubiquity in the mp3 player market. Not easy to juggle the two. I predict the Nano is going to sell like hotcakes, or better yet, like iPods."

Thursday, September 01, 2005

What I read today.

This article brings up an interesting (although cynical) perspective on the information that we pass on over the internet each day. Kind of scary really.