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10, 9, 8, 76ers

Can someone clue me into the reason behind the HHH entrance?

I’m not jumping on the Process bandwagon but last night was the first 3 game winning streak the Sixers have had in 3 years. It’s true that the combined record of the team’s they beat were 45-70, but I have to acknowledge that they won 3 games in a row. I get the feeling that this team is genuinely having fun and buying into what Brett Brown is teaching. The players are starting to have more defined roles and don’t seem to mind being role players to the one genuine star, Joel Embiid. Let’s also give full nod to Embiid for showing hustle and speed of a 7-2 player that hasn’t been seen since young Shaq. He is a bonafide stud as long as he stays healthy.

There are still major concerns and this team is very, very far off from being a contender. You can look at Nerlens stat line last night and see a -14 next to his name and 2 rebounds in 19 minutes (he was -8 against the Knicks, and -1 against the Nets). Jahlil sitting the last 3 games, and them winning them all, should also be a major concern along with this comment, “Obviously, it’s a funky situation. Funky for all of us. Right now, I’m the person who’s sitting out.”. You still have Nik Stauskas, Robert Covington, and TJ McConnell in your starting line up which won’t fly against playoff teams.

No longer.

Winning brings out fans and the Sixers are finally, finally, finally, doing some winning. This is what the process trusters like to see. I don’t think you can say the flip is switched but if they start beating the worse teams in the league, they will start moving towards being a .500 team. Once they get there, you can start the next chirping of playoff bound. What I can’t wait to see happen is when the band wagon fans start saying how big of Sixers fans they are, and then the reaction they get from the “process trusters”. Should be a fascinating social experiment.

By |2017-01-14T11:36:11-05:00January 14th, 2017|Sports|1 Comment

Upper Dublin Basketball Gets Mercy Ruled

I was not at this game but here’s the text I received:

Last night vs Upper Moreland (yes, tiny UM), UD was mercy ruled 49-9 in the 3rd quarter. Last week, they scored 10 points in the 3 qtrs vs Springfield

This is the first picture that comes up with Upper Dublin Varsity Basketball

I didn’t even know you could get mercy ruled in high school basketball. “Upper Moreland led 16-7 after one quarter, then outscored UD 20-0 in the second quarter. UM led 36-7 at halftime.” Whether it was an actual Mercy Rule, I can’t tell, the game seems to have ended 65-30.

The team is currently 2-8 (or 1-9 depending on who you read). Checking their schedule, it appears that they lost by 33 to Hatboro just a few days a go. So what? The basketball team is bad. Big deal. Hold on one second, Professor. Upper Dublin has an annual budget of 97 million dollars a year (67 million from Real Estate Taxes) and this is in conjunction to the 119 million they spent on new facilities completed in 2012. The state of their basketball team is embarrassing considering their financial support.

What is Happening?

I’m writing this with the reader understanding that I have not watched 1 game of UDHS basketball. I’m guessing that what you’re seeing is money making a team softer than Shawn Bradley. You have state of the art everything and the kids have been brought up with a silver spoon. You will sometimes see this work well when Lehigh upsets Duke in the NCAA tourney, but this is not what’s happening. It could be bad coaching or lack of talent or a combo of both like usual. Just throwing in my 2 cents.

 

Upper Dublin High School is Wealthy

First some background on Upper Dublin High School – “Upper Dublin High School is recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the United States Department of Education.In 2007, the school was named the No. 1 high school in Montgomery County by the Philadelphia Inquirer. The school was also ranked No. 8 in Philadelphia Magazine’s 100 Best Public and Private Schools.”

This is what the facilities look like:

Here is what some random ranking website has for it’s current stats:

Upper Dublin High School Ranking

 

By |2017-01-11T13:16:12-05:00January 11th, 2017|Sports|0 Comments

Let’s Give It Up to Connor Cook

Connor Cook, the new Raiders QB, will be starting the playoff game against the Houston Texans. This is why I love the NFL.

Gannon and Tim Brown

The Raiders haven’t made the playoffs since 2002. This year, Derek Carr led the team to a 12-3 record. A season-ending injury occurred to Carr in the 15th game and the team turned to Matt McGloin – a really, really shitty QB who played for Penn State in 2010-2012. McGloin managed to get hurt in the first game he started. His NFL record is 1-6. This brings me to Connor Cook and why I really, really love the NFL.

Who is Connor Cook? I have no fucking clue. However, he is tossed right into the thick of things getting the start in the biggest game for the Raiders in the past 15 years. Their entire season and all the hopes and dreams of a fan base fall on his shoulders. Some minor research:

  • QB for Michigan State Spartans from 2013 to 2015
  • Hold the record for the most career wins at Michigan State
  • Can make throws
  • Played 1 game on 1/1/17 going 14/21, 1 TD, 1 INT

This game is going to bring me so much joy because finding a QB is the most important part of an NFL team. Cook was picked with the 100th pick of the 2016 draft. Jared Goff, 0-7 career record, was picked with the 1st pick and he’s an absolute mess. There is no reason to think that Connor Cook can win this playoff game unless…the opposition has 2 of the shittiest QB’s to walk the Earth in Brock Osweiler and Tom Savage. There may not be a point scored in this game. 2-0 is the score I predict wins it.

A better catch than pass…the only TD he threw:

By |2017-01-04T16:19:05-05:00January 4th, 2017|Sports|0 Comments

Calling Into WIP

Last night I called into the Jody Mac show at about 11pm. I usually listen before I go to sleep and for whatever reason, I decided that tonight was going to be the night I was going to summon my courage and call in.

I called the number and it was picked up by the producer. He asked what my name was, where I was from, and what I wanted to talk about which I replied “Tom, Northern Liberties, and the NFL Playoffs.” He placed me on hold and you get connected to the line where you can hear the show.

My heart was racing as I had my intro rattling around my head. I was expecting to get put right through but that wasn’t exactly the case. I waited for about 15 minutes as I listened to a few other callers and ads. I had no idea where I was in line but then it hit me that I should be more prepared for my call. I ran to my computer and brought up the NFL playoff brackets that I sort of knew but wanted to be certain. I researched a few more facts that I thought Jody would appreciate and was set for my turn.

I’d say I was on hold for about 25 minutes when he said, “Tom from Northern Liberties, you’re up.” The dialogue went like this:

T –  “Thanks for taking my call, Jody.”

J – “No problem.”

T – “I wanted to ask you a trivia question, get your opinion on 2 NFL teams, and then tie that back into my grade for Carson Wentz (the topic of the show).”

J – “Sounds good.”

T – “Do you know who the 2015 lowest graded WR is by Pro Football Focus standards?”

J – *Hems and haws a little* “I don’t know.”

T – “It was Nelson Agholor. Do you know who it was for 2016.”

J – “I’d have to guess Nelson Agholor based on the way you said that.”

T – “You got it. Now I wanted to get your opinion on two teams that I think have a lot of value in the NFL playoffs who are going off at 9-1 shots, they are the Falcons and the Chiefs.”

He says something about the Chiefs being a better team because of their defense but likes the Falcons offense as well. He talked for what felt like 2 minutes straight until I chimed in asking if the Falcons could take the Packers or Cowboys. He went into this Aaron Rodgers monologue and some story about “relax” that I heard before. I had the mic one more time and said that I think Wentz deserves a B because he has few options and is no where near the same level of elite company like Aaron Rodgers.

That was that. The line goes dead and then I flipped the radio back on to hear myself wrapping up (there’s a few second delay). I’d say that if I wanted to prepare for the call more I could have done a bit better but I had zero nerves once the call began which was nice. I may start coming up with a few more wild ideas now that I’ve popped by calling in cherry. I also got a blog topic from a previous caller that I’ll  bring forth shortly.

 

 

By |2017-01-03T10:42:36-05:00January 3rd, 2017|Sports|0 Comments

Stortz – McGrath Bball

Some raw footage from our basketball game that took place on Christmas day. It was a hard fought battle that had the series tied 1-1 and an 11-11 game. The McGrath’s eventually won with their close range shooting.

By |2016-12-27T12:30:20-05:00December 27th, 2016|My Life, Sports|4 Comments

Overcoming the Trip

marla-hooch-sign-off-oOne day in September I was bowling and couldn’t remember how I started my approach. I started doing the batter’s box dance that Marla Hooch was doing when Geena Davis and Tom Hanks were both giving her signs to try to figure it out. It continued to league night when I was afraid I was going to trip head first down the lane. It was purely a mental speed bump and fortunately I was able to overcome it.

jlnvesxAs luck would have it, it happened to me again while I was running on a treadmill. When the weather gets a little cooler, I tend to run indoors more which spurred this trauma. I would be running on the treadmill and would get this feeling that my legs were going to fall over one another. It prevented me from jacking up the speed for fear of serious injury. Last night I went for a treadmill run and the feeling was completely gone. It’s like I overcame the fear and am now running and feeling better than I ever have.

The reason I post this is because I think it has to do with improving. It took a mental hurdle preventing me from taking that next step. For the bowling, for once I had to focus on my form and nail down exactly what I wanted to do. I had never really thought deeply about it before. With running I think it was my form being a bit off and it needed some adjustment. Considering I’m bowling better than ever and I would guess I could break 17 in a 5k, it was for the best.

 

And for the bowling nerds who read my blog, you’ll notice my first game is not nearly as good as my last. I asked the old league pro and he told me I needed a more reactive ball in the beginning. Makes sense now.

league

 

By |2016-11-09T15:49:15-05:00November 9th, 2016|Sports|0 Comments

Sit Down Fucking Fat Boy

Russell Westbrook calling out the Urologist, Kevin Harkaway, before receiving 2 middle fingers. Read his lips closely.

The Long and Winding Post

kevin-durant-rolling-stone-cover-storyI read the Rolling Stone article on Kevin Durant and learned more about Durant’s underprivileged upbringings and his dedication to the game of basketball. There were a few neat tidbits like he drank his scotch neat, has tattoos of Rick James, Tupac, Lisa Left Eye Lopez, and Aaliyah, and learned to sleep balled up on a couch until 19. However as I started to write that post and gather info, I got into Russell Westbrook, the double middle finger, and various odds. So I’m sorry if i’m all over the place with this post but it is what it is.

Some Fun Facts:

  • kdThe Golden State Warriors were favored by 8.5 points on Tuesday night over the San Antonio Spurs and lost by 29.
  • The Warriors O/U win total was 66.5.
  • The odds for the Warriors to win the Championship went from 3-1 before KD made his announcement to -110.
  • OKC went from 3-1  to 20-1 to win it all this year.

The KD and Russ Show is No Longer

leaveshimhanging“It’s an open secret that the fun had stopped there and it was never going to flow with Russell. Russell’s a my turn, your turn kind of guy, and don’t think defenders don’t know that. When Russ had the ball, KD’s guy would leave him to go and help guard Russ.”

KD’s thought for leaving OKC – “Mama, I can’t do it anymore. They’re not in this thing with me, we’re not together like we were.” 

 

Draymond and KD Speak the Truth

stephcurryshoesDraymond Green: Dude, why you riff so hard on Steph’s kicks?
Kevin Durant: Cause they were foul. Ugliest shoes I ever saw. Your boy should be ashamed of himself.

“I’m sure the story tomorrow will be, ‘KD broke up the chemistry and we can’t win with KD,’ and all these other things which is going to come with the territory,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said. “We’re looking forward to that. We already know that’s coming.”

“You know who I always thought (was a great trash-talker), but has been under the radar, I think Kevin Durant,” Green said. “Lotta people don’t know that. But if you play against him you know. KD makes you feel bad about yourself, that you ever talked junk,” Green said. “It’s the funniest thing in the world.”

 

How Can You Not Like This Guy?

By |2016-10-27T22:08:42-04:00October 27th, 2016|Sports|0 Comments

Football – Week 7

Bets

Losing a 2.5 unit bet on Iowa yesterday knocks me off the unbeaten streak. Here are the current stats:
NFL – 15-11, +22.5 units
CFB – 4-6, -1.8 units

Baltimore Ravens v New York GiantsGiants -3, 7.5 units – It’s time to start making some bigger money and that starts with the man who pays the bills, OBJ. He had a monster game last week against the Ravens and will do the same against a banged up Rams team. The Rams are coming off of back to back losses to the Bills and Lions and I expect the trend to continue. The Giants are 3-3 with losses to the Redskins, Vikings, and Packers all of whom are above .500. An odd spot to play in London, but OBJ can eat anywhere he wants.

KC/NO, Under 50.5, 4 units – I’m making this pick on Evan Silva’s suggestion. The Saints don’t play as well on the road and Alex Smith is all about ball control. I hate going with the obvious when I bet but there usually aren’t as many eyeballs on the O/U.

DraftKings

Fire up Spencer Ware! Of course I want a RB to go big on a game I bet the under. Either way, I’m spreading out my players in various lineups for a lot of exposure like usual. My gut feeling is to ride Jameis and Mike Evans because the 49ers are that bad. I also think having Gronk or Edleman is essential in every lineup. I like Jacquizz Rodgers and Matt Jones as cheap RB’s. I even did a few lineups where I pay up for LeVeon and DJ. Patriots and Ravens D are my plays.

dkweek7

Fantasy

4267297Wild Turkeys – Struggling to get back to 3-3 has me in at least a position to strike but I got off to a weak start with Alshon only getting 4.8 points on 11 targets. My opponent has Gronk and Ware which naturally I’ll be playing all over. He’s also going 3 man stack in the Seattle game with Wilson, Baldiwin, and Michael who play the tough D of the Cardinals. I have a feeling I’ll be holding my breath during the night game. Also I have a Shady but no replacement with Mathews and Booker on my bench.

Big Johnsons – I’m a big fan of this team this week with Jameis and Devonta leading the way. My 4-2 record gives me a little slack but this is projected to be tight.

Jameis Has Crabs – A horrible start with Meredith going for a sole point and Reed not playing. I’m also sitting with McCoy who I have to play with Foster and Forte too questionable. Tough spot and I don’t see a W here.

By |2016-10-27T22:26:42-04:00October 23rd, 2016|Fantasy, Sports|0 Comments

The 7-0 Man

packerswinHo hum. Just another bet won last night with the Packers. 2nd straight game that I picked right using my actual money and picked wrong in the pick em’. Sure it was only 2.5 units (and I managed to lose Ty Montgomery scoring the 1st TD of the game for 1 unit at 10-1) but the 7-0 man will continue forward.

I never go into text conversations with the intent of publishing them but I’m sharing this one because I was pretty spot on.

screenshot_20161021-084504

screenshot_20161021-084448

By |2016-10-27T22:26:52-04:00October 21st, 2016|Sports|0 Comments

Football Week 6 – Recap

Bets

1464808787-01313-0-1 with intel that was right on the money for the last 4 picks (+13 units) over this weekend. Nailing the Dolphins as an outright winner, the Cowboys, and the Cardinals for some nice ammo moving forward. 14-10, +21 units on the NFL so far. With all my betting I’m +7 units and I have a 1.5 unit bet on the Immortals to win the Eleague (14-1).

DraftKings

59hwjpa6Not a great week for me by any means but I dodged a bullet by winning my $50, 3 man league. This was my only cash in the 7 leagues but this +85 negated the -109 to allow me to walk away with only a $24 loss.

150 pts is the bench mark that you put together a good lineup in my mind. I only had 3 that were in the 140’s so I deserved to have a losing week. I made some poor plays in CJ Uzomah, Alex Smith and Chris Conley.  You really can’t have these types of poor selections.

A final note is in 2 of the $20, 3 man leagues I lost to Condia. It’s my own fault for not scouting the league better ahead of time but why is a guy who’s presumably made millions playing a $20 league?

Fantasy

jazqlyeWild Turkeys – The Turkeys dropped a nuclear weapon on their opponent putting up 163.06 points which gives me the outright point lead and a 3-3 record. Pat on the back for playing Golden Tate over Ryan Mathews. The Turkeys are once again a team you don’t want to play.

Big Johnson’s – A dud week of 85 pts secured a loss but still allowed me to hold the season points league and maintain 1st place with a 4-2 record.  Jordan Reed going down will not help this team moving forward.

Jamies Has Crabs – A little luck from a poor week from my opponent allowed me to sneak out a win scoring only 89 pts. I’ll take a little luck. I’m 4-2 and only 4 pts back from the season leader. Same problem with Jordan Reed.

By |2016-10-18T09:09:21-04:00October 18th, 2016|Sports|0 Comments
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