X’s and O’s NFL notes
The NFL is changing the Overtime rules. There has been a lot of grumbling that the loser of the OT coin flip never gets the chance to possess the ball, hence an inordinate amount of importance in winning the coin toss.
The new rule states. “Both teams must have the opportunity to possess the ball once during the extra period, unless the team that receives the opening kickoff scores a touchdown on its initial possession, in which case it is the winner.”
“If the team that possesses the ball first scores a field goal on its initial possession, the other team shall have the opportunity to possess the ball. If that team scores a touchdown on its possession, it is the winner. If the score is tied after both teams have a possession, the team next scoring by any method shall be the winner.”
“If the score is tied at the end of a 15-minute overtime period, or if the overtime period’s initial possession has not ended, another overtime period will begin, and play will continue until a score is made, regardless of how many 15-minute periods are necessary.”
As of now, this rule will take effect in next season’s post-season only, with the prospect of being passed for the regular season when NFL owners meet in Dallas in May.
Glad I could pass along this information.
Ex Libris What am I reading?
Still working on “The Infinity of Lists,” by Umberto Eco.
In the chapter entitled, “The Ineffable,” Eco draws attention to a list of demons, taken from the “Legemeton Clavicula Salomonis (1641), from Pseudomonarchia daemonum by John Weyer (1501-1588), which appeared in the appendices of various editions of his Praestigiss daemonum (1563), from Collin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire infernal (1812), and from other texts on demonology.
Just being able to research and then put together this list, Umberto Eco earns my vote as the smartest man on the planet!
Among those on this list of demons are: Amy, Furfur, Leonardo, Murmur, Otis, Phoenix, Tap, Vine, and Wall. Not sure I’d be afraid of a demon with any one of those names.
Otis, my man.
Adult cartoons Seasonal Sport – Hockey
In a matter of a few weeks, I’ve fallen completely in love with hockey again. It’s such a great game, and the fans are so passionate. I’ve started following several Montreal Canadiens fans on Twitter and have had the opportunity to engage in brief conversations during recent games. The regular season is almost over and I’m following the race to the Stanley Cup playoffs with keen interest. There are only a handful of games left, so next week the “2nd Season” starts.
I won’t say combo platter. What did I cook this week?
From Judith Jones’ “The Pleasures of Cooking for One,” I made Lemony Scaloppini of Pork, with jasmine rice, and steamed asparagus. This meal was prepared in honor of Eric’s birthday.
First Down Upcoming Sporting Event – Soccer
I would consider professional soccer in England as the class of the world. You can make arguments about the caliber of leagues in Spain and France, but really, England is the epitome of the sport.
In England, there are five levels, or leagues – from the top English Premier League to the bottom English Conference.
The most compelling thing about the structure of the leagues is the promotion and regulation aspect. In simplistic terms the idea is that winning one of the top three positions in each league earns a team promotion to the next higher league. Finishing in the bottom three positions gets a team relegated to the next lower league.
My team, the Leicester City Foxes, is currently in a position to make the playoffs to earn promotion from the level two league into the Premiership. The cool thing about this is that if they make it up, then they’ll be on the Fox Soccer Channel, and I’ll actually get a chance to see them play, something I’ve never had the chance to do.
Time Out What did one of my 6 kids do this week that I found remarkable?
By the time this is posted, it will be my son Eric’s 26th birthday. As mentioned above, he and his girlfriend came over for dinner to celebrate.
Happy Birthday, bud.
Second and Short Cycling
The Criterium International race was this past weekend in Corsica. It marked the season’s first time where Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong competed in the same event.
In Stage 1, Contador was dropped by the leaders to finish 1:12 minutes down while Armstrong fared even worse, crossing the line 4:51 minutes behind. Stage 2 was unremarkable for both, finishing in the middle of the group. Stage 3 was the 7.7k time trial. Contador finished 2nd in 9:52. Armstrong finished 15th, in 10:08. That’s a pretty decent improvement from Armstrong, and as the spring progresses, we need to watch his mountain and time trial efforts to see if he’ll have any chance of seriously competing with Contador in July’s Tour de France.
OctoEchos What music I’m listening to, why and do I like it? Or just music.
I listen to the fantastic New Orleans radio station WWOZ. On a recent blues show, the DJ featured a guy named Colin Lake playing acoustic solo blues and his style was described as “freestyle lap-slide guitar.” I bought his EP “In On time” and have been enjoying both the guitar playing and Mr. Lake’s soulful vocals.
(Don’t worry, Dad, I put a copy of the CD in the mail to you on Monday.)
Man Coverage Pick One Person
Ryan Leaf is an “irresponsible dillweed.” That’s what Peter King, senior NFL writer at Sports Illustrated, called him.
You may recall that Leaf was selected as the second overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft after Peyton Manning, and many scouts predicted he would be a better pro than Manning.
Leaf’s four-year career was marked by injuries, poor relations with teammates, the media, and poor performance. He is widely regarded as one of the biggest busts in NFL and professional sports history. That alone would earn the dillweed remark.
It was reported on March 25th that Leaf plead guilty to seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of delivery of a simulated controlled substance in exchange for 10 years of probation. What sits wrongly with me about this case is that while Leaf was an assistant coach at West Texas A&M he broke into the apartment of a football player, a player that Leaf personally coached, and stole Hydrocodone that had been prescribed in treatment of an injury.
Journalists shouldn’t resort to name calling, but I agree with King, Leaf is a dillweed.
Halftime What exercise did I get this week and how it correlates to a future challenge?
Week 11 of my triathlon training had a few bumps. I got two really great swims in and two decent bike rides. But we had an epic snowstorm mid-week that interrupted my training and I lost out on the run days.
I’m feeling good about where I am with swimming and cycling. And running continues to be my doom.
Third and Long Local Teams
Poor DU.
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) scored a 2-1 upset win over Denver at the 2010 NCAA East Regional. RIT net minder Jared DeMichiel was the big difference in this game, making 39 saves as DU outshot RIT, 40-25.
DU’s season ends on a sour note losing its third consecutive game overall and third straight in the NCAA tournament since last claiming the national title in 2005.
Scramble What outdoors activity have I been up to this week?
The pedometer challenge is over. Here are the final results:
1 Guy A 321,097
2 Guy B 264,328
3 Me 244,134
4 Guy D 192,375
5 Guy F 184,389
Meanwhile, I rode my bike 16 miles on Sunday along the Platte River Trail. I got two flats and had supplies on board to fix them both.
Upon Further Review What sport sucks?
I know NASCAR is big money, and I don’t even consider it a worthy event to debate, in terms of sport or non-sport. But you are all a bunch of pansies if you think it’s ok to postpone one of your races because it’s raining.
Too dangerous? Man, I’d pay money to watch a car race in the rain.
The probability of crashes when it’s raining has to rise exponentially.
Isn’t that the primary reason y’all watch NASCAR? Because you hope there is a really cool and horrific crash?
I mean, otherwise, you’re just watching grown men drive around in a circle.
Special Teams What does my real job have me doing?
Compromising. An issue kept coming up over and over from a customer and he wouldn’t let it go. A compromise of sorts was reached which my boss says “keeps our process pure and puts the responsibility on the program if they so choose.” I don’t like a compromise that deviates from law. If the law is bad, change it.
4th and … forget about it Who should retire?
It bothers me that some professional athletes sign one-day contracts with teams so that they can officially retire as “Packers” or “Celtics,” or “Royals.”
Through the course of a professional athlete’s career, he or she starts, and becomes famous and valuable while playing for a “first team.”
Then big money opportunities come along and they decide to leave teams, or the teams determine that the player isn’t worth what they think they are. Players leave the first teams and move on to play for the “Buccaneers,” or “Bucks,” or “Pirates,” for a king’s ransom.
They age, and the second team cuts them, or doesn’t want to re-sign them.
Melancholy sets in, along with a sense of nostalgia, and they get their agent to get the original team to agree to a one-day, no-cost contract so the player can retire with the same team they broke in with.
Hey, mister disingenuous, if you wanted to permanently attach yourself to the original team, the team that gave you the opportunity to be successful, then you should have never left them in the first place.
Greed.
Lagniappe Something extra
I can’t find the right place for this commentary, and it might not even belong here at all. In all honesty, I really don’t like ending this week’s installment this way – on an angry and disturbed note. But I think I want to voice my opinion anyway.
If you’re Catholic, don’t turn your back on this.
Former Pope John Paul II is under consideration for sainthood.
As I understand the process, it takes two miracles for a person to become a saint. The Vatican must confirm that one miracle has occurred due to the intercession of a person, and in doing so this gets you beautified. A second miracle is needed for you to be declared a saint. As a reminder, a miracle is an unexpected event attributed to divine intervention.
It really is none of my business, but not only is it shameful that this process is under consideration amidst the pedophilic episode rife throughout the Roman Catholic Church; I find it very humorous that the miracle submitted in support of JPII’s beatification is under scrutiny and even doubt. (Gasp!)
The case of the miracle is this: The inexplicable cure of a young French nun from Parkinson’s disease. The nun, who suffered from the same disease that ravaged John Paul for years, had prayed to him for relief and one morning two months after John Paul died, woke up completely cured. Can you say misdiagnosis?
You know what would have been a real miracle? The answered prayers of all those children who offered up, “God, please don’t let this happen to me.”
You know who needs to be “beautified and sainted?” Neda Agha-Soltan, the young Iranian woman murdered in the streets of Tehran for taking part in a stance against injustice and tyranny.
Do not paint as righteous some dude who headed the world’s largest sanctioned pedophilic organization for more than 25 years.
With power comes corruption.
Bastards.
