Malik
(9/24/12)
Last week was another
one of nothing to post about, beyond the Seahawks. Today it is the
same general thing, except the Seahawks haven't played yet due to
being on Monday Night Football. I can say, however, that this
weekend sure had some NFL shocks for myself.
I was stuck at a waiting
room getting some work done on my car on Sunday morning. Luckily,
there was good coffee on hand, Final Fantasy 3 on my Android phone
in my hand, and at 10 the TV was turned on in the waiting room to
the 49ers Vikings game. I really didn't want to see this game since
it's obvious who would win. I couldn't care less about the Vikings,
but as a Seahawks fan I need the 49ers to lose. Well, that game I
didn't want to see became one hell of a fun game as the Vikings took
an early lead and never let up until they ended with 11 points over
the 49ers.
Tonight, with the
Seahawks playing the Packers on MNF, it's obvious what the idea
behind this game was. "We'll put Seattle on MNF since it will be
former backup QB Flynn facing off against his old starting QB
Rodgers!" Too bad no one thought that Wilson could go from short
third round pick to being a starter in front of Flynn. Still, this
will make for a good game, at least for Seattle and Green Bay fans.
Being on the national spotlight may not be ideal, but it will still
be a great game.
I have to say I'm
especially excited since Seattle holds the best record for MNF out
of the entire league. When the 'Hawks are on on a Monday, it
instantly becomes a good game for Seattle.
On a final note, I
predict a Seattle victory of three points in the 24-21 range...but
with Seattle and predictions, I'm usually way off with the spread.
Malik |
Malik
(9/25/12)
Comical.
Disgraceful. Disastrous. F$#@ed up. Stupid.
Inept. Pathetic.
Call it what you
will. Last night was not a good game for anyone. Ok, I'm
wrong...it was a great game for the Seattle defense and a great game
for fans of the sack. Beyond that, the game was a joke, but
for more reasons than just one play. Then again, wasn't the
Ravens Patriots game a great game except for one play (I honestly
cannot see the field goal as good at the end of that game). In
all seriousness, the refs changed the outcome of more than just the
Seattle Green Bay game...but Monday Night Football is somehow too
important of a stage despite in the end, the truth remains, all
games are equally important.
First off, between
the Packers offense and the Seahawks offense, both teams honestly
deserved to lose. Green Bay, if they are supposed to be
amazing, should not be held to 12 points against the Seahawks.
On the other hand, Seattle cannot find a passing game that works due
to a nice blend of receivers not getting open and an offensive line
that still cannot offer solid protection play after play. To
be quite frank, as a Seattle fan, the division is going to Arizona
or the 49ers (probably 49ers and the Vikings game was a weird
fluke). The Packers, after looking like crap against the
49ers, and then after seeing Rogers sacked non-stop by both the
Bears and the Seahawks, are not going to get the division title away
from Chicago (and probably will really miss Flynn when Rogers
eventually breaks from all the sacks). So, for anyone who
likes to point out that this will change the feel of the post-season
and that this will rob Green Bay of another trip to January
play...no. The Packers are doing that on their own, with no
help (or hurt) from the refs. The Packers, just like the
Saints, are obviously not the same team they were last year.
Then again, isn't
that the truth of the NFL. Some dynasties last...but not many.
All it takes is the loss of one or two key players or coaches and
the world can change in a single season. I mean look what
happened to the Seahawks after they lost Hutchinson to the Vikings
in 2006. All of a sudden an amazing run game was gone, despite
Shaun Alexander still having a year or more left in his tank.
Look at what happened after any franchise QB retires or is lost
(Brady out for a year in New England, the retirement of Warner in
Arizona, the loss of Hasselbeck in Seattle, the loss of Favre in any
of the 50 teams he un-retires for and then retires again).
Football changes each season, so the Packers are, believe it or not,
NOT destined for the post-season just because they still have
Rogers. They have obvious problems in the O-line and this,
simply put, is what will keep them from the post-season. Also,
bad offensive play calling (first half last night) is not going to
make that blow any more gentle.
As for the refs.
Yes. They are bad. However, they still made a pretty
shabby pass interference call against the Seahawks that set up the
Packers to get their one touch down (by the way; they only got one
touch down and it was setup with a pretty iffy interference
call...see my previous paragraph). The final bad call is only
being noticed so much because it ended the game. If this call
came in the 1st quarter of a Sunday morning game, it would not be
the one to highlight the bad jobs the replacements are making.
If the Pats played on MNF, then the final field goal (I have yet to
see an angle that makes it look good; I don't think Belichick owes
any apologies) would be the play to point fingers. I'm not
excusing any of the bad calls...I'm just annoyed that the Seahawks
will be put in a place of shame for this, when so many other plays
could be pointed to that would put another team in the "shame".
Actually, if fans could remain logical (which goes against being a
fan, and I admit to this failing in myself), we would just remove
all emotions beyond those that fit; actually being sick of the bad
replacements. We also should remember that the replay guy and
a supervisor in the room with the replay guy are both NOT
replacements. In other words, the officiating is bad on both
regular and replacement levels. I will not even talk about how
refs have been bad when they are union (Super Bowl XL...another game
in which both teams played like crap and the refs were crap).
However, while
regular union refs can be bad, they sure kept the game closer to
reality...and they kept the game moving. I'm more sick of the
length of game increasing from confusion more than the bad
calls...but I still am quite sick of the bad calls. Then
again, maybe we just need to realize that the replacements are
jokes. I mean they are trying, but how good can you be when
some of the replacements are washed out from the LFL?
Yes...that LFL. Of course, the NFL needs to realize, in a
hurry, to cut a deal with the union refs, since each bad week will
lead to the union rightfully being able to demand more. How
much are you willing to bet that after this weekend and last night
that the union just upped its requirements for a new contract?
In the end, I
think we need to see that when any lockout of any form happens in a
professional sport, the entire season is a goofy thing.
Baseball once lost a post-season in the 1990's. Last season
the NFL had some extra early injuries that are probably quite
related to no minicamps and training. The shortened NBA season
last year started with some rather lame looking initial games while
everyone came back to their rhythm. Lockouts ruin sports for a
good year, so let's just sit back and get the entertainment we can
from the NFL. Even after the union refs are back, they will
need a week or so to catch up on the new rule changes for 2012.
So, let's just try to enjoy the game for now and know it will get
better in the future.
Malik |
Malik
(9/27/12)
When I got a launch 360,
on launch day, I was fortunate enough to never see a red ring of
death situation. However, three years after buying the console, I
did see my DVD drive go wonky. It reached a point where the console
would say an incompatible disk was in the drive until I opened the
drive, closed it, waited to see if the disk was recognized, then did
the process again for about 50 minutes. That was when I gave up and
bought a 360 Arcade edition console. It was the same 360, but with a
slightly newer chipset that was supposed to be RROD protected.
Last night, I saw
something I never witnessed first hand. I saw a RROD. I saw it on my
360. Then I saw a vision of saying "screw it" and not buying another
360...then I saw myself never playing Rock Band again, nor trying
some of the fun Arcade titles like Dust (need to get back to that
one), Shadow Complex, or anything the future might hold for me. Then
I saw a new vision of me saying "screw it" and dropping money on a
new 360. Yeah...I think the route I must go involves me dropping a
bunch of money at a time when I cannot afford it (a lot of medical
bills are in and others are coming).
I'll probably get
a refurbished original 360 after work tonight...if they exist.
Otherwise, I'm pretty much screwed since I'll be facing the issue of
an incompatible HDD from a fat 360 and no desire to blow $300 on a
slim 250GB. The sad thing is seeing how damned expensive a 360 when
it's so near the end of its life. Even more sad is when you consider
the price is this high when the console is this damned old.
Malik |