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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

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