After skipping last season due to an unfortunate accident of not giving a damn, I decided that I would come back in full force this season. What a crazy off-season it has been, too. New Orleans celebrating, no salary cap for Daniel Snyder to worry about, and contract disputes that are still ongoing. Not to mention Rex Jabba the Hutt Ryan and his Crystal Ball of Hallucinations. If this season doesn't live up to the lofty expectations this off-season has brought us, then maybe we shouldn't have a season next year, because the NFL let us down. Now let's get down to business.

(For the sake of this article, I will be going in Worst to Best record order)

St. Louis Rams (Last season: 1-15; This season: 3-13)
Reasons: LOL, LOL and LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Detroit Lions (Last season: 2-14; This season: 4-12*)
Reasons: * - They beat the Vikings once IF Brett Favre actually stays retired; they also face Tampa once.

Tampa...

So I decided that today, the celebration of the anniversary of my birth, I'd write a blog post. And yes, I know that's a weird way of writing birthday, but for some reason, I've always liked the way that sounds. Anyways...let's see what I've been up to.

I was going to see The Watchmen with friends this morning, but for some reason they thought this morning meant 8am. Theaters around me show Friday openings starting at 8am for some reason. Now, I don't know about you, but morning to me means wake up at 7am, hit the snooze button, hit the snooze button again, then sleep for another 20 minutes. So I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see it I guess.

I played some more Killzone 2 multiplayer today, and I'm getting the increased feeling that playing that game at a certain time of day increases the chances you'll play alongside those who don't know what they're doing. When a teammate who is a Tactician class asks 'what's a Tactician do?', you get the overwhelming...

So if you've been reading my blog, and know my passion for sports, namely...wait for it...FOOTBALL! you will know that I went to this past Saturday's NFC Divisional Playoff Game between the Arizona Cardinals with Jake Delhomme and the Carolina Panthers, who were without a Quarterback. Why do I say that? Well, anyway, I thought I'd share some pictures with everyone that I took. I only took 6 shots, and I thought I'd turn it into a little bit a story of sorts. But I thought I'd first start with the results of the game, namely one Jake Delhomme.

Well, I have my theory. Remember, 100% opinion, by me. Right now.


This guy has serious gambling debts.
...

So I decided to take a timeout from gaming posts to talk about sports again. I don't think many CAG's watch sports, or read about other CAG's ranting/discussing sports, if any blog posts of mine are any indication. And since College Football just ended and the 2nd round of the NFL Playoffs are starting today (I'm going to the Panthers-Cardinals game myself; except horrible, horrible cell-phone pictures showing Southerners arriving 20 minutes late to the game), I thought I'd discuss Football.


Looking back at the Pre-Season picks
For my division winners I was 4 out of 8, while I picked 6 of 12 Playoff teams (if you count division winners as playoff spots). I was right about Buffalo taking a step back, Jacksonville being in a Defensive and Disciplined mess, and while Denver posed a threat, Kansas City and Oakland were once again laughing stocks.

I was wrong about the Giants not being as good defensively this year, but I can just tout the easy schedule...

So I can't really think of what to do for a new blog post, so I just thought I'd rant a little bit. Everyone loves to hear people bitching on the internet, right? Of course you do. I guess I'll touch on 5 topics. Not too long, either. Keep in mind, they may not all be gaming related.


Button Mashing Events can go to hell
I've run into quite a few of these lately (Prince of Persia, LittleBigPlanet's new DLC pack, Chrono Trigger) and I've got to say these can just go to hell. They're not fun, and especially in a competitive sort of way, they don't work at all. I have problems with these, and even though some people say they're easy, using a table to push a button fast enough isn't conventional or my kind of easy. Get rid of them, or make them less stressful.

NFL Refereeing
(The next one will be gaming, don't fret)
This past weekend, the Chargers-Colts game went to Overtime, and I would say on a crucial third down play, the referees...

A short Spectacular this week. But clearly, this referee was paid off by LSU. Let's Watch! (Click on the link or this blog title to see it!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcdWdBgUBqw

Amazing!

The Cubs
Damnit to hell, Cubbies. How can you not win ONE game? ONE! How can you not win a World Series in 100 years!? 100! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! You suck. Here's is the bottom of the list in terms of sucky organizations and/or people (bigger # = worse):

98. - Uwe Boll (Up 1)
99. - Jack Thompson (Up 1)
100. - The Chicago Cubs (Down 4)

Pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject.

Terrell Owens
"Get me the ball. Blah blah blah. I want more touches. blah blah blah. I only touched it 17 times. blah blah blah. Selfishness = loss. blah blah blah.

97. - Terrell Owens (down 1)

The New York Mets
Back to baseball. Oh wait, the Mets don't play baseball.

96. - NY Mets (who cares?)

That's all I can think of right now.

This week in sports...

The US is not sucking it up at the Ryder Cup (so far)
After a single day in this year's Ryder Cup, the US is up on Europe 5 1/2 to 2 1/2 going into the weekend. The US is usually strong in individual matches, and Europe has benched Sergio Garcia & Lee Westwood for Saturday's matches. An interesting strategy for sure as Garcia has always come up huge in the Ryder Cup, and Westwood won 2 majors this year. But they undeperformed on Friday, which led to the change presumably. If the US can hold on, it'd be a rare win, and without the World's #1 player, it'd be an ever greater feat.

Vikings Trust Their Quarterback. No, not that one.
The Minnesota Vikings have benched the original starting Quarterback (Jackson) in favor of "seasoned" veteran Gus Frerotte. As a Washington Redskins fan who watched him play, I can assure you he's above average, but I think he might have more headbutts into cement walls than touchdown...

The fourth volume is finally here! Yes, I know there have been special editions, but those don't count in the grand numbering scheme of things. Anyway, let the world of sports discussion continue!

Lance Armstrong to Race in the 2009 Tour de France
...seriously? This can't be true, can it? *reads ESPN.com* what the hell? WHY? WHY can't athletes that retire stay retired? Did that single game of Brett Favre against the DOLPHINS make up his mind? This can't end well. Even if he wins, the controversy of him cheating to win will come up once again, and I'm not even sure he'll make it to the end, because they hate him over there, and they'll probably mix some drugs into his blood sample so they can say 'aha, he cheated. He obviously cheated all those times he won, too'. Well, guess what cycling fans? Everyone who cycles CHEATS. Cycling is tarnished forever, and not even this man winning the Tour de France again will change that fact. Stay home, Lance, stay home....

Hello and greetings Football fans. You know what time it is, that's right! It's NFL Kickoff time once again in the United States, and it is time for my world famous (ok, they're not that famous yet, but they will be. Mark my words) season predictions. Off to the races we go!

AFC East Champion: New England Patriots
- The inclusion of Bret Favre into the Jets lineup will make them a bit better this season, but that isn't saying much considering they're follies over the past 4 years. Buffalo will probably take a step back because of this and Miami...yeah... so I am going with Patriots to once again take the division crown here. This shouldn't surprise anyone, just be surprised if anyone else in this division makes the Playoffs.

AFC South Champion: Indianapolis Colts
- I am really torn here. I would say the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they are in a bit of a pickle right now. People aren't showing up for games down in Jacksonville despite their...

This volume of KBSS is special because I'll only focus on the Olympics this one time.

Michael Phelps - Olympic Sea God
That's what the wikipedia entry used to say for Michael Phelps. Why it was edited I don't know. After watching the replay of the 100 meter Butterfly, one word came to mind: "wow". Looking at the 2 lanes side by side from underneath the Serbian had it won until you saw these 2 great logs of American Pride come out of nowhere and outreach him for the Gold Medal. Truly, truly remarkable. The 8th Gold Medal was merely a formality as the US won the 4x100 medley by over a second, setting a new world record. He's clearly the best swimmer ever. Is it the best accomplishment ever? I'd still say Lance Armstrong's 7 consecutive Tour de France victories were more impressive. But this accomplishment is up there.

The Chinese want everyone else to Shut Up
Up to today, 77 protests have been filed about cheating. You know how many...

The 2008 Olympic Games
The Olympiad is officially underway, and amidst the promises of blue skies, the opening ceremonies quickly gave China back its' video game-esque brown skyline. One thing that struck me funny was that the world can be brought together by one thing, and one thing only: Radioactive Glow sticks. Seriously, I've never seen so many glow sticks in a single place before. The olympic symbol of the next olympiad will surely be the radioactive glowstick with eyes, arms and legs. World piece will finally occur if that happens. Oh, and the guy that lit the torch. He, officially, has the biggest balls in the world. I'm serious, he's afraid of heights, and he does THAT. Wow. If you haven't watched it, go to youtube, find it, watch it.

EDIT: NOW WITH VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlyjJhfMrVE

Farve-gate ends, no one cares
Brett Favre was traded to the New York Jets this past week, and now, no one cares (well, except...

This week the wide world of sports is focusing its' attention from the Pre-Madonna known as "The Brett Favre Story" and towards the Olympics. First things first though, Brett Favre has filed for reinstatement with the NFL, only 5 months after retirement. Doesn't look like he'll be getting that Cheese Scented Watch Green Bay promised him after all.

The Olympics are soon, and 3 things of note. First, on the American Gymnastics front, Paul Hamm is out of the games because of a hand injury (and from the pictures I've seen, a pretty pathetic injury at that). Secondly, the IOC changed their minds from reports last week, and Iraq can once again compete in this year's games. Why? I don't know. Probably a lot of backlash over the incident. But it's good to see those Iraqi athletes back in the games. Finally, because the Chinese have to be Communist Oppressors, China is planning to censor the internet during the Olympic games. What does this mean? Well, I don't...

The world of sports is uncanny, and today, the world is once again entranced by Brett Favre's undying need to play football (Clarification: American Football for our European friends) again. Today it was reported that he intends to report to Packers Training Camp when it starts next week. So rest calmly Packers fans, your team is once again being held captive by a Hall of Fame Quarterback, and a Madman.

Listen Brett, you retired. Called it quits, said you had enough. You're even on the cover of Madden for crying out loud. I'm sure some people want you back, but the majority of people want you gone. They're tired of the drama, the whining, the crying, and the nonsense about your retirement limbo. You made your decision, stick with it. And if you came back, you'd be a burden to the team. Not only would it be a media circus week after week, but team chemistry would certainly go down with you as a distraction, and in case you haven't noticed, cover deals for players...