Ducks v. Auburn, Championship Recap

Took a few days for me to gather my thoughts on the Big Game.  I went into the game with, in my head, thoughts that the Ducks could win, but in my heart, I couldn't believe that they would.  We're talking about my school here, where I spent four of the most formative years of my life, where I started becoming who I am today.  I watched the football team go from the depths of mediocrity to a chance to win a capital NC National Championship.  And as the game started, I didn't really want it to.  I was nervous as hell, but again, my head had convinced me that they could win, but in my heart...no.  I just wanted them to play well.  The last thing I wanted was to come to work the next day and listen to everyone tell me how badly the Ducks sucked and how they didn't belong there and that they were a fraud.

Naturally, I felt just about every emotion you could feel while watching a four hour football game:  frustration, elation, disappointment, grumpiness, a little bit surly, perhaps a few minutes of terror (not sure why on that one).  And at the end, my heart won out.  They didn't win, because cool things like that don't happen to me, but they were in it the whole game, and that took some of the sting out.  I REALLY wanted them to win, but just as much, I wanted them to show everyone that they were legit.  And they did that.  Which made it easier to take.

Next year, though, they need to win a BCS Bowl game.  Just sayin'.

As for the game itself, I think it's time for the BCS to eat the plate of shit it deserves and go away.  Five weeks between the last game and the bowl game meant that both teams sucked it, hard.  Neither offense was sharp, even though we were promised a shootout, points scored at a furious clip, blah blah blah (in case you're curious, no, none of the "experts" on television know shit).

I would have liked to have seen a game between the two football teams that finished the season, not whatever those two teams were.

So yeah, the quality of play sucked it; I still found it compelling, because I had a rooting interest in one of the teams.  And yeah, the broadcast was brutal...too many damn breaks; the whole game was played out in fits and starts.

So other than the fact that they lost, that the game play wasn't sharp and the broadcast went on and on, it was great!

But honestly, an unbelievable ride, all season long.  I'm glad I get to rest my heart now, though.  I could use a little less stress.

No more football for awhile.  I'll try to come up with more stuff, and I will post some old recaps over the next few months.  So you all come back now, you hear?

Reader's Corner

For those that don't know me, I'm a huge reader (not a great big fat person that likes to read, but a person that likes to read a lot).  Most years, I read about 40 or so books, which isn't gonna get me any rewards (do they give rewards for being a big ol' nerd?), but it's kind of a lot, if I do say so myself, especially with twin 6 year olds, a full time job, a wife, a puppy, and and and....

Anyway, I thought I'd take some time and talk about some book I recently read that I want to recommend.  Why would I do such a thing?  Because it's my blog, and that's what bloggers do...act like narcissists.

First up is "The Unnamed," by Joshua Ferris.  This is a GREAT book.  I read his first one, "Then We Came to the End" which was quite good, but "The Unnamed" is SO good.  In a nutshell, it's about a guy, married, one kid, lawyer, who suddenly, without explanation, begins to walk.  Middle of the night, middle of a meeting, whatever he's doing, his body takes over and he up and starts a walk.  Often he'll walk for miles and miles until his body stops working and he collapses and sleeps, where ever he might be.  

The novel is about this guy, with this affliction, and what it does to his life and his family and it is so profound, so good, that really nothing I can write here will do it justice.  It's funny, touching, frustrating, strongly-written.  It made me appreciate my life and want to work harder at being a better person, because whether it's some fantastical, unnamed affliction, a real-life tragedy, or just the march of time, so much of what is good in life can slide by or disappear completely, without being fully enjoyed.  It's that good and there isn't anyone I wouldn't recommend this book to.  A slam dunk, four star book and one of the very best I've read in a long while.

I'm also a big history fan, most specifically around the Civil War (my son's middle name is Lincoln), and I just finished "Manhunt:  The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson.  I actually read another book about the same subject a few years ago, but this book was really great.  It read so quickly, despite being close to 400 pages, and the small details that were added made this a very engaging read (for example, one of the actresses in Ford's Theater at the time, rushed to the box seats where Lincoln had been shot and asked if she could cradle the president's head, just so she could get some of the president's blood on her dress...then spent the rest of her life being tormented by people that wanted to see the dress).  That's good stuff, and the book is full of those kind of details.  Also highly recommended.

For fans of mystery novels, I read a few recently that couldn't be more different.  John D. MacDonald, considered one of the grandmasters of the genre, wrote a long series about Travis McGee and I re-read the first one, "The Deep Blue Good-By."  It's pretty dang good, and has a looseness about it, much like the main character, who lives on a big house boat in Florida.  A good book, that makes me want to read more, with a powerful ending.  If you like mystery novels of this ilk and haven't read any Travis McGee books, get on it.

Also read Philip Kerr's "Berlin Noir," which contains the first three Bernie Gunther novels.  These aren't great mysteries (the actual crimes aren't that important, and while I never guessed what was going on, that's only because I didn't try to), but the setting is REALLY interesting.  The first two books take place in pre-WWII Germany, as the Nazis are building up their power, and Gunther's two cases brings him into contact with them.  It's a fascinating look at that era, something that could be learned from non-fiction books, but not nearly as interestingly.  The third book picks up about two years or so after the war ended, as Germany is slowly pulled apart by all the countries that helped push out the Nazis.  And of course, those countries aren't any better than the Nazis were.  All three books are very good, if a little bleak.  I'm not a historical fiction kind of guy, but the setting of this one really sets it apart from other, similar books.

I guess that's enough for you folks now.  I will say that reading is one of those things that everyone should do more of...I've been reading constantly since at least sixth grade, and it's one of those things I couldn't imagine not doing.  Hopefully you feel the same.

 

Return of the Recapper: Bowl Edition (better late than never)

This isn't exactly timely, but figured I'd throw out a few comments on the bowl games involving Pac 10 teams that happened recently.

After the abysmal showing by Arizona, I didn't have high hopes for Washington vs. Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.  Instead, Washington showed surprising grit, gristle and gumption.  The took it hard to the Huskers, winning a tough contest, 19-7.  And despite all the excitement all year long for Jake "The Snake" (it's contractual that all Jakes must be nicknamed The Snake...I believe it's in the Constitution) Locker, he finished off the year pretty much like he played it...amazingly mediocre.  56 yards passing on five completions, but he did have 83 yards rushing and a touchdown.  So that was cute.  But a really surprising game, when you consider that earlier this year, Nebraska beat the Huskies 56-21.  I would say yeah Pac 10, but that's kind of dumb.  And also, not that excited that Washington might be good again.

As an aside, the Holiday Bowl was presented by Bridgepoint Education, which according to their website specializes in something called postsecondary education.  They have "regionally accredited" universities in beautiful Clinton, Iowa and Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Despite the fact that I did go to an actual college, I'm not sure I know what "regional accreditation" means.  I'm assuming that it means your degree would only be good in Clinton, Iowa...or maybe, if you're lucky, all of Iowa.  However, they appear to be doing quite well, since they get to sponsor a big ol' Bowl Game.  One more quick thing and I'll move on:  according to the website, the two colleges, Ashford University and University of the Rockies, has a total of 77,000 plus students, ground and online.  However, at both colleges, ground-only students number 640...so yeah, fake colleges.

In the Orange Bowl, Stanford (speaking of, you hear the head coach, Jim Harbaugh, might take another job?) got to play ACC champ Virginia Tech.  And they beat the snot out of them, 40-12.  Hard to believe that when I started these recaps, Stanford was unbelievably horrible and the butt of many a joke by yours truly.  Now, cowabunga...damn good.  Of course, if Harbaugh leaves as expected, forcing Luck to the NFL, and graduating a bunch of seniors, it's likely their run won't last.  But still, crikey.  Good.

Might as well go with a shout out, to our old pals the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.  Playing in the Sun Bowl, of all games, they renewed a rivalry with another formerly great team that is also delusional about their status in the game, Miami (Catholics versus Convicts...woo!).  And Notre Dame looked pretty damn good, stomping the Hurricanes 33-17.  The program seems to be on the upswing, winning their last five games and ensuring that their fans will be utterly ridiculous about their future.  Yay!