Quick Post: On Wisconsin

Alright Wisconsin.  I don't like you, and you don't like me, but, for this one time, we're in this together.  You beat Nebraska, and we're good.

That stupid Pop Tart of a mascot better do a lot of pushups Saturday.

I can't stand to live in a world where Husker fans are happy, so I need you, Wisconsin, to crush their spirits in NU's first ever Big 10 game.  You've got the whole of Buff Nation on your side.  I just want to tell you good luck, we're all counting on you.

Oh, and Fuck the Huskers.  Old habits die hard.

Friday Beer Post: 2011 Gameday Beer-o-the-week - WSU Edition

Each week throughout the football season I'm going to suggest a good beer for the ubiquitous pre-game tailgate. Let's be honest, with tailgates it's not always top quality that you're looking for. To steal a phrase from the heinous beer terrorists at Budweiser, you want "drinkability." (or what a real beer connoisseur calls "a session beer") So, be warned, these may not be "the best" beers around. But, in the words of Dave Chappelle as Samuel L. Jackson "IT'LL GET YOU DRUNK!" 

I doubt I will have any beer at the tailgate tomorrow.  Shocking, News-at-11 level shit, I know.  I just won't physically be able to partake in my normal tailgate routine.  That's because tonight I will be doing my best to try each and every one of the 2,400 beers at the Great American Beer Festival, and the hangover tomorrow morning will be just short of debilitating.

GABF, 30 years a part of the Colorado craft brewing scene, is like the Super Bowl of beer.  If you haven't been, the best way I can describe it is to have you imagine Heaven, in all of its glory and splendor, and then cram it into a convention center.  I've been 3 times, and every time I enter the main hall I swear I can hear the faint sound of angels singing.

*cue the angelic choir*

Over 450 breweries bring the best beer that America has to offer to the Mile High City, and, over the course of 3-days, invite anyone smart enough to grab a ticket ahead of time to come and have a taste.  One ounce at a time, beer enthusiasts from across the globe slowly whittle their way through some truly spectacular stuff.  It's a one-of-a-kind experience to watch 40,000+ people slowly get sloshed on some of the best beers in the world.

Since tomorrow morning will have to be a very quiet and sober experience, this evening will serve as my tailgate for the game tomorrow.   In respect to all of the beers I can wait to taste, I'm not going to single out any particular beer for the week.  Accordingly, I'm naming each and every one of the hundreds of beers I'm about to sample this evening as my tailgate beers-o-the-week.

I had screwed up this year; tickets sold out before I could get my finances in order.  Luckily, I got friends in low places who know how to procure items when needed.  For the low, low price of free, I get to attending the festival this evening.  THANKS RICO, YOU FUCKING ROCK!

Happy Friday!  Go Buffs, Beat the Cougars!

Washington St Preview: The Cougars are here, and they brought a flag.

Better late than never, right?  Interestingly enough, I think this version is better than the one that was deleted.  Second passes seem to always garner better results.  Go figure.

Washington St seems to operate in some sort of cone-of-silence; far removed from the center of the Pac-12 universe, and situated on the far eastern edge of the state, the Cougars seem to be afterthought in conference goings-ons.  Hell, outside of the annual Apple Cup game with UW-Seattle, I never hear much from these guys... except when ESPN's College Gameday comes on, of course.

For years, all you would have to do is turn on Gameday to be exposed to the dedicated WSU fanbase.  Invariably, a Washington St flag would be situated somewhere behind the head of CU alum Chris Fowler, begging you to ponder the question, "Why Washington St?"

It's a testament to the dedication and passion of a fanbase that is largely forgotten in the national landscape.  The tradition, started by WSU alum Tom Pounds, is now a ubiquitous part of Saturday mornings, and really is all WSU has a reputation for.  I suppose if it was a group of Alabama or the Ohio State fans, members of a large, and douchey fan base, I'd find the tradition annoying.  But since it's representing a relative BCS minnow like WSU, I find it kind of cool.

Good on ya, WSU fans!  You're doing yourselves and the rest of the Pac-12 proud.

--

CU will officially start the Pac-12 era against Washington St on Saturday afternoon.  Kick-off is set for 1:30.  If you're still hungover from attending the Great American Beer Festival, and can't find it within yourself to man-up and make it to Boulder, the game can be seen on FCS-Pacific.


Click below for the preview...

Site News: I fucked up

You know that Washington State preview, the one I worked on til 2 in morning last night? IT GONE! Deleted by ctrl-z fail.

After I finish slitting my wrists, I'll get to re-writting all of that bullshit. Look for it later today.

Quick Post: Pac-12 preview bullshit

I continue to be amazed by the lack of imagination used by preview magazines.

Kensler noted in the Post today that the trend amongst preview writers is to stick CU at or near the bottom of the Pac-12.  My guess is that this is just left over habit from their football previews, 'cause CU won't nearly be that bad.  I'd probably agree with the writers had CU not grabbed three quality transfers (Brown, Adams, and Chen) last season to help fill out the roster.

Will there be a drop off?  Sure, but this program isn't finishing last in the exceedingly average Pac-12.  I know these guys don't know us, and hadn't watched us previously, but this is garbage.

WTF Wilner!  You had us 9th back in May (which was already bullshit).  What happened between now and May to drop us to 11th?

BTW, the Pac-12 released their basketball prospectus.  You can read up on it here.

Quick Post: Guy on a Buffalo Pt 2

OH YOUR GOD!  EDSBS (dply on Allbuffs had it as well) has alerted me to the emergence of "Guy on a Buffalo" pt 2!

Check it out:

This week, G.O.A.B. punches a cougar IN THE FACE!  How appropriate!

Apparently, these are scenes cut from the 1978 movie "Buffalo Rider."  I have never, EVER, heard of this thing.  You can, thanks to the magic of teh intertubes, watch the whole movie on Youtube.  Thank you internet gods!

Moneyball review

Since football season is all about waiting for something to happen, I went to see the Brad Pitt vehicle 'Moneyball' the other night.  It's a good flick, but ultimately flawed.  Here's my review:

I wanted to love Moneyball, I really did.  The book the film is based off of was one of the defining sports reads of my life (while I still disagree with much of it), it's a baseball movie (I'm a sucker for baseball flicks), and it stars Brad Pitt fer chrissakes ('Bon-jer-no').  I am, decidedly, this movie's target audience.  And yet, in retrospect, the film wasn't all that good.

To be clear, I had a great time watching it.  I got more chuckles out of the subtle jokes than many in the theater did, I was enthralled by the machinations of a clubs front office, and I ate up the beautiful presentation of the game I love.  Unfortunately, as a film, this beast was doomed from the start.

I could sit here and get picky, that Billy Beane would never have gone to the Indians offices to discuss a mid-level trade (where, in the film, he discovers the fictitious Peter Brand) or that the A's had built the "moneyball" system into the organization in the years prior to '02, but that would be nearsighted of me.  Ultimately, this film fails because it has nothing to build to.  

The character study of Beane, the acerbic A's GM, is brilliant and compelling (mostly 'cause Pitt is a fantastic actor), but there is no larger story arc.  The A's of the early 2000's are interesting only in respect to their ability to root out a store of under-valued talent that professional baseball had essentially never tapped.  While their example ushered in a new era of player evaluation and development, they lack the ultimate success, or shocking failure, that makes for a good story.  Outside of "Billy being Billy," there's really nothing to this film.  

Pitt is fantastic as Beane, yet he's driving the film to nowhere in particular.

The movie starts with the pain of losing to the Yankees in October. The audience is treated to moaning about how unfair the system is, and that the A's of the world have no shot against the villainous Yankees and their piles of cash.  Yet, when it comes time to resolve the story, the Yankees are nowhere to be found.  Instead, the climax of the tale ends up being an early September game against the lowly Kansas City Royals, in which the A's blow a 11-run lead, only to triumphantly walk-off... against the fucking Royals.  

Scott Hatterberg, played charmingly, yet briefly, by Parks and Recreation favorite Chris Pratt, hits his "dramatic" home run off the "great" Jason Grimsley.  I'm supposed to be entertained?  It's fucking Jason Grimsley!  I cannot stress this enough.  Beating the Royals during the century's first decade, no matter the context, does not make for good drama.

Pratt is awesome, but his climactic home run struck me hollow.

Maybe that's just reality letting down Hollywood.  The 2000's A's, despite plenty of against-the-grain success, never really achieved anything.  While in the book Beane rails about how foolish "old-school" GMs like My White Sox own Kenny Williams are, Beane never really had ultimate success to latch onto (While Williams, notably, did).  The truth is that Moneyball, or essentially a new way of evaluating talent, only granted the "have-nots" a few years of sneaking into the playoffs before the "haves" caught up to what was happening.  In retrospect, maybe the story should've been about futility; the ultimate tragedy of trying to pursue the Sisyphean task of trumping the Yankees with a sub-$40 million payroll. 

Regardless, Pitt is fantastic, and the flick is compelling enough to hold your attention throughout it's over 2 hour run-time.  See it, but don't be surprised if you find the final 30 minutes to be anti-climactic.