It's Football Season, MKF!

[woahnellie]

who dey!!! thank goodness. i don't think i would have been able to face tomorrow if we had lost again!

[gorn]

Cowboys won (my team), Titans won (local team - except for the years spent in DC, I always try to support the local team), and Colts (wife's team) play tonight. We're going to get a pizza and a bunch of beer & chips for the game; Mrs. Gorn only agrees to this on a Monday night when HER team is playing, but I'll take it whenever I can.

Our fantasy teams were matched up this weekend ... and I clobbered her mercilessly. She didn't take it personally, though, as I've clobbered everyone in the league for the last 6 weeks - 1st in ranking, 1st in points . I didn't think I'd do this good after the draft, but a lot of secondary guys like Jason Witten have really stepped up & delivered. Everyone thought I was stupid to draft a TE so early, but who's laughing now?

I know the Bengals are having a rough season, but I want to thank you Bengals fans out there for T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Your team doesn't win a whole lot, but it ain't this guy's fault - he's a TD machine! I love this man more than words can express, so much so, in fact, that I'm going to stop misspelling his name on-purpose from now on. If I have a son someday, I'm going to name him Houshmandzadeh Gorn. I kind of like the way that rolls off the tongue ... Houshmandzadeh Gorn.


No, Mrs. Gorn would never, never, ever agree to anything like that. But I can dream ...

[woahnellie]

This is a must win game for the Bengals. If we lose today it's pretty definite we are out of the play-offs. And we play against our division rivals, the Shitsburg Steelers. Can I get a big who-dey!!!!

[tazraven]

I watched the Ga-Fl game yesterday. Out of the last 17 years, we've only beaten the gators twice, and for the first time in 3 years, we beat them. It was a great game. UGA was tied or ahead for all of it, and the final score was 30-42. My fiance and I were cheering our butts off. Hell, we even listened to the game in the car on the way to the store. It rocked.

Then we watched the Gamecocks vs. Vols, since a couple of our friends like South Carolina. I have a question for college football fans. Are the gamecocks always that unpredictable? I mean, coming from a 0-21 score to tie it up in jus the third quarter, then going into overtime tied at 24, only to lose from a field goal. It was a good game, just very unpredictable.

Anyways, it was a very fun football day. I'm so glad I watched those games, and I think I may become an actual real-life (and my parent's would be clutching their chests in pain at this point) football lover. Go Dawgs! Woof woof woof.

~Sara

[dlline]

Well, it's 21-6 in the 3rd, so my Who-Dey is not optimistic, but I'll offer one out there anyway.

Who-Dey!

[woahnellie]

who-dey.....everybody

[gorn]

I was sorry to see the Bengals go down yet again ... but God bless T.J. Houshmandzadeh!! This guy is like some kind of fantasy football Messiah! He was my top-scorer for the week, ahead of Peyton Manning, Randy Moss, and the NY Giants Defense. Has a more beautiful man ever come out of the city of Cincinnati?

[EasierSaid]

What a weird football season so far. I admit to being less interested than usual this year - at least, it feels that way with a little less than half of the season done. The Niners are a mess - the season really is a wash, and I'm not ashamed to say that I think it's time to start looking to next year. Is Alex Smith the guy, or do they try and get one of the super-stud QBs going into the next draft? Can they get a go-to WR in the draft/free agency, or is that something that gets put off yet another year for defense or the O-line? A whole lot of questions, and quite honestly, I'm more interested in who the Giants are going to sign/trade etc. this winter then how the Niners are going to struggle through the next two months. It doesn't help that they never show the games in my new hometown, either. I'd probably care a whole lot more if I could watch the games - even in their gory glory.

I watched two games this weekend - the London game, and the Chargers game. The London game was interesting, despite the fact that the teams both played like crap (and blaming the field was pretty lame - like they never play on bad turf in the U.S. during their careers). Thought there'd be more soccer style chanting - it actually sounded a lot like a typical U.S. game - but still fun to watch, all the same. The Chargers game was just weird - fluke plays put them up 28-0 in the first quarter (or maybe second quarter?) and then the rest of the game was just... slow, the way blowouts usually are. LT did nothing, the Texans looked horrible, Rivers succeeded despite himself... weird, passive game.

Tonight is MNF, which is interesting because of the Green Bay angle (loved ones in Wis. have me paying closer attention than usual) and Denver (how much would it suck to be a Denver sports fan with the WS loss last night, only to then lose tonight? Ooof.). Just hope that it's at least competitive. Would be nice if the game filled my evening, somewhat.

Finally, my fantasy team turned into a juggernaut this week, absolutely throttling my opponent, while the gf's team continues to flounder. You know, with her team in the 0-fer column, I can't get too excited about my own team's success. Not because I'd feel guilty or anything, just, I honestly enjoy her winning more than having my own team win. It's hard to watch her get grumpier and grumpier as Sunday goes along - I'd rather see her smiling. Hopefully next week she'll notch a win. At this point, just one win would probably help a lot.

[gorn]

I can relate to your delicate fantasy football situation, EasierSaid. Mrs. Gorn is playing for the first time; she's 3-5 and placing 7th out of 12 ... but a couple weeks ago she was 11th out of 12. She was VERY depressed and talking about dropping out. I stepped in and helped her make a couple of decent trades, shuffled her team around, and she's won 2 of her last 3 games ... her only loss in that time coming to me (I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself). In contrast, I've been in 1st place almost all season, and I'm over 100pts. ahead of the guy in 2nd place. Anything can happen once you make the playoffs, granted, but it's been a nice easy ride for me so far.

Like you, I'm finding it's MORE fun when she wins than when I do. Last Monday night she went into the game winning by a handful of points, both her and her opponent with a couple guys left to play. Watching that game, cheering for her players, booing her opponent's players, everything coming down to the wire in an overtime win ... it was one of the best football nights I've ever had. The game meant nothing to my team, but cheering for hers WITH her was a blast.


In related news, she just picked up Vernon Davis as a replacement TE. It's the first 49'er either of us have had so far. I'm skeptical, but she says she has a good feeling about him. I don't really know much about San Francisco this year (not a good sign) except that Frank Gore is underperforming. I had 4th pick in the draft and had a shot at him, but I passed him over for Peyton Manning. Kind of wish I'd had the foresight to go for Tom Brady instead, but skipping Frank Gore & Shaun Alexander seems to have been a pretty good decision thus far.

My biggest disappointment this season (besides Mrs. Gorn's 1-5 start) - Cedric Benson. My Kicker outscores him every damn week.

[tarawhipped]

Tomorrow is the annual Michigan-Michigan State game, and as in years past, the tension level here in the homestead is rising, despite the fact that neither me or the missus went to either school. I first started watching football during the few years I lived in the Detroit suburbs, and naturally became a U of M fan. All was well until I went and married a girl from Western Michigan, whose father and sister are both MSU alums. Sometimes I wonder what bothers my in-laws the most: that I'm a dyke, a heathen, or a Michigan fan.

Go Blue!

-Cameron

[gorn]

I came into tonight's game 4 points behind, with nobody left on my team to play but Santonio Holmes. BAM!! BAM!! Two 1st-half touchdowns! What a guy! It's like he did it just for me ...

How 'bout that Jason Witten Sunday night?

[woahnellie]

oh please oh please can we win 2 in a row!! go bengals

[gorn]

Mrs. Gorn's fantasy team won, so there was great happiness in the Gorn household last night (my team won, too, but my team ALWAYS wins - it is no longer cause for great celebration). Green Bay Defense, the Bengal's Chris Henry, and Tony Romo were her big winners yesterday. She's still got Lendale White playing tonight, but that's just icing on her cake. If she can win her next 2 games - and she's got a pretty good shot at it - she'll be in our playoffs.

1st Place prize in our league is $400+ ... if I win, I'm buying the Nintendo Wii for Christmas.

[bookworm_willow1]

I hate to even admit to this, but I love football. This wouldn't be such a bad thing if I wasn't an Oakland Raiders fan who lives roughly 45 minutes from the stadium where the Cleveland Browns play! What's worse than that? Living a mile from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and within fifteen minutes of me is the history of professional football; Massillon Tigers, the inspiration behind the Cincinnati Bengals and the Canton McKinley Bulldogs... sadly my high school alma mater and the inspiration for the Cleveland Browns (Yes, this is why it's called the Dawg Pound)... and we should really teach them how to spell simple words like "dog". Yet, I remain the fan of a team which resides thousands of miles away in Oakland, California. But, one could say I don't really follow any Ohio team shy of the Buckeyes. After all, baseball is my favorite sport (then football) and I'm a fan of one of Cleveland's biggest rivals... the New York Yankees. Wonder why my favorites are on separate coasts?!

[EasierSaid]

What a jiffed up season, MKF! My Niners are beyond horrible, and though my fantasy team is currently rolling and will likely make the playoffs, I'm scheduled to play the big dog number 1 team in the first round, so I'm mentally preparing myself to lose (his best three players: Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Peyton Manning; mine: Adrian Peterson (single-game rushing record holder), Drew Brees and Maurice Jones-Drew). As you can see, the chances of me winning rely on all three of the Patriots, Cowboys and Colts making the playoffs and resting their offensive guys some. (Translated: I don't have a prayer.) I can say with all honesty that I'm more interested in the baseball off-season at this point; even baseball rumors that don't involve my beloved Giants.

About the Niners though... It's just been a train-wreck of a season. The bright side is that on the face of it, it seems to be mostly injury-related badness, so there's a great chance of bouncing back next season. I mean, Trent Dilfer and his 7 TDs/11 INTs isn't going to be starting next year, either because Smith will be back or they'll have a more competent back up, and Manny Lawson will be back sacking opposing QBs. If Smith can figure it out (finally) and they can shore up the defense a little more (another WR would be nice as well), the Niners can make some noise in the NFC West. The not-so-bright side, of course, is that though the 49ers pathetic season will net them a high draft pick, it's not their draft pick anymore because they traded it to New England (can they get any luckier?!). Ugh. There goes that WR I was hoping for... I just hope we don't embarrass ourselves down the stretch. Is that too much to ask?

[gorn]

If I were coach of the Cowboys, I would ban Jessica Simpson from Texas Stadium FOR LIFE. And when they finish that new stadium, I'd ban her FOR LIFE from there, too. There's no other excuse for the way the Cowboys played last Sunday - Jessica Simpson is the Yoko Factor.

In happier news, my fantasy team has advanced to the final Championship Game. I've gone from dead last the previous year to a shot at the Big Enchilada this year. Pretty sweet. Win or lose, I'm walking away with some coin in my pocket, but I've got a good feeling about taking 1st place ... though probably without the help of T.J. Houshmandzadeh. I know this is more heart-breaking to all you Bengals fans, but the man has not caught me a touchdown pass in like 4 or 5 games now. I don't dare sit him, but I'm no longer planning to name my firstborn child after him. Instead, I'll be naming him (or her!) Stecker Gonzalez after the only 2 guys on my team last week to put up any significant points (and I picked 'em both up THAT WEEK as free agents!).

[gorn]

Forgive the double-post.
In the rush of the holidays, I forgot to mention that my fantasy team took 1st Place. I'm using the prize-money to buy me a Nintendo Wii ... when they finally become available again in the US.

I'm guessing with the Bengals & the Niners done for the year there's not a whole lot of enthusiasm out there for the play-offs. Now that ktv isn't in New England anymore, I don't feel quite so bad saying I REALLY hope the Jaguars win this weekend.

Anybody watch the Seahwaks/Redskins game last weekend? On every commercial break, they played music by Seattle bands like Hendrix or Heart. It was kinda neat.

[EasierSaid]

Wow. I can't believe the Giants just won. Even though I didn't have a dog in this fight (and quite honestly, I really am not very fond of either dog), it was a great game to watch. Back-to-back Manning Super Bowls, Pats going 18-1, Tom Brady coming up short of the Great Joe Montana... crazy.

Several questions: 1) Why was Shockey up in a luxury box drinking cocktails instead of down on the sidelines? 2) Why isn't Belicheck fined for wearing cut-off sweatshirts every week? 3) How bad did it look for the Patriots to leave the field before the end of the game? 4) Who's going to Disneyworld? 5) Niners in '08?

[Headlessxenafan]

I'm amazed the Giants won as well.. But it was a good game and in the end it felt like the Patriots just gave up..

I think I have an answer to your one question EasierSaid.. There is some weird rule or something that says a member who is injured on on the injured reserve list or something like that isn't allowed to be with the team.. It happened to McNabb when he got injured and the Eagles went to the Superbowl.. they wouldn't let him there either.. But as for the other questions.. Who knows??

[MsKittyB]

Giants won the Super Bowl?! I seriously cant stop saying that. 2 minutes on the clock and they score?! Go Manning! That 45 yard pass was amazing. I'm happy...
I can say Patriots defense was strong. Some of Brady's throws were a bit off, I guess because he was under pressure.
But it was a damn good game!

[kisstheviolets]

i'd almost forgotten what it was like to be a heartbroken boston fan... thanks for the reminder tom brady. sigh.

[meretricious]

It's almost June, the NBA playoffs are a little less uninteresting than they usually are, hockey hasn't been interesting since before the season they canceled and no one noticed, and your favorite baseball team is on pace to be mathematically eliminated by the all star break. This can only mean one thing: It's time to start mock drafting your NFL fantasy team!

We've found a website we like for doing a quick draft almost anytime called http://fantasyfootballcalculator.com/. At 60 seconds a pick and computer control kicking in if someone times out twice, a complete draft takes about half an hour. I've been doing a ridiculous number of them, and I think i'm hoping to draft about fifth this year, though I drafted fifth last year and barely eeked into the play-offs.

Has anyone else caught the bug already?

[gorn]

Pre-Season started tonight, MKF!! We LOVE football season!! Got out my jersey and took my football down from the mantle (I cradle it like a teddy bear while watching the game). I confess it's a little hard to get too terribly excited about pre-season, but it's the first football I've seen since the Pro Bowl.

[Karmah]

I am just hopeing that Brett as a J E T can help to have a winning season

[woahnellie]

woah looks like another horrible season for the orange and black! well who-dey anyways!

[LesbianJedi87]

go seahawks go!

[gorn]

I feel your pain, Bengals fans ... this year don't look good. I will certainly be praying hard each and every weekend for the single greatest man in all of Cincinnati, though - yes, I'm talking about T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Once again he made the cut on my Fantasy team, and I'm expecting big things out of him (he and Randy Moss were my two keepers).

The rest of my team looks like this -->

QB - Eli Manning
RB - Thomas Jones
RB - Reggie Bush
WR - T.J. Houshmandzadeh
WR - Randy Moss
WR - Reggie Wayne
TE - Jason Witten
WR/RB - Jericho Crotchery
WR/TE - Patrick Crayton
K - Nick Folk
DEF - New England

Bench
RB - Felix Jones
TE - Zach Miller
QB - Aaron Rodgers
RB - Aaron Stecker
RB - T.J. Duckett
WR - James Jones


My WR's rock, but I'm a little weak at RB. I've got high hopes for Dallas rookie Felix Jones, though. We'll see.

Anyone else had their draft yet?

[Sandman78]

DALLAS COWBOYS!! Whoo Baby!

[EasierSaid]

Well, we had our draft last night and I'm a little apathetic about my team, MKF. I had the dreaded #7 pick, which isn't as bad as the dreaded #6 pick, but it's pretty darn close. Anyway, here's the team:

QB: Ben Roethlisberger
WR: TJ Houshmandzadeh
WR: Plaxico Burress
WR: Dwayne Bowe
RB: Marion Barber
RB: Ryan Grant
TE: Vernon Davis
K: Rob Bironas
DEF: New York Giants
Bench: Thomas Jones
Bench: Matt Schaub
Bench: Nate Burleson
Bench: Greg Olsen
Bench: Felix Jones
Bench: San Francisco

I feel pretty good about my RBs, I think I have good depth at the position, and think Barber can be a top-5 guy by the end of the season if Felix doesn't cut into his workload too much. I'm hopeful that Davis has a big year with Martz at the helm, and actually think SF has an underrated D, so having the toothless Giants D doesn't scare me too much. Two TEs... I think Olsen is a good trade chip if he plays like he can, or if Davis gets hurt again. (I wanted Witten, but he went way early.)

I feel like my worst positions are WR and QB. I worry that at WR TJ is going to get triple teamed with Johnson banged up, Plax takes plays off, Bowe's great, but who's going to throw to him? and Burleson... eh—just no depth, and there's nothing great left over to pick up. I think Big Ben could have a big year, but am not sold on Schaub at all. (In fact, thinking about dropping him for Campbell, who went undrafted.) Fingers crossed, but if I win I think it will be miraculous.

[JustSkipIt]

When the bus arrived downtown today to drop me at work, there were people set up for tailgating. Yes. At 7:00 in the morning for a 6:30 game tomorrow night. I think that we're playing East, South, Western Florida or something and are probably expected to win by 9,000,000 points or something.

Go Longhorns! (still, I'm not sitting in a lawnchair for 36 hours before the game).