KINGS MANAGE HIGH EXPECTATIONS WITH BAD LOSS. ALSO, JOBU LEADS BUCKS TO BORING WIN OVER HOOSIERS AND THE DODGERS FINALLY DECIDE TO WIN THE WEST

For the first time in decades, the Kings began the season with as much hype surrounding the club as I can recall since 1988-1989. How did they respond? Well, let's just say newcommer Rob Scuderi and Drew Doughty, our top young defenseman literally gave the game away as the Kigns fell flat in a 6-3 opening night loss at Staples.

On the bright side, the big guns came out firing on Saturday. Frolov, Kopitar and Doughty all netted a tally for the Kings but you can't win your own defensemen put the puck right on the stick of the opposition at point blank.

One of the bright spot was the power play. The Kings were 3-3 with the extra attacker and the passing was crisp. JMFJ (Jack Mother Fucking Johnson for those of you not in the know...also known as the destroyer of worlds) nearly killed Ed Jovanowski on a devestating open ice hit in the second period.

The biggest bright spot of the night was the words that came from coach Terry Murray, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown. Words like unacceptable, no excuses..etc etc were used and honestly, this is refreshing to hear. The Kings have clear expectations. This is still one of the youngest teams in the NHL, but they are expected to not only make the playoffs this year for the first time in eight years, but also make some noise. In years previous, a loss like this would have been shrugged off as an "oh well" kind of thing. Not anymore and that is truly a great thing to hear.

In a side note: en route to the Kings game, I drove by the Honda Center where the Ducks were busy getting their asses handed to them by the Sharks. I of course, extended my middle finger to the place where some 17,000 Judas's (former Kings fans) were gathered to watch the best team Walt Disney could assemble.

In Bloomington today, the Bucks won a snoozer against the Hoosiers were the most exciting thing of the evening was watching Indiana head coach bill lynch nearly explode from anger after each whistle. While the Bucks were busy in Bloomington, a voodoo ritual was performed at Dave and Busters in Irvine, Ca where Jobu was offered a cigar and rum in hopes of Ohio State finding their passing game. Results were mixed, but rest assured, nobody dared drink Jobu's rum. It's very bad to steal Jobu's rum.....it's VERY BAD.

Finally, the Dodgers finally decided to nut up and win the western division title. I'm seriously trying to get excited about it, but I can't as they limp into post-season play. The fact that Dodgers fans are actually dillusional enough to think we have a chance against St. Louis makes me sad. Honestly, this Western Division title will mean nothing when the Dodgers get swept by the Cards in the first round. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm rarely wrong. I called it that Manny would return and kill the chemistry of the club. That already happened. Go Dodgers. Try not and get swept.

Ohio State Beats The Fighting Lumbergh's 30-0, but fans get ko'd by insomnia

It was a cold and rainy day in Columbus and the talking heads will tell you how this was a classic Big 10 battle consisting of three yards and a (in this case) cloud of AstroTurf. I, on the other hand, wil tell you that this was just another example of timid play calling, poor quarterback play and in many ways, Tressel ball at both it's finest and dullest.

Should I be happy that the Bucks pitched a second straight shutout and followed up a 38-0 win with a 30-0 victory over the Fighting Lumbergh's and held a fairly dangerous quarterback in check? I suppose.

The silver lining in this win was the inept play calling of Tress and the poor execution of TP when he was called on to make the plays. I truly regret that I did not elect to DVR this game because it would have been the perfect cure for insomnia. It's sad that the most exciting part of the afternoon took place during the pre game warm ups when the Bucks nearly started a riot with the Fighting Lumbergh's at the 50 yard line on top of the block O.

You can defend Tress's timid play calling all you want saying that "well, it was a ugly and rainy day out there and you can't be airing it out like that." However, there is NO EXCUSE for ending the first half with ZERO yards through the air and electing to attempt the forward pass TWICE in the opening half. Honestly, this tells me something. Either Tress is doing his best to bring back the Nebraska playbook of the 80's and 90's or he just doesn't believe in Pryor.

Given the fact that JT had a very wide open playbook in 2005 and 2006 and coached a dynamic Heisman winning trophy quarterback in 2006 and the poor decision making TP has shown I think JT just simply doesn't trust Pryor at all. The thing that concerns me the most is that you really just don't see the improvement in Pryor from game to game. I certainly think he has actually taken a step BACK from last season and is truly a cause for concern. The fact that Ohio State already has a five star quarterback recruit in the mix for this year and is going after a second one may indicate Tress believes Pryor just isn't what he hoped for. Only time will tell.

As for the defense, this unit may by the best silver bullet defense since 2002. In just his third career start, Brian Rolle has begun to establish himself as the next "it" linebacker at OSU. Rolle is part of the recent recruits from Florida and he has that "Florida Speed" and showed it again today when he damn near out ran the entire Fighting Lumbergh's on his interception.

Really, outside of Chekwa, I don't see any holes in this defense now that ARuss is safely tucked away on the bench. It will be very interesting to see what happens the rest of the year. It's clear Penn State isn't what it was cracked up to be. Those three opening games against cupcakes masked many of the chinks in their armor. Ohio State has four tough games left. Two on the road, two at home and with Penn State's loss, the game of the year in the Big 10 could very well be that Iowa visit to the horseshoe in late November.

The Bucks have a championship caliber defense, there is no doubt about that. The real question is can Ohio State score enough to win?

Tuesday afternoon quarterback

To lazy to post anything on the weekend and to stunned to find out that a team that shut down the nations top rated offense and passer on Saturday actually fell two spots in the polls. I guess a 38-0 shutout isn't enough to impress anyone and is in fact, looked down on.

Anyway my random collection of thoughts:

- Look past the two TD's and career high passing yards TP put up on Saturday. The kid still looks incredibly timid at times, continues to throw off his back foot (often times into double and triple coverage). He needs to learn that this isn't NCAA 2010 and stop forcing plays and causing turnovers. It's all good when I am on my PS3 and running Colt McCoy all over the place making the impossible possible, but not something I want to see my starting QB do time and time again.

- The defense continues to play well. No complaints here. Brian Rolle continues to impress me and I am still very relieved to see Jermaile Hines in at safety with Anderson Russell safely tucked away on the sidelines. I don't know of any post route that can burn him there, though I am sure he's working on it.

- I've come down from the ledge over the SC game. Afterall, Im used to heartbreak. I am a Buckeye and a Kings and Dodgers fan. I'm used to having teams rip my heart out (or not making the playoffs in almost a decade). Still, I think JT needs to find a new OC and really woudn't mind if he suddenly retired. Looking at the game three times, I firmly believe that if JT called a good game, Ohio State cruises to a 14+ win over SC.

- You can never count me as one of those people who fell in love with Boom Herron. He looks terribly slow to me. I thhink Boom is a good change of pace back as he's been in the past, but I don't think he's someone you can live with getting 20+ carries. I'd like to see more of Jordan Hall and less of Boom.

- Saine's found a nice little niche as a WR\RB.

- I've seen enough Nascar commercials to last me a lifetime. Also, whilst watching a Buckeye game, I'd like to hear less Nascar talk. I've absorbed far too much Nascar and Danny Hamlin information.

- Why did the Dodgers get Jim Thome?

- The Dodgers will break my heart in October. Count me ready.

- Kings training camp opens. I am confident that this group will in fact end an eight year playoff drought and could even make some noise in the playoffs. JMFJ is the only wolverine I'd ever cheer for, but, that's why he's Jack Mother Fucking Johnson.

- I missed Gary's Steve Rehring tribute jersey on Saturday. Frankly, I think Gary needs to get that thing autographed by the man himself, though that may require a trip to the Diamond Cabaret in Dublin....we'll that's not a bad thing.

- The Fighting Lumberg's come to the shoe on Saturday. Here's hoping I hear Bill telling Juice "Yeah, if you could learn the forward pass, that would be greeeeaaaaaat" rather than watching the Fighting Lumberg's dance on the Block O whilst celebrating the biggest upset in the NCAA since well, whoever upset USC. Many congrats to Petey for once again choking a game away to an unranked team. I love watching USC play scrubs because really, you never know which one they are going to lose to. Does this mean U Dub does not appear on the USC "Conquest" list for the year?

Ohio State - Navy 9-5-09

Ok Buckeyes, how does a 16 point lead against Navy come down stopping Navy on a two point conversion? In the almost four hours since the end of the game, i've come down from the ledge and I am busy listening to the SEC and Pac 10 mouth pieces calling out the team and coaching staff. Frankly, if JT had kicked the damn field goal and put the game out of reach, we wouldn't be here. Ohio State does not have the luxury of winning these types of games. People look the other way when Fresno State comes into LA and lights up the Trojans and it takes a USC miracle to pull off the win. It looks the other way when a 43 point favorite loses to Stanford. It will not look the other way when you nearly blow a 16 point lead.

Yes, Navy is a very good team. Yes, they are ranked 36'th in the country and have made six straight bowl. However, there is no excuse for what took place today.

Offense:
The offense played very well. Dare I say that Brandon Saine shined more than Boom Herron? Yeah, he did. It's a fantastic thing to see the new corp of wideouts run routes PAST the third down line. I gotta say this group is much, much better. Also, does it say something that Ray Small didn't smell the field today and watched true freshman make catches? Yeah, it does. Thanks Ray for your outstanding career. Now, please learn to properly take my order when I roll into BK next time. The offensive line was solid, especially Justin Boren.

Grades:
QB: B+
WR: B+
OL: B-
TE: A

Defense:
Um, really.....Anderson Russell, could you please learn how to guard a post route? You got burned by USC, Penn State and Texas last year and the mighty passing game of the Middies burned you to. Get your head out of your ass or gtfo the field.
The linebackers and ends played well. The DT's? Well, getting blown off the ball by guards that are literaly 1/2 your size doesn't bode well.

Grades:
DL: D-
LB: C
CB: C-
S: F

Coaching:
JT both amazed and frustrated me....much like normal. Rolling out TP and using play action early and often was brilliant. As usual, he didn't' show much, I guess saving his hand for next week. On the other hand, just when you want the JT of old to show up and kill the clock, JT does his best Steve Spurrier impersonation and is still throwing the ball with under six minutes to go in the game. JT also summoned his inner Pete Carroll and went for it on 4-2 when he should have kicked a field goal to put the game away.

Grade: C-


Ok boys, it's time to get your heads out. Next week, no excuses. Three years of agony, one chance to redeem yourselves. Rise up or fold. The choice is yours. Go Bucks.

25 Random Facts

From Facebook


1) I hated my grade school. I hated going to school because I felt a lot of the teachers there had absolutely no business teaching. To this day, I cannot stand my eighth grade teacher who told my parents I had no business going to Crespi, that I would flunk out and that I should go to a vocational school instead. Thank God I found some actual teachers at Crespi.

2) While I hated grade school, I am forever thankful that my parents sent me to Our Lady of The Valley instead of Saint Joseph the Worker. OLV was much further away from our house, but I’d be minus my best friend Gary.

3) I love going over to the Svolos’s. I spend more time over at the house with them then I do with my parents on Thanksgiving, Christmas etc. I can go over there and just be me and relax. It’s my second family and there isn’t much I wouldn’t do for any of them.

4) I listen to country music. Brad Paisley is probably my favorite. “I'm Still A Guy” is probably my theme song at the moment. Toby Keith is also up there. I also love classic rock and 80’s metal bands.

5) I hold firm to the notion that Stevie Ray Vaughan is the greatest guitar player ever.

6) I tend to say things just to piss people off. Example: growing up, I admit, I was a closet Steeler fan. However, I openly supported the Browns just to spite my parents and my dad’s side of the family. When I was living in Pittsburgh and going to Duquesne, I’d rip the Steelers every chance I could just to stir the pot.

7) Speaking about that, I had to barricade myself in my room for a day after the Steelers lost to the Charges in the AFC championship game in ’94. Apparently, Sean, Ryan et al didn’t like what I was saying….lol. My loud mouth also nearly started a riot at a Duquesne football game that was being broadcast on the original ESPN 2 on October 31, 2004. The Dukes were laying an ass whopping on Saint John’s and I started getting on this Italian kid from St. John’s. I started calling him every name in the book and he finally had enough and started coming towards me and had to be restrained. I also recall yelling crap at Jose Offerman while the Dodgers were in Philly one day that even had the notoriously harsh Philly fans gasping.

8) Looking back, my years at Duquesne were my most enjoyable years of my life. It’s too bad my father’s side of the family were being such pricks back then. Part of the reason I went there was to spend time and be around them.

9) I wish I hadn’t been so anal retentive about my grades in high school and college. But, I guess when your eighth grade teacher calls you dumb, you kinda want to shove it in her face. Still, I feel like 10 years or so of my life was spent in front of a book and that I didn’t stop to smell the roses.

10) I am sad that either side of my family doesn’t get together at all. We are all so spread out that we rarely spend time together. That said, I always felt for some reason that my grandparents didn’t like me because they never came to visit me as often as my other cousins. I know it's not true, of course.

11) I was a life-long Penn State fan…..until September 1993. My buddy Tim was going to Ohio State and came up to Pittsburgh for OSU’s first game of the year our freshmen year. We went to the Pitt-OSU game and I was stunned to see just a sea of Scarlet and Gray outside the stadium. We went in and Pitt Stadium had at least 50,000 OSU fan’s there out of the 75,000 seat capacity. Joey Galloway took the opening kickoff and ran it 104 yards for a score. OSU wound up winning 70 something to 3. The following week, I went to a game in Columbus with Tim and was taken in by the atmosphere and have been hooked ever since.

12) I didn’t feel right rooting for a school I didn’t go to, so that summer, I went back early and took some summer classes just to say I went there. I wound up doing that every summer thereafter.

13) I have been fortunate to see many OSU games in person over the years, but two stand out:A) The 1997 Rose Bowl. After Jake Plummer drives ASU down the field for a go ahead score with 1:40 to go in the game, Joe Germaine drives OSU down the field in the closing minute of the game and David Boston puts us up by 4 with 24 ticks left…..no national championship for ASU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inT3Kbmut10B) Michigan – OSU 2004 in the shoe. 37-21 Ohio State wins. I’ve never witnessed a louder game than that. My ears were ringing hours after the game.

14) I own two handguns. Anyone breaking into my place is getting a full clip into the upper torso.

15) I have been known to enjoy a nice glass or two or four or five or half a bottle of Jameson.

16) I fully support the war on terror. I hold firm to the notion that you should kill those who wish to do you harm before they can do the same to you. The US should just let Israel wipe them all out for us. Honestly, if I was president on September 11, 2001, I’d have been hard pressed not to make the forecast for September 12 in every middle eastern city call for extremely bright sunshine with temperatures reaching 3,000 F.

17) I do not believe in global warming. It is the biggest fraud of the last 10 years. In the 1970’s it was global cooling, then it was acid rain, then it was the hole in the ozone. Now, it’s global warming that is going to do us all in. Whatever. At least Al Gore made his $100,000,000 of you people that actually fell for it.

18) I stand firm to be fact the Bernie Nicholls the greatest LA King of all time, followed closely by Lucky, then Dave Taylor and Marcel Dionne. Notice the complete absence of the Great Fraud? Also, Kelly Hrudey is still the greatest Kings net minder of all time.

19) I’ve run my own fantasy baseball league for the past 24 years….do the math.

20) I hate California. I want to get out of here badly.

21) I am still dealing with the whole Ami situation. While I know it was really for the best, it’s still hard to deal with. I was happiest for my parents who I think finally thought this was it. The happiest day of my life was December 31, 2007 when we all went to Malibu for lunch.

22) That said, the biggest alarm for me that Ami might not be right for me came the that night when she nearly killed herself taking a shot of whiskey at the Svolos’s. Any girl who can’t shoot whiskey is not the right one.

23) I am loyal to my friends. Matt, Gary, Tim, Jocko, Jimmy, Janet and Torie are the siblings I never had. I’d go to the ends of the earth for any of them.

24) I am happy to have to friends in law enforcement (LAPD and CHP). The perks are amazing. The coolest moment came this past October when a bunch of drunk SC shit heads were chanting 35-3 to us. Granted, doing that with about 1,000 drunk and pissed off OSU fans around you is probably not the brightest idea, but what happened next was awesome. Jocko, at my request, takes out his off duty sidearm and starts unloading the hollow points from the clip and placing them on the bar and starts passing around his LAPD ID. Those fuckers got the message and bailed in under two minutes.

25) I like the fact that my dad and I are starting to understand each other. My whole life has been lived trying to please him. He is a big reason why I am a staunch conservative Republican, why I love my country and everything else that I am. I just wish pops was a bigger part of my life earlier and we didn’t wait until now to do it.

Most Painful Sports Memories

OK, being someone who may or may not take it a little to seriously and because I am in a crappy mood, my list of my all-time most painful sports memories:

- 1993 Stanley Cup Finals. Kings up in the series 1-0. They were leading 2-1 with under 2 minutes to go in the game. Then God said "FU son, no cup for you". McMeathead get's caught with an illegal stick and the Canadians get a PP and score (oh, btw, nevermind the fact that John LeClair was in the crease, btw. Assholes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9ulEiSwx0w&NR=1

- 1997 Ohio State vs. Michigan - Another classic Joe Cooper loss to scUM. Cost us a national title.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJjG-XCFfAE

-1995 Ohio State Vs. Michigan. Tim Biakabutuka. Im not saying anything else, other than another lost natioan title. Had no buisness losing to them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkZPug8NLXo

-2006 National Championship Game. s,fldsfdsfjkdsfdsjf. Definately my most painful. I only remember crying alot on the way home from the game watch and waking up 18 hours later with a empty bottle of whiskey.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kSt4sYfDfE&feature=PlayList&p=2EE09208A04FF3D0&index=0&playnext=1

-2007 National Championship Game. Up 10-0 then......slkfdspldssdfkj
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CJSByVVmUw&feature=related

2008 Ohio State Highlights

Beanie hurdles another defender, later in the year against Illinois.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzZf8fgLhQA&feature=related

- TP caps off The Drive, against Wiscy in the closing minuteshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4UZ931qPb4

- TP blows up a poor safety. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ynPh4tF5Bc&feature=related

- TP catches a TD pass in the closing minutes of the Fiesta Bowl to put us ahead.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrZYZktLdns&feature=related

And hell, anything else I missed:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBP-UHVBWbg

10-3. 2 tough losses against PSU and UT (games we should have won) and a game against SC we win with Beanie, I don't care what people say. Oh well, SC's beat down is comming up in the Shoe. Both the team and the SC fans...it's on. Hey Petey, good job trying to throw a fade route on fourth and three rather than punting when your up 35-3 in the fourth quarter. No, nobody has forgotten. Classless asshole.