31 January 2015
Superbowl Numbers
30 January 2015
Tom Brady vs Russell Wilson
29 January 2015
"Wickenburg Is a Total Loss"
27 January 2015
Awesome-er
26 January 2015
Rebecca Lobo's Top 5
Her top two are the expected, but check out number four!
Labels: college basketball, UConn basketball
25 January 2015
Garry Gilliam
Very nice story about Garry Gilliam the tight-end-turned-tackle who caught the fake field goal touchdown pass against Green Bay.
When Gilliam roared at the screaming fans in the south end zone after the greatest play of his remarkable life this past weekend, an entire community in Pennsylvania rocked like it was CenturyLink Field East.
“I knew he was lined up on the left side on their field-goal team, and I could see through the screen he was going out for a pass,” said Dennis Moore, Gilliam’s tight ends coach, javelin coach, anatomy and physiology teacher and still great friend from The Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
“I jumped off the couch. It was really fulfilling to see.”
Jared Ross at The Milton Hershey School loved Gilliam’s play, too.
Jared is a ninth grader at the cost-free, private residential school for underprivileged children. That’s where Gilliam literally lived and learned from when he was 7 years old through his high school graduation.
When Gilliam roared at the screaming fans in the south end zone after the greatest play of his remarkable life this past weekend, an entire community in Pennsylvania rocked like it was CenturyLink Field East.
“I knew he was lined up on the left side on their field-goal team, and I could see through the screen he was going out for a pass,” said Dennis Moore, Gilliam’s tight ends coach, javelin coach, anatomy and physiology teacher and still great friend from The Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
“I jumped off the couch. It was really fulfilling to see.”
Jared Ross at The Milton Hershey School loved Gilliam’s play, too.
Jared is a ninth grader at the cost-free, private residential school for underprivileged children. That’s where Gilliam literally lived and learned from when he was 7 years old through his high school graduation.
Labels: Seattle Seahawks
24 January 2015
Balalaika
I'm watching Doctor Zhivago and I have a sudden craving for Russian folk music:
23 January 2015
Queens
22 January 2015
From Field Gulls
How the Seahawks saved their season in 6 minutes
The wild finish to the NFC Championship game will go down as one of the most unlikely and unbelievable comebacks in NFL history. The Seahawks erased a 16-point second-half deficit -- the largest comeback in championship game history -- including a 12-point Packer lead with under three minutes to go. Only twice before in postseason history has a team overcome a 10-point deficit under three minutes and gone on to win.
Down 19-7 with 3:52 remaining, just about everyone had given Seattle up for dead. To that point in the game, Russell Wilson was living a nightmare, and despite coming into the game with one postseason pick on 152 attempts (the lowest interception rate in NFL postseason history), he'd thrown a career-high four picks and had only completed 8 of his 22 attempts for 75 yards.
But, that's when an improbable chain of events would kick into motion. From that point on, Wilson would finish out the game 6-of-7 for 134 yards with a touchdown pass, a touchdown run, and a successful 2-point conversion.
Seahawks-Packers NFC Championship Game: Six early moments when the NFCCG was unlost
For years to come, we will celebrate the late-game heroics that improbably chucked the Seattle Seahawks into Super Bowl XLIX. (Which is an event that we did not collectively hallucinate. You will not be waking up from this nightmare-turned-wet-dream seconds from now, with specks of sleeps in your eyes and the calendar plunked open to Sunday, January 18, 2015. Relax. R-E-L-A-X. If that were going to happen, it would've by now.)
The things that happened, happened.
The Jon Ryan touchdown pass. The onside kick. The Beast Mode go-ahead TD. The two-point "Hell, Mary" conversion. Overtime. The big-play offense finally XLIXing. The Sickest thRoW. The ensuing loss of mind.
Like 43-8, those things will never unhappen.
But without six earlier events, six largely forgotten events, there is no comeback. There is no Improbable 8:30, as Kenneth put it yesterday. There is no perfect pandemonium, no blissful bedlam -- no impending invitation to immortality.
The Better Team
Stop the presses. The Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl, thanks to a sequence of events every bit as improbable as a randomly-selected lineman being named "Garry Gilliam". Which is to say, the external observer had no means of predicting it. But Garry never had a doubt.
A debatable, and herein to be debated, sentiment among some Green Bay players and fans is that "the better team" lost Sunday's NFC Championship Game. And they aren't referring to a team which is proven better over the course of the season having an off day (a distinction that clearly belongs to Seattle), they mean that the losing team actually outplayed the winning team.
Did they?
The wild finish to the NFC Championship game will go down as one of the most unlikely and unbelievable comebacks in NFL history. The Seahawks erased a 16-point second-half deficit -- the largest comeback in championship game history -- including a 12-point Packer lead with under three minutes to go. Only twice before in postseason history has a team overcome a 10-point deficit under three minutes and gone on to win.
Down 19-7 with 3:52 remaining, just about everyone had given Seattle up for dead. To that point in the game, Russell Wilson was living a nightmare, and despite coming into the game with one postseason pick on 152 attempts (the lowest interception rate in NFL postseason history), he'd thrown a career-high four picks and had only completed 8 of his 22 attempts for 75 yards.
But, that's when an improbable chain of events would kick into motion. From that point on, Wilson would finish out the game 6-of-7 for 134 yards with a touchdown pass, a touchdown run, and a successful 2-point conversion.
Seahawks-Packers NFC Championship Game: Six early moments when the NFCCG was unlost
For years to come, we will celebrate the late-game heroics that improbably chucked the Seattle Seahawks into Super Bowl XLIX. (Which is an event that we did not collectively hallucinate. You will not be waking up from this nightmare-turned-wet-dream seconds from now, with specks of sleeps in your eyes and the calendar plunked open to Sunday, January 18, 2015. Relax. R-E-L-A-X. If that were going to happen, it would've by now.)
The things that happened, happened.
The Jon Ryan touchdown pass. The onside kick. The Beast Mode go-ahead TD. The two-point "Hell, Mary" conversion. Overtime. The big-play offense finally XLIXing. The Sickest thRoW. The ensuing loss of mind.
Like 43-8, those things will never unhappen.
But without six earlier events, six largely forgotten events, there is no comeback. There is no Improbable 8:30, as Kenneth put it yesterday. There is no perfect pandemonium, no blissful bedlam -- no impending invitation to immortality.
The Better Team
Stop the presses. The Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl, thanks to a sequence of events every bit as improbable as a randomly-selected lineman being named "Garry Gilliam". Which is to say, the external observer had no means of predicting it. But Garry never had a doubt.
A debatable, and herein to be debated, sentiment among some Green Bay players and fans is that "the better team" lost Sunday's NFC Championship Game. And they aren't referring to a team which is proven better over the course of the season having an off day (a distinction that clearly belongs to Seattle), they mean that the losing team actually outplayed the winning team.
Did they?
Labels: Seattle Seahawks
21 January 2015
Captain America vs Star-Lord
A twitter exchange between Chris "Captain America" Evans and Chris "Star-Lord" Pratt:
Labels: Avengers, Seattle Seahawks
20 January 2015
More Sea! Hawks!
18 January 2015
Sea! Hawks!
17 January 2015
Child's Play
16 January 2015
100 Years of Beauty Trends
I'd seen the white model's video before, but not the black model's. It's really neat to see them side-by-side:
x
x
Labels: random awesomeness
15 January 2015
More Truth from Tumblr
14 January 2015
Pro-Ready for Life
A nice article about Swin Cash in the Hartford Courant:
"In terms of basketball, when we left UConn we were pro-ready. What that means is, we knew how to work hard, prepare hard and we expected to win. But off the court, we were polished by the experiences of giving interviews. You understood your responsibilities to the school, the fans and the program. We were fortunate to experience all those things from a very early age. We were prepared.
"Going to UConn not only made me pro-ready for basketball, but it helped me be pro-ready for life."
"In terms of basketball, when we left UConn we were pro-ready. What that means is, we knew how to work hard, prepare hard and we expected to win. But off the court, we were polished by the experiences of giving interviews. You understood your responsibilities to the school, the fans and the program. We were fortunate to experience all those things from a very early age. We were prepared.
"Going to UConn not only made me pro-ready for basketball, but it helped me be pro-ready for life."
Labels: Seattle Storm, UConn basketball
13 January 2015
Kam Chancellor
From SB Nation's Kam Chancellor is a bad man:
For a league that's really stringent about everything from drug use to touchdown celebrations, the NFL doesn't seem to have a problem with letting a created player play for the Seahawks. Kam Chancellor is 6'3 and 230 pounds, runs by threatening the ground to propel him forward and sends receivers into an existential crisis after every hit. But sure, if the NFL has no problem with allowing androids to play strong safety, I guess that's cool. I mean, all he did was hurdle the Panthers O-line and nearly block a field goal.
His feet don't touch the any players because halfway through that jump, he ascended into a higher plane of existence. He's now the divine Kam Chancellor. He ran into that jump the same way a DeLorean by a mad scientist goes back into the past. That's not the same Kam Chancellor who jumped and disrupted the kicker. He went back in time, found that kicker's great grandfather in a soccer field somewhere and destroyed him before coming back to put fear into his great grandson. They don't mention Kam's name in that kicker's household the same way Hogwarts schoolchildren don't say Voldemort.
At this point, I'm sure Kam was only picked in the fifth round because that's how long it takes to build up courage to acknowledge him. The Seahawks didn't start him in his rookie season probably because they were just sliding all of his stats to 99 while removing any sign of mercy from his heart. They released him onto the poor fools of opposing teams like a Kraken. I mean, how do you compete with a super soldier who hops over the O-line cleanly to nearly block a kick and when the play gets called back because of a false start, he nearly does it again on the next try?
They keep saying he hit the kicker like the kicker shouldn't just be happy to be able to walk away from that alive. That's a near-death experience. The only flag that should be thrown after the play was a white one because clearly the game is cheating now. This is like when one of your friends just creates a super player in Madden and then gives them a "common" name to throw you off. Now you're wondering why your receivers are walking off injured after every play.
I mean, just look at him. he jumps over the offensive line and immediately explodes forward in an attempt to block the kick in the same motion. I'm sure if the NFL decides to test him, his test will be invalid because he's powered by lithium-ion and nightmares. No way Kam doesn't go to sleep listening to the soothing sounds of cracking bones and cries of receivers and running backs. His nickname is literally "Bam Bam Kam." The only other Bam Bam was the adopted cave-child of Barney and Betty Rubble who carried around an enormous club and was known for his superhuman strength. That's who he was nicknamed after. A kid who scared dinosaurs with his inhumane power. How is that fair?
His name at this point is a threat in itself. Just walk up to your worst enemy and yell Kam Chancellor at them and it's all like: "Whoa, whoa, man. I know we hate each other, but I wouldn't even wish that on you. Too far, man."
You say his name three times in the mirror and a random receiver breaks his collarbone. One of these days he's going to become a measuring unit for how much pain is inflicted on something. A semi truck totals a Smart car at 80 mph and science teachers are going to ask how many Kam Chancellors of impact it delivered. The answer is two. A semi truck smashing a Smart car is only two Kam Chancellors.
[...]
I'm all for football being a physical game but we have to start admitting that letting mutants from the X-Men into the game is too far. Some poor kid is working hard in the gym right now, not knowing that one day his family is going to watch him turned inside out by Kam Chancellor.
I don't want that. No one should. This man must be stopped.
For a league that's really stringent about everything from drug use to touchdown celebrations, the NFL doesn't seem to have a problem with letting a created player play for the Seahawks. Kam Chancellor is 6'3 and 230 pounds, runs by threatening the ground to propel him forward and sends receivers into an existential crisis after every hit. But sure, if the NFL has no problem with allowing androids to play strong safety, I guess that's cool. I mean, all he did was hurdle the Panthers O-line and nearly block a field goal.
His feet don't touch the any players because halfway through that jump, he ascended into a higher plane of existence. He's now the divine Kam Chancellor. He ran into that jump the same way a DeLorean by a mad scientist goes back into the past. That's not the same Kam Chancellor who jumped and disrupted the kicker. He went back in time, found that kicker's great grandfather in a soccer field somewhere and destroyed him before coming back to put fear into his great grandson. They don't mention Kam's name in that kicker's household the same way Hogwarts schoolchildren don't say Voldemort.
At this point, I'm sure Kam was only picked in the fifth round because that's how long it takes to build up courage to acknowledge him. The Seahawks didn't start him in his rookie season probably because they were just sliding all of his stats to 99 while removing any sign of mercy from his heart. They released him onto the poor fools of opposing teams like a Kraken. I mean, how do you compete with a super soldier who hops over the O-line cleanly to nearly block a kick and when the play gets called back because of a false start, he nearly does it again on the next try?
They keep saying he hit the kicker like the kicker shouldn't just be happy to be able to walk away from that alive. That's a near-death experience. The only flag that should be thrown after the play was a white one because clearly the game is cheating now. This is like when one of your friends just creates a super player in Madden and then gives them a "common" name to throw you off. Now you're wondering why your receivers are walking off injured after every play.
I mean, just look at him. he jumps over the offensive line and immediately explodes forward in an attempt to block the kick in the same motion. I'm sure if the NFL decides to test him, his test will be invalid because he's powered by lithium-ion and nightmares. No way Kam doesn't go to sleep listening to the soothing sounds of cracking bones and cries of receivers and running backs. His nickname is literally "Bam Bam Kam." The only other Bam Bam was the adopted cave-child of Barney and Betty Rubble who carried around an enormous club and was known for his superhuman strength. That's who he was nicknamed after. A kid who scared dinosaurs with his inhumane power. How is that fair?
His name at this point is a threat in itself. Just walk up to your worst enemy and yell Kam Chancellor at them and it's all like: "Whoa, whoa, man. I know we hate each other, but I wouldn't even wish that on you. Too far, man."
You say his name three times in the mirror and a random receiver breaks his collarbone. One of these days he's going to become a measuring unit for how much pain is inflicted on something. A semi truck totals a Smart car at 80 mph and science teachers are going to ask how many Kam Chancellors of impact it delivered. The answer is two. A semi truck smashing a Smart car is only two Kam Chancellors.
[...]
I'm all for football being a physical game but we have to start admitting that letting mutants from the X-Men into the game is too far. Some poor kid is working hard in the gym right now, not knowing that one day his family is going to watch him turned inside out by Kam Chancellor.
I don't want that. No one should. This man must be stopped.
Labels: Seattle Seahawks
11 January 2015
Notes from the Gulls
Fieldgulls is my favorite Seahawks website. Here are some excerpts from one of the post-game articles about the Carolina @ Seattle playoff game:
The Panthers' final drive of the second quarter was a doozy that saw them convert a 4th & 1 in field goal range, a risky move that almost backfired when Earl Thomas dropped an interception at the goal line. After the drive stalled again, the Panthers tried a simple 35-yard field goal - an attempt complicated by Kam Chancellor's otherworldly hurdle of the offensive at the perfect time; an inexplicable feat of athleticism and anticipation undone by the simple fact that he somehow whiffed on blocking the Graham Gano's kick. The try was good but waived off on a false start by Carolina, undoubtedly caused by the fear of seeing a soul-reaper in shoulder pads charging unencumbered before taking flight like some Hell-sent angel of death. On the next attempt, Kam fucking did it again, and again missed the block, this time because Gano yanked it wide to his left and then fell over like a toddler learning to walk when Chancellor bumped him. His infantile flop earned a dubious penalty and gave him a third attempt, which he made for the stupidest three points ever, cutting Seattle's halftime lead to 14-10 and throwing the game's outcome into unexpected doubt.
In fact, [Russell] Wilson was so good in this one that his final line of 15/22, 268 yards, 3 Tds, and 0 INTs resulted in a passer efficiency of 149.2- the 10th highest mark in NFL playoff history.
Per FOX, the Seahawks have now had a lead in 53 straight games, the longest streak in NFL history. Win Forever is more than just a mantra.
The Panthers actually out-gained the Seahawks 362-348 but one of the reasons that Pete Carroll doesn't worry much about yards is because yards gained often mask actual game flow and doesn't account for all the hidden yardage buried in the average starting field position stat. To wit, the Panthers average drive started on their own 16 yard line whereas the 'Hawks started their average possession up at their own 35. That shit matters.
Wilson didn't target a single receiver more than four times, electing instead to spread the ball around to all the hungry chicks in his nest. His three leading receivers (Kearse, Willson, Baldwin) transformed their 11 combined targets into 10 catches (90.9 comp%) for 235 yards (21.4 YPA), and three touchdowns. Say what you want about volume, there was no beating the efficiency of Seattle's passing attack.
Seattle has now won seven straight games by double digits, tying an NFL record. They're 15-1 in primetime games under Pete Carroll and are 25-2 at home in the Russell Wilson Era. What we're seeing is the best top-to-bottom roster in the football universe hitting their peak at the exact right time. The Seahawks have, in three short years, released Seattle from four decades of "maybe next year" prison and turned the city into the NFL's Mordor. It's possible to win here, it's just not very fucking likely.
The Panthers' final drive of the second quarter was a doozy that saw them convert a 4th & 1 in field goal range, a risky move that almost backfired when Earl Thomas dropped an interception at the goal line. After the drive stalled again, the Panthers tried a simple 35-yard field goal - an attempt complicated by Kam Chancellor's otherworldly hurdle of the offensive at the perfect time; an inexplicable feat of athleticism and anticipation undone by the simple fact that he somehow whiffed on blocking the Graham Gano's kick. The try was good but waived off on a false start by Carolina, undoubtedly caused by the fear of seeing a soul-reaper in shoulder pads charging unencumbered before taking flight like some Hell-sent angel of death. On the next attempt, Kam fucking did it again, and again missed the block, this time because Gano yanked it wide to his left and then fell over like a toddler learning to walk when Chancellor bumped him. His infantile flop earned a dubious penalty and gave him a third attempt, which he made for the stupidest three points ever, cutting Seattle's halftime lead to 14-10 and throwing the game's outcome into unexpected doubt.
In fact, [Russell] Wilson was so good in this one that his final line of 15/22, 268 yards, 3 Tds, and 0 INTs resulted in a passer efficiency of 149.2- the 10th highest mark in NFL playoff history.
Per FOX, the Seahawks have now had a lead in 53 straight games, the longest streak in NFL history. Win Forever is more than just a mantra.
The Panthers actually out-gained the Seahawks 362-348 but one of the reasons that Pete Carroll doesn't worry much about yards is because yards gained often mask actual game flow and doesn't account for all the hidden yardage buried in the average starting field position stat. To wit, the Panthers average drive started on their own 16 yard line whereas the 'Hawks started their average possession up at their own 35. That shit matters.
Wilson didn't target a single receiver more than four times, electing instead to spread the ball around to all the hungry chicks in his nest. His three leading receivers (Kearse, Willson, Baldwin) transformed their 11 combined targets into 10 catches (90.9 comp%) for 235 yards (21.4 YPA), and three touchdowns. Say what you want about volume, there was no beating the efficiency of Seattle's passing attack.
Seattle has now won seven straight games by double digits, tying an NFL record. They're 15-1 in primetime games under Pete Carroll and are 25-2 at home in the Russell Wilson Era. What we're seeing is the best top-to-bottom roster in the football universe hitting their peak at the exact right time. The Seahawks have, in three short years, released Seattle from four decades of "maybe next year" prison and turned the city into the NFL's Mordor. It's possible to win here, it's just not very fucking likely.
Labels: Seattle Seahawks
10 January 2015
It's a Trap!
09 January 2015
Wedding Surprises
08 January 2015
Gut Fauna
07 January 2015
KML Is Sneaking Up On DT3
Today UConn senior Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis tied Diana Taurasi's UConn record for three-pointers. Here's some highlights from her post-game press conference, via reporter John Altavilla's twitter:
Labels: UConn basketball
06 January 2015
Romeo vs. Juliet
From tumblr:
People always make Juliet out to be dumb in Romeo and Juliet, but I think she at least had some sense where Romeo didn't have much of any
Romeo: I was thinking about this chick earlier who I said I was in love with but now I love that girl over there that is very likely to either belong to my family's enemy or be close with my family's enemy as it is their party I am crashing
Juliet: I do not like being so young and forced into a relationship with an older man, but oh there's a cute guy more my age over there. And since he's here he must have been invited and is there for a reasonable love match for myself
--
Romeo: We should kiss right now at this party
Juliet: No that is a super dumb idea
Romeo: *kisses her anyway*
Juliet: That was dumb of you
--
Romeo: We should get married right now
Juliet: We don't know each other. Shouldn't we wait until at least a little time has passed?
Romeo: Like tomorrow?
Juliet: Sure, fine.
--
Juliet: We're married now, so we have to try and make things better between our families.
Romeo: Right.
Romeo: It seems I have killed your cousin and am now exiled.
--
Juliet: Ok so since Romeo fucked up I'm gonna fix this shit by taking a harmless sleeping liquid. He'll come and get me and we can go away together.
Romeo: *immediately kills himself*
Juliet: For fucks sake.
People always make Juliet out to be dumb in Romeo and Juliet, but I think she at least had some sense where Romeo didn't have much of any
Romeo: I was thinking about this chick earlier who I said I was in love with but now I love that girl over there that is very likely to either belong to my family's enemy or be close with my family's enemy as it is their party I am crashing
Juliet: I do not like being so young and forced into a relationship with an older man, but oh there's a cute guy more my age over there. And since he's here he must have been invited and is there for a reasonable love match for myself
--
Romeo: We should kiss right now at this party
Juliet: No that is a super dumb idea
Romeo: *kisses her anyway*
Juliet: That was dumb of you
--
Romeo: We should get married right now
Juliet: We don't know each other. Shouldn't we wait until at least a little time has passed?
Romeo: Like tomorrow?
Juliet: Sure, fine.
--
Juliet: We're married now, so we have to try and make things better between our families.
Romeo: Right.
Romeo: It seems I have killed your cousin and am now exiled.
--
Juliet: Ok so since Romeo fucked up I'm gonna fix this shit by taking a harmless sleeping liquid. He'll come and get me and we can go away together.
Romeo: *immediately kills himself*
Juliet: For fucks sake.
Labels: books
05 January 2015
17x17x17
04 January 2015
Too Complicated
03 January 2015
Ridiculous Business Ideas
02 January 2015
Time for a Math Joke!
01 January 2015
Knitting
I finished my ninth scarf today....
From How Knitting Behind Bars Transformed Maryland Convicts:
In late 2009, Lynn Zwerling stood in front of 600 male prisoners at the Pre-Release Unit in Jessup, Maryland. “Who wants to knit?” she asked the burly crowd. They looked at her like she was crazy.
Yet almost two years later, Zwerling and her associates have taught more than 100 prisoners to knit, while dozens more are on a waiting list to take her weekly class. “I have guys that have never missed one time in two years,” Zwerling says. “Some reported to us that they miss dinner to come to class.”
From How Knitting Behind Bars Transformed Maryland Convicts:
In late 2009, Lynn Zwerling stood in front of 600 male prisoners at the Pre-Release Unit in Jessup, Maryland. “Who wants to knit?” she asked the burly crowd. They looked at her like she was crazy.
Yet almost two years later, Zwerling and her associates have taught more than 100 prisoners to knit, while dozens more are on a waiting list to take her weekly class. “I have guys that have never missed one time in two years,” Zwerling says. “Some reported to us that they miss dinner to come to class.”
Labels: random awesomeness
