In hindsight

This is what I didn't say, didn't know, or happened subsequent to my most recent posts. 

1.  Saturday Night Live was pretty bad last weekend.  The highlights for me were Andy Samberg asking Justin Timberlake when he's going to make some new music and JT leaving the set during an "Actor's Studio" type interview.  And Katy Perry's breasts in a skit called "Bronx Beat". 

2.  Five Guys Burgers is pretty good.  Good burgers and fries; free peanuts.  A little pricey, but good.

3.  The Tampa Rays gave away 20,000 free tickets to yesterdays game, and lost 2-0, managing only three hits.  I prefer a 1-0 pitching duel over a 10-9 slug fest, but I may be in the minority.  Keep in mind, the game took 2 hrs. 21 mins.  Not bad. 

4.  Rachel Alexandra will be bred to follow horse of the year, Curlin, perhaps leading to generations of champion racehorses.

5.  Darren McFadden is having a good season for the Oakland Raiders, currently third in the NFL in rushing yards.  I am not surprised (Michael Bush is injured) and knew this when I posted.  It is secondary to the main point that Peyton Hillis is a pretty good football player.  I was shocked when he was only drafted in the 7th round, then buried in Denver.  He can run, block, pass catch, all this providing positional value and versatility.  He could have a long career, similar to Kevin Turner, Sam Gash, Heath Evans, Le'Ron McClain, Lorenzo Neal and Tony Richardson.  Barring injury, these guys stick around the league for a long time and make a difference.

6.  Best wishes to Kevin Turner and many ex-athletes like him.  Player safety and quality of life after retirement deserve a lot more funding and publicity.  Former football player and wrestler, Chris Nowinski, and the Sports Legacy Institute have done a great job "advanc(ing) the study, treatment and prevention of the effects of brain trauma in athletes and other at-risk groups".  This merits a post of its own, instead of being buried here. 

7.  "The Simpsons Already Did It"  references an episode of South Park, where Butters comes up with plans to cause trouble, except they were all previously done by The Simpsons.  "My retirement grease!" is what Groundskeeper Willy shouts when he realizes Homer and Bart are siphoning grease out of the school cafeteria in an episode called "Lard of the Dance".

8.  I have never been all that good at picking college football games.  That is evident from the results of last weeks picks.  I'm not bad when it comes to picking the NFL, that helped with beer money in college.  Also not bad with college and NBA basketball, where I have had the most success in Vegas.  I'll continue to pick all the NFL games against the spread.  Probably five college football games as well, more than anything just to see how I do. Nobody's paying attention to this anyways, right?

9.  The local 9am news had a musical guest today.  He was wearing a hat that says, F.T.W.  Perhaps he does not intend for it to mean what immediately comes to mind, but rather "for the win" or the biker slogan "forever two wheels". 

10.  Another suggestion falling under Vegas deals is to ask for comps if you are spending / winning money in a casino.  Casinos may rate players, reward points, or give straight comps (meals, rooms, shows, coupons) to players.  Ask the dealer or floor manager.  What's the worst that can happen, they say no?