My prediction on the 2010 VT football season

So I never really write in the blog anymore but with football season almost here I again feel compelled to write something. See after football season is over I kind of reach this writer’s block. I mean seriously besides college basketball and some good Red Wings hockey I lose inspiration.

So anyway on to my thoughts about the upcoming VT football season. First thing is we are preseason #6 and that is defiantly overrated. The best I could see us right now is about #11. Yes, we have a strong offense coming back but on the defensive side of the ball there are lots of questions. The problem with preseason rankings is they don’t factor in where teams should finish. I tend to agree a lot with Phil Steele and his preseason rankings he put out this summer.

I’m going o/u 2.5 losses on the 2010 season for Virginia Tech football. See the thing with VT is we never really have what it takes to win all our games. Normally we lose a game or two we should never lose. And unlike other teams when a key player goes down during the season, we don’t just slide a new guy in and pick-up where we left off like most teams. So here are the games I think we lose and why.

Boise State: First off Kellen Moore is probably one of the best QB’s in college football this year. He can pass like a mad man, he has all his weapons back and he’s from a pass happy style offense. VT’s defense coming back is suspect right now. A suspect defense and a QB on the other side of the ball that can rip through defenses blindfolded is not good for the home team. We also never show up for big games. The pressure is too much and we don’t prepare for the hype.

UNC: They always play us close when we go down there. They have a defense that will stop our offense. See our offensive PLAYERS are good, our coordinator not so much. UNC will stop our offense and trying to find answers late in the game will not work when you’re behind. We also come off this game having played GT and then roll into Miami the next week. If we do find a way to win this game we’ll for sure lose to Miami the next week

NC State: They almost got us the last time down there. This is a very tough place to play when VT or big teams roll into town. See this game will probably be a bowl game for NC State in their eyes. They have a coach that knows our program from his BC days. He knows how to beat us and probably will.

I’m not 100% but I think we win against GT and Miami. The only reason I don’t see us losing to GT is we play them at home but this will still be a very close game. As for Miami if we beat UNC then we will lose to them. Since I see us losing to UNC on the road I think we then go down to Miami the next weekend and find a way to win. As much as I hate to say it Tyrod will not stay health all season, I would love to say he will be but reality is mobile QB’s, enough said. He’ll probably miss a game or two late in the season which could raise our losses to 3 or 4.

My best prediction is we go 10-2, worse case we go 9-3. As always though you do play to win the game and college football is all about emotion. So anything can happen but VT football is always too predictable for me. As always I hope they prove me wrong.

The "my boyfriend" line

So first off anyone that actually read my last entry, sorry I was just bored and hadn’t written in months and had nothing else to say. It was pretty boring and lame but now I think I actually have something of interest to say.

Well I know that by writing a blog I am pretty much agreeing to allow anyone that wants to read my opinions which is fine. The thing is my rant tonight is loosely based on some current interactions with some people I know but my issues with this topic have always been there I think the wound has just been recently reopened if you will. So pretty much any woman that reads this will have her own issues with me about my opinions and honestly I don’t care. I wouldn’t be afraid to lay this stuff out in person anyway.

OK so it’s kind of simple. When women feel this urge and obligation to passively let guys know that they are either in a relationship or have a boyfriend I just about lose it. It really is all I can do to hold myself back from making some kind of nasty “we don’t care statement”. See here is the deal I take a lot of credit for this observation but Seinfeld did make a reference to it as well in an episode. He explains how you got to love how women just have to “slip it right in there” referring to women mentioning how they have a boyfriend. George later goes on to say how they (women) act like it is “just all a part of the conversation.”

There really is no good time to hear about your upcoming weekend date, or how you had this great time hiking this weekend, or how you kind of have a boyfriend now and it’s easier to do things around your house with two people, blah, blah, blah.

It really baffles me that women probably 90% of the time have to find a way to talk about their boyfriends, dates, relationships, how happy they are with this guy. And on the flip side guys hardly ever talk about their girlfriends and even their wives for that matter. I mean heck I’ve dated girls that not even my friends or family even know about or if they do it’s like months into the whole thing. But here is the big kicker. Guys that don’t talk about their relationships are accused of “being ashamed of me”, or “you’re not proud to be with me” and even “this just means you just don’t really like me”. For the most part none of those statements are every true, but good luck convincing the female gender of that.

See guys just don’t feel this obligation to be what I call passive and just find a way to throw in the fact they are in a relationship. Or find a way to talk about just how great their girlfriend is and contribute all the little stories about their “wonderful” dates and whatnot. It’s not because we don’t care about the women we are with we just don’t want to cast off the same feeling we get when we hear a woman drop the “my boyfriend” blah, blah, blah line.

My opinion is that when a girl drops the b/f line I just more or less like her a lot less. Even if she’s attractive I lump the personality stuff in there and it just brings that attraction down. If anything I actually get somewhat heated about it, but on the inside. Honestly don’t flatter yourself. Guys aren’t lining up to date you. Oh and girls out there that use the excuse that they only do this because they don’t want guys hitting on them, I don’t buy it. There are easier ways to get the message across. Just be literal and straight up about your status. JUST DON’T’ BE PASSIVE, I HATE THAT, WE HATE THAT!!

Well it is January 2010

I haven't written in this thing in forever. I'm noticing more and more it is tough to take the time and write a blog. I have so much less time at home in the evenings than I use too. Which leaves me to wonder about something.

TWITTER: So I have a Twitter account with the sole purpose of following the likes of TO and OchoCinco and a few other people I find interesting. I've had no interest in "tweeting" I only want to get the latest breaking news and follow sports headlines as they happen. That being said I'm starting to wonder if I should actually start posting some annoying "tweets".

See with a blog I have to wait and put all my thoughts together and take the time to post them which I'm finding time consuming. Plus half the time I forget things and don't have the chance to jot them down. I think if used the right way Twitter could be fun. I do promise you though I won't post every little stupid thing I do just to advertise my life. It's more a way for me to express what I'm thinking not what I'm doing. Anyway we'll see what happens.

Moving on with more important things.

College football in 2010. So it's very rare you'll hear me say this and yes I know it's way early but I love VT's chances in 2010. Virginia Tech's national championship chances usually run in three to four year cycles. Last season was a rebuilding year and somehow we won the ACC. This year we had a better team talent wise but managed to do worse than we should. 2010 I think is our next best chance at a nation championship.

Factors for success: Defense getting back to the level we should be and making up for a few key losses that need to be filled. Making a two RB tandem work. We have by far the best two running backs in the ACC not to mention nationally. KJ and Lee Suggs didn't work as well as it should have. How we allow Williams and Evans to compliment each other and work together is key. QB situation has to be solid. Tyrod should have his best year and him staying healthy will be key. I really hope our backup situation will be solid enough to step up when or if he gets hurt. Finally beating Boise State at FedEx field will be huge. That to me is the turning point in the season.

Where we could slip up: Key injuries in the Spring, this always happens we just need to get all of our key players through the spring and have them healthy for the regular season. Our Offense. As long as we don't change our coaching on offense we are doomed. Our offensive coordinator will always keep us down and until we change that we will not get over the hump. The only way to overcome this is by having Tyrod make plays to compensate for our lack of play calling. Finally not playing well at UNC. We never play well down there, this year we need to smash them in the face and beat them the old fashioned way, running the football down their throat.

So that's my (very)brief thoughts on this early 2010 year. Maybe you'll hear more from me on Twitter, LOL

Hokies lose, nothing new

OK I should have gone on the record before the season started just so I would not be accused of “after the fact” accusations. So it’s not too late to set the record straight about the 2009 Virginia Tech football season, so here goes.

First off before the season started I made the prediction that the following would happen. Keep in mind I will still try my hardest to hope I am wrong and still pull against my own odds, but the reality is I know VT all too well.

My prediction is the Hokies finish the football season 9-3 in 2009 at best. I foresee (foresaw) the following losses; Alabama, Georgia Tech and NC State. A not so distant prediction includes a loss to UNC. This means I feel the Hokies could lose up to four games.

Why I choose those teams as losses:

Alabama: Tech never wins the big game when it matters. Our road record against Top 20 teams is horrible and will continue to stay that way. A game in the Georgia Dome is more or less a home game for Alabama, so do the math Alabama home game equals SEC home game; you don’t win many games on the road to SEC teams

Georgia Tech: We are playing this game in Atlanta. We should never have beaten them last year and this year they will earn their revenge. Unfortunately by this game I don’t see Tyrod healthy. He is way to injury prone to last an entire season. Mobile QB’s never last full seasons. Although GT is a running team they will use the pass to burn us when it matters.

NC State: In all fairness I’m only 50/50 on this game. I think we would most likely lose this game if it were at NC State. The fact we are playing in Blacksburg gives us that 50% chance of winning. Tom O’Brian knows us and it’s just a matter of time before he gets that program going again. Look for VT to get out coached. Side note: I’m picking NC State to win the Atlantic (even after their loss to South Carolina)

UNC: This again is a tossup and not really factored into my losses for 2009. I’ll throw a few stats out there. Law of averages, we have beaten UNC year after year, our time is coming. Butch Davis is turning this program around and he gave us problems when he coached at Miami. The biggest factor, like the NC State game, we play them in Blacksburg. That and it’s a Thursday night game so I’ll give us more of a 65% chance but this could be a tossup.

Keys to the Hokies lack of success for 2009:

1. Tyrod Taylor not staying healthy. Way to injury prone, he’ll never make it 12 games unfortunately.
2. Bryan Stinespring who is a complete waste and never evolves. His play calling single handedly contributes to 90% of our losses. Our offense has been terrible since the days of Michael Vick. Stinespring has no clue what he’s doing. How much longer will Frank stay loyal to this guy? Motto for this season, More of the same.
http://firebryanstinespring.blogspot.com/
3. Key injuries to role players. This always happens to us at the worse time, I don’t see it changing. Oh wait we did already lose Daren Evans.
4. Relying on our Defense to continue to win games for us. You can’t do this year in and year out and make it over the hump. Yes, it will win us games but at some point your offense has to produce, IT WON’T!

Post Alabama Loss outlook:

Now that VT has lost to Alabama this is a few things we have to look forward too.

-Hoping each week that we win just so we can make it to the ACC Championship. Make note that the ACC Championship game will be very poorly attended as is every year.

-If we do find some way to win the ACC and ACC Championship we get an appearance in the Orange Bowl for the third straight year. Let’s see after games against Kansas and Cincinnati in the past two Orange Bowls don’t look for any better matchup to come our way. So let’s say we do win the ACC we can look forward to an opponent like Rutgers, Cincinnati, WVU or maybe South Florida. Or maybe if we are real lucky we get the loser of the SEC championship and then get killed.

Let’s be real no one will watch the Orange Bowl and honestly Tech fans will be even less this year if we do make it. Cincinnati actually had more fans than a historically well traveled Virginia Tech team. As a diehard Hokie I can tell you first hand I won’t be at the Orange Bowl no matter what happens. Why? For what? ACC tie-in to the Orange Bowl is terrible, it has to change, if the Orange Bowl wants to draw any intrigue.

So at this point I can look forward to cheering on the Hokies for yet another mediocre season with some unintriguing math-up either late December or early January. Oh well we should have a shot at the national championship on about four or five years.

GO HOKIES!!

Polo shirt with workout shorts guy?

Something that has always baffled me because I think it just looks odd. Let me preface this by saying this is only a guy issue and girls it really makes no difference. Wearing a polo shirt with dress shorts or cargo shorts not a problem. Heck I even do that. No, the problem I have is guys wearing polo shirts or just shirts with a collar but then following it up with basketball shorts or just your everyday workout shorts. Let me give you a few examples of this fashion debacle.

Wearing a collared polo shirt on the treadmill guy. I mean I’ve seen this hideous act way too much. I think it’s most prominent when you go to some place like a hotel and you just know what’s coming. Some guy that forgot his plain old workout shirt decides to throw his nice knit polo shirt on with some basketball looking shorts then hop on the treadmill and go to town like no one notices. Trust me people are noticing this they just aren’t telling you.

Playing a game of pick-up basketball while wearing a collared shirt guy. These guys are just standouts bottom line. Usually there are two things you are telling everyone else on the court. One, I can’t play basketball but I sure would like to try! And two you’re saying please all you big ballers out here, laugh and make fun of me, please. FYI don’t expect anyone to pick you up if they are short one player.

Wearing a collared shirt with mesh shorts while cleaning around the house on Saturday guy. I think my dad may be guilty of this from time to time but not sure. First of all its way too hot more than likely to be sporting the collared shirt anyway let alone trying to do manual labor. Honestly this is probably one of the safest places to pull off this hideous look but keep in mind you do have neighbors that have little else to do than sit around and watch other people do work while they sit on their front porch or couch and talk about “what the neighbor is doing”.

I think I’m only writing about this today because on my way home some guy was in his front yard stacking wood while pulling off the collared shirt with bball shorts look. I guess that finally caused me to write about it. But yeah, this thing has kind of baffled me for years. And finally with most issues I bring to anyone's attention I like to present some sort of solution. In this case I guess for the sake of procreation, guys, can you think twice before doing this? I don’t know, I got nothing it’s Friday what’s there to really complain about?

A few things about facebook

Some pet peeves about facebook.

So here is the deal. It can be handy in many ways. I did start using it a lot to help organize things like flag football and sports activities. And I will admit it has actually worked. I’m really blogging today to sort of talk about my pet peeves with some things people do with facebook.

Passive aggressive postings: I love when someone (usually women I have to admit) will put up a random post about a great time they had with someone last night. Or they will leave these little “hints” about how happy they are with someone. How about publicly posting to their friend’s walls these subtle hints about this person they met. Of course it’s all one big grand scheme to make someone jealous or ask for attention. Unlike about 90% of the rest of the world, me personally I could give a “flying can of worms” (trying to keep the expressions clean here). If anyone knows me they know how apathetic I am about ANY drama. So for those people out there that try these approaches let it be known that there are people like me out there who absolutely do no care (all joking aside). Look you may think your relationship saga is just so great but that’s because you are in it. An overwhelming majority of people on the outside of your relationship DO NO CARE! So you and shmoopey go do whatever it is you do with each other and stop using us as your audience that you somehow think cares about your relationship drama.

Posting your phone number to someone’s wall: Gotta love this one. I think people do this for nothing more than attention. Oh this is also a passive way of trying to get some random guy or girl to call you. Look just be blunt with it and not only post your number publically but also attach the message (I’m desperate for attention and please someone call me) Look people this is not a good way to have a guy or girl call and ask you out. Just email the person privately if you want someone to have your number. Or heck it’s in your information section if people need it right?

Relationship status: Oh now this is a big one here. First of all if you are not married what is so important about this? And why is it so detrimental in your relationship if you as the guy don’t want this kind of stuff posted? There should only be two options in my opinion Married or single. That’s it, this way we can avoid all the drama that comes with changing this status back and forth. Look relationships are not worked out on websites. OH and FYI, people like me could care less what past relationship “people” who were in my life, are doing. There is a reason we call people ex’s they are a thing of the past.

Top five lists: I won’t really get into this but it’s just stupid. Please stop this. Yeah I did like one when it first came out but I’m sorry this song is played out.

Becoming a “fan of”: Please how many of these things can people join? I mean just use the about me section of your profile to talk about what you like and don’t like.

Pictures or references to beer/alcohol: I cannot begin to express how much this drives me nuts. I don’t care that people drink fine do whatever you like, that’s not by point here. But seriously people how many pictures of you and your friends playing beer pong, smiling about the cool alcoholic beverage you have in your hand or showing how proud you are of the drinking photos by putting some caption at the bottom complimenting the remarkable drinking skills that was photographed? I mean maybe I am way off here but I’ve just never saw the glamour behind drinking photos. Good luck, maybe I’m just old school.

Requesting friends that you know you still won’t talk too even when you add them: Alright I’ll admit this is kind of borderline here. I don’t want to piss too many people off especially those that have added me and never once talked to me. My point is this. If you see someone that you barely talked to when you knew them and you never talk to them now and probably will still not talk too even after you request to add them…Well do you see where I’m going with this? Don’t ask me why but I’ve never once added a single person to my facebook friends. No real reason I just have tendencies I guess. I mean if you want to add me as a friend no problem just think a little about how much you will talk to me if at all before you do it, that’s really all. Just don’t use facebook as a popularity contest, trust me we don’t feel any more proud of you for having “facebook friends”.

Look all in all facebook is probably a good thing. I use it but probably not anywhere near as much as most people. I just have issues with a few things here and there. I know me blogging about it won’t probably change anything but when does writing a blog change anything? These are just some of my few observations about facebook antics that kind of bother me. What say you?

Yeah I'm sick of it

A few hours ago I actually had someone comment on how great it is that we are getting all this rain. Unbelievable! I mean seriously this is like day 12 or something of straight rain. I honestly don't think I have felt this depressed in a long time. Really how do people in Seattle do this? I mean I can honestly say I see the attitude of all the people around me changing, for the worst. How can anyone at this point still say it's so great that we are getting all this rain? No joke I wanted to bite the woman's head off that said that. Lucky for me I can keep my cool but man was that close.

To any weather geek out there, what the heck is going on? Is it like some stupid cloud is just sitting over the east coast with nothing else to do? As much as I love the east coast this is really getting to the point of utter annoyance. I’m actually contemplating what it would be like to live out west. I mean why not, look how laid back those people are. Less rain means more exercise, better attitudes, happier lifestyle and all that jazz.

So for the sake of depression please STOP THE RAIN!!