The new BCS rankings came out this week as well as the bowls. As I contemplated the bowl selections I could not help but get frustrated at the corruptiveness of the postseason in college football today. If many of you are not aware, there is no playoff in college football. Instead, the Bowl Championship Series uses a matter of opinion and computers to determine who the best team in college football is. It all depends on who you play and when you play. They do not let the best teams settle it on the field. Take Michigan State for example. Michigan State went 11-1 this season, and isn't even playing in a BCS game. Instead, Wisconsin and Ohio State will go. Michigan State beat Wisconsin during the season, and didn't play Ohio State, but Wisconsin beat Ohio State. In my opinion, I think Michigan State is more deserving of the bowl bid.
Boise State was also on the wrong end of the deal. Yes, yes I know that they lost to Nevada in overtime. I know that they aren't perfect, but I KNOW that they are better than 8-4 Connecticut. The have PROVEN that they are better than ACC champ Virginia Tech, but because the way this system is set up, those two teams will get millions of dollars while Boise State is stuck beating up on an overrated Utah team in the Las Vegas bowl.
People who read my blog know that I'm a huge fan of a 16-team playoff. If you've read the book Death to the BCS they use the same exact playoff format. Each conference champion deserves a bid, and five at large teams are selected by a selection committee. Then each team will be reseeded. So here I am showing what the playoff would look like. Most of these first round mathups would provide some exciting stories and make for some really exciting games.
#1 Auburn (SEC Champ) vs. #16 Florida International (Sun Belt Champ)
#2 Oregon (Pac-10 Champ) vs. #15 Miami (OH) (MAC Champ)
#3 TCU (Mountain West Champ) vs. #14 Connecticut (Big East Champ)
* A matchup where the Big East champ will be tested by it's soon-to-be newest member.
#4 Stanford (At Large) vs. #13 UCF (Conf. USA Champ)
#5 Wisconsin (Big Ten Champ) vs. #12 Virginia Tech (ACC Champ)
#6 Ohio State (At Large) vs. #11 LSU (At Large)
* A rematch of the 2008 National Championship game where LSU beat Ohio State
#7 Oklahoma (Big 12 Champ) vs. #10 Boise State (WAC Champ)
* A rematch of the historic 2007 Fiesta Bowl that put Boise State on the map in college football
#8 Arkansas (At Large) vs. #9 Michigan State (At Large)
You can't tell me that these matchups wouldn't make you want to watch college football more. I one day dream of the time when a playoff system like this might work out. I guess until now I'll have to stick with the Papajohns.com bowl, and the clorox toilet cleaner bowl.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
A Shattered Dream
I'm gonna start out this blog by saying it's taking me a lot of guts to write this blog. If anyone knows how much I care about college football and my Boise State Broncos, they would know how devestated I was this weekend. The school that captured the hearts of America when they slew Goliath Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. After that, people expected Boise State to ride off into the sunset as one of the best underdog stories of college football. Instead Boise State went 46-4 since that last win; Boise State was not finished. Instead, this program became a national powerhouse. A team that everyone feared to play, but always hesitant to give them credit for what they have done. This year they earned the respect of the nation and was voted as the #3 team in the country to start the season. In front of Florida, Texas, and USC. There were rumors that Boise State, if everything fell correctly, could play for a national championship.
Their first test came on Labor Day, the first game of the season against #10 Virginia Tech. After a hard fought game, Boise pulled out the win and was now in prime position to sit back and watch the other undefeateds lose while Boise destroyed everyone on their schedule, and destroy they did. Boise was never threatened in a game, and was slowly impressing the voters. Every team except Oregon, Auburn, and TCU had lost. Boise was just where they wanted to be to make history.
Then came the day that will always be remembered in my heart as Black Friday: What could have been. The day was filled with the most anticipation for college football than any other week this year. First #2 Auburn had to travel to ranked Alabama to try to seal their undefeated regular season. Alabama jumped to a 24-0 start and it looked like our dream would come true. Auburn would fall and that would put Boise into the national championship. Someone forgot to tell Alabama that they had a second half to play. In what I still believe is a BCS conspiracy, Alabama completely laid down in the second half while Alabama scored 21 unanswered points and eventually won the game 28-27.... Disappointment #1
The next game was also a big let down. #1 Oregon was hosting ranked Arizona in Eugene. It was a hard fought first half, but at the end of the half, Arizona was winning 19-13, but Oregon did what it always does to its opponents in the second half. The flood gates opened, and Oregon scored 36 points in the second half and won the game convincingly by 19 points... Disappointment #2
Then came the biggest disappointment I have ever had as a Boise State fan. I thought to myself, "It's ok, those teams still have another week to lose. We got this game, and we'll worry about next week." I was right for the first half. Boise State jumped on ranked Nevada early; going to the locker room ahead 24-7. Now we all know the story that Boise State lost, but here are my biggest plays that decided the momentum of the game, and changed the whole game.
#1. The Broncos received the ball at the beginning of the half, but were forced to punt. When they punted the kicker muffed the punt and it was recovered by the Broncos on the five yard line. However, a very very questionable call was made by the ref saying that Doug Martin did not give the receiver enough time to catch the ball. Instead of the Broncos getting the ball and punching it in for a dagger 31-7 lead, Nevada received the ball which lead to...
#2. On third and long for the Wolfpack Colin Kapernick dropped back to pass and was blitzed by the cornerback. Instead of what was supposed to be a sure sack, the cornerback overpursued and Colin evaded the tack and scrambled 18 yards for a touchdown. Now it was 24-14
#3. The next drive the Broncos were faced with a 3rd down. Kellen underthrew Titus Young, but as Titus Young was coming back for the pass, his face mask was grabbed by the Nevada defender, but there was no flag. The Broncos were forced to punt again.
#4. On Nevada's next drive they were faced with another third down. Nevada ran a Wide Receiver reverse that the Broncos caught on quickly. I thought they were going to tackle him for a loss, but instead the defense over committed again and the receiver scrambled 40+ yards for another touchdown. It was now 24-21
Those were the key plays that led up to the final letdown, and will forever haunt my mind as I was utterly stunned by what took place. Boise State had the ball with 12 seconds left. The game was tied 31-31 and likely headed for overtime. Kellen Moore delivered a beautiful ball, and Titus
Young made a miraculous diving catch at the 9 yard line with 1 second left. I was screaming so loud with joy. All that was left was a 26 yard field goal by Kyle Brotzman and we would keep our dreams alive. Kyle Brotzman got set to kick and it was up and away. At first I thought it was in, and started giving my family congratulatory high fives only to hear the commentator say he missed it. I almost lost it. I had had enough. I could not bear to watch what was happening. After that kick I knew that the game was over, Boise was going to lose, and sure enough, another 29 yard field goal miss by Kyle Brotzman helped destroy Boise's hopes. Gone are the national title hopes, gone is a BCS bowl game, gone are the heisman votes for Kellen Moore, gone is an outright WAC title, gone is everything that this season was supposed to be. Chris Peterson said, "One play cannot lose a game." But two can. And that will haunt Kyle Brotzman the rest of his life.
Young made a miraculous diving catch at the 9 yard line with 1 second left. I was screaming so loud with joy. All that was left was a 26 yard field goal by Kyle Brotzman and we would keep our dreams alive. Kyle Brotzman got set to kick and it was up and away. At first I thought it was in, and started giving my family congratulatory high fives only to hear the commentator say he missed it. I almost lost it. I had had enough. I could not bear to watch what was happening. After that kick I knew that the game was over, Boise was going to lose, and sure enough, another 29 yard field goal miss by Kyle Brotzman helped destroy Boise's hopes. Gone are the national title hopes, gone is a BCS bowl game, gone are the heisman votes for Kellen Moore, gone is an outright WAC title, gone is everything that this season was supposed to be. Chris Peterson said, "One play cannot lose a game." But two can. And that will haunt Kyle Brotzman the rest of his life.Where do we go from here? Boise State plays one more game on Saturday against Utah State in which they will win. Who knows by how much though considering they may show up uninspired. They will probably go to the lowly Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl and slowly fade into the little guy again. Next year they will leave for the Mountain West in which it was a conference that we thought we would be sharing with BYU, Utah, and TCU, but instead we will still be a big fish in a small pond. Boise will not have the TV contract with ESPN anymore to help keep them on the map. This season meant so much to me and to have it disappear in such a disappointing fashion just made me sick. This is the reason why we need a playoff. One game should not determine a whole season until the playoffs. If my playoff plan would be implemented they would still have a shot to win it all, because I truly believe this team could still beat any other team in the nation. My prayers go out to the Broncos that they may learn from this and help them become stronger and finish the season strong. Go Broncos!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Game Review: Halo Reach Album Reviews: Asylum & A Thousand Suns
Blog #4: I love my job
The last review of this blog is Linkin Park's A Thousand Suns. This album is a concept album, meaning that all the songs flow together. This album is focused on war and the end of the war which is unlike Linkin Park's old songs. Linkin Park used to say, "screw the world" and now we're trying to save it? Their songs have turned into mainstream, light, technoey crap that made me really really depressed to listen to this album. I was very disappointed, and now when I say who my favorite bands are I have to mention Linkin Park but only their old stuff, because they've gone downhill ever since their days of Hybrid Theory and Meteora. RIP Linkin Park
Okay this will probably be my last blog for today cause I don't know of what else to blog about. I'm sure I'll think of something sooner or later though.
F
irst up on these reviews is the new and last game of the Halo series, Halo Reach. This game is a prequel to the first Halo when there were many super soldiers, Spartans, that trained and work on a planet called Reach. The covenant invade Reach in search of a weapon to help take over the galaxy. The humans must secure the weapon and keep it out of enemy hands to avoid the end of the human species. I was really surprised at how well they made this story fit into the beginning of the first Halo. It exceeded my expectations by a long shot. I was really concerned because the multiplayer Beta was terrible. And while not much has changed from the Beta, I have adapted my playing style to best fit the game and now it's more fun.
irst up on these reviews is the new and last game of the Halo series, Halo Reach. This game is a prequel to the first Halo when there were many super soldiers, Spartans, that trained and work on a planet called Reach. The covenant invade Reach in search of a weapon to help take over the galaxy. The humans must secure the weapon and keep it out of enemy hands to avoid the end of the human species. I was really surprised at how well they made this story fit into the beginning of the first Halo. It exceeded my expectations by a long shot. I was really concerned because the multiplayer Beta was terrible. And while not much has changed from the Beta, I have adapted my playing style to best fit the game and now it's more fun.The positives are the equipment you get to use. You can use to either have a jetpack, be able to sprint, or sometimes go invisible. Every player uses a different set so it makes the game very unique and different every time. I love how they have daily challenges that help you earn more credits to buy cool armor and upgrades.
The only negative I can think about is that the multiplayer maps are not as good as Halo 3's. Oh and the achievements are pretty easy. I've only had the game a few weeks and only need one more achievement to have my 1,000.
Here is my order for each Halo game according to campaign fun:
5. Halo ODST
4. Halo 2
3. Halo Reach
2. Halo 3
1. Halo
I give the game an 8 out of 10
My next review is Disturbed's newest album that came out on September 28th I think. It's called Asylum and it will rock your socks off. Now I know most of you think of Dusturbed as, well, Disturbing, but they are a really awesome band and actually sing about better topics than drugs, sex, and violence. This album had many different songs that sang about various themes. The first song is called Asylum and sings about a guy who has to live without this girl he loves and so his mind feels like an asylum.
I'll see you die, in asylum
I'll see you die, in asylum
i live a lie
Don't you know I'm in love with you
And I wasn't ready, for asylum
relive a lie
To let go, now it's dragging me into your grave
Your asylum
forget the lie
Overcome all the feelings, that I won't get to join you in time
This loneliness is killing me.
Another song talks about global warming. My Child talks about a guy who has become a father and he's afraid of what kind of father he'll be. Innocence is about corrupt lawyers who lie and cheat for their client's to be released from jail:
Your corruption is like a cancer growing inside
You owe the world an apology
You've been taught all your life that truth is easy to hide
You face your judgement another day
And suffer eternally
I love this album and I give it 4.5 out 5.
The last review of this blog is Linkin Park's A Thousand Suns. This album is a concept album, meaning that all the songs flow together. This album is focused on war and the end of the war which is unlike Linkin Park's old songs. Linkin Park used to say, "screw the world" and now we're trying to save it? Their songs have turned into mainstream, light, technoey crap that made me really really depressed to listen to this album. I was very disappointed, and now when I say who my favorite bands are I have to mention Linkin Park but only their old stuff, because they've gone downhill ever since their days of Hybrid Theory and Meteora. RIP Linkin ParkI give this album 1 out of 5.
Well that's all I can think of folks
Buckcherry, Three Days Grace, and Nickelback
Here I go again with another post for today. Just trying to keep yall busy. Well, just trying to keep myself busy.
Last week I got to go to another awesome concert with my brother, Zach. I love my brother to death. He makes me laugh, and even though I've corrupted him a little bit, he still sets a bigger example for me then I do for him.
He showed up the night before our concert and we kinda just chilled at the house. We were going to go mini golfing, but our FHE sisters asked us to come visit them for a little bit. By the time we were done talking to them the mini golf place was closed so Zach and I went to Walmart to get some food for the next couple of days.
The day of the concert was really fun. We went mini golfing at Trafalga. We found two extra balls on the course so we felt okay to play an extra round. :) I beat him, but I think it's just cause I get more practice than he does.
The concert started with Buckcherry from Los Angeles California. I don't know much about them so they weren't as good cause I didn't know any of their songs. I think the only song that people know is called "I'm Sorry"
I'm sorry I'm bad, I'm sorry I'm blue
I'm sorry 'bout all the things I said to you
And I know, I can't take it back
I love how you kiss, I love all your sounds
And baby the way you make my world go round
And I just wanted to say, I'm sorry
Next up was the band that was the reason why Zach and I went: Three Days Grace. Three Days Grace is from Ontario, Canada and they have hit singles like: I hate everything about you Animal I've become, Never too late, Pain, and Break They sang those songs and also some songs off their new album that most people don't know, but of course Zach and I did. They sang World so cold which was amazing. My favorite song was "Last to know". It's a slow song that just starts off with the piano and the lead singer, Adam Gontier. Look it up on YouTube because it is awesome. The chorus starts:
You were the first to say, that we were not okay
You were the first to lie, when we were not alright
This was my first love, she was the first to go
And when she left me for you, I was the last to know
And then the rest of the band came on the stage and it became all powerful music with him singing the last chorus:
I'll be the first to say, that now I'm okay
And for the first time, I've opened up my eyes
This was my worst love, you'll be the first to go
And when she leaves you for dead, you'll be the last to know
Last up was Nickelback, who we saw in May. It was very similar to the concert before so it wasn't as exciting, but they were still really good. They didn't sing some songs that I really liked that I'd hoped they would've like Far Away and If Everyone Cared, but at least they sang my favorite song, Someday:
How the Hell'd we wind up like this
Why weren't we able
to see the signs that we missed
and try to turn the table
Now the stories played out like this
just like a paperback novel
Let's rewrite an ending that fits
instead of a Hollywood Horror
Nothing's wrong just as long as you know that someday I will
Someday, Somehow
I'm gonna make it alright but not right now
I know you're wondering when
You're the only one who knows that
Someday, Somehow
I'm gonna make it alright but not right now
I know you're wondering when.
I don't have pictures now cause I'm at work, but I will post them as soon as I get them.
Last week I got to go to another awesome concert with my brother, Zach. I love my brother to death. He makes me laugh, and even though I've corrupted him a little bit, he still sets a bigger example for me then I do for him.
He showed up the night before our concert and we kinda just chilled at the house. We were going to go mini golfing, but our FHE sisters asked us to come visit them for a little bit. By the time we were done talking to them the mini golf place was closed so Zach and I went to Walmart to get some food for the next couple of days.
The day of the concert was really fun. We went mini golfing at Trafalga. We found two extra balls on the course so we felt okay to play an extra round. :) I beat him, but I think it's just cause I get more practice than he does.
The concert started with Buckcherry from Los Angeles California. I don't know much about them so they weren't as good cause I didn't know any of their songs. I think the only song that people know is called "I'm Sorry"
I'm sorry I'm bad, I'm sorry I'm blue
I'm sorry 'bout all the things I said to you
And I know, I can't take it back
I love how you kiss, I love all your sounds
And baby the way you make my world go round
And I just wanted to say, I'm sorry
Next up was the band that was the reason why Zach and I went: Three Days Grace. Three Days Grace is from Ontario, Canada and they have hit singles like: I hate everything about you Animal I've become, Never too late, Pain, and Break They sang those songs and also some songs off their new album that most people don't know, but of course Zach and I did. They sang World so cold which was amazing. My favorite song was "Last to know". It's a slow song that just starts off with the piano and the lead singer, Adam Gontier. Look it up on YouTube because it is awesome. The chorus starts:
You were the first to say, that we were not okay
You were the first to lie, when we were not alright
This was my first love, she was the first to go
And when she left me for you, I was the last to know
And then the rest of the band came on the stage and it became all powerful music with him singing the last chorus:
I'll be the first to say, that now I'm okay
And for the first time, I've opened up my eyes
This was my worst love, you'll be the first to go
And when she leaves you for dead, you'll be the last to know
Last up was Nickelback, who we saw in May. It was very similar to the concert before so it wasn't as exciting, but they were still really good. They didn't sing some songs that I really liked that I'd hoped they would've like Far Away and If Everyone Cared, but at least they sang my favorite song, Someday:
How the Hell'd we wind up like this
Why weren't we able
to see the signs that we missed
and try to turn the table
Now the stories played out like this
just like a paperback novel
Let's rewrite an ending that fits
instead of a Hollywood Horror
Nothing's wrong just as long as you know that someday I will
Someday, Somehow
I'm gonna make it alright but not right now
I know you're wondering when
You're the only one who knows that
Someday, Somehow
I'm gonna make it alright but not right now
I know you're wondering when.
I don't have pictures now cause I'm at work, but I will post them as soon as I get them.
My Top 25 and comments
Wow! Two posts in one day. Work is really dead today so I have time to do stuff like this :)
1. Boise State
1. Boise State
- Okay, I know this is my favorite team, but when you start off the year ranked #3 in the nation and the two teams in front of you have lost, you're still undefeated, and you haven't had any scares against crappy teams yet, I'm going to put them #1.
2. TCU
- Same reason as listed above. I thought TCU's thrashing of Baylor earlier this season meant nothing, but with Baylor now ranked in the top 25, it is looking better and better.
3. Oregon
- There's not much you can say about Oregon except for the fact that they just embarrass every team that they play. Their offense is unstoppable. Let's see how their defense does against USC who is looking better.
4. Auburn
- Right now the BCS has them ranked at #1 but what the BCS computers doesn't realize is that even though they've beaten four ranked teams, it hasn't been in convincing fashion. They beat Mississippi State by 3, needed overtime to beat Clemson, needed a last second field goal to beat Kentucky, and beat an overrated LSU team by seven. Computers don't see that though. I do.
5. Missouri
6. Michigan State
- The reason I picked Missouri over Michigan State: I think Oklahoma is better than Wisconsin. If Michigan State beats Iowa this week, I'll be more convinced to move them ahead.
7. Utah
- Ahead of Alabama, because they haven't lost yet.
8. Alabama
9. Wisconsin
10. Oklahoma
11. Ohio State
12. Stanford
13. LSU
14. Florida State
- I have them higher in the rankings than the BCS does. To me, they've just looked more impressive than some of the other one loss teams that are ahead of them.
15. Arizona
16. Nebraska
17. Virginia Tech
- I know I want this team ranked high because they lost to Boise State, but I really believe that this team is rolling on all cylinders and that they have the best chance of winning the ACC
18. Baylor
- Just like Virginia Tech, this team has been looking good the past few weeks.
19. Oklahoma State
20. South Carolina
21. Iowa
22. Arkansas
23. Mississippi State
24. Hawaii
- Have them ahead of Nevada cause.... well... uh, they beat Nevada.
25. Miami
Book Review: Death to the BCS
I finally found a book that I enjoyed reading. This book came out on the 14th of October and once I got it I could not put it down. For those of you who are college football fans, I would recommend this book.
Death to the BCS is a book that calls for college football reform. It explains the corruptiveness of the BCS, and takes all the counter-arguments that the BCS executives use against a playoff and makes them sound ridiculous. The first chapter explains the reasons why the executives of the BCS won't give up their power for a playoff. These executives are getting paid millions of dollars to put on these bowls, and might receive a cut in their paycheck if they were to go to a playoff. The second chapter is the authors' proposal for a 16-team playoff that was very similar to what my proposal was:
1. 16- team playoff with each conference champion receiving an automatic bid.
2. Remaining five teams are selected by a selection committee and then re-ranked
3. All the games except the national championship will be played at the higher seeds' home field
They explain that under this system the conferences would roughly make around $25 million for each game one of their teams plays in. They explain that under this system that conferences like the SEC would have made close to eight times more money than they did under the BCS!
The BCS argues that they don't want a playoff to keep the sacredness of the regular season. They say that if there is a playoff, then there will be some teams who know that they will be selected in the playoffs and will slack off during the regular season. They argue that the regular season will not mean as much as it does now. This is a ludicrous argument, because seeding will be so important in the playoffs that they can't afford to take a game off. The difference between a #3 and a #4 seed is the difference between playing a crappy CUSA opponent and a much better at large bid like LSU. The difference between a #2 and #3 seed is one extra game that you'll get to play at home. Another argument for this will now produce more competitive matchups. Under the BCS format you can only get into the championship with zero or one loss. So now all these powerhouse teams are scheduling crappy opponents to gurantee that there are no screwups. With the playoff format they will be able to schedule more competitive games, thus making the season more entertaining to watch.
Next to that agrument my next favorite argument was how corrupt the current system is at choosing who gets to play in the national championship. Last year there were five undefeated teams at the end of the regular season. Alabama, Boise State, Cincinnati, Texas, and Texas Christian, and only two of them got to play for the national championship. Someone needs to tell me how that is fair. Throw out strength of schedule, because these teams cannot control who they play. Right now the BCS is comprised of three elements. The Harris (media) poll, the USA Today coaches poll, and a computer ranking. In this book it told how each of the undefeateds were fighting for that #2 spot so bad that the coach of Texas Christian voted his team #2 and Cincinnati #8. Cincinnati voted their team #2 while they voted Texas Christian #14. I'm not 100% sure on their exact poll location but it was something close to that. So instead of people voting for who they truly think is the best team, coaches and alumni are voting their teams #1 and voting all of the competition way down the list. The computer polls get me the most because they don't factor in margin of victory in their rankings. Sure, having margin of victory being factored in would motivate teams to run up the score, but it would be better than what the computers do now. This year when the first BCS rankings were released, Oklahoma was ranked #1 in the computers, but what it didn't realize was that Oklahoma had barely beat a crappy Utah State team by seven and Air Force by three. Boise State has slipped in their polls because of Oregon State losing to Washington, but the computer doesn't see that Oregon State lost by 1 in double overtime in Washington and without their star receiver.
There are plenty of other arguments that this book contains that I could not agree with more. This is the way a college football post season should be played. I loved this book and was glad I bought it, and I know that if you are remotely interested in college football and know a little bit about the system it is run under, you would love this book too.
Death to the BCS is a book that calls for college football reform. It explains the corruptiveness of the BCS, and takes all the counter-arguments that the BCS executives use against a playoff and makes them sound ridiculous. The first chapter explains the reasons why the executives of the BCS won't give up their power for a playoff. These executives are getting paid millions of dollars to put on these bowls, and might receive a cut in their paycheck if they were to go to a playoff. The second chapter is the authors' proposal for a 16-team playoff that was very similar to what my proposal was:
1. 16- team playoff with each conference champion receiving an automatic bid.
2. Remaining five teams are selected by a selection committee and then re-ranked
3. All the games except the national championship will be played at the higher seeds' home field
They explain that under this system the conferences would roughly make around $25 million for each game one of their teams plays in. They explain that under this system that conferences like the SEC would have made close to eight times more money than they did under the BCS!
The BCS argues that they don't want a playoff to keep the sacredness of the regular season. They say that if there is a playoff, then there will be some teams who know that they will be selected in the playoffs and will slack off during the regular season. They argue that the regular season will not mean as much as it does now. This is a ludicrous argument, because seeding will be so important in the playoffs that they can't afford to take a game off. The difference between a #3 and a #4 seed is the difference between playing a crappy CUSA opponent and a much better at large bid like LSU. The difference between a #2 and #3 seed is one extra game that you'll get to play at home. Another argument for this will now produce more competitive matchups. Under the BCS format you can only get into the championship with zero or one loss. So now all these powerhouse teams are scheduling crappy opponents to gurantee that there are no screwups. With the playoff format they will be able to schedule more competitive games, thus making the season more entertaining to watch.
Next to that agrument my next favorite argument was how corrupt the current system is at choosing who gets to play in the national championship. Last year there were five undefeated teams at the end of the regular season. Alabama, Boise State, Cincinnati, Texas, and Texas Christian, and only two of them got to play for the national championship. Someone needs to tell me how that is fair. Throw out strength of schedule, because these teams cannot control who they play. Right now the BCS is comprised of three elements. The Harris (media) poll, the USA Today coaches poll, and a computer ranking. In this book it told how each of the undefeateds were fighting for that #2 spot so bad that the coach of Texas Christian voted his team #2 and Cincinnati #8. Cincinnati voted their team #2 while they voted Texas Christian #14. I'm not 100% sure on their exact poll location but it was something close to that. So instead of people voting for who they truly think is the best team, coaches and alumni are voting their teams #1 and voting all of the competition way down the list. The computer polls get me the most because they don't factor in margin of victory in their rankings. Sure, having margin of victory being factored in would motivate teams to run up the score, but it would be better than what the computers do now. This year when the first BCS rankings were released, Oklahoma was ranked #1 in the computers, but what it didn't realize was that Oklahoma had barely beat a crappy Utah State team by seven and Air Force by three. Boise State has slipped in their polls because of Oregon State losing to Washington, but the computer doesn't see that Oregon State lost by 1 in double overtime in Washington and without their star receiver.
There are plenty of other arguments that this book contains that I could not agree with more. This is the way a college football post season should be played. I loved this book and was glad I bought it, and I know that if you are remotely interested in college football and know a little bit about the system it is run under, you would love this book too.
Monday, September 13, 2010
A Disappointing College Football Weekend
In a week dubbed as "Monster Saturday" it really didn't turn out that scary. Instead this weekend in college football really turned out to be a disappointment. There were four FCS upsets over FBS opponents, and games that were guessed to be close were not close at all. Even though I only saw one game, I was disappointed by the many stories, and have made a list of the five most disappointed college football stories of the weekend.
5. Marshall not being able to hold on for the victory: West Virginia scored on the final play and converted a two point conversion to push the game into overtime and eventually won. If Marshall would have won that game, no Big East team would be ranked in the top #25.
4. Florida State flops big time against Oklahoma: I know Florida State only killed Samford last week, but many analysts were saying that this team looked good. Oklahoma had a hard time putting Utah State away last week. I personally thought Florida State was going to dominate Oklahoma, but instead it turned into a 47-17 shalacking. The game was never close.
3. Jacory Harris's turnovers against Ohio State: Jacory Harris had 4 interceptions against Ohio State, and the Hurricanes lost 36-24. The score was a lot closer than the game really was. 14 points came off a kick and punt return for a TD. Take those away and the score would have been 36-10.
2. BYU vs. Air Force: Like I've explained before, I'm not a loyal fan of BYU, but I was still cheering for them this year. Both quarterbacks didn't play well, and BYU got dominated 35-14. I wasn't able to watch the game, but from what I heard, there were some dropped passes, mysterious fumbles, and crappy defense that all contributed to the skewed defeat. The thing that disappointed me the most was how they abandoned Jake Heaps after the 1st half. I was never really a fan of having two quarterback switching in and out, but when you make that decision you have to stick with it. You can't have one do bad in the first half, and totally not play him the second half... especially when the other quarterback isn't doing any better. What is that going to do for this freshman's confidence? I think you should decide before the game if you're going to use one or two, and then you stick with that decision. This is going to be a down year for BYU and we'll see how they respond after this disappointing loss.
1. My number one most disappointing story of college football this weekend is Virginia Tech losing to FCS James Madison. After Virginia Tech's loss to Boise State they only dropped three spots to #13 in the country. Virginia Tech was still considered to be a powerhouse, because they only lost by three to the #3 team in the country. James Madison comes into town and upsets #13 Virginia Tech which is a devastating blow to Boise State's national championship hopes. Boise State was counting on this one win to vault them into the national championship. Boise State needed Virginia Tech to have an excellent season, but from their performance on Saturday it looks like Virginia Tech and Boise State are doomed. We'll see how the rest of the season pan's out, but it was a very very disappointing weekend for college football.
Another disappointing story that wasn't college football was the 49ers ugly loss to the Seahwaks yeterday. The 49ers were coming in with so much hype and expectations to make the playoffs. Granted, I still think they are the best team in the NFC West, but it clearly didn't show yesterday. All of the pressure has been put on Alex Smith, the quarterback, to lead this team to the playoffs, and he laid an egg yesterday. If he doesn't get this team into the playoffs, look for him to be sent packing, and the 49ers will be where they started at the beginning of the season.
Well that's it for my blog. Please continue to read this. It's way better than checking my status updates on facebook. By the way I deleted my facebook so this is how to see what I'm up to now. Take care everyone.
5. Marshall not being able to hold on for the victory: West Virginia scored on the final play and converted a two point conversion to push the game into overtime and eventually won. If Marshall would have won that game, no Big East team would be ranked in the top #25.
4. Florida State flops big time against Oklahoma: I know Florida State only killed Samford last week, but many analysts were saying that this team looked good. Oklahoma had a hard time putting Utah State away last week. I personally thought Florida State was going to dominate Oklahoma, but instead it turned into a 47-17 shalacking. The game was never close.
3. Jacory Harris's turnovers against Ohio State: Jacory Harris had 4 interceptions against Ohio State, and the Hurricanes lost 36-24. The score was a lot closer than the game really was. 14 points came off a kick and punt return for a TD. Take those away and the score would have been 36-10.
2. BYU vs. Air Force: Like I've explained before, I'm not a loyal fan of BYU, but I was still cheering for them this year. Both quarterbacks didn't play well, and BYU got dominated 35-14. I wasn't able to watch the game, but from what I heard, there were some dropped passes, mysterious fumbles, and crappy defense that all contributed to the skewed defeat. The thing that disappointed me the most was how they abandoned Jake Heaps after the 1st half. I was never really a fan of having two quarterback switching in and out, but when you make that decision you have to stick with it. You can't have one do bad in the first half, and totally not play him the second half... especially when the other quarterback isn't doing any better. What is that going to do for this freshman's confidence? I think you should decide before the game if you're going to use one or two, and then you stick with that decision. This is going to be a down year for BYU and we'll see how they respond after this disappointing loss.
1. My number one most disappointing story of college football this weekend is Virginia Tech losing to FCS James Madison. After Virginia Tech's loss to Boise State they only dropped three spots to #13 in the country. Virginia Tech was still considered to be a powerhouse, because they only lost by three to the #3 team in the country. James Madison comes into town and upsets #13 Virginia Tech which is a devastating blow to Boise State's national championship hopes. Boise State was counting on this one win to vault them into the national championship. Boise State needed Virginia Tech to have an excellent season, but from their performance on Saturday it looks like Virginia Tech and Boise State are doomed. We'll see how the rest of the season pan's out, but it was a very very disappointing weekend for college football.
Another disappointing story that wasn't college football was the 49ers ugly loss to the Seahwaks yeterday. The 49ers were coming in with so much hype and expectations to make the playoffs. Granted, I still think they are the best team in the NFC West, but it clearly didn't show yesterday. All of the pressure has been put on Alex Smith, the quarterback, to lead this team to the playoffs, and he laid an egg yesterday. If he doesn't get this team into the playoffs, look for him to be sent packing, and the 49ers will be where they started at the beginning of the season.
Well that's it for my blog. Please continue to read this. It's way better than checking my status updates on facebook. By the way I deleted my facebook so this is how to see what I'm up to now. Take care everyone.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
IT'S FOOTBALL TIME!!!
I've been meaning to write this blog for sometime now, and now I'm so bored during my lunch break at work that I might be able to get a good chunk of this done. I love football and it is just around the corner I can hardly take it. The sad thing is that in my new apartment I don't have cable yet. I'm working getting some cable, and hopefully be able to watch some games soon. This is the year to be watching college football. I don't think there will be a more dramatic season of football. Not only do we have teams jumping ship after this year to a new conference. (Nebraska to the Big Ten, Utah and Colorado to the Pac-10, and Boise State, Nevada, and Fresno State to the Mountain West.) You have new quarterbacks ready to take over the dynasty, where they are filling the shoes of great quarterbacks. (Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, and Tim Tebow.) And then you have the drama of the non-automatic qualifiers poised to bust the BCS and even make it to the national championship. Boise State starts off ranked #3, TCU is #6 and Utah and Houston are just out of the top 25. It is a great time to be a college football fan.
BOISE STATE
As I start my college preview, I must start with my favorite team of course, the Boise State Broncos. Boise State starts higher than they ever have, and higher than any other non-AQ team in college football. They start behind Alabama and Ohio State who have very difficult schedules. Boise State finally has the non-conference schedule strength to help make up for their poor conference schedule. If the Broncos go undefeated it will be very hard to keep them out of the national championship game. It would be very unfair to keep a team who has gone undefeated two years in a row. I believe that they might still get shafted, but one can only pray. First they must take care of the #10 ranked Virginia Tech team. If the Broncos can win that game they will have a free ride to an undefeated season. This team is loaded. They return 20 of 22 starters including heisman candidate Kellen More and All-WAC receivers Austin Pettis and Titus Young. Not only that, but they return the whole offensive line who gave up the fewest sacks in the nation last year. Their defense is even better than their offense and will be very hard to run and score against.
BYU
Since i have so many people that are BYU fans I felt I must share my opinion on the Cougars. To be honest, I'm starting to like the Cougars less and less during the coming years. First off I can't stand some of the fans, and now I can't stand the way they are handling their athletic department. I truly believe that BYU is upset that they got left behind while Utah went to the Pac-10. Earlier this month there were rumors that BYU wanted to go independent. Independent is where they are not tied to a conference and they get to make their own schedule every year like Notre Dame, Army, and Navy. Many of the Cougar faithful want them to go independent. They think they can play without a conference, get into a BCS bowl, and not have to share their money with anyone. Of course they could do it. They have their own television network that could reach the whole country. They have a giant fan base. If they were just going after the money this would be a great idea. If they are going for Football Prestige though this would be a foolish idea, and here is why?:
1. The BCS has a system where Notre Dame must be ranked in the top 8 for them to get an automatic BCS birth. Army and Navy however, are only guaranteed a BCS game if they are in the top 2. There is no guarantee that BYU will get the same treatment that Notre Dame does.
2. A Mountain West schedule will bring more strength than a custom one: If BYU were to go independent they would have to schedule close to 12 games. One would be Utah of course, they have received agreements to play Texas and Boise State as well. They also had agreed to play six WAC teams as well (since all of the other sports would become part of the WAC) They would probably play Army, Navy, and Notre Dame, and Utah State as well. That is a weaker schedule than the one they already have. Six MWC games is a lot stronger than six WAC teams and will be more credible. BYU can't even go undefeated in their own conference. What makes them think they will be able to go undefeated with a custom schedule that includes Texas and maybe some other top 25 teams down the road too. The Mountain West will be disappointed that they left them and no Mountain West teams will want to play them down the road.
The Mountain West has invited Fresno State and Nevada to play in their conference. Both of them have accepted. The talks of going independent have died down, probably because BYU doesn't want to play their other sports in a conference with only six teams. In time we will find out.
Here is my top 25 for this season. It is a little biased, but I truly believe the top 25 are in this order:
1. Boise State
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. Texas
5. TCU
6. Nebraska
7. Oklahoma
8. Iowa
9. Florida
10. Virginia Tech
11. Wisconsin
12. Miami
13. Pittsburgh
14. Oregon
15. Florida State
16. Auburn
17. USC
18. North Carolina
19. Georgia Tech
20. Arkansas
21. LSU
22. Utah
23. Oregon State
24. Penn State
25. Houston
Here are my projected conference winners.
Florida Sate - ACC Atlantic
Virginia Tech - ACC Coastal
Nebraska - Big 12 North
Texas - Big 12 South
Pittsburgh - Big East
Wisconsin - Big Ten
Southern Miss - Conf. USA East
Houston - Conf. USA West
Temple - MAC East
Central Michigan - MAC West
Utah - MWC
Oregon - Pac-10
Florida - SEC East
Alabama - SEC West
Middle Tennessee- Sun Belt
Boise State - WAC
And the last thing for my review: You all know how I would love for a 16-team playoff. This is what it would look like going off the Preseason Rankings
#1 Alabama (SEC) vs. #16 Ohio (MAC)
#2 Ohio State (Big Ten) vs. #15 East Carolina (C-USA)
#3 Boise State (WAC) vs. #14 Middle Tennessee (Sun Belt)
#4 Texas (Big 12) vs. #13 Pittsburgh (Big East)
#5 Florida (At Large) vs. #12 Wisconsin (At Large)
#6 TCU (MWC) vs. #11 Oregon (Pac-10)
#7 Oklahoma (At Large) vs. #10 Virginia Tech (ACC)
#8 Nebraska (At Large) vs. #9 Iowa (At Large)
BOISE STATE
As I start my college preview, I must start with my favorite team of course, the Boise State Broncos. Boise State starts higher than they ever have, and higher than any other non-AQ team in college football. They start behind Alabama and Ohio State who have very difficult schedules. Boise State finally has the non-conference schedule strength to help make up for their poor conference schedule. If the Broncos go undefeated it will be very hard to keep them out of the national championship game. It would be very unfair to keep a team who has gone undefeated two years in a row. I believe that they might still get shafted, but one can only pray. First they must take care of the #10 ranked Virginia Tech team. If the Broncos can win that game they will have a free ride to an undefeated season. This team is loaded. They return 20 of 22 starters including heisman candidate Kellen More and All-WAC receivers Austin Pettis and Titus Young. Not only that, but they return the whole offensive line who gave up the fewest sacks in the nation last year. Their defense is even better than their offense and will be very hard to run and score against.
BYU
Since i have so many people that are BYU fans I felt I must share my opinion on the Cougars. To be honest, I'm starting to like the Cougars less and less during the coming years. First off I can't stand some of the fans, and now I can't stand the way they are handling their athletic department. I truly believe that BYU is upset that they got left behind while Utah went to the Pac-10. Earlier this month there were rumors that BYU wanted to go independent. Independent is where they are not tied to a conference and they get to make their own schedule every year like Notre Dame, Army, and Navy. Many of the Cougar faithful want them to go independent. They think they can play without a conference, get into a BCS bowl, and not have to share their money with anyone. Of course they could do it. They have their own television network that could reach the whole country. They have a giant fan base. If they were just going after the money this would be a great idea. If they are going for Football Prestige though this would be a foolish idea, and here is why?:
1. The BCS has a system where Notre Dame must be ranked in the top 8 for them to get an automatic BCS birth. Army and Navy however, are only guaranteed a BCS game if they are in the top 2. There is no guarantee that BYU will get the same treatment that Notre Dame does.
2. A Mountain West schedule will bring more strength than a custom one: If BYU were to go independent they would have to schedule close to 12 games. One would be Utah of course, they have received agreements to play Texas and Boise State as well. They also had agreed to play six WAC teams as well (since all of the other sports would become part of the WAC) They would probably play Army, Navy, and Notre Dame, and Utah State as well. That is a weaker schedule than the one they already have. Six MWC games is a lot stronger than six WAC teams and will be more credible. BYU can't even go undefeated in their own conference. What makes them think they will be able to go undefeated with a custom schedule that includes Texas and maybe some other top 25 teams down the road too. The Mountain West will be disappointed that they left them and no Mountain West teams will want to play them down the road.
The Mountain West has invited Fresno State and Nevada to play in their conference. Both of them have accepted. The talks of going independent have died down, probably because BYU doesn't want to play their other sports in a conference with only six teams. In time we will find out.
Here is my top 25 for this season. It is a little biased, but I truly believe the top 25 are in this order:
1. Boise State
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. Texas
5. TCU
6. Nebraska
7. Oklahoma
8. Iowa
9. Florida
10. Virginia Tech
11. Wisconsin
12. Miami
13. Pittsburgh
14. Oregon
15. Florida State
16. Auburn
17. USC
18. North Carolina
19. Georgia Tech
20. Arkansas
21. LSU
22. Utah
23. Oregon State
24. Penn State
25. Houston
Here are my projected conference winners.
Florida Sate - ACC Atlantic
Virginia Tech - ACC Coastal
Nebraska - Big 12 North
Texas - Big 12 South
Pittsburgh - Big East
Wisconsin - Big Ten
Southern Miss - Conf. USA East
Houston - Conf. USA West
Temple - MAC East
Central Michigan - MAC West
Utah - MWC
Oregon - Pac-10
Florida - SEC East
Alabama - SEC West
Middle Tennessee- Sun Belt
Boise State - WAC
And the last thing for my review: You all know how I would love for a 16-team playoff. This is what it would look like going off the Preseason Rankings
#1 Alabama (SEC) vs. #16 Ohio (MAC)
#2 Ohio State (Big Ten) vs. #15 East Carolina (C-USA)
#3 Boise State (WAC) vs. #14 Middle Tennessee (Sun Belt)
#4 Texas (Big 12) vs. #13 Pittsburgh (Big East)
#5 Florida (At Large) vs. #12 Wisconsin (At Large)
#6 TCU (MWC) vs. #11 Oregon (Pac-10)
#7 Oklahoma (At Large) vs. #10 Virginia Tech (ACC)
#8 Nebraska (At Large) vs. #9 Iowa (At Large)
Saturday, July 10, 2010
My thoughts on The King
Many people are arguing whether or not Lebron James made the right decision to leave Cleveland to become the third member of the new “Big 3” in Miami. The answer to this question depends largely upon who you ask. I can assure you that the fans in Cleveland are feeling betrayed, or think that Lebron is being a coward. Dan Gilbert, the Cavaliers owner, reacted very immaturely saying that the Cavaliers will win a championship before Lebron James does. “You can take that to the bank.” He also mentions that the Lebron James quit in the second round of the playoffs against the Celtics. I can hardly put any credit to his comments, because wasn’t he in the running to sign Lebron James again? I wouldn’t want a guy who quits in the playoffs on my team again. I think the owner is just a little butt-hurt about not getting his star player back. Meanwhile, the fans in Miami are now screaming chants of “Beat LA, Beat LA.” With this Miami team stacked, they could have a chance to finally take down the Lakers this coming year.
Many people are forming their own opinions about the whole situation. My opinion might be a little different than most, but here it goes. I think Lebron James made the best decision for his career. I know most of you reading this blog don’t play video games where you get to become a coach of a professional team, or even make yourself be a professional career. When I play football or basketball games where I’m a player/coach in a dynasty, I get bored of staying with the same team. Most the time I’m able to win a championship 75% of the time, and that gets boring, so I go to some crappy team and build them up. Now I know that is the complete opposite of what Lebron James is doing, but the guy spent seven years trying to get a ring, and was never given enough good teammates to take him to the top. There are many reasons why professionals play in the NBA. Many play for the money. Some play for the championships, and some just play because they love the game of basketball. To me, there is no problem with either reason. It’s apparent that Lebron James wants a championship and feels that he has a better chance of doing it in Miami than he does in Cleveland. Don’t get me wrong, I have great admiration for players that stay loyal to their team. John Stockton played his whole career in Utah and never won a championship. Dan Marino also stayed with his Dolphins and never won a championship. All in all I understand where he’s coming from.
The only thing I did not like was how Lebron James turned it into a reality show. I think he could have handled things a lot better instead of burning the bridges he had with Cleveland. I think if he would have told Cleveland that he needed some superstars of his own, or he was leaving, Cleveland would have tried harder to get rid of some of the cap room to sign some players. When Lebron told him that he was dedicated to winning championships, it was hard for me not to think he was going somewhere else. Cleveland, to me, didn’t seem to try that hard to sign a Robin to Lebron’s Batman. What did you want Lebron to do? He’s a winner, and he will go where he has the best chance of winning. Part of me thinks Lebron wanted out, because Cleveland wasn’t getting him anybody, but I still think he should have helped them in bringing in other big superstars.
To close out of this blog I would like to criticize my Jazz for their offseason inactivity. They just let Boozer and Kyle Korver walk out of Utah and into Illinois without even putting up a fight. I’m not overly concerned about Kyle Korver, because he only averaged seven points a game, and was a hit and miss with how good he was. If the Jazz expect to win with the current team that they have they will be worse than they were last year, not better. In my honest opinion, I think that they need a center that is big and can play defense. I was kind of hoping that Amare Stoudemaire would have come to the Jazz, but now he’s with New York. We’ll see how the rest of the offseason pays out, but I sure hope that we get someone down low that can play defense, otherwise we will not be able to defend Pao Gasol or Andrew Bynum this season.
Many people are forming their own opinions about the whole situation. My opinion might be a little different than most, but here it goes. I think Lebron James made the best decision for his career. I know most of you reading this blog don’t play video games where you get to become a coach of a professional team, or even make yourself be a professional career. When I play football or basketball games where I’m a player/coach in a dynasty, I get bored of staying with the same team. Most the time I’m able to win a championship 75% of the time, and that gets boring, so I go to some crappy team and build them up. Now I know that is the complete opposite of what Lebron James is doing, but the guy spent seven years trying to get a ring, and was never given enough good teammates to take him to the top. There are many reasons why professionals play in the NBA. Many play for the money. Some play for the championships, and some just play because they love the game of basketball. To me, there is no problem with either reason. It’s apparent that Lebron James wants a championship and feels that he has a better chance of doing it in Miami than he does in Cleveland. Don’t get me wrong, I have great admiration for players that stay loyal to their team. John Stockton played his whole career in Utah and never won a championship. Dan Marino also stayed with his Dolphins and never won a championship. All in all I understand where he’s coming from.
The only thing I did not like was how Lebron James turned it into a reality show. I think he could have handled things a lot better instead of burning the bridges he had with Cleveland. I think if he would have told Cleveland that he needed some superstars of his own, or he was leaving, Cleveland would have tried harder to get rid of some of the cap room to sign some players. When Lebron told him that he was dedicated to winning championships, it was hard for me not to think he was going somewhere else. Cleveland, to me, didn’t seem to try that hard to sign a Robin to Lebron’s Batman. What did you want Lebron to do? He’s a winner, and he will go where he has the best chance of winning. Part of me thinks Lebron wanted out, because Cleveland wasn’t getting him anybody, but I still think he should have helped them in bringing in other big superstars.
To close out of this blog I would like to criticize my Jazz for their offseason inactivity. They just let Boozer and Kyle Korver walk out of Utah and into Illinois without even putting up a fight. I’m not overly concerned about Kyle Korver, because he only averaged seven points a game, and was a hit and miss with how good he was. If the Jazz expect to win with the current team that they have they will be worse than they were last year, not better. In my honest opinion, I think that they need a center that is big and can play defense. I was kind of hoping that Amare Stoudemaire would have come to the Jazz, but now he’s with New York. We’ll see how the rest of the offseason pays out, but I sure hope that we get someone down low that can play defense, otherwise we will not be able to defend Pao Gasol or Andrew Bynum this season.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Wedding and a Concert
It had been three months since I got to go to Idaho to visit the wonderful family whom I grew up with. I was fortunate to have all of these events happen on the same weekend.
I didn't arrive in Idaho until 11:30 on Friday night. Friday was a very long day. Waking up for my second day at school at 7:00 and then going to work from 12:00 - 8:30 made a very long day. Fortunately my work day went by pretty fast. I was going to be able to leave early because I had accrued about 45 minutes of overtime over the week. When my shift was scheduled to end at 7:45 one of the supervisors asked if I would like to take some of the agents off the phone and play volleyball with them. Thinking this as an opportunity to meet some people, especially of the female gender, I accepted. I grabbed four females and three males to at least make the competition fair. After volleyball it was off to Idaho in Lester's natural gas truck, because I was picking up a chair from my dad at the end of the weekend. Although it was cheaper it was a hassle, because I had no cruise control, and in order for me to listen to my music I had to use my laptop.
Saturday was my cousin, Caitlyn's, wedding day. It's ironic, because Caitlyn and I had taken a trip to Utah only six months ago, and on the way to Utah all she would tell me is how she doesn't know if she'll ever get married. She told me she will never find a guy that she feels she will be able to put up with for eternity, and vice versa. Well evidently she was able to find one. The wedding was great, and as I was sitting there inside the temple I just had a strong witness bear testimony to me that this is the place to get married. This should be our ultimate goal for our future family. I don't know about you, but to me this life is way too short, and I can't stand the thought of me being without my future wife after death. I also decided that on my wedding date I'm going to wear a white suit jacket. Both Caitlyn's and Britanni's husbands wore a white suit jacket and it looks very sharp :)
As all of you know Sunday was Mother's Day. My mother and step-father had the opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting. Well my mom did. They only gave them enough time for my mom to give her talk and Bryan to share his testimony. Lucky for Bryan, he gets to give his talk next week. I just want to share with you how much I love my mom. It was exactly a year ago when i was up there giving my missionary farewell. No one expected me to be in this position a year from now, but my mom has always been supportive of me, and has just thought of me and what makes me happy. She has helped me so much this year and I greatly appreciate it. She's the most strong-willed and strong in the testimony person I know. Her talk was on charity, and to me she is a great example of charity.
Now that I got you all teary-eyed it is time to let you know how I got my soul rocked last night. I had never been to a concert before, and after going to this one, I can't wait to go to the next one. Zach and I had been planning this concert for almost two and a half months and we were finally able to go. When we got there we bought the official Breaking Benjamin tour shirts for $35. Pretty spendy but well worth it. As members of the church Zach and I were exposed to lots of things of this world that you wouldn't find anywhere else. The biggest example was all the beer. Everybody around us was drinking beer. It smelled nasty and people were doing some weird stuff. That was about the only negative of the show.
The first group up was a band called Sick Puppies. Sick Puppies is a three member band from Sydney Australia who is an "in your face" screamy band. I liked it. They sang some awesome songs and it was cool to see a female bassist. She was getting into it and she was pretty good. Many of you haven't heard any of their songs. They sang these songs, "You're Going Down", All the Same", "Odd One", and "Street Fighter" WARNING: These songs have explicit lyrics. Beware
Second was Shinedown. Shinedown is a rock band that sings some good hardcore songs as well as some great ballads that many girls would like. I would recommend listening to some of their songs. They opened up with "The Sound of Madness" and sang many other popular songs like "If you only knew" "Second Chance" "Devour" "I Dare You" and "The Crow & The Butterfly" The lead singer was the perfect impression of Jack Black in School of Rock if any of you have seen it. He had the best rocker voice of them all in my opinion.
The next group was Breaking Benjamin; Zach and mine's favorite of the four. Breaking Benjamin is a rock group that has a unique style. Besides the main group, they are probably the most known. They opened with "I will not Bow" off their new album. They also sang songs widely known like "The Diary of Jane", "Breath", "Until the End." They sang their new hit single which is one of my favorites, "Give me a Sign" and also their hit song off the Halo 2 video game, "Blow me Away"
Then it was time for the grand finale! NICKELBACK! They opened with a bang, and never quit. There was flames and a lot of stuff that you would see at a rock concert. It was amazing. Of course they played their songs and did very well at them, but they also took the time to mess around and do some other stuff to. One of my favorite memories was when they were sitting on stools. They had just got done playing Far Away and convinced the audience that girls think its great to make-out in the middle of a rock ballad. They started doing random things and then they said. We're going to sing a song of you. Chad Kroeger said, "I guarantee 100% of the women here no every word to this song, and about 3/4 of the dudes do," and then he started to sing "Don't stop Believing," by Journey. He would stop periodically to let the crowd sing along. He only sang one verse and stopped. Afterward he said, "You guys sing louder to freaking Journey than you do to our crap. That's messed up!" They were really funny.
I came to love each band a little more that night. Concerts are just amazing. If you haven't been to one I would definitely recommend it, but I must warn you. They are musicians and they get to say or sing whatever they want. All of them were crude at some points during their shows, except for Shinedown, but it was still an amazing experience, and can't wait to go to another one.
I didn't arrive in Idaho until 11:30 on Friday night. Friday was a very long day. Waking up for my second day at school at 7:00 and then going to work from 12:00 - 8:30 made a very long day. Fortunately my work day went by pretty fast. I was going to be able to leave early because I had accrued about 45 minutes of overtime over the week. When my shift was scheduled to end at 7:45 one of the supervisors asked if I would like to take some of the agents off the phone and play volleyball with them. Thinking this as an opportunity to meet some people, especially of the female gender, I accepted. I grabbed four females and three males to at least make the competition fair. After volleyball it was off to Idaho in Lester's natural gas truck, because I was picking up a chair from my dad at the end of the weekend. Although it was cheaper it was a hassle, because I had no cruise control, and in order for me to listen to my music I had to use my laptop.
Saturday was my cousin, Caitlyn's, wedding day. It's ironic, because Caitlyn and I had taken a trip to Utah only six months ago, and on the way to Utah all she would tell me is how she doesn't know if she'll ever get married. She told me she will never find a guy that she feels she will be able to put up with for eternity, and vice versa. Well evidently she was able to find one. The wedding was great, and as I was sitting there inside the temple I just had a strong witness bear testimony to me that this is the place to get married. This should be our ultimate goal for our future family. I don't know about you, but to me this life is way too short, and I can't stand the thought of me being without my future wife after death. I also decided that on my wedding date I'm going to wear a white suit jacket. Both Caitlyn's and Britanni's husbands wore a white suit jacket and it looks very sharp :)As all of you know Sunday was Mother's Day. My mother and step-father had the opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting. Well my mom did. They only gave them enough time for my mom to give her talk and Bryan to share his testimony. Lucky for Bryan, he gets to give his talk next week. I just want to share with you how much I love my mom. It was exactly a year ago when i was up there giving my missionary farewell. No one expected me to be in this position a year from now, but my mom has always been supportive of me, and has just thought of me and what makes me happy. She has helped me so much this year and I greatly appreciate it. She's the most strong-willed and strong in the testimony person I know. Her talk was on charity, and to me she is a great example of charity.
Now that I got you all teary-eyed it is time to let you know how I got my soul rocked last night. I had never been to a concert before, and after going to this one, I can't wait to go to the next one. Zach and I had been planning this concert for almost two and a half months and we were finally able to go. When we got there we bought the official Breaking Benjamin tour shirts for $35. Pretty spendy but well worth it. As members of the church Zach and I were exposed to lots of things of this world that you wouldn't find anywhere else. The biggest example was all the beer. Everybody around us was drinking beer. It smelled nasty and people were doing some weird stuff. That was about the only negative of the show.
The first group up was a band called Sick Puppies. Sick Puppies is a three member band from Sydney Australia who is an "in your face" screamy band. I liked it. They sang some awesome songs and it was cool to see a female bassist. She was getting into it and she was pretty good. Many of you haven't heard any of their songs. They sang these songs, "You're Going Down", All the Same", "Odd One", and "Street Fighter" WARNING: These songs have explicit lyrics. Beware
Second was Shinedown. Shinedown is a rock band that sings some good hardcore songs as well as some great ballads that many girls would like. I would recommend listening to some of their songs. They opened up with "The Sound of Madness" and sang many other popular songs like "If you only knew" "Second Chance" "Devour" "I Dare You" and "The Crow & The Butterfly" The lead singer was the perfect impression of Jack Black in School of Rock if any of you have seen it. He had the best rocker voice of them all in my opinion.
The next group was Breaking Benjamin; Zach and mine's favorite of the four. Breaking Benjamin is a rock group that has a unique style. Besides the main group, they are probably the most known. They opened with "I will not Bow" off their new album. They also sang songs widely known like "The Diary of Jane", "Breath", "Until the End." They sang their new hit single which is one of my favorites, "Give me a Sign" and also their hit song off the Halo 2 video game, "Blow me Away"
Then it was time for the grand finale! NICKELBACK! They opened with a bang, and never quit. There was flames and a lot of stuff that you would see at a rock concert. It was amazing. Of course they played their songs and did very well at them, but they also took the time to mess around and do some other stuff to. One of my favorite memories was when they were sitting on stools. They had just got done playing Far Away and convinced the audience that girls think its great to make-out in the middle of a rock ballad. They started doing random things and then they said. We're going to sing a song of you. Chad Kroeger said, "I guarantee 100% of the women here no every word to this song, and about 3/4 of the dudes do," and then he started to sing "Don't stop Believing," by Journey. He would stop periodically to let the crowd sing along. He only sang one verse and stopped. Afterward he said, "You guys sing louder to freaking Journey than you do to our crap. That's messed up!" They were really funny.
I came to love each band a little more that night. Concerts are just amazing. If you haven't been to one I would definitely recommend it, but I must warn you. They are musicians and they get to say or sing whatever they want. All of them were crude at some points during their shows, except for Shinedown, but it was still an amazing experience, and can't wait to go to another one.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Testimonies
I've decided I'm going to try and write weekly blogs with the thing that I had on my mind that week.
Yesterday Shayne and I went to Katie and Skyler's new ward. Skyler got called to serve as a member of the bishopric in one of the UVU student wards. One of my biggest pet peeves of the church is that most members don't know how to bear testimonies anymore. After sacrament meeting I felt that all I heard was a bunch of stories of trials that either tried to one up the previous story, or just try and get you to feel sorry for them. I also heard some "testimonies" that made me feel like they just wanted me to see how well they were living their life. I was getting so annoyed that I was half tempted to just go up and bear my testimony on what testimonies are.
When you bear your testimony you are standing as a witness and telling everyone in the congregation what you know and what you believe about this gospel. It is not a time to tell everyone stories. It is not a time to thank everyone for what they have done for them. Save those for your blogs, relief society, or girls/scout camp. I don't care how you're feeling stressed because you had to drive here, and you don't know if you have enough gas to get back home. I never want to hear the phrase "before I bear my testimony I just want to share an experience with you" This is not the time.
In closing I just want to say that I think the best way to bear your testimony is to bear like you do after giving a talk. After everyone gives a talk they always bear their testimonies on the things they talk and that they are true. That is how we should all bear testimonies. I don't mean to be a stickler, and I'm not trying to be black and white here. You can have funny testimonies, and you can also have powerful testimonies, but please just make it a testimony, and not a storymony/thankamony.
Yesterday Shayne and I went to Katie and Skyler's new ward. Skyler got called to serve as a member of the bishopric in one of the UVU student wards. One of my biggest pet peeves of the church is that most members don't know how to bear testimonies anymore. After sacrament meeting I felt that all I heard was a bunch of stories of trials that either tried to one up the previous story, or just try and get you to feel sorry for them. I also heard some "testimonies" that made me feel like they just wanted me to see how well they were living their life. I was getting so annoyed that I was half tempted to just go up and bear my testimony on what testimonies are.
When you bear your testimony you are standing as a witness and telling everyone in the congregation what you know and what you believe about this gospel. It is not a time to tell everyone stories. It is not a time to thank everyone for what they have done for them. Save those for your blogs, relief society, or girls/scout camp. I don't care how you're feeling stressed because you had to drive here, and you don't know if you have enough gas to get back home. I never want to hear the phrase "before I bear my testimony I just want to share an experience with you" This is not the time.
In closing I just want to say that I think the best way to bear your testimony is to bear like you do after giving a talk. After everyone gives a talk they always bear their testimonies on the things they talk and that they are true. That is how we should all bear testimonies. I don't mean to be a stickler, and I'm not trying to be black and white here. You can have funny testimonies, and you can also have powerful testimonies, but please just make it a testimony, and not a storymony/thankamony.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Let Them Play
With the college basketball season narrowed down to four minutes, and my bracket looking almost worse than my two-year old niece's I decided to write about something different than who the best team is or anything like that.
I know some of my comments might sound a little sexist, but really you can't say anything unless you know sports or have played them yourself. Let's start with Women's Basketball, next to soccer, the most boring sport to watch. I'm sorry ladies but there is no talent in women's basketball. The university of Conncectiut is currently on a 75+ game winning streak, and hasn't lost a game in over two years. Frankly, I'm not that impressed. I give all credit to Connecticut, but let's be real here. I truly believe there's roughly 10 ladies in women's basketball with true athletic skills, and I think five of them are on the Huskies' team. That leaves all the other teams in the country to try and play with what they got. The reason why you haven't seen a men's basketball team do that since the days of John Wooden and UCLA, is because there is so much athletic talent in the men's league that there are numerous teams, loaded with talent. To me, UConn just out talents every one of their opponents, but men's basketball there are many teams on the same level and that's why it requires good coaching, and many other facets to influence a game.
My next comment is about the post player from Baylor. Her name is Brittany Griner. She is 6'8" and has just set the record for most blocks in an NCAA tournament. Again, hello? She's 6'8" and every other girl out there is lucky if they reach 6'3". I sure hope she can be able to block every single girl that comes in for a layup. No 5'8" women have the hops to jump over her and dunk it so all she does is just stand there and put her arms up. To be honest with you I don't even think she should be playing. During the middle of this season Brittany got in an altercation with a player from Texas Tech. Instead of pushing back or just walking away she came back and punched the player like a gang banger. What punishment did she receive you ask? TWO GAMES. Call me crazy, but I think any altercation like that deserves a suspension for the whole year. Heck Lagarrette Blount from Oregon was suspended for 10 FOOTBALL games for punching Boise State's Bryon Hout. I capitalize Football because there is only 13/14 games in a football season and 30+ in a basketball. Even that out and that's 25 or so games she should have been suspended. Click this link to watch the punch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtaPtQnu370
Now that i got that off my back the real reason I'm making this post is that after watching 40+ games this NCAA tournament there is still one that I tend to love the most and that is Michigan State vs. Maryland in the second round. In the last 30 seconds there were over three lead changes and, get this, NO TIMEOUTS taken. I loved watching it go back and forth without haveing to wait ten minutes for the next 10 seconds to play out. It was amazing. Click this link to watch the highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_qjKJelCkE
For those of you that don't know the timeout rules in NCAA here they are:
If a game is televised, which all of the tournament games are, there is one media timeout every four minutes.
Each team receives four 30 second timeouts and 1 60 second timeout a game. Each team can carry over their 60 second timeout and three 30 second timeouts into the second half.
Each team get's one timeout in overtime.
Now most coach's keep almost all of their timeouts for the second half. Add that up and that's eight timeouts that can be taken in one half. PLUS the four media timeouts. That's 12 timeouts... in 20 minutes! That's insane. Some coaches also save two to three timeouts for the last three minutes of the game if its close. It's ridiculous. We all love the overtimes cause there's only one timeout for each team in five minutes of play. You get to watch more of the game and less of the Ivan Brothers, or men lifting up their shirts saying, "Bags Fly Free"
Here's what I think the timeout rule should be:
Each team get's three timeouts a half. (two 30-seconds and one 60-second)
No timeouts carry-over
Media timeouts are adjusted to every five minutes. (One at the 15:00 mark, 10:00, and 5:00)
That way they can still save their timeouts, but if a team goes on a big run at the start of the second quarter, it doesn't allow you to just weather the storm for two more minutes and then have the media bail you out.
Most of this might have blown right past your head but for those who understand what I'm talking about I think that we should ought to just let the boys play!
I know some of my comments might sound a little sexist, but really you can't say anything unless you know sports or have played them yourself. Let's start with Women's Basketball, next to soccer, the most boring sport to watch. I'm sorry ladies but there is no talent in women's basketball. The university of Conncectiut is currently on a 75+ game winning streak, and hasn't lost a game in over two years. Frankly, I'm not that impressed. I give all credit to Connecticut, but let's be real here. I truly believe there's roughly 10 ladies in women's basketball with true athletic skills, and I think five of them are on the Huskies' team. That leaves all the other teams in the country to try and play with what they got. The reason why you haven't seen a men's basketball team do that since the days of John Wooden and UCLA, is because there is so much athletic talent in the men's league that there are numerous teams, loaded with talent. To me, UConn just out talents every one of their opponents, but men's basketball there are many teams on the same level and that's why it requires good coaching, and many other facets to influence a game.
My next comment is about the post player from Baylor. Her name is Brittany Griner. She is 6'8" and has just set the record for most blocks in an NCAA tournament. Again, hello? She's 6'8" and every other girl out there is lucky if they reach 6'3". I sure hope she can be able to block every single girl that comes in for a layup. No 5'8" women have the hops to jump over her and dunk it so all she does is just stand there and put her arms up. To be honest with you I don't even think she should be playing. During the middle of this season Brittany got in an altercation with a player from Texas Tech. Instead of pushing back or just walking away she came back and punched the player like a gang banger. What punishment did she receive you ask? TWO GAMES. Call me crazy, but I think any altercation like that deserves a suspension for the whole year. Heck Lagarrette Blount from Oregon was suspended for 10 FOOTBALL games for punching Boise State's Bryon Hout. I capitalize Football because there is only 13/14 games in a football season and 30+ in a basketball. Even that out and that's 25 or so games she should have been suspended. Click this link to watch the punch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtaPtQnu370
Now that i got that off my back the real reason I'm making this post is that after watching 40+ games this NCAA tournament there is still one that I tend to love the most and that is Michigan State vs. Maryland in the second round. In the last 30 seconds there were over three lead changes and, get this, NO TIMEOUTS taken. I loved watching it go back and forth without haveing to wait ten minutes for the next 10 seconds to play out. It was amazing. Click this link to watch the highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_qjKJelCkE
For those of you that don't know the timeout rules in NCAA here they are:
If a game is televised, which all of the tournament games are, there is one media timeout every four minutes.
Each team receives four 30 second timeouts and 1 60 second timeout a game. Each team can carry over their 60 second timeout and three 30 second timeouts into the second half.
Each team get's one timeout in overtime.
Now most coach's keep almost all of their timeouts for the second half. Add that up and that's eight timeouts that can be taken in one half. PLUS the four media timeouts. That's 12 timeouts... in 20 minutes! That's insane. Some coaches also save two to three timeouts for the last three minutes of the game if its close. It's ridiculous. We all love the overtimes cause there's only one timeout for each team in five minutes of play. You get to watch more of the game and less of the Ivan Brothers, or men lifting up their shirts saying, "Bags Fly Free"
Here's what I think the timeout rule should be:
Each team get's three timeouts a half. (two 30-seconds and one 60-second)
No timeouts carry-over
Media timeouts are adjusted to every five minutes. (One at the 15:00 mark, 10:00, and 5:00)
That way they can still save their timeouts, but if a team goes on a big run at the start of the second quarter, it doesn't allow you to just weather the storm for two more minutes and then have the media bail you out.
Most of this might have blown right past your head but for those who understand what I'm talking about I think that we should ought to just let the boys play!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Super Bowl & Mass Effect 2
Good evening everyone. I know it has been a very long time since I've posted my last blog. I really hadn't had much to talk about but now that the football season is over I have something to talk about.
BOISE STATE-
All I have to say is 14-0 baby! All year long they were fighting the football experts on how great they were. It all started with their first game against Oregon, and even now they are being criticized on how good they actually are. Even after they beat a team that many experts thought deserved to be in the national title game. Instead of being praised for beating TCU they are downplaying how good TCU actually was. That was the problem I had with them playing each other in the Fiesta Bowl! It will never be settled until we have a playoff. I made a very good playoff system that I think would work. I have it saved as a powerpoint so I can't post it here, but simply put: We would have a 16 team playoff where each conference (11) gets an automatic qualifier and then you have 5 at larges. Then you take their BCS rankings and seed them 1-16. This is how the first one would look. Note: these rankings were before the BCS bowls were played.
#1 Alabama (SEC) vs. #16 Troy (Sun Belt)
#2 Texas (Big 12) vs. #15 East Carolina (C-USA)
#3 Cincinnati (Big East) vs. #14 Central Michigan (MAC)
#4 TCU (MWC) vs. #13 Penn State (At Large)
#5 Florida (At Large) vs. #12 LSU (At Large)
#6 Boise State (WAC) vs. #11 Virginia Tech (At Large)
#7 Oregon (Pac-10) vs. #10 Iowa (At Large)
#8 Georgia Tech (ACC) vs. #9 Ohio State (Big Ten)
That way everyone has their chance of getting a national championship.
Things might work next year for the Broncos. Only losing one starter they should start in the top 5 next year. With a decent non-conference schedule, and a soft schedule if they go undefeated they have a chance to play for a national championship. Very unlikey but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
The Super Bowl
I'm going to say it right now that I wasn't really looking forward to the Super Bowl. I was actually looking forward to it being over. I've heard so much about the wonderful, trial-overcoming, Saints
and the ankle of Dwight Freeney that I wanted to shoot myself. However, I was a little disappointed in the Colts. I was rooting for them, because I really like Peyton Manning and in my opinion is still the better quarterback. I also liked to rub it in all the BYU fans face when they criticized Austin Collie for leaving a year early. I think I would take a super bowl appearance over a 4th Las Vegas bowl appearance.
Before you all heckle me in saying Peyton Manning gave the game away I just want to say that he wouldn't of had to throw so much if the defense would have showed up in the second half. Without Dwight Freeney at 100% the Colts got NO pressure on Drew Brees. Brees had enough time that he could bend on one knee and tie his shoe and still have time to throw the ball. Oh well. I'm glad its over. I'm looking for my 49ers to make a playoff next year.
MASS EFFECT 2 - GAME REVIEW
Before I left on my mission I made a post of the many video games I played and the first Mass Effect was one of them. Mass Effect 2 was probably one of the most anticipated games I have ever waited for, along with Guitar Hero World Tour.
What's great about this game is that the decisions you made from the first game directly affected what happened in the game. Thence it is a different experience for everyone. The bad thing is that I beat the first one so many times that I forgot which character made what decisions so when I started the second one with one of my random characters I was mad that I chose him. Oh well.
With Soverign destroyed and the previous Council members wiped out, the humans started the Citadel again under their control. Still convinced that the geth was behind the attack and not the Reapers, Shepard was sent to eliminate all remaining threat from the Geth. Shepard soon finds out that the Reapers have another species, The Collectors, helping them create something to wipe out all galactic civilization as we know. Shepard must stop the Collectors and head into a mission where survival is not probable. Doesn't this game sound awesome.
Visit this link to watch the full cinematic trailor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLhptv1yYMU
Here are some of the likes and dislikes of this game
LIKES:
Different selection of weapons from machine gun pistols to grenade launchers
Biotic Powers can bend around walls to pull enemies out of cover.
Wide variety selection of characters each with a personal mission to help gain their loyalty.
Guns now have thermal clips instead of just always overheating
Paragon and Renegade moves can help you make bold moves in between dialogues.
An amazing storyline that only makes not able to wait for Mass Effect 3.
DISLIKES:
Many of the characters had the same powers and abilites making them not stand out as much.
Exploring worlds for minerals was a drag and hated doing it.
The very end was kind of easy and not as challenging.
The achievements for Mass Effect were very easy and I was able to get all 1015 in just a week.
One of the characters liked to drop the F Bomb a lot for not very good reasons causing me to avoid using that character.
Towards the end of the game it started to get a little corrupted causing my game to lag, but not enough to matter much
OVERALL ANALYSIS:
I give Mass effect a 4.5/5 and can not wait for the closing chapter in the Mass Effect Trilogy. I hope it will be as amazing as this game was.
BOISE STATE-
All I have to say is 14-0 baby! All year long they were fighting the football experts on how great they were. It all started with their first game against Oregon, and even now they are being criticized on how good they actually are. Even after they beat a team that many experts thought deserved to be in the national title game. Instead of being praised for beating TCU they are downplaying how good TCU actually was. That was the problem I had with them playing each other in the Fiesta Bowl! It will never be settled until we have a playoff. I made a very good playoff system that I think would work. I have it saved as a powerpoint so I can't post it here, but simply put: We would have a 16 team playoff where each conference (11) gets an automatic qualifier and then you have 5 at larges. Then you take their BCS rankings and seed them 1-16. This is how the first one would look. Note: these rankings were before the BCS bowls were played.
#1 Alabama (SEC) vs. #16 Troy (Sun Belt)
#2 Texas (Big 12) vs. #15 East Carolina (C-USA)
#3 Cincinnati (Big East) vs. #14 Central Michigan (MAC)
#4 TCU (MWC) vs. #13 Penn State (At Large)
#5 Florida (At Large) vs. #12 LSU (At Large)
#6 Boise State (WAC) vs. #11 Virginia Tech (At Large)
#7 Oregon (Pac-10) vs. #10 Iowa (At Large)
#8 Georgia Tech (ACC) vs. #9 Ohio State (Big Ten)
That way everyone has their chance of getting a national championship.
Things might work next year for the Broncos. Only losing one starter they should start in the top 5 next year. With a decent non-conference schedule, and a soft schedule if they go undefeated they have a chance to play for a national championship. Very unlikey but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
The Super Bowl
I'm going to say it right now that I wasn't really looking forward to the Super Bowl. I was actually looking forward to it being over. I've heard so much about the wonderful, trial-overcoming, Saints
and the ankle of Dwight Freeney that I wanted to shoot myself. However, I was a little disappointed in the Colts. I was rooting for them, because I really like Peyton Manning and in my opinion is still the better quarterback. I also liked to rub it in all the BYU fans face when they criticized Austin Collie for leaving a year early. I think I would take a super bowl appearance over a 4th Las Vegas bowl appearance.
Before you all heckle me in saying Peyton Manning gave the game away I just want to say that he wouldn't of had to throw so much if the defense would have showed up in the second half. Without Dwight Freeney at 100% the Colts got NO pressure on Drew Brees. Brees had enough time that he could bend on one knee and tie his shoe and still have time to throw the ball. Oh well. I'm glad its over. I'm looking for my 49ers to make a playoff next year.
MASS EFFECT 2 - GAME REVIEW
Before I left on my mission I made a post of the many video games I played and the first Mass Effect was one of them. Mass Effect 2 was probably one of the most anticipated games I have ever waited for, along with Guitar Hero World Tour.
What's great about this game is that the decisions you made from the first game directly affected what happened in the game. Thence it is a different experience for everyone. The bad thing is that I beat the first one so many times that I forgot which character made what decisions so when I started the second one with one of my random characters I was mad that I chose him. Oh well.
With Soverign destroyed and the previous Council members wiped out, the humans started the Citadel again under their control. Still convinced that the geth was behind the attack and not the Reapers, Shepard was sent to eliminate all remaining threat from the Geth. Shepard soon finds out that the Reapers have another species, The Collectors, helping them create something to wipe out all galactic civilization as we know. Shepard must stop the Collectors and head into a mission where survival is not probable. Doesn't this game sound awesome.
Visit this link to watch the full cinematic trailor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLhptv1yYMU
Here are some of the likes and dislikes of this game
LIKES:
Different selection of weapons from machine gun pistols to grenade launchers
Biotic Powers can bend around walls to pull enemies out of cover.
Wide variety selection of characters each with a personal mission to help gain their loyalty.
Guns now have thermal clips instead of just always overheating
Paragon and Renegade moves can help you make bold moves in between dialogues.
An amazing storyline that only makes not able to wait for Mass Effect 3.
DISLIKES:
Many of the characters had the same powers and abilites making them not stand out as much.
Exploring worlds for minerals was a drag and hated doing it.
The very end was kind of easy and not as challenging.
The achievements for Mass Effect were very easy and I was able to get all 1015 in just a week.
One of the characters liked to drop the F Bomb a lot for not very good reasons causing me to avoid using that character.
Towards the end of the game it started to get a little corrupted causing my game to lag, but not enough to matter much
OVERALL ANALYSIS:
I give Mass effect a 4.5/5 and can not wait for the closing chapter in the Mass Effect Trilogy. I hope it will be as amazing as this game was.
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