Weekend In Review, A Few Days Late...

 Greetings again everyone, especially to those at Hardee's in Mankato, Minnesota. Haven't had too much of a chance to get on here the past couple of days. Painting is finished, but I had an appointment at the VA yesterday, plus a video chat with my therapist today. Therefore, this entry is a little late, but hopefully not dollars short. 

(womp, womp)

Let's start with Friday night. Not a good night to be honest with UCF falling flat on their faces against Louisville in Orlando, and New Mexico struggling as usual against Boise State. On top of that, the St. Pauls MAGA Warriors (Bulldogs) spanked my high school friend's kid's team, Cameron Union Pines in high school action. Yes, the town I disowned got themselves a victory somehow Friday night, but there was a Facebook story of two Saint Pauls police cruisers with sirens blaring responding to a call. Good to see virtually nothing has changed in that damn town in the last twenty-five years. My alma mater did pull through though, as Apopka defeated Orlando Dr. Phillips in a defensive battle, 7-6.

Saturday was wild. No other way to put it. Notre Dame lost at home to Marshall, Marshall, Marshall. Alabama SHOULD have lost to Texas but survived by a point. Appalachian State went into College Station and beat Texas A&M. Wisconsin lost to Washington State at home. Three of those game I didn't pick because I thought they would be somewhat easy victories for those schools. Oh, was I wrong. I got Alabama right, but they didn't cover, and Nick Saban wasn't too thrilled about some of his players doing the horns down gesture after the game. 

As for the games I did pick, well here the results:

#12 Florida over #20 Kentucky L
Vanderbilt over #23 Wake Forest L
#3 Ohio State over Arkansas State W
Miami over Southern Miss W
Penn State over Ohio W
North Carolina over Georgia State W
#1 Alabama over Texas W
Northwestern over Duke L
#16 Arkansas over Army L (I messed up the pick, see below)
Memphis over Navy W
Air Force over Colorado W
#17 Pitt over #24 Tennessee L
Iowa State over Iowa W
Texas Tech over #25 Houston W
Illinois over Virginia W
East Carolina over ODU W
Virginia Tech over Boston College W
#21 BYU over #9 Baylor W

Stupid me picked Arkansas to win against an opponent they didn't play. They played South Carolina. Meanwhile Army did lose, but to UTSA. As a viral video once said, "Way to go, Paul." So, including the two misses on Friday night, I went 13-7. Not good.

Now for the pro slate, I whiffed on the kickoff game, bad. Buffalo throttled the Rams. That's one loss. The Sunday slate saw me get one of my upset specials right, but not much else.

L Detroit over Philadelphia 
T Indianapolis over Houston
L Carolina over Cleveland
L San Francisco over Chicago
W Washington over Jacksonville
L New England over Miami
L Cincinnati over Pittsburgh (this game was fricking mental)
W Baltimore over NY Jets
W New Orleans over Atlanta (way to blow it, Falcons)
W Kansas City over Arizona
L Tennessee over NY Giants
W Minnesota over Green Bay 
W LA Chargers over Las Vegas

WW TAMPA BAY over Dallas

L Denver over Seattle (felt weird hearing Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on MNF)

TNF: 0-1
Sunday early: 3-5-1
Sunday late: 3-1
SNF: 1-0
MNF: 0-1

Total: 7-8-1. I'm going to need to better if I'm to reach my goal of 175 wins for the season.

Well, that's it for the time being. I may be back later tonight with another entry after AEW Dynamite goes off the air. In the meantime, have a good rest of your Wednesday.

CT

Football Preview for 9/11 Weekend

 Greetings everyone. I have to split this into separate parts because dinner is soon, and I had other things going on today. But there are plenty of college games, as well as the NFL to get into, so let's get after it.

Before I dip into the college games, I have two special prep picks. In North Carolina, I have the Union Pines Vikings (Cameron) throttling and all but (as Matt Hardy would say) deleting the Saint Pauls Bulldogs. Yes, my former hometown. Why? Too much MAGA lunacy and narrow-mindedness in that town. The other game has Apopka (my alma mater) hopefully defeating Dr. Phillips in Florida high school action. 

In college action, two games on Friday kick off the weekend. I have UCF exacting revenge on Louisville for last year's embarrassment at Papa John's Stadium, and in a big upset, I'm taking New Mexico over Boise State since one Boise State alum really bummed me out this week, and probably led to me rant at the end of my last entry.

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I'm resuming this entry at 8:40 EDT, UCF leads 14-7, I have "Dare Me" on my Spotify (which means we'll get a dead dog dedication later tonight), and I'm ready to roll.

Went to Lowe's this morning with eldest sis to get some painting supplies since our other sister and her cousin (who is suffering from cancer) is coming around the end of this month, and she wants to have her bedroom repainted before they come. Anyway, at Lowe's today, I noticed this guy with a blue T-shirt that said, "White Lives Matter." Seriously. I'm as white as a ghost and I thought that shirt was ridiculous. Did I say something? No, I didn't want to create a scene and my sister was present. Did I want to say something? Kinda, but I knew he'd only escalate things from there, so I had to leave well enough alone. But that is some of the ridiculousness that happens in Spring Hill. Also in Spring Hill, they're acting the fool outside a Subway. Like I was telling my sister this evening over dinner, if I ever win the lottery, I'm moving away from Spring Hill, either back to Tampa, to Orlando, or North Carolina. Perhaps elsewhere, if things happen to break a certain way personally. Now that I've said that, I've probably jinxed myself into staying here, but we'll see.

Anyway, tomorrow we have a big matchup in the state between Florida and Kentucky, who last year, were the blind squirrel finding the nut as they beat Florida in Lexington for the first time since I was in junior high school; 1986. Ugh, the Galen Hall error. Anyway, Florida had a thrilling victory over Utah last week to open the season, and jumped all the way to #12 in the AP Poll. I'm sure the Gators will be looking for revenge tomorrow in the Swamp. Sorry Kaylee, but your kittycats won't survive tomorrow (she lives in Lexington).

Here's who I have tomorrow in the college slate:

#12 Florida over #20 Kentucky
Vanderbilt over #23 Wake Forest
#3 Ohio State over Arkansas State (why does their logo look like a wolf tripping on acid?)
Miami over Southern Miss
Penn State over Ohio
North Carolina over Georgia State
#1 Alabama over Texas
Northwestern over Duke
#16 Arkansas over Army
Memphis over Navy
Air Force over Colorado
#17 Pitt over #24 Tennessee
Iowa State over Iowa
Texas Tech over #25 Houston (I loathe their head coach, Dana Holgerson)
Illinois over Virginia
East Carolina over ODU
Virginia Tech over Boston College (BC lost to Rutgers, which in my opinion should get them booted from FBS)
#21 BYU over #9 Baylor

Now we come to Sunday's slate of NFL games, and this year once again, I won't have to go anywhere thanks to NFL RedZone Channel, and since the Bucs don't play until 8:20, I can keep it on that channel.

Anyway, here's who I have Sunday:

Detroit over Philadelphia in an upset special
Indianapolis over Houston
Carolina over Cleveland
San Francisco over Chicago
Washington over Jacksonville
New England over Miami
Cincinnati over Pittsburgh
Baltimore over NY Jets
New Orleans over Atlanta 😩
Kansas City over Arizona
Tennessee over NY Giants
Minnesota over Green Bay in another upset
LA Chargers over Las Vegas

TAMPA BAY over Dallas

Denver over Seattle. 

I stopped keeping record of how I was doing after idiot DeSantis shut down sports betting thanks to lawsuits (which he knew was going to happen when he signed the Seminole Compact, but he pushed it through anyway). So this season, I'll try to keep track of my pro picks. My goal is 175 wins, which equates to a .643 winning percentage. I don't know how that would work out if I were gambling, but it's a nice goal to have.

That's all I have for now, I might try to get my flashback segment done overnight. Until next time peeps.

More to come...

CT

NFL Preview...And Other Stuff

Good evening once again. I just finished what was a rather underwhelming episode of Dynamite considering what I talked about in my prior post and all the drama surrounding the fallout from All-Out. We did get to see MJF and we even were teased a face turn, then out came Jon Moxley, who said he was full of crap. Alas, he was, because MJF went full asshole for the remainder of the segment before storming off like a petulant four-year old. Moxley then cut an impassioned promo about what the AEW Championship meant to him and that industry. Speaking of which, there will be a tournament to deterine the champion, which will be crowned in two weeks at Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

But enough about wrestling, tomorrow is kinda like Christmas morning, or the first night of Hannukah, depending on if you observe/celebrate either. The NFL season gets underway with a potential Super Bowl LVII™ matchup between the Buffalo Bills and defending champion Los Angeles Rams. I think both these teams will be in the playoffs, although I don't exactly know why hardly anyone is picking the Rams to repeat. Buffalo, fwiw, is the odds-on favorite from the AFC to make it to Glendale for my birthday, and a twitter contact of mine, Rebecca Grant, will certainly be there cheering on her Bills. For tomorrow's game, I think the Rams pull it out at home in a close one.

As for the 2022 season, I don't see too much tumult and upheaval as compared to last season. As I said a couple of months ago, I picked the Bucs to win it all, and despite numerous injuries to the offensive line, I'm doubling down on that pick. I can understand why experts would not pick Tampa for the big game, but I don't understand them picking the Aints in the NFC South. Oh well, the Saints are probably my least favorite team along with the Eagles, because of personal reasons (I actually don't have a problem with them, just one Eagles fan is dating my crush). Anyway my playoff picks from the NFC are as follows:

South: Bucs

East: Cowboys

North: Packers

West: Rams

WC: Eagles 😒

WC: Saints 😒

WC: Vikings

The AFC will have a couple of changes next season as Pittsburgh will have an unusual down year now that Ben Roethlisberger is retired, and they're awaiting Kenny Pickett to fully develop as an NFL QB. The West will be a dogfight this year, with all four teams making legitimate claims to win that division. Here's who I have in the AFC:

East: Bills

South: Titans

North: Ravens

West: Broncos

WC: Chiefs

WC: Chargers
WC: Bengals

I think come February, it will be Tampa and Buffalo to meet in the desert, with Tampa winning it all.

Now onto other things. The other week I wrote briefly about effort. Well, lo and behold, someone actually stepped up the plate yesterday evening. But they chickened out and didn't send me a DM like I had asked. Folks, I don't know about you, but I am past the point of being sick and tired in the romance department. Just yesterday, someone who I had liked found someone else before I could even get a shot off. Did I have a realistic chance with her? No. But I see it as another loss, and I am sick of losing. Hell, with the exception of two six-week flings (one in 2001, the other in 2005), there has been nothing BUT losing, and if you've seen my posts on social media you know I'm fed up. Yes, I am still a bit bitter over what happened just two months ago, and I haven't really gotten over what happened in February. Just know that I'm almost to the point of no return, and I have had it...

Sorry this entry took a turn for the worse...

I hope to be back later this week, if not you'll know why...

CT

Tonight...

 If you're a wrestling fan, you might want to tune into "Dynamite" on TBS. Will CM Punk be fired from the company? How long have the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega been suspended for? What will happen now that MJF is back? I'll have more on this blog later tonight as well as my picks for the upcoming NFL season. Stay tuned...

CT

Fun With NGL...

 Hello again everyone. Tonight, I'd thought I'd change things up a little bit from what I usually write about. I thought I would answer some questions that have been posed to me anonymously from the NGL app (link to ask me questions, and to get your own, is on my twitter bio). Most of the questions that have been asked of me on this app has been pretty vanilla in nature. They haven't been as hard-hitting or profound and in-depth as I would like. Maybe if I spoke more about things that interest me, like sports or 80s music, or rasslin', I'd get more of those type of questions I suppose. But anyway, here are some of the best questions that have been asked of me so far.

Q: Who's your worst enemy?

A: At the time this was written, I was an emotional wreck, and that person knew who he was. But now that things have calmed down somewhat, he isn't an enemy per se. I do have an enemy that talks too damn much and quite frankly I don't acknowledge his existence. I'll leave it at that.

Q: Netflix and chill?

A: Not yet, but I plan on getting the service in a couple of months.

Q: What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?

A: I've had several, but one that stands out was when I was in Philly at the Museum of Art there, and I tripped trying to run up the steps there (also known as the "Rocky" steps). That was in August of 2016.

Q: What years were you in the service, and did you like it?

A: From 1992 to 1998 I served in the U.S. Navy. It was okay, but I think if I had followed my heart and not listened to my father and stepmother when I was 18, I would have taken a totally different career.

Q: What happened to you medically? 

A: Probably the most profound question I've been asked. In 2017 I had a stroke that left me with slight nerve damage and paralysis on my left side. I've recovered quite nicely; I am able to get around with a slight limp, but I do fall every once in a while. In fact, I had a slight spill last night. 

Q: How many exes do you have?

A: LOL. Good one. I don't really have an ex because I've never really been in a relationship. The closest thing I've had to an ex was probably my former roommate from over fifteen years ago that I'd rather not talk about anymore because she thinks TFG is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and most of you know how I feel about TFG...

Q: Have you ever gotten in a fist fight?

A: Believe it or not, none. One, despite me having a temper, I never was large enough to be involved in a physical confrontation. Two I prefer to have my freedom that be locked up for the night, if you know what I mean.

Q: When was your first kiss?

A: I think it was when I was 17 with a redhead whose name escapes me. My first French kiss came after my 20th birthday unfortunately.

Some questions have been asked of me on more than one occasion. Like if I have any pets (I don't right now), and what my age is. Most people know that I'm 48, but one time I decided to be a smart-ass and answered 23 because someone asked me what my age was again. Thank, Mark, Tom, or Travis. Sometimes I don't get a question; I'll get a statement such as "you're cute" or "you're (a) best friend." Well, thank you. The beauty (and curse) of this format is that these questions are anonymous, but I do know who I WISH sent me some of those questions. One of those persons tends bar and has beautiful red hair. The other one is an aspiring singer out in the LA area. That's all I'll say as far as that is concerned. Some questions are better off not being answered, such as who on Twitter IO want to bang the most. Or a secret that I kept hidden from my parents. Anyway, I have fun answering questions on this app, so keep the questions coming, and I'll hope that some of the questions are from someone with the opposite initials as my nickname.

Until later this week.

CT

Flashback Friday, September

 Hello again everyone. Got off to a bit of a late start to this post, had an errand to help out with and had to catch up on other things. But I'm here to take you back to a rather weird year in pop music in my opinion, 1994. A little bit about me during that timeframe, I was about to begin my fourth month aboard the USS Eisenhower back then, and we had already made a port visit to Puerto Rico, where I would meet someone that unfortunately wouldn't last, oh well. Without further ado, here were the top 40 CHR pop songs according to Radio & Records magazine for the week ending September 2, 1994:

40. I'd Give Anything by Gerald Levert

39. Games People Play by Inner Circle. Is Inner Circle still getting royalties off "Bad Boys?"

38. All I Want Is You by U2

37. Basket Case by Green Day. Got tons of airplay on MTV as I recall

36. Good Times by Edie Brickell

35. You Gotta Be by Des'ree. This song was only in its third week back then, but would be on this chart until next summer...

34. Fantastic Voyage by Coolio. Wildly popular on the pop station I listened to at the time, which wouldn't be a pop station by the time I got back from deployment to the Mediterranean/Middle East six months later.

33. I'll Be Loving You by Collage. One of the last hits from the early-90s freestyle era to garner airplay on the radio.

32. Right Beside You by Sophie B. Hawkins. I remember when Tampa radio personality and blowhard extraordinaire MJ Kelli said that this was a big hit for Sophie back then; it didn't reach the top fifteen you fricking tool...

31. Another Night by Real McCoy. They had an amazing one-year run, then they faded off into Bolivia (as Mike Tyson once said), didn't they? 

30. Far Behind by Candlebox. A pretty decent track, and a former favorite of the closest thing I have to an ex, which is one of the few good things I have to say about her.

29. I'm The Only One by Melissa Etheridge. I recall WNOR (the rock station in Norfolk at the time) creating a parody song off this that definitely wouldn't fly today.

28. Mr. Jones by Counting Crows. I loved this song. Did they wind up being big stars though? 

27. I'll Stand By You by the Pretenders. The band's last chart single wound up being their biggest hit. Should have gone to #1 though.

26. Letitgo by Prince

25. December 1963 by The Four Seasons. This was a remixed and updated version from Ben Liebrand of their hit from eighteen years prior that got tons of airplay.

24. Back & Forth by Aaliyah. God rest her soul.

23. I Swear by All-4-One. I don't like country music, but this one I have to give the nod to John Michael Montgomery instead of the knockoff version by All-4-One.

22. Lucky One by Amy Grant

21. 100% Pure Love by Crystal Waters. The enlisted club in at the Navy Base there used to play the shit out of this song.

20. You Mean The World To Me by Toni Braxton. For once, I would love to hear that said about me...

19. Come To My Window by Melissa Etheridge. This and "Mr. Jones" were spending their 29th week on the top 40 chart this particular week, which was is a frigging eternity back in 1994, but is somewhat commonplace today.

18. Anytime, Anyplace by Janet Jackson. The video made me drool over Janet, but we wouldn't see the goods until nine years later thanks to Justin Timberlake. Thats two career he's helped ruin. F*** him.

17. Always by Erasure

16. Until I Fall Away by Gin Blossoms. Nice change of pace track by an underrated band.

15. Anytime You Need A Friend by Mariah Carey. Would any chart be from the 90s if Mariah didn't at least make one appearance. By the way, this was before THAT DAMNED SONG was released. You know which one I'm talking about.

14. Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden. Arguably the best song in my opinion for that summer.

13. If You Go by Jon Secada

12. Prayer For The Dying by Seal

11. Round Here by Counting Crows. Their follow-up to "Mr. Jones," kind of a sad song actually.

10. You Better Wait by Steve Perry. Advice that Matt Gaetz should have taken a while ago...

  9. Crazy by Aerosmith. Before "Clueless," Alicia Silverstone starred in Aerosmith videos. This one included Liv Tyler. 💘

  8. All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow. What was her fixation with Tuesdays anyway?

  7. When Can I See You by Babyface. Actually, the question should be, "when can you see me?"

  6. Can You Feel The Love Tonight by Elton John. Now I have visions of "The Lion King" in my head, hakuna matata.

  5. Shine by Collective Soul. Their breakout hit that they would ride out for the duration of the mid-90s.

  4. Don't Turn Around by Ace of Base. I swear you couldn't avoid that group in 1994. The next time there was such a Swedish invasion was Ikea.

  3. Wild Night by John Mellencamp f/ Michelle Ndegeocello. A much better version than Van Morrison's 1971 track (which for some reason the "pop" station in Charleston, SC played in favor over Mellencamp's version, I suspect racism on the part of the owners of that station. I can't prove it though...

  2. I'll Make Love To You by Boys II Men. Another group you couldn't avoid in 1994.

...and the number one song this date twenty-eight years ago was...

 1. Stay (I Missed You) by Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories. I think in another universe, Lisa Loeb was a woman who I could have had a chance with...

...except she doesn't have red hair.

So, there was your flashback for this week. I'll probably be writing again sometime around midnight after "SmackDown" and "Rampage" are done for the night. Until later...

CT

Glorious Day Yesterday...

 Good morning, everyone except you Sarah Palin. A few brief words this morning because the biggest fun sponge in history has a hair up her ass and wants to get a project done today, and it involves paint. Anyway, that doesn't take away what a good day it was yesterday. First and foremost, the aforementioned Sarah Palin lost her election yesterday. Translation: Alaskans are (and have long been) fed up with Palin's shit; she should have stuck to being a sports anchor on television up there. Is this the end of the MAGA movement? Unfortunately, not by a long shot. However, this poses good news come the midterms coming up in two short months. In the meantime, let's all sing along...Na-na na na, na-na na na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye (and good riddance)!

Also yesterday, Serena continued her swansong with a resounding defeat of #2 Anett Kontaviet of Estonia. Judging from the energy of the New York crowd for her first two matches, I wouldn't be too shocked if that energy alone carries her to the final, where I hope she wins. There were even some points last evening where I was vociferously cheering at my television; I can't remember the last time I did that over a tennis match. 

In addition to the above items, Orlando City got a last second goal to beat Seattle in MLS action, Tampa Bay completed a mini-sweep over the Marlins, and we got our main event for All Out on Sunday night; Jon Moxley will indeed face CM Punk for the AEW World Title.

Today is the first day of September, and the first meaningful day of college football, with a couple of big matchups tonight, including the resumption of the Backyard Brawl between Pittsburgh and West Virginia. This used to be an annual game until Pittsburgh left the Big East for the ACC, while West Virginia left for the greener pastures of the...BIG 12?! Weird flex, but okay. The schools haven't met on the gridiron in eleven years, so it should be a dandy in the Steel City.

Also, Penn State faces Purdue in a nationally televised tilt on Fox. Here are my picks for some of tonight's games:

Pittsburgh over West Virginia
UCF over SC State
Tennessee over Ball State
Wake Forest over VMI
Purdue over Penn State
Oklahoma State over Central Michigan (remember the LAST time they played?)

Tomorrow, I may have two entries, including a flashback to a year that has yet to be determined. I'll have to roll my magic wayback D20 to figure that out. In the meantime, have a wonderful Thursday.

CT