SPITE

By The Fillerbuster

The Cast 092118

SETTING:

Greetings and salutations, people.  Thanks for coming aboard (the boat).  I am sitting here watching a decent slate of Friday night college Football games.  No theme picked yet.  No idea.  Let’s see where the off the cuff (never enough bandwidth to rewrite, edit, perfect, etc. this thing) writing takes us.  Some things to say, and I feel the need…the need for speed.

Let’s turn and burn.

EVERGREEN (topics that don’t fade away):

BAKER:

I am not saying it was such an epic moment where people will ask “where were YOU when he took the field,” but it WAS pretty cool.  This is coming from a diehard Steelers fan who is supposed to hate the Browns.  Yes, I am slightly brainwashed marrying into a Sooners family and seeing Baker live on multiple occasions in and out of Norman, but come on.  I don’t even care if they were faking the Taylor injury just to get him in without controversy.  But, the bottom line was this.  We were sitting on our couch on a Thursday night watching two subpar teams play football.  In that game, there were the tortured Jets and Browns fan bases.  Whoever you were rooting for, you were experiencing a microcosm of what that fan base feels all the time…but just for about three hours.  And when Baker entered the game late in the first half, I was excited.  I was just a football fan.  I got so excited I almost forgot to hit record for my wife, the ultimate Baker Mayfield fan.  The place became electric.  And, when he DRILLED a few passes into tight spots at the end of the first half and got a field goal, skeptics could only say “well, it was against a prevent defense.”  True.  Then, the kid came out in the second half and erased the REST of the 14 point deficit.  He didn’t score touchdowns.  He didn’t do it by himself.  It had room to be slightly more storybook.  But, there were a couple of throws that were lasers, and that opened up the run game, and it actually looked like a normal, functioning offense.  Baker even caught a two point conversion to add to the fun.  Love Cleveland.  Hate Cleveland.  Love football.  Hate football.  Sit on the fence of both.  Don’t have an opinion on either.  Whatever.  THAT was some fun football, folks.

TEXAS:

A superintendent in Texas this week put on Facebook a derogatory statement about the Texans having a black quarterback.  I am not splitting the atom here, but isn’t even the most racist parts of society improving at all?  I know there are dark corners in the South that still have this problem.  And, if they are not improving, are they of such low intelligence that they don’t realize OTHER people have advanced and they probably should keep their racist feelings somehow within their own walls in privacy?  I seriously don’t get it.  I don’t comprehend.  Black, white, and everything in between should NOT be judged.  Get over it, people.  But let’s dive a little deeper.  Watson was a smart kid in high school.  He also worked hard, and got to school at 7am just to go over whole playbooks and film.  Then, before you think he just jumped ship to go to the NFL to make money, remember he got his degree in three years, and that was his goal all along.  Watson’s mom was given a house by Warrick Dunn’s Habitat for Humanity (gives to single mothers) way back when, and not only did Watson volunteer for the foundation in college, but is paying it forward now that he is solidified.  He gave a paycheck to three Texans cafeteria employees who lost their homes to Hurricane Harvey.  This kid is all heart, class, head, and brawn.  Before you post something on Facebook that not only puts down black people and black athletes, maybe you should see if you even can hold a candle to the particular black athlete you are so down on.

FANDUEL:

When you bet, you have a hill to climb.  Us bettors get that fact.  When you find a loophole, you not only should take it, but should be rewarded if it works.  FanDuel wasn’t going to pay a guy for placing a $110 bet late in the Broncos-Raiders game in which the computer said should pay $82k (but should have been less than even money).  Anyway, FanDuel has agreed to pay the guy, but why would they have fought it initially anyway?  Listen, sports betting is new to the masses for the most part.  YOU, FanDuel, are new to it.  But, if YOUR computer not only screws up, but even prints a ticket for it, then you are in it.  And you owe what you owe.  Good final decision, weak initial decision.

KD:

Kevin Durant made a joke about joining the Rams and social media, along with Rams coaching, lit up the story.  It is funny to me.  Ha ha.  He is tall.  Just throw it up high.  Sure.  But, listen, I have a problem with this.  There are players born with bodies to play a sport, there are players born with bodies to play multiple sports, and there are players who work their tails off because they chose a sport that their body didn’t grow into.  Anyway, KD is the first one.  I get the LeBron playing tight end deal.  LeBron is DIFFERENT on a lot of levels.  He is a football player with basketball grace.  He COULD play either sport successfully.  But KD is different.  KD’s body was BORN to play basketball.  That’s it.  He is gangly, tall, and long.  His special quality is being the height of a player who only plays inside, but also has the long range bomb to mess the whole system up.  But, don’t disrespect football players.  They play a much more violent, brutal game that requires FORCE.  KD is a special talent and will be one of the best basketball players EVER.  But, let’s keep the cross-platform ideas as jokes and jokes only.  Basketball bodies are fluid and lean.  Football players are optimally strong and large.  Different things excel at each sport.  Leave it at that.  You can keep the LeBron jokes going.  That is fine.

VALENTINO:

Valentino Dixon.  I won’t try and beat the link I am about to give you, because they write it perfectly.  But, I can’t imagine going to prison and have no plans to.  But, can you imagine going to prison as an innocent man?  That thought leaves me speechless.  And then, to be sent there, and pick up the odd habit of drawing golf course pictures as an addiction when you have no golf background instead of being mad you are even in there?  Talk about finding your peace.  But, what triggered him was a picture of the 12^th hole at Augusta.  And, now having been to that spot and seen that hole, I will say it triggers some emotion and then some.  Perhaps the most beautiful meeting of golf course holes I could ever imagine.  Anyway, read a little of this article, dammit.

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/for-valentino-dixon-a-wrong-righted-murder-charge-vacated-by-court-after-serving-27-years-in-prison

WEEK-FISH (current topics of interest in sports):

• I bet some of you are tired of Tigermania.   I get it.  But, you probably should head to the mountains or beach this weekend and stay away from televisions.  Because, at this point (press time was after round 2), he is tied for the lead at the Tour Championship, which is arguably the fifth golf Major.
• This is SOOO nice. It used to take a couple of Google searches and risks of spam and popups to find the point spreads on games.  Now, they are front and center on ESPN and SI with the new laws.
• You can fault Rick Barnes as a basketball coach for a lot of things. But, the guy can recruit.  Don’t look now, but Tennessee just snagged a big time five star recruit and will be back in the mix very, very soon in hoops.
• The NHL is playing preseason and the Capitals are probably still trying to find the hair of the dog.
• Jimmy Butler wants out of Minnesota. He initially said the Knicks, Nets, and Clippers were his choice destinations.  I understand the Knicks.  Young sidekick and plenty of history.  I get the Clippers.  Who wouldn’t want to follow Jerry West to wherever he goes?  But the Nets?  Jimmy is from Houston and went to Marquette.  Why the Nets, bro?
• When I watched the Seattle-Chicago MNF game, I chuckled when Seattle was on defense because last week I heard the new nickname for them from Ryan Clark…the Legion of Whom.
• Of COURSE the Golden Knights hockey team from Las Vegas and William Hill Sportsbook aligned…
• Of COURSE Big Ben got labeled as an A-hole even as an afterthought in Stormy’s detailed account of Trump adventures.
• Not a lot of ranked vs. ranked college football games this weekend, but there are some intriguing ones to be sure. Games I am interested in:
  • Does Nebraska, after losing twice in a row at home, suddenly confuse us and give Michigan a run at the Big House. Probably not, but still interesting…Michigan will beat them by three touchdowns.
  • If Georgia only wins by 10 points against Mizzou, then I would fear Mizzou for the rest of the year. And, of course, continue to fear UGA.  I think UGA covers.
  • If there is a trap game in the works, I see it at Wake taking on Notre Dame.
  • I would like to say that A&M covers the 26 point spread vs. Bama, but when their BACKUP QB still is trying to win the freaking job, you really get NO rest from the wicked. Bama scored FORTY NINE points in the first half after Ole Miss scored one touchdown last week.
  • I love Stanford going into Oregon and making a BIG Heisman statement moving forward.
  • Kansas and Baylor is great just because we are trying to figure out if they both suck, both are decent, or other.
  • I think that TCU over Texas is the obvious pick, but something is brewing since halftime of that USC game with the good on paper Longhorn squad…maybe.
  • And many more of course…
• I like the Sixers promoting Elton Brand to GM, even this early in his career. You have to like the Duke kids who are intelligent to know that a career 15-9 stat line was going to be as good as it gets…and got the hell out.
• I love how Bell is known as the disgruntled guy with the Steelers, but is caught on camera smiling ear to ear on a jet ski. Your couple of training sessions must have been before and AFTER that pic.
• What is the BIG deal with Antonio Brown and the trade stuff? I thought it was clear.  He was passionate on the sidelines.  No big deal there.  And his trade comment, although he probably SHOULD have stayed away from social media on that one, was aimed at a media guy saying Big Ben made him.  I am totally fine with it.  Let this story die.
• The Pats have made TWENTY EIGHT transactions since March…just at wide receiver.
• How adorable. The Red Sox won their division AT the Yankees crib.
• So, apparently the already semi-working Lonzo Ball jump shot has been tweaked with improvements, and yet Markelle Fultz can’t even get his to look like any NORMAL jump shot.
• The money will not let things NOT happen. McGregor is on for a six fight deal.    I am amazed they held out THAT long.
• See, the fun thing about betting on games is that the game I am watching isn’t close, but it is within one point of the spread, so I care.
• My wife was reading my Sebastian Janikowski tweets after he hit the long FG last week. I have to admit that people were teed up about as good as you could be teed up aside from John Daly playing Majors in the last 10 years.

THIS AND THAT (pop culture, Fillerbuster thoughts, and whatever else I feel like talking about):

Quick hitters:

• I saw a commercial with Dr. Ruth in it. A) I didn’t know she was still alive and B) does anyone under the age of 40 even know WHO she is?
• In Colorado Springs, a man robbed a store with a Ronald Reagan mask on. A) Was he recreating North Shore (the original) and B) why the HELL would anyone rob an antique store?  (uh-oh-first theme idea)
• Just like Seinfeld returned a jacket out of spite, I picked up Ryan Fitzpatrick in fantasy also out of spite. I have Stafford on my team, so I won’t start him (plus, they play my Steelers).
• I love doing things just for spite. I am shallow on some levels.
• Thursdays are still my favorite day because Seinfeld is on after work.
• Someone in my fantasy football league wanted A) to trade me a Bronco (no) and B) Royce Freeman (who isn’t really even a starter anymore).
• I am very excited to be the most knowledge person in football in my fantasy league, be lazy about making trades and picking players up, and therefore be 0-3 in both of my leagues after this week.
• Atlanta is a hotbed for not only music in general, but cool, hip-hop music. So, WHY would the NFL pick Maroon 5 as the Super Bowl show?  Just let Ludacris have another big show and call it a day.
• Maybe they chose Maroon 5 out of spite.
• One of my links below has the HILARIOUS response tweets once the show was announced. READ it.
• Glad there is a Space Jam sequel. Just like no one ever being as good as MJ, the second Space Jam will also not be as good.
• I am going to the Phils-Rockies game next week, and therefore it is ok for me to wear a Phillies shirt to the game. Rules:  wear the team playing, wear the team opposing, wear other sports IN the same city, but do NOT wear gear of anything else, especially teams in the same sport and league but not playing.  For example, wearing my Steelers gear would be idiotic.  I draw exception to my Steelers hat, as that is the only hat I wear.
• My wife and my boss have now bought me these erasable, downloadable Rocketbooks. This is very nice.  But, I kind of like carrying around a yellow legal sheet full of to do stuff I won’t get to any time soon.
• I didn’t go to Slash two nights ago. If it was a block away like at my old place, I would have.  But, things change.  Hope he destroyed Rocket Queen, as he traditionally does.
• Billions is done for me now, so the constant references of a series recently done years ago is now over for you. I WILL say in the final episodes, to add to the very long list of things I like included in the show, there were multiple Highlander quotes and a Charlottesville reference.  I place that show easily in my top 5 of favorite shows ever.
• I started Ozark season 2. Looks like it is tracking to be decent again.  No Billions, but Jason Bateman as the lovable loser is still priceless.  He does LOTS of things out of spite.
• The Terminix guy came to our house. He was great.  But, I shouldn’t have told him my fear of wasps (we had a nest he had to knock out).  The rest of the visit was helping me with my problem (not a problem, an absolute FEAR).  He even left me his special, not sold in stores, wasp killer foam.  Now, if I could only get close enough to a nest to use that awesome foam stuff.
• A new books apparently details the friction between Brady and Hoodie. Nice sell.  We don’t care.  They have enough rings to make us all sick together.
• I don’t even remember who exactly Captain Marvel even was.
• Merriam added “hangry” to the official dictionary.
• Donuts make you feel guilty about what you are eating. Voodoo Donuts make you think you are having much more fun right before feeling that same guilt afterwards.
• Someone at work had a birthday this week. Since girls celebrate birthday months anyway (or minimally, weeks), was I obligated to say happy birthday to this woman?
• The Emmy’s got low ratings and apparently were pretty weak overall. I don’t care.  I didn’t watch.  But, I was happy to see that the Fonz and Peter Dinklage picked up a couple of supporting actor nods.  If you watch Barry, you know that the losers in that category would not think the award was given out of spite.
• I was smart Thursday. I had a feeling there would be free pizza (the best thing in the WORLD) on Tuesday.  I was right.  I worked out BEFORE I ate 14 slices of pizza.
• My wife and I have gotten to this point. She is on Outlander.  I was on Billions.  We spent our only night at home together Tuesday in separate rooms watching each show with a barrier in the middle.
• I really don’t appreciate that my cats like me. I can tolerate owning cats, but when they constantly follow me around and curl up next to me on the couch, it might seem adorable, but it is not.
• On America’s Got Talent, they had trained cats on. Yes, I looked too.  It was on Twitter and I peaked.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZsVF13anwY
• I golf tomorrow morning at 643am.   Got the itch back.  I am horrible, but MAN is that one or two good drives and a birdie or par just MAKE the day and week.
• Not sure of the origin, but hearing ANY Eagles song is like nails on a chalkboard for me. An Eagles song was on when I picked up my Snarf’s dinner earlier.
• My wife is telling me Breaking Benjamin is “old news.” I would actually call that “late discovery.”  I just didn’t know their off the radio songs were off the hook.
• I heard a young colleague telling another colleague the other day that “this sales job can be boring.”   Youngsters.  Sales is like this.  You wait for nothing.  You seek out everything.  The goal is to have 100% of all entities in your territory.  That is impossible of course.  But, that is the gig you signed up for.  And, when you have down time, that down time is called FINDING SHIT to sell to.  Lock and load, people.  I love my busy days where I don’t even finish stuff.  And I also love my “slow” days where I have to kick in my roots of digging for stuff and cold calling.

TWEET OF THE WEEK:

THE BEST WORKOUT SONG EVER FOR THIS WEEK:

Feed the Wolf by Breaking Benjamin occupies this spot until further told.  I still feeling like running into a wall voluntarily when listening to this song.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTuNRW8Zens

Black Honey by Thrice is off the beaten path for me but comes in at #2 this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9GTEsNf_GU

Chronos by Parkway Drive sneaks in at #3.  I am not a big screamer singer guy, but I make exception on this one, as the guitar just makes it for me.  It gets slow late in the song.  Keep listening, or fast forward through the screamer parts.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dBA2YxbFoE

The Devil Inside by Like A Storm is fourth.  Can’t wait to investigate these weird looking guys a little more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5ew708RI_k

After I listen to the above songs, I might be more apt to do things out of Spite.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

This was on our screens at work, and I liked it.  “Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”  Truman Capote

LINKS TO SAVE YOU TIME IN LIFE:

CLOSING:

The spite theme evolved, so that is the theme.  It barely edges out North Shore and pizza.

That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoyed or are at least more informed.  Will I blog again?  That is a CLOWN question, bro.  Remember.  Feed yourself.  Feed your family.  But, always, ALWAYS, feed the wolf.

PICS:

Just what I need.  Another cat that likes me.  Not sure where this thing is coming from, but it has scared the shit out of me late night a few times.

Maybe my mind is always on pizza, but tell me this north pole of Jupiter doesn’t look exactly like a pepperoni pizza.

And, in case you care about what I threw back in the pond, here you go…