Samurai Bucky

Was at the game last night. A lot of fun, but much closer than it needed to be. One key is at around the 10:00 mark of the second half (I seem to recall 9:48, but not sure). Minnesota outworked and "out-desired" the Badgers to cut the 13 point lead. I don't know if it was evident on TV, but behind the band, you could certainly see it. Klesmit and Essegian are, IMHO, the hardest workers on the floor. Klesmit will at times will avoid toning it down a little. The second foul in that two-foul sequence was a little iffy, but he probably got it because he was very physical on defense. There were more than a handful of times when Crowl would miss on his post move and instead of fight for the rebound, he would put his head down and just run back. There might have been a pout in there once in awhile. I know he had a good stat line, but it could have been much, much better.

I don't think it was necessarily the wrong thing to say, but it certainly wasn't the correct time. I know the news cycle is important and, to use Cheesehead's phrase, his "shtick" is to respond right away. Just wait... let it sink in... and then say what you want to say.

A lot of things to unwrap. I wanted to address the ESPN broadcast and how the NFL handled it. I'm not sure how good the Telecommunications department is at the University of Miami, but I am fairly certain they didn't have a module on how to handle a possible death on the field. Was she unprepared? Sure, but how do you prepare for something like that? I agree that ESPN should have provided her with better support in her ear. Then again, how does one really prepare for something like this? As far as Booger's response? Unless somebody has played in the NFL or even played high level college ball, there is no way we can understand. The NFL players are a brotherhood. As much as I think Booger isn't a very good analyst, I thought he did as well as he could knowing the situation. Fast forward to Scott Van Pelt. More experienced, more time to prepare, and also more help from the mothership. He did an excellent job of being a facilitator delegating to people closer to the situations -- an art that is all too often lost into today's "journalism." Now onto how the NFL handled the situation. Sure, it makes perfect sense that the NFL should have said that the game would be postponed / cancelled because somebody almost perished on the field. Certainly unprecedented except when Chuck Hughes died in 1971. I want to commend the NFL. Instead of making an immediate decision, they took a short amount of time, talked to the coaches and listened to the players. Hypothetically, if the Bills would have wanted to play in an effort to support their brother, would they have been mad if the game was cancelled? I'm not sure. I do appreciate that there was communication and the NFL listened to the players. Good for them. Oh... and Skip Bayless' twitter account had to be hacked or something. I'm still shaking my head.

I have a picture from the store of the cover of People where it says Betty White turns 100. She died before her 100th birthday.

NVM -- site didn't update and I posted twice.

https://nypost.com/2022/12/22/juwan-howard-flips-out-in-michigans-loss-to-unc-video/

I saw that and had to do a double take. I think Howard had a good thing going up until he lost it against Greg Gard. That publicly highlighted some character flaws that have hurt the program. I'll bet Michigan was willing to overlook that. Nebraska isn't terrible. I saw Andy Katz suggested that Minnesota would be the only team not to play in the postseason. The others would play in the NCAA or the NIT.

Ok... I did play Grand Theft Auto a few times. I am really frustrated that I need to see it play out on TV: https://www.cbs58.com/news/i-43-sb-from-mequon-road-to-brown-deer-road-closed-due-to-law-enforcement-activity There are other stores where people (mostly young people) steal cars and go for joy rides. They will often run it out of gas, or get into some type of accident. I know of at least to people to whom this happened. Just.... like... GTA. There are arguments for and against video game influences in people's lives. Unfortunately, the larger cities have come to emulate what is in the video game. My sister-in-law delivers for FedEx and goes to Sheboygan to deliver. Many people in Sheboygan are afraid to go to Milwaukee. People who live in Milwaukee poo-poo that type of attitude. I have lived in the Milwaukee area for 30 years... I am getting increasingly nervous. Hang on... I need to yell at somebody who just walked on my snow-covered lawn.

So let it be written, so let it be done.

I'm with you here. However, how many of us have cell phones and we keep location services on (not that it would make any difference). There is a fine line between liberty and surveillance. That is a biproduct of the ever evolving digital age. I'm sure within 50 years, people will have some type of implant placed in their body either voluntary, or involuntary. We also have Alexa devices in our houses. They listen to us. I can be two rooms away and in a regular voice say the word "Alexa" and it will ask me what I want. Scary. Ok... I can take off my tin foil hat now... ?

I'll bank on Howard going first. Iowa will keep Fran around because they don't want to disrespect him. The program may suffer, but they can say they stuck with him. Might be the same situation as Jim Leonhard, except Leonhard wasn't a good coach. So many people were very mad that Fickell was hired because McIntosh should have honored the internal coach. I say let Leonhard come back in 8-10 years. He can sow his oats on somebody else's program.

I dropped Wilson. Even when he was healthy recently, he wasn't getting the carries. Although he might be the best option if Mostert doesn't play. I would probably go Mostert and keep an eye on it. My RBs (two plus one W/R/T): Christian McCaffrey vs. Washington (start) Josh Jacobs @ Pitt (start) Jerick McKinnon vs Seattle (W/R/T) AJ Dillon (bench) JK Dobbins (bench) Thoughts? I don't know if I go with Dobbins over Josh Jacobs or not.

Translation to the Juwan Howard tirade: "Where in the world is Greg Gard???!!! I need to slap him up!"

It appears the Hawkeye faithful are turning bitter with Fran. My prediction -- when his kids graduate, he is gone.

I heard Nebraska has access to Buffet (as in Warren) type money. Is that true, or is that a bunch of horse hockey?

It will be interesting to see how much more they fill in the gaps from the Transfer Portal. Evers was a good start. Durand seems to be a good OL get from Arizona. Would be nice to see some more linemen. Also, only one Defensive End.

But... the colors are so... pretty... ?

What... an... incredible... game!

I am going to give Mrs. Samurai some major props here. We have a few different cards because of the rewards. We have always paid off our credit cards before the due date. That is 31 years. Not only that, we have different cards that will: Give cash back at restaurants Give cash back when purchasing gas, Give cash back when ordering online Part of Mrs. Samurai's gift is knowing when a card will switch from a 4% cash back with gas to the 4% for groceries, or something like that. It does get confusing for me at times because I will forget that a certain card has the higher cash back percentage. Yes... I was told but, for some reason, have a hard time remembering what she said ? Here is an example -- go to Costco and get the cheapest price on gas. Pull out the card that also gets us 4%. BOOM! Not only that, but the credit limit will also go up. Can be very helpful at times. The key word is discipline.

Keep beating away because I agree with you. I think it was a major factor to losing his HC gig.

Are you kidding? Wake up! Sorry... after watching the game, I felt compelled to complain about everything. Can I have you removed from the board? For those who didn't watch the game: when Grant Hill says that a team is complaining about every little thing, you know that team goes overboard. That team: Golden State.

Gotta love the clip art people waiting in line -- with two of them on their phones. ?‍♀️

I'll admit -- I tend to see things through Cardinal and White colored glasses. However.... When, in previous games, I see the Badgers getting called for things like "In the Cylinder" and flopping (within associated hip thrust by the ref), I get really confused when other teams don't get called for that. I do understand the stigma that Wisconsin has (e.g. the Brad Davidson effect). Yesterday's game was physical. Flat out physical. The refs had a hard time. However, year after year after year after year, pouty-faced Fran pulls the same stunts. Here is a Hawkeye-based article: https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2022/12/11/23504606/yuck-wisconsin-badgers-78-iowa-hawkeyes-basketball-75-connor-fran-patrick-mccaffery-bhgp When Wahl was making his way from the lane to the corner, and the Iowa defender puts his arm out to block him, that was supposed to be a foul on Wahl? Hummel even said, "Wahl initiated the contact." Really? Seriously? Or is that my Cardinal and White colored glasses talking? Fran, or should I say, "Walter," stop complaining. This is getting very old and you are not representing your school well.

Take solace. I haven't had a review in seven years. Part of being in a small company.

England had enough chances and choked.