BrendanLoy.com: Homepage | Photoblog | Weatherblog | Photos | Old blog archives

November 22nd, 2003
“God, I hate them”
Posted by on Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 11:53 pm

USCTrojans.com has some great photos of the USC-UCLA game, as well as an article and stats.

Gene Wojciechowski’s ESPN article about the game contains some real gems, starting with the opening paragraph: “It’s official: Barring another bizarro New York Times computer poll of 1) Iowa State, 2) Dartmouth, 3) Oklahoma), you now can’t spell BCS without SC.” Hehehe.

Wojciechowski also found various colorful ways of describing USC’s level of dominance: “The Trojans did everything but drop crosstown rival UCLA out of the Goodyear blimp Saturday afternoon. … Carroll’s Trojans all but gave UCLA a wedgie in front of 93,172 fans. … About the only thing the Bruins (6-5) won Saturday was the coin toss. Otherwise, UCLA followers spent most of the game curled in the fetal position, moaning quietly as USC (9-1) beat the Bruins for a fifth consecutive time. … So dominant were the Trojans that Carroll considered playing the USC song girls during the final five minutes.”

In addition, Wojciechowski got a wonderful quote from Trojan star (and Becky’s former tutee) Mike Williams: “None of this BCS. . . Sugar Bowl — none of this matters. It’s about today and how we handled them [UCLA]. God, I hate them.”

And then there’s Pete Carroll, staunch BCS agnostic, referring to Michigan when he said, “I don’t know how the BCS works, but I do know the maize and blue looked really good.”

They sure did. And so did the Trojans. Can you taste the sugar?

LINKS: For archival purposes, here are my other posts about this game: in-game updates, immediate postgame wrap-up, and initial BCS analysis. Also, here are my posts on the OSU-Michigan game: in-game, postgame.


BCS: now what?
Posted by on Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 11:12 pm

Rich Tellshow doesn’t have any new estimated BCS data yet, but a commenter on his message board contributes this summary:

Let’s say for simplicity’s sake that LSU is 2nd in all computer polls and USC is 3rd. Then the media and computer polls cancel each other out. It then comes down to strength of schedule and quality wins. Rich projects LSU’s SOS to beat out USC by a .20 margin. Also, Washington St.’s loss this week means USC gets no quality win support. Georgia may still provide LSU with quality win support if it can hang on to the top 10 in the BCS. It comes down to mere fractions.

In the end, it may come down not only to strength-of-schedule ratings, but to SEC tiebreakers. The crucial point may be who LSU plays in the conference championship game. If it’s Georgia, that’s good for USC. If it’s either Florida or Tennessee, that’s bad… unless Georgia loses to Georgia Tech next week, in which case it doesn’t really matter.

I’ll post more on that later, when I have the energy to write about the weird, wild, and wacky situation in the SEC East. But for now, just take my word for this: we need to root hard for Tennessee against Kentucky next week, and we should also root for Florida State over Florida, and Georgia Tech over Georgia.

Unless of course, Arkansas beats LSU next Friday, in which case none of this matters. Mark it on your calendar now… the day after Thanksgiving, 2:30 PM Eastern time… GO RAZORBACKS!!! (Why, oh why, must we keep rooting for these random teams?)

UPDATE: There are others who disagree about the seriousness of the LSU threat. Responding to the above-quoted LSU fan, one commenter wrote, “Forget it! USC beats Oregon State and they play Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. Stop the wishful thinking.”

Another commenter, responding to the title of the thread — “Who does LSU have to play in SEC Championship to pass USC?” — quipped, “LSU would have to play USC in the SEC championship game. Since that isn’t going to happen, they’re not going to pass them.”

Heh. I hope that’s right, but I await the raw data before passing judgement, and in the mean time, I will continue to plan on becoming a big Arkansas fan for a week. :)


A Picture Share!
Posted by on Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 8:39 pm
You have received a Picture Share from 8608335833@messaging.sprintpcs.com.

On the bright side, WSU's loss means the Trojans have clinched the Pac-10 title. Even if we lose to Oregon State, the worst we can do is the Rose Bowl. It's Pasadena or New Orleans!

To view it, click the link below:

…………………………..

http://pictures.sprintpcs.com/?sivt=dE3rY9PX55Ylf7v7zLe0

AOL user? Click the link below:
http://pictures.sprintpcs.com/?sivt=dE3rY9PX55Ylf7v7zLe0

Send and Receive Pictures through PCS Vision.
For more information go to www.sprintpcs.com.

Copyright (c) 2003 Sprint PCS. All Rights Reserved.



 
     

     

You have received a picture from:

8608335833@messaging.sprintpcs.com

Message:
On the bright side, WSU's loss means the Trojans have clinched the Pac-10 title. Even if we lose to Oregon State, the worst we can do is the Rose Bowl. It's Pasadena or New Orleans!


 View
    Reply

 

  View Picture MailSM demo
  Tell me more about Picture Mail



Send and receive Pictures and Videos through Picture MailSM.


For more information go to www.sprintpcs.com.




A Picture Share!
Posted by on Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 8:23 pm
You have received a Picture Share from 8608335833@messaging.sprintpcs.com.

Wazzu lost! Nooooooo! :( So, no quality-win points for USC. This could be really bad news if LSU wins out… meanwhile, here in Phoenix, the Suns lead at halftime, 55-50.

To view it, click the link below:

…………………………..

http://pictures.sprintpcs.com/?sivt=zE2rYNPN5P5trkHo7afL

AOL user? Click the link below:
http://pictures.sprintpcs.com/?sivt=zE2rYNPN5P5trkHo7afL

Send and Receive Pictures through PCS Vision.
For more information go to www.sprintpcs.com.

Copyright (c) 2003 Sprint PCS. All Rights Reserved.



 
     

     

You have received a picture from:

8608335833@messaging.sprintpcs.com

Message:
Wazzu lost! Nooooooo! :( So, no quality-win points for USC. This could be really bad news if LSU wins out… meanwhile, here in Phoenix, the Suns lead at halftime, 55-50.


 View
    Reply

 

  View Picture MailSM demo
  Tell me more about Picture Mail



Send and receive Pictures and Videos through Picture MailSM.


For more information go to www.sprintpcs.com.




And we’re off
Posted by on Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 5:27 pm

Becky and I are heading to downtown Phoenix for the Suns-Heat NBA game, which I got tickets to from my office last week.

Here’s a link to the Wazzu game; the Cougars lead 10-0 after the first quarter. (Yess!)


USC 47, UCLA 22
Posted by on Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 5:12 pm

The Trojans crush the Bruins for the third straight year… and win against ‘em for the fifth straight year (the first time USC has ever done that)! Fight on!!!

Pete Carroll summed it up best, just now on ABC: “We kicked butt.” :)

LSU won too, barely, as mentioned in my previous post. So it will be a Tigers-Trojans battle to reach the Sugar Bowl. The Trojans should have the upper hand, but don’t rule out LSU if they win their two remaining games: at home against Arkansas on Friday at 2:30 PM Eastern (Go Razorbacks!), and if they win that one, in the SEC championsip game at Atlanta against either Georgia, Tennessee, or Florida, on Dec. 6 at 8:00 PM Eastern.

The SEC title game is the same day as USC’s final game, at home against Oregon State on Dec. 6 at 4:30 PM Eastern. (I’ll be there!!!) So if LSU beats Arkansas on Friday, the Tigers and Trojans will each have a chance to “make a statement” to the poll voters and the computers on the last day of the season.

It’ll be very interesting to see how it all works out. The new BCS standings will come out Monday afternoon, and Rich Tellshow should have some unofficial estimates as early as tonight, getting more accurate throughout the day tomorrow. Stay tuned!


Blog under re-construction
Posted by on Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 3:32 pm

I’m moving BrendanLoy.com from Logjamming’s servers to Total Choice Hosting’s servers. I’ve been planning this move for some time, but have been delaying it because it’s a hassle. However, Logjamming’s recent server problems, as well as the general speed problems with the blog (e.g. incredibly slow comment forms), have forced my hand.

It takes 24 to 48 hours for the Internet’s domain-name servers to process a change like this, so http://www.brendanloy.com may briefly point nowhere, and/or it may briefly point to Logjamming in some places and Total Choice Hosting in other places. Please bear with me. :)

Feel free to continue visiting the site, and commenting as normal, but don’t be surprised if some content temporarily disappears at some point. I hope to be able to restore all data and get everything back to normal by tomorrow or Monday.

I recommend that my “blog-children” do NOT attempt to update their blogs until this is all settled.

NOTE: An alternate, shorter version of this post, briefly displayed during the immediate transitional period from old host to new host, read: “I have just switched hosts for my website, and the resulting DNS chaos may make both blogging and commenting a bit difficult, inconsistent and confusing for the next day or two. Posts and comments may disappear, then reappear. Everything should be back to normal by Sunday or Monday. Please bear with me.”


Beat the Bruins… Beat the Bruins…
Posted by on Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 1:50 pm

Touchdown Mike Williams! 7-0 Trojans!

UPDATE: More good news… Ole Miss leads LSU 7-0.

If LSU loses, the Trojans would be the only major-conference one-loss team left, and they’d be pretty much guaranteed a spot in the Sugar Bowl as long as they beat UCLA and Oregon State.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Touchdown LenDale White — 14-0 USC! Meanwhile, it’s 7-3 Mississippi.

LIKE A BROKEN RECORD: Touchdown Trojans! Mike Williams for Heisman! 21-0!

UPDATE: LSU just took a 10-7 lead. Meanwhile USC leads 24-0… and Reggie Bush just got to the one-inch line… USC has 300 total yards with 7:27 to go in the first half! Okay, 2nd and an inch… FUMBLE! Bruins have it! D’oh!

UPDATE A MINUTE LATER: Bruins fumble, it rolls into the end zone, about ten guys drop it, finally Udeze picks it up, and it’s TOUCHDOWN USC!!! Trojans lead, 30-0… but wait, UCLA blocked the extra point and ran it into the end zone for two points… so it’s USC 30, UCLA 2. What a strange couple of minutes, and what a weird score!

HALFTIME UPDATES: USC 33, UCLA 2 at the half. LSU 10, Mississippi 7 at the half. Keep it up, Trojans… and come on, Rebels! :)

“IT’S NOT PRETTY”: Gotta love these numbers… at the half, USC leads UCLA in total yards, 346 to 36, and in first downs, 17 to 2. The Bruins had seven offensive possessions; they punted six times and fumbled once. Heh.

In other news, those pigs are steadfastly refusing to fly: Oklahoma is beating Texas Tech 35-10 at the half. And in the biggest strength-of-schedule game in progress now, it’s Utah 3, BYU 0 in the fourth quarter. That’s right, I said 3-0 in the fourth quarter. C’mon Cougars… let’s go BYU, let’s go!

UPDATE: USC now leads, 40-3. I missed the touchdown… I’ve pretty much switched over to watching the LSU game, and checking on USC-UCLA during the commercials. :)

ANOTHER UPDATE: BYU lost 3-0… dammit. And LSU just took a 17-7 lead… double dammit.

The ABC announcer has now said three or four times, “I don’t think there’s any doubt” that the Trojans will reach the Sugar Bowl if they win out. This is annoying, because it’s not true. The announcer obviously has not been doing his BCS research. There is a very real chance that LSU could leapfrog USC if both teams win out, because the Tigers’ remaining schedule is much tougher. Rich Tellshow predicted last week, “If Ohio State loses and USC wins out, I think LSU can make it very close with USC but will just lose out. A WSU loss helps big time.” In other words, it’s not likely, but it could definitely happen, especially if Washington wins tonight. (Go Cougars!!) Do your research next time, buddy!

GOOD NEWS: Mississippi just scored a touchdown, and pulled within 17-14 of LSU with 10:51 to go. Woohoo! Go Rebels!

UPDATE: I have no idea how this happened, since I’ve been watching the other game, but it’s 47-15 USC now. This is the sixth straight week USC has scored at least 43 points. Meanwhile, Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning is leading his team back — they’re driving in LSU territory. C’mon Rebels! You can do it! YES! First down to the 34 yard line!!

D’OH: Mississippi misses potential game-tying field goal, wide right. Still 17-14, 4:15 to go.

FINAL UPDATE: LSU wins, 17-14. Additional thoughts, and the final USC score, will be posted above.


OHIO STATE LOSES!!!
Posted by on Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 1:33 pm

It’s all over for the Buckeyes!!! Michigan wins, 35-21!!! (See previous post for more.) The Wolverines are going to the Rose Bowl… and the Trojans don’t have to worry about Ohio State anymore!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, let’s beat the Bruins!

UPDATE: Updating the Trojan viewer’s guide… the biggest change is, we root against LSU now. So, go Ole Miss!! That game is starting right now on CBS. Of course, USC-UCLA is also starting right now, on ABC… but, flip during commercials, maybe. :)

We still root for Washington State, unless the Trojans lose to UCLA. As for the strength-of-schedule games… five of them no longer matter: Northwestern vs. Illinois, Bowling Green vs. Ball State, Ohio University vs. Miami of Ohio, Maryland vs. NC State, and Air Force vs. San Diego State. Otherwise, everything remains the same.

ANOTHER UPDATE: A commenter on Rich Tellshow’s message board provides a preliminary breakdown of what now becomes a USC-LSU battle for the open Sugar Bowl spot.


USC loses opener
Posted by on Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 11:45 am

Well… at least the football team is good.


So far, so very good
Posted by on Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 11:05 am

It’s 14-0 Michigan in the second quarter. WOOHOO!!!

Add that to TCU’s loss on Thursday, Boise State’s win last night, and the fact that Syracuse and Illinois are leading, and, well, it seems that pretty much everything is going USC’s way right now. Hell, even the Kentucky-Georgia game is going pretty well: it’s tied at 7-7 between the #91 Wildcats and the #6 Bulldogs. (Why does all of this matter? See my viewer guide.)

UPDATE: ABC was just interviewing Jorge Posada, and he revealed that George Steinbrenner is a big Ohio State fan. Yet another reason to root for Michigan!!

JOY AND HAPPINESS: 21-0!!!!!!!!

UPDATE, 11:38 AM MST: It’s 21-7 Wolverines at halftime.

ANOTHER UPDATE: A record crowd of 112,118 at the Big House is watching the incomparable Chris Perry and the Michigan Wolverines whoop Ohio State, 28-7 with nine minutes to go in the third quarter.

They scored again!!! 34-7!!!! Wait… no they didn’t, holding penalty negates 87-touchdown… dammit.

AN UPDATE YET AGAIN: It’s 28-14 now. That holding penalty created a 14-point swing within the space of about two minutes. Dammit.

AND AGAIN: It’s still Michigan 28, Ohio State 14, with 4:13 left in the third quarter. The Buckeyes are backed up inside their own 15, and OSU quarterback Craig Krenzel was just taken out of the game with an injury.

UPDATE, 12:45 PM: On to the fourth quarter… still 28-14 Michigan. Hopefully Krenzel is OK. And hopefully his team will continue to lose. :)

UPDATE: It’s 28-21. Now I’m a little nervous. This is the kind of game Ohio State always seems to find a way to win… COME ON, MICHIGAN!!!

UPDATE A SPLIT-SECOND LATER: Almost immediately after I posted the above, an Ohio State defender picked off a John Navarre pass, and now the Buckeyes have the ball back. This caused me to utter some words that cannot be printed on a family website.

However… Michigan’s defense held OSU to three-and-out, and now the Wolverines have the ball back… but wait… fumble on the punt!!… but PHEW, Michigan has it. How do Ohio State fans deal with this every week? I’m going to have a heart attack!!!

UPDATE, 1:14 PM: Michigan scored a few minutes ago — Chris Perry rocks! — and now they really do have 35 points. It’s 35-21 with less than six minutes left. YES!!! Go Wolverines!!!

UPDATE, 1:29 PM: MICHIGAN INTERCEPTS IT WITH LESS THAN TWO MINUTES LEFT!!!!!!!!!! STIL 35-21!!!!! YESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FINAL UPDATE: It’s all over!!!!!


40 years ago today…
Posted by on Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 9:43 am

On November 22, 1963, forty years ago today, John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

My mom sent out an e-mail this morning, titled “Where were you when…,” giving her answer to that oft-repeated question:

Sitting in Mr. Harding’s Algebra class at Western Laboratory School in Macomb, Illinois. I was a freshman in high school, class of 1967. A television was brought into the study hall after news of the assassination broke, and students and teachers gathered there when classes dismissed because of the event. We were soon released for the day and sent home.


Goooooo Michigan!
Posted by on Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 9:38 am

A half-hour till game time! I wasn’t able to do a Tribute to Michigan last night due to server issues (I am going to switch servers this weekend), and I don’t have the time or energy for a full-fledged one this morning, but I do have a couple of brief final tribute items I’d like to add.

Due to family website rules, I am going to have to keep the rest of this post off the homepage… you’ll understand why when you click the link below… parental discretion advised… :)

(more…)


Pages:  [1] 

[powered by WordPress.]