I’ve never been to Buffalo, and I don’t really care to change that.  Frigid weather and depression is not really my cup of tea.  However, as a Dallas native, I can’t be more thankful for its existence.

Its a rare occurrence that we actually play them in sports.  They’re too poor to have a baseball or basketball team, while the Bills and Sabres are in different conferences than the Cowboys and Stars.  When we do play them, though, we always beat them.

There were two Super Bowls in the 90s that were just your normal ho hum Dallas Cowboys ass kickings…

Those were awesome, but honestly kind of boring to talk about because we were so dominant that there’s nothing to really say except that we were the best team to ever play.

The 1999 Stanley Cup, on the other hand, was rife with controversy.  I have no idea why, though, because Brett Hull 1000% scored a legal goal…

At the time, I just assumed that Buffalo natives were so used to dejection that they wouldn’t have too many problems accepting the fact that they will never finish higher than 2nd place behind Dallas in any sport.  Instead, they fell under the delusion that they were capable of being winners for once, and ended up holding a rally to demand another game.

Sometimes I get frustrated when I hear them (still to this day) complain about this.  Not only was it a legal goal, but it was still highly unlikely for them to be able to score again in Game 6, and it was even more unlikely that the Sabres would’ve been able to travel down to Dallas for Game 7 and actually pull off another win.  It’s annoying to think that they can’t just accept the fact that Hasek didn’t have enough left in the tank to stop the greatest American sniper in history (prior to Chris Kyle).

But then I remember that my city has sunlight, my brain has serotonin, and my sports memories have legit rings to kiss…  Let the bums up north try to whine and moan their way to a level of catharsis that will keep them off of suicide watch.  I can just relax and enjoy the genuine happiness that my hometown brings to me.

 

Unfortunately, there haven’t been any championship matchups between Dallas and Buffalo since then, but there still has been some interesting regular season games.  We typically murder the Bills every four years, but in 2007 there was a Monday Night Football game that was actually close…

But no cigar for Buffalo.

 

Last week, the 1st place Dallas Stars went to Buffalo, and Lindy Ruff, the Sabres coach in 1999, was ironically on the bench for the good side this time.  Once again, the game ended with the refs making the correct decisions…

And for good measure, we beat them again 3-0 on Saturday.

Lol.  Suck it Buffalo.

For those who haven’t been paying attention to the Pac-12 this year (can’t say I blame you), Washington State QB Luke Falk is the absolute fucking truth.  Mike Leach has a knack for cranking up stats with the air raid offense, but this kid is looking like a legit Heisman contender and pro prospect…

-4,266 passing yards, 1st in the country

-36 touchdowns (on 8 interceptions), 3rd in the country

-418 completions (1st), 7.2 YPA, 148.8 rating

He’s fucking awesome.  And he’s not like any of the other pretty boy west coast quarterbacks we’re used to seeing roll through the Pac-12.  He’s a legit gladiator.

That being said, Falk took another bad fall against Colorado on Saturday and now it’s looking like his brain is getting dangerously rattled…

https://twitter.com/TheCauldron/status/668308529091108866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

His head hit the ground with a lot of force, but to warrant a straight board to cart him off the field is concerning to say the least.  Fortunately, Colorado sucks and the Cougars were fine without him.  Falk’s performance at UCLA was awesome to watch, and it was refreshing to see such a vintage level of courage from a quarterback these days, but now he should take a long rest for his brain to get settled back into place.

Or should he?

Next up on the docket is a mega showdown in Seattle against Washington for the Apple Cup.  Most people assume this game is irrelevant, but this is quietly turning into marquee rivalry.

We’ve touched on Washington coach Chris Peterson before, and it will take a lot for me to waver on him.  He is one of the best in the country, as in a legit top 5 guy.  His run at Boise State was incredible, and his impact is greater exemplified when you look at the Broncos slide this year (two home losses to New Mexico and Air Force in the last two weeks, woof).  Now he’s in Seattle with a lot more resources and talent to pull from and he’s got this program on a definite up and up status.

While Chris Peterson is elite, Mike Leach will forever be a legend.  He had Texas Tech of all programs only one win in Norman away from a national championship, and seemingly overnight he’s taken Washington State from a doormat to a rising Pac-12 power.  What makes him cool as shit is that not only did he revolutionize the sport with his new school air raid tactics, he still maintains an old school mentality in terms of his player discipline and expectations for toughness.

Some people say that he’s reckless, but his job is to win football games, especially big rivalry games, and that is why Falk needs to play.  Let’s be real here…  CTE and all these suicidal former pros are scary to hear about, but most of them are linebackers and linemen that are repeatedly colliding their heads into players on almost every single snap.  Quarterbacks don’t have quite that level of danger.  Steve Young, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, Phil Simms….  All of them have played through concussions and they seem fine lapping it up on your TV screen.

Falk is gonna play, he’s gonna dominate, and he’s gonna be fun as shit to witness.

 

PS – FSU needs a quarterback next year and Falk would be perfect for them.  I bet Jimbo Fisher wants a do over on revoking his scholarship…

The Cowboys laying only 1 point to the Dolphins today is a fucking joke. Anybody who thinks Miami has a chance is delusional.

Dallas has gone down to the wire in every single game its played except the Pats game, and they’ve been doing it with dog shit quarterback play.  Brandon Weeden was a 3 and out machine and Matt Cassel was a pick six specialist.  Tony Romo is the cure all and savior to America’s Team and we are absolutely running the table to make the playoffs.

Dallas -1: LOCK OF THE CENTURY!!

Kudos to the NHL for realizing how much their All-Star Game sucks and doing something about it.  In case you haven’t heard, they’re switching to a four team tournament of 3 on 3 hockey.  They also reached into their inner XFL and put down a $1M prize pool for the winning team.

I know one thing is for sure…  I won’t need ecstacy that weekend to be feeling euphoric because gambling on this tournament is going to be the dopamine rush of a lifetime.

I already know I’m going to bet 20 or so units on the Central division to win the whole thing, and then probably another 10 each on their individual games.  Seguin and Benn are going to be locks to crush this tournament.

Can’t fucking wait!

UCLA vs Washington State turned out to be a pretty dope game, as is usually the case whenever Mike Leach is manning a sideline.  I personally was teasing the over and feeling pretty damn good about it.  Washington State can light up the board enough to scare any team in the country, and they looked like they were clicking early on.

Then this shit happened…

https://twitter.com/NussCoug/status/665764064086392833

Yikes…  That was 100% a game ending concussion, but somehow Falk returned to play the entire 2nd half.  Clearly, the concussion exam he took was a sham.  Knowing Mike Leach’s unique history with concussions, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he squeezed the team doctors into giving a favorable diagnosis for the team.  Was it dangerous?  Yeah.  Do I have a problem with it?  Not really.

I’ve said this before and I’m still a firm believer, there are certain times and places where playing with concussions are going to remain a part of sports.  In the NFL playoffs last year, you can’t be a real sports fan and tell me that Big Ben, Russell Wilson, and Julian Edelman had to be sat down.  You can’t tell me that it was smart for Josh Donaldson to leave a playoff baseball game because he was light headed.

Luke Falk is the heart and soul of this program right now and he was on the road in a huge game.  If he’s still functioning and he’s okay with going back onto the field, I’m all for letting him finish his job.  Just make sure to do your best to avoid anymore repeated head blows for the rest of the game.

That being said, I definitely had an issue when I saw this…

Holy shit man.  Even by my standards, that was not okay.  That was a kill shot in the literal sense of the term.

When I said I was fine with Falk going back into the game, I assumed that those types of dirty plays can’t happen in football anymore.  At least half of the targeting ejections I’ve seen this year have been disappointing ticky tack calls.  For the refs to let that play slide was one of the most egregious misses I’ve ever seen.

Clean that shit up Pac-12!

 

PS if you were wondering how the game ended…

A cover for me, and job well done for Mike Leach and his QB.  Awesome throw and catch.

The Mavs beat the Clippers on Wednesday night, and judging by the response of local media, you’d think they won a playoff game…  Seriously?  People are talking about basketball in November?  The NBA regular season is boring enough if you can cheer for a good team in the winter.  If Dallas is getting hyped about a win our shitty team made in the fall, its a rock bottom moment.

Yes, I know about the whole DeAndre Jordan saga last summer.  I still don’t see why anyone should care about it.  If anything, the Mavs are way better off without having a max out contract on the books for a player who at best would get us to the 5 seed and the 2nd round of the playoffs.  Apparently Jordan was booed when he took the court on Wednesday; the fans should’ve cheered him instead.

Mark Cuban – I love the fuck out of you.  You will forever be immortal in my beloved hometown for saving this sad sack of a franchise and making it cool as shit for so many years.  But please stop sounding so butt hurt.  It’s not a good look on you or the city.  I guarantee you if this same story happened in New York or Boston everyone would’ve moved on a long time ago.

Also, fuck the Clippers.  They’re not a relevant contender anymore.  Houston was awful in the playoffs last year and the their defense was absolutely horrendous.  LA’s collapse was was one of the most embarrassing playoff performances I have ever seen.  No way the Clippers are recovering from that.  Warriors, Thunder, Spurs, and Pelicans would torch them in 5 games this year no problem.

I didn’t watch a single second of that game Wednesday night, and my serotonin levels are much higher because of it.

Did you know that last May, Greg Hardy beat up his girlfriend and threw her onto a pile of guns?  Chances are that 100% of sports fans on the internet do know about this already, so I’m not really sure what the purpose of today’s exposé by Diana Moskovitz is supposed to be…

Granted, the pictures she released are new to the public, but anybody who needs to see photos to realize the severity of the situation is a fucking moron.  In addition, this raises an ethical quandary in that Nicole Holder certainly does not want these very personal pictures of her body out on the internet for everybody to see.

The social media stratosphere seems to be taking this ‘development’ as an opportunity to partake in moral grandstanding and bash the NFL over the way they conduct their business.  They are missing the point entirely…

First of all, Greg Hardy has already been suspended for the maximum number of games the courts would allow given the terms of the CBA.  In addition, Hardy spent nearly the entire 2014 season on the exempt list, severely hindering his future earnings potential in the process.  If you want to be upset over the lack of ‘justice’ Hardy has received, turn your anger towards the North Carolina justice system for letting him get through all of this unscathed.

Given that these charges have been completely expunged from Hardy’s record, it seems pretty un-American to me that he wouldn’t be allowed to continue to pursue his profession of choice.  Some would say that, due to the high profile nature of the league, major off-field transgressions should preclude players from being able to step back on the field.  Again, these people are missing the point…

The NFL is an American business.  They make a shit ton of money by putting together an extremely entertaining product for fans to attend and view on TV.  In terms of on field ability, Greg Hardy definitely provides value to their product.  In terms of off-field character, could Greg Hardy possibly have an adverse impact to the NFL’s bottom line?  Doubtful…

If any of the smut bloggers or internet commenters actually plan to tune out the NFL on Sunday, then yes Greg Hardy’s moral character does disincentivize the league from employing him.  Based on the consensus reaction to last year’s Ray Rice fiasco, chances are all of those writers and commenters are still going to be all in on the NFL come kickoff on Sunday.  Therefore, it may be wiser for these people to direct their anger towards their own mirrors instead of the NFL.

I for one am shocked, SHOCKED by the announcement that the Titans decided to can Ken Whisenhunt.

“The Whiz” may have had an atrocious record (3-20) with the Titans, but everyone pointing to that seems to be missing the big picture here.  He was clearly tanking last season, and it was brilliant.  Seriously, tell me that Charlie Whitehurst didn’t throw this pass so poorly on purpose, you can’t…

No, don’t actually score Delanie!  Don’t you want a quarterback next year??

Whisenhunt used to work for Bill Parcells for a year when he was with the Jets.  He learned there that the best rosters to take over are the ones you can build from scratch.  That’s why he turned down the Lions job in favor of Tennessee.  The Lions core was locked in and it was clear they had a ceiling no higher than the wild card round.  The Titans, like the Cardinals team that he coached before, had a clean slate that was perfect to build upon.

Where most coaches would try to prove that they could be winners and actually have their teams compete in meaningless games, Whisenhunt was wise enough to know how hopeless Jake Locker was and that Tennessee needed a top draft pick.

The result?  This future football GOD!

And now he’s getting kicked to the curb?  For real Tennessee?  I don’t get that.  It’s gonna be interesting to see how everything plays out from here…

P.S. – Matt Leinart, you’re elated about this move, huh?  Yeah, that’s probably how all Texas fans felt when you choked away the Rose Bowl, or how Paris Hilton felt when she thought she was banging a relevant pro athlete.

Baseball breaks your heart.  It is designed to break your heart.  The game begins in the spring when everything else your gambling addiction begins again and it blossoms makes you rich in the summer.  Filling the afternoons and evenings and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone poor.

-the late, great Commissioner Bart Giamatti

It doesn’t matter that you hold the lead in 43 out of 54 innings if your lights out closer blows three saves.  It doesn’t matter that Ned Yost is a reject castoff of the sad sack Milwaukee Brewers if your own manager is Terry Collins.  It doesn’t matter if your opponent’s offense is fucked without a DH if they have the foresight to make sure and win the All-Star Game.  The list goes on and on…

Postseason experience and mental tenacity are great force multipliers in the October.  The Royals proved that this year, just like the Giants last year, and the Red Sox the year before, as well as just about every team that has ever won a World Series in the past.  It doesn’t matter what conclusions you make after 2,430 regular season games, you have to take that into account (unless the Marlins make the playoffs).

As a Rangers fan, I am very well used to October heartbreaks by now.  This year, however, the gambling gods were cruel enough to make me experience a new kind of heartbreak…

In addition to Mets +160, I placed a futures bet in August for the Rangers to win the AL West, the Mets to win the NL, and the Blue Jays to win the World Series.  It was $100 to win 7 grand.

So fuck the 8th inning of Game 4…

Fuck Ryan Goins…

Fuck this little twerp and fuck the MLB for not calling his fan interference…

Fuck this god damned called strike in the 9th with runners on 2nd and 3rd and no outs in Game 6…

Fuck everything that happened in the World Series and fuck baseball.  Until free agency starts up.

As if the World Series wasn’t already shaping up to be dope as fuck, we now get to gamble on a Mets series price that is… +160?? Ohh my fucking great, loving baseball gods. Thank you so much!!

I advise all of you to bet your entire bank account on it.  Literally, every single penny.  You can sacrifice to the gods later when you’re loaded as fuck.

Don’t believe me? Allow me to break it down for you…

Bartolo Colon’s Heroics Makes Game 4 a Lock

First off, lets reexamine Colon’s epic performance last night.  He didn’t win, but he forced Chris Young to go through half a game’s work before KC could finish the job.  That’s going to fuck the Royals in game 4.  They’ll need all the luck in the world if they want to beat Matz on Saturday night with a fatigued 36 yr old Chris Young or a, lol, Danny Duffy…

Johnny Cueto Is a Fucking Fraud

I told y’all over the summer that Cueto was a fucking fraud, and since then all he’s done is have an atrocious last two months of the season and a piss poor postseason.

Everyone points to that game 5 against Houston as a possible turning point for him, but he was going up against a shellshocked young team and still got put in an early 2-0 hole.  The Mets will not be so forgiving…

With tonight and a possible game 7 being a DeGrom-Cueto matchup, I think its safe to say that the Mets are guaranteed to win one of those and that is being very conservative.

Citi Field Swagger = Mets Domination

After tonight, we have three straight games at Citi Field.  This bodes much worse for KC than it does for the Mets whenever they have to play at the K.  In New York, the Royals are going to lose Morales as their DH.  He’s hitting #5 right now, so not only are they losing a key cog in the middle of their lineup, but they’re replacing him with an automatic out.

The Mets, on the other hand, are replacing dog shit Kelly Johnson with a pitcher who will only be slightly worse at the plate (remember, especially with Matz, the Mets rotation is arguably the least shittiest at hitting).  That is huge.

So the Mets get big time rule change advantages for games 3-5, and they also have cushy starting pitching matchups, especially in Game 4.  Add in the fact that the Mets are fucking awesome at home and you can guarantee they win 2 out of 3 at Citi, and again that is being very conservative.

Ryan Madsen Sucks

Holy shit.  Is Ned Yost really going to keep pitching Madsen in the 8th?  That’s not gonna turn into a disaster at all…  He brought Madsen in last night, once again showing that he fails to realize that there is a difference in regular season and postseason pressure. If he doesn’t move Herrerra into the setup man role, this vaunted KC bullpen could very easily be downgraded to just above average

(btw, Herrerra threw 35 pitches last night and is basically out tonight, so we’re almost guaranteed to see Madsen again unless Cueto can stop pitching like a fucking fraud).

Recent Competition – Not a Good Look KC

I respect that the Royals are clutch, that they’re gamers and they find ways to win.  But lets also remember that this team was down to a 1% chance of advancing past the Astros in the ALDS.  The Astros are not good.  The Blue Jays are very talented, but their mental tenacity is nonexistant, and teams that throw games don’t go to the World Series.

The Mets, on the other hand, blew right through one of the best 1-2 pitching duos in history, and then swept a team that manhandled the Cardinals.

Vegas Odds Don’t Add Up

So lets get this straight…  We conservatively estimated three guaranteed wins out of the six possible remaining games.  In addition, Vegas is favoring them to win the next four games.

They’re favored tonight at -120.  Game 3’s Thor/Ventura matchup will probably be around -150 to the Mets.  Game 4 should probably be in the -200s with Matz going up against Young or Duffy.  Game 5 is scary because of the thought of Volquez doing one of those Favre/MNF emotional performances, but its Harvey at home and the Mets will still be favorites.

We have three guaranteed wins on our own analysis, and Vegas is looking to favor NY in the next four games, and the Mets are +160 UNDERDOGS right now??  Get the fuck outta here.