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Post by Jesse on Jan 16, 2020 22:35:31 GMT -5
Well, 2-2 last weekend, 3-5 overall for the playoffs. I gotta run the table from here on out to go above .500
I'm gonna play it safe and go with the home teams this weekend, we'll see how that works
Chiefs over Titans. I'm leary on this one. If the Titans game plan the Chiefs as they did the Ravens last week, they CAN win this game. But I think their luck will run out this weekend. Chiefs aren't as good as they looked on Sunday, but they are still really great and have an excellent home field advantage.
49ers over Packers. good matchup between the 1 and 2 seed of the NFC. Both teams are 13-3 and are peaking at the right time. Close game, but I'm going with the home team.
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Post by Jesse on Jan 14, 2020 21:37:01 GMT -5
So, to recap:
49ers pretty much did what I expected them to do to the Vikings
Titans smoked the Ravens, proving once again that a good game plan can beat a team with superior talent
Chiefs did what I expected to the Texans, but only after mailing in the first quarter and spotting the Texans 24 points. I feel like the Chiefs were just toying with them. This was like a Harlem Globetrotters game!
Russell Wilson alone couldn't beat the Packers. I knew that, but I really thought he'd get a little bit of help. Packers are a very good team, but a few less missed assignments and someone other than Wilson able to run for positive yardage and the Seahawks may have taken this one.
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Post by Jesse on Jan 13, 2020 1:14:22 GMT -5
Another one RIP. 67 is still pretty young to die, but not unheard of either. What did he have? Brain cancer? Can't be a good way to go. Amazing that he was able to keep this under wraps for this long.
Anyway, kinda the point of this post is 1) to honor the man. He was an outstanding drummer (even if I can only take his music in small doses) and 2) buckle up, a lot, if not all, of our favorite artists are in the same age bracket as Peart. We're gonna be losing more and more of our beloved musician heroes each year. It sucks to lose them, but it sucks even more that there just isn't enough talent coming up to replace them.
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Post by Jesse on Jan 13, 2020 1:03:06 GMT -5
About time for Jimmy Johnson. Two Superbowl victories and the way he turned around the Dallas Cowboys' franchise, he should've been in a few years ago.
Not so sure about Cowher. His teams always underachieved. Tended to lose Championship games at home. Flat out wasn't prepared for Superbowl XXX and if not for 3 big plays and a half-dozen controversial calls, may not have won Superbowl XL. I guess something has to be said for building a franchise into a perennial powerhouse for over a decade and setting up his successor for another decade. I dunno, I suppose he deserves it, he's Marty Shottenhiemer with two Superbowl appearances and a (controversial) ring. Ok.
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Post by Jesse on Jan 12, 2020 21:51:24 GMT -5
Doesn't surprise me that the Seahawks lost this one. 'Hawks been losing games like this all year. Packers played mistake-free football and Seattle couldn't stop them. Russell Wilson was all the Seahawk offense had to offer.
Eh, 2-2 is and improvement over 1-3
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Post by Jesse on Jan 12, 2020 19:47:51 GMT -5
Chiefs/Texans, despite only a 28-24 lead, I was right that the game was essentially over by halftime. Once the home team in the playoffs gets momentum, there seems to be no lead that is insurmountable. Whoda thunk, though, that the Chiefs would spot the Texans 24 unanswered points to start the game and still win by 20!
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Post by Jesse on Jan 12, 2020 1:28:13 GMT -5
First game went about like I thought it would. I just didn't think the Vikings could keep up.
Second game, WTF? It doesn't really surprise me that the Titans won, but 28-12? If you told me that would be the final score I would've thought for sure it would be with the Ravens winning. I thought a Titan win would've been more like 20-17 or 22-21.
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Post by Jesse on Jan 7, 2020 21:47:16 GMT -5
After last week, I'm tempted to pick against my gut feelings for this weekend, but here's what I think will happen: 49ers over Vikings. Vikings played above their talent last weekend and barely beat the Saints in overtime. They might be able to pull off another upset, but I doubt it. Not with the 49ers getting a week of rest. Ravens over Titans. Titans are likely to run into a brick wall and get waffle-stomped in this game. However, if they can stick with a similar game plan as last weekend, they are probably the one team built to compete with the Ravens. I don't see it happening though, Ravens are too damn good this year. Chiefs over Texans. Texans only play this week because of the Bills' and Josh Allen's brainfarts last weekend. Chiefs will roll over the Texans. Game will be over by halftime. Seahawks over Packers. Sort of a long shot, but I see it. Seahawks didn't play their best game last weekend, but they pulled it off and are now 8-1 on the road this season. They could be the first team to win all road games on the way to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2010 Packers did so. But they have the 2019 Packers to get by first. If the Seahawks do win, I like their chances against the 49ers. If you're using my picks for betting actual money on these games, after last week, you may want to put your money on the Vikings, Titans, Texans and Packers.  |
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Post by Jesse on Jan 6, 2020 20:25:27 GMT -5
So, before I move on to round 2, let me just recap what happened as my 1-3 record this past weekend looks stupider than it really was.
Bills WERE the better team, but couldn't get out of their own way after building a 16-0 lead. Their QB Josh Allen kept shooting himself (and his team) in the foot. Deshaun Watson, meanwhile, came alive and, almost single-handedly, put points on the board for the Texans. With all the mistakes the Bills kept making, the Texans needed overtime to win. Like I said, the Bills were the better team, just had first-time playoff jitters. It wasn't a bad pick.
Patriots also were the better team, but Mike Vrabel had a great game plan for the day. Titans kept running the ball until the Patriots defense was too tired to stop it. Ryan Tannehill played flawlessly and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels gave up on the run game before he had to. Despite all of that, we're talking about a 1 point game here. Julian Edelman dropped a sure-thing pass that would've moved the chains and gotten the Patriots closer to a chance for the go-ahead field goal. It's obviously not all Edelman's fault, but that drop was huge! Patriots were the better team, but Belichik was outcoached by his former player and understudy.
Saints were the better team. More battletested than most of the Vikings players. However, Brees couldn't seem to get his "mojo" going and Kirk Cousins played like he had something to prove (he did). This was a tough game all around and, after watching 4 quarters, it wasn't all that surprising this went into overtime. Had the Saints gotten the ball to start overtime, they may have won, but, for the most part, the Vikings overachieved, while the Saints underachieved.
The one game in which I was correct! Seahawks should have run away with this game as soon as Wentz was out of the game. The Eagles players stepped up though and made a game of this. I really didn't see too much underachieving or boneheaded decisions or mistakes on the Seahawks part, the Eagles just played them tough. Impressive considering how many 2nd and 3rd string guys were playing for the Eagles! In fact, it was the Eagles who made some boneheaded coaching decisions. Kinda stupid, IMO, to keep going for it on 4th down in field goal range with a backup QB. But they did it twice and failed. Had they taken the field goals, the score would have been 17-15 at the end and the Eagles would've had a lot more options when they got the ball back at the very end of the game.
On to Round 2!
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Post by Jesse on Jan 6, 2020 0:39:21 GMT -5
Yay! 1-3 so far this postseason!
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Post by Jesse on Jan 5, 2020 16:22:17 GMT -5
Still a chance to go 1-2 with my weekend picks  ….And...…. maybe not. Now I'm in a quandry: Do I change my pick for the Eagles/Seahawks game or do I leave it be as the odds are in my favor to get ONE game right this weekend. |
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Post by Jesse on Jan 5, 2020 16:10:11 GMT -5
Still a chance to go 1-2 with my weekend picks |
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Post by Jesse on Jan 4, 2020 23:23:59 GMT -5
Wondering if I should change my Sunday picks now  |
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Post by Jesse on Jan 4, 2020 23:12:12 GMT -5
NFL making me look stupid again! Patriots, like the Bills earlier, had their chances and blew 'em. Titans are a better team than I gave them credit for.
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Post by Jesse on Jan 4, 2020 20:15:00 GMT -5
Thought I was gonna go up 1-0 with this first game, but the Bills proved to be, well..... the Bills Soon as I posted this, The Bills made a game of it. Had more chances to win..... and blew each of them. |
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Post by Jesse on Jan 4, 2020 19:25:50 GMT -5
Thought I was gonna go up 1-0 with this first game, but the Bills proved to be, well..... the Bills |
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Post by Jesse on Jan 2, 2020 16:03:44 GMT -5
Don't know who's gonna read this to see how smart or stupid I am, but here's my predictions for this weekend:
Bills over Texans. Bills are a super solid team this year. Texans are good too, but I think the Bills take this one
Patriots over Titans. Ryan Tannehill's Cinderella season will see the clock strike midnight somewhere in the second quarter of this game.
Saints over Vikings. Vikings are a good team, but this Saints team is GREAT!
Seahawks over Eagles. Seahawks are only playing this weekend due to some bone-headed play calling at the end of Sunday night's game. Eagles were hot down the stretch, but the 'Hawks have been very good on the road this year.
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Post by Jesse on Dec 30, 2019 10:57:35 GMT -5
A lot of what I am looking forward to (musically) is the same as what I was looking forward to in 2019: New Lynyrd Skynyrd album New Molly Hatchet album New (reunited) Helloween album None of it really materialized in 2019. Did get some live albums, but I was looking forward to new material. So these are still things I am looking forward to In addition: I'm digging the Country band Midland right now. Their latest album hit #1 on the Country charts, so I'm hoping that translates into some hit songs on the Country charts and, maybe, getting Country music out of their rut of Hip-hoppy boy bands with a Southern accent and some background banjo. There's a lot of semi-underground Southern Rock and Rockin' Country artists out there that I am just beginning to discover. I'm hoping to find my next favorite band among them in 2020. Fuck me, I'm really digging on Greta Van Fleet lately! Those who blast them for being no more than Led Zeppelin wanna-be either haven't listened to enough of Greta Van Fleet's music or never listened very closely to Led Zeppelin. Oh, there's similarities, but there's quite a few differences too. And it's great music (even if the singer gets a bit annoying at times). Anyhow, I think they are due for a new release in 2020 and, unlike their past releases, I won't drag my feet in buying it this time! There's actually several newer rock bands that I am digging who are making a little bit of noise on the music scene. Hoping this changes the trends of the last 20-25 years of hit Rock music being crap. On a personal note, my band, The Shambles Band, is recording again! Our guitar player/singer died in 2018 and the drummer and I are finally settling into a "new normal" and have begun recording the songs as a duo that we planned on recording 2 years ago as a trio. It's taking time and it's going to take time, but it will be well worth it in the end. And maybe, just maybe, by the time we are done, we will find the right bass player or guitar player to help us present this music in live form again  |
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Post by Jesse on Dec 27, 2019 19:38:08 GMT -5
Looking at this from another angle, here are some of the most played songs:
And We Danced- The Hooters. Surprisingly played 9 times! Most of any song this particular week!
Played 8 times:
Boys Of Summer-Don Henley
Going To California-Led Zeppelin
Jack And Diane-John Cougar Mellencamp
Free Fallin'-Tom Petty
Blackhole Sun-Soundgarden. Hard to believe that the same people who want to hear the above songs played 8 times also want to hear this song!
Played 7 times:
Sister Golden Hair-America. Yeah, surprised me too!
Wanted Dead Or Alive-Bon Jovi
The Chain-Fleetwood Mac
Comfortably Numb-Pink Floyd
Faithfully-Journey
Lola-The Kinks
Sweet Home Alabama-Lynyrd Skynyrd
Low Rider-War
Whole Lotta Love-Led Zeppelin
These 15 songs account for 98 of the 1630 song plays or 6% of radio airtime.
Another 35 songs were played 6 times each. I won't list them, but add these songs to the first 15 and you got 50 songs played, roughly 20% of the time.
It wouldn't even bother me all that much except many of these songs have been played at this rate FOR 30 YEARS! I actually love many of these songs, but I don't need to hear them 6-8 times a week. Hell, I don't even need to hear them once a week!
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Post by Jesse on Dec 26, 2019 21:55:40 GMT -5
So, here's 25 artists (random order) who USED to get a lot of airplay back in the day and many of them were staples on Classic Rock radio just a few short years ago, yet are only played sparingly today:
38 Special
Allman Brothers Band
America
Bad Company
The Black Crowes
Billy Squier
Black Sabbath
Boston
Bachman Turner Overdrive
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Cream
Deep Purple
The Doobie Brothers
Jethro Tull
Heart
The Kinks
Kiss
Loverboy
The Moody Blues
REO Speedwagon
Rush
Santana
Steely Dan
Styx
Yes
These 25 artists were played a COMBINED 144 times during this particular week and represented by a mere 55 songs among them. I came up with over 100 additional hits by these artists that this station could play. I guess they had to push these artists aside to make room for Nirvana, Soundgarden, Peral Jam, Blind Melon and Red Hot Chili Peppers :/
If you can't follow, I'll sum it up:
The 10 artists I posted before, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Journey, The Doors, Fleetwood Mac and Queen are played about 30% of the time, while the 25 artists here are played about 9% of the time.
More analysis to come!
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