Week 3 Recap 2010

Week 3 Recap

Wow! I think we know who some of the pretenders are after a weekend of games that separated the men form the boys and I am not talking about bus station bathrooms in San Francisco. Washington and Cal…you simply did not represent. Jake you looked more like Heather Locklear instead of the J Lock you were portended to be. IOWHAT? Nice job in the dessert Kurt. You, much like the Donner party don’t perform well when you travel west over the mountains. And USC, you barely beat a team that lost to a 1 AA team last week and you have to do your LA thug sideline dance….Really? Hey Lane, my Boy Big SMO and his friends in middle Tennessee would like to have a little homecoming party for you (Click on Link) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDxSgq88Clw. And next week you are in the Paloos against the mighty Cougs. Way to play a tough schedule in September!

And here’s to you Mr. Robinson…Rich Rod loves you more than you will know…you are the real deal and the front runner for the Heisman assuming you don’t lose to a patsy on your schedule and Rich Rod doesn’t quit before the bowl game. Boise stifled the likes of Brent Musberger, Corso and company for a week by taking the “rarified air” out of Laramie and the Wyoming Cowboys in a resounding win. The ESPN College Game Day will make its first appearance at the Blue Turf in Boise next week. Tune in at 7 AM Pacific on Saturday. My daughter will be holding a sign up that says “Separated at Birth” with these two pictures:

It is good to be the King, but Lee you have not shown the Broncos any respect this year and perhaps you will eat a little Blue Turf Pie on Saturday. Game of the week was perhaps Clemson at Auburn in an epic Big Cat fight. However, it hurts me most to admit that Michigan State’s ballsy play on the fake field goal taking down the Irish was perhaps the most exciting finish. Hey BK, we got rid of Charlie “Front Butt” for these same endings so pick it up please! A weekly shout out to the Service Academies with nice wins for Army & Navy and a valiant effort by Air Force versus OU. To my wife’s Alma matter in the battle of the lesser Oklahoma schools, nice win over the Golden Hurricanes. Solid win by the Mountaineers over my home state Terps in the battle for disputed land (It’s ours by the way). Is the SEC the top conference this year? Bama is for real but the rest of the conference appears to be average so far. At this point there does not seem to be a dominant conference but a few dominant teams. I’d like to hear what ya’ll have to say about that.

Gripe of the week – Although ESPN play by play announcer Pam Ward has a voice as deep as Trace Adkins and one that I only wished I had, there is something lacking in the credibility of a woman play by play announcer. I know I can hear all the feminists beating me up on this one, but really did she ever even play a pick-up game as a kid in the sandlot? I doubt it, but hey there is obviously no room for her in the locker room these days….just ask Ines Sainz J

Tailgate starts next Saturday at 7 AM in Dan's Bar & Grill (DB&G). All are welcome to drop by for a cold one or hot one depending on your preference as we will be preparing in style for the Boise/Oregon game and all the other 55 games to be viewed. Some pub for my boy Feasty John of the Feasty Boys TV show. Each week Feasty John has provided me with a new tailgate recipe that I post on the left side of the page. We will be making up his famous seafood in a bag next week. Also be sure to vote on the weekly polls that are posted.

Happy Tailgating!

Week 2 Recap 2010

With all the talk of the 5 Big games of the weekend matching up 10 of College Football’s Blue Bloods, only one of those games proved to be a contest with Michigan taking down the Domers in South bend. I thought after last weekend that the Irish D would stiffen up…apparently not…just ask shoelaces! Nonetheless Dan’s Tailgate was fortunate enough to be in the vicinity of one of those games on business. At long last I was able to attend (along with West Point Rob) a game at the Horseshoe in Columbus pitting The Ohio State University over the U of Miami. Though the game panned out to be sloppy and mostly dominated by OSU, the atmosphere and accouterments surrounding the game ranked very high in my book. First the Tailgate took a tour of some of Columbus finest bars on Friday night including the famous Varsity on Campus. I was most impressed by watching old and new alumni returning to see this projected epic matchup meeting old classmates and retelling the glory stories. Other bars were geared up with many people wearing the scarlet and grey and singing OSU centric songs and chants.

On Game day we met up with an old friend from Danville and OSU Alumni Tim Fetters at his RV tailgate party (See pictures as there were many unique RV party apparatuses). We ended pre game festivities at a Raucous open air pregame party with live band and thousands of the Buckeye Faithful and ample Budweiser product. Though our tickets (Bought off Craig’s list for $150 each) were not the best seats in the house, they were nonetheless in the house! We learned why 106,000 fans sang “Hang on Sloopy” several dozen times with the chant of O-H-I-O mixed into the versus. The fans although biased on all calls, were respectful and knowledgeable (Including the yakmaster woman who sat behind me running her trap the entire game and elbowing me in the head and sliding her foot into my built in seat). A great day in all for football with a bit of rain mixed in. The Horseshoe ranks up there close to the top of all Cathedrals of Fall that I have attended.

As for the rest of the Weekend lineup, VT why did you have to lose to JMU! This hurts my chance of going to Glendale to watch Boise in the BCS Ship. The Bay Area teams fared well with resounding routs by Stanford and Cal and a respectable showing by SJSU at Wisconsin. OU answered its critics with a seminal Seminole butt whooping. Maybe the golden gophers should crawl back in their holes after their embarrassment. The Gators continued its struggles with another unimpressive performance. The Ole Ball Coach still has the Dawgs number…Outside of Alabama it appears the SEC is going to have a down year, right Tennessee? ACC had a weekend to forget or maybe they just forgot to play this weekend. Air Force represented the service academies well with a resounding win over conference rival BYU while Navy eeked out a win over 1- AA Georgia Southern and Hawaii bested Army in a tight contest. I can’t finish the commentary without taking a shot at Lane Kiffin and SUC, I mean USC. Nice win against the mighty Wahoos from Virginia Lane. Too bad Cheat Caroll is not around to witness the greatness that is Trojan Football this fall. He is in a better place now for those that like to pay their players and buy them cars and houses and guns and fire trucks and hookers!

Rant of the week – This is where I impersonate Andy Rooney - Does it annoy anyone else that 98% of football commentators are posers? My main gripe is that whenever John Madden puts out a term “Cover two” for example, all the others fall in line and start using it without even knowing what the hell it means. In the last 2 years, the most overused term is “in space”. I dare you watch an entire game and report back to me that a commentator did not use that term. It simply used to be called “open field tackling, or “running in the open field”. Again, these morons don’t even know what it means and even apply it to a kicker who now kicks “in space”. Oh well, had to get that one off my chest!

Next weekend Tailgating activities will be in the backyard of the Worldwide HQ’s of Dan’s Tailgate. We will be focused mainly on the Boise/Wyoming game and Notre Dame at MSU. If you are in Danville, stop by for a cold one and whatever is on the grill! Also, if anyone has tailgate stories & pics to share, please send them to me as I will set up a guest section for your observations and rants,

Week 1 Recap 2010!

What a great start to the season with 78 D-1 games (Yes I know there are only 120 D-1 teams, yet many scheduled Bowl Sub Division opponents or even lesser!) over 5 days. There will never be this many games on a weekend the rest of the Season. Dan's Tailgate wandered no further than the backyard all weekend. Many great games to weigh in on but of note here are a few of my highlights: Utah over Pittsburgh on Thursday night and SC's defense looking like Belgium in WWI & II giving up 600 yards of O and spotting 36 to the rainbow Warriors of Hawaii??? And we would all like to thank Reggie Bush for safe guarding the Heisman statue the last 5 years for Vince Young (He got you again Reg, he was 2nd in voting in 05). Not that I am enjoying watching SC fall on hard times...too much :)

LSU, come on for real? You were lucky to win over a depleted UNC squad..let's pick it up down in the Bayou or Les may be no more there! TCU strong win over a quality Oregon State team. Urban, I believe your chest pains returned watching your Tebowless offense sputter against the mighty Redhawks of Miami, OH. Looks like BAMA amongst others will be eating Gator meat this year. Has Brian Kelly righted the Irish ship? Only time will tell but the Defense does look improved already versus the Weiss era. Good luck on Saturday versus Rich Rod and his band of cry babies. Mark Herzlich, its good to see you back on the gridiron where you belong. BC needs it's leader. Does anyone think Jeremiah Masoli wishes he hadn't been such an idiot in Eugene? When his former teams rolls up 72 points without him against a D-1 team, and his current team loses to a 1 AA school, I think regrets, he has a few...

East Carolina's win over Tulsa may have been one of the most exciting games of the weekend for the 5 people who actually watched it. And Maryland, you were lucky to beat Navy, but nice stick at the goal line to win the game. Last but not least, the Boise/VT game lived up to it's hype as game of the week. Yes Brent Musburger and the rest of the doubters in the East will have to make up excuses for why BSU won and how they don't deserve a shot at the title. Well hey, since I am now part owner of the team (Via my daughter's tuition) I am proud of them winning in a hostile environment 3,000 miles from home. What is a weak schedule anyway? They will play as many ranked teams as most of the power schools from power conferences by years end. So let's see how things play out before we judge.

The Tailgate received an unexpected detour for this Saturday and will be live at the Horseshoe in Columbus, OH for the OSU/Miami game. West Point Rob will be my cohort on this one and possibly the oldest Donnelly, Chuck may be released from the nursing home and make the the 3 hour trek for the weekend. Will send live tweets from the tailgate area and stadium!

Cathedrals Attended for games

Cathedrals Attended for games

Criteria for a great stadium:

• On Campus
• Outdoor
• Natural grass
• Good tailgating or pre-game festivities

Criteria for a sub par stadium:

• Not on or near Campus
• Shared with an NFL Team
  
• Dome
• Track around the field
  
• Turf
• No tailgating

Cathedrals I have attended over the years

Byrd Stadium, University of Maryland
Mountaineer Field, University of West Virginia
Owen Field, Oklahoma University
Skelly Stadium, Tulsa University
Bobby Dodd Stadium, Georgia Tech
College football Kickoff classic 1991 - Meadowlands PSU v Ga Tech
Memorial Stadium, University of California
Stanford Stadium, Stanford (old & New)
The Rose Bowl, UCLA
Falcon Field, Air Force Academy
War Memorial Stadium, University of Wyoming
Sonny Lubick Field, Colorado State University
Bulldog Stadium, Fresno State
Spartan Stadium, San Jose State
Notre Dame Stadium
The Big House, University of Michigan
The Rubber Bowl, Akron
Death valley -Tiger Stadium - LSU
T Boone Pickens Field - Oklahoma State
North Texas Stadium
The Horseshoe -Ohio State University

On deck for 2010
The Horseshoe - Ohio State University
Boise State
University of Washington
BYU - Lavelle Edwards field
Army -Navy in Philly

2010 Season almost here!

The 2010 season is almost here. Lot's of new faces in new places around the country. I have my oldest daughter heading to Boise State as a Freshman this fall. Will my allegiances be altered? Possibly, but I will never turn my back on the fighting Irish. Riding the Boise bandwagon will be easy as I have been enamored with the smurf turf and have actually rolled around on it like a dog with a back itch.

The Tailgate will view many games from the newly renovated backyard now named Dan's Sports bar and grill equipped with a flat screen, kegerator and a killer sound system. The road show will have me in Boise on October 9th for Parents weekend. The Laurelglen annual tailgate will be October 16 at San Jose State (vs. Boise). The big junket with brother Brian aka "Radio" will be a pre Thanksgiving trifecta. 3 Cities, 3 games, 3 days. UCLA at Washington - Thursday night, Fresno at Boise State - Friday night, then BYU at home Saturday afternoon. We will also catch a local game Saturday after Thanksgiving in the Bay Area (3 to choose from). Last year's junket was equally exciting; Oklahoma State home game, Army at North Texas, Redskins at Dallas, Jim Thorpe House, OU Football Hall of Fame, and last Notre Dame at Stanford. The 2009 season was capped off for me by attending the Emerald Bowl in SFO and the crown jewel of NCAAF...the BCS National Championship between Bama and Texas at the Rose Bow;. Expensive ticket but another bucket list item checked off!

I will try my best to update weekly this year. Feasty John will be providing Tailgate recipes that I will be posting periodically.

Mid Season Review

It does not appear that good things happened for Sammy, Timmy and Colt for spurning the millions the NFL would have awarded them...2 shoulder injuries, a concussion and an inept offense is all they got out of it. To boot, none of them improved their draft positions for next year. Sometimes you have to look at the big picture......very closely and make a tough choice.

So who are the contenders and who are the pretenders at this point? Bama, TCU and Cincy are all playing tough and consistent. I will not be surprised to see Texas, Florida and Iowa each lose a regular season game. Boise will go undefeated but will drop in the polls. Several 1 loss teams will be ahead of them at the end. SC is tough but young, they will lose again. Miami appears to be getting back on track however they will lose again. Lets go around the conferences for trendy picks to be on top at the end of the year:

ACC - Miami
Big East - Cincy
Big 10 - Iowa
Big 12 - OSU
Conference USA - Tulsa
Mid America - CMU
Mountain West - TCU
Pac 10 - Oregon
SEC - Bama
Sun Belt - LMU
WAC - Boise
Indy - Notre Dame

Great games this weekend. Be sure to watch at least 3 or 4 of them!

Week 5

Several really great games last week of note: Notre Dame versus UW featured 2 of the top pro QB prospects in the nation. Yeah that's right, get over it ND haters, Clausen will make a nice paycheck at the next level! The outcome makes the pending SC game that much more interesting. Navy & Ar Force into OT in a battle of the Service Academies. In the late late game if you did not see the Idaho Vandals upset the Colorado State Rams in the Kibbie Dome you missed a great game and a stud QB for I duh Ho! The Badgers and the Gophers in the new "real" stadium in Minnesota. The Spartans laying one on Rich Rod and the wolverines in the battle of Stimulus State. LSU's big win of the Dawgs and Auburn staying perfect for now. Cal, sorry but you suck and you should expect Stanford to whoop you this year. OU, thank you for participating this year, but your season is over. Does anyone think it was a good idea for Bradford, Teabag and the real McCoy to come back this year? It is not looking like it so far. Does Bobby Bowden know what day of the week it is?

The Tailgate enjoyed the games from the famous worn out couch in my family room. After missing the three previous weeks the games were that much more enjoyable.

Radio (Brian)and have the CFB + junket all planned out now:

Colorado @ Oklahoma State Thursday 11/19
Visiting OU, SMU and TCU stadiums on Friday the 11/20 for tours
Army @ North Texas Saturday 11/21
Redskins @ Dallas Sunday 11/22
Notre Dame @ Stanford 11/28

September in the Mirror

I am back on the continent after missing three weeks of college football in Europe. I was able to keep up on scores and managed to watch parts of several games in Amsterdam. So my observations from abroad: Who are the contenders and who are the pretenders? The next two weeks will tell allot. USC/Cal, LSU/GA, Ok/Miami and Notre Dame/UW will all be intriguing match ups on Saturday. We miss you Sam Bradford and get well Tim Tebow. Will Mr. Best be at his best tomorrow? Colt McCoy the Heisman is yours to lose. I actually declined a free ticket to the SC/Cal game due to some scheduling conflicts. The tailgate will be in full action from the couch most of Saturday. Cant wait!!

Here is a tailgating recipe from Feasty John of the world famous Feasty Boys:

Feasty BBQ Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
1 lb. Extra Large Shrimp, peeled/deveined
1 lb . Hickory Smoked Bacon
1 can Water Chesnuts
Old Bay Seasoning
Barbeque Sauce
Toothpicks

Over medium heat, slowly fry bacon to the point it begins to turn brown. Remove from grease and drain on a paper towel. Peel and de-vein shrimp. Wrap each shrimp around a piece of water chestnut and wrap each with a slice of pre-cooked bacon. Secure bacon around shrimp with toothpicks. Place toothpicked shrimp on a plate and liberally sprinkle with Old Bay Seasoning. Top generously with your favorite commercial bbq sauce and allow to rest for 1/2 hour prior to grilling. Grill shrimp over medium high heat or placed in the oven at 400 degrees (no turning necessary) for 10 minutes.

Week 1 recap

Wow, what an awesome first week of the 2009 College Football season! 5 days of games capped off with a phenomenal offensive battle between FSU (Not Frostburg) and Miami on Monday night.

Welcome back to the gridiron Greg Paulus! Impressive showing after 5 years away. Rich Rod, Charlie Weiss and Lane Kiffin all had critical wins for the embattled coaches association (ECA). Navy, you could have dropped anchor in the horse Shoe but you let one sail away. Many other great games such as Iowa and NIU , OK State putting a whoopin on the dawgs, Colorado/Colorado State and the big BYU upset over OU. Who will shoulder the Sooner load now with slinging Sammy out?

All in all it was a great weekend of football. However, the weekend will mostly be remembered for one ugly incident after the Boise State/Oregon game. Did the punishment fit the crime? Some say yes and some no. WHAT WAS HE THINKING?

The Tailgate traveled to Bezerkley to watch the Terps take on Cal. Pre game festivities were held at Manny's Tap Room (formerly known as Raleigh's) on Telegraph avenue. Wearing Terrapin red, I was only slightly heckled by the Bear Faithful. The game was not suspenseful to say the least.

The Tailgate is heading over to Europe the next three Saturdays to promote American College Football (and for business and leisure with Amy for a week in Italy). Nonetheless, the Tailgate will tune in via ESPN 360 for many of the games.

A "Blount" Instrument - WOW!!!

Cut and paste in your browser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtPoC8jJzRA