– Only 3 quarterbacks in the history of college football have run for over 200 yards and passed for over 200 yards in a bowl game.
#3: Vince Young.
#2: Johnny Manziel.
#1: University of Louisville QB Lamar Jackson.
Jackson ran for a career-high, and Music City Bowl-record, 226 yards and threw for 227; UofL won the 2015 Music City Bowl over SEC West member Texas A&M. Side note: A&M was the only SEC West team to lose their bowl game.
– No one won the Powerball lottery on Saturday. Wednesday’s jackpot will be AT LEAST $1.3 BILLION, a world record!! I’d be happy with 1.3 hundred dollars…! I might break down and buy a ticket or 2!
– Preamble: I am a Packers, Browns, and Falcons fan.
I have never seen a team come as unglued at the end of a game as the Bengals, specifically Vontez Burfict and his headhunting. He should not see the football field in an NFL game until mid-October (8 games), MINIMUM, for his actions in this game and for being a “repeat offender”. HOWEVER, a few things seem to be getting overlooked in the initial wave of outrage by fans and some of the national sports media:
1) Ryan Shazier made an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit on Cincinnati’s RB, Giovanni Bernard, knocking him out of the game, that wasn’t called. CBS’s commentators called it “an unfortunate hit”. What was worse: CBS’s cameras caught Shazier mocking Bernard on the sidelines, “acting wobbly” and taunting Bengals’ fans.
2) At the end of the game, Steelers’ assistant coach, Joey Porter, was on the field at the end of a play (ILLEGAL); Bengals’ Adam Jones lost his mind, yelling at (NOT ILLEGAL) and bumping (ILLEGAL) Porter. Jones was penalized; Porter was not. After the game, admitted by the Steelers’ beat writer on ESPN Radio, during an interview around 12:50 AM, the Steelers gave Joey Porter the “game ball” for his actions.
As idiotic as Burfict acted during this game, that was some serious classlessness shown by Porter, Shazier, and the Steelers. Don’t heap all of the criticism on the Bengals without putting some on the Steelers also.
– Now that I have a new combination lock, I am looking forward to getting back to the gym (Planet Fitness) after work and/or classes. I want to see just how much I can improve the cardio levels, while possibly dropping a few extra more pounds; I’ve been plateaued between 233 and 236 pounds for the last few months, although I haven’t gone to PF, or taken the long walks, regularly in a while.
– The glorious plan to start this semester at Western Kentucky University was derailed by a decades-long arch-nemesis: money (there will be a long post on that in the near future). Instead, I am going back to JCTC, and managed to enroll in some last-minute classes:
“The World At War: 1939-45”: this class will cover the last credit that I need to earn an Associates in Arts Degree
“Internet Technologies” (online)
“Web Site Design and Production” (online)
“Database Design Fundamentals” (online)
One drawback: I probably won’t have home internet for the first week of school, so we’ll see how that goes. My goals for the semester are still: make the Dean’s List (for the 4th time), 3.50+ GPA, and keep a good balance between work and school. Classes start Monday!
– I am working at the JCTC Book Store again, this time for 3 weeks, during the Spring Rush. It will help some with bills, while Kinetic is slow.
– Speaking of the bookstore: I have heard more Adele in the last 6 days than I thought possible. I’ve heard both her first and latest CDs this week; it’s not my particular choice of music but it wasn’t horrible, by any means. I still have “Hello” stuck in my head at 3 AM, though. 😉
– Based on a couple of things read elsewhere in Social Media Land: I don’t totally understand why those folks who want either a purely physical/sexual relationship or just friends with benefits (or something similar) are seemingly ostracized. If they want to get it on with someone, aren’t breaking up another person’s relationship, and are protected, then they shouldn’t have to feel pressured to ask someone “in the shadows”, fearing mocking and judgement.
– I probably will have to wait a while to see it online but one of my 2 favorite book series is now a TV series! MTV has adapted Terry Brooks’s mega-series, The Sword of Shanarra, into a series called “The Shanarra Chronicles”. It is based somewhat on the 2nd book in the series, The Elfstones of Shanarra. I’ve heard good things about it, so far. Looking forward to checking it out down the road!
– It’s fascinating to me that armed ranchers can take over a federal building with no consequences. If I and 9 of my closest black friends decided to just walk into a federal building, armed, I can absolutely guarantee you that at least 7 of us get arrested within 90 seconds, even if we can legally carry firearms and don’t cause a scene or resist arrest attempts. The governor of Kentucky won’t meet us at that building, shake our hands, and offer us protection, either. You’d also hear and see the word “thugs” thrown around a LOT.
– I made the finals of the Consolation Bracket in my fantasy football league, run via ESPN. I finished the regular season 5-8 but won my last 2; I then won 3 weeks in a row (beat my first opponent in 2 weeks, beat the next guy in the first week, lost in the second) to make the finals, losing to a guy that beat me twice earlier in the season (all 3 were close matchups). It was a fun first time at trying fantasy football for a full season; I’ll probably do it again next year.
– Ken Griffey, Jr. made the Baseball Hall of Fame with the highest vote total in history (437 out of a possible 440 votes). One of my favorite sports figures growing up!
– My 20th High School Reunion is this year! Wow!! Ballard c/o 1996!
The Nexus 