I Passed! I Passed!....
Rambling after week 3 or before week 4...it's a 'glass half full/half empty' kind of thing for the teams in our league. Some are decimated by injuries and sucking it up (hmm....Nookie maybe) and some are walking wounded but getting the wins out of their healthy boys (Air JC) while some are benefiting greatly from all the injuries to others (Tang and Co. is the example here). Lots of injuries in weeks 1-3 and Mike is right, I think we are all a bit scared as to who is next....but don't take it too seriously....cause there are still 9 regular season weeks to go and a LOT can happen.
So I think I will entertain the remaining 9 teams in the league this week and dive away from the West Wing for a week. So, after hearing that one of my relatives might have never seen Hoosiers, I am going to present 'JC's Top 10 Movies' to see. This list will be made up of my favorite movies (at least those I think of in the next hour or so - I'm sure I will forget a great one or two and I expect you guys to fill me in), they may be sports related or not, but they are definitely up for discussion on the message board for this week. So with no further ado:
#10 - Caddyshack (1980) - "Carl: So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one---big hitter, the Lama---long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-galunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice."
That line itself by the comic genius Bill Murray is reason enough for Caddyshack (the original) to make this list. So since we're talking golf, let's also talk Jugs (some may argue they could be synonymous). So our 'Fantasy Superior' is now sitting at 1-2 and is one of those teams with the injury bug running around with free reign. Now that old man Gannon has essentially broken his back, Jugs is down to Bulger, Palmer and Richie Anderson as his three QB's....with Anderson having the best QB rating of the three. But seriously, with Priest kinda hurting and Barlow turning into the bust of 2004, Juggers is in trouble. His only bright spot is seeing 1 or 2 of division rival Air JC's guys go down for the year each week.
#9 - Forrest Gump (1994) - "Forrest Gump : I'm sorry I ruined your New Year's Eve party, Lieutenant Dan. She tasted like cigarettes."
Ahh yes, good old Tom Hanks in his defining role. How can I segway this to the BIG? Well, since Rico used to throw some kickin' New Year's Eve parties, we'll move to the GOO-man. Well, Rico got Juice on an off week this past week, but Peyton didn't get too much assistance from the rest of Rico's boys and they dropped the game 101-90. Next week will be another tough one for Team GOO with the hungry 0-3 LB's coming to town looking to finally break into the win column. Rich will need some production out of Henry and for Miami (and Chambers) to find directions to the endzone and score some points. Rich's team is explosive with Peyton and Ahman, but the rest of the crew is definitely a streaky bunch.
#8 - Blue Collar Comedy Tour Movie (2003) - "Ron White : Yesterday I'm sitting in a bean bag chair, naked and eating Cheetos. I was flipping through the television, and I saw Robert Tilton, he's a televanglist from Dallas, and he said this: He said, 'Are you lonely?' ...Yeah. He said, 'Have you wasted half your life in bars, pursing sins of the flesh?' This guy's good! 'Are you sitting in a bean bag chair, naked, eating Cheetos! *Yes, sir!* 'Do you feel the urge to get up and send me a thousand dollars?' Close! I thought he was talking about me there for a second!"
If you've seen Ron White's routine, you know he is F-U-N-N-Y. If you haven't, get in your vehicle, head to the nearest Blockbuster and rent it. I know its not really a 'movie', but it is frickin hilarious. So, I am going to liken the good Dr. in our league to Ron. Make all the comparisons you want, but I'll leave that to you guys. Juice has moved his team to a 3-0 start in keeping pace with Jason's LRH in the Bulldog Division. The Portis trade hasn't quite paid off and Juice has a QB controversy each week with Brettski and Brooksie putting up some huge numbers. Juice has Moulds coming off a bye for his matchup with Nookie in week 4, but should have no trouble pushing his record to 4-0.
#7 - Tombstone (1993) - "Doc Holliday: It's true, you are a good woman. Then again, you may be the antichrist."
So Juice would smack me I think if I didn't move on to Jonland's team at this point. Jonny's team is having a hell of a start to the 2004 campaign. They haven't put up any less than 114 and their only loss came in week 1 when the Hellfish put up 133 against the Tang. If Jonny can get some production out of his RBs to go along with his stud WR's and QB, this team will definitely be a force to reckon with come December.
#6 - The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - "Warden Samuel Norton : Lord! It's a miracle! Man up and vanished like a fart in the wind!"
If that quote can't be applied to Dominick Davis this week, then, well, I can't think of a good way to end that sentence. So this past week was Smitty's turn to beat up on Sadida's boys, and next week Smith will take aim at the 'Fantasy Superior'. The question surrounding this team is when will Smith pull the trigger on a deal for one of his 4 stud RBs? If I were a betting man, which I sometimes am, I'd guess that Smith is deep in talks to move either Brown or Faulk to someone named Vanneste for a draft pick in the range of a bullet or triple. Just a guess. Smitty is putting some decent points up this year, but will have to improve if he hopes to hang with Juice and Jason in the Bulldog Division.
Ok, in the interest of time and my personal R and R time, I will list #5 - #2 here...
#5 - Braveheart (1995) - "William Wallace : Before we let you leave, your commander must cross that field, present himself before this army, put his head between his legs, and kiss his own arse."
#4 - Hoosiers (1986) - "Coach: Stick with him! I mean, think of chewing gum. By the end of the game, I wanna know what flavor he is. All right?"
#3 - Godfather (1972) - "Don Corleone: I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."
#2 - Maverick (1994) - "Maverick : Lord... whatever I've done to piss you off... if you could just get me out of this and somehow let me know what it was I promise to rectify the situation."
#1.5 - Tommy Boy (1995) - "Richard Hayden: Ya know what? If you don't know how to use your seatbelt, just ring your call button and Tommy will come back there and hit you on the head with a tackhammer because you are a retard."
All great movies, and yes I had forgotten Maverick, not Tommy Boy so there are 11 on this list. I am sure I have left out some great movies (Shrek 1 and 2 come to mind), but hey, this is my list, if you don't like it, make your own website.
So we come down to #1.....most of you will be disappointed I'm sure that Tommy Boy didn't hit #1 (except Juice and whoever else enjoys this type of movie). I am man enough to admit that Brad Pitt stars in my favorite movie, but my interest in the movie has nothing to do with him. It is set in the hills outside of one of America's least known, but greatest cities....Missoula, Montana. That's right, JC's #1 must see movie, is:
#1 - A River Runs Through It (1992) - "Norman MacLean: If our father had had his say, nobody who did not know how to catch a fish would be allowed to disgrace a fish by catching him."
And on to....'9 Things I think I think..
1. The Vikings are good, but not good enough right now. Philly would beat us at home and on the road in any given week the way each team is playing.
2. Injuries suck, but they seem to be distributing themselves evenly among half the teams in our league. Sucks to be us.
3. You'd assume Houghton is a safe place....well today a man was stabbed at Wal-Mart....scary.
4. On a related point, 24-7 doesn't always mean 24-7 when someone is stabbed in your place of business on a Tuesday afternoon.
5. Frost advisory tonight for the western U.P. means that I can start the snow total count.....and yes, we are still at 0 for the season.
6. Wong has been quiet since returning to school....maybe too quiet...
7. Denny Green is WAY overrated.....and don't give me that crap that Shipp or Boldin would make that big a difference.
8. Week 3 of the 2004 season was the best Air JC will ever see in fantasy football.
9. Who would have thought that on September 28th, Rico would still be engaged....there goes my day in the pool
And the final word....
Damn sprains....I clipped my ankle tonight playing pickup hoops. Nasty cracking sound as I landed on another guys foot and rolled the little guy over all the way. Now I might have to go on the injured list with Deion for a week. Either that or I'll suck it up and be back out there tomorrow night....which is probably where you will find me (shooting 3's as usual) after I finish.
Have a good week boys....
Need I say more?
BIGFFBL senior writer Jeremy Carlson sounds off whenever he feels like it on www.bigffbl.com