Sunday, November 29, 2015

Thanksgiving Weekend 2015

Thanksgiving

Nuke drove up from Southport and brought his folks' dogs, Archie and Bella, with him. His folks are in San Francisco visiting the grandchildren and Nuke is doggie sitting.

I cooked a roast in the crock pot along with baby carrots and onions. Roasted asparagus as a side dish. Very easy and very tasty.

Friday

I mowed the yard for what should be the last time this year. The grass has quit growing and I've waited till all the leaves have fallen from the trees. Essentially I was chopping up the leaves so they would deteriorate quicker; and it makes the yard look neater.

Went to the basketball game. State seems to be playing to the level of their competition. We played well against ranked LSU, then came home and reverted to our 'let's not play like a team' game plan.

It's going to be a long season.

UNCheats at NC State Football

Usually I have a good time at football games, even when we lose. The Clemson game, for example, was a ton of fun even though Clemson won. State played great in a close, exciting game.

Not yesterday. It was the least fun I've had at a Sate game in a very long time.

State's defense employed the 'play dead like a possum in the road' strategy in the first quarter. And got run over. Maybe we were thinking that if we let UNC run down the field to the end zone a lot, then Carolina would get tired - and then we could win the game. Who knows.

The score was so lopsided by the end of the first quarter, it was dismal. Even when State turned around and played great the rest of the game - it was simply too much to overcome. Watching it was just frustrating.

We've been giving up a couple of big plays in every game this year. Yesterday, we gave up 6 or 8 in the first quarter. 35 to 7 at the end of the first quarter accurately sums up the game.

We stayed to the bitter end - and applauded the team for the good season. I was surprised at the large number of fans that also stayed and did likewise.

Coach DD and the players never gave up and played the last three quarters tight and close. We have a great coaching staff and the players respect and believe in the process. Recruiting is getting better every year. We are trending in the right direction.

Coach Fedora has shown that you can have a top tier program with quality student-athletes without resorting to cheating or recruiting thugs. Coach Fedora is a man of integrity. He is the exact opposite of that under performing cheating piece of shit Bitch Davis.

Sunday

Not a thing going on today.

Nuke just left for Southport. The dogs were excited to be going for a drive.

I might vacuum later and do a little house cleaning.



Sunday, November 22, 2015

Weekend Update 27 NOV 2015

Not much to talk about other than NCSU football and basketball.

Work is pretty much the same - busy but unremarkable. Home life is pretty much the same - unremarkable house chores. Which is good actually - no problems or issues. Nice and steady. Unremarkable.

NC State Football

State has played well in the losses to Clemson and Florida State. Clemson is for real. I hope the go unbeaten and win the National Championship.

Yesterday at the State - Syracuse game was great. State had the game under control from the start. The score was closer than the game was due to a couple of late 'Cuse scores.

State has got to figure out these penalties that we are committing. 10 yesterday for 98 yards. That's going down the entire football field - backwards. We can't do that next week against UNC-CHeats or we won't win.

Speaking of penalties - there were 3 player ejections yesterday due to 'extra curricular activities' and one unsportsmanlike penalty against the Syracuse bench.

The weather was perfect. Sunny chilly morning that warmed up nicely by the noon-thirty kickoff. It got just a little nippy after the sun went behind Vaughan Towers late in the game - but not too much.

Visited the LaRocca & Raynor Tailgate before kick off. Those folks know how to do a tailgate. It's a blast hanging out with the LaR kids during the game. More accurately, it's a lot of fun watching Chip playing with the LaR kids during the game.

This season has gone by fast. Next week is the last game vs. UNC-CHeats. Carolina has a really good football team. Far better than their no-show 'fans' deserve.

With all the talent they recruit - the UNC coaching staff has finally put it all together. State will have to play an outstanding game to beat them. If we can put together the same type of game that we've played against Clemson, FSU and Syracuse - we can win. IF we stop committing bonehead penalties.

NC State Basketball

If Trever Lacy had not turned pro early and if Kyle Washington had not transferred (for more playing time) and with Terry Henderson transferring in - NC State would have been a legitimate top 25 team. Possibly a top 15 team. Instead, we lost Lacy and Washington - and Henderson got injured the first game. Torn ligaments - out for 8 weeks - yikes!

And boy does it show.

Individually, our guys are great. Talented, tough, experienced. Abdul-Malik Abu al-Bostoni is a beast. Caleb Martin is a power forward. Cat Barber is a future NBA star. Freshman recruit Maverick Rowan plays like an experienced junior. Lennard Freeman - solid go to guy.

Put them all together - and we can't play for s#*t.

Every year Coach Gott's teams start out a little shaky with a learning curve to go through. We steadily get better as the season goes on. By NCAA Tournament time - we're a team nobody wants to play.

This year - we have the most talent since Gott arrived - even with the loss of Lacy and Washington. This is also the worst looking team yet.

It is going to be a steep learning curve. Or, maybe it will suddenly 'click' and they'll play like the team they should be. Who knows? But from watching the first two games - it's no fluke that a much smaller, far less talented William and Mary team beat us.

State is in New York City to play a 4-team mini-tournament against NCAAT calibre teams. If our guys don't 'get it together' in a hurry - we'll leave NY City 0 - 2.

Sunday, November 01, 2015

Clemson 56 - State 41

Yesterday's game was about as much fun you could have while still losing. It was a great game to see and bet at. Our guys played hard and stayed in the game till the very end.

Prior to yesterday, no team had scored more than 24 points on Clemson.

You could tell Clemson is the number 3 team in the nation. They are a little faster, a little deeper, a little bigger than State. But we were not totally out matched. We are making progress. The program is headed in the right direction.

Two years ago, State played an inspired home game but lost to Florida State by the exact same 56 - 41 score. Unfortunately, the next game was at Clemson where they beat us in a shutout. And we lost every game after that.

We are a much better team than two years ago.

This year, we have Boston College next (very winnable) and then, at Florida State. If we take care of business in Boston, then we'll be OK going into FSU. Even with a loss at FSU, State would look pretty good for the rest of the season and the final game against UNC-CHeats.

BTW - UNC has become a really good team. Their one loss against South Carolina was a fluke. If they played SC today - it would be a totally different game and UNC would be undefeated.

Oh, and Dook got screwed.