Views from the Nosebleeds: 2016 NFL Regular Season, Week 6

One of the things which has helped me to overcome an emotionally trying period of my life outside of music has been football.  It's like the home team knew I was going through it and needed to get excited for my favorite sport in the whole wide world because after starting off terribly at 0-2, they've ripped off four straight wins and at least look like contenders in the NFC East race.  Granted, seeing the Capitals and Nationals flake out in early rounds amidst Stanley Cup and World Series talk, respectively, doesn't give me much hope for their playoff aspirations, but the turnaround is good nonetheless.  I'm frankly happy the NFC East is not the "NFC Least" as it had been for the past several years as no team is under .500, making every win absolutely critical.  I'm so pumped about the NFC East's comeback that, although I was cheering for the Packers to beat the Cowboys, it's hard to knock two rookies as impressive as Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott; heck, I marveled at many of the throws Carson Wentz made and he was making them against the home team!  While many of the overall matchups throughout the league aren't always alluring from week to week, it's still not an all-out blah fest and Week 6 continued that trend...

Views from the Nosebleeds: 2016 NFL Regular Season, Week 1

I nearly got roped into two things known to drive up my blood pressure over the past eight years: 1) another season of fantasy football and 2) buying a copy of Madden NFL 17.  However, there are three simple reasons why I won't drink the Kool-Aid with either: 1) both bled me dry financially last year, especially FanDuel, and a brother needs to save his duckets; 2) I don't have the time to invest in FanDuel or Madden because I have too many creative endeavors; and most important, 3) I want to be able to enjoy the game of football without worrying about how a dropped TD pass, a fumble or an aberration of a performance will drop my from a cool $500 to zilch in a matter of seconds.  Therefore, in an effort to accomplish what I failed to do last NFL season, I unveil a new weekly series dedicated to my favorite sport: "Views from the Nosebleeds."  So during a week featuring six fourth-quarter come-from-behind wins and four one-point victories--the latter being an NFL record for an opening weekend--let's go over some of my "views"...

Scribbler's 11th Hour Post of the Week: Recap of the 2016 CollegeFootball Playoff National Championship

Although I cannot say that I go crazy over NCAA football like I do with the NFL, I still enjoy a thrilling game nonetheless.  I was heartbroken as my favorite team in the land, the Miami Hurricanes, got cheated in 2002 against Ohio State--who I also liked a lot that year.  (I know have friends who are still adamant about not discussing that game.)  Then, despite Matt Leinart's butt-hurt remark about being the "better team", my favorite West Coast team, the USC Trojans, suffered defeat in 2006 at the hands (and feet) of Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns.  Finally, in one of my personal faves in recent memory, Jameis Winston led a thrilling game-winning drive as the Florida State Seminoles triumphed over the Auburn Tigers in 2014 and ended the BCS era in style.  After Ohio State surprisingly dominated Oregon in the inaugural CFP National Championship last year, this year's game between the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide and the No. 1 Clemson Tigers more than made up for last year's let-down.  I'll try to keep my takes as short as possible.  (Keyword: TRY.)