NFL Championship Sunday

In my opinion, today is likely the best football day of the entire year. You have the NFC and AFC championship games on back-to-back. It seems that year after year these are the best games of the NFL playoffs.

Here are some thoughts:

Vikings vs. Saints:
Old Man River (Favre) versus Captain America (Brees). This has all the ingredients of an amazing game. Potent offenses. Solid defenses. Tons of speed and two teams use to playing on turf in domes. High scoring and lots of offense! Over-under of 60 points, which I think they'll hit. Brett Favre on the cover of SI this week....

Advantage: Saints.
I can't stomache having 2 weeks of Favre coverage and people talking about how great he is at 42. Six months ago the press was bashing him for his inability to make a decision (for what seems like the 20th time in the past 4 years). Now, they love him. Me, I am sick and tired of Brett Fav-ruh.


Colts vs. Jets:
Young upstart Mark Sanchez versus Peyton Manning. There was a great article in the local paper this morning about Mark Sanchez and his best friend relationship with CU wide receiver Scotty McKnight. Pretty cool that these two guys have been friends since 2nd grade and are still close to this day despite busy schedules and distance apart.

It will be too hard for the Jets to come out of Indy with win, but some how...

Advantage: Jets.
Here's to long time friendships and the under dog prevailing. Peyton Manning's sponsors will be bummed he's not around for the Super Bowl. We'll still see plenty of him, just not playing.

** Enjoy the games today!

Dylan's First Football Experience

Last Friday night Melissa headed off to see an outdoor play - Much a do about Nothing - at CU's Annual Summer Shakespeare Festival. This left Dylan and together for a night to ourselves!!

CU football practices began on Friday night from 5-8pm so Dylan and I had an easy choice on what to do: go check out some football!!

As some may recall, I was trying to take Dylan to the CU Spring game last April however given the temp and his age/weight, etc I decided to leave him home and check it out with Luke.

Anyway, I completely forget the camera at home so I could not document the occasion however I now know where we'll be each August - at CU's first football practice!

Here we are before our night together:


Note: he slept through the first hour of practice but was a bit more awake to check out what was going on around him before we left.

Favre... go back to Louisiana, get on your tractor and mow your yard! Again!

SO... I'm pretty sick and tired of Favre and this whole "as far as now is concerned, I'm retired" BS he keeps spitting. This has gotten beyond OLD!

Part of me thinks ESPN and it's 24/7, 12 months a year coverage of the NFL needs to drum up some good stories, so ol' Brett is just a pawn in their game. Then reality strikes and I realize this guy loves the spot light and attention as much, if not more than, the likes of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, OJ Simpson and the like.

MJ decided he had to keep coming back, despite it tarnishing his legacy (luckily he had 6 titles to fall back on).

But then I Brett's 'ah shucks, I'm just a country boy' bit is part smoke and mirrors. Yes, he is a small-town guy, but after all those years with the Packers and all those post-seasons of "will he or won't" retire I am just plain sick of the story.

Brad Childress says Brett Favre "was worth a conversation," but the Minnesota Vikings coach insists the veteran quarterback remains retired -- as far as he knows.

Now the news this week is Minnesota gave Favre "a week" to decide if his surgically repaired shoulder is good enough to play another year. And news this morning that Favre's family has booked a block of rooms in Green Bay the weekend the Vikings visit the Pack on November 1. Can we say DRAMA!!?!!

Now, let's talk about Cutler and what a immature baby he is and how Bus Cook represents both Favre and Cutler... now there is a story I can get excited about!

Favre, go back to Louisiana, get on your tractor and mow your yard so I can wear my Favre jersey in public before my son is big enough to wear it. That's all I'm asking for!

NFL Amazing!

This is one of the cooler videos I have seen in a long time! Check it out:

Jets Attempt To Trade Mannequin Dressed As Favre For Jay Cutler

I saw this in the Onion yesterday and just had to pass this along. Jay Cutler is an immature punk who whined and cried all too often in Denver the past few years. His press conferences and sideline antics have been just embarrassing. On the flip side it's tough to see great football talent (potentially) leave town, but I think this will be for the best for the future of the Broncos.

This is the article (HILARIOUS!):

DENVER—The Broncos' front office continues to rebuff trade overtures from the New York Jets, who persist in their attempts to trade a clothing-store mannequin draped with a Brett Favre No. 4 Jets jersey, Jets sweatpants, and a well-worn Southern Miss Golden Eagles ball cap for Jay Cutler. "Look, we can tell that's not really Favre, okay?" Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels told Jets executives during a video conferencing call Wednesday. "It's made of plastic, it keeps slipping down in the chair, and that's obviously you talking out of the corner of your mouth. Jay's not on the table, all right? I gotta go." The Jets refuse to drop their offer and have sweetened it with the addition of a dog in a Jerricho Cotchery jersey.

The Circus is leaving the Big Apple

After a long hiatus, Musings From Boulder is back!

As many know by now, Brett Favre has announced his retirement (yes, again). This comes as no great surprise to anyone who follows the Packers (like me) or was a Favre fan (like me). No sappy press conferences, no crying as he left the field. Just a retirement statement from Brett and his agent. Favre did help turn around the Jets this year, going 9-7 after 4-12 the prior year, however a 4 game losing streak and playing their way out of the playoffs weren't enough to keep Favre around another year. The coach got fired because of the year-end losing skid and Favre took heavy criticism from his teammates. So today begins the end of the Favre career (this time may be final - but who knows).

Actually, I hope he unretires (again) and comes back to be a distraction for the NY Jets this whole season. Hey, I bet Alex Rodriguez is already calling Favre to thank him for deferring the press this week and encouraging him to return to the Jets in May when the baseball season starts and A-Roid will be neck deep in interviews. Perhaps Brett may be able to "save" baseball...

If he stays retired, I may be able to start wearing my Brett Favre Packers jersey after nearly throwing it away last summer and retiring it until he "actually retires". Only time will tell!

"Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care"

We had a really neat opportunity last night in our MBA class. We had a guest speaker come in and talk about persuasion and motivating people, in line with our classroom learning. That guest speaker:

Dan Hawkins, head football coach at CU.

The topic of discussion for the week was persuasion, prepped in part by 80+ pages of readings around structuring a persuasive argument and different strategies around communicating your message along with focusing on your audience (and making sure you understand what they are looking for, not just what you are looking for). Very interesting and applicable stuff based on how it applies to business in general and our everyday lives.

Coach Hawk jumped into class and after getting a quick intro from the prof and a question to get him started, he was off to the chatter. It was a very passionate and enthusiastic speech, hands down the best class/lecture/speech/interaction I have seen before.

He talked about several things, notably the importance of having a vision and drive. Find what you are passionate about and have a driving vision and focus on including people in your mission that share your drive.

Surround yourself with good people. Reminds me of my football coach "you hang out with turds, you turn into a turd". You are only as good as the company you keep. Very true statements for any part of life.

Take chances and challenge yourself: taking a chance and getting out of your comfort zone is very important in life and in business. He created a great vibe around Boise State when he was there. He thought CU was a great opportunity and yet another chance to step out of what was becoming a comfortable situation and challenge himself.

That feeling in your gut when you fail or feel you are failing, take that feeling and use that negative experience as a learning experience and grow from it.

And probably my favorite line from the night: "Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care." It seems very applicable to many walks of life; whether it is philanthropic endeavors, business, your life and family or your friendships with others.

The overall talk with Coach Hawk lasted 45 minutes and covered a variety of topics such as "how do you walk into a players living room and persuade them to play for CU?", "How do you manage expectations amongst your staff and your bosses?" and "How do you go about persuading the school administration, the faculty, the students, the community and the state on your agenda as football coach?"

I wish I had had a tape recorder last night. It was a very candid discussion that left the entire class excited (I was pumped for a few hours and stayed up late studying and typing this because there was no way I could go to sleep).

Go Buffs! And as one of my classmates said last night "despite the fact I lit a fresh candle in my Coach Hawkins shrine this morning, I was very impressed with Coach Hawk but even objectively I'm sure I would have found endless business value. Totally worth the price of tuition, I can fail out a happy man."

After further review... my teams stink

I am quickly come to a realization that my teams are not so good (after further review). I recently wrote how well all were playing at 2-0 and since then my teams have followed the stock market... down, down, down...

CU got beat for a 3rd game in a row by a better team...

The Pack has cooled down and the loss of Al Harris is proving detrimental to the team...

The Bagders have lost 3 in a row against strong conference foes...

We went to the Broncos game yesterday, Melissa's first ever, and sat in 35 degree, overcast and drizzling conditions to watch 3 turnovers doom the Broncos against a motivated Jaguars team...

And to rub it all in my fantasy teams have strugged to 3-2 records after a 2-0 starts, respectively.

I'm not sure where to go from here, however I can only hope it gets better - and soon!! Time to go enjoy Columbus Day at el librario...

(Sports) Life is Good... for now

So, a quick post prior to tonight's CU vs WVU game...

The football season is relatively short, however being undefeated two games in does not make for a great season. With that said, all the teams I religiously follow are 2-0:

CU Buffs: Good start so far despite a scare in the EWU game. A big, tough task tonight against WVU and Pat White. Good news is Chris Fowler, CU Alum, will be doing the play-by-play. Perhaps that gives the home team an edge...

(Coach Hawkins is stoked for the "John Denver Bowl" tonight)

Green Bay Packers: The Aaron Rodgers, aka Mr. Cool, era is off to a strong start. A tough game against Dallas on Sunday night with yet another national television audience should prove to be the biggest challenge yet...

Wisconsin Badgers: Solid win at a very tough, hostile environment in Fresno State. The QB play will need to improve to give them a shot at the Big 10 title, however they are off this weekend before a visit to Michigan Sept 27. A definite 2-0 team after this weekend...

Denver Broncos: A convincing nad impressive game against Oakland was followed by likely the most controversial game of the NFL season vs. San Diego. The Broncos still had to score a TD on two plays and a 2-point conversion to win. San Diego still had the chance to win the game...

Team Ralphie (Fantasy Football via LilBig Football League): the team with the first overall pick in the draft has dominated its opponents two weeks in and despite a lack of depth has the opportunity to go 3-0 this week. Team Ralphie is the odds-on favorite (as voted by the league) to win the LilBig FL championship this year...

Team Favreageddon (SVB Sports ESPN league): highest point total after two weeks and the most complete lineup top to bottom with depth at every position. A near lock to go undefeated this year...

Enjoy your weekend, as we will be in Breck enjoying a nice relaxing, fall weekend. MfB suggests you don't enjoy your weekend drunk, on a moped, like this LB from 'Sconny... he is now my hero.

Look what Mr. "Cool" did on MNF!

In a solid performance in his first game as a starter in the National Football League, Aaron Rodgers showed that he has what it takes as a starting quarterback. Is he bringing Cool back, as previously suggested in MfB? We will see, however early signs indicate a cool, calm and collected player able to lead his team on the field.

A slew of penalties put him in some awkward positions with long distances to pick up a first down (have you ever seen so many offensive linemen penalties? especially in a row?). And Tony Kornheiser nearly ruined the entire MNF event like every other week. The guy doesn't know when to stop beating a dead horse. It was great how Jaws had to repeatedly tell TK to "let the Brett Favre thing go". If you watched the second game with the Broncos beating up the Raiders, that may have been more dreadful.

There were signs of a great arm, great touch on his throws and the ability to effectively manage the game. I'm sure not every day will yield such a strong performance and a few teams may make him look very bad, let's just hope the strong first game performance gives him slack in his performances the next few weeks. The Pack has struggled at times in Detroit, so let's hope Rodgers has a strong performance in week 2.

With that said, be sure to check out Inside the Huddle with Donald Driver the next time you are in the Green Bay, WI area on a Monday night. MfB hears there is a table corporately sponsored at the weekly event by Lee Truck Equipment, Inc. d/b/a Casper's Truck Equipment. They have the two of the best owners any company could ask for. MfB loves them very much.

CU Buffs off to a good start...

The CU Buffs got off on the right foot Sunday night in a 38-17 victory over the instate CSU Rams. After a shaky start and a few early mistakes, the Buffs jumped to a 21-7 lead on an electrifying kickoff return for a TD by sophomore WR Josh Smith (his 1st collegiate touchdown). The Buffs fell asleep on the ensuing kickoff as CSU returned the kick for a TD to pull within 21-14 heading into halftime. The second half started with another solid kickoff return by Josh Smith who was one break away from another kickoff return for a TD. The Buffs never looked back.

This was the last scheduled game between the two schools at Mile High. CU took their option to play the 2009 game in Boulder while CSU returned the favor and chose to have the 2010 game in Fort Collins, making it the first time the two schools will meet their in at least 12 years. There are no future games scheduled at this time, likely a good situation as this game benefits CSU much more than CU when it is played in Denver, both financially and fan wise. CU has won 5 of the past 6 matchups and appears to be headed in a positive direction with the potential to be a perennial top 20 program. Coach Hawk has assembled some great young talent and has begun to implement his coach style and philosophies on the team. He has also taking a no-nonsense approach in taking quick and harsh discipline to any players not living up to the high standards and expectations he has laid out for the Buffaloes.

This is a great blog entry by Coach Hawk. http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=1571048&DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=1571048 Please note there is a link to Coach Hawk's blog on the right sidebar on Musings from Boulder.

CSU appears to be in a down year as the overall talent, team speed and athleticism was lacking from this team compared to what we've seen in years past. The new coach seems to be pretty competent, it's just going to take him a while to get CSU to a respectable level (there fans were, as usual, completely classless and out of control prior to the kickoff this year).

The picture below to the right is another reason this game should not be at Mile High. A good 1/4 of CSU's section of the stadium (which is split in half for each school) was empty the entire game as they failed to sell their allotment. In fact, CU sold out their allotment and bought up tickets in the CSU section - see all the black and gold in the picture. This revenue actually falls into CSU's pockets, as Neil Wollk points out in a recent column.

http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/aug/30/rams-pay-big-price-for-a-little-pride/

Go BUFFS!!

College football opening weekend predictions...

It's quickly becoming the best time of the year: College football is starting tonight! Here are some (brave) picks for the weekend:

Thursday:
1) South Carolina over NC State: only game of value on tonight and I like Spurrier winning - even if his kid is calling the plays

Friday:
1) SMU over Rice: Hello June Jones!

Saturday:
1) Missouri over Illinois: look for a close first half, then say goodnight Juice.

2) Clemson over Alabama: 'Bama has 3 true freshmen starting? I don't like Clemson that much, muss less at #9, however they should be able to handle 'Bama.

3) Michigan over Utah: Ugly start to this game, but Michigan pulls through. I think RichRod will surprise many folks in the Big 10 this year. Look for Michigan to finish 3rd in conference.

4)USC easily over Virginia.

5) LSU over App State: this could be a fun game to watch as LSU has a Harvard transfer starting at QB (?)

6) California over Michigan State: I'm not sure how the incumbent, Sr QB can lose his job to a sophomore, which leads me to believe Riley is the real deal. Cal at home, in a close one.

7) Kansas State over the Mean Green of North Texas

Sunday:

1) CU over CSU: All Buffs, all day long!

Monday:

1) Fresno State over Rutgers

2) Tennessee over UCLA (welcome to Westwood Rickie-Poo)

Let's hear some feedback. What do you think? Are there other games of consideration this weekend?

J-E-T-S JETS, JETS, JETS!

There was a slight shake of the earth felt in northeastern Wisconsin last night. Local seismotologist Jim Kraskowski said "you could feel a slight ripple throughout the state, one that shook houses and buildings for up to five seconds. It was either a quake or Lombardi finally rolling back over in his grave!"

In what has been a most curious several weeks, Brett Favre was traded from the Green and Gold to the rah-rah New York Jets for a conditional future draft pick.

The most interesting fact in the story is the rarely discussed Madden curse (inset) and how John Madden will actually handle the situation. The so-called Madden curse has taken the best players from the game for their cover, and over the past years each player that has landed on the cover has had either a serious, season ending injury, a terrible year statistically or a run-in with the law. The rah-rah Jets must have also forgot about this phenomenon, or either didn't care because their QB1 options are a) Chad "bird-arm" Pennington or b) Kellon Clemons (who?). Moral of the story: test the Madden jinx rather than your luck with these QB's.

In regards to John Madden, always one to champion Favre to the extreme, he was said to be on suicide watch from his California winery the past few weeks. News from out west says Madden has "snapped out of his depression-like state" and is now gearing up for his four month RV road trip with Al Michaels covering Sunday night games nationwide.

CU's football season has begun!

With a pre-season ranking of 36 (via SI.com), the CU Buffs opened training camp this week with a wide range of expectations heading into the 2008 season. This past Monday 105 players reported to what should be an exciting camp.

The newcomers and select veterans are working out each morning and the returning players are practicing in the afternoons.

With opening day against CSU at Mile High just under 25 days away, the Buffs have a lot of work to do. The Sunday night showdown will get national TV coverage on FSN, giving the game status as the sole game of the night and a spotlight that it hasn't had for years. CSU figures to be down this year with the Buffs having higher expectations given their recent Top 20 recruiting class, Hawk's third year on the job and a returning QB with a full year under his belt. A top notch schedule doesn't do the Buffs any favors, however I would much rather play CSU, West Virginia and Florida State in my non-conference than the cupcakes the likes of Ohio State, Kansas, Oklahoma and the like generally play.

Practices are open to the public and I will be sharing photos as soon as I can get down to a practice.