These are my hands, these are my faults.These are my plans, these are my nasty little thoughts.
-Stroke 9, "Washin' and Wonderin'"
I'm Following
Dave Grohl
-After he said that there wouldn’t be any waves at a rock show, “This isn’t a hockey game!”, and then requested a wave because it hadn’t happened before.
Rise Against’s frontman just gave a shout out to the Quest in Minneapolis. Awesome. Best venue in my college years.
What’s wrong with this picture?
HINT: It’s the location of the only triple digit temperature on the map.
It was cold out this morning (this does not include windchill). But yet I still saw someone biking and what appeared to be jogging as I drove to work.
EPIC SNOW
University of Minnesota closes
MetroTransit calls it’s buses back to the garages
MSP Airport closes
Metrodome roof collapses and tears
Hennepin County calls plows off the road
15 to 20 inches of snow across the metro
-20 degree wind chill
Honestly I thought that there would be a lot more red and no green after 15-20 inches of snow.
MSP Airport closed, MetroTransit busses called back to the garage and the University is closed! This is an epic snow!
Update: And Hennepin County pulled it’s plows off the road!
I’d say there’s about 8 inches out there and it’s still coming.
Jerry Kill - The new head coach of the Golden Gopher football team
I posted this yesterday to Facebook Notes when Tumblr was down. Silly Tumblr.
I’m not unhappy about the Gophers hiring Jerry Kill. Yes, there were better candidates out there. Sure Maturi could have gone after Leach or Shannon but Leach comes with baggage (you remember Clem Haskins) and Shannon couldn’t make it happen at Miami what makes you think he could do so in a very competitive Big Ten. I’m hopeful that Maturi went after non-BCS coaches like Hoke, Golden and Petersen, but I understand that the Gophers job is not the most attractive. If I wasn’t emotionally attached to the Gophers already I don’t think I would be incredibly encouraged to start. It’s probably one of the toughest coaching jobs in Div I FBS (recent history, recruiting, low pay by comparison).
As for Jerry Kill if you look at his head coaching record, at every school he’s been at he’s improved during his time there, by season record and postseason performance in the case of the FCS. I’m sure that the learning curve for Div I FBS BCS is steep, but he appears to learn with every year he’s on the job.
I do hope that Kill keeps a little of Brewster’s excitement and enthusiasm. It was a breath of fresh air compared to what I heard as I entered the University. Kill appears to be a legit coach, whereas Brewster showed himself to be a coach in training.
Golden Gopher Football 2010
Here are my thoughts on the upcoming Gopher football season.
1. I think that our team is better than they receive credit for.
2. I’m hopeful that all the sunshine Jeff Horton and Brewster have been pumping is actually true. A simplified system would do wonders for our offense.
3. I’m also hopeful that while we lost a ton of starters on defense that having Cosgrove return will make the learning curve that much easier for the new starters. The defense kept us in a lot of games last season so hopefully they can bring back some of that.
4. I predict somewhere in the range of a 7-5 regular season (3-1 non conference and 4-4 conference) and then a bowl victory. Ranking somewhere in the middle of the Big Ten.
Individual game predictions
Middle Tennessee State - Gophers take a while to get in rhythm and used to a hostile crowd in Murfreesboro, TN but eventually get the points they need to pull out a victory. (WIN)
South Dakota - Much cleaner victory at home than last year against South Dakota State. (WIN)
USC - I think this will be a lot like the Cal game last season. Likely pretty close for the first half or so and then USC will start to pull away. (LOSS)
Northern Illinois - Probably going to be a good game, but I have a hard time seeing us lose this game. The victory might be close, but a win’s a win. (WIN)
Northwestern - NW is a good team and has given us tons of trouble in the past, but a strong homecoming crowd will put us over the top (WIN)
Wisconsin - Wisconsin is supposed to be one of the best teams in the country and a possible conference champion contender. This one won’t go well at Camp Randall. John Clay will likely run all over our young defense. (LOSS)
Purdue - Purdue is just starting to get it’s feet underneath them with newish coach Danny Hope. I think that the Gophers can pull this one out in West Lafayette. (WIN)
Penn State - This is a tricky one. Penn State also lost some key personnel, but they are very talented and have a deep roster. Because this one is at home, I say it’s a close one and then ultimately a loss. (LOSS)
Ohio State - OSU will blow our doors off. (LOSS)
Michigan State - Michigan State was an awesome game last year on Halloween and we came out with a great victory. I’m torn with this one, but I think it will probably be a loss in East Lansing (LOSS)
Illinois - We’ve (and Brewster) beat them before in Champaign and based on their struggles last season I’ve got to believe we can do it again. (WIN).
Iowa - Iowa, much like Wisconsin is a dark horse for the Big Ten championship. Considering the rivalry, the last game of the year, and the home field advantage I think the Gophers will rise above and finally bring Brewster his trophy and likely save his job for one more year. (WIN)
A lot of wind and rain! The first tornado sirens I’ve heard at my condo in 5 years.
