Bad news for the tyranny imposed by those with fancy Latin educations:
"Don't split infinitive" = A made-up rule based on Latin, where infinitive is one word (thus can't be split). In English you can split them. https://t.co/jnnqkHC5ij
— Jason P. Steed (@5thCircAppeals) December 26, 2016
This is why I only respect two rules in English: "Your/You're" and "Could care/Couldn't care less." Treat the rest of the language like a Super 8 room on somebody else's credit card.
PROGRAMMING NOTICE: Fiesta Bowl media circuits start at 10:30 ET. Click here for a guide of what to expect this week from our coverage. Or just bookmark our Fiesta Bowl hub.
I'm also sitting back down with Savage Tiger tonight. Let me know if you have any questions for Clemson's greatest YouTube star. Will post my full report tomorrow. (Frost-Nixon should expect a new roommate.)
STOPPING DESHAUN. Deshaun Watson is a helluva quarterback, but he's also mortal.
Tyquan Lewis doesn't think the Clemson offensive line has seen a group like Ohio State's rushmen, and he spoke last week about the basic plan to corral the Tiger dynamo.
From cbssports.com:
“He’s a great quarterback so the main thing is pass rush, getting him off the spot, but also being aware of where he is in the pocket,” Lewis said. “Not running behind him, and I can say more than likely getting our hands up and batting the balls down.
“The key (to containing Watson) is the pressure on the inside and then the two defensive ends, they have to cage the pocket and keep him closed in. That usually leads to a sack.”
However, due to Watson’s ability to escape the pocket and do damage with his legs, will Ohio State have to be less aggressive than usual?
“You definitely have to be more aware of where he is and what he’s doing because like in an instant he can get out of the pocket,” Lewis said. “So, I say the most difficult thing we have to work on is closing the pocket from a tight five and that’s like a hard thing to do for the most part because you don’t have that type of space as you do in like a loose five.”
Hard to tell what took a bigger leap since the Orange Bowl fiasco: the secondary or the defensive line (or the linebackers).
Ohio State fans bite their nails about offensive line play, but Clemson's OL is just as dicey. If the Buckeye defensive line controls their trench, it's curtains for the Tigers.
IT SWITCHED; BROOKLYN IS GOOD NOW. I slandered New York City for years based off a fourth-grade trip to the world premiere of Pocahontas in Central Park.
It's overcrowded. It's overpriced. It's dirty.
But Curtis Samuel is *chef finger kiss* good. He paved the way for Jahsen Wint (remember the name). And more could come thanks to his trailblazing.
It's enough to make a man reconsider 21-year-old #takes.
From espn.com:
In the sports world, Al Davis got his start in football as a student at Erasmus. Chicago Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, world chess champion Bobby Fischer and boxing promoter Bob Arum each attended the school as well. The list goes on. Samuel and his high school teammates played their games at Sid Luckman Field, named for the former NFL MVP and Chicago Bears champion from the 1940s.
[...]
Landberg said that history is a few too many generations removed to mean much to his teenaged players. They draw their inspiration from new trendsetters these days anyway.
“It’s out of their time,” he says. “But kids have hope when they come here because they have an opportunity to go to college. Seeing Curtis and what he’s doing is definitely a part of that. They feel more realistic in their hope because they’re watching one of their own do it.”
Bobby Fischer never faced a threat like Curtis Samuel.
And it sounds corny, but it's true: Testimony is easier to follow than theory. People laugh, but a man once won the highest office in the free world without having to leave his porch in Marion.
That ascendancy makes me entertain delusions of grandeur like sitting in the Oval Office in 15 years if I swindle hard enough.
BOWL DEATH REPORTS PREMATURE. I didn't realize how hot-button this "players skipping bowls" issue was until my barber solicited my take.
Ultimately, it's between the players and their coaches and teammates. But while some foretell this fad will lead to the end of non-playoff bowls, the NFL's most powerful agent disagrees.
From toledoblade.com:
“I do think it sends a negative message,” he said. “I don’t think players are going to buy into this. I don’t expect the floodgates to open up where a myriad of highly rated guys start skipping out. The negatives outweigh the positives.
“You want to take advantage of opportunities, not run from them.”
Rosenhaus pointed to insurance policies available to players and paid for by universities that can act as a safeguard if their value is affected because of an injury. The policies became popular after former Miami running back Willis McGahee suffered a catastrophic knee injury in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl.
“Every top player should get that before the season,” Rosenhaus said. “The loss-of-value [insurance] is huge. The colleges and NCAA will pay for that. I’m in favor of that. You want to encourage players to play and finish out for all the right reasons. There’s a huge risk. This is why we have insurance.”
Good to know we can bet on the 2017 Sun Bowl with confidence another star player (probably) won't sit out. Hopefully, our nation isn't too war-torn from the debates surrounding this issue to survive that long.
THIS LOOKS LIKE HELL ON EARTH. I don't know where this is from, probably whatever second-tier bowl that's hosting a second-tier team like the Miami Hurricanes.
The Gingerbread Man can lightweight cut a rug, but there aren't enough drugs in the world that could make me tolerate this scenario for more than 30 seconds.
This is now happening pic.twitter.com/vjBddoPyj6
— Matt Porter (@mattyports) December 26, 2016
Look how awkward that is. Players standing around for the media while cartoon characters twerk.
No wonder tensions flared at a charity function later in the day.
From palmbeachpost.com:
KISSIMMEE — They were there for a charity function, so it’s good the verbal jabs between Miami and West Virginia players Monday didn’t escalate to a physical level.
Several Mountaineers, wearing their navy blue game jerseys, and a few orange-clad Hurricanes had to be separated on at least two occasions as they mouthed off to one another in Kissimmee on Monday, two days before the [Blockbuster Bowl] in Orlando.
The smack talk was mostly between Florida-bred players. They made no physical contact, but made plenty of promises to settle the beef at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Camping World Stadium (ESPN).
WHO SAYS THE [SPONSOR WITHHELD BECAUSE IT DIDN'T MEET MY RANSOM DEMANDS] BOWL DOESN'T MATTER?
PARDON THE DUST. Want to feel old? This is what Bernie's Bagels & Deli looks like now.
From @UDHCMH:
Ban progress!!
THOSE WMDs. Longtime Blue Jackets fan buys tickets for deceased girlfriend... A letter to the doctors and nurses who cared for my wife... What a pack of rescue dogs taught me.. Fifty years of Scorsese... I was all set to become the most popular guy in the cancer ward.
