Author: boom booms room staff

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Year Two, Week Six

Posted on by boom booms room staff

Psst.  You heard the one about the old dog and new tricks?  Don’t tell Abby.  She walked around the global headquarters of BBR last week with the hair standing straight up on her back.  She subscribes to the Vince Lombardi mantra, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”  And after last Saturday, Coach Lombardi, from high above is proud of Abby.  Her picks cashed on four of the five games.  Even better than that, the bones won were nine of the ten wagered!  Woof, woof!  Her hunch bet also pawed the paydirt.

For the season Abby is now 13 of 25 on the picks, and importantly 25 of 48 bones.  Her hunch bet is now four up and only two down.  That’s enough scratching of her back.  It’s time to get back to the work of the weekend ahead.

Tulane v. Army +3 — It’s Homecoming for the Cadets.  Abby’s barking about a straight up win.  Abby wonders if Tulane’s D can stop the Army’s ground attack?   Is the right team favored?  Two bones.

Texas v West Virginia +10 1/2 —  WVa is a much better team at home than the road.  She likes home dogs.  Might Texas be a tad bit sluggish on the East Coast coming off of a bye and looking ahead to the Red River Shootout v. Oklahoma next week?  Abby says the Horns pull this out of the fire late, something like 35-31.  Two bones.

Auburn v. Florida (over 49) —  Lee Corso can put on a Gator, War Eagle, Plainsman, or Tiger hat and all Abby will do is yawn.  This one is billed as a mighty defensive struggle.  Abby likes to zig when others zag.  One bone.

Vanderbilt v. Ole Miss -7 —  Ole Miss isn’t very good.  The cellar of the West Division of the SEC awaits.  Vandy is worse.  The cellar of the East Division of the SEC awaits.  It’s tough to wager too much on a bad team, but Abby is yapping loudly about the Black Bears.  Two bones.

Utah St. v. LSU (under 73) —  LSU’s new fangled offense is due for a pit stop somewhere on this record setting road, isn’t it?  Conversely, LSU’s defense is past due at the toll booth, isn’t it?  Abby might be chasing a parked car here.  But, with an 11 AM kickoff she’ll beat the rush hour.  Three Bones.

Abby mentioned last week that no one deserved to be a double digit dog in the PAC 12 v. anyone else in the PAC 12 except maybe Oregon St.  On a hunch take Stanford +16 at home v. Washington.  Abby is a big fan of The Tree for obvious reasons.

The uncharacteristically slow start to the season looked like it aged Abby almost one dog year.  No more.   The bounce is back in her stride.

Enjoy the games as the conference tilts are upon us.

Woof!

 

Thanks Einstein!

Posted on by boom booms room staff

In a country that could use a pause, who better to give us inspiration while desperately seeking answers than the one and only Albert Einstein himself.

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics).  His body of work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. Clearly he is best known for his mass/energy equivalence formula , which has been dubbed “the world’s most famous equation”.  He received the Nobel Prize in Physics “for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect”, a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory.

Perhaps the smartest person, at least in a few disciplines, to ever walk on the face of this earth, we offer seven super Einstein quotes from over a hundred years ago that might help us along our way today.

  1.  Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.
  2.  Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

3.  Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.
4.  Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
5.  If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.
6.  The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.
7.  Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.

In 1933, while Einstein was visiting the United States, Adolf Hitler assumed power in Germany.   Because of his Jewish background, Einstein did not return to Germany.   He settled in the United States and became an American citizen in 1940.  He passed in 1955.

Too bad he isn’t alive today.  Maybe he’d inspire us further with a successful run for public office, any office.  Nah, clearly he was too smart for that.

 

 

 

Justice Is, Was, Should Be Blind.

Posted on by boom booms room staff

Surely you are familiar with the Jussie Smollet accusation, police report, investigation, charges, charges dismissed, and special investigator appointed saga aren’t you?  Smollet, is an openly gay African American actor who fabricated a story of two white men physically assaulting him after they spewed racial and homophobic slurs in the wee hours of a very cold Chicago morning last year.

Well, it took another turn after another twist yesterday.  It turns out that the special investigator appointed has contributed funds in the past to the reelection campaign of the DA he was appointed to investigate.  Back to square one this mess goes.

Also, while high profile, but not quite the same page turner, yesterday the unnamed sixth-grade girl at a private Virginia school who accused three classmates last week of forcibly cutting her dreadlocks now says the allegations were false, according to statements from the girl’s family and the principal at Immanuel Christian School in Springfield.

The 12-year-old, who is African American, said three white male students held her down in a school playground a week ago during recess, covered her mouth, called her insulting names and used scissors to cut her hair.   The grandparents of the girl, who are her legal guardians, released an apology Monday.

The Fairfax County NAACP acknowledged the sixth-grader’s charge was false but cautioned against a rush to judgment about the validity of allegations of racial violence.

“Too often in these rare instances of fabricated hate crimes, critics use a broad brush to claim racially motivated crimes are virtually non-existent,” the organization stated. “This is demonstrably wrong. Data from numerous sources, including the Anti-Defamation League, the FBI, and the Justice Department, shows bias motivated crimes are on the rise, year over year.”  “Bias motivated” is a very broad umbrella.

So all of this makes us wonder.

Why are there even rare instances of fabricated hate crimes?  Is the lying accuser wanting personal attention?  Are they acting out because they feel it will draw attention to a problem that is under reported and far too common?  Given the intense scrutiny and sensitivity of the examples above, can they be?  Or, are they racially motivated hate crimes unto themselves?  Hmm.  It is, after all, a crime to file a false police report.  If those convicted of hate crimes get stiffer sentences, should those convicted of filing false reports of hate crimes get stiffer sentences?

And, if racially motivated crimes, real or imagined, are identified as such and the ethnicity of the accuser and the accused are identified, published, and scrutinized, then why aren’t police departments the US over allowed to describe an assailant’s race when an accuser first describes the assailant?  It’s because America wants to end racial profiling.  What is that exactly you ask?  Racial profiling refers to the practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Criminal profiling, generally, as practiced by police, is the reliance on a group of characteristics they believe to be associated with crime.  So identifying race in the quest to solve hate crimes is good, but in other crimes (that FAR FAR out number hate crimes) it is bad.

Besides disproportionate searching of African Americans, and members of other minority groups, other examples of racial profiling by law enforcement in the U.S. include the targeting of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the investigation of illegal immigration; and the focus on Middle Eastern and South Asians present in the country in screenings for ties to Islamic terrorism.  These suspicions are typically on the basis of racist, and/or derogatory beliefs about the group of target, and assumes the criminal ideologies of one individual from a specific racial group is a trait held by all members of that racial group.  
So, to take it one step further, everyone who ever wore “brownface” or “blackface” must apologize profusely and immediately when their transgressions were discovered.  But, should we automatically assume that everyone who ever did paint their faces have the same ideologies held by all members of that group? In other words are they all bad people with a hateful intent?  That would be racial profiling as well we think.
Don’t miss the point.  We, in no way, are trying to elevate face painting to a level of physical violence.  It’s just another example of over reaction in today’s over reaction world.
In the quest for ultimate equality does the course correction need a course correction?
Editors note:  The BBR staff recognizes the intense sensitivity surrounding the topic(s) above.  It is our hope that the above will serve a purpose to stimulate real dialogue about real problems from all sides of the issues rather than sticking our heads in the proverbial sand.

Ten Piece Nuggets-NCAA Football

Posted on by boom booms room staff

Flip the page on your calendar this AM.  October has arrived.  And, thankfully with it will come some Power Five NCAA in conference football games.  We’ve had far too few as there is an extra weekend built into the schedule. Week six is here.  We review week five with a Ten Piece Nuggets order to chew on below.

  1.  The new AP Top 25 is out.  Clemson’s near loss was Alabama’s gain.  Saturday the Tide rolled Ole Miss 59-31, and yesterday they rolled into the top spot in the latest poll.  Alabama has this coming weekend off before they roll into College Station next weekend.
  2.  It’s hard not to like Mack Brown directing his NC Tar Heel team to go for the win at the end of their 60 minute donnybrook with Clemson.  It’s hard to like the play that was called however.   Clemson escaped with a 21-20 win.  They haven’t been playing as well as some others early on.  Maybe this near loss and a drop to no. 2 will do them some good longer term this season.  They too are idle this weekend before Florida St comes calling next weekend.
  3.  Georgia was off Saturday and remained at #3.  Number four LSU was too.   However they dropped to #5 as the voters were impressed by THE Ohio State University taking all of the corn that they wanted back home from Nebraska.  They shucked the Cornhuskers 48-7.   You have to harvest before the first frost.  Nebraska’s Scott Frost has a long way to go to bring Lincoln back to relevance.
  4.  The rest of the top ten remained as it was except Notre Dame moved up one as Florida moved down one.  They are now ninth and tenth respectively.
  5.  Florida has a chance to erase that little drop and then some this weekend.   Lee Corso, his pencil complete with eraser, and the gang descend on The Swamp for ESPN’s College Gameday.  The Gators host Auburn in a #9 v. #7 showdown.   Both teams look very strong on defense.  Both teams are undefeated.  Something has to give.  It should be a rock ’em sock ’em afternoon in the heat and humidity.  Kickoff is set for a steamy 3:30 pm eastern.
  6.  There was a good bit of bouncing around in the lower half of the polls.  No one moved more than Arizona St. though.  A week removed from a disappointing home loss to Colorado, the Sun Devils went to Berkley and beat the Golden Bears.   Herm Edwards and crew entered the top 25 at #20 jumping from a previously voted counted #37 spot.  California was the last undefeated PAC 12 team.  The state of California signed into law a bill that allows NCAA players to be paid for using their image/likeness starting in 2023.  Maybe the PAC 12 will have a national contender again by then.
  7.  Virginia dropped from the unbeatens and slid five to #23 with their loss the the Fighting Irish.  The Texas A&M Aggies dropped to #25 even though they won.  The voters were underwhelmed by the year to date underwhelming Aggies as they held on late to beat a 23 point underhog (see what we did there?) by four.
  8. Who’s the second best team in the ACC?  Florida St.?  Miami?  Virginia?  How about Wake Forest?  The Demon Deacons are a very quiet 5-0.  They check in at #22.   The schedule stiffens from here.  But, for now they’ve beaten everyone in front of them to date including the pesky bunch of Carolinans from just up Tobacco Road.
  9. Say hello to SMU.  They are ranked for the first time since the football program received the death penalty for NCAA rules violations in 1987. The 5-0 Mustangs entered the poll at #24 after winning 48-21 at USF on Saturday. They’re off to the school’s best overall start since 1983, with three road wins under their belt including a then ranked TCU.  Under second-year coach Sonny Dykes, the Mustangs are playing their best ball since the Pony Express days of Eric Dickerson and Craig James.  Hey Cali, Texas was already paying it’s players way back then.
  10.  Some early lines are out.  That matchup of the week has Auburn a three point favorite in The Swamp over Florida.  Washington is a whopping 14 1/2 point road favorite over Stanford.  Texas travels east to West Virginia as an 11 point favorite.   The three home dogs and the points seems like a fun three team parlay.

The entire BBR staff is traveling to BR for an 11AM LSU v. Utah St. Saturday kickoff.  They will also be in that number to cover the Saints hosting the Buccaneers the next day.  The work never ends.

October is here.  Footballs are flying.

Six Questions.

Posted on by boom booms room staff

As we exit this week, thankfully, we leave you with a few(6) questions to ponder.  We’ll call this blend of politics, sports, and current events our Six Shooter for now. Perhaps this name is offensive.  Does Six Pack sound better?  Suggestions for a better name for this new feature are welcome.  But, make them good, or they will likely hit the round file.

We’ll keep it short as we, much like you, would prefer to put this week behinds us ASAP.  And, to the points to ponder we wander.

  1. In the age of media overkill, can we kill any future stories before they are printed or spoken about Antonio Brown?  The entire NFL is taking a pass on Antonio catching a pass for them.  Can the media pass?  Colin Kaepernick is holding on line two.
  2. Is Adam Schiff related to Pinocchio?   He has to be.  His ability to stare cameras in the face daily and lie right through his pearly whites has reached yet another level.  Jacob Chaffetz, the respected and recently retired Senator from Utah wrote a piece expressing his desire to see Shifty Schiff removed as House Intel Committee Chairman.  It’s from the right, and right here if you want a quick read.
  3.  The Packers are 3-1.  Their defense is better, much better, than in years gone by.  But, something doesn’t look right.  Aaron Rodgers, with last night’s game as another example, doesn’t look like Rodgers of old.  What’s wrong?  New OC?   He couldn’t get along with former HC Mike McCarthy either.  Or, as Rodgers told the world a few years back after a tough loss, “everyone needs to just chill.”
  4.  What’s more impressive, the way Joe Biden’s hair plugs have taken root, or how strong Nancy Pelosi’s Poly Grip held up this week after several press conferences?  Throw in Trump’s orange face tint and you have three very vain people at the center of the US political universe.
  5. Lamar Jackson, DeShaun Watson, and Patrick Mahomes are tomorrow’s (and some of today’s) NFL.  Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees are both injured and both may return to HOF form.  Rodgers and Rivers continue on.   But, is there any doubt, ANY doubt, that Tom Brady was yesterday’s, today’s, and likely tomorrow’s NFL?  Story lines about the NFL abound yearly.  You have to fill lots of Al Gore’s virtual world daily.  But, when the season gets long in the tooth, long in the tooth Tom seems to always be the story that matters.
  6. Thursday on CNN’s “OutFront,” 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) called on President Donald Trump to resign from the White House over the “whistleblower” complaint regarding Trump’s communications with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.  Can someone tell CNN, and then CNN could be kind enough to tell Beto, that someone’s opinion who is polling at less than 1% doesn’t really matter?  BBR is calling on Beto to resign.  Wait, he doesn’t have a job to resign from.

Tom Cruise (Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee) wanted answers from Jack Nicholson (Colonel Nathan Jessup) in A Few Good Men.  Nicholson told Cruise that “you can’t handle the truth.”  Truth be told this, once again, wasn’t America’s finest week.  Enjoy the weekend escape, and let the games begin.

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Year Two, Week Five

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Abby promised to make money rain last week.  Unfortunately the “bad beat” gods rained on her instead.  Two games v the spread were lost by 1/2 point in her regular picks.  Her hunch bet had a dog house, back door late cover by 1/2 point as well.  Oh well.   For the season Abby has won 9 of 20 picks.  Her bone collection is buried in some backyard mud at 16 of 38.  Hunch bets have won three, and lost but two.

Week five features games almost as underwhelming as week three.  Only one top 25 matchup is on the card.  It’s # 10 ND hosting #18 Virginia.  Abby isn’t yapping about the choices, but she isn’t napping just yet either.  It’s time for this doggie to give the readers a treat, and to the picks we go.

Clemson v North Carolina +27 —  The Mack Brown miracle has been put on pause.  Clemson has hit its stride.  It’s a good spot for a back door cover to get even with last week’s beats.  One bone.

Iowa St. v Baylor +2 1/2 —  Abby loves home dogs.  She especially loves it when she thinks that the wrong team is favored.  Three bones.

Minn v Purdue + 1 1/2 —   Did we mention that Abby loves home dogs?  Did we mention that she especially loves it when she thinks that the wrong team is favored?  One bone.

Kansas St v Oklahoma St. – 4 —  Kansas St. has played better in year one without Bill Snyder than expected so far.  Oklahoma St. is smarting from a loss in a valiant effort v. Texas last week.  Abby says the Cowboys cover late in a lower than expected total score.  Three bones.

Penn St -6 v Maryland —  Before Abby heads in for her nap, she wants everyone to know that she thinks America is sleeping on the Nittany Lions.  Expect Maryland to be fired up at home, but expect Penn St to wear them out late.  Two bones.

Does any PAC 12 team deserved to be favored by 10 points over any other, Oregon St. aside?  Washington is favored by 10 over visiting USC.  The line seems out of bounds.  Hunch bets are made on outliers.  She thinks that Vegas is screaming at you to take USC.  She’ll take the Huskies, a favorite dog of hers to begin with.

Abby is a day early this week for logistical reasons.  It’s better than a day late.  And, her picks aren’t a dollar short.

Woof!

 

Quiet On The Set!

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The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 through May 1693. More than 200 people were accused.  Nineteen were found guilty and executed by hanging.   The episode is one of Colonial America’s most notorious cases of mass hysteria. It has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a cautionary tale about the dangers of false accusations and lapses in due process.

My how we have progressed in the 326 years since 1693.  Or not.

Yesterday House Majority Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced after a meeting with Democratic House leaders that the House would begin an impeachment inquiry into the allegations that President Trump attempted to influence the 2020 presidential race by asking Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky to look into possible wrong doings by Joe Biden’s son Hunter in his business dealings with the country.

Last night it was reported that the whistleblower to the Intelligence Inspector General hadn’t actually heard the conversation, but was told of it.  But, surely where there is smoke there is fire.  The whistleblower retained an attorney who previously worked for Chuck Schuemer and none other than Hillary Clinton.  But, we digress.

Today the White House will release the complete unredacted transcripts of the call.  But, why wait for that?  Get the pitchforks out of the shed yesterday.

Remember, Joe Biden is on tape bragging about how he influenced Ukraine to fire the prosecutor that was looking into his son’s LLC’s Ukraine dealings.   This blatantly obvious transgression, much bigger than your average daily gaffe, makes us wonder.

Could two wrongs make a right for the far left?  Let’s play “what if.”  What if there is enough undertone to the tone of Trump’s call to give the mob more impetus to carry on the inquiry?  Or, what if there is not? Here is what happens regardless.

  1.  Congressional Democrats up for reelection in 2020 can either vote to impeach (if it even comes to that) if it helps them gain reelection, or vote against if it will not.   Remember, all politics inevitably are local.  Thirty-one Democrats are running in districts that Trump carried by 10 points or more in 2016.
  2.  At a minimum this continues the “we must oust the corrupt Trump” war that the House has run with for three years now.  We are just guessing, but this inquiry might just last up until, say, roughly the first week of November of 2020.  Fire up the lanterns and the base.
  3.  What if Biden gets tangled up in this mess?  Shouldn’t he have to release his meeting notes and phone calls to Ukraine when he was VP?  As stated above, he’s openly told assembled crowds that he has done exactly what Trump is now accused of.
  4.  If so, doesn’t this further weaken an already weakened Biden campaign?
  5.  If so, doesn’t this turn a crack into a wide open door for a Warren, or Sanders, or Harris, etc. to walk through for the nomination?
  6.  There aren’t enough House votes to impeach.  Even if there was, there certainly aren’t enough Senate votes to convict the President.
  7.  If so, then when it’s all said and done what’s the end game?  The answer of course is “politics.”  And political gain leads to power.  And power leads to control.

The trials of 1692-3 were started after people had been accused of the witchcraft, primarily by teenage girls such as Elizabeth Hubbard, 17, as well as some who were even younger.   Many books, documentaries, movies, and TV shows have examined the Salem trials.

One day many books, documentaries, movies, and TV shows will examine this accusation of wrongdoing as well.  President Trump was once a reality TV star prior to his current gig.  The casting director should choose Trump to play the role of Trump.  And, he or she should choose Alexandria Octavio Cortez to play the role of the very imaginative teenage girl.  And, it now seems certain that, reluctantly, Nancy Pelosi will direct the expose.

Lights, camera, action!

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-NCAA Football

Posted on by boom booms room staff

The Ten Piece Nuggets are a day late but not  a dollar short on quality below.  This writer and the entire BBR staff was in Nashville doing some research for an upcoming expose’ on Vanderbilt football or a lack thereof.  Put your napkin in your lap.  Here they are.

  1.  The latest AP Top 25 came out Sunday.  There was some movement both up and down for the first time in a couple of weeks.  The top six (THE moved from 6 to 5 and Oklahoma drooped one to 6 from 5) were quiet.  Ohio St. squeaked by a slightly out manned Miami of Ohio squad 76-5.
  2. Notre Dame was seven and they fought hard in Athens, Ga. but lost 23-17 and dropped to 10.  It’ll be hard, but not impossible, for them to climb back into the playoff conversation from there.
  3. Wisconsin was the big winner on the week.  Their demolition of Mr Khaki’s, aka Jim Harbaugh, and his Wolverines vaulted them from 13th to 8th.  Harbaugh is making top five coaching money in Ann Arbor.  His record in five years there is 0-4 against Ohio State, 1-9 vs. top-10 opponents, 0-7 as an underdog, 1-6 on the road against ranked opponents, and has five losses by at least 21 points, including three of their last five games.  Pundits spend the entire off season talking about coaches on the hot seat.  We wonder if they missed one.
  4. Auburn’s Gus Malzahn was named on a few of these “experts” lists.   They are ranked 7th after a solid road win in College Station over the Aggies.  Known for his offensive genius, maybe he should get some credit for a mean, athletic defense that misses very few tackles.  Maybe he gets to keep his job for a bit longer after all.
  5. Top five coaching money gets deposited weekly in Jimbo Fischer’s checking account too.  After a road loss to Clemson, and a home loss to Auburn the A&M program sits at 2-2.   The schedule still has three undefeated to date teams in Georgia, Alabama, and LSU on it plus a home date with 3-1 Mississippi St.  It looks like Kellon Mond hasn’t taken a step up in year two of Jimbo’s QB whispering yet.  Therefore, the Aggies haven’t yet either.  With 75 million guaranteed over 10 years Jimbo’s chair comes equipped with a cooling device.  The Aggies polled at #23.
  6.  The PAC 12 says don’t forget about us.  They have teams at 13,15,17,19, and 21.  Five consecutive odd numbers for five somewhat odd teams.  No. 13 Oregon’s season opening loss to Auburn looks less damaging by the week.  Who has the nation’s longest defensive “held under 24 points scoring streak of 15 games?”  That’s California saying hello at #15.  The Golden Bears beat the Black Bears (formerly known as the politically incorrect Rebels) in Oxford. MS.  Cali is the PAC 12’s only undefeated team four weeks in at 4-0.
  7.  Washington hammered BYU in Utah 45-19 and moved up five to #17.  Utah, a five point favorite, lost on Friday night to USC and is #19. That’s a tough loss for a team with high hopes for 2019.   Mr. Hot Seat himself, Clay Helton, has his Trojans riding higher on the horse at 3-1, and is on his third QB in doing so.  Maybe the climate really is changing in LA as his hot seat has cooled considerably with the solid start and doing so with a 3rd string QB for now.  USC is ranked 21st.
  8.  Two non Power 5 “thorns in your side” teams moved in opposite directions.  On Friday night Boise St. beat a pretty good Air Force team and improved to 4-0 and are ranked 16th.   Meanwhile, parade plans in Orlando got rained on.  U. of Central Florida, UCF, slid from 15 to 22nd.  Pittsburgh handed them a 35-34 road loss in a game that wasn’t really as close as it’s final score.
  9. With ND (10th) at Virginia (18th) the only game between two ranked opponents this coming weekend, and with College Gameday just in Georgia when they played ND, the crew will descend upon Lincoln, Nebraska this weekend.   The unranked Cornhuskers host THE Ohio St University.  Scott Frost is trying to turn a once storied program around.  Vegas thinks this won’t be the week that it starts.  They have THE installed as a 17 point road favorite.  Will Lee Corso even consider putting on Lil’ Red’s hat, aka Herbie Husker?  He won’t if Kirk “Herbie” Herbstreit, former Buckeye, has anything to say about it.
  10. We took a long look at the coming weekend’s early betting lines for interesting ones.  They are few and far between.  One that caught our eye was Stanford is only a four point road favorite at Oregon State.  My oh my, how far and how quickly has the Cardinal program fallen this year?  Stanford beat Northwestern to open the season, but dropped three in a row to USC, UCF, and Oregon since.  Might Stanford head coach David Shaw feel a touch of global seat warming?  Not yet.

Yesterday was the first day of fall.  Fall, football, and Ten Piece Nuggets go together like hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Year Two, Week Four

Posted on by boom booms room staff

Abby had some extra time to analyze her picks this week.  A tropical storm named Imelda visited her neighborhood and dropped a lot of rain.   Abby stayed high and dry watching game film.  She needed to.  Her season is off to a just below water start.   Through three weeks Abby has correctly picked 7 of 15 games and garnered 14 of 29 bones bet.  Her hunch bet, a sterling 9-1 last year, continues to hold water at 3-1 this year.  Arizona St. plus and the game under the total was a win win for her last week.  The well researched picks are below.

Utah -3 v. USC — The Utes are simply better than USC.  And they are better than the Trojans by more than a skinny field goal.   And they are way better if they trade for a rifle as Washington St. coach Mike Leach hysterically runs down that possibility in a must see 90 second video here.    Two bones.

LSU v. Vanderbilt +24 —  LSU is 3-0 v the spread.  LSU has numerous starters missing this week due to injury or suspension.  The kickoff is 11 AM.  We wonder if the Tigers won’t be a bit sleepy in the first half.  Two bones.

USA v. UAB – 10—  That bird that told us UAB is a good bet last week told us it’s a good bet this week.  Abby is a bird dog.  Make sense?  One bone.

Okla St. v Texas -6 1/2 —  This game is usually a shootout.  It might well be again, but doggone it Abby thinks Texas gets a stop or two on D to open the game up by a couple of scores in the fourth quarter.  Three bones.

UCLA +18 1/2 v. Washington St. —  Chip Kelly was famous 10 years ago.  UCLA was last good roughly ten years ago.  They are bad now.  So is Kelly’s coaching thus far.  Abby wonders if the Cougars won’t be looking ahead a bit to next week’s Utah matchup. One bone.

The Texas A&M/Auburn game total is only 47 1/2.  That seems low doesn’t it?  On a hunch Abby barks about it not being low enough.  On a hunch take under the total.

Put on your poncho this weekend.  With the bets above Abby will make the money rain.

Rub the Lamp

Posted on by boom booms room staff
Canadian leader Justin Trudeau’s campaign for national elections was hit Wednesday by the publication of a photo showing him in “brownface” makeup at a costume party in 2001.

We have questions.  One, was Aladdin a racist movie?  Two, when then teacher Justin Trudeau dressed as an Aladdin character in 2001 for the annual school dinner that was themed “Arabian Nights” was he furthering sterotypes and committing a racist act?  Was Trudeau’s apology for doing so, politics aside, really necessary?  When he dressed that night, and likely many others at the British Columbia school party did similarly, did he or others think what they were doing was wrong?  If he did, should he have apologized any time in the last 18 years?  If he should have apologized, why didn’t he?

We have answers.  No.  No.  No.  No.  Yes.   And, hmm, good question.

Aladdin debuted in 1992 produced by Walt Disney.  It was remade in 2019 and grossed one billion dollars worldwide.  Will Smith was the lead in the 2019 remake.  It seems like Walt Disney, a ton of movie goers, and Will Smith seem to think it wasn’t racist.

The dressed for the party Trudeau in 2001 was doing nothing different than the movie writers, producers, casting, cast, directors, and producers did in 1992.  Did he give getting “brownfaced” a second thought then?  It’s highly unlikely, and it was highly unnecessary as well that he do so.  Intent matters.

Trudeau, who launched his reelection campaign a week ago, said he should have known better.  “I’m pissed off at myself, I’m disappointed in myself,” Trudeau told reporters traveling with him on his campaign plane.  Perhaps he could get a make believe role in the next remake.  He is “sooooo” redfaced about being caught redhanded being brownfaced. This sounds “sooooo” 2019 politically correct that we wish we could rub a genie’s lamp and make it all stop.

We wonder how long he has been beating himself up for this heinous act.  Our guess is that the faux self flogging only began right after Time magazine posted the photo, which it says was published in the yearbook from the West Point Grey Academy where Trudeau worked as a teacher before entering politics. The photo depicts Trudeau wearing a turban and robe, with dark makeup on his hands, face and neck.

Trudeau has been admired by liberals around the world for his progressive policies.  Canada has accepted more refugees than the United States in the last three years.  His Liberal Party government has also strongly advocated free trade.  He faces a very stiff challenge from Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.  But, being politically correct knows no political boundaries.

One of the three wishes Aladdin had for the Genie was to get out of the “cave of wonders.”  We don’t live in a cave.  Therefore, we don’t wonder why he apologized after the photo surfaced and not before.

Bad acting comes and goes.  But, we hope that the curtain never falls on authenticity.  Somebody rub the lamp and wish it all away.