Archives – the Good, the Bad, and Ugly pre May 31, 2015.
According to the official Falcons site injury report, Turner did not practice again today, but Norwood saw limited action. I know Turner wants to play, but it does not look good. A backup combination of Snelling and Norwood would not be horrible, but Snelling and recently resigned (again) Stecker does not give me a lot of hope.
The rumors are running rampant – PSN no longer free. Or premium offerings for a special fee. And so on and so forth. This bit from PSXExtreme:
We see the same question at least a few times per month from readers: “will Sony start charging for the Network?” We always have the same answer: “no, but they may charge for some sort of premium service that is optional.” This seemed almost inevitable from the very first moment we learned the PSN was to be free; once they were in a good position (which is now), Sony would likely provide users with an optional primo service that delivers extra content for a small fee. And now, according to this slide from Sony’s Media/Investor Conference, it seems clear the time has come: right at the bottom of the PSN features on that slide, it says “New revenue stream from subscription.” Now, this could mean any number of things, but we certainly don’t believe you’ll suddenly have to pay to play online. That will always remain free if we take Sony’s words at face value; this new addition will be something special for members and if they want to pay for it, that’s their choice.
I may pay a premium for extra content, but the price has to be right, and certainly there has to be value for my hard earned dollar. I did pony up for a Qore subscription, but have since let it expire because it frankly was just not worth the money. If there would have been a free downloadable PSN game each month, along with Remote Play (or downloadable play) on the PSP, then I would have said it was a good deal.
It will be interesting to see what Sony plans to offer for this new subscription revenue stream.
I have been attempting to get into OOTP Baseball 10, which I purchased on sale for $29.99 a few hours after the 2009 World Series ended. I say attempting, because the game in damn complicated. Maybe insanely in-depth is a better description.
I skipped the last couple of iterations of OOTP. Going back a few years, OOTP 6.5 and to a lesser extent OOTP 2006 were the last versions I played extensively. I have not played any version of OOTP in the last 18 months (probably longer). After being away from the game for an extended break, OOTP 10 is different, much different than the versions I used to play (that night vs. day thing), but at the same time sort of a welcome home experience. My biggest issue is just finding the time to really concentrate on learning the game.
Simple things can often be a chore, but for now we can chalk it up as user error. For example, during one of my games I received a message that one of my pitchers had been suspended for two games by the commissioner. Why? I clicked on the message, but that did not give me much info. After clicking around for a while I finally found what I was looking for under the player’s history section. Apparently he was a key figure in a bench clearing brawl.
OK, so the above example has nothing really to do with the game, but that is sort of the point. OOTP 10 is deep. Lots to do, lots to learn, and I have not even scratched the surface. Hopefully I will have some time over the next week or so (Thanksgiving) to really plug in deeper.
Right now I am just messing around with a Quick Start league with the 2009 MLB rosters, but I would like to start a season directly after the 2009 season (or at least with rosters more current than the start of the 2009 season) and play around with managing the Braves, just controlling the line ups, depth charts, and pitching. Of course this means that I have to find new rosters, and then figure out how to switch the game to use the new database. All of this use to be old hat, but assuming I can get a little free time, I am sure I can figure it out.
While the Falcons will not provide an “official” injury update for this week’s Giants game until today, USAPlayers [Gambling site? Came up on a google search for Falcons news] thinks Turner is out for multiple weeks.
Michael Turner has already been ruled out of the game after suffering a high ankle sprain last week against the Carolina Panthers. He will likely be out several weeks. It’s not good news for Matt Ryan, who has made uncharacteristic mistakes in the last several weeks, dropping his team to 5-4 overall on the year. He has thrown 10 interceptions over the last five games and already has more picks than all of last season. He has multiple interceptions in three of his last four games (all losses), and star receiver Roddy White only has one 100-yard game during that span.
I expect that Turner will be out this week, but as far as I can tell, this site is the only site currently claiming that Turner is out against the Giants. Mike Smith’s new conference should confirm later today.
It is no secret that Matt Ryan is struggling this year, and things do not look to get any easier. The upcoming schedule features a road trip to the NY Giants, followed by home dates against Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. The 5-4 Falcons could find themselves 6-7 after this run (I’m assuming they go 1-3 during this run, beating the Bucs).
According to the NFC South Blog at ESPN
Throw out last week’s win against a horrible Washington team and Ryan wouldn’t have completed more than 57.6 percent of his passes in any game since Oct. 11. On that date, the Falcons went out to San Francisco and trounced the 49ers, 45-10. In the five games since, Ryan has thrown 10 interceptions and seven touchdowns as the Falcons have gone 2-3.
I don’t believe in sophomore slumps, but I do believe that until the Carolina loss, the Falcons lost on the road to New England, Dallas, and New Orleans, all teams at the top of their respective divisions. In truth, Atlanta’s schedule has been brutal. They are the only team that has 4 games against teams coming off a bye week, which makes this weekend’s trip to play the Giants so depressing. NY has not been playing well, but they had a week off to get healthy and prep for Atlanta.
Speaking of not being healthy, how long is Turner going to be out? Just when he got things going again, he went down with an ankle injury. Turner actually had 111 yards on 9 carries in the second quarter before hurting his ankle. Norwood has missed 4 games, and I actually think he has been missed much more than publicized. As a kickoff returner he always has a chance to break a big one. As a change of pace back his speed always gives opposing defenses something to consider. Even with the emergence of Snelling, Norwood gives the Ryan something that no one else offers – pure speed for quick dump off safety net gains.
So back to Ryan. What is wrong? I think they need to get back to play action, deep throws, and some shorter routes. Tony G. gives them everything they need in the middle, intermediate game, but the absence of Norwood has all but removed short passes from the playbook. With receives like White and Jenkins, Ryan should throw deep passes several times a game to take advantage of White’s ability and Jenkins’ size.
The Carolina loss was critical; I think it knocked Atlanta out of the playoffs. I know it is early to call that, but as mentioned above the remaining schedule is brutal. At this point I want them to play for a 9-7, which would get the “no consecutive winning seasons in franchise history” monkey removed.
Top stories concern why BioWare did not include nude sex scenes in Dragon Age, if Gamespot changed the review score of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and if Microsoft is cheating on its Europe Xbox 360 numbers.
Let’s just call it now – Elam sucks! As the Falcons were getting ready to kick the FG that would put them up 22-21, I told my kids that Elam misses easy FGs. Little did I know he would miss a f’ing easy one [34 yards]. If the Falcons lose this one, they should dump Elam and find someone who can actually hit them when it matters. Unbelievable.
Not really a good weekend for picks (thank goodness I am not really throwing coin at these games), but a great weekend for the Dawgs! I had more losers (Florida, LSU, Mississippi St, and Tennessee) than winners (Arkansas, Georgia, and Kentucky), bringing my total to 40-33. I am still above .500 and Georgia actually made me proud. I call that a successful day in the SEC!
Mmmmm. Gnome Stew. I stumbled across this site looking for some 4E materials. Now comes an article covering some of the all time worst, dare I say completely stupid monsters of all time! This has to be the funniest D&D type article I have read in a while. Then again, maybe it is the Jack and Diet Dr. Pepper. Either way, this stuff has me ROTFLMAO.
Player: “Wait…did you say ‘You see a T-rex up ahead’? In a fantasy game?”
GM: “Yep. Its jaws are glistening with saliva as it turns its –”
Player: “Fuck you, man. I’m going home.”
Seriously. Any DM [it’s a DM dammit!] that pulls this shit on me can kiss my little white ass. Hey, just trying to get in the spirit of things.
BTW – In the comments section of the campaign built around stupid monsters are a couple of great links …
I guess that is it for stupid monster stuff. I am laughed out.
Week 11 of SEC football gives us a full slate of action, but not really must see football unless you are a fan of the respective teams. Other than the Auburn/Georgia game, I am not sure how much of the action I will catch. Maybe some of the Tennessee/Mississippi game and I will be checking in on Mississippi St to see if they can pull off the upset over Alabama.
This week I am using the SPORTSBETTING line as seen in USAToday. I am 37-29 on the year. It is 1:15AM EST as I write this; I’ll be brief so I can get to bed!
Tennessee at Mississippi
I don’t get the line in this one: Mississippi -6. Tennessee has been playing well of late, and after all the initial hype, Mississippi’s season has been relegated to “oh well” status. The pick is Tennessee and the points.
Kentucky at Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt is getting 3 at home. The Commodores have burned me one too many times this year, so I will take Kentucky even if they have to give up 3 on the road.
1 Florida at South Carolina
I seem to be wrong on Florida more other than not, so giving South Carolina 17.5 makes for a tough pick. We all know the Ol Ball Coach is going is going to want this one in the worst way, but the Gators cover. There, I said it. Watch me be wrong!
Louisiana Tech at 8 LSU
LSU is coming off a tough loss to Alabama, so this one has the potential to be a trap game for LSU, who is giving up 23 to La Tech. I guess I have a little Vince Dooley in me. LSU covers.
Troy at Arkansas
Troy will be much better than Arkansas expects, but the Hogs are obviously not Troy’s typical Sun Belt opponent. I do not like the line (Arkansas -13.5), but I think Arkansas covers; just barely. Then again I would not at all be surprised if Troy pulled off an upset.
2 Alabama at Mississippi St
Is there any possibility of a letdown for the Tide? Mississippi St has played very well at times, but on paper they have no chance at winning this one. The line gives those other Bulldogs 11.5. I do not know if they can pull off the upset, but after have an extra week to prepare for hosting Alabama, I think they are going to at least scare the living snot out of Bama fans. I am going to take Mississippi St and the 11.5.
Auburn at Georgia
So it comes to this; the Bulldogs must win to say above .500! Who would have thought that at the beginning of the season? Recent history has favored the visiting team, which makes the like (Georgia -4) less than promising. This is a pick with no real rational behind it. Call it from the heart, homer, wishful thanking … a fool and his money are easily parted. Georgia to cover. Good Lord what is wrong with me?
Go Dawgs!
It is great to see solid sales data for Demon’s Soul, which managed 150K in sales in October.
It is also interesting to see that the Metacritic scores are in line with each other – critic review score (89%) and user ratings score (8.8). Hell just froze over …
Not a lot to say. Upcoming this weekend: SEC Predictions (Week 11), some more D&D 4E impressions, and Falcons/Carolina thoughts. If I am lucky I will have a chance to post some actual gaming articles.
And the new Star Trek movie (Blu-ray three-disc set with digital copy) shipped. Love me some Amazon Prime shipping with release day service!
Happy weekend!
As ATL gets ready for a trip to Carolina, they need to get some pass protection, double quick. Not that Sam Baker is the end all be all of LTs, but it certainly hurts if he is injured.
Atlanta left tackle Sam Baker missed a second straight day of practice. Julius Peppers, meet Matt Ryan.
Hopefully Turner continues his recent run. If he does, the Falcons will take care of business against the Panthers.
The Hardball Times annual has become a yearly purchase for me; it is truly a great read and well worth the money. The 2010 edition is now available.
This will be my fourth or fifth year with the book. This annual gets my highly recommended for baseball fans. I only wish that something comparable was available for the NFL.
So Ross Brawn thinks F1 will continue onwards without a host of major manufacturers? Racer had the following quote from Mr. Brawn
He added: “It’s a major sport and it (manufacturer involvement) will come round again. But luckily there is a lot of interest from privateers and they will sustain Formula 1 for a good few years. I’ve been in Formula 1 for over 30 years, and I’ve seen it go from total privateers to a huge number of manufacturers back to privateers. It just goes in cycles depending on the climate.
I am not so sure. Is it really appealing to watch Ferrari and Mercedes battle each other, and hope for some excitement from the best of the rest? This is going to be a different F1, and who knows if it will be worth watching. I would be surprised if Ferrari pulled out next; if Ferrari does, that will be the end.
I think Mercedes is a sure bet to pull the plug in the next year or two. I can see their top brass saying that from a financial standpoint it is just not worth the effort. It is not as if they will be competing against other German manufacturers – they will be up against the mystique of Ferrari and have everything to lose if they end up second fiddle to some of the independent teams.