Some Blog Site

Based on the popularity existence of last year’s article predicting bowl games in haiku form, I present to you this year’s all-haiku bowl game predictions. Still America’s only all-haiku college bowl game predictions.

These are listed in order of date (earliest first). Some picks are whom I think will win, and some picks are whom I want to win. I’ll leave it to you, the reader, to decide which is which.

Dec. 19th

Dec. 20th

Dec. 22nd

Dec. 23rd

Dec. 24th

Dec. 26th

Dec. 27th

Dec. 28th

Dec. 29th

Dec. 30th

Dec. 31st

Jan. 1st

Jan. 2nd

Jan. 4th

Jan. 5th

Jan. 6th

Jan. 7th

And that’s it for this year’s BCS and non-BCS bowl game predictions. Tune in later, about the second week of January, for the results show.

Here is another scene from the unreleased Wolverine movie (click on the image to see a full-size version) :

Here is the text, in case your browser has trouble with images:
Wolverine : I need help to defeat my enemy
Wolverine : There is one element stronger than the Sweater Vest
(narrator): Take phosphorus – the 15th element – and subject it to intense heat and pressure
(narrator): The result is . . .
(last frame shows Tim Tebow): Tebownium!

You may also want to see the previous episode of X-Men Rivals.

Here is another scene from the unreleased Wolverine movie (click on the image to see a full-size version) :

Here is the text, in case your browser has trouble with images:
Wolverine (in defeat) : Aaaggh!!!
Wolverine: All of my attacks have been thwarted…
(last frame shows Jim Tressel): By the power of the sweater vest

You may also want to see the previous episode of X-Men Rivals.

Watching the Florida-Florida State football game earlier today, I was pleased that the television announcers recognized Tim Tebow’s habit of putting Bible verses on his eye black.

A little background here for those who may need it:
Florida Gators are a college football team. Tim Tebow (also known as TimTebowTimTebowTimTebow to some people) is the quarterback of said team. Tebow has decided to take advantage of the national attention that being a leader of a high-profile team brings – he puts scripture references on the black stickers that athletes put under their eyes to reduce the glare from the sunlight.

He apparently figured that, as long as cameras were going to be featuring his face during games, he might as well make use of it. He changes the verse every week, and this week it was Hebrews 12:1-2. Here is the picture of Tebow just before the game (he’s a little teary because it was his last home game).

Side Note: Regular readers of Some Blog Site will notice the similarity between Tebow’s different-verse-for-every-game habit and SBS’ different-verse-for-every-blog-post habit. Please note that SBS was doing this before Tebow started doing this, so I appreciate the flattery. Anyone who wants to promote Bible verses in everyday life is more than welcome.

Back to topic: Tebow’s verses have gathered so much attention that the game’s announcers mentioned his verse this week, just as part of their normal conversation during the game. Hmm…it seems that anything Tebow does gathers much attention and is reported on the TV, but let’s stick to the topic.

The announcers noted it was Hebrews 12, they looked it up, and they read the verse.
On the air.
Out loud and everything.

I was quite impressed that they did that (kudos to CBS), and I was pleased that Tebow’s plan to increase the Bible knowledge of the general public actually worked.

I mentioned these events to my wife. She tried to recall Hebrews 12:1-2 from memory, but it didn’t sound like what the announcers had read, so I looked it up. No, not to correct my wife, because her version sounded more familiar than the announcers’ version.

The announcers had read Hebrews 12:12 on the air:

Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble

But Tebow had written Hebrews 12:1-2. That’s read as Hebrews twelve, verses one and two. Not Hebrews twelve, verse twelve.

It looks like Bible literacy still has a ways to go.

At least Tebow is doing something, and at least the announcers tried. If you just look at the verse, it does seem to make sense in the context of a sporting event. It could be good to use, but it is not what Tim had hoped they would read.

In case you haven’t been paying attention to the ads: there is a new X-Men movie opening this Saturday.

It is called X-Men Rivals.
Here is a shot of the title:

And here is a cut from the comic book upon which the movie is based (click on the image to see a full-size version) :

Here is the text, in case your browser has trouble with images:
Wolverine: My worst enemy …
Wolverine: Not even my claws can penetrate his thick skull
(last frame shows Brutus Buckeye)

About a month ago, I announced that I had setup a webpage to track football prediction methods.

Now, I am announcing that I have added a new method – More Points Wins. So far this year, it’s more accurate than the Isaacson-Tarbell Postulate.

If you haven’t already followed the links in the above paragraphs, you can click here for details about how More Points Wins works or click here to track its (and the other methods’) results.

I took Beta to a hockey game – just him, no other kids. I had given him a choice of games – football (would have been a college game) or hockey (was a minor league (OHL) game). He chose hockey, so hockey we saw.

We were right on the glass, near the corner where the players make their grand entrance and where the crew (cleanup, ice maintenance, car to be given away, etc.) enter and exit. The first thing we noticed, after we sat down, was that the mascot was standing in the entryway to the ice and was a mere several feet from us.

For most kids that might not be a problem, but Beta is intensely distrustful of mascots, clowns, Santa Clauses, Halloween costumes, etc. So I was very impressed when Beta actually waved to the mascot. I think it helped that there was a significant barrier protecting us from the mascot.

Partway through the first period, a deflected pass went up into the nets that surround the ends of the rink. Since our seats were on the corner and were also the first row, we were under the netting somewhat. The netting was attached to the back of the glass so that if a puck hit the net and rolled down, it would end up in the first row of seats.

And that’s exactly what happened. The guy sitting next to us caught the puck. He was there with his family, so they enjoyed that. Then, a period later, the same thing happened again. The man was so very nice and gracious and offered that puck to Beta, who quickly accepted it. So he got an official game puck and made sure he knew where it was at all times (answer: in my pocket so we wouldn’t lose it).

When we walked into the rink, we had to go past all the vendors. I pointed them out to Beta – “here’s ice cream, do you want any?“, “there’s the food“, “here are roasted almonds, or you can have chocolate-covered pretzels“. Each time, I would ask him if he wanted anything. And each time, he would decline.

After the first period, I asked him again if he wanted anything. And again, he declined. I asked why he didn’t want anything, any dessert here at the game. He said he wanted to wait until we got home so he could have a Tootsie Roll. So I bought myself some roasted almonds. He wouldn’t even try one.

I thought seats on the glass would be fun, and they were. At least for me they were. Beta did not like the checking into the glass. I don’t know if he didn’t trust the Plexiglas-brand acrylic glass or if the noise was too loud, but each time something happened against the boards in front of us, Beta would lean as far back as he could.

Eventually, at his insistence, we moved back a row. That was for the third period. That, coupled with the fact the I couldn’t see much of anything that happened at the other end of the ice, means that when I go back, I want seats at least halfway up. Beta quite enjoyed the game. He said he wants to come back with Alpha next time, but not with Momma.

One last thing to note about the game: they were not just power plays, they were Air Force power plays. Apparently you can sponsor the power plays. At least the face-offs were anonymous.

All in all, it was a good game. It had just about everything one could want in a hockey game – checking, 5-on-4 power plays, a couple of 5-on-3 power plays, a hat trick, a throw-off-the-gloves fight (they both got penalties – 5 for fighting), and Canadians.

Beta fell asleep on the way home, holding his free coloring book and the puck. I think we’re off to a good start. Other children may fall asleep holding their blanket or stuffed animal – mine has his hockey puck.