Thursday’s With Raider: Semi-Random Thoughts

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Nov 3, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders cheerleaders perform during a timeout in the game between the Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles at O.co Coliseum. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Oakland Raiders 49-20. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Editors Note: Our Friend Raider Ute gives us some Semi-Random Thoughts in Part One of this Weeks Two Part Thursday’s With Raider. Later today Raider and I will discuss Pac-12 matchups.

Certainly, someone will yap at me by saying “there’s no such thing as a semi-random thought.”  Something is either random or its not.  Okay, fine.  I just had several things on my mind that didn’t really command the attention of an entire written rant, so I am simply grafting all of them together into one email.  Here they are:

>–Watch this video and ask yourself which is the most inexplicable to you: a) that John Clayton may, in fact, still live with his mother, b) is really into Slayer, or c) that Clayton owes most of his TV career to being a guest on the Fabulous Sports Babe.

>(Oh, and for those of you who have never heard of the Fabulous Sports Babe, she was a thing in the 90s.  She was also neither fabulous, nor a babe.  It’s my thinking here that the decade of the 90’s is the Lord’s punishment for various human iniquities.)

–A lot of things that happened in the blowout loss to the Eagles on Sunday bothered me, but none more than this.  2nd quarter, Philly is on their own 20 or so and it’s 3rd down and about 16.  We’re already down 21-3, so this is kind of an important down and distance in the game.  Foles has already picked the defense apart and Riley Cooper has pretty much made D.J. Hayden his girlfriend.  With some opportunity to make this a respectable game, we rush 3, drop everyone else into coverage and Desean Jackson makes a catch for 17 yards and a first down.  All while Foles has enough time to do his taxes and make the throw.  Reason #69212000 why we can’t have nice things.

–I haven’t really taken the time to discuss Ute basketball for this upcoming season, because I’ve sort of gone under the assumption that only 15 people on the planet actually care about Utah hoops these days and you and I are at least two of them.  At this point in time, I simply want to start winning basketball games.  I really don’t think hoping for 20 wins and being disappointed that it doesn’t happen is entirely unreasonable.  One of you out there will come up with an explanation to the contrary, but I kind of liked being good at basketball.  Whether this occurs with Larry or not doesn’t matter a whole heck of a lot to m

–At most other universities, people would be fired if the women’s gymnastics meets outdrew the men’s basketball games.  Not here.  Yet, I’m the jerk for being against this and a space case for hoping a miracle occurs one day and that Ute baseball makes it to the College World Series.

–I’m sure I might be the only person who has said this sentence: “I feel for the guys on that Bridezillas show that slowly watch their fiancee’s turn into Sauron of Mordor as their wedding day approaches”.  It’s little wonder why it took me until I was 32 to get married.

–Look, I think most of us are happy about the renaissance that has become Alex Smith’s NFL career, but Peyton Manning is probably going to rip apart KC’s defense, wouldn’t you say?

–You didn’t miss it, because you have started to flirt with Warriors fandom, but someone on one of the Warriors blogs mentioned this after the opening night drubbing of the Lakers: ”

I was at the home opener in 1991 when they beat the Kings 153-91 with Billy Owens watching from the stands.  15,000 people were thinking ‘we did all that and the new savior hasn’t even suited up yet”.  This era’s wunderkind, Harrison Barnes, incidentally, sat out the opener a week or so ago.  To put it another way, you can feel free to back out of this thing now if you are at all nervous about having your heart ripped out like most Warrior fans may be expecting.  Steph Curry’s ankles aren’t made of steel, you know.