Doomed to Repeat It

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. "
- George Santayana, Life of Reason, 1905

The above three photos tell the whole story for the shocking upset my Trojans suffered on Thursday. Freshman Jacquizz Rodgers was effective in everything he did. He ran so wild that not even knocking off his helmet could slow him down. I hear that Pete Carrol has now special-ordered smaller tackling dummies in case his vaunted defense ever has to face such an intimidating target as a 5'-6" freshman again. The fans stormed the field, and the newly-appointed successor to Pete Carrol's line of star leading men, this time the heralded Mark Sanchez, walked dejectedly off the field.

It all seems so familiar.

2 years ago, newly appointed John David Booty had a pass knocked down on a two point conversion be sent packing from Corvallis in shame. 2 years before that, only the brilliant play of Lendale White kept (newly appointed) Matt Leinhart's squad from stumbling in the thick fog of Reser Stadium. In fact, after Thursday's debacle, USC has lost 3 of the last 4 in Corvallis. Oregon State is not tough to beat in LA, but Mike Rilley really has the Trojan's number in the friendly confines.

So when everyone texted and emailed and called me Friday morning, asking how I could possibly have seen that coming, I merely reminded them of Santayana's quote. Believe me, as much as I am happy to get back in the underdog pool race with 23.5 points, it was by far the most painful 23.5 points I have ever scored.

As it turns out, however, USC was hardly the only team to catch the upset bug this weekend. There were upsets everywhere you turned, probably setting a record for points scored by the collective pool in one weekend (Kurt will correct this post with the correct data on Tuesday morning). 4 of the top 10 went down. Georgia losing was not a surprise. Alabama jumping out to a 31 - 0 halftime lead is ridiculous. Florida losing at home to . . . .Ole Miss? When Michigan commits 5 turnovers in the first half against a top 10 team, they are done. Unless they are playing Wisconsin on September 27, 2008! I am not even going to mention Wake Forest losing at home to Navy because I still can't explain that one. Underdog wins greater than a touchdown are rare in the NFL. We had two on Sunday.

There are two patterns that were confirmed this weekend. First, just when you think the BCS will have 7 undefeated teams at the end of the year, someone does something stupid and knocks themselves out of the race. This weekend we were blessed with 4 teams blowing at once. Second, and getting back to Santayana, is that in the underdog pool history definitely repeats itself. So if you haven't figured it out by now, for future reference:

- Colorado State always plays close to Colorado
- Always pick Northwestern over Iowa
- Don't pick Tennessee over any favorite (sorry Josh)
- Always pick NC State when they're a home dog (weird that they lost this time around)
- Fresno State is better than you think
- Stanford will pull off at least two double digit upsets per year
- Always pick the underdog in the Washington - Dallas game
- Always pick the underdog in the NY Giants - Dallas game
- AND . . . . Always pick Oregon State at home over USC when they have a new QB!

Bill Moore has figured all this out. He's played this pool a few times before. That's why he is leading and we'll be chasing him all year long.

Fight On,

Hans

Cubs and Bears

Chicago is a beautiful city with amazing architecture and a fascinating collection of neighborhoods. The people are generous, fun-loving, and diverse. The city center is close-knit and easy to walk around. It is full of fascinating museums, shops, and restaurants. In fact, it might just be one of the most perfect cities in the US except for one glaring problem: the weather sucks. Winter is too cold and windy and summer is too hot and muggy. Chicago hits its weather sweet spot around May and September.

We were fortunate enough to get away to Chicago this last weekend and were blessed with one of the most beautiful, sun drenched, bright and wonderful couple of days I have seen in that city. I was entertained during the 3.5 hour drive there by the Hawkeye game versus Pittsburgh (ending with an unfortunate fumble rather than a triumphant field goal). Upon arrival, we walked around Millennium Park with its famous "bean"sculpture and Frank Geahry's incredible amphitheatre. The park was full of people from all countries, languages, and cultures, all mixing with the art and soaking in the sun. What a great place to hold the Olympics (2016 - maybe)

Our multicultural indulgence continued with dinner; we got take-out from a Lebanese eatery near the University of Chicago. It is a campus favorite, always packed full of students and faculty alike, enjoying the savory, delicious food. Everyone's mood was light and cheerful; it may have been the perfect weather, it may have been the great food, but more than anything it was probably due to the Cubs' clinching the NL Central that afternoon. On the 100th anniversary of their last championship (the longest drought in all of professional sports), the Cubs get to be one of the final 8. It remains to be seen how they will blow it this time around!

The rest of the evening was spent soaked in mojitos (yeah- I drink mojitos, got a problem with that?) in a sports bar watching the three great college games broadcast simultaneously: Georgia-ASU, Florida St-Wake Forest, and, the best of them all, LSU-Auburn. I am glad I kept watching the LSU-Auburn game; just when I thought it was over, Les Miles pulled out yet another miracle. I guess we can't count them out of the national title race quite yet. I would love for USC to finally get their shot at the Tigers on Jan 9th. But we've got a long road before that date.

Sunday brought more sunshine, more cool breezes, and the first day of Autumn. More importantly, it brought a Bears home game at Soldier Field. Sophie (my 16 mo daughter) and I cuddled on the bed in the hotel room and shared a bowl of mac and cheese, watching the game. Afterwords, Sophie, Kristi and I took a long walk along the lake shore, and got a chance to witness Bears nation in person and the extensive tailgating that follows. Despite their shocking collapse in the last 5 minutes and loss in OT to the Buccaneers, the Bears fans remained in a jovial mood. Again- it was probably the rare chance at perfect weather.

I have often been asked why I left Southern California for a region with such crappy weather. Honestly, I really don't mind the weather here. When weekends like this happen, they are more memorable and more special. I just appreciate the good days more and learn to live with the bad days. Besides, the cold weather isn't so bad: there is something wonderful about huddling under a fleece blanket, sipping hot chocolate laced with peppermint schnapps.

But I'll take another perfect weekend before we break out the fleece and schnapps!

Fight On,

Hans

Outrageous Excesses

I had the good fortune of being able to travel to LA for this week's Game of the Century. The tongue-in-cheek moniker of "this weeks Game of the Century" in itself suggest the outrageous excesses of over-hype that games like the USC-Ohio State match tend to generate. In the news-worthy drought of September (no BCS poll to complain about, conference play not even started), sports writers and fans alike will happily glom onto the mere potential of a "bowl game" before summer has even ended. Rewarding teams for scheduling a tough opponent early in the season is laudable, but proper perspective should be maintained.

I knew we were headed toward excessive hype when ESPN added "OSU-USC" as a ticker category on their "bottom line" scrolling news. That's compared to other more general categories like "NCAAF", "AL", "NL", and "NFL." Crazy.

Take the ultra-hype, add ESPN game day, stir in a warm sunny evening in LA, add a dash of celebrity sightings, and bake it all in an oven of a brewing rivalry between coaches who have yet to meet on the field of battle. The dish that results is so outrageously excessive that it could only be paired with a 1971 Lafitte Rothschild to do it any justice.

The excesses began early Saturday. Since ESPN game day must be broadcast live to the lazy blokes on the East coast at the pedestrian hour of 10 am ET, the show began bright and early at 7am in LA. This was hardly a deterrent to the rabid USC fans, who started pouring into the Exposition Park area well before dawn. I spoke to one tailgater who arrived at 7:30am and got the very last spot on the lawn outside the stadium. This is hardly impressive to other schools with more intensive tailgating traditions (the liquor stores in Iowa City and Columbus open at 6:00 am on game days!), but for the usually laid back Los Angelenos, this is unheard of.

We planned to arrive at 2pm for a "leisurely" tailgate luncheon, but soon discovered that all 93,600 had gotten to the freeway before us and we sat in the I-110S parking lot for an hour. Finally getting to the Cardinal and Gold picnic location, we were overwhelmed by the long lines for the 8 different buffets of barbecue and the impressive display of liquor at the open bar.

Wandering through the mass hordes of stadium-side parties, I was very impressed with the rapid growth of USC tailgating. Where they was once ample lawns for blankets and picnic baskets, cars and "pop up" tents covered the park. We passed one generous fellow who planned ahead on providing to his fellow fans: an eight person beer bong. Why get drunk alone when you can pass out with 7 other complete strangers.

The bowl/championship atmosphere carried on into the stadium, where the Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe (talk about outrageous excess) played the pre-game followed by a flyover by navy jets. It is not enough to "just" have a 120-member band plays Stars and Stripes and the Star Spangled Banner. They had to add the 150 decibel roar of fighter jets a few hundred feet overhead. Why stop there? Where were the fireworks? OK- they did light the Olympic torch at the start of the 4th quarter (how cool is that- what other team can boast to play under the light of an Olympic torch? The Atlanta Braves? Anyone else?)

The really fun part of USC games these days is the stargazing. We can expect to find Marcus Allen, Henry Winkler, and Matt Leinhart along the sidelines somewhere, but other celebs often show. With the hype surrounding this match, the celebrity count was expected to be outrageously excessive. The lead photo for this blog tells you all you need to know about the current state of USC football. That's George Lucas shaking hands with the Governator (maybe asking if he could play Darth in a future film). 'Nuff Said!

The game itself was full of outrageous excesses. One would expect these two brilliant coaches (Jim Tressel and Pete Carroll) to come up with some unconventional tricks for this special game, but these two really mixed it up beyond expectations. USC scored its first touchdown with a 35 yard post pattern to a fullback! (Yes, you read that right). They scored their second to a true freshman TE who hadn't caught a pass before. Buckeye freshman phenom Terrelle Pryor was expected to see some action, but I never expected Tressel to use alternating QB's on his opening drive. They didn't alternate series; they alternated EVERY PLAY!

The final score was excessive in its own way. I am not surprised that USC won or even beat the spread, but racking up 35 points against one of the best defenses in the nation is ridiculous. And holding Ohio State to only 3 points is remarkable. Watching Rey Malaluga return an interception 43 yards for a TD and relishing sack after sack in the 2nd half gives evidence to my belief that this USC is SCARY good. As good as or better than the 2004 team that went 13-0 and beat Oklahoma to win the national title. And that final was held in Miami. Oklahoma just moved up to number 2 this week. The BCS championship this year is in Miami.

History does repeat itself.

Fight On,

Hans

The Ultimate Burger

An essential element of football is the tailgating before and after the game. The food and drink that accompanies this ritual can be legendary. ESPN writer Doug Ward assembled a fantastic coast to coast chronicle of some of the highlights of college football tailgating:

http://sports.espn.go.com/travel/news/story?id=3556286

I am always in search of the ulitmate football viewing cuisine, which recently led me to stumble upon an amazing burger recipe in Gourmet magazine. I was skepitcal at first (especially the call for pickled beets), but I took the plunge and tried it. It is fantastic- truly transcendant hamburger experience. As close as you can get to burger heaven without going to In and Out . . . .

The Aussie Burger: As it appeared in Gourmet Magazine.

As it appeared in my kitchen before it was inhaled.

Aussie Burger

Serves4
Active time:30 min
Start to finish:35 min
July 2008
Some Australians add grilled onions to this burger—feel free to make it your own. Learn the story behind this dish in our column, The Recipe.
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Asian chile paste such as sambal oelek
1 1/4 lb ground beef chuck
4 kaiser rolls, split
4 pineapple rings
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
4 large eggs
3/4 cup drained sliced pickled beets
Accompaniments:
lettuce; tomato slices
Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over medium-hot charcoal (medium heat for gas); see “Grilling Procedure.”
Combine ketchup, mayonnaise, and chile paste.
Mix beef with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper, then form into 4 (4 1/4-inch-diameter) patties.
Lightly toast rolls on grill.
Pat pineapple dry and brush with 1/2 Tbsp oil.
Oil grill rack, then grill pineapple and burgers, covered only if using a gas grill, turning once, until pineapple is tender and caramelized and burgers are medium-rare, about 4 minutes total.
Heat remaining 1/2 Tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot, then fry eggs.
Spread chile mayonnaise on rolls, then assemble burgers with pineapple, beets, eggs, lettuce, and tomato.
Cooks’ note: Rolls, pineapple, and burgers can be cooked in a hot oiled large (2-burner) ridged grill pan over medium-high heat.
Recipe by Andrea Albin
Photograph by Romulo Yanes