It's The Most Wonderful Time... Of the Year!

FOOTBALL, BABY!!!

We take a break from our regularly scheduled Turtle-adoring to discuss the happiness that comes from the gridiron. Wheeee!

Ok, I won't entirely deprive you of Turtle. I'm mean, but not cruel.

Here he is, your 2025 Heisman winner. We're so proud.



A rare moment, captured. Mommy and Turtle.



DH, making his little man giggle.



I know, the cheeks. They're just the cutest.



Now, on to the good stuff. :)

I must address the Miami Dolphins. After a 4-0 preseason, Chad Pennington and his team pretty much failed to show up on Sunday. I don't get it. As a pro football player, you are paid to A) throw the ball to someone on your team, B) catch the ball from someone on your team or C) tackle someone NOT on your team. You get beaucoup bucks for accomplishing one of these things. This is your job. Why, oh, why can you not get it done?

What we had last Sunday were FOUR turnovers, -172 yards courtesy of those turnovers and penalties, and sloppy tackling. It was embarrassing. This isn't high school ball. This is the pros. I could have waltzed on to the field and done better, and we all know that I'm pretty much as un-athletic as you get.

Greg Camarillo, you may please excuse yourself from this next paragraph. You are darling and wonderful, and I am sad that I was actually driving when you caught that ball with your thighs or buttocks or whatever it was. You get it. Put on your ear muffs and come back in a bit.

WTF??? We were on fire last season! We were pulling it together! On paper, we have a stronger team and we should have used 2008 to meld into a single, dominating team unit. There is aboslutely NO excuse for what happened on the field in Atlanta. None. The mistakes have got to stop. The penalties? No way. The end. Clean it up, boys. There is no place for sloppy, substandard play. Catch your balls. Bring down your matchups. Do not give the opposing QB time to make plays. It's really as simple as that.

(Greg, come on back in)

We play Indy on Monday night at home. I'm nervous. I hope Jason Taylor (sidenote: I forgive you for leaving. It's good to have you back) takes Manning down more than once. I hope Pennington has worked out his kinks (I've always said he was a good leader - now show us you're a good QB. I'm not asking for great. Solid, consistent and clean is just as desirable). Fasano, so help me, if you drop one more ball... Well, don't do it. And Camarillo, just do your thing.

Go get 'em, boys.

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Up next, our bright spot. The Miami Hurricanes. We are now 2-0 for the season, after a nail-biting, blood-pressure-spiking win at Doak Campbell two weeks ago, and another, much easier W at home against GA Tech.

I was not optimisitc. I was hopeful that we could outlast the Seminoles (and I am still angry about that last drive - we should NEVER have allowed it to come to the wire like that. We got lucky) and I was pretty sure that the Yellow Jackets would have our number. They drew first blood with a field goal, and then... well, the scoreboard reflects the tenor of the rest of the game with, 33-17, with UM the victor.

The fourth quarter, where the Hurricanes historically rally, was a bit on the sloppy side. The Yellow Jackets scored when the Canes D got a little lazy, but they were quick to realize the mistake and resume their strength. Hopefully, the coaching staff will get through to the players that they can't coast their way through the last 15 minutes on the field.

Somehow, between last season and this, QB Jacory Harris has ascended to the next level. He has become this dynamic, graceful, focussed leader, and the Canes are going to go far with him. Also in the mix is the new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, who seems to be doing wonderful things with this program. Good for both of them.

Ranked 30th at the beginning of the season, the Hurricanes are slyly moving up in the standings. They travel to Blacksburg next week to challenge the VaTech Hokies and then back to Land Shark Stadium to try their hand against Oklahoma. Suddenly, these have become very winnable games. Fingers crossed. I'm super excited to see what these season holds.

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And last, but not least, I've got myself a Fantasy team :) Crazy! It's the Red Velvet Armadillos. Cute, right? I must say, it makes game day even more exciting.

Wanna know who I have?

Active
QB - Drew Brees (NO)
WR - Larry Fitzgerald (ARI)
WR - TJ Houshmandezah (SEA)
RB - Adrian Peterson (MIN)
RB - Ronnie Brown (MIA)
TE - Jason Witten (DAL)
K - Ryan Longwell (MIN)
DEF - New York Jets (yeah, whatever)

Bench
QB - Matt Ryan (ATL)
RB - Jonathan Stewart (CAR)
RB - Leon Washington (NYJ)
TE - Heath Miller (PIT)
WR - Lee Evans (BUF)
DEF - Miami

You know you're pretty impressed. In my very first matchup, I scored 128.42 points!!! Woot! My first opponent was pretty easy, but this week, I'm a little nervous. I'm now #1 in my league, but I'm up against #2, so I'll be watching the StatTracker like a hawk.

Wish me luck!