football playoffs

[David Tollefson]

My fave ad was VW - every time a VW hits 1k miles, a German engineer gets his wings.

[nahtnoj]

100K. Lots of VWs get to 100K. Get them there without a major system failure - then you can have some wings.

[Mabouya]

My fave ad was VW - every time a VW hits 1k miles, a German engineer gets his wings.

Wow, I heard they were unreliable, but that's setting the bar pretty low. I'm glad I bought Japanese instead. ;)

PS These days even 100k miles isn't that long.

[Christian Fox]

I won a nice bottle of wine tonight. I gave my friend Denver +6 (!! real-world spread was Denver -2.5), so I clearly had confidence in Seattle, but holy crap, that was a massive blowout. Like bad Mexican food blowout. Once the Manning happy feet showed up on the second drive, it was over for Denver.

[Nierman]

100K. Lots of VWs get to 100K. Get them there without a major system failure - then you can have some wings.

Every time a repair eclipses $1K, a VW dealer mechanic gets his wings.

[Crashburn]

100K. Lots of VWs get to 100K. Get them there without a major system failure - then you can have some wings.

I'll only give VW's claim any credence if they didn't include all the air cooled cars they sold.

[abbeyQ]

100K. Lots of VWs get to 100K. Get them there without a major system failure - then you can have some wings.

I had a Jetta TDI leave me stranded in the smelly parts of Kansas this summer. Something like 82,xxx on the clock but only two years old. Turned a 11 day of driving into 18 hours on the road.

[Crashburn]

Every time a repair eclipses $1K, a VW dealer mechanic gets his wings.

That's the equivalent of every youth soccer player getting a trophy.

[bcm119]

The big school down south is a Div 1 football powerhouse. Not Mayberry community college. My friend left after one year of teaching.

I also know a few big universities in Boston, where big athletes are all house together, have special class schedules to accommodate their practice (not the other way around), have dedicated student tutors to ensure they pass, and are also graded on “sports curves” to make sure they do not blow their athletic scholarships.

Parents and coaches have relayed the above to me. No, you won’t find this on their websites, only when a student is recruited or “in” the system.

I’d be shocked if Stanford did anything differently.

Yeah, absolutely. I was a d1 athlete at a big ten school. Most such universities will do back flips to keep their star athletes eligible, because their football program supports the entire AD, which is often their life line (sadly). Stanford doesn't fit that bill, and I don't believe it operates as such. Stanford's a top 5 academic university, and intimately intertwined with silicon valley, and its financial situation is nothing like other big football schools. Football losses are nothing compared to cracks in its academic reputation.

[RickM]

Manning looks razzled at best, and Anthony Kiedis looks good for a 96 year old punk rocker.

But as always...Flea still looks in top shape regardless of age. No Seahawks or Pete Carroll fan I...but that was an extremely satisfying game for me. Can we please have no more talk about how Manning is in the same league as Brady? Thanks. I know the media machine has been itching for a coronation..but it's just not going to happen. Ever. Y'all go right on blabbing about Manning's completely meaningless 300+yard "Super Bowl Record" passing yards. BFD. He had the tools, the squad, etc.. and didn't even get in the game. Pats went as far as they did with nothing. Couple that with the fact that Brady can play like complete dogshit at any given game...and the Pats season is even more impressive. I like Manning well enough...he's smart and all...but he's more a Dan Marino then a Joe Montana.

[justinf]

I can't believe I'm stating this, but Bruno Mars crushed it. I went in expecting the worst but he looks like the real deal.

Was there a game?

[Saab2000]

I can't believe I'm stating this, but Bruno Mars crushed it. I went in expecting the worst but he looks like the real deal.

Was there a game?

Agreed on Bruno Mars. It was awkward having the Peppers as his 'special guest', but that could have been worse I guess. On the whole, he did very well though. Still, I thought Bon Jovi would have been more appropriate as they're from New Jersey. But maybe the NFL doesn't want to have their halftime shows just an exhibition of old rock stars bringing out 25-30 year old songs. At least Bruno Mars is young.

The 'game' was an NFL team vs a high school team. The mismatch looked that bad.

[SteveP]

Who understands gambling? So Seahawks win and win by 40 points, who (besides the Broncos) is the big loser?

on this note... the big winner would have been the guy who took seattle and gave denver 30 points.
could have gotten 35-1 odds... or more.

[Saab2000]

on this note... the big winner would have been the guy who took seattle and gave denver 30 points.
could have gotten 35-1 odds... or more.

A FB buddy of mine predicted on Saturday a Seattle blowout of 51-17. He was stunningly close. I would never have believed it but that 'game' was never even close. At no time was Denver in the game. It was over at the first snap. I have rarely seen such a blowout and I've been watching a lot of football since I was a kid.

[j44ke]

But maybe the NFL doesn't want to have their halftime shows just an exhibition of old rock stars bringing out 25-30 year old songs. At least Bruno Mars is young.

Mars does "lawyer-based pop music" - music that is written by borrowing pieces of other people's work (Police, Earth Wind and Fire, etc.) right up to the edge of the legal limits of stealing. Advertisements do the same thing (see: Honda v. Phillip Glass) when they want a sound that appeals to a certain demographic but they don't want to have to pay for it. He's basically a cover-band.

[rowdyhillrambler]

At least he didn't steal anyones dance moves.. Oh wait, nevermind.

Mars does "lawyer-based pop music" - music that is written by borrowing pieces of other people's work (Police, Earth Wind and Fire, etc.) right up to the edge of the legal limits of stealing. Advertisements do the same thing (see: Honda v. Phillip Glass) when they want a sound that appeals to a certain demographic but they don't want to have to pay for it. He's basically a cover-band.

[davids]

My fave ad was VW - every time a VW hits 1k miles, a German engineer gets his wings.

Respectfully disagree, and not just because getting a car to 100k reliably is a stupid low bar for the last 20 years or so.

The one that made me laugh was the Hyundai commercial about collision avoidance. Not the punchline - that was obvious - but the series of rapid-cut slapstick scenes of the dad grabbing his son a split-second before the disaster struck. Well done.

I can't believe I'm stating this, but Bruno Mars crushed it. I went in expecting the worst but he looks like the real deal.

Was there a game?

That was some professional-level ish. Perfect for a halftime show - James Brown crossed with Justin Beiber.

Mars does "lawyer-based pop music" - music that is written by borrowing pieces of other people's work (Police, Earth Wind and Fire, etc.) right up to the edge of the legal limits of stealing. Advertisements do the same thing (see: Honda v. Phillip Glass) when they want a sound that appeals to a certain demographic but they don't want to have to pay for it. He's basically a cover-band.

Are you new to this pop music thing? The name of the game is stealing and recombining the right parts. Bruno did it well, and was more entertaining than Madonna or the Rolling Stones managed to be in their 12-minute mass-consumption lowest-common-denominator extravaganzas. I watched almost the whole thing without losing interest, and I think the only other performer I could say about was Prince.

[Tom]

In Las Vegas for SB weekend by coincidence. This place was a hoot. Some old guy in a Seahawks jersey dancing to his own imaginary music in the middle of the casino with female companionship a tribute to the cosmetic medical arts when we came back in about midnight here. Not too much orange about at that time.

[David Tollefson]

The game itself was boring. I would rather have watched the Seattle/SF game again. That's the best the AFC can send?

[Tom]

I noticed the sports book down at one place hadaction on the Puppy Bowl. Who won?