Archive for the ‘Rants’ Category

  • 25 Nov

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    Lack of Home Field Advantage

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    Maybe I’m reeling from the Broncos loss to the Raiders on Sunday, but this article from ESPN’s Bill Simmons about the lack of Home Field Advantage in New Stadiums got me thinking.  Simmons is pretty articulate, so here’s the reader’s digest version:

    Teams with new (or significantly remodeled) stadiums in the last 10 years have compiled poor records against point spreads.  In 2008, the (spread) record for these teams are 29-44 this season.  In fact, the teams with new stadiums have fallen below .500 in beating-the-spread numbers 5 of the last 7 years.  The conclusion: SOTAS (state-of-the-art stadium) teams have watched their home-field advantage evaporate in a pile of money.

    At first glance this seems coincidental, but when you think about how new stadium have changed the experience of going to NFL games, it’s pretty easy to understand why home field advantage isn’t what it used to be for these SOTAS teams.  Simmons tells a pretty good story of the Foxboro  gameday experience in his column, and it’s pretty similar to ours’.

    Each Broncos home game, we make our way down to Denver with our tailgating gear in tow about 4-5 hours before game time.  Going to Broncos games does take the better part out of our day.  We leave the house at 10 and don’t get back home until 8pm. We arrive at the stadium, set up the grill, the chairs, the awning, the ladder golf and have our pre-game celebration.  We usually eat and drink pretty well before the game, and gluttony is still a fraction of the cost of the food & beer in the stadium.  We then take the 20 minute walk to the stadium and usually get to our seats right after kick-off. 

    Our seats, while in the nosebleed levels, are great seats when it comes to watching the plays develop and being with fans that make true financial sacrifices to support their team.  As Simmons points out though, the NFL’s actions – both negligent and intentional – have diminished the role of the everyday fan at these games.  I never went to a game at the old Mile High, but I definitely heard the stories: stories of how loud that stadium got, and also stories of people who had season tickets during the stadium transition and got screwed out of great seats.  As Simmons points out, people who used to scream at the field are now sitting in the upper levels where they scream towards the sky. 

    Simmons also makes a great point about the length of the games:

    Throw in the dirty secret that it isn’t really fun to attend an NFL game in the 21st century — the routine of "kickoff, TV timeout, three plays, punt, TV timeout, five plays, field goal, TV timeout, kickoff, TV timeout, someone gets hurt on first down, prolonged TV timeout, three more plays, touchdown, extra point, TV timeout, kickoff, TV timeout" gets old after about 25 minutes

    -Not to mention that during those TV timeouts, you’re subjected to ads there in the stadium. Everything has become sponsored by someone.  I thought it was Eddie Royal that brought us that first down – not Lowes.

    I’ve been lucky enough to sit down in the 4th row from the field before, and while heckling the visiting bench is fun, most of the people down there really don’t give a damn about football – at least when compared to the people in the upper levels.  Bethany and I have sat in the club level when she got tickets from work and the people around us seemed annoyed when we made noise for the defense.

    While I do consider myself lucky and blessed that I have the opportunity to go to the games, I can’t help but wonder about the comment Simmons made:

    “The bad news is that, with just a few exceptions, it’s now more entertaining to invite your friends over, tailgate in your backyard and watch your favorite team on TV. You get the replays. You get HD. You have your own bathroom. You’re saving money. You can stand up if you want. You don’t have a commute. If you have the NFL package, you can flip around to other games during commercials. What’s the downside? You got me. I had 10 times more fun watching the Pats-Jets game at a New York City bar last week than I would have had at the actual game. And the sad thing was, I knew that would be the case.”

    Playing at Mile High used to be a lock for Denver, but we’ve now dropped 3 games in-a-row at home.  I understand that the Broncos have a lot of other problems, but one can’t wonder if the Mile High Magic has diminished at Invesco and other brand new stadiums.

  • 17 Oct

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    Tech Gripe: Does Qwest cap uploads?

    2

    This is another question/technology gripe I’m throwing out there to see if anyone is experiencing the same thing: Does Qwest DSL drop your connection when you’re uploading large files?

    I was doing some Greenfoot work tonight, and am trying to upload our new tracks to a hosting/steaming service.  The service is asking for WAV files so that they can encode on-the-fly – fair enough.  I upload the WAV files ranging from 40-55mb, not huge by any means, but sizeable.  I tried uploading directly to the web site, but about 20% into the upload my DSL connection drops for a few minutes, reconnecting to a different IP address and breaking my upload.  I’ve tried different protocols/applications (Live Mesh, FTP), which resulted in the same behavior.  I’ve eliminated any doubt that this is being caused by a specific machine, then eliminated my router from the equation.

    This isn’t the first time this has happened to me using Qwest DSL, so I’m left with my original question: Is Qwest dropping DSL connections that are uploading large files?

    I *think* I’m solving the issue by breaking the file into 2mb pieces, FTP’ing the files to a non-DSL machine and uploading them that way.  Talk about a pain in the ass!

  • 19 Sep

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    Madden 09: A month in

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    I’m a Madden junkie, so naturally I went out the day the game came out bought it right away.  Unfortunately with as busy as I am, I didn’t even take the shrink wrap off the game until 10 days later, then really haven’t played it consistently or extensively since I opened it.   After about a month in and playing it over a half-dozen times, I have a pretty good sense of the game.

    The realism of the game is pretty impressive, and overall the performance on the X-box 360 is pretty good.  Before last Christmas, I played Madden primarily on the Wii, PS2 and PC, so the controls took a little bit of adjustment.  They really don’t seem to have changed that much, but still the game took quite a bit of adjustment.  At the same time, the game has become a lot more difficult to play. 

    One of the touted features is that the game adjusts to your play: if you’re good at running, the game’s AI gives you a tougher run defense; if you suck at passing, easier pass defense, etc.  While theoretically this is a great idea, the implementation results in you just getting your butt kicked up and down the field.  There doesn’t seem to be a great deal of consistency between the game play.  Personally I’ve had too many instances where I have 1-2 moments of greatness, followed by a half-dozen moments of mediocrity.

    While some of these new features are exciting, there are still many things that EA Sports has yet to improve, and even degrade in some instances.  Some I’ve noticed:

    • The In-game commentary is terrible.  Last year they had this ambiance created by the radio announcers that actually came off really well, it seemed strictly play-by-play. For some reason they went out and got a big name commentator – not John Madden, but Chris Collinsworth – but it was really half-assed.  Collinsworth never references any player by name, it’s always “The Quarterback, The Running Back”, and the statements are irrelevant and get old pretty quickly.
    • We still don’t have an easy way to update rosters.  Madden still wants you to connect into the X-box live lobby and start playing with someone else – never mind the fact that you’re not really interested in playing on-line yet, but would like to have Favre on the Jets or Eddie Royal not wearing #3 (although it was cool having John Lynch playing safety for the Broncos). Only then, will it begin to download the latest rosters.  I don’t understand how with the easy environment provided by the X-box Live Marketplace or in-game on-line interactions, EA still has this archaic method of downloading and applying roster updates.
    • Failure to understand 2 Runningback Systems – Over the decade, the NFL has evolved to the point where many times have a “Runningback by Committee” approach. I can easy rattle off the Broncos, the Saints, the Dolphins, the Panthers, the Cowboys, the Steelers – that’s only to name a few.  Despite this, Madden still doesn’t comprehend that these teams sub running-backs in an out on a whim, making it pretty challenging to duplicate this scenario in the game.  The closest they come is having a 3rd down running back, which doesn’t cut it.  You should be able to assign goal-line running backs, or better yet be able to line up 2 halfbacks in the backfield.

    I still have a lot of game play to go, and more thoughts may develop on the game, but at this point I’m pretty disappointed with the ’09 differences from ’08.  I know when next August comes around I’ll probably be a tool and drop the $60 on the game yet again, but I would welcome major innovations (or even fixing these minor issues) with the next edition of the Madden franchise.

  • 12 Sep

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    Social Problems (caused by Evil Conservatives)

    1

    As you may know I’m still on the process of trying to finish my school.  With my increasingly heavy workload at my job, I’ve been working through school at a snail’s pace, which has resulted in me taking a lot of classes that have nothing to do with my education and are generally a waste of time. Enter my latest class: Social Problems.

    I signed up for this class because I apparently need an Arts/Humanities credit and figured this would have been an easy course.  Little did I know that this class is just another example of political indoctrination in higher ed, and this class should essentially be renamed “Social Problems caused by Evil Conservatives".

    I try to stray away from politics in my blog, but as far as my political leanings, I classify myself as a South Park Conservative: I’m a fiscal conservative that doesn’t subscribe to social right wing views, but I despise liberal socialism.

    I realize that there is a level of political complexity when you’re talking about Sociology, but I don’t understand how spending the first 10-15 minutes of each class period talking about the political candidates. We don’t discuss the issues, but more just make baseless disparagements without any claims – with the instructor making statements such as "Sarah Palin is setting back the woman politician by 30 years", but without any details.

    Now we’re on the topic of Health Care, which basically becomes a Republican blame-game as to why we don’t have universally socialized medicine.  In addition, when it comes time for us to watch the movies, our instructor went to the best source he could find: Michael’s Moore’s "Sicko".  I’m not saying that the movie doesn’t make valid points, but really, Michael Moore?  And are there any plans to show any other documentaries like Dead Meat or Uninsured in America to some kind of balance?  At this point it doesn’t look likely.

    I’m not naive to think this type of bias doesn’t exist on college campuses, but I am continually frustrated that this kind of propaganda runs rampant in the guise of higher education and inclusiveness, creating an aura of anything but tolerance and acceptance for anyone that doesn’t agree with them.

    Call for Help: I’ve been given a pretty lame assignment in this class. I’ve been asked to ask someone about their experience receiving medical treatment in the US.  What kind of treatment did they get?  What was the end result, not just physically, but also financially, socially, etc.  If you have a minute and have a story to tell, would you mind sharing it in the comments section of the blog?  It would be a really big help, especially if it’s a positive experience getting the medical attention.

  • 24 Jul

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    What do artists owe fans?

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    Photo courtesy of mykecave on Flickr

    In my last post about the Mile High Music Festival, I briefly covered John Mayer’s performance.  Mayer is an amazing guitar player, and the energy displayed at the show poured into the crowd to greatly an awesome, lively show.  At the same time, I think fans who bought John Mayer tickets didn’t get to see what they paid for.

    When John Mayer came on the mainstream scene at the turn of the century, his sound was a more melodic, pop-based sound – not N’Sync pop, but pop in the sense that the songs were straightforward and catchy.  With hits like “No Such Thing”, “Your Body Is a Wonderland”, “Why Georgia” and “Daughters”, Mayer established that sound. Then he decided to change it, moving from the pop-based going back to a more blues-based. It seemed to happen when the John Mayer Trio got together (Steve Jordan’s an amazing drummer by the way), when the transformation began.  It spilled out of the Trio and into his next solo album, Continuum.  When you compare the John Mayer you hear today from his 2001′s Room for Squares, it’s a pretty drastic change.

    I’m not saying that artists can’t change their sound – it happens all the time. There’s also a difference between an artist experimenting (U2′s "Pop" and DMB’s "Everyday") and returning back to your original sound, or truly evolving your music into a different genre.  Mayer may be experimenting, but I would predict that his sound has evolved and changed and won’t be going back any time soon. 

    When some artists change their sounds, they either start a new project or join up with a band.  However, when your sound changes pretty drastically and you’re maintaining the same stage identity, what do you owe those fans that came to hear the music that made you popular?

    At Sunday’s show, Mayer didn’t play "Your Body Is A Wonderland", or "Daughters" and his other (arguably) biggest hits, "No Such Thing" and "Why Georgia" were condensed into a medley.  It would be one thing if this was a band like the Rolling Stones that have 70 hits – but if I’m not mistaken – Mayer’s only had 3 studio albums out. In addition, he played 3 cover songs on Sunday as well.  It’s cool to see big acts play a cover, but when you’re playing more than one at the sacrifice of one of your biggest singles, then you probably have a priority problem.

    I’m not saying Mayer shouldn’t keep on playing jammy-blues, but if he doesn’t want to play those early hits then he should go out with a different stage name. At least when you show up to hear the John Mayer Trio, you know it’s not going to be John Mayer (just like when you go see Gwen Stefani, it’s much different than No Doubt). 

    I feel when an artist is still relatively early in his career (compared to bands like the Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi or U2), then you do have an obligation to play the major singles, regardless of how different they sound.  If you’re not happy with the old song’s sound, change something in that song to better fit your new style – but you owe it to play the music that gravitated fans towards you, especially if you’re using that same musical persona to bring those fans in.

    I’d be anxious to hear what other fans & musicians think.

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