Trav's Thoughts

It's gray and gloomy here this morning and I'm ok with that. We've got our coffee and our pastry. Next trip to the grocery we'll have to look for pumpkin spice creamer...it's about the time of the year for that yummy.

We only have one game this morning. It's Indy at Tennessee, so that's ok. But this afternoon we have a problem. Generally we don't have a game on the other network opposite the Seahawks. But today we do. So on the one hand Pam will certainly want to watch her Seahawks in Arizona. But my Raiders are televised from Denver at the same time. We have two TV's, but we'll have to flip a coin for who gets the Plasma.

Don't forget to tune in and listen to Turnbaby Talks at a crazy early time on football Sunday, 5:30pm EST. I guess there's some site maintenance happening today, so Turn only has 30 minutes this evening to crow about Kentucky's upset of #9 Louisville yesterday. You can click here to listen.

I'll weigh in briefly on the Bill Belichick spying scandal. Teams are standing 160 feet away from each other on either sideline. Coaches can look across the field and see signals. Then a play is run, and a coach can try to determine a pattern of signals as they relate to the action on the field. I don't have any problem with that. I don't have a problem with a guy in binoculars in the press box doing the same thing. But a video camera? So you can keep a record of what you've seen? That's crossing the line to gain a competitive advantage. It's cheating, and it deserves the harsh punishment it received. I applaud NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for his swift reaction. Getting the drop on your opponent should not include compromising the integrity of the game. And you can call me an idealist...I don't care. I played this game, and I played it with integrity. Does everyone? I'm not that naive. But when someone is caught disregarding the integrity of the game, then in my opinion that person deserves to be sent the strongest possible message that their actions will not be tolerated. And others should take heed.

On their opening drive, Tennessee did the right thing by going for it on fourth down. I think they called the wrong play...when you have Vince Young, you should put the ball in his hands on a critical call. Indy stopped them, and Peyton Manning promptly marched down the field for a score. The point after was blocked. But still. Can it really be this easy for the Colts? As Dan Dierdorf just said, that Super Bowl hangover might show up sometime. But if it doesn't, the rest of the league is playing for second place...at least that's what it looks like here on the second weekend.

Mr Tucker is missing the green scratcher rugs that went home with the houseguests. I don't think it's just for the nice surface to scratch on though. He's got other things that he can use to scratch. Right now he's laying in the spot where I had one of the rugs. I think it's about the smell...maybe the Bailey/Newby scent from the rugs is what he likes.

I was always impressed with the athleticism of Vince Young when he was at University of Texas. I haven't seen him play much in the NFL. But I just watched him get stepped on. Getting those grass spikes on the top of your foot will hobble the best athletes for a few minutes. But on the next play, Young faked a hand off and then while flat footed he calmly flipped a 10 yard out into the flat to beat the oncoming rush. That takes a strong arm and quick relexes. It's always better to get your feet set and have good mechanics when you try to make a throw. But Young is one of the few quarterbacks in the NFL who can sometimes get away with ragged mechanics because of his athletic ability.

The new CareerBuilder.com commercial is stoopid.

We must have cheesy beefy melty goodness from Taco Bell today, perhaps for dinner!!

How 'bout dem Saints y'all? WTF? They are currently getting it handed to them down in Tampa. The Saints are still a promising young team, but they best get it figured out soon. This is an early game against a division opponent.

Well, the second half has started and the Colts are on the move again. Tennessee best figure out how to get some pressure on Peyton Manning, or this game is over. Right now it's just pitch and catch for Manning.

OK y'all, it's time to close out this early edition of Sunday random observations.

Later babies!