Tuesday Night Extravanganza

Friends, there is so much I wish to share with you tonight.

First, another wild weekend in the NFL much to the chagrin of the Guru. With my second consecutive 2 for 5 week of picks (although, having the Patriots cover the spread by 31 points is really alright with me, in fact I may have to pick against them in the future to continue my plan of reverse psychologizing them into a playoff spot) my grasp on plus .500 against the spread hangs tightly at 16-14 on the year.

As someone who associates with what one might consider "Wagering Gentlemen" I know firsthand that this season has proven difficult to say the least. (Sidenote: I have yet to meet a chick who has put money on a football game, although I find that extremely hot for some reason). But there is always fun in speculation and fun is what we are all about here at roomofzen.

In no particular order of importance:

1) The Patriots looked very good last night. The defense was playing with a swagger that I have not seen for quite sometime. Honestly, I expected the Broncos to put up a lot of points against the Pats secondary (which stepped up big time), and I thought that the New England offense would continue to struggle. Wrong on both counts. It didn't hurt that the Broncos defense was horrific at everything except sacking the quarterback. When the Pats D Line gets fired up there isn't a better more imposing defensive front in football. When they don't bring the intensity, they have been more or less average. I heard some interviews on WEEI today that confirmed a conscious effort on the part of the defense to play with what Richard Seymour called "A Sense of Purpose". Moving forward the Pats are going to have to adjust to competing without veteran safety and all around badass Rodney Harrison, who appears to be done for the season, and possibly for good. I'm going on record right now in the third paragraph of the Tuesday Night Extravaganza as saying that Harrison is deserving of a spot in the Hall Of Fame, for what its worth.

I suck at Photography, that's the Celtics I swear.

2) Over the weekend I had the opportunity to check out the Boston Celtics Open Practice at the Tsongas arena in Lowell. I had been to the Tsongas arena twice in my life. Once during a high school basketball tournament and the other time was to see a Korn concert. It was at this concert that I first sighted a man that became known simply as "The guy who wears the Undertaker costume and moshes" amongst my friends. For a good three years we saw this guy, who had a striking resemblance to the wrestler but was obviously not him, at every River Rave, Ozzfest, and rock concert we went too. Anyway, I hoped to see him there, instead I was graced with the presence of an uninspired Darius Miles. Let this be known: Darius Miles is a poor substitute for a guy who looks like the undertaker and wears the undertaker costume to concerts throughout Massachusetts. (Not surprisingly, Miles was released the next day). The team ran through some drills in front of a couple of thousand fans, did some defensive footwork, and then Doc gets on the microphone and thanks everyone for coming. That was about it. In all the practice lasted roughly 45 minutes.


In a striking show of solidarity, fans refused to leave the arena despite the pleas of ushers and venue staff who obviously had something to do Saturday afternoon repeatedly yelling at everyone to leave. I had hoped that by some stroke of luck the whole thing would consist of a game of knockout at one end of the court and a dunk contest at the other. Hey, dare to dream. I found the experience interesting, and it really drove home the fact that the defending world Champs would be taking the floor a week from tonight. Roomofzen will have several representatives at the game. I'm fucking pumped. Also, Perk looked lean and mean...lookout Eastern Conference bigmen.



3) It has been a while since we have received any reader questions for our sporadic "The Oracle Speaks", and this is a call for submissions. We're not begging here, but we all enjoy hearing from you. (This is my token "Its all about the Fans!" post of the month, but hey, it is.)







4) We have several new items in the Roomofzen store. As a reminder (for those of you who cannot read) we will be making a donation shortly to the American Cancer Society with proceeds from our merchandise sales. While our stuff isnt as popular as, say, the Vern Troyer sex tape, it is more family friendly and less likely to turn chicks off.







5) I was thinking about how unfortunate it is that Tony Kornheiser is a cohost of Monday night football. I really think that they miscast him for this role. Kornheiser doesn't have the humor or the football knowledge to occupy the third chair with the very talented and competent team of Tirico and Jaworski. I'm not calling for Dennis Miller or John Clayton to be the third guy (Miller clearly didn't work since comparisons between a good defensive play and some obscure piece of historical political trivia are essentially wasted on the audience (and generally NOT funny), and Clayton's insider knowledge would probably delve too deep to hold the interest of casual fans who make up a sizable portion of the target audience). Is this Tony's fault? Not really. There doesn't seem to be an established role for him. Should he tell a joke? Should he admit to knowing something about the game? Nobody seems to know, especially Kornheiser. This has led to the excruciating "explain the obvious at all costs" technique that is becoming his staple. This works for Madden, but Madden also really knows the game of football. I love Kornheiser on PTI, and most people would agree that he does an excellent job there, but MNF is clearly not his scene. SO....

It is time to move on. And seeing as how I have got my soapbox I am going to recommend comedian Artie Lange to be the new third wheel for Monday Night Football. Anyone who listens to Howard Stern knows Lange. Some may even recall some of his fine films "Dirty Work" and "Beer League". Sure he is a recovering Heroin addict and admitted gambler but I think he could shine in this role. He has a good knowledge of sports in general and would actually be funny. That's my vote. I'm sure that network executives are at this moment totally involved in not giving a fuck what I think.





Finally, Roomofzen is coming closer and closer to obtaining Podcast technology. Once the stars have aligned we will be taking our little blog here to the next level. Just imagine listening to LaRocque and I going over our weekly picks while riding the T next to a hot coed. She will be thinking, "man I bet that guy is listening to something really badass". She will be right. Also, she will find you irresistible. Tell her you know all about the Babcock Report and Foil in the Oven. Chicks totally go for that stuff. Those chicks pictured above are avid readers, otherwise I definitely wouldn't post a picture of them on this site.








Rock and Roll.