SB Nation User Blog: Rishi

DBD 12.07.09 College Football Christmas Wish List

Rishi — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:02:01 -0000

Dear Santa,

Now that the college football regular season has come to a thrilling close and the bowl pairings have been announced, I figure I wouldn't waste any time; as such, attached is my wish list for this college football season. Please review the addendum in the comments section for futher wishes:

1. Please ban the sport of football in the city of Seattle for ruining both the Cal Bears' higher-end bowl opportunities and the 49ers' playoff aspirations in the same weekend

2. Please fix the Pac-10's bowl alignment; there is no reason that Pac-10 teams shouldn't be playing on New Years Day (outside of the Rose Bowl), while Northwestern and Auburn do. The boys in the Pac-10 could really use a nice trip out to sunny Florida

3. Please ensure that Jahvid Best becomes healthy, so he can play potentially one last game as a Cal Bear and remind us all how special a player he has been for this program

4. Please ensure that the SEC loses every single match-up they have, especially the national title

5. A split national title would be awesome, with Cincy winning the AP title.

6. Florida State to win the Gator Bowl. Bobby Bowden has overstayed his time at Florida State, but he's still a nice guy and deserves to go out a winner.

7. Tim Tebow to lose again, so we can crush any illusion of him being one of the top players of all time

8. An exciting bowl season filled with great match-ups. Blowouts are no fun

9. Me to win CGB's bowl challenge (I really want to win a JJ Arrington jersey)

10. Most importantly, Cal to destroy the Utah Utes in the Poinsettia Bowl

Thank you and Go Bears!

What's your ~~Christmas~~ Holiday wish list for this college football bowl season?

(Links after the jump)

Should we adjust our offensive system to the QB (or the QB to the system)?

Rishi — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:54:28 -0000

Disclaimer: This is 100% speculation with only anecdotal evidence, not actual stats, to back it up. If the data proves me wrong, that’s fine. If my thesis is wrong, tell me.

As per Avinash's request, here's a cleaned-up version of an earlier post, discussing a potential reason for our lack of QB success.

People have complained that we haven’t had a successful QB since Aaron Rodgers (or maybe since 2006 Longshore), which is odd for a head coach who built his reputation as a groomer of quarterbacks. And I was wondering if Tedford’s insistence on making QBs dropback passers plays some role in this.

Now, Longshore is built to be a prototypical dropback passer, so for this, I’m really looking at two QBs — Ayoob and Riley.

Ayoob was perhaps the most athletic QB we’ve had this decade, perhaps moreso than Boller. He had the ability to scramble (remember the “White Michael Vick” tag?) and make throws on the run. He most definitely was not a drop-back, stand in the pocket, type of passer. Looking at some of his game tape from his JC days, he really looked sharp in a spread offense. I personally am speculating that were he to be in a Florida-esque spread (even a more dumbed-down version), he could have succeded as a quarterback, because his talents were more suited to such a system.

On the flip side, Riley isn’t quite Ayoob, but it seems to me that he excels at the two-minute drill. When he overthinks, he overthrows. When the coach playcalls on the sideline, sends the signal in, Riley conveys it in the huddle, etc, then he doesn’t look too great. But when he runs a hurry-up offense, no-huddle, I personally think he’s actually looked good. Now I’m not a huge fan of Ludwig (I really think running Best up the middle too many times isn’t taking advantage of his talents) and I definitely don’t think he’s putting Riley into the right system.

I think the most clear evidence I can think of regarding Riley's talents have to be Oregon State 2007, on the final drive, or Maryland 2008, when down several touchdowns, Riley led to the team close to winning, or even Arizona State 2009, when Riley had a hot hand on the game-winning drive.

I hope I’m making sense here. The bottom line is something I’ve said for a while — just because it’s used in the NFL does not make a pro-style system better in college than any other system.

DBD 9.21.09 Summary of My Weekend

Rishi — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:40:49 -0000

Domination

So the scene begins like any other friday night... i get done with work and after a long, hard week of ""Balls Out Domination""" of hard work in Finance i want to destress and get my game on in "The Bay" (the name that everyone who is from San Francisco uses for the entire area unlike the bridge and tunnel crowd who hop from places like sacramento or san jose or any of those lesser cities which are full of chicks that would probably be a 6.2848 here in sf at best, which is why i dominate "The Scene""" in SF) so i call my boy Rahul up and im like "whassup bro lets go get drunk and stuff" and were trying to figure out where to go because Rishi only associates with The Best in San Francisco (though the way i Dominate around here we really should call it """San FranRishi""" )

As all my Fans know about me, im changing the world of Finance every single day. Anyone who knew me in College probably had no idea that I would become what I am today -- one of the biggest names in the Financial World -- and i really look forward to the day when they change the name of "Wall Street"" to "Rishi Street" because i am changing the way that Finance works every single day. Yesterday, the "CEO" of the firm I work for saw me walking by and told me "Kid, I like what you're doing - you're really going to change everything"" and im getting more top-notch execs and "A" list Financiers on my fan list every single day (one of my Buddies at Citigroup told me he was having lunch with Vikram Pundit and said he was going to dominate the client presentation "Rishi Style" and Vickie ((what i call Pandit) was like "I like what he's doing" so clearly im making waves throughout ""The Industry"")

So I go to the finest restaurant in all of SFR for dinner because i need to fill up the tank before I party balls-out domination "Rishi Style". Initially, there was a line to get in, but because Im Rishi I walked up to my boy and got a Five Dollar Footlong... on the spot, as only Rishi can do. There was a lady behind that counter that was a decent 7.3153 (she could probably be a 7.83852 if she grew her hair out another .249 inches and added more makeup and maybe lost another 2 pounds) and she was obviously checking me and looking at my massive biceps and pecs which were visible even through my $500 Zegna Shirt and $2000 Custom Made Gucci Tie.

After dinner I changed into my "Rishi Style" outfit, with dark jeans and a striped shirt. Obviously, everyone out there is following my Blog because the hottest trend in SFR is to wear this balls-out dominating Ensemble. So me and my Entourage rolled into Vessel, which is San Francisco's hottest and most exclusive Nightclub and on Friday nights, it's even busier because their DJ dominates like only Rishi can (I sometimes think about how good a DJ I would be because my music tastes are so unique and different yet trendy and mass appealing and maybe i should do a set with my boy DJ Mikey because we'd both Dominate any club "Rishi Stlye") but i got all of us on an exclusive guestlist that you only get on by knowing all of the "A-Listers" in SFR and the top of the Partying Scene so the bouncer Omar escorts us all in while everyone in line goes crazy as i walk by while one hot girl yells out "Oh My god Is that Rishi?!?!"). To show my gratitude, we order twenty bottles of top shelf liquor by top brands like Smirnoff, Jack Daniels, Krubel, etc (I want to associate my image with only top brands because people drink exactly what I drink) and I drank like fifteen Lemon Drops in-between pounding five Vodka Redbulls (I only slept twenty minutes the night before). I dominated the scene at Vessel, girls kept coming upto our table and I kept saying "Listen, unless you're an 8 or higher, don't bother"""""""" (but only after i took snapshots with them on my camera), and i danced the entire night while the place got more and more crowded. It was so perfect that the waitress comped us another bottle for free which is something only an A-List Financier like Rishi can do.

I partied so hard I woke up at my boy Anil's place still in my jeans and hot balls striped shirt the next morning before I turned on the Cal Game and saw pure domination by my boy Jahvid Best (he's really fast - almost as fast as me).

Enough for now, keep following. Rishi Out!

DBD 08.28.09 Gameday superstitions

Rishi — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:51:28 -0000

It's no secret that, as dedicated Cal football fans, our spirits have a tendency to rise and fall with the success of our favourite football team. Sometimes, we get so connected to the game that we feel responsible for what happens on the field. This is why, oftentimes, you will see fans (especially in the south) praying during games (worth noting: Tony Dungy, a religious man, says he never prayed for his team's success because God has better things to do).

That said, what are your gameday superstitions? What things do you think, or imagine, affect the team and try to control? Is it out-of-control expectations - imagining victory in a close game while the game is still within reach? Is it taunting the football gods with trash-talking and stupid "FOURTH QUARTER'S OURS" chants? Or is it something as simple as wearing the wrong colour jersey? Bringing a good-luck charm?

My personal superstition is simple - as a general CFB fan, I like to follow almost every single game on Saturdays, including West Arkansas A&M @ Mid-Nebraska Tech. I check scores on my phone constantly, but for some reason, bad things always happen to the team when I check scores on my phone while I'm in the stands. As such, I try to keep my phone hidden away.

Anyway, let's hear yours!

P.S. Eight days till Cal football!

*I take no responsibility for anyone who already hates this DBD just because I posted it.

Poll

What are your gameday superstitions?

Letting Maharg comment during the game

4 votes

Offending the football gods

9 votes

Looking ahead

10 votes

Leaving my Syd'Boner jersey at home

2 votes

My lips like sugar

6 votes

31 votes | Poll has closed

DBD 08.24.09 What Makes You Happy?

Rishi — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:04:58 -0000

Recently, in one of my many time-wasting excursions on the internet, I came across an article that analysed things that are supposed to make you happy (e.g. fame, money, beauty, etc.) and expalined why those things won't actually make you happy. It then went on to say what actually makes a person fundamentally happy is helping other people out, be it a friend, a relative, or charity.

Of course, we are all different people and different things make us happy. For some, it may be the sound of a child's laughter. For others, it may be a new double-breasted ironic blazer. For others yet, it may just be the company of friends. So that's my question for you, friends: what makes you happy?

Also, a side story since some people ask for them. Note, do not read if you hate alcohol, already think I'm a douche, or otherwise still have any sense of decency left.

Was at a club in the city with some buddies, enjoying the Flo Rida and whatnot. Earlier in the night, my buddy and I had scoped out this cute Indian chick that was in line while we were getting in. Anyway, on the dancefloor, I noticed that one friend was helping prove a certain stereotype about Indians true (he may have exuded a certain odor from his body). Always eager to help my friends out, and, by extension, help salvage the reputation of Indian men everywhere (you're welcome!), I decided he needed to smell better.

I dug around my pockets and noticed that I had a portable Axe deoderant bullet in my blazer. I usually carry one on nights out in case I crash at a friend's place and need deoderant the morning after. Anyway, for those of you that have been hiding under several rocks the past several years, Axe is a body spray for men that is supposed to attract every woman within a five block radius, but really, is just a fragrance that tends to be overused by most guys and can be extremely overwhelming. So I pulled out my trusty Axe bullet and sprayed it on my friend.

Remember that scene in Dumb and Dumber where Jim Carrey tries to spray mint in his mouth, but the nozzle is facing elsewhere? This was exactly like that. Also, remember that cute Indian girl I mentioned a paragraph or so ago? I ended up spraying this Indian girl with some Phoenix-scented Axe. And not just mildly spraying - I pretty much unloaded it on her. Needless to say, she was no longer interested in the Rishi Train :(

Cal football news after the jump!

Hi there.

Poll

What makes you happy?

Doing good for people

3 votes

The company of good friends

10 votes

My beautiful and loving wife (she's looking at my monitor)

5 votes

Alcohol

7 votes

My lips like sugar

2 votes

27 votes | Poll has closed

DBD 6.19.09 - How Do You Like Your Fridays?

Rishi — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:31:21 -0000

So, no DBD up at this point - figure I may as well post something here.

So, an open-ended discussion here, mostly applicable for those of us that either work or those that are in school and actuall study (anyone?). After a long week of hard work, what do you like to do on Fridays to unwind? We all know my answer (Drink O'Clock in less than ten hours!), but answers vary across the board.

Do you like happy hour? Gym time? Sleep? Spoon with the girlfriend/boyfriend/dog?

And what does the rest of the weekend look like? Catch up on tv/movies? Hang out with family? Friends? Read and learn? Work more? Do whatever the wife says (Twist only)?

Links? We don't need no stinkin' links!

Oh, but Apple is launching a new iPhone today. Stay tuned!

Poll

What do you like to do on Fridays after work/school?

Drink O'Clock!

8 votes

Sleep

5 votes

Cuddle with a good book and a warm fire

2 votes

Hang out with the girl/guy

9 votes

Work more

3 votes

My lips like sugar

5 votes

32 votes | Poll has closed

Singletary said he had Crabtree in tears

Rishi — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:47:23 -0000

Singletary said he had Crabtree in tears

Useless news, but also kinda funny.

DBD 6.2.09 What Pop Culture / Literary Character Are You Most Like?

Rishi — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:12:01 -0000

Sure, it's not even close to June 2nd, but damnit, it's almost time to go to bed and posting here doesn't happen anymore. Notice me, damnit!

Actually, I've wanted to post this for a while. You always have those friends that remind you of a character from a book / movie / tv show. What characters do you think you tend to remind people of? It can be from any source, however obscure. It can be based off manner of talking, personality, sense of humour, looks, ridiculous situations, how well you relate to that character, etc.

Not to be content with just one name, I'm going to answer this question for myself this way: I'm a blend of three characters, all from pop culture.

via z.about.com

Barney: I wear suits everywhere, think everything is "awesome", fear relationships and commitment, look down on marriage, and am all about living it up. I don't womanise like he does (not my thing, as I will discuss later), but one quote really made me realise how similar to Barney I can be at times:

Barney: I'm delightful.

Robin: To us? Sure. In very small infrequent doses.

via i.tbs.com

Chandler: My sense of humour is quite similar to Chandler's (cue Avinash: lol so ur not funny!) - constantly sarcastic and mocking. No one ever takes me seriously since I'm always joking. I've found myself in many a similar situation to him in my life.

via img403.imageshack.us

Jughead:

A strongly misunderstood character, Jughead doesn't hate girls; he simply enjoys food more. Replace food with alcohol and you have yet another component of this complex caricature we call Rishi.

So there you have it - more useless information about me than you ever wanted to know.

But, more importantly, I'm really interested to see what people here say and how they see themselves. So let's do it!

Oh, and apparently Cal has some sort of forward-passing rugby team with some kid named Jahvid Best.

Niners Nation sports bar?

Rishi — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:47:10 -0000

FOOCH'S NOTE 4/24 3:30PM: During the season we had this thread set up for people to find sports bars in San Francisco, and also anywhere you might be. I know that a lot of folks like to watch the draft at a sports bar so let's fire this back up. I'll be setting up my draft headquarters at my apartment but don't let that stop the rest of you from joining wjackalope in getting a bit sloppy for the draft! I'll link to this as well in the open threads tomorrow.

EDITOR'S NOTE 9/4 10:25AM: This was originally posted a week and a half ago. As we're a community of 49ers fans, it'd be pretty cool to get people together at specific locations for 49ers action. I've posted a link to this FanPost on the left side of the front page so people will always be able to check it for updates on bars to visit. I'll make srue and keep the comments open so people can keep posting. And every so often I'll promote it back to the top of the front page to keep it fresh in people's minds.

As I said before, consider it the classifieds for finding a good 49ers bar in your area of the Bay Area or anywhere else in the country or world.

______________________________

So I figure since there's a good collection of die-hard Niners fans here, there should be an official sports bar that the fans go to watch games at. I remember there was one before and maybe it's still the official NN bar, but some updates on that would be great.

All I know is it'd be great to hang out at a sports bar with Niners fans since most of my friends are lame and like other teams, don't watch the NFL, or root for whatever team is doing well.

ATTN: All sportswriters - we do not want Sanchez

Rishi — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:42:04 -0000

So stop putting it in your damn mock drafts.

Normally, this wouldn't warrent its own post, but mock draft after mock draft say a couple things:

1) Mark Sanchez is a top ten talent (he's not)

2) If he isn't picked up by the Lions or the Chiefs, the Niners will take him (they won't)

3) Shaun Hill is a non-factor (he's awesome)

4) The Niners can't win big with Hill (they can and will)

Singletary loves Shaun Hill. He showed tremendous faith in him, especially during the Rams game when he had a JTO-esque performance before bouncing back in epic fashion. The team has a thousand more important needs than another fourteen-game starter who is more a product of the talent around him than anything else.

Plus, if Alex Smith is resigned to a different deal, he'll push Shaun Hill, but that's it.

Stick with the guy who's winning games. Say no to Sanchez.