SB Nation User Blog: yellow fever

Fantasy Week in Review - Week 14

yellow fever — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:09:56 -0000

IT'S NOT OVER YET!

League 1, 2

1t. class of 87 - 148
1t. rickysanchez - 148

3. Montezuma's Revenge - 143
4. goshatgo - 142
5t. AussieBrian - 140
5t. Clean Cut Media - 140
5t. NorcalNick'sPicks - 140
5t. kmando - 140
5t. vanman1013 - 140
5t. tmoran3020's picks suck - 140
5t. Josh in Portland - 140

What to do? We ultimately decided that the best thing to do would be the extend the competition between class of 87 and rickysanchez to this year's College Bowl Pick'em.

So sign up here, and sign up for league #20598, and use the password "gobears". As before, if there's enough demand we'll set up another league. Whomever performs better between class of 87 and rickysanchez will get the $50 gift card to the Cal student store, but that shouldn't stop everyone else from signing up too. Maybe we'll come up with other random goodies for whomever happens to win the Bowl Pick'em if it's not one of our two regular season leaders.

Not a whole lot of games this week to pick from. With only nine games, four people tied for first for the week with six correct picks: Thoroughbred's Winners, Moscow Doug, Barney Barnerges, and YellaWoodPremiumDeathPaneling. That's one hell of a pick set name right there.
Only six people correctly took Pittsburgh +1.5 against Cincinnati. Sixteen took Nebraska +14.5 against Texas.
Only two people took Washington +7 against our Bears. These people are worthy of your slings and arrows. These people also happen to be named YellaWoodPremiumDeathPaneling and CalPete likes beer.

Eating the Enemy: Washington and Civil War Open Thread

yellow fever — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:13:59 -0000

AWWWWW DUBS IS JUST TOO CUTE TO EAT

So why don't we all just use this recipe to make him some more treats? From HuskyHaven.org:

SUPER TASTY DOG COOKIES

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tbs. Garlic powder (may adjust to your smell)
2 tbs. Knorr instant beef stock mix (may substitute veggie or chicken stock mix)
2 tbs. bacon bits
6 tbs. oil
2/3 cup water (approximate)

Mix together well. Roll out to approximately 1 inch thick and cut out with dog biscuit "bone" cutter or some cookie cutter that is appropriate. Bake at 350 for approximately 35-45 minutes. Basting regularly with meat drippings or bacon fat.

When cooled, store them in an airtight zip-lock bag, freeze or give them as gifts. Dogs really love these!

Use this as your open thread for tonight's Civil War for the Rose Bowl. Civil War for the Roses? War of the Roses? Civil War of the Roses? Anyway, go...Ducks! I think.

Fantasy Week in Review - Week 13

yellow fever — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:48:01 -0000

CHAMPION!

Nov. 29, 2009

Rag's Doombringers won the California Golden Blogs Championship by a score of 164 to 128 over Yellow Fever.Toby Gerhart led the team in scoring in the championship round and he also led the team in scoring for the season. Congrats once again to Rag's Doombringers on a terrific College Fantasy Football Season. Hope to see you all next year!

So close, yet so far. But really, I knew I had no chance once I saw Jerrod Johnson's stat line. Watching Jonathan Dwyer and Josh Nesbitt get stuffed repeatedly by the Georgia defense didn't help a whole lot either, especially considering that Tonka Toby was running Charlie Weis right out of South Bend at the same time with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.

But it's ok, it's not like I paid for season tickets to watch my favorite basketball team set a NBA record for consecutive losses to start the season or anything.

Oh wait. FML.

COLLEGE PICK'EM STANDINGS

League 1, 2

1t. rickysanchez - 145
1t. class of 87 - 145
3. Montezuma's Revenge - 140
4t. goshatgo - 138
4t. Clean Cut Media - 138
6t. Josh in Portland - 137
6t. AussieBrian - 137
6t. runk runk runk - 137
9t. vanman1013 - 136
9t. tmoran3020's picks suck - 136

Certainly looks like either rickysanchez or class of 87 are going to be the ones to pull this out, as there are only nine games to pick this week.

This week's winners? Thoroughbred's Winners and LEastCoastBears, who both had 11 correct picks for the week. Both misfired on Pittsburgh (even) against West Virginia, North Carolina -6 against N.C. State, LSU -3.5 to Arkansas, and UCLA +13 against USC. I don't even know what to say about that last one.
Only eight people correctly picked Illinois +21 against Cincinnati, ten picked West Virginia straight up against Pittsburgh, five picked N.C. State +6 against North Carolina, seven picked Mississippi State +8 against Mississippi.
A disturbing number of people picked UCLA. Truly disturbing.
And this was cut out of the above picture for the college fantasy football league, but I had both Jacquizz Rodgers and Jeremiah Masoli on a bye last week. A bye! My two best guys! This coming on the heels of almost losing last year's championship to HydroTech because Javon Ringer had a bye. I need to look at these schedules next year.

Rags, please let us hear your victory speech. Congratulations!

Eating the Enemy: The Furd--112th Big Game Pregame/1st Quarter Open Thread

yellow fever — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:39:12 -0000

Gingerbread Tree Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups light molasses
1/4 cup white vinegar
10 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 container (3 ounces) cinnamon red-hot candies (about 1/3 cup)
Confectioners' sugar, optional
Clear Contact paper (optional)
10-inch flat serving plate
Patterns

Directions

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, molasses and vinegar; mix well. Combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves; gradually add to creamed mixture. Cover and chill overnight.
To prepare star pattern: Trace each star size onto waxed paper and cut out. If you would like to preserve the patterns, copy them, cover both sides with Contact paper and cut out. On a lightly floured surface, roll a portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness; keep rest refrigerated.
To cut out stars: Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut around star patterns. You will need a total of 33 cookies--two treetop stars; three each of stars 1-4 and 9; and four each of stars 5-8. Place 12 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Press a red-hot candy into the center of each treetop star; press red hot candies into points of the rest of the stars. In one number 9 star, make two indentations as shown on the pattern (to hold the treetop stars in place).
To bake: Place all cookies in a 350° oven and bake until lightly browned on the edges; 5 minutes for treetop stars; 8-10 minutes for numbers 6-9; 11-12 minutes for numbers 1-5. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks and cool completely.
To assemble: Starting with star number 1, stack stars on the serving plate, staggering star points. For a natural-looking tree as shown in the photo at left, the sizes are alternated in the following order: 1-1-2-1-2-3-2-3-4-5-4-5-5-6-5-6-6-7-6-7-7-8-7-8-8-9-8-9-9 ( with indentations). Place the two tree top stars in the indentations, leaning back to back. Dust tree with confectioners' sugar if desired. To serve, pass the entire tree. Yield: 33 cookies.

CHOMP.

Use this thread to discuss all the Pregame and First Quarter 112th Big Game Action. GO BEARS! Don't forget to vote in the CGB Insta-Poll.

Poll

How is Cal going to play against Stanford?

Cal is going to play very well

10 votes

Cal is going to play moderately well

4 votes

Cal is going to play moderately poorly

5 votes

Cal is going to play very poorly

4 votes

23 votes | Poll has closed

Fantasy Week in Review - Week 11

yellow fever — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:13:51 -0000

League 1, 2

Rank	Pick Set Name	Total Points	W-L
1	rickysanchez	125	125-87
2	class of 87	124	124-88
T-3	Clean Cut Media	122	122-90
T-3	Montezuma’s Revenge	122	122-90
5	vanman1013	120	120-92
6	NorcalNick'sPicks	119	119-93
7	goshatgo	118	118-94
8	CalPete likes beer	117	117-95
9	gigglingone's picks	117	117-95
10	tmoran3020's picks suck	117	117-95

rickysanchez takes over with a 13/21 week, while class of 87 falls after an 11/21 week.
Three people tied for the weekly lead, Tedford is God, AaronTheAwesome, and LEastCoastBears, correctly picking 14 games. AaronTheAwesome actually managed to pick 14/20 correctly, since he didn't make a pick for the Thursday night Cincinnati/West Virginia game. AaronTheAwesome and Tedford is God both incorrectly picked Houston, BYU, Miami, Utah, and Florida, though the only one of that group that LEastCoastBears got wrong was Utah, having correctly picked the other five games.

Only five people picked UCF + 4.5 against Houston. Seven took UNC + 7 against Miami, eight took West Virginia + 8.5 against Cincinnati, and nine people took New Mexico +26.5 against BYU.
At a glance, it seems like the majority of people took Stanford +10.5 against USC.
Twenty people picked Arizona to cover the three point spread against our Bears. You know who you are.

COLLEGE FANTASY FOOTBALL

PLAYOFFS? PLAYOFFS! WHO-WH-PLAYOFFS? YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PLAYOFFS?

Why, yes.

Your playoff matchups are Syd lines up under center vs Rags' Doombringers and Yellow Fever facing off against dballers_are_all_loose. Who will triumph? Yellow Fever and dball are both relying on defenses facing the crappiest offenses in all the land!

Fantasy Week in Review - Week 10 and Friday Night Open Thread

yellow fever — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:09:49 -0000

Use this as tonight's open thread for Cincinnati/West Virginia. Go Big East!

League 1, 2

Rank	Pick Set Name	Points
1	class of 87	113
2	rickysanchez	112
3	Montezuma's Revenge	111
4t	Clean Cut Media	109
4t	tmoran3020's picks suck	109
6	vanman1013	108
7t	AERose	107
7t	Takimoto	107
9t	AussieBrian	106
9t	NorcalNick'sPicks	106
9t	goshatgo	106
9t	gigglingone's picks	106
9t	Josh in Portland	106

class of 87 finally vaults back to the top spot that he would have held earlier had he realized that we were picking against the spread in Week 1. Will his lead hold up?

Fun facts for the week:

The best picker for this week, by far, was One if by Land Two if by C - going 16/22. The only misses were Boise State - 21 against Louisiana Tech, Texas -36 against UCF, PSU - 3.5 to Ohio State, New Mexico + 27.5 against Utah, and Oklahoma - 5.5 to Nebraska. The next best performers were CalPete likes beer and vanman1013 at 14/22, and rickysanchez at 13/22. Our leader this week, class of 87, went 12/22.
Only five people correctly picked Louisiana Tech + 21 against Boise State. Four people didn't even pick the game because of how early it was in the week. The same number picked Navy + 11 against Notre Dame, and Stanford + 7 against Oregon. Six picked Arizona State + 10 against USC, and nine picked Connecticut + 17 against Cincinnati.
Six people incorrectly picked Virginia + 13.5 against Miami. Come on now, it's Al Groh!
Eighteen people picked Oregon State + 7 against our Bears. I don't even want to list them all, but you know who you are.

COLLEGE FANTASY FOOTBALL

We're coming down the stretch, and dballers_are_all_loose are now showing some cracks in their armor.

Yellow Fever def. 1 130-91
TimeForSomeAction def. Rag's Doombringers 129.25-102
HolmoePhobes def. dballers_are_all_loose 129-75
Rock Runners def. Ghosts of Ty Willingham 112-33
Syd lines up under center def. Energia del Burro 132-103.5

West Division
Team	W	L	T	PCT	GB	Strk	Div	Wks	PF	Back	PA
dballers_are_all_loose	8	2	0	0.800	0	L1	4-1-0	1	1162.2	120.2	957.2
Yellow Fever	6	4	0	0.600	2	W2	1-3-0	2	1140.2	142.2	1133.5
Rock Runners	6	4	0	0.600	2	W1	2-3-0	0	1022.8	259.8	1010.8
Holmoe Phobes	5	5	0	0.500	3	W1	3-2-0	1	1158.5	124.0	1068.5
The Ghosts of Ty Willingham	2	8	0	0.200	6	L3	2-3-0	0	633.8	648.8	1044.5

East Division
Team	W	L	T	PCT	GB	Strk	Div	Wks	PF	Back	PA
Syd lines up under center	7	3	0	0.700	0	W3	3-2-0	1	1205.0	77.5	1008.8
Rag's Doombringers	6	4	0	0.600	1	L2	3-2-0	5	1282.5	0.0	1130.2
TimeForSomeAction	5	5	0	0.500	2	W1	3-2-0	0	1088.8	193.8	1051.5
Energia del Burro	4	6	0	0.400	3	L1	3-2-0	0	1056.0	226.5	1028.0
1	1	9	0	0.100	6	L1	0-4-0	0	836.2	446.2	1153.0

I don't quite remember how the tiebreakers work, but it looks like we could have some issues sorting out who's going to be heading to the playoffs this year, as this is the last week of the regular season. Go team.

Eating the Enemy: Arizona and Thursday Night Open Thread

yellow fever — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:22:05 -0000

Jimmy the B's Wildcat Barbecue Spice Rub

The Washington Post, January 11, 2006

Cuisine: American

Course: Condiment

Features: Healthy, Fast

Summary:

This rub tastes better than store-bought brands we've tried. Use it with BBQ Quesadillas With Jay's Quick and Easy Barbecue Sauce.

Makes about 1/4 cup

Ingredients:

3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted*

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted*

2 1/2 pieces dried chipotle peppers, toasted*, broken into pieces, seeds removed

2 teaspoons diced sun-dried tomatoes, not packed in oil (optional)

2 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard

1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a food processor or spice grinder and pulse until the spices are well blended. (Remove the large pieces of sun-dried tomatoes, if using.) Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

To toast the cumin and coriander seeds:

*Note: To toast the cumin and coriander seeds, place a small skillet over medium heat. Add the seeds (do this in separate batches) and toast, shaking the pan occasionally, until the spices are fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cool completely. To toast the dried chili peppers, place them in a dry skillet over moderate heat for 1 to 2 minutes, watching carefully so they don't burn.

Probably better than eating actual wildcat. You don't know where it's been! Anyway, use this as your open thread for tonight's Rutgers/South Florida game. Go Scarlet Knights!

Fantasy Week in Review - Week 9

yellow fever — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:05:37 -0000

League 1, 2

1. Montezuma's Revenge - 103
2. class of 87 - 101
3. rickysanchez - 99
4t. Clean Cut Media - 98
4t. Takimoto - 98
4t. Josh in Portland - 98
7. tmoran3020's picks suck - 97
8t. gigglingone's picks - 96
8t. goshatgo - 96

Montezuma's Revenge is still in first on the heels of a particularly strong showing two weeks ago, but can he hold on with his lead dwindling?

LengthyCoast9 and CalPete likes beer tied for top honors this week, going 14/19. LengthyCoast9 misfired taking West Virginia - 3 against South Florida, New Mexico State +44 against Ohio State, Oklahoma -28 against Kansas State, USC - 3 against Oregon, and Utah -17 against Wyoming. CalPete likes beer incorrectly picked New Mexico State, Vanderbilt +12 against Georgia Tech, Notre Dame - 28 against Wazzu, South Carolina +6 against Tennessee, and Utah.
The Golden Sombrero for the week goes to badassery, Is it Saturday yet? and Intelligent Chowder? with 6/19. No, that's not intelligent, chowder.
I went 7/19. So yeah.
38 people picked Oregon +3, against 19 who took USC and laid the points. Go Ducks.
Two people picked Syracuse +15 against Cincinnati. I mean, I know Tony Pike was out, but seriously. What the hell are you thinking? Four people picked Vanderbilt against Georgia Tech. Come on, people.
Ten people correctly picked Wake against Miami. The same number picked Wyoming against Utah.

COLLEGE FANTASY FOOTBALL

I beat Rags 146-136.5. That's it. That's the highlight of my year. I'm taking the rest of the post off.

Syd lines up under center def. HolmoePhobes 145-93

1 def. Ghosts of Ty Willingham 119-77

dballers_are_all_loose def. Rock Runners 114-38.5

Energia del Burro def. TimeForSomeAction 114-108

West Division
Team	W	L	T	PCT	GB	Strk	Div	Wks	PF	Back	PA
dballers_are_all_loose	8	1	0	0.889	0	W1	4-0-0	1	1077.2	103.2	828.2
Yellow Fever	5	4	0	0.556	3	W1	1-3-0	2	1010.2	170.2	1042.5
Rock Runners	5	4	0	0.556	3	L1	1-3-0	0	910.8	269.8	977.8
Holmoe Phobes	4	5	0	0.444	4	L2	2-2-0	1	1029.5	151.0	993.5
The Ghosts of Ty Willingham	2	7	0	0.222	6	L2	2-2-0	0	600.8	579.8	922.5

East Division
Team	W	L	T	PCT	GB	Strk	Div	Wks	PF	Back	PA
Rag's Doombringers	6	3	0	0.667	0	L1	3-1-0	5	1180.5	0.0	1001.0
Syd lines up under center	6	3	0	0.667	0	W2	2-2-0	0	1073.0	107.5	905.2
TimeForSomeAction	4	5	0	0.444	2	L1	2-2-0	0	959.5	221.0	949.5
Energia del Burro	4	5	0	0.444	2	W2	3-1-0	0	952.5	228.0	896.0
1	1	8	0	0.111	5	W1	0-4-0	0	745.2	435.2	1023.0

Eating the Enemy: Oregon State + Cal-Chico State Men's Basketball Open Thread

yellow fever — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:15:22 -0000

Beaver with Sour Cream

Ingredients

2-4 pounds of cut beaver
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprkia
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
Oil to cover
1 onion

Clean beaver and soak overnight in salted water (1 tablespoon salt per quart of water). Drain, cut up, and roll in 1/2 cup flour seasoned with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon parika. Fry in fat until browned. Then cover the beaver with sliced onion. Sprinkle onion slices with 1/2 teaspon salt. Add 1/2 cup water. Cover skillet tightly. Simmer for 1 hour. Add 1 cup sour cream in last 15 minutes of cooking time. Serves 2-4.

I don't know about you guys, but I often enjoy beaver on the weekends.

This is your open thread for Cal-Chico State. After the jump, some details on tonight's exhibition matchup.

Farudo helps us out with how to see the game.

Tonight’s exhibition game is not being carried over KFRC-1550 AM. But fans can pick it up through CBS online, with Roxy Bernstein and Tom McKim calling the action, as usual. You can find the link at the bottom of this Cal news release.

Here's the All-Access video link, although I think you have to pay for Cal All-Access, $8 or something a month. You can cancel it at your lesiure; there are a few more non-televised games on Cal hoops the rest of the season though. You can also listen to the game on Chico State radio.

For people who want something free, there might be a link to the scoreboard feed later on sans play-by-play. If it's available, we'll post it in the comments close to tipoff, look out for it.

As for Chico State, here's a quick look at their team. A direct contrast to Cal with four returning senior starters, Chico State has a bunch of hoopsters who'll be playing together for the first time.

Flores is one of many new faces on the Chico State team that has been picked to finish eighth in the 12-team California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Coaches’ Poll. The Wildcats were 8-19 last season, but only three players from that team will be in uniform against Cal – Zach Graves, Roderick Hawkins, and Nick Lonnegren. Chris Sharp will miss the game and may miss the entire year with a broken foot, and Joshua Jackson is redshirting this season.

Flores, a sophomore transfer from Sonoma State, and freshmen Ethan Stone, Spencer Moyer, Damario Sims, Jake Lovisolo, Powell Lee, and Cameron Fenley each joined the program last season and redshirted. Brian Seals, Darren Nye, Jason Conrad, and Terence Pellum transferred in this year. Jon Baird returns after a two-year hiatus for his senior season.

Here's some video of them in practice.

As for the university itself, I'm sure they have fine institutions...but, well...

Come on, you didn't think I was going to end this without displaying the kicking Chico night life?

Secondary focus to the game: Relate your Chico State anecdotes.

DBD 10.30.09 Here Comes the Pain

yellow fever — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:38:54 -0000

Tonight is the Nets' home opener (and hopefully the last one that will require me to connect from subway to train to bus in a span of 40 minutes) and if Wednesday's opener against the Timberwolves in Minnesota is any indication, I'm in for a long year.

For three quarters, the great Minnesota center had an uncomfortably close view of Lopez’s coming-out party, as his young opponent dominated him in every way imaginable, while the rest of the Nets helped make Big Al look like ... well, a guy coming off ACL surgery.

But right around the time they fell into a 16-point hole, Jefferson and the Wolves held Lopez scoreless in the fourth quarter, held the Nets to one field goal in the last 6:51 minutes, and yielded a grand total of two points in the last 3:13.

And that gave Damien Wilkins the opportunity to provide the finishing touch, as he hit a short follow at the buzzer to cap a 24-6 blitz to the wire and lift the Wolves to an improbable 95-93 victory at Target Center.

Thrilling, really. I'm totally psyched to watch them go 12-29 at home this year.

Poll

Which Nets jersey should I pick up tonight?

Courtney Lee

6 votes

Terrence Williams

3 votes

Brook Lopez

6 votes

15 votes | Poll has closed