2008 UCF FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Aug. 30 - South Carolina State
Sept. 5 (Fri.) - USF (ESPN)
Sept. 20 - at Boston College
Sept. 27 - at UTEP
Oct. 4 - SMU
Oct. 11 - at Miami (Fla.)
Oct. 26 (Sun.) - at Tulsa (ESPN)
Nov. 2 (Sun.) - East Carolina (ESPN)
Nov. 8 - Southern Miss
Nov. 15 - at Marshall
Nov. 22 - at Memphis
Nov. 29 - UAB

Conference Games = Bold

USF, BC, Miami, Tulsa, ECU, Southern Miss are all the games that we could drop (yeah, yeah, any given saturday/etc..). That puts us anywhere from 6-6 to probably, I donno, 9-3. I'll adjust my optimism/pessimism meter after the spring game ;)

Three ESPN games for sure though. Just on odd days.

Johannes Grenzfurthner from MonoChrom (or maybe Boing Boing would be a better reference for some of you..) will be talking/presenting on some of their recent projects at Red Light Red Light tonight out in Winter Park.

Johannes is based out of Vienna, Austria and here on vacation. It'll be a rare opportunity to see some pretty neat artsy/tech projects right in our own backyard. He joined us for Florida Creatives last night and is a really enjoyable guy.

If nothing else, Red Light Red Light is a great beer joint ;)

8pm tonight, above Dexter's in Winter Park.

If anyone is interested, downtown Orlando will be visited by Mayor Giuliani Monday morning.

Doors open at 9:45am and it's a free event.

225 South Garland Ave.
Orlando, FL

Yep.

See you there ;)

Is there any particularly good reason why O-Rock and 740 both disappeared?

Surely, it's a money thing.. but man oh man.. Orlando local radio suuuuucks. Real radio during the day is okay, but then you have a poor mans love line mixed with stereotypical dj cliches at night. It's like listening to an ongoing family guy joke. My brother and I were reminiscing about how Monsters used to make fun of those idiots all the time.. now they're the night time show. Awwkward.

And yes, 101.1 is still around, but if I wanted to listen to Nickelback... wait.. What am I saying.. I'd never want to listen to those hacks, nor do I want to listen to any of the other corporate trash that WJRR plays.

Do the radio station corporations own a chunk of satellite radio? Are they trying to make FM radio die a painful death? Or has Orlando just rapidly changed its demographics to the point where only Spanish, manufactured pop and cheesy over-produced lameo-rock stations are able to survive?

I guess I just don't understand the business behind local radio. I'm sure margins are tight and everything is pre-planned and digital now. It just sucks, that's all.

Thank god for my iPod and my tape deck connector.... New school meets the old.

Just getting back from Memphis after attending what will undoubtedly be the most boring bowl game of the year for most folks. If you are not a UCF fan or a MSU fan, you probably fell asleep by the third quarter. We had a group of ten though and managed to have a great time regardless of the score/play.

On the game
We knew going in that Kyle Israel was going to have to play well for us to be able to put it away. Turns out, that was highly prophetic. MSU played almost as poorly, but reigned it in when it mattered most. Congrats to Croom on their turn around this season. 10-3 was the final score, with MSU scoring a touchdown off an interception late in the 4th quarter. That's right. We spent 95% of the game tied at 3-3. Fascinating.

On Kyle's play
Kyle has had a pretty solid senior year. He's a great kid and a hell of a student athlete. I'm thankful for what he has done at UCF and I think he will make a fine ambassador for the program.

However...

This may have been one of the worst first half performances I've ever witnessed (I've already blocked the USF game from my memory). Kyle typically makes great decisions (60% completion rate prior to Saturday), but for whatever reason he tends to get overly excited when facing a 'name' opponent. Telegraphing his throws, missing open receivers all over, passing into tight coverage and over/under throwing balls. This kind of thing plagued us the majority of the game. Three interceptions, two of them being completely poor decisions and completely inexcusable. (That last one was just a great defensive play by MSU. I think he got hit right when he released and it was pretty tight coverage.) One dimensional play isn't going to win a bowl game.

Here's what MSU's Derek Pegues had to say about his interceptions after the game;

He just threw it right to me both times, and I was lucky to catch the ball.

My thoughts exactly.

If I were in GOL's shoes, I would have put in Greco for at least one series after that second interception just to mix it up and see what happens. On the other hand, Bowl games are rewards, and Kyle deserves to play his last game.. It's just... man... I guess the backup QB is always the most popular.

On Torres missing two FG's
He has been automatic all year. People are allowed a bad game. It's unfortunate that his happened to be Saturday night, but he's not to blame for this one. Plus, the momentum argument is simply to hypothetical for me. No doubt the misses hurt though.

On 24k
The SEC homers are trying to play it up as Kevin being shut down. Limited, sure, but If hanging 120 on one of the best rushing defenses in the country is being shutdown, especially with 9 in the box and zero concern for the passing game, then Kevin is truly one hell of a back (keep in mind, McFadden ran for 88 on MSU). I'm not sure what game they were watching but in mine I saw a running back get hit in the backfield and still get positive yardage more often than not. He had a fumble that from our vantage point looked like either a strip or a bad hand off, I couldn't tell but I'm sure the DVR will hold the answer. That many carries with no pass relief and its bound to happen. We also got Kevin involved a bit more in what little passing game we had. I hope we see a lot more of it next year.

On UCF's defense
Outstanding. It helped that MSU was having a terrible offensive game, but still some of the best pass rushing I've seen from the Knights. We still can't seem to handle mobile quarterbacks well, and I think MSU would have been better served giving Dixon a few more touches in the middle. He would have had a much bigger night.

When your offense gives up 4 turnovers, and it's still 3-3 late in the fourth, the defense has done its job. We should be even stronger next year.

On cowbells
Talk about over-hyped. They weren't banned cause they are loud (they really weren't), they're banned because they're f'n stupid. It would seem that MSU fans forget to yell and instead rely on what ultimately sounds like locusts. For weeks all we heard were these jokers talking about cowbells like they were some sort of magic. 55,000 of them and I was completely unimpressed. From the hype you'd have thought my ears would have been bleeding. Not that I'm disappointed, but I'll take a 100% steel constructed stadium any day of the week. Add 20,000 to the top of Brighthouse and it's going to be deadly.

And seriously. Cowbells for bulldogs? And yeah, I know the story about the cow wandering on to the field and beating Ole Miss 80 years ago, but that only makes it seem even more sad.

On MSU fans
Most of the folks we met were mighty fine, but man. The more some of those backwoods frat types drank on Beale, the more I realized how thankful I am not to live in Mississippi. President Eisenhower pushed for the highway system specifically so people there could leave. The smart ones did, the rest started breeding. Then again, Southern Miss fans have never really seemed to bad. Maybe there's just something in the water in Hattiesburg that saves them from Mississippi's burgeoning idiocracy. Either that, or I haven't experienced enough Southern Miss fans.

On Memphis
When we got off the plane, we weren't sure if we should adjust our clocks to central time or to 1988. The sweet smell of charcoal BBQ was immediate and welcomed though and the towns support for the Memphis Tigers was great to see.

I had been warned that Memphis is pretty ghetto. After living in not-so-nice areas of D.C, I didn't really think much of it. I should have. The city has a we'll-rob-your-ass-in-broad-day-light vibe to it. During the game, a couple people in our group had their hotel room broken into through the window and everything was taken. We went out to Silkie's and ran into a friend from DC (an MSU fan). They had some dude come flying into their table, and then somehow or another some girl hit someone they were with. It turned into a little huffy puff and they were looking to press charges. The bouncer told her that it was simply "the manner of the town" and the cops didn't seem to give a shit. Nice.

Basically, the downtown area looks like every last penny was spent on a two block area. The rest of the town looks like a pre-storm 9th ward. Evidently, the apathy towards crime and shit poor behavior is just as bad. It's sad to see a town with such strong history and culture completely accept their crime as simply, as the bouncer put it, the "manner of the town."

It's great to know that whoever wins C-USA is rewarded with such an awesome destination. I think next time we'll try staying in Nashville.

On Silkies...
The same bouncer told me that there were in fact goats there, but they were behind the tents and you couldn't get to them. I didn't see them, and therefore I do not believe that they exist. If any place wasn't worth the cover, it was this joint anyhow. Unless you're meeting someone there (like we were), don't bother.

The best bars seemed to be B.B. Kings and Pat O's. Both are chains, and both are in Orlando. That was really really disappointing. We did see an Elvis impersonator sporting a disgusting male camel toe at club 152 though. That's gotta be worth something. Just not $5 cover.

On Graceland...
Graceland was so fantastically awful and cheesy it's beyond words. The museum of jump suits is now one of my favorite places on Earth. The captions talk about how stylish they were for the time, but Kat accurately pointed out that no one else was wearing such things. They seemed to get more elaborate and eccentric with every pill Elvis popped and you can totally tell when the bedazzler was released.

I really don't mean to keep ripping on Mississippi, but I'd be neglectful if I didn't point out that the MSU fans seemed to be really really into it. It was hard to make it through the mansion with all of their photo taking. I'm pretty sure at least one of them is putting together some sort of Elvis scrapbook to sell on eBay in an attempt to pay for their trip. Sure was a classy place, eh bulldogs? Enjoy your new commemorative plate.

Trip Highlight
For me, it was the food. Ryan arranged for a get together at Central BBQ before the game. The ribs were pretty dang tasty and the pulled pork was top notch. We didn't get to Rendevous, but I'd certainly recommend Central BBQ. On Sunday, we went to Gus's for fried chicken. Probably the best I've ever had. Definitely worth the time if you find yourself in Memphis. Corky's was okay, but I enjoyed Central more.

Anyhow.. It was fun and I value the experience, warts and all. We'll see you again next year, Liberty Bowl ;)

Check out this run, simply incredible. This kid gets better every game:


Yikes. Not even a facemask will stop 24K.

After the run, ESPN commentator says,

"Let me tell you something.. You are witnessing one of next years Heisman frontrunners early. Right now. He's auditioning. All he's got to do is come back to the University of Central Florida, UCF, and he's going to be on everybody's Heisman list. There's no way you can deny that young man of that."

I can't describe what's taking place out in East Orlando. I know I keep writing about it, but man.. The Texas game was fun, but you could tell there wasn't that sense of ownership fans have over an on campus stadium. Each week the game day experience has gotten better and better. This past Saturday was the first game where the atmosphere truly eclipsed most other college games that I've attended. And I mean that as in, anywhere. Not just UCF. There's something to loading up 44,000+ in a giant steel drum that bounces and sways in response to crowd participation. It's like watching a game in RFK up in DC, only without the risk of hepatitis and a stolen wallet. When the school gets around to adding another 20,000 seats to that place, it's going to be simply incredible. Very good things in UCF's future.

As far as the BCS debacle, well.. Told ya so, as did just about every other big football fan this year. All I can hope for is that this brings about a +1 system. I see that as at least a step towards a real life playoff. There are 7 teams right now that could make a reasonable argument for being in the NC game. Playoffs would give them all a chance (I see 8 as the magic number using rankings, 16 if a selection committee/conference champions are used). Playoffs work for every other level of football, and it'd be no different for D1a. In fact, it'd probably turn into the craziest sporting event of the year and generate more money than anything currently possible under the current bowl structure. More excitement, more money and a true national championship. Stop stalling, already.

Speaking of bowls, and back to UCF, we purchased our liberty bowl tickets and will be attending the game in Memphis, TN on December 29th against Mississippi State. If you're looking to attend, I'd buy tickets ASAP through UCF's ticket office -- 407-823-1000. MSU has reportedly sold 13,000 tickets in just under a day.

Go knights.

I believe that dissent is patriotic.

I also believe that a high concentration of the people who attend demonstrations like these are clinically nuts (certainly not all of them, to be fair).

I just got back from taking a bunch of photos from the war protest taking place over at Lake Eola. The idea of the protest itself is completely fine by me. The peaceful expression of what is an extremely emotional issue is why we're so lucky to live here. It provokes conversation and discussion. It encourages people to research their thoughts and educate themselves. It serves as a mechanism to drive voter participation. Without protest, without that sense of "cognitive dissonance", we'd endanger the conversation and discourse that's so desperately needed in this country.

The thing is, for every parent who has suffered the loss of a child, for every pacifist who doesn't believe in violence, for every student who disagrees with our foreign policy, there are a handful of people who haven't cut their hair since 1959 and look like they're stoned out of their minds. Then you get the absurd Vietnam-vets-were-baby-killers crowd, the increasingly ridiculous 9-11 truther crowd (side note: Bill Mayher is right, 4 mins in), and the straight up we-hate-america folks. Everyone has the right to peaceful assembly, but the presence of some of these stereotypes truly undermines any reasonable effort these protesters have at being taken seriously.

"Bush = Hitler," really? Don't you see how that makes you come across as not only ignorant of world history, but also as a little bit looney? On one hand, we have Hitler. The definition of all that is evil. A murderer of tens of millions of people. Someone hell bent on the complete domination of Europe by a largely inferior Germany and smart enough to have had a realistic chance of it until the rest of the world came together in their own defense. The man was systematically attempting to erase an entire race of people. On the other hand, we have Bush. He responded to an attack that took place on domestic soil in a controversial way after he was given a blank check by a dual-party congress elected (and re-elected) by the American people. We're not sure if he can read.

Yeah. I can see how the two are similar. Why don't we all listen to your thoughts on foreign policy?

I admire most of the folks who braved the rain this afternoon to come downtown. I admire the counter-protesters who did the same. I can't wait for the day in the future when so much of the confusion and the pain surrounding 9/11 and its aftermath has been resolved. I just wish the current state of the world wasn't such a breeding ground for conspiracy, conjecture, hyperbole and cynicism. People forget that in some countries, criticizing the government would be enough to have them thrown in jail. People forget that while they're complaining about the rain that came during their protest, volunteer soldiers are fighting overseas for a country that they love.

I hope those carrying these anti-Bush/anti-America signs are at least able to recognize the irony.

Kiel was able to score a couple of VIP passes to the Republican Debates held here in Orlando on Sunday night. Massive, massive thank you to him for bringing me along.

It was a pretty crazy event. We went early enough to walk around, take it all in and talk to some folks. The whole political process, when viewed up close, is extremely surreal and probably the best people watching you can possibly ask for. Some of you know what Kathryn does for a living, but for those of you that don't... well, I've been around it in some shape or form for a little while now. Seeing it all take place in our hometown, and being right up close to all the candidates at once though, was a really cool experience. Kiel and I had 5th or 6th row seats with our names on them, which meant that we were just to the side of the moderators (crazy close) and were probably the only "commoners" in the immediate area.

I won't go into how I feel about various candidates or anything like that (if you like politics, feel free to ask me in person.. I've grown immune to discussing it and keep a pretty open/even mind), but afterwards we walked up to the stage where a couple of the "2nd tier" candidates were hanging around conversing with folks. Gov. Huckabee, who has been gaining momentum lately, was one of them.

I previously mentioned that he's a member of the same college fraternity I was active in back in the day (TKE). I think his son is an active member and he was brought in as an honorary, but I'm not sure the details. I was having trouble getting his attention (he had a really big crowd around him) and his handlers were trying to walk him off the stage. I finally shouted, "Good luck, Frater!" and he turned around with "Are you a teke?! God bless you, frater." and reached back to shake my hand. Yeah, I slipped him the secret cool guy handshake. That's how we roll. I'm not sure he caught it though ;)

I have always heard stories of how President Reagan would go out of his way to shake hands with tekes, and I'm sure every frat has their own similar story. With Reagan, the line is that he's the only president to have visited a fraternity house while in office (Fundraiser at Purdue, I believe), and he mentions TKE occasionally in his diaries. He remained active in the fraternity as an alumni pretty much until he was completely unable. I've seen his signature on a letter to TKE as late as 1999.

It probably seems extremely silly to the vast majority of folks, heck, it seems silly to me simply writing about it, but it makes for fun conversation. I've served as a Chapter Advisor (up at Maryland) and occasionally try to help mentor/advise some of the guys down here at UCF (just for good karma, not in any official capacity). Alumni stories help inspire kids to over achieve (one less game of beer-pong, one more hour of studying.. or, you know.. not.. whatever). "Look what this guy, who you have something in common with, has been able to do." I now have my own first hand account to share and can quit making it all up as I go along. Rad ;)

Anyway, the day was a lot of fun. If I understand correctly, Democrats are refusing to campaign in Florida over some political beef with the state party (translation: if you're a dem in florida, your primary vote no longer counts for anything). Seems a bit short sighted to completely boycott such a battle ground state. If this election comes down to Florida again, and Dem's lose, they officially have no one to blame but themselves. It also would have been hella' interesting to compare/contrast similar events from different sides of the aisle. Maybe next time around...

Likemind tomorrow at B&S Daily Market. Folks start getting there 7:45-8ish am (its a morning thing), and usually hang out until 10 or so (or whenever they have to be at work). A few of us stick around to do a little informal coworking session afterwards, all are welcome.

B&S has a kickass coffee menu, some morning type food, and a few lunch things. They're amping up on the lunch offerings but not sure if they'll be in place yet.

This likemind, there is a global question all cities will be discussing around the same time: If you could rebuild your city from scratch, what would you do differently? What would you keep the same?

Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow :) If you've never been, consider this your invite! Here's a map to B&S Daily Market.

Wow. Jason Hawkins is super duper talented, and this video totally captures the complete awesomeness of the event. Well done again to everyone involved in organizing this thing (esp. gregg / larry ). Fired up already for the next one!

Today at 6pm, Crooked Bayou, Downtown Orlando.

I recommend the tater tots.

So.. At our lunch get together last week, we tried to come up with a name for the "event". Something we could refer to it as and repeat in the future.. Afterwards, Dan came up with "lunch_fu". Immediately, it made me think of an ass kicking sandwich.

A quick e-mail to Alex Hillman in philly, who has a friend with an art class, and a student named Alfonso Callejas. Next thing you know, we have a sketch of a sandwich that kicks some serious ass. Judson comes to the rescue and provides the colorization, and well..

We now have an official lunch_fu superhero. Created by members of the internet, for the internet, to save the internet from hunger pains. After all, low blood sugar is our biggest threat. Man.. This just brings a tear to my eye..


Now, the next step. This new crime fighting lunch superhero needs a name.

Suggestions?

The saying goes that if internet message boards were purely representative of a fan base, every team would have a couple of starting quarterbacks and fire their coach three times a year. I think it's fair to apply that logic to what goes on over at TheBullsPen.com and other USF hangouts when it comes to discussing the UCF/USF game.

Their most passionate fans have followed Leavitt's lead in dismissing the UCF/USF game as nothing more than an annoyance. There's no rivalry because UCF isn't in a BCS conference, USF has "passed" UCF (certainly not in entrance requirements, graduation rates, campus life or facilities.. but I digress), USF "always wins" (0-2 on the series, USF won with a late touchdown in the 4th last year). Things of that nature.

Here's the rub, USF fans.

Rivalries, specifically "natural rivalries," have very little to do with on (or off) the field actions (or in UCF's case, inaction). A natural rivalry such as this is bigger than anything you say on a message board, any line your coach wants to pitch, any blog post we write and any final score on the scoreboard. It transcends conferences and alliances because it has very little to do with actual football. That's just where we get to watch the two schools face off in any "formal" fashion.

Two similar schools, similar history, similar age in the same geography. High school friends go their separate ways, families are split between them, co-workers work next to each other in cubicles while neighbors fly different flags. There's animosity over medical schools (USF lobbied against UCF's) and BigEast membership (UCF was on the list, crossed off in favor of a more successful basketball program at USF).

The two cities themselves have a history of animosity. Tampa successfully landed an NFL franchise rendering the Citrus Bowl close to worthless while Orlando landed an NBA team. Tampa, quite frequently, seemed to be waiting in the wings for the Magic had Orlando not approved the new arena. Ask residents here what they think about Tampa, and you'll hear a story of two sister cities. One, Tampa, a rowdy, drunken promiscuous sister, and the other, Orlando, a Disney loving, family oriented type. Not exactly a friendly setup for Thanksgiving dinner. (har har).

That sister analogy parallels to the routes each football program has taken as well. Leavitt, who of course denies Saban's comments on the subject, has in fact taken many athletes of questionable character. It worked for Miami in the 80s, and it seems to be working for USF 20 years later. I read somewhere the other day (and will search for the link when I have time) that mentioned USF has had close to 45 recruits ruled ineligible for college ball over the last 4-5 years.

George O'leary, on the other hand, has probably heard enough about the word character to last a lifetime after his resume debacle. There's very little tolerance for missteps at UCF. When he arrived, he kicked off so many players UCF wasn't able to field a spring game. When the season came, he had players playing both sides of the ball to make up for the lack of personnel. He went 0-11 that year, but damn it, they had the highest GPA in the NCAA.

One school has taken a fast paced, high octane route, while the other has made a choice to build up in a traditional, conservative manner. Two conflicting views, both with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. It's hard to deny Leavitt anything when he has his program in the top 5, but maybe it's the Orlando in me -- I prefer George's way even if it means we're shooting for the Liberty Bowl.

Is USF going to find similar feelings amongst fan bases from FAU and FIU? How about Miami or Gainesville? Not likely. I'm sure they would all be great games, as all in-state games are, but it'll never have that feeling of playing the town-down-the-road. David Whitley did some quality investigative reporting proving that the feeling is indeed mutual between UCF and USF students.

All of this adds up to one conclusion -- this game needs to be played, and it needs to be played often.I'm positive that USF will dodge UCF for as long as they can once this contract ends. I'm sure they will kick and scream and piss themselves with anger if UCF ever comes up for BigEast membership. In fact, I think we'll see a completely different BCS structure before USF votes for UCF inclusion. But none of that, absolutely none of it, will affect the behavior of the fans. Fans want this game, communities want this game, players want this game and the local economy wants this game.

The only people who seem to not want this game are Leavitt and all the USF internet dorks. It's a shame that they're more concerned with winning and rankings than they are with students, fans and the communities. The economic benefit, the entertainment enjoyment and the chance to start another proud Florida tradition will suffer because of it.

Can't wait for the game tomorrow. Here's to a fun, injury free one. (cheers)

Great lunch today with a bunch of us Orlando tech types. Massive props to fellow UCF season ticket holder Dan Benjamin for rounding everyone up.

Rob Dempsey shared some details of their upcoming acts_as_conference, which if your into that whole RoR thing, you should check out. It'll be in early February of this year, which is right around the time most of the country is pretty crappy. We have two seasons here in Orlando. Hot-as-hell, and Completely-friggin-awesome. We'll be right in the midst of Completely-friggin-awesome.

Gregg and Jason shared some of their new ideas for videos over at RailsEnvy, and I got to wax a little with Jason on frameworks in general. I was also about to get their opinion of the CD baby switch back to PHP. Lots of neat stuff going on in the software world, and these guys usually have their fingers on the pulse of it.

Chris Scott can't grow a beard, I got to meet Michael Blake, and I got to take a few cheap shots on Michigan's season with one of their alumni, Mr. William Couch.

If you get the chance to check out 310 for lunch, I had their smoked chicken ravioli. It was just as "delicate" as described. Fragile, even. I'm not sure what that means.

If your a software badass, preferably with Rails experience, create an Emurse resume and send the link to Dan. He's hiring.

UPDATE: Today's lunch, and our future lunches, will officially be known as lunch_fu. Here's the team picture of the people who were still left when, well, we took the picture. ;) Can't wait for the next one.