Kris Carlson's Weblog

First Buck

Too bad I couldn't post a picture of the big boy that got away from me last year. But this'll do. 4-point teenager. Yeah, he's 1.5 to 2.5 years old probably, and not real big. But it's the first buck I've taken. Maybe I'll get a big one now that the ice is broken.

See that charcoal in the back? You know it, venison on the grill!

Lloyd Carr Must Go

How many more times must we be embarrassed by Wolverines Football, before we get rid of Lloyd Carr?

My goodness, losing to Oregon State 39 to 7!! Not to mention Appalachian ...Who? Get f*%^ing real. Year after year, Michigan attracts some of the finest football players in the country. Yet, year after year, Michigan looks like they have no heart (even thought they have Hart). Last year they were finally playing like they should. Well, low and behold, they had new offensive and defensive coordinators. I will have to look and see if they still have the same coaching staff, but they look like the Michigan 4 and 5 years ago, always choking when it counts and making a lot of mistakes. Not capitalizing on opportunities. For crying out loud, can't anybody see the obvious? They are playing like shit again. Does Lloyd have any idea what he's doing wrong? Shit, I could do a better job than him.

Get rid of Lloyd Carr!!!! He is the problem. Get rid of Lloyd Carr!!!!

I Eat My Crow Warm, Thank You

Well, Michigan lost the 2007 Rose Bowl. Or should I say USC won. Congratulations USC, you played very well today. You shut down Michigan's offense and you scored well against a very good defense.

From what I saw, it looked to me like 2 things were happening during that game. I didn't watch the first quarter, but I heard it was pretty good defensively. But I did watch the second quarter; and USC did play very well offensively. So firstly, USC played well all around, both defensively and offensively. John David Booty and Dwayne Garrett were on today. USC's passing game was great. Secondly, Michigan did not look good at all. They did not play the way they had played all season long. Chad Henne had a hard time completing passes and Mike Hart couldn't get any good runs. I noticed on a couple plays that the defensive ends were not going for the ball. Man, if you want to make interceptions and disrupt the wide receiver, you have to go for the ball and not the man. Also, Michigan was not blitzing enough. I think they were too afraid of Booty's passing success. Michigan did not play well today.

What is it about the Rose Bowl for Michigan? I remember when Bo used to go out there and lose. I couldn't understand why they seemed to play differently out there.

The sports casters were making a lot of comments about how Lloyd Carr's job was in jeopardy. Before this year I had been saying that Michigan needed to get ride of Lloyd Carr. But I can say this today: this loss in Pasadena is not Lloyd Carr's fault. There's a bad spirit out there for Michigan. Neither was their loss in Columbus Lloyd's fault. Ohio State is very good, Michigan played well, and OSU cheated by soaking the field and then practicing on it that way; and then they replaced the sod so the general public wouldn't know what they had done.

Now that Michigan has new defensive and offensive coordinators, they are playing better than ever. I've said for years that Michigan has some of the best players in the country, but they were poorly coached. Even under Bo, they just didn't seem to be able to put it together and play west coast style football, like we saw today: lots of passing. Lloyd Carr is a nice enough guy, but he is not charismatic enough to be the Championship coach. Guys like Pete Carroll and Jim Tressel has charisma; and that is what The University of Michigan needs to be a National Championship team.

Therefore, just because Michigan had a good season doesn't mean they should keep Lloyd Carr. Also, just because Michigan's season ended with 2 losses: one against arch rival OSU and then in the bowl game, doesn't mean Lloyd Carr should be replaced. He should be replaced because he lacks the necessary ingredients to be the coach that leads Michigan to consistent championships, in my opinion.

2007 Rose Bowl Prediction

Now that it's game day for Michigan, the rambling about why Florida leapfrogged Michigan for the #2 ranking and a shot at the National Championship. The BCS got it wrong this time; and the Coaches Poll screwed up. They say they didn't vote for Florida because the didn't want to see Michigan and Ohio State play again but that's just a lie. I just watched some of the pre-game show for the Rose Bowl and couldn't help but get upset by the comment that Craig Jones made regarding his vote for #2. He really didn't give a reason, except the "tough SEC schedule". Then Doug Flutie, my man, made things crystal clear: the Big Ten is spanking the SEC in the bowl games today.

OK, so here's my prediction. Michigan 58, USC 17. Nighty night USC and screw you Coaches Poll.

BCS is Flawed... Big Time

I am so pissed about the way the polls chose Florida to play Ohio State for the national title. They were ranked significatly lower than Michigan going into the Arkansas game. How does Michigan lose ground in their ranking? Floridas win over Arkansas was not that impressive; and besides they lost to Auburn who was ranked 11 going into this weekend. This just isn't right. I hope this thing doesn't die. The selection process for the Championship Matchup for NCAA Football has to change.

Now what I would like to see happen is this: Michigan beats Southern Cal very badly. Badly enough to show the rest of the country that Southern Cal should never have been placed at #2 to begin with. Then Ohio State shows the rest of the country, by beating Florida with a significant point spread, that the only team that could have beaten them was Michigan. Then we will see things change with the way the National Title Matchup is decided.

I now believe that a playoff is the only way. That somehow the best 8 or 16 teams in college football are chosen to decide who is the best in the country. Seed number 1 and 2 at opposite ends of the tournament and then watch and see if the polls chose 1 and 2 correctly. At least if you go 8 deep you will not miss number 1, I would think, and number 2 would not get cheated out of their chance at the title.

Whatever is done, something has to change. The Harris Poll and the Coaches Poll got it wrong this year; and the BCS was not able to correct the mistake becasue of the way they average the polls. There has always been the possibility that the 2 top teams in the country would be in the same conference and would meet before the title game. But for the 2 polls to leap-frog Florida over Michigan that way indicates that there is something seriously wrong with the current system.

USC #2 ?????

How does USC get a number 2 ranking in the Harris poll and the USA Today Coaches poll after losing to Oregon State who isn't even ranked in the top 25 in the country? Ohio State and Michigan are clearly the best 2 college football teams in the country this year. Both teams had an anomalous game, but remained victorious. I just can't understand how the Harris poll can place USC ahead of Michigan at this point in the season. USC still has 2 games to prove they deserve a title matchup. Even then they lost to a team that is not even in the top 25. Michigan barely lost to OSU, who is #1. Notre Dame lost badly to Michigan and clearly does not deserve to be playing for the National Championship under any conditions. Florida lost to Auburn who has lost twice, so they should not be placed at #2 ahead of Michigan either. In my opinion, USC is the only other team in the country that should even be considered to be placed ahead of Michigan in the BCS rankings. They have an opportunity to prove their worth. But still they struggled against Washington State, Washington, and Arizona State. OSU and Michigan only struggled in 1 game each before playing each other (#1 vs. #2).

I think Michigan would beat Ohio State on a field that was not soaked down ahead of time. Yes, that's right, they cheated. They soaked down their field and practiced on a wet slippery field. Then they resodded it so people couldn't see how much they had practiced on a sloppy field. Then they soaked it down good on game day. You think I am full of it? Just watch the game tape and see how much OSU passed the ball in the first half, and how much Michigan was slipping all over the place. OSU cheated, it's that simple. Rematch these 2 teams in Arizona and you will see the strength of the football team that the University of Michigan has this year. I'm not saying OSU is a lousy team, oh contraire. They are a damned good team this year, and probably deserve to be ranked #1. But against Michigan on November 18th, 2006, they cheated by resodding the field and soaking it down. If it was another stadium I would not accuse OSU of any impropriety. But since it was in Columbus, and OSU was not slipping like Michigan was in the first half, it became clear to me that OSU had done something to the field and practiced on it ahead of time.

I hope they meet again for the National Title. OSU knows now that they will not have the home field advantage and they will have too much fear to win the game. And another thing, I would like to see Michigan and USC play. Then all would know that Michigan desrves to have another game with OSU on a field proper.

I hope the Powers That Be read this post. Just watch the game tape of Michigan and OSU and you will clearly see how OSU cheated. They will not beat Michigan again.

Deer Hunting

There is an old apple orchard behind our house. When I was growing up it was a healthy and productive orchard. That was really a great experince having an apple orchard right behind the house. To make a long story short, the orchard is now overgrown and a perfect home to whitetail deer. There are 3 bucks out there that have been spotted. One of them is about an 8 point with a large body. I haven't seen him yet, but I've been spending a lot of time out there lately trying to get a look at him and stick an arrow in his heart. I've seen one of the other bucks and he is probably 1.5 years old and has a nice symetrical set of antlers with 4 points. There might be more but I didn't have my field glasses with me when I got a look at him.

I've been harvesting one deer each year for the past 3 years; and all have been does. This year I'm going to take 2 deer, one buck and one doe. I am going to take the buck first because I can take a doe with almost no effort. This is the first period in my 43 years that I have had any success deer hunting. I first went when I was 19 without any luck. I went a few time after that and came up empty handed. I got busy with life and only went out in the woods a couple times over the past 17 years. Now that I am having success, I am inspired.

I have not eaten much venison until the last couple years. I really wanted to have a full deer to be able to eat some more than just a few bites every 5 years. The first time I saw a deer killed I was kind of freaked out. It wasn't a warm and fuzzy feeling. I just resigned myself to the fact that it was a necessary part of the whole thing if I wanted venison. The first time I killed a deer was about 5 years ago. My life had been changed in a very significant way since I first saw a deer killed. I know this might sound strange, but it was a spiritual experience to take that animals life. It was a stange experience. I did not have a moral conflict and I thanked God for the venison. Today I pray for myself and the animal and ask for the hunt to be blessed.

I don't really know what compelled me to write about that. Oh, well, there it is. Chat later.

Venison

I took a large Doe last night around 5:00 with bow and arrow. The last day of bow season before rifle season. One arrow, clean kill.

I bought an electric grinder to process some of the meat into burger and sausage. I won't waste anything, except the fat and the bone. Also, I am planning to tan the hide with the hair on it. I don't know a good way to do this. If anyone reading this knows of a way, please let me know.

Timex Ironman watch band replacement

I may have bought my last Timex Ironman Triathlon watch. The rubber watch band that comes with them gets hard and usually breaks after 1 year. Plus I am having a hell of a time getting a replacement that fits. I just ordered 2 watch bands from http://www.voguestrap.com/ because I wasn't positive which one would work. I printed a sizing chart I found on the web (can't remember where) and the watch measured 18mm. However, it is a 100 lapper and they were 19mm. Hmmm, what to do. Actually, I couldn't find any way of identifying the exact replacement watch band for my watch. There are many different bands for the Timex Ironman.

Well, I got my 2 bands today. Guess what? Neither fit properly. The 18mm band I got is the correct width but the band is not the proper depth to fit into the slots without alteration. You guessed it, I'm not sending them back, I'm going to modify them with a razor blade and make them work. If I get 1 year I won't bitch anymore. And then after 2 years I will be looking at something other than Timex Ironman Triathlon watches. Of course I will be looking at replacement bands first. What a pain in the ass.

VogueStrap is actually a pretty good place to buy watch bands. Shipping is not a killer and they are pretty quick. I just ordered another band that should be the rigth one. It's the 100 lap Flix. I thought the watch was a Flix, but I guess the Flix feature has stopped working. I tried it before ordering the first time. I like the Ironman, but they don't take a licking and keep on ticking. I've replaced 2 in the past because they didn't hold-up. At Wall Mart they are $42 now and so they aren't too expensive. I would have one for 3 years and when the battery expired, usually the watch had broken down enough to warrant replacement. But now I have issue with the bands. We'll see, I'm just annoyed right now.