Sunday, December 30, 2007

Rusty BlogDog

When Air Force takes the field for Sunday’s Armed Forces Bowl, it will be playing for the first time since its Nov. 17 game against San Diego State.

That’s a 43-day layoff.

Pretty long. But nothing compared to what the BlogDog has endured.

He made his last pick the day before the San Diego State game (Nov. 16). He attempted his next pick on Christmas night. That’s 38 days between picks. But in “dog years,” that’s 266 days.

Two hundred sixty-six days!!! Practically an entire offseason.

The rust was evident. In front of a crowd of about 15 friends and family members, BlogDog showed no interest in making picks. Time and again, he walked right past me and the pieces of paper I was holding (one with the Air Force logo, one with the Cal logo).

I decided not to take that as an indictment of the Armed Forces Bowl. I think the crowd, the fatigue from a trip back to the East Coast and, of course, the rust all played a part.

I traveled to Fort Worth the next day, and the BlogDog stayed behind with the BlogWife at my in-laws’ house. I left the prediction in their hands/paws. Three days later, BlogDog begrudgingly made a pick.

(For readers who have had a long layoff between BlogDog posts, here’s a quick refresher: Since I am not allowed to predict the outcome of Air Force games, my dog, Norm, does it. Typically he chooses between mini-replica helmets of the two teams. But this time he picked between the Air Force logo and the Cal logo. It’s best-of-five. If Norm picks one team three times in a row, he’s thinking blowout. If he goes for one team three times and the other team once, he’s thinking it will be about a 10-point game. If it’s three times to two times, he’s thinking barn-burner.)

According to the BlogWife, Norm went to Air Force twice in a row, then Cal, then Air Force. Not fully understanding the principles of the “best-of-five” series, the BlogWife had Norm pick again, and he picked Cal, even though Air Force had locked up the overall pick.

When I pointed this out to her, she told me I was lucky that she didn’t make Norm wear his “Ho, Ho, Ho” bandana or his Reindeer antlers for the photo below.

Good point. That might have taken away some of the credibility Norm has built in his outstanding rookie season.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Norm’s Pick: Air Force 38, Cal 30
Norm’s Record: 8-4



BlogDog shakes off the rust and picks the Falcons

1 comment:

Mackenzie Block said...

Happy New Year Jake!

Thanks for your blog and all your work.

Good to see and hear from Blogdog.

Now I am ready for tomorrow.