Tom Banjo

Throw FPI back on them and crickets haha

The first ever wharf rat emerged during dark star sandwich.

Penn State beat USC and by your beloved FPI rankings they are well ahead of Oklahoma. SMU beat Louisville also well ahead of Oklahoma in the FPI. If your issue is that SMU and Indiana got in and there are other teams that are more deserving, I can understand that. South Carolina, Ole Miss, and Miami all have solid arguments. Bama does too but to a lesser extent than ole Miss and Miami in my opinion. Clemson beating SMU created a bit of a problem as neither team has that great of a resume but they did play for their conference championship.

Tennessee Ole Miss Texas South Carolina LSU all beat Oklahoma by more than 2 scores. Ole Miss and South Carolina probably have better arguments to be included in the top 12 than Alabama. I just don’t see a true top 12 team all that worried about facing Oklahoma. I’m not saying we can varsity blues it and go to strip club the night before the game. But prepare and show up and you win. And I assume Vanderbilt is a scary team too.

If Bamas only loss or even one of two losses was that embarrassing loss to Oklahoma then sure let’s put them in the playoff. They didn’t have a playoff worthy resume this year. It’s okay they one of the first 2 to 4 teams out even with 3 losses. No one is truly saying all the teams in the playoff are better than Bama. But results have to matter. If Bama loss to Mercer and only had one loss its tough to put them in the top 12. It’s not just that they lost to Oklahoma, they got handled dominated by Oklahoma. Georgia Texas Oregon does that to you we still consider you for the top 12. Oklahoma UCLA Purdue or any one of the many mediocre and average teams does that to you, you’re pretty much out. Bama isn’t even the SEC team with the most legit argument that they screwed out of the playoff. I’m not saying a 3 loss team can’t get into the playoff from any conference but arguing for a 3 loss team that got left out is fanboy shit. They have 2 losses they are in. It’s that simple. You have to perform on the field or you leave it up to the committee. They certainly didn’t leave no doubt. And the SEC is blessed by how deep it is. They are allowed more losses and still considered. If Indiana had 2 losses, can you honestly say they’d be in the playoff. They could not by any stretch of the imagination get into the playoff with 2 losses. The SEC benefits from losses to Bama Ole Miss Georgia Texas if close almost being considered a positive not a negative.

Also tell me you’d be surprised if 2 big 10 teams end up in the final 4 and 4 big 10 teams end up in the final 8. Big 10 up there with SEC at this point. I give slight but real slight edge to SEC.

Indiana didn’t lose to anyone of the quality of Vanderbilt or Oklahoma. They beat a Michigan team that beat Ohio st. Their schedule isn’t very good. They may not even be a true top 12 team. They belong in the top 12 due to performance. Their only lose is to another playoff team. Bama can hype their strength of schedule but at the end of the day their performance against mediocre team Oklahoma and Vanderbilt matters. Those should be easy wins for top 12 teams. Indiana beat Michigan Nebraska Washington all that are on that level. 24 to 3 loss to Oklahoma basically eliminate for the playoff if your being honest. Lose 24 to 21 that’s different but Oklahoma handled them. Texas did lose to Georgia. Georgia is a top 12 team. Eye test I still saw Texas as better team and also saw some ref shit that I didn’t like and the announcer speaking bull shit. Texas missed a field goal after a play that was a clear late hit on QB. Whistle had blown several times and he was spiked to the ground. Refs make the right call and Texas more than likely gets 3 and real possibility they get 7. Win game. Announcer said good no call cause refs don’t want to be the story. Man with that attitude I’m laying someone out helmet to helmet across middle. Good no call right. That’s a joke. Don’t get me wrong. Georgia is good and I see that game as a toss up they both top 10 teams. Alabama is not. And that’s who you fighting for. There was also an interception for Georgia where the intercepting player was clearly holding a fistful of jersey on the receiver. By the way, I want you to know I don’t think the refs really changed the outcome of the game. Georgia is a good enough to beat anyone. So is Texas. I wouldn’t be surprised if they meet again and we get different outcome but those two plays really stand out when you have an overtime game. And the late hit no call on the QB is a complete and utter bull shit. The announcers commentary blew my mind. This wasn’t a shove with QBs foot on the line going out of bounds. They had been blowing the whistle for over a second multiple whistles. You have to make that call.

Gamecocks playing better than Bama for sure. It’s funny the best team in the SEC this year is really a big 12 team that just joined the SEC. SEC fanboys would’ve said put Texas in the SEC and they lose games. Same shit they say about Penn St or Indiana or any of the other really good teams in different conferences.

It’s funny. I’m arguing for other SEC teams to get in. Alabama just hasn’t been one of the top 12 teams this year. I don’t need metrics simple eye test. They couldn’t score against Oklahoma. 24 to 3 is a beat down.

I’m not saying the SEC doesn’t have some teams belonging in the playoff. Even 3 loss teams but Alabama lost to Oklahoma and Vanderbilt both 6 and 6 teams. I might even put in another 3 loss SEC team over them. Ole Miss has a better resume. They have some bad losses too but close game losses. Bama got dominated by Oklahoma. They both beat Georgia but ole miss beat them by more. You can’t tell me there isn’t some Alabama bias here.

Alabama lost 24 to 3 to 6 and 6 Oklahoma team. They have 3 losses. I just don’t care for college football anymore. On field performance doesn’t matter. Let’s just pick the 12 in September and giddy up. They already got their minds made up.

That looks like the goods of the goods. The tastiest bites of the ribeye. Sucks to miss that one. But happy for those that were there to receive the sacrament.

We won’t make penns this year. I want you to know that I’ve considered this a non negotiable show for a long time and we will be back next year. But have to sit this one out. I mean I’ve lied to my partner when she was pregnant to be there. I spent much money on shakedown that night to try to compensate for my guilt it was stupid. I had to go one year with a previous lover and partied all night. Went to her family’s thanksgiving the next on no sleep and sweated the night out during the thanksgiving festivities it would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic and sad. But penns is special and always will be. The Dso pre thanksgiving show gave me something to be thankful for when I felt I had nothing else to be thankful for. Thank god I have so much to be thankful for today. But I want you to know that I love this community and this band. The fill cups of love when the cup empty. Make it over flow. For four hours they make everything just exactly perfect. I miss you guys so much and miss the music even more. Been a while since we’ve seen a show. We will make some of new years. And January is jam packed for us with Jamaica and the sages here in Colorado. We gonna do a week west coast in February too. But most important I want to tell you guys I love you and I am beyond thankful for all of you and the impact you’ve had on my life. I am forever grateful. Happy thanksgiving. I know you’ll crush it up on that mountain. I love you guys so much band and fan. Keep bringing the heat and joy to those around you. love is real.

I love the state of the cowboys. Way too much money invested in Dak and Ceedee. How can you build a team with that much cap space locked into two players. How can a non top 5 QB be the highest paid player in the nfl. It’s crazy. But I love it. Fly eagles fly

I don’t know what to say, what a tremendous loss. The magnitude of his passing can’t easily be expressed with words. It’s felt the heart and soul. In the very vibrations of the Earth. May the 4 winds….

We will try to pull off Seattle x 2 plus Portland

We may have to join you at the grateful dudes that sounds cool.

We will see you in Paris and London. We arrive in Paris on the 21st. We have a packed itinerary really. Visiting the Louvre and doing a dinner cruise down the Seine. We head over to London day after the Paris shows. So we will have two extra days there. We gonna spend two nights in Lisbon Portugal on way home. We are stoked.

I miss ya bud. I hope all is well. I remember a time when the crowds were a bit smaller but the elders in this community shush us and told us to shut up. I think I need a bunch of those STFU Bobby shirts. I just hand them out to anyone that is talking to much.

Furthur did standing on shaky ground at a show following an Earthquake in California. It seems there few Furthur shaky ground takes but I think it was the one at the 1st bank center. Definitely the first bank version just listen to a recording. It’s almost sad how much better I consider this band to the current big show. Furthur could play.

I have to admit that although I love where I live. My house and the view from its beautiful although still a work in progress. We have million dollar views not that the property is worth a million dollars. There is also a large vibrant active dead scene. Lots of quality cover bands. Plenty of movers and shakers. Several quality dancers but not enough in my opinion to the size of the states or Denver’s scene. I find too many members of the Colorado dead community are more scenesters then Heads. Important Disclaimer: I know a few people who post around here are going to jump on me for being judgmental and tell me you don’t get to decide what a Head is maybe even tell me I’m not a Head. Whatever defensive mechanism I’ve struck by making an observation about what I see. I’m not judging anyone. Not condemning anyone. I guess I should be clear you don’t have dance or spin to be a Head. I don’t get to decide that in anyway. Nor I do I care to. I don’t even care if I’m not considered a Head. I’m into this music and let it flow through me, move me. Heal me. Help me grow. There are songs were I truly become a character in it. Not just applying the lyrics to my life but feeling myself in the shoes of characters in these songs. Beyond just relating to the story I immerse myself in it. However, it is fact that many members of the Colorado community are more concerned with catching up, laughing loudly, talking louder than necessary for the person next to you to hear them. They care more about being scene than the song. It’s crazy even some of the talented dancers seem to fall into this trap. I too have fallen into this trap before. I’ve gotten carried away with the idea in my head and had to share it with someone and loud enough for all around to me to hear. These moments are less frequent now but even to this day occur. I’m not trying to judge the people who fall into this trap. I might however feel it necessary to provide people with some advice and direction on what proper show etiquette is. And yes there is a proper etiquette. The people in this smaller subset of the Grateful Dead community taught me. You respect the music. Whether you do drugs or not. Drink or not. Dance or not. You’re quiet while the band is playing. The silence heard between the notes in Stella when you are in a crowd of 1200 where you can hear a pin drop is spiritual, inspirational. These moments are the most important parts of the show for me. I sometimes leave the show after the Jerry ballad. I have kids. Sometimes long drives. I have a lady and don’t need to chase girls at the end of the show to sugar magnolia or one more Saturday night. If you do have to talk it’s that important you talk in a whisper showing respect to those around you that need to hear the music. Those who when you talk loudly you distract from their experience. To a minor degree you take the miracle away. I had great space to too. Someone show me tremendous kindness. And thank you to them but I could still hear the talkers. I’ve had a blast these last 4 shows. I struggled to find the groove and get my feet moving. My cardio started as shit and is already improving. Whitney and I hit the road tomorrow for our first extended time away from Ricky jr. Solo on the road from Santa Fe to Berkeley. I know momma is going to have her moments of missing her little baby boy. But I also know that we are going to have a magical fantastic time. See ya there

The Boulder theater was totally sold out and the guest list large. The place was packed to the gills. Definitely not undersold to ensure dance space this time around although I’ve never heard of that being a thing.

At one point while dancing upfront to tell me he was hungry. He pulled my thumb to his mouth and started sucking on it. It was really cute. He also did great keeping his headphones on. All and all I was super pleased with the kiddos. Just the 2nd set may be the strategy when the kids come for a minute. It worked out really well.

This was family night. We only did the 2nd set but Rick jr and I danced up by the rail for at least half of it. By the end he was asleep on my shoulder swaying to the music.

So glad we got to go back to the Mish. Had been around 10 years since I was last there. Place is getting a little tight for dark star for sure. I tried upfront for the opener. Slowly but surely as we waited for the band to take the stage more and more people started filling in any and all open space around me. I know this is par for the course upfront but also confounds me. Dancing movement and expression is so critical to my experience I just don’t understand why people want to cram themselves closer and closer leaving no room to dance. We quickly retreated towards the back corner by the bathroom back way and smokers section. I probably spent as much time dancing in the smoking section as I did on the slope. I had a decent groove and connection but I didn’t have the lean the weight distribution totally figured out on the slope and our space between the people entering the show the beer line and the bathroom smoker area traffic didn’t have much more consistent dance space than upfront. One of the lower points of the show came for during the set closing good lovin. Pig material is usually one of the highlights of any show we are fortunate to get that eras music in. So DSO does a brief drum segment I’m sure in line with that nights show. Many in attendance disconnected from the music at this point just like they do, myself included during a 2nd set drums. It was now bathroom time smoke time get a drink time and worst of all for me chat your buddies up time. Following the drums segment it’s time for a Pig rap. The talking around me was loud enough it drowned out a lot of the sound coming from the stage. I was a little salty and remove from myself to a far corner of the smoking section. I still couldn’t escape the talking. Then just like that Baracco drops a let’s fuck during the two and the crowd reconnects to the music. I found the right space for 2nd set. I saw a couple familiar faces dancing on the restaurant deck. We went there and grooved the night away. I may say more later probably not but I typed all that while driving. Time to reconnect to the road.