Metallica on The Tonight Show

I never thought that I'd see Metallica on The Tonight Show.  So happy I did.



They should be performing at the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

POTpourri

• Daily marijuana use could lead to lower BMI.  
• It was a clear win for Hillary Clinton in the first debate 
• Kevin Garnett announces his retirement from the NBA. 
• Book recommendation: "Ratf**ked".  Give it a read.
• Fate seems to be working against the Minnesota Vikings. 
• Donald Trump is nothing but a grifter.  
• Minnesota Twins hire Derek Falvey as Head of Baseball Operations. 
• I cannot find a reason for a liberal to vote for Gary Johnson. 
• There really are plenty of deplorable Donald Trump supporters. 
• Louie Anderson's Emmy win was well deserved. 
• RIP Jose Fernandez, Shimon Peres & Arnold Palmer. 
• I'm not ready to forget about Donald Trump's birtherism. 
• Corporate bosses really are fucked up in the head. 
• Donald Trump's charitable foundation is nothing but a slush fund.  
• Open Carry laws seem to only apply to white people. 
• Lying your way to the Presidency would be a horrible precedence. 
• Stark reminders of why Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem. 
• Ted Cruz shows once again why everyone hates him. 
• Louisiana State fires head football coach Les Miles. 
• Is Donald Trump once of Putin's useful idiots? 

Seth Meyers on the Debate

Seth Meyers nails it once again.

AZ Tidbits

• Why is a drug company funding opposition to Arizona marijuana initiative? 
• Did Arizona lay the foundation for Donald Trump's America? 
• Could Sheriff Joe Arpaio actually lose this time? 
• Diamondback pitcher Robby Ray has made a nice leap this season. 
• What is it about ASU QB's and their hot girlfriends?  
• The Arizona Cardinals are the 23rd Most Valuable NFL Franchise. 
• Diamondbacks name Mitch Haniger & Anthony Banda organization players of the year. 
• ASU RB Kalen Ballage is suddenly in the hunt for the Heisman Trophy. 
• Is Arizona really a swing state this year?  
• I fully support Ann Kirkpatrick in her U.S. Senate race against John McCain. 
• How anyone could vote for Paul Babeu is beyond me. 
• Are you familiar with all of the players in the NFL with Arizona connections? 
• Sheriff Joe Arpaio is still clinging to his 'birther' beliefs. 
• The city of Phoenix is tiring of the state of Arizona meddling.  
• Are you familiar with Arizona's weird winding journey toward marijuana legalization. 
• Could Gary Johnson swing the Arizona Presidential vote towards Hillary Clinton? 
• Arizona Diamondbacks fire De Jon Watson, is a housecleaning coming? 
• Glenn Fry gets a statue in Winslow, Arizona. 
• Scottsdale and Tempe ranked amongst Most Fun Cities in America. 
• Judge upholds Arizona ballot collection ban further suppressing the vote. 

John Oliver on Scandals

Leave it to a Brit to a call out the U.S. media.

Bills 33, Cardinals 18

The Cardinals fell to the Bills 33-18 today in Buffalo.  The Cardinals fall to 1-2 on the season.  The Cardinals are a real frustrating team to watch this season.  I think they got a bit full of themselves over the offseason and perhaps didn't put in the work they needed to.  I'll say the same for GM Steve Keim and his staff, they seem to think they can just plug anyone into their system and will run smoothly, that's obviously not the case.   At this point they are playing a real sloppy, undisciplined brand of football and they'd better shake that soon.

Observations:

• The Cardinals need to vary their offense a bit from all the long pass attempts.  
• I always get worried when the Cardinals play 2 time zones away and have an early start. 
• Chandler Catanzaro's 60 yard field goal was the Cardinals highlight of the game. 
• They're not going to win many games when Carson Palmer throws 4 interceptions. 
• I suspect that the Cardinals will have a new long snapper next week. 
• David Johnson did his part with 111 total yards and 2 touchdowns. 
• The Cardinals offensive line needs to do a better job of protecting Carson Palmer.
• James Bettcher continues to look like he is in over his head.  
• Turnovers:  Cardinals 5, Bills 1 
• Total Yards:  Cardinals 348, Bills 297
• Rushing Yards:  Bills 208, Cardinals 88
• Time of Possession:  Cardinals 34:00, Bills 26:00
• That was an impressive interception by Patrick Peterson. 
• The Cardinals rushing defense needs to toughen up. 
• It would be nice to see Robert Nkemdiche in the lineup.  
• Chris Johnson needs more than 2 touches.  
• It was nice to see WR John Brown back on the field.  
• Tony Jefferson continues to play well in Tyrann Mathieu's old role. 
• Chandler Jones now has 3 sacks in 3 games for the Cardinals. 
• Apparently Rex Ryan was right to fire his Offensive Coordinator last week. 
• Up next?  Los Angeles Rams next Sunday in Glendale. 

Vikings 22, Panthers 10

The Vikings knocked off the Panthers 22-10 today in Charlotte.  The Vikings improved to 3-0 with this win.  This was an impressive win, the Vikings fell behind 10-0, and were reeling, but then scored the final 22 points of the game, on the road, against the defending NFC Champions.  The story of the game was really the Vikings defense, Cam Newton was constantly under duress and the Panthers running game struggled as the game progressed.  The offense is still struggling, but that's understandable with a new QB and a backup RB and LT, hopefully they can improve as the season progresses.  3-0 feels good, keep it rolling Vikings!  

Observations:

• The Vikings had 8 sacks today, 3 by Everson Griffen.  
• Marcus Sherels has got to be the best punt returner in the NFL. 
• I'm guessing that Kyle Rudolph is liking Sam Bradford.  
• The Vikings secondary did a tremendous job today.  
• It was nice to have Xavier Rhodes back in the lineup.  
• It's hard to root against Mike Zimmer and his staff. 
• I didn't notice much of a drop off from Matt Kalil to T.J. Clemmings.  
• Another very workmanlike performance from Sam Bradford. 
• I wonder if the Vikings pull the plug on Blair Walsh soon. 
• Turnovers:  Panthers 3, Vikings 0
• Rushing Yards:  Panthers 105, Vikings 58
• The Vikings offensive line is really beat up at this point.  
• You have to be happy with a 3-0 start to the season given the opposition. 
• It's fun watching Danielle Hunter progressing into a star. 
• Let's hope that Vikings OG Alex Boone is not seriously hurt. 
• I'd like to see more contribution from Laquon Treadwell. 
• It's great seeing Cordarrelle Patterson contributing.  
• Luke Kuechly plays LB at a different level than most players. 
• The Panthers really seemed to miss RB Jonathan Stewart. 
• Up next?  New York Giants in Minneapolis on Monday Night Football. 

Between Two Ferns

This is hilarious.

Arizona State 51, California 41

The Sun Devils knocked off California 51-41 last night in Tempe.  Arizona State improves to 4-0 on the season.  You have to give the Sun Devils credit, Cal was dominating early but ASU kept answering and staying close only to have another really good 4th quarter to put this one away.  They have been really good late in games this season, that's a good trait to have.  They will need to tighten things up on defense though if they hope to finish the season strong.  Nice win Sun Devils!

Observations:

• There was no quit in the Sun Devils.  
• The Sun Devil defense just can't stop giving up large chunks of yards. 
• Manny Wilkens is a much better runner than passer as this point.
• I have to admit, I was very worried when Kalen Ballage was hurt early on. 
• Arizona State has now outscored their opponents 89-35 in the 4th quarter. 
• Manny Wilkens can pooch punt with the best of them. 
• Welcome back to game action Salamo Fiso! 
• Zane Gonzalez continues to chase for the record books.
• First Half Scoring:  California 24, Arizona State 10
• Second Half Scoring:  Arizona State 41, California 17
• Fourth Quarter Scoring:  Arizona State 31, California 14
• Total Yards:  California 637, California 454
• Turnovers:  California 3, Arizona State 1
• The Arizona State defense continues to play very opportunistic defense. 
• Chip Lindsey is looking like a very good hire for Todd Graham. 
• The Sun Devil defense is sorely missing difference making talent.  
• California needs some work on their on-side kicks.  
• Has it already been a year since the Sun Devils made Jared Goff a star?
• The Davis Webb to Chad Hanson combination is a pretty good one for Cal. 
• Up next?  @ Southern California next Saturday.  

Minnesota 31, Colorado State 24

The Gophers improved to 3-0 on the season today with a 31-24 win over Colorado State in Minneapolis.  The Gophers led for most of this game and were definitely the more physical team, but they just couldn't put Colorado State away, it was much too close for comfort at the end.  The Gophers defense is really young and inexperienced and it really showed today on all of the screens and misdirection plays that Colorado State used.  A win is a win though, those young guys are gaining experience and will be better players down the road, I'll take it, keep it going Gophers!

Observations:

• The Gophers offense is much improved under Jay Johnson. 
• Gophers DT Steven Richardson is still a beast. 
• How do opposing defenses not watch for a Mitch Leidner run near the goal line? 
• The Gophers were playing a lot of 3-4 defense today, it's a work in progress. 
• Holy smokes has DE Tai'yon Devers been a find for the Gophers.  
• The Gophers defense struggled with all of the CSU misdirection plays.  
• Lots of true freshman playing with the Gophers defense today. 
• Turnovers:  Colorado State 2, Minnesota 1
• Rushing Yards:  Minnesota 243, Colorado State 158
• The Gophers three headed monster at RB pays dividends late in the game.
• Lots of tackles for loss today for the Gophers defense, could have been even more too. 
• Damarius Travis has had himself a nice Gopher career. 
• It was nice to see Eric Carter & Shannon Brooks back on the field. 
• Minnesota had 9 penalties today, that's way too many. 
• The Gophers kick/punt return teams have to improve.  
• It would be nice to have those suspended players back.  
• Emmit Carpenter is still perfect on the season. 
• Ryan Santoso looks like he could be punting on Sundays.  
• That fake punt by Colorado State was a thing of beauty. 
• Up next?  Next Saturday @ Penn State to kick off Big 10 play. 

Elizabeth Warren

This video is a prime example of why Elizabeth Warren is so popular.

POTpourri

• Medical marijuana could alleviate America's opioid crisis. 
• Finally an email scandal that people should care about. 
• Why would anyone oppose the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau? 
• Gary Johnson has no business being anywhere close to the White House. 
• Louisville QB Lamar Jackson is scary good. 
• Republicans seem intent on promoting violence after election day. 
• Complete 2016 Emmy Awards winners list here.  
• I knew the Loch Ness Monster was real!!! 
• For the record, John F Kennedy was not a supply sider. 
• Stan Wawrinka & Angelique Kerber win U.S. Open Tennis titles. 
• Donald Trump still refuses to say the President Obama was born in the U.S. 
• The Obama economy is humming along rather nicely these days. 
• There are plenty of deplorable Trump supporters out there. 
• It's quite disturbing to me that Penn State is honoring Joe Paterno. 
• What is Donald Trump hiding about his health? 
• Donald Trump's business dealings would create a nightmare for his Presidency. 
• I like being able to watch Thursday Night Football on Twitter. 
• It's a sad state off affairs when we have to go to Cosmopolitan for tough questions. 
• Be prepared for more foodborne illness if Donald Trump is elected.
• Donald Trump even lies about his own health.  And what of his mental health? 

Seth Meyers on Trump Birtherism

Seth Meyers spared no punches in this takedown of Donald Trump.

Top 10 Summer TV Shows 2016

Sadly, summer is nearing it's official end, and given that, I think that it's time that I rate the summer TV season.  Overall, I was pretty happy, I was plenty entertained for most of the summer.  Anyways, here goes, my Top 10 Television shows for the summer of 2016:  

1. Summer Olympics (NBC) 
2. O.J. Made in America (ESPN) 
3. Brain Dead (CBS) 
4. American Gothic (CBS) 
5. Zoo (CBS) 
6. Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll (FX) 
7. Tyrant (FX) 
8. Mr. Robot (USA)
9. Aquarius (NBC) 
10. Animal Kingdom (TNT) 

I love the Summer Olympics, I could have watched that all summer long.  "O.J. Made in America" is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen.  "Brain Dead" was a lot of fun.  "American Gothic" provided some nice summer suspense.  "Zoo" continued where they left off last season.  Denis Leary is great in "Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll".  It was interesting to watch them flip the script on "Tyrant".  "Mr. Robot" slipped a bit from last summer but was/is still worth a watch.  I thought that "Aquarius" was much better this summer than last summer.  I really enjoyed "Animal Kingdom", it was kind of a cross between "Point Break" and "Alpha Dog".   For the record, I didn't watch "The Night Of" but I have heard rave reviews on it and I will watch the first chance I get.

Previous Summers: 2015, 2014, 2013

Donald Trump's Greatest Hits

It's hard to believe that some people actually want this idiot as our next President.

Vikings 17, Packers 14

The Vikings improved to 2-0 tonight with a 17-14 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football.  The Vikings and the Giants are now the only 2 teams in the NFC with 2-0 records.  What a way to break in the new U.S. Bank Stadium.  You had to be impressed with Sam Bradford, especially considering he was only acquired 2 weeks ago.  I'm getting excited about this team, great defense, solid QB play, emerging stars, great coaching, it's going to be a fun season.

Observations:

• Sam Bradford impressed for such a short time in the system.  
• That fourth down stop by the Vikings defense in the 3rd quarter was huge. 
• It was about time the Vikings offense scored a touchdown. 
• Bradford to Rudolph for the Vikings first touchdown at U.S. Bank Stadium.
• Stefon Diggs could become a star if he and Sam Bradford click. 
• I love the way the Vikings defense attacks the football. 
• Danielle Hunter continues to shine at DE.  
• It was a rough night for Trae Waynes but he kept balling.  
• The Vikings offensive line was quite offensive looking again tonight. 
• A healthy Adrian Peterson would be dangerous with an effective Sam Bradford. 
• I admit it, I was worried when Sam Bradford hurt his hand. 
• The Vikings really missed Xavier Rhodes tonight.  
• Way too many penalties for the Vikings.  
• A lot of missed opportunities for the Vikings tonight. 
• The Packers only offense tonight was defensive pass interference. 
• Packers DT Mike Daniels was making Brandon Fusco look silly. 
• Rodgers to Nelson was technically the first touchdown at U.S. Bank Stadium. 
• The Vikings new stadium looks great, and sounds very loud! 
• Carrie Underwood looks fantastic in the SNF intro. 
• Up next?  @ Carolina to take on the Panthers. 

Cardinals 40, Buccaneers 7

The Cardinals woke up this week with a 40-7 win over the Buccaneers today at University of Phoenix Stadium.  The Cardinals improve to 1-1 on the season.  This was a big win for the Cardinals coming off last week loss to the Patriots.  An 0-2 start would have been disastrous to them.  They played like they had something to prove today and it was good to see.  Keep it rolling Cards.

Observations:

• It's not easy to score 40 points in an NFL game. 
• This was the Carson Palmer that I remember. 
• Larry Fitzgerald just keeps on catching touchdown passes.  
• Jaron Brown has really progressed nicely from last season. 
• It appears that Marcus Cooper has supplanted Brandon Williams at CB. 
• I continue to be impressed with David Johnson's pass catching ability. 
• I've become a big fan of Markus Golden, he's the real deal. 
• Chandler Jones did not make much of an impact today. 
• I'm generally not a fan of drafting kickers high. 
• Turnovers:  Buccaneers 5, Cardinals 0 
• Total Yards:  Cardinals 416, Buccaneers 306
• I could see the Cardinals work out a few long snappers this week. 
• It was good to see Chris Johnson getting some touches today. 
• The Cardinals defenders have become quite opportunistic. 
• I like that the Cardinals are just booming kickoffs out of the end zone. 
• Tony Jefferson had a nice game, how come nobody wanted him in free agency? 
• I get the feeling that Robert Nkemdiche is going to get injured a lot. 
• Let's not give Jameis Winston the MVP Award just yet. 
• You can't help but be impressed by Bucs WR Mike Evans.  
• Up next?  @ Buffalo next Sunday to take on the Bills.  

Bernie Sanders on Late Night

It's hard to believe that there are still some hardcore Bernie-or-Bust holdouts out there.

Arizona State 32, UTSA 28

The Sun Devils knocked off the University of Texas-San Antonio 32-28 tonight in San Antonio.  Arizona State improves to 3-0 on the season.  Don't let that record fool you, it wasn't an impressive effort by the Sun Devils, they trailed most of this game (they were losing 28-12 midway through the 3rd quarter) and only rallied late to win it, I suspect that they will struggle against tougher PAC12 competition.  I guess you take a road win anyway you can get it though.

Observations:

• Could the Sun Devils have come out any flatter? 
• The Sun Devils scored the last 20 points of the game. 
• Arizona State was a 19.5 point favorite in this game.
• N'Keal Harry is going to have a monster career at ASU. 
• Poor decision by Todd Graham to go for 2 to close the first half. 
• Manny Wilkens was shaky through the air tonight. 
• ASU really missed Tim White on the punt returns, early on anyways.
• Not much was going right for the Sun Devils this game. 
• The Sun Devils defense was just awful once again. 
• Demario Richard is not easy to tackle.  
• Turnovers:  Arizona State 3, UTSA 0 
• Total Yards:  Arizona State 469, UTSA 322
• Nobody seems able to stop that Sparky package.  
• Zane Gonzalez was money tonight as he closes in on the NCAA FG record.  
• That sure did look like a helmet to helmet hit on Manny Wilkens early on. 
• I didn't realize that UTSA played at the Alamodome. 
• There's really no reason UTSA can't build a successful football program. 
• UTSA QB Dalton Sturm is one slippery SOB.  
• Have I mentioned that Ray Anderson didn't hire Todd Graham?  
• Up next?  California @ Sun Devil Stadium next Saturday night.  

Olbmermann on Trump

Keith Olbermann completely eviscerates Donald Trump in this video.

Former Gophers in the NFL

By my count, there are now 12 former University of Minnesota Golden Gophers on NFL rosters.  That is the same as last year, I think that's a good sign for Tracy Claeys and the Gopher football program moving forward as most of these guys weren't highly recruited coming out of high school and were coached up enough to get them into the NFL.  Here they are:

1. Briean Boddy-Calhoun - CB - Browns
2. Tramaine Brock - CB - 49ers
3. De'Vondre Campbell - LB - Falcons
4. David Cobb - RB - Steelers *Practice Squad 
5. Eric Decker - WR - Jets
6. Isaac Fruechte - WR - Lions *Practice Squad 
7. MarQueis Gray - TE - Dolphins
8. Ra'Shede Hageman - DL - Falcons
9. Eric Murray - DB - Chiefs
10. Marcus Sherels - CB/PR - Vikings
11. Maxx Williams - TE - Ravens 
12. Damien Wilson - LB - Cowboys

The following 6 were in NFL training camps this year but failed to catch on: 

1. Theiren Cockran - DE - Vikings
2. KJ Maye - WR - NY Giants
3. Peter Mortell - P - Packers
4. Troy Stoudemire - WR - Vikings
5. Cedric Thompson - DB - Patriots
6. Brock Vereen - DB -Chiefs 

TE Matt Spaeth played for the Steelers last season and was released over the summer, I haven't heard if he has retired or not. 

Previous Years:  2015

Samantha Bee on Election

It's so nice to have Samantha Bee back on the air.

POTpourri

• Fact is, lots of Donald Trump supporters are deplorable. 
• The media's overwhelmingly negative coverage of Hillary Clinton is alarming. 
• Having Chris Wallace as a Presidential debate moderator should be concerning to everyone. 
• Did Gary Johnson just disqualify himself from being President? 
• Memo to GOP:  Forget your obstructionist policies.  They backfired. 
• New York Mets sign Tim Tebow to a minor league contract. 
• Saying Hillary Clinton is corrupt over and over again does not make it a fact.  
• Do we really need a wall along the U.S. / Mexico border? 
• Brian Williams gets his own show "The 11th Hour" on MSNBC.  
• Do you know the definition of quid pro quo?   
• How did Roger Ailes walk away from Fox with a bigger payday than Gretchen Carlson? 
• Pitt RB James Conner is an easy player to root for. 
• Sean Hannity seems to be the biggest loser of this election season. 
• Alessandra Ambrosio is still looking mighty fine.  
• It's good to see the struggles of poor whites getting some attention.  
• Matt Lauer deserves the poor reviews he is getting for Commander-in-Chief hosting role.
• The Comedy Central Roast of Rob Lowe was hilarious for many reasons. 
• Donald Trump fans include ISIS, North Korea, China and Russia. 
• I lost all respect for Ed Schultz when he started collecting a paycheck from the Kremlin.
• It's disgraceful that we allow oligarchs to use attack dogs on U.S. citizens. 

Corrupt Hillary?

Who's the corrupt Presidential candidate?