January 18, 2038 by Crooks and Liars
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Alright, musos. "The Dance of Maya" by Mahavishnu Orchestra has it all. Funny time signatures. Double guitars. Billy Freakin' Cobham.
Fusion juggernaut Mahavishnu Orchestra, led by John McLaughlin, picked up where he and drummer Billy Cobham left off with Miles Davis' Bitches Brew, and expanded the minds of thousands of rock and jazz listeners and musicians with two great albums in the early seventies before they stopped speaking to each other, changed lineups, and eventually fizzled out.
I first heard "Maya" in 11th grade when the very adventurous teacher of our high school jazz group brought it in for us to play, which in retrospect was a fairly irresponsible thing to do to sixteen-year-olds who love to overplay. Fortunately, he kept us in line and we held it to just under twelve minutes, a restriction from which McLaughlin and company are thanfully excused here.
Complicated prog favorites, anyone?
November 11, 2009 by Tech Hot Boxx
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AP - Hewlett-Packard Co. said Wednesday it is buying the 3Com Corp. networking company for $2.7 billion, the latest move by the world's No. 1 personal computer maker to expand into more profitable areas than PCs.
November 11, 2009 by Drudge Report
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November 11, 2009 by Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog
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Aside from the Kris Brown(notes) missed field goal that ended the game and gave the Indianapolis Colts a 20-17 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday, the play that affected the Texans' chances of winning a very tight game was the fumble by running back Ryan Moats(notes) with 2:24 left in the first half. Moats had rumbled forward after catching a quick pass from quarterback Matt Schaub(notes), was hit by safety Antoine Bethea(notes) at the 3-yard line, and rolled out of bounds at the 2. However, Moats lost control of the ball before he went out of bounds, and the fumble was recovered by cornerback Jerraud Powers(notes).
The officials had blown the play dead at 2:24, assuming that Moats had gone out of bounds, the Texans let the clock run down before running another play, and that gave the Colts enough time to challenge the out-of-bounds call. Jeff Triplette's crew reversed the call on review, and the ruling was a touchback because Powers touched the ball as it lay on the goal line before he established two feet back inbounds. Indy's ball, potential game-deciding touchdown averted.
But according to Alan Burge of the Houston Texans Examiner, Triplette may have missed something that would have changed Powers' recovery.
The loose ball contacted Bethea's left arm as he tackled Moats and while Bethea's right leg was out of bounds at the 2 yard line. That means it should have been a dead ball there, right? And whatever happened after that should have been irrelevant, right?
My update: From the Official Rules of the NFL, Rule 8, Article 2: "A fumble is legally recovered or caught in bounds by a player if the player had both feet in bounds prior to the recovery or catch." Triplette's crew probably went with Rule 7, Article 6 (c): "A fumble in the field of play that goes into the opponent's end zone and over the end line or sideline results in the ball being given over to the defensive team and a touchback awarded" based on their belief that Bethea had both feet in bounds.
Burge has a picture of his DVR here, showing where he believes the dead ball spot should have occurred.
The lower image clearly shows that Bethea's right leg was out of bounds while in contact with the loose ball at the moment the upper photo was taken. Bethea's right elbow (that fuzzy black spot - he was wearing a large pad on his elbow) was also on the white line. In the milliseconds after this screen capture - and as Bethea is even further out of bounds - you can see Bethea's left arm move backward and push the ball toward the goal line where Powers (25) was waiting.
Texans head coach Gary Kubiak has filed a report with the league. "The bottom line, they're saying that the ball was not touched by anybody who was out of bounds," he said on Monday. "Or if it was, it was only touched by Ryan [Moats], who was on top of another player. We thought looking at it that No. 41 [Bethea] is touching the ball and he's out of bounds. So we'll hear back from them."
This call will certainly make vice president of officiating Mike Pereira's weekly Official Review segment on the NFL Network worth watching -- when Rich Eisen asks Pereira to explain it, let's hope there's a better explanation than, "Well, our guys blew a call that could affect the landscape in the AFC South for the rest of the season."
November 11, 2009 by Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog
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This week's Monday-nighter might also be the Game of the Week in the NFL. The
upstart Broncos of Denver gird up their loins to take the field of battle
against the mighty Steelers of Pittsburgh in a game to determine which team
might be mentioned alongside the Colts in shallow, midseason conversations
about AFC teams that could make the Super Bowl. It's as high as stakes get in
non-divisional Week 9 matchups.
Pittsburgh comes of a bye week after defeating another midpoint NFL power,
the Minnesota Vikings. The Broncos are coming off a thorough beating at the
hands of Baltimore, and in the minds of some, need a good showing tonight to
cement their status as contender, not pretender.
Festivities start here at 8:15-ish. We welcome your comments, questions, and
insights about all things game-related: from Denver's need to stretch the field
vertically to Jon Gruden's inability to maintain a decent posture on a stool.
<a href="http:/
November 11, 2009 by Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog
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While
being really, really careful not to say anything that would make waves,
Philadelphia Eagles "quarterback" Michael Vick(notes) said yesterday that
he's not thrilled about his role in the Philadelphia offense. He
doesn't dig the Wildcat, and if it's up to him, he won't be doing it next year.
"It would be hard," Vick said of returning to the Eagles, according to excerpts released by NBC. "It would be an everyday struggle. But I would have to take that time to hone my skills and get better. I'm excited about the opportunity I have moving forward whether it's with Philadelphia or another team."
[...]"I won't be a Wildcat guy. I can't," Vick told NBC. "It's a different style of play. It's almost like a hit-or-miss type of thing. My position is quarterback. That's what I was born to do."
What he does next year isn't really up to Vick, though. The Eagles have the
option to keep him around next year for $3.6 million, though it's got to be seen
as unlikely that the Eagles would pay that much for a guy whose only function
seems to be to prevent the offensive from functioning smoothly or with any
rhythm.
Not that that's Vick's fault, mind you. That coach Andy Reid brings him to stall
the offense periodically is Andy Reid's decision. Maybe Vick can't make plays
anymore ... maybe he can't throw or run. If that is the case, though, might I
present this crazy idea to Andy Reid: Stop putting Vick in the game.
Again, Vick wouldn't talk about specifics for next season, and just
reiterated that he wants to help the Eagles win a championship. Tony Dungy
wasn't shy about talking about potential future Vick destinations, though.
"I told Michael to just worry about this year," [Dungy] said. "It's technically up to Philadelphia. If they want him back, he has to stay there. If they don't, there are some teams looking for quarterbacks: Cleveland, St. Louis and Washington.
"But I think a dark horse is Buffalo. They talked originally. There was some communication there. I think that could be a good spot."
Buffalo. Interesting. The Bills did pretty much admit that they signed
Terrell Owens(notes) for the "wow" factor, to increase their profile and make
a splash with the media. Vick would certainly do that.
But it's way too early to be thinking about that. Except for Cleveland.
Michael Vick, Dawg Pound ... we probably don't want to do that.
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November 11, 2009 by Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog
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Matthew Stafford(notes), Quarterback, Detroit
Lions. I like to give rookie quarterbacks a certain amount of leeway,
because in their rookie year, it's sort of their job to suck. Except in rare
cases, a rookie's got to pretty much just shut up and take his lumps, learn from
the beatings, and accumulate experience until he knows what he can and can't do
in the NFL. It's a little different, though, when you stake your team to a 17-0
lead, and then spend the next three quarters going 12-of-27 with five
interceptions. The turnover fest led to a 32-3 Seattle run to close the game.
Mike Brown(notes), Strong Safety, Kansas City Chiefs. His official position
is listed as "strong safety," but yesterday, for all practical
purposes, his real position was, "Mike Sims-Walker's personal escort to the
endzone." Brown is really struggling in coverage, and he's not
exactly a wall as a run-stopper, either. Meanwhile, the guy he replaced, Bernard
Pollard(notes) is off in Houston, playing some pretty good football.
Ryan Moats(notes), Running Back, Houston Texans. Any thoughts that Ryan Moats
was going to save the Texans' running game were shot down rather harshly
yesterday, as Moats showed that he could close his eyes, plow into the line and
gain a half-yard just as well as Steve Slaton(notes) could. In fact, Moats picked up
only 2.4 yards per carry, a shade worse than Slaton's 2.8 yards per carry. A
running game consisting of only quarterback sneaks, while Matt Schaub(notes) might not
like it, would be just about as effective.
Vontae Davis(notes), Cornerback, Miami Dolphins. The day started with Davis
making maybe the highlight of the day, picking
off a deep ball from Tom Brady to Randy Moss. It was a beautiful, athletic
elite play. Then it seemed like Brady and Moss took it personally, because they
spent the rest of the day beating Davis like a red-headed rented mule. Moss
finished with 147 yards and a touchdown, with two particularly big plays coming
at Davis' expense.
Joe Flacco(notes), Quarterback, Baltimore Ravens. Credit the Bengals defense
for a lot of it, but Flacco just couldn't get anything done yesterday. His final
line was 18-of-32 for 195 yards and two interceptions. Of those 18 completions,
eight were screens or dump-offs to Ray Rice(notes). Throw in two other completions to
Le'Ron McClain, and only eight completions went to tight ends or receivers. Derrick Mason(notes) was targeted 13 times, and only three of them were completions. When Flacco did go deep, he was intercepted, and he ended up taking four sacks on the
day, too. A rough outing for Flacco after an outstanding performance last week.