Last Week’s Game

Seth: Well, Saturday night was fun for about 30 minutes and then it sorta devolved into what a lot of people thought, which was keep pace early and then fall late.

Sports is frustrating and I mentioned to Brian earlier this week that sports is generally here to destroy your spirit (except for a handful of lucky fans each year). There is good news in that Baker Mayfield is out of Texas Tech’s life forever and we finally sorta get to move on. Any lasting impressions from Texas Tech’s loss at Oklahoma?

Travis: It played out pretty much the way I thought it would. It was good to see them get off to such a hot start, but then that leads to disappointment when they fizzle in the 2nd half and can’t keep up. But overall, the end result was inline with what I expected going in.

Suburban Gangsters

Travis: So I saw the pic on Twitter about Yo’s big day. Was the government office as sterile as you expected? Was he excited about the ceremony?

Seth: Yeah, those places are pretty sterile, but they truly made an effort. They asked for the kids to wear costumes for the ceremony, even kids who weren’t becoming citizens. It was actually just kids that were becoming citizens, all of them under the age of 18 and there was something pretty special about that. Kids from Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Mexico, Thailand and Youssouf was the only one from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was supposed to sit by himself in the middle of the room while they did the ceremony, but I sat with him and he sat on my lap. It was a pretty special moment, not just for Youssouf, but for those kids. They were, for the most part, too young to understand.

So it’s probably more of an emotional experience for the adults, like me or anyone else who maybe takes their citizenship for granted. Getting Youssouf to the point where he is today was nearly 4 years in the making, from the beginning of the adoption to the point where I can sleep a little more sound because he no longer owns a green card, but will be eligible to receive a passport. I know this is silly, but I was a bit afraid to travel with just his green card.

On your end, Claire should be heading full steam into basketball practice, what are the Broncos’ prospects this year (I hope like hell Claire plays for the Broncos)?

Travis: Man that’s so great to hear. You and your wife are people that I’m proud to say I “know,” and have a friendship with. You’re making the world a better place.

And yes, Claire is a Bronco and the season kicks off Monday. She scored 29 in their final scrimmage last night so I think she’s about as ready as she can be. They are ranked 14th in the state in the coaches’ preseason poll, which I assume is based largely on their success last year (made it to the regional finals, one game away from the final four) so it’ll be exciting to watch for sure. Her confidence seems to be growing daily, so I’m bursting inside just ready to get things kicked off.

This Week’s Game

Travis: So how do you see this week playing out? K-State is always so tough to beat and I don’t think Saturday will be any exception. Kingsbury will have his hands full trying to scheme around what the wizard is gonna throw at him. And this is by far the most critical game of the season. I fully believe Kliff has to win 2 out of the final 4 to keep his job. And this is one of them.

Seth: I very much appreciate that. I’d agree wholeheartedly about needing to win to keep his job. This is pressure for Kingsbury. Luckily, I think there are some real advantages for Texas Tech, namely that K-State is really terrible at defending the pass. I don’t know if a team can be as disciplined as Iowa State was at defending the pass and K-State is very good at stopping the run. Maybe this sets up so that Shimonek can get back into a groove in terms of passing the ball. And because there’s so much pressure for Kingsbury, I wonder if this makes it a bit easier for Kingsbury to make a move at quarterback if the offense stalls for any length of time. The defense is going to have to force some third downs and luckily (again!) K-State isn’t great at converting third downs or stopping third downs.

The Best Thing Ever

Seth: My shout-out this week goes to the headlamp. I don’t know how or why the headlamp wasn’t around when I was a kid, but a headlamp when you’re running at 6:30 in the morning and it’s pitch black is a wonderful thing. I don’t even know what brand it is or anything like that, I just know that it works really well and I didn’t trip over any rocks or branches. Bless you headlamp, bless you.

Travis: My best thing ever this week is this video I saw on Twitter Sunday morning. There’s a performer named “Red Panda,” that does her show at a lot of NBA games, so she’s pretty well known by the NBA crowd. Well, apparently Marshawn Lynch isn’t part of the NBA crowd. His reactions are so freakin hilarious, I still watch this thing about once a day.

Marshawn Lynch and Red Panda= the best thing you’ll watch all day. pic.twitter.com/rBiLG7VqAT

— Travis Hale (@LubbockElitist) October 29, 2017

Random Top Five

Travis: Top 5 this week, since we’re heading into fall and I know we have some fans out there, let’s go with top 5 soups.

1. Pho
2. Tortilla
3. Beef stew
4. Split pea
5. Tomato

Seth: I almost did this exact same top five, but it was 90 degrees outside today.

1. Tortilla
2. Beef Stew
3. Gumbo (Is gumbo even soup? Don’t even care.)
4. Chicken Noodle (Not the stuff you buy out of the can.)
5. French Onion (Also not that stuff from the can, but the stuff that’s baked with gruyere cheese and crutons.)

Game Predictions

Travis: As for the game, I’m going with my heart. I say Tech pulls out a must-win game 31-20. Man, I hope it happens.

Seth: I think the good guys end up winning this one 38-35.