S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 74

Washington Huskies #4 in CFB Rankings

It's election day in the U.S. and pretty soon I'm going to start watching returns on T.V. But before I subject myself to that torture, some good news.

The CFB Selection Committee has put the University of Washington Huskies at #4, up one from last week's #5.

This is significant because if things don't change, the Huskies will be in the playoffs, probably playing #1 Alabama first. But there are three games to go in the regular season for the Huskies, plus any post-season games such as the Pac-12 Championship Game on December 2nd. So a lot could change. The Apple Cup cross-state rivalry game against the Washington State Cougars could be a key game for the season. The Cougars are second in the Pac-12 North standings (and #23 in the CFB rankings).

On Saturday the Huskies play USC (#20 in the CFB rankings) who are looking better and better. So that, too, could be a tough game.

But at least we're getting the respect we deserve. Finally.

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Huskies are 9-0, Still Not Respected

For a few glorious hours last night after they decimated Arizona, the Washington State Cougars were leading the Pac-12 North Division with a 7-2 over all, 6-0 in conference record. Because the University of Washington Huskies played late (7:30 Pacific Time) and only had an 8-0 overall record with only a 5-0 in conference record, Wazzu fans go to know the thrill of being number one, at least for a short while.

That was until UW beat California by a score of 66-27 to maintain their unbeaten status, go to 9-0 on the season, and go to 6-0 in conference.

Sorry Cougs.

The game started out looking like it might be a challenge for the Huskies. In fact, California scored
first with a field goal coming off a very very bad punt by the Huskies that gave California very good field position to start their series. That the defense held them to a field goal is amazing.

And the offense wasn't doing much better. Except for a couple of long bombs by quarterback Jake Browning to John Ross, which let to touchdowns, the offense was just lack luster all through the first half.

Then the second half came and things changed. The defense stopped Cal on nearly every drive and the offense would march down the field and score on nearly ever possession. Once again, at about nine and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter, Washington started putting in second-string players. And they still made a touchdown.

The Huskies have won seven of their nine victories with more than 40 points. This is the first time the Huskies have gone 9-0 since 1991 when they were co-national champions (one poll picked them, one poll picked another team, I think Miami of Florida). This kind of thing is why, eventually, they went to a playoff system (after the horrible experiment with the BCS).

The AP Top 25 Poll today has the Huskies still at #4 (WSU at 23, up two). But really, no one cares anymore since the CFB Selection Committee Rankings, which come out on Tuesday. There is a lot of speculation about what's going to happen.

As you may recall, the Huskies were #5 in that ranking. despite being #4 in the AP poll and the USA Today poll. The top four teams in that ranking go to the playoffs, so being #5 is significant. Last week Texas A&M was #4. But they lost to an unranked team yesterday which means they will likely drop from that spot.

Jake BrowningSo does UW move to #4 now? The FBS Selection Committee might move Ohio State to #4, skipping over UW, because of UW's lack of strength of schedule. Ohio State is 8-1 It was those three easy pushover teams we played before conference play. We'll find out Tuesday. And I'll probably blog about it.

If the Huskies can stay unbeaten and win the Pac-12 Championship game on December 2nd, they will probably go to the CFB playoffs. But that means winning the Apple Cup against Washington State. Washington State is looking better and better even though they lost to an FCS team early in the season. It's going to be tough to beat them when they will have home-field advantage. And the Apple Cup could very well be the battle for the Pac-12 North Division championship.

Meanwhile, in the Pac-12 South, after Utah lost to Washington, they are probably out of the running for the South Division title. Right now the Colorado Buffaloes are on top with USC close behind. The Huskies play USC next week at home, so that could help determine who wins the Pac-12 South. UW doesn't play Colorado this year, unless we end up playing them in the Championship game.

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Robert Goos and A.B. Funkhauser

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome Robert Goos and A.B. Funkhauser.
Robert GoosRobert Goos

 I am a psychiatrist in private practice in Pueblo, Colorado. Prior to this, I practiced in academic centers, state mental institutions, community mental health centers, prisons, and for the 10 years prior to opening my private practice, at a Veterans Health outpatient center. With this breadth of experience, I believe I have seen every variety of mental illness possible, and treated the most severe cases imaginable. It is in my work with PTSD, however, that I found my most challenging mental condition to evaluate and treat.  It is from this work with combat veterans suffering from PTSD that I developed the premise of my book, the moral injuries or damage to the soul that these former soldiers encounter. I would hope that my book would provide some solace for these men and women with PTSD, and perhaps help in developing a new treatment paradigm for this disabling mental disorder.

Robert's Book:

Portal to Erytheum

Robert's Links:

Website/Blog
Facebook
Twitter

A.B. FunkhauserA.B. Funkhauser

Toronto born author A.B. Funkhauser is a funeral director, classic car nut and wildlife enthusiast living in Ontario, Canada. Like most funeral directors, she is governed by a strong sense of altruism fueled by the belief that life chooses us and we not it. Her debut novel Heuer Lost and Found, released in April 2015, examines the day to day workings of a funeral home and the people who staff it. Winner of the Preditors & Editors Reader’s Poll for Best Horror 2015, Heuer Lost and Found is the first installment in Funkhauser’s "Unapologetic Lives" series. Her sophomore effort, Scooter Nation, released March 11, 2016 through Solstice Publishing. A devotee of the gonzo style pioneered by the late Hunter S. Thompson, Funkhauser attempts to shine a light on difficult subjects by aid of humorous storytelling. “In gonzo, characters operate without filters which means they say and do the kinds of things we cannot in an ordered society. Results are often comic but, hopefully, instructive.”

Funkhauser is currently working on Shell Game, a contemporary “whodunit” begun during NaNoWriMo 2015.

A.B.'s Books:

Heuer Lost and Found

Scooter Nation


Shell Game (Coming Spring 2017)

A.B.'s Links:
Website Facebook Twitter Amazon Branded Google+ Publisher Goodreads Tumblr
Instagram
From Today's Show: May Not Make Alien Contact for 1,500 years.
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My Favorite Things

Back to the 52-week blogging challenge. The next prompt is "My Favorite Things."

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.

Oh wait, that's something else.

(Interesting note about The Sound of Music: Captain Von Trapp commanded a submarine during World War I for the "other" side, i.e., the Hapsburg Empire which was Germany's ally. He was awarded medals by the Emperor-as mentioned in the movie-for sinking a British troop ship that resulted in a large loss of life. Not so romantic, now, huh?)

My favorite things? Probably cars and movies. I love cars, the faster and more powerful the better. Back when I drove on a racetrack (which I had to give up for financial and health reasons) at speeds up to 155 mph, I called it "the most fun I've had with my clothes on."

Even though I tend to drive close to the speed limit on public roads, I can have fun accelerating to that speed quickly. And if the road has corners, even better. Maneuvering a car through a corner as quickly as you dare is one of the joys in life.

The other thing I like are movies. Well, good movies. Bad movies (and I've watched plenty) kinda suck. But a well-written, well-made movie is almost as good as a well-written book. Sometimes better.

So those are my favorite things: fast cars and good movies.

What are your favorite things?

Washington is #5 in FBS Committee Selection Poll

Yesterday the FBS Selection Committee came out with their rankings for college football. This is important because the top four teams get to be in the FBS playoffs for the national championship (why we can't have a regular playoff, I don't know).

The University of Washington Huskies are #5. Texas A&M is #4, even though they are 7-1 and the Huskies are 8-0. The general feeling is the strength of schedule is what hurt UW. Those three easy, at-home games we played at the beginning of the season against Rutgers, Idaho, and Portland State.
However, if the Huskies manage to go 12-0, which they have a good chance of doing now that they beat Utah, the selection committee would be hard pressed not to have them at least #4 and in the playoffs.
Probably the next tough team they are going to play is the Washington State Cougars in the Apple
Cup. The game is in Pullman, which makes it harder to win. The Cougars are in second place in the Pac-12 North (under the Huskies) with a 6-2 record but are 5-0 in conference, just like the Huskies. The Cougars are looking better and better as the season goes on. And it is well known in Washington State that the Apple Cup is always a game unto itself. One year Washington was vying for Conference Champion and the Cougars were the doormat of the conference, and they still beat the Huskies in a very snowy game in Pullman.
So we have to watch the FBS poll from now on.
This Saturday the Huskies take on the California Golden Bears in Berkeley. Then they come home for two games (USC and Arizona State) then the travel to the Palouse to play the Cougs the day after Thanksgiving. Then a week later (December 2nd) is the Pac-12 championship game between the winner of the North Division and the South Division. I'm planning on the Huskies being in that game.

Oh, and the only other Pac-12 teams ranked by the FBS Selection Committee are Colorado (don't play this year), Utah (already beat), and Washington State.

The Huskies are 8-0!

I was in meetings in Lewiston, Idaho literally all day Saturday from 6:30 AM to nearly 9:00 PM with about an hour break around 4:15. Because of that, I had to DVR the University of Washington Huskies game against Utah and watch it today when I got home.

Before the game, the Huskies were ranked (AP writers poll) #4 in the nation and Utah #17. Utah was 7-1 and on top of the Pac-12 South Division. If the Huskies have any hopes of going to the playoffs, they have to stay unbeaten so they can stay high in the rankings (their soft pre-conference schedule is hurting their chances).  Also, this might be a preview of the Pac-12 championship game in December if both teams stay on top of their divisions. The Huskies went into this game undefeated.

At first it looked like it might be another Husky blowout game, even playing in Salt Lake City in front of a hostile crowd. They Huskies jumped up to a 14-0 lead by early in the second quarter.

The Utah made 17 unanswered points. One touchdown was basically due to a Husky player's Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty. The Utes had a running back named Thompson the Huskies struggled to stop. Husky quarterback Jake Browning threw one of his rare interceptions that the Utes capitalized on.

In the second half, the Huskies began playing better. Even though the Utes held the lead a short time, the Huskies scored on their next series. By the end it came down to stopping a Utah drive that could tie the game. And the Husky defense was up to the task. The final score was 31-24.

The Huskies are 8-0 for the first time since I don't know when.

On the AP poll, the Huskies stayed at #4. The Utah Utes, I guess for holding their own against a #4 team, moved up one to #16. And the Colorado Buffaloes, who had a bye this weekend, moved from 23 - 21. Also, The Washington State University Cougars are now ranked at #25.

Which means of the four Pac-12 schools ranked in the AP Top #25 poll, none are the big California schools that are usually so dominant.

Next week the Huskies take on California in Berkeley. Right now, I don't see a team in the Pac-12 that could beat them. Utah was their toughest opponent yet. And they beat them.

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The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Rebecca Besser and S.F. Edwards

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome writers Rebecca Besser and S.F. Edwards.
Rebecca BesserRebecca Besser

Rebecca Besser resides in Ohio with her wonderful husband and amazing son. They've come to accept her quirks as normal while she writes anything and everything that makes her inner demons squeal with delight. She's best known for her work in adult horror, but has been published in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for a variety of age groups and genres. She's entirely too cute to be scary in person, so she turns to the page to instill fear into the hearts of the masses.

Rebecca's Books:


Zombies Inside

Nurse Blood 

Re-Civilize

Rebecca's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

S.F. EdwardsS.F. Edwards

S.F. Edwards and family recently relocated to the Pacific Northwest after spending the last nine years as a flight and operational test engineer for the United States Air Force. Prior to that he spent his time travelling the world ensuring that self defense weapon systems of the US Navy were ready able to protect thousands of American Service members. S.F. has a diverse background in engineering as well as in aviation and space education as a former instructor at the US Space and Rocket Center's Aviation Challenge program. To this day his passion for all things aviation and space permeates his life.

S.F. currently calls the area around Edwards Air Force Base home with his wife and five sons, one of whom is afflicted with a severe, lifelong disability. The boys are his greatest joy and he works hard to make sure that they will become responsible, capable young men.

S.F. is the creator and author of the Spiral War series of military science fiction novels. S.F. is also a regular contributor to and a Veteran Reviewer with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Online Writers Workshop.

S.F.'s Books:


Spiral War: On The Cusp

Spiral War: On Dagger’s Wings 

Spiral War: In Death’s Shadow

S.F.'s Links:

Website Blog Facebook Twitter
From Today's Show: The Universe has Ten Times the Number of Galaxies as Thought
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My Best Friend

I found a new blogging challenge and this one is a 52-week challenge so that should last me about a year (depending on how many I skip).

The first prompt is "Meet my best friend."

This might sound a bit unusual, but my best friend is probably Sarah. Sarah lives in Eastern Canada (and I live in Western U.S.). We communicate mostly via text, sometimes emails. We've met twice face to face when she was visiting a friend of hers in the U.S. not far from where I live.

Sarah is a walking dictionary. If I needed to know how to spell a word, I text her. She has proofread all my novels (and needs to get on the one I sent her quite a while ago).

Sarah is a Jeopardy! freak. She does the test online whenever she can and has twice advanced to auditions. They always way "we'll call you if we want you" at the end and they've never called her. When she watches the show, she gets frustrated when someone does poorly, wondering why they selected them and not her.

She used to have a blog but doesn't anymore.

And that's my best friend. Do you have a best friend?