Purple Spandex, Neutrinos and other topics

Workout notes
Yoga class followed by a 4 mile run. The run: 1.2 easy, 2.16 miles in 20:37 (two faster .5 mile segments: 4:20, 4:06, and one .25 mile segment), then a walk jog back. I though about doing 4 x .5 mile, but I didn’t want to push myself today as I have a challenging weekend coming up.

Neutrinos
You may have heard about the “faster than light” neutrinos. Well, the physics community appears to be skeptical, to say the least. This doesn’t remind me of the “cold fusion” fiasco but, well, we’ll see. I am skeptical too, though I don’t have the scientific credentials to make a judgment based on scientific merits. My basis: well established results are rarely overturned…and I mean RARELY.

Football
Pity I have some grading to do this weekend; otherwise I’d be tempted to watch the Rams play the Saints. Given that the Saints beat the Colts 62-7 and the Rams lost to the Cowboys 34-7, well, I’d have a morbid curiosity to see if the Saints could hit 60 again. Who knows…

Illinois Football
Well, now that Illinois has belly flopped, the fans are starting to blow them off:

“My teachers were still nice to me,” Scheelhaase said Monday after practice on the Memorial Stadium turf. “I still had a seat in class. People were sitting around me and talking to me. I didn’t feel any differently. In my mind, everyone knows we can bounce back. If they don’t, then they’ll see.”

Illinois (6-2 overall, 2-2 in the Big Ten Conference) plays at No. 21 Penn State (7-1, 4-0) Saturday (2:30 p.m., ABC), but the Illini heard few questions from the media about JoePa, Linebacker U. or play-action passing.

They were asked more about confidence in the locker room and among the Illini’s worried fan base. After playing Penn State, the Illini face tough home games against Michigan and Wisconsin.

“I’m not paying any attention” to the mood on the street, coach Ron Zook said. “I’ve got my own issues. I can’t worry about that stuff now. It’s hard to insulate (the players). They’re out there. It is what it is. What can I do about it?”[...]

“It was new to have people on the bandwagon,” Scheelhaase said. “It was cool. It was nice. Maybe it was too nice. You never know.

“We’re not too worried about what other people are saying. We’re used to having kind of an empty bandwagon. It’s a little lighter to pull. It’s not that bad.”

As an Illinois fan, this is music to my ears, because the team plays better when it appears that their fans have deserted them; they do better with a “it is us against the world” attitude. They don’t handle support very well.

So if you are an Illinois football player, quit reading NOW.

I expect the team to rally and to play very well against Penn State; in fact I am predicting an upset.

Purple Spandex:

Well, this is in honor of someone at my yoga class (one of my favorite MILFs)

No, this isn’t her; this model is about 25 years younger but probably can’t run as fast.

Advertisement