Why I hate SEC fans

Growing up in the great Northwest, I've grown to like the Pac-10. While it's not as "passionate" (read jobless losers watching a football game) as the SEC, it's still great football. However, every SEC fan in the country would disagree. That's why I hate them. And I hate them for this as well...

• They won't see this, because they can't read.
• Apparently they play the greatest brand of football on the face of the planet. Nevermind the other big conferences that consistently beat them in bowl games... oh and the NFL. 
• Ole Miss reminds me of some jerseys they found in the back of some Christmas theater production closet directed by a drunk man.
• Many of states in the south don't have very high populations, yet hundreds of thousands of people tailgate outside of their favorite team's stadium - making them the largest city in the state that day or something. Question - since everyone is getting drunk, who's manning the hospitals and police stations?
• CBS owns your TV contract therefore all we hear during your games are "CSI: Canada" promos.
• Any part of the country that keeps talking about "the rise of the Confederacy" is instantly written off in my book.

So there you have it. I'd better not have a catfish thrown through my window.

Epic Photo: Jellyfish Madness

Believe me, I would NOT want to be that guy... ewww..

Idaho beats Utah for first time in 71 year

What is with the Vandals? First the football program makes and incredible turnaround and now all of sudden the basketball team is making a splash.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Mac Hopson scored eight of his 16 points in the last six minutes as Idaho beat Utah 94-87 on Friday, bringing the team its first win against the school in 71 years.

Plagued by foul trouble, Hopson re-entered the game with the score tied and engineered a 13-6 run to end the game.

Steffan Johnson scored 19 points and Jeff Ledbetter added 16 as the Vandals (1-0) took its first game after losing 11-straight on the road.

The teams have played 15 times over the years and last Idaho victory was in 1938.

71 years? Did they even have the dribble back then or did they still use peach baskets? Holy Cow. Looking like we might have another Vandal success story on our hands. 

Water found on the moon, not cheese

Remember that big NASA impact on the moon a while back? Well apparently the data is back and they've found quite a substantial amount of water of the moon. Looks like we might be going back...

Substantial water reserves have been found beneath the Moon’s surface, Nasa announced yesterday, paving the way for a permanent lunar base.

The discovery came from Nasa’s “moon bombing” mission, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) probe, which was deliberately crashed into the lunar South Pole last month. An analysis of the dust thrown up from the impact revealed the presence of about 80 litres of water, or enough for a shallow bath. The results suggest that much larger, more accessible reserves are available at the poles.

“We can announce that we’ve found water — not just a little bit, a significant amount,” said Tony Colaprete, principal investigator for the mission at Nasa’s Ames Research Centre in California.

The exact form of the water is not yet clear, but it is likely to be spread out in small ice crystals. The rocket hit the Moon at an area where the surface temperature is around -230C. This region has not been in direct sunlight for at least two billion years. 

And it's still probably cleaner than the tap water in LA. Wonderful. (This is from Tech Rave)

Further proof that NBA GM's are idiots - the Byron Scott firing

So the New Orleans GM fired Hornet's head coach Byron Scott for a less than stellar start. Okay, they've been regressing as a team despite a talented roster, you need to change the pace. Then he installs himself as the head coach of the club. Um, keep in mind that he has no head coaching experience on any level and Scott has been to NBA Finals and he thinks he's going to do better? Further proof the NBA GM's might be the least intelligent form of live on this planet.

And the players know it...

NEW ORLEANS -- Chris Paul's loss was Tim Floyd's gain.

From here on into the foreseeable future, they'll win and lose together.

Paul said he was not sure firing Byron Scott as head coach was the change the struggling New Orleans Hornets needed to make. Floyd said the opportunity to rejoin the club as a top assistant "seemed like a perfect scenario for me."

Floyd, a former head coach for New Orleans, formally returned to the club at a Friday morning shootaround as the Hornets began preparations -- under new head coach and former Floyd assistant Jeff Bower -- to play the Portland Trail Blazers later that night.

Before Paul took the court, he said he understood that change was inevitable after the Hornets struggled to a 3-6 start that included several blowout losses. Still, he was sad to part ways with the only NBA coach he's ever known since being drafted by New Orleans out of Wake Forest in 2005.

"Obviously change needed to occur. I'm not sure that's what should have happened," Paul said. "I'm not sure it was all coach's fault. You can [only] play with the cards you're dealt. It's a tough situation. The team went a different direction. Now we've got to play."

Apparently everyone is following the Isiah Thomas model of excellence.

NASA tops the 50 best innovations of 2009

Time Magazine has released a list of the 50 best innovations of 2009. Some of them high-tech, some of them life changing and some of them are just plain weird. The No. 1 on the list was NASA's Ares Rocket which could potentially launch men to the moon and beyond.

The new rockets could take astronauts to some thrilling places. The biggest costs — and risks — associated with visiting other celestial bodies are from landing and taking off again. But suppose you don't land? An independent commission appointed by the White House to make recommendations for NASA's future recently returned its 154-page report and made strong arguments for bypassing the familiar boots-in-the-soil scenario in favor of a flexible path of flybys and orbits.

Under the new thinking, astronauts could barnstorm or circle the moon, Mars and Mars' twin moons, deploying probes to do their rock-collecting and experiments for them. They could similarly sample near-Earth objects like asteroids. They could also travel to what is known as the Lagrange points — a scattering of spots between Earth and the moon and Earth and the sun where the gravitational forces on the bodies are precisely balanced and spacecraft simply ... hang where they are. These would serve as ideal spots for deploying probes and conducting cosmic observations.

Ladies and gentlemen, the 21st Century! (This is from Tech Rave)

Casey got a new twitter too!

So in a further effort to take over Twitter, Casey has his own Twitter as well. You can follow him at...

http://twitter.com/CaseyKnopik

Go to it. Make fun of Casey. Should be a good time.

Something I already knew about New Yorkers... they're dumb

Some (not so shocking) shocking news from New York. Seems like the college students there aren't very bright.

More city kids are graduating from high school, but that doesn't mean they can do college math.

Basic algebra involving fractions and decimals stumped a group of City University of New York freshmen - suggesting city schools aren't preparing them, a CUNY report shows.

"These results are shocking," said City College Prof. Stanley Ocken, who co-wrote the report on CUNY kids' skills. "They show that a disturbing proportion of New York City high school graduates lack basic skills."

During their first math class at one of CUNY's four-year colleges, 90% of 200 students tested couldn't solve a simple algebra problem, the report by the CUNY Council of Math Chairs found. Only a third could convert a fraction into a decimal.

But I betcha they know how to boo someone and call a cab. Anyways this shows you what can happen in an overbudened school system and it's frankly something we have to address nation-wide. Luckily they just single out New Yorkers so I can make fun of them.

In other news, can someone do my taxes for me? In Chewelah we didn't have math, we had guessing.

JustSON the Numbers: Jay Cutler's bad night

JustSON friend Dylan Kitzan is fan of the San Francisco 49ers and couldn't be happier about the performance of Jay Cutler during the Chicago Bears 10-6 to the boys from the bay. Here's Cutler's stat line (warning: it's not pretty):

29 for 52, 307 yards, 55.8 percentage, 0 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 33.6 passer rating

Yowza, now all of a sudden Bears fans are missing Kyle Orton.

Finally Friday

That's right faithful JustSON Nation, it is Friday. That means in just about 10 hours you are free for the weekend. FREE!

Here's an idea of what you could do:

Gotta love snow.

Epic Photo: Man Photo to offset the Kitten abomination below

I hate cats. Can't believe Casey posted photos of kittens below. That's just terrible. So to offset that, I've posted a MAN PHOTO. More Power!

Cute kittens

I'm moving into a new place next week and one thing my fiance wants is kittens. Probably 1,000. There will be cats everywhere. Ok, probably not. But the thing is, I'm not a cat person. I'm a dog person. However, I do like cute, fuzzy, small things. Like squirrels.

And I guess these guys are pretty darn cute too:

Epic Video: Albino Squirrel

This is awesome. Except this squirrel has got to have a hard time hiding every season but winter.

Epic Photo: Synergy Green

Spring 2010 will bring back the green to Washington. But that's not the only thing that will be green. The all new Camaro will be released in a limited edition Synergy Green color.

I love green. Can't wait to see these.


I've always been a Dodge guy. But that car is pretty sweet. Oh, and check out the Camaro facebook page. Tell 'em JustSON sent you!

100 percent chance of snow on Friday in Spokane

Wonders of wonders, it IS going to snow about 1 to 3 inches in Spokane tomorrow. If you know anything about the area, you know the past two years this town has been absolutely slammed with snow.

Normally I wouldn't bat an eye at 1 to 3 inches of snow, but I now have a car that has small tires and low clearance... basically a recipe for getting stuck. Oh boy.

We'll see how things go, otherwise I'll be stuck somewhere in Spokane covered in snow.

(And while Casey claims to be the "outdoor guy" he doesn't have to deal with snow like idea. What a poser.)

News flash: Idaho does not like Boise St.

Nothing like a little story to spark the rivalry for the Idaho-Boise St. game this week which should be awesome. Apparently Vandals athletic director Rob Spear isn't a big Broncos fan. In fact, he wouldn't even fly in a plane with the BSU color scheme on it.

MOSCOW, Idaho (AP)—The Boise State vs. Idaho rivalry has taken to some not-so-friendly skies.

Idaho athletic director Rob Spear says he declined to board a Horizon Air flight after learning the airplane was painted in Boise State’s blue and orange colors.

Spear was traveling to Boise on Saturday for fundraising events. He requested another flight and then drove about 90 miles north to fly from the Spokane, Wash., airport to Boise.

Boise State and Horizon Air unveiled the plane, which sports the team logo on its tail, as an ode to the Broncos earlier this month.

I'm assuming that this plane only flies into minor cities and stuggles to land in larger airports. Just saying. Boise St. this year has been riding on their reputation alone and beating up (and sometimes barely squeaking by) on WAC opponents. That's why I don't listen to mid-major schools that complain about not playing for a national championship because they play against San Jean Weston State every week.

Good job Rob! Show Boise St. just how lame they are.

Epic Photo: It snowed yesterday in Spokane

... and this is exactly how I feel.

JustSON the Numbers: Shaq tames Dwight Howard

Remember how the Orland Magic was just the better team during last year's playoffs against the Cavaliers? Well even though they were playing without Rashard Lewis - the balance in the east may have shifted to Cleveland thanks to the addition of Shaq.

While he only scored 10 points, he managed to keep Orlando superstar Dwight Howard in check to the tune of 11 points and seven rebounds as the Cavs won 102-93 last night to improve to 5-3 on the season.

How did Shaq do this? He was a presence, and he got Howard in foul trouble early. If he can do this against the Magic in the playoffs, we could see the Cavs blow by Orlando.

And how did Lebron James do? 36 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists.

Yeah he's pretty good.

Reasons why you're single... Terrorized by a Hamster

You franitcally call and text your friends because you hear something scurrying around in your vents. Thinking you have mice, you turn on the heat in an effort to heat out the culprit, but get too scared and call the maitenience guy. Obviously he's not going to find anything and leaves. Then you talk to your neighbor who's missing their hamster and after opening a heat vent, the little guy is revealed.

Yep, you got scared by a hamster. Wow. And now you feel terrible for trying to turn the heat on to kill the little guy.

Epic Photo: WW1 Color Photos

Since yesterday was Veterans Day, I got to looking at some things and found these very cool color photos from WWI. Considering how long ago that way, the simple fact that they had these are just amazing. The uniforms and conditions are just stunning.

Amazing huh? You can view more of the photos at worldwaronecolorphotos.com. Shows you an interesting look into a war that is starting to get forgotten. Luckily there are days like Veterans Day that remind us of the sacrifices many men and women make.

New Twitter set up for me

Hello everyone,

Since it was weird having a Twitter for both Casey and I, we've split and I now have my own twitter - something I will update on a regular basis. If you would like to follow me, please go to...

http://twitter.com/BrandonwHansen

Thanks!

New features at JustSON

Don't worry, I wasn't holding the camera. This was filmed on the dash by one of those awesome Gorillapods. I got mine at Amazon.com. Amazing.

Check out previews of the newest sections coming to Just South of North!



EWU might return to Qwest Field for football game

Check out Just South of North on facebook.

Locker number 1?

Ok, so a bit early, but NBC Sports has released their 2010 NFL mock draft.

And at number one, going to the Cleveland Browns, is University of Washington's own, Jake Locker.

Here's their reasoning:

A 10th-round pick in the 2009 MLB entry draft, Locker is a multi-talented athlete whose focus is on the gridiron. He can make all the throws, pick up positive yards on the run, and has stayed effective on bad Huskies teams. The Browns are desperate for a franchise quarterback after giving up on Brady Quinn and watching Derek Anderson perform poorly two years running.

Now that's all fine and dandy except that are they forgetting every year before this? Locker has been a terrible passer until this season. One good year doesn't justify a number one overall pick to me. But what do I know. I just work for a blog.

Plus, I hope he comes back cause he'll give the Huskies the best change of going to a bowl game next year.

Epic Photo: Fur is bad

PETA usually makes some silly moves. But this ad is sure to create a HUGE buzz for them. The strange thing is, they had Brandon shoot the same photo. I saw the proofs. It almost burned my eyes out.

Check out Christian Serratos from Twilight.

The Kid is back for one more go around

Hey Mariners fans, the kid is back! Today they signed Griffey to a one-year deal for 2010.

Ken Griffey Jr. has reached agreement on a one-year deal to return to the Seattle Mariners in 2010.

The deal is similar to the 2009 contract that paid Griffey a base salary of $2 million and earned him $3.15 million total with incentives, the source said.

"We're tickled pink that he's decided to come back,'' Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik said from the GMs meetings in Chicago. "He was such a positive role model, if you will, for a lot of players. He likes where we're headed and he likes what's going on here. He's a first ballot Hall of Famer and the greatest player in Seattle Mariners history.''

Last year I though that this was a move to sell tickets. The second time around is also probably to sell tickets but there was a unintended side-effect. The Mariners were much better on the field and in the dugout. It looked like some guys were having fun. Griffey's performance at the plate was pretty awful (he did hit 19 homers though) but he had a good influence on the clubhouse, one that was very fragmented the season before. I never saw that coming, I figured Griffey would be a spoiled star and the seasons of malcontent would continue.  Not the case.

As long as the Mariners aren't counting on him to have a breakthrough year, it's good they have him back.

Reasons why you're still single... Another Jawkhawk fan

Found this on Deadspin.com... pretty much explains Jayhawks fans.

Jimmy Tucker, better known to the rest of the country as "that guy with the beard who really likes Kansas athletics," has been a fixture on KU's quad since time immemorial, but students have noticed his recent absence.
Seems Tucker (The bearded guy above), 62, has repeatedly violated a restraining order taken out by his 23-year-old ex-fiancée, and was arrested last week for failing to show up for a court date.

That's not the only run-in with the law Tucker has had. He's scheduled to appear in court on a theft charge after stealing three books from the student library, and has yet another court appearance for a marijuana possession charge.

Wow, do I really need to explain this one?

A look at the Colts-Patriots rivalry

"We're going to settle this like men, at SUMMER SLAM next July in the AstroDome, available on Pay-Per-View for 49.99. You'd better believe it brother."

(Also it's proof that Tom Brady is a daywalker. Look at his beard. He's a ginger!)

"Uh Tony, I hope that's your challenge flag."

"If I leap into the endzone, it looks way cooler on the jumbotron replay. Haven't you ever played Tecmo Bowl?"

Wait a minute... is that Deon Branch? Back when he was a wide receiver that caught passes. Absolutely amazing.

"Hey! Don't make me have the ref throw a flag on you!"

"Yeah we just saved a bunch of money on car insurance by switching to Geico."

Found these photos on ESPN Boston.

Quarterbacks that the Spokane Shock should get

The Spokane Shock are currently filling their roster for the upcoming season and it's apparent the talent level has been ramped up quite a bit. That opens up the possibility that we might see some recognizable names coming through the Spokane Arena. Here's who I think they should go after...

Doug Flutie - They play on a small field, might as well go after a small quarterback. I think Doug Flutie is the only NFL quarterback in history not allowed on a rollercoster because of his height. "Awww look at the small guy, they put pads on him and everything..."

Mister Ed - This guy is clutch and would only require hay as pay.

Kyle Orton - After his game last night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, I don't think he'll be in the NFL very long.

Ryan Leaf - "...and from THE Washington State University and THE Texas State Penitentiary, RYYYYAAAAN LEAF!" and the crowd goes wild. 

The Wildcat- the first wildcat offense in Arena Football?! The Spokane Shock should be pioneers.

Me - No seriously, you should have seen me kick this guys butt after the photo was taken. Plus I can throw a football up past them thare mountains.

We'll keep you updated on the Shock's progress this season.

What's the deal with Chad Ocho Cinco?

The media does not like Chad Ocho Cinco, when actually they should.

There are very good players that keep their mouths shut. They keep their nose to the grindstone. They let their play speak for itself.

That's great but that doesn't put people in the seats if the team isn't winning. What media types, ex high school athletes who comment on sports from their recliner and bitter people don't realize is that professional sports is theater. It's a production. It's a show. Sure it's a game with an outcome that isn't decided beforehand but we basically associate roles with players and follow storylines as if it's a bad soap opera.

QB controversy? Coach getting fired? Team trying to break a curse? Sports lives off of characters and stories. There isn't a bigger cartoon character than Chad Ocho Cinco, who constantly pulling off stunts during games that make people grumble, yet they still watch.

When Cinco tried to "pay off the refs" during last week's game, I bursted out in laughter. Great stuff. He was obviously having fun with a game. Heaven forbid a NFL player have fun.

If you've ever head Chad in an interview, you can tell he's doing this for show. But if you were to look into the mind of a professional athlete you would see that this sort of "arrogant confidence" is needed when you play at the highest level of the sport. He's not a headcase like Terrel Owens who has some serious issues he needs to deal with, Cinco is an athlete that does all this to keep an edge. And with all his antics, there's never been something that truly disrupts the team like the stuff TO does.

You watch Chad Ocho Cinco right? He's one of the best athletes in the NFL right? The Bengals are awesome right now right? I don't see the problem. Nothing wrong with a little bit of theater.

Rupert Murdoch does not like Google News

(From Media Chow)

Just to show you how stupid the news business is, I'd like to present to you the case of Rupert Murdoch, who built himself quite the empire in information. Fox News, a plethora of newspapers (including the Wall Street Journal) and MySpace. In other words, he's probably burning actual stacks of money to keep his mansion warm. Anyways, seeing Google News (which it is not) as a stealer of information, Murdoch is now contemplating blocking his newspapers from Google News and similar features from Bing and Ask.

Google has argued that its news aggregator simply points users to content online and actually helps drive traffic to news sites. Murdoch was not impressed by Internet traffic and said he was more interested in finding loyal readers.

"What's the point of having someone ... who likes a headline they see in Google, come to us?" he asked. "The fact is, there's not enough advertising in the world to go around to make all the Web sites profitable. We'd rather have fewer people coming to our Web site but paying."

At this point, users can see the first paragraph of most articles in the Wall Street Journal, but to read the rest of the story online, they must sign up for a subscription. Murdoch was not sure that that is the approach he'll take with all his publications.

One thing Murdoch is touting is the subscription-based service as opposed to an ad service for the money-making model on his newspapers websites. Problem is, with the subscription-based service, any schmuck can come along with a subscription and then post it for free online and then people will go and read that instead of your actual newspaper site. At least Google drives traffic to your site, as opposed to just copying and ignoring the source altogether.

If Murdoch blocks his newspapers, something tells me Google News will just go to other places.

Reasons why you're still single... Tranformers fans

You continue to say that the latest Transformers movie wasn't a steaming pile of crap and insisting that your friends dress up with you to play "friend 'formers" (Good god, I don't want to know what that means). You have all the action figures, lunchboxes, movie posters, video games, t-shirts and bed sheets. Yes BED SHEETS. Those things that when you show a girl she goes screaming and running out of your room.

Good job.

Why vampires suck... fashion sense.

Let me present the following...

Dude, this isn't the seventies, and you don't play baseball. Lose the 'stache.

Unless you're a butler this isn't even remotely cool. And you're paler than Sammy Sosa.

Way to rip off the Caption Morgan pose. Instead of Dracula your name should be Admiral Nelson.

Wow, only Prince after four jack and cokes would be happy to wear this outfit.

So as you can see vampires suck at dressing themselves. Luckily, I do have another photo of a non-vampire that should make you happy.

Hooray!

Epic Video: Virtuous

Many around Washington are dreaming of the snow in the mountains. I'm dreaming of summer.

Reasons why you're still single... Kansas Jayhawks fandom

Look at that photo above... ewwww... is there anything worse than the University of Kansas student section, with perhaps exceptions going to Duke and Montana. The only people that support the Jayhawks are...

(1) People from Kansas. Shudder.
(2) People run an Ebay business from their parent's basement.
(3) Canadians... they love the blue and red.
(4) People who think college basketball is superior to the NBA. Aka... Joe Bob, the guy that averaged 10 points per game as a high school player back in 1978 and wont keep reminding you about it.
(5) People who wear sweatpants until 5 p.m. in the day.

Yes Jawhawk nations RISE! And go to Wal-mart...

Sammy Sosa and his incredible color-changing skin

Much was made about Sammy Sosa's apparently Michael Jackson-esque skin during a public appears. While he claims it was the result of some bad lighting and a skin rejuvenation process - zombie Sosa looks to be the most popular Halloween costume next year. However, what I think what is lost in all the finger pointing is just how hot Sammy Sosa's wife is. I mean holy cow! Kids, do steroids, get shamed out of the game and you can still get a smokin' hot wife like this...

If I were Sosa I wouldn't give a rats behind about getting into the hall of fame on the vote on some crusty, overweight baseball writer who goes home to his stack of Playboys as a form of companionship. Sammy Sosa, I salute you!

And you might want to do something about your skin...

Epic Photo: Chad Ochocinco tried to pay off the refs

GASP! He's paying off the refs. What is this? The NBA!

Actually this was a hilarious stunt during an instant replay, but I'm sure we'll hear from media heads about how horrible this was for the state of football. Then they'll plug some sort of product that is the sponsor of their show. Journalistic integrity.

JustSON at the Movies: What would cause the disaster in 2012

You've probably seen previews for the next big "end of the world" movie by Roland Emmerich thanks to the year 2012. Tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes erupting, and I'm assuming some sort of comet strike will happen. Basically it's playing off this ridiculous notion that the world will end in 2012 because the Mayans couldn't come up with a calendar that lasted longer than that.

(Um, maybe they didn't think they'd be around by 2012, or that their civilization would end by 2012. Which it actually ended a whole lot sooner than that)

But what would cause such a disaster like this? Here's my guess...

1. Rush Limbaugh becomes a Democrat.
2. The Detroit Lions win the Super Bowl. With Art Shell as coach.
3. Somebody from the Rebel Alliance finds the exhaust ports on the Earth. It's like bulls-eying wamp rats.
4. Google decides to pull out of the search engine business.
5. Canada decides to go to war with Iceland over flannel rights.

Either than or this is a visual representation of John Cusack's career.

Outdoor Photo of the Week: Mukilteo Beach

These pics where taken 10/21/10 at Mukilteo Beach. Took our little one to feed the seagulls. Photos by Lindsay W./Covington, WA.

Click on the photos to make it larger.

Think you've got a great outdoor photo? Want to see it hosted on Just South of North? Send your submissions to justsouthofnorth@gmail.com.

Please include your name, a short caption about the photo (date, location, and what makes it special) and your location.

Check back each Sunday for a new Outdoor Photo of the Week.