Spoonie

Kaepernick always struck me as hard-working, minimal trouble kind of guy with a great skillset so I don't really get how he's gone off the boil so badly. Looking forward to the draft - keen to see where Elliot ends up and which of the LB combo of Smith and Ragland goes first. Not completely sold on either Goff or Lynch, especially Lynch's ability to play in the NFL system because of the way he was used at college, but I look forward to seeing what happens to them

Yeah, I really can't see what's to gain by him coming back. He's gonna pay for these later seasons as he gets older and he's won two rings on two different teams as a starting QB which had never been done before. Retire now, remembered as one of the game's best before you end up in a wheelchair

It's unreal! For this still to be a real possibility at this stage of the season is crazy. As was said above, it's real 'lightning strike' stuff where people peak at the right time, under the right manager, avoid injuries, have a clear plan and execute it in a way that negates the individual talents they face. I love stories like this; the sort of 'teamwork beats talent when talent doesn't play as a team' kinda thing and it restores your faith in sport when so many teams just pour money in and buy titles.

Turns out Von Miller is pretty good at pass rushing. I expected a close one but a Panthers win. Peyton has to retire now surely, his body just can't keep up with his mind any more.

I started listening to podcasts when I learned to drive last summer. I was so used to getting public transport everywhere, kindle in hand and spending the time reading that I wanted to feel like I wasn't wasting the journey. I started off listening to Whistle and a Clipboard (a generic sports coaching podcast where the host interviews coaches from loads of sports) and the Joe Daniel Football Coaching Podcast (which is specific American Football coaching stuff) and I've recently added, at the suggestion of some coaches at a convention I attended, School of Greatness with Lewis Howes (he interviews high achievers from mostly tech/entrepreneurship backgrounds and which is excellent) and the Tim Ferriss podcast which is relatively similar in approach. Both well worth a look.

The Richest Man in Babylon was a nice easy read and reinforced some basic principles of finance so an enjoyable read all round. Now onto Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better by a group of teachers which was recommended on a sports coaching podcast I listened to last week. Hopefully get a few ideas for ways to improve practice planning at the team I coach and maybe a few tips for myself.

Coaching book was excellent. Currently on an old school book about money called The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. Well written and the sort of thing that should be updated and shared with young people to teach them the basics of money.

Appreciate the help guys, thank you all very much! fatboy - got some new ones on the way but thank you for the offer of help - will be back in touch if it doesn't work out!

The total (I think it was £375) was from Western Nissan to buy and fit a replacement mirror. I managed to get two brand new ones from a company yesterday for £177 delivered, so I will have a go it fitting them myself when they arrive. Expect me on here next week looking for anyone selling a used car, because I've somehow managed to completely destroy mine!

These car parts places don't seem to be able to get wing mirrors for a NIssan Juke, no idea why (probably so Nissan can hose you £400 a time). Had a search but it came up If fatboy can hook a brother up or come up with any ideas it'd be appreciated! Time is of the essence tho cos it's the driver side wing mirror and make driving a bit hazardous!

Spot on about Reynolds - he really does just read bleacher report, nfl.com, SI, etc and then just say exactly what they say Reinbold adds some great technical detail about the game but Reynolds and Cadle add nothing. I did a commentary gig at a British final once with Reynolds and he was getting all bent out of shape because I was getting excited by the action and talking all over the plays when he wanted to be using the clips on Sky. I don't think he liked me.

Last night I was having a great one, I'd been asked to come on the STV Late show and talk some rubbish and then I come outside afterwards and someone has smashed the wing mirror off the car. And to make things worse, about 6 months ago, a pedestrian had kicked the other one off outside our flat and when we got quoted for it, it was gonna be nearly £400! With the first one we got away with it because the glass was still there and it was just the physical connection between the mirror and the bracket had snapped so we have it taped on and it's held fine, but this time the mirror glass is totally gone, the casing is smashed and so it's gonna need replaced. That's either £3/400 bone out of the pocket or an insurance claim, unless i can get one from a breakers

He's certainly a strange one to hate!

Looked like two great games last night - saw the first half of the Pats/Broncos and the Broncos D were flying!

That does sound interesting! Looking forward to hearing how it goes!

Start With Why was a superb read! Finished it on the commute this morning and have started a book I picked up from a coach in the states which he wrote after interviewing about 100 High School Football coaches who have won state championships. Hopefully a few nuggets in there.

I was listening to the dandies game in the car. Stopped to drop the wife and little one off and help them out with some things and it's 0-0, get back into the car and we're a man down and 2-1 up! Sounded like a great game to watch.

Some good games this weekend! The 49ers Chip Kelly hire is very interesting. I watched a lot of his Oregon teams and they were superb to watch. He had flashes of that at Philly but it never really developed from year 1-2. I'm rooting for him tho because I like his style! Panthers game was a really strange one. As long as you're sitting at the right end zone you get plenty of action in a game like that! Brady hasn't been as effective at Mile High as he has elsewhere and they've had no shortage of injuries but somehow keep finding ways to win. I think the Pats will take it and advance to another SB

Some good games this weekend! The 49ers Chip Kelly hire is very interesting. I watched a lot of his Oregon teams and they were superb to watch. He had flashes of that at Philly but it never really developed from year 1-2. I'm rooting for him tho because I like his style! Panthers game was a really strange one. As long as you're sitting at the right end zone you get plenty of action in a game like that! Brady hasn't been as effective at Mile High as he has elsewhere and they've had no shortage of injuries but somehow keep finding ways to win. I think the Pats will take it and advance to another SB

Finished The Wrong Boy which was excellent. Started last night on Start With Why by Simon Sinek which has been recommended on a few podcasts and book lists. It's a sort of values based leadership type text. Interesting enough so far but only 10% in.

The NCAA drop in rankings I believe was to do with playing the two semi finals on hogmanay - that didn't seem to go down well. Alabama are ridiculous; 4 national championships in 7 years and they've been in the mix every year. Nick Saban is a machine - the teams he puts together are frightening. I quite like the Seahawks - they have some fantastic players and I like Pete Carroll's approach too. There's always an element of suggested favouritism from officials towards key players on big teams (Michael Jordan, Richie McCaw, Russel Wilson, etc) but I do wonder how much of it is real and how much is just because they put themselves in more of these types of situations than other less effective players. Also on the NCAA front, sad to see that Lawrence Philips killed himself in prison yesterday. He was a running back for the 1994 Nebraska Cornhuskers alongside Tommie Frasier the QB and they were an unbelievable team. If you get a chance to look at the highlights on Youtube, they were an I-Form Triple Option team and they had the perfect blend of power (from a massive O-Line), speed and precision. Well worth a look!

Moving franchises in the US is something that is so difficult to comprehend. There's a team in your city and now they're gone. But they still exist. They just live somewhere else! Seahawks/Panthers is gonna be excellent! Does anyone follow the NCAA and saw the National Championship game that took place on Monday night? Cracking football!

Currently reading The Wrong Boy by Willy Russell (who wrote the musical Blood Brothers) which is a story of a young lad who finds himself in some unusual scrapes, narrated via a series of letters to Morrissey. Pretty funny and quite sad at parts so far.

I think it's more an encouragement to always have something you're reading and for me personally to keep a record of it (I've found that helps me recall the content and the learnings better for the non-fiction stuff I read) rather than just smashing through pamphlets to get to 50

I feel bad for Tomsula because he was onto a non-starter with the roster he inherited and the way it disintegrated at the start of the season. Chances are he will struggle to get another HC job after that and by all accounts he's a good guy and has the skills to do the job well.