Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Bad Dream of getting a ticket
I was dreaming that I was in Louisiana on a road trip with my friend Gary Long. In the dream, I was driving at night. I was getting followed by a police officer inside the RV I was driving in. In the dream, I tried to slow down, but my right foot could not get to the brakes in time, so I got pinched. I got pulled over, and the next thing I know, night dissolved into daylight.
In the daylight part of my dream, I saw an abandoned California style freeway sign in the median while I was driving on a New Orleans freeway. It was so weird.
In reality, I have not driven through Louisiana in more than a decade. I have not been to California in more than 4 years. Finally, I have not seen my friend Gary since my wedding on April 2, 2011. I hope to rectify the last two out of the three sometime soon.
Going back to California for a visit, now that's my dream. What's yours?
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
On Monday Night, I had a dream that I saw former "Card Sharks" host Jim Perry out at a picnic. Why I had this dream I have no idea.
This is one way I want to remember Jim Perry.
Here's another way I want to remember Jim Perry.
And another.
Keep in mind, he is still alive as far as I know.
In reality: I dream of Jim Perry making one final triumphant return to host one more game of "Card Sharks." Here's hoping that dream comes through for me.
This is one way I want to remember Jim Perry.
Here's another way I want to remember Jim Perry.
And another.
Keep in mind, he is still alive as far as I know.
In reality: I dream of Jim Perry making one final triumphant return to host one more game of "Card Sharks." Here's hoping that dream comes through for me.
Zachary J. Irwin Writing Samples for Late Monday, October 8, 2012
ASU/COLORADO PREVIEW
ASU GETS READY FOR CU AFTER BYE WEEK
The
Arizona State Sun Devils get to work as they get set to take on the University
of Colorado on Thursday Night. ASU is
coming off its bye week as is Colorado. Sun
Devil Quarterback Taylor Kelly comes into the game with the Pac-12’s best
passing efficiency rating at 166.3. The
Sun Devils come into this matchup 4-1, 2-0 in conference play, good enough for
first place in the PAC-12 South division.
Colorado is 1-4, 1-1 in the conference.
Kickoff is set for 6 PM in Boulder and you can catch the game on ESPN.
GEORGIA TECH/AL GROH
GEORGIA TECH FIRES DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR, DID NOT 'GROH' IN YEAR 3
Georgia
Tech fired Defensive Coordinator Al Groh on Monday. Georgia Tech’s defense has allowed more than
500 yards and 40 points per game in each of the last three games, prompting the
school and Head Coach Paul Johnson to replace the 45-year football coaching
veteran in his third season at Tech. Secondary Coach Charles Kelly
will take over the Defensive Coordinator position for the remainder of the
season. The transition comes at a good
time for the Yellow Jackets. Georgia
Tech has the week off and will get back on the field in less than two weeks
when it hosts Boston College on October 20th.
OREGON STATE/SEAN MANNION
BEAVERS LOSE STAR QUARTERBACK FOR A WHILE
Number Ten
Oregon State will be without Quarterback Sean Mannion for an indefinite amount
of time. Mannion suffered a left knee
injury in the Beavers’ 19-6 victory over Washington State on Saturday. Oregon State is 4-0 and 3-0 in the Pac-12
North, tied with Number Two Oregon for first place in the division. Oregon State will battle BYU on the road in a
non-conference game on Saturday and will seek its first 5-0 start in 73
years. OSU is ranked in the top 10 of
the AP Poll for the first time since the start of the 2001 season.
CARDINALS/RYAN WILLIAMS
WILLIAMS OUT FOR THE SEASON AGAIN
The
Arizona Cardinals got a few extra days of rest this weekend and will get ready
to battle the Buffalo Bills at the University of Phoenix Stadium on
Sunday. The Cardinals will have to
start a new winning streak without Running Back Ryan Williams. He is expected to miss the remainder of the
season with an injured left shoulder.
Williams suffered the injury in the 4th quarter of Thursday
Night’s 17-3 loss to the St. Louis Rams.
Williams suffers a season ending injury for the second year in a
row. The Cardinals are tied with the San
Francisco 49ers for first place in the N-F-C West with a 4-1 record.
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL/TEXANS VS. JETS
TEXANS HOLD ON TO BEAT JETS
The
Houston Texans remain perfect in 2012.
Arian Foster ran for 152 yards and a Touchdown as the Texans beat the
New York Jets on Monday Night Football 23-17.
Joe McKnight returned a kickoff
100 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to cut the Texans lead to
20-14. It was another tough game for Mark
Sanchez as he passed for 230 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions on only
14 of 31 completions. The Texans remain
one of only two unbeaten teams in the NFL alongside the 5-0 Atlanta Falcons. The Jets fall to 2-3, 1-2 at home at MetLife
Stadium.
INDIANS/TERRY FRANCONA
INDIANS HIRE WORLD CHAMPION MANAGER
The
Cleveland Indians hired Terry Francona to be their new manager. Francona comes from ESPN after serving as a
baseball analyst and commentator for the 2012 season. Before that. he spent the previous eight
seasons Managing the Boston Red Sox, winning world championships in 2004 and
2007. Francona takes over in the dugout for
Interim Manager Sandy Alomar Sr. after the team fired Manny Acta with six games
remaining in the season. The Cleveland
Indians have not made it to the playoffs since the 2007 season and have lost at
least 90 games in three of the past four seasons.
GAME 2 NLDS/NATIONALS VS. CARDINALS
CARDINALS DELIVER CAPITAL PUNISHMENT TO NATIONALS
The St.
Louis Cardinals slammed four home runs, two of them by Carlos Beltran, as the
Cardinals trounced the Washington Nationals 12-4 in game two of the National
League Division Series. With the win the
Cardinals even the best of five series at one win a piece. The series shifts to Washington for games
three, four, and if necessary, game five.
Chris Carpenter goes on the mound for the Cardinals against Edwin
Jackson for the Nationals in game three in DC.
First pitch is set for Wednesday Afternoon at 1:07 PM ET (10:07 AM PT).
GAME 2 ALDS/YANKESS VS. ORIOLES
ORIOLES TIE SERIES WITH YANKEES
Chris
Davis’s two-run single in the bottom of the third gives the Baltimore Orioles a
lead that they would never give up. Rookie
Wei-Yin Chen pitched six-and-a-third innings of eight-hit ball while allowing
only 2 runs as the Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 3-2. The Orioles tie the American League Division
Series with the Yankees at one win a piece as the remainder of this series
shifts to Yankee Stadium starting on Wednesday.
The Yankees will send Hiroki Kuroda on the mound against Baltimore’s
Miguel Gonzalez. First pitch is set for
7:37 PM ET/4:37 PM PT.
GAME 3 NLDS/GIANTS VS. REDS
REDS LOOKING FOR THE SWEEP IN CINCY
The
Cincinnati Reds look for a three game sweep and an appearance into the National
League Championship series for the first time since 1995. The San Francisco Giants look to avoid a
sweep and extend their postseason run. First
pitch is at 5:37 PM ET and 2: 37 PM PT in Cincinnati.
GAME 3 ALDS/TIGERS VS. ATHLETICS
TIGERS SEEK TO SWEEP A'S OUT OF POSTSEASON
A’s
look to extend their season while the Tigers look for the sweep and a second
straight berth into the American League Championship Series. First pitch is scheduled for 9:07 PM ET and
6:07 PM PT in Oakland.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Even I could not have dreamed of Georgia Tech firing Al Groh
Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech had no choice. They had to fire Al Groh, and they did so this afternoon.
It had become clear to me after the Yellow Jackets had given up more than 500 yards a game and more than 40 points per game in their current three game losing streak, something had to happen.
It wasn't just Georgia Tech losing three straight games. It was the way Georgia Tech had lost those last three games.
Let's start with the Miami game at home on September 22nd. Tech had a 36-19 lead midway through the 4th quarter, and then it all fell apart. Miami came back to tie the game at 36 to end regulation play and then Tech gave up the winning TD run to the Hurricanes. Surely there would be a redemption game at home against Middle Tennessee State the following weekend.
The next week, on September 29th, Georgia Tech hosted Middle Tennessee State and the Yellow Jackets did not bounce back against this team from the Sun Belt Conference. Tech lost 49-28 in more humiliating fashion. No offense to my friend Bob Parker's alma mater in Middle Tennessee State. MTSU was simply the better team that day.
Fast forward, and look back, to two days ago. Georgia Tech had another shot at redemption, albeit against a superior #15 Clemson team on the road. I don't know if there were any inspirational speeches or didn't get a chance to witness any hard work and preparation on the practice field leading up to the game.
Whatever it was, it didn't work.
Clemson rolled up 601 yards of offense and 47 points (45 on offense) in a 47-31 beating of Georgia Tech.
In the last three games, Georgia Tech gave up 609 yards to Miami, only 510 yards to Middle Tennessee State, and 601 yards to Clemson. Clearly those totals don't endear you to a fan base or a coaching staff.
In an afternoon news conference on Monday, Head Coach Paul Johnson says the remaining six games on the schedule will serve as an audition for the remaining defensive coaches on staff. Let's hope the rest of this season and 2013 will not serve as an audition for Head Coach Paul Johnson himself.
-30-
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Dreaming of college and board games
In the last couple of days, I have had dreams of going to college and looking for a dorm to reside in in Seattle and playing Settlers of Catan.
In my college dream, I was a college freshman getting out of an economics lecture class while trying to ask my professor how can I get to live in one of the residence halls. My professor had no answers that I wanted to hear. He told me to get my financial aid together in order to secure my place in the dorms. In my dream, I really wanted to live in the dorms.
In my Settlers of Catan dream, I was doing al lot of mathematical calculations in my head and building roads with the white blocks to nowhere. I wasn't even building any settlements and I was not getting any resources while playing the game.
In reality, I played Settlers of Catan for only the 2nd time in my life and I predictably lost. In my 4.5 years of school at Arizona State University, I stayed in the dorms only ONCE due to an automotive emergency that prevented me from driving home one night. I don't know if I would want to live in a dorm now because I live in a house that my wife and I own.
In my college dream, I was a college freshman getting out of an economics lecture class while trying to ask my professor how can I get to live in one of the residence halls. My professor had no answers that I wanted to hear. He told me to get my financial aid together in order to secure my place in the dorms. In my dream, I really wanted to live in the dorms.
In my Settlers of Catan dream, I was doing al lot of mathematical calculations in my head and building roads with the white blocks to nowhere. I wasn't even building any settlements and I was not getting any resources while playing the game.
In reality, I played Settlers of Catan for only the 2nd time in my life and I predictably lost. In my 4.5 years of school at Arizona State University, I stayed in the dorms only ONCE due to an automotive emergency that prevented me from driving home one night. I don't know if I would want to live in a dorm now because I live in a house that my wife and I own.
Zachary J. Irwin writing samples for October 6, 2012
UGA/SOUTH CAROLINA
SOUTH CAROLINA
DESTROYS GEORGIA
The
sixth-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks routed the fifth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs
35-7. The Gamecocks dominated the
Bulldogs in the battle of top-10 teams in S-E-C play.
Georgia
Quarterback Aaron Murray threw for only 109 yards on 11 of 30 passing with no
touchdowns and an interception. South
Carolina held the Georgia’s freshman duo of Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall to a
combined 76 yards on the ground.
South
Carolina Quarterback Connor Shaw fared much better with 162 yards passing on
six of ten attempts and two touchdowns.
Shaw ran for 78 yards and a touchdown as well.
South
Carolina improves to 6-0, 4-0 in S-E-C play while the Bulldogs suffer their
first loss of the season (5-1, 3-1 in the SEC).
South Carolina has a huge one game lead in the S-E-C East and a leg up
in competition to play in the S-E-C Championship game in Atlanta on December 2nd.
Georgia
will have a bye next week before they take on Kentucky (1-5, 0-3 SEC) in Lexington while South Carolina has to rest up quickly and take on fourth-ranked L-S-U (4-1,
1-1 S-E-C) in Baton Rouge next week.
GEORGIA TECH/CLEMSON
CLEMSON BEATS TECH BY
AIR AND LAND
15th-ranked
Clemson had a monster day on offense while Georgia Tech’s defense was just
plain offensive. The Tigers rolled up
601 yards as they beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 47-31.
Accounting
for nearly 75 percent of the Tiger offense, Quarterback Tajh Boyd passed for 397 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for
63 yards and a touchdown. Boyd’s two
touchdown passes on the day helped him set a new school record for 51career
touchdown passes, breaking Charlie Whitehurst’s old mark of 49.
Georgia Tech (2-4, 1-3 ACC) has
lost three in a row and needs four more wins just to become bowl eligible.
Clemson (5-1, 2-1 ACC) has won
their last two games and it will have next week off before facing Virginia Tech
at home on October 20th. Georgia
Tech will also have next week off before it hosts Boston College at Bobby Dodd
Stadium on October 20th.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Dreaming of new TV shows (and contemplating new dreams for me)
Early Sunday morning, I had a dream where I was watching a brand new show on CNN starring Nick Valencia. I had two working titles in my dream: "Mexico Beat" and "Eye on Mexico." In reality, I think those shows would be perfect for him. He has done great work writing and reporting on what has been going on inside Mexico.
This morning, I had a dream where I was watching TV in Tulsa and at the same time I was watching a scale model of a freeway system materialize like a chemistry experiment, and it scared me. Thankfully, I woke up.
Finally, I dream of having a beautiful career. I realized that when Chipper Jones plays his final game as an Atlanta Brave, he will be remembered as a great baseball player. Everybody has showered him with gifts and tributes this past weekend. I even edited some video of him boarding a Delta charter flight with a big red "10" on the side of the plane.
In my dream of having a beautiful career, I hope that I will have done great things so that I can enjoy a tribute a tenth of what Chipper has enjoyed. Then again, I'm just a video editor right now. In the role of a video editor, I will do the work that is assigned to me and I will learn all the tricks and effects that AVID has to offer.
One more dream that I have is this: I would love to travel on a charter flight for work. I almost typed charger flight. The San Diego Chargers are my favorite NFL team and my Chargers won yesterday.
This morning, I had a dream where I was watching TV in Tulsa and at the same time I was watching a scale model of a freeway system materialize like a chemistry experiment, and it scared me. Thankfully, I woke up.
Finally, I dream of having a beautiful career. I realized that when Chipper Jones plays his final game as an Atlanta Brave, he will be remembered as a great baseball player. Everybody has showered him with gifts and tributes this past weekend. I even edited some video of him boarding a Delta charter flight with a big red "10" on the side of the plane.
In my dream of having a beautiful career, I hope that I will have done great things so that I can enjoy a tribute a tenth of what Chipper has enjoyed. Then again, I'm just a video editor right now. In the role of a video editor, I will do the work that is assigned to me and I will learn all the tricks and effects that AVID has to offer.
One more dream that I have is this: I would love to travel on a charter flight for work. I almost typed charger flight. The San Diego Chargers are my favorite NFL team and my Chargers won yesterday.
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