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Written by Super User

Category: General

Published: 20 April 2008

Hits: 6686

Well, that's not completely true.  I didn't see him get hit by the car, I merely saw a line of cars slamming on their brakes and a guy lying in the middle of Route 22, legs in the fast lane and torso in the middle lane.  It happened as Deirdre and I were coming home from seeing the very funny Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

It was around 10:30 PM, so it was dark out, and we were turning off of 22.  For those that don't know, Rt. 22 is a bit of a death trap, one of those old highways where people are pulling out of parking lots into traffic zipping by at 55 MPH.  There are really no acceleration lanes, you simply must get up to 55 before the car behind you slams into you - it's a good plan.

There is a 3-foot tall cement divider between the 3 lanes going in each direction, and apparently this guy was crossing all six lanes by running, hopping and running some more.  However, he failed to account for the fact that there is no shoulder between the fast lane and the cement divider on each side, so as soon as you commit to the crossing, you better make it.

Read more: I saw a guy get hit by a car today

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Written by Super User

Category: General

Published: 16 October 2008

Hits: 5583

If you are returning to this site after a long absence, you may be confused by the new look.  If you are merely arriving for the first time, you may be confused because this site is pointless and confusing.

Either way, I've spent a bit of the last week overhauling ChrisBoylan.com.  Normally, I'd do the work in secret, and only reveal it when it was done, but I decided against this because I wouldn't be able to prove I was actually doing anything.  On top of that, the half-finished, haphazard nature of the site that is seen by the public embarrasses me - which is a great motivator. 

In the meantime, you can check out a few things that have long been neglected - but now are implemented.  For instance, for the first time in two years the infamous Chris Boylan Forum has returned. If you enjoy reading posts from over two years ago, check it out. Also, hidden in the blog section are posts from my first blog - I've imported the over 100 posts into Joomla, returning a huge chunk of old content to the web.

So, still on the todo list:

• Create a new design for the site
• Get comments working (this requires me to write a plugin to connect phpBB- the forum - and Joomla)
• Add "The Compendium" (details to follow).
• Add 3-plus years of pictures
• Get bloggifyin'
• Get podcastin'

So, back to the salt mines. 

P.S. Note on the forums: if you had an old account from before, you'll have to reset your password when you login.  If you don't have the email address anymore or have other problems, just contact me.

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Written by Super User

Category: General

Published: 15 November 2008

Hits: 5706

As a sometime game charter for Football Outsiders, I get to submit a few words at the NFL mid-season about whatever is on my mind, relating to the games I've watched. Since I'm a huge Giants fan, I wrote about the Giants big off-season decision at running back - do they keep Brandon Jacobs or Derrick Ward? It is unlikely that they'll keep both because neither would want to return to split time with the other when they could be a feature back elsewhere. On top of that, the cap cost of retaining both is also too much to take.

The obvious choice is Jacobs, but being a generally disagreeable contrarian, I wrote about 10 paragraphs explaining why Ward would be the better choice. Basically it comes down to the fact that Jacobs can't catch, Ward isn't as big of a drop off from Jacobs as people think, Ahmad Bradshaw is a similar RB to Jacobs despite the nearly 100 lb. weight difference, and Jacobs will be able to command much more money on the open market. It sounds ridiculous, but I actually think I'm right.

Well, the internet has registered it's disapproval. In the Football Outsiders: Gamer Charters Speak comments, it hasn't been that bad. People disagree, and some actually think there's possibly something to the idea - but generally, it's a site where people saying things that sound ridiculous at first are taken seriously. Conventional wisdom has been proven wrong so often by the site that anything is given a fair shake. It has dominated the sparse comments - getting 9 of the 12 comments despite there being around 10 people contributing.

But over on my other time-waster, Big Blue Interactive - my thoughts have been declared a complete and total fail. Complete with FAIL blog pics. The funny thing is that I didn't even start the discussion. Be the time I realized the cloumn had been posted, there were already 20 comments at BBI telling me what an idiot I was.

Mostly they were of these strains:

1. I HEART JACOBZ!!!! YOU THE SUX0R!!! - Enough said.
2. Jacobs is a singular talent, and you don't let that get away. - This is probably the best argument for Jacobs there is. There has never been a player of Jacobs' size and speed in the NFL. That being said, Jacobs and Ward are both a product of this amazing offensive line. Jacobs cannot evade backfield penetration. If a run-blitz is not picked up, Jacobs is toast. That may be why we see FB Madison Hedgecock in with Jacobs so often, but mostly see Ward in on his own.
3. Ward isn't that good, he's just a product of the Offensive line and Jacobs wearing the opposing defense down. - Ward would probably be easier to replace - but I think people really fail to consider just how good Ward is. He's a good receiver, a very good blocker and a very good runner. His vision and decision-making at the line are top-notch. Watch Ward run - there's no hesitation. He just finds the hole and accelerates through it. He may not hit people as hard as Jacobs, but he's as effective as a runner and a much better receiver. The DVOA backs me up here.
4. Why are you saying Jacobs sucks? - I'm not. I want both of them back. You're an idiot.
5. What about Danny Ware replacing Ward? - That's a damn good point. If Ware can do it, that may tip the scales back in favor of Jacobs.

My main argument is that Ward + Bradshaw can replace 90% of Ward + Jacobs (loss of intimidation is the missing 10%). Jacobs + Bradshaw only fills 70% of what Ward + Jacobs can do (who would be the 3rd down back in that duo? Bradshaw is likely too small to reliably block on blitzing downs and Jacobs can't catch). Throw in that Ward is likely going to be cheaper and you see what I was thinking.

However, if Danny Ware can be that 3rd down back (and Ware looked good enough to get me excited in the preseason, but I didn't see enough to plan around him next year), then that pushes the Jacobs + Bradshaw + Ware equation to around 90%, and then I see the point in re-signing the once in a lifetime Jacobs.

On a personal note, I was surprised by how I reacted to the comments. I figured that I was writing a minority position, but in my narcissistic mind I thought that people would just tip their cap and say, "You've made a compelling argument, Chris Boylan. Well done. With reason and logic like that, I now offer you any of the women in our village."

Instead, I felt stupid and mortified. Was I delusional? Does Ward actually suck?

After an hour or two, my mind went back to normal and I began agreeing with myself. (I rock!) Mostly, I'm angry that I don't have this site finished in any way to capitalize on my quick brush with non-fame. The phpBB comments thing is harder than I thought. I've written the plugin to link to exisiting comment threads, but I can't get new articles to auto-create new threads. So that's going to be tomorrow's plan.