Happy Festivus 2018

Happy Festivus to you all.  In the tradition, I am going to air my grievances and why they have disappointed me.

1. Politics.  Both sides are pieces of shit and the fact is that the damage that the so-called "leadership" has done to this country is in my opinion irreparable.  And to those blind sheep that you encourage to act out - that's yet another reason why I despise you.  
2. Travel.  All of my life I wanted to visit Portland, Oregon and back in November I got to do just that on a business trip - and thank the baby Jesus the meetings were across the river in Vancouver, WA which wasn't much better.  Oh my God Portland - do you think you could clean it up just a little bit downtown?  Holy Shit...

But in my tradition, let me yap about my grievances about sports.

1. NFL.  
1. Quite frankly it's boring, and I'm finding it hard to see any redeeming value.
2. Dallas was dead in the water and "all of a sudden" they get red hot?  
3. Piss on Mark Davis and the Raiders.  To shit on that tremendous fan base the way they have is an absolute disgrace.  May karma leave you on the shitter.
2. MLB.  
1. I know its not what the folks in MLB HQ want to hear, but there are a lot of folks who are tired of Boston, NYC, and LA.
2. There's a lot of pressure to market players instead of teams.  Oh, so folks want the MLB to morph into an outdoor version of the NBA?  As if we don't have enough of that already?  Look, MLB is unique and while I don't necessarily agree with the speed of the game, what I like about it is its tie to the past, the ability for three hours to sit down, enjoy the weather of the day, and just escape from all the bullshit.  
3. NBA.  
1. I heard the press getting bored with Golden State and now they are actively working with LA to get the Lakers back up on top.
2. The L. A. Lakers whining about officiating is about as funny as things get.  
3. Oh yeah NBA, feel free to fine the dog piss out of the Houston Rockets who flop more than the LA Clippers of years past.  While I'm at it, how is it that James Harden is allowed to travel more than anybody I've seen?  I get it, traveling is allowed by the superstars, but this shit is beyond blatant.  
4. Translating #2 - Soccer should be proud that they transferred their "performances" to be an accepted practice within the NBA.
5. Did I just hear LeBron James refer to NBA owners as "slave masters?"  I'd have to see what the context was, but perhaps he might want to think about what he says before he says it - but then again that sentiment applies to all of us.
4. CFB.  
1. So am I supposed to be OK with Alabama being the dominant program time after time after time?  And I suppose Georgia losing two 14 point leads in 2018 to Alabama who seemed dead in the water was supposed to be on the up and up.
2. Speaking of which, I'm not trying to hear Ohio State fan trying to sell their shit about how they should be in the playoff.  Memo to you idiots - your team lost to Purdue by what, 48 points or some god-awful number?  Oh, and just because you hung 62 on Michigan doesn't make you any better, it just means that Miss-again wasn't what the hype suggested.
3. While I'm on the subject, I'll say it again for the umpteenth time - those conferences who have been banned from any chance to participate in a college playoff for no other reason than they aren't the "blue-bloods", then I would suggest you all form your own division and create your own national champion.  You are just as deserving as FCS or the blue bloods.  UCF deserves much better on a 25 game win streak than this crap.

Also, I realize that technology catches things that humans don't normally, but damn if officiating hasn't gone south.

And while I'm at it, I already believe that sports is in some way "rigged" or morphed into "sports entertainment" so nobody is going to convince me that allowing gambling to seep its way in is good for the trustworthiness of the sport.