2026 New NFL Head Coach Hire Grades

 I did this two years ago, when the Seahawks were in the market for a head coach for the first time in 14 years, so I thought I'd do it again with so many openings this off-season.  I'll go in order of date hired, and grade each from F to A+.  I just went back and re-graded the hirings from two years ago.  Some, like Macdonald and Morris, I was spot on about.  Others, like Canales and Callahan, I was very wrong about.  So it'll be interesting to see what I get right or wrong a few years from now.  

Giants hire John Harbaugh: B+
It's funny, I gave his brother's team an "A" for hiring him two years ago.  I just feel that in this situation, success is not guaranteed.  Harbaugh was treading water in Baltimore, and his players lost faith in him.  Why should we think he can turn around a struggling Giants organization?  Sure, he'll be better than Daboll as a head coach overall, but New York can be a nasty sports city, and any struggles will be harped on early.  But, what else is New York going to do?  This is their best bet.

Falcons hire Kevin Stefanski: B
Stefanski is a solid coach.  He made the most of what he was given in Cleveland.  Unfortunately for him, he goes from one mess of a QB room to another.  Can he get the most out of Michael Penix?  We know he'll be able to get good seasons out of Bijan, Pitts, and Drake London.  Just need to have a solid QB season, and of course, improve the defense.  The NFC South is potentially wide open, so it's anyone's for the taking.

Dolphins hire Jeff Hafley: D+
I feel like D+ might even be too nice.  Hafley is an uninspiring choice, and it's almost guaranteed that the Dolphins' offense is going to struggle in 2026, whoever the QB is.  They might have an above-average defense, but try telling that to the Jets.  I will be very surprised if Hafley lasts more than three seasons, if two.  He may keep them fairly competitive, but with the Patriots having returned to being competitive, the Bills having Josh Allen and a good roster, and the Jets potentially on their way up, the Fins could be in big trouble the next few years.

Titans hire Robert Saleh: C-
I'll give the Titans this: some defensive coaches do well on a second or third stint.  Here are a list of defensive-minded coaches who didn't have success until their second or third team: Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, and to some extent, Mike Vrabel.  Is Saleh one of those guys, though?  I'd have to say probably not.  Saleh already struggled in New York, and now he is tasked with turning around a bottom-feeder in Tennessee.  How is Cam Ward expected to succeed?  He'll need a great OC to help him, and even if they get one, he may get snatched away in a year or two to become a head coach.  Really needed an offensive coach here.  

Ravens hire Jesse Minter: B-
I guess this shows the Ravens wish they had kept Macdonald and promoted from within, but too late for that.  I'm not entirely sold on Minter being a head coach, because not every up-and-coming coordinator has success; see Saleh, Mike McDaniel, and Aaron Glenn to name a few.  But Minter's going to a stable, well-run organization with good ownership.  I could see this going either way, but considering the Ravens are well-run enough to have only had three head coaches in 30 seasons, I'd say it'll likely work out.

Steelers hire Mike McCarthy: D-
Feels weird to give an extremely stable organization like the Steelers a "D-", but they deserve it for this hire.  On one hand, I am happy for McCarthy, who will be able to coach the team he grew up rooting for.  On the other hand, there is an almost zero chance that this ends in something other than disappointment.  McCarthy won a Super Bowl in Green Bay with a stud, talented QB and a young team around him.  McCarthy benefited from having a great team built by their GM.  Ever since, he's been unable to get a team back to a Super Bowl.  He will almost undoubtedly be the shortest tenured Steelers head coach ever, and not just because he's starting older than the other coaches were when they left.  It's because he's this generation's Jeff Fisher, cashing in on one good year for an entire career.  The worst part of this all is that there was no one else wanting to hire him, and there was zero hurry to make this move, yet they hurried to make it.  They avoid an "F" because McCarthy, like his predecessor before him, will be able to keep the Steelers competitive, but he will also keep them from winning any trophies.

Bills hire Joe Brady: D+
Let me ask this.  When is the last time a team promoted from within, and it worked wonders?  I can't think of one.  This does not feel like a step forward for the Bills.  With the Patriots' resurgence, they needed a coach to offset Mike Vrabel, and they did not get it.  Now, they'll likely compete for wild cards on Josh Allen's talent alone.  Way to go.  This grade is a D+ and not any lower because there is a bit of upside to hiring a younger, offensive mind, as we have seen in recent years.  But man, I will be shocked if Joe Brady ever leads them to a Super Bowl.  He may not even lead them to a playoff win.

Browns hire Todd Monken: C-
I don't absolutely hate this hire, but Monken was marginal at best as an offensive coordinator, despite having Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.  Also, a first-time head coach at 60?  Basically unheard of these days.  There's a chance he can make them slightly competitive, but this is a very uninspiring and unsexy hire.  I do like that he comes from a stable organization, ironically, the one that used to be the Browns.  But how is he an improvement over Kevin Stefanski?  It feels like a downgrade.  Monken has more experience, but I don't think there are many fans that consider him a brighter offensive mind.  Perhaps he'll be better at handling the chaos in Cleveland.

Cardinals hire Mike LaFleur: C
I'm giving this one a 50/50 shot of working, so a C is the right grade.  On one hand, LaFleur could not get a struggling Jets offense to function.  On the other hand, it WAS the Jets, and he made the Rams offense look good under Sean McVay.  But again, he had McVay to guide him, so how will he do without him?  He's going to be tasked to find a way to succeed in the stacked NFC West.  My best bet is that he will have one good season (maybe his first or second) and then be coasting on that for a while.  Think Zac Taylor in Cincinnati, who, coincidentally, is also a McVay protege.  

Raiders hire Klint Kubiak: C+
I mostly hate that this forces the Seahawks to go find their fourth coordinator in the past four seasons.  I didn't have 100% faith in Klint the whole season, so it will be interesting to see how he does as a head coach.  He does have it in his blood, as his dad, Gary, was a head coach for the Texans and Broncos.  I think there's a semi-decent chance this works, but like LaFleur with the Cardinals, Kubiak is going to need some other team to take last place.  Will the Chiefs continue falling?  Will the Chargers or Broncos take a huge step back?  I feel like both are unlikely.  If they give Klint some time, this may work.  He will have weapons to work with.  My #1 piece of advice for their front office is to improve their offensive line and get one receiver weapon for their #1 draft pick to throw to.

Top Eight Tribal Councils of the New Era

The New Era is technically over with the conclusion of Survivor 49, so I thought I'd make a list ranking the Top Eight Tribal Councils of the New Era.  Why eight?  Because that is literally all that I can think of that were memorable enough to include on a list.  

These tribal councils were the ones that got me on the edge of my seat, got my heart pumping, got me shocked, or all of the above.  This will not include Final Tribal Councils or Firemaking Councils/challenges, so only up to the final five vote.  It would include potential final four votes, but they essentially got rid of them by including forced firemaking.  Perhaps if I remember another, I'll include it on this list, and make any changes in a different color.


8. Survivor 48: Mary's Shot in the Dark hits, Cedrek is left deciding between Sai and Justin
I'm only ranking this at eight because it involved a player losing their vote in Justin, but this tribal was pretty crazy.  Mary was the fairly obvious target, so she played her Shot in the Dark, which miraculously hits and saves her.  Then, on the revote, there is a split between Sai and Justin.  Then some wonky Survivor rules came into play, which meant Cedrek, by not being a part of the vote (but still having one), was the only one who would decide who went home, and he shockingly went against his original vote for Sai and sent Justin home.  I felt so bad for Justin, especially since he lost his vote in a manner that was completely outside his control.

7. Survivor 42: Deadlock between Jenny and Lydia, and Strunk caves in
Another smaller pre-merge tribal, this one was also a deadlock, and they got to a point where drawing rocks was on the table.  Hai stood firm and said he would go to rocks, not giving away his position.  Daniel Strunk, however, really did not want to go to rocks and caved, and Jenny was sent home.  The tension in the air for this one was palpable.  And for Strunk, he ended up being voted out two episodes later, so maybe he should have just gone to rocks.  And this is lower, like number eight, because it involved a player, Chanelle, losing her vote.  If she had not risked her vote, this tribal council would have never happened, at least not this way.

6. Survivor 48: Kyle and Kamilla blindside original Lagi and Thomas with their idol and advantage
After the tribe swap in 48, Kyle and Kamilla found themselves on the bottom against the three original Lagi men in Joe, Thomas, and Shauhin.  Fortunately for them, they had acquired an idol and an extra vote before then.  Leading up to the vote, Kyle and Kamilla expertly duped the other three into thinking they weren't close and would just vote for the other.  However, when tribal came, they played both the idol and advantage correctly, and Thomas was blindsided.  Now, with the successful idol play, the extra vote was not necessary, but they were likely being extra safe.  It was still an epic blindside.

5. Survivor 44: First Vote on Ratu results in the first successful Shot in the Dark, a Shot in the Dark used to hide someone's allegiance, a banked vote, and a successful idol play.
This will likely forever be my favorite first vote of a season in the New Era.  Before tribal, Brandon found an Idol, which he ultimately played for himself.  Yet, the majority of the people who actually voted decided to vote for Brandon, hoping he wouldn't play it, or, at the very least, would flush it from him.  Jaime played her Shot in the Dark as she was worried at her first tribal (when she shouldn't have been), and it became the first ever Shot in the Dark to hit, although it negated zero votes.  Matthew strategically used his Shot in the Dark to hide his allegiance (since it took his vote away).  Lauren earned a Bank a Vote advantage on the journey, which she used to save her vote for a later tribal council, and Brandon played the idol he found earlier to negate Kane and Maddy's votes on him.  That all resulted in Brandon's lone vote for Maddy being the only vote that counted, sending her home.  

4. Survivor 45: Final five vote results in a 2-1-1 vote, and Dee narrowly escapes a blindside
This final five vote was crazy.  Case in point, without Jake's idol play on Katurah, it would have been a 2-1-1-1 vote.  Madness.  Anyway, Jake was counting on Katurah voting out Dee, and his good faith gesture in her agreeing to the plan was him playing his idol on her.  But Katurah did not repay Jake's kindness, voting instead for the safe vote of Julie.  Had she gone with Jake, the season would have turned out much differently.  This vote definitely sank Jake's game.  

3. Survivor 45: Kaleb's Shot in the Dark Hits, negating a unanimous vote
The season prior, we witnessed the first-ever Shot in the Dark to hit in Jaime's.  But it did not negate any votes.  Kaleb knew he was the target, so he played his Shot in the Dark, and for the first time in Survivor history, it negated votes.  Not only did it negate votes, but it negated a majority vote, AND it negated a record 11 votes.  No other idol play or shot in the dark play has ever negated that many votes.  The reactions by everyone, especially Kaleb, when Jeff revealed the "Safe" parchment, made this moment special.  Unfortunately for J. Maya, they had to revote, and she was the next target after Kaleb.

2. Season 45: Kellie's blindside results in some memorable reactions
This vote showed we don't have to see idols or advantages to have a great tribal.  At this tribal, Jake was at the bottom, and he was the perceived boot by many, including most of the audience.  But little did many know, the majority had turned on Kellie due to her being a threat.  It resulted in two great reactions from those who got votes.  First, Jake's epic reaction of "WOAH...!  Sorry... woah," is still hilarious to this day, showing how he initially reacted and then corrected his reaction to be more polite.  Then Kellie's "What the hell, guys?" was the cherry on top, as she grabbed her torch.  We need more reactions like this when people get voted out!

1. Survivor 43: Jesse blindsides Cody and flushes Karla's idol all in one fell swoop
This may be the greatest performance at a single tribal council in the New Era, maybe in all of Survivor.  Jesse managed to sway Gabler and Owen into blindsiding Cody.  Not only that, but he managed to flush Karla's idol by playing one he had recently held onto from Cody.  Cody had wanted it back, but Jesse was able to hang onto it for one vote long enough to blindside him.  This instantly put Jesse at the very top as the frontrunner, and if he could've only beaten Gabler in fire, he easily would've won this season.  

Ranking the Potential Type of Returnee Season for Survivor Season 50

 Jeff Probst recently announced that Season 50 of Survivor will be returning players, but that was not much surprise to anybody.  We had a feeling they'd have to do something special for Survivor's 50th season.  And it will not come too soon, as it's been since Season 40 that we had a season with multiple returning players.  That is the longest such stretch in Survivor history without multiple returning players.

So after this announcement, a lot of speculation has happened among Survivor fans as to what kind of cast it will be.  There are a few different ways they could go with this, and I'm going to rank them 10 to 1 based on how well each theme would work out and be received by the Survivor fanbase as a whole.  Keep in mind Jeff did not explicitly state that it would be all returning players, so there are a couple of previously used themes potentially in play.  Here are the possible themes ranked:

10. First Boots
What's so special about first boots?  I have no idea.  Could they even get 18 or 20 of them?  Are there really 18 or 20 first boots we want to see again?  I don't think there are.  There are certainly a handful, such as Zane, Jelinsky, Zach Wurtenberger, and possibly even Francesca, but the list grows short after that.  

9. Fans vs. Favorites 3
Yes, they could do a Fans vs. Favorites 3, which would only be 1/2 returnee players.  I highly doubt they will do this since fans want to see a full returning players season, and this would definitely enrage the fanbase a bit.  

8. Blood vs. Water 3
Again, it would only be 1/2 of the cast, but we could see 10 new-ish era players with their loved ones.  I highly doubt they'll do this again, but Jeff does love this theme, I know that.  Again, Jeff did not explicitly say it would be all returning players.

7. Regular All-Stars Type Season
Like All-Stars in Season 8 or Game Changers in Season 34, this would be a regular cast of All-Stars, with winners allowed and no clear theme for the division of the tribes.  One small negative I see to this is it would allow the showrunners to have three tribes of six (AGAIN), which has become a New Era staple.   But also, this theme would be so bland and generic, and while any returning player season would be fun, not having any kind of theme would instantly make it a bit lame. 

6. Rivals
A Rivals-type season has been long-talked about, but never happened.  So it would be like Blood vs. Water, but the opposite, I guess.  10 players and 10 of their rivals.  Domenick and Chris Noble?  Shan and Ricard?  Katurah and Bruce?  Liz and Q?  There are a few ideas.  The issue would be casting them so there are even number of men and women.  But I like this idea a lot, because I bet there'd be a lot of drama and there'd likely be a rival pairing or two that would actually want to work together, since no one would expect them to. But Rivals seems like a bit of a kind of lamer season, so it's here at number 6.

5. New Era vs. Old Era 
I don't think it'd be called this (New School vs. Old School?  Battle of the Ages/Eras?), but this is one I could see happening that wouldn't excite the fanbase too much, but maybe enough to keep the ratings up.  They'd have to settle on a demarcation point as to what constitutes a new era and what constitutes an old era player.  My suggestion is Season 25 as the demarcation point, since that'd be halfway at this point.  But I do see the issue with trying to find 8-10 old era players that would be willing and able to keep up with the new era players.  They key being if they're able to.  Not many would.  Alternatively, they could make this a three-tribe format, with 6 old era players (1-19), 6 "middle" era players (21-39), and 6 New Era players (41-49).  But again, I'd worry about the old era players keeping up.

4. Outwit vs. Outplay vs. Outlast
What would be a good way to culminate 50 seasons of Survivor?  By having six players that have excelled in outwitting, six players who excelled in outplaying, and six players who excelled in outlasting others.  Again, this would be another three tribe, six player start, but I would be okay with this one.  It would be interesting to see who would be on which tribe.  I would worry about the Outplay tribe possibly dominating challenges, but that's where they'd have to cast a couple of players who excelled more in finding idols rather than challenges.  One thing I'd say about this season's cast: No losing finalists.  If they truly excelled at "out"-whatevering, then they would've won their season.  

3. Heroes vs. Villains 2
I'm a huge fan of this theme, and I think the fanbase as a whole would really like it.  However, the line between hero and villain has certainly gotten blurred over the years in the game of Survivor.  Maybe they could do Heroes vs. Villains vs. Anti-Heroes?  That would be a bit easier for them to cast for.  Either way, the theme of good vs. evil is always entertaining.  A good story has a good villian to root against and a good hero to root for.

2. Legends vs. Rising Stars
This is a theme I'm putting forth, and I think it would work.  First off, a tribe of legends.  Who wouldn't want that?  No restrictions on how much they've played or if they've won or not.  Just 8-10 legends of the game--some of the biggest names in Survivor history.  We certainly have plenty of those.  Then, on the other tribe, you have 8-10 up-and-comers.  Rising stars, if you will.  These would be players who made a big name for themselves their first time playing and are determined to do so again.  It would be like having a baseball game of future Hall of Famers against future All-Stars.  Wouldn't that be fun to watch?

1. Second Chances 2
Let the fans decide again.  Why not?  There are a lot of ways to run the voting, and who wouldn't love to have a say in the cast again?  Potential players could run campaigns, trying to establish trending hashtags for their support.  The previous time we had the fans vote, social media was not the thing it is today.  Yes, this would only be players who have played once before, but that's fine--we've got plenty of those.  I do worry that the showrunners/producers would find a way to force a minimum number of New Era (41+) players in the game, but even if that happened, there are plenty of those who we'd love to see again as well.  Also, I must add, it'd be hard to enforce the diversity mandate.  They couldn't split them up into whites vs. minorities.  But I'm sure they could find a way.  Perhaps fans could pick their favorites from a list of 100, and the producers choose from there.  Just an idea.

Casting Survivor, New Era All-Stars

As the new era seasons go on, more and more the fans clamor for an All-Stars type season.  It's got to be inevitable.  Perhaps Season 50?  But with that in mind, I thought I'd cast for that season.  

For now, I'm going to stick with the same 18-player, three-tribe format.  I thought about changing it to two tribes of ten, or upping the tribes to seven players, but it just gets too messy then.  I'll be doing my best to keep players on separate tribes if they were on the same season, but especially if they were on the same starting tribe on that season.  I'll also try to keep the tribes equal in terms of entertainment value but also in terms of challenge strength, and try to keep the diversity mandate which states half the cast needs to be a minority race.  And for this, I'm not going to include any winners.  They just clog it up too much, anyway. 

Also, I may update in this in the future when new seasons come out, but for now, here are my All-Star teams through Season 45:

BLUE TRIBE:
Ricard Foye, 41
Jonathan Young, 42
Jake O'Kane, 45
Emily Flippen, 45
Lauren Harpe, 44
Karla Cruz Godoy, 43

RED TRIBE:
Jesse Lopez, 43
Kaleb Gebrewold, 45
Matt Blankinship, 44
Carolyn Wiger, 44
Liana Wallace, 41
Lindsay Dolashewich, 42

GREEN TRIBE:
Cody Assenmacher, 43
Q Burdette, 46
Omar Zaheer, 42
Sydney Segal, 41
Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt, 44
Jenny Kim, 42


These tribes may seem lopsided.  But I think they are strong in their own ways.  Blue clearly has physical strength.  Red tribe has savviness and some all-around players.  Green tribe has some good puzzle solvers and thinkers.  I'd like to think with this cast, we'd see the Blue tribe jump out to an early lead but have the Green tribe catch up and possibly win thanks to the puzzle.

Rating New Era Survivor Twists and Changes

Something I still need to do, being a big fan of Survivor, is rating the new ERA twists and changes.  I'm gonna recall from memory each twist added or change made to the game since the start of 41, and then give it a rating out of 10.  A 10/10 is a perfect idea, and I honestly don't know if I'd give that to any twist in Survivor history, including the hidden immunity idol, so you won't be seeing that here.  A 0/10 would be an idea that is so asinine, whoever came up with it should be fired.  

There may be the occasional advantage that I have forgotten, but if I forget it, it's because it had such little impact on the game, and therefore isn't worth rating.

26 Day Format: 3/10
I don't think I'll ever fully come around on this.  Leave it to Survivor to stick with the 26-day format after COVID restrictions end since it's cheaper.  The bad thing about it is that it doesn't allow for close bonds to form or for people to struggle out there.  There's no time for the game to breathe, in a sense.  It feels like when Survivor reduced its quantity, it also reduced its quality.

No food/losing flint if immunity is lost: 5/10
I'm okay with teams suffering a penalty if they lose, although going to tribal council should be penalty enough.  But taking away flint doesn't have the impact it used to, since they are given access to clean drinking water, and the pre-merge lasts no more than 2 weeks.  Meanwhile, odds are each player will eventually get access to food via some sort of reward.  It seems like taking away flint is just for show, and honestly shouldn't even be mentioned anymore.  It's not an awful idea, just an unnecessary one that adds nothing to the show.  Also, I might add, taking away flint from the losers only increases the chance that they'll lose again, thus creating a "disaster" tribe that enters the merge with only 3 or even 2 members.  

Hourglass Twist: 1/10
The hourglass twist is easily one of the dumbest things Survivor producers have implemented.  The worst part is that people who rightfully won immunity had it stripped away from them.  If anything, the hourglass twist should have made them replay the challenge, and see if we get the same result--although that wouldn't have made for as good of TV: seeing the same challenge done twice.  Maybe they could've used a different challenge.  But heaven forbid Survivor pay for another challenge set.  

Knowledge is Power: 5/10
This is an advantage that has yet to work, other than causing people to swap their idols and advantages.  That effect really made it confusing to track who had what.  It did create some good moments, such as Dwight going home with Jeanine's idol in 43 and her shock at finding out, even though the KiP wasn't shown on that season.  I wouldn't hate it if they brought it back, but I'd rather it be tweaked a little.  My suggestion is that if the owner of the KiP can correctly name who has an idol or advantage, you get an extra vote.  I don't think people's idols/advantages should be able to be stolen.  

Reunion not live/held right away: 2/10
I understand not being able to do it in the early stages of the new era due to COVID, but just like with 26 days, again Survivor sticks with it since it's a cost-cutting measure.  I really hate it because players are not given the chance to think about and digest their games.  I also love hearing the audience's reaction to the votes being read, and without it, the result always feels subdued.  It's like seeing the final out of the World Series but no one in the stands to cheer on.  Also, I hate how anyone who doesn't make the jury doesn't get to reflect back on their season.  Bring back the live reunion!  

Most idols being beware advantages: 6/10
I can live with this.  The reason I kind of like this is that it doesn't allow players to keep finding idols easily and playing them one after the other, like Ben in HHH.  It makes players work for it.  Idols were getting too easy to find, so adding steps to "activate" or find their idols made it more difficult.  I wish players didn't lose their votes until they fully found or activated their idol, but there's got to be some "punishment" to it, I guess.  I was not a fan of having to wait for a certain phrase to be said at the immunity challenge mat chat like we saw in 41 and 42.  I much prefer having to accomplish something, like getting beads in 43 or the cage twist in 44, and not having to rely upon someone from another tribe.  

Amulet(s): 4/10
Again, another idea that just falls flat.  We've seen this now in 42 and 45, and each time it just seems to put a target on people's backs.  I think if the showrunners try it a third time and the players are given the option, I think they'll choose not to have it.  I get that they're trying to create cross-tribal alliances, but all they're doing is making them targets for one another.  They should change it so that the combined amulets become more powerful so long as all owners are still in the game at certain points.  All three make it to the merge?  Extra vote.  Final 10?  Steal a vote.  Final 6?  Full-blown idol.  But they haven't really laid out who gets control of the advantage once it gets those points, so that'd be interesting to see...

Shot in the Dark: 7/10
The "SitD" as I call it, is one of the better new era ideas.  It creates drama when there likely is none.  Obvious boot?  Well, there's still the shot in the dark, which could save them!  It also adds a layer of strategy, because you have to decide if losing your vote is worth it.  For example, in 41, if Sydney hadn't played her shot in the dark and instead had voted, she likely survives.  I just can't rate it higher than 7/10, because, to me, it overcomplicates the game a bit.  With SitD's being transferrable and only able to be played once, I now have to keep track of who currently has their SitD?  There comes a point where there's just too much to keep track of.  

"Merge-atory": 4/10
Jeff says that you have to "earn the merge".  You know what, Jeff?  They earned the merge by getting that far in the game, you dick.  Fortunately, it's a lot better without the hourglass twist, but I'm still very against the idea of likely only 6/13 people being eligible to be voted for.  I also do not like when they add a layer of luck to the game, because some good players can get unlucky and have to leave the game, and a layer of luck is added when they randomly divide them into two teams.  

Split Tribal at Final 12 or 10: 2/10
Just... stop this.  Please.  I get having to have two people be voted out in one episode.  But instead of dividing them into two teams of 5 or 6, just have two tribal councils with all 10 or 12 people.  We've lost some decent players because of this awful twist, such as Matt in 44.  It adds another layer of luck that I am not a fan of.  And I think they've done this in seasons before 41 (Ghost Island, for one), but since it's been used every season since the start of the new era, I consider this a "New Era" twist.  

Three tribe format: 4/10
The worst part of this three-tribe format is that they never swap into two tribes.  I'm okay watching three-team immunity challenges, because there's usually some drama, either between 1st and 2nd or 2nd and 3rd.  But only having 6 players per tribe is getting very tiresome.  There's not much room to maneuver as a player, and if you are put on a struggling tribe, you will likely not make the merge.  Also, if there is one tribe having a lot of success that never goes to tribal council, the whole tribe could end up getting purpled, like we saw with the Coco tribe in 41.  If we had a regular two-tribe format, we likely see J.D. in 41 at the merge.  But because his tribe struggled so much pre-merge, he was voted out.  

Do or Die: 1/10
I almost gave this a 0/10, because it was that bad.  What saves it from that 0 mark is the fact you can opt out of the challenge, therefore not risking elimination via a game of chance.  I wish everyone had opted out of one of these, just to spite the showrunners.  Fortunately, each time the Do or Die did not work, saving Deshawn and Lindsay.  Thank goodness they stopped it after 42.  But much like with the hourglass twist, it breaks a Survivor cardinal sin.  This time, you can get eliminated from the game without a single vote against you.  You could be playing a perfect game, but because you wanted to compete in a challenge, you get eliminated from the game.  If it had eliminated someone, I wonder if Jeff was going to say, "The tribe has spoken".  Probably not.  

Choose Your Champion: 7/10
We've only seen this once, in 43, and unfortunately, we might not see it again.  Essentially, you choose who you think will win an immunity challenge, and if they do, you win immunity as well.  I wish the reveal was done sooner, rather than at tribal council.  I think people should know if they can vote for you or not.  But I guess it's like an idol, which a lot of people don't get to know about.  But I liked the element of how well people know their tribemates.  I think they should incorporate these for reward as well.

Sweat or Savvy/Earning Supplies: 4/10
I'm just not a big fan of having to "earn" your supplies.  As viewers, what do we care if someone has their supplies or not... honestly?  They kept tweaking the sweat vs. savvy challenges.  At first, they were too easy, then they were too hard, then they just got rid of it.  They clearly couldn't design sweat vs. savvy to be the right difficulty.  For 47, they made a "captain" from each of the losing tribes compete in a kind of scavenger hunt, which is slightly more fun to watch.  But again... why do we care?

Journeys: 3/10
My biggest gripe with journeys isn't how they often result in a player or two losing their vote(s), although that is a close second.  No, my biggest gripe is how they used these journeys to replace tribe reward challenges.  It was a Survivor staple for the longest time: reward challenge, immunity challenge, tribal council, rinse and repeat.  Then, as we got into the 20s and 30s of the seasons, the tribal reward challenge slowly started to get phased out.  Sometimes they would have something to replace it with (Redemption Island duel, for example), sometimes they would just incorporate more camp life.  But once the new era hit, they fully did away with tribal reward challenges for these journeys.  I know it's a lot cheaper to make a set for a journey than it is a full tribal reward challenge, but come on, Survivor.  One of my biggest issues with it is that it takes away a chance for a struggling tribe to win something.  Now, on top of losing immunity, they lose reward to, since the pre-merge rewards are combined with immunity.    

Average: 3.6/10
The twists and changes in the new era have largely been disappointing.  Survivor's at its best when its a slowly evolving game, and I felt like in the new era, they did too much too fast.  I like how bad ideas were phased out, such as the hourglass or "Do or Die".  I wish they'd go back to two tribes or 39 days, but we can't always get what we want, can we?  Anyway, that's all I have for now, but if there are any others, I'll add them to the list and give my thoughts.

Ten Survivor Season Ideas

With Survivor 44 just around the corner, I thought it'd be fun to do another Survivor blog post.  I know Survivor is in a new era, and so far, it seems like they're solely focusing on newbie casts only with no themes.  I think they're going to have to return to either returnee or themed seasons (or both) again someday, just to increase intrigue for seasons.  Constantly continuing with newbie casts and numbered seasons is not going to keep Survivor fresh, and fans are going to tire of it quickly.  So, here are five returnee player seasons and five themed casts for newbie seasons that I'd suggest they use.  I won't do any "sequels" to a returnee player season, such as "Second Chances 2", because that would be too easy.


Returnee Player Seasons

1. Old School vs. New School
It would be interesting to see a New School vs. Old School season.  The Old School Survivors wouldn't have to all be from older seasons, because we've had some Old School type players in fairly recent seasons.  Same applies for some New School players from some older seasons.  Or alternatively, they could have this be players from seasons before Season 40 vs. players from seasons after Season 40.

2. One Last Chance
All of these players playing this season would verbally commit to saying this is their final season, whether it be their 2nd time playing or their 3rd or 4th.  Like Winners at War, it would give a lot of legends (Cirie?  Ozzy?  Russell Hantz?) a chance to bid farewell to the show.  I'd much prefer this over a season simply titled "Legends".  At least with this, we can get some closure on some Survivor legends for sure.

3. Pre-Merge vs. Post-Merge
If they want to stick to picking returning players from just the 40s, one idea they could do is to have a tribe of pre-merge boots against a tribe of post-merge boots.  Just two seasons into this new format and we already have a handful of possible pre-merge boot returnee players such as Brad, JD, Daniel, Jenny, and Zach.  Two more seasons, and we'll have enough for an entire tribe.  Also, this would be titled something else (such as Second Chance 2), but the tribes would be divided based on where people got voted out their first time playing.

4. Social vs. Strategy
This is kind of a lame idea and needs some help with regards to marketing, but my idea is to put one tribe of players that relied on social games--Michele Fitzgerald, Cirie, Tommy, etc. against a tribe of players that focused on advantages and strategy, such as Drea, Jesse, and Devens.  It would be interesting to see the strategy tribe fight for advantages and see how well the social tribe gets along.  And of course, it would be interesting which "strategy" would come out on top.

5. Rivals
This has been talked about for a long time, but a rivals season is definitely a possibility.  Rather than split the rivals up on separate tribes, I think you put them on the same tribe.  Putting them on separate tribes only increases the chance that we won't have many rival pairs left come the merge.  Also, these rivalries would have to have some sort of requirement, such as one player had to have voted out the other.  Think Chris and Dom, Jay and Michaela, etc.  It would be interesting to see if the rival pairs would set aside their differences and work together or if they would target each other immediately. 


Themed Cast for Newbie Seasons

1. Teachers vs. Students
Survivor loves it's "_____ vs. ____" type-seasons, such as "David vs. Goliath" and "Millennials vs. Gen X".  Those two have been two of their more successful seasons in the past 10 years.  I'd suggest a Teachers vs. Students season.  The Teachers tribe wouldn't have to be fully comprised of people that are in a teaching profession (Although I'd recommend about half).  They could also be comprised of people that train others for a living (managers, bosses, etc.).  The Students tribe also wouldn't be fully comprised of actual students currently enrolled in school, but it could be people learning a profession or people who are apprentices or new to their occupation.  Yes, the Teachers tribe would generally be older, but I'm sure they could find some older students and younger teachers to help even things out.

2. Salute to Armed Forces
Survivor should do a season comprised entirely of veterans from various branches of the military.  I think it would add some intrigue, and maybe some alliances of people from the same branch.  They've cast many veterans throughout the years.  My one concern is whether they would have enough female veteran applicants.  They might have to do a bit of recruiting.  One idea I had is this could be a captain-type season, with maybe Ben Driebergen leading one tribe, and Angela from Ghost Island leading the other tribe.

3. Celebrity Edition
I've wanted a Celebrity Edition of Survivor for so long.  I'd be okay if they were given a decent amount of food and habitable living conditions, especially if each celebrity was playing for charity.  Who wouldn't want to see celebrities lie, scheme, and betray each other?  I know they did "Beyond the Edge," which had celebrities, but that wasn't Survivor.  There are plenty of celebrity Survivor fans that would be willing to do this.

4. Kids vs. Parents
I know Survivor loves to lean into the Blood vs. Water storylines, so why not fully?  Why not have a season where one tribe is a tribe of parents and the other tribe is their kids?  This could maybe even be where they lower the age restriction a bit (to 16 or 17).  But the kids' tribe would have to have some older "kids". Otherwise, they would struggle to build a camp and get food.

5. Connections to the Past
Think Blood vs. Water, but without returning players.  Each player cast is someone related to a former Survivor player.  I would love it if they did this but then didn't tell the players that anyone else is related to a Survivor player.  The hard part would be getting 16-20 players who don't recognize each other, as former players often hang out, share photos, etc.  But imagine someone letting slip they're related to a former Survivor player, and then someone else confessing to them, etc.  Bonds or rivalries could form over this.  It would be very interesting to see how and when players would reveal their connections.  

Well, those are the 10 theme suggestions I have for Survivor; hopefully they use one of these someday!  I might come back and comment on it if they do.  

New Hogwarts Houses and Who'd Be in Them

I just recently got back in to the Harry Potter series, and I thought of an interesting concept.  What if Hogwarts completely disbanded the four houses and created not four, but five new houses?  I feel like everyone would have a spot in one of these houses.  The big difference between these houses and the houses we know and love in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin is that these five houses are based on your hobbies and interests, not your character traits.  I thought this would just be a fun little exercise to do, come up with these five houses and sort popular Harry Potter characters into them.  

I'll first name the house (explaining it's pronunciation and Latin origins), what hobbies and interests members of that house would have, explain a bit more about the house, and then name some witches and wizards who would be sorted into that house.

House #1: Valdepartum (VAL-DUH-PART-UM, Latin for very creative)
Hobbies/Interests: Writing, art, music, theater, cooking
Comment: Members of Valdepartum love to express their creativity through art, music, writing, and anything they can create or make and share with the world.
Members: Rita Skeeter, Celestina Warbeck, Dean Thomas, Nymphadora Tonks, Molly Weasley, Gilderoy Lockhart

House #2: Descientia (DUH-SIGH-EN-TEE-UH, Latin portmanteau of words for desire and knowledge)
Hobbies/Interests: Reading, learning, teaching, traveling, experiencing new things
Comment: Members of Descientia love learning and experiencing new things.  They enjoy learning and also sharing their knowledge, possibly through teaching.  They also love being the smartest person in the room.
Members: Hermione Granger, Albus Dumbledore, Percy Weasley, Bill Weasley, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Tom Riddle/Voldemort

House #3: Ludobonum (LOU-DOE-BOE-NUM, Latin portmanteau of words for game/sport and good)
Hobbiest/Interests: Sports (Quidditch), games (chess, gobstones, wizard crackers), competition
Comment: Members of Ludobonum love playing games and sports.  They generally are good sports and care more about having fun than winning.  They just want the world to be a happy and fun place.
Members: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Ludo Bagman, Dean Thomas, Fred and George Weasley

House #4: Amarevivus (UH-MAW-RAY-VEE-VUS, Latin portmanteau of words for love and living)
Hobbies/Interests: Animals, plants, magizoology
Comment: Members of Amarevivus love plants and/or animals.  They feel they sometimes can relate to them better than humans.  They hate to see any plant or animal life suffer and want to protect them and their rights.
Members: Neville Longbottom, Newt Scamander, Luna Lovegood, Charlie Weasley, Rubeus Hagrid, Pomona Sprout

House #5: Amiculus (UH-MICK-YOU-LUSS, Latin portmanteau of words for friendly and people)
Hobbies/Interests: Hanging out with friends, public speaking, talking, making friends
Comment: Members of Amiculus are what you'd call a "people person".  They fit right into any group, they make friends easily, and they are generally well-liked.  They want to make the world a better place and enjoy meeting new people.  They are best-suited of the five houses for a career in politics or social relations.
Members: Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour, Arthur Weasley, Sirius Black, James Potter

2020's Highs and Lows

Boy, 2020 has been some year.  Most would consider it one of the worst years in recent memory, and I can't argue with them.  However, this year isn't without some positive things happening, which I will get into.  Some are personal to me, some aren't.  But this has certainly been a year I will remember for a long time.  

Let's get the bad out of the way first: COVID-19.  You knew I was going to mention it.  It has put such a damper on the things we usually enjoy in life.  The family barbecues, going to sporting events, flying to see relatives, a lot of that most of us cannot enjoy at the moment.  These are the things we live for.  The things we work 40 hour work weeks for.  Instead, we are forced to sequester at home and find other joys in life.  

COVID-19 has impacted me both positively and negatively.  I did really want to go to a Mariners game and/or a Seahawks game (at least one) this year.  I wanted to take Amanda to her first Seahawks game since 2011.  I moved this year (closer to my grandparents) and I did want to make an effort to see them more often, but I haven't been able to as they fear catching COVID-19 (and I fear possibly passing it to them).  I don't mind spending a lot of time at home finding ways to keep myself occupied/entertained; I usually do that anyway.  

But as I said, COVID-19 has had a positive impact on me.  Because of the pandemic, I got a new (and better) job.  My old job wasn't the best fit, I wasn't making enough, and I didn't really enjoy it.  They put me "on standby" in March, which is like a suspension, but without the employee doing anything wrong.  I then went on unemployment while I waited for them to possibly take me back.  I also used this time to look at other jobs.  I slowly and ultimately got to a point where I realized I wanted to use this opportunity to change jobs.  I eventually found one in August and I have loved it ever since.  I enjoy it so much more, I feel more useful/needed, and I get paid more.  It beats my previous job in every way.  Even the commute from my current residence is better.  

Like I mentioned, I moved this year.  Amanda and I are now on our own just the two of us.  I really like our new apartment and the complex.  We moved right as COVID restrictions were getting put in place.  Unfortunately thanks to COVID, we are not able to enjoy the luxurious amenities this complex has.  I did use the gym a bit when they opened it for a short time, but it certainly was short-lived as they closed it not long after.

One last good thing that happened--I need to mention it: We will be getting a new president.  Thank the lord.  Donald Trump has never been fit to be president, and boy is he just an awful human being.  He is now refusing to concede the election (pathetic), but regardless, we will be getting a new president in 2021 in Joe Biden.  I don't want to get into politics too much in this post, but I know this is a reason for optimism next year for so many people, myself included.

On a more personal level, I really wanted to lose weight this year.  Like I mentioned earlier, I made an effort to go to our apartment complex's gym when it was open.  I have tried eating healthier, but it's been tough.  Now that the holidays are basically here, I might have to focus on losing weight for 2021.  I have a few ideas in mind that may help.  But I'm no skinnier now than I was at the start of 2020.  I'm going to work hard to change that for 2021.

Honestly, 2020 hasn't been too bad for me personally.  I've lost out on a few things I would want to do (including going to the movies), but I got a newer better job, I still managed to move during the pandemic, and we will be getting a new president.  I don't mind having to wear a mask in any situation.  And no one else should mind, either.

But I am really hoping 2021 is an improvement.  Hopefully we can eradicate this disease and be able to do all the things we live for again.  I don't think our country can take another year of this.  I could, but I'd hate to see what happens if this pandemic doesn't at least start going away next year.  I will continue at my current job for the foreseeable future as I have no complaints about it.  For the first time in a while, I am really looking forward to the following year.  In my opinion, 2021 can't get here fast enough.  To anyone reading this, let's work hard to make 2021 the opposite of 2020.  Wear your mask, socially distance yourself, and be nice to others (even if they're the other political party).  Thank you.

Good and Bad Things About Our New Apartment

Amanda and I are on to our third home (already!), but we really only had to move because of the renovations undergoing at our old complex.  We also wanted to get out of Kirkland because of the high cost of living there.  We found a new place in Bothell, basically in Mill Creek.  It's certainly different from our old place.  I think there are more good things about it than bad, but I thought I'd share both good and bad things about it.  First, to get it out of the way I'll go over the bad things.

Bad:
- We can hear the upstairs neighbors too easily.
We live on the 2nd floor of a 3 floor complex.  We have neighbors above and below us.  We're used to having to not make too much noise on the floor (we've always lived on the 2nd floor), but at our last place, we didn't have any upstairs neighbors, which was nice.  We hear them walking a lot, and Amanda can even hear them talking and snoring or their TV.

- Longer commute
With moving to Bothell comes longer commutes.  Because of COVID-19, I am not working at the moment, but when I do go back to work, the commute to work will be longer than before.  Fortunately I do not have to deal with that yet.

- Less bedroom space
Our bedroom is a bit noticeably smaller.  Our living/dining room is about the same, maybe a tad smaller as well.  It's not a big deal, especially since we are using our space better.  At our last place, our couch was basically in the middle of the living room, because if it was against the wall, it would have been too far away from the TV.

Good:
- Best amenities I have ever seen
Literally the best amenities I have ever seen at an apartment complex.  Swimming pool, billiards, huge gym, coffee and tea bar, TV, brand new Apple computers, etc.  Just so many great things for residents to do.  Unfortunately the amenities are closed right now, but we'll get to experience them some day.

- Big balcony and outdoor storage
Our outdoor balcony area is the biggest we have had so far at our three places.  It's got plenty of space for a patio table, chairs, and even a grill.  And our outdoor storage is bigger than what we had at our last place.

- Deep pantries
We definitely have more space to put our non-perishable foods.  Before, we used to have space just for cups, plates, bowls, etc., but now we have a place for those things AND groceries.  And the pantries we have go pretty deep, so they can accommodate a lot of stuff.  We just have to be careful some food items don't get lost back there and go bad/expire.

- Valet garbage service
Because our complex is so large with only a few dumpsters, we have the option of a garbage valet service.  Five nights a week we have the option of leaving our trash and recycle out for a paid attendant to pick up.  All we have to do is put it outside our door.  It's awesome, and whenever we move out of here, I know I will miss this service immensely.

- Surrounding area/shops
I think the surrounding area is even better for us here.  We're still within walking distance of a Safeway, but we have more restaurants, a dollar store, and a Fred Meyer.  I also really like the surrounding nature, which we can see right from our living room window.

- Even better nature views
Being at "North Creek", there is a flowing creek and a bunch of trees in our area that almost make it seem like you're far removed from the city, which we're not, fortunately.  On our walk to the leasing office/mailbox, there is a bridge which goes over a flowing creek.  We also get a lot of bunnies around our complex.


Well, that's all I have for now, if I think of anything else, I'll be sure to add it here!

My Hopes and Thoughts for 2020

The year 2019 was definitely interesting for me.  I got a new job, I helped my parents move out of my childhood home and into their new home, and our apartment complex underwent renovations (on the outside--roof, windows).  The last year of the 2010s was a memorable one for me, and I'm thinking 2020 will be just as memorable.  I will discuss my thoughts and hopes for the upcoming year, from my personal to professional life.

I cannot state this enough: I need to lose weight.  I don't consider myself obese, but overweight, yes.  I am not expecting this to happen overnight or even over just one month.  I think it may take close to all year.  But I am going to put my mind to it.  I need to find some way to work out fairly consistently, and start planning lighter and healthier meals.  I'd like to lose 50 pounds over the course of next year, which would be an incredible amount, but I'd even be happy with 20-30.  I do not have a set plan yet, but I am going to give myself goals and rewards for reaching weight milestones.  For example, I cannot eat one of my favorite (unhealthy) foods until I've lost 20 pounds.  I will continue to make choices which involve more exercise, such as taking the stairs instead of the escalator/elevator, and eating the healthier option if I eat out.  I just don't like my self-image very much right now; and I know if I got back to the shape I was in in my early 20's, I would be so much more confident and happier.

Professionally, I don't know if I necessarily want to change jobs (already), but I will keep my options open.  I will continue to look at jobs, and if one pops up that I think would be a really good fit for me, I may go for it.  I do like where I am now, but it's not a job that someone stays at for years and years.  I also want to make a bit more money.  I will probably go back on some of the job sites (Indeed, ZipRecruiter) and opt-in to the e-mails again so that I can see what's out there.

I want to travel in 2020 for sure.  It may not be until the summer or even Christmas season, but I don't think I've flown to California in three or four years.  I haven't seen Amanda's family in that long, either.  I will do my best to get some time off to go with her somewhere, whether that be in the summer or for Christmas.  Christmas falls on a Friday next year, so it would be a great opportunity to get a three day weekend and travel to see her family.  Which reminds me, I also will have to either get my first ever passport or an enhanced driver's license.  I also want to see a Seahawks game next year; I saw one in 2018 but not this year.  I want to take Amanda to one in 2020, as she's only seen one Seahawk game, and that was in 2011. 

Next year will also be big for news.  We're going to have a presidential election in November, and hopefully get a new president.  The 2020 Summer Olympics will happen in Tokyo.  There are other things, but let's not forget it's also the first year of a new decade.  Also, when before some people were starting the current year "Two thousand-", they now almost all will start calling the year "Twenty-Twenty".  Not many people are going to say "Year Two-Thousand Twenty".  They'll say "Twenty-Twenty".

There are a couple other things that might happen in 2020, but I am not entirely sure.  I may get a new car, but that could wait until 2021 or later.  I may get a new computer, as my current one is having issues, as it is pretty old (around a decade old) and runs Windows Vista.  But I also want to build up my savings next year after the hit it took this year.  There are a couple other big things that might happen in 2020, but are personal to me, and I'll share them on here if they do end up happening.

I am excited for 2020 and what it brings.  I'm very curious to see how much my life changes in the next year.  I am really hoping for an improved me by this time next year.  I know that sounds all very cliche, but it's very true for me.  I am going to be that 2020 will be a significant year in my life, even more so than 2019 was.

Top 7 Spots for Tom Brady were he to leave the Pats

Tom Brady, leave New England?!  Yep.  There’s a lot going on we don’t know about, but here’s something we do know: He’s not entirely happy.  He has saved the team millions of dollars over the years.  He took a pay cut so they could afford Wes Welker one year, and then once Welker wasn’t re-signed Brady was left to wonder where that money then went.  He also hasn’t really been given weapons in 2019, and he is sorely missing Gronk.  Also, his owner is in the midst of a scandal.  If I was a betting man, I’d bet he retires a Patriot and only plays for one team in his career.  However, I also would’ve bet Peyton Manning retires a Colt back in 2010.  So, what if Tom Brady wanted to leave and prove he could win without Bill Belichick?  I mean, that competitive desire in him may make him want to do that.  There are seven possible teams he could go to if he were to leave the Patriots.  Why 7?  It's an odd number, but I really think there are about 7 teams, give or take.


7. Dallas Cowboys
Colin Cowherd talked about possibilities for Brady and his pick is the Dallas Cowboys.  Yes, they have good talent and may end up replacing their coach, but they are only #7 for me for two reasons.  One, Brady grew up a 49er fan and therefore grew up hating the Cowboys.  He's not a huge fan of the organization.  Two, they have Dak Prescott, who Jerry Jones likes.  Sure, his contract is expiring soon, but they'd be foolish to go from a younger Dak to Brady.  But I guess they're a distant possibility.  

6. San Francisco 49ers
I know, they have Jimmy G, but what if he got hurt again?  Or perhaps Brady wants to win a ring as a backup/mentor.  The biggest problem with this is that the 49ers can’t afford to pay two quarterbacks that much money.  But Brady grew up a Niners fan, so if he had his choice of NFC teams, this would be it.

5. Tennessee Titans
First off, Brady would get to play for his former teammate Mike Vrabel.  Tennessee does have a decent roster and their QB position isn't completely solidified.  It's kind of a smaller market, which works against them.  But the talent is there and with a legit, proven winner at quarterback, they may be able to take the next step.  I consider the Titans the dark horses in the Brady sweepstakes, if there ever is any.

4. Denver Broncos
Could Elway persuade another legend to join him?  It’s possible.  If Manning can win a Super Bowl there, Brady surely can.  Broncos fans have loathed Brady for years, so this would be hard for them to accept, which is why the Broncos are only #4.  Also, they have Drew Lock, who would probably be traded if this happened.

3. New York Giants
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, right?  Brady has failed twice to beat the Giants in the Super Bowl, so why not join them?  But like the Broncos fans, New York football fans have grown up hating Brady, so this would also be hard for them to accept.  But that’s mostly Jets fans who hate Brady.  Giants fans are happy they’ve been able to beat him twice.  Also, Daniel Jones would be traded just like Drew Lock if this were to happen.

2. Chicago Bears
I have a feeling Brady would love to play under Matt Nagy.  Chicago is one of the biggest metropolises in America, and their team has a rich history.  Just playing in Chicago for a couple years would make people consider Brady as one of the best Bears quarterbacks ever.  It also would be funny that Jimmy Garoppolo is playing for Brady’s hometown team while Brady plays for Jimmy Garoppolo’s hometown team.  Trubisky could either be traded or be forced to serve as Brady's backup, but would he be all right with that?  Hard to say.

1. Los Angeles Chargers
California?  Check.  Good roster?  Check.  Big market?  Check.  Brady’s best fit is with the Chargers.  He could replace Rivers whose best days are behind him.  It’s funny Brady could replace Rivers who came into the league AFTER Brady.  The Chargers are struggling to gain fans in the LA Market, and getting Brady would immensely help that cause.  Brady in LA in the new stadium?  Hard to beat that.  The only problem with this I see is the Chargers might not have enough of a history or fan base to woo Brady over.  But he would know that by signing with the Chargers, it would re-energize the team and bring in a lot of new fans.
Edit: Following the Seahawks-Eagles Wild Card game, Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels discussed Tom Brady and his future.  Michaels prodded Collinsworth and goaded him into picking a team Collinsworth could see Brady going to.  His answer?  The LA Chargers.  Now, he said he has no insider information, but if a well-respected analyst is saying the same team as me, we might be on to something.  

Hard to see Brady going anywhere else (that’s if he does leave the Patriots).  You can rule out the AFC East and any teams that have entrenched starters for the next several years at least.  He’s got a great relationship with Josh McDaniels, so if McDaniels gets a head coaching job somewhere, that team instantly becomes the best possible landing spot for Brady.  The only team here that is probably replacing its coach soon is the New York Giants, with the Cowboys as an outside possibility.

Edit: Just for fun, here's why all the other teams would not even be considered:
Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen, division rival
Miami Dolphins: Division rival, bad roster
New York Jets: Sam Darnold, division rival
Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson
Cincinnati Bengals: Small market, bad roster
Cleveland Browns: Bad history
Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger, AFC Rival
Houston Texans: Deshaun Watson
Indianapolis Colts: AFC Rival, small market
Jacksonville Jaguars: Bad team, small market
Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes
Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders: Derek Carr, grew up 49ers fan so naturally dislikes Raiders
Philadelphia Eagles: Carson Wentz
Washington Redskins: Dysfunction, bad roster
Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford, bad history
Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers
Minnesota Vikings: Kirk Cousins, wouldn't want to copy Brett Favre
Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan, recently beat in Super Bowl
Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton, small market, not enough history
New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bad history, Jameis Winston
Arizona Cardinals: Kyler Murray
Los Angeles Rams: Jared Goff, recently beat them in Super Bowl
Seattle Seahawks: Russell Wilson, beat in Super Bowl XLIX

Thoughts on My New Job

I was just thinking the other day that on this blog I have yet to talk about my current job.  I talked about Safeway quite a bit while I worked there, going over the various departments, talkedabout my favorite and least favorite customers, and a couple others as well.  But I have not yet talked about my current job.  So, I will do just that, starting out by going over the company, going over my day-to-day responsibilities, and finishing with my thoughts on working there so far.

I currently work technically with two companies.  My official employer (the one that appears on my paycheck) is Aviation Spares and Services International Company (ASSIC).  I’ve always liked how they had to add the “International Company” because otherwise the company is ASS. 😂😂  Anyway, ASSIC is pretty small, at least in our office, comprising of only two in-office employees, who I work next to.  Then, there is Global Inflight Products (GIP).  They comprise of about 15 employees.  Then there are three boss people, the Chairman/President: Zine Badissy, the CEO: Liza Benzaoui, and the Vice President: Farjam Majd.  We also have a downstairs office that has accounting and marketing/design (two people each).  ASSIC provides spare airplane parts (generally small ones) to different aviation companies, and they often ask for quotes on parts and people ask for quotes from them.  GIP manufactures and distributes airline products for international flights, everything from cups, plates, towels, blankets, utensils, and headphones.  ASSIC and GIP work together under the Air Transport Support Group (ATSG).

My official position is office assistant.  I am technically also a receptionist, but I feel that has a bit of feminine connotation.  Nothing wrong with a guy doing a job typically done by a female, however.  I answer the phone and transfer to the appropriate person if necessary, and I occasionally will answer some basic questions.  Aside from answering the phone, the main thing I do is special projects for Mr. Badissy, the chairman and president of both ASSIC and GIP.  He has me compile financial reports for his farm business, for his business expenses, and for his travel expenses.  Generally, those projects take 3-5 days to do, which is good because Mr. Badissy is out of the office on most Thursdays and Fridays.  I have also emailed different people for him and even mailed a package for him. 

I am also slowly transitioning to being the office administrator (not officially) by doing tasks that help the office run smoothly.  I often go down to the storeroom to get supplies such as jugs for the water cooler, paper towels, and toilet paper.  I am now the person people tell to order office supplies, although I do not order them myself.  Instead, I give a list of supplies to accounting and they order them.

As for my thoughts on my job, I would have to say I like my job pretty well.  It’s certainly not perfect, but what job is?  Sometimes my boss, Mr. Badissy, can be hard to understand in what he wants, but I do my best, and he’s been pretty understanding and patient with me as well.  I don’t make as much as I did in my final years at Safeway, but it’s a consistent paycheck with consistent hours.  I am no longer an hourly wage employee; I am a salary employee now.  And instead of getting paid every week, I get paid every two weeks.  That part does not bother me, but what does bother me a bit is that my paycheck every two weeks is an actual check; I must go to the bank and deposit it and there is no direct deposit option. 

I don’t know how long I plan on working with ASSIC/GIP.  They have this thing in my agreement of employment that I have to pay back any bonuses I earn if I quit within two years.  I have yet to see a bonus and I think those are more for sales managers.  Not only that, but if I want to quit, they want me to give them a month’s notice.  So, with that and my Monday-Friday 7:30-4 work schedule, it becomes very difficult for me to potentially get another job.  Honestly, after not working for almost five months, I am just happy I have a job and one that pays steadily.  There’s not really an opportunity for advancement, not that I’d really want to.  I’ve never been a good person for sales, having dipped my toes into the sales swimming pool and not liking what I felt. 

I have the added bonus of working near Amanda.  She is about a 15-20 minute walk away, and I work exactly one hour earlier than her, so I can wait for her to get off if I want.  I have the option of taking the bus to work if I desire.  My commute is fairly short, taking 15-20 minutes to drive in the morning (usually), and 20-30 minutes to drive home.  So location-wise, my job is pretty perfect, considering alternative jobs I looked at could have me commute to downtown Seattle or south Bellevue.

I honestly like my job.  There have been a few times that I haven’t liked it, but as a whole I do like working at ASSIC/GIP.  I like the people I work with, and I get to interact with people from a wide variety of backgrounds as we have a very diverse office.  I’ve even gone out to lunch with them a couple times already.  I am going to continue working at ASSIC/GIP and see what happens and what skills I can pick up. 

My Solution to the NFL's Overtime Rule

Ever since the vaulted Chiefs offense of 2018/19 did not get an opportunity to take the field in overtime of the 2019 AFC Championship game, NFL fans (mostly Chiefs) have clamored for a change to the NFL overtime rules.  They want both teams to have an opportunity to possess the ball.  And I have to admit, I agree.  If two teams meet, and each team has a great offense and sub-par defense, the coin flip really does determine who wins the game.  I know it's been 7 months since that AFC Championship game, but I have just thought of a solution to fix overtime in the NFL.  I want to add that I have modified my original overtime proposal which allowed games to extend beyond two possessions.  This does not (unless it is a playoff game).

Here is my solution: Each team gets one opportunity to possess the ball on offense.  The only exception being if the defense scores on the first possession.  If the first team to possess the ball scores, the opposing team will get one shot to tie or beat them.  After those two possessions, the game is over.  If the game is tied after two scoring possessions, the game becomes a tie (unless it's a playoff game).  If the first team to possess the ball gets a TD and goes for two and succeeds, that means the best the opposing team can do is tie the game.  If it was a playoff game, they'd have to get a touchdown and two point conversion to keep the game going.  I must add that in this version of overtime, there is no game clock, just like in college.  Just possessions and a play clock.

Confused at all?  I wouldn't blame you if you were.  Here are some hypotheticals (and we'll use the Patriots and Chiefs to make it easy).  And we are using regular season overtime rules (unless otherwise specified).

- The Patriots get the ball first in overtime and kick a field goal.  The Chiefs then kick a field goal.  The game would then be a tie.  In the playoffs, the Patriots would get the ball back, now with the game in sudden death mode.

- The Patriots get the ball first in overtime and score a touchdown and get the ensuing PAT.  The Chiefs get the ball themselves and score a touchdown as well.  They kick the PAT as well.  This would result in a tie.  The Chiefs could go for two points, and if they successfully get it, they win the game.  If they fail to get it, they lose.  Talk about drama.

- The Patriots get the ball first in overtime and score a touchdown and get the two point conversion.  The Chiefs would then get an opportunity to match.  If they don't, the game obviously ends with a Patriots victory.  If they do, the game ends in a tie.  In the playoffs, they would continue to play now under sudden death (next score wins).

- The Patriots get the ball first and either punt or turn the ball over.  The Chiefs get the ball.  Any score wins it for them.  If they fail to score at least a field goal (because with the offense on the field, they can't score a safety), the game ends in a tie.  In the playoffs, the game would continue until someone scores.

I hope that clarifies things.  This way, both teams get a chance to possess the football, and the game always ends after two possessions, unless it's the playoffs.  The interesting scenario this creates is for the second team to possess the ball.  Do they go for the tie or the win?  I'd say 90%+ of the time you go for the win; one exception being if a loss knocks you out of the playoffs, but a tie or win and you're in the playoffs.

Here are the pros and cons of this format.

PROS:
- Both teams get a chance to go for the win if they so choose, unless the first team gets a TD and 2 point conversion.  If the first team does get both, then the second team loses the ability to go for the win.
- Would make for exciting and dramatic football as we could see a lot of "Do or Die" plays
- Would make for a lot of interesting and tough coaching decisions (Go for 2?  Go for it on 4th?  Kick or receive?)
- It's about as fair as OT can be to whoever wins the toss, and I could see some teams wanting the ball first while others want it second

CONS:
- Can be a tad confusing
- There could be an increase in the number of ties since any teams that do the same in the overtime period would count as a tie.
- This could increase the amount of time players have to play in overtime if they're always forced to play at least two possessions.

To counter those three cons I listed, for the first one, I came up with a simplified way of explaining these rules and it is this: Each team gets one possession.  Whoever does better wins.  If they do the same, they tie.  That's it. Once people get used to these rules, they become very easy to explain.

Secondly, it's hard to really say if the number of ties would increase.  If just one team scores, the chance that there will be a tie dramatically drops, because the second team to possess the ball more than likely won't go for a tie.  And with defenses that have been on the field for a half hour each (on average) already, it means offenses playing against gassed defenses and more than likely, one of the offensive units would get at least a field goal.  Also, you would not see many teams "going for a tie", such as kicking a field goal when the other team kicked a field goal, because a head coach would instantly and forever be harshly criticized for not having the courage to go for the win.

Thirdly, this could indeed increase on average the amount of time overtime periods go.  Right now, overtime can end on one possession.  It still could now (if there's a defensive score), but most often we'd see two possessions.  My argument is that I think players would be willing to play a bit more for a better chance to win the game.  Think back to the AFC Championship game this past season.  I'd guarantee each of those Chiefs offensive players, from QB Patrick Mahomes to the offensive linemen, they all wanted to go back out there.  They all wanted one more shot.  There are only 16 games a season plus a maximum of 4 playoff games for one team.  Each game is critical, and everyone on the team would love a shot to go out and win a game that goes to overtime.  Let's give them that shot.

My 7 New Years Resolutions for 2017

As I type this, 2017 is just about 4 hours away, so it's time to make my New Years Resolutions.  Yes, plural.  And in fact, there will be SEVEN of them.  To be totally honest, I'll be happy if I accomplish 4 of these.  I'll aim for all 7, but I feel like the more Resolutions I make the more I'll accomplish.

1. Lose Weight
I've lost count on the number of different ways I've tried losing weight.  But this time, there's no excuses.  I'm cutting out sweets, sugary drinks, and eating anything in excess.  I love to eat, but I'd love myself more if I was in better shape.  As the weather warms up during the year, I also plan to work out more, possibly even get a gym membership. 

2. Answer Phone Calls
Yes, I know, what a silly resolution.  But I have a slight phobia of talking to strangers on the phone.  Which is why I have never answered the phone from an unknown number.  Funny thing is when I work customer service at my job, I answer the phone several times a day from people I don't know.  But from now on I plan to answer it (unless I am driving, working, busy, etc.)  I know, 9 times out of 10 it'll probably be a telemarketer or something else like that, but that one time out of 10 could be an opportunity of something I am missing out on.

3. Make progress in/towards a career
I think I've put this as a goal anytime I've made a list of goals to accomplish, but it bears repeating.  I've been stuck where I am for years and it's time to change.  Or at the very least get started or do something in addition (2nd job?).  At some point this year I will figure out a secondary source of income or a career I want to pursue. 

4. Seize an opportunity if it presents itself
This is pretty vague, but I've never been one to "seize" things.  But I plan to change that about myself.  Every time there is an opportunity for something productive, fun, or something that could better my life in any way, I will seize it. 

5. Buy Less Stuff/Give Stuff Away
I've been accused by my friends of being a "hoarder".  Yeah, I own a lot of crap, but one thing most people don't know about me is that I can get sentimental with certain objects.  A souvenir I got at a gift shop one time I traveled.  It's hard for me to give stuff away.  But I'll do my best.  There's the Buy Nothing project where people are more than happy to see cool things for free.  There's also Goodwill/Value Village.  There's a decent chance I might move this year, so I'll need to part with a lot of objects before moving if I do.  Also, I need to watch my spending and only buy things I need, not what I want.

6. Learn an Instrument
This one I won't be too shocked if I don't end up completing it, but one thing I've always had on my bucket list is learning how to play an instrument.  My top three instruments I'd want to learn to play would be piano, guitar, or ukulele.  Probably guitar.  If you didn't know already, I really enjoy singing and if I learned an instrument I could pair that with my voice and entertain people at get-togethers.

7. BE HAPPY! :)
This one is pretty simple and straightforward, but is definitely important.  I plan to wake up each day with a smile on my face and not let little things bother me.  Too often I get upset at things falling/breaking or my team losing, but being upset over those things that won't matter in 5, 10 years is utterly pointless.  I plan to make 2017 the happiest year of my life. :)

I know that's a lot, especially for me, but like I said earlier if I accomplish more than half of these I'll be happy.  Obviously if I accomplish #7 I'll be happy.... oy... well here's to a fantastic 2017!!!