WoolyBully

Well, that's the business in 2023. If you're not a member of the club, you're relegated to Wayne's World Streaming Service.

Yes, in my experience random people do bite it. Almost relentlessly. Day in, day out. Wait. What were we talking about?

MagicJack (St. Petersburg) Bowl '08: Went to this one with @bullsmania mainly to see a football game played inside the Trop. We watched some of it but spent a lot of time just walking around the place, sipping beer, and seeing how many times we could use the phrase magicjack in a double entendre connotation. We debated as to whether we should amble down 'bout the Seminole Hard Rock post-game, but settled for heading back to our respective ranches. Not overly memorable...magicjack aside.

Charlotte vs NCSU 2005: The Mrs. & I are checked into our luxury accommodations in scenic, downtown Charlotte. Tis the night before the game and there’s a knock on the door about eleven p.m. I peek out and it’s Mister Pizza Guy. I open the door and he hands me the pizza. I told him I didn’t order a pizza, and he says he’s just the delivery guy and this is the room and makes sure I’m “Mister Robinson”. I try to hand it back and he says he can’t take it back once the customer touches it. And he starts backing up down the hallway. I step inside and make a mental note that this is the lightest pizza in the history of pizza. Well, there’s a reason for that. When I open it, instead of a pizza, it’s a weapons grade size pair of red and black panties. We’re talking Ringling Brothers Big Top brand. There was also some sort of ‘Go Pack’ message on the cardboard. Quite the dilemma. NCSU trickery gone awry? Or…or…could this be miscreant behavior on the part of some Bulls fans, having fun at my expense. Turns out to be the latter. I’m not going to mention your name – but if you still lurk the board – you know who you are. More importantly…I know who you are! No need to confess. I have collaborating testimony and forensics back me up. @mutt @MikeG@bullsmania @LakeBull USF Vs. Oregon 2007: Very fun trip, as we went out a few days early and did some sightseeing. Took in dinner at Cattleman’s Cattleman's Steakhouse at Indian Cliffs Ranch (cattlemanssteakhouse.com) with some penners. Decided to head across the border to Juarez for some shopping with Matt & Lorraine Harbert, attended the Bulls Pen soiree the night before the game. But a few hours later, the chicken enchiladas made a return appearance. Debated whether to go to the game or not, but we toughed it out. Matt & Lorraine did some sort of USF related thing, while Cindy and I set out in the rental pick-up truck for Fort Bliss (Alumni) then on to White Sands & Alamogordo. Happened across an Indian casino that to me looked like a couple of doublewides welded together with a huge, paved parking lot, but we walked out with $200. Muy Bueno. @BULLheaded @LakeBull @Brad . Ran into a penner at the airport. I think it was @Joe. He flew in the morning of the game, cab to the stadium, cab to the airport after the game. Now that's dedication. On the plus side, we ran into some Oregon fellas in Vegas where we changed planes. Interesting chit-chat with those guys.

The students today are part of the second generation of Bulls fans. While the aged bulls wallow in the tar pits, it's up to the second generation to move ever onward and upward. Evolve. Conquer. Go Bulls!

If you're going to whine about attendance against perennial powerhouse like Temple, well shucks, pa ... these guys will definitely pack the house: NCAA 2023 DIV II Playoff Bracket ...and bear in mind that this is ONLY the playoff teams, not the rank-and-file opponents who make up the division, and whom we would have to play week in, week out. Go ahead. Pick who you want to play. And before you start penciling in how U of SF would fare, bear in mind that, DII allows 36 (three six) full or part time scholarships per year. Here's a handy worksheet to help you whittle down which Bulls stay and which ones get a cardboard box for clearing out their personal effects. https://247sports.com/college/south-florida/Season/2023-Football/ScholarshipDistribution/ It's spelled "Division II football in Florida", but it's pronounced "fold the program".

Which has been our bread-n-butter since inception. It's where we excel and where we exceed expectations with alarming regularity.

Hawaii Caveat: been there as well. Here's the thing; if you're gonna wing your way all that distance, you might want to INCLUDE the bowl game in your plans. What's that s'posed to mean? I mean that spending a week or so in Hawaii is a really great vacation, and the added bonus is taking in the game and the activities associated therewith. I wouldn't be inclined to just fly-in-fly-out and not do the tourist thingy. It's too much of a destination not to take advantage of it. Just my thinkin'. And speaking of Hawaii, decades past - during the Chris Iskra era - U of SF had the opportunity to get to Hawaii, dependent on ECU winning their game. We were watching it at Beef O'Brady's on Fowler and the Pirates ineptitude was on full display. Not only losing their game but thwarting a Bulls trip to Hawaii. All they had to do was win, and they didn't have the common decency to put forth just that little bit of effort. I have yet to send them a Christmas card.

I've just about had it with you and your "team player" attitude. The program needs to do whatever the minority opinion of TBP is at any given moment. You know this.

Yes. Checked baggage and boarding passes. Celebrate shaking off the past four years. Get some sort of reward other than driving across town.

Great win. Any win, given our recent history, is a great win. Yes, we beat a very bad team who will finish the season with but three wins. And it's great that we have six wins and are going to a bowl game. Now, do me a favor and put the microscope back on the shelf. Not once this year did we beat a team that finished with a winning record. If Navy beats Army, they'll be 50% just like us. We finished out the year mid-pack, up from the bottom in '22. Great, phenomenal improvement. I stuck with Vegas (-4.5), which even then would have been an improvement over '22. I can't see grading anything below a B, given every aspect of the program. But, that's just moi... That being said, this pretty much sets the bar for '24. Anything under .500 and it's 'sternly worded memo' time.

That got some airtime during the broadcast. Good story.

My spreadsheet shows: ...so $60 is on its way via PayPal.

https://charlotte49ers.com/news/2023/11/25/football-recap-charlotte-at-south-florida.aspx "Charlotte's injury-decimated roster caught up to it in the third quarter as South Florida piled up 20 points on its way to a 48-14 American Athletic Conference victory, Saturday at Raymond James Stadium. It was the season-finale for the 49ers (3-9; AAC: 2-6), who were playing without over half its starters, while USF (6-6; AAC: 4-4) reached bowl eligibility with the victory. "I've been participating in football for a long time and I've never been more proud of a team, win or lose, than I am with these guys tonight," said head coach Biff Poggi. "We had 12 starters out. That's over 50% of our starters -- I think most kids would have packed it in. They never did. We played three interior defensive linemen. One was a freshman. One was a hard-working guy (who hasn't played much) and one was a back-up offensive lineman. We fought to the bitter end and I'm really proud of the kids."

a 1.000 12 b 0.750 9 c 0.500 6 d 0.250 3 f 0.000 0 So, it would appear that getting an A in Professor E.T.'s takes considerable effort?

Given the starting point, coming off of four abysmal years, I think an A is warranted. But let's be clear. This is an "A" for this year, without deducting points for any existing shortcomings or 'room for improvement'. Just going with the overall product.That's a huge lift, winding up with 50% wins and bowl game. Five wins would have been a welcome improvement.

I think that winning six - and mentioning a bowl game - was a good guess. Especially on August 25th. I went with Vegas at -4.5. Six & a bowl is what we in the wonderful world of gaming refer to as 'upset', not an uncommon occurrence in the wide world of sports. Do I still think it's funny? Maybe not funny, but I do think we lucked out based on the conference competition we faced this season. Yes, the six wins are enough to get a bowl bid, and certainly better than the last four years.

Congratulations all around. This program has been mired in the muck for a long time. These seniors deserve a bowl game after all they've had to contend with.

The important thing is that I've got $20 on USF to cover -5.5. Don't disappoint.

I like the unis.

As a reminder, your polygraph is scheduled for Monday afternoon. Dress comfortably.

UNCLASSIFIED: LIMDIS / HVBPCO (Handle Via Bulls Pen Channels Only) BEGIN TEXT TRANSCRIPT: =============================================== Senior days, homecomings, playing spoiler and ending year one on a positive note — Saturday’s season finale for Biff Poggi’s Charlotte 49es has more storylines than usual for a team searching for its fourth victory of the year. But Poggi and Charlotte’s staff only care about one thing in Tampa against South Florida on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. — winning. While “personal pride” is still the team’s rallying cry, Saturday will close the chapter on Poggi’s first year as head coach. It will also serve as a tryout for a roster that is sure to be in flux from around midnight on Saturday to late August of 2024. Likely down 10 starters due to the spreading injury bug, Charlotte is continuing to dip into its scout team to fill in at crucial moments to round out their first season in the American Athletic Conference. And if you’ve been following the 49ers through this adventure of a season, you know that performances by the walk-on trio of quarterback Trexler Ivey, center Isaiah Bullerdick and tailback Hahsaun Wilson have provided some of the peaks, resulting in promised scholarships for two of the three to this point. TOP VIDEOS “Every game is a tryout. Every day at practice is an audition. We will make personnel decisions, as every school will, after the season. This will play into it, for sure,” said Poggi. “For a lot of these guys who haven’t had a chance, it’s a great opportunity. This could be like a Hahsaun Wilson redux for a lot of guys. And for guys that aren’t meeting the challenge, there will be consequences for that, too.” Injuries, lack of discipline, scholarship distribution, and learning on the fly have also provided some of the valleys, which is a matter of “band-aids and brain surgery,” according to the 63-year-old head coach. “As much as we love coaches, coaches don’t win games. Players do. We have to really improve the roster, and we’re working on that,” said Poggi. “There are band-aids, and then there’s brain surgery. And I’m a believer in brain surgery. I don’t like doing band-aids. While Poggi didn’t have walk-ons leading game-winning drives, nearly breaking rushing records and filling in on an injury-depleted offensive line on his bingo card, he says it “doesn’t matter.” What matters is leaving Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium with a victory, and Charlotte has a tough test with the Bulls (5-6, 3-4 AAC) vying for their first bowl appearance since 2018. ROAD MATADORS While Charlotte’s defensive improvements have been a bright spot this season, climbing 75 spots in total team defense rankings under Ryan Osborn, the 49ers’ offense must bounce back from their one-touchdown performance last week to give Charlotte a chance. In five of the Bulls’ six losses this season, they’ve allowed an average of 52.2 points per game. The other was a 17-3 loss against the No. 10 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. South Florida’s defense is surrendering an FBS-worst 36.8 points and 313.6 passing yards per game on the season. For reference, Charlotte’s troublesome defense from a year ago under Will Healy surrendered 39.4 points and 278 passing yards per game. Ivey and Mike Miller’s offense will have their opportunities, and Charlotte must turn in its fifth 21-plus point performance of the season to leave South Florida with a victory. Bend, but don’t break. Nobody wants to see that. “Talk about the tale of two tempos — we just played the second slowest in college football, and now we’re playing the second fastest,” Osborn said. “I told the defense that the only chance we’ve got is to limit points. I don’t care about their yards; they’re going to get their yards. I gave them a number (of points). I told them if we hit that number, we’ll win the game.” The Bulls are led by redshirt freshman Byrum Brown, a former finalist for North Carolina’s 2021 Mr. Football award and a member of The Charlotte Observer’s North Carolina super team. Brown has accounted for 3,527 combined yards, 29 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his first full season at the helm. The Raleigh native has rushed for 702 yards on the season, which ranks second on the Bulls’ roster and eighth in the AAC. Brown’s best game of the season came against Rice’s defense in late September, when he shredded the Owls for 520 total yards (435 passing) and three touchdowns. That same defense held Charlotte to just 158 yards of total offense less than seven days ago. “Let’s talk about Byrum Brown. He wasn’t recruited by Charlotte. It’s the craziest thing how many good players in our conference are from this region and aren’t here,” Osborn said. “This kid is a stud. He’ll be just like (Michael) Pratt and (Seth) Henigan in two years; just wait. Very dynamic. He can beat you with his feet and can throw the ball really well.” Boding well for Charlotte, Brown has tossed an interception in four straight games, including two in a lopsided loss against Texas-San Antonio last Friday. The 49ers have recorded six interceptions and 16 pass breakups in the last four games alone, led by Dontae Balfour’s team-best 10 pass breakups. Brown’s favorite target is Sean Atkins, who has 43 more catches than the next-highest Bulls receiver. Atkins has reeled in 79 catches for 900 yards and four touchdowns this season, doing 92.2% of his damage from the slot, according to Pro Football Focus. Nearly half of Atkins’ production has come after the catch, adding 424 of his 900 yards with the ball in his hands. The 5-foot-10 wideout also serves as the team’s punt returner. HOW DO THE CHARLOTTE 49ERS WIN? South Florida runs nearly 84 plays per game — the most in college football. If Charlotte is to win, it will be generating long, clock-eating drives to give their defense a breather. Charlotte is 16th in the nation in time of possession, holding the ball for over 32 minutes per game. Whether it’s Wilson, Joachim Bangda, or another running back that Charlotte fans may not know, Miller’s offense must dominate the line of scrimmage and get ahead of the chains. This is a battle of the most penalized teams in the AAC, with Charlotte surrendering 57.9 yards and South Florida 67.5 penalty yards per game. The more disciplined team will leave Raymond James Stadium with a victory, and Charlotte’s chance to play spoiler starts with a fast start in the game’s opening quarter, where the 49ers have scored just 20 total points all season. END TEXT TRANSCRIPT: =============================================== BURN AFTER: 26 NOV 23

OK, then the next question is: how do you feel about our MOST MEANINGFUL GAME, in six years, being played against Charlotte? Add to that the 'meaningfulness' in this sense of the word is to become bowl eligible? I know, I know, a lot of team's post season aspirations hang in the balance of the last regular season game.

Happy Thanksgiving, boys and girls.