I'll be ringing in 2020 tonight, and with then be heading to Louisiana for a few days of post-holiday vacation. As well as being the last post of 2019, this will also likely be my last entry for awhile. There are now officially less than three months remaining until Corinne's and my wedding, and preparing for that event is going to take up an increasing amount of my spare time between now and then (that, in fact, I one of the reasons we are heading to Louisiana this weekend).
But before I do that, a few housekeeping/meta-blogging items I've meant to take care of but haven't done so until now:
First, in keeping with a tradition of archiving family obituaries on this blog, I'm (finally) posting my grandfather Horace Gray's obituary, which I have retroblogged to the day of his passing, August 9, 2000. Hard to believe that he will have been gone twenty years this coming summer.
I'm also making a couple of changes to the blogroll on the right side of this page, starting with my college football links. Since Deadspin has been gutted by its new corporate overlords, it no longer warrants a link. The Every Day Should Be Saturday folks have moved on to the Banner Society (the final post on EDSBS - a dissertation combining life, college football and "Free Bird" - being absolutely epic), so I am replacing the former with a link to the latter.
Finally, and with a bit of sadness, I have deleted my "Dubai" blogroll. As much fun as it was to have played a (small) part of that city's blogosphere a dozen or so years ago, the simple fact is that Dubai is no longer part of my life. I was last there over seven years ago, I am no longer at a job that requires me to travel there, and I doubt I will be heading back there for any reason anytime soon. Furthermore, most of the blogs I linked to have either become dormant (an exception being Alexander McNabb's Fake Plastic Souks) or their writers have moved.
Everybody be safe tonight, and may you have a wonderful 2020!
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Defining a decade
Today is the last day of 2019, meaning that the argument we have every ten years is back again:
That being said, from a cultural standpoint, we prefer to group decades by the tens digit, so that they start with 0 and end with 9. It's just easier to categorize years in this manner.
So you will be mathematically correct if you wanted to celebrate the beginning of the 203rd decade, CE, on January 1, 2021. But the "twenties," as they will be known in popular culture, begin at midnight tonight.
Vox reviews the decade just past - what it calls the "tumultuous 2010s" - here.
As January 1, 2020, approaches, everyone is reflecting about the past decade and the new one that awaits. "Best of the decade" lists are everywhere. #10YearChallenges are all over social media. And people are eagerly gearing up to celebrate the end of the 2010s.
But there's a slight problem.
We might be celebrating a year too early, at least according to some people.
The question of when exactly the current decade ends and the new one begins seems to come up every time the year on the calendar moves from ending in 9 to ending in 0. It came up in 1989. And in 1999. Then again in 2009. And now.
So is January 1, 2020, really the beginning of the decade? Or does it, in fact, begin a year later, on January 1, 2021?From a mathematical standpoint, it is correct that the next decade does not begin until 2021. The Gregorian calendar does not have a "Year Zero." The Common Era (Anno Domini) begins with Year 1. Therefore, the first decade of the calendar runs from 1 CE through 10 CE, and all subsequent ten-year spans start with 1 and end with 0, as well.
That being said, from a cultural standpoint, we prefer to group decades by the tens digit, so that they start with 0 and end with 9. It's just easier to categorize years in this manner.
When we think of the 90s, we think of the period from 1990-1999. It just doesn't make sense that the year 1990 would be considered part of the 80s.
Plus, it's more satisfying to celebrate big occasions like the start of a new decade in an even-numbered year, a phenomenon that psychologists call "round number bias." Waiting until 2021 to celebrate the new decade would feel anticlimactic.
That's why Konstantin Bikos, lead editor of TimeandDate.com, says that both definitions of when the new decade begins are correct. No need to cancel your end-of-the-decade party.
"There's two different ways of categorizing 10 years," he told CNN. "It could be from the year ending in 0 to the year ending in 9, or the year ending in 1 to the year ending in 0."
It comes down to how we talk about time spans.
Bikos agrees that centuries and millennia always start with years ending in 1. Those time spans are typically referred to as numbered entities counted up from the year 1 AD, as in the "21st century" or the "third millennium."
Decades are categorized by year numbers. Even though the 2020s will be the 203rd decade, no one ever calls it that. It's just called the 2020s, or the 20s.Truth be told, this is all very arbitrary. A "decade" could be any ten consecutive orbits of the earth around the sun. 1995 through 2004 is a “decade." Our culture has simply selected years ending 0-9 to be grouped as a decade because it's easier to remember and talk about them that way.
So you will be mathematically correct if you wanted to celebrate the beginning of the 203rd decade, CE, on January 1, 2021. But the "twenties," as they will be known in popular culture, begin at midnight tonight.
Vox reviews the decade just past - what it calls the "tumultuous 2010s" - here.
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
UH wins and attendance, 2019
The downhill slide continues.
The Cougars averaged 25,518 fans per game for their five
home games at TDECU Stadium* in 2019, which is a decline of 4,320 fans/game from the 2018
season. This is the lowest average attendance since the 2013 season (the year
before TDECU opened) and the third consecutive year of attendance decline for
the program. Since the 2016 season the program has lost an average of 13,436 fans
per game.
Coming off a four-win season and
with a 2020 home slate consisting of Rice, North Texas, Tulane, Tulsa, Central
Florida and South Florida, the ticket office is going to face an uphill battle in order to reverse this unfortunate trend.
*The game against Washington State at NRG Stadium is officially
a neutral site, so the NCAA does not include it in our attendance totals. If we
were to include it, Houston’s average attendance jumps to 28,019, which still
represents an overall decline from 2018.
The countercultural cartoons of Sesame Street
A few weeks ago, venerable children's television program Sesame Street turned 50 years old. And although we might not have realized it as children, there's an awful lot about that show that reflects the time period in which it was incubated in; namely, the drug-infused counterculture late '60s and early '70s. Mike McPadden, writing in the cannabis-oriented website Merry Jane, explains:
The Merry Jane list features "tripped-out moments that have delighted tokers and children alike" from the entire fifty-year span of Sesame Street and is worth a full perusal. I've limited my own trippy favorites to the 1970s, when I watched the show as a small child and well before I understood Sesame Street's peace, love and drugs provenance.
E-Imagination: this cartoon appeared in the very first episode in 1969. The watercolor animation and sitar-inflected music are transparently psychedelic. Riding an eagle, following a beagle? Far out, man! Also, the Land of Steam sounds pretty cool.
Counting Raga: Speaking of tripped-out sitar chords, how about Ravi Shankar himself providing the music for this kaleidoscopic counting animation from 1971? This cartoon was likely the first exposure many young children had to the Indian aesthetic so beloved by hippie culture.
(
Lost Boy Remembers His Way Home - This is what happens when a hallucination becomes a cartoon. One of the comments on this video's YouTube page says it all: "if you are a member of Generation X, your childhood entertainment was created by people who were tripping balls."
Daddy Dear - Every letter of the alphabet got its own animation on Sesame Street, and this ode to the letter "D" from 1972 is, well, delightfully druggy. Do dandelions roar? Well, maybe when you're on DMT!
Pinball Number Count - this series of cartoons (one for every number between two and twelve; all segments can be seen here) made its debut in the mid-70s; the tune, sung by the Pointers Sisters, is something any Gen-Xer living today can easily recite. As cool as the music was, the animation of a pinball rolling through a series of trippy landscapes was positively sublime. It's what happens when a pinball eats a mushroom and enters a multilevel, Alice-In-Wonderland pinball machine.
Geometry of Circles - Animated by Cathryn Aison and featuring music by composer Philip Glass, this engaging series of cartoons first appeared in 1979. The abstract, vivid mix of sound, color and geometry was as mesmerizing to elementary students getting ready for school as it was to college students coming down from an all-night LSD trip. This particular video stitches all four of the cartoons from the series into one.
New Ball in Town - This stop-motion animation of one ball trying to play with three others was supposed to teach kids the importance of inclusivity. While not as psychedelic as some of these other cartoons, the jarring red-and-purple patterns of the balls and the awesome riffs of the Moog synthesizer nevertheless produce an effect that may be especially pleasant if you're high.
The Yip Yips - While not an animation, these Martian Muppet characters were surely envisioned by Jim Henson when he was baked out of his gourd. Which is why their signature "yip yip yip yipyipyipyipyip uh-huh" dialogue is just as hilarious after a hit of the bong today as it was when you were four. When they weren't engaging in stoner antics like mistaking a clock for a human, the Yip Yips were also trying to communicate with telephones, searching for tunes on a 1930's era radio, trying to operate a fan, or visiting Ernie and Bert.
In 1969, society’s counterculture upheaval and a drive to expand cosmic consciousness resulted in the psychedelic convergence of Woodstock and the literally spaced-out giant leap of the moon landing.
Less audacious, but perhaps even more revolutionary, another monumental undertaking from that year channeled the era’s turned-on vibes and anything-is-possible ambitions into an ongoing source of uplift, wisdom, and inspiration for young people and, as such, humanity’s future.
On November 9, 1969, Sesame Street debuted on PBS. Yes, the show has been on the air for exactly half a century now!To be technical, Sesame Street didn't even premier on PBS. It premiered on NET, which was PBS's predecessor. PBS itself came into existence one year later. The entire first episode is available here (spoiler alert: Oscar the Grouch was originally orangish-brown, not green).
Unlike previous children’s TV, Sesame Street showcased a diverse array of kids, adults and, of course, Muppets in funny, heartfelt, and believable situations. It also took place in an urban setting that reflected the communities of most of the show’s audience.
In addition, fueled by the desire to educate and enlighten in the most effective way possible, Sesame Street tapped into 1969’s heady, funky, freewheeling zeitgeist. The show empowered cutting-edge artists, writers, and musicians to create its cartoons, short films, sketches, and sing-alongs. Awash over every element of Sesame Street, as well, were the intrinsic values of love, acceptance, kindness, and inclusion.
All that’s to say, if Sesame Street’s creators weren’t potheads themselves — although just look at Muppet-master Jim Henson; how could he not have been? — the show positively incorporated the most inspired and inspirational aspects of late-60s drug culture.Sesame Street, in other words, happened because the hippies of the 60s got jobs in the entertainment industry and created countercultural and psychedelic imagery under the guise of "children's television." Looking back, it was pretty obvious: would any straight-laced, sober television producer of that era really envision a children's show with a puppet cast that featured a giant canary, an orange woolly mammoth only visible to said giant canary, a green monster living in a garbage can, a blue monster with an addiction problem, and an ambiguously gay couple? The cartoons and animations interspersed between the antics of said cast only further argue the point.
The Merry Jane list features "tripped-out moments that have delighted tokers and children alike" from the entire fifty-year span of Sesame Street and is worth a full perusal. I've limited my own trippy favorites to the 1970s, when I watched the show as a small child and well before I understood Sesame Street's peace, love and drugs provenance.
E-Imagination: this cartoon appeared in the very first episode in 1969. The watercolor animation and sitar-inflected music are transparently psychedelic. Riding an eagle, following a beagle? Far out, man! Also, the Land of Steam sounds pretty cool.
Counting Raga: Speaking of tripped-out sitar chords, how about Ravi Shankar himself providing the music for this kaleidoscopic counting animation from 1971? This cartoon was likely the first exposure many young children had to the Indian aesthetic so beloved by hippie culture.
(
Lost Boy Remembers His Way Home - This is what happens when a hallucination becomes a cartoon. One of the comments on this video's YouTube page says it all: "if you are a member of Generation X, your childhood entertainment was created by people who were tripping balls."
Daddy Dear - Every letter of the alphabet got its own animation on Sesame Street, and this ode to the letter "D" from 1972 is, well, delightfully druggy. Do dandelions roar? Well, maybe when you're on DMT!
Pinball Number Count - this series of cartoons (one for every number between two and twelve; all segments can be seen here) made its debut in the mid-70s; the tune, sung by the Pointers Sisters, is something any Gen-Xer living today can easily recite. As cool as the music was, the animation of a pinball rolling through a series of trippy landscapes was positively sublime. It's what happens when a pinball eats a mushroom and enters a multilevel, Alice-In-Wonderland pinball machine.
Geometry of Circles - Animated by Cathryn Aison and featuring music by composer Philip Glass, this engaging series of cartoons first appeared in 1979. The abstract, vivid mix of sound, color and geometry was as mesmerizing to elementary students getting ready for school as it was to college students coming down from an all-night LSD trip. This particular video stitches all four of the cartoons from the series into one.
New Ball in Town - This stop-motion animation of one ball trying to play with three others was supposed to teach kids the importance of inclusivity. While not as psychedelic as some of these other cartoons, the jarring red-and-purple patterns of the balls and the awesome riffs of the Moog synthesizer nevertheless produce an effect that may be especially pleasant if you're high.
The Yip Yips - While not an animation, these Martian Muppet characters were surely envisioned by Jim Henson when he was baked out of his gourd. Which is why their signature "yip yip yip yipyipyipyipyip uh-huh" dialogue is just as hilarious after a hit of the bong today as it was when you were four. When they weren't engaging in stoner antics like mistaking a clock for a human, the Yip Yips were also trying to communicate with telephones, searching for tunes on a 1930's era radio, trying to operate a fan, or visiting Ernie and Bert.
Houston 41, #24 Navy 56; 2019 season recap and look-ahead to 2020
The Cougars ended the season by hosting the Navy Midshipmen (not ranked in the College Football Playoff top 25, but #24 in the AP poll) at TDECU Stadium last Saturday night. As has been the case for much of the season, Houston was competitive in the first half. And, as has also been the case much of the season, the Cougars collapsed in the second half. The Cougars end the season by being steamrolled by a service academy for the second year in a row, and close their 2019 campaign with a 4-8 record. (They failed to meet even my modest expectations for the season.)
The Good: When they didn’t turn the ball over, the UH offense was actually very productive. Quarterback Clayton Tune was 23 of 35 for 393 passing yards and four touchdowns, including a 67-yard catch-and-run to Tre'von Bradley early in the game, a 26-yard strike to Courtney Lark, and a 22-yard pass to Marquez Stevenson on a gutsy fourth-and-nine play. Tune also scrambled for 61 yards, and running back Patrick Carr added another 56 yards and a score on the ground. All told, the Cougars amassed 527 total yards of offense. And, although the UH defense was manhandled through most of the game, they did come away with a couple of huge stops on 4th and 1.
The Bad: Alas, both of those 4th down stops were rather quickly followed by Clayton Tune interceptions. Turnovers were the story of this game for the Cougars, as Tune threw 4 picks - all of which appeared to be bad decisions into multiple coverage - and UH special teams fumbled a kickoff return. Three of these turnovers led to Midshipmen touchdowns. Special teams also missed a field goal.
The Ugly: The UH run defense. I lost count of the number of times Navy was able to dive up the middle for a long run or a score, but fullback Jamale Carothers scored on rushes of 8, 17, 75, 29, and 19 yards and ended the evening with 188 yards. Midshipman quarterback Malcom Perry had 146 rushing yards and a touchdown as well; he only attempted four passes the entire evening. UH defenders were continually out of position - it seemed as if defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen and his staff made no adjustments whatsoever during the course of the game - which allowed Navy to amass 447 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.
The Absurd: After Clayton Tune's pass to Christian Trahan late in the second quarter was ruled down at the one-half yard line, the Cougars had first and goal at the 1 with a chance to take the lead with a touchdown. However, thanks to a series of botched playcalls, sacks and penalties, the Houston had to settle for a field goal from their own 20. This clusterfuck of a series was emblematic of the Coogs’ struggles this season.
What It Means: The disappointing 2019 season - the program’s worst since 2004 - has mercifully come to an end. While the Cougars were competitive in many games they played in, their lack of depth - they oftentimes ran out of gas in the second half - as well as their glaring lack of talent on the offensive line and the defense were simply too great to overcome.
It didn't help that the Coogs faced a particularly tough schedule this fall. In addition to the fact that six of their twelve opponents were ranked in the AP top 25 at the time they met, UH also faced a grueling gauntlet of four games in 19 days to start the season. After finishing that stretch of games with a 1-3 record, head coach Dana Holgorsen took advantage of the NCAA's new redshirt rules to bench several starting members of the team, including starting quarterback D'Eriq King: a controversial decision that caused detractors to accuse him of "tanking" the season. Whether Holorgsen intentionally sabotaged the rest of the season or not, the Cougars would go on to win only three more games in 2019.
Holgorsen and his staff ended up redshirted a whopping 35 players in 2019. Time will tell if this gamble worked, but as of right now I can’t say I’m particularly excited about 2020. I'm afraid it’s going to take more than just one season to rebuild talent and depth on the offensive line, the defensive line and in the secondary. The team is furthermore going to miss departing seniors such as running back Patrick Carr, offensive lineman Josh Jones and punter Dane Roy. Other talented players, such as defensive end Isaiah Chambers, are entering the transfer portal, and I honestly expect the most notable of Holgorsen's redshirts, D’Eriq King, to transfer out as well. The Coogs’ best wide receiver, Marquez Stevenson, will likely opt for the NFL draft.
It's also worth noting that next year’s schedule is going to be just as tough as this one was. Every team the Coogs lost to at home this season - Navy, Memphis, SMU, Cinci, Washington State - they play on the road next season. The Cougars also have to face Central Florida again, South Florida replaces UConn, and there will be no FCS patsy to scrimmage against. Finally, while nobody’s going to mistake BYU for Oklahoma, the trip to be Provo is going to be hard. At least the Coogs get Tulane at home; maybe they can win that one.
Their next game will be at TDECU Stadium against Rice on Saturday, September 5, 2020. They have a lot of work to do between now and then.
On to the offseason.
The Good: When they didn’t turn the ball over, the UH offense was actually very productive. Quarterback Clayton Tune was 23 of 35 for 393 passing yards and four touchdowns, including a 67-yard catch-and-run to Tre'von Bradley early in the game, a 26-yard strike to Courtney Lark, and a 22-yard pass to Marquez Stevenson on a gutsy fourth-and-nine play. Tune also scrambled for 61 yards, and running back Patrick Carr added another 56 yards and a score on the ground. All told, the Cougars amassed 527 total yards of offense. And, although the UH defense was manhandled through most of the game, they did come away with a couple of huge stops on 4th and 1.
The Bad: Alas, both of those 4th down stops were rather quickly followed by Clayton Tune interceptions. Turnovers were the story of this game for the Cougars, as Tune threw 4 picks - all of which appeared to be bad decisions into multiple coverage - and UH special teams fumbled a kickoff return. Three of these turnovers led to Midshipmen touchdowns. Special teams also missed a field goal.
The Ugly: The UH run defense. I lost count of the number of times Navy was able to dive up the middle for a long run or a score, but fullback Jamale Carothers scored on rushes of 8, 17, 75, 29, and 19 yards and ended the evening with 188 yards. Midshipman quarterback Malcom Perry had 146 rushing yards and a touchdown as well; he only attempted four passes the entire evening. UH defenders were continually out of position - it seemed as if defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen and his staff made no adjustments whatsoever during the course of the game - which allowed Navy to amass 447 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.
The Absurd: After Clayton Tune's pass to Christian Trahan late in the second quarter was ruled down at the one-half yard line, the Cougars had first and goal at the 1 with a chance to take the lead with a touchdown. However, thanks to a series of botched playcalls, sacks and penalties, the Houston had to settle for a field goal from their own 20. This clusterfuck of a series was emblematic of the Coogs’ struggles this season.
What It Means: The disappointing 2019 season - the program’s worst since 2004 - has mercifully come to an end. While the Cougars were competitive in many games they played in, their lack of depth - they oftentimes ran out of gas in the second half - as well as their glaring lack of talent on the offensive line and the defense were simply too great to overcome.
It didn't help that the Coogs faced a particularly tough schedule this fall. In addition to the fact that six of their twelve opponents were ranked in the AP top 25 at the time they met, UH also faced a grueling gauntlet of four games in 19 days to start the season. After finishing that stretch of games with a 1-3 record, head coach Dana Holgorsen took advantage of the NCAA's new redshirt rules to bench several starting members of the team, including starting quarterback D'Eriq King: a controversial decision that caused detractors to accuse him of "tanking" the season. Whether Holorgsen intentionally sabotaged the rest of the season or not, the Cougars would go on to win only three more games in 2019.
Holgorsen and his staff ended up redshirted a whopping 35 players in 2019. Time will tell if this gamble worked, but as of right now I can’t say I’m particularly excited about 2020. I'm afraid it’s going to take more than just one season to rebuild talent and depth on the offensive line, the defensive line and in the secondary. The team is furthermore going to miss departing seniors such as running back Patrick Carr, offensive lineman Josh Jones and punter Dane Roy. Other talented players, such as defensive end Isaiah Chambers, are entering the transfer portal, and I honestly expect the most notable of Holgorsen's redshirts, D’Eriq King, to transfer out as well. The Coogs’ best wide receiver, Marquez Stevenson, will likely opt for the NFL draft.
It's also worth noting that next year’s schedule is going to be just as tough as this one was. Every team the Coogs lost to at home this season - Navy, Memphis, SMU, Cinci, Washington State - they play on the road next season. The Cougars also have to face Central Florida again, South Florida replaces UConn, and there will be no FCS patsy to scrimmage against. Finally, while nobody’s going to mistake BYU for Oklahoma, the trip to be Provo is going to be hard. At least the Coogs get Tulane at home; maybe they can win that one.
Their next game will be at TDECU Stadium against Rice on Saturday, September 5, 2020. They have a lot of work to do between now and then.
On to the offseason.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Houston 24, Tulsa 14
Just when you thought the Coogs were done winning games for the season, they go to Tulsa and come back with a win, thanks mainly to surprisingly strong defensive play.
The Good: Cougar defense and special teams. The defense recovered four Tulsa turnovers, including cornerback Damarion Williams's interception of a Golden Hurricane pass for a pick six. The defense also shut down Tulsa's running game (more on this below) and sacked Golden Hurricane QB Zack Smith four times.
Early in the fourth quarter, when Tulsa scored to pull to within three, Marquez Stevenson responded with a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown which would end up being the game-sealing score. Punter Dane Roy, meanwhile, averaged 44.4 yards on his eight punts, keeping Tulsa pinned deep within their own side of the field for much of the game.
The Bad: Cougar offense. Quarterback Clayton Tune only completed 8 of 12 passes for 89 yards and no touchdowns (he did run for a score, which turned out to be Houston's only offensive touchdown). The UH offense was an anemic, converting only two of 13 third down attempts, and the Cougars' total offensive output of 231 yards was their lowest of the season. Tulsa spent a lot of time in Houston's backfield; while they only sacked Tune once, they did record ten tackles for loss.
The Ugly: Tulsa's running game. They had -1 rushing yard for the entire game. That's not a typo. that's "negative one." In addition to those four sacks, the Coogs recorded six TFLs.
What It Means: I wouldn't read too much into this win - Tulsa is not a good team - but it's still a bright spot to an otherwise disappointing season.
The Cougars close the season against Navy (ranked #24 in both the AP and coaches' polls) at home on Saturday.
The Good: Cougar defense and special teams. The defense recovered four Tulsa turnovers, including cornerback Damarion Williams's interception of a Golden Hurricane pass for a pick six. The defense also shut down Tulsa's running game (more on this below) and sacked Golden Hurricane QB Zack Smith four times.
Early in the fourth quarter, when Tulsa scored to pull to within three, Marquez Stevenson responded with a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown which would end up being the game-sealing score. Punter Dane Roy, meanwhile, averaged 44.4 yards on his eight punts, keeping Tulsa pinned deep within their own side of the field for much of the game.
The Bad: Cougar offense. Quarterback Clayton Tune only completed 8 of 12 passes for 89 yards and no touchdowns (he did run for a score, which turned out to be Houston's only offensive touchdown). The UH offense was an anemic, converting only two of 13 third down attempts, and the Cougars' total offensive output of 231 yards was their lowest of the season. Tulsa spent a lot of time in Houston's backfield; while they only sacked Tune once, they did record ten tackles for loss.
The Ugly: Tulsa's running game. They had -1 rushing yard for the entire game. That's not a typo. that's "negative one." In addition to those four sacks, the Coogs recorded six TFLs.
What It Means: I wouldn't read too much into this win - Tulsa is not a good team - but it's still a bright spot to an otherwise disappointing season.
The Cougars close the season against Navy (ranked #24 in both the AP and coaches' polls) at home on Saturday.
North Texas 14, Rice 20
Last Saturday was a sunny and cool November day - a perfect afternoon for football. So I went over to Rice Stadium, hoping to see the Mean Green secure bowl eligibility with a victory over one-win Rice. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
The Good: Down 20-0 at halftime, North Texas rallied to score 14 unanswered points while holding the Owls scoreless the entire second half. Quarterback Mason Fine and running back Tre Stiggers both scored rushing touchdowns, and UNT special teams recovered an Owl fumble on a punt return deep in Rice territory midway through the fourth quarter to keep hopes of a UNT win alive.
The Bad: North Texas botched the ensuing drive, as a holding penalty and three incomplete passes by Fine (who had a rather mediocre day, completing only 17 of 32 passes for 163 yards, no touchdowns and one interception) prevented the Mean Green from reaching the endzone. Rice recovered the ball on downs and ran out the clock to secure the win.
The Ugly: The first half. The Mean Green were outgained by Rice 228 yards to 51; North Texas didn't even record its first first down of the game until the 2:28 mark of the second quarter! The lone bright spot for UNT in the first half was the recovery of a Rice fumble - and they fumbled the ball back to Rice one play later!
What It Means: A 2019 season that was supposed to see North Texas compete for the C-USA west title will end in disappointment, as the Mean Green have assured themselves of a losing record. The Owls have won consecutive games for the first time since 2016.
The Good: Down 20-0 at halftime, North Texas rallied to score 14 unanswered points while holding the Owls scoreless the entire second half. Quarterback Mason Fine and running back Tre Stiggers both scored rushing touchdowns, and UNT special teams recovered an Owl fumble on a punt return deep in Rice territory midway through the fourth quarter to keep hopes of a UNT win alive.
The Bad: North Texas botched the ensuing drive, as a holding penalty and three incomplete passes by Fine (who had a rather mediocre day, completing only 17 of 32 passes for 163 yards, no touchdowns and one interception) prevented the Mean Green from reaching the endzone. Rice recovered the ball on downs and ran out the clock to secure the win.
The Ugly: The first half. The Mean Green were outgained by Rice 228 yards to 51; North Texas didn't even record its first first down of the game until the 2:28 mark of the second quarter! The lone bright spot for UNT in the first half was the recovery of a Rice fumble - and they fumbled the ball back to Rice one play later!
What It Means: A 2019 season that was supposed to see North Texas compete for the C-USA west title will end in disappointment, as the Mean Green have assured themselves of a losing record. The Owls have won consecutive games for the first time since 2016.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Starchitects, high-rises and Quito
I recently wrote about the potentially transformative effect of a new subway in Quito, Ecuador. One of the subway's intended effects is to create density by encouraging more high-rise construction around stations. Architectural Digest explains how some of the world's top architects are participating in that transformation: "Initiated by an enterprising local developer and fueled by a revised zoning code and new transit-oriented development incentives, Quito is shaping up to be a starchitect’s next frontier."
Did I mention that it's time for me to go back to Quito?
The urban shift in Quito started with a relocation. In February 2013, the municipal government moved the entirety of Quito’s 1960 Mariscal Sucre International Airport from the dense residential and commercial neighborhood that had grown around it to an agricultural area 12 miles away. The previous location of the airport (now being transformed into a large park) had capped surrounding building heights at four stories. A revised zoning code now allows towers in the city up to 40 stories, though air rights must be purchased from the government.As fun as it was to watch the planes fly overhead on their final approach to the old airport - I used to sit at the window and watch the 747s of Lufthansa and KLM, the DC-10s of Iberia, the colorful 707s of Ecuatoriana and even the droning Lockheed Electra turboprops of TAME - the flight path was rather treacherous, given the city's geography. It was also rather loud. Quito's new airport is larger, with a longer runway and a flight path the does not require you to land in the middle of a city crammed up against a volcano.
Recognizing the new potential to build taller and better, Quito-based development company Uribe & Schwarzkopf has been recruiting world famous architects with a "why not here?" attitude. For the 46-year-old, two-generation company where father Tommy Schwarzkopf and son Joseph Schwarzkopf work side by side, it became increasingly obvious that sometimes you can't do it all. For about the last 40 years, the firm had taken a design-build approach, with Tommy (a trained architect) at the helm of designing modular residential and commercial towers across the capital. The buildings are efficient, but far from radical, on a growing skyline. When Joseph came into the family company, the two hypothesized that starchitects could bring more intrigue to their projects, and Tommy says he was satisfied to hand over the design reins and accept a new development challenge.
Thus, their firm’s first foreigner-designed tower sprung up in González Suárez, an artsy, bohemian, and increasingly affluent neighborhood on a slope. The developers called on Miami-based Arquitectonica to design the 22-story residential Yoo Quito. French designer Philippe Starck crafted the interiors and amenities, which are dotted with his furniture and inspired by the clouds the tower seems to touch. Floating above the roof terrace is a cloudlike shape of undulating aluminum panels that hides the building’s necessary mechanical systems. On the ground level, too, the tower does something new for Quito: Retail at the base engages the public with the building in a city where most private residences have a barrier to entry.I know exactly where Yoo Quito is - on Avenida Gonzalez Suarez, between Avenida Francisco de Orellana and Calle Muros - because it is directly across the street from the small apart-hotel on Calle Muros where my family and I lived in the late 1980s when we spent our summers in Ecuador. That part of town always had high-rises, both along Gonzalez Suarez as well as Avenida 12 de Octubre. Now, if local officials have their way, the rest of the city will start going vertical as well.
The government is, however, working to increase city center density through the city's first underground metro line, whose first phase will run from north of the former airport to the southern suburbs in 2020. Explains Jacobo Herdoiza, a former secretary of territory for Quito, the hope is that upper-class residents who currently drive from the suburbs to work downtown each morning will ditch their cars for mass transit and move back to the city center. For developers, an incentive has been set in place: If you construct a new residential project within an eight-minute walk from the new metro or a five-minute walk from a bus rapid transit station, the city will pick up the tab for your air rights.The article claims that "Quito suffers from a pedestrian-unfriendly urban streetscape." I'm not sure I would completely agree - some parts of Quito, such as the colonial center or the Mariscal Sucre district, offer a good, active pedestrian environment - but the city is otherwise mostly automobile-oriented and I recall that many Quito sidewalks were narrow, uneven or poorly-maintained, with cars in driveways blocking them, a lack of curb cuts and other accessible infrastructure, and blank, uncomfortable security walls adjacent to them. Good pedestrian infrastructure is critical to the success of transit, and this is where transit-oriented development comes in to play.
These transit-oriented development incentives convinced Uribe & Schwarzkopf to hire one of the world's most buzzy architects, Bjarke Ingels of BIG, to design two residential towers (the firm's first projects in Latin America) along the forthcoming metro line. Across from La Carolina Park, the city's most popular green space, the 32-story IQON and the 24-story EPIQ towers by the architect are quickly rising. The former is set to be the city's tallest building and has a facade that, when trees are planted on each terrace, will reflect the adjacent park. The latter takes a more historic approach to its materials: It will be constructed of concrete dyed in various shades of pink to reflect Quito's terra-cotta heritage. Green roofs atop each setback become communal terraces for residents, while the ground level is activated with retail, offices, and a restaurant, a strategy that is hoped to encourage pedestrian traffic.To be sure, these signature starchitect luxury high-rises are only part of the transformation process. Ecuador is still a low-income country and the percentage of the population that can afford to live in them is low. In order for the process to truly work and for Quito to reach its potential as a vibrant, walkable city, a lot of less-iconic but more-affordable housing options will need to be constructed as well. But by giving famous architects a "canvas" for their designs, perhaps an impetus can be created in Quito's development community for dense, mixed-use and pedestrian-friendly construction for all income levels. As the developer Tommy Schwarzkopf explains: “A new skyline for the city is being created and a new type of citizen is emerging.”
Did I mention that it's time for me to go back to Quito?
Houston 27, #18 Memphis 45
The Coogs looked good in this one for about a quarter. Then, as has been the case all too often this season, things went downhill.
The Good: The Cougars jumped out to a 17-7 lead thanks to Marquez Stevenson's 53-yard touchdown catch and and a Clayton Tune scoring scamper of 68 yards. Cougar special teams were also a bright spot, as they blocked a Memphis punt and recovered it for a touchdown late in the game. Punter Dane Roy averaged 48.7 yards per punt, including one which pinned the Tigers on their own two yard line.
The Bad: Everything else. After the Coogs took that 17-7 lead, Memphis outscored Houston 38-3. The Cougar offense was completely shut down - they accounted for only 49 yards in the entire second half - and Memphis quarterback Brady White picked apart the UH defense for 341 passing yards and five touchdowns (he ran for another). The Cougar secondary was absolutely abysmal, with players frequently out of position and unable to execute simple tackles. I hate to say this, but there are some players on the UH defense who do not appear to have the talent or athleticism to play at the FBS level. Previous coaching staffs simply did not recruit well, hence these results.
The Ugly: Regarding that Dane Roy punt that pinned Memphis on their own two yard line: it did not hamper the Tigers in the least. Memphis simply marched 98 yards down the field and scored a touchdown right before halftime. The Scott and Holman Pawdcast said it best:
What was your favorite part of that Memphis drive? Houston calling a timeout early to save Memphis 20 seconds under the naive belief we'd get the ball back? The needless PI on a ball that wasn't gonna be caught? The missed chances by DBs to make a play on the ball?
This drive was the season in a microcosm.
What It Means: The Cougars have secured themselves their first losing season since 2012.
Next up for the Cougars is a trip to Oklahoma to play Tulsa.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Twenty years ago tonight
Apropos of Louisiana State defeating Alabama last weekend and becoming the #1 team the college football playoff rankings, it's interesting to note that, exactly twenty years ago tonight, something rather improbable happened: the Houston Cougars defeated the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.
While this sounds impressive - and to be sure, it is notable any time another team, especially from out of conference, beats the Tigers in "Death Valley" - this game really wasn't the shocker it at first appears to have been. For one thing, LSU was simply not good that year; they had lost seven games in a row coming into the Houston game and ended the season with a 3-8 record. The loss to Houston, in fact, was the final straw for embattled LSU head coach Gerry DiNardo.
They say that Saturday nights at Tiger Stadium are some of the most magical in college football. I'm not sure you could consider what happened on November 13, 1999 to be "magic," but it was definitely extraordinary.
(For another notable college football game whose 20th anniversary is approaching, take a moment to read this oral history of the November 1999 "bonfire game" between Texas and Texas A&M at Kyle Field. I was at that game - I was still technically enrolled at UT at the time - and it was indeed very emotional. I still remember it being so quiet in the stadium when the Aggie Marching Band silently walked off the field at the end of halftime that you could hear the clinking of the spurs on the seniors' boots from the upper deck. I still get the chills when I think about it.)
On this day in 1999, Kim Helton and the Houston Cougars beat LSU at Tiger Stadium, 20-7. The win assured UH of their second winning season in Helton’s 7 years.
LSU drove 84 yards for a touchdown on their opening possesssion. Rondell Mealey finished it off with a 34-yard TD run. It was 7-0 Tigers and the sleepy, sparse crowd started to wake up.
But that would be all of LSU’s excitement for the night: for the rest of the game, the Cougars kept the LSU rushing attack in check: after the first series, LSU ran for -12 yards total. UH dared LSU starting QB Josh Booty to throw it while keeping everything in front of them.
Jason McKinley led the Cougar offense on three-straight scoring drives in the first half – perhaps the best sequence of the ’99 season (and maybe the entire Helton regime). In those three drives, McKinley went 9/11 for 117 yards and a score.The Cougars would continue to stymie the Tiger defense after halftime - LSU would end up turning the ball over four times in the second half, including interceptions on their final three drives - to hold on for the victory.
While this sounds impressive - and to be sure, it is notable any time another team, especially from out of conference, beats the Tigers in "Death Valley" - this game really wasn't the shocker it at first appears to have been. For one thing, LSU was simply not good that year; they had lost seven games in a row coming into the Houston game and ended the season with a 3-8 record. The loss to Houston, in fact, was the final straw for embattled LSU head coach Gerry DiNardo.
In the locker room after the game, Gerry DiNardo was fired by LSU as the Tigers turned their sights to Nick Saban. Kim Helton would last 8 more days as the UH head coach before being dismissed by Chet Gladchuk.Indeed, not even a win over LSU in Baton Rouge could save Kim Helton's job. Although the Coogs won seven games that season, none of those wins came against teams with a winning record and the schedule included a particularly demoralizing loss to 5-6 UAB (playing their first season as a member of Conference USA). The Cougars did not go to a bowl that season; Chet Gladchuk probably made up his mind to fire Helton well before the LSU game occurred.
They say that Saturday nights at Tiger Stadium are some of the most magical in college football. I'm not sure you could consider what happened on November 13, 1999 to be "magic," but it was definitely extraordinary.
(For another notable college football game whose 20th anniversary is approaching, take a moment to read this oral history of the November 1999 "bonfire game" between Texas and Texas A&M at Kyle Field. I was at that game - I was still technically enrolled at UT at the time - and it was indeed very emotional. I still remember it being so quiet in the stadium when the Aggie Marching Band silently walked off the field at the end of halftime that you could hear the clinking of the spurs on the seniors' boots from the upper deck. I still get the chills when I think about it.)
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