The Beard is en fuego!

Here's hopin' that James Beard can't cook up the correct concoction for a change, tonight in Denver.

The Band may NEVER be back together! Murray is still out with a nasty ankle injury.

Nuggets vs Rockets III: Revenge is a dish best served cold.

When last these two teams squared off in game 38 of this season the Nuggets (lap) enjoyed double figure TPM contributions from five players led by Gary Harris: +16. Torrey Craig: -12 led three players in the red for that match-up as the Nuggets lost by a final score of 125-113 but I assure you the outcome wasn't even that close, which is actually peculiar given that Denver waved the white flag in the third period given their date with Miami looming the following evening, while Pringles played his starters basically the entire game.

There is debate to be had as to weather or not D'Antoni has an axe to grind with Denver either about not getting the job when there was an opening a few years back or over something that occurred when he coached here in the 90's. It's also true that he over-plays his best players to his own teams detriment (see the playoff fatigue each and every season.)

It is also, ALSO true that each and every time he's had a blowout lead vs Denver while coaching for Houston, something that has unfortunately happened more often than not, he tastelessly leaves his starters in long after the game is decided and the recycling unit for Denver is in full swing. Here's hoping this pissed off the Nuggets players as much as it does me. If not, then there is a bigger problem at play. While he may do this against everyone that doesn't make it any more classy; it only means more people should find it distasteful.

Just to illustrate this point, here's the sequence which occurred in the fourth quarter in their previous meeting as I pointed out in my TPM piece:

Two straight threes for the Rockets and the lead is 17. Jokic checks out at this point (4:10) after less than one minute of fourth quarter action, as Malone is apparently waving the white flag. He's replaced by seldom used, G-league POINT GUARD Brandon Goodwin (for those Houston fans who will inevitably say "but the Rockets backup guards aren't any good so Harden/CP3 HAVE to play the whole game".) Harden remains in.

Houston is feeding him on every possession in a grotesque show of unsportsmanlike conduct, in an attempt to get him to 40.

He is STILL in at 1:20 with a 20 point lead, and STILL shooting! Capella and indeed the rest of Houston's starters remain in as a matter of fact. Pringles pulled this shit last year too, clearly still bitter at how he was treated in his Nuggets tenure.

As for this game, Denver will be without their dynamic 21 year old, some say All-Star-snubbed point guard yet again, Jamal Murray. As is always the case when you play the Rockets, any time Harden is on the floor the Nuggets will be operating at a competitive disadvantage, five on eight. I'm sorry but stop and go, foul-seeking and gaming of the system in search of loopholes is UUUUUGLY basketball, not to be admired and I'm no longer sugar coating it.

Having said that, many of the fouls on three point attempts lately for Denver have been careless and Harden needs absolutely zero help in gaining the benefit of the whistle. This means that A) Torrey Craig and Will Barton can not be trusted to play any meaningful minutes on Harden and B) When Denver does foul him, the man has to feel it. None of this "he got me into the air, I'll try to avoid him" nonsense. If he wants to get fouled so badly, then foul him... badly.

I'm not advocating playing him all that closely either 'cause he's not terribly efficient from anywhere but the foul line. I actually think they should sag off of him unless he finds himself getting hot and cover the lob and corner three options more tightly. If Harden scores 50 I guarantee a Nuggets victory!

Now here are some numbers you can use:

Houston gives up 110.9 PPG by their opponents on average, to Denver's 105.8

The Rockets average 112.3 PPG offensively to the Nuggets 111.5

This results in a net rating for Houston of +1.4 and +5.7 for Denver

Houston is 10-13 on the road while Denver is 22-4 in the friendly confines of The Pepsi Can.

In terms of conference record, The Rockets are 17-13 to the Nuggets 21-10 mark which is important only in as much as understanding the strength of schedule involved as the Western Conference is as much as ever, the stiffer competition.

Denver of course is second in the Western Conference standings, 1 game behind the Warriors (while even in the loss column and owning the tie breaker) while Houston currently resides in 7th place in the Western Conference, 7 games out.

When it comes to the other meaningful statistical box-score production the comparison is as follows:

(team with advantage in bold)
HOU: RPG 41.9 APG 20.8 SPG 8.0 BPG 5.4 FG% 44.4 FT% 77.8 3% 34.5

DEN: RPG 46.8 APG 27.2 SPG 7.9 BPG 4.5 FG% 47.0 FT% 75.4 3% 35.4

The numbers on whole favor the Nuggets but as anyone who reads my piece knows, I don't believe any statistic or even a complex, predictive conglomeration of statistics are nearly as accurate in indicating actual results as are the unquantifiable variables of "Mo & flow™" momentum and the ability to find the zone.

To that end, The Nuggets have won 14 of their last 20 & 7 of their last 10 while The Rockets have been victorious in 13 of their last 20 games & 6 of their last 10.

For this young Nuggets group, (second youngest in the NBA) individual consistency is simply not a thing so it's more difficult to predict how a player will contribute based upon trends; particularly so as the starters begin filtering back from injury and roles are altered/redefined in the coming games. Jokic has been consistently good but in different ways seemingly every night.

With that said, Big Honey is a legit MVP candidate and an emerging superstar, while Murray is coming into his own as Robin to The Joker's Batman (I'm not certain how that works either) while Millsap/Harris provide secondary options when things get problematic on offense; simultaneously carrying the bulk of the defensive burden and Barton is the much needed secondary ball handler/play-maker for when things go awry; a natural scorer/creator and the Nuggets boast one of the deepest benches in the league, even without Murray, I.T. and MPJ.

There are of course many other variables at play including match-ups; styles make fights. For example, former fan-favorite Faried can't defend anyone, much less the greatest center the NBA has to offer but conversely, said center has yet to solve the P&R for Houston in his career, so we can certainly expect a few highlight reel dunks on the lob for Kenneth and the usual MVP like performance from Big Honey.

Prediction: Denver (lap ) 121 - Houston 107. I have had it with this Houston squad and I have a feeling that so have the Nuggets. Houston's fans and indeed the vast majority of Texas fans I have found to be cordial in the blogosphere but I fully expect that to change after this piece. I can only assure them that I have tremendous respect for the offensive mind of Pringles and the skill-set of CP3/Harden, I just have a severe distaste for the aforementioned unsavoriness in action, as is my prerogative. Denver FINALLY puts an end to this impressive 9-0 winning streak for Houston and begins their own reign. Lets Eat! or as the Nuggets might have said a few years ago, dig in!

As I stated last time, Houston would be a very fun team to watch if they simply focused on threes and dunks as they profess to be their mantra but in reality, it's all about calculated loop-holes And The Beard is already very good. It's a shame that he feels the need to game the league and that he's rewarded for it by poor officiating And Why is it legal to push off of players to create space from which to shoot?

Really, if you don't want to see me at my all time low in terms of bitterness, I'd avoid the above links.

Now here's hoping that Houston isn't unconscious from beyond the arc this go-'round.

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If you are viewing the pre-game version of the TPM piece; and you enjoy Gonzo-basketball reporting, I invite you to please join me after the game where the same link will lead you to the post game version. In it, all of the disjointed/unsightly blanks below will be filled, complete with data/analysis and more snark than "Snarknado VI: Snakenado", which I'm told is about a pessimistic, albino, black mamba who emerges from micro-bursts to torment the people of Los Angeles with shady tweets.

There be monsters; shameless, personal plug alert by permission of Denver Stiffs: If you are in the market for clothing, featuring the four major Denver sports franchises as well as CU, please open this link in a new tab to see if there is anything you are interested in. You don't have to order from the link of course if you are in the Denver Metro area, as I'm more than happy to meet up with you (please refrain from bringing rotten tomatoes), drastically lowering the cost, as Poshmark takes a healthy cut as well as shipping & handling. Thanks in advance!

Unique, hard to find, one of a kind and custom gear of your favorite team

Also, my DIY music production and videos can be heard/seen here if you don't value your ear-balls & eye-drums.

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And now what none of you come here for; how about some basketball nerdery?!?!

(After these messages... Er Nicknames)

Houston Rockets Roster

NO	Name	POS	Age	HT	WT	College	Salary
7	Carmelo "Nothing Mellow About This Collapse" Anthony	PF	34	6' 8"	240 lbs	Syracuse	$1,512,601
15	Clint "Ah" Capela	C	24	6' 10"	240 lbs	Switzerlandia	$15,293,104
1	Michael "Roy" Carter-Williams	PG	27	6' 6"	190 lbs	Syracuse	$1,512,601
0	Marquese Chriss "Olm"	PF	21	6' 10"	240 lbs	Washington	$3,206,160
6	"Guitarrin" Gary Clark	PF	23	6' 8"	225 lbs	Cincinnati	G-Money
12	Vincent "Who?" Edwards	SF	22	6' 8"	225 lbs	Purdue	G-Money
8	James "Subway To Venus" Ennis III	SF	28	6' 7"	210 lbs	Long Beach State	$1,621,415
10	Eric "Splash" Gordon	SG	29	6' 4"	215 lbs	Indiana	$13,500,375
14	Gerald "Make A Wish" Green	SG	32	6' 7"	205 lbs	Parts Unknown	$1,512,601
13	James "Professional Free-Thrower" Harden	PG	29	6' 5"	220 lbs	Arizona State	$35,650,150
55	Isaiah "Hell If I Know" Hartenstein	PF	20	7' 0"	249 lbs	Germany...probably	$838,464
42	Nene	C	36	6' 11"	250 lbs	Brasilia	$3,651,480
2	Brandon "Jordan" Knight	PG	26	6' 3"	195 lbs	Kentucky	$14,631,250
3	Chris "I Wish He Wore #30 'Cause I'm A Dyslexic Star Wars Fan" Paul	PG	33	6' 0"	175 lbs	Wake Forest	$35,654,150
9	Zhou "Joe" Qi	PF	22	7' 1"	210 lbs	Chinia	$1,378,242
17	PJ "Bad Mother" Tucker	SF	33	6' 6"	245 lbs	Texas	$7,969,537

Denver Nuggets Roster

NO	Name	POS	Age	HT	WT	College	Salary
5	Will "The People's Champion" Barton	SG	27	6' 6"	190 lbs	Memphis	$11,830,358
25	"Mutant" Malik Beasley	SG	22	6' 5"	195 lbs	Florida State	$1,773,840
3	Torrey "FUCKING" Craig	SF	27	6' 7"	215 lbs	USC Upstate	$2,000,000
2	Brandon "Hopefully Contributes To Many The" Goodwin	PG	23	6' 2"	180 lbs	Florida Gulf Coast	$630,032
14	"Just" Gary Harris	SG	24	6' 4"	210 lbs	Michigan State	$16,517,857
41	Juancho "The Mouthful" Hernangomez	PF	23	6' 9"	230 lbs	Espana	$2,166,360
15	Nikola "Big Honey" Jokic (AKA The Joker)	C	23	7' 0"	250 lbs	Gotham	$24,605,181
20	Tyler "Not just Anunobody" Lydon	PF	22	6' 10"	225 lbs	Syracuse	$1,874,640
7	Trey "The Swiss Army Spork" Lyles	PF	23	6' 10"	234 lbs	Kentucky	$3,364,249
4	Paul "The Anchorman" Millsap	PF	33	6' 8"	246 lbs	Louisiana Tech	$29,230,769
11	Monte "Ratio" Morris	PG	23	6' 3"	175 lbs	Iowa State	$1,349,383
27	Jamal "The Blue Arrow" Murray	PG	21	6' 4"	207 lbs	Kentucky	$3,499,800
24	Mason "Plumdog Millionaire" Plumlee	PF	28	6' 11"	235 lbs	Duke	$12,917,808
1	Michael "The Sleeper Cell" Porter Jr.	PF	20	6' 10"	210 lbs	Missouri	$2,894,160
0	Isaiah "Ice" Thomas	PG	29	5' 9"	185 lbs	Washington	$1,512,601
8	Jarred "The Amalgamated Version Of A Dude I Once Bought Weed From On Haight Ashbury" Vanderbilt	PF	19	6' 9"	214 lbs	Kentucky	$838,464
45	Thomas "Irvine" Welsh	C	22	7' 0"	255 lbs	UCLA	G-Money

Update: MPJ and I.T. are sleeping on Ice, awaiting intel as to when their services will be required. Murray is also out with a badly twisted ankle. Harris is questionable with recurring leg ailments. WOW! That was short! As for Houston, CP3/Nene are a game time decision because old, House is mysteriously unavailable and Capella is out with a thumb injury.

Re-up: Gary Harris is a no go :(

Yes, I'm aware that Melo is no longer on any NBA rosters. If you are aware of what a pain in the ass it is to adjust the above template more than once per team in an 82 game season then I feel we have an understanding :)

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Data:

TPM™ Game 51 HOU

Jamal Murray: Injured

Isaiah Thomas: Injured

Monte Morris: +27

Brandon Goodwin: +0

Gary Harris: N/A

Malik Beasley: +40

Torrey Craig: +14

Will Barton: +5

Juancho Hernangomez: -2

Michael Porter Jr.: Injured

Jared Vanderbilt: G-League

Paul Millsap: +14

Trey Lyles: +0

Tyler Lydon: +0

Nikola Jokic: +36

Mason Plumlee: +5

Thomas Welsh: N/A

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Total TPM™

Jamal Murray: 47 games +803

Isaiah Thomas: 0 games +0

Monte Morris: 51 games +616

Brandon Goodwin: 15 games +21

Nick Young: 3 games -2

Gary Harris: 32 games +448

Malik Beasley: 51 games +386

Torrey Craig: 47 games +15

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: 6 games +5

Will Barton: 12 games +118

Juancho Hernangomez: 48 games +2

Michael Porter Jr.: 0 games +0

Jared Vanderbilt:1 games +3

Paul Millsap: 42 games +368

Trey Lyles: 49 games +262

Tyler Lydon: 20 games -1

Nikola Jokic: 50 games +1165

Mason Plumlee: 51 games +405

Thomas Welsh: 9 games +18

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Avg. TPM™ Per Game

Jamal Murray: +17.09

Isaiah Thomas: N/A

Monte Morris: +12.08

Brandon Goodwin: +1.40

Nick Young: -0.67

Gary Harris: +14.00

Malik Beasley: +7.57

Torrey Craig: +0.32

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: +0.83

Will Barton: +9.83

Juancho Hernangomez: +0.04

Michael Porter Jr.: N/A

Jared Vanderbilt: 3.00

Paul Millsap: +8.76

Trey Lyles: 5.35

Tyler Lydon: -0.05

Nikola Jokic: +23.30

Mason Plumlee: +7.94

Thomas Welsh: +2.00

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TPM™ Per-Minute Splits Through Game 45:

*Credit DomP on the Spreadsheet. It's as if my (nerdy) baby (TPM™) learned to speak

Qtr1- The Nuggets go with their 12th iteration of the starting five, consisting of Morris, Beasley, Barton, Millsap & Jokic, The Rockets counter with CP3, Gordon, Harden, Tucker & Faried. PJ, not Kenneth is defending Big Honey to begin this one. Denver is getting absolutely uncontested looks each time down but failing to convert and it's 9-8 Houston at 9:10. The Nuggets take a three point lead on the strength of a 7-0 run. Houston simply can not defend the Nuggets so it will be all about getting stops occasionally on the other end for Denver. First phantom three bullshit trip to the line earned by Harden at the time of the first break at 6:58. Beasley never even came close to him until long after the shot had gone up and even then, if he did, it was a non-consequential graze of his NON-SHOOTING arm, which was just as much initiated by Harden! Malik went out of his way to avoid Harden who moved his right hand into Beasley. It's a travesty the way he's officiated! I feel physically ill having to take two TPM points away from Malik for the 2-3 free throws James converted.

Houston leads by two after some back and forth matching up between Jokic/Harden, at 5:46. Harden hacks 'Sap on the block... no call. I'll track this as well tonight. Plumlee is first off the pine at 5:08, down four. Rivers earns his second foul as if that even remotely means anything at 3:35. Houston leads by three at 2:14 as Harden is uncharacteristically shooting well from the field, en-route to a game high 15 points. Jokic meanwhile is first to reach double figures for the good guys. Both men get their first breather at this point. Rivers earns his third foul which again, means absolutely nothing, at 1:47. Lyles is in at this point with Denver trailing by one. Beasley gets jobbed again by the refs and is bowled over by Gordon, which results in his second erroneous foul. His feet weren't set but the bowling ball that is Gordon was entirely out of control which is in fact an offensive foul regardless. Beasley's foul unfortunately DOES matter, contrary to any fouls earned by Rockets players not named Paul/Harden. Green sticks a three at the horn as Barton topples to the ground. Denver is paced in TPM by Jokic +10 & Morris +13 as they trail 35-43 after one.

Qtr2- The two teams are scoring so fast it's hard to keep up. Houston leads by six at 9:37 as no defense is being played whatsoever. The Rockets have three meaningless team fouls with Harden on the bench in the second period, aka, how the officials deem their shoddy reactions as legitimate. He checks in and immediately fouls Craig on a drive, obviously so and the refs wait to make sure Torrey misses prior to reluctantly calling it of course. Craig soars in with a monster left handed tip-dunk. That was a thing of beauty but not "poetry in motion." The Nuggets are in the bonus at the 7:31 mark, trailing by three. Erroneous foul #2 earned by Harden on an out-of-control drive against the completely vertical Lyles. This is as loud as The Pepsi Can has been since the 2009 Western Conference Finals run. Malik makes two in double figures for Denver. Harden misses the front end and with Chauncey Billups in the building I must say that the "ball don't lie." It's even-Steven at 5:52 as both teams are shooting well above 60% from the field.

Denver leads by five after consecutive threes for Beasley and Morris. Harden earns his first legitimate-though-ugly trip to the line at 4:55. He then unwisely fouls Beasley on the break sending him to the line. Denver's lead is up to seven at 4:12. A Beasley to Morris three gives Denver their first double digit lead on the strength of a 14-2 run! This duo of backup guards is currently outplaying CP3/Harden. Monte makes three in double figures for the Nuggets. ESPN sure does enjoy comparing Harden to Chamberlain when it is Jokic who on a nightly basis and at the age of 23 does something only Wilt has ever done. Denver leads by 12 with 2:41 remaining. Torrey FUCKING Craig is having his best game in quite some time and he's the fourth Nugget to reach double figures. Beasley has 20 already and the Nuggets as a team have scored 81 points with a minute to go. Denver has 21 assists at the half. Seriously FUCK JAMES HARDEN! Denver is led in TPM by Millsap +13, Jokic/Morris +15 & Beasley +23 as they lead 83-71 at the half!

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Qtr3- The Beard predictably comes out chucking but he's no Mutant. Denver leads by 15 at 10:10. Jokic is on 3D watch with 21-8-5. The Nuggets have made 16 of their last 17 shots. One has to wonder, what will Pringles do when his team is being blown out in the 4th quarter and he's forced to play his starters anyway as a means to disprove my theories or else risk rendering himself and his defenders hypocrites. Lose-lose scenario for him that I SO hope to enjoy tonight. Harden is 0-3 on forced shots form beyond the arc thus-far in the third period. Jokic is called for a foul on Faried that he so obviously did not commit. What are these officials even watching? And why has Faried decided to start making free throws? Jokic earns a make-up call that he never used to get way back when he wasn't an all-star. Denver leads by 14 as Houston has been relegated to exhausted chuckers midway through the third period. Gordon appears to be injured and he's forced to take a foul to check out which as much as I dislike this Rockets club, I hate to see.

Harden finally sticks a three and it's down to 11 points at 4:30. What does Tucker have to do exactly to be called for a foul? Harden hacks the bejesus out of Plumlee three fucking times as if attempting to take a foul to get a breather and instead earns a steal! He then whines about not getting a call on a three attempt while his man Craig runs the floor for a dunk. Harden still whining, surrenders a three to a wide open Craig and the Denver lead is back up to 14. M V P! M V P! I take back all that I've said James, you da real MVP! Another dunk by Craig who outruns Harden down the floor still again and it's up to an 18 point lead for the good guys. Big Honey is two dimes shy of another 3D. The Beard goes to the line on Jokic's 4th foul; legit but ticky-tack. He once again misses the front end, deservedly so. Both in fact! Ball don't lie! Harden is 2 for his last 12 from the floor. He and Jokic both check out at this time as the Nuggets lead by 19 with under a minute to go, on the strength of a 10-0 run. Denver is paced in TPM by Craig +12, Millsap +14, Morris +22 & Beasley/Jokic +30 as they are up big, 113-95 after three.

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Qtr4- God I hope that CP3/Harden sit out the end of the fourth period so that all of those Rockets fans who poo-pooed my theory about Pringles having bad blood with the Nuggets are forced to eat crow. "But our bench is so bad the starters have to play 48 minutes." Horse shit! Denver leads by 17 at 10:17. CP3 has played the start of the period but Harden apparently has a capable backup after all. Well there goes that particular argument for Pringlapologists (the science of justifying the running of your team into the ground prior to the post season as a means to grind axes.) Denver is ALREADY IN THE BONUS at this point, less than two minutes into the period, validating my earlier point about referees purchasing license to heap fouls upon Harden's opponents by calling them on teammates when he rests, in bunches. James enters at 8:10 and Pringles truly is just a dick, seeing as how Houston has an important game tomorrow vs a great Utah team and the Nuggets have this game well at hand by 15 and in the penalty. Beasley and Morris meanwhile, are the only "starters" who have played in the fourth for the Nuggets and they are normally bench players. Jokic during this time, is laughing from the bench where he's been the entire fourth period, rooting his team on, while just two assists shy of still another 3D. This will be no less than the 10th time this season in which he's missed out on a 3D due to the Nuggets leading big.

Denver leads by 17 with 6:19 to go. Harden of course remains in to hunt stats after the commercial break. Big Honey ambles up to the scorers table which in my opinion is a direct result of Malone sharing my distaste for Pringles ways. Mad props Malone since unlike Pringles, I KNOW he won't make a habit of this. Harden cuts it to 11 on a horrendous-shot-selection, tremendously lucky-chucky three that touches all portions of the rim prior to dropping, over Millsap with 4:16 remaining. Plumlee and Millsap make five and six players in double figures for the Nuggets. Faried shoots a three at 2:43?!?!?! Jokic has predictably taken over since his entrance with 6 unanswered points and the lead is quickly back up to 17 at 2:29. Harden meanwhile remains in to chase stats. He chucks again predictably, which is blocked by Craig WITHOUT A FUCKING FOUL CALL?!?!?! After 6 straight selfish possessions, you got your 30 James; you must be super proud to still be out there at the end of the fourth period of a blowout. He checks out immediately after in yet another classless/transparent maneuver by Pringles. The deep recycling crew checks in for both teams, proving once again that Pringles is a dick and his apologists are wrong, or these same players might have checked in during any of the blowouts I spoke of. Denver is paced in TPM by Craig +12, Millsap +14, Morris +27, Jokic +36 & Beasley +40 as they end the curse in explosive fashion, 136-122

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Final Thoughts: Sweet, sweet schadenfreude! Say it with me all together one time:

FUCK

JAMES

HARDEN!

You have nothing for us anymore Rockets. I hope you enjoyed that run.

Beasley/Craig BOTH have career scoring highs whilst being Efended by Harden.

The Nuggets Win!

For context pertaining to the statistical aspects of this piece, please open this link: TPM™

A brief statement with regard to this piece on whole:

As a means to avoid repeating myself I will include this descriptive diatribe in all TPM posts going forward.

Sure I like statistics; ever since I was a child collecting sports cards and later a pre-teen who ran pre-internet fantasy sports leagues on ink/paper/spreadsheet for the four major US pro-leagues, I've been fascinated by box-score stats but I'm by no means an expert.

I created TPM (which has been around longer than RPM incidentally and unlike them, I fully disclose my non-proprietary system and I contextualize the action rather than being a boring, mysterious, predictive metric) because it does add immediate and accessible context to what we see and what the numbers indicate, which I like.

While the data is meticulously tracked and demonstrably sound, I'm a creative type, not an engineer. Algorithm is the bane of my existence in fact. I'd far rather approach life with the intrigue of expected surprise than attempt to get to the bottom of why things are the way they are. There are many engineers in my family so I totally understand that joy can be derived from finding solutions to problems, I just can't relate. It's not fun for me. THIS is for the most part, not fun for me.

Now I'm a 42 year old man who was born the year after the team I love joined the NBA. I happen to have a lifetime of experience with this sport in several different capacities, including playing (highly underrated within the writing community) so I understand basketball theory in a way most (by no means all) pundits do not.

I was in this case interested in a data-driven approach, which if I'm honest has sapped nearly all fun out of taking in games for me. I get very few days/nights off during the season. One piece requires several hours of research and data entry and all tracking/analysis is done in real time and published mere moments after each game's completion, 82 times (more this season) per year.

As such, the analysis portion is about 90% (I've run the numbers) creative writing with sarcasm generally indicated through italics, non-sequitur humor and hyperbole, in an attempt to steal back some of the joy this endeavor has snatched away.

Hopefully there is a little something here for everyone but if you came just for data or are averse to colorful language, this is not the place for you. I have no way of knowing how many people even read this so I'll not be affected even remotely if you choose not to indulge. For those of you who do, I greatly thank you for the support.

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