Bedlam on Baltic Avenue: 12/01/2020

FFXIV: Heavensturn 2021 With Izumi Hashima. December 31 at 0630 UTC-8!

#FFXIV #saekano #heavensturn #HappyNewYear

Don't Stop.

tonight, I feel it by the look in your eyes.

you've got that fire inside

just like a magical night.

i lose my senses, i got you in your eyes.

the passion's burning inside.

there's only you in my mind.

don't let the moment slip away from your life,

cause now i'm ready to start.

it's always something you've been waiting for.

you know i see it by the look in your eyes,

emotions you can't deny,

i'm sure i'm gonna make you feel all right.

don't stop. get into the music and dance.

don't stop. get up on your feet and keep moving.

don't stop. i'm sending love in a trance.

don't stop. i won't let you wait any longer.

don't stop. get into the music and dance.

don't stop. get up on your feet and keep moving.

don't stop. i'm sending love in a trance.

don't stop. i won't let you wait any longer.

tonight, I feel it by the look in your eyes.

let's get away from this crowd.

they'll never notice we're gone.

you know the only thing we need is a spark.

sometimes you put up a fight,

but let me stay by your side.

i have no secrets,

but it's you who thought i was.

i'm getting out of my mind,

you know you're driving me crazy.

tonight, you feel it by the beat of my heart.

the car is ready to start,

so come along, it's gonna be all right.

don't stop. get into the music and dance.

don't stop. get up on your feet and keep moving.

don't stop. i'm sending love in a trance.

don't stop. i won't let you wait any longer.

don't stop. get into the music and dance.

don't stop. get up on your feet and keep moving.

don't stop. i'm sending love in a trance.

don't stop. i won't let you wait any longer.

tonight, I feel it by the look in your eyes.

you've got that fire inside

just like a magical night.

i lose my senses, i got you in your eyes.

the passion's burning inside.

there's only you in my mind.

don't let the moment slip away from your life,

cause now i'm ready to start.

it's always something you've been waiting for.

you know i see it by the look in your eyes,

emotions you can't deny,

i'm sure i'm gonna make you feel all right.

don't stop. get into the music and dance.

don't stop. get up on your feet and keep moving.

don't stop. i'm sending love in a trance.

don't stop. i won't let you wait any longer.

don't stop. get into the music and dance.

don't stop. get up on your feet and keep moving.

don't stop. i'm sending love in a trance.

don't stop. i won't let you wait any longer.

ISML 2020: Diamond Match Day 2 Roundup

ISML 2020: Diamond Match Day 2 Roundup

By Jo-Ryan Salazar

The Bedlam on Baltic Avenue

December 30, 2020

Match Day 2 of the 2020 International Saimoe League Diamond Period is in the books. In the Female Division, Yukino Yukinoshita routed Nao Tomori 5103-2837, Mashiro Shiina smashed Eriri Spencer Sawamura 4512-2606, Chika Fujiwara thumped Utaha Kasumigaoka 3948-2972, Kurumi Tokisaki shot down Rikka Takanashi 5080-2772, Emilia flew past Index Prohibitorum 4569-2935, Yui Yuigahama hammered Hina Amano 4526-2501, Nanami Aoyama prevailed over Shouko Nishimiya 3540-3442 and Megumin exploded past Misaki Shokuhou 3878=3315.

Wrapping up Female Division play, Mikoto Misaka drubbed Schwi Dola 4601-2800, Asuna Yuuki slashed past Mio Akiyama 4737-2935, Mai Sakurajima romped past Kurisu Makise 4700-2639, Kaguya Shinomiya crushed Rin Tohsaka 5121-2794, Ai Hayasaka eased past Shiro 3948-3065, Iroha Isshiki whipped past Chino Kafuuu 4132-3423, Sagiri Izumi defeated Saber 3986-3628 and Kuroko Shirai got past Ruiko Saten 3540-2958.

In the Male Division, Sakuta Azusagawa impaled Lancer 4562-2317, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji roared past Ryuuji Takasu 3494-3112, Taki Tachibana eased past Eugeo 3496-2701, Yuu Ishigami thumped Yuuta Togashi 3849-2961, Tanjiro Kamado won the closest race of the round, a 3332-3310 barnburner over Yuzuru Otonashi, Archer dominated Masamune Izumi 3733-2798, Tomoya Okazaki clobbered Willem Kmetsch 3661-2563 and Riku Dola rocked Rintarou Okabe 3597-2987.

Wrapping up Male Division action, Touma Kamijou broke Kiritsugu Emiya 3656-3099, Levi leveled Takashi Natsume 3884-2594, Miyuki Shirogane routed Subaru Natsuki 4276-2694, Sorata Kanda punched Saitama 3496-3238, Shirou Emiya defeated Shidou Itsuka 3366-3014, Yuu Otosaka prevailed over Ytao 3150-3055 and Kazuma Satou torched Edward Elric 3804-2960.

Finally, in Couples Tournament action, Nasa and Tsukasa Yuzaki routed Arata Kaizaki and Chizuru Hishiro 4378-2210, Shinka Nibutani and Sanae Dekomori defeated Rize Tedeza and Sharo Kirima 3719-3030, Heiji Hattori and Kazuha Touyama dominated the pair of Ruka Sarashina and Kazuya Kinoshita 3556-2724 while the pair of Kinoshita and Chizuru Ichinose thumped Haruki Shiga and Sakura Yamauchi 3480-2535.

Match Day 3 of the 2020 International Saimoe League, the first with Violet Evergarden and Rimuru Tempest having left their offices of Saimoe and Deputy Saimoe Prime Minister, is scheduled for January 1, 2020. Vote for your favorite characters at InternationalSaimoe.com and join the ongoing debate.

Oklahoma: 2020 Cotton Bowl Champions

Three months ago, Oklahoma was 1-2 with its streak of five straight Big 12 championships appearing to be in jeopardy. Fast forward to the 2020 Cotton Bowl, and the now-No. 6 Sooners have won eight straight games after blowing the doors off of No. 7 Florida 55-20. With the victory, there's a good possibility that Oklahoma will end the year as a top-five team, if not a top-four team as it has been playing its best football at the right time.

From the start, this was Oklahoma's night. The Sooners defense picked off Gators star quarterback Kyle Trask three times in the first quarter, helping them jump out to a 17-0 lead thanks to a pick six. Of course, Florida was without its top four receiving targets -- Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney, Trevon Grimes and Jacob Copeland -- and Trask, try as he might, never quite got into a rhythm with his new-look receiving corps, many of whom spent the season on the scout team. In his defense, that was going to be near-impossible. Florida had three practices after Christmas to get ready for the game, and it showed.

Despite the obstacles, Florida actually responded well to the early deficit and at one point rallied with 13 unanswered points of its own to make it 17-13 in the second quarter. But then Oklahoma answered with two quick touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half to go up 31-13 and never looked back.

The second half is when the overall depth started to show. Oklahoma's running game, anchored by Rhamondre Stevenson, put up a whopping 435 yards -- a Cotton Bowl record. Stevenson led the way with 186 yards rushing, while Marcus Majors and Seth McGowan had big moments as well. The result was a school record for points by the Sooners in a bowl game.

The Gators were never able to catch up. Oklahoma's defense took over in the second half and kept Florida's normal big-play offense from getting loose. After starting 4 of 5 on third downs, the Gators went 0 for their next 8. And while the offense did put up 521 yards, it was at 6.4 yards per play after garbage time. For most of the second half, the Gators hovered around 5.5 yards per play.

This was Florida's worst bowl loss since the 1996 Fiesta Bowl and the most points allowed by any Florida team since that game. Even though Dan Mullen's team won the SEC East and gave Alabama a run in the SEC Championship Game, it will finish 8-4 and likely outside the top 10.

Here's what else we learned from this year's Cotton Bowl.

1. Oklahoma would make a fun eight-team playoff case

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee had a harder job than normal this year justifying two of the four teams that made the field. The amount of discontent with the current format indicates that, at some point, the field is going to expand -- likely to eight teams. One thing that allows for is the hot-hand team to make an end-of-season run. Oklahoma would be that team this year.

After starting 1-2, a lot of people counted out the Sooners. And to be fair, that's easy to do in this format. Picking the four best teams leaves some but not a lot of room for error. But after winning seven straight games coming into the Cotton Bowl, Oklahoma was playing like a top-five team even if it wasn't ranked there.

How would Oklahoma perform against, for example, No. 3 Ohio State in an eight-team playoff? It's a fun thought exercise. It's not one we'll get to see play out any time soon, but if/when it does happen, it could give credence that teams peaking at the right time are every bit as capable of winning a national championship as the top-ranked team.

2. Florida was previewing its future

One of the most exhausting #embracedebate takes from this game will be Florida's position of playing the Cotton Bowl so shorthanded. As mentioned above, a lot of key players on both sides of the ball either opted out or weren't able to play due to COVID-19. That's the story of college football in 2020. Rarely have we seen teams at their full strength for good stretches of time. In fact, Mullen said the Gators were so short-handed at certain positions they could have simply not played the game but chose to forge on, using numerous players who were on the scout team this season.

"That wasn't the 2020 football team you saw. There were about 25 guys missing from the 2020 football team out there tonight,

he said after the Cotton Bowl. "That was kind of a kick-start for us [to 2021]."

Mullen did a good job of giving other players opportunities out of necessity. QB Emory Jones got a lot more playing time than he has in any game this season and showed off some nice moments running and throwing. In fact, finished tied for first on the team with 60 yards on 10 rushing attempts and a touchdown while throwing for 86 yards. And with Pitts, Grimes, Toney and Copeland out, Florida had a new-look wide receiver group. In all, 12 different players caught at least a pass for 271 total yards.

The results were a mixed bag -- there were a lot of drops -- but Mullen knew what he was up against and chose to lean into preparing guys for next year. That's not to excuse the Gators' performance or to say that they didn't care about being there or to diminish what Oklahoma did. That's just the reality of the situation.

3. Oklahoma's defense lived up to the hype

For most of the second half of the season, there's been chatter about how improved Oklahoma's defense has been under coordinator Alex Grinch. That showed up in this game. Yes, Florida was depleted of its best players. Yes, the Gators still racked up more than 500 yards of offense by the time the final whistle blew. But you have to look deeper. The Sooners started hot with three takeaways and then were lights out in the second half. Florida was unable to convert a first down after getting four of its first five. Four of its six second-half drives went for 22 yards or fewer.

Oklahoma's defensive front played a huge role in its success. Defensive end Ronnie Perkins and linebackers David Ugwoegbu and Nik Bonitto were everywhere in the trenches, stopping plays before they started. That disruption was key in making Florida's normally potent offense far less efficient.

This was never a shut down defense and the season-long numbers were inflated a bit because of some poor Big 12 offenses, but this group was playing well together down the stretch. That strong defense effort helped the Sooners pull away in the second half.

Wisconsin: 2020 Duke's Mayo Bowl Champions

The first ever Duke’s Mayo Bowl, at least the first sponsored by the mayonnaise brand, was a wild ride. Wisconsin ultimately came out unscathed with a 42-28 victory over ACC opponent Wake Forest. A 28-14 second half margin in favor of UW, four second half interceptions by Demon Deacon QB Sam Hartman, and taking care of the football ultimately propelled Paul Chryst to a victory bath of “mayonnaise” that was definitely just water or clear Gatorade.

The pace of play was the story coming in, with Wake Forest wanting to speed things up against a methodical Wisconsin squad. Early on, the Deacs controlled the pace, and on their first two drives of the game used third down conversions to score in just 3:39 and 1:59 respectively. Hartman looked like the QB that had only thrown one interception all year long. He found junior Jaquarii Roberson for a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter.

Wisconsin’s defense was uncharacteristic early, allowing long third-down conversions and looking like a secondary that was ready to be torched all afternoon long. All of a sudden, Wisconsin was down 14-0 after the first quarter and reeling.

A long, Wisconsin-like drive got the Badgers back to feeling like themselves. A drive that lasted over six minutes ended shortly after the second quarter began with a John Chenal 2-yard TD run to make cut the Wake Forest lead in half. A fitting fullback-led end to a vintage Badger scoring drive.

Graham Mertz once again looked comfortably under center on the late first/early second quarter drive, and had his best series since week one at home against Illinois.

From there, Wake Forest mistakes and lockdown Badger defense gave Wisconsin control. A blocked punt late in the first half by Jaylan Franklin set up a game-tying Badger QB sneak TD by Mertz. The score was knotted at 14 headed to the break.

A quick Wake Forest TD saw Hartman looking like himself to begin the third quarter. Then disaster struck for the sophomore. The next six Wake Forest drives? Two turnover’s on downs and four, yes four, Hartman interceptions. Not only did the Wake Forest signal caller make critical mistakes on the turnovers, he missed numerous big plays by underthrowing his receivers deep.

With the interceptions, the credit to Wisconsin and blame on Hartman is a mixed bag, but there is no questioning the activity of the Badger LB’s in the second half. Duke’s Mayo Bowl MVP Jack Sanborn was everywhere, and led a key 4th down stop near midfield in the third quarter. He finished with a team-high 11 tackles, and came up with an interception.

The Wisconsin offense cashed in on excellent field position in the final 30 minutes. The Badgers had 176 return yards off of their four interceptions compared to just 144 passing yards all afternoon long. Despite Chase Wolf throwing an interception after strangely coming in for the final drive of the half, Mertz valued the ball and finished with a zero in the turnover column.

Six second half Wake Forest turnovers, three of which set up Wisconsin in the red zone, allowed the Badgers to score 28 points in the final 30 minutes. The Badgers capitalized on Demon Deacon mistakes and took home a 42-28 win.

Wisconsin improved to 4-3 to close out this strange 2020 season, while Wake Forest dropped to 4-5. Momentum is on the Badgers’ side headed into a 2021 year where expectations will be rightfully high in Madison.

Texas: 2020 Alamo Bowl Champions

The latest tumultuous season for Texas ended on a positive note.

To cap off a season full of underwhelming performances, disappointing losses and coaching rumors, the No. 20 Longhorns knocked off Colorado in the Alamo Bowl 55-23 to finish the year with a 7-3 record.

The game could prove to be somewhat of a passing of the torch for Tom Herman’s program. Sam Ehlinger has started at quarterback for nearly every game of Herman’s four years at Texas. Though he has the option to return in 2021, Tuesday night’s game was the final outing of Ehlinger’s senior year. Unfortunately, it ended prematurely.

Ehlinger completed 10-of-16 throws for 160 yards and a touchdown, helping the Longhorns take a 17-10 lead at halftime. But he didn’t come back out from the locker room for the third quarter and was ruled out with a shoulder injury. He later returned to the sideline with his right arm in a sling. And if this was indeed his final game in a UT uniform, Ehlinger finishes No. 2 in program history in passing yards (11,336), touchdowns (94) and completions (923).

With Ehlinger sidelined, backup Casey Thompson filled in admirably. Thompson, a sophomore, completed eight of his 10 throws for 170 yards and four touchdowns. But it wasn’t Thompson who shined the brightest among Texas’ young core. It was freshman running back Bijan Robinson.

Robinson, on the heels of 223 all-purpose yards in the regular season finale vs. Kansas State, was the best player on the field against Colorado. In the first quarter alone, Robinson reeled off runs of 27 and 50 yards, scored on an eight-yard run and caught a 14-yard touchdown pass.

On the first play of the second half, Robinson exploded through the line for a 66-yard gain to set up a 13-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Joshua Moore. Robinson later scored his third touchdown on a throwback screen from Thompson that went for 23 yards and increased Texas’ lead to 41-16.

In the end, Robinson finished with 183 yards and a touchdown on just 10 rushes along with two catches for 37 yards and two more scores. Moore, another underclassman, led the receiving group with five catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

Fourth straight bowl win under Tom Herman

With the win, Texas is now 4-0 in bowl games under Herman. The Longhorns beat Missouri in the Texas Bowl in 2017, infamously beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in 2018, and beat Utah in last year’s Alamo Bowl.

Each time, the bowl win generated a level of hype entering the offseason and the subsequent season. Herman’s teams have never quite lived up to that hype, though.

After the Sugar Bowl win (you know, the one where Ehlinger said Texas is “back”), UT followed it up by going 8-5 in 2019. It was a disappointing year, but the blowout bowl win over Utah played a part in getting people’s hopes up for the program entering 2020.

Again, UT fell short of expectations. The Longhorns started the year 2-2, including another loss to Oklahoma in the Red River game. Later in the year, the Longhorns’ Big 12 title game hopes were still alive — until they blew a late lead in a loss to Iowa State.

That was a game that turned the intensity up on Herman’s hot seat. The school’s pursuit of Urban Meyer was no secret, but Meyer wasn’t interested and UT athletic director Chris Del Conte eventually issued a half-hearted vote of confidence in which he said simply that Herman “is our coach.”

So the show will roll on into 2021 with Herman at the head. The hot seat talk won’t subside, either. And with the way guys like Robinson and Thompson performed against Colorado, the usual Texas hype machine should be alive and well once again throughout the offseason. Will it be warranted? If past seasons are any indication, it’s unlikely.

Oklahoma State: 2020 Cheez-It Bowl Champions

Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The Oklahoma State Cowboys stormed out to a 21-0 lead before they held off a late Miami Hurricanes rally to win the 2020 Cheez-It Bowl.

Cowboys quarterback Spencer Sanders completed 27 of 40 passes for 305 yards and four scores in the 37-34 win on Tuesday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

"[We are] playing with 22 people, and there's 11 people on defense and 11 people on offense," Sanders told reporters. "I feel like everybody deserves it. It's not just one person. And I feel like I did a great job of spreading the ball this game."

The Cowboys (8-3) and Hurricanes (8-3) combined for 930 total yards in the postseason matchup.

"That was probably an outstanding ballgame, highly competitive," Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz said.

"At no point did I think we would lose that game, and I don't think our team did, either, until it hit triple-zeros. The way we battled, the way we fought, the way we played for each other was inspiring."

The Cowboys began the game with 15 consecutive pass plays. They used that script to produce touchdowns on their first three drives.

Sanders threw a 30-yard score to Brennan Presley on the opening possession. L.D. Brown ran for a two-yard touchdown on the Cowboys second drive.

Sanders then threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Presley for a 21-0 Cowboys lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Hurricanes answered when quarterback D'Eriq King threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Brevin Jordan to start the second quarter. Miami added a field goal on its next drive, but lost King for the remainder of the game due to a right knee injury.

Oklahoma State held onto a 21-10 lead at halftime.

The Hurricanes got a second Jose Borregales field goal to start the second half. Miami then cut the Oklahoma State lead to two points with a Cam'Ron Harris 42-yard touchdown run with 8:45 remaining in the third quarter.

The Cowboys answered with a Brady Pohl field goal on their next drive. They then capitalized on a Hurricanes fumble to push their lead to 31-19 at the start of the fourth quarter. Sanders threw a touchdown toss to Dillon Stoner to end that drive.

The Hurricanes and Cowboys then traded touchdown drives before the Oklahoma defense tightened up and secured the victory.

N'Kosi Perry threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes for the Hurricanes. Presley also caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Sanders in the final frame.

Presley had six catches for 118 yards and three scores in the win. Perry completed 19 of 34 passes for 228 yards and two scores for the Hurricanes. King completed 10 of 13 passes for 113 yards and a score for Miami.

"This was a really, really good college football game and we beat a good football team," Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said.

"Miami is very talented and very athletic. I don't know if anybody has done their research, but the last four years, they have had 26 players that are in a draft-able position for the NFL. That will give you some kind of idea of what kind of talent and players that they have."