Brawl of the Week: Spellbook Duel (again)

This week’s Brawl is one we had earlier in the year: (I think) Spellbook Duel. Make a deck using 10 cards. Each round you Discover* a card in your deck. You have the potential to draw 1 of the 10 cards each round. Which means, you could end up with multiples of many cards. Actually it’s more probable than not.

Anywho, I started off as a mage. Mostly because I forgot the misleading nature of this brawl. It says “Spellbook” but that means nothing. You can fill your deck with all minions of you like. Now if you have been playing Hearthstone for a few months, you might realize there are certain cards you would not like to see multiples of. This is also a Wild brawl, which means you can use ALL cards in your library.

I flamed out, hard with my mage deck, then went to a druid deck, modified that, then my opponent concedes on like round 3. Which is fine, because I think that deck was doomed too. In the end, does it even really matter?

So, get to it. Conquer. Get your free pack. Have fun. See you next week!

Discover* a game mechanic that allows you to pick from 1 of 3 cards offered.

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1st and 5

The NFL schedule is whizzing by. It’s already week 6. There were a couple bad injuries, including season ending ones to Odell Beckham Jr. and JJ Watt. Luckily, there are usually breakout players now and then, that help ease the pain.

QB: Josh McCown, 49ers- This is more of a match up play. If you need a long term option, you should have picked up Watson last week! Good luck.

RB: Aaron Jones, Packers- I may be a little late to the party on Jones, as he is owned in 65% of ESPN leagues. Still, that means he is about 35% available to a few lucky owners. If you can’t get him (you don’t want anybody baby!) you might want to pick up Jerik McKinnon, Vikings.

WR: Will Fuller V, Texans- The catch with Fuller is that he has only had 6 catches in the last 2 games. On the plus side, 4 of them have gone for touchdowns. That’s some crazy productivity.

TE: Zach Miller, Bears- There might be a couple other high profile players out there at this position. Miller should see even more targets now that Trubisky is the starter. A quarterback’s best friend is usually the TE. If you don’t like that, then go grab Brate who I told you was available last week!

D/ST: I mentioned the Dolphins and Bengals last week. You can add the Packers to that list. Now that they have the running game going, their D can get healthy.

Brawl of the Week: A Peek to the Past

This week’s Tavern Brawl is a nod back to the simplicity of the game. Minus a few epics and Legendaries, which I am totally OK with. It’s a great brawl for new players.

A Peek to the Past: Build a deck of original hearthstone cards, minus epic, and legendary cards. You might find out you have been ignoring some really basic, yet powerful cards.

I was so caught up in kicking my opponent’s ass, I was late on the screen cap. It made for an interesting picture though. Hope you enjoy the brawl, and get your free pack. See you next week!

1st and 5

Week 5 is here. Week 4 was not without major injuries. Sadly we lost Dalvin Cook for the season (ACL) and David Carr for 2-4+ weeks (Back fracture). We also lost Tom Petty. It was a bad week. Thanks to all the first responders in Vegas, and all those brave people who helped save lives.

QB: DeShaun Watson, Texans- He is a fantastic playmaker. Lit up the Titans to the tune of 283 yards passing and 4 TDs. I’m not really sure I remember a rookie QB throwing for 4 TDs, but he did it. Definitely not going to do this every week, but he can do it any given week. Oh yeah, he also had 24 yards rushing and a TD. Sign. Him. Up!

RB: Alvin Kamara, Saints- I didn’t think I would have to tell people to pick this kat up, but he’s only owned in about 42% of ESPN leagues. He finally looks like he’s going to be a part of the Saints offense.

*Bonus: With the injury to Dalvin Cook, it may not be too far fetched for the Vikings to trade for former RB Adrian Peterson. Especially considering he’s not doing much in New Orleans. Could be worth stashing on your bench.

WR: Devin Funchess, Panthers- Now that Cam is looking more like Superman, and less like Clark Kent, it might be wise to pick up this WR. With Greg Olsen going down for the year, Funchess is next in line to pick up some targets, and seems to be coming into his own.

TE: Cameron Brate, Buccaneers- I thought this guy would come out of the chute a little faster. The Bucs did have a week 1 bye, then they didn’t need him much vs the Bears. He’s heating up a little since then. Possibly Winston’s #2 target in the endzone, if you need a TE, you could do worse.

D/ST: Still a few good teams on the waiver wire. None better than the Bills, who have scored no less than 8 points so far in 4 games. The Lions are there too.

Tom Petty: A Tribute

It’s still hard for me to wrap around my brain that one of rock’s biggest legends is dead at the young age of 66. I have been a Tom Petty fan for as long as I have been a fan of rock and roll. My first CD (back in 1989) was “Full Moon Fever” by Tom Petty, a Christmas present from my sister. Sadly, I never saw him in concert.

As I am putting this post together, I realized how prolific Tom Petty was in my life. Which makes it easier to come up with fitting content. I, and all of his fans, have been blessed for over 47 (35+ for me personally) years, listening to some of the most iconic tunes of our time.

A little American rock for you holiday weekend: American as apple pie, these songs will get your blood flowing. Tom Petty was a part of that.

Forgotten Tracks: Traveling Wilburys: Around 1988, Tom Petty and some of his buddies formed kind of a super group. They called themselves the Traveling Wilburys. They put out 2 albums choked full of beautiful music. Here are some of my favorites.

The ultimate Friday soundtrack: Yeah, you would figure Tom Petty would creep onto this list, and you are correct. Check out which one of my Petty favorites made the cut!

What singer or band would you like to have dinner with? A question I had a hard time answering. Tom Petty did come up. No surprise!

Do you like an artist who ‘can’t sing?’ Hold, on! Before you jump me, I am not the one necessarily who says this. I particularly don’t hold my singers to standards like that. Take a look and have a listen!

12 tunes for your Halloween party: How does Tom Petty fit on this list? You will have to click and see, but he could have landed on it a couple times.

5 artists who’s work you could save: A nice question asked by one of Chicago’s best sports announcers, Pat Hughes. No surprise Mr. Petty made it high up on my list!

Strangely enough, I have not gotten around to making an “ultimate list” from Tom Petty, so I think I will have to get on that in the near future. I hope you enjoyed this list as much as I did sharing it with you.

 

 

 

 

Mitchell Trubisky to start vs Vikings

The Mitchell Trubisky era is here. For good, bad, or indifference, the rookie quarterback will make his NFL debut on Monday Night Football vs the Minnesota Vikings. With everything going on in the world, this should be something to be excited for, and perhaps deep down I am. Some people use sports as a distraction, for me it goes beyond that. For some damn reason I have way too much passion for sports.

The Bears now will do everything in their power to get Mitchell ready for the biggest game of his career. It will go down at home, Soldier Field, under the watchful eye of the entire nation. There will be a heightened amount of pressure for sure.

By the numbers: While the Vikings are averaging 19.8 points per game, 263 yards passing, and 108 yards rushing, it’s their defense that will give Trubisky a hard time. Statistically, Minnesota is about middle of the pack, but they have a tough front seven, and will no doubt make it their priority to give Trubisky a rough ride.

It will remain to be seen if a quarterback change will impact John Fox’s job either way. Whatever the outcome, Pace could have his mind set on a coaching change at the end of the season. I’m personally hoping Trubisky does well enough to make it a harder decision for Pace. Not because I want Fox and the coaching staff to stay, but for the young QBs own development.

Brawl of the Week: Encounter at the Crossroads (again)

Well, if it isn’t my favorite Tavern Brawl: (it’s not!) Encounter at the Crossroads! So, this is the most popular brawl (including it’s variations) we have had. I’ve said my feelings about it before, so no need to say them again. Pick your class, and get a deck made up of totally random cards. At least this has been updated to include the new cards from the Lich King expansion.

Usually I pick the mage. This time, I picked the hunter. I started out pretty good, but my opponent had some tough minions up their sleeve.

Needless to say, it did not end well for me. So, I went with the mage for my second try. This time it ended much better. Hopefully it does for you too! Have fun, get that free pack, and I will see you next week!