Looking over the hysterical records, the last real TMQ watch we did was December 11, 2018. So it has been very close to five years. We’re not even sure we remember how to do this.
But a gift is a gift, a promise is a promise, and after the jump, this week’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback (which you won’t be able to read in its entirety unless you subscribe to “All Predictions Wrong”, which is the actual title of Gregg Easterbrook’s Substack) after the jump…
Well. Well well well. Well.
We were, as a matter of fact, sitting in church this morning, waiting for the service to start, when we received an email.
Someone who wishes to remain monogamous anonymous has gifted us a one-month subscription to Gregg Easterbrook’s Substack.
Our first reaction was: we’d really like to know who this person is. Perhaps they will out themselves in comments?
Our second reaction was: what a kind and thoughtful present to kick off the season of giving. Thank you, masked man!
Our third reaction was: how are we going to work this? At the very least, we feel an obligation to do a TMQ Watch for each new TMQ going forward. Should we go back and do the ones from earlier in the season? That’s doubtful, because the temptation to view them through the lens of hindsight is very high. Also, we currently have two major projects we’re working on for the Smith and Wesson Collector’s Association, so we don’t have as much time as we would like.
But we will promise to TMQ Watch TMQ, starting with this coming Tuesday’s entry. And, even though it is only a month subscription, we will promise to TMQ Watch TMQ through his post-Superb Owl column, which should wrap up the TMQ season. Even if we have to pay out of our own pocket. (That is not to say that we will not accept another gift subscription for another month, but even if that doesn’t happen, we’ll take on the assignment anyway.)
Gregg Easterbrook posted a new Tuesday Morning Quarterback on August 1st. We missed it because we were preparing for our trip.
What does he have to say?
Well, that sounds ominous.
Doing a copy and paste into Word as plain text gets us a word count of 4,210 words. That doesn’t seem too bad by the standards of previous TMQs, but this is a “preview”, not a regular season column.
And here’s the nut graph:
We had not checked Gregg Easterbrook’s Twitter in a while before today, so we were somewhat surprised to find out that Tuesday Morning Quarterback will be back…
Indeed, Gregg has already published two columns back in April tied to the NFL draft.
Will TMQ Watch Watch return in the fall? Reply hazy, ask again later. Basically, it depends on our mood, what else we have going on, and (the big issue) if Easterbrook starts charging for his Substack. We apologize, but we are not made of money, and probably would not pay to read and comment on TMQ.
Unless someone wants to pay us. Barstool Sports, we’re not proud. Feel free to call us.
KXAN has thoughtfully informed us that “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” will be airing tonight on CBS at 7 PM Central (8 PM Eastern).
That soft wet sound you heard is the sound of Gregg Easterbrook’s head exploding, as, once again, “Rudolph” airs before Thanksgiving.
In case you were wondering, “Frosty the Snowman” will be on Friday night at 7 Central (8 Eastern) immediately followed by “Frosty Returns”, also on CBS.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” will supposedly be on PBS Sunday, December 19th, at 6:30 Central (7:30 Eastern).
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (the real one) will be on NBC Friday night at 7 Central (8 Eastern).
“Annie Live!” will be on NBC Thursday, December 2nd, at 7 Central (8 Eastern). Unfortunately, I have other plans that evening that involve stabbing myself in the thigh repeatedly with a titanium spork.
And, finally, “It’s a Wonderful Life” will be on December 4th at 7 Central (8 Eastern) and will repeat Christmas Eve at 7 Central (8 Eastern).
Here’s what purports to be a complete list of holiday films on broadcast, streaming, and cable. No, don’t thank me: I run a full service blog here.
Since many asking: no Tuesday Morning Quarterback this season either. But I haven’t forgotten how to do it! Am keeping notes (“saving string,” to writers). If my new book out in a week https://t.co/uABXN0D3L7 is a hit that will put me in a TMQ mood for ’22. pic.twitter.com/rgBwow56yP
— Gregg Easterbrook (@EasterbrookG) September 4, 2021
But that’s not going to stop TMQ:
Hell’s Sports Bar about to reopen! No curbside service, you enter all Hell’s-branded properties.
Sunday in Hell’s Sports Bar, Texas and Florida see Houston v. Jax (2020 combined record 5-27) not Steelers v. Bills (2020 combined 27-9). https://t.co/1ffz3pVh6l
— Gregg Easterbrook (@EasterbrookG) September 8, 2021
Yes. Because two teams that had bad records last year, and turnover in the off season, will automatically be playing a bad game to start off the new season.
In other news, the loser update returns Tuesday.
The man who Tuesday Morning Quarterback refers to as “the tastefully named” Gregg Williams is out as defensive coordinator for the New York Jets.
And speaking of TMQ, another recurring theme:
1. I was looking over some old blog posts, and ran across this quote from a 2014 “Tuesday Morning Quarterback” column on ESPN:
TMQ Vows: By 2020, I Will Reduce Factual Errors 17 Percent Compared to 2005 Columns
Credit where credit is due: TMQ has certainly met – as a matter of fact, exceeded – that goal. Hats off to Easterbrook.
2. I wanted to highlight this blog post (by way of Hacker News): I think it’s a nice bit of writing, but it also is a good illustration of the kind of thing I was talking about in this post.
Apparently, the NFL started their regular season this weekend.
I just barely noticed.
It isn’t so much the politics, although McThag has a good post up on that. I’m just finding it really difficult to care.
Still, one of the motivations for starting this blog was the NFL loser update, and as a wise man once said…
NFL teams that still have a chance to go 0-16:
San Francisco
Carolina
Tampa Bay
Atlanta
Dallas
Philadelphia
New York Football Giants
Minnesota
Detroit
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Denver
Indianapolis
Houston
New York Jets
Miami
In other semi-related football news, I have been reading as much of Gregg Easterbrook’s Twitter as I can stomach, and there has been no mention of “Tuesday Morning Quarterback” at all. Not just a lack of pointers to the current column, but also a lack of “if you liked it, write our sponsor” messages. I have to assume that he’s not doing it this year, though his silence on the subject is a little strange.
Looks like the NFL is getting fired up again.
Yes, the loser update will return this year. We haven’t sat down to consider which teams are likely candidates for the Owen-16 trophy, but maybe we’ll get some time to do that between now and the start of the regular season.
But we are sure everyone is asking this question: what of Gregg Easterbrook and “Tuesday Morning Quarterback”? Has he found a new home, since the “Weekly Standard” folded up their tent and headed into the long dark night? And what of “TMQ Watch”? Will that be a recurring feature next year?
To answer the last question first: sadly, no. No “TMQ Watch” in 2019. Why?
To answer many inquiries from Tuesday Morning Quarterback aficionados – just finished novel #4, researching nonfiction book #7, there are only so many hours in the day. So no TMQ this season. Not ruling out for future. pic.twitter.com/sKkPielXIM
— Gregg Easterbrook (@EasterbrookG) August 11, 2019
Not our choice, Easterbrook’s. We may try to keep an eye on his Twitter feed for noteworthy items relating to the NFL. But we’ve found that Easterbrook’s Twitter feed is a reliable way of pressure testing our cerebral arteries, so we don’t recommend making bets on how much and how often we’ll be doing that.
ESPN: The Magazine. (As TMQ always used to add, “Published on Earth: The Planet”.)
Gino Marchetti, defensive end for the Baltimore Colts.
He was also an 11-time Pro Bowl selection and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In the waning moments of the 1958 championship game against the Giants, he pulled down Frank Gifford inches from a first down, forcing the Giants to give the ball back to the Colts for one last-ditch drive. Quarterback Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore offense took advantage of the opportunity, driving 70 yards for a tying field goal.
Marchetti, who broke his leg making the game-saving tackle, watched Unitas’s heroics from a stretcher on the sidelines, then looked on as the running back Alan Ameche scored eight minutes into overtime to give the Colts the victory in what many still refer to as the greatest game ever played.
TMQ, October 30, 2018:
…
He’ll be a force in the 2019 NBA postseason with the Lakers. Why isn’t this obvious?
ESPN, March 23, 2019:
Yes, yes, “all predictions wrong or your money back”, but: obvious?