{"id":57060,"date":"2016-12-31T10:58:25","date_gmt":"2016-12-31T17:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=57060"},"modified":"2016-12-31T11:07:53","modified_gmt":"2016-12-31T18:07:53","slug":"fanview-december-31-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=57060","title":{"rendered":"Fanview: December 31, 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Joe<\/a>

Joe T. believes New Year’s is a humbug.<\/p><\/div>\n

By Joe Torosian<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re gonna talk! You’re gonna beg to talk! Because someone is going to talk!”—Jimmy Malone<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kick it!<\/p>\n

Right off the Top:<\/strong> I had this dream last night\u2026<\/p>\n

The prep football season was dead\u2026That must be clear or this story I\u2019m about to share will have no meaning\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It was late in the day on New Year\u2019s Eve when Big George came into the office and said, \u201cHappy New Year, Joe T.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I ignored him.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018Happy New Year.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHumbug,\u201d I said.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNew Year\u2019s a humbug?\u201d Big George said. \u201cSurely you don\u2019t mean that?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI do,\u201d I said. \u201cWhat is New Year\u2019s but a day to find yourself another year older and watching meaningless bowl games? If I could work my will, every idiot that goes around with \u2018Happy New Year\u2019 on his lips should be boiled in his own pudding with a Champagne cork stuck through his heart\u2026You keep New Year\u2019s your way and let me keep it in mine\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cKeep it?\u201d Big George said. \u201cBut you don\u2019t keep it at all!\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, let me leave it alone then\u2026Fat lot of good it has done you.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Big George got closer. \u201cThere are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say, New Year\u2019s among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of New Year\u2019s Eve when it has come round as a time to party and engage in good old fashion debauchery. It is the only time of the year when men and women seem by one consent to open their beer kegs freely and seek to get hammered with others\u2026So, Joe T., I say, God bless it!\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Gonzo on the other side of the room applauded.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019ll be enough from you,\u201d I told him. \u201cAnother sound from you and you\u2019ll be writing for the Rosemead Review\u2026And you, Big George, shouldn\u2019t you be running out to get another tattoo to celebrate another evening\u2019s inebriation?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDon’t be stuck up, jefe. Come! Party with us tonight.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2026I woke up\u2026<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

I said it in the last column I wrote\u2026and I\u2019ll repeat the idea here\u2026the football players sitting out bowl games have an argument\u2026but so do the schools they\u2019ve represented\u2026Instead of contract, signature and obligatory picture taken\u2026more of a barter needs to take place before the business of agreeing to a scholarship is completed\u2026I think it is a player\u2019s right to bail on a \u201cBail Bonds Sun Bowl\u201d contest played on December 26 (or earlier)\u2026but I think the school which provided the education has the right to be compensated back\u2026Make the player responsible for paying back the school for their final year if they willingly walk-out before the season is over.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

I despise New Year\u2019s Eve\u2026It feels fraudulent\u2026Now if my mortgage went away with the turning of the calendar, cool. If everyone in poor health suddenly got good health, awesome\u2026But those things don\u2019t happen\u2026and it just feels like another excuse for people to get wasted.<\/p>\n

My idea of a perfect New Year\u2019s Eve is a Marx Brothers movie marathon\u2026<\/p>\n

\"tdchristmas1\"<\/a>***<\/p>\n

Some Rams Thoughts:<\/strong>
\nThey have to re-sign cornerback Trumaine Johnson\u2026it is imperative. They have to let Kenny Britt walk\u2026they need to re-evaluate defensive end Robert Quinn. Quinn has nine sacks in his last 17 games, not bad until you realize he has only played in 17 games over the last two seasons\u2026He is under contract for three more years, and the defense has been solid without him\u2026The team might need to think about other options.<\/p>\n

The Rams have less salary cap-space than the Dallas Cowboys. They\u2019ve only got $5-million to spend\u2026They have to bring Johnson back and find help along the offensive line.<\/p>\n

After spending six picks to acquire Jared Goff they have no help coming through the draft\u2026So what\u2019s left to do? I mean, besides finding a head coach\u2026<\/p>\n

Trade Tavon Austin\u2026yes, I know he was just signed to a big deal, but he\u2019s the only one you might get some value for\u2026Better still, trade Todd Gurley while he still has some value\u2026<\/p>\n

You might think\u2026this is crazy\u2026you can\u2019t trade your two best offensive players from a team that is 4-11\u2026<\/p>\n

When your team is 4-11\u2026you can trade anybody.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\"Speakes2\"<\/a>Midbits (same as \u2018Tidbits\u2019)<\/strong><\/span>
\nMidbits:<\/strong> Orange Bowl on December 30th? Preposterous.<\/p>\n

Midbits:<\/strong> \u201cWell… You can add Rhonda Rousey’s career to the growing lists of deaths in 2016.\u201d\u2014Leonard Hudson<\/p>\n

Midbits:<\/strong> My New Year\u2019s Resolution for 2017 is to never use the Oxford Comma again\u2026Even though it feels so right\u2026<\/p>\n

Midbits:<\/strong> Robert Griffin III needs to retire and enjoy the rest of his life in good health.<\/p>\n

Midbits:<\/strong> Since it is the end of the year\u2026I have to say, THANK YOU\u2026to all of you who have supported and said nice things about \u201cTangent Dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dude abides\u2026<\/p>\n

654<\/p>\n

Psalm 147<\/p>\n

Contact Joe at joe@midvalleysports.com<\/p>\n

Author of \u201cTangent Dreams: A High School Football Novel\u201d available through amazon.com \u2026and \u201cThe Dead Bug Tales\u201d available this fall.<\/p>\n

Follow Joe on Twitter @joet13b<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Joe Torosian \u201cYou’re gonna talk! You’re gonna beg to talk! Because someone is going to talk!”—Jimmy Malone Kick it! Right off the Top: I had this dream last night\u2026 The prep football season was dead\u2026That must be clear or this story I\u2019m about to share will have no meaning\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[12512,12534,3542,365,7153,8661,11755],"class_list":["post-57060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fanview","tag-a-high-school-football-novel","tag-fanview-by-joe-torosian","tag-joe-t","tag-joe-torosian","tag-los-angeles-rams","tag-mvs","tag-tangent-dreams"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=57060"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57066,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57060\/revisions\/57066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}