Cold Damn Vampires | FedEx St. Jude Classic | NFC North Preview | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
If you’ve been reading me for a bit now you must know I’m a big fan of Zach Bryan’s music. These are some of my favorites to have on in the background whether it be when I’m writing or just strolling around drinking pints of Guinness. Cold Damn Vampires’ intro with the whistle is great, I’ve got it down pat, and have even done it out in public.
Zach Bryan wrote this song right after he was pissed off about a Verizon Wireless bill that was way overpriced. Kinda hilarious, but
Here he is describing a young woman who must’ve moved to East Village to try and make something of herself. In this situation, the vampires are predators, most likely guys that she needs to fend off.
While the Verizon bill set him off, the vampires could also be a metaphor for corporations or the music industry trying to suck his soul out. ZB constantly worries about “selling out” for the mainstream music industry. For instance, he titled a whole album “All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster” because they overpriced the tickets for his fans.
If you stick around this weekend looking for something to read, hopefully, this song will make sense by Sunday. This will especially be true if you read yesterday’s Stephen King Intro.
1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2…
Another thing about this song that the vampires may represent is your past demons or troubles. For instance, I think two of my biggest damn cold vampires are caring what other people think and self-doubts. I’ve gotten a lot better about the first part, I mean I’ll whistle this tune out in public and I have no shame in saying I’m tryna make Week to Week Notes a sports media empire. Despite failures and self-doubts, always have hope.
You gotta stay true to yourself and block out the outside (& sometimes even inside) noise. It’s easy always to have hope if you believe in what you’re doing. In ZB’s case, he flipped Ticketmaster the bird and started selling his tickets on Fair AXS where he could keep the prices affordable for his fans. Legend.
In 1970, the founder of St. Jude, Danny Thomas, set up the Memphis Open golf tournament which became the St. Jude Classic and in 1986 FedEx became the title sponsor. The PGA Tour made this tournament an elevated event as part of the FedEx Cup, a three-tournament playoff to determine the champion of the year and named the tournament the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Since Memphis started partnering with St. Jude in 1970, it has raised more than $60 million for St. Jude, whose mission is the find cures and save children.
One other thing I saw before the golf was that FedEx and St. Jude also partner every year to name a Purple Eagle plane after a St. Jude patient. Since ‘12, the Purple Eagle plane has flown to honor St. Jude patients whose parents or grandparents are FedEx team members. This year the plane will be named after Riley (pictured in the white shirt), a 5-year-old who last year celebrated the end of chemo after undergoing treatment for two-and-a-half years. Also pictured are the previous Purple Eagle plane honorees, McKaylee, Hayes, Allie, Tyler, Alyssa, Calvin, Mya, Reid, and Kenzie. For more info on the FedEx Purple Eagle - click this link.
TPC Southwind has hosted the FedEx St. Jude Championship since 1989. The course record is a 61 shot by Jay Delsing in 1993 and Bob Estes in ‘01. Will Zalatoris is the previous winner in ‘22.
Jordan Spieth
Jordan Spieth took the lead with a hole-out eagle on 16. In his first tournament round as a 30-year-old, he did not shoot above par on any holes yesterday.
Collin Morikawa
Collin Morikawa is confirmed for the kids. He also announced that he will help Maui's wildfire effort with a $1,000 donation for each of his PGA playoff birdies. Thus far he is on the hook for $6k.
Scottie Scheffler
Scottie doesn’t know not to hit the ball in the water on 14, but he sure knew what he was doing with the putter yesterday. Despite the water hazard double-bogey, Scheffler is 3-under on the day thanks to only having to putt the ball 28 times. In total Thursday, he putts on the day traveled only 100ft. (Source: @SchefflerLegion)
Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy was asked about Phil Mickelson’s gambling allegations and Rory’s response was, “At least he can bet on the Ryder Cup this year because he won't be a part of it.” Gotta love Rory festering the PGA vs LIV rivalry alive.
Patrick Cantlay
Nice chip slow poke, now get the ball out of the tin we gotta move because the group behind us has been hitting up the past 3 holes.
Out of the @YouTheReaders that I polled, 50% took the Lions to win the division. 25% took the Vikings and 25% took da Bears.
1. Detroit Lions
The Lions in ‘22 went 9-8, their 1st winning record since ‘17. The Hard Knocks team of last summer performed above expectations under the leadership of Head Coach Dan Campbell, who clearly found more guys willing to bite the kneecap off his opponent in year 2 at the helm. Last year QB Jared Goff had his best statistical season (29 passing TDs with 4,438 passing yards) since his ‘18 Super Bowl runner-up year with the Rams. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown had 106 catches for 1,161 receiving yards as Goff’s leading target, becoming the 1st Lion to have over 100 catches + 1,000 receiving yards since Calvin Johnson back in ‘12. Defensively, Aidan Hutchinson was a force the moment he stepped foot in Detroit ending his rookie campaign with 9.5 sacks, 15 QB hits, and 3 INTs, not bad for a pass rusher.
Entering the ‘23 season, Detroit will be without both of their previous RBs D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams. This offseason they made up for those backfield losses by signing David Montgomery away from Chicago and drafting Jahmyr Gibbs out of ‘Bama with the 12th overall pick in the draft. That leads me to their draft, I think they did quite well. An RB in the middle of 1st Round is okay considering their need. Later in the 1st Round, they took Jack Campbell who should start at LB on Day 1. In the 2nd Round, they drafted TE Sam LaPorta and S Brian Branch. There is a very good chance all 4 of these guys have an impact immediately. They also took QB Hendon Hooker, who must not appear to be ready because they just signed Teddy Bridgewater, but now has a chance to sit a year behind two vets. Perhaps most important for the Lions defensively this offseason was Hutchinson meeting up with JJ Watt on how he can make a year 2 jump. One NFL scout said he could see 15 to 20 sacks this upcoming season out of the Michigan Man. The Lions are really set up for success in the NFC North for the first time in a long time, it should, in theory, be their time.
2. Chicago Bears
Da Bears had a brutal record of 3-14 last season which garnered them the #1 overall pick in the ‘23 NFL Draft. They may have been brutal record-wise, but QB Justin Fields made them an exciting watch Week to Week. Fields rushed for an electric 1,143 yards on the ground with 8 rushing TDs. His passing numbers were decent - 17 TDs to 11 INTs - but he only threw for 2,242 passing yards. Chicago made a midseason trade with the Steelers for WR Chase Claypool who was sort of a disappointment in 7 games. In their defensive secondary, S Eddie Jackson was still the last line of defense with a team-leading 4 INTs in 12 games before a knee injury on a Garrett Wilson TD ended his season. They also traded their stud LB Roquan Smith to the Ravens at the midway mark. ‘22 was a rough year for Chicago, but Fields flashing made it alright.
With the #1 overall pick, Da Bears flipped it to the Panthers for draft capital and DJ Moore. The former Panthers WR will be Justin Fields’ new top target. With Moore at the top of the depth chart, the Claypool and Darnell Mooney slide down into roles that they are better suited for as above-average secondary targets with flashes of elite talent. Chicago should always have a great defense and this offseason they went out and signed Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards to man the middle, while just recently adding Yannick Ngakoue to rush from the edge. ‘23 will be their head coach Matt Eberflus’ 2nd season in Chicago and Fields is reportedly already looking much more comfortable in the passing game in their OC Luke Getsy’s offensive system. They had a pretty solid offseason and I like the WRs they provided Fields. For them to come in 2nd it’ll almost be entirely up to him.
3. Minnesota Vikings
The ‘22 Minnesota Vikings finished 13-4 and in 1st place in the NFC North. Their 1st Round playoff exit against the Giants looms large, but they had an exceptional year. Kirk Cousins, a Netflix Star + QB, threw for 4,547 passing yards with 29 TDs and 14 INTs. WR Justin Jefferson went for an insane 1,809 receiving yards on 128 catches. RB Dalvin Cook also ran for 1,173 yards on the ground. S Harrison Smith at 34 years old was still a Top 100 player voted on by his peers. They also had 2 double-digit sack artists Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith. They just couldn’t beat Danny Dimes at home, eh?
This offseason, Minnesota replaced Za’Darius Smith with Marcus Davenport from the Saints who is expected to be a good fit in their new DC Brian Flores’ system. Vikings let go of RB Dalvin Cook, who is still playing chicken with the AFC East and will likely divvy up the RB snaps between Alexander Mattison & rookie DeWayne McBride. Minnesota also let go of their vet WR Adam Thielen and replaced him with Jordan Addison from USC. Addison was cited early this month for going 140 mph on the highway but apparently has played just as fast at training camp. Justin Jefferson will of course be a consensus top WR taken in every fantasy football draft and for good reason. Expect some more great stats but I just get the feeling that last season’s playoff game will carry over into this year.
4. Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers last year finished 8-9 and 3rd place in the NFC North. Their fearless leader and all-time best QB, Aaron Rodgers, gutted out a season where he was playing with a broken thumb. He miraculously threw for 26 passing TDs and 3,965 passing yards. Not only was he playing injured but the Packers got rid of his go-to guy Davante Adams. It was honestly a miracle that the 4-time MVP was able to get Green Bay to 8 wins.
This offseason, in case you hadn’t heard, Aaron Rodgers was traded to the NY Jets. The Pack also lost WRs Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard to the NYJ. QB Jordan Love will now take the spot as QB1 for the GB Packers with some massive shoes to fill, imagine trying to replace Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, sheesh. The Packers made very few off-season signings this year but had a rather large draft where they selected 13 players. They still have RB Aaron Jones who I’m sure will ask to be traded at some point, but the Packers do have some young interesting relatively unknown talent for Jordan Love to play with. Christian Watson was a star once he got going last year; he went on a stretch from Week 10 to 13 where he had 15 catches for 313 receiving yards and 7 TDs. Romeo Doubs is another 2nd year WR who got playing time in ‘22. The part I’m actually most intrigued about for the Packers this year and moving forward is they drafted both Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft at TE in the 1st & 2nd Rounds so I’m sure the plan is to run a ton of 2 TE sets. I think the season will play out where Jordan Love is decent, but the team stinks so then the Packers don’t know if they should keep him or draft another 1st Rounder in the ‘24 NFL Draft - just a shot in the dark.