Survivor 49 – Thats a Wrap

Posted on December 18, 2025 by AverageAndy

Congratulations to Savannah Louie for winning Survivor 49 and taking home the $1,000,000.00 grand prize. She played a solid game and was able to sway the jury to vote for her to win. The vote was a slight deviation from the past few results. It seemed that they did value the fact that Savannah won 4 individual immunity challenges (Tying the record for women in a season). Previously, the jury seemed to value game play and the players’ social game over challenge wins. Savannah was even able to win despite having trouble naming any of the jurors’ family members or significant others when answering a tough but telling question asked by Kristina.

Still not a fan of the fire-making challenge at the final 4, as it relies too much on luck, as well as putting the final immunity challenge winner in a tough spot.

Overall, it was an interesting but entertaining season, as the players are becoming smarter at predicting the game. The producers even tried to mix things up more than usual this season by having multiple tribe swaps before the merge, and what seemed like trying to scale back the amount of advantages (This could have just been bad luck, and a result of Rizo holding on to his immunity idol for 9 tribal councils, so no new idols could be introduced). I read, and agree, that the motivation of many contestants have changed over the years, and they now treat the game as more of a fun adventure, over a contest for a million dollars. Too many contestants seem OK with getting voted off, as long as they enjoyed there time and made some friends.

I think about how I would feel if after getting voted off after dreaming of getting on the show for the last 35 years. Hopefully, I would win and never experience getting my torch snuffed, but if it did, I think I would be more upset, mad, and angry than some of the newer contestants. Another reason why the producers need to look at older folks like me, who, as time goes by, get more and more consumed by all aspects of the game, and would make riveting TV.

Got a few months to relax before Survivor 50 premieres in February. Really looking forward to see how things play out. Will do my best to try and avoid seeing or reading as much as I can about the season. As an old timer, I like to be surprised each episode and get upset with people who post spoilers.

*** NOTE ***

Thought it was great when Jeff compared Sophi B. to “The Bad News Bears” during the final tribal. One of my all-time favorite movies growing up, I am a big fan, and as a non-sport card collector, one of my holy grail cards to get is a Jackie Earl Haley (Kelly Leak) autograph card produced by Panini. Here is the card, along with an AI-created card I created of Sophi B. I think it’s pretty funny

**********

Here is a quick rundown of things as promised

TV Shows I watched and recommend

The Lazarus Project (Netflix) – Very well done, with a great use of time travel. Sad that the 3rd season was cancelled

The Beast In Me (Netflix) – Claire Danes was excellent, and did a great job of showing real emotions

IT: Welcome to Derry (HBOMax) – Great mix of Horror and Humor.

Stranger Things Season 5 Part 2 (Netflix) – Took a little bit to get comfortable with the fact that the kids have aged, but the date the story is in was the same. After that, all good.

Plaurabus (Apple TV) – Always like shows that can make you think and surprise you at the same time.

Books I read/am reading

Finished “The Sequel” by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Great sequel to “The Plot” and did a great job of making you feel for the lead character, even if she was the villain of the story.

Started “What She Saw” by Mary Burton. I haven’t read her stuff before, but so far I am enjoying this one

I did read “There’s Treasure Inside” by Jon Collins-Black a while back. As far as I can tell, the treasure boxes that were hidden by the author have not been found. Been fun following people’s attempts to find a box.

Recommended Music

Decided to take a break from the television on Tuesday, and relax and listen to some music. Put on my headphones and let the songs take me on a ride

Marillion — Listened to a few live tracks from their Christmas albums

The Firm — Listened to songs of the 1st album (really good stuff that has been overlooked)

Robert Plant — Big Log and In the Mood are great songs

Robert Plant — Saving Grace – Didn’t realize he had a new album out in 2025. Its very mellow but very good. Highly recommended

John Denver — “Calypso” – Something in Robert Plant’s songs reminded me of this song (Go figure)

Joan Beaz — “Diamonds and Rust”

**********


That’s it for now.

Thanks for taking the time to read my rumblings. I hope they are enjoyable

Have a Merry Merry Christmas Holiday and Happy New Year

I’m Off to do some job searching/applying – Hopefully something comes my way soon

AvergeAndy

#Survivor49
#Survivor50
#Survivor51

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

#PEACE

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RIP Rob Reiner to end a horrible weekend

Posted on December 16, 2025 by AverageAndy

Very sad news about Rob Reiner and his wife being stabbed and killed by their son. Their son did have a history of addiction and mental health issues. Still, its incredibly sad to se this and I wouldn’t wish something like this on anybody.

Besides being a TV star (we played Archie Bunkers son in-law on the classic “All In The Family”, he directed some of the best known films of the 1980s and 1990s. I can remember when I first saw most of these movies and the impact they had on me at the time. (Born in 1966, these movies were right in the sweet spot of my youth). The man was a genius and he and his wife will be greatly missed

🎬 Rob Reiner Films (1980s, 1990s)

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
A groundbreaking mockumentary about a fictional heavy metal band.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088258/

The Sure Thing (1985)
A romantic comedy about a college student traveling cross-country.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090103/

Stand by Me (1986)
A coming-of-age classic based on a Stephen King novella.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092005/

The Princess Bride (1987)
Fantasy adventure and romantic comedy; now a cultural icon.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/

When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
Influential romantic comedy exploring love and friendship.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098635/

Misery (1990)
Psychological thriller adapted from Stephen King’s novel.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100157/

A Few Good Men (1992)
Courtroom drama centered on military justice.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104257/

North (1994)
Fantasy comedy about a boy who divorces his parents.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110687/

The American President (1995)
Romantic drama involving a widowed U.S. president.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112346/

Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
Historical drama about the Medgar Evers murder trial.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116410/

The Story of Us (1999)
Drama about a long-married couple facing divorce.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160916/

In other sad news this weekend, there was a shooting at Brown University that left two students dead and 9 more injured. The two students killed were identified as Ella Cook, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov. Consolences go out to their family in these crazy times (#PEACE)

As of today (Tuesday, December 16th), the suspect is still at large, and police are actively looking. Hopefully, they will apprehend him soon and determine his motive for this cowardly act

And in some more sad and upsetting news, A father and son opened fire on people enjoying a day at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia. The shooting killed 15 people and injured many more. Local police are calling it a terrorist attack, and say Islamic State flags were found in the suspect’s car after the shooting.

Hard to imagine what was going through these two people’s minds. What made them decide to open fire on unarmed individuals, trying to kill as many as they could? Luckily (and thankfully), there were a few heroes who put their own lives on the line and intervened and slowed down the shooters until police arrived on the scene. There is a video of the entire event available that you can seek out and watch if you want.

Immediately afterwards, as there always is after a mass shooting, people started up with the “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” and “If people were allowed to be armed, they would have fought back”. returicct. I always laugh at this. While it is the people who shoot the guns that actually cause the harm, it is the ownership and access to firearms that play a bigger part. It has been proven that the more guns are available, the more there are shootings. When the USA banned assault rifles from 1994 to 2004, the number of fatalities decreased, and when the ban was not renewed in 2024, the number of fatalities began to rise.

Australia has very strict gun control laws, and is looking into doing even more after these events. They are treating this as an important issue and taking the steps to stop or slow it down. In the USA, we do not treat this as an important enough issue. People hid behind the 2nd Amendment, and think the best solution is to produce more guns and arm the “good people” since it’s the “bad people” who do the shooting and mass killing would stop because the “bad people” will be scared of the ‘good people.”

Would it have ended better if, as the 2 men in Australia started shooting the people on the beach, they all pulled out their own guns and started shooting back like a gunfight at the OK Corall? You really expect a young mother or father relaxing with their kids will suddenly turn into a military marksman?

***********

This wasn’t what I wanted to be writing about today. I was going to write about the book I just finished (“The Sequel” by Jean Hanff Korelitz, which was really, really good), the 2 shows I finished (“The Lazarus Project”, and “The Beast in Me”, both of which were very enjoyable and highly recommended)

Also, tomorrow is the final of Survivor 49. There are 5 players left, and it will be interesting to see who ends up winning. There were some curious decisions at last week’s tribal council, and it will be interesting to see if any of them end up helping to determine the winner.

***NOTES***

Congratulations to MLB player Jeff Kent for getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Jeff was the 8th voted out, and 2nd jury member of Survivor: Philippines. He was one of the many former professional athletes to be a contestant on Survivor

Come back on Thursday, when I will give my thoughts on Survivor 49 and any new info that they release on Survivor 50. Will also list some additional shows, movies, books, and music that I am enjoying as we work are way towards Christmas and New Years

AverageAndy

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#CBSSurvivor
#JeffProbst
#JesseTannenbaum

#StandByMe
#AFewGoodMen

Marillion – A Better Way of Life
Iron Maiden – Up the Irons

Have a great day












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Lehigh Football / NY Mets Baseball

Posted on December 11, 2025 by AverageAndy

The Lehigh Mountain Hawks decided to play one of their worst games in the past two seasons and fell at home by a score of 7 – 14 against Villanova in the 2nd round of the FCS Play-Offs (After getting a first-round bye). They fumbled the ball twice (after not losing a fumble all season), the 2nd one coming with under 2 minutes left on the Villanova 20 yard-line. They were unable to do anything with the passing game and failed to make a stop on defence when they really needed one.

I went back to the game and met up with an old classmate and his son. Despite it being a chilly afternoon, the Lehigh side of the stadium was completely packed. The crowd was loud and into the game. Even with the loss, it ended up being a fun day, and I am already looking forward to next season

Note – Lehigh extended its Head Football Coach Kevin Cahill to s multi-year extension, so the future looks bright

———————————————

The New York Mets have decided to completely rebuild the team this offseason and have made a bunch of moves/decisions

Among them, so far, they have:

Traded outfielder Brandon Nimmo to Texas for second baseman Marcus Semien
Failed to resign Pete Alonso (He signed with the Baltimore Orioles)
Failed to resign closer Edwin Díaz (He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers)

These were 3 of the more popular players, and even though they did not really live up to the expectations of the past few years, they were still solid players who the fans really connected with.

There were thoughts that Mets General Manager David Stearns (who previously was the General Manager of the Milwaukee Brewers), and was brought in by owner Steve Cohen, has been wanting to build the team similar to the Brewers (who were very good when he was there). This is relying more on analytics and metrics, and bringing in lesser players, and hoping to get the best of them. He did have some success with the pitching in 2024, but the strength turned into a weakness in 2025 as the pitchers failed to pitch up to expectations.

I know it’s a tough call — While I would have loved for the players traded away and the ones who signed with other teams to stay with the Mets, I understand that sports is a business, and moves need to be made. But it’s getting harder and harder as a fan to root for different players as they come and go.

I’ve always wondered what it felt like to be a Miami Marlins fan in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They won two World Series (1997, 2003), but traded away everybody after each one, and were pretty bad all other years. Would they have rather not won, but had players they liked stay on the team for longer times, or did they not care who was on the team as long as they won the World Series?

I wonder would a NY Yankees fan be happier if Aaron Judge had left and signed with the San Francisco Giants a few years back, but the Yankees went on to beat the LA Dodgers and win the WS without him?

I may be in the minority, but I think I would be happier if the Mets tried it a few more years with the team they had (besides signing or trading for 1 or 2 players to help them win), than what they are doing now by getting rid of many of the popular players. I will still root for the Mets and hope they do well, but it will take some time to get used to not seeing the same players from last year

————————————————-

More to come

#GoLehighFootball
#GoNYMets

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

#PEACE

Average Andy

Posted in Baseball, Football, Lehigh, NY Mets, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stranger Things 5 / Guns and Roses / Survivor 49

Posted on December 5, 2025 by AverageAndy

Hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving. Starting with my Birthday last Wednesday, the 26th, it was kind of a whirlwind. Started by meeting some friends out for our annual Night Before Thanksgiving. Came home and watched the 1st two episodes of Stranger Things 5 with my daughter (who was home for the holiday). The next day, we hosted Thanksgiving at our house (a small gathering of my wife’s side of the family). On Friday, relaxed a bit and ended up watching “Weapons,” which was interesting but different than what I expected. On Saturday, met a work friend for breakfast and got stuff done around the house. Went to breakfast with my daughter on Sunday morning, then met my wife at her work, before seeing my daughter off on the train. With no NY Football Giants game on Sunday (They played Monday Night and got embarrassed by the New England Patriots), I was able to relax before starting another week of job searching.

Stranger Things 5

After watching the 1st two episodes of Stranger Things 5 during Thanksgiving with my daughter, I then finished the remaining 2 episodes (of part 1) on Tuesday. As a fan of the show from the beginning, it was nice to reconnect with the characters after a long break. I like how Netflix has broken things up into 3 parts (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s). Usually, the entire season is released at once, and after watching it all, I almost feel let down that it’s over so fast. There is something about the old way of releasing episodes weekly (Which HBO and Apple TV still do) to build up momentum. I am glad that they at least broke it up a bit with the way they are releasing Stranger Things.

I really enjoyed the first 4 episodes, and thought they have done a great job of keeping the story moving forward, while not adding too much fluff and extra stuff just to fill the time. It did take me a bit to engage with the characters as they have aged faster in real life than on the show, so they looked a bit out of place, but the story and the action got me over that, and I am really looking forward to where things go.

Guns’ N Roses

Saw a post that Guns’ N Roses were releasing 2 new songs yesterday. I have been a fan of the band from the beginning, but I admit, it’s been a while since I really thought (or cared) about them releasing a new song. Something just felt different this time. So I checked the new songs out, and I’m really liking them. Both have a kind of retro feel, and helped me to realize how good the band was and is still is.

Here are videos of both songs. Remove any preconceived feeling, and give them a listen.

Survivor 49

Only 2 more episodes of Survivor 49, where they crown a winner, and then everybody (CBS, Past Players, Super Fans) all start the countdown to Survivor 50, which premieres in February 2026. It’s crazy how fast it seems to go from the final 6 to the end. It’s been an uneven season with highs and lows. I do agree with most of what I have seen and read, where all contestants seem to be super fans, and have analyzed the show and come up with what they feel is the best way to play. Seems similar to analytics in sports. Relying on past strategies and outcomes to determine what moves to make. While the way the game has changed over the years, and the producers have tried their hardest to try to stay out in front of things, the contestants are just “Too Good” at coming up with “so-called better” ways to play. Fans now build the challenges and puzzles at home, and rewatch old seasons to study how past winners played. This has made the game very predictable, which then comes across as structured and boring.

There are some very interesting people, but they seem trapped between playing a fun game and playing a boring structured game. And similar to analytics is sports, even with all the information out there, there is not much of a correlation to playing based on statistics and actually winning. Plenty of sports teams have made decisions to sign or cut players based on statistics, and not on how the players actually played/performed. Predicting that a player will hit more home runs because we will work with him to change his swing to an uppercut of 3% , is just wishful thinking. There are way more things at play

As for the remaining 6 players in Survivor 49, here are my feelings on each

Sophie – Feel she has played a great game, getting to the final 6 after starting out on an awful tribe
Rizzo – Like him and his spunk, but it might come back to hurt him in the end
Sage – Not sure if she is playing a good game or is just lucky
Kristina – Give her credit for giving it here all and being resourceful
Savanna – A little too high on herself, but very aware of the game
Stephen – Started slow, but is coming on strong. I like him more and more

It should be interesting to see how things play out. Sophie has her “Knowledge of Power” advantage. Wondering what will happen if she plays it on Stephen – He has to declare he is playing his “Block a Vote” before tribal council, so he would have nothing for her to steal. I would love here to play it on Rizzo and take his immunity idol to save herself and get to the final 4.

Lots more to write. about, but still struggling with writer’s block. Have some thoughts and ideas, and will try to put them in place starting next week

Finally, I am heading back to Goodman Stadium tomorrow for the Lehigh / Villanova Play-Off Game. Hopefully, the Engineers / Brown and White / Mountain Hawks can continue their undefeated season and move on to the next round. Lehigh has a really good team, and it should be a lot of fun

Average Andy

# NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#PEACE

#JeffProbst
#JesseTannenbaum
#WaitingForMyCall

#Lehigh
#LehighFootball

http://www.marillion.com – A Better Way of Life

#28PerfectNumber

Posted in Dalton Ross, Football, Friends, Fun and Games, Guns' N Roses, Holiday Weekend, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Job Searching, Lehigh, Lehigh University, Marillion, Reality Shows, Sports, Stranger Things, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on November 26, 2025 by AverageAndy

Wishing everybody out there a Happy Thanksgiving. Hope you find the time to gather with family and friends and celebrate the past year. I will be heading out to meet some friends for my annual Night Before Thanksgiving Get-together. Been meeting up with the same core of people for a long time (25+ years) to have some food and drinks, and catch up with everybody after another trip around the sun.

We will be hosting again for the 2nd year in a row, after spending years traveling to Delaware to see my parents, my sister, and her kids. Just got to be too much for my parents to handle as they got older. Will definitely head down to see them soon when things calm down a bit

Big Congratulations to the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, who beat the Laffayette Leopards 42-32 in the 161st meeting between the schools to win the 2025 Patriot League and complete a perfect 12-0 season. Lehigh ended up ranked 5th in the FCS and will host a play-off game on Saturday, December 6th, after a 1st round bye. Planning on heading to the game, and it should be a lot of fun (Lehigh is a good team)

The NY Football Giants lost again and are now 2-10 and have been officially eliminated from the NFL playoffs. They did fire their defensive coordinator, but there are still moves that need to be made during the offseason, including finding a new head coach

I know they have been bad for a while (going on 10 years), and they continue to lose games they should win, but I have to admit that I have really enjoyed watching them this year after tuning them out the past few years, as they were not only bad, but they never scored, and just played boring and uninspired football. This year, they have shown some spark, scored points, and played some exciting games. I am happy that they got rid of Brian Dabol and his bad coaching and negative attitude. If they can scratch out a few wins down the stretch and get a little winning attitude, they could be fun going forward.

Here’s to the NY Giants in 2026

TV Shows I am watching/finished watching

“All Her Fault” (Peacock) — I actually really enjoyed this limited series. Especially the last few episodes that I never saw coming — 2 thumbs up

“The Lazarus Project” (Netflix) — Took a bit to get the concept, but it’s really interesting, and they are doing a lot of cool things regarding time travel – 2 thumbs up

“The Beast In Me” (Netflix) — Clair Danes is great in this limited series. I’ve seen the first 3 episodes, and looking forward to where it goes

“DMV” (CBS) — A mindless comedy that, for me, is just the right thing at the right time.

“IT: Welcome to Derry” — It’s growing on me as we get more information on Pennywise and how he came to be in Derry

I went and saw “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” in the theater last week. I did enjoy it, and liked the magic and illusions that they did. But I did not like the villain and never thought she belonged. They did set things up for a 4th film, and I will most likely go and see it

The last few episodes of Survivor: 49 have been good. The contestants are still playing things a bit safe, and nobody is really controlling the game. Jeff Probst did say they are always looking for ‘villains”, but not mean-spirited ones. I agree, but people who can be both charming and ruthless are hard to find. Not sure I would fall into that style of contestant, but I do believe there are other things I would bring to the table that have been missing, including being an older contestant (I know they are looking for us), with the ability to connect with the younger contestants on a personal level.

Sorry to cut things short, but I have things to do, so I have to run

Catch you on the flip side

AverageAndy

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#PEACE

#Survivor49
#Survivor50
#CBSSurvivor
#JeffProbst
#JesseTannenbaum
#MarkBurnett

#LehighMountainHawkFootball
#LehighEngineers
#PatriotLeagueChampions2025

Marillion – A Better Way Of Life

We are all just Sugar Mice in the Rain




Posted in All Her Fault, Announcement, Boston Rob, Dalton Ross, DMV, Food, Friends, Holiday Weekend, IT: Welcome to Derry, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, John Cochran, Lehigh, Lehigh University, Mark Burnett, Now You See Me, Now You Don't, Ozzy Lusth, Parvati Shallow, Reality Shows, Sports, Starbucks, Stephen King, Survivor, The Beast In Me, The Lazarus Project | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Good, The Bad, And A Needed Change

Posted on November 17, 2025 by AverageAndy

THE GOOD

Lehigh Mountain Hawk Football continued their winning ways and are now 11-0 after defeating Colgate 27-7 over the weekend. They now hold the 5th longest regular season winning streak at 17 games and look to extend their record against Lafayette this weekend in the 161st Meeting of “The Rivalry”, college footballs most played rivalry. Both teams are undefeated in Patriot League play, and a win would give the Mountain Hawks the Patriot League Title for the 2nd year in a row.

#LetsGoLehigh
#LetsGoEngineers
#LetsGoBrown&White
#LetsGoMountainHawks

In other Lehigh sports news, the men’s soccer team lost to Lafayette in a shootout in the Patriot League Finals. Tough loss, and congratulations on a great year.

– – – – – – – – –

THE BAD

It’s the end of an era, as in some sad and unexpected news, Non-Sport Update has published its final print edition after a 35-year run. I have been a subscriber for most of the time, and I really enjoyed the magazine over the years. Besides the great articles, reviews, and price guide. I loved getting the free promos that were included with each edition. Getting the free promos each episode was always a highlight. At 35 Years of publication with 6 Magazines per year and an average of 3 promos per magazine, that comes to around 600 different promos. I have a lot of them, and am trying to track down a master list of all promos given out. All the promos from the past few years will be tough to track down, as they stated putting in different and rare versions of promos in the Magazine, so you would need to track down the ones you didn’t receive

A big thanks to the Tosers (Marlin, Roxanne, and Harris), as well as everybody who contributed and advertised in the Magazine over the years.

Non-Sport Update Final Issue (2025)
Non-Sport Updste Final Issue (2025)

– – – – – – – – –

A NEEDED CHANGE

In a move that I wish had been made earlier, the New York Football Giants fired their head coach, Brian Daboll, last week and promoted Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka to interim head coach for the rest of the season. In a win-based business, a 3rd straight 2 – 8 start was the last straw for the 4 year head coach. I have written a lot about how I was never a big fan, and thought that his stubbornness and attitude had run their course. I felt he brought too much of a losing attitude to the team and organization. Being a head coach is a hard job, and not everybody is built to handle it. Same as in business. I have worked with several people (good people) who were really good at what they were doing, but then got promoted to a manager position, and were not able to handle the job.

The NY Giants have been in such a downward spiral for the past 10-plus years that a change was needed. I am willing to see what Mike Kafka brings to the team as far as attitude over the final 7 games. The team played hard but lost again yesterday to the Green Bay Packers, in another game they could have and probably should have won.

The sad part is that it’s been the defense that has let them down most of this, and the past few years. Once a team known for its defense, with multiple Hall of Famers over the years, the defense has shown that it cannot make a play, or get a stop when it counts. They are the 1st team to lose 4 straight road games when leading by 10+ points in the 4th quarter. With yesterday’s loss, they became the 1st team to lose 4 straight games while scoring 20 or more points

The need to realize that the players they have are either not being coached correctly (Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, along with all coaches under him, need to be let go) or are just not that good.

I’m not sure how many of the major sports teams that fall on hard times change their losing attitude to a winning one. But it has been done. Sometimes it’s a change all the way at the top (Owners sell the team), sometimes it’s a change at Coach or General Manager, and sometimes it’s the pickup or release of players that changes that helps to change a team’s attitude.

Whatever happens, the Giants need to step back, take a high-level look at everything, and then come up with and execute a plan that will help to change things and hopefully bring them back to relevance and give the fans something to care and cheer about going forward

– – – – – – – –

That’s all for now. There are more things I want to write about soon, including thoughts on the last few weeks’ Survivor episodes, so stay tuned

AverageAndy

#AverageAndy
#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

#PEACE

Marillion – A Better Way of Life (www.marillion.com)

#28 – A Perfect Number



Posted in Card Collecting, Fun and Games, Lehigh, Lehigh University, Non-Sports Cards, NY Giants, Philly Non Sports Card Show, Sports, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mountain Hawk Football

Posted on November 6, 2025 by AverageAndy

The Lehigh Mountain Hawks are now ranked 4th in the FCS Standings after beating Georgetown 42 – 0 last weekend at Murray H Goodman Stadium. I actually took the drive out to the game. (I’m about 45 min from the Lehigh campus in Bethlehem, PA) Had a good time cheering on the team for their 9th straight victory (They are now 9 – 0 to start the season). They play their last home game of the year this Saturday against Holly Cross, before ending with 2 road games (at Colgate, and then at Lafayette for the 161st Lehigh / Lafayette game (The nation’s most played rivalry game)

The game could determine who wins the Patriot League and gets an automatic bid into the FCS Play-Offs, as both teams are undefeated in league play. Should be a fun couple of weeks

While Lehigh is trending up, the NY Football Giants are spiraling down. After giving everybody false hope by beating the Philadelphia Eagles a few weeks back, the team seems like it has quit on the season. They continue to struggle and play uninspired football under Brian Daboll (Who I don’t want to see return, and would fire him now if I were the owner). He has done nothing the past 3 years to show he is a competent head coach (He has a record of 11 – 32 the past 3 seasons, starting each season at 2 – 7 and being irrelevant come November). Things need to change just to try and rid the franchise of the losing culture. There is a lot of negativity out there, and a loss to the Chicago Bears this weekend could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back

I was an entertaining (but very frustrating) World Series, with the Los Angeles Dodgers coming back to win the final two games on the road for a 4 – 3 Series win over the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays outplayed the Dodgers most of the series and had plenty of opportunities to win both game 6 and game 7. But baseball can be cruel, and they just could not get the big hit, or make the big play when needed.

All in all, it was a good season for MLB Baseball with the World Series having the highest rating since 1991. Some good young players should be fun to watch in the years to come. The New York Mets report to spring training in 108 days, and it will be interesting to see what direction they go. Similar to the NY Giants, they need to shake things up a bit to get rid of the losing culture that plagued them last season. I’m not even sure what I would do, as I like the head coach and most of the players. I just think they need to move on from some of the veterans and decide which mediocre bench players they want to go forward with, and get rid of the others.

Saw that there will be a new Gremlins movie in 2027. One of my all-time favorite movies from the 1980s, I am actually intrigued about this. I am usually not a big fan of remakes or reimaginings of old movies, but this just feels different, Not sure if they are going to try and bring back some of the original cast (Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Corey Feldman, and Judge Reinhold). Hopefully they keep the old school feeling and adhere to my Planet of the Aper Theory – That makeup and puppetry are more believable than CGI in certain cases (See images below)

It’s very hard to recreate the actual person or puppet with a CGI version. It just never looks as realistic

The producers (which include Steven Spielberg) should reach out to Frank Oz to play Gizmo.

————————————–

Survivor 49

It was an entertaining episode of Survivor, but there is something still missing with the new era. Not sure if it is the fact that they now play 26 days instead of the original 39, which gives the players less time to sit around and strategize the long game. Maybe it’s the familiarity of the challenges (Obstacle followed by puzzle). Perhaps it’s just the thought process of younger people these days, who seem to treat the game as an extended vacation where you get to meet and hang out with new friends.

In the past, players seemed more cut-throat and motivated to win, regardless of whether they upset other players. They voted more on who they thought was a threat to their game, more than on who just happened to be perceived as being at the bottom. Seems like fewer big or calculated moves are made lately. Players are content to just go with the flow and survive to the next day. I agree with Dalton Ross and others that sometimes the players voted off seem to be content and not upset that they were eliminated.

Not sure how to fix this. Maybe bring back some of the challenges where you had to vote for who you wanted to eliminate by breaking their tiles or throwing rocks in their basket. Near the end, you had to show your true loyalty. Also, what happened to the rewards where you had to pick players to go with you on a journey if you won? Just sending everybody to the Sanctuary (where good things happen) doesn’t seem to be a negative for the losers. Need to make it so they want to win and are upset if they lose and don’t get picked

I also don’t remember when the original tribes seemed to stick together at all costs. Mixing things up doesn’t seem to help as much as they hoped. Maybe start with 2 tribes instead of 2, and then have one or two players be forced to swap. Or bring back extinction island for the first 2 or 3 weeks. Just to mix things up

That’s all for now. I know I have more things to say, and I may log on later this evening and give a quick update. Off to grab some lunch before heading home to fire up the leaf blower and attempt to keep on top of my lawn

Wishing everybody a great day

AverageAndy

#Survivor
#JeffProbst
#JesseTannenbaum

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

#GizmoLives
#Gremlins2027

#PEACE



Posted in Adam Klein, Aubry Bracco, Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, Baseball, Benjamin "Coach" Wade, Boston Rob, Christian Hubicki, Christine Hofbeck, Cirie Fields, Dalton Ross, Drew Basile, Football, Gremlins, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, John Cochran, Jonny Fairplay, Lehigh, Lehigh University, NY Giants, NY Mets, Ozzy Lusth, Parvati Shallow, Reality Shows, Richard Hatch, Sports, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On and on we go. Where we stop, nobody knows

Posted on October 31, 2025 by AverageAndy

Here are some updates since the last time I wrote

Happy Halloween. Hope everybody has fun and enjoys dressing up and collecting candy

Every year on Halloween, I take some time to listen to the following two songs.

Good stuff — Helloween are still going strong and are currently out on their 40th Anniversary Tour. Meatloaf passed away in January of 2022 and is dearly missed.

Take some time to listen to either of these songs, or other songs by these artists, or any other songs in general that reminds you of Halloween.

One last thing – I heard this being discussed on the WFAN Morning Show with Boomer and Gio.

People are giving out Potatoes for Halloween instead of candy. They were saying that this can’t be a good idea, as people will end up throwing the potatoes at each other or through a window.

I was happy to see that “The Rainmaker” on USA has been renewed for a 2nd season. Not sure if the 2nd season will be based on anything from John Grisham but looking forward to seeing where things go.

After a bye week, Lehigh University Football continued its winning ways with a 27 – 6 victory over Fordham. Next up is a home game against Georgetown on Saturday. Let’s see if they can keep things up and move to 9-0 on the season. But despite their record, it looks like the Patriot League title will still come down to the winner of the 160th Lehigh / Lafayette game on November 22nd, 2025

The NY Football Giants got a shot of reality last week against the Philadelphia Eagles. All the momentum they had from beating the Eagles a few weeks back is now gone. Add to that the loss of Cam Skattebo for the rest of the year due to a dislocated ankle, and the rest of the season is not looking great. Maybe a win at home on Sunday against a beat-up San Francisco Team will keep things at least watchable for a while. A loss, and it’s time to start thinking about college basketball (Lehigh actually opens their 2025 – 2026 season Monday, November 3rd against 2nd-ranked Houston) and counting the days until Spring Training (approximately 112 days)

Crazy that tomorrow is November 1st, and on Sunday, we set the clocks back an hour. Not looking forward to it getting dark around 5 PM. I am somebody who is affected by the time change in that it makes me feel a bit off.

I did attend the 83rd Philly Non-Sports Show last weekend. It was a good time as always, and I was able to pick up some new promo cards, as well as a few Strange Things cards to add to my collection

Here are some scans of some of the promo cards I picked up. Thanks to Rittenhouse Archives, Cryptozoic, and Ted Dastic Jr for producing these cards and giving them out to attendees. Also want to give a big thanks to The Tosers for putting on another great show

Star Trek Connections
Cryptozoic – Peanuts
Rittenhouse Archives – Preview
Rittenhouse Promos
Ted Dastic Jr. – 2025 Promos

Time to grab a bite to eat and then head home. Looking forward to watching Game 6 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays are up 3 – 2 and can end things tonight at the Rogers Center. It’s been an entertaining World Series so far (including an 18-inning affair that ended around 3:00 AM on Monday night), and yes, I did watch all the way to the end

My next post will be a dive into the current season of Survivor, who I am voting for and against, and who I think has the best chance of winning. We have reached the merge (I think), and after that, things go quickly to the end.

AverageAndy Out

#Survivor49
#Survivor50
#Survivor51
#CBS

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

#JeffProbst
#JesseTannenbaum
#SurvivorCasting
#ApplyNow

#PEACE

Posted in 101.9 WFAN, Baseball, Books, Card Collecting, Drew Basile, Football, Fun and Games, Helloween, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, John Grisham, Lehigh, Lehigh University, Meat Loaf, Music, Non-Sports Cards, NY Giants, Philly Non Sports Card Show, Radio, Reality Shows, Sports, Star Trek, Star Wars, Survivor, Television, The Rainmaker | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wednesday Update

Posted on October 22, 2025 by AverageAndy

I wanted to write yesterday, but fell asleep while reading “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” and when I woke up, I was a bit discombobulated. Got some things done this morning (still looking for a new IT Job), and now have some time to write

I will be attending the 83rd Philly Non-Sports Card Show this weekend (Sunday). The show is held twice a year, and I have not missed attending at least one day in well over 15 years. The show is a great place for non-sports card collectors to gather and browse/discuss, and purchase all types of non-sports cards. I started collecting Star Wars cards by Topps back in 1977 and have continued collecting ever since.

Eventually, I discovered Non-Sports Update (the magazine and specifically for Non-Sport Card Collectors), and its chat room, CardTalk.

Besides Topps Star Wars Cards, I also got into collecting Rittenhouse Archives Star Trek Cards, as well as promo cards (Given out by manufacturers to promote their card sets). I have collected over 1000 promo cards and am looking forward to picking up some more this weekend. Pictures to follow

After taking some time to process the Giants’ loss to Denver on Sunday, I came away with a few thoughts.

1. Along with the terrible loss to Dallas earlier in the season, I must admit that the Giants are at least fun to watch for the first time in years

2. The defense gave up a 32-yard pass on 3rd and 11 with just over 2 minutes left. I stop there, and the game is over. The great drive by Jaxson Dart to take the lead, and the awful prevent defense to allow Denver to win, should never have happened

3. Releasing the kicker doesn’t do much – kickers are like MLB relief pitchers. Good one day, and bad the next. All you are looking for is some sort of consistency. The more I think about it, the accomplishment of Mariano Rivera for the New York Yankees is one of the greatest streaks in professional sports. The guy was consistently good for 15+ years in a profession where if you are good for 2 or 3 years, you are considered great. (Sorry for the tangent, just came to my mind)

4. A win against the Eagles this weekend would show me that the team is closer to being a winning team than the perpetual losers they have been

——

I finished watching TASK on HBO, and though it was one of the best shows in a while. I always liked Mark Ruffalo and thought he did an excellent job, along with the rest of the cast. I enjoyed HBOS’s style, where episodes are released each week, better than the streaming services like Netflix and Amazon, where all episodes are released at the same time. For a good show, the anticipation for each week’s episode grows rather than going from the end of one episode to the beginning of the next so quickly sometimes is to much. I do like Apple TV’s style, where they release the first few episodes all at once and then switch to a weekly schedule. That way, you can get a genuine feel for a show before making a full commitment.

———

I attended a No Kings rally this weekend (Note: I did not get paid, I attended on my own volition). It was refreshing to see so many people gathering to show their distrust of the current administration. People did have some creative signs, and there were some good speakers. While I am not the biggest Rah Rah person, and if you asked me the true meaning of No Kings, I probably could not tell you. But to me, the point of the rally (and all the rallies across the country) was to get the word out that people are not happy and want things to change. Hopefully, with all the press the rallies received, along with some famous people and celebrities showing up and marching, people will feel less threatened to show their feelings at future rallies and maybe force some changes as politicians, organizations, and companies realize they should distance themselves from the current administration and listen more to the people.

——————————-

AverageAndy

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#JeffProbst
#JesseTannenbaum

#Marrillion
#ABetterWayOfLife

#PEACE

Andy Out



Posted in Dalton Ross, Football, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, NY Giants, Reality Shows, Sports, Star Trek, Star Wars, Survivor, TASK, TOPPS | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Time keeps on ticking, into the future

Posted on October 20, 2025 by AverageAndy

Can’t believe it’s been almost 2 weeks since I last wrote anything. I keep thinking I will write, and then get sidetracked, or my mind wanders, and next thing you know, days and weeks have gone by

To catch up, I am going to try to remember things and quickly jot them down. Following this, I promise to dig a bit deeper into certain things listed

1. Crazy loss by the NY Giants to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Coming off last Sunday’s huge win against the Philadelphia Eagles, for the first time in years, there was juice about this team. They actually looked like a team that can at least compete each week. Then they went out and dominated the Broncos for 3 quarters. But, alas, good things with the Giants don’t seem to last, and they found a way to eliminate all the momentum and goodwill they had built up, and remind us that they still have a way to go. If they had won, they would have been 3 – 4 going into this week’s rematch against the Eagles, with a legitimate chance to declare to the league that they are for real. But now at 2 – 5 with some tough games coming up, the fans are back to being skeptical and checking out again. What could have been.

2. Lehigh Football had a bye week after a good win against Columbia to get to 7 – 0 on the season. They start the final stretch of Patriot League games this week against Fordham as they look to continue their undefeated season and increase their chances of a Patriot League Championship. Let’s Go Mountain Hawks

3. Ace Frehley, the legendary lead guitar player for Kiss, passed away last week after suffering a head injury after a fall. While I was not a Kiss super fan or member of the Kiss Army, I do like most of their music and give them all the credit for what they have accomplished. Sad that he died a few weeks before Kiss was scheduled to receive the Kennedy Center award, and also that there will never be a classic Kiss reunion. RIP Ace Frehley

Kiss
Ace Frehley
Kiss UnMasked

Finnish watching “The Rainmaker” on USA. Really enjoyed the series (based on the book by John Grisham). I have read most of John Grisham’s books, and he never disappoints.

Planning on watching the last episode of “TASK” on HBO later this evening. It’s one of the best series I have watched in a long time, and I am really enjoying it. Very well done, it keeps you engaged with both the story and the characters. Hopefully, it ends on a high note. Next week, “Welcome to Derry” premieres on HBO in the 9:00 PM EST time slot. Looks like it will be scary.

I also plan on watching “Sinners” (streaming) and “Weapons” (HBO) soon.

I did watch “28 Years Later”, the 3rd movie in the series after “28 Days Later”, and “28 Months Later”. All three movies were very well done, and I am looking forward to the 4th movie next year

Other shows I am watching /or tried to watch

9-1-1 (Original) (ABC) — New season is off to a good start

9-1-1 (Nashville) (ABC) — Watched the 1st episode and that is it. To contrived and over the top

Shifting Gears (ABC) — I really just need to watch a comedy now and then, and this is pretty funny

DMV (CBS) — Another 1/2 comedy that is a perfect way to just laugh a bit.

——————————————

Survivor 49 (CBS)

This deserves a deeper dive. After a slow start (due more to the repetitive setup of the past few seasons, rather than the contestants), the last episode did have some juice. Splitting the tribes up into groups of 2 instead of the stale groups of 3 made the immunity challenge more compelling. While the random reshuffling kind of backfired on how the tribes were divided (4-person majority on each team of 7), it still was a breath of fresh air. I like to see how people handle being forced to change their strategy after going from being the same to being one of the targets. I always wonder how I would handle that. Would I try to make waves and a big move since I knew I was on the bottom? Would I try to sit back and just kind of blend in and not be seen as a threat? Or would I offer myself up as a vote going forward and hope the majority takes me seriously? This is just another reason why I would love to be a contestant on a future season.

I am also wondering if having everybody on a tribe share in searching for an idol or an advantage is a good strategy. Seems like it would be good for the person who ends up with the advantage, but does it help or hurt the others? Guess we will need to wait and see

Did see this post on Entertainment Weekly about the posibility of a Golden Survivor Season. While this would hoepfully give me a better chance of getting casted, I/m not sure it would be fun or even good television. Part of the alure of Survivor is that its a subset of normal people put together, and seeing who can adapt with prople of differen ages and backgrounds. I do think they should look into casting a few more older people insted of 1 or 2 each season, who are imediatly at a disadvantage.

Time to wrap things up for the day. More to come tomorrow

Thanks for reading

Andy (AverageAndy)

#Survivor
#Survivor49
#Survivor50
#Survivor51

#SurvivorCBS
#JeffProbst
#JesseTannenebaum

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

Note — Attended ProgStock2025 last weekend and saw h Natural (Steve Hogarth of Marillion). Was an awsome show. More to come

#MARILLION
#ABetterWayOfLife
#ThisTrainIsMyLife

#PEACE

Posted in 9-1-1, Adam Klein, Benjamin "Coach" Wade, Boston Rob, Christian Hubicki, Christine Hofbeck, Cirie Fields, Concerts, Dalton Ross, Drew Basile, Football, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Job Searching, John Cochran, John Grisham, Jonny Fairplay, Kellyn Bechtold, Lehigh, Marillion, Mark Burnett, NY Giants, Parvati Shallow, ProgStock 2025, Reality Shows, Richard Hatch, Rob Cesternino, Sports, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Steve Hogarth, Survivor, TASK, The Rainmaker | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment