I make my picks as early in the week as possible, and as a consequence I have a curious and unfortunate tendency to forget what picks I actually made in about one third of that week's games, give or take. This is for the best when it comes time to sit down and actually watch … Continue reading Week 10 Confidence Pool
Category: Sports Babbling
Great British Baking Show Power Rankings 2020 – Japanese Week
Oh, for fuck's sake. I know I got that out of the way in advance at the end of last week's column, and I hate to start off another column with another concentrated blast of negativity, GBBS ostensibly being something I like and all, but I feel it bears repeating. What was Japanese Week, exactly, … Continue reading Great British Baking Show Power Rankings 2020 – Japanese Week
Week 9 Confidence Pool
Well, that was miserable. For the second time this season, I've failed utterly, putting up a truly pathetic 64 points out of a possible 105, with only 8 of 14 picks landing. And, for the second time this season, my thought process turns towards justifying my terrible whiffs even with the benefit of hindsight, rather … Continue reading Week 9 Confidence Pool
Great British Baking Show Power Rankings 2020 – Pastry Week
Last week, just before I published the Chocolate Week Rankings but well after the article was done and in the can, The Ringer published this magnificent piece by the great Brian Phillips regarding our beloved televised baking competition. Not only is it funny as all get out, it is a rich text, one that offers … Continue reading Great British Baking Show Power Rankings 2020 – Pastry Week
Week 8 Confidence Pool
I was all set to open this week's column with an entirely reasonable, interesting, and not at all smug and infuriating bit about how great it was to bounce back so majestically after taking an awful beating in Week 6. While it's true enough that my Week 7 picks were considerably more successful, as I … Continue reading Week 8 Confidence Pool
Great British Baking Show Power Rankings 2020 – Chocolate Week
Where to begin? Historically, when I've talked about stress in the Tent, I've considered stress as a function of challenge complexity. I have no doubt that most weeks, every baker on Great British Baking Show is stressed out to some degree, but the times I've felt the need to comment on it have been in … Continue reading Great British Baking Show Power Rankings 2020 – Chocolate Week
Week 7 Confidence Pool
I would like to personally apologize to anyone who make their picks last week based primarily on my advice. I don't know how I let this happen. Hitting on 8 out of 14 picks doesn't seem ghastly on paper, but Kirk Cousins' passing stats don't look ghastly on paper, either. My performance in Week 6 … Continue reading Week 7 Confidence Pool
Great British Baking Show Power Rankings 2020 – Bread Week
I can't rightly claim to be any sort of bagel sage. I have had a few bagels in my day, but no less than 60% of them were the mass-produced kind you get in plastic bags at the supermarket. While most of the physical properties of these bagels would doubtless draw the ire of bagel-knowing … Continue reading Great British Baking Show Power Rankings 2020 – Bread Week
Week 6 Confidence Pool
(Correction 10/14/20 12:25 PM EDT: I don't know how I managed this, but for some reason the original article had the Jets playing the Chargers, who have their bye week. The Jets instead play the Dolphins. This has had a ripple effect on point value assignment - I'm not putting 11 on the Dolphins - … Continue reading Week 6 Confidence Pool
Great British Baking Show Power Rankings 2020 – Biscuit Week
Second weeks are hard to parse. It doesn't matter if it's the second week of football, or the second episode of a new show, or the second episode of a beloved baking competition. In all three cases, there's enough information to make jumping to conclusions tempting, but not enough information to ensure those conclusions are … Continue reading Great British Baking Show Power Rankings 2020 – Biscuit Week
Rob Writes About Whatever 