I just found out an ex-girlfriend of mine is engaged. She was probably the most serious relationship I've ever had.
Funny, as I found out about this at 2 a.m. through her blog, I was playing an online country music station with a lot of oldies. Now seriously, that goes to the heart!
Anyway, how do I feel? Boy, this is one weird feeling. Certainly not jealousy on my part. I got over her a long time ago. We broke up 4 or 5 years ago, but it's still hard to believe she's engaged. We still chatted on AIM from time to time and we sometimes could do that for 2 or 3 hours at a time. As of the last 18 months or so, I'd say we've only had 2 or 3 conversations.
Here's the thing. She's always been the type who needs to have a guy. I guess that's why when we were apart in college, (She was in California and I was in Massachusetts), she cheated on me with some prick. At least it wasn't with the guy she's engaged to! Though she cried hard when she told me what she did, I could read the writing on the wall. It wasn't going to work out. And from what I could tell reading her online journal tonight, she's wanting to get this wedding done as soon as possible. I'm not surprised at her wanting to rush things. We were only an item for a few months, and most of that time was spent 3,000 miles apart, but I guess I knew her pretty well.
I want her to be happy. But I could just see her falling in and out of love a lot in her life. Anyway, Elizabeth, (since she's probably not reading this), I wish her the best. As I was typing this, an old Hank Williams song came on called "There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight." I'm posting the lyrics. They don't apply down to the letter, but pretty close.
I'll pretend I'm free from sorrow
Make believe that wrong is right
Your wedding day will be tomorrow
But there'll be no teardrops tonight.
Why, oh why should you desert me
Are you doin' this for spite
If you only want to hurt me
Then there'll be no teardrops tonight.
I'll believe that you still love me
When you wear your veil of white
But you think that you're above me
So there'll be no teardrops tonight.
Shame, oh shame for what you're doin'
Other arms will hold you tight
You don't care whose life you ruin
But there'll be no teardrops tonight.
Speaking objectively, I believe she will still have feelings for me years from now. I really do. But I'm fine.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
That's a White Sox winner/WA/Wellington
Well there are 100,000 legitimately happy White Sox fans right now. And there are 10 million more people around Chicago who are really Cub fans but are acting like they've always been White Sox fans. How do I feel? I really don't know. I'm almost emotionless over this, if that's a word. I'm not surprised they won. They were built to win it. And I know that come April every whippersnapper Cub fan will be like "First the Red Sox, then the White Sox, now it's our turn!" Please. I have often said if there was ever an all-Chicago World Series, I would root for the White Sox. So I guess it all could've turned out worse. But Timo Perez is on a World Series team? Mr. Jog from first base to home plate in the 2000 World Series?" At least he did almost nothing in the playoffs!
How bout that Maroon Platoon?! Wheaton Academy volleyball going for a regional championship tonight against Montini and guys soccer is in the state tournament on Friday. Go Warriors!
And a quick tribute to Wellington Mara. The late great New York football Giants owner and patriarch (not a bad word huh?) passed away at age 89. I best remember him after the Giants had wasted the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC title game in 2001 by a score of 41-0. I was sitting on the carpet in my living room in Winfield, IL on a cold snowy day. After the game was over, Terry Bradshaw interviewed Mara and he said simply, "Keep in mind this was the Giants team that people said was the worst team ever to win homefield in the National Football Conference playoffs. And today on this field of painted mud, we've proved that we're the worst team ever to win the National Football Conference championship. And I'm proud to say in two weeks, we're going to try to become the worst team ever to win the Super Bowl!"
I had that game on video tape. I went away to college. I came back in May. My mother had thrown the tape away. I called the social service people. "Take my mother away!"
RIP WM. Go Big Blue!
How bout that Maroon Platoon?! Wheaton Academy volleyball going for a regional championship tonight against Montini and guys soccer is in the state tournament on Friday. Go Warriors!
And a quick tribute to Wellington Mara. The late great New York football Giants owner and patriarch (not a bad word huh?) passed away at age 89. I best remember him after the Giants had wasted the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC title game in 2001 by a score of 41-0. I was sitting on the carpet in my living room in Winfield, IL on a cold snowy day. After the game was over, Terry Bradshaw interviewed Mara and he said simply, "Keep in mind this was the Giants team that people said was the worst team ever to win homefield in the National Football Conference playoffs. And today on this field of painted mud, we've proved that we're the worst team ever to win the National Football Conference championship. And I'm proud to say in two weeks, we're going to try to become the worst team ever to win the Super Bowl!"
I had that game on video tape. I went away to college. I came back in May. My mother had thrown the tape away. I called the social service people. "Take my mother away!"
RIP WM. Go Big Blue!
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Gangrene
I am officially numb.
There is nothing more the Jets can do to upset me this year. This is why every time the expectations are high going into a season, they collapse under the weight of their own curse.
And the whole country realized tonight how futile the Jets are. They are like the Chicago Cubs of football, only just depressing. There's nothing to love about them. But they keep finding new ways to break your heart. Right from the beginning, you knew this was going to be another one of those hideous nights.
Atlanta drives 48 yards and instead of going for a 52-yard field goal, they punt. OK, good break. First play of the game. You figure it'll be a run with Curtis Marin up the middle as always. No it's a pass! Laveranues Coles, 9 yards. Not bad. Second play on offense. Our center, Kevin Mawae, one of the best ever, is done for the season. So Pete Kendall, a guard, plays center. Vinny can't handle the snap, the ball bounces on the Georgia turf, Falcons recover on the Jet 19. You knew they were in trouble right there. Michael Vick eventually scores, 7-0.
Next Jet possession, Antawn Lake (and people think hockey players have weird names?) sacks Vinny and the ball comes loose again! Atlanta recovers again on the Jet 47 and returns it 26 yards. Todd Peterson kick a field goal and it's 10-0 and I'll tell you right there, you could have shut your TV off. It was only 12 minutes into the game, the Jets were done.
Two possessions later, another Atlanta sack costs the Jets 11 yards. Actually, it would have just been 11 yards, but Vinny loses the ball AGAIN! Chauncey Davis returns it 24 yards. Touchdown. 17-0.
And there were more beautiful moments to come. Justin "Butterfinger" Miller actually returns a kickoff 95 yards. It's called back on a holding penalty! They did overcome that as they did score a touchdown on a 1-yard Vinny scamper. But the offense only did anything at all because of Vick's two interceptions in the fourth quarter. Bollinger attempted 20 passes and completed 12. Only 3 went for more than 9 yards. Being down by 20 points, on the road, don't you have to take at least one shot down the field? And Curtis gains 28 wonderful yards on 14 carries. Where was Cedric Houston to give him a breather? And Doug Jolley. Is he still in Oakland? Our genius general manager gave up a number one draft pick for this "All-World" tight end?! Again, not one catch for him!
Yeah, the Jet defense did a good job on Michael Vick. They picked him off three times and held him to a passer rating of 16.3 out of a possible 158.3. But Warrick Dunn ran for 155 yards. I mean that looked like the run defense of Ted Cottrell of 2001! And has anyone seen Dewayne Robertson, our all-world defensive tackle who was going to make everyone forget about Warren Sapp? Because I sure as hell haven't. Shaun Ellis. I hope you enjoy your 40 million dollar contract. You must be home with all of it, because I haven't seen you on the field in weeks!
What else. Vinny injures his Achilles and Wisconsin's Brooks Bollinger takes over. I guess that means all passes are now 7 yards or shorter. Laveranues makes 9 catches for 96 yards. Great game. One problem. He hurt his elbow and could be out for a while. And Eric Barton, a very good athletic linebacker. He's missed 4 weeks with an ankle injury. He promptly comes back and tears his left tricep. Done for the year. Reading about the Jets in a newspaper is like reading the Medical-World News.
The best thing to hope for a lot more losses and thus, a good draft choice. This team is 2-5 with a good defensive coordinator in Donnie Henderson. That's it. I hate to see Coach Herman Edwards under the gun, but I wonder if management will want to make a change. I know the fans want him gone. And a lot of times I don't understand his in-game management skills. But he's a good leader. And he has the best press conferences that don't include profanity!
It's halfway through and the year is over. It's absolutely over for this team. And let's see the remainder of their schedule. After the bye week, they host San Diego. Think the Chargers will have revenge on their minds after last year? Then they play at Carolina. At Denver. Two more excellent defensive teams. They host New Orleans on a Sunday night which is maybe the only reasonable game I see. Then they go to Foxboro to play the lovely Patriots, host Oakland with Randy Moss and our old buddy Lamont Jordan (how many yards will he run for?!). They travel to Miami, which is not necessarily a gimmie. Then they finish at home against New England and Buffalo! Oh just a week at the beach! What do you have down for them? 2-6? 3-5 at best! This team is on their way to 5-11. Hopefully this will lead to a good draft position and more than that, the realization that this is not a championship team. They need help almost everywhere.
There is nothing more the Jets can do to upset me this year. This is why every time the expectations are high going into a season, they collapse under the weight of their own curse.
And the whole country realized tonight how futile the Jets are. They are like the Chicago Cubs of football, only just depressing. There's nothing to love about them. But they keep finding new ways to break your heart. Right from the beginning, you knew this was going to be another one of those hideous nights.
Atlanta drives 48 yards and instead of going for a 52-yard field goal, they punt. OK, good break. First play of the game. You figure it'll be a run with Curtis Marin up the middle as always. No it's a pass! Laveranues Coles, 9 yards. Not bad. Second play on offense. Our center, Kevin Mawae, one of the best ever, is done for the season. So Pete Kendall, a guard, plays center. Vinny can't handle the snap, the ball bounces on the Georgia turf, Falcons recover on the Jet 19. You knew they were in trouble right there. Michael Vick eventually scores, 7-0.
Next Jet possession, Antawn Lake (and people think hockey players have weird names?) sacks Vinny and the ball comes loose again! Atlanta recovers again on the Jet 47 and returns it 26 yards. Todd Peterson kick a field goal and it's 10-0 and I'll tell you right there, you could have shut your TV off. It was only 12 minutes into the game, the Jets were done.
Two possessions later, another Atlanta sack costs the Jets 11 yards. Actually, it would have just been 11 yards, but Vinny loses the ball AGAIN! Chauncey Davis returns it 24 yards. Touchdown. 17-0.
And there were more beautiful moments to come. Justin "Butterfinger" Miller actually returns a kickoff 95 yards. It's called back on a holding penalty! They did overcome that as they did score a touchdown on a 1-yard Vinny scamper. But the offense only did anything at all because of Vick's two interceptions in the fourth quarter. Bollinger attempted 20 passes and completed 12. Only 3 went for more than 9 yards. Being down by 20 points, on the road, don't you have to take at least one shot down the field? And Curtis gains 28 wonderful yards on 14 carries. Where was Cedric Houston to give him a breather? And Doug Jolley. Is he still in Oakland? Our genius general manager gave up a number one draft pick for this "All-World" tight end?! Again, not one catch for him!
Yeah, the Jet defense did a good job on Michael Vick. They picked him off three times and held him to a passer rating of 16.3 out of a possible 158.3. But Warrick Dunn ran for 155 yards. I mean that looked like the run defense of Ted Cottrell of 2001! And has anyone seen Dewayne Robertson, our all-world defensive tackle who was going to make everyone forget about Warren Sapp? Because I sure as hell haven't. Shaun Ellis. I hope you enjoy your 40 million dollar contract. You must be home with all of it, because I haven't seen you on the field in weeks!
What else. Vinny injures his Achilles and Wisconsin's Brooks Bollinger takes over. I guess that means all passes are now 7 yards or shorter. Laveranues makes 9 catches for 96 yards. Great game. One problem. He hurt his elbow and could be out for a while. And Eric Barton, a very good athletic linebacker. He's missed 4 weeks with an ankle injury. He promptly comes back and tears his left tricep. Done for the year. Reading about the Jets in a newspaper is like reading the Medical-World News.
The best thing to hope for a lot more losses and thus, a good draft choice. This team is 2-5 with a good defensive coordinator in Donnie Henderson. That's it. I hate to see Coach Herman Edwards under the gun, but I wonder if management will want to make a change. I know the fans want him gone. And a lot of times I don't understand his in-game management skills. But he's a good leader. And he has the best press conferences that don't include profanity!
It's halfway through and the year is over. It's absolutely over for this team. And let's see the remainder of their schedule. After the bye week, they host San Diego. Think the Chargers will have revenge on their minds after last year? Then they play at Carolina. At Denver. Two more excellent defensive teams. They host New Orleans on a Sunday night which is maybe the only reasonable game I see. Then they go to Foxboro to play the lovely Patriots, host Oakland with Randy Moss and our old buddy Lamont Jordan (how many yards will he run for?!). They travel to Miami, which is not necessarily a gimmie. Then they finish at home against New England and Buffalo! Oh just a week at the beach! What do you have down for them? 2-6? 3-5 at best! This team is on their way to 5-11. Hopefully this will lead to a good draft position and more than that, the realization that this is not a championship team. They need help almost everywhere.
Borders vs. B&N & Best Buy
I can kill hours in any bookstore, particularly if there's music. Now Borders and Barnes and Noble are both fine places, but they are different. At Borders you can only listen to a few CD's, but at least you get the whole song. It's always cool browsing through the different sections and seeing if they've changed any of the CD's around from week to week. Three days ago, I'm in there, and I listened to a new George Jones record of cover songs and it was actually quite good. "Funny How Time Slips Away" was excellent. I guess I like songs where the guy tells the girl off in a calm way.
I also listened to a little of Ray Charles "Genius Loves Company." I only played 2 or 3 songs, but I made sure to give "You Don't Know Me" a spin. He does this one with Diana Krall. On a sidenote, I once went to a Diana Krall concert in Chicago at the request of my mother. I'm not one who notices or looks for these types of things, but that was the absolute most gay place I have ever been. And the price was about 75 dollars and it was worth maybe 20 or 30. Nothing against Diana or her talent, but that kind of relaxed concert was way overpriced. Anyway, "You Don't Know Me" is one of my favorite songs, no matter who does it. The modern country version by Mickey Gilley, the live version on the Ray movie soundtrack with just Ray's voice and the piano that will absolutely break you down, Eddy Arnold's original. I'm not saying it was the best version, but this was certainly the most sophisticated version I've ever heard. Sounded like I was chilling in a jazz club. Ray's and Diana's voices weaved in and out real well. But I still think hearing this song as a duet was a little unusual. With the lyrics, I think it needs one singer. With two voices doing it, that can almost sound like mutual stalking. Hmm. Mutual Stalking. I should write a novel with that title!
Anyway at B&N, you can listen to any CD, but you only get 30 seconds of a song. That's kind of like going to Sal & Carvao and only getting one cut of meat. Sorry Dad, but hey, that was a good toss-in!
But I will say this about Borders. They have the absolute worst Chai tea in history. Since I don't touch coffee, I know a thing or two about tea. And I will gladly pay the extra dollar or two at Starbuck's for a good product. The chai at Borders tastes like dark powder, coffee creamer, and hot water mixed.
Have you been in Best Buy lately? I seriously think this is the place the US government trains spies. I appreciate hospitality, but this is crazy. I walk in, immediately a guy asks how I'm doing and shoves a book of discounts in my face. What does he want, to valet park my car? Give him a tip? Actually, he probably does, but anyway. This isn't a hotel or a restaurant. It's gotten to the point, when I walk in, I actually take out my cell phone and hold it up to my ear. Not that I'm talking to anyone, I just want it to look like I'm preoccupied. Every time I go in, I seriously feel ten employees in the store are watching me. You cannot be in Best Buy for more than 3 minutes without an employee asking how you're doing. And when I'm looking through the merchandise, I'm always being asked questions. It doesn't matter, I have my phone out, I'm reading a book. "How to Overcome Your Hatred of In-Store Salespeople." They come up and try to get me in a conversation. You like this artist? Looking for anything in particular? Hey, you know, that's one fine movie. I'm just thinking can I have a minute alone? If I need your help, I'll ask.
And then checkout time. Uggh. You know, it's like the opposite of a door-to-door salesman. Instead of them going to each customer in a different house, the customer goes to a register and gets a barrage of questions, most of which I don't see the point of. Did you find everything okay? (That's fine to ask) You know, you may need batteries. Would you like a Best Buy credit card? Did you know with another 20 dollars of purchase, you can get a 1 year subscription to any of these magazines? You must like sports. You know you could get Sports Illustrated? OK, how about a 6 month subscription? We can deliver it to your home? Would you like the hardcover edition? What's your zip code? (I guess for demographics) Sorry, this DVD is rated TV-14. I have to ask you your blood type? Your driver's license number? Your criminal background? Your shoe size? Your SAT score? Any aliases? Yeah, they call me the Cashier Strangler.
I also listened to a little of Ray Charles "Genius Loves Company." I only played 2 or 3 songs, but I made sure to give "You Don't Know Me" a spin. He does this one with Diana Krall. On a sidenote, I once went to a Diana Krall concert in Chicago at the request of my mother. I'm not one who notices or looks for these types of things, but that was the absolute most gay place I have ever been. And the price was about 75 dollars and it was worth maybe 20 or 30. Nothing against Diana or her talent, but that kind of relaxed concert was way overpriced. Anyway, "You Don't Know Me" is one of my favorite songs, no matter who does it. The modern country version by Mickey Gilley, the live version on the Ray movie soundtrack with just Ray's voice and the piano that will absolutely break you down, Eddy Arnold's original. I'm not saying it was the best version, but this was certainly the most sophisticated version I've ever heard. Sounded like I was chilling in a jazz club. Ray's and Diana's voices weaved in and out real well. But I still think hearing this song as a duet was a little unusual. With the lyrics, I think it needs one singer. With two voices doing it, that can almost sound like mutual stalking. Hmm. Mutual Stalking. I should write a novel with that title!
Anyway at B&N, you can listen to any CD, but you only get 30 seconds of a song. That's kind of like going to Sal & Carvao and only getting one cut of meat. Sorry Dad, but hey, that was a good toss-in!
But I will say this about Borders. They have the absolute worst Chai tea in history. Since I don't touch coffee, I know a thing or two about tea. And I will gladly pay the extra dollar or two at Starbuck's for a good product. The chai at Borders tastes like dark powder, coffee creamer, and hot water mixed.
Have you been in Best Buy lately? I seriously think this is the place the US government trains spies. I appreciate hospitality, but this is crazy. I walk in, immediately a guy asks how I'm doing and shoves a book of discounts in my face. What does he want, to valet park my car? Give him a tip? Actually, he probably does, but anyway. This isn't a hotel or a restaurant. It's gotten to the point, when I walk in, I actually take out my cell phone and hold it up to my ear. Not that I'm talking to anyone, I just want it to look like I'm preoccupied. Every time I go in, I seriously feel ten employees in the store are watching me. You cannot be in Best Buy for more than 3 minutes without an employee asking how you're doing. And when I'm looking through the merchandise, I'm always being asked questions. It doesn't matter, I have my phone out, I'm reading a book. "How to Overcome Your Hatred of In-Store Salespeople." They come up and try to get me in a conversation. You like this artist? Looking for anything in particular? Hey, you know, that's one fine movie. I'm just thinking can I have a minute alone? If I need your help, I'll ask.
And then checkout time. Uggh. You know, it's like the opposite of a door-to-door salesman. Instead of them going to each customer in a different house, the customer goes to a register and gets a barrage of questions, most of which I don't see the point of. Did you find everything okay? (That's fine to ask) You know, you may need batteries. Would you like a Best Buy credit card? Did you know with another 20 dollars of purchase, you can get a 1 year subscription to any of these magazines? You must like sports. You know you could get Sports Illustrated? OK, how about a 6 month subscription? We can deliver it to your home? Would you like the hardcover edition? What's your zip code? (I guess for demographics) Sorry, this DVD is rated TV-14. I have to ask you your blood type? Your driver's license number? Your criminal background? Your shoe size? Your SAT score? Any aliases? Yeah, they call me the Cashier Strangler.
Psycho, Zorro, Walk the Line
I've never been much of a horror move fan, but I had a chance to watch Psycho tonight. This was the second time I've watched Hitchcock's classic, the first coming maybe 2 years ago.
Now as you may or may not know, when the film was out in 1960, Hitchcock demanded that nobody be admitted into the theater after the movie started. He said it was "most enjoyable when seen from beginning to end." Well, I actually tuned in about 18 minutes after the film started. Now should I feel guilty about that?
I've been in a movie theater maybe 5 times in the last 6 years. No particular reason, it's just I haven't been willing to spend 8 dollars. And that's just for the Coke! I'd rather get the DVD and get all the extra features. But I definitely plan on seeing the next Zorro movie and then Walk the Line, the movie on Johnny Cash.
The last Zorro movie I thought was awesome. I saw it about 15 times, 14 on TNT because for a while, they played the thing every other Saturday night. I watched it so many times, I think I memorized the Spanish dialogue. I did see one thing in the trailer that caught my eye. Now in this film, Zorro (Don Alejandro, played by Antonio Banderas) is married to Elena, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. At one point, they're fighting the bad guys together. You know how Zorro always uses his sword to carve a Z. In this one scene, he carves a "Z" while she carves an "E." I mean come on now. A "Z" makes a statement. But an E? No no no. Blasphemous. Something about carving a vowel just doesn't have the same punch.
I really wonder about Walk the Line. It really looks like it's going to focus on Johnny and June Carter's relationship. I hope I can watch this film and really look at Joaquin Phoenix's character as Johnny Cash. Because when I watch the trailer, it looks like an Elvis and Priscilla Presley ripoff. I hope it doesn't focus too much on Cash's bad side and at least looks deeply at the man, his faith, his music, and so on. I could see this as being a great movie or a total disappointment. The thing is Cash is such a distinctive man and personality it just would seem strange to see someone else portraying him. But Ray Charles seemed to be in that inimitable category and Jamie Foxx pulled that one off about as well as any actor could. I hope Phoenix at least came close.
Now as you may or may not know, when the film was out in 1960, Hitchcock demanded that nobody be admitted into the theater after the movie started. He said it was "most enjoyable when seen from beginning to end." Well, I actually tuned in about 18 minutes after the film started. Now should I feel guilty about that?
I've been in a movie theater maybe 5 times in the last 6 years. No particular reason, it's just I haven't been willing to spend 8 dollars. And that's just for the Coke! I'd rather get the DVD and get all the extra features. But I definitely plan on seeing the next Zorro movie and then Walk the Line, the movie on Johnny Cash.
The last Zorro movie I thought was awesome. I saw it about 15 times, 14 on TNT because for a while, they played the thing every other Saturday night. I watched it so many times, I think I memorized the Spanish dialogue. I did see one thing in the trailer that caught my eye. Now in this film, Zorro (Don Alejandro, played by Antonio Banderas) is married to Elena, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. At one point, they're fighting the bad guys together. You know how Zorro always uses his sword to carve a Z. In this one scene, he carves a "Z" while she carves an "E." I mean come on now. A "Z" makes a statement. But an E? No no no. Blasphemous. Something about carving a vowel just doesn't have the same punch.
I really wonder about Walk the Line. It really looks like it's going to focus on Johnny and June Carter's relationship. I hope I can watch this film and really look at Joaquin Phoenix's character as Johnny Cash. Because when I watch the trailer, it looks like an Elvis and Priscilla Presley ripoff. I hope it doesn't focus too much on Cash's bad side and at least looks deeply at the man, his faith, his music, and so on. I could see this as being a great movie or a total disappointment. The thing is Cash is such a distinctive man and personality it just would seem strange to see someone else portraying him. But Ray Charles seemed to be in that inimitable category and Jamie Foxx pulled that one off about as well as any actor could. I hope Phoenix at least came close.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Well that's a good one
Great win by the Giants over the 5-1 Denver Broncos. Of course, I had to stop following it around the beginning of the third quarter. That was when Denver had gone up 20-10. Now let's see Eli win one on the road. And again, I didn't watch the game. Because every time I've watched a game at Rookie's this season, my team loses. I'm 0-5 so far. I can't go back there! I can't!
So they're in a 3-way tie for first in the NFC East and an enormous game at home next Sunday against Washington who suddenly look like world beaters as they wasted the 49ers yesterday 52-17. I know it's SF, who looks like a Division 1-AA team. But in the grand scheme of things, it's the division and the conference games that make the difference in making the playoffs. Next week is big.
So they're in a 3-way tie for first in the NFC East and an enormous game at home next Sunday against Washington who suddenly look like world beaters as they wasted the 49ers yesterday 52-17. I know it's SF, who looks like a Division 1-AA team. But in the grand scheme of things, it's the division and the conference games that make the difference in making the playoffs. Next week is big.
Friday, October 21, 2005
World Series and Week-ly thoughts
Well, the Fall Classic is upon us. White Sox-Astros. Chicago-Houston. 3rd largest American city-4th largest American city. North vs. South. The Cellular Phone stadium vs. the corrupt business/orange juice stadium. Miller vs. Colt 45. Heeeeeee Gawwwwne vs. It's gone! It's gone! It's gone! It's gone! It's gone! Chris Burke! Holy Toledo!
Ok, now that you know my thoughts, let's move on.
How can Tom Renney keep Kevin Weekes the number one Ranger goalie? I mean come on. Three goals on the first three shots of the game?! Don't try to use the excuse that he was playing hurt. I don't want to hear it. Rick DiPietro missed a week or whatever with a concussion, came back, and how did he look? Not bad. Not too bad. Oh wait, I know why. Mr. Sather threw this guy 22 million dollars! Weekes might get a nice winning streak here and there, but when he's off his game, he's playing Tiddlywinks! Just amazing.
Ok, now that you know my thoughts, let's move on.
How can Tom Renney keep Kevin Weekes the number one Ranger goalie? I mean come on. Three goals on the first three shots of the game?! Don't try to use the excuse that he was playing hurt. I don't want to hear it. Rick DiPietro missed a week or whatever with a concussion, came back, and how did he look? Not bad. Not too bad. Oh wait, I know why. Mr. Sather threw this guy 22 million dollars! Weekes might get a nice winning streak here and there, but when he's off his game, he's playing Tiddlywinks! Just amazing.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Another rant??? Yes.
I know most of the time I'm writing on here, I'm ticked off. Hey it's a good way to relieve tension. Kind of therapeutic.
With that explanation out of the way, let's move on about what aggravates me right now.
1) WFAN won't activate the links to Joe Benigno's New York football rants. I have written them about this issue and hopefully it will be ready soon. God, they're like therapy for my broken spirit!
2) Just got my latest car insurance bill. I'm starting to really wish car insurance wasn't a law. Thank God I don't have car payments. These leeches are absolutely amazing. And to consider that cop gave me a ticket when I was lost and didn't know where I was going and trying to get to a job interview. What a piece of crap he was. Zsa Zsa Gabor, I have someone I'd like you to meet.
3) What died quicker: VH1 or Shaquille O'Neal's movie career? VH1, since O'Neal's movie career never had life.
4) Tedy Bruschi is coming back this year to play football for New England. Only a Patriot could recover that fast from a stroke. Good he recovered (and who didn't really think he would), but do we really need to see him play football again? Bill Belichick seriously must have sold his soul to the devil to learn how to be a head coach. Shame the devil didn't give him any tips on how to dress.
5) Kevin Mawae out for the year. Actually considering this Jet season is going nowhere, this may be a halfway decent thing. If you can't make the playoffs, there's no point finishing one or two games out. So let's see who's out on the offense. Chad Pennington, Jay Fiedler, Kevin Mawae, Derrick Blaylock. Curtis Martin's knee hurts, Jason Fabini stinks AND is hurt, and the tight ends are MIA. The Jet offense is 30th in football. I miss Paul Hackett again!
6) The better the stereo, the more the CD's scratch inside. For X-mas, I'm going to have to start replacing CD's that I've had for 5 or 10 years. Every CD I have it sounds like Aaron Neville hiccupping.
7) I've decided there are too many support groups. Sometimes you need to help yourself too. I saw one the other day for a Bladder Control Awareness group. Here's my feeling. If you have a bladder control problem... you're probably aware of it.
8 ) In Florida, two female employees in a Walgreen's got into a fight over who could microwave their cup of soup first in the break room. One of them stabbed the other one in the stomach with a kitchen knife. They then both wrestled for the knife before security broke it up. Over a stupid cup of soup. People are just amazing sometimes.
With that explanation out of the way, let's move on about what aggravates me right now.
1) WFAN won't activate the links to Joe Benigno's New York football rants. I have written them about this issue and hopefully it will be ready soon. God, they're like therapy for my broken spirit!
2) Just got my latest car insurance bill. I'm starting to really wish car insurance wasn't a law. Thank God I don't have car payments. These leeches are absolutely amazing. And to consider that cop gave me a ticket when I was lost and didn't know where I was going and trying to get to a job interview. What a piece of crap he was. Zsa Zsa Gabor, I have someone I'd like you to meet.
3) What died quicker: VH1 or Shaquille O'Neal's movie career? VH1, since O'Neal's movie career never had life.
4) Tedy Bruschi is coming back this year to play football for New England. Only a Patriot could recover that fast from a stroke. Good he recovered (and who didn't really think he would), but do we really need to see him play football again? Bill Belichick seriously must have sold his soul to the devil to learn how to be a head coach. Shame the devil didn't give him any tips on how to dress.
5) Kevin Mawae out for the year. Actually considering this Jet season is going nowhere, this may be a halfway decent thing. If you can't make the playoffs, there's no point finishing one or two games out. So let's see who's out on the offense. Chad Pennington, Jay Fiedler, Kevin Mawae, Derrick Blaylock. Curtis Martin's knee hurts, Jason Fabini stinks AND is hurt, and the tight ends are MIA. The Jet offense is 30th in football. I miss Paul Hackett again!
6) The better the stereo, the more the CD's scratch inside. For X-mas, I'm going to have to start replacing CD's that I've had for 5 or 10 years. Every CD I have it sounds like Aaron Neville hiccupping.
7) I've decided there are too many support groups. Sometimes you need to help yourself too. I saw one the other day for a Bladder Control Awareness group. Here's my feeling. If you have a bladder control problem... you're probably aware of it.
8 ) In Florida, two female employees in a Walgreen's got into a fight over who could microwave their cup of soup first in the break room. One of them stabbed the other one in the stomach with a kitchen knife. They then both wrestled for the knife before security broke it up. Over a stupid cup of soup. People are just amazing sometimes.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
A brutal, stick it up your you know where, day
This was as bad a Sunday as could be.
Giants lose a heartbreaker to the Cowgirls. Jets get their butts kicked back to New Jersey. New York football is an absolute embarrassment.
Both of my fantasy teams face off against Thomas Jones of the Bears. Not supposed to play, he's got a hammy problem. What does he do? 100 yards, 2 touchdowns. Great, just great.
But this Giants game proved they have a long way to go. And before I go any further, I should say, some of you who know me will agree that when it comes to sports, I can be the biggest ass in the world. The biggest, as anal as I am. I know I'm negative a lot about it. But it's because I see so much of the same thing season after season. And that happened once again, because I was getting lulled into the Giant offense could take them to the playoffs this year and to a championship maybe within 3 or 4 years. Boy, is there a bigger fool than me?
This offense may have been the highest scoring offense through 6 weeks. But look, who were they playing? New Orleans, Arizona, St. Louis, San Diego. Not exactly the top of the line defenses. And against the Cowboys, they sucked. They sucked. 4 turnovers. Plaxico Burress, the great wide receiver, fumbles on his own 10-yard line. Manning fumbles a snap and the Cowboy D-lineman looks like Barry Sanders running over Giants on his way for a 50 yard return. And that led to a Cowboy field goal. And the two turnovers on the goal line! Manning throws a pick in the 3rd quarter when the Giants were driving towards the end zone.
And then the topper. Brandon Jacobs. The cult hero! Oh, forget about Ron Dayne, Jacobs will eat up 2 yards! And all day long, I was crying out loud literally for Brandon to go in the game. Every time Derrick Ward went out to replace Tiki Barber, I wanted to put my head under the table. So with 1:30 left, Jacobs finally gets in the game with a 2nd and goal on the Dallas 1 yard line. He gets hit by Roy Williams, ball pops out, Cowboys recover!
Now I know the Giants would get the ball back and score. But you can't turn the ball over twice on the goal line and be a winning team! You can't! And to lose against the Cowgals! Even worse.
I'm not going to get into the overtime rules and how the Giants got screwed because they didn't get a possession, though they certainly did. I'm not going into that! They should have never been in a position to go into overtime.
The Giants forced 3 turnovers in the first half. What do they get out of it? Two field goals. Big freakin' deal. I knew when it was still 6-0 late in the first half, there was trouble. They let Dallas hang around, and got bit in the ass. If they had scored one touchdown, they game may have turned out differently.
And then in the second half, first possession, Bledsoe fumbles on the Dallas 3. The Giants are trailing by one at this point, and you figure they're at least getting a field goal. You would figure. 14 yard pass to Shockey. First down on the 17. A 4 yard run and an incomplete sets up a 3rd down. Now even a field goal gives you the lead back. Manning throws a pass, tried to thread the ball in between two Cowboys to get it to Burress, and it results in the aforementioned interception by Anthony Henry.
This offense fooled us all. They can beat up on the Rams of the world. But against a solid defense, they stunk. Tommy Coughlin had better get these guys heads together. Next week, they have Washington. And more than that, Manning had better learn from this game. He was terrible. He's never won a road game too. He's 0-5 away from the Meadowlands. He still has a lot of learning to do. Eli's going to be better than his brother, Peyton Manning? Please. He reminded me more of Frankie Manning, the originator of the swing dance and the Lindy Hop!
And they're lucky they have an easy schedule. After next week when they play Washington, it's San Francisco and Minnesota before they host the Eagles.
As for the Jets, well they're almost not even worth writing about at this point. Nonetheless, I will soon enough.
Giants lose a heartbreaker to the Cowgirls. Jets get their butts kicked back to New Jersey. New York football is an absolute embarrassment.
Both of my fantasy teams face off against Thomas Jones of the Bears. Not supposed to play, he's got a hammy problem. What does he do? 100 yards, 2 touchdowns. Great, just great.
But this Giants game proved they have a long way to go. And before I go any further, I should say, some of you who know me will agree that when it comes to sports, I can be the biggest ass in the world. The biggest, as anal as I am. I know I'm negative a lot about it. But it's because I see so much of the same thing season after season. And that happened once again, because I was getting lulled into the Giant offense could take them to the playoffs this year and to a championship maybe within 3 or 4 years. Boy, is there a bigger fool than me?
This offense may have been the highest scoring offense through 6 weeks. But look, who were they playing? New Orleans, Arizona, St. Louis, San Diego. Not exactly the top of the line defenses. And against the Cowboys, they sucked. They sucked. 4 turnovers. Plaxico Burress, the great wide receiver, fumbles on his own 10-yard line. Manning fumbles a snap and the Cowboy D-lineman looks like Barry Sanders running over Giants on his way for a 50 yard return. And that led to a Cowboy field goal. And the two turnovers on the goal line! Manning throws a pick in the 3rd quarter when the Giants were driving towards the end zone.
And then the topper. Brandon Jacobs. The cult hero! Oh, forget about Ron Dayne, Jacobs will eat up 2 yards! And all day long, I was crying out loud literally for Brandon to go in the game. Every time Derrick Ward went out to replace Tiki Barber, I wanted to put my head under the table. So with 1:30 left, Jacobs finally gets in the game with a 2nd and goal on the Dallas 1 yard line. He gets hit by Roy Williams, ball pops out, Cowboys recover!
Now I know the Giants would get the ball back and score. But you can't turn the ball over twice on the goal line and be a winning team! You can't! And to lose against the Cowgals! Even worse.
I'm not going to get into the overtime rules and how the Giants got screwed because they didn't get a possession, though they certainly did. I'm not going into that! They should have never been in a position to go into overtime.
The Giants forced 3 turnovers in the first half. What do they get out of it? Two field goals. Big freakin' deal. I knew when it was still 6-0 late in the first half, there was trouble. They let Dallas hang around, and got bit in the ass. If they had scored one touchdown, they game may have turned out differently.
And then in the second half, first possession, Bledsoe fumbles on the Dallas 3. The Giants are trailing by one at this point, and you figure they're at least getting a field goal. You would figure. 14 yard pass to Shockey. First down on the 17. A 4 yard run and an incomplete sets up a 3rd down. Now even a field goal gives you the lead back. Manning throws a pass, tried to thread the ball in between two Cowboys to get it to Burress, and it results in the aforementioned interception by Anthony Henry.
This offense fooled us all. They can beat up on the Rams of the world. But against a solid defense, they stunk. Tommy Coughlin had better get these guys heads together. Next week, they have Washington. And more than that, Manning had better learn from this game. He was terrible. He's never won a road game too. He's 0-5 away from the Meadowlands. He still has a lot of learning to do. Eli's going to be better than his brother, Peyton Manning? Please. He reminded me more of Frankie Manning, the originator of the swing dance and the Lindy Hop!
And they're lucky they have an easy schedule. After next week when they play Washington, it's San Francisco and Minnesota before they host the Eagles.
As for the Jets, well they're almost not even worth writing about at this point. Nonetheless, I will soon enough.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Another article from a broadcast journalist
Title goes Neuqua Valley’s way
Sunday, October 09, 2005
The St. Charles North girls swimming invitational fielded some of the best teams in the state. Of the top 15 teams at last year’s state tournament, six of them were among the 13 competing squads in the North Stars pool Saturday.
As it turned out, last year’s fifth-place state finishers Neuqua Valley captured this year’s St. Charles North team title with 333 points, edging Stevenson, which had 327.5. Hinsdale Central, St. Charles North and Champaign Centennial rounded out the top five.
Host St. Charles North held up well against the tough competition. But North Stars coach Rob Rooney was a little mixed in his review of his team’s performance.
“We’re still looking for some questions to be answered regarding relays,” Rooney said. “But we swam close to our seed times so we’re right where we need to be.”
Kaylee Jamison took first place in the 50-yard freestyle and second place in the 100 butterfly.
“I think my times are right where they need to be,” Jamison said.
Jamison also feels good about the team’s season-long progress as well as their attitude.
“I think as a team our enthusiasm is just awesome,” Jamison said. “We’ve really come together.”
The North Stars’ Catherine Nosal showed her strength during the freestyle events, placing third in the 200 and
second in the 100. She was edged in the 100 by Meghan Mason of Neuqua Valley. Wildcats coach Curt Herrin has been pleased with Mason’s recent improvements.
“She made some great corrections in her freestyle events and in her race strategy and that’s going to pay huge dividends off down the road,” Herrin said.
The Wildcats enjoyed an excellent day that included seven first-place finishes. Along with Mason’s win, Kathleen Patterson won the 200 IM in 2:08.93.
But as has been the case so many times, Melissa Marik dominated. She took first place in four events and set new meet records in the 200 free with a time of 1:50.22 and the 100 back at 56.42.
“My 200 free was the best time and our relays did well,” Marik said.
Second-place Stevenson received several strong performances. Katie Michelau won the 100 butterfly in 58.42 while
Ashley Wavland set a meet record by completing the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.52. All in all, coach Karl Milkereit felt good.
“About half of us had season-best times and the other were right at their best times,” Milkereit said. “Consistency is what we’re looking for.”
Hinsdale Central showed its depth as it took third place. The Red Devils had nobody place in the top two in any event, but they placed in the top five in nine out of the 12 events. The Red Devils captured third in the 200-medley relay and Katie Heenan took third in the 500 freestyle.
West Chicago had several top 10 finishes, including ninth in the 200-medley relay, and Katie McLeland’s 10th-place spot in the 500 freestyle. For the Wildcats, the meet wasn’t so much about the standings as it was progress and personal improvements.
“We’ve been working extremely hard in practice and it’s really showing off,” West Chicago coach Len Penkala said. “The team has done a much better job this year at being consistent throughout the year and not having swings up and down. I’m happy overall.”
— Adam Bartolo
Next week, playoffs!
Sunday, October 09, 2005
The St. Charles North girls swimming invitational fielded some of the best teams in the state. Of the top 15 teams at last year’s state tournament, six of them were among the 13 competing squads in the North Stars pool Saturday.
As it turned out, last year’s fifth-place state finishers Neuqua Valley captured this year’s St. Charles North team title with 333 points, edging Stevenson, which had 327.5. Hinsdale Central, St. Charles North and Champaign Centennial rounded out the top five.
Host St. Charles North held up well against the tough competition. But North Stars coach Rob Rooney was a little mixed in his review of his team’s performance.
“We’re still looking for some questions to be answered regarding relays,” Rooney said. “But we swam close to our seed times so we’re right where we need to be.”
Kaylee Jamison took first place in the 50-yard freestyle and second place in the 100 butterfly.
“I think my times are right where they need to be,” Jamison said.
Jamison also feels good about the team’s season-long progress as well as their attitude.
“I think as a team our enthusiasm is just awesome,” Jamison said. “We’ve really come together.”
The North Stars’ Catherine Nosal showed her strength during the freestyle events, placing third in the 200 and
second in the 100. She was edged in the 100 by Meghan Mason of Neuqua Valley. Wildcats coach Curt Herrin has been pleased with Mason’s recent improvements.
“She made some great corrections in her freestyle events and in her race strategy and that’s going to pay huge dividends off down the road,” Herrin said.
The Wildcats enjoyed an excellent day that included seven first-place finishes. Along with Mason’s win, Kathleen Patterson won the 200 IM in 2:08.93.
But as has been the case so many times, Melissa Marik dominated. She took first place in four events and set new meet records in the 200 free with a time of 1:50.22 and the 100 back at 56.42.
“My 200 free was the best time and our relays did well,” Marik said.
Second-place Stevenson received several strong performances. Katie Michelau won the 100 butterfly in 58.42 while
Ashley Wavland set a meet record by completing the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.52. All in all, coach Karl Milkereit felt good.
“About half of us had season-best times and the other were right at their best times,” Milkereit said. “Consistency is what we’re looking for.”
Hinsdale Central showed its depth as it took third place. The Red Devils had nobody place in the top two in any event, but they placed in the top five in nine out of the 12 events. The Red Devils captured third in the 200-medley relay and Katie Heenan took third in the 500 freestyle.
West Chicago had several top 10 finishes, including ninth in the 200-medley relay, and Katie McLeland’s 10th-place spot in the 500 freestyle. For the Wildcats, the meet wasn’t so much about the standings as it was progress and personal improvements.
“We’ve been working extremely hard in practice and it’s really showing off,” West Chicago coach Len Penkala said. “The team has done a much better job this year at being consistent throughout the year and not having swings up and down. I’m happy overall.”
— Adam Bartolo
Next week, playoffs!
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Kellen Winslow, Yankees
This why the Cleveland Browns are the Cleveland Browns. They just gave tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. a contract extension through 2010. And he's played maybe 2 games in 2 years. Not to mention that he's missing ALL of this season because he tore his ACL this past offseason by doing motorcycle tricks in a parking lot. And now he's getting a contract extension. He also has the opportunity to recoup some the bonus money he lost by missing the season. This is my problem with rookies. They get these huge contracts or they can hold out if they want to before they've ever proven anything on an NFL field, or NBA court, NHL rink, or MLB field. It will probably never change. But it's a shame the economics work the way they do.
I don't think I've ever written anything on the Yankees. So I'll throw my two cents in. I didn't think they'd beat the Angels even though on paper they should have. This is not the Yankees that I was watching when I still lived in the northeast and went to college in Boston. They're not a team. They're built to basically drive teams into the ground. They don't have the Scott Brosius, the Luis F'N Sojos, the Charlie Hayes, the El Duques, the Hideki Irabus (sarcasm), the difference makers are just not there.
They barely beat out the Red Sox and finished 3rd out of 14 teams in the AL, though they could have finished 5th very easily if the Indians hadn't squandered opportunity after opportunity.
Brian Cashman will be gone. I think Matsui will resign. But they need to address what kind of team they want. Because the fact is money doesn't buy a championship. It can buy you a division title. It can buy you 95 wins. Not a championship. And in this case, not even a series win.
I don't think I've ever written anything on the Yankees. So I'll throw my two cents in. I didn't think they'd beat the Angels even though on paper they should have. This is not the Yankees that I was watching when I still lived in the northeast and went to college in Boston. They're not a team. They're built to basically drive teams into the ground. They don't have the Scott Brosius, the Luis F'N Sojos, the Charlie Hayes, the El Duques, the Hideki Irabus (sarcasm), the difference makers are just not there.
They barely beat out the Red Sox and finished 3rd out of 14 teams in the AL, though they could have finished 5th very easily if the Indians hadn't squandered opportunity after opportunity.
Brian Cashman will be gone. I think Matsui will resign. But they need to address what kind of team they want. Because the fact is money doesn't buy a championship. It can buy you a division title. It can buy you 95 wins. Not a championship. And in this case, not even a series win.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Was that 4 or 5 games?
Well I could only watch 13 of 18 innings of the Astros-Braves game. At that point I had to walk inside the Beijing Chinese restaurant in Glen Ellyn (which everyone has apparently heard of except me) to have some dinner with Ecclesia. I walked in at 5 p.m. and walked out around 6:20. The drive from Beijing to church is about 10 minutes so I had a little bit of time. I decided as soon as I got in the car I was not turning the radio station on. I was not going to be affected in any way shape or form by that game.
So the service ends around 8:15. And right behind me, I hear 2 girls say the words "18 innings." So I asked them what happened in the game? They said the Astros won. And of course, I'm pumping my fists, going "Yes! Yes! They're out!" And I explained to them "I'm sorry, I just can't stomach the Braves." And one of them says to me "Well, I'm from Atlanta."
Yep, that's why they call me "Dr. Smooooooth."
Rangers coming up in 1 hour, 15 minutes. After Atlanta hammered Washington 8-1, hopefully the Capitals are still a sorry state of mind. Then again, how many goals is Ovechkin going to score?
Fantasy hockey starts off well. Went 7-1-2 in the first week and I'm in first place of 12 teams. Unfortunately, I couldn't get Ovechkin off waivers.
Wrestlemania tickets go on sale Saturday. As Mick Foley would say, it's going to be right here! In Chicago, Illinois!
Let's see what happens.
Jets win. Great job by the o-line. Vinny managed the game well. Blaylock gone for the year. Dewayne Robertson played incredible. Doug Jolley actually showed up. Tis the season to be Jolley, Fa la la la la la la la la!
Song pick: Where You Gonna Go- Toby Keith.
Oh, I almost forgot the important part! The Chinese food was fine. Fried rice, cashew, chicken, Gerenal Tso's, beef/broccolli, and pan-fried dumplings. Good stuff. No the best I've ever had, but it was good. One thing was a little weird. They actually said on the menu the Tso's chicken was hot and spicy. Uh huh. Really now, I've tasted whipped cream that was spicier than that chicken.
So the service ends around 8:15. And right behind me, I hear 2 girls say the words "18 innings." So I asked them what happened in the game? They said the Astros won. And of course, I'm pumping my fists, going "Yes! Yes! They're out!" And I explained to them "I'm sorry, I just can't stomach the Braves." And one of them says to me "Well, I'm from Atlanta."
Yep, that's why they call me "Dr. Smooooooth."
Rangers coming up in 1 hour, 15 minutes. After Atlanta hammered Washington 8-1, hopefully the Capitals are still a sorry state of mind. Then again, how many goals is Ovechkin going to score?
Fantasy hockey starts off well. Went 7-1-2 in the first week and I'm in first place of 12 teams. Unfortunately, I couldn't get Ovechkin off waivers.
Wrestlemania tickets go on sale Saturday. As Mick Foley would say, it's going to be right here! In Chicago, Illinois!
Let's see what happens.
Jets win. Great job by the o-line. Vinny managed the game well. Blaylock gone for the year. Dewayne Robertson played incredible. Doug Jolley actually showed up. Tis the season to be Jolley, Fa la la la la la la la la!
Song pick: Where You Gonna Go- Toby Keith.
Oh, I almost forgot the important part! The Chinese food was fine. Fried rice, cashew, chicken, Gerenal Tso's, beef/broccolli, and pan-fried dumplings. Good stuff. No the best I've ever had, but it was good. One thing was a little weird. They actually said on the menu the Tso's chicken was hot and spicy. Uh huh. Really now, I've tasted whipped cream that was spicier than that chicken.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Baseball playoff thoughts, Tyndale, Deathstar
Well the White Sox have moved on. As I royally predicted though maybe a bit faster. But gee whiz, did the Red Sox look out of it from the beginning. I knew when Clement was starting Game 1 that they were in trouble. No Pedro, No Lowe, and with Schilling only able to pitch well against the Yankees, it's not too surprising. El Duque was incredible.
But here's what I like about the White Sox. Everyone in their lineup can beat you. I didn't like their lineup for a while. I didn't think they hit well enough for average. But things have changed. In the last 2 weeks, EVERY LAST ONE of their starters has had a big hit. Podsednik: HR in Game 3; Iguchi: 3-run HR in Game 2; A.J.: opposite field homer; Crede: walkoff HR against Cleveland; Uribe: HR's, doubles, blah blah; Konerko: enough said; Dye: Game 1 opening homer; Everett: well, alomst everybody. And would you really take any starting rotation over Chicago? Houston? Did you see Clemens get pounded by the Atlanta Junior Varsity squad the other night? St. Louis? Hmm. That's a close one. But the White Sox get a big edge in middle relief, even if you want to give Jason "traded to Oakland for Billy Taylor" Isringhausen the nod over Bobby Jenks at closer. And it's pretty hard to do that right now.
About two weeks ago, I thought the White Sox would win a series and then lose in the ALCS. But looking at how these other teams' are having so many flaws exposed, I have to say the White Sox have as good a chance as anyone, if not the best chance.
I know I dump on Atlanta a lot. Maybe more than I should. (Nah, I didn't say that!) But seriously. How mediocre is the National League when they finish with the second best record in the whole league?
I'm working on applying for a freelance proofreader job at Tyndale Publishing. I have to take a proofreading test. One of the sections is identifying sentnces that have a compound subject vs. sentences that have a compound predicate vs. the sentences that have neither. Oh joy... Fortunately there's a spelling section and I've always handled that well.
Chris McElwee is the pastor of Eccleisa, where I go on Sunday nights, and man he knows how to cook. Friday night he made our whole group bread, salad, pasta, and grilled chicken. I did help, I got to watch over the pasta. Man that angel hair is tough to make a good call on. But I did just fine if I don't write so myself. The chicken is cooked on the Deathstar grill. That's Chris' name for theis monstroscity that I don't think you could fit inside a 747, it's so huge. It had lemon, garlic, wine, rosemary, and then topped with some romano cheese. Man alive, that was something else.
Now this is a little different. Chris and I are the only males eating at the table. It's Chris' wife and mom and five other girls. By the time I took my third piece of chicken, I felt just a little guilty. I actually had the chance to explain the difference between parmesan reggiano cheese and pecorino romano cheese at the table. It helps to be Italian in Wheaton, Illinois. I'm one of the few people out here who when I hear the word Romano doesn't immediately think about a popular CBS sitcom.
But here's what I like about the White Sox. Everyone in their lineup can beat you. I didn't like their lineup for a while. I didn't think they hit well enough for average. But things have changed. In the last 2 weeks, EVERY LAST ONE of their starters has had a big hit. Podsednik: HR in Game 3; Iguchi: 3-run HR in Game 2; A.J.: opposite field homer; Crede: walkoff HR against Cleveland; Uribe: HR's, doubles, blah blah; Konerko: enough said; Dye: Game 1 opening homer; Everett: well, alomst everybody. And would you really take any starting rotation over Chicago? Houston? Did you see Clemens get pounded by the Atlanta Junior Varsity squad the other night? St. Louis? Hmm. That's a close one. But the White Sox get a big edge in middle relief, even if you want to give Jason "traded to Oakland for Billy Taylor" Isringhausen the nod over Bobby Jenks at closer. And it's pretty hard to do that right now.
About two weeks ago, I thought the White Sox would win a series and then lose in the ALCS. But looking at how these other teams' are having so many flaws exposed, I have to say the White Sox have as good a chance as anyone, if not the best chance.
I know I dump on Atlanta a lot. Maybe more than I should. (Nah, I didn't say that!) But seriously. How mediocre is the National League when they finish with the second best record in the whole league?
I'm working on applying for a freelance proofreader job at Tyndale Publishing. I have to take a proofreading test. One of the sections is identifying sentnces that have a compound subject vs. sentences that have a compound predicate vs. the sentences that have neither. Oh joy... Fortunately there's a spelling section and I've always handled that well.
Chris McElwee is the pastor of Eccleisa, where I go on Sunday nights, and man he knows how to cook. Friday night he made our whole group bread, salad, pasta, and grilled chicken. I did help, I got to watch over the pasta. Man that angel hair is tough to make a good call on. But I did just fine if I don't write so myself. The chicken is cooked on the Deathstar grill. That's Chris' name for theis monstroscity that I don't think you could fit inside a 747, it's so huge. It had lemon, garlic, wine, rosemary, and then topped with some romano cheese. Man alive, that was something else.
Now this is a little different. Chris and I are the only males eating at the table. It's Chris' wife and mom and five other girls. By the time I took my third piece of chicken, I felt just a little guilty. I actually had the chance to explain the difference between parmesan reggiano cheese and pecorino romano cheese at the table. It helps to be Italian in Wheaton, Illinois. I'm one of the few people out here who when I hear the word Romano doesn't immediately think about a popular CBS sitcom.
NHL, Swim meet aggravation
If I were Don Maloney, Tom Renney, and Mr. Sather, I'd get on the phone with Gary Bettman and beg him to outlaw 4-on-4 hockey. No more overtimes! Let's go straight to the shootout! Who needs 4 on 4 overtime?!
All in all, 4 points in the first 3 games is not bad for the New York Pain-gers. Now they've got Atlanta coming up soon and they just signed Kovalchuk to a new contract. Not a good omen. At least they don't have Heatley anymore. Boy he used to hammer the Rangers.
I just covered a swim meet today at St. Charles North H.S. It was a big meet with 6 of the top 15 teams in Illinois competing. So I'm covering it and got there around 1:00 p.m. Right before the last event, I go to the scorer's table and ask about the team standings. They tell me Stevenson (a school nowehre near us but in the Daily Herald's coverage area) is winning. And there's no way for Neuqua Valley (another school not in our zone but definitely in the coverage area) to overpass them. At the end of the meet, they announce Stevenson as the winners. And they promised me they'd fax me the team results as they always do after a big meet. So after 3 hours in a burning hot pool area, I go outside ionto the 40 degree cold of suburban Chicago.
I drive to the office and get there around 4:15. I start working and I realize fast there's aboat load of tournaments to cover. Volleyball, cross country (I got 28 pages one cross country meet that only ONE of our local teams was running in!), tennis, on and on. Never mind that the other zones are grossly understaffed, which slows them down. When they can't get get the scores into the computer that I need to copy into my scoreboard, it slows us down. I understand that. But SCN never faxed me the information! So I can hardly get my story going. I had a few results written down, but nowhere near what I needed to hammer this thing out. I find the results around 7:30 in another agate. Only Neuqua is first and Stevenson is second. Red flag shoots up. Heck, they announced Stevenson had won. What happened?
Turns out, they counted wrong and announced the wrong team as winners. So most of my interview questions with these two teams are almost irrelevant since the standings have switched. I did get a good article out, but it took until abour 8:30 to finish. I'll have it posted this week. And remeber when you read it, you got the story behind the scenes, courtesy of the People's Writer.
All in all, 4 points in the first 3 games is not bad for the New York Pain-gers. Now they've got Atlanta coming up soon and they just signed Kovalchuk to a new contract. Not a good omen. At least they don't have Heatley anymore. Boy he used to hammer the Rangers.
I just covered a swim meet today at St. Charles North H.S. It was a big meet with 6 of the top 15 teams in Illinois competing. So I'm covering it and got there around 1:00 p.m. Right before the last event, I go to the scorer's table and ask about the team standings. They tell me Stevenson (a school nowehre near us but in the Daily Herald's coverage area) is winning. And there's no way for Neuqua Valley (another school not in our zone but definitely in the coverage area) to overpass them. At the end of the meet, they announce Stevenson as the winners. And they promised me they'd fax me the team results as they always do after a big meet. So after 3 hours in a burning hot pool area, I go outside ionto the 40 degree cold of suburban Chicago.
I drive to the office and get there around 4:15. I start working and I realize fast there's aboat load of tournaments to cover. Volleyball, cross country (I got 28 pages one cross country meet that only ONE of our local teams was running in!), tennis, on and on. Never mind that the other zones are grossly understaffed, which slows them down. When they can't get get the scores into the computer that I need to copy into my scoreboard, it slows us down. I understand that. But SCN never faxed me the information! So I can hardly get my story going. I had a few results written down, but nowhere near what I needed to hammer this thing out. I find the results around 7:30 in another agate. Only Neuqua is first and Stevenson is second. Red flag shoots up. Heck, they announced Stevenson had won. What happened?
Turns out, they counted wrong and announced the wrong team as winners. So most of my interview questions with these two teams are almost irrelevant since the standings have switched. I did get a good article out, but it took until abour 8:30 to finish. I'll have it posted this week. And remeber when you read it, you got the story behind the scenes, courtesy of the People's Writer.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Follow up on Curry
I actually had a discussion with my boss' boss, Kurt, and my boss, John, at work about Eddy Curry. I kind of wanted to get something started anyway so I wore my Knicks t-shirt to work. Now I haven't been able to wear that shirt with the slightest bit of pride or dignity in five years. I remember this past January. I was actually in a bar watching the Jets lose to the Rams in overtime last year. On the same day, I had to watch Ben Gordon nail one of the two last-second shots that he hit last season that beat the Knicks! What a great day that was for me!
Anyway, I had to give full scouting reports of Mike Sweetney and the immortal Jermaine Jackson. The two Bull fans said I could have Curry and that they didn't want him. They called him selfish and a rebel. Let's see how selfish he is when he's playing for Larry Brown. If Brown can handle Allen Iverson and help him mature as a player and as a man, he can deal with anybody, in my opinion.
And this is my blog, so I am entitled to my opinion!
The other thing Kurt (who is also a diehard Cardinals fan) said was Curry plays no defense. And without a split second passing from the time he ended his sentence, I came back and said excitedly. "Great that's perfect! He can't play defense? He'll fit right in here. Right in!"
Let's drop the pucks!
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Baseball predictions
White Sox in 5
Yankees in 4
Astros in 4
Cardinals in 3.
White Sox in 6
Cardinals in 6
Cardinals in 5.
Yankees in 4
Astros in 4
Cardinals in 3.
White Sox in 6
Cardinals in 6
Cardinals in 5.
And.......Loving It.
Gotta take some time to write a tribute to Don Adams, who died last week due to a lung infection at age 82. Get Smart was a great TV series. Very clever, very silly, very good. I'd say more, but in Don's honor, I suggest we use the cones of silence...
EDDY CURRY!!!
The Knicks are just a little spicier and a little more interesting. THEY GOT EDDY FREAKIN' CURRY! And they got rid of Tim Thomas and Jermanine Jackson, a perrenial underachiever and a nobody. They did give up Mike Sweetney, which is not good, but I can live with that. To get something you have to give up something too. They also got Antonio Davis, a veteran center.
One problem. There's a bit of a logjam at center. You have Curry and Davis. Also there's Channing Frye, their first round draft choice. The Knicks must be really unsure of him if they traded for two other centers. And they had also signed Jerome James from Seattle for 5 years. Now how will Larry Brown balance out that playing time?
Here's the current roster.
Center: Curry, Frye, James
Power Forward: Malik Rose, Maurice Taylor, A. Davis
Small Forward: Quentin Richardson, Trevor Ariza, David Lee
Shooting Guard: Allan Houston, Jamal Crawford, Penny Hardaway
Point Guard: Stephon Marbury, Nate Robinson
Kind of like last year. A very deep team. But you need at least 1 superstar to be a championship team. Who am I kidding. I'd settle for a top 5 Eastern Conference team this season.
Note from 2 years later: I did not realize we gave away 2 first round draft choices as well.
One problem. There's a bit of a logjam at center. You have Curry and Davis. Also there's Channing Frye, their first round draft choice. The Knicks must be really unsure of him if they traded for two other centers. And they had also signed Jerome James from Seattle for 5 years. Now how will Larry Brown balance out that playing time?
Here's the current roster.
Center: Curry, Frye, James
Power Forward: Malik Rose, Maurice Taylor, A. Davis
Small Forward: Quentin Richardson, Trevor Ariza, David Lee
Shooting Guard: Allan Houston, Jamal Crawford, Penny Hardaway
Point Guard: Stephon Marbury, Nate Robinson
Kind of like last year. A very deep team. But you need at least 1 superstar to be a championship team. Who am I kidding. I'd settle for a top 5 Eastern Conference team this season.
Note from 2 years later: I did not realize we gave away 2 first round draft choices as well.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Random thoughts
There's a new school opening about 10 miles west of here. It's supposed to be really good. Too good. They're making the kids take a test to get into kindergarten. How can you not be smart enough to go to kindergarten? If you can take a nap, you're in. That's all we ever did in kindergarten. We took a nap and ate some graham crackers. And if you were a genius, the teacher would let you pass them out because you could break them on the line.
I realize I do the worst impression of an African safari ever.
It seems like "Lost" is the new Melrose Place/Survivor. I hear things like "Did you catch last week?" "Did you figure this out yet?" People are having get-togethers just to watch it. I don't have an opinion. I work every night, how can I?
The owner of a local Firestone has the absolute most God-awful toupee I have ever seen. With it his hair has that dark full sweep across look. Kind of like Donald Trump. Without it he looks like Ed Asner.
Tedy Bruschi might actually come back and play football THIS SEASON for New England. Only the Patriots. If he was a Jet he'd never play again. Actually he would come back and play next season. He'd have a great season and in the playoffs, he'd miss a tackle, take a penalty, or whatever to kill our season. And against Pittsburgh last week, they got 55 extra seconds so Brady could look like John Elway again. It happens for nobody else. Nobody. As easy as he and his fellow Patsies have life, how can I not be ticked?
Hockey season is only four days away? Doesn't seem like it.
September was too cold!
One more thing.
A pastor in Lincoln, Nebraska just received an order of 500 Viagra pills in the mail. Apparently it was a gift from friends. I'm not making this up. I was thinking he could sue the people who sent him the pills, but I realized he didn't have any evidence that would stand up in court.
I realize I do the worst impression of an African safari ever.
It seems like "Lost" is the new Melrose Place/Survivor. I hear things like "Did you catch last week?" "Did you figure this out yet?" People are having get-togethers just to watch it. I don't have an opinion. I work every night, how can I?
The owner of a local Firestone has the absolute most God-awful toupee I have ever seen. With it his hair has that dark full sweep across look. Kind of like Donald Trump. Without it he looks like Ed Asner.
Tedy Bruschi might actually come back and play football THIS SEASON for New England. Only the Patriots. If he was a Jet he'd never play again. Actually he would come back and play next season. He'd have a great season and in the playoffs, he'd miss a tackle, take a penalty, or whatever to kill our season. And against Pittsburgh last week, they got 55 extra seconds so Brady could look like John Elway again. It happens for nobody else. Nobody. As easy as he and his fellow Patsies have life, how can I not be ticked?
Hockey season is only four days away? Doesn't seem like it.
September was too cold!
One more thing.
A pastor in Lincoln, Nebraska just received an order of 500 Viagra pills in the mail. Apparently it was a gift from friends. I'm not making this up. I was thinking he could sue the people who sent him the pills, but I realized he didn't have any evidence that would stand up in court.
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