Summing up 2006

Well another year is about gone. I hear comedian Lewis Black, who I'm not a big fan of, say 2006 was such a bad year in general, you could have spent it in a coma and it would have been good compared to other people.

I can't say it was that bad, but after reviewing my posts over the last 12 months, I've made a few observations. So here is my list of the Top 10 Notable Moments in my personal 2006.

1) Papa passing away

It happened in the middle of January, I can't remember the exact date, I know it was a Satuday morning. Dad lived downstairs from him now. He opened the door to the house and found him in his bedroom. Heart attack, they say. I don't agree. It was broken. It broke when his wife, Madeline got Alzheimer's and had to live in a nursing home. I flew to Brooklyn and after some plane and car issues, got there just in time for the visitation. I even got to read Scripture at the service in the church where he attended mass every week. And now he's gone. I wished I could have had the chance to say goodbye. But he was a good grandfather and I'll always have that in me. Went back to the house where my dad grew up in the 50's and 60's. It was so much smaller than I remembered. Four people, one bathroom which was painted flamingo pink! But I miss that house and seeing my grandparents together.

2) Ecclesia continuing on.

It's done wonders for my social life and given me something to look forward to each week. The related Wednesday night group is not easy like it was when I first started going in August. I feel like an outcast sometimes there. I know I say things sometimes that don't make sense, but I wish they could look past that. Then agin, so do I.

3) Mom's foot issues.

It's been brutal. She's been out of work since September of 05 and we've been living on my meager wages and disability checks. Four foot surgeries later and only recently could she find shoes that fir on her swollen left foot. Our hope is she'll be back to work at O'Hare by April. For the money and her state of mind, I hope so.

4) Disc golf

Played it in Lombard for the first time this past May. It was me, Chris McElwee, and Ryan Culp. Now I claimed to be the world's worst frisbee thrower. And a lot of my first throws were terrible. But I kept playing nearly every week through the fall and had rounds as good as nine over par. The discs are in the trunk of my car and I'll be ready to fling them again as soon as the weather warms up.

5) Winning my first Willow Creek Church sports title in volleyball

Six lost seasons and I get my vindication. Here's the post I wrote on this in April, one week to the day after watching Wrestlemania live at the All State Arena.

6) Working with Katrina victims in Mississippi and Louisiana

One of the most meaningful experiences in my life. The journal is posted in the June o6 section. Incredible people both on my team and in the area. I've seen a few of them since the trip, but I miss those guys.

7) Trip to Baltimore
My father and I spent a weekend in Baltimore, MD. Working as much as I am, I don't really get to travel like I used to. Because of that, maybe I appreciate those times more now. We went to place like the Babe Ruth Museum (a must for any baseball fan), Camden Yards (where we saw the Orioles win in two blowouts over Tonronto and ate incredible sandwiches at Boog Powell's BBQ), Fell's Point (a watertown neighborhood that reminds me of New England with the cobblestone streets), the World Trade Center (Really just a shorter observatory tower, but is like the Hancock Building with its panoramic view of the city), and the Inner Harbor with its historical ships and aquarium (I'm sure it was nice, but not worth spending 40 dollars to go to). And may I mention Fleming's? They have the absolute best peach cobbler in the world.
We're going to try to take a trip once each year. Let's see where this one takes us.

8) Getting a new job at CEC in finacial aid.
Very sudden and I'm not sure what I'll be thinking about a year from now. Considering I was contacted, interviewed, and accepted in about 24 hours on a Friday afternoon, it was not the easiest way to leave Houghton Mifflin, a place I had grown to like. But I had no choice. The money was bad, jobs were iffy, and there was not much hope for an expanded role, so I had to take the chance. Three months later, I've had some good days and bad days. I'm not overjoyed with my bosses, but I have to deal with that. That just happens. I feel sometimes that if I'm doing this type of work in five years, I will question myself and if I'm wasting what I'm good at? Or maybe this is something I should be doing right now. Or it's a long term investment. I don't know.

9) The Mets great run coming up short
Joy and heartache. My boys dominated the NL like a pack of dogs on a three-legged cat. Think of the memories. Getting Billy Wagner and Carlos Delgado for this season. Jose Reyes becoming just about the best leadoff man in baseball. Paul LoDuca excels in the No. 2 spot. Jose Valentin dominates Milwaukee at the only game I saw live this year. Pedro Feliciano, Chad Bradford, and Darren Oliver dominating in middle relief. Endy Chavez emerges. Cliff Foyd's injuries. Lastings Milledge's attitude. Pedro's injured. Acquiring El Duque. Duaner Sanchez also dominates out of the pen before his car crash in Miami that fateful July night. Trading Xavier Nady for Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez and later acquring a faded Shawn Green in response. David Wright has an MVP caliber first half, does great in the home run derby, and fades in the second half. The amazing double play he started in Philly to beat the Phillies and essentially knock them out of the NL East race. John Maine emerging from out of nowhere. Two grand slams in the same inning in Wrigley Field. (I love that one!). Being down 7-1 to St. Louis and rallying for a walk-off win. The 20th anniversary and reunion of the 1986 World Series champions. Plans for a new ballpark. Tied for the most wins in baseball. A 3-0 sweep over the Dodgers in the first round. And pure misery after a Game 7 loss at home to a team that had no business making it to a sixth game against us.

10) Wisconsin Dells
Wanna get away? I know I needed to. And 3 days in the Dells was just what the doctor ordered.

Part 1 and Part 2

So that's a few highlights and lowlights from 2006 A.D. Let's see what happens over the next 12 months.

Now who do we get?

I haven't written a thing about the Mets (the best team in baseball in 2006) since December 12. Now after what I've just heard. I'm ready. Barry Zito, the pitcher we wanted, the pitcher we needed, the pitcher all of baseball assumed was coming to us, signs with San Francisco for a guaranteed 7 years and 126 million dollars. It could go to 8 for over 150 million. I am ready to throw up. So let's see. Our rotation is now still Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernandez (both old and the latter of whom I think invented baseball back in the 19th century), two good, young, question marks in John Maine and Oliver Perez, and two youngsters in Mike Pelfrey and Phillip Humber. Both are projected to be great future stars, but are they ready now? Now one of them is needed.

The Mets have the lineup, the speed, the power, the average, though they are aging. They have a pretty decent bullpen assuming someone steps in to fill Bradford's spot. But we needed that young innings-eating starting pitcher and now all that's really available are Jeff Weaver (ugh), Steve Trachsel (been here, done that), Joel Piniero (more of a swing man), Tomo Ohka (coming off surgery, but an Omar favorite), Tony Armas (intriguing but inconsistent), Mark Redman (the infamous All-Star in KC last year, but decent), and an injured Mark Mulder (Very disappointing since coming to the National League). This is not exactly exciting me.

I know I can be the biggest pessimist in the world. I can be the most emotional too. Most of you know that. But I think if things stay the same, 2006 is going to be a mirage in the long run. If nothing else changes on this roster or unless some young unexpected player emerges, we are going to have a load of 7-5 type games (high scoring) and probably win about 80-85 games and miss the playoffs.

More heartbreak for the team that should have won it all last year, the New York Metropolitans.

I figured I would be busy!

But after 2 and a half hours of work, I've wiped out everything I had piled up over Christmas weekend. Now everyone say it with me now!

J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!!!

Oh Chicago, you can keep your Bears! You knew you were going to be great. But the upstarts of Gang Green travel down to the mud of Miami on Christmas night and defeated the Dolphins on a late field goal 13-10. Win against the hapless Raiders at home next weekend and we are in the playoffs! Mangini, Pennington, Leon, Coles, Jerricho, Mangold, D-Rob, Vilma, Bryan, Kerry, Nugent, Graham. Considering most thought this team would win 6 games or so at the start of the season, this is one great surprise.

As for the Giants who got thrashed by New Orleans, well, I'm out of words describing how lackadaisical and non existent their effort is week in and week out. Here's what Paul Zimmerman of CNN/SI had to say.

"They came into Giants Stadium and offered the game to the home team. "Here, you want it?" They proved it by dropping 10 passes. The Giants said no thank you, it would just confuse our fans. So the Saints walked away with the 30-7 win, and here's my favorite stat, the likes of which I have never seen before: New Orleans ran 54 plays in Giants' territory. And how many plays did New York run on the Saints' side? Zero."

And that's essentially how the Rangers have played hockey for the last two weeks as well. I'm convinced the same players perform for both teams.

4 days free

Been quite a Christmas so far. First, I was mighty sad Saturday night as Bryan Danielson lost the ROH World title to Homicide. I knew it was inevitable but he needs to repair several torn tendons in his shoulder. Come back strong, American Dragon.

Had an awesome dinner. I made prime rib (the key is to make slits in the heart of the meat, and stuff cloves of garlic inside), a sautee of spinach and musrooms, asparagus, and a mashed potato casserole. It's pretty easy to cook (and do dishes) when there are only two people in the house. There was one part of the meat that was a little overdone, so Mom gave it to Hogan who was begging for some food off the table as he always does. We gave him 10 or 12 good sized pieces of prime rib. It took him no more than 30 seconds to wipe that plate clean! It was incredible.

Then I took my new golf game (the Tiger Woods game) on the computer and made a replica of myself. The customizing features on this thing are incredible. You can change everything from space in between the eyes to the skull size, to their sock style, to their tattoos, to their food, to the width of their feet. I actually almost gave myself a purple Afro! Thought better of that one though. And my mom came downstairs and asked if I could make a golfer that looked like her. Well after I made her look 66 years old, uh, let's just say we laughed and laughed hard.

Going to see Rocky Balboa tomorrow. I'll have a review in the next few days.

Watching the Jets play a huge game in Miami right now. 0-0 late in the second quarter. Great defense by both sides, but the offenses are brutal with the rain that's pouring down. I get omens about these things but I'm not feeling one way or another about this right now.

D-Rob is a beast!

Apparently, it takes five Vikings offensive linemen to block Dewayne Robertson, the Jets No. 1 draft choice from 4 years ago. Man it would have been funny if he got the sack. One of three things happened. Either...

1) The Jets were playing the pass.
2) His teammates hate him
3) He farted.

More food news

Wilson meats has recalled 114 TONS of hot dogs because they say they were undercooked. The company said eating one of these hot dogs can make you feel nauseated, vomit, and give you diarrhea. My response: All hot dogs do that!

For the record, I hate skim milk!

I saw this on CNN. In Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, the Four Seasons hotel is now selling a $110.00 hamburger. This burger is made of Kobe beef with foie gras, Portobello mushrooms and Korean pears and served with french fries. The hotel says it has sold 20 of the 1 million rupiah hamburgers since they were launched this month.

The head of the restaurant explained the calves in Kobe, Japan get special treatment. They drink beer mixed with milk, vitamins and eat pesticide-free grass. They then add foie gras and Korean pears and it's the combination of those fresh ingredients that make it expensive. Indeed Kobe beef is some of the finest in the world. I don't know if the basketball player on the Lakers was named after it though.

To put this in persective, the minimum wage in most parts of Indonesia (which has a population of 220 million) is as low as around $40 a month. A month! Now let me tell you, it's a very small number of Indonesians who are among the richest people in Asia, while millions live in serious poverty in slums or shanty towns in the countryside. So let's be fair and move one step up on the socio-economic level. For most Indonesians, that's about 2 months of working to buy one of these burgers.

Makes you realize how fortunate you are, doesn't it?

A fair warning

Never leave all your keys in your car even if it's safe inside your garage. Of course, to tell you that, I must have a story behind it. Very perceptive of you. Here goes.

I got home Saturday night at around 11 p.m. from work. Left everything inside, my keys, cell phone, CD's, wallet. The next day, I got up to drive to Rookie's to watch what would be a victory by my New York Jets and the greatest quarterback in football, Chad Pennington. The driver's side is locked. I thought that was odd and began to feel my palms start to sweat a little. I ran over to the passenger side. Locked. And I knew both my sets of keys were inside the car. I was trapped.

Apparently this thing just locked itself. I'm thinking it was probably that anti-theft chip that just locked the car for no apparent reason. So I somehow convinced my next door neighbor to let me borrow her Toyota Corrolla mini-van to drive to Wheaton so I could go to Ecclesia. She obviously has never seen my driving record. Seriously though, that is one generous spirit.

And after taking a few estimates from locksmiths this morning, I arranged for a generic key to be made at the Honda dealership, which should cost about 10 bucks, that will open the door. So I think I got out of that okay.

The Rangers get outscored by Toronto and New Jersey 15-3 this weekend. Embarrassing.

If the NFL season ended today, the Giants would make the playoffs. Never has there been a less deserving team.

Great job by the Jets to hang in the playoff race this long. I'm surprised they handled Minnesota on the road so easily. Now can I celebrate a Merry Christmas by beating the Dolphins on Christmas night?

My fantasy basketball teams just died in December. I have Carmelo Anthony in both of my leagues and he gets suspended 15 games in that embarrassment of a game in Madison Square Garden. Memo to the owner of MSG, Jim "Son of Cablevision" Dolan. Fire Isiah Thomas as coach and GM immediately, sell the Garden, lose some weight, and get your fat, useless carcass away from my teams.

Back to work...

Are these 7 hour or 8 hour days?

Seems like more and more, my manager and supervisor both leave work at 4 and I have an hour I have to be here with basically nothing to do. Except surf the Net and blog.
Hopefully, they don't have any of those Internet scanning tools on their computer to let them know how much time we spend on here!

Just ate a Maxwell Street polish sausage sandwich for the first time. That's a big Chicago food, but I'd never had it in 10 years. Went to Portillo's in Hanover Park and I'll rate the sandwich as okay. I ate it, but I could have used a bit more mustard and the grilled onions were a little limp. The bread was incredible as always. I liked the theme of this Portillo's though. I'm used to the 1920's theme with Al Capone and all that. This was a 50's diner feel and it was a lighter, more upbeat atmosphere. Good change.

Carol's still makes the best cookies. Last night it was the cinnamon swirl. Sure I add an inch on to my waistline every time I eat one, but who cares.

If Barack Obama runs for President, I seriously hope that no voter chooses his opponent because his last name sounds like Osama.

My mom has told me she has this need to watch the Today Show in the morning and the evening news at night. Me, I can barely stand to watch the news. It's so depressing every night that I can hardly stand to look at it anymore. We live a hard enough life already. Why come home and immerse yourself in something that can damper you down even more? Sorry, but I'd rather be uninformed on the Middle East and happy in general than knowledgeable about the affairs of the world.

OK enough randomness. Great win by the Giants on Sunday over Carolina. Big big game coming up against Philly on Sunday. If they win, they're all but in the playoffs. And to the contrary, a piss-poor performance by my Jets. To realistically make the playoffs, we need to win our last 3 games and hope Jacksonville or Cincinnati go 1-2, since I don't think we'll get any tiebreakers over them. But I'd almost rather we lose another game or two than just miss the playoffs. Because even if the Jets make it, they're not beating San Diego, Baltimore, Indy, or New England on the road. And considering the talent upgrade that is necessary for so many positions, I'd be happier with the better draft spot. Bears win again, what a shock (sarcasm).

Rangers have won 3 in a row and play Philly tonight. This will e a fun race with the Rangers, Devils, and Islanders occupying the top 3 spots in the Atlantic Division. Knicks actually were losing by 30 points to a Boston team that was missing two starters last night at home. Of course they rally to within 4 points, miss more free throws than a blind high school's JV team, and commit 3 crucial turnovers down the stretch to shoot themselves in the foot.

Mets lose out on Jason Jennings, who gets traded to Houston for Willy Tavares and two top pitching prospects. Fair enough, that's a huge price Houston paid and Jennings will be a free agent after this season anyway. I guess Omar is betting the house on Phillip Humber, Mike Pelfrey, and Lastings Milledge. As the days go by, I really don't know if we're getting Barry Zito now. It's obvious we're not going to offer the most money, Texas will. But Zito would rather play in the media-heavy area and pitcher's park like New York than in a quiet area and a hitter's park like Arlington. Plus I'm sure he could find more actresses and models to date as well. If Texas offers 6 years 105 million (17.5 per), I would think the Mets could get him with 5 years, 85 million (17 per) and an option for a sixth year. If we can't get him, maybe we can take a shot on a guy like Tony Armas or Tomo Ohka. Just please don't bring that bastard Jeff Suppan here.

I am a ROH-bot

That's what we call Ring of Honor fans. Well, I hooked Greg and I hooked James on the best wrestling in the world today. Saturday's show (Chicago Spectacular Night 2) was incredible. The turnout wasn't what I was used to, maybe 600-700, but that's really from having shows in the same building on back to back nights. That will make the crowds dwindle somewhat.

From Homicide's ghetto fork, to Matt Cross' shooting start press to the outside floors, to Delirious winning the elimination match, to Kikutaro's comedy, to the steel cage, to Samoa Joe's agility and power, to the match of the night, Davey Richards vs. Jay Briscoe, I got way more than 25 dollars worth.

Here's how good it was. They announced tickets were on sale for the next Chicago show at the Windy City Fieldhouse on the west side of Lincoln Park. I didn't even ask them if they wanted to come with me to buy a ticket and they came along with me and we brought FIVE tickets for the show!

Sarah, Jill, you missed out...

Getting through Friday

Well the service project I had hyped for Saturday is off. So if nothing else I get a little time to relax after today's grind. I did the math and I'm estimating I will be out of the house working for 17 hours. I left at 7, am at CEC now, will leave at 5, and drive down to Lombard. I'm grabbing some dimmer before I cover the basketball game. And I'll probably be home at 1 or so in the morning. Before I hit my bed tonight, I will do whatever it takes tonight to keep all the darkness inside my room. I will duct tape the blinds to the windows if I have to.

Maybe I'll be able to get some Christmas shopping done tomorrow morning. Thankfully, we're supposed to get some warmer weather which cannot come soon enough. It's to the point where you're grateful for a temperature above freezing.

I've got a couple of items reserved for me at the library. CD's include Los Lonely Boys-Sacred, ZZ Top-Rancho Texicano (gotta love a band who can rhyme the words much and tush!), and a few DVD's from the Ken Burns Baseball series.

It seems to me that the people who care about you are the ones who will take the time to point out your faults and out of compassion and care, help you deal with them. There are not enough people like that in the world. The truth is hard, but if we're not real honest with one another, how can we expect to develop real relationships. No I did not get that from Dr. Phil! That's after a rough experience Friday night at Houlihan's.

I wonder what will matter to God when my life is over. I'm sure there are a number of things he will ask of me, but what will stand out above all else? How I treated other people? What I did for him on earth? Did I discover a purpose I was called to go with?

Appreciate what you have today. Because you may not have it tomorrow. No, I didn't get this from a fortune cookie or a Hallmark card or anything, I just felt a need to write it.

And as I write this, It's 4 p.m. Which means It's 5 o' clock somewhere.

One thing about the Northeast

It doesn't have that aggravating wind chill like the Midwest does. I have to hear from people in New York it's approaching 50 degrees some days while we've had a solid week of never hitting 40. Ah, what can you do.

I guess I was right on both counts as far as the NFL goes. Giants lose, Jets win. Actually the Jets annihilated the Packers so bad, it looked like Ohio St playing Illinois in the horseshoe. Giants vs. Panthers, Jets vs Bills. I pick a pair of New York wins.

The money being tossed around on the free agent market in baseball is outrageous to me. The demand is so great and the supply so limited that average pitchers (No. 4 or 5 starters) are earning 10 million a year. I was hoping the Mets could sign Barry Zito for something like 5 years and 86 or 87 million dollars. After seeing the contracts of Jason Schmidt and average pitchers like Randy Wolf, Adam Eaton, and Vincente Padilla, it will now likely take 6 years and 100 million to bring that looping curveball to Shea Stadium.

The upcoming weekend is looking busier by the day. Now it looks like I'll be covering the Montini-Marmion boys basketball game Friday night. That means instead of driving 30 minutes southwest home to St. Charles, I'm driving 40 minutes southeast to Lombard only to drive 30 more back to the office to write my story and do the whole scoreboard. So Saturday I'm doing my volunteer work with my small group in Lombard at a senior citizens house. Not a nursing home, but more like an apartment where several seniors live together and I'll be part of the morning crew that will be doing some painting. I figure that'll go from maybe 9-noon. I'll drive home, get cleaned up, go to work around 3, stay until 4, which is when I'll begin my drive to Downers Grove to have dinner with Greg and James at Portillo's. Chances are I will either have the Big beef with cheddar and hot peppers or a double cheeseburger. I know it sounds heavy, but hey, I gotta have some manly food before going to Ring of Honor! Sunday will probably be my day to collapse and stay home.

And after all that planning, to think it's still only Wednesday! And I'm sure they're not reading this, but happy birthdays to Ingrid, Bess, and Josh, three of my best friends from Gordon.

Welcome to December

and to the first snowfall of the year. 6 inches for my morning commute to Hoffman Estates. I seriously have no idea how I drove to work without any problems. I passed at least 15 cars that were just stuck in the middle of the road. Driving was like playing a video game and trying to avoid the obstacles. I even gut stuck behind a big green garbage truck that got caught in some snow.

I made it to work around 8:30, a half hour late, but there was no need for me to be worried. About a third of the people on the floor showed up and the majority showed up after I did. The cool part was the company brought Lou Malnati's pizza for us. Very cool to get lunch, but I have to say as good as their pizza is, their sausage is downright horrible.

Meanwhile last Monday night, Seattle hosted Monday Night Football. It snowed throughout the whole game. The next day, I'm driving to work , listening to the radio, and hearing all the horror stories. People didn't get home from work until 2 or 3 in the morning. Some motorists actually left their car on the side of the road. It sounded very serious. Know how much snow accumulated? ONE INCH!!! How pathetic is that? If you're from that area, I'm sorry, but that is pathetic. One lousy inch of snow and you're leaving your car? In Chicago, we call that kind of weather the month of May! Have these people never heard of rock salt or plows or shovels or 4-wheel drive? They get rained on 350 days a year and they can't handle a little cold white dusting from high up above. I just don't get it. Enough of that. Let's move on.

If you're ever in Wisconsin, go to a good cheese shop, (I went to Market Square Cheese) and get some Butter Kase cheese. It's got a little more fat than most cheeses and it's a solid cheese, but it is so creamy and flavorful. I guess that's where the fat comes in.

Onto sports. Tom Glavine is back with the Mets, 1 year with a player option and 10.5 million dollars. I am absolutely convinced he wanted to return to Atlanta to be with his family. I can;t really blame him for that, but the fact that the Mets gave him a no-trade clause and the Braves wouldn't, the Mets offered more money, that all tells me that he wanted to give Atlanta every chance to get him back. I am happy that he made his decision before the winter meetings begin next week. Now Omar Minaya needs to get Barry Zito, a relief pitcher (maybe an Octavio Dotel), and a second baseman (Mark Loretta, maybe Julio Lugo, please no Ronnie Belliard) and I'll be happy.

Onto football. After all the Giants have been through the last few weeks, I can't possibly imagine them beating Dallas, even if the game is in New York. Unfortunately, I can't watch the game live as I'll be playing in the volleyball playoffs, so I'll have to tape it. I think the Jets-Packers could go any number of ways. I do think if the Jets are going to win, they need to lead early. Pressure Brett Favre and make him hurry his throws, because that is when he turns the ball over. It's amazing we came so close to drafting Favre in 1991... And instead we wound up with the immortal Browning Nagle. I will watch the game at Rookie's in St. Charles and I'll say the Jets win.

There is no Knick player I want to see succeed more from a Knicks perspective than Eddy Curry. Not that he's the most likable guy in the world, he isn't. The way he looks on the floor sometimes, you wonder if he has a pulse. But for giving up 2 first rounders and Mike Sweetney for him? He's been looking better the last few games. The question is was that a mirage? If he can give 16 points, 9 rebounds per game, I'd be happy. And who would have thought this. The Knicks are tied for the most road wins in the NBA with 5 and are one game out of the Atlantic Division lead with the hardest month of the season behind them. How sad is it that there are only four teams in the Eastern Conference out of 15 with winning records?

Eight days from the Ring of Honor Chicago Spectacular! I know Greg and James are both pumped up for this as am I.

Wi-Dell Part 2

After hitting the gym and shooting basketballs for the first time since I left college (quite miserably until the end), we headed for the Dells. Our first stop was the Cheese Factory, a vegetarian restaurant. Yes, for the first time in my life, I ate in a veg. restaurant and I have to say it is a very unique place. They had everything from rattlesnake tofu to onion rings to a soda fountain. I settled on a veggie omelet while mom had a blue cheese quesadilla with cranberries and walnuts. I know it sounds weird, and I didn't try, but several waiters (all of who are veg by the way) said it was excellent.

From there it was window shopping at the local outlet mall and in spite of the post-Thanksgiving Day savings, I wound up wandering aimlessly. No purchases. For dinner, we ate at Ginza, a Japanese steak house. I love this type of food for the flavor and the entertainment from the chef when they cook in front of you. Great dinner and far cheaper than a visit to a local steak house would have been. I actually got a shrimp flipped to me and caught it in my mouth. Because I caught, I slept peacefully that night.

The next day, we went to see Bobby, the movie about Robert Kennedy. I really credit director Emilio Estevez for bringing so many complex stories together in a way that they made sense. I thought it was cool that Joshua Jackson (Dawson's Creek fame) was in it because he played Charlie Conway in the Mighty Ducks films where Estevez played the coach. I was waiting for Kenan Thompson to run on and scream "It's knucklepuck time!"

One of my favorite times was the walk through Mirror Lake State Park. I took Hogan off the leash and let him run around and explore. His favorite walk seems to be when he's jogging and dragging his nose along the ground, just smelling. Don't know what he's looking for, but he's got a hunter-side in him. After wards, we played mini-golf at Pirate's Cove and I sank 4 holes in one.

Lunch was an elk and bacon burger at Moose Jaw which was so-so. They actually have a Pumpkin Spice ale beer with cinnamon and nutmeg flavors. If it wasn't for where we went to dinner that night, I might have tried it. That evening, we went to a German restaurant that will remain nameless because it doesn't deserve any publicity. It does have a good atmosphere with long rows of tables like you'd find in Germany. I learned two things. A liter is a whole lot to drink and German beer is way stronger than the beer we're used to in this country. Can you see where this is going?

I've been seriously drunk only once or twice in my life and I don't like doing it. Among the polka music I could barely hear what the waiter was saying. So I asked his advice on beer on settled on the DAB, a medium bodied pilsner. He asked me what size I wanted and I asked what they had. I heard "Liter, 1 liter, 3 liter, 5 liter." I asked for 1 liter. I think he also said 1/2 liter too, but I found out too late. I get this near pitcher of beer, enough for about 30 or 35 ounces. About halfway through, I knew I was in trouble. Later that night, after watching Million Dollar Baby and playing Deal or No Deal on DVD, I sprang up in bed and had that dreaded moment of realization. You know the moment. It was time to get sick. I'll stop there.
And the food was average at best.

Sunday morning, we drove to Madison to visit Karen, Nef, and their girls, Sofia and Emma. We went to Blackhawk Church and then went on our way home.

I've learned to really appreciate time off in a way I never had before. Maybe knowing what working in the real world is like, I can appreciate my free time more and more. Maybe I'm growing up... Oh I shudder at the thought!

Back from Wi-Dell

Sounds like a cool way to say Wisconsin Dells you know. Anyway four days have done me wonders and I am back in Illinois, ready for work, and happy to be back with you, my loyal readers.

So let's start this off with a trip recap. Mom, Hogan, and I drove 2.75 hours from St. Charles to Lake Delton, WI, a small town just west of the Dells (for the east coasters, the Dells are an area an hour NW of Madison loaded with family entertainment and waterparks). We check into Tamarack, which has been designed by a couple of different groups including Fairfield. There were all kinds of different accomodations, from a 20 story motel-type building to small houses that were for 1 or 2 people. A lot of space to walk around, a lot of pine trees, and a big lake with flocks of ducks swimming around.

Now we wanted to know a place to get Thanksgiving dinner. This area is usually packed in the summer so we knew we wouldn't have to worry about reservations. They recommended the buffet at the local casino. Now I'm usually not a fan of buffets or going into casinos. But the cute girl at the desk promised it would be good so we took her up on it. We drove to our room, snuck Hogan in (since dogs were not allowed we would've been fined $100 and gotten rid of from the site if they saw him) and drove down to Baraboo, about 10 minutes south. By the way, I got the phone number of the girl at the desk. It's Zero. I called her back later on, but her voice had changed.

So we drove to this hotel/casino in the middle fo a lot of cow pastures. That was one ripe smell surrounding this place. We went from one awful smell to another as we went through the doors and became engulfed in a cloud of cigarette smoke. The buffet was 12.95 and I have to say it was marvelous. Carved roast beef, the enormous turkey leg, sage stuffing, wild rice, desserts, fried shrimp, rolls, salad, just about everything I had was great. It wasn't the same as spending time with my family, but it was still good.

Exhausted from the turkey we wnt back to the room. With the weaher a rather plesant 55 degrees, I took a book and my Bible and walked over to the lake and sat down on one of the benches for about 2 hours. I must say I had one of the better quiet times I've had in a few months. I don't remember anything about the rest of the night except we stayed in. After the driving and the meal, I guess we planned and prepared for the next few days.

50 chairs collapse

You ever been humiliated in front of over 100 people, most of whom you knew? That happened to me Sunday putting the steel chairs on the racks after Ecclesia let out. I had 40 or 50 of them set up inside the brackets which hold them in place on the racks. I guess the brackets were defective. Like a long line of dominoes, one started to fall and that was it. It was one of those moments where I knew it was about to fall and yet I stood frozen thinking "There's no way all those chairs will fall. They're secure." Now this is where your mind starts racing trynig tofind a way out of this. You can't vaporize yourself and disappear. You can't act like you didn't hear anything. So I did all I could think of. I started looking around trying to find someone, anyone, standing close to the now mountain of chairs who other people might think let them all collapse. Of course, no one was was within 5 yards of me. So I called it a night.

And with the crappy recap

OK, let's get to the Jets-Bears game from yesterday. I didn't think the Jets would win the game. But they outplayed outperformed and outclassed the almighty Chicago Bears for the whole first half. The defense dominated the Bears offense. And the Bears defense (which was supposed to be great anyway) limits the Jets. With a 3rd and goal from the 4 or 5 yard line, I wanted a pass. And Chad Pennington throws an off-target pass that Brian Urlacher intercepts. No points. And late in the second half, Thomas Jones runs a draw for the Bears, gets 20 yards on a 3rd and 28. But he fumbles. Jets recover and get it down to the 35 yard line and have a great chance to put points on the board before halftime. But oh no. The officials review it and they rule Jones down. So the Bears get to punt, it costs the Jets 35 yards and the first half ends 0-0.

Now I love Eric "The Penguin" Mangini. But what was he thinking trying an onside kick to open the second half? In a 0-0 game, don't even risk giving a team like the Bears a spark. The Bears get the ball and drive down the field and Gould kicks a field goal and Chicago leads. Then Chad throws a horrible INT and a series or two later, Mark Bradley burns Drew Coleman and waves bye-bye to the Jet D. 10-0 and that was it.

Chad had a bad game, no doubt. He turned the ball over which Grossman did not do for Chicago. Although Grossman made one good pass the whole game, for the record, the long pass in the third quarter to Muhammad. So to the Bears don't do the ultimate sin by beating my two favorite teams only to lose to my least favorite team next week in Foxboro. Because can't you see that coming?

And another thing, how many penalties did the Jets take. I mean it was like watching the Rangers play hockey! There were numerous false starts that killed drives. I can think of 5 off the top of my head.

So a very empty feeling as a Jet fan is rippling through my system. We had the Bears beat and we blew it. Two games back in the division, but a very favorable schedule from here on in. Chad needs to step up like he did early in the season, the defense is doing better and better, and the run game is ok. Good to see Cedric Houston, the one power runner we have on our team, return after 4 weeks of being injured.

So a huge game for both NY teams tonight as the Giants play Jacksonville.

A few important manners and some not-so-important manners

OK, I'm taking a quick break for processing financial aid to write about a few things. I'm starting with something that really unnerves me. No it's no the Giants laying an egg against the Bears.

1) Elton John wants to ban religion because he says religious people are not compassionate towards gays and other minority groups. He didn't specify what religions he just said religion. There are a lot of things I could say here. I will go this way. I believe in an all-powerful God and I believe in right and wrong. I do believe homosexuality is wrong but I realize that a lot of religious people (and non-religious people can be included as well) have been unfairly rough on gays, and I admit I'm not exactly comfortable around gays. The message may be right, but the delivery of the message is usually in anger and hostility or maybe in timidity and fear. So I can see where he is coming from. But I have two questions for Sir Reg Dwight (John's real name).

One, who has the authority to ban all religion? How does that decision happen? And can man keep something down that is bigger then him?

And second of all, and more importantly, what do you put your hope in? What will happen to you when you die? I've certainly heard you use God's name in frustration and anger enough times in interviews. Do you believe in God? If you do, what will your story be? I applaud your work with AIDS groups but don't go stereotyping like that. Because by putting all religion down, you put all religious people down. And that's the majority of the world. So Reg, for your sake, stick with your music and get off your delusional pulpit.

2) The Jets beat the Patriots! In New England! Yes! Now let's take Chicago down!

3) Why are the Mets bringing back Jose Valentin? And for 4 million dollars. He's 37, he'll break down just like he did last year. As a bench player, fine, but Omar still needs to get a second baseman. Mark DeRosa, Adam Kennedy, and Mark Loretta all sound okay to me.

4) Looks like 2 years, 6 million dollars for El Duque. Two years might be a bit much to some people, but it's a player's free agent market. If teams want free agents, they will have to pay a lot of money. And 3 million per is not bad. And he wants to pitch in the big spots and can deliver the goods in the spotlight of October.

5) The biggest priority signings for the Mets should be getting Barry Zito, keeping Chad Bradford, finding a good bat for the bench, and a good left fielder who can hit sixth or seventh.

6) I got an e-mail from careerbuilder.com. You can really tell how in touch they are with the job market. The subject title of the e-mail was "Relax and let us find your new job for you." I'm sorry, am I wearing an "I'm a moron" t-shirt? What kind of job do you have in mind, cleaning out the juice machines at IHOP? By the way, you know what the funniest thing in the world is? Seeing a one-legged waiter at IHOP.

7) Two weeks to go in volleyball and we're second of four in the league. I missed the games from two Sundays ago, where we played the undefeated team. Amazingly we took a game from them without me and going in, I think they had a record of 24-0. So this week we took 2 of 3 without Kevin, who is one of our best players. If we can get all 6 of our players on the court against that team, and save our energy, I think we can beat them.

8)Thanksgiving is approaching too quickly. It's times like this I wish I lived closer to my family.

9) High school football in Kane County will be huge this weekend. Playing in the state semifinals are Geneva and Batavia, two neighboring towns with a long rivalry. Both schools are 12-1. Batavia won the head-to-head match 24-6 on the last week of the season to create a 3-way tie for first place in the WSC with Kaneland. But this game will be at Geneva. I wish I could be there just to experience that type of atmosphere. I never went to a school with football, basketball was really the big game. And Kaneland is also 12-1 with a game against Marian Catholic to go to state. This will be an exciting weekend for Tri-Cities football.

10) I always try to make 10 points in these posts. But I don't have anything else to say.

A few football notes

I don't know if I can really see the Giants beating the Bears tomorrow night. The team has way too many injuries. And the Jets against the Pats doesn't exactly have me feeling too fuzzy either. Die Brady die. Congrats to Rutgers on an incredible win over Louavull!

CMA's-Country Music and Female vocalist rant

I haven't written about country music in a while, but I feel it's fading about as fast as WWE. At least the mainstream is. Last night, the CMA Awards took place and I dreaded something that I expected to happen, but I hoped it wouldn't. It did. Carrie Underwood not only won the Horizon Award, which was bad enough, but Female Vocalist!

I knew it would happen, but I wanted to have the same shocked reaction Faith Hill had. This is a girl coming off American Idol, has paid no dues (kind of like Tom Brady), gets handed two or three magical songs, and runs with them. First of all, I could name at least five singers from that season who were better: Anwar, Lindsey, Vonzell, Bo, and Nadia. And so many other singers are struggling to even get noticed and Underwood just stands in, looks cute, and sings hand-picked songs. That's not art in any way, shape, or form. Once this little love fest ends in a few years, and she has to actually work on her own for success, then we'll see what she's really made of.

I'm just tired of country too often being this sunny happy thing with Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, and people like that. I know that's what's selling records and that's what radio will likely continue to play. I just hope there will remain a place for the more honest, hard country too like Toby Keith and maybe a Gretchen Wilson.

Seafood could be wiped out

I don't get into current events much, but I have to say this concerns me.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/11/02/seafood.crisis.ap/index.html

Fortunately for mom, she probably won't be around long enough to see that happen. I don't know if this seafood disaster will happen, but certainly something needs to be done. Economies and people's ways of life can be eliminated. I hope politicians will recognize this problem and address it accordingly.

Too early for Christmas music!

If I were President, the first law I would pass is no Christmas music can be played on radio or in stores until the day after Thanksgiving. I'm driving in the car on Nov. 1 and Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" comes on. And I heard four more X-mas songs that day alone. Now I love Nat King Cole and that song, but Nov 1? I barely have the egg yolks cleaned off my window and the toilet paper off my car and I already hear "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas." Too soon! We need some Thanksgiving carols. Because two months of Christmas songs is too much!

If you go to Cheeseburger in Paradise, try the island quesadillas. Marvelous. And the Arnold Palmer (ice tea/lemonade) is literally the best AP I've ever had.

Got 24 NY bagels sitting in the freezer. It's all about boiling the bagel in the kettle water. It makes all the difference in the world.

Man, there's nothing like a good workout at the gym to make you feel better. I was in the cardio room and I even recognized a girl from the St. Charles East tennis team, whose matches I covered a few times. We made a little small talk. Smart girl.

Giants win over Houston, albeit barely. It was close as I knew it would be with all the injuries we have and the fact that the Bears are on tap for next week. Of course both the Patriots and Bears lost meaning both teams will be aching to kick the crap out of my teams next Sunday. Hopefully, Brian Urlacher's injury will keep him on the sidelines for the next two weeks when the Bears play the Giants and Jets. Michael Strahan hurt his foot and is in a walking boot. Great. We've lost our top three defensive ends. Not to mention three linebackers, a corenerback, and a wide receiver. On Sunday, we could be without five of 11 defensive starters. Meanwhile, Hollywood Brady throws 4 INT's and the Pats lose at home on national TV to still undefeated Indy. Now they host my Jets next week. Great timing. I could see us losing that one 31-3.

The Knicks are playing like themselves after winning opening night. Two straight losses. In all three games, they've allowed over 100 points. And tonight? San Antonio at the Garden. What will Tim Duncan do to poor Eddy Curry? That will be frightening.

And the Rangers are so out of sync. Lundqvist has been a major disappointment in goal. We need Brian Leetch to come back and play the point on the power play. And get Marek Malik out of here. Then again, I wonder if Tom Renney is suited to still be coaching this team. I'm not calling for anything yet, but I still wonder...

Let's get to this

A few thoughts on a Friday morning...

1) I saw on the highlights of the MLB All-Stars vs. the Japan All-Stars, David Wright hit a game-tying 2-run homer. Where was that during the postseason David?

2) For my Ecclesia group tonight, McElwee is BBQ'ing for dinner. Oh I can't wait! But then again, I really go to the group to learn more about God...

3) I've been complaining a little too much about certain circumstances at work. There are certain miscommunications that should be avoided and certain policies I don't understand or agree with, but I wish I would hold my tongue in check a little better.

4) Two good back to back wins out west for the Rangers in Anaheim and San Jose. And amazingly, backup goalie Kevin Weekes win both games.

5) As for work, while I'm getting most of the basics down, there is always going to be something to learn. I want to be competent confident and on my own and I don't think I'm where I want to be. Not that I expected to get everything down in 2 weeks, but I'm a little unsure of what my future here will be. It may be 3 months, it may be 3 years, I don't know. I just hope God shows me a reason for me being here.

Retreat recap

Around 12 pm, I'm on my lunch break at work and realize I left my sleeping bag at home. Now I'm supposed to be in Wheaton at 5:45 to drive in the car pool. From Hoffman Estates in rush hour traffic, I figure it will take 45 minutes and I leave at 5 p.m. So I call my mother and she agrees to meet me in Winfield so I can pick it up. We make the exchange and I hurry over to Wheaton and arrive at 5:43.

Of course, only about 12 people showed up and we had a plethora of drivers with keys dangling in hand, ready to drive to Lake Geneva. So I went with Jason and Allison (friends of mine who are married and expecting their first baby in a couple of months.

After hitting Jimmy John's (Had an Italian Night Club) for dinner we got to the conference center around 8:15. I was one of the first non-leaders there. Ted and Melissa were there as were McElwee and his family. I was a little bummed the dogs couldn't come along. Then again, we were staying in the nicest building on the property (Maples) so that may have been a factor. In this building, the downstairs is one big room with a piano, ping pong table, fussball, the camp's snack bar, a couple of couches. A narrow hallway leads to four bedrooms, one of which is for handicapped people. The girls stayed upstairs.

About 30 people came. After some prayer and worship, we played a few team-building games. Including that brutal one where you have to build a house of cards. I had never done this. And I don't plan on doing it again either. Then we had some prayer and worship time and then we played Mafia for a while. I was the last person eliminated before the game ended. McElwee, usually the mayor, does these long stories when a player gets killed off. As soon as he said the words "New York Mets," I did like Kramer in the Seinfeld episode with the masturbation contest. I stood right up and said "I'm out!" and walked away.

I spent a lot of time playing ping pong and I really got better as the weekend went on. One of the games we played was around the world where the players surround the table. One player hits the ball, another returns it and everyone keeps walking or running around the table and takes their turn to hit and receive. It gets crazy when you get down to three players because you're sprinting trying to get to the ball. Then in the finals you play to 3 points. We hit the ball, put the paddle down on the table, spun around, picked the paddle up and hit the ball again. Even I got dizzy. The room felt like it was spinning, a little twinge in my head, the whole thing. But I won quite a few times. It was fun playing again.

I knew all but 4 or 5 people on the group. One girl I remember meeting was Megan. She's of Chinese descent and from British Columbia. She plays piano, teaches math (though she's in grad school at Wheaton now), and has a cool easy-going personality. She's been going to Ecclesia for only a month or two. But here's what I remember more than anything. The group is sitting in a circle on Saturday and our meeting is about to begin. I noticed she wasn't at breakfast or in the room. Someone mentioned she had gone running. She ran 13 miles and got lost! Someone drove her back to camp and when she came back, she looked like she hadn't even broken a sweat. Man, I hate people like that!

Anyway, we all spent 6 or 7 hours on Saturday in solitude. Like last year, I wound up sleeping most of those hours. I needed the rest, but I was having a little trouble concentrating too. I found myself asking a lot of very basic questions about God, faith, life, purpose, and things like that. I came away with more questions than answers, truth be told. Not that I'm fighting doubt, but more of wondering about myself, where I fit in the world, what my mission in life is, how to deal with problems. At least I came away from the time feeling relaxed, but a little frustrated too. I tried writing about it in my notebook, but didn't know how to start. So I kind of withdrew for most of Saturday night. I still played ping pong later that night, but declined to play more Mafia.

Around 8:30 pm, we all took a hay ride on two tractors through the campgrounds. Then we started gathering hay and throwing it at the other tractor. It got a little wild, but it got serious when my friend Bill lost his wedding ring in the process. One day before his anniversary, no less. We went back to search for it the next morning, but amongst fallen leaves and hay, it's hard to find a solid gold ring. So we're all pitching in to buy a new ring. Sunday morning was a quick wrap up time and we left around 10:30.

Here's my feeling right now. I was hoping I would work on some of my personal issues that I'm fighting and I don't think I developed a plan or anything like that. But maybe it was a productive weekend. Maybe I learned something and I just don't realize it yet. And I know I missed Ring of Honor, but hey, at least I can get the DVD.

A few minutes open up

Not a very busy morning here at CEC so I have a few things on my mind right now.
Actually, more than a few.

1) My mom just got a new car yesterday. It's a 2 year old black Honda Accord with the navigation system, leather interior, and best of all, XM radio. I got to drive the car for 5 minutes when we went to the dealership to drop off the car we had been borrowing. Man, XM puts regular radio to absolute shame. I like DJ's and all, but with these stations out here, I am tired of hearing the same songs over and over. Anything by KC and the Sunshine Band in particular. Play by play of almost any sport, local news stations from all over America. I guess I have to be really nice to her now...

2) Jets barely bother to show up in Cleveland. Giants win again. This week Houston, week after that, on national television, Chicago. Oh dear God, please let either the Giants or Jets break the Bears winning streak!

3) Won three more matches in volleyball and I put every serve in play. I even nailed a couple of clean kills (spikes) which I don't think I've done all season. I think we're basically neck and neck with another team for second place. One team is undefeated and they look almost impossible to beat right now. But you never know. We have one match against each team left in the league and we're (Lazer) going to be in the second/third place semifinal, so these matches are about building unity and smoothing out our rough spots (i.e. communication on the court, staying in position, service receving, etc.)

4) Knicks start tomorrow night in Memphis. Out of 82 games, I pick the Knicks will hold their opponent to under 100 points a ttoal of 18 times. I'll give them 30 wins.

5) My college gets wiped out in fall playoff action. Field hockey gets upset in the first round, volleyball can beat everyone in conference but Endicott, tennis out in the semis, cross country does ok, but still can't beat Roger Williams, the only hope I have is us beating those evil Gulls in the first round in men's soccer. And as disappointing as this year has been for Gordon so far, I'm not too optimistic. But our men's basketball team opens the season ranked 24th in the country! Considering where the team was when I arrived, that's a great accomplishment. So here's a message to Coach Mike Schauer, other coaches, fans, and players. This year, let's finally win that first CCC title!

6) Armand's in St. Charles and Elmhurst makes pretty good pizza. I don't know about great, but it'll do.

7) Halloween is here, to which I say big deal. Don't like candy, haven't dressed up in years, and live in a neighborhood where kids don't trick or treat.

8) I wonder if any Jason movies are on tonight...

9) Greg, James, as of December 9th, I welcome you both to Ring of Honor....

Final post before retreat

I'm pretty excited about it. I don't know how many people are going but I would guesstimate 25-35. I'm not thrilled about doing a car pool beause I'm a little tight for time, but it'll be good to have people in the car anyway. And the rain is out of here too which is certainly a step up from last year. Last year we had six or seven hours to just go off by ourselves and do what we needed to do to get with God. I was so beat, I wound up sleeping for about 5 of them!

Here's a good story from Wednesday night at Houlihan's. I promised I would not mention wrestling since Ring of Honor is this weekend in Chicago and I have to miss it because of the retreat. Bryan Danielson vs Samoa Joe!!! Anyway, people asked me how I'm going to feel at the end of the weekend and Greg Smith (the borderline wrestling fan who I've been trying to convince to go to a show with me) gets going on the topic. I mention again the return date is Dec 9. I asked again if he wanted me to get tickets. He weighed both sides, but he caved in and said "Yes!" James, another guy at the table, who I don't think has ever really watched wrestling said he was interested. So I decided to get three tickets.

Now my friends Jill and Sarah overhear this and we've been trying to convince them to go. At least Jill was at least open to going one time, even if she's not into it. But Sarah, who I've known for 5 years, is having none of it. It surprises me because she's cool and seems open to trying anything once. But she won't do it. What bothers me is she's going by her perceptions of wrestling on TV to gauge what I'm going to go see.

So she said "If you all play for my ticket, then maybe I would consider going." Which to me is a nice way of saying "No way Jose." She did ask what night the event was. I said "A Saturday night. It's not like you're going to have a dtae or anything that weekend. You're free, you have no excuses."

That may be the cleverest, wittiest, and meanest thing I've said to anyone in a while. I was proud I even thought of it, but I certainly didn't want to hurt her. She knows me well enough, I don't think she minded that much. She did laugh though. Hey, the whole table roared laughing.

Well, one week is basically down at CEC. Some things I have grasped quite quickly, and others, well, not as fast. It's just a lot of information and a lot of situations to use that information. I don't know if it's possible to learn it all, but I'm trying to get a little bit each day and make steady progress. I think if I can do that, I will be okay.

I have to end this on a sad note. For the second time in three years, I think, a student in my high school was killed. 17 years old. I didn't know her but she lived two towns south of me. And not only that, right around the time the accident happened, I was driving on the same road just a few miles north in Geneva. Here's the link.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story.asp?id=243461

Halfway through

week 1 of my first week on the floor at CEC. The morning passed surprisingly fast today. Probably because I actually had work to do that will probably take me most of the afternoon to finish. Of course for the second day in a row, I forgot my lunch at home. Since I'm going out with a co-worker tomorrow, I just passed today. That's okay though, I have a sausage deep dish pizza from Home Run Inn sitting in the freezer back home.

I brought Mindy Smith's record last night. I think I need to give it another listen before I can really post my thoughts. Think about your favorite songs. Were they your favorites the first time you heard them or did they have to grow on you? For me, it's usually the latter. Now are there are exceptions like "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk!" jk.

Since I'm missing ROH, this weekend, here are my predictions.
Samoa Joe over ROH World Champ Bryan Danielson in a non-title match
Austin Aries over Christopher Daniels
Davey Richards over Mark Briscoe
Jay Briscoe over Matt Sydal
Delirious over Steve Corino
Shingo over Roderick Strong
Jimmy Rave & Sal Rinuaro over Colt Cabana & Jimmy Jacobs

Break time is over. I'm out.

OK, I'm calm

Maybe from now on I shouldn't post in the heat of pure misery. Retreat to Lake Geneva is comng up Friday. It will definitely be good to get away from everything out here for a few days. I'll have to stop at Popeye's on the lake and bring home some broccoli cheddar soup. It's even better than the Soup Nazi could make.

I'm now done with training and on the floor at work and a lot is still kind of up in the air. My team lead, Bradlee, seems like a fair guy who is pretty specific about what he wants from all of us. What I liked his that he said if we are making the necessary progress and doing the work well enough, he will not hesitate to hire us permanently. That's great news for me.

But the guy training me yesterday, Dan, well, that's a different story. He's been working here for a year almost, but he was not on his game. He spent a lot of time on IM or just complaining about the schools and people who had fouled everything up for him. I learned very very little from him over 5 or 6 hours. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt for one day, but today, we had better get something accomplished. I won't let his being in a bad mood hinder my progress.

Turned out my car insurance is 1000 dollars less than what I thought it was going to be. I'd better read those dates better. I saw 800 dollars and thought it was a quarterly payment when it was actually bi-annually. That's some good news.

Giants and Jets win. Good deal. Knicks start in a week. Sure, they'll be a fast paced energetic offense. But this may be the worst defensive team in NBA history. Isiah Thomas, you've got full control. Now prove yourself.

Kids don't read this.

If you get offended by bad langauge just don't read this. Suffice to say I now know God does not give a damn about baseball.













First to my "friend," GS, in who was kind of enough to leave an insulting message on my cell phone, I wish you were reading this. You are a selfish, cocky worthless piece of $hit. Go ahead, insult me and make even more miserable than I already am. See if I'm there when you need help in your bad times.

This was the Mets year! This was OUR NLCS! OUR WORLD SERIES! We're the best g-damned team in the whole National Fucking League! And we're still the best. So FUCK St. Louis, F#CK Jeff Suppan, and to Yadier Molina, you big fat son of a bitch, go rot in f#cking hell you no good Satanic motherf#cker. And to every Cardinal fan in the world, may your penises shrink to the size of raisins and f#ck you all up the ass. I hope if there's ever another terrorist attack, they go after that no good miserable piece of $hit city St. Louis Missouri.

And you know what? The f#cking joke's on me more than anyone. My teams letting me down year after year. The Giants blow a 24 point lead in Frisco, the Jets choking in Pittsburgh after Doug Brien misses the two field goals, the Rangers having lousy season after lousy season, the Knicks never winning the title in the 90's and deteriorating into literally the biggest and most expensive embarrassment in sports, or the Mets sticking it right up my ass again. Just the same whole piece of $hit treadmill I've been running on for 15 years. I have not seen one of my pro teams win a title since 1994! Since then, it has been nothing but teases and garbage. F#CK this whole thing.

Game Seven!

John Maine and Paul LoDuca get the game balls for last night's win. Incredible job by both. Jose Reyes is getting on base too. Shawn Green hit a little bit. But Billy Wagner, you are coming too close to the edge. I'm only 25, but my heart can't take that kind of suspense. I'm going to have to buy Zantac. In case you didn't know, prior to the 6th game, in typical Willie Randolph fashion, he gave his players their standard travel itinerary package for the weekend.

The title of the document: Detroit.

I love his confidence. And so it comes down to Game Seven. It doesn't get better or more dramatic than this. One game for the chance to go to the World Series. Mets. Cardinals. Northeast. Midwest. New York. St. Louis. Willie. LaRussa.

I have the night off from work, and I'm planning to stay home and tape it. Fortunately, Mom is in Wilmette right now so I can yell as soon as Oliver Perez gives up his first hit. I think we can win, as I can't expect Jeff Suppan to do as well as he did last time in Game 3. But he can handle a Game 7, he did it 2 years ago against Houston. Oliver, well, who knows. He's going on three days rest and he is very very erratic. All I want is to be within a run and the Cards pen in by the end of the sixth inning. If we can keep it close, we'll win. I think St. Louis needs to score early to have a realistic chance. And I think this is the time for David Wright to come through in a big spot in this series.

Prediction: Mets 6, Cards 4. Onto Detroit!

I'll make this simple

First off I apologize about the venting, it was a very bad last night. And chances are if we lose tongiht, there will be more of the same. Now I've written a lot of long posts so I'm going to keep this one short and sweet. And I havte to paraphrase someone else's catchphrase.

I'm watching this game tonight for two reasons.
1) To see the Mets kick ass
2) And drink beer.

(Drink...) I am now officially out of beer. LET'S GO METS and let's smack those Cardinals OUT OF HERE!

Kaput!

You know, people will tell me I'm too negative with my teams. Fine you can say that. But how can you not be when you have to deal with nothing but garbage and teases for so many years? Because today for the first time since the Scott Kazmir trade, I am embarrassed to say I am a Mets fan.

Hoe bad was Game 5 last night? How many line drives did they hit down the foul line that just went foul? How bad was Tom Glavine? Giving up RBI hits to Ronnie Belliard? Ronnie Belliard? Pedro Feliciano has been automatic against left handed batters this year. Chris Duncan, who can't hit a lefty with two fists and a flashlight, and had hit .170 against lefties this year, hits a home run for the 4-2 Cardinal lead, and you knew we were dead. I don't want to hear about the umpires screwed us or anything like that. That's a cop out, that's crap. Just like our team right now, crap. Lo Duca is getting hits. Beltran and Delgado too. Everyone else can go screw themselves. Jeff Weaver served up one fastball right down the middle right after another. And time after time, the Mets choked. David Wright stinks right now. Jose Reyes can't get on base. In 23 at-bats through the first five games of this series, he's batting .260. He has no stolen bases, and has touched third base only four times with just three runs scored. I love him, but that is unacceptable. Shawn Green is washed up, Jose Valentin is washed up, Julio Franco is done, I don't care how meticulous his diet is, he can drink 20 protein shakes a day, he still can't run and he can barely hit now that's he's in New York and out of Atlanta.

And I'll say it again, if we lose this series, the whole season is a failure. Considering how bad the National League was and how high our expectations were, the NL East title means nothing without a pennant. Barry Zito, enjoy your 6 year, 90 million dollar contract you've got coming to you in January featuring Fred Wilpon's signature.

Oh the pain...

Random musings

I think everyone who has ever written a blog has a post with the word random in it. So it's my turn. Here are ten Tuesday tokens of thought. Nice alliteration there huh?

1) Meijer (one of those Target/Wal Mart stores) makes a great pasta sauce. Meijer Gold it's called. It was 5 bucks nad my mom used it on stuffed pasta shells, which she made last night. I have to admit, for a store brand, that was an excellent sauce. The consistency was smooth, it tasted light, but not wimpy. It was well seasoned with herbs and garlic too. There are some great sauces out there, but this was up there with the better ones I've had.

2) More food stuff. If you live anywhere near a Fresh Market grocery store, by the end of today, go there, and buy a pumpkin pie. This is the absolute best pumpkin pie I've ever had and it is so flavorful and satisfying, you don't really need whipped cream for it. I recommend sprinkling a little cinnamon/sugar on top for an extra kick.

3) Neil Rackers is the worst clutch kicker inthe NFL since Mike Vanderjagt.

4) Steve Trachsel has no place pitching for the Mets ever again.

5) I'm driving my mom's car and I have to say the stereo is weird. On certain songs, high sounds just don't come through. Like a high-toned guitar or piano just barely comes through the speaker. I don't know if it's the stereo or the speakers, but I may look into it. Then again, I need to replace the timing belt and change the oil by next week, so that may be all the money I can put into that car for the forseeable future.

6) I'm getting obsessed with Youtube. Those Comedy Central roasts of Pamela Anderson, William Shatner, and Jeff Foxworthy are downright hysterical.

7) Conan O'Brien will take over the Tonight Show in three years. One word: horrifying. I'm sorry, the guy is just not funny. The only funny things on his show are the "If They Mated" segment and the conversations he has with celebrity impersonators. His monologue is short and bad and he can't interview either.

8) Mike Tyson is going on a world tour of boxing where he will fight exhibition matches. He said he would be open to fighting women. Funny, the last time Tyson fought a woman in public, he wound up going to jail for4 years on rape charges.

9) Kevin Federline shows up on WWE Raw last night? I mean, at least he got beat up, but is that the A-list celebrity that was promised? Brittney Spears' talentless, lazy husband? No wonder I've been buying ROH DVD's instead.

10) OK, and that will segue smoothly to this. I'm not really a huge risk taker. But here's a thought. I caam unable to sell my Ring of Honor ticket for October 28, the same weekend as the Ecclesia retreat in Wisconsin. Could I leave the retreat about midway through (say Saturday around 5 p.m.), drive from Lake Geneva to Chicago Ridge and see Ring of Honor and drive back the same night? It would be a lot easier if there were 250 people on this retreat instead of 40-ish. Unfortunately, when I leave a group for a period of time, I've learned that they notice that I'm gone. People are too darned observant!

First article this season

Geneva doubles up
Vikings claim both singles and doubles titles to win St. Charles East sectional
By Adam Bartolo
Daily Herald Writer
Posted Sunday, October 15, 2006

After Friday’s play at the St. Charles East sectional, it was known that only three teams would be sending players to the state tournament.

St. Charles North placed four semifinalists in four different matches while Geneva and St Charles East each had two.

The Vikings and Saints won all four semifinals and Geneva won both finals, giving the Vikings took the sectional title 28 points to St. Charles North’s 26. The Saints finished third with 22 while Glenbard North and DeKalb had 8.

The highlight of Saturday’s action was the doubles championship match between Geneva’s undefeated combo of Jenny Yonuks and Blair Selakovich against St. Charles East’s Abby Winter and Amanda Gomez.

The first set went to a tiebreaker. The Saints had 2 set points but their execution struggled and they could not close it out.

Trailing 7-6, Yonkus and Selakovich rallied for 3 straight points for a pivotal 7-6 (9-7) first set win. Both teams later acknowledged those three points as the turning point of the match.

If Winter and Gomez were upset about the tiebreaker, they didn’t let it show in the second set as they took the first two games. But Geneva got the match to 5-5, held serve for a 6-5 advantage, and broke the Saints’ serve for a 7-5 set win and the match.

The teams acknowledged while neither played their best match in the finals, the battle got them more ready for state.

“We’re going to be so much more intense,” said Selakovich, who along with Yonkus is 30-0 this season. “We’ll play a lot better. I can promise that.”

Geneva coach Maureen Weiler expected her team to win the match, but admired the play of Winter and Gomez.

“I thought St. Charles played a fantastic match,” Weiler said. “It was good for Jen and Blair to be pushed that hard and play under that type of pressure.”

Winter and Gomez had a crazy tournament that included surviving a match point in their second round match against West Chicago and a three-set win over the North Stars’ Andrea Gentile and Lauren Drawbridge.

“State has been our goal for two years and this match gave us a huge boost of confidence going in,” said Winter.

In the third place match, Denise Lovorn and Lauren Dutkiewicz topped fellow North Stars Gentile and Drawbridge 4-6, 6-4, 6-0. But Gentile and Drawbridge had a great run as they upset the third seed, Geneva’s Meredith Bettcher and Liz Bertrand, 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.

On the singles side, Geneva freshman phenom Kayla Fujimoto ran through the field that ended with a 6-1, 6-1 win over St. Charles East’s Stefanie Youngberg in the finals. Fujimoto got a battle from St. Charles North’s Annemijn Koenen in the semifinal before Fujimoto prevailed 6-3, 6-2.
As she’s playing more, Fujimoto’s play is growing more and more confident.

“I just play my game really aggressive and it worked for me,” said Fujimoto.

Saints coach Sena Drawer said her squad proved themselves against a tough field.

“Stefanie and the doubles team are peaking at the right time,” Drawer said. “I’m very happy for all the girls.”

In the other all-North Star third place match, Koenen was awarded third place against Megan Gow, who had to pull out in the second set after straining her right bicep. She and the rest of her team decided it would be best to make sure she would be ready for state.

St. Charles North is thrilled to qualify six girls for state, the maximum number possible. Coach Tim Matacio came away very satisfied.

“This is not an easy sectional so we’re anything but disappointed,” Matacio said. “We’re very excited and we’re looking forward to state.”

Back to the grind

I rented a few CD's from the library on Friday. I made sure to get a Merle Haggard record. I needed songs with titles like If We Make It Through December, Working Man Blues and I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink.

Anyway, the Mets did get the sries tied at 2-2. I give a lot of credit to Oliver Perez. I pitcher with plenty of stuff and not much control, he didn't dominate, but he gave the Mets a chance to win. And against Anthony Reyes, Brad Thompson, and Josh Hancock, a chance was all the Mets needed. 12-5 win and Game 5 is tonight. Or it's scheduled to be tonight as heavy rain is forecasted for St. Louis. Rain would suit me fine as Tom Glavine would get an extra day of rest, which he would sorely need. 40 year olds pitching on three days of rest isn't the greatest idea.

Jets win, Giants win. Cool.

Got swept in volleyball by the best team in the league. Two games were close and one was an absolute joke. Most of my hitting in the first two games was not good. My serving did get better as the game progressed. But I hate lobbing a serve in. I want my serve to be hard and consistent, a weapon if you will.

I'll be getting the new Mindy Smith record this week. By the end of October, I'll have a review and let you know what I think of her follow-up to "One Moment More."

Let's play taps...

That's right, they are done, I am officially writing off the Mets chances to win the World Series in 2006. Now I'm not saying they won't beat the Cardinals. Although judging by this "beauty" of a game tonight, I wonder if they forgot how to drive in baserunners. But John Maine could only pitch 4 innings, Mota was bad, and Wagner absolutely sucked. No other way to say it. He sucked.

And the way the Tigers are playing right now, we may as well just award them the World Series. I don't care if the Mets are Cardinals play Detroit in the Series, the NL is not winning more than two games. Not a chance and that's if every break goes against the Tigers.

The Mets are done. They may win the pennant. But this is not a team that looks like they even have a prayer of winning a championship. And to think it was all but gift wrapped for them after the Yankees were eliminated. 20 years and counting and no World Series.

Cory Lidle

I was in training class when I heard Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle was killed in that plane crash in Manhattan yesterday. A lot of things have been said so I'll keep this brief. That is a tragedy. To think 2 days ago, he had to call into Mike and the Mad Dog's radio show to defend his comments about the Yankees not being prepared to play the Tigers. And 48 hours later, he's dead.

I thought I would post my top 5 Cory Lidle memories

1) The Mets. Cory was in Flushing around 1996. I thought he would be a good young pitcher, but I got the idea that the managers and front office just thought of him as an okay pitcher.

2) The expansion draft. I knew once he was exposed to the draft where Arizona and Tampa Bay entered, he would be gone. Sure enough, Tampa Bay snapped him up.

3) His honesty. He was never afraid to speak his mind. Whether he challenged teammates' desires to win, called out Barry Bonds for steroids, or discussed the state of baseball as a game, he was not afraid to speak his mind. That's cajones.

4) His streak in Oakland. Lidle's best season was 2001 when he went 13-6 with a 3.59 ERA (10th in the American League) for Oakland, helping the Athletics win the wild card. In August 2002, Lidle was named American League pitcher of the month after finishing the month with 1 earned run and an ERA of 0.20. His five wins during that span helped the Oakland Athletics win 20 straight games.

5) The interview. 14 minutes of straight arguing with Mike Francesa and Chris Russo on the radio this past Monday. It's on wfan.com and Lidle came out of it not looking too good. He kept accusing them of twisting his words to serve their own purposes (what media member or broadcaster doesn't get accused of that anyway?) and they were adamanat that by saying the Yankees were unprepared for Detroit, that he had to be blaming Joe Torre, the manager. Lidle said it was the players' fault. It was not pleasant to listen to. From what I've heard, Russo and Francesa sounded very guilty and apologetic after breaking the news of the crash. And the clip of that interview is still on WFAN's website. I really think it should be removed. It does not portray Lidle in a positive manner whatsoever and shouldn't be left for the public to hear.

RIP Cory Lidle

NLCS time baby!

Game one between your (and my) New York Mets and the Cardinals of St. Louis kicks off tonight. 7 pm Central Standard time. You know, most people think the Mets will have little trouble winning in 5 or games. But I am always very cautious with these types of things. I never let me expectations get too high for any of my teams. Somehow, it lessens the disappointment if only by a little bit.

I think we should win, but I don't know if we WILL win. We already know Pedro and El Duque or done for the season. No big secret there. With his Achilles proble, Cliff Floyd is moving slower that Stephen Hawking through a snow storm. Now I find out that Carlos Beltran has a torn muscle in his abdomen! Oh the pain!

On a good note, the Mets don't have to see Chris Carpenter until the series moves to St. Luois in Game 3. Thankfully, he won't pitch more than twice. Scott Rolen is expected to play despite his shoulder problems. Jim Edmonds will play despite the pain in his foot. And the bullpen was excellent against the Padres and they continually got hits off the bench from guys like Scott Spiezio and So Taguchi.

Don't think I'm overconfident. I've seen too many heartaches and suffered enough ageda to know better.

If we can starting pitching like what we got in LA, we will win. It's that simple. If not, we'll be in trouble. That said, I would like to see a starter last into the 7th inning though!

I like the odds of Glavine vs. Weaver in Game 1. That's a game we should win for sure. Game 2 Maine vs. Suppan. I don't know. Maine gives up homers and with Pujols, I dread the thought. Suppan is either really good or really bad, but the Mets should hit him. Game 3 Carpenter vs. Trachsel. I'll surrender this one. Game 4 is Oliver Perez against TBA for STL. I'm guessing it'll be Jason Marquis over Anthony Reyes. Talk about on or off pitchers. Look up questionable pitchers in the baseball dictionary and you'll see a big photo of Perez.

But I'll be fair. Mets in 7.

Let's open with this.

An inside message to Bob in Brooklyn: WHERE ARE THE YANKEE FANS!!!! To anyone reading this, if you have Real Player, click here and click on the audio file labeled Saturday October 7th Chris Russo talks opens his show in classic fashion - basking in the joy of a Yankees loss

Oh my God! The Yankees get absolutely embarrassed by the Detroit Tigers, losing 3 games to 1. I am no Yankee hater, but I am laughing at this like nobody's business. The payroll is over 200 million dollars. A guy who finished in the top 3 in the AL batting average race bats 9th, an All-Star at every position, they finished tied for the best record in baseball, and they get eliminated in the first round! One stretch of 20 innings with no runs scored. This is a lineup with Damon, Jeter, A-Rod, Abreu, Giambi, Sheffield, Matsui, Posada, and Cano. The pitching was lousy. What happened to the days of David Cone, David Wells, and Andy Pettitte in the rotation and Nelson, Stanton, and a younger Mariano in the bullpen. They never get replaced the right way.

Joe Torre has got to go. I respect him, but he has got to take a hit now. If I'm Brian Cashman (and this is assuming his job is secure) I go after Lou Piniella right now. If I can't get him, get Joe Girardi and overhaul this roster. Even if that means an average year next year, it has to be done. The Yankees do not have much of a farm system beyond Eric Duncan and Phillip Hughes. Sheffield will be gone, Mussina will be gone, A-Rod will be traded if someone will actually take his salary, and the Yankees will have to absorb a lot of the salary as well. They need to get younger, and they need pitching. The starting pitching was hideous. Randy Johnson is done, Mike Mussina is not the pitcher he was, and only Chien-Ming Wang did his job.

And they get shut out by Kenny Rogers in Game 3 and Jeremy Bonderman takes a perfect game into the 6th inning in Game 4 on Saturday? Meanwhile, the Yankees throw Jaret Wright in Game 4, a guy who on his best day can't pitch more than 6 innings anymore. Oh my God, you cannot make this up.

I watched the whole game at the Daily Herald office. Magglio Ordonez leads off the Tigers' second with a bomb to left field off Wright. Three batters later, Craig Monroe hit a two-run homer. 3-0 and the rout was on. Third inning is where I knew it was over. After Wright gets the first two outs, Ordonez hits a grounder to A-Rod who throws the ball away. Mags is safe and then Carlos Guillen singles, and then Pudge Rodriguez singles a run home, and that was it. Cory Lidle comes in to relieve Wright, and holds the Tigers off until the fifth. Four straight hits, two more runs, Brian Bruney comes in to pitch, and Pudge hits a sac fly, it's 7-0 in the fifth inning!

Meanwhile, Bonderman is getting everybody out! Cano breaks it up in the 6th with a ground ball single up the middle, effectively removing any drama that was left in this game.

It is the Mets' time baby! They sweep Los Angeles. I'll write more about this series later and how my whole Saturday went. For right now, it's enough to say bring on Pujols, Rolen, and Carpenter. Or bring on Giles, Piazza, and Peavy. I'll take either one on.

Wednesday night, Game 1. National League Championship Series. Mets play either St. Louis or San Diego. I can't wait.

WHERE ARE THE YANKEE FANS!!!!

Which Friday wears you out more?

You know, if this was a normal Friday, I would do the following. Wake up at 6, head to work around 7:15 get there at 8, stay until 5, get home at 5:30, eat dinner, hang with my small group, and go to work at the paper around 10 p.m.

Well this has been one of the most unpredictable weeks of my entire life. Let's just deal with today. I got up at 4:30 to prepare to the drive to Rush Medical Center, right near the United Center. We got to the facility around 5:45-6 in the morning for mom's surgery. I hang in the lounger for a while and do some reading. Then I get the call to go see her around 10:30.

The procedure went well, but there was a lot of bad stuff to clear out in her left foot. She has to be off of it for a good 8 weeks. But she can't lave the hospital until she can move the foot on her own. That usually takes a few hours to occur. Well, it is 3:45 and 6 hours later, we're still here. After getting four hours of sleep last night, I think I have fallen asleep three or four times.

Now it's inevitable we'll be fighting the rush hour traffic home. I seriously need some rest right about now.

Game 1 recap

You know, I like my trainers at CEC, Loren, Karen, and Jackie, the middle one is especially hot. But seriously, some people just don't understand. There are priorities and there are priorities. What are people thinking scheduling something so intensive when the Mets are in the playoffs for the first time in 6 years?

My training ended at 5 and the game began at 3. So I had to be pretty creative. Luckily, I sit in the next to last row of the class on an end side, so it's hard for anyone to see my laptop screen. We were discussing formulas for figuring out if a student is full time or not and in between multiplying weeks for the academic year by credit hours and checking Federal Pell Grant charts, I clicked on Sportsline to get updates.

The Dodgers went up 1-0 and I missed the play in that inning that will live for a long time on highlight plays. Two Dodger runners on and the hitter hits a fly ball to right field. Shawn Green fires the throw in and Jeff Kent gets thrown out at the plate. Coming right behind him is JD Drew. He slides and he gets tagged out! It's amazing. Something crazy usually happens whenever the Mets are in the playoffs.

And what a job by Carlos Delgado. He's waited over a decade to get in the playoffs and he delivered. 4 for 5 with a home run, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored. The bullpen? Still incredible. Feliciano, Bradford, Mota, Heilman, Wagner. Wright and Reyes did their jobs. Beltran didin't get a hit but he walked three times and scored. Green and Valentin did nothing, but that can change.

So it's a 1-0 lead in the best of 5 Division Series and after a beautiful afternoon in the northeast, now it's raining in the Bronx when the Yankees are trying to play the Tigers in Game 2. That's pretty funny. I just heard a Yankee fan on the radio ask "Why are you Met fans raining on our parade?" That's New York.

Happy trails

The pessimistic way of thinking won out. My car is getting totaled. I really liked this car, but I have driven it for the last time. I am extremely bummed right now.

Five minutes till John Maine opens the playoffs...

Flooding

Well these last two days have been one adventure. Never mind the 27 hours of work. It's been the aftermath. We have had an ungodly amount of rain. I left work at 10 pm Monday and it was raining incredibly hard, but I figured I could still get home. With a 1/4 mile to go, I notice a puddle is coming up. I kept going and all of a sudden, I wasn't going anymore. With a monsoon pouring down on my car, I was stuck. My car would not start up again and after about 15 minutes, water began creeping in through the bottom. I called 911. The water kept rising and rising, and it almost reached the seats. It came very close, but not quite that far. Fortunately, the police and tow truck dragged me out of the water and dragged my car to...an area that at least wasn't a puddle.

In that car, I did everything imaginable. I read the Bible, and prayed, and cried, and yelled, and begged with God, and whispered, and did everything and felt every emotion from one extreme to another. I envisioned sleeping in my undrivable car overnight. And then I thought of home. Our basement flooded two weeks ago and I knew it was going to be worse this time around. Mom was home alone trying to get the basement dry. I sat in my car for about 75-80 minutes waiting for the rain to let up. I knew there would be no more driving. I just wanted to run home. At midnight, I took off. I got home and I was so relieved to be back. She cleaned that basement like nobody's business. It's still wet, but it's nowhere bad as what I thought it would be.

My car had to be towed. It wouldn't start this morning. And now the forecast is for more rain tonight. Oh joy. I can't wait. Mom brought 20 bags of topsoil and a tarp to help prevent water from leaking down into the window that leads to the basement. Hopefully, it will absorb the damage that will be savaging St. Charles once again in a few hours.

My comments on the Jets-Colts

This is why the Jets are the Chicago Cubs of football. Let me recap my Sunday afternoon.

I get home around 11:30 from church and head downstairs to watch a few minutes of the Jets games before I have to leave for volleyball. So on the Jets first possession, our All-World tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson lets Robert Mathis run over Chad Pennington like a steamroller. Fumble. Colts recover on the Jet 26. Four plays later, touchdown. 7-0. The Jets get the ball back and get minus yardage. They punt, I leave for the match. Volleyball was a disaster today, but that aside, back to the game.

I pull into the house around 2:15 and go downstairs expecting a 28-3 score or something like that. I find out the Colts are only ahead 17-14. I was amazed. Jerricho Cotchery had an amazing touchdown run where he ran over one of the Colt defenders. What I didn't know was the Jets had a 9 minute drive in the third quarter where they had 4th and goal from the 2 yard line. Eric Mangini decides to go for it. Colts play the play action attempt perfectly. Ball gets intercepted.

I tune in just in time to see Kevin Barlow (who I was playing against in fantasy football) score his second TD of the game! Figures. 21-17 Jets, 8 minutes left. I knew the Colts would likely score. They go on a 5 minute drive. Manning completes 5 of 6 passes, throwing a 2-yard TD on a 3rd down play where he looked for sure like he was getting sacked. Colts lead.

But we had time and I felt we had a chance. I just didn't want to see the Colt offense on the field again. Justin Miller takes the kickoff from inside the 2-yard line and returns it all the way for a touchdown. I was going absolutely nuts in the basement. I can only imagine how loud Giants Stadium was for those few minutes. 28-24 Jets. Colts have no timeouts left.

Then our immortal kicker Mike Nugent steps up. For the second kick in a row, he can't even get the ball to the 10-yard line. This was a second round pick and his kickoffs suck. No other way to say it. They suck. The Colts return it 30 yards to their own 40. I knew right there the Colts were scoring a TD. Sure enough, Manning completed 6 of 8 passes and ran for a 1-yard TD. 31-28. I almost expected that. So 50 seconds left. The Jets need a field goal to tie and they have a timeout.

First, CBS shows a horrible diagonal camera angle from above the stadium. Then Indy tried a rolling squib kick. It bounces past every Jet and into the end zone. Our rookie RB, Leon Washington picks the ball up inside the end zone and instead of taking a knee, which would put the ball at the 20, he runs it out and gets stopped at the 2 yard line. 18 more yards to go! This is where I lost it. I screamed like I have not screamed during a game in years. I was not this angry when the Jets lost to Pittsburgh in the playoffs, when the Mets lost the World Series or to the Braves, or when the Rangers got swept by the Devils. Probably the last time was during the Giants miracle collapse in the playoffs against San Francisco 4 years ago.

Pennington completes 3 short passes and we had 8 seconds with 68 yards to go. They pull off the old Cal-Stanford play with about 9 or 10 laterals that gets them to the Colts 20, but not close enough. Game over. but the worst is yet to come. During the final play, Laveranues Coles gets tackled by 3 Colts and separates his shoulder. Who knows how long he'll be out for. The AFC Player of the Month now lost probably for a couple of games. Typical Jet luck. The loss was bad but losing Coles and running back Cedric Houston, who has been our most effective runner in what is a hideous running offense makes it even worse. And CBS showed their class by cutting away from Coles writhing on the ground in pain and cutting to another game. Absolutely disgusting and distasteful by that network.

And fantasy baseball. I picked up Woody Williams and Jaret Wright and both pitched terribly, all but sealing my fate in the championship match. And I needed that on top of volleyball and everything else. So that topped off what was a brutal Sunday afternoon for me. Absolutely brutal. Oh, the pain. Oh, the pain.

I blame the defense for the loss. Coach Mangini had little to do with it. He takes chances (a recovered onside kick) and that won't always work. Against Indy, if you have a chance to get points, you do it. Indy is excellent, but our defense can't stop the run against good teams and even against bad teams, we cannot rush the passer except when safety Kerry Rhodes blitzes. Manning had a good 10-15 seconds on several occasions to throw a pass. You can't beat Indy when Manning has that kind of time to make something happen.

Dewayne Robertson is garbage. Get him out. I don't know who will take his money. But he has no business playing in a 3-4 defense. The first two priorities for the Jets this offseason should be to get a nose tackle and also get a running back we can build this franchise on. If we had a running game to complement Chad at quarterback, this offense could be really dangerous. We need the next Curtis Martin, if you will. Although there will always only be one Curtis Martin.

More sports

So the Mets have lost Pedro Martinez, their ace pitcher for the playoffs with a torn tendon in one of his calves. Listen. Despite what ESPN, the media, and all these other people will say, it's bad that it happened, but not that big a deal. Pedro has not been the Pedro we want to see since that scoreless duel with Brandon Webb and Arizona back in May. There have been flashes of brilliance but no consistency. Now against better lineups, we'll probably wish we had him. But we've won close games all year long and that's the reason we will finish with the best record in the National Legaue.

I know our rotation will scare nobody, not against playoff teams. But we have the lineup to win and the bench is good with Ramon Castro back. And we have the necessary bullpen, I think the best in baseball. Only Detroit is nearly as good as ours when you look at all six or seven pitchers. San Diego and Minnesota I would rate just below. So all I'm asking from Orlando Hernandez, Tom Glavine, Steve Trachsel, and John Maine is to just hang each game. Pitch six full innings, allow no more than three runs. With this lineup, I think that's completely reasonable.

Jaromir Jagr is set to return for the Rangers tonight in an exhibition game against Wanger's Bangers, the Islanders. Let's go Captain 68!

The Giants are off this week. God knows they need it.

I think the Jets will battle Indy for most of the game on Sunday. If they can run it, they can win. And Indy has a small front 7 and we're getting Pete Kendall back on the offensive line, which will be huge. But if we couldn't limit England, I don't see our defense doing enough against Peyton Manning to win. In the end, I pick Indy 24-17, but the sane Jets fans will feel decent enough afterwards. Then it's on to Jacksonville where a win would be great.

What is with the US in international sports? Olympic hockey, the World Baseball Classic, the World Cup of Soccer, the Davis Cup, the FIFA basketball championships (men's and women's, mind you!), and now this embarrassing performance in the Ryder Cup. Are other countries that jacked up to beat us? Or do we not care. It certainly isn't for a lack of talent in most cases. I mean at this rate, Switzerland could compile a football team and beat the best of the NFL! Would that shock anyone?

Fantasy baseball coming down to the wire this weekend. 12-5 in one championship match (a lot of stats are close though), and a 5-5 tie in the other. Let's see what happens.