Chai talking, you're telling me lies

As an anti-coffee crusader, I have a very limited selection when I saunter inside a Starbucks, Caribou, or any coffee shop. As of late, I've tried a few different drinks and offer my comments.

Caribou Caramel Apple Blast: I tried this about 3 weeks ago. I must say I was impressed. A hint of caramel really rounds this out.

La Spiaza Hot Cider: Or as I call it, La Piazza in downtown Wheaton across the street from Starbuck's. They actually seel bumper stickers that read "friends don't let friends drink starbuck's." The cider I tried was incredibly hot and incredibly bland. No spice or added flavors. It just tasted like someone threw a cup of grocery store brand apple juice into a micro and jacked the power up to the max. Fortunately, they have Goose Island root beer and ab out 50 shot flavors as well. And frozen gelato!

Starbuck's Caramel Apple Cider: This works pretty well. Steamed apple juice, caramel, cinnamon syrup and whipped cream. I warn you, this thing is compressed inside that cup. The last time I ordered one, I took the lid off to add some spices. Well, I didn't realize the whipped cream was on top. Suffice to say I had to take my clothes to the cleaners the next day.

Border's Chai Tea: Absolutely hideous. It tastes like powder (they actually make it from powder) and it's just very flat and boring. If you're going to get a drink at Border's go with something bottled, preferrably water.

Starbuck's Chai Tea Latte: The girl at the counter asked me if I wanted the tea or the latte. That threw me off so I said tea, thinking a latte had to have coffee. So I figured out the tea meant a bag and changed my order. She only charged me for the tea, which was very cool of her. Apparently, they make their chai from a liquid concentrate of some type. Ingredients include black tea blend with exotic spices, steamed milk, and honey. I must say that was fine chai. I added extra cinnamon, which is not something I can do without.

I still plan on trying the Caribou Chai Tea, but there's such a fine line between fine chai and bad chai. I guess the best places charge you a bit more, but it's worth it to get the good stuff.

11:48 and 26 seconds...

Was there anyone expecting to read a rant? Well if you were, you're exactly right.

As good a game as the Rangers-Flyers was last night, this loss could send the season spiraling out of control. Leading 2-0 against a reeling Philly team at home, 10 minutes left, trailing them by 3 points in the division standings, and they blow everything. They lose in OT 3-2 on the only shot the Flyers would take in the extra period.

If there's such a thing as a point that should not be kept, this is it. To blow this lead and lose this game is inexcusable. No Forsberg, Desjardins, Johnsson and they still find a way to lose.

And now with the upcoming schedule before the Olympics is Pittsburgh, the Islanders, Philly, Ottawa, and Toronto back to back. Who's to say they won't lose 6 of their last 7 games?

This team needs size up front, a power play QB. They're not a team that can survive in the playofs. I know how great Lundqvist is. No doubt about that. But when the skaters commit more turnovers in five minutes than the football Jets do in a season, you're not winning!

They are not good enough to make a run in the playoffs. Plain and simple.

The only good thing to come out of last night is that I had just picked up Joni Pitkanen for my fantasy team and he scored twice, including the game-winner.

By the way, the Jets hired Brian Schottenheimer to replace Mike Heimderinger as offensive coordinator. This probably marks the first time in history where a man with "Heimer" in his name replaced a man with "Heimer in his name.

And Strudwick makes it 7-1!

Not a bad Saturday game for the New York hockey Rangers! 7-1 over Pittsburgh. Let's see what happens against Philly on Monday night on OLN.

I had never heard Michael Jackson's "She's Out of My Life." And after the way that guy Marcus performed it on American Idol this past week I don't ever want to hear it again. He held notes longer than I was in New York this week!

On a similar note, the country music singles charts are a total enigma. In the top 10 right now, you have five great songs, two good songs, two bad songs, and one hideous one. Naturally, the hideous song, by American Idol winner Carrie Underwood, is number one. I just have an issue with her. There were 4 or 5 people better than her in the top 12 of that show this past year. Hopefully Brad Paisley's "When I Get Where I'm Going" and especially Trace Adkins' "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" will both hit number one soon. Tim McGraw's "My Old Friend" And Keith Urban's "Tonight I Wanna Cry" are both winners in my book as well. Brooks and Dunn's "Believe" is #17 but hopefully it will keep moving forward.

What else is going on...Willow Creek volleyball starts tomorrow. Now our team has split from last year so instead of one bad team, we are now two hideous teams. I have bulked up and I am ready to layeth the spiketh down.

Looking for a movie? Avoid "Twisted" under any circumstances.

Hogan had a checkup this morning. Eyes are good, bones are good, ears are pretty good, heart is good. 14 years old and still going strong.

Early Super Bowl prediction: Pittsburgh 24, Seattle 17. Maybe this is the year the game will finally go to overtime. The key for me is can Shaun Alexander run against the 3-4 defense?

By the way did you know the two pro coaches who have been under contract longer than Bill Cowher are Bobby Cox and Jerry Sloan? I did!

Would someone please explain...

I'm working on the New School in NYC. Why they call it the New School, who knows. I came to the history department and I saw a class title and I just about went through the computer screen. They have a class called Burn Baby Burn: Riots and Urban Disorder Since 1863.

I mean come on now. They use "Burn Baby Burn" in a class talking about riots and conflict? What are they doing in that class? Playing disco in the background? That actually would be pretty good learning, you know. Think about all the disco era songs you could play that relate to that kind of class.

Of course, I already have. With that in mind, the People's Blogger hereby presents the Top 10 Disco Song Titles You Would Hear in the Burn Baby Burn History Class. And Disco Inferno is disqualified because it's already in the title of the class.

10) There But For the Grace of God- Machine (1979)

9) Wishing on a Star- Rose Royce (1978)
8) Where Do We Go From Here- Trammps (1974)
7) Relight My Fire- Dan Hartmann (1979)
6) Rock The Boat- Hues Corp. (1974)
5) Shame- Evelyn Champagne King (1977)
4) We Are Family- Sister Sledge (1979)
3) Nights on Broadway- Bee Gees (1975)
2) Stayin' Alive- Bee Gees (1977)
1) I Will Survive- Gloria Gaynor (1978)

For the record, pardon the pun, I really don't know any of the songs between 5 and 10. The titles just worked.

Turning Japanese

That's an old 80's song. Not to mention a reference to the Mets. GM Omar Minaya holds true to his theory that if you throw a billion darts, eventually one will stick on the board. My response is one will eventually stick, but how close can you get to the bullseye? And the space between 3 points and 20 points is not much.

Anyway down to business. The Mets have signed a pitcher from Japan, Yusaku Iriki. And with our history of Asian players, I am cringing. Shinjo was servicable for a year. So was Masato Yoshii. But need I mention Kaz Matsui? Or Kaz Ishii? Or Dae-Sung Koo? Or Hideo Nomo? Or Shingo Katayama (the Japanese Greg Maddux who turned out to be more like the Japanese Mike Maddux)? Or Takashi Kashiwada?

Iriki has a fastball that tops out at 90-93 mph. His repitoire also includes a curveball, slider, changeup and shuto. A shuto is a two-seam pitch which breaks down and outside to righty batters, reminiscent of Masato Yoshii. And he can supposedly start or relieve.

So there are a lot of options for the pitching rotation this year. We'll see if Mr. Iriki fits the bill better than at least say, Koo-Koo-Ka-Joo.

52 and fluctuating

It's 52 degrees outside and I just wanted to use the word "fluctuating" today.

Remember the lovely woman who conned Wendy's with her husband when she got a bowl of chili and bit into a severd finger in the chili? And it turned out it was a setup. They planted the finget in the chili? She's going to jail for nine years. Her husband gets 12 years for setting it up. Good. Get-rich-quick schemes are one thing, but jeopardizing other people and their well-being (most every Wendy's employee) to get there is even worse.

Another wonderful performance from the Knicks as they lose in OT in Chicago by two. So much for that undefeated in 2006 mantra right? Now they've lost three in a row. I know they probably would have won with Marbury in the lineup. But come on. Can someone play defense on this team? Is Ben Gordon becoming Reggie Miller, Jerry West, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan all rolled into one? Every time that stiff plays the Knicks, he explodes. Jamal Crawford was very good. Mo Taylor did some good things. Nate Robinson made some big shots though he made two turnovers in OT. Certainly that didn't help the Knicks' cause. Channing Frye did nothing. In fact I don't think he played more than 10 minutes. David Lee did nothing.

But here's who I am ticked at. Eddy Curry. He was useless. Against his old team, 11 points and four rebounds before fouling out and he hurt his neck. What a joke he is right now. Half the time, he looks like he's coasting along on the court. He had better get into shape and play with a little heart. You know, the one that's not beating quite right. Eddy, play with it for a change. Or you will be nothing more than a journeyman center over a 7 year NBA career.

And Antonio Davis. He runs up into the stands to check on his wife and kids who were being hassled by a couple of drunk jackoffs. He gets ejected and is now supposed to be suspended. As I write, the ruling has not been enforced yet. But if Commissioner David Stern suspends him even one game, it's a crock. The rule exists that a player is not to go into the stands. But come on, was he supposed to just watch? That's the man's family! After the Indiana-Detroit brawl last year, David Stern is playing "Bad Cop" with any incident that even remotely resembles it. So in a prepared statement, he probably will talk about "While we understand...We will not tolerate... The rule clearly states...Therefore..."

Another loss and now the Knicks go to Detroit tonight. That'll be a day at the beach!

You cannot make this up

From CNN...

A computer programmer found out his girlfriend was having an affair when his pet parrot kept repeating her lover's name, British media reported Tuesday.

The African grey parrot kept squawking "I love you, Gary" as his owner, Chris Taylor, sat with girlfriend Suzy Collins on the sofa of their shared flat in Leeds, northern England.

But when Taylor saw Collins's embarrassed reaction, he realized she had been having an affair -- meeting her lover in the flat whilst Ziggy looked on, the UK's Press Association reported.

Ziggy even mimicked Collins's voice each time she answered her telephone, calling out "Hiya Gary," according to newspaper reports.

Call-center worker Collins, 25, admitted the four-month affair with a colleague called Gary to her boyfriend and left the flat she had shared with Taylor, 30, for a year.

Taylor said he had also been forced to part with Ziggy after the bird continued to call out Gary's name and refused to stop squawking the phrases in his ex-girlfriend's voice, media reports said.

"I wasn't sorry to see the back of Suzy after what she did, but it really broke my heart to let Ziggy go," he said.

"I love him to bits and I really miss having him around, but it was torture hearing him repeat that name over and over again.

"I still can't believe he's gone. I know I'll get over Suzy, but I don't think I'll ever get over Ziggy."

Taylor acquired Ziggy as a chick eight years ago and named him after the David Bowie character Ziggy Stardust.

The bird has now found a new home through the offices of a local parrot dealer. Collins, who admitted the affair, said: "I'm not proud of what I did but I'm sure Chris would be the first to admit we were having problems.

"I am surprised to hear he got rid of that bird," she added to The Guardian newspaper. "He spent more time talking to it than he did to me."

Out of titles

Well, another 3-day weekend comes and goes and that's the last one for a long time.

Eric Mangini is now coaching the New York Football Jets. Excellent. 35 years old. A supposed genius. We shall see. If nothing else, it takes Belichick's prodigal son away from Foxboro. And of course, in response, Belichick bars Mangini from entering the Patriot offices to collect his stuff. Real classy Bill. You've really matured since you quit on the Jets. What was he going to do, steal Scott Pioli, Richard Seymour, and the entire offensive line?

This is a long term move to me. The Jets will probably not win more than 6 or 7 games next year. But at least there's stability. Hopefully he won't try to play a New England 3-4 defense because he clearly does not have the personnel to do so. I hopes he just plays to the strengths of the players he has, which Herman didn't initially do. One thing though. There are about 8 or 9 head coaching vacancies in the NFL. If this guy is such a great, can't-miss coach, why did nobody else have him on their interview list?

Wrestling notes

I do not like where WWE is heading and that is putting it mildly. Certainly the product was better when there was competition with WCW and ECW. But it's amazing how bad things are getting and in how many ways they are getting bad.

1) Deaths:
Eddy Guerrero.

2) Injuries:
Batista (Torn triceps, not expected to return until after Wrestlemania).
Ken Kennedy(Shoulder).
Rob Van Dam (Finally coming back at the Royal Rumble).
Kid Kash (Broken arm)
Booker T (Groin)

3) Guys leaving
Chris Jericho: Don't count on him coming back
Christian: A babyface superstar in TNA.
Rene Dupree: Last year's rookie of the year fades into oblivion and now faces hernia surgery
Frank Kazarian: A talented cruiserweight who didn't get much of a chance to shine
Juventud Guerrerra: Super Crazy is better than him anyway.

4) Brutal angles:
a) Celebrations that involve beds. What worries me is while there were a lot of complaints, the rating for that segment was around a 5.2, which is excellent.
b) Shelton Benjamin and his mama. I'm a big mark for Benjamin and I think he can be great. And she is very entertaining, but how exactly does this help Shelton's career?
c) Ric Flair getting bloodied every week. It's starting to lose its shock value and now it's scary. That conchairto was not easy to watch.
d) Fit Finlay is coming back to Smack Down. This guy hasn't been an active wrestler in years. What is he going to add?
e) And Vince is supposedly unhappy with Joey Styles as announcer. Vince, let the guy announce. You're not going to get anyone better.
f) Why is Gregory Helms losing to Jerry Lawler? They did the same thing with Tazz and his career never recovered.
g) Kane is getting stale. He needs to evolve in some way.

5) Improper pushes, or lack thereof
a) Brian Kendrick, Paul London, and Jamie Noble deserve more SmackDown time. I mentioned Kid Kash and his injury is bad for the company.
b) Does anyone else find the Boogey Man a weird novelty act, nothing more?
c) Chris Masters. Yeah he looks good, but he doesn't deserve a World Title shot so early in his career.
d) Carlito. Great on the mike, decent in the ring. At least he has a nice dropkick.
e) Chavo Guerrero. Maybe the WWE doesn't want to appear they're capitalizing on Eddy's death so they are afraid to push Chavo too hard. But the "Eddy chant is huge every time he steps in the ring. Why not give him a run at the Intercontinental title? He definitely knows how to work. I would just not allow him to use the frog splash. Doesn't look good.

OK, there are a few good things.
1) John Cena has been in limbo for a while and now that he is no longer champion, he doesn't have to be THE GUY to build the company around. He can be that face-heel that is in the middle which is good for a little while until they figure out better direction for him.
2) Chris Benoit is expected to stay.
3) Kurt Angle going to Smack Down is a very good move as they definitely need someone to carry the brand.
4) MNM is a very good tag team. And coming back to the tag team division... Jamal and Rosey! That's right they should be on TV in THREE MINUTES!!!!
5) It's not Nitro and Thunder.

Top 5 Guys in Ring Of Honor or TNA I want to see in WWE
1) Samoa Joe (A total original. Hard hitting, aggressive, and has a huge cult following)
2) AJ Styles (The best there is today)
3) "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson (Brings a Japanese and Mexican style. An excellent champion)
4) Roderick Strong (King of chops and innovative backbreakers)
5) Abyss (Becoming the best big man around)

The thing is I don't know if any of these guys can do promos except Joe. Styles is good, but not original. I've never heard Danielson talk except when he curses the fans out.

What a Beautiful Mess I'm In!

An incredible night. Chicago and Scottie Pippen's jersey retirement have got nothing on Mark Mesier and seeing his #11 rise to the rafters of Madison Square Garden on January 12, 2006.

The ceremony lasted nearly 1.5 hours and was a sight to remember. From Messier walking down an aisle formed by the current NY Ranger roster to the barber/fishing chair to the banner raising itself. I wonder if Vegas had odds on how fast Messier would start to cry. I figured one minute. Didn't take that long.

Seriously though. Who has cried more tears in their lifetime, Mark Messier or Dick Vermeil?

And the game. I watched two periods in a restaurant (Average pulled pork sandwich) and listened to the third on the radio. They didn't play from midway through the first period until there was four minutes left in the second. After they fell behind 3-1, I got my check at the restaurant I was at. There were five minutes left when I finished off my check. I decided to stay a few minutes and at least wait until the end of the period. I figured they had more of a chance than the Giants did on Sunday. Lo and behold they score twice to tie the game at 3-3.

I actually recognized someone I knew a little in high school and talked with her for about 10 minutes. She had to leave, and I was ready to go, so we parted ways and I headed home. As I get on the computer, I found out Prucha scored goal #21 to put da Blue Guys up. Then Edmonton scores one of the cheapest goals I have ever seen. If that wasn't goaltender interference, the rule just should not exist. Lundqvist should've filed harrassment charges on that play. OT comes up and with this team's putrid recent performances in overtime, I was praying to just get to the shootout. I didn't think we could keep up with their speed and I felt Lundqvist would do better than our old buddy Jussi "I see" Markannen. But 14 seconds in, Jagr scores on a nice setup from Roszival and the Rangers win 5-4 and, more importantly, gain two points on Philadelphia.

Petr Sykora did a great job again and this trade with Anaheim is looking like an absolute steal. Fedor Tyutin looked good. The power play, though, was an embarrassment. Almost as bad as the debacle I saw in Chicago last December. 1 for 11 with less than 10 shots and 2 short handed goals given up. When the Rangers got a power play with 2 and a half minutes left in the third, I was nervous! I was like "Can we please decline it? Take a raincheck?" This isn't football, but I didn't want a power play. Edmonton has excellent speed, no doubt, but the Rangers performed in a very lackadaisical manner for 30 minutes.

And the Knicks have won five in a row! I never doubted them for a minute!

College notes

Well after a lot of ranting lately, I think I can giev it a rest for a little bit, at least until the Jets name their next head coach.

But I thought I would take a few minutes to share with you, my peeps, a few quirky notes from colleges I have encountered while working in the College Division at Houghton Mifflin. Here are my favorite college names that I've encountered after 6 weeks.

10) Cardinal Stritch University
9) Bohecker's Business College
8) Bastyr University
7) Big Sandy Community Technical College
6) Turtle Mountain Community College
5) Rust College
4) Marlboro College
3) Chief Dull Knife College
2) Definace College (that's just asking for trouble, to me)
1) Pillsbury Baptist Bible College

Also I saw Cleveland Chiropractic College. And they offer a wide selection of history classes. If you're going to a chiropractic college, what's the point of world history? To come up with something to talk about to the patients while you're working on them?

Why is there a Canada College in California?

Why is Southern State Community College in Hillsboro, Ohio?

I went to Gordon, part of the Commonwealth Coast Conference in New England. I have worked with Gordon, University of New Egland, Curry, Endicott, Eastern Nazarene, Regis, Colby-Sawyer, Nichols, and Anna Maria. That's nine out of 13 schools.

For family interest, I've done St. Francis-Kearny, Mitchell College and Connecticut College in New London, CT.

And right now I'm listing the course information from MIT. I've only gotten to the chemistry separtment and I think I've already overloaded a few brain cells. Look at some of these course titles in this one department:
Organometallic Chemistry.
The Protein Folding Problem. (About the only interest I'd have in this is what foods are highest in protein so I can increase my muscle mass).
Spectroscopy and Organic Structure Determination.

Boy, I'm glad I was a comunication major. Plus the books were way cheaper!

And MIT is the only college I've seen so far that has a professor with the last name Einstein, Prof. Herbert Einstein teaches civil and environmental engineering. Can't you imagine what his students say? "Man, he think he's some sort of Einstein!"

Wild-card weekend

The NFL Playoffs kick off tomorrow. Most years with the first four games, the majority are really toss-ups. This is not one of those years. I have a solid prediction on three games. And I have a feeling this may be one of the most uneventul NFL playoffs in quite some time.

Starting in the AFC. Jacksonville at New England. This could only happen to the Patriots. They're playing Miami at home and trailing by 8 points, their backup QB leads them to a TD drive on 4th down with no time left to bring the score within 2 points. They miss the 2-point conversion and lose. The sad truth is New England did themselves a favor because if they had won, they would have drawn Pittsburgh in the first round. Jacksonville is all beat up with Byron Leeftwich and Fred Taylor hurt on offense and three starters on a good defensive front 7 hurting as well. This game will be a joke. Prediction: New England 30-13.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati. I don't think the Bengals are quite ready for the next step in the playoffs. They have not been playing well lately and how they play this game will reflect a lot on Marvin Lewis as a head coach. Each team won this season on the opposing team's home field. I'm still not sold on the Cincinnati defense. I don't think they have the playmakers that so many other playoff teams have. Seriously, how many football fans can name 3 starters on the Bengal defense? The Steelers are rolling and though I think this will be competitive, count on Jerome Bettis making one or two big runs towards the end, setting the stage for a key Jeff Reed field goal. Expect a big play or two from the Pittsburgh defense or special teams. Prediction: Pittsburgh 27-20.

On to the National Football Conference. Tampa Bay hosting Washington. This game comes down to TB QB Chris Simms. Can he mange this game against a pretty good Washington D? If he doesn't turn the ball over and doesn't try to win the game immediately, I think they're in good shape. I think rookie RB Cadillac Williams will run well here, which means he will have lasted longer than most Cadillacs! Ronde Barber is one of the best cover corners in football and he can neutralize Santana Moss. Meanwhile, middle linebacker Derrick Brooks will not allow Clinton Portis to keep running as well as he has been. BTW, this game features the ex-Giant kicker, Matt Bryant against the ex-Jet kicker, John Hall. I like Tampa here. Prediction: Tampa Bay 23-14.

And of course, the Cardiac Cats at Big Blue. The Panthers and the Giants. If this game was in Carolina, I would give the Giants absolutely no chance. I could see them beating Tampa. I could see them beating Washington. Realistically, not the Panthers. Jeremy Shockey is still hurt. Fred Robbins, Reggie Torbor, and Tim Carter are not playing. Most importantly, superstar linebacker Anopntio Pierce's ankle is still wrapped in a cast. Kevin Lewis, Nick Greisen, and Alonzo Jackson are our starting linebackers and they have a little bigger test against DeShaun Foster than they did last week against Zack "King of the Wild Frontier" Crockett. And the secondary has been so bad, it is off the charts. After Santana Moss, Randy Moss, Doug Gabriel, and Jerry Porter torched them, it's almost scary to think what Keary Colbert (He will get at least 60 yards), Ricky Proehl, and especially Steve Smith will do. So Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora have to do what they have not been doing the last 3 weeks. Consistent steady pressure on Jake "Daylight Come and Me Wanta" Delhomme. He usually throws 2 or 3 pop-ups per game. The Giants have got to turn those into interceptions. Will "Butterfingers" Allen? That means you.

On offense, I think Tiki will run well. And our offensive line should be good enough to contain Julius Peppers and Mike Rucker. Eli to Plaxico Burress is a must. Burress is six inches taller than the tallest Panther defensive back. Amani Toomer may do okay. But if Shockey is still hurt, and I think he won't do much this week, Eli Manning has got to complete at least 7 or passes to Burress.

I really think the Giants are too beat up right now. Their time will come. But the Panthers are a very good road team and I think they will force Eli into mistakes, setting up a short field, and the Panthers will take an early lead. The Giants will score a few times as the game goes on, but in the end, they just won't pull it out. Prediction: Panthers 31-21.

Knicks DVD

One of the best gifts I got was the New York Knicks DVD collection. It has 5 DVD's, including 8 full length games from their original TV broadcast. I've only watched 2 or 3 games, but a few things I've noticed.

1) Mom noticed the short shorts of the 1980's. That's how she knew the game I was watching was old school.

2) Bill Cartwright in a Knick uniform just does not look good. It's not right. He's a Bull. He caused Patrick Ewing enough problems for 6 years. He's no Knick. Then again, I guess that is why he wears three NBA championship rings.

3) Watching games of the latter era is bittersweet. The Knicks of the 1990's should have won at least one championship. It almost makes this a little empty. Nonetheless, at least they used to be competitive. And they used to be entertaining. And that's a lot more than we can say after the the last 5 years.

4) Marv Albert is the best basketball broadcaster there has ever been. Period. So Jim Dolan deserves all the heat in the world for this. If he never did anything else wrong as owner of Madison Square Garden, the fact that he tried to tell Marv Albert how to broadcast and subsequently driving him to the New Jersey Nets is a travesty. It's like Richard Simmons teaching Mozart how to play piano.

5) Tom Hammond of NBC should stick to horse racing. That's all he can do.

6) Can Bill Walton broadcast one game without referencing the Grateful Dead or UCLA one time?!

7) When Walt Frazier did the 5-minute introduction for the DVD, there should have been a subtitle option where you can get definitions for words he uses that you have never heard of before.

8) The entire 1985 draft lottery broadcast where the Knicks got Patrick Ewing is on here. The lottery used to be so quaint. David Stern spends 10 minutes just explaining the rules! And there were only seven teams.

9) I wish I could have watched the Larry Johnson 4-point play against Indiana in Game 3 of the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals live. I would have gone absolutely crazy. But I was on my senior high school trip to Colorado at the time. And I missed all of the finals because I was in Idaho on a mission trip. Considering how that series turned out, it was the best thing. And now, I'm almost glad they didn't win that series against San Antonio because I wouldn't have been able to watch the clinching game.

An embarrassing moment from NYE, Benigno

Went to a party last Saturday night. A bunch of us played the board game "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus." Basically there are multiple choice questions for men and women. So I'm reading a question and the word "underfed" was in the question. And I pronounced it "un-durffed." Because I'd never seen the word in print before.

Joe Benigno with another classic Jet rant on WFAN this morning. He said what will likely happen now is Herman Edwards will go to KC as head coach, take John Abraham and defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson with him, and maybe Terry Bradway will return there as GM also. In the end, Edwards will deliver the Super Bowl to KC for the first time since 1970. Truth be told? I wouldn't be shocked. Absolutely classic. The son of a gun should put a collection on CD. God knows I'll buy it.

Bad bad one

It's been a good week for movies. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe was the highest grossing movie. King Kong was second. And Brokeback Mountian took up the rear.

Thoughts on the Jets

It's a pretty safe assumption that Jets coach Herman Edwards is on his way to the Kansas City Chiefs. A press conference could happen as soon as Friday afternoon, my sources tell me.

I'm not going to bash Herman here. I'd rather bash Terry Bradway, the General Manager, whose performance has ranked somewhere between poor and foolish over 5 years. I'm going to bash the Jet fans. I have been on theganggreen.com for a while this morning and I am amazed at how this guy gets treated worse than Rich Kotite, Jim Dolan, or Ed Whitson. It's amazing. One guy said "It's amazing we can get a 7th rounder for such a bad coach." Most people call him mediocre at best. One guy had a whole thread explaining how Herm's IQ was around the levels of Forrest Gump.

Herman Edwards had his shortcomings, no doubt. The two biggest are his in game management (time managing and play calling, though he's got defense in his background anyway) and his handling of the QB's and Curtis Martin. He ran Curtis too much when Blaylock, Cedric Houston, and BJ Askew should have gotten more time. And allowing Chad Pennington to re-enter the Jacksonville game after he had re-torn his right rotator cuff was inexcusable.

But Edwards got this team into the playoffs in his first year, including a win in Oakland on the last day of the season to make it. He got this team to rebound from a 1-5 start (including a 3 game span they lost by a combined score of 102-13) to finish 8-2, make the playoffs, win the AFC East, hammer Indianapolis in the opener, before falling to Oakland and the league MVP Rich Gannon. They missed the playoffs the next year thanks to Pennington going out with a broken wrist and injured rotator cuff. They then won their first 8 games last year. Of course they couldn't beat New England, but that aside. They made the playoffs, beat San Diego on the road, and would've beaten Pittsburgh in Ketchup Field had Doug F'N Brien made one of his 2 overtime field goals.

This year was a washout with so many guys going on injured reserve. Chad Pennington, Jay Fiedler, Derrick Blaylock, Wayne Chrebet, Chris Baker, Marko Cavka, Jason Fabini, Kevin Mawae, Darrell McClover, Eric Barton all injured. The year was

I could see him going to Kansas City and winning the division next year easily. They have a young defense and Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes at running back. I know Trent Green is getting old, but he's still a very accurate and capable passer. I hope he does do well there just to stick it to all the Jet fans who consider him so incompetent and overlook the good things he's done.

And who replaces him? I don't want Jim Haslett, I don't want Mike Sherman, I don't want Mike Martz, I don't want Dom Capers, I don't want Steve Mariucci, I don't want Mike Tice, though he wouldn't be the worst choice. And besides it won't be hard finding tickets for a 4-12 team. I'd rather them promote either Heimerdinger or Henderson or steal a current assistant, like the Bears' Ron Rivera, if they wait until Chicago loses in the playoffs, which will probably take a month. This guyKirk Ferentz from Iowa is supposed to be very good too. I don't want a college guy though. I want a guy who is tough and no-nonsense for a young team. And they will be young. They'll be a lot of rebuilding going on this offseason. I would almost consider signing John Abraham to a one-year deal and trading him for high draft picks. They need too much help and they probably won't be able to afford him anyway.

It really is amazing. This team has gone from Super Bowl contender to complete disarray in a matter of 4 months. Welcome to the NFL. Welcome to the New York Football Jets.

Been a weak week

Not really, I just felt like opening BOSCHINY's first 2006 post with another lovely pun. Now that I'm past the weekend, I am coherent to the point where I can think and type at the same time.

I'll have previews of the NFL Wild Card weekend and an Ecclesia update soon. I'll also give you my thoughts on some recent music, the New York Knicks DVD collection, and the Jets offseason in time, but right now, I have to talk about the Mets.

I'll tell you what, I had no problem trading Jae Seo for this LA reliever Duaner Sanchez. This guy, who as one very astute person said may become the best Mets player ever named Duaner, apparently has the fastball and changeup of Eric Gagne, the temper of Milton Bradley, and the goggles of Francisco Rodriguez. That's fine. Seo is 30, Sanchez is 26 and with the Mets for at least 2 years. Seo's trading value is the highest it will ever be and I still don't know how reliable he would be this year with the National League having tmie to adjust to his new arsenal of pitches.

But why give up on Tim Hamulack, a young really good left handed relief pitcher when God knows we need a lefty? Pedro Feliciano, who I like a lot, does have an ERA around 5 in Winter Ball right now. Matt Perisho is average and Royce Ring probably holds the record for most exposures in the Rule 5 Draft. With Hamulack gone, that's one option less to who can pitch to Bobby Abreu, Jacque Jones, and Ryan Howard in late game situations.

I guess Aaron Heilman is now insurance when the first starter gets injured. But now that he's been pushed out of the 8th inning setup role and he wants to start, he will not be happy about getting relegated to a 6th/7th inning pitcher. Maybe we will trade Kris Benson. Actually I think I want to keep Benson and pictures of his wife, but send her and her mouth back to Georgia.

Now in this trade, they also got Steve Schmoll, another righty reliever who can't retire lefties. Is Omar Minaya trying to resurrect the ghost of Braden Looper?! And like Chad Bradford, he's a submarine style pitcher, which means in the big spots, he's mostly baloney.

And even better, we signed second baseman Bret Boone to a minor league deal. Boy oh boy. He couldn't do anything to help Minnesota against the American League Central for heaven's sake. Who's Omar going to get next? Joey Cora? Jay Buhner? Is Jay Bell still playing? I just hope Anderson Hernandez and Jeff Keppinger get a legitimate shot to make the big club.