1) Jonathan Papelbon. He's human after all... And oh, all those Metropolitan fans in Fenway Park. Who would have believed it?
2) Lost a disc in the woods today. To say the least, I am not pleased. The problem I have with Campton Hills is the tee boxes are so rocky and uneven, it is really difficult for me to execute my crossover X-step that I like to do when I throw since it involves several steps. So I played two rounds with that disc and now it is gone.
3) I started flipping through some of the pages of Emeril's grilling cookbook. This is going to be outstanding.
4) I forgot how much fun a pillow fight could be.
5) The danger of human beings on autopilot. I see a few people who, metaphorically speaking, are flying a plane and are headed straight for a crash landing. The warning signs are vivid. The fuel is leaking, the landing gear is not going down, maybe the control tower is empty. Yet, they ignore these ominous signs, completely expecting a smooth landing on a freshly-paved runway. Though it may seem scary to actually look and be real, it would be smart to pay a little bit of attention.
Song pick: "Addicted" Dan Seals- Very well written and very deep.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Six more
Been a while since we've knocked out two posts in a week.
1) I can't say how I knew, but I was really confident that Brian's surgery on Thursday to remove the three smaller tumors would go well. Maybe it's because the last surgery went well, maybe God kind of gave me a clue, I don't know. I just knew it. But it was something about actually hearing the news that the doctors are 99% sure the cancer is completely removed. It made it real. It made it official.
2) Had dinner at Outback on a Thursday. Then on a Friday, I turn on the Food Network and Unwrapped is about starters and appetizers. And they profiled the conception, the creation, and consumption of the Bloomin' Onion. Hellooooooooo! OK, enough alliteration.
3) Something bothered me when I was flipping through the dials. Nothing against Happy Gilmore. I enjoyed the film. But it is on AMC tonight? Am I supposed to think of this film that is best remembered for a brawl between Adam Sandler and Bob Barker as a classic?
Put it this way. Which one of these movies does not belong here?
A The Godfather
B Gone With the Wind
C Citizen Kane
D Happy Gilmore
4) Citi Field tickets have arrived. One month away! Maybe there will be some Mets history on display by then. The fact that the Texas Rangers, not exactly a storied franchise, have a museum at their ball park when they have NOTHING in their whole history to celebrate and the Mets bow down to the Brooklyn Dodgers and ignore their won history as well as the New York Giants makes me want to run my head into a wall.
5) Another TV complaint. CMT's I loved VH1, GAC, CMT and those channels in high school and to a lesser extent in college. But the music shows are essentially eradicated from the lineups. Case in point. Here is the Saturday PM lineup for CMT, the classic country music network along wth TNN.
1-2 Nanny 911
2-3 World's Strictest Parents
3-5 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
5-7 Captain Ron
7-1 am Repeat as above.
Exactly what in the world does any of this have to do with country music?
6) Had to save it for last. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that it will give “free prescription drugs - including its anti-impotence drug, Viagra, to people who no longer have jobs and health insurance.” How's that for a stimulus package?
Song pick: "I Walk Alone" Marty Robbins. Especially that last note. That is music.
1) I can't say how I knew, but I was really confident that Brian's surgery on Thursday to remove the three smaller tumors would go well. Maybe it's because the last surgery went well, maybe God kind of gave me a clue, I don't know. I just knew it. But it was something about actually hearing the news that the doctors are 99% sure the cancer is completely removed. It made it real. It made it official.
2) Had dinner at Outback on a Thursday. Then on a Friday, I turn on the Food Network and Unwrapped is about starters and appetizers. And they profiled the conception, the creation, and consumption of the Bloomin' Onion. Hellooooooooo! OK, enough alliteration.
3) Something bothered me when I was flipping through the dials. Nothing against Happy Gilmore. I enjoyed the film. But it is on AMC tonight? Am I supposed to think of this film that is best remembered for a brawl between Adam Sandler and Bob Barker as a classic?
Put it this way. Which one of these movies does not belong here?
A The Godfather
B Gone With the Wind
C Citizen Kane
D Happy Gilmore
4) Citi Field tickets have arrived. One month away! Maybe there will be some Mets history on display by then. The fact that the Texas Rangers, not exactly a storied franchise, have a museum at their ball park when they have NOTHING in their whole history to celebrate and the Mets bow down to the Brooklyn Dodgers and ignore their won history as well as the New York Giants makes me want to run my head into a wall.
5) Another TV complaint. CMT's I loved VH1, GAC, CMT and those channels in high school and to a lesser extent in college. But the music shows are essentially eradicated from the lineups. Case in point. Here is the Saturday PM lineup for CMT, the classic country music network along wth TNN.
1-2 Nanny 911
2-3 World's Strictest Parents
3-5 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
5-7 Captain Ron
7-1 am Repeat as above.
Exactly what in the world does any of this have to do with country music?
6) Had to save it for last. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that it will give “free prescription drugs - including its anti-impotence drug, Viagra, to people who no longer have jobs and health insurance.” How's that for a stimulus package?
Song pick: "I Walk Alone" Marty Robbins. Especially that last note. That is music.
Monday, May 11, 2009
5 for early May
1) I must thank John Ortberg. Not for a sermon, not for a new book, but for talking about Sara Lee banana cake in one of his messages about faith and science. It hadn't been made for maybe 15 years, yet I saw it in the frozen sectional at Osco two weeks ago. I'm having some right now. Outstanding stuff. Frosting is creamy, but there is not too much of it.
2) I watched the Capitals force Game 7 by winning on the road against Pittsburgh. Then I saw the Blackhawks rally tonight and win the second round of the playoffs, thus advancing to the Western Conference Finals. I look at some of their young players and then I look at my team's roster and it baffles me that the Rangers do not have one player who can score 25 goals. And it feels like 10 years since the Rangers have played a game. How do I feel about the Blackhawks? It's fine, but my level of emotion hasn't really changed. Kind of like the White Sox in 2005.
3) And I missed the national anthem because I had to watch the Mets bullpen blow another game to the Slaves. Any good feelings after seven straight wins have taken a punch straight to the solar plexus.
4) CM Punk throwing out the first pitch at Wrigley Field on Friday. And Dec, J-Schu, Harmony, and the sister of Dec I have not met are all going. That is outstanding. The spirit of Ring of Honor and WWE spreads. Now in honor of Mr. Straight Edge, I think they should ban beer from Wrigley Field for that game...
5) After all the faxes and printouts I have had come in since September for my paper job, I would like to see how much money that has cost me in new print cartridges. Maybe I don't.
Bonus) Had a burger tonight. And it is my first in 15 days when I wolfed down the 2-pounder at Urban Grille. I felt like I was having flashbacks.
Song pick: "You Gave Me a Mountain (live)" Marty Robbins
2) I watched the Capitals force Game 7 by winning on the road against Pittsburgh. Then I saw the Blackhawks rally tonight and win the second round of the playoffs, thus advancing to the Western Conference Finals. I look at some of their young players and then I look at my team's roster and it baffles me that the Rangers do not have one player who can score 25 goals. And it feels like 10 years since the Rangers have played a game. How do I feel about the Blackhawks? It's fine, but my level of emotion hasn't really changed. Kind of like the White Sox in 2005.
3) And I missed the national anthem because I had to watch the Mets bullpen blow another game to the Slaves. Any good feelings after seven straight wins have taken a punch straight to the solar plexus.
4) CM Punk throwing out the first pitch at Wrigley Field on Friday. And Dec, J-Schu, Harmony, and the sister of Dec I have not met are all going. That is outstanding. The spirit of Ring of Honor and WWE spreads. Now in honor of Mr. Straight Edge, I think they should ban beer from Wrigley Field for that game...
5) After all the faxes and printouts I have had come in since September for my paper job, I would like to see how much money that has cost me in new print cartridges. Maybe I don't.
Bonus) Had a burger tonight. And it is my first in 15 days when I wolfed down the 2-pounder at Urban Grille. I felt like I was having flashbacks.
Song pick: "You Gave Me a Mountain (live)" Marty Robbins
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Rangers recap
I have not posted about the Rangers-Caps series at all. As hectic as high school sports are right now, I have just not had the time nor the inclination. Suffice to say this. Coach John Tortorella is the biggest reason the New York Rangers made the playoffs. And with the upstart Blueshirts ahead 3 games to 1, Coach John Tortorella is the biggest reason I had to watch Pittsburgh playing Washington in the first game of the second round this afternoon. Between benching Sean Avery for Game 5, benching Colton Orr for Game 6, and being stupid enough to squirt water at the Capital (lowercase) fans in Game, thus getting him suspended for Game 6.
I was completely unexcited for Game 7, which for me is crazy. The Rangers did not show up for Games 5 or 6 and it was completely disheartening for me and every Rangers fan. And Game 7 was incredible. The Rangers outplayed the Caps for 40 of 60 minutes. But as we've seen all year, there is no go-to goal scorer on this team. And with the score tied 1-1, the Rangers had so many chances in the second and could not get the puck in the net. And then Sergei Fedorov kills the season with five minutes left in the third.
So now we have to look ahead. This team is in salary cap hell. As I remember, the UFA's are Morris, Mara, Betts, Orr, and Antropov. The RFA's who will get some raises are Dubinsky, Callahan, Korpikoski, Zherdev, and Potter. They have to re-sign Dubi and Callahan, who are restricted free agents. For UFA's, I let Morris and his 4 m go right now. Antropov, I would keep for 2.5 m per or less, he earned 2 m this year. I want to bring back Mara since he actually has cojones. Betts is the team's best defensive forward, but I don't see him coming back. My hope is they will rid themselves of Naslund and his 4 m and Gomez and his 7 m. Also, they have to cut Rissmiller and Voros and swallow the 2 m they wasted on them. Redden, sadly, is going nowhere and I don't want to lose Drury. Let's play Stay or Go.
GM Glen Sather: Will Stay, but I wish James Dolan would wake up and get him out.
Coach Torts: Stay
Henrik Lundqvist: Stay
Steve Valiquette: Stay
Chris Drury: Stay
Markus Naslund: Go
Scott Gomez: Go
Aaron Voros: Go
Blair Betts: Go
Colton Orr: Stay
Brandon Dubinsky: Stay
Ryan Callahan: Stay
Fred Sjostrom: Stay
Lauri Korpikoski: Stay
Nik Antropov: Stay
Niklai Zherdev: Go
Sean Avery: Stay
Wade Redden: Go
Dan Girardi: Stay
Marc Staal: Stay
Derek Morris: Go
Michal Rozsival: Stay
Paul Mara: Stay
As for acquisitions next year, I can't expect more than two or three new players. Some possible scorers on the market include Gaborik, Havlat, Cammalleri, Hossa, Gionta, Afinogenov, Tanguay, Kotalik, and Cole. For a reasonable price, I could see the Rangers getting Afinogenov, who of course killed us in Game 5 three years ago. I don't know what will be brought in or more importantly, what can be brought in, but Sather has to realize that while this team has an outstanding goalie and a solid defense, they need offense in the worst way. Not to mention size and speed.
I was completely unexcited for Game 7, which for me is crazy. The Rangers did not show up for Games 5 or 6 and it was completely disheartening for me and every Rangers fan. And Game 7 was incredible. The Rangers outplayed the Caps for 40 of 60 minutes. But as we've seen all year, there is no go-to goal scorer on this team. And with the score tied 1-1, the Rangers had so many chances in the second and could not get the puck in the net. And then Sergei Fedorov kills the season with five minutes left in the third.
So now we have to look ahead. This team is in salary cap hell. As I remember, the UFA's are Morris, Mara, Betts, Orr, and Antropov. The RFA's who will get some raises are Dubinsky, Callahan, Korpikoski, Zherdev, and Potter. They have to re-sign Dubi and Callahan, who are restricted free agents. For UFA's, I let Morris and his 4 m go right now. Antropov, I would keep for 2.5 m per or less, he earned 2 m this year. I want to bring back Mara since he actually has cojones. Betts is the team's best defensive forward, but I don't see him coming back. My hope is they will rid themselves of Naslund and his 4 m and Gomez and his 7 m. Also, they have to cut Rissmiller and Voros and swallow the 2 m they wasted on them. Redden, sadly, is going nowhere and I don't want to lose Drury. Let's play Stay or Go.
GM Glen Sather: Will Stay, but I wish James Dolan would wake up and get him out.
Coach Torts: Stay
Henrik Lundqvist: Stay
Steve Valiquette: Stay
Chris Drury: Stay
Markus Naslund: Go
Scott Gomez: Go
Aaron Voros: Go
Blair Betts: Go
Colton Orr: Stay
Brandon Dubinsky: Stay
Ryan Callahan: Stay
Fred Sjostrom: Stay
Lauri Korpikoski: Stay
Nik Antropov: Stay
Niklai Zherdev: Go
Sean Avery: Stay
Wade Redden: Go
Dan Girardi: Stay
Marc Staal: Stay
Derek Morris: Go
Michal Rozsival: Stay
Paul Mara: Stay
As for acquisitions next year, I can't expect more than two or three new players. Some possible scorers on the market include Gaborik, Havlat, Cammalleri, Hossa, Gionta, Afinogenov, Tanguay, Kotalik, and Cole. For a reasonable price, I could see the Rangers getting Afinogenov, who of course killed us in Game 5 three years ago. I don't know what will be brought in or more importantly, what can be brought in, but Sather has to realize that while this team has an outstanding goalie and a solid defense, they need offense in the worst way. Not to mention size and speed.
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