More Embarassment

"Whatever I said, whatever I did
I didn't mean it
I just want you back for good"
--I Want You Back, Take That

I love the backing vocal in that song (I want you back, I want you back for good). Anyways, just recalling this morning that I failed to complete my embarassment list last week. The first two were decent, but the last two suck, both involving females and a bright red face on my end.

2. "The hold button doesn't work"
On the phone at my mom's house with a certain female (names have been withheld to protect the innocent), somebody I wasn't too excited about spending time with for one reason or another. So she asks me to do something that night and I need to figure something out, so I put the phone on hold, but fail to place the receiver down (which would complete the "hold" operation), so I'm essentially still holding an open line. I proceeded to have a conversation with Side about not wanting to hang out with her, debating how best to make that point clear. After a short convo, I glance back at the hold light, which should be flashing. It's not. I'm holding the receiver in my hand, slowly realizing that the phone was never on hold in the first place, and she's been privy to the entire conversation. Ouch. I froze momentarily, then did what any sane person would have done--I slammed the receiver down and hung up on her. Of course, she called back seconds later, I made up some lame excuse about the phone disconnecting, and then had to reassure her when she said, "If you don't want to hang out with me, just tell me." Needless to say, this whole situation could have been handled much smoother. Oh well.

1. "Your...hair...looks different"
Everybody's got a girl from junior high they had a crush on, and there's one in particular (again, name withheld) who was totally cute and a Kings fan to boot. Great combo. I don't really remember what happened to her in high school (I don't think she graduated with us), but my last memories of her were quite beautiful.
Flash forward about six years after high school, when I'm working at the church, and we were going through a series of administrative assistants in the youth department after our stalwart Stephanie went off to graduate school. The latest hire was scheduled to be introduced at our weekly staff meeting and so I proceeded to said meeting, unaware of anything out of the ordinary.
As I walk into the office, I'm greeted by a young woman on the larger side, short hair and evidently our new hire. She surprises me, offering, "Hey Scott, remember me?" Not a hint of recognition in my eyes. I don't want to totally offend someone who obviously knows me, so I feign hesitation, trying desperately to place the face. "Umm, I, er..." "It's [NAME]. From LCHS."
She had a different last name (married now), so I was totally not expecting that. But uh oh, now I know who she is. She doesn't look the same. Not even close. I hate to say it, but there's been significant gain, to the point of unrecognizability. How do I...
"Wow, oh my gosh. Your...hair...looks different."
Great call. How much of an idiot did I sound like, geez. Everyone I've told this story to has just cringed, considering what the girl would have thought to hear me utter that horribly unsubtle line. What a jerk.

So yeah, done with the embarassment for now. Hopefully there won't be too many more to add to the list anytime soon.
There's a story on espn.com today about John Kerry trying to reconcile the fact that he said he was at Shea Stadium for the Bill Buckner error in Game 6, 1986, when it was documented that he was present for a Massachusetts Latino Democratic Committee meeting in Boston the same night. Dude is trying way to hard to gain the Red Sox Nation vote. He obviously doesn't know what he's talking about, but because the whole region is caught up in the fevah (that's fever, with a chowd accent), he's gotta jump on the bandwagon, ex post facto. Here's an excerpt from a column by P-Gammons a few months ago, made me laugh:
"John Kerry last week professed to be a big fan of 'Manny Ortez,' then re-emphasized the phoofery by correcting it to 'David Ortez.' No, that was Dave (Baby) Cortez and 'The Happy Organ.' A few years back Kerry went on a Boston station with Eddie Andelman and said 'my favorite Red Sox player of all time is The Walking Man, Eddie Yost,' who never played for the Red Sox. Kerry is going to sweep New England. He's going to get 70 percent of the vote in Massachusetts. He doesn't have to be a Red Sox fan, all he has to do is not be John Ashcroft."
This is why I'm voting for George Bush. He may be stubborn, he may not always be right, but he's true to himself. He's a real leader, whether you agree with everything he does or not. Kerry just seems to be trying way too hard.
Thus concludes the only political paragraph (or two) in the history of my blog. Another chill day at work and then "Movin' Out" tonight.

Trial and Error

That title is also the title of a movie they give away at Papa John's with the purchase of a large something-or-other. I'm sure you remember the film, a classic courtroom comedy featuring Jeff Daniels and Michael Richards. It's well worth the price of a pizza, to be sure. Of course, if that particular movie doesn't suit you, there are other stellar options: "Casper and Friends," one of the greatest works from the friendliest ghost of all, and "Weekend at Bernie's II," because the original wasn't good enough. Oh yeah, Johnny Depp's "Don Juan DeMarco" is also on the list. I know I've ranted about this "special offer" before, but I saw another ad for it this weekend, so the fire's been re-stoked. Apologies.
Now back to the original purpose of the title, at least the latter half (and the half to which the linked article refers): Bill Mueller, 3 errors in game two of the World Series, Mark Bellhorn 1. Manny Ramirez, 2 errors in game one, Kevin Millar 1, Bronson Arroyo 1.
That's eight errors in two games for the Boston Red Sox, facing what was the best lineup in baseball during the regular season and somehow, they lead the series, 2-0.
Sports have to change with time, and since athletes are bigger, stronger and faster, all of the major sports have changed, some for the better and some for the worse. Baseball has seen its hitters get huge and hit more home runs than ever before, but pitchers haven't been able to make the same improvements (is it any wonder that three of the four best pitchers in baseball this year were old dudes?--Unit, Schill and Clemens to go with Johan Santana) and fielding has evidently become an unnecessary part of the game as well. The Sox made deals at the deadline to get better defensively--Mientkiewicz and Cabrera came in to provide the help--but it doesn't spell Manny from playing left field (how bad was he in game one, wow) or Ortiz from playing first now that the series moves to St. Louis (I'm looking forward to his play in the field more than anything else about this series). Millar isn't much of an upgrade there, and obviously Mueller doesn't know what he's doing at third. Despite the awful defense, the Sox are indeed up 2-0, so who cares, right?
I would venture to say that football is the sport that has benefited most from the new generation of athlete, because we're able to see more good players and good teams (also thanks to free agency and the salary cap) than ever before. More skill players: Moss, T-O and Marvin Harrison are all among the greatest receivers ever to play the game, and Culpepper, McNabb, Favre, Manning and Brady give us numerous great quarterbacks as well. There are bigger, stronger receivers (and tight ends), bigger, stronger defenders (guys like Sean Taylor playing safety--he would have been a linebacker 15-20 years ago) and it's been great for fans. Better players means a better game--and they've adapted the rules (this year's adjustment to the chuck rule, for example) to compensate. It's easily the most popular sport in America right now and rightfully so.
Basketball and hockey, on the other hand, have become less attractive sports in the last ten or fifteen years because of the bigger, stronger players. Pat Riley's Knicks started the move toward big bruisers and ugly, defensive basketball, and many hockey teams have gone the same route, with all the clutching and grabbing, designed to slow down the game and limit the effectiveness of the game's skill players. It sucks. Gretzky used to score 180-200 points a season (six straight years over 180 points), and now the league leaders don't even break a hundred. Again, it sucks. Nobody cares that the NHL players are locked out because nobody cares to watch the ugly NHL games these days. The NBA is having trouble keeping their fan base because of the bad offense, terrible shooting, and slow-down games. Who enjoys watching the Spurs and Pistons play? The Lakers have been the only reason to watch the NBA for the last five or six years--basically since MJ really retired, Wizards years not included--and now that Shaq and Kobe have split, they'll each be the leader of a new boring team. It sucks.
So I guess I'm thankful that I get to go to work every Sunday and watch the most popular sport in America (on 14 different monitors), watching these amazing athletes do their thing--especially when it's LT and company rolling to victory number four. Now that McCardell's in the mix, we've got a go-to receiver--look out, AFC. I can't believe we've already won four games.
Slow day at work today, I'd better enjoy it while it lasts. Peace.

Question and Answer Session

"Well if you're wondering
Where I've been all evening
If you think that I've drifted off
Without leavin' here
I've finally found the answers
Don't worry, I'm not lost"
In the Moment, Sister Hazel

The new album is outstanding, by the way. This song is the real laid-back acoustic one and the "Drew song" on the album (think "Cerilene" or "Strange Cup of Tea"), and I'm a big fan, for sure. The relevance is this: I've got some questions and I need some answers....
Question No. 1 - Is it ever okay to use the word "uncanny" except in conjunction with the word "resemblance?" I used the two together yesterday and wondered that very thought. My buddy Joel had a wig and a Red Sox jersey on and bore an uncanny resemblance to Johnny Damon. I don't know that I've ever used it outside of those terms, but that doesn't mean it's exclusive.
Question No. 2 (somewhat rhetorical) - Does anyone outside of Boston and St. Louis care about this World Series? I love baseball and work for the network that is carrying the games, and I probably won't watch more than one or two of them. It didn't really matter who won the Yankees/Red Sox series, but having no Roger Clemens means no big stories for this matchup. Does anyone even remember the 1967 series? Obviously I don't. I'll be watching SC and/or Miami and/or Oklahoma before I watch Woody Williams v. Tim Wakefield. I've just gotten through a month where I can't say enough about how amazing baseball is, but I think I'm done for now. Get ready for 2005 and the Padres winning the NL West.
Question No. 3 - Is it possible to draft a better pair of shooting guards in fantasy basketball than Kobe Bean Bryant and Ray Allen? My Fox firewall would not permit my participation in my draft this morning, so I had to await its completion and see what the draw would give me. Picks one and two yielded these two gems. I have no size, but the backcourt is quite solid: Andre Miller, Kobe, Jesus Shuttlesworth and Jason Terry--not bad. Ron Artest, Al Harrington, Grant Hill and Josh Howard are all solid swingmen, but my big guys leave a little to be desired. Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Erick Dampier. Brutal. Allan Houston and Chucky Atkins are my other bench guys, so I'm thinking I need to trade from the backcourt and add a big boy.
Question No. 4 - Am I a tool for pontificating on the relative strengths and weaknesses of my fantasy basketball roster within hours of its formation?
Question No. 5 - Am I a tool for being stoked beyond belief that Tim McGraw was on the show today? It took me a little while to come around on him, but come on now, Faith Hill? If he's never done anything else, marrying her is deserving of enormous respect. But he's also made some pretty darn good music over the years ("Sing Me Home" and "She's My Kind of Rain" are the laid-back favorites), and the hits keep coming. Going to see him in "Friday Night Lights" tonight, and I here he's quite good.
Question No. 6 - Is the Side-Dimes-Dellers-Juice e-mail thread on baseball history the most intelligent discourse ever created on the internet? I believe this question is also rhetorical and the answer, of course, is yes.
Gotta go finish some things at work and then head down to the theaters for the aforementioned Texas high school football film. Looking forward to it just slightly more than lunch at Royal Oaks Manor tomorrow. Peace.

Epic Saga

"That place... is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go."
--Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back

I suppose "that place" could refer to Yankee Stadium, and in the Red Sox went last night, facing their demons and attempting to ride Curt Schilling to a lead in the ALCS. Unfortunately for the Sox (though I don't count myself among their "nation"), Mike Mussina was ridiculous for six-plus innings, giving rise to "MOOOOOOSE" cheers from the Yankee faithful throughout his dominant performance.
(Quick sidenote: I think every franchise in sports needs a player whose name features that long "oooo" sound--Luuuuuuuuuuc Robitaille (Kings) and Luuuuuuuuuuke Walton (Lakers) easily fit the bill here in So Cal. Dodger fans had to stretch for Rauuuuuuuul Mondesi, but I guess it worked. Other notables: Cooooooooop and Hruuuuuuudey back in the Forum days. Moooooooose definitely works for those Yankee fans).
This will now be the shortest blog I've posted in my tenure here, but I work a lot, so I'm not the least bit ashamed. More on the Yankees and Red Sox on Monday.

What a Weekend

"LIMA TIME!!! BELIEVE IT!!"

I know I'm not a Dodger fan, but Saturday was awesome. Got hooked up with dugout club seats for Game 3 of the NLDS (thank you Nick) and watched Lima Time pitch the game of his life. There is no pitcher more fun to watch when he's on his game--all the antics and the excitement and the energy, pumping himself, his teammates and the sold-out Dodger Stadium crowd up beyond belief.
And as if the Lima performance weren't incredible enough, Shawn Green decided to wake up from his two-year slumber and mash two line-drive home runs to ensure the victory. Finley added a two-run double and history was made. We were privileged to witness the first (and only) post-season victory for Los Angeles since 1988. Not bad.
It's a shame that St. Louis decided to realize they were St. Louis the next day, knocking Odalis Perez out of the box early once again and winning the series (Albert Pujols definitely does not suck) easily.
Adding to the excitement of the day was the unlimited food supply that comes with those dugout club seats. I really think I ate more this weekend than I've eaten in the last month total. Let's go back to Friday to calculate...
Went straight from work over to my bro's, where Side awaited with recently-purchased breakfast burritos (mine came with ham and avocado), which are never a bad idea. We dined on said burritos while attempting to defeat the Viet Cong (we were less than successful, mostly because I don't know what I'm doing), and had ourselves quite the good time.
Actually got to sleep in on Saturday, so I woke up and watched Texas-Oklahoma (Adrian Peterson, wow), the Braves and Astros (Beltran providing a portent of things to come with his homer in the Houston victory) and SC-Cal (hugh exhale across the Southland after that incomplete Rodgers pass on fourth down--he's the real deal though) before heading up to LC and heading down to the Dodger game.
Watched the Yankees come back while eating our first meal of the game down in the actual dugout club. Mine consisted of two grilled chicken sandwiches, a big piece of roasted chicken, some butternut squash and tons of fruit (that's literally three meals for me on a normal day). Got down to the seats for the national anthem (played on the guitar by Kevin Eubanks, that's right, the Kevin Eubanks) and got to chat with Bill and Matt D'Elia, sitting in the seats in front of us. Had a chicken quesadilla around the third inning, then a Dodger dog in the fifth and another in the ninth, while Lima time was finishing up his five-hit shutout. So stuffed.
Sunday was a double-day at work, doing the normal NFL thing (my shake in the morning, a bagel w/ cream cheese and two muffins upon my arrival, two pulled chicken sandwiches, way too many steak fries and lots of vegetables) and then sticking around for baseball (teriyaki chicken and rice times two). Highlights from the day included another Charger victory (I've been saying that Drew Brees could do the job, but management didn't believe it) and stellar performances once again from both of my fantasy teams (I'm in first and second place, respectively, in the two leagues).
Obviously I care about the Chargers more, so allow me to elaborate: Brees continues to be remarkably efficient, completing 61% of his passes thus far and throwing just two picks. He's a higher-rated quarterback right now than all of the following: Tom Brady, Matt Hasselbeck, Mark Bulger, Aaron Brooks, Steve McNair, Brett Favre and about 20 others. He's fifth (!!!) in the league in efficiency right now, which is mind-boggling. LT continues to be LT, and Jesse Chatman filled in admirably on Sunday with over 100 yards, allowing Tomlinson to rest up and not risk further injury. The receivers have started to step it up a bit, but most importantly, Antonio Gates has emerged as the go-to guy, the Tony Gonzalez to Brees' Trent Green or the Alge Crumpler to Brees' Michael Vick. Speaking of Vick, three years after the trade, would you rather have the best running back in the NFL and the No. 5-rated QB (plus a decent receiver/return man) or a guy who's the No. 25-rated passer in the league and still doesn't get the offense? I'm happy with what we've got, for sure.
I told one of my co-workers, somewhat in jest, that the Bolts are the best team in the AFC West right now, but honestly, that could be a true statement. I know we lost to Denver at Invesco earlier in the season, but they're only a game ahead of us right now and Jake Plummer can't and won't lead them to many more victories (see his stellar red zone performance v. Carolina and Julius Peppers Sunday). The Chiefs and Raiders both suck, so I actually like our chances at the division title. Every game the rest of the way (except at Indy) is winnable, even the Atlanta and Carolina games coming up. I didn't expect much from this year, so anything beyond 4-12 makes me happy.
Worked baseball again last night (Carlos Beltran is sick) and I get to work again tonight, game one of the Yankees-Red Sox rematch. I really don't think anything in sports compares to the matchup between these two--not Duke-Carolina, Lakers-Kings (or Spurs or whoever), Michigan-Ohio State, UCLA-USC, Indy-New England, Galaxy-Earthquakes (any soccer fans out there??). It's a whole other level, and I think ratings for this series are going to be off the charts. The NL version is far less attractive, though the possibility of Roger Clemens facing either the Yankees or Red Sox in the World Series is quite interesting. We were talking last night during the game, and evidently Game 7 of the World Series would fall on Halloween night. How great would it be to see Schilling and Clemens in Fenway for Game 7, and having Roger keep the curse going on some crazy random curse-induced play. Another great post-season continues...
Work. Out.

One Down...

"I liked the Steelers in '75
I only like the Broncos when they come alive
I liked the Redskins in '83
And when the Dolphins are playing well yeah well, they're the team for me
'cause I'm Fairweather Johnson (Johnson)
Yeah, yes I'm Fairweather Johnson (I liked the Braves in '95)"
--Fairweather Johnson, Hootie & the Blowfish

One of the greatest non-album album tracks of all time, no doubt. After one day of the MLB playoffs, it's funny to see the rapidly fluctuating sentiments of So Cal baseball fans--Dodgers and Angels, both down 1-0, but is it really over? These are indeed five-game series, so all three losers yesterday (the aformentioned two and the Yankees) definitely needn't be too worried. Those Angel fans that can think as far back as two years ago will recall that the Halos lost all three Game Ones en route to the World Series title. They've got Colon going against Pedro (who isn't the Pedro of old), so they should be fine. I still don't think they'll win the series, but they'll make it competitive.
The Dodgers, on the other hand, are in a little deeper hole. They looked awful yesterday, and Perez was supposed to be the one guy who could actually make a quality start for them. Now they've got Weaver (maybe), Lima (less maybe) and ??? Not so good. Plus they evidently can't hit until the 8th or 9th innings, which doesn't come in too handy when you've already given up like 10 homers.
You had to know the Yanks weren't going to beat Johan Santana, but they actually hit him pretty well; Torii and the Twins' defense just wouldn't let anyone score. Santana made what was probably his worst start since the all-star break and still shut out the Yankees. He'll come back better next time, whether that's in Game 4 or 5, and if Radke and/or Silva can make a decent showing, the Twins are advancing. Give Mussina credit too, 'cause he looked much better than I thought he would, but the homer to Jacque Jones was a crusher. I continue to be amazed by Torii Hunter out there in center. He could hit .100 and still be one of the most valuable centerfielders in the game. Throwing a guy out at the plate saved one run and then robbing A-Rod of a homer saved another--that's an extra-inning game if he's not at his best out there. Wow.
So I just joined MySpace, at the request of Mr. Sideburn, and I'm not exactly sure what I hope to accomplish there, but I'm sure something will result. I'm no good at self-promotion, so my "About Me" section is probably as weak as it gets. I'm thinking that someone who reads these blogs on a regular basis will be able to understand who I am better than one who reads a couple poorly-written sentences on a profile. So I'll be making an effort to update this more frequently in the interests of A) self-disclosure and B) increased creative output.
Since my movie list has finally been completed (and High Fidelity has been added to my to-do list this weekend), I think I can safely move on and start up another list, one of the several I referenced like three months ago. Let's see...I think I'll go with the most embarassing moments of my life. Thankfully, Side has been present for three of them and has made it seem like he's been there for all four. Here we go...
4. Side and I were coaching the varsity basketball team one spring, I think during my brother Mike's senior year, and whoever was supposed to be coaching (Jeff Stephens? PG?) wasn't there. I had heard that Danny Bush played with the team the week before, and came with my basketball shoes on, just in case. So stupid. Anyways, the game was nearing the finish, LC was trailing some athletic team, and yours truly decides to check into the ballgame. One whole possession: I dribbled up the court, loose handle, got picked and ran back down the court next to the guy, who proceeded to dunk--right on my head--about two seconds before time expired. Ouch. As red-faced as I've ever been, I had to face the team, Side, and the parents who came to watch their kids--not me--play basketball. One of the dads walked up and put his arm around me, saying something to the effect of, "You don't have it like you used to, do you?" I also had to face Coach Hofman the next week, and of course he wasn't happy about it either. Definitely something I should not have done.
3. Side came to visit me in Westwood and we went up to the soccer house to hang out with the guys, two of whom would be my roommates the following year. We were having a good time and eventually made it into the back room where some fooseball was being played. I stepped up against Shea Travis and lost a tight one, 10-9, so I naturally asked for--and was granted--a rematch. Down 4-0 early, the game started to get in my head. I knew what a shutout would mean, so I fought desperately to get at least one goal and spare myself the humiliation. As more people became aware of the fate that would befall me, more noise and more distraction permeated the event. I had no chance. Trailing 9-0, I basically fell apart, scoring an own goal to lose the game and get skunked. After a phone call from my buddy Kevin to alert the entire apartment complex across the street (they were having a party over there, so attracting an audience was no problem), the group of use headed outside and I swallowed my pride. I dropped my pants and made a nice little run up and down the street, to the cheers of many and the delight of none, I'm sure. Needless to say, I've refrained from future naked-incentive fooseball matches ever since.
I have two more that will have to wait until tomorrow, since work beckons...

Holy Retirement, Batman!

"That leaves a lot that gets lost between
Number one and number two"
--You've Always Got the Blues, B.B. King

Scottie Pippen announced his retirement yesterday, ending the career of one of the great "Robins" of all time (to MJ's "Batman," of course)...other Robins in recent years? Big-game James, Joe D, Armpit McHale, all Hall of Famers, no doubt. Mike & Mike made the point this morning that Pippen owes his entire legacy not to Jordan, but to Toni Kukoc, for making the buzzer-beating three pointer to defeat the Knicks after Scottie sat out the final 1.8 seconds. Had that trey not gone in, the Bulls would probably have lost the game and Pippen would have been vilified for single-handedly ruining a season. Instead, he learned from his mistake--no harm done--and continued his development into perhaps the best all-around player in the game for several years.
It's a valid point, but I want to make another one. Scottie could have an even greater legacy, if B-Shaw hadn't hit all those threes in game 7 at Staples, bringing the Lakers back to beat the Blazers in 2000. Scottie was the glue for that talented Blazer squad, averaging 12.5 points (3rd on the team), 6.3 rebounds (3rd), 5 assists (2nd) and 1.4 steals (1st), and bringing them within a game of the NBA Finals, where they would have run through the Pacers like the Lakers did. If Scottie had won a ring without Michael, he would have solidified his place as one of the greatest players of all time. Instead, he's a very good player who had the privilege of playing with the greatest, and has six rings to show for it.
That just reminds me how amazing that comeback was and how tenuous that "dynasty" the Lakers had going truly was. The comeback v. Portland, the shot by Horry v. the Queens, the awful Eastern Conference for all those years (until 2004)--it seems to me that they were a very good team that was good at the right time, definitely not one of the best teams of all time. The 90's Bulls, 80's Lakers and 80's Celtics would have destroyed these recent Laker teams because they actually did personify the word "team." The 00's Lakers would win at beach volleyball, doubles tennis, the two-man luge (?) or any other sport that involves just two people. Go beyond Kobe and Shaq, however, and the other teams would dominate.
Started another Madden dynasty last night, this time with Side, and the 2004 Carolina Panthers got themselves off to a rocky start. Luckily we have a shrewd GM, making pre-season deals for Sean Taylor and Kellen Winslow (we had to give up Stephen Davis, Muhsin Muhammad and a couple draft picks, but DeShaun Foster and Keary Colbert are both more than ready to step up in their stead). We lost our first pre-season game to the Redskins, 24-7, including a 10-0 deficit in the first-team matchup. The defense played well for the most part, putting pressure on Mark Brunell (and then Patrick Ramsey), but I couldn't get the offense going at all. Handing off worked much better than any sort of Delhomme passing game, but Winslow did have a few catches and hopefully I'll get used to it soon enough. It's only pre-season, after all.
Okay now to real football, really quick: How about those 2-2 Chargers?! I said throughout the off-season that we didn't need a new quarterback, that Drew Brees would be fine, and that we needed to give him A) a better offensive line and/or B) a better receiving corps. So, drafting No. 1, we trade down and take a stinking quarterback. Who went No. 2 and 3? A tackle and a wide receiver, of course. Think we could have used Larry Fitzgerald, Roy Williams, or even Reggie Williams? Think Robert Gallery would have helped a terrible o-line? Instead we've got Philip Rivers, he of the training camp holdout, wasting away on the sidelines and putting pressure on the organization to play him because of the huge contract. Brees looked great on Sunday, and no, he's not going to be Peyton Manning or Daunte Culpepper, but he doesn't have to be. He has to be able to hand off to LT and get out of the way. Then, when defenses put 15 guys in the box, he has to be able to go downfield and keep them honest. He did that in a big way on Sunday, throwing 3 TD's (including a 58-yarder to Reche Caldwell) and throwing just four incomplete passes. That's unbelievably efficient. LT did his ho-hum, 147-yards-on-17-carries thing and the Bolts rolled to a dominant victory over the Titans. I'm not really thinking the playoffs are a possibility this year, but I am thinking that we'd have a lot more to look forward to with another star in there on offense and not a backup quarterback signalling in plays--we've already got Flutie Flakes for that.
I definitely need to finish up my movie list. Number one on the list, coming like three years after the list started (that's a slight exaggeration)...

1. High Fidelity
Why: Because it's got John Cusack (my favorite actor), a tremendous soundtrack, stellar secondary characters (Jack Black is quite good) and a great overall theme and message. The to-camera Top 5 lists are classic, Catherine Zeta-Jones has a great pseudo-cameo role, the kids in the band he produces are hilarious...there's so much to love. I've recommended it numerous times to people who haven't even heard of it, lent it out to friends, and it always comes back with rave reviews. The combination of music and realistic lessons on love is too much to pass up.
Best scene: Jack Black's introduction to the film, which is the first scene in the record store. He and the other guy (character name Dick, I believe) have a very funny relationship, and the argument in this scene centers on what kind of music is okay to play on a Monday--"Since when did this record shop become a fascist regime?" I love it. I think I need to watch it sometime this weekend.

I'm stoked that I've already blogged twice this week after getting something in just twice since September 12. We'll see if I have the morning time and/or energy to keep making it happen this week. Peace.

End of the Line

"(So sorry it's over)
Time keeps moving on and on and on
Soon we'll all be gone"
--Man Overboard, Blink 182

Thus endeth one of the longer three-day periods in my entire life. Now, of course that's a figurative statement, because three days will be 72 hours no matter the content. In this instance, longer just means that there was much more for me to do, work-wise, within that time frame.
So here was the schedule: workout Friday morning then work from 7:30-6:30 (without question the busiest workday I've had since I joined the show), then to an lc football game (watching ben, pat and tom) with the morrises, then home and to sleep at midnight. up early saturday, at fox again to edit my baseball piece from 8:30-6:30, then to trader joe's (a wonderful place) and the market, a little reading and then to sleep by 11. Up sunday at 7, to fox at 8 for football (cbs games were much better), done at 4:45, just in time to grab a snack and head back over to the edit bay for a 5 p.m.-1 a.m. shift, finishing up the baseball piece. (Huge exhale).
So yes, I am fatigued, though I still made it to the gym this morning for a half-hearted workout. I'm thinking that I won't last until even 9 tonight, but we'll see. Before all logic escapes me, I have a few thoughts about sports this weekend...
Football: Sean Salisbury said something last night that is even more ludicrous than the things he usually says. If he would slow down and think about what he's saying during his ranting analyses (that's the plural of analysis, by the way), he'd realize how idiotic he sounds sometimes. Sports Guy mentioned the whole Tom Brady or Peyton Manning debate on Inside the NFL and how Dan Marino opted for Manning (because "famous QBs who can't win anything when it matters always stick together"), despite Brady's last three wins in the head-to-head matchups obviously don't mean anything. Well Salisbury last night called the Colts the best team in the AFC. WHAT!?!?!?! Do you watch football? Is your memory so short that you can't recall week one? Or the AFC championship game? Or last year's regular season matchup? How can they be better than the Patriots? They may defeat their arch-nemesis someday, but they haven't in forever--and yes, Sean, forever even includes THREE WEEKS AGO. He seems like a good guy, and he was thoroughly entertaining on the Dan Patrick Show, but there's a large percentage of the time where he just does not know what he's talking about.
Baseball: Has anyone outside San Diego even heard of Jake Peavy? It's criminal that this guy doesn't get more respect. 15-6 with a major league-leading 2.27 ERA; 173 strikeouts in 166 innings against just 53 walks. He's just 23 (his birthday is May 31, which makes him that much cooler) and will no doubt continue his ascent as the Padres' ace next season (a slam-dunk division title for the Pads). A quick comparison between Peavy and the NL Cy Young candidates:
PLAYER STARTS IP W-L SO BB OPP AVG
Peavy 27 166 15-6 173 53 .236
Clemens 33 214 18-4 218 79 .217
Oswalt 35 237 20-10 206 62 .260
R.Johnson 35 245 16-14 290 44 .197
Johnson should win it (and won't, because of the win total), but Peavy is right there with Rocket and with Oswalt, for sure. Next year, if he puts in a full 35 starts and the Padre offense improves a bit (hmm, think we should add some speed to play in the biggest freaking ballpark in the majors?), he'll be right at the top.
More baseball: Dodgers and Angels, that's pretty sweet. I am very much looking forward to this playoff season, despite the absence of my beloved Pads. Schilling facing the Angels and Santana against the Yankees tomorrow (plus the Dodgers and Cards), then Clemens v. Braves on Wednesday. All four series look quite competitive, and especially after what's happened the last three post-seasons (D-Backs, Angels, Marlins), it's anybody's guess. For what it's worth: Sox over Angels, Twins over Yankees, Sox over Twins...Cards over Dodgers, Astros over Braves, Astros over Cards...Astros over Sox. They're healthy and playing great baseball at the right time. Having Rocket and Oswalt 1-2 makes them tougher there than anyone except maybe the Sox (Schill and Pedro), but their momentum is gigantic right now. I'm sure I'll revise this a few times before we're through, but that's how I look at it the day before we get underway.
Basketball: Training camp really starts this week and reality about the Lakers will start setting in. Rudy T is actually the coach, Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant will be wearing the purple and yellow (sorry, forum blue and gold), and Shaq, GP, Fox, Mailman, D-Fish are all gone. This will be a tough one, but I think they'll be better than most prognosticators are speculating. One thing that's not hard to call: Christmas day is gonna be awesome--no matter Santa's provision, Shaq comes to town for the first time, and after all this "I'm not the one paying for love" stuff, it's gonna be on. The first time Kobe comes down the lane--look out. Magic dropped Isiah one time, and they were best friends. These two are far from it.
Work is about to begin--technically this is work too, since it's sports-related--so I'm going to see how long I last before I just pass out at my desk or something. Sleep will be so nice tonight. Peace.