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.