Oh, two political tidbits, one for each party:
1. Jane Swift, who took the "monkey see, monkey do" approach to forming the Office of Commonwealth Security, didn't bother to fund it when she submitted the state budget.
So we have a clean elections law that the legislature didn't appropriate money for, and a security office that was left high and dry by the same person who brought it into existance. This could be a new trend in governance: all new laws and offices are left unfunded, thus not burgeoning the state coffers. They can fight the homeless for bottle returns, vending machine change, and winning lottery tickets that were thrown away by mistake.
That or we can merge them. I hereby announce that I would like to be the first executive director of the Office of Clean and Secure Commonwealth Elections.
I'll work gratis, of course.
2. Secretary of State William Galvin isn't running for governor. He doesn't think he can get the required number of delegates to get on the primary ballot.
This is kind of funny, given that the 15% rule that I've railed on about is designed just to get hacks like him on the ballot and protect them from candidates with less organization or party support. But it's also telling that Galvin is the sort of party hack that people are getting just a mite fed up with.
Or, to suppose that Galvin's got something going on upstairs other than his happenin' 'do, perhaps he doesn't want to take over a state in the midst of recession and have to clean up after Swifty. Not to mention the whole doing battle with the forces of evil thing.
(And to be fair, Finneran's picture is much worse than Galvin's.)
30 January 2002
OK, numerology fans, here's one for you.
The Pats lost their first Super Bowl 46-10. Eleven years later, they lost 35-21.
Note that eleven years later, the Pats scored 11 more points than their first appearance, while the winning team scored 11 less.
Five years later, that would argue for a 30-26 loss for the Pats.
Of course, you could argue that the matching 11 point swings will happen again, and have the Pats win 32-24. Going along this route has them walking away with their next Super Bowl appearance 43-13, and a 54-2 whitewashing the time after that.
Needless to say, I think numerology is a lot of bunk. But I figure someone would appreciate it.
The Pats lost their first Super Bowl 46-10. Eleven years later, they lost 35-21.
Note that eleven years later, the Pats scored 11 more points than their first appearance, while the winning team scored 11 less.
Five years later, that would argue for a 30-26 loss for the Pats.
Of course, you could argue that the matching 11 point swings will happen again, and have the Pats win 32-24. Going along this route has them walking away with their next Super Bowl appearance 43-13, and a 54-2 whitewashing the time after that.
Needless to say, I think numerology is a lot of bunk. But I figure someone would appreciate it.
29 January 2002
The Pats are in the Super Bowl.
Yeah.
YEAH!
YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH
YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH
YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH
YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH
YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've wanted to do that all day. For a satisfactorally mature adult, I've spent most of the day wanting to run around like an idiot screaming at the top of my lungs. I'm a little sad that I've lost the impulse to actually do such a thing, but happy that there are still moments in sports that make me feel this way. Nice to know that all the drug arrests, labor actions, and generally loathesome behavior haven't completely killed things for me.
I could link you to something like three dozen stories about Drew Bledsoe's triumphant return from the bench, or the miracle of the Pats' run, but how much can you say? Bledsoe's return specifically is burned on the collective psyche of the New England sports fan for all time. Orr's diving goal, Havlicek stealing the ball, Carlton waving his homer fair, and Drew leading the team to the Super Bowl after 4 months of not playing at all.
Troy Brown, who made it very clear that he should have been on the Pro Bowl team to start, proved two things on Sunday. First, that he's the best player in the NFL from Marshall University. Don't even get me started on this guy (another example of Herb Brooks' million dollar body and ten cent rat fart for a brain). Troy Brown went from not wanted to invaluable through hard work, determination, and an unshakable belief in himself.
He also put himself in my Pantheon. No gods in mine (regardless of the literal meaning of Pantheon), but rather athletes who, by virtue of the way they played showed themselves as people equal to their physical prowes. Troy joins:
Raymond Bourque Ridiculous work ethic, stuck by a team that clearly didn't care if it won the Stanley Cup or not until finally asking if he could go somewhere that did. It says something about Ray that a very small minority of fans held him to task for that. And that several thousand showed up at Boston City Hall Plaza to see him and the Cup after the Avs won it.
Robert Parish The silent partner of the Celtics' Big Three. Bird won the MVPs, McHale the Sixth Man Awards, and The Chief just kept working. Even after his partners in crime left, he was out there doing battle with the new generation (perhaps a little too long). Nothing flashy, nothing that made you shake your head in disbelief. Just rock solid play. I'll admit some tarnish here given his marijuana rap (which in today's NBA is hardly worth noting) and alleged domestic abuse. But I still think the positives outweigh.
Trot Nixon At a Sox game a few years back Jon Couture and I jokingly tabbed him The Franchise or something similarly ridiculous. Now all of a sudden he's the most consistent player on the team, and one of the few not to pack it in when the team imploded in the wake of Jimy's firing. He's the sort of player the Sox rarely have and almost never appreciate: a player whose work ethic is almost as strong as his character and leadership. There are plenty of stars, but Trot's got himself in the position to lead.
John Hannah I've made it clear that I'm partial to the big uglies in the trenches, but it's hard to discount what Hog Hannah meant to the Pats. I remember him as a lot like Parish, except that he completely dominated opponents and was OK (though not brash) about telling you that. Add to the master of his position his post-football financial career, and you'll see the brains under the brawn.
Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong Both in for similar reasons. Both grew to stardom in a sport almost no one in the US follows, both faced medical problems that could have killed them (Armstrong's cancer and LeMond's accidental shooting) and returned to dominate. Unbelieveable mental toughness. And to be able to ride that fast on a bicycle? I can't even get my ass to stay on one nowadays, never mind doing 60 on a twisting Alpine road.
Edwin Moses Carl Lewis won his golds, Mary Decker Tabb Slaney Etc. had the fan base and the Olympic jinx. Edwin Moses focused on his event, the 400 meter hurdles. And won. A lot. I watched him every chance I could get. I saw the race he lost to break his 122 race win streak. I don't know much about him personally, but always admired his constancy and his humility in setting a mark that's track's equivalent to DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak.
Mia Hamm Many of the athletes above dominated their position or their sport. Mia's had to do it while being a role model to countless girls and the standard-bearer for women's sports in the US. Plus, she's dominating the world in a sport, like LeMond and Armstrong, that isn't much favored by Americans (though we're coming around). And she's apparently landed Nomar, which adds a whole new dimension of her personality that's awe-inspiring (and think about the kids they'd have!).
Nomar Yeah, probably should have been in before Nixon, but I think my respesct for Nomar is harder to define, as he's a pretty big star whose dedication to baseball is often clouded by other stuff (see above, for example). Jeter gets more press, A Rod makes more money, but I'd still rather have Nomar on my team. Don't have to worry about him getting into a scrape with P. Diddy's "people" or being worried about the location of his merchandise tent at spring training. His return from injury last season helps cement his place here, though the jury's still out on his leadership style. I'm hoping he'll meld performance with clubhouse presence, but fear that he may opt for the detached star posturing so many others take.
Bill Bradley For showing you can be intelligent and a world-class athlete. And for having the principles to run against Al Gore when the party was clearly against him. I can't see him running again, but hope he does.
Roberto Clemente Never saw him play live, of course, but I can't help but respect him. You can say he was foolish for getting on the plane taking aid to victims of an earthquake in Nicarauga, but it's a measure of him that he'd care so deeply for people he didn't know or fully represent (being Puerto Rican). And he was a hell of a ball player, based on what I've read and seen on ESPN Classic.
There are probably others, but these are the folks who are clearly in. I'd run a separate list of athletes on my shit list, but I think Blogger limits the amount of space I can use.
Yeah.
YEAH!
YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH
YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH
YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH
YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH
YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've wanted to do that all day. For a satisfactorally mature adult, I've spent most of the day wanting to run around like an idiot screaming at the top of my lungs. I'm a little sad that I've lost the impulse to actually do such a thing, but happy that there are still moments in sports that make me feel this way. Nice to know that all the drug arrests, labor actions, and generally loathesome behavior haven't completely killed things for me.
I could link you to something like three dozen stories about Drew Bledsoe's triumphant return from the bench, or the miracle of the Pats' run, but how much can you say? Bledsoe's return specifically is burned on the collective psyche of the New England sports fan for all time. Orr's diving goal, Havlicek stealing the ball, Carlton waving his homer fair, and Drew leading the team to the Super Bowl after 4 months of not playing at all.
Troy Brown, who made it very clear that he should have been on the Pro Bowl team to start, proved two things on Sunday. First, that he's the best player in the NFL from Marshall University. Don't even get me started on this guy (another example of Herb Brooks' million dollar body and ten cent rat fart for a brain). Troy Brown went from not wanted to invaluable through hard work, determination, and an unshakable belief in himself.
He also put himself in my Pantheon. No gods in mine (regardless of the literal meaning of Pantheon), but rather athletes who, by virtue of the way they played showed themselves as people equal to their physical prowes. Troy joins:
Raymond Bourque Ridiculous work ethic, stuck by a team that clearly didn't care if it won the Stanley Cup or not until finally asking if he could go somewhere that did. It says something about Ray that a very small minority of fans held him to task for that. And that several thousand showed up at Boston City Hall Plaza to see him and the Cup after the Avs won it.
Robert Parish The silent partner of the Celtics' Big Three. Bird won the MVPs, McHale the Sixth Man Awards, and The Chief just kept working. Even after his partners in crime left, he was out there doing battle with the new generation (perhaps a little too long). Nothing flashy, nothing that made you shake your head in disbelief. Just rock solid play. I'll admit some tarnish here given his marijuana rap (which in today's NBA is hardly worth noting) and alleged domestic abuse. But I still think the positives outweigh.
Trot Nixon At a Sox game a few years back Jon Couture and I jokingly tabbed him The Franchise or something similarly ridiculous. Now all of a sudden he's the most consistent player on the team, and one of the few not to pack it in when the team imploded in the wake of Jimy's firing. He's the sort of player the Sox rarely have and almost never appreciate: a player whose work ethic is almost as strong as his character and leadership. There are plenty of stars, but Trot's got himself in the position to lead.
John Hannah I've made it clear that I'm partial to the big uglies in the trenches, but it's hard to discount what Hog Hannah meant to the Pats. I remember him as a lot like Parish, except that he completely dominated opponents and was OK (though not brash) about telling you that. Add to the master of his position his post-football financial career, and you'll see the brains under the brawn.
Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong Both in for similar reasons. Both grew to stardom in a sport almost no one in the US follows, both faced medical problems that could have killed them (Armstrong's cancer and LeMond's accidental shooting) and returned to dominate. Unbelieveable mental toughness. And to be able to ride that fast on a bicycle? I can't even get my ass to stay on one nowadays, never mind doing 60 on a twisting Alpine road.
Edwin Moses Carl Lewis won his golds, Mary Decker Tabb Slaney Etc. had the fan base and the Olympic jinx. Edwin Moses focused on his event, the 400 meter hurdles. And won. A lot. I watched him every chance I could get. I saw the race he lost to break his 122 race win streak. I don't know much about him personally, but always admired his constancy and his humility in setting a mark that's track's equivalent to DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak.
Mia Hamm Many of the athletes above dominated their position or their sport. Mia's had to do it while being a role model to countless girls and the standard-bearer for women's sports in the US. Plus, she's dominating the world in a sport, like LeMond and Armstrong, that isn't much favored by Americans (though we're coming around). And she's apparently landed Nomar, which adds a whole new dimension of her personality that's awe-inspiring (and think about the kids they'd have!).
Nomar Yeah, probably should have been in before Nixon, but I think my respesct for Nomar is harder to define, as he's a pretty big star whose dedication to baseball is often clouded by other stuff (see above, for example). Jeter gets more press, A Rod makes more money, but I'd still rather have Nomar on my team. Don't have to worry about him getting into a scrape with P. Diddy's "people" or being worried about the location of his merchandise tent at spring training. His return from injury last season helps cement his place here, though the jury's still out on his leadership style. I'm hoping he'll meld performance with clubhouse presence, but fear that he may opt for the detached star posturing so many others take.
Bill Bradley For showing you can be intelligent and a world-class athlete. And for having the principles to run against Al Gore when the party was clearly against him. I can't see him running again, but hope he does.
Roberto Clemente Never saw him play live, of course, but I can't help but respect him. You can say he was foolish for getting on the plane taking aid to victims of an earthquake in Nicarauga, but it's a measure of him that he'd care so deeply for people he didn't know or fully represent (being Puerto Rican). And he was a hell of a ball player, based on what I've read and seen on ESPN Classic.
There are probably others, but these are the folks who are clearly in. I'd run a separate list of athletes on my shit list, but I think Blogger limits the amount of space I can use.
24 January 2002
Three advertising things of note (no links, I'm being lazy):
1. While in the car over the weekend, heard a radio ad for NBC's Olympic coverage, where they said they were "bringing the Olympics home." I know what they meant, but for a competiton started in Greece and revived by a Frenchman, home is on another continent.
2. I'm wondering if all the granola-munching proto-hippies who are Dave Matthews fans are having trouble reconciling the use of "The Space Between" in ads for Black Hawk Down. It's oddly fitting, though.
3. Just as Sarah was turning the channel to tune in Temptation Island 2 (no comment), what ad was playing on Fox? One for a genital herpes medication.
The prosecution rests.
1. While in the car over the weekend, heard a radio ad for NBC's Olympic coverage, where they said they were "bringing the Olympics home." I know what they meant, but for a competiton started in Greece and revived by a Frenchman, home is on another continent.
2. I'm wondering if all the granola-munching proto-hippies who are Dave Matthews fans are having trouble reconciling the use of "The Space Between" in ads for Black Hawk Down. It's oddly fitting, though.
3. Just as Sarah was turning the channel to tune in Temptation Island 2 (no comment), what ad was playing on Fox? One for a genital herpes medication.
The prosecution rests.
I'm not prone to discuss politics here, as I have a fairly tenuous grasp on my own political affiliation.
I grew up in a family of Democrats, and have always been registered as a Democrat. I've always had some sort of identification with that party as, in some fashion, the one that worked more to help two-earner families. That's a pretty broad statement, and I'm sure those of you reading this (a group that, based on those who I know or assume read this at least casually, runs a very wide swath of the political spectrum) would have various arguments for against it. Quite honestly, I don't care. Not that I want to quash discourse, or am so close-minded that I won't brook argument against the position.
Rather, I'm about as politically indifferent as you can be and still have an interest in politics. Suffice it to say that my current political philosphy runs most closely to what Hamilton and Madison were talking about in Federalist Papers 9 and 10: political parties are too self-interested to give a whit about actually doing the most good for the people.
Not that I think we've got a lot of options as far as that goes, but I do believe, in principle, that the Republicans and Democrats are as interested in propogating themselves as they are in promoting legislation and supporting the commonweal. The increased bray of partisanship (perhaps just better noted in this media-saturated world) leads me to this conclusion. If it's not Newt, it's Tom. If not Tom, then Trent. And if Trent's got a head cold, you can whip in Dennis or Teddy or whomever.
The event that got me started on this path? Iran-Contra. Dems wave the laws, the GOP bangs the drum, and everyone is out to score points for party and personal use. Watching the hearings unfold made me more and more infuriated with how apparently everyone was missing the point. People broke laws. There was evidence of that. Call in Adam Schiff and Jack McCoy!
Anyway, my personal revolt from party politics didn't occur in '88, when I voted for Dukakis. Part of my reasoning was that it would kind of cool to have a President from my home state; not that it worked out so well the last time. 1992 saw me vote for Clinton, though had Iran-Contra started six months earlier I'd probably have voted for Perot.
And then the anti-party thing kicked in, fueled by the 1994 Congressional elections, the "Contract with America" and all that. 1996 saw me throw my vote to Dr. John Hagelin of the Natural Law Party. Their platform is pretty much that transcendental meditation will cure what ills the world. And they campaign with yogic flyers! How could I pass these guys up?
Then there was 2000, an election which saw me vote for candidates from five different parties. Went with Nader and the Greens, given that, were I better person, I'd live up to what I think about environmental issues. The other parties that got votes were the Dems, the Libertarians, this guy who ran against Teddy Kennedy, and one other party that escapes me (as I think about it I probably wrote someone in, so it's not technically a different party, unless they happened to consider themselves such).
Not sure what triggered this line of discussion, other than the idea that Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, probably won't make the primary ballot for the Massachusetts governor's race thanks to a rule that limits listed candidates to those who get 15 percent of the delegates to support them at the state convention. This rule favors, not surprisingly, entrenched candidates who have larger organizations. For the 2002 election, this is especially galling as it means we'll get candidates like secretary of state William Galvin, treasurer Shannon O'Brien, and senate president Tom Birmingham. None of whom inspire a lot of confidence (even with Jane Swift as the alternative!). And no, they don't get links. They're not worth the time, and The Simpsons are on.
I grew up in a family of Democrats, and have always been registered as a Democrat. I've always had some sort of identification with that party as, in some fashion, the one that worked more to help two-earner families. That's a pretty broad statement, and I'm sure those of you reading this (a group that, based on those who I know or assume read this at least casually, runs a very wide swath of the political spectrum) would have various arguments for against it. Quite honestly, I don't care. Not that I want to quash discourse, or am so close-minded that I won't brook argument against the position.
Rather, I'm about as politically indifferent as you can be and still have an interest in politics. Suffice it to say that my current political philosphy runs most closely to what Hamilton and Madison were talking about in Federalist Papers 9 and 10: political parties are too self-interested to give a whit about actually doing the most good for the people.
Not that I think we've got a lot of options as far as that goes, but I do believe, in principle, that the Republicans and Democrats are as interested in propogating themselves as they are in promoting legislation and supporting the commonweal. The increased bray of partisanship (perhaps just better noted in this media-saturated world) leads me to this conclusion. If it's not Newt, it's Tom. If not Tom, then Trent. And if Trent's got a head cold, you can whip in Dennis or Teddy or whomever.
The event that got me started on this path? Iran-Contra. Dems wave the laws, the GOP bangs the drum, and everyone is out to score points for party and personal use. Watching the hearings unfold made me more and more infuriated with how apparently everyone was missing the point. People broke laws. There was evidence of that. Call in Adam Schiff and Jack McCoy!
Anyway, my personal revolt from party politics didn't occur in '88, when I voted for Dukakis. Part of my reasoning was that it would kind of cool to have a President from my home state; not that it worked out so well the last time. 1992 saw me vote for Clinton, though had Iran-Contra started six months earlier I'd probably have voted for Perot.
And then the anti-party thing kicked in, fueled by the 1994 Congressional elections, the "Contract with America" and all that. 1996 saw me throw my vote to Dr. John Hagelin of the Natural Law Party. Their platform is pretty much that transcendental meditation will cure what ills the world. And they campaign with yogic flyers! How could I pass these guys up?
Then there was 2000, an election which saw me vote for candidates from five different parties. Went with Nader and the Greens, given that, were I better person, I'd live up to what I think about environmental issues. The other parties that got votes were the Dems, the Libertarians, this guy who ran against Teddy Kennedy, and one other party that escapes me (as I think about it I probably wrote someone in, so it's not technically a different party, unless they happened to consider themselves such).
Not sure what triggered this line of discussion, other than the idea that Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, probably won't make the primary ballot for the Massachusetts governor's race thanks to a rule that limits listed candidates to those who get 15 percent of the delegates to support them at the state convention. This rule favors, not surprisingly, entrenched candidates who have larger organizations. For the 2002 election, this is especially galling as it means we'll get candidates like secretary of state William Galvin, treasurer Shannon O'Brien, and senate president Tom Birmingham. None of whom inspire a lot of confidence (even with Jane Swift as the alternative!). And no, they don't get links. They're not worth the time, and The Simpsons are on.
21 January 2002
For a second straight week I pick all 4 NFL playoff games correctly. For the second straight week, I bet nothing on them. Probably for the best, given that the Pats didn't cover.
Should I be awed at my 8-0 run? Perhaps. Consider, though, that six of those games went to the home team, a position of such strength in the NFL playoffs that it's almost a no-brainer. Perhaps the more impressive thing was getting the "upset" wins right.
Clearly, there could be no better way for the Pats to bid adieu to Foxboro Stadium than Saturday night's winter carnival. That the win closed the circle opened by the Sugar Bear Hamilton roughing the passer call from back in 1976 makes it that much sweeter. An AFC title game would be nice, but it would either (a) end in a loss, which would suck, or (b) a win and a trip to play the Rams (more on that anon).
I have only one game experience at Foxboro, when I saw the Pats play the Seahawks. Thanks to the magic of Lexis-Nexis, I can tell you that Seattle beat the Pats 38-31 (I don't remember it as being that close, probably from the two punts that Rich Camarillo had blocked) on September 21, 1986. Tony Eason apparently set a Patriots record for passing yards that day (422). My greatest memory of the game was that is was raining and cold (much colder than it should have been for that time of year), and we had what might have been the world's most pathetic post-game tailgate. We tailgated better before the BU-Northern Iowa playoff game, for Pete's sake!
Anyway, time to put perfection on the line.
Philadelphia Eagles at St. Louis Rams The Eagles need three things to happen to beat the Rams:
1. Judicious use of tactical nukes in and around The Dome at America's Center.
2. A guy from the Far East deplanes in St. Louis and fails to declare the new and especially virulent strain of flu he's brought with him.
3. Mary Mallon gets hired as the new Rams clubhouse chef.
I like the Eagles, with their hard-nosed defense and one man gang in Donovan McNabb. But neither will be able to contend with the variety of challenges that the Rams throw at you. And when the Rams defense gets involved, like they did in the butt whuppin' they put on the Pack, well you got to consider yourself screwed. Can't imagine that the Eagles will let it get as ugly as that, but look out.
New England Patroits at Pittsburgh Steelers Here's where perfection may take a holiday.
I am, at the core, a homer. Year in, year out, it's root, root, root for the home team, and keep the faith even in the face of a clubhouse falling apart, more penny pinching by the King of Delaware North, or some school in Newton winning the NCAA hockey title. And so it continues here.
The Steelers are a tremendous football team. They've managed to revive their offense and create a hellacious defense out of the rubble of season past that would have claimed other coaches (good thing Bill Cohwer doesn't coach in Tampa). Kordell Stewart is back to his old tricks, and even has wideouts who can catch and run. Jerome Bettis may finally return to pound the ball, but even if he doesn't show Amos Zereoue seems competent (though his two best days as a running back came against the Ravens) and there's the Vanna White pleasing Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala, who isn't a shrinking violet either.
Did I mention that Pittsburgh has the NFL's top defense?
So what are the Pats to do? The way I see it, the "bend but don't break" philosophy of the Pats defense will come into play, and neither team will establish itself on offense. Somewhere along the line the Steelers get one into the end zone (I'm guessing Plaxico Burress on a fade to the corner) and they chalk up a safety on a Kendrell Bell sack. The Pats stuff one in, too (Jermaine Wiggins on a curl, as he catches 15 balls for 47 yards) after settling for a field goal on their opening drive.
This sets things up for the shankadelic Kris Brown. 41 yards. Two seconds. Wide left.
At least someone else tabbed the Pats a team of destiny so I don't have to do so, thereby jinxing the whole lot of 'em.
Should I be awed at my 8-0 run? Perhaps. Consider, though, that six of those games went to the home team, a position of such strength in the NFL playoffs that it's almost a no-brainer. Perhaps the more impressive thing was getting the "upset" wins right.
Clearly, there could be no better way for the Pats to bid adieu to Foxboro Stadium than Saturday night's winter carnival. That the win closed the circle opened by the Sugar Bear Hamilton roughing the passer call from back in 1976 makes it that much sweeter. An AFC title game would be nice, but it would either (a) end in a loss, which would suck, or (b) a win and a trip to play the Rams (more on that anon).
I have only one game experience at Foxboro, when I saw the Pats play the Seahawks. Thanks to the magic of Lexis-Nexis, I can tell you that Seattle beat the Pats 38-31 (I don't remember it as being that close, probably from the two punts that Rich Camarillo had blocked) on September 21, 1986. Tony Eason apparently set a Patriots record for passing yards that day (422). My greatest memory of the game was that is was raining and cold (much colder than it should have been for that time of year), and we had what might have been the world's most pathetic post-game tailgate. We tailgated better before the BU-Northern Iowa playoff game, for Pete's sake!
Anyway, time to put perfection on the line.
Philadelphia Eagles at St. Louis Rams The Eagles need three things to happen to beat the Rams:
1. Judicious use of tactical nukes in and around The Dome at America's Center.
2. A guy from the Far East deplanes in St. Louis and fails to declare the new and especially virulent strain of flu he's brought with him.
3. Mary Mallon gets hired as the new Rams clubhouse chef.
I like the Eagles, with their hard-nosed defense and one man gang in Donovan McNabb. But neither will be able to contend with the variety of challenges that the Rams throw at you. And when the Rams defense gets involved, like they did in the butt whuppin' they put on the Pack, well you got to consider yourself screwed. Can't imagine that the Eagles will let it get as ugly as that, but look out.
New England Patroits at Pittsburgh Steelers Here's where perfection may take a holiday.
I am, at the core, a homer. Year in, year out, it's root, root, root for the home team, and keep the faith even in the face of a clubhouse falling apart, more penny pinching by the King of Delaware North, or some school in Newton winning the NCAA hockey title. And so it continues here.
The Steelers are a tremendous football team. They've managed to revive their offense and create a hellacious defense out of the rubble of season past that would have claimed other coaches (good thing Bill Cohwer doesn't coach in Tampa). Kordell Stewart is back to his old tricks, and even has wideouts who can catch and run. Jerome Bettis may finally return to pound the ball, but even if he doesn't show Amos Zereoue seems competent (though his two best days as a running back came against the Ravens) and there's the Vanna White pleasing Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala, who isn't a shrinking violet either.
Did I mention that Pittsburgh has the NFL's top defense?
So what are the Pats to do? The way I see it, the "bend but don't break" philosophy of the Pats defense will come into play, and neither team will establish itself on offense. Somewhere along the line the Steelers get one into the end zone (I'm guessing Plaxico Burress on a fade to the corner) and they chalk up a safety on a Kendrell Bell sack. The Pats stuff one in, too (Jermaine Wiggins on a curl, as he catches 15 balls for 47 yards) after settling for a field goal on their opening drive.
This sets things up for the shankadelic Kris Brown. 41 yards. Two seconds. Wide left.
At least someone else tabbed the Pats a team of destiny so I don't have to do so, thereby jinxing the whole lot of 'em.
20 January 2002
Let's see, I said the Pats would win because:
1. Oakland has crappy run defense. Which explains why the Pats abandoned the run, threw the ball like crazy in the 4th quarter and OT, and scored 13 unanswered points (I know, the last 3 couldn't be answered, but cut me some slack).
2. Oakland's strong passing game would be countered by the Pats' strong pass defense. But for most of the game, when the Raiders needed a first down, what did they do? Throw to Rice or Brown. The only Oakland TD? A pass.
3. The weather will favor the Pats. Which is why they spent the vast majority of the game running like the field was made of eggshells coated with meringue.
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Got the Eagles picked right, too, even if it wasn't the close game I thought it would be.
Related prognosticating note: I'm playing ESPN.com's college basketball pick 'em, and have correctly chosen 15 of the first 20 games. Including going something like 9 for 10 last week. And I've done all this while possessing enough basketball knowledge to partially dampen a thimble. Go figure.
1. Oakland has crappy run defense. Which explains why the Pats abandoned the run, threw the ball like crazy in the 4th quarter and OT, and scored 13 unanswered points (I know, the last 3 couldn't be answered, but cut me some slack).
2. Oakland's strong passing game would be countered by the Pats' strong pass defense. But for most of the game, when the Raiders needed a first down, what did they do? Throw to Rice or Brown. The only Oakland TD? A pass.
3. The weather will favor the Pats. Which is why they spent the vast majority of the game running like the field was made of eggshells coated with meringue.
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Got the Eagles picked right, too, even if it wasn't the close game I thought it would be.
Related prognosticating note: I'm playing ESPN.com's college basketball pick 'em, and have correctly chosen 15 of the first 20 games. Including going something like 9 for 10 last week. And I've done all this while possessing enough basketball knowledge to partially dampen a thimble. Go figure.
19 January 2002
I generally don't care for Bill Simmons, the "Boston Sports Guy" who sold his soul to ESPN to become just "The Sports Guy" on the Page 2 part of their web site. Not sure why, could just be because every time I look at his picture I get this vibe that he's like most of the sports bar denizens around here who calls everyone "pallie" and roots for BC just because. But I will say that his recent column on the Patriots redeems him somewhat.
I felt similar pain at being a Pats fan, especially at BU, where the vast majority of students have some sort of allegiance to the Giants or Jets (aside: went to the BU senior week baseball game a couple years back between the Sox and Yanks, and the BU section had a 3:1 ratio of Yankee to Sox hats. Sox won, thankfully).
I would note a couple things that the column linked above doesn't quite hit right.
1. Passing up Vonnie Holliday and Randy Moss for Robert Edwards and Tebucky Jones wasn't as bad as all that. Edwards was a great back until he ended his career playing in an all-rookie beach football game during Pro Bowl weekend. The Pats running game disappeared that day, not to return until Antowain Smith started getting more than a half dozen touches a game. Holliday is solid, but Moss is proving to be the Irving Fryar of this decade, at least in attitude.
2. Doug Flutie hardly "stunk up the joint" in his time with the Pats. He wasn't all pro, but he performed better than some of our other possibilities. And let's not forget that the rest of the team was littered with guys who, by all rights and means, should have been playing Arena football. Now, most of you know that I'm hardly a Flutie apologist, so conisder what it took for me to write this!
3. Why is it sad that the Pats best player for most of its tenure was John Hannah? Simple fact: if it weren't for offensive linemen, all the QBs and RBs who get the press would get creamed. I would much rather have my team MVP be Hannah or Anthony Munoz than, say, Moss or Rickey Watters or, God forbid, Deion Sanders.
4. As much of the team's rejuvenation came from Kraft's stable ownership as Parcells' skill as a coach. That Kraft has finally figured out who should be dealing with player personnel is a plus.
Anyway, just a little Pats talk before the game.
I felt similar pain at being a Pats fan, especially at BU, where the vast majority of students have some sort of allegiance to the Giants or Jets (aside: went to the BU senior week baseball game a couple years back between the Sox and Yanks, and the BU section had a 3:1 ratio of Yankee to Sox hats. Sox won, thankfully).
I would note a couple things that the column linked above doesn't quite hit right.
1. Passing up Vonnie Holliday and Randy Moss for Robert Edwards and Tebucky Jones wasn't as bad as all that. Edwards was a great back until he ended his career playing in an all-rookie beach football game during Pro Bowl weekend. The Pats running game disappeared that day, not to return until Antowain Smith started getting more than a half dozen touches a game. Holliday is solid, but Moss is proving to be the Irving Fryar of this decade, at least in attitude.
2. Doug Flutie hardly "stunk up the joint" in his time with the Pats. He wasn't all pro, but he performed better than some of our other possibilities. And let's not forget that the rest of the team was littered with guys who, by all rights and means, should have been playing Arena football. Now, most of you know that I'm hardly a Flutie apologist, so conisder what it took for me to write this!
3. Why is it sad that the Pats best player for most of its tenure was John Hannah? Simple fact: if it weren't for offensive linemen, all the QBs and RBs who get the press would get creamed. I would much rather have my team MVP be Hannah or Anthony Munoz than, say, Moss or Rickey Watters or, God forbid, Deion Sanders.
4. As much of the team's rejuvenation came from Kraft's stable ownership as Parcells' skill as a coach. That Kraft has finally figured out who should be dealing with player personnel is a plus.
Anyway, just a little Pats talk before the game.
16 January 2002
Last week I put my neck on the line and predicted the outcome of the four wild cards games in the NFL playoffs. Turns out I went 4-0. I'm a genius!
On the other hand, had I put some money where my mouth is, I'd have netted a tidy sum. I'm an idiot!
In any event, this week I move on to the divisonal round. NFC first.
Green Bay at St. Louis I've been a modest fan of the Pack for some time, back when Brett Favre was still a pup and Sterling Sharpe was making grabs all over the field. So I'm a little disposed towards them. Even so, I'd be hard pressed to take them against the Rams.
Yes, the Rams defense is average. However, the Pack's defense isn't much better. The Rams offense is scary. The Pack has Favre and his bag of tricks, and nice running from Ahman Green. Even so, the Rams have fewer things to worry about when Green Bay has the ball than vice versa. If they key Faulk, they risk getting burnt by Isaac Bruce or Torry Holt. Key one of those guys, Faulk swings out of the backfield. And then there's tight end Ernie Conwell, who as the season went on became a favorie of Kurt Warner's.
The Pack can't match that, and will lose, though not get blown out.
Philadelphia at Chicago The Bears, like the Patriots, have many people confused. They're not supposed to be in the playoffs, never mind NFC Central champ and second seed.
The Eagles, meanwhile, were supposed to be here all along. a preseason pick to go deep in the playoffs, they struggled through the NFC East, a sign of either (a) the NFL's legendary parity, or (b) a sign that the Eagles were less ready than people thought.
Both teams come to Soldier Field with hot and cold offenses and sharp defenses. Chicago's got strength at linebacker and the defensive backfield. Philly has a loaded d-line and a tremendous d-backfield. One that can easily handle the anemic Chicago passing offense.
Chicago's bread and butter is rookie RB Anthony Thomas. Where the A Train goes the Bears thou goeth. Philly will have some relief knowing that if their defensive backfield keeps what passes for passing in check, they can stuff 7 or 8 guys on the line to keep Thomas at bay.
Chicago should be able to keep McNabb in better check than the Bucs, but the Eagles' offense is balanced enough to keep the Bears on their toes. They can't afford to overplay the run like the Eagles can.
I'm thinking it'll be a tight game, with the Eagles coming away with an upset.
As for the AFC:
Baltimore at Pittsburgh The Ravens are talking smack again, much like the team from last year. Their defeat of Miami in Miami gives them some room to swagger, even if you get sick of listening to Ray Lewis and Shannon Sharpe (which doesn't take much).
The win over the Dolphins has everyone in Charm City thinking of last year. What they tend to forget is that Miami's offense lived and died on the passing game. A passing game that evaporated when rookie Chris Chambers was scratched from the game with injury. The surprise shouldn't be that the Ravens won, but that their offense actually showed signs of life against a strong Fins defense.
The Steelers possess another great defense, but have an offense that Miami can only dream of. Kordell Stewart can pass again, and he's got two good receivers in Plaxico Burress and Hines Ward. And, of course, there's Jerome Bettis, "The Bus," coming back from a late season injury.
The Ravens and Steelers split this year, the Ravens taking a 13-10 win in week 8 at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 29-23 in week 14 at PSINet Stadium. In both games, a Steelers player was the leading passer, rusher, and receiver. Considering that one week it meant that AMOS ZEREOUE was the game's top rusher, I have to ponder.
Part of me wants the Ravens to win to set up a possible AFC title game at Foxboro. But then I remember that Elvis Grbac is the Baltimore QB. Somewhere, Trent Dilfer is smiling. The Steelers win.
Oakland at New England One of the things that bugged me the most about wild card weekend was how results seemed to validate the early season's conventional wisdom. Philly was a Super Bowl possible who struggled, but won big and is now back in the fold. Oakland puts away the Jets, who beat them at home the week before, and it's time to get Jon Gruden his own suite at the New Orleans Hilton.
Let's get some perspective here. There are guys who've climbed Everest who sucked less wind than the Raiders did in December. They went from challenging for home field advantage throughout the playoffs to having to play last week. That they play in the sad excuse for a conference known as the ACF West was a saving grace; were they in the Central or East the other teams would have smelled the blood in the water.
Now I'm not fully discounting their win last week, it was a solid victory that reminded us all that the Raiders have a potent offense. Jerry Rice and Tim Brown are Hall of Fame locks, Charlie Garner can run the ball, and Rich Gannon is an effective passer.
Consider, though, that the Jets were playing after their third cross-country flight in two weeks. And that their best defender, John Abraham, didn't play most of the game.
Then add in that the Jets were able to move the ball if not at will, then with great positivity. The Jets offense for most of the season looked like Chicago's, mostly running with a smattering of passes mixed in to keep the other team honest. That it was able to march up and down the field last week says something about Oakland's defense. And none of it good.
Not that the Pats are world beaters. Their defense ranks very low statistically. They have a "bend but don't break" philosophy that keeps games close, but (for this year at least) kept them in the win column. Their balanced offense frightens no one, but gets the job done. Antowain Smith can churn yards with the best of them, and Tom Brady is as efficient a passer as Gannon, though with shorter passes to less glamorous wideouts.
I see three things that make me think the Pats will win:
1. Oakland has crappy run defense. You can try to say that Curtis Martin was the reason for the Jets' ability to run last week, but the Raiders finished the year in the bottom third of the league in run defense. If the Pats can run, that will free up their passing game when the d-backs have to play the run.
2. Oakland's offensive strength is the passing game. The Pats' defensive strength is the passing game (to the extent they have a strength). Hall of Famers Rice and Brown against Pro Bowlers Law and Milloy. Younger legs prevail, but someone will get burnt. It's just what happens.
3. A night game. In January. In Foxboro. Oakland isn't tropical, but it's a much more temperate clime, especially at this time of year. Gannon will have Yankee Conference flashbacks.
So there you have it.
On the other hand, had I put some money where my mouth is, I'd have netted a tidy sum. I'm an idiot!
In any event, this week I move on to the divisonal round. NFC first.
Green Bay at St. Louis I've been a modest fan of the Pack for some time, back when Brett Favre was still a pup and Sterling Sharpe was making grabs all over the field. So I'm a little disposed towards them. Even so, I'd be hard pressed to take them against the Rams.
Yes, the Rams defense is average. However, the Pack's defense isn't much better. The Rams offense is scary. The Pack has Favre and his bag of tricks, and nice running from Ahman Green. Even so, the Rams have fewer things to worry about when Green Bay has the ball than vice versa. If they key Faulk, they risk getting burnt by Isaac Bruce or Torry Holt. Key one of those guys, Faulk swings out of the backfield. And then there's tight end Ernie Conwell, who as the season went on became a favorie of Kurt Warner's.
The Pack can't match that, and will lose, though not get blown out.
Philadelphia at Chicago The Bears, like the Patriots, have many people confused. They're not supposed to be in the playoffs, never mind NFC Central champ and second seed.
The Eagles, meanwhile, were supposed to be here all along. a preseason pick to go deep in the playoffs, they struggled through the NFC East, a sign of either (a) the NFL's legendary parity, or (b) a sign that the Eagles were less ready than people thought.
Both teams come to Soldier Field with hot and cold offenses and sharp defenses. Chicago's got strength at linebacker and the defensive backfield. Philly has a loaded d-line and a tremendous d-backfield. One that can easily handle the anemic Chicago passing offense.
Chicago's bread and butter is rookie RB Anthony Thomas. Where the A Train goes the Bears thou goeth. Philly will have some relief knowing that if their defensive backfield keeps what passes for passing in check, they can stuff 7 or 8 guys on the line to keep Thomas at bay.
Chicago should be able to keep McNabb in better check than the Bucs, but the Eagles' offense is balanced enough to keep the Bears on their toes. They can't afford to overplay the run like the Eagles can.
I'm thinking it'll be a tight game, with the Eagles coming away with an upset.
As for the AFC:
Baltimore at Pittsburgh The Ravens are talking smack again, much like the team from last year. Their defeat of Miami in Miami gives them some room to swagger, even if you get sick of listening to Ray Lewis and Shannon Sharpe (which doesn't take much).
The win over the Dolphins has everyone in Charm City thinking of last year. What they tend to forget is that Miami's offense lived and died on the passing game. A passing game that evaporated when rookie Chris Chambers was scratched from the game with injury. The surprise shouldn't be that the Ravens won, but that their offense actually showed signs of life against a strong Fins defense.
The Steelers possess another great defense, but have an offense that Miami can only dream of. Kordell Stewart can pass again, and he's got two good receivers in Plaxico Burress and Hines Ward. And, of course, there's Jerome Bettis, "The Bus," coming back from a late season injury.
The Ravens and Steelers split this year, the Ravens taking a 13-10 win in week 8 at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 29-23 in week 14 at PSINet Stadium. In both games, a Steelers player was the leading passer, rusher, and receiver. Considering that one week it meant that AMOS ZEREOUE was the game's top rusher, I have to ponder.
Part of me wants the Ravens to win to set up a possible AFC title game at Foxboro. But then I remember that Elvis Grbac is the Baltimore QB. Somewhere, Trent Dilfer is smiling. The Steelers win.
Oakland at New England One of the things that bugged me the most about wild card weekend was how results seemed to validate the early season's conventional wisdom. Philly was a Super Bowl possible who struggled, but won big and is now back in the fold. Oakland puts away the Jets, who beat them at home the week before, and it's time to get Jon Gruden his own suite at the New Orleans Hilton.
Let's get some perspective here. There are guys who've climbed Everest who sucked less wind than the Raiders did in December. They went from challenging for home field advantage throughout the playoffs to having to play last week. That they play in the sad excuse for a conference known as the ACF West was a saving grace; were they in the Central or East the other teams would have smelled the blood in the water.
Now I'm not fully discounting their win last week, it was a solid victory that reminded us all that the Raiders have a potent offense. Jerry Rice and Tim Brown are Hall of Fame locks, Charlie Garner can run the ball, and Rich Gannon is an effective passer.
Consider, though, that the Jets were playing after their third cross-country flight in two weeks. And that their best defender, John Abraham, didn't play most of the game.
Then add in that the Jets were able to move the ball if not at will, then with great positivity. The Jets offense for most of the season looked like Chicago's, mostly running with a smattering of passes mixed in to keep the other team honest. That it was able to march up and down the field last week says something about Oakland's defense. And none of it good.
Not that the Pats are world beaters. Their defense ranks very low statistically. They have a "bend but don't break" philosophy that keeps games close, but (for this year at least) kept them in the win column. Their balanced offense frightens no one, but gets the job done. Antowain Smith can churn yards with the best of them, and Tom Brady is as efficient a passer as Gannon, though with shorter passes to less glamorous wideouts.
I see three things that make me think the Pats will win:
1. Oakland has crappy run defense. You can try to say that Curtis Martin was the reason for the Jets' ability to run last week, but the Raiders finished the year in the bottom third of the league in run defense. If the Pats can run, that will free up their passing game when the d-backs have to play the run.
2. Oakland's offensive strength is the passing game. The Pats' defensive strength is the passing game (to the extent they have a strength). Hall of Famers Rice and Brown against Pro Bowlers Law and Milloy. Younger legs prevail, but someone will get burnt. It's just what happens.
3. A night game. In January. In Foxboro. Oakland isn't tropical, but it's a much more temperate clime, especially at this time of year. Gannon will have Yankee Conference flashbacks.
So there you have it.
It's come to this: someone suggests that you should be more like me (scroll down a bit, it's there). Under better circumstances I'd find this suggestion ripe for humor. Unfortunately, it comes out of recent news that BU college bowler Tony Brucato took his own life over winter break. I don't think I can say anything better than Jon Couture did on this. I think I'm one of the many who did not see this coming at all, based on being with him at practice and tournaments.
In any event, here's to hoping Tony's found peace.
In any event, here's to hoping Tony's found peace.
12 January 2002
My family is currently trying to sell our family home, the only real home I've had (I'm not counting the variety of apartments and dorm spaces I've been in, obviously). I'm kind of conflicted about this.
There's part of me that is resistant, if not heartbroken, about selling the house. As I've said, it's the only real home I've had. My family moved in in 1968, the year before I was born. The biggest move I've known with my family is when my brother and I swapped rooms with our sisters (we were too big for the bunk beds that were built into the room). Even though I do not go back on a very regular basis (not been to the house since before Thanksgiving), there's a good 20 years of solid residence that weigh heavily on my mind.
Part too is that it means I would no longer have a place to stay overnight in Manchester, though at this point there are very few people I'd stay overnight to see. But I still feel a connection to the town as well, given again the time I lived there and that it's where my parents and sister Cathy are at rest (in fact, the cemetary is about 100 yards from the house, a fact that is equal parts comforting and creepy).
Balancing this out is cold hard reality. I'm certainly in no position to move back and take over the house. My job requires that I live on campus. Even if I got a new job that did not require that, there's the issue of finances. The mortgage is high but not excessively so, but throw in all the utilities (especially water, thanks to new treatment plants in town that we're still paying for) and it gets really tough. God knows I don't have the credit rating to refinance and buy out my brother and sister, either.
And let's not forget the money that comes from the sale of the house. All of us can use the money for different things. Certainly, it would be a nice feeling to get all the student loan people off my back. Whatever's left would make a nice nugget for a new house, perhaps in Manchester, perhaps not (though I've been told by someone with some influence in the decision that moving back is likely).
I suppose I've come to an uneasy peace with selling. Not that we've got people banging down the doors. We have had a nice amount of traffic to see the house, but given the economy, and the number of houses up for sale in town (a number that climed dramatically as 2001 went on), we haven't gotten the quick sale we might have gotten a year or two ago. We aren't in a hurry, though, as my aunt continues to live there (that's her car in the second picture).
Perhaps I'm taking this too personally. My sister's family has been through three houses already, and she's only been married 12 years. Not as much time to build up an attachment, but it may also be that I'm too sentimental where the house is concerned. But I know I'm going to miss the nice yard, the tall pine trees that mark off the back, and the nights sitting out on the deck cooking dinner or just talking. But I also won't have to worry about the other stuff that comes with home ownership that I take for granted now. I don't have to shovel, or make repairs, or pay for someone to make them.
If I were really lucky, someone would buy the house, we'd have a serious contraction in the real estate market, and I could buy it back from them at a well-reduced price.
I should just get used to the thought that we're selling.
There's part of me that is resistant, if not heartbroken, about selling the house. As I've said, it's the only real home I've had. My family moved in in 1968, the year before I was born. The biggest move I've known with my family is when my brother and I swapped rooms with our sisters (we were too big for the bunk beds that were built into the room). Even though I do not go back on a very regular basis (not been to the house since before Thanksgiving), there's a good 20 years of solid residence that weigh heavily on my mind.
Part too is that it means I would no longer have a place to stay overnight in Manchester, though at this point there are very few people I'd stay overnight to see. But I still feel a connection to the town as well, given again the time I lived there and that it's where my parents and sister Cathy are at rest (in fact, the cemetary is about 100 yards from the house, a fact that is equal parts comforting and creepy).
Balancing this out is cold hard reality. I'm certainly in no position to move back and take over the house. My job requires that I live on campus. Even if I got a new job that did not require that, there's the issue of finances. The mortgage is high but not excessively so, but throw in all the utilities (especially water, thanks to new treatment plants in town that we're still paying for) and it gets really tough. God knows I don't have the credit rating to refinance and buy out my brother and sister, either.
And let's not forget the money that comes from the sale of the house. All of us can use the money for different things. Certainly, it would be a nice feeling to get all the student loan people off my back. Whatever's left would make a nice nugget for a new house, perhaps in Manchester, perhaps not (though I've been told by someone with some influence in the decision that moving back is likely).
I suppose I've come to an uneasy peace with selling. Not that we've got people banging down the doors. We have had a nice amount of traffic to see the house, but given the economy, and the number of houses up for sale in town (a number that climed dramatically as 2001 went on), we haven't gotten the quick sale we might have gotten a year or two ago. We aren't in a hurry, though, as my aunt continues to live there (that's her car in the second picture).
Perhaps I'm taking this too personally. My sister's family has been through three houses already, and she's only been married 12 years. Not as much time to build up an attachment, but it may also be that I'm too sentimental where the house is concerned. But I know I'm going to miss the nice yard, the tall pine trees that mark off the back, and the nights sitting out on the deck cooking dinner or just talking. But I also won't have to worry about the other stuff that comes with home ownership that I take for granted now. I don't have to shovel, or make repairs, or pay for someone to make them.
If I were really lucky, someone would buy the house, we'd have a serious contraction in the real estate market, and I could buy it back from them at a well-reduced price.
I should just get used to the thought that we're selling.
10 January 2002
I got suckered/guilted/cajoled into watching the American Music Awards last night. I'm not much of an awards show watcher. The only show I usually watch is the Oscars. Watching the show last night, I rediscovered why this is so.
Hosting the broadcast was Sean Puffy P. Diddy Props for Biggie No Cap Bustin' J Lo No Go Combs and Jenny McCarthy. They mostly stayed out of the way, which was for the best. Combs has better stage presence that McCarthy, which should surprise no one. Their pairing, however, provided one of the themes for the evening. Consider these presentation groupings: India.Arie and Carrot Top; Rose McGowan, Ginuwine, and Ludacris; Faith Evans and new country group Trick Pony. Those were the oddest. Others were less bizarre but as lame (an apparently drunk Chris Klein and Nikki Taylor tops memory).
I will commend Ashton Kutcher, who plays Kelso on That '70s Show, for his introduction of Brooks and Dunn, which noted that they would never say things like "Yo, bitch, where my horse be at?" I know, he didn't write it, but the delivery was better than most.
Musicians don't have much to say when they're not thanking God or the record company machine that propelled them to the award. So when a group won two, the second "speech" was either used to mop up forgotten people from the first speech or devolved into babbling. Never went too long, thankfully, just kind of pointless.
My three favorite performances:
3. Kid Rock sets up a tape recorder and Kid Rock dummy to start a song, his comment on lip-synching performances. Unfortunatley, about halfway through he actually did perform one of his many, many songs about how he's the Kid Rockinest Kid Rock around.
2. Britney Spears actually sings a song from Crossroads, her upcoming movie. Ever wonder why her songs are so over produced and slathered with backup singing? Because, and I borrow a quote whose source I sadly cannot find, she has the voice of a nightingale drowning in hot tar. Her voice is reed thin, and expresses less range than the lovesick robot in those Staples ads that run over the holiays.
1. Yolanda Adams, a nominee in the "inspirational" music category (better known as gospel to you an me) blows the roof off the dump with a song whose name I can't find. I'm hoping Britney and her ilk were taking notes.
Luther Vandross did a medly of two George Harrison songs during a tribute to musicians who died in 2001. Started with "Something in the Way She Moves," ended with "My Sweet Lord." Why is this notable? They removed all the instances of "Hare Krishna" and replaced them with "hallelujah." Doesn't seem like the most fitting way to honor Harrison, given his faith.
I'm sure somewhere I get karma or good boyfriend points for having watched this.
Hosting the broadcast was Sean Puffy P. Diddy Props for Biggie No Cap Bustin' J Lo No Go Combs and Jenny McCarthy. They mostly stayed out of the way, which was for the best. Combs has better stage presence that McCarthy, which should surprise no one. Their pairing, however, provided one of the themes for the evening. Consider these presentation groupings: India.Arie and Carrot Top; Rose McGowan, Ginuwine, and Ludacris; Faith Evans and new country group Trick Pony. Those were the oddest. Others were less bizarre but as lame (an apparently drunk Chris Klein and Nikki Taylor tops memory).
I will commend Ashton Kutcher, who plays Kelso on That '70s Show, for his introduction of Brooks and Dunn, which noted that they would never say things like "Yo, bitch, where my horse be at?" I know, he didn't write it, but the delivery was better than most.
Musicians don't have much to say when they're not thanking God or the record company machine that propelled them to the award. So when a group won two, the second "speech" was either used to mop up forgotten people from the first speech or devolved into babbling. Never went too long, thankfully, just kind of pointless.
My three favorite performances:
3. Kid Rock sets up a tape recorder and Kid Rock dummy to start a song, his comment on lip-synching performances. Unfortunatley, about halfway through he actually did perform one of his many, many songs about how he's the Kid Rockinest Kid Rock around.
2. Britney Spears actually sings a song from Crossroads, her upcoming movie. Ever wonder why her songs are so over produced and slathered with backup singing? Because, and I borrow a quote whose source I sadly cannot find, she has the voice of a nightingale drowning in hot tar. Her voice is reed thin, and expresses less range than the lovesick robot in those Staples ads that run over the holiays.
1. Yolanda Adams, a nominee in the "inspirational" music category (better known as gospel to you an me) blows the roof off the dump with a song whose name I can't find. I'm hoping Britney and her ilk were taking notes.
Luther Vandross did a medly of two George Harrison songs during a tribute to musicians who died in 2001. Started with "Something in the Way She Moves," ended with "My Sweet Lord." Why is this notable? They removed all the instances of "Hare Krishna" and replaced them with "hallelujah." Doesn't seem like the most fitting way to honor Harrison, given his faith.
I'm sure somewhere I get karma or good boyfriend points for having watched this.
09 January 2002
Ok, here are the picks I was working on before lunch. Suffice it to say I was inspired by Jon Couture's picks, but will only pick week by week just in case a player key to his team's chances breaks his face.
NY Jets at Oakland Jets beat Raiders late to get to the playoffs and knock Oakland out of a bye position (and a grateful Patriots Nation thanks you, but still doesn't like you). Can they make it two in a row?
No.
Oakland will have two things going for it: playoff-savvy WR Jerry Rice and the return of kicker Sebastian Janikowski. Rice brings a wealth of experience from the 49ers that goes on top of his continued skill as a pass catcher. Janikowski, assuming he's over the cellulitis problem in his foot, brings better kicking skills than his replacement, Brad Daluiso. Had Janikowski been ready to go last week, I could be calling a Pats-Seahwaks game than this one.
I don't think the Jets will be able to muster the same offensive output as last week. They've been especially anemic since their bye. The only team they put more than 20 points up against (other than the Raiders) were the Colts, not exactly the defensive team of the century. The Raiders are in a 3 game slide, perhaps the last way you want to enter the playoffs, but they've got more tools to play with.
A close game, but ship the Raiders to Foxboro for next week.
Baltimore at Miami The sort of game where all the points may be field goals, safeties, and defensive TDs. Neither team has much of an offense. Both feature a middling QB, a running game that goes in fits and spurts, and a passing game with one dangerous receiver and one or two possession type guys. Both teams can kick, though, so it may be Matt Stover versus Olindo Mare for all the marbles.
Miami's defense is good. Baltimore's is better. Both are top 5 in the league. Miami's secondary will force Elvis Grbac to throw more interceptions. The Ravens' front 7 will make Jay Fiedler very well acquainted with the Pro Player Stadium turf.
This is the best bet for an upset for the weekend, and I'll bite. Ravens win a close one.
Tampa Bay at Philadelphia My initial interest in doing this came from Couture's supposition that the Bucs are going to make it to the NFC title game. That would mean winning not only in St. Louis Speedway next week, but getting out of Philly alive. At the Vet, when you hear cannon fire it's not coming from an in-stadium attraction.
The Bucs have also never won a game where the temperature is below 50 degrees (or something like that). Gametime temp on Saturday will be around 40 degrees. Case closed.
In case that's not enough for you, consider that Philly has one of the best defensive backfields in the league, and Tampa Bay's offense is predicated on getting the ball to Keyshawn Johnson. The Bucs running game is unimpressive, ranked 30th, only above Cleveland. Tampa's vaunted defense has to worry about Donovan McNabb and his happy feet. Thanks for playing, don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you.
San Francisco at Green Bay Another factoid: Green Bay has apparently never lost a home playoff game. Don't know if that's all-time or just in the modern era, but either way it's damn impressive.
Both teams have offenses that run and throw well. The 49ers throw a little better thanks to Terrell Owens and JJ Stokes, while you'd probably give the edge to the Pack with running (though Garrison Hearst had an outstanding year, especially on a rebuilt ankle).
Defenses are both good, not great. This should be a fun game, with the Pack winning. Jeff Garcia's Grey Cup experience is only worth three-fifths of Brett Favre's Super Bowl experience.
Should this all work out, we'd have Oakland in Foxboro taking on the Pats, Baltimore going back to Heinz to play the Steelers, Philly at Chicago, and the Pack going into the RamDome. Stay tuned.
NY Jets at Oakland Jets beat Raiders late to get to the playoffs and knock Oakland out of a bye position (and a grateful Patriots Nation thanks you, but still doesn't like you). Can they make it two in a row?
No.
Oakland will have two things going for it: playoff-savvy WR Jerry Rice and the return of kicker Sebastian Janikowski. Rice brings a wealth of experience from the 49ers that goes on top of his continued skill as a pass catcher. Janikowski, assuming he's over the cellulitis problem in his foot, brings better kicking skills than his replacement, Brad Daluiso. Had Janikowski been ready to go last week, I could be calling a Pats-Seahwaks game than this one.
I don't think the Jets will be able to muster the same offensive output as last week. They've been especially anemic since their bye. The only team they put more than 20 points up against (other than the Raiders) were the Colts, not exactly the defensive team of the century. The Raiders are in a 3 game slide, perhaps the last way you want to enter the playoffs, but they've got more tools to play with.
A close game, but ship the Raiders to Foxboro for next week.
Baltimore at Miami The sort of game where all the points may be field goals, safeties, and defensive TDs. Neither team has much of an offense. Both feature a middling QB, a running game that goes in fits and spurts, and a passing game with one dangerous receiver and one or two possession type guys. Both teams can kick, though, so it may be Matt Stover versus Olindo Mare for all the marbles.
Miami's defense is good. Baltimore's is better. Both are top 5 in the league. Miami's secondary will force Elvis Grbac to throw more interceptions. The Ravens' front 7 will make Jay Fiedler very well acquainted with the Pro Player Stadium turf.
This is the best bet for an upset for the weekend, and I'll bite. Ravens win a close one.
Tampa Bay at Philadelphia My initial interest in doing this came from Couture's supposition that the Bucs are going to make it to the NFC title game. That would mean winning not only in St. Louis Speedway next week, but getting out of Philly alive. At the Vet, when you hear cannon fire it's not coming from an in-stadium attraction.
The Bucs have also never won a game where the temperature is below 50 degrees (or something like that). Gametime temp on Saturday will be around 40 degrees. Case closed.
In case that's not enough for you, consider that Philly has one of the best defensive backfields in the league, and Tampa Bay's offense is predicated on getting the ball to Keyshawn Johnson. The Bucs running game is unimpressive, ranked 30th, only above Cleveland. Tampa's vaunted defense has to worry about Donovan McNabb and his happy feet. Thanks for playing, don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you.
San Francisco at Green Bay Another factoid: Green Bay has apparently never lost a home playoff game. Don't know if that's all-time or just in the modern era, but either way it's damn impressive.
Both teams have offenses that run and throw well. The 49ers throw a little better thanks to Terrell Owens and JJ Stokes, while you'd probably give the edge to the Pack with running (though Garrison Hearst had an outstanding year, especially on a rebuilt ankle).
Defenses are both good, not great. This should be a fun game, with the Pack winning. Jeff Garcia's Grey Cup experience is only worth three-fifths of Brett Favre's Super Bowl experience.
Should this all work out, we'd have Oakland in Foxboro taking on the Pats, Baltimore going back to Heinz to play the Steelers, Philly at Chicago, and the Pack going into the RamDome. Stay tuned.
OK, I've discovered one thing I dislike about Blogger, the service I use to compose this page. I just hit the back button by mistake, and lost the artful, insightful, and well-supported predictions I was making for this weekend's wild card games. Damn.
I'm going to sulk over lunch now, and will be back with something less artful, insightful, and well-supported on the same topic.
I'm going to sulk over lunch now, and will be back with something less artful, insightful, and well-supported on the same topic.
From this morning's Boston Globe online edition:
"The search for Osama bin Laden in the bomb-shattered mountain caves of Tore Boar in eastern Afghanistan will probably end this week after failing to yield clues to the whereabouts of the elusive leader of the Quad terror organization, the United States military said yesterday."
When did the Freep take over copy editing duty at the Globe?
"The search for Osama bin Laden in the bomb-shattered mountain caves of Tore Boar in eastern Afghanistan will probably end this week after failing to yield clues to the whereabouts of the elusive leader of the Quad terror organization, the United States military said yesterday."
When did the Freep take over copy editing duty at the Globe?
08 January 2002
Dave Thomas, the avuncular founder and president of Wendy's, passed away today. Very sad, on two fronts.
The first is that Dave was one of those self-made people whose story was truly inspirational. Here's a guy who started life as an orphan, never graduated high school, and worked his way up to starting one of the best fast food chains in the country. He retired but then went back to running the company because he didn't think the new people cared enough about the consumer. He went back and got his high school equivalency in 1993. When he was 61. He contiunally did what he could to promote adoption, writing books, starting a foundation, and testifying before Congress.
And he still managed to come off as a simple burger chef in commercials. I'd like to think that most people in his situation would have reacted the same way once they made it big. But the truth is that most of us would probably wallow in our own crapulence and hire someone to be folksy in commercials.
Human interest aside, it's also sad as it marks another spokesperson from my youth who has passed on. Dave, the Colonel, Orville Reddenbacher, James (or was it Bartyle?), Madge (Nancy Walker's Palmolive-pushing waitress). All advertising fixtures that someone my age (and younger for most, older for those of you who remember Madge) could identify, gone and replaced by idiots like Steve, Dell's ADD-suffering slacker.
I was surprised to find that Frank Perdue was still alive. Typed his name in at Yahoo, and the first thing to come up was this.
Which leads me to wonder just what a chicken sanctuary must look like. Or, perhaps more appropriately, smell like. The Eastern Shore of Maryland may be a good place for such a thing, given that it's a little less populated. On the other hand, I cant imagine the fisherman and other long-time residents cotton to people who, given the resources, would like to liberate every Thanksgiving turkey and Christmas goose they can find.
I have to admit to not understanding animal rights activists very well. There are facets to their concerns that I can agree with. Endangered species shouldn't be killed so you can make an aphrodisiac out of their ground horns. Veal, while tasty, is created via a fairly horrifying process. Fur may or may not be murder, but it's usually ugly and pretty much obsolete in a world of Thinsulate and Gore-Tex.
But I'm usually at a loss when it comes to people who place quotations around the word food when talking about poultry. The many tactics of PETA usually confuse me, too, but their actions tend baffle me in that they (a) often fail to attract mass appeal (remember the billboard asking Rudy Guiliani if he'd "got cancer?" from drinking milk, and (b) point to a humourlessness that makes members of PETA hard to sympathize with. Though it the Guiliani thing was their best attempt at humor, perhaps they should stick to over-earnest seriousness.
Hmm, not sure how I got on to this from Dave Thomas. I suppose I could complete the circle by going to the Wendy's in Natick and having a Big Bacon Classic, but I've already put something out for dinner.
Chicken.
The first is that Dave was one of those self-made people whose story was truly inspirational. Here's a guy who started life as an orphan, never graduated high school, and worked his way up to starting one of the best fast food chains in the country. He retired but then went back to running the company because he didn't think the new people cared enough about the consumer. He went back and got his high school equivalency in 1993. When he was 61. He contiunally did what he could to promote adoption, writing books, starting a foundation, and testifying before Congress.
And he still managed to come off as a simple burger chef in commercials. I'd like to think that most people in his situation would have reacted the same way once they made it big. But the truth is that most of us would probably wallow in our own crapulence and hire someone to be folksy in commercials.
Human interest aside, it's also sad as it marks another spokesperson from my youth who has passed on. Dave, the Colonel, Orville Reddenbacher, James (or was it Bartyle?), Madge (Nancy Walker's Palmolive-pushing waitress). All advertising fixtures that someone my age (and younger for most, older for those of you who remember Madge) could identify, gone and replaced by idiots like Steve, Dell's ADD-suffering slacker.
I was surprised to find that Frank Perdue was still alive. Typed his name in at Yahoo, and the first thing to come up was this.
Which leads me to wonder just what a chicken sanctuary must look like. Or, perhaps more appropriately, smell like. The Eastern Shore of Maryland may be a good place for such a thing, given that it's a little less populated. On the other hand, I cant imagine the fisherman and other long-time residents cotton to people who, given the resources, would like to liberate every Thanksgiving turkey and Christmas goose they can find.
I have to admit to not understanding animal rights activists very well. There are facets to their concerns that I can agree with. Endangered species shouldn't be killed so you can make an aphrodisiac out of their ground horns. Veal, while tasty, is created via a fairly horrifying process. Fur may or may not be murder, but it's usually ugly and pretty much obsolete in a world of Thinsulate and Gore-Tex.
But I'm usually at a loss when it comes to people who place quotations around the word food when talking about poultry. The many tactics of PETA usually confuse me, too, but their actions tend baffle me in that they (a) often fail to attract mass appeal (remember the billboard asking Rudy Guiliani if he'd "got cancer?" from drinking milk, and (b) point to a humourlessness that makes members of PETA hard to sympathize with. Though it the Guiliani thing was their best attempt at humor, perhaps they should stick to over-earnest seriousness.
Hmm, not sure how I got on to this from Dave Thomas. I suppose I could complete the circle by going to the Wendy's in Natick and having a Big Bacon Classic, but I've already put something out for dinner.
Chicken.
06 January 2002
As a long time BU hockey fan, I've always hated the home game during winter break. In the early days it was low attendance, low energy, low everything. The sort of game you only go to because, well, you're a fan and you go to all the games you can.
Today was this year's break game, but it was different from years past. First off, there was a large crowd. This was achieved by inviting every youth hockey group within a 75 mile radius to attend. They didn't all make it, but most seemed to be in attendance.
The other was that the game was televised live on Fox Sports New England. At 3 PM. During time that would, in most years, be the wild card round of the NFL playoffs (thanks to Shawn DeVeau for pointing that out). So we've got a game with few typical fans, a lot of kids who are more interested in the concession line than the game, and the usual dragging pace of a televised game.
Add into this that this is the team's first home game since December 2, and their second game since December 21, when they finished a 2 game set with Nebraska-Omaha. Can you guess what sort of game it was?
If so, multiply by about 7. Horrid, horrid play, an inability to make any shots, and a goaltender who was alternately taunted with "chubby goalie," "all you can eat," and "fat goalie in a little net" (a Tommy Boy reference, apparently), and you have what may have been the most dispiriting game a nationally ranked BU team played in quite some time.
How bad was it? We didn't score a goal on TWO two man advantages. Heck, we didn't score at all. A 2 to 1 shot advantage meant nothing, making the Northeastern goalie look like Jacques Plante. Oh, and the NU goalie's first name? Keni. Not Ken, or Kenny. Keni. He's Canadian, so I assume there's some sort of metric spelling thing going on.
Any why are we playing NU? The break game, for whatever reason, is always a conference game against a local or big opponent. Never Providence. Or UMass. Nope, it's usually BC or NU (and I think it's been Maine on occasion). A perfect waste of what should be a fun rivalry game.
Unrelated Fox Sports rant: all of their college hockey promos involve air horns, or the mythical "air horn guy" who blows one of these things during game. I think I can count on one hand the number of air horns I've seen at games, and I'm pretty sure all of them were confiscated. But hey, it's Fox, so why be accurate when we can try to be hip or funny?
A much better use of my time this weekend was going to see The Royal Tenenbaums, a twisted little bon-bon of a movie. Liked it, but not sure how much. I do enjoy Wes Anderson's visual style, including what may be the most thorough use of 1970s era clothing styles for a film ostensibly set in current time. Music was great, too, but if you've seen Rushmore that shouldn't surprise you. Anyway, if you get a chance to see it avail yourself of the opportunity.
Today was this year's break game, but it was different from years past. First off, there was a large crowd. This was achieved by inviting every youth hockey group within a 75 mile radius to attend. They didn't all make it, but most seemed to be in attendance.
The other was that the game was televised live on Fox Sports New England. At 3 PM. During time that would, in most years, be the wild card round of the NFL playoffs (thanks to Shawn DeVeau for pointing that out). So we've got a game with few typical fans, a lot of kids who are more interested in the concession line than the game, and the usual dragging pace of a televised game.
Add into this that this is the team's first home game since December 2, and their second game since December 21, when they finished a 2 game set with Nebraska-Omaha. Can you guess what sort of game it was?
If so, multiply by about 7. Horrid, horrid play, an inability to make any shots, and a goaltender who was alternately taunted with "chubby goalie," "all you can eat," and "fat goalie in a little net" (a Tommy Boy reference, apparently), and you have what may have been the most dispiriting game a nationally ranked BU team played in quite some time.
How bad was it? We didn't score a goal on TWO two man advantages. Heck, we didn't score at all. A 2 to 1 shot advantage meant nothing, making the Northeastern goalie look like Jacques Plante. Oh, and the NU goalie's first name? Keni. Not Ken, or Kenny. Keni. He's Canadian, so I assume there's some sort of metric spelling thing going on.
Any why are we playing NU? The break game, for whatever reason, is always a conference game against a local or big opponent. Never Providence. Or UMass. Nope, it's usually BC or NU (and I think it's been Maine on occasion). A perfect waste of what should be a fun rivalry game.
Unrelated Fox Sports rant: all of their college hockey promos involve air horns, or the mythical "air horn guy" who blows one of these things during game. I think I can count on one hand the number of air horns I've seen at games, and I'm pretty sure all of them were confiscated. But hey, it's Fox, so why be accurate when we can try to be hip or funny?
A much better use of my time this weekend was going to see The Royal Tenenbaums, a twisted little bon-bon of a movie. Liked it, but not sure how much. I do enjoy Wes Anderson's visual style, including what may be the most thorough use of 1970s era clothing styles for a film ostensibly set in current time. Music was great, too, but if you've seen Rushmore that shouldn't surprise you. Anyway, if you get a chance to see it avail yourself of the opportunity.
04 January 2002
A couple of other things popped into my head as the day's moved along.
Maybe 2001 wasn't that bad Boston gets to start the new year with a killing at a New Year's Eve party, Rudy Giuliani taking pot shots, and the dinosaur rock band of the same name turning in what may be the worst rendition of the National Anthem EVER at the Fiesta Bowl. Tom Menino apparently voiced an eloquent rebuttal to all of these events, but no one could understand a word of it.
I still don't get Rudy's taking a shot at us, but this is a man who spent a lot of the latter end of his second term trying to outlaw ferrets in NYC.
I'm back on the Necco Wafers As some of you will remember, I was hooked on Necco Wafers a few years back. For those of you not in the know, Necco Wafers are a product of the New England Confectionary Company, the oldest multi-brand candy company in the US. They are small wafers that come in 8 flavors- chocolate, lemon, lime, orange, two types of mint, licorice, and clove. You can also buy all chocolate rolls, as well a tart rolls (not that good, honestly).
The wafers are hard, and you suck on them. Eventually they dissolve enough so you can chomp on them, or just let them disappear. They're almost all sugar, which can't be doing my teeth much good.
Not sure what the main attraction is, but check this out: each roll is under 200 calories, no fat! Of course, what calories do exist are some of the emptiest known to mankind. But it takes pretty much an entire afternoon to work through a roll, keeping me away from snacks that could do more damage.
Oh, Necco is also the company responsible for the conversation hearts that you see for Valentines Day.
I wound up getting back onto the wafers when, during a visit to the bookstore to buy sudafed (got a little cold, nothing serious), I turned and was eye to eye with a display of them. Kismet has never been so tasty.
Maybe 2001 wasn't that bad Boston gets to start the new year with a killing at a New Year's Eve party, Rudy Giuliani taking pot shots, and the dinosaur rock band of the same name turning in what may be the worst rendition of the National Anthem EVER at the Fiesta Bowl. Tom Menino apparently voiced an eloquent rebuttal to all of these events, but no one could understand a word of it.
I still don't get Rudy's taking a shot at us, but this is a man who spent a lot of the latter end of his second term trying to outlaw ferrets in NYC.
I'm back on the Necco Wafers As some of you will remember, I was hooked on Necco Wafers a few years back. For those of you not in the know, Necco Wafers are a product of the New England Confectionary Company, the oldest multi-brand candy company in the US. They are small wafers that come in 8 flavors- chocolate, lemon, lime, orange, two types of mint, licorice, and clove. You can also buy all chocolate rolls, as well a tart rolls (not that good, honestly).
The wafers are hard, and you suck on them. Eventually they dissolve enough so you can chomp on them, or just let them disappear. They're almost all sugar, which can't be doing my teeth much good.
Not sure what the main attraction is, but check this out: each roll is under 200 calories, no fat! Of course, what calories do exist are some of the emptiest known to mankind. But it takes pretty much an entire afternoon to work through a roll, keeping me away from snacks that could do more damage.
Oh, Necco is also the company responsible for the conversation hearts that you see for Valentines Day.
I wound up getting back onto the wafers when, during a visit to the bookstore to buy sudafed (got a little cold, nothing serious), I turned and was eye to eye with a display of them. Kismet has never been so tasty.
No single topic on hand today, just a lot of random ones...
Hey, how's that BCS working out? Hmm, 4 BCS bowls, four blowouts. Kind of handy having each of the games over by halftime so I could do other things, but disappointing from a total fan perspective. If nothing else, these results prove one thing: computers are great at the quantitative, but they can't compare team speed. Theoretically, teams with better speed will win more and thus rank higher on the BCS, but if you watched the Rose and Fiesta Bowls, it's hard to argue that Nebraska is faster than Oregon.
Unfortunately, Miami's win can given the BCS powers that be an excuse to bury their heads in the sand and say everything's OK. Best team won, right? Even though right up to kickoff, no one thought they were playing the second best team in the country.
Another plank to my platform for the future Presidential run: divison 1 football will have a playoff.
Jane Swift gets a running mate I'd never heard of the guy, can't even remember his name now. He was apparently a state rep and the mayor of Melrose before going to work for Swifty. He's only a year older than I am, and for some reason that irritates me.
Heck, Swift herself is only 36. So she's young, inexperienced, and hails from Williamstown, the cradle of... well, nothing.
The running mate guy is also openly gay, an interesting twist given Swift's rocky relationship with her gay stepson. Thinking is he'll be able to beat James "I Am" Rappaport, the carpetbagger best known for his failed 1990 campaign to unseat Senator John Kerry. Rappaport's loaded, the other guy (Patrick Guerriero, I looked it up) will get the party's backing, should be a fun primary.
Buddy goes to the doghouse in the sky Buddy, the Clintons' chocolate lab, hit and killed yesterday. The FBI found a suicide note in his briefcase.
NBC Nightly News dedicated their entire last segment last night to this and the link between the public and Presidential pets. Because there's nothing else going on in the world that needed covering, apparently. Doris Kearns Goodwin got roped into this somehow; maybe Brokaw's got something on her.
Anyway, I understand Socks had no comment.
What comes around goes around While I am no longer addicted to Oregon Trail (haven't played since before Christmas), Sarah is now somewhat addicted to The Sims, one of her presents to me. Kind of fitting, I suppose, except that I now can't get on my computer to play it myself.
Grammy nominations out today Who cares? And where did ABC dig up Jenny McCarthy to host the American Music Awards? Shouldn't she be positioning herself to replace Shannon Tweed in all those soft core movies they show on Cinemax?
And while I've got ABC to kick around I've seen the commercial for The Chair about a dozen times, yet there is no mention of the show AT ALL on their web site. At least when Fox shoved show promos down our throats during the World Series, we knew what they were about.
And then there's America's Funniest Home Videos. Tom Bergeron should fire his agent.
Let's not forget Millionaire, whose next episode is- surprise!- an Olympic celebrity edition. Apparently ABC can use all the charitable donations to write off losses because no one wants to watch Bruce Jenner answer questions about the solar system. Bring back the dorks! Like me!
Speaking of ABC and losers, for some reason they're interested in buying PAX. Because nothing says family programming like Dennis Franz's ass.
Hey, how's that BCS working out? Hmm, 4 BCS bowls, four blowouts. Kind of handy having each of the games over by halftime so I could do other things, but disappointing from a total fan perspective. If nothing else, these results prove one thing: computers are great at the quantitative, but they can't compare team speed. Theoretically, teams with better speed will win more and thus rank higher on the BCS, but if you watched the Rose and Fiesta Bowls, it's hard to argue that Nebraska is faster than Oregon.
Unfortunately, Miami's win can given the BCS powers that be an excuse to bury their heads in the sand and say everything's OK. Best team won, right? Even though right up to kickoff, no one thought they were playing the second best team in the country.
Another plank to my platform for the future Presidential run: divison 1 football will have a playoff.
Jane Swift gets a running mate I'd never heard of the guy, can't even remember his name now. He was apparently a state rep and the mayor of Melrose before going to work for Swifty. He's only a year older than I am, and for some reason that irritates me.
Heck, Swift herself is only 36. So she's young, inexperienced, and hails from Williamstown, the cradle of... well, nothing.
The running mate guy is also openly gay, an interesting twist given Swift's rocky relationship with her gay stepson. Thinking is he'll be able to beat James "I Am" Rappaport, the carpetbagger best known for his failed 1990 campaign to unseat Senator John Kerry. Rappaport's loaded, the other guy (Patrick Guerriero, I looked it up) will get the party's backing, should be a fun primary.
Buddy goes to the doghouse in the sky Buddy, the Clintons' chocolate lab, hit and killed yesterday. The FBI found a suicide note in his briefcase.
NBC Nightly News dedicated their entire last segment last night to this and the link between the public and Presidential pets. Because there's nothing else going on in the world that needed covering, apparently. Doris Kearns Goodwin got roped into this somehow; maybe Brokaw's got something on her.
Anyway, I understand Socks had no comment.
What comes around goes around While I am no longer addicted to Oregon Trail (haven't played since before Christmas), Sarah is now somewhat addicted to The Sims, one of her presents to me. Kind of fitting, I suppose, except that I now can't get on my computer to play it myself.
Grammy nominations out today Who cares? And where did ABC dig up Jenny McCarthy to host the American Music Awards? Shouldn't she be positioning herself to replace Shannon Tweed in all those soft core movies they show on Cinemax?
And while I've got ABC to kick around I've seen the commercial for The Chair about a dozen times, yet there is no mention of the show AT ALL on their web site. At least when Fox shoved show promos down our throats during the World Series, we knew what they were about.
And then there's America's Funniest Home Videos. Tom Bergeron should fire his agent.
Let's not forget Millionaire, whose next episode is- surprise!- an Olympic celebrity edition. Apparently ABC can use all the charitable donations to write off losses because no one wants to watch Bruce Jenner answer questions about the solar system. Bring back the dorks! Like me!
Speaking of ABC and losers, for some reason they're interested in buying PAX. Because nothing says family programming like Dennis Franz's ass.
03 January 2002
The update before last mentioned that I had to cut things short as we were going to use one of the presents I'd gotten Sarah for Christmas. That present was a little mini-vacation in Boston, the end result of some long-ago planning to go somewhere during the time we had off between semesters. I'd originally hoped to go farther away, but you do what you can when you're working off of the pittance we make working in higher ed.
We stayed for 2 nights at the Park Plaza. Normally, the only way we'd be able to stay there would be if we slept in where the ice machines are. But they put on a deal for New Year's, being the official hotel of First Night, and that pretty much sealed it. I had two set activities: seeing Boston Ballet's version of The Nutcracker, and taking in Shackelton's Amazing Adventure at the Museum of Science.
We got to the hotel a little early, but no problems with check in. The room was by and large very nice indeed. Good size, comfortable furniture, solid desk, a shower with a reasonably positioned head, and so on.
But there were a number of little things that make me thing the room doesn't get a lot of attention. First off, there was no overhead light. Bedside lamps provided plenty of light for that half of the room, but the other half only had the desk light to go from. Odder still was that there was an overhead light in the closet.
The heat in the bathroom worked well. So well, in fact, that keeping the bathroom door open at night made the room too hot. But you would then have to air the bathroom out a little before using so it wasn't too hot in there. And no, since you're asking, there was no way to control it.
The oddest thing? The exercise bike by the desk. Perhaps it was a none too subtle hint.
Oh, and the TV made this buzzing noise when graphics came up on the screen. And the bathroom tap was reversed, with hot on the right and cold on the left (which I suppose you could claim is European). So maybe the room wasn't the best, but it did the job. At least the remote wasn't stuck to the bedside table in one of those rotating cradle things.
In any event, we went to The Nutcracker the first night there. Two things concerned me about this. First, I've never been to the ballet, though I have wanted to see The Nutcracker to figure out what all the hype was about. The second problem was the large number of kids present. Should have anticipated that.
But it turns out I enjoyed it just fine, and most of the kids kept their cool during the performance. If the girl sitting next to me was any indication, this was achieved through the widespread use of candy.
The dancing was great, at the level where it looked almost effortless. But then I see some of the guys jumping around at chest height, and I realize that the only thing that would make me jump like that is high explosives. I developed a much deeper sense of appreciation for the effort involved, if not the artistry. I should also note here that the tights the men wear provide a relevatory experience where anatomy is concerned. Were we closer to the stage we probably would have been carded.
I also realized during the performance that most of the Tchaikovsky that I know is from this ballet, but more familiar to me either as the music for dancing hippos in Fantasia or in radio ads for Friendly's Jubilee Roll. A curious analogue to getting a classical music education through Bugs Bunny cartoons, but probably not that different from the average American's experience.
The second day in Boston saw our sojourn to the Science Museum. Along with the movie tickets we had exhibit hall tickets. We made the strategic error of walking to the museum from the hotel (a doable if longish walk) via the North End for lunch (Rabia's on Salem Street, highly recommended for lunch). By the time we got to the museum, walking around the exhibit halls took much more effort than normal.
But I would recommend going and seeing the museum, especially if you've not been in a while. A lot of new exhibits, with some of the favored older ones still around. The new T. Rex is pretty cool, and the electricity shows have that bug zapper writ large appeal.
Fatigue led us to also get tickets for the movie about the Nagano Olympics, which was pretty good for at least putting us in a proper mood for Salt Lake (I'm sure a future installment here will center on NBC's coverage). The movie on Shackelton is a must see, if just for the story. It's a tale of great bravery and success borne of man's contempt for nature. I have no doubt that if Shackelton was of this age, he'd have died long ago speed skiing or driving a bobsled down Everest or something.
We wound up not going out for First Night, being cold and tired from the walking (having then walked to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner). Speaking of which, what is the fascination with the Cheesecake Factory? It's no better than the majority of chain restaurants, but many people I know can't rave about it enough.
And that was that. A nice trip, fun things to do, and got to spend New Year's not standing out in the cold for the first time in a while. Now if we only didn't have to go back to work the day after New Year's...
We stayed for 2 nights at the Park Plaza. Normally, the only way we'd be able to stay there would be if we slept in where the ice machines are. But they put on a deal for New Year's, being the official hotel of First Night, and that pretty much sealed it. I had two set activities: seeing Boston Ballet's version of The Nutcracker, and taking in Shackelton's Amazing Adventure at the Museum of Science.
We got to the hotel a little early, but no problems with check in. The room was by and large very nice indeed. Good size, comfortable furniture, solid desk, a shower with a reasonably positioned head, and so on.
But there were a number of little things that make me thing the room doesn't get a lot of attention. First off, there was no overhead light. Bedside lamps provided plenty of light for that half of the room, but the other half only had the desk light to go from. Odder still was that there was an overhead light in the closet.
The heat in the bathroom worked well. So well, in fact, that keeping the bathroom door open at night made the room too hot. But you would then have to air the bathroom out a little before using so it wasn't too hot in there. And no, since you're asking, there was no way to control it.
The oddest thing? The exercise bike by the desk. Perhaps it was a none too subtle hint.
Oh, and the TV made this buzzing noise when graphics came up on the screen. And the bathroom tap was reversed, with hot on the right and cold on the left (which I suppose you could claim is European). So maybe the room wasn't the best, but it did the job. At least the remote wasn't stuck to the bedside table in one of those rotating cradle things.
In any event, we went to The Nutcracker the first night there. Two things concerned me about this. First, I've never been to the ballet, though I have wanted to see The Nutcracker to figure out what all the hype was about. The second problem was the large number of kids present. Should have anticipated that.
But it turns out I enjoyed it just fine, and most of the kids kept their cool during the performance. If the girl sitting next to me was any indication, this was achieved through the widespread use of candy.
The dancing was great, at the level where it looked almost effortless. But then I see some of the guys jumping around at chest height, and I realize that the only thing that would make me jump like that is high explosives. I developed a much deeper sense of appreciation for the effort involved, if not the artistry. I should also note here that the tights the men wear provide a relevatory experience where anatomy is concerned. Were we closer to the stage we probably would have been carded.
I also realized during the performance that most of the Tchaikovsky that I know is from this ballet, but more familiar to me either as the music for dancing hippos in Fantasia or in radio ads for Friendly's Jubilee Roll. A curious analogue to getting a classical music education through Bugs Bunny cartoons, but probably not that different from the average American's experience.
The second day in Boston saw our sojourn to the Science Museum. Along with the movie tickets we had exhibit hall tickets. We made the strategic error of walking to the museum from the hotel (a doable if longish walk) via the North End for lunch (Rabia's on Salem Street, highly recommended for lunch). By the time we got to the museum, walking around the exhibit halls took much more effort than normal.
But I would recommend going and seeing the museum, especially if you've not been in a while. A lot of new exhibits, with some of the favored older ones still around. The new T. Rex is pretty cool, and the electricity shows have that bug zapper writ large appeal.
Fatigue led us to also get tickets for the movie about the Nagano Olympics, which was pretty good for at least putting us in a proper mood for Salt Lake (I'm sure a future installment here will center on NBC's coverage). The movie on Shackelton is a must see, if just for the story. It's a tale of great bravery and success borne of man's contempt for nature. I have no doubt that if Shackelton was of this age, he'd have died long ago speed skiing or driving a bobsled down Everest or something.
We wound up not going out for First Night, being cold and tired from the walking (having then walked to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner). Speaking of which, what is the fascination with the Cheesecake Factory? It's no better than the majority of chain restaurants, but many people I know can't rave about it enough.
And that was that. A nice trip, fun things to do, and got to spend New Year's not standing out in the cold for the first time in a while. Now if we only didn't have to go back to work the day after New Year's...
02 January 2002
I got my brother's Christmas gift today (well, it's for him and his fiancee), as it was languishing in the Babson College mail room since the 21st, when it came in (the mail room was closed when I last checked my box and found the pacakge slip). With this package, I think I see one of the main reasons the economy's in the crapper.
The box it came in is somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 inches wide and long, and 12 inches high. So it's a good sized box. Inside that box, wrapped in a ream of that packing paper, is a smaller white box. That box is about a quarter of the size of the first box. It's a nice white box, with a ribbon. I didn't ask for wrapping. They could have saved the nice white box and the ribbon for someone who wanted it instead of wasting it on me.
In that box, in tissue paper and near a large quantity of bubble wrap (but not actually wrapped in it!), is the present. That package is about 8 inches long, 4-5 inches wide, and an inch thick. It could have been sent in a well-padded envelope. Instead, it was sent in TWO boxes, both well oversized, and no doubt costing an assload to ship. If the future of on-line shopping is getting thimbles in refrigerator boxes, it looks like I'm heading back to the mall. Which would help the economy, outside of slowing demand for large boxes and mass quantities of bubble wrap.
The box it came in is somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 inches wide and long, and 12 inches high. So it's a good sized box. Inside that box, wrapped in a ream of that packing paper, is a smaller white box. That box is about a quarter of the size of the first box. It's a nice white box, with a ribbon. I didn't ask for wrapping. They could have saved the nice white box and the ribbon for someone who wanted it instead of wasting it on me.
In that box, in tissue paper and near a large quantity of bubble wrap (but not actually wrapped in it!), is the present. That package is about 8 inches long, 4-5 inches wide, and an inch thick. It could have been sent in a well-padded envelope. Instead, it was sent in TWO boxes, both well oversized, and no doubt costing an assload to ship. If the future of on-line shopping is getting thimbles in refrigerator boxes, it looks like I'm heading back to the mall. Which would help the economy, outside of slowing demand for large boxes and mass quantities of bubble wrap.
Back to the grind.
As I've alluded to in the past few installments, this holiday season was a busy one, enough so that I don't feel like I've had much time off. Or at least not of the "spend all day on the couch watching re-runs, ignoring personal hygeine" variety.
What we did do, though, was fun, and I do feel recharged for the upcoming semester. How long that will last is anyone's guess, but it will undoubtedly be linked to the return of the full student body in a few weeks.
In any event, after returning from Maine and New Hampshire, Sarah and I went on a day trip to Foxwoods with friends Shawn and Laura DeVeau and Greg Sorenson and Kirstie MacPherson. In the unlikely event that you've not heard of it, Foxwoods was the first of the large Native American casinos to sprout forth from the sowing of all the reservation bingo halls in this part of the country. It was soon followed by Mohegan Sun, also in Connecticut. Their success has led to any tribe with a meaningful number of members and some land to try to propose their own casino, though without success (yet).
Really, when you think of it, Native American casinos make a lot of sense, as it's reapplication of principles we used on them to steal their land in the first place. Palefaces come in, get some firewater in them, and drop all their ready cash. Tribe can then use money to buy land back. Hmm...
Anyway, the trip itself was fun, though it confirmed a simple fact: I suck at gambling. My sucking has two components. The first is that table games (such as roulette, blackjack, etc.) is the equivalent of setting my money on fire without getting the few seconds of warmth that torching bills would provide. I didn't even bother trying the table games at Foxwoods, for fear of embarrasment (and of high minimum bets that would have depleted me that much quicker).
The other component is that on machines I never quit when I'm ahead. I tend to win early and lose my earnings over time. My usual train of thought is something like "I'll just play a few more times," which about a half hour later turns into "What the hell was I thinking? Argggggggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!"
Foxwoods itself is a nice if somewhat cartoonish facility, kind of like Main Street at Disneyworld meets Reno. The game rooms are of good size and remarkably well ventilated (smoking rarely bothered me). I never did avail myself of the beverage service, mostly because it took me most of the day to realize that the strange droning I heard from time to time was a server calling out "beverages" repeatedly. I assume the lack of tone or pitch makes it less likely that people will actually get drinks. Not that I didn't see a few people for whom this was no obstacle.
By day's end, I left with $17, thanks mostly to a lucky last spin on a slot machine. Should the occasion arise again I'd go back, though I don't think I could go too often. Which I suppose is a good thing.
As I've alluded to in the past few installments, this holiday season was a busy one, enough so that I don't feel like I've had much time off. Or at least not of the "spend all day on the couch watching re-runs, ignoring personal hygeine" variety.
What we did do, though, was fun, and I do feel recharged for the upcoming semester. How long that will last is anyone's guess, but it will undoubtedly be linked to the return of the full student body in a few weeks.
In any event, after returning from Maine and New Hampshire, Sarah and I went on a day trip to Foxwoods with friends Shawn and Laura DeVeau and Greg Sorenson and Kirstie MacPherson. In the unlikely event that you've not heard of it, Foxwoods was the first of the large Native American casinos to sprout forth from the sowing of all the reservation bingo halls in this part of the country. It was soon followed by Mohegan Sun, also in Connecticut. Their success has led to any tribe with a meaningful number of members and some land to try to propose their own casino, though without success (yet).
Really, when you think of it, Native American casinos make a lot of sense, as it's reapplication of principles we used on them to steal their land in the first place. Palefaces come in, get some firewater in them, and drop all their ready cash. Tribe can then use money to buy land back. Hmm...
Anyway, the trip itself was fun, though it confirmed a simple fact: I suck at gambling. My sucking has two components. The first is that table games (such as roulette, blackjack, etc.) is the equivalent of setting my money on fire without getting the few seconds of warmth that torching bills would provide. I didn't even bother trying the table games at Foxwoods, for fear of embarrasment (and of high minimum bets that would have depleted me that much quicker).
The other component is that on machines I never quit when I'm ahead. I tend to win early and lose my earnings over time. My usual train of thought is something like "I'll just play a few more times," which about a half hour later turns into "What the hell was I thinking? Argggggggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!"
Foxwoods itself is a nice if somewhat cartoonish facility, kind of like Main Street at Disneyworld meets Reno. The game rooms are of good size and remarkably well ventilated (smoking rarely bothered me). I never did avail myself of the beverage service, mostly because it took me most of the day to realize that the strange droning I heard from time to time was a server calling out "beverages" repeatedly. I assume the lack of tone or pitch makes it less likely that people will actually get drinks. Not that I didn't see a few people for whom this was no obstacle.
By day's end, I left with $17, thanks mostly to a lucky last spin on a slot machine. Should the occasion arise again I'd go back, though I don't think I could go too often. Which I suppose is a good thing.
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