To use the local vernacular, I am wicked pissed at Dunkin' Donuts. They have apparently discontiued the cruller.

For those of you not familiar with the cruller, it is a braided doughnut, straight rather than round. Most often plain, but also often available in chocolate and marble (plain and chocolate braided together), crullers have been around for ages, but they seem to have a particular resonance with locals, myself included.

In the place of the cruller is the "stick," which I've not seen but the description in the article makes it sound like a doughnut loaf. Not surprisingly, much of the change is being blamed on how the dougnuts are made, and that you can't make crullers by machine.

As you'd note in the article, crullers were one of the four original types of doughnuts that Dunkin' Donuts offered. Thus, the company is moving even farther away from its roots as it tries to ape Starbucks and Krispy Kreme.

Now you may be wondering why this is bothering me so, given that I treated the arrival of Krispy Kreme with a "doughnuts are doughnuts" mentality. Well, there are three reasons.

1. I like crullers more than regular doughnuts. They're more substantial.

2. Faster isn't better. Thinking along the lines of James Dinan's recent post, my guess is that In-n-Out Burger is a little slower than McDonald's. Yet I don't think I have ever met anyone who's had both that prefers the latter to the former.

3. The idea that doughnut technology is somehow making the cruller obsolete is farcical. It strikes me as odd that the PhDs at Dunkin' Donuts Laboratories can't come up with a cruller-making machine. If you can make pretzels by machine, you should be able to do the same with crullers. And if it's an issue of the dough, why not just use the old dough for the crullers? Or are they using the same dough to make everything? Time to start checking the bagels.

I'm also annoyed as it's another jab at local foods. I'm sure most of you don't remember the Crown Pilot cracker fiasco. Long a staple of chowder-eaters, Nabisco announced in 1996 that it was going to do away with the cracker. This pissed off the wrong folks (many of them Mainers, who I've come to learn shouldn't be riled en masse, especially about something they consider traditional to Maine), and Nabisco relented.

I'm not sure that the same sort of groundswell will happen here. For their part, Dunkin' Donuts doesn't even recognize the change on its website. There's news of their fall doughnut flavors, the new coffee products they're rolling out, and plenty of rosy business news about parent company Allied Domecq Quick Service Restaurants (who also own Baskin-Robbins and Togo's). ADQSR is part of a British-based company, which might explain the whole mess. It's part of a long-term revenge strategy for the Revolutionary War. Damn limeys.

While you can lodge comments on line, I plan on penning an actual letter. Anyone who cares to do so as well should direct their missive to:

Dunkin' Donuts Customer Care
14 Pacella Park Drive
Randolph MA 02386

You can even call to complain (800-859-5339), though I tend to express myself better in writing. Though Sarah has warned me off of using phrases like "traitorious bastards" and "craven morons," which is probably for the best.

While I didn't know that the NRA had a blacklist (or as they term it, a fact sheet), I can't say that I'm surprised.

Some of the names on it are of little surprise (the ACLU, for example), but some of the other names were interesting.

From the world of sport, the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals, and the St. Louis Rams and Cardinals, are all on the list. In fact, there's fairly prominent KC/St. Louis representation for organizations who are supposed to be anti-gun. Must be the Missouri chapter of the NRA pulling its weight.

Based on the list of celebrities and media outlets, it appears that stalwart NRA supporters can't go to the movies or watch any of the three major networks. Fox is OK, which is no surprise. The WB, UPN, and PAX aren't listed, which makes me think that perhaps the only people watching those are NRA members.

The celebrity list is actually kind of entertaining, as for every Sean Connery, George Clooney, and Julia Roberts you get an Estelle Getty, a Michael E. Knight, and a Dweezil Zappa. This doesn't even mention the likes of Arlene Dahl, Nancy Lee Grahn, Grace-Lynne Ingle, Stephen Nichols, Peter Reckell, and others - that I've never heard of. Marla Maples is also listed as an actress, which I'm sure she's flattered by.

There are also a number of religious groups, including such radicals as the US Catholic Conference and those bomb-throwers at the United Methodist Church.

I suppose the stories about the list are just another part of the vast conspiracy against gun rights in America (I'm sure this website doesn't help). I'll go hole up with my AR-15 and Pauly Shore movies... he's still OK, isn't he?

I got to see the good and bad sides of Fox programming last night.

The bad, of course, is the new installment of Joe Millionaire. I will say that it is at least mildly entertaining bad, in many of the same ways that such shows are. Based on what little I have to compare on, I like the new guy more than Evan. Perhaps the most entertaining revelation last night is that saying Grace is not very common in Europe. Or at least among European gold-diggers, one of whom did a very lame impersonation of a televangelist (I guess they get the 700 Club in Sweden). I will say the look on the new guy's face after that was priceless. Interestingly, that woman is still among those in contention to marry a faux millionaire. Maybe he's saving her in hopes of crushing her, mentally. Though I think it would take much, much less to do so in her case.

On the good side is 24, which I missed last year. There are some changes, but having skipped a season didn't really set us back any. I won't go into details in case some of you taped it for future viewing, but I will say that I'm looking forward to the season (except for Elisha Cuthbert's hair, which is in a style I don't particularly care for).

We get a publication at work called RA Manager which is usually a pretty good monthly newsletter about issues of importance (or at least interest) to anyone who manages resident assistants.

This month's lead story, though, seems a little dated. Entitled "Living on the Straight Edge," it discusses the straight edge philosophy and the "hundreds of adolescents and twentysomethings" who've adopted the no alcohol/drugs/casual sex credo. The article goes on to note that "[s]ome of these young people may be coming to a campus near you - if they aren't already visible at your school."

This would all be well and good if this were, say, the issue of RA Manager from 20 years ago. Heck, there are probably RDs who got the issue who were or still are straight edge. Not that there isn't relevance for today's college students, but terming it like it's something new is kind of worrying. I'm expecting an article sometime next year about that new "rap" music and the spine-shattering danger of breakdancing.

Seems like a good time for bullet points.

* Why do I see paralells between the current presidential brouhaha at the alma mater (see Monty's blog for details) and the transfer of power in any given banana republic?

* I'm fairly non-plussed about the Grady Little firing, which when combined with all the big contacts expiring next season makes me think that '04 may be the year of the great Carmine Hose Meltdown. That or they're going to win 115 games and still not win the World Series. Which, I have to admit, would be kind of funny.

* The RD I share the office with here was at the Pats-Browns game this past Sunday, and lived to tell about it. Not that there was much to tell in a 9-3 game.

* My knee is about 85 percent. I can walk pretty much normally, but I have the occasional limping moment.

* I'm getting towards the end of Quicksilver, and it's not too bad if a bit slow (I suppose it's setting things up for future payout, which would be fine if I could move on to the next book now instead of having to wait for April).

* I love the Bruins. In four home games, they managed to beat the Red Wings, tie the Devils, but lose to both Carolina and the NY Rangers. Maybe they should just stay on the road (where they're 5-1-1 with wins over NJ, Colorado, and Dallas).

* It also bears mentioning that after two failed attempts to get BU hockey coach Jack Parker behind they Bruins' bench, the B's have one of his former players, Mike Sullivan, who graduated from BU THE YEAR BEFORE I DID. Things like this should stop bothering me, but they won't.

* I am involved in a pumpkin-carving contest this afternoon, which should be interesting given that I have very, very limited artistic skills. I'm told that there will be templates and such for facilitating the carving, but I'm still thinking there's going to be ugliness. On the positive side, perhaps we can roast the seeds, which I've always found tasty.

* The Ireland recap is going slowly, but will pick up now that I've resized the photos. The mistake I made was trying to resize all of them at one go, which made my computer well-nigh unusable for 3 hours yesterday. Thankfully two of those hours were taken up by lunch and a meeting.

* The Top 50 Competition Movies of All Time, as you can thus imagine, is going even slower. I'd meant to pick it up again by now, but I'm trying to get Ireland down while it's still somewhat fresh. Given that, if you have suggestions for the list feel free to email them along.

Considering I watched about 3 minutes of the World Series this year I won't crow too much publicly about the Marlins' win, though I've just noticed that three former Red Sox hurlers - Ugie, Carl Pavano, and Chad Fox - got rings with the Fishes. I knew that Ugie and Pavano were on the team, didn't know about Fox. I'd also note that it was nice to see Pudge Jr. get a ring.

Like Joe, I'm nonplussed that Jeffrey Loria gets to bask in the glory of a Series win given his history, and I kind of wish Zim had saved his field-charging to take Loria out at the knees. It's not like he has to worry about losing his job - that pretty much disappeared with Game 6's final out. Then again, given what McKeon did, maybe Zim will get the call to manage again when some team starts 8-21 next season.

The story of my weekend actually begins on Thursday, when my right knee started to give me trouble. Walking was precarious, stairs a new and unwelcome challenge. I took some ibuprofen, did the heat and ice thing, and hoped Friday would dawn with whatever the problem was in my rear-view. Of course, that wasn't to be.

So it was on Friday that I trundled over to Newton-Wellesley Hospital (my doctor being booked solid) and spent a lot of time sitting around. I got some x-rays taken, and eventually got to meet with a doctor in one of the pediatric rooms, where the only places to sit were in a regular-sized chair and a Snow White rocker that would have worked for any age up to four.

In any event, it turns out that I'd sprained my knee through some process that remains a mystery. I was given a knee immobilizer (which works fairly poorly as it's too small, though it does help keep things in place when I sleep), instructions to heat and ice much more frequently than I'd been doing, and a prescription for some big-ass Motrin tablets.

So I've spent the better part of the weekend in bed, missing a variety of engagements. I did get to watch quite a bit of football, most of it lackluster. The Tennessee-Alabama game was fairly entertaining, and the Northwestern upset of Wisconsin was notable, but most of the games didn't hold my interest.

Which is how I wound up watching a marathon of Jamie's Kitchen on Food Network. Jamie Oliver, better known for his series The Naked Chef, took on 15 young unemployed Londoners and had them go through a crash-course on becoming a chef so they could work at a new restaurant that he opened, called (appropriately) Fifteen. It actually turned out that there were only 13 at opening, as one got sacked for an incredible level of absenteeism, the other was suspended after blowing up at the head of the college where most of the instruction took place.

I'm not sure how this stacked up with NBC's The Restaurant, though there are some very similar themes (outside of training the unemployed to cook). I will say that there was probably more cursing in Jamie's Kitchen; there were some very long beeps.

As far as today goes, it was nice to see that Pats win, even if it was in a fairly ugly fashion. I am fairly dismayed at the Giants beating the Vikings in Minnesota, as I'd gone with the lads in purple in the Craig Barker cutthroat pick 'em. Seemed like a good idea at the time. At least I didn't choose this week to go with Seattle. I'm also fairly intrigued at the coming NFL Network, which has slightly re-kindled my interest in digital cable. Not that I trust the Comcast people as far as I could throw them (especially now, as I wouldn't get much drive off of my right leg), considering that the techs are probably still the same ones that were working for AT&T when they couldn't find my apartment in three chances.

It's snowing. October 23rd and it's snowing. Ugh. It's not snowing badly (it was actually coming down at a good clip around 7 this morning), and there's not much sticking, but still. It's snowing!

Then again, that's not as bad as this Britney-Madonna collaboration. That's slowly sapping my will to live.

News that The Mullets was getting the hook for November sweeps made me realize that, to date, not a single network prime-time show has been axed this season. Others are in hiatus hell - Boomtown (which I saw an episode of in Ireland and liked), Coupling (which I imagine is being held up in Customs), and 8 Simple Rules (which will be back) - but no one has bit the bullet yet.

My annual entry in the TeeVee dead pool is already looking crappy, as I had pegged Whoopi as the season's first casualty. That's not going to happen, as the show has apparently found a niche. I have better hopes for my second and third place shows - Rock Me Baby and The Brotherhood of Poland, NH- but neither seem to be going away quickly.

My LaPlaca entry seems similarly haunted. Besides Whoopi, It's All Relative seems to be drawing a crowd even though it's a rip-off of The Birdcage, and Married to the Kellys is finding safety in the new TGI Friday lineup. Part of my problem was an over-reliance on ABC shows, the other part being the haste with which I made up my entry (how did I forget Tarzan?).

I at least managed to avoid choosing Two and One Half Men or Joan of Arcadia, both of which were among the top ten most chosen shows and are both looking like they're going to stick around.

Catching up with one of the stories I missed while in Ireland, did Rush try to blame his comments on McNabb on the drugs?

In the car yesterday I heard a No Doubt cover of "It's My Life," and at lunch today I heard the original version by Talk Talk. No comparison, the 80s win hands down.

Some of you may remember the iLoo, the internet-capable public toilet that turned out to be some sort of p.r. thing for a British division of Microsoft. While it never went anywhere, I do have one data point that suggests that there's a market for this sort of thing.

I was in the bathroom closest to our office, and as I went to wash my hands I heard the steady clacking of someone using a keyboard. The source of the noise? Whoever was in the toilet stall (I didn't look, for obvious reasons).

Given that our campus center is rigged for wireless internet, our hero may very well have been surfing while taking their constitutional. I leave the identification of the website this person was on as an exercise for you, the reader.

With all the fuss over Gregg Easterbrook, has anyone been paying attention to the prime minister of Malaysia? He seems pretty firm in the belief that Jews run the west, to the point of repeating such a belief repeatedly over the last few weeks. After hearing from our own President and the PM of Australia on the matter, the Malaysian PM (Mahathir Mohamad) seems to believe this even more strongly, as in his mind the uproar can only mean that the Jewish folks who are running things are making world leaders complain.

With that sort of logic, I will soon be heading over to Malaysia to see if I can sell Mahathir a system of rocks that protect you from tigers.

I'm going through the pictures I took while in Ireland, and for every one that I can identify and clearly place, there's one where the reason for taking the picture is less clear. I suppose that's the beauty/curse of the digital camera; you can take so many pictures that you forget what you've shot after a while.

It does appear that I've had some success using the camera's black and white option, as I have some reasonably dramatic (perhaps melodramatic) photos of the Cliffs of Moher and Ross Castle. The sepia option does less for me, I think it's too orange. I didn't use that too much, though.

One feature I wish I'd fooled around with more is the movie function, as I think some of the things we encountered during the trip (especially related to the roads) would be much clearer on video rather than just by photo. Something for next time.

Someday, when I'm commissioner of the NFL, I'm going to ask the Franklin Mint or NASA or somebody to make me a thousand coin-shaped objects, with one side only having a large H and the other a large T. I am then going to state that on all coin tosses, the coin shall not be moved from the ground until the referee and one captain from each team verify the result of the coin toss.

If you didn't see the Pats-Fins overtime, you missed the Pats saying that the ref blew the toss by mis-recognizing the side of the coin (the Pats called tails and seemed to believe that's what came up). They survived this and a drive-sustaining catch where the wideout both stepped out of bounds before getting the ball and had one foot go out of bounds when catching the ball (Miami ran a play very quickly to prevent review). And really, any win over the Dolphins is a good win. Even one that was fairly ugly.

Well, it's over. The great Ireland trek has ended, and me and the missus are now safely ensconsed in our apartment. Not that the trip didn't try to extend itself - our flight left about 30-45 minutes late due to a lag built up after Shannon was evacuated (not sure why), and it took us 2 hours to get home from Logan (long story short - if you pick up the phone to call Back Bay Coach for an airport trip, hang up the phone, unplug it, burn it, salt the ashes, and burn them again).

It took us almost a day and a half to find out the result of the ACLS game 7, and even then it was in a story below the fold on the third page of some paper's sports coverage. I still don't know the full story, but having read blog accounts and Jon Couture's fine column, I think it best that things stay that way.

To that end I am also studiously avoiding the World Series. I have Florida State-Virginia on now, but as the TV is in the other room I guess I'm not particularly watching that, either.

I should probably start writing the recap of the trip, which I think will be shorter and less funny than the Britain trip. Not sure if it was the change in dynamic (it just being the two of us) or because Ireland has many features similar to that of Britain. We'll see how it goes.

OK, waiting for Sarah to finish up, so some observations.

* First, thanks to James for his info on the Quest, the cartoonish Brit that populates CNN's international version. JQ, I expect an impersonation at TrashMasters, regardless of whether you had to do one for the CNN Christmas party or not.

* I'm still not sure what Manny was complaining about with that pitch that sparked the bench-clearing. I'm sure he was looking for an excuse, but he could have done better. Heck, he could have let Clemens plunk Kevin Millar, who seems just crazy enough to throw his bat back or something.

* Oh, and while it's nice to see Don Zimmer acting spry, he should perhaps stick to mall walking and hitting fungoes. That or he and Johnny Pesky should be given time for a battle royale during the seventh inning stretch.

* Part of the problem with trying to find baseball information here is that we're fighting against qualifying for the 2004 European soccer championship and the Rugby World Cup. That and the Gaelic football season has recently ended, and there are a lot of managerial changes. Though I'm sure if that all wasn't going on, they'd find something else to report on rather than baseball.

* The whole Governor Schwarzenegger thing got a lot of coverage, including one CNN guy trying to make it out as a new social movement for the US relative to anger at politicians. It was funny watching the expert he was talking to tell him repeatedly that it wasn't. You can only hear "not really" so many times before you start thinking that the anchor should start moving on.

* I've started Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver, only about 100 pages in. So far so good, though I've been reading in fits and starts, so I've not really been able to get into it. I'm sure the flight back will provide ample opportunity.

* I'm still not quite used to my wedding ring. I play with it a lot, which pisses Sarah off when it involves removing the ring from my finger (I've been doing this thing where I take it off, flip it, and put it back on). It may even be that my ring is too big! Probably not, but it does seem to move around quite a bit (though it never makes to slip off).

* And while I'll comment more on this when I get back, both Sarah and I are at a point where if we don't see another chip (french fry to you) again, we'll be OK with it.

Greetings from Dublin! Got here yesterday, haven't seen as much as we'd like but we're getting there. Current plan is to head out west again sometime tomorrow and see some more stuff out there before flying out on Saturday. Hard to believe the trip is almost over.

And as much as this is a fitting subject for the Sox (who have Burkett starting tonight, ye gods!): Apocalypse Watch Cubs are tied 3-3 with the Marlins, winner take all tonight. Expect the DefCon level to get cranked up to 2 if the Cubbies take the clincher. Should the Sox cowboy up and win their last two, well, I may just stay here and build a bunker in the Purple Mountains (and their majesty).

Just got back from the Ring of Kerry, won't spoil the day for those of you looking forward to the recap when I get back. You're both welcome.

I will say that I was dismayed to see the Yankees pull even in the ALCS, but not surprised. Wishful thinking really to have the Sox win the first two in the Bronx. I actually didn't see the result of this game until getting to the computer. The CNN crawl which usually has such things was loaded for bear this morning with cricket, soccer, rugby, and even NHL scores. Odd that they'd have NHL scores but nothing about the playoffs. Then again, the CNN we're getting is much different from what we get at home. Not better, mind you, just different.

Worst part of the CNN here: there's some US-based jackass with perhaps the most annoying British accent. He was all over the California recall, so for the first few days we were here you couldn't avoid his grating voice. And given our lack of options (RTE 1 and 2, Channel 3, CNBC Europe, the German version of M2, and EuroSport), we heard more from him than I'd care to note.

I know EuroSport sounds like an option, but I'm not that into the world championships of fencing that much. The German M2 is OK until they start running anime dubbed in German. That's a problem.

Another oddity; when a movie runs into the news time, rather than push the news back they stop the movie. The last 30-45 minutes of Arlington Road followed RTE 2's half hour of news. In this case, I don't think the movie suffered.

Greetings from Ireland! We've just gotten back to Killarney from Cork, and taking advantage of one of the many (three or four) places offering internet access.

To date we've spent a day knocking around Killarney, were out at Tralee yesterday, and today took in Cork. We're on a bus tour of the Ring of Kerry tomorrow, with trips to Waterford, Cobh and Blarney, and a couple days in Dublin among other things planned. I can already tell I'm not getting up to Ballyhaunis or Sligo to hunt down my Coen forebears. Another task for another trip, I suppose.

The hardest thing about this trip so far? Trying to follow the Sox when there is almost no coverage of baseball here. I've had to depend on passing mentions on CNN, and didn't even know if the Sox had beaten the A's until we made an internet stop the day after game 5. I'm also passingly annoyed that the euro is up about a dime from a month ago, making things a little more pricey than hoped for. The WTO is to blame, somehow.

And even though I'm on this side of the Atlantic, there's always time for...

Apocalypse Watch The Cubs are making things difficult for national security, as they evened up the NLCS last night. Condi Rice and Colin Powell are in discussions with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to set up a missile strike should the Cubs come too close to winning it all.

Oh, and while I'm still here...

Apocalypse Watch The UN Security Council was spared a special session when the Cubs dropped game 4 of their NLDS matchup with the Atlanta Braves. Word has it that Vice President Dick Cheney will retreat to NORAD headquarters to await the results of the decisive game 5.

They say you don't remember everything from your wedding, that it's too much of a blur. I can now say that they (whoever they are) are pretty much right. There are, however, many things I will remember from this weekend, such as:

* Running into one of my groomsmen at random while getting our tuxes squared away and deputizing him to help me with last-minute stuff when all he probably wanted to do was go home and enjoy at least part of his day off.

* Becoming a godparent for the second time (we figured we should try to get as many sacraments into the weekend as possible).

* My first glimpse of Sarah coming down the aisle.

* The priest remarking on the size of my ring (it would later be compared to the One Ring at about a third of the tables at the reception).

* My not hearing the first line of my vows, forcing me to ask for a repeat (had I been thinking, I would have done a Master Thespian and called out "Line!").

* What I think was an all-reception rendition of "Tainted Love."

* Having about a dozen friends and family crammed into our hotel room when Trot Nixon his his game winning home run. If only we'd remembered to pack Sarah's Trot Nixon t-shirt.

And there's a lot more, which I'll catalog in due time.

As for us, all I can say is that there are some people who have fancy brunches after their wedding. And then there are those of us who just want some extra crispy.

Well, wasn't yesterday a great day in sports.

First we've got the Sox, who come back to Boston with an 0-2 defecit after a lackluster 5-1 decision. Very quiet bats after 162 games of solid base knocks.

Then the Twins lose to the Yankees, keeping the Evil Empire alive.

Add to that West Virginia letting Miami off the mat. The Mountaineers had a one point lead with 2 minutes to do, had Miami on a 4th and 13 in their own territory but allowed them to convert. From that point on it was less about if than when/how.

But hope springs eternal on this Friday morning. Canada, the 12th seed in the Women's World Cup, knocked China (whose Most Favored Nation status extends to soccer) out of the tournament 1-0 on a great goal in the seventh minute.

Apocalypse Watch The Cubs did the world a favor yesterday and dropped game 2 of their series with the Atlanta Braves 5-3. They get to go to Wrigley for the next two, so don't stop pricing bomb shelters just yet.

I'll pass on what most of my neighbors would note as the true apocalypse watch, other than to note that who but the Sox could lose a playoff game on a bases loaded bunt?

Today is my first official wedding-related day off from work. Not that I'm using it to any real advantage to this point, outside of stuff around the house. Big tasks for the day include getting my tux and printing up the programs. Sarah's sister is here now, and there's talk that they'll be off tonight for their bachelorette party (though I prefer the English term for it - hen night).

And hey, none of you people have signed up for my Yahoo hockey league. Don't make me come out there!

League ID: 55575
password: slapshot

OK, the Ortiz Watch is over - he's not going to win the AL MVP, and even for all the chatter was an unlikely candidate. Still, it'd be nice to see him get some votes.

Moving on to the playoffs, it's now time to introduce the Apocalypse Watch.

In the short story "The Last Pennant Before Armageddon," W. P. Kinsella writes about a manager for the Chicago Cubs who, in the middle of the World Series, learns that if his team wins, it will be the end of the world as we know it. And, as you can imagine, he does not feel fine.

We've dodged a bullet twice with the Cubs since the story was published in the 1985 collection The Thrill of the Grass. If the third time is the charm, though, you may want to get your affairs in order.

(The kicker, if memory serves, is that the Cubs are playing the Red Sox in the Doomsday Series. I have to check on that.)

Anyway, in our first installment of Apocalypse Watch, the Cubs took a 1-0 NLDS lead over the Atlanta Braves. Most of the Chicago offense was provided by Kerry Wood... their pitcher. Now, Wood can hit... for a pitcher. That he was both the winning pitcher and drive in the game-winning RBI suggests an outside power at work - and not necessarily a higher one.

Some quick updates for this weekend.

WEATHER The Weather Channel is calling for AM clouds and PM sun. That's a slight change from the partly cloudy that had been predicted for the last 3-4 days, but not much of one.

Temps have taken a quick drop, becoming very fall-like. This is New England, so for Saturday you should expect a high somewhere between 8 and 107. Bring a sweater, and remember that it's best to dress in layers when possible.

FOLIAGE For those of you with an interest in leaf-peeping, even if only vicariously as the day progresses, we're in the early stages of the foliage season. The Weather Channel folks even have this covered, though the map is a couple days old at this point.

Given the recent dip in temps, which will go below 40 in some places, that may accelerate colors. There will still be green, but probably more colors than there are now.

CIVILIZATION If you're staying at the King's Grant or at another location in the Danvers/Peabody area, there are some things to do, but not much. The Liberty Tree Mall and the Northshore Mall offer pretty much anything you need in terms of shopping. The area around the malls also has a number of stores, eateries, etc. Liberty Tree also has a 20 screen movie theater.

If you have a little more time you could look around Salem, which is a neat place. Or you could shoot down 128 and on to Route 1 South and explore the mystery that is Saugus. Going up 128 North, Gloucester has its nautical charm while Rockport is winding down a bit from the summer.

If you have a specific interest in doing something while you're in the area, let me know.

I think that's about it for now. We're actually pretty much done with the planning, so it's hurry up and wait for Saturday.

What with my own impending nuptuals and today being the second anniversary for Scott Monty, we were talking the married life over email recently, and Scott made a very astute observation.

The stages of getting married are a lot like the stages of grief.

Denial We're really getting married? You said yes? Really?

Or, alternately, one that we've been using quite a bit, the denial that getting married will change things too much given that we're already formed as a couple. As much as I've trusted it when I've said it, I know I'll be proven wrong. Often.

Anger or Resentment What do you mean we can't have a band? How could you have picked such ugly china? I don't want your Uncle Earl within a hundred miles of the church!

Bargaining OK, I'll make the groomsmen wear the matching tie and vest that goes with your bridesmaids' dresses, but only if...

Depression I'm so sick of this planning crap. I'm going to take another nap. Turn of the phone.

Acceptance We forgot to coordinate the color of the centerpiece flowers with the frosting of the cake? Oh well.

We didn't have as much anger/resentment, but did have a fair bit of bargaining and a cartful of what passes for depression in this context. Though we're quickly moving into the acceptance stage, and happily so.

For any of you wanting to see a little bit of the church where Sarah and I are getting married as well as a good shot of our soon to be retired priest, take a gander at this. Sean O'Malley, the relatively new archbishop of Boston, was in town to celebrate Mass in honor of our priest's 50th anniversaty of ordination. That O'Malley was passed over for a cardinal's hat probably brought more media out than normal, though I suspect he'd have gotten some anyway, as he's still new and reasonably low-key.

As the sound didn't work when I tried to watch it on the computer I'm using now, I don't know what sort of context NECN put O'Malley's visit in. Father Harrington is the priest in front of O'Malley as they enter the church (O'Malley being the one with the staff and headgear you'd expect of an archbishop).

So in case anyone ever asks, "What were you doing the week before you got married," I can report that at 2 pm today I was sitting in the food area of the Target at the Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers waiting for Sarah.

I also spent much of the day chasing down things for the wedding favors and helping assemble them. That was all after we went to finish paying for our wedding cake and getting some dessert items for the rehearsal dinner.

Yes, I know how to see my bachelorhood away with a bang.

I am not like Greg Sorenson in that I managed to remember the name of The Rundown.

I am like Greg Sorenson in that I thought it was a solid action/comedy. A little cartoony in a couple of places, but better than the average fare the genre usually cranks out.

We did get to see a preview for The Matrix Revolutions, which was cool. Other previews:

* The new Coen brothers (no relation) film Intolerable Cruelty, starring George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones. I'm finding it odd to use the names "Coen" and "Zeta-Jones" together.

* Something's Gotta Give with Jack Nicholson playing some sort of lech who winds up with Amanda Peet, whose mom (I'm guessing mom) is played by Diane Keaton. Frances McDormand is in it as well, and there's some cognative dissonance going on when I see a Coen brothers movie promo and McDormand shows up elsewhere.

* Haunted Mansion, starring Eddie Murphy, based on the Disney attraction. I am looking forward to Ashton Kutcher playing a plucky bobsledder in Matterhorn, summer 2006.

* The new Farrelly brothers movie, name escapes me (something like Stuck With You) where Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear play Siamese twins.

* Honey, which stars Jessica Alba and a lot of tight clothes. Damn. Oh, the movie, it's about a young woman trying to become a famous dancer/choreographer... while wearing revealing, tight clothes. Damn.

After not hearing anything from Matt Boggie, I've gone ahead and set up a fantasy hockey league on Yahoo.

League ID#: 55575
password: slapshot

12 team max, rotisserie standings. I'm open to suggestions from participating parties as far as that goes. It's an auto-pick draft (live draft times were all in the AM), so take that for what it's worth.

Lest you think I'm too busy thinking about the Red Sox to get work done, note that the last two days have seen afternoons swallowed whole in the name of staff bonding.

On Wednesday, the res life/housing portion of the office went to the local Merino Lookout Farm to do some apple picking. Turns out you can also pick pears, nectarines, peaches, and a variety of berries. It was a great day to be outside - temps in the high 60s, slight breeze, and sun. I could have just hung out in the orchard with a book or napping.

My nose also took me on a journey back in time, as the grape vines used to provide cover for the main walkways reminded me greatly of a similar set-up at a friend's house back in the day. I even went as far as to pick a cluster of grapes (though we were warned no snacking - bad me) and had a few before my boss pointed out the possibility of some sort of pesticide. That's why she's the boss, she thinks of those sorts of things beforehand. Suffice it to say that my typing here now to you nice people means that if I did ingest something, it didn't kill me. It probably just planted the seed for some really horrifying ailment down the road.

As much as I enjoyed the day, I must say that the farm has a nice little racket going. It's $3 to get out to the orchard on a "train" (I suppose you could walk, but I think they'd still whack you for the $3) and $1.50 per pound of fruit. I suppose I should just be happy that I now have apples that weren't artifically ripened and shipped halfway around the world to get to my fridge.

Yesterday saw a staff lunch at the Dolphin in Natick, a seafood restaurant that one of my co-worked pointed out was named for an aquatic animal that wasn't actually on the menu. I noted that lobsters aren't as photogenic. Sadly, there were no tuna steaks on the menu, so the chance for irony couldn't be converted.

Post-lunch saw a return to the laser tag venue I mentioned back in January, where we played mostly everyone for themselves but also a game of men versus women (women won, but did have a numbers advantage for their team). We also participated in skee ball, pop a shot basketball, etc. so we could win enough tickets to get a new office mascot. You'll be glad to know that the Babson College Office of Campus Life now sports a plush stuffed alligator.

After that I had to get over to the Brookline town hall to apply for a marriage licence. Amazingly, for the entire process, we did not have to offer one bit of identification. Shouldn't John Ashcroft be doing something about that?

The one thing we did have to offer were certificates proving that we'd had out blood test. Massachusetts tests for syphillis and rubella (women only), and only requires AIDS education. You'd think maybe they'd check for HIV or hepatitis C or something more, say, dangerous to the public health. Another one of our antiquated laws.

Ortiz Watch David Ortiz was 1 for 2 in tonight's game, driving in a run and walking twice. Now that the Sox have clinched the AL wild card berth, I do wonder how much we'll see of Ortiz outside of keeping him warm for the playoffs.

Then again, what nascent MVP chances he has may find it hard to get past Carlos Delgado's 4 HR performance tonight. Even against the Devil Rays, 4 HR in a game is impressive.

In yesterday's Ortiz Watch I was going to predict a 17-2 Sox win with Ortiz hitting 3 HR and driving in 10. But I thought it was silly. I'm now kicking myself for being in the ballpark with the game score, but happy to say that I avoided making claims for Ortiz that Delgado would eclipse in reality.

Ortiz Watch: 2 HR tonight, providing the bulk of the offense in a 7-3 loss to the Orioles. More MVP talk on Baseball Tonight; Peter Gammons seems to be moving to the Ortiz camp, and there were comparisons with Tejada's run to the title.

An ESPN poll I saw today offered four candidates for AL MVP - Garrett Anderson, Carlos Delgado, A-Rod, and Manny. Of late, there's been talk of an emerging fifth candidate - Red Sox 1B/DH David Ortiz. Looking at the numbers, Ortiz tends to lag behind the four - he's last among the five in batting average and OPS, middle of the road with OBP and slugging percentage. With things like hits, RBI, and home runs, he also lags, but has played in significantly fewer games (124 to a range of 147-157 for the others).

So I decided to do a little mathematical snooping (with apologies to Rob Neyer, SABRmertricians everywhere, and pretty much the entire math-using world). I took the hits, home run, and RBI categories, and worked them out for all five players both per game and per at bat.

Turns out that Ortiz has the lowest average number of hits per game (and per at bat) of the five. What's really interesting, though, is that he is fourth in home runs per game (third in HR per at bat), and yet is second in RBI per game and at bat (lagging behind Carlos Delgado in both cases).

I'm not sure what this says, but it does suggest to me that Ortiz gets more out of his at bats than most folks. I do wonder what his numbers would be like if he didn't start the year platooning with Jeremy Giambi (remember him?), but it may have helped him ease into the situation not being the every day guy (thinking back to Tony Clark).

Ortiz also has the benefit of finishing strong, as he's hit a HR in each of the last two games, and had the sense to hit the game winner last night (and, oddly, trumping the drama of the 3 run job that Todd Walker hit to tie the game, making Ortiz the Fisk to Walker's Bernie Carbo).

So consider this a first, somewhat lame attempt to draft Ortiz for the AL MVP award. Feel free to add to the argument or offer counter arguments, as this whole baseball stat manipulation thing is new to me.

Given what I've read on other blogs, I must hang my head in shame. For on Friday, when I had the freedom from work and the decreased maturity brought on by too much beer, I added nary an "avast," "scurvy dog," or "yaaaarrrr" to Talk Like a Pirate Day.

I did make up for it the next day, as I continued my string of "yaaaarrrr"s at seeing pirate flags and signs for the Penobscot Marine Museum's pirate exhibit. I've been doing this every time we've gone up to Sarah's folks' place since the start of the exhibit (which is only three times), so I suppose I was getting my observation of the day in early.

And while I won't take this opportunity to rehash my day on the Ernestina (it not having been a pirate vessel), I will note that on that trip we did sing several rounds of "What would you do with a drunken sailor," and among our ideas were putting him into bed with the captain's daughter, lashing him to the main mast, and making him drink until he's sick (my idea, no doubt shaped by years as a college administrator).

Without going too deeply into fantasy football talk, the state of my team is such that yesterday's 2.96 point performance by Kyle Boller is almost a full point better than the two week numbers I've gotten from Donovan McNabb. I am living Dwight's fraught watch on the Eagles' passing game, and it's no fun.

I've also missed two roster moves that would have given me either a bigger lead or made the final closer. Santana Moss had 140 yards plus last week - the one week I didn't play him. This week it was Michael Pittman, who is apparently working on a highlight reel for his possible entry into the Florida Correctional Football League. Nothing short of divine intervention would have helped me in week one.

Unlike Jon, I will not post my golfing score from Friday's outing here. Considering I now average one round a year (and that only after a 12 year hiatus broken in 2001), such an informational display would seem futile. Not to mention, NASA hasn't finished computing my round.

Still, for every three-putt and multi-whiff iron shot, I did manage a few of what could be called, with all sincerity, golf shots. I seem to best off the tee, though I do have a tendency to put my drive into the opposing hole's fairway in cases where they run parallel. I also seem attracted to wood (witness my hitting a house in Myrtle Beach last year), though this time around it was mostly trick shooting, including banking a shot off of a willow and into the fairway and running my second shot on one hole through a pair of arbor vitae (much like what I do when trying to pick up a 7-10 split).

I do think that, if I get to a point where I can afford to play more often and have acqaintances who would put up with my muni-hack style of play, I'd like to go out more often.

One notable (but macabre) moment from the day was realizing that I didn't have a putter in the set I've inherited from my dad. It took me a minute to realize we buried it with him.

While on the subject of my dad's clubs, it should be noted that, if you're a real stickler, it's not exactly a regulation set. There are something like five woods, a fairway driving iron, two seven irons (one a leftie in case it's the only way to play the shot), and some sort of putter-looking chipping club whose purpose I have yet to fathom (it turns out I was using it at times I shouldn't have, while Jon pointed out another time when I should have used it and did not).

The rest of the day was the typical debauchery for a bachelor party group (outside of strippers, which aren't my thing and would have gotten the other married men in collective dutch with the wives). The steamers did look mighty tasty, if deadly.

The rest of the weekend was spent in Maine. We delivered Sarah's aunt and uncle to her parents' house, and I spent the vast majority of the weekend in the house watching some form of competition (baseball, football, and the World Pastry Cup that was re-running on the Food Network). It was nice to see the Sox win one today (especially with the Mariners' loss) and for the Pats to win one that maybe they shouldn't have (call it the first annual Bill MacNeal Adequatulance Bowl). I am stymied by the wins put up by Cleveland and Arizona, two events that further suggest why it's best that I stay away from organized football betting.

We've had a lot of construction on campus this year, and as part of returning the campus to its usual verdant splendor, we've recently seen a lot of hyrdroseeding. Including some today.

Normally that would be fine, but you have to think that the day before you get part of a hurricane you'd not want to put down stuff that will easily wash away. I suppose the alligators in the sewers will have some nice faux swamp to root around in soon, given the nutrient-rich matter the grass seed will have to grow on. Not much sun, but perhaps it'll be albino grass to go with albino gators.

So I was feeling pretty smug last night when Bob Lobel, local TV sports hack, referred to Rosevelt Colvin as Shawn Colvin.

That was until just a few minutes ago, when in writing a quizbowl question I mistakenly used a friend from high school's name rather than the appropriate actor's name as the answer. There are some similarities to their names, but not that much.

I suppose I can still gloat, as I don't work off of a teleprompter. How's that for a justification?

With Hurricane Isabel on the way (or should I say the fringe of Hurricane Isabel, given that current plots have it heading well inland), I got to thinking a little bit about the hurricanes that I've been through here. Most didn't amount to too much, other than a lot of hype and increased sales of plywood and duct tape.

The first hurricane I really remember is Belle, which it in August 1976. It set the tone, as with all the warnings the actual effects for my family and town were pretty mild. I remember power going out briefly - I was half-asleep and noticed the fan shut down - but that was about it.

The next one of any memory was Gloria in September 1985. I spent much of the day hunkered down in my friend Sean Townsend's house, as we mocked an incredibly-hyped storm of little consequence. It seems to have done worse in other parts of New England, as we got some wind and very little rain.

Then there was Bob in 1991, which came at the same time I was to start RA training in August. I am fairly sure I caught the last train in to Boston. My mom tried to talk me out of going in, but I was ready to go back after spending the summer at home. In retrospect I should have stayed and enjoyed the time with family, but in the moment... it was time to go.

As it turned out RA training was in fact delayed. I spent the time with the few RAs who had showed up and a hockey camp that couldn't leave. Funny to think that some of those kids may actually be playing for BU now. Anyway, Bob did the best job of living up to the hype, but again did more damage in other parts of the region.

The '90s sent its share of hurricanes - Bertha, Danny, and Floyd come to mind - but for the most part we were most bothered by storms not classified in the hurricane/tropical storm way. The three that stand out the most all happened around holidays - Halloween 1991, Christmas 1994, and April Fools' in 1997.

Our last storm, what was left of Tropical Storm Gordon, was pretty intense but again, not too bad.

Hurricanes up here are pretty rare, and by the time they get here they've usually been downgraded enough that we get through OK (though Cape Cod is usually a different story, and Maine seems to get whacked pretty well). It seems like 1938 was the last with any serious damage; one story I read noted that in today's dollars the 1938 storm caused upwards of $3.5 billion in damage. I would be very happy to not see that reoccur.

On the downside, it looks like Isabel may scotch the golf day we're having on Friday, as we're due for a fair bit of rain. Not sure what the backup plan is, perhaps it'll involve sandbags and localized flooding.

It will surprise exactly none of you that there is a certain amount of parochialism in local sports coverage here in New England. Take our obsession with the Red Sox or a sports talk radio landscape that seems incapable of discussing a team that doesn't play within shouting distance of Route 95. But one of the odder facets of this is what we get stuck with on Saturday afternoons during football season.

The Big East game of the week, from ESPN Plus.

OK, given that the only two divison 1 teams in New England do or will play in that conference, you'd expect the game to show up somewhere. But consider what transpired yesterday: ABC could offer Ohio State-NC State or Texas-Arkansas, and our local decided to go with West Virginia-Cincinnati. Not only is it the clear loser of that triad, it's not even a true Big East game (nor is next week's Central Florida-Syracuse tilt).

The West Virginia-Cincinnati game, by the way is the one where the winning team scored one more point (15) as the number of fumbles committed by the combined teams (14). There were a couple of picks in the game, too.

I have to assume that WCVB (the local ABC station) has some sort of contractual obligation to show the Big East games. I hope it's not some sort of misplaced sense of nostalgia for eastern collegiate football.

At some point the Big East game of the week will feature two teams playing a conference game. Sadly, it's usually Miami-Rutgers or Virginia Tech-Temple.

The more worthy putative Big East game of the week - BC-UConn - was shown by the local WB station using a Connecticut station's feed. UConn looked pretty good in a losing cause (24-14). If their QB can find the range with any regularity (he overthrew a number of balls yesterday), they have a strong possibility of being bowl eligible, though as an independent stand little chance of going unless they can knock off Virginia Tech or Wake Forest.

FWIW, going back to the Big East game of the week, it ended just in time to go to OSU-NCSU's overtimes. I'm still puzzled by the two QB sneaks called by the Wolfpack in the third OT. That game led to us not joining ND-Michigan until the second quarter, and quite honestly WCVB could have fired up the provincialism and shown Holy Cross-Georgetown instead. Very unpretty.

In the interest of equal time, I passed on the prime time games (seeing just bits of the Nebraska-Penn State tilt) so we could watch the finale of Race to the Altar, a very generic NBC reality offering that pitted 8 couples against each other, with the winner getting a dream wedding.

The show itself was like a combination of Fear Factor and Double Dare, mixing physical challenges with scavenger hunt-type events.

We caught last week's episode and decided to tune back in for the finale, which was, well, perhaps not worth the wait but about as good as anything else on TV at the time. Most interesting moment from last night was during the final event, when both couples couldn't figure out that a clue referring to the City of Light should have sent them to the Paris hotel and casino (the show being set in Vegas). One couple took the part of the clue about going up something to mean the Stratosphere, while the other asked their cabbie and went back to where they started at the Fremont Street Experience. Not surprisingly, both couples asked the elevator attendants at the Paris about a place that might have a genie and a lamp (thankfully, otherwise they'd have wound up in Reno or something).

Seriously, if either couple went to the Paris directly, they'd have won by a mile. Idiots. Then again, on last week's episode none of the couples could pronounce Liberace's name, leading to delays on all sides. So sad.

It will surprise exactly none of you that there is a certain amount of parochialism in local sports coverage here in New England. Take our obsession with the Red Sox or a sports talk radio landscape that seems incapable of discussing a team that doesn't play within shouting distance of Route 95. But one of the odder facets of this is what we get stuck with on Saturday afternoons during football season.

The Big East game of the week, from ESPN Plus.

OK, given that the only two divison 1 teams in New England do or will play in that conference, you'd expect the game to show up somewhere. But consider what transpired yesterday: ABC could offer Ohio State-NC State or Texas-Arkansas, and our local decided to go with West Virginia-Cincinnati. Not only is it the clear loser of that triad, it's not even a true Big East game (nor is next week's Central Florida-Syracuse tilt).

The West Virginia-Cincinnati game, by the way is the one where the winning team scored one more point (15) as the number of fumbles committed by the combined teams (14). There were a couple of picks in the game, too.

I have to assume that WCVB (the local ABC station) has some sort of contractual obligation to show the Big East games. I hope it's not some sort of misplaced sense of nostalgia for eastern collegiate football.

At some point the Big East game of the week will feature two teams playing a conference game. Sadly, it's usually Miami-Rutgers or Virginia Tech-Temple.

The more worth putative Big East game of the week - BC-UConn - was shown by the local WB station using a Connecticut station's feed. UConn looked pretty good in a losing cause (24-14). If their QB can find the range with any regularity (he overthrew a number of balls yesterday). They have a strong possibility of being bowl eligible, though as an independent stand little chance of going unless they can knock off Virginia Tech or Wake Forest.

FWIW, going back to the Big East game of the week, it ended just in time to go to OSU-NCSU's overtimes. I'm still puzzled by the two QB sneaks called by the Wolfpack in the third OT. That game led to us not joining ND-Michigan until the second quarter, and quite honestly they could have fired up the provincialism and shown Holy Cross-Georgetown instead. Very unpretty.

In the interest of equal time, I passed on the prime time games (seeing just bits of the Nebraska-Penn State tilt) so we could watch the finale of Race to the Altar, a very generic NBC reality offering that pitted 8 couples against each other, with the winner getting a dream wedding.

The show itself was like a combination of Fear Factor and Double Dare, mixing physical challenges with scavenger hunt-type events.

We caught last week's episode and decided to tune back in for the finale, which was, well, perhaps not worth the wait but about as good as anything else on TV at the time. Most interesting moment from last night was during the final event, when both couples couldn't figure out that a clue referring to the City of Light should have sent them to the Paris hotel and casino (the show being set in Vegas). One couple took the part of the clue about going up something to mean the Stratosphere, while the other asked their cabbie and went back to where they started at the Fremont Street Experience. Not surprisingly, both couples asked the elevator attendants at the Paris about a place that might have a genie and a lamp (thankfully, otherwise they'd have wound up in Reno or something).

Seriously, if either couple went to the Paris directly, they'd have won by a mile. Idiots. Then again, on last week's episode none of the couples could pronounce Liberace's name, leading to delays on all sides. So sad.

For the first time since August 21, I spent a night where I wasn't either working or on call. How did I celebrate? Let's call it the Nerd's Night Out.

First stop was the Natick Mall, where Sarah and I got to weigh candy in preparation for making wedding favors. We could save ourselves a lot of trouble by going the charitable donation route, but given some of the "outside influences" on the wedding we'd probably still wind up with baggies of Jordan almonds on the tables.

We stopped into a Hallmark store to get a couple of cards, and while I am still livid that they already have their Christmas stuff out, I did find my favorite new tree ornament - Kobe Bryant. Apparently he's part of their Keepsake ornament line. They still wanted the $14.95 retail price, which was too much for a possible TRASH prize (at least for regionals, where sometimes all of the prizes didn't cost that much).

Not surprisingly, the only other sports-themed ornament left besides Bryant was Jason Giambi.

We then went over to Owen O'Leary's, an eating and drinking establishment that also happens to have NTN. We joined the first couple of BU college bowl, Matt and Allyson Harper-Nixon, for some catching up and interactive trivia.

I actually did really well on two games, finishing 8th nationally during a Topix game where all the questions were about movies with swimming pools (go figure) and fifth nationally in a Retroactive TV game. Sometimes, it's good to be old.

And no, there were no questions on John Ritter. In a later game, when we were talking about Johnny Cash, a question came up involving "Ring of Fire." The music games tend to favor Mrs. Harper-Nixon, though between her and Sarah I think they know all the lyrics to any song released in the United States over the last 50 years.

After that we headed homeward, stopping at the event I mentioned yesterday - Late Night Bingo! Our campus center director was looking to do some late night programming, and her research over the summer found that late night bingo was becoming really popular on the college level- nearby Assumption College, for example, had over 500 people for their first bingo night this year.

We didn't do quite so well, but we did have over 200 show up, which is amazing for a late night program without alcohol.

We played 10 games over two hours, and go figure that Sarah would win the last game of the night. There was a catch, of course; one of my colleagues had won a DVD player earlier in the night to some grumbling, so having the fiancee of another staffer win would have been worse. So to defuse things it was announced that Sarah messed up, and a student wound up winning on the next ball (perhaps not that big a deal, considering we would have won a digital camera, one not as good as the one I have to boot).

We got home a little after 1 am, our latest night in some time. Who says dorks can't have fun?

With all the death this week, there is a bit of life-affirming news to report.

David Letterman is apparently going to be a dad.

Dave and long-time girlfriend Regina Lasko are expecting a child by the end of the year (the story I read said she's 6 months along). Dave's going to "announce" it tonight on his show (I use quotes because the show was taped last night). Dave is 56, which doesn't put him in Tony Randall/Anthony Quinn territory, but is still pretty studly (if I can use the word in this context).

I'm trying to figure out what an appropriate themed shower gift would be in this case. I'm thinking either a box of pencils or a onesie with a clip-on tie so the baby can do that shifting tie thing that Dave does when he pulls on his jacket lapels. If nothing else, this is going to give Dave years of Top 10 material.

Make sure you tune in tonight to see this (unless you're a Babson College person; you should tape it an come on down to the campus center for late night bingo!).

While reading the news and mulling the juxtaposition of Johnny Cash and John Ritter dying on more or less the same day, I was surprised to learn that Ritter is the son of singing cowboy Tex Ritter (how did I not know this?), who worked with Cash from time to time.

I suppose I could quote "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" or something here.

Taking a page from last September 11, herein is a list of my top 11 recurring characters on Sports Night. OK, they don't all recur. Anyway:

11. Louise Goodwin. She never appeared on screen, but her presence allowed for one of the more interesting episodes of season one (even if it was ripped off from the various MASH episodes where Hawkeye writes his dad). She also crops up in the second season when Jeremy learns she's communicating with Natalie, and it freaks him out a bit. I can understand that now, as I worry every time Sarah says she's talked with my sister without me being present.

10. Jenny, played by Paula Marshall. You might think a rebound girlfriend who is also a porn star would be just the ticket, but in this case it doesn't work out so well for Jeremy. I do find these episodes fairly entertaining, though I am often distracted by the heavy make-up on Jenny. I guess it's some sort of visual cue.

9. Chris, Will, Dave, Elliot, and Kim played by Timothy Davis-Reed, Ron Ostrow, Jeff Mooring, Greg Baker, and Kayla Blake. Yes, they all kind of run together (except for Kim, being the only woman), but you'd usually get one good comic relief moment out of the group. Any more would have been too much.

8. Gordon Gage, played by Ted McGinley. The man who could have taken the show down in season one but didn't, part of me thinks I should have rated him higher, especially for the scene where Casey tries to one-up Gordon and gets smacked down. I suppose I don't rate him as highly because, as much of a part of the plot as he was in season one, I never felt like he was there to do more than underscore the Dana and Casey thing. Had Gordon been more sympathetic I think it would have made the tension more interesting. As it was Gordon was so visibly wrong for Dana that you wound up focusing more on how it was going to end rather than whether it would end.

7. Abby Jacobs, played by Jayne Brooks. When Dan thinks he's picked her up at a bar, he's surprised to learn that his charm and candor have only landed him a therapist. The tension from that confusion plays out during their sessions, which Abby plays off for maximum value.

6. Rebecca Wells, played by Teri Polo. Probably the best thing to happen to Dan during the course of the show, but also probably the worst thing given that their split likely accelerated his breakdown in season two. One wonders what her return would have meant for season three.

I've never been a huge Teri Polo fan, but I thought she played Rebecca well, smart enough to keep up with Dan but still not so smart that she could sort her own life out.

5. Jay Rydell, played by Peter Riegert. He's on one episode, and even then for a very short time, but the feeling of dread and discomfort is palpable. Even hearing Dan talk about his dad later in the episode, you get the sense that they weren't the type to go out in the yard and play catch.

Riegert is best known for playing Boon in Animal House and the detective on the trail of Jim Carrey in The Mask. I imagine this turn helped him prepare for his recurring role as Assemblyman Zellman in The Sopranos.

4. JJ, played by Robert Mailhouse. The Continental Corp suit that rides herd on the Sports Night crew, JJ is played as a sugar-coated menace, someone who says he wants what's best for the development of the show, but is clearly interested in using the show to best promote his career with the parent company. One has to wonder how closely drawn JJ is to network types that Sorkin et. al. had to deal with, especially during the second season, when JJ is more clearly threatening the survival of the show.

3. Bobbi Bernstein, played by Lisa Edelstein. More of Dan's past comes to light when he has to work with Bobbi, who claims they slept together in Spain and he never called her afterwards. Dan is convinced she's nuts, and at first Bobbi's is played in such a way that it seems like Dan's right.

Edelstein went on to play the call girl law student who gets mixed up with Sam Seaborn on The West Wing, keeping things in the Sorkin family.

2. Sally Sasser, played by Brenda Strong. Sally was perhaps the most threatening character to Sports Night; she clearly wanted Dana's job, and seemed to think that having Dana's men was an acceptable substitute. Dan classified her with vampires, Stepford producers and other things that go bump in the night.

But what made her threat seem so unusual were the times when she showed vulnerability and self-loathing. Consider how she lost it during Isaac's stroke when Dan just said hi to her. Also consider the soul-sucking emptiness of her brief time with Casey, when neither seemed particularly interested in being there other than to just be with someone.

1. Sam Donovan, played by William H. Macy. Sam Donovan was a ratings expert, brought in by CSC to shake things up and make changes that would increase viewership. And while this didn't happen for the real show, the brief tenure of Sam Donovan as a Sports Night character did shake things up and bring new energy to a show that was suffering from both a tenuous spot on air and from a lengthy plot line that was beginning to show some wear (Casey and Dana).

Donovan was a big-mouth and highly egocentric, beautifully played by Macy (who, for those who don't know, is the real-life husband of Felicity Huffman, who played Dana). I've mentioned my Macy fandom before, and it has no better vehicle than this role.

So I'm in the office this afternoon working on something, when the RD I share the office with asks me if the college is doing anything special to mark tomorrow.

My response? Tomorrow?

Yes, I have become what I've bemoaned here before, the idiot American who has put September 11 into their mental attic.

In my own defense, I've been having a lot of trouble keeping day and date straight the last couple of weeks. My post-RA training mental fog has run right through the first week of classes, abetted by a very busy time of things. I've had facility issues up the wazoo, while my officemate has had some hellacious roommate conflicts to sort out.

In any case, I looked back to last year to see how I marked things, and it turns out I ran my top 11 Sports Night moments, with coverage recap on the 12th. I may do something similar, depending on how much coverage I actually watch. My goal is to avoid most of it.

(Oh, and to answer the question that started this off, the college is lighting a candle in the chapel and putting out a book for rememberances, etc. They'll also be playing Mozart's Requiem from noon to 1 pm, not sure if they mean live or CD.)

So I was happy to see that the RIAA is targeting the real criminals in this file-trading thing. In the batch of lawsuits recently filed against "major traders" was a 12 year old Manhattan girl who downloaded such royalty-thieving songs as "If You're Happy and You Know It." I suppose she's not clapping her hands anymore.

One little-noticed move in this whole fight was the reduction in CD prices by Universal Music Group. Consider that for years we've been paying up to $20 for a CD, more than we paid for vinyl or cassettes, which kind of goes against the idea that CDs are supposed to be cheaper and easier to make than those other media. Interestingly, other labels haven't done the same, perhaps banking on the idea that the RIAA's bully tactics will drive people back to CDs.

Personally, I think they'll drive people to smarter file-sharing habits. Or to SBC Communications, who seems to be the only ISP willing to fight the RIAA on this.

In football news, my fantasy team is 0-1 and looking like crap. I kind of knew this was coming given my lack of focus at the draft, but I was also not helped by Philly getting shut out at home. I now have to hope the Eagles have the sort of day against the Pats that the Bills did. Ah, the sweet taste of fantasy-reality conflict.

Earlier in the week, Jerry Remy predicted that the Patriots would win 11 games this season. He'd made similar predictions the previous two seasons, and was dead on for both.

If yesterday was any indication, three will not be the charm for the Rem-Dog.

For those lucky bastards who missed it, the Pats went down in flames to the Buffalo Bills 31-0. There was no facet of the Patriots' game that worked as it should have yesterday. Heck, the team bus probably got lost going back to the airport. It was that sort of game.

Buffalo should worry people, especially in the AFC East, which is looking pretty lackluster. I wonder why the Pats can't get players like Drew Bledsoe and Lawyer Milloy?

The Sox game was only a minor irritant in comparison, as I'd already written it off based on Jeff Suppan being the starter. I'd have been much happier if they got blown out, to be honest. It was awful nice of the A's and Mariners to lose as well, though.

A quick correction - I mistakenly noted that Washington State lost to Idaho last week. They didn't. Thank Yahoo's college football section for the mistake. Not that it helped the Cougars today, as they dropped an OT decision to Notre Dame. Though it raises the question if they'd have rather lost to Idaho and then beaten ND in South Bend.

You'll excuse the confusion, especially after today's run of upsets. Most notable for me:

* Bowling Green beats Purdue. Nice news for the MAC, even if they didn't get Marshall beating Tennessee at home.

* Wake Forest beats NC State. Break up the Demon Deacons! Moment of synergy: their next opponent it Purdue.

* Villanova beats Temple. OK, Temple, let's just drop down to 1-AA and join your A-10 colleagues before someone gets hurt.

Locally, Northeastern bushwhacked Albany 51-0. In two games, the Huskies have scored 129 points, though 78 of those came against Stonehill College, a local D2 school. Stonehill at least managed to score 6 points, though I think it was against Brookline High School's defense.

In non-football news, spent a fair bit of the day doing wedding prep stuff. Got to visit the florist, which was very exciting (does sarcasm survive the typing phase?).

I also went to confession (now called reconciliation) for the first time since I was confirmed - 18 to 20 years ago. It should tell you something that I don't even quite remember how old I was when I was confirmed (I believe it was during 10th grade, so more likely 18 or 19 than 20 years). Regardless, it's been a while.

The problem that raises is that you don't have a very easy starting point for the process. I did start with more recent events, but at some point I realized that I was trying to recap roughly two decades and went into vapor lock. The priest was very helpful, and I think went easy on me as far as penance was concerned.

Outside of the new name, the other major change with confession is that it is increasingly done face to face. Now, when I was a kid, that was the last thing you wanted. You didn't want to have to look at the priest and either (a) be recognized, or (b) feel like you were being judged. Today I went the anonymous route, and I have to say that I think it was harder than if I got to look at their priest. Not sure why that is. Could be greater maturity (well, not much greater), could be an increased knowledge of the breadth of human failings making me less worried about my own. Could be I just want to see the other guy's face and look for signs of reassurance.

I'm not sure I could go every week - not without having a chance to build some sort of relationship with the priest, at any rate.

The only other thing of note at this point is that today was my first "day off" in 19 days. I celebrated by being on call (which is why day off is in quotes) and getting up at 5:30 this morning. I'm still trying to figure out which day I'll take off from work in the coming week.

So the last 15 minutes of TV watching has been odd. Let me count the ways.

1. One of the moderators of the Democratic presidential candidate debate is asking questions in Spanish. No one is answering in that language. I have to imagine there are some very confused Hispanics right now trying to figure out what John Kerry thinks about sending more troops to Iraq.

1a. I think I have a fair command of English, and I'm still trying to figure out what John Kerry thinks about sending more troops to Iraq. He spent most of his answer time criticizing W and talking about his Vietnam experience. My guess is that'll be a fairly common approach for Kerry regardless of the question.

(FWIW, I think Kerry did note at the end that sending more troops was wrong and that we should look for international help)

2. I'm unclear on the concept of Dick Clark's Rockin' NFL Kickoff Eve. I'm also similarly unclear on Britney Spears' hair as JQ is. Then again, when you have a new album in the works, anything goes.

2a. And when did we start auctioning off parts of our national heritage for things like a pre-game concert? Sarah caught this one, as the Mall's been tarted up to help with this venture in product placement that apparently has national security implications.

I suppose I should start looking forward to watching Hillary Duff, Ashanti, Sean Paul, and 3 Doors Down rock in the 2004 NFL season on board Old Ironsides.

3. During a break in MTV's Phat Football Jam Session I caught an ad for a drug called Levitra. In it a man was having trouble throwing a football through a tire swing, trouble that apparently ended when he started on the drug. This not-so-subtle message, as you may have guessed, is for the newest drug for erectile dysfunction.

3a. The ad was done up in purple text boxes and fonts that reminded me of ads for Nexium and omeprizole. It even uses a lit match as a symbol. I'm a little worried where the guy's burning sensation is located. He may need a different drug.

4. The debate, as you might imagine, is a bore. The only thing that snaps me back to reality are the recurring references to Ambassador Moseley Braun. Thankfully she was ambassador to New Zealand, where outside of knocking Steinlager it's hard to screw things up.

The other thing that surprises me is how poor all of these folks are on the stump. Oddly enough, Dennis Kucinich has probably been the most articulate. I suppose he's gotten a lot of one-on-one speaking practice at campaign stops.

A few TV notes to share.

Tonight's episode of The West Wing was the one where the vice president resigns. I hadn't seen it before, and having missed a few of the late episodes it cleared up a great deal of confusion. I will say that I will miss Tim Matheson's occasional performances, as Hoynes was a nice change of pace from the usual pattern of dialogue.

The episode also featured Matthew Perry as Joe Quincy, the new deputy counsel that made the connections that led to the VP's resignation. It was refreshing to see Perry play something non-comedic.

Of course, we'll get to see more of Quincy when Leo becomes VP, Josh moves up to chief of staff, and Quincy moves in to Josh's position. Then we'll get the tension of Josh having to work with the guy who brought down his mentor. And who knows, maybe Donna finds Quincy attractive.

Sticking with this show, the folks at TeeVee recently gave it their worst hour-long show Vidiot award. I don't know if I'd go that far, but I do agree with their rationale. The show does try to showcase actors too much, enjoys verbal games more than developing a sensible story, and season ending episodes are just getting worse each year (next year: Abby Bartlett is stuck on the International Space Station!).

I wonder if Aaron Sorkin has David E. Kelley's problem where there is only a finite number of episodes he can write before the wheels come off the cart. The TeeVee folks point to the election and how it became almost a non-story. For a show often credited for its verisimilitude, you'd think a sitting President who lied about his health and seems to draw crisis like a lightning rod would have had a tougher time, even with the buffoon that was running against him. Instead the election plot line was hijacked as a way to get rid of Rob Lowe.

In any case, I do have hope for the new season. Just one question: when did Dan Connor become Speaker of the House?

On Monday, I have the relative misfortune to catch Trivia Unwrapped, the new Food Network game show based on the Marc Summers-hosted Unwrapped. It's not very good. If you've watched the parent show at all, you'll be a leg up on the competition. In fact, many of the past episodes are worked into the game play, which seems downright idiotic. Then again, it cuts down on the amount of new material you need to write.

It makes one long for the days of Pressure Cooker and its replacement, Taste Test, hosted by David Rosengarten. I used to really dislike Rosengarten - too much like a cross between Felix Unger and Gene the Anal Retentive Chef - but I think I'd prefer him to Summers or Top 5 host Bobby Rivers. In fact, Food Network could do with more actual cooking in prime time that's not done by Emeril.

I had something else in my head, but it's gone now. Perhaps I'll bore you with it later.

Kudos to the Champion of the West for coming up with a "cowboy up" sighting outside of Kevin Millar. Apparently, Vincent D'Onofrio's character used the phrase in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent from last season. Millar should send him a signed baseball.

On his blog, the Champ then asked if Manny Ramirez was giving new meaning to the term, and I think he is. Clearly, the only way Manny is cowboying up right now is by heading to the barn dance for some refreshments.

(For those of you who have not heard, Manny was apparently too sick to play this weekend, but was healthy enough to engage in some level of social interaction with some friends on the Yankees - a team he apparently would like to play for after he's done with the Sox.)

I'm not sure about the latter part, but I do wonder if Manny will get the first part of things sooner than he thinks. It doesn't take an English lit grad student to read between the lines of the comments coming from Manny's teammates, all of which suggest they'd prefer a teammate who was willing to put it on the line as crunch time starts.

Manny had the same thing as Pedro, but not as bad. Pedro tried to pitch this weekend and was clearly not fully recovered, as the Yankees hit him pretty good. Pedro went to Chicago early to get some rest before his planned start against the White Sox. Manny, meanwhile, has been with the team but apparently needs to gargle more or something before his throat problem allows him to play again. For what it's worth, he may be back in the lineup today.

Expect Theo Epstein to work out some sort of SABR-infused trade over the winter meetings.

I've made some updates to Mark Across America (linked at left), mostly to include state capital information and some other stuff. Under New Hampshire you'll also find a link to a short report on a recent trip to Hampton Beach. The story is notable for its use of digital images I took my very own self using the new camera. So far so good.

And now that things are quieting down, one more ESPN.com fantasy group for Gridiron Challenge:

Group: Tungsten For Lisa
password: sideline

I was reading earlier that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution had to apologize for putting a small (described as "postage stamp-sized") photo of the oddly infamous Madonna-Britney kiss on their front page. Apparently you can show formerly whole bodies on the front page (there was a comparison to the paper's printing of war photos on the front page), but not 8 microns of tongue.

Apparently there are still some Atlantans who aren't too busy to hate. We should find them a hobby. I'm thinking they could write Queer Eye for the Straight Guy recaps for TV Without Pity.

I can't place my finger on it, but I'm mildly disgruntled with the ovation given to Roger Clemens today at Fenway in what may be his last appearance at the park. I'm not one of the many irrational Clemens haters, though part of me is convinced he purposely tanked the end of his Sox career to get out of Boston (though he may very well have been reacting to the writing on the wall).

Maybe it's just the result of another loss down the stretch to the Yanks. Whatever.

In a completely unrelated note, it's looking like tough times in Pullman. Washington State lost to Idaho yesterday. I could go on at length here about BU's loss to Idaho in the 1993 NCAA 1AA playoffs, but I won't. It's enough that on the same day I wrote at length about BU football my brother gave all four of my nephews Boston College hats. Bastard.

A couple of points relative to the previous post.

First, BU could clearly have done all the things they did to support womens' athletics and improve facilities while maintaining a football team of some sort. As I noted previously, you can take all the reasons I gave, probably come up with some of your own, and find a trustee or administrator who would offer it if asked to explain things.

Second, I think the thing that still gets me irked about this whole thing is the circular logic relative to the lack of fan support. You can probably guess how hard the administration worked to improve the team's viability, and how many of them showed up to games. Throw in some of the marketing geniuses who couldn't promote grass skirts to hula dancers, and you begin to see how it works. It's easy to can a team when you've helped create the situation you've used to justify the canning.

I would be remiss to not note the one group that's apparently out there fighting for the return of football to BU. BTUFF, Boston Terriers United for Football, formed not long after the announcement to fight for the team. If you spend some time poking around their website, you can get an idea of how much sucess they've had (consider that the PDF newsletter was originally written in 1999 - was PDF even around then?).

BTUFF's main accomplishment, to me at least, was the hiring of a plane to fly over commencement every year with a banner related to bringing football back. Having not been to commencement recently, I don't know if they still do that.

You see an old and tattered BTUFF sweatshirt at hockey games now and again, but that's about it. It's safe to say that the group hasn't captured the hearts and minds of BU Nation. Whether it's a genuine lack of interest in the team or the socialist newspaper approach of the newsletter is hard to say. Publishing the high salaries of the oppressors isn't going to get the proles to wave the red flags and man the barricades, especially for football.

I hope they'll renew their initiative with the new president, but in a less strident way. It's a good time to talk about the positive benefits of a football team, not screech about the pay levels of the past. Especially if/when Goldin cleans house.

While I've not gotten to watch too much college football today (I've got Colorado-Colorado St. going, with some check-ins on USC-Auburn and Ohio St.-Washington), among the scores that stood out (not sure which I like better - Cal 34, Southern Miss. 2 or what is currently Kansas State 34, Troy St. 5) was this one:

UConn 34, Indiana 10

The shock is not that Indiana lost. They are rarely good. It's more that UConn throttled them, took their nouveau D1 act to the Hoosiers. Not a bad way to open your new home, either.

What was really striking, though, was that while 2003 marks a new beginning for the UConn program, it simply marks the sixth football season to start without a BU program. For those of you who missed it (and, sad to say, many of you who read this regularly didn't), Boston University, my alma mater, dropped its football program at the end of the 1997 season. At the time, BU and UConn played in the same conference.

So why did BU drop their program? There are many reasons. The team lost millions every year. Low attendance. The threat of a Title IX lawsuit. Poor on-field performance. The traditional reverence for the hockey team. It all played a part.

John Silber was interested in canning the team when he got to BU in '73, and to be honest I'm surprised it took over 30 years for him to get the job done. It apparently takes a long time to pack a board of trustees.

Will a new president make a difference? Goldin is forging change among the upper administration, but if it's the same group of trustees what are the odds they'll relent? He's also got a reputation as a cost-cutter, which makes putting a money loser back in the budget seem very unlikely.

Which all means that I get to sit at home writing about this while fans in Storrs toast their victory. It's not even that I want BU to compete at that level. I'd be very happy with any team, be it in the Atlantic 10, the MAAC, Northeast, or independent. Non-scholarship would be fine, too. Anything so I can go to Nickerson Field 4 to 6 times a year, see friends, celebrate victory and lament losses.

Is that too much to ask?

Apparently, since a video clip of Kevin Millar lip-synching "Born in the USA" debuted last week at Fenway, the Sox have won six of their last seven games. Perhaps the only person who needed to cowboy up was Millar himself?

Speaking of which, the Sox were on the Sunday night ESPN game not long after Millar's "cowboy up" comment, and neither Jon Miller nor Joe Morgan knew what he was talking about. Millar claims it's a Texas expression. My experience with Texas is limited to my dad's formative years, and he never used the term. Perhaps it's the Lone Star State version of steamed hams.

My only comment on the VMA kissing thing is that I can't understand the hoopla. Didn't we figure out some time ago that Madonna will kiss, rub, grind, hump, mount, grope, lubricate, lick, insert, rotate, suck, and/or tie up anyone to get attention? The Britney thing is an angle, but given the story that Boggie linked to a while back regarding Britney's fascination with lesbian porn I can't say I'm surprised with Britney's involvement, either. Remember, she told us herself that she's not that innocent.

Another sign that training is taking its toll: we actually started a week from today, not yesterday as I said in that entry. I'm surprised I was only off by one day, to be honest.

And even though I was able to correct that mistake, I am still having trouble keeping straight what day it is. I've alternately thought that today was Wednesday or Friday (as well as actually knowing what day it is). You'd think I could tell the day by what training session I'm doing, but not so. I know the order of the sessions, but it's like I'm having them on Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 rather than days with actual names.

I will say that during this week I've gained tremendous respect for those people in my field who are older and have families. I'm not that old (in the grand scheme of things) and am just starting on the family road, and I feel like I'm behind where I used to be when I was young and single. I did have a couple of years where training was over while there was still some sunlight, so it could just be trouble re-adjusting to the longer schedule.

As some of you know, we're currently in the middle of RA training at Babson, which accounts for why I've been keeping things short or missing a day. With a new boss, this year's training is significantly different as the new boss is doing what she's used to doing. We're going later than usual, which is taxing, but the evening stuff is generally not that bad. Lots of game-related stuff, which keeps it light. However, if you ever try to adapt Jeopardy! for training purposes with, say, about 38 business undergrad students, be sure that the rules are really, really clear.

It makes me worry for my Family Feud-inspired alcohol education game that's coming Friday (though I wound up writing rules right after the Jeopardy! incident, where every other rule is related to the game being an educational experience and not something that should engender yelling).

Otherwise, it's RA training. We're about a week in (actually, if my computer's clock is accurate, we're a week, 2 hours and 6 minutes in), so it's just getting to the point where everyone is tired and ready for the big move-in day. That's Sunday here at Babson. Let's keep our fingers crossed for weather like last year - moderate temps, overcast, light but steady rain. It makes people keep their mind on their business and cuts down on the lollygagging.

The other thing with RA training is that it kind of cuts you off from the world, so even though there are all sorts of interesting things going on out there, I don't have much to say. I am happy that the Sox swept the Mariners. I am not so happy that they gave up 12 runs to the Jays last night, though I didn't see the carnage, just the end.

Oh, and I got a digital camera! I wound up getting the Canon PowerShot A70, which was a decent comprimise between the one I wanted (the Canon PowerShot S45) and how much debt I wanted to accrue. My first picture: a shot of the beach at Hampton Beach, where we took the RAs for a day away yesterday. I've taken about 20 pictures, and the batteries already need replacing. I suppose I shouldn't have expected much from the set included in the box.

A quick hit regarding one of the Blogalicious family of affiliated bloggers. Scott Monty and his wife Mindi have welcomed a new member to their family unit.

William Scott Monty III (here on out known as Will) came into the world this morning after putting his mom through quite the labor experience. I'll save the rest for the proud papa to recount. Not sure when he'll get back to it; you may just want to pop over and send a hearty congrats.

Oh, and while I'm picking on Yahoo News, let's throw in this headline that just popped up: U.S. students struggle with tuition hikes. Because, really, in the past students laughed at tuition hikes while they lit their cigars with $100 bills.

As you may have read, indie/outsider music sensation Wesley Willis passed away recently. If you get your news from Yahoo, you found out about his death on August 21 today. Not sure why it took them four days to let us know about this.

In any case, one hopes that Willis is in a better place, wuppin' Batman's ass.

While the story I read today about US troops using confiscated AK-47s as personal weapons in Iraq had more to do with the way some troops are outfitted and fighting outside of their normal parameters (such as tankers having to fight guerilla actions outside of their heavily armored rides using a couple of rifles and pistols), it did remind me of earlier problem with the M16.

While I'm hardly knowledgeable enough to weigh in on the AK v. M16 debate, I do have to say that the utilitarian (and sturdy) nature of the AK is impressive.

Final LLWS Update: Saugus lost the third place game to the team from the Netherlands Antilles. Hensley Meulens would be proud.

Both JQ and Dwight talk about some important pre-season injuries in the NFL (and I join Dwight's fraught watch on the Eagles, which is especially concerning given that my fantasy team's success will fairly well mirror that team's actual success).

JQ marvels at the gall of charging full-price to mostly watch guys you last saw at the Kelly Tire Blue-Grey Game, but seems more at peace with doing so that I would be.

I tend to think the exhibition season is too long. The CFL gives each team 2 games, which should be fine for the NFL as well. Given the off-season conditioning and the in-camp scrimmages against other teams, how many practice games to teams really need to get into playing shape? I know, it's about the money, but do you think that the injuries to Vick and Pennington are really going to help the bottom line?

I know that fewer games would also cut into the NFL's drive to become the One Great American Sport. Then again, without those young stars, Tag and the boys won't be able to make their takeover complete (then again again, if they're still available as players on the latest version of Madden, many football fans [or "fans"] won't care if they're playing in real life).

(CFL aside: the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, four years removed from winning the Grey Cup, are 0-10. Please send your condolences to Mike Burger at...)

Well, the Saugus kids didn't fare so well in the rematch with Boynton Beach, Florida, losing something like 9-2. They couldn't get much started by way of offense, and a couple of late home runs by the Floridians put it out of reach. Still, a nice run for the locals. The Florida team will face the team from Japan for all the marbles this evening.

On a different level of baseball, I got an interesting email from the North Shore Spirit, a Northeast League team that plays in Lynn. They've made the post-season by winning the first half of the season, and as part of touting this they included this verbal bon-bon:

"The entire North Shore Spirit organization is getting ready for the first-ever
Spirit playoffs at the New Fraser Field.  Remember to mark your calendars for
September 3rd and 4th at 7p.m.  At least you can count on one team in
Massachusetts to be in the playoffs this season!"

Considering they probably couldn't beat the Sarasota Red Sox, never mind actual major league competition, they may want to tone the rhetoric down a notch.