OK, am I the only one who is tired of seeing Reggie Bush on every commercial? I know, Peyton is everywhere also, but at least he has done something. I cannot remember a time when an athlete was hyped so much before he did anything (maybe Tiger, and obviously that panned out). Yes, he was part of a Cinderella story last year, but now the clock has struck midnight and Bush has turned back into the too flashy, undersized back that the Texans passed on in the draft (they are beginning to look pretty smart now that Mario Williams is coming of age).
We should all thank the Packers for taking down two of our NFC east rivals in the first two games. I still think the Packers are not that good, but if they can win games like these last two they will make the playoffs. By the way, wasn't that TD pass by Romo as he was going down to his knees Favre-esk? Tony, like Brett, looks like he really loves the game. I like watching guys like that.
Cleveland Browns Crap! Just when I thought we were destined for the #1 pick in next year's draft y'all gotta go and hang half a century on the Bengals. Fortunately, our pick ought to still be pretty good because even after scoring 51 they still almost lost the game. Brady Quinn better get pretty comfortable on the bench for a while.
The Bengals are well on their way to returning to their rightful place as the "Bungles."
Aren't you glad that you ended up with the second pick in your fantasy draft and someone else picked LT?
Lastly, I'll say my piece about spy-gate, or tape-gate, or whatever kind of gate people are calling it. First of all, when are we going to stop tacking "gate" onto the end of every scandal? In 100 years if the President sends men to steal documents from the Four Seasons are they going to refer to the scandal as Four Seasons-Gate? Or from then on will all scandals end in "seasons" rather that "gate?" Anyway, I think the league was too soft on the Patriots. Obviously the Pats were cheating to gain an edge. If they got nothing from it they would not have risked punishment by doing it. If I can recall correctly, the Patriots did not dominate in any of their Super Bowl victories or on the way to those Super Bowls. It seems like there were several occasions when it came down to a field goal. If they were spying then as well maybe they got just enough of an edge to win by a field goal. Sure they were a great team, but they just needed that extra edge to win as often as they did. It reminds me of the arguments some disillusioned Barry Bonds fans try to use to change the subject. Was he a Hall-of-Famer before he took steroids? Of course he was. Did the extra boost of power and longevity allow him to break Hank Aaron's record? I think we all know the answer to that. Steroids turned several of Bonds' would-be warning track fly outs into homers just like knowing the opposing team's defensive calls allowed the Pats to eek out a victory from time to time.
I heard a reference to this song on Sports Center the other night so I think it is pretty main stream. But in case you have not heard it, here it is. I'm sure you will not be able to get the tune out of your head, especially when it is business time.
I spent most of my adolescence wasting time with my friend Craig. Our activities rarely extended beyond playing basketball, reading comic books or playing video games. But sometimes boredom got the best of us and we would try something different.
On one such occasion I decided to give Craig's new Rollerblades a try. Looking back, that he even owned a pair of Rollerblades seems ridiculous, but whatever. I walked out into his driveway and strapped them bad boys on. Once my feet were adorned with said footwear, Craig helped me take position in the middle of the street in front of his house. This particular street, Spanish Trail, seemed like an ideal place to stage my first-ever Rollerblade mission. Starting in front of Craig's house it was pretty straight and, best of all, downhill.
Standing on the crest of the hill, staring down Spanish Trail, I was wearing the following: a t-shirt, shorts and Rollerblades. I guess it was youthful hubris, but that this could turn out to be anything but my finest hour never crossed my mind.
With a healthy shove from Craig, I was off. I started out slow but before long I was picking up speed. I started drifting to the left and that's when I realized that Craig had left 'turning' out of his tutorial. He must have remembered too, because at about that time I heard him yelling behind me, "It's like skiing! Turn like you're skiing!"
By this time I was barrelling down the street, veering toward the drainage ditch and Craig's instructions seemed to come at just the right time. I know how to ski, so I shifted my weight, attempting a hockey-style stop. Bound by the laws of physics, the polycarbonate wheels were unable to maintain contact with the street and pretty quickly I was horizontal, flying through the air.
These are the things my brain processed:
1. "Craig has never been skiing, why would he know how to stop?"
3. "I am about the hit the street, which from this new perspective, can best be described as an asphalt cheese grater."
5. "Is that #$%&@ laughing at me?"
We live in different towns now.
I couldn't resist making this lyric from Lyle Lovett's song "Redneck Woman" the title of this post, but it has little to do with what comes next. So, I encourage you to take some time away from whatever you are doing and give this a listen. If your day does not improve by a factor of 10, I will refund every dime. Enjoy. |
A movie based on one of my favorite books, "Into the Wild," is coming out soon and the trailer looks fantastic. The story is based on the life of Chris McCandless, a drifter who starved to death in the Alaskan wilderness. McCandless came from an upper class family but rejected the trappings of his privileged lifestyle. Instead, he saw himself as an adventurer and was heavily influenced by the writings of Jack London.
What I find most intriguing about the book is the seemingly very honest portrayal of McCandless. He is not a sympathetic character, but John Krakauer, an outdoor journalist and seasoned mountain climber, is such an exceptional storyteller that it doesn't matter. Krakauer brings to bear much of his own experience in telling this story and in his hands it feels very authentic.
After graduating from college, McCandless cut off contact with his family and set off across the U.S. He tramped around the western states for a couple of years, living a transient lifestyle that was largely absent of any meaningful human contact. His ultimate goal: to disappear into the Alaskan wilderness and shed the civilized world entirely. When he finally got there he survived for almost six months, which is pretty amazing.
I read an article about the movie and in it the author compares McCandless to John Muir, the famous conservationist. In my opinion, making this comparison is irresponsible. Muir was at least an advocate for the great outdoors. McCandless, on the other hand, simply viewed nature as a place to escape to. He was, after all, homeless and living in an abandoned bus when he died of hunger and exposure. But because this bus happened to be located in the wilds of Alaska it takes on a completely romanticized perspective.
But it's still an interesting story and I hope the movie is faithful to the tone of Krakauer's narrative. I've included the trailer below.
Is this a typo? If not has such a thing ever happened before?
| MLB | ||||
| | Texas vs. Baltimore | 30 3 | F | |
This is a perfect example of why I hate baseball, especially regular season baseball. I was noticing that yesterday Baltimore beat Texas 6 to 3. How does that happen from one day to the next? Would the Cowboys ever lose to the Redskins 14 - 6 and then come back the very next day and beat the same team 182 - 21? It is all because in baseball the game relies far too heavily on one man - the pitcher. If he is on fire then it does not matter if the rest of the team sucks. On the other hand the rest of the team could score 29 runs, but (as apparently happened here) the pitcher could always give up 30! In my opinion baseball, as with dictatorships, puts too much power in the hands (or arm) of one guy.
This game must rank 4th for all time greatest moments in Ranger's history behind 3 things that Nolan Ryan did.
To see an extremely funny video go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoR2X8eZtns