Sports Weekend

MSU vs. Pitt
Red Sox vs. Yankees
U-M vs. Notre Dame
Shit, even USC vs. Nebraska and Shock vs. Mercury

As you can tell, I'm excited for the sports on TV this weekend.

Here's my predictions:
MSU, Sox take 2 of 3, U-M big, USC, and Shock win title number 3.

OH how I hate....

A few years ago I created a "OH how I hate Ohio State" cheer. Or maybe I heard it from somewhere, stole it, and forgot where it came. Anyway, it is perfect because Ohioans love that their state begins with OH. After becoming immersed in the OSU culture (which is the culture of 90% of Ohio), I have admired their team pride to the point where I am even a little jealous. They even played "Hang on Sloopy" at the Indians game, which is 2 hours away from campus.

As MSU grads, we have a pretty similar distaste for U-M. However, I haven't enjoyed U-M's recent downfall. It's not fun to see them lose on New Year's and it is sad to watch the final nails put into Lloyd Carr's career. I have that "nobody picks on my brother" attitude with U-M. Their loss to App State and ass kicking from Oregon makes the Big 10 look terrible (Northwestern v. Northeastern... quality football you can ONLY watch on the Big Ten Network!)

Most OSU fans, however, revel in the losses. I would say local tv and radio spends 60% of their college football coverage on U-M's downfall and 40% on OSU. It's as if they are saying "hey, we know we're going to face our own reality vs. Washington this week, but look how bad U-M is doing!" I saw a series of OSU sports drawings in Kroger... one of them was a crowd of OSU fans at a game with 2 sad looking U-M fans in the middle. The glory they take in U-M's misfortunes is pathetic. It makes me feel they envy U-M and the whole state of Michigan and seeing U-M lose gives them more self-worth.

I also heard this week a story about how cops pick up U-M fans who may have decided to spend the night in their car and allow them to sleep in a private jail cell instead so they can avoid people who roam the streets looking for cars with Michigan plates to damage. I know the story sounds like a joke, but the person was serious.

I had my mind made up until I spoke with one of my teachers. He has been teaching at OSU for years and he just had his 20 year anniversary with us. (Side note: Do the math... the guy started teaching with us when I was 4. And I'm his boss! It makes me feel like Topher Grace in the movie "In Good Company". I love it.) I asked him today if the fans at the Horseshoe went crazy over the U-M's loss. He said the OSU game was over before U-M's historic App State loss, but that he wasn't happy to see it. Then he began to compare U-M to a brother, and I realized not every OSU fan was envious.

Big Ten Network

As I have said before, I love my monopoly-on-most-of-Ohio cable company, Time Warner Cable. We get perfect reception on each one of the nearly 70 channels we receive and it costs just over $70 with internet. (Side note: writing that last sentence made me have one of those really weird, "oh yeah, I live in Ohio." moments. I still am not used to it. Continue...) There has been a pretty entertaining battle lately in the media between my media conglomerate and the Big Ten Network. However, as I sit here on a Saturday afternoon with the option of watching West Virginia/Marshall, Oklahoma/Miami, or Nebraska/Wake Forest, I am pissed. Here's the problem.

The Big Ten Network is charging cable companies $1.10 per customer for rights. (They are charging a ridiculous $.10 per customer in non-Big 10 states). If everyone did this, Time Warner would have to pay $77 to all of my networks for me to watch them.

They vowed that the price is worth it because they are bringing loads of content to Big 10 Fans. Their website claims:

"...the Big Ten Network will feature shows produced by students from Big Ten Universities that will showcase academic breakthroughs, honored alumni, current students, renowned faculty, as well as the academic challenges to name a few."

A) It doesn't. #2) If it does eventually, I don't give a shit and neither does anyone else. We don't need a channel that is a commercial for local universities.

Here is what they are actually showing today: 4 hours of a show called "Big 10 Tonight", 6 hours of a show called "Friday Night Tailgate", 4 hours of a pregame show, postgame show, and evening wrap up, 2 hours of the 1999 Minnesota/Penn State game, and an impressive 7 football games. However, if you have the station on basic cable... you only end up getting to watch 2 football games on a football Saturday! The network doesn't add any more value than the ESPN/ESPN2/ABC Regional coverage. The scary thing is that they will be carrying 8 MSU basketball games, almost guaranteeing that I won't be able to watch any MSU games this year.

Cable companies have been extremely resistant because they know the Big 10 Network doesn't add value and is charging a ridiculous fee. While their negotiations are failing miserable, they decided to step up their ads. Their current commercials feature different Big 10 coaches making statements like "True Buckeye fans deserve the Big 10 Network." The league has grown too greedy and is forcing their coaches to make asses of themselves.

Cleveland Rocks

Before I dive into my weekend Cleveland trip, I feel it is necessary to discuss college football because I can't believe that you, Mike, both love the NFL (your favorite sport, I believe you have said in the past) and like college football the least. Here's my top 5 things that I love about college football (in no particular order).

The upsets. Appalachian State was paid $400,000 to come destroy Michigan's season and put the first nail in Lloyd (not David) Carr's career at U-M. While that loss was the first time Even if the Raiders beat the Colts, you would forget about it by the next day.

One and done. Michigan's national title hopes are over. Every game matters and they proved it this weekend.

The pagentry. Every school has goofy traditions and peculiar trophies to play for. Just another thing to add to the excitement.

The different offenses and trick plays. The plays Boise State pulled out were ridiculous. Even more ridiculous was that they worked perfectly. Besides what Michael Vick used to do on the field, one NFL offense doesn't look too different from the other.

Rivalries. I had to hear my boss play a song called "we don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan, we're from Ohio" If you have never heard it, enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx5TVBf6cWM (Ignore the added Gwen Stefani beat) This song is another example of how I both love the area's passion and hate the fact that it's against me.

Ok, now that's off my chest, the Tigers season is over. I am sad to say it, but I had the opportunity to travel to enemy territory this weekend and see the Indians in action. Here's why you should start looking forward to next year:

-The Indians only have one starter that's hitting over .300 They also have nobody that is hitting under .255 They are vastly consistent from the top of the lineup to the bottom. Detroit's problem is that they are the exact opposite. Maggs is having an MVP caliber season. The Tigers also have a few guys that aren't pulling their own weight (Inge is hitting .234 and Pudge is a liability).

-They don't really have any holes in their pitching staff. Again, nobody is going to really blow you away, but nobody is going to give up a game the way Todd Jones can. Plus, the Tigers have had way too many injuries, forcing them to start 11 different guys this year, only 3 of whom have started over 20 games (If you're counting at home, the Indians have started 8; half of whom have made 20+ starts.) It's difficult if you can't get your staff into a consistent groove.

-The way both teams look right now, turning around those 6 games looks insurmountable. Catching up to the wild card lead is a little more realistic, but I wouldn't bet against the Yankees.

I'll leave you with my impressions of Jacobs Field compared to the other stadiums I've visisted:
-They have a really cool looking 3 story restaurant off the third base side
-There is an amazing LED board that spans almost all of left field
-The scoreboard has a giant LED screen that they only fully utilized during the player intros, which were awesome. Except for the fact that they played Dropkick Murphy's "Shipping off to Boston" - a great song, but didn't make sense in the context
-The city skyline beyond the outfield was disappointing. They should've put the stadium next to the Browns' off Lake Erie
-They did a great job of positioning the upper deck close to home plate so you could feel close to the game
-The loudest crowd pop was for Kenny Lofton

Overall, I would rank the stadiums I've been to:
PNC Park (Pittsburgh) - Great view of the city, can bring outside food in
Fenway - Historic
Camden - Crab cakes, tvs under the upperdeck overhang were very useful during rain delay
CoPa - Giant tigers, GM Fountain
Jacobs Field - see above
Citizens Bank (Philly) - Amazing cheesesteaks, neon liberty bell sign swung for HRs

I'll leave Skydome and Comisky off the list since it was so long ago that I visited them. Next up will be Great American Ballpark in Cinci next year.

Sports Musings

I watched ESPN's 25 hours of College Football program. It was very impressive, although they weren't broadcasting for all 25 hours. So I don't get where they came up with the idea. Here's my thoughts:
-Jesse Palmer should be hereforth announced as Jesse "the Bachelor" Palmer.
-Palmer announced that he is most excited about the Big East and all of their potential teams that could go undefeated and get into the National Championship game: Louisville, West Virginia, Rutgers, Southern Florida... Yes, he did in fact say he was excited for Southern Florida's chances at getting into the National Championship game.
-Palmer rounded out his excellent commentary by calling Michigan's coach David Carr. Yes, his career with the Texans was so bad, he decided to pack it in and coach.

The summary of my previous thoughts is Jesse Palmer is a douche.

Overall, the show was really exciting. College football is my favorite sport and I now live in one of the top 5 College Football cities. You know it's a college football town when you see Kirk Herbstreet's face planted on the side of a Vitamin Water truck. The excitement here is palpable and students don't come back for another 2 weeks. The sad thing for me is that college football team is my second least favorite team (behind Nebraska).

Fantasy Trades

Assuming you have the second set of players on your team, would you accept the following trades?

1. Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens for Tom Brady and Larry Fitzgerald
2. Willie Parker and LJ Smith for Joseph Addai (your starting TE is Chris Cooley)
3. Carson Palmer and Cadillac Williams for Donovan McNabb and Willie Parker (this was the bs counter offer I received)
4. Brandon Jacobs for Lee Evans (the trade I may propose to Mike)
5. Calvin Johnson for Marques Colston (the trade I may propose to Kevin)
6. Brian Westbrook and Jason Witten for Joseph Addai (your starting TE is Dallas Clark)
7. Brian Westbrook and Vernon Davis for Joseph Addai (same situation, different TE)
8. Tony Romo and Frank Gore and Calvin Johnson for Peyton Manning (your #3 WR is Anthony Gonzales, your RBs are Edgerrin James and Fred Taylor, and your other QB is Steve McNair)
9. Philip Rivers and Marvin Harrison for Tom Brady and Braylon Edwards (your other WRs are Steve Smith and Torry Holt, your other QB is Matt Leinart)
10. Tony Romo for Eli Manning

MSU Football

Fuck them. We get a new coach and all of a sudden they are trying to revitalize the program. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for that. The revitalization I am looking for will be seen on the field with their improved effort. Not through some lame overhyped marketing promo for season tickets http://adcsquad.com/msu/fb/wearespartans/index2.html

Why am I so pissed with the football program then? In my attempt to find tickets for the MSU/OSU football game for the center of our semi-planned reunion, I discovered away game tickets are available to season ticketholders only. They should be honored that they have fans willing to drop $30-$40 to watch their crappy program hundreds of miles away from East Lansing. They can hardly get a home field advantage in East Lansing. (Remember the sea of scarlet chanting OH-IO during last year's game at Spartan Stadium?) Never fear, my dad's friend is a season ticketholder who will most definitely not be interested in treking down to Columbus, so we still should be able to get tickets... details to come.

I did come across this, which completely made my day, however unlikely it may be. If they wanted to create a marketing campaign, this is what they should have done. Credit unknown.

The Return: Why Soccer is Better

ok, I'm back. I may not post too often, but it will be fun to discuss sports again with you guys. I'm going to start by delivering Kevin with his soccer post I promised over a year ago.

Stadium Experience
I have a much better perspective on the subject now, as I have actually gone to a live soccer game. The experience seemed much more intimate since you can sit closer to the field (for less money). I really enjoyed the die hards that were chanting and drumming. I did not enjoy the people throwing streamers at the opposing goalie -while it was funny, it took 3-4 times before security kicked the person out. What was worse, every time the Crew scored, the team launched confetti that blew over the entire opposing goal. That kind of overcelebration and indirect taunting doesn't belong in sports. The final aspect of the stadium experience - the "promo squad" - was dull. They halftime dance team's routine doesn't come off well when done in the middle of a wide open field and the fan contest lacked imagination.

Game Play
They don't score much. There's two sides to it - boring because of the low scores and frequent ties, exciting when someone actually scores. I don't mind the low scoring so much, but I don't like the 1-0 games or the ties. What I do like is that the game will end after 90 minutes, plus an extra minute or two of "stoppage time", which in my opinion is handed out arbitratily. It seemed like the perfect amount of soccer. Baseball can drag on for over 3 hours too frequently. Plus, the running clock avoids the lull that baseball has between innings and during pitching changes. I can't go much deeper into the game, because I don't understand it enough myself. Put the ball in the net, but don't crowd around it like every 5 year old's game.

Intangibles
To really enjoy soccer, you can't limit yourself to MLS. You have to look at EPL (impressed that I used the acronym?) or at the World Cup. As I said before, the deep rooted rivalries among countries is still alive in soccer, unlike in the Olympics. There's a reason why it's one of the most popular sports among kids. The problem in America with the sport is that there aren't enough people that stay attached to the sport and continue that interest into watching it professionally. It is possible that, slowly, the MLS will give kids athletes to be awed by and will gradually peak more and more people's interest. Much like Jose Canseco both gave birth to and temporarily destroyed my interest in baseball. Sadly, hockey is leaving that door open for them to creep into the #4 slot in America's sports pasttimes.

# 4

Wow... I was really bored tonight and decided I must finish this damn thing off. Then I noticed I began writing this in April. It seems like a fitting time to post a blog on why baseball is the best sport.

Why Baseball is the Best Sport
It IS America's pasttime... it is the American sport.

Stadium Experience
The fact that each baseball park is different used to annoy me, but now it is probably the one thing that I enjoy most about the game. The ivy at Wrigley, Yankee stadium's parking lot behind home plate, and of course, the Green Monster. Each makes the stadium experience unique. Half of the fun in going to a game for many people is the romanticism of the large, lush field set in a gigantic ballpark. I still remember exactly how I felt when I first walked into Fenway. You just don't get that kind of feeling by walking into an arena. But you don't have to go to a Major League park to enjoy the baseball experience. You can enjoy a deep minor league system (approximately 245 teams); each packed with wacky promotions that are focused on one thing: entertaining the fans.

The Game
A simplified explanation of baseball is that it is a matchup between a batter and a pitcher... any mistake is magnified for everyone to see. The game really is more complex than that; intentional walks, stolen bases, double plays. Which brings me to a key difference between baseball and most other sports; the importance of statistics. In soccer and hockey, I can only think of basic numbers like goals, saves, shots, assists, etc. Basketball goes a little deeper: rebounds, blocks, 3 pointers. Baseball is filled with statistics; especially after Moneyball. WHIP, RISP, HRANSP. That last one stands for Home Runs Allowed to Non Steroid Players. It hasn't officially invented yet, but it will be used to evaluate pitchers from 1990-2010. So how does the importance of these numbers make baseball better? It attracts fans to follow more than just a teams' record. And it can make a player stand out. Take a guy like Chris Shelton, who can have a phenomenal first month and he's the talk of the league. Did ESPN really compare him to Bonds in the first few weeks of the season? Yes, yes they did. Until he came back to Earth and was shipped to Toledo. The other aspect of baseball games that separates them from soccer is that each game takes on its own personality. You can have a pitchers duel or a shootout. I guess soccer may have this too, but the difference between an offense game and a defensive one is one goal.

Intangibles
The cornerstone of the league is its history... 2004: end of the Curse of the Bambino, 2005: Black Sox Curse ends. I hate to say it, but Bonds chasing down the Home Run record is deservedly a big story. I know soccer has its history too, but the MLS started in 1996. (Yes, I went all out and did research for this. MLB started in 1903 in comparison.) My theory as to why soccer is bigger in just about every country outside of the U.S. (besides the talent gap) is that the rivalries are much more real. Take the heated Poland vs. Germany matchup. We can't have that kind of rivalry because we have few geographic neighbors. Without any competitive rivalries for Americans to become incensed about, we lose the soccer intensity that other countries have. Other countries may hate us and our soccer team, but they aren't rivals.

The mild soccer interest that the U.S. has during the World Cup pales in comparison to the annual summer pasttime. The 162 regular season games and playoff games lead us gracefully from spring to fall. Opening day is a sign that spring is just ahead, the All Star game is the Summer Classic and the World Series brings in fall.

Conclusion
The sport of baseball may be losing its grip as America's pasttime, but it isn't losing out to soccer.

Countdown Begins

I too have decided to end my blog. I haven't posted in over a month and I don't feel the need to put words onto the internet anymore. Plus, I want to only write about sports and I really can't keep that up over the summer. BUT I do want to end with a bang, so I've planned out four final entries. This is not one of them. One will argue in favor of Kevin as to why soccer is the best sport. One will side with Mike that baseball is the best. The third will take my own perspective on why hockey is the best and it will highlight my experience in beginner hockey lessons. The final entry is a secret, but it won't be about sports. I do not know how long it will take me to finish them, but my guess is that it might take a little while time for me to decide how I can argue soccer is the best sport. Mike and Kevin, I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog in the past.

96

I've finally seen every episode in the first four seasons of 24. That's 96 hours of Jack-killing, Kim-kidnapping, terrorist-hunting, Nina-escaping, plot-twisting, agent-turncoating, nuclear-chasing, Chloe-tapping, Tony-wounding, and suspect-torturing episodes of 24. The one thing I learned from watching 3 compacted seasons? Don't watch episodes back-to-back-to-back... the show's gaps are wider. For example: in the virus-filled Season 3, why do Jack and Tony act like they're chasing down the "virus" for the first 6-8 episodes when they know the virus isn't even in the terrorist's possession yet? Why did they plan to chase after a fake virus? If I had watched the season when it originally aired, I probably would've accepted that plot gap easier. Either way, it is still the most ass-kicking show on TV. Will I stop combining words to form adjectives? No.

Most Disturbing Episode - Day 3, 6:00am-7:00am
In the last 20 minutes, Michelle distributes suicide pills to the virus victims and Jack kills Chapelle according to the terrorists demands. Couldn't he have just turned Chapelle over to the terrorists and let them kill him?

Best Line - Day 5
"The only reason that you're conscious right now is because I don't want to carry you." - Jack to Derek

Worst Subplot Spanning Seasons - Sherry and Wayne Palmer, Seasons 1-3
Watching these two try to fix President Palmer's problems (sorry for the unavoidable alliteration...haha) was annoying. They're the Roger Clintons of the Palmer administration.

Best Villian - (tie) Victor Drazen and Nina Myers
Anyone who has seen Speed knows Dennis Hopper is a good villain, no matter what. I kind of liked the Nina subplot spanning a few seasons. Definitely ended at the right time, though.

Worst Villain - Marie Warner, Season 2
Just terrible. We went from Dennis Hopper to this? Watching her claim to hate Americans was like seeing Hulk Hogan pretending to wrestle. We want to believe, but it's not gonna happen.

Best Coincidence - Michelle Dessler's Virus Immunity, Season 3
At one point, a medic claims it would have 100% infection rate, yet Michelle miraculously has an immunity to the lethal virus.

Best Ending, Season 4
Jack is dead, Jack isn't dead, Jack walks off into Mexican sunset. It had a solid ending (unlike season 3) and it was developed at the beginning of the next season (unlike season 2).


Season Rank (in order of best to worst)
Season 1 - Always imitated, never repeated
Season 3 - Decent, but ended with a wimper. Felt like a formula of first two.
Season 4 - I got tired after the 5th terror plot.
Season 2 - Kim babysitting? Cyprus recordings? Tiny blonde radical? No.

I am all ready to rank season 5 at the top of the list, but I am reluctant. I like that they are sticking to one primary terror plot. However, I don't like that they've killed Michelle, Edgar, and Tony. I'm not upset that Palmer was killed because he really can't play a big role anymore. However, I'm afraid they're going to kill more characters coming up (Note, I wrote that line before Tony and Rudy-Lynn were killed). So I'm going to wait before I rank it amongst the others.

Another interesting note: in 24 The Videogame, you can play as Jack, Tony, Chase, Michelle, and.... Kim. (Kim is the hardest difficulty because no matter what you do, you get kidnapped.) Interesting that Tony and Michelle are dead now and Chase is M.I.A.

Detroit Mistakes

In 2002 and 2003, two Detroit teams had top three draft picks and both teams have failed to develop that player. The Pistons won the NBA Championship despite selecting Darko whereas the Lions have lost a lot of games with Joey Harrington at the offensive helm. Both teams now must decide what to do with their picks. With the Lions soon to be open to free agency and the Pistons on the verge of the trade deadline, the two Detroit teams must decide on their futures.

What QBs did the Lions miss out on by picking Harrington? Patrick Ramsey, Josh McCown, David Garrard, Rohan Davey. Granted, Jeremy Shockey, Javon Walker, Ed Reed, and Clinton Portis were still available, but it was a weaker draft overall… many good role players, few superstars. (Interesting fact: The Bills picked Mike Williams (OT) with the #4 pick and the Cowboys picked Roy Williams (S) with the #8 pick.)

The Pistons passed on Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Dewayne Wade, etc. That does hurt, but who knows if they could’ve blossomed under Larry Brown’s tight grip on rookies. D-Wade would’ve and Melo may have… but Chris Bosh?

I think that one of these teams should part with their mistake and the other still has time to reverse it. The Pistons should (and will) trade Darko before the Feb. 23 trade deadline. The deal I heard about with Orlando is crap. They’re only looking to dump salary and possibly pick up a future 1st round pick. They really can’t afford to give up Carlos Arroyo to do so.

The Lions should give Joey one last, one-last-chance. Not because he deserves it. He seems like a really good guy, but his playmaking abilities are lacking. They need to keep him because the free agency market is abysmal. They aren’t in a position to draft a top QB because they won too much last year. They should stick with Harrington and draft a 2nd tier QB and see who can thrive under Mike Martz’s offense.

Quote of the Day

"I'm so pissed. I got my paper back and my professor gave me a poor grade. I looked over his corrections and I only had 2-3 grammical errors." -Girl I overheard talking on her cell phone.

Ok, but how many words in the paper did you make up?

Fantasy Super Bowl XL

To figure out my Super Bowl prediction, I fired up the old Madden 06 and put in the matchup. For those of you who haven't seen two computer teams compete, it is kinda cool at first, but gets boring pretty quickly. Here's the scoring plays:

2nd Quarter 3:39
The Steelers keep moving the ball with Bettis. On 3rd-and-6 from Seattle's 23, Ben Roethlisberger throws a perfect play action pass to Hines Ward for a touchdown. That makes Pittsburgh 5-6 on 3rd Down Conversions so far.
7-0 Steelers

2nd Quarter 3:26
On the first play, Shaun Alexander goes off for a 71 yard touchdown run, completely untouched by the Steelers D... I'd put money down that we won't see that tonight.
7-7

2nd Quarter 2:06
Seahawks get the ball on their own 28 and score another touchdown on the first play... Chris Hope intercepts Hasselbeck, fumbles it, and Shaun Alexander returns it 66 yards for a touchdown. Virtual Bill Cowher starts shouting from the sidelines, but he doesn't look anything like Sargent Slaughter... he just looks evil.
14-7 Seahawks

2nd Quarter 1:16
Josh Brown kicks an impressive 55 yard field goal after Seattle goes 3-and-out... again. I could use some buffalo wings, nacho dip, and ice cream cake about now.
17-7 Seahawks

3rd Quarter :33
After Roethlisberger tried throwing a 2nd-and-8 pass into triple coverage and an incompletion, Jeff Reed kicks a 28 yard field goal.
17-10 Seahawks

4th Quarter :59
Josh Brown kicks a 44 yard insurance field goal.
20-10 Seahawks

4th Quarter :46
Roethlisberger throws a 77 yard pass to Antwaan Randle El.

And that's it! Pittsburgh couldn't recover the onside kick, so Seattle wins 20-17.
Troy Polamalu intercepts two passes.
Roethlisberger goes 14-28 for 220, 2 TDs and 1 INT
Hasselbeck is 2-9 for 31 Yds and 3 INTs
Shaun Alexander rushes 15 times for 137 yards and 2 TDs (9.1 yards per carry) and is named the MVP.

I'll go with this as my prediction... Seahawks 20, Steelers 17.

Facts

The MSU 2000 Championship Basketball Team's record after 20 games: 15-5
This year's team record after 20 games: 15-5

The Detroit Lions have not finished in the top half of the NFL in terms of total offense since 1998, Barry Sanders' last season. They finished 20th this year. Barry Sanders averaged 5.0 yards per carry over his career (3062 attempts for 15269 yards).

New Day

I'm very nervous to start my new job tomorrow.

Fantasy College Alumni Football

I decided to make a USC team in Madden when it hit me... could I draft a whole team of USC alumni? If not USC, then what school could I use? How could I make my last day of work useful? So, I sought out the ultimate alumni NFL team. Here's what I found.

USC
Carson Palmer has at his disposal: Keary Colbert, Keshawn Johnson, Mike Williams, and Johnnie Morton. Justin Fargas starts at running back, which would obviously provide more options if this were the 2007 Madden version. Defensive line includes Shaun Cody and Kenechi Udeze with little in between. Offensive line isn't much better... between the two centers in the NFL, it appears they have a total of 0 games experience. Plus I don't know what I'd do without a single guard. With Lofa Tatupu, Willie McGinest, Chris Claiborne, and Junior Seau, I'd say linebacker would by far be the strongest position. Since I lack a kicker or a punter, it looks like I'd be going for it on 4th down... every time.
Offense: B Defense: B+ Special Teams: N/A

Michigan
Tom Brady throws to Amani Toomer, Braylon Edwards, David Terrell (hey, he was good in college) or he can hand off to Anthony Thomas or Chris Perry. It looks like I could actually put complete defensive and offensive lines on the field, although I would be weak at defensive tackle and end. I actually have special teams (Jay Feely and Cory Sargent... may not know who he is, but at least I have one). The cornerback duo of Ty Law and Charles Woodson is the strength.
Offense: B+ Defense: B Special Teams: C

Ohio State
Good news: Joey Galloway, David Boston, and Michael Jenkins make for a fairly good set of receivers. Bad news: Craig Krenzel is the one throwing to them. Their starting (and only) running back is Jonathan Wells unless you consider Maurice Clarett. They have decent linemen, but their secondary consists of Chris Gamble, Shawn Springs, Antoine Winfield, Mike Doss, Will Allen, and more. If you don't know who they are... they're good. Mike Nugent and Tom Tupa fill out the special teams.
Offense: C+ Defense: B Special teams: B-

Miami
Jackpot. Kinda. My third string running back would be Willis McGahee (with Edgerrin James no. 1 and Clinton Portis no. 2). Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne, and Andre Johnson start at receiver and I'd have my pick of Bubba Franks, Jeremy Shockey, and Kellen "Mutha Fukin' Soldja" Winslow at tight end. Ray Lewis, Dan Morgan, Jonathan Vilma at linebacker. Antrel Rolle, Phillip Buchannon, Ed Reed, Mike Rumph in the secondary. Couldn't have a single weakness, right? Not as long as you think Vinny Testaverde and Ken Dorsey would be a "great battle for the starting QB spot". Plus there's no kicker.
Offense: A- Defense: A Special teams: D

So I really couldn't find a great team of alumni, but it was not all for naught... or something like that. It did help my last day of work go by a little quicker. If only the two U of M's (Michigan and Miami) teamed up... they would be unstoppable.

Funny, Funny Crap

I was cracking up at work over this. Here are a few of my favorites:

Chuck Norris once roundhouse kicked someone so hard that his foot broke the speed of light, went back in time, and killed Amelia Earhart while she was flying over the Pacific Ocean.

Chuck Norris once ate three 72 oz. steaks in one hour. He spent the first 45 minutes having sex with his waitress.

There is no theory of evolution, just a list of creatures Chuck Norris allows to live.

http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/

9 Fearless Predictions for 2006

1.Michigan State will open the Big 10 basketball season by losing to Illinois and Indiana, but will defeat Wisconsin. They will finish the regular season co-Big 10 champs and will lose in the Elite 8. UConn will win the national championship.

2.The Colts will defeat the Panthers in Super Bowl XL. The Detroit Lions will hire Mike Sherman, Al Saunders (KC Offensive Coordinator), Mike Martz, or Kirk Ferentz (Iowa coach) as their next head coach. Joey Harrington will resign a small contract with the Lions, but they will pick up a decent QB to compete for the starting job. Charles Rogers and Jeff Garcia will be released.

3.Michigan State football will finish the 2006 season 6-6. John L. Smith will be fired shortly after the season is over.

4.The 06 Heisman will be between Brian Calhoun (Wisco), Brady Quinn (ND), Adrian Peterson (OK), Troy Smith (Ohio St), and Kyle Wright (Miami). Although I have a feeling one of these idiots will declare for the 06 NFL Draft.

5.The Pistons will defeat the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs en route to another NBA Championship.

6.The Redwings will lose in the Western Conference Finals to the Calgary Flames. The Flames will lose the 06 Stanley Cup Finals to the Ottawa Senators.

7.The New York Yankees will lose the 06 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Red Sox won’t make the playoffs. Neither will the Orioles or Tigers.

8.Argentina will defeat Brazil in the World Cup Finals. I have no idea what I’m talking about, but that one’s for you Kevin!

9.I will defeat Mike in the Fantasy Football Finals. Plain and simple.

Bowling

My plan was to end the college football season with a glutonous portion of bowl games before saying goodbye until August. I was going to watch at least five minutes of each bowl game and recap my experiences here. But a week with family killed those plans... sadly I am the only one of my family that could find eating left overs while taking in a BC/Boise St game on the Smurf Turf enjoyable. While I watched the Pistons/Spurs showdown, I was forced to miss them eke past the Heat. I have been on a vacation from work as well as sports. So, here I am, newly returned to my apartment. Am I unpacking? No. I am looking up sports news while watching game 1 of the 2004 ALCS on my new Red Sox DVDs. Which lead me to posting.

Schilling just gave up two runs in the first (which I knew was coming) but his pitches looked worse than I remember. This is pre-bloody sock and that just makes his later performances even more incredible to me. When He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (not Lord Voldemort) stepped up to bat the first time, it felt a little gross. The Sox are going to be pretty bad next year, so I have to relive the past.

The news clip I saw on ESPN that led me to post instead of unpack concerned the New Orleans Saints. They signed an agreement to play again next year in N.O. and Red Stick (Baton Rouge for those that don't parlevous francais). I'm glad they aren't moving. I was one of the only people to have pity for the ownership. They would look like the biggest jackasses if they moved the team post-hurricane, but would they really have the kind of market available to come to games? The Aint's already were in one of the smallest markets in the NFL. Now that market is trying to rebuild itself and may not have the kind of money to spend on coming to a game. I'm not a heartless guy... I sympathize w/ the people stuck in N.O. and I am ashamed of the response they got. Rebuilding the city is a billion times more important than worrying about the Saints. But it is his business after all and he has to keep it successful. Keeping them there is the best thing for everyone. However, rebuilding the Superdome isn't. We will never know all of the horrible things that occurred at the lawless Superdome evacuation center. Piss poor emergency management led to a situation where we couldn't uphold laws and we can't now. Instead of cleaning it up, I think it would be better to destroy the whole building so we can move past it. It's kinda like how after the Abu Grahb prison stories came out, they decided to close the prison and move the prisoners elsewhere. Bad stuff happened and it would be easier to move on by not using it anymore. However, the city doesn't have the kind of money it would take to demolish it and build a new stadium. I understand that building a new stadium isn't an option, but it would be ideal to putting some closure on a horrific experience for many.

Sadness

Johnny Damon is a Yankee. A little bit of my sports passion just died.
And this made me vomit a little in my mouth.

New York Red Sox

Just seeing that title should make you sick. There's an interesting strategy going on behind those pinstripes, and I don't like it one bit. Every offseason, the Yankees buy a new team. This year, they decided to buy the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox. They almost got the ball rolling by snagging Pedro Martinez in the 04-05 offseason. Luckily, they didn't truly become Pedro's daddy. The first shot really happened last season when they picked up Alan Embree and Mark Bellhorn after the Red Sox dumped them. I didn't mind Bellhorn leaving because he nearly gave me heart attacks in the playoffs, but I was sad to see Embree go. I come home tonight to see Nomar, the former heart of Boston, has narrowed his selection down to four teams, including the Yankees. The rumor on the side claims Steinbrenner is in talks with Johnny Damon. I just get the feeling in all of this that they are trying to 1)create a Curse II or 2) trying to win a championship with the former champions. This isn't the first time a team has ripped off a good lineup from another (think Denver Broncos lineman) but this goes straight to the gut. Stealing your arch rival's talent. There is no way their plan would work because that team won on chemistry and character. You don't come back from a 3-0 deficit without it. How are they going to recreate that with a team that treats the game like it is working in an office. Everything is just business, including the grooming rules. Plus, everyone knows JD is like Samson and he'd hit .220 without it. All of this leaves me with one question; couldn't they have gone after David Wells instead?

That's all for me on the evil empire. Look for my bowl predictions in a few days... they should be good!

The Tagliabue Who Stole New Year's

Check the schedules: There will be no bowl games on New Year’s Day. Go ahead, I’ll give you a minute to look it over. When I first noticed this on Sports Illustrated’s website, I checked ESPN. Then I checked individual bowl websites. But in the end, I realized it must be true. There will be football that day, because it is a Sunday. Home to the NFL.

Tradition is big in my family, and New Year’s Day is the one day of the year when my family allows me to watch sports all day with them – and they enjoy it. I love beginning the day with the Tournament of Roses parade. That's postponed until Monday also. I love watching teams I don't care about on New Year's. College football is my favorite sport played at my favorite level. New Year's is part of a great farewell until next September. It's like binging before the spring/summer hibernation.

I understand that the NFL isn’t going to change its schedule, but how much revenue must college football be losing right now? How awesome could a day of both NFL and college football be? Games could be on Fox, ESPN, CBS, and ABC. Instead, we will be treated to the Pittsburgh Steelers putting the Lions out of their misery and about 10 meaningless games. Most playoff spots will be filled by then and I don’t think the Colts will be going for the perfect season that day. Hell, my fantasy football team will have been crowned champion by then. Ok, that was a lie. I can’t trash talk anymore... Mike, your team has a 90% chance to win. You have done a good job of picking up players just as they are getting hot and throwing them away like a used, cheap hooker when they fizzle out. Congrats. I'll get you next year. Or maybe the Lions will be an offensive juggernaut and Kevin will blow us all away for laughing at him when he selects Jason Hanson in the 4th round.

The reality is I will be sitting at work watching score updates on January 2. Most of my coworkers will probably be taking a vacation day. Happy New Year. Did you finish those TPS reports?

Coaching Vacancy

Steve Mariucci may have been fired less than a week ago, but like every Lions fan, I am looking forward to next season. Because that’s all we have. So here is my crazy attempt at finding my favorite NFL team a new leader.

Dick Jauron: He’s the interim head coach now, but there’s no way he is offered the position full time.
Urban Meyer: He’s definitely been getting calls from NFL teams for a year or two, but his offensive system is definitely designed for college. Plus, let’s see what he can do with Florida for a few more years.
Bob Stoops: He knows defense really well, but I think the Lions need someone with a good offensive scheme. Plus there’s no way they steal him from Oklahoma.
Jim Mora: He seemed to run the Colts Offense well, right? He’s still an analyst, which means he will still listen to an offer if it is good enough. Plus, we will have another chance to hear that now famous “PLAYoffs?!?!”
Pete Carroll: He’s said in the past he’s happy staying at USC, but would there be anything left to prove if they win the championship again?

I'm confident none of those people will be selected. Since there is no rush at this point to fill the spot, the Lions should take some time and develop a strategy, interview a lot of coaches, and ultimately select a coach with an offensive scheme that would play to our offensive players' talents (geez... what an idea!!). They need to bring discipline to this team and bring in a good offensive line coach. But part of the Lions' short term strategy needs to be losing. They have a lot of ground to make up in the 2006 Draft sweepstakes. Here's there competition in the race to get Matt Leinart or Reggie Bush (c'mon... he's not coming back to college):

Houston: With Dominack Davis and David Carr, they really don’t need a QB or a RB. What they need is an offensive line and something called a defense. I think they'll keep losing (as evident by their complete turnaround vs. the Rams) but they'll trade down a few spots in the draft
San Francisco: They could probably use a RB, and Reggie Bush could stay in state. But wouldn’t that make their selection of Frank Gore a waste?
NY Jets: Curtis Martin is aging and Chad Pennington is too injury prone. Leinart or Bush would have a great opportunity to learn a little here before taking over.
Green Bay: Aaron Rodgers is the heir apparent to Brett Farve, but Bush could understudy Ahman Green for a little while.
New Orleans: They have a QB and a RB. What they need is a home. And a defense to compete in the D-Happy NFC South.
Baltimore: Taking Leinart means they’re giving up on Kyle Boller. But QB seems to be their weakness.

...which leads us to
Detroit: I wish they had a chance at Leinart, but they need to stop winning. With games on the horizon against Green Bay and New Orleans, they can improve their chances with an L. Just think: Leinart passing to Mike Williams once again. But we all know they’ll take the best available WR.

Before I wrap this up, I wanted to say it is absolutely ridiculous Dre Bly didn't get fined by the Lions. By complaining about Joey, he did the same thing that T.O. did. He hasn't been as problematic as Owens has in the past, but he should have at least been handed a fine by the team to send the message that complaining to the media is unacceptable.

Numbers Don't Lie

John L. Smith's Record at MSU

2003
Start 7-1
End 1-4

2004
Start 4-3
End 1-5

2005
Start 4-0
End 1-6

I don't think that John L. should be fired this offseason. He should be given one more year to prove himself. A successful MSU coach needs to have the team in contention in November. The way to do it is... is....
(Adam was about to begin solving the difficult challenge of fixing the MSU football program. However, he doesn't feel like writing a blog that long, so he quit halfway through; much like his beloved Spartans. He did leave a message: "Basketball season begins Saturday")

Go P's!

I was inspired by last night's comeback victory over the Celtics to write about how excited I am about this year's Pistons. First of all, I love that they still seem to be using the "we get no respect" thing as motivation. They appear to be set out this year to prove Larry Brown was not the reason for their success. I thought that they took Flip Saunders because he was best available, but he is already having an impact on the team.
"L.B. is a more technical coach, who wants you to run your sets, but Flip says that if we see an opening, we should go ahead and attack." - Rasheed Wallace
"I started to feel it, so I got aggressive. This is absolutely due to Flip's style. Just look at what we can do when we start forcing turnovers." - Chauncey Billups
I picked up on the Celtics game in the third quarter right as the Pistons started their comeback. Chauncey had a monster game, but Rip and Rasheed also scored over 20 points. The team is hot right now, hopefully they won't cool off.

Look for the Pistons to have a little trouble in December. They have a four game road trip early that could give them problems and they finish out the month with games against the Spurs, Heat and Cavs in the last week. I predict they will finish the 05-06 campaign with the same record as last year's Suns: 62-20.

BCS Mess

I’ve decided to change my blog. I like writing about sports more than I do myself because it is debatable, it is my number one hobby, and it is my profession. I am going to keep talking about a lot of different sports, fantasy football, and the sports business. To really feel like I changed my blog, I switched from to this new layout.

The first thing I want to talk about is the BCS. The Daily Quickie on espn.com today talked about how BCS haters have only a few more days to complain before the controversy ends with an Alabama loss. He’s right. I predicted the end of the controversy last week by correctly picking Miami over Va Tech and I think Alabama will lose this weekend. USC and Texas won’t lose another game because USC is almost an NFL team and Texas is in the NFC North of the NCAA. But the BCS still has been controversial every year except for 2002. The people in favor of the system argue it makes regular season games more important and teams can’t afford to make a mistake. Let’s review a little history:

In 1998, Tennessee (1) and Tulane (10) were undefeated. There were six teams with one loss including Florida State (2) and Kansas St (3).

In 1999, Florida State (1), Virginia Tech (2), and Marshall (12) all went undefeated. This isn’t as controversial, but who’s to say Marshall couldn’t have pulled an upset? They didn’t lose a single game, so shouldn’t they have had a shot?

In 2000, Oklahoma (1) was undefeated. There were six teams with one loss including Florida State (2) and Miami (3).

In 2001, Miami (1) went undefeated. Four teams, including Nebraska (2) and Oregon (4) Illinois (8) and Maryland (11), had one loss. Colorado (3) had two losses but was still ranked higher than two teams with one loss.

In 2002, only two teams were undefeated; Miami (1) and Ohio State (2). This is the only year that the BCS worked properly with no controversy.

In 2003, six teams had one loss including Oklahoma (1), LSU (2), USC (3), Miami (OH) (11), Boise St (17), and TCU (18).

In 2004, five teams went undefeated including USC (1), Oklahoma (2), Auburn (3), Utah (6), and Boise State (9).

Florida State and Oklahoma have benefited the most when there’s controversy. I know that Kevin would say that the controversy is good because it makes the games more exciting. But the system leans in favor of the major teams in the major conferences. If Michigan State, Oklahoma, and Miami were all undefeated, who do you think will be left out? If they opened it up to an 8 team playoff system, it would be less controversial because it would include more teams. The system has encouraged teams outside of the six BCS conferences to put better teams on their non conference schedule to get national respect. If they had more of a chance, they would have even more of a reason to play better teams. Then we would be able to tell how good an undefeated Utah or Boise St really is.

So what they really need to do is eliminate conference championship games and have the first round of the tournament in its place. The six conference champions get automatic bids and then there are two at large spots. The semi finals would take place around December 30 and the final bowl game is still around January 7. Is that too much football for them to be playing? Perhaps. Then just make it a 4 team tournament. Will it make less money than the current system? I don’t see how more games would make less money. Will it be more exciting? Definitely.

Midseason Review II

Before talking about my projections, let me just say that this was a bitch to post because it doesn't recognize spaces. Sorry if it is hard to read. Anyways, lets see how bad I did.

NFL - Lions
Team (Prediction) Result
Green Bay Packers (Loss) Win
@ Chicago Bears (Win) Loss
@ Tampa Bay Bucs (Win) Loss
Baltimore Ravens (Loss) Win
Carolina Panthers (Win) Loss
@ Cleveland Browns (Win) Win
Chicago Bears (Win) Loss
@ Minnesota Vikings (Loss) Loss

...So I was 2 for 8 because I correctly predicted they'd beat the Browns and lose to the Vikings. OUCH. I estimated that they'd have a record of 5-3 and their record is 3-5. Let's see if I can make up for it in the 2nd half.

Game (Prediction) New Prediction
Arizona Cardinals (Win) Win
@ Dallas Cowboys (Loss) Loss
Atlanta Falcons (Loss) Loss
Minnesota Vikings (Win) Win
@ Green Bay Packers (Loss) Loss
Cinncinati Bengals (Win) Loss
@ New Orleans Saints (Win) Win
@ Pittsburgh Steelers (Loss) Loss

I originally predicted them to end the season 4-4, but I think another 3-5 is more likely. If they do finish 6-10, they will miss the playoffs and axe Harrington and Rogers.

Conference (Previous Prediction) Current Prediction
NFC East: (Philadelphia Eagles) New York Giants
NFC North: (Minnesota Vikings) Chicago Bears
NFC South: (Carolina Panthers) Carolina Panthers
NFC West: (St Louis Rams) Seattle Seahawks
Wild Card: (Falcons, Seahawks) Falcons, Rams

AFC East: (New England Patriots) New England Patriots
AFC North: (Pittsburgh Steelers) Cincinnati Bengals
AFC South: (Indianapolis Colts) Indianapolis Colts
AFC West: (San Diego Chargers) San Diego Chargers
Wild Card: (Chiefs, Bengals) Broncos, Steelers

MVP: (Peyton Manning) Edgerrin James
ROY: (JJ Arrington) DeMarcus Ware (I have no idea)
AFC Champ: (Colts) Colts
NFC Champ: (Vikings) Panthers
NFL Champ: (Colts) Colts

3 Bold Second Half Predictions
1) The Vikings are gonna make a run. Brad Johnson told his WRs to run their routes correctly and the ball will be there. Their timing against the Lions looked good. They started the season 3-5, they'll go 5-3 in the second half.
2) The Colts will lose their first game in week 11 in Cincinnati. Did anyone else realize Indy has 3 Monday night games? Is that fair? Yes, yes it is.
3) I will defeat Mike's dad in the finals of our fantasy football league! HA!

Midseason Review

Let's take a look at some of my College Football predictions

1) There won't be two Big Ten BCS teams this year. They are all going to beat each other up over the season. The BCS team will be Ohio State, U-M, or Iowa. I pick U-M, but they won't be headed to the National Championship game.
There is no way two Big Ten teams will make BCS bowls. The BCS team won't be any of the three. Penn State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and U-M will finish with two conference losses. Penn State will go to the BCS bowl game since they will have beaten Wisconsin and OSU.

2) Michigan State will go 7-5. They will lose to: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Northwestern, Purdue, and Minnesota.
I was right about two of the three losses. They will beat Purdue this weekend, lose to Minnesota, and finish the season with a win over Penn State. Their 7-4 record will earn them a spot in the Music City Bowl.

3) Michigan State will beat U-M. If you think about it, MSU has a potent offense (if Drew Stanton is healthy) with multiple talents at WR and RB. U-M's defense is good, but not impossibly good. The game is at MSU, which sways it in our favor. MSU's crappy defense will hold up just enough to not lose the game.
Wrong. Stanton was healthy, but the defense was not good enough to win the game. Next.

4) The Heisman race will be between Bowling Green's Omar Jacobs, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and Chris Leak. And another RB not named Adrian Peterson. That's pretty easy to say after week one.
Jacobs has been pretty quiet this year. Leak's campaign was brief. My mom could've predicted that Bush and Leinart were going to be candidates again this year. I believe Reggie Bush wins it over Leinart. Remember... he's scoring a touchdown every 8.3 times he touches the ball.

5) USC will win the National Championship again this year over Texas.
Finally, a prediction I can really stick by. Virginia Tech will lose this weekend and Alabama will lose next weekend, thereby ending any BCS controversy. If Va Tech beats Miami and runs the table, it's hard to imagine Texas holding on to their point lead.

Next time, a look back at my NFL predictions. It's not pretty.

Is It 5:30 Yet?

I had one of the worst night’s sleep last night. I’m an hour into the workday, but it feels like I’m working overtime right now. I know as tired as I am, Mike has got to be 1000 times more tired. You’re insane... opening, tutoring, whatever else you’re doing today.

In my office, there’s a popular joke about getting fired since a few people have been cut for little reason. I always laugh at the jokes, but today it feels a little weird since I am probably thought to be the person to fill a gap since they think I can be bought cheap. And I might… we’ll see. Still feels weird. I really don’t want someone to get axed because they work their asses off and don’t deserve it.

Yesterday, I went to the crew team race for Stacey. I didn’t want to wake up early on my day off, but she made me breakfast in bed to butter me up. It was a little awkward at first since she was catching up with people she hadn’t seen in years. At the end, she got to race with some of the other alumni, which was surprising because I didn’t think anyone would be coordinated enough to get that done. She got to row again and it was great to see her so happy. As she told me, rowing was her life in college. When I met her, she had just finished her eligibility, so I never got to see any rowing. When she got in that boat, she was the most excited I’ve seen her in months. I am happy that I finally got to see that part of her.

I don’t have much to say about sports except:
1. Same old State... only that’s the first game the team lost (the coaches and the defense lost the other two.)
2. Even though I didn’t see the game, I bet Joey could’ve won that game too. I agree w/ Mitch Albom that we will only remember the W rather than the incomplete passes, the Browns had the ball with a chance to tie/win at the end, and that the Browns D is NOT equal to Tampa Bay, Carolina, or Baltimore.
3. My fantasy team lost, but I am now number one in both leagues.

Priviledge High

There's a high school principal in New York that is taking a stand against exactly what I was talking about earlier with priviledged high schoolers. He cancelled prom because parents were renting a party house in the Hamptons, boats for post prom "booze cruises", and holding cocktail parties for their kids. He said that there was too much sex, alcohol, and money being spent on "bacchanalian aspects." I don't know what that means... maybe it's an STD.

I am biased because I really hate prom, but I do think it's fair for him to cancel it. He tried things in the past that didn't work and it's a private catholic school. Parents are all pissed off because they say he doesn't have the right to judge what goes on after prom. The problem is the parents aren't making good judgements, so he has to. I don't understand why some rich parents let their 17 and 18 year old kids act like the Hiltons. I also don't understand why my high school didn't have rental party houses... damn that'd be fun.

Tweener

I know that I’m stuck in a “between” stage in life. Post-graduation, pre-career. Which is sad because I have a full time job… I just don’t have the full time responsibilities or pay. I can just dream of the money. Not that I’m poor… I’m probably breaking even. This would be the second “between” stage in life; the first being post-high school. That was a little more dramatic because I had a lot of Varsity Blues crap to go through and because I was a teenager. But I think this one is harder because the end point is not in sight. It could come in a few weeks or in almost a year. I know a lot of people are in this situation. The interesting thing is this didn’t used to happen to college graduates. Most graduates used to easily get a job lined up before they graduated. Now, it’s so competitive that job searching is a full time job. I am happy that I at least know exactly what I want to do and what I will settle for in my first job. And in the end, I think the internship is a good thing to have right now. It’s like low risk training wheels for a real job. Working 9 hours a day, having to dress up, learning not to eat fast food every lunch break, office bullcrap, etc. And I still am not living at home… that’s worth two gold stars, right?

My Sweet I'm-Better-Than-You Sixteen

Let's take a stroll down my bad memory lane. That's to say that I have a bad memory, not that my memories are all bad. Let's go back almost seven years... to December 1998... my sixteenth birthday. I couldn't tell you any of the details... I can hardly tell you the details of last week. But I know that I went out to dinner with my family and had some friends over to hang out in the basement and watch movies. I probably got some CDs and maybe some video tapes (those are the weird boxy things that we watched movies on back then) and probably a few video games. Apparently I was ripped off because I didn't get a Mercedes convertible and have my friends do a choreographed dance for me. At least thats what this show "My Super Sweet Sixteen" tells me.

I watched this show a few times this weekend. Mostly because I enjoy watching things that make me upset. Upset enough to write about it hours later. It's the same reasoning that propelled Fox News into the top of the ratings. People like getting mad at idiots. Like the parents of these kids. Why do you let your bratty daughter dress like a ho for her sixteenth birthday? I'm a pretty liberal person, but if I had a daughter, I would not let her try and convince me that I have to let her dress up like a vegas showgirl with a feather coming out of her ass. I wondered to myself, "Why do these girls want to dress like a ho?" Is it to rub it in the other girls, who aren't allowed to dress like hos, faces? That is what all of these parties are about... to rub their spoiled lifestyles in the other girls faces. Which is why the parents spend twice what I'd like to make this year on a party. To rub it in the faces of the other kids' parents. "Haha... my parenting might be leading Buffy to the life of a golddigger or a porn star, but I have more money than you" That's telling them.

I am just glad that I can be at home this weekend and be lazy enough to get pissed off at MTV.

That sucks

"Mike Hart will play and be dangerous"... "Worried about the kicking game"... 2 missed field goals, 200+ yards for Hart... I hate when I'm right. Oh well... we can still prove ourselves if we beat Ohio State. Stupid "bigger brother" always showing us up.

No MSU victory, no AL East title for Boston... looks like I'm owed a fantasy football victory over mikey d!!!

Greatest Game Ever Played

...and it is still about 24 hours before it is over. I am talking, of course, about the MSU/U-M game tomorrow. The game that I will probably start watching at 11:30 saturday night thanks to my sister's b-day. I cannot describe how excited I am for this game. It is pretty much the only thing on my mind today. If I were a security guard, the safe would've been robbed by now. If I worked at the Pentagon, the country would've been invaded at noon. If I were the manager of my beloved Sox, the Yankees would be opening bottles of champagne across the hall from me by the end of tonight. College football has always been my favorite sport. I used to watch every Maize and Blue game on Saturdays until I saw the green and white light (and until U-M denied me, but so what). I have always loved the MSU/U-M rivalries more than any other. I love seeing the games so much, I stopped and debated whether I should celebrate my sister's b-day or stay here and buy a $125 nosebleed ticket for the game after hearing a radio advertisement. I finally decided that my sister would never forgive me and my red blood took precedent over my Green blood. I told someone my dream date one time was to eat at IHOP (no longer my favorite restaurant) and watch MSU win a National Championship with Mandy Moore (no longer my celebrity crush). I remember sitting through MSU's miserable season a few years ago when they had all of the discipline problems. Also known around campus as the "Where there's Smoke, there's Fire" disaster. We got destroyed by the worst teams, but I still went to every game I could. The Red Sox could miss the playoffs, my fantasy team could get destroyed by Mike's (but it won't) and I would still have the best sports weekend ever if MSU beats U-M and gives them a 2-3 record. Hopefully this will reenergize a rivalry that is considered to be U-M's second most important game.

Collegefootballnews.com predicts MSU wins 31-23 and says it might not be this close if Stanton stays in the game. U-M's newspaper predicted MSU wins 34-31. I won't predict a winner or a score because I don't want to jinx anything. And I CERTAINLY won't stop watching the game if U-M is up by 50 at halftime and it looks like MSU is done... I learned from the Red Sox last year. I only wish I could be here to cheer them on with the rest of this city.

Sports

Our company softball team won its first game of the season yesterday. We kept getting hit after hit. I went 3-4 thanks to a few good hits and one bad catch. I probably would’ve gone 1-4 or 2-4 against a decent team. It felt really good to score 2 runs in the game. I did give up an in the park homer when I overran a fly ball in the outfield, though. My weak skills made me realize my dad didn’t play sports with me enough when I was young. It’s ok though because he never was in the best of shape and I had a habit of quitting sports when it got a little tough. My last season of baseball ended with me getting beaned 2 or 3 times in a coach’s pitch league (which really is inexcusable… how bad or drunk do you have to be to hit a kid 3 times in one game). I quit soccer when I decided that it wasn’t worth waking up early on a Saturday to run around the field and never score a goal. Sleeping in, cartoons, and doughnuts really are better than soccer, so that wasn’t a bad decision. I played floor hockey in Ann Arbor for a season, but I don’t remember why I didn’t do it longer than that. The only thing I remember about it is having fun getting penalized 3 or 4 times in one game. I quit tennis after I broke my foot. But then again I quit most of my extracurriculars my senior year. I don’t regret quitting tennis… I regret not practicing more and wasting my parents’ money on lessons. If I could go back to when I was 7, I’d take hockey lessons… except I wouldn’t be wasting my parents’ money on them. I wish I had become serious about playing hockey because I love the game. I remember a boy scout event (yeah, haha! I was a boy scout!) where we rented out an ice skating arena for a night. We played hockey until 2am and I got to put on one of my friends’ full goalie pads. I looked really short and fat. I think hockey has the best equipment of any sport because the jerseys look cool and you get big pads and a stick. I really do wish I played hockey when I was younger… not just because of the uniform. For a while I have intended on playing on a company hockey team or playing in an adult league when I get some money.

I can’t wait for the MSU game. This is why I am worried U-M will win.
1.Mike Hart will play. He is listed as questionable right now, but trust me he’ll play. The other running backs are talented, but they have had key fumbles. Mike Hart ran over 200 yards on MSU last year. The other backs won’t do that.
2.U-M has more motivation. They have to prove that they aren’t as bad as everyone is saying they are. They have fallen a lot from that #3 spot they had. MSU has motivation to keep up their success, but the end of the season is a long time away.
3.Our kicking game. We haven’t seen a lot out of the kickers and this game will probably be close. They can’t afford to miss much.

With that said, I think MSU will win and I’m making a bet with a coworker on the game. Hopefully I won’t have to end up walking around the office in a U-M sweatshirt on Monday.

Back in the Everyday Life

I was disappointed that MSU gave up the 21 point lead to let Notre Dame back into the game because it reminds me of last year’s losses to U-M and Ohio State. BUT, Mike was completely right… a win is a win and we still beat ND. The true test of whether this team is different will be on Saturday at Illinois. State too often follows a big win with a poor performance (Last year they followed up their blow out Wisconsin win by not contending against a bad Penn State team). I really hope they can beat Illinois, because this game means more than the ND game. We most likely will lose a few games this season, so they have to take care of business against teams they should beat.

I had a ton of fun with Stacey in Mackinac. We did everything there is to do… even with a half day of rain. I have so much fun hanging out with her and we are completely comfortable with each other. I wish we were still there… especially after work this morning. Stacey said we should just stay and I said that would be fine until VISA calls me and tells me I have no money or credit. I had my card swiped more times than a blind guy walking down a back alley in Detroit. I wrote “See ID” on the back of my credit card… mostly because that’s what my mom does and I always listen to my mommy (ha!)
Most people asked me to see it this weekend… I’d say about 95%. I get a little annoyed when people don’t check it, because that is a little added security measure for me. Then I remembered when I was at Rockets, I never checked a single signature. I’m such a hypocrite… and I LOVE IT! It works especially well with my weak memory to make me always right.

I’m copying Mike who was copying Cori who probably copied someone else’s blog, but it’s fun, so here we go…
I am not: good with memory
I hurt: internally way more than externally
I love: Stacey (aww…) and sports
I hate: being stubborn and partisanship
I fear: not being able to get that first job
I hope: to not take things for granted
I crave: Taco Bell… or T-Bag as everyone at work calls it
I regret: a few things, but I don’t dwell on them
I cry: when I reach my stress breaking point… I never cry during a fight
I care: too much about what people think of me
I always: breathe
I long to: always keep my priorities straight
I feel: squishy
I listen: more than I talk
I hide: that I am upset in a fight
I drive: very well… I have the “bob and weave” when I am in a hurry
I sing: badly alone… you would be surprised how much ability you lose when
you don’t practice
I dance: stiffly… I need a few beers to loosen me up
I write: a few plays
I play: MLB 2005… it boosts my Nintendo ego that is crushed by Mike & Kevin
I miss: some of my college friends… it is always good times when we go out
I search: the internet often at work
I learn: technical skills much better than facts
I know: how to improve many businesses
I say: the right things
I succeed: usually… I don’t think I’ve given myself high enough goals yet
I fail: rarely…. I wanted to purposefully get a 0% on a meaningless HS test just
for the fun of it
I dream: about random people… I rarely dream about those most important to
me
I sleep: terribly on an air mattress… worth it to have Stacey spend the night
I wonder: how things became the way they are
I want: to work for the Boston Red Sox or an NBA/NHL team
I worry: about losing my parents
I have: what some have described as a boring personality, but I am happy with
who I am
I give: much less often than I want to
I fight: like a lawyer… I don’t show if anything affects me
I wait: to get a great first job
I am: who I am (Isn’t that Reebok’s tagline? I definitely am a marketer)
I think: that I have more answers than many of the talking heads on TV
I can’t help the fact that: I am stubborn in admitting I am wrong

If I were a color: green
If I were an emotion: ?
If I were a state of mind: ?
If I were a sound: ocean
If I were a book: you might be able to predict what comes next
If I were a song: it definitely would NOT be an emo or punk song

LAST TIME I:
cried: about a month ago
bought something: yesterday (gas)
gotten sick: months ago… I have allergies a lot more
eaten: 2 hours ago (Fruit Loops)
been kissed: 2 nights ago
felt stupid: probably a few days ago when I talked to kevin (he makes people
feel stupid, I guess)
had a serious talk: 2 nights ago
missed someone: while ago
hugged someone: 2 nights ago

RANDOM:
what type of automobile do you drive: Grand Prix that is poorly maintained
would you rather be with friends or on a date: whichever I have a better time
do you attend church: rarely
do you like being around people: for the most part
have you ever liked someone you had no chance with?: of course
have you ever cried over the opposite sex: yeah… after a breakup
have you ever lied to your best friend: yes
ever wanted to get revenge on someone because they hurt you: yep
rather have a relationship or a “hookup”: haven’t had a hookup
want someone you don’t have right now: no
ever liked your best girl friend: yeah
do you want to get married: yes… eventually
do you want kids: yeah, 2 or 3
what is your favorite part of your physical appearance: my genuine smile, not
the fake one
are you happy with your life: yeah… most aspects
if you could change one thing, what would it be?: get a full time paid job

DO YOU…
have a boyfriend/girlfriend?: yes, Stacey
read the newspaper?: I read State News & LSJ online
have any gay, bisexual or lesbian friends?: all three
believe in miracles? No… but I believe human spirit can do unlikely things
believe its possible to remain faithful forever? yep
believe in God? yes
have any secrets? yes
have any piercings? no
have any tattoos? no
have a best friend? I don’t know that I have a best friend
have any bad habits? of course
care about looks? sometimes, but not Sundays... that is the day I don't give a damn
trust others easily? Not really

This Post Needs No Title

Last weekend was the best football weekend ever. I watched so many games with Stacey and Kevin. We had fun ripping on all of the terrible commentators. Everyone talked about how badly the Big Ten did since U-M, Ohio State, and Iowa lost. But they were the ONLY Big Ten teams to lose. The Big 10* has the best record with Big 12 (which actually does have 12 teams). We still have a couple of weeks before the teams all start beating each other up. I am changing my prediction... MSU will beat ND and stop this "Charlie Weis Revival" crap and bringing my record prediction to 8-4. A little DYK (that's Did You Know for those of you who don't watch ESPN as much as I do) MSU is the number one offense in the country. ND did beat two ranked teams, but Pitt lost to Ohio in week 2 and U-M's offense is not as strong as people think. But isn't every other State fan still a little skiddish at the thought of a chance at a conference title? I remember the last time we all thought MSU would be really good. We wound up with a QB in rehab (unfortunately he wasn't rehabbing his knee) and a terrible season. I will always hope they can do it, just wouldn't put money on it.

As to the NFL, my playoff picks went 6-6 last week. Only one of me AFC picks lost and only one of my NFC picks won. Which sucks because two of the NFC teams played each other, so that was a gimme. My fantasy teams some how went 2-1. I lost because I started Culpepper and lost by one. Daunte lost me 6 points, so I would've won had I not started a QB. Ah well, long season ahead.

After some 33 posts, I finally got into an argument with someone over a blog. Funny thing is that it was over one of my first posts. Not gonna elaborate since I don't want to start another.

This new radio station popped up on 101.7, which means I won't be able to hear "Listen to Your Heart" on the half hour. It's called Mike FM (I hope it doesn't get to D's head) and I still can't figure out what kind of radio station it is... they say they play anything. For example, I've heard "We Didn't Start the Fire", U2's "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own", and some weird 80s rap. Right now, "Purple Rain" is on. I don't remember hearing any DJs in the 8 hours that I've been listening to it. I'm thinking the "station" is a computer in some guy's basement with the shuffle on.

I found my Red Sox hat this morning when I woke up. I knew today should be a good day. Anyone else find it odd that I can't find the hat and the Sox lose and the Yankees win big? We'll see tonight if finding the hat turns things around.

Another softball game tonight. I have a hitting streak going on. Hopefully I can add to the one. Maybe finding the Red Sox cap was a good sign for the game.

I leave for vacation in 4 days. I am very excited. I'm going to Mackinac with Stacey, which means I'll be eating a lot of fudge. I'll burn it off somehow. Giggidy giggidy GIGG-I-DY. Haha... just kidding. I'm also glad that gas prices are dropping. Any chance it'll go down to $1.50 before we leave?

NFL Predictions

How excited is everyone for tonight? And Saturday? And Sunday? Football is back, so here are my predictions.

NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles
NFC North: Minnesota Vikings
NFC South: Carolina Panthers
NFC West: St Louis Rams
Wild Card: Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks
Close call: Detroit Lions

AFC East: New England Patriots
AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South: Indianapolis Colts
AFC West: San Diego Chargers
Wild Card: Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals
Close call: NY Jets, Baltimore Ravens

MVP: Peyton Manning
ROY: JJ Arrington (I hope, for my fantasy team's sake)
AFC Champ: Indianapolis Colts
NFC Champ: Minnesota Vikings
Superbowl Champ: Indianapolis Colts

Yes, my prediction leaves the Lions out of the playoffs. I think the most questionable NFC teams are the Seahawks and the Panthers. The Steelers and the Bengals are the sketchy AFC teams.

College Football Predictions

I am a little late in coming up with these predictions. College football kinda snuck up on me. You have no idea how weird it is to watch college football all day and then watch a baseball game at night. Complete season clash. From 11-5 it was fall and from 7-10 it was summer again. This will really piss Mike off, but I think they should move the end of baseball season. Regular season ends last week in August and the World Series is mid-late September.

Biggest fact after week one: The Big Ten is the only undefeated conference in football. (All ten teams won; Purdue hasn't played a game yet) Which leads to my first prediction:

1) There won't be two Big Ten BCS teams this year. They are all going to beat each other up over the season. The BCS team will be Ohio State, U-M, or Iowa. I pick U-M, but they won't be headed to the National Championship game.

2) Michigan State will go 7-5. They will lose to: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Northwestern, Purdue, and Minnesota. Which means...

3) Michigan State will beat U-M. If you think about it, MSU has a potent offense (if Drew Stanton is healthy) with multiple talents at WR and RB. U-M's defense is good, but not impossibly good. The game is at MSU, which sways it in our favor. MSU's crappy defense will hold up just enough to not lose the game.

4) The Heisman race will be between Bowling Green's Omar Jacobs, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and Chris Leak. And another RB not named Adrian Peterson. That's pretty easy to say after week one.

5) USC will win the National Championship again this year over Texas.

Screw Football!!!!

Wait, screw football?! Could that possibly be the title of my post??? After all, didn't I just complete three fantasy football drafts this week? And aren't I keeping College Football Gameday Scoreboard on refresh while I work tomorrow? Yes, I did and yes, I am. So how does football make me so mad (yeah, I know kev... "how mad does it?") that I complain about it in a blog? When it is played by high school kids.

After a tiring day yesterday of walking around as the mascot (I did get to hug a lot of hot drunk girls, but that still doesn't make it worthwhile) all I wanted to do was sit down and watch some TV. I turn on Stacey's 5 channel wonderbox (wow, that isn't the right name for it) and there's some overweight guy talking about the Podunk vs. YouGottaPurtyMouth football game. This guy probably goes home at night and reads about the 3-4 Defense to his 5 year old after reading up on the top Pop Warner prospects. Guys who scout middleschoolers are like child molesters without "the bad touch". Still kinda creepy. Anywho, I turned the channel and saw highlights of another high school game rolling. The channel after that... you guessed it, more overweight unathletic high schoolers reaching the climax of their sad lives. Half of Stacey's channels were devoted to different high school football recap shows. AND THIS WAS ON A THURSDAY NIGHT!!! I know that my Spartans will always give fans a glimmer of hope before puking all over it on the field against Rutgers, Louisiana Tech, etc. But the HS teams in the area aren't even that good. This town is more obsessed with minors than Michael Jackson. (Could've done better with that rip, I know.) The point is, I hate HS football and I don't want to hear about it on 3 TV channels and a radio station all day long. Especially not after I've been in a sweat drenched suit that feels like wearing smelly wet towels. But there's always the drunk girls...

Oh No! Gas Prices!

Everyone is flipping out about gas prices. I watched the local news last night and the top story was Hurricane Katrina. The next story was about gas prices topping $3. The people they interviewed were flipping out and talking about how they have to change their lifestyle. Do they swim in gasoline? A $.30 increase for a gallon of gas for a 20 gallon tank is $6. Yeah, that sucks. Although, I have a 12.5 gallon tank and a tank lasts me about a week and a half to two weeks. I drive about 20 mins. to work each day. But the extra few dollars I pay won't break my quite small bank.

I think the thing that is frustrating me in this is where people are placing the blame. Which is surprising because people are blaming Bush. I didn't vote for him... I should be happy people are upset with him. But we all knew about his ties to the oil industry. Now people are surprised he won't regularly tap our oil reserves to control prices like Clinton did? (Yes, he did announce yesterday he will temporarily tap some reserves, but his reason was to make up for losses incurred by Katrina, not to relieve high prices.)

Why aren't people more upset with the car industry for not making Hybrids or Electrics sooner or faster? Why aren't they upset with themselves for buying an inefficient SUV? We have a limited resource that is projected to be extinct soon. And yet we still use millions of gallons a day. I think some Americans feel like it is their right to buy a huge SUV because they work hard. Well, it is! BUT, there are consequences for doing that and I will put you at the front of the blame line.

I read in the Washington Post today that Bush's disapproval rating is at 53% now. The main reason is anger over gas prices. If this continues, it is very likely we will see a Democrat take over the White House. The Republican candidate will most likely be a member of Bush's administration or a close friend. (Bush Sr was Reagan's VP, Gore was Clinton's VP) They will have the nearly impossible task of resolving the public's anger issues over gas and Iraq. I would like to see a good Democrat candidate win the next election, but isn't it weird how much of a role gas prices could play in the decision?

Sludge Puppies

I took my car in for an oil change and they said I have way too much sludge built up and I need a $70 flush of my radiator. I thought I just got a $170 radiator flush a month ago, but apparently I am mistaken. Either way, I am sick of my car needing attention. It is like a high maintenance girlfriend. (Not referring to Stacey, love you honey!) My dad said he is going to do it when I come home next. He hasn't done it before, but apparently he is going to figure it out! Eh, as long as I don't have to pay $70 he can clean it with my comforter for all I care. No, Kevin, you can't really clean my radiator with my comforter tonight.

I woke up this morning with a fresh patch of pimples waiting for me. I'm almost 23... shouldn't I have better skin yet? It reminded me of Family Guy last night. "Slather on my bacon grease and grow me a posse!" Haha. Maybe I'll buy that ProActive stuff again. How can I resist what Jessica Simpson, P Diddy and Vanessa Williams tell me to do? "Buy ProActiv or Die, Mutha****!"

My rents got a new puppy, which blows my mind. My dad has been totally opposed to one because Kimmie puked and crapped and peed all over our carpet. Plus, seeing her die was really sad. We think she had a few strokes because she couldn't walk right. A few days before we put her to sleep, she could only hobble around for a few feet. We had to put her water bowl under her head and feed her like that. She wimpered a lot. We finally decided to put her asleep after she went into a convulsion one day and foamed at the mouth. I better stop because I know Mike is already crying. Haha... just kidding buddy. It was really sad to see her die because I knew she was in pain, but I didn't really miss her once she was gone. I just don't have much attachment to animals. I remember one of my old coworkers' friends' dog died and she sent out an e-mail to her friends. She kept talking about religion and her spirituality... which was kinda weird. She claimed God blessed them in the way their dog died because they were all around. But the dog foamed at the mouth and convulsed... is having that happen to your dog and having your 7 year old see it a blessing? I just remember thinking it was all a little weird.

Which brings me to my next big thought of the day. And it's deep. Don't know how random it is... Anyway, I have been thinking a little about my religion. Maybe a little of it is from the South Park episode from last night. (Sad that South Park and Family Guy dictate my thoughts so much today. Guess it's because I haven't watched much TV in a while.) I am officially Catholic/Christian. I do however believe homosexuality isn't a choice, gay marriage should be a legal union, death penalty is murder but abortion isn't, women should be able to be priests, and priests should be able to marry. So, I am a fairly liberal christian. I am turned off by people who "wear their religion on their sleeve" because I think God didn't want people to boast about their faith. Don't remember what part of the Bible that's in, but I remember hearing about it on Ash Wednesday a few years ago. For example, we were wristbanding anyone who was drinking on the same night as we hosted a few churches. When I asked some of the church members if they were going to be drinking, one of them rudely answered "Alcohol?! Oh, no! I'm here for Christian night. I wouldn't want any alcohol!" First, Christians can drink. Second, they aren't supposed to be rude to thy neighbors, so you're a hypocrite. Third, I don't care that you're Christian, so don't talk down to me.

I was reading the preachy website for the Christian rock band that performed here. It said drugs and money will make you feel like half a person... God will make you feel like a whole. I don't go to church and I don't really have a relationship with religion. I have strong beliefs and I am not going to compromise them. I also believe in free will and think that saying "God has a plan already written out for you" is disowning responsibility for your actions. But I do believe there is more to this world and more going on than just what I see. I just felt like lately I've been doing work and errands without thinking much of God and life. And I don't think it's good to ignore what I believe created this world and I... God. Most times I go to church, though, I feel like I am not learning anything from it. I feel like I just go "because I have to" for whatever reason and that doesn't seem worthwhile. I don't know what I want to do from here... just wanted to put some ideas out. But I'm not switching to Scientology... nice try Tom Cruise.

Blur

The past 9 days have seemed like a complete blur. Outside of Sunday night, I really haven't had more than a few hours away from work. We started the homestand with a concert and ended it with another. It is a weird feeling to know the date and have no idea what day of the week it is. It was a lot of fun though. In that week, we had our manager get tossed, a player get tossed, and a cheap shot play at the plate that almost broke out into a fight. If only they could've won a few more games. I'm pretty happy with how things are turning out and it has been fun to do so many different things. We have a few promotions coming up, so I know I will be doing a lot of random tasks.

I really don't know if I could do this year after year... or even for a full season. It definitely is a different lifestyle. I think I might want to do basketball. I like the arena environment and it is half the schedule. Although nothing compares to minor league baseball promotions.

I heard a rumor today that two top MLB players have tested positive for steroids and are in the appeals process. Supposedly this will be officially announced soon. The two players are Johnny Damon (which hurts b/c he's a Red Sock) and Roger Clemens. If he really did test positive, that would be a HUGE story. I heard a debate on ESPN a few weeks ago over whether or not MLB should rename the Cy Young for Clemens.

The NHL finally inked that TV deal. I knew that a lot of networks weren't too interested in the contract, but I figured that NBC would sign on. They don't have many sports and the NHL deal has to be pretty cheap compared to other sports. The winning bidder was Comcast who is going to put at least 58 regular season games on its OLN network. They also will broadcast the playoffs and the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals. How can you tell the networks thought the NHL was really shitty? NBC was willing to buy the rights to the Finals, but not the first two games. Now, the only thing that I can remember about the OLN network is that it carried the Tour De France in its entirety. "They're still biking... Lance is in the lead...oh! They're going uphill! Tremendous! ...still biking..." I have heard the network is trying to reposition itself as a competitor to ESPN. Gary Bettman likes the deal because OLN will focus most of their energy and attention to the NHL. But wouldn't it have been better for the league in the long run to take a cheaper deal from NBC or another reputable network that fans actually receive? I think this is another mistake from the incompetant management of the league.

I have to get the most out of this weekend... which means doing as little work as possible. I need to get a haircut, get a few groceries, clean my room, schedule my Mackinac vacation (can NOT wait), hang out with the girl, drink a beer, watch the Lions game, work out a little, play basketball, read Harry Potter, review my fantasy football strategy and schedule drafts, and kill a drifter. Haha... just kidding. I'm going to drink more than one beer.

Iraq War

After reading this article "US Lowers Expectations for Iraq" I got kinda pissed off. I never believed the arguments that Bush made for war and I still don't know how I feel about starting a war without provocation. Bush originally argued that Sadam had these weapons and the threat was that he would sell them to terrorists. When we didn't find the weapons, the argument was that we were liberating a country from a tyrant that had been killing off civilians and depriving them of freedom. The goal was to catch Sadam, restore their utilities, and lead them to a free, independent government with a self-sustaining economy. We caught Sadam, but that is where success trailed off.

We will begin to pull troops out of Iraq shortly, but what are we leaving? Their basic utilities are still worse off than when Sadam was in power. The insurgency is stronger than predicted. Now, we believe they will have an "Islamic Republic" rather than a true democracy.

I am not saying that we should've been more successful or that we should stay longer. But why aren't we questioning or holding the Bush Admin more responsible for leading the US into this war with little assistance and information that we now know is "gray" to put it nicely? I think that we need an independent investigation that results in more than a report that is discussed on the six o'clock news and forgotten. Although I don't like Bush, I don't think that a different President would've been much more successful. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't hold whomever accountable for spending that much of our taxes on a war with a poor plan and limited outside assistance. The bigger tragedy is what the Iraqi people have already had to go through and what they will be left to deal with.

I think that the hope is that if we leave, the insurgency will calm down because their goal is to get American troops out of Iraq. But I doubt that will be the case. There will be a country with profitable natural resources (oil) and different religious groups and a weak government and weak security. The motivation for gaining power will be very high.

I really want to know what other people think, so post some replies.

Joey Do!

Mike Theis would always watch a Lions game and yell "Joey Don't!" at the screen whenever Harrington would throw. It was really funny. The Lions are getting a good amount of preseason talk and EVERYONE has a magnifying glass on Harrington. I looked at their schedule today and realized they do need to git err duunnn this season. Their schedule is a cakewalk. They play the Bucs, Bears (twice), Browns, and Bengals. (Did anyone else realize all of the crappy teams in the league start with B?) Between the 4 of them, they were 22-42 last season. Also, they play the Cardinals, Saints, and Cowboys (20-28). Their division consists of
Green Bay - Always solid, but will Farve ever start aging? Ok, Packers are good.
Minnesota - Randy Moss-less. Lions should be able to take one of the two games
Chicago - Rex Grossman. I hate Rex Grossman. He didn't do that well in college, did he?
So, here's the season and how the Lions should perform.
Green Bay Packers - L - But, a victory would be a good start, wouldn't it?
@ Chicago Bears - W - If it is a loss, Joey will really have pressure on him
@ Tampa Bay Bucs - W - This is coming off a bye week
Baltimore Ravens - L - Raven's D is too tough... I think Boller will score just enough
Carolina Panthers - W - If I'm wrong, they probably beat the Ravens the week before
@ Cleveland Browns - W - Braylon Edwards or Rogers & the Williams'? Hmm...
Chicago Bears - W - Good old confidence booster
@ Minnesota Vikings - L - Can Lions really win first 4 road games? No.
Arizona Cardinals - W - Another should-be victory
@ Dallas Cowboys - L - Close game, but I don't want to be too optimistic
Atlanta Falcons - L - Tough game to predict. If Vick isn't playing, that definitely is a W. Entertaining Thanksgiving Day game
Minnesota Vikings - W - Lions find stop losing skid...
@ Green Bay Packers - L - ...for one week
Cinncinati Bengals - W - Carson Palmer will have a good season
@ New Orleans Saints - W - I will never put Deuce McFumbles a lot on my fantasy team again
@ Pittsburgh Steelers - L - Rothlisburg... I just realized I have no idea how to spell that.
That's it! They should be at least 9-7 next year. Last year, that record would put them into the playoffs. The question is, will Joey succeed?

Bless This

While driving today, I was cut off by a Subaru with a Jesus fish and a "Love is the Answer" bumpersticker. Apparently the guy was borrowing his wife's crappy "Love-mobile". What is the world coming to when even the lambs of God have road rage.

Have you ever played a board game with someone who gets overly excited when the tiny plastic hourglass is tipped over? I was playing Taboo with my family this weekend. I know, what 22-year-old still has family game night? My relatives were over and the choice was games or drinking. When it was my mom's turn, she would turn into an 80 year old at a McDonald's drive thru. "Ready, go. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU USE TO..." It was very comical.

I have shaved 10 points off my golf score from last year. Which means I have gone from embarassing to "just say you're a casual golfer". I am proud of my first and second shots. I need to improve on my chipping and putting.

Sad Fact

Mike's blog profile has been viewed 176 times. Kevin's has been viewed 81 times. Mine has been viewed 8 times. At least 4 of those times were probably me. That puts a good ole dagger in the confidence balloon. Aw, screw it. I don't care if random strangers look at my profile.