Brady, Brain Injuries and Daniel Day Lewis

-So, the Boston media is in an uproar over these photos of Tom Brady that surfaced, showing Brady and supermodel girlfriend Gisele Bundchen laying next to a pool while she is feeding him. Various people are saying this means Brady has gone soft, he's an attention whore and shouldn't he be spending this time rehabbing?

OK, the last one first: this season isn't even over yet. ACL injuries take around 9 months to heal. Brady blew out his knee in September and he's been rehabbing since then. So, he's almost 5 months in and has 7 more months until he has to report for training camp; I think he'll make it. Why don't we allow him a day off now and then? As for the attention whore aspect - if you hate these pictures so much, stop looking. They're famous, so people are going to be taking their picture where ever they go. What do you want them to do, stay inside all day with the curtains drawn?

Now as for Shaugnessy's contention that being fed by a beautiful woman makes you soft - may we all become such pansies. Look, if you're laying there while a woman feeds you lunch it can only mean a few things. You are either:

1. an infant
2. deathly ill
3. a roman emperor.
4. laying some serious pipe.

Maybe Shaugnessy's got such a problem with this because none of those apply to him. Now, we know old Danny ain't deathly sick or an emperor and he's only an infant when it comes to Curt Schilling. Guess you can fill in your own answer here.

The main reason this bothers me is because this opens the door for gossip columnists to weigh in on football related matters. Look, I don't tell you whether or not Angelina Jolie's dress makes her look fat. If you can tell me the difference between a 4-3 and a 3-4, only then you can tell me what you think about how this affects the Patriots.

-So a new medical study released the other day shows that football players' brains are significantly damaged by hard hits which, over time, cause harmful and lasting effects. I, for one, was shocked, shocked I tell you, by this discovery. It's almost as if football is a violent game or something.

OK, I'm not going to harp on the report's annoying statements of the obvious. It's a known fact that a big hit in a football game is the equivalent of being in a serious car crash and that each one of those can take a month off your life. There is a reason that the average NFL career is 4 seasons, and that every year you see players wearing a new type of helmet to cushion big hits. The players today aren't looking to get any smaller and thus, the hits are only going to get harder.

I'm just annoyed that this story gets brought up every year during the week before the Super Bowl. People get all in a lather about it for about 2 days, then football is over for the season and we forget about it until August. Then in August we start back up and people are too busy wondering about who's going to make the 4th tight end spot on the roster to care about players who are retired. Faux-concern is one of my bigger pet peeves with the media. If you really care about something, you won't just bring it up when there is nothing else to talk about.

-After the Celtics game last night there was nothing on TV. So, as I'm flipping around the movie channels I settled on Last of the Mohicans, starring the impressive Daniel Day-Lewis. Now, for a movie that came out in 1992, it has held up pretty well. Solid cast, good pace and awesome score. I've also read the book, so you're probably expecting me to compare/contrast the two. However, despite all that, this movie just makes me think of the hotel we used to stay in when we would go up to Lake George in New York (two pools!). I'm well-travelled like that.

This can't be a real thing...

For the most part I am pretty good about not falling into the trappings of infomercials. I'll occasionally get sucked into a product (the Amazing Pasta Pot remains one of my better purchases), but I often have the willpower to change the channel before I hear what the once-in-a-lifetime low, low price is going to be. I wish I could say that went for all of my family, because for a time we had not one, but two magical Workout Beans in the house.

But last night I caught what was either the tale end of a commercial or infomercial, I'm not sure which, for a product I simply had to investigate further today. That product is the JumpSnap. The JumpSnap is essentially weighted short ropes that give you all the benefits of jumping rope without the pesky rope. Now you don't have to worry about finding enough clearance or tangles in the rope (as if tangles with rope that thick are really that hard). I love that infomercials can invent problems you never knew you had, just so that they can solve them with a product you never knew you needed. And, here's the best part, it's only $60 (plus shipping and handling, of course). Are you kidding me? You can get a professional jump rope for $12-$15. If that's too high tech for you, how much does a solid piece of rope cost, about $2 a foot?

Now, you probably wouldn't guess it to look at me, given the size 14 feet and 4 inch vertical, but I was a solid jump roper back in the day. How else would you explain my trainer-approved "awesome calves"? Coach MacGuire used to make us do all sort of weird training techniques for shot put and at one point I was well over 100 jumps in a minute. So, this jump rope without the rope offends me. Where is the skill of jumping rope when there is no rope? It's just jumping (Addison, by the way, already a pro at this). If you don't have to worry about landing on the rope then you may as well not even bother with moving your hands around. Then it's just you bouncing up and down for 20 minutes and you look like an idiot.

Also, I hate that we've taken a kid's toy and made it into work as adults. No wonder growing up sucks so much. "Hey, remember how much fun you used to have with this? Now I'm going to make you do it for an hour, no matter how much you complain. Start sweating! Oh and you don't even get a rope. Just the jump part!" What's next, SeekPro, which will be Hide and Seek without the part where your friend is hiding? You just spend an hour looking around your house, never finding anyone. "You'll burn calories while you look and as an added bonus you'll get to see all the areas of your house that you need to go back to later and clean. Isn't being an adult fun?"

Why is this on my iPod?

I ask that question far too much.

Whenever I sit down to play video games I'll mute the TV, put my iPod in the iDock and hit shuffle. This is because I pretty much only play sports video games and I frankly, don't need to hear the same comments over and over again when I'm playing Tiger Woods, Madden or NCAA Football (I know that was bad shot into the water. Obviously, I wasn't trying to hit it there. And yes, I ran the same play twice in a row, Herbstreit; thanks for pointing it out). But I find myself frequently hitting the next button on my iDock remote and skipping over certain songs. This is my iPod, so you would think that I would have approved of all the songs on there, and to a degree you would be right, but a deeper look reveals a more complex answer.

You see, my musical tastes could best be described as schizophrenic. I've got everything from Garth Brooks to Ludacris, from Beethoven to Metallica on my iPod. Part of this comes from being a DJ and needing a diverse collection of music depend on what shift I was working, some of it is downloading songs to make CDs for friends, and some from the fact that I can appreciate all types of music. (Of course, then there is some shit that I have no idea why it's there. For example, why do I have any techno or trance music on there? I hate that stuff.) The issue with me is that I need to be in a certain mood to listen to certain music and if I'm not in the mood to hear it then I actually get annoyed that it is on my iPod. I can't remove it because you never know when the mood will strike and also, some of this stuff is only on my computer and thus, if I take it off my iTunes, it's gone forever.

You see, this is where CDs can still be superior to iTunes. If the mood so strikes I can go grab any CD from my complex filing system (more on that in a second) and put in on. But, if I don't feel like listening to something for a long time I can leave it on the shelf and let it collect dust. I own around 400 CDs, but only have 1000 songs on my iPod, because I haven't taken the time to upload of all my CDs to iTunes and I don't think I will. To be honest, there are some songs that shouldn't be uploaded (I didn't always have the best taste in music). But, this leads to another way that CDs are better than iTunes. Because I had to buy the entire CD I found music that I normally never would have discovered and that you just don't get in a 30 second clip to test out when you're thinking of getting something. For example, back in the day I bought Weezer's blue album just for the song "Buddy Holly", only I found it to be one of the best albums to listen to from beginning to end (however, I haven't liked much Weezer since then).

I also like CDs because I use my CD rack to tell my personal history, like cavemen used to do with wall drawings. Much like Jon Cusack's character in High Fidelity I keep my CDs in autobiographical order (and, no, I never have any problem finding a specific CD - ever). As I scan my CDs in the order that I bought them, starting with Stone Temple Pilot's Core, I can trace my own personal trip through adolescence:

See, this was when I thought Jock Jams were the greatest CD collection ever (told you I didn't always have good taste). Oh, here's where I went through the phase when I was convince that DMX spoke to me as a white kid from Norwood. And here's when I was pretending to like Eminem cause I thought it would help me get in that girl's pants.

Yes, I will grant you that it is far more convenient to carry around one iPod versus 400 CDs. I'm simply pointing out that sometimes the more convenient option isn't always the best one.

The Hollywood Copy Machine

Now, I haven't been to Los Angeles in a very, very long time. In fact, I think the last time I was there on vacation I was around 11 years old. But from my east coast perch, it doesn't strike me as a land of very deep thinkers. I come to this conclusion because of the way that movie and television executives just take an idea that works and beat it into the ground, usually very quickly. Sometimes it can be the recycling of an old idea (why else have there been roughly 35 Friday the 13th movies?) or the need to take advantage of a new idea why it's still new (hence 13 Law and Orders and 5 CSI's).

But, the weirdest trend to me is when separate movie studios end up putting out the same movie a couple months apart. You know, first they come out with Volcano, then they follow it up the same year with Dante's Peak. There was even talk that another Titanic movie was in the works, but when they got a hold of stills from the Leonardo DiCaprio one, they knew they weren't going to top that and halted production. What's funny is that there is usually one (Armageddon) that is much better than the other (Deep Impact).

Well, this year's theme appears to go back to the old standard of fighting Nazis, cause we can't make movies about fighting Russians anymore. And again, one of them sucks and one of them was good. First came Valkyrie, which is apparently hysterical to watch for all the wrong reasons. Now, I haven't seen it, but I'm told Tom Cruise is doing his best "Tom Cruise is really serious" acting job and not quite coming up with the goods. This was followed a couple months later by Defiance, which I covered the other day. But, this year we've even got a third Nazi-themed movie in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. This was based on a book, and I'm sure the book is better (cause it always is), but I saw the movie and that was enough - this was depressing as all hell. Reading the book would just send you over the edge. I can't believe this was recommended to me, and really I can't believe I followed the recommendation. I need to do my homework about these artsy movies beforehand. When I recommend a movie it's because I think it's provide you with some enjoyment, not ruin the rest of your night. Apparently, not everyone feels the same way.

I should mention that it's not all bad to use an old idea. For example, when you take an idea that failed (turning comic books into movies that SUCKED: The Phantom or The Shadow) and make it good (X-Men) then it's a great thing. But you should only do it when an idea fails. If the movie works perfectly, but doesn't set itself up for a sequel then you should just accept that and move on. I mention this because I heard the worst thing ever: they're going to make Green Street Hooligans 2. Worst... idea... ever. Look, they knew not to mess with Rudy, or Swingers or Hoosiers. Hollywood just needs to let this little notion pass on through. The first one was a great film, they need to just let it stand on it's own.

Springing the Old Man

Finally was able to get my dad out of the knee rehab place. I picked him up today and he's home, sporting a sweet new scar to go with his new knee. Came right in and made his way over to the recliner. Nice.

Defiance

I ventured out yesterday to go to a Sunday matinee of the new movie Defiance, starring Daniel Craig. Despite the woman behind me who spent the first hour trying to clear her throat at 3 minutes intervals, it was a good time. But, I need to stop buying the big soda. The movie stretches from August of 1941 to April of 1942 and I had to pee around December. It's not a very long movie, but it just felt that way to my bladder.

The movie tells the story of three brothers who are hiding from the Germans and keep taking in other people on the run, until their camp in the woods is a couple hundred strong. It's like Schindler's List meets Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Overall, I liked the movie, though it wasn't what I expected. The trailer made it seem as if it was going to feature a lot of action, almost like a Red Dawn-type movie (obviously with better acting). Turns out the action in the trailer is about all there is in the movie. Instead it was a slower pace, more deliberate. Went in expecting an action movie, but instead it was more about perseverance, morality and survival.

I was probably aided by the fact that I dated a Jewish girl for two years, cause there were certain references to the religion that would definitely have gone over my head if I hadn't. I know this cause Franny had no idea what they were talking about and had me explain stuff in the car on the way home. This movie also receives bonus points for being filmed entirely in Lithuania, the fatherland. Though, this won't do much for the tourism of the country, unless you have a need to look at a lot of trees, cause that's all you really see here.

This was the latest Hollywood movie based on a true story, which tells me the DVD will probably feature a documentary that is far more interesting. Also, they showed pictures of the real-life brothers at the end of the movie and you realise how odd a choice it was to cast Daniel Craig. I like him as an actor, but when they showed a picture of the camp there wasn't a blond hair in sight. They probably went with it because, honestly, who can turn down a guy who's last two Bond movies had $50 million opening weekends?

At the end of the day it was a movie that had explosions, swearing and a hot girl, so I wasn't disappointed. If you were thinking about seeing it, you should make your way to the movies.

Drinking To Save Electricity

How I Met Your Mother raised a great point last week (the only one in a pretty disappointing episode): all men, at one point in their lives, think about opening a bar. It seems like the best idea in the world. It'll be a great place to watch a game, meet some people and generally have a good time. You'll name it something cool and sport related like "The Bullpen" or "Center Court" and it will be a hotspot in town. It's a fantastic idea... until you actually look into how much work goes into running a successful bar. Having worked in the bar industry for two years, it's more of a pain in the ass than it looks. You have to do a lot of work for not that much fun. Also, you don't want to know how much a liquor license is going to cost you in a state like Massachusetts.

The dream is then modified to wishing you had a friend who owned a bar, and that he's the cool kind of friend who would let you sit in the private back room and not charge you for beers when the game is on. Once you realise that you don't have any friends with the kind of money or brains to maintain a business you modify the dream again to converting your basement into a home bar/mantown hangout. That is, until you remember the high radon tests levels that are always showing up down there. Probably not the best place for a hangout. Then you just have to resign yourself to the lowest standard of keeping the dream alive - the beer fridge.

A beer fridge is an extra waste in my house, because I'm the only one that drinks. Despite what you've heard about the Irish, that doesn't apply to my family at all. Occasionally my dad might have one, but it's mostly the SuperBowl... actually, I think it's just the SuperBowl. As a result the fridge in the basement was constantly humming just to keep my 12-pack of MillerLite cold. A huge waste of electricity, so we shut it down. However, when we found out that Christmas was going to be at our house this year we decided to have some beer around. We picked up quite a bit... only to have people bring whatever they felt like drinking. As a result, we had a bunch of leftover beer. We weren't about to plug the beer fridge back in, so instead we kept the remainder in coolers in the kitchen - and it was up to me to get rid of it all.

Every morning when I would come downstairs the coolers would be staring back at me... mocking my teetotaling ways. So, over the last month I've been slowly chipping away, going from two coolers, to one... to finally just keeping the last 6 pack in our normal fridge. Well, I'm pleased to announce that I finally finished the last remnant of Christmas beer last night watching the Notre Dame/UConn game.

So, moral of the story, if you're planning to come over for the Super Bowl next Sunday... please, don't feel compelled to buy me extra beer. Just bring what you feel like drinking. My liver will thank you.

Sports Movies and The Mouse

I finally got around to seeing The Express, which is Disney's telling of the Ernie Davis story. Now, for those of you who don't know the back story I won't give away here. It's pretty interesting and even if you don't want to see the movie, you should at least Wikipedia Mr. Davis to get some details.

Now, as for the movie itself, it wasn't bad. I went in with fairly low expectations, which I'm sure helped... on the other hand I knew the story and how it ended, which probably did not. Thought they could have done better casting a young Jim Brown and I'm not sure if you end up liking Dennis Quaid's character or not. It was a typical Disney sports movie with lots of slow motion running, extreme close-ups of big hits, a very solid soundtrack, a sequence of someone training in the rain (it's always in the rain) and a racially divided team slowly coming together. It's their formula and it seems to work for them. If you've seen Remember the Titans, you've seen most of The Express. Personally I wouldn't put it as high up as that, but it was definitely better than Invincible. On the sports movie scale it falls somewhere around the level of Glory Road, at least on my scale. It's not Rudy or Hoosiers, I know that much.

The main problem I am finding with sports movie DVDs lately is that, since most are based on true stories, they are accompanied by a documentary in the special features section of the DVD that tells the true story. This documentary is usually better than the movie you just watched. Gridiron Gang was a perfect example of this. In the special features section, the stars of that movie are talking about how they weren't going to do the movie until they watched the documentary that followed the real team and how great that was. Well, then what the hell do I need your movie for? I'll just go see the documentary. The one for The Express also featured the director telling a very interesting story about how Davis fought with a speech impediment during his childhood, but overcame it, only to have it come back during one racial incident later in his life that made him so angry he couldn't control his stutter. It was a great story... would have been nice if it was in the actual movie, not just the special features.

-I would like to take a moment to tout one of my favorite tools, The Mouse. I was making a TV stand for my mom this afternoon and I forgot how much easier this thing is versus using sandpaper. Just does a great job for a smaller job like this one. So, of course, they don't make it anymore. Typical.

This post is all about football...

My buddy Frank loves to call me with the latest sports rumors. He can't wait to tell me all about the latest thing that he's heard. And, it must all be true, cause it's on the radio.

Yesterday he wanted to get my thoughts on a report that Charlie Weis was about to quit the head coaching job at Notre Dame to return to the Patriots as Offensive Coordinator. I'm not sure where this came from, but I can't imagine it happening. First off, Notre Dame just went through a big show of telling anyone who would listen that Coach Weis will be returning for a fifth season. If he had any thoughts of leaving, he had outs before now. I know that Weis isn't the most charming of people (he is a football coach, after all), but I think that he would at least have the decency to tell the school that he was considering leaving and thus, not to complete dismiss any rumors that are out there. So, I don't think he'll going anywhere... this season.

Next season is completely a different scenario. If the Irish have another 7-5 season which nets them another lower bowl invite, then the school would probably look to get out from underneath the massive contract extension they gave Weis in his first year. If that were the case then I could see Coach Weis looking for a soft landing spot. And what better place than with his old team, his good friend Bill Belichick and the player that ran his offense better than anyone else, Tom Brady. With Josh McDaniels heading for the Denver Broncos the Offensive Coordinator job is technically open. The Patriots have announced that Bill O'Brien will be taking over as QB coach and have input on play-calling. Essentially, he'll have McDaniels's old job without the title. This is the same thing that the Patriots did when Weis left for ND four seasons ago and spent the season without naming an Offensive Coordinator. But, if a year from now he's out of work I could see Belichick giving Weis the coordinator job and quietly demoting O'Brien without having to actually strip him of the job title. It almost works out too well.

That, of course leaves one to question who will step in to helm Notre Dame. This week the interweb was all abuzz with talk that Jon Gruden, who was leading the charge for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until last week, was interested in the job. I know he's won a Super Bowl (coaching against the team that he built and knew their entire playbook... it was a little like playing as both teams in Madden) but I don't think he'll be a very good college coach. Just look at how he handle quarterbacks. He's had roughly 20 on his roster in three seasons. Jeff Garcia came out yesterday and blasted the way that Gruden handles players, essentially blaming his people skills for the reason he was fired. I can't imagine that will go over too well with college-aged kids. I'm sure he could flash the Super Bowl ring and recruit well, but that has never been Notre Dame's problem. I just don't think Gruden has the patience to take an 18 year-old kid and mold him into a professional. In fact, I wouldn't be interested in any of the big-name head coaches who could still be looking for work next December (Brian Billick, Mike Shanahan, Bill Cowher... maybe Holmgren, but even that's dicey). To me they would always have one eye towards the NFL. A proven college guy like Tommy Tuberville is a much better idea. Or, back up a truck full of money and try and get Urban Myer to leave Gainesville (unlikely). To me, those are much better options.

-I'll be curious to see just how much money Matt Cassel cost himself by declaring that he would be happy to come back to the Patriots and be Tom Brady's backup. Part of that could be that he knows he's going to be franchised and doesn't want to cause friction with an organization that he knows he will be returning to. Part of it could be that he realises that not every franchise is going to have Randy Moss and Wes Welker to throw to. But, the larger issue to other teams could be that it almost seems as if he doesn't want to start. That's not a good thing for a quarterback to be showing anyone. You want a QB who will step on people's necks to get to the front of the line and are fiercely competitive. Having the chance to start is what all quarterbacks should be trying to get, not starting and then being happy to be a well-payed clipboard holder. I think we just saw why he stayed behind Matt Leinart when he was in college.

MORF and the Movies

-I won't join one party or the other because I have this crazy ideal about voting for the best candidate, regardless of party affiliation. So, I'm a registered Independent while most of my family and friends are pretty liberal Democrats. However, I do have My One Republican Friend (from here on out referred to as MORF). MORF likes to call and tell me all the ways that President Obama will make the world a terrible place, and now he has 48 hours of evidence to back up his claims. Afterall, he's been President since Tuesday (allegedly) and nothing has been fixed yet. Today he called to inform me that Obama will be terrible for national security since he wants to clear out Guantanamo Bay and that he must be a communist, since Fidel Castro had said he likes Obama. Oh, and he is responsible for the Israel/Gaza conflict. I look forward to four more years of this.

Fortunately, MORF has it all planned out to save us (this is especially ironic because MORF doesn't plan out what he's doing tomorrow). He has Obama getting a second term, which is odd considering the bad job he's apparently about to do... I guess we're just going to be dumb and re-elect him in four years anyway. But he wants us to know that Jeb Bush will be running in 2016 and he has every intention of voting for him. Nevermind that the Bush name is mud in the Republican party right now; he's allegedly running for Senate next year and after that, it's straight to the White House. MORF thinks he'll straighten everything out... we just have to wait for 8 years for it to happen.

The good news is that I was able to talk MORF into promising that no matter what happens between now and 2012, there is no way he'll vote for Sarah Palin. You're welcome, America.

-Normally, I'm pretty good about seeing at least one of the movies that end up being nominated for a Best Picture award. I don't always find the time to see them before they leave theatres, but I'll at least see them once they hit BlockBuster. But, this year I'm 0-5 and I'm not that interested in seeing any of them. Of the five, only Frost/Nixon seems all that interesting (I do enjoy the fact that the star who played David Frost then had to film the third Underworld movie. You know he signed a three picture deal not knowing he was eventually going to start getting Oscar-worthy work). Should it win Best Picture I would also be interested in seeing Slumdog Millionaire, just to see what all the hype is about.

I've been particularly bad this year because I've only see one movie that was nominated for any of the big Oscars, and that was Dark Knight with Heath Ledger's nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Not that this particularly matters anymore. I haven't thought highly of the Oscars since Shakespeare in Love beat Saving Private Ryan. As time passes, that selection looks worse and worse. To me the sign of a good movie is one that you can watch repeatedly. I've seen Saving Private Ryan about 30 times. Barely made it through Shakespeare in Love. Of course, by that logic, The Rock would be the most decorated film in history

I could try for April, I guess...

About a week ago, as the remnants of the first big snowfall were just about gone, I had a chance to go out and grab the last remaining Christmas lights from our front shrubs. They had been buried under the snow for about two weeks and now was my chance to bring them in for the season. But, there was still some snow on them and that had become frozen like a rock. As a result, I didn't want to pull on the wires too hard, fearing I would snap the cords and the lights would then be useless. So, I figured I would give the snow another couple of days to melt away. Then this happened:

14 inches of fresh snow later, I guess that would be considered an oops by me. Oh, and the backyard isn't much better.


Because of all the melting and then re-freezing at night, the backdoor is damn near impossible to open up. Not that that is the biggest hurdle, as the timer that turns those lights on and off is under about two feet of snow right now. And we're supposed to get some more snow this Saturday. Guess we'll be enjoying the Christmas lights for an extra long time this winter.

That's enough, Kobe...

As an unabashed Celtic lover, it is expected that I have no room in my heart for Kobe Bryant. But you see, it goes beyond just rooting for laundry. With most athletes, once they put on your team's jersey they go from enemy to friend in an instant. For example, I'm pretty indifferent about a guy like Deron Williams, but if he ever signed with the Celtics I would be first in line to buy his jersey and tout his point guard skills above a guy like Chris Paul (something I would usually laugh about Utah fans doing). But, there are certain guys who, if they were to ever sign with my favorite team, I would seriously question if I would have to switch allegiances for the remainder of their contract.

The first on my list would be Leonard Little. Here's a guy who killed someone while driving drunk and was so changed by it that he got busted for DUI again six years later. Why he flies under the radar and never gets brought up but a guy like Pacman Jones is synonymous with everything wrong in the NFL never ceases to annoy me. The other one is Kobe Bryant.

Fine, his skills are unquestioned; he's probably been the best player in the NBA the last two years - can't deny it. Doesn't change the fact that he is a douche of the highest order. Also, I feel he suffers from an inferiority complex the that is only matched by the size of his ego. When any NBA player (but especially LeBron) is brought up, Kobe must weigh in on the topic and make it about him. For example, during the summer Olympics, there were several stories about how teams in Europe would offer a king's ransom to get LeBron to play over there instead of the NBA. The next day, Kobe talked about how he would like to play in Italy someday. Spotlight turned. Jersey sales are slipping cause everyone already has your jersey? Just switch numbers and get it right back up in the top 10 in sales. Can't be out of the headlines for too long, now can we Kobe?

This week, with LeBron filming his AllState commercial about switching to football, people are wondering on ESPN if LeBron would be as successful in the NFL (he was all-state in football for Ohio while in high school). Kobe quickly let everyone know he would be a great wideout for the Eagles. Oh, and yesterday he wanted us all to know he could play left field for the Dodgers, too.

OK, I'm taking the last one first: Kobe, you are not Michael Jordan. I know he gave baseball a shot, but you need to stop and try to be your own man. Early on in your career when you tried to do the tongue waving thing, it was amusing cause you were 18. You're 30 now, man. Stop trying to be the next MJ. Now, about this football thing. I doubt LeBron would be good at football, despite his size, but I know Kobe couldn't do it. He's 6'6" and that would be nice at the goal-line, but at 205 he would get wrecked by just about any safety in the league. In other words, he may go get it, but he ain't coming down with it.

These stories about athletes who think they could cross over to other sports always annoy me. Like when Terrell Owens said "They call me the Michael Jordan of Football." (By the way, T.O., no they don't. I don't know of one person that does that. Just cause you lit up some boy band guy in a Rock n' Jock event doesn't mean you could start for the Lakers.) Trying to compare football and basketball is apples and oranges. I'll give you that basketball players, just because of the sheer amount of running and jumping they have to do, are probably the better pure athletes. But football players are the much, much tougher athletes. In basketball you're celebrated if you have the ability to play with the flu. In football you're expected to play on a broken leg. In basketball you're rewarded if you can flop and draw a foul on an opposing player. Football? Stop whining for a call, pansy.

Bottom line, Kobe: You're extremely good at what you do. Now just shut up and do it.

One Last Post About President Bush...

Alright, he's back in Texas and wants to fade from the spotlight - as much as any former leader of the free world can, anyway. So, I'm not going to keep taking shots at the guy because, as Dan Quayle once said, "We don't want to go back to tomorrow, we want to go forward."

But, I was watching TV and Letterman had a simply brilliant Top Ten to show us, which I figured needed to be shared:


-Also, I came across a great list of all the things that have gone wrong in sports since Bush took over the Presidency. When you line it all up like that it's just staggering...

Change Comes to Washington...

I've never thought of myself as overly-political. But, today's inauguration was appointment viewing for me. I made sure that I was going to be able to watch today's festivities.

I have to admit being slightly disappointed in the new President's speech. It was probably the third most impressive speech I've seen him give. Not that he needed to hit a homerun - they can't take the election back, but this was his chance to pull in some of the doubters. He was on almost every channel in the world, it was an opportunity to capture the world's attention. I would put it behind the speech he gave the night he won the election and well behind his Red State/Blue State speech he gave at the 2004 Democratic Convention. And, when you're taking over the most powerful office in the land, shouldn't the oath be more than 4 sentences? Seems a little anti-climactic for such a big deal.

Now, I'll agree with my Republican friends (ok, friend - I've just got the one) that I don't think Obama will be able to turn this around in a week. People are talking as if he'll come in and all the problems in the world will be solved. Probably going to get worse before it gets better. Personally, I think it will be more like JFK's first 100 days when they asked him what surprised him and he responded with "When we got into office, the thing that surprised me most was to find that things were just as bad as we'd been saying they were."

But, I still think that Obama has a better chance of turning this country around than McCain would. It was time for a new voice, a new direction and a new party to have power. Just look at the mall this afternoon - there were 2 million people there and they had to turn people away. President Obama managed to get people interested in politics at a time when most people are pretty down about their government. And, at the end of the day, the only thing that will turn around the problems in this country will be if people get involved and don't let their government officials spend valuable time or money arguing about a bridge to nowhere.

The question now is what do I put on my cellphone countdown? I've been counting down to Bush's last day for about two years. It'll be odd not to see the little clock in the corner of my phone's display.

-Just making sure this blog doesn't get too serious, cause that would be weird, I'm throwing in a link to the greatest invention ever. This thing will finally allow you to delay your radio enough to sync it to your HDTV broadcasts. No more listening to Joe Buck, Tim McCarver, Mike Fratello or Dan Deirdorf. Could have used this at last year's Super Bowl or any of the World Series.

Picking Your Poison...

Last night the weather reports that I saw had my particular neck of the woods getting somewhere between 2-6 inches of snow. I awoke to five inches of snow on the ground and it was still coming down. When it finally stopped around 2:30, we had about 8 inches of snow. Giving the weatherman the full benefit of the doubt... he's still wrong. Actually, I should say when it paused, as it started back up again around 6. Apparently when it stops at about 3 am, we'll have an addition 2-4 inches of snow. Of course, that's apparently just another pause as we're getting more snow Monday night with 4 more inches of the white stuff expected.

When I talked to my dad at his knee rehab center he couldn't have been more excited. He was loving every single flake and rejoicing at every inch of snow added to the total simply because, for the first time in probably 50 years, he didn't have to worry about shoveling any of it. I'm going to tell his physical therapist to be a little tougher with him tomorrow since he missed out on some good exercise.

I haven't decided which I would prefer: 14 inches of snow all at once, or in slow enough intervals that I end up shovelling three times. If it comes all at once it's heavier and harder to move, but at least I get it over with. Over the length of time is more trips outside, but it's easier to get rid of the smaller amounts. Plus I get a tremendous workout given the length of the driveway. Honestly, I come in looking like I just spent two hours at the gym. But I really only need one of those a day, not three.

I think most people would say the answer here would most likely be C) move to where it's warm. Of course, I can't say that cause you and I both know damn well it won't happen. I don't do the heat that well.

There's no real point to all of this (which is not to say it's different from any of my other blog postings) - I just wanted to have something to read ironically come August when it's the third 90 degree day in a row.

-Turns out that I got my Super Bowl picks right, for a change. Now, despite the high levels of bandwagon jumping fans, I think you've got to root for the Cardinals going forward. The Steelers have won it enough.

Enjoyable Viewing and Sports Guesses...

-I think one of the reasons that the NFL is so successful is that they have the timing of the games down to a science. With games at one and four on a Sunday afternoon, you could theoretically watch a game and then spend the rest of the day actually, you know, doing productive things. The problem with basketball is that games don't usually start until 7 or 8 and thus by the time the game is over you don't really want to go out, as you'll just be back home in an hour. Not today, my friends. The Notre Dame/Syracuse game was on at noon and the Celtics/Nets tilt started at 1. Both games were over by 3:30 and the rest of my day was open to work on projects, check my emails and do lots of other things... or I could watch the Georgetown/Duke game followed by the UNC/Miami game or the Marquette/Providence game. But, I'm mean, there's a chance I could be productive today. But with my dad at his knee rehab center, someone has to keep the recliner in functioning order.

-Ok, I have no insight on any of the teams remaining in the playoffs, cause I didn't watch a single Cardinals, Ravens, Eagles or Steelers game before last week, save for when the Steelers and Cardinals played the Patriots. But, since knowing what you're talking about doesn't seem like a prerequisite to work on a sports show anymore, I'm as qualified as the next guy to offer picks in tomorrow's games. Thus, I'm going with the Steelers, 31-17 and the Cardinals, 27-23.

What is it about Newbury Comics...

...that make it impossible to remember what I went in there for?

For those of you who may not be from the Boston area, Newbury Comics is a music and movie store that also has a large collection of unusual trinkets in the aisles as well as a vast collection of tees shirts - from amusing to band shirts, so 13 year old girls can buy AC/DC shirts and try and look tough. It's a great store because they have a huge collection of DVDs so that you can pick them up on the cheap, for those movies that you liked... but didn't like enough to pay $20 for a copy. Well, they just opened a huge store in Norwood and I figured that yesterday was as good a day as any to add to my movie collection.

Currently, I'm in the process of re-buying all the movies that I own on VHS on DVD. I'm taking it slow and steady only buying one or two at a time. But, since I got a couple of gift cards for Christmas, I figure that I could make a very healthy dent in my list. I currently have a pretty lengthy list of about 50 movies, but when I walk in I go completely blank on it. Yesterday when I was going to the store I was a man on a mission. I was getting Speed, Bad Boys and Apollo 13. I kept repeating the list to myself when I was walking in... but yet, two minutes later I was wandering the aisle just staring at all the titles. A brief stream of consciousness re-enactment:

What did I come in here for? I knew I should have written it down. Wait, I think one of the ones I wanted was Speed... yeah, that's one of them. Oh wait, SuperMan Returns. I liked that one... kind of. Wait, it's only $3.99 for the 2 disk special edition? Seems like a waste to not get it. Shit, what else was on my list? Did I need a new copy of Rocky? Did I already get a new copy of Rocky? Wait, Ronin... now that was a sweet movie. How do I not own a copy of this?

On and on this went for a solid half an hour. This is especially ironic considering in any other phase of life I am usually the super-organized one who remembers all the details. Final tally was 6 movies, for a grand total of $30. Only two of them were on my list, but what's nice is I built myself extra long shelves, so I've got the room.

-And by the way, Happy Birthday Jay!

What's in my head today...

-So, my dad has his knee replacement surgery on Monday. He forbid any of his kids from visiting him in the hospital, cause he's my dad, but told us that we could see him when they transported him to the rehab center that he was going to be in post-surgery. He got moved late yesterday so we were able to finally visit him today. He's seems to be doing very well, despite the new large scar. He's already able to bend the knee to about 90 degrees, which is very impressive given that he had the surgery only four days ago. I credit the rehab center he went to. They're making him do physical therapy a couple of times a day and making him work, versus just letting him go home and trusting him to do the stuff on his own. It seems to be making a world of difference.

What's funny is that the place is essentially a rest home and, at 60 years old, he's the youngest non-staff person there by a good 20 years. Addison and Charlotte went and visited him today and brought the chaos that they are so famous for. Addison discovered that you can use a walker as a sweet jungle gym and toy. I can only imagine what is going to happen when Abigail, the human pixie stix, goes to visit. My dad is going to get a rep as the young, loud whippersnapper on the floor. Also, I think when he gets home he'll start wearing his pants up higher and start yelling at neighborhood kids to get off his lawn.

And, you may find this shocking at a retirement center, but the parking was a bit chaotic as well. Who would have imagined that a lot full of retirees' cars would be all over the place, with cars taking up anywhere from one to three spaces? It's almost as if old people have trouble driving.

-So, CBS is making a big deal of the fact that tonight they're airing the final CSI featuring William Peterson. Personally, I don't watch the show, I don't care if he comes or goes. But, Mr. Peterson, I looked at your IMDB page - you should be careful in your thinking here. You weren't exactly putting a great career in film on hold with this show. You may want to ask David Caruso how well leaving NYPD Blue worked out. Please notice that he's back on your sister show CSI: Miami, and damn grateful for the opportunity. Remember Rob Lowe's show after West Wing, Dr. Vegas? Neither does anybody else. In the famous words of the great rock band, Cinderella, sometimes you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

-And speaking of TV: I don't watch much TV if it's not sports. There aren't a lot of shows that I enjoy. But, one of the ones that I do like is Bones on Fox. Well, because of whatever reason - college football, baseball playoffs, stupid reality game shows - they haven't had new episodes for almost two months. So, I was looking forward to watching one tonight. Only President Bush decided that tonight at 8 would be a great time to have his farewell address. So instead of watching a show that I've been looking forward to seeing for a month, I get to watch the worst public speaker in American politics today attempt to defend the last four years of incompetence. It's like his final middle finger to America.
Dude, just go already. You've got an approval rating of about 22% right now. Taking 15 minutes in primetime isn't going to help this late in the game. Now you're just annoying us.

Well played, Listerine...

Despite my on-going love/addiction to soda, I feel that sparkling white teeth are not impossible for me to achieve. I just acknowledge that if I'm going to drink this much soda, I'll have to work a little harder to get them. So, I've gone with teeth whitening-gum and I use the whitening toothpaste in the morning and night (I don't brush after lunch... I contend not even dentists do that.) But, I decided to take my quest for white teeth up a notch add another component to my arsenal: Listerine pre-brush whitening rinse.

So, while I was spending the recommended 60 seconds to swirl it around my teeth I decided to read the directions (you know me - I love to multi-task). Turns out the container holds enough rinse for 16 days. Seems like a lot - until you get to the part where it tells you that you shouldn't expect to see results for 12 weeks. That would be 84 days. That means you need to buy at least 5 bottles of this stuff before you even know if it works.

I'm not sure if I should be impressed with their salesmanship skills... or kind of annoyed that they want me to buy that much of a product that I'm not even sure will work. In reality, the emotion I'm probably going to go with is forgetful, and not even remember to get another bottle of the stuff after I finish the first one.

Two quick last things:
-Just in case you have ever wondered if you're the worse parent ever... nope, that would be this guy.

-Here's a woman who decided that the best way to honor her favorite team winning a National Championship was to do an interpretive pole dance. I couldn't agree more. I actually did the same thing after the Celtics' Championship, but I just forgot to film myself...

A Tradition of Stupidity...

You're reading a guy that is all for tradition.

I love the fact that you can do something that has been done for years before by many different people. Some people call it being unoriginal. I call those people assholes.
It's a great way to have a link to the past, but also have a story that you can pass on to future generations so it links to the future. To me, there is just something nice about having something in place that you know will be carried on and everyone will add their own piece to the tradition, allowing it to grow. Also, it's a great way to form a bond with people. Even if you don't really know them you know that this is something that is as important to them as it is to you.

But, that's when it's a good tradition. When it's a stupid tradition I'm all for it being stopped as quickly as possible.

Yesterday they announced the newest members of Baseball's Hall of Fame. For those of you interested it was Ricky Henderson (Ricky is also a member of the 'Talking About Yourself in the Third Person Hall of Fame.' Ricky was pleased about Ricky's induction.) and Jim Rice (about frickin' time). But, that's not what bothered me. Neither guy was a unanimous induction - and no one ever will be. Why, you ask? (OK, maybe you don't care, but it's my blog). It's because Babe Ruth wasn't.

That's right. The baseball writers, in a backwards tradition, have taken it upon themselves to see that no one ever is a unanimous decision on their first attempt at induction simply because Babe Ruth missed it by 11 votes. What they are doing, essentially, is celebrating the fact that many years ago 11 men out of the 226 who could vote sat in a room and, in fits of either bias or stupidity, kept a man who one season hit more homeruns by himself then some entire teams from going into the Hall of Fame as a unanimous choice. Maybe he drank all their beer one night, who knows?

But, yes, please, let's remember these idiots by keeping up the tradition.

What the baseball writers are doing is essentially honoring a bad decision. Do you think that executives at Coca-Cola sit around and fondly remember the day someone pitched New Coke? But, what annoys me even more is the fact that these writers won't even admit that's what they're doing. They have to come up with flimsy excuses about why a guy like Cal Ripken missed it by 8 votes (Playing that many games in a row probably hurt his defense!) and yet, in the same year, 3 of these guys found a reason to vote for Dante Bichette (Um... he had a great head of hair!). Trying to make that case is laughable and it ruins the credibility of the baseball writers.

This is one tradition I'm all for ending.

What do you expect me to do, read?

First off, it's very weird to not have horse in the race when it comes to the NFL playoffs. For the first time in 5 years the Patriots were sitting at home from the start and my ride on the Panthers bandwagon on account of my brother-in-law was short-lived because Jake Delhomme remembered he was Jake Delhomme.

Now, normally I find a way to get behind one team or another. When I turn a game on I can find one reason to root for or against a team fairly easily. It can be something as simple as rooting for an upset or as stupid as rooting for whichever team doesn't feature a Manning brother. But, for the first time, I'm pretty ambivalent about all the teams remaining in the playoffs. I don't particularly like or dislike any team left and it's hard for me to watch sports when I'm not leaning one way or another. Let's examine the four teams left in the NFL playoffs:

Philadelphia Eagles: probably the easiest team for me to root against. Donovan McNabb gives me a vibe that if he was at a party he would spend the whole night comparing himself to anyone else there to make sure he's the most famous person in the room. Also, I used to work with a guy from Philadelphia and he was a douche so, even years later, it causes me to root against any team he liked. However, I think Andy Reid has become a sympathetic figure given the trouble his kids get into and also Brian Dawkins seems like he would be a blast to play alongside. Still, they already won a World Series in Philadelphia this year and adding a Super Bowl trophy may cause their fans to declare themselves best sports city when their basketball team still sucks. No dice.

Arizona Cardinals: you would think that given their history of being pathetic it would be the best story if they could rise up and shock the world. Also, Larry Fitzgerald is a beast and it's good that the rest of the NFL is beginning to see this. However, Arizona, much like D.C., Vegas or Los Angeles, doesn't really have any true fans since it's population is mostly made up of transplants from colder climates. I'm willing to bet that of the 70,ooo who will be in attendance on Sunday, about 50,000 had never been to a game before last week or are really Cowboys fans that just want to watch a team that can win a playoff game. So, they pretty much allowed the franchise to be that bad for that long with their apathy. Plus, I'm not sure that I could take an entire pre-Super Bowl week hearing about Kurt Warner and the Lord (I prefer to keep religion and politics out of my sports, thanks). Can't get behind them, either.

Pittsburgh Steelers: I used to work with a guy who was a Steelers fan and he seemed nice enough, so they've got that working in their favor. Also, despite being tied with the Cowboys and 49ers for most Super Bowl victories, the Steelers never tout themselves as "America's Team" or any of that bullshit. Plus, how can you not root for a quarterback from Miami of Ohio? Talk about under the radar. But, like I said, they've already got 5 Super Bowl victories and won as recently as 2006. Besides, not a single Irish player on the roster. Moving on...

Baltimore Ravens: thought about this and I can really only take so much of Ray Lewis. Yes, I get it, he's intense. However, he's approaching Hulk Hogan in the late 90's - the routine is getting a little stale. Also, they too recently won the Super Bowl. When it's not my team, I'm all for spreading the wealth. They do feature Tom Zbikowski, but that's not enough to hop on their bandwagon for the last two games of the NFL season.

So, now you can see my problem. For the first time that I can remember I don't have a team to root for (the Patriots), a team to get behind by proxy (the Panthers) or even a team to root against (the Colts) this late in the NFL playoffs. It's almost enough to make a guy not want to watch football this weekend. Then I looked at the weather and saw that it was supposed to be about 30 degrees and snowing this Sunday and I guess I can force myself to see how the games play out.

Why is so bright in here?

Let me tell you a little something about me that a lot of you may not know: I can't sleep when there is a lot of light in the room. It used to be any light would keep me up, but I've gotten better at it in the last year or so. However, last night was just too much for me. With all the snow falling outside the bright whiteness seemed to intensify and thus it was almost like the middle of the day in my room (I may be slightly exaggerating for dramatic effect, but only slightly). Right now, in the middle of the day, it is darker in my room than it was at 3 o'clock this morning. As a result, I got the worst night of sleep I've had in months. I never really got to sleep, instead as I would just pass out for an hour at a time.

At about 4 AM, I decided that the chief culprit for the brightness was the fact that I have just mini-blinds up and no curtains. My old room had double-thick light killing curtains that I would bring in here, only they're black and my walls are light green, so I think that it would look awful (manly, no?). So, after shoveling out the latest snowfall (I think it was about 6 inches or so. I've reached the stage that every New Englander gets to in about January - I no longer care about snow if it's less than 4 inches and if it's more than that I don't freak out as long as it's not heavy.) I came inside and started doing some online shopping, looking for curtains.

[editor's note: please don't try and suggest a sleep mask. First off, I hate those things. Secondly I tried one before and every morning the thing was either down around my neck or had slid up and off my head and it was a scavenger hunt to find it again.]

Which brings me to my next question: why are curtain so freaking expensive? I first noticed this when I was browsing through Linens N' Things (that's right - Linens N' Things... and I wasn't even with a girl) and found that, even at going out of business prices, curtains there were still $10 a panel. That's $20 a window and I have 4 of them in my bedroom. Seems high. It's not like these are special curtains - they don't open or close by themselves. Hell, they weren't even light-blocking. They just hang from the windows... like, you know, regular pieces of fabric. For that type of money I was hoping for some kind of special feature.

I held off on ordering them, because I want to see if it's as bad in my room tonight as it was last night. But if it is, then I'll probably be too sleep deprived to care that I'm getting ripped off.

Fun with Garmin...

You know, I've found the most enjoyable parts of life are when you get the chance to learn new things. For example, did you know that there are two separate 1 Boylston Places in Boston? Yeah, it's true. One is where a lovely engagement party is going to be this evening. The other, located in what would best be described as a not good section of town, is where the Garmin sent us last night.

This is, of course, entirely our own fault. We should have known we were going in the wrong direction from the start when we knew we should be getting on the highway, but Garmin told us to keep going down Washington Street. We thought that it maybe knew some fun back road that would be faster, maybe down the VFW parkway. No, it was just sending us to entirely the wrong place. At one time we were on a street that I honestly thought was a movie set; I never knew that a street could be that deserted at 9:30 on a Friday night. It wasn't until we could seeing Boston in the distance, but Garmin told us that we were 100 feet from our destination that we finally decided that perhaps the GPS is leading us astray.

Also, did you know that Garmins can sound annoyed? I swear to God, after the fifth or six time that we ignored her directions, her saying "Recalculating" started to take on a tone of being pissed at us.

Whatever, we had a grand time being lost on roads in Boston that I had never been on before. But next time I'm going to double-check Garmin's results before I go anywhere with her.

Oh Right, Now I Remember Why I Hate Politicians...

We've got two fine examples of why politicians should never talk about sports:

-The first one comes from Utah. Now, Utah had a fine season, going 13-0 while beating quality teams like TCU, BYU and Oregon State before handling Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Like I said, very nice season. But, they also had teams like Wyoming, Colorado State, Utah State and Weber State on their schedule. So, because of the number of lesser opponents they've faced they won't be getting a whiff on a national championship this year, despite being the only undefeated team left standing. Fair? Maybe, maybe not. Life isn't fair, though, so this'll just have to stand.
Unless, of course, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has anything to do with it. Mr. Shurtleff, acting like a pissed off little-league parent, has decided he will investigate the BCS and see if it violates any anti-trust laws. Nevermind that if it wasn't for the BCS Utah, who has never been a huge draw to bowl games, would probably not even been invited to a major bowl like the Sugar Bowl. Next he'll contend that those mean Alabama players were hitting too hard. This is the system that Utah and it's conference agreed to. If they want to be a bigger player in the BCS, join the Pac-10 and play a harder schedule.
If I lived in Utah (nice airport, by the way - I once spent 24 hours trapped there), I guess I just have to be comforted in the knowledge that my state is so safe my Attorney General has time to look into this kind of stuff.

-The other example this week would be Congressman Cliff Stearns (R-FL)... (why doesn't that surprise me). Congressman Stearns represents the fine city of Gainesville, which has the University of Florida, who tonight plays Oklahoma for the right to be declared National Champions in a game that really won't appease anyone, no matter who wins. Stearns would like to be able to attend the game, but like has happened to all of us at one time or another when a big game comes around, he has to work. Congress has votes scheduled all day and into the night on Thursday. Stupid government. So, Congressman Stearns drafted a letter to Speaker Pelosi, asking that they reschedule some of these votes for Friday so he and the Congressmen from Oklahoma could go to Miami for the game (for the record, he was the only one who's named appeared on the letter). Surprisingly, Pelosi didn't reschedule anything. What could they possible have to vote for on a Thursday night that would be that important? Probably some bill about water, something about fixing a bridge, maybe work on that whole economy thing, bail out the porn industry.... certifying the electoral college votes that make Barack Obama President of the United States in one of the most historic votes in Congressional history.... you know, little stuff. But this could be Tim Tebow's last game at Florida! Get you're priorities in line, Pelosi!

How do these people get elected?

Just for the hell of it, though, I will pick Florida to win the game: 38-31

Celtic concerns? I don't think so.

Got an email this morning from a friend of mine who wanted to know if I was freaked out because the Celtics had lost 5 of their last 7 games after starting out 27-2. In between the fits of laughter I was able to tell him that, no, I wasn't.

Let's take a look at history. In the past 12 years or so the Celtics have lost 67, 50, 49, 47 and 46 (3 times) games in a season. Those were bad times. This Celtics team tied the best start in NBA history and briefly had visions of a 70 win season in my head. Not exactly the same caliber. But, as with all defending Champions, they have to repeatedly take everyone's best shot, as teams that aren't going to make the playoffs treat their game against the Celtics as their own personal championship game. All this latest tumble means is that they aren't going to be a historic team. I can live with that. I don't want a team that wins 70 games and has no legs come playoff time. I'm perfectly happy with a team that wins only around 63 games in a season, but makes a deep playoff run. If you look in the Garden's rafters you see no banners for division or conference championships, only NBA titles. That's what I am worried about. Losing 5 games in the early part of January doesn't concern me at all.

What this speaks to on a larger scale is just how quickly people forget. With today's "what have you done for me today" attitude, writers and fans forget how bad things were around here just a couple of years ago. I can vividly remember going to the FleetCenter (same building, old name) and having an entire row to myself. Two seasons ago this team lost 18 games in a row. No one was fired, the losing was accepted and no one in the media complained or even noticed. Now, with 7 losses almost halfway through the season, everyone is trying to figure out what is wrong. The turnaround is astounding to the diehards like me. So, no, I'm not happy they lost to the Charlotte Bobcats. But I'm still basking in last June's glory and I'm not ready to give up the sunlight just yet.

That's an Interesting Negotiating Tactic, Boston College.

According to reports from NECN and ESPN, Boston College head football coach Jeff Jagodzinski is in New York, getting ready to interview for the New York Jets head coaching job. Boston College has decided they would rather not have him do this and told him that if he even interviews Jagodzinski will be fired. Seems a little extreme to me (I can't even imagine the number of jobs I would have lost if I wasn't even allowed to interview at other jobs. I would have been at the stadium for about a week).

Boston College has told people that they had an understanding with Jagodzinski that if he took the BC job he wouldn't look for a pro job for at least 3 seasons. Coach Jags recently finished his second season at BC, where he has been 20-8 in those seasons. Apparently, BC takes a very hard tact when it comes to negotiating (I shudder to think what their business classes are like). Are they new at this college coach thing? This is what coaches do. For all we know Jags just wants a new contract. He's been very good at BC, getting to the ACC Championship game in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. He signed an original 5-year contract when he took the job and may just be looking for a bump up in pay. Hell, Charlie Weis was half a year into his time at Notre Dame when they tore up his contract and gave him a massive 10-year extension. If this is just a guy trying to get a raise after performing above expectations then BC looks even worse:

: "I want a raise."

: "You're fired."




(thanks to the Boston Herald.com for both images)

People are speculating that the reason for the interest from the Jets is that Jagodzinski used to be offensive coordinator for the Packers when they had Brett Favre and this is a way to appease old #4. I can't see it. They were only together for 2006, I don't think that's enough time to form that strong of a bond. Favre would more likely push for Mike Holgren or Mike Sherman. Besides, Favre is going to be around for 1 more year, if that, and he's not the most popular guy in New York right now. Going against his wishes would probably go over better with the New York media. With names like Brian Billick, Mike Shanahan and Bill Cowher (I won't believe he's not coaching until every job is filled) floating around, Jagodzinski isn't getting the job unless he has an amazing interview, which makes the BC stance all the more surprising.

Now, let's be honest with each other here. Boston College has never been the job that coaches aspire to get. It's not USC, it's not Florida - coaches use BC as a stepping stone to another job. So, I understand why they would like Jagodzinski to be a little more loyal and feel insecure that he's already got a wandering eye. But, like I said, he's not getting the Jets job, so why not let him just interview? If anything it would help BC. When you're in a league with Miami, UNC and Florida State you need any edge you can get. It's got to be hard as hell to get kids from anywhere south of New Jersey to want to come up to a school in Massachusetts. This gets his name on SportsCenter as a guy who has NFL-level coaching skills. When the thing that kids want the most is to play on Sundays any NFL buzz is going to help. He comes back, he reaffirms his commitment to the school so that no recruits think he is on the way out and everyone is happy. Guess it just can't be that simple.

Not surprisingly, Jagodzinski is saying he will still go through with the interview (a football coach who's stubborn and won't have anyone else tell him what to do? I'm stunned). BC, not about to back down, is already talking about the guy in the past tense. Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo was quoted as saying "He did a wonderful job for us while he was here at BC." Nice.

Even when he doesn't get the Jets job and if BC backed off their "interview and you're fired" stance, I still can't imagine any way Jagodzinski will go back to BC. He could probably get a job as a position coach in the NFL , if not as a coordinator, or another head coaching job in college. Besides, whats the point of going back to a place where they try to control you like that. So, he'll get a new job, which he may or may not have wanted all along, and Boston College will come off looking very petty. Well played, BC - at least you can claim the moral high ground.

-So, she's back on the market. I'm single, she's single... I like where this is going.

Poker Stories

The other day I was talking to a friend of mine and he was telling me all about a poker tournament that he had entered. In his excitement of coming in 28th, he wanted to tell me almost every crucial hand he played. Unfortunately, he never noticed the fact that he basically told the same story four different ways. And that's when it truly dawned on me: all poker stories are the same. Really, they all end with one of two possible outcomes. Either you were a) way ahead and lost on the river card or b) way behind and won on the river card. The only variable is the amount of money that changes hands.

Now, I've been as guilty of this as the next guy. I once knocked two other people out in a single hand and you would have thought I invented oxygen the way I walked around telling everyone. And, only recently did it occur to me that unless the person you're talking to plays golf, then they don't want to hear your golf stories (that's why I started my other blog, to tell my golf stories). So, I feel we need to start a movement. No more telling stories about a hand of poker unless something extraordinary happens. I'm talking aliens land in the middle of the hand extraordinary. Catching an ace on the river does not count.

-Now, I know it can be hard to work around sporting goods if you have a jersey addiction, as I do. When I worked at Reebok I would immediately have the boys on the loading dock put aside any XXL Celtics jerseys that came in and would only send them up to the floor if I decided I didn't want them. Honestly, I pretty much just signed half my paycheck back right when I got it. But, even I never got so greedy as to take 2,000 of them.

Foxy Visitors...

So, about thirty minutes ago I'm at my desk doing very important (please note the sarcasm)work when I see movement out my window.

Cool, a fox.
Not the first time that we've had one in our yard, but still always interesting.

Upon further inspection, that's a pretty big boy.
I was going to call animal control but we have no small animals in my house and we all know how well animal control handles that sort of thing around here. So I decided to let him be.

Apparently, he was just the scout, cause he came back a few minutes later with his buddy and they started staking out the yard.

Finding it to their liking they both softened the ground and laid down. I tried to quietly open the front door and get a better picture, but that startled them and they took off. I haven't seen them since.

It's official, the animal revolution has started!

Dear Dolphins Fans...

First off, sorry about today. That had to suck. But, deep down you had to know that Chad Pennington's old habits would rear their ugly head at some point (there was a reason the Jets just flat-out released him, afterall). Too bad it had to be in the playoffs (By the way, there was no sarcasm there - honestly. I'm not a Dolphins fan, but I'm not going to root against a team that went 1-15 last year and had a great turnaround).

But, I feel we need to talk about your jersey habits. Look, I know that Marino was probably the greatest player in your team's history. But, watching today's game I saw a ton of Marino jerseys in the stands. The guy retired in 1999. That's last century - it's time to move on. You've had good players since then: Jason Taylor, Ricky Williams, Zach Thomas or Ronnie Brown just to name a couple. It's time for an upgrade. Wearing the jersey of a player that hasn't played in damn near a decade is just as confusing as the guy who wears a Giants jersey to a game between the Panthers and Raiders (yet watch the stands, there is always one).

Look, I've got a few Bill Russell jerseys in my closet (four to be exact) but I don't wear them to games. The guy retired before I was even born and I recognize the need to go with more current players. If you can afford the $100 to go to a game, then you can spring the $50 for a cheap replica. I know it can be tough to go with an unproven player's jersey when the Hall of Famer is sitting right there (I've got three, yes three Andy Katzenmoyers taking up room in the back of closet to attest to that). But, you need to face reality and move into the present. Marino ain't coming back and frankly, it's getting a little sad.

Did you know ink could freeze?

Neither did I. But I bet you can guess how I found out.

The journalism major in me always makes sure that I have a pen handy (for an extra dose of nerdiness, I've even got a notepad in the compartment on my car door). You never know when something important could happen so you need to be at the ready to jot down information as it happens. As a result, I'm always snaking pens from people and then they end up in my car. Thus, I've got a whole jubilee of pens in my center console. This morning, after not that cold of a night (we've had colder before) I went out and started my car, drove to my destination and, needing a pen, reached into my center console and discover that one of the pens had exploded. Apparently the ink froze, expanded the plastic to the point of cracking, and then thawed enough to spill the ink all over the cup holder. The ink then began to spread and get into the other pens, which I then couldn't click open because the ink dried. As a result, I had to toss out several previously good pens and you can bet that getting the dried ink out of my center console will not be quick or fun.

Now, like I said, last night wasn't overly cold. We've had colder this year and in past years. This is not a new habit I've just recently started, but this is the first time I've ever had a pen freeze on me. I'm assuming that not having to go anywhere the last couple of days and letting my car sit and be continuously cold was the chief culprit. Moral of the story: go out and start your car after a snowstorm.

-Oh good, Stephon Marbury wants to be a Celtic. I can see no way this ends badly. Oh wait, yes I can... I'm going to go slam my head into a wall now.

So, I'm curious...

-When did New Year's Eve become the night of jumping over shit? The last couple of years has featured specials where someone takes a motorcycle and attempts to do something stupid. This year had not one, but three of them. The best one was the first one where some guy attempted to do a backflip with a truck. He did the flip, but couldn't get the landing. The other two were guys on motorcycles trying to jump a fake volcano that didn't go off (lame) and trying to jump to the top of the replica of the Arc de Triumph in Vegas (Getting up was easy. Down? Not so much). It's a lot of build-up for something that takes about 30 seconds from start to finish.

But what I want to know is how you get into being a stunt coordinator. Did you just wake up one day and think to yourself, "You know what would be cool? If someone set their bike on fire and then tried to jump over the Sears Tower while blindfolded. As an added bonus we'll have people on the sides with flash bulbs trying to break his concentration. Hey, they could even throw stuff at him while he passes by. That would be awesome. I mean, I sure as hell won't do it, but it would be cool if someone else tried it."

-I'm not really one for resolutions, cause I forget them by January 5th. Besides, I should lose weight and drink less soda whether or not my calendar says 2009. Instead, I'm just going to set a couple of performance-based goals. Basically, I want to break 50 at WillowDale and 115 at Chemawa. Neither one will get me on the PGA tour, but it'll show some improvement.

-So, I set my iPod to shuffle at midnight and here's my song for the year: