Five Thoughts On Saturday

-Like most of the world, I'm happy to see the Rangers get to their first World Series. However, I reject this notion being put out there by the sports media that they have been this "star-crossed" franchise for years. That implies they tried hard and all the breaks went against them, which simply isn't the case. The reality is that for years the group that owned the Rangers were perfectly content to be in the middle of the pack, not spend a lot of money and be irrelevant by June. The A-Rod deal was the first and only time they even attempted to make a big splash and everyone knew that one move wouldn't be enough. I'm glad they finally have some postseason success, but let's not make this out like some long-suffering fanbase has finally been rewarded.

-I love how when people drive passed a house where the owners have put a couch on the sidewalk to be thrown away, we all turn into mini-interior decorators and begin to judge just how ugly the piece of furniture is. "Oh, I would never put that couch in my house." Well, clearly the people throwing it away realised how ugly it is as well. For all we know it is extremely comfortable and just needed a slip cover.

-I saw on a commerical the other day that Ernie DiGregorio is still the celebrity host down at Foxwoods Casino. Really? There isn't another retired athlete from the area that they could go to? I understand that he's from Rhode Island, they want a local guy and the picking from this area are probably slim, but you have got to figure that Flutie could easily be had. If not, it appears Antoine Walker could use the work. Perhaps he could work off some of that debt.

-Driving down the highway I passed a group of World War One tanks that were being carried on flatbeds, presumably to a military show. What I noticed is that the tanks all had nicknames of ladies, presumably from the men who used to operate them. This got me to thinking: should a lady really be flattered if a tank is named after her? I would get it if it was a sleek ship or something, but it really sends a mixed message when you tell a girl, "I saw this massive, box-shaped, slow-moving, green killing machine and thought of you."

-There was a big report on ESPN the other day about the results from a recent poll done by Seton Hall concerning the popularity of LeBron James before the upcoming season. Basically, while LeBron is not nearly as well-liked as he used to be, no one seems to care that LeBron switched teams. Instead most people resent the way he switched teams with his hour-long special, "The Decision." But, here's what really bothered me: at least once a week I get a phone call from some survey company, asking me to comment on political news or shopping habits even though I never asked to be put on their calling lists. How come this survey, which I would actually have had opinions on, never called?