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Tip of the hat to MarK for this lovely nugget sent in today. It’s good to know that all was right in the world back in the nineties, instead of getting a Final Four where I can’t root for any underdogs. (Or my impotent Illini)
There’s a great collection of “song charts” in a pool on flickr here.
Happy Thursday!
| Category: General, Sports and Wine, School Daze, Entertainment Tonight, All about me, Home Improvement | 1 Comment
So.
Well, I finally made it back, 2.857142857142857 readers. The following post contains ramblings and a catch all for my life over the past three months. Suffice to say, it’s been busy. Without further ado, I give you possibly the most disconnected post written by a contributor to this site ever.
SO…Taguchi.
Baseball starts tonight. My fantasy team is drafted, Frank the Tank and Siberian Baseball have made their predictions, and it’s almost time to mow the lawn. My glove is in the trunk, screaming to be let out. Maybe now that we’ve settled into the house, I can think about playing for beer league or something. It would be a lot of fun to get involved on a softball team. For the record, I predict the Cubs will finish third in the NL Central behind the Brewers (1st) and then the Cardinals (2nd) and the Sox will finish second behind the Indians in the AL central. My fantasy team, is again, young, but filled with potential. Pitching will be a problem, but I have enough young outfielders that I’ll be able to make some good trades later in the year.
Sew…A wedding dress.
Two Fridays ago, I attended my brother-in-law’s bachelor party. Two important things were learned by yours truly that evening:
1) I can still bring it. I was up for twenty-five hours and still managed to drive myself home. (Pay no attention to the fact that I confined myself to the bed/couch for the rest of the afternoon/evening…)
2) Traveling with cops gets you a lot. (My bro and his best man are both newly-minted agents of good.) We did not pay a cover charge at any establishment we attended. That saved a lot of money that I was then able to funnel into Lou’s mouth in the form of shots. Good times.
A good portion of spring break was spent discussing gambling and partaking in small bits of it. Wednesday night I had the boys over for a poker game, since I’m apparently the only one able to organize these things, and I got my money back after getting lazy and not paying attention to Marc and his pocket bullets. C’est la vie.
I also did some gambling at Elgin’s finest boating establishment. It took 90 minutes, but I finally managed to lose only $40. It looks like the casino is not going to have $5 craps tables anymore, and since I’m not getting any richer, I had to adjust my strategy for the $10 tables. (Playing only the point, and placing the six/eight seems to be the way to slowly bleed my money instead of instantly losing it.)
This past Friday was the wedding. We now have one more member of our family. She seems like she’ll keep my brother-in-law focused, so that’s a good thing. Congrats to both of them. Seeing all of TLEMK’s family was also enjoyable. Her mother’s side is predictably fun and kooky, and her dad’s side is predictably Greek. You may interpret how you will– feel free to ask TLEMK and Dev to their re-enactment of V’s grandpa and friends having a discussion…
Sow…I reap what I sow.
As you know, we’re in month seven of the House Reclamation Project Which We Will NOT Call a Money Pit Just Yet Project. So far we’ve repainted the exterior (as in, hired someone) and have slowly redecorated it to match our tastes. It’s going slowly, but now that I’m done with grad school (see below) I have a little window in which I can learn to be a real man/homeowner/Mr. Fix It type. There’s a honey-do list about mile long on the fridge that we need to have done in time for the 67th annual McIntosh Family Reunion (appearing in mid-to-late July) which in a moment of insanity, we agreed to host.
Apparently, one thing that’s not on the list that will be added is this wonderful discovery we made over Spring Break:
We need a new roof.
We’ve got curling shingles, pitted shingles, shingles missing, and a lovely collection of pieces of asphalt sprinkling our back patio. We’re getting estimates this week, all the while I keep hoping and praying that it doesn’t rain too much, and that the wind will calm down. (Yeah, I know it’s spring… I just was hoping for a calmer spring.) I know it’s an investment, and I probably won’t have to get a new roof for another 15-20 years, but I was hoping to establish an emergency fund BEFORE we had to start using it.
So…that happened.
I am DONE with my master’s thesis and my classes. I’ve decided not to walk in the graduation ceremony because I don’t think I would be able to keep my mouth shut and would start spewing invectives directed and the entire University. I don’t think they would appreciate that. The last few weeks of my grad school experience was filled with a lot of nights of staring at the computer and going, “Where does this comma go? Should I write that? Should I use italics here? CRAP!” I am happy it’s over, and sadly, already thinking about my next stage of professional development. For those of you that had “ELL endorsement” you are the winner. We’ll see when that starts.
So… there you go.
I’ve had many different topics to write about, but they’re all half-formed ideas, so you got this rambling, gambling, and fambling post. It’s good to be back writing, but I expect the rust to continue for a few more weeks. Topics I didn’t even touch:
My STINKY brackets
Which is ballooning faster? My waistline or my self-defense mechanism? (’You don’t look that bad. Yet. Keep sucking it in.”)
Planning for Greece, planning for the reunion, planning for everything.
Why I allow television to rule my life. (If you don’t watch Friday Night Lights, please do so. NBC.com has all the episodes to watch for free, and Frank the Tank and the Chicago Tribune made an impassioned plea to bring it back next year. End commercial.)
More house crap.
Anyway, I’ll talk to you soon, Internet.
No, you say bye first.
No, you say bye.
Okay, I’m hanging up right now.
You didn’t hang up!
Bye.
(image courtesy of the Associated Press.)
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ESPN.com - RECRUITING - Schlabach: Zook brewing more recruiting magic at Illinois
Yes, but can he coach? ESPN is hyping Zook a lot here… let’s see if he can actually turn all that potential into something this year. Remember, the Illini were in almost every game last year, a marked improvement over the 2005 campaign. GO ILLINI!
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Yikes.
Last night could have gone better for so, so, so many reasons. Let’s start with the play-calling:
1) Yes, Cedric hurt himself very early. But that also prevented him from making more fumbles. We do have some guy named Adrian Peterson as well at the running back position, and I seem to remember him doing pretty well as a fill-in earlier in the year. The Bears abandoned the running game in the second half when they could have taken their time and used the ball control in their favor. In the weather, with the Colts seeming to revert back to their regular season sieve-like defense, I think the run should have been used more.
2) The defensive game plan wasn’t much better. They got to P-e-y-t-o-n early, and then seemed to abandon their plans when they got burnt on the Wayne touchdown. Everyone then started playing way too tight. Did they not realize that the Colts actually had an offense? (BTW, where the hell were the safeties on that play? Hadn’t Phil Simms just finished telling us about how the safeties were 30,000 yards off the ball?)
I know the weather was a factor, but the game was sloppier than it needed to be, and most of the fault lies with our for-better-or-for-worse QB, the Rex Cannon. I thought Rex was actually doing alright until he started slipping and sliding. The fumbles were part nerves, part weather, part inattention to detail, and they drove me crazy. Nothing like killing a drive when you fall down and stay in the fetal position. The first interception was a bad decision. The second interception, however, was the right decision. It was a poorly thrown ball. Rex is so used to Berrian bailing him out that he forgot what it was like to try to hit someone in stride. Berrian was open, and the timing was right. If that ball is thrown 2-3 yards further down the field or gets there a little faster, the Bears are in business. The game was way too much of a rollercoaster for me.
Next year will bring some changes for the Bears. They need to put the franchise tag on Lance Briggs, and resign Lovie to a nice deal. He’s earned it. I don’t have the free agents in front of me currently– I’m sure we’ll talk about it down the road.
And then there’s Rex. There’s already talk that he won’t be the starting quarterback next year. I think an open competition in camp would be a good idea. I also think that he actually did a nice job with the intermediate routes yesterday, something the national talking heads are more than willing to point to on the case of Bad Rex. I have a hard time believing that Angelo and Smith will just drop him– there were plenty of other mistakes made yesterday on both sides of the ball. Rex is just good at killing any momentum. I think next year will bring some changes, but I will not be surprised if #8 is running the show once again. (”Rex is our quarterback. He was 13-4 last year as our quarterback.”)
I thought the game would be closer. I was surprised at how passionate I was at the game. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to actually be there. Frank the Tank and I were a little dazed by the end of it.
On a lighter note, I had a wonderful time at Marc and Beth’s party yesterday. It was a fun time, despite sub-zero weather and the loss. Also, because of wind chills, I have no school today, and you get to read this wonderful (and slightly foggy) post. Enjoy!
How many days ’til pitchers and catchers?
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Me.
Orange week has been going well, thank you very much. I’m on day five, and have yet to rerun any shirt. I’ve also purchased a jersey to honor the Bears in their first trip to the Super Bears Super Bowl in 22 years. The winning jersey (which I knew anyway) is #40, Gale Sayers, one of the forgotten running backs because of injury. Recent conversation with a friend:
Me - “So, I think I’m gonna get the Sayers jersey.”
Mr. ‘Z’- “Who?”
“Gale Sayers.”
“Who’s that?”
{sounds of cars screeching to a halt, babies crying, and the Earth refusing to spin on its axis}
“Bears running back, 60’s and 70’s. Greatest back Chicago and most of the NFL had seen until Walter. Right up there with Jim Brown, OJ (dear LORD, I can’t believe I just said THAT) Emmit Smith, Barry Sanders, etc.”
“Never heard of him.”
“Brian’s Song? Ever see that movie?”
“Never heard of that, either.”
{/me does slow, deep, soul-cleansing breaths that I often use when working with small children}
“I can’t have this conversation with you anymore.”
Anyway, I searched the regular jersey stores online and couldn’t find anyone with the #40 in stock, or at anything bigger than a medium. So I went where I had never been heretofore:
Ebay.
Scary stuff, that online auction megalomart. I found plenty of jerseys, but many of them came from Seoul, South Korea, and I didn’t want to wait for shipping. (Also, I have to be honest… there is no reason a “real” jersey should sell for less than $50, and especially not $19.99. I found what I hoped was a reputable source for jerseys, and bid on it. It held up, and sixty bucks later, I’m the supposed proud owner of this jersey. It should be here today or tomorrow. I will update all of you 6.42132 readers as soon as it arrives. Needless to say, I’m excited, and will proudly give a history of Gale Sayers to anyone that wants to listen.
Happy Friday!
{still muttering over a person who plays in my fantasy football league and doesn’t know who GALE SAYERS was. Scary.}
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Since there will be much rejoicing and posting in the next 24 hours, I would just like to point out the turning post in the Bears spectacular win Sunday.
In the third quarter, with the Bears leading 16-14, the Saints lined up for a 47-yard field goal in crappy weather. They missed badly, giving the Bears the ball at their own 37. Now, the Rex Cannon and Co. didn’t do too much there, but the magnificent foot of Chicago’s Sexiest Bear, Brad Maynard, put the ball at the Saints’ five-yard line. Two plays later, Brees panics, and the Bears get a safety. 18-14, and the MO swings back to the Bears. After that, the balanced offensive attack kept the Saints off the field and three touchdowns later we were trying to figure out if this was really happening. If the Saints make that field goal, they’re up 17-16 and no one knows if the Bears recover. Thanks Sean Payton, for sending in Cundiff instead of having faith in Carney.
Now, I promise you two things, gentle readers.
1) For the next 14 days, I will wear only orange outfits, except for Super Bowl Sunday, which I will be forced to wear the same shirt I’ve worn during the playoffs (my FREE Chicago Bears sweatshirt… thanks Sports Illustrated!) I have plenty of orange to accomplish this in two one-week cycles. My students will probably think I’m a little crazy, but they don’t understand that the last time the Bears were in the Super Bowl, *I* was in second grade.
2) Thanks to a deal made with TLEMK, I get to buy a Bears jersey.
Now, the problem is, which Bears jersey do I get? Part of me wants to go retro, and get either a Payton or a Singletary. On the other hand, I could go current, but I have no idea which one I really want to get. Kreutz? Urlacher? Berrian? Benson? I don’t think I could handle Grossman, and I don’t think Jones is going to be around next year. You can help, Internet. Please vote and give suggestions! I want to order it by Wednesday morning, so act now!
| Category: General, Sports and Wine, All about me | 4 Comments
There are two types of running that I’ve noticed in my time here on this lonely planet; there are those people who are running to run, i.e. for fun/physical activity, and there are those people who are running to get some place. (As in, they’re late, they’re trying to catch a bus, or saw a UFO, and are calling the tabloids.) I’ve rarely fallen into either category, preferring to be in the third category, Those Who Make Fun of People Who Run.
“That person? Running to run. That one, running to get somewhere… That one, feeling the ground shake as they plod by…”
One of the many reasons that I haven’t been blogging lately is because I’m afraid of you, Internet. The truth is, I’ve been “training” for a 5K. I didn’t want to tell you in case I decided I couldn’t do it, or I failed miserably. Yes, running. Even though God told me not to. I started way back in August, (the 7th, to be exact) and the results have been mixed. I was doing really well on the treadmill. No, really. Ask Zigzag, he watched me. I haven’t really lost any weight, but I think I’ve traded fat in for muscle, so it’s hard to tell. I certainly feel in better shape. I’ve been using a great program entitled “Couch Potato to 5K.” I was up to running 2.5 miles in 25 minutes, with no walking (again, on the treadmill, where you have to run, or are forced to do the desperate lunge for the change-of-speed button.) In case you were wondering, the farthest I’ve ever run is the 200 yards I once ran to chase down the ice cream man. Then I tried to run outside. I even bought fancy new running shoes for them. (It was so hard not to laugh at the clerk who sold me the shoes when she said, “Now, these shoes are good for about 500 miles…” To which I thought in my head– “These are the last pair of running shoes I may ever buy…” Nevertheless, I kept trying. It’s probably hard for many of you to understand; I’ve NEVER been a runner. I like to bike, I love to play sports, but running has never been anything I do voluntarily. I’d rather wait for the next bus. My sibs however, have been participating in a running club at their elementary school, and have run two 5k’s since October. Also, four of them are great runners. The same four runners decided to run with me at the 5K I signed up for (on Thanksgiving morning). They had been running the three miles in around the 23-25 minute range. And yes, none of them are even in middle school. So they are natural runners.
It can best be summed up through a conversation I had with my sister Tsigereda the day before the race:
“Just so you know, Tsigereda, I won’t be able to keep up with you on Saturday. I run like a buffalo.”
“What is that?” (remember, she’s been in the country less than a year…)
“A buffalo? Well, it’s like a big cow, only usually dark brown, and really hairy…”
(Commence massive giggling fit from my sister…)
Thanksgiving morning came, and I was really psyched. I was going to run. I was going to be great. I was going to try really hard not to walk at any point.
I ran for two miles straight. I then took two minutes off to walk, then ran another nine-tenths of a mile, walked for a minute, and finished strong. If I had known how close we were to the finish, I probably wouldn’t have walked the second time. Oh well. I finished in 32 minutes and change; respectable for my first time out, and for never having run more than a mile for time. I felt great afterwards– it’s probably something I’ll do again, but I need to train outside a lot more, and probably more than once a week like I did the last month of my “training.” I was thankful to have friends running with me; thanks to Marc and Waj for pacing with me for the first two miles.
And of course, the real reason I wanted to run on Thanksgiving Day was so that I could gorge myself that afternoon. Which I did, with gusto.
Overall, it was a great experience.
Tomorrow, my thoughts on the end of the Larry Coker Era at Miami.
| Category: General, Sports and Wine | 2 Comments
I’ll just say it.
We’re gonna win this weekend. Football. You bet. I bet, we all bet for the…
Fighting Illini. Did you think I was going to say da Bears?
Illnois straps on and plays its toughest game this weekend against THE reviled Ohio State University. Great band and beautiful stadium aside, I’ve grown some great hatred for THE OSU:
1) Basketball carries over to football when it’s your college team. Stupid last-second prayer ruining the 04-05 undefeated season.
2) I still haven’t gotten over the 2002 game where we threw twice into the end zone to tie it against that’s right, the #1 BCS team, OSU, and once got a penalty for pushing off, and the other time didn’t get a push-out rule. Granted, it was an extreme tailgate day, and my judgement may have been clouded, but I think that was a very winnable game. Situations are repeating themselves–it’s a chance for the football karma to align balance in the cosmos. Too bad we have Alan Ball, the most annoying cornerback ever. I guarantee he gives up at least 1.5 touchdowns.
3) THE OSU fans are rude, mean-spirited, and unoriginal in their insults. They blew their wad on “Ann Arbor is a Whore.” Now we just get, “Meh, Illini Suck.” and “You’re fat!” However it should be noted that they are equally mean-spirited both on the road, and at home, in losses and in wins. I’ve yet to encounter an over-friendly stranger that’s an THE OSU fan. Mean fans can’t win forever. Nice fans can’t always finish last, can they?
So we’re going to win.
Oh,probably not on the scoreboard, (most likely, but stranger things have happened) but in our hearts. I fully expect the Illini to play another solid game, their fifth? sixth? in a row since getting shelled by Rutgers. At the time, we thought Rutgers was the doormat of the BEast; suddenly they’re undefeated and ranked in the BCS polls with a showdown at home next week versus Lew EE vill, or as the locals and I like to call them, “Loull.”
We’re going to play hard, and I think we’re going to do much better than everyone gives us credit for. I hope that the football gods are watching and smiling on the Illni this weekend. Or at least make it interesting.
*******
Dear Bears Fans,
Please be careful of the trap game.
Love,
Da Tony
| Category: Sports and Wine | 1 Comment
Cubs got rained out last night.
I have tickets for today’s game.
Today’s game is now a doubleheader.
My ticket gets me into both games.
Expect photos.
This post is the opposite of excitement, which I am feeling right now.
Expect phone calls, and blurry pictures.
And no, Minneapolis Red Sox, I’m not bringing my glove. Only sally boys bring their gloves.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
(Couldn’t resist.)
| Category: General, Sports and Wine | 1 Comment
Everything Is Wrong With Me - Iggles Prayer
Usually, I laugh at Jason’s vulgarity and sardonic humor. Tonight, he went in a different direction. Training camp starts this week for Da Bears. Though I won’t go as far as he does in his prayers, it’s entirely possible that Frank the Tanks, Dave Jo’s, Ralph’s, and my prayers might look a little something like his. Considering I had to watch the Bears’ last trip to the Super Bowl in Miami (wearing Bermuda shorts, and socks pulled all the way up to my knees), it would be a nice change. Also, SI ranked the Bears as the number one defense. (Well, via fantasy football anyway.)
Are you there, God? It’s me, a Bears fan.
| Category: General, Sports and Wine | 5 Comments
(Editor’s note: TK has been working on this post for a while, which is why it may seem choppy when you read it. And he can’t write.)
Dumb sports radio
I don’t who to choose now
The tuner is mad
Attempting to reestablish lighthearted conversation on Ye Olde Ebjournal has been tough lately. But one particular topic has been sticking in my craw, and I’ve meant to write about it for months now. So let’s abandon thoughtful conversation (HA!) and relegate the next 3.6 minutes of our lives thinking about the state of sports radio in the Windy City.
When I was in middle school, ( or as I like to call them “The Wonder Years”), I had a hard time falling asleep in my deep, dark, scary basement bedroom. This is mostly because I realized that if something were ever to happen to me, no one would know because I could blast my stereo to the point of dain bramage, and no one on the second floor would hear anything other than a gentle breeze emanating from my speakers. In other words, I was isolated. Because of the silence in the basement that was only occassionally punctured by the sounds of creaking footsteps (in reality, the furnace getting ready to kick in) I needed something to keep me company as I tried to keep my mind off my impending doom. (And you think I’m paranoid NOW…) I didn’t like watching TV late at night, so I turned to the radio to help me. For a long time, I listened to jazz. I loved WBEZ 91.5’s jazz program that started after 9:00pm, and still will listen to it when I’m looking for good working/background music. However, I discovered that the low jazz wailings tended to influence my dreams. A mournful trumpet would be a baby crying, and drums fills turned into things breaking and falling down on me. So, I needed something else. I turns out I liked hearing human voices, as it let me have some connection to the outside world.
I turned, my friends, to Sports Radio.
Back in the day, the WSCR was just starting, and ESPN radio didn’t come on at night. After a few twiddles of the tuner, I was able to find the Score on 820 am. I became hooked by people who wanted to talk about sports, ALL THE TIME. As a pseudo-geek growing up (and presently a super-pseudo geek) I sometimes found that it is/was hard to talk about sports with my less-than-enthused sports buddies (Sorry, Zigzag. 
)
And thus, the addiction was born. Throw in a recent discovery of fantasy league sports, and we find me wasting my subwoofer in my car on the banal discussions of who was the best Bears right tackle in history. (My money’s on Keith Van Horne, FWIW)
For a long time, I was a loyal Scorehead, Scoreguy, Scorewhore, whatever you want to call it. The signal boomed all the way down to Champaign, and made my cured my longing to hear discussion of something other than soy prices and the state of the Illini football team (both bad).
And then stuff happened.
I moved back to the Chicago area, and discovered that there was another sports radio station: WMVP, ESPN 1000. Initially, I didn’t like it because too much of it was national, and I liked my sports local. And, I knew the personalities, their schticks (Who you Crappin’? What’s your Beef? Tool of the Week! 5 Team Parlay, all the good stuff) and the schedule at 670 am. Yet, slowly, the people at es pin are turning me to the dark side.
The reason for the change is threefold:
1) Commercials.
I sit in my car a lot, as I drive between 1.5 and 2 hours per day to educmacate the minds of the NW suburbs. I haven’t proven this yet, but I can almost guarantee you that the Score’s commericials are longer. Even though 1000 has more updates, which take away from content, at least it’s sports-related, and not another advertisment for Heavenly Bodies. Annoyingly, because of these updates on both channels, most of the time both stations are on commercial together. But the Score crams at least one or two more in between segments. (Update: Boers and Bernstein are trying to go 25 minutes at a stretch now, which is great, but makes commercials 7-8 minutes, especially during peak times.)
2) Playing roulette with the schedule.
Who’s going to be on:
The Score has been fiddling with their schedule for about a year now. They finally seemed to have put Boers and Bernstein on during the afternoons to directly compete with Mac, Jurko, and Harry on WMVP. I also absolutely cannot stand Mike North any longer. His voice grates on me, and everything he does is all about him being this great guy. He does good things, but tells us about it all the time. Drives me bat shit. This, followed by Hanley and Mulligan, who are not the best radio people in the world (still very rough around the edges… they should stick to sports writing, which they’re both good at) and then Murph.
Oh, Murph. You’ve been put out to pasture. First, they tried you solo from 6-11 at night, because you should be better than Mongo McMichael. Then they put you solo from 10-12. Now they’ve got you on from 12-2, paired with Jesse Rogers, the best Bruce Weber I’ve ever heard, but one of the worst sports talk hosts. (I put him under North, and the ever-absent Dan Patrick) It may be time to hang the every day mic up, and be a guest host. So now, it’s painful radio on 670 from 6am-2pm. I still enjoy Boers and Bernstein, and the Me Show (Lawrence Holmes= Does HF proud, though I miss the “Me and Z Show”.)
3) It hurts.
6am-2pm is unbearable. However, 1000 hasn’t done much to convert me totally. Mike and mIke are good, and I’ve come to appreciate their ability to cover most of the major sports, instead of just baseball/football. Rosenbloom and Salisbury follow at 9-12, and they are working out the kinks– neither have a strong mainstream Chicago sports angle. And they bicker. Then comes The Dan Patrick Show, starring Dan Patrick 25% of the time. When he is on, he sticks to one topic, for about three hours. Also,
Finally, Mac, Jurko, and Harry. These guys are good, they cover a variety of sports, they’re funny, and they seem down to earth. They also continue to shoot themselves in the foot.
WMVP has done a good job of luring away talent (Rosenbloom, MacNeil, and J. Hood… why can’t people give J. Hood some more love. Dude knows his sports, but can’t get a regular slot to save his life!)
I sincerely hope that one of these radio stations gets their act together. Until then, I will continue to switch between the two and remain unsatisfied.
Any thoughts? Feel free to comment, and vote in the new poll!
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Last week, I played the last place team in fantasy baseball. I currently reside in 11th place out of 12 (Update: I’m tied for tenth, or eleventh, depending how you look at it). These last two weeks I played the tenth and twelveth place teams, and I have battled to a tie. This was a chance for me to get some wins. It didn’t happen. My frustration culminated late on Sunday afternoon, where I saw this line out of my ‘elite’ fantasy players:
Sunday : 1/23, .043 avg, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 RUN, 0 SB.
I have way too many streaky players. As DaveJo tells me, maybe I’ll be a second half team. I just hope I wasn’t a first-month team.
Stupid fantasy team.
| Category: General, Sports and Wine, School Daze, Entertainment Tonight, All about me | 2 Comments
Yes.
Since last Wednesday, the official last day of the school, it’s been a whirlwind. Here’s what I’ve done in the last eight days (in order)
Wednesday (the 7th): Finished school. Tried really hard not to cry. Blamed pheremones of female teachers and dust as I told the kids that I would miss them. Went to Weber Grill with the staff, enjoyed whiskey. Travelled to beautiful Bellwood, Illinois, avoided getting shot, and picked up my RoboCop moon boot for my ankle, 3 1/2 weeks after I sprained my ankle. I love the HMO system.
Thursday: Started the day with an MRI. Nothing says “Happy Vacation!” like waking up at the same time and torquing your ankle to hold it in a painful position for 50 minutes. For the record, MRI’s don’t bother me. Not finding anything out (more on this later) does. Went back and finished cleaning up/hiding my mess in my classroom so that summer school could move in. Then me, TLEMK, Frank the Tank, and Mrs. Frank the Tank went to the Sox game. My first game in twelve years, and naturally, they lost. I was the big winner, because it was dollar dog night. Those poor hog anuses never had a chance. We stayed downtown with Dev and C (shout out!) in their lovely apt.
Friday: Dev and C left for work, so V and I walked up to the Mexican restaurant for lunch ( I had a jumbo margarita– nothing like zero to buzzed in ten minutes!) Limped back to the apt., and then met the Zigzags in the theatre district for the Flecktones concert. The concert was good, as usual. This was the fourth time I’ve seen them, and the second time with such a mixed crowd of hippies and season-ticket holders of the Chicago Theatre. I did get a decent photo:
but nothing on the inside. I got sleepy in the second act, but that’s okay.
Saturday: Went to TLEMK’s uncle’s wedding. Sounds weird, but he’s only a few years older than us. Got to see some of V’s family (”Is that Aunt Tess, or Aunt Bess?”) and meet some of V’s cousins from out of state. They thought I was funny. Or a funny drunk. One of the two. Regardless, I already posted my picture of my pyramid of Jacks and Cokes. I also managed to get my future sister-in-law to play the “Match Tony drink-for-drink game” which never ends well, right Kenny? I had a good time at the wedding.
Sunday: Woke up slowly. We went to the after wedding brunch, and then stopped by my parents house to say hi. That evening we invited the Zigzags over for Sweet Tomatoes because we are paying them to be our friends. It’s nice to have paid for friends.
Monday: Grad school started. This class is boring, and easy. We spent our evening finishing the first (and only) season of Firefly, and two more Band of Brothers episodes.
Tuesday: Grad school, started packing, went to see The DaVinci Code. I’m glad I didn’t reread the book, because I knew most of the things that were going to happen in the movie, despite not remembering many of the details of the book.
Wednesday: Grad school, and then to the airport. I did much better with flying this time, friends. Despite the fact that there was no in-flight movie, or a place to plug-in headphones, my step-father-in-law found out which seats had the DC power outlet, so I got to watch the first disc of the first season of House. Nothing distracts you from fatalistic grimness at 32,000 feet like a morbid jackass doctor. I loved it, and it really helped me during the flight. Because, as we all know, I do not do well with flying.
We made it safely to LAX, and got our luggage quickly. We were in Ventura by 12:45am zulu, making it 2:45 in Chi-town. Long day.
Thursday: Got up fairly early, because day 1 of the Cali Trip is wine-tasting day! I’m not a big wine-drinker, but I enjoyed going to the different wineries to taste the wines. I’ve decided there is a very simple system for determining whether or not I like wines: I say “Like it” if I didn’t want to vomit, and “Didn’t like it” if I did want to vomit. Thankfully, I enjoyed most of the wines we tried today. We went to four vinyards, and did three tastings. We also went to a brewery to do a beer sampler flight (they were realllllllly good). I learned that I don’t like hanging out with people who are obsessed with wine (like the people that we saw at the wineries) but that I do like wine more than I thought.
The weather here in California is gorgeous. I totally get why people want to live here.
I also took some pictures today. I’m trying really hard to keep a photo record of this trip, and I put them on my flickr page. (See the Cali Trip set) The more I play with my camera, the more I’m impressed with the pics it takes. For a point-and-shoot, it does a pretty nice job. As you can see, I’ve been working on the macro setting, and looking at lighting.
Tomorrow is Hollywood. We’re going to hit the streets and look for stars. Or at least Lindsay Lohan (skank).
So that’s what I’ve been doing in the last eight days. Now I’m sleepy.
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We both finally made it to a minor-league baseball game. The weather was glorious, the pitching not so much. Our seats were three rows behind the dugout, halfway up the first base line. Close enough that even my camera could take pictures like this:
One pop fly foul ball came within a few rows of us, and the lady that got it wasn’t even watching. It hit her in the wrist, and sounded like it really hurt. She should pay attention more. Perhaps the most stunning sequence of events involved TLEMK. She not only drank one Goose Island 312, but shared a second one with me! This is nothing short of miraculous. Apparently (apparently), you need to have ballpark food in order to enjoy BEvERages. We shall continue to work on this–it will be my honor and privilege to let you know how developments proceed.
Before the game, we also got to see the famous Clydesdale horses of Budweiser. They were tall, and some of them were looking at me:
More available on my flickr account.
I heart baseball. Can’t wait to go in three weeks!
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Spring is here. Fellow Midwesterns realize this because every time they wander outside they don’t curse fifteen times before they reach their unfrosted cars. It also harkens the arrival of baseball, or beisbol for my Latino readers. World Baseball Classic nonwithstanding, I have always had a hard time getting into baseball because spring training is fairly lame, April doesn’t count as teams are barely finding out who they are, and May is always a busy teacher month. This means that I don’t start paying attention to baseball until June, just in time to witness the Cubs start to flail about in their annual swoon. This all changed three years ago when my good friend Frank the Tank invited me into his fantasy baseball league. Now I look forward to spring training because it means fantasy baseball is coming, and I’d better start paying attention. For those that are uninitiated, we hold a draft during spring training in which we choose players we think will have the best stats in certain categories (such as RBI’s, runs, home runs, on-base percentage, etc. for hitters, and wins, K’s, ERA, SV’s, etc. for pitchers) Whichever team of drafted players scores more points per week wins. It’s a little more complicated than that, but my 2.8 readers are bored already, so we’ll move on.
This year we decided to do a live-draft in our league, (as opposed to autopick) which puts a lot more pressure on us because we have to really think about who to take and when. And then there’s the intangibles; do I draft Barry Bonds? When do I draft a closer? A catcher? Fantasy sports blogging has exploded, and the talking heads have tons of ideas about who to take and when. I made it simple for myself; take a hitter, then take a pitcher, and keep flip-flopping. Since I have to fill position spots, it actually worked out pretty well. The scary part is that I went young. Really young. Last year I got burned with a ton of old guys (Palmeiro, Bagwell, and Tino Martinez) to name a few. My team has tremendous potential, but they also may fall flat on their face. This is also known as me pretending to know what I’m doing in fantasy sports. Here’s my team, along with some notes on them:
1B: M. Teixeira
2B: M. Giles
3B: T. Glaus
SS:C. Barmes
OF: A. Jones, A. Huff, B. Giles
C: M. Barrett
Util:L. Overbay
Bench: N. Swisher , R. Baldelli, N. Johnson
Comments: With the exception of Giles, all of my hitters are under 30 years old. Baldelli, and Barmes are coming off season-ending injuries. Teixeira had a monster season last year, and I’m hoping he can repeat it. I’m worried about Glaus and Overbay, but I think if they can pull off a whole season, it could be good news all around. Also, did Andruw Jones catch lightning in a bottle? So many ways the hitters could go. Time will tell. (This ends my obvious genius analysis of my hitters. I admit it, I ran out of steam after linking all those players. Moving on…)
SP: C. Carpenter, C. Lee, Z. Duke,
Carpenter is an easy choice– Cy Young and all… of course I’m nervous about him not being able to repeat it. Cliff Lee did well for me the second half of last year, and he’s now the ace of the Indians. He should have another solid year. Duke and Santana are coming off of solid rookie campaigns. Sophomore slump? What’s the worst that can happen? I’m sorry, I can’t hear you because I’m talking strategy with Jerome Walton. My closers are solid. Period. I’ve already had trade offers. Lame trade offers, but they were there.
Alright, my brain is obviously on spring break. Have a wonderful Opening Weekend, and go Clint Barmes!
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Work out a lot in the next three weeks. This is basketball heaven time. And you know what goes with basketball heaven, right.
Drinking.
Water, soda, other things. Drinking definitely goes with basketball.
Also, eating.
So much food, so happy in the food village that is my stomach.
I’ll try to be good. And then Blue Moon will be on special. Or it will magically appear out of the vending machine. Stupid enticing shiny buttons to push that make beer go to my mouth.
Tonight, I’ll be watching the Illini take on MSU for the second time in the last week. Go Illini! So, what do you think of Horange and Bluez chances in the Big Dance? I’m hoping for the Sweet 16.
I’m done with conferences. I will see you in about four pounds (of drinking and food)
| Category: General, Sports and Wine, Site-Based Management | 1 Comment
Now that my glasses have been duct-taped back together (Thanks, Tank!), it’s time for a New Web Poll Question. Vote early, vote often, this is Chicagoland.
Have a great weekend!
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Champange-Banana, here we come. Time to get ready for a pounding of the Cesspool of the West. (that’s M*chigan, for you non-Illini people.) We’re driving down this morning, going to game, and carousing about town tonight. Come one, come all, to the hub of the Illini Nation.
Will we see you there?
| Category: General, Sports and Wine | 2 Comments
Although I listen to sports radio as much as the next sub-metro-sexual, I rarely call in or email them, simply because I don’t have the time or energy. I’ve only ever called in once to WSCR 670am (to complain about the Simeon Rice Incident after Tampa Bay went to the Super Bowl wherein Mr. Rice told us he went to the School of Hard Knocks, and forever tainted his legend at the University of Illinois. Incidentally, at the beginning of the Tampa Bay/Washington game last weekend, he introduced himself from “The University. Of. Illinois.” Clinton Portis and Santana Moss introduced themselves from “The U.” Go Canes!)
And today was the first time I emailed into WMVP 1000am to complain about the complete lack of math skills that Fran Fraschilla displayed during the Illini-MSU halftime show last Thursday. Did my email make it onto the popular Mac, Jurko, and Harry bit “Critics at Extra Large?” Oh well.
No.
So now you can read it. I went for straightforward over clever. Obviously my genius is going unpublished. (Just kidding. I’m publishing it here. And it’s not genius.)
Gentlemen, An elementary thumbs down! During the halftime studio session of the Illinois-MSU game last Thursday evening on the television flagship, my hackles were raised as I listened to Fran Fraschilla discuss the Big Ten Conference. He mentioned that conference play would be extremely difficult this year, due to the high number of seniors starting in the Big Ten. He then went on to say that “26 of the 40 starting players in the Big Ten are seniors.” Even though 86% of statistics are made up on the spot, simple math is not. Fran, there are 11 teams in misnamed Big Ten. Five players start a game for each team. How many starters is that in all? My second grade students could figure that (and Jurko could too!) that means there are 55 starting players in the Big Ten, not 40. To Mr. Fraschilla, and to the fact checkers at the mothership, please remember this bit of advice from a second grade teacher (it’s the same thing I tell my students after they’re done taking a test): CHECK YOUR ANSWERS! Thumbs down. Regards, ~It’s Elementary
Oh well.
| Category: General, Sports and Wine | 7 Comments
Because it’s late (for me), you get the abbreviated version of my notes on the Illini’s win over MSU, taken on the back of an envelope during the game:
(In the order I wrote them down…)
1) Paul Davis is big. I worry about the Illini’s size in the paint, even though we’re bigger and tougher than we were last year. However, since we shut down Ager and anti-Dee, our perimeter defense kept the interior from getting good looks. I worry about our inexperience on the inside when Augustine is having a tough night. (um, how many turnovers did he have? I can’t count it on one hand. Yes, yes, intangibles. He’ll be fine.) Tonight, we were lucky because of …
2) The re-Deeculous scoring of Mr. Brown. What can I say? When you make 8 field goals in the first half, and the entire MSU team only had 8 field goals, good things are going to happen. I liked his intensity, and I liked watching him take it to the hole later in the game, once he established that you couldn’t stop him on the inside. He must have been able to see the basket really well…
3) Even though we couldn’t. Kenny mentioned that the AssHall is really dark on TV, and I guess I hadn’t been paying attention, but it was very diffficult to see the crowd as anything but an orange-red blur. This leads me to believe that I think things would have been better in either HD, or LD (Live Definition!) rather than my cruddy SD. I’ll be at the M*ch*g*n game next weekend, and I hope…
4) That Jamar Smith joins us. Welcome to the Big1T1en! How does not being able to get more than one shot off feel? Not Dee-licious. He, along with Frazier, and Arnold will need to get more involved, because Dee will not be able to do that every night. And finally…
(damn my lack of a quality transition!)
5) Why didn’t MSU foul with less than a minute left, down only five, against a team shooting 62% from the from the free throw line? Then, once McBride is poked with a stick and makes a three to make it an 8 point game, MSU fouls with 18 seconds left. Can anyone Logick (sic) that for me? Definitely a few kinks to work out for Tom to the Izzo and P to the Neitzel as they run through their end-of-game scenarios.
Alright. Iowa Saturday. Good night.
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