mr. blackandwhite

Site content...

2006-01-17T20:30:00.000-05:00

Hey what's up? This thing still work? I have not posted here in a long time! For those who are interested, all the posts on this site are now available in the archives over at my main page, www.mrblackandwhite.com Thanks!

Site News: I'm moving! Update your links

2005-04-01T16:06:00.000-05:00

Hey all, If you have not figured out by now, I'm moving my blog to a new location. I'll be leaving this site pretty much 'as is'. I'm not going to take it down but I won't be updating it at this location anymore. The new location is now (http://www.mrblackandwhite.com) If you link to this site, I'd like to say thank you very much for linking to me. I really do appreciate that you think I am worthy of a link. Please update your links and any feeds, bloglines, kinja, etc you may have to point to the new site. I'd like to say thanks to everybody that has stopped by to read the site, and espeicially to those of you that actually come back! ;-) I hope you will continue reading my site over at my new home. Thanks again -ME

Ok that's IT!!!

2005-03-29T16:40:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody! Well I think I've finally got my blog template set up the way I want it over at TypePad. Go over and look at it and tell me if it sucks or not. I value any input I can get. So let me know what you think! Thanks Update: While I was trying to post this little blurb, Blogger did it's thing where it forgets where it is and goes off into Neverland. That's the final straw. My mind is made up. Sometimes you just gotta say, "What the Fuck."

UNH eliminated... Sox countdown

2005-03-28T10:30:00.000-05:00

I got my hockey fix yesterday and watched the UNH / Denver game. (ap) UNH got outplayed most of the game and was lucky to even be in the game quite frankly. Thanks to some great plays by their Goalie (or Net-Minder, whatever) they managed to keep the score tied up going into the 3rd period on a flukey goal and a penalty shot. In the end though, Denver played a much more physical game and eventually got the go-ahead goal to win the game and move on to the Frozen Four. I was really rooting for UNH in this one since they were the lone representative from Hockey East left in the tournament. Now that they've been eliminated, I'll root for JoC's team, University of North Dakota. We now have less than a week to go till opening day of Baseball Season and the excitement level is starting to build. I've managed to get my ass out of bed in the mornings and start excersizing again. Since it was raining this morning, which is so much better than snow by the way, I watched NESN while walking on the treadmill (fuck jogging). They had an interview with Edgaaahhh Renteria with a little bit of assistance from Manny. Edgar does not hablo ingles very well so Manny was there to help him out. During the interview, Manny was sporting some shades with bright white frames, which are beyond my ability to describe accurately. They were not on the goofyness level of Elton John sunglasses, but Manny looked pretty funny wearing them. When the interview was over Edgaahhh did the classic 'Manny two-handed point' to the camera, which I got a good laugh out of. NESN also had a little blurb on the outcome of the Yankees pre-season game and I could not help but notice that Slappy McBlue Lips (A-Rod) is still wearing those dumb looking Mickey Mouse gloves. I can't wait for Baseball Season to start.

Q&A with Will Carroll over at Firebrand, New MVN Sox Site...

2005-03-28T10:05:00.000-05:00

Hey all! Evan over at Firebrand of the American League e-mailed me and asked me to help him let people know he's hosting a Q&A session with Will Carroll on his site this Thursday. Will is an expert on baseball injury and writes for Baseball Prospectus and Baseball Toaster. If you've got any questions for Will, head on over and get them in! Also, I wanted to give some plugs to the new Sox site over at Most Valuable Network, Wallball Single, written by Dan Kobayashi from Keys to the Game and Brian Young from Tao of Manny. There ya go. As they say here at the ever-so-exciting and completely-fulfilling-on-a-daily-basis Software Factory, you've got your 'Marching Orders'. There's plenty of links for you to go follow. That should keep at least 5 of you busy for a good couple of hours. Have fun!

TypePad...

2005-03-27T22:30:00.000-05:00

Hey what's up everyone? I've signed up to try out TypePad and you can check it out over there if you are interested. The main thing I am finding out is that TypePad is extremely customizeable, which is cool, but also a little overwhelming... I've got 30 days to decide if I want to switch. I'll still be posting stuff here in the meantime, so stay tuned!

Firebrand's new home...

2005-03-25T14:03:00.000-05:00

Hey all, just wanted to help get the word out about 'Firebrand of the American League's' new home. Evan writes a great Red Sox blog. If you have not read it yet, you should definetly check it out! (Also, you should know there will be some new writers taking over the Red Sox blog at Most Valuable Network too!)

Will it ever sink in?

2005-03-25T10:05:00.000-05:00

As I was riding into work today I looked down at my Sox cap with the World Series patch on the side and thought, 'Holy shit, The Sox won The Series... and The Pats have won 3 Superbowls... Am I dreaming? Is this really for real?' Sometimes I still can't believe it... The 05 Season is a little more than a week away and it still has not fully sunk in yet. Yesterday I got the Red Sox Newsletter e-mail. Nice of them to personally let me know that they plan to stay in Fenway. Thanks guys. There was also an area in the e-mail to let me know that tickets were still available for some games. I kind of frowned and was like, 'yeah right' but then I figured 'what the fuck, why not see what there is.' I checked it out and all that was available were obstructed views. I highly considered buying some anyway, but I eventually balked at the price tag. I did'nt want to pay $100 bucks to sit behind a pole... The quest for tickets continues... On a side note I am highly considering moving 'mr. blackandwhite' over to TypePad. I've made a few bucks from the ad links here and I was thinking of using that to pay for it. I'm also going to cancel my .Mac subscription after this one runs out and the money I save there would pay for a year and a half of TypePad. If you are a TypePad user and happen to read this, I'd really like to hear what you think of it. Thanks!

Yah whatevah it's snowin. Go Sox!

2005-03-24T10:51:00.000-05:00

I'm sick of snow, sick of bitching about the snow and I'm sure you're sick of reading me bitch about snow. So instead, enjoy this cool picture and try to remember what green grass, budding trees and a brand new Baseball Season feels like. Think Spring!!

Just when I was starting to see some grass...

2005-03-23T22:10:00.000-05:00

The sidewalks and roads around here are finally clear enough for me to get out and walk in the morning before I go to work. I saw a robin and a cardinal this morning. I can actually see some grass in my yard. Baseball is 2 weeks away. Its officially spring. Temps have been in the 40s, sometimes 50s! Too bad it's going to snow again tonight. I'm convinced Mother Nature has it out for us.

Just so we're clear: I Love Fenway Park

2005-03-23T11:23:00.000-05:00

Every day I read The Soxaholix and Surviving Grady. Today they both had some good posts about the Sox staying in Fenway. I went back and re-read what I had written yesterday about the Sox staying in Fenway and I thought it sounded a little bit like I was bashing the place so for my own peace of mind, I just wanted to clarify things... I truly love going to see Sox games at Fenway and I am very glad the Sox are staying there. Like Red said in his post over on Surviving Grady, there's just nothing like walking up that concrete ramp and seeing that green feild. Every time you see it, it takes your breath away. It's an indescribeably great feeling that could never be duplicated or replaced at a new stadium. Yeah the seats may be a little cramped, but I've never seen anybody bitching about the seats during a game. All I've ever seen are excited, happy faces. There's very much a feeling of "We're all part of Red Sox Nation and we're in this together" at Fenway. I've never had a bad time watching a Sox game at Fenway. Even when it rained or the Sox lost, I was still happy I got to go to Fenway and see the game and be in the ballpark. It's one of my favorite places. As I said yesterday, the only other MLB stadium I have been to is Yankee Stadium. It's a lot bigger. Other than that there's no comparison to the 'enjoyment factor' of seeing a game at Fenway. And I don't just say that because I was a Sox fan in Enemy Territory. I think the renovations the Sox Ownership have done so far has been great and I only expect things to get better. Look what they've done just in the last year; improving the playing field, adding seats, opening up concourses, etc, etc, so hey, maybe all the seats will face the right way someday! I don't put it past them. So, just so we're clear: I - LOVE - FENWAY PAHK!!

No Sports... No Problem

2005-03-22T21:48:00.000-05:00

Overhaulin' is a re-run. The Celts have the night off. The Sox have the night off. I don't care about college basketball or poker. I'm too tired to practice or write anything substantial. Thankfully, there's Chuck. (mgm.com)

Various topics...

2005-03-22T15:50:00.000-05:00

I'm wicked tired today so this post is going to be kind of all over the place... Can you believe it will be time for Real Baseball soon? I'ts hard to believe the season starts next Sunday. I'm looking forward to it. I have to admit I have not paid too much attention to Spring Training other than acknowledging it's existance and wondering when Curt Shilling will be able to pitch again. Even though Curt will be out the first few weeks, I feel good about The Sox rotation going into the season with Wells, Clement, Wakefield, and Arroyo. Clement seems a little 'iffy' right now but then again, it's Spring Training so it's hard to tell how he's really going to perform. I'm glad that Wells is going to open up the season at Yankee stadium. If there's anybody on the staff who is capable of that type of situation, it's him. I was very surprised today to learn that the Sox plan to stay at Fenway. Really?? I never would have guessed! Maybe someday they'll make the seats face the right way. I'm not trying to bash Fenway. I love the place and I can tell you from first hand experience it kicks ass over Yankee Stadium. I can't wait to take my kids to a game at Fenway someday. I've already started saving up for the tickets. My neck does get kinda sore watching a game at Fenway though, since I'm usually in the right field box seats and my head is constantly turned to see what's going on at home plate. I have to take a rest every so often and just watch Trot wear out the grass in right field. Of course, that's always when something exciting happens... Even better is the upper deck seats. When somebody hits a fly ball, you have no idea if it's a homer or a pop up. You see the ball go up, dissapear somewhere above the roof and it either comes down and somebody catches it, or you never see it again and the place goes nuts. By the way... tickets? Anybody got any Sox tickets they don't want?? Let me know. Really. The Pats open up against the Oakland Raidahs who have not been to Foxboro since 'The Snow Bowl' game a few years back. It will be their first visit to the unfriendly, (for the visiting team that is) confines of THE RAZOR. I'm sure we'll hear non-stop Tuck Rule Hype leading up to this one. Uggghhh. As much as I miss football right now, I'm not looking forward to that nonsense. I am looking forward to Warren Sapp finding out how good Russ Hochstein has gotten since his days with the Bucs. Also, Ted Washington will get a reminder of what he's missing out on playing for Oakland when the latest and greatest Championship Banner goes up. No hard feelings Ted. If you did'nt leave, we might not have gone after Wilfork. Oh yeah. I almost forgot, Randy Moss is a Raidah now so there will be that whole sideshow too. When's 3 Games to Glory coming out?? So far I have aquired the following Superbowl 39 items: - Championship Cap - Championship T-Shirt - Championship Sweatshirt - Championship DVD - 3 Games to Glory has been pre-ordered - New pair of Pats socks. (Yes, I wear Patriots socks and have even gotten compliments on them when I wore them to a Sox game and was returning to my seat from the beer line, double fisted of course. "Nice socks dude!") - Championship 'On the Field' football. - 2 Championship 'Dynasty' Mugs, one glass for indoors, one plastic for outdoors (but beer tastes kinda funny in the plastic one) - Championship '3 Time Champs' t-shirt. - Championship keychain - There's more but I can't remember it right now... I miss Football... In other news, the reason I'm so tired today is because we got a hand-me down (free) Dell laptop for the kids to play with and I was up half the night setting it up. I told them I'd have it ready for them so they could play "Higgly Town Heroes" today. I got it done in time but #&$))!! what a friggin pain in the ass! I felt like I was still at work, dickin' around with Windoze all day. It's ok though. My reward of happy faces and hugs made it worth it. When I get home tonight I'll need to update all the service packs, spyware scanners, virus scanners and all the other junk you need to do on a Windows computer... People actually put up with this on a daily basis?? It's one thing having to deal with it at work but when I'm home the last thing I want to do is dick around with a computer just so it will work like it's supposed to. Seriously. What the fuck? That's why I bought a Mac so I would not have to deal with this shit, though I know somebody who I'm sure would be happy to trade systems with me. Stupid computers. Thanks for taking time out of your day to read this goofy post!

Save the excuses and just leave Tedy alone...

2005-03-20T21:15:00.000-05:00

In both Boston papers today there were stories all about Tedy Bruschi and the recent invasion of his privacy by some local TV stations. Both stories were basically long winded rationalizations of why Tedy is getting what he deserves because he's famous and the press needs its story and he's not being very forthcoming with details and information about his condition. The press feels it's ok for them to stick their cameras where they don't belong and they want you to 'understand' they are just doing their jobs. Give - Me - A - Fucking - Break!! Stories like this are hard for me to write about because I get so pissed off just thinking about them, I can't write anything rational. I used to work for the local TV stations a long time ago and let me tell you from first hand experience, the people in the press do not give a rat's ass about Tedy, or you or me or anybody. All they care about is selling their fucking story. If it bleeds it leads baby. Dear Boston News Media Scum, Spare us the excuses because there is no excuse. Leave Tedy Bruschi the FUCK ALONE. Thanks scumbags. We got your back Tedy. - Patriot Nation

"The TV Business.. is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs..." - Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

Once again, the good Doctor is absolutely correct.

Wifes Eye for the No Fashion Sense Guy...

2005-03-20T19:45:00.000-05:00

All my jeans have been starting to look grungy and ratty so I went out shopping with my wife for some new clothes this weekend. I generally hate shopping and have been told that I am 'a horror' to shop with. However, being fashion-challenged, I told my wife that I would be good and let her pick out whatever she wanted for me to wear and I would not complain. It would be like playing dressup with a life size Ken doll. She was skeptical but agreed to help me anyway. We started out at Old Navy where all the jeans are conveniently pre-ripped and pre-grease-stained for you before you buy them. I could not help it. I had to say something. I told her, "Ok, I just have to say this and then I won't make any more comments. My current jeans are in better shape than the ones hanging on the rack." I got a quick glare so I shut up and then we went back to looking at jeans. Thankfully she did not like any of the Old Navy jeans so we went to another store where we found some jeans that actually looked new. Now I'm looking "Faaab-u-lussss!" In other "Me" news, I had a Larry David moment recently. A few weeks ago, it was my birthday. "What do you want for your birthday," my Wife asked. "I'd like you to call me "Crazy-Eyes" for the day," I said. "No" "WHY NOT?? Come on! Just for the day!" "No. I'm not calling you "Crazy-Eyes", and that's it!" (Humph!)

Scotty! What the hell is going on down there?!

2005-03-18T12:10:00.000-05:00

I've been bitching, mostly to myself, about how slow blogger is lately. Well it looks like they are working on it at least... (Star Trek.com) In the mean time I have been considering making a switch to Typepad or maybe even Moveable Type. Blogger is ok but it's kinda slow and I want to be able to do more with the 'look' of my site. I'd like to customize it more to my own design. Of course, moving to one of these services means prying open my wallet, since they are not free, like Blogger (dammit).

This remains your safe haven from steroid talk

2005-03-18T11:17:00.000-05:00

Burnt out on steroid talk? Looking for a safe harbor, free from congressional hearing jabbering? You've come to the right place because I'm still not going to talk about it. I'd rather talk about something positive, like me spending some quality time with the Red Sox World Series Trophy. The Trophy Tour came to my town today so I went down to the school gym to bask in it's presence. I got there around 8 o'clock and the line was just about out the door of the school, but it was moving pretty quick. They had some Sox representatives there to herd people along and help take pictures. The nice thing was that the Trophy was setup in the middle of the gym and the line snaked around it, so you could get a nice view of it while you waited your turn for a picture with it. There were lots of people there with their kids. I kind of wished I had taken my 2 kids once I had gotten there, but they were more interested in playing at home so what are ya gonna do. "The Wiggles" were on TV so, cant miss that ya know!! ;-) Finally my turn came and I stood behind the trophy and got my picture taken with it. They had a nice Red Sox backdrop setup for getting your picture with the Trophy so it was pretty cool. I wish I could have stood there for a min or so and examined it a little more but they needed to get people moving... Even from the brief time that I spent in The Trophy's presence, I can tell you it's really nice close up. Its not that tall, but it's really cool the way the flags wrap around and it's got a nice golden color. In case you're wondering, no I did not touch it. I was just kinda staring at it like a goof. It was a lot of fun to visit with it, even if it was a breif visit. I'm glad I did not miss it.

Get well soon Bruschi

2005-03-17T22:13:00.000-05:00

Reports from the press have not been very detailed but it sounds like Tedy Bruschi may wind up being ok after all. If it turns out his stroke was caused by this problem with a hole in his heart, a leftover from when he was a baby, it sounds like the problem is totally treatable and hopefully he can continue playing. Get well soon Tedy!! The Pats preseason schedule looks kinda weak. The Bengals, The Saints, The Packers and The Giants are not exactly challenging teams but then again, it's only pre-season. Either way it will be good preparation for Mangini and whoever winds up calling the Offensive plays. GO PATS

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2005-03-17T10:37:00.000-05:00

Have a Jameson, or a Guinness, or maybe put some Baileys in your coffee. Or maybe have a Jameson, THEN a Guinness, THEN a coffee with some Baileys in it. Yeah, I like that better... and something boiled to eat, with potatoes. Whatever you do, have a fun St. Patricks Day!

The BLOOD-mobile...

2005-03-16T16:15:00.000-05:00

Today the blood-mobile came to The Software Factory. Even though I am a total pussy when it comes to getting stuck with needles and what-not, I did my duty and donated some blood. There are a lot of folks doing things that are a lot harder than getting pricked with a little needle right now so I figured I should do my part to try to help people, insignifigant as it may be. Anyway, like I said, I'm a complete baby about needles, so while the nurse was perparing me, I told her I'd just be looking out the window and if she neeed me to do anything, to just let me know. She rigged me up without a problem and I was just kinda lying there with my eyes closed, listening to some Beethoven on my iPod when one of the nurses came by and told me I needed to keep my eyes open so they would know I'm ok. Ok, no problem... So I was just kinda looking around at nothing in particular, trying to ignore the needle in my arm and not look at the other needles in other people's arms, when I noticed that there was a small TV mounted up at the front of the blood-mobile bus. Thats when things started to feel a little odd. The show that happend to be on the TV was an absolute gore-fest. I have no idea what this show that was on was, but it was nothing but non-stop death and mayehm; people getting run over, burned alive, blown up and smashed in some huge, gigantic, bloody car wreck death scene. There were like 20 people killed in the few min I actually watched it. Not exactly the most relaxing thing to be watching when you're trying to pretend they're not draining the blood out of your body with a big needle... You'd think they'd have on a nature show with birds and butterflies and flowers and stuff but instead they were showing non-stop death and violence. The whole setting with me lying there giving blood and watching people die on TV was surreal and somewhat upsetting to me so I spent the rest of the time looking out the window trying to ignore the TV show. When I was finished, I went up to the front of the bus to have my cookies and orange juice. (MMMMMMM... Nutter Butter...) I glanced up to the TV and that crazy show was still on. This time there was some guy with his hand stuck in a kitchen sink drain, while his stove was on fire and his microwave exploded... It struck me as extremely strange to be on the BLOOD-mobile watching this insane, gross-out show (or in my case trying NOT to watch it). I like action movies as much as the next guy but I have to admit I found this show, whatever it was, to be pretty disturbing. All I can say is there is some fucked up shit people watch for 'entertainment' and it certainly did not help to enhance my BLOOD-mobile experience. When I left the bus I took an extra package of Oreo's to make up for it. MMMMMM. Forbidden Cookies... My blood type is O-Positive by the way. Remember that old band? O-Positive? I saw them live once. They kinda sucked though... Ok. Go back to whatever you were doing.

I hope my ankle gets better soon...

2005-03-16T11:36:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know this quiz went around a while ago and is old news but here it is anyway... I did it 3 times and it came out with Curt every time. As Napoleon Dynamite would say, "Swwweeet." You scored as Curt Schilling. You are Curt Schilling! You are a trooper. You push yourself to the limit, regardless of any setbacks. You are also not afraid to express your opinions on a variety of topics. Very family-oriented. You're the man!!

Curt Schilling

74%

Jason Varitek

67%

Mark Bellhorn

60%

David Ortiz

50%

Johnny Damon

50%

Theo Epstein

40%

Manny Ramirez

40%

Kevin Millar

27%

Which Red Sox Player Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com I also like that I came in second highest as 'Tek. Ok. I'm feeling really nerdy right now... Speaking of 'Tek... I just gotta say, I think he's great and its really cool that he's the official Captain of the Sox but what's with the 'C' on his uniform? Does anybody else think that's kinda dumb? This is Baseball not Hockey. Which Sox player gets the 'A' on their Uni? Maybe Nixon? I know I'm probably setting myself up to get a ration of shit for that comment but F it. Before you flame me, go back and read the part where I said that I think 'Tek is great etc. In other news, the World Series Trophy is coming to my town this week and I'll be heading over to spend some time with it. I expect there to be lots of people but I'm going to try and get there early. It should be fun and hopefully I can get some cool pictures.

My new profile pic...

2005-03-15T21:20:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed I've changed my profile pic to an image of a guitar. That particular guitar is a Gibson Explorer. I don't own one of these (yet) but I will someday... There are only a few 'objects' that I consider aquiring as one of my goals. This guitar is one of them.

Nigel Tufnel: The sustain, listen to it. Marty DiBergi: I don't hear anything. Nigel Tufnel: Well you would though, if it were playing

Just a whole bunch of nothingness...

2005-03-15T16:50:00.000-05:00

Hey what's up? It's only been a month since the Superbowl and I am already missing football badly... There's a good chance I'll be watching the Superbowl 39 DVD again tonight. With no NHL, this is the Sports-lull to beat all Sports-lulls. I remember when I was bitching about the 2 week wait between the AFC Championship and the Superbowl. HA! That was nothing compared to this seemingly interminable space of time between the end of Football season and the start of Baseball season... I have no interest in anything going on in sports right now so I hope you'll cut me some slack for the recent lame-ness of this blog. There's just nothing going on that I'm worked up enough to talk about right now. The Celts? Yeah, whatevah. NASCAR? Yeah, whateva... Spring Training? What-ev-ahhhhh.... At least I have some mild interest in Spring Training. I don't care who wins or loses the games, but I like to hear the reports about who's coming along, how the pitchers are doing, etc. (Sigh...) One good thing about all this nothingness is that it has caused me to turn my attention to some new interests and I have started working on some other stuff. In my spare time, when I'm not shoveling snow, I've actually started writing a book. I'm just starting out and only have an idea, an outline and a few pages written, but hey, even Stephen King has to start writing somewhere. For me, the hardest thing about writing is having the ability to let go of my self-conciousness. It's hard for me to not think about wether the stuff I'm writing is any good or not and just write. I used to be able to write some pretty good stories back in school when I was required to do stuff for my classes, but after years of not writing anything at all, I feel like I've lost that skill to just 'not care' what's coming out on the keyboard and just write anyway. The spigot of creativity was rusted shut and it's taken a lot of WD-40 to get it flowing again. The lack of interesting stuff to write about on this blog has also given me the time to catch up with some old aquaintances, like my good freind pictured here:

Superbowl 39 DVD reveiw

2005-03-13T21:01:00.000-05:00

I got the Pats Superbowl 39 DVD recently and have watched it a couple times. I think all Pats fans will really like it. Even though it definetely 'skims over' some stuff, it's a great recap of last years season, with highlights from all the games. It also has some Media Day stuff, Post Superbowl interviews, lots of Gill and Gino game calls, and the entire World Broadcast of the Superbowl, which is great to have in it's entirety. The only complaint I have about the DVD is they don't really go into the amount of injuries the Pats had to endure and overcome last season, especially in the secondary. If you had never watched any of last year's games, you would think The Pats just completely rolled over everybody and had no adversity to deal with at all. Anyway, this is just a minor complaint and I still thoroughly enjoyed watching the DVD. The best parts of the DVD are the parts that go 'behind the scenes'. For example, there is a quick segment that shows Belichick drilling the O-Line during training camp and giving a pop quiz to one of the players after a play (can't remember which one right now, I think it was Grahm) and giving him 6 seconds to come up with the answer. There's also another scene that jumps out during the Colts playoff game, where Corey Dillon is telling his teamates, "They're all done. They don't want to deal with us anymore!" Great stuff.. another great job by NFL films. I got the tingles while watching it at some points. As a totally biased Pats fan, I give the DVD 5 stars. I would watch this thing every night if my wife would put up with it. Even now, when I think about it, I still sometimes can't believe The Pats have won 3 Superbowls. If this is a dream, don't wake me up because it's totally kicking ass. I'm looking forward to the 3 Games to Glory III DVD which should be out soon... Go PATS

I'm not a bad Sox fan...

2005-03-12T16:06:00.000-05:00

I don't get excited about Spring Training games. Does that make me a bad Sox fan? I don't think so. I just can't get excited about meaningless games. It's good to see the guys getting their work in and getting ready for the Season Opener but I just don't get all worked up for pre-season baseball. The Operner is still a month away... an eternity in this barren sports land.

Bloglines vs. Kinja

2005-03-11T23:21:00.000-05:00

And the winner is... Bloglines. I've been trying out these two services to keep track up my updated blogs. I like Bloglines the best. The layout is easier to navigate and I like the Notifier that lets me know when my blogs have been updated.

Worcester Baseball Team: "The Tornadoes"

2005-03-10T19:50:00.000-05:00

Finally, some good news!! The name of the Worcester Pro Baseball Team has been announced. The team will be called 'The Tornadoes' and the season will start on May 28. I guess naming the team 'The Rockets' (that's the name I submitted) was discussed but was not the final desicsion.

The name Tornadoes finished third behind Rockets and Warriors among the more than 2,800 submissions the team received in its weeklong name contest. Stone said Tornadoes was selected because of its uniqueness — as far as the team could determine, no other professional sports team uses the name — and its historical significance to Worcester. A devastating tornado touched down in Worcester on June 9, 1953...

Check out the article in the T&G here. (May require login) This is going to be a lot of fun. I can't wait to go to a few games this year and with the tickets starting at $6 and topping out at $20, I should be able to go to several of them. This puts me in a good mood. Now where can I get a Tornadoes cap? =)

R.I.P. Chris LeDoux

2005-03-10T11:02:00.000-05:00

Just pile it on. The week from hell continues. One of my all-time favorite singers, Chris LeDoux, has passed away from liver cancer. I realize most people have no idea who Chris LeDoux was, but I am a huge fan of his. I have at least 10 or 15 of his tapes and cds. Most of them I bought on a trip to Montana a long time ago. You could not find anything from him around here in the Northeast but when I was out visiting The Big Sky Country, I found a bunch of his tapes in some old record store and bought pretty much every one they had. I used to listen to 'Old Cowboy Classics' every night to fall asleep and one of my favorite albums of all time is 'Western Underground'. Whenever I am in a bad mood I still like to put on his tapes. The stuff he sings about always seems to help me get in a better mood. His songs are always upbeat and positive and he sang a lot of songs about places I love like Montana and Wyoming. I'm gonna miss your voice Chris. I'm sure wherever you are there is a prarie with a river winding through it, good, strong coffee and a beautiful sunset every night. Later Cowboy.

Dear Snow, your days are numbered...

2005-03-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Snow, I have some bad news for you. 1: My snowblower has been fixed so your attempts to tourture me with hard, packed, icy snow drifts are no longer going to work. With my spiffy new "Drive Improvement System™" from Ariens, my snowblower cuts through it like buttah... Like buttah I tell ya! Yes, this morning, I actually had a smile on my face as I watched you get whooshed away by the wonders of modern machine technology with zero effort on my part. All I had to do was walk behind my "Better than New™" snowblower and hold on to the levers. You could'nt see me smiling because I was underneath several layers of clothing, goggles, etc, but it was there believe me, and it was a nasty smile. Ha. Ha. Ha. A very nasty smile... 2: In less than 10 days, on March 17th, there will be an equal amount of darkness and sunlight. That's right bitch. 12 fucking hours of hot solar radiation beating down on yo' ass. And it only gets worse after that, with each day getting longer and longer. Like it or not Snow, your days in my yard are numbered. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!! Sincerely, Your friend (not), - Me

iPod geekage

2005-03-08T15:42:00.000-05:00

I have one of the older iPods, the one with the buttons above the scroll wheel, so I did not have the coolness of shuffle play in the main menu and the ability to clear and save my on-the-go playlists. Until now... I recently updated my iPod and the latest version of iPod software gives me all the latest and greatest iPod goodies. It's like getting a brand new iPod! Then for the heck of it, just to start out with a fresh, clean iPod, I did a software restore and when I went into iTunes, I got some free tunes to download from the iTunes store. Bonus!

BaseballGeeks: Photoshop a t-shirt for Sox fans to wear at Yankee games

2005-03-08T15:15:00.000-05:00

Reedster over at baseballgeeks.com e-mailed me looking for funny Photoshoped pics to put on a t-shirt for Red Sox fans to wear at Yankee games. If you want to add a picture, here is the link to the thread. BaseballGeeks: Photoshop a t-shirt for Red Sox fans to wear at Yankee games Thanks for stopping by Reedster!

I'm still alive

2005-03-08T14:37:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody! What's up? I've been trying to write this post for like a 1/2 an hour now. I don't know why I'm having such a hard time writing this post. I'll write some stuff, read it, think it's stupid, then start over. I just need to write something and hit the post button. Yesterday was my Birthday but it was not very fun. On Sat, one of my kids got sick and passed it on to my wife, who then got sick and passed it on to me. So it was not a very pleasant birthday for me, since I spent the whole day sick in bed with an upset stomach. To make matters worse, my wife was in worse shape than I was so taking care of the kids was not easy. One of us would get up, run, bent-over, to the frigde, get some milk, throw it at the kids and then run, bent-over, back to bed. Then the other person would get up, run, bent-over, change a diaper on one kid, then run, bent-over, back to bed. Fun! Thankfully my wife's Mom came over to help with the kids and handle the basics, like making them food, giving them drinks, putting in a Thomas the Train Engine video, then another Thomas the Train video, then another Thomas the Train video.. UGH! My kids watched so many Thomas videos yesterday I was having Thomas the Train nightmares last night. We are both back on our feet today but moving very slowly. Hopefully this bug is now past and we can get back to normal. I did have some Birthday Fun before all this sickness started. My wife was having my kids help wrap my birthday presents and they got so excited over it, they had to give me my presents right that instant. They simply could not wait. It turns out that was good since we were all sick soon after that. I got the Pats Superbowl 39 DVD and a Pats Superbowl 39 Champions sweatshirt. I also got some new stylish shorts to wear, if the warm weather ever returns. So I'm another year older. I used to think I was'nt going to make it past the age of 25. I'm sure glad I did. OK. No going nuts reading this and editing! [POST]

Misc nerdery...

2005-03-06T23:32:00.000-05:00

Every now and then I go through a phase with this thing where I get kinda sick of it and wonder why I even write this thing. I am in one of those phases right now. Somewhere along the line, this journal became too sports oriented, to the point where I was not writing about anything else and actually felt funny about writing on a different topic other than sports. I did not really start this thing to be a sports only blog so, I'm going to start writing about other stuff besides sports again. I know a lot of the things I'll be writing about will be completely mundane and boring stuff to most people but like I said back when I started, this is all for my own personal enjoyment anyway. I went through a brief obsession with my site-meter stats and wanting this to become a site that got a lot of visitors. I have come to grips with the fact that that this blog is never going to be a highly visited site, but that is ok. I hope somebody will still find the stuff I write in this place interesting enough to read, but if not, as long as I'm enjoying writing these entries, that's all I really care about in the end. "Alright? Ok?"

Where is my mind?

2005-03-04T15:10:00.000-05:00

"Waaaaayyyy out in the water See it swimmin..." Like The Pixies? Of course you do! There's not a whole hell of a lot going on around here so the posting has been pretty light. More free agent comings and goings for The Pats. I hate to see guys like Andruzzi and Patten leave the team, but that's the way it is. This is the time of year when we are reminded that in the end, the NFL is a business and everybody in it is really just a self employed contractor. Yes, we are losing some good players, but thankfully, due to 'The Belichick/Pioli Master Plan', there are guys in place who are more than capbable and ready to step in and fill the void, so I'm not really that alarmed over the exodus of players in the last few days. I'm admittedly bummed out a little, because they're all a great bunch of guys, but I'm not worried about the team itself, and in the end that's all I really care about. I am more concerned about replacing the void left by Crennel and Weis than I am about replacing any of the players. I think Mangini will be able to step in and do a good job, but what about the offensive side of the ball? There's been no news out of Fortress Foxboro, (not that I would expect any). Some 'experts' have guessed that Belichick will run the Offense. I kinda doubt that, but we'll see. Lets just all take a 'wait and see attitude', shall we? There has been a breakthrough in the Great Snowblower Saga and I know you're all on the edge of your chairs to read this exciting news. My refurbished snowblower is due to arrive on Sat and with another storm predicted for next week, that is a good thing. I have had to shovel by hand the last 2 storms and the suck-factor was very high. During the last storm I was merrily (not) shoveling away and I actually 'bonked' from a sugar-low. I got all dizzy and everything went black. I almost passed out. I had to crawl up to the door of my house and have my wife bring me out a Coca-Cola. "WHATS WRONG WITH YOU?!" she's yelling... as the kids are watching out the window saying, "Whats that silly Daddy doin'? He's so silly..." as I'm lying there on the front steps moaning, "JUST GET ME A COKE!" It's always an adventure... What the hell is up with this friggin weather anyway? It's March. It's time for some signs of Spring now. Come on Mother Nature! You gave us a little tease about a month ago with temps in the 40's and now I think you're just fucking with us. Well it's not funny. I watched a little of the Sox pre-season game last night. When I put it on, my wife was like, "You gotta be kidding, this is not even a real game" so I didn't watch the whole thing. The wife has a fixed resivoir of baseball game watching that she will tolerate and I'd rather not waste it on a meaningless game. Better to save it for when the games actually count. So I only watched a couple innings and I really did not even pay that much attention be honest. I was just kind of looking at the green grass and the trees and the guys out in the field... imagining how nice and warm it must be down there, even with it raining... "Rain is way better than snow," I thought to myself. Basically I totally zoned out and wished for Spring. I listened to Theo make fun of Don Orsillo which was pretty funny, then watched Malaska pitch a little and went to bed. Yes, this is the thrill ride that is my life. If you read this far, have a great weekend. "In Belichick We Trust"

Are you ready for whats to come...

2005-03-03T12:10:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking about the Sox pre-season game tonight and I've got that Creed song stuck in my head. Jason Stark has a good article about the Sox on ESPN. I found the inset on page 2 of the article very interesting. It's a short peice about how Theo wants the Sox to be like the Pats. ESPN.com - Stark: Now what? So tonight we finally get to see some semi-real baseball. I gotta say I'm looking forward to it. So what if it does'nt count? It's still fun and it's a nice reminder that we are one day closer to spring, even if the fucking thermometer refuses to give up on winter. (It was 13 at my house this morning. Mother Nature, what did I ever do to you anyway?) The Pats free agent carousel continues. We lost Andruzzi to the Browns but picked up Starks from Arizona. Andruzzi is another player that is tough to see leave The Patriots but you can't blame him. He's got the rings, now it's time to get his payday. 9 Mil over 4 years. That is way more than what the Pats offered. I wish Joe the best of luck and success, just not against The Pats. It will be interesting to see how this guy Starks works out. He seems like he has some great potential but he's had a lot of injuries. Hope he's not another Steve Israel. We'll see I guess... "In Belichick We Trust"

In Belichick We Trust...

2005-03-02T14:40:00.000-05:00

Ok so before everyone in Patriots Nation starts hyper-ventalating over the fact that The Pats did not pick up the option year on Troy Brown's contract, lets take a step back, take a deep breath and be thankful that we have Belichick running our team. In letting Troy go, you are witnessing one of the key strengths of Belichick and The Pats front office: the ability to put emotion and sentimental feelings aside and make a decision based on what's best for the future of the Patriots. The bottom line is, at age 33, 5 mil for one year was too much for Troy. And let's not forget, this was just the option year. Even if the Pats had picked it up, they would still have to re-negociate a new contract for him again next year. From the articles I have read, the 2 sides went right down to the wire to work something out by the deadline. I look at this information optomistically and take that to mean that the 2 sides were probably not that far apart and will eventually work things out. Troy will test the Free Agent water a little bit so he can get an idea what his value is on the NFL Meat Market and then, hopefully, sign an incentive laced, cap-freindly contract with the Pats that will keep him in the uniform untill he retires. "In Belichick We Trust." I did not want to talk about this or write about it during the season because I did not want to think about the future. I just wanted to enjoy the ride while it lasted, but what we are going through now is one of the main reasons I felt it was so important to get that 3rd Trophy. Even as The Pats were rolling and winning one game after another, I could see this coming off in the distance. I knew the wheel was going to be turning on the Pats after this past season and it started the minute the Superbowl ended. The team is being broken down as key personel go their seperate ways. Now the team will have to be rebuilt. It is inevitable. Coaches and players move on, but new coaches and new players come in to replace them. Will I miss Troy Brown if he does not come back? Of course. He's one of my favorite players. But at the same time I will appreciate the fact that there is not much of a drop off left by his departure. As evidence for this I'll just remind you not to forget the very Troy Brown-like, but much younger, Dion Branch. Remember after the 03-04 season when Ted Washington left? Everyone freaked out. How are the Pats going to stuff the run without Washington everybody wondered. The answer, as we all know now, was by bringing in Keith Traylor and picking up Wilfork in the draft. Stay cool Patriot Nation. It might look like our team is being dismantled right now but it will be rebuilt on a foundation that is solid. Belichick and Pioli have a plan and I trust them. Don't forget the Draft is right around the corner and the Free Agent market is open to The Pats too. (...and hopefully Troy Brown will be back! BINGO!) GO PATS

Nerd terms for your enjoyment.

2005-02-28T17:00:00.000-05:00

The place where I work is very much like a Dilbert cartoon come to life. Here are some terms that you will hear on a regular basis here at the Software Factory. Ping - Useage: 'I'll ping you later.' Meaning: 'I'll check back with you later'. (My common, wise-ass response to this is, "Request Timed Out" or "Host is down", which is always followed by a very confused look from the person who I'm talking to. (If you're already lost, it's ok. It's a geek thing.)) Away Team - Useage: 'We might have to send down an Away Team.' Meaning: We might have to send someone to the customer's site to figure out a problem. Churn - Useage: 'We don't want a lot of churn here...' Meaning: We don't want to waste time. Bandwidth - Useage: 'I don't have the bandwidth for this.' Meaning: I have too much going on and can't add any more workload. Cycles - Useage: 'I don't have the cycles for this.' Meaning: I don't have time for this. That's just a small sampling. Pretty cool huh? Now lets use these Nerd Terms in a pretend hallway conversation. Dude: "Hey what's up?" Geek: "Not too much. This latest project I'm on is really sucking a lot of my bandwith." Dude: "I hear ya." Geek: "I hardly even have the cycles to go take a piss." Dude: "I hear ya." Geek: "I don't want to spend a lot of time churning on this or I might get stuck on an Away Team." Dude: "That would suck." Geek: "Do you think you have the cycles to help me out later?" Dude: (Getting into the geek-talk swing here) "I think I've got the bandwith." Geek: "Ok cool. I'll ping you later." Dude: "Request timed out. Request timed out. Request timed out..." Geek: (Confused / Quizzical look on face) Dude: (Changes subject) "Hey, how about those Pats? We're a Dynasty." Geek: "My Mom doesn't let me watch sports."

I'm back online!

2005-02-28T11:07:00.000-05:00

I know you were worried out there! Turns out my problems were caused by a bad power supply to my cable modem. What a pain in the ass! But at least it's fixed now and it was not my computer or any of my equipment. I had a dial up connection for years and just recently got this broadband connection a few months ago. Going back to dial up speeds was tourture! If you're still on dial-up, I feel your pain and will try to keep that in mind when I'm posting pictures and stuff. Now, if I can just get my snowblower back... It's a never ending saga.

No connection...

2005-02-27T15:05:00.000-05:00

My internet connection here at home is totally hosed. I can bareley even check e-mail. It's not my computer, I've tried different laptops running different operating systems and they all have the same issue. Ssssssslllllooooowwwwww connection. The cable company's supposed to send somebody out to check my cable-modem, etc tomorrow. Fun. Ty Law, the highest paid player in the history of The Patriots, is gone. The Pats released him at his own request. No surprise there. He went out the door saying he wanted to retire and go into the Hall of Fame as a Patriot, just not at a lower salary. Ok then, see ya Ty. It was great having you on our team. I try not to get too attached to players but it is kind of sad to see Ty go. He had been a great player for the Pats and I'm sure will continue to be a great CB. Will he wind up down in Dallas? Bill Parcells does not mind spending Jerry Jones' money. Parcells is not in it for the long haul anyway so what does he care if the Cowboys' salary cap gets all messed up. Parcells will be gone himself in less than 2 seasons. I would not be surprsed to see Ty Law playing down there next season. I can see him landing down in Cleveland or Miami as well. These are total guesses on my part, based soley on the fact that RAC and Saban will be looking to turn their teams around and Law would be a high profile free agent that would make a splash coming in. On top of that, he would be able to learn Crenell's or Saban's defensive schemes quickly, since they will undoubtedly be very simelar to The Pats. It will be interesting to see who winds up paying him what he is asking for, or if he even gets it. I wonder, if he winds up on a poor team, and the Patriots continue to be contenders, will Law become bitter towards The Patriots like Lawyer Milloy did? Ty will have his money and 3 Championship rings, but he may find that he misses playing for a winner. There are some things money can't buy. Oh, wait I forgot, it's not about the money with Ty. It's all about respect and personal pride. Yeah sure. Whatever. Hopefully that will help Ty feel better if he's on a .500 team next year. Either way, good luck to you Ty. Enjoy your $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Pats, Celts, Sox, Snowblower

2005-02-24T16:45:00.000-05:00

From what I can tell, there is not much to talk about today in the world of sports. The Pats released Earthwind Moreland and signed a few new assistant coaches. No news on the Pats Offensive Coordinator job... It's looking like Antoine Walker is coming back to the Celts. Interesting. Very interesting. The deal is not final yet but it looks like they just have to dot the 'i's and cross the 't's and it is going to happen. This should make Paul Peirce happy. I liked Antoine so I'll be glad to see him wearing The Green again. Maybe I'll even watch more than 1 quarter of basketball before the season ends. 'Twan may provide the spark this team seems to need right now. Curt 'THE MAN' Shilling threw 47 pitches from the mound today down at Spring Training. This article in the Globe reports he was not happy with his performance but Francona and pitching coach Dave Wallace were 'encouraged'. Personally, I'm more than encouraged. I'm thrilled. In other 'Life in General' news... The Snow-blower Saga continues... My now famous snow-blower was picked up today so that whatever is wrong with it can be repaired. Normally I would attempt this kind of manly repair-work stuff myself, since a snowblower is really not that complicated a machine, but since I don't have a garage, working on it outside in the middle of winter can be rather unpleasant, especially if your numb fingers run across a sharp edge or drop a bolt or nut or something else important in the snow and it gets lost. Violent swearing and other nonsense usually ensues when that kind of thing happens. So, in my mind, it is worth it to shell out some dough to get it working again. I'm just hoping I can get it back before the next big storm...

If you're looking to kill some time, you've come to the right place...

2005-02-23T15:40:00.000-05:00

First things first. What is up with Blogger? It seems like it has been been excruciatingly slow lately. It is just me? Maybe I am too impatient... My wife and I have been watching the Curb Your Enthusiasm DVDs (which is a hilarious show by the way) and I commented to her that I could see myself getting into some of the same types of trouble that Larry David always seems to wind up in on the show. She then informed me that I do have a few of Larry David's traits. Hmmmmm. I was not quite sure what to make of that, but I figured it can't be good. Seeing that I was bothered by this she reassuringly told me I was not a complete jackass like Larry David but I do suffer from an occasional lack of social etiquette and am generally completely oblivious to what is going on around me in social situations. Instead of being bothered by all this, I have decided to take the ball and run with it. Now when I get into a situation and I'm not sure how I'm doing I'll ask her, "Am I being all, 'Larry David' right now"? If the answer is no, I know I'm doing good. If it's yes or 'just a little', I just smile and she'll say, "I don't think it's necessarily a good thing that you have taken Larry David as a role model." Heh, heh, heh... Switching gears here, sorry there's been more "Life in General" and less "Pats and Sox" lately, but what is there to talk about? I'm not one to dissect the goings on at Spring Training, other than to say, 'Hooray! Its Spring Training' and I generally ignore all the Steroids/A-Rod/Ring Ceremony nonsense. That does not leave much to talk about sports-wise. It is fun to see all the guys on the Sox working out and getting ready for the season. It definitely puts me in a good mood. I am looking forward to some semi-real baseball next week when they start playing some Grapefruit Leauge games. It will be nice to see the guys back in action and to check out the new guys on the staff. I'm very interested in Wade Miller. I have a good feeling about that guy. I think he is going to be a steal. NESN has been re-playing the 2004 ALCS and World Series. Although I have not watched all of them, I have caught some (or at least parts) of the re-run games. They are fun to watch. Check out the October archives if you're interested in seeing the face of insanity and what I was going through during the '04 Post Season. When I re-read some of those old posts I think, 'That was a whole different world back then', Pre-Red Sox World Series Champions 2004. The Pats made Adam V. a 'franchise player'. No surprises there. I don't see it as a big deal. They did the same thing with him the last time around just so they had more time to work out the deal. I don't see Adam going anywhere. As expected it's looking like Drew Bledsoe will be re-unitied with Parcells in Dallas. I find it somewhat surprising that Drew would want to play for Parcells again, considering how relieved Bledsoe seemed be when Parcells ~~fucked over~~ left The Pats. It will probably be good for Drew to have Parcells yelling at him again. Maybe he can resurrect his career and finish it up on a good note. The Winston, I mean, Nextel Cup heads to California this weekend. How about that, there was a little bit of sports to write about after all!

Miracle on Ice 25th Anniversary

2005-02-22T21:57:00.000-05:00

"That win over the Russians in the semifinals (and the subsequent gold medal win) turned out to be unforgettable. Even today, most Americans who were alive in 1980 can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when it happened." - ESPN.com - Still A Miracle

25 Years ago I was watching the game with my Mom, Dad and Sister. We were on the edge of our chairs and absolutely glued to the TV. I remember the blue ice and the game clock superimposed on the screen, seeming like it was taking forever for the seconds to tick off, with the crowd chanting U-S-A! U-S-A! as it got closer and closer to the final seconds. When Team U.S.A. won the game, it was a moment that I will never forget and I still remember it like it was yesterday. The ceiling in my parents' house is very low and when the game ended, my Dad was so excited he jumped up out of his chair and put both fists right through the living room ceiling. It was pretty funny. (AP) Then they had to play another round for the Gold Medal against the Finns and we would joke around and say, 'Ok Dad, be careful this time' and that turned into a running gag for every big sports event. We still joke about it today. When The Pats won their first Superbowl we asked, "Did Dad put any holes in the ceiling?" It took a while before they got around to fixing those holes and I remember people would always come over my folks' house and ask, "What's up with the holes in your ceiling?" and we'd tell them the story about what happened when the U.S.A. Olympic Hockey Team beat the Soviets, a moment I'll never forget.

Mr. Grumpy

2005-02-22T09:27:00.000-05:00

Rather than subject everybody to my usual tirade about all the snow yesterday, I'll just say, my snowblower broke and it was not a good scene. (meaning-is-use.com) At least I was lucky enough to have yesterday off as a company holiday so the day was not completely ruined. The morning and early afternoon was actually pretty nice. I went outside with the kids and did some tromping around and sledding, then we came in for some hot chocolate and warmed up by a fire. Things went down hill in the late afternoon once the snow had stopped and I went outside to shovel. I spent $$$ back in Sept getting my snowblower all tuned up and now, here it is, the middle of winter and the thing does not work at all. Spring can't come soon enough for me. Calgon, take me away. (hawaii.com)

R.I.P. Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

2005-02-21T20:48:00.000-05:00

(illustration by Ralph Steadman) I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson for the first time several months ago. It was one of the best books I have ever read; laugh your ass off funny and totally, utterly insane. I fucking loved it. I was extremely saddened to learn that Dr. Thompson has apparently committed suicide. What a waste. What a goddamn mutherfucking waste. People will be writing much better and more eloquent eulogies and accolades than I possibly can. May you find peace (and a good time) where ever you are Doctor.

Infuriating finish to the Daytona 500

2005-02-20T18:20:00.000-05:00

After a mostly incident free race, several drivers suddenly forgot how to drive during the last 20 laps of the Daytona 500 and there was caution after caution to end the race. Absolutely infuriating. There was even an accident on the restart after a caution. Unbelievable. So instead of ending the race with green flag racing, we have to sit there and watch lap after lap of cars going around under the caution flag, with Mark Martin's chances of moving up from the 6 spot he was stuck in getting slimmer and slimmer with each caution lap. Ending a race under caution absolutely sucks and Green, White, Checkered Flag endings are only mildly better in my opinion. If there are less than 15 laps left and they know it's going to take 10 laps to get the track straightened out, they should just stop it at 15 or 10 laps. I can't stand seeing laps wasted on a caution and then having a 3 lap sprint at the end to determine the outcome of an entire race. Then to finish the race, it was the worst possible scenareo, with Gordon coming in 1st, Kurt Busch 2nd and Little E 3rd. I think Martin wound up 6th. All in all, a lousy ending to what had been a good race until the final few laps.

Daytona...

2005-02-20T16:52:00.000-05:00

Doin some shiet around the hoouuuuse and watchin The Daytona 500. Right now there's about 80 laps to go. So far, the race has been fairly un-eventful. There has been a wreck but we have not had 'The Big One' (yet). Hopefully, we can go through this race without 'The Big One' happening. [For you non-race fans who are still here, 'The Big One' refers to the huge crash that always seems to happen at Daytona and takes out half the field.] It's cool be be back racin again. The race was scheduled to start @ 2:00 EST but of course did not start till after 2:30. Seems like NASCAR is really trying to make this more of an 'event' like the Superbowl or something. They've got singers, celebreties, bands, etc etc dragging things out. Just stard the damn race for cryin out loud. It seems like 75% of the ads in NASCAR feature Dale Jr. Glad I'm a Jr. fan or I'd sure be sick of him. The NAPA ads with Jr. and Mikey Waltrip are very funny. My favorite ad so far has been the NAPA ad featuring Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip in the "Home Shopping Network" spoof. I also liked Toyota ad with Darryl Waltrip, "What would you do if you were not a race car driver", with him driving taxis and busses sideways around corners and stuff. Pretty funny. I have not really been paying a whole lot of attention to the race so far to be honest. I'm just kinda watching while doing other things... Most of my guys are still in it and contending, though Bobby Labonte and Kenseth went out early. When we get down to 50 laps to go, then it will really get interesting. I'm rooting for my all time favorite, Mark Martin. If Mark can't win it, I'm rooting for DEI. I'd like to see Dale Jr. get 2 in a row. If a DEI driver can't win it, anybody but Jeff Gordon or Kurt Busch would be ok with me. I'm not a big Rusty Wallace fan but I guess I could stand seeing him win his last Daytona. I did not realize this was his last one. Guess I'm not paying enough attention lately. The new Dodge Challenger looks cool. The broadcast has not been to "Foxed Up" yet, though we did miss a wreck because they were showing commercials. Personally I hate wrecks. I don't want to see anyone get hurt, cars torn up, and boring caution laps. That being said, when there is accident I do like to see what caused it, and who is affected. Par for the course with Fox. Jeanie Zalasko is as annoying in NASCAR as she is in Baseball. Other than her, I generally like the Fox announcers. Waltrip can be a little over the top sometimes, but I can put up with him. Larry is good for Crew Cheif insight. Seems like Fox has toned down the graphics and animation crap this year. That is good. Thank you FOX. 50 Laps left. GO MARK MARTIN

Shilling is a wise ass...

2005-02-18T09:38:00.000-05:00

And I like it! (boston.com photo) His shirt says:

If I got on a train at 2PM traveling at 60 MPH And you left on a train going in the opposite direction How long would it take before I could stop listening to you?

There are 2 guys outside my cube here at the Software Factory talking about the Sox, David Welles, the Ring Ceremony nonsense and baseball in general. It's that time of year. (The Red Seat)

Signs of Spring: Pitchers and Catchers report

2005-02-17T15:16:00.000-05:00

As all 10 of you that read this blog know, I friggin' hate winter so it feels great to see that there are signs of spring on the horizon everywhere you look. The days are getting longer, the thermometer has been going over 40 on a consistent basis and the glacier on my front lawn is starting to recede. And of course there is this: Spring Training starts this week, with pitchers and catchers reporting today. It's cool to get a chance to check out the new guys on the team and see the players working out, playing some Grapefruit League games and getting ready for the season. What I like best about Spring Training is the anticipation of things to come; anticipation of a warm summer evening hanging out in the backyard, everything is green and alive, cold beverage in hand, Joe and Jerry on the AM radio calling the game... Picture it and smile. My kids can't wait for baseball to start. Every morning when I go in their room to see them they have their Red Sox caps on. Lucky kids. They've never known a day when The Pats were not Superbowl Champs and the Sox just won The World Series. Until last year, I seriously believed it was not going to happen in my lifetime and I used to just hope that my kids would get to see it happen someday. Well, here they are, little kids and The Sox won the Series and the Pats have won the Superbowl 3 times. They are Baggage free for Life. I'm glad.

Get well soon Tedy

2005-02-17T11:37:00.000-05:00

Get some rest and well quick Tedy!! Pats fans everywhere are hoping you are feeling better.

BostonHerald.com - Red Sox: Ring ceremony a delicate matter

2005-02-17T09:43:00.000-05:00

BostonHerald.com - Red Sox: Ring ceremony a delicate matter:

" Ever since the Sox won their first title in 86 years and it was learned that the first home series of the year would be against the Yankees, New Englanders have relished the idea of the ages-old rivals having to watch the rings being presented at Fenway. The ceremony, which will undoubtedly be accompanied by great fanfare and celebration, may not be proper to conduct in front of the team the Sox defeated in the ALCS before heading on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals, according to executive vice president Dr. Charles Steinberg. "

All I can say to this is, WHAAATTTT????? If there is ever a perfect time to present the Championship Rings, opening day in front of the MF Yankees is it. Are they not going to raise the Championship banner on Opening Day because it might bother The MF Yankees? You gotta be kidding. Come on and picture this with me: The Green Monster is draped with that great big American Flag and The World Champion New England Patriots emerge from beneath it once again, holding their latest and greatest Lombardi Trophy.. The 2004 World Series Champion banner is unveiled.. The Championship Rings are awarded.. And it all takes place with Steinbrenner's boys milling about on the field, forced to watch the whole thing, getting knots in their stomachs. Tell me this would not be great. That would be a moment to relish. I hope The Sox don't screw it up. Fuck nice. Dirt Dogs sum it up right:

...You Can Bet Your Donkey That if the Yankees Were the 2004 World Series Champions, Rings Would Be Handed Out April 3 in Yankee Stadium.

Think Spring!

Kiss it goodbye...

2005-02-16T14:10:00.000-05:00

Its official, the NHL season has been canceled. I guess it was just too hard to figure out how to divide up all that money. No Quest for The Cup this year. No listening to Gary Thorne calling those fucking awesome playoff games. The NHL playoffs were just the best. Every game was always exciting and fun to watch, even if your team was not playing.. No Original 6 rivalries. No 'one and done' for the Bruins... wait a min, maybe that's not such a bad thing. It's a damn shame.

Your safe harbor

2005-02-16T09:37:00.000-05:00

I would like to announce that this is a Jose Canseco Free Zone. There will be no discussion of Canseco, his book or steroids in general here. Consider this your safe harbor from Jose Canseco / Steroid talk. Thank you. ESPN has a great picture on their site. begging for some captions... NHL Hockey is tettering on the edge of official, "Who gives a crap" status as far as I'm concerned. Exasperating is the best word to describe this whole 'negociation'. The owners are now offering a drop dead, final offer of a 42.5 mil salary cap. The players counter with 49 mil. Do these guys think they are negociating on a new car or something? What a bunch of fools. Just take the 42.5 you fucking morons or you are all going to lose in the end. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ bitches... Drew Bledsoe has been sacked again. I would not be surprised to see him down in Dallas next year. The Browns may be another spot he could land in, but that is highly unlikely in my opinion. RAC is not that stupid. And $top feeling $orry for Drew for cryin out loud. He'll land on hi$ feet. Tru$t me. Maybe if he had learned to pick up a blitz after 12 years, he would not be in this position. He'll be ok with Parcells in his face and constantly yelling at him again. Pitchers and Catchers tomorrow. Think Spring

News out of the AHL All-Star break

2005-02-15T09:49:00.000-05:00

Worcester bids for AHL future. (May require login.) From the article:

"two options have emerged. One is the relocation of the Portland Pirates. The other is the purchase of the Utah Grizzlies by a group of hockey investors from the greater Boston area... The asking price for the Utah franchise is reportedly $3.4 million."

The Pirates ownership is using Worcester as leverage to get what they want out of Portland and I will be very surprised if a move of the Portland team to Worcester actually happens. I see the second option, the purchase of the Utah Grizzlies, as a more viable option. Anybody got a couple million they want to spend on a used minor leauge hockey team? Or there is what's behind door number 3...

One other door may have cracked open for Worcester in recent weeks. The assumption has been that Omaha will come into the league next season as the 30th and final AHL franchise, with the Calgary Flames supplying the players. That deal has hit a snag or two, though, and Andrews conceded yesterday that the league may only have 29 teams next year. Asked if Worcester might be a potential solution to the problems in Omaha, Andrews said: “It’s possible, but we certainly haven’t discussed it.”

We'll see what happens next I guess...

I hate being an insignifigant microbe

2005-02-14T16:35:00.000-05:00

Dammit, I was almost on land as a crusty crustacian but now I've recently devolved into an insignifigant microbe. And I hate that. (If this is total gibberish to you, check out the TTLB ecosystem to see what I'm talking about.)

Happy Hallmark Card Day!

2005-02-14T16:07:00.000-05:00

Happy Hallmark Card Day everyone! Guys, have you gotten those flowers and cards yet? I'll be stopping by the grocery store for my ridiculously overpriced flowers and cards after work. I'm just hoping the cards are not completely picked over and there are still some good mushy ones left. I'm also going to get a nice scented candle for extra points. Vanilla. MMMMMM. Smells nice. Congratulations to the greeting card companies for successfully creating a completely overblown holiday out of nothing. There's not a lot of sports to talk about so I'm starting a new topic: Inexplicable behavior! Has anyone noticed the strange and dangerous trend of people using the left hand lane of the highway to stop their cars when there is a problem? What the fuck is up with this? What is wrong with the breakdown lane? Is the breakdown lane just not cool? Maybe the left hand side (A.K.A. The Hammer Lane) of the highway is just the place to be. It's the spot to see and be seen when your car breaks down or you have a fender bender. Do people like the extra risk of having their cars stopped with half of it hanging out in the hammer lane? Maybe they just want extra attention. They certainly do get it. Causing a 3 mile backup because you decide to avoid the relatively safe, (but inconspicuous) breakdown lane and just stopping in the grass in the left lane causes a lot of people to look at you as they drive past. More Inexplicable Behavior: Last Friday stopped after work to pick up some pizza. The line at the little shop I go to was out the door. I figured it was just because it's Lent and lots of people were getting some fish and chips for dinner. However, when I got to the door, I found out the reason that people were waiting outside was because the last person on the inside of the door of the pizza shop was inexplicably standing half in and half out of the door, getting in the way just enough so that nobody could come in, but holding the door open just enough to provide a cool refreshing and, surely appreciated, 20 degree winter chill to those who were lucky enough to be inside the restaurant. "Excuse me", I said. "Yes?" "Do you think you could maybe move all the way inside?" I said grinning and hoping I did not have my famous "FUCKYOU" face on. [I'm known to have a certain expression which has been called my 'FUCKYOU' face. Even when I'm not saying anything, I'm told my expression says it all.] "OH!" The person said, sounding somewhat surprised at what a jackass they were being, then moving inside so the rest of us could come in. So there I am, waiting in line patiently. Ahhh. Nice warm, delicious smelling pizza shop. It's Friday night. Weekend's coming on. Time to relax a little. Have a few beers. Chill. Suddenly some guy comes in, cuts everybody in the line, walks to the cashier counter and starts bugging the extremely busy folks behind the counter to see if his food is ready yet. "What's your number?" the busy guy behind the counter asks. "I don't know, it was a large pepperoni pizza" the ~~guy~~ jackass says. I thought to myself, "Hey, that's not a common order, I'm sure they know just which one you're talking about." While I was watching the guy and thinking this, I probably had my 'FUCKYOU' face on... More Inexplicable Behavior coming soon!

Givin' some props to the C's

2005-02-12T18:13:00.000-05:00

Hey check it out, in case you did not notice, your Boston Celtics have a winning record and are leading their division. Way to go C's! I really do like the C's, and always root for them, even if I don't watch a lot of the games. I think I have been kinda hard on the Celts here in the past. I was holding a small grudge against them after getting swept in an embarassing fashion in the playoffs last year. I did not expect them to win that series last year but I did hope they could have won at least one game. All I wanted was one game but hey, what are you going to do. Time to put the past behind us and jump on the C's bandwagon. Celtics Pride is back! In other sports most people probably don't care about news: [Cars going around in circles] Tonight is the Bud Shootout down at Daytona which for me, is very cool. Yes, I like NASCAR and I think race cars going around in circles at 200 MPH is exciting and fun to watch. NASCAR is one of those sports most people don't really get into untill you go to a live event and experience it. I did not really find it that interesting myself untill I went up to Louden N.H. for a race and saw how cool it was in person. After that, I was hooked. That was something like 10 years ago now. This year, I will be going all out rooting for Mark Martin, the best driver in NASCAR to never win a Championship. He has come tantalizingly close on several occasions but has never been able to finish 1st. This will be his last year racing so I'm really hoping this is his year and he can go out on top. If Mark can't win it, I'll be backing Dale Jr., and not because he's the most popular, well known driver either. I've been a fan of his since he was in the Busch series. So don't give me any of that bandwagon crap. Other drivers I'll be rooting for in general, Kenseth, Newman, Harvick, B. LaBonte. I tend to root for a lot of the 'Young Guns'. [/Cars going around in circles] The AHL All-Star break is this weekend. I'm hoping for some good news about the hockey situation in Worcester. Hopefully another AHL team can be re-located to Worcester.

Blah...

2005-02-11T17:30:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling very un-inspired since The Superbowl. Now that there's no sports to talk about, (yeah, yeah, I know, The Celtics are playing, yawn.) I've got very little to write about. I did not intend this blog to become so sports oriented but somewhere along the way that's what happened. As a matter of fact, when I started this thing, I purposely avoided writing anything about The Sox because one of my insane superstitions was that it was bad luck for me to write about them. In a previous blog to this one, (I have started and deleted like 3 blogs prior to this one. Lame-ass, I know...) I wrote about the '03 Sox, The Playoffs, The ALCS... Well, we all remember how that turned out and I actually came to believe that my writing about The Sox was bad luck. Timmlan in the 8th, Williamson in the 9th... Timmlan in the 8th, Williamson in the 9th. Fucking Grady. Maybe some wounds go too deep to ever heal completely, like Frodo and that cut he got from the Ring Wraith in The Fellowship of the Ring... Wow. Could I be more of a geek? Sorry. There I go, digressing again. Anyway, when I started this blog I was able to go quite a while without saying a word about The Sox but eventually, the pressure became too great and I decided to tempt fate and actually write down my thoughts about The Sox. There were some tense moments but thankfully, we all came through it ok. You may be wondering, "What about The Pats? You write about them no problem." I have always felt it was ok for me to write about the Pats since they are impervious to such nonsense as getting jinxed by some idiot writing about them in a online journal. There ya go. Moving right along... It snowed today and nothing puts me in a bad mood like having to shovel snow. I fucking hate hate hate it. But, today is different, because today is "Truck Day", the magical day when The Red Sox load up all the gear and get ready to head down south for Spring Training. That means Spring is getting closer and that puts me in a good mood. Happy Truck Day! Finally (or mercifully, whichever you prefer) this Sunday is the Pro-Bowl. The Pro-Bowl means no more Football till August, which is an awfully long time (sniff). At least we'll soon have those new Superbowl DVDs and '3 Games to Glory III' to help pass the time till Training Camp starts up in July. The Pats offseason will be very interesting with all the changes in the front office coming, as well as dealing with players, the draft, etc. I would like to set the following objectives for The Pats guys who are in the Pro-Bowl this weekend: 1) DO NOT under any circumstances play any beach football games. In fact, avoid walking on the beach all together. Just hang by the pool where it's safe. 2) Try not to gloat too much around Peyton and and Donovan while you're there. 3) It's officially "The Offseason" so hey, you stay classy Patriot Nation.

Parade Pics...

2005-02-10T22:02:00.000-05:00

Here's a few pics from the parade. Hope this does not suck up too much of your internet bandwith. Enjoy! The Krafts, Belichick, Pioli and Charlie Wies Tom Brady and Dion Branch Big Sey' 93, Richard Seymour Izzo, Kopen and ?. They went by too fast! Daniel Grahm Looking forward to seeing these guys come out from the flag draped over The Green Monster on Opening Day... GO PATS

Parade fun

2005-02-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

Hey what's up everybody. Posting is a little light and I know you're all suffering withdraw symptoms (yeah, sure). Now that the Pats have completed the Superbowl Trilogy, I'm trying to decompress a little and there's really not that much goin on. I went to the Patriots Victory Parade yesterday (Thanks Boss) and it was a lot of fun. Since we live outside of the city, we did our usual routine of driving to the Riverside T stop and taking the train in from there. Unfortunately when we got there, the T parking lot was full. We wound up paying 20 bucks to park in a nearby hotel parking lot. I am notoriously cheap so shelling out 20 bucks for a spot did not sit well with me, but it was either that or go home so I sucked it up and gave the happy man my 20 bucks. 'Thank you' he says. I'm thinkin to myself, you oughta thank me buddy. I was thinking of a few other things too but I'm trying to cut down on the vulgarity here... Anyway, it was not that big a deal. The parking in the T lot is 10 bucks we rationalized, so what's another 10 as long as we have fun. YEAH! We took the T in and got off at the Boylston stop, which is right by Emerson College and the Theater District. We wound up staking out a good spot on the corner of Tremont and Boylston St. We got there around 11:00 and waited about an hour before the Duck boats started coming into view. While waiting for the boats to come by we checked out all the signs people had. There were several good ones, "Brady for Pope, Miracles every Sunday" was a good one, "Brady, Brady, I'm your lady" was another one and of course the obligatory "Belichick for President". My wife and sister in law had a good time people watching and pointing out all the varieties of goofballs you see at these types of things. They also had a good time pointing out various fashion fopaws and telling me stuff like, 'Don't you ever wear something like that', 'Tiva sandals and socks are not cool, especially in winter', and 'Isn't it cold for that kid to be wearing just shorts and a t-shirt'? They were not as brutal as the Go Fug Yourself chicks but were still pretty amusing. Hey, if you're going to stand around bored, you might as well goof on people. As for me, I spotted some chick who was a dead ringer for a young Wynona Ryder. I kept that to myself... I also noticed there was a Dunkin's right across the street from a Starbucks. I wondered which one got the most business. Starbucks is ok but I'm a Dunkin's guy myself... Mmmmm. Hazelnut.... Oops. Where was I? Oh yeah the Parade. So after about an hour of wating the helicopters floating over head started to converge on our area. We knew the boats must be getting close. Finally down the street there was a silver flash of the Lombardi Trophies. We could see the Kraft's were carrying all 3 on the lead boat. Cool. The boats finally got to our spot on the street and we all clapped, waved, yelled and cheered. The first boat came by and I got a real good view of The Krafts, Coach Belichick and Scott Pioli as well as the 3 Lombardi Trophies, which was very cool. I even saw The Coach smiling, so it's official. It does happen from time to time. "Nice Job Guys! Way to Go! Thanks Bob! WOOOOO!" we yelled. Next came the boat with Brady and Dion Branch. MVP! MVP! MVP! I shouted. I also got to see Seymour, Izzo, Fauria, Grahm, Bethel and a bunch of other guys I can't remember right now, along with the cheerleaders. I did not get to see Bruschi or Dillon as they were on the wrong side of the boat platform for me to see them from my side of the street. My wife got some great shots with her digital camera. Maybe I will post a few later. The players and other folks on the Ducks all looked like they were having a blast and really seemed to be soaking it in and enjoying the spectacle of us crazy Pats Fans. Players were showing off their rings and giving us the 3 finger sign, for 3 Championships. As they drove by the boats shot some confetti and blared music. It was pretty cool and then just like that, it was over. Even though they were going slow, it felt like the boats went by awfully fast. I was wishing, can't they come back for another pass? It seemed like it was over almost as soon as it started. That's ok though. We had a real good time and now we have some great memories. It was a lot of fun. LETS DO THIS AGAIN NEXT YEAR!! GO PATS

Kickin back

2005-02-07T13:39:00.000-05:00

I feel a little guilty because there's not a lot of actual work getting done today here at the ol' Software Factory. I'm feeling the effects of a late night and a few too many beers celebrating The Pats big win. I'm extremely happy about the victory but, man, I don't know how many more of these close games I can take! Everybody around here is in a good mood and talking about the win. Now that the Superbowl is over, there's no sports to follow till the Sox start up again on Opening Day and maybe that is a good thing. I need to take a little breather. There's the Celts and NASCAR but my involvement with following those sports could best be described as 'casual' as opposed to 'living and dying with every play' with The Pats and Sox. Misc: I like those UPS brown colored Superbowl hats. I'll be able to wear it around without fear of it getting all grungy. The Pats have slain another dragon by winning a Superbowl in the white uniforms. I believe they have now successfully overcome all of their historical hexes. They've completed the Superbowl Trilogy, they've won on the road out in Denver, they've won on the road in Miami during the hot months. Are there any long standing obstacles left that I've forgotten? 3 continued to be a magic number for The Pats. All 3 of their Superbowl wins have been by 3 points. I'm planning to go to the parade tomorrow. When the Pats won the first one, it was suggested by my boss at the time that I not attend the victory parade, hint hint. I don't remember why I didn't go to the 2nd one. I was going to go to the Sox parade then wimped out because of the crappy weather. Well, this time, I'm gonna do it, as long as I can get permission from The Man. Hope to see you there. Look for the guy in the Patriots gear. ;) I need a nap Stay classy Patriot Nation.

I love these guys...

2005-02-07T00:18:00.000-05:00

Images stolen from Boston.com How about Belichick's Dad gettin' the ice bath with his son? -smiles- New England Patriots... Dynasty. Back when I was in college, a freind of mine was a big Niners fan. He would always talk about how his team was the 'Team of the 80's' and I would always say, well, someday it will be the Patriots turn and he would kind of laugh at me while I was being totally serious. Yah mutherfukcer!! We are the Team of the 2000's Dave... I've got to go to work tomorrow. Goodnight Patriot Nation. Sweet dreams!

Its a Beautiful Daaaayyyyy

2005-02-06T23:11:00.000-05:00

Don't let it get away... Who would have thought back in the day... 3 Superbowl victories in 4 years. D Y N A S T Y - That spells Dynasty. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YEAAAAHHHHH! I won't lie. It was a heart attack the whole way through. But it was worth it. See you at the parade. Savor it Patriot Nation. SAVOR IT This will never get old. This never gets old. This never gets old. This never gets old. GO PATS!!!

Halftime: Superbowl 39

2005-02-06T20:30:00.000-05:00

The Pats had multiple opportunities to do some damage early in the game and then shot themselves in the foot. Penalties killed them, turnovers killed them. 7-7 at halftime after what turned out to be an agonizing first half. I am trying to come down off the ceiling right now... So much for my wish. Should have known better. This is the Patriots after all, and as much as I love them, nothing is easy when it comes to The Pats. Nothing. I gotta give it to the Eagles. These guys are hungry and it shows, big time. I took that team way too lightly and now, I pay. Paul McCartney is singing something but I'm listening to the halftime show on 'BCN. Too bad they could not have gotten U2 to play halftime again. OK. Time to visualize the 2nd half. Lets think positive. Its a tie game. 30 min to go. 30 min left in the season. Nothing left to hold back now. The Pats get the ball to start. Lets step it up for the 2nd half. Leave it all on the field boys... 30 football minutes left to go. At the end It's either going to be pure happiness or total agony for me. There's no inbetween. Time to suck it up. Lets win this mutherfuckin thing!! COME ON!!! See you at the end... G O P A T S ! ! ! ! !

FUUUUCCCKK

2005-02-06T19:51:00.000-05:00

The Football Gods frown on overconfidence and I am being punished right now. Please accept my humble repentance Football Gods...

Ricky Prohl's prophecy...

2005-02-06T16:30:00.000-05:00

"Tonight, a dynasty is born..." Ricky Prohl, then playing for the St. Louis Rams, made this statement a few min before the start of Superbowl 36, Feb 3rd, 2002. Since then, The Pats have won 2 out of 3 Superbowls. If the Pats can win tonight, it will be their 3rd Superbowl victory. 3 is a magic number. 3 Superbowl victories 3 Games to Glory, Part 3 Tom Brady wears #12. 1+2=3 My kids, who have never known a day when the Pats were not Superbowl Champions, will be 3 this month. Belichick, Weis, Crennel. 3 coaches and friends. This will play their last game together as a coaching trio and I have a feeling this is something that is highly motivating to everyone on the team. To win the game, The Pats need to be effective in all three phases of the game, offense, defense and special teams. The Superbowl is being played on Planet Earth, which is the 3rd planet from the Sun. I'm sure I can think up all kinds of other uses of the magic number 3 and the Superbowl tonight. I'm going to stop now. (You're welcome.) With about 3 hours to go till kickoff, I am strangely calm for this game. You might even say, serene. This is very unusual for me. Usually I am bouncing off the walls waiting for the game to get started. I guess the difference is that I feel extremely confident in The Pats chances. As much as the media has tried to build up the Eagles as a scary team, it keeps falling flat. I watch ESPN and they tell me all about the Eagles pro-bowlers on defense and build up Westbrook and McNabb and I start to get somewhat worried. I start to think to myself, holy shit! This team is going to be tough! My chest gets a little tight and I wonder, hmm, how are The Pats going to beat these guys? Then the bubble bursts when ESPN start showing Eagles highlights and the 'experts' say something like, "Watch what the Eagles did in this game against... The Giants." Or they'll say, on this play you can see how they handled...The Vikings". Suddenly, I'm not so worried and I start to relax. Lets face it. The Pats have already beaten the two scariest teams in the leauge, Pittsburgh and Indy. Not only did they beat thost teams, they destroyed them. Don't get me wrong, I respect The Eagles. They are a very good team, the best in the NFC. Unfortunately, that does not mean very much this year. If the Eagles played in the AFC, they would be the 4th seed or lower. I don't think The Eagles can hang with The Pats an entire game. The Eagles will try to keep it close but I think eventually The Pats will start to pull away. The Football Gods frown on overconfidence so let me be clear when I say, I'm *hoping* to see the Pats dominate this game but anything can happen. Just ask Ricky Prohl and the Rams... The Pats need to come out flying and take control right from the start. They can't leave The Eagles any openings. I'd love to see a Denver vs. Atlanta style Superbowl, boring as hell and totally dominated by the Pats from start to finish. I've seen my share of last second, game winning field goals and although I have loved every one of them, I'm hoping this time around, the final play of the game is Tom Brady kneeling down to end the game with a commanding lead. I just remembered ESPN2 shows the NFL Films Superbowl recaps. I turned it on just in time. They're showing Superbowl 34, Rams-Titans. Pats vs. Rams is up soon. Nice. We are about 2 hours from kickoff now and the butterflies are starting... Time to begin the Pre-Game Rituals. A shot of Jack and a beer kick things off. I've got the good stuff for the game, Guinness and Wachusett Winterfest, with Miller Lite as a backup. We've also got some boneless buffalo wings and some salsa dip on tap for later. The Football Gods look favorably on such snackage. I will end this long ass post by saying, Thank You, as always, Football Gods, for everything. "Tonight, a dynasty is born..." Pats vs Rams is on in a few min. Perfect timing to see Ricky Prohl make his prophecy. Let's hope it comes true in a few hours. GO PATS!!!

Sick of the bitching about Jacksonville

2005-02-04T10:32:00.000-05:00

I know this may sound a little sacriligious, but am I the only one who's getting a little tired of Bill Simmons? Maybe it's just that I'm tired of the Superbowl hype in general and this interminable 2 week wait is starting to get to me... I dont know. I do know one thing, I feel real bad for all those poor reporters down there in Jacksonville, especially after shoveling several more inches of heavy white shit this morning. No accumulation my ass... I know Simmons is sort of the defacto Boston Sports Fan representative in the media and generally I find his stuff to be spot on and really funny, but I've been reading his Superbowl blog this week and one word comes to mind: whiny spoiled little bitch. Everything I hear is about how 'awful' Jacksonville is. Come on. Do these reporters really expect us to belive this shit? Hey, anytime one of you media frauds feel like you're getting sick of Jacksonville and what to trade places, let me know! I'll spring for my own plane ride, and take your hardly used hotel room and Superbowl pass if you're so miserable. I'll bet I can have myself a good old time down there in Jacksonville. I'll bet it's a blast down there for your average Joe Sportsfan, so please, spare us the complaints about how 'awful' it is down there at the Superbowl in Jacksonville. Ok, enought ranting. Bad mood over. It's Friday and the Superbowl is almost here! Plus, and lets all breathe a huge sigh of relief here, the World Series Baseball is back in Boston. Whew. Thank goodness. I was worried about that... GO PATS

Dammit I missed Dave Roberts' steal again..

2005-02-03T21:49:00.000-05:00

So I'm sitting there completely zoned out on the couch watching some old Eddie Murphy flick when suddenly I remeber that NESN is showing Game 4 of the ALCS. I was looking forward to watching this one since the first time around I was in the depths of Red Sox Dispair and only watched one inning of the game. I ran upstairs and turned on our little bedroom tv just as the 9th inning ended. Dammit I missed Roberts steal second again! I could'nt believe it. I've seen it on the DVDs obviously, but there was somthing about watching the game replay, seeing the whole thing play out, that I really wanted to see. Even though I know the outcome now, I wanted to try and catch a little of that 'moment' that I missed the 1st time it happened. Dammit... Well, at least I'll see Ortiz's homer to win it this time. It's so strange watching this game replay. It's hard to put into words. This was Pre-World Series Win. Pre-World Series Joy. Pre-World Series Release. You can almost feel the weight and longing and endless hoping of 86 years on the looks of the fans in the stands. Oh man, we wanted that win so bad. You can see the desperation in peoples eyes. For me, I just wanted the Sox to win Game 4. Just avoid the sweep. Avoid total shame and embarassment at the hands of those fucking hated Yankees. Live another day. You see the look on the people's faces and remember that weight, like remembering a really hard, laborous job you just recently completed. You can still feel the ache in your back from carrying that load but now that weight is gone. It's over and you can look back and remember how hard it was and think about how great it feels to have that wieght lifted, how wonderful it's absence feels. Wow. As Myers loads the bases for the Yankess in the 11th, I wonder how the hell the Sox managed to win this game. All I can say is thank God they did. Somehow they did and now it's a different world for us. I strech out my shoulders. It feels great with that heavy burden finally gone forever. I watch the fans rejoice and hear the huge cheer as we get out of the top of the 12th. To the bottom of the 12th we go. I'm not going to miss it this time around... Big Papi is on deck. Feel the Joy.

Timebomb

2005-02-02T14:34:00.000-05:00

Hey, great news! We're one day closer to the Superbowl. Other than that, not much going on today... Here's another tune from my Pats Superbowl playlist. This one is from Godsmack. I think this line from 'Timebomb' fits Rodney Harrison perfectly. "I’m a bad motherfucker who lives it every day. You never look at me now, you never look me in the face. I’m a timebomb, timebomb, baby." Since there is no hockey, once the Superbowl is over, it's pretty much a desert as far as the sports scene goes. There's nothing happening till Spring Training and the Daytona 500 at the end of the month. So, as sort of a preparatory move for dealing with the Post Superbowl Lack of Sports Scene, I attempted to watch a Celtics game last night. I could only watch about 10 min. I just can't get into the NBA. I feel a little bad about it because I feel like I should support the Celts but I watch for like 5 min and just kinda zone out. Celtics Pride was riding high a few years ago when they were in the conference finals but right now there's just no interest. Sorry guys... By the way, Waltah McCarty, what is up with those socks up to your knees anyway? "I LOVE WALTAH!" but you look really goofy man! GO PATS

I hope the Pats win this Superbowl and then win the next 10 too...

2005-02-01T17:20:00.000-05:00

Ok this whole, Pats fans miss being miserable losers, Pats fans are bored with winning, the rest of the country is sick of my team, blah blah blah fuckin blah has really gotten on my nerves lately. The media is has clamped onto this theme like a rotweiler to a bone and just will not let it go. I know Beth and Firestarter have already written about this topic but it has gotten so much under my skin, I feel the need to say something about it too. I feel a little bit like a broken record because I've written about this before but if the press can beat a story to death, so can we! So to set the ~~people~~ idiots in the media straight: I don't miss being miserable and am not bored with the winning one bit. Not one single bit. Got it? I mean seriously, who ever gets sick of watching their team win championships? How fuckin stupid are these people that get paid to write anyway? The fact is, I am relishing all the winning and I hope the Pats win this Superbowl and then go on to win 10 more after that. As a matter of fact, I hope the Pats win the Superbowl every year. Every single year. It feels great and it never gets old. Never. As someone who was sick of the Niners in the 80s and the Cowboys in the 90s, I can certainly understand that folks in other parts of the country are sick of the Pats but the thing is, I don't give a shit if people in the rest of the country are sick of The Pats. Bill Simmons may feel guilty about it. I do not. There is not one iota of guilt in me about the Pats recent good fortune. Long may it reign. The lack of purchasing of Pats paraphenalia lately has nothing to do with my loyalty to The Pats. It has to do with the fact that I have so much gear right now, I could wear Pats gear from head to toe every day for 2 weeks and still not wear the same thing twice. That is not an exaggeration either. When the Pats gear runs out, I could then go another week in Sox gear. *If* the Pats win the Superbowl I will probably be able to then complete the full month wearing Pats or Sox gear every day. *To the Football Gods, notice I said *if* there. Thank you, as always Football Gods. Don't even dare to compare me as a Pats fan to a MFY fan. The shit I've been through with this team... This could be a whole seperate post/rant by itself so let's not even go there. Only somebody who is obviously clueless and does'nt know what the hell they are talking about would make that kind of comparison so let's just leave it at that. Patriot Nation, we have earned the right to enjoy this moment in time so enjoy it, relish it, savor it and hope for more of the same. GO PATS

Patriots Playlist - Damage, Inc.

2005-02-01T10:42:00.000-05:00

I have a bunch of tunes on my iPod that get me all jacked and pumped for the Superbowl. Here is one of the songs from my Pats Superbowl playlist. This tune from pre-sellout Metallica could be the anthem for the entire team, but I think it really fits Corey Dillon to a T. "Slamming through don't fuck with razorback"

Dealing out the agony within Charging hard and no one’s gonna give in Living on your knees, conformity Or dying on your feet for honesty Inbred, our bodies work as one Bloody, but never cry submission Following our instinct not a trend Go against the grain until the end [chorus:] Blood will follow blood Dying time is here Damage incorporated [end chorus] Slamming through, don’t fuck with razorback Stepping out? you’ll feel our hell on your back Blood follows blood and we make sure Life ain’t for you and we’re the cure Honesty is my only excuse Try to rob us of it, but it’s no use Steamroller action crushing all Victim is your name and you shall fall [chorus] We chew and spit you out We laugh, you scream and shout All flee, with fear you run You’ll know just where we come from Damage incorporated Damage jackals ripping right through you Sight and smell of this, it gets me goin’ Know just how to get just what we want Tear it from your soul in nightly hunt Fuck it all and fucking no regrets Never happy ending on these dark sets All’s fair for damage inc. you see Step a little closer if you please

Go PATS

Superbowl week

2005-01-31T10:22:00.000-05:00

Well it's finally here, Superbowl week. It's not going to be easy waiting till Sunday for the game to start. By Sunday I expect to be completely overloaded by the barrage of media hype and other nonsense this week. There was no football last weekend so I watched the Patriots Superbowl 36 DVD. I still get a little misty at the end when Adam kicks the game winner. Euphoria sure feels good. Let's hope for more of the same on Superbowl Sunday. The guys looked and sounded pretty focused at the sendoff they had yesterday at The Razor. They're even staying in a hotel 40 min away from the stadium to help avoid distractions. Nice. To help me get through the week, I've made a Patriots playlist for my iPod. Each song reminds me of a member of the Patriots in some way, even if it is only a couple lines in the song. For example: Damage, Inc. - Corey Dillon TNT - Tedy Bruschi The Ace of Spades - Belichick Nobody Does it Better - Brady Timebomb - Rodney Harrison In other news, NESN is showing the '04 ALCS this week. I'm especially looking forward to watching Game 4, a game that I only watched one inning of and then shut off in disgust. It will be nice to watch now that we all know the outcome. Despite what fools like this say, it feels great and it never gets old. GO PATS

Brought to you courtesy of The Red White and Blue

2005-01-30T22:36:00.000-05:00

[politics] I don't usually get into this stuff here but sometimes an event occurs that I feel the need to comment on. Despite most of the media's attempts to put a negative spin on the Iraqi vote yesterday, (good news sucks does'nt it boys) I hope people recognize that a great thing has happened there. No it was not perfect and yes there was some bloodshed but all in all, I think it was a success. (from CNN) An Iraqi woman shows her ink-stained finger after voting Sunday in Az Zubayr I would also like to say, I'm very grateful to the men and women of our Armed Forces for everything they have done and continue to do. Ok. Back to sports and other mundane issues. [/politics]

One more day of January left...

2005-01-30T21:56:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the last day of January. Thank God! January is the longest, coldest, snowiest, darkest, worst month of the year and although February is still cold and snowy, it's better than January. We've gotten through the worst of the year. Now things will start getting better from here. The weather is already looking better with temps forcasted to be in the tropical 30's this week. Reasons to like February: - It's not January - The Superbowl - Spring Training - The Daytona 500 - It's the shortest month. I can almost see Springtime on the horizon from here. - There's a company holiday, meaning a day off, in Feb. - It's not January GO PATS

I'm in a place called Virtigo...

2005-01-29T10:58:00.000-05:00

And believe me, 'its everything I wish I did'nt know.' Since 10:00 AM on the dot, I've been trying to get tickets to a Red Sox game online, any Red Sox game. I've been stuck in 'virtual waiting room hell' for almost an hour. I feel like Neo when he's trapped in that weird Train Station in The Matrix movies. Where's Trinity when I need her? As if getting Red Sox tickets was not impossible enough, at the same time, I'm trying to get U2 tickets. I am insane. How silly of me to think that I could get tickets to a concert and a baseball game. How does an average guy with no connections get tickets to anything? Answer: he does'nt. What the fuck?? 3 tickets. Any price. Best available. Come on ticketmaster, show a Regular Joe some love. How the hell can 3 concerts at the Fleet Center be completely sold out in under half an hour? I've pretty much given up on U2 at this point but I'll wait in the Red Sox 'virtual waiting room' a little while longer. ::-waiting-:: All right, I give up. It's been an hour and I've got better ways to spend a Saturday morning. No Sox tickets, no U2 tickets. This fuckin sucks. I am a very bitter man right now. At least the Pats are in the Superbowl. GO PATS

Thank you Freddie Mitchell

2005-01-28T15:45:00.000-05:00

I'd just like to say thanks to Freddie Mitchell for aggravating Rodney Harrison with his comments on ESPN.

In a segment taped yesterday on ESPN, Mitchell admitted he couldnt name any of the Patriots defensive backs, saying he only knew their numbers. Except for No. 37 that is. I got something for you Harrison when I meet you too, he said.

Effin fantastic. Hearing stuff like this puts a smile on my face. Couple things: First, I can't believe this guy Mitchell is that stupid. It really does amaze me that people on other teams have not learned to just shut up and not give Harrison any extra reason to be pissed off before a game, but hey, it's fine with me! I like it when Harrison gets pissed off and then takes it out on the field. Second, and even better, Mitchell has not only irritated Harrison, but I'm sure he's pretty much annoyed all the players in the Pats secondary with his 'I don't know any of their names' comment. Sounds like disrespect to me... Third, this shows to me the attention to detail and the level of preparation Mitchell's putting in going into the Superbowl is not very good. Do you think there's anybody in the Pats receiving corps that doesn't know the names and numbers of the players they'll be facing in the Eagles backfield? I kinda doubt it. Too all this I say, GOOD! I hope the video guys at Gillette can put the video of Mitchell's comments in between every play that the guys in the Pats secondary have to study for the game. To Mitchell and everybody else on the Eagles, please, keep it up! While you're at it, try and say some dumb stuff about Bruschi and our Linemen too. Try to go out of your way to get everybody on the Pats D as annoyed as possible before the Superbowl. Patriot Nation appreciates your providing the extra motivation to our guys. On a side note, Proctor and Gamble, please, leave the name of Gillette Stadium alone. Don't screw up a perfectly good nickname like "The Razor". Thanks. GO PATS

Worcester Pro Sports - Baseball returns, Hockey will live on

2005-01-27T21:38:00.000-05:00

Minor League Baseball is headed for Worcester with a new team that will be part of the Canadian American Leauge. There is not a name for the team yet but there is a website with some info about what's happening and where you can also enter a contest to name the team. Check out their site here: Worcester Pro Baseball This is great news. I am looking forward to going to some games this summer with my family. It should be great fun and I am very excited about the prospect of a minor leauge baseball team here in Worcester. Just thinking about going to a ballpark on a hot summer day and sitting in the stands with the sun on my face watching a ball game helps cheer me up and takes my mind off this cold and snowy weather we're having. I put in the name 'Worcester Rockets' as part of the contest. I think it would be cool to have a name with a local flavor and since modern rocketry was invented in Worcester, I think "The Rockets" is a fitting name for Worcester's new baseball team. In other news, it looks like hockey will live on in Worcester next season. According to an article in the Telegram and Gazzete (no link, sorry), there are 2 ECHL teams interested in playing in Worcester. The story also says that city officials are still working to keep the AHL in Worcester and apparently there is a buyer who would be willing to help bring a team here. The problem is that an existing AHL team would have to be re-located. According to the article there are several prospective teams that could be re-located to Worcester. It would be in the best interest in the city and the AHL to keep a team here, but if they can't make it work I will definetly support an ECHL team. We'll know more after the AHL All-Star break but either way, hockey will live on in Worcester. Great news all around.

The Dead Zone of Sports

2005-01-27T14:10:00.000-05:00

The ship hath been suddenly becalmed. Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down, 'Twas sad as sad could be ; And we did speak only to break The silence of the sea ! All in a hot and copper sky, The bloody Sun, at noon, Right up above the mast did stand, No bigger than the Moon. Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion ; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Ha! Ya like that shit? I'm gettin' all litterary on yo asses. It's amazing what you can learn as a kid listening to Iron Maiden records... Remember when I said I kinda liked the extra time before the Superbowl? Yah. Well that lasted about one day. People, we are as stuck right now as those sailors in Coleridge's poem, stuck in the Dead Zone of Sports, where the only thing moving is peoples lips but nothing worth listening to is coming out. It seems the only thing for the media to discuss right now is Doug's baseball, (what a blown out of proportion, non-fucking-story) and wether Owens will play or not. Beth Jordan: So, is T.O. gonna play in the Superbowl?? Lloyd Christmas: No and I DON'T CARE! Unless you are into repetition, watching ESPN or listening to WEEI is just painful right now. I'm avoiding the whole thing by completely tuning out sports talk on the radio and on TV. I scan the Globe sports section for little nuggets of info, like to find out how Richard Seymour is doing, and then completely ignore the rest. The only thing keeping my attention right now are my favorite blogs (check em out over there on the right). Football is only on once a week and I just can't watch those old World Series games they're showing on NESN, for the same reason I don't watch the Superbowl 20 and 31 recaps from NFL Films that ESPN plays on Superbowl Sunday. If I want to inflict pain on myself I'll go in the basement and hit my thumb with a hammer. Normally I'd watch some hockey games. But as you know there's no hockey. There's only a few shows I like to watch, Overhaulin' and Lost, so what is there to fill the void? The 24 Season 3 DVDs. I am totally addicted to that show and watch 3 episodes at a time. Sepaking of DVDs, while you sit around and wait patiently for the NHL to get it's collective head out of its ass, I would recommend passing the time with some good Hockey Movies. I would suggest the following: Mystery Alaska Slapshot The Mighty Ducks Do You Believe in Miracles? (The documentary. Or you can go with 'Miracle', from Disney. That one was pretty good too.) The Dead Zone Ok, I know you're thinking, 'The Dead Zone? That's not a hockey movie'. You are right it's not but it does have hockey in it and that ties up this whole silly post quite nicely I think. "The ice is gonna break!" GO PATS

Boston.com - New field of dreams

2005-01-26T10:25:00.000-05:00

Boston.com: Red Sox - New field of dreams I think it's great the way The Sox are fixing up Fenway. Its like they are rebuilding the park from the inside out and it gets a little bit better every year. Now if they could just make the seats face the right way... In other news, looks like Doug Mickavawhateva is going to be traded to the Mets. Personally, I was hoping the Sox would have kept Doug. I really loved his defense, even if his bat was not as good as Millar's. Oh well. It's snowing again today. The 2 and 1/2 hour car ride this morning was great fun and I'm really looking forward to shoveling after another exuberating and personally fulfilling day of work. Goddammit. Sorry. I'm a little cranky today. Well, at least the sun is still in the sky when I leave to go home now. It's 1 day closer to Spring... and the Pats are in the Superbowl. Ok. I'm feeling a little better now. Positive thoughts. GO PATS

I hate winter

2005-01-25T13:13:00.000-05:00

More snow predicted for tomorrow. I friggin hate winter. Which picture do you think most resembles me? 1. 2. 3. If you guessed #3, you're right!! I hate winter.

Good Mood Monday

2005-01-24T16:08:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday everybody. I'm in a real good mood today, along with everybody else here at the ol' software factory. The Pats are headed for the Superbowl once again and it feels great. My blood pressure is back down to a normal level and that helps too. I'm sure my fellow members of Patriot Nation thoroughly enjoyed watching the Pats absolutely dominate last night. It was almost a complete reversal of the Halloween Game. Redemption, Revenge and a trip to the Superbowl all wrapped up in one package. Nice. It was great to see Corey Dillon at the end of the game. That guy is psyched. I liked watching the Pats players waving their 'terible towels' at the few remaining Steelers Fans left in the stands by the end too. Is it just me or did they seem to give up on their team awfully fast? There were a lot of empty seats in the 3rd quarter. After the game I stayed up and watched the interviews while I calmed down. Deion Branch made a great comment. He said the team had a little 5 min celebration and then were right back to business. There's still 1 game left. Excellent. Did you realize this will be the Pats 4th trip to the Superbowl since 1997? That's quite a run. Right now the Pats are .500 in the Superbowl. Hopefully we can get that up to a winning percentage with Superbowl 39. Even though The Pats had the lead for the entire game last night, I have to admit I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I just get very wound up for these playoff games (the wife says a little too wound up) and even when the Pats are doing well in the game, I'm still super nervous. The Pats need to be up by 24 in a game before I can relax. Anyway, that's just how it is. I can't help it. Also, I tend to jump around and yell a lot when exciting things happen in the game. This has a negative effect on calming my kids down for bed for some reason. Once we finally got them to bed, I woke them up a couple times too. I received several scoldings, "I know you're excited but will you PLEEEEEZZE to try and keep it down till they fell asleep!?" There was a point in the game where it looked like the Steelers might start to get some momentum and mount a comeback and I was writhing in agony. I then realized that I had the Patriots Superbowl 36 Mug on the floor and not where it belonged on the mantle. I quickly moved the Pats Superbowl 36 Beer Mug back to it's rightful place on the mantle and got under the Lucky Pats Fleece Blanket. Just like that, the Pats had the game back under control. That was a close one. Yeah, I'm extremely superstitious too.. Did I mention that I can also see into the future? In a previous post I said I thought that Rothlesburger would throw a pick on his first offensive series of the game and he did. Whoa. Yes I am a freak when it comes to watching the Pats in the Playoffs. Does'nt it sound like fun to watch a Pats game with me? Of course it does! My kids favorite part is the pre-game strech followed by a jog around the house to warm up. So it's going to be The Patriots against The Eagles for the Superbowl. It should be a good game and once again, I really like the Pats chances in this one. This is the last ride of Belichick, Weis and Crennel together and you know they want to go out on top. A lot of people dread the 2 week hype-fest before the game but I kind of like it. It gives me a chance to wind down a little this week and just enjoy the fact that we are going back to the Superbowl. Then next week I'll be rested and ready to get all geared up for "The Big Game". You can be sure I'll be writing a lot more about "The Big Game" but right now I'm just basking in the AFC Champioship win. :::-basking-::: By the way, did you know that it's not allowed to say "Superbowl" in ads and stuff unless you pay to get permission to use the word? Otherwise you have to say, "The Big Game". "Isn't 'dat veeeeiirrd?" "In Belichick We Trust" GO PATS

WE ARE GOIN TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!!

2005-01-23T22:00:00.000-05:00

PATRIOT NATION, WE ARE SUPERBOWL BOUND!! YEAH! YYEAH!!! AND YES I KNOW CAPS LOCK IS ON. THAT IS BECAUSE THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS ARE GOING - TO - THE - SUPERBOWL!!! SAVOR IT PATRIOT NATION. SAVOR IT GO PATS

Game on!

2005-01-23T16:59:00.000-05:00

I just got through shoveling a little while ago. Even after a hot shower and some cocoa with some peppermint schnapps, my hands are still stiff from the cold. It took me over 4 hours to shovel us out, even with the snowblower. Unbeliveable. Now it is time to kick back and enjoy some football, maybe light a fire and hope for some Patriot Glory. I may or may not write a quick post at halftime of the AFC Game. It will all depend on the state of the game and my subsequent state of mind at the time. I know it is very in vouge to 'blog' the games, a-la Bill Simmons, but this is something I can't do while watching the Pats. It ruins my concentration on the game and I dont want to miss any of it. Hopefully my next post will be a happy one, and the Patriots will be Superbowl bound. Enjoy the game Patriot Nation! LETS GO PATS!! LETS GO PATS!! LETS GO PATS!!

The day has finally arrived

2005-01-23T09:08:00.000-05:00

Finally. Sunday is finally here and it's snowing like a mutherfucker outside. The AFC Chapmpionship is today. I've been waiting, litterally since the end of the Divisional Game last Sunday, for this day to arrive. Friday was the worst day. For some reason, Friday seemed interminable. In between bursts of getting actual work done, I would constantly be checking ESPN, boston.com and my favorite blogs for anything new on the game. Either that or everybody at the Software Factory would be talking about the game, the Pats strengths, their weaknesses, how they match up against the Steelers, have the Steelers said anything dumb yet, etc, etc. There was lots of reassuring, "It's gonna be tough but we can do it" talk and everybody was wearing their lucky Pats gear. That brings up a subject I would like to comment on. I have read lately that Patriot Nation is 'greedy' because we want to see our team win a 3rd Championship. Well, duh. Who would not want to see their team win 3 Championships? Who would not want to see their team mentioned in the same breath as the 70's Steelers, the 80's Niners, the 90's Cowboys? I mean come on! Of course we're greedy! I've read that we are becoming like the Yankee Fans. Now that pisses me off. Here's what I say to that: Fuck You. You can't compare being a Pats Fan to a Yankee fan, or a Cowboy Fan or a Steeler Fan. If you do, you obviously don't know anything about the Pats history. I been through the shit with this team muthafucka. Patriot Nation, you know what I'm talking about. So excuse me if I'm a little excited about the prospect of my team, that I've followed since I was a little kid and that, untill recently, put me through the ringer ever year, (some years worse than others), being on the verge of official 'dynasty' status. If you think I'm obnoxious, I'm not doing it to piss you off. I'm just trying to enjoy the ride, because I know it eventually comes to an end and it goes by quick. Which brings us to today's AFC Championship Game with so much on the line. In case you have not heard enough analysis, here is what I think the key to the game is: stop the Pittsburg run game. That's it. This is one of the main reasons I feel good about the Pats in this game. The Pats have always done well against the Steelers run game. They have always been able to stop "The Bus" and I expect they will do it again today. I just have a good feeling about it. I believe in The Pats. Yes folks this truly unique and amazing pre-game analysis comes to you from a regular-old football fan, not a highly paid ESPN expert. One thing that does worry me is the weather. I am really hoping this snow subsides a few hours before the games today so I can get it all cleaned up then come inside for non-stop football gluttony. Even more important, with the way it's blowing outside my window right now, I hope the unthinkable does not happen and the power does not go out. I've got the radio just in case but that would seriously suck if I can't watch the games today. We've had no problems yet so hopefully that issue does not come up. As far as the weather for the games, it obviously favors Philly, who I think will finally win an NFC Championship. I don't think it has a lot of effect on Pittsburg or New England. They are both used to playing in cold and snow, although The Pats may have had more snow games recently and Rothlesburger seems to have issues with holding the ball in the cold. I'll give a slight edge to the Pats in dealing with the weather. On tap for today, a pre-game meal of Spagetti and Meatballs. The game starts right around dinner time so I'm going to eat the big afternoon meal and then go with the munchies during the game. A shot of Jack and beer will also be involved. This is part of the pre-game ritual. All Game Rituals will be observed to the letter. Finally, as always, Thank You Football Gods. "In Belichick We Trust" Go PATS

I dream of Superbowls...

2005-01-21T10:58:00.000-05:00

Last night I had a dream that I was in the AFC Championship game. I accidentally woke up my wife while trying to tackle somebody in my sleep (I think it was Burress). "Why are you pushing me?" she asked sleepily. I mumbled something about "No gain on the play. 4th Down." and went back to dreamland. While I'm on the subject of dreams, how's this little fantasy sound: 1st play of the game, Steelers kick off to Bethel Johnson who runs it back for a TD. Sounds good huh? How about the 2nd play of the game, Adam kicks off to Pitt and they muff it. It's picked up by the Pats and gets run in for another TD. Then, how about if Rothlesburger gets picked off on his first offensive series of the game? Before you know it, its 21-0 Pats in the first quarter. A total reversal of the Halloween game. Visualize it Patriot Nation. Close your eyes and visualize it. Make your future. "May, make, make it, make it. Make your future Danny. I'm, I'm a veg', Danny."

Ho Hum. It's Wed.

2005-01-19T10:51:00.000-05:00

It's Wed. The AFC Championship is still a long way away. So in the meantime, what else is going on. Not a whole hell of a lot. Just killing time till 6:30 Sunday. I have nothing to add to this picture. I just like it. So there you go. Speaking of pictures, Sports Illustrated has Tedy Bruuuuuschi on the cover. That's pretty cool, but is SI trying to hex our team with one of those famous SI Cover Jinxes? Sneaky bastards. Knock that shit off SI. I know what you're up to. You tried that last year with Brady too. I remember. And it didn't work did it? No it did not. You should know better. So. What else is goin on... Nice to see Bellhorn and Arroyo signed, sealed and delivered for another year on the Sox. And hey, Bellhorn got a nice raise. Good for him. He was *only* making 400,000 and change last year. He is officially a millionaire now and gives working stiffs everywhere hope that they too can someday quadruple their salaries.. Seriously, I am glad to see Bellhorn get rewarded for his play last year. I thought Manny should have given Bellhorn a few mil just as a gift for bailing him out during Game 1 of the World Series after he tripped on a pebble in left field while trying to make a catch. I predict the Eagles will lose another NFC Championship game. You heard it here folks. That gets me thinking, imagine if the Eagles really do lose this one and the Pats *hopefully beat the Steelers. People in Philadelphia would go out in the streets in a giant lynch mob looking for Andy Reid and Donvan Macnabb. The state of Pennsylvania would be collectively bummed out. *Note to the Football Gods: Notice I said *hopefully* there. As always, thank you Football Gods. Personally, I am abvivalent about the outcome of NFC game. It should be a great game to watch and I am looking forward to it but I don't really care who wins. I am leaning toward Atlanta. I like watching Michael Vick run around like a maniac. They have a good running back with Dunn. They are just a fun team to watch. But, if the Eagles win, that's fine too I guess... I suppose it would be better not to have lynch mobs roving the streets in Philly. Maybe I will root for Philly. I'm officially listing my NFC Rooting Preference as "Questionable". It will be a game day decision. Finally, (I know you're probably saying, 'thank goodness' here) I think my iPod has psychic powers. I was listening to random songs on the way in to work and wanted to hear some Nirvana. Amazingly, the next random song that came up was a Nirvana song. And this is not the first time this has happened either... Pretty freaky stuff. Speaking of iPods, you might have noticed I put some links to the iTunes store over there on the right. I was accepted as an iTunes Music Store affiliate recently, which is pretty cool. So feel free to click away and buy some tunes. That was a shameless plug in case you did not notice. Have a great day! And Hey, You stay classy Patriot Nation.

It's only Tuesday?

2005-01-18T11:01:00.000-05:00

It's only Tuesday and I'm already feeling antsy for the AFC Championship game to get started. I have to say I'm surprised and yes, a little dissapointed that the Steelers are actually keeping their mouths shut (for now). Usually you can always count on somebody from the Steelers to say something stupid before a game. Hmmmm. Maybe they have learned their lesson? Then again, it is only Tuesday. I doubt they will be able to contain themselves all week. In the meantime, Belichick had a few comments about the upcoming game. Unfortunately, they are buried in an article by Bob Ryan of the (biased and always negative) Boston Globe. I'm not going to link to the article because, quite frankly, Bob Ryan sucks, (other than that I have no strong feelings about him or the Globe) so here is the Belichick quote, which is the only worthwhile part of the article anyway.

"Am I happy we're playing the Steelers? Absolutely. I don't even mind playing them in Pittsburgh because it's much better than any alternative. It's an opportunity and a privilege to be playing Pittsburgh for the AFC championship. Who knows how many of these opportunities you're going to have? You just try to capture the moment, put your best foot forward, and hope the outcome comes out differently." - Belichick

Can I just say again how glad I am this guy is in charge of my team? I am soooooo glad Belichick is in charge of my team. Since I can't express my feelings about him in an eloquent manner, I'll just say, Belichick is 'The Balls'. Here is another quote from him:

"They are a physical team, one of the most physical teams in the league. We will have to match their intensity. That's the way they play, and you'd better be ready for them."

Here's the thing about the Steelers. Much like the Pats, they are a very deceptive team. Take the playoff game vs. the Jets game for example. You watch them play and you're like, heck look at these guys we can beat them! Everybody is thinking this is going to be an easy game because they looked so bad. Don't be fooled. This is going to be a tough team to beat. They have big strong receivers, and if they get a lead, they just try to run the ball right down your throat. Their defense is very good. It may seem easy to overlook them because they win ugly. The bottom line is, they win. That being said, I like our chances in this game and am very confident that the Pats can win. I'm sure any Steelers fans that read this will snicker when I say this, but the Halloween game was an anomoly. The fact is, we did not have Corey Dillon in that game and I see that as a huge difference. We had absolutely zero running game that day. Our lead back was Kevin Faulk. Now as much as I like Kevin, let's face it. He's not a lead back. The Pats were about as one dimensional as you can get that day. Everybody knew that all the Steelers had to do was play the pass and Brady threw some picks. The word out of Steelerville is that Dillon is not a factor, and he won't make any difference in the upcoming game. They say that Dillon has never done well against the Steelers. Ok, maybe that's true. Maybe he never has done anything against the Steelers... when he was playing for the F-in' Bengals. He's playing for the Pats now and I think The Pats bring more to the table than the Bengals. What do you think? I think going into Ketchup Feild with a balanced offensive attack vs a totally one dimensional one will make a big difference. The second factor is Brady. In October Brady had a bad game. He turned the ball over several times and the Steelers were able to capitalize big time. Again, Steeler fans can laugh if they want to but that's just not going to happen again. Expect to see Brady's 'A' game in the AFC Championship. The third factor is Defense. In the first game, Ty Law went out early and left our backfield in dissarray. That has been fixed, in case you did not notice when we played the Colts. The Steelers have big, strong receivers and that will give our guys trouble. However, I expect Belichick to have the guys prepared to deal with this. The Pats have always done well holding Bettis in check and he's got a tweaked ankle. Staley runs with the same style and has an issue with his hammie. Either way, I'm not too worried about the Pats containing the Steelers run game. Last but not least, coaching. I have no doubt that Charlie Weis will have a plan for going against the Steelers vaunted Defense and RAC will have the Pats D ready to handle the Steelers. Then of course there's Belichick. Who do you want on your sideline to make a potential game winning decision, Cowher or Belichick? I think we all know the answer to that one. Who's more likeley to have a game changing meltdown on the sidelines, Cowher or Belichick? I think we know the answer to that one too. This will be a tough game but my confidence in the Pats is high. "In Belichick We Trust". Wow this turned out to be a long post. Thanks for reading if you made it this far! GO PATS

Three Games to Glory III - Game one: check

2005-01-17T15:57:00.000-05:00

Hey, how about that. The Pats beat the Colts. The offense held onto the ball for almost 40 min and kept the Colts offense sitting on the sidelines. And when the Colts offense did get on the field, the 'undermanned' Patriot secondary did just fine against the 'unstoppable' Colts offense. The ESPN Experts were all wrong (again!) I have to admit, as annoyed as I was with all the Colts/Manning hype going into last nights game, look at the effect it had on the Pats. Just like last year, the Pats got so sick and tired of hearing how they did'nt have a chance, all they did was go out and dominate the Colts and humiliate the so called 'experts' in the media. Tom Jackson was litterally speechless on Sportcenter this morning. Now they'll probably all jump on the Pats bandwagon this week. Carpetbaggers. Hey ESPN, you like apples? The Pats are undefeated at home 2 years in a row. How about them apples? Ok. Got that out of my system. The truth is I was a little nervous going into this game last night. When it's the playoffs, you're always nervous. You don't have 7 games to try and win a series. This is sudden death and though I was very confident in the Pats winning, anything can happen in the playoffs. I was well aware of how dangerous the Colts could be. My stomach was in knots and knowing how the Colts can put up points in a hurry, I really did not settle down until the Pats got a good solid 17 point lead. Although I have to say, eating a whole jar of salsa and throwing 2 sausage, pepper and onion sandwiches on top of it before the game might have added to the knots. Washing it down with some Jack Daniels and beer probably did not help either. Next week I will know better. I'm going with Buffalo Chicken and Chili. I'll keep the Jack and beer in the mix though. Game Ritual. Don't mess with Game Rituals. So now we'll take on the Steelers and get a chance for some redemption. I was shocked at how badly the Jets blew their game vs the Steelers. Talk about wasting a golden opportunity, then wasting it again, then getting another chance and blowing that one too! Unbelieveable! I really did not care who won the Jets / Steelers game but I was kind of rooting for the Jets (a true rarity). I don't hate the Jets. They are a good rival. There is some dislike there but it is a good, respectful, rivalry kind of dislike. I just plain hate Pittsburg. There is just something about them that gets under my skin. Maybe it's the obnoxious coach. Maybe it's all those damn yellow towels their fans wave that drive me into a frenzy. Maybe it's their players who always talk smack but never back it up when it counts. I dont know. All I know is I hate the Steelers and it would have been nice to see Cowher implode on the sidelines instead of sticking his big fucking jaw out there and smiling when the Jets handed the game to him. It would have been very cool to play the Jets for the AFC Championship at home in Gillete (Stupid Jets!) but it's ok. I like our chances against the Steelers, even in Ketchup Stadium. GO PATS

Who's da Man?

2005-01-17T09:15:00.000-05:00

You da Man.

World Champions vs Colts: Halftime

2005-01-16T18:12:00.000-05:00

It's halftime. Not exactly the jubilant post I was hoping for, but still can't complain. We've got the lead. World Champion New England Patriots 6, Indianapolis Colts 3. My nerves are shot. It should be 10-3 but the Pats had a sure-fire TD taken away on a penalty. We need to rack it up on these guys dammit. Maybe I should'nt have eaten 2 sausage sandwiches before the game... Tums goes good with beer. 30 min to go... let's go Pats D. I'm hoping for a big 2nd half from Dillon... Let's hope the news is all good in my next post. GO PATS!!

Lets get this game goin!!

2005-01-16T16:41:00.000-05:00

5 min to kick off. All game rituals are being oberved to the 't'. I'm streched, I'm ready. Sausage Pepper and Onion sandwich. Beer. Gill and Gino tuned in. TV turned down. The kids are jumping up and down yelling "GO PATRIOTS" It's COLD. It's SNOWING. The 12th Man at THE RAZOR is charged up and relentless. Lets hope my next post is all good news and happines. WE ARE READY Its time for some PATRIOT STYLE FOOTBALL. Lets get this fucker started!!! LETS GO PATS!! LETS GO PATS!! LETS GO PATS!!!

Reaching the saturation point...

2005-01-14T17:46:00.000-05:00

Much like the field down at The Razor (a.k.a. Gillete Stadium), I am starting to reach the saturation point with all Pats / Colts pre-game hype. I am sick, sick, sick of all the talk and just want to get this game vs the Colts started! Thank God (and The Football Gods) that it's Friday today. One more day to go and we can watch some meaningful football games. I'm looking forward to the Steelers / Jets game on Sat (4:30 kickoff). I have a feeling the Jets are going to give the Steelers a tough game. I'm not sure who to root for here though. Going on the *hope that the Pats win this weekend, we would then face the winner of the Jets/Steelers game. *Note to the Football Gods: notice I said *hope*. Thanks again Football Gods. On one hand, I want to see the Pats face off against the Steelers again for a little rematch / grudge match action. The Pats have something to prove vs the team that broke the longest win streak in NFL history. As I'm sure you remember, when we played the Steelers the 1st time, we were without Corey Dillon. We basically had no run game what-so-ever and Pittsburg took advantage. The Steelers knew all they had to do was play the pass and Tom Brady threw some picks. I'd love to see how we fare against this team the 2nd time around with Dillon in the lineup. It would be a good rematch of the AFC Championship game from '02 as well. By the way I think The Steelers still think they won that game... Plus, to steal Shilling's line again, "I can't think of any scenario more enjoyable than making 55,000 people from ~~New York~~ Pittsburg shut up.." On the other hand, should the Jets pull off an upset and beat Pittsburg, how cool would Pats vs. Jets for the AFC Championship be? Boston vs. New York again, this time with a trip to the Superbowl on the line. "Effin' A, Cotton, Effin' A!" But, lets not anger the Football Gods and get ahead of ourselves. First we have to get past the Colts, a great team with a great QB. (The Football Gods look kindly on those who respect their opponents). Have no doubt, this one makes Patriot Nation nervous so here are some tidbits to help keep us calm till 4:30 Sunday: - The last time The Pats lost a home game was Dec 22, 2002. Since then they have been undefeated at home for 2 years in a row. - Temps will be a very un-domelike, 20 degrees on Sun night. - 2 weeks of rest and preparation for Belichick, RAC, Weis, not to mention the players themselves. - Corey Dillon will be playing in his first ever playoff game. I think he'll be excited to play, don't you? I'm hoping to see a monster game from him with lots of this: - Forget Manning vs. the Pats secondary. How about Tom Brady vs. the Colts secondary. Mmmmm. Hmmmm. I think you know what I'm talking about... - Joe Theismann is the only person at ESPN who has picked The Pats to win Sunday. - The pressure is all on Manning here. Beat Beilichick, beat the Pats at home, win 'The Big Game', yadda yadda. Everyone in the country expects him to win and lets face it, everyone in the media wants him to win. It's all on Manning's shoulders. - ~~CUT THAT MEAT!~~ ~~CUT THAT MEAT!~~ THROW THAT PICK! THROW THAT PICK! - This tune by Meat Depressed. (Thanks Beth!) Enjoy the football this weekend and hey, You stay classy Patriot Nation!

Colts continue to stoke the flames, anger Football Gods...

2005-01-13T17:18:00.000-05:00

Somehow I overlooked this little tidbit the other day. (This whole work thing keeps cutting in on my blog posting) The Colts just keep stoking the flames and racheting up the annoyance level for the Pats. I remember last year before the AFC Championship, the Pats were so godamm sick of hearing nothing but Peyton Manning Peyton Manning Peyton Manning before the game, they were worked up into an absolute lather. I think Rodney Harrison's head was about ready to pop off he was getting so pissed.. I hope Belichick ordered a t-shirt for each player and had it draped in front of every locker. It should be noted the Football Gods do not look kindly on this type of thing... GO PATS

Vanderjerk.

2005-01-12T14:29:00.000-05:00

ESPN.com: 'Vanderjerk' kicks off motivational melee for Pats "He should focus on making the field goals, not worried about what we're doing over here, OK?' Harrison said. 'I mean, he has to be a jerk, Vanderjerk, if he sits there and criticizes Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy, one of the best quarterbacks in the game and one of the best coaches in the game. And then for him to put his foot in his mouth again just shows what type of character he has." ~ Rodney Harrison Note to Vanderjackass: In case you have not figured it out yet, Harrison is not somebody you want to piss off before a game or you might see a lot of this: Here in Patriot Nation we like to call this "The Peyton Manning Face". Keep it up though. We dont mind at all!

Hey, how's the new U2 Album taste?

2005-01-11T16:52:00.000-05:00

So Apple came out with a new iPod and they have it pictured next to a pack of gum to show how little it is. The disclaimer at the bottom of the page says, "2. Do not eat iPod shuffle." I can't decide if they are just being goofy or their lawyers actually made them do this so people would not eat the iPod... Mmmmm. Tasty. Needs salt though.

Peyton Manning needs a big hug...

2005-01-11T15:40:00.000-05:00

From Jarvis Green (This is the pic currently adorning my computer desktop @ work.)

Brace yourselves

2005-01-10T09:46:00.000-05:00

Get ready to be inundated and overrun by 24/7 Peyton Manning talk in the papers, on the radio and on tv this week. As a matter of fact a guy just came in the lab to ask me what I think about Manning and tell me how good he is, how smart he is, blah, blah blah fuckin' blah. It's going to be non, effing stop all week so if you're not sick of him yet, by Sunday you will be. Keep overlooking Brady and Dillon and Givens everybody. Indie can't put up a lot of points if their offense can't get on the field. Does Indy's defense worry me? Nope. Do the injuries in the Pats secondary worry me? Yeah, I'll admit it, they worry me a little. But do I think Belichick and RAC will cover up our shortcomings as best as possible and have our Defense prepared for Indy? Yup. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this is going to be an easy game for the Pats. Manning and the Colts are a very good team. I'll give Manning his props, I'm just sick of hearing about how invincible he is. To steal a line from Shilling, "I can't think of any scenario more enjoyable than making 55,000 people from ~~New York~~ every media outlet in the country shut up.. In Belichick We Trust GO PATS

Sometimes a picture can say a thousand words

2005-01-09T22:06:00.000-05:00

The more things change... The more they stay the same.

Broncos shame themselves again, D-Lowe to LA LA Land

2005-01-09T15:16:00.000-05:00

Sheesh I just did a quick score check to see if Denver was at least putting up a fight against Indianapolis this time. Nope. 35 to 3 at halftime. What a joke. ESPN.com Game Update: Dever vs Indie I did not think the Broncos would win, but I was hoping they'd at least make a game of it. Oh well, glad I'm not wasting my time watching this one. Hopefully the Minnesota / Green Bay game will be interesting. In other news. the Mets signed Beltran. Ho hum. As long a he's not a Spankee. Last but not least, it's looking like D-Lowe is headed out to LA-LA Land. I won't miss the high blood pressure that seemed to coincide with his starts but at the same time I'm still sorry to see him go. Maybe he did not have the greatest year last year but I blame a lot of his bad games on poor defense. I recall many instances during Derek's 'bad games' where instead of getting an inning ending ground out, innings were extended due to the result of errors by Nomah booting it or Millar throwing the ball away. I thought the 'don't let the door hit you in the ass' attitude the Sox seemed to take with him was not cool. D-Lowe won a lot of games for the Sox as a closer and as a starter and he came through in the clutch for us every time when we really needed him. Thanks for everything D-Lowe. Every time I hear "Runnin with the Devil" I'll think about you.

Some quick hits...

2005-01-09T00:05:00.000-05:00

I'm kinda tired but had some thoughts on various subjects that I wanted to get down before I forgot them so here are some quick hits. Ty Law is out on IR. That sucks. I was hoping he would be back for the playoffs. I'm kind of surprised they made the announcement so early. I would have waited till the last second to keep teams guessing as to wether he's playing or not but Belichick knows what he's doing. Who am I to second guess him right? Maybe they wanted to make a roster move of some kind and putting Law on IR lets them do that. Whatever. Even though we'll miss Law, who is Peyton Manning's favorite reciever at Gillette, lets keep in mind that the Pats have have gone 8-1 without him, and the loss to Miami... well, let's not dredge that up again. Hopefully Richard Seymour will be back and all signs are pointing to his being able to play. The Pats went 14-2 for the 2nd year in a row. Amazing. Just amazing (and awesome!). Prior to last year, their best record in history was 11-5. Now they've gone 14-2 in back to back seasons. And they could have easily been 15-1! If Ty Law and Dillon did not get hurt vs Pittsburg, who knows what could have happened. 14-2. Awesome. Then throw in the NFL record for 21 consecutive 1 game win streaks. 21 games. In a row. All I can say is, savor it Pats fans. Savor it. Hopefully there's more goodness to come next week. The Pats had an average of 4 yards per carry for the first time in almost 20 years. 1985 was the last time this happened. Kudos to Corey Dillon and the O-Line for this great accomplishment. I'm hoping to see Dillon run wild in what will be the first NFL Playoff game he's ever played. The best way to beat the Colts? Don't let their offense on the field. Weis is heading to N.D. and RAC is interviewing for head coaching positions. As much as I'd hate to see RAC leave the Pats, I hope he gets a shot as a head coach and I have a feeling this will be the year for him. I would not be surprised to see him out in San Fran. Belichick's college insider connection, Lou Saban will now be going against us twice a year as H.C. down in Miami. I can't help but feel that the wheel is turning on the Pats. There have already been some big changes and there are more ahead on the horizon. This year is going to be the last go round with this bunch of coaches and you know they want to go out with a strong finish. So do I. I know things will be ok next year, it's just sad to see this core of guys starting to break up. Nothing lasts forever. Lets get that 3rd Ring. This Chargers / Jets game has turned out to be a good game. I don't know who to root for here. I'm trying to decide which team would have the best chance to upset Pittsburgh... I don't know. This thing with the World Series baseball is stupid but I will add my useless opinion to the pile. The ball is Doug's. I don't see what the big deal is. It's his. End of story. If he wants to loan it to the Sox or the Hall of Fame or me, that's great but in the end it's his to do what he wants with. I can't believe I'm up this late watching a non-Pats game. It seems like neither the Jets or Chargers want to win this game. The Chargers just missed the potential winning field goal. Looks like the Jets are going to upset the Chargers. Cool. Now lets hope for a Broncos upset later today. Marty Shottenhimer. Sucks to be you in the playoffs man. GO PATS

The kids are ready for Spring Training...

2005-01-07T14:56:00.000-05:00

Every morning after I'm ready for work I go into the kids room to say good morning to them. Every day there is always lots of banging noises, loud thumps, yelling and just a general comotion going on in there. I never know quite what to expect when I first go in to see them every morning. Today I walked in to find them both wearing their Red Sox caps and chasing each other around the room. As soon as they saw me they both started jumping up and down and yelling "DADDY WE ARE READY TO PLAY BASEBALL!!" I thought that was very funny and got quite a kick out if it. I told them spring training was just a few weeks away. "GO JOHNNY!!" they said. (Johnny Damon is their favorite ball player) and returned to chasing each other around the imaginary bases. Feb 20 is not that far away kids.