One more thing: if the Rockies and Phillies were snowed out today in Colorado, starting tomorrow night's game at 8:07 Mountain (10:07 Eastern -- just the right time for the kids in Pennsylvania to watch!) seems a pretty stupid plan.
I started out watching the game with Danny, but he fell asleep after the first three series. (And he doesn't like football much. In fairness, he's five.) A few reactions after that:
Roethlisberger -- Played a pretty good game, with the exception of that long sack that took the Steelers out of field goal range early. A few times, either Boomer Esiason or Cris Collingsworth (I had both the CBS radio audio and NBC TV audio on at various times; more on that later) seemed to think a couple of sacks were his fault -- but it's hard to do much when you have no time to set up. He got his rhythm later.
Pittsburgh RBs -- All awful. Which may be more of a reflection on the offensive line, as they all averaged 1.5-1.6 yards per carry. Willie Parker's average yards per carry the last four years: 4.7, 4.4, 4.1, 3.8, so that doesn't bode well. I think Mike Tomlin gave up on Rashard Mendenhall for the night after he and Roethlisberger ran into each other on Mendenhall's first carry. Mewelde Moore seems too small to be the full-time option, but he's a solid option for Roethlisberger to catch a pass (which Parker really is not), and can block a little. This is still a need for the Steelers.
Troy Polamalu -- The pass interference penalty against him was nonsense; if anything it was offensive PI. (We didn't hear about that from Boomer Esiason, as he was talking about the Dallas overhead scoreboard while NBC showed the replay.) Pittsburgh will miss him for a few weeks.
Tennessee -- No particular impressions. I think the Titans did pretty well last year, and may slip back to the pack a bit this time around. They miss Haynesworth.
NBC's coverage -- I miss John Madden, but I'm glad he retired before the slippery slope downhill started. (This happens with baseball announcers more often; not only do their voices go, but they have trouble seeing the ball.) Collingsworth is a reasonable replacement, but there was no one out there who is head and shoulders above the other color commentators.
CBS's coverage -- Boomer Esiason is knowledgeable about the game, although he talks a bit too much at time. Between him and Marv Albert, there's little chance for dead air.
Tonight: Colorado vs. Toledo. Yeah, I'm getting into football on TV again, huh?
"I wouldn't say that I would never not absolutely not rule that out."
-- Actress Debbi Morgan, asked at the Daytime Emmys if she would consider commuting from New York to Los Angeles to tape All My Children.
I’ve been listening to Garrison Keillor’s audiobook Homegrown Democrat, based on his 2004 book, in the car on my way to and from work. It’s reminded me one of my favorite pastimes is writing – and how little of it I actually do.
My problem lately is I want notification of an update to go into Facebook as well. This doesn’t seem like a major problem relative to everything else that goes on in the world, but I would like my blog updates to be reflected there somehow. It can be done, but one must be logged into both Facebook and Live Journal simultaneously – and Facebook is blocked at my office, where I do most of my writing. (One mind wanders when sitting behind a desk.) I’ll probably do some entries during the day, more at night – the better to do a “hey, look at me!” type of thing.
Anyway. One of the things Keillor points out is how much he enjoys going to the local café to write, read, or people watch. I can see enjoying that. Keillor lives in St. Paul, MN, population 287,151. I live in Naperville, IL, population 147,779. They sound similar, but they’re not, in that maybe 10 percent of Naperville’s homes are actually within realistic walking distance of its beautiful downtown.
Naperville’s a big city, but we are spread out. For us, a walk downtown would take a couple of hours, by which time we’d likely take a taxi back home before doing anything else. We do have a small strip mall within a 10 minute walk of our house, but there’s very little in the mall worth walking to – a convenience store, Convenient Food Mart, with a gas pump outside and a selection and occasional faint aroma inside that usually makes me think it’s better to buy what I’m after elsewhere. Zeppe’s Italian Market, which is what it claims to be, and has no tables. And a pizza place that had not-great pizza the one and only time we went. It would be a great place for a small coffee shop, but there are businesses you’d never expect there, like floor tile, and a dentist office, and a Curves – which probably has little space to actually exercise.
So we settle for the strip malls along Washington Street, which are about a mile away. There’s the takeout-only Chinese place, and the takeout-only Domino’s, and the takeout-only Jake’s Pizza. There’s Crème de la Crumb, a breakfast and lunch only restaurant with okay food and the ambiance of a nursing home cafeteria. There’s Scarpacci’s, which I have not yet tried, because it has no web site, no reviews, and looks more like a catering place, but does promise pizza by the slice. There’s Big Apple Bagels, which is a standard bagel place in a city that has a lot of them. (At least they’re better than the bagels in Durham, NC, which made me long for New York more than I thought I would.) There’s Gino’s East, which is acceptable but not nearly as good as Lou Malnati’s, and certainly not as good as Brooklyn pizza by the slice. There is a TCBY, of which Danny noted, “This isn’t bad, actually,” during his trip yesterday.
Since there are no true places where one can sit and linger for awhile, if I get the urge, I may have to settle for Dunkin Donuts, which just opened a location, to the delight of my son. The day after we got back from Cambridge, the two of us walked there – well, I walked; he used his Razr scooter – and he got a marble doughnut (blue icing with red stripes, for the 4th of July). The next night, Karen, Danny, and I walked, after I told Danny he should use the bathroom before we left, which he declined to do. Halfway through the walk, he said, “I have to go to the bathroom,” and then made a show of collapsing every 75 yards or so in agony. By the time we were close, we switched our original destination of TCBY to Dunkin Donuts, knowing the latter had a bathroom. We got there, with Danny rushing up to the counter to check out all the doughnuts before I dragged him off to do God’s work.
I don’t particularly want to make Dunkin Donuts my home away from home, and perhaps it would make more sense to find a café with less than the 6,400 locations DD boasts. There’s a place called The Fat Bean Bistro, or something like that, about a five minute drive from our house. But I want to do more writing – preferably not necessarily from my cubicle.
I don't have a lot to say about McMahon, because I didn't see a lot of him. Didn't see any of the 1960s game shows he hosted -- I know I should remember him hosting Concentration, because I remember Hugh Downs, but somehow I wasn't watching those few months. Almost never saw him on The Tonight Show, because I didn't stay up that late when I was a kid, and it wasn't my style when I was older. He was the genial guy with the booming voice. Still, he did quite well for himself -- tons of television appearances, a supporting role in a sitcom after Johnny Carson retired, gigs with Dick Clark and Jerry Lewis. It takes a good guy to be able to work with so many different personalities and not let your ego get in the way. I hope nobody remembers those Cash for Gold spots from earlier this year -- remember The Tonight Show and the Bloopers stuff instead.
***
Farrah's a different story. The first time I saw her was in Logan's Run, where she had a small role that got blown up once Charlie's Angels happened (I believe she was listed on the theater marquee the night I saw it above Michael York and Jenny Agutter. She'd done a ton of guests spots on TV shows and the odd movie (in one case, Myra Breckinridge, a really odd movie), but Charlie's Angels was what really got her career going. That, and the poster. Every boy aged 12-17 had it, including me (and Farrah wasn't even my favorite Angel; that would have been either Kate Jackson or Cheryl Ladd, depending on the era).
After she left the show after the first year, not so much. She did a Playboy cover that was kind of a bluff -- she'd posted for the cover scantily clad and there was an article written about her (she was interviewed, but it wasn't a Playboy interview), but no pictures that made you go "Whoa!" -- those came much, much later. A few real bad movies, and then some daring good ones. She was also involved with Ryan O'Neal for a real long time, which I hope made her happy -- I don't think it helped her career, or his. I did watch a couple of episodes of their 1991 sitcom Good Sports, which was kind of like Moonlighting might have been on a bad day. She did some good stuff later on (I really should watch Dr. T and the Women someday), and some weird stuff (I wish she didn't let herself get talked into doing Playboy). Like McMahon, she was ill for a very long time, and I hope she's at peace now.
***
And Michael -- obviously, no one saw this one coming, although like Elvis, he left us young. The Jackson 5 was my first favorite band; my first three LPs were all J5 albums (Greatest Hits, Diana Ross Presents, Maybe Tomorrow), and I still have all three. (Almost sold them all at a garage sale in 1980 but reconsidered and let The Osmonds and Partridge Family go instead.) Bought the albums, watched the cartoon (very disappointing make the connection years later than the voice of Berry Gordy was the same as Santa Claus in Frosty the Snowman, and it wasn't the actual Berry Gordy), watched the TV series a few years later. I was the first guy at my fraternity to spring for Off the Wall (even though I will never like "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough") and Thriller.
After that, though, it was too much Michael, and too much for him. I'm one of the people who thinks no one ever told him, "Uh, Michael, that's a really bad idea" except his dad, who no longer held sway at some point. When you're anointed the King (of Pop), you do what you want, even if it turns out that having a gigantic ranch with a Ferris wheel and live animals might be a bit of a cash drain. His albums after Thriller all suffered from the inevitable comparisons and "disappointing" sales (there was nothing like Thriller in terms of album sales, and likely never well be, plus it's been a good catalogue album). He was planning a series of concerts in London, but obviously we're left wondering what those would have been like.
That's a lot of day for today. Maybe we'll have a normal day tomorrow.
Phillips became general manager of a team on the rise in 1997 and left a train wreck in 2003. How ESPN decided he's an expert is completely befuddling, and the points made here help to sharpen my opinion a bit.
And sales of the Scott Boras Dart BoardTM just increased 45 percent in Southern California.
Mets and the Cubs catch a break, as they'll play half their games against the Dodgers this year during the suspension.
I assume there's no room for appeals here, right?
I feel badly for Bristol Palin, who's likely being marched all over the country to give her mom more credibility. My question is, what does it matter? The woman already has had a baby -- she may say now that abstinence is the way to go, but that ship sailed over a year ago. (By the way, here's a pretty good column in Salon from the last time Bristol was marched in front of the cameras, including a clip of the interview.) It's very tough what they're dealing with, but the problem is their take on it: yes, we shouldn't have had sex, but we did, and isn't it marvelous that we decided to keep the baby, and we have such a terrific family, everybody's so supportive -- but we want to make sure you don't have that choice, even if your family situation is horrible. It's so convoluted I wish Bristol Palin would be allowed to be just a mom for awhile, but I don't think that's going to be happen.
Actually, my problem is with teenage celebrities who are being asked about their virginity. They're basically being asked to make a no-sex-until-marriage pledge (Miley Cyrus apparently has taken one). I know in the past, Brooke Shields, Britney Spears, and Jessica Simpson all took similar pledges, with the admission (years later) that both Shields and Spears both didn't follow through. (I haven't heard anything to indicate Simpson broke her pledge, however.) The thing is, teenagers shouldn't have to make such a pledge -- my memory is my hormones were so nuts at that age, it would have been tempting to have sex with anyone. (I did resist temptation, however, when it seemed inappropriate. Maybe I should hit the talk show circuit.)
If I had a daughter who was making this tour and someone asked that, I'd have her turn the tables. "Well, I haven't decided that yet, but that brings up a good point, because I'm asking people about their experiences so I can be better informed when I make my decision. So, tell me: when did you lose your virginity, before or after marriage, and what was it like?" Let's see someone on CNN or Fox squirm a little.
Anyway, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) is one of the ones leading this fight, and I suspect a playoff will have to be legislated into existence, because it's clear the major conference leaders will be happy to scream "Screw you, we make more money this way!" at the public until that happens. But that's not the point. Eleven paragraephs or so down, Barton notes that attempts to tinker with the BCS would likely fail, as they have in the past. He said, "It's like communism. You can't fix it."
Now, to me, that's an apt comparison. He didn't say, "It's like communism. It's run by the state, and all the money comes to the state, and they kill millions of people, and the people will eventually rise up, and blah blah blah." He said "You can't fix it." You could say the same thing about the crappy CD clock radio that I literally ripped up (yes, literally -- I take my anger out on inanimate objects, not people) and threw in pieces into the dumpster a week after buying it. It was horrible. Couldn't be fixed; twenty-dollar clock radios are not worth taking into the shop. That's fine.
The headline on Yahoo: "Congressman compares BCS to communism," and that's what at least one news broadcast (Keith Olbermann's Countdown, which usually knows better) worked from. That's a load of horse hockey. The issue is either fixing -- or busting -- the BCS, and now it's become an accusatory thing.
Odd that I'm defending a Republican, huh? It happens sometimes, kiddies. I mean, it'll never happen for Michele Bachmann, but still....
However, presidents are sometimes surprised by what happens to their nominees once they get on the court. The most obvious is Earl Warren, but there are quite a few others as well -- in both directions. Here's my list of appointments since FDR's era and which way they ruled (in general).
The first paragraph of this article hit the same chord I thought of when I saw the headline of the story:
After failing to stop recent gay marriage approvals in several states, opponents have found an attractive, telegenic poster woman in Miss California, a move reminiscent of beauty queen Anita Bryant's 1970s crusade against gay rights.
Good idea -- copy Anita Bryant's career plan. Let's see how well that works out for you.
By the way, I like the idea of picking a QB somewhere between 2 and 6 every year or so. The Packers always did this even when Brett Favre was at his peak; thus, if he got hurt they'd be okay, and they had some time to train his successor. Here's the list of QB's they've drafted since Brett came on the team:
Ty Detmer, Round 9, 1992
Mark Brunell, Round 5, 1993
Jay Barker, Round 5, 1995
Kyle Wachholtz, Round 7, 1996
Ronnie McAda, Round 7, 1997
Matt Hasselbeck, Round 6, 1998
Aaron Brooks, Round 4, 1999
Craig Nall, Round 5, 2002
Aaron Rodgers, Round 1, 2005
Ingle Martin, Round 5, 2006
Brian Brohm, Round 2, 2008
Matt Flynn, Round 7, 2008
Look at the 1990s -- the Pack drafted a QB every year but one between 1992 and 1999. Of that group, you have your share of owls ("Whooo?"), but you've also got Mark Brunell, Matt Hasselbeck, and Aaron Brooks, all of whom became pretty successful NFL QBs. The Packers got away from that in the 2000s -- they only drafted one QB over five drafts between 2000 and 2004 -- and that may be one reason they took both Brohm and Flynn last year. (My understanding is Flynn is actually way ahead of Brohm on the depth chart.)
If the #1 guy is still doing well, but the guy behind him develops, you can flip them for draft picks. Mark Brunell barely played for Green Bay, but he was traded for a #3 and a #5, and became a Pro Bowler in Jacksonville. Hasselbeck went to Seattle with a #1 (#17 overall) and a #7 for a #1 (10th overall) and a #3. (No idea who Brooks went for; he might have been let go.) And these guys barely played during the regular season (if at all) because they were behind Brett Favre.
Back to the Jets. They now have Kellen Clemens, Sanchez, and Erik Ainge, who missed all of last year with a foot injury and was suspended for violating the league's steroid policy. I'd be looking for a veteran, if there's one still available not named Rex Grossman, and look at the vet or Clemens to start the first half of the season while Sanchez develops. (This will be especially important if Sanchez isn't signed early.) There's really nothing out there (Grossman's the most experienced of the bunch), so I don't know if they'll bite the bullet on Grossman, or go dumpster diving in Clemens can't cut it.
Of course, I had Danny with me, so I was probably rushed.
Now, if the kid slips from, say, fifth to twelfth on draft day as a result, will SI make up the difference in what he would have made?
Have to do some house cleaning tonight; Karen and Danny are here tomorrow.
I haven't been on here as much; I've been trying to post from home since Facebook picks up my posts (it doesn't here, since it's blocked). I'll try to get here a little more often.
Okay, Jay. Be humble, work hard, and you could be the biggest athlete in Chicago since Michael Jordan.
But you will see some moves. Let me give the National Football League as an example.
Los Angeles – the second largest metropolitan area by population in the country – has no NFL team. And, oddly, they weren’t able to pluck an expansion team in the last few years, either. Part of this is the area is such a great place for college football, with USC and UCLA, that there’s less call for pro teams. And it could also use a football-only stadium. I’m guessing somebody will pull it off – but I think this may be the one metropolitan area that will have to wait until the next expansion.
San Francisco/Oakland, on the other hand, has two teams, the only metro area to do so, except New York. That will probably not change. I read an article recently where the city managers are following very carefully the developments in New Jersey, where the Giants and Jets are building a stadium that is a total share, and will look like a Giants stadium for Giants games and a Jet stadium for Jets games – not like a Giants stadium with a few green banners. The problem here is Oakland’s ownership situation, under Al Davis, is one of the worst in the NFL, and San Francisco’s isn’t far behind. They may not be willing to make the compromises necessary to share a stadium – and a shared stadium is almost a must at this point.
Riverside/San Bernardino, also in southern California, doesn’t have a team, but I don’t expect that to change; they’re close enough to Los Angeles that they’ll likely share.
Portland, Oregon, at 23rd place, is the next unoccupied area, and I could see them luring a franchise in the right circumstances. Autzen Stadium, on the University of Oregon campus, could probably be used for a couple of years; Oregon State University is closer, but the stadium doesn’t seat enough people to satisfy NFL standards.
The next few areas with no team: Sacramento, Orlando, San Antonio, and Las Vegas.
Four metropolitan areas with teams have lost population since 2000. Two are Cleveland Pittsburgh, which have just built new stadiums, so they’re not going anywhere. But the others are New Orleans and Buffalo, with unique situations.
New Orleans has lost over 20 percent of its population, primarily due to Katrina. Tom Benson has connections to San Antonio. He’s over 80 years old. And over half the surrounding area in New Orleans is covered by water, which makes drawing new fans difficult. Not hard to see where this is leading, is it?
Buffalo’s a different story. All of upstate New York has been losing population steadily over the last 30 years or so – Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica. (And it’s over 200 miles from Buffalo to Utica, which means you don’t have many fans driving across the state for a game. Albany’s gained population, but it’s 290 miles from Albany to Buffalo.) The region is quite depressed economically – many of the businesses that lined cities along the Eric Canal are long one. The Bills play in a pretty old and outdated stadium. And Ralph Wilson is 90 years old. (Maybe it’s not a different story after all.)
The Bills are playing one game every year in Toronto – which has a metropolitan area of over six million people and is an hour and 45 minutes away from Buffalo. If the team moves, it could still hold much of its existing fan base.
Just don't be surprised when it happens.
This column was written before the above announcement, which makes it even more valid: the 49ers were taken to the cleaners on this. An important point in there: if the Niners want to set up a smash-mouth ball-control offense, Kurt Warner ain't the guy to get you there.
So, unless the Broncos decide to dangle Jay Cutler again (don't know what they were thinking), don't look for any major QB moves until the draft. Which should shut Bears and Jets fans up for awhile.
*****
Bobby Crosby wants out of Oakland given they’re bringing in Orlando Cabrera. He’s lucky he has a job. He played 145 games last year (only his second season in five he’s played more than 100), and finished with an OPS under .650 for the third year in a row. I don’t know what he’s making this year, but last year he got $3.5 million. Cabrera will make $4 million this year with the A’s, hasn’t played less than 141 games since 2000, and hasn’t had an OPS below .650 since his 16-game break-in year of 1997. I don’t have any idea who will want Crosby, but the A’s are making the right move.
