Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Congratulations to the Cubs and the City of Chicago. I have the feeling that this is just the first of a few Championships to come... I love this poker story... Jut a reminder - the Red Sox magic number is now 163... Any time I see Newt Gingrich - I try to picture him as Santa's gay half-brother to see if it makes him more likable... Some good tips for better swimming... Not only is Tom Brady 1st in quarterback rating, he's also tied for 11th in TD's despite missing the first 4 games... Pretty sure Rape Whistle would be a horrible name for a band or a coconut rum drink... Henry Miller's 11 Commandments of writing... First it was the Chippendale Dancers, then it was the Thunder Down Under, now it's MEAT RAFFLE!... Should the Jaguars hire Tom Coughlin? I say yes (or hire Josh McDaniels)... I think if Mel Gibson came out and endorsed Hillary Clinton then most of Hollywood would forgive him en masse...  Heh heh...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

For those of you wondering after watching the first half of last night's game - Brock Osweiler is Peyton Manning's backup in Denver... Can't believe this is the guy who has been leading the polls for the GOP... According to sources Chris Mortensen's Tweet that 11 of 12 of Jason Pierre-Paul's fingers being badly damaged has been deleted... Am I a bad person that I laughed at this?... College football announcers who say "true freshman" should be forced to say "true sophomore", "true junior" and "true senior" as well...  Never knew there was such a deep connection between Irish heritage and Fenway Park... With the Pope's upcoming visit to the US - I began wondering who is America's most prominent Catholic? Joe Biden? Stephen Colbert? Jim Gaffigan? Tom Brady?... I can't stand PK Subban on the ice but off the ice it's hard not to like him when he does things like this...

Super Bowl Thoughts

"Is it wrong to gamble, or only to lose?" - Sky Masterson, Guys and Dolls

For the past several years I've spend Super Bowl Sunday at my friend Tim's house where the schedule has been start playing poker around 1:00, watch first half, play poker at half and then play poker after the Super Bowl until the poker game breaks up or the sun rises. When the teams in the Super Bowl have no rooting interest for us - we often play poker during the game too.

This past Sunday we had a rooting interest - a big one. To say we were disappointed in the outcome would be an understatement.

When the Boston Red Sox lose a game I've always avoided reading about the loss in the newspaper and when I got older - I also avoided sports radio as well. I don't need "the sky is falling" negativity in my life. Needless to say - I still haven't watched ESPN or listened to sports radio never mind reading about the game in the paper. I haven't even watched the local news on TV because I knew it would be all about the game. I've gotten my sports fix since Sunday night by watching the MLB Network where the Super Bowl hasn't been mentioned at all.

Having said the above - here are my thoughts (and some from my friends):

- On the ride home we mused that the loss sucked but anyone from New England who complains hasn't been paying attention these past several years. Boston fans have been blessed like no other fan group in the history of pro sports. All my friends were in agreement on this.
- Under Brady and Belichick - the Patriots have won 2 Super Bowls in the last minute and lost 2 Super Bowls in the last minute. All you will hear on sports radio are the yahoos complaining about the 2 that were lost.
- On the ride home I predicted that some idiots would even go so far as to say Tom Brady (who just passed for over 5,000 yards) is past his prime and that maybe one of the other QB's should be given a shot. My friends laughed at this as ridiculous but I'm sure some jackass has waited an hour on hold to make this point on WEEI. I also predicted that Wes Welker's dropped pass may actually help with his contract negotiations. My friend cynically agreed to that.
- When it comes to Welker's dropped pass - we all agreed that if he catches that pass then the game would have been over and the tune everyone was singing would have been different. But we also agreed that blame should not be placed on Welker. Rob Ninkovitch jumping off-sides on 3rd down was just as big a play. And if Brady hadn't had an intentional grounding in the end zone then the Patriots probably would have been down by just 2 points and a fieldgoal would have won it.
- When the Giants were called for 12 men on the field - everyone in the room thought the Giants did it on purpose and since it ran the clock down it was more like a penalty on the Patriots. Everyone figured this was a rule that would be changed in the offseason (and it seems like we were not alone in thinking this as Large Bill was thinking the same thing in Ohio).
- On the ride home, the three of us in the car all agreed that losing sucks but we were all happy for Tom Coughlin. He's a class guy and the job he did at Boston College has not been forgotten.

Still not ready for ESPN or sports radio but I did want to get these thoughts off my chest so that you wouldn't think I was locked in some bunker somewhere.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

Coughlin and Belichick: Different cuts from the same cloth

Good ESPN story on 12 things we don't know about Tom Brady

Newt Gingrich's Wikipedia page hacked to more accurately portray his marriages

 Wow - a household of 4 making minimum wage has more disposable income than family making $60K

The 20 Most Beautiful Bookshops in the world

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

This is basically the state of Rick Santorum's campaign. I don't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him... Supposedly the Blue Jays turned down a trade that would have sent Brett Lawrie to the Mariner's for Michael Pineda. I think Toronto was correct to reject that trade. Lawrie could be a monster every day player and a sleeper in many fantasy baseball leagues... On this day in 2004 we got to see Janet Jackson's breast at halftime of the Super Bowl. I was not impressed... Who knew? Bradbury Robinson threw the first forward pass in football history on September 5, 1906. He was playing for Saint Louis University. You would think that Bradbury Robinson would be better known...  Mara likes Coughlin because he's focused on winning not his image (unlike some other head coach in NYC)... I wonder if players who donate to Peter Gammons' Hot Stove charity get better and more positive coverage during the season?... Just saying but Eli Manning had a poster of Tonya Harding on his wall growing up. I think there is still some yearning there... Who knew? Joel Murray who played Freddie Rumsen on Mad Men is Bill Murray's brother...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Awesome - Lionel Richie's "Hello" performed by movie characters... Via Mental Floss - "According to one survey, 29% of people who call for tech support end up swearing at their customer service rep." I'd add that 100% probably end up swearing if the customer service rep is an automated voice response system... The insurance commercial I'd like to see made is one of Tom Coughlin beating the Geico caveman to death with a baseball bat... Ball peen hammer really sounds like it should some sort of sex act. In a related thought - is the word "peen" ever used in any other context?... The reason DC comics is probably changing their logo... It is worth saying again - the Patriots have been a much better team since they cut Albert Haynesworth... If I had a business I'd add a small line item charge to each invoice for "opaque retraction". Who would notice and who would complain?... Movie idea: The Delonte West Story starring Tracy Jordan... Very interesting concept - thorium based nuclear reactors...