If the O's go through with any of the proposed Miguel Tejada trade options, they are more foolish than I even thought possible. Manny is a great player who I would love to have on my team, because all he does is produce, but I wouldn't be willing to trade the leader of my team to get him. He's not quite on this level, but it's as if the Ravens were looking to trade Ray Lewis. Granted there might be better players but you can't replace certain aspects of the game he brings to the table everyday.

I don't know who's been playing QB for the Ravens the past two weeks but it sure hasn't looked like the Kyle Boller we've seen for almost three years. I'm not sure what's gotten into him but if he can play close to this level on a more consistent basis, our offense seems to be coming together nicely. Mason, Clayton, and Heap are three outstanding targets for Boller and he's doing a great job of spreading the ball around to the open man; he's using Heap a lot on 8-10 yard passes to open up 15+ yard passes to the outside for Mason and Clayton. Hopefully the Ravens can get their first road win of the year in Cleveland next week to finish out the season strong and bring hope to the fans for next season.

Kobe just seems to be doing it himself these days for the Lakers. Last night against the Mavs he was the only Laker to score in double digits, he finished with 62, or take double digit shot attempts, 31 from the floor. Phil Jackson's triangle offense seems to have been thrown out the door in favor of the "let's hope Kobe wins the game for us" offense...whatever works.

Well I'd been taking some time off from posting because of exams but since those are over and the Ravens won by 45! points last night I have the urge to write a little something. Granted they were playing the Packers, who are one of the league's worst teams, but the team really showed a strong effort last night and let the fans know they weren't going to throw the season away after 14 weeks. The key to last night's win, the play of the O-line. For the first time all year there was outstanding protection and blocking for a whole game. The RBs had lanes to run through and Kyle Boller was able to feel comfortable in the pocket and deliver some beautiful passes to the receivers. He used Todd Heap in a great way, which is something that should become the cornerstone of the passing game, similar to what Drew Brees and Antonio Gates have established in San Diego. Heap cannot be covered by any more than a handful of guys in the NFL; he's too fast for the LBs and too strong and powerful for the safeties. Mark Clayton seems to be progressing very well and it's nice to see us use him in some inventive ways (lining him up behind center) to take advantage of his speed and quickness. Derrick Mason is just a great route runner and found gaps in the Packer zone beautifully last night. Clearly some of Mason's knowledge of the game is rubbing off on Clayton. Jamal finally seemed to be able to get a little steam going as he hit the hole. He made some solid cuts and broke a couple nice longer runs. As for the D that was just a typical Ravens game; they gave up nothing down the field and provided a relentless attack on the backfield. The sack numbers weren't necessarily there but Favre constantly had guys in his face, forcing two interceptions. In my opinion now we've seen how explosive this offense can be and it just needs to be groomed to perform on that level on a consistent basis; no huge changes should take place before next season and with some offseason work together maybe, just maybe the Ravens will move up into the top half of the offenses in the league.

This is just fantastic...great job fighting terror.

The US national soccer team has a tough road ahead of them in the World Cup next summer after being drawn into a group with Italy, Czech Republic, and Ghana. With three of the teams in the top 12 in the world, including the US, this will be a great opportunity for the US team to show it has staying power in the international game. Making out of their group would be a great accomplishment for this group and solidify us as an up and coming soccer power. This article by Ives Galarcep explains how the draw could end up being beneficiary to the US.

Last night a group of 15 of us went to Fire and Ice downtown for a classic dinner. If you've never been to a Mongolian barbecue before, you're missing out because Fire and Ice is the best. All you can eat in general is amazing, but the variety of food they have at Fire and Ice and the experience itself makes for an awesome dining environment. For the record my recommended sauce would be a mix of the schezuan and peppercorn brandy.

Today was pretty typical 2005 Ravens, although they didn't completely suck Kyle Boller certainly didn't do anything great to help the cause. The one high note was that although he got off to a slow start, it's nice to see Mark Clayton stepping into the role Ozzie Newsome thought he would play when he was drafted this year.

Maryland finally broke through in the College Cup and beat New Mexico to win the National Championship. Jason Garey, after four awesome years in College Park, finally got to the top.

Another great win for Maryland today; this one in basketball. A nice way to welcome BC to the ACC and take them down at the Comcast Center. The free throw shooting still needs to improve as well as a strong presence inside to bring down rebounds.

Sorry it's been a few days, but I've been sick with a stomach virus. The biggest news in my world over the past few days has been the declaration by Miguel Tejada that he wants out of Baltimore. From Orioles Hangout:

When the Orioles heard that Miguel Tejada told a reporter that he wanted out of Baltimore they assumed that he was taken out of context or speaking out of frustration. But then a day went by without Tejada backing out and without him returning calls from executive vice president of baseball operations Mike Flanagan or manager Sam Perlozzo. Then, according to published, Flanagan and vice president of baseball operations Jim Duquette spoke to Tejada's agents Fernando Cuza and Diego Bentz yesterday and neither backed down from the trade demand. Third baseman Melvin Mora said he spoke to Tejada and that he wanted to be traded unless the front office improves. He told Mora said that the signing of Ramon Hernandez (one of Tejada's best friends and God parent to one of his children) wasn't enough and pointed to the moves made by the Blue Jays. Owner Peter Angelos countered in the Washington Post, pointing out how BJ Ryan got $47 million over five years as a closer when he has just closed one year and $55 million over five years to AJ Burnett who has never won over 12 games in a season. Meanwhile, team's are lining up to speak to the Orioles about Tejada and they are considering trades. The one receiving the most media interest is Tejada to Boston for Manny Ramirez. Angelos said he wouldn't be fond of taking on the $60 million left over three-years on Ramirez's contract, but didn't say he'd reject the trade. Baltimore doesn't necessarily want to trade him within the division, and will find it hard enough for someone to take the $60 million owed to him over the next four years. Of course, they also don't necessarily want to trade him and would like to convince him to stay.

I certainly can't blame him, but it shows volumes about the O's when our unquestioned leader asked to be traded. I was under the impression that Miggy was one of the few elements holding this team together; now the whole organization is up in the air. I don't think we should trade him, I know that's what he wants but he's too valuable to get rid of, even for Manny. Angelos really has some problems right now and I have no idea how he's planning on rectifying the situation.

So here is today's big news story out of Miami. I mean he clearly wasn't innocent and when you claim to have a bomb and reach into your luggage, nothing good will happen to you; but is it just me or should these armed officials be trained to maim people and not fatally wound them.

I think the Bulls get the award for worst choice of throwback uniforms ever...these are just gross:


I know the NBA makes a ton of money putting out these throwbacks but this set is probably the worst basketball throwbacks I've seen brought back. Even sadder than the Bulls wearing them for a game is that people are going to go out and buy these things...that's pathetic.

Just got back from the hospital after visiting my friend Vince; he broke his leg playing snow football yesterday afternoon. It was a pretty sad sight, he had a hard cast all the way up to his groin. Considering the level and pain and drugs he was going through he was in pretty high spirits. Of all the times and places to break your leg, the winter in Boston is probably not the best option. This morning the entire walk to class was through slush and ice and there were people slipping all over the place; I can't imagine navigating Comm Ave on crutches this time of year. Tomorrow he's having a rod inserted into his leg from his knee to his foot, which is needed because he shattered both the tibia and the fibula bones in his lower leg.

For all the sports I've played in my life, I consider myself extremely lucky to have had only one serious injury in my life (I broke my collarbone playing soccer the summer after my junior year of high school). These kinds of freak injuries aren't anything you can really prevent and it sucks that something as casual as playing touch football can turn into something a lot more serious.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, Christmas season is in full force. Throughout this time of year, there are many things that really grind my gears, but the number one thing I hate might be the holiday car commercials that suggest buying cars for people as gifts. I mean who the fuck buys a car for someone as a gift; these commercials apply to well less than one percent of the population. If someone is actually going to buy their significant other a car as a gift, they've probably been planning this and won't buy a Lexus on a whim because they saw a commercial on TV. These commercials are completely unrealistic for virtually everyone in the country but car companies keep coming out with these "holiday deals;" they need to stop immediately.

WEEK 13 NFL PICKS

Baltimore d. Houston
Chicago d. Green Bay
Jacksonville d. Cleveland
Minnesota d. Detroit
Indianapolis d. Tennessee
Miami d. Buffalo
Tampa Bay d. New Orleans
NY Giants d. Dallas
Cincinnati d. Pittsburgh
Carolina d. Atlanta
St Louis d. Washington
Arizona d. San Francisco
Denver d. Kansas City
New England d. NY Jets
San Diego d. Oakland
Seattle d. Philadelphia

I don't even like Christmas tree lights that much, but this is pretty damn cool. 34th Street better step up to the plate this year.

Around the horn is the worst show ESPN has, arguably, ever come out with. In the beginning, with Max Kellerman as host, all he did was try to control the entire show and not let the panelists actually debate. Looking back on the show with Max, he might have been doing the right thing. There's not an intelligent person on the panel...ever. Tim Cowlishaw is the only one who can every once in a while make a point that's based on some actual facts and not homerism. I'm pretty sure Woody Paige is actually crazy because there's no way any sane person could say and believe the pathetic dribble the comes out of his mouth everyday. Jay Marriotti is the same way, except with waxed eyebrows, something I happened to notice about a year ago and really bothers me. Tony Reali, who has replaced Max as the host, is better suited for his role as "stat boy" on PTI where he doesn't have a significant part on the show. He thinks he's all knowing but really has a very limited knowledge of sports. Although Max Kellerman was a complete asshole as host, he wouldn't even let the idiot panelists talk, a smart move. God I hate this show.

Seeing the new Harry Potter movie was one of the top events of my trip home. Being at the Senator to see it was amazing instead of a stupid small-screen generic theatre. Sorry for those not from Baltimore, but the Senator is the best movie theatre ever with a monster screen and a 900 seat auditorium. The website for it is here. I thought Goblet of Fire was going to be one of the hardest of the books to translate into a motion picture but it was very well done. The magnitude and drama of the Tri-Wizard tournament was captured with great camera work.

One other note: One of the previews before HP was for the new King Kong movie by Peter Jackson. It looks amazing. The animation is incredible in all of the scenes and this is one to look forward to.

a picture is worth a thousand words

Back in Beantown after the Thanksgiving. Here are my rankings for the best parts of the Thanksgiving day meal:

1. Canned cranberry sauce
2. Stuffing
3. Turkey
4. Apple Sauce
5. Vegetables

One glaring omission - my family unfortunately doesn't have mashed potatoes at our feast, but it was spectacular nonetheless.

Back in Bmore

It's nice to be home and have a break from school for a little while. Saw pretty much the whole family today and tonight and got some great cooking as always from my mom (shrimp).

One travel note: I acutally love the airport, I think it's a great place to waste time and people watch and such but some of the airport happenings piss me off a lot. Last night waiting in Logan, we were standing up ready to board our 7:55pm flight and the lady comes on the loudspeaker and says the flight's delayed 50 minutes. It's not so much that the flight got delayed, I pretty much expect that now when I'm flying somewhere and I just sat listening to my iPod reading magazines. It was the timing of it and the lack of reason; they always wait til the last minute and never give a reason as to why the flight's been delayed. That really grinds my gears.

So I guess that's what happens when I pick against the Ravens. Of course they beat the Steelers even though they played like crap. Luckily the defense kept them ahead most of the way for regulation and overtime. The Suggs interception was one hell of athletic play after Ward kicked the ball up. Boller and Jamal still look pretty pathetic and the offensive line needs to be dismantled, even Jon Ogden isn't blocking well. Although I'm happy they won, I'm slightly disappointed by the fact that with every win, their draft position falls. They have virtually no chance at the playoffs so they may as well go for a top draft pick. I can't really complain though, beating the Steelers always feels good.


One extra note: Yesterday I was watching Dodgeball and I came to the conclusion that the Lance Armstrong scene in the airport ranks up there with the Kareem Abdul-Jabar role in Airplane as the top 2 athlete cameos of all time. It's a priceless scene that comes off just right.

It's nice to see that Major League Baseball is moving forward with a much more serious steroid policy. Although the penalties may seem harsh, for something that can so drastically change the game, players who break these rules should face stiff consequences. Here's a quick summary of the new policy from Orioles Hangout:

The league and players union have agreed on a new steroids policy which closely resembles the one that commissioner Bud Selig proposed in April. The new policy would suspend a player for 50 games on a first positive test, 100 for a second and a life-time ban for a third; although, he could seek reinstatement after two years. Players will now be tested once during spring training physicals, another time during the season and one time in the off season, they also could be randomly tested other times. If any of the twelve players who were already suspended for steroids were to test positive again they would only be suspended for 50 games due to the major change in policy. Another big change in the policy is that players will now be tested for amphetamines, a first positive would results in an immediate follow-up, a second would result in a 25 game suspension, a third in an 80 game suspension and a fourth in a life-time ban. However, the new rules do not include testing for human growth hormones, as Selig said he doesn't believe that current blood tests are reliable enough.

By the way Pat: I'll never admit Brady Anderson did steroids...because he didn't.

NFL PICKS:

Pittsburgh d. Baltimore
Atlanta d. Tampa Bay
Carolina d. Chicago
Miami d. Cleveland
Dallas d. Detroit
Jacksonville d. Tennessee
St Louis d. Arizona
New England d. New Orleans
NY Giants d. Philadelphia
Washington d. Oakland
Seattle d. San Francisco
Indianapolis d. Cincinnati
Denver d. NY Jets
San Diego d. Buffalo
Kansas City d. Houston
Green Bay d. Minnesota

Last Week: 9-5
Season: 49-21 (.700)

So apparently James is now a big shot writer. One of his FreeP articles is on the USLIA website here. Googling once again proved useful in finding interesting things as James had no idea his article had been picked up. It's true though, a varsity lax team would be beneficial to BU.

So a couple of us just returned from a CampCo trip and returned with some great snacks, but some important questions arose. Why does Hot 'n Spicy Chex Mix only come in the small bag instead of the large bag. Hot 'n Spicy Chex Mix is my snack of choice and it's always bothered me that there's only the small bag when there's a bigger bag for almost all of the other flavors. General Mills please take note - the 3.75 ounce bag of Hot 'n Spicy Chex Mix does not always satisfy my noshing needs; a larger bag would be greatly appreciated.

Also, my top 5 CampCo drink choices:
1. Nantucket Nectars Nectar Fizz (blackberry fizz)
2. Nantucket Nectars Half and Half
3. Orangina
4. Snapple Raspberry Iced Tea
5. Dole Apple Juice

Watching BU play Duke on Monday night has really gotten me excited about the beginning of the college basketball season; particularly this year's Maryland team. Coming off a mediocre '04/'05 year, the Terps seemed poised to do some damage in the ACC this season. Bringing back some great talent, the Terps are led, in my opinion, by 2-guard Chris McCray. Named the ACC's most underrated player by the Sporting News in 2005, McCray returns for his senior year with hopes of going deep into the NCAA Tournament. His great defense and timely shooting provide a great base for the rest of the team to build off of. In the Terps' final preseason game, McCray went 4-5 from 3-point range. He has improved every year at UMD and this season should not be any different. The other senior in the starting lineup is Nik Caner-Medley; he's the top returning scorer and has done a good job over the past two years at the 3 spot. DJ Strawberry will be at the point after missing almost all of last season with an injury. He's a great defensive player and is careful with the ball, something that's needed in ACC play. Down low I really like Ikene Ibekwe and James Gist. Neither has much size but they're both extremely athletic and should bring down a ton of rebounds. Gist scored 17 and had 10 rebounds in the final preseason game. The frontcourt will be helped off the bench by Travis Garrison who been disappointing thus far in his Maryland career, but hopefully this year he can step up and produce off the bench. My favorite player on the team is Mike Jones, who is ready for his breakout season. One of the best shooters in the ACC, Jones will be called on to score in the clutch. The '05/'06 season should be an exciting one for the Terps, tipping off on the 18th against Fairleigh Dickinson in the Maui Invitational.

What's Really Been Grinding My Gears:

1. Poorly wrapped burritos: Is it so hard to wrap a burrito that doesn't fall apart when you put it down. This has been a very poor development at Caprito Burrito due to the hiring of an incapable staff, except for Elba, she keeps the whole team together.
2. My iPod batter: For some reason my iPod battery has been dying quickly these days. I'm going to be really pissed if the thing is dead; it's only about a year and a half old.
3. The weather in Boston: Over the weekend it got down into the 30's, but today was amazing and over 60. I'm glad that the weather was warm, but these radical fluctuations are toying with my mind. I know it's going to be crappy out soon, these nice days are only here to tempt me.
4. Laundry: It's just a pain in the ass. Having my dad do my laundry at home is right up there with my mom's cooking as things I miss from Baltimore.
5. Arrested Development being taken off the air: Similar to the way Bill Simmons declares a 5 year grace period on any team that wins a championship, shouldn't TV shows that win Emmy's be exempt from being cut. The show, although without a huge viewing population, is hilarious.


Things I'm Looking Forward To In The Near Future

1. BU playing Duke tonight in basketball tonight: Granted we're going to lose by 40 points, but we're still on national TV playing at Cameron. It'll be a fun game to watch as JJ Redick kicks off his senior year by dropping 3's on the outmatched Terriers. We're starting as many freshmen (2) as they are preseason first team All-Americans.
2. The new Harry Potter movie: Goblet of Fire was one of my favorite books thus far and I'm really looking forward to see what they can do with it as a motion picture.
3. Sleeping in my own bed for a week: It's not that my bed at home is anything that special, but it's a nice feeling to be back in my old room just the way I left it.
4. Thanksgiving: My second favorite meal of the year (to break-fast of course) is something I'm extremely excited about. My family's cooking is amazing and not only am I looking forward to the main meal itself, but the day after sandwich is probably the best sandwich known to man.

I'm pretty much in a state of euphoria right now with 2 fresh boxes of Berger cookies in my room. Thank God for my mom's care packages, or else I wouldn't be able to enjoy, without a doubt, the best cookie ever. A true Baltimore delicacy, the Berger cookie is pretty much ecstasy in cookie form. A soft cookie part covered in thick dark chocolate = amazing. Anyone who thinks these cookies can be recreated by anyone by the Berger brothers are mistaken, everyone I know who's tried them is immediately obsessed. I need to go eat.

NFL Picks:

Baltimore d. Jacksonville (I'm well aware of how foolish this is but i'm making the pick nonetheless)
Kansas City d. Buffalo
Chicago d. San Francisco
Detroit d. Arizona
Indianapolis d. Houston
New England d. Miami
NY Giants d. Minnesota
Denver d. Oakland
Carolina d. NY Jets
Atlanta d. Green Bay
Seattle d. St Louis
Washington d. Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh d. Cleveland
Dallas d. Philadelphia

Last Week: 9-5
Season: 40-16 (0.714)

With the major basball awards being given out and over the next week the MVP debate seems to be starting up again with regards to the AL winner. Being in Boston, all the local coverage is for David Ortiz, who is a great player, but it's clear that Alex Rodriguez is the most valuable player in the American League. Everyone should read James' article as to why this race isn't as close as everyone is making it seem; the article can be found here. But since the Free Press website sucks and you have to register to see articles I'll post the text here:

Who is the American League Most Valuable Player? You've probably heard anyone and everyone offer up their opinion on this question, and in the end, I'm sure only two names have been mentioned: David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox and Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees.

When we look to the statistics these two have put up, we see pretty similar players. David Ortiz leads A-Rod in RBI (148 to 130) and walks (100 to 91). On the other hand, A-Rod leads Ortiz in home runs (48 to 47), runs scored (124 to 118), batting average (.322 to .300), on-base percentage (.440 to .395), slugging percentage (.613 to .604), on-base plus slugging (1.036 to .999) and - obviously - stolen bases (21 to 1).

Clearly, these two players' offensive stats are too close to definitively say that one is better than the other. If you had to give one player the nod for overall offensive greatness, it would have to be Rodriguez, who leads in the most telling category of a great hitter, OPS (on-base plus slugging). But there are other factors that must be considered when trying to determine who should be the MVP, and these factors clearly point to Rodriguez.

In order to understand why A-Rod is the MVP and Ortiz is not, you have to understand the nature of each player's respective position. Ortiz is a designated hitter, unarguably the easiest position in baseball, because anyone can play it as long as he can hit. Rodriguez, meanwhile, plays third base, a moderately difficult defensive position.

So obviously Rodriguez has the edge in the defensive department because he actually plays defense. But the real reason being a third-baseman is more beneficial in the MVP race is spelled out below.

A good way to measure the value of a player is to compare him to all possible replacements. For Ortiz, this comparison is easy, since every slugger in Major League Baseball could, in theory, replace him position-wise. Therefore, the next best player to fill Ortiz's shoes would actually be Rodriguez. And as the stats show, this is hardly a drop-off. Don't get me wrong, Ortiz is much better than the average power hitter, but there are other players that could match his production in the DH spot.

On the other hand, Rodriguez is head-and-shoulders above all of his possible replacements. Even his closest competition at third base in both leagues, Morgan Ensberg of the Houston Astros, pales in comparison. Ensberg hit 36 home runs, had 100 RBI and had a .945 OPS. Good stats - until you compare them to the 48 homeruns, 130 RBI and 1.036 OPS of Rodriguez.

This drop-off is the true reason why Rodriguez is the AL MVP and David Ortiz is not. While Big Papi is not easily replaceable, the Red Sox could find someone with similar numbers to be their DH if given the choice of any major league ballplayer. The Yankees, however, would have to settle for a notably less productive player to play third base.

There are many other reasons that support why Rodriguez should be the MVP and many of them come from in-depth statistics. Win shares, perhaps the most complicated statistic in baseball (but also perhaps best at showing the value of a player), shows a big gap between Rodriguez and Ortiz.

While I won't explain exactly what win shares are in this article, (It would likely take up this whole page, so if you're interested, Google it.) I'll just say it measures how many wins a player earns for his team. This stat, therefore, is the best way to choose who should be MVP. Rodriguez leads the American League in win shares, while Ortiz doesn't even lead his own team, trailing Manny Ramirez.

So is Ortiz's timely hitting enough to overcome this huge disadvantage?
Consider that although clutch hits are exciting, in the long run, a solo homer in the third inning is just as meaningful as one hit in the eighth. In the end, baseball is all about scoring more runs than your opponent. And even if you still think his "clutchness" is enough to carry him through the MVP voting, remember the game-saving defensive plays A-Rod has come up with in the last few weeks to rescue the Yankees, not to mention his own string of hits under pressure. They may not be as numerous as Big Papi's, but they do exist.

There is no argument that Ortiz has been the most feared late-inning hitter this season, but this award is for the Most Valuable Player. And this year, that player has been Alex Rodriguez.

My Top 25 Classic Rock Bands (with favorite song for each band):

1. The Who (Substitute)
2. The Rolling Stones (Beast of Burden)
3. The Beatles (Hey Jude)
4. Led Zeppelin (tie...Over The Hills and Far Away/Ramble On)
5. Guns N Roses (Civil War)
6. Simon and Garfunkel (The Boxer)
7. Journey (Don't Stop Believing)
8. Boston (Piece of Mind)
9. U2 (I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For)
10. Creedance Clearwater Revival (Lodi)
11. AC/DC (Shook Me All Night Long)
12. Cream (White Room)
13. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (Carry On)
14. Pink Floyd (Comfortably Numb)
15. The Allman Brothers Band (Melissa)
16. Foreigner (Cold As Ice)
17. Van Halen (Right Now)
18. Lynyrd Skynyrd (Free Bird)
19. Queen (Fat Bottomed Girls)
20. Aerosmith (Sweet Emotion)
21. Jefferson Airplane / Jefferson Starship (Jane)
22. The Eagles (Tequila Sunrise)
23. Fleetwood Mac (Go Your Own Way)
24. Def Leppard (Pour Some Sugar On Me)
25. The Doors (LA Woman)

I'm pissed off. The power is out in our building and it's been out for a decent while now. My computer is down, luckily I can use James' laptop for 5 minutes while he doesn't need it. I hate this bullshit, the weather is perfectly fine right now; this is unexplainable. Everything is out fridge is going to shit. Thank God this never happens in our house at home or I'd burn down Baltimore.

Fuck.

I don't even know what to say about the Ravens at this point but this about sums it up:

I hate to say it, but this is the first year in Ravens history that apathy has set in for me. I expected to lose today, so my usual gameday tension was non existent. After the final gun I went, "O well. That went about how I thought it would." Apathy is worse then losing.

My emotional investment has gone belly up.

I'm no bandwagon bitch, and I'll be there til the end, but football is much more fun when the final score means something. Eek. Sigh.

link to entire FanHome post here

The only thing keeping me mildly interested is to see if Kyle Boller can do anything to turn this team around.

Weekend Football Picks

Baltimore d. Cincinnati
Tennessee d. Cleveland
Kansas City d. Oakland
Atlanta d. Miami
Detroit d. Minnesota
San Diego d. NY Jets
Tampa Bay d. Carolina
Jacksonville d. Houston
Chicago d. New Orleans
Seattle d. Arizona
NY Giants d. San Francisco
Pittsburgh d. Green Bay
Philadelphia d. Washington
Indianapolis d. New England

Last Week: 10-4
Season: 31-11 (.738)

If you haven't heard about the proposed changes in the PGA Tour, you can read about them here. Although this will make for an slightly more exciting end to the season, the chase for the FedEx Cup isn't what the PGA needs to rival football on these fall weekends. The only way to make the players care about the FedEx Cup is by attaching a huge pay-day to the winner, something I have not seen in the proposal. For the golfers that are the most marketable for the Tour, they're only attracted to the majors and other tournaments with big checks involved. There's also the issue of if a player wins all four majors, it would not guarantee him the championship. This is absolutely ridiculous , no one in their right mind could think this makes sense. If Tiger or Phil wins all four majors next season, there's no way he wouldn't be player of the year. I understand that the PGA needs to make great strides to increase popularity in golf, especially this time of year, but revising the end of year system to be like NASCAR just won't work.

Other quick sports note: Arsenal won today against Sparta Prague to remain undefeated in Champios League play and hold firm grasp atop Division B. The game winner was scored by Thierry Henry, who is back to starting for the Gunners.

Last night was amazing...sitting front row for Kanye at his show in Amherst. Thank God for eBay, which is where I got the tickets, for not very much above face value. Sitting front row was amazing, the energy was crazy the whole night. He brings more to the table in his performances than do a lot of people. If I remembered correctly as I was recounting the show today, he played 17 of his full songs; in no particular order:

All Falls Down
Get Em High
Jesus Walks
Spaceship
Workout Plan
Through The Wire
We Don't Care
Gold Digger
Touch The Sky
Drive Slow
Crack Music
Diamonds
We Major
Hey Mama
Late
Addiction
Roses

He also performed multiple one-verse-and-chorus versions of songs including:

Numb/Encore
Diamonds On My Neck
Slow Jamz
Overnight Celebrity

The stage and lights were amazing. The whole show was incredible and everyone should make an effort to see Kanye in concert.

As expected, Bush went to the extreme right wing in his nomination of Samuel Alito. Set up by conservative disapproval of the Miers nomination, Alito is about as conservative as he could have gone. It'll be interesting how they treat his hearings; in regards to Roberts, conservatives wanted no questions asked about controversial issues, whereas that's all they would have wanted in the questioning of Miers. Clearly they'll try to avoid this as he is shown he would overturn Roe vs. Wade. As Jesse puts it "He's pro-discrimination, anti-civil rights, and likely to side with big corporations over workers every time."

On another note, it's nice that Harry Reid took a stand against the White House and asked for justice and an explanation as to the situation with the CIA leak. Reid voiced the opinion of many people; "I think not only should the president appear before the American public and explain what is going on and take a few questions from the press, but certainly the vice president should do that." He also called out the president on his claim that anyone involved with the leak of Valerie Plame's name would be fired; "Everyone knows Karl Rove is involved," Reid said. "If the president is a man of his word, Rove should be history." It's nice for a Democrat to finally say something publicly about how the administration is full of crap with regards to the leak of Plame's name.

It's official today, the 29th of October...winter in Boston has begun:

NFL PICKS:

Cincinnati d. Green Bay
Dallas d. Arizona
Chicago d. Detroit
Tennessee d. Oakland
Jacksonville d. St Louis
NY Giants d. Washington
Carolina d. Minnesota
Cleveland d. Houston
Miami d. New Orleans
San Diego d. Kansas City
Denver d. Philadelphia
Tampa Bay d. San Francisco
New England d. Buffalo
Pittsburgh d. Baltimore

Season Record: 21-7

What's Really Been Grinding My Gears:

Tim McCarver: Does Fox really think he's a good analyst. He is completely useless to the broadcast; even Scooter is more valuable than McCarver.

Pumpkin Pie: It's just gross. I can't understand how people eat that crap; it was scraped from the inside from a big disgusting orange fruit. Just looking at it makes me sick.

Political Science lectures that are completely useless: After two poly-sci exams it's become clear that the questions come completely from our textbook chapters and not at all from lectures. Literally nothing he has ever said during a lecture has been useful on his exams. This does have a positive as our professor has the most annoying Boston accent ever and his voice becomes very high and squeaky when he says certain words (e.g. "constitutions"). It's not too hard to tone him out and do the crossword puzzle instead.

BU not getting any good concerts: We're in the middle of the city and have a brand new arena, yet BU hasn't gotten anyone to come for a show. I don't even need a huge headliner but at least get someone good to come to BU. It's pathetic a school of our size and location can't get acts to come.

Pre-made Halloween costumes: Sure when you buy a costume already made for you it might look a little better but it deserves a lot more respect when you make your own costume. You don't have to sew or slave over it, but at least make the effort to come up with your own costume.

Miers withdraws Supreme Court nomination

Although she probably would not have won the seat anyway, I'm disappointed Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination for the Supreme Court. From a liberal perspective, she's probably the most left wing candidate we could have hoped for. Bush will probably go with a well more conservative candidate for his next nomination. Even though she lacked any kind of qualification, Miers was central enough, politically, that Democrats may have voted her in based on the fact that if she didn't get the seat, the next nominee would certainly be far more right wing.

When the President states that "Harriet Miers' decision demonstrates her deep respect for this essential aspect of the constitutional separation of powers;" why didn't he understand this from the beginning, it was his decision to put her in that position...idiot. Ed Gillespie, later in the article, says "She, I think, rightly and in a principled manner came to the conclusion that there was about to be a conflict between her role as nominee and the principal she's espoused as White House counsel and counsel to the president." Is it just me or aren't these things that should have crossed the President's mind before he nominated her; these seem like pretty basic reasons for not nominating her. In conclusion, our President is an incompetent moron.

Cold, rainy weather is arguably the most miserable situation a person can be put through. It's been raining all day today with winds over 30 mph, which make it feel like 25 degrees outside. I would much rather be hit by a snow storm at this point instead of this nor’easter. The hot water is out in our building and one of the local walkways is closed off because tiles from out neighboring building flew off and could have easily killed someone. Looking out my window, a saw a girl literally get blown over by the wind. She was walking in a very hunched over way and was hit by a huge gust of wind and she actually fell over. There were also multiple umbrellas floating around after being ripped from peoples' hands. There are soaked clothes all over our place. This weather is just miserable...I hate it.

So it's another Monday, which means another intellectually stimulating column from the Campus Conservative. The column can be found here.

When she refers to Senator Schumer's quote that "[Democrats have] gotten much better at blocking some of the bad things the Republicans would do, but we know you can't be a party of long-term majorities unless you put forward the things you would do," she takes is as Schumer setting the plan to use whining behavior to win Congressional seats. First of all, complaining that the current administration has not done an appropriate job is hardly whining. I'll agree that the Democratic Party is hardly unified at the moment but attacking the conservative leaders of our country seems like a completely reasonable campaign tool. If I was a leader in the Democratic party, the first thing I would look to at the moment for ammunition would be the unsatisfactory job the Republican majority has done in improving our country in economics, defense, as well as in other departments.

When she tries to use polls as evidence for the struggle of Democrats in Congress, she pulls numbers off of multiple polls, which cannot be compared to one another. It's ridiculous for her to compare 52% approval of the party from a Gallup poll to 32% approval of the representatives from a Pew poll. Also, the 52% approval of the Democratic Party is the more important number as one representative's time in Congress is transient compared to the long lasting approval of the Democratic Party.

Her account of the Democrats and their lack of a strong platform are completely correct and this seems to be the biggest problem with the Democratic Party right now; there doesn't seem to be a united party behind one set of goals for the country. However, her point that "[she doesn't] think the American public is going to find it convincing when Democrats run on that platform [of getting rid of Bush] in 2006," is not correct. A lot of Americans believe that the first and nearest step in improving the status of the US is to take back the majority is the House and Senate. This is the first move in getting a Democrat back in office in 2008. Up until 2 months ago this "platform" would not have made much noise for the Democrats but with the past two months of negligence piled on years of inadequacy, many Americans are riled enough to go blue based solely on the anti-conservative view.

The most amusing point in the column comes in the last paragraph when she makes the claim that Democrats shouldn't see success "just because a small majority of voters are unhappy with Republicans at the moment." First of all, there's no such thing as a small majority, it's a complete oxymoron; a majority is a majority, it means more than half of the population, is "unhappy" with the Republican party. Also, "unhappy" isn't exactly the right word to get the point across; a better choice may have been "outraged," "infuriated," or "irate." The majority of people aren't slightly upset with the current administration, for the most part we think it is pathetic and whatever has to be done to take Congress and the White House back is doable.

Can the Ravens just forfeit the rest of their games and pick Matt Leinart in the draft. I can't put up with this shitty play anymore, it's just pathetic.

WEEKEND FOOTBALL PICKS
College Big Games:
Texas(2) d. Texas Tech(10)
Alabama(5) d. Tennessee(17)
Auburn(16) d. LSU(7)

NFL:
Baltimore d. Chicago
Kansas City d. Miami
Pittsburgh d. Cincinnati
Detroit d. Cleveland
St. Louis d. New Orleans
Green Bay d. Minnesota
Philadelphia d. San Diego
Washington d. San Francisco
Indianapolis d. Houston
Seattle d. Dallas
Oakland d. Buffalo
Denver d. NY Giants
Tennessee d. Arizona
Atlanta d. NY Jets

Leo Mazzone would be a huge pickup for the Orioles' coaching and pitching staffs. Mazzone has helped the Braves develop some of the best pitchers of this generation, which has been the key for them to win 14 straight division titles. As much as I like Ray Miller, Mazzone has been developing young talent for a winning organization for over a decade. Mazzone will hopefully be able to come in and get a quick grasp of the O's pitchers and be working with them throughout the off-season to make strides by the time the season rolls around. Specifically, I'm excited to see what he can do working with Erik Bedard and Daniel Cabrera.

It makes me even happier to know that the O's moved in on this deal only after the Yankees failed to bring him in. After Mel Stottlemyre's contract expired after the season, the Yanks immediately looked to get the best man in to replace him. They couldn't reach a deal, however, and that's when the O's began negotiating. Mazzone and Perlozzo grew up together in Maryland and have continued a strong friendship through today. Not that the O's are poised to make any kind of division title run, but it's a strong move to bring in one of the greatest assistants of all time.


Extra note: Maryland has finally started to play some good football this year but they're going to need an amazing effort tonight if they want to upset Virginia Tech. The Hokies have one of the top defenses in the nation so putting up points will be tough for the Terps. It would be nice for the Terps to make a strong showing on a nationally televised game tonight.

Roy Oswalt = Dominant.

In Oswalt's two NLCS games pitched, both wins, he threw 14 innings giving up just two runs on eight hits. Tonight's line:

Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
R Oswalt (W, 2-0)	7.0	3	1	1	1	6	0	118-77	1.29

Thierry Henry finally returned yesterday and immediately showed why he is one of, if not the, most dangerous striker in international soccer right now. He had been sidelined for six weeks with a groin injury, suffered while representing his home country France for a World Cup qualifier, a time when Arsenal went only 2-2-1 in Premiership play. Henry didn't even start the game yesterday against Sparta Prague but was called off the bench when Jose Antonio Reyes went down with an injury. It took only six minutes after that for Henry to assert himself as the leader of this Arsenal squad by tying Ian Wright's club scoring record and giving the group an important early lead in a Champions League game. Already playing without Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Alexander Hleb and Freddie Ljungberg the Gunners needed some kind of spark on the road to get them going. That is what Henry provided, just as he normally does, and set the stage for a win that sets up the squad nicely to advance in the Champions League. A second half goal set him alone atop the of the club scoring list showing everyone who may have had a doubt that he is one of the greatest scorers in European soccer history.

Henry is clearly the captain of this team for good reason. Although not particularly vocal, his teammates look for him as the general on the field. There is a clear difference of play when he's not on the field. In his absence, the front line was usually manned with Jose Antonio Reyes and Robin Van Persie. Reyes, the 22 year old Spaniard, is now in his second full year as a starter for the Gunners and has exceptional talent but is not ready to step into a leadership position for one of the most prestigious clubs in England. Van Persie, also 22 but Dutch, started a handful of games last Premiership season and is probably a long term fixture for Arsenal but does not bring the type of poise and calming presence that Henry does day in and day out. Although they are a long way out of the Premiership race at this point, the Gunners seem ready to get it together for the rest of the season as they prepare to take on the rest of Europe for the Champions League title.

Albert Pujols = best hitter in baseball...period

Although the picture on the right of Brad Lidge is great, the perfect reaction was shown on the face of Andy Pettite who just admired and mouthed "Oh my God."

Sitting in Political Science lecture this morning I was reading my DFP as usual and I came across this article by "The Campus Conservative" Tara Stroll. Here's the URL: http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media/paper87/news/2005/10/17/Opinion/The-Campus.Conservative-1023121.shtml

This Op-Ed column has been pretty pathetic all year but today's piece was particularly terrible. First of all, all her of her columns give off the feeling that she's trying way too hard to be controversial; she forces the column instead of writing about something that's meaningful. Although BU does have a liberal majority, there is certainly a strong conservative presence and there is certainly a place for conservative views to be spread throughout our campus but this article, among her others, is a completely absurd account of the vote in Iraq and current terrorist positions.

She makes the claim that it is a great advancement in Iraqi democracy that a great number of Sunni's voted in the election. This display, however, was not due to the democratic process; Sunnis came out to vote because they had essentially been bribed into voting. The Kurdish-Shiite coalition reached an agreement with the Sunnis that the constitution being voted on would be only temporary and at a later date a committee of National Assembly members would re-evaluate the constitution and rewrite the constitution before a new referendum will take place. It's ironic that Ms. Stroll mentions this agreement in the next paragraph but fails to grasp the concept that if the Kurdish-Shiites not agreed to this, then the Sunnis would not have participated in the election. Her quote "This probably explains why Sunni voter turnout was higher than in the January elections. Even if some Sunnis were mobilized to vote against the constitution, it's still progress." That's absolutely ridiculous; if they were mobilized to vote than how is it any progress toward a democratic system. She is totally contradictory and hypocritical.

Her point that "One of the reasons for this is that the terrorists are realizing they're losing," is unjustified makes no sense whatsoever. I think you'd be hard pressed to find an al-Qaeda member who thinks he is "losing," although I'm not even sure in what context that word is being used. In the letter from Ayman al-Zawahiri to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi I would hardly say that the tone is that of "whining and complaining about how badly al-Qaeda is being defeated." Maybe thing have not gone completely as planned, but it's nonsensical to imply that al-Qaeda is weak and suffering.

Her last paragraph as a whole makes absolutely no sense. "Al-Zawahiri is basically saying that the majority of Iraqi citizens are not going to take kindly to their country being taken over by a bunch of non-Iraqi Muslim extremists;" I'm not sure I could make a more obvious statement if I tried. Does she think there's some kind of chance that Iraqi citizens will just let al-Qaeda come in and have their way? The next statement is just as obvious as the first; terrorists using violence and deception, I've never heard anything that preposterous. Finally, the fact that Al-Zawahiri admits that Iraqis want democracy and freedom is no indication that "terrorists can't win." The terrorist motive is not to "win" or "lose;" al-Qaeda will not stop until totally satisfied and with the current administration we're not doing a great job to stop them.

I'm sorry to have made you all read such trash because if you're like me you just lost intelligence in the few minutes it took to read the column.


Extra note: a close relative of mine, Richard Perez-Pena, has been working on an article for the NY Times for the past 16 months that finally came out today on the front page and then inside on a full two-page layout. Everyone should check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/17/nyregion/nyregionspecial4/17clinic.html

Well I can't say I'm completely satisfied with the Ravens win today but, as Ravens fans have come to know well over past years, a win is a win. It's a stupid cliché term but it suits this team more so than arguably any other in professional sports. They ran the ball all day long, although Jamal Lewis doesn't seem to be playing at the level we're used to seeing him at. I don't know if it's his ankle injury or the fact that he didn't get the off-season training he needed; all I know is that he's not running at 100%. The defense finally stepped up and forced some turnovers and got to the quarterback, although dominating the Cleveland Browns is no great feat. Anthony once again did a fairly efficient job filling in for Kyle Boller; he completed almost 75% of his passes and was picked off only once on a deflected ball. I really like the way Derrick Mason has entered the role of the go to guy in the passing game. He runs great routes and has sure hands, a type of guy that hasn't existed in the Ravens' system for a number of years. Todd Heap played the type of game we've come to expect from our Pro Bowl tight end, 6 catches for 80 yards and a TD. Granted it was only a win over the Browns but hopefully it gave the team a little boost of confidence going into Chicago next week. That would be a huge win to pick up before going to Pittsburgh for MNF.

Extra note: There might be something wrong when committing 11 penalties is considered a vast improvement.

So it was a rainy miserable afternoon here is Boston and so it was decided that the afternoon would be dedicated to watching a pick-me-up movie. We decided on one of the classics of our generation: D2 The Mighty Ducks. D2 is clearly the best out of the trilogy of Mighty Ducks movies, this point cannot be argued as it is a scientific fact. As we were watching the movie though we were trying to figure out who the best players on the team were. Clearly Charlie gets the most notoriety on the team but he is definitely not one of the top skilled players. Banks is, in my opinion, the best player on the team; to make a baseball reference, he's the equivalent of a 5 tool player. He is solid in all facets of the game: skating, puck handling, passing, and scoring. He is the silent leader of the team, always coming up big plays when called upon. Under Banks, I would have to put Guy and Jesse as the next two best players. Neither of them gets any recognition for their play but consistently outperform the rest of the team. Jesse leads the flying-V, which is not a position Coach Bombay would just give away. It's a meaningful spot and Jesse earned it with solid play. Guy plays on the same line as Jesse and those two plus Charlie make up a very solid first line. Guy gets no publicity for his great play, although he does have a thing with Connie, which is nice for him. Coach Bombay also chooses Jesse and Guy to shoot first and second respectively in the shootout, a move showing Bombay's faith in them to start the shootout strongly. Quick note about the shootout: why would Bombay choose Dwayne to be in the shootout? Sure he's a good puck handler, but the shootout is all about finishing and Dwayne does not have the finishing skill of Connie or Russ, who were both overlooked as possible shooters at the end of the game. As far as defensemen go, Averman seems to do an above average job, bit it's boring to make a hockey movie about great defense so we don't see him in action very often. Fulton is an undervalued member of the team; he is a solid enforcer willing to do whatever is needed to be loyal to his teammates. In addition to being the enforcer, he's got a lethal slap shot which is a great weapon in junior hockey. Portman on the other hand isn't of great value to the team. It's ridiculous to waste two spots on the ice on enforcers when Fulton and Portman were both playing at the same time. Portman adds nothing to the team except his ability to make big hits, almost all of which are illegal yet he's not penalized. Connie seems to be one of the pieces holding the team together; she's not flashy and doesn't put up huge stats but she's consistent and rarely makes mistakes. Her only big mistake was her inability to get the puck out of the corner when Samuelson is bearing down upon her. Luckily Dwayne comes out to save her, which seems like a nice thing to do but he's moving in on Guy's territory, kind of a dick move. Dwayne's puck handling works to distract players on opposing teams at the junior level but once he moves up to higher levels of hockey, I don't see him having a very successful future. Opposing players will become more disciplined and he doesn't have any other great skills to fall back on. Luis and Kenny both have one tremendous skill that adds to the team dynamic but neither are particularly valuable members of the team because if opposing teams do any scouting whatsoever, they'd know exactly what to expect from those two the second they stepped onto the ice. Charlie is one of the two central characters in the movie, along with Bombay, but he is vastly overrated. Charlie is not a particularly skilled hockey player but he is the outspoken leader of the team. His leadership skills are the only thing keeping him around on the team. When he says he'd make a better coach than player he is completely right; as far as skills go he is not a very valuable member to the team. As far as the two goalies go, Goldberg got more playing time throughout, but this was only to enhance the entertainment value in the movie. Clearly Julie the Cat was a better goalie and Bombay makes a terrible mistake by keeping Goldberg in goal once she joins the team. Here's the lineup as I see it for the US team at the Junior Goodwill Games:
Goalie: Goldberg Julie
DLine1: Averman Dwayne
DLine2: Portman Luis
Line1: Jesse Guy Charlie
Line2: Banks (Russ) Connie Fulton/Kenny (depending on what style of player was needed)
*In the final game when Charlie gives up his spot...Banks moves up to the first line and Russ plays on the second line.

James and I were sitting in another Political Science discussion today, led by our TF Alex Whalen (aka TF Jazzy Jeff), talking about Bush's shortcomings in all of his political decisions, which is standard procedure in this particular class. Either there are no conservatives in our class or they're too embarrassed to say anything in defense of Bush, which is completely understandable right now.
The most frustrating part of this class is that there are some kids who stand out as people who think they are on a much higher intellectual level than the rest of us. One girl in particular represents this to James and I every week in class as someone who could be categorized as the "typical" BU student; not that there could be such a generalization at a school with 30,000 students. The best term I can come up with to describe this group of people would be "liberal elitists." She has liberal views for the most part but, because she is a college student at a fairly prestigious private university, thinks of herself as God's gift to the political theory. In a discussion last week about poverty and wealth she chimed in that "it [was] our responsibility [as college scholars] to make up for all the 'stupid' people of our generation." Another great moment came earlier today as we were talking about interest groups and if they truly represent the views of their members. Specifically we were discussing AARP and whether its members were interested in having their opinions conveyed to politicians or its members were using AARP in an apolitical way, mostly for discounts at commercial establishments around the country. This time she expressed her view by saying that people who don't have intellectual political ideas are also stupid and shouldn't participate in interest groups. It's interesting how many people at BU I come across who share in this ideology; a general liberal philosophy and an overriding belief that are superior to a majority or Americans, but with no real desire to help those beneath them in economic class. There are a lot of students here who need to be more open minded about people not spending $40,000 a year to develop superficial ideas as to how to improve the world.

WEEKEND FOOTBALL PICKS
College Big Games:
USC(1) d. Notre Dame(9)
Texas (2) d. Colorado (24)
Florida St (4) d. Virginia *sorry dad*
Michigan d. Penn State(8)
Florida(11) d. LSU(10)
Ohio State(15) d. Michigan State(16)
Minnesota(22) d. Wisconsin(23)

NFL:
RAVENS d. Cleveland *if the Ravens don't win this game I'm literally going to kill someone in a fit of intense rage...if they even commit half as many penalties this week as they did last week it will make me a believer in the theory that Brian Billick cannot lead and control this team*
Chicago d. Minnesota
NY Giants d. Dallas
Carolina d. Detroit
Cincinnati d. Tennessee
Kansas City d. Washington
Atlanta d. New Orleans
Pittsburgh d. Jacksonville *I really hate picking the Steelers but I don't see them losing at home to the Jags*
Tampa Bay d. Miami
NY Jets d. Buffalo
Denver d. New England
San Diego d. Oakland
Seattle d. Houston
Indianapolis d. St. Louis

Quick update going to back to the Oswalt post from yesterday:

He pitched 7 great innings, giving up just one earned run (a 6th inning HR to Albert Pujols...harder to avoid than most people would imagine) on five hits. He struck our six and walked three.

Buster Olney must have read my post because he also felt the need to write an article expressing the same view as I put out yesterday. It's well written and in depth so here it is:
Oswalt Overwhelms Cardinals 'with his stuff'

Earlier this week my friend Sam gave me a pass to see an advance screening of Domino tonight at the Loews at the Commons. Dano and I took a cab down there and walked into the theatre around 7:20 for the 7:30 screening. I knew from working at a radio station in high school that gave away these things all the time that they generally give away well more passes than seats available in the theatre. Still, I figured getting there a few minutes early we would be able to get in without a problem. Well I was just a little bit wrong...the theatre had been full since 6:45. We were pretty pissed off but we're both pretty passive so we didn't say anything to anyone about it. We didn't want to waste a 13 dollar cab ride down to the Commons so we decided to see a movie, even though we'd have to spend another $6.50, which, even though it's not considered that much these days, is a completely bullshit price to have to pay for a movie. It would have been unfair of me to ask Dano to see Two for the Money, which I only decided I wanted to see after I read the Sports Guy review. We agreed on Proof, which I hadn't really heard much about but seemed like it might be entertaining. Quick side note: as we're walking down the hallway to our theatre there's a vending machine for sodas charging $3.50. I didn't even think vending machines could take that much money at one time...and aren't vending machines supposed to be for cheap quick snack items and drinks. Fuck any vending machine where you have to put more than one dollar bill into the machine. Onto the movie:

(I might reveal some key details about the movie as I write this)
The basic premise of the movie is that Anthony Hopkins plays a genius mathematician who is father to Gwyneth Paltrow. He reaches his prime around 22 and then goes crazy as he gets older. There are a lot of flashbacks and honestly Dano and I looked at each other multiple times throughout the movie with the look that means "what the fuck is going on right now." I was confused throughout the whole movie as to what was actually going on, what was a flashback, and what was going on in real time but she was imagining. It kind of came together in the end; and Paltrow and Jake Gyllenhaal were both good but I came away not even knowing what to feel. There were so many unanswered questions and virtually no plot in this movie. When we got out I was thinking "when the writers of this movie were sitting around with the directors and producers...what the hell kind of message were they trying to get across with this movie?" I literally had no idea what the central plot or object of the movie was. Instead of being particularly moved with any sort of emotion, I left while in a state of high confusion.
Overall: C-

One extra side note about the movie experience: Dano and I are sitting five seats from one of the aisles in a relatively empty theatre. There are multiple rows with absolutely no one in them. As the movie is about to begin a group of five people walks in and sits down right next to me completing the row. In a theatre with as few people as this one was, that move was completely uncalled for. They could have had a row all to themselves but they decided to pick the one place they would have to sit next to someone. Of course within the first two minutes of them sitting there I had the awkward moment when the girl sitting next to me and I both try to use the armrest. I had clearly claimed the arm rest as the first person who sat down and then she tried to fucking steal it from me. You can add that to the list of my biggest pet peeves.

So I'm looking today at a preview of the NLCS game tonight and I've always really liked Roy Oswalt and considered him underrated, especially now with Roger Clemens on the same staff, but I never realized how good he really is. With his win in the ALDS against the Braves he got his 20th win on the season for a second straight year. And with Clemens' remarkable ERA of 1.87 this year, Oswalt's own outstanding ERA of 2.94 has gone unnoticed. Oswalt is not a particularly outspoken player; he just goes out every fifth day and gives his team a quality start. He threw for less than 6 innings only three times this season while he threw for at least 8 innings 10 times and tallied 4 complete games. He received a spot on the All-Star team for the first time this year, by way of the fan vote, hopefully signaling that baseball fans are starting to notice his outstanding achievements. Although he's paired on a staff with arguably the best pitcher of our generation, Roy Oswalt certainly deserves more notoriety for the success he's had over his first 5 years in the major leagues.

On the outside I'm extremely excited that both the Red Sox and Yankees got knocked out the ALDS, but on the inside I'm slightly disappointed because the playoffs have become a lot duller. The four teams left, White Sox, Angels, Cardinals, and Astros, are all such bland teams that they leave me with no real interest in rooting for or against any of the teams left. Granted the Angels and White Sox played a mildly exciting game last night it hardly compared to the tension and build up of the last two ALCS's. The White Sox, although they have proven all year they are a winning club, seem to lack the spark of a championship team. The Angels, with one of the most exciting players in the game Vlad Guerrero, haven't gotten the exposure here on the East coast for me to feel any connection to the players or team. As an Oriole fan my whole life, the National League has always been on the backburner in my following of baseball. I never seem to know the teams well enough to develop an allegiance to any of them. I have been a fan of Jeff Bagwell throughout his career as well as Craig Biggio so for those two to bring a championship to Houston as their careers are winding down would be pretty special. As far as the Cardinals go, all they do is win. It's no fancy formula...they play well in the three major facets of the game (pitching, hitting, and fielding). It's hard not to respect Albert Pujols who is just 25 and has played 4 of 5 full seasons with an OPS over 1.0 (with his 5th at 0.955).
While there are stories and players to follow through the rest of the postseason, it's hard to ignore the fact the Red Sox and Yankees are conspicuously absent from a time when, over the past two years, the made baseball the highlight of a sports fans fall. I'll certainly follow the rest of the playoffs as an avid baseball fan, but, as hard as it is for me to say, Bud Selig should know he's not the only one missing the Yankees and Red Sox from the October action.

On a side baseball note...I'm happy to see Sam Perlozzo get a chance to manage the O's from the beginning of the year in '06. He's been with the organization for a while now and his patience, it seems, has earned respect from a lot of people around Baltimore. On the other hand, getting rid of Jim Beattie was, in my opinion, not the right front office move to make. Beattie is the man with experience, not Mike Flanagan. Hopefully he has someone working close to him to turn the O's around so maybe, although not likely, I'll be talking about them still playing this time next year.

So this blog is a place for me to vent about some of the stuff I enjoy in the life and the stuff I really dislike. Here's a way for me to show you a little bit about myself...it's a concise list of my peeves. I wouldn't consider myself an angry person...these things just really grind my gears.

In no particular order:
-people who wear sunglasses on the T
-popped collars (this coming from a kid who wears a collared shirt every day of his life)
-"Red Sox Nation" and people who come from all over the country to college in Boston and start to root for the Red Sox
-football players who do dances after making meaningless tackles...while their their team is still down by 21 points
-people who wear hats of sports teams in "cute" or "trendy colors" instead of the official team colors
-hospital lights
-standard easy mac pakets not containing nearly enough mac and cheese to properly satisfy me late at night
-the Dominos people who put the Kickers sauces in the wrong places
-the BU dining halls being open til 7 on Friday and Saturday nights...it makes absolutely no sense
-Chris Brennan
-people who, during crowded walking times, ride their bikes on the sidewalks to comm ave instead of in the street
-when the dining hall runs out of turkey at the sandwich station
-people who drive the speed limit in the left lane of the freeway...at least 10 over or get the fuck out of the way
-people who don't wear athletic shorts and shoes to the gym
-any person who owns a Hummer H2
-record companies who expect us to pay over $15 for a CD
-people who consider those weird "sporty" Puma shoes acceptable to play sports or work out in
-people who wear hats to the gym
-freshmen who come sit in our room for hours at a time uninvited and don't say anything (Prescott)
-Peter Angelos thinking he knows shit about baseball when he's really just an ignorant rich lawyer
-Sidney Ponson
-playing the National Anthem before the beginning of sporting events
-playing "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch at baseball games

This is just a quick list of things that came to mind...but there'll be more to come.