Stars Above

It is the end of the month and time to pull out some of the starred blog posts from my Feed Reader in December. It is truly amazing how many great posts there are every month. I am just so glad that I can share these spectacular bloggers and their amazing, or sad, or funny or annoying posts (I am not picky) with all of you.

Shame On You Walmart – She Eats Crayons

Where I Answer A Question – Newscoma

I Am Favreau – The Coyote Chronicles

”Rocky” Theology – Crossing Jordon

The Most Trusted Name In News? – Southern Beale

Okay, now go read these bloggers and let them know if you think they are great (or crappy, whatever). It helps to get the creative juices flowing to know others are at least listening and letting it be known.

NFL 1st Round Playoff Predictions ‘08/’09

Okay, I will try to move on from The Great NFL/New England/Playoff Debacle Of 2008-09 and just try and enjoy this season for what it is…great football. I love the NFL Playoffs no matter which teams are playing or left out, ahem, and will be thrilled to see a team I like in Super Bowl XLIII.

Saturday, January 3

Atlanta Falcons @ Arizona Cardinals

I think we all know how this game will turn out. Unfortunately for the Cards they are merely a mediocre team that played in one of the worst divisions in football. Also, unfortunately for the Cards they will have to face an offense featuring two should-be MVP candidates in Matt Ryan and Michael Turner. I don’t expect this one to be close. Pick: Atlanta

Indianapolis Colts @ San Diego Chargers

In the game that I care the least about since I hate both of these teams and their quarterbacks I can only think it will be the best game of the weekend. These teams have been on big runs as of late and have really torn up the league. The home field advantage held by the Chargers is worthless against a guy with the talent level and experience of a Peyton Manning. I have a feeling this one will come down to a field goal in the end. Pick: Indianapolis

Sunday, January 4

Baltimore Ravens @ Miami Dolphins

Here is another game in which I really do not care who wins. I suppose that I could pull for Miami for Nelson’s sake but it doesn’t really matter. This Baltimore team is too good for the Dolphins. Look for Flacco to toss the ball all over this Miami defense and for their defense to stifle the Fish offense. The Dolphin team is young and hungry but it looks to me like they have had their run. Pick: Baltimore

Philadelphia Eagles @ Minnesota Vikings

The Eagles lucked their way into these playoffs. The Vikes played a tough game over the team that is the media darling in the Giants this past week. I think that Minnesota has the stuff to pull off a nice run in these playoffs almost like those Giants boys from last season. I think the Vikings have this one in the bag unless Donovan McNabb and his boys from Philly take it to overtime. Hehehe. Pick: Minnesota

Well, there may be a chance that my picks are crazy but I really think it will go down this way. Tell me what you think.

2008 Library In Review

It was my goal in 2008 to read more than I had the previous year which was 25. Secretively I hoped that I could read as many as 30 but found that may be a stretch so I never actually announced that goal to avoid the shame and embarrassment. Well due to luck and making a serious effort to read as much as I could I blew right on past that number. I am about 50 pages shy of completing my final book for this calendar year which will put me at a total of 35! Wow, I even impressed myself.

Here is the list for 2008:

700 Sundays – Billy Crystal
A Long Way Down – Nick Hornby
All Souls: A Family Story From Southie – Michael P. MacDonald
The Amber Room – Steve Berry
Big Trouble – Dave Barry
The Black Dahlia – James Ellroy
Blaze – Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
Brain Droppings – George Carlin
Charleston – John Jakes
Crumbtown – Joe Connelly
Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort Of History Of The United States – Dave Barry
Dave Barry’s History Of The Millemium (So Far) – Dave Barry
The Doorkeepers – Graham Masterton
The Eyes Of The Dragon – Stephen King
The Heart-Shaped Box – Joe Hill
Images Of The Beatles – Tim Hill
Kings Of The Hill – Nolan Ryan with Mickey Herskowitz
The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
The Last Templar – Raymond Khoury
Let Me Tell You A Story: A Lifetime In The Game – John Feinstein & Red Auerbach
Letters From Nuremberg – Sen. Christopher J. Dodd
The Life And Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid – Bill Bryson
The Masters – Curt Sampson
New England White – Stephen L. Carter
Night – Elie Wiesel
Paul Revere’s Ride – David Hackett Fischer
The Power And The Glory – Graham Greene
The Right Stuff – Tom Wolfe
The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia Of Rock & Roll, 3rd Ed. – Ed. by Holly George-Warren & Patricia Romanowski
The Romanov Prophecy – Steve Berry
The Story Of The Confederacy – Robert Selph Henry
The Tales Of Beedle The Bard – JK Rowling
Teacher Man – Frank McCourt
‘Tis – Frank McCourt
Why So Many Gods? – Tim Baker

In 2009 I do not plan to make any predictions as to the number of books I will read but I just hope to stay around the 20 book rage. I have several already picked out and they are some monster sized volumes so that will obviously make the number go down. I have hundreds of books and due to my addiction of buying books lots of them are unread. I hope to fix that issue, at least a little bit, in the upcoming year.

Salt In The Wound

So my New England Patriots were eliminated from the NFL playoffs yesterday much to the excitement of most of the football world. At eleven victories they became only the second team in the history of the league to win that many games and NOT make the playoffs since the 1970 ALF/NFL merger (I hear the 1985 Cleveland Browns were the first). This one really puts a cap onto a season that was rife with injuries and false hopes.

All the Pats had to do yesterday was win in Buffalo (which they did) and have one of two other teams lose. First Baltimore had to lose (that didn’t happen) and then they needed the upstart Miami Dolphins to lose to one of my all-time least favorite teams, the New Jersey York Jets starring Brett Favre. Brett and the Jets managed to suck up the joint thus allowing the Pats to have lots of free time to play golf.

As I got to my desk at work this morning my cube-mate, and long time Dolphins fan, Nelson had prepared a wonderful welcome for me.

Now all I can do this playoff season is root for the Titans, my wife’s remaining teams (Carolina & Minnesota) and hope that the teams that I loathe (Miami, Baltimore, NY Giants, Indianapolis) all lose as fast as possible.

There is also hope for next season. With all of the injuries suffered this year to my boys from New England to have just missed the big dance I can only assume that with healthy stars will come another push towards the playoffs, the Super Bowl and possibly perfection.

Melancholy Monday: While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Today is a good day for sad. First of all I have to head back to work and that in itself sucks. It makes it especially crappy when you know that the wife is at home today. Another reason, well my New England Patriots after suffering huge losses of personnel due to injuries including the defending MVP in Tom Brady managed to eke out eleven victories this season and tie for their division lead only to lose out on bogus tie-breakers and miss the playoffs completely.

Finally, my streak was broken yesterday. For more than 6 years I have been undefeated in Trivial Pursuit. Yesterday while playing my wife I had 5, count ‘em 5, game-winning questions that I answered incorrectly which allowed her to complete her own game piece with wedges and get to the center spot to answer a game-winning question that she did not screw up like I did. Depressing.

Here is one of the great songs of our any generation which was written by the incomparable George Harrison, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. This is the version from The Concert For George as performed by Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, son Dhani Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Gary Brooker, Billy Preston and many, many others.

This one is quite amazing. Luckily this is another short week. I hope I can make it.