Monday, December 29, 2008

Belated Christmas Gifts


I never expected so many gifts to arrive for me on December 28th...

* The Bears choke away an early 10-0 lead, and lose 31-24 at Houston.

* Tampa Bay chokes away the month of December, capped by a home loss to Oakland, also 31-24.

* Dallas coughs up a pair of fumbles that the Eagles return for touchdowns as Philly destroys the Cowboys 44-6, clinching a playoff berth and ending Dallas' season.

Let me say that last part again...

Philly destroys the Cowboys 44-6, clinching a playoff berth and ending Dallas' season.

Yep, still sounds good.

As far back as November 9th, I felt the Eagles were done. Even though their home loss to the Giants only dropped their record to 5-4, it just felt like the Eagles were lacking the ability to win the big game.

That was followed by the overtime debacle in Cincy, and the blowout loss in Baltimore. At that point, I had given up hope, and was in full Flyers-mode.

Then, they sucked me back in with three straight wins, climbing back in the wildcard chase.

But, an ugly loss at Washington took control out of their hands heading into the final week.

So, even as the Bears were losing their lead in Houston (either the Bears or Vikings had to lose yesterday, and Minnesota ended up winning), I wasn't too excited, because Tampa Bay still had to lose to Oakland.

The Raiders did take a 7-0 lead, but the Bucs tied it. Then the Raiders went up 14-7. Tampa Bay tied it, then took a lead.

Then I thought it was over.

But, somehow, Oakland scored two touchdowns in the blink of an eye -- the details are sketchy as I was simply following along online -- and all of a sudden, the nooses tightened in Tampa, as the Bucs folded down the stretch and the Raiders won the game.

My brother called several times during the final moments of that game -- he was watching at a Buffalo Wild Wings -- to pass along the good news.

Ahhh, but the Iggles were now on the hot seat, still needing a win to get in.

But, they didn't just defeat Dallas, they humiliated them, and not only secured a playoff berth for themselves, but knocked the immortal 'Boys off their perch, and knocked them out of the playoffs as well.

Brilliant!

Plus, one of my other least favorite teams. New England, is also home for the holidays.

I truly do not care whether the Eagles get bounced next week. The events of yesterday -- plus the lingering joy of a recent World Series championship -- have taken care of that.

As a 6th-seed, I fully expect them to be eliminated rather soon. But, who knows. The Giants had to win three road games last year to get to the Super Bowl, so, you never know.

The only thing I do know, is that the Super Bowl Champ will not be Dallas.

Donovan, if that was your last game in Philly as a member of the home team, you did yourself proud.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

The "Bush Attacked By Reporter" Video

Photobucket

Who knew there was snow in Baghdad?

What About Bob?

Hats off to Bob, winner of Survivor: Gabon. After being given new life thanks to Sugar's plan to have the two of them vote for Matty at the last Tribal Council, forcing a tie as Matty and Susie voted for Bob, the physics teacher defeated Susie 4 votes to 3 for the million dollar prize.

Not bad for a 57-year old, wafer thin guy, who looked like a prime candidate for "first person voted off" when the show began.

But as the season progressed, Bob -- a very likeable champ -- started to dominate the game, winning challenges, and friendships at the most opportune time.

Plus, he did all of it while wearing a long-sleeved shirt and long pants. Remarkable.

This show has been on for 18 different seasons over the last nine years, and we still watch it every week. Our daughter, Megan said to me last night that I should try to go on the show.

I laughed. Although I do enjoy watching it, I have no interest in going on the show as a contestant.

I'd be ready to leave after the first night. Heck, after the first few bugs started to bite me within the first few minutes of getting off the boat, I'd be ready to pack it in.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Illinois: Land Of Lincoln, And Corrupt Governors

Maybe Rod Blagojevich thought that as Governor of Illinois, he was supposed to be a crook. He was just following the pattern. A nice recap from the AP...

Three former Illinois governors have gone to prison in the past 35 years.

_Otto Kerner, a Democrat who was governor from 1961 to 1968, served less than a year of a three-year sentence after his 1973 conviction on bribery, tax evasion and other counts. He was convicted of arranging favorable horse racing dates as governor in return for getting horse racing association stock at reduced prices. Kerner died in 1976.

_Dan Walker, a Democrat who was governor from 1973 to 1977, served 1 1/2 years of a seven-year sentence after pleading guilty in 1987 to bank fraud, misapplication of funds and perjury. The charges were not related to his service as governor.

_George Ryan, a Republican who was governor from 1999 to 2003, was convicted of corruption in 2006 for steering state contracts and leases to political insiders while he was Illinois secretary of state and then governor. He is serving a 6 1/2-year prison term.

In addition, William Stratton, governor from 1953-1961, was later indicted but was acquitted on charges of income tax evasion.


Thanks, Blogo, for upholding such a proud tradition.

But, at least your hair looks good.

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Grammys

The 51st Annual Grammy Awards will air Sunday, February 8th, 2009 on CBS-TV. Nomnations were announced yesterday. The complete list can be found here.

Unlike a lot of other award show, I try to watch at least a few minutes of the Grammys, since the nominees actually perform on stage, and sometimes you get a memorable performance.

Can't say the same about the Emmys or the Oscars. But, wouldn't it make the broadcast more entertaining if nominees in acting categories went up on stage and acted?

Or casts from nominated movies and TV series were on stage reenacting scenes from their shows or films?

How 'bout a stage version of one of the death scenes from No Country For Old Men, complete with special effects, makeup, the whole nine yards.

Or in 2002, why not have Oscar winner Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton reenact their famous love scene from Monster's Ball.

Right in the middle of it, that's when you cut to the shot of Jack Nicholson for his reaction.

Now that's an awards show I'd watch.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

iTunes Phillies Games

We have iTunes set up on the home computer, and I guess I never realized that there was a lot more available at the iTunes store than just music.

I was browsing a Phillies message board, and found a post from a fan that was talking about getting some of the playoff games on DVD. Someone in the thread suggested getting the games off iTunes.

So, I checked out their selections, and found all of the 2008 Phillies playoff games, available for just $1.99 each.

Shazamm! I purchased their wins in the NLDS and NLCS, and when watching the games on Quicktime, the quality is great, there are no commercials, and it's certainly money well spent.

I'm holding out hope that I get some DVD's of the World Series for Christmas, but if I don't, then I'll head back to iTunes to download the rest.

Next, I want to see if I can download all of the Cubs playoff games from the last two years.

I'll look under the comedy section.