Notre Shame

Week 1: Georgia Tech 33, Notre Dame 3.

Week 2: Penn St. 31, Notre Dame 10.

Week 3: Michigan 38, Notre Dame 0.

Somebody pinch me before I wake up from this joyous dream.

Parenting Test No. 273

Considering how big a fan of High School Musical our 7-year old daughter, Megan is, my wife and I have worked extra hard at trying to keep all of the latest Vanessa Hudgens news away from her.

Any info, stories, links, discussion about Hudgens and those pictures floating around the net should only be handled by an adult, preferrably, me.

As far as we could tell, Megan hadn't heard anything about the photos, blissfully unaware of the whole controversy. The problem is, that my wife and I can't be with her throughout the entire day. Those darn school kids.

We were sitting at dinner the other night when out of the blue, Megan starts talking about Hudgens. She mentioned that her friend at school told her that Vanessa "took pictures of herself without any clothes on, and sent them to Zac (Efron)." My wife and I took a deep breath, looked at each other with a half smile/half "oh, boy" expression.

We really weren't prepared for her next comment.

"(My friend) was wondering if they had s-e-x."

That's how she said it, too, spelling it out, so she must know that it's something bad or naughty.

Frankly, we didn't ask her if she knew what s-e-x was, or if her friend had told her what it was. After the shock and awe of the question wore off, after our hearts started beating again, and after the realization that "oh, no, our daughter has moved up a rung on the growing up ladder of life" by making her first known reference to sex, we did what we could to abandon the subject.

We honestly had no comeback for what she said. We were not prepared to deal with that topic with a 7-year old. Should we have been? Several times during the rest of the night, my wife would just look at me and say, "She's seven!"

All we ended up telling her was to not talk about it to anyone else because it was no one else's business. It was Vanessa's personal business, not ours. That seemed to work, but again, not being with her all day long makes me wonder what she, or anyone else, has been saying about this whole thing.

As a parent, especially of a girl, hearing her make that first reference to sex, whether she knows what it is or not, doesn't rank up their with other "first" experiences, like the first steps, first words, or even first solid poop.

I realize that it's September in the midwest, and the bees are going to be all over the place here soon. I didn't expect the birds to join them for several years, however.

So, let's just hope that for now, all of this "pics without clothes on", and "s-e-x" talk concerning Vanessa Hudgens, and anyone else for that matter, stays away from our precious little 7-year old. She's way too young to be thinking about any of this stuff.

There's been talk that more pics, and possibly a video or two from Hudgens' past are out there, too, and may make an appearance online soon. Hopefully those things will stay far away from Megan's eyes and ears, and end up where they belong...in my email.

Do You Know The Muffin' Men?

Is it hockey season yet? Okay, it may be a little too early to write off the Eagles, but just giving away a very winnable game to Green Bay is not the way to start a season.

First, Greg Lewis muffed a punt early in the game -- granted, Lewis is very new to the position, and was leveled right as he was trying to catch the punt -- and the ensuing scramble for the loose ball resulted in a Packers touchdown. Of course.

Second, with about a minute to go in the 4th quarter, with the score tied 13-13, J.R. Reed sprinted to try to catch a short punt, couldn't get under the ball, and muffed it. The Packers recovered, and seconds later kicked the game winning field goal. Naturally.

Now, had the offense done something with the ball after getting the all-too-common Brett Favre turnover late in the 4th quarter, at least Reed's muff never would have happened. Ifs and buts, candy and nuts.

It was the kind of loss that just leaves you in a grumpy mood the rest of the day. Considering yesterday was our wedding anniversary, maybe I should have just done yardwork all afternoon, or taken the family out somewhere, or watched High School Musical 2 with the kids for the 33rd time, instead of subjecting the household to that dud of an Eagles debut.

At least I didn't have to watch the final field goal. Since we live in the Chicago market, Fox cut away from the Eagles-Packers game to go to San Diego for the Bears-Chargers matchup. Ironically, just a few hours prior to that, I said to my wife, "You just know the Eagles are going to be driving for the game winning field goal when Fox is going to cut away to get to that all important Bears-Chargers kickoff." Well, after watching that second muffed punt, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman never looked so good.

A few posts back I mentioned how much of a roller coaster the baseball season is. Highs and lows seven days a week. Well, football is worse -- when you lose. A full week of feeling like crap about your favorite team, until they suit up again. And, of course, I'll be there with them next week, and every week. I'm a fan. Just a very frustrated one. Goes with the territory rooting for this team.

Meanwhile, where did I put the Flyers 2007-08 schedule?

Are You Ready For Some (Classic) Football?

A full slate of NFL games is just one day away, and to help get you in the mood for all of the fun, I thought I'd point you in the direction of some classic video from the past.

Hurry, though. It's quite possible that these clips will be pulled from Youtube before you even get a chance to enjoy them. The NFL doesn't like having any of their precious clips available for public consumption. Heaven forbid. So watch these before they go away.

The clips come from someone named WIICTVFAN, a Pittsburgh sports fan apparently. He's posted complete Super Bowl footage as the games actually aired. This is priceless stuff!

We're talking Super Bowls IX, X, XIII, and XIV, plus the 1978 AFC Championship game as well. There's even footage of the last Stanley Cup Finals game the Blackhawks played in, the deciding game four loss at home to Pittsburgh in 1992 -- a game I attended.

Rather than try to link every single game, etc., just go to this dude's video page, and you can figure out the rest.

I can't tell you how stoked I am that these clips are here -- even though they may only be available until I finish typing this sentence.

Whew, just checked, they're still there (for now).

The first Super Bowl I remember watching was Super Bowl XIII, and at that time, it didn't get much better than Pittsburgh vs. Dallas. Tremendously exciting game featuring the top two teams in the league during that era. Plus, as an Eagles fan, I hated the Cowboys. I still have the t-shirt from my youth of the eagle pooping on the Dallas helmet. So, watching Jackie Harris drop that touchdown pass was bliss.

These were some of my first football memories, and to see classic games the way they aired is a real treat. Even the simple stuff is cool, like in the Super Bowl X footage, the CBS theme music being played each time they went to commercial. Or, how about the promo for the Mary Tyler Moore Show? Too cool.

I was too young to remember the first Pittsburgh/Dallas Super Bowl (X), so to see it here as it originally aired has been as big an online thrill for me since the day Vanessa Hudgens emailed me those pictures of her.

The Super Bowl X video has been my favorite so far. Summerall and Brookshier. A Super Bowl played during the day. A setting that seems so simplistic compared to Super Bowls today -- it's all about the game, not the pomp and circumstance. Commercial breaks that aren't more than 90 seconds long. Lambert. Staubach. Bradshaw. Pearson. And in the clip I'm posting below, Lynn Swann's amazing catch, easily one of the 10 best catches in league history (it comes at about the 6:43 mark).

There's just something about seeing this stuff as it aired. Chills.

Each of these clips is about 10 minutes long, so for some games there could be as many as 15-20 parts. A minor flaw. For something this good, I don't mind the extra clicking.

This is what should be on NFL Network. And it should still be part of the basic cable package on Comcast. At the very least, it should be left alone on Youtube.

Please.

The Office Meets Jason Bourne

As the wait for new episodes of The Office continues -- the season premiere is September 27th -- here is a very well done mashup using the audio from The Bourne Ultimatium preview, mixed in with video from The Office on NBC to hold you over.

Phillies Phail Again

About a week ago, the Phillies finished off a four game sweep of the hated New York Mets. The final win was a crazy one -- a win-for-the-ages kind of game. The Phils scored three runs in the last two innings to pull out an 11-10 game that drew them to within two games of the Mets.

Fans were giddy. The players were reacting as if they'd won the World Series. Living in Illinois, I was only able to follow the game online. A few minutes after it was final, I watched the highlights on mlb.com. And again. And again. I even made my wife watch the highlights. Things were going good. Muck the Fets!

I thought about coming on here and posting about that game, and how fun the next few weeks would be as the playoff chase heated up.

But, I knew better.

Don't get me wrong, that four game sweep was fun, and I was a very happy man after that 11-10 win. But happiness as a baseball fan comes and goes daily. For Phillies fans, happiness lasts on a minute by minute basis.

In fact, being a fan of any Philly team is rough. But we've covered that before. Several times.

But, back to the Phightins. You see, that four game sweep against the Mets was all the more necessary, because the Phillies had opened their homestand going 1-4 against the Dodgers and Padres, two teams fighting for the wild card and Western division races as well.

That four game sweep also came after a prior road trip that saw the Phillies blow not one, but two games in which they had 4-run leads against the Pirates of all teams.

And, after going to Florida following that four game sweep, although the Phillies did win the opener of their series with the Marlins, they lost the next two, including Sunday's game when they held a 5-run lead.

It should be noted that the finale of the Mets' series - the wild 11-10 win - the Phillies also blew a 5-run lead in that game...and an 8-5 lead, too.

So let's fast forward to today in Atlanta. After splitting the first two games with the Braves -- another team I'm sick of -- the Phillies had a chance to win the series, draw back to within four games of the Mets, and creep back to within two games of the wild card lead.

Wouldn't you know it, by the 2nd inning, the Phillies were up 5-0!

Uh, oh.

To make a painfully long story short, after leading 8-2 in the 8th, the Braves string together bloop hit after bloop hit, score four runs and make it an 8-6 game. In the bottom of the ninth, after two were out with nobody on base, the Braves string together two infield singles, draw a walk, and then some clown hits a game winning bases-clearing double off the tip of the glove of Chris Roberson in right field, and the Phollies, I mean Phillies, lose 9-8.

Quite possibly the most demoralizing loss since Mitch Williams made Joe Carter a folk hero back in 1993. It was certainly the worst loss of the season.

I could go on and on about how ill I feel, how rough it is being a Phillies fan, etc., but I'd rather let some of the other Phillies' fans out there do the talking for me.

Here is a sample of some of the opinions shared by Phillies' Phaithfuls on the message boards at Philly.com.

Roman529: "I am happy we are not going to the playoffs. This team doesn't deserve anything accept to lay awake at night in the off season and wonder what could have been."

JIMI20: "Anybody wanna bye some Phillies gear REAL CHEAP. Hats, Shirts, Hood, Jacket, Towels...Etc....Best offer."

Rodak2000: "Unbelievable only the Phillies could blow a lead like that. Another chapter in their book How To Lose Ball Games!"

HuskerPhil: "I'm outta here for the rest of the season. That's one of the worst meltdowns ever. Put a fork in 'em . . . Turn Out The Lights . . . Pick Your Cliche - - The Season is Over"

4778774: "This was the crowning achievement game for this year. It is over!!!!!!!!!!!"

Iggleholic: "I am going to put my bag of bits in a vice now, because it pales in comparisson to how torturous it is to watch this team. Hate is not a strong enough word to describe how I feel about this team at the moment."

PhillyFan927: "I'll have to invent some new expletives to properly express how I feel about this."

tyrone330: "i hate this team."

Pain. Misery. Heartbreak. The life of a Phillies fan.

A few minutes after the game today, while I sat stunned, staring blankly at the television, I muttered, "I hate baseball. I can't believe they just blew this game."

My seven-year old daughter looked at me and said, "Why do you still watch it?"

Good question, Megan.

So That's How He Does It

Looking at the latest issue of Rolling Stone the other day, it became pretty obvious to me how Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine does so well with the ladies. The guy has been linked to hotties like Natalie Portman, Jessica Simpson, Maria Sharapova, and others. How does he do it?

Well, look at this photo. He has surrounded himself with four of the ugliest dudes on the planet. Granted, Levine is a decent looking guy, but put him onstage, or in a video, or on a magazine cover with these other four members of the group, Levine goes from being a "7" on the street, to a "10" instantly.

I can't really blame the guy though. Heck, I know what it's like for him. How could I not after working so many years surrounded by the likes of Steele, Schramm, Tambling, Haensel, and now, Capron.