Who has the coolest birthday?

So I was checking out all of our birthdays on Wikipedia just to see what kind of cool things went on on those dates. Some pretty cool stuff. I'll let you see for yourself and then you can decide who has the "coolest" birthday. I'd highly encourage you to look this stuff all up on Wiki if you have the time. Be careful though, you can get sucked into that thing pretty fast.

Ainsley – January 18:
Events
* 336 - Marcus elected Catholic Pope.
* 1778 - James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the "Sandwich Islands."
* 1788 - The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from England to Australia arrives at Botany Bay.
* 1827 - Joseph Smith, Jr. marries Emma Hale.
* 1886 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. * 1896 - The X-ray machine is exhibited for the first time. [Sadly, lead underwear was still months away from production.]
* 1903 - Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States, sends a message of greetings from a Marconi station built near Wellfleet, Massachusetts to King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, marking the first transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States.
* 1911 - Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania stationed in San Francisco harbor, marking the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.
* 1919 - World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France. Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland.
* 1943 - Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: The first uprising of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
* 1944 - Soviet forces liberate Leningrad, effectively ending a three year Nazi siege, known as the Siege of Leningrad.
* 1958 - Willie O'Ree, the first African American National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins.
* 1964 - Plans are revealed for the World Trade Center in New York City.
* 1964 - The Beatles appear on the Billboard magazine charts for the first time.
* 1974 - The Six Million Dollar Man debuts on ABC. * 1975 - The Jeffersons debuts on CBS.
* 1983 - The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe Olympic medals to his family.
* 1990 - Washington, DC, Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
* 1993 - For the first time, Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is officially observed in all 50 United States states.
Births
* 1782 - Daniel Webster, American statesman (d. 1852)
* 1813 - Joseph Glidden, American farmer who patented barbed wire (d. 1906)
* 1849 - Edmund Barton, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1920)
* 1882 - A. A. Milne, English author (d. 1956)
* 1892 - Oliver Hardy, American comedian and actor (d. 1957)
* 1901 - Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician (d. 1973)
* 1904 - Cary Grant, English actor (d. 1986)
* 1922 - Bob Bell a.k.a. Bozo the Clown, American clown (d. 1997)
* 1933 - Ray Dolby, American inventor (Dolby noise reduction system)
* 1938 - Curt Flood, baseball player (d. 1997)
* 1955 - Kevin Costner, American actor [Can't win 'em all Ainsley]
* 1961 - Mark Messier, Canadian hockey player
* 1970 - DJ Quik, American rapper
* 1971 - Christian Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver
* 1979 - Brian Gionta, American! professional hockey player
* 1980 - Julius Peppers, American football player

Kaylee – February 24:
Events
* 1803 - The Supreme Court of the United States, in Marbury v. Madison, establishes the principle of judicial review.
* 1839 - William Otis receives a patent for the steam shovel.
* 1868 - The first parade to have floats is staged at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana.
* 1868 - Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate.
* 1909 - The Hudson Motor Car Company is founded.
* 1920 - The Nazi Party is founded.
* 1925 - A thermite (magnesium) bomb is used for the first time to break up a 250,000-ton ice jam clogging the St. Lawrence River near Waddington, New York.
* 1946 - Juan Perón is elected president of Argentina. [Don't cry for him Argentina]
* 1970 - National Public Radio is founded in the United States.
* 1975 - Hard rock band Led Zeppelin release the classic double album Physical Graffiti.
* 1983 - A special commission of the U.S. Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II. [How big of them.]
* 1989 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers a USD $3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.
* 1989 - United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, Hawaii, rips open during flight, sucking 9 passengers out of the business-class section.
* 2002 - The Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah end.
Births
* 1500 - Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1558)
* 1557 - Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1619)
* 1709 - Jacques de Vaucanson, French inventor (d. 1782) [the man invented the robot!!!]
* 1874 - Honus Wagner, American baseball player (d. 1955)
* 1885 - Chester Nimitz, U.S. admiral (d. 1966)
* 1921 - Abe Vigoda, American actor
* 1938 - Phil Knight, American sportswear manufacturer
* 1943 - Terry Semel, chairman and CEO of Yahoo!
* 1943 - George Harrison, English songwriter, guitarist and member of the Beatles (d. 2001)
* 1947 - Edward James Olmos, American actor
* 1951 - Debra Jo Rupp, American actress
* 1955 - Steve Jobs, American computer pioneer
* 1955 - Alain Prost, French race car driver
* 1956 - Eddie Murray, American baseball player
* 1963 - Mike Vernon, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1970 - Jeff Garcia, American football player [if it looks like a rat…]
* 1971 - Brian Savage, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1972 - Manon Rhéaume, Canadian female ice hockey player
* 1973 - Alexei Kovalev, Russian ice hockey player
* 1977 - Floyd Mayweather Jr, American boxer
* 1977 - Bronson Arroyo, American baseball player

Chris – June 5:
Events
* 70 - Titus and his Roman legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem.
* 1851 - Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery serial, Uncle Tom's Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly starts a ten-month run in the National Era abolitionist newspaper.
* 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Piedmont: Union forces under General David Hunter defeat a Confederate army at Piedmont, Virginia, taking nearly 1,000 prisoners. [no word on how many were UT grads]
* 1917 - World War I: Conscription begins in the United States as "Army registration day."
* 1924 - Ernst Alexanderson sends the first facsimile across the Atlantic Ocean (to his father in Sweden). [the lengths kids go to in order to bum money...]
* 1933 - The U.S. Congress abrogates the United States' use of the gold standard by enacting a joint resolution (48 Stat. 112) nullifying the right of creditors to demand payment in gold.
* 1944 - World War II: The two largest invasion fleets heretofore in history sailed that morning on opposite sides of the world. Most of the ship were United States flagged vessels.
* 1944 - World War II: More than 1000 British bombers drop 5000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries on the Normandy coast in preparation for D-Day.
* 1944 - World War II: Rome liberated by the Allies
* 1945 - Allied Control Council, military occupation governing body of Germany, formally takes power.
* 1947 - Marshall Plan: At a speech at Harvard University, United States Secretary of State George Marshall calls for economic aid to war-torn Europe.
* 1956 - Elvis Presley introduces his new single, "Hound Dog", on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements.
* 1968 - U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California by Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy dies the next day.
* 1977 - The Apple II, the first practical personal computer, goes on sale.
* 1981 - The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that five homosexual men in Los Angeles, California have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems, in what turns out to be the first recognized cases of AIDS.
* 2001 - Tropical Storm Allison makes landfall on the upper-Texas coastline as a strong tropical storm and dumps large amounts of rain over Houston. The storm caused $5.5 billion in damages, making Allison the costliest tropical storm in U.S. history.
* 2002 - Mozilla 1.0, the first 'official' version, is released.
Births
* 1850 - Pat Garrett, American Western lawman (d. 1908)
* 1862 - Allvar Gullstrand, Swedish ophthalmologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1930) [I can see this post thanks to Allvar!]
* 1878 - Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1923)
* 1919 - Richard Scarry, American children's author (d. 1994)
* 1920 - Cornelius Ryan, Irish-American author (d. 1974)
* 1925 - Art Donovan, American football star (d. 2006)
* 1934 - Bill Moyers, American journalist
* 1941 - Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots
* 1956 - Kenny G, American saxophonist [Guh!]
* 1965 – Bob Probert, Canadian hockey player [simply the best!]
* 1967 - Ray Lankford, baseball player
* 1968 - Ron Livingston, American actor
* 1969 - Brian McKnight, American musician
* 1970 - Martin Gelinas, Canadian hockey player
* 1971 - Mark Wahlberg, American singer and actor
* 1976 – Tory Holt, American football player
* 1983 - Marques Colston, American football player

Landon – July 30:
Events
* 1619 - In Jamestown, Virginia, the first representative assembly in the Americas, the House of Burgesses, convenes for the first time.
* 1729 - Baltimore, Maryland is founded.
* 1733 - First Freemasons lodge opened in what will become the United States.
* 1930 - In Montevideo, Uruguay win the first Football World Cup.
* 1932 - Walt Disney's Flowers and Trees, the first Academy Award winning cartoon and first cartoon short to use Technicolor, premieres.
* 1953 - Rikiduzan holds a ceremony announcing the establishment of the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance.
* 1954 - Elvis Presley makes his debut as a public performer.
* 1956 - A Joint resolution of the U.S. Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing "In God We Trust" as the U.S. national motto.
* 1965 - US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.
* 1974 - Watergate Scandal: US President Richard M. Nixon releases subpoenaed White House recordings after being ordered to do so by the United States Supreme Court. [But he's not a crook!]
* 1975 - Jimmy Hoffa disappears from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, at about 2:30 p.m. He is never seen or heard from again. [A crime in Detroit? Get outta here!]
* 1990 - The first Saturn automobile rolls off the assembly line.
* 2002 - Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie became the first woman to dunk in a WNBA league basketball game. [Booyah!]
* 2003 - 490,000 Rock Fans attend Sarsfest concert at Downsview Park in Toronto, Canada, Headlined by The Rolling Stones, AC/DC Rush, The Tea Party, and 12 other major rock acts. Births
* 1863 - Henry Ford, American industrialist (d. 1947)
* 1890 - Casey Stengel, American baseball manager (d. 1975)
* 1934 - Bud Selig, baseball commissioner
* 1936 - Buddy Guy, American guitarist and singer
* 1947 - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-born American actor, body builder, and Governor of California [womanizer]
* 1948 - Jean Reno, Moroccan-born French actor
* 1960 - Richard Linklater, American director
* 1961 - Laurence Fishburne, American actor
* 1963 - Lisa Kudrow, American actress
* 1963 - Chris Mullin, professional basketball player
* 1964 - Jürgen Klinsmann, German football manager
* 1971 - Tom Green, Canadian comedian and actor
* 1971 - Christine Taylor, American actress
* 1973 - Markus Naslund, Swedish ice hockey player
* 1974 - Hilary Swank, American actress

Christa – November 18:
Events
* 1095 - The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land, begins.
* 1307 - According to legend, William Tell shoots an apple off his son's head.
* 1477 - William Caxton produces Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres, the first book printed on a printing press in England.
* 1865 - Mark Twain's story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is published in the New York Saturday Press.
* 1883 - American and Canadian railroads institute five standard continental time zones, ending the confusion of thousands of local times.
* 1916 - World War I: First Battle of the Somme ends - In France, British Expeditionary Force commander Douglas Haig calls off the battle which started on July 1, 1916.
* 1918 - Latvia declares its independence from Russia.
* 1928 - Release of the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first fully synchronized sound cartoon, directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, featuring the second appearances of cartoon stars Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
* 1943 - World War II: Battle of Berlin (air), 440 Royal Air Force planes bomb Berlin causing only light damage and killing 131. The RAF lost nine aircraft and 53 air crew.
* 1943 - Holocaust: Aktion Emtefest: Nazis liquidate Janowska concentration camp in Lviv, western Ukraine, murdering at least 6.000 surviving Jews. German SS leader Fritz Katzman declares Lviv (Lemberg) to be Judenfrei (free from the Jews).
* 1978 - Jonestown incident: In Guyana, Jim Jones leads his Peoples Temple cult in a mass murder-suicide that claims 918 lives in all, 909 of them at Jonestown itself, including over 270 children.
* 1999 - In College Station, Texas, 12 are killed and 27 injured at Texas A&M University when a huge bonfire under construction collapses.
* 2001 - Luigi's Mansion makes its launch for the Nintendo Gamecube introducing two new characters: E. Gadd and King Boo [The Gadd family tree would never be the same!]
Births
* 1923 - Alan Shepard, American astronaut (d. 1998)
* 1948 - Jack Tatum, American football player
* 1953 - Alan Moore, British comic book writer and novelist
* 1956 - Warren Moon, American football player
* 1962 - Kirk Hammett, American guitarist (Metallica)
* 1963 - Len Bias, American basketball player (d. 1986)
* 1967 - Jocelyn Lemieux, National Hockey League player [Made the list of top 3 NHL Lemieux's for the 1990's]
* 1968 - Gary Sheffield, baseball player
* 1968 - Owen Wilson, American actor [The Owen WIlson face was born just a few days later.]
* 1969 - Sam Cassell, American basketball player
* 1970 - Peta Wilson, Australian actress
* 1975 - David Ortiz, Dominican Major League Baseball player
* 1983 - Jon Johansen, Norwegian software developer

I was pretty happy with my own birthday until I saw Kenny G. I still think Bob Probert and the Allied Invasion of France overcome that.

The lows of higher education...

So this week ended with all the excitement of a big, flaming turd! The fall schedule for school came out and it was less than good. As it stands now I am going to be taking classes this summer after all so that I can put myself in a comfortable position to still graduate next spring. The upside is that next spring semester will be pretty light/easy.

If that wasn't enough, I also totally tanked my Fundamentals of Technology quiz. I knew I made a bunch of dumb mistakes, but man... My professor also made it abundantly clear that he's not really into partial credit, to put it mildly. I won't tell you my exact score because I don't want to be come just a number in your eyes. Just take my word for it that it wasn't pretty.

I guess my dramatic re-commitment to school came a week too late. Overall I feel like school gave me the Peter Crouch treatment this week.

What do you mean summer school?

On the bright side, Michel Therrien is doing everything he can to create a full-blown goalie controversy in Pittsburgh. Oh wait, that's bad too... At least Amazing Race is on tonight. Either the bald guys or the coal miners are outta here!

Rafa's not playing for the draw!

When people use the phrase "best case scenario" in the near future, today's Champions League match between Liverpool and Barcelona should get a mandatory mention. Liverpool headed into Nou Camp wanting a win, but knowing that a draw would serve them just fine heading back to Anfield for the second leg. Well, the boys pulled out a huge 2-1 victory in very ironic fashion...

Earlier in the week a story came out that Craig Bellamy attacked John Arne Riise with a golf club in the middle of the night because he wouldn't throw down in a karaoke contest a few hours earlier. The team was pretty quiet about the incident (never denying it), but the media took the story and ran with it. There was even a story posted less than 24 hours before the game that the team plans to sell Bellamy over the summer (and they still may).

Surprisingly, Bellamy got the start today against Barca and he made the most of it. He scored just minutes before the half to send the boys into the break tied at 1. Apparently he even celebrated his goal with a mock golf swing. Stay classy Craig! If that wasn't enough, Bellamy then set up, naturally, Riise for the eventual winning goal with about 15 minutes left in the match.

Suck on it Barca!

This puts the Reds in great shape heading home for the second leg on March 6th. As good as they are at Anfield, the boys should definitely be able to lock up a trip into the round of 8. This was such a great win it even takes some of the sting out of Liverpool falling out of the hunt for the Premiership title.

Pick up skate wrap up

So I managed to skate for 2 whole hours without having a heart attack or getting maimed. I had no legs at all though. I was understandably rusty, but I made some decent plays and managed to put a few pucks in the net. My shooting accuracy was actually better than I expected, even though my sticks felt pretty dead. Maybe I'll have to spring for a nice $200 composite stick...

The older guys there were all pretty cool. We all got a kick out of watching the hot shot teenagers strut their stuff. One of the guys on my team told me that you "totally can't tell" that I hadn't played in 7 years. I'm pretty sure that was a compliment. Another guy told me I look like a cross of Sergei Zubov and Darryl Sydor. Well, at least I've got that going for me...

My two dads?

All in all it was a good time though. I'm looking forward to going back. I can't wait until my hands and my legs catch back up with my head. It'll be like the mid-90's all over again!

Keeping my head on a swivel!

I'm going to play pick-up roller hockey tonight. I'm finally dragging my butt out to do it after planning to for a couple months. It should be interesting considering I haven't played in like 6 years. Can't wait to see how sore I am tomorrow morning...

Ushering in a new era in Texas athletic excellence...

So Christa and I somehow got roped into coaching Ainsley's soccer team. It's not that big of a deal except that since I have class on Saturdays I will probably make it to somewhere around zero of the games. Still, it should be fun though. Any excuse to get out and kick the ball around for a little bit is just fine with me.

24: The world is full of retards!

Let's get right to it:

• Morris is a bum. How could he give the terrorists a working detonator when he knew Jack was right outside? I mean, he'd already been drilled once, what's another hole or two in the grand scheme of things.
• Jack's sister-in-law/former flame is a bum. She let's him waltz right into a trap and doesn't give up his evil dad just to protect her dopey, ninja son.
• CTU is a joke. They'll let just about anyone wander through that place freely. I mean really, how is Jack's dad not a suspect after all that has gone on? I'm convinced at some point we'll see a 4th grade field trip passing through CTU during a crisis.
• Our government sucks. Can they all stop trying to stab each other in the back long enough to keep me from getting nuked? I mean honestly, throw me a bone here!
• On the plus side, pretty soon Jack will be fighting Russians... it's like the 80's all over again! I can't wait.
• Oh, and 24 is so much better without commercials it's not even funny.
  

Oh and the Penguins won again last night. This is getting to be ridiculous.

This is getting to be like Groundhog Day!

Well the Pens have done it again. Shaking off their OT loss the Montreal, the Penguins rebounded by beating the top team in the NHL 4-1. I have to tell you, I could not be more in love with this team unless I was on it. Hopefully Shero will add a top 4 defenseman before the deadline. Even if he doesn't though, with Flower playing the way he is and the Sid Show at the other end... this is a team I would not want to face in the playoffs (yes, I said the P-word!)

Insert Stanley Cup here!

Is that Mack Brown on the phone?

So Landon had his 6 month well check this week and, as we already knew, he is huge! Here's the stat line:

• 75th percentile in height
• 85th percentile in weight
• 95th percentile in head size

insidetexas.com already has Lanny penciled in as the starting Left Tackle for the 2024 Longhorns. That scholarship will come in handy too since tuition will probably be over $20,000 per semester by then.

I can handle more days like this...

• My math class was cancelled so I had no school tonight.
• Liverpool beat West Ham 2-1 to pull within 2 points of 2nd place Chelsea on the table. Peter Crouch had a goal and an assist to celebrate his 26th birthday.
• The Penguins beat Florida 3-0 to run their record to 6-0-1 in their last 7 games. Another dominating performance by Flower. And there's word of them acquiring some veteran defensive help before the trade dealine. This team could make a run...

Flower shuts the door on the Panthers

YouTube-a-palooza!

Enjoy...

Pens vs. Stars


Ruutu vs. Robidas


Yo Gabba Gabba!


Top 10 Jagr goals

What $3.05 can get you on ebay (plus shipping)

My Genesis library is starting to round into shape with the recent addition of the following:

Cyberball

FIFA International Soccer

Galaxy Force 2
(to this day I regret buying Desert Strike instead of this one day at the mall.)

John Madden Football '92

Speedball 2

Sports Talk Baseball

And I only had to drive for 6 hours!

So I went to the Penguins game in Dallas last night. What a freaking awesome game! The 1st period was a bit of a snooze-fest, but things quickly turned around in the 2nd after the Pens got on the board, compliments of Jordan Staal. Mark Recchi chipped in a pair of goals, including a power-play goal with about 8 minutes to play that tied it up. The goal was also the 500th of his career. Props to the Stars fans for giving the Wrackin' Ball a nice standing O. The game moved into OT, and the overtime period was INTENSE. Both teams had some chances, but the Stars definitely had quality opportunities to end it. They couldn't though and the Pens uncharacteristically won in a shootout, with their proud papas on hand to boot.

The Pens left quite an impression on the Stars.

The real story of the game in my opinion was Marc-Andre Fleury. If the Pens make the playoffs this season it will be because of him. That's not a knock on Sid or Geno, the Pens' defense is just that bad. Flower was killing the Stars all night and brought the fans out of their seats on a couple occasions. He got a couple lucky breaks too, but that's all part of the deal when things are going well. He also stopped all three shooters in the shootout to secure the extra point for the Penguins. That is especially noteworthy when you consider the Stars are one of the best shootout teams in the league.

Not this time Sergei!

All in all the game was more than worth the drive and the price of admission. Dallas has a nice arena and a fun area around it to eat and such. I'm looking forward to seeing the Pens there again when they come back... in 3 years :(

Mixed emotions...

I know I said that I don't want the Penguins to move, and I still don't, but ownership met with officials in Houston today. And this is after being presented with what Mario deemed an insulting arena offer from Pittsburgh officials. I really don't want the Pens to leave the 'Burgh, but if they are, PLEASE let it be to Houston!!!

Mega Post: It's been a long time coming...

Let's get right to it!

• I'm back in school for real now. The ice has all melted and I have officially attended every class exactly one time. yipee...
• The Pens killed Toronto 8-2 Saturday night to head into the All-Star break on a high. There next game is at Dallas, and yes I will be there. One word to describe me when I think about that... giddy.
• Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-0 at home on Saturday also to possibly ressurect their title hopes. At least they'll be well rested down the stretch since they are out of the FA Cup and Carling Cup. I'm mostly serious there.
• 24 is officially better on DVD. Not much happened tonight except that we learned that the rest of Jack's family is trying to take over the world. More or less...
• And finally, in what is some of the saddest news ever, Berkeley Iceland is closing down. California is just about dead to me at this point. I wish I had the means to fly back and skate there one last time.

Farewell Iceland, we hardly knew ye...

We have liftoff!

So after an ordeal that was too long and painful to detail here, I have a working Sega Genesis up and running. And I couldn't be happier. For years I proclaimed the Genesis to be my favorite all-time console, and the last 24 hours have done nothing to dampen that point of view. There's also just something nice about getting to play Sonic 2 and World of Illusion with your kids. Takes the Genesis legacy to a whole new level. It doesn't hurt when Sonic 2 is probably better than any game that came out last year with the exception of the new Zelda.

Gaming at its best?

Family fun for two!

Baby it's cold outside...

This is what our week has looked like. It stared out with heavy rain/flooding over the weekend and turned into three solid days of ice/sleet/snow. Schools have been closed all week which has meant no school for Ainsley and no school or work for me. Awesome indeed! Looks like it should be back to reality tomorrow though. Just in time for Ainsley's birthday.

Book Review: How Soccer Explains the World

So I finished Franklin Foer's How Soccer Explains the World today. It was a very good read and a very fresh take on globalization. A lot of the American mainstream media likes to crap all over soccer (and Foer addresses that), but it was nice to have a nice work that presents just how important soccer is around the world. Foer really did a great job with the book as he looked at a wide variety of topics ranging from English hooligans, to the state of soccer in Brazil, to the Italian elite, to how soccer is impacting Islam in Iran.

My only complaint with this book would be the chapter dealing with FC Barcelona. Foer immediately stated that he is a big Barca fanboy, but this chapter was still a little much. I'm sure Barca is great and all, but he was laying it on a little thick. I was waiting for him to tell us how the players all got together and cured cancer during half time of a big game.

All in all I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in soccer, or if you just want a refreshing and informative view of the world.

Day 6: 8am-10am

Here's my reaction to Monday night's episodes of 24:

• Curtis should have bought into the "less talk, more action" way of life. (And Jack can cry and barf all he wants, but from here on he'll always be the guy who killed Curtis.)
• Somebody nuked L.A. ... it's about time!
• Wayne Palmer learned the wrong lessons from his brother. "Oh sure, let's give the terrorists what they want!" Yeah, that always works out well.
• Sandra Palmer is a turd. And her boyfriend is up to something.
• I'm not buying the whole Milo is back thing. Where was he when the rest of them were getting blown up and gassed? What a fair-weathered worker. And he's just weird looking. He should start dating the Frankenstein looking guy from season 3.

Day 6: 6am - 8am

So what have we learned after 2 hours?

• Jack Bauer is part vampire.
• Chloe has a new partner in crime (and possibly a new partner).
• Buchanon married the Homeland Security chick, which means one of them must DIE.
• We have another President who doesn't think he's up to the task.
• Stabbing Jack Bauer in the spine does nothing.
• Even after being tortured for two solid years Jack Bauer was able to give himself a haircut better than any I have ever gotten... in 5 minutes!

All in all I have a good feeling about this season after the first two hours. I just hope Jack gets his taste for torture back. What was that "I can't do this anymore" crap all about Jack?!?

And the 7th day became Day 6!

So Season 6 of 24 starts tonight. Here are my predictions:

• Jack will brutally interogate a government employee.
• Mrs. Logan will still be crazy.
• Kim Bauer will still be an idiot.
  
• Wayne Palmer will be a better President than Logan, but not as good as his brother (the State Farm guy).
• Chloe will secretly do something against protocol to help Jack.
• Bill Buchanon, Audrey Raines, Chloe and/or Morris O'Brien, and Jack Bauer will all DIE!
• Something really important will blow up.
• Jack will kill more than 10 terrorists in a 3 minute span.
• There will be a mole within CTU.
• Jack will blow up China.

Obviously I went a little more out on a limb with some of these than others, but I wanted to have a couple gimmes to cover my you-know-what. Turn the phone off and enjoy kids... it's Bauer Time!!

This sucks...

I am still intent on making a legit post, but we're having network/router issues right now so I'm putting most of my computer energy into that at the moment. Sorry...

Sorry I've been neglecting you...

Substantial post(s?) coming soon...

If you look up awesome in the Dictionary this morning...

Odds are you would see my picture. I managed to win both of my fantasy football leagues for the second straight year. To think that I was a single play (more on that to come in the future) away from a 3-peat in the league I really care(d) about. Anyway, the moral of the story here is, as I've stated before, I'm better at fantasy than the jokers I play against. Apparently even when I barely pay attention as was the case with one of my leagues.

It's nice getting to go out on top since I'm retiring from fantasy football. I wouldn't be surprised if I pulled a Mario and made a comeback someday, but I will definitely not be playing next year. I'm at the point now where I expect to win so I've basically set myself up for nothing but disappointment and frustration. I wouldn't mind finding a better league to play in, but that will have to wait.

Now if only "Fantasy Genius/Guru" were an actual job somewhere...

My take on the Pens' situation...

I feel a strong need to weigh in on what is going on with the Penguins right now. After the Isle of Capri lost out on the exclusive gambling license in Pittsburgh, the Penguins saw their Plan A for a new arena shot to you know where. As near as I can tell from what I've read online nobody seems happy about the plan that was chosen. All three Pittsburgh sports teams seem pretty upset about it, most notably the Pens of course. Local politicians seem confident that a new arena deal is still going to get done, and possibly soon, but Mario has already made his stance known; the team is no longer for sale and he is now actively entertaining relocation possibilities. How much of this is legit and how much is just him playing hardball remains to be seen, but I don't think anyone could blame him for taking the team somewhere else at this point.

Save the Pens! Do it for Marc-Andre!!

So here's my take. I am someone who has loved the Pens ever since my Dad started taking me to hockey games (I'll never be able to thank him enough for that). I also grew up in California and live in Texas so it gets hard to claim having super strong feelings about the Pens relocating. Going into the week my general feeling was that I didn't care where the franchise ended up as long as they had an owner willing to put up the moolah to keep the team we have now together (mainly Sid, Geno, and Fleury). Honestly, unless the team moves to Oakland or Houston the odds of me ever taking in a Pens home game are pretty slim, so what difference does it make to me right?

Well then I got to think about it more and my mind and heart of flipped on the situation. I grew up obsessing over the Pittsburgh Penguins, not the Portland Penguins or the Kansas City Whatevers. It really does matter to me where the team ends up. The Penguins were the first sports team I truly followed, and I want to continue following them, as the Penguins. I grew up with my walls covered with guys adorned in this:And I want to be able to keep that alive. There's a reason why I wore my Sidney Crosby shirt to the birth of my son. I selfishly wanted one of the first things he saw on this earth to be that beautiful skating penguin that meant so much to me as a kid. And for the record, Landon always lets out a gleeful yelp when I wear that shirt now (mission accomplished). The bottom line is that the team won't be the same if they move. And for that, and for all of the Pens fans out there (not just the ones who live in Pittsburgh) I want the Pens to stay. It's bad enough thinking that they won't be playing in the Igloo much longer (again, I don't get to attend games there so it doesn't really impact me if the place is run down), but I can't deal with them not being the Pens any more.

I guess what I'm getting at here is that even though I never have been to Pittsburgh and probably never will, I really need the Penguins to be there. There may come that day when I do get to finally take in a home game (I came real close during my trip to Toronto) and if it does, I want that game to be in Pittsburgh. This team means too much to too many people (read the comments on The Pensblog if you don't believe me) for it to move. And just for the record, I don't think it will. I think Mario has one more miracle up his sleeve. Here's hoping I'm right.

Word out of San Marcos is I'm nifty!

So I got this in the mail today:

Along with a letter telling me how proud myself and my family should be about this magnificent achievement. So, yeah... I guess the whole Dean's List thing is something of a to do at Texas State. I don't mean to make light of this, I know it's a nice accomplishment and all, I just felt like I was treading water for most of the semester so I don't know that I deserve recognition for anything more than just surviving.

All grades are in!

So I ended up with a B in Geology. As far as I'm concerned that was the best case scenario for that class. I don't think too many people, if any, were getting A's out of that guy and I sure didn't put more than a C level effort into that class. So that leaves me with 2 A's and 3 B's for Fall '06. Considering my mental state over the last six weeks of the semester I'll gladly take that thank you very much!

Fantasy Update: It all comes down to this...

So I have managed to steer both of my Fantasy Football teams into their respective championships. This gives me a chance to repeat in both leagues. Not a bad way to end my FF career (for the next year at least). The team I care about and put effort into managed to squeak by in week 15 despite getting about 2 combined points from two of my WR's. I now carry my top seeding into a matchup with the #2 team in the league (my arch rival and home teaching companion!) My other team, which finished in 4th to grab the final playoff spot after a big week 14 victory, upset the Ladainian Tomlinson powered top seed relatively easily to move on to the championship. I will sum up my fantasy seasons to this point by saying that my faith in Steven Jackson has been greatly rewarded.

As for Fantasy Hockey, I'm pretty much right where I want to be. My team is going great except for some up-and-down goaltending. I'm in 4th right now (was as high as 3rd for a couple days) but the three teams ahead of me are dooming themselves and they don't even know it. I have a feeling things will work out like last year and I'll make a steady climb to the title in the closing weeks. The good news is I probably won't have to work my up from second to last like I did last year.

Texas State grades are in...

And the final results are:

• Discrete Math 1 - A
• Intro to Probability and Stats - A
• Human Factors - B
• Intro to Database Systems - B

That's about all I could have hoped for. I thought I bombed my Database final so that B is a relief, and my Human Factors professor was such a nutcase that I'm just happy to escape that class with a passing grade. So after one semester at Texas State I have a 3.5 GPA and am on the Dean's List. I'll take that any day considering what a struggle this semester was.

And the grades start to roll in...

So I got an A in both of my math classes. I figured I would since I knew I had an A in both going into the finals and the finals were take-home. Now I just have to wait until noon tomorrow to see how I did in my CS classes. I'm real interested to see my Database grade. I don't know when ACC will post their grades, but I don't care about my Geology class that much anyway. I know I passed, that's enough for me.

I guess Donna Summer was right...

Somehow I managed to survive this semester. My assessment may change once I see my grades on Friday (I don't think I did so hot on my Database final), but it's over and that is the truly important thing. Now I have a little over a month to spend with my family, Jack Bauer, "How Soccer Explains the World", and the new Legend of Zelda game. Things could be worse.

Oh, and the Pens smoked the Flyers 8-4 tonight, including 6 points for Sid. Like I said, things could be worse.

On the brighter side of life...

This weekend:

• I found out that Minute Maid makes Cherry Limeaid... GOOD TIMES!
• Liverpool beat Fulham 4-0!
• The Pens beat Atlanta in OT!

So what I'm getting at here is that the weekend wasn't a complete loss.

Progress is as progress does.

My Database term project is printing out right next to me as I type this. 84 pages of crap! Okay, 2/3 of it is pretty decent, but I'm not too thrilled with how things went down the stretch. My database definitely would have been a lot better if he had let me do it the way I originally wanted. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Speaking of tomorrow... I have a Geology test that I have yet to study for (what do you think the hour before class is for?) and my Database final that I have yet to study for (what do you think the 90 minutes before class are for?) So yeah, tomorrow can't get here fast enough is what I'm saying. On the bright side, after tomorrow all I have left to do is a Geology lab quiz (assuming I decline to take the optional final) and I'm done.

This semester has been a bear for me. I hit the wall around the end of October and it has been a struggle ever since. I guess this is my "Welcome to upper division" semester. At least I've learned some valuable lessons to take forward with me. The good news is that in about 24 hours I being what amounts to a little over a month of school-free livin'! Let's see if I can make it that long...

**UPDATE** The black ink cartridge in our printer may or may not make it to page 84. Plus the e-mails I have to print out for the appendix.

Apparently I'm awesome and stuff...

So I had to give my presentation on my Human Factors project yesterday and my crackpot professor freaking loved it. He said he thought it was a legitimately marketable idea and everything. You excuse me if I don't start coming up with ways to start spending all the money I get for selling my idea to Wal-Mart, now gimme an A!!!!!

If you want you can check out my retarded masterpiece here. Just remember that I had to do it on Wal-Mart... it wasn't my choice I swear!!!!!!!

It's gonna be a long 8 days...

• 3 (possibly 4) Final exams
• 2 Term Project papers
• 1 Test
• 1 Lab quiz

Can't you just feel the holiday spirit in the air?

One for the road!

Stop the presses!!! The Reds finally won a Premiership match away from Anfield! And they did it in style too, topping Wigan 4-0. Craig Bellamy celebrated being cleared of beating women by scoring two quick goals and setting up Dirk Kuyt for a third. The win moved the Liverpool into a tie for third in points, but they are fifth on the table thanks to their meager +4 goal differential.

I'm not even going to mention the Pens right now. Like I said before, they have come back to earth. Let's just leave it at that. On the plus side, if voting ended today Crosby, Malkin, and Fleury would all be starting in the All-Star game. And yes I have had something to do with that thank you very much. Now if you don't mind I'm off to go vote again... write in Gonchar!!!

The Grandaddy of all posts...

I know I haven't been posting much lately, so let's get up to speed.

• Thanksgiving came and went (see video below)...
• The Penguins have come back to Earth. Sid has missed the last 3 games with a groin problem, but they are managing to pick up some points that they wouldn't have last year. I think with a good trade or two the playoffs are not out of the question this year.
• Liverpool won their Champions League group but are stuck in 9th in the Premiership. They continue to dominate at Anfield and suck on the road. At least Stevie G. picked up his first Premiership goal of the year on Saturday.
• I have roughly 3 weeks left of school this semester. That amounts to two big projects, two (possibly three) finals, a test, a quiz, and who knows how much other random crap. I hit the wall on school about three weeks ago and am really just wanting this semester to end.
• UT stunk up all of Central Texas on Friday against A&M. I won't say much more other than the fact that nobody beat the crap out of the guy who nailed Colt was just one more reason why football can't touch hockey.
• I locked up first place in my fantasy football league for the regular season this week. I'll now have a first round bye in the playoffs and then hopefully defend my title. Since I have announced my retirement from this league I see winning out as the only way to finish.

I think that just about covers it. Hopefully I'll start posting with more regularity again...

Thanksgiving aftermath!

Li'l Lanny doing his thing! And then Ainsley being Ainsley...

It's time for Longhorns vs. Aggies!

And boy is this guy ready:

The choices we make...

What I should have done last night:
Work on one of my term projects.

What I did do last night:
Power through the last 4 episodes of 24 season 2.

Oh well, life will go on...

I guess it's the thought that counts?

So Texas State is having Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week next week. One of the activities is an overnight/sleepover on the quad to help expose students to the harsh realities of being homeless. While I appreciate the sentiment, it's hard to get too jazzed up when they close the announcement with "don't forget to bring your sleeping bag and dress warm." Like I said, at least our heart is in the right place...

Great day, pricey but great!

Purchases made today:

• 2 tickets to the Dallas Stars January 26th game versus, you guessed it, your Pittsburgh Penguins!!! $12 each plus service charges.
• Seasons 2, 3, and 4 of 24 for $25 each. Nice! It's Jack Bauer time once again at Casa de Yarbrough!!!

2 points and a piece of history...

So I should have written about this a couple of days ago, but I have about as much free time as Drew Bledsoe has mobility. So deal with it. The Pens beat the Kings 4-3 in overtime Wednesday night to improve to 4-0 on the road in this young season. Evgeni Malkin scored the OT goal, but it was his goal in the 1st period that made all the noise. When he scored his first goal of the game Malkin became the first NHL player in 89 years (or since the NHL's inaugural season for those counting) to score a goal in each of his first 6 games. Malkin is just amazing. It's scary to think how good the Pens get once he and Sid can talk. Good times ahead!

A week in the life...

Some noteworthy things happened this week...

• I started my new position at work as Project Coordinator. It's nice to be involved with processes and being able to help make things within the department run smoother.
• I registered for Spring classes at Texas State. An interesting byproduct of this process was that as I went through my degree audit I came to the conclusion that I have significantly fewer classes left than I thought. I may even be able to graduate next Fall instead of Spring '08. Stay tuned for more details...
  

Every time I try to get out...

So I told myself I was going to stop writing about the Penguins as much and more about myself, which was the point of doing this in the first place. And then the Penguins went and beat Philly 8-2 last night. Man I am in love with this team! Sidney had his first career hat trick and Evgeni scored to put him at a goal in each of his first 5 career games. Marc-Andre Fleury is playing out of his mind right now too. Of course it helps that the Flyers suck, which naturally delights me to no end.

The good times don't end there... Liverpool have gotten their act back together as well. After beating Reading 4-3 in the Carling Cup on Wednesday, they followed up with a 3-1 win over previously unbeaten Aston Villa in what was universally described as their best effort of the season. Let's hope the Reds can keep it rollin'!

Jar Barf

For your viewing pleasure!

How can you not love this guy?

Apparently Evgeni Malkin is an even better person than he is a hockey player (if that's possible). He paid for a 6 year-old girl's surgery so that she could get a prosthetic arm. Read the whole story here.

Midterm report:

• Discrete Math - 93/100
• Probability and Stats - 94/100
• Intro to Database - 81/100

I did pretty much how I figured on the two math tests. On the database one, I nailed all the "hard" stuff but slipped up on the multiple choice. Just need to take a little more time next time.

Malkin's Amazing Goal against Martin Brodeur

Watching this will never get old...

Words can't do this goal justice. Just sit back and enjoy... let's go Pens!

They're at it again!

The Penguins rolled the Devils 4-2 at home tonight on the way to their third straight win. The Pens got goals from Ekman, Staal, Crosby, and (who else) Evgeni Malkin. Malkin's goal was the best goal I have seen in years. He took a beautiful long range pass from Sid, cut on a dime to split the D, and then turned Martin Brodeur inside-out with a gorgeous backhand move. I can't wait until that goal is up on YouTube so I can watch it about 50 times in a row. If the boys keep this up I may have to accelerate my Stanley Cup prediction by a season or two. It's good times for Pens fans!

***UPDATE*** I've watched the Malkin goal 4 or 5 more times already and it just gets more amazing each time. 4 goals in 4 games... the future is now!

Gameday!!!

So very few things in life seem to soothe Landon the way watching college football does. What can I say... he's a native Texan! Here's the bottom line from yesterday:

- The Longhorns beat Nebraska. This was no doubt due to the positive mojo Landon was sending them. If he could kick field goals we could probably get him a scholarship right now.

- The Penguins won again! They took care of Columbus 5-3. Malkin had the game-winner (that's 3 goals in 3 games if yer counting), and 18 year-old sensation Jordan Staal chipped in a pair of shorthanded goals (all 3 of his goals have been a man down) including a penalty shot that hit the post and then went in off the goalie.

Now if Liverpool can just pull out a huge win against Manchester United today the weekend will have been a success. I wouldn't mind my fantasy football team(s) winning too, but at this point I'd rather have the 3 points for the Reds.

New game alert!!

I came into a little money (you know who you are) so I decided to pick up a new game. Winning Eleven was starting to wear on me so I decided to take on last chance on EA and bought FIFA '07. So far I am very pleased with it. It is definitely the best FIFA game I have played in a very long time. I'm just at the point though where giving EA money just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I'll get over it though.

Midterm week has come and gone.

I had both of my math midterms this evening. They were both pretty easy. I was a little worried about the Probability and Stats one, but it ended up being pretty managable. Now I get to put my focus back on my two term projects. Yipee...

That's what I'm talking about!

The Penguins just beat the Islanders in OT compliments of a Sergei Gonchar one timer. How do I know you ask? Well, I actually got to watch most of the game. Yahoo is showing the games the Vs. (formerly OLN) is broadcasting so I get to watch a little hockey every now and again now. The Penguin power play was the big story as it contributed 3 goals including the OT winner.

This game was also a huge boost for my fantasy hockey team as I picked up a win, 3 goals (2 on the PP), and 6 assists (5 on the PP). Those 7 power play points are going to come in real handy methinks. Hopefully that will be enough to get my team out of last place. Oh, and for those of you who are counting... Malkin has 3 points in his first 2 games. Sidney chipped in 3 more assists tonight as well.

Evgeni Malkin's First NHL Goal

It wasn't pretty, but it still counts.

And so it begins...

Evgeni Malkin finally played his first real game for the Penguins tonight. He scored his first ever goal on a Mark Recchi rebound, but sadly the Pens lost to the Devils 2-1. Everything I have read so far says that Evgeni played great. There was even an article on the web yesterday with Sidney and Recchi comparing him to Mario. Sergei Gonchar resisted the urge to come out and say that he is better than Alexander Ovechkin (we all know it) and instead said Ovechkin is a Pavel Bure type while Malkin is more along the lines of a Sergei Fedorov. Works for me, Sergei managed to pick up a few rings for his trouble.

***Update***
Apparently Evgeni also broke the glass with a slapshot last night. Like I said, this guy does it all!

It's not me, it's you...

So I had my Intro to Databases midterm last night. It was a lot easier than I expected based on what I had heard about my professor from other people. He also gave us back our second term project papers. He wrote that I needed to see him "ASAP" to go over serious problems with my project. I met with him after finishing the test and we determined the following:

- He knows nothing about golf. This is a problem since my project (a project that he wrote himself) is for a fictional golf course. So since he knows next to nothing about the subject he came to the conclusion that someof my naming was wrong when in fact I was using very common golf terms.

- If you don't do something the way he did it then it is wrong. After some explanation on my part he finally came to realize that what I had done not only worked, but actually worked better. I guess the end result is the important thing but c'mon...

- If you are going to sound the alarms on somebody's huge project, you should probably look at the entire thing. My diagram was broken up into 2 pages and he only bothered to look at the first page. Three cheers for thoroughness!!

Veto that suckas!!!

My 48th post could not be a happier one. So after much kicking and screaming I finally forced my big fantasy football trade through last week. So with new QB Carson Palmer in tow I "took the field" against Mike Ferguson and his team that is basically my team from last season (champs woot woot!) eager to erase memories of my poor performance from last week. And thanks in large part to huge games from Tory Holt and Roy Williams I blew Fergie away 152-102 (give or take the decimals). That pushes my record to 4-2 and I should be back in 2nd place tomorrow.

Other notes:
- I pulled off the RB for WR trade I had been hinting at since I got Carson. I traded Joseph Addai for Reggie Williams. Another big win for me. I love how you can take advantage of crappy teams if you draft well.
- By starting Carson Palmer this week I have now played 5 different QB's in 6 weeks. That will increase again next week when I play Matt Leinart.
- I finally get my shot at the first place team next week. I have been the highest scorer in 3 of the last 4 weeks and my confidence is high. It should be fun, it's just too bad I have to play him the week I'm without Holt and Jackson. I can still take him though.

Look what I can do!

So I got a gadget a few weeks ago to allow me to capture video on our PC. It also lets me hook a console up to the PC. So I can now play my X-Box on my PC and record it, as you have just seen.

I forgot to update...

I got an 83 on my GEOL test. Geology savant indeed!

It's good to be the King!

It must be nice to be 19 and one of the best in the world at what you do. Sidney Crosby capped off a 4 point night by scoring the game winner against the Rangers with 3.3 seconds left. Sid's goal and three assists helped propel the Pens to their second win in three games on the young season. The new Pen dynasty may still be a couple years away, but that doesn't mean we can't win a few games in the meantime. I've said it before and I'll say it again... I haven't been this excited about the Pens in a loooooong time.

Also, fellow teen sensations Jordan Staal and Kristopher Letang both scored their first career NHL goals. Staal scored on an awesome shorthanded breakaway and Letang scored a power play goal with a wicked wrister to the top right corner.

Merry Columbus Day... here's your test!

So I had a Geology test this morning. I thought it was going to be unbearably hard based on the way my Prof. is, but it turned out to be not all that bad. I'm predicting a low to mid B for my grade. Not too bad considering I studied for maybe 2 hours total (thank you very much Intro to Databases). I dunno, maybe I'm just a Geology savant. Either way, I'm still not convinced it's a science.

Well I'll be...

So it turns out that the think tank that is my fantasy league decided that my trade was unfair and vetoed it. I'm split on whether or not to even sitck it out for the rest of the season. More than likely I'll drop all the players on my team that I possibly can and then laugh as the league descends even further into chaos. Part of me wants to stick it out just to beat them all, but I don't know that it is worth the trouble.

Now that's more like it!

I managed to get in on the lopsided trade fad last night. It took some little haggling and a couple late night phone calls but I now have a legit QB and it really didn't cost me much. I gave up Mark Brunell (who I grabbed as a free agent earlier this week) and Braylon Edwards (who I didn't want to trade, but you can't make an omlette without cracking a few eggs). In return I got Carson Palmer (stud QB and one of the keys to last year's championship) and Willie Parker. Getting Palmer gives me a must-start QB who won't be facing a bye in the future, so that allowed me to drop Matt Leinart to grab Doug Gabriel. This was key since moving Braylon left me with only 3 WR's. At some point I'll probably try to move one of my RB's to get another quality WR. I also grabbed the Atlanta DEF off of waivers (I was saving my high waiver priority for a QB if one came along, but I've got Carson now). I have to say though, I am very happy with my roster right now. This trade really got me back in the game. Barring injuries my team is going to be pretty tough to beat.

Not a bad way to start the season...

Here's a breakdown of how the day went for the Penguins:

- The team was sold to some rich Canadian who may or may not ultimately try to move the team to Hamilton (that's in Ontario kiddies).

- Mario's number 66 was raised to the rafters for what seems like the fifth or sixth time.

- The kids on the ice spanked the Flyers 4-0 in front of the home crowd. Sidney had a goal and an assist and Marc-Andre had 40 saves for the shutout. If they can get goaltending like that from Fleury on a semi-consistent basis this may be a very good year for the Pens.

Work it Crouchy!!!

Why yes, now that you mention it I did just buy a Peter Crouch jersey on ebay.

Fantasy Update: Finally no more baseball!

- Fantasy Baseball: Kevin and I tied in the two week championship. Yahoo gave him the title based on what I consider a very shady tiebreaker based on what I've experienced in other leagues. As far as I'm concerned I finished in 1st and 3rd with my two teams.

- Fantasy Football: e = B2L pulled out a nice win thanks to my running backs starting to produce. Brett Favre and the Seahawks D almost blew it for me, but a win is a win. I am now in 2nd place overall and lead the league in total points scored so far. This is pretty much where I was at the same point last year. The only difference is that everyone is gunning for me this year.

I also pulled off my first (and most likely last) trade today. I shipped out DeShaun Foster (something I had been trying to do for a couple weeks) and picked up Terry Glenn. This trade brings me another weapon at WR in exchange for a guy I was never going to play barring injuries. The trade also fixes a big bye week fiasco I had looming. I also dropped Derrick Mason and picked up Mark Brunell. Brunell isn't a guy I would normally target, but he goes against the Titans on Favre's bye week so that will be a nice boost there.

Also, the rest of my league continues to pull of stupid trades at an alarming rate. There are a couple guys who just keep loading up on studs because a couple morons do the most inexplicably stupid things. I don't want to rant on this any more, but at this rate it may be hard to defend my title. There are a couple very stacked teams out there now. At least I'm smarter than the rest of them at this stuff, so I've got that going for me...

I know it's really just a piece of paper, but...

Just consider this one hurdle (of several) cleared. I know an AS isn't the grandest accomplishment in the world, but after all I went through to get mine I think I should be allowed to strut about it for a second or two. Okay, back to work...

Fantasy Update: A long time coming...

Sorry for the delay, I know you all(?) have been waiting anxiously for this...

- Fantasy Football: For the first time this season both of my teams won, including a 145.60-82.65 beating handed out by e = B2L (temporarily named The Man in Black) on the guy I beat in the finals last year. It was the first week where both of my teams won, and also the first week where my draft strategy for e = B2L really paid off.

- Fantasy Baseball: Kevin and I are currently tied at 7 for the championship. I have called in the old pick up every starting pitcher the last couple of days strategy in the hopes of winning Wins, ERA, and WHIP. Cross yer fingers... Oh, and I'm killing the Gadiantons in the battle for 3rd.

This is the kind of insight $100 buys you these days...

A direct quote from my Discreet Math textbook:
"A set is said to be infinite if it is not finite."

I'll be sure to keep that little chestnut in mind at all times.

Fantasy Update: week of 9/18

Fantasy Football:

e = B2L squeaked out a huge victory winning by 0.2 points, 108.55-108.35. Welcome to the world of high stakes fantasy football, where every yard counts!! The Lone Star Losers lost. Both teams are now 1-1.

Fantasy Baseball:

Lucky in Lose! made an epic Sunday comeback to overtake the Flipper Babies and move on to the 2-week final. Hopefully my teams will come through and I'll take 1st and 3rd.

Quick Hits:

There are a lot of things I had been meaning to post this week and never did, so I'm gonna do one mega-post to make up for it.

- I'm 1-1 after one week of fantasy football.

- I have unofficially secured a nice promotion at work already. It won't take effect until a couple other positions get filled. But I will soon be the Project Coordinator for the records department at ACC. And yes that does come with a nice raise!

- For my Human Factors class I have to make a website that showers my local Walmart with praise and admiration... shoot me now.

- My math professor rocks!

- Some of the people in my main fantasy football league are retards.

- I saw a guy at work today with a happenin' Hitler moustache.

- I am definitely no longer a hardcore gamer. And yet life goes on...

Fantasy Baseball Playoff Update

Lucky in Lose! ended up taking Eric and his G-Men (Steroid Man included) out behind the woodshed for a nice beating. Ryan Howard refuses to let the Losers live up to their name. Next up for Lucky in Lose! is the Flipper Babies, the #1 seed and my other team. I'm kind of disappointed... while this means I'm guaranteed to have one team in the final, I wanted a chance to get them both in. Oh well, looks like I'll have to settle for 1st and 3rd.

Penguins 2006 - 2007 Preview

I had to post something uplifting after the way today worked out from a sporting point of view. This season is gonna be fun for the Pens. I haven't been this excited about the Pens in a long time.

Mama said there'd be days like this...

- Liverpool lost to Everton 3-0
- UT lost to Ohio State 24-7
- I haven't checked yet, but based on how things are going everyone on my active fantasy team probably tanked tonight.

The worst part of it all was probably having to listen to the crappy announcers doing the Texas game. Apparently some guy named Vince Young used to play for them. I guess, because they wouldn't shut up about him. That guy musta been something. At one point they were even making fun of each other for being idiots. Quality TV if I may say.

Signed, sealed, and delivered!

Penguins fans got the news we had all been waiting for today... the Pens officially signed Evgeni Malkin. He flew into town last night and had dinner with Mario, and then had an informal skate with Sidney this morning. I can't wait to see this guy play! The Penguins are quietly putting together one of the most talented and exciting teams in the league. Shero has added a nice touch of toughness to the roster too. I feel safe in predicting that the Pens will be legit Cup contenders in 3 years. Hopefully they can trade Mark Recchi again this year for something decent (although word is that he patched things up with Sid.)

Fantasy Baseball: Regular Season Results

I managed to squeeze back into first in the final week (I've had a habit of that lately) as Kevin stumbled down the stretch. The final regular season standings are as follows (my teams in italics):

1) Flipper Babies
2) captains of industry
3) Golden State
4) Lucky in Lose!
5) The G-Men
6) John's Lame Team
7) sweat sox
8) pwned

And the two lessons we learned are... 1) Even when given the best team by far out of the draft, my dad (sweat sox) will still blow it big time, and 2) Dave (pwned) proved once again to play with your head and not your heart. If he ever plays again I doubt he'll compose a team of all Astros.

R.I.P. Steve Irwin

From the almost as predictable as it is sad department, Steve Irwin, a.k.a. The Crocodile Hunter, died this morning while filming underwater in Australia. While filming for a show called "Ocean's Deadliest" he was stung in the heart by a stingray and died shortly after. Apparently stingray "attacks" are rarely fatal, but in this case the barb struck Irwin in the chest, underneath the ribcage, and pierced his heart. His crew applied CPR but were unable to save him.

We watched the tape of his "Most Dangerous Adventures" this evening and it was a little surreal. Sitting there watching him surrounded by giant Tiger Sharks in a topless cage and chasing giant Cobras into trees it was hard to not wonder how he lived as long as he did. Steve will be missed for sure. On the bright side, snakes of the world can sleep easier knowing there is one less dude coming to poke them with sticks.

Get your head up...

Hockey season is just one short month away!!!

Say hello to the Godzillatron...

With college football season starting in full today, the defending champion Texas Longhorns (that will never stop sounding awesome) finally got to unveil there new $8 million investment to a paying crowd. Dubbed the "Godzillatron", it is the largest HD screen in America and 2nd largest in the world behind one in Japan. Apparently the thing ways a ton and needed some hardcore supports just to keep it up. Fan reaction was nothing but positive from the Longhorn faithful. Of course everything is going to seem great while you're killing North Texas by 40+ points. It'll be interesting to see if ABC makes a big deal out of the Godzillatron during the Ohio State game next week. By the way, the Horns will win by at least two TD's.

In related news... word out of College Station is that Aggie fans have duct taped every TV in town together to form what they are calling the "Mothratron". The better to see the non-bowl eligible season on I guess...

Atta boy!

Landon and I spent a nice, calm 30-45 minutes today just laying on the floor watching college football. The girls were all at a birthday party so it left the two of us with some time for some quality male bonding. At this rate Landon's first words may be "That was a horrible call ref!"

Let the other title defense begin...

Had the draft for my fantasy football league that I especially care about last night. My team is as follows (It was an auction draft, so the dollar amount by the player is what I paid for them.):

e = B2L

QB- Drew Brees $2
RB- Ronnie Brown $25
RB- Steven Jackson $22
WR- Tory Holt $20
WR- Roy Williams $13
WR- Derrick Mason $9
K- Jay Feely $1
DEF- Seattle $1
Bench- Braylon Edwards $1
Bench- Joseph Addai $1
Bench- DeShaun Foster $1
Bench- Philip Rivers $4 (I had $4 left and couldn't be outbid at this point so I just spent it all. In reality I would have gotten Rivers for $1)

So that is my team. I was pretty happy with the way things went down. I went in with the plan to spend about $80 of my $100 on a top RB (preferably Steven Jackson) and 3 good WR's (really wanted Holt and Williams). I managed to execute my plan pretty well and walk away with an extra top 10 RB. I may look to upgrade Edwards from the free agent list and I'll be keeping an eye on Chris Simms as a possible upgrade at QB, but otherwise I'm very satisfied with my team.