Back and better than ever

I apologize for my self-imposed exile of the past 3 months. I've been trying to refocus and regroup for a busy winter. Sort of like a reverse hibernation. Who am I kidding? I've been too lazy to update my blog. Man, that says a lot. It's good to be back, though. So, without further ado...

1. The Patriots are good.

I mean, I knew that they were going be frontrunners after all the off-season garage sale pick-ups Belichick and the front office acquired, but sheesh...this is just ridiculous. 9-0, with a legitimate shot at 19-0, and Maddenesque numbers being put up by Tom Brady and Randy Moss. Spygate shmygate...I don't care how many video cameras you have pointed at the Jets' sideline, or how many microphones you have in the Browns' locker room, or how many web cams you have in the Cowboys' shower...you still have to read the coverage and you still have to be able to execute. Plain and simple. Maybe the "cheating" gives them a slight advantage, but the Pats are still annhilating almost every team they face. With Buffalo, the Jets, the Dolphins, and the Ravens coming up, the beat-downs should continue. Pittsburgh is playing some good football these days, and you never know which Eagles and Giants teams will show up, so we'll just have to wait and see how things unfold over the next 7 weeks.

2. The Blue Jackets are on the brink of being good.

It's very early in a very long season, but as of today the CBJ are 5th in the Western Conference, with a record of 8-5-3. While most teams in the NHL would be happy with that record, the Jackets, and their fans, have to be ecstatic. A friend of mine told me that the philosophy of Ken Hitchcock is to break the season down into 8 10-game mini-seasons. It keeps the team focused and striving for a .500 or better record in each 10-game stint. The Jackets went 6-3-1 in their first series, and are 2-2-2 in the current one. With 3 of their next 4 games taking place at Nationwide Arena, there is a good chance that their second series will finish not too far off the mark set by the first.

Pascal LeClaire has been, for the most part, sublime in goal. Coming into this season, he had 1 shutout in his brief NHL career. He has 5 so far this season. However, it's feast or famine for our favorite French-Canadian goalie, as he either throws a no-hitter or turns into, well, Pascal LeClaire.

Rick Nash has been scoring points by the bushel, which is exactly what he was born to do. It's finally nice to see him doing what he's done for Team Canada over the last 5 years...score big goals and carry his team to victory.

All that being said, I do realize that the CBJ have 66 games left this season, of which they could easily lose 50.


3. The Buckeyes pulled off a coup d'etat by ascending to the throne, and have now been summarily tossed into banishment by the public.

Was it smoke and mirrors that got Ohio State to 10-0? Were the Buckeyes looking ahead to their showdown with Michigan? Did Jim Tressel forget to put on his lucky sweater vest this past Saturday? It really doesn't matter what the answer may be, because the Buckeyes took themselves right out of the National Championship hunt by doing their best impersonation of a fish out of water against Illinois. At home, senior day, #1 in the nation, against an unranked team. If you're going to go down, you may as well go down hard. As George Costanza once said, "I really wanna leave my mark this time, you know? I wanna walk away from the Yankees with people saying 'Wow! Now that guy got canned!'"

Until next time, please take a moment to remember all our fallen soldiers on this Veterans' Day.

Beatlemania

Last night, my awesome daughter climbed a few more rungs on the ladder of coolness. She's 3 1/2, which you must keep in mind. She's the coolest person I've ever met, and her actions last evening made me beam with pride.

I'm channel surfing and came upon VH1 Classic, which is quickly becoming my favorite station. They were showing Backbeat, which is a rather cheesy dramatization of the early years of the Beatles. My daughter looked at me and said, "That's the Beatles." I was shocked. Awesome! I told her that it kind of was, but kind of wasn't. She said, "I want to watch the Beatles." I almost fell out of my chair. "Really?" I asked. "OK...I'll put on some Beatles." So, I walked over to the DVD collection and grabbed one of my many Beatles discs and popped it in. For the next hour, she rocked out to the Beatles, dancing and attempting to sing along. She's 3!! My 3 year old daughter is loving her some Beatles. I couldn't be more excited and proud.

To further drive the point home, those who know me know that I don't let anybody touch my Beatles shit...books, DVDs, CDs, LPs, toys, etc. I broke out of my shell and let her play with my Beatles action figures (yes...I own Beatles action figures). She had a blast. It was a real father-daughter moment that will forever be etched in my brain.

Gotta love kids.

Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog

It's been quite some time since I last posted anything. A lot has happened in the past month...the Cavs lost the NBA Finals in four games, Angel Cabrera won the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods became a father, Maria Sharapova was bumped early from Wimbledon (sob, sob), Harry Potter mania has swung into full effect, and my company has undergone a huge reorganization that has left many of us dizzy and lightheaded.

However, all of this has been overshadowed by the greatest spectacle on the planet, the championship to end all championships, the most amazing sporting event ever to take place...

The 2007 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Competition.

Now, let me tell you, any sporting event where one of the contenders to win blows chunk into his hands and then proceeds to swallow said chunk, is the ultimate in grace, composure, and skill. Unfortunately for 6-time defending champ, Kobayashi, he met his match when American Joey Chestnut (that can't be his real name, can it?) downed a record 66 hot dogs (and buns) in 12 minutes. For those of you who may be mathematically challenged, that's 5 and 1/2 hot dogs (and buns) per minute.

Now that is what I call winning a world championship and breaking a record in style. Barry Bonds? Meh. Roger Clemens? Na. Joey Chestnut is the story of the year.

And he didn't even need to barf to prove that to me.

See you soon.

Umm...yeah...my bad...

So, umm, hi there...I got that one wrong, huh? Well, here's my Game 2 prediction...

Yeah...I'm not making a Game 2 prediction, because, well, my ass can't cash these kinds of checks.

On a lighter, much more sarcastic and ass-cracking note, my lovely wife directed me to this stolen archive of Nick Saban's itinerary. Enjoy.

Go Cavs...

LeBron...buddy...hate to say it, but the spotlight is glowing extra bright this week. I have faith...

Predictionitis

It's 11:20 pm...21 1/2 hours prior to tip-off between the Cavs and Spurs.

For the record, I want to cash in on my good sports mojo savings account and declare that I'm boldly predicting that Cleveland will steal Game 1 late in the 4th quarter in San Antonio and get things started proper style.

That's just my two cents...but we shall see...

To be continued...

So it's official...

The Cavs have done it. According to certain segments of the sports media world, they pulled off the single greatest miracle in the history of sports, the most amazing, stunning, shock-the-world win EVER.

Or did they?

All the spinning tops (I'm looking in your direction Woody Paige and Stephen A. Smith, et. al.) proclaimed two weeks ago that the Pistons were destined to advance to the NBA Finals, yet again...most assuredly in four games. Did I believe the prophecies of these modern day sports soothsayers?

Nope.

I'm no Nostrodamus, but I pulled my good sports mojo out of my back pocket (see Patriots, Braves, Orangemen) and said that the Cavs would give Detroit all that they had. Did I think, realistically, that Cleveland would win the series...no...but, I knew that they were bringing back the same team as last year, with a 100% Larry Hughes (and a young stud named Daniel "Boobie" Gibson), and Detroit was without Ben "watch-my-afro-grow-during-this-Craig-Sager-interview" Wallace. I liked the Cavs chances to hang. Guess what? I was right, and then some.

The real test is upcoming...the Spurs have the advantage in almost every category. However, the fact of the matter is this...it's June, there are only two teams left, and the Cavs are still alive. Who'd have thunk it? I for one, would not. I've seen the promised land...and it is painted in wine and gold. Here's to a fun couple of weeks yet to come.

It was 40 years ago today...

Cheers to my all-time favorite band, my idols, The Beatles, on the 40th anniversary of their release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. We all know what a breakthrough, iconoclastic album it is, so there's really no need for a lot of hyperbole. In the music world, There was pre-Pepper and there's post-Pepper. It changed the landscape of music, fashion, culture, and style forever.

Sgt. Pepper still resonates today with the same jaw-dropping amazement that I'm sure was felt in 1967. I've listened to Pepper hundreds of times, and it's just as fresh today as the first time I heard it. To go from Please Please Me in 1962 to Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite five years later blows my mind! The musical evolution of The Beatles in such a short span reinforces the level of genius manifested in the four lads from Liverpool...the four coolest dudes to ever walk the planet, in my humble opinion.

Happy Birthday Sgt. Pepper, Billy Shears, Mr. Kite, and the rest of the swirling circus of characters!