Happy Birthday, T! (and Week 6 football)

Happy Birthday,Son

You are Simply the Best
XX & OO
Love you,

Dad

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A mixed bag of results in what was a very fun football day on Saturday.

BYU -30 @ Utah State
BYU 34, Utah State 14
“there you go again with the big point spread” Uh-huh. I was doing fine, the Mormons were putting a major beat down on the other Mormons (yeah, I know they're not actually, but I find it humorous, just like the notion that Jim McMahon played out there) for three quarters and then WHOA!!! they yanked back on the reins and settled, settled like Fosset's airplane settled when he took the close up of that mountain. ESPN put up a seaon-to-date graph that showed BYU beating the snot out of their opponents for 3 quarters and then taking Q4 off. They did it again on Friday night.
"L"
Penn State –14 @ Purdue
Penn State 20, Purdue 6
"currently ranked #6", "may have the best athletes of any Big 10 team". Oh what a crock! Penn State had 20-0 lead, I had a smile on my face and then blah-blah-blah. A tie. Ugh. Oh, yeah, Purdue's kicker sucks, too.
"T"
Iowa @ Michigan State -6 1/2
Michigan State 16, Iowa 13
Sparty had 'em on the ropes throughout the game, could have delivered a knock out punch, didn't seem to have that club in their bag . Shee-hit. Hope they don't have it next week up at Evanston, either.
"L"
Indiana @ Minnesota-7
Minnesota 16, Indiana 7
I was in an elevated state of angst for a prolonged time period, having invested a material amount of STP Partners' venture capital in this contest. The game was a blatant display of crappy football skills. Despite the utter craptacularness, I was absolutely thrilled that Minnesota kicked a 38 yard field goal with 22 seconds left in the game to cover the spread. Minnesota is now 5-1 this year, 4-0 at home, and the logo on their helmets reminds me of MAD Magazine.
"W"
Auburn @ Vanderbilt +4
Vanderbilt 14, Auburn 13

"Vandy will be dandy and win this one outright." What a fun game this one was! Auburn marched down the field on their opening possession and Vandy's defense held them on four tries from inside the five yard line. The margin of victory for Vanderbilt ended up being a missed PAT.

"W"
Illinois +2 ½ @ Michigan
Illinois 45, Michigan 20
Whoa, Nellie, did the toast of Champaign ever put a major league whippin' on the A-maized and Feeling Blue from Ann Arbor! The Fighting Illini ran and passed and caught and tackled and it's always fun to watch the locals go up to the vaunted Big House and mistreat Michigan and send the 109,000 spectators home unhappy. 109,00. That would be 218,000...never mind. By the way, I would like to have a contest to put an actual logo on the Illinois helmets to replace that 70's rapid transit printing. BORRR--RING!
"W"

Oregon Ducks +16 ½@ USC
USC 44, Ducks 10

Yup. 2 weeks back I said always take the Trojans. Then they were beaten, and I thought they were coming back to the pack. They're not, and the Ducks are hurting.

"L"

I began the weekend with a very poor 15-21-1 record. This week's 3-3-1 looks pretty good in comparison, but the deficit remains. The record now: 18-24-2.

Veep Debate Viewpoint

Today I offer a bonus posting, courtesy of my daughter, reporting from her current duty station near the Neon Palace. Futile Football Felections follows...
Some thoughts on the VP debate:
1. Are there no Republicans that can correctly pronounce the word “nuclear?”
2. Joe Biden kind of looks like a fetus from the neck up. His forehead might be bigger than Wasilla. (It’s like Sputnik! It’s got its own solar system…HEED --PAPERRR--- NOOW!!!)
3. How disappointed was the moderator that she couldn’t get the Veep’s going on gay marriage? “You two agree….crap. On to foreign policy!”
4. Speaking of the moderator, did they scrape the bottom of the barrel with this one or what? She was more tongue-tied than Sarah Palin in an interview with Katie Couric.
5. But, by golly, Palin is adorable. Where can I get one to keep as a pet?
6. Thank you Joe Biden for saying “A maverick John McCain is not.” I didn’t catch his laundry list of reasons because he didn’t take a breath for a full minute and I think he went cross-eyed, but right on!
7. I’m not sure what is going on at the bottom of the screen but it appears to be an EKG of all male and female uncommitted Ohio voters. There’s no scale indicating what the lines mean but they’re pretty even and right down the middle, so I guess it means that the uncommitted Ohio voters don’t live in Cleveland.
8. I swear Palin twice said “Barack Obama and Senator O’Biden.” I swear.
9. I like how Palin dodges questions she can’t answer by talking about something unrelated and saying she just wants to talk honestly with Americans. I do feel like she is talking directly with me, and Sarah Palin, I will vote for you for Student Council President!
10. Joe Biden called Dick Cheney “the most dangerous vice president in America’s history” but failed to make a joke about how Chaney actually shot someone. Are those jokes not ok in debates?
11. The local “political expert” on the channel 13 news in Las Vegas said that he gave the win to Palin because “everyone thought she would totally screw up, and she didn’t.” (It must be fairly easy to be a political expert here.) That’s like saying Palin won because, well, at least she showed up! Who do I talk to in order to begin being judged by that standard?
12. Unrelated, but noteworthy: One game left til 101 years!!

Princess, you make yer Pop so proud: Acerbic political /entertainment commentary, a head shot at a talking head, and a body slam on the Wiggley Nation, all in one concise 12 step missive. Rockin'!

Week 6 Football Picks

Week 6 dawns with us looking up out of a big hole, a 15-21-1 record. I have to be perfect this week to back to .500 for the year.

Stop it...it could happen. Really, it could happen.


BYU -30 @ Utah State
You’re saying “there you go again with the big point spread” and you’re right. BYU is good, ranked #7 this week, really good. So we’re going to lay the points…and Utah State has been lit up really big a couple time already this season.

Penn State –14 @ Purdue
Joe Pa’s lads are flyin’ high this year, currently ranked #6, one of the two remaining unblemished Big 10 records. Shaun King said on ESPN last week that Penn State may have the best athletes of any Big 10 team, and they have been playing like it. Purdue, on the other hand, after a strong debut, has reverted to being predictable and rather uninspired. Penn State will cover.

Iowa @ Michigan State -6 1/2
Iowa has attracted enough money to push the line down 3 points. That’s a lot of money. If the Hawkeyes big running back Shonn Greene is playing, he can be the difference maker. On the other hand, Michigan State's big wheels is Javon Ringer, another outstanding running back. I think the home team squeaks out a cover.

Indiana @ Minnesota-7
Minnesota is 4-1 this year, 3-0 at home. They lost 34-21 last week at Ohio State. Indiana lost a track meet 42-29 to Michigan state. They’re going to the Metrodome, and it looks like Go Gophers. Minnesota by 2 TD’s.

Auburn @ Vanderbilt +4
Auburn cost us money last week, and Vanderbilt is seeking a 5-0 start and playing at home. Early money has been headed to Auburn, but as before, Vandy will be dandy and win this one outright.

Illinois +2 ½ @ Michigan
Michigan came back from the dead last week to win against Wisconsin. Illinois came back from a strong start to snag a loss last week at Penn State. I think Michigan used up their bullet last week and Coach Zook will have set the Illini’s backside afire. Illinois straight up.

Oregon Ducks +16 ½@ USC
I think that the Trojans are going to win the game, but the Ducks will push them all the way. Take the points here.

Quit laughing. We could be perfect this week.

Million Dollar Quartet

There's a new show that just opened at the Goodman Theatre called Million Dollar Quartet. The tag line is "Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis played together for the first and only time".

Million Dollar Quartet looks like fun at first glance, but it got me thinking. Nasty ‘ol me, first thought is “making money off a bunch of dead guys”, except for Jerry Lee Lewis, who ain’t gone yet. I then wondered about the performers who play these roles night after night. Do they lose themselves in the stage persona? Or is it a job, like any job, where you do it and then go back to what’s real? For example, do the kids who are the Jersey Boys on stage get lost in a time warp?

The website for MDQ lists the songs that are in the show. There are very familiar standards, not too many favorites. Still, fun.

Then comes the idea of supergroups. It’s kind of like the US Olympic basketball team (there’s still only one ball, who gets it?), or the end of the Grammy Awards, where a few dozen people pile on stage and play and sing together and the result is an amalgam of sound in which the sum is far less than the total of the parts. Kind of like a big rock ‘n roll glee club that didn’t rehearse. And really, should Kid Rock and Celine Dion ever, ever be paired up?

Some supergroups worked, like the Traveling Wilburys: Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne. Jeff Lynne, by the way, was from ELO, I had to look that up. Their album was excellent. I am of the opinion that Roy Orbison was one of the greatest talents ever, so it’s like the other four couldn’t screw it up with Roy in there. Next time you're at Best Buy treat yourself to Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits and listen to it real loud. The guy was incredible...but I am digressing, again. Back to the Million Dollar Quartet.

Let me qualify: I'm not reviewing a show that I haven't seen. I'm sure the guys who portray the MDQ are talented and hard working and put on a fine performance. I'm just not giddy about the concept.

Johnny Cash did pretty well when he teamed with Kris Kristofferson, Waylon and Merle—the Highwaymen. Their collaboration was unique and it worked; everybody had an opportunity to shine and there was a synergistic blend of talent.

Another digression: Johnny Cash’s best work ever was, in my opinion, the final album, one that my daughter gave me. I play it now and then, always at home, it’s not car music, and I get chills every time. On that album, he is absolutely alone.

Elvis…an individual performer, maybe the greatest individual performer ever (or maybe not), who should only be in the spotlight alone. Why would you want one of the megastars of the world as a background singer? It's like giving the Pips get their own tour with Gladys singing background.

Carl Perkins had his moment; his legend stands to gain the most from Million Dollar Quartet. I wonder how many times he crooned “…blue blue, blue suede shoes…blue blue, blue suede shoes…” and really felt protective of his footgear. And are blue suede shoes relevant in a Nike world?

Jerry Lee Lewis, hell, I never could stand Jerry Lee Lewis. Crazy ass hillbilly who married his 14 year old cousin. If I never again hear “Whole Lotta Shakin’”, that’s OK by me.

Tickets for MDQ are about fifty bucks a pop, so you won't go broke trying it out. For fifty bucks x 2 (you wouldn't go alone), you can buy the Roy Orbison CD, the Johnny Cash CD and the Frankie Jersey Boy's hits CD and still have cash left to go see some current talent at a place like Fitzgerald's in Berwyn.

Or not.

Chicago, Stress Champion

I like lists. They provide a great platform for discussion and disagreement. When you see how the lists are compiled, the discussions can become downright stressful. With that having been said, here is Forbes Magazine's list of America's 10 Most Stressful Cities, the list the gave Chicago a coveted championship.
10. Philadelphia
Forbes says its expensive to live there and very densely populated. Duh. That's city life. W.C. Fields' epitaph is "Better Dead Than in Philadelphia". I think Philly is like New York without the charisma. This is definitely a top 10'er, Philly.

9. Providence, R.I.
Expensive and lots of unemployed people, says Forbes. It's Rhode Island, I think the real issue is that they're all worried about being small.

8. Salt Lake City
I got nothin'. It UTAH, what do they have to stress about?

7. Cleveland
Fourth fewest sunny days per year. But they have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, that's good. The Drew Carey show took place in Cleveland, that was fun. That was then and this is now: Drew Carey's doing The Price Is Right (awful), the Indians suck (although they KO'd the White Sox) and Brady Quinn is still an understudy. Maybe it's the name...how about renaming it something desirable, like Orlando. Orlando, Ohio. Nevermind. Cleveland, you're screwed.

6. San Diego
One of the best places on the planet. Imagine having every day being climate controlled, sunny and warm, and the Pacific Ocean over by there. Play golf, play in the ocean, play play play. You think you've got stress in San Diego, call Cleveland.

5. San Francisco
A jewel of a city. Ever been on the Alcatraz tour? Awesome. Golden Gate? An icon. Great food, highly livable, a little run to wine coutry to the north, Big Sur to the south, and no snow when Buffalo is getting 19 feet per hour all winter. San Francisco. I like it.

4. Los Angeles
Forbes says it's expensive, has the worst air quality and gas costs a lot. It's also full of Angelinos, who are goofier than squat. There's East LA, ugh. On the other hand, there's the USC football team, the USC cheerleaders, the USC marching band. Hollywood. Maybe better skip Hollywood. Surrounding LA are great places to plany, like Manhattan Beach, Marina del Rey, Malibu. I still wouldn't want to live in LA. The freeways are the worst! Definitely a stressful place.

3. Detroit
Do they still burn everything on Halloween? This is absolutely a high stress town, but no, Devil's Night, um, burned out. They replaced it, no kidding, with Angel's Night, no kidding.

2. New York
Big, bold, brassy, NY is America. It gets on your nerves a little, but that's part of the character. Lousy pizza, regardless of what they tell you. I like New York. It's high energy. When the NY'ers start bragging, change the subject. They forget what they were bragging about and go with the new topic.
1. Chicago
Some of the good: theatre, sports, architecture, the lakefront parks, the food, neighborhood taverns, spring/summer/fall, the universities, the museums.

Some of the bad: the politicians, the winter, the expressways, the winter, the sports venues, the winter, the taxes and the public schools.

The city has been reborn over the last two generations. What the list sees as stress, is, like NYC, energy. Tap into it.

Or avoid the stress and just go visit when you need an energy fix.