The Notebook Meets Homeward Bound (Bring the Kleenex!)

When purchasing a ticket to go and see “Marley and Me” one has to ask, for what reason are they going to see it? It was because you saw the puppy dog with the red bow tied around its neck, right? Set aside the fact that Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston are the stars of this movie and at the heart of it all- you’re going to see the movie because the dog looked cute in the previews. The two main actors could have been nobodies and this still would be the number one film in America.  That being said, the question is: is it a good film or not? This is one of those movies that I shouldn’t say too much about, because it would give too much away. So hopefully the short review below will be enough for you to formulate an opinion.

            Owen Wilson, still a bit warm coming off the hot stove that was the much-publicized woes of his private life, plays John Grogan a young newspaper writer living in Florida. John’s your typical guy- handsome and young, just married but not yet looking to push the fast forward button on the VCR of his life just yet.

            Jennifer Aniston coming off woes at the box office (Rumor Has It, Friends with Money) as well as her very publicized private life plays Jennifer Grogan, John’s adorable and loving wife who just happens to also be a newspaper writer. Pause the movie for a second----these two seem like they’d be right for each other in real life!

            Wilson and Aniston are two fine actors who do good jobs playing their roles in “Marley and Me”. Although Owen Wilson may not even win an academy award, he gets the job done playing Grogan, who turns out to be just an ordinary guy. He's someone who likes beers and gadgets and somebody who doesn’t try too hard to do anything, but ends up surprising himself every time there’s success. Neither Aniston nor Wilson is absolutely amazing in the movie- but they do have some on screen chemistry that is a huge plus for a plot such as this.

            John Grogan’s friend Sebastian, played by Eric Dane (Grey’s Anatomy) is another newspaper writer who hasn’t quite given up his frat boy image. When Grogan relays to Sebastian that Jennifer might want children, and he might not be ready, Sebastian tells his friend to get her a puppy. The puppy in turn, should take away the need for a child for at least a few years. Grogan thinks this is a good idea and decides to surprise Jennifer for her birthday.

            They meet Marley for the first time at a farm with lots of other dogs. The woman who lives on the farm explains that the owners of Marley’s mother dropped her off, without even knowing she was pregnant. That’s a blessing for John and Jennifer who fall instantly in love with Marley from the moment they lay eyes upon him. The woman seemingly knows that Marley’s different from the rest of his litter right away when she sells the pup to the Grogans for less than all the other brothers and sisters, tempting John and Jen to name him, “Clearance Puppy.” Marley gets his real name when he and daddy John are riding in the car and Bob Marley pops on the radio. John at first tries out the name Bob to no avail. However, when he says “Marley” the dog’s ears perk up and it’s the name that sticks.           

            From that point forward, the movie just rolls. It’s a film that shows both the light and dark sides of being a pet owner. It’s a film that shows the light and dark sides of relationships and children. It’s a film that shows the light and dark sides of careers and trying to keep your career moving when family comes around. It is not a simple movie about a cute puppy. “Marley and Me” turns out to be sort of a two-hour epic about an everyday family. The viewer gets to follow this family from their very first wedding night and fall in love with them as they live their lives. There are so many scenes that just make you think, “that’s us” or “that’s me” or “that’s her” or “my dog is like that”.

            If you like dogs, you’ll like this movie. If you like relationships you’ll like this movie. If you’re a dog owner, you’ll like this movie. If you’re a dog owner in a relationship, (especially long term or even married,) bring the Kleenex. My tear ducts were working pretty much halfway through the film when the Grogans were trying to get pregnant. There is just so much here that reminds me of things going on in my own life, with my own relationship and my own dogs.

    “Marley and Me” will make you want to do two things when it’s over:

1)    Hug the person next to you and

2)    Hug your dog when you get home.

 

 

Let's Give Me Somethin' To Talk About...

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?
First, big props to ESPN for bringing back the old theme song for Monday night football. I haven’t watched MNF in a season or so, not since the Patriots played, and I don’t remember if I saw the beginning, but the last time I did see the MNF opening, I believe ESPN had opted for a computer generated street theme in which the street transformed into a football field and game. It was a breath of fresh air to see Hank Williams Jr. back in action.

"There's Hank Jr...Lookin' A Lot Like My Dad?"

So, Matt Cassel proved me wrong for one week. After his poor performance in the previous weeks, he’s still got some ‘splainin’ to do. I’ve seen this kid throw far too many passes into the dirt to completely believe he’s matured to the next level of NFL quarterbacks. I’m as big a Pats fan as the next guy- but come on, are we really going to let him do well in just one game before we hail him as the next King? I’m sticking to my guns on this one. Show me three straight good performances and talk to me then.

Saint Louis doesn’t exactly represent the crème de la crème of great defenses, or great teams for that matter, so I’m going to reassess my feelings of Cassel after the Indianapolis Colts game in two weeks. Regardless of how well or how poor the Colts are doing year in and year out, they match up well against the Patriots and the two teams go at it like old sparring partners

"Football Players Just Don't Look Good When They Smile."

I heard that Michael Vick is going to give a guilty plea for running an illegal dog fighting ring and possibly reduce his sentence. The Patriots have a real knack for bringing troubled players back down to earth (see: Corey Dillon and current team captain Randy Moss). So perhaps if he gets his sentence substantially reduced he can come in to help out the New England team by season’s end. I’m kidding of course. I would rather have a drunken, coked-up Daunte Culpepper. The only people who have been to prison that I ever liked or respected were Sean Connery from The Rock and Tim Robbins from The Shawshank Redemption.

I think Michael Vick would fit in best in Cleveland, playing for the Browns where they wear those dog masks. A nice ironic team would be a good fit for the troubled veteran quarterback.

"Comet from Full House Stands Up For Dogs Everywhere!"

As of today, it’s being reported that Tom Brady may be out for two full seasons and at least a few weeks into a third. Listening to radio station WEEI this morning and the Dennis and Callahan morning show, the talk show hosts cited an outside source that Brady’s injury mirrors that of lacrosse star’s elbow injury not too long ago. Apparently said lacrosse star had surgery to repair his elbow, the repairs became infected and another surgery was required.

That being said, if the injury is similar to Brady’s ACL then doctors will not operate on Brady until the infection subsides, which could take up to 12 months. After that year, the doctors would then operate to replace the ACL entirely and that would require more time for recovery. Tom Brady has acknowledged that he’s had more than one surgery on his knee. The source close, familiar with the injury says that it’s because of infection that Brady has had surgery on the ACL multiple times. If it is indeed the case and doctors cannot stop the infection, Brady could be sidelined from 2008 all the way through to 2010. It’s going to be tough to come back after being away from the game for two straight seasons.

Was I really kidding about Michael Vick?

He might be out of prison well before that!!

MLB: HOT STOVE REPORT

There are still rumors swirling that the Boston Red Sox are interested in Mark Teixeira. The journeyman third basemen is a superstar caliber player who’s wound up on three teams since the 2007 season. If this guy’s numbers are so good, and so many teams supposedly want him, than why do teams keep on trading him away? Texas would’ve been better with him this season. Just imagine their lineup with Michael Young, Milton Bradley, Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton and Teixeira. Beyond those five names, David Murphy batted like .400 when he wasn’t hurt and that’s the majority of your line up right there. Keeping those guys and going after some pitching, Texas would be a force to be reckoned with. Although, the pitchers need to be top notch because we saw what happened to the New York Yankees with a great line up and no pitching.

"Look Ma! I Got Me a Mickey Mantle Rookie Card! Tee Hee!!"

Anaheim is the best place for Teixeira. They can’t sign both him and K-Rod though so it’ll be interesting to see what they do in the coming weeks and months. Most outlets I’ve seen call for them to resign their record-breaking closer. I say if it’s going to be tons of cash to buy him back, why not let him go and get another guy that can gun people down in the late innings? Is it really that difficult to get a great closer? Sure the Red Sox proved that teams in the AL couldn’t have a closer-by-committee not so long ago, but Anaheim certainly has some young guns that might be able to handle the job. See: Jose Arredondo.

If Anaheim lets Teixeira fall through the cracks than of course all eyes will turn to the New York Yankees. The Yankees will certainly not pick up Jason Giambi’s option, which is $22 million. For those counting, that’s two million over the price on slugger Manny Ramirez’s head. Ramirez, as shotty as he was toward the Boston Red Sox is still a much better hitter than Giambi ever was or ever will be at this point in his career. The Yankees are known for making big splashes in the offseason i/e Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Jose Contreras, Roger Clemens and etc. So making a bid for a gold glove first baseman wouldn’t be a big surprise. They do need pitching, though they will get Chien-Ming Wang back at full health and perhaps their young guns will be another year older and wiser.

Beyond all of that, the Red Sox seem like the only team that doesn’t fit. They’ll have 2007 World Series MVP Mike Lowell returning at (hopefully) full health. Kevin Youkilis mans the bag at first base and David Ortiz is their power-hitting DH. There are talks the Red Sox might eat some of Lowell’s contract and include him in a trade but at his age and with his injury this season, is there a team that can use him? Atlanta comes to mind as one destination for Lowell. They’re most likely losing “Mr. Glass” Chipper Jones to the free agent market. Maybe we can cross our fingers and the Red Sox will get some sort of dream deal done that sends Lowell and a prospect to Atlanta for their young hitting catcher Brian McCann. Talk about a guy that can someday replace Captain ‘Tek!! McCann is second in the major leagues only Joe Mauer in the last two seasons in terms of catchers that provide a heavy dose of offense.

"The Future of The Red Sox? Not McCann! That's Crazy Talk- The Umpire Behind Him."

If and only if the Sox trade Lowell do I see this deal going down. The Red Sox could move Youk to the outfield, but whom do they lose? Drew’s not going anyplace with his $14 million a year contract. I think Bay is a bargain at the price he’s making and we’ve got centerfield locked away with Jacoby Ellsbury, assuming he’s not going to be traded. Plus, if you’re going to have a centerfielder it’s got to be a guy with speed. I don’t see Youkilis shagging fly balls in center at the Fens.

"Mike Lowell Always Makes Sure to Give Giant Baby Head-Man Madd Daps On His Way To The Dugout."

I mention Ellsbury being traded above, because I think the Sox might go after pitcher Jake Peavy. When all is said and done this may turn into either a pipe dream or perhaps a repeat of the Johan Santana saga, but we all saw how that turned out for the Sox as Jon Lester has possibly matured into one of the best, if not the best, left handed pitchers in the game. He was at least as good as Santana this season. San Diego has been a team that’s had some dealings with the Sox in the past and the general manager there is close with Theo Epstein. So out of any team in baseball right now, I think any possible deal with San Diego is an exciting one. The Padres want three players for Peavy: two prospects and a major league ready centerfielder. It’s almost like the Red Sox are having a wonderful dream and we all get to be a part of it! If the Sox have an abundance of anything right now it’s minor league talent, and of course Coco Crisp!!! Here’s my deal:

Sox Trade: Coco Crisp, Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden (Joe Thurston/Chris Carter)Padres Deal: Jake Peavy

"Maybe Soon Jake Peavy Can Hold the Balls of Boston Fans Everywhere."

Do we give up a lot? Sure- but think of it like this: Buchholz has had one good game with the Sox so far, his no-hitter. Michael Bowden we still have yet to see his full potential. If we can get away with keeping Bowden and trading either Thurston or Carter, what does it matter to us? Neither of those two will ever play for the Red Sox and we keep the guys we know are good: Lester and Masterson and we get rid of Coco Crisp! This would be a win, win, win situation because let’s face it, it was nice to have Coco off the bench this year but the guy can be silent for only so long. Sooner or later he’s going to start complaining that he’s not starting everyday, especially if it’s a contract year which would be this season if I’m not mistaken. I give him all my respect for not mouthing off this season as he rode the bench. Hey, without him we wouldn’t have made it to game seven against Tampa!!

The Boston Herald reported that the Sox would almost certainly pick up Wakefield’s $4 million dollar option for 2009. Wake ain’t done yet- and he’s an inning eating machine. So picture if you will, even for a moment, this pitching staff for 2009:

Josh Beckett
Jon Lester
Jake Peavy
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Tim Wakefield

Um…yikes!

And if the Red Sox can’t get Peavy, than an old friend is a free-agent this year, and apparently as reported by the Newark Star Ledger, Derek Lowe has the Boston Red Sox on the top of his list as teams he would play for in 2009.

That's all my ranting and raving for today! The above picture speaks for itself, which is why I don't really need to leave a caption making fun of it! A good movie hasn't come out in over a month so I have nothing to report new on that front. As always fans: stay tuned for more to come!

Celebrate Bad Times Come On!

“Ohhhh I’m in a glass cage of emotion!” my soul today is Ron Burgundy in that phone booth during the memorable scene from Anchorman in which Ron Burgundy’s dog, Baxter, has been kicked over a bridge by a pissed off biker dude.

The Red Sox season is over. I hurt.

The Patriots went 17-0 last year before losing the biggest, most important game in the Super Bowl and yet strangely, the loss last night to the Tampa Bay Rays hurts more. Let me explain it better with a list of reasons why:

Top Ten Reasons Why the Red Sox Losing to the Tampa Bay Rays Hurts More than the Patriots Losing to the New York Giants:

10) I hate the fact that the media is making the Tampa Bay Rays into a rivalry team.

09) I can’t stand Raymond---if mostly for my affection for Jerry Remy.

08) Where the heck did their fans come from? Wow a full stadium of Pink Hats!!

07) They deleted “Devil” from their names and it frigging WORKED. What can we delete from ours? Red?

06) Scott Kazmir. He just doesn’t do anything for me. He’s like the poor man’s Jon Lester. He’s had, what? Two or three seasons to be good? Nah- he’s just gotten worse so far.

05) The Tampa Bay Rays think they’re better than Coco Crisp- and now they can gloat even more.

04) Thank you Tampa Bay, for ruining Christopher Walken’s SNL cowbell clip for me.

03) I never really hated Tropicana Field, but I laughed when the Boston radio guys made fun of it. But after this series? Tropicana Field really does suck- with that stupid satin grass and those terrible bullpens.

02) The fact that they were the worst team last season? I’d rather lose to the Pirates or the Nationals.

01) Johnny Gomes. That guy. I’ll tell you. Talk about a jerk. Here’s the guy who waited until Coco Crisp was down, during that benches clearing brawl? He slides in and started wailing on Coco’s head after about four of his teammates are holding Crisp down. What a freakin’coward. Every time they showed him in the dugout with that stupid hoodie on I wanted to vomit. What was he even doing there anyway? Did that guy have an at-bat this season?

"TOOL"

The good thing about last night was that it brought me back. I wasn’t as into the playoffs in 2007 as I was in 2004. Last night I felt the passion again. Last night I was on the edge of my seat, barely able to sit still. Every single pitch counted and I never once felt confident. It’s been a long time since I yelled at the television as much as I did. Maybe it was because I didn’t surround myself with a lot of diehards in 2007. I mean, even my dad who said he could “die in peace” after 2004 slept through the playoffs ’07.

This year though, I knew every single one of my friends was waiting by their phones for the Sox to win and call each other yelling. When they lost, my phone didn’t ring once. I slept more soundly sure, but that is just telling you how depressed we all were. I still haven’t talked to a single one of my friends or my dad yet today. I talked to my mom, and I let her know I’m in mourning. But it’s not the same.

I can’t face the conversation with my friends yet. I’m sure my friend Ryan will call me by 8:00PM tonight to talk Sox, and to get himself pumped up for the Patriots game. Stephen I’m more worried about, he could be anywhere at this point and I wonder about his brother Nathan too. I feel like maybe my friend Nathan punched a hole in his television. I feel like Stephen just went for a long walk and hasn’t come home yet. Maybe I should call them just to make sure they’re all right.

…but I don’t want to talk about it yet.

All there is to look forward to now are the Celtics. Oh yea, and the Providence College/URI Basketball too. Even as devout a Pats fan as I am, the only way the Patriots are going to win another game this season is if Matt Cassel is on the bench. Until he proves to me that he can actually play the game, I refuse to believe the Patriots are any good at all. Their defense is exposed and their passing game reeks of bad garbage. Lawrence Maroney is a bigger bust than anything the Romans put out depicting the image of Caesar’s head and shoulders. “Big” Ben Watson is hurt more often than a hopeless romantic’s heart and that corner back they picked up sucks more than I used to on a fraggin’ ring pop.

"Green Machine"

I know that last paragraph has a lot of allusions to different things. But read through it all slowly and you’ll be fun.

More to come at a later time. I already have a headache thinking about tonight’s Patriots game. GO PATS! As usual…I’ll probably be in bed at my regular time though.

"Duuuuuurh??"

Soxtober

Oh.

By the by.

RED SOX WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scenes like these never get old for the die hard fan in all of us. My dad may've let a few tears come down when the Sox won it all in 2004- but I still get a bit misty eyed every time those dirt dawgs pile on top of one another.

Aside from the Patriots or Celtics- the Red Sox do something to me. The game of baseball does something to me. The game itself interests me more than any other sport. Sure the other sports are more exciting in a literal sense- but the chess match of baseball is so much more intricate. These are not just two teams playing against one another pounding away- one team scores and then the other team scores. No- there's so much more strategy to baseball. It's the pitcher versus the batter, the pitcher and catcher, the pitcher versus the man on first, the outfielder with the canon for an arm gunning down a guy at the plate.

And in the post season it all has to be perfect. What did the Angels pride themselves in this year? Small ball mixed with great defense. What failed the Angels in the post season? Small ball and defense.

For the Sox- they play in a playoff atmosphere everyday. Boston is the place where fans like you for who you are one day- and then hate you because you haven't produced the next. The players are under constant scrutiny and constant stress. The post season? Easy when you've already been doing it all year long.

The Angels? The Devil Rays who only sell out when the Yankees and Sox are in town? They have nothing. They only play intensity one month out of the year. The Red Sox- and even the Yankees- play in that same intensity starting in May and ending for the most part in October.

So bring it on Rays! Boo Yahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Doesn't feel a little good to know that the Tampa Bay Rays are going to sell out and have about 80% of the people there cheering for the Red Sox? And, if the Rays lose? The fans they do have will never believe in them again because they're all "pink hats" now that the team is winning!

Oh so much pressure...you know who eats pressure for breakfast?

Yoooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't be afraid of Tampa Bay just because they beat a Chicago White Sox team that has the chemical make up of a Boston Red Sox team circa 1995-2001. The problem with the White Sox is that they tried to hard to mix veterans with youngsters. Their veterans are too old (Thome and Griffey?) and their youngsters weren't experienced enough (Ramirez) to carry them through. The Tampa Bay Rays are working on adreniline. I expect this to be a powerful series but the caffine rush for these young Rays will wear off like it does for me every day at 4PM.

I say: Red Sox in 6 Games. I gotta give the Rays some credit.

Also- I say pitch Wakefield in this series! His one and only blunder I can remember in Red Sox post season history is that homer to Aaron Boone in 2003. Other than that he's been brilliant in post season play- and isn't he like 100-0 lifetime at Tropicana field? I won't be surprised if Wakefield doesn't pitch, but it would be fun to see him dominate.

My Weekend Happenings

MOVIES:

My father and I went to see Appaloosa this weekend. This movie was apparently Ed Harris’ dream project and with that in mind I figured on it being a better film. Whereas a movie like Open Range was slow moving but kept me watching and interested throughout, Appaloosa was just simply slow moving . Harris’ character named Virgil Cole is called a “gun man”. He’s hired by towns to come in, act as marshal, and get rid of bad guys. In this case Jeremy Irons is the bad guy, named Bragg. Cole has a partner he works with, a former military man named Everett Hitch played by Viggo Mortensen. Everett Hitch is the most interesting character in the movie as he carries an 8 gauge shot gun throughout the story, always having it at rest upon his right shoulder.

Mortensen and Harris love the 2008 Wii version of "Duck Hunt"

Appaloosa is the town that hires Cole to come in and clean out Bragg. Good versus evil, the story is as simple as that. The thing that made Appaloosa so unappealing to me is that Virgil Cole is just such an awkward character. First, he’s old, much older than most of the cowboys I’m used to watching and that includes John Wayne in True Grit. Second, he’s a seemingly stupid and awkward man, finding his words hard to come by and often stuttering in conversation as he stumbles to think of the word he’s searching for to say. The uncomfortable look on other characters faces as Cole stumbles through talk is the same look I felt myself having in the theater watching the movie. Mostly because Appaloosa never gives any back-story to their characters, and therefore never really explains why Cole is the way he is. Third, the relationship he has with Allie French (Renee Zellweger) is just plain odd. She’s a lady who is constantly attracted to the alpha male. It’s an infatuation that changes during the film as new alpha males come onto the scene from Cole, to a nemeses of his, and then finally to Bragg himself. Cole is so stubborn in his own way that he loves Allie regardless of the fact that she leaves him more than once over the two-hour film for other men. Stranger too is the fact that Cole is about thirty or forty years Allie’s senior.

Hitch is the strong silent type, probably the better man than Cole but he’s been so obedient through the years that he has a sort of noble lap dog tendency. Viggo sports a sort of Don Quixote moustache throughout the movie that has a coolness to it I liken to what Val Kilmer brought to the Doc Holliday character in 1993’s Tombstone. Hitch is the only character in the movie that Allie French goes for who doesn’t seem to ever be the alpha male. Perhaps it’s not strength she sees in him, but the fact that he’s a better man overall.

There are two or three good fight scenes in the film, the best being a shoot out at a Mexican jailhouse owned by the cousin of one of Cole’s enemies. Virgil and Everett face off against five men, two downstairs in the jailhouse doorway, and two firing at them from above in the windows. Everybody gets shot and goes down and when the dust settles a shot-up Everett whispers to a bloodied Cole,
“That was fast.” To which Cole replies,
“Yea, everyone knew how to shoot!”

Mostly, I found Appaloosa to be slower moving than action packed. My dad grew up on a lot of westerns and he seemed to enjoy the movie more than I did, both of us thinking and saying aloud that it was “only okay”. I’m a fan of recent westerns like Tombstone, Open Range and 3:10 Yuma, so if you see yourself being a fan of movies like those perhaps you want to wait for Appaloosa to come out in Red Box before you spend over $20 to see if at a theatre. (That is if you buy tickets and popcorn…)

This Did NOT Happen

SPORTS:

The only way I’m going to be intimated by the Anaheim Angels is if they win tonight’s game and we go back to Anaheim. After seeing that they could only muster five runs last night and it took them twelve innings to do that, I think they’re done. Also, K-Rod threw like forty pitches last night, there’s almost no chance they’ll use him tonight in a tight one. (Of course Papelbon may nt be able to go for us...) Shields is an excellent setup guy but he pitched a lot last night too. Arredondo has great stuff! I hope to not see him again in this series. He is the one Angel out of that bullpen who scares me. Mike Napoli may be growing into the type of offensive catchers that teams everywhere are looking for. The question is could he keep it up with 400-500 at bats in the regular season? The Red Sox need to pitch around him now- two homers and three runs scored last night…the Angels as a team scored 5 runs. Four of those runs were because of Napoli (2: two run home run, 1: one run home run, 1: go ahead run in extra innings.). I really don’t care if this guy didn’t do much in the regular season- he’s hitting now and if you’re going to pitch around Teixeira and Guerrero, than pitch around him too!!! Just do anything it takes to win.

Josh Beckett is not himself this year. We get it. The TBS announcers like to rub it in to make a story out of nothing. Teams should still be afraid of Beckett in the post season. Very afraid! Heck, teams should be afraid of any pitcher on this staff in the post season. Lester was phenomenal in game one, Matszuaka prides himself on pitching better with guys on base and Wakefield is a force to be reckoned with in the post season!! (Boone’s 2003 homer not withstanding.)

While I’m hatin’ on TBS- would somebody please release the testicles of the color guy? I can’t stand listening to his voice! It needs to be deeper!! The thing is, he’s got some interesting things to say- he can guess what the pitchers are going to do and what the batters are planning, but whenever he speaks there’s a cringe in my spine. I miss Jerry Remy. Don Orsillo is doing the Tampa games; will the ALCS be on TBS too? If so than maybe Orsillo will be announcing for the Sox again! And Harold Reynolds will do the color! I liked Reynolds when he was on Baseball Tonight.

Somebody assassinate Frank Caliendo too. Frank TV? You got one sort of funny character: John Madden. Every body else sucks- you know who does better impressions? Daryl Hammond on SNL. I would rather watch Daryl TV over your shitty show!!! Not Much Better

Opposite of Funny

Great game last night though---very much a playoff nail biter. Now that we let them get excited- lets make them cry tonight! Come on boys! LETS GO RED SOX! (bum bum bum bum bum) LETS GO RED SOX! (bum bum bum bum bum) LETS GO RED SOX!

Randy Moss says "only YOU can prevent forest fires"

And big props to the Patriots for their win yesterday against the San Francisco 49ers. I’ll admit when they went down early on I had visions of there being a Miami repeat, but Cassel made it all go away with that bomb down the field to a wide open Randy Moss. Best line of the day? Randy Cross from CBS:

“Randy Moss against the single coverage likes to say; I’ve I’m even I’m leavin’”

Yea- Cross…I’m sure Randy Moss says that. In fact, I’m certain that Randy Moss has EVER talked to you in your life. Do me a favor and just shut up. Cassel

MISC.

I’ve been drinking some really great drip coffee lately. Newman’s Own French Roast is the best drip coffee I’ve had….maybe EVER. When I get that one-cup coffee maker for my wedding from my sister I can’t wait to buy boxes full of the Newman’s Own blends. They’re Delicious, and they’re fair-trade organic. It’s like having my very own Coffee Exchange right there in my kitchen!!!

Restaurants go through little annoying phases. The phase that is so five minutes ago is the description of “chipotle”. People are too used to the idea of having everything “chipotle” now. I’ve recognized the newest craze. It started at little gourmet restaurants, and then I found it at California Pizza kitchen, and now I saw commercial for it at Chili’s. Yes folks- now not only can you get bacon on your sandwiches, now it’s “apple-wood smoked bacon!” Sounds delicious right? Know what it tastes like?

BACON

Don’t be fooled- it’s just another way to make your taste buds tingle by looking at it and now I’m annoyed by the description of it. Once Chili’s gets a hold of a craze, you know it’s time to ditch it. Here’s a lunch item featuring all the flavors of the week:

Crisp romaine lettuce, plump red tomatoes and red onion slices accentuate the freshly grilled chipotle chicken and apple-wood smoked bacon in a hearty wheat wrap with a generous portion of low-fat honey mustard Dijon.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm sounds delicious. Sounds like something I can get ANYWHERE. Don’t be fooled by good marketing techniques people. It’s all the same food!

Sawx!

Boy is my face red! 7-4 prediction? What was I thinking?? Hey- I stand by what I said and I don’t claim to be an “expert”. Anyways, what a great game that was last night! Everybody in the Boston market was wondering how his or her beloved Red Sox would do without Manny Ramirez in the lineup.

Well forget about Ramirez- he’s off celebrating the new trademarked slogan, “Mannywood” out in LA. Massachusetts is now, and has always been, the “Bay State”.

"Years Later...Jason Bay realizes how embarssing this picture truly is...nice feet though!"

The Canadian outfielder that had spent his entire career with the dismal Pittsburgh franchise prior to being traded to Boston this year, started out his post-season resume by striking out twice in two at-bats. Then in the fifth, Bay put the Red Sox up with a two-run homer, his first ever homerun in post season play. For those of you keeping track of the post season home run count: Manny-1 Jason Bay-1. So far so good, right?

Jacoby Ellsbury who was batting something like .400 last post season picked up right where he left off by hitting a triple, and a double last night. He also had one stolen base to his credit. Seen to the left here, Jacoby is pushing a giant tire with a quiet look of constipation on his face. I do my best to post the best pictures possible!!!

The Red Sox won last night by beating Anaheim at their own game: good pitching and small ball. Anaheim fans were headed for the exits before the end of the ninth inning. A sure sign that they’ve seen this type of effort from their hometown team in the playoffs before.

Sports media outlets, even in this area were picking the Angels to win this series. Now with the Sox one game up I think opinions change. The thing of it is, the Angels won a majority of their games this season in the weakest division of the American League. I think the Sox would win 100 games if they played against Texas, Seattle and Oakland a bunch of times during the regular season!

And how about that Jon Lester? Tired my ass! Who said he was tired? Friggin’ guy pitched seven strong innings only allowing one run! Who else could say that? Not John Lackey that’s for sure. Like I said- the Sox were just getting to know Lackey during the season, trying to see what his pitches looked like. Below, here's what Lester and manager Terry Francona would look like if they'd starred in "The Matrix" movies.

"It's Funny!!"

The Angels just do not have a line-up that scares me. Chone Figgins? 0-5 and he looked bad in each of those five at-bats. I am not saying that he went 0-5 but took some good cuts, and had some good swings that just didn’t end up as hits- I’m saying he looked dominated! Garrett Anderson is a shadow of his old self, and guess what? He has been a shadow of his old self each and every time the Red Sox sweep his Angels ball club. Vlad is always scary, but he’s playing hurt. He may be more hurt than Mikey Lowell. Mark Tiexeria is their biggest threat in that lineup, hands down. If you miss against him, he’ll make you pay. So just do what they do to David Ortiz now- and miss! After Tiexeria they got Torii Hunter, who is great- but don’t get me wrong I’m probably more afraid of a guy like Jason Giambi. After Hunter who do the Angels have? Guys who may or may not be good….in the future? Howie Kendrick, Kendry Morales, Mike Napoli, Aybar, whoever else they have toward the bottom of that order are all guys who look like they will be great, they’re just not so right now. You know how I can tell they’re not great right now? Jon Lest struck out the side pretty much effortlessly in the sixth inning last night- just after Jason Bay hit the two run homer to put the Sox on top.

Sorry Angels fans. I think you’re going home yet again. Next year pray that you don’t face the Red Sox. Eventually you’ll start psyching yourselves out!

This weekend I’m excited to see Ed Harris’ latest film, a western titled “Appaloosa”. It’s strange; I was having a conversation with friends the other night about classic westerns versus recent westerns. I’m not a huge classic western fan. Show me John Wayne and I’ll show you my body leaving the room. The man bores me. I like Clint Eastwood, the Man with No Name series, and I like “The Wild Bunch” for what it is, but that might be about it. (Except 4 for Texas, the Rat Pack movie featuring more voice-overs than a feature-length cartoon…) But every time a new western comes out- I’m batty for it. I love “Tombstone” it’s one of my top ten all time favorite films. I loved “Open Range” and just saw it on the History channel recently and remembered again that I liked it. I love the updated “3:10 to Yuma” with Russel Crowe and Christian Bale. So this movie intrigues me. Ed Harris is an intriguing actor. I haven’t really loved anything with Viggo since he played Aaragorn in the Lord of the Rings series, but I heard he was okay in “Hidalgo” and that was sort of a western, right? I’m excited!!!

I’m flipping out today because I just found out that Ryan Adams is coming out with a new album on October 26th. Um- he’s only my favorite artist of all time!!! Let’s put it this way though---I’ve been so poor lately that I haven’t even bought the new Coldplay CD yet! And when did that come out? June?? (Seriously I can’t remember). “Cardinology” is in stores the 26th and to buy it, maybe I won’t eat for a week. I think people have fasted for less in the past.

I Don't Care!

"Boom Goes the Dynamite"

Some people just make my head want to explode. There are times where if I could reach through the phone lines and slap someone...I probably would!

Today was the first day I've had since becoming an insurance agent where a customer called to yell at me over the phone.

This is a woman who's consumed by her own greed. She's waiting for a check from our agency. Some people just don't understand that things take time. And when it comes to insurance claims---sometimes things can take much longer than usual.

There was a funny cartoon featured in the Sunday comics recently with a man dressed in a business suit walking up the steps to his insurance company. He goes into the door marked "claims" and then in the final box the door marked "claims" has been opened, and it leads out into the street below to which the man has fallen flat on his face.

Or to explain it better, the old adage: a watched pot never boils. So this woman calls in, wondering when her check is going to arrive. I ask the woman I work with if we've sent out a check, and she tells me that we did at the beginning of this week.

OK, simple enough.

But the woman asks me, "what address did you send it to?"

Um....the one we have on file. Your normal address! The one we've had on file for years. The one that's always worked!

But no---she needs it to go to her PO BOX. Because mail will never reach her at her house. That's funny because she's been with us since 1997 and we've been sending her mail since...1997 and everything we've sent so far has reached her just fine!

So she's all heated with me- yelling at me over the phone, because when you're not talking to somebody face to face it's easier to yell at them. And when you're not talking to somebody face to face it's easier to treat them inhumanly. She tells me that she called three months ago and told me to change her address in the system. That's a nice try- but I document every customer I talk to!!! Her name is not on the list...sorry lady.

So basically it came down to this: I simply explained to her that I have zero control over the mail, therefore I have no control over when her check will arrive. She asks me to apologize on behalf of my agency for sending her letter to the wrong address and I tell her flat out: I DON'T CARE. Well the exchange continued on from there- but no swear words were exchanged! (That's always good). Things finally settled when she hung up.

And you know what? Even after sitting and stirring on it for a bit, I still don't care at all. I'll probably get in trouble tomorrow, but I've been in trouble before. The bottom line is I don't take shit from people who are a) too impatient and b) too focused on their own lust for money to care whether or not they're treating me like a normal human being. I'm not their butler and I'm not their dog. I'm the insurance agent, and trust me when it comes to money and claims: the customer is not always right. Especially not if they're going to treat me like they don't care.

Hey! I hope her check never arrives!

Greedy woman puts in so many claims her homeowners is not going to renew anyway! Good luck with the next company you end up at!

BASES LOADED:
The Saaaaaaaaaaaaaawx are on tonight at 10:07PM. I shall be tired in the morning. Jon Lester goes first tonight in lieu of Josh Beckett, who may or may not be hurt. Knowing the Sox they're resting Beckett because they feel confident enough in the match up of Lester versus Lackey. The Red Sox rest their players all the time. It just sounds better that they're "injured" rather than sitting on their butts and waiting. I think it's a genius move on their part, if my theory is in fact correct.

I'll have more of my rants or grumblings on the Red Sox tomorrow if I remember to blog. My prediction is that tonight Jon Lester with throw 7 innings and allow 4 runs. That number seems high but it's the end of the year and he's never had a work load like the one he had this year. I don't care what Curt Schilling says about playoffs and attitude changes- I think that Lester is tired. I think he'll be effective enough though.

Jon Lackey may have beaten the Sox a couple of times this year, but I'll count those two meetings as chances for the Sox to get to know his pitches. Now they're going to tattoo the man.

Final Score: 7-4

Oh and for those of you looking for irony tonight? Know this- last season Lester started Game 4 as a "whatever happens" starter because the Sox were already up 3 games to 0 on Colorado. So whatever happened, Boston would keep playing but if Lester could go out and get it done? All the more better. Not only did he get it done, and get the sweep for the second World Series win in the last three years, but now one year after the fact- he's starting GAME 1. How about them apples?

Exhausted!

Hey all!I just got back from a weekend in Pennsylvania, the last where Jillian's family is from. Us guys don't really mind a long drive- but it can be exhausting to drive more then 10 hours in one weekend. Here's how the weekend started out:

Friday night, Jillian's parents are already worried because Jillian and I are bringing our dog Kasey to their house for the first time. Kasey is a shelter dog with a history of getting into some pretty intense quarrels with other animals that've come into her path. From the moment we arrive, after a long, night-time, rain-filled, five-hour, drive to Macungie we are not exactly a welcome sight.

"Kasey"

At first Sadie, Jillian's parents' dog and Kasey are getting along. They sniff each other and they circle around just to get to know one another. Jillian's step father is already pissed because a water pipe has burst in the house. Once we've taken a moment to put our things away and everybody starts to settle down, KASEY (?) STRIKES!! Out of nowhere the two animals are going at it- Michael Vick style. I question it though because nobody truly saw how it started so maybe it could've been Sadie that instigated the whole event.

Jillian jumped in and seperated the two beasts---a black and blue slash in her leg to show for it. Sadie's ear was dripping blood spots onto the carpet below.

We pause here because I want you to keep in mind that the reason we went to Pennsylvania this weekend was because Jillian's mother was hosting a baby shower for her sister, Brie. So this woman is already flipped out because she's got 30 people coming to her house in less than 48 hours and so far a water pipe has burst, there's been an illegal dog fight and now there's blood stains in her carpet.

But it didn't end there.

Moments later after seperating the two animals, and putting Sadie outside. Kasey decides that she hasn't been bad enough by peeing all over the carpet.

Oh yes...that was the perfect start to this weekend. After all of that, the weekend was pretty normal. Jillian's step father wasn't exactly pleased that we were home, making her mother even more flipped out than she already was, but everything else went smoother. We kept Kasey in a barrowed crate for most of our time there, letting her out to walk and go to the bathroom. She was a big baby the entire time. But she was generally good in all other situations, including (thankfully) meeting the younger children.

On Monday Jillian and I spent the day moving her into the new apartment. From 10 in the morning to 11 at night, we moved furniture and boxes into the place that for now is hers, and eventually will be ours. I will be moving things in here and there for us to use together, but all of my wordly goods and clothes will remain at my dad's house until after our wedding in May. For those of you wondering---yes---my entire body hurts.

Now I'm back at work as I type this- don't worry it's the end of the day and I'm all caught up. So don't lose any sleep wondering if I "get anything done" at work. I thought it would be interesting to jot down some notes on all the songs that get stuck in my head on a given day. I have a very spatial personality so songs come and go throughout my day whenever I get bored enough to let one in. Here's a list of the chart-toppers that found their way into my head, and their words into my mouth today:

Kelly Clarkson "Because of You"

Bad Company "All Right Now"

Katy Perry "I Kissed a Girl"

Dean Martin “Ain’t Love a Kick in the Head”

Anita Ward “You Can Ring My Bell”

Pink Floyd “Us and Them”

Incredible String Band “Painting Box”

Of course all of these songs should be available to preview and download on itunes....but I don't work for apple so you don't have to nothing!

Takes a damn long time to import pictures into these blogs....

Long Over Due

So.

I haven't been very adamant about keeping up with my blog. But hey, I've been busy! I'm an engaged man now, off the market, no longer available to date, unattainable, no longer a bachelor, intimately involved, taken, getting hitched, and whatever other descriptive words there are out there that I can use to describe myself as no longer "single".

Scared? No.

Worried? No.

Ready? Hell yes!

Here's a glimpse of where I'm currently spending my nights:

It's not the prettiest place on the planet...but it's my dad's house and it's "home". The rent is free and I get the downstairs to myself. Also: this is an older picture, the outside has been vinyl sided (grayish) and I've done a lot of landscaping. Also- that antennae is no longer on the top of the roof...hello 1960s....

And here's a look see at the new place Jillian and I are renting together as our first home after we exchange vows:

Okay- we didn't actually rent this place, but it's a damn nice picture, no? (Just Google: "Irish Castles") The point is- I can't wait to get out of my dad's place and start my life with my new wife!

Of course, that's not the only reason I'm excited for marriage- there are plenty of others to!!

SPORTS GAB:

QUESTION: What has two thumbs and is still excited about the New England Patriots?ANSWER: This guy (points to myself).

The Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets are not the greatest two teams in the Country but let's face it: once Tom Brady went down I heard that fans were actually leaving Gillette Stadium!!! Maybe this is a good thing for everybody. Maybe the media will stop hating on the Pats and return them to underdog status. Maybe the pink hat fans will jump off the (band) wagon and give us real fans some breathing room.

The fact of the matter is we haven't faced a season like this since before the Superbowl win in 2001. Tom Brady is not the quarterback, and let's face it he won't be the quarterback forever- and who knows? Maybe even not that much longer. It's Matt Cassel's time to shine right now, and so far? 2-1. The shellacking from Miami aside- the Patriots haven't look half bad so far this year, even minus their veteran QB. With this bye week- expect coach Bill B. to make the necessary adjustments both offensively and defensively. If we lose next week, I might be singing a different tune.

And let's give a hoot to those Red Sox too. I know that we're used to them winning too- but come on, NOBODY expected the Tampa Bay Rays to make it this far. Can I be the first to admit that this match up has started to actually excite me? AHHHHHHHHHH!

Stare into the new face of evil!!!!

Don't worry Sox fans I still despise those pitiful Yankees, that won't end soon- but it's not too bad to have a new villain in town. Even the X-Men had Magneto, and Apocalypse!!! We need to give the Rays their due- they're still hanging in there, no matter how many times we're tying them for first place in these last few weeks, they keep beating us again and getting back on top.

Not since the late 90s have I been this excited to see where the Sox end up in the standings, this late into the season. Usually I stop watching in August and wait for the playoffs in October...

MOVIE RANTS:

I don't think a good movie has been released since Tropic Thunder which came out a month ago and Burn After Reading did not quench my new movie thirst. For those of you thinking of seeing this movie because you really liked Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men, think again please.

Remember that the Coen brothers got famous with films like The Big Lebowski and Fargo, and that No Country for Old Men was not one of their original works. NCfOM was from a book by Cormac McCarthy, the author of Viggo Mortenssen's next movie, The Road.

The Coen bros return to their roots with Burn and I shake my head to think that it is a welcome back. True, both George Clooney and Brad Pitt satisfied me enough to keep me watching and laughing, and true they were the primary reasons that I went to see the movie, but in the end I just didn't think the movie was that great.

It is an average tale about John Malkovich being fired from his job from the CIA and staying home to write a memoir which his cheating wife accidentally saves onto a CD as she tries to download his financial information so she can give it to her divorce lawyer. Her lawyer in turn hands the disc over to his secretary who lets it fall out of her bag at the gym. Brad Pitt works at gym, finds the disc, uploads onto his computer and the hilarity ensues as the flaky personal trainer played by Pitt tries to blackmail Malkovich into giving him money for the disc's return.

Funny characters show up throughout, including J K Simmons (J J Jameson from the Spider-Man series) as the clueless director of the CIA. George Clooney plays a private detective who's only real story-line is that he's the one Malcovich's wife is cheating on him with. Clooney does play a pivotal role in how the story-line eventually plays out, but I can't help but wonder if the movie would've been better or any funnier if what he does to Brad Pitt towards the middle of the movie never happened.

I say wait for video on this. It's worth seeing if you're at least a Coen brothers fan- but think more Ladykillers than Big Lebowski.

I myself happen to be eagerly awaiting Eagle Eye.

That's all for now- it took me 10 days to finalize this post and get it out.

Hopefully I can start keeping up with this thing....my fans yearn!