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Brady Quinn |
Sunday, October 29, 2006
10/29/06---I think I'm ready to move
The other night Kim and I went to the venerable Broward Mall. The comedian Chris Rock has a great line about malls in the town he grew up in. He said:
"There are usually two malls. There's the "good mall" and then there's the "other mall".
The 'other mall' is usually the older mall that has started to go downhill, and now there's all sort of shops that shouldn't really be in a nice mall...."
And that's what is starting to happen to the Broward Mall. When we moved back to Ft Lauderdale from St Louis, the Broward Mall had just opened. Mind you, this was back in (gulp) 1979. (Man, if I knew then what I know now--oh my!) At the time, the Broward Mall was said to be the biggest mall in all of Florida. It was state of the art.
Mind you, I suppose you really shouldn't ask for a shelf life of over 25 years for your neighborhood mall--I mean, I don't want to appear to be greedy with the memories of my youth here. But, we sat and had a really crappy dinner and I looked around at the food court. Its about 1/2 the size it used to be, and one of the retailers was having some mid-week special that brought out a lot of young mothers and their screaming kids (that always makes for the best dinner environment). Kim & I commented on all the fast food joints that USED to be there and how much bigger the food area used to be.
Then we had some time to kill and we walked around....and I started noticing all the sort of sort of new retail stores that attract....ya know....the lower income buyers.
Your dollar stores, the...well, I think ya know what I mean. And it hit me that the Broward Mall---a place that I spent so much time in during the waining years of my youth--had turned into "the other mall".
When did I get old? Did I have fun while it lasted?
Later,
Jeff
"There are usually two malls. There's the "good mall" and then there's the "other mall".
The 'other mall' is usually the older mall that has started to go downhill, and now there's all sort of shops that shouldn't really be in a nice mall...."
And that's what is starting to happen to the Broward Mall. When we moved back to Ft Lauderdale from St Louis, the Broward Mall had just opened. Mind you, this was back in (gulp) 1979. (Man, if I knew then what I know now--oh my!) At the time, the Broward Mall was said to be the biggest mall in all of Florida. It was state of the art.
Mind you, I suppose you really shouldn't ask for a shelf life of over 25 years for your neighborhood mall--I mean, I don't want to appear to be greedy with the memories of my youth here. But, we sat and had a really crappy dinner and I looked around at the food court. Its about 1/2 the size it used to be, and one of the retailers was having some mid-week special that brought out a lot of young mothers and their screaming kids (that always makes for the best dinner environment). Kim & I commented on all the fast food joints that USED to be there and how much bigger the food area used to be.
Then we had some time to kill and we walked around....and I started noticing all the sort of sort of new retail stores that attract....ya know....the lower income buyers.
Your dollar stores, the...well, I think ya know what I mean. And it hit me that the Broward Mall---a place that I spent so much time in during the waining years of my youth--had turned into "the other mall".
When did I get old? Did I have fun while it lasted?
Later,
Jeff
Saturday, October 21, 2006
10/21/06--Holy crap! The Irish give me a birthday present!
Okay, first of all....the offense totally sucked the whole game. The defense, with the notable exception of 2 pass plays, played well the whole game. The Shark just wrote his name in Notre Dame lore, and Brady Quinn had a Heisman-esque moment.
This sorta stuff is NOT good for my blood pressure. Amazing.
Later,
Jeff
This sorta stuff is NOT good for my blood pressure. Amazing.
Later,
Jeff
10/21/06---Happy Birthday to me!!!
Yikes! When did I get to be 45 yrs old? Its been an interesting week, not without the usual drama (of course) here in the Bowdren household. Kim & I went out last night and helped my good friend Pat celebrate her (cough, cough) 60th birthday at a surprise party thrown for her by her son & daughter. She was totally shocked, which of course makes it all that much more fun. Monday will be my brother Chip's birthday (he'll be a very young 52--cough--OLDTIMER!) and he gave me a call to wish me a happy birthday on his way to the FSU football game.
So the other night, Kim and I went to a seminar given at the kids school regarding finding different ways to afford sending your kids to college....whether its financial aid or finding different grants and scholarships...it was pretty informative. We get home, and Kim goes to read her email and sort of gives me a solemn sounding request to come and look at something on her computer. I'm expecting a letter that one of the kids has flunked a test at school, or is missing some homework assignment....and then I read:
"This letter is to inform you that one of the Dean's at the school caught Kellie making out with a boy in a school hallway today."
Excuse me while I let loose a parental scream.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
As my brother would say....."Now, you're OFFICIALLY the parent of a teenager."
Oh yes, it was an interesting night. So we call Kellie out to the living room and ask her how her day went and if anything happened out of the ordinary. And she did what any self respecting teenager would do in a situation like this:
She lied, she lied, she lied.
And you could just see that mind working a mile a minute.
"What in God's name am I going to say? How do I get out of this one?"
And all along, Kim and I sat there....with a printed out copy of the letter in our hands.
Gotcha. And naturally, being a good Dad....I promptly overreacted. Hey, I'm a guy and its my little girl, what did you expect? So a little while later Kim came into our bedroom and asked me if I was upset because she had been caught kissing a boy or because she had lied to us.
"Well," I said, "aren't you using a little semantics there? She wasn't caught 'kissing' a boy. She was caught 'making out' with a boy. In my mind, those are two different things."
But my wife, God love her, she's got way more sense than me. I'm the emotional parent, she's the analytical one. The next day I called her at work and spoke with her about what happened and how I wanted to talk with Kellie about it that night. Man, the world has changed so much where now you have to sit down with your daughter at age 14 and discuss things like reputations, and making out, and kissing.....it would seem like its way too young to do that....but kids aren't like they used to be......trust me.
So the three of us sat down for dinner that night (Andy had an SAT prep course and wasn't there) and had a pretty frank discussion. I told her about the importance of having a good reputation and how, in general (and I find this to be especially true)......
Men are pigs.
And especially men when they are 14 yrs old. I told her that while she's kissing them, thinking how nice and romantic this moment is.....most 14 yr old boys are thinking:
Will she let me go any further?
Being 45 doesn't mean that I can't remember what it was like when I was 14--trust me.
And although she seemed a touch mortified that she had to have a discussion like this with her Dad, she handled it pretty well. Hopefully she'll remember the conversation the next time the situation confronts her....and that very thought makes me think one thing:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Parenthood. It ain't for everyone.
Later,
Jeff
So the other night, Kim and I went to a seminar given at the kids school regarding finding different ways to afford sending your kids to college....whether its financial aid or finding different grants and scholarships...it was pretty informative. We get home, and Kim goes to read her email and sort of gives me a solemn sounding request to come and look at something on her computer. I'm expecting a letter that one of the kids has flunked a test at school, or is missing some homework assignment....and then I read:
"This letter is to inform you that one of the Dean's at the school caught Kellie making out with a boy in a school hallway today."
Excuse me while I let loose a parental scream.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
As my brother would say....."Now, you're OFFICIALLY the parent of a teenager."
Oh yes, it was an interesting night. So we call Kellie out to the living room and ask her how her day went and if anything happened out of the ordinary. And she did what any self respecting teenager would do in a situation like this:
She lied, she lied, she lied.
And you could just see that mind working a mile a minute.
"What in God's name am I going to say? How do I get out of this one?"
And all along, Kim and I sat there....with a printed out copy of the letter in our hands.
Gotcha. And naturally, being a good Dad....I promptly overreacted. Hey, I'm a guy and its my little girl, what did you expect? So a little while later Kim came into our bedroom and asked me if I was upset because she had been caught kissing a boy or because she had lied to us.
"Well," I said, "aren't you using a little semantics there? She wasn't caught 'kissing' a boy. She was caught 'making out' with a boy. In my mind, those are two different things."
But my wife, God love her, she's got way more sense than me. I'm the emotional parent, she's the analytical one. The next day I called her at work and spoke with her about what happened and how I wanted to talk with Kellie about it that night. Man, the world has changed so much where now you have to sit down with your daughter at age 14 and discuss things like reputations, and making out, and kissing.....it would seem like its way too young to do that....but kids aren't like they used to be......trust me.
So the three of us sat down for dinner that night (Andy had an SAT prep course and wasn't there) and had a pretty frank discussion. I told her about the importance of having a good reputation and how, in general (and I find this to be especially true)......
Men are pigs.
And especially men when they are 14 yrs old. I told her that while she's kissing them, thinking how nice and romantic this moment is.....most 14 yr old boys are thinking:
Will she let me go any further?
Being 45 doesn't mean that I can't remember what it was like when I was 14--trust me.
And although she seemed a touch mortified that she had to have a discussion like this with her Dad, she handled it pretty well. Hopefully she'll remember the conversation the next time the situation confronts her....and that very thought makes me think one thing:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Parenthood. It ain't for everyone.
Later,
Jeff
Monday, October 16, 2006
10/16/06--My daughter's first big dance
Well, young Kellie Poe-Bowdren had her first big high school dance the other night.
Funny thing about those high school dances. When I went to a high school dance, they had it in the cafeteria--Kellie's high school has it at the Broward County Convention Center for $60 a ticket.
That's right....$60. And its not even the prom. Yeesh.
So she went out that day, did the whole hair thing (got it straightened), various insundry.....ya know....other beautification things, tried on the dress that her Mom helped her pick out (reportedly the only one of the 3 she liked that her Mom thought I would let her out of the house wearing---what a reputation I have), walked somewhat awkwardly in her high heel shoes while complaining just a little too loud about how bad they hurt her feet (IS ANYONE NOTICING ME??? HELLO????) and generally, ya know.......
Looked like some young woman that I had never met before.
And I remembered stuff like tickle-time, like how I could always rely on getting her a stuffed animal, about how she liked to be tucked into bed (well, okay, she still sorta likes that), about how on one of our first dates she screamed at her mother that she
"WANTED A DADDY!". I remembered all those things. And I remembered all those songs about stuff like "Daddy's little girl" and all that and how I never could really understand why some people felt that way.....
And how, looking at her as the young woman she's becoming....
I now totally understand.
Kellie was my 2nd chance at being a Dad. She told me once that she didn't think I would blow it....I'd like to think I haven't. She looks a lot like her Mom. Lucky girl.
Later,
Jeff
Funny thing about those high school dances. When I went to a high school dance, they had it in the cafeteria--Kellie's high school has it at the Broward County Convention Center for $60 a ticket.
That's right....$60. And its not even the prom. Yeesh.
So she went out that day, did the whole hair thing (got it straightened), various insundry.....ya know....other beautification things, tried on the dress that her Mom helped her pick out (reportedly the only one of the 3 she liked that her Mom thought I would let her out of the house wearing---what a reputation I have), walked somewhat awkwardly in her high heel shoes while complaining just a little too loud about how bad they hurt her feet (IS ANYONE NOTICING ME??? HELLO????) and generally, ya know.......
Looked like some young woman that I had never met before.
And I remembered stuff like tickle-time, like how I could always rely on getting her a stuffed animal, about how she liked to be tucked into bed (well, okay, she still sorta likes that), about how on one of our first dates she screamed at her mother that she
"WANTED A DADDY!". I remembered all those things. And I remembered all those songs about stuff like "Daddy's little girl" and all that and how I never could really understand why some people felt that way.....
And how, looking at her as the young woman she's becoming....
I now totally understand.
Kellie was my 2nd chance at being a Dad. She told me once that she didn't think I would blow it....I'd like to think I haven't. She looks a lot like her Mom. Lucky girl.
Later,
Jeff
Sunday, October 15, 2006
10/15/06--More updates on my Dad
So my father is visiting one of his doctors the other day...and while he's there, he began to experience some chest pains. The doctor got him some nitroglycerin and when my Dad began to get dizzy, the doctor suggested that my father go right to the hospital and called for the paramedics to take him.
They arrive and take him to the emergency room (although the chest pains by this point had subsided)....they run an EKG which is perfectly normal but decide to keep my Dad through the night to observe him. The only problem is that the hospital their at is not the one that is relatively close to their house--but one that is closer to the downtown Orlando area. So my Dad is concerned as to how my Mom is going to get home, since the only exit from the hospital is to cut across a fairly major road that does not have a traffic light. The paramedics inform my Dad that they're going to take care of my Mom.
Mom follows the paramedics out to the highway---at which point they put on their blue overhead lights--stopping traffic in both directions.......
So that my Mom can cross the highway.
I think that's some pretty cool stuff.
Dad is now back home...feeling better...no heart attack.....maybe just some residual effects from his pneumonia. Mom calls the paramedics before she goes grocery shopping......you know, in case she runs into any major intersections.
Later,
Jeff
They arrive and take him to the emergency room (although the chest pains by this point had subsided)....they run an EKG which is perfectly normal but decide to keep my Dad through the night to observe him. The only problem is that the hospital their at is not the one that is relatively close to their house--but one that is closer to the downtown Orlando area. So my Dad is concerned as to how my Mom is going to get home, since the only exit from the hospital is to cut across a fairly major road that does not have a traffic light. The paramedics inform my Dad that they're going to take care of my Mom.
Mom follows the paramedics out to the highway---at which point they put on their blue overhead lights--stopping traffic in both directions.......
So that my Mom can cross the highway.
I think that's some pretty cool stuff.
Dad is now back home...feeling better...no heart attack.....maybe just some residual effects from his pneumonia. Mom calls the paramedics before she goes grocery shopping......you know, in case she runs into any major intersections.
Later,
Jeff
Saturday, October 14, 2006
10/14/06--Yet more....Tales of the Courthouse....#837
So one of the great characters in the history of my stay at the courthouse has been Leni.
She's an in-court clerk like I am, with even a more.....hmm.....checkered history (that's the best I could come up with) than me. She has this amazing ability to always get herself either in some sort of hot water or bizarre situation. Trust me---its a gift.
So here's the details of Leni's latest story....believe it or not...its 100% true.
She pulls into the courthouse parking lot the other day and as she turns her car off, for reasons unknown to anyone, her power locks jam. Her car door is locked shut.
She sits there and fiddles with the lock, trying to get the thing to work. She's beginning to sweat and sees a car pull up a few spots away from her. She begins to pound on her windows, in hope that the other driver will hear her and come over and help. The guy driving the car comes over and is apprised of the situation. He tells Leni (and trust me, she's one of those women who NEVER, EVER wants to sweat) to turn her car back on so she can at least have the air conditioning going. Leni thinks this is a terrific idea.
She quickly begins to cool down as she talks to the guy outside the car and they try and figure out what in the blue hell they can do about the situation. The guy offers to go into the courthouse and advise the members of the sheriff's office there of her situation, in hope that someone can help her get out of her car. He leaves and a few more minutes go by. She calls up her supervisor to advise her that she is having a car problem in the garage and will be in the office soon.
Are you staying with me?
Next, as she sits there, she begins to wonder where in the heck the members of the sheriff's office are to help her. Her car engine is still running, wasting gas....but she doesn't want to get too hot...........and it was at this point that she decided to....you guessed it...........
Roll down the windows.
She still doesn't understand why she was marked as being late that day.
Later,
Jeff
She's an in-court clerk like I am, with even a more.....hmm.....checkered history (that's the best I could come up with) than me. She has this amazing ability to always get herself either in some sort of hot water or bizarre situation. Trust me---its a gift.
So here's the details of Leni's latest story....believe it or not...its 100% true.
She pulls into the courthouse parking lot the other day and as she turns her car off, for reasons unknown to anyone, her power locks jam. Her car door is locked shut.
She sits there and fiddles with the lock, trying to get the thing to work. She's beginning to sweat and sees a car pull up a few spots away from her. She begins to pound on her windows, in hope that the other driver will hear her and come over and help. The guy driving the car comes over and is apprised of the situation. He tells Leni (and trust me, she's one of those women who NEVER, EVER wants to sweat) to turn her car back on so she can at least have the air conditioning going. Leni thinks this is a terrific idea.
She quickly begins to cool down as she talks to the guy outside the car and they try and figure out what in the blue hell they can do about the situation. The guy offers to go into the courthouse and advise the members of the sheriff's office there of her situation, in hope that someone can help her get out of her car. He leaves and a few more minutes go by. She calls up her supervisor to advise her that she is having a car problem in the garage and will be in the office soon.
Are you staying with me?
Next, as she sits there, she begins to wonder where in the heck the members of the sheriff's office are to help her. Her car engine is still running, wasting gas....but she doesn't want to get too hot...........and it was at this point that she decided to....you guessed it...........
Roll down the windows.
She still doesn't understand why she was marked as being late that day.
Later,
Jeff
Saturday, October 7, 2006
10/7/06---Tales from the Courthouse....#293
So this week we deviated from the normal playbook and did a civil trial. Ya know, someone suing someone else for money. I was actually looking slightly forward to it at the beginning of the week, since it would be a chance for our courtroom to do something that did not involve the initials "DUI" in them.
I'm here to tell you....I was wrong for wanting the change.
Dull....deadly dull. That a way to describe the civil trial, and all things considered it was actually better than most civil trials.
Get a load of this one. Two older ladies--we'll use the names Ann & Esther. They've known each other for awhile and Esther goes over to visit Ann one day and enjoy an evening out. They leave to go out and Ann drives--apparently as she usually does--and as they are driving along through their residential neighborhood, their car is broadsided (or "T-boned" if you will) by a car that runs through a stop sign. The car is pretty much a total loss, an ambulance comes to check on them. Esther is complaining of stomach pains and Ann instructs the paramedics to take her to the hospital first. Esther is placed into the ambulance and Ann gets into the back of the ambulance with her, since she has only complained of a slight bump in the head. They go to the hospital.
That's pretty much what happened the day of the accident---stay with me here.
Esther is kept in the hospital a couple of days for "observation". Ann apparently comes to visit her a few times to check on her condition. After she is released, Esther goes to her doctor complaining that her stomach is still bothering her. An examination and some tests reveal that Esther has suffered a slight tear in either her colon or digestive track.
Esther ends up back in the hospital and has surgery to repair the problem. She is forced to wear a colostymy bag for approximately a month but has now been declared fully cured and is no longer wearing the bag.
Esther, as she undoubtably should have, sues the driver of the car that hit them and his insurance company along with a few others (the city or county, the car company....I dunno, anyone she probably could think of). All of the parties that are sued by her end up settling out of court for agreed upon amounts. However, there is apparently one problem. Esther still owes for some medical bills (I believe it was approximately $3,000). So what does she do? How does she hope pay for those last bills????
She sues Ann. Her friend. The one that was driving. The one that told the paramedics to put Esther in the ambulance first. The one that rode with her to the hospital. The one that visited her in the hospital. The one that was the victim in the car accident. The one who got "t-boned" by the other driver.
Esther's lawyer makes the subtle inference during the trial that Ann had a glass of wine that day before they went out for the drive in the car. He claimed that perhaps that was the reason that Ann couldn't avoid the driver that hit her. The one who blew through the stop sign. Esther's lawyer asked the jury to do one of two things--either pay her the amount that was still outstanding for medicine, or for her "pain and suffering" in the amount of.....hold onto your hats folks....
$300,000.
The jury was sent out and came back with their verdict.
Butkus. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Nothing.
First of all, Esther's lawyer should've gotten the outstanding amount due to her from one of the other parties that they had sued. Instead, they sued the only party they hadn't sued. Her friend.
Something tells me that these ladies are not exchanging cards during the holiday season.
Amazing.
Later,
Jeff
I'm here to tell you....I was wrong for wanting the change.
Dull....deadly dull. That a way to describe the civil trial, and all things considered it was actually better than most civil trials.
Get a load of this one. Two older ladies--we'll use the names Ann & Esther. They've known each other for awhile and Esther goes over to visit Ann one day and enjoy an evening out. They leave to go out and Ann drives--apparently as she usually does--and as they are driving along through their residential neighborhood, their car is broadsided (or "T-boned" if you will) by a car that runs through a stop sign. The car is pretty much a total loss, an ambulance comes to check on them. Esther is complaining of stomach pains and Ann instructs the paramedics to take her to the hospital first. Esther is placed into the ambulance and Ann gets into the back of the ambulance with her, since she has only complained of a slight bump in the head. They go to the hospital.
That's pretty much what happened the day of the accident---stay with me here.
Esther is kept in the hospital a couple of days for "observation". Ann apparently comes to visit her a few times to check on her condition. After she is released, Esther goes to her doctor complaining that her stomach is still bothering her. An examination and some tests reveal that Esther has suffered a slight tear in either her colon or digestive track.
Esther ends up back in the hospital and has surgery to repair the problem. She is forced to wear a colostymy bag for approximately a month but has now been declared fully cured and is no longer wearing the bag.
Esther, as she undoubtably should have, sues the driver of the car that hit them and his insurance company along with a few others (the city or county, the car company....I dunno, anyone she probably could think of). All of the parties that are sued by her end up settling out of court for agreed upon amounts. However, there is apparently one problem. Esther still owes for some medical bills (I believe it was approximately $3,000). So what does she do? How does she hope pay for those last bills????
She sues Ann. Her friend. The one that was driving. The one that told the paramedics to put Esther in the ambulance first. The one that rode with her to the hospital. The one that visited her in the hospital. The one that was the victim in the car accident. The one who got "t-boned" by the other driver.
Esther's lawyer makes the subtle inference during the trial that Ann had a glass of wine that day before they went out for the drive in the car. He claimed that perhaps that was the reason that Ann couldn't avoid the driver that hit her. The one who blew through the stop sign. Esther's lawyer asked the jury to do one of two things--either pay her the amount that was still outstanding for medicine, or for her "pain and suffering" in the amount of.....hold onto your hats folks....
$300,000.
The jury was sent out and came back with their verdict.
Butkus. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Nothing.
First of all, Esther's lawyer should've gotten the outstanding amount due to her from one of the other parties that they had sued. Instead, they sued the only party they hadn't sued. Her friend.
Something tells me that these ladies are not exchanging cards during the holiday season.
Amazing.
Later,
Jeff
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
10/3/06---Back from a trying week
I'm back....Kim & I went up to Orlando this past week to spend a few days with my Mom & Dad. My father was in the hospital for almost 10 days recovering from a bout of pneumonia that turned into blood poisoning...which turned into....well, pretty much everything you can imagine. Don't get me wrong...there were PLENTY of stories....good Lord, you know that's true. However, some things really need to be private....and this is one of those rare occasions when I'll respect my father's wishes.
Let's just say that, for a couple of days, Dad was on some really strong medication that apparently led to some pretty wild hallucinations. Whoops! Did I give something away? Dad...along with everyone else...I'm glad you're back home and on the road to recovery. Speaking of "on the road"....let's get on that road to Jacksonville, okay?
A few brief sports notations, if you ladies won't mind. First of all, my Fighting Irish are now 4-1 after a brutal opening month. If you had told me at the beginning of the season that the first 5 games would leave us at 4-1....I probably would've taken it. However, while the offense appears to be rounding into shape....the defense is looking particularly brutal. And its not talent....or scheme (well, okay...maybe its a little bit scheme). What really drives me crazy is watching all those kids who were so highly recruited--and they cannot freakin tackle!! Everyone goes for a knockout shot so they can be on an ESPN highlight reel. Wrap up and tackle!! I feel like watching that famous Vince Lombardi quote---"Grab, grab, grab!"
My Chicago Cubs made me happy yesterday when they finally cut their losses and canned Dusty Baker. The guy got us as close as we've ever been to the World Series in 2003...and basically has been horrible since then. He's ruined more than a few pitcher's arms since then, relied too much on players that he viewed as "his guys" (hello, Neiffi Perez anyone?) and was resistant to any sort of new ideas or players--unless he was basically forced into doing it. The Cubs can't hire another guy who has the old "my way or the highway" routine. That was Dusty's way, and it may very well work for another team....but a change was definitely needed. Oh, and don't go printing up those "Joe Girardi, manager, Cubs" business cards just yet. I hear that Lou Pinella is going to get more than just a courtesy looksee.
Finally, Florida Panthers and the NHL start up again this week. We'll finally get to see if the right choice was made in trading Roberto Luongo or not......expect more offense, slightly less defense.
Later,
Jeff
Let's just say that, for a couple of days, Dad was on some really strong medication that apparently led to some pretty wild hallucinations. Whoops! Did I give something away? Dad...along with everyone else...I'm glad you're back home and on the road to recovery. Speaking of "on the road"....let's get on that road to Jacksonville, okay?
A few brief sports notations, if you ladies won't mind. First of all, my Fighting Irish are now 4-1 after a brutal opening month. If you had told me at the beginning of the season that the first 5 games would leave us at 4-1....I probably would've taken it. However, while the offense appears to be rounding into shape....the defense is looking particularly brutal. And its not talent....or scheme (well, okay...maybe its a little bit scheme). What really drives me crazy is watching all those kids who were so highly recruited--and they cannot freakin tackle!! Everyone goes for a knockout shot so they can be on an ESPN highlight reel. Wrap up and tackle!! I feel like watching that famous Vince Lombardi quote---"Grab, grab, grab!"
My Chicago Cubs made me happy yesterday when they finally cut their losses and canned Dusty Baker. The guy got us as close as we've ever been to the World Series in 2003...and basically has been horrible since then. He's ruined more than a few pitcher's arms since then, relied too much on players that he viewed as "his guys" (hello, Neiffi Perez anyone?) and was resistant to any sort of new ideas or players--unless he was basically forced into doing it. The Cubs can't hire another guy who has the old "my way or the highway" routine. That was Dusty's way, and it may very well work for another team....but a change was definitely needed. Oh, and don't go printing up those "Joe Girardi, manager, Cubs" business cards just yet. I hear that Lou Pinella is going to get more than just a courtesy looksee.
Finally, Florida Panthers and the NHL start up again this week. We'll finally get to see if the right choice was made in trading Roberto Luongo or not......expect more offense, slightly less defense.
Later,
Jeff
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