Just Testing

I just wanted to see if I could post to my blog from my new phone. It appears that I can. Pretty Bird and I decided we wanted new phones with most of the new features. We didn't want to leave Sprint so no iPhones for us. I got the Instinct and she got the Rant. There are some pretty cool features on the Instinct. I hope everyone has a great New Year.

Rough Day

Man some days are just really rough at work. I shouldn't bitch because I do mostly like my job but today was pretty rough.

Oh Romeo, Romeo, can we please just keep Romeo!

I say one last time until 2009, SUCK IT BROWNS!

I'm going to petition the Browns ownership to keep Romeo Crennel as their head coach. In his four seasons as head coach for those dogs by the lake he's won a total of 24 of 64 games.

2005 - 6-10
2006 - 4-12
2007 - 10-6
2008 - 4-12

Man those are some great numbers if you're a fan of the Steelers (or Ravens or Bengals). If you can't win you should at least beat your chief rival, at least that is the rule in college football. Romeo is 0-8 vs. the Steelers.

2005 G1 - Browns 21, Steelers 34
2005 G2 - Browns 0, Steelers 41
2006 G1 - Browns 20, Steelers 24
2006 G2 - Browns 7, Steelers 27
2007 G1 - Browns 7, Steelers 34
2007 G2 - Browns 28, Steelers 31
2008 G1 - Browns 6, Steelers 10
2008 G2 - Browns 0, Steelers 31

Man those are some good numbers for the Steelers. Please Browns, please keep Romeo.

Ben Update

It seems that Ben just has a concussion. While I've had a concussion and it sure sucked ass I'm sure a professional athlete can recover within in two weeks and play a football game. It is great that he isn't hurt too badly.

To add to my opinion on Ben's injury issues. I have the opinion that certain players are what I call injury drama queens. These players want everyone to know every little injury they have, how they can't practice, and how it is for them to play. These players are like Brian Jordan, Steve McNair and now Ben Roethlisberger. Ben is just like those players. He wants everyone to know how hurt he gets and how much he puts into the team.

It is better then having a player like JD Drew who just doesn't play but it is still annoying. I still love having Roethlisberger as the Steelers QB but he does have quite a few annoying qualities, this being one of them.

Not Good

About the worst thing that could happen in the Steelers game, even more then a loss, is what happened today. Ben being carted off is just awful. I'm hoping it isn't serious but you never know. I will ramble about Ben's injury history later depending on how bad this injury actually is. Not good at all.

I say again, SUCK IT BROWNS

Part of me wishes the Browns would make this a real rivalry. Then the majority of me takes over and I realize that beating the Browns is more fun then what the Steelers go through every year with the Ravens. We'll see how many Steelers actually play today when they close their regular season. I do hope they get a win though.

Suck It Browns

Tomorrow the Steelers finish their regular season. They hit the magical 10 wins plus some. They sure beat my expectations for the season. Last week really stunk but I didn't care that much. Once the Steelers beat the Ravens and got a first round bye I stopped caring about the regular season. Of course I want the Steelers to win and sweeping the division would be really nice. I just hope the Steelers have a decent last game and squeeze out a 12-4 season.

Mario Kart Wii

Man that game is lots and lots of fun. Santa brought a great game for everyone. Some of the other Wii games, not so good. This one is great fun though.

Merry Christmas

Hope you got everything under the tree you were looking for.

On Vacation

I'm on vacation, no blog post today :)

Two Day Work Weeks

I've been saying it for years, that they have it reversed. It should be five days off and two days of work each week. This week is set up for me just like that. Doesn't get much better then only working two days.

Come to the coast, we'll get togther and have Christmas, Actually

Tonight is night 1 (of 2) of our annual Christmas movie viewings. Tonight is Love, Actually and tomorrow night will be Die Hard. Two great Christmas movies.

What a Difference a Week Makes

Maybe Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants are the best two teams in the league.

Don't Care

I've been saying all week I don't care if the Steelers won or lost today vs. the Titans. Well I lied, kinda. I really don't care past a first round bye, homefield advantage isn't that big a deal. The problem is I really don't like when the Steelers lose.

Plus there is that whole offensive line sucking ass thing. Man they are really, really bad. I wonder if our backups can beat the Browns starters?

Perfect Gift

Sometimes its great when you find that special someone of 13 years a perfect gift. I mean I always get her something I like but this year she's going to love it. Giving is a lot more fun then getting, although a Troy Polamalu jersey is really nice.

Championship!

I'm in three fantasy football leagues and I'm in the championship game in all three of them. Not bad if I do say so myself. We'll see how it turns out.

WTF?

If that isn't one of the signs of the apocalypse I'm not sure what is. I was in Vegas this year when it got to 111 degrees. Seeing the Luxor covered in snow is more than a little weird.

No Movies

Man this holiday movie season is really devoid of anything I want to watch. Normally there is at least two or three movies I want to see but outside of James Bond I haven't wanted to see anything. Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait for Watchmen in March.

Football Is Not Baseball

Stats can measure just about everything in baseball. There just aren't enough stats yet to track everything in football. Aaron Smith and Ike Taylor don't have enough stats but man do they deserve to be in the Pro Bowl.

A Little More Offense

I really wish the Steelers would get just a little more offense but I'm starting to believe this schedule might have something to do with it. Maybe just a little.

The Steelers have the #1 defense. They've also played against the #2 defense (twice), the #3, and are about to play the #4 defense. Oh yeah they've played the #5, #6, #7, #11, #15, and #16 defense. The Steelers have played 14 games and 9 of those games are against a top half defense, 4 about to 5 against a top 5 defense. That's gotta play into it just a little.

All of this with their top RB playing hurt, their #2 RB out, and two OL starters out most of the year. You gotta play the schedule in front of you and you gotta play through injuries but it also means the Steelers aren't quite as bad on offense as I make them out to be.

They might not be a good offense but they're probably closer to average then closer to bad. Maybe, at least that's what I keep telling myself as the playoffs get closer.

A great D is good but you gotta score points to win. The Steelers can't expect to win every game by scoring less then 20 points a game.

Well when you tie a record and allow less then 300 yards in a game for 14 straight games maybe you can.

Better Then Last Year

I guess helping with this year's physical inventory is much better then last year's. My brain still hurts, I'm still covered in dust, cold and tired from going up and down a ladder and standing on concrete. But the product is in Charlotte and not Hartford, CT. I get to sleep in my own bed. Much better.

2008 AFC North Division Champion Pittsburgh Steelers

Man that looks good. First time they beat the Ravens in Baltimore since 2002. Man this Steelers team will take years off your life. That defense is so good and that offense is so bad. Today's game had some questionable calls go in the favor of the Steelers but at this point I'm not bitching. Hopefully someone can beat Baltimore in the playoffs so the Steelers don't have to play them. I'm tired of playing them this year. What a game!

3-6

I guess I can't really complain about the first half of the game. The Steelers made a few mistakes with some dumb penalties. Of course its a big game and their special teams decides not to show up with a few horrible punts and allowing them to return a punt and kick off pretty well. I swear it seems there are times I think the Steelers don't realize that special teams is part of the game.

Still the Steelers are in a decent position being down only a field goal. Man their defense is really good. I just wish the offense was a little better, not a lot better just a little better. We'll see what happens in the final 30 minutes.

No Turnovers

If Ben and the Steelers offense can limit the amount of turnovers and drops today they could beat the Ravens. We'll see how it goes but I'm still really worried. Man I hate playing the Ravens.

Two in a Row

After a sophomore never winning the Heisman we've had one win in two years in a row. I think Oklahoma has had a great year but man every QB in the Big 12 had a great year. The QBs in the crazy conferences where Boise State or Hawaii or BYU or whatever play don't get the Heisman because the whole conference puts up stupid big numbers. Well look at the Big 12 numbers and you'll see the same thing. I think Tebow should have won again and I can't stand the Gators.

Really, really worried

I really don't see the Steelers winning tomorrow. I think there is just too many factors against the Steelers. They almost never win in Baltimore and almost always split the season series against them. The Steelers beat the Ravens earlier and this game is in Baltimore. Plus this Ravens teams is actually pretty good and the Steelers have been atrocious on offense. It would be great for the Steelers to win but we'll see.

Good for me

The Yankees signed the oft-injured yet incredibly talented AJ Burnett. The Braves were trying to sign him to some huge deal as well but the Yankees came in with even a bigger deal. I want the Braves to be good again but I'd rather them be smart about it. I'd prefer if they took a year or two and built a really solid team and AJ Burnett is not part of that plan. We'll see what happens throughout the winter.

Dark Knight (Again)

Man this movie looks really, really good in blu ray. What a great movie.

I have lots of confidence

We have a weekly confidence points pick 'um in our office. We have a weekly payout and an overall payout. I've won five weeks and have the overall lead. Not too bad, it is nice to get a free lunch plus some every other week or so.

People just don't get the #1 rule in a confidence league, you must have a team in your top 3 or 4 picks that others don't. That and always pick against Detroit and Brett Favre in California.

Fantasy Update

The regular season ended for all three of my fantasy teams this week. Going into the weekend I was in first in all three leagues but I went 0-3 and dropped to 2nd in one, 4th in another, and remained 1st in the league I care about the most. I made the playoffs in all three leagues but hopefully I have a better showing this weekend.

355

Thanks for the memories Greg Maddux. There was a four year stretch were this guy was literally the best pitcher I've ever seen. I can remember a few innings where Braves pitchers have given up 4 home runs in that inning. I can also remember when Greg Maddux went an entire year, in 202 innings!

I'm not a huge fan of wins as a measure of a good pitcher but 355 is sure a hell of a lot of wins. Maddux also had a year when he won 19 games in 33 starts with 232 innings with whopping 20 walks. Yeah 19 wins with 20 walks is silly. How about a year with a 1.56 ERA followed up with a 1.63 ERA.

I could on for days about Maddux and his numbers. He was also a pretty good fielder I heard. For a pitcher he was pretty good with the bat because remember chicks did the long ball. He even stole 11 bases.

Greg Maddux is the very definition of a Hall of Famer. Thanks for the memories and the many short games when I had to work in the morning. How great it is that every fifth day I got to watch a Hall of Famer. Oh wait, three out of five days I got to watch one (well when Smoltz wasn't on the DL) but that's a story for a different blog.

Awesome

The end of that game was just awesome. It was needed since I can't see a way for the Steelers to beat the Ravens next week. The Steelers never sweep the Ravens and the way the Steelers are playing on offense that probably won't change next week. Still I'll take this win for now.

That's just messed up

I can't believe the Steelers won that game. That defense is really great but that offense needs some work. I'll babble about this later on. Right now I'm too jazzed with them actually winning a game they had no business even being in. The Cowboys owned the Steelers in going into the fourth quarter but somehow the Steelers won. It is just crazy!

Here we go Steelers, here we go!

Bring Back the 70s

Today is a throwback to the 70s rivalry between the Cowboys and the Steelers. Going into the season I put this game down as a loss for the Steelers because I thought the Cowboys were the best team in the NFL. That I guess is why they play the games instead of just go by the team on paper.

I'm still worried about the Cowboys but the Steelers really need to win this game. I think they're a better team then the Cowboys and I think its possible the Steelers are one of the top 3 or 4 teams in the NFL. With the Ravens seemingly unable to lose a game the Steelers need to keep winning. The next week or three will decide if the Steelers get the #2 seed or the #6 seed. They've proven before the #6 seed can win the Super Bowl but its usually easier with a home game and a week off.

Impressive

It is really impressive the Oklahoma put up 60 points in a game for five (or maybe six) games in a row. I watched some of the game tonight and I'll tell you they could let up much earlier. I'll stop short of saying it is unsportsmanlike but I will say what goes around comes around. Good luck against Florida

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. McGregor

My brother got married today. I wish him and his wife the best. To say there are some odd circumstances would be an understatement. Pretty Bird and I still wish them the best. Too bad we couldn't make the ceremony.

Quantum Of Solace

The ladies had something to do early this evening so I finally caught the latest Bond flick. I really enjoy the relaunch and think Daniel Craig is a pretty damn good Bond. This one wasn't as good as the previous one, Casino Royale but I still enjoyed it.

Silly Braves

The Braves are being really silly thinking they can win next year. They really should be planning for 2010 or 2011 and not next year. I guess this is why I don't run a baseball team.

On Demand

The DirecTV On Demand set up is really cool. My parents have On Demand through cable but it is mainly just a pay per view set up you can get any time. They have a little TV but almost everything you have to pay extra for. This set up is very different. We have thousands upon thousands of shows from almost every channel on DirecTV and they're all for free. We can get pay per view as well but that isn't near as cool as being able to catch on the episode of Mad Men we missed.

Surreal

Today just seemed so surreal it was freaky. I had three different phone conversations that all seemed so out there it was weird. It wasn't bad or good per se, it just out there.

Stupid People

I have enough things that are stressful in my life. I don't need family members who should be rational doing stupid dumbass things. Too bad that isn't how my family works. Idiots.