Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Rating my Mania

Sports teams/entities I adore (in some ways a late father's day post). Blame the fashionista.

8. Tom Bigelow - I can't believe this is all I could find on him. My favorite sprint car driver when I was growing up, though (slamming) Sammy Swindell eventually replaced him. My dad and I would go to a bunch of dirt tracks (some local, some not) watching the sprinters, and often come home covered in dirt. That was ok though. Ask me some time about the brats at Angel Park.

7. Milwaukee Bucks - we used to have partial season tickets, so my dad would come home from delivering fuel oil, eat, and we'd head down to MECCA for the second half of the game...when the Pistons were in town, we'd get together with Kent Benson and go out to eat after the game (he gave me a pair of shoes actually too big for my feet) and I'd get to stay up WAY past my bed time...I also remember the arcade (which was attached to the ice cream room).

6. St. Louis Blues - This one came rather late in life. Even before I moved to St. Loius, when we'd visit my brother, my dad would occasionally take us to a game (though it was hard to get seats together at the Arena). I remember watching Brett Hull in his prime on a line with Adam Oates. That was a sight...once I moved here, I split some season tickets with some people from work. I've cooled on the boys (it will be hard for me to ever forgive them for moving Pronger), but time will tell.

5. Rick Mears - Indy 500 great. Lots of days at Indy watching Rick squeeze everything out of a car that it had to give. Lots of early Saturday mornings on Pole day driving to the track...singing "Back Home Again in Indiana" with the other 40 people in our group before heading to the track on race day, Weglarz would bring the Looney Bread and Don M would bring the ukelele.

4. Green Bay Packers - Cold Cold COLD days sitting in the first row of the upper deck at county stadium in Milwaukee with my dad huddling over hot chocolate and dreaming of feeling my feet...watching the best player I ever saw slip and slide all over the field and rush almost no yards (Erik Dickerson did NOT like running on a frozen field)...Packers Vikes at the old Met (fucking Amahd Rashad)...Packers Bears at soldier field featuring a caller to the bears pregame show who said "Butkus, you couldn't hold Nitchke's jock strap" and also featuring a dropped pass by Sterling Sharpe on 4th down late in the 4th quarter...and a great birthday at Sandy's place on January 26, 1996 where the other greatest player I ever saw play had a great day, for me Brett Favre will always be the kid running off the field holding his helmet up after the first touchdown.

3. Notre Dame football - Saturday mornings leaving Milwaukee with my dad at 0 dark 30 driving through Chicago and wandering around campus...marching with the band from the steps of the admin building to the stadium...steak sandwiches at the KofC...the Irish Guard doing a jig, but ONLY if Notre Dame wins (nothing much worse than watching them stand still during that song after a game)...crisp Indiana fall days when the leaves are turning...the whole stadium going silent to hear the aweful pun from the Indiana State trooper in the 3rd (4th?) quarter reminding everyone not to drink and drive...hanging out in my brother's room in Dillon hall when I was 8.

2. University of Wisconsin hockey - Soooo many friday and saturday nights driving through unbelievably shitty weather to get to Madison for a game at the colleseum with my mom and dad...maybe stopping for dinner at Judds supper club on the way...and then getting home to see the second half of the game on the public television replay (brought to you by Goldman's Jewlers and the blueline club)...a game at the old Mariucci arena against Minnesota...Bob Johnson always knew that it was "A Great Day For Hockey"...Martha Johnson ringing the cowbell...the Band (oh my, the band)...*whistle* Hey, who is the goalie for Duluth (answer) Heinze (answer) How do you know it is Heinze (answer) Because he is soooo sloooowwwwww.... *whistle* Hail Mary Full of Grace, Notre Dame is in eigth place...the NCAA final in Detroit in 90...the NCAA final in Milwaukee this year...

1. Milwaukee Brewers - They are it...maybe the University of Wisconsin hockey team is close. Long sunday afternoons at County Stadium...the night my buddy Sean and I went to a double header and saw Jimmy Gantner hit his one home run of the year to win the first game in the bottom of 10 and then a young Cal Eldred throw a shutout in the second game...lots of Brewer Pepsi fanclub games with my dad (he'd usually bump up our General Admission seats to lower grandstand or upper box)...Brewers vs. Twins at the old Met in Minneapolis...solo roadtrips to Kaufman stadium in KC when I first lived in St. Loius...standing room only seats at the 82 World Series (which I happily would have attended in only my underwear)...Robin Yount playing his whole career there when he could have taken the money and ran (I'm talking to you Molitor)...following the last winning season in 92 by watching them try to chase the Blue Jays down on the TV in the common room of my dorm at Notre Dame...getting my picture taken with Ben Oglive on camera day...opening day when Sixto (Sixtoooooooooo) Lescano (Lescanooooooooo) hit the grand slam in the bottom of the ninth for a 9-5 victory.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Gerrard for England


Gerrard for England
Originally uploaded by sethsdisciple.
England bailed out by the Reds.

Watched half of this game on Telemundo today, and the second half on ESPN...no question that given the choice, I would watch in spanish instead of ESPN English. How they can make the decision to put all of these hacks on the World Cup is unbelieveable. At least the spanish call felt right as they were hitting the right parts of the play with emphasis (and knew how to pronounce the fucking names).

I hope Stevie gets to crack a few more from range.

Monday, June 12, 2006

3-0


3-0
Originally uploaded by sethsdisciple.
The U.S. National team is to a good National team as the MLS is to a good Euro league.

These guys are guilty until proven innocent at this point. Especially you Landon Donovan, who doesn't have the heart to stay in Europe to try to improve...rather be the big fish in a little (tiny) pond.

All the U.S. can hope for now is that some of the Italian national team had a few Euros down on the US to make the knockout stage.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Wahhh!


Wahhh!
Originally uploaded by lostonpurpose.
Some day she is going to show this picture to her shrink...

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Shadows Over Camelot


Shadows Over Camelot
Originally uploaded by sethsdisciple.
Or Schatten über Camelot if you will (and I won't).

Kathy and I headed over to U City to the house of one of the guys I work with for game night. Steve (said gamer) seems to like to pull everyone into one game, and we had 7 people, so we played Shadows Over Camelot.

I was a little leery, as it is a cooperative game, but Kathy digs the cooperative games, so that was a plus.

It is actually a little like that goofy Lord of the Rings cooperative game that John Howe did the art for. But I found SoC to be much more fun.

Where as that LotR game had everyone always working together, in this game, each player played a knight, and the goal was to get all 12 swords onto the round table, with at least half of them being black. To do so, the knights have to split up (or team up in somem cases) to do quests.

There were 5 or 6 quests spread around the board, some of which were solo, and some of which multiple people could help with. Each quest (even the ones the knights aren't at) are constantly moving towards a bad end, unless the good guys can step in and get them done. So there is constant tension all over the board.

And the kicker is that one of the players could be a traitor, trying to to thwart the others...but there is only a chance that there might be a traitor, in our game, there were 7 players and 8 avialable player cards (one being the traitor). In the end, there was no traitor, but the dynamic seemed fun. A little bit like looking for the mole.

The game mechanics do rely on the players avoiding table talk about what they hold, but it wasn't too bad.

Anyways, if your group likes the cooperative effort (even as the change of pace) I'd have to say that I could recomend this game.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Quick Updates!


Hey, new bear!
Originally uploaded by lostonpurpose.
My neighbor with the 2 year old saw us outside with the B in the exercauser as we were working on the Moon Garden and referred to her as "the foreman." Too true.

We'll have to post some pictures of the moon garden...my back is aching enough that we should share.

World Cup begins tomorrow! Which means I have to figure out how to get the TiVo set up to record all of it. Ouch! Might be beyond my mojo, but we'll see.

Flex day tomorrow! Should be a great day...once I get 3 or 4 hours in at work, I'll come home and pick up Kathy and the B and head out to the uesd book fair. After that, an hour of soccer (yes, I survived the game last weekend, but just barely), and then Kathy and I will go on to some gaming with one of the guys from work.

I'm especially looking forward to the England game on Saturday morning, but soooooooo afraid of the clowns ESPN will have covering the game...

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Score One For Tolerance

I'm not inclined to do this normally, so I'm going to say a quick political word and then back the fuck out of the room. I promise, more fluffy posts about the Brewers and racing and in all likelihood a lot of World Cup.

I've you've ever gotten me to talk politics, you'd may or may not know that I'm generally a bit conservative (especially in military matters and whatnot). But that being said....

Holy cripes I'm happy this constitutional amendment thing didn't move any farther forward (even though the esteemed idiots from this state voted for it). Why, oh why, should I feel entitled to tell two people who love each other that their relationship doesn't count as much as mine? It is insulting and degrading and dehumanizing and arrogant on so many levels it makes me sick. And for the politicians to be spending time (and therefore money) on this...now...makes my head spin.

My favorite bit of data from the whole mess is that Massachusetts (a state where same sex marriage is legal) apparently has the lowest divorce rate in the country...so much for undercutting the stability of the family.

Ok, done now.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

World Cup Primer


beckenbauer
Originally uploaded by sethsdisciple.
To celebrate upcoming World Cup, I bring you my all time favorite Python skit (Thanks Justin!!!). Just to make sure you get the funniest joke ever done by the Pythons, I included the picture of Franz Bechenbauer.

And, in what I choose to believe is the best homage ever, the Jose +10 shoe commercial uses the same joke. Check it out here. Beautifully played a number of the top footballers in the world.

The joke plays to me just as well today in an ad supporting the World Cup as it did back then...of course, I have no idea if the Jose +10 writer really had that in mind, but my world is just a slightly better place if I get to believe that she did.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

You Can't Stop Me!

I'm just going to keep posting this picture. Over. And over. You have been warned. Consider it a caption contest this time through. I know what I think in my head every time I see it.

Quick updates.

Love having Kathy and the B home.

X-Men 3 was enjoyed by Kathy and I (first movie since HPot pre the B). More Kitty Pride = good (though as Kathy said, not at the expense of Rogue).

At my last softball game I did the dumbest thing I've ever done on a field. When running back to the dugout (ok, the fenced area with the roof on it) from coaching third to bat (cause we got that far in the lineup) I tossed my glove towards one of my team mates standing in front of said dugout. The wind caught it (it was gusting 25-30) and carried it up onto the dugout roof.

Stupid.

Fortunately, Wedge's 10 year old who weighs roughly 2.3 Bs was there, so I threw him up to get my glove.

And finally, I keep thinking about taking my bike out and setting it up to commute to work in, but haven't actually done it yet. MUST do it this weekend.

And really finally, I have my first soccer game in forever this weekend. I'm ascared.