Speaking for a family that hopes to one day be able to have just one horse to love and care for, it’s hard to believe thoroughbreds are being put down in Puerto Rico because they’re not fast enough. Despicable.
Bills blogger having it both ways
Obviously, when reading Chris Brown’s blog you have to take it with a grain of salt. After all, it is right there on the Buffalo Bills web site, where he’s touted as “Lead Journalist” for buffalobills.com, which is, at the least, paradoxical. However, his posts on the most recent batch of Spygate tapes do seem a bit inconsistent.
Gonna Get a Little More Afternoon Delight
Some quick thoughts on items I’ve picked up in the news the last few days:
- I need all of you, to stop what you’re doing and listen…. Cannonball! Buried in this blog post may be the biggest breaking story of the year.
- Bills WR James Hardy was in trouble over the weekend for allegedly pulling a gun on his father. Sure he’s 6-6 with great hands, but I think a lot of Bills fans may be experiencing buyer’s remorse already. Remember this is the same cat that allegedly attacked his girlfriend and baby a few years ago. If history is any guide, don’t expect a long career in Buffalo with that kind of behavior. I can’t think of any athlete in the last 25-30 years that Buffalo fans have rallied behind who you could reasonably call controversial - maybe Bruce Smith who had a few run-ins with the law and the NFL.
- Speaking of Bruce, I had to laugh at one part of Mark Gaughan’s Buffalo News article announcing that Smith was going to be inducted into the Bills Wall of Fame - the part about his great work ethic. Really? You mean all those years where he held out or skipped mini-camp, or only practiced a couple of days a week? Marv Levy ran a notoriously loose ship and for one, I associated that mostly with Smith. Continue reading ‘Gonna Get a Little More Afternoon Delight’
Things to watch tonite
If you’re indoors tonight looking for something good on TV, I would recommend “Storm over Everest” on PBS’s Frontline. The film by David Breashears recounts the fateful 1996 storm that resulted in the deaths of five climbers. Breashears was on the mountain at the time, leading an IMAX film crew. Though he postponed work on that movie to aid the rescue effort, his footage surfaced a few years later in Everest, a breathtaking IMAX film that explored the pull of the mountain. His latest venture will include memories of the ‘96 trip and dramatic recreations of the storm, filmed on a Utah mountainside. It airs at 9 pm on PBS. Check your local listings.
What in the name of George Jones was this guy thinking?
This happened too late to make today’s paper, but crossed the wire early this morning:
Chautauqua County sheriff’s deputies have charged a 58-year-old Irving man with drunken driving … on a lawn mower.
Deputies dispatched early today to an Irving residence to remove an intoxicated man from the home spotted the man riding his lawn mower away from the scene and stopped him shortly after 1 a.m. today.
They charged the man with felony driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation and a few other things. Apparently he was charged with a felony because of a previous DWI conviction.
I dunno, if you already had a DWI, making your getaway on a tractor seems like a pretty reasonable alternative.
Two weeks to go…
Then I imagine this is how I’ll feel.
Today’s bad parenting award…
…goes to Mr & Mrs Side of Pork for allowing a lost tooth to go unrewarded. Needless to say, the tender early morning silence was broken with cries of “The Tooth Fairy didn’t come!” Drama.
Leaving the tooth underneath the pillow used to be standard practice. Nowadays we have a special tooth pillow and also a tooth bear with pockets in the front. The Tooth Fairy obviously was confused, couldn’t find the tooth among the many hiding spots, and decided she was not responsible for compensation without proof of liability. Either that or she fell asleep on the couch after watching ‘30 Rock.’ I suppose she’ll have to bring double the loot tonite.
UPDATE: The Tooth Fairy was merely delayed. According to the note left with the tooth, tornadoes in the South prevented the Tooth Fairy from arriving in the middle of the night. Instead, she showed up while the kid was at school. This was all very helpfully written out on an index card and stuffed in the tooth pillow. The kicker? It was signed “The tooth ferry.” I guess spelling was never her forte.
I have finished with the smoking
Excellent essay by David Sedaris in The New Yorker for those of us alternately seduced and repulsed by the 20 immaculately rolled carcinogen tubes sardined into every $9 pack.
It’s been at least 6 months since my last cigarette, but like James Caan in “Misery” I plan to light one up - and just one - after this.
Nothing says Summer Olympics like an Everest snowstorm…
Video of the Olympic torch reaching the summit of Mt. Everest:
Kind of clever marketing trick - taking the torch to the highest place on earth. Unfortunately, rather than bring goodwill or show Chinese ingenuity, it only serves to remind us of China’s abysmal record on Tibet & human rights.
Not to mention the fact that they basically shut down the mountain for an entire climbing season.
My favorite part: They crafted special torches to burn in the oxygen-deprived Everest air. Good to know in these troubled times that the world’s scientists, engineers, and problem-solvers are dedicated to the world’s important problems.
Gerbe signs with Sabres
It’s good to see Bucky Gleason’s asinine NHL roundup Sunday awakened Kevin over Bfloblog. I knew as soon as I read it that it would draw his ire. For the record, besides taking the preposterous position that Flyers fans are classier than Sabres fans, Gleason took this opportunity to mention that top Sabres prospects Nathan Gerbe and Tim Kennedy were still unsigned, then claimed -without any evidence-it was because Buffalo management had lowballed them. Less than 48 hours later, Gerbe has signed with the Sabres. Says Bfloblog:
It’s another episode of “Bucky Gleason Can’t Lose”. If Gerbe signs Now that Gerbe has signed, Bucky can say how smart he is because the Sabres listened to him. But if he didn’t sign, those Sabres are just plain dumb.
I’d just add that Bucky based this on his “sources”. In other words, he heard something he wanted to believe was the truth and pursued it - it fits his storyline for Sabres management to mistreat its draft picks. The source almost definitely was an agent of either Gerbe or Kennedy. It’s a classic negotiating tool: Leak the “insulting” offer, whether true or not, and put pressure on management to settle in hopes of quelling the furor in the fan base. Surely, Bucky can tell when he’s being spun. If he can’t, then he’s either stupid or naive. The only other choice is willing accomplice. Either way, he’s a classic tool.
Triple Crown for Big Brown?
The talent is surely there. The question is: How well will he respond to two more long races in a little more than a month? After all, the 3-year-old’s Kentucky Derby win was only his fourth career start.
Eight Belles bloodline at fault?
Others more eloquent than me have spoken about the tragic death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. It was emotional watching that filly hang with the big boys and best all but the biggest - Big Brown, who looks to be almost unbeatable. Unchallenged in any of his 4 races, he always looks like he’s got another gear in reserve. But as remarkable as Big Brown seems to be, Eight Belles was the sentimental favorite of many, particularly in the aftermath of her runner-up finish. Not far past the finish, though, she collapsed on the track with two broken front ankles and had to be euthanized.
Interestingly, the Wall Street Journal ran a story on Friday noting that all 20 horses in the Derby field were descendants of Native Dancer, a Derby runner-up who died in the 1960s. In fact, some 75% of thoroughbreds in the US come from Native Dancer’s line. The problem is, because of the shrunken gene pool, one weakness is becoming more pronounced.
Pens-Flyers
Pittsburgh joins Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference finals after dispatching the Rangers in overtime of Game 5 Sunday afternoon.
These two teams really do not like each other. And I’m really looking forward to this series. Be nice to see Pittsburgh sweep, but on the other hand, a 7-gamer would make for a whole lot of good hockey.
No excuses
Today’s long training run ended about 2 miles early for me. It was unseasonably cool this morning and more than a little windy, so I cut it a bit short. Probably not the best idea at this point in my training, but I’m still fairly pleased that I got as far as I did on a miserable day. I also hadn’t been taking as good care toward the end of the week - ate fast food one night, ice cream another AND missed a few days of asthma medication. No excuses, just lessons learned. One thing that today’s run reinforces is to treat your long training runs like a race day. That is, fuel up, get plenty of rest, and prepare as if you were running a race that day.
And by the way, if you were Vogue-ing in the passenger seat at about 9 am on Center Road, I totally saw that.
Let my wife drive them
Front page headline in the Wall Street Journal:
A Crushing Issue: How to Destroy Brand-New Cars
