Thanksgiving Thoughts

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed the extended weekend. A few things that are floating around my head on this Monday morning:

-After five days off of work, it's hard to get back into the flow on a Monday morning.

-Making it even harder is the fact that I threw out my back yesterday. Technically, I don't know what it means "to throw out your back", but I've done it. Thank God for Bengay.

-What is it about Thanksgiving that causes people to eat until they are uncomfortable? 364 days a year, we eat until we are content and full, and then stop. On Thanksgiving, we reach the point of being full and just keep on eating until we are completely miserable.

-If your family is anything like mine, there is always a game played over the holidays. This year, like many before, the game of choice was Trivial Pursuit. As always, it was the guys against the girls. I'm pleased to report that the guys won 2 out of 3.

-Trivial Pursuit is a great game, but there is one glaring omission: A TIMER. Seriously, when an entire group of guys is sitting around the table humming the Jeopardy! music, there's something wrong.

-I tried a new dessert this weekend that was a combination of pretzels, jello, and whipped cream. I don't know about you, but if jello is involved, I'm on board.

-Isn't it time we allow someone else other than the Lions to play on Thanksgiving? I realize it's tradition and all, but for the better part of a decade, no one wants to watch the Lions.

I'll try to get some baseball-related stuff up later today or tomorrow. Right now though, I'm just trying to survive the pains in my back.

Owen's Football Blog?

A few football thoughts today, since there wasn't anything that happened over the weekend in baseball that I feel compelled to write about:

-How about my Bengals? 7-2 overall, 5-0 in the division, season sweeps of the Ravens and the Steelers. I'm clearly excited, but being a lifelong Cincinnati fan, I can't help but think "how will they screw this up?" Hopefully, they won't.

-For all you Colts fans out there, congrats on the 9-0 start. The Colts found a way to win again, even though Bill Belichick made one of the dumbest decisions of all time (you can argue with me if you want, but there is no way you go for it on 4th and 2 from your own 29 with two minutes to play). Peyton Manning is fun to watch.

-I don't know if firing Charlie Weis is the answer for Notre Dame, but I feel strongly it's going to happen now. Losing @ Pitt is not the crushing loss either. However, losing @ Pitt AFTER losing to both Michigan and Navy (not to mention USC) is what is going to cost him. Well, that, and the fact that he doesn't ever seem to win big games.

-Since we're talking about sports other than baseball, I couldn't be more excited about the start of college basketball season. Should be a good year for Notre Dame, but hopefully it'll be an even bigger year for my beloved Kentucky Wildcats.

That's all for now. Sorry for drifting away from baseball, but we all need that every once in a while.

Now Catching for the Montreal Expos: Tom Brady

That headline doesn't make a whole lot of sense, unless you read this piece from Baseball America about NFL quarterbacks who were drafted as baseball players as well.

I've always found it fascinating how many athletes from other sports have been drafted to play baseball as well. I think a large part of that is because baseball has so many rounds, that sometimes they just draft "athletes" as opposed to baseball stars. And if you see a kid in high school who plays two sports, then you take a chance in the 40th round that he might decide to go ahead and sign with your team, hoping he develops.

At the bottom of the article, there is also some talk about Kansas City Royals pitching prospects, some of whom played for Burlington this season.

Notre Dame vs. Michigan State

I realize this is a baseball blog, but I got to do something on Saturday for the first time in my life: attend a Notre Dame football game. I grew up Irish Catholic, so obviously, it's in my DNA to be a Notre Dame fan, but I had never had a chance to make it to a game until this weekend. And boy, what a game it turned out to be. Notre Dame defeated Michigan State by 3 points, quieting the "Fire Charlie Weis" talks for the next few days.

I didn't have my camera with me (I didn't think I was going to the game until I happened into a ticket on Saturday morning), but I was able to snap a few photos with my camera phone. I apologize for the quality, but this gives you an idea of the environment and where I was sitting at Notre Dame Stadium.



This is at the end of the game, when the players gathered in front of the student section for the Notre Dame anthem.


It's my stated goal in life to watch a Notre Dame football game from the press box. Can you tell I'm a media dork?


I went into the stadium about an hour before game time. This is the view as people started to make their way to their seats.



Same basic shot as above, only with a full stadium this time.