Monday morning catch-up

Well, the outcome of Saturday's big game was a bummer - Michigan lost to OSU, 42-39. But on the positive side, it was a well-played, exciting game - totally lived up to the hype. And now the arguments rage -- who should play OSU in the BCS -- who should be given the opportunity to knock off the number one team in the country?

If you want to see a great game - and to see the number one and number two teams in the country play for the national title - then there's no doubt who should be in the BCS bowl. MICHIGAN! They came pretty darn close to knocking off the #1 team on their home field - imagine the game that could result on neutral ground! We'll all be keeping an eye on next week's game - maybe the whole BCS picture will be clearer after Saturday...

The Sox have 24 days left to clinch the deal with Matsuzaka. Apparently, John Henry and Theo were out in LA this weekend meeting with D-Mat and that spawn of the devil, Boras. I am cautiously optimistic!

I saw two movies this weekend - both of which I would recommend. Saturday, I saw "Stranger than Fiction," the new Will Ferrell movie. It was really funny - but often not laugh-out-loud funny, kind of a small chuckle. The performances were really good - even Ferrell was pretty low-key. I must admit, I really like some of his movies (Elf!). On Sunday, I saw "A Good Year," the new Russell Crowe film. I have to say - I love Crowe, very hot - but he's not aging super well. Not looking craggy in that Redford way, but wrinkly. I did enjoy the film - lived up to the NYT review which summed it up in with three P's - pretty, pleasant and predictable.

I probably won't be blogging the rest of the week (unless something super exciting happens) - I'm heading to New England for the Thanksgiving holidays. I think we'll take an excursion to Block Island - always a cool place to go in the off-season!

Gobble gobble!

The face of UM Football

Just got the word that Michigan football legend, Bo Schembechler, has died at age 77. When I think of UM Football, he's the one I picture. Stalking the sidelines, competing against Woody Hayes, tossing the headset aside in anger over a call... WXYZ in Detroit is having a live webcast salute to him right now.

As if this weekend's game wasn't already over-hyped and emotional. The Wolverines have got to feel pressure to win won for Bo.

Hot, hot stove!

It's been so great to tune into ESPN this week and hear some baseball news! And big news it was this week. The Red Sox are high bidder on Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. They basically paid $51.11 million to have the right to negotiate with his old Japanese team and purchase his contract. I love that extra one at the end - did they think they were bidding on a "Price is Right" showcase?!

So, now the hard part: negotiating with that minion of the devil, Scott Boras. I truly despise that man - he's the sports agent who has squeezed way too much money out of way too many teams, the Sox included. There's a part of me that hopes this is an elaborate scheme to screw Boras once and for all. If the Sox and Matsuzaka can't reach a deal in 30 days, Mats has to go back to Japan and play and no one gets him. No one. Boras gets nothing. And the Sox don't have to pay that 51 million. Of course, he'll try posting again next year - and the Yankees will probably bid $100 million.

On the other hand, if the early reports on this guy are acurate, we could have an AWESOME starting rotation. Matsuzaka (guess I'm going to have to learn how to spell that, although I never did conquer Miienatkjda - you know, the ball stealer), Beckett, Schilling, Wakefield, Papelbon - with Crazy Man Tavarez lurking around. Woo.

What is it - about 93 days now til pitchers and catchers report??

A good omen

Isn't this awesome?It's from the Michigan game on November 4th - old Jean-Luc Picard himself conducted the Michigan band at halftime! Will we beat Ohio State? Make it so!!

Oh, Curt

Well, Curt Schilling didn't do nearly as well on Jeopardy! as he did in the 2004 post-season. But, hey, he seemed to be having a good time. And even though he tanked on Final Jeopardy and had zero at the end, his charities still got $25,000. Good job, Curt!

Some loose ends and links

• Next Thursday, Curt Schilling appears on "Celebrity Jeopardy!" I'm psyched to see him flexing his brain muscles. He goes up against Jane Kaczmarek from "Malcolm in the Middle" and Doug Savant from "Desperate Housewives." I was SSOOO hoping he was going to play against Carson Kressley from "Queer Eye"!
• I can't wait for this election to be over. I am ssoo sick of the constant bombardment of ads from both sides. Of course, it's a very interesting race here in Tennessee. The former mayor of the Scenic City, Bob Corker, is going up against Harold Ford. Having lived through Corker's tenure as mayor, I can't imagine a worse candidate. He was totally out for his own interests while he was mayor - even manipulated things to so that a section of wetlands could be reclassified for the Walmart he wanted to build. And his claimed inability to get the Republican National Committee to stop running their racist ads - if he couldn't influence them is such a small matter, what is going to happen when he' s in Washington? He won't be anything but a rubber stamp for the Republicans - and we already have one of those in the person of Lamar Alexander. We need someone who's got a world view - a broad knowledge of both Tennessee and Washington - and that's Harold.

And I'd frankly rather look at Harold for the next four years than that goofy Corker.

• Alex Gonzalez was totally ripped off on the Gold Glove. How could they hand it to Jeter - it was totally biased and based on his reputation rather than his actual performance this year. Boo. (The Dugout has a great take on this!)
  
• I have been looking for this video for months! Thanks to piney61 over on LJ for pointing it out! It is an absolutely awesome recap of the 2004 season. I had it on disc, but then the disc mysteriously died! So I was so happy to get this link.
• Funny editorial in today's New York Times (free registration required.) Some highlights:

TRADE We need an A-Rod exit strategy. Getting him was always a mistake. We were told the Yankees would greet him as a liberator. After three years, it’s a fiasco — yes, a fiasco. Against the Tigers in the playoffs, he went 1-for-14, struck out with the bases loaded and made a critical fielding error. Each day, the news reports worsened...

TRADE We’re sending our kids to fight an endless war in Boston, when it’s Detroit that attacked us. After we swept the Red Sox in August, you hung out your Mission Accomplished banner, but nothing has been accomplished.

KEEP The Yankees never said it was over. The news media said it was over. And I acknowledge the challenges. We must adapt. We must heed the experts. Joe Torre and his coaches have said they believe A-Rod should come back. We must listen to them.

TRADE Those are the same “experts” that batted A-Rod eighth!

KEEP You would stoop so low as to attack Joe Torre? Have you no shame? Have you no shame!

Funny stuff!

• There are certain shows that are "must-see" tv for me. Ones I actually watch in "real time." They are: Heroes, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Prison Break, Ugly Betty, Gilmore Girls, and Jericho. I also rarely miss, but watch on tape The Nine, Desperate Housewives, Studio 60 (although its days look numbered), House, Bones, Without a Trace, Battlestar Galactica, How I Met Your Mother. OMG, looking at that list, is my life pathetic or what?? But ya gotta fill all the empty hours without the Red Sox!
  

I got friends...

I don't know how I missed this one - it's CMT's list of the 40 greatest country drinking songs:

40. Beer Run
George Jones & Garth Brooks

39. Killin' Time
Clint Black

38. Beer For My Horses
Toby Keith & Willie Nelson

37. That's Why I'm Here
Kenny Chesney

36. Naked Women and Beer
Hank Willians, Jr. & Kid Rock

35. Beer Thirty
Brooks & Dunn

34. Tonight the Heartache's On Me
The Dixie Chicks

33. Wasted Days & Wasted Nights
Freddy Fender

32. Tequila Sunrise
The Eagles

31. Ten Rounds With Jose Cuervo
Tracy Byrd

30. I Love This Bar
Toby Keith

29. Two Pina Coladas
Garth Brooks

28. What's Made Milwaukee Famous
Jerry Lee Lewis

27. Wine Into Water
T. Graham Brown

26. Whiskey, If You Were a Woman
Highway 101

25. Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down
Merle Haggard

24. All the Girls Get Prettier At Closing Time
Mickey Gilley

23. You Never Even Call Me By My Name
David Allen Coe

22. Set 'Em Up, Joe
Vern Gosdin

21. Two More Bottles Of Wine
Emmy Lou Harris

20. The Whiskey Ain't Workin'
Travis Tritt & Marty Stuart

19. Drinkin' My Baby Goodbye
Charlie Daniels

18. It's Five O'Clock Somewhere
Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett

17. I'm Gonna Hire a Wino To Decorate Our Home
David Frizzell

16. Whiskey Bent and Hellbound
Hank Williams, Jr.

15. Pop a Top
Alan Jackson / Jim Ed Brown

14. Straight Tequila Night
John Anderson

13. There's a Tear In My Beer
Hank Williams & Hank Williams, Jr.

12. Longneck Bottle
Garth Brooks

11. There Stands the Glass
Webb Pierce

10. You Ain't Much Fun Since I Quit Drinkin'
Toby Keith

9. Chug-a-Lug
Roger Miller

8. White Lightnin'
George Jones

7. I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink
Merle Haggard

6. All My Rowdy Friends Are Comin' Over Tonight
Hank Williams, Jr.

5. Sunday Morning Coming Down
Johnny Cash

4. Whiskey River
Willie Nelson

3. Don't Come Home a Drinkin'
Loretta Lynn

2. Family Tradition
Hank Williams, Jr.

And of course, number 1 --

1. Friends In Low Places
Garth Brooks

I haven't heard that Garth song in ages! One spring break, a friend and I (and her young daughter and one of her friends) drove down to Sanibel Island, Florida, for the week. We sang that song just about all the way down and all the way back. Phew. After reading that list, I knew I wanted it on my iPod - but, can you believe, it wasn't on iTunes! Checked around, and one of my friends had it - so I've been sashaying around the track to it today!