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I love it when signs sound like someone just strung a bunch of random words together, like “pothole hotline” or “peanut butter ice cream eggs. “
My dogs and I had a conversation about squirrels the other day.
One of the dogs, Scout, said “I don’t know what the big deal is about squirrels. With their fluffy tails and their beady little eyes. They’re just glorified sewer rats if you ask me.”
I laughed.
The other dog said, “I just want to know why I can’t catch ’em!”
My response?
“Because they’re too fast, Little Bear. They’re just… too… fast.”
I love this time of year. For sports, I mean. Weather-wise it sucks. I hate the fall. It means colder weather, more rain, leaves to rake, gutters to clean out, etc. But for sports, fall is awesome. The World Series is going on. The NFL is is full swing and getting interesting. College football games start meaning the difference between a bowl game and well, not a bowl game. The NBA is gearing up for the opening of the regular season. And if the NHL owners and players weren’t a bunch of jackwagons, they’d be starting their season as well.
World Series:
You gotta love the Giants! They’re on fire right now. The Kung Fu Panda crushed it in Game 1. The Tigers are good, no doubt about it, but the Giants have one guy on their team right now that is unbeatable. His name? Mo Mentum.
NFL:
What kind of a world do we live in where the Falcons are undefeated and the Saints are 2-4? Nuff said.
College Football:
I’m an Oregon fan. The BCS rankings don’t really bother me…. yet. I know the Ducks, or the PAC-12 in general, doesn’t get enough respect. That’s ok. I understand that Oregon’s strength of schedule is a little lacking this year. That’s ok, too. But No. 4? Come on! They’ve decimated all of their opponents this year. Before halftime.
There are several teams I think are overrated. Florida. Definitely Notre Dame. Ohio State (always overrated!) Kansas State is good, and they’ve creamed the teams they were supposed to cream, but they barely beat Oklahoma and almost lost to Iowa St. They still have to play Oklahoma State, TCU, Baylor and Texas. Of course, they were scheduled to play Oregon this year but backed out. I’m just saying. The reality is, all of these things will sort themselves out. Only one team from the SEC will be undefeated. K State can’t slip up. Oregon has to win out. It will all take care of itself. I do think, however, a great match-up for the national championship would be Oregon and Alabama.
It’s funny how college football affects me, though. I find myself rooting for the strangest teams. I’m yelling for Georgia to capitalize on turnovers by Florida. I really really want Texas Tech to play well against Kansas St. I am soooo cheering for Oklahoma against ND. Funny.
By the way, as an Oregon Duck fan, I’m probably committing an in-state felony right now, but let’s give three cheers for the Oregon State Beavers. Undefeated and ranked #7! Nice to see. Mike Riley has done a phenomenal job with his team. I hope they win all of their games. Except one. (The Civil War game, of course!)
Sorry I haven’t updated this blog in awhile, I’ve been busy getting a couple of other blogs launched. They are both still in the beginning stages, but improving rapidly.
I’d like for you to check them out, you know, if you get a chance. I’d appreciate any kind of feedback you’d like to give, if the mood strikes you!
is a new sports blog. I decided to have a separate one just for my rants and raves about the sports world!
Thanks For Visiting, Please Don’t Stay
is blog about some of the great things to do and see in my home, Portland, Oregon.
Thanks!
Forgive me Father Blog, for I have sinned. It has been 20 days since my last blog.
Ok, I feel better now.
Three cheers for our beloved Portland Winterhawks!! Although they lost a tough Game 7 to Edmonton in the WHL finals, they had a great season and should be very proud! It was a tough way to end the year, and for some players, their hockey careers, but they have nothing to hang their heads about.
I’m still watching the NHL playoffs with great fervor! I’d like to see the NY Rangers and LA Kings face off in the Stanley Cup Finals, they are both tough, aggressive teams. I don’t think anyone thought the 8th-seeded Kings would have made it this far! They’ve only lost 1 game so far in the first three rounds, and have sent the Phoenix Coyotes to the brink of elimination. They are currently playing as I write this, in Game 4 from the Staples Center in LA.
Speaking of the Staples Center, they’ve certainly had a busy few days! Thursday night the Kings hosted Game 3 of the NHL playoffs, then the Lakers and Thunder played their NBA playoff game Saturday, followed by the Clippers / Spurs playoff game Saturday night, followed by the Kings game today. Whew! I’m tired just thinking about the crew that has to change the basketball courts and change back and forth from the ice.
Here’s a better pic of the mosaic tile table I talked about earlier:
And here’s a pic of the next table I’m working on:
That’s right….. a water ski table!!
In my post the other day, perhaps I failed to convey the most important factor in my interest in the NHL playoffs. That would be how exciting the games have been! There have been 18 overtimes in the 40-some odd games, an NHL playoff record. There’s nothing more exciting than sudden death in sports! And most of the games that didn’t go into overtime were decided by one goal. That’s exciting! Anyway, just wanted to convey the real reason behind my support of the NHL.
By the way, I mentioned our local junior hockey team in that same post. Congratulations are in order for the Portland Winterhawks! They are the Western Conference Champions! Next it’s on to the WHL finals against the big, bad Edmonton Oil Kings! You know they are bad ass because they’re not just the “Oilers,” they’re the “Oil Kings.”
But that’s ok, the Winterhawks are bad ass, too. Just look at their logo:
Just wanted to give a thumb’s up to a couple of professional sports leagues. I don’t normally cover these two sports, but they’ve both done something lately that I’ve noticed. And with all of the un-professional things happening in the NBA, NFL and MLB, it’s nice to see some positive moves by the “other guys.”
NHL
The NHL is handling the Stanley Cup Playoffs a little differently this season. They are broadcasting each and every game of each and every playoff game. Normally pro hockey is only on TV on weekends, typically just one game on Saturday during the regular season. I’m not a huge hockey fan, and I don’t live in a town that has a pro hockey team, so that’s really the only games I see, if there isn’t anything else on. I usually watch the “winter classic” where two teams play in some outdoor stadium, that’s always fun.
Here in Portland we do have a junior hockey team, the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. They are great fun to watch, and tickets are cheap, so I do go to the games often. (It’s hard to remember that these are just 17 and 18 year-old kids when you are watching them!)
But since the playoffs began, I’ve been drawn to watching the games. Normally during the playoffs, you’d only get to see certain games of certain series, but since every game of every series is broadcast, there’s a ton of hockey to see, and all of the teams to scope out. And once you get into one game, you get into both the teams, and then you get into the whole series. I’ve watched more hockey in the last 10 days than I’ve probably watched in my entire life!
So, a big thumb’s up to the NHL for making all of those games available. Of course, it’s not like they’re doing it to be nice or to pay back fans. Think about all of the advertising time it takes to fill all those games. It is a business, after all. Still, it’s a great move.
NASCAR
Along the same lines, I think NASCAR made a great move earlier this season to increase their fan base. (’cause we all know, there aren’t nearly enough NASCAR fans in the country!)
Now, I’m not a NASCAR fan. I’ve never gotten too excited about a bunch of cars running in circles around an oval track. Nothing but a bunch of left turns. Of course, when I was a kid I wanted to be a race car driver; Mario Andretti was my idol (and A.J. Foyt, and if you remember him, you know how old I am!) And like most kids, my brother and I always had race car tracks and Hot Wheels sets. But as I got older, those “dreams” faded like so many others.
But NASCAR’s decision to broadcast a race in prime time was brilliant. I found myself watching, and continuing to watch. I’m sure the fact that one the cars smashed into the back of a jet-drying truck that produced a spectacular explosion and ensuing fire (and thankfully, no injuries!) may have been a leading cause of my continued interest. But there I was, watching a sport I almost never watch. And, I love all of the technology involved in racing now – all of the in-car cameras and communications between crew members. It’s old-school and high tech at the same time. That’s cool!
So, congratulations to the NHL and NASCAR. You’ve received the Caldelicious thumb’s up award for making new fans out of non-fans, while managing not to alienate your existing fans!
It’s KU vs. UK! See you Monday night!
As promised, (although, a little tardy) here’s a run-down on some of the nicknames of the teams in the NCAA tourney:
From Musketeers to Jackrabbits, the 2012 March Madness tourney is well underway, (with some mighty upsets already, I might add), and while there are no Zips or Flyers in this years’ field, there are plenty of funny, odd and just plain goofy nicknames.
The animal kingdom is always a good place to start. This year’s tourney has everything from owls to buffaloes, from rams to gators. There are wildcats and catamounts, bears and bearcats, bulls and bulldogs, there’s even greyhounds and longhorns. The birds are well represented. There are blue jays and cardinals, jayhawks and mountain hawks, golden eagles and blackbirds. There are even wolverines and wolfpacks!
In the non-animal kingdom, we have cavaliers and mountaineers, we have commodores, titans and spartans. There are aggies, hoosiers and hoyas. (what??) There are shockers and cyclones, blue devils and delta devils, tar heels and seminoles. There are even schools that just have colors: crimson (tide) and orange (men).
The weirdest ones though sort of defy explanation. Purdue is the boilermakers. Wow, that’s intimidating! He either makes boilers (ooo, scary) or he makes drinks. The Ohio State University (and you have to say “The” Ohio State University, I think it’s required by law) are the Buckeyes. Yeah, that’s a good idea – let’s have our school be represented by a big nut!
Notre Dame has the Fighting Irish. I always think of an angry little leprechaun, jumping up and down trying to bite someone’s ankle. Ha Ha!
St. Bonaventure are the Bonnies. I don’t know what a bonnie is, but it’s a funny name. Their mascot is actually a wolf, but I tend to picture a bonnet, like a Laura Ingals would wear in Little House on the Prairie. Sorry, St. Bonnie, it’s nothing personal.
The strangest nickname in this season’s tournament, however, has to be the St. Louis Bilikins. What the h#** is a bilikin? A billy goat? A next of kin? I don’t know. I guess it’s an elf-like good luck charm. Huh. Maybe they should update their school mascot. To a color. Puse, maybe? Chartruese? I’ve got it: Magenta. The St. Louis Magentas!
If you’d like a well-thought out article on this subject, which also includes a little more detail about the history of the nicknames, visit this 2012 NCAA nickname match-up page.
CalDelicious 