For better or worse, the Red Sox have traded Coco Crisp to Kansas City. Hard to say if this will work out. We know Coco is one of the best center fielders in the major league. He’s also lightning fast on the bases. He occasionally gets into hitting slumps, but he always ups his game in the post season. This new reliever, Ramon Ramirez, could be just what the hurting Sox bullpen needs, but let us not forgot that other reliever who was supposed to save us, Eric Gagne. I hope they didn’t give Coco away for nothing.

In any case, farewell Coco. I hope KC knows how lucky they are to have you coming aboard. It’s a shame I won’t get to see too many KC games. I’d hate to miss another stellar catch like the one below. I still can’t believe this catch.

Ups and Downs of the week.

  Fireplaces- Nothing like a toasty fire on a cold, rainy night.

   Homework- It’s bad enough when it’s useful. When it’s pointless it really gets annoying.

  Polycom Videoconferencing systems – Very cool to connect in real time to another meeting halfway around the world.

    Patriots – Not a stellar season so far, but much better than predicted. Cassel will never go back to being a number two QB. He was record-setting incredible last night and the rest of the team let him down. He played well against Indy, too, and they let him down there as well. I wonder who he’ll be starting for next season?

  Space shuttle launch – I never tire of watching them. I love the shot where the external tank separates.

Ups and Downs of the week.

   Friday night classes- The last one I got a phone call that my Dad was near death. Tonight during class I find out my brother-in-law was in the ER after having surgery this past week. I’m glad there are no more Friday night classes.

  Formula One – Awesome ending to the season. The championship went down to the last corner of the last race. Incredible.

    Patriots – Well, they didn’t get downright embarrassed, but a dropped pass by Gaffney that would have been a sure TD and some questionable calls by Bellichick late in the game cost them the win.

   Michael Crichton died - Another great storyteller gone.

  Sweet Tooth Specialties in Charleston, IL- Cheese bread and pineapple bread. Both delicious. Have to go get more tomorrow.

Ups and Downs of the week.

  TGIF – End of a long, tough week.

   School work- I’m sick to death of it. 90% of it seems like a waste of time. Think I’ll take a semester off.

  Formula One – The championship is going down to the last race again this year. 

    Patriots – I’d love to see them beat Indy this weekend, but they could get downright embarrassed.

   Studs Terkel died today - Another great writer gone. 

  Philadelphia Phillies – Kudos to them. They beat all the odds and predictions. Well done, guys.

  The Boston Globe website – I notified them on Tuesday that one of the pop-up (or pop-under) advertisements on their site was attempting to infect my laptop with a trojan. It has happened to my wife as well. Luckily I have McAfee anti-virus and I keep it up to date. McAfee stopped the download and deleted the offending file. I notifed The Boston Globe webmaster and got a reply that they were aware of the issue and were working to correct it. Days later, they still have not removed the offending ad. This is pure incompetence, which has become a fact of life at their website. Earlier this summer they farmed out their online forums to some useless third-party company who completely destroyed what had been a long-standing and active sports forum. Most of the veterans left in disgust. Now visitors risk infection from advertisements. Time for The Boston Globe to find someone competent to run their website.

Ups and downs of the week. 

  Cool cover art – This is Sarah’s most recent cover story for Bookmarks. Great art for an excellent article.

  

  Be it ever so humble. – Good to be home again.

   Stomach bugs- Nausea and travel don’t mix well..

  Serendipity – US Airways needed a volunteer to stay in Boston one more day and I needed to sleep until this stomach bug went away. I ended up with a free stay at a Hilton, dinner, and two free round-trip tickets on US Air to anywhere in the US. US Air got the seat they needed for another passenger. I had almost canceled my flight earlier thinking I couldn’t fly being that ill, but it would have cost me a fortune. I’m glad I waited. Funny how things work out sometimes.

    Patriots – They *might* have a halfway decent season after all, but I’m not getting my hopes up yet.

  Shapiro Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston – Awesome care. Super professional staff. Great facility. It’s THE place to go if you need heart surgery. 

  Philadelphia Phillies – They’re making a series of it and showing the Rays that an AL victory in the World Series is definitely not a given. They need to take heed of the ALCS, though, and finish this before it returns to Cowbell Palace.

How on earth can a major TV station screw up so badly that they miss the 1st inning of a Major League Baseball playoff game? Pathetic.

Ups and downs of the week. 

  Red Sox – Can’t believe they came back to win Game 5. Awesome.

   The Trop – Back to the major league’s crappiest stadium.

  Modern Medicine – Dad is doing better. He’s breathing on his own now but is still very weak. I’ll be out there later this week.

    Patriots – Well I guess the question of whether they can win without Brady has been answered.

  Cool weather – Almost cool enough for a fire tonight. 

Ups and downs of the week. 

  Red Sox – Time to play ball! 

   The Trop – The major league’s crappiest stadium.

  Modern Medicine – Dad is going to be ok. Docs are optimistic. I’m the first one to complain about high medical bills, but my Dad’s doc and the hospital he’s in are worth every last dime.

    Debates – They’re really just an opportunity for a candidate to feast on his/her own foot.

  Margaritas – Last ones of the summer (ok, it’s autumn, but it’s going to be 80F this weekend).

   McCain’s Homeowner Bailout Plan – Both guilty parties get a break, the rest of us foot the bill. What’s wrong with this picture?  

They’ve trimmed some of the fat <cough>Manny<cough> and ratcheted up their game and now they’ve sent the Angels packing AGAIN. One more chance to prove they’re the best starts this Friday. You gotta…