Ups and downs of the week.

  Boston Sports – Since Game 5 of the ALCS, the Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics are 44-3. LATE EDIT: Make that 45-3.

  Politics – Anyone not sick of it already?

 Heated Seats – Nice this time of year. Same goes for the heated steering wheel.

  Head Colds – Sarah’s got a doozy, probably from the airplane.

 Weather – Warm-up coming this weekend.

Ups and downs of the week.

  Home at last – Good to be home where I can relax and not deal with airplanes.

  Air travel – The industry has sunken to a new low. The whole system is badly broken and needs government regulation now.

 Celtics – 24-3 and still going strong. This is turning into a banner year for Boston sports fans.

  Weather – Is it my imagination, or is this the worst start to winter we’ve had in years?

 New Camera – I am seriously impressed. So easy to get great pics.

Ups and downs of the week.

  Vacation time – Off to Florida and some warm weather.

  Backaches – Bad muscle pull this week. Just in time for vacation.

 Timing – Rain tomorrow until after we leave. Then snow.

  Airlines – Fares going up, service going down.

 New Camera – I think I’m going to like it.

Ups and downs of the week.

  School’s out – Quiet at work and no more papers to write.

  Winter -  6″-8″ of the white stuff coming tomorrow.

 Timing – This storm could have been next weekend when we’re trying to fly out of here.

  MLB steroid report – While I have no pity on steroid users, the report smacks of sensationalist slander.

 Fireplaces – Nice on a cold night.

Ups and downs of the week.

 Snow tires – They make all the difference.

  Bozo drivers – Need I say more? They seem to be everywhere this time of year.

 Celtics – Now 15-2. Amazing. (Late edit: make that 16-2)

  Patriots – They somehow found a way to win and stay undefeated.

  The Perfect Season Frenzy – Can we stop talking about it until/unless it happens, please?

Ups and downs of the week.

 Patriots – Keep on rolling.

 Dental work – Not terrible, but bad enough. Plus it’s dragging out to a sixth visit.

 Thanksgiving Break – Been nice having time off.

  Group projects in school – No fun having to rely on others for your grade.

  Celtics – No longer undefeated, but still looking damn good.

Faux Sports is the worst sports network in the world. My nephew, a soldier just back from Iraq and a major Green Bay Packers fan, and I were sitting here enjoying the GB/Minn game when some idiot at Faux Sports (who decided that he/she knew better than all the folks who tuned in to watch the Packers) switched the coverage to the Philly/Wash game. This strikes me as the ultimate act of arrogance and disrespect. We tuned in to watch the Packers (and the Vikings fans no doubt tuned in to watch the Vikings). If we had wanted to watch Philly, we wouldn’t have been tuned in to the Packers game. What makes Faux Sports believe they have the right to deny the Packers and Vikings fans their enjoyment? What right do they have on this Veterans Day to deny a 3 combat tour veteran the enjoyment of watching his Packers win? How dare they disrespect the wishes of their viewers and decide what’s best for them. Shame on them. 

Ups and downs of the week.

 Red Sox – Took it all. Who’da thunk it?

 DSL – What a pain the butt. Cable is a no-brainer to set up. DSL modems with built-in routers and firewalls are a royal pain. And a big thanks to SBC-Yahoo DSL for chasing all the plain vanilla DSL (read: simple) modems out of the stores. DSL will justifiably become extinct because it is such a pain. Good riddance.

 Chicago – Great city. So many really good restaurants all within walking distance of the river.

  Chicago – Is there ever a moment when you don’t hear sirens? They need to rename the place The Siren City.

 Verizon Wireless Data – Who needs the $10/day hotel wireless? Just hook the Verizon phone to the laptop and surf away. This post brought to you by Verizon Wireless.

 Boston Celtics – I’m not a big (or even small) basketball fan, but I did see the Celts kick royal butt tonight. Maybe they will have a great season. Is a championship in three major sports too much to ask in one year?

Ups and downs of the week.

Red Sox – Glad they’re back in Boston, but if only Beckett can win…..

 A Good Year – I like this movie. Screw the critics.

Fox sports – I’ve taken to watching the games with the mute on.

 Casper XP – Did what Ghost could not.

 The Onion – America’s Finest News Source. I was wondering where Gagme went.

Tigers have it. Rockies have it. Red Sox don’t. Simple as that. Drew, Dice-K, Lugo, and even Crisp are all cruising along on auto-pilot. Most of the starting rotation can’t get out of the 5th inning. Timlin is doing ok, but he can’t be the only middle relief guy. That leaves Francona with Wavy Lopez, Manny Del Carwreck, or Eric Gag-me. Was this whole season a fluke? Were they just lucky enough to play really bad teams at just the right time? I thought sure in the last two weeks of the season that they’d fall out of the division lead, but the Yankmees choked and let them slip away. Now they’re up against a well-rounded team with dependable, if not spectacular, pitching and hitting. Manny the Show-off and Big Papi are doing their best, but when most of your lineup is batting like old ladies, it’s like bailing out your sinking ship with a spoon. I believe Beckett will be good enough to hold the Indians to a couple runs at best, but if the Sox can’t bring anyone home, it won’t do any good. And the thought of a Game 7 at Fenway in the hands of Dice-K is too painful to think about. It’ll be like watching Bill Buckner replays for three hours. If the Indians are destined to win the pennant, I hope they do it tomorrow night in front of their own fans. Their fans deserve that.

 EDIT: Case in point, from Shaughnessy’s column in The Boston Globe:

Ramírez was not in the Sox dugout when Mike Lowell and Drew made the first outs against Cleveland reliever Rafael Betancourt in the ninth. He came back from whatever he was doing to watch Crisp line to first for the final out.

Yesterday in a rare interview, Ramírez said, “If it doesn’t happen, so who cares? There’s always next year. It’s not like it’s the end of the world or something.”

That should fire everybody up.