Father of Six

Hey.
How’s it going?
Anyone interested in a new entry?
I have a few things to say … like usual.

“Lost on the path to attainment
Search in the eyes of the wise
When I bled from the heart of the matter
I started bleeding without a disguise”

Peace.

X’s and O’s NFL notes
Another Sunday trade, this time the Steelers sending Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes to the Jets for a 5th round pick. Steelers really wanted to get rid of this off-the-field problem to agree to that trade. They got nothing for him.

What’s going to happen with Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger after his meeting with the NFL commissioner?

I’m tired of guys with character problems getting all the attention. Aren’t there any good guys doing good things out there? I’m going to find one and write about him next week.

Ex Libris What am I reading?
Still working on “The Infinity of Lists,” by Umberto Eco.

The Three Witches demonic incantation, an inspiring little number in tetrameter (four accents per line) in Act IV, Scene I of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is pretty specific, as far as a witches’ brew is concerned:

Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing …
Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches’ mummy; maw and gulf
Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark;
Root of hemlock digg’d i the dark;
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,—

I wonder if anyone has ever tried to make that recipe?

Adult cartoons Seasonal Sport – Hockey
Montreal and Colorado both squeaked into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Each team earned the eighth and final place in their respective conferences and get the reward of playing the number one seed.

Montreal will play their seven game series against the Washington Capitals.

Colorado will play their best of seven series against the San Jose Sharks.

The playoffs start Wednesday, April 14th.

I won’t say combo platter What did I cook this week?
Julia Child would say, Suprèmes de Volaille à Blanc.

The translator widget on my MacBook Pro says it this way – Le sein du poulet avec de la crème.

I say I made chicken breasts in cream sauce, with green peas, and long grain and wild rice cooked in chicken broth – la zizanie de pois, à grain long et a fait cuire en stock de poulet.

First Down Upcoming Sporting Event – Soccer
World cup 2010 is 2 months away. FIFA, the sport’s governing body, and the South African local organizing committee are pleading with South Africans to buy the remaining 500,000 tickets that have been made available.

The tickets are for 63 matches.

Ticket sales have been hampered by factors ranging from location of the host country — over 15 hours from New York by air, 11 hours from London and eight hours from Sao Paulo, Brazil — to the global economy and its impact on leisure travel.

I think there is a different reason.

“Extremely polarized and violent circumstances presently prevalent in the country.”

Time Out What did one of my 6 kids do this week that I found remarkable?
Boomer played the first two soccer games of his life this weekend.

The first game on Saturday was hilarious. He didn’t have any idea of what he should be doing, but had a great time running around.

He played much better on Sunday, and finally understood what the game expected from him.

Now we just have to get him to stop dancing during breaks in the action.

And to stop acting like Scooby-doo at the start of each of his runs.

Second and Short Cycling
Believe it or not, there are other professional cyclists, not just Lance Armstrong.

One of them, Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara, had a fantastic race in Sunday’s classic, the Paris-Robaix.

In professional cycling, there are five one-day races considered to be, “The Monuments,” because of their iconic status through their long history, and by being some of the most challenging races on the cycling calendar. The five are: Milan-Sanremo and the Tour of Lombardy in Italy, the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in Belgium, and Paris-Robaix in France.

The 259km Paris-Robaix race is known as the “Hell of the North.” Conditions the area were left that way after the first world war, and the riders have to overcome riding on the 27 sections and 52.9km of cobblestones during the race. The cobblestones are big and round, with wide gaps between each one. Riding a bicycle across them is not enjoyable.

Cancellara became the first man in five years to claim both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix titles in the same season. He snuck off the front of the race with 50k to go, and then soloed into the velodrome in Paris.

Congratulations to Cancellara for winning his 3rd Monument (along with Milan-Sanremo) with style. I hope he gets the opportunity to win the other two.

OctoEchos What music I’m listening to, why and do I like it? Or just music.
Does anyone reading this like the music of Frank Zappa? I do, and have since I was in high school. I own several FZ albums, and saw him in concert, once at the Saenger Theatre on Canal St. in New Orleans and once at the CU Events Center in Boulder, Co.

I’ve been listening to the 2006 release of songs recorded during his 1972 tour, Imaginary Diseases.

Frank shreds.

Man Coverage Pick One Person
Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for the rock band, Rush, has been widely considered to be the best rock drummer. The Who’s Keith Moon, and Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham initially influenced his style; later his playing morphed under the tutelage of jazz instructor Freddie Gruber, which in some respects led Peart to produce and play on two Buddy Rich tribute albums. Those familiar with Peart would acknowledge that his kit and percussion accoutrements might be considered as exotic. His playing certainly is.

Peart’s role as lyricist has always intrigued me as much, if not occasionally more, than his drumming. I find his lyrics to be complex and comprehensive in the imagery they create. His influences are literature, fantasy, science fiction, mythology and philosophy, along with personal opinions and experiences. Peart is obviously a well-read man.

As much as I admire Neil Peart as a drummer, I’ve recently discovered via a reference from a high school classmates Facebook page what might be the most gifted drummer on the planet today – Keith Carlock. Do a YouTube search for him and watch a few clips. Pretty technically accomplished, innit? He’s an educator too, so I’d turn all young aspiring drummers on to him, NOW!

Halftime What exercise did I get this week and how it correlates to a future challenge?
Absolutely no exercise for me this week. I got bummed out about the realization that my running days are over. So I sulked around and slept in and ate foods that are bad for me.

Then I pulled my head out, revised by training plan to increase the bike a swim days, and got on with it in earnest again today.

I’m gonna crush the swim and bike portion of my Swim-Bike-Walk Triathlon.

Third and Long Local Teams
No entry in this week’s installment. It’s a slow time of year, and you won’t find Nuggets and Rockies nonsense just to fill space. I’m sorry if you feel cheated.

Scramble What outdoors activity have I been up to this week?
Boomer and I planted seeds for our vegetable garden. We bought a kit to start indoors, then after about three weeks, we’l transfer to a site out in the back. We’ve got tomatoes, lettuce, bell peppers, squash, green beans, cucumbers, radishes, carrots, pumpkins and cilantro.

We’re farmers.

Upon Further Review What sport sucks?
Have I said that golf sucks?

“Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose.” – Sir Winston Churchill

If you wasted any portion of your life this past weeked watching it on television, I pity you.

Special Teams What does my real job have me doing?
Laying low, and staying clear of controversy. But I think I’ll be doing some interesting things with organizational development this week. And that will be cool.

4th and very makable Who should retire?
John Paul Stevens is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Last week, and just shy of his 90th birthday, he advised the President that he was going to retire. At 35 years, his service tenure is fourth longest in the history of the Court. And at age 90, he’ll be the second-oldest justice in the Court’s history behind Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., who retired at the age of 90 years and 10 months.

I’d like to thank Justice Stevens for his service to our country. While I have not studied his complete judicial record, I’m comfortable in stating that I have no quarel with the majority of his decisions.

Except one.

According to a 2009 Wall Street Journal article, Justice Stevens “rendered an opinion on who wrote Shakespeare’s plays”, proclaiming “that … he believes the works ascribed to William Shakespeare actually were written by the 17th earl of Oxford, Edward de Vere.” The article also states that this denial of Shakespeare’s authorship is outside of mainstream academic opinion, and equates it with the Flat Earth Society.

Dudeth, methinks the judge doth speculate without reason.

And the guy who first came up with the case for de Vere was named Looney.

Lagniappe Something extra
Hello! To my relatives in Tennesee.

We haven’t met, but welcome to my blog. I hope you enjoy it.

Drop me a line sometime.

X’s and O’s NFL notes
The Eagles traded Donovan McNabb to the in-division rival Washington Redskins.

A trade like this is not unheard of – think back a few years when New England traded Drew Bledsoe to the Buffalo Bills.

The interesting thing to watch as the season unfolds is not how Kevin Kolb, the heir apparent in Philadelphia fares. Rather it will be the way Mike Shanahan coaches McNabb in an offense that has a markedly more potent running attack.

Comparisions are already being tossed about as to the Broncos, the latter stages of Elway’s career, and the emergence of a Denver running game lead by a zone blocking scheme and Terrell Davis.

Let’s face it, Andy Reid’s offense in Philadelphia never really threatened to eat up yardage and time off the clock via the run. If the Redskins can upgrade the o-line and they become the cohesive unit Shanahan wants, just remember who they have at running-back – Clinton Portis, Larry Johnson, and Willie Parker.

Ex Libris What am I reading?
Still working on “The Infinity of Lists,” by Umberto Eco.

There are lists of lists.

In Mozart’s Don Giovanni, the character Leporello compiles a list of lists. He records the number of women he has seduced, arranged by country of origin. 2,065 in all.

This is becoming a bit exhausting, and it isn’t.

Adult cartoons Seasonal Sport – Hockey
Big wins for Montreal and Colorado last week in their respective pushes for the playoffs.

Montreal defeated the Flyers to break the logjam for places 6-8 in the eastern conference. They then tacked on a 3-0 shutout against Buffalo to create some breathing room.

Colorado overcame a 2-0 deficit, then failed to hold a 4-2 lead, and finally won in overtime against the Sharks to break a four-game losing streak and up the ante for Calgary and 8th place in the western conference. The Avalanche have a one game cushion, with their four games to play, to Calgary’s three.

I won’t say combo platter What did I cook this week?
Have you ever heard of Poutine? It’s a Canadian dish, Quebec specifically, made of french fries, cheddar cheese curds, and gravy.

I did a little experiment and tried to make the dish myself, with not so good results. The cheese I used wasn’t fresh, squeaky, cheddar cheese curds, and the gravy wasn’t the St. Huberts kind either, but a “home-style” chicken gravy in a jar made by Hunts.

I won’t be doing that recipe again any time soon. Yuck.

First Down Upcoming Sporting Event – Soccer
It’s the calm before the storm. Professional league play is wrapping up, and a few injuries are cropping up that could impact National teams. What concerns me is some recent off the field news in the host country for the 2010 World Cup, South Africa.

“White supremacist Eugene Terreblanche, the leader of the neo-Nazi Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement, or AWB), which attempted to resist South Africa’s transformation from Apartheid to democracy in the 1990s, was killed Saturday following an apparent dispute over wages with workers on his farm.”

South Africa’s President and a civil rights group in that country both alluded to “extremely polarized and violent circumstances presently prevalent in the country.”

Have you seen the diversity of the world’s elite soccer playing community and their fans? If there is an ugly and intolerant element in South Africa, how welcome do you think people from around the world are feeling about visiting that country in a few short months?

Time Out What did one of my 6 kids do this week that I found remarkable?
Boomer is signed up to play his first organized sport – 3 v 3 soccer. The first two weeks of his season were snowed out. We kept him out of practice and the game last week because he has a nasty, wet cough, and sinus congestion that was made worse by increased activity. I hope it all clears up so he can participate this weekend.

Second and Short Cycling
The Tour of Flanders was Sunday. Lance Armstrong and his RadioShack team raced. He didn’t win, and he wasn’t expected to win either.

His twitter status Monday morning read, “Trying to get moving this morning. I feel like I got run over by a truck.”

I know the feeling.

OctoEchos What music I’m listening to, why and do I like it? Or just music.
On the fortunate occasions that I have had to drive Tami’s car recently, I’ve been listening to Canada’s CBC Radio One station. This station is primarily a talk show format, but occasionally they’ll play some great interlude songs.

On the Tapesty program this weekend I caught a piece of an interview with CBC’s music guru, Robert Harris. As I understand it, Mr. Harris recently produced a series called, “Twenty Pieces of Music that Changed the World.” What he has done is take pieces of music from history and explain their impact on the world of music and otherwise significant social and political implications.

Here is Robert Harris’ defined list. I’ll let you discover their significance on your own, if you are so inclined.

1: Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right”
2: Pergolese’s “La Serva Padrona”
3: Joan Baez’ “We Shall Overcome”
4: Enrico Caruso’s “Vesti la Giubba”
5: Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”
6: Beethoven’s “Eroica”
7: Louis Armstrong’s “West End Blues”
8: Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff”
9: Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power”
10: Bing Crosby’s “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”
11:Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”
12: Richard Wagner’s “Prelude from Tristan and Isolde”
13: Gregorian Chants
14: The Beatles “Please, Please Me” n
15: Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring ” s
16: The Carter Family “Will The Circle Be Unbroken ”
17: Show Boat Broadway Musical “Old Man River”
18: The French National Anthem “La Marseillaise”
19: Charlie Parker’s “Ornithology”
20: Camille Saint’s “Saens’ Danse Macabre”

Man Coverage Pick One Person
Graeme Obree.

The hour record for cycling is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle, and is one of those human performance endeavors like the 100 yard dash, or the mile. The hour cycling record has been held by some of the sports most famous athletes: Henri Desgrange, founder of the Tour de France, and tour winners Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil, and Eddy Merckx.

The record had stood at 51.151 kilometers for nearly 10 years until, in 1993, amateur cyclist Graeme Obree, riding a bike he made in his workshop in Scotland set a new record at 51.596 kilometers.

Obree is a complex man. He suffered from clinical depression, bi-polar disorder and twice attempted suicide. He developed unusual riding positions and built a bicycle that included parts from a washing machine. Obree was also an individual pursuit world champion in 1993 and 1995.

To learn more about Obree, I’d recommend seeing a nice movie based on his autobiography titled The Flying Scotsman.

Halftime What exercise did I get this week and how it correlates to a future challenge?
Truly, running is no longer fun. There is no fun to be had by me running.

I am defeated. Running wins.

My triathlon will be: Swim-Bike-Walk.

Third and Long Local Teams
It’s the spring season for college football teams. Schools get a few weeks practice and then an intra-squad scrimmage.

By all the accounts I’ve read, the Colorado Buffaloes are going to sustain their just-below-mediocrity performance levels.

In a situational scrimmage last Friday, the Buffs offense did not score a point. And the offense was flagged 11 times for 70-something yards. I also understand that Cody Hawkins and Tyler Hanson split snaps at QB too. Not a good omen.

Head coach Dan Hawkins (Cody’s dad) is the only football coach in school history with four consecutive losing records to start his tenure.

It’s ugly up in Boulder, and it looks like it’s going to stay that way.

Scramble What outdoors activity have I been up to this week?
Very little, I’m afraid. I completed the pedometer challenge, traveled to California, missed out on bicycling, and generally became paler.

Upon Further Review What sport sucks?
Opening day. There will be 162 games of sheer boredom, from now until fall.

And remember, the men associated with this sport once had the audacity to cancel the World Series, an American institution, on account of greed.

You’re not getting my entertainment time or dollar.

Special Teams What does my real job have me doing?
Travel. I went to San Jose last Tuesday and returned on Thursday. The full day of work that was Wednesday was fruitful. I’ll be hiring another engineer soon as a result.

4th and forget it Who should retire?
Bob Toledo, head football coach at Tulane University. In three losing seasons since he was hired at Tulane, the 64-year-old Toledo’s record is 9-27.

I know as well as anyone that consistently winning at Tulane is a real challenge. But Tulane has some success at giving young coaches a shot a head coaching, guys like Larry Smith, Mack Brown, and Tommy Bowden. What bothered me from the day Toledo was hired, was he was already an old re-tread coach.

There has to be a young, hungry assistant coach out there willing to work hard and be successful.

Go find him and hire him.

Lagniappe Something extra
Wrap your linguistic inclinations around this sentence.

“A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed.”

It contains nine different ways “ough” can be pronounced.

Now that made me smile.

X’s and O’s NFL notes
The NFL is changing the Overtime rules. There has been a lot of grumbling that the loser of the OT coin flip never gets the chance to possess the ball, hence an inordinate amount of importance in winning the coin toss.

The new rule states. “Both teams must have the opportunity to possess the ball once during the extra period, unless the team that receives the opening kickoff scores a touchdown on its initial possession, in which case it is the winner.”

“If the team that possesses the ball first scores a field goal on its initial possession, the other team shall have the opportunity to possess the ball. If that team scores a touchdown on its possession, it is the winner. If the score is tied after both teams have a possession, the team next scoring by any method shall be the winner.”

“If the score is tied at the end of a 15-minute overtime period, or if the overtime period’s initial possession has not ended, another overtime period will begin, and play will continue until a score is made, regardless of how many 15-minute periods are necessary.”

As of now, this rule will take effect in next season’s post-season only, with the prospect of being passed for the regular season when NFL owners meet in Dallas in May.

Glad I could pass along this information.

Ex Libris What am I reading?
Still working on “The Infinity of Lists,” by Umberto Eco.

In the chapter entitled, “The Ineffable,” Eco draws attention to a list of demons, taken from the “Legemeton Clavicula Salomonis (1641), from Pseudomonarchia daemonum by John Weyer (1501-1588), which appeared in the appendices of various editions of his Praestigiss daemonum (1563), from Collin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire infernal (1812), and from other texts on demonology.

Just being able to research and then put together this list, Umberto Eco earns my vote as the smartest man on the planet!

Among those on this list of demons are: Amy, Furfur, Leonardo, Murmur, Otis, Phoenix, Tap, Vine, and Wall. Not sure I’d be afraid of a demon with any one of those names.

Otis, my man.

Adult cartoons Seasonal Sport – Hockey
In a matter of a few weeks, I’ve fallen completely in love with hockey again. It’s such a great game, and the fans are so passionate. I’ve started following several Montreal Canadiens fans on Twitter and have had the opportunity to engage in brief conversations during recent games. The regular season is almost over and I’m following the race to the Stanley Cup playoffs with keen interest. There are only a handful of games left, so next week the “2nd Season” starts.

I won’t say combo platter. What did I cook this week?
From Judith Jones’ “The Pleasures of Cooking for One,” I made Lemony Scaloppini of Pork, with jasmine rice, and steamed asparagus. This meal was prepared in honor of Eric’s birthday.

First Down Upcoming Sporting Event – Soccer
I would consider professional soccer in England as the class of the world. You can make arguments about the caliber of leagues in Spain and France, but really, England is the epitome of the sport.

In England, there are five levels, or leagues – from the top English Premier League to the bottom English Conference.

The most compelling thing about the structure of the leagues is the promotion and regulation aspect. In simplistic terms the idea is that winning one of the top three positions in each league earns a team promotion to the next higher league. Finishing in the bottom three positions gets a team relegated to the next lower league.

My team, the Leicester City Foxes, is currently in a position to make the playoffs to earn promotion from the level two league into the Premiership. The cool thing about this is that if they make it up, then they’ll be on the Fox Soccer Channel, and I’ll actually get a chance to see them play, something I’ve never had the chance to do.

Time Out What did one of my 6 kids do this week that I found remarkable?
By the time this is posted, it will be my son Eric’s 26th birthday. As mentioned above, he and his girlfriend came over for dinner to celebrate.

Happy Birthday, bud.

Second and Short Cycling
The Criterium International race was this past weekend in Corsica. It marked the season’s first time where Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong competed in the same event.

In Stage 1, Contador was dropped by the leaders to finish 1:12 minutes down while Armstrong fared even worse, crossing the line 4:51 minutes behind. Stage 2 was unremarkable for both, finishing in the middle of the group. Stage 3 was the 7.7k time trial. Contador finished 2nd in 9:52. Armstrong finished 15th, in 10:08. That’s a pretty decent improvement from Armstrong, and as the spring progresses, we need to watch his mountain and time trial efforts to see if he’ll have any chance of seriously competing with Contador in July’s Tour de France.

OctoEchos What music I’m listening to, why and do I like it? Or just music.
I listen to the fantastic New Orleans radio station WWOZ. On a recent blues show, the DJ featured a guy named Colin Lake playing acoustic solo blues and his style was described as “freestyle lap-slide guitar.” I bought his EP “In On time” and have been enjoying both the guitar playing and Mr. Lake’s soulful vocals.

(Don’t worry, Dad, I put a copy of the CD in the mail to you on Monday.)

Man Coverage Pick One Person
Ryan Leaf is an “irresponsible dillweed.” That’s what Peter King, senior NFL writer at Sports Illustrated, called him.

You may recall that Leaf was selected as the second overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft after Peyton Manning, and many scouts predicted he would be a better pro than Manning.

Leaf’s four-year career was marked by injuries, poor relations with teammates, the media, and poor performance. He is widely regarded as one of the biggest busts in NFL and professional sports history. That alone would earn the dillweed remark.

It was reported on March 25th that Leaf plead guilty to seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of delivery of a simulated controlled substance in exchange for 10 years of probation. What sits wrongly with me about this case is that while Leaf was an assistant coach at West Texas A&M he broke into the apartment of a football player, a player that Leaf personally coached, and stole Hydrocodone that had been prescribed in treatment of an injury.

Journalists shouldn’t resort to name calling, but I agree with King, Leaf is a dillweed.

Halftime What exercise did I get this week and how it correlates to a future challenge?
Week 11 of my triathlon training had a few bumps. I got two really great swims in and two decent bike rides. But we had an epic snowstorm mid-week that interrupted my training and I lost out on the run days.

I’m feeling good about where I am with swimming and cycling. And running continues to be my doom.

Third and Long Local Teams
Poor DU.

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) scored a 2-1 upset win over Denver at the 2010 NCAA East Regional. RIT net minder Jared DeMichiel was the big difference in this game, making 39 saves as DU outshot RIT, 40-25.

DU’s season ends on a sour note losing its third consecutive game overall and third straight in the NCAA tournament since last claiming the national title in 2005.

Scramble What outdoors activity have I been up to this week?
The pedometer challenge is over. Here are the final results:

1 Guy A 321,097
2 Guy B 264,328
3 Me 244,134
4 Guy D 192,375
5 Guy F 184,389

Meanwhile, I rode my bike 16 miles on Sunday along the Platte River Trail. I got two flats and had supplies on board to fix them both.

Upon Further Review What sport sucks?
I know NASCAR is big money, and I don’t even consider it a worthy event to debate, in terms of sport or non-sport. But you are all a bunch of pansies if you think it’s ok to postpone one of your races because it’s raining.

Too dangerous? Man, I’d pay money to watch a car race in the rain.

The probability of crashes when it’s raining has to rise exponentially.

Isn’t that the primary reason y’all watch NASCAR? Because you hope there is a really cool and horrific crash?

I mean, otherwise, you’re just watching grown men drive around in a circle.

Special Teams What does my real job have me doing?
Compromising. An issue kept coming up over and over from a customer and he wouldn’t let it go. A compromise of sorts was reached which my boss says “keeps our process pure and puts the responsibility on the program if they so choose.” I don’t like a compromise that deviates from law. If the law is bad, change it.

4th and … forget about it Who should retire?
It bothers me that some professional athletes sign one-day contracts with teams so that they can officially retire as “Packers” or “Celtics,” or “Royals.”

Through the course of a professional athlete’s career, he or she starts, and becomes famous and valuable while playing for a “first team.”

Then big money opportunities come along and they decide to leave teams, or the teams determine that the player isn’t worth what they think they are. Players leave the first teams and move on to play for the “Buccaneers,” or “Bucks,” or “Pirates,” for a king’s ransom.

They age, and the second team cuts them, or doesn’t want to re-sign them.

Melancholy sets in, along with a sense of nostalgia, and they get their agent to get the original team to agree to a one-day, no-cost contract so the player can retire with the same team they broke in with.

Hey, mister disingenuous, if you wanted to permanently attach yourself to the original team, the team that gave you the opportunity to be successful, then you should have never left them in the first place.

Greed.

Lagniappe Something extra
I can’t find the right place for this commentary, and it might not even belong here at all. In all honesty, I really don’t like ending this week’s installment this way – on an angry and disturbed note. But I think I want to voice my opinion anyway.

If you’re Catholic, don’t turn your back on this.

Former Pope John Paul II is under consideration for sainthood.

As I understand the process, it takes two miracles for a person to become a saint. The Vatican must confirm that one miracle has occurred due to the intercession of a person, and in doing so this gets you beautified. A second miracle is needed for you to be declared a saint. As a reminder, a miracle is an unexpected event attributed to divine intervention.

It really is none of my business, but not only is it shameful that this process is under consideration amidst the pedophilic episode rife throughout the Roman Catholic Church; I find it very humorous that the miracle submitted in support of JPII’s beatification is under scrutiny and even doubt. (Gasp!)

The case of the miracle is this: The inexplicable cure of a young French nun from Parkinson’s disease. The nun, who suffered from the same disease that ravaged John Paul for years, had prayed to him for relief and one morning two months after John Paul died, woke up completely cured. Can you say misdiagnosis?

You know what would have been a real miracle? The answered prayers of all those children who offered up, “God, please don’t let this happen to me.”

You know who needs to be “beautified and sainted?” Neda Agha-Soltan, the young Iranian woman murdered in the streets of Tehran for taking part in a stance against injustice and tyranny.

Do not paint as righteous some dude who headed the world’s largest sanctioned pedophilic organization for more than 25 years.

With power comes corruption.

Bastards.

X’s and O’s NFL notes
There is a lot of talk about proposed overtime rules changes for the NFL post season at the owners meetings this week. It’s all speculative at this point, so I’ll save my thoughts until it actually happens.

What got me to thinking even more recently was the leak of the closely guarded Wonderlic Test scores from the NFL Scouting Combine. The Wonderlic tests intelligence in a 50-question test that is conducted within a 12-minute time frame. Of the quarterbacks at the combine, Sam Bradford scored the highest, with a 36. Jimmy Clausen scored a 23 and Tim Tebow scored a 22.

While it is impressive to score above 25 in this test, I don’t really think there is much to the test if you are trying to determine future success as an NFL QB. I mean, I heard that Brett Favre got a 15 and Dan Marino got a 13.

Vince Young scored a 6 on the Wonderlic. Then they gave the test to him again after they told him to take it seriously. He got a 15 the second time.

Boomer Sooner, and Hook ‘em Down. For life.

Ex Libris What am I reading?
Still working on “The Infinity of Lists,” by Umberto Eco.

Adult cartoons Seasonal Sport – Hockey
Did you happen to hear about the injury to Calgary Flames Center, Damon Langkow in Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Wild?

News reports all stated that he was taken off on a stretcher after he took a puck to the back of his neck. I watched it live and then saw numerous replays. It wasn’t the puck to the back of his neck that was the problem.

As Langkow was checked from behind, his teammate unleashed a wicked slap shot. The puck was headed right for Langkow’s face. The momentum of the check allowed Langkow to tuck is chin to his chest, and the puck struck him in the back of the neck. He landed on the ice head first, and the tuck position was really exaggerated by the force of the landing. He could have snapped his neck.

The good news is that stayed overnight at a St. Paul hospital, is undergoing further tests, and he can move all his limbs. Good luck.

I won’t say combo platter. What did I cook this week?
Another Dutch Oven experiment, this time a simple pork roast with potatoes, carrots and onions. It was a no brainer. Unless I’m going to bake a cake or make a pizza, I think I’ll get off the Dutch oven kick for a while.

First Down Upcoming Sporting Event – Soccer
There are 80 days to go before the start of the 2010 World Cup.

England and the USA are competing in the same group of round robin play. The top two teams of each group advance to the quarter-finals. Slovenia and Algeria round out Group C. The head to head match between England and the USA is June 12th.

I’m sure soccer fans on both sides of the Atlantic have that date circled.

Time Out What did one of my 6 kids do this week that I found remarkable?
Brittany went to the Melting Pot for dinner. The Melting Pot is a fondue place and perhaps the best dining experiences I’ve ever had have been there. I like it that my kids go there of their own volition, and are just as enthralled by the place as I am.

Second and Short Cycling
Lance Armstrong was due to ride Milan-San Remo last Saturday, perhaps to help RadioShack secure a place in the Giro d’Italia, but he pulled out less than 24 hours before the start. The team said in a press release that he was suffering from acute gastroenteritis.

And RadioShack didn’t get invited to the Giro.

Lance’s next scheduled race is this weekends Criterium International. At this race, Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong will go against each other for the first time since last year’s Tour de France. There is an individual time trial in this three day event.

OctoEchos What music I’m listening to, why and do I like it? Or just music.
I usually listen to classical music during my commute to and from work, and have for almost 30 years. I’ve listened to the same station, KVOD for that entire time as well.

When I first started listening to KVOD, the station was co-owned by Gene Amole. Long-time residents of Denver will recall Gene as a columnist for the Rocky Mountain News and worked on local television as well. Gene served as the morning DJ and he would start his 6am set each day with a recording of a Tomaso Albinoni baroque style concerto for oboe. Some days he would play the entire piece, on others he would only play a few measures, especially if there was urgent news to deliver. Either way, the song would get stuck in my head. And it rocked.

Nowadays, the morning shift at KVOD is manned by Mr. David Rutherford. I suppose in a fashion to honor of the late Gene Amole, Rutherford starts each 6am set with the “Sunrise Serenade.” He always introduces the piece with a little background about the composer, or context in which the piece was written, or the effect the piece might have on you. It’s a fantastic 5-10 minutes that I look forward to each work day.

On Monday past, the Sunrise Serenade selection was “Sospiri Op.70,” composed by Edward Elgar, and performed by The New Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli conducting. Sospiri is an Italian word meaning “sighs.” It was a beautiful sigh.

Man Coverage Pick One Guy
Ever wonder what motivates a guy to make the choices and decisions he makes?
Why a guy would toss aside a successful and critically acclaimed career in film?
A guy who had roles or starred in some 25 films?
A guy nominated for and winner of Golden Globe and Academy Awards?
A guy with a Grammy Award for his contribution to a soundtrack?
A guy like Joaquin Phoenix?

Yeah, me either.

Halftime What exercise did I get this week and how it correlates to a future challenge?
I know some will scoff at me for this confession, but I have trained 23 consecutive days now. I have some very rational justification for this plan and performance. Ask me. Last week was three days of running for 40 minutes each day, two swims at 1500 and 2000 yards, and two indoor trainer sessions for cycling. Inclement weather (by my standards) has kept me confined to the treadmill and spin bike. I need to get outdoors soon.

Third and Long Local Teams
DU didn’t bring their “A” game to the WCHA Final Five Tournament, and got smoked by North Dakota in the semi-finals, and then Wisconsin took them to the woodshed in the consolation game. The two losses cost them in the polls, as they are now the #2 ranked team in the country. Regardless of the poor showing, DU was awarded one of the four #1 seeds in the NCAA Division I tournament. DU opens the East Regional play this Friday afternoon, against #4 seed and former Division II and III powerhouse, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Scramble What outdoors activity have I been up to this week?
I’m sitting pretty in the middle of the pack for the pedometer challenge. I managed to click over 20,000 steps one day last week. Then I spent the next two days pounding the Aleve. I won’t win this challenge, but I’m happy I won’t finish last. Final day of recording is this Friday.

Upon Further Review What sport sucks?
At some point, I suppose it will be necessary to define “sport.” Right now, I can think of activities like darts, billiards, and bowling as “games.” These are games just like marbles and tops are games. If you make the claim that anything shown on ESPN is a sport, then the National Spelling Bee and the World Series of Poker are sports. Just go away. Now.

Special Teams What does my real job have me doing?
Another round of clarification and writing position papers. This time, I wrote an ironclad defense of a process and service that my team owns, and addressed it to several Vice Presidents and Directors. The responses? Silence. That’s what ironclad suggests.

4th and an eternity Who should retire?
Kevin Costner. Besides the fact that he delivers his lines about as well as a self-lobotomized imbecile, get a load of this: Costner sings in a country rock band called “Kevin Costner and Modern West.” I guess he founded the band with the encouragement of his wife.

Please, no.

But maybe, just maybe, there are higher powers at work here. In one of those random acts of nature often passed off as supernatural intervention, in August of last year at something called the Big Valley Jamboree in Alberta, Canada, Costner and his band were about to take the stage when a severe thunderstorm struck and caused the stage to collapse.

Hallelujah! Can I getta amen?

Lagniappe Something extra
It’s been the home to a wide variety of events, including Slidell Little Theatre (SLT) performances, carnival balls, dance recitals, holiday parties and trade shows. It has been the venue for high school dances and graduation parties. But this month, the Slidell Municipal Auditorium will close its doors for the last time.

The auditorium was substantially damaged by the flood waters of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Demolition of the auditorium is anticipated to begin next month and the replacement facility is scheduled to open in 2011.

I know that my dad acted in his first play with SLT’s production of, Of Mice and Men, at the Auditorium.
I know that I was part of the children’s cast (and Paul too?) in SLT’s productions of The Wizard of Oz, The King and I, and Damn Yankees at the Auditorium.
I know my brother played the role of King Arthur in Camelot, the Slidell High Class of 1974’s Senior play at the Auditorium.
I think my sister was part of the Camellia Court presentation and ball at the Auditorium.
I know I attended several Jr. High and High School dances at the Auditorium.

It’ll be gone soon.

But we all have memories.