Father of Six

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.