The Pit Master...

Sheeeeet...

2012-01-27T20:52:00.001-05:00

Playing doctor tonight, trying to get The Playmaker's ankle ready for weekend hoop games. He rolled it yesterday playing Knockout and has been limping around for 24 hours. Mr. D's been keeping vigil, trying all sorts of things to help out. We'll wait until tomorrow morning to make the decision on whether or not he plays his rec game. Ugh.

Never gets old...

2012-01-26T19:09:00.002-05:00

So not cool...

2012-01-25T18:53:00.002-05:00

What a douche bag JAVIER PASQUEL is for posting this sheeet on Twitter after Kyle Williams' fumble cost the 49ers the game against the Giants. And what a tool he is to attach it to his real name. Undoubtedly he will be the one now receiving threats.

C-R-A-N-K-Y...

2012-01-24T20:21:00.002-05:00

Shouldn't be, but we are. BIG time. Ugh. One of those days.

First thoughts...

2012-01-23T19:03:00.002-05:00

Balanced offense. The ability to jackhammer you up the gut on the ground. Receivers who can beat you deep. A QB who, we finally must admit, is outstanding. And a pass rush better than anything they've seen all year.

Yup. We think the Patriots are in all sorts of trouble with the Giants. We're shocked the Giants are 3 point dogs. That's easy money. Low hanging fruit. Very low.

Lotta time to change our mind between now and Super Bowl Sunday. But at this point, we'll say:

Giants 30
Patriots 24

Wow...

2012-01-22T20:31:00.001-05:00

Crappy audio, but it's the only clip (so far) on YouTube.

Best we can do...

2012-01-21T21:10:00.000-05:00

Good stuff...

2012-01-20T19:04:00.000-05:00

Picked up 4 inches of snow last night. Actually got to fire-up the snowblower this morning. Another 4 or 5 coming tomorrow.

Woo! Woo!

Play (well) for pay...

2012-01-19T15:52:00.002-05:00

As we stated yesterday, we gave The Playmaker a bonus for a Metro game well played last Sunday (7 points, including 5 in the fourth quarter to cement the victory). Here's the SWAG. An autographed Kobe card, complete with the NBA patch. No need to worry about the price. Suffice it to say, The Wife would S-C-R-E-A-M if she found out the coin we dropped. Oh, well.

Two and oh...

2012-01-18T06:04:00.000-05:00

Great weekend of basketball. We kicked the sheeeet out of an undefeated team in rec on Saturday, 36-19. The Playmaker had 12 points and 5 assists. The Grizzlies are now 3-2 on the season.

On Sunday The Playmaker's Metro Team got its first league win, 32-25. The Playmaker had a season high 7 points to go along with 3 assists. His team was up by 2 points when he entered the game with four minutes to play. In a two minute explosion, he erupted for 5 straight points to propel his team to the victory. He nailed 3 out of 4 free throws and then sank a six footer along the baseline.

After the game, he was rewarded at home with a major bonus. (More on that tomorrow.)

Best we can do...

2012-01-17T20:13:00.001-05:00

Happy 13th Birthday!!!

2012-01-16T18:58:00.000-05:00

Thirteen years ago this morning, The Playmaker's Sister popped into The World.

Happy Birthday!!!

Love this...

2012-01-15T07:28:00.003-05:00

5:47 P.M. Back from the mall...

2012-01-14T17:47:00.009-05:00

A 2.25 hour visit.

And it's all over!!!

Not cool...

2012-01-13T20:35:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow The Playmaker's Sister is having her birthday party. (She turns 13 on Monday.) She and six friends are going "shopping" at the mall.

We're not kidding.

Four girls are going in The Wife's car, three with us (along with The Playmaker). So while you're enjoying your Saturday afternoon, we'll be ... wait for it ... in a mall with seven 13 year old girls.

A split basketball weekend...

2012-01-12T06:24:00.001-05:00

The Playmaker went 1-1 last weekend in basketball. His rec team won, 23-19. He scored 9 points and had 4 assists. His best play was a three point play at the buzzer to end the second quarter, He got the defensive rebound and dribbled the length of the court. He knew he had a bigger defender hot on his heels. He came to a jump stop about five feet from the hoop, then did a shot fake -- which sent the Big Man flying in the air in a feeble attempt to block his shot. The Playmaker then went up with the shot, absorbed the foul and made the hoop. With no time on the clock, the refs made the other 9 players leave the court. The Playmaker then sank the free throw for the old school 3-point play. The next day his Metro team sank to 0-3 in league play (though they are 3-3 in tournament play). He had zero points (0-2 on shooting), but had three assists. (In part due to the fact that he is the ONLY ONE WHO LOOKS TO PASS!!! Can you say C-O-A-C-H-I-N-G?!?!?!?!?!?!? As in his team is suffering from a LACK of coaching, Good gawd, man!)

Later, man...

2012-01-11T19:34:00.000-05:00

We're going to bed. No, really. We are.

Brent shoots his load...

2012-01-10T20:25:00.000-05:00

:- (

2012-01-09T18:40:00.035-05:00

We bought the two Christmas trees on December 3 (first Saturday in December ... our annual ritual). And today we took them down. (Another ritual: the tree(s) stays up until the college football national championship.) We say it every year. The five weeks from Thanksgiving thru Christmas are, without a doubt, the best time of the year. (Yes, even better than our two week escape into The Basement every August.)

Only 10 months away.

The present & the future...

2012-01-08T19:20:00.000-05:00

Nikola Vucevic

Best we can do...

2012-01-07T20:10:00.001-05:00

Back 2 hoops...

2012-01-06T06:40:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow marks the return of rec basketball. We have not had games the past two weekends, as Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve fell on Saturdays. Our last game was December 17, when we got our first win of the season. We won, 24-10. The Playmaker had 6 points and 8 assists. (Do the math: He either scored or assisted on every basket but one.) He was getting double teamed in the lane every possession and simply found the open man for easy baskets.

On Sunday we return to the Metro scene. We won our final game of the Christmas tournament last week by one point. (Giving us two wins in three games.) The Playmaker had 2 points (1-2 shooting), 3 assists (he logged heavy minutes at the one), 1 block and 2 rebounds, including a defensive one on the final possession of the game to clinch the victory.

Losing in front of the whole school...

2012-01-05T19:10:00.004-05:00

We did, indeed, sneak out this AM and slip in the backdoor to watch The Playmaker battle two other fourth graders and three fifth graders in the finals of the Geography Bee. And we got the VIP treatment. One teacher knew us by name and insisted we sit in the front row. We had no clue who she was. When it was over (The Playmaker and one other kid lost in the first round), The Principal came over and shook our hand and congratulated Our Son. (And posed for a picture with him, certificate in hand.) But the best part of the event came before the first question was even asked. The Principal introduced the finalists one at a time. And who got the loudest cheer (by far)?!?

Yup. Our Son. Some things never change. Jocks are still jocks. And they still run the school.

Even in the fourth grade.

Our kids are better than yours...

2012-01-04T18:30:00.001-05:00

Got a call from The Playmaker's teacher today. Seems he won the geography bee in his class yesterday and will be participating with two other students in front of the whole school tomorrow. Suh-weet. And, yes, we'll be dodging our own school and slipping in the backdoor to watch.

It's a new year!!! (Let us count the complaints...)

2012-01-03T14:51:00.000-05:00

1. We have a bad cold! Our Daughter had it. And probably gave it to us. It feels like the flu -- but of course it can't be since we had a ... wait for it ... flu shot last fall. Ugh.

2. Our sciatica kicked in yesterday afternoon! It was, undoubtedly, triggered by two nights of sleeping on the couch (so we wouldn't keep The Wife awake with our coughing). Last night we slept in the guest room, which was a heckuvalotbetter than the couch. (Why did we not do that sooner and skip the couch altogether?!? Good question. Short answer: the guest room is full of the Christmas boxes from the attic.)

3. Holiday eating! Between Thanksgiving and Christmas we lost 5 pounds. Woo! Woo! The problem is we gained those five back (plus probably another 5) over Christmas and New Years.

So to sum up ... We feel like crap. Miss sleeping in our own bed. Have a shooting pain from the lower back down through our ass. And we feel like an overweight slug.

Happy New Year!!!

Ugh...

2012-01-02T20:08:00.002-05:00

Back to work tomorrow.

First meal of 2012

2012-01-01T18:26:00.001-05:00

A 19-pound roast turkey

Biggest party night of the year. Here are our plans...

2011-12-31T17:43:00.000-05:00

Take-out pizza. Continuing day long fire in fire place. Bowl games on TV, along with a little 76er action, too.

Ronald Miller...

2011-12-30T21:06:00.004-05:00

Snow on Christmas...

2011-12-29T15:25:00.002-05:00

5-3-2-2-1

2011-12-28T19:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's stat line for The Playmaker: 5 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block. His free throw put his team up, 23-22 with 1:20 left in regulation. Unfortunately, they lost by 3 in overtime.

A year ago today...

2011-12-27T20:06:00.001-05:00

Last December 26/27, we got a blizzard that delivered 17+ inches of snow. So far this winter we've had pu$$y weather. Hopefully this picture will bring us some snow. Soon. A lot of it.

2 + 4 = Day after Christmas...

2011-12-26T19:47:00.000-05:00

The Playmaker's Metro (travel team) team got its second win of the season today. He scored 4 points, on 2-5 shooting. He played the 1, 2 & 3.

Christmas Present #1

2011-12-25T06:44:00.001-05:00

Another year of good health and happiness.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Present #2

2011-12-24T11:42:00.000-05:00

Stockings all hung by the fire...

Christmas Present #3

2011-12-23T20:07:00.002-05:00

For the 22nd consecutive year, Mr. Brady hears his family singing Christmas carols and finds the strength to remove heavy pieces of a fallen building from his body!

Christmas Present #4

2011-12-22T20:28:00.000-05:00

Johnny Mathis Merry Christmas

No lie. When we think of Christmas, one of the first three things that come to mind is this Johnny Mathis CD. When we were 6 or 7, we remember living in Buffalo and listening to the 8-track tape in our bedroom. Then we moved and somehow 8 track got lost. When we were 10, Our Dad came home on Christmas Eve day from Lechemere (RIP) with the album. In high school we upgraded to the cassette tape, which we later took with us to college. For the past 20 years we've been enjoying the CD. It's the best Christmas music ever. Ever.

Christmas Present #5

2011-12-21T18:08:00.000-05:00

Christmas Present #6

2011-12-20T17:07:00.000-05:00

Better receivers next season!

Our fantasy football season ended with a thud last night, as we bowed out of the playoffs to the tune of a 109-85 holiday beatdown. Starting receivers Percy Harvin (Z-E-R-O), Mario Manningham (5) and Jordy Nelson (2) combined for ... wait for it ... seven points. Some tight end named Tony Scheffler gave us ZIPPO. (We debated picking up Brent Celek on waivers when druggie Fred Davis got suspended, but, alas, decided against it. Too bad, as Celek brought home 21 points -- more than his previous five games combined.

Christmas Present #7

2011-12-19T18:59:00.002-05:00

Charlie Brown Christmas

The single greatest animated Christmas scene. EVER.

Christmas Present #8

2011-12-18T19:59:00.001-05:00

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

About 20 years ago, we were hanging out with HS friends during college Christmas break. El Deano announced, "Once the beer is gone, I'm gonna go to bed and read A Christmas Carol." As an English major and Christmas fanatic, we found this ultra interesting. The next year we bought a copy and read it during December. It's now a Christmas Tradition. Every year, we start it the week before Christmas.

Christmas Present #9

2011-12-17T20:56:00.000-05:00

The Grinch

Christmas Present #10

2011-12-16T17:18:00.000-05:00

Frosty the Snowman

Christmas Present #11

2011-12-15T18:18:00.000-05:00

Snow roof rake

Last winter (when we got a snow storm every other week), the snow piled up on the roof and stayed there for weeks at a time. We had to go borrow our neighbor's snow roof rake, like, 10 times. This is a must-have for anyone living in the northeast. We picked one up in October at Home Depot. At $39, it was a bargain.

Christmas Present #12

2011-12-14T20:15:00.002-05:00

Merry Cliffmas

Christmas Present #13

2011-12-13T16:34:00.001-05:00

Alex Morgan

***Fantasy update With Steven Jackson's 18 points in last night's game, we have made the fantasy football playoffs for the third straight year. We are playing in only one league this year -- it's what we referred to last year as the Play of Pride league (as in no money at stake). It's made up of dads in town that we're friendly with. We bowed out from the Play for Pay league at school. Last year was the first year of the league, and since we won it (Bogarting $440) we wanted to retire as the inaugural champion.

Christmas Present #14

2011-12-12T18:12:00.000-05:00

Steven Jackson

We need Jackson to get us 10 or more points tonight. If he does, we're in the fantasy football playoffs for the third straight year. If not, season over.

Christmas Present #15

2011-12-11T19:26:00.003-05:00

The 17 pound standing rib roast

The ultimate Christmas dinner starts with this. We may even go for a 20 pounder this year.

Christmas Present #16

2011-12-10T18:59:00.004-05:00

Christmas Present #17

2011-12-09T06:30:00.001-05:00

A trio of basketball stocking stuffers...

1. Whore Stern will now be referred to as Eff Face Stern! What a FRIGGING idiot. A total tool. The only thing that surpasses his ego his is stupidity. We wish Dennis Rodman would take a baseball bat to his ribs.

2. Metro! The Playmaker has played four Metro games this season. He has started in three of them (twice at small forward, once at shooting guard). Before Tuesday's practice, the coaches met with us behind closed doors to tell us they were going to let him play some point guard. We resisted the urge to say, What the hell took you so long?!?

3. Rec B-ball! The Playmaker had his first rec game last Saturday. He scored 18 points on 9-16 shooting, including a steal at half court and driving layup at the buzzer to send the game into a 60-second overtime. Alas, we never even got a possession and lost 32-30.

Christmas Present #18

2011-12-08T19:47:00.000-05:00

Chris Paul getting traded anywhere but to the Celtics

Looks like he's going to the Lakers for two aging Big Guys (Gasol and Odom). Wow. Ainge offered Rondo, Jeff Green and about 17 first round draft picks. Classic.

Christmas Present #19

2011-12-07T16:42:00.000-05:00

Lincoln Foodservice cooking/baking pan

This is state of the art. Anyone who's anyone in the cooking/restaurant business uses this. We ordered one for ... wait for it ... OURSELVES for Christmas. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Christmas Present #20

2011-12-06T06:54:00.002-05:00

A kick-ass generator

We did not lose power during the October snow storm. However, we did lose it for 2+ during the hurricane in August. Not fun. So we plan on getting this bad boy. We can run our fridge, the 50 inch HDTV, several lights and more. Every homeowner should have one.

Christmas Present #21

2011-12-05T19:56:00.001-05:00

Advent calendar

The picture is from last Christmas, when all 24 ornament had been placed on the tree. Every year the kids have a draft to see who gets what ornaments. Yes, there is arguing. All part of the holiday spirit.

Christmas Present #22

2011-12-04T18:35:00.000-05:00

Any questions?!?

Christmas Present #23

2011-12-03T18:07:00.000-05:00

A real Christmas tree

Picked out this bad boy this morning, which is our tradition -- getting the Christmas tree on the first Saturday in December. More and more people seem to be going with fake trees. Not us. Never have. Never will. Tomorrow morning the entire downstairs will smell like pine. Good stuff.

Christmas Present #24

2011-12-02T15:00:00.000-05:00

A White Christmas.

Seriously, who doesn't like snow for Christmas?!? We're pretty sure we've had it for the past three years. With the balmy fall weather we've had thus far, who knows about this year. But a White Christmas is always a great thing.

Christmas Present #25

2011-12-01T05:20:00.001-05:00

This is a reprint from

December 1, 2009

As we do every year, we will be posting a present to give/ask for every day between now and Christmas. Many are things you can actually go out and buy. Some are realistic in price. Alas, a few are financially unrealistic. (Last year an $8,000 Viking oven made the list.) This time of year truly is the best part of the calendar. People seem to be just a tad nicer. And if you have kids, how can you not relish the looks on their faces as they open presents in the early morning hours of December 25?!?

But we figured we would start this season off not with a gift that can be placed under the Christmas tree. Rather, we want to begin with something that all of us can give as well as receive. And it doesn't cost a penny.

It's called ... wait for it ... A Better Attitude.

And 99 percent of us can use one.

To bitch and moan is to be human. And we're not asking you stop bitching and moaning. Instead, we just ask that as a present to yourself, you bitch and moan less.

Think about it. A majority of us don't have much to truly bitch about. Feel tired and overworked?!? Tell that to someone who is terminally ill. Hate your boss?!? Tell that to someone on welfare. Think your house pales in comparison to others?!? We're guessing the father of a homeless family would love to call your house his own.

The Playmaker's Sister spent last Saturday night with her grandparents and aunt. When she came home from the sleepover, she did so with a new pair of UGGS -- complete with a price tag of $110. Unfortunately, she discovered a scuff mark on them. No worries, as her mom exchanged them the next day. This time, however, we discovered there was a small rip in one of the UGGS. The boots would be exchanged for flawless ones. But not until this coming weekend. Our daughter was devastated. She so wanted to wear the new kicks to school and was despondent that she would now have to wait a week. Later that same day, we took her to the grocery store to get some grub. In the front of the store was a Christmas tree that had angels on it that you could "adopt" for Christmas. The angels were local needy boys and girls. Adopting one means you give the gifts that are lifted on the angel card. We adopted a 15 year old girl and an 8 year old boy. (The girl wants a Target gift card. She will get one from us, plus a gift card to Aeropostale. The boy wants a gift card to GameStop. He will get that, plus one to the Gap.)

On the way home, we ripped into The Playmaker's Sister for being selfish and spoiled. We asked her if she thought anyone on that angel Christmas tree could afford UGGS. She, of course, knew the answer and where the conversation was headed. We told her just what we wrote above. That everyone complains -- even her father. But that none of us really have much to gripe about. It clearly resonated with her -- because within a minute or two she was back to her normal, cheerful self. And the UGGS have not been brought up since.

So we share that story not to thump our chest as father of the year. Instead, it's a simple lesson that most of us really, truly have nothing to bitch about. Let's all shut our mouths and improve our attitudes. (And if possible, try to help someone or some people who truly need it.)

And in the process, we will be giving ourselves and those around us a wonderful gift. And we will enjoy the Christmas season more than ever.

Tomorrow...

2011-11-30T20:08:00.003-05:00

We will begin our annual December tradition. Twenty five Christmas gifts over the next 25 days. Some are repeats from the last three years, while others are completely new. Some are actual gifts you can buy for yourself, errrr, someone else. Others can't be purchased, and cost nothing to give. And we'll even bestow a gift or two to some famous (infamous?!?) people. Check back tomorrow.

Best we can do...

2011-11-29T15:55:00.002-05:00

Pointless meetings are just that. Pointless.
p
And stupid.

Cyber Monday

2011-11-28T19:48:00.000-05:00

Santa was busy getting good deals today. Hooking up The Playmkaker and The Playmaker's Sister with some gear.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Low hanging fruit...

2011-11-27T12:41:00.003-05:00

The spread on the Patriots - Eagles game today is Pats -3.5.

Are you frigging kidding us?!?

If we weren't so lazy, we'd sign up for one of those on-line gambling sites and put $2k on the Pats. It's a MORTAL LOCK that the Patriots will cover.

What's the best thing they do? Pass the ball.

What's the worst thing the Eagles do? Tough call, as they are bad at so many things. However, they have no clue how to stop the pass.

Easy money, people. Easy money.

Patriots 35
Eagles 10

More Thanksgiving leftovers...

2011-11-26T20:10:00.000-05:00

Smoked turkey...

Thanksgiving leftovers...

2011-11-25T20:28:00.000-05:00

Turkey Pics, 2.0

2011-11-24T10:07:00.000-05:00

The Plan

Turkey Pics, 1.0

2011-11-24T10:05:00.000-05:00

The wood chips to smoke the 19 pound turkey on the grill.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:25:00.000-05:00

Check back later for multiple Turkey Day updates.

Turkey #1 getting brined...

2011-11-23T20:16:00.001-05:00

He'll soak for about 20 hours before going into the oven late tomorrow morning.

Best we can do...

2011-11-22T20:54:00.004-05:00

V Y

2011-11-21T19:19:00.001-05:00

Wow. Didn't see that coming last night. Not great, but good enough to win.

E-X-H-A-U-S-T-E-D

2011-11-20T17:33:00.000-05:00

Three plus hours of leaf work this morning. Ugh.

Best we can do...

2011-11-19T19:49:00.000-05:00

Thomas Lott

T-H-U-D...

2011-11-18T17:15:00.000-05:00

Face-plant last night, as we lost to a completely inferior team in the cold and rain, 20-8. The Playmaker dropped a circus twisting 30-yard bomb early in the game, which kind of set the tone for the night. He did have a diving 20-yard catch where he landed face first on the turf. He slowly rolled over and held up the ball for the ref to see. That was about the only good thing the Colts did all night. We finished 5-2-2 and in second place. The Playmaker led the team in receptions and touchdowns.

Final flag football game tonight...

2011-11-17T06:04:00.001-05:00

We are looking to improve on our 5-1-1 season.

Edging above .500...

2011-11-16T17:15:00.000-05:00

For the first time all year we are above the .500 mark in fantasy football (NFL). We won over the weekend, 117-100. Aaron Rodgers led the way (shocker!) with 36 points. Jordy Nelson (18), Shady McCoy (15) and David Akers (15) also came strong. OOPS, as we left Denarious Moore on the bench. His 24 points were also on the bench. Amazingly, at 6-5 we are now in first place in our division, and ranked third overall in the Power Poll.

Chaz Williams: The future of UMass hoops...

2011-11-15T05:48:00.000-05:00

A double-double in last night's win to put UMass at 2-0.

Soccer!

2011-11-14T05:03:00.000-05:00

The Playmaker finished up his travel soccer season this past Friday and Saturday. His team entered the final two games tied for second place, and they played the first place and second place teams.

Friday he played the first place team, a team that was undefeated and untied. Less than a minute into the game, The Playmaker got caught coming out of the net, only to watch the shot sail over his head into the net. It would be the only goal he let in the entire game. With a legitimate chance to knock off the undefeated team, his coach kept him in goal the whole game (for the first time all year). He faced 14 more shots and stonewalled all of them. His teammates scored just before halftime to tie the game, 1-1. That was the score with under a minute to play when we had a breakaway. But the kid held onto the ball a second too long, which allowed the goalie to stuff his attempt. So the game ended in a tie, which was the first time all year the opposing team didn't get the W.

On Saturday, we played the team that was tied in second place with us. We won, 4-3. The Playmaker played goalie in the first half. He faced six shots, stopping four of them. The two goals he gave up came in a 2 minute span. Honestly (seriously), the defense effed up and allowed breakaways on both. In fact, the coach got so pissed, he lifted both fullbacks after the second goal and sat them the rest of the half. (Ouch.)

We finished 8-2-2 and in second place all by ourselves.

Good stuff.

Vegas not $o wi$e...

2011-11-13T17:53:00.000-05:00

Not when they make the Eagles 14 point favorites over the Cardinals and their backup QB.

(Guess Vegas didn't know Andy Reid coaches the Eagles. And Juan Castillo coaches the D.)

Cardinals 21
Eagles 17

Double standard!!!!!!!

2011-11-12T16:58:00.000-05:00

Women violating men. Where's the outrage?

11-11-11

2011-11-11T19:31:00.006-05:00

UNC and Michigan State are playing hoops on the ship that dumped Bin Laden's body in the water. How GREAT is that?!?

Happy Anniversary!

2011-11-10T06:22:00.000-05:00

Fifteen years ago, today, we got hitched to The Wife.

How will be celebrate The Big Day?!?

Parent-teacher conferences all afternoon. Followed by a HUGE soccer makeup game. And then a flag football game.

Ahh ... true love.

Too busy to chat...

2011-11-09T16:12:00.000-05:00

Half-way done. Still have eye on Friday.

Two facts to feast on...

2011-11-08T05:23:00.004-05:00

1.The Patriots are not good.

2.The Eagles flat-out SUCK.

Busiest week of autumn...

2011-11-07T06:04:00.008-05:00

Parent-teacher conferences, makeup soccer games, makeup flag football games, basketball practices.

Ugh.
p
Just trying to survive and get to Friday's holiday.

Question:

2011-11-06T19:50:00.000-05:00

What coaching advantage does Coach Bill give the Patriots?!?

Answer: We honestly are not sure there is one.

Seriously.

Big Game Prediction

2011-11-05T19:44:00.000-04:00

LSU 20
Alabama 17

Hey, Ref -- EFF you!!!!!!!

2011-11-04T06:27:00.002-04:00

The official score says the Flag Football Colts lost last night, 18-16.

In reality, we won 22-18.

And we won on the last play of the game with a 40-yard bomb to The Playmaker (his second score of the game).

We gave up a TD on the first play of the game, but quickly took the lead (8-6) on our first possession. We trailed at the half, 12-6. That deficit ballooned to 18-6 with six minutes to play. The Playmaker took a short crossing pattern and busted down the middle of the field before getting his flag yanked at the 5-yard line. Two plays later he went into a crowd of three defenders and made a leaping catch for the TD. After the 2 point conversion, we trailed 18-16 with about three and change to play.

Our defense came up with a HUGE four-and-out stop, giving the offense the ball with 35 seconds and 40 yards to go. First down: incomplete pass. The kids sprint back to the line of scrimmage (we play running time). We snap the ball with eight seconds left. The Playmaker goes long. Really long. The QB (best in the league) throws the ball 25 yards in the air. The Playmaker gets under the pass and hauls it in. HOWEVER, at least three seconds BEFORE he caught the ball the dirty-bastard-defender PULLS his EFFING FLAG. He pulled his flag BEFORE he even caught the GD ball. After The Playmaker caught the ball, the defender ran one step and then held up the flag. The GD ref blows his GD whistle and ends the GD game. "Tackle." Game over. The Playmaker is crying. Literally crying. Our sideline of parents is screaming BLOODY MURDER. We run over to the ref (an overweight, under-motivated high school A-hole with a bad attitude and a worse haircut) and say, loud enough for him to hear, but quiet enough that no parents hear, "Are you effing kidding me?!? Are you EFFING kidding me?!?"

He says, "The defender pulled the flag, coach."

We say: "He pulled the flag EARLY!"

His comeback: "Game over."

We wanted to get a gun and shoot the kid in the face. Several times.

Luckily, we don't own a gun.

So that game was a win for us. We don't give a SHEEET what that piece of CRAP ref says. As such, we are now 5-1-1.

Eff you, ref. Eff, you.

Best we can do...

2011-11-03T06:18:00.000-04:00

No flag, no flag, no flag...

2011-11-02T05:40:00.000-04:00

Logical assumption that if we don't post a flag football update then we must have lost the game.

Alas, that is completely untrue!

Last Thursday we got cancelled due to cold weather and an inch of falling snow.

Yesterday, it was cancelled because half the town had no power. (Thankfully, we never lost power.)

We will take the field again tomorrow, trying to improve on our 4-1-1 record.

We've got WOOD...

2011-11-01T17:10:00.002-04:00

From this...

To this

Dumb luck...

2011-10-31T06:13:00.001-04:00

Um, sometimes you just get plain L-U-C-K-Y.

And so there we were yesterday afternoon (after a morning of snow blowing and shopping at power-less Target) around 1:15. We remembered that we had not set our fantasy lineup. We hopped on-line only to discover that Green Bay (Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson) had the bye week. Extremely problematic for us as Oakland's Denarious Moore also had the bye, and it was too late to get Mario Manningham in the lineup. Even worse, we had no backup QB to Rodgers. And once games start on Sunday you can't make a roster move. (Had we been able to, we would have scooped up Alex Smith, who would have delivered 15 points.)

So with empty spots at QB and one WR, we assumed we'd get our ass kicked.

Of course, we won, 106-80. Running backs Shady McCoy and Steven Jackson combined for 61 points. And everyone else was solid: Pittsburgh's D (13), Percy Harvin (10), Fred Davis (9), David Akers (8) and Torrey Smith (5).

We are now 4-4 and tied for second in our division.

So we were in Target today...

2011-10-30T21:20:00.000-04:00

And the power went out. Yikes.

Thursday night: First snow of the season (MORE tonight...)

2011-10-29T16:20:00.005-04:00

TGIF

2011-10-28T17:52:00.000-04:00

Offense breaks out...

2011-10-27T06:12:00.000-04:00

After a bye week (more on that later), Your Flag Football Colts came back with a dominating 30-12 victory Tuesday night. The Playmaker did some of everything. He had 4 catches for 60+ yards. He threw a TD pass (a 12 yard down and out in the end zone) as well as a 2-point conversion. And he had an interception on defense. We are now 4-1-1.

It's over! It's over! It's ALL over!

2011-10-26T06:32:00.001-04:00

You have noticed, perhaps, the shortage of quality posts this fall. (Quality being a relative term, of course.) Too, you have undoubtedly seen the abundance of posts saying "We're tired!" or "We're busy!"

Now we can tell you why.

You know that we are coaching flag football. We also help coach soccer. What you did not know was the fact we coached another sport this fall. It was ... wait for it ... FIELD HOCKEY.

Stop laughing. And no, we're not lying.

We missed the sign ups for The Playmaker's Sister last June. By the time we realized this fact, it was the end of July. We were so late, we couldn't even get her on the dreaded waiting list. We went down to the rec office and poked around. We were told they were trying to add a second team, but needed some coaches. We said we knew NOTHING about the sport, but that we would be willing to HELP coach a team.

A week later an e-mail came out. Our Daughter was on a team. And she had ONE coach. Her Father.

So we practiced Mondays and Wednesdays. Throw in flag football every Tuesday and Thursday. And mix in soccer on Wednesdays and Fridays. That's right. We coached or helped coach every night, Monday through Friday. That's code for: We never had a sit-down family meal during the week until Saturday.

Ugh.

Thankfully, the field hockey season came to an end yesterday afternoon. (Ironically, we played the town in which we grew up. We told the girls they were playing on the same field we used for four years of football practices. For some reason, they didn't much care. Proud moment, though, as The Playmaker's Sister scored her first career field hockey goal on that field.)

Last year, the team went 0-10 and scored one (repeat: ONE!) goal the entire season. With The Head Ball Coach running the show, the team went 3-7.

So we are now down to two weeks of soccer and three weeks of flag football. (Speaking of which, come back tomorrow for a recap of last night's flag football game.)

We'll always have 2008...

2011-10-25T06:15:00.001-04:00

Yesterday the Phillies declined their option on Brad Lidge's contract for 2012. While he has been mediocre (and injured) the past three seasons, he deserves Our Gratitude (extreme gratitude) for his dominant 2008 season. A season in which he was 48-48 in save opportunities, including game 5 -- the clinching game of the World Series.

Best we can do...

2011-10-24T19:10:00.001-04:00

No lie...

2011-10-23T19:49:00.000-04:00

Spent 10, count 'em, TEN hours at a field hockey jamboree today.

Shouldn't we get some type of award for that or something?!?

Seriously...

2011-10-22T20:59:00.000-04:00

You wouldn't even believe the day we had. Ranged from GREAT (3-0 win in soccer ... another half-shutout in goal for The Playmaker) to UTTERLY ASININE (some people just don't have a clue.)