OUCH! I HURT!

Greetings, readers. Yesterday at 7:15 my friend Smith and I went for morning coffee as per usual. We were on the way home from coffee and errands when the unlikely happened. I passed out, fell right into her, knocking her over, and the ambulance was called, setting in motion the seven and a half hours away from home. Both of us were treated at the ER for our minor bumps and bruises. That I expected. What I didn’t expect, since we came in together, was that it took almost all day for either one of us to find out any info on the other. I guess you can chalk that up to the HIPAA law. Needless to say, she was just as worried about me as I was about her.

Around 2:00 or so we got discharged and by some miracle the first bus we needed was arriving just as we walked out the front door. It was one of the first things that went right all day. Then we transferred to a bus called the White Loop, which dropped us off near our front door. I came home, turned on some TV, sat down, and slept through three people knocking on my door. I was exhausted. I felt bad about that, but as many people have told me, I must have needed the rest.

I ate a light supper, took my first dose of antibiotic for a slight sinus infection, which is the only thing that they found wrong in my blood work, and was in bed by 8:30. Sitting down was not fun, even on the mattress … and still isn’t. Once I laid down on either side, no problem, I slept fine. The two big injuries for me are my hurt backside, and my pride. My friend walked away with a few bruises. She has already had one concussion in her life, and I was so afraid that number two would have been caused by me. I feeling a little bit sore today, but I am sitting on a comfy pillow given to me by Smith.

With that out of the way, I shall talk briefly about the not so super Super Bowl. It was the lowest scoring Super Bowl ever, with the final score 13-3 Patriots. The third year Rams starting quarterback, Jared Goff, looked quite frankly scared to death on the sidelines. Don’t get me wrong, he is a great young quarterback, but when it came to the big game, his knees were a-shakin’. The Rams defense was stellar, holding New England to a mere 13 points. If it had been any other game, people might have called it a classic. I’d be willing to bet you though, that most people want to see high scoring Super Bowls.

Even though I watched this game, I found myself dozing off a couple of times. Not even the broadcast team of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo, whom I like a lot, could save this snoozer. I would love to see what the TV ratings were. I doubt that they were very high.

Reflecting on the Super Bowl and sports in general, I ask myself this question: Are all of the final games of a sports season that boring? Absolutely not. Back in the Chicago Bulls heyday, they had wonderfully exciting championship playoff series’. The same can be said in the NBA years ago when the Boston Celtics and the LA Lakers duked it out many times. Football is too punishing of a sport to do this, but I wish that instead of having a Super Bowl game, they would play for the best two out of three. Just in case that a team has an off day, they would have at least one more chance to equalize.

To the Patriots’ fans, congratulation. To the Ram’s fans, I know you will be a powerhouse for a number of years yet. Don’t give up on quarterback Goff.

Until Sunday when I will put up another dictated blog entry via the voice recognition program, take care, have a great few days, and happy reading.

Well, the NFL playoffs are set

Greetings, readers. I’m so sorry that I did not put up a blog entry until today. I know I promised on Wednesday one for Sunday. I was going to write a little bit about the two football playoff games, but the second game was televised later than I expected. So here goes this rare Monday evening blog entry.

Congratulations to this year’s participants in Super Bowl XLIX. They are the New England Patriots from the American Football Conference, and the Los Angeles Rams from the National Football Conference. To the winners, congratulations. To the losers, my condolences and better luck next time.

When I was young, I loved watching the Super Bowl game. One year the Pittsburgh Steelers played the Minnesota Vikings… my two favorite teams. My friend Mike and I were rooting for Minnesota in the first half, which drove my mom bonkers. She not so kindly invited us to go watch the game at Mike’s house. She explained that this home was a Steelers home, and that cheering for the opposition would not be tolerated. I think she was joking, but Mike and I didn’t want to find out. We watched until the end of the first half at his house.

Even though I vacation in New England, and love all their other sports teams, I do not like the New England Patriots. With all the accused cheating and drama, I’ll just wait until at least the coach and quarterback move on or retire. The owner, Mr. Kraft, I fear will be there for quite a while yet.

On Sunday, February 3rd, the Pats and the Rams will duke it out in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in Atlanta, Georgia. Once again, no team who plays in the host stadium has ever hosted a Super Bowl. The Atlanta Falcons had a really good team this year. I thought this year might be the year that Atlanta’s team hosted the big game.

To me, the majority of the Super Bowls over the years have been boring blowouts. Not the last few. I don’t think this one will disappoint, either. The Rams will be the host team, meaning they’ll be in their dark jerseys if they wish to be, while the Patriots will have to wear their white jerseys. Fun fact – every year the AFC and NFC take turns “hosting” the Super Bowl. Next season, the AFC will have the choice of colored or white jersey.

Time for fun bets. Leave a comment in the comments section below, or on my Facebook page, and let me know who you think will win. I’m going for the L.A. Rams. 🙂

Until Wednesday, when Rebecca and I will be back with you, take care, have a great couple of days, and happy reading.

Who will win this year’s Super Bowl?

Greetings, readers. Three teams out of this year’s final four of the National Football League’s playoffs are, to say at the very least, surprises. Everybody and their mother’s uncle expected the New England Patriots to be there, but not many thought teams such as the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings or Philadelphia Eagles would be playing for their conference’s championship.

While the Vikings and Eagles are great teams, they are being led by backup quarterbacks. They are darned good ones, but backups nonetheless. Also, the Jaguars’ quarterback Blake Bortles is a relative unknown. I would thoroughly enjoy seeing two teams such as the Vikings and the Jaguars play in this year’s Super Bowl. Another historic first would be if the Minnesota Vikings would be able to play in their own home stadium, where the Super Bowl will be played this year. In the history of the Super Bowl game, a stadium’s home team has never made it to the big game. If the Vikings beat the Eagles in the play-off game this weekend, it would lead to a truly historic event.

Just how likely is the Vikings and Jaguars matchup? Not very. It seems like the National Football League for some reason never wants to have a “home game” in the Super Bowl. Here is my prediction. Eagles to play the Patriots and the Patriots to win convincingly. You see dear readers, after many years of the New England Patriots winning championships in a plethora of ways, I just think that Tom Brady and company will find a way to pull it out of the hat once again. How boring! My two cents is that it would be wonderful for the National Football League to crown a champion that has never won a Super Bowl – the four-time losers, the Minnesota Vikings come to mind.

Lastly, on another note – and I will have a full R.I.P blog entry tomorrow – the wonderful lady camper Mrs. Jean Bennett passed away recently. She was one of my mom’s generation and it is sad to lose another Bear Spring Camper whom I knew as a child.

Until tomorrow, prayers go out to all the victims of the California mudslides, all who are caught in bad weather and storms, and good thoughts to all those who need it. Let’s think spring.

Until tomorrow, take care, have a wonderful day, and happy reading.

I might have to get my left leg looked at again

Greetings, readers. I slipped and fell on September 5th and all X-rays that were taken were negative for breaks, thank goodness. However, today on November 1st, I am still hobbling around. This is really beginning to worry me. It is so bad in fact, that I have to put another chair near my recliner so that when I stand up I have something to hold on to for my first steps. The left leg just does not want to move.

I am seriously considering going back to my doctor and asking for more X-rays. Half of me wants to do this and the other half does not. If there is a slightly cracked bone that the initial X-ray missed, I would likely be casted or put into a boot. I have seen with a co-worker of mine that a boot and a greasy floor don’t go together too well. There is a possibility that I would just need physical therapy for the muscles. In that case, that will eat into my work time and my free time. There is a laugh for you.

Speaking of my free time, ha ha, when I come home, instead of writing or working on personal projects, I’m usually asleep by 8:00 on a work night. I used to stay up until 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 in the morning. No more. I come home and switch off the engines. The other day at 5:30, I turned on an old football game on YouTube (an exciting one), and because I was so exhausted, I feel asleep. When I came to, I said that’s it, bedtime. The time was 8:30.

Another worry of mine is for my December 1st performance. I’m planning to sing to the Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl album for the folks at Addison Court Apartments. Now, I love to give a good show, but I’ve just not felt up to doing full-scale rehearsals. The leg just hurts too much, and I have to go to bed so early. I am debating whether or not to post pone my show for a month or two. I will keep you up to date.

I’ve been keeping tabs on the World Series and my team is not going to win. There is not much of a chance that the L.A. Dodgers will blow a game 7 at home. I just gave away my secret; yes, I am pulling for the Houston Astros. They’ve never been to the World series and a championship would be great for that city. I am also keeping up with the NFL and was very unhappy to learn that the New England Patriots traded away their wonderful back-up quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, leaving us with a few more years with the cheater Tom Brady. As a matter of fact, the whole New England Patriot organization are cheaters. Sorry, Robert Kraft, I’ll be a Patriots fan again when you sell the team … which will be the 32nd of neverwherey.

Lastly, my condolences go out to families affected by the terrible terrorist attack in New York City yesterday. Why can’t we all get along?

So until tomorrow, take care, have a great day, do tell your friends about this blog, and happy reading.

Top ten list of my favorite Super Bowls

Greetings, readers. I’ve decided to compile a list of my favorite Super Bowls. This list might not contain the best Super Bowls ever, but it will contain the games that I loved to watch when they were played, and still enjoy seeing on the recap shows with the on-demand feature of my TV cable or on the NFL network. The games were originally titled using Roman numerals, but I am just using the numbers because it is easier for me. So here we go.

#10. Super Bowl #34, on January 30, 2000. At the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The St. Louis Rams scored 23 points, the Tennessee Titans scored 16. [Titans were stopped on the one yard line on the last play of the game. Poor Titans.]

#9. Super Bowl 32, January 25, 1998. Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. Denver Broncos 31, Green Bay Packers 24. [The Broncos’ first win, with the owner’s famous quote, “This one is for John.” John Elway was the quarterback who suffered three Super Bowl defeats.]

#8. Super Bowl 37, February 3, 2013. Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Baltimore Ravens 34, San Francisco 49ers 31. [Long delay because of a power outage. Some thought that it shifted the momentum of the game.]

#7. Super Bowl 41, February 4, 2007. Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida. Indianapolis Colts 29, Chicago Bears 17. [Payton Manning’s first Super Bowl win.]

#6. Super Bowl 7, January 14, 1973. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. Miami Dolphins 14, Washington Redskins 7. [Garo Yepremian’s muffed field goal pass gave Washington their only score.]

#5. Super Bowl 9, January 12, 1975. Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Minnesota Vikings 6. [The Steelers’ first Super Bowl win and the Vikings’ third loss.]

#4. Super Bowl 13, January 21, 1979. Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. Pittsburgh Steelers 35, Dallas Cowboys 31. [Dallas Cowboys’ back-up tight end Jackie Smith dropped a sure touch down pass that would have won the game.]

#3. Super Bowl 31, January 26, 1997. Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Green Bay Packers 35, New England Patriots 21. [The Packers’ return to prominence after winning the first two Super Bowls.]

#2. Super Bowl 25, January 27, 1991. Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida. New York Giants 20, Buffalo Bills 19. [Bill’s place kicker Scott Norwood missed the game winning field goal with 3 seconds left. It was the ultimate wide right.]

#1. Super Bowl 3, January 12, 1969. Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. New York Jets 16, Baltimore Colts 7. [Conspiracy theories run rampant claiming that the Colts threw the game to give the American Football League’s New York Jets the American Football League’s first Super Bowl win right before the AFL-NFL merger. I prefer to think that the Jets won the game on their own.]

Well, there you have them. That’s my list. I know that 40 Super Bowls did not make this list; I could only choose 10. If you disagree with me or want to share your list, please leave it in the comment section or a post on Facebook.

Until next time, have a good day, take care, and happy reading.

Many topics to talk about, including American Truck Simulator

Greetings, readers. We are finally back. Yay! After a week of working on the blog by myself, Rebecca is here once again to help me. Obviously, I can write the blog by myself, but after all this time I just feel more comfortable with my editor friend by my side to catch any little mistakes I might make. She already caught one from my last blog entry.

Not that I’m going to title this hodgepodge whatever, but I do have several topics to touch on. So here we go.

First, I’ve been thinking about this question: Is the National Football League fixed? There have been rumors that since the early 2000s, the NFL has been “steered” in certain directions to allow the powerful teams to make the playoffs. The stronger the teams in the Super Bowl, the better the ratings. Or, at least, that is the NFL’s way of thinking. Let’s take this past Super Bowl for example. The great Peyton Manning,  perhaps the best to ever play the game, is all but certain to retire. I would have been shocked if Denver lost. Carolina quite frankly looked pathetic, though Denver’s defense did play a great game. What also makes me wonder, is that I saw part of a YouTube Top Ten List video, pointing out that the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl just months after 9/11. What are their colors? You guessed it, red, white and blue. Is this hard-core evidence that the NFL is fixed? No, but it raise my eyebrow. Add in that this team has been proven to cheat since then and the NFL has barely spanked their wrists.

Topic number 2. Recently, I’ve been enjoying, on YouTube, reruns of the 1970s sitcom Maude. It is a Norman Lear spin-off of All in the Family and is it hilarious. There is one interesting thing. You would never see that show being produced new today. Maude’s husband, Walter, played by Bill Macy, is a strong-willed proud man that did not like his wife to work outside the house. Add that to the fact that he was a drinker early in the series, and you can imagine some of the arguments they got into. Maude, also strong-willed and very liberal, would also argue with all the other characters when she thought it was necessary. The only episode I did not care for and will not watch again, was the ground-breaking Maude’s abortion episode. Was it well done? Absolutely. It is just that my own personal religious beliefs made that episode a chore to watch. That is not the case with the rest of the series. Most evenings I will sit with my snack and have out-loud belly laughs. Norman Lear can do that to me every time, whether it be All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, or The Jeffersons.

Topic number 3. All I need is $100 and I will never want a car again. Today, I want to tell you about perhaps the best video game I have ever seen. It is called American Truck Simulator. People who play Euro Truck Simulator 2, and make videos for YouTube, have been talking about the new game for two years. Where is American Truck Simulator, we all said. When it came out on February 3rd, we found out why it took so long. On the up side, the level of detail on the maps is incredible. There are three trucks to choose from and you can drive in California and Nevada. Arizona will be added soon. The few people who are giving this game a thumb’s down bring up the question, after two and a half years of development, why are there only two states? My answer to them would be this: You try producing maps with those kinds of graphics, fabulous detail and clean game play, and we will see how long it takes you. How long will it take to complete the lower forty-eight? Probably about two years. Can I wait? Hell yes. This game also has the potential, if the manufacturer desires it, to include Mexico, Canada, and Alaska. All I need to do now is get a steering wheel and pedals to clamp to a table, so I have better control of the steering. The left and right arrows on the keypad make for marvelous wrecks. I must admit, I am getting better at it with the arrows, but I’m going to see if I can’t scrounge $100 together and get one of the cheaper gaming wheels. As for the most expensive one, which is $299, that is out of the question.

Lastly, a quick note about the weather. Yesterday we had snow, ice, and slush. It was not a good combination to go out in. I needed to take my girlfriend to her follow-up doctor’s appointment. Yay, us, we did not slip and fall.

Well, you are all up to date. We’ll have another new blog entry for you, possibly as early as tomorrow, though if not, then definitely on Friday. Take care, have a good day, and happy reading.

Beautiful sunny day and my weekend plans, including the Super Bowl

Greetings, readers. This is today’s blog entry take two. I’m waiting on someone’s permission to write on a sad event that happened to her and my feelings about it. I was going to write it today but then realized it was inappropriate to do so without her knowledge and consent. So here is the back up plan.

After eight plus inches of snow in a couple of days, I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to a beautiful sunny morning today. I’m always much happier when it is sunny with blue skies. This afternoon I have very little to do but I will enjoy a walk to the bank, perhaps a light snack out, and then back to the apartment. Upon getting back it will be time for Keekee’s dinner and a few chores to tidy up the apartment. Then the rest of the day is mine. I think I’ll continue to search YouTube for ambiance videos and then play some PS3 baseball.

My weekend plans are as follows. I’ll be getting back to D&D gaming on Saturday; we were snowed out last week. My character Catrana and her partner Tessara will battle the evil monsters once again. It really is a fun way to spend an afternoon.

When Sunday rolls around, I have two choices. If the weather holds, Darren has asked me to come over and watch the Super Bowl with him. Wouldn’t you know though, we are expecting another big snow storm. If that happens, I’ll watch the game in the apartment building’s community room, where friends of mine are throwing a party. There’s a slight dilemma in our building right now, no names used here, but if I attend the Super Bowl party here at home, I’m going to help clean up.

I’m going to be rooting wholeheartedly for the Seattle Seahawks. The whole Deflategate thing has me so annoyed that even though I vacation in New England and love their other sports teams, I will not root for the New England Patriots until steps are taken to straighten that franchise out. I don’t know if that means a change of coach, owner, quarterback, ball boy or all of the above, but a small fine just won’t cut it for me. My office manager told me she heard that only $2,500 would be the penalty. Unbelievable! What I am looking for is the fine of half a million dollars and loss of draft choices. If it’s true that 11 out of 12 footballs were under-inflated, in my eyes they cheated to get into the Super Bowl. Shame on them.

Readers, please feel free to chime in with your opinions in the comments. I would love to hear them. Until Friday, take care, dig out of the snow if you are in it. Be well, and happy reading.

Top ten list of my favorite football helmet logos

Greetings, readers. Since the NFL playoffs are in full swing and the Superbowl will soon be upon us, I thought it would be a good time to come up with the top ten list of my favorite helmet logos. So here they are, plus two. The first two are from the old United States Football League. We used a website called Collectible Supplies to confirm what the NFL helmets look like.

#10. The Pittsburgh Maulers from the United States Football League: An ironworker with a hardhat swinging a mallet.

#9. The Washington Federals from the USFL: A white helmet with a bird-shape, probably an eagle, with a white star in the bird’s neck, and three green strips flowing behind.

#8. The Houston Oilers from the National Football League: A white helmet with a tall dark blue oil well in a red outline.

#7. The Kansas City Chiefs from the NFL: A white arrowhead with the letters KC in red.

#6. Cincinnati Bengals from the NFL, the throwback design from the 60s and 70s: An orange helmet with words Bengals on both sides. [It was simple but it worked.]

#5. The Los Angeles Rams from the NFL, the throwbacks: Dark blue helmet with the lighter yellow or orange stripe depicting a ram’s horn. [Today’s version the ram’s horn is a darker mustard yellow.]

#4. The Miami Dolphins from the NFL, the new helmet brought out for the 2013 season: A white helmet with a big teal dolphin in an “S” shape in an orange ring, with no helmet on the dolphin’s head.

#3. The Minnesota Vikings from the NFL, any version: A purple helmet with a white plume to depict the horn on a viking’s hat.

#2. The New England Patriots from the NFL, the throwback: A white helmet with a minute man in red uniform in position to snap the football.

#1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers from the NFL, the throwback: A white helmet with a creamsicle-orange pirate, with a sword in his mouth; his name was Buckle Bruce.

And two honorable mentions:

#2. The Philadelphia Eagles from the NFL, the throwback: The rare white helmet with the green eagle wing. [I wish they would change back; hint, hint.]

#1. The Pittsburgh Steelers from the NFL; Black helmet with a yellow stripe, and on the side of the helmet it says “Steelers” in black letters with three diamonds in yellow, red, and blue (signifying the three rivers coming together into one).

Well, there you go, hope we did an adequate job of describing them to you, if you didn’t follow the link yourself. Let the debates begin in the comments, and please feel free to share your top ten if you wish.

Until next time, take care, enjoy your day and happy reading.