Weekend Football Predictions: Week 6

I missed Week 5 predictions because I was travelling, but I’m back and ready with some fabulous picks for Week 6!  I’m looking to build on a solid performance from Week 4.

Week 4 Record: 7-4

Season Record: 19-24

All Time Record: 26-40

And now for Week 6:

Arsenal v Hull: Arsenal 3-0

Aston Villa v Sunderland: Villa 2-1

Everton v Liverpool: 1-1

Fulham v West Ham: 2-2

Man U v Bolton: Man U 2-0

Middlesbrough v West Brom: Boro 1-0

Newcastle v Blackburn: Blackburn 1-0

Stoke v Chelsea: Chelsea 2-0

Portsmouth v Tottenham: Portsmouth 2-1

Wigan v Man City: Man City 1-0

Ipswich v Crystal Palace: 2-1 Palace

Saying Goodbye…

Tonight the Yankees will play the last ever game at Yankee Stadium.  Yankee Stadium is THE stadium… the biggest and best in all of sports.  No other stadium can even come close to matching the history of Yankee Stadium.  I’ve been watching tributes all day on ESPN, and nothing that I can say here could begin to do justice to the greatness of the Stadium, but I’ll add my part to all of the other memories that people have been sharing today.

We always tried to get to Yankee stadium once every summer.  As a Yankee fan growing up in Massachusetts, the Yankees were never on TV unless they were on ESPN or playing the Red Sox or in the World Series, so I rarely got to see Yankee games growing up.  Yankee Stadium was like the Holy Land to me and my mom, and there aren’t words that describe what it’s like to be there.  The first thing that hits you as you approach the stadium is how big it is.  It’s New York.  It’s the Yankees.  It’s Yankee Stadium.  It’s big.  Then, as you walk through the gates, you walk through the tunnel and as your eyes catch a glimpse of the green grass against the blue wall you get goosebumps.  You can feel the greatness of those that had come before.  Yankee stadium was the place that we could go to be with other Yankee fans.  To finally be surrounded by people rooting for our team.  And there was nothing like it.

My grandfather used to take my uncle to the Stadium in the ’60s every summer for a Yankee game, much the same way we do now.  The Yankees are more than a favorite sports team for me and my mom.  It’s part of our family from my grandfather on down.  The history of the Yankees is intertwined with the history of our family.

We made our last trip the stadium on Friday night.  It was a beautiful day and evening.  Even though the Yankees aren’t going to make the playoffs, this was the perfect way for me to say goodbye to the stadium.  Like I said, there are no words.  You just had to be there.  When 55,000 Yankees fans all join together to cheer for the greatest team in the history of professional sports, it’s uniquely powerful.  To have my mom and dad there with me only made it sweeter.  I’ll never forget that night.

Here are the things that I got to see in my last ever game at Yankee Stadium:

1. A start by Carl Pavano – one of the rarest occurrences in sports

2. Brett Gardner (who I’ve championed this season from the start) threw a runner out at home

3. Robinson Cano hit a homer

4. Derek Jeter made one of his signature jump throws from the hole between short and third and got the runner at first

5. Joba Chamberlain pitched a scoreless inning

6. Mariano Rivera picked up the save.  When Mo enters the game to “Enter Sandman” and the stadium goes nuts it’s overwhelming.  It was perfect to experience it on Friday night.

7. Derek Jeter got a hit.

8. The Yankees won!

Friday night was perfect.  It was the perfect way to say goodbye.

They’ve been showing moments from the stadium on TV all day, and everyone has been picking their one favorite Yankee Stadium memory.  For me it’s easy.  Game 7, 2003 American League Championship series.  Yankees vs. Red Sox.  The Yankees came back to tie the game off Pedro Martinez and the game went into extra innings.  I was a freshman at Macalester.  We were watching the game in the lounge on Doty 2 (we lived on Doty 1 but the lounge was the entrance way by the fishbowl).  There was one other Yankee fan there with me as Aaron Boone came up to the plate.  Tim Wakefield threw one of his trademark knuckleballs, and Boone swings.  He hits a long drive down the left field line and into the stands for a game winning series winning league championship winning walk off home run, and I went nuts.  The other Yankee fan and I couldn’t contain ourselves.  We started running down the hallways and up and down the steps.  It was crazy…and that’s my favorite Yankee Stadium memory.

Weekend Football Predictions: Week #4

Blackburn v Arsenal: Arsenal 2-0

Fulham v Bolton: Fulham 2-1

Liverpool v Man U: Man U 2-1

Man City v Chelsea: Chelsea 2-1

Newcastle v Hull: Newcastle 3-1

Portsmouth v Middlesbrough: Portsmouth 2-0

West Brom v West Ham: West Ham 1-0

Wigan v Sunderland: Sunderland 1-0

Stoke v Everton: Everton 2-1

Tottenham v Aston Villa: Aston Villa 3-2

 

Crystal Palace v Swansea: Palace 2-0

Seven Years Ago

It’s hard to believe that it has already been seven years since the attacks on the world trade center.  Everyone should take a moment today to remember those that gave their lives.  Remember those who went to work that day, thinking it would be like any other.   Remember those firemen and policemen that bravely entered the burning buildings to save those trapped inside.

I think most people can remember where they were when they heard the news that day.  I was a junior in high school in Mr. Bono’s (apologies if that is spelled wrong… it’s been a while) English class.  We heard that planes hit the World Trade Center, but we assumed they were small propeller planes.  Later we heard the towers had collapsed, but none of us seemed to really grasp what had just happened.  We did not have TVs on in the classrooms I was in.  It wasn’t until I got home that I was able to see with my eyes what happened, and I remember being pretty scared.  I was only 16, but as a military / military history buff I had long been exposed to video games and movies that had similar plot lines – it was how wars would be fought in the future.  I was scared that before my eyes the future had finally become the present.  In college I took a class about modern conflict, and one of the books we read was about the “New Wars.”  Just further evidence that wars weren’t going to be fought like that in the future – they ARE being fought like that – in the present.

I never got to see the Twin Towers up close – only out the car window driving on the Jersey Turnpike.  I never visited Manhattan before 9/11.  My first visit to downtown Manhattan came the following summer.  I never flew before 9/11.  My first flight came the following spring.

While I commend both Obama and McCain for suspending their “political” activities today, I would commend them even more if they would make the following promise: never to mention 9/11 on the campaign trail again.  It amazes me how people can think it’s “wrong” to make September 11th a day of political campaigning, but it’s perfectly alright to use September 11th as a political tool while campaigning.

I also recommend that all of you read this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/losing-a-friend-on-911_b_125615.html

The author addresses one of the most curious phenomenons since 9/11: the fact that those people who have the least connection to the actual event are those who used it to get our country into a needless war, while those who experienced the tragedy themselves are some of the war’s strongest opponents.

The author ends with this powerful statement: “I can’t imagine a worst tribute to Jon Albert and the others who died on 9/11: more death from the air, and in the air.”  He is referring to the war in Iraq, but it can very easily be applied to most everything this country and this administration has done in the name of 9/11.  The day could have been remembered as the start of a new spirit of cooperation – both between Americans of all walks of life and between America and the rest of the world.  Instead it is remembered as the event that plunged us into war, isolated us from the world, divided the nation, and allowed those in power to curtail our freedoms.  The “despicable people” (I’ll refrain from using the many many vulgar phrases that come to mind initially) who are responsible for this have tarnished the memory and legacy of those innocent people who gave their lives that day.  And that is not ok with me.  Not ok at all.

You Mess With My Grandpa, I Don’t Vote for Your Grandson

I was never going to vote for John McCain this year anyway…  but recently I was shocked to hear this election won’t be decided on actual policies or issues (at least that’s what the Republicans say).  My opposition to John McCain was solely based on opposition to issues and policies… how misguided was that ???  So now I’m at a bit of a loss for why to oppose him.  Recently I found my reason.  I now present my new rationale for hating on John McCain:

They loved to talk about the military at their convention, and this new hate on McCain rationale stems from just that… military service.  I was reading “The Battle to Save the Houston” by John Grider Miller last week when he revealed what to most people would be a minor and insignificant detail… the USS Houston was transferred to Task Force 38.1 in October of 1944 while on duty in the Pacific.  Things really got juicy when he revealed that Task Force 38.1 was commanded by none other than John S. McCain, grandfather of the dude running for president.

You may be thinking to yourself, where is he going with this?  What does some World War Two ship have to do with the 2008 presidential election?

Well, the USS Houston just happened to have one relatively (ie completely) unknown Marine Private First Class manning one of it’s anti-aircraft guns: my grandfather John Messinger.

It was while under the command of John McCain, Sr. that the USS Houston (my grandpa on board) was torpedoed by the Japanese – crippling the ship and nearly sending her to the bottom of the Pacific.  The crew was forced to abandon ship and wait in the water to be picked up and brought back to safe harbors.

So basically the rationale is thus:  In 1944 one John McCain was in command of a Messinger.  Things go wrong, ship gets torpedoed.  Fast forward to 2008.  One John McCain, grandson of “older” John McCain, is trying to become (essentially) commander of older Messinger’s grandson.  Last time a McCain was in command of a Messinger things didn’t turn out so well, so why will this time be any different?  My family has a bad track record when McCains are in charge of us, and therefore I will not be voting for McCain.

2 Minutes and 15 Seconds of My Life I Will Never Have Back

I just witnessed the first ever instant replay in Major League Baseball live on mlb.tv during the Yankees – Rays game.  I hate using instant replay in baseball, and it seemed awkward and stupid.  But hey, at least I can say I saw the first one.

Jesse Ventura, Hermann Göring, and Thomas Jefferson

I came to Minnesota after Jesse Ventura’s reign.  To those of us from out east, it was sort of a joke that this wrestler dude got elected governor.  I know people out here have strong opinions about what happened while he was governor, and having not lived through it I’m in no position to speak with any authority about it.

But this morning I found a post about an interview yesterday with Mr. Ventura.  It can be found at: http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2008/09/more_nazi_talk.html .  And this is the part that caught my eye:

“KING: Yes, wasn’t that surprising, Jesse, even though you didn’t see it, that the theme was “we’re the patriots”?

VENTURA: Well, you know, the Republicans have been pushing really Hermann Goering on us, the Nazi, since 2001. I mean, you know…

KING: Hermann Goering?

VENTURA: Yes. He said that it’s easy to take a country to war. You have to convince them they’re under attack. Denounce the pacifist for being unpatriotic and also for putting the country into danger. And yet, Thomas Jefferson said dissension is the greatest form of patriotism.

I like to follow the teachings of Thomas Jefferson a little bit more than Herman Goering.”

Here is what Göring said, in full (the emphasis is mine):

“Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship. …voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country”

Like I said, I’m not here to push a political opinion of Ventura, but I have to applaud a man who tells it like he sees it.  NO ONE living in America can deny that this is exactly what has happened in the United States since 2001.  I’m not comparing anyone in America to Nazis ideologically, but the method Göring describes for mobilizing a “patriotic” spirit and leading a nation into war has disturbingly close parallels to the last six years in America.

I make no secret of the fact that I love history, and I love it the most when we can see parallels like this in today’s world.  It’s sad that so many people in the modern world don’t learn enough about history.  It’s cliche, but as the last six years have shown, if you don’t learn from history you are doomed to repeat it.

Turn Left on University, Right on Huron, Merge onto I-94 East, and Drive for like… a day

As I was walking to work this morning, I turned the corner on 14th Ave this morning and came across something strange.  Parked on the street was a United States Capitol Police van!  I mean, talk about taking a wrong turn…  I almost snapped a picture of it with my cell phone because it is entirely possible that there will NEVER be a United States Capitol Police van parked, on 14th St between 4th St and 5th St in Minneapolis, EVER again.  But I decided against it.  Can you get in trouble for that???  You’ll just have to trust me, it was there.

Football Predictions Week 3 Results

Week 3 Record: 3-7

Season Record: 12-20

All Time Record: 19-36

Mother Nature is Sending Us A Clear Message

So… this week is the Republican Convention.  Is it a coincidence that Mother Nature decided to choose this week to send not one but TWO hurricanes to hit the United States?  Once again, I think not…