Terrorist Sighting In Chicago

I saw Khalid Sheikh Muhammad in Wrigleyville a couple weeks ago...plastered to a wall. Not sure exactly what this is supposed to mean.

You decide.

Not Your Typical Poll

During the 90's, Navy football always seemed to finish with no more than three wins each season. Florida State was a perennial championship contender, usually finishing in the top 5. Considering the foregoing, which I grew up considering the norm, this week's computer rankings are a shocker.

46. Florida State
47. Navy
48. Purdue

Wow.

Catholic Heaven vs. Protestant Heaven

Courtesy of the Simpsons (and Roman Catholic Blog). Sinfully funny.

Harvest

The combines are in the field as the popcorn crop is harvested.

White County, Indiana. October 20, 2006.

Redskins vs. Colts: Sideline View

My wife (Colts fan) and I (Redskins fan) attended the Colts/Redskins game in Indianapolis on Sunday. Bragging rights, and maybe the future NFL allegiance of the Little Apprentice, were riding on this game.

Our tickets' quality eclipsed any others I have had in the dozens of sporting events I have attended in my lifetime, bar none. From our nearly perfect vantage point (just off midfield by a yard or two), my wife cheered her Colts to yet another win. I, on the other hand, brooded over the futility of attending Redskins road games. Maybe I'm a sucker for punishment. But I'd prefer a close loss to a complete embarassment. I had a taste of both the former (1st half) and the latter (2nd half) Sunday. Unfortunately, from moments into the second half to its conclusion, embarassment overtook respectability.

Having a near perfect view of the playing field, I feel well positioned to answer the following burning questions:

Q: How do you stop these guys (Manning, Addai, Harrison, Wayne)?

A: You don't. You only hope to contain them. Good luck with that.















Q: Which one of these two back-up QBs for the Skins should not be holding a clipboard on the sideline?

A: Take your pick. That bald guy with the towel would probably be an improvement over Mark Brunell.














Q: What is this NFL Hall of Fame coach thinking?

A: "With my team so far behind in the standings, what changes should I make to get them in the race before it's too late to bring them back to championship form?"

Back Home

We're back from vacation in Indiana. Purdue football wrap up to come (as long as the baby cooperates).

Family (Rivalry) Vacation

We're about to embark on our first family vacation. The climax of the trip will take place on the 22nd at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis,
in: Redskins vs. Colts.

The author of this site is a lifelong Redskins fan...his lovely wife is a native Indianan, and lifelong Colts fan (to the extent Indiana had a pro football team during her childhood). The marriage is about to endure its greatest test to date.

Forget the TO/McNabb hype of last weekend, this is the real thing. It's a civil war. Family versus family. Husband versus wife. The Delaware Duel!

On what side does the Little Apprentice come down in this intrafamily family feud? Born five months ago an agnostic, the Little Apprentice is already the target of an intense lobbying campaign. The Colts side of the family has the inside track. With politician grandpa accustomed to campaigning, a unified family love of the Colts brought to bear by the lifelong Indiana natives, and plenty of brand new Colts gear to choose from, the pressure on the Indiana side is crushing.

On the other hand, there is dad's family. A Navy brat with brothers and sisters born up and down the East Coast, there is no clear cut "home team." One brother says, "Go Carolina!" A sister threatens to turn him into (gag) a Cowboys fan. Grandmom has a soft spot in her heart for her native Philadelphia Eagles. Granddad is a DC native, but hasn't been to a Redskins game since Eisenhower was president.

Dad's balkanized family can bring to bear only half-hearted steering in the direction of the Redskins. Mom has an army. Dad has at best a small squad of Canadian peacenik defectors and French troops.

It also doesn't help that Mom's team has Peyton Manning at QB, while Dad's team fields Mark "Roll Right, Throw Out of Bounds" Brunell at its most important position. It's much more painful to watch the Redskins play. But Dad likes the underdog.

And at least we have Joe Gibbs.

But what chance does Dad have to mold his son into a proper, Redskins loving kid when the Little Apprentice lives in Eagles country and is showered with gifts from the relentless Colts lobby?

Sigh.

Wish I knew which way he was leaning...

Random Click

Hey, Hey, Good Bye!

The Detroit Tigers knocked the Yankees out of the playoffs yesterday. Poor overpaid babies.

Note From The Little Apprentice

Think Before You Speak!

Fox News reported this morning that the Navy would be christening the newest aircraft carrier in its fleet today, the USS George HW Bush. One of the newcasters described it as being as tall as the Empire State Building. This set my BS meter off the charts. Image the size of the ship building facility that would be required to build such a ship! It would have to dwarf the building on its own. In addition to that, the flight deck would probably be in length a few times the height of the ship. In other words, you'd have a ship big enough to float the entire naval air wing. I would think there would be more hype about a boat that big!

So I did a little fact checking:

Size

Towers 20 stories above the waterline with a 4.5-acre flight deck

1,092 feet long: nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall

That's big...but not quite so big. You would think a little reflection on what it would mean for a ship to be as tall as the Empire State Building would prompt the newscaster to check into the facts a little. Makes you wonder what other whoppers they're reporting every day.

Underside

Washington Street Bridge. Wilmington, Delaware.

Second Chances

Ever wonder why a chameleon can lose its tail and grow a new one to replace it, but humans can't do the same with their lost limbs? Looks like limb regeneration might be coming to a science lab near you soon. If successful, I'd be fascinated (and probably a little grossed out) to see how it works.

Sports Weekend...Not

I was not pleased with Philadelphia area TV last week. First, lame Comcast sports lost its signal during a thunderstorm just in time for the 7th-9th innings of Oriole Danny Cabrera's near no-hitter against the Yankees. ESPN2 broadcast the game nationally, but it was blacked out in our area because the game broadcast on our local Comcast station. No relief there. But the most frustrating part was no station broke into coverage to show the 9th inning; not ESPN, ESPN2 or Comcast Philly (which was showing a blooper reel during a Phillies rain delay). So I had to watch the ticker at the bottom of ESPN News to see whether Cabrera accomplished the feat. The text told me he didn't.

To add insult to injury, later in the weekend I found out that the Philadelphia area was getting the New England/Cincinnati NFL game on Sunday afternoon, rather than the Redskins game. As you know, we're much closer to New England and Ohio than we are to DC and nobody up here in the shadow of Philadelphia cares about the NFC.

I forgot about all of this when, in bonus coverage after the Pats/Bengals game ended, I was able to see a total of three Redskins plays, the final one resulting in a long, overtime completion for a game winning touchdown from Mark Brunell to Santana Moss. Victory was sweet.

Now let's never let this happen again.

Shapes Pt. II

More from the Wilmington "skyline."