The View From Wisconsin
Just a random set of rants from a Sports Fan from Wisconsin.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Sunday morning
- I am officially on a diet, as of last week Thursday. A visit to the dietitian put me on a track to count carbs and calories, watch portion sizes and monitor when I eat. Not an easy task, but I'm at a point with my A1C levels that I need to help my body process carbs as best I can. I've at least lost a few pounds already, which is a plus.
- The implosion of the Brewers has begun. We've lost four in a row and six of our last eight. Derrick Turnbow has gone from flamethrower to firestarter. We can't keep a lead to save our lives. Even scoring six-seven runs doesn't guarantee victory. I fully expect Carlos Lee to be gone to some other NL contender by the trade deadline.
- I got the postcard this past week from the Admirals, featuring the four previous incarnations of team logos: the original "skater on an oval", the cutesy "skatin' sailor", the famous "skating Admiral", and the current logo. The font of the announcement was vaguely Pirates of the Carribean-ish, which makes me suspicious. In a little bubble to the right, there's a note that says, "The First 2,000 fans will get a commemorative cup and all kids will receive a FREE Jibbit for your Crocs!!" I'm officially worried that we're going to a pirate ship theme in 2007.
- Summer has come to Wisconsin full-tilt. We had all those consecutive days last week of 90+ degree (farenheit) temps, and it was absolutely miserable. It's cooled down, but I think some people are leaving their AC on in fear that the temps will shoot up again. Last week Saturday was a record-setter, as WE Energies reported the largest power usage on one day in state history.
- Meanwhile, Saint Louis, MO and Queens, NY are experiencing blackouts at the absolutely worst possible times of the year. Incredible heat and no power are a deadly combination.
- Is it just me, or did Discovery look a little like something that Luke Skywalker would call "a hunk of junk"? Those black marks along the side of the fuselage, and what looks like some "creative" tile placement doesn't make me eager to go up in the next shuttle mission.
- I honestly do NOT know what is going on in Long Island, but Neil Smith must have been scared off like a spooked jackrabbit to leave the way he did. Unfortunately, Ted Nolan will be getting the rep of being a GM killer yet again. And what is Wang on, thinking that Garth Snow is GM material?
- Apparently, the next owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins will be a financier based in, of all places, Hartford. The Pens have apparently told the combination of Dan Marino and Mark Cuban, "Thanks, but no thanks." I don't think that the Cuban/Marino partnership would have been all that and a bag of chips, so I honestly believe this could be a good move in the ongoing struggle to keep the Pens in Pittsburgh.
Copyright © 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, Joseph Houk. All rights reserved.
