I realize many of you would be justified in presuming me dead. First there was the wedding, then there was a business trip this week, and the sequel to "Pretty Good Year" remains half-finished on my PC. I promise I will be working on it this weekend in the hopes of getting it out before the end of the year, and your regularly scheduled programming will resume next week. Just in case any of you were casting about for where to send flowers.
Sox pumpkins appear to be in style this year. Like JoS, I received the above picture of a Sox pumpkin this week, from my friend Leeann.
This is just a post to let you know that I'm giving myself the rest of the week off from blogging--the whirlwind of celebration, work and ongoing wedding planning has me in disarray and I need to start bailing out time commitments. But I promise I'll be back this weekend, and very soon I'll be bringing you Pretty Good Year: The Sequel.
In lieu of a real update tonight--though I promise I have quite a large one brewing--I'd like to take this moment to introduce Kaylee, my friend Chris's daughter and the official Red Sox Indoctrinee of this blog, in the Red Sox outfit that I, as her Red Sox godmother, bought her for her first birthday a few months ago:
I thought her cuteness might help some of you take your mind off things. Things like losing (*gag*) to the Toronto Blue Jays.
I've signed on to contribute some Patriots content to MVN's Pats blog, The Patriot Act. Check out my first post here.
Here's a meme via a non-sports-related blogger I read, a recap of 2006 via the first line from each month's first post.
January -- "I was a bit puzzled when, on Friday at Kristen's house, Sam referred to a play by a Detroit Lion, who persevered toward the end zone with several opposing players hanging from his body, as "majestic."
February -- "Excerpts from The Education of a Coach continue..."
March -- "From the upcoming Sports Illustrated:"
April -- "Deadspin first put up this video of Tom Arnold vs. Michael Strahan on last night's episode of The Best Damn Sports Show, Period."
May -- "I was on my way to a business lunch when the phone rang."
June -- "I'm tempted to rant about this column by Tony Massarotti, but instead I want to at least try to lay out some thoughts on the subject rationally."
July -- "Ortiz was up in the last of the ninth with a man on and the Sox down by three."
August -- "So far, I haven't heard anyone mention one particular small incident that took place during the game last night--NESN seemed to take the tack of pretending it didn't happen immediately; neither Don or Jerry said a word about it even as it occurred."
September -- "I'm not going to tell you that I've changed my mind about this season because of yesterday's game."
October -- "I think Chad Finn already put it best: "Appropriate ending when you think about it, what with circumstances conspiring to ruin something potentially memorable one last time."
November -- "Derek Jeter won the Gold Glove this year at shortstop."
December -- "Of course the Patriots decided to show me up when I brought a guest--and a guest from another country, no less--to the game, expecting them to be on their best behavior."
Cursed to First...come for the scintillating observations on the game, stay for the total non-sequiturs!
P.S. Barry to the Giants. Oh, well, at least it's not the Yankees.
Photos from my trip to see the Lowell Spinners play the Staten Island Yankees in the final game of their season last night are here.
I am struggling to come up with anything whatsoever to say about the Red Sox right now. It's sad--I should be able to talk about them just as well when they're losing as when they're winning most of their games--but I just don't know what to write right now. In the name of appreciating the little things, I did find it heartwarming to hear the story of Carlos Pena--he even had a big grin on his face in the middle of the game the other night, while taking a lead off first base.
Edw. sent me in the direction yesterday of Troy Aikman's remarks when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, saying I'd appreciate the way they were written (he was right). What stuck out to me the most was the quote:
In closing, I'd like to share something that a close friend used to tell me back when I was playing. He'd say this when times were tough, maybe we'd lost a close game, I'd thrown the deciding interception or the grind and the rigors of the season were beginning to take their toll on me. What Norv Turner would say was this:
Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that these are the jobs we've always dreamed of having. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that these are the jobs we've always dreamed of having.
But anyway. Since I don't have much more substantial than that to offer today, I thought I'd officially cop out with an open thread. And my open thread question, asked for many reasons but some of them having to do with the Red Sox of late, is: Do you believe in fate? That everything happens for a reason? Or is it all just random molecules crashing together?
Discuss.
Scene
Originally uploaded by ConfessionalPoet.
Set from Tuesday night's game starts here.
Mike Lowell's Grand Slam
Originally uploaded by ConfessionalPoet.
Flickr photoset located here.
