The late wife was a fan of bleu cheese, so over four decades I grew to 'appreciate' it. As in, tolerate the intrusion if some accidently made its way into my salad bowl. Haven't had any the house in more than a year and a half now. Kinda miss it. But if I bought some for old time's sake, it would just sit in the cheese drawer until it became extremely blue.
Threw a small slab of back ribs in the oven early this afternoon as I had to take my father to the doctor (in preparation for moving him into memory care next week) and I wasn't sure how long that might take. Not as good as on the grill, but they were tasty, and they are a favorite food of my Dad. Oven roasted some potato wedges while the ribs rested, microwaved a head of broccoli. Good dinner. Then went to the assisted living facility where I recently moved my mother-in-law, to sit with her for a couple hours as I do morning and evening.
Just got home, and lack the energy to pour myself a drink (have some Big Hearted out in the garage--maybe tomorrow) before falling into bed--as soon as I can get my Dad into his for the night: sometimes he gets up two or three or five times after I think he is tucked in. He has often said the growing old ain't for sissies; I can add that taking care of a 90-year-old who has moderate dementia and memory loss ain't for sissies either.
Tomorrow I get to go out to The Farm to plant more things that will not grow--fence posts for my deer D-fence, so that I may grow things that I want to both grow and eventually be able to harvest. Therefore I shall not be making the trek from the East Landfill area for the spring game, nor will I be watching it. Please, everybody, learn to attach gifs and pictures so you can post them about the game and so I can enjoy all the highlights after the fact!
Had a pair pulled Tuesday (the last of five: after two decades of avoidance and abuse, I finally got my act together, found a great dentist, and am getting at least one part of my life in better order) so I feel you there. Damn fine reason to increase the ice cream intake, as if I needed an excuse. I am healing well and quickly, and wish you the same and even more so.
I didn’t know how much I had in common with Jim! My wife and I lived in our 26-foot, no-slide fifth wheel for two months the summer we moved back to Michigan, including the first two weeks of the school year after I secured a teaching position but we hadn’t yet found a bricks-and-sticks home to move into.
I spent 3 months hiking over half the AT, which is a luxury party trail compared to the PCT or CDT. Made me appreciate simple things like clean sheets and dry socks.
My 9-year-old Outback is ideal for my needs: big enough for both me and the dog to sleep in when we go fast-travel camping, carries a lot of stuff--I just moved my MIL from Alabama to an assisted living facility here in Michigan and I was able to get everything she needed in it, decent mileage--31 highway on the aforementioned trip, and as would be expected the AWD is useful in the winter to get me up and down my dirt road and gravel driveway to my minifarm. Caveats of course apply: I have a 2500 diesel pickup with an 8-ft bed for hauling bigger loads and pulling my 5th wheel, I'm not ego-driven to drive a new or even fashionable car, the price was right when I bought it. I do not anticipate replacing it for at least eight to ten years.
I think at this point if Alabama says he's eligible, then he's eligible. Might even get a full semester of credit for an off-campus internship for this semester.
Don't be dissing tiddlywinks--a friend and colleague was a world champion. It is a serious competition requiring serious skills. Not sure if jacks rises to the same level.
My best friend's father was born on Leap Day. He often celebrated on both the 28th and the 1st, just to make sure. If he were still alive, he would finally have enough birthdays to celebrate legally.
"when are they going after A&M, UGA, an Ohio State, etc."
Probably when one of their main rivals secretly hires a PI firm because the rival feels threatened by the the other school's resurgence. (Expect A&M to get investigated if their investments start cranking out 11-2 seasons instead of 7-6.)
Was this Tennessee investigation initiated by their key rivals, Alabama or Georgia? Doubtful, because A) they don't feel threatened by TN, and B) they don't want to start a retribution war within the SEC. So a much different catalyst situation than U of M's 'Signgate' case.
This has been a difficult couple of years for me, for reasons both good and bad. I consider myself to be a pretty lucky guy both personally and professionally, and my ‘problems’ are not the kind that spawn GoFundMes or Dateline episodes. They are the ordinary, inevitable burdens of being an adult with adult responsibilities and adult fears and adult thoughts. Sometimes the world gets heavy.
Me too, Bryan, but for very different reasons. Usually Punt/Counterpunt makes me laugh out loud, but this time it brought me to tears because it was so good and so apt. My late wife was a big Wolverine fan, having grown up in Saline and having attended many games when her father, a U of M Med School grad OB/GYN, was called to the hospital because babies don't learn the importance of fall Saturday scheduling priorities until later in life, and she got to use his season tickets. She shared that passion with me and converted me (I grew up in another Big Ten college town in Michigan), and I was able to attend numerous home games with her. She passed away from cancer a year ago last fall, after the Indiana game, but she at least was able to watch the 2021 victory over tOSU. I wished for a national championship last year in her memory, but it was not to be. Now I have shifted my responsibilities from caring for her to caring for my elderly parents, including my father suffering from senile dementia. Michigan football has been a weekly respite from my responsibilities, and MGoBlog has provided nearly daily small doses of escape for me. Thank you Bryan, and Raj and Seth and Brian and Alex and all the other contributors who have unknowingly helped me along. And thank you to the Wolverines for making it a joy to be a fan. I believe that we shall prevail tonight, Because We Said So!
I did not watch the game--don't need that sort of stress on my heart as I'm saving it for Monday--but I was following along on the game tracker on my phone. I KNEW immediately what had happened and that the refs had botched the call when I read the play description, just because it was the Lions vs. the NFL Refs and Dallas. Probably every other Lions fan like myself who has been one since the 1960s in the same situation knew it, too. Just the way it is.
I haven’t had the time today to read this, but I plan to after I get home tonight from the ER once we get my 90-year-old father admitted for his raging throat infection that yesterday was just a cold.
"Ole Miss doesn't have super rich boosters so this might be a one-time big cash payout for them."
And then Nolen can transfer somewhere else if he wants. Wouldn't be surprised to see players who are very good in college but not likely high draft choice prospects do this multiple times to get their annual signing bonuses.
Cdat, I agree with your sentiments, although my roller coaster has been from a different track. I started reading MGoBlog to get information about the impending hire of Harbaugh, and haven't left. Since then, the laughs, excitement, and yes even the villains helped me escape when I needed it while dealing with my wife's cancer and eventual death. She was a Michigan fan long before I was. I often read articles aloud to her, Opponent Watch and Punt/Counterpunt especially, and also shared many a snarky or outrageous comment with her. Laughter because of this site eased pain for both of us. The sense of community and support I received from many members of our vast network here were also helpful to me in the days and months after her passing. I, too, am a non-attending Wolverine (I was admitted, but chose a smaller liberal arts college), and also want to express my appreciation to the members of this community.
Thanks. He's had ninety great years, still has his sense of humor, and is very appreciate of my being there to help him. His father had the same symptoms (memory loss, physical deterioration, mild but increasing dementia; not sure if Grandpa also had obsessions about toothbrushes and flashlights, though), but a decade earlier in life, so Dad figures he's done pretty well. He admits that he shouldn't have even survived his first week of life on their rural west Michigan farm, but has gone on to serve in the Army in post-conflict Korea in MI, earn four college degrees, do significant research in climatology including co-authoring an important foresighted scientific paper on CO2 back in the 80s, and raise me.
Whoever beats MSU. Oh, wait, they beat themselves. Or their coach beat himself. Something like that.
Usually I'm a little bit pro-Big Ten except for tOSU, but I care much less about how the other schools do this year. Also, I want Mizzou to win, especially over ohio, as my father did research and extension service work there.
Board meeting and vote was first thing this morning, and he was their only finalist, so this news dropped long before 'late Friday'. Wishing Guskiewicz well, as he has a difficult road ahead of him with a dysfunctional board and a university with extensive PR baggage. As others have also noted, I want MSU to be a great university with lousy sports teams.
Babysitting my Army vet Dad tonight, like every night anymore. Worse than a toddler. Senility is no joke. I worked him through his physical therapy exercises as I do every evening, but it has taken him an hour since then to get ready for bed, and that is typical. Mom has no patience for him any longer by this point in the day. I'm glad I have moved in to help keep her sane. Wish I was drinking, but not sure the impact of that on my own patience and tolerance. [Edited two hours later to add: parents have gone to bed, dog has been walked around the block, and now I'm enjoying a North Peak Blitzen Festivus Ale, to which I give a thumbs up.]
Looking forward to Army-Navy game tomorrow even more than usual--my son-in-law, a non-Academy Naval officer, is attending for the first time. Rather ironic, as he has submitted his resignation after more than a decade of service, in part because of Tuberville's shenanigans. (He was one of the more than 400 officers whose promotions were held hostage.) He can earn at twice as much in the private sector beginning next spring, they'll get to choose where they want to live (stuck in FL right now and hate it), and the Navy is losing one of their best officers. Go Navy! Beat Army! Beat Politicians!
Also tomorrow: my annual cookie-making extravaganza begins! What are your favorite holiday cookies?
Perhaps it is more psycho-emotional: the offense knows the defense is great enough to bail them out and so the offense becomes entirely dependent on the defense and fails to improve. Then the defense realizes how important it is that they rescue the offense and thus works harder to save the team and therefore becomes even better.
Maybe the Iowa offense just needs a good 12-step program to overcome their dependency.
Daily. I try to get a pangram first, hit bingo next, then get on with my day, then returning to it later in the day if I have to wait somewhere, or before bed. Nearly always hit Genius, usually without resorting to Hints, and Queen Bee a couple times a week. One of these days I will hit Queen Bee without any Hints--closest I've come is within three words. (Fortunately I'm retired and can waste up to an hour most days to do this.)
It's not that they 'bump down' for the playoffs; the playoffs are based on school size. It's just that they happen to play in a league with mostly larger schools, which, if they are winning just some of their games, provides them more playoff points and even can give them home field advantages for the first three rounds. Some schools are finding it increasingly difficult to schedule out-of-conference games because many HS ADs don't want to hurt their chances of making the playoffs by either losing games to larger schools or losing potential points when they beat smaller schools. If they can play in a league with larger schools, it usually helps their playoff positioning. Lansing Catholic plays in a league with nearly all larger schools although they have now slid down to Division 6. They made the playoffs the last two years even with a losing record both seasons due to beating a couple larger schools.
New York State does something similar in at least some of the sports--separate divisions for public and private schools. In swimming (which was my son's sport), the state finals are split by school size but combined otherwise, however separate scores are kept for the public and the private, and so are state records. I have no idea about football--their high school had a perfect record the three years my daughter attended, 0-27, and my son couldn't have cared less about football. Not sure he even ever attended a game.
It has been an interesting phenomenon over the past decade or two: overall enrollment in Catholic schools has decreased, but they still attract (recruit?) a similar number of high level athletes as in the past. Jackson Lumen Christi used to be a Class B school (equivalent to Division 3 and 4 now, approximately) and has slid down in size through the various divisions to now overpower many of the very small Division 7 schools. In past years some of the Grand Rapids area non-public schools might have been in Divisions 2 and 3, but now are in 4, 5, or even 6, and small-town public schools, like the one where I used to teach, are fortunate just to make it to the semis (as mine did this year) before they go up against a private school juggernaut.
Another factor in the larger equation: with more and more very small schools (Class D when I grew up) opting for 8-player ball, it shifts the classifications slightly so that some schools' populations might stay the same yet they end up moving to a higher classification. Prediction: Michigan's 8-man playoffs will expand in the coming years.
I don't have any answers to the situation, and not really any worthwhile complaints. I do like that approximately half of the schools in the state make the playoffs each year, unlike only four teams in four classes as when I was in high school. Marching in the band at the Silverdome my sophomore year was a memorable experience, and I would wish that sort of high school event for as many students in the state as possible.
For fifteen years, when my kids were in their early teens on into early adulthood, we lived too far away from the rest of the family to drive home for Thanksgiving. Neither child is fond of turkey, nor traditions, so our Thanksgiving feast was homemade pizzas. We wouldn't eat until evening, and many of their friends would escape from their day-long imprisonment with their least favorite relatives and stop by to get a slice or two.
Now that I'm living with and taking care of my elderly parents, and the kids and their spouses are doing their own non-traditions, it's back to the typical American Thanksgiving fare. I made four pies and my marinated turkey is in the oven (and already smells great!). Mom baked rolls and made the dressing. Dad has wisely tried to stay out of the way. Other people will be bringing all the other usual dishes, and there will be eleven of us for dinner starting at halftime of the Lions game.
Driving 14 hours to my 94-year-old mother-in-law's home early this week to cook meals and restock her freezer with four months of dinners.* Timing of the bye week is excellent for me, as I will be too busy to watch the game. Then driving back 14 hours on Sunday to continue taking care of my 90-year-old father as he slips gradually away both mentally and physically, and helping my mother maintain her sanity. I love watching the Michigan games with my mom, even though she is an MSU grad, as she appreciates good play and is much more knowledgeable about sports than she likes to admit.
*I'll have about four dozen meals prepped and frozen before I leave home. Get yourself a portable refrigerator/freezer for your vehicle, you will find more uses for it than you expect!
Also lived in Okemos during late 70s. Staudt has long been credited with giving Earvin the 'Magic' moniker. Tim is 74 and has been in broadcasting for 53 years.
They somehow scored 41 because three of their touchdown drives were less than 35 yards, thanks to their defense, including a score with half a minute remaining that they could have just knelt down on. Oh, and they were playing Western Michigan.
I'm just the opposite: get up out of my recliner and wander around the house for awhile. And like many other males and their maladies, I try the "maybe it will just go away" approach like I did with my mild heart attack many years ago. (It didn't.).
Leftovers for dinner tonight, but that's okay as I made 'em the first time. Washed down with some Bell's Lager for the Lakes.
1. Hmmm. Maybe some sort of bird that likes to soar high above the rest of the world.
2. Helping my wife through cancer to the very end.
3. Wide receiver. College intramurals there was only one play for me: Jonesy, go deep. I had the speed, I had the hands, but I totally lacked the appropriate size.
4. Robin Williams, although I would hope for a rescue after a couple months.
5. I'm retired, so every day is Saturday. But yesterday I walked into my new town post office and asked if they could tell me where I live.*
*The town zip code includes two counties and two roads with the same name, one in each county. Google calls them both East P--- Road. I learned that the post office calls mine West P--- Road, because it's east of town, but officially my county has dropped the directional part of the road name. Confused yet? So are delivery drivers. My new friends on East P--- Road with a similar house number nearly got some brand new appliances twice, and I have already had to redeliver packages to them.
I read Opponent Watch and Punt/CounterPunt to my late wife every week, whether she wanted me to or not. Usually she did not want, but ended up laughing or snorting or eyerolling or sometimes all three anyway. Seek joy where ever you can find it, Tator, even in painful memories, as I am sure Mom would want you to.
Nah, nothing as exciting as all that. Mid-Michigan, about half an hour northeast of Spartyville. Close enough to my elderly parents in EL so I can better meet their needs, while at the same time fulfilling a longtime dream. Thank you for inquiring!
Next to last trailer load today of my move to the farm. Too tired now to finish unloading it, so I’m going to go into town and bring home the local pizzeria’s Deluxe, and wash it down with a couple UPAs from Upper Hand. Then I’m gonna count all the deer in my yard, but I’ll have to take off my shoes and socks to do that, and that’ll get me started on getting ready for an early bedtime.
I'm just now slowing down to have a couple slices of reheated pizza and alternating Saugatuck Blueberry Lemonade Shandy with LaCroix. The Big Move to The Farm is tomorrow. My best teacher friend is the HS football coach, so I have 10-12 football player volunteers, a couple coaches, four cargo trailers, and an untold number of pickup trucks showing up at 9 am. I'm still packing and will probably be working until at least midnight tonight. Fortunately I have no deadline to be out of the current space, so what's ready gets moved, and I'll keep on keeping on for the next few days until it's done. So far I've made twelve trips with my car and four with my truck and borrowed trailer since I took possession of the house two and a half weeks ago. It's a pleasant 35-mile, 50-minute drive one way on the back roads. The highway would be faster, but now there are THREE construction slowdowns between here and there. And my son was supposed to arrive from NYC last night to help with the packing today, but now he might make it here by ten am tomorrow due to multiple transit issues. IIWII, and certain things are out of our control. All will be good.
Bronx, you're showing your East Coast flyover geography bias. Driving Boulder to L.A. is 1023 miles, Boulder to Dallas is only 820 miles, (but to Houston is 1054 miles). But everything else you've said is spot on.
I have Colorado cousins, and they'd prefer the old rivalries with Nebraska and Oklahoma. Of course, they'd also prefer the days of Kordell Stewart.
A friend of my father tried three times to summit Everest. Third time he made it within 200 meters of the peak before turning back. At the time, he would have been the oldest ever to reach the top. As they say, summiting is optional, coming back down isn't.
Had a friend literally blown off Mt. Washington one winter by a 90 mph breeze. Through a series of fortunate events he survived and was actually in surgery within two hours of the incident.
Recent Comments
The late wife was a fan of bleu cheese, so over four decades I grew to 'appreciate' it. As in, tolerate the intrusion if some accidently made its way into my salad bowl. Haven't had any the house in more than a year and a half now. Kinda miss it. But if I bought some for old time's sake, it would just sit in the cheese drawer until it became extremely blue.
Threw a small slab of back ribs in the oven early this afternoon as I had to take my father to the doctor (in preparation for moving him into memory care next week) and I wasn't sure how long that might take. Not as good as on the grill, but they were tasty, and they are a favorite food of my Dad. Oven roasted some potato wedges while the ribs rested, microwaved a head of broccoli. Good dinner. Then went to the assisted living facility where I recently moved my mother-in-law, to sit with her for a couple hours as I do morning and evening.
Just got home, and lack the energy to pour myself a drink (have some Big Hearted out in the garage--maybe tomorrow) before falling into bed--as soon as I can get my Dad into his for the night: sometimes he gets up two or three or five times after I think he is tucked in. He has often said the growing old ain't for sissies; I can add that taking care of a 90-year-old who has moderate dementia and memory loss ain't for sissies either.
Tomorrow I get to go out to The Farm to plant more things that will not grow--fence posts for my deer D-fence, so that I may grow things that I want to both grow and eventually be able to harvest. Therefore I shall not be making the trek from the East Landfill area for the spring game, nor will I be watching it. Please, everybody, learn to attach gifs and pictures so you can post them about the game and so I can enjoy all the highlights after the fact!
Had a pair pulled Tuesday (the last of five: after two decades of avoidance and abuse, I finally got my act together, found a great dentist, and am getting at least one part of my life in better order) so I feel you there. Damn fine reason to increase the ice cream intake, as if I needed an excuse. I am healing well and quickly, and wish you the same and even more so.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. All my best posts and comments are pointless.
I didn’t know how much I had in common with Jim! My wife and I lived in our 26-foot, no-slide fifth wheel for two months the summer we moved back to Michigan, including the first two weeks of the school year after I secured a teaching position but we hadn’t yet found a bricks-and-sticks home to move into.
I spent 3 months hiking over half the AT, which is a luxury party trail compared to the PCT or CDT. Made me appreciate simple things like clean sheets and dry socks.
My 9-year-old Outback is ideal for my needs: big enough for both me and the dog to sleep in when we go fast-travel camping, carries a lot of stuff--I just moved my MIL from Alabama to an assisted living facility here in Michigan and I was able to get everything she needed in it, decent mileage--31 highway on the aforementioned trip, and as would be expected the AWD is useful in the winter to get me up and down my dirt road and gravel driveway to my minifarm. Caveats of course apply: I have a 2500 diesel pickup with an 8-ft bed for hauling bigger loads and pulling my 5th wheel, I'm not ego-driven to drive a new or even fashionable car, the price was right when I bought it. I do not anticipate replacing it for at least eight to ten years.
I think at this point if Alabama says he's eligible, then he's eligible. Might even get a full semester of credit for an off-campus internship for this semester.
Don't be dissing tiddlywinks--a friend and colleague was a world champion. It is a serious competition requiring serious skills. Not sure if jacks rises to the same level.
Or perhaps 10-11 walk-ons? Or managers playing?
My best friend's father was born on Leap Day. He often celebrated on both the 28th and the 1st, just to make sure. If he were still alive, he would finally have enough birthdays to celebrate legally.
"when are they going after A&M, UGA, an Ohio State, etc."
Probably when one of their main rivals secretly hires a PI firm because the rival feels threatened by the the other school's resurgence. (Expect A&M to get investigated if their investments start cranking out 11-2 seasons instead of 7-6.)
Was this Tennessee investigation initiated by their key rivals, Alabama or Georgia? Doubtful, because A) they don't feel threatened by TN, and B) they don't want to start a retribution war within the SEC. So a much different catalyst situation than U of M's 'Signgate' case.
Me too, Bryan, but for very different reasons. Usually Punt/Counterpunt makes me laugh out loud, but this time it brought me to tears because it was so good and so apt. My late wife was a big Wolverine fan, having grown up in Saline and having attended many games when her father, a U of M Med School grad OB/GYN, was called to the hospital because babies don't learn the importance of fall Saturday scheduling priorities until later in life, and she got to use his season tickets. She shared that passion with me and converted me (I grew up in another Big Ten college town in Michigan), and I was able to attend numerous home games with her. She passed away from cancer a year ago last fall, after the Indiana game, but she at least was able to watch the 2021 victory over tOSU. I wished for a national championship last year in her memory, but it was not to be. Now I have shifted my responsibilities from caring for her to caring for my elderly parents, including my father suffering from senile dementia. Michigan football has been a weekly respite from my responsibilities, and MGoBlog has provided nearly daily small doses of escape for me. Thank you Bryan, and Raj and Seth and Brian and Alex and all the other contributors who have unknowingly helped me along. And thank you to the Wolverines for making it a joy to be a fan. I believe that we shall prevail tonight, Because We Said So!
I did not watch the game--don't need that sort of stress on my heart as I'm saving it for Monday--but I was following along on the game tracker on my phone. I KNEW immediately what had happened and that the refs had botched the call when I read the play description, just because it was the Lions vs. the NFL Refs and Dallas. Probably every other Lions fan like myself who has been one since the 1960s in the same situation knew it, too. Just the way it is.
Time to start a…
Amazing.
Time to start a new streak of some sort.
I haven’t had the time today to read this, but I plan to after I get home tonight from the ER once we get my 90-year-old father admitted for his raging throat infection that yesterday was just a cold.
"Ole Miss doesn't have super rich boosters so this might be a one-time big cash payout for them."
And then Nolen can transfer somewhere else if he wants. Wouldn't be surprised to see players who are very good in college but not likely high draft choice prospects do this multiple times to get their annual signing bonuses.
I noticed that you wisely waited until SIX minutes had passed. Well played!
Cdat, I agree with your sentiments, although my roller coaster has been from a different track. I started reading MGoBlog to get information about the impending hire of Harbaugh, and haven't left. Since then, the laughs, excitement, and yes even the villains helped me escape when I needed it while dealing with my wife's cancer and eventual death. She was a Michigan fan long before I was. I often read articles aloud to her, Opponent Watch and Punt/Counterpunt especially, and also shared many a snarky or outrageous comment with her. Laughter because of this site eased pain for both of us. The sense of community and support I received from many members of our vast network here were also helpful to me in the days and months after her passing. I, too, am a non-attending Wolverine (I was admitted, but chose a smaller liberal arts college), and also want to express my appreciation to the members of this community.
Thanks. He's had ninety great years, still has his sense of humor, and is very appreciate of my being there to help him. His father had the same symptoms (memory loss, physical deterioration, mild but increasing dementia; not sure if Grandpa also had obsessions about toothbrushes and flashlights, though), but a decade earlier in life, so Dad figures he's done pretty well. He admits that he shouldn't have even survived his first week of life on their rural west Michigan farm, but has gone on to serve in the Army in post-conflict Korea in MI, earn four college degrees, do significant research in climatology including co-authoring an important foresighted scientific paper on CO2 back in the 80s, and raise me.
Just further demonstration how important little brother is to the media.
Whoever over An ohio school.
Whoever over the South Bend university.
Whoever beats MSU. Oh, wait, they beat themselves. Or their coach beat himself. Something like that.
Usually I'm a little bit pro-Big Ten except for tOSU, but I care much less about how the other schools do this year. Also, I want Mizzou to win, especially over ohio, as my father did research and extension service work there.
Board meeting and vote was first thing this morning, and he was their only finalist, so this news dropped long before 'late Friday'. Wishing Guskiewicz well, as he has a difficult road ahead of him with a dysfunctional board and a university with extensive PR baggage. As others have also noted, I want MSU to be a great university with lousy sports teams.
Babysitting my Army vet Dad tonight, like every night anymore. Worse than a toddler. Senility is no joke. I worked him through his physical therapy exercises as I do every evening, but it has taken him an hour since then to get ready for bed, and that is typical. Mom has no patience for him any longer by this point in the day. I'm glad I have moved in to help keep her sane. Wish I was drinking, but not sure the impact of that on my own patience and tolerance. [Edited two hours later to add: parents have gone to bed, dog has been walked around the block, and now I'm enjoying a North Peak Blitzen Festivus Ale, to which I give a thumbs up.]
Looking forward to Army-Navy game tomorrow even more than usual--my son-in-law, a non-Academy Naval officer, is attending for the first time. Rather ironic, as he has submitted his resignation after more than a decade of service, in part because of Tuberville's shenanigans. (He was one of the more than 400 officers whose promotions were held hostage.) He can earn at twice as much in the private sector beginning next spring, they'll get to choose where they want to live (stuck in FL right now and hate it), and the Navy is losing one of their best officers. Go Navy! Beat Army! Beat Politicians!
Also tomorrow: my annual cookie-making extravaganza begins! What are your favorite holiday cookies?
Perhaps it is more psycho-emotional: the offense knows the defense is great enough to bail them out and so the offense becomes entirely dependent on the defense and fails to improve. Then the defense realizes how important it is that they rescue the offense and thus works harder to save the team and therefore becomes even better.
Maybe the Iowa offense just needs a good 12-step program to overcome their dependency.
Someone feel the…
BET!
Someone feel the need to start a third Posbang in honor of the three-peat?
HAIL, YEAH!!!
Daily. I try to get a pangram first, hit bingo next, then get on with my day, then returning to it later in the day if I have to wait somewhere, or before bed. Nearly always hit Genius, usually without resorting to Hints, and Queen Bee a couple times a week. One of these days I will hit Queen Bee without any Hints--closest I've come is within three words. (Fortunately I'm retired and can waste up to an hour most days to do this.)
It's not that they 'bump down' for the playoffs; the playoffs are based on school size. It's just that they happen to play in a league with mostly larger schools, which, if they are winning just some of their games, provides them more playoff points and even can give them home field advantages for the first three rounds. Some schools are finding it increasingly difficult to schedule out-of-conference games because many HS ADs don't want to hurt their chances of making the playoffs by either losing games to larger schools or losing potential points when they beat smaller schools. If they can play in a league with larger schools, it usually helps their playoff positioning. Lansing Catholic plays in a league with nearly all larger schools although they have now slid down to Division 6. They made the playoffs the last two years even with a losing record both seasons due to beating a couple larger schools.
New York State does something similar in at least some of the sports--separate divisions for public and private schools. In swimming (which was my son's sport), the state finals are split by school size but combined otherwise, however separate scores are kept for the public and the private, and so are state records. I have no idea about football--their high school had a perfect record the three years my daughter attended, 0-27, and my son couldn't have cared less about football. Not sure he even ever attended a game.
It has been an interesting phenomenon over the past decade or two: overall enrollment in Catholic schools has decreased, but they still attract (recruit?) a similar number of high level athletes as in the past. Jackson Lumen Christi used to be a Class B school (equivalent to Division 3 and 4 now, approximately) and has slid down in size through the various divisions to now overpower many of the very small Division 7 schools. In past years some of the Grand Rapids area non-public schools might have been in Divisions 2 and 3, but now are in 4, 5, or even 6, and small-town public schools, like the one where I used to teach, are fortunate just to make it to the semis (as mine did this year) before they go up against a private school juggernaut.
Another factor in the larger equation: with more and more very small schools (Class D when I grew up) opting for 8-player ball, it shifts the classifications slightly so that some schools' populations might stay the same yet they end up moving to a higher classification. Prediction: Michigan's 8-man playoffs will expand in the coming years.
I don't have any answers to the situation, and not really any worthwhile complaints. I do like that approximately half of the schools in the state make the playoffs each year, unlike only four teams in four classes as when I was in high school. Marching in the band at the Silverdome my sophomore year was a memorable experience, and I would wish that sort of high school event for as many students in the state as possible.
For fifteen years, when my kids were in their early teens on into early adulthood, we lived too far away from the rest of the family to drive home for Thanksgiving. Neither child is fond of turkey, nor traditions, so our Thanksgiving feast was homemade pizzas. We wouldn't eat until evening, and many of their friends would escape from their day-long imprisonment with their least favorite relatives and stop by to get a slice or two.
Now that I'm living with and taking care of my elderly parents, and the kids and their spouses are doing their own non-traditions, it's back to the typical American Thanksgiving fare. I made four pies and my marinated turkey is in the oven (and already smells great!). Mom baked rolls and made the dressing. Dad has wisely tried to stay out of the way. Other people will be bringing all the other usual dishes, and there will be eleven of us for dinner starting at halftime of the Lions game.
Not the easiest of the 1000 today, but I’m looking forward to next week: MI for MI over the big zero down south!
Driving 14 hours to my 94-year-old mother-in-law's home early this week to cook meals and restock her freezer with four months of dinners.* Timing of the bye week is excellent for me, as I will be too busy to watch the game. Then driving back 14 hours on Sunday to continue taking care of my 90-year-old father as he slips gradually away both mentally and physically, and helping my mother maintain her sanity. I love watching the Michigan games with my mom, even though she is an MSU grad, as she appreciates good play and is much more knowledgeable about sports than she likes to admit.
*I'll have about four dozen meals prepped and frozen before I leave home. Get yourself a portable refrigerator/freezer for your vehicle, you will find more uses for it than you expect!
Vast Network Member reporting for duty, so bang me! Go Blue!
Also lived in Okemos during late 70s. Staudt has long been credited with giving Earvin the 'Magic' moniker. Tim is 74 and has been in broadcasting for 53 years.
They somehow scored 41 because three of their touchdown drives were less than 35 yards, thanks to their defense, including a score with half a minute remaining that they could have just knelt down on. Oh, and they were playing Western Michigan.
I'm just the opposite: get up out of my recliner and wander around the house for awhile. And like many other males and their maladies, I try the "maybe it will just go away" approach like I did with my mild heart attack many years ago. (It didn't.).
Why? What's the point? You can't take 'em with you!
Yet at the same time it was the easiest thing I've ever done.
Leftovers for dinner tonight, but that's okay as I made 'em the first time. Washed down with some Bell's Lager for the Lakes.
1. Hmmm. Maybe some sort of bird that likes to soar high above the rest of the world.
2. Helping my wife through cancer to the very end.
3. Wide receiver. College intramurals there was only one play for me: Jonesy, go deep. I had the speed, I had the hands, but I totally lacked the appropriate size.
4. Robin Williams, although I would hope for a rescue after a couple months.
5. I'm retired, so every day is Saturday. But yesterday I walked into my new town post office and asked if they could tell me where I live.*
*The town zip code includes two counties and two roads with the same name, one in each county. Google calls them both East P--- Road. I learned that the post office calls mine West P--- Road, because it's east of town, but officially my county has dropped the directional part of the road name. Confused yet? So are delivery drivers. My new friends on East P--- Road with a similar house number nearly got some brand new appliances twice, and I have already had to redeliver packages to them.
I read Opponent Watch and Punt/CounterPunt to my late wife every week, whether she wanted me to or not. Usually she did not want, but ended up laughing or snorting or eyerolling or sometimes all three anyway. Seek joy where ever you can find it, Tator, even in painful memories, as I am sure Mom would want you to.
You might replace the despised dill with more scintillating cilantro. If I did that I might also switch out the lemon juice for fresh lime juice.
Wondering if you can get Ellen’s fantastic shrimp salad recipe and share it here
Nah, nothing as exciting as all that. Mid-Michigan, about half an hour northeast of Spartyville. Close enough to my elderly parents in EL so I can better meet their needs, while at the same time fulfilling a longtime dream. Thank you for inquiring!
Next to last trailer load today of my move to the farm. Too tired now to finish unloading it, so I’m going to go into town and bring home the local pizzeria’s Deluxe, and wash it down with a couple UPAs from Upper Hand. Then I’m gonna count all the deer in my yard, but I’ll have to take off my shoes and socks to do that, and that’ll get me started on getting ready for an early bedtime.
I'm just now slowing down to have a couple slices of reheated pizza and alternating Saugatuck Blueberry Lemonade Shandy with LaCroix. The Big Move to The Farm is tomorrow. My best teacher friend is the HS football coach, so I have 10-12 football player volunteers, a couple coaches, four cargo trailers, and an untold number of pickup trucks showing up at 9 am. I'm still packing and will probably be working until at least midnight tonight. Fortunately I have no deadline to be out of the current space, so what's ready gets moved, and I'll keep on keeping on for the next few days until it's done. So far I've made twelve trips with my car and four with my truck and borrowed trailer since I took possession of the house two and a half weeks ago. It's a pleasant 35-mile, 50-minute drive one way on the back roads. The highway would be faster, but now there are THREE construction slowdowns between here and there. And my son was supposed to arrive from NYC last night to help with the packing today, but now he might make it here by ten am tomorrow due to multiple transit issues. IIWII, and certain things are out of our control. All will be good.
Bronx, you're showing your East Coast flyover geography bias. Driving Boulder to L.A. is 1023 miles, Boulder to Dallas is only 820 miles, (but to Houston is 1054 miles). But everything else you've said is spot on.
I have Colorado cousins, and they'd prefer the old rivalries with Nebraska and Oklahoma. Of course, they'd also prefer the days of Kordell Stewart.
A friend of my father tried three times to summit Everest. Third time he made it within 200 meters of the peak before turning back. At the time, he would have been the oldest ever to reach the top. As they say, summiting is optional, coming back down isn't.
Had a friend literally blown off Mt. Washington one winter by a 90 mph breeze. Through a series of fortunate events he survived and was actually in surgery within two hours of the incident.