Baseball season, for me, is now officially over – I have no teams left to root for (a nice season for Baltimore kept me in the game a little longer than is, unfortunately, usual) or against (with the Cardinals losing in exquisitely bone-headed fashion). It’s time to turn a full set of eyes towards the 2015 season and the hope that awaits, separated from today by the unknown void of the offseason. The Cubs should be busy, so the offseason should be fun.
Meanwhile, the Saints have an incredibly important game this weekend in Detroit and my nervousness level is at -9 fingernails. Mark Ingram should be back to bolster a run game that has been one of the bright spots this season, but the beleaguered secondary is going to have their hands full with Megatron & Stafford, LLC. Coming off the bye week the team should be prepared, so the result of this game will likely dictate the rest of the season – a win on the road can be the catapult towards the lofty heights we expected before week 1, while another ugly loss would be…well, let’s just say ugly.
Providing the spring to baseball’s winter (even though they’re both in the winter…damn, I don’t think that metaphor is going to work…) is the Washington Wizards, as we’re less than two weeks from the start of the NBA regular season. With a small handful of games left in the preseason, the Wizards are dealing with injury issues (again), but this year’s team might have the depth to withstand them. Otto Porter is looking vastly improved and has the opportunity for the extra minutes created by Bradley Beal’s wrist surgery. Similarly, Kevin Seraphin looks like a completely different player than last year and is joined by DeJuan Blair to bolster deeper, more versatile front court than last year’s version. With a somewhat easier schedule out of the gate, here’s hoping the Wizards can get off to a good start and the return of Beal and Kris Humphries in several weeks feels more like additional reinforcements and not a rescue squad.
You know what I really dream of…a year where all three teams are playing meaningful games at the same time. If that were this year, it would have taken the Cubs going to game 7 of the World Series.
- If you haven’t been following the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission to Churyumov-Gerasimenko, then you are missing maximum interplanetary coolness. This is a mission to land a probe on a comet and we’re less than a month away from knowing if it will be a complete success, but just with the photography it’s already sent back there is no way this can ever be considered a failure. Here’s my current desktop image, the comet in question spouting jets of vapor as it is warmed by the solar wind. This is the coolest selfie this side of Curiosity (and, in this case, “coolest” is quite literal). And this is where it will land. And, now that you’re hooked, here’s a few more images for your geekery.
- Marcin Gortat interviewing himself. Outstanding.
- I was hoping I’d just coined a word in “geekery”, but, alas, I’m too late. And I totally agree, “The Stand” MUST be a trilogy!
- I’m a huge LSU football fan and, while I have greatly enjoyed the programs success over the last decade, I also admit I have lots of misgivings about Les Miles’ ability as a coach. However, I have no doubts about his ability to be a good person and leader of young men, which is a lot more than you can say for certain other SEC coaches. Now if we can just do something about that clock management…
- I’m required by
lawfamily to mention that Mississippi State is the #1 football team in the all the land and that Ole Miss is also undefeated. Give me a second while I pick the pieces of my brain off the floor. - A Cubs fan doing it “the right way“.
- The Wrigley renovation is in full swing and, well, Holy Cow!
- The Players’ Tribune is a new site that was launched by Derek Jeter after his retirement, with the promise of getting insight from pro athletes unfiltered by the usual media lens. With this piece by Blake Griffen I’d say they’re off to a good start. And, yes, I just basically complemented Derek Jeter and Blake Griffen in one bullet point. Oy vey.
- I haven’t linked to XKCD in a while.
- Pot is the new helmet. Man, I wish I’d turned that phrase…
- Gird your loins, men! Ladies, too, if you so choose.
- Cheetahs and wildcats and robots, oh crap!
- Tweet of the week
I got vaccinated and now my ebola has autism. Good night, everyone!!!
— Even Losers Can Win (@evenloserswin) October 17, 2014
- And, now that we’ve mentioned the big bad bug in the room, here’s your song of the week.
