The Cardiac Kids are back

Stephen Gostkowski: The Patriots Secret MVP

My beloved New England Patriots played their first game of the season today against the Buffalo Bills and it was...not at all what I expected. They were 10.5 point favorites, everyone (including myself) expected them to roll over the Bills...and sure enough, they didn't whatsoever. In fact, the game was about as intense as you can get...and it was everything I wanted from my guys. Especially considering they won 25 to 24.

See, the weird thing about the Patriots for me is that for the entire time I've been a fan of them (since 1993...but who's counting?) they've played games down to the wire and made everything exciting. This isn't something that most people would like, but I loved them for it. I called them "the Cardiac Kids" as every game they played felt like a heart attack. Except, you know...a good heart attack. Like a heart attack of happy.

In 2007 though, they annihilated all competition (besides the Super Bowl that year, which was mysteriously canceled) and went undefeated. It felt weird. Sure, winning everything by 30 was fun and exciting in its own way, but I sort of missed games being close. Plus, our games were always turned off because of enormous leads. Last year wasn't the same as my boy Tom Brady was out all year because of injury, but it brought the return of the Cardiac Kids to a degree (a somewhat unhealthy degree).

But tonight with five and half minutes left with the Patriots struggling, Tom Brady looking hesistant, star linebacker Jerod Mayo hurting, and the score being Buffalo 24 and the Pats 13, they remembered who they were.

They were the Cardiac Kids, damn it, and it was time to start acting like it.

Sure enough a classic Tom Brady 4th quarter drive led to a touchdown, and then they kicked it deep when many teams would try for the onside kick. Jon Gruden (announcing his first regular season Monday Night Football game) questioned it, but sure enough the Pats sent it deep and the combo of Brandon Meriweather and Pierre Woods managed to strip the Bills kick returner with the hero of the night Stephen Gostkowski (the kicker!) recovering it.

Two minutes left. Three time outs. Thirty yards to go.

Come on now...it's Tom Brady. You know how the rest went.

Sure, this may have been exponentially more stressful than other games (I was making Twitter updates throughout, to the point that someone asked if I had multiple personalities or that I was just WAY too into football) but I loved it. It was exciting, it was intense, it was classic Patriots football. They were the Cardiac Kids again.

Just the way I like it.

Hank Williams...stop asking stupid questions

I'm looking forward to Randy and Jabari recreating this picture

If Barack Obama wanted to do something to make me happy, he'd make the opening Thursday of the NFL season a national holiday. I mean, I really don't think that's asking too much. I know it's not a big deal for denizens of locations outside of Alaska, but we get pretty much screwed up here. Basically, if you work the classic 9 to 5 job, you're missing out on a full quarter of sweet, sweet opening day action between the Tennessee Titans and the Pittsburgh Steelers!

Complete shenanigans if you ask me. Let's get that national holiday in line so I don't have to miss a single snap.

Regardless I'm jazzed for the first game of the season. To me, there is football season and then there is summer time and then there are the other two seasons which I don't even want to think about right now. As long as I have those two things going, my cup runneth over with excitement.

My New England Patriots are looking fantastic, with new players like Derrick Burgess, Shawn Springs, Leigh Bodden, Fred Taylor, Greg Lewis, Julian Edelman, Ron Brace and others bolstering a roster that already includes superstars like the returning Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker and burgeoning defensive stalwarts like Brandon Meriweather and Jerod Mayo. Sure, we may have lost Richard Seymour (in a complete decimation of a trade with the Oakland Raiders - potential top 5 pick for an aging star? Yes please), Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi and Matt Cassell, but I still feel great about this season. I'm feeling Super Bowl great.

Let's hope the Pats are as well.

Welcome back football. I sure did miss you.

The end of an era?

Goodbye Mike!

Alright, that title is obviously overly dramatic. The Patriots are not going away in any way, shape or form. In fact, after the moves we made, it sets us up to be even better (and younger) than last year. However, after the Patriots dealt 2008 hero Matt Cassel and long time favorite Mike Vrabel for the 34th pick in this years draft, it kind of feels like a big part of our identity is missing.

Not so much with Cassel, but Vrabel really is the personification of the Bill Belichick way. Gritty, versatile, durable, and eminently coachable, Mike Vrabel plays football the way it is supposed to be played. Need him to line up as a down lineman off the edge? He's got that. Inside linebacker? Outside linebacker? No problem. Hell, tight end on goal line plays? You betcha coach. He does it all, and he does it all well, and it's going to be sad seeing him play for the Chiefs next year (in the theorized universe where the Chiefs are actually broadcasted on television).

Cassel is a joy also, and was the savior of 2008 after Tom Brady got hurt. It's good to see him get the opportunity though, as with Brady back (and you have to assume his recovery is going well considering the Pats dealt Cassel) he just wouldn't have the opportunity.

No less, like I said, I'm excited about the future for the Pats. Perhaps I'm just making lemonade out of lemons, but dealing a QB with clear physical tools but inflated stats due to his system and supporting cast and an aging linebacker for a high pick and tons of cap space isn't all bad. There is already word that the Pats will likely make a run at one of the linebackers in the market, from Julius Peppers to Ray Lewis, or even Jonathan Vilma in a trade for picks. They have a ton of cap space, and people have speculated that they may go for TJ Houshmandzadeh to replace Jabar Gaffney (I don't buy it, but you never know). Plus, with four picks in the first 2 rounds (and 5 in the first 89 picks), they have a lot of room to move up or get younger support very quickly.

In short, it's not doomsday. It's actually a brand new day for the Patriots, and perhaps even a better one than the day before.

I hope at least. Let's hope I'm not just deluding myself, because that's totally possible.

No Christmas present for me

Thanks for nothing guys

For my team, the New England Patriots, to make the playoffs they needed a couple things to happen. They needed to win their game (they did 13 to 0) and they needed either Baltimore to lose to the Jaguars (not going to happen) or the Dolphins to lose to the Jets. That was a possibility.

While watching the game, it seemed perfectly possible, as the defense of the Jets held the Dolphins to 24 points and overall they were moving the ball well enough. I was starting to actually think the Pats may make it.

Of course, I forgot that Brett Favre was the Jets QB, and it all went downhill from there. The Pats season went up in smoke as "Evil Brett" came out to play, throwing three interceptions (including two absolutely stupid ones - one for a backbreaking touchdown return by the Dolphins) and making all kinds of other stupid decisions (not to Brett: bounce passes are legal in basketball, not football).

In a season that was at best troubled for Brett, he ended the season with a one game representation of his entire season. Sure he occasionally made good plays, but he killed his team with the stupid ones that surrounded them. Just goes to show you that Brett really is the ultimate feast or famine player, as today he not only killed the Jets season but the Patriots one as well.

Let's hope he retires, as the path of destruction he left behind may be the legacy he deserves. Congrats to Chad Pennington on getting the ultimate revenge, and here's pulling for the Dolphins, Falcons, and Cardinals in the playoffs (although to be fair, none of them really have a chance).

What I want for Christmas

Lamont Jordan bringing it home

More than anything this year, I want the Patriots to make it to the playoffs. I know that's a little sad, but with the year we've had, I really feel like we deserve it. All I need is the Pats to win on Sunday, and either the Dolphins or the Ravens to lose. Is that so much to ask? Pretty please football gods...that's all I'm asking for.

Well, and I want Tom Brady to be back next year fully recovered. Two things I want for Christmas! Two things. That's it. I swear. Probably.

The Weekend Edition (Mega crazy weekend edition)

So this weekend was pretty much freaking epic. Because I've been tied up with other things between now and then, I'm even going to get into Thursday's events, so this is a breakdown of what went down Thursday through Sunday. It was about as epic as you can get, no doubt about it. I'm going to split it into three sections though, to cover the main three events.

Part 1: Lyrics Bored

One of the best concert runners in the state of Alaska is the restaurants Bear and Moose's Tooth, who have over the years brought up Wilco, Matisyahu, Cake, Third Eye Blind, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, and more. During the summer they have the Moose's Tooth summer concert series, but they also have First Tap events at Bear Tooth every month where they premier a new beer and have a musician/band/whatever put on a show.

December '08's First Tap brought up Bay Area rapper Lyrics Born, a college radio favorite and an artist I caught for part of one song at Bumbershoot '07. I had reviewed his album Same S@%^ Different Day (clearly mine was the censored one) in college, and felt like he could put on a pretty good show. One way or another, I figured Jason, Hannah, and I would have a good time.

Sure enough we did, and we ran into plenty of other great folks there to share in the good time and beer with, as many tasty beverages were consumed (while I liked the new Stout they revealed, I stuck to lighter beers after one run). Plus, the opening band was ATF (Alaskan Thunder Funk) which featured a fellow Bosco's new comic day guy as one of the lead rappers. It was great seeing comic book geeks being represented in a good way on stage.

On came Lyrics Born, and I have to admit, I was severely underwhelmed. Their performance reminded me of the Starting Line years back at the Drive Thru Invasion tour. It started out really cool as you had a fairly well performing group who had clearly been doing this for a while and brought some good banter to the stage. Then when you realized all they did was the same thing, over and over, it started to get tired (heads up Lyrics Born, you do NOT have to ask how the ladies are in the house after and before every song - nor the "fellas").

While overall they performed well (especially the freakishly talented Joyo Velarde), I was pretty freaking bored by the end. Strangely enough, possibly my favorite part of the night was driving back to my place with Jason and Hannah as a slightly intoxicated Jason continually threw down Joker quotes from the Dark Knight in a scary accurate Heath Ledger voice. Creepy as hell, but it made me laugh hysterically. Bravo Jason.

Part II: The Crewnit Celebrates Colver's 25 Years

This past Saturday was Colver's 25th birthday, and to celebrate Lorna invited the remaining Crenwit members (meaning it was Colver, Lorna, Amy, Hannah, Jason, and I) over for drinking and ridiculousness. Any time the Crewnit gathers, it's cause for celebration, and we've rarely been assembling in our entirety lately.

However, we did this time, and it was legendary. I mean come on, we had beer pong, we had me trying to kick a ball and eating it ridiculously afterwards, camo hat pics, cake, wedding discussions, more Joker quoting, coercing Jason into skipping his hockey game, and tons of hijinks.

Most of all, we just had great friends together having an incredible time together. That's something we haven't been doing as a group as much as we used to, and it felt like a perfect time to bring it all back together. It just reminds me that we need to do that more often, and thankfully, it's the holiday season. That's the perfect time for planned Crewnit hang outs, like our upcoming Christmas party and New Years party. Now that I can't wait for.

Part III: Fastest 36 Hours

Erik and I at the game

Between 5:45 PM on Saturday and 8:40 AM today, I was in transit between Anchorage and Seattle for one purpose - to see the New England Patriots to play for the first time. It was everything I thought it could be and more.

I was excited, but more than this guy? No way.

Here's an example of how excited I was: as we walked in, I asked Erik "would it be weird if I cried because I'm so happy? Because that's kind of what I felt like doing." It was overwhelming, going in and seeing this ridiculously amazing stadium (Qwest Field is a work of art) and looking on the field seeing all of my favorite players.

My new favorite Seahawk

Plus, while you can actually see the game better on TV, there is something to be said about live games. Watching the game live, it's like you're in sync with your team. I was calling plays as they developed, penalties (or not called ones) become glaringly obvious, and every nerve wracking situation becomes inflated in its intensity.

Belichick and Vrabel stratergizing

This is a game that was decided with less than 2 minutes left with the Seahawks driving to tie or win the game (thank you Brandon Meriwether!), and the go ahead touchdown was scored on 4th down from the one yard line. Needless to say, I was a wreck. I felt as if I was going to collapse at any second from pure stress. I couldn't though, and I could hardly even sit the whole game due to pent up energy (thankfully, at Qwest Field, everyone stands always). Here's an idea of my mental state: Erik at one point asked "did you forget your paper bag?"

Yes.

Yes I did.

Vrabel giving tough love

Not only was it amazing just seeing everything so up close and personal, you really get an idea of team dynamics and what it means to be a professional athlete. To see Mike Vrabel talk to all of the younger defenders after they gave up a TD, coaching them and really hyping them up...to see Vrabel and Bill Belichick scheme together on how to stop Branch and Carlson from killing us...to see the determination on Wes Welker's face the entire game...it was just a revelation.

Wes Welker = The Man

Now to see Stephen Gostkowski and Chris Hanson goof off while waiting for their 5 seconds to shine...that was just hilarious. Kickers officially became my heroes after watching them live, as they are just clowns on the sideline (Gostkowski tends to juggle footballs off his feet when bored), but while the field as a whole felt shorter from the live perspective, good god if kicking field goals and punts didn't seem like the hardest thing imaginable. I have a new level of respect for them.

Hardest job ever!

Also, it was great to go to the game and actually have a good amount of Pats fans around me, as I loved being able to high five people around me after great plays and complain openly and vehemently when I perceived something to be a transgression against my team. Of course, the Seahawks fans around didn't particularly appreciate it, but that's okay with me. I wore my Welker jersey with pride and cheered my team like none of them existed. I'm just glad I didn't get punched.

Victory!

It was just such a joy to see them play, and such a relief to see them win, and none of it would have been possible without my dad. Thanks so much for the best Christmas/birthday present ever. My dream of watching the Patriots play was everything I thought it could be and more.

View of the Seattle skyline from our seats

Living the dream

Wes Welker reacting to the news that I will be at the game

I'm sitting in the airport for the first 36 hour two flight venture of my life. To Seattle and back to Anchorage between 5:45 PM on Saturday and 6 AM on Monday. Why in gods name would I do something so crazy? My sleep patterns are going to be dominated and work is going to be ridonculous (ridonkulous?) on Monday.

Oh wait.

I know why.

I'm going to watch the Patriots on Sunday!

As a surprise Christmas/Birthday present, my dad decided he was going to send me down to Seattle to catch the Seahawks/Patriots game, as my parents are aware that I have two simple dreams: to ride a Vespa in Italy (soon to be checked off) and to watch the Patriots play. I bleed red, white, and blue - not because of America, but because of the Patriots. I'm pretty much insane when it comes to the Pats, so to finally catch a game...well, it's just amazing.

Even better is that I get to go with Erik (who is a big Seahawks fan) and I even get to go into the 12th Man (the nickname for the Seahawks fanbase) and represent the Pats in my Wes Welker jersey and Patriots sweatshirt. To be perfectly honest, if it weren't for logistical issues, I would probably paint my entire body to share my love. But that's neither here nor there.

There will be a delay on my weekend edition because of it, but it's worth it. I also have another big bit of news to share, but I'll wait until the finalization of that soon to be revealed deal to share.

If you get a chance, turn on the TV on Sunday and see if you can spot a number 83 Patriots jersey in the sea of white and blue. That'll be me, grinning ear to ear and savoring complete domination. Go Patriots!

The Cardiac Kids

Matt

Last night, my favorite team on the planet, the New England Patriots lost 34 to 31 to the New York Jets to fall out of first place in the AFC East the latest in the season in seemingly a decade. That isn't true, but it sure feels like it because they've been dominant for so long.

Lost in the sadness over the Pats losing is something bizarre. The game last night was probably the most I've enjoyed watching the Patriots in years. With Tom Brady and a fully healthy of offense and defense, we're a wrecking crew that is favored in every game and wins most of them in convincing fashion (Super Bowl? What Super Bowl?). Most of my enjoyment last year was taken from the fact that I could say I'd been a fan of an undefeated team for 15 years and that they were so clearly the most dominant team in the NFL.

But games weren't close, and as I always said when I was younger, one of the main reasons I loved the Pats, the Pacers, and the Mariners was because they were "cardiac kids," a term I crafted to signify that every game they played went down to the wire and made me feel like dying a little bit, but in that good way only sporting events make you feel.

Last night the cardiac kids were back, and I loved every second of it. We had Matt Cassel have his best game as a pro, we had all kinds of young players step up because pretty much all of the Patriots starters were dying, and we had one of the best finishes of the season with Cassel to Moss with 1 second left in the game to tie it up (immediately followed by me jumping and spinning and pretty much acting like I was chugging coffee while on a pogo stick for a minute straight as Jason, Hannah, and Amy frantically looked for cover).

It's about the most fun I've had watching the Pats in forever, even though we lost. All I know is, we can beat anyone and we can lose to anyone, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Also, to those Jets fans who were claiming that proves that they're the class of the AFC East and that the game signified a changing of the guard in the division, I have this to say to you - you were playing our JV squad. When we're not starting backups at 4 key defensive positions and the most key offensive position, then you can talk.

However, I really want to say that Matt looked like the man last night. 400 yards passing, 3 TD's, no INT's and 62 yards rushing? First time in history that someone threw for 400 yards and ran for 60+. Incredibly impressive. Although that montage mid game of Brady deep balls made me yearn for him, especially after watching Matt overthrow Moss twice in the game with his patented "uncatchable line drive" deep ball. But that's okay. We're the cardiac kids - deep balls aren't in our repetoire this year.

Black Sunday

Tom Brady being helped off the field by trainers

Today was supposed to be a glorious day. First full day of the NFL season, my favorite of times, and my team the New England Patriots were kicking off the season with a layup of a game against one of the worst teams in the NFL - the Kansas City Chiefs.

All of that changed on one play, as beloved hero and team leader Tom Brady went down with an as yet undetermined knee injury. He ended up walking off with help after a few minutes, but the buzz is saying it's likely an ACL tear and that Brady will be done for the season. Even with the running game looking great and Matt Cassel playing efficiently, the Pats barely beat the Chiefs. Patriots Nation awaits the news from the MRI tomorrow dreading what it could bring. Odds are he's going to miss games one way or the other, I'm just hoping it isn't a season long injury or, god forbid, career ending.

Obviously the latter is very unlikely, but you never know with these types of things.

Just an absolutely terrible day for Pats fans around the nation, and it's never been far from my mind all day. I still think we're a playoff team without him, but the thought of starting Cassel, Chris Simms, Tim Rattay, or whoever they coerce to come over for a tryout (Daunte Culpepper?) instead of number twelve is just a thought I really can't even stand to think about. If any team can recover from that, it's the Pats. I just don't want to be forced into doing that.

Be okay Tom!

Are you ready for some football?

Tom Brady doing what he does best: throwing touchdowns

Mmmmm.

You feel that?

That little bit of electricity in the air can only mean one thing.

It's time for football!

Starting tomorrow with the Washington Redskins versus the New York Giants, we have four months straight of the greatest sport in all the land, and I couldn't be happier. It's like having one of my best friends back, except one that can only hang out every once in a while (sort of like my friend Brian, except way more intense). Due to Alaska being ridiculously far to the west, the game is starting here at 3 PM but you better believe I'll be there for kickoff.

Here's hoping my boys can finish the year right and go 19-0 this time. None of that messing around with 18 and 1 business, although as long as that one loss does not come in the Super Bowl again I suppose I'll be fine. Excuse me though, I have to go knock on some wood, rub my Wes Welker jersey, and say about forty two different prayers to make sure I didn't jinx the Pats.

Patriots Day

Tom Brady doing what he does

Tomorrow is a big day.

A very big day indeed.

Tomorrow morning at 10 am PST (9 AM for us Alaskans) tickets for the Seattle Seahawks go on sale, and I will be online purchasing two of the best seats I can grab for my friend Erik and I.

Buh wha?! Seahawks tickets? Why would a die hard New England Patriots fan be purchasing tickets to a Seahawks game? Well, the Patriots will be visiting December 7th, and yours truly will be braving the 12th man garbed in Patriots gear (head to toe baby) next to Erik, safe in his Lofa Tatupu jersey. It's going to be awesome and it's been a dream of my life to see the Pats live. I've been a huge fan since 1993 (beginning of the Drew Bledsoe era, so you know I'm legit) and am incredibly excited.

Even though I may be killed by giant men who are very passionate about a team with a coach that looks like a walrus. That's a big deterrent to be honest, but you can't hide who you are.

Congressman in name only

Dear Congressman Specter:

I'm sure you are a reasonable man for the most part. I'm sure you have a very legitimate explanation for wasting your time policing the National Football League and the New England Patriots (full disclosure: I am, and will be forever, a Patriots fan) over the ongoing Spygate scandal instead of pursuing other more pressing matters. I mean, it's not like you are really involved with any important committees or anything, anything that could give you the power the do anything with real lasting change.

What's that?

You're in committees that put you in the position to look into why classified documents leak and that look into why normal Americans are wiretapped on a day to day basis? You're a ranking member in a subcommittee that looks into education and labor within America when we're in a time where tons of kids aren't graduating and unemployment rates are going way up? Why would you waste time with petty things like that?

I mean come on. Football is America's game, and if that isn't played fairly then nothing else matters. Am I right? You go get 'em. There are no other pressing matters out there, so you go ahead and spend millions of dollars and many, many hours on an independent investigation. Because that makes sense.

You make me want to move to Pennsylvania so I can vote against you.

Sincerely,

Your friend,

David Harper

I can't seem to make my mind up

Comics vs. Patriots - who wins?

So recently, I've come into another quandary. I've been debating whether or not I was going to go to the Emerald City Comic Con for a good while, but I had officially decided that I was. Of course, then the tickets went up a bit to fly down, time kept running by, and I kept discovering scary details. These included:

• Brian Michael Bendis ditching
• Discovering that media guests charged money for autographs (lame)
• Discovering that media guests charged $30 to take a picture with them (not right!)

All three of those sucked, but were not deal breakers. Still planning on going, as the media guests were going to be weird to meet anyways. I was mainly there to meet my favorite comic creators - Bryan Lee O'Malley! Pia Guerra! Bill Willingham! Robert Kirkman! Eric Powell! - but something came up that made it so I simply can't go.

There may be one thing I love more than everything else (even more than Battlestar Galactica - also family and friends are exempted, people are on a higher plane than objects) and that is the New England Patriots. My very good friend Erik texted me the day that NFL schedules came out to tell me that that the Seattle Seahawks were hosting the Patriots December 7th in Seattle. This put me in a very tough place.

I cannot have two random, weekend only trips to Seattle in one year - it's just not economically viable and frankly, it's a little crazy. So I had to make a choice, and sorry comics, I love the Patriots best (sadly taking a line from a comic on that last part). So assuming that I actually manage to snag a ticket as the Seahawks are a rather hot item in Seattle, I will be attending the New England Patriots at the Seattle Seahawks December 7th, covered head to toe in Pats gear. Patriots stocking cap, Wes Welker jersey, Pats gloves/socks/scarf - everything. I will be prepped and ready, and the 12th man can eat it.

In summation, go Patriots! Never been to an NFL game and I can't think of a better one to start with.

Everybody Hurts, but Nobody was Hungry

Amy, myself, and Lacey around Halftime

As everyone on the planet now knows (97.5 million people watched the Super Bowl! Holy crap!) the Patriots lost in the Super Bowl to the New York Giants, but it wasn't for a lack of effort from myself and my group of friends. As you can see above, Amy and Lacey wore my jerseys once again and even gave into my insanity from time to time (Lacey rubbed Welker's numbers every time he made a catch...not in a weird way), but regardless of the positive juju we were throwing their way it still didn't work out.

As I expressed earlier, I am a sad panda, but thankfully because of our awesome food, I wasn't a hungry one in any way. Also, to clarify, there was absolutely no consumption of bamboo, thank god.

Lacey pretty much creating the Patriot

First and foremost, this Super Bowl party was also a pizza making party. We picked up dough and sauce from Moose's Tooth, and everyone had their very own concoctions to be made. First up? The Patriot, a creation of mine that was essentially Moose's Tooth's White Pizza, but with Chicken and Blue Crust. As you could guess, it was pretty delicious, however for some reason it was impervious to baking all the way on the bottom. This led to a very doughy rendition of delicious, but delicious no less.

Myself about to make the Maiden Voyage into the Patriot

The Patriot concept was of course based around making a red, white, and blue pizza for the Patriots colors (within itself a jinx because those are also the Giants colors), and this meant chicken, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, feta, mozzarella, and provolone, along with significant amounts of blue food coloring.

This is where I get into the fact that Lacey is a pizza genius. Her ability to toss and spin pizza dough puts her in the Mario brothers class of pizza creation. I'd like to see her family tree, because I guarantee you she has some serious Italian roots. She was a freak of nature, and if it weren't for the fact I'm pretty lazy, you'd have video proof of this.

But I am pretty lazy.

Amy with her amazing hat making her pizza

Up next was Amy, making her chicken pesto pizza, which was ridiculously delish. Its primary features were a pesto sauce, chicken, sun dried tomatoes, feta, mozzarella, and pine nuts. Pine nuts? Seriously? Seriously delicious I mean. That was one tasty pizza, and blew (blue?) my doughy (but delectable) dish out of the water. I'm going to go ahead and give her Super Bowl XLII (party) MVP. Go Amy!

Amy hovering over the Masterpizza

Past that, we had Colver making a Hawaiian pizza (with real chunks of Pineapple AND Bacon) and Jason making some sort of variation on a Hawaiian (with Mandarin Oranges, winning him outside the box topping of the day) pizza as well. Both were very delicious and will make a fine lunch/dinner for me throughout the week. Hurrah!

Brianna came in late and stormed the judge's table with her whole wheat crusted, chicken sausage and spinach pizza which was top notch in its own regards. But it couldn't stand up to Amy's pizza, which was pretty damn spectacular.

In the snack category, there is only one real contender for the MVP. Kim made her legendary Seven Layer Dip once again (although it only had six layers, as the attentive Jason pointed out) and it was loved by one and all as per usual. We started out with a ridiculously huge tray, and it was pretty much cleaned out by the time the place cleared out. That's a lot of dip.

So there you have it, Amy gets Best of Show: Pizza and Kim gets Best of Show: Snickity Snacks. Congrats to the winners! Also, thanks to Amy, Lacey, Colver, Lorna, Kim, Brianna, Hannah, Jason, Nick, and Sean for showing up. I appreciated your support, not to mention dealing with my always bizarre and borderline insane actions with a surprising amount of understanding. Thanks bunches.

Also, because I ruined the top picture with my "left eye that hates staying open" face, here is a picture that turned out way better of Amy and Lacey. Aren't I nice?

Amy (Brady) and Lacey (Welker)

Everybody Hurts

The Patriots lost. So damn sad. Finished 18-1, and we really didn't have anyone else to blame but ourselves.

Wes Welker played an incredible game, and a lot of the players played well. I'm going to personally blame our offensive line (gave up 5 sacks, 9 hits on Brady, and Matt Light had two crazy bad false starts) the most. The Giants were always in Brady's face, and it was amazingly frustrating. The Giants pass rush was incredible, and (I can't believe I'm saying this) Eli Manning played very well. Congrats to the Giants. Bastards.

As for me, I'm doing OK. I'm not an utter wreck as per usual, as Lacey, Amy, and myself are sitting and watching the OC, partially enjoying it and partially making fun of it. Fun as per usual. The pizza making and snickity snacks were incredible, and it was all in all a good time. Thanks for all the well wishing from people about our loss (yes...our loss), and to those who called or texted to give me crap - I hate you. Not really, but I'm pissed at you.

Very sad day no less.

Go Patriots!

Today my favorite football team (and frequent obsession) the New England Patriots go for 19-0 in the 2007-08 season, when they face the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. I'm not going to say anything else, besides that I'm excited for a good game (meaning one that the Patriots win), good food (Pizza party and tons of snickity snacks!), and good friends (bunch of people coming over)! Can't wait, pictures will ensue afterwards...unless the unthinkable happens and in that case, I may be locked in my bedroom for a month.

The Patriots Way

Left: Heath Evans killing people. Right: Laurence Maroney winding up to kill someone.

Today, January 20th, the New England Patriots beat the San Diego Chargers to earn a birth in the Super Bowl in an attempt to win their 4th Super Bowl since 2001 and to become the first team ever to go 19-0 in a single season. I of course was where I always am during Pats games: My living room, wearing my lucky shirt, shifting side to side in a controlled panic attack. That's the way I roll, but today the Patriots rolled a bit differently. They beat the Chargers with a ball control offense, running the ball deftly, sticking to short passes, and using their offensive line (maulers all) to beat up the physically inferior Charger defense.

Laurence Maroney, all season the forgotten man behind the Flying Elvii (as the Patriots passing offense has been strangely referred to as), ran for 122 yars for the second straight game. With the Patriots passing offense floundering (Brady has 3 int's today), Maroney picked it up with 106 intense yards on the ground in the second half and third down back Kevin Faulk (Whom I will now refer to as Mr. Patriot for the rest of my life) caught some incredibly difficult and timely passes to carry them to victory. Between the two of them, they picked up 221 yards, and even fullback Heath Evans got into the act, picking up two third and shorts for first downs and all in all being a man amongst boys, spearheading many of Maroney's shifty and powerful runs.

Needless to say, I'm excited. I am a tad less excited because the Green Bay Packers (I'm sorry to say!) absolutely choked in the later game, losing to the New York Giants on Lawrence Tynes third attempt at winning the game by a field goal. It's hard to really pick who beat them...was it the Giants? Was it Brett Favre and his incredibly costly and errant bad passes? Was it Ryan Grant, he of the hype and the 26 total yards? No, it was none of them. I'm going to give the losing game ball to the entire Packer secondary, who killed them with horrible coverage, incredibly bad penalties, and altogether stupid decision making. I had at one point called them one of the best secondaries in football, and I am now ashamed to have said that. Bad Packers secondary!

Back to the point, a Patriots/Packers Super Bowl would have been one of the most highly anticipated Super Bowls ever. 90% of the nation would have sit squarely in favor of one team, while I would have stood firmly with my kindred spirit Patriots fans. Now? We get the Giants, a team we already beat once, and we get to play them indoors in warm weather. To quote my Counter-Strike playing alter-ego, Shaft, "GG nubs." I will be the first person to chime in with a predicted score, and here it is: Patriots 34, Giants 13.

Let's do this.

A Quick One While He's Away

I'm going to work on my best of 2007 blog posts today (or tomorrow if I'm lazy and have to work on my New Years party costume), but I wanted to put down some fun things that have happened recently. Well, specifically, I wanted to get to sports related things that absolutely rock my socks.

The New England Patriots

Saturday evening, in front of a record regular season audience of 34.5 million people (!!!), my boys the New England Patriots came from behind to finish the season 16-0 against the New York Giants. In such a monumental season, they not only became the first team to do that, but QB Tom Brady set the record for most TD passes in a season (50) and receiver Randy Moss set the record for most TD receptions in a season (23), and the team as a whole set the records for most points (589) in a season and most TD's (75). Not bad for a season of work if I do say so myself.

Shockingly, I allowed Colver, Lacey, and Amy to come over and watch the game even though generally I am a bit of a nervous wreck during games. But I did OK, even though I did manage to convince them to wear jerseys for me when the Pats were down 12 in the third quarter.

Amy, myself, and Lacey after the victory

It was extremely exciting for me, and I only had one outburst where I got up and ran around cheering, which is pretty good for me. Of course it was on the megabomb from Brady to Moss. Anyways, congrats to the Pats doing something no one has ever done. Now we're just three games away from 19-0 and Super Bowl Championship #4.

And yes, I have worn the same t-shirt every Patriots game this season. In case you were wondering.

Bling Bling!

Coincidentally enough, due to the fact I am a huge New England Patriots fan, I chose them every game this season to win. When doing a Pigskin Pick'Em League for money, that is what we'd like to call a "good thing." That means I had at least 16 correct guesses, which in this incredibly close season, it meant all the world of difference.

I ended up winning my pick'em league by a measly ONE correct guess, with the Indy/Tennessee game being the tiebreaker last night. I'd like to personally thank Mike Nugent (kicker for the Jets) and Kerry Collins (backup QB for Tennessee) for making this all possible. By winning this, I win somewhere around $900 to $1,000. Booyah!

Additionally, I got 2nd place in my points league and first place in my CBS league with Erik and Sobo, meaning Papa's getting a brand new bag! I think second place nets me $360 and the CBS one pulls in $200 between Erik, Sobo, and I, so that means I have the potential to make nearly $1,500 from Fantasy Football this year.

Can I get a hell yes?