Post (American) Football

If you're an American, and you're scratching your head about the title, it's because, in most countries around the world, "football" means what we call "soccer."  Other than the Philadelphia Eagles' celebration parade to exhibit the Lombardi Trophy after last night's Super Bowl, the professional football season has ended.
   I grew up watching football on television, and at high-school and college fields.  Dad always rooted for the under-dog team, even though he had a few favorite college teams.  And, of course, he cheered for my sister's and my school teams.  I have never, personally, been to a professional football game.  I like to be able to see the game clearly, via cameras, and to see instant replays.  I can easily go to the bathroom, without waiting in a line, and I don't have to pay an exorbitant ticket fee and outrageous prices for food and drink. 
   I used to be an avid football fan, with a wide array of likes and dislikes on both the college and professional level.  Since almost every single one of my favorite players is no longer playing - except two, but one was injured and missed almost the entire season - I haven't been watching.  I still the the plays and the moves and the fakes, but I'm no longer personally invested like I was before.
   Yesterday, and last night, I was hoping the Eagles would defeat the New England Patriots.  Number one, the Eagles were the under-dogs.  Number two, I really dislike Tom Brady.  So I was quite excited when I checked on-line last night and saw the Eagles were trailing by a single point with over 8 minutes left in the game.   I actually became hopeful that the Eagles would be able to beat the Kraft-Belichick-Brady machine.  When people were running around screaming in the restaurant parking lot last night, I checked the final score - and did a little jig beside my desk chair. 
   When I was a kid, I remember that the quarterbacks and receivers were the "known names," but that they always said it was a team effort and most shied away from the spotlight.  Joe Namath began the change - and I have to admit that I always laughed at Joe, even though he was a good player.  I've always loved the defensive players - they never seem to get that much credit, unless a quarterback sack is made... 
   In any event, there are three professional football teams that are anathema to me, just because of their quarterbacks - Tom Brady of the Patriots, Philip Rivers of the Chargers, and Ben Rothlesberger of the Steelers.  I have to say that I pretty much "hate" all three of those quarterbacks, even though they are good players.  It both their attitudes, and their actions that I dislike. - And, so, stupidly, I dislike the entire team.....
    But, way to go, Eagles!!!  You did it, men!!   A 41 to 33 win!  Thank you!

Mishmash

 I have to agree with Cris Collinsworth last night - what possessed the Seahawks to try a pass play, when all they had to do was hand the ball to Marshawn Lynch once or twice and they'd win the game?  The stupidity of that play will stand in solitude for a long time....  If you don't know by now, the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl by a four point margin, after an interception of a pass play on the half-yard line that coaches told Russell Wilson to play.  Marshawn Lynch was unstoppable running last night, and I just don't know why they didn't let him run it in....
   I am still trying to grasp the fact that a 3-year-old child, while rummaging in his mother's purse for an i-phone, pulled out a pistol and shot both his father and mother with one bullet.  The couple and their son, and younger daughter, were living in a hotel room in New Mexico.  The bullet struck the man in the buttocks, then went through his pregnant wife's shoulder.  Police have ruled the shooting accidental, but are thinking of bringing criminal negligence charges against the parents.  The boy's sister was unharmed.
   On the Eastern Shore of Maryland, a young man struck a deer on a two-lane road in the Pocomoke Forest.  The deer had two broken hind legs, and the young man was going to kill the deer, with a gun,  to end its' suffering.  Another car came along, saw the scene, and stopped.  The passenger from the second car approached the young man from the first car  and began yelling at him to let nature take it's course.  I don't know what the rest of the exchange was, but the young man with the gun shot buckshot into the passenger from the second car, and then shot him again in the back of his legs, as the passenger ran back to his car.  The passenger went home, called the police and an ambulance, and was taken to the hospital for treatment.  The two people had the license tag number of the first car, and gave that to the police.   The deer, in the meantime, had died.  Police went to the home of the owner of the first car, and arrested the young man  - two hours after he legally turned 18 years old.
   I was very excited to see the new episode of The Blacklist last night.  The first five minutes of the show, however, were marred by the yelling of three people, either in the lobby, or on the stairs of my apartment complex.  There were two men and a woman involved in the shouting match, and, to hear my television program, I had to turn the volume up six notches.  I was also distressed  that it was just tawdry name-calling - the usual "s-o-b"s, bastards, and "m-fer"s, with a lot of f words thrown in.  People today have no imagination when it comes to name calling and insults.  It was extremely boring and monotonous.  I did not call the police - I just wanted to see my show.  So when I was awakened at 12:55 this morning by one of the same voices, again, yelling in the lobby, I stuck my head out my door and yelled, "Hold it down, please, or I'll call the police!"  It turns out the noise was one of the idiots in the earlier yelling match complaining to the police, whom he had called - more than 4 hours after the incident happened. He wanted the police to jail the other two people, whom he claimed had called him "the N word."  The guy is white, and I never heard the N word, but he was threatening the police that he was going to call the ACLU because his personal rights had been infringed upon, because the other two people had called him the N word....   Crazy.  I had to give a statement to the police, and then went back to bed.  Benjamin, the yeller, who lives in A-101, called the police again at 3:30 this morning and was again yelling in the lobby.  He is not a good neighbor, and I hope his lease is not renewed.

Five Inches of Snow

I closed my curtains at 5:30 yesterday afternoon - the sun had set and it was as dark and cloudy as it had been all day.  I sat down with my cats and a book and I read.  I stopped to eat supper and then read until I went to bed.  When I arose this morning, I was quite surprised to find 5 inches of snow on the ground.  The weather forecaster had stated that Boulder might get .3 inches overnight.  - Hah!  With the snow piled up, I put out fatty nuts for the squirrels and then put a nice scattering of hulled sunflower seeds out for the birds.  Nedi thought that 14 degrees was delightful, so I had to "round him up" to get him back inside after I put the seeds and nuts out on the patio.
   An old family friend contacted me via Facebook during the night, and I was delighted to hear from her.  She and my sister Kathy are the same age, and spent a good deal of time together while on Chincoteague.  I can't wait to tell Kathy about Joan making contact.  I think it'll make her happy.  One of my good friends, and my employer at The Corner Bookstore, where I met my husband, passed away yesterday on the Shore.  Betty Wellborn Taylor was a kind, warm, loving, and giving lady.  Her warmth will be missed by all those who knew her.
   Today is the big American football day - the Super Bowl.  It will be played in Arizona, with the New England Patriots facing the Seattle Seahawks.  I don't really like either team, but if I have to choose one, I'd pick the Seahawks.  Mainly because I simply don't like Tom Brady, the quarterback for the Patriots, nor do I like their head coach, Bill Belichick.  But I'll be watching the commercials with great interest, and will prepare my supper during the half-time show.
   Getting ready to go out and walk Tessa this morning, and then again at 3 this afternoon...  She's a sweetheart of a dog, and is always so excited to go out for a walk.  She's a real love!

Bits

Yesterday was cloudy and cool, but not windy.  We're supposed to be cloudy again today, with a high near fifty; but the weather folks say we'll get about a half-inch of snow Saturday.  That's fine with me - I'll be walking Rosie, Tess and Lucy this morning and then Tess this afternoon, as well as twice each weekend day.  Currently, it's 32 degrees outside and the squirrels are bouncing around like performing acrobats.  My kits have decided to sleep instead of play outside, so I have the patio door closed.
  Watched a new episode of How To Get Away With Murder last night, and saw the plot thicken immeasurably... Violet Davis definitely deserved the Screen Actors Guild award that she won this past Sunday.  Her supporting cast is excellent, as well, and I'm going to be hard pressed to decide what to watch next week.  Television networks are always after the highest ratings.  Starting next Thursday night, NBC moves The Blacklist into the time slot opposite ABC's How To Get Away With Murder; then on 19 February, the History Channel adds Vikings into the mix, at the same time.  I don't have DVR or Tivo service, nor Xfinity On Demand.  I'll have to watch one, and then see the others on-line...  And, while I understand why the networks do this, I really dislike it.
   It's still a question as to whether or not Peyton Manning will return as the quarterback of the Denver Broncos this season.  Coaches are still being sought and hired throughout the professional league and the collegiate leagues, so I'll keep my mouth closed until it seems that most posts have been filled.  Peyton, however is going to receive the Bart Starr Award today at the Super Bowl Breakfast, for personifying professional football and for sharing with the community through his Pey-Back Programs in Denver, Indianapolis, Tennessee and Louisiana.
   I'm still looking forward to seeing the Super Bowl commercials, and I have refused to watch all the "sneak peeks" that have been released.  I know that a "GoDaddy" ad has been withdrawn from the broadcast because of negative feedback, but I believe that the .com has received so much publicity from revealing they've pulled the ad that it doesn't matter.  I prefer to see the commercials as they are presented, and to be surprised.  Of course, I'm also looking forward to the new episode of The Blacklist that will follow the actual game - especially since it introduces Ron Perlman as a new recurring character.  This should prove interesting....

Boulder News

I spent 90 minutes with my sister yesterday.  Her chemotherapy has been hitting her hard, and she has very little energy and is now completely bald.  I first saw her and her husband near the bus stop when I arrived to walk the dogs yesterday.  We spoke for a minute or two, and then they proceeded on, while I continued to gather Rosie and Tess. It was a bright, warm day (we had a high temperature of 73 degrees), and I had walked the perimeter of the yard with both dogs to be certain there was no coyote presence.  SO I sat up my chair, and was tossing the bone for Rosie and the tennis ball for Tess, when Kathy came out and joined me.  We sat in the sun and chatted, recalling places we had lived and old friends and neighbors.  I was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, while my sister was wearing two sweatsuits, a scarf, a knitted hat, and a shovel-brimmed sun cap over the hat.  She is having difficulty with the regulation of her body temperature, poor thing.  I'll take both dogs over to Kathy's again today, and I hope she'll feel up to joining us in the sun again.
  The Denver National Western Stock Show ended up with the second-largest attendance number in it's history this year - 682,539 people visited the Show during it's 16 days of exhibits and showing.  That's almost 42,659 per day - and that's part of the reason I did not attend this year.  I am not fond of large crowds.
   A small box was left on the top step of the Main Post Office here in Boulder (at the corner of 15th and Walnut) yesterday morning.  When I walked to the bakery yesterday morning for my bagel, I noted a helicopter hovering over the downtown area.  As I walked back, I started guessing where, exactly, it was hovering.  I decided it was over Central Park or the Public Library, and wondered what was happening.  Upon returning to my apartment, and turning on the local news, I heard the bomb squad had closed down four square blocks of downtown Boulder, and had evacuated several buildings, including the RTD bus terminal at 14th and Walnut.  Less than 30 minutes later, an "all clear" had been sent out, with an announcement that the box was empty.  I guess the bomb squad needed some practice.
   I am looking forward to the Super Bowl commercials Sunday.  I have not looked at any of the early releases, which, I think, spoils the fun and surprise.  I will be half-heartedly rooting for the Seattle Seahawks, because I like their quarterback;  I will be rooting against the Patriots because I've never liked them, and I never will - especially while Kraft is the owner, Belichick is the coach and Brady is their quarterback.  What a trio of ogres!

Thoughts

I was very disappointed by the come-back of the Seattle Seahawks yesterday afternoon in the NFC Championship game.   I really wanted the Green Bay Packers to go to the Super Bowl this year.  I watched the first quarter of the Patriots - Colts game and decided it was to painful to watch.  My interest has been piqued, however, by the information that the NFL is investigating to see if the New England team intentionally used footballs that were not inflated to the correct psi rating....   Hmmmmm...
   The National Western Stock Show is having a much larger attendance than they had last year - of course, it's been much warmer than usual, which helps in attendance numbers.  They do have more exhibitors and vendors this year, but they don't have the Dressage Horse Show (the Dancing Horses) performed with a live orchestra this year.  (And that's one of my favorite things...)  And it turns out the Colorado Horse Park has new ownership and new management - so maybe I'll be able to take in a couple of good shows this year
   I saw Kathy Saturday afternoon - she had on a scarf and knitted cap that our adopted sister, Bernie, has made for her.  She says she now has a little fringe of hair that follows her lower hairline from above her ear on one side to the other ear, plus a little tuft of hair in the center of her head.  Poor thing!  She says that, at the moment, I shouldn't think about shaving my head to show support for her - we'll see how she feels as time, and chemo, goes on.
   I've spent the last two nights at home, and Lovey has been stuck to me like glue.  She leaps up to my shoulder when I come through the door, and has to keep touching me, no matter what I'm doing - unless I'm in the shower.  Then she is sitting on the back of the toilet, watching me through the gap in the shower curtain.  Nedi?  He just wants lots of petting, stroking, and chin scratches.  And he's becoming much more verbal - not quite as much as Lovey, but he's certainly increased his speaking time.  The little grey marmalade tom kitten is still outside at odd hours, asking for Nedi to come out and play.  I have a feeling that Dave might be taking him home, if he continues to be ignored by his owners for such long periods of time.
   I just finished reading Designated Daughters and The King's Curse. I found the afterword of the latter very interesting, and have spent some time, since then, reading about Kell antigens and MacLeod's Syndrome...  t seems that researchers might have finally discovered the reason for all the stillbirths and deaths of Henry VIII's babies - and it wasn't syphillis, as has been widely speculated.  More on that later, however...
   I now have my eyes and mind set on 19 February - for the third season premiere of Vikings.  I can't wait to see the sack/siege of Paris - and to find out what happens to Floki and Athelstan...  

Groundhog Day & Super Bowl Sunday

Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog in Pennsylvania, saw his shadow this morning, which means six more weeks of winter, instead of an early spring.  I'm not surprised, as I awoke to two degrees and snow this morning.  Punxsutawney Phil began forecasting Spring back in 1887, and his descendants keep following in his paw prints.  His predictions have been correct 39 % of the time.
  With it being Super Bowl Sunday, I am dressed in orange and blue, for the Broncos.  I have on my extra-thick blue (Gators) sweatpants, blue wool socks, a long-sleeved dark blue T-shirt and an orange short-sleeved T-shirt.  The orange shirt has a silhouette of Peyton Manning getting ready to pass the ball; under it are the words, "Keep Calm And Hurry!! Hurry!!"  -  Besides "Omaha!", "Hurry, Hurry!" is one of Peyton's frequent yells while on the field.  And I think I'm one of the few people who heard and remember ex-Coach Tony Dungy explain what the call "Omaha" means....
  Anyway, it's cold out, the sun has begun to break through the clouds, and the high temperature here in Boulder won't be above freezing until the end of this week, if then.  I have a bowl of seed, nuts, and dried fruit out for the birds; peanuts are out for the squirrels.  In a short while, I'll chop up some left over bread sticks and a slice of pizza for the ravens and crows - they thoroughly enjoy them on a cold day with snow cover.
   So.  Today the Denver Broncos, with the best offense, are playing the Seattle Seahawks, with the best defense.  If you are interested in numbers, I suggest the following article: http://www.eonline.com/news/506194/super-bowl-xlviii-by-the-numbers-from-2-teams-and-1-trophy-to-700-000-for-a-private-suite-and-10-billion-in-bets
Supposedly the Broncos are favored to win by 2 points.  We'll all just have to wait and see. Of course, I'm cheering for the Broncos, but I'm also wary of Percy Harvin, the ex-Gator, who plays for the Seahawks.  I'm behind the Broncos 100% -   GO  BRONCOS!!

Broncos To Play Seahawks in Super Bowl

The Denver Broncos defeated the New England Patriots 26 to 16 yesterday.  After 15 seasons, Champ Bailey gets to play in a Super Bowl.  Quarterback Peyton Manning had his father and both brothers, Cooper and Eli, cheering him on to a huge win.  The Broncos put up 507 yards in offense yesterday - 400 passing yards and 107 on the ground.  Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was sacked, resoundingly, twice; and was hurried and knocked down multiple times.  Peyton Manning wasn't.
  The San Francisco Forty-Niners opened their game against the Seattle Seahawks with a roar - but, at the very end, Seattle came back and won the game, 23 to 17.
  This year's Super Bowl will be played at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday, 2 February.  Kick off is set for 6:35 p.m. (EDT), and the game will be televised on the Fox Network.

Champ Bailey

Wes Welker

Happy Broncos!

Today Is...

Today is many things... It is Sunday, the seventh day of the week in the United States, and the first day of the week in most other countries. Today, during the televising of 60 minutes of American football, advertisers will pay $4 million to have a 30-second long commercial played. In other words, today is Super Bowl Sunday. And, 54 years ago today, it was "The Day the Music Died" with the loss of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper in a plane crash in Iowa (and I am still thankful that Waylon Jennings was not on that plane as originally planned).
  It is once again a beautiful day outside - my kits have been playing inside and out for the past two hours. They've finally decided it's nap time again, so I can close the patio door. I did have a surprise last night; I was lazy, and dropped my jeans on the bathroom floor instead of placing them in the clothes hamper. I wandered back in a few minutes later, and just about freaked out when my jeans ran away from me... Lovey always used to get inside a pants leg and do this, so I laughed and said something, using Lovey's name. She burbled at me from the second shelf in the linen closet, so I had to giggle and talk to Nedi, who had finally poked a paw out of the leg...
  Let's see... bits and pieces of news: The past two nights have produced two more fires by the arsonist in Accomack County, Virginia. Friday night, an empty airplane hangar outside of Onley was burned, and last night, an abandoned barn near Parksley went up in flames. That's 45 arson fires since 12 November. .... Three hundred and sixty nine thoroughbreds have been entered into the early Triple Crown pool. All have paid their $600 early entrant fee. Only twenty, or fewer, will actually qualify to run, and will have kept paying entry fees by the first Saturday in May. Only one horse from a years crop is eligible to be a Triple Crown winner, out of the thousands born each year. .... Chris Kyle, a retired Navy SEAL and renowned sniper, was shot and killed at a rifle range in Texas yesterday afternoon. When I first read the news, all I could think of was, how, in the Old West, any man who was known to be good with a gun always had to be on the look-out for someone wanting to be known as the killer of so-and-so (fill in Jesse James, John Wesley Hardin, Billy the Kid, whoever). I wonder what this killer's motive was. .... And, I've been avoiding writing about the surreal hostage situation in Alabama. Why - what reason can be given - for kidnapping a 5-year-old boy with Asperger's Syndrome and hyperactivity, and holding him hostage in an underground bunker? The man who did this killed the school bus driver, in order to abduct his hostage. The child is, apparently, of no relation to the abductor. The abductor, according to his neighbors, doesn't like children. What is it that drives a man to such an extreme? What about the little boy? He must be frightened; and I don't believe that he can grasp why this is happening to him. I know that I just can't comprehend it....
   Addendum:  While Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow in Pennsylvania yesterday, Flatiron Freddy (here in Boulder) did see his shadow - which means six more weeks of Winter in Colorado.