Game of the Century?

I'm sitting in my hotel room waiting for the Ohio State/Michigan football game and I am tired of all the hype. All week we have heard a bout how this will be the game of the century, but I am tired of hearing about it. First of all wait until the game is over to see how good of a game it was. Second, wait until a little later in the century to label this one the game of the century. Ohio State and Michigan are good teams, but they play in a weak conference (Aside from Ohio State and Michigan the Big 10 is a flop this year) which helps them pad their stats. This year, just like all the others, screams for a playoff system to determine the national championship. I have believed for many years that Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Miami have been the recipients of an East Coast media bias that makes them sound better than they are. A playoff is the only way to determine the true national champion.

Saying all this, I will watch the game and if I have to eat my words I will. But, I don't see this as the game of the century. I see it as a game between two better than average teams that live in a weak conference.

2 Weeks in New Jersey

I spent the last week at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey attending the Expeditinary Site Survey Process Course in the Air Mobility Warfare Center. The electronic mapping portion of the course is part of the program I manage at Air Mobility Command. I'll be here one more week helping to re-write the course syllabus and curriculum to make it more realistic, and to update the curriculum to incorporate changes in the way we do business today. I have wanted to take the course for the last couple of years and it is good to finally get here. I hope I can help with the re-write next week.

I always enjoy coming to central New Jersey. Growing up on the West Coast I thought New Jersey was just suburbs for New York and Philadelphia, but this part of central New Jersey, the area around Wrightstown, is very rural and beautiful. We drove down to southern New Jersey on Thursday for our course practicum (surveying the municipal airport in Millville), and it was beautiful and very rural also. I could retire here and be happy.

Tomorrow I plan to drive to Baltimore to attend Metanoia, Adam Feldman's new church plant. I met Adam through blogging, but haven't met him in person yet. I am very excited to finally have an opportunity to meet him and worship with him and his new church. From Metanoia I then plan to go on down across the Chesapeake Bay to Dover, Delaware to see all the changes that have happened since we moved to Illinois from there in 1995. We loved living in Dover and really hated to move. I have heard that I won't even recognize Dover any longer because it is growing so fast. So, I can hardly wait to poke around and re-explore my old stomping grounds.

It should be a fun week, although I don't look forward to the mad rush to get back home on Thanksgiving eve. I have a 4:05pm departure out of Philly on the busiest travel day in America. It will be a pain of a day to fly, but I will be happy to get home and be with my family for the holiday.

We're Number 1

What a terrible way to follow up a World Series win. Yahoo has an article on St Louis being the most dangerous town in the US. The article is located here. Link. On this same subject, my project manager at work had her purse stolen out of her car during the World Series win celebration in downtown St Louis on Friday night. Downtown is a mess.

It's A Winner!

The Cardinals did the unexpected last night and finished off the Detroit Tigers to become the World Series Champions for 2006. Major League Baseball chose David Eckstein as the World Series Most Valuable Player. It was a good choice, but if they could have given him the award my choice would have been Tony LaRussa. I have believed for the last 10 eyars or so that LaRussa is the best manager in baseball. This year proved it. He did a masterful job with a team that was less talented than the last two years when the Cardinals had the best record in baseball. Tony, you're the man! As the late Cardinal broadcaster Jack Buck would say, "It's a winner!"

So, today officially begins my baseball vacation. But the Nebraska Cornhuskers play against Oklahoma State on TV at 2:30 and I will be glued to the set for the entire game. So long "Field of Dreams" and hello "Remember the Titans"

Slip Sliding Away

The World Series seems to be slipping away from the Detroit Tigers grasp. The Cardinals haven't been doing anything outrageous, but have been playing solid, mistake free, baseball while the Tigers have been making mistakes in every game. It was just enough to give the Cardinals a 5-4 victory last night. My gut feeling is that the series will close out tonight (if the weather cooperates) with the Cardinals winning in 5 games.

The weather forecast for tonight's game: Showers early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low around 40F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Looks like about a 50/50 chance of playing.

Go Cards!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

The World Series game last night was rained out. The weather wasn't too bad, it was a steady light rain and a little cold, but you want to have games as significant as the World Series played so that the weather isn't a factor in the outcome, so I applaud MLB's decision to postpone the game.

But, the problem is that the weather doesn't look to be getting any better here in the near future.

Here's the weather forecast for today and the next couple of days:

Tonight: (St Louis) Rain showers this evening, becoming a steady, soaking rain overnight with a few rumbles of thunder possible. High 54, Low 47F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a half an inch.

Friday (Normally a travel day fo the World Series, but not this year with the rain out): (St Louis) Cloudy with rain likely. A thundershower is possible as well, especially in the morning. High 53F, Low 40. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch.

Saturday: (St Louis): Mostly Sunny, High 64, Low 39 (Detroit): Showers/Wind, High 51, Low 37

Sunday (St Louis): Sunny, High 68, Low 49 (Detroit): Partly Cloudy, High 48, Low 39

Monday (just in case) (Detroit): Partly Cloudy, High 59, Low 48

Looks like tonight's game could be a wash. Tomorrow is iffy. My best guess is that game 4 will be played here in St Louis on Friday, Game 5 in St Louis on Saturday, Game 6 in Detroit on Sunday, and Game 7 in Detroit on Monday. I believe the Cardinals will win in 5 games, so game 6 and 7 in Detroit won't be needed. but, you never know what will happen. So, we'll see.

It is pretty hard to play ball this late in the year when the weather is so unpredictable in the midwest. I tip my hat to both teams.

2 Down, 2 More To Go!

Chris Carpenter was dominating last night as the Cardinals beat the Tigers handily 5-0. Tonight the Cardinals second best pitcher, Jeff Suppan starts. I think momentum and pitching are on the Cardinal's side.

The biggest factor that may slow them down is the weather. According to Yahoo Weather, tonight's forcast is: Periods of rain. Low 44F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch.

Looks like it will be difficult to get tonight's game in, but it is supposed to rain again tomorrow night, so I know they will try!

My Attempt to Get My Life Back in the Box

My palm Pilot died a few months back and after being slaved to my computer and Outlook ever since I have been a little starved for a place to put my contacts and calendars, not to mention synching up my work and home computers. So, I went shopping the other day and got a Sprint Pocket PC.

So far it seems like a pretty good mix of phone and PDA, although it is a bit quirky when I put it away after making a call. sometimes it will call the person back while I am putting it away. Do any of you have any good info on the Sprint Pocket PC? Any good success or failure stories?

Did He or Didn't He?

Did Kenny Rogers use pine tar or didn't he? Yahoo has a good article on the "Good Old Boy" network that still exists in Major League Baseball. It kind of goes beyond did he or didn't he? and asks the question of what should have been done?

The Cardinals come back home winning 1 of 2 in Detroit. They have their 2 big guns pitching the next two games. It should be interesting.

Go Cards!

1 Down, 3 More To Go!

The Cardinals just won game 1 of the World Series. Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, and Scott Rolen have come alive. I hope this continues. Game 1: Cardinals 7, Tigers 2.