Notes From The Recliner

*Nice to see the Caps are getting some national love. I hope they can live up to the hype.

* Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys had better stop believing the hype. After spending the week hearing how great they are the Cowboys got spanked at home by the Washington Redskins. Every Washington skill player outplayed their Dallas counterpart delivering steady, winning performances. Tony Romo was not sharp, the Dallas defensive line got run over, Terrell Owens was completely hamstrung by the Skins' secondary and ,inexplicably, the Cowboys seemingly refused to run the ball. After being anointed as a "beast" of a running back, Marion Barber was given eight carries. You have the biggest offensive line in the NFL and give your best back eight carries? This game was never so far out of reach that the run game needed to be abandoned in favor of deperation passing. This team has nothing to prove until January, but as strong as the NFC East is they need to make sure they don't stumble before actually reaching the playoffs.

*The Redskins are quickly becoming formidable and scary. I believe that the building blocks of a great team (confident coach, interesting gameplan, capable quarteback, grinding run game, solid defense) are now in place. I didn't think it would click in so early (I was thinking next season), but this team looks a lot like a Joe Gibbs (first stint) team that can pass to the lead and demoralize a team by running to protect a lead. I hope I'm wrong, however, I think the Redskins are poised for good things.

*My beloved Orioles sputtered and coughed their way to finishing the season with a 68-93 record. They lost 30 of their final 37 games and look every bit the team that is 25 years removed from their last World Series title.

*The officials in the NFL are taking a beating this season. There was the awful San Diego/Denver incident, then yesterday the officials missed blatant facemask and false start penalties in the Dallas/Washington game. Yesterday's calls did not affect the outcome of the game, but one wonders what game these guys are watching.

Couch Potato Time

What an incredible sports Sunday. I'm not sure which got more of a workout yesterday, the springs in my recliner or the "last channel" button on my TV remote. Given my current fitness level, I'm going to guess it was the springs. Thanks to the Ryder Cup, tons of football including two OT games and the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football and the last game ever at Yankee Stadium I stayed within listening distance of a TV for nearly twelve straight hours yesterday. I know that sounds crazy but there was plenty of compelling stuff to watch.

In my mind, there is no more entertaining golf event than the Ryder Cup. The national interest and team format makes it (to me) more exciting than even the Majors. This year was made particularly interesting as much for who was not there as for who was. No Tiger Woods for the USA and no veteran leadership (Colin Montgomerie and Darren Clark) for Europe affected each team differently. I think the US played better, more relaxed golf without Woods' giant presence looming. Woods is clearly the best golfer in the world, but rarely excels in the team format. This US team bonded and without relying on Woods or being intimidated by him played freely and with the fun spirit that Europe usually posesses.

Conversely, the Europeans looked a little lost without the veteran leadership. Nick Faldo chose to go with two younger captain's picks (One of whom, Ian Poulter, played terrific.) instead of the old vets. This forced three younger vets (Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Paddy Harrington) to assume the leadership role. These players have excelled in the last three Cups, all European victories. However, I think they excelled because they were inspired by, shielded by and, somewhat, carried by the likes of Montgomerie and Clarke. This week, when asked to step up and lead, all three guys failed to win a match. The US played amazing, but don't discount the fact that they were aided by who wasn't playing at Valhalla this weekend.

One other note from the weekend: Real nice effort from my favorite ball team, the Bad News Birds, as they rolled over to be swept by the Yanks as Yankee Stadium turned out the lights for the final time. Yankee Pride appears alive and well; maybe some of it can rub off on the Orioles.

Further Proof I'm An Idiot.

I've long realized that as I child of the 70's and 80's I am deeply immersed in the pop culture of the era. I recently realized just how deeply it is embedded in my subconscious when within minutes I whistled the "CHiPs" theme song as I entered the freeway via a cloverleaf (a la the show's opening sequence) and counted down a stoplight changing to green with the "Beep. Beep. Boooop." sound effects from Pole Position. Some things never leave you, even if you wish they would.

That Whistling Sound You Hear?

That whistling sound you hear? That's the sound of thousands of fantasy football owners plunging towards the earth after leaping from tall buildings following the news that Tom Brady had season-ending knee surgery yesterday. Fantasy football is supposedly a $500 million business (not sure of the source or its accuracy). Surely those owners who drafted Brady, as close to a sure bet there is if he remains healthy, can feel winnings slipping through their fingers already.

"You just called another man baby."

Quoting my wife making fun of me for exhorting Cowboys tight end Jason Witten to "Go, baby!" after he made a reception.

McCain's speech wazzzzz...

Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my pillow. Being a dynamic speaker does not make you a good president and failing to be a great speaker does not disqualify you from being president. But damn.

The one thing he did effectively was carefully separate himself from the failures of the last eight years. We'll see if he can make that stick.

A Few Thoughts On The Republican Convention.

Did you know John McCain was a a war hero? I think I heard that somewhere the last couple nights.

For my money, Mike Huckabee is still the best speaker the Republicans have.

Shocking I know, but hypocrisy in politics and media is alive and well. The same Republican pundits who bemoan Obama's "celebrity" are crowing about Sarah Palin and announcing that "A star is born." And I didn't hear the slimy Rudy Giuliani slapping around the "liberal media" when they were slurping up to him, crowning him "America's Mayor".

Palin can crack wise all she wants about hauling away the Greek columns from Obama's stadium stage, but anybody with a brain understands that all politics at this level is carefully orchestrated, focus group-tested theatrical stagecraft. Let's be real.

Note to Fred Thompson-I don't care if the Vice President of the United States can field dress a moose.

I suspect I'm in the minority here, but I did not like the tone of Sarah Palin's speech. Yeah, she did what she needed to do and certianly performed well in her first time on the big stage. I liked her introduction to her family and her story. However, I thought the parts that were supposed to prove she is tough as nails came off as sarcastic and condascending. (And I love to employ sarcasm.)

I'm already sick of the phrase "heartbeat away from the presidency."

I found one line of her speech particulary interesting-"Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America, and he's worried that someone won't read them their rights."
Were I a reporter, I could ask her or McCain's people exactly what they meant by that statement. I read it to mean that Obama is more worried about terror suspects having rights and being treated humanely while being detained than about whether any info is extracted. Don't you think John McCain would have loved to have been read rights,treated humanely and protected from toture during captivity? Just asking.

Finally, as someone who is a fan of this political game and as someone who has not decided where his vote will land, I think this race just got very interesting. If nothing else, it should be a fun two months.

An Exhibition Not A Competition, So Please, Please No Wagering.

Though I don't usually make sports prognostications, I thought I would make some NFL predictions this year. Instead of just picking season records for each team without looking at the schedule, I went through the schedule and predicted each game. That left me with, what I think are, more realistic results. Some of the records I came up with really surprised me. I could be way wrong, but the NFL always has at least one surprise team so maybe I won't be as wrong as I think. I'll pick my Super Bowl champ too, but I'll probably make real playoff predictions come January. (Full disclosure- the Cowboys are my favorite team and I despise the Eagles and Redskins.)

AFC East
Pats 14-2, Bills 12-4, Jets 10-6, Dolphins 2-14

AFC South
Colts 11-5, Jaguars 11-5, Titans 9-7, Texans 8-8

AFC North
Steelers 9-7, Bengals 7-9, Browns 6-10, Ravens 3-13

AFC West
Chargers 10-6, Broncos 6-10, Raiders 4-12, Chiefs 4-12

Playoff teams-Pats, Colts, Chargers, Steelers, Jags, Bills

NFC East
Cowboys 12-4, Eagles 12-4, Redskins 10-6, Giants 9-7

NFC South
Panthers 14-2, Saints 9-7, Bucs 8-8, Falcons 4-12

NFC North
Vikings 10-6, Packers 9-7, Bears 6-10, Lions 3-13

NFC West
Seahawks 10-6, Rams 5-11, Cardinals 4-12, 49ers 4-12

Playoff teams-Cowboys, Vikings, Panthers, Seahawks, Eagles, Redskins

Super Bowl Prediction- Colts over Eagles

The highlights:
*Every team in the NFC East, except the defending Super Bowl champ Giants, will make the playoffs.
*Brett Favre will help the Jets improve greatly, but not enough to make the playoffs.
*The Packers, with Aaron Rogers in place of Brett Favre, will have a decent but far worse season than last year.
*The Panthers (I can't believe I came up with a 14-2 record) will have the best record in the NFC, but will not be the best team.
*The Bills will surprise everyone by making a deep playoff run.

My Baby and My Baby.

Some updated photos as the pregnancy rolls on.