sfaJack

Did you find security to be a giant pain in the ass?

Agreed. Especially when you're bitching about the schedule of an opponent within your own division (i.e. Marvin's bitching about the Steelers this year).

What are you talking about? All of the schools here in this area were out yesterday. In fact, the only time I ever recall going to school on MLK day was when it was a bad weather "make up" day.

I'm amazed at this result. It's pretty much exactly how I feel about picking between the Republicans this time... Huckabee 14.0 Rudy 14.0 Hunter 14.0 McCain 14.0 Romney 14.0 Thompson 14.0 Ron Paul 13.0 Top Dem is Obama at 5.0 Bottom 3: Edwards & Hillary 4.0 Kucinich 3.0 Gravel 1.0

See, that's what I'm talking about! I'm biased to the Cowboys, but the honest truth is we'll never know. Maroney MIGHT rival Emmitt someday (big 'if' there though), but '93 was Emmitt's prime and the fact is he was better then than Maroney is now. New England wouldn't have an answer for Jay Novacek (nobody else ever did) without having to let Emmitt run wild. And that Cowboys' defense WOULD get some pressure on Brady, which would slow down the NE offense. It's a close game either way, for sure. But still...we'll never know. And that is why it's largely pointless to spend a lot of time arguing about it. The 1993 Cowboys were better than the '92 version. You forget that they played (and lost) their first two games of '93 without Emmitt, who was holding out. Once they got him back, they went 12-2, steamrolling just about everyone they played (and that would have been 13-1 had Leon Lett not fucked up on the blocked FG on Thanksgiving vs. Miami). They also beat the living shit out of both the Packers and Niners (again) in the playoffs and dominated Buffalo in the second half of the Super Bowl. And why would you think there's shame in not beating Buffalo by 35 points again? 30-13 is a pretty thorough ass-kicking and it isn't as if Buffalo was a shitty one-year wonder Super Bowl team (see: Atlanta Falcons).

Using "non-football" props, I think. I have no problem with group celebrations, dunking the ball over the goal post (or similar stunts), or leaping into the crowd. But when you're planting cell phones and Sharpies, that's probably too much. Question: should there be a salary FLOOR in Major League Baseball? And, if yes, what should it be?

Yeah, especially with a game/league like football (and the NFL in particular) that has changed so much over the years. Football players these days are so much faster, stronger, and bigger and the offensive/defensive schemes so much more advanced and wide open than they were even 20 years ago that there is no fair way to compare the teams and players these days to those of the old days. Not to mention all the rule changes designed to help the offenses, which would hurt great squads like Doomsday and the Steel Curtain. Would great players from 1970 be as great if you gave them all the modern workout techniques and supplements and made it a year-round job like it is now? Sure. But since you can't do that, it is pointless to try and compare them. It's not even that much fun, really, because as Invader said, 95% of the fans are going to declare that their favorite teams/memories are superior to everyone else's just because that is their own personal bias. Example: I think the Cowboys' Super Bowl teams of the 90's (especially the '93 team) are superior to the 2007 Patriots and would beat the Pats if they played tomorrow. We will never know for sure though.

When I saw this entry's title on the blog main page, my first thought was that you had another encounter at the grocery store to tell us about...

They promoted Kyle Shanahan to that job. But Kubiak calls the plays, so what does it matter?

I'm sure at least one person has missed the high-quality posts I churn out here, right? Right? ... Hello? Anybody? Shit. Oh well. So what has happened in that month? sfaJill and I went to Kansas City over Christmas for her cousin's wedding (DRAMA~! ensued), I returned to work on Dec. 27 only to go home after three hours because of a NASTY illness that prompted me to wish for death a bit later that same day, 2007 went away (thank God), and the Jack household acquired a new puppy. There was also more work drama that caused me some grief, but that's so par for the course these days that I've stopped caring about it too much. Here's the highlights: As I stated, sfaJill and I flew to Kansas City to attend her cousin's wedding on Dec. 22. I was actually excited about the trip because, as a guy who has lived in southeast Texas my whole life and whose family is all in Texas, I've never seen real snow. So when I heard that the KC area was supposed to get a heavy snowfall after we arrived, well, I got excited. Sure enough, about four hours before the wedding, the white stuff started falling, slowly at first and eventually turning into a blizzard heavy enough to prevent a few local family members from attending the wedding. I was delighted. SNOWii (Side note: I was ecstatic about the snow until I realized I was going to have to drive in the shit. I wasn't aware of it, but, apparently, as the husband of a bridesmaid, I was eligible to be volunteered for random jobs related to the wedding. It was determined the day of the wedding that I was to chauffer the bride and her accompanying bridesmaids to the spa where they were getting their hair and nails and shit done, sit around and wait until they were finished, and then drive them all to the church (thank God said spa was in the middle of a shopping center that had both a Borders and a GameStop within it). By the time they were ready to go, a solid sheet of white had covered the ground, meaning my first snow driving experience would be with the added pressure of having a nervous bride on her way to her wedding in the car. Nothing bad happened--so it's all good--but when you have zero experience with snow and that black ice shit all over the road, well, it is a little unnerving.) The drama of the weekend came later that night, after the wedding. As we would learn the next morning, upon arriving at her room for the night, the bride discovered that the nearly $300 in cash she had had in her purse earlier that day was missing. She conferred with her sister and discovered that $60 was missing from her purse and one of the bridesmaids noticed that her purse was cleaned out as well. It was determined that someone had stolen it during the ceremony from their purses, which were left unattended down in the bridal room. The problem? sfaJill, her sister, and the groom's sister (yet another bridesmaid) didn't have any money stolen from their purses. This led to sfaJill's brother being accused of the crime. The theory was that he had the opportunity (someone said they heard him say he was "going to the bathroom"--just down the hall from the bridal room--just before the ceremony started) and a motive (needed money to buy more weed, which he does smoke from time to time); the fact that he was arrested last year for having beer in the trunk of his car when he was only 20 years old is further proof of his being a ruthless criminal. Also, there is supposedly a tape that shows he was the last one to come back up the stairs, but no one but the bride and her parents have seen that tape so who knows. Well, once THAT little accusation came out, all hell broke loose. sfaJill was livid (if there is one thing you don't do in her presence, it's talk shit about her family). Her parents were livid. Lots of ugly words were exchanged from all sides, and the entire rest of the trip was just an ugly, drama-filled mess that has cooled off only slightly since. What fun. God bless family. On a happier note, we got a new puppy. sfaJill's one aunt is a breeder and gave us one that she won't be able to sell because of a double-jointed front leg. He's a Siberian Husky that we've decided to name Wrigley. sfaJill's cat is less than happy about the dog's arrival.

Oh, no. That cat has the run of the house, though I think she spends most of her days sleeping on our bed. She's not too happy about the gates we're using to keep the dog penned in now though as they're a little too tall for her jump straight over. We put a chair on each side that she can use as a "stepping stone" to get over, but I don't think she's figured that out yet. But at least she can still get to her food and litter.

My birthday is a week from today. Hooray. I really haven't cared about my birthday much since I was 18. So last night while watching TV, this conversation happens. I'm sure you can guess who's who: "What do you want to do for your birthday?" "I don't know." "Oh, come on. There's got to be something you want to do." "I might take the day off work, I guess." "That's it? You don't want to go eat or do something fun?" "Like what?" "I don't know! You decide. It's your birthday!" "I'll think it over." *two minutes later* "Ok, well, what do you WANT for your birthday? I have no idea what to get you." "Nothing." (note: with sfaJill, 'nothing' is never an acceptable answer to this question) "What if I got you a pair of fuzzy pink slippers then? You'd be ok with that?" "Only if you think I really need a pair of fuzzy pink slippers..." "Well, if you don't tell me what you want, you just might get some then." "Did you see that Circuit City is offering 36 months of no interest financing on all TV's $999 and up?" "No. So what?" "So there you go. That's what I want." *she thinks this over for moment* "You want me to buy you a big TV for your birthday?" "Yes." "Hmfph. Good luck with that one." Ah, wedded bliss... --------------------- Jason Garrett has apparently turned down both the Falcons and Ravens head coaching jobs and will stay on as Offensive Coordinator in Dallas for at least one more year. Good. After four years of Bill Parcells's conservative style and the overall futility of the offense the five years before that, it was refreshing to see Redball (as he's affectionately known) open the playbook wide open and actually use all of the weapons available to him. Sure he didn't run the ball enough at times and apparently went insane in the fourth quarter of this last Sunday's loss to the Giants (calling a 65-yard bomb into triple coverage on 3rd & 20 from your own 40 with just over 4 minutes to go when you must score a touchdown and then sending everyone into the endzone against a dime defense on 4th & 11 instead of having one guy run underneath the defense and get the first down when you still had time to spike the ball and run at least one play into the endzone before the game ended is the definition of insanity), but there aren't too many guys I'd rather have running the Cowboys' offense for the near future than Garrett. Good move, Jerry Jones.

If your definition of "penned up" is being allowed to run around the whole kitchen/dining room area of the house during the day, then, yes, he's penned up. We'd let him run around the whole house, but he cannot be trusted not to piss all over the carpet yet.

Isn't the political incorrectness 95% of the appeal of the Death Wish sequels? Or is it just me?

For that one brief moment in history it would have to be Kermit Washington.

Phil Rogers states that Bud Selig will receive a contract extension through 2012 at an owners' meeting today.

If the Chan Gailey and Dave Campo Eras couldn't kill off my love of the Cowboys, I don't know what could. As for the Cubs, I don't think there's anything they could do to lose me as a fan, short of turning into a carbon copy of the Pirates or Devil Rays (i.e. bad managment, many years of shitty, hopeless teams, and low payroll/investment in farm system). After several years of that, I might dump them. Question: Do you think that referees/umpires should have to face the media after games to answer questions about any questionable/wrong calls? EDIT: Damn Lushus...too quick.

Yes. The "East" and "West" are just arbitrary methods of dividing teams up for scheduling purposes. And the NFL should do the same thing. Question: You are starting an NFL team and have your choice of one of these two coach/QB combinations, which do you choose? Bill Belichick and Peyton Manning or Tom Brady and Tony Dungy?

Early time of the entry is noted. Must not have had your coffee yet. Also, go to Hell wit that NYG/Cowboys pick. DALLAS WILL WIN BY 50! (note to gamblers: bet they Giants now)

Seattle @ Green Bay (8.5) I think Green Bay will win the game, but not by eight points. Seattle 27, Green Bay 24. Que?

I just love how, throughout the phone call with McNamee, Clemens keeps saying "I've got this press conference I've got to get through on Monday" as if it's some kind of heavy burden being forced upon him. Um, Rog...YOU called the press conference. Also, his "not giving a rat's ass about" about the Hall is a load of horseshit. Clemens has always been very aware of his legacy and his place in baseball history and there is no way I'm EVER believing he doesn't care about the Hall of Fame.

The conspiracy theory floating around town is that Roger filed his lawsuit so that he can avoid going in front of Congress on the grounds of not wanting to potentially harm his pending litigation by speaking about it under oath elsewhere.

Inspired effort from the Cowboys today. I think I'm gonna go grocery shopping during the second half. Or maybe cabbageboy was right all along and they've just been really lucky this whole time...

You're an idiot.

There's a lot of Cowboy fans (including me) wondering about both of these things. Not running the ball is probably due to Jason Garrett not wanting to run the ball until the 4th quarter (with the lead). As for the QB question: Johnson warmed up at least twice. When it's obvious Romo wasn't on his game in the third quarter, they should have run Johnson out there, particularly when they were only down 10-6 and still had a very good shot to win. It wasn't as if Philly's offense was doing anything great. The defense wasn't the problem for Dallas Sunday. They definitely played well enough to win the game. No one seems to be sure exactly when he got hurt. Hell, Wade Phillips said in his post-game conference that he wasn't even aware of an injury until way late in the game. But that thumb was affecting Romo's throws all game. I think he threw five balls that could be classified as "good" all day. Two of the picks were terrible decisions but the last one happened because T.O. slipped and fell down while making his cut. It wasn't an accurate throw either, but if Owens hadn't fallen, I don't think Dawkins would have picked it. So, uh, you know, either way it's a tough loss. I have no idea why I was so confident going in. Dallas-Philly games are almost always very tough, physical games.