Excellent Quote

From Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli on Heroes) in an interview in Men's Fitness magazine. I know, what was I doing reading Men's Fitness? I wasn't. I saw a reprint of the article on a Gilmore Girls fan site. No, I don't (or didn't) watch Gilmore Girls. I found it by a link on Pop Candy, an entertainment blog. In any case... The quote, which may very well be my favorite of any interview I've seen in months, "I would hate it if my publicity overshadowed my actual career. That would suck." Are you listening Britney? Lindsay? Paris? Hmm. Didn't think so.

Washington 16, Miami 13

Well, it was hotter than Hell, but the game was great. It was unbelievably hot. And of course, I didn't think about sunscreen until we were halfway to the game. So I got more sun in 3 hours at the game than I did in a week at the game. It was a learning experience, though. We figured out many things that we had not thought of before. Such as the giant foam #1 finger that I brought, but which stayed in my lap or Chrissy's most of the game. In the future, it stays home. In any case, I had a blast at the game. I think Chrissy is still recovering from heat stroke. She stuck it out to the bitter end, though, God bless her.

Oh, speaking of the beach (as I was earlier), it was great. A whole week this time. It was so nice not having to leave in the middle of the week and come back to work. It wasn't much more expensive either, because we had shifted more toward after Labor Day, when the rates drop. So we stayed more days, but most of them at a lower rate. Overall, I think we paid $40 more than last year and stayed 2 or 3 more nights. The weather was great, too. I think someone was trying to make up for last year, when we arrived at the beginning of a hurricane. This year, it was sunny all week. Warm, but not hot (except for two days that were a bit sweltering).

I guess that's it for now. More later. Hail to the Redskins!!

I Can't Wait!!

Great CNN article about Dexter! Well... good article on CNN about the creator of Dexter. But you get the point. New season starts September 30 on Showtime. Also can't wait until our annual Wildwood vacation! We're going for a whole week this year! Yippee!! Oh, and, of course, the day after we get back, in a rematch of Superbowl VII and XVII, the Redskins play the Dolphins. First home game of my new season tickets! Did I mention I have season tickets to the Skins?

Michael Vick

Wow. This guy, Jason Whitlock, is my new hero. His column about the Michael Vick situation is pretty dead on. Now, I have never been a big fan of Vick as a football player, but I can't deny that he is a talented athlete. Unfortunately, he squandered his every opportunity. Mr. Whitlock pretty much says it all better than I possibly could.

On the Lot

Congratulations to Will Bigham, who won the first (and most likely only) season of On the Lot. Million dollar deal with Dreamworks. Not too shabby!

R.I.P.

This has been a bad few weeks for people in the creative arts whom I admire. Comic book artist Mike Wieringo passed away from heart failure last weekend. One of my absolute favorite writers, Fred Saberhagen, died of cancer, actually on June 29, but I just found out on August 4th. And, of course, Merv Griffin, who despite all his accomplishments, to me, will always be remembered as the Elevator Killer from The Man with Two Brains. Rest in peace, gentlemen. You will be missed.

Skins v. Steelers

Well, I supposed things could have been much worse. Yes, we lost 12-10. Yes, Jason "Future of the Team" Campbell went down in the first quarter when a 285 lb. defensive end dove headfirst into his knee. Yes, Marcus Washington got caught up in a pile and dislocated his elbow, knocking him out for at least the next game, and likely the rest of preseason. Yes, Mike Espy (not a star player, but a solid backup who was busting his but to earn a roster spot) blew out a knee ligament cutting on a routine pass route. BUT... The D looked solid throughout the whole game, not giving up a single touchdown and repeatedly holding the Steelers back in the red zone. The offense looked crisp through Campbell's two series before his injury, then with Todd Collins through the rest of the first half and into the second. Brandon Lloyd scored his first TD as a Redskin (preseason or no, that's gotta be cool for him). The offense didn't look fantastic under Brunell, but he was playing with 3rd stringers or lower, trying to come from behind within the two-minute warning. I almost had a heart attack when I heard the commentators actually say that you couldn't blame that on Brunell and that he played as well as possible, but was hampered by his circumstances. I really like Brunell and don't think he gets the respect he deserves, from fans or announcers. I also think the reporters were making too big a deal over the order the QBs were playing. Last week Brunell followed Campbell, this week it was Collins. I don't think this was some grand conspiracy to bump Brunell. It is possible though, given how each has been playing, that Collins could move to #2 on the depth chart ahead of Brunell. Don't know how Brunell would take that. I know he said that the only place he was willing to play backup was here, behind Gibbs. Don't know if that included playing 2nd backup. All in all, we looked pretty good. A damn sight better than we did at almost any point last year. I think this year will be a lot like 2 (3?) years ago when the defense carried the team and all the offense had to do was score a TD or two to win the game. I'd like to see better, but I'm keeping my hopes realistic.

You Can't Make This Shit Up!

A South Carolina inmate is suing Michael Vick for "63,000,000,000.00 Billion dollars," which he would like backed by silver and gold and delivered via UPS to the prison. Why, you say? Because, as inmate Jonathan Riches claims, Vick stole Riches' identity and dogs, sold the dogs on eBay and used the money to buy missiles from Iran. Seriously. He also alleges (because in Amuricuh, you're innocent until proven guilty) that Vick "plead alliengence to Al-qaeda" and subjected Riches "to microwave testing." In his prayer for relief (as it is called - where the plaintiff actually asks for the desired result of the suit), Riches states, "Michael Vick has to stop physically hurting my feelings and dashing my hopes." Not sure how one physically hurts one's feelings...

Apparently, this isn't the first time Jonathan Riches has filed a wacky lawsuit. If you click the link entitled "You be the judge" (at the end of the 2nd paragraph), there is a copy of the 57-page docket (the official register of proceedings in a legal action) composed almost entirely of the list of defendants. These 56 pages of defendants include such varied individuals and entities as Jessica Alba, Jennifer Lopez and Sandra Bullock (I gotta admit, he's got pretty good taste) to Wiccan Worship, WKRP in Cincinnati, Nostradamus (bet he didn't see this one coming), Holy Grail and Huggies. I think my personal favorite is Zeus. Aye caramba.

Skins v. Titans

Well, the Redskins won their first preseason game (did I mention I have season tickets?)! It's wasn't overly pretty, but a win is a win. Campbell looked ok, Brunell looked ok, Collins looked great. The main problem with the the QB situation wasn't the QBs. It was the offensive line. Like last year, though not to the same extent yet I don't think, we are being plagued by injuries. Chris Samuels, Marcus Washington and Randy Thomas are out until regular season. So is Portis. Lloyd just started practicing today. Now Wade (who is still learning a new position), Heyer (an undrafted rookie who is still adjusting to NFL-speed football), and Randle El are hurting. Fortunately, our defense is relatively healthy and looked pretty good against a team who, admittedly, was without their starting quarterback. There's definite room for improvement. When Campbell got time to throw, he looked good. He was checking his options and making the plays. We just need to make sure he gets that time. The running game, without its star player, went nowhere. But again, once the front line starts pulling its considerable weight, that should improve, too. Here's hoping we look better against Pittsburgh this weekend!

More Harry Potter

Some very interesting reading for those people out there who love Harry Potter as much as Chrissy & I do. This chat transcript is from a fansite called The Leaky Cauldron (named after the pub in the books). In the chat, J.K. Rowling answers questions and reveals many secrets regarding what happened "off-screen" in the books or, perhaps, things which could have been clearer. Fascinating to Potter fans. Boring, I'm sure, to others.