It Continues...

The Seachickens are spotted a 14-0 lead.

And then the snow comes.

A sunny day in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. A mysterious "swath" of snow appears to the East.

The snow came. Did you think it wouldn't? Are you surprised?

Folks, this is a Supernatural Train that cannot be stopped.

The Giants beat Dallas tomorrow. It continues.....

Jeff

Friday Ramblings

Happy Friday to everyone. Here are some tidbits to chew on:

1. More proof that the Seattle Seachickens have no chance in Green Bay on Saturday. From espn.com:

SEATTLE -- Seattle Seahawks kicker Josh Brown says he'll wear heated warm-up pants in the freezing weather at Saturday's playoff game in Green Bay. Brown says he has equipped his pants with battery-powered heaters for the calves, thighs and hamstrings. Brown told KIRO Radio that no matter how low the temperature drops, his legs will be 75 degrees.

Heated pants. That's great. The temperature is supposed to dip into the 20's, you know. Brrrrrrrrr......

No word yet on whether or not Brown will also wear a heated bra.

2. J.R. Rider arrested. Again. Yes, that's right. Former Timberwolf and current moron J.R, Junior, J, Isiah Rider has been thrown in the clink for outstanding arrest warrants after Berkeley police responded to a report of a disturbance between a taxi driver and a passenger.

Boy, I'm glad that I was sitting down when I first heard that. You know, I see a bad moon rising for Junior. Trouble just seems to find him, through no fault of his own of course. This charge doesn't seem quite as bad as the time he pleaded guilty to "false imprisonment (what is that?) and battery." Maybe things are looking up!

3. The Wild are sold. Yes, my beloved Minnesota Wild were sold to Wisconsonite Craig Leipold. Leipold was the former owner of the Nashville Predators, and is highly respected in NHL circles from what I hear. He is known as a guy with "deep pockets," which means he should spend some money on talent. Geez, I hope that's what it means. He got out of Nashville because he was losing money by the truckload, even though his teams were pretty good. Hey, the only ice they have ever seen in Nashville is in their drinks - shoooot dang!

Now, I normally don't quote stuff that I read in other blogs (except for Free's, Greet Machine, etc.), but I have to bring this up. There are a few wing-nuts out there that believe Leipold bought the Wild to move them out of Minnesota. Here is what I came across in the "comments" field in Mike Russo's blog (the Wild Beat Writer)on startribune.com. This is from a "Luke Rasmussen:"

They (Nashville) cant fill an arena to save their dopey lives! They almost moved to Hamilton, ON before he (Leipold) got his sticky fingers off the team! I give the Wild two more years in Minnesota.

...Nashville CANT fill the arena, they wanted to leave. They’re not, but they wanted to.
The North Stars didn’t have a problem filling to the rafters either.

Leipold wants a team in Hamilton. He figures that a small-market club is the easiest to move. Norm Green thought so too!

This whole plan reaks. I can tell you what’s going to happen. First, the seat color at the X will change. Then, the logo becomes some neutral piece of crap that has nothing to do with Minnesota. Then on All Star Weekend 2008, Leipold will admit he’s been having an affair with his secretary, and his options are either sell or move the team. Since he just bought it, he’ll move.

Sound familiar? Get ready for deja vu."

Folks, I feel dumber just for having read that. First of all, Luke needs to put down the crack pipe. Let me get this straight. The Wild plays in what has been universally called "the best arena in the NHL." The Wild has NEVER had a game that has NOT sold out. The season-ticket waiting list is at 7500 and counting. And they are going to move, Luke? To Hamilton, Ontario? Or maybe Appleton, or Wausau!

Right.

The only reason I bring this up is that Luke is not alone in his paranoia. Some people seem generally freaked out about this. Look, Leipold is a Midwestern guy with a love for hockey. He just bought a goldmine. Everyone exhale. This is a good thing. And, hey, they just beat the Red Wings for God sakes!

That's all I have for now.

Peace,

Jeff

And So It Begins...

The NFL playoffs continue this weekend, even without the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans. Many people have asked me "who do you think will win, Jeff?" Here is who will win:

AFC:

This weekend:

PATRIOTS over JAGUARS - Much like Darth Vader and the Evil Empire, the march through the AFC continues for New England.

COLTS over CHARGERS - Colts and Peyton Manning prevail in the dome.

Next weekend:

PATRIOTS over COLTS - Good vs. Evil #1. Evil prevails. If THE VISION hold true, Tom Brady is injured in this game.

NFC:

This Weekend:

GIANTS over COWBOYS - Dallas is totally overrated. We find this out this weekend.

PACKERS over SEAHAWKS - The Seachickens (thanks Ronnie-San) hold it close for 1st Quarter but lose by 17. Why? They can't run the ball, they are a dome team outdoors and THE VISION.

Next Weekend:

PACKERS over GIANTS - NFC Championship game at Lambeau. Enough said?

SUPERBOWL:

PACKERS over PATRIOTS - Good vs. Evil #2. And the Patriots are evil, folks. Brettfavre rallies Pack and wins on last-second TD pass. I called this in September, folks. The game will eventually be made into a movie, a la "Rudy," "Miracle" and "The Passion." THE VISION becomes reality. Randy Moss calls Tom Brady a "piece of crap."

That is who will win.

Peace,

Jeff

Mom & Dad Must Be So Proud

Every parent hopes for the best for their children when they grow up. We hope that they are successful and happy. We hope that they will have a nice family and a nice house. Who knows, maybe they will become a doctor or a teacher or work at THE CHECK. Every parent also has fears that their children will be influenced by the negative forces in society. We have fears that they will be influenced by drugs, gangs, crime or (gasp!) like rap music. Each of these pales, however, to the following distinction:

al-Qaida Spokesman.

That would suck if one of my children became an al-Qaida Spokesman. Hell, I'll take rap DJ or drug king-pin over that one. How about California-born Adam Gadahn (pronounced "a-s-s-h-o-l-e"), who has been nominated "American al-Qaida Spokesman" and even had the honor of being the featured speaker in the first officail al-Qaida video of the new year. Here are some details from today's Associated Press report:

Al-Qaida's American spokesman urged fighters to meet President Bush with bombs when he visits the Middle East, according to a new video posted on the Internet Sunday.
U.S.-born Adam Gadahn also tore up his American passport as part of a symbolic protest in the nearly hour-long rhetoric-dominated tape.

Here is some more info:

During the rest of the 50-minute video, titled "An Invitation to Reflection and Repentance," Gadahn, who was raised in California, spoke mostly in English, appearing to specifically address the American people. He said al-Qaida felt the need to release the statement after Washington's "defeat" in Iraq and Afghanistan and failed attempts by the Bush administration to bring peace to the Middle East.

"We felt it necessary to address the American people and explain to them some of the facts about these critical and fast-moving events," said Gadahn, who wore a white-and-red headscarf and sat behind a desk with a laptop computer and coffee mug nearby.

Now wait a minute. I can see the laptop, because this gives Adam the ability to play Madden 2008 while his al-Qaida buddies get the lighting and make up ready. But - a coffee mug?? If you notice in the picture, al-Qaida has their own coffee mugs! There is apparently some sort of uplifting message on it. Now, I'd hate to be the printer that get that job. Imagine if the inscription was wrong. Can you say be-heading?

Well, what words of wisdom did Adam from California have to share with us today? Here you go:

"...we direct an urgent call to our militant brothers in Muslim Palestine and the Arab peninsula ... to be ready to receive the Crusader slayer Bush in his visit to Muslim Palestine and the Arab peninsula in the beginning of January and to receive him not with flowers or clapping but with bombs and booby-trapped vehicles," Gadahn, 29, said in Arabic.

By the way, I wonder what Arabic with a California accent sounds like? Here's more:

Gadahn also criticized Christianity, which he called "baseless and doubt-filled," and urged Americans _ including soldiers who fought in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan _ to convert to Islam.

"Listen to me, and listen to me carefully, before you lose your mind to flashbacks, and drugs and drink-induced dementia and before your demons drive you to self-destruction and suicide, in these verses (in the Quran), God calls out to each and every one of you saying God forgives all sins ... if you simply stop and repent," he said.

At one point in the video, Gadahn took out his U.S. passport, showed it to the camera and tore it into several pieces.

"In symbolic rejection of the American citizenship that honorable and decent and compassionate people are ashamed to carry, I will now proceed to destroy my American passport," he said.

"But don't get too excited, I don't need it to travel anyway," he added with a smile after tearing it apart.

Seriously, what a dink. I don't know if Adam got picked on a little too much back in California, or spent a little too much time in his parents basement. Maybe his parents didn't buy him the latest video game system, but he is really getting back at them now. Couldn't he have just gotten a tattoo? But, al-Qaida spokesman? How does a guy explain this to his buddies at work?

"...yeah, your kid might have got busted throwing a High School keg party, but my kids the American al-Qaida spokesman. Beat that!"

I don't think Adam will be "comin' back to Cali" any time soon. He is the first American in over 50 years to be wanted for treason. That's going to be kind of a bummer one day when he wakes up in a cave and says (in the immortal words of Gob on Arrested Development):"

"I think I've made a terrible mistake."

Peace,

Jeff

Favorite Lyrics - Vol. III

Every once in awhile, I find myself listening to tunes and feel the need to list some more of my favorite lyrics. Here is what struck me tonight:

Was the garage your playground
Full of holes
Did you piss in the alley
And get your toes caught in the
Spokes of a bike with a banana seat
Did you carry a knife that was rusted shut tight
You got drunk after church at 13

We may well be the ones
To set this world on its ear
We may well be the ones
If not then why are we here?

I oughta know
I wanna know I wanna know I wanna know
The sweet smell of candles burnt low by young women
Alone on their own for the very first time under
Posters of rock stars that you vaguely resemble
In front of a cad or resounding perhaps
Means that you'll be the next one in line

We may well be the ones
To set this world on its ear
We may well be the ones
If not then why are we here? Why the hell then are we here?
I wanna know I wanna know

You may well be the next one
Someone sell me a hand gun
Goodbye ma, I'm done for
It's the law, tell me what for
I wanna know I wanna know I wanna know

Smoke cigarette butts from your brothers green helmet he wore in that war once
Where everyone lost and they taught him to pour coffee and napalm and
Traded his storm for an intense calm that just won't let him be
We may well be the ones
To set this world on its ear
We may well get it done
Why the hell else are we here?
PAUL WESTERBERG - "We May Be The Ones"


Jacksonville's a city with a hopeless streetlight
Seems like you're lucky if it ever changes red to green
I was born with an abundance of inherited sadness
with 50 cent picture frames bought at a five and dime
WHISKEYTOWN - "Jacksonville Skyline"

What can you see from your window
I can't see anything from mine
Flags on the side of the highway
Scripture on grocery store signs

Maybe 18 was too early
Maybe 30 or 40 is too
Did you get your chance to make peace with the Man
before he sent down his angels for you?

Momma's and Grandmomma's love you
Cause that's all they know how to do
You never planned on the bombs in the sand
Or sleepin' in your dress blues

Your wife said this all would be funny
If you came back home in a week
You'd turn 22 and they'd celebrate you
In a bar or a tent by the creek

Your baby would just about be here
Your very last tour would be up
You ain't comin' back, they're all dressin' in black
Drinkin' sweet tea in styrofoam cups

Momma's and Grandmomma's love you
American boys hate to lose
You never planned on the bombs in the sand
Or sleepin' in your dress blues

The high school gymnasium's ready
Full of flowers and old legionnaires
Nobody showed up to protest
Just to sniffle and stare

Red white and blue in the rafters
Silent old men from the Corps
What did they say when they shipped you away
To fight somebody's Hollywood war

And nobody here could forget you
You showed us what we had to lose
You never planned on the bombs in the sand
Or sleepin' in your dress blues
JASON ISBELL - "Dress Blues"

A couple of notes about that last song. Jason Isbell is one of the former lead singers of Drive By Truckers, an outstanding southern band. Isbell wrote this song about a friend of his from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, who joined the Marines and never returned from Iraq. I think of this song every time I hear a story about a man from Minnesota or Wisconsin not returning from the war. I really don't think it is a political statement on the war (except for the "Hollywood" line at the end) as much as a statement on the impact of a young life ended too early.

And, I can play that song on the bass guitar.

Peace,

Jeff

Here We Go

As I touched on in yesterday's post, the Republican National Convention is going to be held later this year in St. Paul. It is my belief that there is going to be some serious protesting going on in my fair city. It turns out that some groups are already "practicing." From a report today on kstp.com:

ST. PAUL (AP) - A few dozen anti-war protesters marched Wednesday from the state Capitol to the Xcel Energy Center, hoping it will guarantee them to chance to hold a demonstration along the same route during the Republican National Convention in September.
The sign-toting, slogan-chanting crowd set out around noon in near-zero temperatures on what they described as the first part of a recurring protest.


The group "The Coalition to March on the RNC to Stop the War" (that is TCTMOTRNCTSTW to you and me) claims that protesting takes some serious planning and practice.

"The protest of the Republican National Convention requires the same type of planning the Republican National Convention requires," said Bruce Nestor, a Minneapolis attorney working with protesters as part of the National Lawyers Guild.

No question about that. Now, once again, I would like to say that I am firmly FOR the right of American citizens to protest. I look at it as freedom of speech and, when orderly, is a fundamental right. Hey, try protesting in China or Iran and see where it gets you. Either thrown in the huzcow (probably wrong spelling of that) or dead or worse. So I am all for it. Also, as I have written, I am a big fan of 60's tunes. So, of course, a small part of me thinks it would be fun to walk down the street chanting some slogan (hell, no, we won't go!) with a big 'fro and a sign that tells other people What Jeff Thinks. But another part of me would feel like a fraud unless we were protesting "not building a Twins stadium" or a raising beer tax or something.

As I have written before, I do not believe that all protesters have "the issue" in mind when they march. Here was my breakdown of why people protest in that previous post, which I still believe is fairly accurate:

10% - People protesting because they care deeply about the issue at hand.
15% - People trying to relive the '60's.
25% - People pissed because they missed the '60's.
40% - People who just like to burn things and break shit.
10% - People who "just happened to be in the area."

It is the burning things and breaking shit that has me worried about the protesters this fall. Hey, I love downtown St. Paul. The X, Rice Park, the Science Museum, The Liffy (for God sakes), Tom Reid's, McGovern's, The Gopher Bar (but they'll leave that place alone), etc. We don't need people lighting that stuff on fire. I'm starting to get paranoid because I've seen too much video of Chicago in 1968.

Anyway, it's not the people who are practicing protesting that worry me. Hey, have a sit-in. See if I care. It's the people who drive the love bus in from Jersey just as the acid kicks in that worry me. They had better not lay a hand on the Xcel Energy Center.

Peace,

Jeff

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone out there! Like I said in a previous post, somehow it's 2008. Does 1988 seem like that long ago? It was 20 years. Now that I have bummed you out, here are some of the things that I am looking forward to in 2008:

1. When Packers win the Super Bowl, churches in eastern Wisconsin trying to figure out how to add Brettfavre to the stained glass windows without covering up "those other guys."

2. St. Paul gaining international exposure by hosting the Republican National Convention. I hope that international exposure does not include rioting and the burning down of St. Paul by protesters.

3. My oldest son becoming a teenager and starting Junior High. Oh......my.........God.

4. Me becoming even more good looking as I age gracefully - like Sean Connery. No question.

5. The continued construction of the Twins and Gophers stadiums. This is the year both stadiums will really began to take shape. Have I mentioned this before?

6. The final year of indoor Gophers football. Good riddance.

7. The Vikings going 8-8 again next year and JUST missing playoffs.

8. Wild defenseman Martin Skoula being on the ice and essentially responsible for EVERY goal the team gives up. And then Head Coach Jacques Lemaire naming him team MVP. Seriously, I'm becoming obsessed about this. Skoula has GOT to have photos of Lemaire....

9. 2008 will be the year I finally figure out how to pass the football in Madden 2008 on the Wii. Maybe.

10. This will be the year the new 35W bridge is completed.

11. 2008 will be the year in which my band, Pork, plays our first gig. Once we find a drummer and learn songs and stuff.

12. More Sasquatch sightings nationally and internationally. He (she?) will continue to elude capture, however, because of his intelligence and guile. And he's nocturnal. It's harder to catch stuff at night.

That's all I can think of right now. What are you looking forward to in 2008?

Peace,

Jeff