The Other Guys

Currently Reading: The Civil War by Julius Caesar

Did you know there was another team playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday night? No, really it's true. I looked it up and apparently the New Orleans Saints are playing a team from the mid-west. Yeah, they're called the Indianapolis Colts. I'm not making this up guys. I'm being 100% serious. There's more to this Super Bowl thing than just another party in Miami and New Orleans.

Not that you'd know it by watching the national media. Yes, the Colts get mentioned on the big sports networks but on the non-sports stations you'd think this was all bout the Saints and the parties in Miami. Now, I won't lie to you, I've never been a fan of the Saints. I couldn't really say WHY. Maybe it's the black and gold uniform. Maybe it's the general FRENCH nature of their logo. Or perhaps it's something about the atrocious grammar of "Who dat?" I do know for certain that I don't like the fringed umbrella Tom Benson uses when he does his Benson Boogie. For that matter I don't like the Benson Boogie.

This dislike for the Saints goes back before this season. They've had some very disappointing games where the snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. They've had plenty of over-hyped seasons where everyone SWORE they were the next best thing. Then they pulled a Tony Romo and just choked and fell apart.

This may happen again you know. A lot of non-sports people will say that experience doesn't count for all that much, or at least it shouldn't. It's just another football game and they're a good team. Maybe. But anyone who's done live performances of ANY kind can tell you there's big difference between the comfort of your home stadium and the less familiar road stadium. And like it or not, the closer you get to the final game, the more pressure there is to perform. These guys have had two weeks living in a pressure cooker. That's where the experience comes into play. The guys who have been through this before know what it's like and can help the other guys stay focused on what's important (no, not the commercials, the game).

About the only thing I've really heard about the Colts leading up to the Super Bowl are things that are related to the Saints. Take Peyton Manning. Of all the things to write about him what's the one thing they keep drilling over and over? That his dad played for the Saints. Yeah. Years and years ago. So long ago that a large portion of fans never even saw him suit up. And yet, there it is, in article after article.

As for the Saints, well there isn't much information about the team and players themselves (unless you count Reggie Bush and his Kardashian girlfriend). What you hear about is how this team overcame adversity, though when it comes time to elaborate, the story always talks about hurricane Katrina (seriously, enough already!) and how they spent half of one season playing on a different home field while their stadium was being rebuilt. You get stories about how New Orleans, the city, is rebuilding after all the flooding. Sometimes there's a mention of the quarterback but mostly it's all about the city.

Just for the record, for those of you who may have forgotten, the New Orleans Saints is a football team that plays in the city of New Orleans. That's it. Their playing in the Super Bowl or even winning it has nothing to do with the city itself. Two separate stories and quite frankly, I'm getting tired of them both.

It's easy to see why the Colts don't get as much press though. Think back, as many years as you can. What's the big story coming out of Indianapolis? Yeah, off the top of my head I can't think of anything either except that THEY won the Super Bowl a few years back. So here's a little history about the team playing the Saints on Sunday:

• 1946 (12/28) Bankrupt Miami Seahawks franchise of All-America Football Conference moved to Baltimore. Bob Rodenberg headed purchasing group and the team was renamed "Colts" via a fan contest.
• 1947 (2/10) Cecil Isbell named head coach. (9/7) Colts won inaugural AAFC game, defeating Brooklyn Dodgers, 16-7, before 27,418 fans at Baltimore Stadium. (9/28) New York Yankees defeated Colts, 21-7, before a then-record Baltimore crowd of 51,583. Colts placed fourth in Eastern Division with 2-11-1 record, while drawing 199,661 fans.
• 1949 (12/9) The National Football League and the AAFC reached a "peace" agreement and the Colts were assigned to the NFL for the 1950 season.
• 1958 (10/26) Rookie DB-Lenny Lyles had 101t KOR vs. Washington to become first player ever with two 100t+ KOR in same season (other was 103t vs. Chicago 10/4). (11/2) Colts recorded first shutout, 56-0 over Green Bay, marking their sixth straight win and setting the club record for largest margin of victory. (11/30) Colts clinched first Western Division title, 35-27, over San Francisco before second straight record crowd of 57,577. QB-John Unitas tossed a scoring pass in a 23rd straight game to set a new NFL record (QB-Cecil Isbell, 22 games, Green Bay 1941- 42). (12/28) Colts defeated the New York Giants, 23-17, at Yankee Stadium in "sudden death" game for World Championship. Weeb Ewbank and 12 players from "The Greatest Game Ever Played" eventually became NFL Hall of Famers.
• 1969 (1/12) Colts dropped Super Bowl III to New York Jets, 16-7, at Orange Bowl. (5/17) Colts, Pittsburgh and Cleveland joined AFL teams to form American Football Conference as the NFL realigned for the 1970 season.
• 1971 (1/3) Colts captured the AFC Championship by topping Oakland, 27-17. (1/17) Colts won the first AFC-NFC Super Bowl, 16-13 over Dallas in the Orange Bowl on K- Jim O'Brien's 32-yard field goal with :05 remaining. Don McCafferty became the first rookie head coach to win a Super Bowl (later matched by San Francisco's George Seifert in Super Bowl XXXIV)
• 1984 (3/28) Colts in Indianapolis. (4/18) Season tickets offered for sale and overwhelming response yielded 143,000 requests in two weeks.
• 2006 (9/10) The Colts posted a 26-21 win at the New York Giants in the first NFL contest pitting brothers as starting quarterbacks, Peyton and Eli Manning. (1/21) Erasing an 18-point deficit with a 32-point second-half flurry, the Colts captured the AFC Championship with a 38-34 victory over New England. Manning (27-47-349, 1 TD/int.) scored on a 1t rush and guided the club to 17 fourth-quarter points. Indianapolis had second-half scoring drives of 76, 76, 67, 59 and 80 yards. The final drive concluded with a 3t rush by Addai with 1:00 remaining as the club produced the largest championship game comeback in NFL Super Bowl-era history. Indianapolis knotted the contest at 21-21, 28-28 and 31-31 before the final gamewinning drive. The club's berth in Super Bowl XLI followed those earned by the franchise in Super Bowl III and V. (2/4) The Colts earned a fourth World Championship in besting the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. In a contest played in steady rain and 67-degree temperatures, the Colts overcame a 14-6 second- quarter deficit. Led by Manning (25-38-247, 1 TD/int.), a rushing attack that produced 191 yards behind Rhodes (21-113, 1 TD) and Addai (19-77) and a defense that surrendered only eleven first downs and 265 net yards while helping produce five turnovers, the Colts out-scored the Bears 23-3 over the game's final 41 minutes. Manning teamed with Wayne (2-61, 1 TD; 53t) for the club's first score. Rhodes tallied on a 1t rush midway through the second quarter, and Indianapolis would not relinquish the lead. Vinatieri added field goals of 29, 24 and 20 yards to boost the club's lead to 22-17 late in the third quarter, then DB-Kelvin Hayden's 56t interception return early in the fourth quarter provided the final points. Manning became the first Colts Super Bowl MVP. Addai (10-66) set a Super Bowl reception mark for a running back. The victory marked the club's first title in 36 years, the last coming in Super Bowl V against Dallas, 16-13 on January 17, 1971. The franchise won NFL titles following the 1958 and 1959 seasons.

So there ya go. A little history about the OTHER guys playing this weekend's game. They're a good team. They're a solid team. And you know, they just may have the answer to that question: Who dat say day can beat dem Saints? Day be da Colts my friends :-)

Snowed In

Currently Reading: The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick

Well, if you've been following the news or if you live anywhere along its path, you know about the snow/ice storm that's been moving across the country this weekend. It hit us Thursday night into Friday morning and then all of Friday. When I woke up this morning the snow had stopped and as far as I know we're not expecting any more though we will stay below freezing until Monday.

Have a look at this. This is how things progressed starting Friday morning at around 9:30 until late afternoon when was getting too dark to take clear photos. The last shot is from this morning. Yes, I know they're a little blurry. Low light pictures aren't as clear plus I'm shooting out of the bedroom window.

When I went out and walked the dogs last night, it was a very fluffy, loose snow that blew around in the wind fairly easily. This morning though, I'm not sure how to accurately describe it. It isn't really packed in but it does have a hard layer of ice on top of it. You step and if you're heavy enough, you sink.

The dogs weren't quite sure what to make of this. They've seen snow before but not THIS kind of snow. The snow THEY know is the kind where you step in and sink. They've never dealt with a snow that could actually SUPPORT them. Katya, the aussi, didn't have any problems adjusting to this. She pretty much did her business just fine and tried to avoid slipping. Jack on the other hand was NOT amused and quite confused. He ran out into the snow, expecting to sink and nothing happens. So now he's not sure if he's allowed to pee on this stuff or what. To him it must have been like a giant tile floor or something. Eventually I got him over to a grassy spot under a tree where he could tell that yes, it's ok to pee there.

As for the roads, well not covered in enough ice to SKATE on them but you'd sure have a hard time getting anywhere in anything lighter than an SUV. Crusty snow and most people stayed home last night so there were very few tracks in all that mess. In fact, the city and state authorities were telling everyone to just stay home.

I wonder. There was supposed to be a Twilight convention here this weekend. Did the sparkley boys and girls make it out to Opryland for that or was it called off? I never checked the closings list today though I do know everything was closed yesterday. Probably no convention today and since we're not getting above 30 until Monday, probably nothing tomorrow either. I guess it'll depend on whether or not the sun comes out and melts off the street snow.

We took advantage of the fact that we can't go anywhere and unpacked all but one of the boxes left laying around. I mentioned before that we had two areas of clutter. Well, now there's just ONE area of clutter. The bedroom is now all cleaned up (except for my desk which will take more time). That just leaves part of the dining area. I tried to take some pictures yesterday but due to the odd light from the snowfall, nothing came out all that well. We'll wait until we've got better, natural light and take more pictures. When we get something good, CC or I will post them.

When was the last time I blogged?

Currently Reading: The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick

When WAS the last time I blogged? Mid-December? Wow, that's a VERY long time between posts. That's less than once a month. I guess the main problem is Facebook. Yeah, let's blame Facebook for this one. Why not? Though to be honest, I haven't really posted all that much on Facebook either.

I left off right before the big move to Nashville. I remember posting about the HUGE Great Dane that came in for a bath. I'm pretty sure I posted a picture or two of our new apartment complex from when CC and I visited it. This was all before Christmas of course.

No Christmas decorations or lights to photograph this year. Left them all in the bat cave, packed up and ready for the bit trip. Didn't make any sense to drag it all out for 2 days. That's right, we moved here right after Christmas. Spent New Years Eve sleeping here in our apartment in Nashville.

And what have I done SINCE then?

Let's see, first two weeks were spent unpacking. You'll no doubt recall seeing Facebook messages of mine bitching about the unpacking and how many boxes we had. Those are pretty much finished now. I did a little box juggling this morning and we now have the patio cleared off and ready for use if we ever thaw out. There are still a few rough spots though. We've got a clutter accumulation in the dining area and another in the bedroom. Once we untangle those we'll be all set and we'll take pictures.

I also got another job. This one came up VERY fast. I did my usual mass mailing and, I'm not kidding about this, 24 hours after I dropped them into the mailbox, I had a job. Apparently the post office here in Franklin processed the mail the day I sent it and since it was all local, a decent number of those letters were delivered the next day. A call was made. An interview was set up. And the next thing I know I'm the groomer at Noah's Ark Animal Hospital and Suites.

Now, this new clinic I'm working at, they haven't had grooming for a few years so things are starting off slow. Plus, you have to factor in that this is the slowest period in these parts for dog grooming. Most people who have dogs needing grooming had them done right before Christmas. And since it's now rather cold, they aren't looking to have their little angels shaved short. What I DO get a lot of are owners wanting a medium or long cut or they need matting removed. Doggie plus wet grass plus sweater equals nasty tummy matting.

And so there you go. CC and I have spent a relatively uneventful month unpacking things, putting things away and working. We really do like it up here. Less stressful for certain. We're about a mile or two from a very large mall so we have access to all of the major chain stores and restaurants. In fact, within a 10 minute drive from our apartment I have FOUR large bookstores. Seriously. There are two Borders stores, A Barnes & Noble, and another store that sells half-priced books.

It's funny, CC's birthday is coming up and I'm now facing a similar problem from our Memphis days: Where to take CC for her birthday to eat. The problem in Memphis was that we only had a handful of places to pick from. Now it's the opposite. We've got SO many places to pick from, and we're talking just in the neighborhood, that I'm not sure where we'll go yet.

It's certainly much colder up here and less humid. There's a large winter storm heading for us tonight/tomorrow which may shut things down all day. Supposed to snow too. Could get as much as 6 inches in fact. That would make it our SECOND snow of the year so far and we haven't been here a month yet.

All in all, we're happy here in Nashville :-)

Gifts for Geeks

Currently Reading: The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore

So, you've done most of your Christmas shopping but you've still got a few people left to buy for. Worse, at least ONE person left on the list is a geek. What on EARTH do you buy a geek for Christmas without breaking the bank? Well, here's a hint:

You may think I'm kidding but, seriously, giving the gift of soap will not only allow you to cross that person's name off your list, it'll ALSO make the world a better place.

True story here. This afternoon I stopped off at a comic book store on the way home from work. You see, Marvel has been running a special Captain America series that I've been reading and today was the release of number 5 of 6.

So I grab a copy of that and then, because I had the time, I was just browsing the rest of the rack. Wednesday is the day that new comics are released in general, at least for Marvel, so the store is usually fairly crowded.

I'd spotted something that looked interesting on one of the bottom racks so I knelt down to have a look. As I'm flipping through the pages to check the quality of the artwork and to see if it's filled with ads, a geek passes by behind me. Then another, and another. At one point, an uber-geek stands next to me, reading a comic from the TOP rack (I hate it when people are too cheap to buy a comic and just stand there and read). Anyway, I'm checking out a few other issues when all the hair in my nose curls up and screams in agony and the only thing I can think of is "Dear GOD what is that smell?!"

I manage to wiggle away from the rack (more geeks had taken root to read) and again and again my poor nose is assaulted by this violent REEK coming from these guys.

Now, it's not like they were homeless or anything. They all had shoulder bags, weighted down with their laptops. Several had jawbone-style bluetooth headsets on and those aren't exactly cheap either. These guys had money (though they were too cheap to buy a comic -- how lame).

And yet . . .

SO, if you have a geek on your list and this problem sounds very familiar to you, consider investing in a lovely gift basket of shower gels or bath soaps. Let's try and drop a few hints here on the guys who seem to think it's appropriate to go a week or two or three without showering. Now, I will grant you that coming fresh from work, I often carry along a slight hint of wet dog. But I generally don't go wandering out in public smelling like that and if I DO, I don't stay out long. If people want to smell wet dog, they can visit me at work.

My Ten O'Clock

Just Finished Reading: Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

Ok so there I am, sitting in the grooming room, just minding my own business, playing a little Super Mario Brothers while waiting for my two little doggies to dry when I hear a knock on the door. Tara, the vet assistant, sticks her head in and says in a cheerful voice, "You 10:00 is here." She pushes open the door and THIS walks in . . .

His name is Ronin and in case you were wondering, YES, he really is as big as he looks in that picture. Notice over to the far right, you can see the corner of a counter. That's an exam table. See, Ronin is just a little too big to fit in any of our kennels so he gets a room of his own.

Of course, he STILL has to go into the tub for his bath, just like all the other dogs that come in. I don't have a room where I can just wash him on the floor. And no, I don't have any sort of automatic lift in there either. Ronin here got into the tub the old-fashioned way. Tara and I lifted him up and put him in.

Fortunately great danes are generally laid-back in their approach to life. They're big dogs that KNOW they're big dogs and so they don't have anything to prove. In fact, if he probably could have crawled up into the tub himself if we'd been able to explain to him what we wanted.

And you folks thought all I did was shave cute little poodles :-)