Where's the Reality?

I'm working to "re-inspire" myself to blog more on Big Papelbon. It ain't easy with the Sox many games out of first place, and the wild card race. As I've said several times before, "thank goodness for the Pats," even if they are turing out to be the heart attack kids!

A quick side not on the Sox since I can't seem to write a post without at least referencing them. WHY could they not have taken 3 out of 5 back in August vs. the Yanks instead of taking the 3 out of 4 this past weekend? The thing that amazed me was that the Sox threw the "all $150,000" pitching staff against the "all $15 million" dollar Yankee staff. And we still took 3 out of 4. I even think that Terry Francona and Papa Jack slipped themselves into the game as pinch hitters at one point.

Anyway, back to the main topic... Reality TV. The good news this season? Reality seems to be dying on the vine. Yes, I know that it still exists. Survivor is hanging on by a thread with their attempt to stir people up using race as a segmentation. Big Whoop! And shows like Wife Swap are still rearing their ugly head. But I'm sensing a new trend and so far, I like what I see.

Last night I watched a couple of new shows. The first was, How I Met Your Mother. Not a show that I'm necessarily going to be doing a "record all" for on my DVR, but worth a few chuckles nonetheless. Neil Patrick Harris carries over his "booze and stripper loving" persona from the movie, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. If you've seen the movie, you'll appreciate what I'm talking about. The second show was the much anticipated, Studio 60. I know one show does not a season make but I'll tell you what, so far I'm hooked. Anyone that liked the first couple of seasons of West Wing can see that the old (and riveting) Aaron Sorkin is back and he's got fire in his belly.

The only thing that is pissing me off about "Studio" is that I found out last night on IMDB that the show is just a pilot and as a result, the network only filmed five shows. That means that we're going to get a two month hiatus come early November just as we're starting to get into Amanda Peet... I mean, the series. I can deal -- that's why God invented Monday Night Football -- I'm just not looking forward to hurrying up and then waiting.

On that note, it is encouraging to see that there are a half a dozen decent options to watch now (Lost, Studio, 24, Grey's Anatomy). The other encouraging news is that I've yet to see an add for "the Bachelor goes to Romania" or "Fear Factor -- The Gay and Lesbian Series". Maybe this is reality TVs last gasp.

Any good shows that you've wached recently? If so, let me know!

Big Papelbon Blues

Ever notice how unexciting it is to read the sports page/ESPN when your baseball team is shitting the bed? That might be one of the reasons that I've dreaded coming in and posting to this blog for the last month. To be honest, I'm still recovering from the five day "Boston Massacre 2.0" that happened over a four day stretch with the Yanks back in August. I've never seen a team go down the toilet so quickly.

On the happy times front, football season didn't come a day too soon this year. Thank goodness we have the Patriots to think about now. Yes, I know they barely squeaked by Buffalo last week but that's what the Pats do. I also think the Bills are going to be a lot better this year under Dick Jauron then the were the last few years. Don't get me wrong, they won't be playoff good, but I think they will go 7-9 or 8-8 and will be a team that nobody wants to play down the stretch.

By the way, do you think Deion Branch is getting the respect he deserves in Seattle yet? Granted, I think the Pats were a little short-sighted in the way they treated him, but at the end of the day, a contract is a contract. I think Deion is also going to be in for a big surprise when he realizes a) there is a guy named Shaun Alexander who will get 30-35 touches per game (that's "Shaun", not "Shawn", not "Sean", not "Shawon" but "Shaun") and b) as good as Matt "toupe" Hasselback is, he's no Tom Brady.

That's all for now. I just couldn't stand the thought of leaving the blog untouched for such a long period of time. Until next time, let's go PATS!!!

Baseball in Play

Have you ever wondered how long the baseball is actually in play during the average baseball game? Here is the unscientific answer from Rick Reilly and Dick Wade (heh heh... he said dick).

Makes that day I spent watching parts one and two of the recent Boston Massacre seem like a complete waste of time. I think I'm going to adopt a curling team. It's probably more action-packed than baseball.