Last Thoughts At 45

Maybe I'm getting slap-happy and putting the cart way ahead of the horse...but as I round back into shape while rehabbing from my heart attack, I find myself perusing the "Upcoming Races" section on the various Georgia running and track club sites. Back around 2001-02, I was running a ton of races around town. I've even got a desk drawer full of trophies and plaques to show for it. All of my top finishes (including three age-group wins) came in the 34-39 age bracket. Then, a funny thing happened. I turned forty. The first race I entered in the age 40-44 bracket, I got SMOKED. Those guys were blowing past me like I was Tim Conway's little old man character from The Carol Burnett Show. And I was posting almost the exact same times as I did the year before...when I was consistently top five or so in my class. Check it out next time you see a group of serious runners. I guarantee you the guys over forty will so be lean and sinewy that they look like they're constructed out of Slim Jim. Something about turning forty, I guess. Maybe that's the magic number that triggers guys to take that internal inventory and figure out what they need to do if they want to live a little longer. If so, I'm late to the party...but I'm finally there. Racing is still way down the road. Hell, I haven't even timed my mile since I've been back out there. But, watch this space. The road beckons.

Slava Kozlov wuz robbed! Seriously.

Kurt Angle: Intensity, integrity, and intelligence...oh, and also intoxication. It's been a rough week all-around for pro-wrestling world champions as earlier this week WWE champ John Cena tore a pectoral muscle on RAW and will be out of action for 6-8 months. Nobody likes to get hurt...but the timing might actually be pretty good for Cena. As big a fan of the guy as I am, even I admit that he was in danger of becoming the most overpushed and overexposed WWE champion since Hulk Hogan. Some time off of TV and pay-per-view will give fans a chance to miss him and the inevitable, built-in "comeback storyline" when he returns (somebody else will be wearing the belt he never lost in the ring, after all) will give his character some edge and purpose. Right now, WWE fans are eager to embrace Triple H as a babyface. So why not put the belt on Randy Orton, who's white-hot as a heel right now, and let HHH chase him for a few months?

Water rationing? No already-promised-to-Zoe snow at Stone Mountain? Lord have mercy...I wish it would rain. (Preferably at night and early in the morning...not when I'm out running.)

Finally...Tomorrow's my 46th birthday, bitches. Shower me with your best wishes in abundance. To the left is what my mother-in-law got me. A Sandisk Sansa e260 4GB MP3 player. Pretty sweet little gadget, huh? I'm not an iPod guy. I can't stand the idea of having to rely on iTunes. The Sansa, which works seamlessly with Windows Media Player/Center, holds over a thousand songs, displays album art while playing, and I can also put video on it...even though trying to watching something on a 1.8-inch screen for more than five minutes would probably turn me into Migraine Boy. I've also uploaded a ton of family photos. In fact, I've damn near maxed the thing's memory out already. But here's the cool part...the memory is upgradable using microSD memory cards. So that's next on my shopping list. All for under a hundred bucks. Highly, highly recommended.

Division Series Quick Predictions

National League

Chicago Cubs vs. Arizona Diamondbacks - I think the tone for this series will be set with tonight's game. If Brandon Webb stakes the Snakes to a one-game lead, they'll take the series. Chicago plays tight when they get behind and tighter still in the postseason at Wrigley. Best case scenario for the Small Bears: Alfonso Soriano leads off the game tonight with a homer.

D-Backs in five.

Colorado Rockies vs. Philadelphia Phillies - Potentially the most entertaining of all the early-round matchups. Two hustling, scrappy teams that play balls-out. Tons of great young players that nobody's ever heard of. Naturally, MLB is burying the first two games in the three o'clock graveyard time slot. Heaven forbid that Joe Torre or Kevin Youkilis might pick their noses without all of America admiring their haul in prime time, right? Colorado has to be gassed after closing the season winning 13 of 14 and then enduring that 13-inning marathon play-in game with the Padres, right? I'm thinking so.

Phillies in four.

American League

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Diddy Ali vs. Boston Red Sox - It's a struggle to be objective here because I actively loathe the Red Sox. But when the Sox are on, they're a juggernaut. Beckett and Dice-K in the first two games? With Schilling waiting to take the mound for game three? Forget it.

Red Sox in a sweep. Four games, tops.

New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians - These two teams are so even that little things will decide this series. Cue up the "Blah, blah, blah....nobody does all the little things like Derek Jeter...blah, blah, blah" white noise. (Personally, I believe that...but liking Jeter makes you a pariah among "real" baseball fans.) The Yankees' starting pitching is iffy and, if I'm the Indians, I never want to go into the postseason counting on Paul Byrd. I give the Yanks a slight edge...thanks to their experience and a couple of guys named Chamberlain and Rivera. Borowski might blow one for the Tribe but those two will carry the Yanks into the ALCS.

Yankees in five.

Simply An Abomination

I possess no sensibility that this cap does not offend. I mean...of course...good on the Rockies, but there's almost nothing in baseball much more bush league than celebrating "winning" the wild card. It makes rally monkeys look classy. Oh well, at least they aren't calling themselves the "Wild Card Champions" like the Mets did in 1999. Plus, it's ugly. Wild card team fans, root like crazy for your guys to advance so you can upgrade caps and send this thing to Goodwill...if not Hell itself.

Was Blind, But Now I See

First of all: Most Unoriginal Blog Entry Title Ever! Seriously, do a Google search for "was blind but now I see" and check out how many times that phrase has been whipped out by my fellow self-absorbed, navel-gazing hacks. But...yeah...I finally got tired of not being able to read without discomfort and got myself checked out by an optometrist. I wore glasses for several years to correct a slight distance issue that was associated with migraines. That condition improved over the years and so I ditched those specs. Well, the examination yesterday revealed my distance viewing to still be slightly off...but the bigger issue was that I direly needed reading glasses. I'm not going blind...just "typical age-related degradation," as the doctor put it. His original prescription was for bifocals but, after some additional testing, he determined that the distance issue should still be okay for a few more years as long as I could read traffic signage and drive at night without squinting. When I told him about my spotless driving record, he okayed getting only reading glasses for the time being. Now even the phone book looks like it's in large print. Or, as I Twitted this morning, it's like the world is now in hi-def.

That was one pret-ty, pret-ty good October appetizer between the Padres and Rockies last night. Let's see...Peavy getting lit up? Check. Something crazy happening (like an obvious home run being missed by the umps or the winning run scoring despite the plate never being touched)? Check. Helton right there in the middle of things with a homer, a great catch, and scoring the tying run? Check. Rockies win? Check. Sometimes I scare myself with these predictions, folks.

Obama is moving to protect his left flank. That looks to me like a pitch to the voters who are drawn the old-school progressivism of John Edwards. He's apparently not going to go after Hillary agressively until the race is winnowed down to the two of them. Problem is, as the latest fund-rasing numbers demonstrate, the whole field except Hillary may be winnowed out after Iowa/New Hampshire. This is the third quarter, the time when initial "The race is on!" enthusiasm dampens and donors aren't as generous...yet the cash is still rolling in for Hillary. The nomination always follows the money.

Finally...Happy Bruceday, everybody!

Bowing Out: A Newt And A Bee

What. A. Crock. Newt Gingrich really thought that he could go get "forgiven" by a fellow charlatan and scoundrel like the late Jerry Falwell and then extort the money he needed to run for President? Let me tell you...Newt couldn't be elected to the county commission of the reddest county in the reddest state. Did he not do any focus group studies before going off on this fool's errand? Newt Gingrich is, simply put, still one of the most despised figures in American politics today. Truth is, I'm almost sorry (but not at all surprised) that he punked out of the race because of the joy I would've taken in his inevitable winnowing-out after the Iowa caucuses. Oh, well...At least he's still got his little "non-partisan" think-tank where he can be the big, pale, doughy fish in a small pond. For a good laugh, check out Grift's take on just how non-partisan Newt's little side project really is.

Padres and Rockies for the National League wild card tonight. As crazy as it might be to pick against Jake Peavy, I have to go with the team that's delighted to be playing tonight over the team that led the wild card for weeks and considers this one-game playoff to be a pain in the ass. Plus, the game's in Colorado. I'm not real big on home-field advantages in baseball...but I've got a feeling that something crazy is going to happen at Coors Field tonight and the Rockies will somehow find a way to pull this one out. I'd love to see Todd Helton get a big hit to aid the effort. One of the game's unsung heroes.

Speaking of unsung heroes, how about this guy to the left? I've always had a soft spot for the Astros. I know the Braves always heard all the "choke" talk because they didn't win more world championships...but, thanks in large part to Atlanta, Houston usually never even got far enough to choke in the NLCS. But I came away with the utmost respect for Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Derek Bell, Brad Ausmus...heck even The Big Unit and Roger Clemens didn't seem like such bad guys when they were Astros. Bags left the stage last year and now Biggio's gone. Those two guys sure did their bit to restore respectablity to the term "Killer Bees." I won't miss his nasty-ass, pine-tar-encrusted batting helmet...but I'll miss Craig's hustle and classy demeanor. It'll be very weird to watch an Astros game next season and not see him out there. [Biggio pic courtesy of AP]

The Rebel Base Has Been Destroyed

Georgia - 45, Ole Miss - 17. Boy, this was such a hectic weekend that I didn't get a chance to get my post-Georgia game Quick Prediction gloating up until just now. But, c'mon...Close until halftime? Georgia pulling away in the second half? Not too shabby, huh? And with Florida going down, all I can do is repeat what I've been saying to anyone who'll listen since the South Carolina game: This division race is far from over. It'll be tough next week going up to Rocky Top. It always is. I'll be listening to that game at Road Atlanta (Petit Le Mans weekend! Woot!) and hoping to hear some more of that classic, pound-it-out ball control offense that the Dawgs displayed this past weekend. You can look it up...When Georgia runs the ball, it's usually a good day for the red-and-black.

I Owe You One, Big Guy

Remember this little blast of bad sportsmanship?

There is an ever increasing possibility that the Mets might gag up the division title after leading by seven games with only seventeen games remaining. Please, little baby Jesus, make this happen...and, if it's Your will (and think about it, it'd be awesome), I beseech thee to also make sure Tom Glavine gets shelled in the elimination-clinching loss.

Well, the Mets were indeed eliminated from postseason contention today. Tom Glavine was, in fact, on the mound. And here's his line: one-third of an inning, five hits, seven runs (all earned), two walks, he hit the opposing pitcher with the bases loaded and, just for good measure, he also committed a throwing error that allowed a run to score.

I just got an e-mail from my good friend Herb Urban expressing his sympathy for Tommy. And I've been asked by folks why I root so hard for him to get pounded in the postseason and in big games. It all goes back the day Glav first signed with the Mets and their fathead owner Fred Wilpon crowing at the time that Tommy would win another ring with the Mets, retire a Met, and go into the Hall of Fame wearing a Mets cap. From that day on, I vowed to root for Tommy to get creamed in every game that mattered for New York. Basically, I wanted Tom Glavine to be known forever as a Brave. I didn't want him to have a Mets legacy.

Guess what? Tom Glavine now has a Mets legacy.