Fixin' Supper

In a shout out to Nashville sister, I feel sure I am not out of line in sharing part of an email I received from her today:

#17 Vanderbilt
#18 Duke

In the post-game bliss of our Gator chomp,
it appears that my alma mater is ranked higher than good ole Coach K and Duke.

It’s a great day here at VU in Athletics. Our baseball team is ranked no. 1 for the first time ever (we’re undefeated 6-0) and we had an SEC Player of the Week in men’s and women’s
hoops and a national player of the week in baseball.

I will just add: the context to note here is that NYC sister is a Duke alum. The three Commodores in the family never, ever, ever get to gloat during basketball season, so we’ll take this while we have it.

In other VU news, I can share that apparently I’m the key to their success. When we knocked off No. 10 Alabama, I was not at the game. When we lost miserably to UT, I was watching with a number of my Vandy friends. And when we de-throned Florida on Saturday, I was still home sick, and with an extra person in the house to boot: had I felt better I still couldn’t have used the tix.

My boss and Nashville sister’s boyfriend took our three season tickets, and thank goodness some good Vandy fans had them. From reading Rex’s account of the game, and from talking to Nashville sister, it sounds a heck of a lot like the time we beat Kentucky, then ranked No. 1, my senior year — from a general atmosphere and pandemonium perspective. I was on the floor post-game on Jan. 13, 1993. Sadly, I was just checking the score on the Internet this past weekend. I may try one more game in the next couple of weeks….but if it looks bad at halftime, I’m outta there.

7:16 p.m.: I just noticed that my previous post included "pre-game" in the title. Sorry for the misinformation.

Was that a scarf on Prince’s head earlier? And where did it go? Anyway, I officially declare that to be the wardrobe malfunction of this year’s show. It was a very strange scarf. And did you notice this purple guitar he’s using to play in "Purple Rain" is in the shape of his unpronounceable symbol? Wacky.

UPDATE, 7:19 p.m.: Do they always show this many commercials for the home channel shows during the Super Bowl? I certainly don’t remember it from the past but I don’t often watch the SB all the way through. I’m not complaining necessarily….I don’t think the corporate commercials have been all that strong this year. My favorites so far are the Doritos commercials from their contest….and I’d already seen those. Give us something great in the second half!

UPDATE: 7:36 p.m.: Can you believe that rain? I can’t believe there haven’t been even more fumbles by now.

UPDATE, 7:41 p.m.: Finally a good commercial. The Etrade commercial cracked me up. Who riffs on Point Break?? [Who else would admit to having seen Point Break??]

UPDATE, 7:50 p.m.: Thank you to Rhodes for that great run at the end of the 3rd quarter. Because even the two sacks in a row of Grossman weren’t making for an interesting half.

17th Grammy commercial, 7:57 p.m.: I get it already. Tune in next week to see the Police reunion. It’s all a tease….everyone will be talking about "will they or won’t they" tour, and regardless, I feel sure Nashville won’t be on the list. Feel free to prove me wrong, guys. Oh and finally, two good ones in a row: Federline [I can't believe I liked that, but it's just so, umm, real life. Haha.] and the Bud Light hitchhikers. Funny.

8:15 p.m.: The Prudential commercial was HORRIBLE!! Do they realize that when you say "A rock" over and over again, it sounds like "Iraq" — at least the way many people say it??? So poor.

8:21 p.m.: Great score on interception by Calvin Hayden!

8:33 p.m.: Am now officially bored with the game. It has been a great contest and I think I’m about done with it. With all the commercials, the lengthy halftime show, etc., this game lasts forever.

We’re Colts fans tonight at Fixin’ Supper. Despite my life-long hatred of UT, I’ve always liked Peyton Manning. So, go Indy!

The Hungry Toddler gave the pre-game show a big thumbs-up for danceability and excitement. And I loved the players’ families commercial leading into the 5 p.m. CST hour. Fun to try to guess who was affiliated with who if you didn’t know the numbers, etc.

Here’s to a good game and great commercials.

UPDATE, National Anthem, 5:20 p.m.: My mom the Florida Gators fan reports that she, too, is pulling for the Colts due to the fact that Manning is such a "gentleman." My dad is pulling for the Colts since he always loved Johnny Unitas.

HT and I enjoyed Billy Joel singing the national anthem. Joel looked pretty good, didn’t he? He’s really had a tough row to hoe the past few years. I"m not saying some of it wasn’t self-inflicted but it’s sad to see someone so burdened by life.

And, I was terribly worried about his piano in the rain. That is so not good for a piano. I guess I should get mine tuned before I say more, eh?

UPDATE, coin toss, 5:23 p.m.: Holy cow, Peyton Manning is gi-normous. He is incredibly tall. The Colts’ site says, 6’5", 230. He is a really large man. That is all about that.

One more thing, 5:26 p.m.: Did you hear in the pre-game when they said it was TWENTY YEARS AGO when Phil Simms was the Super Bowl MVP?

UPDATE, first score, 5:28 p.m.: Am now worried about the health of Manning’s high school coach. NYT reports he is in the hospital with heart issues, and the one piece of advice he gave to Manning? Watch out for special teams. Ugh.

UPDATE, 5:58 p.m.: HT is very clearly cheering for the Bears. And the David Letterman/Oprah commercial was funny.

UPDATE, 6:17 p.m.: HT is also a fan of the Coke "Give a Little Love" commercial. Which bored me. He even played along with his tambourine.

UPDATE, 6:19 p.m.: HT has been put in timeout for repeatedly messing with my computer. I know 18 month olds really can’t stop touching something because you tell them to stop, but good night, that’s annoying.

UPDATE: 6:34 p.m.: HT returned from timeout very quickly and was here in time to give the Budweiser dalmation commercial several woofs of approval. Now we are officially feeling sorry for all those who purchased a new HD or other large-screen TV for this game. Cause I’m betting that the game looks just as blurry on a big HD screen as it does on mine when the cameras are wet and foggy.

Until pitchers and catchers….

This hasn’t happened since I was 11 years old! The Cardinals pulled it out and did a great job in the post-season. I’m so thrilled!

Hahaha Jim Leyland is on TV talking about how bad the Tigers were last year: only 71 wins. He hopes people will remember how far they came this year.

The Cards won the series this year with 83 regular-season wins. Ironic, no? The person who is not so amused by this is Steven Maloney.

Steven, let me just recommend you change your attitude about baseball. First, keep in mind above all that there are only two numbers that matter. One: the magic number in September. Two: the final score in the World Series. While the Cardinals from time to time have done pretty well with number one, it’s been a looooong time since number two has come out in our favor. So I can’t feel bad about winning. Plus, the Baseball Genius was running our team.

Now, since those are the only two numbers that matter, here’s how I watch baseball:
* Early January — Start to get excited. Pitchers and catchers report soon!
* Throughout spring training — This could be the year!
* Opening Day — Almost always the best day of the baseball season. All possibilities remain open. Really, the first couple of months are good.
* Be sure to re-engage in time to vote for my team for the All-Star Game. Of course there’s no need to watch the All-Star Game [nor should you, Steven] since we’re fans of National League teams and we haven’t won in a decade.
* About the first of August, I start watching the standings closely enough to see if we could really pull it out. Now, I watch baseball all year, whenever I get the chance. I go to a game whenever I can. But I don’t bother with the standings until the end of the summer. There’s just no point. The season lasts seven months, for cryin’ out loud.
* And of course, hopefully, I am doing the complex calculus to figure out if we’re going to get to the post-season in late September.

But as I said the other day, you must keep it all in perspective. Any time it starts to seem heartbreaking, or inspires anger, frustration or other negative emotions, just remind yourself: we’re talking about grown men hitting a ball with a stick and running in circles.

Until next April, congrats to the Cardinals!

No need to get excited. Lots of people lose at this point in the series. It’s just that we could win it all tonight.

No more than a 30% chance of precip til midnight in St. Louis!! Go Cardinals!

About Kenny Rogers not being available til the end of the Series? Scratch that. He’ll be rested and ready to smoke us again in Game 4 at this rate.

If you think you’re about to read about The Gambler and my review of Islands in the Stream, please tune back in after the World Series. You probably quit reading a while back anyway; who am I kidding?

For the rest of you, since you asked, as a Cardinals fan, I certainly do have an opinion about Kenny Rogers and the potential substance on his left hand the other night. It is this. We are talking about a sport in which grown men take illegal drugs so they will do better at hitting a ball with a stick and running in a circle. You also are talking to a person who paid for mail delivery of the St. Louis Post Dispatch the entire summer and fall of 1998 only to discover not all that long thereafter that Mark McGwire’s record-breaking season had also been fueled by questionable, if not then illegal, drugs.

At this point, I’m beginning to think we ought to pass out awards to those who try to cheat with just a little pine tar and by corking their bats. Remember when Sammy Sosa’s bat cracked open in 2003? Given the MLB steroid hearings of the past year, corking your bat seems amateurish.

I don’t mean to sound like I’m not still a fan — but I am a fan with my eyes wide open. It’s still possible to enjoy the sport of my childhood when you see the reality adults bring to it today. That’s not always pretty, but pine tar or no, Rogers smoked us through and through on Sunday night.

Tonight, well just look at the homestanding Cardinals. Those guys still steal my heart every time.

Final score: 5-0 Cards
Series: 2-1 Cards

After pitching eight scoreless innings, Kenny Rogers won’t be available to Detroit again til the end of the Series. Unless we can sweep at home!