The Tragedy of Washington Sports Teams

Ninety-two years.  That's a long time to wait.  1924 was the last time that a Washington baseball team won a post season series.  And it just grew by one more.  Despite winning the National League East and having one of the most formidable starting rotations in baseball, the Washington Nationals lost last night in game 5 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  The season is over.

As most you all know, dear readers, I grew up in New York, rooting for the team that plays baseball in the Bronx.  I was never a big fan of the guys that played in that "purple stadium" in Queens.  When I came to DC, I signed on with the Nationals as soon as they arrived.  I went to Opening Day for the first several seasons and made it to at least half a dozen games each season.  At some point I will have season tickets for the team.  I would tell my New York friends that I was fine rooting for the Nats - it was only if they made it to the World Series against the Yankees that I would find myself in a dilemma.  With the way that both teams have been playing the last few seasons, I'm OK for now.

I stayed up to watch the entire game and sat on the edge of my seat as the Nationals put the tying and go ahead runs on base in the bottom of the night.  Then I held the remote in my hand for the final at-bat, with my finger on the power button, and turned it off seconds after the last swing.  Mrs. BA and I had allowed LBA and SoBA to watch the beginning of the game - sending them to bed when the Nationals were up 1-0.  I didn't have the heart to tell either of them this morning - though LBA had learned the outcome from his device.  We didn't discuss it.

I don't really have a solution for the team - I guess if I did, I'd be in the dugout with Dusty.  But I do think there is something to be said for the curse that afflicts the sports teams in the Capital City.  The Nationals will get there at some point, hopefully before they hit the century mark of a postseason win drought.

In related news, the National Hockey League started its season and the Washington Capitals had their first game last night, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins.  I am not in a position to comment on that team's successes and failures, my friend ADR has lived with them much longer than I.  Again, as noted, I am a New Yorker by birth and grew up with my allegiance pledged to the New York Rangers.  It has made for some tense conversations with ADR, especially at playoff time.  I can root for the Caps, and do so, except when the Rangers face off against them, which happens a fair number of times during the season and often during the Stanley Cup playoffs.  The Rangers know of Cup droughts, going more that 40 years between Cup wins.  The Caps haven't hoisted the Cup yet and continue to perform above expectations each season.  With the dawn of each season, there is hope.  But here in Washington, sadness and anger smack us again at the end of a season, with goals unfulfilled.  Here's to another great season and that maybe, this is the year.

I won't comment on the basketball team - I'm not a big fan of the bouncy ball and the sport doesn't really do it for me.  I do like college basketball and will watch March Madness.  But other than that, I can't get excited about it.  As to the Washington football team, I don't particularly care about that sport either, I was never a big football fan growing up, but as I will say, if you pin me down, I was a fan of the Giants over the Jets.  Now, while the team that currently plays football here has won the Super Bowl, I really believe that they won't (or can't) win again until the weasel owner of the team is gone.  I don't really care about the name controversy, I suppose it should change, but he's not in favor of that, so that sort of puts me on the other side of that issue, if only to be in opposition to him.

Finally, as a parent of two boys engaged in soccer for their fall sport, this is one that I really don't get.  Maybe I just don't understand it well enough - but there is nothing more mind numbing that watching players run up and down a field, with the occasional (and infrequent) goal here and there.  But I'll root for the Cheverly teams any day of the week and twice on Sundays (which is usually the case with both of them playing games on Saturdays and Sundays for the next few weeks.

It's the Super Bowl!

Tonight will be the greatest food event after Thanksgiving.  The Super Bowl (Super Bowl 47) will take place in New Orleans featuring the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers.  Of course, the commercials will (hopefully) be worth watching and evidently Beyonce will sing a little at half time.

The Brave Astronaut clan will celebrate in front of the TV watching the game with little hot dogs, nachos, maybe some chicken wings.  There may even be some Pizza Rolls in the freezer that may make an appearance.

I don't think our spread will rise to this level of complexity - but we will eat well.  Maybe Mrs. BA can be convinced to make a Super Bowl cake again.

Here's a selection of special Super Bowl Slow Cooker recipes for your enjoyment.  I personally like the "Easy Potato Casserole."

Slow Cooker Baked Potato Casserole

Ingredients

• 2 baking potatoes, peeled and cut into a large dice 
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1/2 cup Progresso Creamy Three Cheese Recipe Starter 
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 
• 2 slices bacon 
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives 
• 1 pinch coarse salt

Directions

1. Place the peeled and chopped potatoes in a small slow cooker. Drizzle the oil over the potatoes. Cook on high for 3 hours (or low for 6). 
2. Mash the cooked potatoes with a fork. Add the creamy cheese sauce and stir to combine. Add a pinch of salt and cook an additional hour. 
3. In the meantime, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove from the pan and place on a couple of paper towels to drain. Chop. 
4. Transfer potatoes to an oven-safe serving bowl. Sprinkle the cheese on top and broil for a couple of minutes until browned and bubbly. 
5. Garnish with crumbled bacon and chives. 
6. Serve immediately! 
7. You can always double or triple the recipe for a large crowd, and use a large slow cooker.

Super Snacks

Next Sunday is the Super Bowl (in case you weren't aware). Last Sunday, on Championship Sunday (when the Giants beat the Niners and the Patriots finished off the Ravens to punch their tickets to the big game) - the Brave Astronaut clan had a Super Bowl Rehearsal Party. We made nachos, little hot dogs and veggies and dip. We ate in front of the TV and watched the game(s) and we will likely do much of the same next Sunday.

Mrs. BA always asks that we try and find something nutritious for LBA and SoBA (hence the vegetables) but I usually just look at her funny when she says that. C'mon, it's the Super Bowl. You're supposed to eat crap. Where are the pizza rolls? The question is, can I get her to make Super Bowl Cake again? Epicurious did a bunch of Super Bowl party recipes. Here's just one.

Bacon Banana Cookies
Epicurious | December 2011
by Libbie Summers
The Whole Hog Cookbook

Ginger, my mother, never liked a bunch of kids in her house. Even as a young girl, I could feel her angst when too many neighborhood kids were around. Her clever solution was to bake a plate of my favorite Bacon Banana Cookies and leave them on the front porch, locking the door behind her. I never minded being sequestered outside with my food loot in the summer because the porch concrete cooled my skin.

The winter—that was a different story. When I bake these cookies now for my son, Anthony, I'm secretly baking them for myself. I wonder if my mom did the same thing? I'll be sure to ask her...as soon as she unlocks the front door.

Yield: Yields 30 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 bananas, mashed (about 1 1/3 cups)
• 1/2 pound bacon, cooked crisp, chopped

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon, and the salt.

In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the butter and 1 cup of the sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until they are fully incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture, then stir in the mashed bananas, beating well after each addition. Fold in the bacon.

Stir together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the remaining cinnamon.

Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet 1 inch apart. Sprinkle generously with the cinnamon-sugar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until slightly browned. Allow the cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Cookies will keep for 5 to 7 days.

Rock-hard bananas? Ripen them quickly for Bacon Banana Cookies by placing the peeled fruit on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cooking them in a 400°F oven for 10 minutes until they are soft.

Next time you make banana bread, try stirring 4 slices cooked and chopped bacon into the batter.

Source Information
From The Whole Hog Cookbook: Chops, Loin, Shoulder, Bacon, and All That Good Stuff by Libbie Summers. © Libbie Summers; photographs © Chia Chong. Published by Rizzoli International Publications, Inc.

It's Groundhog Day

I know, I know. Usually I will use this day to remind people to eat crepes as it is Candlemas Day (You can click on "crepes" and get the recipe - remember to eat crepes or suffer the sadness of financial insecurity for the rest of the year - oh, wait). However, I spotted this blog entry last year a few days after February 2 and loved it so much, I wrote most of this 2009 post on February 3, 2008. It is the day the Giants won the Super Bowl. George Bush is still President, but when this comes out of draft form, he won't be. And yesterday was also Super Bowl XLIII, so congratulations to the six-time Super Bowl Champions Pittsburgh Steelers. Here is an embed to the Super Bowl Ads from yesterday.



So to the topic of Groundhog Day. The blog post that got me going is here. Here's the gist. This person took notes through the course of watching Groundhog Day and believes that Bill Murray's character lived through the same February 2 for 4 years.

These are the days actually seen in the movie:

1. February 1
2. February 2, #1
3. "You're playing yesterday's tape"
4. "Meet me in the diner", "Don't drive on the railroad tracks"
5. Punches Ned
6. "Nancy Taylor, Lincoln High!"
7. Bank robbery -- "I've seen this film over 100 times"
8. Interrogating Rita
9. "Sweet vermouth on the rocks with a twist"
10. "I like to say a prayer and drink to world peace"
11. "I studied 19th century French poetry." (He has a good French accent on the quotation, and is a good dancer.)
12. Insincere snowman. Slapped in the face.
13. Slapped in the face.
14. Slapped in the face.
15. Slapped in the face.
16. Slapped in the face.
17. Slapped in the face.
18. Slapped in the face.
19. Slapped in the face. Notices ice sculptures.
20. "Rough night."
21. "It's cold out there every day."
22. "What is... Mexico."
23. "A thousand people waiting to worship a rat."
24. Smashes clock.
25. Smashes clock.
26. Smashes clock on floor, kidnaps groundhog, blows up.
27. "Aw nuts." Drops toaster in bathtub.
28. Steps in front of truck.
29. Jump from bell tower.
30. "I'm a god." "I've been stabbed, shot, poisoned, frozen, hung, electrocuted, and burned." Throwing cards: "Six months, four to five hours a day."
31. Gives money to bum. First piano lesson.
32. Second piano lesson.
33. Has learned ice sculpture.
34. Not bad at piano.
35. Hits on Ned, takes bum to hospital.
36. Feeds bum, gives CPR.
37. Final Groundhog day! Very good at piano.
38. February 3.

Now, beyond the days we actually see, much time is implied:

• Between days #6 and #7, at least 100 days passed: the time to see the movie 100 times, and also to fully memorize the plan for the bank robbery.
• Between days #11 and #12, he may have just memorized a single quotation (but his accent is good) and he may have already known how to dance (but that seems unlikely). So I think we can assume at least a few months passed.
• Between days #21 and #22, he memorized the entire Jeopardy show, which would take at least a few viewings. It's possible he did that while learning piano, or French.
• Some time before day #30, six months of card throwing. But that could have all been after midnight, and overlapped with any other activities.
• We saw "burned" and "electrocuted". That leaves at least five days (and presumably more) for "stabbed, shot, poisoned, frozen, and hung."
• How long does it take to learn ice sculpture, if that's all you do? Six months? A year?
• How long does it take to become a good piano player, if you begin in your early 40s when you have your first lesson? Consensus among those present at casa del jwz was "at least two years."

So. Based on evidence presented in the movie, he re-lived February 2 for at least four years.

Football and Food Surrender

It's just after 11:30 and I survived a night of being the sole parent in the house, with Mrs. BA off to spend her sister's birthday with her. Her husband very nicely threw her a surprise party. She will be back later this afternoon, likely in time for me to head to a pre-season Redskins game. I still don't have a date, so I don't know if I will go.

The other day, I received my "Food Surrender" package from Stinkypaw in Montreal. Here's a photo:
There were lots of good treats in the box, and the chocolate survived the multi-day trip across the border. LBA was very interested in the box and items were shared with him. But the Coffee Crisp (in the front of the photo) was reserved by me for my consumption. It may have been the best thing in the box! My reciprocal box is on its way to her and she should have it before long.

This morning, I was blessed to have both of my children sleep until almost 8:00. Although SoBA was up overnight, a quick bottle and a diaper change and he went right back to sleep. He woke up again at 6:00 but I brought him into bed with me and slept for another hour or so, until LBA came in. We watched a show (or two) before getting up to have some breakfast.

We watched a little of the Olympics. LBA was very interested in Women's Volleyball. SoBA is napping right now and LBA took a rest for a few minutes, allowing me to get this post done. Now it seems we are going to head outside for "a little baseball."

When is Mrs. BA coming home?

Baseball Been Berry, Berry Good to Me

Tonight, I went out to Nationals Park for the first time since Opening Night (and again I went with OSG). This was the first outing on tickets I scored at an auction that I attended last week. OSG and I have now attended two games in the new ballpark, seeing the Nationals win both games with walk off home runs in the bottom of the ninth.

With all the brouhaha that swirled about that other team in Washington, which is now playing golf, after finally removing their ice skates after an amazing series (and for the record I am very disappointed - it was very exciting to watch), I am prompted to answer the question (from no one in particular), what is my favorite sport? I will not (for now) pick a particular allegiance to any one team, although that is fairly evident to those who know me.

It's a valid question. Of the sports that are on my radar screen here they are (ranked according to height and popularity - and what's that from? - my favorite TV show) and please note this is but a very short list. There are certainly more sports out there and even some that I will watch. This just happens to be the list today and it conveniently gets me to the link I wanted to share with you (see the bottom of the post):

1. Baseball
2. Golf
3. Hockey
4. College Basketball (hey don't I get lunch because I won the pool?)
   
5. Football

So there you have it. I am not a big pro football fan of either New York team, which don't even play in New York anymore and I am too far removed from C in DCs beloved NY Team. I will usually watch the Super Bowl, but that is more about the food and the commercials than the game. But the Giants beating the Patriots last year was sweet. I will watch the occasional college game (I might tune into the bowl games around New Years and I'll always look at how Brown is doing for my mother).

When I lived in the Hudson Valley, I held season tickets for the Marist College Red Foxes. I liked the smaller intimate settings and you could really get involved in the games. I will watch (and did watch) most of the March Madness tournament and will usually root for the underdogs, because those are the teams I know. But I'm not stupid and usually do well in the pool, which is why my lunch table group is going out to lunch and I get to eat free!

I am a hockey fan by genetics. My mother was an only child and learned her love of the game from behind the chicken wire at Rhode Island Reds games. I won't even get into how my father nearly got killed when he came home one night and told my mother that someone had offered him New York Rangers tickets and he turned them down, not knowing the level of craziness exhibited by hockey fans (if you haven't seen the linked commercial, click it - it's worth it). When my mother died, my brother-in-law arranged for a floral display of carnations made into the New York Rangers logo. It was quite something.

The reason that golf sits atop hockey is that I can actually play golf (shut up, Ed). I can't skate worth a lick and I love watching hockey and will root for my Rangers until my last breath. But I can pick up a golf club and (occasionally) get a good ball down the fairway. Next weekend I will travel to a conference where a foursome of archival golfers will beat up on the little white ball. And of course we have just seen the Masters, which is the one golf tournament that I try to not miss on TV. Now if I can just get adopted by Archivalist's father and go with him on his tickets one year, I'll be all set.

So that leaves baseball. I grew up in New York, where that purple stadium was closer than the hallowed grounds of the House that Ruth Built. I went to my fair share of both Mets and Yankee games, but my heart went to the pinstripes. It's been said that's why the Yankees always win, "the other teams can't stop looking at those pinstripes." (Look a quiz question right here at the end - name that movie!). I played little league as a youngster, but didn't have what it took. Perhaps Little Brave Astronaut can do what his old dad could not - support his father in the lifestyle he would like to be accustomed to.

But I agree with the article posted here. Baseball is the best of all games. And here, from a 1961 conversation recounted in a letter (a letter, not an email, not on the phone, an actual letter) twenty years later, the American Philosopher, John Rawls, explains why he offers the six reasons why baseball is the greatest of all games.

Recipe: Super Bowl Cake

Here's the cake that made an appearance at my Super Bowl Festivities yesterday. We had the whole gamut: little hot dogs, chili dip and chips, wings and Super Bowl Cake, made by the best wife ever, Mrs. BA. Goalposts made by Brave Astronaut's Dad. Sprinkles added by LBA. The picture does not look like the one that Mrs. BA made, I'll have to see if OSG has a good one.

Here's the recipe, from the Food Network kitchens:

Cake:

• 3 ounces semisweet or bitter sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup flat cola
• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Icing:

• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 9 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• Pinch fine salt
• 1 1/4 pounds (5 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup natural cocoa powder
• 2 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted
  

Football Sugar Cookies, homemade or store bought, recipe follows (as mentioned, we used football-themed sprinkles, placed on the cake by LBA)

Plastic goal posts, available a specialty baking stores (My dad made them out of lollipop sticks and a hot glue gun - there may be chocolate lollipops in the future - we had left over sticks)

For the cake: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter and line the bottom of 9 by 13-inch cake pan with parchment paper, overlapping on 2 sides to create flaps.

Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Heat cola just to a simmer over low heat and pour over chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes; stir until smooth.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

In another large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until slightly thickened and pale, about 3 minutes. Gradually add the oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs. Beat on low until combined well, but not aerated. Add the flour mixture and continue to beat until just combined. (Stir lightly with a rubber spatula to remove any pockets of flour.) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the cake springs back lightly when touched, and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Cool cake completely in the pan on a rack. Run a knife around edge of the pan and invert cake onto a rack. Carefully remove parchment paper and cool completely. (The cake may be made in advance, tightly wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days.

For the Icing: Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a standing mixer's bowl above the water. Whisk the sugar, the egg whites, lemon juice, or cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar dissolves, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the bowl to a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the whites at medium-high speed until they almost hold a stiff peak and are fully cooled, about 10 minutes. Beat in the butter, a little at a time, until the icing is smooth and spreadable. (If the icing separates, just keep beating and it will come back together.)

To decorate the cake: Divide the icing in half. Set aside a couple of tablespoons white icing for field line. Blend a few drops of green food coloring into 1 portion so it is the same color as football field turf. Beat the cocoa powder and melted chocolate into remaining icing.

Cover sides of the cake with chocolate icing. (Save some chocolate icing to decorate football cookie, if desired.)

Transfer the green icing to a pastry bag fitted with a small tip, and cover the top of the cake, moving back and forth in small motions to create the turf. Clean bag and tip thoroughly, fill with white icing and add yard lines to field as desired.

Pressed football themed cookies into the top or sides of the cake, as desired, and finish with plastic goal posts.

Serve or set aside at room temperature for up to 2 hours before serving, refrigerate if needed. (If cake is refrigerated, bring to room temperature 1 hour before serving.)

The Giants Win the Pennant, the Giants Win the, Oh, wait

Sorry, wrong sport, but I can't get that out of my head. Congratulations to the boys in red and blue who stopped the fantasy cold. NJM, ACK (though he doesn't read this blog), others, I feel for you. But you had to lose sometime.

And it was a helluva game.

Do You Get Enough Leisure Time?

A recent blog post brought a visitor from Down Under (welcome, David to the Brave Astronaut orbit). He has a rich blog wherein he reports on a variety of things. Today (yesterday for him), he posted the following question: Do you get enough leisure time? Given that today is America's homage to "leisure time," the Super Bowl, it's a fine question to answer.

As many of you know, my father is visiting this weekend. However, as a relatively new federal employee and one who burned most of their leave to take time off to be with my newborn last month, I had no time to spend with him during the work day. So he planned his visit to be here primarily on the weekend. He arrived on Thursday and on Friday, Mrs. Brave Astronaut drove my father in to have lunch with me. After lunch I sent him in the direction of one of the Smithsonian museums for him to kill some time and then I went and got him and brought him back to my place of work so he could look around there.

Then yesterday, we decided to go to the new National Museum of the Marine Corps. I must admit that is was very well done. Of course the Marines can be very much in your face, OOH-RAH and all that. But the museum was very subtle, sort of like, here we are, this is what we do, thanks for coming by. I am happy to report that, among other things, LBA and I stormed the beaches at Iwo Jima, twice.

But to the question at hand. I have reported here before about vacation, missing it, weekend getaways, longer beach vacations, and not expecting to ever take a vacation again. But this of course, is different than leisure time, or at least how I would define it. I believe partly that my recent bout with insomnia has been due to my belief that nothing was getting done around the house. Much of this was my own making, the siren call of this blog and getting trapped in the Interwebs. It is also a factor of having two small children around, one of whom is three and requires a level of interaction that is higher than normal.

When we arrive home, many of us can relax for a bit, maybe read the paper, sit down for a leisurely dinner, and then watch some TV. With a three-year old, routine is key. You walk through the door and dinner needs to be in process, followed by a bath (most days), then pajamas and a show before bed (which encompasses, teeth brushing, face washing, and then stories before bed). Maybe Mrs. BA and I have eaten dinner with LBA, more often than not, we haven't. So it is now pushing past 8:30, heading for 9:00, and we have to think about dinner? Or clean up the dinner dishes?

Life is very much about priorities. I wouldn't trade my life now for anything. I love my wife, I love my children. Do I have enough leisure time? No. Do I want more? Yes. Am I OK if I don't get it for a few more years? Sure. Lives today are infinitely more complicated. Weekends used to be the time to decompress and do some things for yourself. Things change when you have two small children depending on you. Insomnia seems to be a small price to pay. I can actually get some things done while everybody else is sleeping.

So what about you? Do you have enough leisure time? Oh, and GO GIANTS!

Paterno Makes How Much?

Today is Joe Paterno's 81st birthday. Last year, I wrote about Joe Pa's injury sustained on the sidelines during a game, which kept him off the field for a game, something he rarely does. At the end of November, it was revealed how much Joe Paterno is paid for coaching the Nittany Lions of Penn State University.

$512,664

On November 29, the amount was released by the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System after The Patriot-News of Harrisburg won a five-year court case that was decided last week in Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court. The salary does not include other football-related income. According to an Associated Press report and an article in the New York Times, please note that in comparison, Alabama’s Nick Saban makes $4 million a year and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops makes more than $3 million. But those figures include base salaries from their universities and outside income related to football from other sources.

Further, it is fairly well known that Paterno contributes heavily to Penn State. The Library at Penn State? It's the Paterno Library.

Did I mention that Paterno turns 81 today? The article quotes Paterno as saying to reporters at a luncheon that Paterno "expected to coach for 3, 4 or 5 more years but probably not as many as 10."

Good for you, Joe. Good for you.

Happy Birthday, NJM!

So it came fifteen minutes after your birthday ended, but let's just say they did it for you on your special day.

And of course there was this . . .

New England Patriots 52 . . . . . . . . . . . . Washington Redskins 7

I'm going to bed now.

A Super Sports Day

Yesterday was, of course, Super Bowl Sunday. Yes I watched, no I am not happy with the outcome, but, yes the Colts played better and deserved the victory. And that is all I will say about that. There was not much point in watching after the opening play anyway . . . I was not all that impressed with the commercials, although my two favorites were the Blockbuster one (with the mouse) and the "rock / paper / scissors" Bud Light commercial. If you missed any, the nice folks at iFilm have them all online here.

The day started with me planning to go to the grocery store to get a few last minute provisions for the big game. Can you really watch the Super Bowl without little hot dogs and Pizza Rolls? Right before leaving though, we received a call from one of my wife's colleagues. Her husband works for the Washington Capitals and she was calling to offer us tickets to that day's game, starting at 1:00pm (this was about 11:30am). My wife was starting to decline, when I piped up that I could pull this off (a quick run to the store, off to the game via Metro, and back in time long before football player introductions). So off I went.

The quickest shopping trip (including a beer run - separate places in MD, still getting used to that) and back to drop off the groceries. Then off to pick up my brother in law and then to the subway station to get on the train. We made it to the Verizon Center and into our seats before the first face off.

The game featured the Capitals taking on the New York Islanders. Astute readers of this blog will note that I have no use for the Islanders, having been raised to follow the only true team from the New York City area, the Rangers. Things would be a lot better off if the NHL would revert to the original six, although I would be amenable to including the 1967 expansion. There is a part of me that refuses to acknowledge the four cups won in the early 1980s.

The game itself was rather humdrum. Each team scored a goal but the bigger excitement was the "glass guys" who came out on five separate occasions, including once to replace a pane of glass fractured from a Caps shot on goal. With the score tied at the end of regulation, the game headed into overtime. After that five minutes, the game moved to the "shootout," something I had yet to see. Basically it is three penalty shots for each team. One team is selected to shoot first (in this case it was the Caps) and the two teams alternate until three shots have been made by both teams. If the two are tied after the six shots (yesterday it wasn't) it goes to sudden death with the team notching a goal in the round over the other winning the game. But as mentioned, the Caps scored once in the shootout and the Isles scored none. So the Caps won the game 2-1.

Home from the game to get the rest of the pre-game, pre-show. Got to see Billy Joel sing the National Anthem (in the rain) and then the start of the game (in the rain) and the first time ever an opening kickoff was returned for a touchdown. As I said, from there it sort of just went downhill.

Army-Navy Football Game

On this date (November 29) in 1890, the first Army-Navy football game was played at West Point. Navy creamed the cadets, 24-0, in the game played at West Point. This weekend, on December 2, the two squads will take to the field in Philadelphia for the 107th meeting between these two teams. This will be the 80th year the game will be played in the City of Brotherly Love. The careful observer will immediately recognize there are 116 years between 1890 and 2006, so what's up with the other nine games?

The first interruption, and the best story, came in 1894 (from the Nimitz Library website):

A reputed incident between a Rear Admiral and a Brigadier General, which nearly led to a duel after the 1893 Navy victory, caused President Cleveland to call a Cabinet meeting in late February 1894. When the meeting ended, Secretary of the Navy Hillary A. Herbert, and Secretary of War, Daniel S. Lamont, issued general orders to their respective Academies stating that teams would be allowed to visit Annapolis and West Point to conduct football games, but the Army and Navy football teams were "prohibited in engaging in games elsewhere." The result was that the Army/Navy game was suspended for the next five years. The annual series would not resume until 1899, when it was played in a neutral locale, Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

There were two other interruptions, in 1917-1918 during the United States involvement in World War I, and finally in 1928-1929, when there was disagreement on player eligibility.

In the interest of fairness here are links to the two academies for information on the Classic football rivalry.

• The Nimitz Library, Special Collections and Archives, United States Naval Academy
• Army Public Affairs Office, Information about Army-Navy football

It's that time of Year!

There is a period of time in the fall, when sports nuts can go crazy, particularly this one. Today, in most places, tickets for the NHL season went on sale. I purchased tickets this morning to see the Washington Capitals take on the New York Rangers at the Verizon Center here in DC. Having grown up in New York, I am a diehard Rangers fan. Even growing up on Long Island, I refused to be a fan of that other New York team, even after their several Stanley Cup wins. Islander fans tend to be fairweather fans, anyway, having created their fan base when they won all those cups, while they now wonder if they even still play hockey on Long Island.

I have vivid memories of going to games in Madison Square Garden to watch the Rangers. I have sat in the "good seats" where you can almost feel the checks being made along the boards. I have sat in the self-proclaimed "family section," the "blue seats," up in the rafters of the Garden, where Rangers are praised and Denis Potvin will always suck, being offered whiskey and Italian pastries by the fans. I toiled along with the Rangers in the 80s, watching dreams of the Cup fade away, and rejoiced in the 90s, when the Cup finally returned to the ice of New York.

Even the Garden is an icon unto itself, playing host to the Rangers and the Knicks, and other sporting events. The circus always stops at the Garden (but that is a story for another day), the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, and countless concerts, including Billy Joel, who played a record number of sold out shows there in early 2006. I find it interesting that the "World's most famous arena," as it is often labeled, has never taken on a corporate sponsorship and changed its name. For that matter, ditto for all the sports arenas in the NY area.

Recently, the NHL lost an entire season, when management and players could not compromise. In the sports world, hockey players are grossly underpaid, especially considering the punishment their bodies are put through in a season. I don't begrudge them anything, and feel they should be paid proportionately better than the prima donnas that play on the baseball field.

Which brings me to that time of year again. After purchasing my tickets, I was able to turn on the TV in the afternoon and catch the Yankees and the Red Sox face off in the house that Ruth built, Yankee Stadium. As is right and fitting the Yankees sit atop the AL East with the Red Sox appropriately out of it. The aberration of the Red Sox World Series victory is fading into the past. When I moved to the DC area, I found myself going to Orioles games, particularly when the Yankees would come to Baltimore. It is the only time that Camden Yards would sell out.

When the Nationals arrived in DC from Montreal, I found a new team to root for. I could console myself with a National League team to cheer for, having never been a Mets fan (see the Islanders, above). This season has not been kind to either the O's or the Nats, so it will have to be a chorus of "wait 'til next year" once again.

Of course, football season is also upon us. The Redskins are off to a stumbling start, having lost every pre-season game and the first game of the season. They face the Cowboys tomorrow in Dallas. I have also secured tickets for a Giants-Redskins game at FedEx Field in DC on December 30.

So for the next few months, the days will grow shorter, the weather will turn crisp with the advent of fall, and sports fanatics can enjoy the overlap of seasons as "the Boys of October" take the field for the World Series, the gangs of the gridiron will battle each week, and men with sticks will lace up the skates to face off against one another for another season of the NHL. Enjoy!