It looks like Kermit had a little too much to drink… :)

I’m at Angela’s pirate party. Arrrr.

Honestly, what’s with all the massive blackouts this summer/fall? Am I wrong to feel suspicious about this? (Especially when the three countries “targeted” so far were all big supporters of the war in Iraq?)

UPDATE: And now, Tennessee! What next… Alabama? :)

Hurricane Juan is heading toward Nova Scotia, with 105 mph winds at this hour. It is expected to make landfall tomorrow evening.

Check out local coverage from CBC Nova Scotia, the Halifax Herald, and the Cape Breton Post.

Well, sh*t.

Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t.

(Hey, this is still a family website. I gotta keep it clean. But sh*t.)

Cal 34, USC 31, final in 3OT.

You gotta feel for the USC students who went up to Cal for the annual Weekender, expecting to see Conquest #4 in the Trojans’ march to a national championship, only to instead have their heart strings tugged this way and that in the most intense fashion, before finally being snapped by the utterly crushing finish (if they didn’t have a heart attack first, from all the drama).

I feel their pain: I remember experiencing a similar feeling at the one Weekender I attended, the Stanford game three years ago, which ended in a game-winning field goal by the Cardinal’s third-string kicker as time expired. But that game was nowhere near as important as this one, and — though this might have seemed impossible then — nowhere near as heartbreaking.

After the incredible blocked field goal in the second overtime that temporarily kept USC’s undefeated record alive, I commented aloud that, if the Trojans went on to win the game and the national championship, that blocked kick would be forever remembered in Trojan Nation as the ultimate season-saving play. Instead, alas, a 39-yard Wide Left kick in the third overtime will be remembered as the death knell of a potential perfect season.

But hats off to Cal. They played a great game, and deserved the win.

Beat the Wildcats.

After a thoroughly lackluster first half that left them trailing 21-7 at halftime, the #3-ranked USC Trojans just tied unranked Cal with two touchdowns in the space of less than a minute. The first came on a masterful offensive drive, the second on an interception run into the end zone. It’s 21-21 with 7:16 to go in the third quarter. Keep it up, Trojans!

UPDATE: Well, they haven’t exactly kept it up. Thanks to a 51-yard Cal field goal, it’s now 24-21 — and thanks to a Cal interception just now, the Golden Bears have the ball, with 7:29 left in the fourth quarter.

Chicago 7, Pittsburgh 2: The Cubbies win the division! YESSS!!! My two favorite teams are going to the playoffs!

(Yes, my favorite teams are the Red Sox and Cubs. I am a sports masochist. But not this year!)

The Cubs clinched a tie for the NL Central just now, in the first game of a doubleheader against Pittsburgh, and now they have a chance to clinch the division outright in game two. Woohoo!

UPDATE: The Cubs lead, 6-0 in the sixth inning! That Red Sox-Cubs World Series is looking more and more possible. :)

I’m at a country fair in Litchfield County.

I’m on a Metro North train to New Haven, CT. This weekend, I go home; next weekend, to Arizona; and in three weekends, to Notre Dame. Anyway, here is my reflection in the window.

With the Red Sox clinching the American League wild card last night, the AL playoffs are all set: it’ll be the East champion Yankees vs. the Central champion Twins, and the West champion Athletics vs. the Wild Card winner (and Soon-to-Be World Series Champion) Red Sox. :)

Thus, all of the pennant race action in the regular season’s final weekend is over in the National League.

There, the Cubs and Astros are tied for the NL Central with three games remaining, after Chicago lost and Houston won last night. Meanwhile, the Marlins have clinched a tie for the wild card; they eliminated the Phillies this week, but there is still a chance that they could finish tied for the wild card with the second-place team from the Central.

There are a couple of intriguing scenarios. First off, in the Central, the Cardinals are technically still alive too, but they need to win out, and the Cubs and Astros both need to lose all three of their remaining games. That’s unlikely, but if it happened, there would be a three-way tie for the division title! To be honest, I don’t know how three-way ties are broken. I suppose I could research it, but my lunch break only lasts so long!

Anyway, that’d be nuts, but the craziest scenario would be this: the Cubs and Astros both win all three of their remaining games, so they remain tied in the NL Central and need a playoff to determine the division champion; meanwhile, the Marlins lose all of their remaining games, so they finish tied for the wild card with the second-place team in the Central — i.e., the loser of the Cubs-Astros playoff game. I presume there would then have to be a double-playoff: Cubs vs. Astros for the Central, then Cubs/Astros loser vs. Marlins for the wild card!

More likely, however, neither of those scenarios will happen, and the weekend will be a simple showdown between the Cubs (who have three games against the Pirates) and the Astros (who have three games against the Brewers) for the NL Central crown. And all I have to say about that is: Go, Cubbies, go! :)

The best thing about New York is, with the subway, you don’t have to worry about who’s the designated driver. :) I’m home. Way to go, Sox!

Red Sox 14, Orioles 3, final! Bring on Oakland!

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