Picks To Pick Against
We’re on the verge of that panic state that precedes any big trip. We’ve had clothes laid out since the weekend. We have about 38 lists with things we need to buy, pack, and take care of before we depart Friday morning. I’m also writing a baseball preview for my paper, L. has a playdate scheduled for this afternoon, and there…
He Knows The Deal
Straight up, I did not like Maurice Clarett back when he played for Ohio State. Part of it was just that I don’t like Ohio State and I hated their coach at the time, Jim Tressel. There were always rumors about him off-the-field, too. Rumors that seemed to be proven true with some legal issues after he left college that…
Not My Favorite Bracket
Next Sunday I’m going to be walking on a beach, swimming in a pool, and otherwise enjoying the Florida sun on day two of our week on Captiva Island. God forbid there is rain or it suddenly gets cool and I’m forced to watch basketball all day. Because I think my plan next weekend is going to be to soak…
Season’s End
Great seasons often come to an end early in March. Teams that cruised through the regular season run into injuries, over-confidence, or just better opponents and walk off the court for the final time with an L next to their name. That happened to M.’s volleyball team last night. After winning their first nine matches, including the first two of…
Friday Vid
“The One I Love” – Big Country Odds are if you mention the band Big Country to most people in our generation, they immediately and only think of one song. Which makes sense, as other than that classic, Big Country was never huge in America. But they had a couple other smaller hits here in the States, including this gorgeous…
Unfulfilled Promise
This post is one of the most difficult pieces I’ve ever had to publish. Not because I’m sharing some rough personal news or writing about an event that has caused me emotional stress. But rather because it has been percolating in my head for roughly two months, rewritten multiple times, and I’ve spent hours doing research on it. And I’m…
TV Notes
A few TV notes. First, I was a couple days late watching the series finale of Parks and Recreation. In fact, I was a couple weeks behind and watched the final five episodes in a two-night binge. And since that was two weeks ago, this is verrrrrry late. But still… An absolutely perfect and tremendous end to a nearly perfect…
⦿ Friday Links
As I noted in last week’s Friday Vid, Courtney Barnett’s new album is out later this month. Grantland’s Steven Hyden recently spoke with her and shares his impressions of both the album and how she has exploded onto the music scene. Courtney Barnett Writes All the Best Songs ’Tis the season for articles diving into what is wrong with college…
Friday Vid(s)
“Let’s Groove” – Earth, Wind & Fire EW&F was a big part of the broad musical education my parents gave me. I remember there being a couple of their albums in our record crate, and I loved flipping through them because of their fantastic, futuristic, outer-space themed covers and liner notes. The music was pretty solid, too. I found myself…
Eleven The Hard Way
I went on record a couple months ago saying that KU’s conference championship streak would end this year. As always, that was a good reminder not to take anything I write here as basis for betting your monthly mortgage payment. I don’t know that this year’s title is the most improbable of the streak. I don’t know that it’s the…