Favre Goes Down

I'm not sure how many of you actually keep up on games in the NFL, but if you were able to stay up last night, and get the NFL Network, you were treated to a great Thursday night game that featured two 10-1 teams in the NFC facing off in the Big D. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, my star QB on my work FFL league, Brett Favre, went down with an injury in the first quarter, leaving me with -2 for his efforts and an FFL team without a stud entering the playoffs next weekend. The story should be that the Packers lost 37-27 even though their 2nd string, Aaron Rodgers played very well considering, but in reality, the story is that after building an 9-3 start to my season, my ability to make it to the money round of the playoffs is in jeopardy.

A big weekend is ahead as my survival in the big money league is going to be determined by my ability to beat my own brother, and the lack of points from Favre will impact my playoff position in the work league.

Stay tuned...

It's Official

I'm sick. Doctor diagnosed me with a sinus infection and a very red ear. On a prescription now and hopefully will have this whole thing kicked in the next few days... It's been a long 9 days and being sick has definitely gotten old.

Thanks for all of the well wishes...

Sick

Despite the efforts of my amazing immune system, I fell victim to whatever crud has been going around last Tuesday... and even though I've been hopped up on Tylenol Cold & Flu, over a week later, I am still fighting it... and it blows. I think I am going to give in and try to make an appointment today for some real drugs as the directions say on the box, if the symptoms continue for more than two days, you should consult a physician. Which makes me wonder, is it even possible to kick a sore throat in two days? If so, why on earth would they even sell medication that is only supposed to get you through two days? And am I doing any kind of damage by taking OTC medication consistently for 7 days? I guess we'll find out.

Some Fresh Air

After yesterday's disappointment, and my continued frustration with old coaching, combined with our 8.5 hours spent at the Conference for the Engaged, we needed some fresh air this morning. So, after driving by the entrance to Fort Marcy every day for the past 7 years, we figured we'd stop there on our way up to Great Falls to see what was there. How on earth have I lived here this long and not known that there was such a great hiking trail so close to the house?

I believe Fort Marcy marks the beginning of the Potomac Heritage Trail, which runs from just south of Rt. 123 to Roosevelt Island, a total of 5.1 miles. We only hiked about 2.5 miles south and then back again, but even that short time frame had us working up a sweat.

A real treat is the fact that you're right down at river level, in a part of the Potomac that is very slow moving and quiet. Here's a look at the Chain Bridge that crosses from VA into DC. As you can see, it was still enough to shine a reflection.

Here's a shot looking down the river towards Alexandria.

An hour and a half later, we had a nice workout, some quiet time together, and discovered yet another reason why living in Alexandria is so great. Now let's just hope the Skins don't bring back the frustration.

Redskins vs. Eagles

Redskins vs. Eagles
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

In my holiday excitement, I forgot to mention that I was at the debacle of the game yesterday. Sara and Michael were nice enough to invite Lauren and I along to enjoy their club seats. I think we jinxed the team by leaving early as the game went downhill the minute we left in the 3rd quarter.

T'is the Season

I love that it only takes for Starbucks to switch to their holiday decorum to get me in the spirit for Christmas. I walked in to the Starbucks by my gym this morning and all of the normal packages of coffee were replaced with green and red packages of the Christmas Blend, and the backdrop for the drink menu was the holiday red. Granted they've had the gingerbread lattes ready for a few weeks now, but hearing the jazz music, seeing the red and green displays, and combine that with a cold and rainy day... I'm ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas... my favorite stretch of the year.

It almost makes the Redskins abysmal play yesterday disappear... Almost. The weekend ended with me going 2-2... A Penn State win and a win in my Exit 16 FFL league, though the two teams that needed the wins were the Skins and my AFL FFL team. Oh well. Think holidays... think holidays...

Why Me?

How do I lose my two star RBs in 2 weeks for the rest of the season? Ronnie Brown and Larry Johnson out for the season essentially kill any hope I have come playoff time, assuming I can even make it now. Unbelievable.

Halftime 17-7

Seems like the only way our defense can stop the Buckeyes is the clock running out for the half. It's a very rare that our offense is not giving away the game and our defense is not holding up.

JoePa better light a fire under their ass in the locker room to get them ready to play in the second half. The stadium is just waiting for something to go nuts on... I hope we get that in the 3rd quarter...

Until then... We are...

After One

Defense has been hard to find so far... After each team had 2 possessions in the first quarter, OSU leads Penn State 10-7 after one.

That's What I'm Talking About

7-3 after a possession from each squad. 7-3 Penn State that is...

The stadium is rocking and this promises to be a game to remember.

Game On Son

It's 30 minutes from kickoff and we are fighting our way through the crowd to get in.

So far the day has seen higher seeded south Florida, Kentucky, and Florida go down. Based on the crowd I have seen so far today, Ohio state will be no different.

Penn State 20
Ohio State 17

Game on son... We're ready.

We decide the snap count.

Speakerphone

What's the deal with more and more people these days carrying on their private conversations on speakerphone? I really don't want to hear what Tito had for breakfast or why your daughter needs you to run to CVS. They make an earpiece so you can hold it up to your ear. Spare us the annoyance and use it please.

Unnecessary Nail Biter

Unbelievable. As has been the case in the previous games when it looked like the Skins had it nicely sewn up, the game came down to the final play. After staking a 21-6 lead we let Arizona climb back into it after they scored the tying TD with 45 seconds left to go. However, the D came up big shutting the AZ O down on the 2 point conversion.

You'd think that was it... Which we did as we headed for the exit with the other thousands who assumed it was over. Yet, my cell phone was buzzing and the people around us were screaming as Arizona recovered the onside kickoff and lined up for a game winning, 55 yard field goal. So Phill and I huddled around a TV in the concourse and watched Rackers push the kick left. A nail biter indeed.

Redskins 21
Arizona 19

Next week: New England, 49-28 winners today. Brady had 6 TDs and is well on his way to breaking the TD record set by Manning a few years ago.

Should be an interesting game next Sunday. For now, I'll take the 4-2 record.

4th Quarter

After three quarters, the Skins lead 21-6 thanks to a short run from Portis. My Portis FFL stats at this point read 35 yards rushing and 2 TDs for 15 points. Thank god they are giving him the ball near the goal line...

Btw, can you believe Brady has 5 TDs already against Miami? Talk about a FFL dream...

At the Half

After it looked like the Redskins were poised to go into the half up 21-0 or at the minimum 17-0 Campbell turned the ball over which led to an eventual touchdown. The one bright spot on that unfortunate turn of events was that the extra point was blocked. Thus, at the end of the first half, the Skins are up 14-6.

But seriously, the sun is hot for October. This is ridiculous.

At the End of One

Thanks to a fortuitous interception (courtesy of Kurt Warner), the Redskins took 11 plays to punch it in the end zone for a 7-0 lead. I think I'm coming home with a sunburn...

Game Day

Beautiful day for football... Skins vs. the Cards.

The skins are 8 point favorites here with the Cardinals starting Warner despite the injury last week. That being said, the Skins are missing almost their entire offensive line... So we'll see...

There is supposedly a sold out stadium here today, though looking around it looks like a lot of people are choosing to pass up this amazing day to spend it somewhere else.

Stars

No I'm not seeing any. Last night Lauren and I went to the 930 Club to see the Canadian darlings, Stars. The place was sold out and a far contrast to what we saw on Tuesday for the Maroon 5 show at Verizon.

After navigating our way through a slightly frightening Howard University homecoming night, we arrived with enough time to grab a beer and catch up with some friends before the start of the show. Stars led off with their heart thumping instrumental from their new album, In the Bedroom After the War, and quickly transitioned into a few of their new songs. Despite the push to promote the new album, they played the songs that made me really take interest in them 2 years ago... Elevator Love Letter, Calender Girl, and of course Your Ex-Lover is Dead.

Safe to say their voices were amazing and the show was just as amazing.

When I get a second I'll try and grab some pics from Flickr from the show since I forgot yet again to take my camera.

Someone took a great series of photos from the show... click here for a closer look.

Maroon 5 at Verizon Center

Maroon 5
Originally uploaded by MeetJustin

Last night Jeff, Katie, Lauren and I went to the Maroon 5 concert at the Verizon Center. A concert that was probably 4 to 1 girls to guys with all guys there either on dates, engaged, married, or the fathers of 13 year olds.

Looking around the audience, it was definitely a mixed crowd of 30 somethings out on girls night out, parents with their junior high kids, young couples, old couples, you name it. While the music was great, the lines for drinks were ridiculous with one line taking Jeff and I a good 25 minutes for a very strong mixed drink.

Since I forgot my camera last night, I had to borrow this photo from "MeetJustin" on Flickr, but it's a pretty good representation of what we saw from our seats in Section 102.

Besides a great show, the other highlight of the evening was dinner at Zengo a Latin-Asian fusion restaurant next door to the Verizon Center. While the food was a little pricey, it was EXTREMELY tasty and I definitely recommend it to anyone who is down in that part of town looking for something new.

All in all, a great night... though a very late night...

Quiet on Campus

Old Main in the Morning
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

Amazing how quiet the campus can be on a Sunday morning... a mere 6 hours after most students had called it a night...

Funny when you think that this exact space can be jammed wall to wall people on a nice spring day and here you have it... completely empty.