Recovery & Premiere Week

If you're wondering why it's taken me a few days to post since Sunday, it's because it's taken me this long to recover from the abysmal sports weekend that took place. If you know me at all, you know how emotionally invested I become in both Penn State and the Redskins... throw that on top of the two fantasy football teams I manage and it becomes borderline dysfunctional. And then imagine how you feel when all these teams lose and not just lose... but REALLY lose... a la Penn State or Redskins lose... If you caught any of the highlights of either game, you can understand how these two losses were felt like a backhanded slap or an oncoming migraine. I won't use this space to launch into a tirade about Penn State's coaching, or the Redskins complete offensive breakdown in the second half because I wasted too much of my time on Monday rehashing every possible scenario with my fellow Skins and PSU compadres. Just know that I am hoping for a rebound this weekend in some way... some glimmer of hope for the sporting future... Until then, there is TV premiere week to distract me...

So... what shows are we DVRing this week?

Monday: Heroes, Journeyman, Chuck, and How I Met Your Mother
Tuesday: Really nothing on this day unless you count Dancing with the Stars - Which Lauren can't stand anyway... oh wait The Unit!
Wednesday: Bionic Woman, and for now the Practice
Thursday: Smallville, Earl, and of course THE OFFICE
Fri-Sat: Nada
Sunday: Family Guy

What are my winners so far? Well, I have to say that Family Guy definitely opened with a very good premiere. Their "Star Wars" spoof was hysterical which featured Stewie as Darth Vader and Peter as Hans Solo. I had planned on adding a link to the clip on YouTube, but believe it or not, Fox made a copyright claim and forced YouTube to take all of their Family Guy clips down... Unbelievable.

Anyway, on top of a stellar Family Guy, I was very impressed with The Unit and HIMYM, giving them all 4 stars. After watching Journeyman, I definitely think it has potential and will give it 3 stars with a strong likelihood it could reach 4. To me, Heroes was only mediocre this week also earning 3 stars. Bionic Woman could be interesting, but I was not really that impressed last night giving it 2 stars.

Left to watch from DVR: Chuck, Kid Nation, and the Practice. Stay tuned for my reviews on these three as well as my commentary on tonight's premieres!

Perfect Picnic Day

Jefferson Memorial
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

Today the weather was so nice, Lauren had the great idea to head down to the Mall and have ourselves a picnic. We chose to park by the FDR Memorial and walk around the reflecting pool before having lunch. When you live here, you forget sometimes how lucky we are to live so close to these national treasures. It literally takes us 10 minutes to be across the bridge and parked...

Anyway, we could not have asked for a more perfect day... unless of course the Skins win... then it's the perfect day. ;)

Two Years

For those of you following along at home... Today marks two years from the day I walked into Clyde's after work one night and was blown away by a blond at the bar...

Two years, and so many great memories later we're the happiest we've ever been and as you know, 10 months away from our big day!

Our thanks to all of you who have been a part of our lives these past two years and have been a part of making these wonderful memories.

All Good Things...

... must come to an end.

Though the weather has not been the greatest these past few days, it's been nice to slow down and chill out. I was saying to Lauren the other day, what makes vacation down here so great is that the hardest decision you have to make on a daily basis is what you want to eat for dinner. Between now and July 12, I imagine that will not be the case, which is why this week has been so important... and appreciated...

Goodbye OBX...

A Tad Chilly...

Today the wind was a lot stronger than we had hoped which made laying out a challenge... That being said, we have each found different ways to atypical ways to relax at the beach.

Here, Lauren is attempting to get some sun despite the layers of clothing that were required.

This is pretty much all I've done today... that and keep an eye on the games on TV.

Sophie and Sadie causing nothing but trouble today...

Aurene and Steve playing with Sophie on the beach.

No matter how fast Aurene ran, Sophie was right behind her.

At the Beach

After a relatively uneventful drive yesterday, Lauren and I arrived down in Kitty Hawk to join my family for a week in the Outer Banks. 6 adults and 3 dogs, one of which is still a puppy. Can you say craziness?

Looks like Saturday is becoming more and more about survival these days in the college football ranks. The parity that exists these days seems to make each week about winning and moving on... Penn State managed to do this, though allowing 3 TDs in the final quarter surely won't sit well with JoePa (we listed on XM on the way down). Three teams that didn't make it through the weekend: Georgia Tech, Louisville (goodbye national championship hopes), and UCLA (same to you). With Louisville now having a loss, it will be interesting to see if they dash the hopes of their fellow Big East teams, i.e. West Virginia and Rutgers. Same with UCLA... do they have enough talent to bounce back and knock of USC later this season when they get their chance?

On to the big boys... My FFL matchups today are going to be tough with me down a few points in both leagues to my opponent. That being said, I was not favored last week as well and pulled off two very convincing wins. Will the trend continue? At least I don't have to stress about the 'Skins today with them playing tomorrow night in Philly. That being said, it still looks like it's going to be a nice day of sun and football...

Yay.

DC Wins, I Lose...

Last night, DC United continued it white hot 9 game unbeaten streak last night barely beating Real Salt Lake 2-1. The game saw Emilio score his 19th goal (who somehow is still in 2nd in the MVP voting right now behind Juan Pablo Angel), 8 yellow cards, 2 PK saves, and several beers thrown in the air. On an amazing night where you could sense Fall returning to the DC area (finally), a small group accompanied Lauren and I to the game where we saw DC take the lead off of a great goal by Emilio, only to see if disappear minutes later from a long shot by RSL. The level of play then spiraled down into a seriously chippy match with the ref seemingly calling phantom calls on DC while allowing RSL to throw 'bows at Olsen and several others. In any case, we were finally rewarded with a PK that Gomez promptly missed. Seconds later, a phantom PK was issued to RSL which Perkins made a diving save on. Finally, about 10 minutes later, Fred set up Gomez on a beautiful cross that Gomez nodded past Rimando. All in all, we earned 3 pts, took a 7 pt lead with 5 matches remaining in the season and locked up a berth in the playoffs.

Unfortunately... the previous night I was not so lucky at Jeff's steamy house of poker, donating my $20 to the eventual winner... the steamy host himself... I suppose there is always next time... Though $20 poorer, we had a good time and had 2 newcomers join us which should make it easier to get together more often in the future. Until then...

Sweep Complete

For those of you who care... the two games last night did not make much difference in my FFL games as my weekend ended in a 5-0 sweep across my teams... PSU, Skins, United, Socks but No Drawers, and Live Action.

We have a friendly game of poker scheduled for tonight and DC United plays again tomorrow night at home, so let's hope the streak continues...

More on poker tomorrow...

White Out Notre Dame

What Penn State is all about...

Bring on Michigan...

#12

Latest AP and USA Today Poll is out and Penn State is ranked #12. I suppose it's no surprise given that both Georgia and Virginia Tech lost ahead of us. With the Big Ten season looming two weeks away we only have an opportunity to beat two ranked opponents this year... Ohio State (#10) and Wisconsin (#7) and both of those games are at home...

I like our chances.

Looking for a Sweep...

As I mentioned the other day, come fall, the weekends are all about the teams, and how the teams do... A successful and "good" weekend is one where you can pull a sweep. That being said, Penn State posted a 31-10 win yesterday. Earlier today, the Skins won 16-13 in OT and DC United posted a 4-2 win in hot, humid RFK Stadium. DC's offense was too much for New England and with the win pulled ahead by 4 points in the Eastern Conference with just a handful of games remaining before the playoffs.

All that remains are my FFL teams which are currently both winning... On top of all of that Tiger pulled away today at the BMW championships to take a commanding lead in the FedEx Cup Standings. I'm not entirely sure why Mickelson decided not to play this weekend, but given that idiotic decision, he will have to play out of his mind next weekend if he wants to have any hope of winning. That being said, where in the world did Steve Stricker come from? How is it that he has played so consistently for the past three weekends that he is sitting in a great position right now? Where has he been in the majors?

So... can I pull a sweep??? Stay tuned...

Redemption

After a sluggish start and two turnovers on our first two possessions (one which was returned for a TD), Penn State was able to pull away, led by a very strong defensive performance. Personally, my biggest takeaways from seeing my first game on TV this year are:

1. Our defense is going to be pretty beast
2. Our offensive line needs a little work
3. Morelli has to work on his decision making skills
4. D Wheels has earned that nickname for a reason... he is so fast
5. Our stadium and fans are #1 in the country - check out this whiteout

After two weeks, our campaign for "the season" is still in tact... Next week, we've got another warm-up game against Buffalo (who actually thumped Temple good yesterday) before heading up to the Big House to face what could potentially be an 0-3 Michigan team... Who would have thunk?

2 Month No Show

Well, the fan mail has been pouring in, wondering where I have wandered off to, so I figured it was time to return from my hiatus and entertain the masses. To everyone who expressed their concern, thank you, I'm fine, we've just been busy being busy.

What have we been up to over the past two months?

Well... a simple check of the Google Calendar, which by the way we swear by, shows that we've been to a friend's wedding, Lauren has been to the DR, Beckham came to town (prior to ending his season), we spent a weekend in Ocean City, our parents finally met, and at work, it's been about the busiest as it has ever been in the 7 years I've been there (more on that next week).

So, the summer is now over and we're entering what has to be one of my favorite times of the year... Fall...

What does Fall mean to me? OBX, FFL, NCAA, and NFL... translated... Outer Banks with my family, Fantasy Football, Penn State games, and Skins games. This is the time of year where a man's happiness is directly proportional to how his teams do during the weekend... when we'll ask one another, how did you do, and we'll respond 2-2 or 1-3 or if it's a great weekend... 4-0. What does this mean? That your fantasy teams won, Penn State won, and the Redskins won.

Anyway, with week 1 upon us, Socks but no Drawers takes on the Scrappy Irishmen in the WeatherBug league, and Young Action takes on the DC Lions in the AFL. Penn State hosts Notre Dame, while the 'Skins host the Dolphins. It's too early to call the fantasy games since I have yet to see how my guys are going to do this season, but I'll call for a convincing Penn State win, and a close Redskins win.

For those of you who care, and are still reading, I'll paste my fantasy rosters at the end of this post... To everyone else, the hiatus is over. Please check back as the fall progresses to stay up to date on all of the sports happenings, the wedding planning, and all of the exciting things happening at WeatherBug. Until next time...

Socks But No Drawers Roster
J. Cutler QB
R. Brown RB
L. Johnson RB
P. Burress WR
D. Driver WR
M. Stover K
K. Winslow WR-TE
D. Dolphins DST
B. Favre QB
D. Foster RB
J. Lewis RB
A. El WR
B. Marshall WR
D. Hackett WR-TE

Young Action Roster
T. Brady QB
W. McGahee RB
C. Portis RB
R. Brown WR
L. Evans WR
J. Hanson K
S. Holmes WR-TE
D. Seahawks DST
J. Campbell QB
J. Norwood RB
D. Williams RB
D. Bennett WR
J. Cotchery WR
K. Curtis WR-TE

Leaving Sumter Behind

Leaving Sumter Behind
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

After 3 hours in the sun, we were pretty burned and beat, and had heard enough of the history of Fort Sumter. I have to admit though that I find the Civil War one of the most fascinating wars and hearing how the battle for Fort Sumter started the Civil War was pretty interesting. It's hard to believe that in the very first battle, there was no loss of life.

Too bad it didn't stay that way for the rest of the war.

Suspension Bridge

Lauren, Myself, and the Bridge
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

Who knew that the largest cable suspension bridge in North America was down here in Charleston? I was actually surprised.

In any case, here is a picture of Lauren and I on the water taxi taking us over to Patriot Point to catch a ferry over to Fort Sumter. We missed the ferry from downtown Charleston by literally 2 minutes. In the end, our taxi ride saved us those same two minutes had we waited for the 3:00 ferry, 3 hours later. :)

Lauren's Dream Breakfast Place

Lauren's Dream Breakfast Place
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

What a great idea... a breakfast place that specializes in cereal. We didn't actually go in, but we both thought this could be a neat little niche place back home as well... Different kinds of milk, a wide range of cereal, coffee, and wi-fi!

But would enough people come to sustain the business... that's the question.

Love the Architecture

Love the Architecture
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

Lauren and I are in Charleston, SC this weekend and as we walked along the bay, despite the nasty humidty and extreme temperatures, we both love the architecture of the south. Nice palmettos, big porches, big courtyards...

A far cry from the colonial houses we have back in Virginia.

Humidity and Sweating

You know how you get that feeling that you can't cool off after working out, as hard as you try? Well, this morning, even after stretching for 15 minutes and taking a long cold shower I can't stop sweatin'. And walking down the street in this damned humidity does not help!

Love DC summers...

Ocean City Day 2

Much better weather prevailed on Tuesday with temperatures in the low 80's and winds a lot calmer than they were on Monday which made for a great day of fun in the sun, sand, and surf.

MIOL's cousin joined us and here is a shot of the two of them catching up and waiting for the perfect wave.

Here, her cousin actually caught the wave while MIOL was left behind.

Here, MIOL FINALLY, catches the wave she's been waiting for, and I can finally go back to my chair and finish my book!

All in all, we had a great day, got more than enough sun, and will look forward to getting back to the Eastern Shore again soon.

Couple at the Beach

Couple at the Beach
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

MIOL and I are on the Eastern Shore for the long weekend and today went over to Ocean City for the day. Unfortunately, the combination of getting more than enough sun yesterday at the pool, combined with a stiff breeze made the visit short. We'll give it another shot tomorrow and hope for a warmer day.

Not surprisingly, the cool weather did not keep other beachgoers off of the beach as the sand was packed as far as the eye could see in all directions.

Overall though, a pretty relaxing day... which has been much needed.