Super Bowl Matchup

Well, the teams are set for Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa. The Arizona Cardinals will "host" the Pittsburgh Steelers (the NFC is the designated home team in odd numbered Super Bowls).

I have to say, it has been a year of bad predictions and much crow eaten. I didn't think Arizona would get past Atlanta. I didn't think they could hang with Carolina. And I knew that they would get blown out by the Eagles. Well, I have to say, after watching that game, the Cardinals really are a good team. Kurt Warner isn't fazed by blitz pressure, and Larry Fitzgerald is catching anything thrown within 20 yards of him. This team was mediocre during the season, but peaked at the right time.

The Steelers, on the other hand, have the best defense in the NFL right now. It will be interesting to see if their blitz packages will rattle Warner, or if he will pick apart their secondary like he did the Eagles'. Roethlisberger will need to have a big game, and that Steelers running game will need to be going.

I think the Steelers will win the game, but I think it will be closer than expected. The Steelers are going to the big game for the second time in four years, and for the seventh time overall. The Cardinals are going to their first Super Bowl (they did win an NFL Championship in 1947). However, Kurt Warner was the Super Bowl MVP for the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV, so he has "been there, done that."

It will be an interesting game, and I am looking forward to seeing it.

~E~

Star Wars Story

OK, so I get an email at work today from a colleague of mine, who is also a Star Wars fan. Somewhere out there, he came across a link that was extremely funny.

Basically, this is a retelling of the plot of the original Star Wars trilogy by someone who has never seen all of the films in their entirety. As a Star Wars nut, I found it mucho hilarious.



Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

~E~

Under the Weather....

The joys of winter. Those wonderful, bitterly cold days, when you have so much sinus pressure that it feels like you need to take a drill directly to your forehead, just to get some relief.

Ahhh...such a great feeling!

So, it has been a yucky few days (or, more realistically, weeks). Zachary has had croup and impetigo again, and as he got over that, he had a cold to back it up.

Meanwhile, I had a cold that turned into a sinus infection, that turned into a sinus infection plus an ear infection. Yay me!

And while all of that was going on, Jessica came down with a sinus infection too!

So it has been a wonderful few weeks at our house. And there is nothing like force-feeding a toddler medicine, let me tell you that! Jessica is a lifesaver, because I can't do it. I don't know how she did it during the day -- holding him down (that is both arms and legs), holding his head, and shooting the antibiotic/steroid/fever reducer down his throat, and avoiding the inevitable spray as he tries not to swallow it. All that on her own. Crazy. Moms are superheroes, straight up.

Anyway, that is the main reason for the lack of bloggage here. Well that, and the fact that we have been so busy lately as a family, and I've been so busy at work. Just a crazy time.

Who says things slow down after the holidays?

Later,
~E~

End of an Era...

Today is a sad day for Atlanta Braves fans. Free agent pitcher, and 21-year Brave John Smoltz is set to sign a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox.

Braves Nation is understandably upset. The fans (most of them, anyway) feel betrayed by the organization. I don't really feel betrayed, per se, but I do think that Frank Wren and the boys in the front office should have given Smoltz whatever it took to stay here. Then again, spending $5 million in guaranteed money is not the smartest baseball move for a team that is financially limited in more ways than a team like the Red Sox.

This is a tough one. I love Smoltz, but I think ultimately he chased the money and another shot at the playoffs; he chose that over sticking with the Braves (who, by the way, did offer a contract that was fair, but not what he was looking for). I'm torn here.

I do hope he does well for the Sox. And I hope he beats the Yankees every chance he gets. I also hope that our Braves can still make some moves and fill some holes. Sign Derek Lowe, and sign Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu (or even Manny Ramirez). And bust our butts trying to get back to October.

Here's a quick mock-up of what John Smoltz might look like in late September:


Godspeed, Bearded Icon.

~E~

They did it!

Holly and Patrick got married this past weekend. The wedding went well, and it was beautiful.

Both Jessica and I were in the wedding, and Zachary was a ring bearer.

He was the life of the party, too. I think the photographers got more shots of him than they did of Patrick and Holly!

I, along with Holly's friend Amy sung one of her favorite songs, "100 Years," by Five for Fighting. Ashley, Holly's sister, played the keyboard on the song.

It was a fun day, but very exhausting.

Special thanks to Sandra Oglesby for the pictures.

~E~