Monday, November 26, 2007

Patriots Remain Undefeated

Even without playing a game, the New England Patriots clinched their fifth consecutive AFC East crown thanks to a loss by the Buffalo Bills yesterday afternoon. So the stars seemed aligned for another rout, but give the Philadelphia Eagles credit. They didn't believe the hype on the Patriots being the best NFL team in history or care that they were 23 point underdogs in last night's game. The Eagles showed up to play and they played hard, making the Patriots look very beatable. The Eagles were very aggressive - shutting down Randy Moss, going for it on fourth down and even pulling out an onside kick in the first half. The Pats defense looked slow and tired while the offense was lethargic, had lots of dropped balls and didn't even pretend to have a running game. But New England pulled it out in the fourth quarter to win 31 - 28 and improve to 11 and 0 on the year. And I'm sure Philly will be left with a quarterback controversy since backup A.J. Feeley looked like a star for much of the game - well aside from the interceptions that bookended the game. I enjoy this type of game (provided we win in the end of course) to the 30+ point blowouts the Pats have laid on a few teams this year. I also think it is these close games that really prove how great a team is. Now that the rest of the league has been shown what you need to do to beat Tom Brady - anything is possible as we head into the final month of the regular season.

I'm off to California for the week for work, then back home for a few days before the big adventure in Chile. It's gonna be sick!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Happy Turducken Day!

Fresh TurduckenHope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving this year. We dared to break from our recent tradition of frying our turkey to finally sample a Turducken. For those who don't know; a Turducken is a semi-boneless turkey (it just has wings and drumsticks) that is stuffed with a deboned chicken that is stuffed with a deboned duck breast. A layer of Cajun dressing is placed in between each bird to create six flavorful layers of stuffing and poultry. Normally we've talked about trying a turducken while we clean up after Thanksgiving, but this year we remembered to look into it in plenty of time to order one from CajunGrocer.com. No, we didn't make one from scratch - perhaps next year.

The Turducken is very deceiving, it looks too small to feed as many people as it is supposed to. But since it is boneless and crammed with so many things, it is just a solid brick of food. I was sure the 15 lb creature wouldn't be enough for our 14 guests but we didn't even get through half of it.Just like cutting a cake

One of the coolest things about the Turducken is how easy it is to carve. You just cut it right down the middle and start cutting slices. Like it is some sort of poultry layer cake. And the combo of birds made the tastiest gravy ever. I highly recommend trying one.
We've spent the last two days eating left overs, watching Curb Your Enthusiasm marathons and pulling things together for our big trip to Chile to raft the Futaleufu River and then check out Easter Island, which is now just a couple weeks away.
We'll actually miss a few Patriots games, but with them blowing people away so easily I don't think we'll notice. I never would have guessed how boring it could feel to have such a dominant football team. Close games and cheering for the underdog (like the Pats were in their first Super Bowl win in 2001) is so much more exciting and gratifying. A Super Bowl win this year seems like it will be almost anticlimatic since the whole world already expects a perfect season and another championship. Never would have predicted the Patriots would become a hated jugernaut like this.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Mohegan Sun

Friday, we went down to the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut for a night of gambling. I had never been there, in fact I don't think I've been to a casino in about 13 years. Normally, I'm too cheap to enjoy gambling, but we had a real good time and will return. Played craps for a couple hours, thanks to the help of other players and the dealers, since we didn't really know the game at all. Then we took in some poker and slots and ended the night with a few more hours of craps. We left them most of the money we brought to play with - but that is what I expected. The only way I know when I'm done gambling is when my money's gone. At craps and on slots there were a few occasions when we had doubled and even tripled our money - but we just gave it right back playing something else.
One of the coolest things was that there was a live show going in the middle of the casino - some band called ScrapMetal was going to be playing in the Wolf Den, which you could see into from the surrounding gaming tables. I was kinda psyched, since that name sure sounded like it would be some sort of 80's Metal cover band. I was not disappointed. In fact these guys sounded so good, I stepped away from the craps table for a closer look and realized this wasn't just a cover band - these were some real people from some 80's bands. ScrapMetal is a collection of Gunnar and Matthew Nelson (NELSON), Mark Slaughter (SLAUGHTER), Kelly Keagy (NIGHT RANGER), Eric Martin (MR. BIG), and Joe Lynn Turner (RAINBOW & DEEP PURPLE). I recognized all the songs except for what I assume was the Nelson stuff - I was never a fan of those twins. Marc Slaughter was the only one I instantly recognized, though as soon as Eric Martin and Joe Lyn Turner sang, I realized who they were too. Being serenaded by 80's leftovers made losing money much more fun.

Now we are just waiting on Super Bowl 41 1/2 - Patriots vs Colts!

Thursday, November 01, 2007

10 Years of Wedded Bliss!

Oh My God. Lori and I have been married for 10 years. A decade! I'm not sure what part amazes me most about this - how quickly 10 years have gone by, that I'm married at all, or how much I still love that woman. I can't imagine life without her and don't even like going a single day without seeing her. My only regret is how much I take Lori for granted. I hope that I let her know how much I love her often enough, and not only during shitty times (yes, there's been a few of those scattered in over the years too). I never could have predicted the things we've done and places we've seen over the years. No New Englander in their right mind would ever dare to dream of two World Series Championships for the Red Sox in their lifetime. Here's to another decade of surprises, happiness and fun. It kicks off soon - in December we are headed to Chile for a week of white water rafting and then on to Easter Island for some giant heads.

Check out the Wedding of The Damned