The Long and Winding Road

When I first met Angela coming up on 6 years ago one of the first things I told her was, "I'm a traveling sales guy, that's what I am."  Over the years I have spent a lot of time on the road.  Towards the end of my career with Madacy I still traveled but it wasn't very much, more like 2 nights a month instead of 3 or 4 a week like I had done at one point.

I started my new business life one year ago this past Tuesday.  We knew immediately that I was going to spend a lot of time on the road.  It's something we both realize I'm good at and it provides us a pretty good living.  There are benefits to traveling a lot on business, like virtually free vacations.  This past August Angela and I went to New York and Philly and didn't pay airfare or hotels. 

That really does make it alright, its tough but I am what I am.  The travel was tough last year as I had 2 different territories, neither of which included the state I lived in.  I spent 119 nights in hotels last year and I didn't start traveling until February 1st.

Angela and I both felt the travel would ease up once I got established in the territory.  The problem with that logic was that just as I was getting established the territory changed and at the end of 2010 I was assigned my 3rd territory.  Now each new territory has been an upgrade for me which means the potential for more money.

I am now the SouthEast Division sales manager for Buffet Crampon covering Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. 

Our house has been for sale since the beginning of September and we haven't had a single offer yet. 

I am finally comfortable in this job and am starting to see results.  I've been saying for a year that the money is great and it's needed, but the lack of it last year was not what kept me up nights.  The constant failure subtracted years from life and added quite a few pounds.  (OK, I know the pounds are my fault but I have to blame something).

Having recent success has helped but not quite as much as I hoped.  I left home on January 7th of this year and tonight is night 24 in a hotel.  I'm beat and it just seems like life won't give Angela and I a break.

She says it's my fault, for years I kept saying that everything was going our way and then she got put in the hospital on bed rest with the boys, I got laid off from Madacy, her grandfather died, the suburban blew up,  money got tight and I took this gig.  Right after I started with Buffet the suburban died again, Haslet got 17 inches of snow and we had to put Dusty down - all of which happened when I was away from home.

My parents moved in with us in May and they have been a great help with me gone so much.  Of course they would like to have their own place and anytime you live with anybody there are small things to overcome. 

As we try to sell our house small issues with the house seem to be rearing their ugly heads at every turn.  We had my buddy Noel and his merry band of Mexicans out recently to help fix all those things and from what I hear, he did a great job but that was an expense we could have done without.

Hopefully those changes will help us sell the house though because I need my family closer.  It will be tough on them because it will separate Angela from her family and we aren't sure if my parents will come or not.  Selfishly I want to move today which is a bit unfair to her because I'll still be gone alot, but not as much which to me is a plus but to Angela it's an empty house.

This particular trip has been a rough one on me as I've slept in a ton of different places (Anaheim, CA - Jacksonville, AL - Athens, GA - Atlanta, GA - Hattiesberg, MS - Talahasse, FL - Jacksonville, FL - Savannah, GA - Ft. Lauderdale, FL and Charleston, FL).

Our boys are getting more and more active which of course means fun, I feel like I'm missing a lot.  As I stated, I'm getting a better grasp of the gig but little things keep nagging me and I'm having a tough time with that.  All those things mean I'm tired and not as sharp as I should be.  Paying my own expenses this year means I'm trying to cut corners or ie, not eating well, so my belt is getting even looser than before which is a bad thing.

Last night in South Carolina I was taking a dealer and a Buffet trumpet artist to dinner and made a really bad decision.  I decided to make a left turn in traffic.  It was 2 lanes I was crossing, the first lane had stopped and I thought I was clear.  I wasn't and got t-boned.  I was in the company truck and it got messed up pretty good.

Luckily nobody was hurt but man do I feel like crap.  Not physically, just mentally.  It was beyond embarrassing and I couldn't help but wonder what the hell has happened to my life.  It seems to be going out of control even though I may finally be getting command of my life again.  At least there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. 

Today I drove the very wrinkled truck back to Jacksonville, FL and had all kinds of issues with the tarp that was covering the instruments in the back of the truck.  It took me less than 4 hours to get there on Thursday.  Took almost 6 hours today to get back to the office.

I'm flying home first thing in the morning (assuming DFW is open that is) and can't wait to get home.  I'm very excited about spending a week at home before I have to head out again.  I took Monday off so I can spend a whole day with my family, something I'm just damn near giddy about.

It is imperative that I enjoy Monday and get a clear head for Tuesday because I'm close to fixing things, this is no time to feel sorry for myself.

So yes dear reader, if you made it this far, the purpose of this post is not to gain your sympathy but merely to act as a reminder to me to keep my head up and damnit, make things work.

The Newhouse's Head East

I have spent a good portion of the last 15 years trying to see a game in every Major League Baseball stadium.  I've been lucky that work travel has put me near a lot of parks and the points that I earn from those trips has got me to the rest of them.  I only have 1 team that I've never seen in their home ballpark, Seattle.  The rest of them I've visited but a lot of them keep building new stadiums so I've had to go back.

I've done several "baseball vacations" before, 6 games in 7 days in 6 city type of deals.  I love them.  The most hardcore trips have been with my Dad and Stephen.  It's just something the 3 of us enjoy and have really had a good time doing.  

Since Angela got in the picture I haven't been able to do a baseball trip.  I've been able to go to a few stadiums that happen to be in the city we are visiting but never a trip.  For my 40th birthday Angela put together a baseball trip for her and I.  Obviously this is very cool but I was pretty concerned that she would hate this and with everything going on we shouldn't do this now.  

She convinced me it was something we had to do and before I knew it we were heading to New York City.  Angela wrote a pretty good depiction of what we did day by day, so head over to the triplet blog to see that.  I'll just give you my reviews of the stadiums here.

In 1999 we did a trip that took us to Boston, Cooperstown, New York, Philly and Baltimore.  It was a memorable trip for a lot of reasons and since both New York teams and the Phillies have built new stadiums on me, this seems like as good a time as any to share those with you as we go.

When we went to Shea Stadium back in 99 the game got rained out.  We were there, sat in our seats for a bit, ate hot dogs out in the lobby and watched it rain.  Never saw a pitch.

This year Angela and I arrived at Citi Field and it was raining.  I had to call my Dad as it seemed like Deja Vu all over again to quote Yogi.  We got our souveniers and some dinner and ate them right by the trash cans.  It was odd how similar the two trips were.  The difference this time was that when the clock hit game time, they actually played.  We were very lucky in that our seats were kinda under the overhang so we didn't get very wet which was key in keeping Angela happy.

The rain kind of killed the atmosphere in the park but there was still a little bit of it as the Phillies were in town and brought some loud fans with them.  I was very impressed with the stadium, it was nice in a Cincinnati, San Diego kind of way.  I mean that as a compliment, sort of.  I like all 3 of those stadiums but as the new stadiums go, there isn't much that makes them distinctive.  Citi Field had the Jackie Robinson rotunda which looked to be very cool but I have to be honest, I didn't realize what it was until we were almost out of it.

I did find the Mets Hall of Fame which was pretty cool.  I understand Daryl Strawberry was the best player on the 86 World Series team but as a guy who lived in LA and rooted for the Dodgers in the 90's I had a tough time seeing a plaque for him.  Such a hard time, I took a picture of it.

Speaking of that World Series team, I had to take a picture of the trophy and dream about seeing it here in Texas some day.

   

   

Things I look for in every park I go to - overall coolness - ease of seeing basic stats like balls and strikes - out of town scoreboard - the hot dogs - souvenier cups - home run celebrations - 7th inning stretch - various other cool stuff around the park.  What I'll do here is give each category a grade from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Citi Field

Overall Coolness - 7

basic Stats - 8

out of town - 9 - all the games were finals but it appeared to be pretty cool

hot dogs - 5 - very average

sovenier cups - 0 - they didn't have any!

home run celebration - 3 - the apple came up but it seemed kinda lame to me

7th inning - 10 - after the God Bless America and Take me Out to the Ballgame they did the tune they sing during the wedding at the Godfather - friggin perfect.

other stuff - 5 - probably better than that had I realized we were in the Jackie Robinson rotunda.

Total score - 47

The one stadium I absolutely wasn't looking forward to was Yankee Stadium.  We had a horrible experience in 99 and I wasn't looking forward to doing that again.  That experience alone is worth it's own blog post but I'll summarize - we hopped in a cab in Times Square at 5, the cabbie was pissed, got even angrier and dropped us in Harlem.  We had no idea where we were or what to do.  Found the subway and then got yelled at by just about every usher at the stadium as we tried to find Monument Park.

This time everyone told me the subway was the way to go.  For the Mets we listened to my friend Laurie and the train was fine.  Pleasant actually.  We did the same this time and everything was cool.  I still had my guard up as we milled about outside, I was waiting on those jackass ushers to greet us, much to my surprise I think they might have been nice to us.   Maybe not nice but they were helpful which was really all we needed.  We made it to monument park with no trouble at all.  I enjoyed it and Angela was a trooper but it was really crowded and it seemed to be a bit more concrete than I remember the old one being.  That felt almost like a garden to me

There is very little in this world that I despise more than the Yankees.  I really, really can't stand them.  Another thing I do at stadiums is buy myself a hat and a shirt.  I told Angela I will not do that at Yankee Stadium.  I just can't.  Every picture she took of me in that place was a struggle for her because I didn't want to look like one of those friggin bandwagon fans.  I did agree to the picture near Babe Ruth's number.  I like the Babe, I ignore who he played for.

The stadium itself was almost awesome.  It is really impressive.  It reminded me a lot of the new Cowboys stadium, both seem so nice I'm not sure I should be allowed to touch things as I walk through it.  That big screen was pretty awesome, the friggin thing is huge but it doesn't look like it goes, it's bigger than everything around it.

Yankee Stadium

Overall Coolness - 8

basic Stats - 8

out of town - 9 

hot dogs - 5 - very average - they were the same as Citi - Nathan's

sovenier cups - 5 - it was the oversize flimsy plastic ones

home run celebration - 0 - only because the Yankees didn't hit one

7th inning - 7 - after the God Bless America and Take me Out to the Ballgame they did something lame that I can't recall.  They get extra points because of God Bless America and it's Yankee Stadium - sue me if you disagree

other stuff - 7 - monument park is very cool and the roll call the fans in right field do for the players is very cool as well.  I was pretty excited about seeing that. but destroying the ghosts of Yankee's past for luxury suites is a sin and cost them a 10 here.  That being said, I really did like this one better than the old park but I wish I could take my boys (including Stephen) to the actual House that Ruth built and they took that away from me.

Total score - 49

We took the train to Philly the next day, that was pretty easy and cheap too.  I was real happy about cheap after visiting the House where the Ghost of George took every penny he could from me.

My trip to the old Veterans Stadium in 99 wasn't as exciting as the others on that trip.  Mainly what I recall is a crappy, empty football stadium.  One thing you should probably know about me, even though I love going to games and go a lot, I don't ever want to catch a foul/home run ball.  The last thing I want to do is let the guys on Sportscenter figure out what my little league coach did oh so many years ago, I can't catch.  So, when something is hit in my vicinity, I run like a little girl.  It's happened many times and I'm not ashamed of it.  

Last time in Philly I tripped trying to get out of the way and fell into some getting drunk frat boy who in turn fell into one of his buddies who fell into another buddy and so on.  Luckily for me drunk frat boy #1 didn't realize I fell into him and he took heat for the rest of the game from his buddies that he screwed up them getting a foul ball.

I was a little concerned as we pulled up to our seats and within 5 feet of us was the foul pole.  Uh Oh.  Angela got to the seat and said, "oh crap, I'm going to get hit by a ball because goof ball won't be anywhere near me if a ball comes in the area."  I'm not ashamed no matter what you think.  Fat boy gets out of the way, quick.

Luckily for her we didn't have one come our way but she did seemed concerned throughout the game.  Let's see, what were the biggest differences between new and old Phillies stadium.  

1. Fans - they were at this stadium - lots of 'em

2 - old stadium was a hell hole - new stadium is a little slice of heaven

That seems to sum it up.

Now, I do have to say that this was the first game on this trip where the weather was nice.  Really nice.  That goes a long way to making the stadium seem better, I realize that but suck it Yankee fans, I don't care.

Citizens Bank Park

Overall Coolness - 9

basic Stats - 6

out of town - 3 - I think there was a good one underneath me but I never saw it, so they get docked because I really wanted to see how the Rangers were doing and it was very difficult to do.

hot dogs - 8 - I'm not sure if it was really good or just ok good but I do know it was 3 points better than the ones in New York.

sovenier cups - 8 - same reasoning as above

home run celebration - 0 - only because the Phillies didn't hit one

7th inning - 5 - after the God Bless America and Take me Out to the Ballgame and then nothing

other stuff - 11 - you get points for the Philly Phanatic, he makes me laugh and the fact that the fans were a lot of fun.  Plus I had a couple beers in that aluminum can thing, I know other places have them but I never had 'em before and they were very cold.  Again, sue me.

Total Points - 50 - ok, I realize it's a 10 points scale and I gave them 11 but I can't have them tied with the Yankees.  I hate the Yankees, did I mention that?  They can't be #1 at everything, I won't allow it.

Basically, if I'm just comparing the 3 stadiums - if I lived in New York, I'd be a Mets fan because they ain't the Yankees.  If I was a rich snob and had no morals I'd go to Yankee Stadium and if I could choose between all 3, I'd want my boys to grow up going to see the Phillies, that place was cool.

We came home the next day, very ready to be home and to see the boys.  As we were getting ready to land the pilot announced that the hydraulics on the plane had gone out and that we were going to be met by emergency vehicles.  Everything was fine and I wasn't worried since no one else seemed to be but as I put on facebook, the sight below is never one you like to see upon landing.

1 More Week

In less than a week I won't be a 30 something anymore. I can honestly say I'm cool with that. I've actually been saying that I'm 40 for several months now, it just seems easier. My wife on the other hand always corrects me and points out to people that I'm only 39. Kinda cracks me up.

My 30's were good to me for the most part, I can't complain. Not really sad to see them go though, there seems to be a lot of cool stuff in my future. There better be anyway.

First up though better for me to get home. I've been on the road over a week now and I'm just ready to get home. I've driven over 2700 miles so far on this trip and I'm done with it. I've still got at least one more day of appointments but mentally I'm done. I'm ready to spend the last week of being a 30 something with my wife and kids in my house. Even if it is hot as hell at home right now and currently it's 65 where I'm at now. I'll give up the great temps just to get home.

Make That 39 Major League Stadiums

One of my many "quirks" has always been my quest to attend a major league game at every stadium. I've taken many baseball only vacations to try to accomplish this. I really enjoy seeing the different stadiums, trying the hot dogs, checking out the gift shops, watching the HR presentations, the 7th inning stretch, etc. It's just part of what I do.

After thinking about it and doing a count on Facebook's Stadium tour app, I realized that today I attended my 39th major league stadium. (For those of you counting a long at home, only 24 of those are still active. Entering today I had only 2 teams that I had never been to their home stadium and 5 more that have built new stadiums since my last visit). Today I took in a game at Chase Field in Phoenix. I watched the Diamondbacks kick the crap out of the Pirates. Now I'm down to 1 team I've never seen at their home (Seattle).

I wasn't sure I wanted to go this afternoon even though it was an off day on what has been a long business trip. I considered staying in the room and watching the Masters. As I walked towards the stadium, I was glad I chose the game.



I really dug the atmosphere outside the stadium. There weren't many people there but they had a strip of bars along the outside of the stadium that looked to be a pretty cool place to be.

One of the things I always look for at a stadium is the team identity. I want to know who plays in that stadium as I walk in. The best stadium I've ever seen at this is Comerica Park in Detroit. There is no question the Tigers call that place home. I think the Rangers do a poor job of this back home. This stadium wasn't too much better but I did like this display case as I walked in with the World Series Trophy in it.



The other thing I always have to do when visiting a stadium is try the hot dogs. It's very cool that these new stadiums all have lots of food to choose from but I just want a hot dog. The first stand I approached was all foot long hot dogs. I could choose from a char dog, a chicago dog, a philly dog or an Arizona dog. I figured when in Rome, so I ordered the Arizona dog. This is what I got.



I was not happy with this monstrosity. Especially when I figured it out that it was $9 coupled with my $9 beer and I realized this wasn't a cheap experiment. The dog turned out to be alright but I really couldn't taste it through all that gunk. So, I went and got a plain ol hot dog in the 4th inning. It was ok, not worth the $14 bucks I spent on the 2 dogs though.

I got a pretty good single seat considering I just walked up to the ticket booth an hour before the game. I had a seat in the shade so that was nice as it was pretty warm today.



There weren't very many people at the game (21,000) but it was a really comfortable day. Me and one other guy shared our entire row. He turned out to be a pretty nice guy and we talked baseball all day. You can't ask for too much better than that as I quizzed him about all things Arizona baseball. (Like, did you know the mascot is a cat because the stadium used to be Bank One Ballpark (BOB) and he was the BOBcat. Probably made sense then, not so much now).

The Diamondbacks scored 13 runs in the 4th inning, I'm fairly certain I've never seen anything like that live before, it was crazy. They hit 3 HR's in that inning alone. Their HR presentation was nothing special although the pool in right center did shoot up water during it, that was pretty cool.

Their 7th inning stretch was incredibly lame. They did the now standard God Bless America followed by 1 quick run through of Take Me Out to the Ball Game and then Gloria Estefans - Hear that conga beat song. I sent out an email to Angela and Stephen asking if that was lamer than Toronto's gay Let's Go Blue Jays song they do. I still haven't decided.

Overall it was a great way to spend an afternoon. It is a very nice stadium, I really couldn't find anything wrong with it. (Holy cow did the big scoreboard have stats on it, almost too many - that's a huge plus). All that being said, I'm getting a little bored with the new stadiums. There just isn't too much different between this stadium and the new ones in Milwaukee and Houston (the retractable roof box stadiums). Is it odd for me to say that I miss the old "unique" stadiums?

As for the other 5 stadiums I need to see because they keep building new ones on me - both New York stadiums, St. Louis, Philly and Minnesota.

Date Night

I've been out on the road for what seems like all of 2010. In all seriousness, I have 36 nights in a hotel since February 1st after this evening. Last night I finished everything I needed to do about 5 pm and just didn't feel like sitting in the hotel anymore.

I decided to head out to the movie theater near my hotel in Mesa, AZ. I chose Clash of the Titans which was one of my favorite flicks when I was 10 or 11. I'm fairly certain I haven't seen it in about 25 years. Probably more. I really, really dug it and have very fond memories of that original. I have a hunch if I saw it today I would prefer the 2010 version I saw last night but ah, the fond memories of the original made it tough for me to dig this spruced up version.

I ended up liking it more than I thought I would but I still like the mechanical owl and Burgess Merideth. I was impressed with the hot chicks in this new one. I have to admit though, I was distracted by 2 things - 1 being the fact that every dude had long hair and a beard except our hero who had the same haircut he had in Avatar. A buzz cut. Did they have electric buzzer things in the days of the Greek Gods?

The 2nd thing was the guardian angel chick who followed our hero. Everyone else on this trek had a back full of gear. She was just walking with the bed sheet thingy and at first, it really showcased her legs. I remember this because I thought, did chicks shave their legs then? Later in the trek she had a longer bed sheet and knee high boots. Then she ended up with a fur thingy on her shoulder. Where the hell did she end up with all that gear?

It was very distracting.

Anyway, after the flick I walked to one of many choices in this pretty cool square deal and had dinner. After I ate, I walked down one more building and had an ice cream on the patio.

It was at this point that I realized I was on a date night, with myself! It was pretty nice. Then I felt guilty that Angela was at home wrestling with the boys. I'm not sure she believed me when I said had I realized I was on a date night earlier, I wouldn't have done it. It is true though.

Although I do have to admit, I did kinda enjoy the evening.

Is that wrong?

So Long Dusty

Today is a very sad day at my house. Not just because I'm not there (I'm currently in New Mexico for the week) but because we had to make a very hard decision yesterday. We made that decision yesterday and today the deed got done.

We had to put our dog Dusty down today. She was 12 1/2 years old. I always referred to her as a yellow lab but she was a mutt in every sense of the word.

I got Dusty in October of 1997. I had recently moved from Los Angeles back to Arlington, TX. I was 27 years old, had just purchased my first home and after about 5 months I realized, that house was lonely.

So, pretty much in the same weekend I changed that. I bought Dusty, I moved my sister from LA to Arlington and I met Stephen through the Big Brothers program.

Pretty big weekend in my life. All 3 events changed the course of my life for the better.

When I brought Dusty home, it took me about 2 minutes to realize she was infested with flea's. 6 weeks old and it just killed me to see her like that. They were all over the place. A flea bag from the beginning.

What I didn't know is that was just the first of a whole lot of obstacles for Dusty.

Dusty was a good puppy from the start when I was around. When I wasn't, issues popped up. All the typical puppy things like chewing bottoms of furniture, pant legs, etc. As I had to travel for work my buddy Dennis would watch her. That's when we learned Dusty didn't like captivity. She pretty much dug a mini-Grand Canyon in his backyard. We also learned about Dusty's fascination with cats.

Man did she love to chase down cats. She started with Dennis' wife's cat and to this day she still did it. She spent most of last night chasing Emma the Cat around the bedroom. She didn't do anything once she caught them but never did a cat pass her that wasn't promptly chased into a corner.

The older Dusty got the more these "quirks" would show up. She hated the broom and the vacuum cleaner.

But that was all little stuff until the spring of 1999 when the tornado hit downtown Ft. Worth and South Arlington. (It might have been 2000, I'm not sure). Everything changed then. Her and I were in the bath tub with a mattress over our head as the tornado came within 2 miles of the house.

After that, the slightest indication of a storm sent her into a tizzy. She just didn't know what to do with herself after that. She tore through sheetrock, carpets, kennel after kennel. She did so much of that it made it to where she basically broke everyone of her teeth.

That's also when I had to stop leaving her outside when I left because no matter what I did, she would not stay in the backyard.

In the spring of 2001 I started feeling bad for her and thought she needed a buddy, so we got Duke. A full blooded yellow lab. That just seemed to make her more miserable. Duke loves Dusty and can't stand to be away from her. Dusty longs for the day that Duke won't be there eating her food or stealing her place in the dog bed.

Dusty has always been a lover of everything female. It started with my sister when she lived with me for a bit, Dusty would protect Sue no matter what. If I ever got mad at Sue, Dusty (my dog) would let me know that wasn't cool.

When she escaped she would always go to my neighbor's house - Janice and Connie.

When Angela came on the scene in 2005 I lost Dusty forever. She was Angela's dog. You couldn't even play wrestle with Angela without Dusty getting mad. She would stay under the bed until Angela would wake up and then they'd come out of the room together. Every single morning.

When Angela went to bed, so did Dusty.

When the boys showed up last June, Dusty loved them like a mother. She always took inventory and made sure all 3 were where she could find them.

She went with Angela to check on them at night and make sure everything was ok.

We had learned to deal with Dusty's quirks. We have sedatives for storms, we know not to grab for her when she's scared. Basically the dog trained us how to act around her.

We were pretty good at it. There have been times over the past few years when I thought it was time but we were always able to work through it.

That ended yesterday when during a small storm, James pulled Dusty's tail. Dusty turned around and bit him in the head. James is fine but the boys are only 8 months old. They aren't going to learn how to deal with Dusty's quirks any time soon and storm season isn't even here yet.



Last night was a rough one on Angela and I as we realized we only had 1 decision to make. We tried to think of alternatives but we just kept coming back to the fact that Dusty was old and certifiably crazy. She hasn't been a happy dog in a really long time.

I blame the tornado of 1999. Of course it was probably just living with me but it's easier to blame Mother Nature.

I wish I was home to hug my dog before she had to go but the fact is, nobody is comfortable with her around the babies anymore. More than that, I wish I was home just to hug Angela and let her know it was time. We are doing what is right.

The fact is Dusty was never going to be the dog the boys remember growing up with.

That's my memory. She was the dog I grew up with. My first dog as an adult in my first house with my first real connection (Stephen) and my first real love (Angela).

Hopefully Dog Heaven is filled with nothing but cats to stalk and Thunderstorms are too far down to hear or see. Oh and no younger dog will try to eat your food every day.

Is It Really Super Bowl Sunday if I Don't Get To Watch It?

Today will be the first Super Bowl I have not been able to watch live in 27 years. You see, I'm still in Charlotte at the Youth Ministry Conference. My flight home takes off at 6:20 PM Eastern time this evening. Yup, exactly when kickoff happens. I arrive at 8:45 central time which will probably be at about the 2 minute warning.

I bet you are wondering how I know that the last Super Bowl I was not able to watch live in it's entirety was Super Bowl XVII (that's 17 for those of you who have issues with roman numerals). Well, I was 12 and my father had recently purchased a van. Not a mini-van, I'm talking a van with captains chairs, a couch and the whole bit. For reasons i can not explain to you, he decided about an hour before kickoff that he wanted to pack up the family and go for a ride.

You what?

So, we all loaded up and drove to who knows where. The thing you have to understand is that we rarely did this as a family. There was a time or two where we'd pack up and go to Tyler for roses or something and we'd complain the whole time but even those were planned trips. This spur of the moment thing was really insane.

As I'm whining about it, I realize, we have a little 8 or 10 inch black and white tv in the back of the van. I say little but the whole thing was actually pretty sizable, it was just the screen that was little. So, as we drove to nowhere, I'm in the back holding the antennae trying to get a signal.

I remember watching the Dolphins run a kickoff back for a touchdown through the snow and static in the first half and just hollering at my dad, how are we missing this? We did get home in the 2nd half to see the Redskins clobber Miami but I'm willing to bet if my dad was looking for a peaceful drive in the country, he must have contemplated throwing me out the window.

Prior to that game in 1983, my first memories of Super Bowl Sunday begin with Super Bowl XII in 1978 when the Cowboys beat the Broncos. My parents were rooting for the Broncos that day, I don't remember caring very much. The next year the Cowboys lost to the Steelers and I remember being interested in that one a little bit more but most of my memories of that game are from highlights. Catch the ball Jackie!!!!!

Super Bowl XIV is the first one I recall sitting down and watching every second of. It was 1980, I was 9 years old and it was the Rams and Steelers. It wasn't much of a game but I watched it and a monster was born.

If you've paid attention to this site and/or listened to the podcast you know my dad and I had the honor to go to the Super Bowl, #38 in 2004. Ever since then on Super Bowl Sunday I think to myself, it's 9 AM, we were eating breakfast. It's 1 pm, we realized I ran out the battery as we got out of the car.

I'm guessing today I'll be thinking, it's 7 pm, should be the end of the first quarter, wonder what's going on.

It is just a game and I'll be fine missing it, but this time I have no one really to holler at about it. Maybe I'll give my dad a call before we take off and blame him for old times sake.

What To Do When You Don't Know What to Do?

The internet and I go way back, not Al Gore back but I've been typing away at the internet for well over 15 years now. I started posting on message boards on CompuServe. I was a regular frequenter in the TV forums discussing shows like My So Called Life and Seinfeld back before the entire world realized it's greatness. I'd go into the music forums where I met a still to this day dear friend while discussing who else but Bruce Springsteen. I'd go into the sports forums and would you believe I talked hockey a lot? I even found a friend there I still talk to from time to time.

That progressed to what is now called a blog that I was doing for NetSport.com back in 1997. All the stories were about the Cowboys and man do I wish I still had some of those, I think a few of 'em were pretty good.

For the last 6 years I've been doing this site, www.bobnewhouse.com and it's original intent was to put stories from newspapers around the country up on a daily basis. These were the stories that at the time I was basically e-mailing to my friends who I thought would be interested in them. I thought the blog would be a better way to do that. Except we didn't call them blogs then.

I would editorialize from time to time but not really all that often, it was mostly stories of the Cowboys/Rangers, with some tv news and a Bruce story thrown in. Oh yea, it had a picture of the day as well.

Last year when news came down that my wife and I were having triplets we started the Holy Crap! We are having triplets blog. I can't tell you how much we have enjoyed that site. We would both post long rambling thoughts about what we were going through during the pregnancy.

Once the boys were born I kind of dropped off that site and Angela became the main contributor. I was always posting my thoughts and fears mainly, it seems most of my writings on that site were about things that concerned me. Angela's have always been more about reporting the facts and telling upbeat stories.

Once the boys were here I just didn't really know what to post there. I'm still really not sure what to post there.

2 months later I lost my job. It is very hard to describe what that did to me. It was devastating. I had worked with Madacy for 16 years and not only was it a job I enjoyed it was a job I loved (still do) with all I had. Selling music has always felt like the job for me. Even though Madacy wasn't hawking the new Pearl Jam album, it just felt right to me that I had a gig in the music business.

It's something I had always wanted and it was really all I've ever done. As the music business began it decline I knew it was very possible I wouldn't be doing that forever but for some reason I kept hope alive. The thought of doing something else or worse yet, the thought of people telling me I couldn't do anything else was just something I didn't want to spend that much time with.

When the hammer fell on me because Wal Mart is just the latest outlet to basically get rid of music I really felt destroyed. For the first week I could barely look at my boys. Every time I did I teared up, hell, I'm tearing up now just thinking about that week.

As I tried to figure out how I was going to support the 5 of us, we packed the family up and headed to Angela's grandparents house in Louisiana. It's a trip I didn't want to take but I couldn't stay in the house anymore. The house was my office and I couldn't fathom just sitting on the couch as the office stood empty on a work day.

Knowing what I know now, it seems that getting laid off when I did was the best thing for my family. I still haven't recovered fully personally but what it did is really hard to measure. We got to spend a great week with her grandparents in what turned out to be a month before her grandfather passed away. We were there really on his last week of complete health. A few days after we left he entered the hospital and never left.

The fact that he got to spend a week with our boys is something Angela and I will treasure forever.

It took me 5 months to find a job. 5 very long months. 5 very quiet months. I got one legitimate phone call on a resume. It's hard to express the feeling of knowing that not only does no one want to hire you, no one even wants to talk to you.

As the money got tighter and tighter and the rejection stung more and more, getting to hang with my boys and Angela everyday was amazing. Believe it or not having infant triplets is hard work. Really hard work. But being there every day playing with the boys, holding them, feeding them and just watching them grow has been amazing.

Today ends the 5th straight day I've gone without seeing them awake. We left them with a sitter Sunday evening, when we returned they were in bed and I was on a plane to Jacksonville before they woke up.

This has been a long hard week only seeing them awake through iPhone videos Angela sends me as often as she can. We did a video chat yesterday that was cool but it was also sad as they kept reaching for the computer where my face hovered.

Monday I began my new job, I am now a division sales manager for Buffet-Crampon. If you need a woodwind or Brass instrument and happen to live in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona or Utah, I'm your man. I can't tell you how great it is to be among the ones drawing a check again.

I've been nervous for a bit about the gig but in 3 days of training/sales meetings at the home office I know this is a job I can do. I'm not exactly sure how long it will take me to get past the learning curve but I know I can be good at this. I'm anxious to really get going with it.

I've spent the last 2 days in Charlotte, North Carolina at a youth ministry conference. Yes, you read that right, youth ministry conference. I would have never guessed that either. There are still 2 days to go (and yes Virginia I am going to miss the Super Bowl) but so far I've been very surprised by the amount of good information I feel I can bring home to our church.

Anyway, the point of this long rambling post is that I'm not sure what will happen with me and the internet. I really enjoy this site as it was but I don't see anyway I can continue doing it as it once was. I stopped posting daily because I was paranoid a potential employer would find it and not like what I was doing. I'm not worried about that now but I know I won't be able to find the 30 minutes to an hour a day it took to update it the way I liked to.

I don't think my ramblings really belong on the triplet site but as you can tell, I still like doing those too.

So, who knows what I'll do but I think you may see more here (and perhaps on the other site as well) than you have the past 5 months. Probably not as much as I'd like but as often as possible.

So, until next time...

What is Your Favorite Record of the Decade?

Pathetic Plea For Attention #152 is online and you can listen to it here. In today's episode I discuss my favorite album of the decade. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast by following the links on the right side of this page.



Yikes, that is pretty but it sure does look cold.



I find this to be an odd story, Floyd Mayweather Jr wants very strict drug testing for his next fight. Manny Pacquiou does not? Why not?

Mayweather seeks strict drug testing for bout with Pacquiao

By Lance Pugmire
Los Angeles Times
December 23, 2009

Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants Manny Pacquiao to submit to Olympic-style drug tests, including a blood test within days of their tentatively scheduled March 13 bout, and failing to agree to these terms could threaten the fight, Mayweather's camp said Tuesday.

Pacquiao has expressed reluctance to submit to a blood test within 30 days of the proposed world welterweight title fight, which will be staged at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

"As management for Floyd, we're insisting this Olympic-style, random [blood] testing take place to assure it's a level field before the biggest fight in history," Mayweather's advisor Leonard Ellerbe said. "We're definitely at an impasse."

Mayweather's promoter Richard Schaefer said a Pacquiao promoter told him the Filipino superstar would not agree to a blood test within 30 days of the bout because of his superstition against testing.

Pacquiao and Mayweather have previously submitted, and passed, urine tests for performance-enhancing and illegal drugs supervised by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Travis Tygart, chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, said a blood test can allow testers to detect use of energy-boosting synthetic EPO, human growth hormone and "a number of potent performance-enhancers not detectable in urine. . . . With a [30-day] window like that, you could dope to the gills and get away with it."

Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, said Mayweather's push for blood testing is a ploy to avoid fighting Pacquiao, who has won back-to-back fighter of the year awards and has battered world champions Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.

"I knew Floyd wanted a way out of the fight," Roach said.

Time to Unveil My 2nd Favorite Album of the Decade

You know you've been waiting for it, it's been 2 whole days without a podcast, well, worry know more - Pathetic Plea for Attention #151 is online and you can listen to it here. Remember, if you'd like to have every episode downloaded to your iTunes (and your iPod) without having to do anything, just click the subscribe to podcast link on the right side of this page.

The 2nd Half of the Countdown Begins

Pathetic Plea for Attention is Online and you can listen to it here.

I'm on a Roll

Look at that, 3 podcasts this week, I'm on a roll. Pathetic Plea for Attention #149 is online and you can listen to it here. Don't forget you can subscribe to the show following the links on the right side of this page.

I'm Glad it's Not 12 degrees in Dallas Right Now

Pathetic Plea For Attention is online and you can listen to it here.



Overall this has been a pretty successful fall tv season. I have to say, we've been impressed with a few of the shows.

Fall season spawned some winners for the networks

By Gary Levin, USA TODAY

Though cable TV has been grabbing the spotlight in recent months, holiday cheer is spreading at the big broadcast networks.

The good news: More new shows are sticking than in recent years; just a few have been yanked because of low ratings. The bad: Another fall has come and gone without producing a blockbuster cultural phenomenon.

"There's a lot of good, not a lot of great," says CBS program planning chief Kelly Kahl. "But given where we've been, a lot of good is a good thing," he says. With last fall plagued by the lingering effects of a writers' strike, "there was a void of quality shows coming out of last season."

Overall TV usage is down slightly from last fall, when the election heightened interest and drew crowds to cable news. But the overall picture for the big broadcast networks has brightened: Combined, the five are up 3% from last fall, slowing years of steady erosion. Big growth for NFL games and the World Series also helped.

CBS' NCIS: Los Angelesand The Good Wife, paired on Tuesdays, are the top newcomers this season. Fox's Glee and ABC's Modern Family, FlashForward and V opened strongly, though ratings for the two fantasy dramas have trailed off in recent airings.

Fox won its first November sweeps race among younger viewers and is up 18% this fall.

"It's generally a stronger season," says John Rash of Minneapolis ad firm Campbell Mithun.

Only ABC's Hank, CBS' Three Rivers and CW's The Beautiful Life were canceled after a handful of airings, though ABC's Eastwick and Fox's Brothers are on their way out. "You're looking at fewer cancellations than you've seen year-to-year," says Brent Poer of ad firm MediaVest in Los Angeles, but few shows "are reaching the cultural zeitgeist" on network TV.

The new ratings math is that shows considered modest successes would have been canceled a few years ago. "It's far riskier to replace them than to stick with something you know," Poer says. Networks need "to put time and investment into some of these shows to build an audience, because there's not a lot in the pipeline to replace them," a function of cost-cutting at CW and NBC, where The Jay Leno Showis faring poorly compared with the dramas it replaced.

Holy Crap! A Podcast For You!

Pathetic Plea For Attention #147 is online and you can listen to it here. Don't forget that you can subscribe with the button on the right, it is free!

We've Got A New Podcast For You!

Today I have something different to offer, apparently my 10 year old sister in law Faith got tired of the fact that I haven't done a podcast in awhile, so she did her own. Not only is the only one on the show, she chose the music and was her own engineer. I'm afraid she may either shame me into finally getting better at these things or just giving it up. If you are subscribed to my podcast (which you can do by following the buttons on the right) her show will show up in your iTunes. If you aren't, you can listen to Faith's show right here.

Seems Weird That This is a Holiday Week When All I Want to Do Is Work

Ya gotta love gun owners, don't ya?



It seems people are flipping out about the Cowboys and their crappy offense the past couple weeks. My thoughts are, if this is as bad as it gets, I'd rather it happen now then next month.

Cowboys headed nowhere with this offense

By RANDY GALLOWAY
Ft. Worth Star Telegram

ARLINGTON — Some 46 million turkeys, so say the pilgrims who track such things, will have died this week by the time we get to Thursday. And then there’s the Dallas Cowboys.

"Stayin’ alive," said receiver Patrick Crayton, who was describing his game-winning end zone-improvised route, as opposed to pop songs of the ’70s, or even the shaky condition of his team.

Beating the Washington Redskins by a final score of 7-6 sounded more like a Frankie Francisco bullpen collapse two blocks to the east, but it actually defined the Cowboys in Sunday’s desperate and, finally, successful survival act.

Lose this one, and even with Oakland on the Thanksgiving platter for Thursday, this was a team that was cooked, along with those 46 million turkeys, even before the dreaded December death march.

By winning this one, it was almost historic. The last time the Cowboys won a game scoring seven points or fewer was in December 1970.

Some 40 years later, the Cowboys are attempting to reverse history by, first, getting to the postseason, and, second, winning in the post-season, something the franchise hasn’t done since 1996.

But it won’t happen. No way. Not the way Tony Romo and his receivers have suddenly run out of meat and potatoes, not to mention points. Unless that changes, pronto, forget it.

The math is not complicated. Two touchdowns in the last two games. Fourteen points, period. And totally outplayed by an outmanned Redskins defense on Sunday.

The big local debate after Green Bay a week ago was "giving up on the run." For nearly 58 minutes on Sunday, the Cowboys had plenty of yards on the ground. Except there were no points on the scoreboard.

In the NFL, if you’re not passing to win, you’re not winning. OK, it was Washington, a club with so many issues that anything is possible. So a win became possible.

Romo suffered a back injury early, and he was also awful until late. But when it was absolutely up-against-the-wall Redskin mothers, then Tony delivered, as did his receivers, on a gut-grabbing clutch drive in deep stretch.

Afterward, the locker-room theme was mostly the typical "a win is a win in this league," and if the players and coaches had noticed it, they would have pointed to what happened to the Steelers in Kansas City on Sunday, or, yes, how those incoming Raiders shocked the Bengals.

But until Romo escaped pressure late in the fourth quarter, until he drifted outside to his left, until he signaled Crayton in the end zone (the prearranged "wrong" signal in pointing the other way), until Tony ignored 85,000 voices urging him to "ruuunnn" it, the Cowboys were on the brink.

Bruce and the band wrapped up the Working on a Dream tour last night in Buffalo.

November 22 / HSBC Arena / Buffalo, NY

Notes: When Backstreets interviewed Bruce Springsteen shortly before this Magic/Dream E Street Band trek began, back in 2007, the Boss had this to say: "I envision the band carrying on for many, many, many more years. There ain't gonna be any farewell tour. That's the only thing I know for sure."

True to his word, two years later, that's exactly how he ended this tour: no time for sentimental goodbyes, mentions of a "last dance," or even a glance at the notion of retirement. There were still too many other good stories to tell. Some showgoers were expecting "Blood Brothers" or something like it here in Buffalo, and for good reason, but Springsteen seemed determined not to put any kind of real punctuation mark on the evening. Excepting, of course, the exclamation points spread throughout this 34-song, nearly three-and-a-half hour show.

Of course, everyone in the room, onstage and off, was well aware of the momentousness of the occasion. In "Working on Dream," there was considerably more weight to the usual building-a-house spiel: "The E Street Band has come thousands of miles tonight to be here one last time... for a little while... to fulfill our solemn vow to rock the house!" He soon added, "Really, it's been just about the best time in our band's work life. We want to thank you for supportig our old music, our new music, our tour."

But up next, they plowed forward, doing something they'd never done before — "Tonight! One time only!" — the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. album, start to finish. Whatever partciular significance the night's album choice might wind up having — in terms of ending where they began, if tonight was indeed any kind of ending — went unspoken. Springsteen merely put the record in context, as he has with other album performances on this fall leg. "This was the miracle," he said, "This was the record that took everything from way below zero to... one." That got a big laugh. Bruce went on to speak of John Hammond, "one of the great legends of music production," and of manager Mike Appel, whose "incredible talking" got him a crucial audition with said legend. Tonight's album performance was dedicated "to the man who got me in the door. Mike Appel is here tonight — Mike, this is for you." He added, "We've never done it... hope we can do it!"

Each of the full album performances on this tour have come loaded with their own questions. Born to Run — for starters, who would handle trumpet on "Meeting"? Curt Ramm has since elevated every show, through tonight, with the addition of his horn parts. The River — would Springsteen and the E Streeters be able to maintain the intensity required for a 20-song sequence? Absolutely, it turned out. And for Greetings, would Springsteen finally grace "Growin' Up" with a full-blown story once again? The answer came with three magical words: "There I was...."

There have been plenty of near misses in recent years, just as Springsteen almost revisited the "Sad Eyes" portion of "Backstreets," so has he come close to true storytelling in "Growin' Up." But tonight, the interlude was fully realized, and it was one of toight's most powerful moments.

"It was a dark and stormy night in Asbury Park, New Jersey," Bruce began, "Me and Steve were in a litle club on the south end of the street." He proceeded to once again tell the story of his first meeting with Clarence Clemons, starting with the door blowing off in the Big Man's hand. "King Curtis?" Bruce recalled thinking, "King Curtis has come out of my dreams and landed right here!" Here in Buffalo in 2009, Clarence joined Bruce at the center to reenact that fateful night. "He walked to the stage and said" — Clarence speaking now — "I wanna play with you." "What could I say? I said....'Sure!'" Then, step by step, Bruce and Clarence recreated the pose from the cover of the Born to Run album right there on the HSBC Arena stage. It was a wordless act, unfolding slowly, inevitably, engendering one big smile throughout the building. The full-bodied laugh would come shortly, as Bruce concluded the story: "We got into a Cadillac at the end of the nght, drove out to the outskirts of town.... we got very sleepy and we fell into this long, long, long, long, long dream. And when we woke up, we were in fuckin' Buffalo, New York." Crowd goes nuts, in no small part due to the way Springsteen just compressed 35-plus years of E Street Band history. And tonight it does feel like a dream.

A furious solo from Bruce on "Lost in the Flood" has to be another of the night's highlights — Garry, meanwhile, playing complex runs behind him, the bassist being the guy who can easily fade into the background if you let him but who, anytime you choose to pay attention, is always doing some seriously interesting shit — and Bruce's solo contines, building, as Max matches his intensity, the two facing off until the end. Roy brings it all back home, spotlight on the white baby grand.

Another question that came with the Greetings performance: could Bruce actually make "Mary Queen of Arkansas" and "The Angel" compelling? A resounding yes on both counts, particularly "The Angel." With Bruce lit up at center stage, the only other accompaniment for most of the song came from Roy Bittan, who segued right into this number from his "Lost in the Flood" coda. Roy gave the song a Born to Run-era majesty, capped by the surprise addition of a viola toward the song's end. Much of what made it work was Bruce's vocal — as a friend of mine turned to me and said, "He knows how to sing now." Coupled with Roy's piano work, it came off as a beautiful, lost '70s vignette... which I guess is exactly what it is. "Mary," too, was surprisingly successful, with Bruce on acoustic guitar in Devils & Dust mode, accompanied only by Nils on harp.

And of course Bruce and the Band brought all the right moves to the remainder of the Greetings sequence, including a rollicking "Does This Bus Stop" with a stand-out solo from Charlie; a full-band "For You," as opposed to the solo piano version Bruce has been doing lately; "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City," ending with Bruce and Steve facing off, flashing guitars like switchblades, while Max is a perpetual drumroll machine.

And that's just one of the night's stories. After "Sunny Day" and "The Promised Land," it's on to the next: "We've got a birthday boy in the house tonight!" Yep, Steve Van Zandt's birthday just happens to coincide with the final night of the tour, and Bruce decides on an extended fete.

First up: "Restless Nights." "Stevie is... my age, and for years he's been asking to play this one song. This is Stevie's very favorite song of all time, it's very obscure, it's on the Tracks record. We're gonna do this for his birthday tonight." If The River at MSG seemed like a gift for Steve, this outtake performance was the icing on the cake. "By request!" Bruce said at song's end, pointing at his old pal, "Dammit, he might have been right all these years!"

But the party wasn't over. Speaking of cake, guitar tech Kevin Buell emerged with a guitar-topped birthday cake, covered in lit candles. With a little help from Max, the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" while Bruce and Steve blew the candles out together. "For Steve!" Bruce cried as the smoke rose, taking the band into "Surprise Surprise." And while some fans have heard this Working on a Dream song as too frivolous, it was hard not to appreciate the apropos lyrics at this moment:

Well today is your birthday, we traveled so far we two
So let's blow out the candles on your cake and we'll raise a glass or two

Bruce fed Steve a piece during the song, and by the end was still licking icing off his fingers, mouthing to Steve, "Not bad!" Darned if the song didn't serve as a fitting benediction, too:

And when the sun comes out tomorrow, it'll be the start of a brand new day...

But again, tonight there were other stories to tell. After the "Green Onions" sign collection it was a holiday double-shot, with Bruce taking "Merry Christmas Baby" right into "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town." In between, channeling Christopher Walken, he said, "I feel Santy fever coming on. You know what this night needs? More Santy. We need more jingle bells...." The second of these came with a sign so nice, "I'm gonna put it on my front door!"

A left-field request from some Italians, Chuck Willis's "(I Don't Want to) Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes," brought us close once again to some closing night sentiment: "This sort of captures the theme of our feelings this evening," Bruce said beforehand. But the song was a blast, blowing away any poignancy with it's full-throttle rock 'n' roll. And followed by "Boom Boom," also by request? We're back in the moment. "My Love Will Not Let You Down" and "Long Walk Home" continued this forceful stretch, Steve shining as always on the latter. Following the setlisted "Born to Run" set-closer, Bruce called an audible of "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" for another theme he wanted to hit, hollering, "I wanna tell you the story of the band!"

For the encore, Bruce led off with his take on what the tour has meant to him, a nice reprise from the Magic tour: "It's been a pleasure being out here working for you.... I'll work for your love any day!" By the time we got to "Higher and Higher," with special guest Willie Nile, there was no longer any escaping the inevitable. "We don't wanna go home!" said Bruce from the rear-pit platform. But at the end of the song: "We ain't going home yet!"

And amid speculation about the last this or the last that, talk elsewhere of retirement of the E Street Band, one more song kept the ending on a high note, John Fogerty's "Rocking All Over the World." It was a celebration of the tour, of the band, of rock 'n' roll... not of a band on the verge of retiring, but of a band firing on all cylinders at this very moment. Bruce's final words matched the mood: "We appreciate you coming out to see the E Street Band. So we're gonna say goodbye, but just for a little while... a very little while... because... because..." before singing again, "I like it, I like it, I like it!"

After acknowledging fans who came from all over — other states, other countries — to take part in these shows, Springsteen said, "I want to thank our crew, who work all day and all night to bring this show to you in your town." He thanked the E Street Band, the road crew, the truckers, carpenters, and everyone in every department by name, from security to sound, video, production, management... and while tonight was certainly the end of something, and no one's quite sure what he means by "a very little while," the overwhelming feeling at the end of the show was summed up by a sign that Bruce and Steve grabbed and paraded across the stage during the encore, laying it to rest below Max's drumkit, Steve every once in a while checking to make sure it was still visible:

It's only rock 'n' roll, but it feels like love.

Amen.

Setlist:

Wrecking Ball (with Curt Ramm)
The Ties That Bind
Hungry Heart
Working on a Dream
Blinded By the Light
Growin' Up
Mary Queen of Arkansas
Doe This Bus Stop at 8nd Street?
Lost in the Flood
The Angel
For You
Spirit in the Night
It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
Restless Nights
Surprise, Surprise
Green Onions
Merry Christmas Baby (with Curt Ramm)
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (with Curt Ramm)
(I Don't Want to) Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes
Boom Boom
My Love Will Not Let You Down
Long Walk Home
The Rising
Born to Run
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (with Curt Ramm)

Encore

I'll Work For Your Love
Thunder Road
American Land (with Curt Ramm)
Dancing in the Dark
Rosalita (with Curt Ramm)
Higher and Higher (with Curt Ramm and Willie Nile)
Rockin' All Over the World

Once Again, That One Wasn't Pretty

I'm not sure there is much that bothers me more than people treating their dogs like dolls.



2 weeks in a row now the Cowboys have looked like crap. At least they pulled this one out. Romo was having a rough day until the very end anyway.

Romo the problem, solution in Dallas Cowboys' 7-6 win

08:58 PM CST on Sunday, November 22, 2009

Column by JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News | jjtaylor@dallasnews.com

Jean-Jacques Taylor
Archive | Blog | E-mail

ARLINGTON – Tony Romo, still wearing his uniform pants and a sweaty T-shirt an hour after the game, slowly pulled himself out of a chair and gingerly walked out of the Cowboys' interview room.

He was sore – he took a knee to the back in the first quarter – yet satisfied.

In this instance, that's OK, because Romo helped the Cowboys win a game that seemed lost for much of the day.

For more than three quarters Sunday afternoon, Romo was absolutely awful. Sorry, but there's no delicate way to describe his performance.

Those throws that didn't sailed over his receivers' heads landed at their feet. Hopefully, we can blame Romo's sore back for his inaccuracy.

But with the game on the line and all of the feel-good moments the Cowboys had amassed during the first 10 weeks in jeopardy, Romo played his best football.

Dallas 7, Washington 6.

The game was every bit as close and as difficult and as tenuous as the final score indicates. Feel free to blame Romo.

With 7:06 left in the third quarter, Romo had a passer rating of 36.7, having completed just eight of 18 passes for 98 yards with an interception. Romo, though, refused to yield to frustration.

It's a little something he and Tiger Woods have discussed from time to time. It's about performing at a high level during the moment that determines whether you win or lose.

At that point, the past becomes irrelevant. Only the present matters.

Trailing 6-0, Dallas took over at its own 40 needing a touchdown to win.

Romo threw an incompletion on first down. It was the only ball that hit the ground during the possession.

A 7-yard pass to Felix Jones and a 5-yard scramble on third down produced a first down. Then Romo hit Jason Witten for 7. Miles Austin for 9. Witten for 12 and Austin for 11.

Suddenly, Romo found a rhythm, and the Cowboys were at the Washington 9 with 3:26 left.

A false start penalty moved the ball to the 14, but Romo found Austin for 4 yards to the 10. On second down, Romo made the kind of play that few others can duplicate.

Feeling pressure, Romo bent over and spun away from Washington defensive end Brian Orakpo while searching for a receiver. As Romo drifted left, he began directing Patrick Crayton, who was trying to lose his defender in the end zone.

A moment later, Romo zipped a pass to Crayton.

Touchdown.

Romo thrust both arms triumphantly in the air. A fist pump followed. The pain disappeared.

"It hurts right before and right after," Romo said of his back, "but during the snap you're just playing the game. That's part of football."

The best quarterbacks figure out how to win games when they struggle. Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger is the master. No matter how poorly he plays during the game's first three quarters, Roethlisberger plays his best football at winning time.

I've been fairly surprised about the show Cougar Town, it's a horrible title for a show and it's a one trick pony but it's pretty funny. Anyway, apparently Courtney Cox is having issues and they have halted production.

'Cougar Town' halts production
Star Courteney Cox dealing with 'private family matter'

By Nellie Andreeva

Nov 22, 2009, 08:16 PM ET
hr/photos/stylus/106749-cougar_town_341x182.jpg

"Cougar Town"
Production on ABC's freshman comedy series "Cougar Town" was shut down late last week to accommodate star Courteney Cox.

In a statement, the network confirmed the work stoppage, noting that it was done "in order for Courteney to deal with a private family matter."

There is no word when filming on the series, which has been picked up for a full season, will resume.

"Cougar Town" was already scheduled to go on hiatus this week for the Thanksgiving holiday.
'Cougar Town' halts production

By Nellie Andreeva

Nov 22, 2009, 08:16 PM ET

Production on ABC's freshman comedy series "Cougar Town" was shut down late last week to accommodate star Courteney Cox.

In a statement, the network confirmed the work stoppage, noting that it was done "in order for Courteney to deal with a private family matter."

There is no word when filming on the series, which has been picked up for a full season, will resume.

"Cougar Town" was already scheduled to go on hiatus this week for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Bruce played the 2nd to last show of the Workin on a Dream tour Friday night in Baltimore.

November 20 / 1st Mariner Arena / Baltimore, MD

Notes: Truly into the home stretch of the Working on a Dream tour, Bruce and the E Street Band began their second-to-last show of 2009 with a call to "bring on your wrecking ball." But judging by how long this night stretched out — a little past the 3:20 mark — they're not quite ready to pack it in.

This was a long-awaited return to Baltimore, which hadn't seen a Springsteen show since the earliest days of the now-legendary E Street Band. "We haven't played here since 1973, I think," said Bruce, recalling opening for Chicago back then with a ticket price of two bucks. What stayed in his mind was someone saying, "Hey, man, we didn't come here to see you." To which he replied, "Oh yeah? Well, the next time you do, it's gonna cost you five bucks."

With question marks surrounding the post-tour future of the E Street Band, a palpable feeling of finality coursed through tonight's performance of Born to Run — the very real possibility of finality, if not finality itself. Could this be the last time we'd hear some of these songs with the E Street Band? Certainly on this tour, with Greetings slated for Buffalo. Springsteen confirmed it was on his mind, too, at the end of the album sequence: "Born to Run — for the last time." In addition to the album's original players, Springsteen gave an extra shout out: "Produced by Jon Landau... he's in the room tonight."

After chasing the clouds away with "Waitin' on a Sunny Day," Springsteen took note of the newsboy cap worn by the girl he'd brought on stage, and decided, "For you, in honor of this hat.... in honor of this hat, this song." And right into "Spirit in the Night." From there, a spontaneous new sign collecting vamp: "A little 'Green Onions,' everybody, key of E!" Booker T and the MGs transitioned right into "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" (for a sign that pictured the Big Man and even provided hats for both Clarence and Bruce) followed by "The E Street Shuffle." "For You" was Bruce alone at the piano — "This is dangerous ground over here," he said, "I only semi-know what I'm doing." And though his fingers may have demonstrated some truth to that statement, his vocal was out of this world.

"Radio Nowhere" led to "My Love Will Not Let You Down," as it always seems to want to. And then, an all-too-rare performance of "Long Walk Home." Building on Steve's solo vocal turn at the end, Bruce began a gospel call-and-response with his old friend, the kind of intimate, spontaneous moment that both depends on and displays the level of wordless communication these guys have developed over so many years.

While "the end" had hung heavy over some of the main set, the mood shifted in the encore as they blew it out with "Ramrod" to start. Instead of saying "You've just seen... for the last time for a while..." as he had at other recent shows, the encore found Bruce not going gentle into that good night. Well, he went with Frost, actually, not Dylan Thomas: "We're shutting down for a little while, but we will see you in the future, further on down the road, because we have miles to go before we sleep!"

A couple laides got to dance in the dark with Clarence; Ali Weinberg guested on both "American Land" (accordion) and "Higher and Higher" (tamborine and vocals). After the now-standard Jackie Wilson closer, it looked like that'd be it once again. Springsteen embraced his bandmates, and most of them left the stage. But after an extended hug and chat with Clarence, Bruce called 'em all back for one more. "Well, we ain't in no rush," he said, kicking into "Glory Days." "Steve, take this thing home!" Sez Steve: "I don't wanna go home!" Bruce: "Are you with me?" Steve: "I don't know!" Stevie, we know just how you feel.

Setlist:

Wrecking Ball (with Curt Ramm)
Prove It All Night
Hungry Heart
Working on a Dream
Thunder Road
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (with Curt Ramm)
Night
Backstreets
Born to Run
She's the One
Meeting Across the River (with Curt Ramm)
Jungleland
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Spirit in the Night
Green Onions
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
The E Street Shuffle
For You
Radio Nowhere
My Love Will Not Let You Down
Long Walk Home
The Rising
Badlands

Encore

Ramrod
Hard Times
Land of Hope and Dreams
American Land (with Curt Ramm and Ali Weinberg)
Dancing in the Dark
Rosalita (with Curt Ramm)
Higher and Higher (with Curt Ramm)
Glory Days