I'm leaving for Ohio at around 11 this morning, so hopefully I'll make it to my mom's house by 3-3:30ish. Not sure what's on the agenda for tonight and/or tomorrow, but I do know that I have a mountain of laundry that needs to be washed. I'm sure that'll make my mom happy!
So yeah, just spending the next couple days at home with mom, Dan, and Aunt Julie's family, and then leaving at around 2:30 on Thanksgiving to drive back to Michigan so I can spend part of the day with my dad, Sherry, and the girls. Friday I'll probably drive down to Stef's house to spend the rest of the weekend with her family, so it'll be nice to see them too.
Not sure how motivated I'll feel about posting while I'm on vacation, but we'll just play it by ear. Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Careful not to overdose on the tryptophan.
I guess Stef was picked to read from a different script than the one she performed at the audition last Thursday, but I don't think it really makes a difference to her one way or another. Right now I'm still fuzzy on the details for when the show will be (sometime around Valentine's Day, I want to say), but I'll keep people posted if they're interested in coming to see the play.
Anyway, CONGRATULATIONS STEFY! I'm so proud of you!
I finally got my eyes checked for the first time in about six or seven years yesterday. The result? I still have 20/20 vision! I did tell the doctor that my eyes typically feel a bit "tired" by the end of the day, so he still gave me a prescription for some computer lenses to help out with that. He said if I didn't get some at some point, my eyes would probably get worse and I could end up losing my distance vision within a decade, but I only have to wear them when I'm using my computer. Technically I guess that's all the time, but at least I can get by without them.
I picked out about four really cool frames, but didn't make a final decision yet because I want to take Stef with me next week and get her $.02. Since it's been so long since I bought a pair of eyeglasses, I want to make sure I get a pair that I really like and won't feel goofy about wearing when I'm at work. Hey, even Superman had to wear glasses when he was dressed up as Clark Kent.
So yeah, I'm glad I finally got the eye exam taken care of. Definitely a load off. Now I just need to reschedule my stupid dentist appointment.
Lynn Henning nails it this morning in the Detroit News:
For Izzo and any of his fan base to entertain, even whimsically, the notion that a Big Ten basketball coach could sashay over to the Duffy Daugherty Football Building and introduce a competent culture is to suggest the psychedelic '60s are back in vogue in East Lansing.
MSU has been looking for a football messiah for so long that the Izzo-for-coach sentiment is, pathetically, understandable. Spartans fans tend to act like a modern-day version of Diogenes, holding their lanterns as they search for a single capable football coach, never realizing that lots of good football coaches with all kinds of ability to harness MSU's attributes always have been there for the hiring.
Thus, the Izzo-for-football-coach thought can take root within a fan community that knows Izzo as the one person who has represented MSU's enduring sports potential.
MSU's executives -- I think -- are clear-headed enough to have dismissed such a transfer as being the craziest idea since George Perles wanted to be both football coach and athletic director (oops, that actually happened).
Izzo, likewise, might have thought a few seconds more about his Monday words and come to regret dreaming out loud.
Then, again, I'm not sure.
Asked what kind of defense he would deploy as Spartans head coach, he responded: "3-4. I like the linebackers. I want to kill somebody."
I know just how he feels.
Me too.
• DNews: Is Izzo interested in MSU football job?
• Freep: Could Izzo's name be in mix for MSU football job?
Could it happen? Gee whiz, COULD it???
Well, any human with half a brain would say no, but Tom had to open his yap and say this today:
"I don't think I'm a candidate," Izzo said Monday during his weekly news conference at the Breslin Center, where his basketball team plays Vermont Tuesday night.
"If somebody asks me, 'Do you have an interest in football?' Yeah, I have an interest football. 'Would you have an interest in the football job?' I would have to say no, but I'd probably deep down have to say yeah, I would.
Tom has zero football coaching experience, and thus has zero credibility for a job like this. Izzo knows this ain't gonna happen, so why the hell did he have to say something anything at all? He must've known that the morons (not all, but most) who cover sports would be on this (non-)story like white on rice. And guess what? They are.
Can you tell how desperate we are for a good coach to take over Michigan State's football team? People are actually getting excited about the long-shot prospect of having our basketball coach take over the program. That's just nuts to me. Come on, Spartans! Pull your heads out of your asses, and let's get back to more rampant speculation about candidates who actually have a snowball's chance in hell of landing this job.
Said linebacker Boss Bailey: "We 2-8. We losing. We win a game, then we lose two or three. Are we getting better? You tell me."
I was a bit confused by the fuzzy math, but the way my dad explained it to me, the Lions only have to lose one more game for it to be mathematically impossible for another team to get the 1st pick of the draft. Of course, as my old man reminded me, Matt Millen will probably select another Charles Rogers-type receiver, and blow it again.
Man, and we thought MSU's football team was bad...
• Bond on Friday afternoon
• Grocery
• Silver Bells in Lansing with Stef, Sara, and Michael
• Tour of the Capitol for the bagillionth time, still fun
• Sleeping in until 11AM on Saturday
• Watching MSU close out the worst season in my lifetime
• Watching the historic OSU-UM matchup
• Dinner at Old Chicago with Stef's friends from Holmes
• Watching Fahrenheit 9/11 with Stef on Saturday
• Sleeping in until 9:30AM on Sunday
• Lunch with Stef's cousins Nik and Olivia at Potbelly's
• Finishing Season 2 of Dawson's Creek with Stef on Sunday night
So yeah, Casino Royale was really cool. I thought it dragged a bit in the middle (for a minute I thought I was watching the World Series of Poker), but there were enough 'splosions to make me happy. Daniel Craig is a badass as James Bond, but they could've given the guy a few more lines of dialogue, IMHO. This one is definitely worth seeing on the big screen.
The OSU-UM game was a lot of fun to watch on Saturday, and I was glad that I didn't have to miss any of the action because we went out to dinner with the girls, which was a lot of fun in and of itself. All-in-all it was another "busy" weekend, but there was still plenty of time to relax before the crazy Thanksgiving holiday week.
Anyway, here are some pictures from Silver Bells on Friday. Enjoy!
"It says Michigan is No. 2, but don’t be deceived," said Palm, who runs the collegebcs.com Web site. "Michigan’s position is decorative at the moment; they are an honorary No. 2."
Southern California, Palm said, is the real No. 2.
Palm said if USC beats Notre Dame this week and UCLA on Dec. 2, the Trojans will be OSU’s opponent in Glendale, Ariz.
"If (USC) wins out, they will be the highest-rated one-loss team in the computers," Palm said. "And with the poll margins the way they are, Michigan has no chance."
Florida is the third and final team with a realistic chance to meet the Buckeyes, Palm said.
By clinching a Pacific-10 champion- ship with a win over California on Saturday, Southern Cal (9-1) jumped one spot to second in both the USA Today and Harris Interactive polls, leapfrogging the Wolverines (11-1).
Michigan stayed No. 2 in the BCS by claiming second among computer rankings. But the margins are slim.
Personally, I think a re-match in the title game would be kinda cool, but I won't shed any tears if it doesn't happen. If USC wins out, then they obviously deserve to play for a national championship over Michigan.
Man, that was one hell of a game on Saturday. I gotta give props to the Wolverines for making it interesting, but the Buckeyes just had an edge, and his name is Troy Smith. Sigh. Maybe someday Michigan State will get there, but I won't hold my breath.
Anyway, congratulations to Ohio State!
Cue the world's smallest violin. John L. Smith is gone! Oh, happy day!
"This is the first time that we haven't been able to (succeed)," Smith said. "So you have to feel bad. How bad? On a scale? I don't know. I don't know what it's like, having never been there before.
"But yeah, that hurts."
Then he walked away from the microphone.
Happy trails, to you!