Hail to the Victors!

Welcome, amigos.
I'd like to first tell everyone that I think Troy Smith is the greatest quarterback since Unitas. I've always been on his side. I can't believe he had so many detractors. He is a cross between Vick/Marino/Elway/Palmer and Ken Anderson.
As for the Buckeyes...what a win! What a great week it is leading up to michigan week. So much anticipation, funny emails, and jabs at those jackwads up north. However, I would have bet a large sum of money that the Bucks would have lost. They were favored..they had a lot more to lose than michigan...and they were playing up there. It always spells disaster for my teams.
Anyhow, it was once again another stellar showing by Geno's Bar and Grill. Gene is a great family friend and a friend of all of us for a long, long time. He lives in a great old house out in the country with a big old barn. One year Gene fixed up a quarter of this barn and made it a bar. It's all original (of course) and has a lot of antique items (the bar itself, old slate pool table, slot machine, and antique pinball games to name a few). Gene always opens up for big games and it has now just become a given that we would all meet up there for the OSU/michigan game. The food is outstanding and the atmosphere is great. In fact, my dad changed his flight plans to arrive in time for the game, leaving from florida at 2:30 am that morning. That's dedication ladies and gentlemen.
Of course, once again the Buckeyes prevail. The truly better team won this time. A.J. Hawk is the greatest football player in the nation, hands down. I'm not sure who is better but if he and Chris Spielman were to fight each other, the earth would probably explode as these two titans battle it out.
Also, to see some of the pregame emails and some great in-depth coverage of the Buckeyes, go visit my buddy Dave's place (son of legenday bar owner mentioned above, Geno) at :http://buckiflyer.blogspot.com/ He has a lot of good info and really keeps his finger on the pulse of Buckeye Nation.

Finally, Penn State also won which means that the Buckeyes have to share the Big Ten Championship. But that doesn't really bother me. In fact, I'm kinda' happy for Penn State and especially Joe Paterno. Just a year ago they were calling for his head...they wanted him fired. That really bothered me at the time because this was a guy who practically built that university. In an era when schools are grilled because of their lack of educational achievements and their lack of class and sportsmanship, Paterno's teams always seemed to be a model of what a good clean program should be. So some in the media who at times complain about the lack of ethics of some schools turn and claim that Paterno should be fired just because he wasn't winning as much. I'd say this...if he didn't win a game for the next ten years I still wouldn't care. He could leave anytime he saw fit. After all, who the hell would know what a Nittany Lion was without Jo Pa?
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Election day was a couple of weeks ago. In my opinion, not a lot of issues/candidates that stirred me either way. Nevertheless, I voted. I like voting for several reasons. One, my opinions and thoughts are always right. I owe the country that. Second, I love where I vote. It's at a little tiny church in the middle of nowhere. When I walk in the volunteers (who look like the cast of Golden Girls) all say, "Hi Mike!" That's the beauty of small-town life. Well, they now have the new touchscreen computer things. I love them but the whole time I was voting, I kept thinking "what idiot is not following this?" Who is going to march on Washington to protest these? Anyway, it truly is a rewarding feeling when you walk out after casting your one vote. I'm a very patriotic person and in a corny way, I guess, I look at voting as stepping up to the altar of Democracy...and freedom...and to appreciate the sacrifices made for me to offer my input.
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Speaking of election season, I was driving down the road in Bethel Township recently when I saw a campaign sign for someone running for some council seat. I couldn't believe my eyes...that couldn't be right...so I kept my eyes peeled for that sign again. I saw it! The person running was named Kama L Dick. But when you're zooming by it looks like Kamal Dick is running for some government seat. I thought it was a porn star or something. "Passionate Arabian Nights, starring Kamal Dick"..."One Hump or Two, featuring Kamal Dick". I don't know...maybe I have an eyesight problem.
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I have a beef with Wendy's. What is their big deal with Ketchup (or is it catsup)? They don't give you any ketchup unless you ask for it. When has a few packets of ketchup become such a precious commodity that they don't even give it to you when you order fast food? Was there a huge tomato shortage that I didn't hear about? I'll tell you one thing. When Dave Thomas was around, he would have made sure I had plenty of ketchup. Heck, even when you ask for it, they give you like...two. Two! Come on, I'd like to dip more than two fries in this tasty mixture of tomato mash before I run out. Maybe if they cut back on their ice production (which the entire cup is filled with ice and you actually get like an ounce of liquid) they could afford to throw in a few more packs without screwing up their quarterly profits.
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I was sitting at a stop light in Troy..at the corner of Main Street and Elm. Two relatively busy roads in town. I look over and there is a guy riding one of those big tricycle bikes right in the middle of the road. No sidewalk for this guy! Pretty nice, new bike too. Big basket on the back and a huge orange flag fluttering in the breeze. Problem was, if he wasn't in his mid-90s I'd be shocked. The fella had to be 96. What's more, he was wearing slacks and a suit coat (like older folks like to do). If you have ever seen Office Space (which is in the top ten movies of all-time in my book) where at the beginning the guy is stuck in rush hour traffic and looks over to see the guy on the sidewalk using a walker moving faster than he is in his traffic-jammed car. It's just one of those things you see in your day that makes you laugh out loud. I looked over and saw this big burly guy driving a dump truck staring in amazement at the scene in front of us. We both looked at each other and just smiled. I'll never forget that. This was last week and I'm willing to bet the ol' gentleman still hasn't made it home. Creeeeeaaak...creeeeaaakk. I will say this, he'll probably live a hell of a lot longer than my fat butt and I admire him for not just sitting around. He seemed like a real go-getter...one slow revolution of the pedal at a time as traffice zoomed by him.
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Stupid quote of the week: A very popular feature from last posting...This one happened many weeks ago, but is worth repeating. I was at work and a guy who delivers there often stopped by. This was a week or so before we were preparing to go to London. We're talking about going over there and he says, "So, you flyin over there?". Again, I just sat there, letting it soak in thinking "Nah, think we're gonna try to drive it. Might stop at a motel halfway or so." Now, to this guy's credit, he knew how stupid a thing he said almost instantly...and I kinda like the dude so I didn't give him too much guff.
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If your radio station is still playing ZZTop at least once an hour, it's time to turn the channel.
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Two of the best shows on television are My Name is Earl and The Office. Do yourself a favor and check them out. Incredible writing, acting, storylines. Check them out. Also, if you haven't seen Still Standing, please do so. Another great show. It features the most attractive lady in television, Jami Gertz (pictured) What is so great about her is that she has, what I call, the "Elaine" factor, named after Elaine from Seinfeld. It's just that "it" factor that you can't explain. But nothing compared to my darling wife (as I say really loud so she can hear me say it)
While these are good shows, they fail to match up with legendary episodes of Jerry Springer. But I will say this, Springer doesn't have much of a longevity factor built into it. You pretty much know what you're getting. Someone's on stage...they've been "done wrong" by someone else...that someone else enters the stage and usually yells to the crowd, "you don't know me! you don't know me!". Approximately 3.5 seconds later the punches fly. Is it funny and entertaining? Hell yes! But it does get a bit predictable.
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Gwen Stefani is a no talent hack. How she gets all of this press is a real head scratcher. Sure, she's mildly attractive (on a scale of 1-10, I'd give her a 4) but her singing sounds like you tied two cat's tails to each other and threw them over a clothesline. I classify her as an "awards show" star. You know, the so called star that fits the bill to represent their respective genre/race on the show so they can please every demographic that may be watching. For example, if there should be a latin theme, you know their calling up Santana or Gloria Estefan. Black folks? You're gonna get Mary J. Blige or Usher. White folks? Stefani or a "boy band". Older folks? Look out for Patti Labelle (who sings like someone is jabbing a fondue fork into a baby seal's eyeball....eeeeeeeeeoooooooowwwaaaaaaaa!!!!)

All right, I gotta get to bed. Had a long day mentally preparing for this Ohio State game. I'm sore and tired, much like I would be if I had played...although I believe my head is going to hurt much more tomorrow.

Go Bucks! Muck Fichigan