Game Night

on Friday evening a group of us went up to Westerville and played some games at the Columbus Area Boardgamers event. After eating way too much at Thurman's we went up and tried our hand at 4-5 different games. It was nice to be able to play somewhere away from a kitchen or basement for a change. We had plenty of room and they had a bunch of different games we could check out to play. Good times when ever we can all get together. Thanks to the High Counselor of Norwalk for making a road trip down to join us. The Wallet Draining Lich was doing the obligitory family weekend camping trip so he missed out on some good times. Of course it isn't like he really camps with a tent or anything. He has one of those fancy rolling hotel rooms complete, I am sure, with a very comfortable bathroom.

Game Day

This week brings us the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin is coming off of a painful loss to Michigan in the Big House. The Badgers couldn't move the ball with any consistency and failed to fully take advantage of 5 first half turnovers scoring only 19 points. That being said Madison, at night, is a tough place to play. The crowd is rowdy and mean. Tressel is only 2-3 against the Badgers, including 1-1 at Camp Randall. Make sure you stay tuned in between the third and fourt quarters to watch the stadium go crazy and "Jump" as it is one of the cooler things you see other places do.

This will be a very tough game for Ohio State but I think with an almost healthy Beanie, the quickness of Pryor and a big effort from the defense the Buckeyes will get through 28-20.

Bad Joke of the Week

What do you call a boomerang that doesn't work?
A stick.

This Day in History

September 30, 1955


On this day in 1955, movie star James Dean dies at age 24 in a car crash on a California highway. Dean was driving his Porsche 550 Spyder, nicknamed "Little Bastard," headed to a car race in Salinas, California, with his mechanic Rolf Wuetherich, when they were involved in a head-on collision with a car driven by a 23-year-old college student named Donald Turnaspeed. Dean was taken to Paso Robles War Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:59 p.m. Wuetherich, who was thrown from the car, survived the accident and Turnaspeed escaped with minor injuries. No charges were ever filed against him.

Quote of the Week

To die will be an awfully big adventure.

J.M. BARRIE, Peter Pan

Friday October 3

I can't wait until Friday at 3:00 when we gather for a ritualistic meal at Thurman's in Columbus. Let the eating, and gaming, begin!!

Buckeye Recap

A pretty good three quarters work in a 34-21 victory over Minnesota. Tressel, as always, called off the dogs in the second half, getting a lot of people, 66, into the game. Terrelle Pryor rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns while throwing for another. Beanie Wells made his return and looked pretty good. He made an incredible leaping move over a Minnesota player and looks like he will be getting back to full speed soon. He was a bit rusty and a bit gimpy but was wearing a seriously cumbersome pair of shoes. He carried 14 times for 108 yards. Next up are the Wisconsin Badgers in a scary night game at Madison.

Looks like it will be an exciting year for upsets as Number 1 USC, Number 3 Georgia, Number 4 Florida, and number 8 Wisconsin all lost this week end.

Go Bucks!!

Never Leave Your Partner Behind

We went to see the newest movie from Sherwood Church called Fireproof. These are the same people that produced Facing the Giants a few years ago. that movie was made for $100,000 and made ten million. This time they spent $500,000 and I'd be willing to guess it brings in at least 25 million this weekend alone. The movie stars Kirk Cameron from the Growing Pains TV show. He has a pretty impressive Christian witness that you can read about here.

The church behind the movie, Sherwood Baptist Church has a very impressive outreach program and are really involved in making quality family films and the Kendrick brothers are being called the Christian Coen brothers. This movie will make you laugh, think, sit on the edge of your seat and reflect on your own relationship in two hours. I give it 4 Floyds not because of the great acting or great lines but because of the great message. It was nice to see a movie like this in the theater. Guys, go see this one with your wives.

Game Day

The Season starts today. The Big Ten opens against Minnesota and the road to the Rose Bowl (and maybe beyond) begins here today. The Gophers come in 4-0 averaging 36 points per game. They haven't played a real tough schedule but it is rated #25 by these guys. In comparison Ohio State is rated #4 behind Georgia, Michigan and Baylor.

Pryor should have a big game today and I look for Boom or Beanie, maybe both, to go over 100 yards rushing. Pryor has a very deceptive strong arm so look for at least 4 long balls today. He might not complete them but look for him to throw them. I'm still worried that the "D" is still too much of a work in progress and will give up a few big plays. The point spread is OSU by 19. Take the Bucks to cover.

My prediction is Ohio State 38 Minnesota 14.

Go Bucks!

The Mighty Have Fallen

Oregon State has beaten the greatest college team of all time, the 2008 USC Trojans 27-21 in Corvallis Oregon. The Beavers led early and had to hang on big time. USC tried an onside kick with 1:18 left to seal it. Jacquizz Rodgers carried 37 times for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Wonder what a healthy Beanie would have done against the Trojan Gods?

Bad Joke of the Week

What type of jewelry does a dragon like best?

Theirs.

3 months to Christmas Eve

You better watch out!!

Hobbit Day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE HOBBITS AROUND THE SHIRE & MIDDLE EARTH

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
DEAR HOBBIT & FRIEND.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
MAY THE FUN NEVER END.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
DEAR ...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
DEAR HOBBIT & FRIEND.

- Marc Gunn, of the Brobdingnagian Bards

Concerning Proper Birthday Gifts and the Giving Thereof

by Daisy Brambleburr of Bindbale Wood

As readers of Professor Tolkien's immortal THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS will know, hobbits do not receive gifts on their birthdays. Instead, we freely GIVE gifts--in the long run, this works out better for everyone involved, as you give gifts once a year, but are practically guaranteed to receive at least one a week every week of the year. We like that.

Appropriate gifts range in stature from a simple card with a birthday greeting for a passing acquaintance to lavish imported oddities for your nearest and dearest. Some have expressed puzzlement on how to categorize recipients and levels of gift to give. Here are some guidelines:

Your Postman/Banker/Inn Keeper/Favorite Barmaid/etc : In the case of service personnel not specifically related to you, but of which you are fond, the birthday greeting card (with perhaps a birthday song folded around a single gold coin for the REALLY special ones) is considered good form. These say "Happy Birthday to Me" without being overly pretentious.

Your Relatives Below Fourth-Cousin and all Removes : For those distant relations who you feel obligated to acknowledge but do not know very well--or particularly like--it is appropriate to recycle the least favorite birthday gifts that you have received in the previous year. If possible, refrain from giving them back the gift they gave to you on THEIR birthday, but it is not something to worry overly about, as they probably gave the same thing to everyone they knew.

Your Relatives Between First and Third Cousins : Now, we are starting to get to the gifts that require a bit more thought and generosity. Here, you should keep in mind the personality of the intended recipient, and try to find something that matches their personal tastes. It is still appropriate to give a gift that you have received but do not care for, but it should be something that you feel the one you are giving it to will enjoy better than you did. For example--that lovely handcarved musical instrument that you are too tone deaf to play would be a wonderful gift for your cousin Dandelion who shows a real aptitude (but make a birthday song a stipulation--that way you both get something to enjoy.)

Your Immediate Family : Be prepared to provide new gifts for your siblings and offspring. It is only polite. These gifts should at the very least be purchased from Bywater or Bree, as there should be some sense of the exotic to them. Again, bear the personality of the recipient in mind. The amount spent on each gift is a good way to show whether or not a family member is in favor at the moment.

Your Spouse or Sweetheart : This is the single most important gift of all. It should be as lavish and spectacular as you can possibly make it--because you want the same in return. Something that they will definitely not want to give to a fourth cousin next birthday.

Quote of the Week

"I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." - Bilbo Baggins

Yankee Stadium

Today is the last game in Yankee Stadium and it truly is the end of an era. I am not a Yankee fan but this is a bit of a sad moment. Major League Baseball, in my opinion, made a huge mistake not ending the season with the Yankees at home. The game will be on tonight on ESPN at 8:00 PM and I'm sure it will be worth watching just for the clips, interviews, ghosts and memories. If you get a chance to pick up this weeks Sports Illustrated you should. There is a great article about the Stadium in there. You can read it here

Buckeye Recap

Starting at Quarterback... number 2... Terrell Pryor. I'm pretty sure, baring injury, we will be hearing that announcement for the next three seasons. While Pryor wasn't perfect out there he certainly showed enough to help get some excitement back. Pryor threw for four touchdowns, which caught me a bit off guard. His line looked like this:

10 for 16, 141 yards 4 TD's. He threw one meaningless interception on a Hail Mary right before the half.

He also had 62 yards rushing. I'm just happy having a win, some excitement about the team and some hope for the rest of the season. That being said they need to keep improving since the Big 10 season starts next week. Bring on the Gophers

Game Day

It is The Men of Troy, part deux.



Bad news from the Dispatch:

Ohio State tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells has seen improvement in his injured right foot, but he will miss his third straight game Saturday.

Coach Jim Tressel yesterday said Wells' foot responded much better to back-to-back practices this week than it did last week, but said Wells still wasn't "functionally ready" to play.

Tressel would not put a timetable on Wells' return to action, either.

"He's got to be able to function at the Beanie level," he said.

Wells suffered the injury Aug. 30 against Youngstown State, on his 13th carry of the season. The junior from Akron was considered one of several preseason Heisman Trophy hopefuls, but that chance now has evaporated.

"Gosh, I hope that's not forefront in his mind," Tressel said. "My experience with Beanie is what's most important to him is when will he be back to help his team. Those other things, yeah, they're goals, and I hope they are, but they're not in the forefront."


Troy is not a bad team. They might be better than Ohio University. Ohio State needs to step up and be Ohio State. They can not afford to lose three games before they settle on a quarterback like they did in 2004 when they lost three in a row (Northwestern in OT on the road, Wisconsin at home, and Iowa on the road. They lost later that season at Purdue and easily could have lost in week two to Marshall. That type of season (8-4 with 2 close calls and a bowl game win over Kansas State)will not be acceptable.

I like the Bucks, in a game that will be closer than the final score, 31-17. I think this will be the coming out party for Mr. Pryor.

**** Kick Off Update**** Pryor gets the start and Mike Brewster starts at center. 1st time in OSU history a true freshman has started at both center and quarterback!!!!

Ahoy Mateys. Parlay?

Avast me hearties. tis talk like a Pirate Day. Grab some booty and give us yer best arrrrrrr

Bad Joke of the Week

Long ago, when sailing ships ruled the waves, a captain and his crew were in danger of being boarded by a pirate ship. As the crew became frantic, the captain bellowed to his First Mate, "Bring me my red shirt!". The First Mate quickly retrieved the captain's red shirt, which the captain put on and lead the crew to battle the pirate boarding party. Although some casualties occurred among the crew, the pirates were repelled.

Later that day, the lookout screamed that there were two pirate vessels sending boarding parties. The crew cowered in fear, but the captain calm as ever bellowed, "Bring me my red shirt!". The battle was on, and once again the Captain and his crew repelled both boarding parties, although this time more casualties occurred.

Weary from the battles, the men sat around on deck that night recounting the day's occurrences when an ensign looked to the Captain and asked, "Sir, why did you call for your red shirt before the battle?". The Captain, giving the ensign a look that only a captain can give, exhorted, "If I am wounded in battle, the red shirt does not show the wound and thus, you men will continue to fight unafraid". The men sat in silence marveling at the courage of such a man.

As dawn came the next morning, the lookout screamed that there were pirate ships, 10 of them, all with boarding parties on their way. The men became silent and looked to their Captain for his usual command. The Captain, calm as ever, bellowed, "Bring me my brown pants!!

This Day in History 9-16-1988

Tom Browning of the Reds pitches Major League Baseball's 12th Perfect game.In what is one of the best pitched games of all time the Reds defeat the Dodgers 1-0 in Riverfront Stadium.

Dodgers pitcher Tim Belcher goes the distance for the Dodgers allowing only 3 hits, while striking out 7, and allowing only an unearned run to score. This game was delayed almost 3 hours by rain and then only took 1 hour and 51 minutes to play. You can see the boxscore here.

And how does a great day in Reds history get honored? With a special anniversary bobblehead night. That's right tonight is the Mr. Perfect 20th Anniversary Bobblehead Night. Ugh