Baseball Season is Here...

* Sweet. I don't really count the abbreviated Red Sox-A's series in Japan that technically served as the season opener. The fact that both teams resumed spring training after those games seemed to devalue (?) those games. In any case, tonight's Braves-Nats opener was a great start to the season. From the debut of Nationals' Park, to the crowd roundly booing President Bush as he threw out the first pitch, to Ryan Zimmerman's walk-off bomb to end the evening, a fitting start to the season. Here's hoping that VT's own Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, Dustin Moseley and, perhaps, Nick Adenhart, can help the Angels weather the early months sans John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar. After all, with Peter Angelos entering his 15th year as principal owner of the Orioles, my childhood favorite will likely offer few moments to celebrate.

* It was fascinating to see the reaction of the crowd at Nationals' Park to President Bush throwing out the first pitch juxtaposed with his throwing out the first pitch during the World Series in 2001, shortly after 9/11. The hope, strength, leadership, resilience, goodwill and potential that seemed evident to me in again watching that moment have, over the last six and a half years, been squandered, resulting in the president's being roundly booed by the DC crowd this evening. A microcosm of the judgment that surrounds the current administration and the challenges the candidates for the presidency face in the coming months and years.

Intentions...

I don't actually believe that the ramblings in this blog will ever have faithful readers, beyond the occasional perusal by my loving wife. And that was surely not the intent behind initiating this blog. I'm simply engaging in some random writing, providing an outlet for various observations and indignations reverberating in my head, attempting to utilize larger words than required in sentences, all in a simple to use and presumably perpetual venue.

I have to admit, this has been a somewhat more difficult exercise than I anticipated. It takes a good deal of effort to sit down each day and record thoughts in new and imaginative ways. Which, I imagine, is why so many writers record their thoughts in formulaic fashion, utilizing familiar gimmicks to serve as the scaffolding around the original snippets of thought. Nonetheless, those bloggers and writers who post day after day, particularly those who do so as a hobby or alternate pursuit beyond their day job, impress me greatly.

Clearly, I drifted away from posting in this forum for an extended period of time. I'm not entirely sure that these two postings will be the start of another extended run. But, a dumping of my consciousness seemed to be worthy of a few minutes this evening. It's interesting to me that, as I'm getting older, my interests seem to be expanding into a greater number of areas. However, the intensity of that interest is highly variable and fluctuating, with no discernible pattern or motivation. Sports do not hold my interest with the same degree, mostly serving as background noise as I read, research, or observe other things. Then again, I'm cutting this off to devote my full attention to the final 16 seconds of tonight's Lakers-Wizards game. So maybe I'm not evolving as much as I think I am...

Immersion in the Moment...

I enjoy a good deal of the material that bloggers like Big Daddy Drew and Will Leitch post, both on Kissing Suzy Kolber, Deadspin, the New York Times, etc. I enjoy the comedic eloquence, the immature yet unapologetic viewpoints, and the caricatures of various athletes and sports figures. In the case of the above mentioned writers, occasionally they venture beyond a simple sporting event and embed a shred of serious writing, moreso in the case of Leitch than Drew. Drew recently made one of those rare ventures beyond the standard with his latest post on Deadspin. Very enjoyable and, beneath the initial recollections of concerts attended, bagels eaten, and coitus engaged, is a relatively poignant commentary on the fact that, too often, people (most definitely including myself, as I am consistently guilty of this) tend to care more about their perception by others rather than their own belief in a cause or enjoyment of a moment. As Drew notes, getting "into it" is a state that should be sought more often. Good stuff.

Chargers-Patriots...

Yes, the game has already begun. No, nothing of substance, besides the fact that San Diego's defense has limited the Patriots on their first two offensive possessions has taken place thus far. However, that occurrence is indicative of the fact that the Chargers' defense matches up with the Patriots defense better than any other team in the NFL. With the ability to generate pressure with their front four, a talented group in the secondary, and a group of linebackers that can work up to pressure the passer and cover weapons like Watson and Faulk, the Chargers are well equipped to limit the Patriots on offense, particularly if adopting some of the game plan elements the Jaguars employed last week, limiting the deep ball, filling the underneath zone with personnel, and attempting to generate pressure with the front four.

The Chargers would normally present a similar matchup when going up against the Patriots defense, but, with several stars likely to spend a significant amount of time on the sidelines, the Chargers do not possess the same potency on offense. The Chargers must extend drives and give their defense the opportunity to rest, as the pressure the Patriots generate on offense can wear a team down.

Yes, the Patriots are 17-0. However, it is far from a foregone conclusion that the Patriots will complete their quest. With the Chargers this week and, presumably, the Packers in the Super Bowl, the Patriots face their two greatest challenges of the season and I personally believe that they will fail to scale one of these obstacles.

Sunday Hits...

* In several of his latest blog posts, Peter Gammons has continually utilized the term "rat" to describe Brian McNamee as well as other generic informers in the Mitchell investigation. While players through MLB should receive a lion's share of the blame for not seeking to bring this issue to the forefront instead of watching their collective reputations flushed down the toilet, is it a wonder that so few would step forward when one of the most respected baseball journalists is tossing unseemly terms like "rat" around? Yes, McNamee only began releasing names when faced with criminal indictment and long prison sentences, but the motivation does not lessen the veracity of his statements.

* Hoping for an entertaining BCS championship game tomorrow night. But, with a team that has had a month off to recover from injuries sustained during their bruising run through the SEC, it's hard to see Ohio State keep up. If the Buckeyes can establish the run and pound away with Beanie Wells, they could make a game of it. But, I don't see the Buckeyes keeping Glenn Dorsey and Co. from getting penetration and halting the running game. Of course, if it is a tight, close game, I'll likely have to watch the end on my DVR since I have a flag football game. God, my team sucks. Nice guys, bad hands.

* The Giants are impressing in a rout of the Buccaneers. Their offensive and defensive lines are playing some physical football. Ahmad Bradshaw continues to contribute in the change of pace role for the offense, which was an important addition after they lost the productive Dedric Ward earlier this season.

* I understand that people oftentimes vote for candidates who best represent their own personal beliefs. In the case of Mike Huckabee, evangelicals boosted him to a larger than expected winning margin in Iowa. But, isn't a concern that, in a time when a president with a grasp of the foreign policy issues that surround the United States is vital to the nation's interests, Huckabee has repeatedly demonstrated an incomplete and inaccurate knowledge of world affairs?

End of the Run...

The Redskins seemed to let one get away in Seattle yesterday. The game left me frustrated and pissed off, with dropped passes, missed field goals, and a struggling offensive line rattling throughout my head.

On reflection, it's amazing that this season, rife with missed opportunities, injuries, tragedy, and second half collapses, culminated in a game in which the Redskins could have reasonably advanced to an emotionally charged divisional round game against the Cowboys, with talk of NFC Championships and Super Bowl appearances. While the talk proved to be premature, it is indicative of the perseverance and leadership demonstrated by Joe Gibbs and his staff, something that was not evident throughout the early part of the season.

The Redskins head into the offseason needing small adjustments instead of the wholesale changes that have marked so many offseasons. The fabric of this team seems to be as close knit as any in the NFL and bodes well for the prospects of next season. After so much frustration, the Redskins inspired, once again making them a team worth cheering.

Continued Journalistic Stumbling...

The Sean Taylor murder precipitated a great deal of controversy due to the rush to judgment and insensitivity displayed by several writers. Weeks after the initial stumbling, another writer has demonstrated a failed grasp of the issue. This time, the issue is the continued inspiration the players and staff of the Redskins drew from Taylor's passing. John McGrath of the Tacoma News Tribune offers a commentary on his fatigue at the projection of the loss of Taylor onto multiple aspects of the Redskins streak of four wins to end the season, specifically the importance several players placed on the 21 point margin of victory over the Cowboys in the final week of the regular season, along with their continued inclusion of Taylor as a starter on their official depth chart. A columnist residing on the opposite coast, with no direct relationship with any member of the Redskins organization, likely has little perspective on the relationships between the Redskins and Sean Taylor nor on the profound impact Taylor's death had on the locker room. Several writers for the Washington Post, who reside on the Redskins beat, had offered comments on the fact that the Redskins, particularly those who were close to Taylor, truly believed that Taylor impacted and affected their performance.

While McGrath is offering an opinion in his article, it seems to be a simple manifestation of his own personal fatigue over the issue rather than a researched column that has any basis in fact demonstrating the use of Taylor as a martyr by the Redskins organization, which is what McGrath seems to imply with a lack of sensitivity that is reminiscent of the early days after Taylor's murder.