Posted inNews

The Sky is Falling!

by Deck

Last night at approximately 8:30 central time, streaks of flaming objects were seen illuminating the skies throughout the Midwest. (No, this is not about the Bears’ Super Bowl flame-out. ;-))

The State Journal-Register, my local newspaper, reports the official word from NORAD…

A preliminary report from the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which watches for airborne threats to the U.S. and Canada, also indicated the lights Sunday evening were from a meteor, spokeswoman Maj. April Cunningham said.

Of course, this is exactly how “War of the Worlds”, “The Blob”, and every other space-based monster movie ever started out, right?

In addition to this astral activity, a seismic event was reported yesterday afternoon in Menard County, northwest of Springfield. Supposedly, the ground shook for just a second or two as if there was a large explosion in the area. Yikes!

Clearly the Tri-Pods are on their way… I’ll let you know when I see the first one wreaking havoc and destruction throughout downtown Springfield. ;-)

And in case you still believe the “official” news sources for this story, here are a couple…

Posted inOn The Web

Batman Gets Treated to Burger King

by Deck

Most of the blogs that I check regularly are topic-oriented: technology, games, or entertainment mostly. But there is one written by a guy called moreanonymous that’s very much a slice-of-life. He had an entry a few days ago titled “Batman Gets Treated to Burger King” that I really enjoyed, and I hope you will also…

He had been using his best behavior all morning. He ate his breakfast quietly at the table; usually he refuses to eat anything. He brushed his teeth and used the potty. Then put his pajamas into the hamper before changing into his Batman clothes. He started with jeans and then added a black turtleneck, followed by a cape and gloves. He needed help to get his mask on, but he asked very nicely. Then he spent the rest of the morning sitting at his desk drawing pictures of himself. He was being so damn precious that I decided to treat him to lunch at Burger King.

Too adorable!

Posted inTelevision

Behind the… Tornado ?!?

by Deck

Just a quick note… I was watching the Discovery Channel last night (as I usually do when there’s nothing else on), and happened upon an interesting show called “Most Deadly.” In 18 hours, Tornado Alley experienced the worst tornado outbreak in history (148 of them!!). One small town, Xenia, Ohio, was almost erased from the map by an F5, the strongest tornado ever clocked.

As interesting as that is on its own merits, it’s not the reason for this blog entry. The voice-over narrator for the show sounded extremely familiar, but it took me a minute or two to figure out who it was… His name is Jim Forbes. Don’t worry… I didn’t know the name either. But anyone who’s ever watched VH-1’s “Behind the Music” will recognize Forbes’ distinctive voice. And that was the voice that was describing the terrible results of these killer tornadoes. Throughout the whole rest of the show, I was half-expecting him to describe the bass player’s descent into drug addiction and depression, instead of the devastation resulting from Mother Nature’s fury. The disconnect between my expectations and reality was a little strange.

Usually is. ;-)

Posted inGames

Starcraft 2?

by Deck

StarcraftAccording to this article on Eurogamer.net, an executive from Blizzard Entertainment hinted that a sequel to the smash hit Starcraft might be in the works.

“As a Starcraft player I can tell you that I hope it wouldn’t go a decade – we launched Starcraft in ’98 – I hope it wouldn’t go a decade before we stand here and celebrate the next Starcraft together.”

I’m not a very good RTS player, but I’ll be very interested to see what the almighty Blizzard might do with another Starcraft. We’ll see…

On a totally unrelated note, I apologize for not blogging more often… I’ve been neglecting to pass on the interesting stuff that I find day to day, but I’ll try to change that. Thanks much!

Posted inGames / Sports

Red Zone Wrap-Up (2006 Season Final)

by Deck

Springfield Bullhawks LogoHappy New Year! Especially happy right now are the Springfield Bullhawks (#1 seed) who are the 2006 ESPN Fantasy Football Red Zone League Champions, after defeating the Houston Inferno (#3 seed) by an ever-so-close score of 192-191. LaDainian Tomlinson had only 7 points for the ‘Hawks this week, but Steven Jackson made up the difference with a 43 point performance. However, the difference in the game was not points scored, but in missing points. Inferno RB Ron Dayne aggravated an ankle injury during pre-game warmups Sunday and did not play, resulting in a crushing 0 for the Inferno. Despite that, this was a terrific game between the two best teams in the league this year. Congratulations to Alan and Jeff for a great season!

Third place goes to my Spooky Boogeymen (#4 seed) with a 186-162 win over the P’burg PrairiePride (#2 seed). Despite a 5 point lead in this week’s match-up, the ‘Pride were unable to overcome the 29 point lead resulting from last week’s game. Congratulations to Bob (and me!) on a great season.

The Kentucky Mad Max (#7 seed), last season’s league champs, won fifth place this year with a 150-113 defeat of the Shelbyville Outkasts (#5 seed). Congratulations to Bret and Jack for a great season!

The Peoria OrangeCrush (#9 seed) crushed the Batavia Bulldogs (#6 seed) by a score of 210-116 for seventh place in the league. Congratulations to Charlie and Mike on a great season!

The Foreign Bodies (#10 seed) rallied this week to come back and beat the Petersburg PowerPuff Girls (#8 seed) by a total score of 169-136. So, the ‘Puffs will (probably) receive the coveted first pick in next year’s draft. Congratulations to Ben and Elizabeth on a great season!

So, here are the final winners for the Red Zone 2006…

WHAT? WHY? WHO?
We’re Going to Disney World Award 1st Place Springfield Bullhawks
The First Loser Award 2nd Place Houston Inferno
There’s Always Next Year Award 3rd Place Spooky Boogeymen
The Break Even Award 4th Place P’burg PrairiePride
Teamwork Award Highest team game score Springfield Bullhawks (157 points in Week 10)
Top Gun Award Highest player game score Foreign Bodies (51 points for RB Tiki Barber in Week 17)
Smackdown Award Highest team win margin Peoria OrangeCrush (81 point win in Week 16)


And finally now that it’s all over with, I’ll try to get back to a more regular blogging schedule about life, the universe, and everything (except for fantasy football ;-)).

Posted inGames / Sports

Red Zone Wrap-Up (Playoffs Round 1 1/2)

by Deck

Only one more week to go… The Springfield Bullhawks (#1 seed) have taken a narrow early 104-99 lead over the Houston Inferno (#3 seed). LaDainian Tomlinson had an off week (only 14 points) for the ‘Hawks, but Steven Jackson picked up the slack with a 39 point performance. Will the Inferno come back with one more big week, or will LT lead the ‘Hawks to a league championship?

My Spooky Boogeymen (#4 seed) are leading the P’burg PrairiePride (#2 seed) by a score of 101-72. Both teams left big time points on the bench this week… 65 for me and 87 for the ‘Pride.

The Kentucky Mad Max (#7 seed) took a 78-67 lead this week over the Shelbyville Outkasts (#5 seed). Ladell Betts’ 26 point performance made the difference for the Max despite five double-digit scorers on the Outkasts.

Peoria OrangeCrush (#9 seed) had a big week and built a nearly unsurmountable lead over the Batavia Bulldogs (#6 seed) with a 132-51 score. I have a feeling the ‘Dogs got distracted by the holidays and neglected to update their lineup, with two players listed as “Out” and four total zeros.

The Petersburg PowerPuff Girls (#8 seed) took a narrow lead over the Foreign Bodies (#10 seed) with a 67-62 score. Although the Bodies left 53 points on the bench, they only need to deal with a five-point deficit next week.

Good luck to everyone next week… Especially Jeff! ;-)

Posted inGames / Sports

Red Zone Wrap-Up (Playoffs Round 1)

by Deck

The Springfield Bullhawks (#1 seed) defeated my Spooky Boogeymen (#4 seed) by a final score of 205-158. LaDainian Tomlinson lead the ‘Hawks to a 98-92 win in this week’s game, which was the second half of Round 1 in the Champions bracket.

The Houston Inferno (#3 seed) beat the P’burg PrairiePride (#2 seed) with a total 187-147 score. The Inferno won the second half game 84-69. The Inferno will meet the Bullhawks starting next week to decide the 2006 Red Zone Fantasy Football League Championship.

The Shelbyville Outkasts (#5 seed) defeated the Batavia Bulldogs (#6 seed) 202-177 total. The ‘Dogs actually won the second half this week 86-81, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Outkasts large first-half lead.

The Kentucky Mad Max (#7 seed) won 179-140 over the Petersburg PowerPuff Girls (#8 seed). The Max got a big game from Michael Vick in an 85-48 second half win this week, while the ‘Puffs only managed one scorer in double-digits.

The Peoria OrangeCrush (#9 seed) climbed out of the cellar with a convincing 192-127 victory over the Foreign Bodies (#10 seed). The ‘Crush got a big game out of Peyton Manning winning this week 96-61.

So, in two short weeks the FFL crown will be awarded. Here are the final round match-ups…

Championship Game
#1 Springfield Bullhawks vs. #3 Houston Inferno

Everybody Else
#2 P’burg PrairiePride vs. #4 Spooky Boogeyman
#5 Shelbyville Outkasts vs. #7 Kentucky Mad Max
#6 Batavia Bulldogs vs. #9 Peoria OrangeCrush
#8 PowerPuff Girls vs. #10 Foreign Bodies


Good luck everybody!

Posted inGames / Sports

Red Zone Wrap-Up (Playoffs Round 1/2)

by Deck

This week was the first half of the Red Zone playoff round 1. The Springfield Bullhawks (#1 seed) took an early 107-66 lead over my Sucky, uh, Spooky Boogeymen (#4 seed). The running backs scored big for the ‘Hawks as LaDainian Tomlinson and former Boogeyman Steven Jackson earned 29 and 25 points respectively. Yeah, that was a good trade. :|

In the other half of the Champions Bracket, the Houston Inferno (#3 seed) are on top of the P’burg PrairiePride (#2 seed) with a 103-77 score. The Inferno got double-digit scoring from six of their players.

The Shelbyville Outkasts (#5 seed) are ahead of the Batavia Bulldogs (#6 seed) 121-91. Drew Brees had a record-setting week for the Outkasts with a 50 point score. Theoretically speaking, if there were money awarded to the team with the leading single game scorer, I’d say that the Outkasts would be in good shape. So far, anyway… ;-)

In the only close game this week, the Kentucky Mad Max (#7 seed) hold a slight two-point lead over the Petersburg PowerPuff Girls (#8 seed) with a 94-92 score. Even the bench scoring was close so far in this game with a 55-51 edge to the ‘Puffs.

And finally, in the effort to avoid the league cellar, the Peoria OrangeCrush (#9 seed) hold the lead over the Foreign Bodies (#10 seed) 96-66. Rookie running back Maurice Jones-Drew lead the way with 38 points for the ‘Crush.

p.s. Sorry for the late post… Busy week. :-P