Showing posts with label Indianapolis Colts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indianapolis Colts. Show all posts

Monday, September 21, 2015

10 for 10 (8th Entry): The First Line of a Hip Novel............The H-Bomb and The Jesus Rock

Greetings to our blog readers in Slovenia, Greece, and Lebanon..........sorry, we don't have the score of the Indianapolis Colts-New York Jets football, but we will name-drop Frank Gore and Geno Smith in the hopes that will yield us more hits!

Today is actually the 10th anniversary of our blog, and let's go ahead and do this before we run into technical problems for a third consecutive time............?!

A few years ago we had fun posting entries with the first lines of novels like "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville or "1984" by George Orwell, so we are going a bit retro tonight.

Here is the first line of "The H-Bomb and The Jesus Rock," a 2010 gem of a novel by John Manderino from a small publishing house:

"First of all the name is Toby, not Tubs. You want to call me Tubs? Go somewhere else for your cards. I'm talking about baseball cards."

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Quote of the Day/Week- Peyton Manning




Since it is highly possible that current Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who turns 36 on March 24th, could be playing for another team, perhaps the Washington Redskins, we will just use the image of the team's helmet. The Colts originally played in Baltimore, so technically Manning lead the team to its second Super Bowl win back in 2007 (the team won its first Super Bowl as the Baltimore Colts in the early 1970s).

For those who have not paid attention to the American sports media, which at times seems as heated as political talk (and this is an election year), there are many reports suggesting that there is tension between Manning and Colts' owner Jim Irsay.

Manning has a large salary and the Colts are likely to draft star quarterback Andrew Luck from Stanford, who finished second for the Heisman Trophy.

To make things more annoying for Manning, who played college football for Tennessee, is that his younger brother Eli Manning just won a second Super Bowl for the New York Giants some ten days ago.

But, nevertheless, Peyton Manning, who lost out a chance to win a second Super Bowl for himself when the Colts lost Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7, 2010, to the New Orleans Saints, remains a fixture in the sports world domestically.

And, here is one of his most quipped quotes:

"Pressure is something you feel when you have no idea what the hell you are doing."

SIDEBAR: A blogger running for president? Well, it is not happening here in the United States though Republican libertarian candidate Ron Paul, a sitting member of Congress representing his district in Texas, is arguably the most successful American fringe political candidate of all time. In fact, he even has the endorsement of kitsch music superstar Barry Manilow.

But, in Russia, where Vladamir Putin, is the odds on favorite to win back the presidency in Moscow, he faces a challenge from the right (?!) as the BBC is reporting that Alexie Navalny is trying to become a 'conservative populist.'

We suggest that he not ask current American Republican candidate Newt Gingrich, currently running a distant third in the polls (just ahead of Ron Paul), for advice.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Who Dat? Nobody!




We are borrowing the headling from today's online edition of "The Times-Picyune," the daily newspaper for New Orleans, a city celebrating in sheer jubilation since the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 yesterday in Super Bowl 44. The game was played in Miami. The Saints were a 10-point underdog.

In accordiance with an agreement he made with out-going New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard (see profile on our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time") will be giving Nagin a variety of items from local establishments, including cookies from IndyAnna's Catering and pork tenderloins from Indy restaurant Mug N' Bug.

Ballard's spokesperson Lacy Everrett told Franceca jarosz of "The Indianapolis Star" that while disappointed with the game's outcome, Mayor Ballard was excited to be sharing gifts from his city with New Orleans.

Chris Kirkman of "The Times-Picayune" reported that the Saints' celebration parade will begin at 5 p.m. on Poydres Street in front of the Superdome, according to the New Orleans Police Department. It will end at Convention Center Blvd. Many of the Saints' players, including Super Bowl MVP quarterback Drew Brees and running back Reggie Bush (pictured here) are expected to ride on floats.

The Super Bowl ads are also a point of water cooler discussions today. Lana Groves of "The Deseret News" (Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper) reported that local marketing group Letter23 determined that the ad featuring people acting like dolphins and jumping through hoops was the best Super Bowl ad.

"The perfect commercial is a mix of monkeys, attractive women and monster trucks," said Letter23 president Kelly Cassady.

The Super Bowl ad featuring former University of Florida quaterback Tim Tebow and his mother which endorsed pro-life political views was expectedly criticized by Nancy Keenan president of the pro-choice advocacy group NARAL, which is starting a 'Throw a Penalty Flag against CBS' fund-raising campaign of its own.

Though generally supporting liberal and Democratic cnadidates politically, NARAL has been criticized by Democratic party partisans for supporting moderate Republicans like New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Rhode Island senator Lincoln Chafee (both now independents)in the past.

The group Focus on the Family, a right-wing Christian organization based in Colorado Springs, Colo., started by evangelical psychologist James Dobson sponsored the $3 million ad which told the story of how Tebow's mother Pam Tebow, who was advised by her doctors to have an abortion because of a medical complication, but she decided otherwise.

NARAL stated that the ad does not reflect the harsh reality that many women face when placed in challenging circumstances.

In an online column on the liberal blog "The Huffington Post," Keegan said that Focus on the Family uses sexist language on its web site by stating that women should seek out 'wise advice' because 'the hormones of pregnancy make reasonable decisions more difficult.'

CBS has previously declined ads from progressive groups, such as Moveon.org, which made this decision even more controversial than it may have been otherwise.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

My Top Ten Favorite NFL Teams






The NFL season is gradually winding down as the Indianapolis Colts (13-0) and the New Orleans Saints both remained undefeated today.

To be honest, I haven't watched much pro football in YEARS, but as it is the national obsession here in the United States (and perhaps Canada) and there is nothing open in my zip code in North Carolina on Sundays except some fast food joints and gas stations, it was perhaps inevitable that I would lay on the couch hours after "Meet the Press" aired and watch some meaningless game as I did last week when I watched the Carolina Panthers beat the Tamp Bay Buccaneers 16-6.

Here is a rundown of some of the games that were played today:

New Orleans 26
Atlanta 23

Indianapolis 28
Denver 16

Baltimore 48
Detroit 3

Minnesota 30
Cincy 10

Green Bay 21
Chicago 14

New York Jets 26
Tampa Bay 3

New England 20
Carolina 10

Washington 34
Oakland 13

And, here are my top ten favorite teams. The Chicago Bears were my favorite team as a kid starting at the age of nine. Before that, when I was seven, I rooted for the Dallas Cowboys but I quickly got sick of them and they are not even on my top ten favorite teams list here. And, given their QB's relationship with pop singers, I am not about to jump on their bandwagon right now.

But, in recent years, I have taken a liking to the Baltimore Ravens which perhaps because I am an English teacher (the team's nickname is a reference to the Edgar A. Poe poem "The Raven") that is most appropriate.

Here are ten favorite teams in the NFL:

1. Baltimore Ravens (pictured)
2. Chicago Bears
3. Carolina Panthers (pictured)
4. New York Jets
5. Cincy Bengals
6. New York Giants
7. New Orleans Saints
8. Minnesota Vikings
9. Denver Broncos (pictured)
10. Washington Redskins

The next nationally televised game will be on ESPN Monday night. The game is between the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco '49ers. I take it Joe Montana is no longer the niners' starting QB!