Pre-S 09: the Falcons moon-dust the Chargers

The boys of the Pacific, the San Diego Chargers, drifted eastward to Atlanta to shake the chandelier with the Falcons.  Broadcast on CBS, commentary was provided by Greg Gumbel and Dan Fouts.

The first score of the game occurred in the first half of the first quarter.  Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers chucked the ball to running back Darren Sproles.   San Diego 7 and Atlanta 0.   The Falcons answered that TD with one of their own.  With Matt Ryan quarterbacking, wide receiver Brian Finneran made a twelve-yard catch in the end zone (or rather a catch and a few steps into the end zone).   An amazing Roddy White reception preceded this TD by a couple of plays.  Atlanta 7 and San Diego 7.

The second quarter ticked halfway through and Chargers running back Michael Bennett jetted off forty-eight yards for a TD.   San Diego 14 and Atlanta 7.   Jason Elam put up a forty yard field goal for the Falcons in the bottom of the second.  San Diego 14 and Atlanta 10.  Billy Volek then stepped in as QB for the Chargers.  With under a minute left in the quarter, Chargers wide receiver Malcom Floyd broke the plane with his right hand (and as soon as the ball hit the turf, the ball came out of his grip).  San Diego 21 and Atlanta 10.  Jason Elam stepped onto the field with seconds left on the clock.  He sent the ball thirty-nine yards through the uprights.  San Diego 21 and Atlanta 13.

The third quarter featured Charlie Whitehurst as quarterback for the Chargers.  Chris Redman then went in as QB for the Falcons.  The fourth quarter said hello to a Falcons TD, which Redman ran in himself (twenty-two yards).  San Diego 21 and Atlanta 20.  The Chargers increased the gap with a Nate Kaeding field goal in the bottom of the quarter.  San Diego 24 and Atlanta 20.  With fewer than twenty seconds to play, Chris Redman connects with wide receiver Eric Weems for a TD.  Atlanta 27 and San Diego 24.

Observations  & Miscellania:

1.  Did Dan Fouts say of Matt Ryan, “he is smart, he is tall” in the expository broadcast pre-kickoff chat?

2.  Compared to last year, Matt Ryan has definitely grown up in the way he carries himself.  At the same time, though, a few extreme close-ups (before snaps) in the first quarter revealed such a youthful exuberance and eagerness.

3.  After returning from commercial break (that followed Michael Bennett’s TD in the second quarter), the camera was focused on the Falcons bench.  Mike Smith, filmed in high angle medium long shot, was speaking and gesturing passionately about what his players could no longer permit the other guy to do on the field.

4.  How sweet.  In the middle of the third quarter, Chargers fullback Jacob Hester was walking towards the huddle and trying to put his left shoulder pad back under his uniform.  He was having trouble doing it and his teammate wide receiver Legedu Naanee gave him a hand.  Love it.  I love moments like this one.

5.  Greg Gumbel noted in the third quarter that Charlie Whitehurst went to Chattahoochee High School.

6.  Matt Ryan spoke to the commentators via headset in the fourth quarter.  His irises were so dark and filled up so much of his eyes.  Oooo! he licked his lips right before he took off the headset!

7.  Great job Chris Redman!

Get game summary, stats, and play-by-play here.

the email Forward

When was the last time you received a mass-emailed (more than ten names of people you know or more than five names of people you don’t know) forward? Depending on the regular pool of senders in your inbox, perhaps it was the other day, the other week, or some years ago.  Mine was this morning.

A good friend of mine forwarded to me some random thoughts and observations that another friend had sent her.  Here are my favorites (my extra favorites, the ones I personally can relate to or find exceptionally insightful, are in magenta):

~@~ Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you’re going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you’re crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

~@~ I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.

~@~ Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn’t work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ’s. We just figured it out. Today’s kids are soft.

~@~ There is a great need for sarcasm font.

~@~ I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people.  I’ll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone’s laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I’m still the only one who really, really gets it.

~@~ I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring in my groceries.

~@~ How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?

~@~ I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

~@~ What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

~@~ MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5.  Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

~@~ Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

~@~ Shirts get dirty.  Underwear gets dirty.  Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

~@~ I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.

~@~ If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would
probably just be completely invisible.

~@~ Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be a problem…

~@~ Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.

~@~ There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

~@~ Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles…

~@~ Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

~@~ It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

~@~ I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

A Dime a sizzlin’

What happened to my dime?

Click here and here for a rear view.   Click here for a cross-sectional view.

My penny is from 1964–some forty years older than the dime (which appears to be from 2005)–and is in better shape.

Click here for another side-by-side comparison.

The dime came into my possession today.  I wonder what it went through–corrosive acids?  Any hypotheses?

Pre-S 09: the Falcons fraction off the Rams

The St. Louis Rams tested the competitive waters with the Atlanta Falcons tonight at the Edward Jones Dome.  Televised on NBC, the Falcons were first to go on the offense with Matt Ryan at the helm.   A few plays later and touchdown courtesy of running back Michael Turner.    Kyle Boller quarterbacked for the Rams on their first possession.  Tony Gonzalez, former Kansas City tight end, caught a TD pass, increasing the Falcons’ numbers in the bottom of the first quarter.  Atlanta 14 and St. Louis 0.

The second quarter saw DJ Shockley went to quarterback for the Falcons…three (?) plays into it, he threw an interception.  Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis got his hands on the ball, which Falcons wide receiver Marty Booker nearly had.  The Rams got a forty-three yard field goal out of kicker Josh Brown’s foot.   Atlanta 14 and St. Louis 3.

The third quarter spelled a TD for the Rams–QB Brock Berlin to wide receiver Derek Stanley.   Jason Elam made a thirty-four yard field goal with four minutes left in the third quarter.  Atlanta 17 and St. Louis 10.  John Parker Wilson went on as QB in last half a minute of the third quarter; DJ Shockley resumed in the fourth.  On his second pass of the quarter, he was intercepted by Rams safety Todd Johnson.   Keith Null quarterbacked the next drive for the Rams.  They closed the point gap with a field goal.  Atlanta 17 and St. Louis 13.  JP Wilson went in again and threw quite well (even though he couldn’t send in a TD pass).  Jason Elam upped the Falcons score by three.  Atlanta 20 and St. Louis 13.  With under two minutes left to play, the Rams got their legs down to the red zone, but the Falcons’ defense held strong (stood strong; held strongly–hmmm, adjective or adverb).   In fact, safety Eric Brock intercepted Null’s pass in the end zone.  Final score: Atlanta 20 and St. Louis 13.

Observations & Miscellania:

1.  Randy Waters and Brian Baldinger provided commentary.   During the Rams’ first possession, Baldinger noted that Falcons punter Matthew Koenan’s alma mater, Western Washington University, ended its football program due to financial reasons.

2.  Falcons president Rich McKay spoke with Randy Waters and Brian Baldinger during the top of the second quarter.

3.  Halftime including a segment with Jerious Norwood and defensive tackle Peria Jerry going fishing.

4.  Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff stopped by the press box in the third quarter.  Randy Waters asked and Dimitroff answered: he was born in 1966 (the same year as the Falcons).

5.  Out of all the televised games I’ve seen in the last two to three years, network cameras are more likely to cut to the sidelines to get Kodak moments of the players and coaches than the crowd.  On average, anecdotally speaking, every four sideline shot might yield a crowd shot.  Today’s game, though, was more equal.

6.  Matt Ryan had a much better first quarter tonight than in the game against the Lions.

Get game summary, stats, and play-by-play here.

You Spy your gridiron hero

Edit:  I watched most of the pre-season game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles tonight.  It was aired on Fox; Daryl Johnston and Kenny Albert provided commentary.  Colts 23 and Eagles 15.  Final score.  Get game summary, stats, and play-by-play here.

Before I get back to the regularly scheduled blog entry, I just have to say that Kevin Curtis amazes me still…and not just because I happen to think il est tres beau.  He’s beautiful.  His spirit is substantial.  It’d probably leave behind footprints if one looked hard enough.  Handprints.   Another player that caught my intrigue: Eagles safety Quintin Mikell is very articulate.  Curt Menefee interviewed him on the sidelines.

I also want to mention one of the crowd shots.  In the first half of the fourth quarter, I believe, the camera juxtaposed two couples–one pair Colts fans and the other Eagles fans.  The female in both couples was using a hand-held mobile device.  Speaking of which, according to the commentators, Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, banned players using cell phones, Blackberries, and iPhones ninety minutes prior to a game and through the end of the game.  It was implemented a couple years ago.  Ninety minutes? Really?  What if there’s a family emergency?  Is there a designated “receptionist” that will pass along such messages?

Okay, now back to the regularly scheduled post.

~!~

What would you do if you were in public somewhere and came across an athlete that you respect and admire very much?   Would you just bask in the (sur)reality of their presence?  Would you say hello in as friendly and deferential manner as you could demonstrate? Would your decision to acknowledge him/her be dependent upon whether or not you and s/he were alone?

Would you go for a photo op if it seemed appropriate?

~!~

Note:  The above picture is a work of creative fiction.