A Rude Wake Up Call: Overnight storms

We had some major storms blast their through the Dallas/Fort Worth area overnight. Just prior to going to bed, I checked out NOAA's Storm Prediction Center's website to get the latest information. I saw that the immediate D/FW area was under a Tornado Watch until 6:00am. In all the time of being a weather watcher (nerd), I've never experienced a tornado watch to encompass the overnight hours such as this one. Not only did I see that, but I also saw that the region could sustain large hail and very strong winds, upwards of 80+ mph! Needless to say I brought down my patio garden plants off the ledge onto the floor and kept an ear to weather.

Many different areas in north and south Dallas experienced severe storms right around the 3:00 to 4:00am hour and then beyond. What came through our specific neighborhood arrived around 3:40-3:45 or so. What initially go my attention was hearing the hum of the bedroom fan turn off and then back on several times. I heard a few rumbles of thunder with an occasional knock of what I thought was hail on the windows and walls, but when I got to my feet and peeked outside the window, I saw the trees blowing around in a wind that I've never witnessed before: it was a howling, whistling type of wind. There was a eerie strangeness to it. Nevertheless, after blurting out a curse in my overnight stupor, I riled everyone out of bed and into the bathroom.

As soon as everyone got settled in the bathroom, I ran to the laptop to check the latest weather reports and radar. After a few tense moments, I was able to get a internet connection going and got to this radar image and took a picture of it shortly after the storm passed with my camera phone, hence the picture quality. But if you look closely, you'll see that in the radar image in the southern edges of Denton and Collin counties, there's a definite "kink" in the bow echo blowing through the area. In these type of storms, namely squall lines, the northern edge of a bow echo, may usually cause a quick spin-up or two of a tornado. Note the time in the upper right-hand corner of the image.

Who knows what the storm assessors will say with the damage connected to this part of the storm, but the areas around my part of town report the same type of damage: significant roof damage, blown down fences with uprooted and blown down trees, similar to those I've posted below from our apartment complex.

Play Ball!

Hold the presses! The Texas Rangers starting pitchers are pitching, dare I say it, they're pitching pretty good. Six games into the regular season and each starter has pitched at least 5 innings, with Kevin Millwood throwing a rare complete game with his second start. Not only are they reaching the later innings but they are doing it without giving up a lot of runs. Their cumulative ERA is under 3.00.

I know it's very early to make this statement, but it's a step in the right direction. What a difference it makes when you have good starting pitching.

Singing in the Car

There's nothing like hearing a favorite song while driving in your car. Who cares what the other drivers may think, but doesn't it feel good to belt out the song's lyrics? I had such an instance just a few days ago on my way to work.

It had been a while since I've listened to the radio as I've been busy listening to cds for the better part of two weeks (the cds of which will be subject of a future posting). I spent the first part of my commute switching from station to station, with many of them stucks in commercials, until I nailed with the one playing December by Collective Soul. I don't know why I love this song, perhaps the lyrics or that I know them all, or whatever, but whenever this song comes on the radio, it's crank up the volume and rev up the singing! First off I'm not a bad singer. I used to accompany one of my buddies when he sang at Saturday evening mass, so I'm not tone deaf to begin with and could carry a tune whenever possible.

Once I get into December, it's a constant flood of memories, a recollection of my younger days, among them being: listening to a newly purchased Collective Soul album as I drove three hours to visit a gal, then becoming part of my daily soundtrack when I moved to San Antonio, and then it being a part of a music compilation a friend gave me a couple years ago. Whatever the case may be, it's a great song, and for me, many mental souvenirs are attached to it. So if you ever see a crazy looking guy singing in his car, know you may know why.

Drummers Are We- Continued

There were a couple drumming songs I'd like to add to my list from a few days back: Every Little Thing She Does is Magic by the Police and Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin.

That Police song has some great hi-hat stick work. It's a wonderful song from an awesome band. It's amazing to hear such power from a 3 man group. Speaking of power, that aforementioned Led Zeppelin song is probably everyone's Zeppelin track. Except for Robert Plant that is. I heard in an interview from waaaay back that Stairway was not one of his favorite songs for whatever reason. Who knows... Maybe if they tour again, he'll get asked that specific question. I really hope that a Led Zeppelin reunion tour happens!

Daily Pendejadas- Definition of a Maverick

Define a Maverick

I live in Dallas, so I get my daily dose of Dallas Maverick bumper stickers and the like. What I see is the franchise's version of what a "maverick" is: a horse. For as long as I can remember a "maverick" is essentially a cow. So I've always found the use of a horse on the Dallas NBA franchise logo a little strange.

Here's what the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary says:
Main Entry: 1mav·er·ick
Pronunciation: \ˈmav-rik, ˈma-və-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Samuel A. Maverick died 1870 American pioneer who did not brand his calves
Date: 1867
1: an unbranded range animal; especially : a motherless calf
2: an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party

But here's a sad note to this connotation. The University of Texas at Arlington, who recently made news with their first entrance to the NCAA Basketball Tournament, also calls their sports mascot the Mavericks. The sad part is that they also use a horse to personify their mascot. You'd think being at a university that someone would've pointed out this misnomer.

I guess both the NBA's Mavericks and UTA's Mavericks are mavericks in their own rights by choosing the wrong animal for their mascots.

Daily Pendejadas- Signal Lights

I want to make a blog series consisting of stupid things, pendejadas, that I see people do, or in most cases, things they don't do. I know I won't be able to make daily entries for this series, but I couldn't pass up the title.

Signal lights or lack thereof

It seems like the signal lights in most people's cars do not work. People do not use them at all. Of course it just ticks me off when the car in front of me slows down and turns in one direction or the other without the notion of letting you know what he or she is going to do. Apparently the sudden flash of the vehicle's brake lights are enough of a "signal" for the fellow motorist. Seriously, it happens so infrequently that when I come across folks who do indeed use their turn signals on the roadways, I feel like getting out of my car and giving them a gold star.

Drummers Are We

My little brother called me last night to say that he finally bought himself an electric drumset. He'd be wanting one for years, as so have I, but since he's the engineer and married with no kids, he was more apt to get one before me. Either way, I'm quite psyched for him.

Since we both were percussionists in high school, me a one-time all-district and he a two-time all-stater, we had plenty to chat about drum-wise. He told me he's tried to get the drumming down for the title track of Tool's album Undertow, in all it's intricate glory, but he's had issues with it. We both agreed that this song has to be one of the more complicated rock drumming song out there. When you get a chance, listen to it and you'll agree. He said that he's taking the drum part of that song piece by piece, kind of like this: "you do a 2-e-&-a rhythm on the hi-hat and pedal down(left foot) on every other upbeat, while you do a 1-&-a beat on the bass drum pedal (right foot...)." Ya know, simple shtuff like that. Seriously, I really think it's a tough way to start, but nevertheless he'll start some drum kit lessons he picked up at a all-state band camp several years ago.

Since we talked about that specific Tool song, which is one of my favorite song of theirs, namely because of the drumming, I brought up other songs that I've considered my favorite drumming songs. My list consisted of Again by Alice in Chains, Led Zeppelin's Ocean, Go by Pearl Jam, One by Metallica, and Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! by The Beatles.

While we're on the subject of drummers, I thought I'd share what I think who've been the best in the past couple decades. It's hard to dispute the creative and bombastic style of Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, who's arguably one of Rock's all-time best. During the mid to late 1980s you heard Tommy Lee's name thrown around as being the best at that point, but I always thought him to be just alright for the most part. But who I thought was a better drummer around that same time frame was Lars Ulrich from Metallica. The track One from And Justice for All.. is a stand-alone, I think one of the most difficult songs for a drummer. But as Metallica's music softened and became more mainstream, Ulrich's drumming suffered. However, as he and Metallica waned, another band swept into prominence, Tool. And with that came the superb body of work of Danny Carey.

As mentioned in a previous post, I've been a big fan of this group for a long time. Although it wasn't their first studio album, but the first album of theirs that I got was Undertow and they've had me hooked ever since. Over the years, their music has evolved into symphonic orchestrations of sorts. There's just something about their stuff that keeps me coming back for more. Perhaps a reason for that is the percussive prowess of Danny Carey. And in my opinion he's the best Rock drummer in the current era.

The first time I saw Tool was in a small venue in San Antonio that would be the ideal place to hold wedding receptions and some gal's sweet sixteen, but what I saw was a great show. In that concert I was most mesmerized by the dynamic playing of Carey in Undertow. There near the end, perhaps 15-20 seconds before the song ends, there's this jazz inspired cymbal work that melts into a percussive guitar laden conclusion. And as I stood there watching, there's Danny looking calm, while his arms flail away. UH-mazing! To get an idea of what I'm talking about check out these short flicks to see what I mean: 46 & 2 and Lateralus. If you had any doubt about who's Rock's best drummer before, I'd be very surprised if you didn't agree with me after seeing and hearing his stick work.

To further my point, check out this tutorial video of Eulogy played by an obvious fan of Carey's work. And that's just one of their songs. Talk about having your work cut out for you. Try it for youself and you'll know. Perhaps my brother needs to start with an easier drummer to emulate!

A Barry Big Sigh of Relief

The San Antonio Spurs re-signed Brent Barry today after having been involved in the Kurt Thomas-Francisco Elson trade with the Seattle Supersonics last month. Since the trade the Spurs' offense have been, well...fairly offensive, especially in the last couple weeks. With Barry coming back, that will give Michael Finley a little extra rest because he's been in a horrible shooting slump lately, which I think comes from playing so much. He's not a spring chicken anymore, so any little rest will go a long way.

Maybe with a rested, and hopefully healthy Brent Barry, the Spurs will regain some of the momentum they lost when they were atop the Western Conference, a mere few weeks ago.

War's 5th Anniversary

The fifth anniversary of George W. Bush's war in Iraq came and went just recently. He's still saying that "removing Saddam Hussein" was the right thing to do. And he continues to say that the current war is "a fight that America can and must win." Well, yeah...duh. First of all, he still thinks that Saddam and all his weapons of mass destruction were behind the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the United States has to win this war in Iraq. So Bush saying that the Iraq war is a must win is an understatement. The United States' status in the world depends on how we win the war, or better yet, how get out of this mess that the Bush administration has created.

But seriously, what would be considered a win in Iraq? A photo op aboard a US warship? Oh wait, that's already been done. I don't know about you, but not only do I not see an "end" to this war anytime soon, but unless we just turn our backs on the Iraqis, a protracted US occupation is inevitable. I've always been against this particular theatre of the "war on terror," but if we just pull up stakes and leave without some sort of safeguards for the Iraqi people, this region will be another ethnic tinderbox. Yugoslavia, anyone?

I'd also like to comment on something I saw a couple weeks ago related to this fifth anniversary. While out on a lunch break, I drove up to an intersection were two different rallies were occurring simultaneously. On one side of the road, a group of peace activists rallied against the war in Iraq by holding up signs and flags with peace signs, in other words a group of modern day hippies. Conversely, the other group of people was composed of biker types that held signs supporting the troops, and with American flags placed all over: in waving hands and poles staked in the ground.

Although I consider myself against the Iraqi war, I also am a proud supporter of our troops. So as I pulled up to that intersection I felt the pull from each group. But what struck me more than anything, and what really turned me off, was the lack of American flags on the side of the peace activists. My thing is that if you live in this great country, regardless of how you feel about who's running the government, you better damn well respect the freedoms we have and be proud (blessed, lucky...) that we can readily voice our opinions (within the law) about the government without repercussions. Dissent is as American as apple pie and baseball. So what these peace folks told me with their lack of American flags was that they've turned their back on this country and for that I feel sorry for them. Because they like President Bush, still don't get it.


Source: G.W. Bush quotes: New York Times, March 20.

Bracket (not so) Busted

Even with all the upsets in the first two days of the NCAA basketball tournament, my bracket's doing pretty good. It helps to have a couple upsets picked in there, but it can be tough watching these games because on one hand, I love to see the upsets, but on the other, those said upsets screw up your brackets. Either way, it's fun no matter what.

I have two brackets actually-- I have one at home and another that's set up through Yahoo!. For as long as I can remember, I do the Yahoo! bracket every tourney time, but the thing is, you have to have all your picks done ahead of time and not go game by game. Either way, if you happen to be on Yahoo!'s Pick'Em the bracket set called And the Winner is, is mine.

Kiss Me, I'm Irish

I'm proud of my Irish heritage. What the...?! Yep, you heard me, I am proud of my Irish forebears. Although my family's heritage is Spanish, Basque, Mexican and a little French, I can say that I'm part Irish. Just hear me out. Sure, if you've seen me you might think I may be a little Irish because my beard is definitively auburn and my hair also has a reddish tinge to it, but that's because of something altogether different. There are redheads on my Mom's side of the family, with a couple of her aunts being redheads- albeit grey now. And then further back, some of the men where called "hilos de maíz" because their beards looked like the threads, or silks, of an ear of corn. But as far as we all know, that's all from my Spanish ancestry. But all this doesn't explain why I've always had a "thing" for redheaded gals. Anyhow, I digress. What I mean about all this talk about being Irish comes from, well, where I've come from. My hometown in South Texas, resides in San Patricio County, which was home to one of the first Irish settlements in Texas.

In 1828, the first group of families recruited from the Irish population of New York came to the then Mexican province of Coahuila y Texas and settled along the Nueces River, northwest of present day Corpus Christi. The settlement was called San Patricio de Hibernia, after their patron saint, St. Patrick. A few years later, the settlement was legally established as the Municipality of San Patricio. Later still, after the Texas Revolution, San Patricio County was created by the 1836 Congress of the new Republic of Texas, with the initial Irish settlement of San Patricio, being the county seat.

The period between the Texas Revolution and the US-Mexican War, this area was known as a "depopulated area" because gangs of former Mexican soldiers and gringo cattle rustlers roamed this zone relatively unchecked. Once the US annexed Texas in 1845, and with the arrival of General Zachary Taylor, the region began to stabilize. One of the fascinating aspects of the early San Patricio County was that it encompassed a far greater territory than its current size and that most of the surrounding counties came from the original county.

Although predominantly known for crop cultivation in the present, much of the remaining 19th century San Patricio County was known for cattle ranching. One of the largest cattle firms in Texas called San Pat County home, The Coleman, Mathis, & Fulton Pasture Company. By then other small towns began to spring up along the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway. Subsequently, several out of state developers, including David B. Sinton and his son-in-law Charles P. Taft, half brother of President William H. Taft, began to see the area grow, and then created the Taft Ranch, one of the largest ranches in South Texas.

More towns sprouted up from the black soils of the county, again along the rail lines. From those lines also came trainloads of Mexican laborers who were brought in to help clear the land of mesquite and associated brush to prepare the land for farming. Once farming became established, cotton became king, and then later, shared with the cultivating of sorghum grain, both became the county's cash crops. Even though the county is home to several large companies including OxyChem, Sherwin Alumina, and Naval Station Ingleside, cultivated crops still dominate the county's landscape.

The land is still as flat as it was when the first Irish New Yorkers arrived, but the terrain is more cropped covered than with tall prairie grasses. Though the Irish have dispersed throughout the region, there's still some vestiges of Irish culture remaining- The World Champion Rattlesnake Races are held in "Old San Patricio" every March!

Source: The New Handbook of Texas, 1996.

Dems are Gonna Blow It!

Somebody better tell the Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to stop screwing with each other and start readying themselves to mess witht the GOP. If you thought the November elections would come with a regime change, you've got another thing coming.

The only sure thing at this point is that the Republicans are licking their chops at all the incessant bickering and in-fighting occuring with the Democratic party. Even they thought they'd lose the 2008 presidential election! Yet with the way things are going with the Democratic primary process, John McCain might breeze his way into the White House. And by the way, did you see how uncomfortable he looked when he stood behind when George W. Bush endorsed him? Maybe he was embarrassed with the little jig George did while he waited for McCain to arrive.

Anyhow, the Democratic presidential candidates better get their shit together or they will see the Republicans sitting in the White House for at least another four years. Then they'll be wishing and thinking about what could have been. Get over yourselves and think about what's important, the good of our country.

Personal Political See-saw & Dream Ticket

I'm having the hardest time choosing between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the March 4th Texas Primary. It's a toss up between hope and experience: Obama has brought hope and inspiration, while Clinton has been there before, so to speak. So it's a tough call.

I've been caught up in Obama's inspiring words and I want to send my vote his way, but his relative lack of experience bugs me just enough to let doubt creep into the room. But hearing him speak really moves me. He gives Bill Clinton, whom I've thought to be the best orator of my generation, a run for his money. Gees, he beat out Bill for the Spoken Word Grammy just recently!

On the other hand, I think Hillary Clinton has the best experience of all candidates, as she's lived in the White House as First Lady for 8 years. It's hard to beat that kind of experience. But she's such a polarizing figure on the political scene, and I think that has become a liability. Many Republicans have a tremendous hatred for her and see her as a divisive individual. So I guess it depends on if one seeks inspiration or experience. Unless....

...you talk about my Dream Ticket: Clinton/Obama.

First of all, having Obama on your ticket means that he'll bring in a serious amount of crossover voters, these so-called Obama-cans: Republicans voting for Obama. That's a big plus. Clinton has all that White House experience and hopefully a sense of knowing what not to do and how to do things the right way and not waste her chance at righting the ship that is America.

Having Obama as VP means that he'll be the "president" of the Senate. He'll more apt to create a sense of togetherness, a "uniter" if you will. No longer will the US have someone who's first inclination will be to look after the betterment of his political party, i.e., Dick Cheney, but finally someone who will have the interests of the American people in mind. Obama will serve as a gentle persuader to remind those across the aisle that all their work is the American people and not for political gains.

That would be something, wouldn't it: Hillary Clinton for President and Barack Obama as Vice President? It's possible, but it could work the other way around, but I don't think it'll be the same as the first option.

We'll see how things turn out after March 4th. Either way, it'll be very exciting whatever the outcome.

A Local Gem: Miguel Antonio

I had the pleasure of visiting De Tapas in Addison over the weekend and had a wonderful time listening to the classical guitar sounds of Miguel Antonio. Being that I had to take my wife out for our anniversary, hearing his beautiful flamenco inspired riffs more than made up for that. All I can say is: Wow! The way he strummed through Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez and Fantasía para un Gentilhombre were beyond spectacular.

The first time I saw him was several years ago at SMU's Caruth Auditorium while I was in graduate school there. Talk about an amazing show! The Dallas/Fort Worth music scene is better because of Miguel Antonio's talent. This cabellero is truly a local gem. And it is a privilege to see and hear him play.

¡Olé!

Super Bowl

Yahoo! Sports columnist Michael Silver gives his top picks for the best Super Bowl game of all time in his most recent column. I pretty much agree with his picks, especially that he put the most recent game on the list and along with the St. Louis-Tennessee game from 2000. I still can't bear to watch the last second play without getting emotional. Even when I replay it in my head, I still hope for Kevin Dyson to elude the game saving tackle!

Further down the column you should come across the "Lyric-Altered Song Dedication of the Week" for everyone's enjoyment. The altered song is Radiohead's Karma Police and the alteration is great. I love to alter song lyrics and am pretty notorious for doing that to beloved songs. My favorite is to one of REO Speedwagon's best known hits. It starts a little like this: "Heard it from a friend who... heard it from a friend who... heard it from a friend you've been fucking around." Love it!

Unhappy Valentine

I hate Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day is my least favorite holiday, it even lags behind Arbor Day and Flag Day, and that's because I could care less about those "holidays." And the thing is, I've always considered myself a romantic, but I guess several years of marriage will do that to a guy. But I've always felt this way about Valentine's Day. It must be all the hype surrounding this holiday that really gets me. It's like, "Here honey, he's bunch of flowers that will wilt and die in a few days time and you'll end up getting me to clean up all the dead leaves and flowers." Or, "Here's a box of chocolates for you dear. Just don't come complaining back to me in a few days saying how fat you feel." It's just a big waste in my opinion. And don't get me started on much they jack up the prices for a measely dozen roses! They cost at least twice as much another other day throughout the year.

I also have another reason why I feel a certain disdain for this "special" day: my wedding anniversary is a few days prior so I have to deal with the ramifications of having to endure both days in a week's time. I used to joke that no one would get any Christmas gifts from me because I would have save up the money to get my wife something for our anniversary, Valentine's Day, and her birthday because they all occur in the month of February.

Spiral out: Tool and the Fibonacci Sequence

My brother forwarded me a link about Tool's use of the Fibonacci Sequence in the title track of the Laterlus album from a few years back. Having been a fan of theirs for a long time, at least 15 years, it did not surprise me that they use this sort of numerological sequence in their music. Check it out.

Spiral out, keep going...

Im-Perfect Season

The Perfect NFL Season lies somewhere out there in the mythical ether. A place where only the memories of the 1972 Miami Dolphins team reside. Having been born a year after that magical run, I have no point of reference in which to compare that team's season with any I have seen in my lifetime. There have been a couple close calls, namely the 1986 Chicago Bears, and most recently, the New England Patriots team that went into last Sunday's Super Bowl LXII 18-0.

Perhaps we'll see a perfect season in our lifetime. It could even be New England who'll do it next year. They've got the best chance to do it, as long as they avoid all bad karmic situations such as this season's Spygate incident. I swear, as bad karma goes, that was as bad as it could get. And I for one am glad that they didn't win the Super Bowl and go 19-0. This team had no business stooping down to that level and cheat lke they did. I've liked the Pats in the past and how they've won championships with a bunch of no-name players, but after having been caught breaking some NFL Rules, I've lost respect for them.

And in no way am I discounting the play of the New York Giants. Are you kidding? I'm a huge Dallas Cowboys fan, but I appreciate how the Giants played Sunday and my hoarse voice postgame was indicative of how much cheering I did for New York. That was some of the best defense play I have ever seen. I think that Justin Tuck and Michael Strahan were as worthy to receive the game's MVP honors as Eli Manning. Though that sack escape and pass to David Tyree on the game winning drive was great enough for him to win all in itself. Speaking of which, who's seen a better play in Super Bowl history?

Yes, I am sorry that history was not made last Sunday evening, because that's one of a plethora of reasons why I watch sports, but the team which wanted it more won and that's what it's all about in the end.

A few things

It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything. It's not that I haven't had anything to share, but I've been spending my extra time getting back on the exercise wagon. I'd essentially fallen of the wagon, so to speak, toward the end of last year and it took a couple visits to the doctor to get me back on track.

1). I had picked up a cold back in December so I visited my doctor just to make sure. While there he saw that my blood pressure was higher than it should and said that this had been something he had noticed for the better part of a year. I had attributed my high bp in December to not having done much of any exercising in the previous month or so. But why did I stop working out to begin with? I really do not know. Perhaps it had to do with my aunt's passing in October or maybe letting the eye rolling I'd get everytime I'd go workout get the better of me. Either way, I'm on medication now and have gotten back into the exercising groove of things. There's nothing better than waking up sore the morning after a good workout.

If you've got some iffy health issues going on, please go get yourself checked out and be proactive about it. Talk to your friends and family and go from there.

2). Actor Heath Ledger passed away quite unexpectedly today. It is a tremendous shock to any movie fan. I've only seen a few of his movies, although none of his newer flicks, but I do know that we've lost a great actor and person. Please say a little prayer for him and his family. It is certainly a sad day for us all.

3). Hopefully the Dallas Cowboys have a better year next year. To be honest with you, I did not think they'd be this "good" this year. I thought they'd be 10-6 or even 11-5, but not the 13-3 the pulled off this regular season. Knowing how well they did this, however, I'm expecting them to do alot more than to have a great regular season, and get to the playoffs. Nothing short of making it to the Super Bowl next year will be unacceptable. Good thing that Jerry Jones re-signed Jason Garrett. They'd go nowhere without him into the future. Now if Tony Romo could find himself an honest, likeable, no-name girlfriend...

New Year's Day Sports at Its Finest

From about 10:30 am, local time New Year's Day, until the start of the Rose Bowl, I endured what one could call, sports heaven. I put my remote to the ultimate test yesterday with all the games a guy can handle. For starters, the Cotton Bowl game between Missouri and Arkansas was a great game, especially if you were pulling for Mizzou. Sorry Hogs fans, my burnt Orange blood was a little too thick to root for you yesterday. Then at 12pm, the game of the day came on from Orchard Park, New York. Eh, what?! Yes, you heard me, I watched the Pittsburgh Penguins versus Buffalo Sabres game played outside in the elements.

What a wonderful concept. Though I didn't catch the first time the NHL played an outdoor game a few years back, I made a point to watch this one. First of all, it the game was played in front of 73,000+ plus fans. Secondly and more importantly, they played in the snow. The lake effect snow machine was in full force, okay, I exaggerate, but it snowed for most of the game. If you didn't see the game, you missed something special.

During and after this game were too equally intriguing bowl games, Michigan vs Florida and Virginia vs Texas Tech. Although I could have had a split loyalty for each team in the first set of games, my rooting for Michigan superceded any small allegiance I had for Florida. What a way to send off outgoing headcoach Lloyd Carr. In what was one of the biggest upsets of the day, Big Blue sent the cocky Gators on a long drive up the interstate from Orlando to Gainesville.

Texas Tech spent most of their game playing catch-up with Virginia. But thanks to heroics by their stud quarterback Graham Harrell and his offense, Tech was able to surpass the Cavaliers with a game-winning field goal with a couple seconds left.

(On a related note, I don't know about you, but I think the Big 12 will have a great season next year. Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas Tech among others will return most of their starting line-ups. Can't wait for that!)

If it wasn't for the two blowouts in the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl, New Year's Day 2008 could've been a perfect way to start the sports year.