File this under "It was only a matter of time and yes, I'm still bitter, but laughing helps me cope. And it's cheaper than drinking."


(Though the airline gods tried to have their way, we prevailed and finally arrived home tonight from our week in Boise. No, I didn't eat a lot of potatoes. No, you're not the first clever person to ask. Anyway, updates coming soon. Not that you care.)

Dear Theo,

You are the Jewish Santa.

Thank you.

love,
meredith

Meredith 1 - Andy Reid 0

Somebody grab an oven mitt, because the stove is scorching.

We all knew that the 2004 Boston Red Sox would be split up in December. There were too many free agents, too many breakout stars seeking bigger contracts, and too many starters nudged into backup roles. We've had forever to prepare for this and yet, it still stings.

There's no doubt that Theo did the right thing in letting Pedro walk after the Mets' Omar Minaya offered up four years, $56 million, and all of the mango trees in the Dominican. It's hard to complain about the addition of Renteria, even if that does mean that Cabrera is history.

Competitively, these moves are the kind I want my GM making. But emotionally, they are crushing. Gone are the days of Cabrera's elaborate handshakes. Gone are the days of Pedro and Manny's hair rubbing sessions. Gone are the days of the red foam bat, Elvis sunglasses, hip gyrations, jeri curls, goggles, and Nelson de la Rosa.

I remember waking up the morning after the 2003 ALCS Game 7. I felt like I had been left at the altar and run over by a truck. At the same time. That team felt like family, and I couldn't imagine ever finding a team I loved in the same way.

And then along came the 2004 Boston Red Sox, and something crazy happened. I loved them more. The summer of 2004 was like the greatest family reunion you've ever been to. Millions of people, united only by their love of the Red Sox, instantly bonded with this bunch of goofy, perverted, happy-go-lucky misfits. When Theo sent Nomar to Chicago and welcomes Roberts, Cabrera, and Mientkiewicz to Boston, the puzzle had been completed. Everything just fit. And we knew it. It was like we had finally found 25 long-lost members of our giant family, and we were trying to cram 85 years' worth of fun into 3 months.

The 2004 Boston Red Sox were what baseball was meant to be: fun. No rules, no suffering (well, maybe just a little bit), no order. Just chaos and drama and dirt and grit and beer and sunshine and fun.

With the hot stove season underway, those days are officially behind us. The Red Sox are still the World Champions, but we'll never see that group of guys together again. We'll never see Pedro hug Tek on the Fenway mound. We'll never cringe at the sight of the Derek Lowe face. We'll never celebrate over a Cabrera double off the Monster. We'll never applaud as Pokey leaps out of his shoes to steal a single.

A few months from now, there will be a new group of dirt dogs to fall in love with. Before we know it, Edgar Renteria will do something so spectacular that we'll look skyward and thank the baseball gods for sending him our way. David Wells will throw a third strike that will make all of us forget about his pinstriped past. And players we don't even know about yet will find a way into the pulsing heart of RSN.

Sure, we'll never watch that old group of 25 guys celebrate on the field at Yankee Stadium, or roll down the streets of Boston in a fury of rain, ticker tape, and tears.

But the fact that we got to see it at all...that's enough.

I'll admit it. I think Morrissey looks hot in the priest outfit he's rocking in his new video.

I sure hope the YMCA doesn't revoke my membership over this.

I spent the second night of Chanukah at Hooters.

Somehow I don't think that's what my people had in mind when they celebrated the rededication of the Alter and the oil that burned for eight nights.

Now THAT is what I call an 11-1 team. The Eagles showed up today in a big way, defeating the Packers 47-17. They looked like many Eagles fans have expected them to look all season, with their offense running on all cylinders and their defense getting the necessary stops in the red zone and taking advantage of all of the opponent's mistakes. (And talk about mistakes – the Pack did not have a good day. Was that Cesar Crespo running around in Brett Favre’s uniform?) McNabb threw 14 straight completions to start the game, which is a new franchise record. He ended the day passing for 464 yards and 5 touchdowns. T.O. caught the ball 8 times for 161 yards and one touchdown. The story of the game may have been Brian Westbrook, a crucial part of the Eagles offense last season whose injury was a huge reason why they lost the NFC Championship game to (vomit) Carolina. It still hurts to say that. Westbrook had 11 receptions for 156 yards and THREE touchdowns, and rushed for another 37 yards. The man can catch, the man can run – he was 100% unstoppable today.

Ok, enough gushing. I could revel is the glory of that ass-kicking for a long time.

At least until next Sunday. :)

Anyway, my dad called at halftime. At that point it was 35-3 and the game was all but over. My dad asks if I think there's any way Andy Reid lets McNabb and T.O. see a lot of playing time in the second half. "No way," I tell him. "He knows how injury prone this team is. He'll yank them and if Green Bay somehow starts closing the gap, he'll let them come back in."

When the second half began, and T.O. and #5 trotted back out onto the field, my boyfriend saw a look on my face that he hadn’t seen since the 8th inning of Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. Don’t get me wrong – nothing would make me happier than beating the Packers by 18 touchdowns. Well, actually, there is one thing: Going into the playoffs with a completely healthy lineup. Imagine the possibilities! And so I spent the rest of the second half watching with my eyes half closed, screaming “Get up! Get up!” every time an Eagle went down. Hell, at one point a fan in a Cunningham jersey fell on his way up the stairs to get another beer and I just about had a heart attack.

Now that the game is over, and McNabb, T.O. and Westbrook have all their limbs intact, I can admit it – maybe I overreacted. Maybe.

It was the 4th quarter before Andy Reid put Detmer in the game for McNabb, and luckily for him, there were no devastating injuries, though Nate Wayne did reinjure his hamstring and Burgess left the game in the first half. But this game has put the fear in me, and in all Eagles fans. We all saw it today: when this team is healthy, they are a damn good football team. It’s the staying healthy that is the tricky part. And as recent history has taught us, when the Eagles start playing great football, someone is about to end up in a body cast.

Hopefully that fan in the Cunningham jersey will take one for the team.

The newest installment of Three Chicks Talk Football got heated. It went a little something like this.

mer: Parity is killing the NFL this year
beth: Are you crazy? Football is better than ever!
mer: No way! The quality is declining rapidly each season!
beth: The NFL is the most popular sport for a reason.
sam: Let's settle this how all women settle fights - jello wrestling and pillow fights!


Ok, well maybe that's just how you wish it sounded. In reality, it was pretty interesting and a bit more intelligent than the other scenario.

enjoy....