Iced in

We were stuck in the house all weekend due to a wintry storm that left the entire city pretty much covered in ice. It's a new phenomenon for me--I've seen hurricanes, blizzards, and such, but this "ice storm" deal is a little different. There was a little bit of snow, but then some rain and the whole result gets frozen over. Saturday seemed to get the worst of it, as the streets outside the house were very quiet, although we did get one run from a sand/salt truck. Things are thawing a little bit today and it looks like everything should be back to normal in a couple of days.

Olympics

That Super Bowl sure was terrible, wasn't it? No point in even discussing it at this point, although I do have to point out that I had very little rooting interest at all and I think it was some of the worst officiating I've ever seen in a big game. Just terrible.

So, apparently the Olympics start tonight. I can't rememeber less hype for this event...ever. I do have a question, though...when did "Turin" become "Torino," exactly? Is it just because the second one sounds cooler? Have we ever done this before? I don't think so. Nobody in America talked about the "Moskva" games in 1980, or the "Roma" games, or the recent bid by "Paree." Just weird. Other random Olympic thoughts: I don't think I could name ten US Olympians for these games, and that includes the hockey team...they say there's no such thing as bad publicity and I guess Bode Miller might exemplify that. He's been getting crushed in the press for one thing or another but at least I know who the guy is now, and even what sport he does...what exactly is the Skeleton? I'm guessing it involves some sort of a sled or a luge but honestly, I don't know...yeah, that's all I've got. I'll probably watch some stuff, simply because there's not much else on until spring training. But my interest isn't exactly huge.

Super Bowl Eve

Man, am I sick of the hype. Hey, where's Jerome Bettis from, anyway? And Joey Porter...give it a rest. I won't go into a lengthy analysis of everything because there are much better places to find such information. I'll just say that I think it will be a pretty tight and entertaining game and that I think most people are underrating the Seahawks quite a bit. So...on to the wagers.

Seahawks money line: +285 - one unit - this was my future bet made before the conference championship game. I thought the line seemed way too high then, so clearly I love it now.

Seahawks +4 - two units - my book had it at 3.5 all week until today, when it finally went up to four. That's when I jumped on it. I may press it up before kickoff.

PROP BETS

There were lots of goofy ones as always, but here are the only two I have taken so far:

Shaun Alexander's combined rushing and receiving yardage: 96.5 yards - OVER - one unit
Shaun Alexander's longest run of the game: 19.5 yards - OVER - one unit

The first number seems right about where it should be. Before any line was posted I said I'd take the over on anything around 100, so I did. As for the second one, the line seems a little low to me. Plus I always love having one bet that I can win instantly during the game, so here it is. Shaun could rip off a 30 yard jaunt on his first carry of the game and I'll have that one booked. Anyway, I really like his chances to break at least one 20 yard gainer.

Some that I did not take included parlaying the winner of the game with the gender of the eventual American Idol winner, Josh Brown's kicking points compared to Tiger Woods' number of holes better than birdie tomorrow, the game being tied at halftime and Jake Gyllenhall to win the Oscar for best supporting actor (20-1), or, in perhaps my favorite prop bet on the board, Joey Porter and Jerramy Stevens both to be ejected from the game (80-1)...on second thought, maybe I should throw a couple of bucks on that last one after all!

Happy Super Sunday, everyone.

Studio 7 on the Sunset Strip

Aaron Sorkin is one of my favorite writers, period. He's one of the best dialgoue writers in any medium and he has a brilliant touch with artfully depicting conflict on levels big and small. I loved SportsNight and I basically gave up on The West Wing after he left. This fall, he'll be making a triumphant return to network television with a dramatic series based on the behind-the-scenes workings of a Saturday Night Live-type sketch comedy show called Studio 7 on the Sunset Strip. I was excited enough about this just hearing that it's a Sorkin show...and then I read some of the pilot. Someone was lucky enough to get their hands on several of the audition sides, cobbling together what they could and posting it on line. It's not even the entire episode and it's brilliant. Kudos to NBC for A) giving Sorkin a second chance after showing him the door based on his cost overruns and missed deadlines for West Wing and B) Picking up a show that clearly and openly skewers SNL. Rumor is that Matthew Perry has signed on for a lead role and he'll be perfect for this. It's amazing how Sorkin can write characters so vivid and well-defined that I care about them after just a few pages...but he's done it. I'm dying. I can't wait to see this show.