It ain't Jake

What an ugly end to the Broncos' season...I thought that, at the very least, Denver would have made a game of it. Despite the great season that Jake Plummer had, he will be known once again as El Foldo, making blunders at crucial times. For all but two teams, next season has already begun-- Mike Shanahan will have to figure out how to build for the 2006-07 season, hoping to succeed not only during the regular season, but during the playoffs as well. One bad performance can undermine a year-long mission.

Even though I don't care about the ultimate outcome of this year's Super Bowl, there will still be some compelling story lines: Seattle's first trip there, Jerome Bettis returning to his hometown of Detroit to play in the big show, for what will likely be his last game, the Steelers being only the second team ever to get to the Super Bowl after three playoff wins on the road, the chance for Shaun Alexander or Ben Roethlisberger to win it all, et cetera...

I guess I'm always drawn to the stories behind the story of high-profile sports-- I get fascinated by improbable circumstances, underdog victories, great comebacks, and unlikely standouts as much as anybody. Yet another way great way to divert attention from what I need to be working on...

A bunch of words, some potentially relevant...

Tomorrow would have been my grandmother's 100th birthday (she passed away in 1991). Among other things, I'm still getting used to the fact that I'm old enough to have a grandparent who was born a century ago...

I'm hoping my Broncos can pull it off tomorrow against the Steelers (and then against the NFC champs)...this is the farthest Denver has gone since the days of John Elway and Terrell Davis (it's pronounced Tuh-RELL). For me, it's hard to hate the Steelers, given that my family lived in Pittsburgh before we moved to Denver in 1973, but my Bronco fandom was firmly implanted by 1977 (the first year of those Orange Crush T-shirts).

Glad to see the Abramoff scandal getting so much coverage...it helps to check out www.mediamatters.org to see what's REALLY going on-- the usual suspects are perpetuating the usual lies, so it's nice to have some constant fact-checking going on. Also, more is coming out about how Dubya intervened (interfered) with a 2002 investigation of Abramoff's misdeeds. Ethics, anyone? Anyone?

I'll be more specific about my ER visit in October-- some people have expressed concern (thanks for asking). Here's what it was (no graphic photos): a thrombosed external hemorrhoid. I've never seen so much of my own blood in my life-- thankfully, my vital signs remained normal the whole time, but I had to go to the ER to get a small blood clot removed. I was a bit shaken psychologically afterward (it's a rather frightening way for your body to tell you to treat it better). My advice to everyone: more water, more dietary fiber, and keep some psyllium fiber on hand.