Wrap Up.

The advantage of not being emotionally involved in the outcome of today's Super Bowl is that I can say, "wow... what an entertaining game".

That is all.





Because... if I was to ramble on, I'd probably whine about the only Buckeye on either roster ending up as the MVP.. Grrrrr. Defensively, ex-Wolverine, Lamar Woodley made some great plays.

That's really all. Seriously.

Super Bowl Pick.

Having no emotional connection with either team, I was in a quandary about who to pull for in tomorrow's Super Bowl. Everybody needs to pick somebody.

Using empirical research techniques, and scientific method, I.... oh hell... I just checked the rosters for former University of Michigan players. No contest, as it turns out. The Phoenix Cardinals have 5 former Wolverines, while the Steelers have only two, and considering the Cardinals are already the prohibitive underdog, the choice is easy. Go Cards! As a bonus, Alan Branch is from New Mexico.

And Go Blue! I'm sure no other University has, or maybe ever had, that many alums playing in a single Super Bowl!

Sandia's "Maiden"

Briefly- Sandia's first judged hunt would have to be viewed as a success, as he did end up tied for 2nd place (with two greyhounds). And he did finish ahead of his Aunt Camille, who finished 5th.

So? Sounds like there's a "but"...

But... his sister, Maya, won the hunt.

Ah, tomorrow is another (wetter, windier) day!

Are You Sitting Down?

Before I forget, we need to return to the story of that clunker Pontiac Tempest I blogged about a couple of weeks ago. The question I posted was, "What would you pay for it?" To review, it's 45 years old, and has no motor or transmission.

We had a pretty spirited conversation going on in the comments section (check it out if you weren't one of the commenters), so we know what you'd pay. What did someone actually pay last month? Well, before I let you know, I should point out that at one time that clunker looked very much like the car above. In fact, after reading the history of these vehicles, there's a 99% chance I saw that very same clunker running at the Detroit Dragway back in the early 60's!

OK.. you've read the history. Sit down. Here's the real deal. It's fun to read through the posts where the seller kept adding information as he began to realize just what he had on his hands for sale. Moral?: If it's rare, it's worth it, no matter what it looks like. Now wasn't that fun?

Fun For a Couple More Days

Olympics are almost over, but this was too much fun to pass up! Check back as it'll change daily.

Sad.

A once glorious place, passing into history.

Lest You Think I Hallucinate...

Occasionally, I come prepared.

Welcome Back, Stanley

AP Photo

Lord Stanley's Cup is back where it belongs... in Detroit... and all is right with the world. Congratulations Detroit Red Wings.

Hitting the Road.

We're halfway to the ASFA II in Leesburg, VA. We stopped in Wheeling, WV to have Rally checked out by The Greatest Vet in the Universe, who was channeling a rapper, or pro athlete when he said, in the third person, "Dr Radcliffe's not happy" with her progress. X-Rays show that she still has major loss of bone density in the calcaneous, where the achilles tendon is attached, and he's afraid we might lose the repair, so it's back on heavy-duty antibiotics (from a short list of those that the staphlococcus haemolytus is not resistant to), and a splint. This will go on for at least another two weeks.

Business out of the way, we went to dinner last night with the good doctor and his wife. Before that, though, we went to their house so we could see the newly remodeled kitchen. Wow... it's a chef's version of Heaven.. check out the Electrolux professional stove. That's restaurant quality there.

Speaking of restaurants, nobody's going to be surprised when I tell you we went to the Metropolitan Citi Grille. Was it as good as I remember? Of course. Bummer of the night was that Margaret and I were the only Detroit Red Wing fans in the place, and the Wings were losing!

We parked at our favorite location for the night.. Cabela's, so I could get a replacement "sun cutter" hat which I'd lost last August.

Today, we'll head for Virginia where, I hear that besides the rabid foxes, they're also having a bad tick year.. deer ticks no less, so a quick trip back to Radcliffe's office before we leave is in order, to pick up some Preventic collars.

Weather forecast for Leesburg, VA for the weekend calls for 88 degrees and scattered thunderstorms on Saturday, and 86 and sunny on Sunday.

"Grapes."

If you don't know who this is, I feel sorry for you. Got a rare chance on Saturday night to watch the Red Wings game on Hockey Night in Canada on CBC out of Windsor, Ontario. After the game we got to see this.. Is that a great suit, or what upholstery? And that's not all.

Rivalry Returns... (with a conspiracy theory)

The NHL playoffs are about to get interesting... finally. (Now that those irritating Nashvillains have been put in their place.... the golf course). The Red Wings next opponent is the always-hated Colorado Evil.. Avalanche.

It's been a number of years since the teams have met in the playoffs.. Well, the Wings have been there, but the Avs have been golfing by this point in the season.

But when the rivalry was hot.. was it ever hot! What hockey fan (the rest of you can move on to another blog at this point) will ever forget this:

.

But the league is trying to effect Detroit's concentration with the most bizarre rule ever handed down: No swinging the octopus over the head! WTF is up with that? Ah well... Wings in 6. Bank it.

Back to dogs and other stuff.

UPDATE: This is too funny!. Game 1: Detroit 4, Colorado 3.

A Week in the Life...

It's been an interesting past few days.. you might say from the ridiculous to the sublime.

We shot the River Raisin Rhodesian Ridgeback Club's AKC lure trial last weekend. Saturday was soaking waves of cold rain, all... day... long. That was fine; I've worked in the rain before. Could be worse.



Sunday, it got worse. The snow in and of itself wasn't bad, it was the 25-30mph gusting Northeast wind that was driving it that really sucked. Of course, in typical coursing irony, the snow moved on, and the sun came out... 20 minutes after the trial ended. The wind didn't go anywhere, however.

This is one of the great fields we shoot at. It's a private farm, and there are great rolling hills that are actually grass.. not a mowed hay field. Makes a natural bowl. Take a look when we get the pictures from the weekend uploaded to our website. (Should happen later today). I think the Saturday Borzoi runoffs give a pretty good look at the topography, as I moved into the bottom of the bowl.

From the trial, I drove into Ann Arbor to drop Margaret off at Weber's Inn and Restaurant, a legendary local establishment. She was going to get to spend the night there, in one of the nice poolside rooms, adjacent to her parents' room. I could have stayed, too... but somebody had to go back to Jackson and take care of the dogs. I would join up with them all on Monday morning.

Why? I probably haven't mentioned this before, but Margaret's parents are HUGE Michigan sports fans, and longtime members of the M Club, the folks responsible for the "Go Blue" banner any sports fan who watches football on Saturdays will recognize. They attend countless basketball (men's and women's), hockey, baseball, softball, swimming & diving, gymnastics, meets every year.

The guest speaker at the M Club luncheon (poached whitefish or grilled chicken) would be Michigan's new head football coach, Rich Rodriguez. This was his first meeting with "the club", and it seemed he started off on the wrong foot, with a group you really don't want to piss off. He was late, leaving the host to stall for time, while the natives got restless. And dessert was not a part of the lunch. WTF??

Well, "Rich Rod" finally showed up, to a lukewarm standing ovation... I overheard one of the men at our table say, "He doesn't deserve a standing ovation.. he was late". Tough crowd. They would warm to him, though; I knew they would. This guy is a favorite of ESPN, and we were about to find out why. For a kid who grew up in a tiny coal mining town in West Virginia, he's certainly a fabulous extemporaneous speaker. I hazard to say he can probably out-charisma any coach in the Big 10.. and a majority in the rest of the country.

But why take my word for it? Just watch this clip Margaret shot.. this was his "wrap up" story, about how fortunes can change in the business of college football coaching..





Needless to say, at the end of the hour the crowd was a bunch of pussycats, and they were eating out of his hand. More fun than I've had in a couple of years.

Tuesday, I had to finish up my article on the Pack Hunt and Desert Hare Classic for PSJ . Finish, did I say? I had to start and finish it.. already past the deadline. What the hell... I always work better under pressure. By Wednesday morning, I got it finished up and, not to boast,... (OK... I'm boasting), it may be my best stuff yet, so make sure you get your subscription started if you don't already have one. The issue should be out in about a month. Should be a good one, because Dutch will also have a piece about lamping jackrabbits, with some of the pictures I posted here during our Winter in New Mexico.

Anyway, Jackie, the editor, had a fabulous idea. We met her at Chicago Water Grill in the little burg of Jonesville, MI. We've met her there before and we were looking forward to it, as it's one of those incongruous places: fine dining at it's best in a little town far from any bustling metropolises. It gets its name from the fact it sits on US12, known as the Chicago Road... the way you got from Detroit to Chicago before the advent of the Interstate System. I had a Grouper sandwich.. I've mentioned here before my love of grouper haven't I? I'm sure I have. Desert was a "Old Fashioned Tin Roof Sundae". They even do Bananas Foster at your table, (which, by the way, was the answer to the last little quiz, not that anybody cared apparently.) Great restaurant if you're ever in the area. Go out of your way if you have to.

And for a final little restaurant tip... how about the place we just had lunch? Los Tres Amigos. In the Top 5 of all the Mexican and Tex/Mex places we've written about in the past. We try to get there at least once every trip into southeast Michigan. Try the Enchiladas Pacifico- 3 enchiladas stuffed with at least 2 dozen large, grilled shrimp, covered with green sauce (not green chiles.... damn!), rice, guac, beans, and sour cream. The best. Really good margaritas, too- you know that's important.

Tomorrow we'll be off to Stony Run County Park near the town of Crown Point, IN. This will be our first ASFA trial in quite some time.

Whats the Matter With Kansas?

Hey, we're back. Miss us?

We've been on the move for the last week or so.. from Oklahoma to Kansas to Michigan. Kansas was our stop last weekend for an AKC trial outside of Wichita... which leads us to the title of this post. And no, I'm not talking about Thomas Frank's excellent book by the same name, wherein he investigates why hundreds of thousands of poor Kansans voted against their own economic self interest in the 2004 elections. (Hint: they drank the Bush KoolAid).

No, I'm talking about our own wacky experiences in Kansas. First, we stopped in the brand new Wichita World Market... where we've found a wine we really like. Once in the store, I discovered we weren't going to be there for very long. No wine and beer section! What the hell is this? When leaving, one of the employees asked if we found everything OK... that's all the invitation I needed. Like she was prescient, she said, "Ah, the liquor?... thank you, Kansas". I don't understand what convoluted statutes allow Sam's Club to have a complete liquor store attached to their building, and forbids World Market from selling wine and beer. We never did get any wine.


Then, as we were leaving the state on Sunday, we witnessed a phenomenon we saw a couple of years ago: Every Spring, Kansans set themselves on fire.

They have their reasons. Good ones it turns out, as explained at the link. It's just bizarre to drive past mile after mile of smoldering grasslands. The smell and the haze aren't all that pleasant, but they're working on that.



And then there's "Pastor" Fred Phelps in Topeka. Actually, God hates you, Fred.


Now, I don't want to leave the impression that all is bad and bleak in Kansas. Saturday night we were invited out to dinner at the Kabob House restaurant on Wichita's west side. An intimate (read: small) place, featuring Turkish and Mediterranean cuisine. This was clearly a winner. I had the "Donor Alexander Kabob".... grilled, seasoned lamb, covered with a tomato-butter sauce, together with rice and bulgar. It was sooooo good. Finished up with a delicious Turkis coffee.


Now we're back in Michigan... I'm so glad we weren't still in Kansas when Kansas University won whatever meaningless sports tournament we watched on TV last night. We might have gotten trampled by the celebratory run on the campus malt shops. "Rock. Chalk. Jayhawk." What the hell does that mean? (Can you tell my money was on Memphis?).


Michigan. Snow in the forecast for the weekend. Figures.

New Slide Show!

As promised, Margaret's pictures from the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks (Tulsa).

That's all we have time for today, unfortunately.. gotta get Rally to the vet for the cast padding change. Wanted to do a sports wrap... that will have to wait till we get on the road again as this is probably the last chance we'll get to come into Hugo.

Briefly: Disappointed in the Final Four. Happy with the Frozen Four. Grand Valley basketball had a decent season (36-1) losing for the second straight year in the "Great Eight" to the ultimate Division II champions... Winona State this year. Tigers opening game today. That is all!

Not With a Bang, but a Whimper

Brian at MGoBlog has all the detailed analysis anyone could possibly need on the Pryor commitment earlier today.

Just as a side note... We're pretty sure we know where he's going, but are we really sure he knows where he's going... in his loaner Corvette?

"If everyone's here," he said, "University of Ohio State."

That's a MAC school, isn't it?

Well.... if he takes too long to figure out the name of the school, they'll just take the 'vette away and give it back to Maurice Clarett.

Whose Ass They Gonna Kiss Now?

Sports journalism's ridiculous love affair with Green Bay Packers' quarterback, Brett Favre is finally going to end. Favre's agent has announced that the man I call the most overrated player in the history of sport, is going to retire. The media's lavish praise of the man who holds NFL records in interceptions... (yeah, touchdowns too... big deal) reminds me of the way the political media falls all over themselves to shower accolades on presidential candidate Barack Obama (all of which is warranted, by comparison.... Buckeye state: do something right for a change!). That Favre, he's no Tom Brady ;-) He wouldn't even have the one, lonely Super Bowl ring he owns if not for this former Wolverine, Heisman Trophy winner, and Super Bowl MVP...

So good bye, Brett. Go fishin', and don't let too many of your baitfish get "picked off".

No, They Mean the Pecans.

The MLBPA was getting nervous. (That will require a little bit of thought) ;-)

Yeah. So There!

Patriots: 'Better A Diamond With A Flaw Than A Pebble Without'

...and yer mother wears army boots!

Y'Oughta See the Giants Fan's Jaw!

That's a real fan! I only considered putting my fist through the wall...

The Dark Side.

Absolutely last word on the Subpar Super Bowl... The Nueva York Giants were the recipients of some of the greatest luck in the history of sport. Or was it luck? Maybe there were dark forces at work that we can only wonder at, or dream of.

This was the kind of "luck" that Notre Dame used to have before their god deserted them after the hiring of Charlie Weis. There must be supernatural forces in play here... but not benign forces. These are dark forces. These are Faustian- Robert Johnson down-to-the-crossroads kind of sinister forces. I'm convinced of it. What other explanation could there be for this...


So enjoy your brief notoriety, Eli. Down the road, the piper will still have to be paid.

Damn... I despise that whole hillbilly family ;^)