Emmy Nominations, Gould-en conversation and more…

*Just got word from an NBC colleague that we picked up a pair of Emmy nominations tonight for a couple of projects the NBC-5 sports team has done over the last year.  I don’t put a lot of importance in regional Emmys, I don’t think they’re necessarily a reflection of the “best” work done in a given year, but it’s nevertheless a nice nod. 

*Given that I had an entire blog entry about it, I should probably mention that our new Sports Sunday show got off to a good start this past weekend.  It certainly helped that the Bears pulled off an “upset” of the Colts on Sunday Night Football… giving us a monster lead in.  We definitely have a lot of things we can improve on in the show, but we laid a nice foundation and the responses have been overwhelmingly positive.

*I had a fantastic conversation today with Robbie Gould, kicker of the Chicago Bears.  I’m not going to get into any details because I think it’s one of those chats that was kind of off the record… but I will say if more such conversations occured it would probably go a long way towards helping ease the ever-mounting tensions between the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Media.  The Bears are a big fan of the “Us-against-the-World” motivational technique and who am I to argue after Sunday night?  That said, I think it was nice for both of us (Robbie and me) to air our respective opinions on the topic.

The Rodgers Era Begins

There are a lot of days each year that make us all happy.  Thanksgiving comes to mind.  The 4th of July is another.   Christmas morning if you are a kid or have kids.  And then of course there’s the two days a year when the Packers smack around the Minnesota Vikings.

As a lifelong sports fan, there really is only one organization I truly despise… and that’s the stupid purple-clad football club from Minnesota.  There are a million reasons why, including a near drop-down, drag-out fight between my wife (former Vikings fan, current Packers fan) and the best man in one of her best friend’s wedding (die-hard, idiot vikings fan), and I won’t bore you with all of them.  But I don’t like them.

Aaron Rodgers took a major step towards leaping into the hearts of Packer fans Monday night

So it was doubly enjoyable yesterday to see Aaron Rodgers win opening night against the hated horn-heads.  Based on what I’m hearing, Favre’s ghost was everywhere last night in Lambeau Field (It sounds like there were many more Favre JETS jerseys in the crowd than there were Rodgers PACKERS jerseys) but Rodgers and the Packers were unfazed.  The first quarter (in which the Packers set an NFL-record by committing 2,397 penalties) looked pretty ugly and the game never really got pretty… but a win’s a win.

Most importantly, it reminded me why I was so excited about this team and honestly, it never had a whole lot to do with the quarterback position anyway.  The Packers defense is pretty good, downright dominant at it’s best… and they can run the ball.  Aaron Rodgers doesn’t have to be Superman, he just has to be good (and the second highest completion percentage in an NFL starting debut in history definitely falls into the “good” category) and this team should win the NFC North easily.

Go Pack!

As for Brett Favre, I definitely found myself pulling for him.  I was excited that he threw a long TD pass in his second series… I was happy Jets fans got to see a glimpse of the gunslinger that will capture (and, at times, break) their hearts on his second TD throw.  And my stomach-churned like it was a Packers game when the Dolphins drove down and almost stole the game.

I really hope good things happen for Favre this year.  I hope he stays healthy, I hope he plays well and I hope the Jets shock everyone by winning that division (infinitely more likely now that the man Favre finished 2nd to in the MVP race last year is done for the year).  But I don’t want him to win the Super Bowl.  I just can’t cheer for that.  I spent so many seasons (including of course last season) hoping, wishing, praying he could get one more ring to solidify his position in the “Best QB of all-time” debate.  But not anymore.  Because if he wins a Super Bowl in a Jets jersey, then we have to share him.  Jets fans will always claim him as one of their own, the old veteran who had enough left to take them to the promised land.

I don’t want that.  I don’t want to share him.

Football Season is here!

Yeah, okay, the NFL season actually began Thursday… but today’s that first full Sunday… the one when most fans gather at homes or in bars to watch their favorite team, cheer on their fantasy studs and eat and drink like crazy.  Sadly, for years, my sundays haven’t included those activities… instead I spend my sundays working, watching games, covering them… and producing shows.

Tonight is a special one as at NBC we launch our brand new Sports Sunday: The Post-Game Show!  If you’re in the Chicago-area, check it out after the game, I think it’s going to be destination TV for die-hard sports fans and casual viewers alike. 

Most importantly for my blog purposes, check out the LIVE CHAT we’ll have beginning at 10:30 p.m. CT!  You can log on to http://www.nbc5.com/sports/index.html and not only chat with other football fans and the hosts of Sports Sunday… but also get an exclusive look inside the studio while the shows going on.   One of our cameras will be patched into the chat so you’ll be able to see all the fun in the studio both during the show and during commercial breaks!

Soccer Season is Here!

Up bright and early this morning for soccer pictures (8:00am) and our first game (9:00am).  It’s amazing how quickly fall has arrived… I feel like we were just doing this a few weeks ago.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this team this year.  Sidra and a few of the other girls had obviously moved up from 1st grade to 2nd grade and so I figured they would have made major strides (the difference athletically between 1st and 2nd grade is enormous… in fact, I have to believe, at least when girls are concerned, it’s probably the biggest gap they have) and I was right.  All of the 1st graders I had last year had improved significantly over last year… and the other 2nd graders are good as well.  Maybe just as importantly, our 1st graders are all players too.  I think I had a much wider spectrum of girls last year (some really good, some not so much), this year I don’t have any superstars… but I also don’t have anyone who struggles. 

Anyway, in the first half today we looked like it was, well, the first game of the year.  In the second half, the Divas (yes, our team has chosen to be named after our Airedale who they all met yesterday at practice!) flipped the switch, pouring in four goals to win 4-0.  The big surprise was Angelina, conceivably the smallest girl on our team, who scored twice and has a motor that doesn’t quit. 

So it looks like we may have another successful soccer season ahead of us… although week 2 pits us against the team I think is probably the best in the league (if it’s not us) so we’ll have to see. 

Yea soccer!

Well, that was out of the blue! (Double final table on Full Tilt)

Today was essentially a workday at home (even though it’s technically my day off) during which I didn’t put my Blackberry down for about a five hour stretch in the morning/early afternoon.  At about 2:00pm I decided to take a break and play a little online poker.  I fired up a 90-man and then, for some reason unknown to me, fired up a 300+ person MTT.  I had Sidra’s soccer practice at 5:00pm so I really didn’t have time to play it if I did well… but given my recent MTT luck, I can see why I didn’t let that worry me.

To make a long story short, I final tabled BOTH.  Sadly, in the 90-man, I ran my AJ into QQ and immediately dumped out 9th… but managed to finish 5th in the 300+ tourney.  I’m not sure what it says about my MTT game that I did that well while working on my Blackberry and frantically calling soccer parents to change the location of tonight’s practice (our practice field is still underwater from yesterday).

I’m going to go through the hand history and maybe return to 67 a bit to go through some of it.   But yea me!

Tomorrow:  Sidra’s 1st Soccer Game!

Quick Thoughts (Sorry!)

So I was talking to a friend in New York today who said:  “I can tell you’re really busy because you haven’t updated your blog in forever!”

Ugh, she’s right, I’ve been awful about updating it… and that I’m really busy.  So a quick glimpse into my world and my brain on all sorts of topics.

*After a tough patch to begin with, Zalen seems to be settling into kindergarten fairly well.  It’s tough for a 5-year-old to go to an all-new school where everyone else knows each other… but he’s being a champ.

*Sidra was the “Star Student of the Week” at school and got to bring home the class mascot, “Wrigley the Bear”, for a week to take pictures with.  I resisted the urge to take Wrigley to U.S. Cellular   Our first soccer game is this Saturday… the “Jonas Sisters” seems to be the leading candidate for team name.

*Sky is busy as always with auditions and the kids… although both of us are also sick with worry over her Aunt Joni.  Joni’s been fighting cancer for about 5 years now and is going through a particularily rough patch this past two weeks in the hospital… so our thoughts are never far from her.

*Okay, other stuff.  My Cubs friends are panicking big time.  This Carlos Zambrano thing sounds oh-so-familiar (see:  Wood, Kerry; Prior, Mark; Miller, Wade; etc…) and now with Rich Harden missing a couple of starts this thing could unravel in a hurry.  The Cubs (admittedly the best team in the NL) are facing a daunting first round playoff opponent in the Arizona Diamondbacks, who will throw Brandon Webb, Danny Haren and Randy Johnson at them.  With Zambrano/Harden/Dempster, the Cubs are able to match up arm-for-arm and their line-up is significantly better.  But if those two guys (worst case scenario obviously) are not around, a Dempster/Lilly/Marquis/Marshall rotation puts them in a world of post-season trouble.  101 years anyone?

*Meanwhile the White Sox seem to be hitting an all-too-familiar September stagger.  The good news is the Minnesota Twins don’t seem likely or even capable of burying the Sox in September either.  This one is likely to come down to the final week of the season when the two teams meet in a Tuesday-Thursday series in Minnesota before they both host final weekend series (Sox vs. Indians/Twins vs. Royals)

*How good was Sarah Palin last night?  Well, if you believe most of the political pundits, her speech was the equivalent of Usain Bolt’s Olympic 100 Meters.  I thought she came off as tremendously likeable and certainly answered a lot of questions about her own resume.  But (and I admit to a bias here), the Republicans are spending a lot of time talking out of both sides of their mouths this week.  John McCain is the man with the most “experience,”… yet in the same breath they want to distance him from what has happened in the last 8 years (an 8 year span he has been profoundly involved in) when it suits them.   He’s a “leader” when it’s time for a leader, but a “maverick” when it’s time for change.  And how does Sarah Palin and the Republican party make her family such a focal point of not only her speech but the entire presentation yesterday… while at the same time blaming the media for making them such a focal point???

For more “fact checking” of Palin’s speech as well as others… check out http://news.yahoo.com/story//ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_fact_check

Staying Put!

Ah, much more relaxed now

So for the last couple of weeks I’ve been completely stressed out.

We’ve got a big project on the horizon here at work… an October that looks like it could be an all-time ballbuster… not to mention all the usual stuff…

… and I haven’t been able to concentrate on any of it because I’ve been in the midst of a potential job change.  I’ve interviewed a couple of times for a job at another network… anyway, long story short, NBC came to me today with a new offer and I’m staying.

I’m very excited and very relieved to have this behind me, especially with the craziness ahead.

Zalen on the School Bus!

Zalen waves goodbye to mommy and daddy as he heads into school!

Zalen is officially in kindergarten!

Our baby boy stepped onto the school bus for the first time this morning with his big sister and was whisked away to school… Mommy and daddy, for our part, took lots of pictures and video at the bus stop before rushing off to the school to get more pictures and video (obviously I will post once we have them up!)

I can’t believe how quickly our kids have gotten to this point… It seems like just yesterday we were being told by a waitress at the bar at Mars 2012 that we couldn’t bring our two-month old baby girl into the bar with her carseat because she was underage! 

Now both our children are getting on the school bus!  What will mommy do with her mornings???

Bronze… No Bust!

Yesterday I officially reached Bronze Ironman status at Full Tilt… more importantly it was a profitable endeavour (despite my horrific MTT play) capped off by my final night in which I earned 1 1/2 buy-ins, including the beauty below… I was starting to get fearful that I wasn’t going to get any action on my BB KK… and then explosion!:

Full Tilt Poker Game #7790175804: Table Hook – $0.10/$0.25 – No Limit Hold’em – 0:47:29 ET – 2008/08/25
Seat 1: dlingdling ($26.85)
Seat 2: Rustyz10 ($43.45)
Seat 3: jhorton42 ($24.50)
Seat 4: TonyTony Choper ($25)
Seat 5: carmi in CA ($49.15)
Seat 6: Magic Man 1980 ($16.40)
Seat 7: Producer_2 ($57.15)
Seat 8: Acein8ter ($25)
Seat 9: Recone Helmut ($29.20)
Magic Man 1980 posts the small blind of $0.10
Producer_2 posts the big blind of $0.25
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Producer_2 [Kc Kh]
Acein8ter folds
Recone Helmut folds
dlingdling folds
Rustyz10 folds (Oh come on!!!)
jhorton42 calls $0.25  Okay, that’s something, I guess.
carmi in CA raises to $0.75  There we go…
Magic Man 1980 raises to $16.40, and is all in  Oh my!
Producer_2 raises to $57.15, and is all in  BOOM!
jhorton42 folds
carmi in CA folds
Producer_2 shows [Kc Kh]
Magic Man 1980 shows [Qd Tc]  Ah, well played!
Uncalled bet of $40.75 returned to Producer_2
*** FLOP *** [3s 5d 7h]
*** TURN *** [3s 5d 7h] [Ac] 
*** RIVER *** [3s 5d 7h Ac] [6s]
Producer_2 shows a pair of Kings
Magic Man 1980 shows Ace Queen high
Producer_2 wins the pot ($32.15) with a pair of Kings
Magic Man 1980 is sitting out

Remembering Joe (Again)

Last night we had a barbecue with a few families from Sidra’s school… and at one point the conversation turned to Joe and Becky Fontana.  For those of you new to my blog, you can catch up on this story at my old blog with the following links.

http://team67.org/blogs/producer_2/?p=40

http://team67.org/blogs/producer_2/?p=41

http://team67.org/blogs/producer_2/?p=44

http://team67.org/blogs/producer_2/?p=46

It was an important reminder for all of us that as these first few days of school go by, we should probably be prepared to deal with some new questions and concerns from our children.  In some ways the timing of the tragedy this spring made it easier to get through… there was no more school for the kids to attend, to see an empty chair where Joe would have been… but in some ways, it would have been good to just confront it all right then. 

Sidra, for her part, hasn’t asked about Joe since school started.  They mixed up the classes quite a bit so I don’t think it’s obvious that Joe isn’t there as it would have been last spring.