Silly Season...

Hi, constant readers. All three of us fans have been busy with our lives lately. And with college football's regular season now over, our posts have been few and far between.

We have yet to decide how often we plan to maintain the blog after the bowl season concludes. There has been some discussion about soldiering on through the NFL and college basketball seasons into the springtime. But time has become a precious commodity.

At the very least, we will have one more Crystal Ball (Bowl Edition), as well as some analysis once everything is said and done. Stay tuned for more updates...

A word about the "Nation..."

For those who think the passion of Red Sox fans is little more than a mirage, read this email from a friend of mine angry that Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia was left off one writer's American League most valuable player ballot... Mind you, Pedroia handily won the award.

Joined in progress: "... He does not really consider all the stats. He actually said he does not consider strikeouts in any way and pointed to Ryan Howard. Are you kidding me? He is trying to sell it by pointing to Pedroia's rank in OPS, BA/RISP, OPS/RISP, and RBIs. He is using Pedroia's rank with all MLB (not just AL), and is not comparing it to the other hitters he selected. It is meaningless. The worst thing is that on September 20, he wrote a column with Pedroia ranked 4th. The only changes he made to that ballot a week or two later was to switch Morneau and K-Rod (2 + 3), kick off Pedroia, and add Pena as 10. So what did Pedroia do in the end of September? Only hit .391. He needs to just take the heat without trying to justify his choice and let it fade away after a few days..."

Don't understand Red Sox Nation? Emails like this tell the story...

Cubs, Shmubs... Chicago has our next president...

Congratulations to Barack Obama, our new president elect. Here's to all of the underdogs -- both in sports and in life.

Trick or treating gone wild...

Non Football Thought:

I think we're going to need some more candy next year...

By 8:30 p.m., our candy bowl was empty. By 8:45 p.m., I had handed out the last of the Nutri-Grain bars in our pantry and was about to move onto bottled water.

Final tally: About 100 kids, with about 50 or 60 more turned away. We knew our Dallas neighborhood would be active on Halloween. We didn't know it would be a sugary version of Lollapalooza or the NYC Marathon. As Steve Irwin of Animal Planet -- God rest his soul -- would say: Crikey!

Enjoy the weekend everyone! May your backyards be less full of leaves than mine.

Texas over Tech; Florida over Georgia.

The Series That No One Watched...

A time out from regular programming for this quick baseball aside...

Congratulations are in order for the Phillies, who after years of suffering, have beaten the Rays and finally won a World Series. I thought the starting pitching of the Rays would be the difference... In the end, it was Philadelphia that showcased both pitching and timely hitting.

Anyway, whatever. Go Red Sox.

One sick puppy...

Apologies are in order from this blogger, who has been both busy and feeling under the weather in recent days. Thanks for your patience. I'll pick it up again Thursday with the Crystal Ball.

Speaking of which, a quick World Series breakdown: The Phillies have the better lineup and closer, while the Rays have the better starting pitching staff. On balance, pitching wins championships. Rays win in a tight series.

Fenway to Tampa: Drop Dead.

I understand that the Tampa area has a baseball team that's trying to get to the World Series. Well, that means, ahem, beating the Sox four times, not three. (See: Yankees, Indians.) Let's be honest: Did you really think the Sox would bow out quietly?

Memo from a fan: Non-football

To: Los Angeles Times sports department
From: Ian
Re: Thanks for the memories

You are awesome.

The "Where are they now?" photo gallery spotlighting the 1988 Dodgers sent chills down my spine. Now, if only they can pull out three straight wins, I'll be able to fully tap into that Dodger Blue that I once bled.

The questions you asked the members of the team (well, the ones you were able to reach) were perfect. What are you doing? What's your most memorable moment from that season? What went through your mind when Kirk Gibson hit that Game 1 homer? Where do you keep your World Series ring? They actually elicited some pretty smile-inducing responses.

These days, I feel little connection to the Dodgers. I blame the sale of the team to News Corp., which totally ruined the home game experience. Since then, the Dodgers lost their soul, as many could say about their own teams as the sport has tried to become more corporatized.

But back to 20 years ago. What a season that was. Orel Hershiser broke Don Drysdale's scoreless inning record. Vin Scully, Ross Porter and Drysdale were in their broadcasting prime. The O'Malley family still owned the team. Tommy Lasorda was all about the SlimFast.

And then there were the playoffs. Jay Howell gets suspended in the NLCS for the pine tar incident. Hershiser coming into Game 4 against the Mets to notch a save. Kirk Gibson's fist-pumping homer. Pitchers shutting down the Bash Brothers. Hershiser winning two against the all-powerful A's. Lasorda running onto the field, two fists in the air, just beaming.

Oh, the memories. Thank you.

A storm for the NHC "B Teamers"

Non Football Thought:

A quick thanks to the National Hurricane Center for keeping us informed on Extratropical Cyclone Laura, which, at this point, is in danger of affecting no one but Arctic whales migrating in open water.

I think I'm gonna squeal...

Non Football Thought:

I wanted to take a moment to recognize today's high definition release of The Godfather Trilogy. Fully restored print. Pristine 1080-progressive resolution. Lossless Dolby TrueHD sound. Original 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

(moment of silence)

To say that today is an exciting day in the world of Ted Kim would be an understatement.