Rosin bags and facemasks

When you woke up today (if you're awake yet) did you have a little more energy than usual? Did you have a hop in your step seemingly unexplained? When you threw away the coffee filter, did you look over your shoulder to check the runner at first? I did.

This can all be explained by the phenomenon we call "Pitchers and Catchers". It is derived from the custom of having Major League Baseball pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training around a week earlier than the rest of the team. And for 8 teams, including the Cubs, today is that day. The Cardinals report tomorrow. Here's a list of major league team report dates. The last teams to report: The Marlins and the Twins on the 17th. You think they're trying to save money.

It's kind of ironic that it will no doubt be over shadowed by the Congressional hearings in DC about steroids or rather performance enhancing drugs. And did anyone hear or read about John Rocker? Oi vey. This guy will do anything he can to get himself in the news and then complain about that everyone gives him grief. A quote: "I've taken a lot of crap from a lot of people. Probably more than anybody in the history of this sport. I know Hank [Aaron] and Jackie [Robinson] took a good deal of crap, but I guarantee it wasn't for six years. I just keep thinking: How much more am I supposed to take?"

When searching for a news story for Mr. Rocker, I found his website. Yes, his website. It's kind of funny but mostly it does everything to confirm he's an egotistically driven racist. Example: Under the link "rocker gear" the only things you can buy are a bumper sticker and T-shirt that say "Speak English." And it contains a formal statement about his steroid use, because I guess he couldn't control his big yapper. For me it evokes the expression, don't go away mad, just go away.

And speaking of away, that's exactly where the Cubs will start their Spring schedule. Feb. 28 at San Fran. Get out your eye black and get ready for a long season.

Suburban Senselessness

The close approximation of the The Loop and The Lou (the cities, not the blog) has inevitably formed a relationship between the two cities. Whether it be through the Cubs and Cardinals or Imo's and Gino's East or the teams formerly known as the Blues and the Blackhawks.

But I wake up today to to find another a new relationship: Inexplicable loss. Two of the three metro areas that I have called home, have been hit by senseless murder within the past week. A robbery in Tinley Park, IL last Saturday and a suprise attack on a civic meeting in Kirkwood, MO last night, both claimed 5 innocent lives. Two of our (Roller and I) closest friends from high school reside with their families, in Kirkwood. Three women I worked with for the past three football seasons live in Tinley Park. Thankfully, I recognized no last names among those who were killed, but I'm sure that brings little solace to the people who did.

We call it entertainment when this happens on TV and Briscoe and Green are dutifully tracking the case. But we call it horror if you happen to go shopping on a Saturday or participate in the civic process on Thursday. We call it terrorism when someone from another country does this. But we doing enough to protect ourselves from our own terrorists?

TATL sends out its thoughts and prayers to both towns and all the friends and families affected by these acts.

Really Super Bowl

I must admit that I didn't see myself catching much of the Super Bowl action after Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' halftime show. Which, I thoroughly enjoyed. Engrossed in reading about external threats to organizations, the second half started and I'm glad I didn't change the channel.

There was a part of me that wanted New England to win so we could all stop hearing about the 1972 Dolphins. But a greater part of me wanted the Giants to win. The Bears would still be the only 18 win Super Bowl winner and, as with any sports dynasty that's not the Bulls, I'm just sick of New England.

So many times this year we've seen the Patriots' offense capitalize after it seemed their possession was over. Such seemed to be the case when The Giants were caught 11 players and 1 leg on the field. I wanted to argue with someone that the Giants should have taken a timeout, but I was watching the game by myself and I was to drunk to talk. Turns out the Patriots don't score, and New York needed that timeout on the winning drive.

And being a Bears fan, I love to watch good defense and both teams played great defense.

I'll always think that Eli Manning was wrong for demanding a his draft day-trade (and it would have been a whole different media week if the Giants were playing the Chargers), but my disdain for him is waning. He has it tough. He's got this brother, Peyton, who besides being one of the best quarterbacks ever, is this articulate, affable and downright likable superstar. And Eli's, just, not. His quiet, or un-Peyton-like demeanor, has given amateur psychoanalysts free reign to diagnose his problem, when his biggest problem just might be his last name.

And that's why my memory of Super Bowl XLII won't be David Tyree's catch or Tom Brady getting tossed around like a Supermodel in windstorm. It will be seeing Peyton Manning as fired up as anyone will ever see him after the Giants scored. You'd have to think that it was not only hard for Peyton to watch Eli struggle and receive criticism, but also to know that it was magnified because of how successful he was. Good for Eli. Now go home and start licking those Double stuff.

Time to Change

Peter Brady may not have uttered more famous words. But they apply to all of us. For those that know me, I tend to be a creature of habit. Change is the money I get when I pay cash for something, not something I apply to my life. For our younger readers, cash the green paper you get when you use your ATM card.

But change I have. Big change. A silver dollar. For the purposes of blog, I will still be the Loop. Chi-town, the Second City, the Windy City. But I am actually calling the city of Urbana home. That is where I live, but I go to school in Champaign. Yes I said school. If you haven't figured it out, I have started Graduate school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The campus is actually bisected by city line separating the two towns.

I am studying for a Masters in Sports Management. The adjustment is getting better. Although only a two hour drive south of Chicago, I've gone from a thriving urban sprawl where I knew lots of people, to a ultra-rural area where I know no one.

But I think this can be a good thing. Meeting people will happen. But at least for now it is allowing me plenty of study time, free of distractions. And herein lies the biggest adjustment: CLASS!

It has been 10 plus years since you could officially call me a student. And even then the term student might have been a stretch. Luckily for me, Graduate life is requiring a lighter class load, albeit more demanding classes. The hope for the coming weeks and months is to try to find a way to use my talents in other areas within the University, one that hopefully can reduce the cost of tuition.

So that's that. Keep clicking in for future updates on the Coovo College Experience.

30 Years of Law & Order: Part VI - Old Timers and One Liners

The following is part 6 of a 51 part series on "Law & Order". Other parts can be seen here:

• 30 Years of Law & Order
• Who's the Real McCoy?
• Aye Cap'n
• Let's Make a Deal
• Young Guns
  

When Law & Order hits the airwaves, we are usually witnessing a collection of folks who are just living their lives but stumble upon a crime. Usually a dead body. Yuck! Through the magic of TV, police are on the scene in seconds. No matter if it is morning, noon or night the same two detectives are always dispatched to the scene. Displaying unnerving calm, these two superior dressed cops have talked to witnesses, got the rundown from CSU and managed to crack numerous one-liners all before your clock hits 9:02pm. It is with this diligence that we are launched into an hour of gripping drama with a really hot assistant district attorney.

DUH-DUH!

This duo is lead by the senior detective. I guess. Until we researched for this series, neither of us had any idea of the classification of the two. It does make our job a lot easier.

The first senior detective was actually a senior sergeant. Max Greevey (1990-1991) is about as old school as it gets when it comes to police. Tough. Honest. Smart, but not in a wake-up-smart kind of way... more like blue-collar smart. And the most old school trait of all? His name is Max. The role was already very likable, but actor George Dzundza (God Bless You!) deserves some credit for that.

Max and Mike Logan had a father-detective / son-detective type of relationship. They were men from different generations but they respected each other's work. Their partnership came to an abrupt and fatal end when Greevey was unable to recover from a fatal shot from which he died fatally.

Phil Cerreta (1991-1992) had the arduous task of replacing Greevey. Logan and Cerreta didn't get along initially, as Logan was "greeving" his partners death (Billy would have killed me if I missed that pun opportunity), but they eventually got along well.

Cerreta starred in one of the better scenes in early L&O, when posing as someone interested in buying stolen guns he was shot by the seller who, on what seemed like enough speed to kill a horse, panicked in the middle of the deal.


Mike Logan's 3rd partner in as many years was Lenny Briscoe (1992-2004). There isn't one person on earth who can sum up a situation in less than 10 words better than Lenny. Never fleet of foot, he made up for it with wit, charm, a good nose for investigation and sound interrogation.

One of the most surprising / least known facts about Briscoe is his role as passenger in the car that killed Claire Kincaid. The driver, drunk, was giving Lenny a ride home from the bar, who was also too drunk to drive.

Jerry Orbach left the show in 2004, most likely during his bout with prostate cancer. He made a few appearances with some L&O spin offs in the year following, but passed away soon after that.

Briscoe's unceremonious retirement leads to the addition of Joe Fontana (2004-2006) who came to the 2-7 from none other than the Chicago Police Department.

Although of the same generation as Greevey, the personality pendulum swings far away from Max, with Fontana making numerous references to the value of his shoes, suit or Mercedes.

Fontana's flashy appearance and somewhat brash personality matched his bend-the-rules style. He left the show after a couple years for unknown reasons, written off on the show as retirement. I'll bet he's down in Florida complaining about how much he sweats when he wears his suit to the beach.

Ed Green is promoted to Senior Detective after Fontana retired. You can read more about Ed in the previous L&O entry Young Guns.

DUH-DUH!

Roller's take: If I were to say anyone other than Lenny Briscoe I couldn't look myself in the mirror. I almost want to get divorced a few times just so I can always have a one-liner handy about an ex-wife. Because he paints it as a really happy life, right?

Because this is a one-horse race, I'll rank them so as to show some kind of appreciation for the rest. 1) Lenny 2) Lenny 3) Greevey 4) Cerreta 5) Farina 6) Green. I would actually put Green higher but he still needs to cut his teeth as the Sr. Detective. Greevey may be one of the more underappreciated characters on Law & Order. Coovo you agree/disagree?

Coovo's take: At first I was like, "What is that annoying Dad from Dirty Dancing doing on Law & Order?" It was the last time I ever doubted Dick Wolf (until Criminal Intent came out). You sympathized with, you admired him and you cried with him. I loved how he always had an old friend from back in the day who they could call on for some assistance. I'm pretty sure the biggest chapter in a coffee table book of famous TV one-liners would be of Lenny Briscoe.

Max Greevey's one year may have been better than any one of Briscoe's. Yet we must consider the brilliant decision of George Dzundza to leave what has become the longest running drama on TV for such career changing roles as Leo Lemke in The Butcher's wife and Hal Griffith in Dangerous Minds. He came back to TV in Jesse, with Christina Applegate. Nice move George. You showed them.

Fontana--had to be mobbed up. Cerreta--so you got shot, get back to work. That's what Green did. Green--he's got my respect.

Note: Law and Order is back on the airwaves in its old Wednesday night slot: 10 ET/9 CT. I've seen one show. Afterwards, I took out my stuffed teddy Briscoe and cried myself to sleep.

Free Beer!

Well, no, not free beer. But free guitar lessons! Kind of.

Check out www.chordbook.com, where you can find digital guides for chords, scales, and tuning.

Start with the tuner. Tune your guitar to standard tuning, or adjust the knobs on the guitar to tune to an alternate.

Check out the chords. Pick any chord. Like C. Pick any of the 27 variations of that chord. Like C7b9. Click the strum button. Control the tempo of the strum. Play an electric or acoustic. Pick another chord. Slap on a capo. Left handed? No problem. Click the Inversions button to view all the different ways to play that chord up and down the neck. Save the chord to your own bank of chords on the site.

Move on to the scales. Pick a key. Pick a scale. They are missing some of the variations on the major (ionian), but it's still pretty darn comprehensive.

So grab a beer, grab your axe. Listen, play, learn. And one day, you may be as good as this guy:

McCain, How Do You Sleep At Night?

"On top of a pile of money with many beautiful ladies."

So that quote is really from McBain, not McCain, but it would be pretty funny if the Senator shared those sleeping habits.

Oh yeah, this post is about a recent exchange McCain had at one of his town meetings regarding the presence of troops in Iraq. My better half pointed me to this NY Times blog article that defended McCain, or at the very least attempted to provide a more fair account of the aforementioned exchange than the D.N.C. (as described in the article).

McCain takes a pretty hawkish stance on this issue, essentially arguing that American troops and bases are needed around the world to ensure national security. I'd be interested to hear his reaction to the other side of this chicken-or-the-egg argument (the one Ron Paul espouses), that the reason our national security is threatened is because we have bases all over the world.


I find it encouraging that both McCain and Paul have consistent and honest messages, but I think the answer is somewhere in between. I agree with Paul, that our presence in their land is a significant cause of the anti-American sentiment in the Middle East. Removing or at least dramatically decreasing our presence there is a perhaps the ideal solution.

I can't believe that it is the most practical solution, however. I believe our nation is stuck in a situation where it is extremely dependent on stability in the Middle East. I can't believe I just wrote "stability in the Middle East" and was not attempting humor. Maybe it's better (and easier) to say, we can't have Iraq become Afghanistan.

I continue to contend that although we need to see progressive turnover of responsibility to Iraqis, it would be a mistake for a candidate to promise and plan a complete pull-out when they take office. In the long term, I agree with Paul and disagree with McCain that we need bases in places like Japan, Germany and Korea. But the practicality of removing our presence in the Middle East is strongly tied to our nation's ability to remove its dependence on the petrol flowing from the region.

I invite comments from everyone, be it on McCain, Paul, any other candidate or the subject of our military presence overseas. I know I will learn more by discussing with you.