Team USA and Landy Cakes

It's a forgone conclusion that Klinsmann is going to become the next manager of team USA. The US team can only benefit from his experience as a player and as the manager for team Germany. There are still a few things that must be done before we see a run to the World Cup Final. It's my opinion and that of most people that the US must begin to make the shift from players in the MLS to players cutting there teeth in Europe. The team must also start to play in more competitive matches.




The US has entered the Copa America tourny which occurs every two year and includes the South American powerhouse teams. Team USA has had a standing invitation to this tourny since 1993. They have chosen to attend only in 1993, 1995 and 1997. It's beyond me why they have shied away considering that fact that in 1995 the team had one of there best wins ever in competitive football. USA 3 Argentina 0 was the line that year. After that they seemed to have focused more on MLS then furthering the national team. I can only believe that this decision has Klinsmann in mind. I think he will be the one to say this MLS thing is not working for out national team. Players need to ge there talent to Europe.

2010 is not that far off and the team that will play in South Africa need to start to gel right away. The team needs to pool talent that has the physical and mental experience of high pace football. The first thing they need is a captain that is playing in Europe. Landy Cakes is not going to inspire a team. Why would a player who plays club ball in Europe look up and be inspired by a guy who didn't have the balls to play in Germany or even show up in the 2006 WC? By 2010 you are going to have current young talent reaching there prime.

My top 3 captain choices are:

1. Bobby Convey
2. Oguchi Onyewu
3. DaMarcus Beasley

Hats off to Beasley who moved From PSV to Manchester City and made his first start in the ELP this past Monday night. He was key in starting some counter attacks and keeping the Brough defense on there toes. I think he will keep his starting position and this will only help his game and the USA team.

Halloween Hip Hop

In the spirit of Halloween, and because its been a while, I give you the 2006 Battle of the Year Korea region FINALS. (Drifters vs. Rivers Crew) Mostly, the music is really dark. I never used to like organic hip hop breaks, but these sounds just really wanna make you lounge in the dark brooding. Or is that just me? Some of the tracks: The Herbaliser - Goldrush Henry Mancini - Police Woman Theme" Another:Can - Vitamin C If anyone has musical knowledge that can identify the rest - I would be grateful. I would have liked to have found the 2005 BOTY World Final which has the same music since Japan is kind of crazy and they dressed like grim reapers, mummies, and maniacs.

This is not the America I know

IF I WANT HEALTHY I'LL GO EAT A SALAD. WHEN I WANT FINGER LICKIN GOOD FRIED CHICKEN I WANT ALL MY DAMN TRANS FAT

Alexander Still Out With Cursed Leg

Looks like my prediction that Shaun Alexander would be out until the STL game is going to hold true. Holmgren announced today that Alexander wouldn't be available for at least one more week since doctor's haven't cleared him to play. And the Madden Curse lives on...


And despite that report and the lack of stopping the run during the last 3 weeks, Train's Girl's favorite football player Senece Wallace looked pretty good during yesterday's game versus the Cheifs. Playing at Arrowhead is no easy task, and he played pretty well overall. It's at least something to smile about, right? Bueller? Well, that and watching USC get beatdown by the Beavers on Saturday with a die-hard USC alum at my side who was pretty much weeping after Booty's failed final drive... well, that was pretty sweet too.

Army of One

Paul Stanley is a guitarist, song writer, and second vocalist of the band KISS. It took me about an hour and a half to do the makeup. My friend Katrin was kind enough to secure the wig later that night. This is the only part of my night I remember clearly.I found the right shirt at redlight, the sleeves were already torn off. The accoutrements were a fishnet shirt, spike collar and braces. Oh yea, the wig was all over the place. I now empathize with women who have difficulty looking good at the expense of comfort. Putting on nail polish was a new experience as well. Its not easy and I doubt I will attempt it again.

I'm a little upset at myself for various party foul infractions through the night. My sincere apologies for anything done unintentionally on my part. I woke up in my friends apartment, post 4 different party spots from: the U-dist, Cap Hill, Int'l Dist, and Fremont... insane. I woke up laying on a futon and my head was caught in between two laundry hampers. A girl in a sequin mini-dress was found laying next to me. My fishnet shirt was not ripped.


Some of us went out to have breakfast the following morning. Although not in makeup, the gear was in effect, and a hint of black eyeliner still brought reminiscence of The Crow. Old people were giving us the dirtiest glares and would not back down when we stared back. We got punked by old people.

Ghouls Ghosts and Vinyl

Punjabi beats make everything better.

Pitch Talk Thursday Presents: Chapter Two-Why the Hell do the even Play the Carling Cup?

We’re back for Week Two of Pitch Talk Thursday, this week with the Champions League taking a week off we’ll delve into the homeless man’s FA Cup, The Carling Cup.

I want to start off with a little history lesson and a happy birthday. On this date in 1863 the Football Association or FA was created in the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street, London The creation of this organization some 143 years ago remains milepost number one in the world of organized football. Although the game that was played during this era doesn’t show much resemblance to the modern game it was on this date that the Beautiful Game was given life. Check out here and here for more information.

After a big weekend of excitement in the Premiership including the Devils 2-0 win at home versus the Reds of Liverpool and the Blues of Chelsea holding on to defeat the surprisingly strong Portsmouth 2-1, the heavy hitters of the Premiership embarked on the 3rd round qualifier for The Carling Cup.

Here’s a little background on The Carling Cup, or The League Cup as it is originally referred to. Here’s how it breaks down courtesy of our good friends at Wikipedia:

*Similar to the FA Cup (more on this in future Pitch Talks), but instead of 674 teams competing there is only 92, which consist of the 20 clubs of the Premiership and 72 clubs of The Football League (for more on the The Football League click here

*The winners of The Carling Cup qualify for the poor man’s Champions League in Europe called the UEFA Cup (more on this in future Pitch Talks) if they have not qualified for European play already

*Perhaps the least popular of all domestic cups because of the open play

*Named Carling Cup after corporate sponsorship and during the sponsorship of Worthington, was referred to as Worthless Cup

*The early rounds and late rounds are often used by top flight Premiership teams to utilize bench players and youth players in good tournament experience

*Has existed in similar capacity since 1961 and Liverpool tops the list of repeat winners with lucky number seven

Now, after having played down the importance of The Carling Cup, let’s get to Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s action.

We’ll start with the most dramatic of games with happened at The Alexandra Stadium when middle of the pack in League One (two leagues below Premiership) side: Crewe Alexandra took a Manchester United side to the 119th minute, one before penalty shootouts, before Kieran Lee put in the game winner as time expired as the Devils utilized a lineup complete with all backup players and youth side call ups to win 2-1 and advance to the 4th round.

The Spurs of Tottenham (Sports Guy’s pick) played a full side squad versus League Two (three leagues below Premiership) side: Milton Keynes Dons and felt good about a 5-0 victory as they try to gain some scoring momentum for the weekend.

Newcastle was lifted by young US striker, Giuseppe Rossi, on loan from Manchester United, over a Portsmouth side still reeling from the Stamford Bridge battle.

Chelsea, (fill in words here for meaningless description of how they rolled to a 2-0 win over a horrible Blackburn team)

And a surprise at “The Valley” as bottom-dwellers and future Championship Club Charlton Athletic upset third place Bolton as Marcus Bent scored the only goal to push Charlton on, (see, this is what The Carling Cup is all about, giving teams something to play for when all they have left is to fight relegation)

Finally, the other match of the day where defense was merely optional as the Reds of Liverpool, who like o win this tournament as mentioned above, won a shootout with Reading 4-3 as the Crouchatron scored the eventual winner in the 77th minute as Reading came back with three goals in 10 minutes late to make it interesting. If you like to see high scoring affairs with little defense, set your channels to Liverpool matches for the rest of the year.

So that’s it for Pitch Talk Thursday, for those of you that like the round ball I hope it was worth it for those who don’t, well you probably haven’t made it to this point. We’ll be back next week following Matchday 4 in The Champions League to update where we’re at who’s headed to the UEFA Cup.

Cheers

Step up to the plate, Mr Wallace

So this week ushers in (Albeit Brief) The Seneca Wallace era in Seattle
I for one expect high play from Mr Wallace. Or can we call him "Almost Trains opening act"
This man has been a backup in the system for three years. He knows the plays and should go out
and perform. He doesnt get a "Pass" from me because he hasnt played. Its time to
earn your paycheck.

I worked a clinic over the summer with Seneca and he said he was ready to step in when he was needed.
Weill lets put your money where your mouth is.

In the spirit of this weeks theme. Please quote from another big hit of 1984
"The Karate Kid"



"In Okinawa, belt mean no need rope to hold up pants. "


PS The top Grossing movies of 1984 were....

238,632,124 Ghost Busters (1984)
179,870,271 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
148,168,459 Gremlins (1984)
99,022,468 Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
90,800,000 The Karate Kid (1984)
81,200,000 Police Academy (1984)
80,000,000 Footloose (1984)
74,900,000 Romancing the Stone (1984)
68,392,977 Purple Rain (1984)
62,100,000 Splash (1984)

Freak of the Week - Seattle

Thats next to the restaurant Cutter's about a half block up from Pike Place Market. This driver qualifies to make a local showing sheerly due to idiocy. This picture was taken 10.24.06. Somebody must feel awesome about their driving skills.

Share your best/worst driving story: i just got my license and... when my girl was on vacation i... so we smoked a little, and then...

Caution Portuguese

Just another unfortunate reason most Americans can't get behind Futbol.....

LONDON, Oct 25 (SW) – In a statement issued by FIFA by the World Cup referees and medical officials it was established that a staggering 58% of all those players who were seen to be rolling around in agony were not actually injured.

This figure that was arrived at had been confirmed by chief medical officer Jiri Dvorak at the World Cup after medical staff had to report on the injuries during each match.

The most likely reason given was tactics.

The average number of genuine injuries in a match had dropped from 2.7 to 2.3 per match from 2002 to 2006.

The worst injury was that of Michael Owen who suffered a cruciate knee injury.

The Lodge lays blame on the shoulders of the Portuguese soccer federation and there motto of "have you flopped today"

Someone had to post something.

I know as far as the lodge is concerned, when it comes to football I ride the short bus. Still...it'd be just sad if we didn't give the Hawks QB situation just a little bit of space on the lodge So here's Jaynee's take on the whole thing.

It is a dark time for the rebellion....
It's like the dominoes were perfectly put into place to make this season a struggle. The Madden & Chunky soup curse both came true and, for at least one week, will actually overlap.

Losing Matt is obviously huge. He's spent years becoming proficient in this offense. There's no one else I would rather have out on that field.

Having said that, I like Seneca. I think the guy has got a lot of potential, and I'll be really interested to see what he can do with a little practice under his belt. I'd like to see Holmgren encourage Wallace to feel more free to scramble out of the pocket and go for a rush once in a while. The guys got speed, and I'd love to see him break out for a a few runs.

It seems like everywhere I read, I keep seeing that the Seahawks magic number this season will probably be 10 wins in order to get to the playoffs. We're 4-2 right now, with 10 games to go, so we need to aim for at least a 6-4 record. Assuming Matt will be back after 4 weeks, here's what we're looking at:

@ Kansas City: This will probably be Seneca's toughest game. No Shaun yet, and it's an away game.

Home vs. Oakland: Holmgren expects Shaun & Pork Chop back by this game. Ideally this will be a big moral booster of a game. I'll be in Vegas for this one, so if anyone wants me to place some bets, just let me know.

Home vs. St Louis: A tough one. A win here would be huge.

@ San Francisco: A very winable game. Lets just hope San Fran keeps doing what it does best...wallowing in mediocraty. We may even have Matt by then, which would be great.

I realize that I'm glazing over some other glaring issues (Offensive Line, lack or a running game, our sporadic defense) that are starting to feel like big worry areas. I just figured I'd get the conversation going....

"We've been going about this all wrong, this Mr. Stay Puft's okay, he's a sailor, he's in New York, we get this guy laid we won't have any trouble"

When I'm feeling down, maybe I've got some blues in my shoe...I reach for an old friend...a friend I've known since I was six...and that friend's name is simply..."Ghostbuster's Quotes"...Train knows the game, but in light of the miserable Seattle Football weekend (good work Cougs)...I thought this might help everyone out...maybe not.

A little bit of Friday Fun

He sees Dead People...just not Mailboxes

Haley Joel Osment pleaded no contest Thursday to misdemeanor drunken driving and drug possession charges resulting from a July accident in which he crashed his car into a mailbox.


I had to find a Mugshot (Because I know 2.0 loves Celebrity Mugshots)

Looks like the big guy is getting around

Its like Waldo..except its Where's Chewie?

Pitch Talk Thursday Presents: Chapter One-Drogba means West African Princess

Ok, it's time to make Thursdays home to not only the Big Guy, but also Pitch Talk Thursday. Here’s to starting a new tradition of the weekly roundup from the World of Futbol. I’m going to start it off by recapping the last two days of Matchday 3 in the greatest Futbol League in the world: (queue the music)The Champions!!!

(Just try to imagine Tommy Smyth narrotating this text and I understand that not everyone is going to be into this, which is why I'm trying to give a 101 to perhaps maybe spark your interest, so thanks for reading)

Matchday 3 marks the 1st half-way marker for the 1st round of the Champions League and on Tuesday we saw a couple of teams clearly separate themselves from the pack.

Group E: After pulling the shocking 2-0 victory in the opening round Lyon has put themselves 3 points over the mighty and overrated Real “Juve-West” Madrid. Tuesday saw dominate performances by both clubs in their wins over Ukrainian club Dynamo Kiev and Romanian club Steaua Bucureşti. This group is basically done at this point with the French and Spanish clubs clearly a step or too above the rest. The match to determine 2nd round placement occurs during a crucial Matchday 5 matchup at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the Spanish capital.

Group F: In a group that is very near and dear to my heart with two clubs that cause a point of conflict and bring into question my dedication as a fan. I’m speaking of course about the Red Devils from Manchester and the Bhoys of Celtic from Glasgow Park. The best game of this entire group came on a Matchday 1 meeting in which Ole Gunnar the 33 year old-boy wonder from the North delivered the go ahead shortly after the break to give the Devils the three points.

Since that match, both Celtic and ManU have dominated Kobenhavn and Portuguese side Benefica. The disappointment so far in this group has been the play of Benefica who moved on to Round 2 last year after shocking the Devils at home with a draw and a W on the road. The Devils are getting healthy again and have benefited from a semi-weak group and good draws on the Matchday 3 & 4 turnaround with perhaps one of the lowest teams in Champions League in Kobenhavn, even though it feels good to say their name. Celtic have the opportunity to punch their ticket to the next round in Matchday 4 if they can find a way to get either a point or three in the land of falling Midfielders. CAUTION: PORTUGESE AHEAD!!!

Group G: This is turning out to be a very interesting group with three extremely competitive clubs in CSKA Moskva, Arsenal and FC Porto (2004 Champions League Winners). Moskva has been the surprise so far leading the group at 7 points after three matches including three points vs. the Gunners from Tuesday. I don’t know if Moskva can keep this pace up, especially with a turnaround game in Matchday 4 at Highbury, where the pitch is short and the Frenchmen run wild. My prediction is for Porto and Arsenal to prevail out of this group, but no worries Hamburg, that’s why they play the game. (Sidenote: three Portuguese teams in this years Champions League, I'm not sure this is a positive)

Group H: Not a whole lot of excitement with this group. In FIFA '06 we would have the SIM on, but here they actually have to play the game. Reported match fixers AC Milan currently lead by two points over French side Lille OSC with Belgian side Brussels (Anderlecht) and AEK Anthens pulling up the final two spots. I don’t foresee any major upsets and I hate Italian futbol so let’s just move on.

Group A: Resident Lodge Futbol commentator would have you believe this is the greatest Group of Futbol clubs ever, for the sole placement of Uber-Clubs FC Barcelona (Barca) and Super-Uber Club and Nightwatch supporters Chelski (Ze Blues), who met in a Matchday 3 battle-royal yesterday. Feeling that these two clubs will most definitely be moving on I’ll skip my commentary on German side Werder Bremen and Bulgarian club FC Levski Sofia. (Even though Bremen has the opportunity to pull ahead of Barca after after Matchday 4, that will be covered in a later post.)

Yesterdays match commentary: So I was still a little bitter from missing the 2nd half of ManU’s match vs. Kobenhavn on Tuesday due to an apparent Comcast DVR issue, still not sure what happened, but I blame 2.0 and women naturally. I knew that one DVR screw up a week is all the Futbol gods would allow, so naturally the match involving Train's team would go off without a hitch, I was correct. The game was labled as the best of the Champions League so far, well.....

Not sure I saw much of that yesterday, instead I saw a Barca side that continues to make the worst Kit decisions I’ve ever seen (honestly? I know you have a Dutch coach, but the all-Orange look takes the Dutch pride thing a little too far, and burned an image in my tele that I'm not sure I can get out). The play on the pitch wasn’t much better, with Lodge favorite and former Chelsea F now Barca F Eiður Guðjohnsen looking lost at times trying to play the middle of the pitch while 2006 World Player of the Year and #1 Athlete most commonly mistaken for a Predator, Brasilian Ronaldinho roamed down the left and right side continually making poor pass and bad touches. The other world class player Spanish MF Deco wasn’t much better, at times forcing the ball into the heart of one of the best defensive back fours there is in the game. The play of Khalid Boulahrouz on the Chelsea defence amazed just about everyone as he cloaked and frustrated the Predator all night and cemented the back right corner.

The lone goal of the match did come from 6’5” Cote d’Ivoire superstar and Train poster-boy material Didier Yves Drogba Tébily, who was born amazingly a week before me under what I’m guessing were very different circumstances. I will not take anything away from the talent that Drogba possesses, but his knack for flopping wears a little thin and makes me think he should consider applying for Portuguese citizenship. A man at 6’5” and probably 210 lbs should not flop due to a blade of grass being a different length on the pitch or a 5'7" 165lb defender missing hist leg by two feet that's all.

Chelsea got a huge three points yesterday and we will now see what the defending Champions League winners from Spain can do at home needing a full three. Perhaps we can ask Frank Rijkaard hair? (and I believe he would say start Argentinian phenom Lionel Messi and make him attack an overwhelmed Ricardo Carvalho for 90 minutes)

This post is going a little long so I’ll summarize the last Groups B, C and D by saying that Bayern Munich has been extremely dominate and in good form along with Spanish side Valencia in Group D. Valencia has the offense to carry them past weaker sides and post a huge goal differential, but it’ll be interesting to see once they face up a formidable back four what they can produce. The Red Dragons of Liverpool are even at 7 points with French club PSV for first place in Group C setting up what could be the best game of Matchday 5 on the muddy fields of Anfield on November 22nd.

Thanks for reading, for Andy Gray I’m Clive Tyldesley please join us again next time.

(Oh and I'm a Farmer not a Hunter, just so you have a little background)

Some more great Postgame Rants..including Ditka and Diddly Poo

The 7 Wonders of the World

I didnt know that only 1 of the original 7 wonders of the World was still standing. There is a website now trying to change and create a new group of 7 Wonders. My poll to the Lodge. Do they change? And if so. What are your Top 5 Choices for the new Seven Wonders. (And no Train, Scarlett Johansson cannot be one of them)



The finalists are listed on the Webpage. How many of these have any of the Lodgemates visited? There is only one american site chosen...17 Statue of Liberty, New York.

Yes I know this is off topic for Gosse, buy hey. Sometimes you have to change the flava.

Should there be others?

Discuss....

Denny Green's rant was nice, but compared to the master or the post game interview, its not worth "Diddly Poo"

You Might be a Pro Football Team from Arizona if....

5-Your kicker is drafted in the sixth round of an 8team Fantasy Draft

4-You build a 455million dollar stadium for the Super Bowl not your team

3-Your head coach is Denny Green

2-Your the first team ever to lose two straight games after leading 14-0 after the 1st quarter

1-You lose the most important game in the past ten years by allowing 21 points in the 4th quarter to an opposing team whose QB rating was 10.69

Florida Battle Royale

You know what happenned. What kind of ruling do you give for that? I say repeat down, 50 yard penalty.




(one more attempt - with the infamous "you get yo' butt kicked" comments)



and then there's the "Like a Pimp" fight remix

It will simply be known in Lodge Lore as...."The Kick"

...and Funions...defintely don't forget the Funions...

I think I found my favorite story so far from the on-going War on Terror Chronicles (Thanks to hot-tipper Jenn for point this out). Turns out that the Taliban might have found the unstoppable weapon. Some highlights:

* "the crew of at least one armored car had camouflaged their vehicle with marijuana."

*"you really have to be careful that the Taliban don't dodge in and out of those marijuana forests"

and the best of course:

*A couple of brown plants on the edges of some of those [forests] did catch on fire. But a section of soldiers that was downwind from that had some ill effects and decided that was probably not the right course of action"

I think marks a major change in the war. The Taliban are now going to be growing these forests all over the world, and we will have no way of stopping them. The only hope we can have is to attempt to utilize these forests for the pending World War Zed. Will they have the same effect on Zeds as they do for the US Army? Or are Zeds immune to the sweet essence much like Neo Con Republicans? (Willie was unavailable for comment and yes I know where I'm going because of the first pic, I came to grips with that a long time ago, hopefully they'll let you light up there)

So You Thought You Might Like To Go To The Show?

Just a warning: This is officially my longest post ever (yes, longer than my “Serenity” post)

I don’t really know the lodge’s opinion on all things Pink Floyd, but you’re going to get my concert review anyway....

Roger Waters @ the Key Arena 10.12.06

The last time a Pink Floyd album had Roger Waters on it was 1983’s “The Final Cut”. In the twenty some years since he’s done some solo records and occasionally touring. Last year, after Pink Floyd reunited for the Live Aid concert, Roger expressed interest in touring the “Dark Side of the Moon” album. This tour is the result.

Pink Floyd was always known for their amazing stage shows, and Waters was not one to disappoint. The stage design was done by Mark Fisher, the creator of the famous “Wall” tour. If you haven’t seen that show I HIGHLY recommend you check it out. It’s the most theatrical experience you’ll ever see in a rock concert.

In addition the show is presented in quadraphonic sound, meaning that instead of just speakers around the stage, there are also speakers set up in the rear and sides of the arena give the concert a surround sound quality that I’ve never experienced at a concert before.

The show opens up with a radio on the giant LCD screen (which was probably the clearest looking screen I’ve ever seen at a concert. HD maybe?). There’s a bottle of Johnnie Walker red, a shot glass and an ashtray full of cigarette butts. Every once in a while a hand reaches from off screen to pour another shot or change the station on the radio. Presumably this is the character of “Pink” (not feeling well & back at the hotel?). The dial changes and we hear those old WWII battle sounds before the band rips into the first song. As soon as that happens the arena magically smells very “organic”. The set list is as follows:

In The Flesh:
Pyrotechnics abound as the songs opening chords are belted out. It’s the perfect opening song. The crowd goes nuts. Spotlights swarm over the crowd as Roger calls out to get various groups “up against the wall”.

Right about this time a girl 6 rows up threw up all over the place & had to be dragged out, as she was completely unconscious. There’s a MasterCard ad in there somewhere.
Ticket: $150
T-Shirt: $40
7 shots of Tequila: $35
Puking @ Passing out 1 song into the show: Priceless

Mother
Things step down a notch. There’s a bit of a glitch technical glitch with Roger’s guitar at the very beginning, but it gets fixed quickly. The crowd sings along and lighters and cell phone lights start popping up all around. I loved the way everyone yelled “No!” after the line “Mother Should I Trust the Government”. I’d seen that moment on various concert DVD’s and I couldn’t wait for it! The portions sung by the “Mother”, which on the album are sung by David Gilmour, are instead sung by one of the female backup singers, and she’s amazing.

Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
This was a highlight of the night for me. I used to listen to my dad’s copy of “Umagumma” on vinyl when I was a teenager, and this was probably my favorite track on it. This was the only Syd Barrett era song of the night, and it was an excellent choice.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond
This is a shaved down version of the 26 Minute, nine part song. It basically consisted of a condensed version of parts 1-5. Throughout the song the video screen played a montage of images of Syd. It was a nice tribute.

Have a Cigar
Awesome performance! This has never been one of my favorite Floyd songs (although I’ve LOVE the lyrics), but they rocked it! Killer guitar solo!

Wish You Were Here
Pink changes the station again & the audience queues their lighters. This really is one of the greatest songs ever written, and the audience (myself included) eats up every second of it. Just about everyone in the arena sings along.

Southampton Dock
The first of a pair of tracks from the “Final Cut”. Of all the Floyd records, I’m probably the least familiar with this one. A flying spaceman came floating out during this song, wandering above the crowd. Very cool.

Fletcher Memorial Home
The other “Final Cut” track. Great song, well done. This was the beginning of the political attacks on “W” through the night as his picture is shown with Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein & Ronald Reagan. Some cheer, although you can see there are more than a few ex-hippies that are now very republican in their views.

Perfect Sense Part 1 & 2
This was the first solo Roger Waters song of the night, and possibly my favorite of his solo stuff. It’s a heavy anti-war song (“Can’t you see? It all makes perfect sense. Expressed in dollars & cents, pounds, shillings, & pence”) and the “W” attacks start coming at full force. There’s an entire section of the song that’s sounds like a sports broadcast, but the “sport” is actually a nuclear submarine firing missiles at a target. I always made sure to cheer anytime something negative showed up on screen. And once I noticed that there was a guy in front of me who didn’t appreciate Dubya being mocked I made sure to cheer just a little louder. Yeah...I’m an @$$hole.

Leaving Beirut
The only new song of the night. The song is about Roger hitchhiking through Beirut when he was 17, contrasted with the most un-subtle attack on Dubya you could imagine. You could see some people in the crowd weren’t pleased, but the majority of the crowd totally ate it up. Good to see Roger’s still writing.

Sheep
I love this song! And it was a great cap to the first set. The infamous Pink Floyd piggie came flying out into the crowd spray painted by Roger Waters with various messages (everything from “Vote November 7” to “Impeach Bush”)

The band leaves the stage for an intermission, and then come back and starts up with “Dark Side of the Moon”

Speak To Me/Breathe
Apparently people didn’t think to go back to their seats until after the second half of the show started, which damaged my calm to now end. The quadraphonic sound really came into force as the various sounds heard at the beginning of the album start playing in different parts of the arena. Very cool stuff.

On The Run
I was never huge into this song. It always felt more like a connector between “Breath” & “Time”. But this version was awesome! It had been rearranged and was simply entrancing. The light show that went along with it was awesome! A total mind trip, like something out of "2001".

Time
Awesome. I never realized that the ticking clock was actually Roger on bass. The drum solo in this song was a highlight. The crowd was eating it up; the best part was that he had to leap from one drum kit to another within the space of a beat to start kicking it when the rest of the band starts up. I’ll never forget that.

Great Gig in the sky
Two words: Holy S#$t! The female soloist on this song just about brought the house down. She was 100% dead on! Just listen to it on the album and you’ll hear how hard that must be to do. AMAZING!

Money
I love this baseline. Roger looks like he’s having a ball.

Us & Them
Bush gets jabbed a few more times on the video screen. I’m starting to think Roger’s not a fan. This sound quality of this song in particular really impressed me.

Any Color You Like/Brain Damage/Eclipse
These three tracks have always felt like one song to me. The bleed into each other so effortlessly...everyone sings along to “Eclipse”. It’s not even over, and this is already one of the best concerts ever!

The band goes offstage and Roger thanks the crowd. Normally, the encore feels obligatory. The crowd cheers some and then the band comes out. While, I know that they were planning on doing the encore either way, it was awesome hearing the crowd just scream and holler as loud as they could. This is the kind of crowd that encores are designed for. The encore was 5 tracks from the “Wall” which I just loved. For me, “The Wall” is my desert island Pink Floyd album. When I was in high school there were 2 albums I always had on me at all times:
1. Nine Inch Nails: The Downward Spiral
2. Pink Floyd: The Wall

Happiest Days of Our Lives/Another Brick in the Wall Pt 2
Here’s the one chorus that absolutely every single person in that arena knew, and I loved seeing everyone sing along.

Vera
It’s a fairly short song, but it’s one of my favorites from the album. Roger & co. did it justice and even extended it somewhat. Really good stuff!

Bring the Boys Back Home
There was a set of 5 fireball machines in the back of the stage that played along with this song that was awesome! The sounds of the explosions went along perfectly with that military-esque drum beat.

Comfortably Numb
The perfect song to end the show on. But if there’s one song that makes me think of David Gilmour, it’s this one. His solo work on this song is probably my all time favorite guitar solo. Roger actually uses two guitarists to create a solo that is similar, but also very different. He knows better than to try and just mimic David here. Great version. I really dug it.

And with that, some 2 hours and 40 minutes later, it was over.

Back in the day, Roger was notorious for being uncomfortable playing in front of large crowds. But now he seems to have adjusted and looked like he was having the time of his life. He was singing along to everyone’s parts the entire time, and really made an effort to connect with the fans, taking the time to connect with everyone from the people in the front row to the people in the cheap seats. This show was everything I hoped it could have been and even a little more.

One of my favorite Kids in the Hall Bits

Captain Obvious

Anybody else hear this glorious news? Over the weekend someone told me that Ron "Captain Obvious" Fairly was done as a color analyst for the Mariners. I finally double-checked the source today and found a snippet from the AP confirming it with this picture of Neihaus below. I guess no more hearing, "If Richie would have got a bat on that pitch, he wouldn't have struck out," after Sexson strikes out for the umpteenth time. Darn.


Seattle Mariners' radio announcer Dave Neihaus, left, wipes his eyes as Ron Fairly, right, reaches over and pats him on the back after the final baseball game of the season against the Texas Rangers in Seattle Sunday, Oct. 1, 2006. Fairly, who has been the color commentator for 14 years is retiring after the season.

Does this look like something that might interest you?(bonus Chewie addition)

Well if your response is Yes...than here is your notice that there's American Football being played at 15:30 Saturday just south of Parking Lot E-1 in Montlake, WA. If you have enough in you to attempt to "bring-it" than also bring your own adult beverages and see if you can man up. Remember Beavers the Dawg slogan from the past two years: "Win or Lose, We Booze!!!"

and thanks to CTown for a Husky inspired Thursday Photo