Phils 8, Mets 7

Dare I say it . . . ?

Ah, what the hell.

They're gonna do it.

Now playing: Battles, "Atlas" (what else?)

OLYMPIC PREVIEW!!!

Oh yeah - the freakin' OLYMPICS start this week!!! Ladies and gentlemen, I am in hog heaven!

I can't explain to you why I love the Olympics so much. I mean, I would never watch water polo or shot put at any other time, and yet once every four years, for two weeks, I literally can't get enough badminton or air rifle. I guess it's the pageantry, the sight of all those countries and flags, the nonstop media coverage, that wicked rad Olympic theme song. I can't get enough. I repeat: hog heaven!

This isn't a traditional, or indeed even particularly useful, Olympic preview. I haven't the slightest idea who will win the women's 200m butterfly. On the subject of who will take home bronze in men's field hockey, I am singularly clueless. I have a feeling the US will win the gold in men's basketball, and will probably not medal in men's soccer, but beyond that it's all just going to be a flurry of names and flags and running and jumping, and periodically a medal will be awarded and an anthem played, and come September I won't remember it much and will care only about the Phils anyway. But that isn't the issue.

This is an "Olympic Preview" only in the sense that very soon I am going to be in full-on Olympic mode, and I have started preparing for the challenge that's being set before me: that is, for the next 2+ weeks, I have to figure out a way to watch as much of the like 125 hours of coverage a day as I can (on FIVE channels!), while simultaneously having a job, giving equal time to my lovely ladyfriend, hanging with my other pals, hosting Andrew's bachelor party and attending the subsequent wedding (oh crap, I need to get my suit drycleaned, somebody remind me), following the Phils, monitoring the Daily Show for Kristen Schaal appearances, continuing my general, constantly vigilant homeownership, working on my book and other creative things... it never ends, really. Sacrifices will have to be made. For example, will I dare skip going to the gym so I can get home early enough to catch some middleweight boxing on CNBC before dinner? These are the questions that plague my days! Heavy is the head that wears the Olympic-watching crown! (I have no clue what that means.)

Ah, I'll figure it out. Swifter, higher, stronger, baby!

"Oh well, he's not the first oily man to take Mom to the mat!"
-Trace Beaulieu

Slices of my life since the overrated irrelevance known as the All-Star Break: I bought an iPod; went on vacation to Rehoboth Beach, DE; built shelves for my CDs; more bike-riding and subsequent sweating; oh yeah, and the Phils went through a ghastly five or six week stretch where they never once made contact with a baseball and were shut out about 45 times in a row. Or something like that. One day, I was so horrified by their crappy play that I talked myself into believing that they should sell all their players off at the trade deadline and start over. I kind of overreact to things sometimes.

As of this writing the boys are still in first place, by 0.5 games, and there's a lot of baseballery still to come. I told you back in March this would be fun! I need to shut up and listen to myself more often.

Anyway, I missed a few roster moves so here are Husker Du songs for the guys that have arrived (and occasionally left) in my absence:

Mike Cervenak: "Dreams Reoccuring"
J.A. Happ: "Afraid of Being Wrong"
Joe Blanton: "Bricklayer"
R.J. Swindle: "Real World"

Also, the second draft of my novel is almost done, and when I say "almost", I mean there's still some work I need to do on it, and I'd much rather be doing that right now, so I'm off to do that. Let's go Phils, am I right?