Matthew

The Angels are dropping out of the Mark Teixeira race. Looks like Boston/New York Yankees/Washington/Baltimore will be fighting it out. Maybe Teixeira wants to become the Rafael Palmeiro of the 21st. century, without the steroids, of course and sign with either Washington or Baltimore.

St. Basil the Great (c. 330 – 379): The Hexameron: A series of homilies on the creation account in the book of Genesis. A beautiful meditation on creation, and what is fascinating is that a lot of the issues St. Basil deals with are still with us.

I always thought this was a trippy cover:

I agree Matthew. In the Cowboys' case, Garrett was hired by Jerry Jones prior to the hiring of Wade Phillips as head coach. There was the potential for him at the time to have been head coach, had Jones not hired anyone else. I think Garrett is intelligent, and perhaps will make a head coach, but I'm not sure he's that good of an offensive coordinator. He had one really good year last year, when the Cowboys went 13-3, but in retrospect it might have been luck, or simply good playing by the offense regardless of the plays called. Garrett's star is definitely not shining as bright anymore though. Was Mora hired to be the next head coach after Holmgren had already announced his retirement? I don't really get the thinking either way. Yeah, Mora got the gig when Holmgren said 2008 was his last year. Seahawks panicked when Mora Jr. said coaching at the University of Washington would be his "dream job," and named him head coach for 2009 back in January 2008, making Holmgren the lamest of lame ducks, and now they're stuck with Mora Jr. Seattle has stunk this year -- you know you're really bad when you can't even make it in the NFC West, I mean, Arizona gets killed anytime they play a decent team. I should talk, for the first time in twleve years my Sunday afternoons are free, so I've picked up watching the Chargers again (I grew up in San Diego during the Air Coryell years), just as frustrating of a team as ever to follow; well, at least they won today, but LT is not even close to what he once was.

Knicks vs. Celtics. Doesn't look like anyone can challenge the Celtics this year, a solid all-around team.

Yes and yes. A QB is only as effective as his offensive line lets him be. Of course, having Butterfingers Owens on your team doesn't help, either. I agree. There's plenty of blame to go around, as Jim has also mentioned. Romo had a bad night, as did Owens, who quit on some routes and didn't catch a few that were catchable again. The offensive scheme was questionable, play calling was bad, and Wade Phillips seemed very reactive (like his shocked face when the Ravens faked the field goal). It wouldn't bother me if Phillips & Jason Garrett both got pink slips, as well as Brian Stewart, if he's anything more than DC in name. And the offensive line coach. Hell, all the coaches. Jerry Jones screwed up, again. Re: Garrett -- I have never understood this cult in the NFL regarding assistant coaches. Supposedly Garrett was so good they gave him big $$$ to stay, and now Garrett's value has taken a big hit he might not even be taking over next year. Seattle fell into this group think with Jim Mora Jr., naming him the head coach for 2009, way before the 2008 season started, and again, the team is tanking, and now that urgency to keep Mora doesn't look so great.

The word that I would use to describe 2008 musically for me would be sad. For some reason, I seem to have lost contact with music, whether it was job upheavals, stress, or whatever, I do not seem to have the same feeling as I once had for music. It struck me forcefully in 2008 how my cd collection has a museum quality to it, how much it interests me "historically" but not on a emotional level. As a result, the time I spent listening to music went way down this year, and I must admit, I don't miss it all that much right now -- even though I'll probably listen to Zappa for most of the day. Hopefully, when life calms down, I'll be able to recapture some of that love of music, but for right now, I read a lot, every now-and-then pop in a cd, and long for the days when jazz mattered in my life.

Today is his birthday. December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993. My bad...

Don't see how, especially with Marion Barber continuing to be out and Romo just playing flat-out terrible. As an added bonus, Dallas was way out coached last night. Just don't see it happening, if the Eagles get in, they might be the team to beat in the NFC.

Anniversary of Zappa's passing today, think I'll play some of the instrumental cds.

:huh: What the heck was that??? 77 & 82 yard runs????

Cowboys vs. Ravens also. I thought Romo was supposed to be good.

Yeah, major bummer. That "We Are Family" Pittsburgh Pirate team of the 1970s, to my mind, was one of the most interesting, unique teams in the history of baseball. A great book could be written about it. I remember when they put an all African-American/Hispanic team on the field, there was a ton of ink spilled on that. Doc & Reggie Jackson are linked forever also.

Major bummer: Doc Ellis died yesterday. Dock Ellis, the former major league pitcher best remembered for his flamboyance and social activism as a member of the great Pittsburgh Pirates teams of the 1970s, died Friday of a liver ailment in California, his former agent, Tom Reich, confirmed. Ellis was 63. [+] EnlargeAP Photo Dock Ellis, seen here in 1974, won 138 games over 12 major league seasons. Ellis spent 12 years in the majors with Pittsburgh, the New York Yankees, Oakland, Texas and the New York Mets. He retired in 1979 with a record of 138-119, but was best known for several colorful incidents on and off the field.His wife, Hjordis, told The Assocaited Press he died at the USC Medical Center in Los Angeles. "It's a tremendous loss to the family," she said. "He's been struggling for about a year with the end stages of liver disease." In his autobiography, "Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball,'' Ellis revealed that he threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres in June 1970 while under the influence of LSD. In May 1974 -- in an effort to inspire a lifeless Pittsburgh team -- Ellis drilled Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Dan Driessen in the top of the first inning. After walking Tony Perez, Ellis threw a pitch near Johnny Bench's head and was lifted from the game by manager Danny Murtaugh. Ellis also gave up Reggie Jackson's memorable home run off the Tiger Stadium light tower in the 1971 All-Star Game in Detroit. Off the field, Ellis spoke freely about racial issues, once telling reporters that he wouldn't start against Oakland's Vida Blue in the All-Star Game because Major League Baseball would never start "two soul brothers'' against each other. [+] EnlargeFocus on Sport/Getty Images Ellis went 19-9 in 1971 for the Pirates, who beat the Orioles in the World Series. "Dock Ellis was my first client in baseball, and he gave me as much joy as anybody outside of my family," Reich said. "He was so unique. He was viewed by some people as an outlaw, but he was far from that. He was so ahead of his time. He was so intuitive and smart and talented and independent. And he wasn't about to roll over for the incredible prejudices that existed at the time. "He was a very special person and he had an absolute army of fans and friends. He was at the cutting edge of so many issues, and he never backed down. I was proud to be his friend and stand with him." Ellis suffered from cirrhosis of the liver and was placed on a list to receive a liver transplant in May. The Los Angeles Times wrote that Ellis had no health insurance, but received help paying his medical bills from friends in baseball. Bill Scaringe, an agent who represented Ellis after he retired, said Ellis worked for years in the California department of corrections helping inmates transition from prison back to the community. He also ran a drug counseling center in Los Angeles. "It's very disheartening," Scaringe said. "Dock was such a likeable person -- very gregarious, very outgoing. I would set up personal appearances for him, and after like 30 seconds, people were like relatives or neighbors. Dock was very easy to talk to. He was just a pleasure to be around." Jerry Crasnick is a senior baseball writer for ESPN.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More like American civilization, or lack thereof...

What I read with great intensity was Sports Illustrated, I even kept all the back issues so I could read them. Little did I realize that it was the "Golden Era" of SI, and I was reading a lot of quality writing, to me, it was just fun and interesting stuff.

Reggie Theus has been canned by Sacramento. No surprise there, I watched the Kings vs. Knicks game, and the Kings looked dead, uninterested, and like a team that has given up on its coach. BTW, I've been following the Knicks this year, and they're a fun team to watch, hope they make the playoffs.

What's your method? A ton of butter, or to invite Midas over.

This morning: Hash Browns, cooked golden; two eggs, over-easy; Tapatio Salsa Picante over everything. Two cups of coffee. Heaven on earth.

Those are a lot of "ifs." I would not be surprised at another third place finish for the Yankees next year.

Yankees really had no choice on this, they needed to get CC to get fans off their back. Still, I'm not completely sold on Sabathia, it's always iffy on how players react when getting to the Yankees, and their pitching staff is still weak -- look at it this way, will CC win more games in 2009 than Mussina won in 2008? Probably not, but even if he does, where do the other wins come from on that staff?

"Skete"? Here is your answer: <h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</h3> A skete is a community of Christian hermits following a monastic rule, allowing them to worship in comparative solitude, while also affording them a level of mutual practical support and security. A skete usually has a common area of worship (a church or a chapel), with individual hermitages, or small houses for a small number of monks or nuns. In the early tradition of Christianity, the skete was one form of monastic life, forming a bridge between the cenobium (community of monks or nuns living together) and the isolated hermitage (solo monks and nuns). In the early church, once steps began to be taken to further religious ascetiscism by giving it organised forms, men and women aspiring to be hermits or anchorites, might first be sent to the skete in preparation – the skete acted as almost a 'halfway house' between the cenobium and total solitude. The term "skete" has fallen out of use in Western Christianity; however, the eremitic communal life of the Carthusian, Camaldolese, and Carmelite hermits is similar to that in the Eastern Christian tradition.

Not of This World: The Life and Teaching of Fr. Seraphim Rose by Hieromonk Damascene. A fascinating book about Eugene Rose, born is San Diego, baptized in the Presbyterian Church at 13, convert to the Russian Orthodox Church in his twenties. Founded a skete in Plantina, CA, and had many followers. The book is over 1,000 pages, but it's holding my interest, I'm about half way through. Highly recommended if you're interested in something off the beaten path. Another picture An icon of Fr. Rose:

...if Santo gets in, then make room for Dave Parker, Al Oliver, Andre Dawson, Bert Blyleven, Steve Garvey, et.al., they're all on the same HOF level.

It makes sense about CC, from all that I've read, he really wants to play in his home state of California (I mean, who wouldn't?). Pettite might be a good fit with the Dodgers, sign him to a one or two year deal and see what happens. He'd also be a good influence on the younger pitchers.