The Dobrindt Family

Survivor Comments

Like every Thursday night, I find myself sitting in front of the TV watching Survivor. Couple of thoughts about tonight?s episode.

- When they showed the earthquake and the volcano, for one brief moment I thought my prayers would be answered and the survivors, and I use that term sarcastically, would be swallowed up by the earth and it would be the greatest TV moment ever. But that didn?t happen.

- Hey Redneck lady, of course you are more comfortable with 4 guys, YOU ARE A GUY. And let?s watch how we use the term ?lady?.

- Lisa looks like a skull painted brown.

- I know what it feels like to have a beer after doing yard work all day. I CAN NOT image how it feels like to have a beer after enduring the Survivor crap for two weeks.

- Is it me or does it seem like the challenges this year are more complicated than Boston driving directions.

- Why, why, why couldn?t the diving challenge result in bubbles coming to the surface followed by a dead body? Why? Is that really too much to ask for?

- Probst?s play by play is KILLING me. Just stop it.

One Thing About the Third Presidential Debate

The only thing I wanted to replay from the debate last night was this comment by Kerry.

Kerry: ?Let me come back in one moment to that, but I want to speak for a second, if I can, to what the president said about fiscal responsibility.

Being lectured by the president on fiscal responsibility is a little bit like Tony Soprano talking to me about law and order in this country.?

Dead silence from the audience.

Crickets: chirp-chirp.

Kerry: ?I said Tony Soprano.?

Dead silence and blank stares from the audience. .

Kerry: ?Soprano?law and order?haha.?

Kerry: ?Anywho, this president has taken a $5. 6 trillion surplus and turned it into deficits??

List of Countries

On websites that make users choose a country, and provide a drop down list of countries, I think they should always put the US first, even though alphabetically it should be near the bottom. I know it sounds elitist but chances are site visitors will not be from Albania or Andorra.

Just my opinion.

Yanks - Sox Pre Game 1

I am almost giddy with excitement. I am not joking. I can?t wait for these games. There is so much to talk about I feel like I did when I was 6 and found my Easter basket. Do I eat the ears off the extra large bunny first or start with the marshmallow eggs.

So let me begin with my prediction. Yanks in 6. Sox in 5. Sox in 7. Yanks in 4. Sox in 2. Yanks in 9. These are all things I have said over the past 3 days. I am terrible at predicting winners. The only time I was 100% sure about something and 100% right was the magical Yankee team of 1998. I knew, KNEW, they would win the World Series and win it with ease. So while I think the Yanks should win, and my head tells me the Sox are the better team, I have no idea who will win.

I hate the Red Sox. Everyone knows that. I think Pedro is a cry baby who talks like some spoiled rich kid brat who knows his daddy, not referring to the Yankees, will buy him whatever he wants. This site has chronicled his crap for the past couple of years. Curt is pretty cool because he is a gamer but by not going to the Yankees when he had the chance he is now my enemy. Damon looks like an idiot and catches like a girl, Terry is a goober, Manny looks like he just walked into his high school prom and no one was there, Veritek needs to learn how to fight fair because if I see that image of Veritek attacking the innocent ARod one more time I am going to punch my fence, which has the same personality as Veritek, Millar is a redneck cowboy from Southern California who goes to far with the cowboy image thing when his accent sounds made up, Ortiz amazes me how he stands, let alone runs the bases, with that tremendous amount of fat on his frame. Jesus, that guy looks like a fat camp ?before? picture.

The Yanks, on the other hand, are like the IBM to some pony tail jean wearing dot com joke from 1998. The Yanks are proud and professional. The Sox do not care what other people think of them. The Yanks do that fist bump thing when they win important games. The Sox run around the field half naked with beer hats on yelling, followed by man hugs that make me uncomfortable watching from the safety of my house. The Yanks never complain about playing time and are grateful for being on a winning team. The Sox complain to the press about playing time before a game, fake illness to help out complaining buddies and walk all over Goober and show no respect at all. The one thing I do like about the Sox is that they always always do something stupid to make for a good read. The Yanks have to work hard to create controversy.

Tonight will mean nothing because if Schilling wins, he was suppose to. If the Yanks win, they still have to overcome suspect pitching. The best case scenario will be for the Yanks to win four games straight by a combined score of 46 -1 and win at Fenway to give the Fenway Faithful something to think about for another year and do a dance on the Green Monster. The sad thing is there is no worst case scenario. If the Sox win, they will be in the World Series, which fits with the average (1946 against the Cardinals, 1967 against the Cardinals, 1975 against the Reds, 1986 against the Mets) of once about every 15 or so years. If they happen to overcome their own ineptitude and win, then good for them. It will make the fighting between the fans not as much fun, but it will take about 20 more WS wins to be a fair fight.

Yanks and Sox back in the ALCS

Congratulations to all Red Sox fans. You have reached the ALCS, just like you did last year and in 1999, a chance at the Pennant.

Congratulations to all Yankee fans. You have reached the ALCS, just like did last year and in 2001 and in 2000 and 1999, 1998 and in 1996, a chance at the Pennant.

As someone who passively roots for the Yanks, I really wanted the Sox to win the ALDS, which is not really the division championship series because the Yanks won the AL East and the Angels had won the AL West but since both leagues went to 3 divisions in 1994 they need to have something to give extra teams a chance, especially when more NBA and NHL teams make the playoffs than DON?T make the playoffs and MLB used to only have 1, ONE, team from each conference play in the World Series. That is why the great teams won so many in a row in the past. You see the Yankee teams of old winning year after year because back then the team with the best record in each league won the pennant and went to the World Series. No playoffs. Since the Yanks started winning in 1996 they went from having to win 4 games to win the ring to having to win 11. Two rounds of playoffs. 19 games. Ugh.

Anyway, I digress. So the Sox beat the Angels which is good because Boston has the most passionate fans out of any town except maybe Chicago or NY and I would almost say Red Sox fans are more into it than NY because this is all they have in Boston. And Anaheim doesn?t deserve it because no one cares about baseball there. But more importantly I am glad the Yanks get to play the Sox because the two best teams in the American league are competing for a spot in the Series.

On Tuesday, right before the game, Joe Torre is going to walk out to a spot between second and third, squat down, grab a fistful of dirt, look around and whisper ?Unleash Hell?.

Let the games begin. Sox fans, appreciate the ALCS because it will be your last for a while.

Vice Presidential Debate

Today is a great day. You have, in this sequence, the Red Sox playoff game, the Yankee playoff game, and the mother of all entertaining events ? the vice presidential debate.

The Red Sox game is something I?ll talk about in a sports column. Same with the Yankee game. They both should be good and if the Sox win the World Series I will have to move out of Boston. But the VP debate is something I need to talk about, and for good reason.

Normally the vice presidential debate has about as much buildup as the start of the WNBA season. I mean come on, last time we had Dick Cheney and Lieberman with Bernard Shaw moderating. Remember Al Gore and Jack Kemp? Yeah, me either. What about Gore, Dan Quayle and James Stockdale. I remember that one only because of Stockdale. And the only reason I remember the Quayle Lloyd Bentsen one was because they keep showing the ?You are not Jack Kennedy? thing ALL THE TIME.

Anyway, this year is different. This year we have something to watch. Not so much because I think the election is tight (I will not say who I think has it wrapped up) but because there could not be more opposing styles than Cheney and Edwards. Cheney is like the high school dean or vice principal who is dry as the desert. I think of Edwards as the high school senior who is a good athlete, good with the girls, has a swagger and self confidence. And the high school student walks into the dean?s office after getting caught mouthing off in class and he gets a lashing by the dean so bad he walks out with his shoulders slumped and tears in his eyes. Yeah, I know this is not the same because Edwards is a great trial lawyer and gets paid 20K an hour forcing HMOs to up my fee 100% each year and Cheney is involved with the Haliburton conspiracy and is a very good executive but not real personable. They each have something to offer. The great thing is that Edwards appeals to the younger voters and the ladies and Cheney appeals to the rich and corporate guys, and they could not be more different.

I thought Edwards did a great job at the DNC and I thought Cheney was boring at the RNC. I am looking forward to the debate tonight to listen to Cheney?s dry voice and sourpuss face explain to the young and inexperienced Edwards what the real world is all about. And I look forward to Edwards smoothly discussing the issues and making me want to listen to what he has to say.

I like Cheney a little bit more because I think he is a very very smart guy and I believe running a large international company makes him more qualified to run the country. I think Edwards, while smart and charismatic, is a little too slick and being a rich lawyer might not make him the best political leader. But I guess we?ll see what happens in November. Either way, tonight should be interesting.