Dave Grohl, Big Bird And Elmo Visit Pittsburgh

There’s a lot going on in the world. There was another mass/school shooting on Thursday, this time in Santa Clarita, California. Impeachment hearings are occurring in the House. The Steelers played horribly in last night’s loss against the Cleveland Browns, yet all anyone is talking about (probably rightfully) is Myles Garrett swinging a helmet and smashing Mason Rudolph’s head with it. Oh, the Cortaca game at MetLife Stadium is also happening on Saturday.

So with all of this going on, I’m writing a post about...Sesame Street. Dave Grohl of Nirvana, Foo Fighters, and The Moopets did a song called "Here We Go" with Big Bird and Elmo, and they all traveled together around the country. Here’s a picture of their stop in Pittsburgh.

I think Grohl, Elmo, and Big Bird picked an excellent spot seeing the entire city skyline from Mt. Washington.

The full video of their adventure is here:

Everything Cortaca 2019

Perhaps you have heard that the annual Ithaca College-SUNY Cortland football game is being held at MetLife Stadium just outside of New York City this Saturday. I may have mentioned it. I thought I would create one post with everything that you need to know about this historic game.

* First, based on tickets sales, the 2019 Cortaca Jug game will be the biggest game in terms of attendance of any Division 3 football game. Last I heard as of about a week or two ago, there have been approximately 43,000 tickets sold. My guess is that the total will be between 45,000 and 50,000 tickets sold. (I also wonder what game will have more people: the Cortaca game, the New York Jets game against the Miami Dolphins on December 8th, or the New York Giants game against the Dolphins on December 15th.)

* A little publication called "Forbes" has an article about the game.

* Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone has thoughts about the game.

(You know I asked #Jaguars' Doug Marrone about #Cortaca)

"Someone asked me [we were in NFC Championship Game w/ #Saints], what's the biggest game you've ever coached in? And I said @CortlandStateFB & @IthacaBomberFB.

.".. And they were pissed." 😂 pic.twitter.com/nfLV63Pc6O

— Mia O'Brien (@MiaOBrienTV) November 11, 2019

* Despite my thoughtful and elaborate post outlining why ESPN’s College GameDay should broadcast from East Rutherford, New Jersey, ESPN is going to Waco, Texas to cover the Baylor-Oklahoma game instead. It’s nice of ESPN to travel to Waco for the feel-good story which is Baylor football. Baylor clearly runs an extremely clean football program, so it’s nice to see ESPN reward them with national exposure. (In reality, maybe GameDay just wants to go to Texas since it will be 30 degrees warmer than New York City.)

* There's a Cortaca Jug Giving Challenge:

For the first time, IC and Cortland will go head to head off the field to see who has the strongest donor support. Whichever school secures the most donors through game day wins the challenge and the vice president of institutional advancement from the losing school will have to write a personal check to the winning school’s Annual Fund!

* I'm not going to tell anyone how to sell their tickets on StubHub, but my guess is this person is not going to get $500.

The Ithaca Journal has a story titled "Cortaca Jug: 10 things to know about the rivalry game at MetLife Stadium."

* I miss being around college campuses a getting free shirts. Ithaca College students can "shed the red" by donating articles of red clothing to charity in exchange for a student-designed Cortaca shirt. Yes, I want this shirt!

* The biggest thing about Cortaca 2019 is that I'm going to see friends that I first met 25 years ago. I'm going to see people who I haven't seen in over 20 years. This is really exciting!

* The Ithacan has information about the actual football teams and key players.

* There's going to be an Ithaca College Fan Fest at the game.

Participants will be able to run on a turf field and try on helmets and shoulder pads. The event will feature music from DJ Washburn, an alumnus who performed at numerous college sporting events while a student, and there will be a giant inflatable chair adorned with the IC shield that fans can sit in to take pictures. While Fan Fest will be geared towards the Ithaca College community, anyone is able to participate.

* Finally, MetLife Stadium has everything you need to know about what you can and cannot bring into the stadium. Here are some of the "highlights."

Event Timeline:

Parking Lots Open: 8:00am
Ticket Office and Will Call Opens: 10:00am
Gates Open: 11:00am
Event Time: 1:00pm

Stadium Carry-In Policies:

- Clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC bag that does not exceed 12” x 6” x 12” OR one-gallon clear, plastic freezer bag (Ziploc or similar) – limit 1 per person
- Small clutch purse/wallet no larger than 4.5” x 6.5” with or without a handle or strap can be taken into the stadium with one of the clear plastic bag options
- Bags that do not meet these specifications can be checked-in at one of our bag check facilities (located outside each entry gate) for a $5 fee per bag
- An exception will be made for medically necessary items after proper inspection at a gate designated for this purpose

Sadly, battery powered heated clothing is prohibited. I don't know what exactly this is, but with the temperature set to be in the 30s, I wish I could have this!

Friday Video: Normani

Today's video is "Motivation" by Normani. While I'll get to the song momentarily, a few things about Normani. First, her name is Normani and not Normandy like the region in France which was also the site of the World War II D-Day Invasion. She was a member of the group Fifth Harmony and appeared on songs with Khalid and Sam Smith. "Motivation" is her first solo song, and she performed it a few months ago at the MTV's Video Music Awards. (Yes, I watched some of the show even though I'm definitely not the target audience.)

Before you watch the video, here's a fun(?) way to listen to the song. Instead of motivation or innovation, replace the last syllable with Sean. So motiva-Sean or innova-Sean. It's nice to see sound a talented young artist think of me and all of the other people named Sean out there!

The End of Deadspin

If you follow sports or the internet, you’re probably already aware of the situation that occurred last week at the website Deadspin. The short story is that new ownership of Deadspin directed the writers and editors to “stick to sports” even though the website’s most-popular articles were sports-adjacent and sometimes not about sports at all. As a result, everyone, or at least nearly everyone, resigned. (The longer version of this story is available on "The Washington Post" here and here and on "NPR".)

I just want to share my own personal experience with Deadspin. The blog/website debuted not long after Sean’s Ramblings started, and I read the site everyday for years. Some of the language on Deadspin could be R-rated, but I was able to check out stories by reading them on Google Reader. (I miss Google Reader.) The content was generally light and made fun of so many things that some people take so seriously in sports. Yet, powerful and insightful posts regularly appeared on the site. I would definitely say that Deadspin influenced my writing, particularly in my posts about sports. Most of my sports posts don’t discuss strategy or analysis and instead focus on lighter topics such as fun with names or commercials featuring athletes or even Pittsburgh athletes with other athletes and celebrities. I was also honored to have Deadspin link to several of my posts in its early days.

While I used to check out Deadspin multiple times per day, my visits to the site lessened over the years. Still, I continued to read as many Drew Magary posts as I could, and I learned about many stories/articles from friends sharing them on Twitter.

It seems that Deadspin is going to live on in the short term, but I can't see it being viable going forward. Replacing an entire writing staff and culture is going to be difficult at best. Plus, the core readers (and probably advertisers) are gone and aren't coming back.

My hope is that the writers and editors of Deadspin are able to create its own site. Perhaps they can add some of the writers from the late Kissing Suzy Kolber too. The writing and posts by these individuals are too good not to be shared and seen by a large audience.

Update: There's a Deadspin freelance account @UnDeadspin, which features the work for the now former Deadspin staff.

Washington Nationals World Series Videos

The Washington Nationals won the 2019 World Series. Living in Northern Virginia, this is kind of a big deal. Of course, I also saw a guy wearing a Steelers long-sleeve T-shirt on the Metro this morning, so maybe it's not a big deal for everyone.* Anyway, if you're a baseball fan, I think you have to appreciate this series and the Nationals. The road team won every game of this 7-game series which has never happened before in major league baseball, the NHL, or the NBA. Juan Soto just turned 21 and is about to become a superstar. Stephen Strasburg represented San Diego State well too. Anthony Rendon and Howie Kendrick are also awesome. I thought I would share a few videos to celebrate the Nationals.

This is from the final out of the game.



I'm really happy for Daniel Hudson, the Nationals pitcher who got the final out. I'm also really happy that there is a net behind home plate and down the third base line. That glove being thrown at approximately 200 miles per hour could have really hurt someone. Anyway, Jeff Passan's book "The Arm" followed Hudson after he went through Tommy John surgeries. After reading this, I've rooted for the guy, even though he struggled in Pittsburgh.

The next video is one that I took from Washington's FOX affiliate. I apologize in advance that the sound is poor. I love the guy saying, "I don’t know how I feel right now. I feel amazing.” Then, watch how he interacts with the camera after they go to someone else. And by someone else, I mean the woman who has been a die-hard Nationals fan from all the way back in 2012.



Finally, one of the reasons why this team is fun to watch is Gerardo Parra and his walk-up music of Baby Shark. (Another reason is because Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth are no longer on the team.) This is a video of Parra at bat during an August 30th game I attended with The Moose and Pedro Tulo.



Congrats to the Nats!


* Full disclosure. That person was me!

College GameDay Should Go To NJ/NY

College GameDay is the biggest show/event in college football. Each week during the football season, ESPN broadcasts live from the marque game of the week. Generally, College GameDay goes to places like Columbus, Ann Arbor, Baton Rouge, Tuscaloosa, Norman, Gainesville, Clemson, and Happy Valley. However, on November 16th, I believe that GameDay should go to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey for the Cortaca Jug game between Ithaca College and the State University of New York College at Cortland (SUNY Cortland).

You're probably thinking, Sean, why would GameDay want to go to East Rutherford? Isn't that where the New York Giants and New York Jets play? First, I applaud you on knowing your geography. Yes, that's where the Jets and Giants play, outside New York City. That's also where the 61st annual Cortaca Jug game is taking place. With the game still a few weeks away, ticket sales are at around 40,000. This will set the attendance record for a Division III game. GameDay should be in New Jersey just for this reason alone.

While I'm sure that only a handful of you are unfamiliar with this game, "Sports Illustrated" once dubbed the Ithaca-Cortland game as "the biggest little game in the nation." Both schools have successful traditions as well with Ithaca winning three Division III championships and Cortland regularly making the playoffs since the late 1980s. Now, you might be thinking, that's great, Sean. Sure, this is a cool rivalry and both schools have histories, but what about this year? Good question. Ithaca College is currently 7-0 and ranked #7 nationally. Meanwhile, Cortland is also 7-0 and ranked #18. Those seem pretty good to me.

Maybe you're still not convinced. You're thinking, GameDay deserves to be at a college campus and not at an NFL stadium. I agree with you. I also know that GameDay has been live at various bowl games and conference championships and at the Red River Showdown between Oklahoma and Texas in Dallas and the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party between Florida and Georgia in Jacksonville. Basically, they can take a break from being on a college campus once or twice during the season.

Based on the history, attendance record, quality of the teams, and the uniqueness of this game, College GameDay needs to be there for the Cortaca Jug. As an added bonus, I will be there too! Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit, and company can have the rare opportunity to meet me in person. Let's make this happen, ESPN!

Cerebral Overload

Apparently, Sunday was National Bloggers Day. It seems like I missed this national (international?) event the past 15 years or so. To celebrate this special and historic occasion, I am reviewing the Cerebral Overload blog, which, possibly ironically, does a lot of reviewing itself!

First, full disclosure. Ben, one of the individuals behind Cerebral Overload, and I are in a fantasy football league together. Therefore, I thought I should point out that this review will not be clouded by the fact that Ben defeated me in week two and has a much better record than me this season. So with that in mind, let me tell you that Ben’s blog would be significantly better if his team lost to mine earlier this season!

Cerebral Overload focuses on technology news and reviews and has its own podcast. This really shouldn’t be shocking or cutting-edge, but I’m impressed that Ben’s product reviews are done by video instead of in written posts. Any reviews I have ever done have always been written posts, so this seems revolutionary to me. His recent reviews include one of a Pittsburgh photography coffee-table book, headphones (I love the “What’s In The Box” post title), and a very cool flashlight. Ben is quite thorough and gives you the information you need to decide whether or not you want to purchase the product. Cerebral Overload provides tons of useful information on cars and NASA news and is a good source for both. I’ll admit that I haven’t listened to the podcasts, but I heard Ben appear on the Ya Jagoff podcast and he definitely knows his stuff (technical term).

So celebrate National Bloggers Day by checking out Cerebral Overload. A great site if you’re interested in new technical products, cars, and much, much more!

One Year Later

The horrific shootings at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh occurred one year ago this weekend. I shared my thoughts in the immediacy of this tragedy and wrote another post about the victims. So what has happened in the last year? Did Pittsburgh become a turning point and become the last mass shooting in America? Sadly, we all know the answer to this. Shootings in El Paso, Dayton, and Virginia Beach rightfully received significant coverage, but there have been even more shootings in the last 12 months. "Time" listed those that occurred through in 2019 July. Did the government finally decide that enough was enough and enact legislation for background checks or restricting certain types of weapons? Of course not. With that written, I’ll give Pittsburgh mayor Bill Peduto credit for trying to do something, even though it will likely be tied up in courts for years.

So what has changed in the last year? I’ll write about my personal experiences 250 miles away from Tree of Life, the synagogue I attended growing up and where my brother and I had our Bar Mitzvahs. My current synagogue underwent a security assessment resulting in numerous changes including things related to locks and cameras with the most notable being an emergency alert system inside the building. (It’s basically a fire alarm system, but instead of pulling it to immediately contact the fire department, this immediately contacts the police.) Naturally, none of this was in the budget which necessitated a fairly substantial fundraising campaign. There are always police at the building for services and during religious school. My kids probably don’t think twice about this and are used to seeing police every time they go to the synagogue, but I am not. Yes, I’m glad they are there, but I don’t want them to be there. I don’t like having to think about someone potentially attacking the synagogue and needing a police presence to discourage or stop this every time I go to pray or to drop off my kids.

What really struck me was the rabbi saying that she was encouraged (presumably by law enforcement) to keep her cell phone on during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in case she needed it for an emergency. I get that cell phones are everywhere, but the sanctuary is one of the few places where you don't expect them, and particularly on the podium used by the rabbi.

I’m sure that my synagogue isn't alone. Many churches, mosques, and other religious institutions around the country have likely done similar things. So what has changed in the last 12 months? Besides additional security and the costs associated with it, I don't know. I wish that I had some type of insightful or meaningful conclusion here, but I don't. The people who lost family and friends much too soon certainly honor and remember their loved ones. This will especially be the case this weekend on the anniversary. You just hope and pray that something like this doesn't happen again. You thank the police officers for helping protect people (particularly the Pittsburgh police officers who were wounded in the line of duty when responding to the Tree of Life shootings). And perhaps we can also see more instances of people coming together like what happened in Pittsburgh in the days and weeks after October 27, 2018.

Random Ramblings

There are several different items that I want to share, and it seemed to make sense to put them all into one post.

* Matchbox restaurants (primarily in the DC area) hosted a pizza competition where people created their own salads. Just making sure that you're paying attention! The Matchbox chefs chose the top four entries and worked with the winners to bring their pizzas to life. All four creations are on the menu throughout October, and the top-selling pizza will stay on the menu for the rest of the year. I mention this not because Matchbox is a sponsor of Sean's Ramblings (which would be fantastic) but because one of the finalists is Ben, the son of a friend who I've known since fourth grade. You'll also notice from the video below that three of the finalists are adults. Even though Ben is likely taller than the other finalists (seriously, Ben towers over me), he's the only finalist not old enough to vote. Ben's creation is the 3.6.9 with zesty tomato sauce, certified angus beef, pickles, mozz, onion straws, and pecorino. According to his dad, it’s a Slider Pizza, basically a deconstructed cheeseburger with onion straws on top like they do. And it’s called the “3-6-9” like how they list their regular sliders on the menu.

So if you go to Matchbox before the end of October, please order Ben's 3.6.9.


* Chesapeake, Virginia takes trick-or-treating really seriously. So serious that this law is on the books:

(a) If any person over the age of 14 years shall engage in the activity commonly known as "trick or treat" or any other activity of similar character or nature under any name whatsoever, he or she shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor. Nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting any parent, guardian, or other responsible person, having lawfully in his or her custody a child 14 years old or younger, from accompanying said child.

(b) If any person shall engage in the activity commonly known as "trick or treat" or any other activity of similar character or nature under any name whatsoever after 8:00 p.m., he or she shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor.

Apparently, a lot of people aren't happy with the fact that this misdemeanor exists in which kids could get fined and/or receive jail time (up to 6 months if over 14). Therefore, the City of Chesapeake had to provide this statement:

Chesapeake Police staff will focus on making sure the evening is safe for everyone, not actively seeking out violations of the time or age limits. For example, a 15 year old safely trick or treating with a younger sibling is not going to have any issues. (Sean's Note: That's not what the law says!) That same child taking pumpkins from porches and smashing them in the street more likely will. (Sean's note: Smashing Pumpkins is destruction of property - and a band - and has nothing to do with the law.) The City’s trick-or-treat ordinance was updated in 2019 when City Council voted to remove the (never before used) penalty of jail time and to raise the age limit to 14, making it one of the least restrictive ordinances in all of Hampton Roads.

Oh, in that case, maybe they should just cancel trick-or-treating in all of Hampton Roads!

* To a different police department in Virginia, the Fairfax County Police Department has a blog where they post official news and information. On Monday, they shared this item:

GRAND LARCENY/FOOT PURSUIT: 6699 Springfield Mall (JC Penney), 10/19/19, 8:53 p.m. A man and a women walked into the JC Penney’s store and stole merchandise. After a short foot pursuit through the shopping center, officers located the two and arrested them without further incident. Alfonce Powell, 27, of Maryland, was charged with grand larceny and failure to appear in court, and Shardaisha Slater, 25, of Maryland, was charged with grand larceny.

What really stood out from the article is Powell's mugshot. He looks so happy and photogenic!

* I have a friend who appeared in one of (if not the) opening scene of the incredible 2007 movie Michael Clayton. Based on some of the checks he's still receiving from the film, he's close to retiring...or buying lunch.

* Yahoo published an article titled "5 Influencers Share How Much They Get Paid Per #Ad Post." Yes there's a hashtag in the title. Anyway, I figure that I'm only about 975 followers away from being an influencer! And yes, I'm definitely willing to be a model for any interested clothing brand/company.

* Finally, one of the best things on the internet is The First World Problems of HGB & MAB series on The Steel Trap. I'm featured in three different entries in the latest post.

The Moose Plays Recorder

The recorder. Like the harp or flute, many people think of the recorder as an instrument with the most relaxing and soothing sounds. Or not. Especially when played by a third grader. The entire third grade at The Moose’s elementary school recently got to bring home recorders from their music class. While they are apparently playing or learning to play the instrument at school, they were able to bring them home to practice along with a song book called “Recorder Karate” with five or six songs. The idea is when you complete a song, you get a belt. Successfully play the recorder classic “Hot Cross Buns” at school, you get a yellow belt. Ideally, I suppose that everyone in third grade gets a belt. Oprah can probably explain this better.



For the first day or two after The Moose brought home the recorder, he basically just blew it creating lovely original tunes. (Again) Or not. Finally, we sat down to try to work with him on the specific notes and songs. He (and we) lost patience with each other pretty quickly. We decided to try a different route and found a how to play recorder series on YouTube. The Moose watched probably four or five videos, but he didn’t exactly get the point that you’re supposed to master the notes or sounds on the video before advancing to the next one.

A few minutes later, I noticed that he was watching a video about how to play “Old Town Road” on the recorder. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t quite master this, but apparently you can play this song on the recorder.



He had to take the recorder back to school, so we haven’t been blessed to hear the majestic sounds of The Moose playing the recorder the last few days. However, he said that he’s earned two belts, so maybe he did learn how to play some songs. In that case, thank you to his music teacher and of course Lil Nas X!

Vote Against Tom Wilson

I generally don’t write much about politics on this blog. I mean, sure I looked into starting an exploratory committee to run for the President in 2020, criticized Donald Trump for calling Eat ‘N Park by the wrong name, and questioned Sarah Palin’s allegiance to any particular NFL team, but I prefer writing about many other topics. However, I saw these campaign signs driving around Northern Virginia, and, well, let’s see if you have the same reaction as me.

Tom Wilson for school board? TOM WILSON FOR SCHOOL BOARD? Look, I understand that he has name recognition. Being a professional hockey player on the Washington Capitals and winning the Stanley Cup with them is going to garner a lot of positive support in community. But why school board? What experience does he have with American public schools? I mean, he was born in Toronto, didn’t go to college (not a requirement for school board, but it seems like you want someone with some college on their resume in this position) and has only lived in the United States for the last 6 or 7 years. During this time, has he become familiar with the Fairfax County Public School ("FCPS") district, only one of the 15 largest public school systems in the United States? It seems like he’s spent most of the time figuring out the best way to injure his opponents. To be fair, maybe he has spent significant time learning about FCPS and American school systems during all of the time away from ice rinks during suspensions.

Based on his character alone, I will not vote for Tom Wilson. Granted, I don't live in his district, but I will do everything I can to support his opponent, whoever that may be. Go Pens!

So, um, it turns out the Tom Wilson on the Tom Wilson for School Board Facebook page (per the picture above) looks a little different than the hockey player. In addition, he's already on the FCPS school board and is running for reelection. I'm starting to think that maybe it's not the same Tom Wilson. In that case, please disregard what I just wrote.

Friday Video: Barenaked Ladies and Hootie and the Blowfish

During the 2019 Sean summer concert series, I saw the Hootie and the Blowfish and Barenaked Ladies twin-bill at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Virginia. Since I am always write about recent events, I thought now would be a good time to share some videos, pictures, and thoughts from the, um, July show.

Barenaked Ladies are awesome. They look like they are having so much fun on stage. Lead singer Ed Robertson enjoyed saying the word “Lube” when talking about the concert venue name and also shared a story about smoking a certain substance with Willie Nelson at the same location 20 years ago. There was also a funny moment when they announced that their friend Sarah McLachlan was there only to have the big screen show a bald guy. They ended the show with an awesome medley that included "Shallow," "Old Town Road," and this:



I thought it was a nice touch that drummer Tyler Stewart and Ed Robertson changed places.

Hootie and the Blowfish came next, and I don’t know if there’s a better voice in music than Darius Rucker. He just has the coolest voice. There was also a heated (well, maybe not so heated) exchange where he saw a few people wearing Clemson gear in the audience. With Darius and his band mates being graduates (or at least students) at rival University of South Carolina, Rucker said something like, “Let me know if anyone from the school up north ever wrote a song like this” and went into "Let Her Cry."

Here are a few videos from their performance:



To close the set (but before the encore), Barenaked Ladies joined them on stage.



I could probably include 30 seconds of my own poor video of Hootie and the Blowfish covering R.E.M.'s Losing My Religion, but I'll close with a few pictures that I took of the show instead. My streak of taking awful pictures at concerts continues.

Oh, it was nice seeing St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina at the show!

The Moose Runs For Office

My eight year old son, The Moose, is running for his third grade classroom Student Council Representative. The Student Council is made up of two representatives from each classroom and meets once or twice a month to improve the school and community. I have no idea what that means. I mean, I know what it means, but I'm not sure how they accomplish this. I'll share his platform and portions of his speech momentarily, but it's nice to see him following in his father's footsteps.

Yes, I was a class officer during my junior year of high school (and also served in Student Government in college). How did I get elected an officer in my 450+ high school class? I still have no idea. I knew it made no sense to run for President or Vice President. The President during our sophomore year was (and still is) intelligent and very popular becoming Homecoming Queen during our Senior Year. She was also possibly the best soccer player I played against. I remember shadowing her in a game when I was probably 13 or 14 and was excited to hold her to one goal in our team's victory. I'm pretty sure that she's a doctor now. Our Vice President was known in the area for her acting, and she was the lead in our high school musicals. I believe that she also earned a Gene Kelly Award nomination during our Senior year. She continued in acting after graduation appearing in at least one Sex in the City episode and the film Failure to Launch. All I remember about the movie was that Terry Bradshaw was awful in it. Actually, was he naked in it? That's something I don't want to think about ever again. She's now a lawyer (the vice president, not Terry Bradshaw).

Anyway, I decided to run for class secretary. While I don't remember making any speeches or having any type of platform, I made a few posters that weren't very exciting. Somehow I won. I helped put together our homecoming float and organize the Junior/Senior prom (even though I didn't go). Apparently, this was not enough to get reelected during my senior year. Of the four class officer positions, the president, vice president, and treasurer were all the same all three years. The secretary was the same during my sophomore and senior years. I went down as a footnote only to be remembered if someone is looking in our junior year yearbook.

As for The Moose, he has a solid plan. He wants hour-long PE (physical education), music, library, and technology. I mean, it’s not like the teachers and school administration can extend times for specials in the middle of the year, but his third grade classmates don’t know this. He also wants longer recess with more gym equipment (specifically balls) and monkey bars. The extra physical activity makes sense since the kids will need to work off the calories from his plan of having cookies available for sale in the cafeteria every day. He also wants to have a school shirt day. I’m pretty sure the school already has a school spirit day, but I like the idea. Besides his platform, The Moose wants classmates to vote for him because he is friendly, likes sports, and wants to make the school a better place. He has my vote! Plus, I can guarantee that he won’t threaten, bully, or insult people on Twitter (or in person).

I'll let you know how he does. The Moose practiced his speech that he's giving to his class many, many times.

Update: Although The Moose did not win, he said that he finished 2nd out of 6 candidates. He was very pleased with himself and his speech, and I'm really proud of him for trying this. Now, I'll have to teach him how to lobby his classroom representative to try to extend PE, music, etc. and get cookies in the cafeteria every day!

Worst Professional Sports Team: Pirates vs. Redskins

I was born and raised in Pittsburgh. Sports was definitely a big part of my life growing up and continues to be today. I’ve been fortunate to see both the Penguins and Steelers become champions. I’ve also lived in Northern Virginia, just outside Washington DC, for over 18 years. I’m not as passionate about any of the DC area teams, but I follow how they are doing and regularly watch games of the local teams. Because of my fandom and geography, I think I’m in a unique position (along with thousands of other members of the Pittsburgh diaspora in the DC area) to evaluate who is worse between arguably the two current worst franchises in American professional sports, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Redskins. Let’s start with the Pirates.

- Since reaching the National League Championship Series for the third consecutive year in 1992, the team finished under .500 every year until 2013. The team made the playoffs via the Wild Card game in 2013-2015, but despite finishing over .500 (82-79) in 2018, the team hasn't truly competed for the postseason since 2015 and finished 69-93 in 2019.

- The team fired long-time manager Clint Hurdle, yet it doesn't appear that Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington or President Frank Coonelly are going anywhere. Bob Nutting, the owner, is certainly not going anywhere.

- The Pirates #1 pitcher, Jameson Taillon, recently had elbow (Tommy John) surgery and will likely be out for the 2020 season.

- The team’s best trade asset, Felipe Vazquez, is currently in jail for child sex charges. Yes, it is as awful as it sounds. While people can, should, and do criticize the front office for lots of things, the Vazquez arrest is definitely not on them.

- Speaking of trades, recent blockbuster deals have worked out poorly for the Pirates. The team traded now all-star Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow (who is only starting game one of the American League Division Series) for Chris Archer. They also traded possible Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole for Joe Musgrove, Jason Martin, Michael Feliz, and Colin Moran. Yeah.

- The team ranked 27th in attendance in 2019 out of 30 MLB teams.

- Bob Nutting is almost uniformly disliked by Pirates fans.

Now, the Washington Redskins:

- Since Dan Snyder took over the team in 1999, the Redskins have two playoff wins in 20 seasons.

- Arguably the team’s best player, offensive tackle Trent Williams, isn’t playing right now. Usually when players hold out, it’s because of money. Not this time. Williams is unhappy with the medical staff and front office in how they treated him last season.

- The team is 0-4 so far in 2019 and might only be favored in one game for the rest of the season.

- The Redskins had an NFL-low 74.4% home capacity during the 2018 season, averaging about 61,028 fans per game. Many of these fans are rooting for the opposing teams.

- FedEx Field is expensive and extremely inconvenient to get to. The team is looking to build a new stadium (though the location is uncertain) when the current lease ends sometime in the next decade.

-Many people consider the team name to be racist which may complicate the team moving back to Washington.

- When the team fired General Manager Scot McCloughan two years ago, they leaked that it was because he had a drinking problem.

- Owner Dan Snider and (to a slightly lesser extent) President Bruce Allen are almost uniformly disliked by Redskins fans.

So who is in a worse situation going into 2020? Your winner (or I guess loser) is the Pirates.

There is really no hope for this team in the next few seasons. Yes, the team has some nice offensive players like Josh Bell, Starling Marte, and Bryan Reynolds, but that’s about it. The only pitching prospect is Mitch Keller, and even if he turns into 2019 Gerrit Cole, that’s not going to get the Pirates into the playoffs. You can rightly justify that the Pirates really can’t compete economically with the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Astros. However, poor drafting and development obviously doesn’t help nor does the apparent inability or interest of the team to spend significant money on free agents. Plus those trades mentioned above have been awful for the franchise. You might be thinking, if the team is so bad, maybe they can draft a big-time player. The problem is that the Tigers, Orioles, and Marlins among other teams had even worse records, so the Pirates only have the #7 pick in the 2020 draft, not the #1 or #2 pick.

As for the Redskins, they have a young quarterback with a lot of promise in 2019 1st round draft pick Dwayne Haskins. He certainly gives the team some hope, if not for this year, then the next few years. With the NFL’s salary cap, it seems like teams go from last in its division to first regularly. In addition, a potential franchise quarterback already on the roster should allow the team to score a major prospect with a likely top 5 pick in the 2020 draft after the top few teams select quarterbacks. The Redskins may even be able to trade its draft position and acquire even more picks.

In both cases, the owners aren’t going anywhere. They are making good money and likely live extravagant lives, so why would they sell? They are among a small and prestigious club of American professional sports owners. While we hope they sell and the teams’ results improve, that seems unlikely.

So what do you think? Who is in a worse situation?

Photo from FoB&D Sports.

Stealing Is Bad, But Community Message Boards Can Be Fun

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I have found my community message board to be great for blog content. This recent thread will make any Buffalo Bills fan upset. Please note that I live in Northern Virginia. I also include my own thoughts on the comments throughout this post.

Warning: there’s a NINJA among us

(Sean’s note: Now this headline is perfect to attract attention. By the way, I had no idea that Drew Drechsel of American Ninja Warrior or the YouTube star Ninja live in my neighborhood.)

I discovered this morning my 3x5’ Buffalo Bills flag missing from its post on my street-facing third floor balcony. It was secure in its base, and couldn’t possibly fall or be blown off.

(Sean's note: I think a lawyer could definitely make a case to a jury that it is possible that the flag fell.)

I don’t have any photos of it flying from my balcony, but it is similar to this photo below. The pole was an old shovel handle from the farm I grew up on so it has sentimental value. How anyone could have gotten up to my 3rd floor balcony and taken it is beyond me. Unhelpful comments degrading my team will be deleted. If you had a flag of your team stolen, you’d be upset too.

Now to the comments!

1. I’m sorry your flag has gone missing ♥️ my grandfather had a large and expensive metal mallet and metal chisels stolen from his backyard a number of years go. It really sucks but eventually it just becomes a distant memory.

This seems like a nice message, but the phrase "eventually it just becomes a distant memory" seems kind of harsh.

2. That’s disappointing, hope it shows up & let’s keep our east division strong

AFC East! WOOOOO!

3. That’s crazy that someone somehow got 3 levels up to take your flag. Hope you find it! Looking forward to a good game this weekend between your Bills and my Patriots! I’ve been impressed with the Bills’ play this season! Josh Allen is da bomb!

Forget about the flag. Let's talk some football!

4. It sucks that you got ripped off. I doubt that a fellow Bills fan would do this, but having been to OP, I can understand their determination. Go Bills ! Beat NE !

I saw a comment below before I saw this one, so you'll have to see my thoughts below.

5. That's not good I like the Bills. From a PATS fan. I would be angry also!

6. I would start with any Jets or Dolphins fans in the neighborhood

This is my favorite! Go door to door and ask neighbors to declare their favorite NFL team. If they answer Jets or Dolphins, begin waterboarding! Of course, maybe it’s another Bills fan who likes the flag. As we saw before, they are determined. This case is wide open!

7. (Replying to 6.) no the Dolphins sucks too bad for them to care lol

Poor Miami Dolphins. At least they’re going to have lots of high draft picks in 2020. Plus, they live in South Florida in the winter. And there’s no income tax in Florida. And the city is hosting the Super Bowl in February. And Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will be there for it. You know, forget that poor Dolphins statement.

8. After the Bills lose to the Patriots this Sunday, the guy who stole the flag will return it.

9. Did you report it to the police? Go Bills

There were no replies to this comment. Maybe it was an inside job!

10. Time to send in the Bills Mafia! Poncho Billa lives!

I knew there would be a reference to Bills Mafia at some point.

11. I own a unit in [neighborhood]and am wondering - is there any chance it was removed during the recent painting and pressure washing they’ve done on the exterior of the buildings? You might look in your storage closet and check with your downstairs neighbors. The crews just worked on my section of the community so I’m wondering when they did yours. Just a thought!

This makes some sense. How dare there be a good and coherent point on a message board!?!?

12. Hope the Bills get to the Super Bowl in your lifetime! Would be nice to see the Bills defeat the Patriots! #LEGENDS

And we're back to football with nothing to do with the flag.

13. (Replying to 12) They already HAVE...FOUR times in a row! No team will ever do that again. Now let’s see them WIN one in my lifetime

14. This thread actually inspired me to order a Pats flag on Amazon to arrive in time for Sunday.

Helping the economy. That's what this message board is for!

15. Pats have been to 4 of last 5 Superbowls and won 3. That’s pretty good too (not taking away from Bills of early 90s, they were awesome)

Please, let's have more Patriots fans in this discussion. That would be great.

16. (Replying to 15.) I definitely respect what the Patriots have done...best team of a generation. Brady is awesome, Belichick is a genious. Doesn’t mean I LIKE them...😝

Yes, Belichick is a genious. A genious!

17. (Replying to 16.) I like it when the AFC East is good! Too bad Darnold got mono and the Phins decided to tank for Tua. It’s a two team race!

Okay, I did not come here for a breakdown of the AFC East. I'm done.

Jason Rollison (1980-2019)

Although it doesn't appear that he was the first to say it, General Douglas MacArthur is often credited with the quote, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." It seems some a silly comparison, but I think the same of bloggers. Many bloggers stop writing, but generally, their work lives on and stays online forever. I mean bloggers don’t actually die, right? You don’t interact with someone on Twitter only to learn that they passed away. That just doesn’t happen. Until it actually does.

Those in the Pittsburgh sports community learned that Jason Rollison passed away from cancer earlier this week at the age of 38. 38! Jason wrote for and/or ran several Pirates blogs over the years such as Rumbunter, Pirates Breakdown, and Bucs Dugout. He most recently wrote for DK Pittsburgh Sports.

I talked to Jason once. Ron, author of Steelers Takeaways, organized a Pittsburgh sports blogger conference call a few years back with the purpose of helping create a closer-knit community and to share some ideas. While not much occurred after conversation, it was cool talking with Jason and the other Pittsburgh sports bloggers. I didn’t interact with Jason much since then though I certainly read his work over the years. Still, it’s shocking seeing someone that you read or see tweet, even within the last few weeks, pass away at such a young age.

Jason's obituary via Koch Funeral Home is here (I copied the text below), and Dejan Kovacevic wrote a really good piece about Jason. (The picture above is from the article.)

The Pirates also did this:

Thank you, Pittsburgh Pirates, for this. It was beautiful. I can’t even imagine how much Jason would’ve appreciate it. #DKPS #Pirates pic.twitter.com/6iK6AH2SQa

— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) September 24, 2019

Jason Craig Rollison, 38, of Uniontown, died September 23, 2019 after a brief but commanding battle with cancer. He was born December 7, 1980 in Uniontown. He will be remembered as a gentle giant with a heart of gold.

He attended Uniontown schools and graduated from Brownsville High School in 1999, where he was a member of the basketball team. He went on to receive his Associates Degrees from Laurel Business Institute and Duquesne University. He then pursued a career in information technology. He was employed by ACPI in Thompsontown. Jason was a member of St John Evangelist Catholic Church in Bellefonte, PA.

Jason started his journalism career in the early 2000s providing coverage for high school sports in local newspapers. His passion for writing and sports continued throughout his life as he contributed to the Pirates blog, Rumbunter, eventually as editor-in-chief, which he held until 2015. He is the proud author of two books to include PiratesGuide 2019: A Field Guide to the 2019 Pittsburgh Pirates. He also served as the analyst on the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Major League Baseball for DKPittsburghSports.com, editor at SB Nation's Bucs Dugout and the enthusiastic voice of the 'Buccocast' podcast.

Jason leaves behind his wife of 9 years, Jessica, in what he described as "domestic bliss" and a Hollywood type of love with their pup Tippy Tumbles. Jason would want it noted that he had no say in what to name her. They filled their spare time by exploring, dancing and finding new adventures. Jason loved to find new places and experiences at every turn.

He was pre-deceased by grandfather Wendell Rollison, who raised him as his own. To carry on his memory, he leaves behind his mother Joyce, brother Corey Rollison (Ashley) and many friends both personal and professional.

There will be a viewing at Koch Funeral Home on Thursday September 26, 2019 from 4pm to 7pm. On Friday, September 27, 2019 a funeral service will be held at St John Evangelist Catholic Church at 10am.

In lieu of flowers, request donations be made in Jason's name to The American Cancer Society as a thank you to Hope Lodge for their support in the fight.

Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com or visit us on Facebook.

Jason will certainly be missed.

Friday Video: Alligator

If I had to make a new list of the greatest Icelandic musicians (yes, I really made such a list), Of Monsters and Men would be second behind only Björk. You may remember this band from their monster hit song "Little Talks" back in 2011. Of Monsters and Men released a new album called Fever Dream a few months ago, and here is "Alligator," their excellent first single. Enjoy!

Random Questions and Ramblings

* When I was in junior high and high school, I generally didn’t mind reading the assigned books (assuming that I liked the books), but I definitely didn’t enjoy writing book reports. Now, I read about a book or two a month, and I want to share how much I enjoyed them. While I’m not going to write a book report today, I just want to share that I highly recommend these books that I’ve read over the last few months.

"Playing Through the Whistle: Steel, Football, and an American Town" by S.L. Price

"The Club: How the English Premier League Became the Wildest, Richest, Most Disruptive Force in Sports" by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg

"Evvie Drake Starts Over" by Linda Holmes

Say nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

"American Pain: How a Young Felon and His Ring of Doctors Unleashed America's Deadliest Drug Epidemic" by John Temple

Very different books on a variety of subjects but all worth reading.

* On Monday night, Rontez Miles Sr. of the New York Jets (and Woodland Hills High School) and Eric Kush of the Cleveland Browns exchanged jerseys after the game. Both players graduated from California University of Pennsylvania. While I assume that the players will likely put the jerseys in frames, what if they wanted to wear them? Let's say that I play in a celebrity basketball game. (It could happen!) After the game, I’m looking to exchange jerseys with someone closer to my height like Kevin Hart or Muggsy Bogues, not Shaquille O'Neal.

* Pedro Tulo's kindergarten class has had a “Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See?” theme at school based on the Bill Martin/Eric Carle book. The idea is to wear a different colored shirt each day based on the color such as Yellow Day and my favorite, Green Day. (I'm not sure how an American Idiot T-shirt would have gone over.) Earlier this week was Black Day where the kids were supposed to wear a black T-shirt. That day was also Constitution Day where the whole school is supposed to wear red, white, and blue. Therefore, there was a dilemma on what to wear: black or red, white, and blue. I felt ridiculous doing this, but I emailed the teacher about this dilemma. She (rightly) replied that we should choose whatever we want. My wife ended up just having him wear a faded Pirates T-shirt where the black looks more gray. I think we failed this assignment. Oh, and to get in the patriotic spirit, The Moose (now in 3rd grade) wore a Messi Barcelona jersey with red and blue and just a little white for the sponsors. Nothing makes you think constitution like a Messi jersey!

* Mr. T is famous for his mohawk hair (and his catchphrase). Would he be permitted to grow out his hair or shave his head or would his agent stop him?

* One of the key metrics used in baseball is exit velocity. It got me wondering if baseball executives also monitor the exit velocity when players bunt the ball. Is the slower exit velocity while bunting considered better? Is there one player (likely a pitcher) highly regarded for his extraordinarily low exit velocity while bunting?

* I recently found about a dozen papers written during my first two years in college in classes like Introduction to Theatre, Media and Politics, Chinese Politics, and an introductory Freshman seminar course related to Sociology. Although I generally keep way too much stuff, I recycled all of these papers. They won't even make a Found In My Basement post!

* The Pirates currently have pitchers Parker Markel and James Marvel on the roster. Has anyone with names so close but not identical ever been on the same team?

Eddie Money In Pop Culture

Musician Eddie Money passed away on Friday at the age of 70. I believe that I was first introduced to Eddie Money by seeing the video for “Take Me Home Tonight” with Ronnie Spector on MTV. You may also be familiar with his hits that still receive regular airplay on classic rock stations like Shakin', Two Tickets To Paradise, I Wanna Go Back, Think I'm In Love, and Walk on Water. This post is about remembering Eddie Money in pop culture more than from his music career. First, Eddie Money made a terrific cameo on an episode of The Drew Carey Show.



A few things here. The Drew Carey Show theme song still holds up as one of the best in television history. You can fight me on this. Anyway, Eddie Money plays himself. It turns out that Money married Mimi years earlier, and for her to get married to Drew Carey’s brother (played by John Carroll Lynch who once liked one of my tweets) in the church, she needs to get an annulment. Eddie Money refuses, but Craig Ferguson saves the day. This episode also features the late Max Wright, arguably best known as the dad in Alf, playing Drew Carey’s stomach. I can’t imagine anyone under 21 understanding these last two sentences.

Eddie Money was also in an episode of King of Queens, but I never watched that show. However, the food truck in the underrated and short-lived Happy Endings was named Steak Me Home Tonight, presumably in honor of the Eddie Money song.





RIP Eddie Money.

End of Express

On Wednesday, "The Washington Post" announced that the final publication of its free, daily newspaper, "The Washington Post Express," would be today. Basically, the paper gave the 20 employees at Express and the 75 people who hand papers out at Metro stations throughout the DC area 24 hours notice that they were losing their jobs. This really sucks for them.

The paper started in 2003, and it has been part of my morning commute since I began taking Metro to work in 2005. I’ve made fun of Express over the years and even created an “Express Fail” series, but I always read it. The paper was (I hate writing this is past tense) a good way to catch the headlines of the day. It introduced me to "Pearls Before Swine" and Sudoku and let me know of area events along with articles on sports, television, music, and movies. Plus, the people handing out Express at the Metro stations were almost always friendly. There’s one guy in particular who has distributed newspapers at my station for years, and it’s nice to see him each day. It gives you some comfort and consistency seeing a familiar, welcoming face each day. Today, people were taking pictures with him. I simply thanked him for being outside handing out papers all these years and wished him good luck. He thanked me and shook my hand.

Back to Express, I was honored to have my blog listed several times in its Blog Log feature. This was one such time. It was really exciting, and I have physical copies of them in my home. (Though I’m not exactly sure where. When I find them, it will be a Found in my Basement post.)

The Washington Post seems to blame Metro ridership for Express going out of business. Not the number of riders (which would make some sense), but the habits of riders constantly looking at their phones and not picking up the paper. I'm not sure that I completely buy this rationale and feel like it has to be more of an economic decision.

I guess that I’ll use my commuting time reading books more and catching up on The Washington Post Magazine. It would be great if something similar took its place (or The Post changed its mind) though giving away free newspapers may not be a good business model in 2019. Plus, what's going to happen to all of these yellow boxes throughout the area?

I’m definitely going to miss Express.